PROTECTING OREGON'S PUBLIC LANDS
One of the most valuable pieces of bi-partisan legislation of the laws pertaining to public lands, waterways, great outdoors, community parks and national parks, large and small, is the Land and Water Conservation Fund of 1965. In Oregon alone, active outdoor recreation alone annually contributes nearly $6 billion to Oregon's economy, that contribution being very much helped by the fund.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund expires in a few months, September 2015, and it is crucial that Congress reauthorize LWCF to keep this broadly supported and vital program that supports public lands alive to continue supporting Americans' and Oregon citizens' access to public lands.
It was, and still is, a simple idea to use revenues from the depletion of one natural resource, offshore oil and gas, to support the conservation of another precious resource, the lands and waters of the United States. It does not cost the U.S. taxpayer one dime. Every year, $900 million in royalties paid by energy companies drilling for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are put into this fund. But in its 50-year history, it has only once has it been fully funded. Every year, Congress diverts much of this funding to uses other than conserving our most important lands and waters, basically using the royalties paid into the fund for use in other areas. In other words, immorally and maybe illegally, the royalties paid into the Fund are "slushed and sluiced" away to pay other possible nefarious activities for which Congress is famous.
The Fund was designed to keep public lands and waters alive and thriving, as an escape for the soul to enjoy the brilliance and wonder of wilderness, public lands, parks and cultural heritage sites like battlefield monuments and flyways and byways.
Let's make sure the Land and Water Conservation Fund is re-authorized in September of this year. And it costs the voting taxpayer nothing to have this program funded and contributing to the economic well-being of Oregon.
—David Eddleston, Friends of Oregon Badlands Wilderness.
IN REPLY TO "FROM STARS TO SEANCES" (1/7)
The first time I met Carl was at a Holistic Wellness Fair. He was doing readings and I decided to see what he was about. The minute I sat down with him he asked me if I was there as a joke or because I didn't know who I was. I started to cry. It was the first time I had met some one who knew who and what I was. For years I had walked around with this "secret" that I had no idea what to do with. After a phenomenal reading he encouraged me to exercise my gifts and invited me to join a Circle Of Mediums he had founded in New Jersey. Carl cares about people and their spiritual growth. He tells it the way it is and then helps you find your way. If you have never done a Reconnective Healing, Carl offers an experience in this area that is absolutely so far the most incredible experience I have ever had!
—Shima Chayvet
I have known Kaira Sherman for years. She has helped me through a very difficult time in my life. Through her tarot, mediumship and kind loving manner she has not only shown me how to "survive," but also sent me on my path to GROW!!! It has been a fun adventure for sure!! Thank you Kaira. Call her. She's amazing.
—Sheri Lane
I was amazed to learn that Bend is home to the first actual psychic in history! Not only one, but three of them! No one claiming to be a psychic has ever been able to prove it, so this, rather than craft brewing, should surely be Bend's claim to national fame now.
The first thing each of these psychics needs to do is drop by the James Randi Educational Foundation to pick up the $1,000,000 award that is offered to anyone who can demonstrate any psychic ability. In the '70s, Randi gained fame showing how Uri Gellar's fraudulent magic tricks were performed and soon afterward established this prize. Decades and hundreds of tested psychics later, the money is still unclaimed and there for the taking. Most applicants seem to be in genuine shock when their special power disappears under basic testing protocols that they agree to up front; they actually believe they are magic and simply rationalize away the times their special power deserts them.
If by chance any of the three Bend psychics you chronicled somehow don't win the prize, there are lots of books they can read to help them understand how self-delusion and wishful thinking works and how they can guard against it. Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World" is a fun read and covers delusions and charlatans through history.
I beg the editors and writers of "The Source" to pick up a copy as well.
—DW
IN REPLY TO: "STATE FINDS NO VIOLATION OF ELECTION LAW BY CASEY ROATS" (1/9)
I look forward to working with Casey Roats and the rest of the City Council on important issues that impact the lives of Bend residents. I know there are some who think that no common ground will--or even should--exist between Casey Roats and me. But, I am confident that they will be proved wrong.
—Michael Funke
IN REPLY "NEW MEDIA" (1/7)
Well, not quite Cheryl Strayed...I'll be hiking the Continental Divide Trail (the whole thing) without all the drug problems! Folks can follow along here: www.sherahikes.wordpress.com
—Renee Beth
