Category: General Interest
Something to consider
www.businessinsider.com/tech-ai-boycott-february-protest-ice-scott-galloway-2026-2
Hope you find this helpful!
Lydi Felley
another sign of hope
– Dave
North County Resistance This Week and Next
We believe that voicing our opinions is essential, but it must be done in a manner that upholds the values of our community. Our actions are guided by a commitment to nonviolence and consideration for everyone around us.
Our group makes it a priority to honor the city’s guidelines and demonstrate thoughtfulness toward local businesses and neighbors. We strive to foster goodwill and maintain positive relationships throughout our activities, ensuring that our message is heard without causing disruption or harm.
We extend our gratitude to the City of Nehalem for the use of their parking lot for our protest activities. It is important to us that our presence does not disrupt or interfere with the businesses located in Nehalem. In this spirit, we kindly ask all participants to avoid congregating near local businesses and to ensure that the flow of customers and operations remains uninterrupted.
Specifically, we request that protesters do not block the entrances or exits of the coffee shop across the street from our gathering location. Additionally, we ask everyone to be mindful not to visually obstruct the sign for the business situated to the north and across the street. It is also worth noting that the honking of horns heard during our demonstration is initiated by passing drivers and is not orchestrated by our group. Our intention is to foster good relationships with our neighbors in the community.
We encourage everyone to consider the perspective of local business owners, who face challenges during the winter months. Supporting their ability to attract customers is important to us, as we all share the goal of seeing Nehalem businesses thrive.
On Saturday, January 31, Nehalem became the site of a remarkable demonstration, as more than 100 individuals came together, lining the sidewalks in a unified and peaceful assembly. The atmosphere was striking, with participants standing together to protest recent actions taken by the government. This collective effort reflected deep concern over several urgent issues impacting the United States of America.
Protesters raised voices against the government’s role in contributing to harm and loss of life and expressed strong opposition to the detention of citizens without just cause. There was also significant anxiety about the climate of fear that has led many people to feel confined to their homes. Furthermore, demonstrators objected to the government’s apparent reliance on individuals perceived as bigots and brainwashers. The event served as a powerful statement, showcasing the community’s widespread unease and their unified call for meaningful change.
We are a group of people, mainly locals, but also joined by people from here and there, in county and out of county, in state and out of state. Many of us are old and we’ve been joined by more younger people every week. We thank each one of you. We will continue to peacefully protest and hope you will join us! We will see you again next Saturday.
Best,
Patty
Opening up the conversation about lodging taxes
Earlier this year I sent you the op-ed linked below. Oregon’s legislature begins a new session next week, so I’m sharing it again. I also sent it out to every state rep and senator.
The north coast can improve how we spend tax dollars collected from overnight visitors. We can make sure that money sustains our scenic rural heritage in ways that model fiscal stewardship.
To do that, we need to think beyond the narratives made by the same old lobbies that have driven discussions about tourism. That’s why I wrote this, in hopes of opening up the conversation. Thanks for reading it.
Watt Childress
www.upperleftedge.com/2026/01/06/smart-travel-money-helps-care-for-places-we-love/
Fed Killings, Fact Checking, and Some Fury
[TL;DR: Facts are important, whataboutism is bad, we have to acknowledge a shared reality, check your sources and develop media literacy, I’m happy to answer questions by email!]
Ashley Babbitt was part of a mob involved in a violent insurrection at the US Capitol with the goal of overturning a free and fair election. This mob was inside the Capitol and attempting to breach a set of double doors that had been barricaded with office furniture by Capitol Police. She was climbing through broken glass of one of the doors when U.S. Capitol Police Lieutenant Michael Byrd fired a single shot to stop her entry to the secured area. This stopped her from crossing the threshold and scared her accomplices away, preventing their advance into the breach. While her death is regrettable, I feel that his use of force is one of the few captured on video that remains defensible.
In contrast, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were both in their own city, unarmed, outnumbered, and shot multiple times while engaging in activities that are protected by the First Amendment. Jonathan Ross, who murdered Renee Good, and the two as-yet-unnamed Border Patrol agents who murdered Alex Pretti did so while acting recklessly and unprofessionally, and their superiors immediately lied about their victims in official statements.
There is no equivalency here.
I do not mourn Babbitt. I am angry that her co-insurrectionists were pardoned.
My heart breaks at the fate of Good and Pretti, because they were trying to make the world a better place. I am heartened that their comrades are still doing their best, and I would like to be counted among them.
