Saturday, April 30, 2011

Bog of columns followed Jacks story.

.
I suppose it was bound to happen when you're a legend in your own mind

Looking back on the bizarre combination of puff-piece for union thug Tony Golik and media blown all out of proportion over the Storro story where Brancaccio found the balance between overt campaigning for another democrat and doing everything he could to destroy a sick woman who, in aggregate, did nothing that equals the crime he's foisting off on us through his knee-pad cheerleading for the CRC (One involved a few thousand dollars... Lou's crime?  Billions.) I supposed it's bound to happen any time Brancaccio gets involved in any story... if the resulting thousands of words of self congratulation and self-promotion are any guide.

Hopefully, the democratian has a staff chiropractor to repair the frequent damage he causes his back and shoulders by patting himself on that back because of what he thinks he's done.

It's a by-product of being a boss where you have no accountability unless you step so far out of line that he gets whacked in the head with a proverbial 2X4... much like he did when he was stupid enough to telegraph his Hinton-like punch to Boger (Man, I bet that STILL stings) in advance... you become so arrogant, so self-centered, so blinded by your bias that no set of facts can sway your single-minded determination to bend the will of a community to your agenda.

So, what we have here is a story that the daily paper, the democratian, has done all it can to bury.

Hiding behind the claim of a lack of a paper trail as if that made any difference, this paper hypocritically banned speculation concerning Jacks misconduct (Yeah, *I* said it: Jacks did NOT resign because he was an alcoholic; he resigned because of what happened as a result) while not only encouraging speculation in other stories... but WRITING STORIES BECAUSE OF SPECULATION.

The double standard is as palpable as the manure odor one gets while in the vicinity of the rag.

Brancaccio did everything he could to protect Jacks, hoping that time would heal the wounds and let this guy and his party, both bridger/looters carrying the rag's agenda like Gunga Din, off the hook.

Not gonna happen.

Too few people hold the rag accountable for their journalistic failures.  Too few shine a light on their lies, distortions, manipulations.  The means are certainly available.

Would that everyone set up blogs... since they're free, and comment without restraint by democratian censorship to hold these people up to the harsh light of day.

Imagine how much more honest they'd be.

Brancaccio ignores me except to belittle and insult me.  He does that, not because what I write is in any way untrue, but because he wants to make sure that I am not taken seriously.  So, instead of taking the issues seriously, he ignores them... and has, in the past, attacked me.

That, of course, is his cowardly privilege.

So, when he or his minions print this nonsensical "hurray for me" garbage, who's there to jab a stick in their rhetorical eye by describing exactly where it's a crock of horse manure?

That leads us to Brancaccio's latest column of excuses for failing to drill down on Jacks like he would anyone else if they had an "R" after their names or was opposed to the fiscal and transportation abortion known as the CRC or, for that matter, the taxpayer-subsidized-to-the-tune-of-millions-of-dollars Pollard Hilton.

Instead of focusing on the rag's failure to engage in basic journalism, failure to interview democrat House leadership, failure to interview Jacks' legislative assistant... failure to interview Program Research staffers and failure to interview democrat legislators like the one who observed the conduct that ultimately led to Jacks' resignation... a forced resignation, I might add, we get tripe like the variety Brancaccio prints here.

This isn't top secret, kept in a safe stuff.  This is well-known, but totally ignored stuff that unlike Brancaccio's constant whining about the "lack of a paper trail" as if such a thing paralyzed him into inaction... or caused him to take the usual course when it comes to democrats or other allies, COULD be found... if a "journalist" would look.

So, what's the focus of Branaccaio's self-congratulatory pap?

Not his multiple failures on the Jacks' story, many of which have been detailed here.

But instead on the comments the story generated, oddly, again ignoring the multiple comments calling Lou out for those very failures.

That Lou believes that ANYTHING he babbled "brought the community together" just goes to show how loose the screws really are in his particular bag of hardware.

The only thing that Brancaccio has accomplished is to cement the claim that he's a leftist hack who turns on and off his journalistic responsibilities like a switch.

The rag's failures are easy to see, document and verify.  And when the truth comes out, as it inevitably will, the lack of a paper trail will not save his job.

I've received many emails concerning Brancaccio's abrogation of journalistic integrity.

But one of my favorite emails came from a former local blogger who stopped writing a few years ago after getting trashed by the rag.
“I’m guessing you are surprised to hear from me but I just wanted to let you know that your comments and posts on Brancaccio's past two columns written on Rep. Jacks were right on target.

“I know that addictions can be very disruptive and what he is doing takes tremendous courage, but his failure to be forthcoming combined with Brancaccio's failure to do even basic reporting is inexcusable.”
That's the kind of crap that Brancaccio likely made up as he wrecks his own elbow patting himself on the back. 

One day, we will have media that is dedicated to the truth with the presentation of facts that they've worked tirelessly to dig up... facts unencumbered by the philosophy of the left... or the right.

One day.  But certainly not today.

And do I look forward to that... or what?
.

Friday, April 29, 2011

WH Propaganda Minister Joseph Carney lies for Der Fuhrer: kicks out reporter for revealing protesters at Obama's SF fundraiser.

.
Who to believe.... who to believe.

Do we believe the Propaganda Minister, Herr Carney, mouthpiece for Der Fuhrer?

After all, if Obama and his administration didn't have a long, illustrious history of lying to the American people, we could give Minister Carney the benefit of the doubt.

But they do. they have. And, I believe, once again... they are.

Why would Minister Carney lie about this? Why would Obama's people engage in more 3rd Reich-style tactics to control an increasingly restive media?

Since Obama's tenure had been an utter failure at every level by almost any measurable way, insecurity has to be the order of the day fur Der Fuhrer.  Incompetence and stupidity combined with the tinnest ear in all of politics makes it extremely likely that Der Fuhrer thinks he can actually control the media through threats and intimidation.

