Columbian implements new web site scam: if they don't like your comment, they only, apparently, make it visible to the commenter.

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You have to wonder.

I heard that other newspapers were engaging in this scam. Put up a comment they don't like, and poof: it's invisible to anyone but the poster.

Of course that's the kind of scam our rag runs on the people they would serve: no lie they won't tell; no exaggeration they won't do in support of their agenda.

But now, added to that, are the invisible posts.

That way, people who disagree with them (as in, the vast majority in their service area) will continue under the illusion that their comments are still up... and still read by others.

Now, I've heard of this kind of garbage before. It's the scummy kind of thing that a steaming pile of hypocrisy would do.

In this instance, the article in question was Erin Nolan's self-serving swill defending the massive $40,000 FOR ONE DAY wasted on the paid mourners that went up to the police funeral on our dime.

There was pretty good comment about that this morning... and when I emailed the link to a buddy of mine, he gets back to me and tells me that the comment was gone so that he couldn't read it.

So, I look at the article, located here: and it turns out he's right.

But THEN, I look at the title page, and it says there are SEVEN comments there... when there are only six.

The reason? They want the guy who posted it to keep thinking it's there so he will stop beating the hell out of our local and despicable rag for censoring comments they don't happen to like.

Here's what it says on the title page of the website.

more life

Opinion

Our Readers' Views, Feb. 28 Feb. 28 12 comments

Local View: Furor over service a disservice to officers Feb. 28 7 comments

In Our View: Digging for Dollars Feb. 28 2 comments

more opinion

But if you actually click on the link, only 6 comments show.

Now... why is that?

The Columbian's dishonesty is legendary. But this takes it to a whole new level.

Got an interesting letter from Reagan Dunn. Wants money. Doesn't really say why.

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So, there... in my mailbox... a letter from a nice guy named Reagan Dunn.

It's a fund raiser. Says he's "Chair, Republican Caucus."

I gotta wonder: what the hell does THAT mean?

Let's see. In the House, it's Richard DeBolt. In the Senate, it's some guy named Hewitt? And in the GOP, it's Esser for the state wide party.

So, I admit some confusion. What "Republican Caucus" is he talking about. And why should I give them money?

Well, let's look at the letter.

Fairly standard schlock. Talks about how screwed up things are... and then wants my money to bring some sort of rather nebulous "message of budget discipline to every level of Washington State."

Message? What message? How? Who? Who the hell ARE you, anyway? So, the letter talks about how you were a "no" vote on the King County council for a foot ferry system.

Well, that must mean that your effort to stop it didn't work.

Apparently, you couldn't get any other Republicans to vote with you. So.... why should I give you my money, again?

It says you will "stand up for me against this kind of spending." But since you failed to stop "that kind of spending," why should I give you my money, again?

You "need my help today?"

For what?

You're not running for governor. That's either going to be Rob or Dino. Or both.

You're not running for the Senate. If you were, with your practically nonexistent name ID, you already would have announced.

So why should I send you money?

At this point, I see little difference between you and a staffer I saw in DC after the GOP tsunami of 94. He was holding a cardboard "homeless" type sign that said "Not hungry, not homeless, will work for legislation."

You just want me to send you money for no reason I can ferret out, that you're going to use for whatever you want... like, maybe, get new siding for the house?

Sorry. I don't have that much money to give away. And if I did, it wouldn't be to a politician.
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Shannon Barnett bails on his commitment to David Castillo

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According to Liz Mair, who cranked up her Herrera spin machine, rife with the ol' "Unnamed source" quotes that I could go around and make up on the spot as well, Shannon Barnett is using this call, which most likely cost next to nothing, as an excuse to bail on his presumably solemn commitment to endorse Castillo.

However, the robocall has caused other tempers to flare, too. It emerged today that the Castillo robocall has even prompted one former Castillo endorser—Shannon Barnett, a candidate running to replace Herrera in the Washington State House of Representatives— to drop his support altogether. According to Barnett (with whom I spoke earlier), Castillo spending money on the call constitutes a waste of campaign resources. Furthermore, Barnett says, it evidenced an unwillingness on Castillo’s part to stick to a key campaign pledge made months ago to Barnett. Per Barnett, Castillo promised to focus his campaign on talking about issues that unite Republican voters in the district. Hal Palmer, an advisor to Barnett, added that he was “appalled at the distorted attack on Jaime Herrera.”

The problem with Barnett's little snit is this:

Since he gave his now worthless word to support Castillo... and since he has no chance to win election in the 18th... then doesn't that make Barnett's entire campaign a waste of money?

And, by the way... is there some reason Barnett failed to mention that the second Herrera announced, he became one of her Winged Monkeys as well? Or is it more a matter that he told Liz, but she just kind of left it out? Yup, Barnett was one of those lowlifes who gave what's called a "dual endorsement." Odd that Liz didn't know that, isn't it?

And the best way to "unite the voters" would be for this worthless waste of skin to withdraw. Because I will support ANYONE but her... and that means if she manages to survive through to the general, anything I have that I can give will go to whoever else makes it in the top 2, regardless of party.

Because supporting either a Herrera or a Barnett does nothing to solve our problems in government.

As for Palmer, maybe he can provide a single instance in the call where Castillo either lied... or "distorted?"

He can't, of course, because there was nothing remotely inaccurate, distorted or exaggerated in the call.

Once Herrera announced, Barnett, who has been slavishly devoted to Ridgefield Barbie, couldn't wait to dump his "committment" to Castillo. This kind of thing was just the excuse he was looking for, because the issue of campaign expenditures, and at a few cents per call (what... maybe 2 cents each?) this was anything BUT a "waste of campaign resources."

As a result of the buffoons handling and supporting Herrera, hundreds, if not thousands more people know much more about her and her clueless supporters. And how could that have been a waste?

Because, in the end, as Kathy McDonald put it:

According to Kathy McDonald, a well-known Republican consultant from the third district unaffiliated with either campaign, “It looks like David Castillo is calling a spade a spade. The facts are Jaime was back in DC for a fundraiser, the fact is Jaime took money from the SEIU; the fact is she went before the legislative session was over. If she had waited 2 weeks until session was over this fundraiser would be a mute[sic] point.”

At the end of the day, that's the whole point of this moronic faux outrage aimed at Castillo.

Where these idiots are pissed isn't because Castillo's call lied, or distorted or exaggerated.

It's that Castillo would DARE to point out these TRUTHS to the people of the 3rd Congressional District who think this cardboard cut out of an empty suit is either Republican, or worthy to be elected to Congress.

How dare Castillo, they think in their heart of hearts.

Jaime Herrera is The One! She's been ANOINTED! Why, no less a personage than Slade has touched her on the shoulder to a choir of heavenly angels!

Except Herrera is nobody special. And that this episode would make Barnett bail on his word shows that he, too, is unfit for elective office... just like the gas bag he's supported all along.

Crossposted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
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So... here's the robocall driving Herrera's Winged Monkeys over the edge.

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Someone far wiser than I indicated that we should know the truth, because it would set us free.

