Saturday, April 30, 2011

Bog of columns followed Jacks story.

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I suppose it was bound to happen when you're a legend in your own mind

Looking back on the bizarre combination of puff-piece for union thug Tony Golik and media blown all out of proportion over the Storro story where Brancaccio found the balance between overt campaigning for another democrat and doing everything he could to destroy a sick woman who, in aggregate, did nothing that equals the crime he's foisting off on us through his knee-pad cheerleading for the CRC (One involved a few thousand dollars... Lou's crime?  Billions.) I supposed it's bound to happen any time Brancaccio gets involved in any story... if the resulting thousands of words of self congratulation and self-promotion are any guide.

Hopefully, the democratian has a staff chiropractor to repair the frequent damage he causes his back and shoulders by patting himself on that back because of what he thinks he's done.

It's a by-product of being a boss where you have no accountability unless you step so far out of line that he gets whacked in the head with a proverbial 2X4... much like he did when he was stupid enough to telegraph his Hinton-like punch to Boger (Man, I bet that STILL stings) in advance... you become so arrogant, so self-centered, so blinded by your bias that no set of facts can sway your single-minded determination to bend the will of a community to your agenda.

So, what we have here is a story that the daily paper, the democratian, has done all it can to bury.

Hiding behind the claim of a lack of a paper trail as if that made any difference, this paper hypocritically banned speculation concerning Jacks misconduct (Yeah, *I* said it: Jacks did NOT resign because he was an alcoholic; he resigned because of what happened as a result) while not only encouraging speculation in other stories... but WRITING STORIES BECAUSE OF SPECULATION.

The double standard is as palpable as the manure odor one gets while in the vicinity of the rag.

Brancaccio did everything he could to protect Jacks, hoping that time would heal the wounds and let this guy and his party, both bridger/looters carrying the rag's agenda like Gunga Din, off the hook.

Not gonna happen.

Too few people hold the rag accountable for their journalistic failures.  Too few shine a light on their lies, distortions, manipulations.  The means are certainly available.

Would that everyone set up blogs... since they're free, and comment without restraint by democratian censorship to hold these people up to the harsh light of day.

Imagine how much more honest they'd be.

Brancaccio ignores me except to belittle and insult me.  He does that, not because what I write is in any way untrue, but because he wants to make sure that I am not taken seriously.  So, instead of taking the issues seriously, he ignores them... and has, in the past, attacked me.

That, of course, is his cowardly privilege.

So, when he or his minions print this nonsensical "hurray for me" garbage, who's there to jab a stick in their rhetorical eye by describing exactly where it's a crock of horse manure?

That leads us to Brancaccio's latest column of excuses for failing to drill down on Jacks like he would anyone else if they had an "R" after their names or was opposed to the fiscal and transportation abortion known as the CRC or, for that matter, the taxpayer-subsidized-to-the-tune-of-millions-of-dollars Pollard Hilton.

Instead of focusing on the rag's failure to engage in basic journalism, failure to interview democrat House leadership, failure to interview Jacks' legislative assistant... failure to interview Program Research staffers and failure to interview democrat legislators like the one who observed the conduct that ultimately led to Jacks' resignation... a forced resignation, I might add, we get tripe like the variety Brancaccio prints here.

This isn't top secret, kept in a safe stuff.  This is well-known, but totally ignored stuff that unlike Brancaccio's constant whining about the "lack of a paper trail" as if such a thing paralyzed him into inaction... or caused him to take the usual course when it comes to democrats or other allies, COULD be found... if a "journalist" would look.

So, what's the focus of Branaccaio's self-congratulatory pap?

Not his multiple failures on the Jacks' story, many of which have been detailed here.

But instead on the comments the story generated, oddly, again ignoring the multiple comments calling Lou out for those very failures.

That Lou believes that ANYTHING he babbled "brought the community together" just goes to show how loose the screws really are in his particular bag of hardware.

The only thing that Brancaccio has accomplished is to cement the claim that he's a leftist hack who turns on and off his journalistic responsibilities like a switch.

The rag's failures are easy to see, document and verify.  And when the truth comes out, as it inevitably will, the lack of a paper trail will not save his job.

I've received many emails concerning Brancaccio's abrogation of journalistic integrity.

But one of my favorite emails came from a former local blogger who stopped writing a few years ago after getting trashed by the rag.
“I’m guessing you are surprised to hear from me but I just wanted to let you know that your comments and posts on Brancaccio's past two columns written on Rep. Jacks were right on target.

“I know that addictions can be very disruptive and what he is doing takes tremendous courage, but his failure to be forthcoming combined with Brancaccio's failure to do even basic reporting is inexcusable.”
That's the kind of crap that Brancaccio likely made up as he wrecks his own elbow patting himself on the back. 

One day, we will have media that is dedicated to the truth with the presentation of facts that they've worked tirelessly to dig up... facts unencumbered by the philosophy of the left... or the right.

One day.  But certainly not today.

And do I look forward to that... or what?
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Friday, April 29, 2011

And if you don't believe they're going to enforce the law, check this: Feds raid Spokane medical marijuana dispensaries

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Speaks for itself.  Democrats in the legislature wanted to allow these shops in violation of federal law.  Here's the Fed's reaction:

Feds raid Spokane medical marijuana dispensaries

Summary

Medical marijuana activists across Washington state decried federal raids on at least two dispensaries in Spokane on Thursday, saying they underscored the need for a dispensary licensing system that the governor has threatened to veto.
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Story Published: Apr 28, 2011 at 4:10 PM PDT
Story Updated: Apr 28, 2011 at 9:44 PM PDT
Feds raid Spokane medical marijuana dispensaries
Outside the THC Pharmacy pot dispensary, marijuana activists chant in protest on Perry St. Thursday, April 28, 2011, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/The Spokesman-Review, Jesse Tinsley)
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SEATTLE (AP) - Medical marijuana activists across Washington state decried federal raids on at least two dispensaries in Spokane on Thursday, saying they underscored the need for a dispensary licensing system that the governor has threatened to veto.

The raids came Thursday afternoon, three weeks after the top federal prosecutor in Eastern Washington, Spokane U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby, warned the 40 dispensaries in the area that they should close up shop or face federal enforcement actions.

