Friday, April 25, 2014

How Much Money Will Hauge's Vendetta Ultimately Cost Us?

If you follow local news, it shouldn't come as a shock to you that Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge has spent most of the entire time he's been in office trying to put Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club (KRRC) Executive Director Marcus Carter in jail. After losing in court — three times, with Carter acting as his own attorney — on some bogus trumped up charges that Carter modified a rifle to become an illegal, fully automatic weapon, Hauge enlisted the Kitsap County Department of Community Development (DCD) to help him shut down KRRC by using the land use code. 

You know DCD — that's the same County department that threatened a Southworth home owner with having to tear down the tree house he built for his kids because it wasn't an allowed use under the zoning code, didn't meet the building code, and was constructed without a building permit.

The latest episode in this sad saga revolves around the county convening a 5-member committee made up of Carter, and four gun range opponents — including one of the Commissioner's favorite partisan lapdogs — a loudmouth blowhard who is a self-styled "expert" on any and all things — just pick a subject and ask him. Their job was to propose a countywide gun range ordinance that in the end proved to be nothing more than your basic predetermined outcome from the get go. Carter was the only one to vote against sending it to the commissioners for adoption. 

This entire thing is nothing but an absolute farce. It's gone on for about 15 years now, and is simply a personal vendetta against Marcus Carter that Prosecutor Russ Hauge is financing with OUR tax dollars — so far over a half a million of them. Personally, I resent my tax dollars being wasted this way when we have so many other, more important needs that money could be used for.

It's time for this to come to an end. The County Commissioners have the power to call a halt to this vendetta, however, I don't see that happening. I personally asked Commissioner Linda Striessguth in a recent endorsement interview if she would be willing to stand up to Hauge on this, and she talked all around it, and never answered what was a very direct question. In my book, such a non-answer IS an answer, and apparently the answer is, NO, she won't.

If this ultimately ends up in the Supreme Court — which is a very real possibility — it will be us, the taxpayers of Kitsap County, who foot the bill. Also, if Mr. Carter takes the County to court after winning, it will also be us who get to pay his legal costs and most likely millions in damages, all because one elected official has severely abused the power of government to further his own personal vendetta, while the County Commissioners — who control his budget — refuse to stop him.

Enough...

BTW, how many of you are aware that CK Safe and Quiet is NOT a non-profit citizens group, but a for profit L.L.C.? Inquiring minds are curious why...

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Bubba goes to the Waffle House: So what?

After his victory at The Masters in Augusta, Georgia, pro golfer Bubba Watson understandably celebrated with his family, The fact he chose the Waffle House to do it, seems to have raised the hackles of a self-appointed, elitist, nanny-state guardian of nutrition by the name of Katherine Tallamage. Tallamage, who as you can see from her picture, appears to be borderline anorexic, is perhaps best known for cozying up to Michelle Obama in support of her questionable school lunch menu program. Personally, I think Tallamadge looks like she could use a visit or two the Waffle House herself.

Watson tweeted pictures of his Waffle House visit that went viral, and apparently that caught the attention of Tallamage, who immediately swung into action condemning his choice of eating establishments — as if it's any of her business — saying it sets a bad example for the rest of the country. Exactly who was it that appointed her our National Food Nazi anyway?

For our readers who have never had the pleasure of a Waffle House visit and meal, it can as much of an entertainment experience — especially at 2 a.m. — as it is a culinary delight. The food is cheap. The last time I ate there — steak and eggs was about seven and half bucks, and you can get up to four eggs, and add cheese to them if you want. Of course the steak is only about a quarter inch thick, but what do you expect for seven and a half bucks? The hash browns are the best in America, and you can get them any way you want them. My personal favorite is — "Smothered" (with onions), "Covered" (with cheese), "Chunked" (with hickory-smoked ham), and "Peppered" (with jalapenos). I'm not real big on having them "Diced" (with tomatoes) or "Topped" (with Chili). But lot of folks are, or they wouldn't offer them that way. 

Primarily located in the South, I think the western-most Waffle House is off I-10 in Phoenix, and it's a few hundred miles between there and nearest other one. They only play two kinds of music — country and western — and they don't accept credit cards. But it's the people who make a visit to the Waffle House as much fun as it can be. It is a true slice of American culture — at all levels — as Watson proved.

Eating at a Waffle House — or anywhere else for that matter — is a personal choice, and at this point, we're still allowed to make those kind of  choices — at least until ObamaCare prohibits them. But it was Tallamadge's rant, based upon her apparent powers of mental telepathy, that got the attention of right-wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh. According to published reports, Tallamadge stated on one of Neil Cavuto's Fox programs that she just knows that Watson's. "a complete phony about what he really eats."

Limbaugh accurately described Tallamadge's career success as, "...based on pestering people over what they eat." Apparently she also thinks of herself as a Washington D.C. insider, using a picture of Michelle Obama on her Web site to promote the Obama administration's dubious, heavy-handed obesity battle.

Now I don't particularly like Rush Limbaugh and don't listen to his show — or any right-wing talk radio for that matter. For the most part, I think Rush is a pompous, blowhard, ass. But he's spot on in this case. You can see for yourself what he had to say about Tallamadge and this whole incident by clicking here.

The bottom line is, what business is it of anyone — much less some self-appointed elitist busybody like Katherine Tallmadge — where anyone else eats, or what they eat? Do America a favor Katherine. Mind your own business.