SO, once again, the local rag has started to shill the CRC/Loot Rail Resurrection Scam

It's not surprising, of course.  The rag's agenda never changes once established.  It never includes what the people want if those two lines on the graph do not intersect, because clearly, those lines will never come close, let alone cross.

It's also just the tiniest bit strange that the legislature could cobble together $350,000 for this waste of money... but could only come up with $200K for an audit?

And stranger still, Jayne apparently has no recollection... or care...or concern over the smoking gun memo that laid out a POLICY of minimizing and ignoring public input...like this:

Some excerpts from the CRC memo meant to ignore public input:

     Decision Making 

    As I see it, the PSC is a decision making body. It is expected to make the following decisions during the course of the project:

    • Approval of the Problem Definition
    • Approval of the Evaluation Framework
    • Approval of the range of alternatives
    • Approval of the alternatives to be considered in the EIS
    • Approval of the locally preferred alternative

    The approval of the locally preferred alternative by the PSC would trigger individual agency public hearings. Each elected official body (Board of Directors, Commission, City Council, and so on) would take action, presumably to endorse the locally preferred alternative recommended by the PSC. The PSC members would be entrusted to make the other decisions on behalf of their fellow elected officials with no need for public hearings or individual agency endorsements. 

    At each decision point, the PDT would disseminate a briefing packet ten days in advance of the meeting containing the following information:

    • The PDT’s recommendation
    • The Task Force recommendation
    • A summary of public comment
    • A summary of agency comment.  I am assuming the concurrence points (formal or informal) of the joint regulatory review group would precede the PSC decision points, but this bears more thought and discussion with Jeff and Heather. It seems risky to me to have the PSC decide something, only to discover that the joint agency group disagrees or wants a different wording of the document. 

    I assume that each PSC member would be briefed in advance of the decision meetings by senior staff of their organizations. Senior staff is responsible for providing requested information and responding to questions. It is expected that each of the PSC decision; meetings would result in a decision with no need for extended deliberations in future meetings.This approach would require extensive coordination among PDT members prior to the meetings.

    The decision meetings would be open to the public, but only minimum legal notices would be provided and no display advertising would be placed. We would not encourage public participation. The Task Force chairs would be expected to attend and respond to PSC questions concerning the Task Force recommendations. Task Force members would be made aware of the meetings. Meeting notes would be prepared and posted on the website. 

    Project Advisors

    Beyond these formal decisions, the PSC may want to consider interim items---component identification and evaluation, initial alternative descriptions, funding options to be included in the alternatives, and so on. I feel such meetings can be scheduled, but should be kept to a minimum and not scheduled on a regular basis. Staff members from each of these organizations are actively participating in the PDT, in the working groups, and in the Regional Partners Group (RPG). Indeed, several of the PSC members also sit on the Task Force where these items are discussed in detail. The organizations have ample opportunities to influence the direction and content of the work that will ultimately be presented to the PSC. If individual PDC members desire more detailed information on the progress of the project, they can consult one-on-one with their senior staff members. Again, the PDT should manage the “care and feeding” of individual PSC members to ensure they have the required level and frequency of information.

    Non-decision meetings should be treated as opportunities for the PSC members to advise the PDT on key issues. No “official” decisions should be made at the meetings. No public notice would be provided and Task Force participation would not be sought. Meeting notes would be prepared but not posted on the website (the same as RPG and working group meeting notes).

Did it make any difference to the rag when this was publicized?  Nope.  Not one wit.

These people could have been serial killers and it would have been the same... because once it's the rag's agenda... NOTHING can get them to change their mind unless there's a payoff for them in it somewhere (Look up "ballpark scam" for further information.)

So, yeah.  There is a trust issue, all right.  But it has nothing to do with Oregon "trusting" us.  It has to do with the people of Clark County trusting scum like those who wrote the memo excerpted above and implemented by the same scammers who are going to get paid off on this go round as well.

According to the moron who wrote the editorial, the only concerns that should be accepted are those of the Government of Oregon.  They keep hammering the "trust" issue because they want to drill this into our heads that it was, you see, OUR fault that the bridge the people of his county DID not and DO not want WASN'T built.  That Cleveland, a major liar in her own right, keeps babbling about it is reason enough to know it isn't true.

Given the manner in which the Washington Senate yanked away the Columbia River Crossing proposal in 2013, after years of planning between multiple stakeholders, it is understandable that Oregon officials are gun shy.

I'm sorry.  I was a stakeholder.  Tens of thousands of us are stakeholders.  But none of the scum shilling this ripoff ever bothered to ask us what WE wanted.  They made their decisions and proceeded to attempt to ram it down our collective throats.

And the PEOPLE are THE biggest, most important, "stake holders," and the rag has done all they could over the years to make sure we're kept silent on this issue.

So, if Oregon... or Cleveland... or ANY of the CRC Scammers are all butthurt about the outcome, the reality is they have no one to blame but themselves.

Because if they had LISTENED to us in the beginning... then the $200 million they made vaporize would still be in the collective wallet instead of in the pockets of the special interests who own them.

As if that is bad somehow.

We are, it is said, supposed to "repair trust" with Oregon.  We are, it is inferred, supposed to forget ALL about Taxhaber's "No light rail, no bridge" scam.

What about "repairing trust" with the community this despicable waste of wood pulp serves?

Look, here's the reality: the rag has lied to us both by omission... and commission.  Much like, come to think of it, it's doing so today in this dead fish wrapper of an editorial.

The issue has nothing to do with "trust."  What it has to do with was the rag's rabid determination to ignore the population of Clark County in its inexplicable pursuit of replacing a function, paid for and SAFE bridge with something that would literally suck $100,000,000 per year (to start) out of our local economy.... and for what?

Gaining 60 seconds on the southbound commute into Portland while paying a toll of $8 per day (to start) that those pushing the hardest for this insanity WON'T HAVE TO PAY?

Of course, readers of the democratian STILL haven't heard anything about the Oregon Supreme Court Decision that laid out how all of this is a con designed to stuff light rail down our throats.

It's only been 5 years.  What's the hold up?  Not enough time?

And that's the rag's biggest problem.

They lie to us.  SO what's changed?

Nothing.  They lied to us then.  They're lying to us now.

And of the many ironic lies and fantasies the editorial column has polluted this community with; this one has to be at the top of the heap.

Portraying this inanity as something that was a result of "broken trust," because back in the day, we used to have a FEW legislators who actually represented the people of their districts who DO NOT WANT THIS RIP OFF BUILT before they were bought by the special interests who own them now like the 13th Amendment was never passed... is, frankly, as idiotic as claiming this sewer bilge of a newspaper is unbiased and factual.

"Light rail capable" means "shoving light rail down our throats."  Because the moment such a bridge would be opened, the pressure to actually start using that idiocy would be unrelenting.

Here's the thing: the scum running the paper want this so badly?

Then they need to begin to demand... editorially... that such an effort be put to a county wide vote.

And it wasn't that long ago that they not only refused to take such a position, when Boldt was finally kicked off the commission, they "editorialized" against anyone voting in the advisory votes at all.

This crap isn't any different.  They are recycling their lies and exaggerations from back then, saying the same things and hoping for a different outcome.

What the rag calls a "trust" issue was, in reality, a "represent your district issue."  If anyone has to "restore trust," it's the clueless idiots who steadfastly refuse to represent the will of the people in this and any other issue... those who lied to get what they wanted (And oh, My God, Cleveland was lying every time her lips moved...) and now, they seem to have had their brains addled by ink fumes when they claim that "But until Washington representatives can present a united front regarding a bridge proposal, Oregon lawmakers will be reluctant to listen."

