Choice Without Shackles

Beyond the confiscation of women’s rights, I feel something else missing: a valuing — an understanding — of life itself.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - 11 states still allow the barbaric practice known as “shackling” within the system: handcuffing and chaining incarcerated pregnant women, including when they are, God help us, in labor.

The cruel absurdity of this practice is almost beyond comprehension.

Celebrate Safely this Independence Day Weekend

Before going into a forest, check fire danger level and public use restrictions.

(SPRINGFIELD, Ore.) - The Willamette National Forest Service wants everyone to enjoy a fun and safe time outdoors as we approach Independence Day weekend.

Visitors are reminded that all fireworks are prohibited on public lands at all times and we encourage visitors to keep fire safety practices in mind when vising the forest.

Supreme Court Further Erodes The Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution

If religious schools can receive tax dollars, maybe it's time for religions to pay some taxes.

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA.) - The Establishment Clause was intended to prohibit the federal government from declaring and financially supporting a national religion, such as existed in many other countries.

In 1802, Thomas Jefferson declared that when the American people adopted the Establishment Clause they built a “wall of separation" between the church and state.

SPECIAL SECTION Cannabis De-Classified

PTSD - Medical Marijuana Toxicology - Pharmacology

Oregon will Receive Nearly $1 Million Settlement from BlockFi Cryptocurrency

BlockFi offered and sold securities in Oregon without being properly registered.

(SALEM, Ore.) - As part of its settlement with securities regulators, BlockFi agreed to pay a total of $100 million, half of which would go to the SEC and the other half to state securities regulators.

BlockFi further agreed to stop offering BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIAs) in the U.S.

25-Year-Old Inmate at Sheridan FCI Found Dead

Inmate Death at FCI Sheridan’s Satellite Camp

(SHERIDAN, Ore.) - At approximately 3:00 a.m., Tuesday, June 28, 2022, inmate Dylan Joseph Jardin was found unresponsive at the satellite camp adjacent to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Sheridan in Sheridan, Oregon.

Responding staff immediately initiated life-saving measures.

The Climate Front: People Who Live There - Dan Kammen Ph.D.

We're on a pace right now where when we get this done it'll be decades too late.

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) - It's really going to be this question of which utilities step up their game and become enablers of not only clean electricity, but also clean consumption.

There are huge profits for them if they enable electric vehicles.

Vow of Silence (but not quite yet)

A man's opinion on men's opinions on women's business.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Dear Fellow Men,

Time to let women speak their minds about the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v Wade. Men have spoken, made rules, passed laws, literally pontificated, and generally exercised dominator control over women far far far too long.

The Surge

RADICAL PEACE presents the experiences of war resisters, deserters, and peace activists who are working to change our warrior culture.

(OLDENBURG, Germany) - The "have a nice life" days are over in the USA. Conditions are getting inexorably worse. Americans are beginning to get the same treatment as people in the client states. As protest to this grows, the power elite will try to crush it.

But dissidents aren't causing these conditions, they're resisting them. The conditions are caused by the predatory nature of capitalism.

The Climate Front: People Who Live There, Part 2

Alaska's many cultures developed their own way of doing things over tens of thousands of years.

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) - My conversation with Patrick Anderson (Tlingit) is about how trauma, both intergenerational and acquired, is compounded by difficulties, logistical, economic, and elemental, along the front lines of climate change in America.

In one Alaska village, Kivalina, survival itself can be overwhelming.

Is Lasting Peace Possible?

We can reduce the stress humanity suffers under.

(OLDENBURG, Germany) - Our society, though, has a deeply entrenched assumption that stress is essential to life. Many of our social and economic structures are based on conflict. Capitalism’s need for continually expanding profits generates stress in all of us.

We’ve been indoctrinated to think this is normal and natural, but it’s really pathological.

Oregon Cannabis Church Founder Arrested on Multiple Charges

"...we are going to kill him, you understand that right?"
- Douglas County Deputy, October 2018

(SALEM, Ore.) - A week ago longtime Oregon Cannabis activist Timothy Timm was arrested and is currently facing a collection of charges from a number of years.

Friends fear that Tim Timm does not fully comprehend all that is happening.

Why Would I Talk to Them?

