Help build a memorial to Dick Winters at Utah Beach.

.
He deserves it. Go to http://easycompany.legacyconnect.com/ and check it out.

Dick Winters deserves it... that and so much more.

God Bless You, Major Winters. You, your men, and all who've gone before in defense of our country.



BLACKFIVE gets the nod.
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The stupidity of SOME Washington high school football refs can't be overstated.

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Watch this video of a Tumwater high school football player being penalized for thanking God for his touchdown in a play off game.



Now, I think it's kinda dumb to thank God for getting a touchdown... frankly, I think He has much bigger fish to fry.

But as the announcer pointed out, it's done everywhere else without idiots throwing flags.

The guy who tossed this one shouldn't be allowed to ref a tiddlywinks match, let alone a playoff football game. He's very fortunate that his stupidity didn't seem to impact the outcome.

H/T to KOMOcommunities and Orbusmax..
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The whining articles start in the democratian: among the first up, the Gorge Commission.

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We are now and for the next several months, going to be regaled with how tough various agencies have it because.... finally.... their funding is going to be cut deep and "they" are going to "suffer."

Not like tens of thousands here locally and millions across the country suffer at the hands of an inept, out of touch government, you understand. But "suffer," nonetheless.

Here locally, one of the most useless, damaging wastes of millions of dollars since their inception has been, and continues to be, the Columbia Gorge Commission.

They are facing severe cuts. Not severe enough, you understand, since they are apparently not going to be eliminated altogether, but severe. In fact, the democratian uses the term "grim."

That's the kind of terminology best reserved for serious situations... death or impending death... destruction... describing our Empty-Suit's governance or handling of the economy.

Budget cuts, when called for as government at every levels budget should be cut, are not grim. If the Gorge Commission was to disappear tomorrow, no one but the FOG would miss it. And as far as that goes, maybe those folks should write the Commission a big fat check, if they're so all fired important in the overall scheme of things.

Because what I know for sure is this: the Gorge was there long before there was a Commission... and it'll be there long after it's gone.
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When Republicans are stupid: 8 GOP Senators vote to continue earmarks.

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In an ongoing effort to prove the naysayers who frequently tell us that the only difference between democrats and Republicans is the spelling of their respective names, a fine group of RINOS who either didn't get the message when they nearly lost (Murkowski) or who think we'll forget when their time comes voted with democrats to continue their4 time-honored, pork-laden tradition of paying off campaign contributors with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of OUR money... all so they can get even more campaign contributions.

The Infernal Eight?

The eight Republicans in opposition were: Sens. Robert Bennett of Utah; Thad Cochran of Mississippi; Susan Collins of Maine; James Inhofe of Oklahoma, Richard Lugar of Indiana; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Richard Shelby of Alabama, and George Voinovich of Ohio. Bennett, Cochran, Murkowski, Shelby and Voinovich all serve on the Appropriations Committee.

Proving the GOP was correct in getting rid of Bennett in Utah at their convention (No telling how much MORE damage he's going to do before he's gone) and Murkowski in Alaska (One wonders: what would the election outcome in Alaska had been if she had campaigned on continuing her peculiar tradition?) This kind of thing has typically been cast as the doing of the democrats. In short, we've come to expect this from the leftists who work so hard at ripping us off via our taxes and then spend those precious dollars on whatever gets them the most campaign funding in return.

I realize that, relative to a trillion dollar plus budget, the few billions these clowns spend on their buddies, as despicable as it is, isn't much.

But in the era of "shared sacrifice," it's about damned time that we see our leaders at EVERY level, well, share some of the damned sacrifice.

And that example could have began here. These prima donna's COULD have lead by example. They COULD have told us that they get it.

These 8 morons clearly don't.
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Democrats in Washington State working hard for illegal alien votes: refuse to allow those booked into jail to be checked against national database.

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It isn't often that I remark on the occasional stupidity of the Washington State Patrol... but this idiocy is on them.

Look, I get that the morons running this state all have d's after their name. And I get that the left is all about benefiting from voter fraud and either using illegals to campaign for them or allowing illegals to vote... as long as they vote for democrats.

But this epic fail on the part of the State Patrol... that is, their REFUSAL to give ICE the fingerprints of those booked into jail in this state... is an inexplicable POLITICAL decision that now seems to have infested what is SUPPOSED to be the best, most professional law enforcement organization this state has.

There is no excuse for this stupidity. None. I get that Queen Crissy is all about securing the illegal vote like she did the tribal vote by bending over the taxpayer so they could keep hundreds of millions (and her campaign could get funded) by not requiring tribal casinos to pay a dime in taxes in this state.

The message from the State Patrol... that "We are a state law-enforcement agency, and we don't want to go down the road of being an immigration agency," is a despicable violation of their trust and their oath.

They all swore to uphold the laws of this state and this Nation. There was no selective ability to decide WHICH laws to enforce. They were SUPPOSED to enforce them all.

And if, as the State Patrol spokesman tells us, "The chief and the governor are of the same mind on this." then they both deserve to get kicked out on their wide-glide asses.

For God's sake... this is the OBAMA Administration asking us to provide this information to help battle illegal aliens. And this simple idiots don't want to do this?

Damn. If I was Obama, I'd cut Washington State off without a dime. Then I'd see how long it would take them to understand what "upholding the law means."

State won't agree to national immigration program
Washington state has declined to sign an agreement that would allow the fingerprints of every person booked into local jails to be checked against a national immigration database.

By Lornet Turnbull

Seattle Times staff reporter

Related

Washington state has declined to sign an agreement that would allow the fingerprints of people booked into local jails to be checked against a national immigration database.

Immigration officials say the idea behind Secure Communities, a federal program rolling out across the country, is to identify, detain and eventually deport those subject to removal from the country, with a particular focus on those who have committed serious crimes.