The raids were the latest salvo from federal authorities seeking to get a handle on marijuana shops proliferating in many of the 15 states with medical cannabis laws.

Recent letters from the Justice Department to officials in several states, including Washington, Colorado, California and Montana, have warned that licensing dispensaries or marijuana grow operations would not necessarily protect them from a federal crackdown because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to announce her final decision Friday regarding whether to veto parts of a bill passed by the Legislature that would establish such a system. The bill also would grant arrest protection to marijuana patients who agree to join a state registry.

In threatening to use her veto power, the governor cited a warning from Ormsby and Seattle U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan that state employees involved in the licensing scheme could face prosecution - a prospect that one of the state's top constitutional experts described as far-fetched in a letter to the governor on Thursday.
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A worthy letter to the editor of the democratian: Light rail is a social experiment.

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Everyone reading this knows the people of Clark County do not want our bridge replaced.

Everyone reading this knows that replacing the current, safe, functional and PAID for I-5 Bridge, particularly when everyone paying attention knows that loot rail is the ONLY reason the downtown mafia and the elected slime are shilling this crap and working so hard to deprive the people of any say.

But not everyone reading this will admit that, even to themselves.

And now, we get some insight as to the motivation for loot rail, in this brilliantly written, pithy effort by Robert Dean, likely the former candidate for the open 18th District House seat now occupied by State Representative Ann Rivers.

The reference to Tim "The Liar" Leavitt, whose only accomplishments to date are to have run the scummiest, most lying, two-faced campaign in the history of this region; to have lost control of the infamous "gavel down" city council meeting; to have come up with a plan to censor his many opponents by shutting them up at city council meetings; and to have become a total prostitute to the bridgers/looters he works for the consternation of those who were naive enough to have voted for him on his empty promises and lies; is beautiful.

But the letter speaks for itself... enjoy.

He must have cringed. Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt was standing behind the two visiting governors when they admitted that tolls are being levied against the residents of Vancouver as a sort of social experiment, reported in an April 26 story “Governors choose truss design for new I-5 Bridge.” Oregon Gov. Kitzhaber called it changing “the ‘paradigm of car-only highway systems” courtesy of D.C. bureaucrats. Oh, we’ve always known that, but how embarrassing it must have been for our mayor at that moment.

“Light rail and tolling creates incentives for people to get out of cars,” Kitzhaber said.

And Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.”

Is it any wonder that wealthy chamber of commerce types favor light rail and tolls? Encourage the working poor to leave their cars at home and take mass transit; free up those lanes for those who can afford them. Leavitt has always been in favor of light rail and recently of tolls. Many questioned why.

Perhaps he just wants to free up the commute for his wealthy friends.

Robert G. Dean
Vancouver

I'll say.
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Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Reflector comes out swinging against the CRC.

What’s in it for us?

This very headline causes me to cringe. It speaks to selfishness and an unwillingness to sustain what might be for the common good. However, when related to taxation, it is an important question and a way to determine the value of goods and services provided by our government.
I am relatively new to this area, so I cannot speak as an expert but I am totally perplexed by this push by Washingtonians for a new Columbia River Crossing. Millions of dollars have already been spent to study a project that appears to clearly provide more economic benefit to our Oregon neighbors. Easing the passage over the Columbia River would seem to benefit Portland and the State of Oregon much more than Washington and those of us in Clark County.
This disproportionate benefit seems to be largely driven by differences in how each state government is funded. Oregon is dependent on a state income tax. People that work in Oregon and live in Washington pay Oregon state income tax. Those who live in Oregon and work in Washington are required to pay the State of Oregon as well. Would anyone paying income tax to the State of Oregon have the slightest qualm about shopping in Oregon to avoid sales tax, regardless of what side of the river they live on?
Washington, on the other hand, relies on a consumption or retail sales tax. Most food is exempt from this tax. Sales tax is collected at the point of purchase and use tax is required for purchases in Oregon made by Washington residences. While this use tax is required by law, I would guess that it is paid on a very, very small percentage of Oregon purchases and would be very difficult and/or expensive to enforce.
Clearly, the current differences in tax methods would encourage both Washington and Oregon residents to shop in Oregon.
So I am back to my original question, what’s in it for us?
Will building another or higher capacity bridge across the Columbia River promote economic development in Clark County or just magnify the existing economic disparity between the two regions? Is there really a return on investment for Washingtonians?
Would the State of Oregon be as interested in a new Columbia River Crossing if they were required to collect sales tax on behalf of the State of Washington on purchases made by Washington residents in Oregon? We are already required to collect personal income tax withholding on behalf of the State of Oregon. Wouldn’t a reciprocal arrangement on sales tax be fair?
I realize these are “fighting words.”
Initially, Clark County’s proximity to the Portland market probably contributed significantly to the growth of the County. The property taxes alone must have allowed for a rapid expansion of community infrastructures. However, Vancouver and its surrounding Clark County neighbors have now become or are becoming their own economic centers. Can we afford any project that would magnify an already existing economic disadvantage?
What if we chose to do nothing regarding the Columbia River Crossing until equitable, verifiable economic benefits could be determined for each region? If Oregon wants to build another bridge, without first establishing that economic equity, let them build it at their expense.
After all, why should we pay unless there is something in it for us?
Steve Walker
Publisher
What's in it for us?

A massive waste of billions.

A $100,000,000 plus yearly hole in our local economy forever.

Low-income and single parent commuters getting hammered.

Loot rail that we don't want or need.

No change in congestion or freight mobility.

The sucking up of hundreds of millions that could have been used elsewhere to build another bridge in a different location.

We get to watch the slimeballs ramming this crap pile down our throats without a vote pay so they can off their buddies at our expense.

And one last thing: "Washingtonians" aren't pushing for this steaming pile.  A few corrupt, self-appointed scum are pushing for it.  See, we haven't been allowed a vote.

Other than that... nothing.
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It takes a special kind of slimeball like Tim "The Liar" Leavitt to hypocritically accuse someone ELSE of "pandering."

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The post title speaks for itself.

It's easy for a slimeball like The Liar to beat up on someone who can't fight back.