As for some of the other issues raised, I am not Sisyphus to attempt to correct every factual error on the internet [ https://xkcd.com/386/ ] but I will point out that President Barack Obama issued fewer executive orders than President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton. In each of his terms President Obama issued fewer executive orders than President Donald J. Trump did in both President Trump’s first term and the first *year* of President Trump’s second term.
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/executive-orders
There’s also a lot of whataboutism going on here!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism
While Obama and Biden and all modern presidents have abused executive power, the levels of overreach we are seeing now are more frequent, more severe, and escalatory. It is established fact that the left critiqued Obama and Biden. A more meaningful exercise may be to compare the contrast the right’s reaction to the Jade Helm exercises of 2015 with the current deployments of ICE and DHS.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Helm_15_conspiracy_theories
We now have New York Times infographics on “How to Make Sense of the Federal Forces on the Streets”
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/24/us/us-federal-agents-national-guard-ice-fbi.html
And the Minnesota Star Tribune can help you identify the crowd control munitions that are being deployed in the neighborhood
www.startribune.com/federal-agents-are-deploying-clouds-streams-and-spatters-of-chemical-irritants-what-are-their-health-consequences/601568140
ICE has internal memos that say it no longer needs a warrant signed by a judge to enter a home.
apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d
I will be standing along Highway 101 at the next No Kings rally on March 28th. US politics is currently a two party game, unfortunately, but we’re at a heady moment of change. While most of the party leadership is center-right technocrats, there is a real and tangible shift for the Democratic Party towards rejecting the billionaire and oligarch class and moving towards progressive ideals that will help the vast majority of Americans, with inroads being made with Democratic Socialist candidates like Zohran Mamdani, and AOC. The Republican Party, however, has decided to go all in on the far right, Christian nationalism, and neosegregationists. I can pull the Democratic Party to the left. The Republican Party wants to exile, harass, and eliminate my friends, family, and community members. Team Blue might not be always right, but right now Team Red is dead wrong.
That’s enough out of me for now, your friendly local idealist solarpunk socialist. I’m glad to have a discussion by email if you like, but am more inclined to forum lurking than posting.
I am including links to media literacy guides from both the University of Oregon as well as Oregon State University so as to avoid any appearance of bias in that regard. =)
researchguides.uoregon.edu/medialiteracy/evaluating-sources
guides.library.oregonstate.edu/newsliteracy
A better world is possible.
Jeremiah Shepersky
The Start of the New World Order
I keep tying to find out – I keep hoping to understand. Well, I found a video that explains this, and I think it is good. It is not political – It is how the world works now – It is about 30 minutes long. Worth watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbN-AhFoN6M
THE START OF A NEW WORLD ORDER
That should be the title if you click on the above
Inspiration of the week Song by Ma Muse
Ma Muse link
www.facebook.com/share/v/1DBu4FJXXX/
Lyrics:
I am home in the holy
I’m stepping in fully
To the shift
To the change
To the ground
That’s holding me.
I’m alive to the midnight,
Wide eyed in the twilight
Giving up
Giving in
Giving over to the mystery
May my life be an offering
To serve our mutual flourishing
We are in the care of one another
I keep my inner fires burning
fuel the passion and the yearning
To give these gifts
To keep on learning
Without end
cruelty and corruption
…. “The glorification of cruelty and rejection of compassion don’t just shape the Trump administration’s policies. Those values are also at the core of Trump’s own character and worldview. And they have become a rallying cry for a cadre of hard-right “Christian influencers” who are waging a war on empathy.
“Their twisted campaign validates Trump’s personal immorality and his administration’s cruelty. It marginalizes mainstream religious leaders who espouse traditional values that conflict with Trump’s behavior and agenda. And it threatens to pave the way for an extreme vision of Christian nationalism that seeks to replace democracy with theocracy in America.
…. “The tone was set right at the beginning of this second Trump presidency. The day after taking the oath of office last January, Trump attended a prayer service at the National Cathedral. The Episcopal bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde, directed part of her sermon at the new president: “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.” She spoke of children of immigrant families afraid that their parents would be taken away, refugees fleeing persecution, and young LGBTQ Americans who feared for their lives. It was an honest plea, suffused with the kind of love and generosity toward neighbors and strangers that Jesus taught.
“Bishop Budde was immediately vilified. One Republican congressman said she “should be added to the deportation list.” The pastor and influencer Ben Garrett warned his followers, “This snake is God’s enemy and yours too. She hates God and His people. You need to properly hate in response.” The right-wing Christian podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey called the sermon “toxic empathy that is in complete opposition to God’s Word and in support of the most satanic, destructive ideas ever conjured up.” Toxic empathy! What an oxymoron. I don’t know if the phrase reflects moral blindness or moral bankruptcy, but either way it’s appalling.” ….
