tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-243565112024-03-07T17:06:36.931-08:00West Sound PoliticsNews and Pointed Commentary on Political, Business, Social, and Other Topics of Interest in the Western Puget Sound Region.
By Lary CoppolaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger378125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-24582537010774052982016-11-08T08:37:00.007-08:002018-05-05T16:58:51.549-07:00Suicide by Clicks…<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Why is the Lamestream
Media committing seemingly intentional suicide?</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the day this was written, CNN
carried no fewer than 16 blatantly anti-Trump headlines on the opening page of
its website. MSNBC had restrained itself to a modest nine, and the Huffington
Post a mere four. On the other hand, the Fox News web page only had two
headlines mildly critical of the President, and several of the Trump stories
had companion pieces with equally benign headlines. Now no one politically
aware is going to consider this “breaking news” any more than considering the
stories themselves realistically unbiased. However, when viewed as the partisan
echo chambers media outlets have intentionally become, they are a reflection of
just how polarized we are as a nation.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Fox News stories could be
considered critical of the president, but the headlines didn’t scream
hot-button prejudicially negative words like scandal, indicted, sentenced, bribe,
torture, risky, red-handed, or chaotic as CNN, MSNBC and the Huffington Post
all did on this particular day. And therein lies the conundrum for the consumer
of today’s news. Based on such inflammatory headlines, why would you believe the
media is actually telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which also begs the question, is the
President actually<i> right</i> about “Fake News?”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is there really a concerted effort
by the left to drive the President from office, with the mainstream media
leading the charge? Exactly how tightly aligned with the Democrats and the
extreme left is the mainstream news media anyway —and why? To quote an old tagline
from what has always been known as a sensationalist and less than credible news
source, “Inquiring minds want to know…”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The long, slow, and painful death
spiral of the printed news media is reflective of the age health, and dwindling
numbers of its primary readership — Baby Boomers. Like your uncle who lived to
see 100, dinosaurs like the <i>Washington
Post, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle</i> and <i>L.A. Times</i> are still alive – albeit with much weaker, smaller,
lower paid staffs.. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the most part, the printed
word has been replaced by the internet, replete with news media smartphone apps,
its own cult of personalities, and the introduction of the term “infotainment”
into our lexicon. It has created online superstars like Jason Zengerle, and Bill
Nye the Science Guy on the extreme left, as well as Tomi Lahren and Matt Drudge
on the right. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The real question though is, do
<i>any</i> of them tell the truth? Yes — all of them, to the extent it fits their
politically partisan narrative. The more ethical reporters and bloggers build
their stories around a set of facts that underscore their partisan talking points,
often leaving out the things that don’t. However, the less than ethical on both
sides play fast and loose with facts, giving credence to Trump’s fake news
charges.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Journalism 101 teaches that there
are six questions every news story must answer: <i>Who, What, When, Where, Why,
and How?</i> From there, it should be up to the reader to make up his or her mind
about the story being told. Journalistic ethics dictate that opinion belongs on
OP/ED page –<i> not</i> on the front page and certainly not as a part of any news
story. The reporter is supposed to be an <i>unbiased observer,</i> sharing unvarnished
facts answering those six questions — and untainted by inflammatory terminology,
personal or institutional bias. Nothing more. Nothing less.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also taught in Journalism 101 is
that every news story should have a source and corroborating source — someone
who, by name, provides information on the record, and a second source, who by
name, confirms what the first source said took place. However, today’s media
reporters attribute way too many “facts” to that infamous “anonymous source,”
that are corroborated by that “person who declined to be quoted for the record,”
and/or, “spoke on the condition of anonymity.” For all we know, these people
could be your favorite barista and the guy you called to unclog your toilet.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So obviously, journalistic ethics — along
with honest answers to those six basic questions — have seemingly gone the way of the
printed word. When was the last time you actually read a mainstream media
political news story that wasn’t as much or more opinion than fact? Today
perhaps? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The left, led by Democrats like
Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and of course,
Barack Obama, are feverishly working towards brokering a seemingly peaceful
surrender of America to Socialism. In concert with them is not only the media,
but the educational establishment as well. They no longer teach actual history,
but a revisionist version that vilifies everything that made America that
shining light for people from other nations. They don’t teach, as much as
indoctrinate liberal philosophy into our children, beginning in Kindergarten. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The recent student march calling
for increased gun control and vilifying the NRA for the Parkland tragedy — coupled
with relentless media coverage parroting that view — underscore this point. The NRA
didn’t kill anyone in Parkland any more than General Motors did when an illegal
immigrant drunkenly drove a Chevy into a crowd of children in California. Yet
you didn’t hear anything about that from the mainstream media. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Except for right-wing online news
sites, there was almost nothing in the mainstream media about the armed School
Resource Officer who shot and killed 17 year-old student preparing to shoot up
his classmates in Maryland just days after Parkland. And since she<span class="hascaption"> wasn't a white male using an AR-15,</span> you barely heard
anything about the Persian leftist, vegan, animal rights activist woman who
shot people at YouTube’s headquarters before taking her own life. Since those incidents
don’t fit the left’s anti-gun, pro-illegal immigrant, Socialist narrative, they
were systematically ignored. But are they any less newsworthy?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another
example of agenda-driven news coverage is the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, nearly two years ago. The media’s narrative was forced to change when
new details were revealed during the trial of shooter Omar Mateen’s wife. While
the media repeatedly trumpeted the attack at the gay club an “undeniably a
homophobic hate crime,” the actual facts are quite different.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prosecutors in the case of
Mateen’s wife confirm the club wasn’t his original target — it was the nearby
Disney Springs shopping plaza. Mateen allegedly asked a security guard at Pulse
why there were no women there when he arrived, and suspicions about him being a
closet homosexual were never confirmed.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So while the media has framed the
attack as an anti-gay hate crime, it’s now become apparent it was more about
Islamic-style terror, which Mateen saw as an act of revenge against the U.S. While
the motivation doesn’t make the mass shooting any less tragic, it’s just
another example of agenda-driven media narratives wildly distorting actual
facts. But have you heard this wasn’t a gay hate crime?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, 17-year old David Hogg
has become the de-facto spokesman for the anti-NRA crowd, and has publicly — with
unrelenting help from the media — called for a boycott of conservative media
pundit Laura Ingraham’s Fox News sponsors. The blatant hypocrisy here is that the
self-absorbed Hogg wasn’t a student at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School,
didn’t witness the tragedy there, and wasn’t anywhere near there when it
happened. But the mainstream media won’t tell you that either, and has led you
to believe the exact opposite. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Underscoring this bias further, is
the fact, the left-leaning website <i>Politico</i>
recently published a meticulously researched and fully-sourced investigative
piece by Josh Meyer detailing how the Obama administration secretly sabotaged
US law enforcement efforts to shut down an international drug-trafficking ring
run by the terror group Hezbollah to placate Iran, and ensure the signing of
the nuclear deal.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Why wasn’t this front-page news in
the <i>NY Times</i> or <i>Washington Post?</i> Why wasn’t this the lead story on CNN or MSNBC?
Where’s that George Soros-funded programmed outrage from the left?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Observing the standards set by Journalism
101, this scandal should have ignited a massively widespread firestorm of coverage
dwarfing Watergate, and eliciting absolute fury from media pundits and
editorial boards alike. But did you hear anything about this? Probably not. However,
what you have heard about daily for more than a year and a half is the
Russian “collusion” investigation — which in all that time has yet to uncover
any actual criminal activity by Trump or his campaign. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, days after the <i>Politico</i> story broke, neither ABC, CBS, or NBC News — who boast a
collective 20 million viewers between them — nor CNN or MSNBC, had been able to
find time in between harassing Trump about Russia — to report a major story about
potential collusion between the former President and a terror-supporting state.
Other than Fox, mainstream media outlets largely ignored this major story. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now take
that very same story and change “Obama” to “Trump” and “Iran” to “Russia” and
imagine the fireworks those revelations would ignite in the mainstream media.<b> </b>Can’t you already hear Bernie Sanders,
Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, et. al. pontificating 24/7 on
every TV, online and print news media outlet that Trump should be immediately arrested
for treason? But since it was Obama, not a peep from the media, and certainly
nothing from the Democrats.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The few outlets
that did run this story typically covered it as an afterthought, with headlines
like NPR’s which read, “<i>Politico</i>
Reporter Says Obama Administration ‘Derailed’ Hezbollah Investigation.” “Derailed”
doesn’t even begin to explain the depth of what actually happened. This was a
14,000-word, diligently sourced, document-heavy deep investigative piece written
by a well-respected journalist at a major media outlet — one that tends to lean
left — complete with all on-the-record sources as per Journalism 101. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, if
your news comes mainly from NPR, you’d never know that. Makes anyone who lived
through Watergate wonder where the Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of today’s
media are hiding.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to
<i>Politico,</i> the Drug Enforcement Agency
(DEA) began this classified investigation into Hezbollah in 2008, learning that
the Iranian proxy had laundered nearly a half a billion dollars and was moving
cocaine to the U.S. The Obama administration not only road blocked
investigators, but failed to prosecute any of the major players as well.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What makes
what can only be described as an intentional media blackout so blatantly reprehensible
is that this story is not a partisan hit piece. However, ignoring and/or
diminishing intentional wrongdoing and furtively dubious dealings by Obama isn’t
at all new. In fact, Obama administration officials arrogantly bragged to the <i>NY Times Magazine</i> how they’d purposefully
created an echo chamber, banking on the ignorance, inexperience and
partisanship of reporters to communicate their intentional lies to the American
people.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another
example of the selective nature of the information you receive from the
mainstream media disguised as “news” is the recent Facebook and Cambridge
Analytica fiasco. While the media was highly indignant over Cambridge
Analytica’s use of 87 million Facebook members’ personal data for Trump’s 2016
campaign, do you recall hearing anything about the Obama campaign being given
the exact same kind of data directly from Facebook in 2012? Or Facebook CEO
Mark Zuckerberg saying, “We did it because we liked him (Obama)? Of course not.
Again, it doesn’t fit the liberal,
anti-Trump narrative.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Facebook has
also blatantly censored what content it allows, leaning heavily to the left,
while its algorithms filter out most things right of center so you can’t see it
– even if your friends post it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And let’s
not ignore Google, which owns YouTube. It also leans far-left, and censors the
content it allows. For example, you can find all kinds of pro-Islamic videos —
including beheadings, people in cages being burned alive, and handcuffed, blindfolded
gays being thrown off tall buildings, as well as other equally barbaric acts.
There are also literally hundreds of videos from Planned Parenthood and other
liberal organizations. Meanwhile, YouTube has kicked Prager University — a
conservative institution which publishes short videos rationally explaining
conservative viewpoints on issues of the day — completely off the site.
Facebook restricts access to Prager’s videos as well. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So how did
we get to this point? The answers could lie in the response to two questions,
“Why is the liberal agenda being pushed so hard by the mainstream media?<b>” </b>and, “How has the conservative media
reacted, and grown so powerful?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The answers
are simple. The extreme left wants America to drift into Socialism, is already
deeply entrenched within the bureaucracy, and positioned for permanent control
and political advantage when that happens — hence the term “Deep State.” Thanks
to the millions of illegal immigrants they have registered to vote, they see
the election process keeping them in power. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you think
there is a government elitist class now, just wait. If the left is successful
it will get much worse, with ever escalating taxes rewarding that elitist
governing class on the backs of the working class. That’s how Socialism has
always worked — and why it eventually always fails.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The social
justice movement disparages hard work and financial success, demanding that
successful people share the fruits of their labors with those “less fortunate.”
However, the people who have worked hard to attain that success disagree. Yet
the mainstream media continues to vilify them as the evil ones — not those
sponging off their hard work.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The business
of news today is all about TV and radio ratings, eyeballs, and click-throughs.
