Lars Thoughts: Brown failed this state miserably during an emergency

Sensible action to control the spread of a potentially deadly disease: I can get behind that.  But Lockdown Kate Brown claims the authority to shut down the entire state till. Literally, till the end of time.

You might think I exaggerate.  Far from it.  3 rules control the Governor’s authority in emergencies.  One law and one Constitutional Amendment written in the 21st century.  Both refer to health emergencies, including pandemics like the “China Virus”.  Brown ignores both of those because they limit her authority to 28 days.  If she used those recent rules, her authority would have run out April 6th.  Then, the law commands her to call a special session of the legislature, the people’s representatives, to decide what happens next.

Instead, Governor brown reaches back 70 years to a law written for forest fires and floods that makes no mention of disease emergencies.  It sets no time limit at all.  In other words, if Oregon runs under that rule, Kate Brown has authority to close things down till the end of time…or ‘till the end of her term in office, whichever comes first .

A week ago, a Judge ruled in favor of citizen rights and against the Governor. He found that the Governor’s authority ran out 6 weeks ago.  So, the Governor nwo demands the State Supreme Court to back up her endless authority.

Baker County Judge Matthew Shirtcliff, must now decide whether to stand up for the law, the constitution & citizen rights…or the never ending authority of the Governor who appointed him to the bench.  I hope Shirtcliff chooses the former over the latter.  Today, the state Supreme Court has ordered Shirtcliff to either abandon his order…or explain why not.

I’m betting Shirtcliff sides with citizens…and then we will see something amazing. Oregon’s attorney general sends citizen funded attorneys to the Supreme Court to argue that citizens must live under Lockdown Brown’s authority forever, with no representation at the legislature until SHE says so.  Then, seven men and women in black robes will decide how much freedom you get.

Brown failed this state miserably during an emergency.  She and her husband pulled rank and got tests for China Virus when ordinary citizens could not. She took action late to slow the spread of China Virus.  Her state stockpile of emergency supplies ran out in a couple of weeks.  Her confusing communication included a press conference late on a Friday night where she first ORDERED folks to stay home, then reversed herself, saying it was only a suggestion, then reversed herself again.  No surprise, citizens ignored Brown’s blathering mostly because they had no idea what she was talking about.

Her agency failed to send timely unemployment checks to hundreds of thousands of jobless citizens.  She rarely leaves her bunker to take questions and even when she does, her staff carefully curates only softballs for Kate’s consideration.

I hate to tell you this, but as we sit today, we are stuck with the China Virus for the foreseeable future and we’re stuck with Kate Brown till January 2023.  It’s hard to say which one scares me more.

-Lars Larson