MaxRedline

Three Years After

An Oregon state official and his agency violated the U.S. Constitution in multiple ways when they assessed a $135,000 penalty against Sweetcakes by Melissa bakery owners Aaron and Melissa Klein for refusing to violate their Christian faith by creating a wedding cake for a lesbian duo, according to a new appeal filed in the long-running case.

 

The case was prompted by the Kleins’ decision in 2013 not to make a cake for a lesbian duo. The couple had sold products to the women before and said they would again but declined to provide the cake because its message violated their religious beliefs.

Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries responded with a lengthy and wide-ranging attack on the couple, ordering them to pay the $135,000 penalty and not to say “certain things about their religious faith.” Officials overseeing the case even stated publicly that people with such beliefs need to be “rehabilitated,” according to court records.

Brad Avakian was head of BOLI when this went down; he's now running for Secretary of State and harbors ambitious plans for attempting to do a number of things that don't fall under the purview of the SoS. In other words, exactly what he did as head of BOLI, only more so. Now, the Kleins are kicking things up a notch:

Now they have appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals, arguing the state violated their constitutional rights to religious freedom, free speech and due process.

Avakian, for example, before hearing the case against the Kleins, “made numerous public comments on social media and in media interviews revealing his intent to rule against them,” according to the brief.

“He stated that the Kleins had ‘disobey[ed]’ Oregon law and needed to be ‘rehabilitate[d].’ By failing to recuse himself from the case, while harboring a bias against the Kleins, Commissioner Avakian deprived the Kleins of their right to due process with a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal.”

The brief also contends the $135,000 penalty was gratuitous and excessive and that the agency order violates Oregon law, the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution. The complaint asserts the state agency violated constitutional prohibitions against compelled speech, free speech, due process and limits on the exercise of their religion.

Yeah, Brad kind of messed up by running around to media and making comments like "they need to be rehabilitated". That alone shows just how unhinged the guy is; a baker and her husband need to be "rehabilitated" because a state official disagrees with their religious views. It's one thing to note that your views are at odds with their beliefs, but it's way out there to start talking about forcing them into some sort of rehab because you disagree with them.

Related articles

Oregon Bakers Continue Legal Fight, Challenging 'Gag Order'

Crone Politics

Don't get me wrong; I don't dislike Granny. In fact, I worship the ground

that awaits her.

Everything is always about a conspiracy to attack Granny.

In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN yesterday, Hillary Clinton had this to say about the Citizens United decision:

I really respect the important point of getting money out of politics. Remember, Citizens United was an attack on me, so I take it very personally and even before Senator Sanders got into the campaign way back in April of last year, I said we are going to reverse Citizens United and if we can’t get the Supreme Court to do what I think would be the right decision, then I will lead a constitutional amendment [sic].

Criticizing Granny must be made illegal. And by hook or by crook (the latter being most likely), she will lead an effort to amend our Constitution so that you can't say things that she doesn't like (such as the truth).

Good luck with that, Granny: SCOTUS isn't going to kowtow to what you "think would be the right decision". And out States certainly aren't going to overturn our First Amendment rights to make you happy. And just who's been raking in the PAC cash? Well it ain't Bernie, and it ain't Donald. If you can find a mirror that won't crack when you look into it, do so.

She's even crazier than I'd imagined.

City Of Portland Wants A Gasoline Tax

They want to tack ten cents a gallon onto residents' fuel costs - but only if the residents buy gasoline; diesel fuel would be exempt, as of course would be those darling electric vehicles. As usual, any revenue raised would only partially go to road maintenance:

The money raised would be split, with $35.8 million spent on road repair and $28.1 million on other projects, including new sidewalks, bike routes and pedestrian crossings along the most collision-prone streets.

I'm inclined to go for it; we don't do any business in Portland (and that includes buying gas), so I'm thinking that the idiots who've never seen a tax they didn't want to pass can go ahead and pay the piper. We certainly won't be. There's a perverse amusement in the concept.

 

And Another One; They're On A Roll

An investigator is working to find the cause of a fire that swept through a North Portland homeless camp Saturday morning.

Soon after 8 a.m. fire crews responded to reports of a fire at the camp with propane tanks exploding, said Chris Schimmer, a Portland Fire & Rescue spokesman. The fire was burning off North Interstate Avenue and Schmeer Road near the Portland International Raceway and off Interstate 5.

