Michael Savage is right: Liberalism is a mental disorder.

First the green lefties give us the Renewable Portfolio Standard in 2007,
promising 15% renewable power in 2015, and wild unicorns in the gorge.
(ignoring the hydroelectric dams we have, of course)
Did we get 15% renewables by 2015? Nope. Not even close. Try 5%.

Now if a law doesn't work, it must be because it's not THICK enough.
So those green lefties are back, with HB 4036, determined to outlaw coal NOW!
Call it ObamaPower!
To get her way, Gov. Kate "total transparency" Brown muzzled the Public Utility Commission,
because even though they are Democrat-appointed,
they still know this bill will raise rates and do nothing about "climate change".

And it doesn't help one bit that a sack full of Turncoat Republicans
-- Representatives Krieger, Gilliam, Huffman, Buehler and Johnson --
listened to bedtime fairy tales from lobbyists and eco-nuts (unicorns!)
instead of seeking counsel from physicists and economists (sober data!),
put on their best jammies, and hopped into bed with the Democrats,
in crony capitalist cahoots with utilities and Luddites,
to vote in another no-power-for-the-poor bill.*

Let's ask our speaker, who does not believe in unicorns... well, anymore ...what to do:

John Charles
President of Cascade Policy Institute

John used to walk on the dark side, with the Oregon Environmental Council.
Director for 17 years.
He knows how this works, from the leftie point of view.
Prolific writer, digger for detail, with a wit to match.

Why is "renewable power" so tough?
The wind don't always blow, and the sun don't always shine.
Renewables require backup, and Surprise!
That makes your power more expensive!

Wrap up the deliberate ignoring of existing hydro -- maybe they want that gone, next? --
with the false reasoning for it all, the data-denying concept of "man-made" climate change,
and it looks like the last push to turn off the lights in Oregon.

Got your cave staked out?

Then roll a rock in front of the door, and join us Wednesday night, March 2nd.
John is smiling because he knows where the bodies are buried, and he's bringing a shovel.

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* One staffer actually commented that all the voices they heard were FOR the bill,
thus implying that the reps are worse than low information voters,
just grabbing the last sound bite.

And here I thought we expected them to use their brains,
to skeptically examine bills before them,
and to seek out opposing views to find the right choice.

Don't you think that if all the lefties in the House were voting for it,
it might not be such a good idea?

So now the Democrats can claim it's "bi-partisan",
and we can't say, "look what the Democrats have done to Oregon!"

Executive Club passes on meeting followup information as a courtesy to our speakers and members. Any member or speaker may submit, by email, a simple update text presentation to be sent to the club mailing list, to give the membership to have more details, or just a recap of your platform presentation. To be considered for publication, please be sure to submit your update within 24 hours of the close of the meeting. Please don't include any pictures in your text, but links to web pages, or links to things stored elsewhere on the web -- .pdf files, Word documents, or even pictures -- are OK now. Formatting and inserted pictures will not be copied, just the text content, so please don't use 4 fonts and 6 colors to convey your thoughts: you will be disappointed. Look at a previous followup email, or the bottom of most of the invitation emails, to see how they are presented. The simpler and cleaner your text, the more likely it will appear exactly the same in the email we send out. Each update must also indicate the author's name and contact information -- either a phone number, email address, or website with contact information. We reserve the right to edit for brevity, or reject, any submission.

Cascade's next Policy Picnic will be at noon on Thursday, February 25th at the Cascade office. John Charles will talk about what's happening in the Legislative session. Seating is limited so please RSVP soon at cascadepolicy.org.

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Undergraduate or graduate students looking for a summer internship at Cascade should apply at cascadepolicy.org. Deadline to apply is March 1.

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While there are many practical arguments against raising Oregon's minimum wage, Cascade also opposes the entire minimum wage concept on principle. Read why in Oregon's Minimum Wage Law Perverts Compassion into Coercion.

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Details of all Cascade events and publications are available at cascadepolicy.org and you can sign up for Cascade's free weekly Courier email list here.

In the absence of Steve Buckstein and The Cascade Policy Institute, I want to mention to everyone that the recent City Club guest for the Friday Forum, a friend of Steve's and the CPI, was Arthur C. Brooks, the president of American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Brooks has a new book out, "The Conservative Heart: How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America," which I highly recommend based on hearing Mr. Brooks speak twice and after reading the sample chapter we received at the City Club lunch.

Following the January 30 Western Liberty Network's U.S. Senate debate, it's becoming clearer all the time there is only one candidate in the U.S. Senate race who has the breadth and depth of knowledge required to do the job from day one. It's also clear there's only one candidate with the real-world credentials to deliver on reducing deficits and debt. And make no mistake about it, there's only one candidate with the backbone and subject-matter expertise to tell Ron Wyden Oregonians are no longer going to accept his lies about entitlements. With only 90 days until ballots arrive, it's time conservatives in Oregon got behind the candidate who can and will take the fight to the 35-year career politician, all the way to November.

And finally, having grown up in Juneau, Alaska, I enjoyed receiving a letter from a campaign donor who was married to Katie McIntire, Don McIntire's niece. In the letter, the writer mentions Don's time as a dj at KJNO, Juneau's flagship (only) radio station in the 60's. It may only be interesting to me, but it's nice to think perhaps Don McIntire influenced me as a conservative thinker when I was a young boy, even if I wasn't listening closely at the time. The writer concludes his letter saying, "God rest his soul. I loved that guy."

Please visit www.Laschober2016.com to learn more.