HERE is what went out yesterday that has the Herrera troll's panties in such a bunch that a week after reading their pap, you'll still have to eat prunes and oatmeal.



Here's what sucks for Herrera and her clown posse: every word of the announcement is true.

Every word.

The call says:

Hi, this is Susan and I want to share with you a few facts about State Representative Jaime Herrera.

OK. That's what it says. That's what it does.

Representative Herrera thinks it's OK to take campaign money from the liberal labor union SEIU.

So, what does the PDC have to say about this?

HHHmmmm....

SEIU 925 PAC 2008/08/03 $500.00 Seattle

So, clearly, she's taken campaign money in an obvious pay for play dodge, but that allegation is true.

Today, she's in Washington DC raising money from special interests while Governor Gregoire is raising your taxes right here in our Washington.

And when this call went out, she was, come to think of it, burying her entire head into the special interest money trough set up by her string-puller-in-chief, one Cathy McMorris Rogers.

And now, Herrera wants to run for Congress to represent you, but she can't even find the time to stay in Olympia when we need her.

So, when this went out, was she in Olympia doing the job we sent her there to do?

Or was she on her way to, at, or coming back from picking up these special interest checks?

Call Jaime Herrera at 1.800.562.6000 and tell her she should be here in Olympia to take the people's business more seriously.

And, well, she SHOULD be there. Can even those in the Herrera cult defend her decision to ditch us during session instead of waiting a couple of weeks to go worship at the alter of the special interests that own this card board cut out?

This call is paid for by Castillo for Congress.

Well, that explains it. When people like Keath Huff are claiming that the call was full of lies, yet fails to prove any of it, I have to go to the audio tape.

And Keath Huff, you are a liar.

And the rest Herrera's Winged Monkeys? You clowns need to get a life or get into rehab... or both.

Because the tape speaks for itself.

And every word of it is true.

Idiots.

Cross posted at Jamie Herrera Watch.
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Where Keath Huff and the Ridgefield Barbie trolls blow it: Herrera's voting record is fake.

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Man, but the Herrera trolls are buzzing.

Keath Huff, a failed legislative candidate in the 19th, appeals to his fellow "conservatives" as a result of some robo call or another that I've heard a lot ABOUT, but have neither heard nor seen in text.

Apparently, someone did a robocall, truthfully pointing out that Herrera bailed on us and her job to fly to DC to bury that nose of hers in the special interest money trough, doing another "Martha Coakley" even BEFORE the election. I guess when special interests own you, early ownership means more.

The call also, apparently, pointed to Herrera's support of SEIU and SEIU's endorsements of her.

Certainly, this week, Herrera and her Winged Monkeys discovered that the truth genuinely hurts.

But it's still the truth.

Now, Keath is one of those drowning in Herrera's Kool Aid. I have yet to understand why anyone would support someone who's political depth begins and ends in her cheerleader outfit.

She's lied; she has no experience; she's never worked in the private sector, never owned or operated a business, wasted $500 of our money for meals on a 3 day boondoggle trip to Spokane (How the hell do you blow $479 on meals in 3 days, when taxpayers are paying for it and you are, allegedly, just feeding one person?) is a "friend to organized labor" and supports SEIU legislation. In short, she's a female Brian Baird.

So, Keath tells us:

"This phone call, with its blatantly false accusations, came from a politician, that much is for sure."

You mean like the whine of a column you did in response?

If the "phone call" is so bad... then where is it? Why not just put it up there and let us decide?

And then, Keath goes on to lie himself with this tidbit:

To be clear… The false allegation that Jaime is an absentee legislator is FALSE.
The record is clear. Check out her voting record, which is available at washingtonvotes.org

When your supporters are reduced to lying (and this is a lie, Keath. Frankly, I thought better of you) that is a very bad sign.

The ONLY thing washingtonvotes.org does is record votes.

Usually, that's enough. But in THIS case, it doesn't record WHO VOTED FOR YOU IN YOUR PLACE.

No one disputes that votes are recorded. Where Jaime is a slimeball is the question of who was voting for her while she wasn't there..,. and why she would bail on us to go to a special interest DC fundraiser.

And according Rep. Deb Wallace, the finger pushing the button was not from your hand.

Failing to provide either a recording or the text within the call and then telling us not to believe it is one of the most moronic ploys I've ever seen.

Provide specifics. And don't lie.

Like you, Keath, lied in response to the accurate allegation that Herrera IS an "absentee legislator" since she bailed on us to go stick her nose in a money trough in Washington DC THIS WEEK instead of staying here to represent US.

Good God. There was only a few days left in session. I can't believe how moronic McMorris and Slade are that they'd Coakley this deal instead of waiting for session to end.

And, you're not in the 18th, are you, Keath? So I guess a little thing like that wouldn't bother someone like you.... would it?

In all the years I've been following politics, I have never seen so many clowns lose their minds over a skirt as this.

Never. In fact, Huff's column shilling for the cardboard cut out was very much like an attack of epilepsy, leaving us to draw a blank at the words and ask "what the hell is he babbling about?"

Thanks so much to Eric for bringing this to my attention. All of your efforts to keep me informed of this kind of corruption are appreciated.

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
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Report on my Brian Baird/FBI FOIA Request.

You learn a lot about things in the Administration by interacting with it's Agencies.

On December 3, I requested a copy of all death threat investigations against Congressman Brian Baird. The mandated turn-around time for that request is, under federal law, 20 days.

I received the investigation yesterday via fax, although they indicated they had sent it to me on January 29.

Once I called them (again) and asked them about it, they actually faxed the completed, moderately redacted report to me that day, for which I am grateful. (11 pages total)

The upshot of the report is this:

On August 13, 2009, Capitol Police notified the FBI that on August 11, at 2124, a "threatening message" was left on the voice mail of Baird's Washington, DC, office.

The message, by it's nature, included the originating number of the phone call. Further identification was provided by the caller, who IDENTIFIED HIMSELF.

The message, a quoted in the report, is this:

"Brian, [REDACTED] here. You think we're all Timothy McVey[sic] types, huh? I'd keep a close eye out for those Ryder rental trucks if I were you. You never know when one might show up. Bye."

The call originated from Wichita, Kansas.

The next day (August 14) an Special Agent of the FBI and someone referred to as a "TFO" attempted to interview the self-named individual, but missed him at his residence. A few minutes after leaving his residence, the "TFO" received a phone call from the subject on what was identified as the subject's cell phone.

What transpired next, quoted verbatim from the report:

[REDACTED] advised [REDACTED] that indeed he did place the phone call to Congressman Baird, but he certainly did not intend this call to gain the attention that it obviously did. [REDACTED] advised the number [REDACTED] was his DSL computer line, which can be accessed and used as a telephone. [REDACTED] advised after observing Congressman Baird in a television interview the night of 8-11-2009, where he stated the people opposing Obama's Health Care Bill were reminiscent of Timothy McVeigh. [REDACTED] became upset and verified by calling Baird's telephone number.