Apparently, he failed to learn his lesson when Fox NEWS kicked him in whatever is left of the single nard he still possesses.

And now... he lies to the media.  Why do I believe he's going to sincerely, if not permanently, regret this.

In a pants-on-fire moment, the White House press office today denied anyone there had issued threats to remove Carla Marinucci and possibly other Hearst reporters...



Update: Chronicle responds after Obama Administration punishes reporter for using multimedia, then claims they didn't






Update: In a pants-on-fire moment, the White House press office today denied anyone there had issued threats to remove Carla Marinucci and possibly other Hearst reporters from the press pool covering the President in the Bay Area.

Chronicle editor Ward Bushee called the press office on its fib:

Sadly, we expected the White House to respond in this manner based on our experiences yesterday. It is not a truthful response. It follows a day of off-the-record exchanges with key people in the White House communications office who told us they would remove our reporter, then threatened retaliation to Chronicle and Hearst reporters if we reported on the ban, and then recanted to say our reporter might not be removed after all.

The Chronicle's report is accurate.

If the White House has indeed decided not to ban our reporter, we would like an on-the-record notice that she will remain the San Francisco print pool reporter.

I was on some of those calls and can confirm Ward's statement.

Messy ball now firmly in White House court.
-----
The hip, transparent and social media-loving Obama administration is showing its analog roots. And maybe even some hypocrisy highlights.

White House officials have banished one of the best political reporters in the country from the approved pool of journalists covering presidential visits to the Bay Area for using now-standard multimedia tools to gather the news.

The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci - who, like many contemporary reporters, has a phone with video capabilities on her at all times -shot some protesters interrupting an Obama fundraiser at the St. Regis Hotel.

More:

_______________________

Ahhh, journalism.  If only the local daily paper had ever heard of it or practiced the art.

Can you even remotely believe the democratian would have done any of this?

The democrats are still slithering in Wisconsin:

.
It's been tough on the leftists in what was, until recently, a state nearly as neo-communist as Washington.  But now, reality is setting in, and even the prototypical soviet republic state, Massachusetts, has figured it out... and begun the process of reining in the union extortionists.

While cowardice, as evidenced by the flea-baggers who tried to stop representative government in Wisconsin, is an increasing democrat meme, it's understandable when you're standing around, watching the wheels come off from your lies and deceit at warp speed.

So, you engage in this kind of tripe:

Wisconsin Dems "Push-Calling" Recall Wirch Petition Signers

"Push-polling"" is where a type of campaign tactic where, under the guise of a poll, misleading or inflammatory questions are asked about an opposing candidate. The point of the push-poll is to persuade the person being polled as to a candidate or issue, rather than actually soliciting opinions.

A similar tactic is being used by the Wisconsin Democratic Party to try to get people who signed petitions to recall Democratic state Senator Robert Wirch to say that they were deceived or didn't know what they were signing. The tactic is not a push-poll, but a call seeking to verify petition signatures in which suggestive statements are made which would call into question the signature.

As reflected in the audio below, the push-call starts with the following introduction suggesting that there has been a widespread problem with petition signatures:
"The reason we're calling is there were reports from people in the community that out of state paid circulators were misleading people about what they were being asked to sign and we have reports of them tricking voters into thinking they were signing a petition, say at a nearby shopping mall, or providing them with misleading information, so all we were calling was to find out is if you did intend to sign the petition to remove Democratic Senator Wirch from office."
Before the audio started, the caller did identify herself as calling from the Democratic Party. According to the person who provided me with the audio, the number which showed up on the caller i.d. was the number used by the group fighting the recall on behalf of Wirch.

Here is the audio (note: the voices are slightly distorted because the woman receiving the call is afraid that her identity would be revealed, and the audio cuts off the last few seconds of the call where the first names of both people are used):



The point of the introduction is to suggest that the petition signer may have been deceived, and that the phone call merely is a form of verification. This is not an attempt to solicit facts, but to suggest facts to the person who signed the petition.



More:
Swell.
.

And if you don't believe they're going to enforce the law, check this: Feds raid Spokane medical marijuana dispensaries

.
Speaks for itself.  Democrats in the legislature wanted to allow these shops in violation of federal law.  Here's the Fed's reaction:

Feds raid Spokane medical marijuana dispensaries

Summary

Medical marijuana activists across Washington state decried federal raids on at least two dispensaries in Spokane on Thursday, saying they underscored the need for a dispensary licensing system that the governor has threatened to veto.
.
Story Published: Apr 28, 2011 at 4:10 PM PDT
Story Updated: Apr 28, 2011 at 9:44 PM PDT
Feds raid Spokane medical marijuana dispensaries
Outside the THC Pharmacy pot dispensary, marijuana activists chant in protest on Perry St. Thursday, April 28, 2011, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Jesse Tinsley)
.
SEATTLE (AP) - Medical marijuana activists across Washington state decried federal raids on at least two dispensaries in Spokane on Thursday, saying they underscored the need for a dispensary licensing system that the governor has threatened to veto.

The raids came Thursday afternoon, three weeks after the top federal prosecutor in Eastern Washington, Spokane U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby, warned the 40 dispensaries in the area that they should close up shop or face federal enforcement actions.

The raids were the latest salvo from federal authorities seeking to get a handle on marijuana shops proliferating in many of the 15 states with medical cannabis laws.

Recent letters from the Justice Department to officials in several states, including Washington, Colorado, California and Montana, have warned that licensing dispensaries or marijuana grow operations would not necessarily protect them from a federal crackdown because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to announce her final decision Friday regarding whether to veto parts of a bill passed by the Legislature that would establish such a system. The bill also would grant arrest protection to marijuana patients who agree to join a state registry.

In threatening to use her veto power, the governor cited a warning from Ormsby and Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan that state employees involved in the licensing scheme could face prosecution - a prospect that one of the state's top constitutional experts described as far-fetched in a letter to the governor on Thursday.
.
.

