Today's quiz question: when does the state of Washington implement the Supreme Court's decision to get rid of racially drawn districts... like those Clinton appointee Judge Robert Lasnick, a federal district court judge rammed down our throats generally and 12 Republican districts specifically, getting rid of a Hispanic lawmaker representing a then mostly Hispanic district in the process who only happened to be Republican?



The two main districts involved (in the Yakima area -14th and 15th) are not, of course, the only state or federal actually racially gerrymandered districts in this state. So the questions is what... and when... and if... the legislature intends to do anything about it; or once again, do they intend to ignore Supreme Court decisions they disagree with?

I say "if," since the left, which dominates politics in this state in part due to the unconstitutional application of the Voting Rights Act, frequently views state and federal Constitutions as their own personal roll of toilet paper... and it is likely those same leftists will do everything they can to ignore what congressional scumbag Congressman Hakeem Jeffries calls an "illegitimate" court… mainly to give license to all leftist entities to ignore this decision to the maximum extent possible.

How bad are leftist controlled cities?

Bad enough that CNN's Fareed Zakaria indicted democrats as his snap shot/indictment of the left shows Washington State OUR future as every allegation he makes against fringe-left-controlled cities also represents an indictment against fringe-left controlled states.

As leftist scum in Olympia continue taxing us into oblivion with their progressive train wreck economics, the fiscal insanity of the left will damage/destroy every corner of our state.

And they don't care, because they'll do it with a smile, all in the name of their phantom "equity."

 

Newspapers believe we have to give them taxpayer money. Conflict of interest, anyione?

The Seattle Times, which is to political fairness what concrete is to cottage cheese, is demanding a bail out of state taxpayer dollars... of $24 million.... to start... but we all know, of course, that number will climb higher and faster as long as they continue to play ball with those in the legislature cutting the checks. .

How could it not?

Such a bill would cement the obvious fringe-left bias of most every newspaper in the state.

How is it REMOTELY possible to continue the charade of impartiality the media is SUPPOSED to have (but which we all know, have long since given up even the APPEARENCE of in either their articles or their editorials) when those they cover are cutting 8 figure checks to buy their cooperative coverage?

Wasn't it democrat Lyndon Johnson who once famously said that, "...down in Texas, once we buy a politician, he stays bought?"

And these news outlets supposed to benefit from this corruption would be any different?

It isn't. This is nothing but progressive advertising, paid for by OUR money, cash on the barrel head, under the guise of news.

Leftist bias in this state's major media is both well-known and undeniable. This is a guarantee it will stay this way.
How can any media outlet accept taxpayer money without supporting those who gave them the cash?

These scum want taxpayer money to continue to pump out leftist propaganda at taxpayer expense!

And this Seattle Times article expects us to go along with it?

What other business get taxpayer money to stay in business in this state? Bakeries? Car washes? Grocery stores? What?

Why is it OK for leftist propaganda organs but no one else?

We don't need biased local news in this state. We have enough of this garbage as is, and the costs to buy their products are OBSCENE.

Keep an eye on SB5400, the buy local media with taxpayer money bill.

If you can't compete with other news sources, then close down. If you have to shut down because you can't steal our money to run your "for profit" democrat PR arm?

You won't be missed. And proof of that is how have we survived without the Seattle Post Intelligencer, which went under several years ago, save for a website? Not only NO, but HELL no. Not a penny. This is NOT why we pay taxes to the Washington Soviet, and they waste enough of our money as is.

Looks like Washington State has become Minnesota West with a massive fake Somali day care problem of our own.

Not to be outdone, Washington  leftists seem to have allowed a disaster similar to that of Gov. Tampon Timmy Tard's in Minnesota.

Washington State apparently has more than 500 Somali day care centers showing the same problems prevalent in Minnesota: Daycares receiving payments without addresses (OR children) for the facilities as well as Minnesota-style contact information like fake phone numbers. 

One Minnesota daycare actually lists the office number of both the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota as their contact information.

Following the Minnesota fraud exposed by content creator and independent journalist Nick Shirley, a reporter from Washington has alleged that similar corruption may be taking place in Somali-run home daycare centers in Federal Way. Carleen Johnson, The Center Square's Washington state Associate Editor, revealed on social media that she went to four daycare centers in Federal Way, but found no children.

