tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-137968042024-03-07T16:17:15.223-08:00PalousiticsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3756125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-36419919222406874582016-08-07T12:39:00.001-07:002016-08-07T12:39:14.951-07:0016 Spokane Highland<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p_2723XG_3I" width="480"></iframe>Nathan Wellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08327259603442058493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-63657107663785820652011-06-27T16:49:00.000-07:002011-06-27T16:51:33.354-07:00Obama Send Jobs to Brazil while Unemployment SoarsAmerica has clearly been in an economic downturn for a while now. We obviously need more jobs at home, and we have spent TRILLIONS bailing out our own industries at home. So why would we send jobs building planes for our military to Brazil?<br /><br />During a recent visit to Brazil in March, President Obama expressed his desire to become a “major customer” of Brazilian oil, and still remains opposed to drilling here, in America, to supply American needs. He categorically denies permits to Americans to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, but will give foreign permits to Brazil to drill. Is our own soil not good enough to drill on? Is gas not expensive enough? Where will the madness end? <br /><br />Additionally, Obama seems to forget that our unemployment rate is hovering at about 10%. That’s right, folks, 1 in 10 Americans doesn’t have a job. So of course, it makes perfect sense for our President, who is supposed to be stimulating our economy, to send our jobs overseas. Is every American job expendable? Why is Obama sending our jobs overseas, to foreign nations?<br /><br />We are now in a ‘green energy contract’ with Brazil, known as Memorandum of Understanding to Advance the Cooperation on Biofuels (MoU). They also expanded this to include aviation fuels, which is also another tie to Brazil, which can be problematic because of the issues regarding our aviation defense contracts, outlined below.<br /><br />The U.S. Air Force is considering bids for aircraft to serve as counterinsurgency fighters and trainers for foreign partners. The plane in question is the Hawker Beechcraft AT-6, a light attack plane used widely by the American Military, VS the Embraer Super Tucano. Both planes are comparable, in cost and performance. It’s important that we look at the risk associated with a relationship of a country like Brazil that if awarded this contact, could possibly start supplying to Iraq and Afghanistan.<br /><br />To put this whole matter in laymen’s terms, it basically comes down to a national security issue. If we buy planes from Embraer, we're putting the military in a situation where the government of Brazil can literally ground part of our air force by cutting off the parts if they so choose. That's especially relevant given that Brazil is not supporting us in Libya. They called for cease-fire just hours after Obama left the country. If Embraer were to get the contract, the government Brazil could more than tut-tut us, they could actually cut off parts we'd need for an American military aircraft in order to pressure us to accede to their will.<br /><br />Then there's the jobs issue. Giving Hawker Beechcraft the contract would create 1400 jobs in America, while giving Embraer the contract would create 50 jobs in America and the rest in Brazil. I believe in free trade and not a protectionist, so I don't think that's a decisive factor. However, when we're talking about two comparatively priced planes that are going to be used for military purposes that should make us reluctant to get the plane outside of the US anyway, I don't think those jobs are completely irrelevant.<br /> <br />There’s also a secondary issue. The Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 would allow for roughly 95% of both the male and female potential pilot population with weights as low as 103 pounds and as high as 245 pounds to safely fly the aircraft. The old standards to which the Brazilian aircraft complies will prohibit 18% of military males and 81% of military females from safely ejecting from the aircraft in an emergency. This is both a national safety and security issue. Our military is voluntarily serving and protecting us is at risk. We are voluntarily placing jobs in a country with a track record of anti-American sentiment. We are entrusting these people with our defense. <br /><br />Please take this issue to your proper representatives and let’s keep jobs in AMERICA!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-64007182382183663712011-06-14T12:25:00.000-07:002011-06-14T12:28:01.679-07:00MISSING!!!! Please Be On The LookoutI am looking for some radio airchecks to put together for myself so I am listening to The PES. The episode I am listening to now has the topic of Wal Mart. Remember when PARD said they were not an anti-WalMart group? Remember when they said they would be here for the long haul? Remember when they said they would have input on all sorts of local development issues?<br /><br />I haven't heard from PARD in ages. Would someone help me look for them?Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14587071399974432502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-23589020895896872612011-05-06T11:59:00.000-07:002011-05-06T12:06:55.952-07:00DOUBLE DIP RECESSION IN WA STATE CONFIRMED!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpFcfpkMSoNb1vWGUt1fKu_2yLi5zvN6xqCO-dGRFGO7Ulbw616d3-cHYpQ8EDbXU-9e8RRaD9sXZuAXXUEgsIJWipbgDcBmqzUosGd9r-GZR_dUunK4Wb5MdlLvXZa-p1ngB/s1600/P8300036.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603680508569576434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwpFcfpkMSoNb1vWGUt1fKu_2yLi5zvN6xqCO-dGRFGO7Ulbw616d3-cHYpQ8EDbXU-9e8RRaD9sXZuAXXUEgsIJWipbgDcBmqzUosGd9r-GZR_dUunK4Wb5MdlLvXZa-p1ngB/s200/P8300036.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:180%;color:#cc0000;">Washington State Continues to Falter!</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size:180%;color:#cc0000;"><br /></span><br />There was <a href="http://www.growthology.org/growthology/2011/05/why-a-9-unemployment-rate-is-bad-news.html">more national bad news </a>from the US Department of Labor Friday Morning with the <a href="http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/U-S-jobless-claims-jump-reuters_molt-2333936501.html?x=0">Obama U3 number</a> going to 9% (that’s the percentage of the workforce collecting unemployment benefits) and the U6 number climbing to 17.8% (that’s the percentage of the workforce that is unemployed!). Even though hiring perked up some, the economy lost a net 190,000 jobs in April: NOT GOOD NEWS.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.workforceexplorer.com/admin/uploadedPublications/1885_laus_current.xls">The latest numbers in Washington State </a>has the U3 number at 9.7% or 340,330 and the U6 number at 599,963 which is the actual number of people unemployed in Washington State. Again a number of people left the workforce and gave up trying to find a job: 2,430. Snohomish County is still having a major problem with employment coming in at 10.1% for U3 and 18.4% for the U6 number. That means 70,157 people remain unemployed in SNO County.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.realtytrac.com/trendcenter/wa-trend.html">Realtytrac’s March numbers</a> were stunning with regard to State and County wide foreclosures. March foreclosures added 3,613 new defaults/foreclosures bringing the statewide total year to year to 35,049 foreclosures. King County led the foreclosure parade with 1,392 and Seattle was hit hard with another 490 foreclosures. For those of you who read the bogus, male bovine excrement story in Friday’s Seattle Times, I had a roll in the floor laugh at their expense: <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2014969633_homesales06.html">Link</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.commercialmls.com/">Over the commercial real estate side of the fence</a> the CBA or the Commercial Brokers Association in Washington State now has over 19,000 listings for rent, lease or sale: AN ALL TIME RECORD.<br /><br />With regard to the billions in deficits that the State Legislature if fiddling around with in Olympia the <a href="http://www.erfc.wa.gov/presentations/documents/IC_20110430.pdf">Economic and Revenue Forecast Council </a>has issued a report that is gloomy to say the least. Meaning: the state cannot count on sales tax revenue to fill up almost 6 Billion in deficits; instead they will have to cut more spending. With the idiot Democrats in control down in the SWAMP (Olympia) that does not sound like a very likely scenario.<br /><br />Editor’s note: The State of Idaho business licensing department over at Coeur d'Alene has had to add more personnel to handle the increasing numbers of business in the Spokane area who are leaving the Evergreen State.<br />Seasonal Adjusted Numbers for those of you who read my blogs you know that these numbers that the Washington State Department of Employment Security and the US Department of Labor issue to the leftist press are nothing short of a manipulated LIE! The Seasonal adjusted numbers have no basis in reality!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-16647369471407116722011-05-03T15:57:00.000-07:002011-05-03T15:57:25.087-07:00Dennis Kucinich To Represent Washington?<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh goodie! Jim McDermott and <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/03/lax-residency-standards-may-help-kucinich-run-for-congress-in-washington/">Dennis Kucinich</a>. We'll have to shut down all the <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.2977.IH:">space-based mind control weapons</a> research.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Rep. Dennis Kucinich is rumored to be considering a run for Congress from Washington State. On Monday, Kucinich spokesman Nathan White did not deny that Kucinich is considering the move.</i><br />
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<i>“He fully intends to remain in Congress; he just doesn’t know in what district he will run,” White wrote in an email, linking to<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/02/dennis-kucinich-may-be-seeking-re-election-in-washington-state-not-ohio/"> an article</a> about a recent visit by the <a class="kLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/03/lax-residency-standards-may-help-kucinich-run-for-congress-in-washington/#" id="KonaLink1" style="font-size: inherit ! important; font-weight: inherit ! important; position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;"><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit ! important; font-size: inherit ! important; font-weight: inherit ! important; position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 1px solid green; color: green ! important; font-size: inherit ! important; font-weight: inherit ! important; position: static;">congressman</span></span></a> to Bainbridge Island, Washington.</i><br />
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<i>The eight-term Ohio Democrat faces difficult prospects for re-election if Republican-led redistricting dilutes his tenuous base of support in northern Ohio.</i><br />
