Washington Secretary of State, Steve Hobbs, whines about efforts to require proof of citizenship to vote.

One of the DNC media outlets in Portland, KATU ran a Facebook post with the byline: 

Voting fraud is incredibly rare, and there have been 15 cases of noncitizen voting in Washington between 1982 and 2025, according to Secretary Steve Hobbs.
Horseshit. Hobbs claimed "15 prosecutions on cases" that are known.

What about the unknown cases? How could he possibly know if illegals are voting or not?

It's not like they write on their ballots, "I'm an illegal."

See, here's the total weakness of the case put forward by fringe-left scum.

How is this clown going to tell the difference between a legal vote and an ILLEGAL vote, PARTICULARLY WHEN HE NEVER LOOKS? Particularly when he NEVER CHECKS?

Prosecuting rioting leftists in Portland for the last 6 years? "Incredibly rare."

Well, that must mean rioters never attacked anyone. Never burned anything. Never looted anything. Never assaulted police or the feds. Never damaged or destroyed anything. Never blocked traffic. Never violated noise ordinances. Never vandalized anything.

Right?

Prosecuting shoplifters in Portland?

Essentially unheard of.

Well, hell... that MUST mean shoplifting is "incredibly rare" and that it's not really any kind of issue.

Right?

I mean, if you apply his "reasoning" to illegal voters, i.e., few prosecutions equal "not a problem," then you must also apply it EVERYWHERE ELSE.

Must mean all of the stores that closed because of theft, and all of the items locked up in cases in stores and locks on merchandise in the remaining stores are unnecessary.

Right?

But leftist liars in the media never do that. No mention of that sort of "incredibly rare" occurrence.

I wonder why?

I get leftist media isn't concerned about illegal voters (well, as long as they vote PROPERLY) but because leftists do not WANT proof of citizenship TO vote, that effectively means anyone in either Washington or Oregon, for example, can do it.

And to suggest they aren't is insane.

Further, if it's so rare, then why do fringe-leftists fight so hard against proving citizenship? What other alternative do they offer? Or is it, obviously, that they WANT illegals to vote?

After all, if it's "incredibly rare," as you leftist politicians assert, how could requiring proof of citizenship make any difference in actual voters voting?

The harder fringers like Hobbs fight against efforts to prove citizenship, the more obvious it is that they WANT illegals to vote, just like Obama did back in 2016 when he famously said that even if illegals voted, they typically can't be caught... an open invitation.

In the end, the claim that "prosecutions are incredibly rare" is utterly meaningless and just another effort by fringe-left pols and their media lackies to blow smoke up our asses as they insist on demanding that we accept that 2+2=5 and math is racist. The main questions Hobbs needs to answer are simple: Does he WANT illegal aliens to vote in our elections? (of course he does) And if he says "no," then what does he intend to do to make sure they don't, followed by, why hasn't he acted to implement that plan (which he does not have?)

Thoughts on Education in Washington State. A comparison with... Mississippi.

Thoughts on Education in Washington State.

A comparison with... Mississippi.

Washington per student expenditure: $18,564 per year.

Mississippi: $12,093 per year.

Education:

Mississippi: Between 2013 and 2019, Mississippi moved from 50th to 35th in K-12 education rankings. In addition, since 2013,

Mississippi has led the nation in 4th-grade reading improvement, rising from 49th to 9th place. In math, the state has improved from 50th to 16th place. Even more impressive, adjusted for demographics, Mississippi scored first in the nation in 4th-grade math and reading, first in 8th-grade reading, and 4th in the nation in 8th-grade math.

Washington: Fourth-grade reading scores have been dropping in the state since 2015 and are now at the lowest level since 1994. Washington ranks 19th in 4th-grade reading and 27th in 4th-grade math.

Mississippi: Despite limited resources (2025 spending per student was $12,394), Mississippi ranks 25th for student/teacher ratio at 15:1.

Washington: Despite very high per student spending ($20,748 annually per student), Washington ranks 41st in student/teacher ratio at 17:1.

Mississippi: In terms of closing achievement gaps, black students in Mississippi rank 3rd nationally in 4th-grade reading scores, and low-income students in Mississippi outperform their peers in every other state.

