Only the surface has been scratched on the issue of the corruption of the CRC Scam and the local officials... allegedly working for us, The People; who wasted millions of dollars of our money in pursuit of a light rail project we did not want, did not need and could not afford.
One of the biggest of the Scammers out there was the local daily newspaper. For years, they lied and covered the lies of others; attacked, belittled and smeared those of us with the now-validated numerous concerns about this project, covering for liars like the mayor of Vancouver, and utterly failing to apply the same magnifying glass of scrutiny to those supporting this multi-billion dollar ripoff that they applied to any of us dissenting.
Their savaging of Tiffany Couch, an increasingly recognized expert in the field of accounting forensics was, and is, a disgrace. Like the rest of the fringe-left, they were far more concerned about who was signing the checks for her service than they were concerned with what she found... such as the memo where, by policy, the CRC indicated their intent to ignore public input at their multiple dog and pony shows.
CRC Scammers point to "12,000 public contacts." But they never mention the fact that it was their policy to ignore each and every one of them.
The local newspaper, however, could care less about the truth when it was revealed: they wrote an editorial... a single editorial... where they expressed concern about that policy but then Lefty Lou went on to say that he'd hold his nose and support it anyway... proving that this policy made no difference to him.
Hypocritically, he has gone after the conservative commissioners, week in and week out for months. The basis for his unceasing, unrelenting attacks on David Madore and Tom Mielke is their successful intervention against his agenda. And the people who believe they are in power (In this case, quite wrongfully) hate it when their agenda is trifled with... since it's far more important than that arcane "will of the people" shtick that democracy is supposed to enfold.
In this case, the people won and the downtown special interests, rotten to the core, lost.
The partial audit, done by the state auditor only at the end of a cocked and loaded checkbook, offers a tantalizing glimpse at the incestuous waste and manipulation of our money. There is certainly enough there to drill down to the DNA level to discover ALL of the payoffs and bribes, direct or indirect (WADOT sucked $31 million out of the trough? No wonder the last two witches running Transportation in this state were so hot to get this rip off built. Imagine how many MORE millions they could have skimmed for their worthless "services") using OUR money can be laid bare to the disinfecting light of day.
Fringe left whack jobs are already spinning the result of the brief once-over the auditor performed, ignoring the millions wasted and clinging to their "Practically all of the money that was spent on the design and engineering of the CRC has been accounted for, and the total amount spent falls within accepted and normal expenditures for a project as large and complicated as the CRC" canard.
Like a Bill Clinton supporter, if they had video of him molesting a Girl Scout troop, they'd still have supported him.
Like our local daily, where no amount of graft, waste, greed or corruption would sway the CRC Scammers from what they want... no matter WHAT the majority wants.
People, we need to remember this was not a complete audit. This was a limited audit, limited by the amount of money made available to pay for it.
Even the newspaper recognized that:
The results of this audit more than provide justification for a total audit in every respect. That the auditor went out of his way to avoid a finding of "financial misconduct," he also listed $17 million reasons why that must be investigated further... 17 million indications of "financial misconduct."
The investigation must continue, so those who so shamed this community and stole our money are rooted out, tried and convicted.
I fully expect this to continue. And I find it very odd that now, after almost a decade, the Columbian, one of the biggest cheerleaders for this rip off... a decision that has cost them so much in so many ways... is suddenly concerned about where the money went after years of berating us for the very same thing.
Too little... too late.
Too much forgiveness of the architects of this scam... the Leavitts, the Stuarts, the Pollards, the Montagues, the Parkers and their ilk... the scum who sold us out to TriMet without even letting us look at the contract first... a total pass.
The rag will likely never recover, because they allowed and facilitated far too much harm to this community for far too long.
Just ask John "Cockroach" Laird.
One of the biggest of the Scammers out there was the local daily newspaper. For years, they lied and covered the lies of others; attacked, belittled and smeared those of us with the now-validated numerous concerns about this project, covering for liars like the mayor of Vancouver, and utterly failing to apply the same magnifying glass of scrutiny to those supporting this multi-billion dollar ripoff that they applied to any of us dissenting.