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<i>If Kucinich sought election in <a class="kLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/03/lax-residency-standards-may-help-kucinich-run-for-congress-in-washington/#" id="KonaLink2" style="font-size: inherit ! important; font-weight: inherit ! important; position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important;"><span style="color: green; font-family: inherit ! important; font-size: inherit ! important; font-weight: inherit ! important; position: static;"><span class="kLink" style="color: green ! important; font-size: inherit ! important; font-weight: inherit ! important; position: static;">Washington</span></span></a>, he would first need to establish residency in the state. According to Brian Zylstra of the Washington Secretary of State’s office, the requirements to run do not preclude such a candidacy.</i></blockquote><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
Read more: <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/03/lax-residency-standards-may-help-kucinich-run-for-congress-in-washington/#ixzz1LKhOlBwq" style="color: #003399;">http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/03/lax-residency-standards-may-help-kucinich-run-for-congress-in-washington/#ixzz1LKhOlBwq</a></div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15600654309482979580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-61983437624596160312011-04-30T21:07:00.000-07:002011-04-30T21:07:38.402-07:00Congressman Doc Hastings Speaks To Yakima County RepublicansThe Yakima County Republican Central Committee held its annual Lincoln Day Dinner this past Friday night. Here is a video of Congressman Doc Hastings speech:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="224" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/23089860?autoplay=1" width="398"></iframe>Jason R. Raineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15009912822792820810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-9986323537186402362011-04-20T13:57:00.000-07:002011-04-20T14:04:37.490-07:00Burglary and Stealing is Okay in Her BookThe Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. County Sheriff's Office was involved in a shooting this weekend. A 25-year old was shot and killed as he rammed the deputy's patrol cars. <br /><br />The article went on to say this man was arrested 14 times in the last 7 years from crimes such as theft, burglary, possession of stolen property, drug offenses, eluding police, and reckless driving. <br /><br />A friend of his has a quotation saying the typically things, and not not so typical thing:<br />1) she said "[he] was not a bad guy"<br />2) she said "It doesn't seem right that they shot him"<br />both of which are always said by the friends and family of someone who dies while trying to hurt or kill someone else... <br /><br />But this is one thing I wouldn't ever want my friends to say about me:<br />3) "He just liked stealing cars and having fun."<br /><br />Really, you say it like stealing other peoples' possession is no big deal. <br /><br />Sure people get loans and pay hundreds of dollars every month to have a car, but stealing it, that ain't no thing. Car owner's shouldn't be so selfish to lock the door of their cars.Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14587071399974432502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-89001777717990975082011-03-08T10:42:00.000-08:002011-03-08T10:47:55.451-08:00WASHINGTON STATE’S ECONOMY IN PERIL!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gba24etiPoYHuz_pQQT5aRrvPpAXgKYrM0nps4AOYSXCar23qQoRNTNfJ1ATCx6DnvBf22W-fl0fn6aypSItXR9KaS_2EJHrSdyCQ82si2EB4p3CcONn_Dd5QI7z4cYSYgEY/s1600/P9060022.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581782215469646098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gba24etiPoYHuz_pQQT5aRrvPpAXgKYrM0nps4AOYSXCar23qQoRNTNfJ1ATCx6DnvBf22W-fl0fn6aypSItXR9KaS_2EJHrSdyCQ82si2EB4p3CcONn_Dd5QI7z4cYSYgEY/s200/P9060022.JPG" /></a><br /><div><strong>LATEST NUMBERS SUPPORT A DOUBLE DIP RECESSION</strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div>Employment: According to the <a href="http://www.workforceexplorer.com/admin/uploadedPublications/1885_laus_current.xls">Washington State Employment Security Department</a> we lost 50,540 jobs in this state in January. The Evergreen State’s unemployment rate went up to 9.7% (the U3 number, or those who are collecting unemployment benefits). That means that 338,910 folks are on the U3 roles and that includes 15,910 new claims that have been filed, SO FAR! In addition the U6 number or the TOTAL number of folks who are unemployed or marginally employed increased to 642,880 as Washington’s U6 percentage rose to a record 18.4% in January. Particularly disturbing with these numbers is the fact the 64,930 folks dropped out of the work force around the state, because most of them have given up trying to find a job. Snohomish County was hit particularly hard with a new U3 number of 10.1% or 38,090 collecting benefits and a U6 number of 69,392!<br /><br />For those of you who follow my blogs you know that I have said that the indications are that Washington is in a double dip recession. This is very bad news for the State Legislature awaiting news from the Department of Revenue about to issue its revenue forecast for the remainder of the year. With this many job losses, the news is not expected to be good. That means that the 6.8 Billion dollar deficit “can” the Democrats seek to “kick down the road” over into the next fiscal year on 7/1 may end up being a lot more than that figure.<br /><br />In the all important housing market here in Washington, things are bleak to say the least. The latest <a href="http://www.realtytrac.com/trendcenter/wa-trend.html">RealtyTrac numbers</a> are stark. 4,981 new home foreclosures and a total of 37,207 since this recession began. That depresses not just the sale of housing but also the value or homes on the market. With a large number or ARM’s about to be re-set over the next 60 days and with even more mortgages about to go “under water”, that will impact future foreclosures amongst many who are currently in default.<br /><br />In conclusion, we are lagging the rest of the country, still struggling with what is being referred to as a “modest recovery”. Many analysts conclude that the three states on the West Coast are all suffering a double dip recession to include Oregon and California. <a href="http://cascadeconservative.blogspot.com/2011/03/greenspan-lets-loose.html">Alan Greenspan has commented</a> on the problems with the nation’s economy and his candid assessment is not very positive.</div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-2785398113587803412011-03-07T13:24:00.000-08:002011-03-07T20:36:49.923-08:00Sign HoldersI saw a festively plump (as Cartman would say) female holding a sign at the end of the SR520 ramp that connects to 148th Ave in Bellevue. The sign was brand new and written on a large piece of poster board. It had big bubble letters filling in with a rainbow of colors. It was asking for handouts. Anything will help the sign concluded.<br /><br />After turning on to 148th I came to the 24th Street intersection. There were two more people holding signs. They were advertisements for local businesses. Whenever I am in this part of the state I regularly see people standing on the corners holding signs for local businesses. <br /><br />I know some look down upon such activities, but I think it is great. They are attempting to make their own way -- willing to take a job rather than begging for a handout.<br /><br />On a side note many areas around Seattle and Spokane have lots of people who beg for money. It seems harder and harder to find an off ramp where people are not begging for money. The only reason why people keep coming back is because they are making money.<br /><br />Look at their sign. It is folded up and reused day after day. One of the biggest scams is begging for money because they need gas money or are stranded. It is pretty lucky for them they happened to have a sign they could hold up at a freeway off ramp. Those who give money are suckers who do nothing to help the situation.Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14587071399974432502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-29954639349127004372011-03-05T00:01:00.000-08:002011-03-05T00:01:01.384-08:00Watching our Liberties Exit Stage Left<strong>Introduction</strong><br /><br />I am concerned over video justice whether it is red-light cameras, speed enforcement cameras, or video taping public areas for viewing by law enforcement. The idea of using technology to keep an ever watchful eye on American citizens wrong. Don't misunderstand my intentions, I am not against using technology to help a law enforcement officer do his duty, I am against technology in place of law enforcement officers. I am all for getting a warrant to legally do surveillance of a criminal suspect. I am all for police officers having video camera's in their police cars. I am against the continuous recording of public places on the off-chance it might catch a citizen doing something illegal.<br /><br />I wrote two columns for the Daily News. Both columns are limited in the number of words allowed. I am posting both columns here in their original unabridged format. As it turns out both columns were written in March. The first in 2009 and the second in 2011.<br /><br />In my second column I included several quotations from the <a href="http://www.priv.gc.ca/information/guide/vs_060301_e.cfm">OPC Guidelines for the Use of Video Surveillance of Public Places by Police and Law Enforcement Authorities</a>. I like a lot of what it says.<br />Other links:<br /><a href="http://www.leg.wa.gov/LawsAndAgencyRules/Pages/constitution.aspx">Washington State Constitution</a><br /><a href="http://www.notbored.org/camera-protests.html">Protests Against Surveillance Cameras</a><br /><a href="http://www.notbored.org/cameras-not-effective.html">Ineffectiveness of Surveillance Cameras</a><br /><a href="http://photoradarscam.com/privacy.php">Photo Radar Scam</a><br /><br /><br /><hr /><br /><em><strong>Column #1</strong>: Daily News, March 2009.</em><br /><br />In October of 2008 the Daily News reported about placing video surveillance cameras in several locations around Pullman. If the cameras are installed we will watch our civil liberties exit stage left.<br /><br />The proposal seems benign; however, it is anything but. We are told the video would only be recorded and saved for three to four days. The cameras, we are told, would not be monitored. This proposal brings to mind a quotation from Fakediploma.com in an article titled “Washington State Citizens Against National ID”.<br /><blockquote>Under the guise of safety and security you are asked to give up your most personal information to the government’s safekeeping. Using the governments favorite phrase ‘…the need to know’, we don’t feel the government has - the need to know - such personal information. The fundamental right to privacy is asked to give way in order to achieve the illusion of security.