[REDACTED] advised he left Congressman Baird a message stating that if he was going to consider the opposition, which included [REDACTED] to be McVeigh type[sic], then he better be watching out for the Ryder trucks. [REDACTED] advised in no way did he intend to cause any problems, and certainly he was not going to go out and rent a Ryder truck and do harm, nor did he now anyone who would. [REDACTED] advised he was venting his frustration and utilized his freedom of speech and certainly was not a terrorist. [REDACTED] advised he has worked for [REDACTED] Wichita for [REDACTED] years and was not a trouble maker. He advised he was so sorry if he had caused the FBI to spend any amount of time or money to track him down in response to his phone call.

[REDACTED] also advised that just last night, he also called a Georgia Senator in response to calling people "Racist" just because they opposed Obama. [REDACTED] was advised that many people share his emotions and feelings, but there are better ways to express them. [REDACTED] agreed, and again apologized.

TFO [REDACTED] and SA [REDACTED] terminated the phone interview, satisfied that [REDACTED] posed no threat to conduct any acts of terrorism. [REDACTED] considers the investigation closed due to [REDACTED] lack of any past criminal activity other than several local speeding violations, as well as his admitting the phone call was his way of venting frustration."

Created 2009-08-14 19:07:44

Incident close request sent 2009-08-14 19:59:46.0

This is the report without further comment. I am going to review the timing of the report and threat, used in part as a justification to avoid holding a town hall meeting. But one thing is clear: less than 72 hours after making the report, Baird knew it lacked substance and stood as no possible source of harm for him.

There was no mention of a "faxed death threat" provided by the FBI, under the auspices of my search request, Subject "BAIRD, BRIAN/ALLEGED DEATH THREAT."

Yet another blog weighs in: Herrera is "Washington State's SEIU Bought Republican"

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It's not just Lew Waters and I sounding the clarion call that Ridgefield Barbie votes more like a stealth leftist than an alleged Republican.

This week, Herrera/McMorris-Rogers/Vanderstoep's campaign has been leaking more buzz then a toddler who's already endured 90 minutes of Avatar.

As the word finally gets out, more and more are viewing our local cardboard cut-out of a state representative/congressmember wannabe with something other than the anointment she so desperately believes is hers.

Herrera has no more business as a state representative, or a member of congress, then she does practicing brain surgery. Getting coffee for McMorris for a couple of years does no qualify her or anyone else to be in congress. Utilizing a corrupted appointment process to get the rep's job in the first place; running and co-sponsoring SEIU (Read: ACORN) legislation; having others vote in your absence so you SEEM to be there when, instead, you're making fund raising calls rather than representing US; admitting in her appointment process that she would be a "friend to organized labor," and then lying to everyone by proclaiming there wasn't "a job in the world" she'd "rather have," all of these things pile up on a girl.

Other conservatives are seeing the light: this has arguably been the worst week, hopefully one of many, that the empty suit from Ridgefield has endured since her keepers cut her loose on a previously unsuspecting public.

But now, the word is getting out. Now, all of a sudden, the strings wrapped around her by McMorris-Rogers and Vanderstoep are beginning to unravel. The latest example?

Rightcha here, hot off the Publius' Forum:

"Washington State’s SEIU Bought Republican"

February 26, 2010 Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Congress, Elections, Free Trade, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, Jobs, Liberals, Public Employees Unions, Republicans, SEIU, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston, Washington

-By Warner Todd Huston

On February 24, Moe Lane posted a short piece alerting one and all to the fact that one of the Republican candidates for Washington State’s 3rd Congressional District is a favorite of the hard-core lefties in the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) — one of Obama’s favorite Big Labors cohorts. Mr. Lane, though, was sure that Jaime Herrera “regrets that endorsement now.” Unfortunately, I am not so sanguine because Herrera has been far more compliant with Big Labor’s goals than is evident from what Lane might have thought was a mere wayward endorsement.

There is a reason, it appears, that the SEIU endorsed Herrera. As a Republican she seems to be far more one of them than one of us at least as far as Big Labor’s needs go!

Moe Lane cited the Clark County Politics blog on the SEIU’s endorsement, but if you don’t want to believe the CCPblog — admittedly a right leaning site — here is a Progressive Voters Guide for Washington and here is the Voters Guide for Equal Rights Washington, both left-wing groups that show SEIU support for Herrera. On top of that here is SEIU Local 1199 NW’s endorsement page which also announces its endorsement of Herrera.

Much, Much, more:

Frankly this is a tremendous bit of research that proves the leftist infestation in Ridgefield Barbie is much stronger than I suspected. And why vote for a fake democrat when the real thing is available?

Who knows? Maybe democrat State Representative Jim Moeller (D-49) will hold a fundraiser... for Herrera, since they've got so much in common.

The wheels are loosening on her little wagon. Hopefully, if we keep the pressure on and continue to spread the word, those wheels will come off altogether.

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
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Why is it that Herrera tells the truth in DC, but lies about her experience with McMorris here?

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The POLITICO puff piece done on Ridgefield Barbie made mention of the position she held as a McMorris "policy assistant."

Now then... why is that?

We've been bombarded by her and her keepers that she was some kind of "Senior Legislative Aide." So, why is it that she's suddenly downgraded to "policy assistant" when the inside baseball types of DC read about her back there?

It's because she's a liar. It's because she needs to puff up her paper-thin resume'. It's because she needs to somehow impress people with her complete lack of any experience that makes her a viable candidate or Congress.

And if those in DC saw the words "Senior Legislative Aide" attached to her, they'd know in an instant what I already know:

That never happened.

Herrera was payed the princely sum of roughly $3300 per month for her extraordinary coffee making skills. "Senior" anythings in DC generally make much more then that.

But exaggeration is but one of Ridgefield Barbie's faults. Add it to her support of organized labor and her shilling for SEIU, and you've got...

... a democrat.

Cross posted on Jaime Herrera Watch.
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Yesterday was a terrible day for Ridgefield Barbie: RedStates asks: Jaime Herrera (R CAND, WA-03): Stealth SEIU Supporter ...

Yeah, yesterday was a tough day on the empty suit running in the 3rd Congressional.

She's on a red eye flight as I write this, heading to DC to slurp at that special interest cash trough her keepers have lined up for her; selling her out even before the election, which, when you think about it, isn't usually the way it's done.

But that begs the issue.

Little Miss Muffet's SEIU stance is spraining eye brows in more and more of the blogosphere. The latest example is RedState:

Jaime Herrera (R CAND, WA-03): Stealth SEIU Supporter?

Posted by Moe Lane (Profile)

Wednesday, February 24th at 10:20PM EST

25 Comments

Come, I will conceal nothing from you: I am growing quickly disinclined to get dragged into primary political battles for the 2010 election. This is partially because I’m getting to a position where I know some of the folks involved in the campaigns (which is why I’m counting the days until the California primaries are over), and partially because it’s going to be a free-for-all for some of these seats (part of the problem with having so many Democratic seats up for grabs). So, it’ll take a bit to get me to note something in particular about a GOP primary candidate.