When legislative democrats ignore the law: Setting up pot shops - SB 5073.

.
Folks, it's against federal law to do this.  State law doesn't supersede federal law.  You've taken an oath, which you routinely ignore, to uphold the laws.

Gregoire is going to rightfully veto this back-door effort to legalize an illegal drug.

The Fed has told her the state is liable; these fake shops violate federal law, she's going to veto the law because she, at least, seems to have some basic understanding of how it works.

Strangely, those yelling the most to sign this law are those who'll be held liable the least for implementing it.

Kohl-Welles tells us:
"but I can't fathom that the federal government would send agents to arrest and then prosecute them for doing their jobs under state law. The governor is taking them totally serious, and I'm saying it's such a stretch that would happen."
And if it DID happen?

Then what?

Look, Senator, I get that you "can't fathom" this.  You're a fringe-left neo-communist from Seattle.  By definition, that proves that you can't "fathom" most things political or legal, because those concepts don't impact you in the least.

If you don't like the federal law causing this, then get it changed at the federal level.

Hamstrung by two utterly worthless do-nothing Senators who couldn't even get us a shuttle, the idea of getting the law changed is as likely as the left showing the sense of a board fence: not at all.

But Senator, you've sworn to uphold ALL of the laws... not just the ones you like.
.

"You know that feeling you get when you wake up at 2:00 a.m. to catch the royal wedding?"

.
"Me neither."

I can't take credit for this obviously well-written sentiment; it was tweeted last night and I don't have the author.

But to all of you who actually did that?

Get a life.

Seriously.
.

A worthy letter to the editor of the democratian: Light rail is a social experiment.

.
Everyone reading this knows the people of Clark County do not want our bridge replaced.

Everyone reading this knows that replacing the current, safe, functional and PAID for I-5 Bridge, particularly when everyone paying attention knows that loot rail is the ONLY reason the downtown mafia and the elected slime are shilling this crap and working so hard to deprive the people of any say.

But not everyone reading this will admit that, even to themselves.

And now, we get some insight as to the motivation for loot rail, in this brilliantly written, pithy effort by Robert Dean, likely the former candidate for the open 18th District House seat now occupied by State Representative Ann Rivers.

The reference to Tim "The Liar" Leavitt, whose only accomplishments to date are to have run the scummiest, most lying, two-faced campaign in the history of this region; to have lost control of the infamous "gavel down" city council meeting; to have come up with a plan to censor his many opponents by shutting them up at city council meetings; and to have become a total prostitute to the bridgers/looters he works for the consternation of those who were naive enough to have voted for him on his empty promises and lies; is beautiful.

But the letter speaks for itself... enjoy.

He must have cringed. Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt was standing behind the two visiting governors when they admitted that tolls are being levied against the residents of Vancouver as a sort of social experiment, reported in an April 26 story “Governors choose truss design for new I-5 Bridge.” Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber called it changing “the ‘paradigm of car-only highway systems” courtesy of D.C. bureaucrats. Oh, we’ve always known that, but how embarrassing it must have been for our mayor at that moment.

“Light rail and tolling creates incentives for people to get out of cars,” Kitzhaber said.

And Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.”

Is it any wonder that wealthy chamber of commerce types favor light rail and tolls? Encourage the working poor to leave their cars at home and take mass transit; free up those lanes for those who can afford them. Leavitt has always been in favor of light rail and recently of tolls. Many questioned why.

Perhaps he just wants to free up the commute for his wealthy friends.

Robert G. Dean
Vancouver

I'll say.
.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

So, how's Obama's fake recovery looking?

.
We only had 429,000 first time jobless claims this week... THIS WEEK... and Obama's lackeys come out claiming that he's responsible for 1.8 million "new, private sector jobs?" "over the past 13 months."  We've been experiencing an average of 400,000 new first time unemployment claims a week... for months... and this clown claims he's responsible for "1.8 million "new, private sector jobs?"

How does THAT work?

If he's "responsible" for that, then Obama is responsible for 1.6 million jobs going away PER MONTH. He's responsible for $4 gasoline. He's responsible for inflation.

Because if he's responsible for anything good... then he's equally responsible for anything bad.

And the news today... about his bumbling, incompetent and ham-handed approach to the economy?

That's ALLLL on him.

More people applied for unemployment benefits

More people requested unemployment benefits last week, the second increase in 3 weeks

ap

, On Thursday April 28, 2011, 10:39 am EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- More people sought unemployment benefits last week, the second rise in three weeks, a sign of the slow and uneven jobs recovery.

Applications for unemployment benefits jumped 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 429,000 for the week ending April 23, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the highest total since late January.

The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, rose to 408,500, its third straight rise and the first time it has topped 400,000 in two months. Applications near 375,000 are consistent with sustained job creation. Applications peaked during the recession at 659,000.

Several economists attributed the increase to difficulties in seasonally adjusting the data around the Easter holidays. Since the timing of Easter changes each year, the data around the holiday week can be volatile.

"Given these technical factors, we are inclined to dismiss the recent backup," said Carl Riccadonna, an economist at Deutsche Bank Securities. "We will be looking for claims to move back below 400,000 in early May."

More:

The Reflector comes out swinging against the CRC.

What’s in it for us?