But Secure Communities is controversial in some places where it operates, with immigrant advocates saying that it snags immigrants who've committed only minor offenses and could discourage people from reporting crimes to the police.

The program is in 788 jurisdictions across 34 states, including Oregon, Idaho and California, and in the past two years has led to the expulsion of some 46,800 individuals from the country.

The Department of Homeland Security, which runs Secure Communities through its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division, said it will be in every jail nationwide by 2013.

Over the last year, ICE has been trying to reach agreements with the agency in each state that serves as that state's clearinghouse for fingerprint data. Any agreement with that agency would cover all local jurisdictions in the state.

In Washington, that agency is the State Patrol, which has chosen not to sign the agreement to activate Secure Communities here.

"We are a state law-enforcement agency, and we don't want to go down the road of being an immigration agency," Patrol spokesman Bob Calkins said. "The chief and the governor are of the same mind on this."

A spokeswoman for Gov. Chris Gregoire said the governor has not yet made a "final determination."

Calkins also said that while the State Patrol hasn't signed the agreement, it won't prevent local jurisdictions that choose to participate from doing so.

But officials from ICE said Washington not only hasn't signed, but it has not granted permission for ICE to work with local jurisdictions to activate the program, as other states that have not signed the agreement have done.

Nonetheless, they say, by 2013 they will have the ability to activate the program everywhere, even in states like Washington where they have no signed agreements.

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which advocates for stronger immigration enforcement, said Washington's position is wrongheaded political correctness.

Local authorities, he said, don't refuse to cooperate with other federal law-enforcement agencies, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

"What possible justification can they have for not turning over this information that might be the one opportunity to catch someone who is really dangerous?" Mehlman asked. "They are just asking for some future tragedy."

More, if you can stomach it.

HT to the Seattle Times, a REAL newspaper.
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Ridgefield Barbie's favorite union, SEIU 1199, dumps insurance coverage for the children of 30,000 workers.

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As we all know by know, the Empty Suit recently elected to Congress from the 5th District (Ahem.... I meant the THIRD district) was a big supporter of the SEIU. Co-sponsoring and voting for legislation that would have required day care workers to join that union while the OWNERS of day care facilities payed their dues, Babs worked that bill like they were paying her... which, come to think of it, they were.

Well, these fine, upstanding-hypocrite-major-supporters-of-Obamacare have just dumped the children of 30,000 low-wage home attendants, reinforcing both what a lying scumbag Obama is is and how utterly worthless unions generally and this one specifically happen to be.

Here it is: read it and, well, you know.

November 20, 2010, 7:40 PM ET

Union Drops Health Coverage for Workers’ Children

Search Metropolis

By Yuliya Chernova

Associated
Press

Jason Morales, an 1199SEIU member from Brooklyn, protested proposed health-care cuts in the state budget in June. A benefit fund for the union is dropping insurance coverage for workers’ children.

One of the largest union-administered health-insurance funds in New York is dropping coverage for the children of more than 30,000 low-wage home attendants, union officials said. The union blamed financial problems it said were caused by the state’s health department and new national health-insurance requirements.

The fund is administered by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. Union officials said the state compelled the fund to start buying coverage from a third party, which increased premiums by 60%. State health officials denied forcing the union fund to make the switch, saying the fund had been struggling financially even before the switch to third-party coverage.

The fund informed its members late last month that their dependents will no longer be covered as of Jan. 1, 2011. Currently about 6,000 children are covered by the benefit fund, some until age 23.

The union fund faced a “dramatic shortfall” between what employers contributed to the fund and the premiums charged by its insurance provider, Fidelis Care, according to Mitra Behroozi, executive director of benefit and pension funds for 1199SEIU. The union fund pools contributions from several home-care agencies and then buys insurance from Fidelis.

H/T to the Wall Street Journal and More:

Yeah, it's just that kind of corruption that was one of the factors that made Barbie such an... attractive... candidate.

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch, because she's earned it.
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Tonite's quiz question: Why would the Kuwait Ministry of Communications be making an effort to monitor my computer?

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My firewall software indicates 7 efforts by the Kuwait Ministry of Communications to, well, get into my computer:


20:47:43............168.187.16.186:3902
............................168.187.16.186:3902
............................168.187.16.186:3902
............................168.187.16.186:3902
............................168.187.16.186:3902
............................168.187.16.186:3902
20:47:25............168.187.16.186:3902

Lookup IP Information
IP Information - 168.187.16.186
Country	Kuwait
Country Code	KW
Latitude	29.3375
Longitude	47.6581

# Query terms are ambiguous. The query is assumed to be:
# "n 168.187.16.186"
#
# Use "?" to get help.
#

#
# The following results may also be obtained via:
# http://whois.arin.net/rest/nets;q=168.187.16.186showDetails=true&showARIN=false
#

NetRange: 168.187.0.0 - 168.187.255.255
CIDR: 168.187.0.0/16
OriginAS:
NetName: RIPE-ERX-168-187-0-0
NetHandle: NET-168-187-0-0-1
Parent: NET-168-0-0-0-0
NetType: Early Registrations, Transferred to
RIPE NCC
Comment: These addresses have been further assigned to users in
Comment: the RIPE NCC region. Contact information can be found in
Comment: the RIPE database at http://www.ripe.net/whois
RegDate:
2003-08-20
Updated: 2003-08-20
Ref:
http://whois.arin.net/rest/net/NET-168-187-0-0-1

OrgName: RIPE
Network
Coordination Centre
OrgId: RIPE
Address: P.O. Box 10096
City:
Amsterdam
StateProv:
PostalCode: 1001EB
Country: NL
RegDate:
Updated: 2004-12-13
Ref:
http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/RIPE

ReferralServer:
whois://whois.ripe.net:43

#
# ARIN WHOIS data and services are subject to the Terms of Use
# available at: https://www.arin.net/whois_tou.html
#

Any ideas?