It's easy for a Leavitt to talk s&*t to a woman who wouldn't drop him in his tracks for mouthing off the way The Liar has over the fact that Stewart is the only member of the city council who actually represents the people of the city.

Mayor Liar, best known for running the scummiest campaign in the history of this corner of the state, got stuck on stupid when he attacked Sen. Don Benton's effort to rally opposition to the the project that now bends The Liar over every hour on the hour by accusing someone ELSE of "pandering;" in this case, the only member of the council with the guts to spit in the face of the special interests running Leavitt's life as he sold out not only the unfortunates he's governing in Vancouver but all of Southwest Washington with his campaign of lies, half truths, distortion and insults.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if The Liar were to attack a fellow male member of the council the way he does Stewart. Of course, that would require at least one testicle between the lot of them... and that would be very hard to find, indeed.

Leavitt is a total slimeball who had his campaign manager, Temple Lentz (who now runs the Daily Couv) write hundreds upon hundreds of words in opposition to tolls on the unneeded, unwanted and unnecessary I-5 bridge/replacement project during his campaign only to turn his back on those who naively supported him for it.

And now, The Liar has the unmitigated gall to accuse someone ELSE of "pandering?"

Leavitt is a disgrace to Vancouver; as much a disgrace as the democratian.

And when his term is up, and the lies catch up to him, this community will be well rid of his thuggery and bullying tactics.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ridgefield Barbie lacks the guts to meet with her constituency?

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Babs held an early fundraiser today by limiting access to her to 11 hand-picked businesses for her photo op/press release session covered by the rag.

This phrase leapt off the page at me:
Herrera Beutler has held no town halls in the 3rd Congressional District during Congress’[sic] two-week spring break to answer questions about her recent votes or other issues. However, she said she did hold a telephone town hall last week.
“We reached out to about 13,000 people,” she said. Asked to characterize the comments she received, she said, “The overwhelming response was, ‘We need to have an adult conversation about the debt and the deficit.’“
Tell us again why anyone was dumb enough to vote for you?

The only thing missing that was different from the coward you replaced is that you didn't even use a fake death threat as an excuse to avoid facing the people.

So, I checked on a real Member of Congress... one we could be proud of... a man who'll face the people at least as well as he faced combat... Congressman Allen West (R-FL-22)

What happened? Fringe left nutters were arrested at HIS open town hall meeting.

That he's even holding open town halls, knowing they'll be interrupted by leftist whack jobs shows what kind of man he is... and what kind of congress critter I wish we had... but obviously don't have.

Here's the memo, Babs: No guts?

No glory.

Cross posted at Jaime Herrera Watch.
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More of our future as WADOT steals from us: HOT carpool drivers using $5 Good to Go stickers will be wrongly charged

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You see the headline?

HOT carpool drivers using $5 Good to Go stickers will be wrongly charged

Do you see that? WILL be wrongly charged?

Hey folks, here's a clue: These are the scum who'll be sticking it to us for this crap pile bridge project, one of many projects that as wasted 100's of millions of dollars of OUR money.

The state... OUR state, knows this is going to happen... and they are going to do NOTHING about it!

There is no plan to change this, said Patty Rubstello, director of toll-systems development and engineering for the state Department of Transportation.

She said the state provides materials and a website to educate Good to Go users. The website has a short quiz that suggests drivers buy a pass that can be switched off for those who also carpool in HOT lanes.
Scum. Utter scum. And this kind of crap is what's in store for us if they get their way.

HOT carpool drivers using $5 Good to Go stickers will be wrongly charged
Carpooling drivers will be wrongly charged for using high-occupancy toll lanes, or HOT lanes, if they have a popular type of the state's new Good to Go pass. These drivers on Highway 167 would be better served by using passes that can be turned on and off.
Seattle Times staff reporter
These drivers on Highway 167 would be better served by using passes that can be turned on and off.
Good to Go passes are scanned automatically when a vehicle drives through a toll area, like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and, starting in June, the Highway 520 bridge. There are different types of passes, ranging from $5 to $12. Some can be removed or switched on and off.

The problem is with the $5 passes when used for HOT lanes, which let single drivers pay to use carpool lanes.

The $5 passes are stickers, permanently affixed on a car's windshield, that can't be switched off. Carpooling drivers shouldn't be charged additionally each time they travel in a HOT lane. But, if they have a $5 Good to Go pass sticker, they will automatically be charged the HOT-lane fee, an average of $1.25 a pop.
This is the kind of scum government we have. They rip us off... they KNOW they're ripping us off... they ADMIT they're ripping us off... and they do it anyway.

And you can bet this is another story our local despicable rag won't write.
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The democratian's arrogance continues.

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Of course, we knew that'd be all aflutter about their two pet governors coming down here to tell us which bridge they want to ram down our throats, joining with the other bridger/looters who demand this horrific project but who will bear none of the burden of paying for it.

The stupidity of the rag's position really can't be overstated... nor can the stupidity of their moronic metaphors:
When a family desperately needs a new car during an economic crisis, the style and appearance of that new car do not matter as much as cost and functionality.
Of course, no one rams a new car down any buyer's throat; no one buys a new car they don't need or want, and the presence of dozens of options when it comes to what kind of car and where to make the purchase speaks to the idiocy of whoever wrote this tripe.

We should have more choice than a condemned prisoner offered the option of death by hanging, lethal injection, electrocution or firing squad... yet that's what this despicable rag and the scum shoving this crap pile down our throat offer us.

Ultimately, since the government allegedly works for us, they have no right to force our execution while leaving us only the choice of the method.

Never mind that like many dictators, they believe their judgment to be superior to that of the governed.  Never mind that bridgers/looters are uniformly opposed to giving us any type of vote.  No one supporting this horrific project demands a vote or allowing us any voice at all.  One bridger/looter, Commissioner Marc Boldt, lied to my face about that very thing.  Another bridger/looter lied about a vote to get elected last November... Commissioner Steve "The Liar" Stuart.  And the biggest liar of all, Tim "The Liar" Leavitt's flip on tolls is legendary.  And like many other dictators, they're corrupt and unconcerned about what the people want, need or can afford.

Yeah, unlike most dictators, we voted these slime in.  But the Germans, initially, voted Hitler in.  How'd that work out for them?  Because to me, the difference is only a matter of degree since when it comes to domestic policy, the similarities far outweigh the differences.