A 2008 SEIU endorsement will do. I’m not as ready as that poster is to tie WA-03 Republican candidate Jaime Herrera to ACORN, but taking money from the Purple People Beaters is quite bad enough (see here and here for corroboration that State Rep. Herrera did in fact get endorsed by SEIU). Mind you, I’m perfectly ready to believe that she regrets that endorsement now, too - but now would also be a good time for her to indicate said regrets. Put another way: at the moment Herrera is talking about Big Labor, which is great… but as a state legislator she courted Big Labor, which makes at least an explanation germane. And when you have an unexplained disconnect between current rhetoric and past rhetoric, it looks bad if it gets out.

And it will get out. Somebody will always be happy to pass someone else a quiet word.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

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Category: jaime herrera, seiu, wa-03

Yup.... it's not looking good for the cardboard cut out who has actually lived in the 3rd District (or hell, even the district she is SUPPOSED to be representing!) for a grand total of 2 years.... out of the last 13.

Not good at all.

Cross posted on Jaime Herrera Watch.
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POLITICO: Herrera's useful tools?

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So, yeah... McMorris's people "placed" a blurb in POLITICO, a heretofore reasonably respectable website, waxing eloquent about Ridgefield Barbie.

The problem is this kind of writing, which apparently regurgitated a McMorris press release, is misleading on a variety of levels, and the worthlessness of the article for purposes of information is best summed up from this quote of it:

Herrera, who is running in the GOP primary against another minority candidate, financial analyst David Castillo, served as a policy assistant to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) before being appointed to a vacancy to the state House in 2007. She’s in Washington this week meeting with party officials to discuss her campaign.

Now, anyone reading this fiction would actually think "party officials" gave a rat's patootee about her campaign. (Although it is of note that in DC, she's reduced to "policy assistant" from "senior legislative assistant." But more on that later.)

But what she's REALLY back there for, of course, was to bury her entire head into the special-interest money trough her keepers set up for her.... much like Martha Coakley, the leftist Scott Brown defeated in Massachusetts. And the idea that she is there for more then the requisite time needed to pick up the checks, left on the political dresser, so to speak, to be picked up on the way out, is a not even clever effort to puff the cardboard cutout into something she's not.

So, yeah, to the extent she bailed on her constituents in the middle of session; a rather frequent occurrence according to Rep. Deb Wallace; and to the extent these lemmings happen to show up, she might talk to them.

But the fact is that this is precisely the same kind of political prostitution so many engage in mere moments after they're elected. Unfortunately for us, that's what she was BEFORE she was elected... and as her constituent, I know we are all worse off for it.

Meanwhile, for me, at least, POLITICO will have zero credibility since they've freshly joined the "useful tool" category of Kos or Huffington Post.

Cross-posted on Jaime Herrera Watch.
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So, uh, Jaime... you want a little cheese with that whine?

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Will, golly-gosh gee-willickers. Jaime's got her panties in a bunch, big time. She sent out this pathetic effort to "explain" what's happened... since she just got her head handed to her in a basket in the Columbian.

Dear Friends,

Rep. Deb Wallace, a Democrat, has withdrawn from the race for Congress in the 3rd District but on her way out wants to throw some mud at me.

Wallace alleges that I have been away from the House floor “for hours at a time” during votes this year. That is false. I have one of the best voting attendance records in Olympia. In three years I’ve only missed a total of 10 out of 1863 possible floor votes. All of the votes I missed took place before this year, and all were excused absences -- I missed a few votes the day my car broke down on I-5 and the others on the day I attended my grandmother’s funeral.

Every single legislator is called off the floor from time to time for meetings. This happens most often when constituents arrive at the Capitol hoping to meet their legislators. When that happens, it is a longstanding House practice for the legislator to instruct their seatmate how they intend to vote, and allow the seatmate to push the legislator’s voting button while the legislator spends a few minutes with their constituents. I have done this, as has Rep. Wallace and virtually every legislator who has served in the House in at least the past few decades, but this does not equal “hours” away from the floor.

I am very active on this session as Assistant Floor Leader. In that role my duties include moving around the floor to work with legislators who are about to speak, and stepping into the wings of the chamber for leadership meetings. At those times I am not sitting in my seat but I am deeply involved in the legislative process.

I stand behind my voting record, which is available at washingtonvotes.org, and I stand behind my hard work and service to the people of my legislative district.

This is one of the first, but it won’t be the last untruth that is told about me this year. I’m ready for this fight. The goal of restoring America and representing the people of Southwest Washington is too important a goal to be sidetracked by this kind of nonsense.

Thank you for reading this message.

Sincerely,

Jaime Herrera

First of all, don't believe for a second that Herrera actually wrote this.

Second, she's a proven liar. So why believe her now?

See, Ridgefield Barbie's problem is that it ain't mud if it's true.

And it is true.

That Wallace, in Herrera's pinhead mind, doesn't have "proof" is meaningless.

What kind of "proof" would suffice to convince Herrera that her illegal activities an blowing off the people of the 18th District is, in fact, what actually happened?

It's easy to say that someone can't "prove" an allegation. But the fact that there's no "proof" that God exists doesn't deter me from having faith that it's so.

The lamest aspect of this lame defence is that Herrera CONTINUES to defend her "voting record."

What she doesn't seem to understand is that this isn't ABOUT her "voting record." This is about SOMEBODY ELSE VOTING FOR HER IN HER ABSENCE.

When you are not there... and someone else votes for you... then guess what? It shows that you WERE there... even when you WEREN'T.

So this smokescreen, dog and pony show is just that, and it completely fails to address the issues at hand... which is that Herrera didn't vote... somebody else voted FOR her... and the voting machine neither knows or cares who that was/is; it will still show it was YOU, Herrera, even when we know it wasn't.

Is this a coincidental failure?

I think not.

And that said, Barbie, this "voting record" that you're so hot to "defend?" It seems to include a co-sponsorship of an SEIU bill that will FORCE child care workers into unions... and put child care costs out of reach for many... unless, of course, you and the rest of your leftist clowns in the Legislature jack up the child care subsidies that WE pay... but you would NEVER do something like that...

Would you?

Face it, Barbie. You've screwed up. You're an idiot wrapped in a moron. And your selective memory doesn't help.

You have bailed on your constituents, of which I am one. Your should have resigned when you got the moronic idea that YOU should be OUR representative in Congress.

And your string-pulling keepers should have picked someone else with the common sense of a board fence to try to ram down our throats instead of a waste of skin like you.

And how's that special interest fund raiser in DC going? You know, the one you're leaving us behind to jet over to DC for?

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
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Wallace brings it on: Herrera HAS missed votes that others have taken for her.

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As I pointed out below, State Representative Deb Wallace has alleged that Jaime "Ridgefield Barbie" Herrera has missed dozens of floor votes in favor of fundraising for her congresswional campaign, while others in the GOP caucus vote for her.

Herrera, a cardboard cut out and an embarassment of a so-called "representative," is best known for being parachuted into the 18th District by Cathy "Jennifer Dunn Wannabe" McMorris, corrupting the appointment processto replace then State Representative Richard Curtis.