Her article goes on and on. Near the end she offers some ideas on what we can do, but I think misses the most direct and effective action: to call it what it is – Cruelty and Corruption. Their actions are CRUEL and CORRUPT, things most of us (Christians included) don’t want done in our names and would never vote for.
– Dave
Oregon’s 4th grade reading scores are now lowest in the country
“Leaving it up to the locals impedes Oregon’s much-needed reading recovery. Unlike other states, Oregon funds its 197 school districts but does little to hold them to account for their outcomes.
“When it comes to education, Oregonians cherish local control. Yet increasingly, experts say local control is one reason so many Oregon kids can’t read.”
www.oregonjournalismproject.org/leaving-it-up-to-the-locals-impedes-oregons-much-needed-reading-recovery
Gene Dieken
Fed Killings
And the left is protesting violently in the streets. Some are crying. Some say the end of democracy is at hand!
But there was not a peep from the left, not a tear shed from the left, when the Feds blatantly murdered Ashley Babbit on J6.
If you consider yourself on the left, I challenge you to watch the feds murder of Ashley Babbit:
rumble.com/v6e3a71-ashli-babbitt-shooting-analysis..html?e9s=src_v1_s%2Csrc_v1_s_o&sci=eba5222e-d225-4c0e-b102-dd2a0f7f064b
The divide and conquer dual party fascism run by the oligarchs/bankers/tech bros needs to end.
TEAM RED VS TEAM BLUE needs to end.
It’s the people (the 99%) versus the bankers who create money out of thin air, their minions within corrupt elements of our military, the SiliCON valley tech boys, and the obedient oligarchs who make wars and make us sick in order to keep the scam going.
No Kings?? It’s easy for the left to see Drumf behaving as a King. But what of Biden and his autopen? Who was king then? And what of King Obama and his record persecution of whistleblowers and journalists? What of King Obama and his record number of Executive Orders, outdoing his predecessor King Dubya? What of King Obama dropping drone bombs in the Middle East weekly, or using USAID money to overthrow the democratically-elected government of Ukraine in 2014, doing the bidding of the bankers and starting NATOs current war with Russia? What of Queen Hillary overthrowing Honduras, installing death squads and causing a mass exodus north? What of Queen Hillary overthrowing Libya, laughing about the murder of Ghadaffi on 60-minutes, and causing a mass exodus to Europe?
My main problem with the left, and why I will NOT be joining the protestors along HWY 101 in Nehalem, is the left thinks Team Blue is ALWAYS RIGHT, and they as a whole tend to be extremely self-righteous about it, even as they traumatized our children with mandatory masks at school for months – just one example I can highlight.
Here are two comedians commenting on the need to end the two-party divide and conquer scam from on high, through the lens of the Minneapolis murders:
rumble.com/v74wyiw-what-theyre-not-telling-you-about-the-ice-killings.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp_a
Also, in my view, it was Jacob Frey and Tim Walz who are most to blame for the utter destruction of Minneapolis last time around. What will these two anti-American operatives do for the oligarchs this time around?
United Paws Seeks Social Media Superstars!
Who doesn’t love images of cats and kittens on the internet? If you love cats and are an avid social media user, we could use your help! Whether posting our delightful kitties seeking forever homes, sharing important cat care tips or creating some buzz about an upcoming event, use your posting prowess to help United Paws reach out to thousands of potential adopters, donors and cat enthusiasts via Facebook, TikTok & more.
Interested to learn more? Drop us a line at volunteer@unitedpaws.org or message us on our Facebook page.
Dispelling Misinformation
While I appreciate that that the library endeavors to take privacy seriously and sees it as a core value, these cameras are at odds with those ideals.
It may be the intent of the library to only use this camera system for security, but it has chosen a method that is very intrusive to do so. The library director and senior librarians may be community members of unimpeachable virtue who would never abuse their roles, but there are no such assurances from the third party vendors involved in the transmission, storage, and analysis of the video data from the cameras. You should not provide with a panopticon into our community.
If the library has security concerns, then closed-circuit cameras recording to on-site tapes, drives, or memory would be sufficient to maintain a visual record for the county’s purposes.
There are undoubtedly clauses in the end user license agreements that will allow the data from these cameras to be used for almost any purpose desired. Once they are turned on, you no longer control what happens to them. How many people work for the company that handle the cameras? What are their hiring practices like? What cybersecurity protocols do they have in place? What contracts do they have to sell your data on for further profit once they have it in their system?
