So, Russell's scammed this new gig with an outfit called "Students for Life of America."

In some ways, I'm sorry to see this.

Given Jon's myriad, documented and well-known inabilities to tell the truth, working with the more impressionable among the pro-life (Or any other, for that matter) movement is not something I believe he should be doing.

I'm sure this amounts to just another notch on his political gunbelt, a polishing of his social "cred," as it were.

But if, as it appears, it begins the process of removing the cancer that is Jon Russell from our local political scene, then I'm all for it. And, at least he finally told someone the truth about his education.... for once... and, except, of course, Washougal is NOT Russell's "hometown," but to expect him to do anything without SOME level of exaggeration or falsehood is, I suppose, too much to ask.

Now.... let's see how long he can keep THIS job. His other efforts haven't lasted all that long..

Home > About Us > Staff > Jon Russell, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator

Jon Russell, Pacific Northwest Regional Coordinator

Jon Russell

Jon started his pro-life work as s full-time fundraising coordinator for a Crisis Pregnancy Center and maternity home in 2000. He has worked for the House Republican Committees in Indiana and Washington State. He served as Executive Director for Faith and Freedom Foundation where he lobbied for prolife and pro-family issues.

Jon holds an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice from Thomas Edison State College. He is a City Councilman in his hometown and an alumnus of the American Council of Young Political Leaders where he traveled as an American delegate to the Philippines. Jon & his family are actively involved in their local Pregnancy Resource Center and Salvation Army.

Cross posted at Jon Russell Watch.

A suggestion for a new source of revenue: a voluntary, self-imposed newspaper/elected official tax.

After being sickened by the babble of this morning's nonsensical editorial (No, there will be no cap, sources tell me, unless Vancouver wants to pay for it) the thought occurred to me: isn't it about time the newspapers and the elected officials took responsibility for their efforts to shaft constituents with tax increases?

So, how about this: a new law that requires rags like our Goebellian swindle sheet bear the cost for every toll, tax and fee increase they advocate?

Right now, the local carbuncle on our society rabidly advocates for this massive waste of billions of dollars for a bridge and loot rail we do not want, need or can afford and they're shilling it for the same reasons they were shilling the ballpark: because they know THEY don't have to pay for it.

So, I believe we should change that.

I have no trouble whatsoever jamming this tax down the throats of every elected official and newspaper supporting it.

So, those of you scum on the CTran board who keep shilling this garbage... you will have to pay the same amount in a tax for the toll that you're ramming down our throats.

Presuming a conservative $5 per day toll, then that means that every elected official voting for this crap will have to write a check for $5 per day times the number of business days in a month.  And they should pay that tax each and every month they remain in any elected office.

That means each of those shilling this crap would cough up about $1300 or so a year to start as their contribution to this massive waste.

For the rag, that means they do the same with a formula that looks like this:

$5 per day times the number of employees times the number of business days in a month.

And every time they tell us to vote "yes" on a bond, levy or sales tax increase, they should write a check for the same amounts they're demanding for us.

You see, it's really, really easy to demand that OTHERS spend THEIR money for what YOU want, ESPECIALLY if YOU don't have to spend a dime.

And, of course, the amount they pay goes up with any increase.  So, when the tolls on this scam go up, for example, then the amount of money those who voted for this scam have to pay also goes up.

Simplicity is a thing of beauty, no?

Why is Jon Russell blowing off the city council? Expect him to resign soon.

Russell is a flake.  He's always just viewed his city council gig as a small rung off of his self-induced political ladder.

So, why is he blowing off his responsibility to his constituents?  he's missed the last two city council meetings... is he doing an Aaron Christopherson?

Probably.  Likely.

Expect him to resign in a matter of days.  And expect him to push a genuine slimeball as his replacement.

Right, Jon?  One of your lackeys?  Living in that double-wide?

Cross posted in Jon Russell Watch.

When the democratian flips their lid: even more CRC rip off.

The idea that we should all get screwed for the CRC without asking us is bizarre enough.  But the utterly nonsensical "lid" crap?

Look, the only "lid" I would support would be a wall of concrete about 10 feet thick covering the entirety of the ghost-downtown area.

But for Vancouver to stick it to all of US for THEIR lid makes no more sense than their bizarre Ballpark fetish.

If these clowns want a lid, then let THEM pay for it.

One of the more astute commenters pointed this out:

 Allen Anderson · Top Commenter · Polson High School

tolling at 3.00 a crossing will take 10,000,000 trips to pay for just the cement cap, not including interest. A region holding over 14 percent unemployed and we are told we're going to pay over 10 billion dollars for the CRC. Voters need to remember all those supporting destroying this regions economy with this project and replace them on their election cycle. Businesses supporting the CRC need to be boycotted.We are told this project is about traffic flow, but we're only gaining 2 lanes across the Columbia. But this entire project is about SW Washington paying for Portland traffic upgrades, and a nice new bridge to look at out Vancouver's new waterfront development. Local small town politicians influenced by developers, and generations of tolls and higher taxes are going to be the result.

Reply · 2 · Unlike· Follow Post · about an hour ago

While wrong in one regard (we are gaining precisely ZERO lanes across the river: there are 3 through lanes now, if this abortion is ever built, there will be three through lanes then.) the rest is accurate: those making this commute will have to pay with millions of unnecessary trips for a scam that will benefit Vancouver and Vancouver only.

The democratian's incessant babble, quoting all of those giddy over this rip off is not unusual: failing to seek out the opposing view is their policy when that view pushes back against their agenda.  But given who all benefits from this particular rip off, why isn't the CRC presenting the city of Vancouver with the bill?

And to modify the rag's moronic last line in there self-flagellating greaser of an article that oozes with rank hypocrisy, where they spewed:

Get the lid built. We all can worry later about how fancy the top will be.

What they REALLY meant is this:

Get the lid built. We won't worry about who pays for it, at all, because like the rest of this slime, we know it ain't gonna be us.

Time for a newspaper tax.  These slime want it?

Then let them pay it.

Jon Russell continues to comment under a fake face: Jessica Bowen.

Since Russell has scammed a temporary gig working for people who haven't gotten to know him yet, he's gone almost completely dark.

That is, it's hard to find statements attributed to him directly. Few quotes in the newspaper... practically no comments on their web sites.

In the past, Russell has been known for his multiple fake identities, used so he can shoot off at the mouth at others without having to be responsible for his lies, exaggerations, mischaracterizations and the like.

This blog is replete with documented instances of some of the few of his fake identities. And Jessica Bowen is but another of them.

Following the past pattern, where Russell used a fake sock-puppet identity by the name of "Teacher Judy Banks," Jon Russell is now using another fake identity, this Jessica Bowen person.

There are a few "Jessica Bowens" in Seattle. Here's one.

Now, the question might be asked: how do I know that identity is fake?

Well, it's simple, really.

Not one single person by the name "Jessica Bowen" is registered to vote anywhere in the Seattle area... Just like "Judy Banks."

No one is registered to vote in this state by the name of Jessica Bowen who was "Born on June 20, 1981."

