The "No on I-1033" folks stopped by my blog and THANKED me for my analysis!

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People here pretty much know that I'm rabidly supporting I-1033, the "Give control of our money back to us" initiative.

Oddly enough, one of the many groups vacuuming up our tax dollars swung by and left this little gem:

Thanks for this analysis of the press coverage of ... Thanks for this analysis of the press coverage of I-1033. For more info on this initiative and other races, check out the Progressive Voters Guide – a one-stop resource on who and what to vote for if you want to see real progress in Washington.

The Progressive Voters Guide can be found at www.ProgressiveVotersGuide.org; it is available via email by request at info@fusewashington.org. Get the guide and vote for progress.

Cheryl Murfin, (David Hirning)
Fuse Communications Director, Cheryl@fusewashington.org
Publish Reject

Now, look... I've got a sense of humor as much as the other guy... but this?

I post it, along with the addresses in it, because I figure that by now, if you're gonna buy the lies of the left on this, there's nothing I can do about it anyway.

But man... to "thank" me for MY "analysis?"

What do you suppose are chances they didn't read it?
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Boeing Bails Out of Washington State: 787 line to be set up in..... South Carolina!

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So, Boeing pulled the rip cord after bailing out on the Soviet Socialist Republic of Washington, with our democrat and union-controlled government, putting the second 787 line in ol' South Carolina.

And who can blame them?

Given the choice between setting up a huge business expansion here in the land of regulation, permits, unions, taxes and fees and South Carolina, is their ANY possibility that anyone would stay here?

With the move of corporate HQ into the hell-hole scum pit known as Chicago, Boeing sent the governmet of this state a message... a message our leftist leaders, who've been taking the Lazy B for granted for decades, chose to ignore.

Well, democrats and unions... have you heard THIS message?

Aerospace News

boeingairplanemanufacturingairbusEADSSeattle

« Boeing holds emergency meeting for 787 employees | Main | Boeing says why it picked South Carolina »

Boeing picks South Carolina for 787 line

A worker walks past one of Boeing's 787 Dreamliners at the production facility in Everett. A second production line for the airplane will be going to South Carolina. Washington State hoped to land the second line. (Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com)

Boeing has decided to put its second line for building the 787 in North Charleston, S.C., not Everett.

"The decision has been reached," Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon told reporters in front of the Everett Machinists Hall.

Joshua Trujillo / P-I

Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon talks with Boeing Machinist Charlie Grieser outside the union hall in Everett after announcing that Boeing's second 787 production line will be going to South Carolina.

Seattlepi.com photographer Josh Trujillo reported that Reardon said: "We have to move forward ... there are still thousands of men and women who work for the company in this community."

Reardon said the the aerospace giant and the machinists have to continue talks to ensure that jobs stay in the region.

"We have to make a conscious decision in the state of Washington," he said. "Are we going to throw are hands up and say, 'We did the best we could?' ... the relationship between Boeing and Machinists have to be improved. We have to resolve those differences."

Boeing made the official announcement moments later. "Boeing evaluated criteria that were designed to find the final assembly location within the company that would best support the 787 business plan as the program increases production rates. In addition to serving as a location for final assembly of 787 Dreamliners, the facility also will have the capability to support the testing and delivery of the airplanes," the company said in a statement.

It said it remains committed to the Puget Sound region and that it will continue to build 787s in Everett.

The announcement ends weeks of speculation, debate and negotiation. Boeing and the Machinists union were reportedly deadlocked over a deal in which the labor group would promise not to strike should the second line be in Everett.

Boeing employees in Everett were disappointed by the decision and insisted Everett was the right place for the second line.

"We have the skill and manpower here in Everett to produce the second line, but we haven't been given that chance," said Zen Jenne, a union member who has been with Boeing for three years.

"I'm angry, I hurt for the workers, I think the company made the wrong decision," Gov. Chris Gregoire said at a news conference in Olympia.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who was rebuffed by the company after she asked them to continue talks with union workers, said "I really believed that the two sides could've come together and had a good deal for both Boeing and the Pacific Northwest, and unfortunately we can't reach that now," she told KING5 news.

"Very clearly, they were a stone's throw apart in providing some real job stability, which Boeing has been telling us a long time that's what they wanted. I thought there was time...to make that agreement and unfortunately Boeing saw it differently."

Workers at the South Carolina plant recently voted to remove the union from the North Charleston plant.

Boeing's engineering union blasted the decision, saying it "will hurt a program already stretched to its limit."

"We are astounded that Boeing has chosen to compound the problems of the 787 program by further fragmenting the supply chain," said Ray Goforth, executive director of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), IFPTE Local 2001. "There is no credible business case for this decision."

A number of SPEEA-represented engineers and technical workers are already in South Carolina. Goforth said the union will follow members and the work as Boeing expands operations in Charleston for the new 787 line.

