Washington State Impolite

Politicians Hate the Initiative Process

2012-01-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

It challenges their elitist policy-making "monopoly." It lets the people decide.

The trouble we have is that the government in Olympia has become inbred. They are determined to care for government officials first to, the exclusion of the People. The People must awaken to the fact that when the politicians stop serving the People and start serving only special interests, the whole society is in deep trouble.

For 15 years, Tim Eyman and Voters Want More Choices work to let the people decide important issues; for example, lower car tab taxes, limits on property tax increases, performance audits of government, the 2/3 legislative majority vote requirements for tax increases. They've also made it top priorities to defend the initiative process from “liberal” political attack.

The People had a huge victory last Friday.

Background: Last year, in response to Eyman‘s initiative in Monroe on red-light cameras, the Monroe City Mayor and City Council refused to allow the people to vote Then they sued Eyman for sponsoring the initiative. The people’s own elected representative sued to keep the people out of the political process. Despicable.

The City officials asked the court to impose a $10,000 fine on Eyman and tried to force Eyman to pay the City attorney’s fees. Under the threat of escalating legal costs against an the government with taxpayer-funded resources to pay their lawyers, lots of folks would've folded their tent and gone home. Eyman didn't -- he fought back.

After months of personal anguish and stress, Eyman prevailed against the Monroe politicians’ anti-initiative effort, as on Friday, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Bowden found that the City's action was a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP lawsuit) and imposed a $10,000 fine on the city! The red-light camera initiative is green lighted for a public vote.

Judge Bowden wrote: "Having secured enough valid signatures to place (the initiative) on the ballot, the City's lawsuit burdens the initiative sponsors with having to defend the right of the voters to express their opinions and weigh in on a matter that will directly affect them."

This court decision sends a clear message to other arrogant politicians that such obstructionist tactics will not only fail, but result in substantial financial penalties. It is a huge, huge victory for initiative rights in Washington.

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But what does it matter to the authoritarian “liberals?” The People get to pay for everything arrogant mistake the politicians make.

Yesterday, Eyman again drove down to Olympia to testify against another one of the pageant of anti-initiative bills that have become annual tradition in our state's Capitol.

Much of this information is supplied by Tim Eyman.

Homosexual marriage?

2012-01-15T22:51:00.000-08:00

There are many different sorts of domestic partnerships. Some arrangements are not intimate -- they are an arrangement to split the rent or just have someone else in the house. Some arrangements are more intimate, but the partners do not want their status clarified. And in some cases people want to celebrate a different sort of cohabiting arrangement, such as non-traditional sexual orientation.

Enter the State -- The "liberals" are telling us homosexual pairings deserve to be described as a marriage. "Senator" Potty Murray explained words are always changing in their meaning. She gave the example of "mouse" which no longer means mouse. Likewise, Murray explained, "marriage" has changed to include homosexual pairings. She missed the fact that some people want to be different and she is forcing them to be labeled the same.

Anyway, "Governor" Christine Gregoire galloped to Murray's aid to forced the changed use of the term on the legislature attention. Both women claim to be very proud of the gobbledegook they are creating. Don't they have a massive budget shortfall to deal with?

Murray & Gregoire are intellectual lightweights, trying to pick a fight with half the people in the state. No word's meaning has been more honored and keenly defended than the word "marriage." It means the pairing between a man and a woman.

These state "liberals" are eager to create a debate with lack of clarity. They condescend to reckon the power of government can even be used to force people change the language they use to call marriage "marriage" -- a stupid government overreach.

The male-female paring deserves special naming -- It preserves wealth for the offspring of the union, and it produces offspring by combination of the genetic material of the two people involved in the marriage. (There are historical exceptions, cuckoldry and similar). In the main, the marriage relationship is unique and unblurable. It takes a monumental act of stupidity to miss this point.

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News source

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A public hearing is scheduled on HB 2516, 01/23/2012 1:30PM in the John L. O'Brien Building, House Hearing Rm A, Olympia, WA. The hearing for the associated Senate bill, SB 6239, is scheduled 01/23/2012 10:00AM in the J.A. Cherberg Building, Senate Hearing Rm 2, Olympia, WA

Update -- Because there is a tax or fee associated with homosexual domestic arrangements, the law required a public report, which is not ready yet (so they say).

