Today's episode of democrat hypocrisy: Senate democrats refuse to vote for Voter ID to vote WITHOUT requiring citizenship.

Every senate democrat voted to oppose a clean voter ID amendment, an amendment that would NOT have required proof of citizenship to vote.

Leftists have built a castle of lies for their excuses (none that reach the level of "reasons") over their opposition to the SAVE Act. The main reason, which some leftists have addressed, is they realize they can't win without the continued counting of illegal votes.

Many of those opposed have falsely claimed that requiring proof of citizenship is akin to that old democrat fav of "poll taxes." They claim that because there's no provisions for actually PAYING for people to get their own proof of citizenship the SAVE Act is "unconstitutional."

(My solution, stated repeatedly, is to require SAVE Act levels of ID for EVERYONE to receive ANY federal aid for ANYTHING.

Does anyone reading this realistically believe that even full on welfare recipients wouldn't find a way to make that happen?)

It isn't, of course; but then, to be a leftist requires a high degree of gullibility, self-delusion and ignorance.

The irony of members of the party that implemented poll taxes complaining about them now is difficult to overstate.

As always, we know why leftist pols oppose a proof of citizenship requirement to vote. Simply stated, as they have said, it will make it "impossible for democrats to win."

Which is correct, of course, but then, democrats don't CARE how they win, as long as they win... as they've proven once again.

The bill in question was to "invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the consideration of S.5271, the Help America Vote Bill."

The motion required 60 votes... all democrats present voted "no."

Imagine that. Democrats largest fund-raiser CEO of ActBlue repeatedly takes the 5th.

The head of perhaps the largest fringe-left fund-raising scammers in America, ActBlue, REALLY "acted blue" by invoking her 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination at a House hearing.

Odd that they'd be so concerned over the "convicted felon" in the White House while electing a convicted felon and RE-electing a convicted felon while funding a criminal enterprise designed to fund democrat campaigns.

The money quote?

"Your board chairman said, 'ActBlue accepted up to 38 MILLION contributions in 2024 that had the signs of foreign origin.'"

Another beaut:

In a memo to staff: "If an otherwise legitimate donor uses a fake name, we would want to accept their donation."

The technical term for that is called "money laundering."

This is not the first time ActBlue has been called out. In the past, this organized crime ring has been accused of donor verification loopholes:

The House Committee on House Administration, chaired by Rep. Bryan Steil, accused ActBlue of accepting online contributions without requiring the card verification value (CVV) or billing address, and of allowing donations from prepaid cards, which could be used to launder foreign or illegal contributions.

Fraud and Identity Theft: Whistleblowers and journalists reported cases where elderly or first-time donors—often with fixed incomes—made large sums via ActBlue without their knowledge, sometimes using “dummy” accounts sceneinamerica.com. The Treasury flagged hundreds of suspicious transactions, and the House Oversight Committee cited “potentially fraudulent and illicit financial activity”

Anonymous Giving Patterns: Steil’s FEC data review found disproportionate donations relative to donors’ net worth, frequent small transactions (e.g., hundreds of $2.50 donations from the same person), and unusual giving from certain demographics.

Some of these things have been known for years. Particularly the multiple $2.50 donation scam.

Now, obviously, every democrat funded by ActBlue will now return the illegal monies they received from this (or any other) criminal enterprise. Right?

And they will now refuse to accept ANY ADDITIONAL money from this criminal enterprise in the future. Right?

Fat chance.

The Party of Platner, their nazi, misogynist, veteran-hating, mad texter scammer candidate for the US Senate in Maine, who otherwise wouldn't be hired to run an elevator, will not be phased by these crimes.

Their faux outrage over electing "a convicted felon" when they do the exact, same thing aside; don't count on any demand for accountability from this campaign fraud factory any time soon.

As I have oft-stated: to be a leftist requires one to be a hypocrite.

And as the left remains silent in their complicity, let's remember: If they were called "ActRed?"

The leftists in government would tear them apart, brick by brick.

Much like they'd tear Platner apart if HE claimed to be a Republican.

Not the only question is when will this criminal organization be indicted and how many years in prison will little Miss 5th Amendment get?

Leftists and RINOS try to shut down the military on Iran

Bad move. Memo: death to America is NOT just a bumper sticker.

I get that your terrorist supporting fringe-left base is pissed at you. But EVERY president, including your fringe-left god Obama, has warned of the Iranian threat... and even 60 Minutes has indicated they have weapons grade uranium.

So tell me, Congresswoman... if a nuke goes off in NY harbor... because you wanted us to stop going after the scum who've made no secret of their desire to destroy us... what then? After the mushroom cloud goes up?

Because frankly?

The resignation of everyone voting to handcuff this president simply would not make up for it.

And we know the surviving leftists will, of course, blame Trump, because in their delusional world, Iran doesn't MEAN it. After all, they're just making noise, and besides, Iran hates Jews so why would we slow them down?

And as always for the leftist haters, NO ONE, including YOU, OR Joe Kent offers ANY viable alternative. And continuing to hand over pallets of cash like Obama and Biden did?

That ain't gonna cut it.

See, it's easy to talk shit here as the ignorant, non-serving, Trump hating leftist scum commenting here are wont to do. But until you and those like you offer any viable alternative, then what? never even HAD a nuclear weapons program until Trump.

Right?

I get that neither you nor your staff read these comments.

But on the off chance SOMEONE in your office puzzle palace does, by all means, enlighten us.

If not what we're doing now, then what, precisely, do you offer as a viable alternative?

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.