Carleen indicated:

“Just went to four Somali run home daycare centers in Federal Way, WA that receive taxpayer subsidies,” Carleen wrote. “Just like @nickshirleyy found in MN- there were no children and no one willing to chat with this reporter. They threatened me with police. @waDCYF wants information forwarded.”

Given standard leftist governmental operation and corruption, Washington State will likely be the NEXT target to battle the widespread  corruption leftists governments are known for.

Washington, which was just last year subjected the people to massive, unnecessary tax increases to cover horrific leftist expenditures; will likely be on the hook for an additional $4 billion tax scam as the fringe-left controlled legislature continues to ignore the plight of those paying taxes for the hundreds of thousands of illegals residing in the leftist-built Washington Illegal Alien Destination Resort the obstructionist state of Washington has constructed.

Another self-inflicted nail in the leg democrats coffin: will of the people? WHAT "will of the people?"

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The people of this state spoke loudly in 2007 with the passage of I-960, the initiative that required a 2/3rds vote to jack up our taxes.

Leftists, of course, didn't like it one bit. Sen. Lisa Brown shot herself (and her fading hopes to become a miniature governor) in the foot by attempting to circumvent the 2/3rds requirement (democrats hate any impediment to raising taxes) by setting up a lawsuit to once again declare the people's will unconstitutional.

Now, the dems are just going to get rid of those bothersome restrictions outright.

Senate Democrats propose bill to make it easier to raise taxes

Posted by Andrew Garber

Senate Democrats have introduced a measure, Senate Bill 6843, that would let the Legislature increase taxes with a simple majority vote.

The bill makes temporary and permanent changes to Initiative 960, a measure sponsored by Tim Eyman and approved by voters in 2007. The initiative reinstated a two-thirds vote requirement to boost taxes.

Senate Bill 6843 suspends the two-thirds requirement until July 2011, which would allow simple majority votes on tax increases next year as well. But it also makes permanent changes, such as stating any future tax increase that goes toward a voter-approved initiative only needs a simple majority vote.

That's a key provision. The Legislature, for example, has slashed several hundred million dollars in funding from the class-size reduction initiative, I-728, during the recession. The proposed change would make it easier for lawmakers to raise taxes for that initiative in the future.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, referred to that provision and others as a "clean-up" of I-960.

Brown said the bill will be heard in committee on Thursday and is expected to get a floor vote in the Senate next week.

More here:

Brown is licking her chops to jack up our taxes in the midst of a horrific recession with double-digit unemployment. She's doing that because she lacks the guts to do what must be done: layoffs, roll backs of unconscionable pay raises and step increases to state employees and cut backs in services that we do not need... and cannot afford to pay for.

Well, Senator.... good luck with that. And with any luck at all, the next time you're up at the ballot, you'll find out first hand what "will of the people" means.
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Worthy of its own post: The Heat is off in Hockinson

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Rich Carson, the newly announced independent candidate in the 18th for Herrera's seat stopped by with this yesterday:

Good news. The BPA just announced that is abandoning the transmission line through Hockinson. This was acheived[sic] by citizen activists. Remember that it was the Republican elected officials who stood up up at the BPA meetings and told the folks they were powerless to deal with the feds. Well, that left it up to us and we succeeded.

(richcarson)

And he's right, as far as it goes.

Good news for Hockinson... bad news, most likely, for many other property owners elsewhere in the 18th District that he would seek to represent.

And what about them?

That said, there is a realistic limit to the power of anyone at the state or local level to take action beyond writing a letter that says "we don't want this here" when it comes to dealing with the Fed.

"Eminent domain," rightly or wrongly, is one of the enumerated powers in the Constitution. That people in government told Mr. Carson "they were powerless to deal with the feds" is, essentially, the truth. There was no step or steps local elected officials could have taken to stave off this effort in Hockinson, like there will be no steps they could take to stave them off anywhere else in the county. Would he have been happier if he'd been shined on, placated, or given, in the lexicon, a sincere non-response that confused motion with action?