To get those, reporters need access to the major players, as access is the
lifeblood of the news business. Obama understood that better than anyone. He
did a masterful job of only granting access to those reporters from news outlets
supporting his goals and shutting out all opposing voices. Hence, the echo
chamber his administration bragged about creating. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
mainstream media unabashedly defends Socialism because most of its members make
their living dependent upon that access and are openly encouraged to support
what they may personally believe will eventually be a “fairer’ system. Obviously,
they haven’t thought this all the way through to its inevitable conclusion. Socialism
always collapses under the weight of supporting an ever-expanding governing
class that steals the fruits of the labors of the masses, and de-incentivized
workers whose highest standard of excellence atrophies into mediocracy. Former
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher succinctly summed up why Socialism
always fails — “At some point you run out of other people’s money.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s no
secret the liberal mindset infected the bizarre world of Hollywood long ago,
while conservative actors and actresses remain in the proverbial closet for
fear of not working. For all the publicity the #MeToo movement generated in the
media, there’s no shortage of photos featuring the likes of Oprah Winfrey,
Meryl Streep and even Hillary Clinton and others all cuddling up to Harvey
Weinstein. You just won’t see them in the mainstream media, because once again,
they contradict the narrative. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Professional
sports has suffered as well by its embrace of liberal philosophy by athletes
and broadcasters alike — former San Francisco 49’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick
being their poster child. The media has constantly whined about him not being
signed by any NFL team, insisting there is a conspiracy against him for
starting the disrespectful take a knee during the National Anthem movement.
However, nowhere are you hearing about his team winning only three of the last
19 games he started as quarterback. Again, that doesn’t fit the liberal
narrative.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile,
former Seattle Seahawk Michael Bennett, whose leftist activities were much more
vocal and visible in the media, was traded to the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia
Eagles. He’s playing in spite of his politics because unlike Kaepernick, he’s
one of the best in the game. If anyone has a case about being discriminated
against by the NFL because of his personal beliefs, it’s Tim Tebow. But again,
that doesn’t fit the media narrative – nor does the fact TV ratings for the
2017-2018 NFL season were down over 19 percent and ticket sales are at their
lowest levels ever. Is there any doubt as to why?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet, in
spite of the Republicans ongoing political dysfunction, and bunker mentality, the
conservative media has grown strong by becoming the primary combatant against
the Socialist threat. When was the last time you heard of liberal talk radio?
For example, even in ultra-liberal Seattle, two conservative talk radio
stations flourish, while the lone liberal one shut down due to low ratings. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Republicans
like John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, John Kasich and
perhaps even Paul Ryan have themselves become entrenched in the Deep State, and
are openly anti-Trump. But conservative local talk radio, conservative TV
networks like Fox and the One America Network (OAN), along with the online
right-wing media have become the voice of the folks that elected Donald Trump
to “drain the swamp.” It has also driven the rise of militant right-wing
websites like <i>The Blaze</i> and <i>Brietbart News, </i>as well as the entire
alt-right spectrum, turning demagogues like Milos Yiannopoulos into celebrities.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the
bottom line for all of this media hypocrisy is money…</span></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The newspaper
business model — display advertising, classifieds and subscriptions is dead and
buried. The internet business model is paywalls, interactive ads,
click-throughs, and tracking you online and via your smartphone. So driving
eyeballs to your website or app is critical because that’s where the money is.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That’s also why
inflammatory headlines abound — even for stories unrelated to politics. We’ve
all seen them at the bottom of political stories with bold headlines that read,
“You won’t believe what your favorite 70’s movie star looks like now.” Or, “Man
buys Russian tank off eBay and finds surprise inside.” And “You should never
shop on Amazon without using this trick.” People routinely click on those just
like they do the anti-Trump or anti-Socialist headlines, even though they have
nothing at all to do with the content of the original piece. And each click generates
money…</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However,
much of mainstream America has grown weary of being assaulted by this constant
barrage of sensationalist negativity that tracks our every move. Except for
those inside the echo chambers on both sides who take partisan talking points
as gospel, and adamantly refuse to think for themselves, the mainstream media
has lost the trust of the majority of Americans.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another
example of exactly how combative the mainstream media has become towards Trump,
the <i>NY Times</i> refuses to list the
book, <i>“Killing the Deep State” </i>by
Jerome Corsi, on its Best Seller list — in spite of the fact it has outsold
everything else on it. Corsi is the <i>New York
Times</i> bestselling author of <i>The
Obama Nation, The Late Great USA,</i> and <i>Unfit for Command</i> — not exactly a “deplorable.” In the
book, he pulls the veil off the Deep State and the powerful agencies behind it
— the FBI, CIA, DOJ, NSA, and the Federal Reserve. Yet the <i>Times</i> whined that as long as Trump’s picture is on the book jacket,
they’ll refuse to list it. Are they really being that petty, or are they afraid
people will actually buy this book and learn that Trump has been right about
the Deep State all along — disproving the leftist narrative they’re so heavily
invested in editorially?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the other
hand, Trump’s attacks on Amazon are viewed in some quarters as an attempt to
send Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos — who also owns the <i>Washington Post </i>— a pointed
message that the paper’s coverage of Trump and his administration is unfair and
heavily biased. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Either way,
the electronic mainstream media is slowly, and seemingly deliberately, going
the way of the printed word. While the mainstream media’s audience isn’t dying
off like print’s Baby Boomers, the media is slowly but steadily killing them off
— one person at a time — as it commits “suicide
by clicks.” The bottom line is that the American
public is clearly repulsed by the continual and blatant barrage of liberal
propaganda being shoved down its collective throat by the news,
entertainment and sports media. And more to the point,<b> </b>doing that is driving their audiences
away.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Think about
it. Do you spend less time on Facebook and other social media now, than you did
a year ago? Do you watch less TV news — and less sports — now than you used to?
Why? Is it because you’re tired of your intelligence being insulted and your
values being disrespected by the liberal opinion being blasted in your face 24/7
in every political “news” story? Or is it simply because pompous,
self-righteous twits like David Hogg, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, as well as
bloated loudmouths like Rosie O’Donnell, Michael Moore, Whoppi Goldberg, and
even Oprah Winfrey have become so unbelievably boring by their continual spew
of tired old left-wing drivel? Meanwhile Shawn Hannity and Tucker Carlson’s
audiences continue to grow. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So as the
mainstream media continues to censor what you see and hear, as well as sell
your personal information to anyone willing to pay, how much less time will you
be spending there a year from now? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify; text-indent: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Inquiring minds want to know…</span><b> </b></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-48505088164380826992016-11-08T08:37:00.006-08:002016-11-21T11:09:14.037-08:00Post-Election Observations...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">In reading the highly <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">toxic</span> posts on Facebook from friends and others lamenting Donald Trump's victory, what I find most curious in all this the-sky-is-falling, and our-children-are-doomed<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> reactionary </span>rhetoric is that not a single one of them has stepped up to acknowledg<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e</span> the obvious </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> Hillary Clinton was a highly flawed candidate </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> not easily likable, totally unethical, in-your-face dishonest, morally bankrupt, and brazenly corrupt. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Did any of them even bother to read <i>any</i> of the <a href="http://wikileaks.org/" target="_blank">Wikileaks</a> material? It is literally a treasure trove of <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">documented</span> information detailing how Hillary </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the elitists</span> around her </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> flaunted the law the rest of us are expected to live by<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, or pay the consequences</span>. Our nation witnessed how Hillary and DNC openly screwed Bernie Sanders right out of the nomination </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">without a second thought</span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> a nomination which he rightfully earned </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>and yet <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lemming Democ<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">rats</span></span> still supported her anyway. The biggest irony, to me at least, is that had Democrats played the game honestly </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> and by their own rules </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> Bernie most likely would have beaten Trump.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">So where do we go from here?</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">If you saw Trump's acceptance speech, you saw him openly reach out to those who didn't support him. He was more gracious and presidential than at any time <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">during</span> this nasty, ugly campaign. If you actually listened to Hillary's concession speech, you heard her ask her supporters to graciously accept Trump's invitation to work together and open their minds to cooperating with the President-Elect. If you listened to President Obama's speech after Hillary's, you heard him echo th<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">at</span> same theme of unity and cooperation<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>now that the outcome has been decided.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">I question whether or not <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump's</span> highly strident opponents are even capable of that, but I certainly hope they will at least <i>try</i> to <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">give him an even break</span>. That said, Trump needs to act quickly and decisively on some issues </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> which if done right, may actually win some of them over. The first and foremost </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> in my mind at least </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> is the replacement of Obamacare. <i>Not its repeal but its replacement.</i> I understand why this is a major issue to so many. For example, mothers with children who are dependent upon it for the medicine that keeps their children alive are very scared by the uncertainty </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">justifiably</span> so. For them, and the millions of others who depend on it, there needs to be a seamless transition to a better, more efficient, less costly system </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> <i>not its elimination. </i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">Trump needs to immediately begin reaching out to our allies in the world community and building bridges that reassure them he isn't a war-monger. Their first and foremost common goal should be the total defeat of ISIS. I also think he needs to reach out to Cuba and let them know he won't cave in to pressure to shut down the new relationship Obama has established. Cuba is a huge American business opportunity just waiting to happen 90 miles off our shores.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">There's a lot of other things he needs to <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">pursue</span> as well, and I'm confident he will move America forward. The real question is how much political and anarchist opposition will he face from Hillary supporters for <i>no other reason</i> than he's Donald Trump </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> as opposed to bona-fide philosophical differences? The only advice I can offer is what I learned to do from my training wit<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">h </span><a href="http://www.anthonyrobbins.com/" target="_blank">Tony Robbins</a> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> and that's in any negative situation to ask yourself two questions </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> "What's good about this?" and "What opportunities are hidden in this adversity?" </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true">The bottom line is that the sky <i>isn't </i>going to fall<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">; o</span>ur kids <i>aren't</i> doomed<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">; a</span>nd the stock market <i>isn't</i> going to crash all because Donald Trump is our President. And more to the point, the sun<i> will</i> rise tomorrow. It's my sincere hope that the Hillary supporters will put aside their differences </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> even if just in the short term </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span></span></span></span></span> so all of America can have an honest chance to come together</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-offset-key="fvneo-0-0"><span data-text="true"> like we did after 9/11 and seize the opportunities that await us, because as Hillary said, we are all "Stronger Together." <i>Carpe Diem America! </i> </span></span></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-16336225492783906312016-11-08T08:37:00.003-08:002016-11-10T07:37:58.318-08:00My final thoughts on the election... <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A number of p</span>eople have asked me why I support Donald Trump since h<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e</span> is a (<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">f</span>ill in the blank(s) here). The answer is simple. For me, it's about <i>what he</i> <i>isn't. </i>What he isn't is a proven dishonest, unethical, corrupt pathological liar who has enriched himself by selling influence and favors that have jeopardized America's national security. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">I'm not even a Republican <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span> but an Independent voter. I proudly registered as a Democrat on my 18th birthday, and in all these years don't believe I ever left the Democratic Party, but do believe it has left me. The party that was once the champion<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> of</span> justice and hard<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-</span>working Americans has become nothing more than a shell of its former self, and today is little more than a mouthpiece for<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span>and vehicle to, change America into a Socialist <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nation</span> — which will benefit the elites in power, while the rest of us support them with ever-increasing taxes.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">Was Donald Trump my first choice? Hell No. Personally, I liked Ben Carson and Carley Fiorina. But the bottom line is that Trump beat 16 of the most powerful Republicans in the country — fair and square — losing only <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">two</span> primaries in the process<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">coming</span></span> in a close second in both. Meanwhile Hillary had to blatantly cheat to beat a 76-year old Communist </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">— </span></span></span></span>who rightfully earned it<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">—</span></span></span></span></span> out of the nomination<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span>brazenly demonstrating a level of absolute political corruption never before <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">witnessed</span> in American politics. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">If you haven't read the <a href="https://www.wikileaks.org/" target="_blank">Wikileaks</a> material, you should. While the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lamestream Media is in Hillary's pocket and has pointedly ignored what Wikileaks has exposed, </span>It makes Trump — for all his faults — look like a saint in comparison to Hillary. I believe Trump will clean house — expose and fix the corruption that has infected our government right down to the local level in many cases — like in Broward County, Florida, where I grew up for example... </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">Hillary met with Brenda Snipes, the Supervisor of Elections there, last week. My late brother actually worked for her when he died, as well as for the previous Supervisor of Elections, the late Jane Carroll. He <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">once told me<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>that</span> in comparison to Carroll, Snipes is the most dishonest, blatantly partisan public official he'd ever seen in 20+ years of working <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">fo<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">r</span></span> Broward County government. This week, an employee came forward and exposed Snipes' office for filling in thousands of absentee ballots for Hillary and other Democrats. Is there a connection there? You decide... </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">How any <i>thinking</i> woman can support and vote for Hillary Clinton after she has vilified all the women her husband has had affairs with, abused, and raped is totally beyond me. I wish someone would explain it to me in a way that makes sense and doesn't <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">reek</span> of the double-standard of partisan hypocrisy.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">Trump may be a lot of bad things, and I agree this is the most difficult choice America has ever faced. But I do believe <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump</span> loves America and will surround himself with smart, experienced people who will reinforce the Constitution, clean up the corruption Clinton is banking on to be elected, and bring America back from the brink of extinction that Obama has <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">led</span> us <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">down</span> the path <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span>Hillary has publicly stated she will continue leading us down Obama's path — until the America we all know and love is gone — and making herself even richer in the process. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">I think that perhaps a lot of people are voting <i>for America</i> more than<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i>for<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></i></span>Donald Trump,<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and voting <i>against</i> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">everything </span>Hillary Clinton is, and stands for. They<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'re voting for</span> what Obama promised, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">but</span> never delivered — <i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">honest</span> Hope and Change.</i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-offset-key="dmt01-0-0"><span data-text="true">I hope that answers your question about why I support Donald Trump...</span></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-31292934159517682502016-06-07T15:50:00.001-07:002016-06-07T16:48:38.880-07:00Is Trump Right About The Press?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">I recently read an article someone posted on Facebook from Politicusa.com headlined "<a href="http://www.politicususa.com/2016/02/27/trump-freedom-press-not-people.html">Trump Says Freedom of the Press Must Go Because 'He's Not Like Other People.'"</a> That's certainly a bit over dramatic. But as
a member of the working political press for most of my adult life, and serving as a former elected official, I can certainly understand Trump's
frustration with a "free press" that refuses to tell the entire truth, or adhere to journalistic ethics when it
doesn't suit their political agenda. </span></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">Obama took control of the press early on by restricting press access of journalists who
disagreed with him and his policies — and access is the lifeblood of the
press. By doing so, he dictated not only the political agenda from that point forward </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">—</span></span> but the press coverage of it as well. That lesson wasn't lost on Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders. or the Democratic establishment as a whole. That also has a lot to do with why the FBI investigations of Hillary or the riots at Trump rallies by Bernie supporters paid by George Soros aren't getting a lot of Lamestream Media (LSM) coverage. Meanwhile, every outrageous Trump utterance gets major media attention and anything positive he does is ignored. It's why his daughter gets peppered with questions about her father's attitude towards women, while no card-carrying member of the LSM would ever dream of asking Chelsea Clinton that very same question. </span></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">The LSM has become little more than the Extreme Left's Press Office. It's why Political Correctness, Black Lives Matter, the Muslim and Mexican invasions have all been shoved down America's collective throat along with Travon Martin, Freddie Gray, and Michael Brown </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">— </span></span></span></span>while Kate Steinle was pointedly ignored.</span></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">The six questions every ethical journalist is supposed to answer in an
unbiased manner in any news story are "who, what, when where, why and
how." After answering those in a factual manner, the
reader should be able to make up his or her own mind about the subject matter. When was the
last time you read a so-called "news" story that wasn't slanted in one direction or another? And to be fair, the right wing press is just as bad. However, except for FOX News, the right doesn't have the major mass media exposure of CBS, MSNBC, Politico, et.al. </span></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">I often wonder where the Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's of today's press are. </span></span>Because the media coverage is so absolutely politically biased, Trump thinks libel laws need to be reformed, making it easier to sue. However, those laws are
written in such a way that a "public figure" such as Trump </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">—</span></span> or your local public official </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">—</span></span> can't sue for libel or
slander <i>(Williams v. NY Times)</i> — no matter how inaccurate, untrue,
intentionally slanted and/or blatantly biased a story is, unless they can prove
"intentional malice" beyond a shadow of a doubt — which is exceptionally
difficult. </span></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">Having been on the receiving end of obvious intentional distortions and half truths from a certain member of the local press, and who's editor refused to exercise any kind of ethical restraint, I
certainly understand Trump's frustration. It became my policy to not even talk to that reporter, but to have questions emailed and the answers sent back the same way. That way I had a record of <i>exactly</i> what was asked and how it was answered. </span></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">Based on my own personal experience </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">—</span></span> on both sides of the media fence, both as an elected official, and as a political columnist, Editor and Publisher </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">—</span></span> I agree with
loosening up the libel laws to some extent. Making it easy to sue for <i>any</i> story critical of a public figure, would be going way overboard. However, there is only <i>one </i>allowable and recognized defense in a libel suit </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">—</span></span> <i>The Truth.</i> </span></span></div>
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<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">In my opinion, making the press responsible for telling the truth </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">—</span></span> or paying for their obvious bias </span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">—</span></span> would be a healthy start to restoring true ethics in journalism. Editorial commentary belongs
on the OP/ED page, not the front page, where sadly, it now resides more
often than not.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-35966422619069712182016-03-12T15:08:00.003-08:002016-05-05T14:25:44.644-07:00What Do Trump Supporters REALLY Want?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">As someone who made a living for the majority of my working
life as a political observer and commentator, I <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">view</span> the rise of Donald Trump <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">as</span> a triumph of our political system - NOT <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">its</span> downfall as so many establishment politicians in BOTH parties, as well as the Lamestream Media (LSM) w<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ant</span> you to believe.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">The majority of people supporting Trump are NOT the nut jobs, racists, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">misogynists</span>, and basic morons the political establishment - with the help of the highly biased L<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">SM</span>
- would like <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to convince you</span> they are. The truth is, both parties, as well as the LSM are scared sh*tless of Donald Trump. Why? Because they have absolutely no leverage that will allo<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">w</span> them to exert the kind of control over Trump that they <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">have</span> over Hillary,<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Bernie, </span>Cruz, Rubio, Kasich, Romney, et. al. Trump is not beholden to<i> anyone</i> but the voters - <i>and that's as it should be</i>. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T</span>he<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> political establishment's</span> biggest fear is<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">threat</span> a President Trump represents to the liberal's<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">socialist, one-world government </span>ambitions, a<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nd taxpayer-funded elitist lifes<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tyles, </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">coupled with Conservative's fear of loosening the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">financial</span> and political strangleholds they've ha<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">d </span>on the American people <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">for generations<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">For the most part, Trump supporters </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">don't care <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">he</span> is rude, crude<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and obnoxious</span></span></span></span></span>. To th<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">em, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">his outrageous poli<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">tically incorrect</span> pontifications are</span> a breath of fresh air. They find it absolutely amazing that <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a politician</span> is <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">actually</span> saying out loud what <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">many</span> people are privatel<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">y thinking.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span>Most supporters are
ordinary, hard-working Americans who honestly believe BOTH parties are
hopelessly corrupt.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>They're frustrated and very angry<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">sincerely </span>believ<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ing</span> </span>government <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">elitists</span> and the shadowy, behind the scenes political establishment </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">don't care what's best for America, they care what's best for them.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T</span>hey <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">believe the political establishment power brokers own</span></span> the syste<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">m<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">h<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ave </span></span>rigged it in their favor, and </span></span> the American Dream <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">has become</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">an endangered species. And to <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a great</span> extent, they<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'</span>re <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">right</span>. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">A good many of them are ordinary Americans - small business people and working class folks who grew up <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">during</span> a better time in our nation. They <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">came of age</span> with the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reverend</span> Dr. Martin Luther King preaching non-violent racial equality - not the Black Lives Matter brand of blatant<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ly </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">v<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">iolent<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, anarchist </span></span></span>racism. They grew up when hard work got you ahead, earned you more money, and opened career doors - <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">un</span>like today's $15 an hour minimum wage<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, burger-flipping </span>entitlement mentality. They grew up when differences in religio<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">n <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">weren't a <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">reason</span> for </span>a behead<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ing, or<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> for </span>broadcasting it over the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I</span>nternet</span>. They grew up in a<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> c<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ountry</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">where </span></span>philosoph<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ical</span>, economic<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, racial<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span></span> religio<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">us</span>, sexual<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span>and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">all the other differences dividing</span> America today, were not only tolerated, but were respected and celebrated. That's w<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">h</span>y </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan resonates <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">so</span> strongly with them. They remember when America <i>was</i> great.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Y</span>ounger Trump supporters<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>long for the same American opportunity their parents and older peers once experienced and still believe in. T<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hey understand</span> t</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">here is more than enough blame to go around about how we got to where we are today. But t</span></span></span></span>o them, it's become a case of, <i>"<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">f</span>ix the problem, not the blame." </i>Today's sharply divided America is NOT the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nation</span></span> these people want
to raise their children in, or pass on to their grandchildren. They see Donald Trump as offering the ONLY hope
they have of "fixing the problem" and creating a better life, and better country, for themselves, their kids, and their <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">grand-kids</span>. T<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hat's </span>because they've lost all faith in our current political system and in its so-called "leaders<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">."</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In spite of what the L<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">SM <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">would have you believe</span>, m</span></span></span></span>any <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump supporters<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> are </span></span>Democrats and <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I</span>ndependents who tend to lean left.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many also <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">believe it's past time for a woman to be president. </span>However, t</span>hey view Hillary's</span> blatant, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-</span>your<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-</span>fac</span>e dishonesty a<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">long with her complet<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e and</span></span> total <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lack of</span> ethics as offer<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ing</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">only</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> more</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of</span></span></span> the same politically corrupt elitism<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> - </span>which <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">doesn't give</span> them<i> any real reason</i> to support her. Meanwhile, any <i>thinking</i> person who