This very headline causes me to cringe. It speaks to selfishness and an unwillingness to sustain what might be for the common good. However, when related to taxation, it is an important question and a way to determine the value of goods and services provided by our government.
I am relatively new to this area, so I cannot speak as an expert but I am totally perplexed by this push by Washingtonians for a new Columbia River Crossing. Millions of dollars have already been spent to study a project that appears to clearly provide more economic benefit to our Oregon neighbors. Easing the passage over the Columbia River would seem to benefit Portland and the State of Oregon much more than Washington and those of us in Clark County.
This disproportionate benefit seems to be largely driven by differences in how each state government is funded. Oregon is dependent on a state income tax. People that work in Oregon and live in Washington pay Oregon state income tax. Those who live in Oregon and work in Washington are required to pay the State of Oregon as well. Would anyone paying income tax to the State of Oregon have the slightest qualm about shopping in Oregon to avoid sales tax, regardless of what side of the river they live on?
Washington, on the other hand, relies on a consumption or retail sales tax. Most food is exempt from this tax. Sales tax is collected at the point of purchase and use tax is required for purchases in Oregon made by Washington residences. While this use tax is required by law, I would guess that it is paid on a very, very small percentage of Oregon purchases and would be very difficult and/or expensive to enforce.
Clearly, the current differences in tax methods would encourage both Washington and Oregon residents to shop in Oregon.
So I am back to my original question, what’s in it for us?
Will building another or higher capacity bridge across the Columbia River promote economic development in Clark County or just magnify the existing economic disparity between the two regions? Is there really a return on investment for Washingtonians?
Would the State of Oregon be as interested in a new Columbia River Crossing if they were required to collect sales tax on behalf of the State of Washington on purchases made by Washington residents in Oregon? We are already required to collect personal income tax withholding on behalf of the State of Oregon. Wouldn’t a reciprocal arrangement on sales tax be fair?
I realize these are “fighting words.”
Initially, Clark County’s proximity to the Portland market probably contributed significantly to the growth of the County. The property taxes alone must have allowed for a rapid expansion of community infrastructures. However, Vancouver and its surrounding Clark County neighbors have now become or are becoming their own economic centers. Can we afford any project that would magnify an already existing economic disadvantage?
What if we chose to do nothing regarding the Columbia River Crossing until equitable, verifiable economic benefits could be determined for each region? If Oregon wants to build another bridge, without first establishing that economic equity, let them build it at their expense.
After all, why should we pay unless there is something in it for us?
Steve Walker
Publisher
What's in it for us?

A massive waste of billions.

A $100,000,000 plus yearly hole in our local economy forever.

Low-income and single parent commuters getting hammered.

Loot rail that we don't want or need.

No change in congestion or freight mobility.

The sucking up of hundreds of millions that could have been used elsewhere to build another bridge in a different location.

We get to watch the slimeballs ramming this crap pile down our throats without a vote pay so they can off their buddies at our expense.

And one last thing: "Washingtonians" aren't pushing for this steaming pile.  A few corrupt, self-appointed scum are pushing for it.  See, we haven't been allowed a vote.

Other than that... nothing.
.

A poster detailing congressional personal wealth.

.
I was offered this out of kind of a clear blue sky, so to speak, but it does serve to illustrate just one of the problems confronting us:

How Rich Is Congress
Via: OnlineSchools.org

Kind of eye-shattering, but effective in it's own way.
.

So, here's the video of the outcome of a certain TSA location: DFW, to be precise.

.
Here's how they "inspected" Miss USA 2003.



When is enough... enough?

Where do we find the line between enough... and too much?

What we be doing if security had failed?  What would we be saying?

Have you read this:


Man "Keystered" Cellphone, MP3 Player, Headphones, Cash, Pot Into California Jail


Sentenced and jailed Tuesday on a narcotics conviction, a California man smuggled a Kyocera cell phone, an MP3 player, ear bud headphones, marijuana, tobacco, and $140 in cash into a county lockup by hiding the contraband in his rectum, investigators allege.

The items were recovered when Lake County corrections officers strip searched Earl Lee Vogt and tossed his cell. The searches Wednesday evening were prompted when a jailer detected the smell of marijuana in the 29-year-old tattoo artist’s cell.

Vogt, pictured in the post-surrender mug shot at right, was sentenced Tuesday to nearly four years in prison and immediately remanded to the custody of the sheriff’s department. Investigators believe that Vogt “keystered” the contraband to get it into the lockup, according to one official. While the cash was found in his cell, the other items were found inside a sock.

More:
___________________

Looks like this guy could have jammed a Volkswagen up there.

All of which begs the question: How far is too far? How far isn't far enough?
.

Bob Hope's timely observation makes a return:

.
This video is true at every level.


.

It takes a special kind of slimeball like Tim "The Liar" Leavitt to hypocritically accuse someone ELSE of "pandering."

.
The post title speaks for itself.

It's easy for a slimeball like The Liar to beat up on someone who can't fight back.

It's easy for a Leavitt to talk s&*t to a woman who wouldn't drop him in his tracks for mouthing off the way The Liar has over the fact that Stewart is the only member of the city council who actually represents the people of the city.

Mayor Liar, best known for running the scummiest campaign in the history of this corner of the state, got stuck on stupid when he attacked Sen. Don Benton's effort to rally opposition to the the project that now bends The Liar over every hour on the hour by accusing someone ELSE of "pandering;" in this case, the only member of the council with the guts to spit in the face of the special interests running Leavitt's life as he sold out not only the unfortunates he's governing in Vancouver but all of Southwest Washington with his campaign of lies, half truths, distortion and insults.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if The Liar were to attack a fellow male member of the council the way he does Stewart. Of course, that would require at least one testicle between the lot of them... and that would be very hard to find, indeed.

Leavitt is a total slimeball who had his campaign manager, Temple Lentz (who now runs the Daily Couv) write hundreds upon hundreds of words in opposition to tolls on the unneeded, unwanted and unnecessary I-5 bridge/replacement project during his campaign only to turn his back on those who naively supported him for it.

And now, The Liar has the unmitigated gall to accuse someone ELSE of "pandering?"

Leavitt is a disgrace to Vancouver; as much a disgrace as the democratian.

And when his term is up, and the lies catch up to him, this community will be well rid of his thuggery and bullying tactics.
.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

A real Member of Congress confronting his opponents.

.
It's just a shame we don't have one like this... instead of handpicked, media covered press releases.