Both his fake identities are cute, little and blond.

Oddly enough, the ONLY place "Bowen" comments is the Columbian.

She lives in Seattle is the claim, but.... doesn't comment anywhere... on anything.... but the Columbian?

Why?

How many women list "Red Dawn" as their favorite movie?

As politically active as she appears to be, she doesn't have a single political friend anywhere... but down here.

Russell rather moronically shills for term limits. And so does his sockpuppet "Bowen."

So, keep reading his comments. Just be advised... they're the property of one Washougal City Councilman, Jon Russell... and not a non-existent blond by the name of Jessica Bowen... a name that doesn't exist in the real world.

Cross-posted at Jon Russell Watch.

We're not in this alone.

Better than 50/50: Iran will take a run at shuting down the Straights.

The problem is the clueless idiot in the White House.

He's steadily weakened the military through both policy and his political, as opposed to military-based promotions, appointing only those political animals that will support his social engineering efforts that weaken our military capabilities.

Between his cowardice and incompetence, we have a Keystone Cops foreign policy that has made us the laughing stock of the world.

His efforts to turn Libya and Egypt into sharia states have succeeded brilliantly while he sits idly by and watches those who long for freedom get slaughtered in Syria. 

Every sentient being on the planet knows that Iran is working towards nuclear weapons, and they're led by religious psychos who view self-immolation as a small sacrifice for allah, particularly when compared to the 72 virgin goats they get on arrival.

His bumbling and fumbling in Iraq leaves them wide-open to become an Iranian client state (ala Manchuria during WW2) and his half-hearted efforts in Afghanistan have turned the sacrifice of the best and brightest men and women this country has to offer into dust.

So, when you look at the record... why wouldn't the thugs running Iran take a shot at shutting off a great deal of  the oil flow going to the west which has played nicely with the Moron-in-Chief's Keystone handling of the Keystone pipeline... just see what happens?

The Iranians have already killed 3,000 or so of our troops and wounded 20,000 or more by providing most of the weaponry of the insurgency... and all at little to no cost to them.

They likely, and accurately, view the simple idiot running the show like most foreign countries do, a total joke... a buffoon... so, why not put their boot on that jugular?

They'll spend a few troops... sailors... boats.  They'll start to sink a few tankers, daring us to respond (and response in this case means air strikes and ground troops, and they know that the clown running the show keeps his testicles in a jar the Klingon Princess owns...) We'll have to blow billions to respond, IF we respond... and our response will be crippled.

Why?

Because that simple idiot had us tuck tail and run out of Iraq.  Bases gone.  Air support, dramatically reduced.  Pre-positioned equipment? Gone.

Ya spose the Iranians noticed our cowardly withdrawal?  You think for one second that this effort is coincidence?

We will not want our carriers in the Straights because they will lack room to maneuver and they'll be in range of Iran's shore-based Exocet-type missiles.

Because our president lacks the balls of a gnat, launching pre-emptive strikes will be out of the question.  So, get ready for more Americans to die because this non-serving moron who hates the military doesn't know how to keep that from happening, save for temporary retreat and inaction... so why wouldn't Iran take a shot?

On the whiteboard, the question is this: what do they have to gain (a lot) or lose (Not much).

I expect something to happen.  And soon.  Sink one tanker... and that's that.

The democratian's sniveling about the FCC and media ownership?

So, only democrats running for re-election have anything to say about this?  Odd that two democrats they want to win are the only pols they quoted.  Equally odd is the fact that both of them are up in 12.

Silly me.  it's not "odd."  They're democrats.  Campaigning for those clowns are what they do.

On the surface, opposition to this plan is rightfully obvious.  But digging deeper, it's hard to miss the parallels between the poor outcomes of a small few controlling the information flow in a particular market and, say, the largest daily newspaper in SW Washington, where perhaps unintended, hypocrisy rules the day.

"Localness" has done nothing to serve this community: neither of the two slimeballs running the rag are from here, and that might explain why neither of them seem to give a damn what the people of this area think, believe or want.  But having a disinterested "localness" owning this paper makes no difference that I can see from having someone who lives in Poughkipsee owning it.

Someone truly concerned about "localness" would have fired both Lou and the Pit Yorkie a decade ago.  That he didn't?  That just means Scott was ticking off another talking point because he knows he can't compete with a conglomerate, so we're seeing the benefit of his own, personal, enlightened self-interests in these observations.

Talk, obviously, is cheap.

"Diversity?"

That concept must only apply to the race or religion or gender of an owner, because... well, in THIS rag, the MOST important "diversity" of all, the diversity of thought?

That's not allowed.

Oppose the agenda?  Point out the many and obvious lies, biases, slants, inaccuracies, exaggerations.... and man, DAT VILL SIMPFLY NOT BE TOLERATED!

Do those things, and his punk will come after you.  A slimeball dillwad who shouldn't be allowed to run a 5th grade class paper will do what he can to destroy you.  And he'll do it without any of that "local, diversified" ownership doing a damned thing about it.

Do those things, and a punk will come after you. A slimeball dillwad who shouldn't be allowed to run a 5th grade class paper will do what he can to destroy you. And he'll do it without any of that "local, diversified" ownership doing a damned thing about it.

"Accountability?" Please.

No one, save the subscribers staying away in droves are holding Campbell accountable. Even going bankrupt and losing his puzzle palace to the city's incessant empire-building didn't send him a clue.

Campbell's problem? His reasoning has only the thin veneer of reality. Dig a little deeper, and you'll find, as I have, that he says one thing, but the actions of his typically despicable rag show quite another.

Ridgefield Barbie wins the Seattle Post Intelligencer "Public Openness Prize!"

Rarely do I agree with the PI about much of anything, but this time, the nailed it!

Well done, and well-deserved, Babs!

-- Public openness prize: Newly elected Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., performed like a deer in the headlights at initial public meetings, so staff opted for invitation-only "coffees" with the congresswoman.

Herrera Beutler staff sent a "coffee" invite to the Chronicle, in Centralia-Chehalis, but asked that the newspaper not print its location. Why not? The wrong type of people will show up, explained an aide. The strongly conservative paper, to its credit, told readers where the congresswoman would appear

It's not easy having a cowardly slimeball for a congresswoman, especially one that works so hard to shaft us by voting with her fellow leftists, the democrats infesting our government.

Once again, congrats to the Camas Manikin, so bumblingly inept that they'd toss her off a cliff before they'd allow her to face her constituency without being told what, and how, to respond to them.

But then, that's the curse of being a coward. Right, Jaime?

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.

A truly bizarre letter in the democratian... wearing out another set of kneepads... for OUR rag?

There are bound to be some people out there who play what I call "journalistic relativism."

In this case, I define the term as one where someone either in, or a former member of, the media plays the "but there people are MUCH worse then WE are" game as if that excuses or justifies ANYTHING.

For some, there's no violation of the public trust; no blatant bias or agenda-attacks that are enough to question the motives... or the value... of a despicable rag:

Letter: Deadlines, decisions can be difficult

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

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I find many of the complaints and comments about The Columbian almost laughable. Too liberal; too conservative; too left; too right; yet biased.