Wallace tells us what many Olympia insiders already knew: Herrera SHOULD have resigned her seat to go after the 3rd Congressional so that the people of the 18th District (of which I am one) would at least have a hope for something approaching decent representation, unlike the trash Herrera brings with her idea of mailing it in.

Kudos go to The Columbian in this instance (motives notwithstanding) Clearly, Herrera deserved Russell's endorsement since they have so much in common, integrity-wise.

Wallace slams Herrera absences, prompting angry response

By Kathie Durbin
Columbian Staff Writer

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Rep. Deb Wallace is accusing Rep. Jaime Herrera of shirking her duties by being absent from the House floor “for hours on end” during key votes over the last few weeks in order to campaign — a charge Herrera flatly denies.

Wallace, D-Vancouver, first made the accusation Saturday at a neighborhood meeting at which she announced she was bowing out of the 3rd Congressional District race.

She repeated it in an interview with The Columbian on Monday, saying Herrera is asking other Republicans to cast votes for her while she is absent from the floor.

“Either she is in the building fundraising, which is illegal, or she is off campus and she has not been excused,” Wallace said.

Herrera, R-Camas, angrily denied that she was absent in order to campaign.

“Deb has no credibility, she has no proof,” Herrera said.

She said that as deputy floor leader for the House Republican caucus, she was busy last week organizing testimony in opposition to suspending Initiative 960, a voter-approved measure that requires a two-thirds vote of each chamber to raise taxes.

“I have missed 10 votes in my entire time as a legislator here,” she said. “I haven’t missed any votes (by being) off the floor this session. I’ve been on the House floor fighting for I-960. As a floor leader, part of my responsibility is to manage the floor
debate.”

Another part of her job is to meet with constituents, Herrera said. “This last week, we were on the House floor the whole time. I met with faculty from Clark College. If a constituent comes from Southwest Washington, I will meet with them.”

At her request, three people who met with Herrera off the House floor on Feb. 10, 16 and 18 contacted The Columbian to confirm those meetings.

Wallace insists she knows what she saw with her own eyes.

“I was on the House floor hours a day last week before the cutoff” for passage of bills, Wallace said. “When I look across, I’m looking at Jaime Herrera’s empty desk. I’m looking across and watching people vote for her for hours on end. I’m seeing them go into to caucus and come out and still vote for her. This has been going on all session. When there are key votes, she is there.”

“This is not the kind of integrity that is right for our district,” Wallace said. “I’m offended by this.”

It’s common in the House chambers, where members vote electronically, for seat mates to cast votes for each other if a member is in the wings or in the caucus room. No rule prevents the practice. The vote by proxy is not recorded as “absent” or
“excused,” and there is no way to document who actually pushed the button.

Wallace said she has asked others to cast votes for her occasionally, and other House members do so when, for example, they leave the floor for meals.

“This is a far different situation,” she said. “This is an integrity issue.”

House Republican leader Richard DeBolt said members of the leadership in both parties typically spend time off the floor during floor sessions.

“The House speaker is never on the floor,” DeBolt said. “I’m not on the floor all the time. Leadership has to track amendments, talk to members. The other day the whole leadership was right off the floor in the wings working on I-960.”

DeBolt said he had not noticed any change in Herrera’s attendance this session.

“If (members) leave the campus, they are supposed to excuse themselves,” DeBolt added. “We have a hard and fast rule about that.”

Herrera was scheduled to take a red-eye flight to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night for a campaign fundraising event Thursday. She said she would be gone less than 24 hours and would miss no committee or floor votes.

Kathie Durbin: 360-735-4523 or kathie.durbin@columbian.com.

Clearly, someone like Herrera, possessed by special, out of district interests as she admittedly is, would have no trouble lying about this, particularly since she knows that to tell the truth would actually end her deservedly endable political "career."

Cros posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
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The answer to the 9 am question.

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Well, of COURSE Ms. Herrera was in Seattle attending another fund raiser arranged for her by those fine folks corrupting the 3rd Congressional race with special interest money... since she can't raise any on her own... instead of doing her job in Olympia.

You know... the job you're blowing off your oath to avoid doing?

See, Jaime... you should have resigned to go after your hobby. That way, you wouldn't have the embarrassment of supporting SEIU legislation that would effectively end low cost day care for those who need it the most; you wouldn't be dealing with the fall out of illegally having others vote in your place so you won't show up as absent; and maybe, just maybe, you might actually earn this gig on your own.

You won't, of course, because in doing the only job you could ever imagine having, you are doing a piss poor job of doing what you're SUPPOSED to do: representing us. Here. In THIS district.

In Olympia. Not in Seattle or Washington, DC fund raisers.

You put the "um" in scum... and you shouldn't be elected crossing guard.

Cross posted on Jaime Herrera Watch.
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Just out of curiosity, Jaime, where were you at 9 am this morning?

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Instead of working at the Legislature?

You know.... where you were elected to work?

It's bad enough that you couldn't wait until the end of session to bail on us.... and it's certainly bad enough that you have to dump us to go to DC for your filthy lucre of special interest money even before the election DURING session.... and it's bad enough that someone on the floor of the house is voting for you now in your absences... It's even bad enough that you seem to believe Jon "No Traction" Russell's endorsement is actually worth something....

But where were you at 9 am this morning? And why? Inquiring minds want to know.

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
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Russell blows it: unable to take a hint, the least electable "Republican" to now run in the 18th.

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When driven by arrogance and ego, it's hard to admit your political failures.

And that brings me to Jon "No Traction" Russell.

Russell has shown that as a Congressional candidate, he's been an abysmal failure.

Now, he's bound and determined to meet with the same disastrous results of his political opportunism in running for the 18th District seat vacated by Ridgefield "Let someone else illegally vote for me on the house floor" Barbie, Jamie "If Baird were still running, you'd have never heard of me" Herrera.

Russell, of course, is totally unsuitable for election to any partisan office as an alleged Republican. All of the reasons why he shouldn't have been our congressional representative still apply as to why he shouldn't be our state representative, either; which, after all, would just tend to serve as yet another notch on his gun belt as the politician from Illinois is determined to go to higher office.... no matter how many political bodies he needs to step on to get there... not unlike Ridgefield Barbie, come to think of it.

The reasons to oppose Russell are many:

His horrific mishandling of Washougal's finances and his rapid desire to throw Stacy Sellers under the nearest bus while avoiding his responsibilities for that financial debacle;

The role HE played in hiring the Washougal City Finance Director, since fired for, among other things, being unbondable;

The fact that he made thousands of dollars consulting on the Port of Vancouver Levy in his efforts to slam us with the biggest tax increase in local history to get the Port money that, as it turns out, they didn't really need.

So, here we go. Russell of the massive ego, rejected by the people of the 3rd Congressional, is now going to put the 18th District seat at risk.

When you get clobbered there, Jon... what will you run for then?

Cross posted at Jon Russell Watch
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Pridemore slams another nail into his dimming congressional hopes: Votes to screw the will of the people.