Reviewing the bidding on the SOTU speech

Reviewing the bidding on the SOTU speech, it was stunning how easily the President manipulated Congressional fringe-leftists into walking in to each of the many fans he held up.

Time after time, they were given the opportunity to show at least some pride in what is alleged to be their country.

And time after time, they displayed their brand of hate-filled indifference that is the hallmark of the left in this county today.

Hatred permeates the left at every level. Their disgraceful performance in the SOTU may well cost them the midterms. The themes were laid out, and in everything from a Harris-like moment (we all remember her disastrous inability to separate herself in any way from the disaster of the Biden-Harris administration in response to the "is there anything you would do differently" question) where the hate-filled leftists sat on the hands time after time, from the "protect Americans over protecting illegals" to their insistence on failing to stand up for the men's US Hockey Team to their failure to stand up for the two warriors presented with their Medals of Honor, including one warrior who will be dealing with his Audie Murphy type wounds for the rest of his life, a man who reached the pinnacle of the Warrant Officer Kingdom of Unicorns... the rank of Chief Warrant Officer FIVE; one of the top 3-4% of the entire warrant officer corps in the Army… and everything in between.
Then of course, the left's Bobbsey Twin terrorist-supporting thugs, terrorist anti-American haters Omar and Tlaib, SHOWED their hatred by attempting (and failing) to disrupt the proceeding, the video of their hatred soon to become several GOP campaign commercials... displaying their hatred and disrespect as the face of the left in the upcoming midterm elections...

The face of the democratic party

The SOTU speech is likely to become the Harris-like faux pa of the upcoming midterms, the moment where the left snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory, something Republicans typically and far too often accomplish.
It's clear they've learned nothing from their general election debacle of November '24. Still on the wrong end of the 80/20 equations that cost them so much last time around.
Still supporting the gender mutilation of children. Still unable to define what a woman is. Still pushing to treat fake women as if they're the real thing, disrespecting women's spaces and privacy. Still married to their illegal alien voting plans or refusing to require proof of citizenship to vote. Still advocating violence and hatred for ICE enforcing federal law; the exact, same thing that Obama did without their comment. Still acting like their horrific inflation was not their doing. Still doing all they can to increase every tax and fee available, HAMMERING the middle class and damaging the poor.
And they're not just doing it federally, they're doing it at the state and local levels.
Here in Washington, for example, they're ramming a REPEATEDLY rejected at the polls (10 times) state income tax down our throats, where this time, they're not even bothering to ask us, because they believe their buddies on the Socialist State Supreme Court will allow their extra-constitutional garbage to stand.
These are the tenets of the left. These are the people turning cities into rat-infested shitholes. Portland, Seattle, LA, NYC; failing to even begin to impact the homelessness problem that is the face of leftist-controlled cities around the country. Wasting billions on the homeless industry and having nothing to show for it, excepting a massive INCREASE in homelessness... because personal accountability is not in their lexicon any more than honest elections.
Their entire platform is two words: "Hate Trump." They have nothing to campaign ON. The scum in Congress, with, oddly enough, Senate GOP support, are even ignoring the massive support of the SAVE Act, the election reform bill that would destroy leftist plans to depending on illegals/foreigners for reapportionment/electoral college manipulation... and act that even 70% of the democrat rank and file support.
The face of the democrats is hatred and violence generally, mixed with a heaping helping of hatred for their country and their thirst for power.
And how will they respond?
Epstein.
They've got no evidence, but this is a pattern they've used before, when they knowing lied about non-existent Russian Collusion. You remember, that scam where fringe-left nutjob Adam Schiff claimed he, personally, had the evidence, evidence he never produced because, well, it didn't exist?
Expect the same play from the left on Epstein. The irony, of course, being that the leftists had FOUR YEARS to produce the same files they're wining about now... and didn't.
That won't stop these political vermin. They'll lie at all levels to get what they want.
Just like they are now.

WHY are leftist politicians so adamant about killing the SAVE ACT

Prepare to be shocked... SHOCKED, I tell ya!

Leftists opposed to the SAVE Act are once again literally on the wrong end of yet another 80/20 issue.

As far back as October 2024, 83% of American voters support the core tenet of that legislation. The few democrats voting for that act have been savaged by their hard-core, fringe-left base, treating that obvious requirement (that voting be limited to American citizens and requiring proof of citizenship to register) like the rioting scum in Portland treat the ICE facility.

Democrat supporters of this legislation, which, to be bluntly honest, DOES include our congresswoman, are verbally beaten to a pulp by the fringe-left of their own party.

They remind silent in the face of the massive, bipartisan support for this legislation across the voting spectrum of this country.

In the face of fringe opposition, one must ponder... why?

WHY do they oppose this obviously needed legislation? In fact, that opposition lends itself to outright justification to PASS it.

This situation is reminiscent of the 2020 election debacle. Georgia has recently been in the spotlight for their electoral incompetence in that election... which begs the issue: why were leftists so terrified of investigations?

They did everything they could, everywhere they could, to stop any investigation of any kind. Lawsuits, TV whining, demands to end it.... but why?

Imagine the political difference the world would face today had they agreed to the total transparency demanded by the GOP?

There were only two possible outcomes: had the democrats agreed, participated fully, encouraged the states and people involved to be totally forthcoming and the investigation revealed...

Nothing.

Or, the second outcome: that the so-called "election deniers" had been absolutely right, that their assertions of voter fraud and ballot manipulation had been correct?