Well, it's kind of hard to call it "sweeping", seeing that it was a 25' x 25' area that was burning. But the conspiracy guys are out in farce, assuring people that crazed arsonists are trying to murder the homeless campers. Never mind that of the 80 fires that PF&R has responded to at camps over the past two months, only four are considered potential arson, and the investigator looking into today's fire has yet to draw a conclusion. Never let a few facts get in the way....

Homeless Hassles

PORTLAND, Ore. -- For roughly the last two months, on average, firefighters have responded to at least one illegal burn or fire call in Portland homeless camps every day.

New numbers, obtained exclusively by KGW Friday, show Portland Fire & Rescue has been called to various homeless camps across the city 79 times since Feb. 20.

The majority seem to be related to warming or cooking fires that were intentionally set by the campers and subsequently sorta got out of control. Much like the campers themselves, which Streetcar Charlie and other "leaders" have willfully allowed to get out of control.

At least four of the fires, however, appear to be arson - one site's gone up in flames twice in two days, which some folks think might be a tad suspicious. That site, at NW 19th and Thurman, is one of the few on the west side of the Willamette River. NW is becoming increasingly "gentrified", and it could well be that someone around there doesn't want them getting too comfy on the west side.

Related articles

Portland braces for summer surge in homelessness

Principal's hands tied over homeless camper near school

Mother Of The Year

San Antonio:

On Thursday, around 11:45 p.m., BCSO deputies were called to a house on the 8100 block of Chipping. A caller told dispatchers a child could be heard crying in the backyard for a long period of time. When deputies arrived, they found two toddlers in the backyard.

The neighbor suspected abuse. When deputies arrived, they didn't just find two toddlers in the back yard.

The boy had a metal chain strapped around his ankle, with the other end of the chain fixed to the ground, Keith said, adding: "It was the same kind of setup you would use for a dog." Both children were taken to the hospital, and the girl was being treated for a broken arm, he said.

"It's sickening. To call this horrific would be an understatement," he said.

The deputies finally entered the house, where they found six other unsupervised kids ranging between 10 months and 13 years in age. The other toddler they'd found earlier, the one with the broken arm, was tied to the back door of the house with a dog leash. The toddlers were transported to a local hospital, while the six kids found in the house were placed with child welfare.

The mother of those six children, 34-year-old Porucha Phillips, was later arrested, Keith said. He said Phillips was being held at a county magistrate's office facing two charges of injury to a child by omission. One of the charges alleges serious bodily injury.

Keith said authorities believe that Phillips was also responsible for the two children found outside.

Porucha was allegedly baby-sitting those two.

Authorities believe Phillips was supposed to be taking care of the two children in the backyard, and their parents are being sought.

The toddlers were admitted to Children's Hospital for treatment of a range of maladies in addition to the broken arm. As for the 34 year-old "mother" of six, she'll be in the slammer for a while; additional charges are expected.

Related articles

Mother arrested after 8 kids left unsupervised

Flighty

American Airlines has apologized to a concert musician who wasn't permitted to board a flight from Chicago while carrying her violin.

The woman says a flight attendant and the captain of an American Eagle flight from Chicago to Albuquerque, NM told her she’d have to valet-check the instrument, which she refused to do.

“Violins are too delicate to be checked,” she told the Associated Press.

The airline promises that in the future she'll be welcome to carry; no strings attached.

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Man charged with urinating on jet headed to North Carolina

Too Good

Boner called Cruz "Lucifer in the flesh" at a Stanford gab-fest a couple of days ago.

Guess what Cruz's campaign did.

Yep, the URL "Lucifer2016" now redirects to "CruzCarly.com". No wonder the RINOs (and now, even the other Satanists) hate Cruz so much.

Prince Death Now Subject Of Criminal Investigation

Not entirely surprising:

The investigation of Prince’s death took a turn Thursday indicating that the megastar’s collapse on April 21 is now the focus of a criminal probe.

"I ain't saying it's suspicious, I'm just saying it 'pears suspicious".

Guns In Homes With Kids Are Terrible.

Particularly if you happen to be a burglar and you encounter an 11 year-old with a gun.

Chris Gaither was home along Wednesday when he says he heard a noise. It was apparent that someone was trying to break in.

Fearing for his life, he tells WVTM he grabbed a 9mm handgun.

“When he was coming down the stairs, that’s when he told me he was going to kill me, f-you and all that,” Gaither said.

The intruder started walking toward the front door, carrying a hamper full of property.

Yeah, that's when the kid opened fire. The burglar wasn't killed, but he was stopped. And he cried.