Because the reality is clear: the united front the legislators need to present is a complete rejection of replacing the I-5 bridge until after 2 other bridges are built, one to the east of I-205 and the other to the west of the I-5 to Hillsboro or something in that area.

That's what makes this trust issue as bogus as another hate filled anti-Madore column, spewed out by Lyin' Lefty Lou.

NONE of the people scamming the bridge/loot rail resurrection have made any case whatsoever justifying this massive, unaffordable rip off.

And I would submit to the clown that wrote this that the FIRST step in this process has absolutely nothing to do with the legislature or the cancer on our community you work for.

What it has to do is the implementation of the direct will of the people of this county.

And that one sentiment right there never seems to make it into any of the lying columns... like this one, today... that those morons crank out.

The I-5 Scam is dead.  And it needs to stay dead.

No amount of their whining and sniveling is going to change any of that.

Answering the Hockinson football field/failed levy question.

I live in the Hockinson School District.  I voted "no" on the issue of replacing grass with turf.

One of the problems the Superintendent, Sandra Yeager, has is the idea that we "have to do something" and that what was offered is the only solution.

It isn't, of course.  And yes, I've got a few options.

First, why we objected to this expenditure is irrelevant in the real sense.

If we rejected it because we don't like turf (Though I played football on a rug for a few years... I could take it or leave it as a player) or if we rejected it because we think it's a waste of money... what, exactly, can be done about either?

Nothing.

As a brief aside, the University of Washington wasted another quarter billion dollars on yet another stadium renovation... and, as a season ticket holder and former tackling dummy for the Purple and Gold, I feel somewhat qualified to say that the money was wasted.

Just down the street from Husky Stadium is a cutting edge facility where, oddly enough, they do exactly and precisely the same thing: play football.

I'm referring to CenturyLink, aka The Clink, the home of the Seattle Seahawks.

During the course of the renovation, the Dawgs played at the Clink... so it' not like they haven't done it before.

It also begs the issue:  Why didn't the Dawgs simply move to The Clink permanently?

Why did they have to rebuild a stadium from a perfectly serviceable building to the "latest thing?"

Besides ego, I mean?

Imagine how much money the Huskies could have saved for other, more academic pursuits if they had only made The Clink their home field on a PERMANENT basis?

That brings us to Hockinson.

There are 3 local fields that could serve the Hawks at considerably less money.

The Battle Ground School District has a field where both the Tigers and the Falcons play.  How hard would it be to add the Hawks?  The Evergreen School District has McKenzie Field, Vancouver has the Kiggins Bowl.

Instead of wasting the money to try and "fix" a problem that, let's face it, isn't REALLY a problem (A lot of football is played in the mud in other locations.) look at other alternatives outside the district.

It simply doesn't rise to the level of adding yet another tax... on top of all the dozens of taxes we're already paying,.. when so many other alternatives are right here.

I am much more concerned about Hockinson's lack of academic outcomes than I am their football uniforms getting dirty.

Think outside the box.  Think outside the district.  Understand that a turf field is a "want" to have...  Not a "have to have."

And I'm sure that the shock of this effort failing... a first in the 12 years I've lived in this district... has yet to have worn off in the Administration.

But I am not going to support expending more money on fluff.  And essentially, that's what this was...and the primary reason it lost.

Looking for input: here in the 18th, why did anyone vote for Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers? (RNC Chair: Build the wall... or else.)

Yesterday, the new RNC Chair said something that should be self-evident:  There's supposed to be a cost if you lie to get elected.

RNC Chair: GOP base will walk away in midterms if wall isn't built

By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN

Updated 1:29 PM ET, Wed April 26, 2017

 

 (CNN)Republican National Committee chair Ronna Romney McDaniel said Wednesday that failing to fulfill Donald Trump's campaign promise to build a wall along the Mexican border will hurt the party in the 2018 midterm elections.

"They're gonna lose the trust of our base if we don't keep our promises, our base is gonna walk away," McDaniel said when asked by conservative radio host Laura Ingraham about the possibly of the wall not being built or funded. "They're gonna feel like, 'hey you said one thing on the campaign trail to get elected and you didn't act on it.'"

You would think that would be the case, wouldn't you?

But our own state senator did that very thing:

Yes, Senator Rivers' "wall moment" was her pledge to oppose gas tax and tab fee increases:

In the video above, she referred to HER lie to get elected as a "business decision."  She tells us that her "only regret was making the pledge in the first place," or words to that effect.

Now, of course, her betrayal on the resurrection of the CRC/Loot Rail scam where she's being a tool for the local Left to try and restart the biggest rip off since, well, her rip off on the gas tax and tab fees that is costing those of us living in Clark County a paltry $700 million... shows that "business decisions" are going to be her way of life.

So, tell me: is the Chair of the RNC completely wrong?

If you voted for this hack... tell me why.

I'd really, really, like to know.

Because even as a former Executive Director of the State Republican Party, I simply cannot abide electing... or in this case, RE-electing... a liar into office... simply because they choose to use a party label that is SUPPOSED to mean something... but in her case, means nothing... no matter what party label she's using to defrauding us with.

Once again, the Legislature is going into special session. Once again, the Democratian whines about it.

Another year, another special session, another whine fest by the clueless morons at our local cancer on our community, the democratian.

First, when it comes to failing to get their way, the democratian would complain if they were hung with a new rope.

Second, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a special session.

Third, there's the obligatory utter nonsense from the rag over the McCleary rip off, a position of theirs which has zero relation to reality... in this case, that the Legislature doesn't have to do a damned thing the Supreme Court orders them to do, particularly when it comes to legislating.

The rag, of course, almost uniformly supports any tax increases, particularly as long as those increases don't negatively impact them or are applied to the pollution they produce.  In fact, we have yet to see, for example, that the B&O tax cut they so rabidly sought has been offered up by the newspaper industry as a way to increase revenue.

No... in the hypocritical world of the local rag, those increases only apply to someone else.

The rag wants the voters completely excluded from having any say in anything concerning taxes... they would much prefer that the legislature merely jams them down our throats.  And naturally, the state simply cannot take too much money away from us...  but they can take too much away from newspapers.

That's a fiat closely followed by the GOP-controlled state senate when it came to raping our wallets and our economy... to the tune of $700 million locally with their multi-billion gas tax/tab fee rip off... to help pay for King County's stunning wastes of money, the Alaskan Way Viaduct tunnel that any idiot could see was never going to be on schedule or budget; their massive loot rail scams that would and will do absolutely nothing for congestion in Sodom-on-Sound, and the floating bridge scam that wasted $400 million before a shovel full of dirt was turned... and then having to waste tens of millions more to replace brand new and faulty floats for that floating bridge... or the Vancouver Soviet downtown redevelopment, to include the Pollard Hilton... or CTran's waste of millions on BRT.... or anything else that might interfere with their agenda... or faulty conclusions...

That tax, which we have to pay, was the largest increase in state history... and RINOs like Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers went out of her way to make sure we COULDN'T vote on that scam.

In this instance, as usual, the democratian is typically wrong, typically partisan, and typically leftist hacks.  Their take on the special session is no exception.

Relatively speaking, in real terms, very little money is actually being spent that wouldn't otherwise be spent.

The legislators get paid the same in or out of session.  So, for the most part, does staff.  The costs for per diem are minimal when compared to the billions being discussed.

When I was a legislative assistant, I only received any kind of per diem to live in Olympia for the last part of the last session I worked there.  For the first 5 years, I was out of pocket to maintain two places to live while the legislature was in Olympia.  Legislators received $90 per day to do the same thing during that time if memory serves.