And while the brief, anemic single call by the democratian for a county wide vote on this crap pile was, predictably not mentioned in their cloying endorsement of this dictatorial action, the fact that there has yet to be any reason to build this steaming pile has yet to ever be addressed by the rag.

We get the standard, don't care lies as to why: Earthquakes (Fine.  Retrofit the current bridge.) Congestion (We have 3 through lanes now; we'll have 3 through lanes when the crap pile is built.)  Loot rail. (Of course, loot rail is the entire reason these slimeballs are jamming this down our throats, and their problem is that besides making this the most expensive loot rail project in the history of this planet, the people here clearly do not want it.) Lifts.  (As if our community will somehow be better off by charging those using the bridge $1300 plus per year to avoid the few... very few... lifts that people run into every year.) "reasonably priced" (When you want a crap pile like this and YOU don't have to pay for it, ANY price is reasonable... and $10 billion plus for this ISN'T reasonable.)

That's not "reasoning."  That's fantasy.

The reasons to avoid taking this action overwhelm any reasons to build it.  The outcomes will be horrific on a community wide scale, including the fact that when completed, it will have accomplished nothing save the installation of ever-increasing multiple life time tolls, absolutely no increase in freight mobility, no decrease in congestion and the waste that is loot rail... combined with blowing a hole in the local economy as $100,000,000 plus per year is vacuumed out of the local economy, a fact I have yet to see addressed... ever... because, well, when you don't give a damn how much this will hurt the people of Clark County, why go through the motions of looking at issues like that?

The fact is this: the entire motivation... the complete basis for replacing a perfectly safe and serviceable bridge is to bring the herpes of loot rail into Vancouver... a move overwhelmingly rejected at the polls time and again.

This kind of tyranny is part and parcel of why I despise those running our government... why I despise a media complicit in furthering their aim to pay off their friends at our expense.

With a rag proven to lack anything close to integrity, we should, perhaps, not be surprised at how they're working with their fellow democrats to ram this down our throats.  Clark County is increasingly unfriendly to leftists and voted against Gregoire in every election... which is part of why she's doing this to us as a punishment.

We do have other transportation problems.  Unfortunately, this waste of $10 billion solves none of them.  And that the rag goes along with this program is just more payback to the democrats who own them with the implicit requirement that if the rags want to keep their B&O tax break that they don't deserve, then they'd better play ball... which also, come to think of it, goes to the heart of the matter as to why Brancaccio has sold out in his cover up of Jacks' misconduct that caused him to leave the legislature.
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Monday, April 25, 2011

So, the two state morons came down here to pick the bridge to shove down our throats: but the CPA's know better.

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The clown of the state of Washington and the clown of the state of Oregon decided what bridge design they're going to use to ram down our throats... but of course, neither one of those two idiots will ever have to pay the toll they're foisting on us to get this thing built.

There are others... even in Oregon, who see how screwed up the numbers are for this unneeded, unwanted and unneccesary waste of billions of dollars to entend loot rail about 5 feet into Vancouver,  Steve Duin breaks it down with a reality check that our local kitty litter box liner wouldn't be caught dead publishing... because as the Jacks debacle shows, facts have no place in their universe when they get in the way of the agenda.

The CPAs see the crock in the Columbia River Crossing

Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011, 10:00 AM
At the 2011 Legislature, there's no doubt where labor and the public employee unions stand on the Columbia River Crossing.

Twenty-thousand jobs, baby. Bring it on.

Big business and the transportation departments of Oregon and Washington? They're competing for head cheerleader.

Gov. John Kitzhaber? He dropped the project in the lap of Patricia McCaig, his campaign manager, whose company has already reaped $130,000 in consulting fees. Full speed ahead.

But the Legislature's two certified public accountants?

They're waving red flags and setting off flares.

"I'm a freshman legislator," says Rep. Katie Brewer, R-Hillsboro, "but I'm not a freshman CPA." And to sign on to House Joint Memorial 22, which begs the feds to throw another $1.25 billion at the project, Brewer said, "would be practicing legislative malpractice. I'm not willing to do that."

Neither is Sen. Chris Telfer, R-Bend. "There's no one in the world who should lend money (based) on the information we have," said Telfer, who has a 26-year career as a CPA.

"We don't have a bill. We don't have a project. We don't have a way to pay it back."
More:
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Then slime just pours off the pair of them as it does any "local community leader" that will not fight to the last breath to allow a county-wide vote on this abortion.

And, of course, you know damned well you'll never read this in the democratian.
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The upside of the wonkette smack down.

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John Nolte at Big Journalism says it better than I can:


John Nolte

The Internet phenomenon that is Trig’s Crew (Twitter tag #TrigsCrew) might represent the most potent example of the power of online activism we’ve seen yet. In a matter of hours, citizen activists rallied around the righteous cause of condemning a vile Wonkette attack against Governor Sarah Palin’s three-year-old son, Trig with astonishing results.
Best of all, and contrary to Andrew Sullivan feeling all “queasy,” this was not a “Palinista” uprising. (Heads up: When it comes to Trig Palin, Sullivan is nothing more than Wonkette with professorial elbow patches.) Decent people of all political stripes, including some in the media, put partisan politics aside over this — and it was a beautiful thing to behold. Better still, organized under their hash tag, a group of citizen activists discovered the small “d” democratic wonder of Twitter and effectively learned how to politely, firmly, and publicly fight for something they believed in.
Personally, I’m not a boycott person, but that’s my right. Others have a right to boycott, and brother, did Trig’s Crew put on a boycott. All on their own, they organized a list of Wonkette advertisers, tweeted them directly with a request that they pull their ads, and kept track of those who did and didn’t. Within hours, it was obvious a tidal wave was brewing and by the next day it was just as obvious that it had hit. As of this writing, over 30 advertisers agreed with Trig’s Crew and pulled their ads from Wonkette. Seemingly, and in record time, the dismantling of a fairly mainstream, left-wing snark-site seemed probable.
Like the Tea Party, Trig’s Crew has represented the very best of mainstream America as they engaged in an inspiring First Amendment online debate with dignity and decency. So commendable is their behavior, that Slate’s Dave Weigel obviously had to dig pretty deep to come up with this single tweet — one of thousands — in order to manufacture something (which required some back-filling in the form of a later update) that might tarnish the whole movement as “jumping the shark.” Obviously, this is the MSM-Alinsky-Tea Party-Playbook all over again — where a single and unique negative out of an ocean of positives is intentionally amplified to unfairly brand the kind of grassroots campaign elites always find so threatening.
Whatever.
More:

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Brancaccio lies again: This blog "broke the news as to why Jacks resigned." Not you, Lou... and not your rag.