Their savaging of Tiffany Couch, an increasingly recognized expert in the field of accounting forensics was, and is, a disgrace. Like the rest of the fringe-left, they were far more concerned about who was signing the checks for her service than they were concerned with what she found... such as the memo where, by policy, the CRC indicated their intent to ignore public input at their multiple dog and pony shows.
CRC Scammers point to "12,000 public contacts." But they never mention the fact that it was their policy to ignore each and every one of them.
The local newspaper, however, could care less about the truth when it was revealed: they wrote an editorial... a single editorial... where they expressed concern about that policy but then Lefty Lou went on to say that he'd hold his nose and support it anyway... proving that this policy made no difference to him.
Hypocritically, he has gone after the conservative commissioners, week in and week out for months. The basis for his unceasing, unrelenting attacks on David Madore and Tom Mielke is their successful intervention against his agenda. And the people who believe they are in power (In this case, quite wrongfully) hate it when their agenda is trifled with... since it's far more important than that arcane "will of the people" shtick that democracy is supposed to enfold.
In this case, the people won and the downtown special interests, rotten to the core, lost.
The partial audit, done by the state auditor only at the end of a cocked and loaded checkbook, offers a tantalizing glimpse at the incestuous waste and manipulation of our money. There is certainly enough there to drill down to the DNA level to discover ALL of the payoffs and bribes, direct or indirect (WADOT sucked $31 million out of the trough? No wonder the last two witches running Transportation in this state were so hot to get this rip off built. Imagine how many MORE millions they could have skimmed for their worthless "services") using OUR money can be laid bare to the disinfecting light of day.
Fringe left whack jobs are already spinning the result of the brief once-over the auditor performed, ignoring the millions wasted and clinging to their "Practically all of the money that was spent on the design and engineering of the CRC has been accounted for, and the total amount spent falls within accepted and normal expenditures for a project as large and complicated as the CRC" canard.
Like a Bill Clinton supporter, if they had video of him molesting a Girl Scout troop, they'd still have supported him.
Like our local daily, where no amount of graft, waste, greed or corruption would sway the CRC Scammers from what they want... no matter WHAT the majority wants.
People, we need to remember this was not a complete audit. This was a limited audit, limited by the amount of money made available to pay for it.
Even the newspaper recognized that:
The audit came about after the Legislature approved $200,000 with instructions for the state auditor’s office to examine the CRC. As The Columbian wrote editorially at the time: “Some auditing will be better than none, but it would be preferable for a complete, no-stone-left-unturned examination to take place. Not only do taxpayers have a right to know where the $170 million went, but a full audit would go a long way toward restoring public confidence the next time a multibillion-dollar project shows up on the drawing board.”It restored public confidence, all right. Confidence in those who fought this battle. Confidence that our local government is rife with corruption. And confidence that the will of the people, once again, should be the primary concern of those involved in projects like this, and that we who are paying this should not be disregarded by those who believe our opinions to be an annoyance, or like most leftists in on this scam, who believe those of us wise enough to oppose this theft were just "too stupid" to get it.
The results of this audit more than provide justification for a total audit in every respect. That the auditor went out of his way to avoid a finding of "financial misconduct," he also listed $17 million reasons why that must be investigated further... 17 million indications of "financial misconduct."
The investigation must continue, so those who so shamed this community and stole our money are rooted out, tried and convicted.
I fully expect this to continue. And I find it very odd that now, after almost a decade, the Columbian, one of the biggest cheerleaders for this rip off... a decision that has cost them so much in so many ways... is suddenly concerned about where the money went after years of berating us for the very same thing.
Too little... too late.
Too much forgiveness of the architects of this scam... the Leavitts, the Stuarts, the Pollards, the Montagues, the Parkers and their ilk... the scum who sold us out to TriMet without even letting us look at the contract first... a total pass.
The rag will likely never recover, because they allowed and facilitated far too much harm to this community for far too long.
Just ask John "Cockroach" Laird.
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