Because staff were Untermensch, we were given the astounding amount of $20 a day.

As I understand it, there was a mileage restriction on LA's.  If they lived locally, then they didn't get per diem.  Legislators, on the other hand, picked up per diem EVEN IF THEY LIVE IN OLYMPIA BEFORE AND AFTER SESSION...

That makes no sense, of course, but in reality, that is STILL chump change compared to the billions in question.

To that end, I am not at all concerned that they're going into special session.  Given the money at stake, my ONLY concern are the outcomes.

Sadly, the way this will likely work is that the dems will advocate some absurd, unreal amount of tax increases ($8 billion, is it?) and the RINO GOP Senate will "compromise" and give them half of what they were asking for...even though THAT figure is what the dems wanted all along.

The RINO GOP-controlled senate is nothing if not predictable.

The reality is that the senate... at a minimum... should have told the Supreme Court to go screw themselves.  That they refuse to do so is a very bad sign for those paying the bills around here... and you can bet that these same sellouts will spend much of the time after session trying to convince us what a great job they've done.

The question, however, will remain: what did they do FOR us... instead of TO us?

This wouldn't have happened if we'd just replaced the I-5 Bridge.

As out local RINO contingent is getting busy betraying  us on the I-5 Bridge/Loot Rail scam, I offer up some footage that wouldn't have happened if we had merely allowed ourselves to be bent over and screwed sideways by the downtown mafia back in the day.

Liking the impacts of the Cowlitz/Mohegan/Paskenta/Barnett scam yet?

It looked like a lemming convention yesterday on area freeways as the Cowlitz Mafia facility opened up to start the process of vacuuming up the disposable... and in some sad cases... the nondisposible... income of people who are drawn to losing their money and stuffing their faces like a moth to the flame.

And did you like the immediate impacts of this insanity costing millions of dollars for thousands... if not tens of thousands... of commuters locked into a traffic jam... in both actual costs, time costs and lost productivity?

That's our future, fellow Clark Countians.

This is just the start. As they expand this rip off, its going to get worse.

People who don't live here... who have never lived here... opening up their cash vacuum cleaner while they infect the area with their Barnett-brand of corruption, buying local politicians, setting about to change the name of this place to "Casino County" while they suck even more money out of the region than the CRC/Loot Rail scam ever would have.

Traffic back ups in places where they rarely happened will now become the norm. The people impacted will demand that the problem be addressed.

And it likely will be.

And the Tribe won't pay a nickel for any of it, even though they are the direct cause... because first, these people do not and have not lived here, so they won't have to put up with the pain they're inflicting on us and second, because they view us contemptuously as they set about to buy the politicians like Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers who are willing to make the "business decisions" needed to rip us off for the benefit of the special interests who own her.

Hopefully, Oregon will engage in their own traffic relief program, by allowing a major casino to be built along I-5 on their side of the river to keep their people... and their revenue... and their traffic... away from this cancer on our community.

There will be pain, my fellow Clark Countians.

But the Cowlitz Mafia won't be the ones feeling it.

Facing the loss of $110 million in revenue... how is Oregon going to deal with the Cowlitz Casino plague?

So, the economic casino black hole, designed to suck hundreds of millions of dollars out of the local economies around here and send them to the Mohegan Gaming Authority in Connecticut (Primary financiers of this project and 49.15% owners) the 240 member Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians in California (Buyers of part of a 43% share owned by David Barnett) and David Barnett's pockets and the Mohegan Tribe itself, which owns 7.85%... is opening their rip off.

It goes without saying that this will suck dollars out of our county even worse than the CRC/Loot Rail scam the local RINO contingent is attempting to resurrect.

But we're not the only victims.

Oregon is going to get hit even harder:

State officials have been bracing themselves for Ilani's impact. The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, which prepares budget forecasts, expects the new casino to slash lottery revenues by $110 million a year, about 12 percent of the current total. Oregon Lottery dollars go to fund education, parks and economic development.

And the Grande Rhonde Tribe also estimates huge losses.

The tribe contends the Cowlitz casino will cause a loss of just over $100 million of the Grand Ronde's estimated $244 million annual revenue stream, which is generated largely by Spirit Mountain Casino. Martin said the tribe arrived at the estimate by using a market projection based on distance from market and estimated drive time.

Now, all is not sweetness and light in Paskenta land:

Tribal Embezzlement Suit Stayed For Criminal Case
By Christine Powell 

Law360, New York (April 21, 2017, 5:13 PM EDT) -- A California federal judge hit pause Thursday on the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians’ lawsuit accusing former tribal officials of a wide-reaching, multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme while new, related criminal charges against some of the ex-officials play out, with a few exceptions. 

U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. mostly granted the former tribal officials’ motion to stay the tribe’s case alleging they violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act while parallel criminal proceedings go forward against some of them for their alleged role in embezzling... 

And given David Barnett's rather interesting legal record... that's oddly not surprising.

That said, the question is simple: what does Oregon do about the revenue loss?

Well, there doesn't appear to be all that many options.

They do nothing.

And how likely is that?  How does the State of Oregon make up for a big hit like that?  Raise taxes on an already overburdened taxpaying population?

"Doing nothing" is their least likely option.

Increases taxes to make up for the shortfall.

You already pay horrific taxes if you live or work in Oregon.  How palatable is it going to be to the taxpayers of Oregon if their government looks at them and says, in effect, "gee, another Tribe set up shop in Washington State and they're killing our lottery revenue... which YOU now have to help make up."

I can already envision heads exploding all over the state.

Allow the Grande Rhonde to set up shop not unlike the Cowlitz have.

Except have them agree to make up the massive shortfall of revenue caused by the Cowlitz scam.  After all, the Mohegan Tribe is required to pay $400 million or so per year to Connecticut every year, while the Cowlitz are required to pay.... absolutely nothing to the State of Washington.

As to the state's (Connecticut's) agreements with the Tribes, the MOUs authorize the operation of video facsimile games, particularly slot machines, at the tribal casinos in Ledyard and Uncasville, as long as the Tribes pay the State 25 percent of the gross operating revenues from video facsimile machines. 

Last year, these payments totaled over $411 million. These payments continue "so long as no change in State law is enacted to permit the operation of video facsimiles or other commercial casino games by any other person and no other person within the State lawfully operates video facsimiles or other commercial casino games." 

Connecticut currently has two Indian casinos (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun). The Foxwoods Casino operates under federal procedures; the Mohegan Sun Casino operates under a tribal-state compact. The federal procedures and tribal-state compact have the same legal effect and force under federal law. Under separate memorandum of understandings (MOU), the tribes have the exclusive right to operate slot machines and commercial casino games in the state. In return, each tribe must contribute 25% of its gross slot machine revenue to the state monthly. If either tribe's contribution falls below $80 million in any year, its rate increases to 30%.

Obviously, such an agreement can be worked out with the GR.  It would make up for.. and possibly exceed... the amount of revenue lost to Oregon as a result of the successful Cowlitz Casino scam.

Such an agreement SHOULD have been worked out with the Cowlitz, but the Native American lobby in Olympia owns the democrats even more than the WEA... so it's not surprising that tribal casinos get away with what amounts to financial murder in this state.

Revisit the effort to change the Oregon Constitution to allow non-tribal gaming.

The Grande Rhonde solution wouldn't be a piece of cake.

Under the arcane laws concerning "initial reservations," such as the one the Cowlitz lied themselves into with the behest of Barrack Obama, there is no test for negative financial impacts on other Tribes.

The governing law here is known as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.  Buried within that Act is Section 20.  And if a Tribe's reservation is designated an "initial reservation," then a critical part of the law does not apply to the Tribe in question, in this case, the Cowlitz.