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I almost upchucked all over my keyboard when I read this lie:

 I always do smile a little when folks say "shame on us" for asking that you pay for a service that costs us money to produce. That's the news. Can you think of any other business that gets this "shame on us" stuff for trying to stay in business?
No, this first column you see here is not some sort of advertisement for Sunday's column. This column broke the news as to why Jacks resigned. Did you not read that?

On Sunday, we're providing more detail on the interview and -- yes -- we're asking people to buy the newspaper on Sunday to get it.

Shame on us? I'm wondering what job the person who said that is in. And did you provide your service for free?
(Columbian Staff) — April 23, 2011 at 4:15 p.m. ( | suggest removal ) | Ignore User )

Except, of course, for one thing.
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Why Brancaccio, who reads this blog perhaps more than I do, has to lie about this is a mystery.  I broke the story... not him.  And I broke it a month ago, when I had the verified facts to publish it.
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I'll wait for your correction, Lou.  But to acknowledge yet again that I scooped you and your despicable stain on journalism requires a level of honor you have repeatedly shown yourself incapable of achieving.
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Scum.
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Friday, April 22, 2011

More democratian idiocy on the Gorge Commission.

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"The sky is falling!  The sky is falling!"

Our local version of Chicken Little carries on Tommy The K's legacy as oppressors of the people of the Gorge and foolishly demands that Republicans support their idiocy.

With any luck at all, any senator who puts people ahead of the democratian's post card fetish will not only continue the upcoming whack to the Gorge Commission budget, but will do all they can to defund it altogether.

Here's a memo to the rag and the rest of the democrats: we have a multi-billion dollar deficit.  We don't have money to waste on such nonsense like the Gorge Commission and the CRC, which has already wasted in excess of $120 million... far short of the record $400 million wasted so far on the Evergreen Floating Bridge they're working so hard to catch up with in the category of enriching their friends at our expense.

In the best of all worlds, the Gorge Commission would completely disappear.  It will take decades to undo their damage to the people they would oppress and that the rag supports the oppression of.

So, no.  I hope they lose all of this money and much, much more.  And also hope the GOP continues their efforts to end the cancer that is the Gorge Commission.
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So, two more clowns who won't have to pay the tolls for this crap pile are going to tell us which bridge will be rammed down our throats.

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The two people least qualified to have any say whatsoever are now going to tell us which bridge they're going to ram down our throats.

Swell.

Govs. Chris Gregoire and John Kitzhaber on Monday will announce their decision for the type of bridge that will frame Vancouver’s riverfront for the next century or so.
The announcement will come in a joint press conference on Hayden Island on Monday morning.
Architects have pressed for an iconic cable-stayed design, while state transportation planners have recommended a flat composite deck truss.
Both will be cheaper than the open-web box girder design that the governors rejected in February.
The governors agreed with a bridge expert review panel’s recommendation to kill the old design because of its high cost and questionable durability. They weighed three alternatives put forward by the expert panel: cable-stayed, tied-arch and the composite deck truss designed preferred by the two state transportation departments.
The agencies say the composite truss design will be cheapest to build and most likely to keep the $3.6 billion Columbia River Crossing project on schedule.


Now, we don't need this, don't want this, can't afford this... and these slimeballs are going to stuff it down our gullets without asking us first?

And, of course, our local stain on journalism continues the lie that this at-least $10 billion bridge with multiple life-duration, permanent tolls that they want to start as soon as possible actually costs only $3.6 billion.

Scum.
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More reminders of the slimeball that is Tim "The Liar" Leavitt.

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It's not particularly rare for immoral politicians who lack a shred of integrity or courage to lie.

But it IS unusual for any to be such complete morons that they'd leave a detailed paper trail of their lies, manipulation and outright perfidy as Tim "The Liar" Leavitt.

These examples were provided by fellow blogger Lew Waters in comments to The Liars response to Sen. Don Benton's appeal to coalesce opposition to the horrific, unneeded and unwanted I-5 Bridge/loot rail project, a project that owns The Liar like the 13th Amendment never existed because, among other things, Leavitt works for a company that can personally benefit from this project.

Here, provided by Lew, are the positions from The Liar's own keyboard (Well, Temple Lentz's keyboard... before she started the Daily Couv, she was shilling and blogging for the despicable Leavitt mayoral campaign) positions that have earned him, like few others, the title: The Liar.

Receiving a copy of an email exchange from La Canter Mayor Jim Irish to Jim Karlock, it seems sarcasm, name calling and continued ignoring of valid concerns has become the order of the day from all of the elected ruling class members that are hellbent on forcing this project off on citizens.

Leavitt is a disgrace to Vancouver.

September 9, 2009 on his blogsite he put up campaigning, he wrote a post "Continuing to stand up for the Residents of Vancouver and Clark County"


He said, "Portland Mayor Sam Adams insisted that from his perspective, no tolls means no project."

"I made it perfectly clear that I have no intention of rolling over on tolls." "Tolling is an extremely regressive tax. Whether one has an income of $10,000 or $100,000, everyone will pay the same toll. To suggest a tolling 'credit' or 'mitigation' for the low-income is simply to admit that tolling is unfair to the working class and those of lesser financial status."

How are we to believe anything else he has to say?

LewWaters — April 21, 2011 at 9:49 p.m. ( | suggest removal ) | Ignore User )


Hey Couve, care to explain what good a job is if the job costs you money?

I hope you aren't holding your breath waiting on local workers to fill up the jobs for the building of that bridge, if and when they ever get around to it.
On August 7, 2009 Tim Leavitt wrote in his blog post "OREGONIAN Editorial Board Out of Touch--Tolls are Unnecessary and Unjust!"