Having worked for a major metropolitan daily newspaper, I fully understand the meaning of “deadline,” how hard it is to meet those deadlines and publish something new and interesting each and every day. The Columbian staff is not a group of talking bobbleheads making a small fortune reading the news on network television. The staff is a group of local people dedicated to reporting local news and being involved in our community — a staff willing to wrap Christmas presents to make the holidays happier for a local family; to report personal interest stories and respond to questions from readers.

If you feel that The Columbian is biased, I suggest you try reading that other area metro paper from across the river. And if you think it needs so much improvement, I suggest you start publishing your own version of a daily. Until you have personally dealt with the deadlines, judgments and costs of publication, I doubt you would print anything worth lining the bottom of your birdcage with. To all of The Columbian staff, I say “thanks,” and wish them the very best for the coming year.

Ed Delph
Brush Prairie

Great letter... if you're a leftist hermit not living in the real world.

This "love it or leave it" crap is just that; crap.  And the idea that because some of those working there give a small amount of their time to "wrapping presents for A local family" (Big whoop) after years of trashing, lying, exaggerating in their articles against those who, like me, do a hell of a lot more in charitable works with NO publicity or bogus letters to the editor to show for it neither makes up for or justifies there criminal negligence and failure to do their jobs in defense of an agenda.

Our local democrat daily newsletter is just that: a fringe-left rag with a fringe-left agenda where what the people want is of no consequence. No lie they won't tell, no exaggeration, no slant, no bias, no attack... nothing they won't do to protect their agenda and that of the Identity Vancouver/CRUDEC/Chamber of Horrors/downtown Mafia types infesting us.

"Journalistic relativism" like that advocated in this bizarre letter, where he points to the Lazy O across the river and claims THEY are even MORE biased, and therefore, the Lazy C should somehow get a pass is pure, unadulterated garbage.

To expect us to go along like good little sheeple and just roll over for these slimeballs is absurdity wrapped in idiocy... which, come to think of it, sums up this letter.

For a newspaper to have true value, it must ...present the news unslanted, unbiased, with a perspective that includes ALL sides. It must treat everyone the same, and give no one a pass because of the letter after their name. If it denies "speculation" against a democrat politician who got kicked out because of his alcohol-fueled misconduct with female staff in the legislature, then it must deny ALL speculation to or about anything.

Its actions must be guided by the community that provides forbearance in terms of allowing their continued existence... an already problematic issue for the already bankrupt democratian.

I will continue to pound this despicable rag as long as they continue to pound me, us and this community by exhibiting a level of arrogance that wouldn't have been out of place in the 3rd Reich's newspapers, where the people knew absolutely nothing and those publishing this despicable rag know absolutely everything, and they continue to aid those who would profit off a beat-down people who simply cannot afford their peculiar version of an enslaved utopia developed without our permission or input.

And as far as Delph is concerned, he needs to take his own advice: you don't like what those of us wise enough to rebel at this Big Brother's publication's efforts and methods have to say?

Then don't read it.

But as long as this horrific excuse of a media source attacks us, attacks truth and attacks integrity?

Then they... and YOU... should expect us to attack back.

And as far as that goes, I hope Lou left a $20 on your dresser.

Legislators gamble to try and ignore supermajority for tax increases, and impose it where it doesn't exist.

Sometimes using the faux practice of "journalism," reporters write the truth.

Unless they don't.

For a case in point, go here and read Peter Callaghan's tripe shilling democrat talking points.

First of all, the supermajority on tax increases, as Callahan knows, is the expressed will of the people. The courts, in continuing to reject the democrats repeated efforts to overturn that will, have reaffirmed it several times.

Get over it.

Secondly, any tax increase would be mandatory. That is, if such an increase were voted in, everyone would have to pay it. Well, except for the increasingly high number of border residents who would just do their shopping in Oregon and Idaho.

Thirdly, no one forces anyone to gamble, making that revenue source ENTIRELY voluntary.

Fourthly, using the plain language interpretation of what Callahan wrote:

That’s the state Supreme Court’s interpretation of a 1972 constitutional amendment that banned lotteries “except as specifically authorized upon the affirmative vote of sixty percent of the members of each house of the legislature.” Lotteries, the court has said, include nearly any form of gambling as long as it has the three magic components — consideration (a bet), chance and a prize.

There's nothing there that I can see that applies to the bill in question.

Lotteries are, in fact, lotteries. We go to a store, pay our money, get a ticket, and see if the number drawn on a daily or semi daily basis matches. The bill Callahan is wrongly describing does nothing like that. This is not referring to an expansion of "lotteries," and the plain language aspect so favored by our US Supreme Court (See Carcieri) would not support such a twisted interpretation. Continuing to defend race-based practices because the beneficiaries own you like the 13th Amendment doesn't exist, as is the case with the tribal ownership of the democrats, while this state allegedly so badly needs money that most people cannot afford mandatory tax increases while doing all they can to shelter the tribes, who pay this state precisely nothing while we dump tens of millions into social programs for these "sovereign nations" while they vacuum up non-tribal money and provide absolutely nothing in return appears to me to be the far bigger "gamble."

I, for one, will never vote for any kind of tax increase until this bill is passed. Ever.

So, to Callahan and his fellow democrats, I offer you this opportunity: Feel free to reject the GOP bill. Force everyone in this state, whether they can afford it or not, to pay yet another in the never-ending tax increases you so love. Make sure the democrats continue to turn away from a VOLUNTARY $300 million revenue stream that only those who can afford it will pay, instead.

I, for one, will never vote for any kind of tax increase until this bill is passed.  Ever.

But trumpeting garbage like these democrat talking points? You really should give tat a rest either way.

More idiocy from the democratian: jeers for those smart enough to criticize Ridgefield Barbie.

I've come to believe that the Camas Manikin must have some incriminating video or something, because this flagellating congratulatory crap must be driven by something like that, as the rag congratulates Ridgefield Barbie for selling us out:

Jeers: To critics of Congresswoman Jaime Herrera-Beutler. The Camas Republican has drawn constant criticism in her first year for allegedly being in lock step with House Speaker John Boehner rather than representing her district. Then, earlier this week, when she and six other Republicans defied Boehner and supported extending a payroll tax cut for two months, she drew a bunch of criticism, some from the same voices. It’s worth noting that she ended up on the right side of the issue. After days of posturing, the House finally went along with extending the payroll tax cut.

Naturally the carbuncle on SW Washington's butt would congratulate Barbie for ramming it in and breaking it off.  That's the fringe left version of "compromise," as in, "do it our way."

That the GOP in the House was cowardly enough to cave on this issue does no make our local Empty Suit's political treason "the right side of the issue."  As is most often the case, when it matters, she typically votes the way her democrat masters want.

She's had a history of that since her pathetic tenure in Olympia.  So, what else is new?