</blockquote><br />Don’t mistake this proposal to be on the same level as video cameras in banks, convenience stores, and various other private businesses. The difference between the cameras the city wants to install and those in the above locations are great. The cameras would be on public streets. They would be controlled by the government.<br /><br />I should be able to drive down the road, in a free country, without being monitored by my government. Our government was set up with the consent of those governed not the other way around.<br /><br />Many people I have talked to believe that there is nothing wrong with putting surveillance cameras on Greek Row. But that is just the start. Mayor Johnson was even quoted as saying “this would just be the start”. As more funds are available more cameras can be installed. Soon they will be put into my neighborhood and your neighborhood.<br /><br />Can we really believe that once the cameras are installed that they will never be monitored? According to an article in the Daily Evergreen, Mayor Johnson said the cameras would not be monitored, but only reviewed when a crime happened to try to identify those who committed the crime. But in the Daily News article it was pointed out the cameras could be viewed live the police in their patrol cars.<br /><br />How long before the city decided that on major weekends the cameras should have someone watching them and dispatching police to suspicious activities? It probably would not be very long after that point of time that we have someone to monitor the cameras on all weekends. At some point, no doubt, there would be a call to expand the coverage of live monitoring of the cameras to include the whole week. We would need to hire some people to watch the cameras to report suspicious activities to the police. Your privacy would soon be in question.<br /><br />The big issue with the government monitoring the cameras and possessing the cameras and recordings is that, unlike a convenience store, the government has the ability to impose sanctions on people. Those sanctions can be anything ranging from fines to jail time.<br /><br />What happens when someone uses the freedom of information act to request copies of recordings? What if those recordings show something that you did, which was not criminal in nature, but one that was personal and embarrassing in nature? Could that cause damage to ones reputation?<br /><br />During the arson fire it was pointed out we might have seen a car pass through the cameras and we could have had a possible suspect. What if you were the suspect? You will have to prove yourself innocent or risk being arrested. No alibi? That’s a problem. The police grill you as to why you were driving at three o’clock in the morning? This is a free country and you should be able to move around as you wish, no suspicion raised and no alibi’s needed.<br /><br />The loss of personal liberties in the name of safety is not a fair trade off.<br /><br />Scott McDonald, in the article “Uncle Sam Has All your Numbers“ poses a great point. The focus of the debate must be on liberty and freedom. The question must be: Does the government have any right, whatsoever, to maintain cameras focused on free citizens? The answer is “NO!”<br /><br /><hr /><br /><em><strong>Column #2</strong>: Daily News, March 2011.</em><br />Imagine, if you will, this utopia. It is a place where there are no guns. Everyone has free food, health care, and a place to live. No one is forced to hold down a job. Everyone is safe from crime and there are cameras to watch every move that someone makes. Those cameras are monitored 24/7. Want to live there? We have such a place right here in Whitman County. It is called jail. Sure you are secure, but you surely don’t have any personal liberties.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the idea of placing government-run video cameras around the city of Pullman has resurfaced. Mayor Glenn Johnson and Police Chief Jenkins both support this issue. I disagree with the government running broad reaching video surveillance against its free citizens.<br /><br />A number of people who don't see a problem with video cameras bring up two points over and over. One point being that stores and banks use video how is this any different. I argue the difference between the bank and the government is the government has a direct ability to abridge freedom. Point number two revolves around the idea that if you are not doing anything wrong then you have nothing to hide.<br /><br />Government monitoring its citizens via video cameras is not about hiding things; it is about our rights explicitly spelled out in the state Constitution. Article 1 Section 7 says in part "No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs... without authority of law". Just because someone enters a public space doesn't mean he forfeits his expectation of privacy. One cannot be searched just because he is in public.<br /><br />An article discussing guidelines for the use of video surveillance by law enforcement in public places exists on the Website for the Office of Privacy Commissioner (OPC) of Canada.<br /><blockquote>"Video surveillance of public places subjects everyone to scrutiny, regardless of whether they have done anything to arouse suspicion. At the very least it circumscribes, if it does not eradicate outright, the expectation of privacy and anonymity that we have as we go about our daily business.<br /><br />The medium’s very nature allows law enforcement to observe and monitor the movements of a large number of persons, the vast number of whom are law-abiding citizens, where there are no reasonable grounds to be capturing a record of their activities."</blockquote><br />Human's change their behavior when they are being watched. Whether it is seeing a police car and letting off the accelerator when driving down the street or stifling one's own speech when someone approaches. These changes, as noted by the Website, started a business where people can buy faux cameras to make people change their behavior. The OPC's Website continues "For these reasons, there is good reason to believe that video surveillance of public places by the police or other law enforcement authorities has a chilling effect on behaviour—and by extension on rights and freedoms."<br /><br />My last column came out in March of 2009. In those two years Pullman has neither become more dangerous nor crime ridden. Pullman still has issues with crime, as does every city, but we are not anywhere to the point where the movements of the citizens should be captured on video. "The problem to be addressed by video surveillance must be pressing and substantial, of sufficient importance to warrant overriding the right of innocent individuals to be free from surveillance in a public place." (OPA Website)<br /><br />One person posed a question to me asking how it is different when a police officer is in public watching people and a video camera is in a public place watching people. The police officer is looking for a criminal activity taking place when he sees none he moves along. At some point in the future he will check back upon the area. A video camera on the other hand is constantly recording all citizens no matter what they are doing.<br /><br />I would like to close with a final concept as written by the OPC. "Video surveillance of public places nonetheless presents a challenge to privacy, to freedom of movement and freedom of association, all rights we take for granted in Canada [and America]. This is especially true when the surveillance is conducted by police or other law enforcement authorities."<br /><br />Please stop by http://palousitics.blogspot.com/ where you can read my previous column and this column both unabridged due to the limitation of space.Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14587071399974432502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-77722107787323769822011-03-03T14:51:00.000-08:002011-03-03T15:00:10.925-08:00How Dare a teacher Punish My Child?!I was in school when the teacher was able to spank students if there was parents' permission. When the paddle came out you know someone deserved it. There were always some issues with kids, but they never got very bad when the kid knew a paddle was waiting. <br /><br />If I got in trouble at school the last thing I wanted is for my parents to find out because I would get in even more trouble for acting out at school.<br /><br />It seems like there might have been a change in how parents react to their children getting in trouble at school.<br /><br />"A Washington mother who says a teacher taped her 7-year-old son to a classroom chair is angry and calls the incident 'child endangerment.'" -- SeattlePI.com website<br /><br />The kid described it as a "tape seat belt".<br /><br />I think the solution is as soon as a kid acts up, he is taken out of the classroom and a parent is called to take the child home for the rest of the day. How much do you want to bet that parents would quickly start changing their tune about discipline in school after getting called to school and having to leave work more than once?Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14587071399974432502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-91163981463637679942011-03-03T08:19:00.000-08:002011-03-03T08:30:17.806-08:00Fearing for his Life?There is a video of D'Vontaveous Hoston, a 17-year-old male, who is in a small convienence store in Seattle. As he is there a drug bust is going bad and a cop is getting beat. An undercover cop goes chasing after a suspect. That is when Hoston goes outside to see what is going on. He goes back into the store. The officer sees Hoston and thought he was the suspect. The officer goes into the store.<br /><br />Hoston explains what happened saying, "I'm like hey man I had nothing to do with that and he looked at me and said get the "F" on the ground and I'm like what?" (From q13fox.com)<br /><br />So he clearly heard the officer order him to the ground. After not going to the ground, but just simply raising his arms up, the officer kicks Hoston on the side of the leg then goes hands on taking him to the ground. <br /><br />Q13fox.com continues, "He intends to file a lawsuit against the City of Seattle and SPD for what happened to him. Hoston says, 'Since this happened I feel like I got to be looking over my shoulder in case police officers do something, you feel me? I feel like my life is threatened.'"<br /><br />So Hoston feels like he is in fear for his life because a cop kicked him. Makes no sense to me. In fact, when ordered to the ground, that is the time to do what was ordered.<br /><br />Too often people try to argue with the police at the moment of initial contact. Until the officer has the scene under control there is no time for debate. Simply complying with the orders will get the scene under control and then you can have your discussion with the officer.Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14587071399974432502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-78480524773107411442011-02-22T09:46:00.000-08:002011-02-22T09:50:02.441-08:00Surrender?I am angry about the news reports from today... Pirates kill American citizens and some of the pirates were alive to surrender?!?! If pirates kill an American at sea, those pirate shouldn't have a chance to surrender.Scottyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14587071399974432502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-31314976070194802522011-02-09T07:04:00.000-08:002011-02-09T17:29:31.576-08:00Mythology in America<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCP-q1pfP0qj1y96IWddZBPDYyCUCpYX3uzjr-2Z8cNmWlMMGM77P2oVgWfYn6faMJSQuLcu6P_yBIm8CTjL3PyKOEW0IOUG4pz32W5FKOzGr6uxQ4Kxbuv_15Bk2m6FYkYlYk/s1600/P8300036.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571706903036734722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCP-q1pfP0qj1y96IWddZBPDYyCUCpYX3uzjr-2Z8cNmWlMMGM77P2oVgWfYn6faMJSQuLcu6P_yBIm8CTjL3PyKOEW0IOUG4pz32W5FKOzGr6uxQ4Kxbuv_15Bk2m6FYkYlYk/s200/P8300036.JPG" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">21st Century Myths, Lies, Distortions & Propaganda</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#993399;">BOB CLARK</span></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>The political left in America and in Europe have a set of beliefs that contain a substantial number of myths. One characteristic of the mind set of the liberal left is that they publically state that they are far more intelligent and have a lot more knowledge than the “knuckle dragging” conservative Neanderthals on the Right! I have even heard some elitist lefties say that members of the Republican Party should be “taught how to read”. For what it’s worth, every time I check out the academic credentials of many of the self declared experts on the left, I come away with a smirk** on my face! Most of the so-called leftwing experts don’t have academic degrees or in most cases degrees that don’t correspond to the subjects that they lying about.<br /><br />Editor’s note: items in orange are links to the story in the blog. When finished reading the link, simply backspace back to the blog.<br /><br /><strong>MYTHS FROM THE LOONY LEFT:<br /></strong><br /><strong>Sugar vs. High-fructose Corn Syrup</strong> is a green scam myth that has a life of its own! The fact is that <a href="http://sweetscam.com/myths-and-facts/">your body CANNOT tell the difference</a> between sugar from beets, canes or corn! No matter what the moron green nuts say! I think you should avoid both because of the calories. My recommendation is sucralose; it is the only commonly available SAFE substitute.<br /><br /><strong>One very dangerous health myth is the COLON CLEANSING</strong> myth! Warning, this is something that you should not do unless under the directions of a doctor (for example in advance of a colonoscopy). Here is what the <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colon-cleansing/AN00065">Mayo Clinic has to say</a> about this nonsense!<br /><br /><strong>Genetically modified crops are “Frankenstein food”!</strong> With the exception of possible cross pollination of nearby Brassica crops with regard to seed production, there is no problem with genetically modified crops <a href="http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2004/RAND_MG161.pdf">according to the Rand Corporation</a>. Where this myth came from is anyone’s guess. I hear it came from Greenpeace.<br /><br /><strong>Carbon Dioxide is destroying the planet</strong>! <a href="http://www.geocraft.com/WVFossils/greenhouse_data.html">CO2 is not a greenhouse gas</a> of any significance. The burning of fossil fuels is responsible for just 3.27% of the carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere each year, while the biosphere and oceans account for 55.28% and 41.46%, respectively.<br /><br /><strong>Global warming is a danger</strong> and is killing the planet Earth. There are so many stupid myths about global warming/climate change I don’t have room to list them. <a href="http://www.abd.org.uk/green_myths.htm">Here they are at this website.<br /><br /></a><strong>Eating food that isn’t NATURAL OR ORGANIC</strong> is dangerous to your health! This myth is moronic beyond belief, and <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005001.htm">here are the facts!<br /></a>To make matter worse,<a href="http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=1196"> it may be dangerous</a> to eat some natural or organic food products!<br /><br /><strong>Homeopathic or Alternative medicines are better</strong> than drugs from the big profit mongering pharmaceutical corporations!<br />WRONG! Do not take vitamin/mineral supplements or homeopathic/alternative drugs unless you <a href="http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Alternative_medicine">check them with your doctor first</a>. Under no circumstances should you believe anything you see on WebMD which is nothing less than a populist website that caters to whatever myth that it going around.<br /><br /><strong>Drive electric/hybrid cars</strong> and save the atmosphere! Well one major concern that you might not be aware of <a href="http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/what_causes_car_batteries_to_fail">is the batteries</a> in these vehicles that are not only overpriced but fail all the time! The Washington Post says these <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/27/AR2011012706170.html?hpid=opinionsbox1">batteries fail in cold weather</a>!<br /><br /><strong>Cancer!</strong> There are a series of myths making the rounds, some as urban legends in the USA and Europe. <a href="http://www.methodsofhealing.com/top-10-cancer-myths/">Here are the top ten cancer myths</a>.<br /><br /><strong>Cell phones cause brain cancer</strong>! Should you throw that expensive toy away? Hold it! The only radiation that causes cancer is “ionizing radiation” that your cell phone does not emit. <a href="http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/cellphonecancer.php">Here are the facts.<br /></a><br /><strong>Top 7 Idiotic Environmental Myths</strong>! <a href="http://www.thezephyr.com/environ/enviromyths.html">I love this one</a> because some of these myths are now in high school and college texts. That should give one PAUSE! It also says a lot about science education in America: A COMPLETE FAILURE!<br /><strong><br />Energy and the Environment Myths</strong>! Here are the results of a nationwide survey to determine just how knowledgeable Americans are about energy. <a href="http://www.manhattan-institute.org/energymyths/">This one is shocking reading </a>because most Americans are badly informed on this subject because of a leftist media printing lies about the subject.<br /><br /><strong>The North Pole is Melting!</strong> You’ve seen the commercial showing mama polar bear swimming away from her cub in an ocean with little or no ice for them to climb onto. Get out your crying towels and check books? No! The myth is an outright lie! <a href="http://notrickszone.com/2011/01/31/arctic-adds-2000-cubic-kilometers-of-ice-despite-reports-of-accelerating-ice-melt">Here are the facts.<br /></a><br /><strong>John Holdren, Obama Czar on energy/global warming</strong> badly needs SOME science education. His proclamations are causing howls of laughter in the scientific community! This man needs therapy. <a href="http://sppiblog.org/news/obama-czar-john-holdren-wants-to-educate-gop-on-global-warming-but-it-is-holdren-who-desperately-needs-remedial-climate-science-education">Here is the latest on Mr. Holdren’s candidacy for an immediate brain transplant.<br /></a><br /><em>** FULL DISCLOSURE, I have an honors degree in Physical Chemistry and no one will debate me on the left concerning climate change/global warming.<br />@Bob Clark Blogs, all rights reserved</em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-58962701845303485922011-02-07T19:32:00.000-08:002011-02-07T19:49:47.109-08:00Hey Pierce Transit! This isn't Monopoly money!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiEyDqBbUq3K1u52JNKivK1Qm-QzdkpjJ8y8jsVl2k0INWZr2kg0D7LbZm6vvCa8_rEXQUkQoxa8FKfsipCZewEHTaAJg9gyJprfcszL2Rt0DzbMMsy8XuhNPW8tDGygPoAZj/s1600/index.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 121px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiEyDqBbUq3K1u52JNKivK1Qm-QzdkpjJ8y8jsVl2k0INWZr2kg0D7LbZm6vvCa8_rEXQUkQoxa8FKfsipCZewEHTaAJg9gyJprfcszL2Rt0DzbMMsy8XuhNPW8tDGygPoAZj/s320/index.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571160697978630722" /></a><br />According to the <a href="http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/2011/02/07/about-25-percent-turnout-already-in-pierce-transit-election-ballots-due-tuesday/">TNT</a>, so far there is 25% turnout in the controversial Pierce Transit special election. Pierce Transit Proposition 1 wants 3/10 of a 1% sales tax INCREASE to fund their buses. All other Pierce County agencies have had to slash budgets by 10% or more, create furlough days for employees, and shorten hours. This is not the time for MORE taxes. Belt tightening starts at home. I would like to see proof of their efforts before even making this a consideration. <br /><br />Bottom Line: Vote to Reject Pierce Transit Proposition 1. And hey, Pierce Transit- find the money somewhere. Just not my wallet.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-17019767320892872312011-02-02T06:51:00.000-08:002011-02-05T05:03:20.030-08:00Bob Clark’s Political News Magazine<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TYJ94CoQDlK_SeRXO1A2l4ly0EVVFy5bjO8vZxSwhypW3BlTrFVoDJE2-sYDIXid7ucQDotURRpd8bK3av6La3ZJiQJshoUA9y4sGUyEMtaeDo3JkTYbHLglP2SvjGaAIK4s/s1600/fishing00001.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 133px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569105506562087282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TYJ94CoQDlK_SeRXO1A2l4ly0EVVFy5bjO8vZxSwhypW3BlTrFVoDJE2-sYDIXid7ucQDotURRpd8bK3av6La3ZJiQJshoUA9y4sGUyEMtaeDo3JkTYbHLglP2SvjGaAIK4s/s200/fishing00001.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;">News That Matters </span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>Seattle/Tacoma’s Very High Home Foreclosures </strong>now</span> rank in the top 5 metro foreclosure areas in the nation, states <a href="http://apnews.myway.com/article/20110127/D9L0M4603.html">this report </a>out this week. A lot of these Foreclosures are condos and guess what? There are a lot of <a href="http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/real-estate/articles/2010/01/19/strategic-defaults-and-the-foreclosure-crisis">Strategic Foreclosures </a>in this mix. Here is what <a href="http://www.realtytrac.com/trendcenter/wa/king+county-trend.html">RealtyTrac </a>has on this problem as of December. Seattle’s economy is in the dumper! The US Department of Labor is reporting the new unemployment rate nationally at 9% but that is a statistical Abnormality! <a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">Read this!<br /></a><br /><strong>Major increases in Syphilis, Gonorrhea</strong> in King, Pierce and Snohomish County have public health officials scratching their heads and in a panic. This is the largest increase in VD in the Tri-County area in many years. <a href="http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/communicable/epilog/2011.aspx">Here is the situation in King County</a>.