"Who is representing the hard-working families and businesses of the Portland-Metro region, and particularly SW Washington? It's certainly not the Oregonian Editorial Board. It's certainly not local elected officials, like Vancouver's current Mayor, Royce Pollard. Nor are a number of other higher-up elected officials. Nor are transplants from the east coast, who proudly proclaim that tolls are a way of life. Tolls may be a given on the other side of the country, but one of the reasons many of us are here in the west coast is because it's NOT like the east coast!"

"You see, it's quite easy to force an issue onto the public when you don't have to worry about facing that public every day to listen to the hardship and explain why your position just cost jobs, homes and closure of businesses. It's easy to force a matter onto the public when you have only a few months or years left in public office, and then can go into retirement and out of the public eye."

LewWaters — April 22, 2011 at 12:08 a.m. ( | suggest removal ) | Ignore User )

During the entirety of Leavitt's disgraceful campaign, I warned everyone that he was a lying scumbag.

Suddenly, how badly the community is going to get screwed is of no consequence to him.  The Liar wrote:  "To suggest a tolling 'credit' or 'mitigation' for the low-income is simply to admit that tolling is unfair to the working class and those of lesser financial status."
Hate to tell you, couvecitizen, whoever you really are, but i receive no Military pension and I paid into social security all of my adult life too.


That being said, you have been deceived to believe "Tolls are a way of life now."

How "BRAZEN" and delusional of you tell me, "So brazen of you to claim to be sticking up for hard-working citizens when your "hard work" is cruising the blogs and making negative statements about people who are out there actually trying to get work done," after I spent 44 years as a blue collar worker doing physical labor all of my life to provide not only for my own family, but paying taxes that might have paid your food stamps at one time.

How fast you people today are to give up the very freedoms "old-timer's" like me fought for you to have.

If moving into the 21st century means giving up on my freedoms to be controlled by a ruling class, I'll stay behind.

Returning to Tim Leavitt's campaign platform, July 27, 2009 he wrote in his post, "How to Pay for a New Bridge without Breaking the Backs of Vancouver's Working Class."

"Our current leadership has failed to create good, new jobs locally--forcing our citizens to cross the river to earn a decent wage, for the dubious privilege of paying Oregon income tax. And now, after this failure, that same incumbent leadership is saying that we need to just "accept it," and "get over it." and prepare to pay tolls."

"I submit that tolls are not a foregone conclusion, and this project can be done without detrimental financial impact to our hard-working families, employers or seniors on fixed incomes."

http://leavitt4vancouver.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-pay-for-new-bridge-without.html

On September 14, 2009 he wrote in "Tolling is NOT the Only Answer!"

"In the Editorial section of the September 9 Columbian, Tom Koenninger writes that tolls on the new I-5 crossing are a foregone conclusion, and insinuates that anyone who claims otherwise is a fool or a liar."

"Indeed, since Mr. Koenninger and the current Mayor of Vancouver, among others, have been stubbornly trying to force tolls onto our community for years now, one can hardly expect that they'd suddenly come to their senses."

"It's because of this hard-headed refusal to do what is right for our community, and to defend the very people who need it most, that I am running for Mayor. Our community really does deserve better ideas, better leadership, and a stronger commitment to our citizens."

http://leavitt4vancouver.blogspot.com/2009/09/tolling-is-not-only-answer.html

Is that your idea of "moving into the 21st century," lying to get into office? No thanks, I'll stay mired in the 20th if the 21st has to be so dishonest.

LewWaters — April 22, 2011 at 1:10 p.m. ( permalink suggest removal ) Ignore User )

He doesn't seem to give a damn about that now, does he?

His flip on the tolling issue, his positions confirmed above, proved me to be right.

If he had any integrity, the lying little weasel would resign. He doesn't, of course, so he won't.

I feel the need to take a wash my hands every time I write about this guy.
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Thursday, April 21, 2011

MORE slime and hypocrisy from Tim "The Liar" Leavitt?

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The fundamental flaw of all the many flaws this moron has is this:

Why can't The Liar and his ilk convince Benton that this project is a good idea?

I mean, if it were all that, then why can't they get Benton on board?  Benton's only been involved in transportation issues for the past 16 years or so.  That would be at least since Leavitt hit puberty, don't you think?

Is it because The Liar is owned by special interests and has an employer that will be enriched directly by his efforts?

Is it because The Liar, who has already proven how little he cares what the people he represents cares about doesn't give a damn about the will of the people compared to Benton, given his efforts to do everything he can to keep the people from having any say compared to Benton, who has done everything he can to get us a vote?

Of all the elected officials this community is cursed with, the slimeball mayor of Vancouver, Tim "The Liar" Leavitt, has to be the among the worst... if not THE worst.

Best known for running a despicable campaign of lies and deceit only to be followed with a tenure as mayor pf lies and deceit, that The Liar could write this about anyone in the face of his pathologically rhetorical, opinionated and self-aggrandizing campaign and tenure is enough to make anyone choke on the irony.

Leavitt represents the worst in politics. There is no lie that dillwad won't tell, no people he won't sell out, no effort he won't make to silence the opposition, and did I mention that no lie is off limits to that slimeball?

Anyway, Sen. Don Benton, who cares far more about this community on his worst day than the Liar has during the entirety of his sorry existence, wrote every elected official and bureaucrat a letter asking them to join him in opposing the steaming crap pile that The Liar now so strongly supports, along with its economy-crippling tolls... which is what got him elected in the first place.

What was that rank hypocrite's response?

"There is nothing substantive in the letter to counter the circumstances and facts specific to the CRC Project. The letter is replete with rhetoric, opinion and self-aggrandizing," he wrote in an email to The Columbian.
Maybe The Liar believes enough time has passed that we've forgotten his betrayal of the people.  Maybe he thinks that his hypocrisy in accusing another elected official of something no one else on this planet is more guilty of is something we'll just overlook.

Maybe he failed to step away from the bong before he hit the keyboard.  Who knows?

But for Leavitt to accuse someone ELSE of this sort of thing in the face of HIS history?

Scum.  Pure scum.

Some day, hopefully soon, Leavitt is going to need Benton for something he'll want very, very badly.