This would rightly be a bone of contention if such a power existed at the local level, and the officials in question were choosing not to use it. But just for one example, the entire town of Bonneville was sunk when the Fed put in a dam. And there was nothing the town, the county commissioners or anyone at that level could do about it... even in court.

So, that these particular members of government happened to be one party or another has no place at this table. Nor does political opportunism or ignorance of the process.

The people HERE were victorious. And what that means is that the people somewhere else will be the victims.

Will you go fight their battles as well, Mr. Carson? Or, having achieved your goal here, does the NIMBY party representative intend to wiz on the fire and call in the dogs?

That we need additional capacity is undeniable. But unless I miss my guess, issues of costs and the impacts on others played little to no role in your actions here. And as a prospective state representative, I would venture to say that issues of cost and impacts on others should be your FIRST concern, because if they're not... if your actions were only driven by your enlightened self-interests, then you have no business being elected to anything.

I eagerly await your response to this, which I will certainly post up for all to see. You cannot simply go around and say "no" without a better plan to put into place. And by "better," I mean cheaper, more efficient and without negative impacts on anyone else.

Otherwise, your lack of faith in either party will be the least of your political problems.
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It beyond time to defund the State Auditor's Office and get rid of it.

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For years now, I've advocated getting rid of the position of State Auditor. Sadly, I must continue to support that position.

It's not that I believe Brian Sonntag doesn't do a spectacular job.... because he most certainly does. In fact, in my life, there are only two absolute certainties: first, at some point I will, in fact, die. Second, as long as he is in elective office, I will vote for Brian Sonntag.

Sonntag is, in my opinion, the finest, most fearless public servant that's ever served in Washington State. Fearless, aggressive in his pursuit of the overwhelming numbers of ways, locations, offices and people wasting out money, Sonntag and his staff should be a force to be feared by the hundreds of state agencies and offices draining our economic life's blood as if we somehow owe it to them.

So, why defund them and get rid of the office?

Because no one in government cares.

We have this man and his staff looking into the expenditure of our money. It's what he's been doing for years. For years, he and his people come up with lists of agencies and individuals and pots of dollars illegally spent, fraudulently spent, just plain lost.... and for all of those years, it's made little to no difference.

If those in government allowing these rip offs are going to continue to ignore Sonntag as they have for the past 17 years... then what's the point?

This blog has more impact than Sonntag, and it's free. Sonntag costs millions.

If the damned government would implement his suggestions/observations and findings, he would be worth every penny. But year after year, they ignore him. Democrats (of which he is one) who now are in complete control of government ignore him, and when the GOP called the shots up there, they ignored him as well.

We're facing yet another multi-billion deficit. Sonntag has once again shown the way to eliminating a great deal, if not all, of the looming deficit.

Just like they ignored him in 2008 when he came up with many other findings that would have helped with the deficit, the legislature will ignore him again.

He has GOT to be the most frustrated state employee in government.... well, save for WSU's head football coach.

But he's had his run... and it's time for him and his office to go.

Or is it, instead, time for those morons in government who insist on ignoring him to go, instead?
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Democrat State Rep. Hans Dunshee and the union pay-off bill.

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Hans Dunshee is a nice guy. He has his quirks, like when he reached over and voted another Representative's vote the wrong way (You know... a GOP Rep's vote? Back when they just used buttons instead of laptops?) and he's all about his logger persona... big with flannel shirts.

But he's also a die-hard democrat, with everything that means. And in this instance, what it means is that he wants to jack our taxes up in the midst of a horrific recession to do all he can to pay off his union buddies.... kind of an Obama-lite.

That it IS all about union pay back is based on the fact that it is union labor and union labor alone who'll be used to build these school facilities, presuming this bond could pass.

"Union Labor" of course means "prevailing wage," a bizarre concept that says that we, as tax payers, must pay absurd amounts of money for labor... absurd amounts of money that would reduce the amount of facilities build by 30% or so.

I will be a "no" on this sordid effort. Open this up to ANY construction company, union or no, and we can, perhaps, do some business. Otherwise, it's just a scam to pay off unions.

And haven't we had enough of that from the empty suit in the White House?