<br /><br /><strong>President Obama (without teleprompter)</strong> and talking to reporters<a href="http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0111/which_war_1b30bf17-d3fb-4af9-9e55-e5d78ca45073.html"> got his wars all confused</a>. Some of the reporters with FOX News were stunned by this gaffe! Is he losing it?<br /><br /><strong>Insiders tell the FOX Business Network</strong> this week that more than a thousand businesses and labor unions are scrambling to join more than 300 organizations to get themselves <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jan/28/tawdry-details-of-obamacare-420960137/">EXEMPT from the Obama Health Care Plan</a> by the President himself.<br /><br /><strong>Bogus unemployment stories</strong> keep coming out of the local newspapers, the local leftwing TV outlets and Olympia. The issue is the SEASONAL ADJUSTED NUMBERS being used that are worthless and a statistical lie!<br />For example this <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2014060612_sundaybizchart30.html">FRONT PAGE PIECE</a> in the Seattle Times is a bogus story. Seasonally adjusted data on employment are numbers made up by statisticians to try and look for trends, they are not the REAL NUMBERS. Here is the definition of <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/125639/Gallup-Daily-Workforce.aspx">Seasonal Adjusted Stats.<br />Here is what Gallup found</a> when it did its study of unemployment and their take on these bogus seasonal adjusted numbers!</div><div><br /><strong>Been in the grocery store lately?</strong> You may have noticed that your favorite box of cereal has gone up in price or your steak is now more than it was a few weeks ago. Think that’s bad? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Here is what is coming down the road with commodity prices. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704680604576110563192913884.html">Beef </a>along with <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/01/31/will-commodity-prices-pass-through-to-the-core/">corn, rice, soy beans, wheat and sugar prices</a> are going to go through the roof. It is called INFLATION! That also includes the price per gallon of gas. We may be looking at $100 per barrel oil and $5 per gallon gas in the weeks to come.<br /><br /><strong>The Snohomish County Executive November 2011 election race is underway!</strong> Aaron Reardon this time faces Mike Hope the very popular GOP 44th District Legislator. Mike is already raising money and with a sizable number of supporters has a good chance to beat Reardon; whose administration has been rocked by scandal after scandal. Let’s look at a few:<br /><br />Reardon is a member of the Department of Ecology’s Nincompoopial<br /><a href="http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/2008CAT_members.htm">Climate Action Team</a>. Every member of this group is either ignorant, a socialist or brain dead or any combination of the three. Take your pick.<br /><br />Reardon formed his own <a href="http://www.co.snohomish.wa.us/documents/County_Services/Climate_Energy/grnribtaskforcereport109web.pdf">Climate Change Task Force</a> which has come under fire at several town hall meetings including a heated one in Monroe. There is no such thing as global warming/climate change and EVERYONE knows it!<br /><br />There was Reardon’s <a href="http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080728/NEWS01/705726342&news01ad=1">$160,000 Garbage truck</a> that didn’t work (how many public works employees does it take to design a garbage truck?)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091108/NEWS01/711089917/0/ENT">Reardon’s solid-waste director Sam Chandler</a> claimed he was fired because he caught employees at the garbage transfer stations stealing cash and reported it. County Union officials put an end to Sam’s tenure.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100107/NEWS01/701079953">Reardon’s Snohomish County Planning Director</a> fired for getting drunk and exposing himself to a female on a golf course (he already had a history of this sort of behavior!).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78246537.html">One of Reardon’s Medical examiners</a> arrived inebriated at the scene of a drunken driving accident that took 4 victims to their graves and he was promptly arrested and fired because of public outcries.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78246537.html">Reardon’s energy drink commercial </a>was the laughing stock on YouTube. It was promptly taken down from the internet during howls of laughter.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20101129/NEWS01/711299827/1089/NEWS07">Looks like Mike Hope is going to have a field day with Reardon!<br /></a></span><br /><br /><strong><br />Washington State’s Democrats in Legislature go insane! Here are a few examples:<br /></strong><br /><a href="http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1086">Dem’s want to cut</a> education funding to provide money to drunks and crack heads.<br /><br /><a href="http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1550&year=2011">Dem’s want</a> to legalize dope!<br /><br />Dem’s want to establish a <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2014047825_edit27statebank.html">State Socialized Worker’s Bank</a>!<br /><br /><a href="http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1091&year=2011">Dem’s want to drive more business’s out of the state </a>by raising the employer supplied unemployment insurance costs.<br /><br /><a href="http://publicola.com/2010/11/15/eyman-says-ferry-rate-hike-may-be-an-illegal-action/">Dem’s want to give the Transportation Commission </a>the authority to violate the people’s will (2/3 vote to raise taxes, majority to raise fees) by raising fees through the roof through a legislative trick, that may be illegal!<br /><br />Dem’s want to scale back and cut to shreds the<a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014102603_get02m.html"> Guaranteed Education Tuition program</a>, which by the way is 255 Million Dollars in the hole already! Tuition costs are going up so rapidly that in the end unless you come from a rich family, you ain’t going to school at U Dub or WaZoo!<br /><br />EDITORIAL: I woke up this morning and thought that I was having a nightmare and that I had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis">been transported back in time to 1979</a> while watching the morning news showing rioting in Egypt. I think what we have here is a Jimmy Carter clone: OBAMA with his Secretary of State that has been fowling things up since she has been in office. If they have miscalculated and Egypt is taken over by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood">Muslim Brotherhood (terrorists)</a> this will be a 500 pound rock around Obama’s neck when he runs for re-election, in addition to being a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/us-egypt-israel-usa-idUSTRE70U53720110131">strategic DISASTER for peace in the Middle East AND US foreign policy</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-75224880258594298472011-01-20T06:33:00.000-08:002011-01-21T07:02:23.159-08:00OBAMA-NOMICS A COMPLETE FAILURE<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7a2R_RM_Ei-G7-VM7Zw62f7dw4-sYu6zmyJg3jyrukjRqcGyYsQGv-dE7V0xc_7HkgJK0ImkYwmCHbYjlwSnbv4M2OiXElltgTNN9lqIeikmHCpSfNAggZYYSrCW9_gnkvQBb/s1600/PA100047.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 163px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564276882822163570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7a2R_RM_Ei-G7-VM7Zw62f7dw4-sYu6zmyJg3jyrukjRqcGyYsQGv-dE7V0xc_7HkgJK0ImkYwmCHbYjlwSnbv4M2OiXElltgTNN9lqIeikmHCpSfNAggZYYSrCW9_gnkvQBb/s200/PA100047.JPG" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:180%;">TRILLION DOLLAR STIMULUS DID NOTHING! </span></div><div><span style="font-size:180%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-size:180%;">Bob Clark<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Unemployment Not Improving<br />Reverse Mortgage Foreclosures<br />Foreclosures Continue in Washington State at High Rates</span></div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Municipal Bonds at Risk?<br /></span><br /><br />For the month of December things weren’t quiet as bad as the awful November numbers in Washington State except for the fact that some <a href="http://www.workforceexplorer.com/admin/uploadedPublications/1885_laus_current.xls">36,730 Washingtonians dropped out of the workforce</a> and gave up trying to find a job. The U3 number (% collecting unemployment benefits) came in at 324,270 which was less than November because of a math detail. That detail centers on the number of people LEAVING the workforce (above). The U6 number or the number of folks unemployed including those in the U3 category was 599,195.<br /><br />Things were gloom in King County: 8.4% collecting benefits or 92,170 that means that 186,534 people remain unemployed in the state’s largest county. In Snohomish County the U3 & U6 numbers were 9.8% or 37,220 and 64,565 totals. In Pierce County it added up to 9.2% or 36,620 and 67,667 folks out of work.<br /><br />On the national scene the numbers at the end of the week ending 1/15 were not very encouraging. (Editor’s note: don’t believe the fools who write for the newspapers or report on the local TV outlets who report only the SEASONABLY ADJUSTED NUMBERS. These numbers MEAN NOTHING!). <a href="http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20110061.htm">Going to the unadjusted numbers at this website</a> we find the following: 550,594 people filed for FIRST TIME unemployment benefits for this week. Remarkably we now have 9,607,423 people collecting some sort of unemployment benefits nationwide according the US Department of Labor. If you calculate the U6 number or the total number of unemployed folks it comes in at 14,880,092! That is a lot of people who are unemployed. Several million other Americans have resorted to finding jobs that they are over qualified for and are simply doing what they can to survive.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Reverse Mortgages in the thousands up for foreclosure<br /></span><br /></strong><a href="https://www.secure.metlifebank.com/FreeKitVid1">If you are over 62 don’t believe these ads folks </a>and see an attorney before signing any reverse mortgage contract. Fact is that even though the <a href="http://www.totalmortgage.com/blog/foreclosures/fha-tries-to-help-reverse-mortgage-borrowers-facing-foreclosures/9118">FHA is trying to help out seniors</a>, the unfortunate truth is that literally hundreds of thousands of seniors who took our reverse mortgages are about to lose their homes as lenders are now going after those <a href="http://www.mortgageservicingnews.com/on_features/reverse-mortgages-trigger-1022713-1.html">seniors who have not followed their contracts</a>. That contract requires them to pay for a certain level of home insurance and PAY their property taxes. In addition, many of the reverse mortgage contracts have a clause that gives the home to the lender, no matter how much equity exists in the home.