And I also sincerely hope that Benton never forgets this self-serving, kneepads-to-the-special-interests crap that only a liar like Leavitt is so capable of.

The "facts" of the CRC would make any "responsible" elected official run away in horror.

Burdening this community with billions in debt and tolls for an eternity for a bridge we don't need, want or have the ability to afford?

Hammering 65,000 commuting families with thousands of additional dollars in tolls and blowing a $100,000,000 hole in our local economy every year?

No "responsible" elected official would have anything to do with this steaming crap pile.

Which, I guess, goes to explain why The Liar supports it so strongly, since he disqualifies himself as a "credible elected official."

Scum.  Pure scum.
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

You DO know the slimeballs running the CRC want to toll the CURRENT I-5 bridge... don''t you?

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You didn't?

Well they do. And buried in the transportation budget is a "study" requiring DOT to look into tolling both the "current" and "future" I-5 bridges.

Of course, screwing the commuter to get loot rail into the cesspool known as Vancouver is what this is all about.

Sen. Don Benton is again raising to the challenge, running an amendment to strip out the word "current" in an effort to fire a shot over the bow of the slime working so diligently to ram this crap pile down our throats and bury us in debt... forever... all while wrecking the local economy by blowing a $100,000,000 yearly hole in it.

The people down here don't want tolls. At least one little worm ran on and was elected on a platform in opposition to tolls, only to flip 60 seconds after he was, unfortunately, elected.

Hopefully, this amendment will stick. Time will tell.
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Benton to run amendment requiring county wide vote prior to dispersal of CRC funds.

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As most know, we've already wasted a huge amount of money (Far north of $100 million... Moeller's efforts to jack it up another $50 odd million notwithstanding) as the power brokers and corrupt here in Clark County strive to emulate the scam they've been running in Seattle to rebuild the SR 520 Evergreen Floating Bridge.

In Seattle, they've made $400 million vaporize without turning a shovel of dirt, and as one elected official told me, "anything Seattle does, we can do better."

Well, the people of Clark County do not want this bridge project and we definitely don't want the loot rail aspect of that project and the reason this whole scam is being run.

The slimeballs running government down here would rather dive into a vat of pit vipers then allow us to have any serious say over this project. They have, effectively, done everything they can to KEEP us from having a vote... even if such a vote is a platform plank for re-election or a personal promise from one's brother-in-law county commissioner.

The solution?

Attach a rider to the transportation budget requiring a county wide vote in Clark County before the CRC gets another dime in state funds.

Simple, really. Kudos to Sen. Don Benton for being much more concerned about the will of the people then the lowlife's currently running the ship down here who are so corrupt they can't walk straight down a crooked road.
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More idiocy from the City of Vancouver: wasting 10's of thousands to hire a flak.

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The idiocy of Vancvouver City Government, particularly since Tim "The Liar" Leavitt took over, is hard to overstate.

Here's the latest chapter in their ongoing stupidity.
The city of Vancouver has hired a Hood River public relations expert to serve as its new communications manager, City Manager Eric Holmes said Tuesday.
Barbara Ayers was hired to increase public education and outreach, involve citizens in helping make Vancouver a better place and to build communication and collaboration with residents, businesses, community groups and staff, the city said in a news release.
As the city continues to reformat and redefine what services it provides, keeping residents involved is key, Holmes said.
“Communications have become more and more important for cities across America,” Holmes said. “This key role will help us better engage our community in a conversation about what the city does, how we do it, and why it matters. Our goal is to stay in closer touch with those we serve, as we retool priorities and programs to meet the changing needs of our communities.”
Ayers will start May 23. Her job was advertised at $75,768 to $93,768 a year and requires a “high level of technical skills and expertise in public relations, communications, organizational effectiveness/development, and related information technology,” according to the job description. It asks that applicants have seven or more years of experience, and a master’s degree is preferred.
 More:

Actually, the voters of Vancouver really have nothing to bitch about.  This is, after all, the government they deserve.
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

So, Hinton... how'd you blow the appointment pick?

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Did I?

Politics is an interesting business.

Obviously, both Tim "The Liar" Leavitt and Steve "The Liar" Stuart knew of my prognostications, given their avid following of my meager efforts here.

Did my post that layed out "the plan" seal Lentz's doom? Did it here have anything at all to do with the outcome?

Who knows?

But imagine the fall out if things had went exactly the way I envisioned.

Zegas never really had a chance: no real experience and no time in the district.

I believed Wylie to be the weakest candidate. I believed Lentz to be the biggest threat, so I painted this picture... and painted both Leavitt and Stuart into a corner. And that serves them right, considering what they're doing to us.

So... How did I blow the call?

a better question is this:

Did I?
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The Liars continue: who better to know a "no brainer" than Tim "The Liar" Leavitt? And so much for "The Liar" Stuart's campaign promise.

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How can we tell either Leavitt or Stuart is lying?  Their lips move.

Tim "The Liar" Leavitt earned his sobriquet as a result of his fraudulent campaign where he actually convinced the less-informed that he was opposed to tolls while he was running for mayor.  I told the world he was making that up because in reality and policy, "The Liar" had a long record of supporting everything and anything Pollard wanted... his election-year conversion to fake anti-toll zealot notwithstanding.

He was lying.  I, of course, repeatedly said he was lying during the campaign and all along after the election... even before his now legendary flip.  And, as we all know, about 60 seconds after he was elected, he flipped on the toll position that got him that way, crapping all over the less-sophisticated voters who supported him because of that issue.

So I wasn't terribly surprised when, during the CRC meeting he worked his ass off to help Steve "The Liar" Stuart shaft the people with Stuart's campaign lie about his pledge to make sure we'd have a county-wide vote on loot rail THIS November, Leavitt called holding the CTrans tax increase vote this November while ignoring Stuart's promised county-wide loot rail vote it a "no-brainer."

And who better to know?

Meanwhile, his fellow liar, Stuart, who ran on the pledge to hold such a vote THIS November, refuses to be held accountable for HIS campaign lies: 
As a member of the C-Tran board, Stuart said, he worked to protect lower fares for disabled riders and fought a move to cut transit services to the disabled.
As for light rail, he said, “My focus is to provide you with a vote, and because of the work we did, there is going to be a vote next November.”
Do you detect a pattern?