And that part of the law is referred to as Section 20, Subpart C and D: the "detrimental to the surrounding community" part of the test.

Perhaps more controversial are the criteria for evaluating tribal applications for a two-part determination made by the Secretary under 25 U.S.C. § 2719(b)(1)(A), which criteria are found in Subpart C. Under this exception, gaming may occur on off-reservation trust lands if the Secretary, after consultation with appropriate state and local officials, including officials of nearby tribes, makes a determination that a gaming establishment would be (1) in the best interest of the applicant tribe and its members and (2) would not be detrimental to the surrounding community. The regulations clarify that a governor in an affected state must concur in any Secretarial two-part determination, set forth how consultation with local officials and nearby tribes will be conducted, and articulate the factors that Interior will consider in making the two-part determination. Under the regulations, an affected governor has up to one year to concur from the date of the Secretarial two-part determination, with an additional 180-day extension at the request of either the governor or the applicant tribe. 

Subpart D of the Section 20 regulations clarifies that the regulations do not disturb existing decisions made by the Bureau of Indian Affairs or by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

Although the Cowlitz initial application for recognition, granted in 2000, claimed that their southern border was, effectively, the northern border of Longview, (Historically and factually, the Reservation where the Casino scam has been set up was NEVER a part of Cowlitz Tribal Lands) the availability of large tracts of land zoned agricultural next to the I-5 freeway here locally (Reservation shopping at its finest) along with willing sellers at highly inflated prices made the reservation shopping scam ideal.

That said, while the Cowlitz did NOT have to contend with the two-part test... the Grande Rhonde most likely WOULD be required to contend with that test, since any such construction in the Portland area would be viewed as "detrimental" to the Cowlitz casino, now part of the "surrounding community."

Thus, there would be a great likelihood that such an effort would be challenged in federal court if they attempted to build a Vegas-style casino complex to actually compete with the Cowlitz/Mohegan/Paskenta/Barnett project.

This brings us to the 4th possibility:

Revisiting the question of non-tribal gaming.

Currently, most non-tribal gambling is prohibited under the Oregon Constitution.

An effort was made... and crushed... a few years ago to modify that part of the Oregon Constitution to enable non-tribal gaming at Portland Meadows.  Those behind that effort pledged to give the state of Oregon 25% of their take, an amount estimated at the time to cover the amount NOW anticipated to be sucked out of Oregon revenues by the Cowlitz Scam.

At the time, there was no known looming threat to the revenues of Oregon.

But, as they say, that was then and this is now.

The advantages are obvious: no net loss in state revenue.  No tax dollars would be required for construction.  Increasing amounts of revenue if properly negotiated.

Gambling licenses could be awarded through a bidding process, with the minimum bid required to be in at least an amount needed to cover the revenue losses caused by the Cowlitz.

Given the choice between paying even HIGHER taxes and allowing a limited number of and location(s) for Class 3 gambling to actually become realized, it's likely that such a vote would pass... PARTICULARLY if the Grande Rhonde were heavily involved... just not in a way that would trip the Bureau of Indian Affairs/IGRA Section 20 involvement.

These are but a few of the options available.  But starting today, the Cowlitz are not only going to be screwing the people of Clark County sideways... they'll also be bending the people of an entire state directly over and blowing a hole in their collective wallet.

And THAT is GOING to sting.

Governor Brown, the ball is in your court and the legislature is in session.

What are you planning on doing about it?

Make France Great Again candidate succeeds: Marine Le Pen moves to the general election in France.

With a French election system not that entirely different from our own here in Washington State, Marine Le Pen has moved on to the French General Election.

The most recent terrorist attack clearly assisted Le Pen in her efforts.

Europe

French presidential election: Le Pen, Macron projected as winners in first round

Published April 23, 2017

FoxNews.com

As France’s polls closed in the first round of presidential voting on Sunday, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron were projected by multiple news agencies to advance to a May 7 runoff.

The projections, based on vote totals in certain constituencies that were then extrapolated nationwide, were reported by The Associated Press, Reuters and AFP.

The likely Le Pen-Macron matchup was announced almost immediately after polls closed at 8 p.m. local time. But even before the first results were announced, Le Pen’s fans were so sure of her victory they began singing “La Marseillaise” at one of her headquarters.

The May 7 runoff now places the controversial, right-wing nationalist Le Pen against the centrist, Pro-European Union Macron. Le Pen’s entry into the second round of voting was being watched closely around the globe and is seen as another victory for a populist movement that has recently claimed wins in Britain’s so-called “Brexit” referendum and the election of President Trump in the United States.

More:

Never Trumpers cringe: WAPO Poll: Trump would beat Hillary today as well.

Never Trumpers and leftists are still but hurt over the election outcome.

They will, no doubt, be even more butthurt when they find out that, according to the latest Washington Post poll (hardly a friend to Trump) shows that Trump would still beat Hillbilly today, AND he would win the popular vote.

Sunday, April 23, 2017
Wash Post poll hides: Trump still beats Clinton, 43%-40%
by Paul Bedard | Apr 23, 2017, 12:05 PM

Kristol: Most Important Number for GOP is Trump's Approval Rating

Washington Examiner

A new Washington Post poll that declares President Trump as "the least popular president in modern times," waits until the second to last paragraph to reveal another tidbit: He'd still beat Hillary Rodham Clinton if the election were held today and in the popular vote, not just Electoral College.

More:

In the last election, most polls were utterly worthless.  And, if the WAPO were to be believed, Hillary Clinton would not be doubling down on the destruction of our country as president.

So, while I take this all with a grain of salt, imagine how much it personally cost the fringe-left nutburgers at the WAPO to print this.

They were likely as convinced that the US had wised up and would want to get rid of President Trump and replace him with that criminally incompetent cow we rejected as a nation last November 8 as they were that Clinton would win overwhelmingly and that Mr. Trump would be humiliated.

We, rightfully, have not yet appeared to have "learned our lesson."

I have not agreed with everything our President has done or failed to do.  But at the time of his election, I viewed him as light years ahead of that clown we could have had foisted on us... and I still do.

The numbers continue to fascinate.  But this past election showed the value... or the lack of value... of those same numbers.  Nevertheless, these are worth discussing.

REAL ID: A clue as to why the GOP-controlled state senate is screwing us so often.

For the past several years, Clark County has been governed by mostly clueless leftists masquerading as Republicans.

Most of them utilize the Steve Stuart school of thought, where the will of the people is to be laughed at and ignored.

"And I've said it before: I don't speak for the people... I will NEVER speak for "the people," I speak for Steve and some of you are going to agree with me and some of you aren't."

This is the prevailing political attitude locally... and it's an infection that those we elect at the legislative level have caught that is more deadly than AIDS.

We have a representative government.  Stuart was the very antithesis of that; a Venezuelan type dictator who simply stops listening and who bears zero responsibility to their constituency once we're moronic enough to vote these clowns into office.

Does anyone... for one second... believe that Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers was doing anything different than Stuart when she betrayed her district and this county by hanging a $700 million bill around the necks of every man, woman and child unfortunate enough to live here?

Now we're cursed by a county council dominated by leftist democrats masquerading as Republicans who simply ignore the dictates of the people of this county.  Now we're cursed by legislators who do the same, who promise nothing for fear of accountability... like Rivers, who clearly wants me dead, because *I* am going to hold HER accountable for her lies until I'm buried or she leaves politics.

This brings us to the GOP-controlled state senate.

Clearly, the local GOP legislators who did such a great job of opposing the CRC/Light Rail scam have "seen the light."