understands basic 6th-grade math also understands that in spite of all the promises of "free stuff," Bernie's "Democratic Socialist" platform is <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nothing more than <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a</span></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">shortcut</span> to
financial <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hardship and a lower standard of living</span> - both individually and collectively - and a <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">much</span> faster way to get there than
the path we're already on. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody">However, they also realize Cruz, Rubio, Kasich,<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>Romney, and
the Republican<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> establishment</span> offer nothing substantially different and/or better for them over the long term than
the Democrats - it will just be more of the same, and business as usual. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T</span>he<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> party's</span> attempts at trying to stop
Trump have backfired, just reinforcing their view that<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> a hopelessly corrupt</span> system is
actively working against<i> them</i> to preserve the political st<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a</span>tus quo for the benefit of the elitists in power. It's certainly a very sad commentary on the status of
our political <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">system</span> today<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. However, it's</span> what is driving the millions of
new voters Trump's cand<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">idacy</span> has awakened, and brought into <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">our</span> political process. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span>entrenched political </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">establishment</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">refuses to</span> </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">understand or acknowledge, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">is </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">th<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">at</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> there is a revolution <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">underway</span>. That to millions of Americans</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, </span>Donald Trump <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ironically represents</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">what <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We The People want and need - and the </span>elitists on <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">BOTH</span> sides h<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ave</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> failed to <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">deliver<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. And that is </span></span></span>real, true, and honest, </span><i>Hope and Change. </i></span></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-28172211080036721822016-01-22T08:16:00.002-08:002016-01-22T11:02:45.487-08:00An Explanation of the Trump Phenomenon<div style="text-align: justify;">
I know I haven’t posted anything on this blog in quite some time, but I’ve been experiencing life away from the poison of politics — especially those in Port Orchard — and found it agrees with me for the most part. However, now and again you come across something that resonates and just begs to be shared.<br />
<br />
This is perhaps the very best explanation I’ve seen yet about why Donald Trump has captured the hearts and minds of so many average Americans. And the Trump phenomenon — while upsetting the proverbial apple cart of the political elite <i>in both parties</i> — is obviously something neither the Lamestream Media, Liberals, Conservatives, or establishment Republicans “get.” And that's why they are joining forces to align against him. The question yet to be answered, is can they thwart the will of the American people? <br />
<br />
No matter what your politics are or who you support, this is an excellent read and well worth the three minutes or so of your life it will take. The author is the political correspondent for <i>Bloomberg</i> and wrote extensively about Obama — even before he was elected — and he did it with facts and more facts.<br />
<br />
<b>“Who is DonaldTrump?”<br /><br />By Don Fredrick</b><br />
The better question may be, “What is Donald Trump?” The answer: A giant middle finger from average Americans to the political and media establishment.<br />
<br />
Some Trump supporters are like the 60s white girls who dated black guys just to annoy their parents. But most Trump supporters have simply had it with the Demosocialists and the “Republicans in Name Only.” They know there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between Hillary Rodham and Jeb Bush, and only a few cents worth between Rodham and the other GOP candidates.<br />
<br />
Ben Carson is not an “establishment” candidate, but the Clinton machine would pulverize Carson, and the somewhat rebellious Ted Cruz will (justifiably so) be tied up with natural born citizen lawsuits (as might Marco Rubio). The Trump supporters figure they may as well have some fun tossing Molotov cocktails at Wall Street and Georgetown while they watch the nation collapse.<br />
<br />
Besides, lightning might strike, Trump might get elected, and he might actually fix a few things. Stranger things have happened. (The nation elected a Marxist in 2008 and Bruce Jenner now wears designer dresses.)<br />
<br />
Millions of conservatives are justifiably furious. They gave the Republicans control of the House in 2010 and control of the Senate in 2014 and have seen them govern no differently than Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Yet those same voters are supposed to trust the GOP in 2016? Why? Trump did not come from out of nowhere. His candidacy was created by the last six years of Republican failures.<br />
<br />
No reasonable person can believe that any of the establishment candidates will slash federal spending, rein in the Federal Reserve, cut burdensome business regulations, reform the tax code, or eliminate useless federal departments (the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, etc.). Even Ronald Reagan was unable to eliminate the Department of Education. (Of course, getting shot at tends to make a person less of a risk-taker.) No reasonable person can believe that any of the nation’s major problems will be solved by Rodham, Bush, and the other dishers of donkey fazoo now eagerly eating corn in Iowa and pancakes in New Hampshire.<br />
<br />
Many Americans, and especially Trump supporters, have had it with:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
• Anyone named Bush<br />
• Anyone named Clinton</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
• Anyone who’s held political office</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
• Political correctness</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
• Illegal immigration.<br />
• Massive unemployment</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
• Phony “official” unemployment and inflation figures.<br />
• Welfare waste and fraud<br />
• People faking disabilities to go on the dole<br />
• VA waiting lists<br />
• TSA airport groping<br />
• ObamaCare</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
• The Federal Reserve’s money-printing schemes<br />
• Wall Street crooks like Jon Corzine<br />
• Michelle Obama’s vacations<br />
• Michelle Obama’s food police<br />
• Barack Obama’s golf<br />
• Barack Obama’s arrogant and condescending lectures<br />
• Barack Obama’s criticism/hatred of America<br />
• Valerie Jarrett<br />
• “Holiday trees”<br />
• Hollywood hypocrites<br />
• Global warming nonsense<br />
• Cop killers<br />
• Gun confiscation threats<br />
• Stagnant wages<br />
• Chevy Volts<br />
• Clock boy<br />
• Pajama boy<br />
• Mattress girl <br />
• Boys in girls’ bathrooms<br />
• Whiny, spoiled college students who can’t even place the Civil War in the correct century...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And that’s just the short list!<br />
<br />
Trump supporters believe that no Democrat wants to address these issues, and that few Republicans have the courage to address these issues. They certainly know that none of the establishment candidates are better than barely listening to them, and Trump is their way of saying, “Screw you, Hillary Rodham Rove Bush!” The more the talking head political pundits insult the Trump supporters, the more supporters he gains. (The only pundits who seem to understand what is going on are Democrats Doug Schoen and Pat Caddell and Republican John LeBoutillier. All the others argue that the voters will eventually “come to their senses” and support an establishment candidate.)<br />
<br />
But America does not need a tune-up at the same old garage. It needs a new engine installed by experts — and neither Rodham nor Bush are mechanics with the skills or experience to install it. Hillary Rodham is not a mechanic; she merely manages a garage her philandering husband abandoned. Jeb Bush is not a mechanic; he merely inherited a garage. Granted, Trump is also not a mechanic, but he knows where to find the best ones to work in his garage. He won’t hire his brother-in-law or someone to whom he owes a favor; he will hire someone who lives and breathes cars.<br />
<br />
“How dare they revolt!” the “elites” are bellowing. Well, the citizens are daring to revolt, and the RINOs had better get used to it. “But Trump will hand the election to Clinton!” That is what the Karl Rove-types want people to believe, just as the leftist media eagerly shoved “Maverick” McCain down GOP throats in 2008 - knowing he would lose to Obama. But even if Trump loses and Rodham wins, she would not be dramatically different than Bush or most of his fellow candidates. They would be nothing more than caretakers, not working to restore America’s greatness but merely presiding over the collapse of a massively in-debt nation.<br />
<br />
A nation can perhaps survive open borders; a nation can perhaps survive a generous welfare system. But no nation can survive both — and there is little evidence that the establishment candidates of either party understand that. The United States cannot forever continue on the path it is on. At some point it will be destroyed by its debt.<br />
<br />
Yes, Trump speaks like a bull wanders through a china shop, but the truth is that the borders do need to be sealed; we cannot afford to feed, house, and clothe 200,000 Syrian immigrants for decades (even if we get inordinately lucky and none of them are ISIS infiltrators or Syed Farook wannabes); the world is at war with radical Islamists; all the world’s glaciers are not melting; and Rosie O’Donnell is a fat pig.<br />
<br />
Is Trump the perfect candidate? Of course not. Neither was Ronald Reagan. But unless we close our borders and restrict immigration, all the other issues are irrelevant. One terrorist blowing up a bridge or a tunnel could kill thousands. One jihadist poisoning a city’s water supply could kill tens of thousands. One electromagnetic pulse attack from a single Iranian nuclear device could kill tens of millions. Faced with those possibilities, most Americans probably don’t care that Trump relied on eminent domain to grab up a final quarter acre of property for a hotel, or that he boils the blood of the Muslim Brotherhood thugs running the Council on American-Islamic Relations.<br />
<br />
While Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s greatest fear is someone giving a Muslim a dirty look, most Americans are more worried about being gunned down at a shopping mall by a crazed lunatic who treats his prayer mat better than his three wives and who thinks 72 virgins are waiting for him in paradise.<br />
<br />
The establishment is frightened to death that Trump will win, but not because they believe he will harm the nation. They are afraid he will upset their taxpayer-subsidized apple carts. While Obama threatens to veto legislation that spends too little, they worry that Trump will veto legislation that spends too much. You can be certain that if an establishment candidate wins in November 2016, his or her cabinet positions will be filled with the same people we’ve seen before. The washed-up has-beens of the Clinton and Bush administrations will be back in charge. The hacks from Goldman Sachs will continue to call the shots. Whether it is Bush’s Karl Rove or Clinton’s John Podesta who makes the decisions in the White House will matter little. If the establishment wins, America loses.<br />
<br />
<i>Don Fredrick</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>December 10, 2015</i><br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-7249448212969034032014-11-21T08:31:00.001-08:002014-11-21T08:31:15.243-08:00Republicans Blow a Golden Opportunity...<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
don't particularly like President Obama and personally feel he is the
worst president in the history of our nation. I used to say that about
W, and that he was the worst president since Jimmy Carter — who I worked
my ass off for, only to be SO sorely disappointed — until Obama came
along. For those who are ready to call me a racist for saying so, let me
say this... To paraphrase the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King — it isn't
about the color of his skin, it's about the content of his character.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Now that I have your attention...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
The Republican response to the president's immigration initiative is
EXACTLY why the Republicans can never maintain a sustainable leadership
position in Congress or the White House — and more importantly, with the
voters. They are SO focused on making this president look bad that they
are willing to cede millions of votes to the Democrats to do it. That
is not only stupid, but highly irresponsible.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Does Obama exceed his
constitutional authority in taking this action? Probably. However,
Congress and the Republicans blew a golden opportunity to take the lead on
this issue — which would have been the right thing to do — and they made
a conscious decision not to capitalize on what could have been a long term sustainable voter
bonanza for the party. What they fail to "get" is that it's their loss,
and the sheer numbers of immigrants is going to bite them in the ass in
the voting booth in the end. What the president has proposed is
reasonable and responsible, and they <i>should</i> have been leading the charge for it — taking
the issue away from the Democrats — not fighting it. Doing so, would have added millions of immigrants — and their children as they grew up into voting age — to the Republican Party.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I openly
admit to getting caught up in the hysteria of what could happen if Obama
gave blanket amnesty to all illegals in this country. The simple fact is
he didn't do that. I'm OK with what he proposed. It's much more
reasonable and responsible than I had anticipated. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Persecuting
this president will only have the negative effect of driving more people
to the Democratic Party — just as their stand on abortion and other
social issues has done. It seems like there isn't a way for the
Republicans to shoot themselves in the foot they haven't thought of, but
I have great confidence in their ability to find new and ingenious ways to do
it.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-45896955219136501792014-08-24T15:07:00.001-07:002014-08-24T15:35:35.338-07:00America Is NOT The Greatest Country In The World Anymore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JM3nvATF-U8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Someone recently
shared this clip with me on Facebook, and as we begin heading into the
2014 state and local elections as well as gear up for the 2016
presidential election, I thought it's well worth passing on. It’s
actually a clip from the HBO show, The Newsroom. There is an eight-minute version that's <i>much </i>better, but not downloadable. It can be viewed <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%EF%BF%BDhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEa2NvOXSEc">here.</a> However, the sentiments
expressed by Jeff Daniels are something that I believe in our heart of
hearts most Americans have come to believe.<br /><br />So how <i>do</i> we restore America to greatness?<br /><br />I
believe we need to reject the divide and conquer culture of
divisiveness that has been spawned by <i>both</i> political parties, and
overthrow the radicals on both the left and right that have pitted us
against each other for their own political gain. Neither the left’s
dream of a Socialist America, or the right’s desire to return the the
1950s, will serve our future in this age of technology and globalization. We must come
together as Americans — not Democrats or Republicans — and work together
to rebuild America into the great nation we all know it’s capable of
being.<br /><br />That begins with electing moderate leaders at
every level from the courthouse to the White House </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">— <i>not</i> more of the ideologues on <i>either</i> side that have brought America to this point</span></span>. We need true <i>leaders</i>
with vision, passion, and strength, that understand the art of
compromise, and who are willing to sacrifice partisan political
advantage for the greater good of America.<br /><br />At the national level,
it certainly isn’t Hilary Clinton — nor is it Rand Paul or Ted Cruz.