She voted to add another trillion to the debt, she's a coward when it comes to town hall meetings (Well, unless you bring your checkbook) she voted for the absurdity of the Super Committee, voted for that massive failure of Obama's mortgage bailout (She was one of TWO GOP votes to continue THAT crap... where's the rag's "congratulations" about THAT?) she's refused to take a pay cut, instead going through the motions with a bogus, not-going-anywhere-eyewash-bill; she's routinely violated the so-called "72 hour" rule; she's scammed into the "women-as-victim" crap, gone so far as to attempt to make political hay out of 9/11 and on and on and on.

She screwed up, and screwed us in the process.  And as a result, the morons in the lazy C congratulate her and chastise us.

So, what else is new?

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.

When Judges get stupid: Judges sue Grays Harbor County over budget cuts

For me, the response to this idiocy would be simple:

I would re-examine the county budget and zero out that part of it going to the superior court.

Apparently, graduating from law school doesn't make you avoid becoming a blithering idiot.  Budget cuts in this economy are the order of the day, and judges too stupid to figure that out always have another option available: they can quit.

Meanwhile, I'd go fist city with them all day, every day.  If these clowns can't do the job with less, then we can always get some more people in who can.

Idiots.

Updated: 2:53 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 | Posted: 12:13 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011

Judges sue Grays Harbor County over budget cuts

The Associated Press

ABERDEEN, Wash. —

Grays Harbor County Superior Court judges have sued the county and its commissioners over funding, including recent court budget reductions.

The lawsuit seeks to overturn the budget cuts and force the county to build a new courtroom, provide more administrative staff and bolster security, The Daily World of Aberdeen (http://bit.ly/t9ofRQ) reported Saturday.

Thomas Fitzgerald, a special deputy prosecutor representing the county commissioners, told the paper he hadn't yet seen the complaint and therefore had no comment.

Superior Court Judge Dave Edwards said county commissioners left the judges no choice in filing the lawsuit.

The suit, filed Thursday in neighboring Thurston County Superior Court, alleges commissioners have improperly interfered with the management of the court, violating the state's constitution — including breaching separation of powers provisions.

The operating budget unanimously approved by county commissioners Dec. 5 reduces the budgets for superior court and the juvenile detention center.

The court's budget for 2012 was cut by $59,020, or about 8 percent, to $645,818. The budget for the juvenile detention center was cut by $313,052, leaving a budget of just more than $2 million.

"In the 10 years between 2002 and the commissioners' adopted 2012 budget, the commissioners reduced the total budget for the Superior Court by 5 percent," while the juvenile detention center has had its personnel reduced by nine people, or almost 30 percent of its staff over the past three years, according to the lawsuit.

"In contrast, during that same time period, the budgets for the executive department offices of the Sheriff and Prosecutor were increased by 21 percent and 34 percent, respectively," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit seeks an order that the county cannot interfere with personnel, administrative and operational decisions of the superior court of juvenile detention center.
___
Information from: The Daily World, http://www.thedailyworld.com

McKenna, politics and religion.

Back in August, erstwhile gubernatorial candidate (mostly already treated as governor-elect) Rob Mckenna's shop issued, perhaps, the most moronic opinion in our state's history:

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

When Rob McKenna gets stupid: His shop wrongly denied baptism permit for Reality Church in Olympia.

So, RINO Rob McKenna wants to be governor.  Screwing around with the law ain't the way to get there.

The Reality Chruch in Olympia wanted to use Capitol Lake for a picnic/barbecue and baptism ceremony: McKenna's minions said yes to the picnic/barbeque, but no to the baptism, wrongly telling the church that:

“No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or the support of any religious establishment.”

Any 3rd grader knows better.

McKenna SHOULD have exercised his prerogative, reversed that decision and had the permit issued.  End of story.

But he didn't. And one has to wonder why RINO Rob allowed that to happen.

Way to go, Rob

Upon reading this, McKenna's Clark County coordinator wrote this in reply... on August 30.

Peter Van Nortwick said...
I have discussed this with Rob, and he indicated that his office gave a range of options. He disagreed with what the GA spokesman said and indicated it did not match his opinion. I asked Rep Ann Rivers to requested a clarification from his office on the issue and then Rob discussed it with her. She asked a week ago Monday. I will push to see if we can get the information back sooner then later. This is a top priority for me.

10:20 AM

But it's not a "top priority" for Rob, because we're creeping up on 4 months later and Rob's office has provided nothing.

I've pointed out it didn't take this long to write the Declaration of Independence.  Putting together the battle plan for the Normandy invasion didn't take this long.

The fact is that for this issue to be correct would mean that peculiar interpretation would, for example, have to apply to the dozens of church services taking place after hours in public schools around this state.

But to RINO Rob, it's radio active.  So, he's likely thinking that the longer he stalls, the more likely it is that it will just fall through the cracks.  And maybe he's right.... except for me.  I'm not going to allow it to fall through the cracks.

This opinion was wrong from the beginning.  Time will not make it any righter.

More cowardice from Ridgefield Barbie.

Recently, both Tim "The Liar" Leave-it and Steve "The Liar" Stuart have been beating on Ridgefield Barbie like a rented step-mule over her weak, nonsensical, half-hearted, nebulous effort to make voting on the CRC scam some sort of issue.

The problems are many, the solution, simple.

First, the problems:  The empty-suited, cardboard cutout of a faux member of congress is saying pretty please while these two morons are hitting her upside the head with a 2X4.

Second, while her letter talks about the concept that "...the people of Clark County should be allowed to decide through a public vote what they prefer, and what they are willing to pay for," she's not really referring to "the people of Clark County."  She is, in fact, referring to those few people in the gerrymandered CTrans tax district, social-service dependent people who have enslaved the rest of the county to pay for THEIR transportation system by excluding the 100,000 plus "no" votes to their incessant and unnecessary tax increases to build their ever-growing empire.

Third: she wants as many people as possible to BELIEVE she actually gives a rat's ass what we want, so she uses terms that are not the same, interchangeably.  That is, she is deliberately confusing the phrase "people of Clark County" with the phrase "CTran," when the use of the term "CTran" and the "CTran Board" exclusively limit the vote she's sniveling about to the CTran district."

Fourth, she falsely prices the bridge scam at $3.5 billion when the price, with interest, is closer to $10 billion.

Fifth, she then broadens this crap by saying

"But folks in Southwest Washington should be allowed to participate in the process. I call on this region’s elected officials to give them the chance to be heard in March of 2012."

So, Cowlitz County is in SW Washington.  So is Skamania.  Does that mean she's demanding that those people be allowed to vote as well?

Of course not.  But what it DOES mean is that she wants people to actually believe their opinion matters.

It doesn't.

Because this is the fact of the matter:

The Camas Manikin could have put an end to this months ago:  All she had to do was insure that Steve "The Liar" Stuart kept to his campaign promise to have a vote this past November... made to help him get re-elected.

And how could she do that?

Simple: PUBLICLY tell both the Liars Stuart and Leave-it: No county-wide vote.... no federal cash.

And that she has failed to tell them that... plus her demand that this be put to a vote in March of all things, guaranteeing the smallest possible turn out for any election, instead of November, which would guarantee the largest possible turn out... all of that means three things:

First, Barbie supports this abortion, wants the tax increase and wants to get this waste of money built.