<br /><br /><a href="http://reversemortgagedaily.com/2010/03/22/hud-reverse-mortgage-foreclosures-will-they-or-won%E2%80%99t-they/">HUD has already given approval to lenders</a> to proceed to foreclosures on seniors with reverse mortgages in default and that is NOT good news! On top of that many real estate investors are already monitoring the public record to zero in on these foreclosures in order to make money on this terrible situation. Apparently this problem is particularly bad in California, Florida and Arizona.<br /><br />The latest foreclosure numbers for the State of Washington are not good. <a href="http://www.realtytrac.com/trendcenter/wa-trend.html">Here is the map </a>and you can take a look on a county by county basis. 40,874 homes have been foreclosed over the past 12 months and some 4,029 recent foreclosures on the market.<br /><br /><a href="http://ronbosoldier.blogspot.com/2011/01/obama-regime-attempts-to-hide-terrible.html">The Obama Administration has been very skilled at lying</a> and doing everything it can to hide the worst recession in the history of the USA. Changing the subject on the left leaning MS/NBC, CNBC, CNN, CBS, NBC and ABC doesn’t put food on the table or pay the car and mortgage bills!</div><div></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></strong></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Fast Breaking News</span>:</span></strong> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/business/economy/21bankruptcy.html?_r=2&src=busln">State's want to go bankrupt,</a> Do you own muni's? You might want to selectively review them and get out of those that your broker or research indicates are risky and uninsured, such as almost any municipality in the State of California or the State itself. For those of you who scoff at this suggestion you might want to recall the default here in Washington State of the Washington Public Power Supply System (WHOOPS!) that cost bond holders 2.25 Billion Dollars (that with a B)!<br />Right now institutional investors have unloaded more than 14 Billion dollars in Muni’s and are running for cover. A link to today’s NY Times piece about States that want to declare bankruptcy is above. By the way Washington State’s budget deficit is now estimated to be much more than $6 Billion dollars, and I would like to know where they intend to come up with that money.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-25427942041543830872011-01-06T07:24:00.001-08:002011-01-13T06:16:05.075-08:00Political News and Economics Magazine<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioucNeLzxnnil985sS4v5g_Tut5COHvURVFkRA8CnXRFcl09DLfgndGlR0t7r638C8_6baISLTMP2OAT7U7OHsYRnVcYtG0_tHA8Q3fdvWeeEPCpvx325xIZTqRH1SfPvR8po6/s1600/PA100047.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 163px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559094574979911730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioucNeLzxnnil985sS4v5g_Tut5COHvURVFkRA8CnXRFcl09DLfgndGlR0t7r638C8_6baISLTMP2OAT7U7OHsYRnVcYtG0_tHA8Q3fdvWeeEPCpvx325xIZTqRH1SfPvR8po6/s200/PA100047.JPG" /></a><br /><div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:180%;">Bob Clark</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:180%;"></span></div><div>Governor Quagmire sits on her you know what and is doing nothing as it appears we have a MAJOR DISASTER with <a href="http://www.workforceexplorer.com/admin/uploadedPublications/1885_laus_current.xls">November’s unemployment numbers</a> for the State of Washington. The numbers came in at levels signaling what I have been saying for 6 months: WE ARE IN A DOUBLE DIP RECESSION IN WASHINGTON STATE. To give you a picture of this disaster, 322,700 folks were collecting unemployment insurance in November in this state and that’s up almost 6,000 from October. Total unemployment in Washington was 602,846 or 17% in November up about 12,000 from the previous month. In the Tri-county area: King 9.1% or 134,270, Snohomish 38,110 or 10% and Pierce County 36,530 or 9% of the total workforces in those counties were collecting unemployment benefits. At the national level the US Department of Labor is reporting that 577,279 folks showed up to file for NEW unemployment benefits last week up more than 52,000 in the previous week <a href="http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20110004.htm">(read the unadjusted numbers at this site). </a>As I have said many times in the past SEASONABLY ADJUSTED NUMBERS ARE NOTHING LESS THAN A MAJOR LOAD OF MALE BOVINE EXCREMENT!<br /><br />John Koster’s campaign has been questioning the <a href="http://www.northwestcitizen.net/2010/pri-results2.pdf">vote counting in Whatcom County</a> during the last election the grape vine tells me and that does not surprise me one bit. Larsen came in with 13,500 plus votes when the polls at the time showed him down against Koster county wide, yet the almost tie vote between the two swung the election to Larsen. Hmmm?<br /><br /><br />There was a major shakeup in the <a href="http://www.snocogop.com/">Snohomish County GOP</a> with a whole new slate of leadership during the last central committee meeting. Activist Bill Cooper has taken over from Jim Kellett as county chair, Billye Brooks-Sebastiani takes over as Vice Chair, Olga Farnam takes over as State Committee Woman and Councilman Michael Plunkett assumes the State Committee Man position at the State central committee meetings.<br /><br />A major battle is shaping up between conservative Bill Rennie and former radio talk show host Kirby Wilbur to take over the State Chairmanship of the Washington State Republican Party from the very unpopular Luke Esser (who is on his way out!). If I were to bet on the race I would say that right now it is to close to call with Kirby having a slight edge. The problem for Wilbur is that the Tea Party folks and most of the conservative wing of the state GOP are supporting Bill Rennie!<br /><br />Foreclosures continue to pile up and threaten to destroy Washington State’s housing market. In the month of November, according to RealtyTrac, 4,067 homes were foreclosed on statewide. That brings year to date through November: 40,722 homes foreclosed on in the State of Washington. <a href="http://www.realtytrac.com/trendcenter/wa-trend.html">Here is the map for the month of November</a>. I would like to clarify that a number of the 40,000 plus homes foreclosed on so far this year have been sold, but not enough to impact the continued decline in home values in Western Washington. To make matters worse many who signed up for <a href="http://www.freddiemac.com/corporate/buyown/english/mortgages/what_is/adjustable_rate.html">ARM’s (Adjustable Rate Mortgages)</a> a few years ago will find their mortgage payments double or triple during 2011 because a huge number of these ARM’s are expiring this year at the 3,5,6, and 10 year time frames all converging on this new year. That could mean that foreclosures could skyrocket in the first and second quarters of 2011.<br /><br />The State of Washington’s tax revenue took a big hit this holiday season according to my sources at the State Legislature. Not with standing these<a href="http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100213/NEWS01/702139928"> bogus reports from the worst newspaper</a> in the state: The Washington Post owned Everett Herald, the real number of this coming budget shortfall are already being talked about at the 5 Billion dollar plus level and that does not count unfunded liabilities for State Pension funds that could total as much as 20 Billion dollars according to my sources.</div><div></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong> </div><div><strong>Breaking news:</strong> The US Department of Labor is saying that December's U3 number (the number of people collecting unemployment benefits) dropped to 9.4%. What they did not say was the fact that the reason for the drop is because a large number of people nationally left the work force because they have given up trying to find a job; that depresses the U3 number mathematically. Even though some 100,000 jobs were added in December, most of these jobs are TEMP/contractor jobs that ended at the end of the retail Christmas season. So if you see the "brain dead" media falling all over themselves saying this is good news, you may know the truth.<br /><br />During the week ending 1/8/2011 770,413 people signed up for unemployment benefits for the first time up 191,686 from the previous week; an all time record! Meaning that all of those temp retail jobs for the holidays are over and the people are out of work. The total number of people collecting unemployment benefits as of 12/25/2010 was 9,193,838 folks, an all time record.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-2315338952979930512010-11-20T06:00:00.000-08:002010-11-20T06:00:30.552-08:00Washington Unserious Job Creation<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The good news is that Washington experienced a <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013456620_apwawashjobless1stldwritethru.html">net gain of 5900</a> jobs in October. The bad news is that more than two thirds of those jobs were in the public sector. Admittedly, my formal training in economics is limited to about 8 units several decades ago, but I’m reasonably confident that a job market that creates two public sector jobs for every private sector job is not sustainable. It is the private sector that creates the wealth that provides sustenance for the public sector, and there is simply no way that a single private sector employee can generate enough wealth to support his own family and two others. The 5900 jobs “created” in October bring the 2010 total in Washington to 6000. That’s all. For the whole year.<br />
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October’s private sector job creation included 1500 professional and business services, 800 service jobs in the wholesale trade, 400 service jobs in information, 400 service jobs in the financial services sector and 300 jobs in retail sales. All of these jobs are in the service sector. No one was hiring “activists.”<br />
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Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector lost 400 jobs, as did transportation. Another 200 disappeared from the mining and logging industries as did 300 in hospitality and leisure.<br />
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So if you’re coming to Washington looking for a job, don’t plan on actually creating or building anything. <br />
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Another news story I read this last week noted that the few private sector jobs that our country is creating are mostly in low tax, right-to-work states, which certainly makes sense. Washington’s high tax, union dominated political climate recently <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/boeingaerospace/2010113362_boeing22.html">drove Boeing</a> to start construction of a new 787 assembly plant in <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2010456664_edit09boeing.html">South Carolina</a>.<br />
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Even someone with my limited economic training can figure out that this is not going to last. If Washington is ever going to dig itself out of its economic hole, its ruling class will have to look past the interests of its traditional campaign contributors and power brokers and take difficult decisions. <br />