Washington lawmaker wants to send job-creating school-construction bond to voters

A House committee chairman wants to send voters a $3 billion bond measure that would pay for school construction.

By Andrew Garber

Seattle Times staff reporter

Related

• Archive | Gregoire still prefers bonds
• Archive | Governor, lawmakers hint at putting bond proposals on ballot

OLYMPIA — A House committee chairman wants to send voters a $3 billion bond measure that would pay for school construction.

Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, chairman of the Capital Budget Committee, plans to unveil the proposal Monday.

Dunshee wouldn't provide many details Friday, but said "this is what the governor and I have been talking about: Repair schools and create jobs."

It wasn't clear exactly how the bonds would be financed.

Last month, Gov. Chris Gregoire brought up the notion of a bond issue that would fund construction projects as a way to help stimulate the economy.

"I am interested in asking the people if they would consider a bond measure that ... would allow us to potentially put people to work with projects out there like K-12 construction, or technology renovation or green renovation of our K-12 system," Gregoire said at the time. "Something along the line where it's real jobs on the ground."

On Friday, the governor's office said it hadn't seen Dunshee's proposal yet and had no comment, except that Gregoire likes the concept.

More:
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And so it starts: Heavy cuts coming in Wash. budgets next week

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The jockeying has begun in the first round of "woah-is-me" efforts to jack up our taxes in the midst of a horrific recession.

Our democrat State Auditor, Brian Sonntag, identified over $3 BILLION in misspent, lost, or illegally spent taxpayer dollars over 5 years ago... and has a similar report prepared for 2008... a report that if fully implemented, would save $3.6 BILLION, but none of his initiaitives have been acted on. If the legislature would just use his report and his audit findings as a blueprint, many of the more painful cuts could be borne with little discomfort, and this nonsensical concept of jacking up our taxes in the midst of a recession would normally be off the table.

Well, as normally as avoiding taxes can be when fringe-leftists are in charge of the government's purse strings.

Democrats have already positioned themselves to relieve their typical union masters of a great deal of the financial burden required to shill this tax increase vote, instead, prefering to use OUR TAX DOLLARS to campaign for this idiocy.

So... what gets cut?

"That includes about $500 million less in higher education spending. Schools would be given latitude in deciding where to find the savings, but here's one way to put it in perspective: That half-billion pays for about 10,000 students."

HHhhmmmm.... that's kinda odd. I'm not 100% sure, since I'm a Seattle Public Schools student, but isn't 10,000 divided into $500,000,000 something like... well, $50,000.... per student?

How can we POSSIBLY be spending that much on each student? How is that even in the realm of this dimension?

Brown said the Senate likely will seek to cut the Basic Health Plan for poorer Washingtonians by about $250 million, close to the level envisioned in Gregoire's budget.

With The One demanding cradle-to-grave "free medical" care for everyone from the Fed, this probably isn't a bad move. Of course, implementing restrictions against illegal expenditures for illegal aliens might save a few million or so.

That "safety net" program, commonly called GA-U, gives cash and medical care to disabled people who can't work. It likely will be cut by about $200 million under the Senate plan, Brown said, with the savings spread between the cash payouts and medical care.

Bull. This is a non-starter, and just the first shot fired across the bow for the hearts and flowers "jack your taxes" campaign.

For those truly in need of GA-U, not one dime should be cut. ALL of this money should come out of state employees (lay offs an pay reductions). That it isn't...

Let's remember: The $8 BILLION growth in the budget over the past 4 years has been unsustainable from the get-go... Republicans in the Leg have been warning through each and every budget that the huge increases in spending our democrat leaders have imposed have not been sustainable.

Expect much deeper and much more painful cuts than the one's announced in this article... there are many more to come.

Because if there isn't, there is no way in hell they can shill this enough to get people to buy off on it.

I'm reminded of the recent local school bonds and levies that went down to abysmal defeat like dominoes.

There is nothing compelling here to risk the massive economic impacts to a fragile economy.

But I would bet there will be. Because this isn't enough pain. I know it, and they know it.

Politics & Government

State's higher-ed system to get $500M budget cut
Washington's higher education system would see almost $500 million in cuts and public school teachers likely would face layoffs under the Senate's proposed budget, the Senate's top Democrat said.