State lawmakers just completed an incentive package to bring the line to South Carolina.

Meanwhile, Washington state officials, including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Chris Gregoire, urged Boeing and the Machinists to keep talking.

South Carolina officials reacted with glee at the announcement.

Gov. Mark Sanford called it the largest infusion of jobs and capital investment in that state's history.

He said it "represents not only enormously good news for our state's economy, but also a telling dividend from our state's continued efforts to better our business climate. For us, that means lowering taxes, easing regulatory burdens in our state's tort and workers' compensation systems, and keeping South Carolina a right-to-work state." Sanford said.

In Everett, Charlie Grieser, a 767 quality team leader and a member of the Aerospace Machinists union, said he felt betrayed by Boeing.

He noted that the company was given about $3 billion in tax breaks in 2003 to build the 787 in Washington state.

"They were given that money to build the 787 here. Not half the 787 here," Grieser said, a 32-year company veteran. "I think this is going to poison all of the state on Boeing."

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You know, I wondered why Ann Donnelly's column on the mayor's race was a campaign ad for Tim "The Liar" Leavitt...

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And now I know. Donnelly is helping to fund Leavitt's campaign, and she used her column to shill for this clown. Ann Donnelly and her husband gave Leavitt $150 on the 20th of October.

Now, I get that the Columbian can hardly be called the most ethical publication in existence. In fact, I have occasionally proffered that their propaganda on occasion, particularly about their agenda like the I-5 Bridge, loot rail, and initiatives they oppose would have made Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels blush.

But this is simply beyond the pail. It is one thing to take an advocacy position as a result of analysis and information.

It's another thing all together to give that candidate money after you've given him thousands in in-kind contributions under the guise of political commentary.

I'll just chalk this up as yet another reason why I've left the GOP: a former county chair engaging in questionably ethical political behavior by using her position to further her own agenda... instead of the agenda of the people.

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Lies by Omission: Why did Jon Russell neglect to mention that he has direct oversight of Washougal city credit cards?

Man... you can take Jon Russell out of Chicago politics, but it seems you can't take Chicago politics out of Jon Russell.

Well, folks, it looks like things are spinning out of control when it comes to the keepers of the Washougal check book... or in this case, credit card.

Unfortunately, the voters of Washougal now seem to be faced with a choice: they can choose someone who, at best, appears incompetent or they can choose a liar for mayor. Not a choice *I* would envy.

Stacy Sellers is having a tough week. Perhaps she deserves one, since, according to the local version of Pravda, Sellars charged, among other things, a "...$57 'surf and turf' dinner. An $88 bottle of wine. A $72 bill at the Eye Candy Lounge & Bar." while on some sort of "official trip" to Vegas.... although why a trip to Vegas for the mayor of Washougal would be official is, perhaps, a subject for another post. (Take some time and run a google search on the "Eye Candy Lounge & Bar" for pictures of others engaging in some distinctly "non-mayor" like activities. I guess what happens in Vegas is reported in the Columbian.)

Apparently, the whistle blower in all this is one Sean Guard, who just happens to be running against Sellers for mayor and who just happened to drop this dime THIS week (as opposed to, say, after the election) not, because, as you might think, he was trying to engage in any kind of politics; oh no. To hear him tell it,

"Guard said he did not make the complaint to the auditor's office to win votes; he did it to put an end to the misuse of public dollars."

Right. And I'm Mayor of Munchkin City and I run the Lollipop Guild.

I don't really care one way or the other, but Guard needed to have a surrogate blow the whistle here if he wanted to maintain the high ground. Having someone on the inside as it seems he does, who tipped him off and then covered the information transfer with a FOIA so HE, PERSONALLY could shill Seller's idiocy puts the lie to his claim, quoted above.

There is no altruism in politics. Guard announced this to drive a stake through Seller's political heart; he should have been man enough to just admit it. Leave the game playing to the slimy worms in the White House.

That writ, where was Jon Russell in all of this?

Well, yesterday, we received his version of what I call "Prairie Dog" from Mr. Russell.

You've seen those little critters on TV, haven't you? When they're trying to get a handle on what's happening... on what's going on.... you get this:

Here's what Mr. Russell had to tell us: 

Council member Jon Russell said he believed the findings showed that the problems were bigger than oversights.

"I don't think these are cracks, they're craters," he said. "It looks like a pattern that is not being dealt with and that is not being brought to the attention of the council."

Russell said he wants the council to hold a special meeting to look into each problem and discipline responsible parties, even ask for resignations if necessary.

"I don't see how we can trust this administration in moving forward with anything," he said.

Well, there may be some element of truth to that last part... the part about "trust" and the lack of it.

But not, I'm sure, the way Russell meant when he spewed this "What? Who, me?" crap.

Because, as it turns out....