They've been bought.  Directly or indirectly.  Because they have completely flipped on the CRC/Loot Rail scam and are ignoring the reality of OTHER crossings over the River... while they act like good little leftists tools... and that never happens in a vacuum. 

Every single reason... every scintilla of corruption that existed during the LAST waste of $200 million for the CRC/Loot Rail scam that existed then, exists today.

Nothing has changed, save for TriMet being deeper in debt.

But three of the legislators who opposed that scam a few brief years ago, (Rivers, Vick and Harris) have now completely flipped.  The other, Wilson, is just doing what she's told, representing her husband in the Senate.

If nothing has changed EXternally, then something must have changed INternally.

The problem of cross-river transportation will NOT be "solved" by replacing a perfectly functional, already paid for bridge.

We will pay billions, and the difference will be that we'll be paying a toll for the privilege of sitting in traffic while we watch the utterly worthless reason for this rip off go whizzing by... frequently empty, like a new, million dollar plus bus that we also didn't want or need.

This brings us to that same GOP-controlled senate's LATEST outrage:

MOST recently, the GOP-Controlled senate chose to screw those of us who are citizens of the United States when it comes to the matter of our drivers licenses.

Federal law requires that proof of citizenship must be shown to get a driver's license if you want to use that license for identification to board aircraft or gain entrance to a military base, among other things.

This is referred to as the "Real ID Act."

I find it bizarre that showing proof of citizenship ALSO isn't required to register to vote, which many illegals do WHILE they're getting a drivers license which they should not be allowed to get in any event...

So now, in the GOP-controlled state senate's infinite wisdom, we are going to have TWO drivers licenses in this state: one that meets the requirements of the Real ID Act, and one for illegal aliens.

And guess which one is going to cost the most?

That's right: we're NOW going to pay a "citizenship penalty."

Illegals will get to pay $56 for THEIR licenses to help them remain here in violation of Federal law.

AMERICANS will get to pay $78 for OUR licenses so we can board an aircraft!

There's no reason or excuse for making this cost so much more, of course.

Certainly, there's no reason to penalize citizens in any way for this idiocy.

Only in a fake Republican Senate does this make any kind of sense whatsoever.

That's right: to get a license, it's now going to cost MORE if you're a citizen than it will if you're not.

And THESE people... THESE so-called "REPUBLICANS," ARE THE ONES BEHIND IT!

Like the gas tax/tab fee scam, this major cost increase for citizens was the product of none other than "Republican" 14th District Senator and Senate Transportation Chair Curtis King.

Around here, which GOP Senators voted to screw us?

King, of course.
Rivers, of course.
Wilson, of course.

And they voted for it... ignoring the people... for the exact same reason as Stuart voting against the will of the people.

They don't give a damn what we think.  They simply don't care, because THEY are SO MUCH SMARTER than WE are.

So, the next time the GOP comes around asking for money while using scare tactics (Oh, My God, if we don't keep control of the Senate, the democrats will RAISE...YOUR...TAXES!) remind them that THEY have raised our taxes... by hundreds of dollars foe each one of us over just the past few years.

All without asking us.

And slam your wallets shut.

That these clowns ignore us is up to them.

That we keep reelecting these arrogant scum?

That's up to us.

If you think the Cowlitz Mafia Casino is going to do us any good... think again.

As I have been saying, the rip off of the Cowlitz casino scam is going to blow a huge hole in our local economy, not to mention a passel of other problems that come with it.

Here's an article from The Atlantic Magazine that gives the reader a snapshot of the damage yet to be inflicted on our local community because of the Cowlitz Scam.

A Good Way to Wreck a Local Economy: Build Casinos

No one should look to the gambling industry to revive cities, “because that’s not what casinos do.”

Steve Marcus/Reuters

David Frum Aug 7, 2014

Baltimore is a troubled city, as you know from The Wire. Like many troubled cities, Baltimore has turned to casino gambling as its solution. On August 26, a new Caesar’s casino will open on the site of an old chemical factory, a little more than 2 miles from the famous Inner Harbor and Camden Yards baseball stadium. Yet there’s already reason to expect the casino to disappoint everyone involved: the city looking for tax revenues, the workers hoping for jobs, the investors expecting hefty returns. 

Outside of Las Vegas—now home to only 20 percent of the nation’s casino industry—casino gambling has evolved into a downscale business. Affluent and educated people visit casinos less often than poorer people do for the same reasons that they smoke less and drink less and weigh less. 

Unfortunately for the casino industry’s growth hopes, downscale America has less money to spend today than it did before 2007. Nor is downscale America sharing much in the post-2009 recovery. From a news report on the troubles of a recently opened Ohio casino: 

Ameet Patel, general manager of the property, says the softness in casino revenue that he and other operators have seen has been driven by a key demographic: women older than 50 who used to bet $50 to $75 per visit. The weak recovery has squeezed their gambling budgets, and their trips to casinos are fewer, he says. 

What’s true in Ohio applies nationwide. Casino revenues had still not recovered their 2007 peaks as of the spring of 2014, when again they went into reverse in most jurisdictions. Moody’s now projects that casino revenues will drop through the rest of 2014 and all of 2015, slicing industry earnings by as much as 7.5 percent.  

More:

For those who see some sort of "boom" here in Clark County because the Cowlitz/Mohegan/Paskenta/Barnett successfully ran their scam, you have deluded yourself into believing this because you support the idea of a casino like this so you won't be troubled to go elsewhere for your gaming fix.

The impact of casinos on neighboring property values is “unambiguously negative,” according to the economists at the National Association of Realtors. Casinos don’t encourage non-gaming businesses to open nearby, because the people who most often visit casinos do not wander out to visit other shops and businesses. A casino is not like a movie theater or a sports stadium, offering a time-limited amusement. It is designed to be an all-absorbing environment that does not release its customers until they have exhausted their money.

Just a few weeks ago, I went to Las Vegas for the NASCAR race, which was a great experience.

But little else was, and I don't see myself ever going back.

Vegas is absurdly, outrageously expensive; homelessness is an obvious, quite visual problem; and I went into a 7-11 store that was, in effect, a slum.

This county will see a massive net loss in dollars.  We will be forced to pay more for less in taxes and support services, not to mention infrastructure and the fall out of this monstrosity.  Thanks to Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers, we're already on the hook for $700 million before the tribal scammers open their doors.

The tribe has already shown that they will buy local government like we buy a loaf of bread.

Our indefinite future is one of paying expenses caused directly or indirectly by the casino rip off.

And the irony?

The Mohegan Tribe, which financed most of this scam, is required to pay the state of Connecticut $400 million per year as a cost of doing business.

The Cowlitz Tribe is required to pay the State of Washington not one red cent.

Genius, isn't it?

Our indefinite future is one where local government, which already ignores us on so many issues, will now be PAID to ignore us individually as the tribe launders money to support candidates they see as pliable and willing to work for them... at OUR expense.

Just ask Alisha Topper.

This is what our future looks like.

Hundreds of millions of dollars taken from Clark County and sent to the Mohegan Tribe in Connecticut, the Paskenta Apache Tribe in California and David Barnett.

And precious little of it staying here.

Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Enjoy your buffet.

So, the democrat party lost again. Politico: Democrats begin to wonder: When do we win?

Democrats begin to wonder: When do we win?

For all the roiling anger and energy at the grassroots, the party still fell short in Georgia and Kansas. And Democratic prospects in upcoming elections aren't promising.

Indeed.

Those politically aware knew of the latest "we're going to show the world the American people hate Trump" jihad in Georgia's 6th District congressional seat.