Who is it? I don’t know, but I sincerely believe that man or woman is among us. We — the voters — need to be strong enough to reject our own
political party’s dictates if it becomes necessary to embrace the leader
with the courage to stand up for what's right, and do what needs to be
done. Personally, I’d like to see Tony Robbins step up to this, but
that’s just wishful thinking on my part.<br /><br />Someone commented on my
Facebook post, saying, “Good thoughts Lary , but I think your showing
the want to get back to the 50’s here when Ike was in charge and the
highways were being built.”<br /><br />Not true... I have no desire to
return to the 50’s. In this age, where technology advances daily, the
only technological advance we’ll <i>never</i> see is the ability to turn the
clock back. I would like to see a return to strong family values, the ethic of hard
work that’s rewarded, and pride in that work, as well as the standard
of excellence once again becoming much higher than the mediocrity left
leaning Liberals running our major cities and universities have forced
us to accept. <br /><br />Conversely, this is a much different world than it
was in the 1950s. Returning to the 50s is an unrealistic expectation in
this age of global business, technology, Islamic extremism, the growing
gap between the haves and have nots, the drug culture, and the fact
selling drugs in the inner city has created more high paying jobs than
business in the same areas. This is not to mention the unbridled racism
promoted by the Lamestream News Media as well as self-serving demagogues like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson,
that so pervades our country. Just look at Ferguson, Missouri for
proof.<br /><br />That same poster also stated, “People of Faith need to
exhibit How God can change lives for the better, not how Faith makes you
want to control lives.” Faith is only a partial answer. Although I
don't wear it on my sleeve, I am a man of faith who strongly believes
God can make a difference in each of our lives, but as long as churches
spend more time worrying about the building fund than about saving
souls, the expectation they will make a huge difference in meeting the
challenges we face in rebuilding the greatness of our nation, is in my
view, somewhat unrealistic as well. It’s up to each one of us individually —
with the help of God if we so choose to ask him for it — to step up and
have the courage to <i>be</i> the change that returns America to greatness.<br /><br />If this clip does nothing else, I hope it makes you think about America — and what’s once again possible...</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-73760608154038564502014-08-07T14:05:00.003-07:002014-08-07T14:05:57.896-07:00A Word About Commenting On Posts Here...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As with every election season, posts here, because of their tendency to be political in nature, are often commented upon. Our attitude has always been that comments on posts here are not only welcome, but are actually encouraged. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, If you're not willing to sign your name to your comments, I'm not willing to publish them. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This isn't about censorship, or about my choosing to ignore anything that disagrees with what I've written here. It's simply about commenters having the courage of their convictions, and the willingness to own their words. Nothing more. Nothing less.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We've all seen the rude behavior and hatefulness spawned by people hiding behind anonymous screen names on the <a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/">Kitsap Sun</a> site. While the paywall has discouraged some of that, there's still a fair amount of it going on. The Sound Publishing papers make commenters sign in to Facebook before they can comment as a way to keep the discussion civil, which I think is a pretty good solution. Unfortunately, since this blog is hosted by Google, that option isn't available to us.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What has prompted this post, is a rash of unsigned comments on some recent posts that I actually would have liked to publish, but won't because "Anonymous" isn't anyone's name. I believe that if people are forced to own the things they say, the quality of the discussion increases — as does its civility. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope you understand and agree. So in the future, sign your name and email address (which we don't publish or use in any other way) for verification, and look for your opinion to be published. It's just that simple.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-36242616977301343652014-07-25T15:50:00.001-07:002014-07-25T15:54:30.387-07:00Sheriff's Deputies Openly Oppose Hauge’s Re-election<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While the Kitsap County Deputy Sheriffs Guild hasn’t determined which candidate it will endorse for Kitsap County prosecutor, it has decided which one it <i>won't</i> endorse — incumbent Russ Hauge. <br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“The
prosecutor’s office is a mess, and Hauge is responsible for that, stated Guild President Jay Kent. "We
are not going to get the office’s problems fixed until he leaves the
office.” </span></span>In its strongly worded statement, the Guild said that while it was still assessing the other three candidates — </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bruce Danielson, Tina Robinson, and Bob Scales — </span></span></span></span>it had decided to officially oppose Hauge and encouraged the voters to consider one of the other three i</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">n the August 5 primary.<br /><br /> Kent explained that the Guild took the unusual position of issuing an “anti-endorsement” because of its strong opposition to Hauge. He said the Guild wanted more time to assess the other three candidates, but that it was “firmly set” against Hauge’s reelection.<br /><br />Kent explained that the Guild and its members had “no confidence” in the Prosecuting Attorney Civil Division. Kent said, “We are especially unhappy with Hauge’s management of civil law matters. For our members, how the civil lawyers handle cases matters as much if not more. If our members get sued they are supposed to be defended by an attorney from the civil division, but most of our members would consider demanding that outside legal counsel be appointed if certain of Hauge’s attorneys were assigned to their case.”<br /><br />He went on to say, “We have seen his civil attorneys up close, and we would not want them handling our matters, given their recent performance.” Kent acknowledged that the way Hauge’s attorneys handled a number of recent cases with the Deputies Guild and other County labor unions influenced its assessment. But he added: “Yes, they have interfered with our labor contract, and are a big part of the reason we have been working without one since 2009. But it’s their overall performance and apparent incompetence that have alarmed us the most. As Deputy Sheriffs we are held to a high performance and ethics standard — and should be — but Hauge needs to hold his own deputy prosecutors to a similar standard.”<br /><br />Kent mentioned that two of Hauge’s deputies recently were cited by the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission for <a href="http://www.washingtonlaborandemploymentblog.com/2013/10/23/591/">withholding records</a> from the Guild and being less than truthful to an arbitrator about it. “Our deputies would be fired if they lie, but as far as I know Hauge’s hasn’t done anything to investigate these deputies.”<br /><br />Kent also mentioned the Guild had identified other “ethical lapses” by Hauge’s deputies. Hauge’s chief civil prosecutor Jacquelyn Aufderheide was also cited by the Public Employment Relations Commission for <a href="http://www.washingtonlaborandemploymentblog.com/2013/03/22/controversial-kitsap-deputy-prosecutor-cited-by-perc-for-violating-rules/">unlawfully interfering</a> with an agreement between the emergency dispatchers union and the County.<br /><br />He said that the Guild was concerned that another one of Hauge’s deputies had admitted to what the Guild viewed as “potential tampering” with a lawsuit between the Guild and the County by “improperly” talking to County judges while the case was pending. Kent noted that the lawyer later changed her story about the context of that exchange despite the fact that court transcripts demonstrate otherwise. “It’s clear one of her versions of the story was untrue, yet we have seen Hauge take no action on this whatsoever.”<br /><br />Guild Vice President Andy Aman expressed similar concerns about the County’s civil lawyers. “Of course our members are frustrated that they interfere with our contract and litigate everything to death, without apparent purpose. But just as big of a concern for us is the apparent lack of professionalism we have directly observed. I would not want them representing me if I were personally sued.”<br /><br />Aman explained that he recently watched Aufderheide in court trying to get a brief filed well after the filing deadline. “She explained to the judge that she didn’t know that there was a deadline for filing the brief. First of all, I just didn’t believe her but if that’s true that the chief civil prosecutor doesn’t know what the rules are for filing a brief that’s also very concerning. Frankly, I was embarrassed for her as I watched.” Aman noted that “they seem to make a lot of mistakes and then make excuses for those mistakes.”</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-50046031648020033112014-07-14T18:59:00.001-07:002014-07-14T19:25:14.957-07:00Mayor Matthes Takes Another Cheap Shot<div class="p1" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">I have made it a point NOT to publicly comment on anything Port Orchard Mayor Tim Matthes does, doesn’t do, or what passes for leadership and/or management these days at City Hall. The ONLY exception was to point out the blatant lies contained in his Citizens Report on the annexation of the Bethel Corridor. In that report, he stated the Council NEVER discussed the costs of service delivery — in spite of the fact there was more than a YEAR of public process — including numerous </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Finance Committee meetings, several City Council meetings, and in a number of public hearings i</span></span></span></span></span>nvolved.<br /><br />In that report, he stated, “When discussions were happening regarding the Bethel Corridor annexation, it was touted that the annexation would bring in a lot of revenue. What was never discussed was the costs to provide service and what the impact would be to the City.”<br /><br />That is either a blatant lie — or the words of someone completely uninformed about the entire annexation process for Bethel, and how the City went about it — in spite of his being a member of the City Planning Commission at the time. You can find my response <a href="http://westsoundpolitics.blogspot.com/2013/09/an-open-letter-to-mayor-tim-matthes.html">here.</a></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"><br />Last week, Matthes attempted to imply that I was involved in some kind of sinister back room deal that gave away the City’s water right to C&M Golf LLC, owners of McCormick Woods Golf Course. Nothing could be further from the truth. C&M Golf owns the well in question — NOT the City. With this mind, Councilman Rob </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Putaansuu was quoted in the <i><a href="http://www.portorchardindependent.com/news/266628341.html">Port Orchard Independent</a> </i>as saying, “This is petty politics, it really is. I think this whole situation is politically motivated and Matthes is trying to point to something Lary Coppola (former mayor) did wrong.”</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0"> <br /><br />According to the <i>Independent</i>, Putaansuu said Matthes' questions about the Well 4B water rights have been answered. He noted Matthes sent out an email asking the questions, but he doesn’t think the Mayor really wanted answers to those questions.<br /><br />“He never included the city attorney (Greg Jacoby) in the email requesting the information,” </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Putaansuu told the <i>Independent. </i>“He (Jacoby) is the one who could have provided the information. There was an email send out Friday (July 4) by the attorney that answered all of the mayor’s questions.”<br /><br />The agreement he is questioning was originally approved by the City Council in<b> 2003</b> — when Jay Weatherill was Mayor. The Department of Ecology (DOE) didn’t approve it until <b>2005</b>, when Kim Abel was Mayor, and the City didn’t receive the final DOE approval paperwork until 2008. Why it took the state so long to issue that approval and deliver the final paperwork to the City is a mystery that can only be solved in Olympia. However, City Attorney Greg Jacoby has confirmed this timeline, and in 2008 it was he that advised me to sign the agreement — just as the sitting Mayor is obligated to sign any other Council-approved document.<br /><br />Had the agreement been delivered to the city in a timely manner by DOE, either Mayor Weatherill or Mayor Abel would have signed that document and this would be a total non-issue. So if petty politics ISN'T the reason for this to come forward now, any thinking person has to wonder WHY Mayor Matthes and his political mentor Gil Michael, have brought it forward at all, because in the end, the City benefited. As </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Putaansuu has suggested, it appears to be petty politics at its worst. Or perhaps my wife and I looking at homes in McCormick Woods recently has spooked Matthes, who is rumored to want another term as Mayor.<br /> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Michael also called for Councilman Jerry Childs and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Putaansuu to recuse themselves from this issue because they play golf at McCormick Woods. This is an inane request, that borders on the absurd. All he is doing is trying to cast doubt on </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Putaansuu and Childs' integrity in the minds of low-information voters — something that in my view he’s no stranger to doing.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">The truth is, Childs and </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Putaansuu have done absolutely nothing wrong. Michael also points to </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Putaansuu's support of C&M Golf partner Shawn </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment736090183116074_737422369649522:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.$text0:0:$0:0">Cucciardi when he ran for Port Of Bremerton Commissioner in 2011 as another reason to recuse himself — in spite of being Chair of the City's Utility Committee. His support of Cucciardi has nothing at all to do with THIS issue, and it was done as a private citizen — NOT as a council member. It is absolutely no different than Michael’s political support of Council members Fred Chang and Bek Ashby. Using Michael’s logic, they both should have to recuse themselves as well.<br /><br />In the future, I would appreciate it if the Mayor and Mr. Michael would acquaint themselves with the actual facts before implying I'm involved in something sinister, and attempting to implicate me in it with NO proof whatsoever. Their cheap shots at me, at my character, and at my integrity, have gotten real old.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-54373208127283126782014-06-30T17:14:00.000-07:002014-06-30T20:40:57.478-07:00SCOTUS Decision on Hobby Lobby Fuels Fundraising Firestorm <div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Within hours of the Supreme Count decision on Hobby Lobby being announced, I received no less than 13 emails from various Progressives — starting with Senator Patty Murray — and from organizations with high-minded sounding names, dribbling all the way down to local candidates who have zero horsepower to change anything. What they all had in common was an obvious "outrage" at the SCOTUS decision, attached to an angry <i>demand</i> that I send them money <i>immediately</i> — anywhere from $1,000 to $3 — so they can "fight" this "evil decision."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And how exactly are they going to do that? Just like Citizens United case was, it’s a SUPREME COURT decision! That’s the end of the line legally. Game over! Do they REALLY think I’m so stupid, or so uninformed, that I don’t know they can’t do a damn thing about it — especially <i>local</i> politicians? They obviously think a lot people <i>are</i> that dumb, or they wouldn't be sending this stuff out in blanket spam emails to hundreds of thousands of people across the country.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’m not commenting either way on the decision itself, only on the fact that the political fundraising machine didn’t lose a minute's time to try and capitalize financially on it — even though just like Citizen's United, all the money in the world isn’t going to change it. Don't get me wrong. I get the same kind of things from the Republicans and their conservative cohorts on a pretty regular basis as well. Today it included a few </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">looking for money to celebrate "Religious Liberty" — whatever that means. </span></span>It's just that this one seemed well prepared in advance — by both sides — as the first one arrived at about 8 a.m — or 11 a.m. in Washington D.C. where the SCOTUS is located. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Is it just me, or does anyone else think this kind of political fundraising gamesmanship has contributed to America becoming so polarized as a nation? Does anyone else wonder why we are being pitted against each other by nameless, faceless "organizations" from both sides masquerading as advocates for issues we believe in, when in reality we're pretty clueless about who is behind them? Have our elected officials intentionally given up on the ability to compromise — even on things that are good for us — because it's become more about the money than about servant leadership? Consequences for the country be damned — it's become some kind of perverted contest to see how bad they can make the other side look than it is about doing what's right for America — which, in my view at least, is why America is in the pitiful shape it is today.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Time for a change... </span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-48617864407418877732014-06-24T11:19:00.002-07:002014-06-24T11:37:45.102-07:00Port Orchard Ponders Tightening Up Pot Zoning<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Port Orchard City Council
will vote On June 24, on an ordinance to restrict marijuana retailers, growers, and
processors from locating within 1,000 feet of home-based day care businesses.