Kinda like that revealed in Georgia a few days ago? You know... like that neither democrat US Senator would have been elected? Like Biden would have lost as a result of corruption replication across the several states that all mysteriously shut down their ballot counting at roughly the same time?

Folks, if my 30+ years in politics taught me anything, the most lasting lesson is that there are no coincidences in politics.

There's a reason the left attacked those with concerns about the 2020 electoral outcomes with a viciousness reserved for the mafia.

And, of course, let us not forget the DEMOCRAT election deniers who were never crucified by the press for their sour grapes. For example, 41% of Harris voters polled claimed the results were illegitimate. At least one suit filed in New York challenged the outcome.

Other democrat election deniers include Maxine Waters, Jaime Raskin, Pramila Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Raul Grijalva, Stacy Abrams, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Hakeem Jeffries, Shiela Jackson Lee, Barbara Boxer and many others are ALSO election deniers... but because they're leftists?

No one cares.

One wonders: Why does the left have their OWN election deniers, while continuing to oppose steps to strengthen the very election security so many of them have complained about?

When THEY lose.

The reality is clear: had they wanted honest elections, they would have joined in the 2020 calls for investigation instead of fighting it tooth and nail.

After all, what's the worst that could have happened? That confidence in election outcomes would have skyrocketed based on the outcomes? So, why did the left fight it so hard?

And why now, when even CNN has pointed out MASSIVE support for these efforts to ensure that only legal voters are allowed to vote?

You can draw your own conclusions.

What, exactly, did those in power know, and when did they know it?

These midterm campaign commercials frequently write themselves. This is one of those times.

Democrats on the political Titanic. Clearly, they haven't felt the bump.

Democrat hypocrisy.

In this election, democrats have two races that prove their hypocrisy beyond their normal, blinders-infused variety.

The first, in the Virginia Attorney General race, the democrat is Jay Jones. Jones, for his part, shows the hatred leftists have increasingly become known for:

“In October 2025, Jones came under fire for a 2022 text conversation with fellow delegate Carrie Coyner, in which Jones repeatedly made statements advocating violence against then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family. Jones stated that if he had two bullets and could shoot Gilbert, Adolf Hitler or Pol Pot, Gilbert "gets two bullets to the head".^[24][25] Jones acknowledged that he had talked about hoping Gilbert's children would die because "Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy", before describing Gilbert and his wife as "evil" and "breeding little fascists".^{[26][27][28]”} 

Jones wants to be the top lawyer and second to the top law enforcement officer for Virginia. Yet this man and his obvious psychopathic tendencies remains the democrat candidate in this election.

NO other democrat has demanded he withdraw from this election and that he get the psychiatric help he obviously needs as a danger to others and he continues to run today.

Then, of course, there’s self-professed communist Graham Platner, running for the US Senate in Maine.

Platner with the Deaths Head tat on the left

Both a liar and a thug, this beaut claims that he was unaware that when he picked up a tattoo of the SS Death’s Head (Totenkopf) back in his Marine days, he had NO IDEA it was the symbol of the German World War Two Schutzstaffel, legendary for their slaughter of Jews, Poles, Gypsies, the mentally ill, the physically deformed and so forth.

Yes, he’s a liar. He not only knew what it meant; he also knows that white supremacist skinheads wear the same symbol and there is NO DOUBT he heard about it over the last 20 years but choose to do nothing about it.

Actual SS Deaths head symbol

Until now, of course. Because what else could he possibly say or do? That he thought it was "cool?" That he knew and did it anyway? There was/is only one out, the "I was ignorant" route combined with "what? I had NO IDEA" route... combined with an apology that has all the sincerity of a war  criminal on trial in Nuremberg.

In October 2025, various news outlets reported on past Reddit posts by Platner between 2013 and 2021 in which he called himself a "communist", declared that "all" cops are "bastards", and agreed with a post describing white people as "racist and stupid".^[37] In a 2013 Reddit discussion about anti-rape underwear, Platner commented that people worried about assault should "take some responsibility for themselves and not get so fucked up they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to".^[38] He also referenced political violence in multiple posts; in 2018, he wrote: "Fight until you get tired of fighting with words and then fight with signs, and fists, and guns if need be." Platner also said that "an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice" and urged readers to "Get Armed, Get Organized. The Other Side Sure As Hell Is."^[37][39] He said many of the comments do not represent his current political beliefs, and claimed they were the product of disillusionment following his military discharge and struggles with PTSD.^[40][41] Susan Collins condemned Platner's internet history, calling it "terrible" and "offensive".^[42] Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said that while he did not approve of Platner's comments, he did not consider them "disqualifying".^[43] Following these comments, Platner's political director, former Democratic state representative Genevieve McDonald, resigned from his campaign.^[44]

Later that same month, Platner said in an interview with Pod Save America that he has a skull-and-bones tattoo resembling the Totenkopf, a symbol worn by Hitler's Schutzstaffel. He explained that he and some other Marines got the tattoo while on leave in Croatia in 2007, not knowing its symbolism.^[45] He said he only learned that his tattoo resembled the Totenkopf when reporters and political operatives from DC contacted him during his campaign, and said that he had gotten the tattoo covered up.^[46][47] However, an anonymous former acquaintance allegedly told Jewish Insider that Platner had called the tattoo a Totenkopf and knew what it represented back in 2012.^[48]

But democrats don’t care about this sort of thing when it’s one of THEIRS doing it... And now even Bernie Sanders is out there making up reasons why it’s perfectly OK that this Nazi-masquerading-now-as-a-communist (as if that’s any better?) should still be elected.