Update on the update -- The cellar dwellers in Olympia who sort through the legislative output for taxes and fees have discovered they made an error. Here is the text of their notice: "An email notice was previously sent regarding SB 6239, AN ACT Relating to providing equal protection for all families in Washington by creating equality in civil marriage and changing the domestic partnership laws, while protecting religious freedom. Upon further analysis, this bill does not include a new or increased tax or fee." The same is true for HB 2516.

Banning Plastic Bags

2012-01-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

An idea whose time is dumb.

Plastic bags are not a landfill problem the way the paper bags used to be. 98% of the people who have plastic bags re-use or re-cycle them. They are light, efficient and work very well. The legislature is intent on banning them.

Seattle City Council recently banned single use plastic bags. Apparently the Council is still miffed over the People's rejection of their 20 cent per bag tax, so they are beating on the people. By the way, Seattle City Council added a 5 cent fee on paper bags.

The rationale for the statewide bag ban is that it is too hard for businesses to conform to the patchwork of local regulations imposed on plastic bags. It figures Olympia would think the answer to stupid government is more stupid government.

HB 1877, was introduced by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon & Rep. Marko Liias, both Democrats. Liias, you may recall, proposed increasing fees on the People's initiatives in order to silence the common rabble last year.

SB 5780 was introduced by Senator Maralyn Chase and Senator Adam Kline, both Democrats.

State of the State

2012-01-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

Governor Christine Gregoire in her State of the State message on Tuesday, January 10, included her visions for “New revenue options.”

Gregoire said, "In the next 60 days, I ask you to do four things:

1. Use the early start you got in December and quickly pass a budget;
2. Ask the voters this spring to approve a temporary, half-penny sales tax increase for students and their future;
3. Pass my school reforms; and,
4. Pass a major transportation and jobs package”

Gregoire also addressed her favorite topics – new taxes and fees, and closing tax “loopholes”. She said, “We must look for new revenue as well. Close tax loopholes to save vital services like the Basic Health Program for the working poor. It’s a matter of firmness.”

“Firmness” -- not a matter of wisdom, workability or fairness, but Who Is Governor.

Gregoire doesn’t support budget cuts.

Her favorite target is to increase the sales tax.

“Our businesses, our state, our children and our grandchildren can’t afford anymore “deep cuts” to education. About $411 million of the $494 [increased] million sales tax revenue would go to K-12 and higher education." The children need to be rescued from the uncaring state, again.

The House and Senate Democrats will likely both have their own budgets, as well as Senate & House Republicans.

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Gregoire's forth item, a transportation and jobs package, is an ongoing display piece, so everyone can see that She Is Getting Something Done. Politicians get fascinated with an idea and they relentlessly sell the idea to the People, who then clamor for construction. Whether or not a project will ever work out is ignored. Millions get spent.

The present tunnel-under-Seattle project will is one of these. The Alaskan Way Viaduct has been largely destroyed, to the delight of private landholders whose property has dramatically increased in value because of the Governor's action.

The whole project should have been shelved until the economy was stronger. But the "liberals" insisted there was no time to consider the options! The Governor must push forward! Billions have been committed.

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If you've lived in Seattle for a little while, you'll remember the downtown Seattle “Transit Tunnel Project” back in 1987, and the years of complications it produced. When the project was finished it traffic and bus riders snarls concerning transfers and safety problems. So Diesel buses were allowed to use the tunnel but other surface traffic was re-routed. Then things things became more tangled.

We never got the half-billion we spent back in benefits. We really should stop spending until we see where the money goes. We can spend tomorrow only what we still have.

Some material in this report comes from Mark Gjurasic

Rob McKenna's review of State of the State

2012-01-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

Washington State Redistricting Plan

2011-12-29T14:18:00.000-08:00

Population growth entitles Washington to another seat in the US House of Representatives. Washington State is being redistricted.

The new redistricting map is the product of a bipartisan committee headed by Republican commissioner Slade Gorton and Democrat commissioner Tim Ceis, both of King County.

Under the plan, Thurston County is almost entirely in the new 10th District including the Cities of Olympia and Yelm. Bits of other counties include the Cities of Shelton (Mason County), Dupont and Puyallup (Pierce County). This seat is calculated to be very safe for the Democratic Party.