Locking up another childish, disruptive fringe leftist?

Priceless.
.

Even Massachusetts is striping out collective bargaining rights on health care; dems bail on unions in bid for fiscal sanity.

.
Here in Washington State, we're in the process of completing yet another legislative session without even beginning to address the 8000 pound gurella in the room: unfunded retirements for public employee unions.  Courage is a rare commodity up there generally, and dem cowardice when it comes to adderessing the union extortion we have to live with is palpable.

We all remember the fringe left anarchists throwing a fit over Gov. Scott Walker's plan to return fiscal sanity to Wisconsin.  It wasn't that long ago that Wisconsin Senate democrats acted like cowards, and their moronic union buddies acted like thugs in ways that Hitler would have envied.

So... why the silence by the left about the Soviet Socialist Republic of Massachusetts for doing the same thing?

Could it be because the democrats have a huge majority in the Massachusetts House have a HUGE advantage in numbers?  Was it a struggle for democrats... considering they have to labor under a paltry 98 seat majority and this bill passed 111 to 42?  (128 to 31 dem to Rep.) 

House votes to restrict unions

Measure would curb bargaining on health care

Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, said the union would fight the legislation “to the bitter end.”Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, said the union would fight the legislation “to the bitter end.”(M. McDonald for The Boston Globe)
By Michael Levenson
Globe Staff / April 27, 2011


House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly last night to strip police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees of most of their rights to bargain over health care, saying the change would save millions of dollars for financially strapped cities and towns.
Tweet 25 people Tweeted this
The 111-to-42 vote followed tougher measures to broadly eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees in Ohio, Wisconsin, and other states. But unlike those efforts, the push in Massachusetts was led by Democrats who have traditionally stood with labor to oppose any reduction in workers’ rights.
.
Unions fought hard to stop the bill, launching a radio ad that assailed the plan and warning legislators that if they voted for the measure, they could lose their union backing in the next election. After the vote, labor leaders accused House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and other Democrats of turning their backs on public employees.
.
“It’s pretty stunning,’’ said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “These are the same Democrats that all these labor unions elected. The same Democrats who we contributed to in their campaigns. The same Democrats who tell us over and over again that they’re with us, that they believe in collective bargaining, that they believe in unions. . . . It’s a done deal for our relationship with the people inside that chamber.’’
.
“We are going to fight this thing to the bitter end,’’ he added. “Massachusetts is not the place that takes collective bargaining away from public employees.’’
.
The battle now turns to the Senate, where President Therese Murray has indicated that she is reluctant to strip workers of their right to bargain over their health care plans.
.
DeLeo said the House measure would save $100 million for cities and towns in the upcoming budget year, helping them avoid layoffs and reductions in services. He called his plan one of the most significant reforms the state can adopt to help control escalating health care costs.
.
“By spending less on the health care costs of municipal employees, our cities and towns will be able to retain jobs and allot more funding to necessary services like education and public safety,’’ he said in a statement.
.
Last night, as union leaders lobbied against the plan, DeLeo offered two concessions intended to shore up support from wavering legislators.
.
The first concession gives public employees 30 days to discuss changes to their health plans with local officials, instead of allowing the officials to act without any input from union members. But local officials would still, at the end of that period, be able to impose their changes unilaterally.
.
The second concession gives union members 20 percent of the savings from any health care changes for one year, if the unions object to changes imposed by local officials. The original bill gave the unions 10 percent of the savings for one year. Continued...
.

More rank hypocrisy from the democratian: Can't speculate on Jacks abandoning his office, but "Rumors fly about Easter morning fire that killed six"

.
The two faces of our local rag couldn't be any clearer than the institutional double standard they've shown on the Jacks cover up.

See, as part of that cover up of Jim Jacks leaving the legislature due to his misconduct, commenters on the article were told this by democratian staffers:



But then what to my wandering eyes appears tonight on the fish wrapper's web site?

Rumors fly about Easter morning fire that killed six

Police wait for identification by medical examiner
So, when it's a democrat politician, speculation is not allowed.

But when it isn't, speculation is not only allowed... it's ENCOURAGED, and the rag actually does a story about it. 

Nope.  No cover up here.  Double standard?  Are you kiddin' me?

It's not just hypocrisy or a double standard.  It's the kind of slimy paper that truly is a cancer on our community... and one involved in an obvious cover up.

There's no excuse here.  None.  But it's the kind of thing we've grown to expect from the democrat version of Pravda Izvestia.
.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ridgefield Barbie lacks the guts to meet with her constituency?

.
Babs held an early fundraiser today by limiting access to her to 11 hand-picked businesses for her photo op/press release session covered by the rag.

This phrase leapt off the page at me:
Herrera Beutler has held no town halls in the 3rd Congressional District during Congress’[sic] two-week spring break to answer questions about her recent votes or other issues. However, she said she did hold a telephone town hall last week.
“We reached out to about 13,000 people,” she said. Asked to characterize the comments she received, she said, “The overwhelming response was, ‘We need to have an adult conversation about the debt and the deficit.’“
Tell us again why anyone was dumb enough to vote for you?

The only thing missing that was different from the coward you replaced is that you didn't even use a fake death threat as an excuse to avoid facing the people.

So, I checked on a real Member of Congress... one we could be proud of... a man who'll face the people at least as well as he faced combat... Congressman Allen West (R-FL-22)

What happened? Fringe left nutters were arrested at HIS open town hall meeting.

That he's even holding open town halls, knowing they'll be interrupted by leftist whack jobs shows what kind of man he is... and what kind of congress critter I wish we had... but obviously don't have.

Here's the memo, Babs: No guts?

No glory.

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
.

More of our future as WADOT steals from us: HOT carpool drivers using $5 Good to Go stickers will be wrongly charged

.
You see the headline?

HOT carpool drivers using $5 Good to Go stickers will be wrongly charged

Do you see that? WILL be wrongly charged?