There is no possible way this scumbag did not know what that symbol meant before he had it permanently etched to his body.

And now, of course, he and his fellow apologists attempt to explain it all away while he’s on his apology tour because let’s at least TRY and be honest here: what else CAN  he do?

And where’s the leftist upset about this guy’s obvious sympathies? None. It doesn’t exist.

Why? Because the left is fine with it.

They’ve recently shown their hatred of Jews, terrorizing college campuses around the country in support of their fellow hamas terrorists, frequently assaulting and intimidating Jewish students.

Hamas. You know, the terrorists slaughtering their own, fellow Palestinians in the streets since the advent of the so-called “ceasefire” (That will never last as long as hamas and their supporters continue to exist) on video?

The left’s response?

Cricket chirps.

Just like it’s been for all the rioting, looting and violence for the past several years. It’s either complete silence or, at minimum, tacit support by the leftist leadership.

Practicing the art of “bright, shiny object politics,” leftists want us to look past these massive red flags, believing that their politicly motivated apologies are enough and if their chosen candidates are “really, REALLY sorry”, it should do the trick.

Yeah. Like it did the trick back during the blackface lynch mobs for anyone to the right of Mao not too long ago.

Unless the perpetrator was a leftist (Jimmy Kimmel, Joy Behar, Justin Trudeau, Sarah Silverman, Ted Danson, Fed Armisen, Jimmy Fallon, then VA Governor Ralph Northam, then VA AG Mark Herring and others) in which case, a standard “mea culpa, maxima mea culpa” apology soothes the hypocrites of the left.

But this illustrates with a level of hypocrisy difficult to articulate in its entirety the current state of the political left in this country.

Multiple assassination attempts? Monumental hatred of President Trump? Demands for his death and that of others in the Administration? The slaughter of Charlie Kirk? Burning Teslas and Tesla dealerships? Attacking federal agents enforcing the laws of this country? Paying protestors who don’t even know why they’re there? Killing illegal aliens?

The response to those incidents and others are mostly cricket chirps.

No condemnation of violence as a tool of the left. In fact, democrat stars like Jasmine Crockett have called for more of the same.

With impunity. Like Jones.

This is the type of candidates and elected the left lionizes.

John Fetterman is the ONLY elected official on the left I’ve seen that is making the attempt to get through to those who support violent leftist actions. And the more he calls the left out, the more hated and despised he has become in the left’s orbit.

And if these people were Republicans?

What would the left be saying/doing about that? Rioting? Showcasing “social justice” by cleaning out Louis Vuitton stores? Tear down a few more statutes? Burn a few more buildings? Kill a few more police?

What they WOULDN’T do… is make excuses for them. Nor should they.

But to be a leftist REQUIRES hypocrisy. A genetic inability to apply the EXACT, SAME, STANDARD to themselves they apply to everyone else. And it shows.

Our major cities are under siege. Millions of illegals are in our country. Americans are dying as a result.

Leftist enclaves like Portland and Baltimore are disaster zones and the left not only supports those outcomes, they encourage them. The more money wasted on the homeless, the more homeless we have... With no end in sight.

And through it all, the left remains steadfast in their support of violence, thugs and blood in our street, demanding we ignore what we see and know to be true.

Portland city government, for example, actively supports antifa. That’s just another sign of how low the shithole of the Rose City has sunk.

“The government you elect is the government you deserve.” Thomas Jefferson.

Except… no one deserves the insanity of incompetent fringe-left governance.

Why did the left seemed so surprised by Biden's horrific performance last night? What did they THINK would happen?

 Last night’s crushing defeat seems to have forced the leftists to acknowledge what the GOP has claimed for years.

For several of those years, Republicans have warned the American people that, in effect, Biden was a brain-damaged dementia patient.

And for years, the left ignored their OWN EYES and denied it.

Every screw up. Every tuned out episode. Every time this guy babbled.

Democrats denied it.

I claimed from the start that if Biden was too brain damaged to face charges for his theft of documents then by definition, he was far too damaged to be president. And what did the left have to say?

They STILL insisted on their double standard of justice.

Most recently, their claim the video of him wandering around at the G7 was a “cheap fake,” and that those videos had been altered somehow.

They weren’t.

The damage this man has caused will take decades to repair.

Is there any doubt that Biden wasn’t/isn’t calling the shots?

So, who gets the blame for this?

1. The White House.

The staff surrounding Biden gaslit us like you wouldn’t believe. They lied repeatedly about his faux pas and obvious signs of dementia. They propped him up because they knew Roundheels would be a disaster if she replaced him.

But they SHOULD have known that when they allowed her to get the VP slot in the first place.

2. The Media.

Leftist hatred is the main plank of the MSM for the past decade.

They were frequently lying to cover Biden and constantly attacked those who questioned his fitness.

THIS MAN’S FINGER IS ON THE NUCLEAR TRIGGER AND HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW WHAT PLANET HE’S ON.

Last night’s debacle was an indictment of every network, every fringe-left swindle sheet from the local Democratian to the New York Times.

They knew. AND THEY REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRUTH.

Even now, some leftist talking heads are doing all they can to effort excuses, reasons, blame… BECAUSE THEY STILL REFUSE TO TELL THE TRUTH.

3. Senate/Congressional democrats.

EVERY democrat in the Senate or in the House knew.

And instead of putting their country first?

They chose to consistently lie to the American people.

They failed in their duty. They failed US.  ALL OF US.

So now, they’re almost claustrophobic in their panic. But they brought this on themselves.

Even though it likely wouldn’t have helped given their pathetic alternatives.