The new layout will leave the Democratic Party in control of 5 districts and the Republican Party in 4. Ironically, the First District goes from a safe Democratic party seat to more of a toss up.

Its not a done deal yet - the plan will be finalized January first.

The district maps
The current map from 2001
The new map

Sources:
Seattle PI
The Olympian

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Update 1/5/12 - The plan is finalized and is being transmitted to the Legislature on 1/9/21

Governor Gregoire to increase taxes

2011-12-14T15:26:00.000-08:00

Gregoire finally announced the specifics of her plan to deal with the state's overspending - She really plans to increase of the base sales tax to 7%. The total sales tax you pay will vary according to the rate in the taxing authority you live in. Seattle will be 10%. This will cost taxpayers at least $5 billion over the next 10 years. Don't think this sales tax hike will be "temporary".

Gregoire's political pals announced higher gas taxes and car tab taxes costing taxpayers $21 billion over the next 10 years. Gregoire has had a long running affair with raising fuel taxation. In November, the voters rejected a 2 cents per can of pop in taxes. Instead of taking the hint, Gregoire is pushing for $26 billion in higher taxes.

Washington State voters need to un-elect a politicians whose only skills are taking more of our money, mis-managing state government, and making a bad economy even worse. Gregoire and her tax and spend Demo-buddies need to go.

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A couple of possible new fees/taxes you'll be seeing

HB 2166 - A new and additional tax on "solid fuel burning devices" (wood stoves). Buy a sweater.
SB 5981 - A seed dealer license fee, which will primarily impact "Grown in Washington" foods. The impact would be small, but the attitude is all wrong.

Gregoire calls Special session to deal with deficits

2011-11-09T14:06:00.000-08:00

Rep. Cary Condotta filed this report

The governor has called a 30-day special session to begin Nov. 28 to address our state budget shortfall. When the Legislature convenes it is expected the shortfall will be close to $2 billion.

The Legislature continues to pass budgets that are unsustainable and not reflective of the economic situation in Washington state. It took 135 days before we could get a budget passed last May. Despite many of us claiming it was a short-term fix and felt it would not hold up given the sluggish recovery of our economy, the budget was passed into law.

In June, shortly after the governor signed the budget, the state revenue forecast showed our tax collections down significantly and the $700 million in reserves dropped to $163 million in about one month. Five months later we are being called back to address our budget situation.

We will have some difficult decisions. However, it is important to understand that while revenue projections are declining, we are still projected to bring in $2.1 billion more in this biennium.

Authoritarians

2011-11-07T11:49:00.001-08:00

I received a thoughtful message recently -- The person asked why I describe the Washington State Senators as authoritarian. The person challenged me on the grounds that since the Senators were elected, he thought they couldn't be authoritarian.

This goes to the root of America's present political illness. Too many people believe that since we have elections, government will be responsive and we will be free. This is a self-deception. There is no guarantee of freedom, except to vigorously limit the power and realm of government.

Authoritarianism requires the individuals to submit to authority – specifically, individuals are required to submit to the social organization built by those in power. In a democracy, “those in power” is determined by a majority, even if the majority is only 51%.

You may find yourself in the majority -- so what? Do you think just being in the majority gives you the right to regulate the minority? It is precisely authoritarian to make everyone conform.

The clash is between freedom and authoritarianism. Authoritarianism requires force to compel obedience. The more decision latitude the leaders desire, the more often force will be applied. A more free society will not force conformity as often. Freedom and democracy are not the same.

What's at stake is personal freedom -- your right to choose where you can go, where you can stay, what you can do with your life. For a society to be free, the people have to decide to let each other be free. People have to trust each other. Automatic hate and distrust cannot be.

If majority is to rule, then it must do so with respect for the rights of the minority. A free society is a better society.

We're working to stay a democracy....

2011-10-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

Last Autumn, Washington State voters enacted Initiative 1053 to require new revenue sources -- taxes, fees, licenses, etc. -- be enacted by at least a 2/3rds vote of the legislature. Almost immediately, the majority party (the "Democratic" Party) created a committee of "experts" to enact fee rises without legislative approval. The majority party insists bypassing the will of the People was not a violation of I-1053.

These "experts" were persuaded by their political masters to resurrect tolls on several bridges and highways, then designate the new funds as general revenue.

