SEASIDE, Ore. (KOIN 6) — Students as young as 11 from across the state have been attending a sex conference held in Seaside, Oregon, for the past 20 years.
Taxpayers’ money is used to fund the program, which is meant to promote safe sex and prevent teen pregnancy. However, a KOIN 6 Investigation uncovered that there’s a good chance the parents who signed permission slips in order for their children to attend have no clue what is really being taught behind closed doors.
Part of the lesson plan at a workshop at the Oregon Adolescent Sexuality Conference is an adult website called Virtual Fem. In addition to the content from that website, numerous handouts, such as one that encourages cyber and phone sex, have been passed out to high school and middle school students in attendance.
One of the handouts at the Adolescent Sexuality Conference held in Seaside, April 7-8, 2014 (KOIN 6 News)
The pamphlets go on to suggest other ways students can engage in intimate activities without going all the way, including bathing together, shaving each other, wearing each other’s underwear, role playing, buying an extra-large pair of pajama bottoms to sleep in together, lap dances and strip teases.
Another workshop at the conference focuses on how to pleasure someone else over the Internet.
“Teledildonics basically refers to the control of sex toys over the Internet; the remote use of sex toys,” said keynote speaker Cory Silverberg in an audiotape obtained by KOIN 6 Newsafter the conference from an attendee.
Conference director
When confronted about the graphic content, the conference’s director, Brad Victor, declined to comment about one session in particular about performing sex acts over Skype and whether those sessions could potentially be recorded and used against a student later.
“Is this interview going down this line the whole time? If it is, I’m walking out. I’m serious about this,” said Victor.
The Adolescent Sexuality Conference director Brad Victor, October 2014 (KOIN 6 News)
Victor, a spokesperson and director for Teen Pregnancy Task Force, the organizer of the conference, is partially paid with state funds to put on the program in Seaside.
While he refused to answer KOIN 6’s questions, a student, who wanted to remain anonymous, spoke about what she saw during the conference, calling it shocking.
“I felt really just horrified and unsettled by it all,” she said.
While there was a session on learning how to put on a condom and make a dental dam, a workshop where the speaker brought students to a porn website and taught them to program virtual women really upset the student.
“When you press a certain command, it tells her to perform various sexual acts, um, and so that was very disturbing,” she said.
Audio of keynote speaker Silverberg giving detailed directions on how to make an avatar for virtual sex.
“You can program her to do whatever you want to say, if you don’t want to say, ‘give me a blow job or something,” said Silverberg.
Teachers and parents
This conference isn’t just for students. Teachers, school district healthcare workers and school board members, including Lisa Maloney, have also attended.
Maloney was not representing the St. Helens School District, but she said she was concerned by what she witnessed.
One of the handouts at the Adolescent Sexuality Conference held in Seaside, April 7-8, 2014 (KOIN 6 News)
“All kinds of speakers about Internet porn, using Internet sex toys, using meth as is shown in this book for when you’re engaging in sex. It encourages using meth because it helps your sexual drive and what not in here,” said Maloney. “It says in this booklet that was handed out and given out to all young people.”
Indeed, a section of the handout Maloney referred to read: “Meth is widely used for a million reasons to have lots of sex with lots of partners for long periods.”
Lori Porter, a concerned mother, also showed other pamphlets distributed during the conference titled “Dry Humping Saves Lives” and “How to Get Your Groove on Fluid Free.” Another gave tips on masturbation.
“Watch porn, lube, do it in front of a mirror, do it while someone else is watching,” said Porter.
Still, Victor defended the material and said it is not censored.
“The material passed out at this conference is dedicated to preventing teen pregnancy, preventing STD’s and also developing healthy relationships,” said Victor.
When asked whether he thought the suggestions given in the pamphlets prevent teen sex, Victor refused to comment.
“I’m not going to address that question. That question is inappropriate,” he said.
The Adolescent Sexuality Conference was held in Seaside, April 7-8, 2014 (KOIN 6 News)
State agencies
Victor has two state agencies supporting him and the conference. On the conference website they list the Oregon Health Authority as a sponsor of the conference. A public information request revealed the Oregon Health Authority has spent more than $1000 of taxpayer money for the 2013 and 2014 conferences, according to OHA. That money was spent for staff members to attend the conference.