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Unfortunately higher education in this state (and in every other state for that matter) is not contributing as much as it could to economic vitality. For all of the hand wringing and political posturing dedicated to the problem of underwater mortgages, mortgages in which the principal balance exceeds the value of the property, higher education is creating a bubble of its own with underwater college degrees.<br />
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Universities are pouring out graduates with degrees in subjects that have little or no market value. And to get these worthless degrees the students have accumulated mountains of student loan debt which will weigh heavily on their own futures. <br />
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Mortgage lenders have become favorite targets of our ruling class for their supposed “predatory lending practices,” otherwise known as subprime mortgages. Subprime mortgages invited people with poor credit histories and lower incomes to purchase homes that they otherwise could not afford. This practice was <a href="http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/23980/Community_Reinvestment_Act_The_Risk_of_Unintended_Consequences_.html">forced upon lenders</a> and was once touted by the same ruling class that now condemns it as a means to provide lower income people with an opportunity to accumulate equity. It worked until it collapsed under its own weight.<br />
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In its own way, higher education has engaged in its own predatory lending practices by encouraging student to incur heavy debt loads with the promise that a college degree will increase future earning potential sufficiently to make that loan a good investment. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. I recently stopped by a booth at an academic fair to pick up a recruiting brochure that was being handed out to prospective freshmen. It included a fanciful list of careers that this particular academic major supposedly prepared its graduates for. One of those jobs was as that of an “activist.” I don’t know that there are all that many jobs for professional troublemakers but I do know that the few that do exist don’t pay well and certainly do not contribute even one thin dime to wealth creation. It will take some time for an activist to pay off $50,000 or more in student loans. A recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/your-money/student-loans/29money.html">New York Times article</a> told the sad tale of a woman who accumulated $100,000 in student loan debt earning a degree in women's studies and is now discovering that her Bachelor’s degree is worth less than a high school diploma. Some investment.<br />
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Colleges and universities are not necessarily trade schools. But we do no one any favors by turning out graduates who won’t even be able to pay off their student loans. <br />
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</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15600654309482979580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-34915763723795726392010-11-06T07:28:00.000-07:002010-11-06T07:39:59.885-07:00Only Enduring Principles Will Cement An Enduring Victory<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzoSC4FeqCVp4LDGjOiL9cWpb_PA9LThv7NibnCSvfkEqUjwisy7g2KoHE1CtRyQ7R1eeo1ocQtBZnlZTF-KvR1I9_z0BNN2ymjfPN_6fOREj3C8Vl7WpCV1vuljoqhSBdoJqRQ/s1600/Tidal+Wave.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzoSC4FeqCVp4LDGjOiL9cWpb_PA9LThv7NibnCSvfkEqUjwisy7g2KoHE1CtRyQ7R1eeo1ocQtBZnlZTF-KvR1I9_z0BNN2ymjfPN_6fOREj3C8Vl7WpCV1vuljoqhSBdoJqRQ/s320/Tidal+Wave.png" width="320" /></a></div>For two years now, Republicans have played the role of the dog that chases cars, in hot pursuit of a goal, but with no clear plan what to do once they attain it. But now they’ve caught it, or more accurately, it was handed to them, and now they have the burden of proving that they are worthy of the responsibility that the voters have assigned them. Up until now, the Republicans have profited primarily from their status as the default alternative to a Democratic Party that has given the voter every reason to turn them out.<br />
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And they don’t have a lot of time to present a plan. The landscape is not what it once was. It took 40 years of the Democratic Party’s arrogance and mismanagement to wear out the American people’s goodwill before they were thrown out of power in 1994. Republicans needed only 12 years to alienate America and return control to the Democrats. This time, the Democrats turned the trick in only four years. Clearly, Americans’ patience is not what it used to be.<br />
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One reason is that Americans have access to unfiltered information now. If we still lived in a world where Walter Cronkite and the New York Times held monopolistic control over information, there never would have been a Gingrich Revolution.<br />
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And this election should tell the Republicans what they need to do. After years of believing media advice that they needed to move toward the Democrats, the electorate demonstrated otherwise by tossing out moderates of both parties. On the day before the election a public opinion poll revealed that <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/251728/8-61-rich-lowry">Nancy Pelosi’s job approval stood at 8%</a>. Eight times that many disapproved of her work. Moderates rejected the Republicans in 2006 and 2008 because they failed to draw a significant distinction between themselves and the Democrats. Nancy Pelosi highlighted that distinction for them and independent voters rejected the Democrats’ vision.<br />
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The large majority of Americans have made it clear that they don’t want moderation. They want decisiveness. If Republicans are capable of learning, they could take lessons from what has worked. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell both won surprising victories by promising to govern conservatively. Both have grown in popularity by adhering to those promises. This is especially notable in New Jersey as that state is about as hostile to Republicans as any in the union.<br />
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If Republicans can demonstrate that they’ve learned their lessons and are willing to make the difficult choices necessary to steer America back on the right track, they are likely to be rewarded in 2012, because it’s unlikely that Democrats will be able to give Americans an affirmative reason to restore them to power.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
Pennsylvania Governor Fast Eddie Rendell probably best summarized the fatal flaw in the Democratic Party on election morning as he predicted a better than expected result for the Democrats. He credited Barack Obama with appealing to the Democratic Party base to reinvigorate their enthusiasm.<br />
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Rendell identified the <a href="http://tv.breitbart.com/blacks-latinos-gays-lesbians-heart-soul-of-democrat-base/">“heart and soul”</a> of the Democratic base as “blacks, Latinos, gays and lesbians.” <br />
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The problem with having grievance politics as your strength is that even when you manage to win, your mandate is not the nationalization of one sixth of the economy, or an unprecedented intrusion of the federal government into every aspect of private life. You are only charged with retaliating against the dominant culture for the satisfaction of a few small slivers of the population. <br />
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Keeping that heart and soul enthusiastic also requires a constant refreshment of the culture of grievance. An outstanding example of just how difficult that cultivation has become can be found in columnist Eugene Robinson’s Election Day column in which he predictably exposed racism in the Republicans’ campaign battle cry: “Take back the government.” <br />
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Mr. Robinson inferred from this simple slogan that Republicans meant for white folks to take back the government from a black man. In fact the phrase is a call for a return to self government and away from the paternalistic path to serfdom that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi sought to drive us down as though we were cattle. <br />
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Mr. Robinson could not possibly have found this slogan offensive if his grievance mentality had not overwhelmed his sense of irony and his long term memory. Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi used those identical words in 2008.<br />
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An appeal to tribal grievance will never be a match for a defense of liberty.</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15600654309482979580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-47522014253446161842010-11-03T01:49:00.000-07:002010-11-03T01:49:56.041-07:00Rossi Campaign Cautiously Optimistic As Voter Count Continues<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;">As of 11:57 PM, the Washington Secretary of State was reporting on its website Election Day results showing incumbent Senator Patty Murray leading challenger <a _mce_href="http://www.dinorossi.com" class="zem_slink" href="http://www.dinorossi.com/" rel="homepage" title="Dino Rossi">Dino Rossi</a> by a razor slim margin of only 14,005 votes out of 1,430,787 counted. At the end of the first day of counting, Murray has a lead of 50.49% to Rossi's 49.51%. However, Rossi For Senate Campaign Manager Pat Shortridge issued a statement by Email late last night outlining some points that should have the Murray campaign sweating bullets:<br />
<blockquote><ul><li><blockquote>Historically in Washington, the Republican candidates improve their percentages in each county in votes counted after Election Day, usually improving their margins by 2 to 3 percentage points.</blockquote></li>
<li><blockquote>King County, which is providing most of Sen. Murray’s margin, accounts for 30.7% of all registered voters in the state. According to County Election reports, King County only has 26.7% of the remaining ballots left to count. The rest of the state, where Rossi has a comfortable lead, will count proportionately more ballots post-Election Day.</blockquote></li>
<li><blockquote>Spokane County, where Rossi is currently in the lead by more than 50%, still has at least 21.6% of the remaining ballots left to process, with more coming in.</blockquote></li>
<li><blockquote>Rossi is currently leading in Pierce County by nearly 2,500 votes</blockquote></li>
<li><blockquote>According to the Secretary of State, there are still over 508,000 estimated ballots left to process statewide.</blockquote></li>