Read something closer to a real newspaper, for free: Seattle Times PDF edition.

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It's the same thing as the democratian's online edition... but the local yokels are stupid enough to charge for it, while the Time's edition is free.

So, if you want to read any news about any area East of I-5 and North of 134th, give this a look: ( I understand it's free indefinitely.)

The Seattle Times On Line PDF Edition.
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The democratian: do they want cheese with that budget whine?

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We are in a horrific budget mess. Today, the democratian whines about budget cuts. Of course, they've endorsed most of the people responsible for this mess, but what the hey: when you're a fringe leftist, doing the right thing instead of doing the political thing can frequently be impossible.

They tell us things that are, as usual, blatantly untrue:

Negotiating new salaries and benefits with state workers, asking them to tighten their belts like everybody else, won’t solve Washington’s budget deficit in its entirety. But it would make a dent and it would foster an atmosphere of shared sacrifice.

If the fringe left nutters running this state have the will, cutting the pay, benefits and numbers of state employees could certainly do precisely that which the rag claims it can't. But this is just another episode of the "no-lie-we-won't-tell" non-reality of the stain on journalism infesting us.

It would be difficult. But it IS possible.

It certainly won't happen, however, because the unions own democrats like the 13th Amendment was never passed.

If the left had this kind of courage, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

And I have to ask: weren't these issues solved, in part, by the newly re-elected state cow and Obamacare?

Of course not. They both made the problem much worse. Nothing is more gullible then a leftist... or an editorial writer.

The rag whines about one person's Medicaid program. As usual, they offer no solutions to the problem, and as my time on legislative staff taught me, any idiot can complain.

Where it matters is when realistic alternatives and new ideas are offered to solve the problems. And, as usual, the rag offers neither.

They just complain. Frankly, it would probably be better if they had just skipped this altogether, since it accomplished nothing.
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The Repeal Amendment.

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I like it. Give it a look.

Breaking – Power to the People! Repeal Amendment Gaining Strength

by James M. Simpson

The great fear of all dictators is provoking rebellion before they are ready to handle it. So the Democrats, our Nation’s aspiring despots, have become refined experts at offering soothing, even encouraging, but always deceptive rhetoric about their sleazy, underhanded power grabs. Supported by a largely complicit mass media, they have brought our country to the breaking point.

But throughout history, the American people have repeatedly shown an amazing capacity for finding innovative solutions, often at the very last minute, to seemingly intractable crises. This fact of the indomitable, resourceful and defiant American spirit literally terrifies the left, and with good reason. They are now outed.

Flag of the Peoples' Republic of Massachusetts

First we got the Tea Party, a genuine, spontaneous, grassroots revolution that rose up in less than a year to become the most dynamic, influential political movement in America. It gave us the stunning defeats of Democrat politicians in New Jersey, Virginia and even the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts. See my tribute flag to Ted above. Be sure to look up the Latin translation.

Finally, the Tea Party should be credited with the November 2010 election results in the U.S. House of Representatives and the state legislatures, where Republicans now hold the largest number since 1928. But we all know that even these gains are not enough, at least not yet, to stop the leftist juggernaut—led by the most radical President and facilitated by the most corrupt Congress in U.S. history. So Communists, er, Democrats, meet your nemesis, those damned innovative Americans, again.

The Daily Caller headline (November 24, 2010) says it all. Yet another unanticipated fastball has been hurled directly at the radical left’s destructive agenda. It is called the Repeal Amendment. Brainchild of distinguished Georgetown Constitutional Law Professor Randy Barnett, the proposal has gotten legs with the help of Florida attorney Marianne Moran, Executive Director of RepealAmendment.org.

The proposal calls for a constitutional amendment that would allow the states, by a two-thirds majority vote, to repeal objectionable federal legislation and regulations. Virginia Representative Eric Cantor, slated to be Majority Leader in the upcoming Congress, has gotten behind the movement, as has Virginia’s governor, and lieutenant governor, leaders in the state legislature and Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Cantor articulates the justification well:

Washington has grown far too large and has become far too intrusive, reaching into nearly every aspect of our lives. In just the past few years, Washington has assumed more control over our economy and the private sector through excessive regulations and unprecedented mandates. Our liberty and freedom has lessened as the size and scope of the federal government has exploded. Massive expenditures like the stimulus, unconstitutional mandates like the takeover of health care, and intrusions into the private sector like the auto-bailouts have threatened the very core of the American free market.

Yeah, that about says it, although I would add the outrageous, blatantly corrupt misappropriation of trillions of taxpayer dollars for personal and political gain this administration and Congress have wantonly engaged in. These
people need jail.

The Amendment is straightforward and simple:

Any provision of law or regulation of the United States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be effective when the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states approve resolutions for this purpose that particularly describe the same provision or provisions of law or regulation to be repealed.

This Repeal Amendment was inspired by Barnett’s April 2009 groundbreaking article in the Wall Street Journal, which described Constitutional remedies for taking our country back. The Amendment was publicly proposed for the first time on September 15 of this year, and a mere two months later has garnered the support of prominent legislators in nine states: Virginia, Utah, New Jersey, Georgia, Texas, Minnesota, Florida, Indiana, and South Carolina. Virginia has led the way with support from Governor McDonnell, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell, Lieutenant Governor/Senate President Bill Bolling, in addition to Representative Cantor.

It has gotten a lot of play in the press too. On November 23^rd, Professor Barnett and Virginia House Speaker Howell went on Fox Business News to discuss the proposal with Fox News’ commentator Judge Andrew Napolitano. Napolitano was ecstatic about the idea:

…this sounds almost too good to be true, if it could happen. We wouldn’t have unfunded mandates; the Tenth Amendment would reign supreme; the states would be sovereign within their own borders…

But the Judge had his doubts.

