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You guys know my friend Dr Michael Bratland at Crisdental Eugene? Turns out not only is he a great dentist and patriot, but the guy knows how to leverage A.I. to help you and me buy the perfect last-minute Christmas gift for that hard-to-please person. Here's the link. Go try it out. http://wibbly.ai

Hey , remember when my shut-up meter died? It happened even before the pandemic. Back then, I lived in a very liberal community in Oregon, and you learned quickly how much truth to tell. The cultural wave was definitely against you, so you pushed here and there, never lied, but held your tongue when asked what you truly believed. One year, I was asked to give a holiday gift to the City of Eugene. My boss at the time was a more liberal guy, but he loved my heart and liked the

You Can’t Rebuild Without Some Demolition When Kathy and I were in Oregon, we remodeled our 1904 farmhouse twice. Both times were awful. I remember when the contractor finished ripping the roof off 75% of the house, my wife looked at her ceilingless kitchen and cried. During both remodels, we’d find unexpected problems. There was dry rot, cracks in the foundation, and the first time we had to crawl under the house and spend hours digging giant holes so that a more solid found

The Crisis Over Affordable Housing Cause & Effect So many of the problems plaguing our country right now were caused by the very people who claim to want to fix them. A friend just sent me an article he wrote on the housing crisis. I’m going to have him on the show next month to talk about his findings. When I was a reporter, we often discussed the scarcity of buildable land in the county where I lived in Oregon. At the time, and that’s pre-2008, Lane County was 20 years behi

The Leader Of The Band I was a pretty mixed up kid at age 16. I had no idea who I was and was struggling to find someone who saw the world like I did. One day I went to the local record store, The Mail Bag, in Hillsboro, Oregon. Someone told me about this singer/songwriter named Dan Fogelberg. I’d never heard him before but his music was about to rock my world. I picked up an album called “Souvenirs.” I took it to a party that night at a girl named Chris Hacketts duplex. She

Can Culture Ever Go Back? I wasn’t a huge fan of Rob Reiner as a person, but his murder saddens me. No one deserves that. His murder should cause pause for each of us as we examine the cruelty and frustration that seem to weave their way into almost every aspect of our current culture.  It’s terrible and is a reminder of how violent and enraged our society has become. The response from some has also been vile, including our President, who should have kept his mouth shut and h

I Don’t Understand, But Would Like To Wind is whipping outside my window. The American flag hanging on my front porch bangs against the window. My news feeds are littered with pictures and stories of high school students around Oregon (urban areas) protesting ICE and the deportation of immigrants. As of 2023, Oregon had 155,000 undocumented immigrants living within its borders. What does it mean to be undocumented? An undocumented immigrant is a foreign-born person living in

It Doesn’t Take Much Light To Expose the Truth Proverbs: 13:9 “The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wrong is put out.” In the famous lace shops in Brussels, there are rooms dedicated to weaving the finest, most delicate patterns. The rooms are completely dark except for a small light that shines on the area where the pattern is woven. That tiny bit of light sharpens the weaver’s focus; too much light would ruin everything. The same is true in our lives. So

Whom Does God Say You Are? People will try to define us, box us in, and control us, so we must constantly be asking God, “How do you see me?” I can tell when I hit a nerve with my writing as snarling fangs from those who fear the truth rear their ugly heads.  They make no sense, which is the first sign they fear your message and will try anything to shut you up. Someone accused me of basically writing stories to grab the attention of people and make my case. My jaw dropped, a

It is Not Heartless to Uphold The Law.  Proverbs 11:11 “By the blessings of the straight (those seeking righteousness), the city is exalted. By the mouth of the wrong it is overthrown.” City councils all over Oregon are in a panic, declaring a state of emergency. Depending on whom you listen to, the Biden administration allowed 10 to 20 million people to break our laws and enter the United States illegally. If you or I tried to do the same thing to a foreign country, we would

Verbal Violence Is Destroying Us Proverbs 10:6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. I ran for public office in Oregon back in 2008. So I understand how nasty and mean people can be. But the verbal violence today makes 2008 look like a cake walk. I’m sure some of you have noticed some of the comments on your social media. Vile is the best word I can use to describe some of it. I scan my comment section, but I can tell within

The Tidal Wave of Truth Remember when culture told us to celebrate our differences? It didn’t matter what color our skin was. In fact, we were told not to look for color, but rather to focus on the heart of the person. It didn’t matter how much money we had in the bank, what we believed in, or where our parents came from; we were to be accepted as such. Now, many of those same people who preached equity, diversity, and seeing no color, just humanity, are pushing the exact opp

Joy Sometimes Needs Pain To Give It Birth One of the things that sold us on the house we are living in is the floors. We walked inside the house, and the floors set the place apart. In a world consumed by inexpensive, fake wood vinyl floors, the real deal cannot be mimicked. The wood for the floors came from an old stable in North Dakota. It’s barnwood with cracks and swirls, knots and imperfections that give it character. The homeowner told us he sanded them to perfection, b

It’s Between You & God It’s easy to scroll through the news feed, scratch your head, and think, the world is coming to an end. Pendulums swing back and forth, historically speaking, but the current movement is erratic. The conversation is either too far to the left or too far to the right. There’s no room for middle ground, and if you believe that’s where you are (the middle), the message manipulators will stick you in a corner and try to hold you there until they’ve destroye

Wow, That Struck A Nerve It’s often interesting to me what strikes a nerve with people who tend to lean to the far left. It shows how differently we see the world and solutions to our current problems. In a post last night, I did some nerve damage to some of those who read my content. I claimed, rightly so, that those of us in the middle and to the right of center are actually the counter-culture. We pay a price for speaking out against vaccines, COVID, wokeness, abortion, an

People Simply Aren’t Buying It I posted a video yesterday asking folks what question is out there that they’d like to ask but still fear asking publicly. I received dozens of private messages from frustrated people with real-life questions that, for fear of reprisal, they would not post. I get it. To be counter-culture is dangerous. The cost to business, family, solitude, and standing in the community is real. I spent most of my career in journalism. When I left, I stayed in

It’s All In Your Head I’m listening to a doctor who studies the brain talk about how people really can change their thought patterns by renewing their minds. This is not a new concept to people who read their Bible. Romans 12:2 : "Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” But what does that mean? I was lying in bed this morning as a few dark

Prepare For What’s To Come I remember when the letter of the law used to mean something. There was respect for the rules, and breaking them had a cost. We live in sketchy times. Leaders create their own rules; lawlessness, even when caught, means nothing. They actually use the law to break it. If you and I did the same thing, we’d be locked up. But not them. I’m reading through the 24th chapter of Matthew, and a few things jump out at me. Verses 11 and 12 warn of false prophe

Portland, Stand Up For Yourself, Please I was born and raised in the Portland area. It used to be beautiful, but the decay that began with “Keep Portland Weird” has turned into something ridiculous. Portland is a joke to much of the nation. Once recognized for its scenery, food, and location, it is now famous for riots, ignorance, wokeness, and a place that businesses do not want to be located. The past governor was the least popular in the country. The current is at number 4

We The People Are Fed Up Sitting in a little bar, waiting for our pizza to cook, I stare outside at snow piling up on the streets, and think about the world we live in. Red Lodge, Montana, is about as far away from politics as one can be. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and non-affiliated voters are fed up. We are not hardline party players, but get forced into boxes by folks who wish to discredit us for simply wanting the leaders in our country to put Americans first.