Second, she will cave and she will do nothing to act to withhold any money.

Third: she wants to use this situation as a political prop, period.

The Manikin's problem with me?  I've got 6 years on staff.  i can read this kind of crap and decipher it all day, every day.  And every time she has her people (Like SHE actually wrote any of this?) spew this kind of garbage, I'm going to be here to translate it.

Cross-posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.

Merry Christmas.

As this nightmare year of democrat-controlled government at all levels comes to an end and Obama's plan to make this entire nation look like the train wreck of Detroit, (we're only $15.1 trillion in debt.... not to worry, we can always print more) so typical of democrat-controlled government at every level... the disaster of our economy, the disaster of our foreign policy, the disaster of state budget deficits (real OR imagined... because a reduction in an increase is NOT a deficit) the frequent idiocy of our democrat-controlled county-commission; from non-referred tax increases to county employees not paying anything approaching the private sector costs of health-care benefits to their failure to scuttle the CRC (and the county commissioners COULD end that nightmare, except that Boldt has turned democrat, so he won't, and Stuart's a union butt boy, so HE won't.) and the the largest trainwreck, locally, of our double digit unemployment county; Tim "The Liar" Leave-it's personal fiefdom, the city of Vancouver... with a government moronic enough to give a guy already making $167,000 a 3.5% pay raise.

It's not the size of the pay raise that's shocking.  It's that Leave-it and his fellow morons on the city council are giving ANY city employee in ANY position a pay raise in this economy.

Such stunning stupidity is legendary for democrats.

But all of that said, we've survived, more or less intact. Except, of course, for our bleak future, where the leftists in charge locally want to enslave 65,000 commuters to a toll of $1300 a year and more just to go to work in Oregon by tolling both of our bridges so they can engage in truly, stupendously idiotic bridge replacement to get loot rail over here... a complete waste of $10 billion that will shackle hundreds of thousands of people, directly or indirectly, to a permanent, life-long toll.

The GOP can be just as stupid, as Boehner's latest idiocy shows... so, I suppose it's a matter of degree: democrats want us to hurtle over the cliff of destruction, while the GOP wants to head on over there at a more sedate pace.

Ultimately, the result seems to be both the same and pre-ordained.

Happy New Year.

Major Egan... why'd you do it? (Originally posted 24 Dec 08, reposted 09, 10 and today))

I originally posted this 3 years ago today (24 Dec) and every year since. And it bears repeating.

This story was in the paper... although, unfortunately, not on the Columbian web.

It is the story of a retired Army Major, one Thomas Egan; a veteran of 2 years on the Korean DMZ, a Master's graduate of the University of Oregon; a retired Oregon Army National Guard officer.

He was found dead, apparently frozen to death, next to a bottle of booze, in Eugene, Oregon within the past few days.

Unfortunately, the story speaks for itself. Sometimes, the desire to destroy one's self can overwhelm all other instincts.

I never knew you, Major, but we served in the Army at the same time. I have no idea what happened to you, but I wish I did... and I wish it could have been fixed.

Tomorrow is Christmas. If you know someone who needs help, take the time and the effort to try and get that help to them. Major Egan had help available, but made a bad choice when it came to using it.

As I look outside at the foot of snow, I ask myself: "how many Major Egans are there?" Is there more that could have been done?

Probably not.

But I wish there had been.

Good bye, Major. From all accounts, you served us honorably and well. I never met you, but I won't forget you.

I could have been you.

Soldier’s death resonates

Homeless veteran froze to death though services were available

By JACK MO

(Eugene) Register-Guard

EUGENE, Ore — Thomas Egan was a scholar and a decorated soldier. He was also a homeless alcoholic whose life ended last week when he froze to death in Eugene during an unusually long and harsh cold snap.

His body was found covered in snow near the corner of West First Avenue and Blair Boulevard, a bottle of liquor by his side.

News of the demise of the longtime Eugene resident troubled many local veterans — especially those who knew that with some effort and some help, the man they called Major Egan could have had a roof over his head.

“The whole National Guard community is taking this very hard,” said Bud Dickey, a vocational rehabilitation coordinator with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ community reintegration service center in Eugene.

“It’s very disturbing for all of us, because Major Egan was retired and could have been drawing his (veterans’) benefits,” Dickey said. “He had options that he did not access.”

Egan collected monthly Social Security checks, but the amount was a pittance compared with the payments he was entitled to as a retired military veteran. When he turned 60 in July, Egan became eligible to receive $909 each month in National Guard retirement income, Dickey said.

Egan also could have applied for a separate pension check based on unemployability. “That would have gotten him an apartment if he wanted one,” said Jay Rea, a Springfield resident who served under Egan in the National Guard in the late 1980s. “I shed a tear when I heard he died,” Rea said. “It breaks my heart because he was the friendliest guy, and so smart.” A New York native, Egan joined the Army in 1971 after graduating from Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Conn., with a bachelor’s degree in history.

He was stationed at the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea for two years, and was reassigned to the Oregon Army National Guard in 1977.

Earned master’s degree

Egan earned his master’s degree from the University of Oregon in 1983, and ultimately attained the rank of major with the National Guard.

He retired honorably in 1991, following a 20-year military career during which he was awarded several service medals and ribbons.

Dickey said Egan’s desire to drink made him ineligible for VA housing programs that require sober living.

Egan had declined to enroll in substance abuse treatment programs offered through the veterans agency, Dickey said.

According to those who knew him, Egan worked sporadically. He did some landscaping, and most years helped deliver telephone books.

Sometimes, he found an apartment to stay in for a while. At other times, he lived on the streets. In August, Egan spent two weeks at the Eugene Mission — which is less than one block from the spot where a passer-by discovered his body last week.

Mission officials said Egan never caused any trouble there, and could have stayed any time. Dickey said Egan has no relatives in Oregon, and tracking down members of his extended family on the East Coast has been challenging.

Dickey, who served five years with Egan in the National Guard, is helping to direct an effort to have Egan interred at the Roseburg National Cemetery.

“He will be buried as a veteran in a veterans’ cemetery,” Dickey said. “He was a good soldier, and we’re going to get him the burial he’s due.”

When US House Republicans get stupid.... again.

It wasn't that long ago that I've forgotten the idiocy of the House effort to shut down government when Gingrich was the speaker.

It's not that the effort was idiotic.  It was that when you commit to an outcome, you have to have the testicular fortitude to see it through.  Gingrich, of course, did not.  And the GOP suffered as a result.

Fast forward to today.

The same thing applied to this most recent fight: Boehner and House leadership SHOULD have had the balls to see this through.  The leftists generally and Obama particularly counted on Republican cowardice... and they weren't disappointed.
If you do not have the will to see this through.... then why the hell are you even trying it?

Now our own local congressional coward, Ridgefield Barbie, voted with the democrats to screw us... but then, that's what our empty-suited bimbette does.

Well that, and her cowardice exhibited with her lack of guts to face her constituency... unless they bring a check book.