Adding amendments to the U.S. Constitution is a deliberately difficult task. According to Article V of the U.S. Constitution, there are two ways it can be accomplished:

1. Both Houses of Congress agree to propose an Amendment with a two-thirds majority vote.

2. Two-thirds of state legislatures (34 states) pass a resolution to call for an Amendment Convention to vote on the amendment.

In both cases, the amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures (38 states).

More:

What an amazing tool this could be for states that truly care about their people.

Of course, the number listed here... two-thirds... is far too high... and this amendment would only make sense if that number were reduced to a simple majority... 25 states plus one.

Is there any doubt that the fringe leftist states (California, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts and the like could band together to stop this Amendment from ever being invoked?) would oppose this as much as possible?

Nevertheless, it's the start of a necessary discussion... and about time.

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The delusion that is Lou.

It's got to be tough to captain the sinking ship that is the democratian. In it's own way, it's kinda like being Obama.

Every morning, you wake up and you realize that you face another day of fail. Obama looks around and sees failure everywhere. NOTHING he's tried has worked. In every area, from domestic policy to the economy to health care to foreign policy, this empty suited, anti-American racist bigot has become the world's joke... and our nightmare.

Much like Brancaccio and that rag he runs.

Every morning, he wakes up and realizes that he's just that much closer to failure. He's in charge of an increasingly obsolete and unresponsive media mode that has just barely survived bankruptcy... for now... and it's getting worse every day.

Still smarting from the ass-kicking he took over his lame effort to Rule 5 Brent Boger, this clown continues to cheer lead even though his team is down 56 to zip with 1:20 left in the 4th quarter.

The problem with the self-delusional is they truly do share in Dr. Goebbels' philosophy that if you tell a lie often enough and long enough, it crowds out the truth.

Thus, when Brancaccio babbles:

• Our faithful staff that continues to bring our readers the best of what Clark County has to offer.

It's not because it's true, because it's so far from truth that they don't exist in the same hemisphere.
The best does not include Brancaccio's sniveling brand of bullying.

Subscriptions are off... advertising revenue continues to shrink... most everyone to the right of Stalin despises him and his sidekick, Mugsy Laird. Brancaccio tries to convince himself that the abysmal numbers are only a result of the recession, when, in fact, they're the result of the product he dumps on the street every day... a product which insults our intelligence when it's not insulting us directly.

It does not include patting himself on the back so long and so hard that he needs Tommy John surgery. It does not include letting, if not encouraging a total scumbag editorial page editor insult and belittle the vast majority who are both wise enough and knowledgeable enough to disagree with his crap pile column.

It does not include lying about the bridge project, covering up for and attempting to rehab the public persona of low life scum like Tim "The Liar" Leavitt.

It just... doesn't. And that's the record here... while Brancaccio moronically tells us that this equates to "the best."

Which, of course, perfectly explains why they had to tuck tail and move back out of the new city hall palace across the bone yard from the current city hall building.

Or this:

• Our faithful readers that stick with us as we all grind through this horrendous recession.

That ever shrinking number that can't seem to afford the internet, you mean?

Those that "stick" with the democratian typically do so because they have little alternative. But in a county of 430,000 or so, the rag's circulation is pathetic... and that is a reflection of the product.

Even the con job about perhaps THE most arrogant government official outside the White House today, Jim Moeller.

I hadn't seen Moeller all that much in the past several years. He's the guy responsible for ripping off taxpayers when it comes to non-veterans getting county veteran funding.

He's also the guy responsible for those idiotic tax increases on soda and some of what is, as opposed to what ain't, candy, that we just got done trashing at the polls, AKA I-1107.

Yes, Jim Moeller was the sponsor of the candy/soda tax bill. The rag repeatedly whined and bitched and moaned about that series of tax increases, but after Moeller dropped the bill in January, the rag never again mentioned that he was the sponsor of that bill that I could find.

There's a reason for that. Moeller was, perhaps, the safest politician running for re-election anywhere in leftist land. That's why he got the assignment to jack up our taxes in the midst of this horrific recession... because he was safe and SOMEBODY had to do it.

So yeah, the democratian allegedly endorsed Craig Riley. But in all of their disdain for that tax, they didn't mention who was behind it when the voters were paying attention.

They didn't write, for example, "As an example of what an out of touch leftist Moeller is, here's just one of the many bills he's introduced which have caused far more harm then good... the massive tax increase on whatever is defined as candy and soda pop... kind of a non-alcoholic, non nicotine sin tax."

Nope. Very few knew that the debacle resulting in 1107 was Moeller's baby, start to finish. And the rag made sure you didn't know it, either. Even now, Brancaccio can't bring himself to tell you that Moeller was the prime mover behind that garbage... just that he "believed" in it.

Moeller's arrogance is only exceeded by his ego. I attended a Christian Chamber of Commerce forum a few months back where Moeller lied his ass off, on subjects like Budget cuts and the like. Reporters were there. Nothing I can recollect was mentioned about Moeller's self-serving situational memory of the economy of this state.

So, I believe the rag's endorsement of Riley was only one of those pseudo-endorsements. Compared to the trashing they did to crucify Peter Van Nortwick or Brent Boger, the rag essentially did nothing to oppose Moeller.

And Brancaccio knows that. So does Moeller. Brancaccio walked him on 4 pitches, an act done to polish Brancaccio's non-existent bi-partisan street cred, and a lame effort to stem the flow of subscriber bleeding.

His column today is eye wash to play to that.

It's to remind those who don't pay close enough attention that they didn't endorse all democrats for open seats this time like they did in 08... although the overwhelming majority of their endorsements DID go to democrats... just like always.

But they don't want you to remember that, because they keep running this bogus "we're fair" scam. And some out there actually believe it if they don't know any better.