The Oregon Adolescent Sexuality Conference website also lists the Oregon Department of Education on their steering committee. A public information request revealed ODE has paid Victor more than $800 since 2013. That money is in addition to the more than $4,000 Victor received from the federal government since 2013, the Oregon Department of Education says that money goes to his work supporting districts with aligning instruction to state standards. However, Victor is mostly paid by Wise, a private grant from a private foundation, for working to institutionalize sex education.
Superintendents
KOIN reached out to 16 school district superintendents listed as possibly having students at the conference. Of those contacted by KOIN 6 News, 10 said they were unaware such material was being taught.
Of the 10 superintendents, Newberg School District Superintendent Dr. Kym LeBlanc Esparza was the only one who agreed to speak on the record. When she saw some of the handouts she was clearly discouraged.
“This is garbage, so that’s disappointing,” said LeBlanc Esparza.
Material from the conference shown to her, she said, was a far cry from what she was told would be at the two-day program.
“It’s fascinating because of the documentation that comes out of the Oregon Department of Ed and that comes out of the programs, (that) the organizations put out speak specifically to addressing at-risk kids questions and things to help them make good healthy decisions,” said LeBlanc Esparza.
One of the handouts at the Adolescent Sexuality Conference held in Seaside, April 7-8, 2014 (KOIN 6 News)
Wise, the grant behind the conference, also provides the sex education curriculum for the same 16 Oregon school districts who attend the annual conference.
“The individuals are able to take this professional development opportunity back to their workplace,” said Victor.
Some are concerned it is working too well.
In the Wise curriculum, sixth grade students are asked, “How do people express their sexual feelings?” The answers they’re given to choose from include anal sex, oral sex and sexual fantasy.
Concerned parents say it’s too much too soon.
“If it was an adult sex conference, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation, but this is directed to adolescents. We want them to be safe,” said concerned mother Lori Porter.
The next conference
To receive the WISE funding, school districts must attend one of three conferences. So far Woodburn, SKSD, Paisley, Pleasant Hill, Cascade, Clatskanie, Warrenton-Hammond school districts have not turned in the paperwork to attend any of the conferences or to take part in the WISE program at all.
Gervais, Sherwood, Sheridan, Willamina, Bethel, Corvallis, St. Helens, and Sisters have sent in their paperwork to attend this upcoming year. However, when KOIN 6 News contacted St. Helens school superintendent Mark Davalos, he said students will not be attending the conference in the future. On Thursday, the Sherwood district told KOIN 6 News they would not attend.
The Newberg superintendent said the school district will not be sending students. If they go their parents will be taking them, not the school.
“If it’s going to take the route of giving kids information that suddenly our families and our communities are uncomfortable with we’ll have a conversation about what that means for us,” said LeBlanc-Esparza.
The Sheridan superintendent told KOIN 6 News Wednesday the investigation raised serious concerns about the conference and the district is re-thinking its involvement.
The superintendent in Woodburn also contacted KOIN 6 News and said their students will not be attending the conference.
In late November, Gervais schools contacted KOIN 6 News and said they will not attend.
A total of 7 of the 16 Oregon school districts will not be participating in the conference next April.
One of the handouts at the Adolescent Sexuality Conference held in Seaside, April 7-8, 2014 (KOIN 6 News)
One of the handouts at the Adolescent Sexuality Conference held in Seaside, April 7-8, 2014 (KOIN 6 News)
The New York Times journalist who published Darren Wilson’s home address wants police protection and has been calling the police nonstop, Gotnews.com has learned.
Julie Bosman “keeps calling the 020th District station complaining about people harassing and threatening her,” our source told us. She’s also “complaining about numerous food deliveries being sent to her residence.”
Chicago police department sources alerted Gotnews.com about the glaring double standard on Friday.
Gotnews.com published Julie Bosman’s address in Chicago after she published the address of Officer Darren Wilson and his new wife in a widely criticized move.