<li><blockquote>Again, we will know more over the next several days as ballots continue to come in and counties continue to count. We are confident that the margins we are seeing throughout Washington State, combined with the state legislative victories, will put Dino Rossi ahead by an overwhelming margin.</blockquote></li>
</ul></blockquote>This election is not like previous statewide races that Rossi has run. It is a midterm, off-Presidential cycle election. These usually favor Republicans, that traditionally exhibit more faithful voting habits. In addition, a Republican tidal wave is sweeping the nation, with Republicans gaining a solid majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Turnout in more conservative Washington districts is running above normal this year. This trend is elevating Republican Party hopes, as Washington is poised to send a Republican majority of its Congressional Representatives back to D.C. come January. Five of Washington's nine Congressional seats appear to be in Republican hands:<br />
<ul><li><strong>District 2 John Koster is leading his opponent 50.41% to 49.59%. This is a Republican "gain".</strong></li>
<li><strong>District 3 Jaime Herrara is leading her opponent 52.92% to 47.08%. This is a Republican "gain".</strong></li>
<li>District 4 Doc Hastings is leading his opponent 68.31% to 31.69%. This is a Republican "hold".</li>
<li>District 5 Cathy McMorris Rodgers is leading her opponent 64.51% to 35.49%. This is a Republican "hold".</li>
<li>District 8 Congressman Dave Reichert is leading his opponent 55% to 45%, this is a Republican "hold".</li>
</ul>Republican gains in west-side Congressional Districts are exceeding local Party expectations. In addition, a number of voter initiatives regarding taxes have shown a conservative voting streak. An initiative for a state income tax has gone down in flames, while another requiring a 2/3 majority of the state legislature to raise taxes appears to be passing. In addition, a rollback of Democratic Party approved taxes on food and bottled water appeared to be passing as well.<br />
While the race is still too close to call, it looks like we may be calling Dino Rossi our Senator very soon.<br />
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Cross-posted to <a href="http://wp.me/pjvHX-10f">BLOGSUNNYSIDE.COM</a></div>Jason R. Raineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15009912822792820810noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-60236924417133289832010-11-02T21:00:00.000-07:002010-11-02T21:00:01.694-07:00Mighty Obama Has Struck Out<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4Tcahn7PwQU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4Tcahn7PwQU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15600654309482979580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-74210728572597924172010-11-01T06:05:00.001-07:002010-11-01T06:05:29.874-07:00Momentum On Dino Rossi's Side<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Democrat-leaning Public Policy Polling gives Dino Rossi a <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_WA_1101330.pdf">two point lead</a> a day before Judgment Day.</div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Every time PPP has polled the Washington Senate race this year it's found the race to be within 2 or 3 points and our final poll there is no exception. But there is one twist - for the first time we find Dino Rossi leading Patty Murray, by a 50-48 margin.<br />
<br />
Neither candidate has much in the way of support across party lines- Rossi's winning 93% of Republicans and Murray's winning 91% of Democrats. That means<br />
independents, as they are in so many races across the country, are making the difference for the GOP here. Rossi leads Murray with them by a 54-42 margin.<br />
<br />
The most worrisome number for Murray within the poll, beyond her small overall<br />
disadvantage, is that among voters who say they've already returned their ballots Rossi's advantage is wider at 52-47. Murray's ability to keep the race close is predicated on the 24% of respondents who have not yet done so returning their ballots. That group supports her by a 51-45 margin.<br />
</blockquote>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15600654309482979580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-84650290708135099592010-10-28T11:13:00.000-07:002010-10-28T12:26:32.926-07:00Dino Rossi Rocks Silverdale<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVB2nbCRiWeqvIJOBpdgqPKvP9sG3mnXsE-gSYGz5oxCUiXWqmvh0FvSZoMt-lKkhVa9nhBYMBULZZHdwbsWSWtNQfnPw2VRw37HNA0Z_Vq5iF0b9IuD8PYPZjE8v3hxokYok/s1600/JW2010-5blog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 166px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVB2nbCRiWeqvIJOBpdgqPKvP9sG3mnXsE-gSYGz5oxCUiXWqmvh0FvSZoMt-lKkhVa9nhBYMBULZZHdwbsWSWtNQfnPw2VRw37HNA0Z_Vq5iF0b9IuD8PYPZjE8v3hxokYok/s200/JW2010-5blog.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533173555269295394" /></a><b>by Johnny Walker</b><div><b>@KingstonJW on Twitter</b><div><p class="MsoNormal">“Who here wants to remove Patty Murray’s tennis shoes from Washington?” The packed house roared. Classic. It was a perfect <a href="http://www.dinorossi.com/an-important-message-from-dino/">Dino Rossi</a> moment at the Community Center in Silverdale yesterday, as Rossi supporters came together for a final dash rally in the last week of their campaign. Tightly packed into an A-frame conference room, you would never have guessed that the race to unseat incumbent <a href="http://www.pattymurray.com/">Patty Murray (D)</a> was so dangerously close.</p> <img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoJ3tTLhNdG0HgM9WRmlS5qhFXyq35aG69JnwUSyZoRosSS35wtw2Dr4sBDJa2flP-kTSwosGqgyha8dDK917KdsK_fNdKRktxoNpLjQFSSANRExNZiRIfWyI5crIXlmJeyo/s400/Dino1w.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533169479477203730" /><p class="MsoNormal">After a short but lively introduction by <a href="http://janangel.com/">Representative Jan Angle</a> of the Washington 26<sup>th</sup> Legislative District, Rossi charged the crowd with well timed and familiar talking points designed to keep his team passionately involved to the finish line. </p> <img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 143px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBV8zaltV3iTM_BlT_LhIlUARn6Li0tibENjE_ZMUIfA96rk2lwMIdb59vffvOkjeM09QBn0zaz6RdD1bzlmHeJ_YfqeQYiP2W5-01SodpJBakUH6KVYpHZbC7LVqwOQtAp2c/s200/JanA1w.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533169209255439362" /><p class="MsoNormal">Rossi championed a theme that “when government grows, your freedoms decrease,” and pounded incumbent Murray for her unapologetic authorship of massive new health care laws that are increasing costs and eroding the relationship between doctors and patients; reducing both choice and quality of services. He countered liberal rhetoric that Republicans were a “party of no” by emphasizing tax-free ways to improve health care. He cited that tort reform, competition across state lines, health care accounts, and volume bargaining by small business as ways to vastly improve healthcare without any increase of taxes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rossi focused on jobs, detailing his own expertise and what he has learned from business on the campaign trail. “Small business wants a modest tax, fair and predictable regulation, and then let lose to pursue the American dream,” he said. Government shouldn’t punish small businesses for being successful, but instead should enable them “so they can do it again and again and again!” </p> <img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 143px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVsZDuL0b4td8HVVdYJiuwXJWQXtogOxEhN-bUh5seWYRoBZSyuRfi833lDFzLjz6p3rTCbjAhjuOtRBTBZMNA6ZFerOt97t59v9_ct-P57nv00dRxhrZzZ7-_h-5WCTYX8U/s200/JoN1w.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533168723498450706" /><p class="MsoNormal">In closing remarks, Rossi left the charged crowd with two key messages. “The moral issue of the campaign” he defined as a political class that has borrowed, spent, and handed the bill off to their children. He wants to stop that. And his “final pledge” to supporters; “with your help November 2<sup>nd</sup>, when I become your next United States Senator, I am actually going to represent Washington State and not Washington D.C.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some observers might have found the rally predictable, but the undercurrent in the room was a story in itself. Folks were impressively undeterred by recent polls benefitting Patty Murray after local visits by Democratic power brokers. In a matter of days, Murray held campaign events with President Obama, Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden, and prior President Clinton. “How does that happen?” said one supporter. Another spoke with cautious optimism, “we have a week to go.” It was pretty clear leaving the event that the “hoots and hollers” to carry Dino signs was not an admission of anything about the future, except for success.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the final week of this significant election year, I trust that you all are doing your part to support the candidates of your choice. I’ve written an <a href="http://palousitics.blogspot.com/2010/10/inside-story-about-phone-banks.html">article on phone banking</a> that shows how easy it is to do, and sign waving is another easy way to help and have fun at the same time. But most of all, in the final days, remember to vote and encourage the vote. This is what will ultimately prevail. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i>Know your candidates and issues. Vote Smart. November is almost here.</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Photos top to bottom; author Johnny Walker, Dino Rossi addresses supporters in Silverdale, Rep Jan Angel introduced event, enthused Dino supporter Jo Nelson</span></i></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div></div>KingstonJWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18265206095526759609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-48231316974756611462010-10-28T10:28:00.000-07:002010-10-28T10:28:40.076-07:00Rossi Surges<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/washington/election_2010_washington_senate">To A One Point Lead</a>!</div><blockquote style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i>The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Rossi picking up 48% of the vote, while Murray draws support from 47%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and two percent (2%) are still undecided. </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<i> The race remains a Toss-Up in the Rasmussen Reports <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/election_2010_senate_balance_of_power" target="_self">Election 2010 Senate Balance of Power</a> rankings. </i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/washington/washington_senate_murray_d_inches_into_the_lead_over_rossi_r" target="_self">Just over a week ago</a>, Murray inched ahead 49% to 46%. </i></blockquote>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15600654309482979580noreply@blogger.com0