While there are restrictions about where marijuana enterprises can locate, home-based day cares
are excluded under the state’s Liquor Control Board’s rules, while nursery
schools and preschools are not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On June 10, the city staff
presented the revised ordinance for the council’s consideration. At that
meeting, Development Director Nick Bond said the city wasn’t aware of the
state’s omission of home day cares in May, when the council approved the
current ordinance. What he meant to say, was HE was not aware of the omission —
which isn’t surprising.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Bond is in so far over his head in
what is his first job as a planning director, it isn't even funny. He’s barely worked as a planner,
much less a planning department head. Makes me wonder if that isn’t exactly why Mayor
Tim Matthes and puppetmaster Gil Michael picked him. His inexperience has
allowed them to run amuck unchecked, proposing things any experienced planning
director might recommend against. But that’s an entirely different story that
deserves looking into.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">On the surface, one would think
passing this should be a no-brainer. Sadly, Councilman Fred Chang opposes it,
saying in a <a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2014/jun/21/port-orchard-considers-adding-home-daycares-to/">Kitsap Sun article</a>, that he sympathizes with daycare owner Terri
Squires, who owns a home-based child care business inside the proposed 1,000
foot buffer, but said, “It sort of pains me a little bit that we might curtail
activity in an industrial center where we have so little (industrial zoning.)”</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Chang is obviously clueless
about how economic development actually works, and/or the fact the city
receives ZERO TAX REVENUE from marijuana enterprises. The Port Orchard
Industrial Park is meant to be a place for businesses to locate that create
jobs, and whose sales generate tax revenue for the city. Marijuana businesses
do neither — and there are FOUR — yes count ‘em, FOUR — marijuana producers at
the industrial park. The number of jobs created by marijuana enterprises in
comparison to a manufacturing operation using the same amount of that scarce,
industrially zoned square footage Chang is so worried about — including
other businesses located at that industrial park — is laughable.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></div>
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</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">ALL the tax money marijuana
businesses generate goes directly to the state, while local governments are
forced to deal with the negative impact, and local taxpayers get to foot the
bill. I’m not opposed to legalized marijuana, but do believe local taxpayers
shouldn’t be forced to deal with the consequences of it while the state treats
it like a cash cow with no responsibility for the outcome.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-49323191396138464112014-06-19T10:24:00.003-07:002014-06-19T11:08:28.390-07:00Handicapping the Kitsap Prosecutor's Race<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the first time since his initial election, when he challenged and beat incumbent C. Danny Clem 20 years ago, Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge has drawn opposition. But it isn't just one opponent, it's three — including one from his own party.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the primary election to be held in August, the top two vote getters will face each other in November. The big question is whether or not Hauge will survive the primary. In a poll on the<a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/"><i> </i></a><i><a href="http://www.kitsapsun.com/polls/2014/may/Prosecutor_051914/results/">Kitsap Sun,</a></i> he ran dead last — well behind the other three. Hauge seems to have drawn the ire of the community</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> over what has amounted to a taxpayer funded, personal vendetta against Marcus Carter and the Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club (KRRC) — that has gone on for over 15 years. According to a Public Records Request we filed, Hauge has spent nearly a half million of our tax dollars losing this well-publicized case in court to Carter — who acted as his own attorney — four different times.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the meantime, because he isn't going to win this case in court, Hauge has unleashed the county's Department of Community Development (DCD) against the KRRC, trying to basically shut the club down using land use rules. A source inside DCD has told us a controversial new ordinance currently under consideration that would all but shut down the club's operation, is being driven by Hauge's office — not the commissioners. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are currently preparing a Public Records Request to see if that's true or not. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparently, the fact the ordinance </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">would wreak havoc on local businesses, homeowners, and home sellers countywide — giving county code enforcers the authority to come on to your property at will, uninvited, is considered collateral damage in Hauge's fight to prevail in this vendetta. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But back to handicapping the race...</span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hauge is a Democrat, and his opponents are Republican Tina Robinson, a public defender; Democrat Bob Scales, former City Councilman and Mayor of Bainbridge Island, and Independent Bruce Danielson. All three are practicing attorneys. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bruce Danielson: </b>Danielson challenged Hauge four years ago and came close to unseating him, garnering 47 percent of the vote. I don't see him getting anywhere near that total this go around, as in my view, a lot of people didn't vote "for" Danielson, but voted "against" Hauge. While the sheer number of Democrats on Bainbridge Island made the difference for Hauge, this time, voters countywide have more choices. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not sure Danielson, who leans heavily conservative, will survive the primary. A lot of his support last time came from Republicans, who didn't have a candidate four years ago, but who will support Robinson — their party's candidate, this time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Tina Robinson: </b>Robinson is a smart lady, who prior to becoming an attorney was a business manager with Group Health, and had a successful career there. Her Achilles heal is that while she is a competent defense attorney, with the experience to run the business end of the Prosecutors Office, she admittedly has zero experience in the civil arena — which includes land use — a blood sport in Kitsap County. She said in an endorsement interview I was part of, that she believed the office has experienced, competent civil attorneys, and she would rely on their expertise. The problem with that is it leaves the inmates running the asylum. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Republicans smell blood in the water and will make a strong financial push to support Robinson. She's already raised more money that Hauge, and could wind up in the Top Two. But in the end, her lack of civil experience could make the difference between winning and losing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Bob Scales:</b> Scales is, in my view, far and away the most qualified candidate, and should be a no brainer best choice for voters. He has significantly more actual courtroom experience than almost all of the other candidates combined — especially Hauge, who has almost none, save losing to Carter and losing the case of the police dog that was shot and killed. He also brings the requisite administrative experience from King County and Seattle, as well as having served on the Bainbridge island City Council, where he was selected by the Council to serve a term as Mayor.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Bainbridge Island Democrat isn't as well known here as he is in Seattle, where he's spent his career practicing law for King County and the City of Seattle. Whenever there have been thorny issues to deal with — such as the Department of Justice's (DOJ) probe of the Seattle Police Department — Scales has</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> been the "go to guy" to get to the bottom of things and solve the problems, because he knows how to get things done.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem Scales has is his own party's Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs) who have closed ranks behind their incumbent, Hauge — in spite of his pathetic record. This is the same group of crybabies that publicly whined in the <a href="http://pugetsoundblogs.com/kitsap-caucus/tag/linda-streissguth/">Kitsap Sun</a> like spoiled children when County Commissioners Charlotte Garrido and Rob Gelder had the </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
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</style></span></span> <span style="font-family: Arial;">integrity to select the most qualified candidate — </span>Linda <span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Streissguth — to replace Josh Brown over their preferred choice, Leslie Daugs. The fact Daugs </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">has zero administrative, budgeting,
financial, or personnel management experience didn't matter to them. It was all about Daugs openly admitted ultra-liberal politics — <i>not</i> <i>her qualifications.</i> What's wrong with this picture?</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But if Hauge is eliminated in the primary — <i>which is a very real possibility</i> — the party will unite to support Scales just as it has Streissguth in her battle to hold on to the Commissioner's seat against formidable Republican challenger Ed Wolfe.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Conclusion:</b> The election will come down to Scales vs. Robinson. There is just too much anti-Hauge sentiment in this county over the issues with Carter and the KRRC. Republicans will push hard for Robinson, but in the end, with Hauge out, the Bainbridge Island Democrats will cinch it for Scales — which will be a <i>good thing</i> for Kitsap County. </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-40452857722121710462014-04-25T16:34:00.003-07:002014-04-25T17:08:32.391-07:00How Much Money Will Hauge's Vendetta Ultimately Cost Us?<div class="comment-content clear" style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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 <i>— three times, with Carter acting as his own attorney</i> — 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. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If this ultimately ends up in the Supreme Court — which is a <i>very real</i>
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.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Enough...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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...</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-48981317973968682582014-04-17T10:24:00.002-07:002014-05-23T11:57:43.997-07:00Bubba goes to the Waffle House: So what?<div style="text-align: justify;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWhOc9a3CyzFAQAf4CtF5yXTcj5tX5KOf-hM5_ACfcNQoLt-f_mDwHYG8PGXGN20i_31dd9nk_hb9V0jvVaAyW4iAWhdizV_Cx3YaWnor8wzbzIWgxTEiBSiBOYiBssaG6ZNP/s1600/1545140_690886197609458_946750367_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWhOc9a3CyzFAQAf4CtF5yXTcj5tX5KOf-hM5_ACfcNQoLt-f_mDwHYG8PGXGN20i_31dd9nk_hb9V0jvVaAyW4iAWhdizV_Cx3YaWnor8wzbzIWgxTEiBSiBOYiBssaG6ZNP/s1600/1545140_690886197609458_946750367_n.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>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 <i>her</i> our National Food Nazi anyway?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EvQrWuGbFLnjmoDR0or1mg9E6yXbQYMNXjQyEuhwDIrnZtTyCUd7n11abuO2jn4k_ZPxuyxlb3m0dyzQSiJ_b9X6088yuqIhyoGkjCXIgYzBKVZ2p3qLaeeSc1mcHL3R_76o/s1600/Waffle+House+Menu.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EvQrWuGbFLnjmoDR0or1mg9E6yXbQYMNXjQyEuhwDIrnZtTyCUd7n11abuO2jn4k_ZPxuyxlb3m0dyzQSiJ_b9X6088yuqIhyoGkjCXIgYzBKVZ2p3qLaeeSc1mcHL3R_76o/s1600/Waffle+House+Menu.JPG" height="247" width="320" /></a> 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 <i>knows</i>
that Watson's. "a complete phony about what he really eats."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e-3x06DQEU#t=31">here</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The bottom line is, what
business is it of anyone — much less some self-appointed elitist
busybody like Katherine Tallmadge — where <i>anyone</i> else eats, or <i>what</i> they eat? Do America a favor Katherine. Mind your
own business.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-89472058061372911902014-03-01T12:00:00.003-08:002014-03-01T12:00:37.353-08:00Time to draw a line in the sand...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It’s no secret to any non Kool-Aid drinking person actually paying attention to the world around them, that the Obama administration’s corrupt practices have led to a systematic dismantling of the protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Now that I have your attention, of course I realize that sounds blatantly partisan — like an alarmist Fox News rant, with a cup of Tea Party flavoring mixed in. However, if you’ve read George Orwell’s classic novel 1984, you know it isn’t.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The novel, originally published in 1949, is set in the superstate of Oceania, in a world perpetually at war, and where highly intrusive government surveillance of its citizens is omnipresent. Can you say NSA?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Public mind control is dictated by a political system known as “Big Brother.” It enforces the government’s invented language, “Newspeak” — or in our case, political correctness — both of which basically take away the right of free speech. In 1984, it’s all controlled by a privileged class of governmental elitists that prosecute all independent thinking and individualism as “thought crimes.” Sound familiar?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Nowhere is the scary comparison between 1984 and what is currently happening in America more evident than the recent announcement the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be sending people to “investigate” television and radio newsrooms across America. Under the guise of something called the “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs,” the agency plans to send “researchers” to grill reporters, editors and station owners about the news philosophy of their stations, and openly demand to know exactly who decides which stories are covered.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Quite frankly, that’s none of the government’s damn business! That’s what the First Amendment is all about.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />How long before this administration invades newspaper city rooms — which have become primarily Internet-based? How long before they use the government’s control over Internet access to regulate independent, web-based news content? And finally, overrun that last bastion of independent thought, bloggers?