In response, Voters Want More Choices filed Initiative 1125 to stop the charging of tolls, and re-require the legislature to enact new revenues according to the law.

Recently Governor Christine Gregoire decided to ambush the people. She and her "pals" have arranged to sell state debt, earmarking the new tolls as the source of funds to repay the debt. If the governor and her buddies manage to do this, they will effectively defeat I-1125 before election day. If the funds are already committed to pay back new bonds, the tolls have to go into effect.

Voters Want More Choices filed suit.

“A lawsuit has been filed this week challenging the State’s attempt to circumvent Initiative 1125. The people of the State of Washington are now voting on Initiative 1125 which institutes some basic protections with regard to tolling policy. Knowing this, the State Finance Committee, composed of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and the State Treasurer, held a last minute special meeting with less than two days public notice to authorize the sale of bonds. These bonds pledge tolls from the 520 bridge, based on a variable tolling scheme which will be prohibited if the initiative is approved by voters.

“Issuing bonds on a variable tolling scheme at the last minute, days before the election, is an obvious attempt by three State officials to bind the hands of the voters for the next 30 years. If their scheme is not challenged (immediately), this tactic will give the state an argument that the people's vote on Initiative 1125 came one week too late.

“On behalf of all Washington voters, this suit is a defense against this below-the-radar-screen attempt by state officials to undermine the people’s right to initiative and right to vote.”
-- Dick Stephens

In a free country, no one is above the law. We need to remind to the legislators that they work for the People and they must follow the rules the People make for them. Or the legislators should find another line of work.

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If only Gregoire and her political pals hadn't given the all state employees an average 14% raise in 2010, perhaps the state would not have to cut $2 billion from the current budget. Its should be noted Washington State employee already made about $19,500 more per year than a comparable private sector employee in 2010.

Gregoire and her buddies clearly timed the announcement to subvert the vote on I-1185. So everything is to be cut 10%. Such clumsiness happens because the Olympia is trying to take too much at a time when taking too much is not wise. We don't need the old bromide about having heart -- we need the governor and her batty colleagues to think.

Tipping Point

2011-10-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Are we at a tipping point? There is enough power to be had promising everything that politicians are not what they used to be. The Democratic Party has endorsed too much authoritarianism to rightly bear the name "Democratic" anymore.

Consider the autocrats in Olympia. The elected legislature is empowered by the state constitution to enact taxes and fees. Every state has similar provisions. But in Washington State, the legislature cannot enact rises without a 2/3rd majority. So the Democrats referred all fee rises to as gang of 7 unelected bureaucrats. Representation in taxation has been suppressed.

The Democrats got around the 2/3rds requirement in an undemocratic and unconstitutional way. In the process, they stripped the legislature of the power to raise taxes and fees.

We might all effectively be slaves soon -- unless you and I are willing to fight. Vote Yes on I-1125.

Washington State Hunter Ammunition Ban

2011-09-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

Creeping gun control in Washington State

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has imposed a ban on the use of traditional (lead) ammunition for all upland bird hunting on all WDFW pheasant release sites across the state. This restriction was adopted by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission two years ago but its implementation was delayed until this hunting season. The Commission adopted the restriction during the course of its 2010-2012 hunting season-setting process.

With this in mind, it is critical that hunters and sportsmen participate in the 2012-2014 season-setting process. The WDFW is now in the initial public comment phase of the process, which will end this Tuesday, September 20. You can bet that the anti-hunting extremists are participating in the process, so the importance of hunters and sportsmen participating cannot be overstated!

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Public input is solicited

Comments must be submitted by Tuesday, September 20. Please request that the ban on the use of traditional ammunition on pheasant release sites be lifted in 2012 and beyond, and demand that there be no further unsubstantiated restrictions imposed on the use of lead in ammunition in the future.

Send your remarks via e-mail, to wildthing@dfw.wa.gov; be sure to put “2012-2014 Hunter Comment/Concern” in the subject line. You can also submit comments via regular mail, please address your letter as follows:

You can also submit comments via regular mail, please address your letter as follows:

ATTN: Wildlife Program
Hunter Comment
600 Capitol Way N.
Olympia, WA 98501-1091

Olympia is also conducting a poll on this matter. Click here to participate. The polling questions deserve a careful reading.