Americas population is booming with Hispanics and a half Cuban, Ted Cruz may just be this countries answer to fixing his Texan and Arizona borders. Who best to speak on immigration issues, afterall Cubans have been trying to get to America for decades and their value and contribution to the USA can not be overstated. He understands and respects his fathers families needs and dreams and can compassionately share on this very sensitive subject all the while protecting Americas interest in keeping the nation strong. When the Pledge of Allegiance to America was questioned, Ted Cruz was there. When the TEN Commandments was to be removed, Ted Cruz was there. When the silent moment of prayer was to be stopped, Ted Cruz was there. America desperately needs a protector of it's traditions and history and I believe Conservative Latinos will flock to his side and elect him, should he be nominated as the Republican Presidential candidate. source
At Operation PUSH’s headquarters today Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. was at the head of a peace demonstration to protest the decision by the St. Louis County grandly jury to not indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.
In the aftermath of that, Reverend Jackson is now calling on President Obama to step in and issue an executive order, “And whether it’s police departments or fire depts or highways they can not get federal money at the same be unjust and not meet federal employment practices.”
The protest here in Chicago mirrors others held around the nation as well today.
They come just one day after Black Friday protests encouraged and economic boycott to continue to raise awareness and increase pressure.
Back at Operation PUSH, Rev. Jackson was joined by Baltimore Maryland Pastor Reverend Jamal Bryant, who has been a leading voice in pushing for the economic boycott from last Wednesday to the upcoming Cyber Monday. Together Jackson and Bryant are calling for an end to looting that took place in Ferguson, they also are pushing for a federal investigation in Brown’s death.
Receiving an award before the Committee to Protect Journalists, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos delighted The Huffington Post by giving a stemwinder speech in favor of advocacy journalism, including his usual tub-thumping for immigration “reform.”
Ramos pointed to a quote by the great Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel to bring his point home: “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”
"The best of journalism happens when we take a stand: when we question those who are in power, when we confront the politicians who abuse their authority, when we denounce an injustice," Ramos said before a packed ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. "The best of journalism happens when we side with the victims, with the most vulnerable, with those who have no rights. The best of journalism happens when we, purposely, stop pretending that we are neutral and recognize that we have a moral obligation to tell truth to power."
"When we deal with the powerful, we have to take a stand," he went on. "I’m a reporter, I don’t want to be your friend. And trust me, you don't want to be my friend."
Ramos is best known for battering both parties to support amnesty for illegal immigrants, and he's surely not satisfied with Obama's partial amnesty:
"Let me tell what it means for me to be a journalist and to be an immigrant," he said. "This defines me. I came to the U.S. after they tried to censor me in Mexico. So this country gave me the opportunities that my country of origin couldn’t give me. And, of course, when it comes to immigration, I take a stand."
Still, there is so much more that must be done to achieve justice for journalists around the world and we cannot stay silent, Ramos said. Silence, he reiterated firmly, is the enemy of journalism.
"Sadly, we stayed silent before the war in Iraq and thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraq civilians died unnecessarily," he continued. "We have to learn from that. Silence is the worst sin in journalism. But the best is when journalism becomes a way of doing justice and speaking truth to power."
11/30/2014 Supporters and opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed carbon regulations for power plants talk about the benefits and costs as if enactment of the new standards is inevitable.
But there are still many steps that have to be taken at the federal and state level to meet the Obama administration’s goal of slashing power plants’ carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
And the path ahead is fraught with potential obstacles, as critics strive to weaken the regulations or scrap them entirely.
Here is a closer look at five of the greatest threats to President Obama’s landmark rule to fight climate change.
The next president
If the EPA does not finalize the regulation and start certifying states’ implementation plans by the beginning of 2017, the next president could stop it from moving forward.
To Michael Greenstone, director of the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute, that is the greatest threat to the climate rule.
“If that has not happened, if there are not finalized state implementation plans, then there is a risk the new president may feel differently,” Greenstone said.
The new president would have the same regulatory power as Obama, including repealing regulations. It’s too early to make educated predictions for the 2016 election, but it’s safe to expect that any Republican nominee would seek to dismantle it.
To avoid that, Greenstone recommended that Obama and the EPA work diligently to make the rule final, and work with states to implement it as quickly as possible.
“Someone’s got to march this across the finish line before the Obama administration leaves town,” he said.
The EPA plans to finalize the rule next June and start working on guidance for state plans soon thereafter.
The courts
The Obama administration and supporters and opponents of the climate rule expect someone to challenge it in court after it is made final. Observers believe such a case would likely wind up the Supreme Court, like many of Obama’s main environmental rules have.
That would represent would be the ultimate legal test for the contentious rules, whose critics have said the Clean Air Act does not give the federal government the power to regulate carbon in the way it has proposed.