Washington: The latest Washington State Board of Education report concludes that “educational outcome disparities based on race, ethnicity, and program participation are widespread.”

By any of these measures, Mississippi seems to be getting it right — while Washington appears to be heading in the wrong direction.

Thoughts on the Kent departure.

First thought:

I live in what would have been, had he not twice lost to Glusenkamp-Perez, his district (WA03). The left, which has heretofore hated Kent and everything he stands for (go back and review the mailers, campaign ads and the comments from the fringe-left nutjobs during his congressional campaigns) will now lionize him for being a visionary who stands by his principles when, in fact, (like him or hate him) he's no different now than he ever was.

But if he opposes Trump on anything? Then suddenly they'll claim he's the greatest thing since canned beer.

Second thought:

Doesn't upset me.

Joe has to do what Joe believes he has to do.

I disagree with him on much of his take, but his position is his position... that's his privilege and my privilege to disagree.

I'm not going to try and make political hay out of it regardless.

I disagree with him on some issues. But I honor his service to this country and the sacrifices he's had to endure... which certainly exceed that of my own.

Post thoughts:

Sometimes, we should look beyond the politics.

I disagree with his claim that Iran is not an imminent threat... but I guess it depends on your definition of "imminent."

Thousands of Americans were killed and 10's of thousands were wounded, in everything from the Beirut bombing to both Iraq and Afghanistan using the explosives, weapons and ammo Iran supplied.

We SHOULD have attacked them the moment we found out Iran was providing weapons, etc to the Iraq/Afghan insurgents.

Hell, we SHOULD have done it when Iran took those American hostages, a total act of war.

For decades, Iran has chanted "Death to America" in conjunction with their ongoing development of nuclear weapons, development only temporarily halted by the air strikes months back... a nuclear program they insisted on rebuilding. That slogan is a bit more than a bumper sticker to them.

I'm reminded of the axiom that goes something like this:

When someone tells you who they really are; by word, by deed, or by thought?

Believe them.

The muslims running Iran don't care about "MAD."

They would cheerfully suffer the entire eradication/annihilation of Iran if they could, using nuclear weapons, destroy or severely damage US first.

Their continued insistence on developing nuclear weapons after Trump warned them not to do so, does, IMHO, rise to the level of an "imminent threat."

So, what would Joe Kent have us do? Wait until they put a nuclear weapon or weapons together as they inevitably would have?

Little late then, isn't it?

Post WW2, we had a 5-year window where we were the only nuclear power.

We could have used that to end the Soviet Union/Warsaw Pact and end communism in China, all of which would have meant no Korean War, no Vietnam War, likely no Iraq or Afghanistan War.

But we did nothing. And that didn't work out all that well for this country and the hundreds of thousands dead as a result of our lack of will and our foreign policy intransigence.

Trump is acting on a threat BOTH sides of the political spectrum have for decades indicated needed to be done. Kent, as far as I know, offered no viable alternative.

In my 30 odd years in politics, from legislative staff, to campaigns, to consulting private business, I heard a great many complaints about hundreds of issues.

What I rarely heard was a presentation of viable solutions.

Doing nothing, as Kent seems to advocate, solves nothing and risks a great deal.

Doing what we're doing now ALSO risks a great deal. But when compared to the prospect of a nuclear Iran?

I'll take Trump's action any day.

And militarily?

It's always more strategic to act when you WANT to, than it is when you HAVE to.

And isn't that a lesson we should have learned on December 7, 1941?

This WILL be what happens on the loot rail project masquerading as a bridge replacement.

We know that going in.

Larson provides a more local example, but you need look no further than the Sound Transit scam, where those living in the Sound Transit Concentration Camp, voluntarily walked into a gas chamber of a $53 billion dollar scam without reading the fine print (And oh, how they were shocked, SHOCKED, I TELL YA, when they discovered how they were going to PAY for that rip off (massive tab fee and property tax increases) only to discover that, once again, the budget was 10's of billions short ($30 billion? $35 billion? $40 billion?) that Sound Transit KNOWINGLY lied about when it was passed in the first place, which resulted in the State Supreme Court ruling it's perfectly OK for cities, states and candidates to engage in campaign lying)) only to find out it wasn't water coming out of those shower heads.