What arrangements do they have with law enforcement or other government agencies that have not been disclosed to you? These may sound like hyperbolic concerns but there are many credible reports of corporate and government abuses. Some
[Some examples:]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A
Almost everyone reading this will have received notification that their personal information has been compromised because of a data breach from a hotel, or a social media site, or a department store, or a phone company. Why would the library want to put themselves in a position where they might be sending such a notification to their patrons?
Thank you for your time,
Jeremiah Shepersky
Nehalem Resident
AI. What is it Good For?
Does it make more money for the corporations? How about a One World Government – would it help them keep control?
I have come to the conclusion that the average person does not need nor should want AI in their lives. AI means a fake intelligence. Supposed to be smarter and more adept at making decisions then humans – but I don’t see that at all – sometimes I find it impossible to manage a telephone call where you get frustrated not by AI but just by an automatic response on the phone or device that cannot take a simple request. Maybe scientists could use AI but at this point I don’t believe it is for regular human lives. I have discovered AI on the computer where it has been used to deceive which is an enormous problem. We have enough lies and distortions on the daily news – just imagine AI in every encounter before you encounter a
real person that you really want or need to have a conversation with. Humans are social animals – it is in our DNA to socialize with our own species. AI interjects itself between human interaction.
I read recently where some cab services in Portland are employing AI now. It is advertised to be helpful when hiring a cab but I heard from a recent rider that they found out that it also records everything that goes on inside a cab- every conversation and transaction that happens ??-
I did check on this by contacting one one Portland cab driver who said YES – All conversations are recorded! It may also monitor the driver and out-guess the drivers choices when driving in traffic. I can see where that would be a big problem. Like these videos of persons being harmed by ICE Officers. (What really happened? Interpret the video six different ways!)
Portland Oregon now has a growing number of taxi companies adopting TaxiBook AI. Since the release of this newest service more taxi companies are joining to modernize their operations. If you get a taxi – ask the driver if he has a recording device in the cab that records everything – conversation – the driving route , etc.
AI everywhere – even in your Taxi. Or should I say – the government will soon be everywhere – even in your taxi!!
Tillamook County Organizations profiles
Please check it out and give generously–sowing your own seeds of love.
The Giving Guide and detailed directories of the organizations can be found at www.northcoastbbq.com/local-resources/
The Giving Guide can also be found here:
www.northcoastbbq.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Giving-Guide-2025-26_Final_Spreads3.pdf
Not every organization can afford a paid profile, which pays for the production. So there is a list of contact information for all in the back of the Guide.
Here are descriptions of several of those organizations:
Friends of Rockaway Beach Library
Friends of Tillamook Air Museum (FOTAM)
Friends of Tillamook Police
Friends of Rockaway Beach Library
PO Box 185
120 N Coral St
Rockaway Beach, OR 97136
503-355-2665
friendsrockawaybeachlibrary@gmail.com
www.friendsrblibrary.org
Tom Zelenka, Board President
tzelenka49@gmail.com
971-254-6535
Mission Statement: To provide library services, including access to free internet and fax, to the citizens and visitors to Rockaway Beach.
One paragraph about your organization’s history/work:
Since its inception in 1999, the Friends of the Rockaway Beach Library and the donation of the Woman’s Club meeting house, the library building and facility ongoing maintenance, including insurance, utilities, cleaning and repairs are funded through annual Friends memberships, donations, grants and community fund-raising events. The library provides opportunities for local community art and/or informational displays/exhibits, as well as meeting space for gatherings for adults and children, as well as a place for readings/writing classes from local authors.
Friends of Tillamook Air Museum (FOTAM)
4000 Blimp Blvd
Tillamook, OR 97141
503-842-1130
FriendsOfTillamookAirMuseum@gmail.com
www.FriendsOfTillamookAirMuseum.org
Bruce Lovelin, President, Board of Directors
Friends of Tillamook Police
210 Laurel Avenue
Tillamook, OR 97141
503-842-2522
tillamookpd@tillamookor.gov
www.friendsoftillamookpolice.org
(11) Facebook
Nick Troxel ntroxel@tillamookor.gov
Mission Statement: To enhance the quality of life in Tillamook by educating the community about crime prevention and by funding crime prevention, youth programs and other police services.
One paragraph about your organization’s history/work:
The primary purposes of this corporation’s activities are to prevent crime and to promote community safety and wellbeing through public education and youth programs. Examples of programs the corporation will support include, but are not limited to, Neighborhood Watch, Business Watch, Citizen Police Academy, Tillamook Police Cadets, Youth Programs and the Tillamook Police Auxiliary volunteers. Please contact us by email or phone to see how you might be able to help.
Whale Entanglement
Please take a moment to save this in your phone. This number can be used to report sea mammal entanglements, including whales and sea turtles.