By Seattle Times staff and wire

Related

• Archive State budget comes down to unpleasant choices
• Archive $8 billion shortfall forecast for Washington state budget

OLYMPIA — The state would cut almost $500 million from Washington's higher-education system, and public-school teachers likely would face layoffs under the Senate's proposed budget, the Senate's top Democrat said.

Depending on how colleges and universities handle those cuts, "it guarantees enrollment reductions that are fairly significant," Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said Thursday, just days before the Senate's budget is formally unveiled.

In a separate interview, Brown said the proposed two-year budget would eliminate pay increases for teachers and state workers, and would leave around $850 million in reserve in case the economy gets even worse.

Overall, the budget would reduce state spending by $3.7 billion below what's needed to maintain existing services and pay for caseload increases and other costs, she said.

The cuts would be felt by the general public, Brown said, noting that "people will definitely notice fewer (higher-education) slots, more intense competition to get into universities. I believe there will be, unfortunately, teacher layoffs."

Brown's comments, paired with separate statements Thursday from House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, provided some of the most detailed glimpses yet of how the Legislature's long-awaited budgets may look.

In her no-new-taxes budget proposal in December, Gov. Chris Gregoire suggested about $342 million in cuts to higher education.

That amounted to net state spending cuts of about 13 percent across the board for four-year schools, and about 6 percent for community and technical colleges, after factoring in higher tuition.

More:

Our democrat legislators doing what democrats do: a new law ALLOWING them to use state facilities to campaign for their massive, upcoming tax increase

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Look, we all know what they've got coming. The leftists infesting the legislature will do what their union masters tell them to do, which means these clowns will get their pay raises and the leftists will do everything they can to avoid state employee reductions... in either numbers, or wages.

The result? Massive cuts in core services, little to no change in taking care of their buddies, and a massive tax increase to put on the ballot, so the democrats can avoid any blame for their misfeasance in office.

It's bad enough that these neo-comms would advocate for a huge tax increase during a recession... but to make it legal to use state facilities and assets to campaign for such a socialist move?

I get that it's totally unrealistic to expect the fringe-leftists running the show in Sodom-on-the-Sound to do the RIGHT thing, which is to focus entirely on reducing the size of government and avoiding crippling impacts on an economy teetering on the brink thanks to the empty suit in DC.

But to use taxpayer dollars to CAMPAIGN for a tax increase... and ONLY for referenda... and NOT initiatives... well, that is just, plain, despicable.

Rep. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, and any other democrat thug in favor of this steaming pile should be ashamed of themselves. They won't be, of course, because getting the tax passed is all they're concerned about... ethics, morality and common sense be damned.

Thanks to Joe Turner of a REAL newspaper, the Tacoma News Tribune, for spilling the beans.

Political Buzz

Let's talk politics.

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Are legislators trying to clear the way to use their newsletters to campaign for a tax increase this fall?

Posted by Joe Turner @ 08:37:55 am

It sure looks that way. But it's not just for the upcoming tax packages.

House Bill 2322, which was introduced yesterday, would change the state ethics laws to allow legislators to advocate in favor (or against) a ballot measure. They already are free to say what they think of something on the ballot, but this bill appears to go one step further. It would let them use their newsletters to constituents, press releases, correspondence to constituents and other state resources to make their views known far and wide.

UPDATE: I'll just talked to Rep. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, the prime sponsor, to see what she had in mind. First, her bill would apply only to referenda that are put on the ballot by the Legislature. "You oughta get out there and stand by what you did," she said.

(But if Tim Eyman or someone else managed to get an initiative on the ballot, legislators still could not use their office newsletter to campaign for or against those measures. Only a legislative referendum, she said.)

Chase said she didn't introduce this bill only for the upcoming tax package (or packages) that lawmakers are likely to put before voters, although that is part of the reason. She said she also signed onto a similar bill sponsored in 2002 by then-Rep. Ruth Fisher.)

"If we refer a measure to the voters, then we sure as hell better talk about it, tell them why we did what we did," Chase said.