As expected, the dem show horse who brought nothing to the table but who drew millions of leftist dollars to be wasted again, lost.

He got the most votes in a primary with 18 or so candidates running... but he failed to get the required 50% needed to win outright and the majority vote went to the combined GOP slate of candidates.

So, a democrat kid with no discernible background ran for Congress (not unlike the clueless moron "representing" US in Congress now, come to think of it) in a GOP district and he failed to win when he had to win.

And unless the woman representing the GOP, Karen Handel, turns out to be a secret axe-murderer, he's also going to lose in the general.

Will the left waste even more millions on this guy?

Here's the thing: if you're going to keep campaigning like your middle name is Obama, you are not going to make a great many inroads into traditionally conservative districts, areas or states.

America has had a taste of Venezuelan socialism. 

The left needs new ideas and new candidates to sell them.  They need to dump the tired old whack jobs that are the face of their party... the Pelosis, the Waters, the Schumers... the fringe-left haters clogging up a political system tailor-made to abuse.

I freely admit that the loser in this particular race isn't just the young man they sacrificed for their hatred or the fringe-left hater-cash that backed him... for he is just a symptom of the greater disease.

It's the American people.

This is a battle of ideas... and competence.

Insanity has a variety of definitions.  Not the least of which is the idea that repeating the same thing, over and over, will ultimately lead to a different outcome.

In the business world, innovation is the key to survival.

New ideas, new processes, new directions... That's why Amazon is a monster and Sears is teetering on the brink.

The same has to be said for politics.

Donald Trump is President not because he campaigned according to the "rules" or because he listened to the naysayers who almost uniformly said he would first... never become the GOP nominee and then... never become president.  Most everything he did broke the rules, was new or involved tap-dancing on multiple 3rd rails of politics that terrified the Establishment.

He did not get the job because he mouthed establishment talking points.

He got the job because the people were angry and the people felt like no one was listening and he made it clear that he was listening.

Not unlike our legislative and county government "representation" here, come to think of it; where almost none of them care what we think or what we want... and they only listen to those special interests who own them.

What the democrats do at this point is, of course, up to them.

But unless they can get a grip on reality and get rid of their time-worn, failed programs that they repeat like little robotic leftists, they are dooming themselves into oblivion...  not unlike the Whigs and the Tories.

And this is true at all levels... including here locally.  While most of government is leftist around here, those same democrats (Boldt, Stewart, Olson, Blom-inidiot, Rivers, Wilson, Harris and Vick) market themselves as GOP.

They, at least, are paying lip service to the idea that they aren't what their voting record... obviously the only thing that really matters... clearly indicates they are.

For the most part, they ran on non-ideas, promised nothing and are busily doing what they can to hurt us as badly as Obama... but like the Obama-inspired effort of Hillary, we are looking at perhaps different outcomes when their voting records are made clear.  They did that because, in part, they hate to be held accountable for their pledges.

Like I've been holding that empty suited Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers accountable for her lies to get elected.

And that's when new candidates can take them out.

That typically won't help the democrats that much, however, since most of them are limited to running like they're all in downtown Seattle.

The end result?

The same as the democrat efforts in Kansas and Georgia.

The closer the democrats insist on making us a version of Venezuela, the less likely they are to win.

The more hatred they express... the more riots they remain silent on... the more they engage in class warfare... the more they demand that we ignore our immigration laws and open the border... the less likely they are to win.

And until they come to grips that their efforts to drag this country to the left have failed... the more they're going to lose.

A little insight to Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers.

This is from her Facebook page:

Now, to me... and those kissing Rivers'... ring... on this, it appears that Rivers seems to be taking credit for the passage of this bill.

It could seem that way because those commenting in kissing Rivers' ass for voting for a bill that would have just as easily passed if she had voted "no" or not bothered to vote at all, that somehow, her participation in this process was a needed component.

Or, it could seem that way because Rivers has become such a petulant punk that she even refuses to mention who actually sponsored this bill...

... her seatmate, Rep. Liz Pike.

Now, Rivers hates Pike for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is Pike publicly fought her efforts to screw us on the largest gas tax and tab fee increase in the history of this state.

Further, Rivers also just sold us out on her recent effort to rip us off by resurrecting the CRC/Loot Rail scam.... which Rep. Pike also opposes.

You would think that this bill, important enough to have people like Ron Arp, failed shill for the Yakima Millionaires effort to screw everyone in this county with a surcharge on even movie tickets to pay for Steve Stuart and Mike Bomar's idiotic effort to jam a ballpark down our throats by making all of us pay for it without asking... and RINO Julie Olson weigh in on it (And you know damned well Olson wants Rivers on board for her reelect... and you also know that Rivers WILL endorse that fringe-left RINO)  that Rivers might mention... even in passing, that ALL of the credit for this bill goes to Pike... and NONE of it goes to Rivers.

Clearly, Rivers' complete lack of integrity and honesty keeps her from giving credit where it's due.

Rivers, in fact, has become the very thing she used to tell me that she hated.. the very thing I was being paid to stop her from becoming... a corrupt, political hack.

And how sad is that?

A solution to the Soros town hall terrorism.

1.  Require ID to prove you're a resident of the district to attend.

2.  Hold the town hall from a remote location on camera, live... and use multiple small locations throughout the district to thin out the Soros herd and complicate their logistics.

3.  Have staff at all locations to get the questions to you, in writing.

4.  Require security to remove those who disrupt.

It's not that hard, really.

If you show up at a town hall meeting to disrupt, then you have no right to be there.

This way, you can still face your constituents while vastly reducing the possibility of the Soros types hijacking the entire town hall.

This stuff isn't hard.  If you are unable to interact with your constituents face to face in person, you can do the same thing remotely.

The fake Republicans get it done on ressurecting the I-5 Bridge.

So, Tracy Wilson puppet (Sen. Lynda Wilson (RINO-17) had to "celebrate" their "victory" of starting the process of screwing the people of Clark County yesterday.  Again.

Here's her victory lap:

SW WA delegation bill to start effort on new I-5 bridge goes to governor

April 06, 2017

Legislation establishing a process to open discussion on a replacement Interstate-5 bridge spanning the Columbia River is one step closer to being sent to Gov. Jay Inslee following its passage today in the House of Representatives on a 59-37 vote. The bill had previously passed the Senate on a 45-4 vote, but since a few technical aspects were amended by the House prior to passage, the differences must now be reconciled between the two chambers before the bill can finally be sent to the governor to be signed into law. 

Senate Bill 5806, sponsored by Senators Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, Ann Rivers, R-La Center, and Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, proposes the creation of a joint Oregon-Washington legislative action committee to address a variety of concerns including the process for developing a new I-5 bridge. It lays out a structure based on months of discussions between regional lawmakers of both parties.  

A House companion bill sponsored by Rep. Sharon Wylie, D-Vancouver, HB 2095 takes the same approach. Wylie’s bill was also sponsored by Representatives Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, and Brandon Vick, R-Vancouver.  

Key to the collaboration between the bipartisan coalition of seven southwest Washington legislators was an agreement to begin a process that starts with local legislators and stakeholders, Cleveland said. 

“We all agreed that as legislators the only successful course was to take a bipartisan approach and lead on this process,” Cleveland said. “Our challenge is to develop a process that will allow for the best, most efficient and sensible solution.” 

“We’ve worked together to set clear rules on how any discussion of a project should proceed,” said Wilson. “This is an important step for an open and collaborative process. We want to make sure any project is carefully and deliberately discussed before any commitment is made to a specific plan.” 