Also, if you are interested, you can download the Whale Alert App from the Apple Store. With Whale Alert you can look for areas of regulatory information, icons that show whale sightings, and risk gauge information, among other things.
I’ve linked the OPB article for more information.
Again, please take a moment to save the number and share it. 877 767-9425
Thank you!
www.opb.org/article/2026/01/28/oregon-dungeness-crab-fishing-season-whales/
Comment of weekly protests in nehalem
on 1/27/26 BBQ, a canadian posted this: “they (our government) may not be listening, but the rest of the world is.”
i find that incredibly uplifting.
he went on to say that the protests show the rest of the world that while our government is running amok with damaging policies (my choice of words), much of our U.S. citizenry does not agree with their actions. it’s important for the world to know that what is happening nationally and internationally is not supported by a majority of U.S. citizens.
i applaud the protesters who show up week after week, and i am inspired to join them.
om peace namaste
lucy brook
nehalem resident
U.S. citizen
Weekly PROTEST in Nehalem, Saturday
Over the past several days, I have had the opportunity to hear from and speak with many of you. I greatly appreciate everyone who has shared their thoughts and opinions with me—it means a lot to hear from members of our community. This week, there have been numerous posts on BBQ supporting the peaceful protests in Nehalem organized by the North County Resistance. Thank you to each of you for your involvement; your support gives us all greater strength in our protest efforts. This journey has been long, and it seems the road ahead will continue to challenge us.
North Coast Resistance will be returning to Nehalem on Saturday, January 31, from noon to 2 PM. While the weather forecast remains uncertain given how far out it is, living on the coast has taught us all to embrace unpredictability. Our love for the coastal weather brings us together, and since we haven’t had enough rain lately, please be prepared for wet conditions during the event.
Currently, many individuals appointed to positions in Washington D.C. under Trump’s administration are closely following the rules set by Trump. It appears their primary motivation for compliance is to maintain their employment.
Trump himself does not seem to have been raised with clear standards, whether moral or otherwise. The way he has raised his children likely reflects his own approach: pursuing personal gain by any means necessary, without concern for those who may be negatively affected. This mindset seems to have become a way of life for him. As a lighthearted warning, whatever you do, do not get in front of Trump in the lunch line.
I hope you were able to see the CNN talk with Stella Carlson, the “Pink Coat Lady.” If you search for this story online, you can learn more. Her ability to capture the video of the killing of Alex Pretti was both horrific and incredible. Renee Good and Alex Pretti were only 37 years old.
Heavy hearts are with the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Please take a few minutes in your day to remember these two individuals whose lives were cut short. Both were 37 years old. Do you remember where you were at 37? Mentioning these people reminds us of their sacrifices.
Yes, there have been more quotes about “sticking together.” Two people have died who did not need to die.
Please mark your calendars for March 28. Many have asked when the next large protest will be. This date will be our “NO KINGS” protest, and we will share more information about the location and time as it becomes available.
Once again, we thank all our peaceful protesters. We hope to see you this Saturday, January 31, in Nehalem from noon to 2 PM.
Thanks, Patty
The End of the Neoliberal Era
The first is the speech that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered at Davos last week. In it he spells out how Canada will deal with the rupture of the world order triggered by (but not necessarily caused by) Donald Trump’s regime. He also speaks about some of the newest challenges the world faces such as AI and domination by the interests of the wealthy.
Many have called this speech the marker point signaling the start of the demise of the neoliberal era of the last 50 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flsgJe8mN-A
The second video is a very well-done explainer about the history of neoliberalism, what it has created for all of us, and what options we have as it begins to fail. Richard Murphy, emeritus professor at Sheffield University, U.K., is a cogent & accessible scholar dealing with business, economics and politics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMTQNI3BV90
The videos, totaling about 43 minutes, are well worth the investment of your time.
Gene Dieken
Library misinformation NOT dispelled – at all :(
But she says they are not working – YET. (Exactly why did she include this statement??)
Again, if you are an immigrant living here unlawfully, and you do not want to be deported, STAY OUT OF TILLAMOOK COUNTY LIBRARIES as they have deployed A.I.-driven facial-recognition cameras at ALL LOCATIONS that can be TURNED ON AT ANY MOMENT.
If you are from Venezuela, as part of Israel’s and Drumf’s kidnapping and oil theft plan relating to your country, Drumf has instructed ICE to deport you to a torture prison in El Salvador. (I incorrectly wrote Argentina in my last post. Argentina is the country that America First (chuckle chuckle) Drumf sent 40-billion dollars to buy beef and bail out George Soros – of all people! El Salvador is the country that is home to MAGA Drumf’s torture jail.)