Hey folks, here's a clue: These are the scum who'll be sticking it to us for this crap pile bridge project, one of many projects that as wasted 100's of millions of dollars of OUR money.

The state... OUR state, knows this is going to happen... and they are going to do NOTHING about it!

There is no plan to change this, said Patty Rubstello, director of toll-systems development and engineering for the state Department of Transportation.

She said the state provides materials and a website to educate Good to Go users. The website has a short quiz that suggests drivers buy a pass that can be switched off for those who also carpool in HOT lanes.
Scum. Utter scum. And this kind of crap is what's in store for us if they get their way.

HOT carpool drivers using $5 Good to Go stickers will be wrongly charged
Carpooling drivers will be wrongly charged for using high-occupancy toll lanes, or HOT lanes, if they have a popular type of the state's new Good to Go pass. These drivers on Highway 167 would be better served by using passes that can be turned on and off.
Seattle Times staff reporter
These drivers on Highway 167 would be better served by using passes that can be turned on and off.
Good to Go passes are scanned automatically when a vehicle drives through a toll area, like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and, starting in June, the Highway 520 bridge. There are different types of passes, ranging from $5 to $12. Some can be removed or switched on and off.

The problem is with the $5 passes when used for HOT lanes, which let single drivers pay to use carpool lanes.

The $5 passes are stickers, permanently affixed on a car's windshield, that can't be switched off. Carpooling drivers shouldn't be charged additionally each time they travel in a HOT lane. But, if they have a $5 Good to Go pass sticker, they will automatically be charged the HOT-lane fee, an average of $1.25 a pop.
This is the kind of scum government we have. They rip us off... they KNOW they're ripping us off... they ADMIT they're ripping us off... and they do it anyway.

And you can bet this is another story our local despicable rag won't write.
.

Question for Ridgefield Barbie: What's your vote on raising the blank check... I mean, the debt ceiling?

.
As anyone watching would expect, your unfortunate tenure as our representative in Congress has been a reflection of your worthless tenure as our representative in the state house.

Voting with the democrats in support of a non-working, worthless program that has destroyed the credit of tens of thousands while helping practically no one... one of only two in the GOP to go that route.  Your failure to take positions on the major issues of the day... your lies about the utterly worthless budget cut... and now?

You total lack of a position on raising the debt ceiling.

I'm opposed to raising it, because, of course, raising a so-called debt ceiling just makes such a ceiling worthless.

But you?  I'd lay odds that you're going to go along with the establishment GOP'ers and just vote to raise it like the rest of the sheep, because if you ever had an original thought it's long since died of loneliness.

You've sold us out before.  You'll sell us out again.

So, what's your position on this issue?

As if we didn't already know, your silence notwithstanding?

Cross-posted on Jaime Herrera Watch.
.

The Probst debacle: Throwing money at a problem doesn't solve it.

.
Of all the many ways we waste money in government, the bizarre idea that more money will fix anything has to top the list.

When was the last time government solved any problem?  We spend billions on nonsensical transportation projects that solve nothing.  We waste billions on a public school system that cranks out bus fulls of drop outs and kids who have to take remedial classes to even begin their college education, even after they supposedly graduate; rife with teachers who insist on whining, bitching, moaning and complaining that they are underpaid, overworked and put upon, yet seemingly incapable of pulling the trigger, quitting, and doing something else with their lives that will make them the international successes they sacrifice so they can teach.  Bull.

The bill confuses motion with action, and does nothing to hold teachers accountable for their efforts in the classroom.

The problem isn't money.  It never has been.  The problem is the teachers.

Teachers don't care.  Once they have tenure, nothing else matters. 

It's a strange bill that is reality, will accomplish absolutely nothing... and will keep no one bent on leaving an increasingly worthless and irrelevant education system from doing so. 
The bill provides that if funds are appropriated in the budget to implement the cash grants, they would be awarded beginning with the 2011-12 school year. The House budget includes $6.4 million to launch the program and provide awards for two consecutive years.
“For that amount of money you can dramatically reduce the dropout rate across the state,” Probst said.
Bull.

And when this program fails, nothing will be done to defund it.

But I guarantee you one thing: our massive drop out rate of around 30% will not be impacted by this kind of effort and this is a waste of money, time and effort.

But it is a way to get teachers more money, and which leftist can be opposed to that?
.

The democratian's arrogance continues.

.
Of course, we knew that'd be all aflutter about their two pet governors coming down here to tell us which bridge they want to ram down our throats, joining with the other bridger/looters who demand this horrific project but who will bear none of the burden of paying for it.

The stupidity of the rag's position really can't be overstated... nor can the stupidity of their moronic metaphors:
When a family desperately needs a new car during an economic crisis, the style and appearance of that new car do not matter as much as cost and functionality.
Of course, no one rams a new car down any buyer's throat; no one buys a new car they don't need or want, and the presence of dozens of options when it comes to what kind of car and where to make the purchase speaks to the idiocy of whoever wrote this tripe.

We should have more choice than a condemned prisoner offered the option of death by hanging, lethal injection, electrocution or firing squad... yet that's what this despicable rag and the scum shoving this crap pile down our throat offer us.

Ultimately, since the government allegedly works for us, they have no right to force our execution while leaving us only the choice of the method.

Never mind that like many dictators, they believe their judgment to be superior to that of the governed.  Never mind that bridgers/looters are uniformly opposed to giving us any type of vote.  No one supporting this horrific project demands a vote or allowing us any voice at all.  One bridger/looter, Commissioner Marc Boldt, lied to my face about that very thing.  Another bridger/looter lied about a vote to get elected last November... Commissioner Steve "The Liar" Stuart.  And the biggest liar of all, Tim "The Liar" Leavitt's flip on tolls is legendary.  And like many other dictators, they're corrupt and unconcerned about what the people want, need or can afford.