More:

More on the democrat and labor union corruption here in Washington State...

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Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I completely disagree with the idea that no criminal act took place here.

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As I pointed our here, I believe that plenty of evidence exists to make an arrest. The law is fairly straigh forward; the offending email did, in fact, "offer... a pecuniary benefit..." not only to one person, but an entire GROUP of people, the democrat caucuses of the Washington State Legislature "pursuant to... an understanding that such other person will offer or confer a benefit upon a public servant or procure another to do so with intent thereby to secure or attempt to secure a particular result in a particular matter..."

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As a matter of fact, there is an argument that each democrat member of both caucuses represents a single count EACH of a violation of this law (RCW 9A.68.050) and that, therefore, the author and sender of the email in question may be guilty of over 70 counts of violating this law.

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That said, here is a snap of a Machievellian moment designed to get a group of "uncomfortable" democrat House members off the hook.

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Political kabuki theater at it's finest.

Political Buzz

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 - Tacoma, WA

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Political Buzz

Let's talk politics.

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Worker Privacy: Killing the bill let reluctant votes off the hook

Posted by Joe Turner @ 12:28:38 pm

First, I have to acknowledge the valuable contribution by Curt Woodward, Associated Press reporter, who requested the exchange of e-mails between the governor's office and others about the Worker Privacy bill, which was killed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, House Speaker Frank Chopp and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown.

The rest of the press corps merely piggybacked on Curt's request. I singled out this particular e-mail because the Boeing lobbyist was telling the governor's main Boeing liaison that the Worker Privacy Bill, which was being pushed by Labor, was on the verge of winning approval by the Legislature. That was gonna be bad news for Boeing.

UPDATE: A reader suggests that I point out what could have happened if Brown and Chopp had NOT killed the bill. If they passed it and the Labor Council e-mail came out later, they would have been open to criticism that they caved in to threats from Labor and they just passed the bill to keep the campaign contributions flowing from Labor into Democratic political action committees warchests. Consequently, they were justified in killing it because THAT would have looked bad. (Fair enough?)

This e-mail shows part of the head count that Boeing had done. Some of the "yes" votes were reluctant, according to Boeing. He's also saying the governor has to get off her butt and do something.

"The Governor cannot sit by and wait for this stuff to go away on it's
own. It will not," Boeing lobbyist Trent House said.

Lucky for House, a copy of a Labor Council strategy e-mail was CC'ed to four legislators and that provided the cover for Brown, Chopp and Gregoire to kill the bill.

Here is cast of characters:
The part of the Boeing lobbyist is played by Trent House.
The governor's advisor on all things Boeing: Bill McSherry

Two more notes: The bill would have let employees walk out of management meetings that bad-mouthed labor unions or hit workers up for United Way contributions, etc.

All the last names listed in House's head count are state Representatives.

-----Original Message-----
From: House, Trent M ">.M.House@boeing.com>
To: Bill McSherry
Sent: Fri Mar 06 23:29:15 2009
Subject: Vote count on HB 1528 - Worker Privacy

Bill,

I have been counting votes and the reality is grim.

[More:]

Legislator's overwhelmingly want this bill just to go away and not have a vote.
However, if a vote is required, most would reluctantly vote with the
Labor community despite the known legal and symbolic flaws. This bill
must not come up for a vote or it will pass with a large margin and
compel the Senate to act as well. I don't believe that Senate and House
Leadership can make this call on their own. I think they need and
expect the Governor to share the responsibility necessary to do the
right thing on these issues.

So far here is what I have...

No
Ericks
Hunter
Clibborn
Pedersen

Yes
Pettigrew
Probst
O'Brien
Jacks
Sullivan

Against but will vote Yes on the floor if a vote is taken
Blake
Kelley
Kessler
Springer
Takko
White
Carlyle
Eddy
Hurst
Finn
Maxwell

I have not yet had a chance to speak with Rep Morris. My best guess
would be that the rest of the D's would say yes during a vote count and
yes on the floor.

The Senate is running the Diversion bill (SSB 5809) tomorrow. We can't
get into a position where the Senate and the House split the bad stuff
up and we can stop anything because both sides have to do a little for
Labor. We still have Ex-Parte to deal with and the Budget and we
haven't even begin to address the competitiveness issues that we began
this session with.

