Last month, Baker County United sent a letter to the county commissioners…many of you signed that letter...explaining to them that we the people of Baker County insist that they make a public declaration that they would not fire any of our emergency responders for not getting the jab. If they didn’t, we’d encourage people to suspend payment of their property taxes and hold that money in escrow until the commissioners complied and assured us that we would not be in want of the emergency services that we pay for with those taxes. Well, they ignored us for weeks. And it wasn’t until we started dropping flyers around town, put up a website, our movement was covered in the Baker City Herald, and we kept up notifying you guys through emails, that we started getting a response. Did any of them agree to it? No. They seem like they just want to try and change our minds so they get our money.
Sadly, many folks currently directly affected by these mandates went ahead and complied with the vax mandate against their will. They can’t afford to lose their futures, retirements, pensions, and the investment they’ve put into these public sector jobs. The county commissioners should have stopped this before it got to this point. They should have had their backs on this.
Instead of acting like elected leaders for the people and declaring that they would not fire our emergency responders based on Kate Brown’s unlawful mandate, our Commissioners, Harvey, Bennett, and Nichols, declared a county emergency on September 22nd, 2021, over the governor’s vax mandate to appeal for mercy. They stated that it would leave our agencies unable to respond to local emergencies. And it will. They asked for state assistance and aid in the form of assets and resources in order to protect our citizens.
They were flat out denied. Of course! Why would Gov Brown compel an unlawful jab mandate, and then pay for the shortfall that it caused by us not complying? Punishment? Retribution?
By going along with this jab mandate in Oregon, our commissioners sold everyone one of us down the river. When they beg at her feet for money and mercy, they’re doing it at our expense.
Here’s my question: Why aren’t they begging We the People and working for us the way they are Governor Brown? Why do they respect her, and not us?
Well, think about it. If they refuse to do Kate Brown’s bidding, she with holds money and emergency funds from the county. So basically, Kate Brown’s funding to the county is contingent on the commissioners performance to obey her. If they don’t, it cuts into their budget. I get that.
But what about us? We fund the majority of the county budget through our local and property taxes. BUT WE HAVE PAY NO MATTER WHAT! That’s the difference. The commissioners respect the state's money more than ours, because they made us believe that our taxes are compulsory…that we MUST pay them regardless of who they sell us out to.
So there’s the difference. Our county officials respect the State and Kate Brown’s totalitarian “mandates”, because they want her money, but they don’t respect you and I. And here’s the funny thing, the real irony to this situation…WE PAY FOR BOTH! Property taxes for the county, and income tax to the state. Ultimately, we’re paying for both funds!
Let’s recap. We pay property taxes every year faithfully and with that payment, we purchase county services (road, EMT, fire, law enforcement, public education). Then the governor mandates a ridiculous and unlawful mandate OR she’ll suspend her funding to the county. And the result? We get thrown under the bus while Kate gets her way!
We also get held hostage by the state if and when they decide to suspend or revoke vocational licenses, certifications, or credentials in order for us to perform services and execute professional careers. Yep, that’s right. After we pay for our schooling and educations to become professionals, (we make that investment in time, money, effort, and sacrifice) then they dangle the “benefit” of working over our heads unless we jump through their hoops…like getting jabbed with a chemical cocktail of who knows what. It’s so upside down that it’s beyond ridiculous.
It’s time we stand on our own two feet as towns and counties. This country was founded on the principles of local government and control…that’s why the federal government was so limited in its powers.
If the state is going to hold us hostage, then let the county issue it’s own certifications for professional services, let the county issue licenses and authorization for those professions that need oversight. Our vote counts in this county…it means far less in state elections and even less in federal. The only way to out maneuver central control from an over reaching and all out encompassing power that has usurped authority over every facet of our lives, is to stand up united and take control of our own destinies at the local level. Lets be peaceful and vigilant. This is not secession, or setting up our own government. It's simply not acknowledging unconstitutional "laws" and mandates that should have no bearing on us. We will always respect the rule of law. We the People of Baker County are currently setting aside our property taxes and holding them in escrow until the county commissioners come up with a plan that works for us. We’ll help them do it. I know its not easy. We’re going to have to put our heads together, do some research, formulate some innovative plans, and carry them out.
If we don’t, the alternative is to just give up, beg for mercy, hope a lawsuit here or there goes through, and walk down the path to forced vaccination, global warming mandates, the loss of personal property, health, liberty, and choice.
Is this acceptable to you? How will answer your children and their children as time goes on?
It’s time we fix this locally. Otherwise, we’ll ultimately always be held hostage to “emergency aid” and other forms public funding. Is it worth it? If we really are in a state of emergency as the commissioners stated, I’ll be willing to stop paying a chunk of my state income tax to Kate Brown and divert it over to the county. We either have the power of self-govern, or we don’t. We either pull together as a county, or we all get the jab and whatever follows as is determined somewhere else by who knows who.
We are at the point of crossing the Rubicon.
Lets make a stand, and stop merely protesting. They don’t care if we protest. We’re just screaming kids to them. Unless we with hold our money and fruits of our labor, the county, the city councils, our elected law enforcement…they won’t work for us. They’ll do the bidding of those whom they presume to have the power. And if we don’t stand united for our benefit, no one will.
With hold your property taxes this year, set it aside, and be willing to pay them when Baker County and Baker City council start working for the people that hired them.
Take care, be strong, and stay united. God Bless!
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