The administration is confident that it is on safe legal ground. Lawyers went out of their way to predict how legal challenges would play out write the rule to withstand them, officials say.
Nonetheless, the courts could present a real threat to the rule, and legal experts aren’t sure how justices would decide.
Spending bills
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) recently identified spending bills as one of the best tools to “get the EPA reined in” and fight rules like the carbon limits for power plants.
McConnell’s motivation — beyond general his opposition to the president and his environmental agenda — is to protect the coal industry that is integral to Kentucky’s economy and that Republicans believe would be hit hard by the rules.
Appropriations bills provide a special avenue for attaching provisions to steer regulatory action. They must be passed by Congress and signed by Obama every year, or the government shuts down.
But that represents a major political risk for Republicans. If Obama disagrees with the measures, would Republicans allow the government to shut down in the name of stopping the EPA?
Congressional Review Act
The Congressional Review Act, passed in the 1990s amid Republican furor over the size and scope of the federal government, provides a unique opportunity to attack rules.
Shortly after a rule is made final, lawmakers can quickly stop its implementation. But the bill would still have to be signed by the president or passed by a veto-proof majority.
McConnell has also shown an affinity for the Congressional Review Act. He has promised to propose a measure to block the power plant rule as soon as its finalized, and asked the Congressional Research Service this year to study whether the review could happen before a rule is finalized. The CRS said no.
Spending bills, the Congressional Review Act and any other congressional action to rebuff the president’s plan face sizable hurdles, in that Obama unlikely to sign any bill to weaken the climate rule — and it would be difficult for opponents to muster a veto-proof majority.
States
Like many rules under the Clean Air Act, the climate rule relies on states to write implementation plans and enforce them on the power sector.
But some states, like Texas and North Dakota, have discussed whether to simply ignore the regulations and not write plans.
The strategy got some recent attention when the conservative Federalist Society released a white paper in November arguing that states should try the tactic.
The Clean Air Act gives the EPA the power to write its own “federal implementation plans” for the states, though Greenstone, of the University of Chicago, believes that federal officials would not use that power lightly.
“I have the sense that in the current environment, where there’s not a lot of congressional support for regulating carbon, that may well be a fight that EPA chooses not to have,” Greenstone said.
The EPA has occasionally forced implementation plans upon states, but it does so reluctantly. source
A Washington Post reporter who has come under criticism for overly sympathetic stories to Michael Brown had his license suspended and then lied about it, Gotnews.com has learned.
Lowery is famous for having been questioned by Ferguson police department with Huffington Post reporter Ryan J. Reilly and way overhyping what actually happened.
Here’s a copy of that driving record. The stop says that Lowery isn’t black but Asiatic, Indian, and Arab as well as white.
It is not known if Lowery was committing a tax dodge by failing to register in DC where he now lives.
Lowery tried to dismiss the suspension of his license.
Lowery insisted that he would change his registration once his license expired but he has been illegally driving ever since he moved to work at the Washington Post and perhaps since he drove for the Boston Globe.
He’s still driving on Kentucky license plates in 2014.
Lowery, 24, is listed at living at his parents in Shaker Heights, OH.
It looks like Lowery flouted the law when he moved to D.C., too.
Lowery wrote a controversial article about Michael Brown’s raps in which Lowery stated that Brown was rapping about Jesus. In fact Brown was rapping about violence against women and race.
Lowery is also obsessed with race. He smeared Politico as not friendly to blacks and demanded that they release their diversity numbers.
Lowery’s flouting of the law might explain his overt friendliness in his reporting about Michael Brown as well as reportedly joining the protests at Ferguson.
Twenty Florida panthers have now been documented as road kills, which breaks the record for vehicle deaths for the Sunshine State's official state animal.
The remains of a 6-month-old uncollared male were recovered Thursday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission along Golden Gate Boulevard in Collier County. More than half the vehicle deaths have occurred in Collier, which has thousands of acres of panther habitat.
The previous mark for panther road kills in a year was 19, set in 2012, according to FWC records.
Biologists say the increase in road kills is somewhat expected because more people are living and driving in an area that has a growing panther population. Biologists estimated there could be as many as 180 Florida panthers living in Florida.
Road kills also have been documented this year in Lee, Hendry, Broward, Highland and Indian River counties.