JON RUSSELL SAT IN DIRECT OVERSIGHT OVER CREDIT CARD EXPENDITURES.
Here's what the Columbian buried today about Russell's little meat hooks being buried in this particular pie:

The people responsible for that oversight are members of the city council. Three council members — Russell, Lou Peterson and Paul Greenlee — make up the finance committee tasked with approving city employees' and officials' receipts and spending.
The expenditures are first submitted to the finance department, and then go to the mayor for approval, Russell said. Each week, the mayor sends the finance committee members e-mails with the accounts payable receipts and statements for their review and approval, he (Russell) said. Sometimes the statements have details of specific charges, sometimes they only include the employee's name and how much they are to be reimbursed, Russell said. Unless the committee members ask to see the details of those reimbursements, oftentimes they don't know the specifics. And many times expenditures are approved as long as they fall within the amount included in the annual budget, he said.

Russell said he does not recall whether he saw details of the Las Vegas trip expenditures.

"It's not at all a perfect system," Russell said.

The committee members do not meet to discuss the expenditures; that practice ended several years ago in favor of council workshops, he said. Instead, members are told to go to Sellers with questions, Russell said.

"We have been told by the mayor not to talk to department heads to get answers, that everything has to go through her," he said.

The use of city money to purchase alcohol was questioned by the committee and reviewed earlier this summer by the city council. Sellers was notified that the practice was prohibited by city policy and she reimbursed the city for the cost of alcohol charges, Russell said. City officials were not available to comment on the amount of the reimbursement.

"She was under the impression for some reason that it was permissible," he said.

So, Russell KNEW about the booze... but then claims he DIDN'T RECALL whether he "SAW SPECIFIC DETAILS OF THE LAS VEGAS TRIP EXPENDITURES?"

HOW LIKELY IS THAT?????

OK, here are the possibilities.

Russell, who sits on the committee with DIRECT oversight over these expenditures, in fact, didn't know about them; which means that he's guilty of misfeasance;

OR,

Russell, who sits on the committee with DIRECT oversight over these expenditures, in fact, DID know about them, and then lamely engaged in the time-honored "I don't recall" lie, in which case, he's both a liar AND guilty of misfeasance.

Now, the definition of "misfeasance" is

"the unintended, accidental errors, mistakes taken place while managing the business, office or other responsibilities entrusted on a person, causing loss or damage or unfortunate situations out of such mistakes. A misfeasance become a malfeasance when the act was performed with an intention to cause loss."

Now, was Russell's incompetence intentional? I doubt it.

But does that make him any the less incompetent or incapable of performing the task of city councilman, let alone congressman?

That conclusion seems fairly straightforward to me.

Jon Russell's firm grasp of Washougal City administration.

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As you may have heard, Jon Russell, political mercenary extraordinaire and Washougal City Councilman, is running to represent us in Congress, God forbid.

Well, today he got his name in print as the crusading guardian of "The People's Money." (copyright 2009)

Stacy Sellars, who will, it appears, soon become the former mayor of Washougal, finds her butt firmly affixed to a red hot grill of a hot seat in the matter of a few missing dollars from the Washougal city accounts. Like, well, something on the order of 100,000 of them.

At this point, I don't believe anyone knows what's going on with this money. There's a lot more to examine... to consider... to weigh.

On the surface, it looks pretty bad. Typically, in situations like this, the rats will scurry away at warp speed. But is throwing someone you've supported politically, or a major part of the city staff under the bus to avoid the splatter the way to do it?

Council member Jon Russell said he believed the findings showed that the problems were bigger than oversights.

"I don't think these are cracks, they're craters," he said. "It looks like a pattern that is not being dealt with and that is not being brought to the attention of the council."

Russell said he wants the council to hold a special meeting to look into each problem and discipline responsible parties, even ask for resignations if necessary.

"I don't see how we can trust this administration in moving forward with anything," he said.

In this country, including Washougal, everyone is innocent unless proven guilty.

And that everyone includes the administration of the city that Russell, is, well, tasked to administer.

Russell; who is, as a member of the city council, one of those charged with the oversight of the very administration he now works so hard to condemn, wasted no time in taking what he believed to be the "appropriate steps" to step out of the way of the poop storm.

This misfeasance/malfeasance happened on Russell's watch. Of course, he's been blowing off some meetings and so forth as a result of running for Congress, but hey, who cares about missing votes and such when your eyes are on the much-bigger prize?

Clearly, changes have to be made in the systems of accounting in Washougal. But engaging in these theatrics as part of his political soap opera doesn't speak well for him, since, like it or hate it, it is HIS city and this happened on HIS watch.

Hey, I know: maybe one of those "resignations" Russell's so hot about could be his own? Watchcha think? Would THAT be a hoot?

Imagine... actually taking responsibility for something he'd done... or in this case, failed to do.

I won't hold my breath. .