When Brancaccio writes:

The Columbian is a lot like me from the standpoint of being moderate. Being able to move based on circumstances.

He is, of course, lying again. Compared to the democratian, Moeller is a complete flip-flopper.

The rag's stands on taxpayer financed downtown redevelopment... all done without asking... completely intractable. The rag's support of the city actually suing it's citizens into silence? Screw the people, start to finish. The rag's stand on the horrific, unneeded and unwanted I-5 Bridge/loot ail project? Facts and public opinion be damned.... completely intractable.

Koenninger's moronic positions on the Gorge and his persecution of the Beas? Intractable.

Brancaccio's efforts to damage the reputation of those who oppose him and his agenda?

Wolves don't go for the throat with less ferocity.

Well, until he tried it with Boger and got swatted across the nose and stuck out in the back yard like any other non-housebroke mutt.

And that's part of the problem. Brancaccio is an unabashed liberal. That he won't admit it... that he won't address it.... that he won't change it... doesn't make it any less the case.

So, when Brancaccio goes on to spew:

How else do you explain our being able to twice endorse George W. Bush and then
Barack Obama?

That one is easy: stupidity. And let's remember... that was the cycle where Lou and his winged monkeys endorsed democrats and only democrats for any open seat in the area from president on down.
All the while proclaiming, as he does today, what a moderate he, and by extension that despicable cancer on our society rag he works for, actually is.
And this:

How else do you explain our being able to endorse Jim one year and not endorse
him two years later?

That one's even easier.

I'll answer that question WITH a question:

How could they endorse Moeller's opponent, and then endorse his seat mate, who had the SAME VOTING RECORD, save for 4 votes?

Moeller was the throw-away non-democrat endorsement. After hearing from me for so long, and seeing their record of left wing support spelled out year after year, they HAD to do something.

Endorsing in a democrat race where the GOP had no chance (In the Soviet Socialist Republic of Vancouver, it's best not to hold your breath waiting for a Republican to get elected to anything. If we'd had a video of Moeller committing axe murder on a girl scout troop, he still would have been re-elected.) was an easy call, done so Brancaccio could trot this lame act out... again... and say "see? we do TO endorse Republicans!"

Read between the lines. It's easy if you try.

Cross posted on Lou Brancaccio Watch.

US House GOP gets it: More roads... less transit.

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It never ceases to amaze me hope many billions the left wastes on transportation projects that are obsolete (loot rail) and incredibly expensive (loot rail) while wanting to waste billions on local bridge beautification programs that would result in tens of thousands of families here locally getting hammered for a project we don't need, want, or can afford.

Well, it seems that the folks in the US House have figured that out:

Seattle Transportation Watch

« Wash. drivers spent less time stuck in traffic in '09

More bad news for transit funding

In his first State of the City speech back in February, Seattle's transit-friendly Mayor Mike McGinn proclaimed the era of the big highway was over.

He may have spoken too soon.

That's because the Republicans who now hold power in the U.S. House of Representatives reportedly want to bring federal transportation spending "back to its roots in the 1950s -- interstate commerce and travel, with a strong focus on the National Highway System," according this recent post from Streetsblog Capitol Hill.

Streetsblog reports that incoming Transportation Committee Chair John Mica, R-Fla., wants spending cuts to stabilize the Highway Trust Fund, which spends more money than it takes in because gas tax revenues are down. Congress keeps temporarily propping it up because lawmakers are unable to agree on a new source of revenue, such as a gas tax increase (the gas tax hasn't been increased since
1993, and it doesn't buy what it used to, especially with more fuel-efficient vehicles and a down economy).

According to the blog, it appears most likely that Mica will target federal spending on transit. The blog says the info comes from sources who were at a
luncheon with highway executives and Jim Tymon, a Republican staff director of
the House highways and transit subcommittee.

Tymon suggested to the Road Gang that the current $8 billion allocated for transit annually could shrink to $5 billion. The Road Gang was, apparently, relieved to see that transit would bear the brunt of the burden of spending cuts.

Meanwhile, Tymon said the Republicans want to bring transportation spending back to its roots in the 1950s – interstate commerce and travel, with a strong focus on the National Highway System. It all adds up to a possible revision of the longstanding 80/20 ratio governing highway and transit spending, with transit losing ground. Tymon confirmed that a new calculus could be coming.

As if transit agencies weren't already in bad shape. Sound Transit projects a $3.9 billion shortfall through 2023. King County Metro Transit, which is heavily dependent on volatile sales tax revenue, faces having to cut another 600,000 in
bus service hours by 2015. Struggling transit agencies plan to ask the state Legislature for some help, such as new mechanism to raise money for transit

On the plus side, this has the appearance of making it even more difficult to get money for loot rail over the unwanted, unneeded and far too expensive I-5 Bridge project.

Of course, the clueless idiot "representing" us has the support of the local democratian, which likely means that she's told that idiot running the show that she'll do what she can to fund that steaming crap pile... all, of course, without telling us.

After all, we wouldn't want the electorate to make an inform ed decision about voting, would we?
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If it's important to the people of Clark County, you won't read about it in the democratian.

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We were almost attacked tonight by a scumbag terrorist who thought it would just be keen to blow hundreds of Americans to pieces by setting up and detonating an IED... in downtown Portland.

It is the closest thing we've had to murder on this scale here locally; and the perpetrator seems to be a naturalized Somali-American muslim.

When I found out about this effort, I looked at my wife and asked, rhetorically, "if that son of a bitch had pulled this off, can you imagine what would be going on around here... right now?"

So, I thought I'd whip on over to the local swindle sheet and see what they had top say about it.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered their input and reporting was precisely the same as much smaller papers in the area. You know... like The Reflector and the CW Post Record?

In short, as I write this, Clark County's worthless bird cage liner has precisely not one damned thing on their web site about this horrific possibility.