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />MSNBC and the rest of the Lamestream Media — except for Fox — has become little more than the press office of the Obama administration. So they’ve not resisted this heavy-handed government initiative to control what news we get to see and hear. I have to wonder, why not?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />However, the Radio Television Digital News Association <i>has</i> stood up to fight back, condemning the administration’s actions as, “ill-conceived,” and having the potential to, “...chill every journalist and every station which prides itself on journalistic independence.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />American University professor John Watson noted, “Whenever I hear of the government going into a newsroom to do something other than deliver coffee, I become frightened. Because the government should not, as a general rule, be any part of journalism.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />And former FCC commissioner Robert McDowell questioned, “How much government coercion might there be with all of this? Is the government trying to ultimately dictate speech and dictate how journalists are supposed to do their jobs?”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />This certainly appears to be the first step in that direction.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The very last thing we need is the government involved in deciding news content. This Big Brother-ish effort by the FCC is little more than a Trojan horse meant to integrate federal officials into the newsroom — where they don’t belong.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />And before all you Kool-Aid drinkers get your shorts in a wad, ask yourselves, what kind of outrage would you be expressing if this kind of government intrusion was proposed under the Bush administration?</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-35242722905561389082014-02-13T10:00:00.001-08:002014-02-13T10:10:30.720-08:00Inslee's hypocritical Death Penalty Move<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“I don’t question their guilt or the gravity of their crimes. They get no mercy from me,” stated Washington State Governor Jay Inslee when he announced that he would suspend all executions for prisoners on Death Row during the balance of his term in Olympia.<br /><br />Well, that’s an all too obvious lie. Suspending all executions <i>is</i> merciful — although not to the families and loved ones of the victims who wait for justice. Whether the Death Row inmates deserve Inslee's mercy or not is a totally different question. But his action is merciful nonetheless — in spite of his denial.<br /><br />I’m not altogether convinced the death penalty is a deterrent to murder, but do believe it should be preserved — although used sparingly. IMHO, there are just some people who are sociopathic predators, and some who simply commit crimes so heinous they deserve nothing less than death — Charles Manson for example, whom the taxpayers of California have supported for decades longer than he was a free man. Gary Ridgeway, AKA the Green River Killer, and Jonathon Lee Gentry, who killed 12-year old Cassie Holden by bludgeoning her with a rock in 1988, fall into that same category as well. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And what was the reason Ted Bundy openly admitted committing his crimes in Florida was his <i>only</i> mistake? Florida is a Death Penalty state that actually executes those who run out of legal appeals — as Bundy found out. <br /><br />Gentry has been on Death Row for 27 years now. Meanwhile, Inslee said, “It costs the state more to carry out a death sentence than to lodge a person in prison for life.” Personally, I’d like to see the numbers that prove it has cost the taxpayers less to house, feed, and fund more than a quarter century of his ongoing legal appeals, compared to the cost of filling a syringe and sticking it into this convicted murderer’s arm.<br /><br />If that’s Inslee’s idea of cost-effective government, Washington has significantly larger problems than the question of the death penalty.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-25840655892167561262013-12-05T19:13:00.001-08:002013-12-05T19:13:16.289-08:00Get Ready To Be Taxed For Every Mile You Drive<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Road usage charge options and tolling being discussed at </b></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Washington State Transportation Commission hearings Dec. 10 and 11</b></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Transportation revenue options are a focus of the Washington State
Transportation Commission’s meeting next week in Olympia. The commission
is completing an
evaluation of the business case for ways to replace the gas tax with a
<i><b>road usage charge system </b></i>(Read: Vehicle Miles Driven TAX). What this means is you will be charged to drive on roads you've already bought and paid for.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Commissioners also will hear a SR 520 tolling
update and discuss the future Interstate 405 express toll lanes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
meeting will start at 9 a.m. each day, Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 10
and 11, at the Transportation Building, 310 Maple Park Ave. SE, on the
Capitol Campus in Olympia.
The meeting is open to the public and persons wishing to speak to the
commission may do so during the public comment period scheduled at the
end of each day.</span></span><div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday’s
agenda begins with a continuation of discussions regarding the I-405
express toll lanes rates and policies. The project is currently under
construction between
Bellevue and Lynnwood and is expected to open in 2015. It is the first
phase of a planned 40-mile-long express toll lane system that will
ultimately run from Lynnwood to Renton on I-405 and connect to the
existing State Route 167 HOT lanes. Local officials
representing the I-405 and SR 167 corridor presented their
recommendations to the commission in November. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The commission will host a
public input process in early 2014 as they work towards setting the
toll rates and policies for the express toll lanes by spring
2014. <i>Unless you want to pay to drive on the roads you already own, make it a point to attend these hearings and make your voice heard.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tuesday
afternoon, <i>staff from the Oregon Department of Transportation will
brief the commission on the passage and implementation of Oregon’s new
road usage charge legislation.
</i> Following this, the commission will consider recommendations developed
by a broad-based steering committee for the next steps of Washington’s
Road Usage Charge Assessment which has been in progress for over a year.
The legislatively directed assessment has
looked at the feasibility and the business case for a possible road
usage charge system in Washington State that could replace the gas tax
in the future. The commission will submit its final report and
recommendations to the Legislature in January 2014.
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On
Wednesday, Washington State Department of Transportation staff will
brief the commission regarding tolling operations, including financial,
traffic and revenue updates
for the SR 520 Bridge and <i>Tacoma Narrows Bridge.</i> The commission also
will receive a briefing on the Results Washington program and WSDOT’s
implementation of Lean management.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For more information about the commission and complete meeting agendas, visit:
<a href="http://www.wstc.wa.gov/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.wstc.wa.gov/</span></a></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-26604157365157779932013-11-17T09:48:00.001-08:002013-11-17T10:07:33.593-08:00Local Republicans shoot themselves in the foot... again<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’ve written many times over the years in the <a href="http://kpbj.com/opinions/the_last_word">Business Journal</a> that
it’s my belief there isn’t a way for the Kitsap County Republican Party
to shoot itself in the foot that it hasn’t thought of, but that I have
great confidence in its ability to invent new ones. And once again, they
haven’t let me down. The most recent blunder came when the party mailed
out a campaign piece in South Kitsap endorsing Democrats over its own Republican
incumbents in the recent election. Yes, you read that correctly. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You have to feel sorry for local party chair Chris Tibbs, who is
being undermined by his own people — people’s whose personal agenda is
more important than the good of the party, or in this case, the good of
Port Orchard.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first time I met Tibbs, he was running for county commissioner in
Central Kitsap, and like many of the Republicans recruited to run for office here, I found him to be uninformed about
basic issues any candidate seeking the commissioner’s seat should
have known. Afterwards, the Republican Party elected him chair, and as I’ve
gotten to know him, have come to realize he’s really not a bad guy at
all. He also keenly understands what must happen for the party to
succeed in drawing electable candidates into its fold — the main thing
it’s failed miserably at for almost two decades under its former
ultra conservative leadership. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tibbs understands the infighting between the conservative
and moderate factions in the party has to stop or it will just be
business as usual — no one running for anything who is close enough to
the center to actually win a local election in a decidedly liberal county,
and a party that’s been marginalized into near obscurity by its own
actions. Tibbs has made it his goal to turn that around and is building
on a number of small successes. However, situations like what happened
in South Kitsap negate any progress he makes.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although the election has been decided, there's an ongoing battle in Port Orchard for the hearts and
minds of voters. There were two issues combined on the
ballot — Proposition 1 — the change from a second-class city to a code city, and
changing from the strong mayor form of government to a council/city
manager form — plus four City Council seats up for grabs.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As Mayor, I brought both these issues forward, separately, in 2010.
The Council passed the code city change — it doesn’t require a vote of
the people — but later rescinded it, caving in to political pressure
brought about by a bogus petition worded to scare low-information voters
into signing, and would have cost the city about $30,000 to have on the
ballot. That petition was engineered by one of the very same people
behind the Republican mailer endorsing Democrats — Gil Michael, who is
also referred to by many as Mayor Tim Matthes’ puppetmaster.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A second-class city must have a planning commission of three to 12
members. A code city must have a planning <i>agency</i> — which can be a
planning department, a person, staff or body, rather than a planning
<i>commission.</i> The Port Orchard Planning Commission is Michael’s base of
power. Had Proposition 1 passed, his power base would have dissolved — which in my opinion would
be a good thing for Port Orchard.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It’s no secret in Port Orchard that Michael would like to control
City Hall — and to some extent already does. He hand-picks slates of
candidates he can control every election. His choices this time — whose
names appeared on that mailer — were Eric Gonnason and Bek Ashby. Fred
Chang, who was unopposed, was already aligned with Michael and the mayor.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Since Michael is the Republican PCO for that area — and Chang the
Democratic PCO for the same area — am I the only one who finds it
unusual that incumbent Republican Jerry Childs was not endorsed, but his
challenger, Gonnason, a newcomer surrounded by residence issues, was?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A source of the <i>Business Journal</i> met with Gonnason and confronted him with proof
about his lack of residence, and some other issues before the election, Gonnason
openly admitted he had been personally recruited by Matthes during a meeting in the Mayor's office to challenge
Childs, and that Matthes made a call from the Mayor's office phone at City Hall to Michael, to introduce him. He further said the
plan was for Gonnason to challenge Childs, Jeff Braden to challenge Rob
Putuansuu, Ashby to win the open seat vacated by longtime council member
Carloyn Powers, and for Chang to run unopposed. Combined with the mayor he
already controls, Michael would own the four votes needed to control
City Hall with an iron fist.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Somewhere they got their wires crossed because Gonnason and Braden
both filed against Childs. Braden dropped out, but too late to avoid the
city paying for a runoff election. The end result is that Michael now controls Ashby and Chang — and to some extent Putuansuu, who fears Michael because the plan was to run an opponent against him. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh yeah, Michael also opposed Proposition 1, for which the flyer recommended a
“No” vote on as well. Since that would also eliminate his puppet mayor
along with the Planning Commission, I can’t say I’m surprised. This
is clearly a case of Michael's personal agenda trumping what’s best for not only the
city, but the local Republican Party as well. Meanwhile, Chris Tibbs is
one of the most frustrated people I know. Personally I think it’s time
for state party chair Susan Hutchinson to step in and clean up this
mess. The question is, will she?</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-71227044281930540912013-10-10T15:30:00.001-07:002013-10-10T15:33:25.870-07:00Reefer Madness... AKA The State's Pot Bureaucracy<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Watching the state birth an entire bureaucracy for dealing with
legalized marijuana has been a little like watching a late-season
Mariners game — you know it’s going to be a meaningless comedy of
errors. There’s no chance of making the playoffs, because the game is
being played primarily with rookies and guys who started the season in
the minors, along with a few end-of-their-career veterans.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I recently attended a meeting, where the speaker was Clallam County
District Court Judge Rick Porter, discussing the state’s impending (it’s
not yet legal) legalization, proposed enforcement, taxation, and
marketing of reefer. The judge was a pretty entertaining speaker, and
made a lot of his more serious points using humor.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, the one point he made that really isn’t too funny when you
think about it, yet elicited the biggest chuckle from the audience
because no one was at all surprised, was this: By the time the state
taxes pot at the grower level, the processor lever, and again at the retail
level, the cost will be just about<i> twice</i> the current illegal street price.