Yeah, unlike most dictators, we voted these slime in.  But the Germans, initially, voted Hitler in.  How'd that work out for them?  Because to me, the difference is only a matter of degree since when it comes to domestic policy, the similarities far outweigh the differences.

And while the brief, anemic single call by the democratian for a county wide vote on this crap pile was, predictably not mentioned in their cloying endorsement of this dictatorial action, the fact that there has yet to be any reason to build this steaming pile has yet to ever be addressed by the rag.

We get the standard, don't care lies as to why: Earthquakes (Fine.  Retrofit the current bridge.) Congestion (We have 3 through lanes now; we'll have 3 through lanes when the crap pile is built.)  Loot rail. (Of course, loot rail is the entire reason these slimeballs are jamming this down our throats, and their problem is that besides making this the most expensive loot rail project in the history of this planet, the people here clearly do not want it.) Lifts.  (As if our community will somehow be better off by charging those using the bridge $1300 plus per year to avoid the few... very few... lifts that people run into every year.) "reasonably priced" (When you want a crap pile like this and YOU don't have to pay for it, ANY price is reasonable... and $10 billion plus for this ISN'T reasonable.)

That's not "reasoning."  That's fantasy.

The reasons to avoid taking this action overwhelm any reasons to build it.  The outcomes will be horrific on a community wide scale, including the fact that when completed, it will have accomplished nothing save the installation of ever-increasing multiple life time tolls, absolutely no increase in freight mobility, no decrease in congestion and the waste that is loot rail... combined with blowing a hole in the local economy as $100,000,000 plus per year is vacuumed out of the local economy, a fact I have yet to see addressed... ever... because, well, when you don't give a damn how much this will hurt the people of Clark County, why go through the motions of looking at issues like that?

The fact is this: the entire motivation... the complete basis for replacing a perfectly safe and serviceable bridge is to bring the herpes of loot rail into Vancouver... a move overwhelmingly rejected at the polls time and again.

This kind of tyranny is part and parcel of why I despise those running our government... why I despise a media complicit in furthering their aim to pay off their friends at our expense.

With a rag proven to lack anything close to integrity, we should, perhaps, not be surprised at how they're working with their fellow democrats to ram this down our throats.  Clark County is increasingly unfriendly to leftists and voted against Gregoire in every election... which is part of why she's doing this to us as a punishment.

We do have other transportation problems.  Unfortunately, this waste of $10 billion solves none of them.  And that the rag goes along with this program is just more payback to the democrats who own them with the implicit requirement that if the rags want to keep their B&O tax break that they don't deserve, then they'd better play ball... which also, come to think of it, goes to the heart of the matter as to why Brancaccio has sold out in his cover up of Jacks' misconduct that caused him to leave the legislature.
.

Monday, April 25, 2011

So, the two state morons came down here to pick the bridge to shove down our throats: but the CPA's know better.

.
The clown of the state of Washington and the clown of the state of Oregon decided what bridge design they're going to use to ram down our throats... but of course, neither one of those two idiots will ever have to pay the toll they're foisting on us to get this thing built.

There are others... even in Oregon, who see how screwed up the numbers are for this unneeded, unwanted and unneccesary waste of billions of dollars to entend loot rail about 5 feet into Vancouver,  Steve Duin breaks it down with a reality check that our local kitty litter box liner wouldn't be caught dead publishing... because as the Jacks debacle shows, facts have no place in their universe when they get in the way of the agenda.

The CPAs see the crock in the Columbia River Crossing

Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011, 10:00 AM
At the 2011 Legislature, there's no doubt where labor and the public employee unions stand on the Columbia River Crossing.

Twenty-thousand jobs, baby. Bring it on.

Big business and the transportation departments of Oregon and Washington? They're competing for head cheerleader.

Gov. John Kitzhaber? He dropped the project in the lap of Patricia McCaig, his campaign manager, whose company has already reaped $130,000 in consulting fees. Full speed ahead.

But the Legislature's two certified public accountants?

They're waving red flags and setting off flares.

"I'm a freshman legislator," says Rep. Katie Brewer, R-Hillsboro, "but I'm not a freshman CPA." And to sign on to House Joint Memorial 22, which begs the feds to throw another $1.25 billion at the project, Brewer said, "would be practicing legislative malpractice. I'm not willing to do that."

Neither is Sen. Chris Telfer, R-Bend. "There's no one in the world who should lend money (based) on the information we have," said Telfer, who has a 26-year career as a CPA.

"We don't have a bill. We don't have a project. We don't have a way to pay it back."
More:
.
Then slime just pours off the pair of them as it does any "local community leader" that will not fight to the last breath to allow a county-wide vote on this abortion.

And, of course, you know damned well you'll never read this in the democratian.
.

Lou puts up another nonsensical self-serving poll:

.
What a total crock.

Did former Vancouver State Rep. Jim Jacks do the right thing by going public on why he suddenly resigned from office?

Yes. Not only did he have an obligation to do so, most members of the community will rally behind him now. 55% 94 votes

No. As soon as he left office he was a private citizen and had no obligation to tell the community anything. 35% 61 votes

No opinion at this time. 8% 15 votes

170 total votes

It's this variety of self-serving crap that makes Brancaccio ooze the way he does.

It's a variety of "heads I win, tails you lose" questions that, once again, completely ignore Brancaccio's complete lack of journalistic integrity and the fact that he's let Jacks skate like Jacks was paying him. 

The questions Brancaccio SHOULD have asked?
We all know there's much more to this then Jacks has told us; no one resigns and moves out so fast they leave a vacuum behind.

1.  Was I right to violate any tenet of fairness and integrity to let Jacks off the hook so I can cover for him?

2.  Will This paper EVER have any respect for the unvarnished truth instead of just continuing on as a left wing swindle sheet?

3.  Should I have asked him about specific examples of misconduct instead of letting him control the interview and blow me off like a rookie cub reporter?