But as miserable as their options are, they had the opportunity to at least be honorable about it. They would have, as a party, made much more mileage out of an effort to do the right thing than, instead, be ruled by their delusions; their lies, their multiple failures in their duty to the United States.

So what of our enemies? The Chinese called it “entertaining.” I call it a golden opportunity to attack us because if they’re not going to do it now under Biden’s control?

They’ll never do it.

No, last night was the culmination of leftist lies, leftist thirst for power, leftist indecency. They brought it on to themselves for refusing to accept reality.

And they deserve what they’re going to get as a result.

Seattle continues to sink into the abyss...

This a quick reminder: Eric Johnson of KOMO was among the first to sound the clarion call with his seminal work "Seattle is Dying" and his follow up effort "The Fight for the Soul of Seattle" tore the cover off the conditions that few outside the King County area know of.

Screen capture for the opening scene of Seattle is Dying.

The "War on Drugs" was a failure. Not because, IMHO, it was the wrong cause.

But because we ignored the roots of the problems that brought us to this point.

Leftist government's response (frequently with the aid of GOP help) has been to legalize all drugs, everywhere.

(Yeah, I know... they eyewashed it enough to make it a misdemeanor. etc. But can anyone explain what difference any of that has made? And in this state, the GOP has been complicit in this abandonment of responsibility to those they would govern.)

As a result of these ongoing, continuing failures... more than 10,000 Americans a month are dying from illegal drugs generally and fentanyl/tranq particularly.

Government generally and leftist government particularly has surrendered. We have and continue to waste billions and the result is the problem gets worse every day.

And yet, we are just doubling down. Every year, we waste more and more money while we do nothing to hold those providing this stuff accountable.

There are some who turn a blind eye to this massacre. They claim that it's thinning out the gene pool or some such.

What would our response be to some foreign country killing 10,000 Americans a month? A slaughter that has been literally going on for years?

Open borders, lax to no law enforcement, weak to no deterrent penalties for the manufacture/distribution of these chemical death traps, inadequate rehab facilities and no emphasis on personal accountability.

We do not have the luxury of fostering such an environment.

We either have the will to address this issue and reduce the need for expanding the King County Medical Examiner's morgue, which is filled to overflowing with OD'd corpses awaiting autopsy...

Or we don't.

And it's pretty clear to me that we're nowhere near the point where we must end the confusion of motion (which accomplishes nothing while looking like SOMETHING is being DONE) and action (which accomplishes what actually needs to be done.)

If you haven't already done so, watch these two documentaries. To me, it represents the finest in journalism, an increasingly all-too-rare commodity.

And keep in mind that since these efforts were broadcasted, billions have been spent and the problems... drugs, mental illness, homelessness, sex trafficking and the other crimes supporting those... have become GEOMETRICALLY worse.

The second documentary is a follow up to the first. And sadly, the title is, I believe, prescient, in that Seattle's "soul" is long gone.

"Seattle is Dying"

"The Fight for the Soul of Seattle"

Ideological purity in elections: How conservative is conservative enough?

.
How Republican do you have to be to run for office?

When does basic, conservative underpinnings have to give way to ideological purity?

As I have written many times, I am no longer Republican.

Being something besides a Republican or a democrat tends to lend itself to independence.

I freely admit I typically lean towards candidates who claim Republican ideas. I do that primarily not because of what Republicans are, but because of what they're SUPPOSED to be.

Those who claim to want to reign in government are likely to get my attention. Those who have a plan to reduce government interference in my life? I give them a second look. Those who run on a platform of reducing taxes and the power of government employee unions? I'll work for them. Those who understand that when society suffers, government employees can, in fact, not only live without pay increases, they can live with pay reductions... like most of us do. And those I support get precisely one shot to keep their word.

But I don't always vote Republican. Because sometimes, the Republican doesn't have a clue.

I voted for Brian Sonntag (Democrat State Auditor) last cycle. He wasn't the only democrat I voted for by far, because there were some democrats I voted for locally and statewide that were decent people when the Republicans they were running against were clueless, corrupt, morons. And, no doubt, I will vote for some democrats in the future, because no matter the relatively lofty heights I achieved in the GOP, the blinders of party loyalty and allegiance when the candidate is not competent or honorable have long since been ripped off and torn to shreds.

And too many candidates are neither.

So, tonight, I get a phone call from a friend, someone I have known for at least 10 years. And this friend is wanting to know why they should support candidate X.

Well, I am not candidate X, first and foremost, so candidate X should speak for themselves.

That said, this friend wanted to know what Republican issues candidate X had been out front on.

I indicated that candidate X had been largely responsible for getting Candidate Y elected recently, and that most likely wouldn't have happened without their assistance.

It was like my friend hadn't even heard me. My friend repeated the question as if I had remained mute.

I asked my friend if they believed that Candidate Y was a Republican. Absolutely came the reply, with conviction.

I asked for a recitation of Candidate Y's pre-election political activities.

There was none... because there wasn't any. Candidate Y had not been involved in Republican politics or issues at all.

I pointed out that Candidate X had worked on many Republican campaigns. But, I was informed, in the primary, Candidate X had supported Candidate Z. Nevertheless, I pointed out, again, without the involvement of Candidate X, Candidate Y would not be an office holder today.

It made no difference to my friend. I told them, then, if they could not support Candidate X, then by all means, support someone else. I also said that I, personally, was supporting Candidate X and that my friend had 2 choices: either support candidate X because of my personal recommendation.... or don't. That, I said, is the nature of democracy in America today.