So, what do we have to show for this garbage?  Reid and Obama kicked our collective faces in on this deal, with Bab's help, of course, and we're all going to suffer for it.

Well done, idiots.

The idiocy of Moeller and the morons working at the Hilton.

Clark County has 11% plus unemployment.

So, what do those who actually have a job at the taxpayer-owned white elephant Hilton do?

Protest their "low wages."

Apparently believing this to be Venezuela or the Third Reich, the union clowns working at the Hilton apparently are unable to ascertain that, in fact, there is no requirement that they work.

None at all.

Don't like what they pay you?

Don't like the benefits?

Don't like the schedule?

Then quit.

Along comes our resident neo-communist, Rep. Jim Moeller (Communist-49) who babbles thusly in support of these cretins:.

Jim Moeller · Top Commenter

"Yep they should be happy they even have a job...." Really? I suppose they're right to a point but then, that's management's argument, is it not? As Jim Hightower would say "Even a slave has a job! What we're talking about here is wages!" Some of the critics of the hotel have called the Hilton "The People's Hotel" because the city owns it. I understand the Vancouver Hilton is frequently cited as a high performing hotel in the Hilton chain. However, when wages and benefit increases for management are far above what it will offer it's staff - It doesn't appear "the people" are in charge.

Reply · 3 · Like · Follow Post · 7 hours ago

He's followed by Lew Waters, who obviously knows more about the economy and the Hilton's precarious position than Moeller:

       

• Lew Waters · Top Commenter · Works at Curmudgeon & Blogger
  

  Where would the money for their 53% wage and benefit increase come from, Jim?
  
  Are you as equally perturbed over the city managers increase, while taxes and fees continue to rise?
  
  He deserves it. They deserve it. We deserve it.
  
  But, where does the money come from?

  Reply · 5 · Unlike · 7 hours ago

Lew, of course, is dead-on.
.

These idiots want a paltry 53% pay increase
.

That's right: 53%.
.

Lew Waters asks the question that all fiscal conservatives ask, the question that fringe-leftists like Moeller NEVER ask, because they don't CARE:
.

Where's the money coming from?

As usual, Moeller has no answer that he will publicly give.
.

What utter cluelessness.

Herrera sells us out again: one of 7 Republicans to support Reid's scam plan.

I knew before I looked what Ridgefield Barbie's vote on this issue would be... but I looked it up anyway.

Yup.... there she is, our own re-re congress-critter, selling us out, and selling out her caucus in the US House, just like she sold us out on her SEIU legislation and the democrat rape of our state emergency fund during her last, horrific, year in Olympia.

One of a total of 7 Republicans (Or alleged Republicans) to vote to screw us.

Well done, you simple idiot.  I bet McMorris and Boldt are proud, since they created you.

Here's the democratian wearing out another pair of knee pads in front of Ridgefield Barbie with their cut and paste, press release version of  "journalism."

Herrera Beutler votes for payroll tax cut.

By Paris Achen

Columbian Staff Reporter

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

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Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, was one of seven Republicans who split with their party and voted Tuesday for a payroll tax cut extension.

Her spokesman, Casey Bowman, said the motion was, in fact, to reject the Senate-approved bill to extend the tax cut for two months, and Herrera Beutler and six other Republicans voted against that.

Herrera Beutler released the following statement on her vote:

“I support continuing the payroll tax cut, extending unemployment insurance and making sure Medicare patients have access to the medical care they need. I had hoped the Senate would have agreed that a year extension is better than 2 months. But I know that families in Southwest Washington are struggling to make ends meet, and I wanted to eliminate any of their fear that this relief wouldn’t be in place January 1.”

The headline is misleading... but what else is new?

Other headlines that could have been used:

Barbie votes with democrats... again.

Short-sighted Herrera sells us all out.... again.

Clueless idiot votes against her own caucus... again.

Any of those would have been more accurate.

I especially like this:

 "...I wanted to eliminate any of their fear that this relief wouldn’t be in place January 1.”

Let me complete the sentence:

"Instead, I wanted them to be terrified on March 1."

Idiot.

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.

Wondering why we've got so many illegal aliens? This wouldn't have anything to do with it, would it?

So, you're an illegal alien.  An adult.  Still going to high school.  A student.

And then, since you're committing a crime just by being here, you decide that a gross misdemeanor in the form of what is Theft III here, (one step below a felony) is the way to go by stealing.

And then you complain because we want to deport your criminal, illegal ass?

Please.

We are the laughing stock of the planet.  We give slimeballs like this punk IN-STATE TUITION, for God's sake, keeping CITIZENS out of our public universities.

Why would anyone want to stay out of a country that treats illegals like they were born here?

What kind of a lesson is that?  What kind of a message?

Reprieve for Portland teen facing deportation

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

submit 0diggsdigg

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Portland high school senior who was facing deportation to Mexico has won a reprieve.

KATU reports his advocate says immigration officials used their discretion to allow Gustavo Romero-Alvarez to stay. But Jaime Limon-Guzman with the Northwest Immigrant Youth Alliance says the case could continue for years.

Romero-Alvarez faced deportation after he was caught last year stealing a shirt. Authorities discovered he was in the United States illegally. He was brought from Mexico by his family when he was 7.

He says he plans to graduate in June from Centennial High School and hopes to become a firefighter.

Michelle Obama's school lunch idiocy rejected in LA: It's "been a flop. The menu will be revised."

it's problematic when you're a hypocrite demanding that others live by a standard you refuse to even consider.  The Klingon Princess is no exception, having consumed large quantities of foods that few of us have ever heard of of... and cannot even hope to afford.

But she's been instrumental in setting up the school food gestapo, with grandbreaking idiocy such as outlawing school bake sales and the like.  The result?

The kids won't eat her swill.

LA Schools Reject Michelle’s School Lunches

From an unfazed Los Angeles Times:

L.A. schools’ healthful lunch menu panned by students

For many students, Los Angeles Unified’s introduction of healthful lunches — part of a campaign against obesity, diabetes and other problems — has been a flop. The district says the menu will be revised.

By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times
December 17, 2011         

It’s lunchtime at Van Nuys High School and students stream into the cafeteria to check out the day’s fare: black bean burgers, tostada salad, fresh pears and other items on a new healthful menu introduced this year by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

But Iraides Renteria and Mayra Gutierrez don’t even bother to line up. Iraides said the school food previously made her throw up, and Mayra calls it "nasty, rotty stuff." So what do they eat? The juniors pull three bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and soda from their backpacks.

"This is our daily lunch," Iraides says. "We’re eating more junk food now than last year."

For many students, L.A. Unified’s trailblazing introduction of healthful school lunches has been a flop. Earlier this year, the district got rid of chocolate and strawberry milk, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, nachos and other food high in fat, sugar and sodium. Instead, district chefs concocted such healthful alternatives as vegetarian curries and tamales, quinoa salads and pad Thai noodles.

There’s just one problem: Many of the meals are being rejected en masse. Participation in the school lunch program has dropped by thousands of students. Principals report massive waste, with unopened milk cartons and uneaten entrees being thrown away. Students are ditching lunch, and some say they’re suffering from headaches, stomach pains and even anemia. At many campuses, an underground market for chips, candy, fast-food burgers and other taboo fare is thriving.