Research shows we can talk across our political divides.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - We all avoid talking to the other side for similar reasons: the other person won’t listen, will get too emotional, and there would be no point. Essentially, we’re united in how uncomfortable these exchanges make us feel.

If we do engage, we often do aggressively. However, positive encounters relax us.

The Climate Front: People Who Live There

Explore the climate impacts to front-line communities in Alaska and the Lower 48.

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) - The story of humans and Climate Change, that is, for the most part, not on CNN, became tangible over the course of a year.

It began by dropping in on National Geographic Senior Producer Scott Ressler’s film, “The Last Ice,” for a “behind the scenes” interview about his five years in Greenland and Nunavut, Canada, around the Arctic Circle, where Inuit people hunt on the sea ice.

War is the Greatest Evil (Statement on the War in Ukraine)

Resist the war machine as best we can.

(POULSB0, Wash.) - War turns young men and women into murderers, when life has no meaning, when our political “leaders” and media outlets beat the drums of war.

Any war, proxy war, or increased hostilities between nuclear-armed nations greatly increases the chances of a nuclear war.

2022 Chicago Marathon Could Push Charitable Donations Past $300M

The 2022 Chicago Marathon Expected to Exceed 40,000 Participants

(SALEM, Ore.) - People run marathons for a multitude of reasons. Some love the challenge of pushing themselves through the pain barrier as they pound the pavement for 26.2 miles.

Others prefer this distance and compete at an elite level.

After School Shootings, Senate Republicans Block Domestic Terrorism Bill

Brief comment on the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA.) - Over Memorial Day weekend, just days after the killings, former president Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R.TX), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot (prerecorded) and other Republicans spoke at the at the NRA’s annual meeting in Houston, about 270 miles from Uvalde.

Each rejected any suggestion that gun control measures were needed to stop mass shootings.

USMNT's Warm-up Campaign for Qatar 2022 Begins in June

Let's take a look at the USA's summer schedule

(SALEM, Ore.) - It is six months until the United States kick off their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign after surviving a CONCACAF qualifying turmoil.

After missing out on Russia 2018, the USMNT will be keen to impress at the World Cup finals.

2026 World Cup Host Cities Set to be Announced by FIFA

48 nations will compete at the final tournament.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The 2022 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner, but we will look further down the horizon and examine what awaits us in 2026.

For the first time since 1994, the World Cup finals will be staged in North America.

Archbishop Cordileone Bans House Speaker Pelosi's on her Pro-Choice Stance

Why has the Archbishop singled out Pelosi?

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA.) - First some caveats: I am not a Roman Catholic; I just voted again for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.Calif) as my Representative; I support a woman’s right to an abortion; and I am certainly not a religious scholar.

But I do take issue with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s directive to local priests to deny House Speaker Pelosi Holy Communion because of her support for abortion rights.

Oregon to Provide 12 Months of Continuous Postpartum Medical Coverage

Federal decision ‘critical to ensuring health and well-being of mothers and their babies’

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Oregon’s request to expand Medicaid and Oregon Health Plan (OHP), to one year postpartum has been approved.

The change will allow individuals to maintain access to medically necessary physical, oral and behavioral health services for 12 months after childbirth.

Oregon Cannabis Exporter Sentenced to Federal Prison

Baldocchi joins the over 10,500 Americans serving time in federal prison for cannabis offenses.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - 30-year old Dante Baldocchi, currently a resident of Altadena, California, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and four years’ supervised release.

Baldocchi joins the over 10,500 Americans serving time in federal prison for cannabis offenses.

5 Fascinating Museums Around Salem and Mid-Willamette Valley

Our past and present come together in some unusual and unexpected ways.

(SALEM, Ore.) - As the capital of Oregon, Salem is no stranger to history. The city and surrounding communities host a wide range of commemorative markers, key sites from Oregon’s past, and (unsurprisingly) several museums that help visitors understand the regional history.

If you want to learn about Salem’s interesting past - and some of the unusual tales and artifacts that help illustrate the history - check out this list of fun and fascinating museums that span the Mid-Willamette Valley.

How To Make Working Out A Daily Habit

Begin with achievable objectives and realistic expectations.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The main reason it is difficult to maintain a regular exercise routine is that we dislike working out. Many of us are terrible at breaking old, comfortable behavior patterns and replacing them with new ones.

Building a habit of working out daily is all about breaking that pattern.