I bet every other daily in the Western United States does... but not out local waste of trees.

And why am I not surprised?

Blogs all over the country have news and information about this... see orbusmax.com, for example.

Yeah, it's those damned bloggers that Brancaccio so despises that are, once again, making up for the worthless rag that is... the democratian.
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Clark County GOP Reorg.

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Fascinating goin's ons in Clark County GOP land with reorg coming up.

We have one of the larger counties in this state, and one most badly in need of new leadership, given what I consider to be the abysmal outcomes in this county.

The problem is that I haven't seen or heard anything from anyone about what changes they intend to make.

I have a letter from a slate that wants to run for chair and vice chair. Their problem is that the letter doesn't address the multiple failures of the local party and our less then stellar outcomes.

In fact, we're told just the opposite. We are told that the "county experienced a so-called 'red wave' in the 2010 election."

Actually... we didn't. And that the two running on this slate seems to believe that we actually did have a "wave" here indicates to me that they don't know what's wrong, don't have a clue about the political reality, and correspondingly, have no plan to fix the many things that are broken. Further, I have literally never heard of one of these people.

1994 was a wave here locally. 2010 wasn't even a ripple.

A further disqualification is that one of the slate members worked on Ridgefield Barbie's campaign. And that, as they say in the parlance, is a no go.

In addition, anyone elected needs to remove both Anna Miller and Lisa Schmidt from any position on the Executive Board.

In the 18th District, at this point, the choice seems to be between the current Legislative District Chair and someone closely affiliated with Jon Russell.

No political ally of Russell should be elected to anything. Further, in the email I received from the challenger, no compelling reason (does it really matter what you fly... or where? What does that have to do with running a legislative district?) was given to replace the incumbent Chair, a Chair of a district where every Republican won and almost every candidate of any description who was smart enough to have an "R" after their name in Clark County destroyed their democrat candidate counterpart district wide.

That kind of success should not be rewarded with electing someone who wants the job because, well, they want the job. They offer no reason to replace the incumbent, they point out no shortcoming on the part of the incumbent, and as a result, I will not be supporting them.

The candidates in any contested race should have a debate in front of all the PCO's so we can ask questions and make the most informed choices.

That there is no debate process built in to the reorg system is just one of the many weaknesses in County party leadership and our system of governance.

I have sent in 5 resolutions to change the bylaws. Two are housekeeping types.

The remaining 3.... not so much.

My brother-in-law, alleged Republican County Commissioner Marc Boldt, was one of Democrat Steve "Easy Money" Stuart's first endorsements.

Boldt has endorsed Stuart in the past, particularly when Stuart was benefiting from the corrupt money of megacasino developer David Barnett while Stuart was running against Tom Mielke and I was working my ass off getting Mielke elected.

Swell. He can endorse anyone he likes... this is, after all, America. But if he's going to do that, then he should politically suffer for it, like he's helped make us politically suffer for it.

This bylaw change will end any GOP county or district support of any elected Republican official who endorses or otherwise works to get any democrat elected.

That means no signs, no literature, no use of GOP facilities and no help.

You want to endorse democrats? Then quit screwing around and just switch parties.

The next bylaw change would automatically make any elected GOP official who lives in Clark County a voting member of the Executive Board.

Looking at our Executive Board, there is not one member who has ever won an election to anything that I can see.

How can we be a successful organization with a goal of electing people when NONE of the Executive Board has ever been elected to anything?

Changing this bylaw would add the experience and savvy of Joe Zarelli, Don Benton, Ed Orcutt, Ann Rivers and Paul Harris to the Executive Board as voting members.

The last one of the 3 would require anyone endorsing in a contested primary at any level where more then one GOP candidate is running to resign.

Ron Hart endorsed Ridgefield Barbie in the middle of a contest primary (Which is why I won't be supporting him for state committeeman, by the way.... that and his lack of vision as to the problems and the fixes at the state level.) There is no way a member of the Executive Board generally and a county chair particularly can endorse in a contested primary, no matter how that endorsement is spun, without avoiding the appearance of favoritism like that displayed by Anna Miller.

I reiterate: anyone can endorse anyone they like. But this is a POLITICAL PARTY. And anything an Executive Board member does is subject to strict scrutiny. And the County GOP cannot be used as a platform to help your friends while screwing your enemies just because you don't support them.

So, feel free to endorse. But understand that your endorsement constitutes your no-notice resignation from the Executive Board.

That won't stop EBoard Members from stabbing other candidates in the back... but at least they'll have to hide it and we can at least maintain the veneer of what appears to be an even playing field, unlike the blatant and absolute favoritism shown in the last election.

Reorg is December 2. I'll let everyone know how it turns out.

Cross posted at 18th District View.
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Did Obama getting hit in the mouth knock any sense into him?

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Twelve stitches. Put in by the White House Medical Unit.

That's right, the president only wants US to have to suffer under Obamacare. He's exempt.

Hopefully, it knocked some sense into him.

But somehow... I doubt it.

Obama gets 12 stitches after errant elbow to mouth

AP – President Barack Obama, with an ice pack over his mouth, looks out the second floor window of the White …

• Slideshow:President Barack Obama

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Darlene Superville, Associated Press – Fri Nov 26, 5:27 pm ET

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama needed 12 stitches in his upper lip after taking an errant elbow during a pickup basketball game Friday morning with family and friends visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday, the White House said.

First word of the injury came in a statement from press secretary Robert Gibbs nearly three hours after the incident.

The White House did not initially name the person who caused the injury, but identified him later Friday as Rey Decerega, director of programs for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

Obama received the stitches under local anesthesia in the doctor's office on the ground floor of the White House after returning home. Doctors used a smaller filament than typically used, which increases the number of stitches but makes a tighter stitch and leaves a smaller scar.