This was supposed to be a gold mine for the state, and it’s spending
millions of our tax dollars creating the bureaucracy to oversee it. Personally, I believe
those supposed business geniuses down there in Olympia could figure out how to lose money selling
whiskey in a whorehouse.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-68778928143843075282013-09-24T06:48:00.004-07:002013-09-24T06:48:34.519-07:00Hauge's vendetta — $338,000 and climbing<div id="contenttop">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hague recently filed yet
another lawsuit against embattled Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club (KRRC)
Executive Director Marcus Carter. This is a civil suit against Carter
personally, not against the KRRC. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Carter has beaten Hauge in court three different times, without the
benefit of a lawyer. When Hauge couldn’t win that way, he resorted to
using the land-use code to try and shut down KRRC — which is still in
litigation. Now this. Am I the only one who believes that Hauge is using
our tax dollars to finance what amounts to a personal vendetta
against Carter?</span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We filed a public records request asking just how much of our money
Hauge has spent pursuing this personal vendetta. The total had exceeded
$338,000! That’s prior to the land-use action — which went to Superior
Count and is on appeal — and the most recent civil suit. At this point, I
wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it’s topped a half a
million dollars.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is unconscionable! There are so many other, more pressing needs
that money should have been spent on — more deputies on the street; the
meth problem; helping the homeless; supporting food banks; recreation
for kids. The list goes on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you believe it’s time the taxpayers stopped financing Hauge’s
personal vendetta and for the county commissioners to rein him in, call
your commissioner today — 360-337-7146.</span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Enough is enough</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-47685359020085173452013-09-09T06:21:00.002-07:002013-09-24T06:46:52.650-07:00An Open Letter To Mayor Tim Matthes...<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><i>If you live in the City of Port Orchard, by now you
may have received a copy of the Mayor's Report on the Bethel
Corridor. What appears below is a copy of an email I have sent to him about the
contents. It is SO fraught with inaccuracies and either ignorant
misinformation, or intentional lies — I'm not sure which, but either way, the citizens aren't being told the truth.</i><br /> <br /> Dear Mayor Matthes,<br /> <br />
As you are probably more well aware than almost anyone, since leaving
office, I have refrained from publicly commenting on your
administration, or what passes for leadership and/or management at City
Hall. However, I read your report to the citizens on the Bethel Corridor
with great interest, and feel that I can no longer quietly sit by as
the citizens of our City are deluged with what appears on the surface to
be intentional misinformation. Therefore, I would like to point out
some general inaccuracies in the report, and offer some unsolicited
insight on moving forward.<br /> <br /> You state in the report that, "When
discussions were happening regarding the Bethel Corridor annexation, it
was touted that the annexation would bring in a lot of revenue. What
was never discussed was the costs to provide service and what the impact
would be to the City."<br /> <br /> <b>This is patently untrue.</b> It was
actually publicly discussed at great length at several Finance Committee
meetings, at several City Council meetings, and in public hearings. For
you to tell the citizens of our City that such a significant cost was
"never discussed" is little more than either a blatant lie — or the
words of someone completely uninformed about the entire annexation
process for Bethel, and how the City went about it.<br /> <br /> The fact
the City would incur costs for Bethel several months prior to any
revenue being generated, was not only known by the Finance Committee and
City Council, but planned for financially as well. As Mayor, you should
be aware of that, and if you aren't, perhaps you should sit down with
the City Treasurer and have him explain the process that
was agreed upon and where the funding came from to you.<br /> <br /> Also known,
anticipated, and planned for were the increased costs for law
enforcement, and the two additional officers that would need to be hired
and outfitted. Former Police Chief Al Townsend found grant money to
cover part of that cost for, if memory services me correctly, a
three-year period, on a diminishing schedule. The balance of the cost
was to be paid from the anticipated $1.3 million in additional sales and
property tax revenue generated by the annexation. It was also
anticipated that the Court would see an increased workload, and that
cost was budgeted for as well.<br /> <br /> Other items you should be aware
of include the fact that to reduce the cost of right-of-way acquisition,
former Development Director James Weaver authored a plan that would
require developers to cede the necessary right-of-way to the City as a
condition of being granted a permit to develop, as well as either
installing or reimbursing the City for any necessary public works
infrastructure such as water and sewer lines to service their projects.<br /> <br />
You are correct in stating that the planned revenue generated by the
annexation that the City had anticipated holding in reserve, isn't
nearly enough to construct the project in any kind of timely fashion.
However, I'm surprised to learn that you didn't know that was never the
plan either. What was planned, was to use that as match money for state
and federal transportation grants, where it could be leveraged on either
a dollar-for-dollar or one dollar for every two in grant money. A
dollar-for-dollar match effectively cuts the cost of the project in
half, and a two for one match by 2/3. The City also has the bonding
capacity to offset any shortfall in match money, with debt service
coming from future revenues already being generated from the Bethel Corridor.<br /> <br />
Has the City begun pursuing any such state or federal money yet? If
not, I would suggest you get busy, as these processes take an
extraordinary amount of time. There are annual funding cycles, and these
are the only times during which grant applications are considered. If
you miss one, it's another year before you can apply. I would also
suggest you engage the City's lobbyist — if the City in fact still has a
lobbyist — in pursuing this money, as it is available, but awarded on a
highly competitive basis.<br /> <br /> As I found, the lobbyist we used did
an excellent job of securing money for the DeKalb Pier restoration —
finding $700,000 in state Capital Budget money for a cost to the City of
only $25,000, as well as the money they found for the Pedestrian
Pathway, and other projects you've recently cut ribbons on as if they were your own ideas. Although you were adamantly opposed to the
City hiring that — or any other lobbyist — in retrospect, you have to
admit, they provided an excellent Return on Investment. That same firm
also provides lobbying services at the federal level, and there are
other similar resources available to you. I'd be happy to point you in
the right direction should you care to ask. Also, perhaps you should
establish relationships with our elected state representatives, as they
tell me, the City has been MIA in Olympia since you've taken over.
Perhaps you should reach out to our new Congressman as well.<br /> <br />
It's truly a shame you refused to take the time to meet with me during
the transitional period for more that the 12 minutes we did. As you're
aware, we only met then because Mr. Jacoby insisted upon it. Had you
done so, I would have gladly passed all this information — and much more
— on to you. During that meeting, as you may recall, you asked me only 2
questions — both concerning the establishment of a Parks Commission.
Finally, considering all the documented inaccuracies in this report, I
would strongly suggest you rescind it, and re-issue a corrected report
that states the actual facts, so the citizens of our City have accurate
information. It will go a long way towards re-establishing some level of
credibility.<br /> <br /> LFC</span></span></span></span></span></h5>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-19391135833155125832013-08-19T20:03:00.001-07:002013-08-19T21:27:07.675-07:00Lessons from Starnsville — AKA Detroit<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’m not surprised the City of Detroit recently declared bankruptcy.
The last time I was there about a year and a half ago for an
automotive-related event, I was shocked at the 8-lane downtown streets —
with no traffic on them. Downtown Detroit, all around the Renaissance
Center and Cobo Hall was a virtual ghost town at noon on a Wednesday.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Detroit has always been the "Model City" for big-government. Since 1962, every
single Detroit mayor has been a Democrat. It has the dubious distinction
of being the place where if a big-government bad idea failed anywhere
in America, it usually failed first in Detroit.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Detroit has an income tax that’s the third-highest of any big city in
America. Is it any wonder two thirds of the population has moved out?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While Detroit’s automakers got billions from Obama in federal
bailouts, in the case of GM, it was at the expense of stockholders and
creditors. The main beneficiary of the bailout was the United Auto Workers union (UAW) and its pension fund — not the company itself. As part of the bailout, we taxpayers bought 17 percent of GM and handed it over to the UAW. Meanwhile, many stockholders who depended on dividends for retirement income saw their entire life savings wiped out. Many of the creditors were
small Detroit-area businesses that went bankrupt because of GM’s
government takeover. Where was the government bailout for <i>those</i> folks?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to the <i>Detroit News</i> the City has 47 unions, and in 2011
employed just about twice as many people per capita as cities with
comparable populations — including a “horseshoer” — even though it has
no horses. Makes you wonder if Obama will bail out the city as well,
since the UAW was the chief beneficiary of his original largesse.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Egotistical politicians believe they know what’s best for all of us,
but refuse to understand their power doesn’t include changing the laws
of economics — coupled with the fact too many of them are clueless about
what those laws actually are. Constant government meddling, high minimum
wages, easy to obtain welfare (Detroit has a huge radical Muslim
population that has turned exploiting welfare into a science), coupled with
bureaucratic, featherbedding union rules, are simply <i>not</i> the formula for
success. But just like here in Washington, as long as unions support
their re-election, those politicians turn a blind eye to the ongoing
damage being done.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meanwhile, a county judge wants to stop the bankruptcy on the grounds
that Michigan state law forbids Detroit to cut government services. However, that judge has offered no plan for how Detroit is actually going to continue paying for those unsustainable
public-sector pensions and support its bloated workforce. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Democratic
politicians have micromanaged the city into bankruptcy, and yet continue
failing to address the root causes. As usual, those very “we know what’s best for you” politicians believe
more of the same is the answer. They're proposing new taxpayer-funded stadiums,
transportation mega-projects and other expensive "solutions." And if you
criticize them, Democratic politicians like former Mayor Coleman Young
will publicly call you a racist and a bigot. Young has been quoted as
saying, “To attack Detroit is to attack black.” That tends to shut
critics up, as they don’t want be condemned by the leftist lamestream
media for simply speaking the truth.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I read where a member of Great Britain’s Parliament once compared Detroit
to the fictional city of Starnesville in Ayn Rand’s prophetic 1957 novel
<i>Atlas Shrugged</i> — an auto manufacturing city that became a ghost town
after drifting into socialism. In <i>Atlas Shrugged</i>, Starnesville’s
demise is the first clue the entire society is heading for collapse.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is a huge lesson in Detroit for Washington State — if anyone is
actually paying attention. Detroit <i>is</i> Starnesville. Meanwhile,
Seattle’s buffoon Mayor Mike McGinn is trying to dictate private sector wage rates to gain
a union re-election endorsement. He's threatened to use land-use rules to
hold up construction of a Whole Foods grocery store — for no other reason
than they’re non-union — unless they agree to pay union scale. That’s nothing more than a case of blatant Detroit-style Democratic Party abuse of
political power in action.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Insulated from serious criticism by the lamestream media, as well as
economic reality, buffoons like McGinn — and many of the Democrats in our state
Legislature — fail to understand that the laws of economics still
apply. If Democratic, Detroit-style thinking goes unchecked — and
companies like Boeing continue to expand outside of Washington because
of its onerous business climate that legislative Democrats seem
determined to make worse — eventually Seattle will become Starnesville
West. And as goes Seattle, so goes our state.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24356511.post-17615438524346959712013-06-29T11:15:00.002-07:002013-06-29T11:22:28.465-07:00Inslee Talking Out of Both Sides of His Mouth<style>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Governor Jay Inslee’s recent
veto of ESHB 1652 demonstrated both his allegiance to the special
interests that helped finance his election (Read: Teacher’s Union), and exposed
his own hypocrisy as well. The bill would have deferred the payment of Impact
Fees on construction until closing, instead of at the time of permitting as the
law currently dictates.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The bill enjoyed wide bipartisan
support, passing the House with 73 votes, the senate with 34, and back to the
house with 83 votes in concurrence. It was a good bill that would have been an
immense help to small and moderate-sized homebuilders and their suppliers, by
easing the cash outlay required to begin construction. Local Impact Fees —
which cover schools, roads, parks, etc. — vary, averaging around $2,500 per
house, but are much higher in other parts of the state. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">School districts have 10 years
from the time it's collected to spend Impact Fee money, so the period between permitting and payment — essentially the time required to build a home, which averages somewhere between 60 and 90 days — is
negligible to them in the overall scheme of things, but critically important to small builders. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Inslee stated all through his
election campaign he would do whatever was necessary to help small business and
spur the construction industry because it’s such a huge contributor to our
state’s economy. Yet when he had the chance, he caved in to the greedy teachers
union. Pathetic…</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1