“This legislation represents an opportunity to wipe off the slate and take a new look, together with Oregon, at what might be possible,” said Rivers. “What this does not do is lock anyone into a project. The joint committee this bill creates would act as a sort of ‘bridge authority,’ in my view, that is free to consider other crossings or investments to meet regional transportation needs. As someone who has long thought a third-crossing option deserves serious consideration, I wouldn’t have supported this legislation if it didn’t allow that kind of flexibility.” 

Cleveland credited Wylie’s commitment to shepherding her Senate bill through the House just as Cleveland helped steer Wylie’s bill in the Senate. “Without Rep. Wylie’s strong efforts to move the legislation through her chamber, we might not have been able to take this crucial first step forward on what is likely to be a long journey to build a new I-5 bridge,” Cleveland said. “This very balanced legislation is the culmination of months and months of collaboration between colleagues in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle.”  

SB 5806 also appropriates $350,000 for the Washington State Department of Transportation to conduct an inventory of existing data related to the construction of a new I-5 bridge over the Columbia River.  

“We have valuable existing data that can expedite our efforts to move forward with a new bridge,” Cleveland said. “Culling this data can get us off to a running start as opposed to starting from scratch.” 

Cleveland noted that the existing drawbridge is a choke point that averages 400 collisions a year; by 2030, when the bridge carries increasingly more vehicles and increasingly larger pieces of equipment by truck, the number of collisions is projected to double.  In addition to the need for improved safety and reliability, Cleveland sees a new replacement I-5 bridge as being critical for future economic growth. 

In the past, Republicans uniformly opposed and voted against this scam... including Rivers, Vick and Harris.

Absolutely nothing has changed since then, except for who has been bought.

Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers has proven beyond doubt SHE can be bought.  Just look at her actions of pledging to oppose gas tax and tab fee increases to get elected in 2012, only to rape us when the time came.

Review her actions to become a lobbyist for the pot industry has she has worked to save them hundreds of millions of dollars in promised taxes... taxes that WE voted in.

It's really hard to sell out your constituents the first time.  Has Rivers shows with this action and others, it gets progressively easy because here is the factual reality:

Every reason to oppose this insanity that existed in 2014 when the CRC Scam was dropped into a coma STILL exists today. 

NOTHING has changed.

Well, nothing except the roster of those who've been bought by the special interests who brought this about.

There's a reason the leftists are in the center of this picture and the fake Republicans are on the fringes.

At the Town Hall meeting two weekends ago, both Rivers and Vick pledged that they would oppose loot rail.

Well, by the time this issue comes up, the RINO GOP will have lost control of the RINO-state senate and their "opposition" will be meaningless.

Since we all know that the ONLY viable alternative is additional bridges in additional locations, why is it that the requiring other locations in this bill was refused by these sponsors?

Loot rail is the thing.  As the Oregon Supreme Court ruled, the ONLY reason to replace the I-5 Bridge is to get loot rail into Clark County.

So why are Rivers, Wilson-puppet, Vick and Harris bending us over?

And that Wilson would use her SENATE page as a democrat campaign piece?

Why the hell does it matter WHAT Cleveland thought, thinks or says about this betrayal?  Cleveland's lies don't resonate now any more than they did when she was lying... repeatedly... the first time she ran this scam.

And now, we have fake Republicans complicit in her fraud.

I hope they're proud of themselves.

On today's episode of "How is the GOP-controlled State Senate screwing us again?"

As most of you know by now, all too frequently, when folks get elected around here... but in most other places as well, they lose their fricking minds.

Locally, it's the county council, who governs like they're the city council of Baltimore.  Dominated by fake Republicans Boldt, Olsen, Stewart and that numbskull Blom-enidiot, there is nothing to differentiate these political scum from their leftist opponents from their past elections.

Of course, in the run ups to those elections, I correctly predicted that all save Stewart, who I was so badly fooled by, would in fact, vote exactly the same as their leftist candidate opponents should they be elected.

And how right I've been.

Taxes are up, fees are up, their pay-offs to that despicable rag of a daily democrat newsletter paid off when they bent the taxpayers over by doubling the costs we've been paying for official notices in the newspaper.... these fake Republicans have screwed us every way imaginable, by engaging in the Steve Stuart school of "I don't care what the people want, I only represent Steve and sometimes you're going to disagree with me" school of thought.

That, of course, brings us to the GOP-Controlled State Senate.

Because of the GOP-Controlled State Senate, not to mention that pathetic excuse of a state senator representing the 18th District who ran on a platform of OPPOSING the largest gas tax and tab fee increases in this state's history... lying every step of the way and hanging a $700 million bill around each man... woman... and child living in Clark County... which put us all on the hook for roughly $1523 for every man, woman and child living here... we became one of the states with THE highest gas taxes in the country.

And who was the author of this gas tax travesty?

Why none other than "Republican" State Senator and Transportation Committee Chair Curtis King of the 14th District... part of which intrudes into Clark County.

All to bail out King County's massive wastes of money... such as the "Big Dig" tunnel, massively late and, of course, massively over budget (Amounts are in the hundreds of millions) and, of course, their floating bridge replacement that cost $400 million before a shovel full of dirt was turned.

The GOP-Controlled State Senate also brought us the Washington State version of the federal Dream Act, which made illegal aliens eligible for state funding in our colleges and universities, because GOD knows we've got so many seats available in our schools for citizens that, well, hell, what difference is adding a few tens of thousands of illegal aliens to the eligibility pool... and then giving them student aid... over American and Washington State citizens going to make?

It was the Republican State Senate that made it possible for males in this state to demand to be able to shower with females if they felt particularly feminine of a given day... you know, in our schools and even private gyms?

They did that by failing to get rid of that idiotic rule change that allowed that sort of insanity.

I mean, after all, what could possibly go wrong, right?

And NOW, we have the Republican State Senate screwing us AGAIN, only this time, over driver's licenses.

Senate Bill 5008, now "Engrossed Senate Bill 5008" (ESB 5008) would provide two types of driver's licenses for this state.

One type, where you have to prove citizenship, will cost in excess of $100 according to our State Representative Liz Pike.  This variety of license is required for such mundane purposes as boarding commercial aircraft and entering military bases.

The other type will continue to be for illegals and those who don't want or can't afford the "enhanced" license, which we have now, will have no such requirement to provide proof of citizenship.

And the sponsor of THIS bill?

Do you even have to ask?

Why none other than "Republican" State Senator and Senate Transportation Committee Chair Curtis King of the 14th District... part of which intrudes into Clark County.

And who here locally claiming to be a Republican has voted for this steaming manure pile?

Why, RINO Senators Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers and Lynda "Tracy yanks my strings like the puppet I am" Wilson.

The reality is that illegal aliens shouldn't get driver's licenses or any OTHER kind of license.

The arguments for aiding and abetting the sheltering of illegals do not overcome the one, major fact confronting us: they are not supposed to be here at all.

And if your warped reasoning processes disagree with that conclusion, THEN the reality is that we as American citizens should never be PENALIZED because of our citizenship: and the way to approach this is simply to allow our current license fee structure to be used to prove our citizenship and charge those who can't prove their country of origin or their legal status the higher fee.

These votes are how democrats vote.  And if you're gonna vote like a democrat, then why not just VOTE for a democrat and kick you out of office?

This is just a little data point for you to think about.  When the GOP-controlled Senate comes crying to us for money to pay for the campaign of the GOP's candidate in the 45th District, running to replace Andy Hill (Who's demise was unfortunate, but let's face it, he could hardly be called a "conservative") with  Jinyoung Lee Englund, it's this kind of "screwing your constituency" type bills that I'll be thinking about when I slam my wallet shut.