First, we have "The Liar" Leavitt repeatedly lying about his toll position to get elected.  He gets elected, and almost immediately flips.

"The Liar" Stuart, who was a major player in Leavitt's campaign effort, does what?

He lies about his loot rail election position.  He gets elected (barely) and almost immediately flips.

Nah.  Must be pure coincidence that they're both lying scum.  Particularly when, as well all know, there is one reason and one reason along for this lie to have legs:  So when they hold the election in 12, these scum can gerrymander the taxing district to, once again, include every major retail outlet in the county while excluding a hundred thousand or so voters from having any say... but not from paying their tax.

Wouldn't want the vast majority of the county to actually have ANY say... would we?

And then, what does "The Liar" Stuart do at the CRC meeting?

Why, he feels compelled to try and bully one of his many opponents by demanding of her... and her alone... whether she was just representing herself... or someone else.

Slimeball.

Cause I've got to tell you, it's none of your fricking business.  And your rank, anti-community, lying position on this horrific project does not give you license to attempt to muscle the opposition... and then whine about it on your facebook page.

And for those of you who supported "The Liar" Leavitt, I've got to ask you:

As I told you all along that the only difference between "The Liar" Leavitt and Royce Pollard was that "The Liar" was lying about his toll position... do you see any difference between Pollard and Leavitt now, save the fact that Leavitt's been a week-kneed little weasel who can't keep control of council meetings, I mean?
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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

A different, common sense perspective on the CRC project.

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There are, of course, many missing elements to the CRC project.

Voter input has been shunned as an idea, and while we have had some ignored input in the design, the fact is that this process has been much like asking a condemned prisoner which method of execution he finds more attractive... when, chances are, he'd skip the execution altogether, given a choice.

Which is, of course, a big part of why the condemned... both prisoners.... AND voters... aren't asked if they want to be executed.

Because here's a clue to you bridgers/looters:

We don't.

And yet, like the condemned prisoner, being dragged to the gallows; effectively, we've only been allowed to select the rope.

And that's the crime in all of this.  The slime ramming this down our throats... Adams, Leavitt, Stuart and Boldt... they won't have to pay the $130 plus or more per month to go to work.  That money won't be taken off THEIR children's backs... or off their kitchen table.

Nope.  That penalty is reserved exclusively for the commuters... not the wardens... and not the executioners.

There are, however, alternatives.

That the CRC never intended any other outcome save the one that's been stuffed down our collective throats is obvious.  The problem that makes a third bridge so unacceptable to these slime is that a third bridge won't bring loot rail into Vancouver... which is, of course, the entire reason for this fiasco... a plan that has hundreds of additional millions of dollars left to waste before it catches up with the $400 wasted million dollars of the SR 520/Evergreen Floating Bridge Project, which also, come to think of it, hasn't laid a foot of concrete.

Nevertheless, people who don't stand to make a fortune off this program like the special interests who own the appointed CRC members, have taken a sober view and come up with other ideas.

Here are but a few.  And they are worthy of consideration.

On the CRC Mega-Project: Differing Visions, Shared Sense

portland.serendipityThumb On the CRC Mega Project: Differing Visions, Shared SenseJohn Charles is President and CEO of Cascade Policy Institute. Bob Stacey is the former Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon.
The two of us may be strange bedfellows. Over the past twenty years, we’ve disagreed about many issues, including transit investments, land use laws and the underlying role of government. But recently we were both in Salem criticizing HJM 22, a bill asking the federal government to spend over a billion dollars on the ill-conceived “Columbia River Crossing” mega-project.
We each bring decades of experience in transportation policy to the table. Among the hundreds of projects we’ve seen, the current CRC proposal stands out as a doozy, throwing staggering amounts of money at a wasteful, ineffective plan.
Others, including the project’s own Independent Review Panel, have written about the huge costs to the taxpayers and the state, about the risks of cost overruns in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and about the project not fixing congestion but merely moving it from Vancouver to the I-405/Rose Quarter area. Those are serious problems.
As transportation experts from very different perspectives, we diverge on other flaws of the project. However, we agree on several actions Oregon should take instead of building the highway departments’ current bloated plan:
- Build an additional bridge. Having only two road crossings of the Columbia in the greater Portland area doesn’t make long-term sense. Clark County is an integral part of the region. We should be increasing the number of crossings of the river, whether the new bridge be a local or highway bridge, and whether it includes light rail or not.
- Retain the existing bridges. The current pair of I-5 spans have decades of life left in them. Spending $74 million to demolish them and build something in their place is wasteful.
- Use tolling. A well-designed tolling system could fully finance the cost of a properly designed and scaled new bridge.
- Increase the legislative oversight of mega-projects. ODOT and the Oregon Transportation Commission, rather than the Legislature, have historically guided and decided on projects. But the CRC mega-project’s bill of $450 million or more to Oregon taxpayers demands enhanced accountability measures.
More:
Common sense.  Clearly, the CRC doesn't speak it.
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If they build the bridge, here's the ad campaign to make us forget how badly our local economy is screwed.

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The horrific, unneeded, unwanted bridge/loot rail project will result in massive tolls that will blow a huge hole in our local economy, causing disposable-income dependent businesses to suffer and go under.

Over 65,000 families will feel the pain. The clowns cheering for this, of course, don't care.

Well, here's the plan to fix all that and make us feel better about the whole thing: this ad campaign.

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Temple Lentz: Next State Representative from the 49th District.

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This is how it's going to work.

Lentz was the campaign manager for Tim "The Liar" Leavitt.

Steve "The Liar" Stuart is BFF with Leavitt.

Leavitt will want Lentz. because of that, Stuart will want Lentz.

Because of that, Boldt, who seems incapable of opposing Stuart in any way, will want Lentz. Lentz will, as a result, get the 2 votes she needs for the appointment. Think of it as kind of a reverse replay of the Ridgefield Barbie appointment.

*I* will want Lentz, because of a dandy little information package concerning Leavitt's campaign I've put together.

I'll release it the day after filing closes for the special election.

VoilĂ ! Instant Republican seat!

It's simple, really.
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