As sad as that outcome is, that's what THEY voted for.

No one is asking us for this. And no one's asking us because they know what the answer would be and they simply don't care that the people of this region do NOT want their crime train/loot rail project.

Larson says:

The Northwest Nonsense

If you want a quick preview of the multi-billion dollar disaster coming at us if the interstate bridge project actually goes forward
Look no further than ODOT’s Abernethy Bridge Boondoggle near Oregon City.

The Oregon Department of Transportation lied to lawmakers about the cost and the schedule.

ODOT didn’t have the money but went forward with the project anyway. (My comment: Sound familiar? That's precisely what the thugs shilling the CRC/IBR scam want to do to us under the guise of once construction starts, it MUST be finished, no matter HOW long it takes and no matter HOW much it costs!)

I know, it sounds crazy but it has worked for ODOT for a long time and no one ever gets fired.

Today, the project has spent twice the original cost…half a billion dollars…and the bridge is only 70 percent done. Like the kitchen remodel contractor from Hell…telling you your cost has now tripled but your house is already torn apart and your choice is pay up…or live in chaos

But for all that money…now about 800-million…at least it will be finished on time, right?

Wrong.

Originally, contractor Kiewit was supposed to be done by the end of LAST year…which ODOT agreed to extend to October of this year.

Now, Kiewit says they may be done by January of 28…almost two years from now.

But that’s a contractor promise…I wouldn’t exactly take it to the bank.

That’s the Rose City Rap. Join me at noon on KXL for 4 hours of Honestly provocative talk. I’m Lars Larson.
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One does wonder why the contracts for that scam... and our own bridge replacement/loot rail scam, didn't/doesn't have contract costs/completion penalties attached.

The absence of those requirements is a license to steal.

And steal they will. And there's nothing we can do about it since government at every level, from state on down, doesn't give a rat's ass what the people of Clark County, who will bear the lion's share of the costs for this rip off, want or don't want.

If they did? We'd have a vote on it.

Like Sound Transit had a vote on their expansion.

And last I looked?

The leftist governments we're cursed with have made it clear that the people they would govern are not nearly as important as the "save them from themselves" agenda.

An interaction with a local county sheriff

I was working on my flag pole in the front yard a week or so ago (it’s one of those telescoping, 20 ft poles) collapsing it so I could bring the top down to get to the US flag and replace it with a new flag. I had my "Army Veteran" hat on.

A man and his son are riding their bikes past my house... They stop. He asks, "Are you a veteran?"

I look at them and say to him, "Yes, Sir, I am."

He gets off his bike, walks over to me and introduces himself, saying, "I'm such and so, and I'm a _______ County Sheriff Deputy. If you drive this street to get to the freeway, you'll see the car sometimes at my house."

I'd seen in many times.

I shook his hand and told him I appreciate what he's doing, that there is no way *I* would get in that car, day after day, and put up with a public that all too often hates him because of his badge.

He told me that in a short time, he was leaving to join the Coast Guard. And without saying why, I totally got it.

He is driven to serve. And in 2026, the cost to his family and himself was far too high, day in and day out, so he was making a major career change so that he could continue to serve, but also continue having a family that would not be faced with the stress of wondering, day after day: "Will my husband/father come home tonight?"

I didn't ask him what job he was enlisting for. He was, perhaps, 30 or so. He's an adult who charts his own course. And jobs in the Coast Guard can be extremely hazardous (A Coastie was just killed just off Astoria, Oregon a few days ago) but his job as a deputy requires him to face danger which, IMHO, is geometrically more... for geometrically less... than any job he's signing up for.

We chatted for a few minutes... I thanked him and his son for stopping by. Wished him luck in his new career. Told him I appreciated what he has done and will be doing.

He thanked me for my service... which lacked anything close to the dangers he experienced on a routine basis... and I left him with this:

"You and your family were worth it."

As were you all.

God Bless the men and women in Blue.