4.  Should I resign immediately as well?
These questions would save Lou SO much wear and tear on his shoulder from patting himself on the back as if he was actually doing his job, instead of bending over for the leftists... again... like he usually does... keeping the public in the dark on those subjects that make the left look bad... which is most subjects.
.

Brancaccio plays dumb: So, Lew, what did you mean by that?

.
Lew Waters posted up a response to the swimming pool of white wash and ineptitude Brancaccio is barfing over this community as he continues to cover up for a fellow democrat, former State Representative Jim Jacks (D-49).

Brancaccio, who is by far his own biggest fan, pimped yesterdays "fail" of an article that told us nothing that this blog hadn't already reported while pitching Jacks batting practice instead of playing hardball... like he routinely does if you oppose his "I know better then you" agenda regardless of party generally or have an "R" after your name specifically... seems to be deliberately disingenuous by asking this:
Lew, still wondering what the point is of your Lincoln quote. Care to explain?

Lou Brancaccio (Columbian Staff) — April 25, 2011 at 10:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal ) | Ignore User )
In response to the, by far, most appropriate comment on his pathetic, self flagellating cover up of what really happened that caused Jacks to evacuate Olympia like Fukishima was next to the oyster beds:

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” Abraham Lincoln

Can Lou truly be this ignorant? Does he REALLY believe that the patty cake he played with Jacks comes even close to what could laughingly be called "journalism?"

That Brancaccio can't seem to grasp how badly he's screwed this up shows him to be unfit to be editor of any newspaper.

Questions that any real journalist would have asked based on available information either weren't asked... or weren't reported.  Either one is unacceptable.

Unless, of course, his playing stupid is all part of the cover up plan.
.

The upside of the wonkette smack down.

.
John Nolte at Big Journalism says it better than I can:


John Nolte

The Internet phenomenon that is Trig’s Crew (Twitter tag #TrigsCrew) might represent the most potent example of the power of online activism we’ve seen yet. In a matter of hours, citizen activists rallied around the righteous cause of condemning a vile Wonkette attack against Governor Sarah Palin’s three-year-old son, Trig with astonishing results.
Best of all, and contrary to Andrew Sullivan feeling all “queasy,” this was not a “Palinista” uprising. (Heads up: When it comes to Trig Palin, Sullivan is nothing more than Wonkette with professorial elbow patches.) Decent people of all political stripes, including some in the media, put partisan politics aside over this — and it was a beautiful thing to behold. Better still, organized under their hash tag, a group of citizen activists discovered the small “d” democratic wonder of Twitter and effectively learned how to politely, firmly, and publicly fight for something they believed in.
Personally, I’m not a boycott person, but that’s my right. Others have a right to boycott, and brother, did Trig’s Crew put on a boycott. All on their own, they organized a list of Wonkette advertisers, tweeted them directly with a request that they pull their ads, and kept track of those who did and didn’t. Within hours, it was obvious a tidal wave was brewing and by the next day it was just as obvious that it had hit. As of this writing, over 30 advertisers agreed with Trig’s Crew and pulled their ads from Wonkette. Seemingly, and in record time, the dismantling of a fairly mainstream, left-wing snark-site seemed probable.
Like the Tea Party, Trig’s Crew has represented the very best of mainstream America as they engaged in an inspiring First Amendment online debate with dignity and decency. So commendable is their behavior, that Slate’s Dave Weigel obviously had to dig pretty deep to come up with this single tweet — one of thousands — in order to manufacture something (which required some back-filling in the form of a later update) that might tarnish the whole movement as “jumping the shark.” Obviously, this is the MSM-Alinsky-Tea Party-Playbook all over again — where a single and unique negative out of an ocean of positives is intentionally amplified to unfairly brand the kind of grassroots campaign elites always find so threatening.
Whatever.
More:

I was right. Brancaccio's "interview" with Jacks was pathetic.

.
A friend sent me the article that Brancaccio pimped yesterday (Saturday) in his propaganda column as if it contained something we didn't already know.

It's didn't.

And, of course, what was particularly absent was any drill down on the specifics; questions that would nail down this issue... questions that would have brought the truth to light.

This is what we got:
Being an alcoholic is a difficult thing in and of itself. But oftentimes, having one too many also results in bad behavior.
So I asked Jacks if his drinking resulted in his doing anything inappropriate. At first he wasn’t exactly sure what I meant.
“I have no criminal record. I’ve gotten no DUIs. I’m sure I’ve driven when I should not have been driving. But I resigned because I had to fix my problem. I resigned because I’m an alcoholic.”
Still, I pressed him further. Notwithstanding the drinking while driving, is it possible that someone might show up later and say you did something inappropriate to them while you were drinking?
He said no.
The interview moved forward.

"The interview moved forward."

Codespeak for "I let him off the hook and didn't ask the questions that needed to be asked."

Questions like this:

Did you, in any way, engage in conduct that could be construed as sexual harassment of anyone?

Did you engage in “drunk calls” to anyone?

Did you engage in unwanted advances to anyone at any time generally, but legislative staffers particularly?

That Jacks never got popped for anything criminally as a result of his alcoholism doesn't mean that he did not engage in the kind of conduct that would result in his caucus wanting to get rid of him in a hurry, as quickly and as quietly as possible.  And those are not the actions on the part of a caucus that result from mere alcoholism alone.  Brancaccio knows that as well as I do.

These are the kinds of questions, based on the information readily available to Lou or any other journalist, that SHOULD have been asked.

But when you're in full democrat protection mode, and you already know the answers and you don't want those answers published... why even ask the questions?

I've been right all along.

Brancaccio doesn't know... because he doesn't want to know.

Any other genuine journalist would have asked the same questions or similar.  But not someone with a reeking left wing bias.

And you know damned well that if Jacks had been an "R", the entire interview would have centered around those questions and those questions alone.
.