Memo to Melanie Kenoyer: State employees should get a pay CUT... not a pay raise.

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I rarely respond to LTE's in the Columbian. This nonsense from Clark County Sheriff's Sergeant Melanie Kenoyer, however, takes the cake.

Rep. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, proposes to deny custodians who earn $25,000 a year and other state employees a 5 percent contractual raise in 2010. (Dec. 16 story, “Many state workers in line for raises.”)

It's, uh, SENATOR, Sergeant. Not "Rep."

That said, ALL government employees, INCLUDING YOU, should not only NOT get pay raises... you all should take pay CUTS.

I have no problem with people taking shots at Zarelli. I've taken a few, and will continue to take some here on this very blog. But his issues with his unemployment have nothing to do with taking the RIGHT position on government employee pay raises.

And government employees, INCLUDING democrat police officers/deputies, need to understand that you serve US; not the other way around.

We are in the midst of a horrific recession. Massive unemployment and cutbacks are the order of the day... small business is getting hammered... and all people like Kenoyer can do is whine about not getting a horrific 5% pay INCREASE?

Clearly, Kenoyer is as clueless about the economy and the role of government workers as she is about Zarelli's office.

Tell you what, Kenoyer. You don't think you're getting paid enough? ANY government employee think they're not getting paid enough?

Then quit.

We'll be well rid of your bizarre positions, which are SUPPOSED to be in service to US, and any one of the hundreds of people applying to fill your positions would be thrilled to get your job not only at your current level of pay, but at ANY level of pay.

"Pay raise?" Stop sniveling like a little punk and thank God you even HAVE a job... that pays ANYTHING.

Because millions in this country can't say they do.
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So, if the Bridger/Looters get their way, what's the impact of sucking $100,000,000 per year out of the local economy?

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That's one of the more interesting questions of the second biggest issue confronting us today, locally... what happens to business here in Clark County if those who demand this massive waste actually make it happen?

The commissioners who recently screwed us here in Clark County, by jacking up our taxes, mid-recession and mid 13% unemployment rate; have yet to weigh in on what happens when $100,000,000 a year vaporizes. Steve "Cash Only" Stuart has yet to address this massive, giant sucking sound that he and the downtown mafia thinks so highly of; secret meetings with Sam "Draft it if it's under 18" Adams and Tim "The Liar" Leavitt notwithstanding.

So... $100,000,000 or so a year, most of it in Clark County, disappears. One wonders. Does any of the $100,00,000 plus already wasted for studies with pre-ordained outcomes by Rep. Deb "No amount of your money I won't spend" Wallace, congressional wannabe, address any of that?

Are those so eager to pay off the unions that will get all the cheese for building this monstrosity unaware of the unending economic agony the tolls will cause? Have they given it any thought? What are the impacts on the 65,000 commuters?

Or is it that they're so in the pocket of the special interests that they just don't care?

How many jobs will the loss of this money cost us?

How many items typically bought with $100,000,000 in formally disposable income here locally will now sit and gather dust on local shelves? How deep and wide will all of the massive negative impacts be?

And out of all of those so eager to get this thing built, how many of them will feel ANY of these massive impacts?

None.

I would include our despicable rag of a paper, but they'll be out of business by the time this steaming pile is built.

What are the impacts? Do any of these great strategists give a damn... or are they only concerned about providing union jobs? How many services provided by the now non-existent revenue be cut or eliminated... because of the black hole of the bridge/loot rail?

I wanna know. Odd, isn't it, that none of the talking heads telling us all how great this crock of horse puckey is never seem to talk about that.

Don't they think it's about time?
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So, the county plans to verify worker citizenship? Weren't we already doing that?

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So... is it the typically poor writing of the local paper? Or is it the disturbing revelation that the county has not been confirming the citizenship of the county work force?

The only aspect of the new policy that I find myself in disagreement with is this:

The commissioners asked Tuesday for a proposal by Jan. 1 to start feeding the Social Security numbers of new deputies, secretaries, janitors and other county workers into the federal E-Verify database.

My operative concern is for the word "new." Why is it just "new?" Why doesn't this apply to all current and retired county employees as well?

As for Commissioner Boldt's concerns.... and subsequent efforts to placate the so-called "League of United Latin American Citizens".... that's a crock as well.

If ONE job is held by an illegal alien, that's one job too many.... one county job... one private sector job.

Assigning some level of power or concern to illegal alien advocates is a bad idea. Bad for this community and bad for our economy.

Printing an obvious lie:

"Many municipalities are having problems with unemployment," said Maria Rodriguez-Salazar, a local LULAC leader. "And it has nothing to do with illegal immigrants. It has to do with greedy people who made some bad decisions."

and caving to the faux "victimization" agenda:

Also Tuesday, Commissioner Marc Boldt said the commissioners shouldn't have implied, in their earlier action, that illegal immigration is responsible for the county's unemployment rate.

The Sept. 1 resolution mentioned the local unemployment rate as a reason to check contract workers' identities electronically.

"It almost made the reader believe that we have high unemployment because we have undocumented workers," Boldt said. "And that's not true."

to further the leftist, illegal alien agenda gives this fringe group power they do not merit and assigns them a platform they do not deserve.

There are three, absolutely unassailable facts here:

First: They are not "undocumented workers." An undocumented worker is someone that doesn't have the paperwork to prove they have a legal right to work. That someone CAN have the right to work by citizenship.... they just don't happen to have the necessary ID.

We are not discussing those who have the legal right to work here, and I am getting sick of public officials who turn their backs on their legal responsibilities by kowtowing to political correctness.

We are discussing ILLEGAL ALIENS. ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE NO RIGHT TO WORK HERE. THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE. And no amount of lipstick on that particular pig can change it. That local illegal alien advocates don't like the phrase "illegal alien" does not make it any less accurate or useful as a term of description.

Words have meaning. Illegal aliens are violating our laws. The prissy use of the term "undocumented workers" provides them with cover for being here and cover for breaking our laws... as if the issue was merely one of some paperwork snafu and not one of a deliberate choice to violate the laws of the United States.

Second: we have illegal aliens working in Clark County.

Third, contrary to the lie that illegal aliens do NOT contribute to our unemployment, the mere fact that an illegal alien is holding a job in Clark County during these difficult times by definition indicates that their presence here DOES, in fact, do the very thing they now claim it does not:

Contribute to the highest unemployment rate in the State of Washington.

Boldt needs to be a little less concerned about placating those who do not deserve it, and a little more concerned about enforcing the laws he's sworn to uphold.
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