Naturally, there is only one thing to do. They must ban packed lunches and strip search students before they enter the cafeteria to make sure they are not carrying any contraband substances, like Cheetos.

Acknowledging the complaints, L.A. Unified’s food services director, Dennis Barrett, announced this month that the menu would be revised. Hamburgers will be offered daily. Some of the more exotic dishes are out, including the beef jambalaya, vegetable curry, pad Thai, lentil and brown rice cutlets, and quinoa and black-eyed pea salads…

The district is even bringing back pizza — albeit with a whole wheat crust, low-fat cheese and low-sodium sauce, according to food services deputy director David Binkle…

The new menu, introduced this fall, was hailed as a revolutionary step by the nation’s second-largest school district to combat the growing epidemic of youth obesity, diabetes and other health problems. It was the latest healthful food initiative by the district, which banned sodas on campus in 2004, nixed the sale of junk food during the school day and called for more produce and less salt and fat to be served.

This year, L.A. Unified, which serves 650,000 meals daily, has received awards for improving its school lunches, including one last week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and another from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Michelle Obama’s group, the Healthier US Schools Challenge, also gave these schools awards.

More:

She's as out of touch as the moron she's married to.

Unsolicited testimonial: Magic Jack Plus

My home phone has been VOIP for 4 years or so now (That's Voice Over Internet Protocol) because it's MUCH, MUCH cheaper than a regular land line.

I had a regular land line through Qwest... with no long distance, you understand... I needed it until recently for medical telemetry and VOIP couldn't handle it.  When that need went away, I got rid of the land line saving $35 or so per month as a result.... and for $5 a month more, CenturyLink bumped my DSL speed up to 12 meg from 5.... so now I have much faster internet and I'm clearing about $30 a month... and that adds up.

Now, like many families, everyone here has a cell.  So, with the exception of a fax machine and a back up, there's really no reason to have a home line. As a result (and still needing my fax line) I started looking around and I discovered this Magic Jack Plus (Of course, the commercials are also a little hard to miss on satellite) and this is as opposed to the Magic Jack.

The Magic Jack unit, in a word, sucked.  I could never get mine to work right, so it sat there gathering dust.  Even if it HAD worked right, it required a computer (or something like a computer.... there are other options out there) to be on around the clock.

Well, the Magic Jack Plus has two things going for it that the older Magic Jack unit did not:

1.  It doesn't require a computer.
2.  You can actually port a number to it.

The Plus only requires that it be plugged into a router.  As it turns out in this age of miniaturization, the Plus actually has a CPU inside it, in a package the same size as the older units... maybe a little bigger then a small package of wooden matches.

It comes with a socket for a regular phone jack and a USB port, along with a regular network cable plug in.

When you first get it, you DO plug it into a computer via the USB port and cable (That came with it) or directly by the USB plug in extending from the unit.

You do that only long enough to go through the set up and to download any updates.

Then you have a choice: you CAN leave it plugged into your computer like the old Magic Jack, or, you can plug it directly into a router using the enclosed network cable.

Once you've set it up and plugged it into a router, then you can plug a regular phone into it and voila! you get a dial tone and you're in business.

The cost of the unit was a total of $69... but that included $20 for the year of service.

So, what I did is I kept my old VOIP provider (Viatalk.... half the cost of Vonnage with the same features, as near as I can tell) for a couple of weeks to test it out.  I even tested it for using the fax line, and it worked perfectly after I changed the fax setting to "overseas service," a slower setting.

Then, for another $20, I ported my home phone number over... which took like 4 days.

It has worked like a champ, and it saves me a substantial amount of money over just about anything else available.

Further, you can plug the Plus into any router, anywhere, and have phone service to that number no matter your location.

The plus side of this is obvious: it provides a solid back up system with good call quality.

It offers many, but not all, of the usual phone features, including voice mail and the like.

Did I mention it was cheap?

The minus side is that it does not, as yet, offer the ability to easily block numbers, although calls can be, for example, forwarded through Google Voice and they can, if needed, be blocked there.

And it requires that you dial the area code, even for local calls.

But for the savings, it's a hassle I'm willing to put up with.

It may also be that my experience is at least partially because of my 12 meg line as opposed to the 5 meg or slower lines I've had in the past.

You get 30 days to check it out, and in my case, it pays for itself after about 3 months or so.

I am not affiliated with nor do I have anything to do with the companies involved in Magic Jack or any other phone system, in case anyone is wondering.

Cruise around the net and check it out.  In this case, it has worked precisely as advertised.  Give it a shot, and it might save you a few bucks, particularly if you have a fast internet connection.

Redistricting and the 18: what's it all mean?

We all remember the feeding frenzy of candidates in the 18th District last go-round: in fact, I can categorically state for sure that I was the only person in the 18th who actually did NOT run for the vacant House seat left open by the horrific ascension of Ridgefield Barbie to the US Congress of all things.

The democrats ran their typical downtown Vancouver leftist union hack, an abysmal failure doomed to political destruction because the 18 was, perhaps, the most conservative district in SW Washington... so, running a pro-huge government, pro-union rip-off bridger/looter who never stopped lying about "20,000 jobs" (The number seemed to go up with every speech) on the unneeded, unwanted and unaffordable I-5 Bridge/loot rail extortion project scam... which, of course, pre-destined the poor sap's slaughter at the polls. (Ultimately, he was massacred, on the losing end of a 60-40 vote, the political equivalent of Oregon playing Hockinson Middle School in the Rose Bowl, with an outcome just as predictable.)

It's not that the democrat didn't TRY.... it's just that he lacked any cards to play with.

That left a very large GOP field that no one in political leadership did anything about... stupidly... because that leadership of the Clark and Cowlitz county GOP was entirely focused on getting the Camas Manikin into Congress.

In Clark, the county chair was bought off with a job offer: Ryan Hart is now the District Director for our occasionally resident idiot in Congress; that was the deal and she bought him with it like the 13th Amendment was, in fact, the 13th Suggestion. We've been suffering with monumentally poor representation ever since.

In Cowlitz, Shannon Barnett was hamstrung both with his enamoration of Barbie and the fact that he was such a poor candidate that his employer maxed out... just not to him. In fact, he didn’t give Barnett, an almost 20 year employee, a dime.

So, we woke up and found ourselves with candidates like Barnett, Anthony Bittner (who was arrested and convicted of so many crimes.... and got away with so much… that he was, in a way, a caricature of a politician in his own personal corruption) Richard Carson, (who announced one day only to find his pet reason for doing so (Allegedly, none of the legislators listened to his concerns over the proposed BPA routing through Hockinson of a power line.... the same Hockinson I live in, I might add) get yanked out from underneath him THE NEXT DAY when the BPA announced that Hockinson was off the table)…. Robert Dean (Who could be a solid representative, and under other circumstances, I likely would have supported him.) Jon Haugen, (who has filed as a democrat, a Republican and, if memory serves, an independent, supports/opposes many of the same issues most GOP'ers do; he was/is/rightfully and militantly opposed to the bridge scam... but his presentation is kind of Ron Paulish...) Then there was Brandon Vick, who was hamstrung by a lack of experience AND time; as a part of a family business in the landscaping arena, he was fighting for financial survival while running a campaign…

Then, of course, we had to deal with failed Congressional Candidate Jon Russell... who is such a poor candidate... and a poor human being as far as that goes, that I've developed an entire blog devoted to his idiocy.