The president had gone to nearby Fort McNair to indulge in a game of basketball, one of his favorite athletic pursuits. It was a five-on-five contest involving family and friends. Among the players were Obama's nephew, Avery Robinson, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Reggie Love, Obama's personal assistant, who played at Duke University.

More:

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The parental wonder drug.

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Stolen from an LTE to the Longview Daily News.

Parental 'wonder drug'

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a meth lab had been found in an old house in the adjoining county. He asked me a rhetorical question, "Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?"

I replied, "I had a drug problem when I was young. I was drug to church on Sunday morning, I was drug to church for weddings and funerals, I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather."

"I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best efforts in everything that was asked of me."

"I was drug to the kitchen sink if I used profanity to have my mouth washed with soap. I was drug to pull weeds in Mom's vegetable and flower beds or help in the field. I was drug to help some neighbor or friends to help mow their lawn, fix a clothesline or chop wood in their time of need, and if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed."

Those drugs are still in my veins and they effect my behavior in everything I do or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack or heroine; and if today's children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.

God bless the parents who drugged us.

Bob Sandberg

Longview

The Moore Fiction: "Why I was wrong about Rossi."

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For the aficionados, the Moore Information Poll is, in my oh-so-humble opinion, the reason we lost the US Senate seat here in Washington State.

Moore, as we should all recall, is the pollster who polled on Rossi as a part of a Benton-commissioned poll back in February. Without asking, Moore released the findings from his poll that ultimately led to the abysmal and ultimately losing campaign by "When I get Around to it" Rossi.

Well, as I repeatedly said during the election, Rossi could not win. That, of course, makes me more accurate then Moore and many others in the GOP establishment, many who insisted that Rossi could sit it out until the last second, swoop in and take it away by what amounted to mailing in a US Senate campaign.

While that might have worked in some locations, it never stood a chance here.

Such a plan depended on a competent candidate, a well-funded campaign and a competent state organization.

Unfortunately for us, we had none of the three, and in what should have been a simple case of stealing candy from a baby, instead, we wound up in the middle of an armed robbery where we were the victims. Clearly, we brought a knife to a gun fight.

The Rossi campaign and the state GOP were out-thought, out-strategized, out-executed and generally just had their asses kicked.

They ran a poor campaign technically and strategically. Rossi's arrogance, which resulted in a colossal error concerning his 4 month or so hold-out on announcing, combined with his idiotic handling of the Didier debacle, doomed this campaign. You know, like I said it would??

I knew this and repeatedly stated this on this blog; many "experts" and apparently the entirety of the Bellevue Mafia disagreed.

And now, one of those most responsible for this debacle comes along and tried to spin like a top to explain the pre-destined destruction of what should have been a relatively easy senate pick up.

Murray had massive vulnerabilities. A consummate liar, expert at taking credit for crap she had nothing to do with, a con-artist who actually gets Veterans to believe she gives a damn about us, one of those self-admitted morons responsible for the utter disaster of Obamacare... so completely corrupt a blind man could see it in a minute.

And we couldn't get it done.

It was obvious that Rossi was going to fail when anyone reviewed his horrific fund-raising efforts where he managed to fail to raise as much as say, congressional candidate (and ultimate winner) Congressman-Elect Allen West (R-FL22) who out raised Rossi by a million two, for a CONGRESSIONAL race.

That was likely a direct result of his bizarre decision to wait to announce... shutting himself off from millions that might have otherwise made their way to Rossi in the early party of the campaign where HE could have used THAT money to define Murray... instead of allowing Murray several months to define Rossi... no matter how many lies or exaggerations she used to get it done.

Ignoring and insulting the Tea Party guaranteed that many of them would blow off a Rossi vote and not vote at all in his race, contrary to Chris Vance's clueless observation:

That said, please note the utterly clueless, moronic position put out by former WSRP Chair Chris "I took our caucuses from a tie to fitting into a phone booth" Vance:

"If Dino Rossi chooses to run, the Republican world will line up with Dino Rossi," said Vance. "And that will include the conservative base."

"There have always been Republican candidates who split the Republican base one way or the other. Dino was the one guy everybody loved."

It's THAT kind of arrogance and misreading of the people that were in large part responsible for this debacle.

Combine this with yet another weak and ultimately pathetic GOTV effort by parties from the state level down to county level, and this outcome was pre-ordained.

Once again, we had no minority outreach when it mattered. Once again, Murray had millions in earned media because she had the highest profile democrats in the country coming in and out in Western Washington like city buses. Once again, we got rolled because of a lack of infrastructure, a lack of responsiveness and a lack of understanding that continuing on without getting minority buy-in will turn the Washington GOP into a small footnote soon enough.

Moore doesn't think so. He talks about how Washington is becoming a deeper, darker, bluer state, and that's why Rossi lost.

It isn't of course. Because if that were the true reason behind the Rossi debacle, then certainly we'd have a democrat AG... right?

McKenna had the same landscape, if not even a worse version, and won in the midst of the democrat tsunami. How is it that McKenna could and did win, while Rossi lost... particularly when McKenna had to suffer under many of these same handicaps?

In the end, Rossi lost because of Rossi and the state GOP. As I put it to my clients:

Rossi pissed off a large segment of the base with his mishandling of Didier situation. No matter how well he did with the GOP, it wasn't good enough.

Rossi was a terrible candidate who did a bad job.

He lost. And it was primarily his fault. The end.

And no amount of spin by Moore or any other Rossi apologist can change that.
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On this Thanksgiving Day...

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Please take a moment to give a prayer for our men and women overseas, away from those most precious to them, as they serve us on foreign shores, in far off lands and at the risk of their lives and limb.

God Bless them and their families as they stand their posts to defend us all.
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Legislative budget? Let's add the sales tax onto newspapers and eliminate their B&O tax break: So says democrat fmr state Senator Ken Jacobsen

Ken Jacobsen was one of the, if not the, most liberal senators in the state, save for neo-communist Senator Ed Murray.