Drumf and his Israeli overlords need VZ oil to appease those countries that will be affected by the closure of the Straight of Hormuz once Israel and Drumf attempt to genocide Iran.
MAGA = Mariam Adelson Governs America
Mary, some questions:
Why does the library need facial recognition cameras? What’s wrong with closed circuit video?
Whose idea was it to install the A.I.-driven facial recognition cameras? Did the idea originate from a library employee or was it brought to the library by a lobbyist?
Are the feds behind this or involved in this, Mary? Be honest…
And folks, don’t forget to read today’s Oregonian article about Google’s (The CIA’s) huge A.I. storage facility near The Dalles that is taking the sacred power of Che’Wanna and using it to enslave all of us via A.I., control grids, geo-fencing, digital payments/end of cash, etc.
The article talks about how much our electric bills are going to increase because of A.I. We get to pay for our own enslavement! Kinda like the trillions in ‘covid’ (CIA term, there is no pathogen called covid) ‘vaccines’ that saw taxpayers transfer trillions to the world’s richest billionaires for gene therapy that did not stop the spread of the bio-weapon (despite what Fauci and Biden and The Father of The Vaccine Donald Drumf told us), and that likely killed more people than the bio-weapon itself.
And so much for drawing down The Dalles dam to see the sacred Celilo Falls once again. It’s much more important that we use the hydropower to build our own digital prisons of the mind!
Get rid of cash!
A.I. everywhere!
Give the tech/banker oligarch’s exactly what they want: YOUR FREEDOM!!!
How about a boycott of the Tillamook County Libraries until they get rid of the A.I. cameras and switch to closed circuit?
Do what Lyin Wyden said, PUSH BACK.
1776 AGAIN NOW
Straight Down the Middle- Sanctuary cities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baTYLcR_vSE
Dispelling Misinformation
Recently someone posted misinformation about Tillamook County libraries being unsafe for immigrant community members due to facial recognition software that could be accessed by immigration officials. As a Tillamook County commissioner and the county liaison to the library for the past seven years, I would like to set forth the facts.
What is true: the library has installed new security cameras at the entrances of all of the branch locations to promote safety for patrons and staff. Libraries are warm, open, and public spaces where everyone is welcome. Occasionally that includes people who violate library rules intended to keep people safe. The cameras will create a visual record of who has entered the library in case a violation of library behavior rules occurs. The cameras are not yet in use, while the library updates its policies.
It is also true that the cameras have a facial recognition software option; however, the library has no current plan to enable that feature. The library takes privacy as a core and fundamental value for its users. There are strict limitations about access to images or video from the library. The library director or one of two senior librarians are the people authorized to release images and video footage.
Anyone who has questions or concerns about the library is invited to contact Tillamook County Library Director Don Allgeier. Don welcomes the opportunity to engage with community members about the library system. Please rest assured that security cameras are intended to enhance safety and security for all of the library’s valued patrons.
Sincerely,
Mary Faith Bell
Tillamook County Commissioner
Blessed Are the Peacekeepers
I watched the first couple of minutes of the football game over the weekend. As they going to commercial, the broadcaster said when we come back, we will honor America. I said out loud to myself we need to mourn what we have known of America. She is dying.
I am going to be hosting a time of mourning, offering prayer into our land. I believe that’s the only thing that will heal us. Even in the protest, hearts are hardened and angry. We reap what we sow. We need to start sowing something different.
We are in a wonderful time of being able to help usher in what is before us. None of us know what the future holds, but we can certainly prepare our hearts. Nothing dies without something bringing life.
We can offer a time of comfort with songs and spoken words. We can begin envisioning what our world can still be. If we are not part of the change, we risk being left behind.
No one will win in this culture war if we do not step up and take a lead into a new world. We’re already headed that way. If we don’t envision it, and create it, it will continue to be more of the same and worse.
If we want something we have to begin doing something different.
We are heading into a major financial crisis both at the state level and across the country. The changes to SNAP and Medicaid changes will begin taking place at the end of the year.
SNAP changes: www.fns.usda.gov/snap/obbb-implementation
American Medical Association’s information on Medicaid changes: www.ama-assn.org/system/files/medicaid-community-engagement-requirements-summary.pdf
You can look at what the Oregon legislative body will be working on beginning next week.
Here is a link to watch this month’s committee hearings. This is the first day. Click on the calendar arrow to see the meetings for the whole week. The joint ways and means committee is where state spending and revenue discussions are that will affect all of us.
olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025I1/2026-01-13
Pay attention to budget shortfalls. How do we begin preparing for the much harder times ahead? We can’t keep fighting about what’s already on the way.