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It's bad enough that this area is cursed with a Senator who, on one hand, would complain that he "feared that the budget was balanced on the backs of the poor and the powerless" shortly before voting "yes" on that budget; it's bad enough that we have someone corrupt enough to change his campaign finance bill so his buddy, Clark County Commissioner Steve "Cold hard cash, Mr. Barnett" Stuart so he could keep $50,000 or so for his last commissioner campaign.

It's equally bad enough that this clown would ram through a bill gerrymandering the loot rail taxing district to make sure that tens of thousands of us here in Clark County have no say in jacking up the tax... we'll just have the duty to pay it.

it's bad enough that this moron wants to blow a $100,000,000 per year for the next several decades; bad enough that he wants to tax those of us using the bridge $1,300 per year... each... and rape us with that charge without asking us.

But added to that shameful list is his vote where he tells the tens of thousands of us here in the 3rd Congressional District to get screwed when he voted FOR the leftist tax jack up bill "suspending" I-960.

So, he joined with 25 other democrats possessed of political death wishes... including his own as he ended any possibility of becoming the next Congressman from the 3rd... if such a possibility existed at all.

This kind of monumental arrogance and ignorance (Raising taxes in the midst of a recession with double-digit unemployment? Really?) is not what anyone wants in their elected officials.

The people of the 3rd Congressional had spoken, Craig. And you just told us to F-off.

While that kind of bilge may play in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Vancouver... it ain't playing anywhere else.

Good bye, Craig. We hardly knew ye.
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Sources that I know have told me that Jon "No Traction" Russell is bailing out of the 3rd Congressional race.

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Well, it had to happen. Jon Russell doesn't have "it," and he's finally figured that out.

Russell, a Washougal City Council member, has had his people (and how lame is that?) calling around to tell folks he's no longer running.

Good.

The reason I say "good," is not because he's no longer running in the 3rd CD so much, but because he was just given another term in the train wreck known as the City of Washougal.

There's enough work needed there to keep a regiment busy. Straightening out his own city should have become his primary task; not using that position as a campaign prop in a no-chance run for Congress.

I have beaten Jon Russell like a drum on this blog. But I have, for the most part, left him alone for several weeks now, because his floundering campaign was unable to gain any traction of any kind, and the end result is that I didn't need help him implode.

He needs much more time and distance between what he was and what he wants to become. He needs to work very hard to get Washougal fixed... and I support him on that level.

But I'm watching, Jon. I'm always watching.
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Jaime Herrera must resign.... immediately.

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I've frequently wondered how it is that I could be represented by someone like Herrera. Ridgefield Barbie, who tossed Don Benton under the first available bus with her untrue and moronic "Well, Benton voted for it" whine on Lew Waters effort as a result of her idiotic co-sponsorship and vote for SHB 1329, the SEIU child care worker collective bargaining bill.

Obviously, Herrera, who lied to county commissioners so blithely when she batted her baby browns and told them "there is not a job in the world I would rather have" cannot represent us and run for Congress full time.

So.... how was she doing it? How was she spending all that time on the floor when she needed to be working the phones with her "prepared-by-Vanderstoep and McMorris-Rogers" list?

Well, the answer is this:

She's not. Rep. Deb Wallace says someone ELSE is voting for her.

So, here's the deal, Jaime: you can resign now and withdraw from the Congressional race, or face the wrong end of an Ethics investigation that you cannot politically survive.

Your call.

Cross Posted on Jaime Herrera Watch.
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One down, one to go: Deb Wallace calling it a day in the 3rd CD?

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Apparently, Deb Wallace has figured it out.

Clark County Democrat Congressional Candidate FAQ: why none of them will win.
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It's fairly obvious that, in the unlikely event a democrat can win this thing, he or she won't be someone living in Clark County. It's bad enough to be a democrat in this day and age anyway, doing everything they can to assist in the GOP resurgence and all; but the leftists of Clark County are particularly hamstrung by more than their political affiliation... though that's certainly bad enough.

For those elected to office already, a record of lacking integrity, gerrymandering or unbelievably wasteful spending would be too much to overcome in the best of times, even attempting to take advantage of the opportunism resulting from Baird bailing.

Both Pridemore and Wallace have been instrumental in spending this state into massive deficits. They both have a years-long paper trail that will make it easy to show that if either were elected, they'd just continue to be rubber stamps for the Belle of Botox, Nancy Pelosi.

More:

So, here's what Politics is a Bloodsport reports:

Deb Wallace out of 3rd CD race?

Special note here: I am unable to get multiple sourcing on this story that first appeared on the Vancouver For Peace mail list, but in doing some background checking, this appears plausible:

Deb Wallace just announced her withdrawal from not only the 3rd congressional race, but also her seat in the state legislature when it expires in January. She has not yet announced her endorsement for the 3rd race, but she is endorsing somebody named Monica Stonier (the last name I'm not sure) for her state spot.

I attended our neighborhood clubhouse where Deb had reserved for this. (She's lives in Pinebrook as I do.) I thought she'd talk about her race against Baird. Instead she said she was withdrawing so that the best Democrat would win. She said Jaime Herrera, R, looks like the candidate for the Repugs and Deb said Jaimie is often absent at the legislature and others press her vote.

Deb did not have an answer when I asked what she'll do. She supports Monica S, a pro-choice woman for the 17th District.

More:

Now, Pridemore, an unabashed fringe leftist, tainted by scandal and his lame gerrymandering bill, along with his moronic vote FOR a budget that he "feared was balanced on the backs of the poor and the powerless" will be next up to get the word.

Of course, with Herrera having someone else vote for her instead of being on the floor doing her job..... she must resign.... immediately.
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Memo to Paulson, Queen Chrissy and Taxandgougeme: What the people "expect" is for YOU to STFU.

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The senseless babble coming out of Olympia and Salem and the Ports concerning our impending rape as reported by our paper seems to have shifted into "ludicrous speed."

Thanks to Wallace and Pridemore, who never saw a tax or fee they didn't want to raise, we've wasted tens of millions of dollars and all we've got is a stack of paper to show for it and little else.

If we actually needed the bridge replaced; if we actually wanted loot rail to come into our county, then the nonsense from the "Bobbsey Twins" might have made a difference:

“citizens of this region have watched our two states discuss and plan for a new bridge for over 20 years, and they expect us to proceed.”

Well, here's a clue, morons: we expect you to proceed TO is to ABANDON THIS FRICKING PROJECT BEFORE YOU WASTE ANY MORE MONEY! THAT'S what we "EXPECT."

There is precisely ZERO need to tear down a perfectly functional bridge to replace it with a bridge that will do absolutely NOTHING to improve freight mobility OR reduce congestion.

You two idiots would blow a hole in our local economy of $100,000,000 A YEAR.

Why is it that when sock puppets like Paulson at the Port babble about how wonderful this dogpile is they never seem to talk about the rape of the commuters who will get stuck with the bill for this massive piece of crap? If the Port of Vancouver... or these two idiots we have for governors... want this steaming pile, then let THEM PAY FOR IT.

How easy it is for batshit crazy types who will NOT have to pay for this to insist that WE have to bear that burden for THEIR agenda?