The Governor cannot sit by and wait for this stuff to go away on it's
own. It will not.

Regards, Trent

State union thugs: now SUING the Gov for their pay raises.

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The people of this country generally and this state particularly are hurting. We're hurting big time in a wide variety of areas. On December 18th, I wrote about Gov. Gregoire's stunning effort to balance the budget without raising taxes, and mentioned my belief that the unions don't give a damn about anyone but themselves.

So, what do the union scum do?

They sue the Governor. Here's the Seattle Times' take on it... and here's the PI's effort.

These selfish clowns are actually suing the Governor as outlined here:

The lawsuit asks Thurston County Superior Court to compel the governor to submit a request to the Legislature to fund the pay raises and other economic parts of the five contracts negotiated by the Federation. The pacts cover 30,000 General Government workers and 10,000 employees at 12 community colleges and all four-year universities and The Evergreen State College.

"Pay raise?" They need to be forced to take a substantial PAY CUT. Or do they find the idea of unemployment intriguing?

Apparently, these thugs, including those employed at our universities, lack the ability to grasp the impacts of our troubled economy.

Or, alternately, they simply don't care because they're greedy pigs.

Remember the good old days, before the dems paid these scum off with collective bargaining?

Were it up to me, I'd fire off a bill to decertify the state employee unions. I would hammer them like nails, since they clearly don't give a damn about those they allegedly serve.... that is, us.
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When pinheads get involved in the economy.

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There's an op ed in today's Seattle Times from someone who reminds me of the basis for the phrase "those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

In his effort, James Gregory, professor of history and director of some center or another at a leftist think tank at the UW, provides yet another socialist view, entitled: "As Olympia wrestles with a budget crisis, can it avoid the mistakes of 1931?" He brilliantly manages to show a moronic understanding of both the economy and government.

His money quotes?

"When the private sector stalls, government needs to step in."

It all depends on what you mean by "step in."

If, by stepping in, he meant "eliminate the business and occupation tax," then we have agreement. If he meant "eliminate and/or streamline regulations," then we have agreement. If he meant "increase targeted tax breaks and reductions designed to foster business expansion and provide an atmosphere of business-friendly government," then, as they say, we could do business.

Why is it that I don't think he meant any of those things?

He goes on to blather:

"It needs to spend money and increase employment in ways that might seem reckless in normal times."

Let me restate: there needs to be a MASSIVE income redistribution that makes no sense at ANY time so we can put together more rock-painting jobs for the unions.

Professor, here's a bulletin:

NO economy has EVER taxed itself into prosperity. EVER. and now is no exception. We are facing a $6 billion (so far) state budget deficit. When you divide the population of this state into that number; how much for each man, woman and child will it cost just to balance the budget, let alone expand union jobs, like the good professor is actually advocating?

Let's see.... $6 Billion dollars divided by around 6 million people equals.... what: $1000.

Each. That's $4000 for my family alone, just in budget deficits. And you would advocate increasing taxes in the face of a downward economy?

Bull. Here's a clue: Government at every level must share the pain. No tax increases. Layoff's of nonessential services (practically anything not involving public safety and education) and austerity at every level.

"They talked about big public-works projects in 1931 and they passed an income tax to pay for it. But Gov. Roland Hartley vetoed both."

Has he should have. Gov. Hartley must have been a courageous man to withstand the nonsense from those sharing the professor's peculiar viewpoint.

The professor goes on: "The governor said he needed to follow the law, enforce a balanced budget and protect taxpayers."

WOW!!!!! Where can we find someone like that NOW????

"As a result, state spending declined in 1931. Seattle officials followed suit, laying off city workers instead of expanding employment."

Which is, of course, absolutely the right thing to do again. There's something bizarre about these share-the-wealth types. NO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE IS "OWED" A JOB.

He then cluelessly goes on: Gov. Christine Gregoire and the Legislature are on track to repeat the mistakes of 1931. Committed to balancing the state budget as required by current law, the governor has already ordered state agencies to cut more than $590 million and is proposing to slash another $5 billion to $6 billion in the next budget cycle.