I keep saying protesting alone will not move the needle. How quick did people forget about Saturday when the football game came on the next day.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
If you’ve read this far and are still interested, my email is laniciaduke@gmail.com and my number is 503-898-8929.
LaNicia Duke
Connecting the Dots
I was down at the beach briefly later on and thought again about why I haven’t raised my voice and joined the millions who are marching and singing across our country and in our communities. Why in a year since the local protest group began, all I’ve mustered is driving by and honking when I happen to be in the area of a Saturday protest, despite my despair as the days have gone on and the horror and agonies have grown. I’m ashamed of myself. Physically, it would be very difficult to join the protest group, but I have words — words that have been sitting on my heart and making it heavier and heavier as each day goes by.
It is so important that we join our voices with others — just as one dot makes a small impact when placed in the middle of a page, when another dot is placed and they connect and then another, it encourages others to place a dot and the dots spread out and connect and on and on until we have a heart that beats in unison with the words of our Pledge of Allegiance: … One Nation Indivisible, With Liberty And Justice For All. One heart that beats in unison with love of and support of our Constitution. One heart that beats in unison to the Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You.
If apathy or whatever or however you want to label it failed to keep us engaged in and understanding the political process and why each of our votes, informed votes, matters, it is now up to each of us to stand up and speak up and sing and cross the divide that separates us from those who would support this administration and all the pain, evil, and yes, death it has brought to our country. Each of our lives are impacted by the events of the last year in our country. Each of us may have a line to cross with family members, friends, neighbors, acquaintances — for me, it’s a brother and a cousin; for a friend, it’s a sister. They aren’t enemies; they’re flesh and blood, and they matter to us. We have history with them, just as we have history with our country. It’s terrifying for me to consider that the brother who has been a rock and the source of so much joy through all these years might forsake me for crossing that line with him. However, the belief I have that the possibility of connecting our dots might lead to the connecting of other dots — well, I just can’t go to sleep another night with that burden on my heart and not make an effort to lighten the burden.
And that’s what this letter is about — joining my voice in protest, with my neighbors and friends and community, of a president (no capital “p” — he doesn’t deserve it —) and an administration that has robbed us of our trust in our government to do what is right for us — all of us in our community and state and country and the world. We are a young country of immigrants, and we’re being shaken to our core. I do believe today there are encouraging signs that what we are doing in rising up against all the injustice is making a difference. May our hearts rest in the peace and knowledge that all will be well, however long that may take, and that we will find the courage to carry on together.
With heartfelt love and gratitude to all my brothers and sisters in our local community and throughout the country standing up and speaking out and singing —
Jill Thurston
STAND STRONG, STAND TOGETHER, LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD TO PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY AND AMERICAN VALUES
What we found is the people in our community are willing to share their thoughts. A project that we thought might take a few hours ended up taking more than a few days. As we listened to the concerns of our neighbors along the main street, we were overwhelmed to find that we all shared similar concerns and values. At a time when main-stream and social media push the evocative notion that we are a deeply divided country, we found that is far from the case in our community.
The common grounds shared by our community members include the belief that truth matters. Our constitutional rights should be protected. Our laws should be followed and enforced by trained officers and politically neutral courts. People should not be stereotyped based on the color of their skin. Good people come in every color. Everyone, regardless of country of origin, has a right to due process and to be treated respectfully.
Like most Oregon communities, our residents and visitors come from diverse backgrounds and countries. We have first, second and third generation immigrants. Nearly all of us have immigrant heritage. Immigrants belong with us, in our community. As someone more eloquent than I recently wrote, “they belong to us in the sense that proximity, and familiarity, and regular interaction bring us all into a community of principle and mutual care, make us all our brother’s keeper, and calls on us to love our neighbors.” If you see a sign in a business window bearing a monarch butterfly, the symbol of migration, know that as a sign of support for these values.
In our community, as in the entire United States, people who believe in liberty and justice for all stand up to tyranny. We stand up for our neighbors. We let our voices be heard. Now is the time to let our elected officials know we demand our (and our neighbors’) freedom, the truth, and our rights protected.
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What to say
If it doesn’t work for you, let me know I can e-mail it to you. Jim Heffernan codger817@gmail.com
One Pager
What to Say
The actions of the Trump administration violate the most sacred promise of our Constitution: that our freedom never be trampled by our own government.
The Trump administration is carrying out an illegal and unconstitutional military occupation of the state of Minnesota, in rural and urban communities alike. Trump is waging a campaign of terror and brutality to instill fear in all those who would stand up to him. He sought to make an example of Minnesota, and instead, the people of Minnesota are showing the world what standing up to tyranny looks like.