I was shocked to find this in the Times comment section. I, for one, wish the local newspapers would stop their whining and complaining about the budget. After all, for the most part, these rags have dutifully endorsed the authors of this mess... so why should they complain about that which most everyone else knew they were going to do if they managed to get elected?

How the Times, who endorsed mostly democrat, or the local rag, the democratian, can complain about a budget crafted by those they wanted to get elected is a mystery to me.

And, in the spirit of bi-partisan cooperation, I join with Senator Jacobsen in calling for the elimination of any newspaper tax break and the application of the sales tax to their putrid product.

User Profile: ken jacobsen
Seattle
Joined: 11/24/2010
1 comments

Most recent comments

The Legislature must get serious about the budget

Why doesn't the Seattle Times Editorial Board get serious and write their own budget. They could arrange with the Governor for staff help.

They sure wanted us to give them a tax break. Why not put sales tax on newspapers and magazines as in other states?

Ken Jacobsen
State Senator (Ret,)
Posted on November 24, 2010 at 8:09 AM.

Jump to comment

We face, as I understand it, a $5.7 billion deficit.

The simple solution?

Roll back pay and personnel, $5.7 billion. End of problem.

If they don't like working for a reduced wage and benefit package, then they can always quit.

So, leave the programs alone and cut the people. This isn't rocket science.

And if the unions don't like it, then invoke the economic emergency clause and shut them down.

Here's a memo. 2012 is right around the corner. And while the people of this state are obviously still drinking the kool aid for now... 2 years is a looooong time.

But imagine how much better off we'd be if the democratian had to pay the same taxes as everyone else... including sales tax.
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The Columbian: The biggest high-tech bullier there is.

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It was a fascinating sermon preached in today's democratian. The biggest bully, in the biggest platform for bullying in SW Washington, a platform that uses both and low and high tech to engage in the very activity they so seem to condemn in today's column, works for that very paper.

I was a victim of that bullying, done by Lou Brancaccio both in late July and early August. I was a victim of his personal baiting through his emails to me. I was a victim of his lies, misrepresentations and exaggerations, not to mention his one-sided portrayal of me as some kind of a monster. And I wasn't the only one.

All those who bully are scum. Most grow out of it when they leave childhood. Clearly, Brancaccio did not.

Reading today's rank hypocrisy from the rag, it's easy to equate what that gutless scumbag attempted to do to me, and almost did to Brent Boger before he got bitch-slapped for telegraphing his punch, with their product of today.

It was precisely the same thing, done in absolutely the same way. The irony is very hard to get past, considering the source of the column.

For example, this:

With modern technology at their disposal, bullies have moved from the hallways and into the public domain, exponentially increasing the pain they can inflict.

When you have a politically motivated pathological liar as a newspaper editor, there is no doubt that he will use modern technology to inflict pain, knowing that, for the most part, he's untouchable as a result... just like Brancaccio, the very definition of a bully.

Get on his enemies list like I am... or say, David Madore is, and you can do no right. Get on his friend list, like any one of the slimeballs shilling for loot rail, and you can do no wrong.

Cross him, disagree with him, oppose him, and he becomes the very definition of the word "bully" and he does so with impunity.

Brancaccio is the epitome of that condemned in the column.

And that's a damned shame. If he worked as hard to make a positive impact on this community as he has to become the cancer of it, then this post would be completely different.

Cross posted at Lou Brancaccio Watch.
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Continuing TSA cluelessness: the no grope list.

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Just what the people need. More of the fringe left's Orwellian concepts of equality, where all pigs are equal... but some pigs are more equal than others.

EVERYONE in government (You listening, you empty-suited idiot?) should be subjected to the SAME security as those they would govern.

I believe that the likelihood that Obama would hijack an airplane EXCEEDS the likelihood that *I* ever would... yet HE is exempted, for the rest of his life, from ever undergoing the normal rigours of airport security... as is his wife and his daughters who will also get to skip the free TSA gynecological exams... that the rest of the untermenschen have to face every time we get on an aircraft.

Failing to be treated the same as we are is yet another sign of the fringe-left elitism and arrogance rampant in our government today.

I believe that the GOP, for example, could make HUGE strides politically if their leadership refused exemption from security the way the left wing nutters have.

But then, there are times when the GOP is just as moronic as those across the aisle. Will this be one of those times?

Read it and weep.

TSA: Some gov't officials to skip airport security

(AP) – 23 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cabinet secretaries, top congressional leaders and an exclusive group of senior U.S. officials are exempt from toughened new airport screening procedures when they fly commercially with government-approved federal security details.

Aviation security officials would not name those who can skip the controversial screening, but other officials said those VIPs range from top officials like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and FBI Director Robert Mueller to congressional leaders like incoming House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who avoided security before a recent flight from Washington's Reagan National Airport.

The heightened new security procedures by the Transportation Security Administration, which involve either a scan by a full-body detector or an intimate personal pat-down, have spurred passenger outrage in the lead-up to the Thanksgiving holiday airport crush.

On Friday, the TSA exempted pilots from the new procedures; flight attendants received the same privilege on Tuesday, TSA spokesman Nicholas Kimball confirmed. Both groups must show photo ID and go through metal detectors. If that sets off an alarm, they may still get a pat-down in some cases, he said. The rules apply to pilots and flight attendants in uniform when they're traveling.

While passengers have no choice but to submit to either the detector or what some complain is an intrusive pat-down, some senior government officials can opt out if they fly accompanied by government security guards approved by the TSA.

"Government officials traveling with federal law enforcement security details are screened at airports under a specialized screening protocol, which includes identity verification," Kimball said. This allows the officials to skip the airport security checkpoints.

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