That's what "the people expect," since the scum in charge lack the guts to ASK us what we want... a feat that speaks for itself.

When this is over, we'll be out billions; nothing will have improved, and the families living in Clark County will have been saddled with additional thousands of dollars of debt. 65,000 commuters and their families will be forced to pay for this senseless debacle... and once again, the phrase "will of the people" will be tossed on the ash heap of history by democrats... just like they tossed I-960.
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Where Glenn Beck lost me.

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It's all about the Benjamins, right Glenn?

I've occasionally watched and listened to Glenn Beck. Sometimes, he's informative and passionate about the decline of our country as a result of a leftist agenda.

I've been impressed by his seeming altruism, and his ability to explain the issues in a way that actually makes sense.

He's been a huge part of the Tea Party Movement, and his involvement has led to a great deal that has worked to spread the word.

The problem?

He's not doing it to save his country. He's not doing it because it's the right thing to do. He's not doing it because he, apparently, fears our country is at risk.

He's doing it for the money.

The end result is his show has been reduced to little more than an info-mercial, a platform where he can shill his books and his personal appearances.

Most recently, it's been this American Revival shtick.

So, I thought I'd check into ticket prices for his upcoming appearance:



Glenn Beck's American Revival
Glenn Beck's American Revival is a daylong event where you can find information, inspiration, and the preparation to help turn this country around...
- Tickets now available!







Yup. "Tickets ARE available."

And how much might those tickets be?

Glenn Beck

NEW UCF ARENA, ORLANDO, FL
Sat, Mar 27, 2010 10:00 AM

Section 115
Row D
Seats 14
Description Price Level 1 CLUB LEVEL ACCESS
RESERVED SEATING

Type Full Price Ticket

Ticket Price US $120.00 x 1

Price Details

Facility Charge US $2.00 x 1

Convenience Charge US $12.75 x 1

SUBTOTAL US $134.75

That's right: tickets to see Beck's "save the country" tour cost $134.75

I'm sorry, Glenn, but if your true aim is to reverse disaster and save this country from the forces that would destroy it, you cannot charge each of us $134.75 to hear that message.

That is an absurd amount of money to charge... and it cheapens what you are trying to tell us.

You have become a political parody. And you're clearly driven by The Money.

And I am out.
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Koenninger must be getting old: It took him far longer than I thought it would to get stupid over the Gorge.

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As a 23 year, post military service resident of this area, one of the biggest disappointments about this area we live in has been the local daily paper.

And of the many disappointments within that despicable rag, Tom Koenninger has been the worst.

His list of idiocy and efforts to bully those wise enough to disagree with him is both long and distinguished. His many outrages against common sense include an unfathomable fetish for loot rail, one that he will cheerfully charge us billions of dollars to dabble in; a moronic fixation on forcing the people to pay for a downtown Hilton that has cost us millions and has yet to make a profit; a determination to silence the people that would have done Stalin himself credit... and his bizarre view that he is some sort of arbiter as to what is and isn't proper for, or about, the Columbia River Gorge.

Koenninger babbles about the Gorge on a frequent basis. He has, off and on, beat people up wise enough to disagree with his peculiar view that the Constitutional protections afforded to the rest of us are somehow beyond those who live and work within the confines of the Gorge Scenic Area.

The utterly absurd restrictions those thousands of people must live under are just that: utterly absurd. To get some appointed group's permission to change the color of your home, for example, is beyond stupidity. But such a restriction exists within the Scenic Area; one of many that were imposed without regard to the desires of the residents of the Scenic Area.... and one of many that Koenninger, his babble notwithstanding, does not choose to live under.

No, Koenninger views the Gorge as his personal fiefdom, and does everything he can to continue the oppression of the Gorge's residents and economy. He's even gone so far as to use his bully pulpit to attack a young couple trying to build a home, an already permitted home, within the Gorge... because of an inability on his part to determine the difference between the legally required standard of "visually subordinate" and the bizarre, self developed and totally unconstitutional standard not required by the Scenic Act or any other act of "invisibility."

When the issue was settled by a Washington State Supreme Court decision of a 9 - 0 crushing defeat of Koenninger's moronic position on the matter, (Note, the anti-Gorge leftist whackos like Koenninger did not appeal the decision in question) Koenninger failed to do so much as apologize to that couple, the Beas, even though he, personally, had used his platform so irresponsibly as to make their lives a living hell.

So, when legislators in the area made the effort to get the Gorge Commission's attention by cutting their budget, Koenninger got positively spastic over that effort, permanently cementing himself into the "stuck on stupid" mode that led to idiocy like his column today.

Koenninger demanded the resignation of one of those legislators, idiotically pointing out that his constituents would do it for him when he ran for re-election... in the face of the successful, bi-state effort (Oregon joined with Washington in whacking the Commission's budget.) that took place to, well, remind the Commission who they actually work for.

Koenninger was babbling then like he's babbling now; the legislator in question, then State Representative Marc Boldt, won re-election easily four times, and then has twice been elected county commissioner.

As I have frequently stated, self-delusion is the hallmark of the leftist. As a leftist, Koenninger stands as the chief example of the fact.

We have wasted millions on a Commission that has accomplished little to nothing. And we can no longer afford to indulge in Koenninger's fancies because he wants to do so.

SHB 3132 is the right bill for a group that has far outlived it's usefulness. Democrat Rep. Kevin Van De Wege's residence is as irrelevant as Koenninger's. Van De Wege does not live in the Gorge, and neither does Koenninger.

I knew Koenninger would get stupid over this proposal. I'm surprised it took him so long.

Hopefully, Van De Wege will be successful in eliminating this waste of money in the midst of our recession. And Koenninger, who has always felt parochial ownership of the Gorge, can certainly write a check to make up for any budget shortfall, if he REALLY feels the Commission to be all THAT important.
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All this posturing on I-960. You've got to wonder wonder why Herrera screwed us on the SEIU bill.

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The senior intern-turned appointed state representative is, no doubt, shooting off her mouth on the floor at a mile a minute so she can come out and tell us how hard "She" fought to keep it in place.

Of course, she was strangely absent when it came to getting it in front of the people in the first place, but hey, given everything that's happened with Ridgefield Barbie, no one could ever claim she's not a rank opportunist.

The problem is that no matter what she blabs now, it won't wash away the stain of selling us all out by co-sponsoring and voting for that neo-communist bill pushing child care costs far out of the reach of those who need it the most.

So, she screws the most needy in our society by increasing both the cost of day care and the size of the leftist unions that brought us to this sorry state of affairs in the first place.

And now, she's cranking out the rhetoric and the verbiage, no doubt to get it all up on YouTube as fast as possible to polish her non-existent conservative cred.

It doesn't matter what you said tonight, Herrera.

Because, when it mattered, you said the wrong thing at the wrong time and helped the enemies of our economy strike another blow against those who needed the help the most.

And nothing you said tonight will change any of that.

Cross posted At Jaime Herrera Watch.
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Nazi Courts still exist in Germany.

I admit it. I was a guest of the US Army for 2 tours totalling 6 years and 3 months in Germany, from 72 through 76 and from 82 through 85.