I support Candidate X because of their age, education, experience, knowledge of the issues and personal philosophies. I have known Candidate X for 5 years, and in all of that time, I have never heard them utter a word that could be described as "leftist."

But how pure is pure enough?

Shades of Adolph Eichmann.

Where does pragmatism trump purity? What's the percentage required to gain support? If you agree with someone 80% of the time, is that enough? Or are we just electing someone who will only represent you while ignoring the other 130,000 or so people in the district?

Frequently, I wished I was building hot rods for a living.

After I hung up tonight, this was one of those times.
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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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Impacts on the 2010: the Tea Party drama.

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Recently, polls have been published that show people who are identifying themselves as member of the Tea Party as opposed to members of the democrat party or the Republicans.

an NBC/WSJ poll published yesterday showed the following:

Republicans... 28% favorable... 43% negative

Democrats..... 35% favorable... 45% negative

Tea Party ..... 41% favorable... 23% negative

A Rasmussen poll published Monday:

In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.

Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, and 30% are undecided. Twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and just 12% prefer the GOP.
Among Republican voters, 39% say they’d vote for the GOP candidate, but 33% favor the Tea Party option.

Later on in the article, the following was published:

Recent polling shows that 73% of Republican voters believe their leaders in Washington are out of touch with the party base.

Put this information together, and what do you get?

The last factoid provided by Rasmussen is, if anything, understated.

The question becomes: what is the impact of all of this in 2010?

Party elite types on either side would be foolish to reject this out of hand. Those candidates who are capable of tapping into the growing rage by an abused electorate will win in landslides previously unknown.

Faaaascinating stuff as the models are rewritten.
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The impact of the Top Two Primary on the 3rd Congressional race.

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Party stalwarts here in Washington State are sniveling like cut cats over the Top Two system when they have no one to blame but themselves.

Had the clowns running the party stayed out of this, we'd be looking at a much more sane system here in the WA 03, where it seems that everyone including my Spaniel has announced for Congress.

As of this second, it appears that there are as many as 9 announced candidates. In da good old days, each candidate would, essentially, be hoping for, if not a majority in the primary, at least a substantial plurality.

Now, we see self-delusional types announcing because they know that all they have to do is get, say, 15 % of the vote or so, and they're likely in to the general.

One of the concerns that either side must be cognizant of is splitting their vote. It's in the party's best interests to cull the field if they want a party member in the general. For example, if their were only one democrat running, there is no doubt that democrat would make it into the general.

I don't see that making much of a difference in the outcome if another GOP'er makes it into the general, because I don't see a democrat winning this because, well, democrats have been an unmitigated disaster.

But splitting the leftist vote 6 different ways cannot be what these folks want.

In all likelihood, the party with the fewest people running will have the best chance of winning it all. If the GOP winnows the field down to 2, then those two will most likely be the choices in the general, shutting out democrats altogether.

And wouldn't that be swell?
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The stupidity of our state's political parties knows no bounds.

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While no longer a Republican (I can hear the snickering already, but it's true) I have a history with them that goes back a long way.

While I have a degree in Government (the rest of the world would call it political science) my first political involvement was when I actually put up a Carlson sign back in the halcyon days when I lived in the 49th... back when a guy named Fishback (I think that's how it's spelled) was the city manager of Sodom on the Columbia... and, of course, before I discovered that any resemblance between Carlson and Republicanism was purely coincidental.

That was around 20 years or so ago... maybe a little more... maybe a little less.

I began to volunteer. I had no political plans... I had no idea that volunteerism would lead me to where I am today.

I volunteered for Bob Smith and Linda Smith's congressional campaigns. Ultimately, I became a 6 year staffer in the legislature... and ultimately, worked in the position of Executive Director for the State GOP.

The things I saw there began to sour me on political parties generally. The agendas of individuals... what jobs they could get... what appointments in the Administration... the turf wars, the manipulation... all of those things being much more important then the stated purpose of the party: to elect Republicans.

State party board members filled with hate, violating every political rule in the book when bent on revenge. Many with complaints... but none... NONE with the courage to face me.

The idiotic lawsuit to get rid of the blanket primary was the pinnacle of their stupidity. In the beginning, this was driven by the state democrats. Then a moronic GOP county chair PUBLICLY threatened to fund the democrat's lawsuit if we didn't join it.

There were other, equally asinine issues... we are, for example, one of two states in this country that doesn't have their headquarters in the state capital. But the conclusion was clear: these clowns were much more interested in the various ways they could feather their own nest... or which appointment they could scam... which convention.

Others... the consultants and the lawyers... they're in it for the billables.

At the local level, I set about to throw a cancerous state executive board member out, and that went precisely to plan... and we were better off for her exit from the scene.

Local party politics were no better. A county executive board member who was paid by democrats while we were attempting to elect Republicans; a moronic Republican PCO who endorsed every democrat he could, now, thankfully, gone from our ranks... but no action taken when I brought the information to my fellow board members.

These types of things, and more, have caused me to leave party politics.

Now, I work for the person. Now, I support someone based not only on what they say, but what they've done and who they are.

That's why I can support a democrat like Brian Sonntag, while I can oppose a Republican like Jamie Herrera or Jon Russell... because frankly, I know far too much about them to ever be able to support them.

Part of that is, well, that frequently, political parties can be astoundingly stupid in their dealings with the people. And this whiny, idiotic lawsuit is a case in point.