You see, if you want to govern... you had better act the way you campaigned.  You'd better not lie to us (Rivers) and you'd better represent your constituency (Wilson) because if you don't?

There's no reason to vote for you at all.

Does anyone know where Herrera is holding her town hall meetings during the House recess?

Instead of staying in DC and addressing the issues that got them elected, the RINO Ryan Congress has a very long Easter recess.

The purpose of the Easter Recess? To allow Members of the House to go home to their districts... hold town hall meetings... and get input from their constituents.

So.  Where's our Congresswoman holding her town hall meetings?

Look, I get that she's held... two or three town hall meetings... since she was first elected to Congress.

I can get that they're strenuous.  Exhausting.  Require preparation.  And a talent for verbal dexterity which she apparently does not possess.

And frankly, I admit to being spoiled by Brain Bard's willingness to mix it up with weekly town hall meetings in various places throughout his district... which, if memory serves, was quite a bit larger back then.

Our congresswoman could do so much more.  But she has set the bar so low that the odd photo op and staff-generated oped are typically the best we can hope for.

She... or her office... would point to the carefully screened little meetings she's held or  the tele-town halls where she actually doesn't have to show up.

Meanwhile, since she parachuted into this job over a much better candidate who lacked the McMorris puppet strings, I've been waiting.

Waiting for her to step up.

Waiting for her to become a power in the House. (By her 5th year in Congress, McMorris became Vice Chair of the Republican Caucus.  In her 7th year in Congress, she became the Chair of the Republican Caucus.  By Herrera's 7th year in Congress, which, sadly, she is in now... Herrera is not in leadership at any level.

These positions are elected by the rest of the caucus.  I don't even begin to wonder why Herrera can't get a committee chairmanship.  (The obvious: she hasn't run for one since she knows she can't get elected... or she's simply too lazy to even try)  There's a reason we don't see her as a talking head on TV.  (And why wouldn't they want her out there?  Why isn't she making the rounds on the talking head shows?))

We see her making heavily orchestrated photo ops... like in today's democratian.

What we DON'T see is her solving our problems.

We DON'T see her coming up with federal solutions to the problem of the Federal highway known as I-5 here, locally.

We DON'T see her addressing the pressing veteran's care issues in this district. (The nearest Emergency VA Hospital is on the other side of Portland's worst freeways and our bridge.) and prescriptions are far cheaper at Fred Meyers than what we pay at the VA.

And those are just our local issues.  Her silence on the national issues...  her failure to take positions... all are a part of the most recent wave of politicians that run as beauty queens saying as little as possible so it makes it more difficult to hold them accountable... not that it matters when they ARE held accountable... right, Ann Rivers?

That said, the RINO-GOP in the House seems unable to organize a bin of socks, let alone keep their year's long campaign promises of getting rid of Obamacare and tax reform.

And what has our Congresswoman done about it?

I pointed out the recently elected Congressman from the 3rd District of Louisiana, Captain Clay Higgins, has held more town hall meetings since he took office in January than our cardboard cutout of a fake member of Congress has in her seven years of wasting our time in that office.

But apparently, he's Satan incarnate, so that was, somehow, a bad example (allegations of not paying child support, allegations of 4 marriages and so forth... allegations known to the electorate before they elected him) as if this congressman's PERSONAL life makes any difference in the execution of his JOB responsibilities...

Here's the guy:

Some believe he should be shot.

Here's the thing: he's done more in the 4 months he's been in office than our fake congresswoman has done since she was given the job 7 years ago.

And nothing he's done or failed to do in his personal life changes any of that.

Reminder to President Trump: Keep your promises or you'll be a one term president.

As I wrote last November:
....

The memo to Trump is simple:  Keep your word.

God knows that our local political figures lie like they breathe, regardless of party.  While far too many locally are unaware or unconcerned about the depth of their betrayal, millions of Americans are watching Trump like a hawk, because of the history of politicians screwing us.

Trump has set the bar very high.  He has promised a great many things; those paying attention to this campaign are well aware of what those things are…  Sniveling leftists are whining mightily that their choice lost.  They’re been in the streets, ironically harming those in the areas that supported them the most.

Obama has caused severe damage to about every area of American life imaginable.  Military, domestic, foreign…. You name it, that clueless idiot has damaged or destroyed it.  It will take years or even, perhaps, decades to repair the results of his efforts. 

If Trump manages to pull us out of this nose dive, if the GOP can embrace his policies and successfully learn the difference between policy incompetence; infrastructure incompetence and strategic incompetence; if they can put aside their differences and learn that moving towards the sound of the gunfire is what we do… instead of running away, dividing our forces and allowing others to conquer us, the end of the democrat party as a viable force is looming on the horizon.

If the gutless RINOs in Congress will support our president; implement the right policies and stop acting like cowards in the face of a little leftist name calling, there is no end to what can be accomplished.

I warned from almost the beginning that the only way to defeat Trump was to take his issues away from him by making them the basis for ALL GOP candidacies at the national level.  That would have taken his populist leverage away from him, diluted his message and sunk his voice back into the crowd instead of running away from it like whiny little punks.

Instead, the RINO establishment screamed in horror, lift up their skirts and ran away.  And we know the outcome.

But Trump is the baseline.  Trump must keep his word.

He must drain the swamp.  He must build the wall.  He must put America back to work, including the millions not showing up in the totally bogus unemployment rate.

He must reduce/eliminate the laws, rules and regulations that have become part and parcel of Obama’s successful effort to set this country back decades.

He must end the insanity of the bizarre constructs of situational equality, such as that practiced in the military. He must continue to be fearless in the face of the hatred that is going to be aimed at him from the oh, so, “inclusive” Nazi’s of the left.

The cowards running Congress… RINO Ryan, Meetch McConnell and the like, must turn their backs on their compliance with the left, whose idea of compromise is limited to “do it our way.”  They must get past the idea that they have to go along to get along.

That is for THEM to do... not the GOP Congress.  Obama reveled in the idea that elections have consequences.  Well, THIS election certainly has.

But only if those who are SUPPOSED to do the business of the people actually remember who they are and what they’re there for.

If they fail… if Trump fails… the lights will go out on this bright, shining city on the hill… forever.

Don't forget, Mr. President.  We are SOOOO watching you.

And good or bad?

We'll remember.

Think Lefty Lou Brancaccio isn't butthurt over Benton's White House appointment?

As expected, the monumental level of butthurt felt by the democratian over former State Senator Don Benton's success within the Trump Administration.

Lying Lefty Lou Brancaccio probably had a seizure when he heard that the Trump Campaign had hired Benton for anything.

Then to find out that Benton was overseeing the transition of the dreaded EPA?

That probably caused Lefty a heart attack.

And THEN to find out that Benton was getting the job of Director of the United States Selective Service with no one between him and the President?

Sheer, unadulterated stroke.

It's tough when your enitre life is driven by leftist hatred... like our lying little worm of an "editor emeritus" and the scum he's hired to work for him.

So, what does this slimeball do?

He puts this crap up so his fellow leftist haters can take yet another opportunity to beat the hell out of Sen. Benton... and, of course, President Trump.

I get the feeling the last thing that dillwad editor will be thinking about as he dies will be how he worked so hard... and failed so miserably... to destroy Don Benton.

Clearly, Benton has wormed his way into Brancaccio's skull.  And that is right where he belongs.

Thanks for the hoot, Lefty!

BOOM! Largest bomb ever dropped in combat used to retaliate for SF operator's death in Afghanistan.

STRIKE TARGETS TUNNELS IN AFGHANISTAN...
FIRST TIME USED IN COMBAT...

USA DROPS MASSIVE BOMB ON ISIS