Most every Nazi symbol had been eradicated, even the dreaded "SS" symbol replaced with the capitol ß symbol... thus the word for "street" is "strasse," or this: Straße.

So, imagine my surprise when I discovered today that Nazi law is still in full force and effect and actually recognized by German courts!

Unbelieveable.

Grandson of 'Valkyrie' plot prince loses family estate bid

Anti-Nazi aristocrat forced to sign over land after being tortured by the Gestapo

By Tony Paterson in Berlin

Tuesday, 16 February 2010

A German court has rejected a demand for the return of thousands of acres of land to the family of an anti-Nazi aristocrat who was tortured by the Gestapo and stripped of all his property as punishment for taking part in the abortive Second World War plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Prince Friedrich zu Solms-Baruth was one of a handful of German aristocrats who took part in the failed attempt to blow up the Nazi leader on 20 July 1944. The Gestapo arrested him the next day and forced him to sign a legal contract formally handing over 17,300 acres of family estates and castles to Heinrich Himmler, the Gestapo chief.

But a legal bid by the Prince's grandson, Prince Friedrich zu Solms-Baruth V, to have the properties returned failed yesterday. A court in the city of Potsdam rejected pleas for their restitution; arguing that the contract which led to their being relinquished to the Gestapo was legal because German law still recognised Nazi Germany as a constitutional state in which the rule of law prevailed.

The verdict provoked a furious response from members of the zu Solms-Baruth family, German legal experts and historians specialising in the Nazi-era. "The court's ruling is outrageous," Prince Friedrich V told The Independent. "My grandfather was coerced into signing away his estates to Himmler. He had to do it to save his own life and that of his family. The whole world knows that the Nazis put a veneer of legality on their criminal activities."

Antony Beevor, the British historian and Nazi-era expert, said the mere fact that the prince's grandfather signed over his estates while being held prisoner in the Gestapo's infamous Berlin headquarters rendered the signature invalid. "It is quite simply unimaginable that a document presented to a prisoner arrested in connection with the 20 July plot could be deemed to have been a contract entered into willingly and without coercion," he said.

The prince's grandfather, a renowned anti-Nazi, joined the so-called "Valkyrie" plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944. His country estates were used as meeting places for the conspirators. In the run-up to the assassination attempt, led by Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, he slept in a different room every night with a pistol under his pillow.

The prince was arrested during a Gestapo raid on his estates the day after the failed attempt to blow up Hitler at his "Wolf's Lair" headquarters in Eastern Prussia. He was taken to Gestapo HQ in Berlin where he was held in a cell for weeks and tortured.

After his release, the prince remained banished from his estates under pain of death. He left Germany for Sweden after the Second World War and emigrated to Namibia, where he started farming. As the bulk of the estates confiscated from the family lay in communist East Germany after the war, legal attempts to have them returned were only begun following Germany's reunification in 1990. Most of the family property now officially belongs to the state of Brandenburg and the town of Baruth.

The case will now be heard by Germany's federal supreme court in Leipzig.

This must be fixed. The souls of millions slaughtered in that horror demand no less.

It's not often that I agree with the Administration about anything, but this approach to illegals has been needed for a long time.

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There's a little town in Okanogan County called Brewster. (pop 2200 or so)

To read this article, one would come to the belief that the economy of this town is almost fully dependent on the illegal alien trade.

In this instance, what's happened here is that Immigration has notified a large farm that they would be subjected to an audit. as a result, they notified the work force of the following:

That because many of the forms and identifications used for employment were suspect, unless those employees could prove they were in this country legally, the company would let them go.

The result?

Five hundred and fifty were fired.

As they should have been.

This is, I believe, the missing link in "enforcement" (using the term euphemistically) of our immigration laws.

It's not the only step, of course. All locations doing anything concerning illegal aliens, including schools and hospitals, should be reporting them to ICE, who should then, in turn, deport them.

Further, we should make absolutely sure that they receive no government assistance at any level for anything, and we should eliminate the bizarre laws that make birth in this country an automatic qualification for citizenship.

But most importantly, we must hold those who would employ illegals the most accountable.

If we were to take these steps, then the illegal alien problem would be severely curtailed and it would be curtailed in the fairest way possible.

By that, I mean that those who break the laws of this country by being here illegally are in no way favored over the millions of others who would immigrate to this country by following the rules.

The nonsensical idea that those violating our laws are more qualified to be here then those following those laws is just that: bizarre.
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Interesting results from Rasmussen on Senate Poll: Benton leads announced Republicans.

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Both the Didier and Widner camps have to be disheartened at the results of today's Rasmussen Poll here in Washington State, where recently announced State Senator Don Benton leads all announced Republicans in the race to unseat Patty Murray:

Washington Survey of 500 Likely Voters

February 11, 2010

2010 Washington Senate
Dino Rossi (R)	48%
Patty Murray (D)	46%
Some Other Candidate	1%
Not Sure	5%

2010 Washington Senate
Don Benton (R)	38%
Patty Murray (D)	50%
Some Other Candidate	3%
Not Sure	9%

2010 Washington Senate
Clint Didier (R)	34%
Patty Murray (D)	49%
Some Other Candidate	4%
Not Sure	13%

2010 Washington Senate
Chris Widener (R)	33%
Patty Murray (D)	48%
Some Other Candidate	5%
Not Sure	14%

Likewise, continued leads in the polls have to be of interest to Dino Rossi as well.

Meanwhile, Scott Brown's consulting crew, now on board with Benton, must be thrilled; since Brown was 33 behind when he announced.

Election 2010: Washington Senate

Washington Senate: Murray Leads All Republican Challengers But Rossi

Monday, February 15, 2010

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Democratic Senator Patty Murray holds double-digit leads on three of the top Republicans who hope to unseat her in this year’s Senate race in Washington State.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Murray, who is expected to seek a fourth six-year term this fall, leads Republican state Senator Don Benton 50% to 38%.

Against former professional football player Clint Didier, now a private businessman active in the Tea Party movement, Murray has a 15-point lead, 49% to 34%.

The incumbent posts a 48% to 33% lead over businessman and motivational speaker Chris Widener.

In the three contests, anywhere from three (3%) to five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate and nine (9%) to 14% are undecided. An incumbent at this stage of the contest who earns less than 50% is considered potentially vulnerable.

The potential vulnerability is highlighted when Murray is matched against Dino Rossi, the unsuccessful GOP candidate in the state’s last two gubernatorial contests. Certainly the best-known of the Republicans, Rossi attracts 48% of the vote in a match-up with Murray while the incumbent earns 46%. One percent (1%) like another candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

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Yes, it's early yet, but both Didier and Widner have been campaigning for some time and both have yet to show anything approaching Benton's fund raising skill.

Meanwhile, Obama is doing everything HE can to aid the GOP in Washington by trashing government at every level with Patty Murray as a willing accomplice.

Will we see the granny-in-tennis shoes snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as she continues to march, lemming-like, over the Obama cliff?

Evan Bayh wouldn't go there. Will Murray?
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