What the main party hierarchies don't get is that we have it the way we want it. We arrived here through the initiative process, and clearly, the idiots running the parties failed to grasp this situation and they quite apparently lack the vision or the capabilities to embrace this new system and to take advantage of the opportunities the new system presents.

Instead, they are determined to alienate the people by jamming a stick in our eye by ratcheting us back to the day of yester-year, and ignoring the expressed will of the people... people who will not take kindly to party interference in our political system.

Yes, yes... I know the arguments. But I warned everyone that the people view this franchise as a cherished institution and that the people would not brook this assault on our system.

No one listened. And here we are.

But what the idiots in charge don't get is this: If they keep pushing this, the parties WILL see the first non-partisan legislature in the United States. In fact, they will see that every office that CAN become non-partisan, WILL become non-partisan.

Do the parties believe that the people supporting the top-two primary are just going to stay home and twiddle their thumbs while they screw that up?

Keep it up, guys. You'll find yourself having to pick up the tab for the kind of primary YOU want, and thousands who have donated in the past will keep their wallets in their pockets when YOU need funding for your campaigns.

Why the hell should we give money to an organization who's design is to attack the will of the people of this state?

Stupidity. Idiocy. You think you hate what we have now... you have no idea how bad it can get.



Parties continue to challenge Washington primary

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A federal judge in Seattle has refused to dismiss a legal challenge to Washington's top-two primary system.

Secretary of State Sam Reed had asked the court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties.

Even though the state's top-two primary was upheld last year by the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge John Coughenour (COON'-our) ruled Thursday the parties can continue to challenge how the primary is conducted.

The secretary of state's office says the ruling means a new round of litigation that could change how candidates are listed on the ballot or in the voters' pamphlet.

State Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz said the ruling means the state will have to amend the current law.
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Another flashback: "Do you FEEL 'bailed out?'"

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The bailout isn't working for most people. Oh, it's working for the few with friends on Capital Hill.... those people get all the money.... political paybacks abound.

But the PRACTICAL effect is that we're vaporizing money as fast as we can print it. And there's never been any good outcome from that.

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Oct 9: Stock Market down ANOTHER 678: how's that "bail out" working for you?
Gee, today's bailout news?

Stock Market: down ANOTHER 678!

Do YOU feel "bailed out" yet?

Remember, it was YOUR government and BOTH of our presidential candidates that helped do this to you.

Well, here's a partial list of payoffs and sellouts within the bill that some here, initials "Eric," were so proud of (Are so proud of?)

From Evergreen Freedom Foundation:

Today the bailout bill was signed into law by President Bush. EFF agrees that action was needed to be taken to reassure the markets. However, we proposed free market solutions like exempting capital gains tax for anyone who purchased these troubled assets.

We do not believe this will solve the financial problems facing the country because this bill essentially nationalizes the mortgage market and gives the Secretary of Treasury virtually dictatorial power over much of our economy. It does not address the pubic policy problems which led this crisis... things like government forcing financial institutions to give home loans to people who could not afford the payments.

We are deeply troubled by the intent section of the bailout bill.

The U. S. Constitution clearly says "to protect the general welfare" not to ensure the general welfare. But the purposes of this bailout bill include giving the Secretary of Treasury the authority and such facilities to use in a manner that:

-"protects home values, college funds, retirement accounts, and life savings;.
-"preserve homeownership and promotes jobs and economic growth;
-"maximizes overall returns to the taxpayers of the United States; and
-"protects public accountability for the exercise of such authority."

The bill reads more like the Communist Manifesto than a free market bill, and I read every word of its 451 pages.

Here is a summary of the bill.

1. It started out as 3 pages and is now 451.

But only 112 1/2 pages are bailout. the rest is:

* energy improvement pages 112-244
* Broker requirements pages 244-261
* Tax breaks 261-310
-alternative minimum tax relief (sections 101-103 , pages 264-267)
-extend deductibility of state and local sales taxes (section 201, page 267)
-extend deduction of qualified tuition and related expenses (section 202, page 268)
-extend deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers (section 203, page 268)
-extend tax free distributions from IRA plans for charitable purposes to December 31, 2009. (section 205, page 269)
-$18 million in clean energy breaks (includes wave- and-tide electricity generators, fringe benefits for bicycle commuters, etc
-$192 million to cover a rum excise tax with money diverted to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.(section 308, page 279)
- $33 million in economic development funds for small business in American Samoa. (section 309, page 279)
-$4 million in tax credits for mine rescue team training. (section 310, page 280)
-$? million in expensing advanced mine safety equipment (section 311, page 280)
-$? million in Domestic production activities in Puerto Rico (section 312, page 280)
-$119-205 million in tax credits for business that employ American Indians who live on reservations and accelerated depreciation for property used on reservations (sections 314 and 315, page 288)
-$? million railroad track maintenance. (section 316, page 289)
-$331 million seven-year-cost-recovery period for land improvement at motorsport racetracks. (section 317, page 290)
-$? million in tax incentives to invest in the District of Columbia (section, 322, page 291)
-$? million in enhanced charitable deductions for contributions of food inventory (section 323, page 293)
-$148 million reduction of wool fabric import tariffs to the Wool Trust Fund to promote American wool competitiveness (section 325, page 295)
-$397 million deduction for domestic projects for film and television productions (section 502, page 298)
-$6 million for exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children (section 503, page 300)
-$223 million in payouts to fishermen who received payments for the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident (Section 504, pages 301-307)
-Mental health parity which will cost $3.8 billion over the next five years and will result in more uninsured people because mental health coverage will now be included in all health care plans - pages 310-344
-Rural schools - pages 344-394
-Disaster relief-pages 394-451
-"Spending reductions [I can't find them!] and appropriate revenue raisers for new tax relief policy"
-correct title of bill page 451

2. Notice this is a "mental health" and "substance-related disorder" bill that had the bailout added to it.

3. President Bush, on October 1, told us not to worry because it is not really $700 billion. It is only $250 billion to start and then the Treasury can ask him for another $100 billion and, if needed, go back to the Congress for the remaining $350 billion.