And, the ultimate winner, of course, was Ann Rivers.

But that was then, as they say. And things will be different, logistically. All candidates and incumbents must research their new district configurations. In the 18, as we face the upcoming election, we're struck by three issues: the first is that it's likely that Rob McKenna will get elected Governor. Out here, where the rubber meets the road, we won't notice any difference, of course, because McKenna is a King County Republican, which means he's kind of a democrat-light. Referring to McKenna as a Republican is kind of like confusing Lou Brancaccio and his Pit Yorkie with a "journalist." Any resemblance is purely accidental.

But in the event the planets align, and Rob becomes the Captain of the state Titanic, the buzz is that Joe Zarelli MIGHT get an appointment of some sort... baggage from collecting unemployment while a sitting state senator notwithstanding.

That, of course, is out there: but the dominoes have to fall in the right direction for that to happen... and if it happens, it will, of course, be post election in 2012.

So, we are likely to see Zarelli running for re-election in 2012 for the Senate, along with Ann Rivers in the House.

In the election, that leaves the open seat, currently held by Rep. Ed Orcutt.

Immediately after the election that leaves the possibly open seat held by Ann Rivers, who would likely be appointed to the Senate seat if Zarelli DOES get the gig from Rob.

Thus, the second issue: we're going to have, likely, not ONE, but TWO feeding frenzies: first for Orcutt's seat and then the likely appointment for River's seat, shortly thereafter. Presuming Ann gets the prospective senatorial appointment, she’ll find herself in the unenviable position of having to campaign, almost full time, for two straight years.

There isn’t a job in politics alive that’s worth it.

Now, I'm much more concerned about this seat than most because this is MY district. That is, I live in it... Even after redistricting.

Which leads us to the third issue: who are those going to run for these positions? There are a few people that I simply will not abide being elevated to the state House to represent ME. Some were, thankfully, re-districted out of contention. Some, unfortunately, were not.

Jon Russell is one such person. I will do everything I can legally to keep him out of my House of Representatives.

He is a miserable candidate, a miserable politician, completely without honor or integrity, and he has proven that time and again over the 7 years I've known him.

The likelihood that such a narcissistic career politician isn't going to run is equal to the likelihood that our local excuse for a paper will ever tell the truth about either their agenda... OR the democrats... and do so on purpose, instead of accidentally.

So, expect Russell to both announce for election, and when I kick his ass in that, expect him to announce or make yet another effort (having failed the first time) for the likely appointment for the open seat.

Other names I've heard include Brandon Vick, Chris Boyd (Former WA-03 congressional candidate), Washougal Councilwoman Jennifer McDaniel, and... and... Brian Peck (if he was redistricted into the 18th) as well as, no doubt, a host of others.

Political leadership calls for tough decisions. Those running this next time ought to remember they will not be running in the ultra-conservative 18th. Those foolish enough to buy into Russell's faux Christianity, which amounts to nothing more than one of his many empty political props, will not be enough to overcome the more moderate, less rural aspects of a much geographically smaller district.

Will the House Republicans and local political leadership have the sense and courage to cull the herd to strengthen our chances in the 18th to keep this seat? Will they send the same mixed and muddled and confused messages they did last time, dividing the party and the electorate?

With the same people calling the shots this time as last time.... what do YOU think?

Cross posted at Jon Russell Watch.

Funny, ALMOST dirty joke.

HHhhmmmmmm.....

When the GOP gets it right in the House.

.

Winner of Eight Pulitzer Prizes Nation & World

Deal to extend payroll-tax cut already in danger

A day after the Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to extend a payroll-tax cut for two months, House Republicans made clear Sunday that they would not support the measure. Speaker John Boehner, who had urged his members on Saturday to support the bill, did an about-face Sunday and said he and other House Republicans were opposed to the temporary extension.

By RON NIXON

The New York Times

WASHINGTON — A day after the Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to extend a payroll-tax cut for two months, House Republicans made clear Sunday that they would not support the measure.

Speaker John Boehner, who had urged his members on Saturday to support the bill, did an about-face Sunday and said he and other House Republicans were opposed to the temporary extension, part of a $33 billion package of bills that the Senate passed Saturday by an 89-10 vote. In addition to extending the payroll-tax cut for millions of U.S. workers, the legislation extends unemployment benefits and avoids cuts in payments to doctors who accept Medicare. The measure would be effective through February. Without any action, Medicare payments would be cut 27.4 percent next year.

But in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Boehner said the two-month extension would be "just kicking the can down the road."

"It's time to just stop, do our work, resolve the differences and extend this for one year," Boehner said. "How can you have tax policy for two months?"

He said that Republicans want to extend the payroll cut for a year but that it would have to be financed with cuts in the existing budget. When congressional aides announced the deal on Friday, they said the items it contained were fully paid for.

But any thought that Congress will agree on a yearlong tax-cut extension or on the other provisions is extremely optimistic, given that its work will overlap with President Obama's State of the Union speech, the heat of the Republican primaries and a presidential campaign hitting full stride. Senate Democrats criticized Boehner's stance on the payroll-tax cut, saying he was renouncing the fact that the package had been negotiated last week by House and Senate leaders.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Boehner had asked him and the minority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to work out a compromise on the tax cut and that it had been agreed to by both political parties.

"Neither side got everything they wanted, but we forged a middle ground that passed the Senate by an overwhelming bipartisan majority," Reid said in a statement. "If Speaker Boehner refuses to vote on the bipartisan compromise that passed the Senate with 89 votes, Republicans will be forcing a thousand-dollar tax increase on middle-class families on Jan. 1."

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Boehner's comments called into question his ability to lead.

"This is a test of whether the House Republicans are fit to govern, and it is a make-or-break moment for John Boehner's speakership," he said in a statement. "You cannot let a small group at the extreme resort to brinkmanship every time there is a major national issue and try to dictate every move this nation makes."

Boehner's remarks on "Meet the Press" came less than 24 hours after a conference call in which he tried to sell the package to his rank and file, pointing to its provision that would speed Republican-supported construction of an oil pipeline, known as Keystone XL, from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

The Obama administration had sought to delay a decision on the pipeline, which environmental groups oppose, until 2013.

But many Republican lawmakers were not buying what their leader was urging them to do, chiefly because they objected to the tax-cut extension's cost.

Among them was the House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, who said in a statement Sunday that on Monday "the House will either amend the Senate bill so that it is responsible and in line with the needs of hard working taxpayers and middle-class families, or pass a motion to move to conference to accomplish the same."

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It seems like I disagree more than agree with JB... but this time, he's on target.