Federal agents with DHS and ICE have executed two American citizen legal observers, Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Masked, poorly trained agents are stopping, assaulting, and abducting anyone they choose. They are using chemical weapons indiscriminately. People of color are afraid to go to work or school. Businesses are closed and medical facilities dangerously understaffed, especially in rural areas. No one should have to fear leaving their home.
ICE and DHS are violating our Constitutional rights to freedom of speech and to not be deprived of life or liberty without due process of law. We have the right to object to wrong-doing by our government, to not be stopped and questioned without cause, to not be searched or arrested without a warrant signed by a judge, and to legal representation and a fair hearing.
Constitutional rights apply to everyone in the United States, whether they are citizens, legal immigrants, those in the process of seeking asylum or legal status, visitors and even undocumented immigrants.
This is a political attack, both to take the heat off of Trump’s failure to release 99% of the Epstein files (despite being required to by bipartisan federal law) and to punish states that did not vote for him and compel their leaders to comply with illegal demands for private voter data and other unconstitutional violations of state authority.
What We Want
• ICE and other federal immigration agents must cease operations now and leave Minnesota.
• All incidents of illegal arrests and violent or lethal confrontation must be investigated.
• Account for every person detained, assure that their rights are being respected and that they are being held under humane conditions.
• Create clear and enforceable operating parameters that strictly limit use of force and require agents to operate within the bounds of the law and constitution.
• Federal agents must not operate in any state, city or locality without the approval of local leadership and supervision by local law enforcement.
• Federal funding for ICE should be frozen. If ICE will not operate within the law and the Constitution, it should be disbanded and replaced with law enforcement that will.
What NOT to Say
Do not repeat or spread their arguments, not even to debunk them. Their messaging is designed to sow doubt in the mind of the listener, even when you are making the case against what they are saying. Always write and speak from our perspective.
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Do not accidentally expose people to our opponents’ framing. Our opponents try to associate us with negative concepts. When we put two ideas together in a sentence, a neural connection is made between them no matter what other words also appear in the sentence. For example: “Renee Good was not a paid agitator” is processed by the brain as: “Renee Good” plus “paid agitator.” Instead you could say: “Renee Good was a legal observer,” connecting the words “Renee Good” and “legal observer”. Become conscious of using the words “not” or “don’t”.
• Talk about how you feel and don’t use jargon. Talk in clear everyday language. Talk about right and wrong, not policies.
• Don’t label. Describe. Using labels like “fascism” tends to sound like name calling. It calls into question what you mean and what your motives are. It is always better to talk about what the person or group is doing. Then the listener is focused on judging their behavior, not yours.
• Project the image of peaceful non-violence. This is messaging too. Throwing things makes us look violent to voters. Remember what Dr King taught us about making a stark contrast between our peaceful protesting and the violent cruelty of our opponents. DO NOT work against our goals.
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why peacefully protest?
There are at least 2 reasons to protest peacefully: (1) the current administration would love to escalate tensions and violence because they have the clear advantage in fire power and an emotional base of support who feel discriminated against for both legitimate and manufactured reasons, and (2) violent protests will only further inflame factions of the electorate against each other and take the focus away from our primary and serious problem of an incredibly corrupt administration doing nothing to address the many pressing concerns of our population.
“More in Common” is an international organization that does extensive surveys. “More in Common was established with the mission of tackling the ‘us-versus-them’ divisions that pose a generational threat to the United States.” More in Common issued a report on Jan 20th titled “Beyond MAGA, A Profile of the Trump Coalition”
moreincommonus.com/publications/
[excerpt] “Drawing on surveys, interviews and group conversations conducted with over 10,000 Trump voters over 10 months concluding in early 2026, this study finds four distinct types of Trump voters: MAGA Hardliners, Anti-Woke Conservatives, Mainline Republicans, and the Reluctant Right.”
(back to my post) I believe it’s difficult or impossible to solve a problem without a clear and accurate understanding of it. While the internet can be a great resource, it’s also a cesspool of misleading garbage. Most of mainstream media isn’t much interested in sorting things out for viewers.
Every once in a while there’s some intelligent analyses and it’s up to us to recognize the useful and helpful bits as they fly by. I think one such bit of reality was broadcast on NBC’s Meet the Press this Sunday. Senator Adam Schiff has been slandered and vilified by Trump to a point that many don’t pay much attention, but he is very intelligent and got right to the point of the matter. He clearly believes we have a functional democracy and can make it work better. I agree this is not a time for doom and gloom, but for calling out the corruption and looking toward solutions.
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Thanks!