SO WHY IS THE DEBT LIMIT RAISED BY another $700 billion, which is in addition to the $800 billion increase in July. (SECTION 122, PAGE 68 ) .

4. The underlying assets involved do not even have to be in the United States! Here is the definition of a "troubled asset," right from the bill:(Section 3(9). This permits the Secretary of Treasury to bail out foreign investors.

"(9) TROUBLED ASSETS. The term "troubled assets" means (A) residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before March 14, 2008, the purchase of which the Secretary determines promotes financial market stability;

and (B) any other financial instrument that the Secretary, after consultation with the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, determines the purchase of which is necessary to promote financial market stability, but only upon transmittal of such determination, in writing, to the appropriate committees of Congress."

Note: conspicuously missing from the definition is the requirement that the asset's underlying thing (that is, the property that was mortgaged, etc) lies within the United States. Also note that Treasury must tell Congress if they add "new types" of debt, but that Congress has no right of review or censure.

5. The bill authorizes the government to renegotiate loans for people who can't afford them! The government can reduce the interest rates; reduce the loan principal; and do other similar modifications. (Section 110, pages 27-29). Think of the difficulty of implementing this without fraud taking place.

What a socialist grab. Whoever is elected /re-elected next month will have the most sweeping authority and virtually unlimited resources to spend to have their way with the economic course in American History. Private enterprise as we call it will be less free than ever, and ownership as we know it will erode as the possibility for politically manipulated transfer of wealth is embraced as the "finest hour" when the US Senate and US House came together to fix this problem.

Bob Williams
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And now today's (1 Oct?) impact...

So this piece of crap was passed and signed into law.

The result? Gold took another hit... and so did oil.

Just as a brief aside, I have to give credit where it's due.

Back in the halcyon days of $140+ oil, when it seemed the sky was the limit, George Soros of all people came out and said that oil wouldn't go beyond $150 and that it would, in fact, fall.

While Mr. Soros appears to have the political acumen of a box of hammers, one finds it difficult to fault is financial forecasts.

How did the stock market greet this great news from the White House?

The Dow nosedived 157... dropping to 10325... lower then when it dropped 777 earlier this week. Wall Street rumblings yesterday? $805 billion: not enough.

Tell us again: how is putting us on the hook for a "so-far" $2400 or so for each man, woman and child in this country benefited us?

Oct 2.

Let's see... today's bailout impact?

Gold nosedived. Not good for THOSE investors. Oil weakened, which ultimately, may trickle down to the pump... And the senate, in their infinite wisdom, blew the 3-page-from-the-Treasury, 110-pages-from-the-House-bill up to 450 pages.

No money was freed up; after all, the entire bill doesn't REQUIRE lending. The stock market was so impressed by this sell-out that it responded... by DROPPING 348 points... putting the market back to about where it was after the 777 point drop.

So... when are all these wonderful effects SUPPOSED to impact?

Most Americans STILL don't have a clue what's actually IN the bill... you can bet that next to no one voting on the bill, yeah or nay, had a clue, either.

Well, intrepid souls, here's a link.

It is loaded with garbage. Some of those items NEED to be accomplished. But not as part of THIS bill. Many more of those things in the bill do NOT need to be accomplished.

How it is, for example, that "mental health parity" needed to be in this bill?

Now, the worthiness of mental health parity can be argued by many, both one way or the other.

But what the hell is it doing in a bill that we so "desperately" need to "save" our country?

It ISN'T needed, of course. And it's the kind of political; forgive me, bullshit that any one of us KNEW was going to be ladled into this bill.

You know, like the House bill, section 103, where all the unions were bought off and paid for by all of us.

No conservative could possibly support this kind of crap. That is, presumably, why Eric supports it.

That explains why Gordon Smith, so-called Republican, complete turncoat and non-conservative voted for it. That also explains why Patty Murray voted for it.

But in supporting the idea of, once again, removing the element of responsibility for the actions both of business and individuals who supported and took loans they could not afford, we also get this:

First, forget about the "snatched out of thin air," absolutely unsupported and arbitrary $700 billion figure. The true figure is now $805 billion.

Who was it that once said, "a billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon, you're talking real money?" (Attributed to Sen. Everett Dirksen... but in some doubt as to authenticity.) Whether he actually said it or not, the sentiment is accurate.

Therefore, here we have received the largess from a 450-page bill that had no hearings, no critical examination and is loaded with crap.

Bully for us.

Let me be clear: there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THIS BILL TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THAT CAUSED IT.

So, conservatives... you like the idea of spraying money around like paint so that we can hope it will stick somewhere... while doing NOTHING to address the issues and people that put us here in the first place?

What tax loopholes were fixed? What criteria were changed? What's to keep PRECISELY THE SAME THING FROM HAPPENING OVER AGAIN?

We have a bill packed with garbage... that will dramatically increase our debt... that's an additional $805 BILLION that will vaporize.

To paraphrase the Braveheart movie, "If Republicans support this, then I'm ashamed to call myself one."

Which is, come to think of it, part and parcel as to why I no longer do.