That is PRECISELY and ABSOLUTELY what she and the Legislature must do. Clearly, the position the good professor is advocating again would require massive tax increases that would devastate the economy and make his scenario look like an 8-killed-in-the-intersection truck wreck.

He continues on over the cliff: It will take ingenuity and courage to avoid the missteps of 1931. Balanced-budget laws are important in normal times, perhaps even in times of normal recessions. But this is a crisis that requires more flexibility.

It seems to me that he might be advocating running our budget at a deficit, an state constitutional impossibility. "Ingenuity and courage" is code speak for "raisie taxes through the roof, which would cripple our economy much more than the loss of 20,000 jobs he claims would be "destroyed."

"The governor and the Legislature must find a way to keep from escalating the job losses. They must find a way to avoid massive layoffs of state workers."

And this is where the pinhead title comes in:

The good professor provides ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TO ACHIEVE THIS. No strategies, no ideas, no plan and no clue... except to hammer us with massive tax increases.

These people work for US. They know how to elbow their way to the trough when things are good... they need to understand that when things are bad, THEY will take the faceshot before we do.

Any idiot can point out the problem. Where it matters is to provide the solutions. And this monumental whining and sniveling along with advocating the Obamian Income Redistribution at the state level that we have to look forward to at the national level, ain't that.

We have a SIX BILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT. "Massive layoffs" of a bloated and "paid off" government employee sector is the risk THEY run for being government employees in the first place.

To tell the legislature what they "must" do without offering up any way to achieve that goal is less than worthless; it's a waste of space, time and energy.

"They must avoid devastating cuts to higher education and needed programs and services."

To a leftist-socialist-unioner, EVERY government program is a "needed program and service." That's a crock, of course, but as usual, unionists only think about themselves while they screw the rest of us (Look up "prevailing wage.")

Here's ANOTHER clue, Binky: we're in a DEVASTATED ECONOMY. Why is it that in your world, only government workers shouldn't be hurt by this economy, while you would bend the rest of us over to pay for them or in the alternative, break our laws by passing an unbalanced budget?

"They must find a way to act with common sense in the next legislative session."

It seems to me that what's planned for now is entirely commonsensical AND responsible.

In fact, here's you last clue, professor: Government works for US; not the other way around. When the cash is flowing in, government union pigs whine and snivel about how overworked, underpaid and put upon they are. Well, no one makes anyone work for the government.

That you would suggest that common sense will be absent unless they follow your vague, non-specific and utterly worthless worldview gives you the "pinhead" title of the day is your ability to write so much... while saying so very little.

Hopefully, one of the many jobs that need to be cut out of the absurdly expensive and dramatically overpaid higher ed personnel budget is yours.

"To do otherwise would be inexcusable."

Just like you keeping your job would be "inexcusable?"

It's frightening that you're an actual professor at my school.

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As Olympia wrestles with a budget crisis, can it avoid the mistakes of 1931?
Gov. Christine Gregoire and the Legislature are on track to repeat the mistakes of 1931. Balanced budget laws are important in normal times, perhaps even in times of normal recessions. But this is a crisis that requires more flexibility.

By James N. Gregory
Special to The Times
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SEVENTY-EIGHT years ago this month, the nation began to realize that the stock market decline and economic weakness that had begun a year earlier had turned into a desperate situation. Unemployment surged in the fall of 1930, banks began to fail, people were losing their homes, and policymakers sensed that a crisis was at hand.

The Legislature that convened in Olympia in January 1931 was dominated by representatives who knew that they had to create jobs to help the state pull out of the downward economic spiral. Most understood on a basic level what economists today call the "countercyclical" responsibility of governments.

When the private sector stalls, government needs to step in. It needs to spend money and increase employment in ways that might seem reckless in normal times. They talked about big public-works projects in 1931 and they passed an income tax to pay for it. But Gov. Roland Hartley vetoed both.

The governor said he needed to follow the law, enforce a balanced budget and protect taxpayers. As a result, state spending declined in 1931.

Seattle officials followed suit, laying off city workers instead of expanding employment.

Yadda, yadda, yadda...
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