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Isn't it interesting the Left, like those who control Olympia right now, always say the right to keep and bear arms is about sport hunting? If they really believed that, would they be micromanaging the kind(s) of ammunition sporting hunters can use?

More tolls, taxes -- and now, for the nature lover....

2011-08-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Due to Olympia's spending crisis, the state Legislature imposed a new fee to use public lands beginning July 1, 2011.

The fee come in the form of the new "Discover Pass," which costs $30 for an annual pass and $10 for a day pass (additional processing fees apply). This excerpt from the Discover Pass website lists what areas the pass applies to:

"The pass allows access to state recreation lands and water access sites managed by Washington State Parks (State Parks), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). These lands include state parks, water access points, heritage sites, wildlife and natural areas, trails and trailheads. The Discover Pass will be needed to access DNR’s developed or designated recreation areas, sites, trailheads and parking areas."

There are some exemptions for this pass. For a complete list, download "Do I Need a Discover Pass?" (pdf).

The Discover Pass is not required for holders of certain hunting and fishing licenses on WDFW recreation lands and water-access sites. For those individuals, a "WDFW vehicle access pass" will be required for vehicle access to WDFW lands and boat launches.

The penalty for failing to display/possess a Discover Pass is $99. The fine will be reduced to $59 if proof-of-purchase of the pass is provided to the court within 15 days of the violation notice.

For more information about this pass, please see the FAQ page on the Discover Pass website.

The Necessity of Initiative 1125

2011-08-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

Initiative 1125 will regulate the big government politicians and bureaucrats so that money put aside for a special purpose can only be used for that purpose. Naturally, politicians and bureaucrats would prefer to keep the People out of government.

In these tough economic times, the idea of government taking thousands of dollars per year out of working families’ already-stretched budgets shows a complete lack of compassion for the challenges they are facing right now. People are hurting, and yet state and local politicians are nonetheless sneaking forward with below-the-radar “anything goes” tolls that will cost families billions of dollars.

If there's going to be tolls, there must be accountability and transparency or the toll should never be accepted by the citizenry. A toll, by definition, is a specific charge that is used to pay for improvements to a specific project imposed on the specific people using that project. Struggling taxpayers might, and we emphasize might, accept that. But “anything goes” tolls? Not a chance.

Last year's voter-approved I-1053 required tolls to be set by the elected representatives of the people. Recession-weary taxpayers might, and we emphasize might, accept that. But automatic tolls imposed by unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats at state agencies? Not a chance.

Taxpayers should never accept handing over a blank check to a bunch of unelected bureaucrats.

In the entire history of our state, tolls have always expired after the project is paid for. Olympia recently repealed that protection so that tolls will now continue forever -- once a toll is imposed, it will never go away.

There's no way the people of Washington will be OK with never-ending tolls. I-1125 reinstates our state's longstanding guarantee that once the project is paid for, the toll will go away.

As Kemper Freeman said: “Citizens are rightly suspicious of tolls because of a valid concern that Olympia will raid such revenues during 'emergencies.' That's why I-1125's policies requiring accountability and transparency are so necessary. Tolls aren't taxes and I-1125 keeps it that way.”

He’s exactly right.

Advocates for "anything goes" tolls are seriously out-of-touch if they think citizens will accept sky-high, automatic, never-ending tolls imposed by unelected bureaucrats without accountability and transparency.

Please help us continue the fight on behalf of taxpayers. Olympia's appetite for our money is insatiable.

-- Tim Eyman

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You'll hear many rants against I-1125, but they all revolve around the idea that government should control our money, lives and resources.

What makes bureaucratic judgment superior to our own? The bureaucrats don't care. Neither do the entrenched politicians. They just want to run our lives.

Voters Want More Choices. Legitimate government requires consent of the governed.

Seattle Referendum 1 (The Tunnel)

2011-08-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Seattle's Referendum 1 is the people's referendum on whether to build a toll tunnel under Seattle to replace the waterfront viaduct. The cost of toll tunnel is officially projected to be $6 Billion. If this projection is as reliable as most government projections, the actual price tag will be much higher.

Although everyone in the state will be paying for the tunnel, only Seattle will vote on it. A limited voice is better than no vote at all, except...

Even if the voters reject the tunnel by voting no on Referendum 1, it looks like the politicians are going to ignore the people's vote -- claiming voters just didn't understand -- and build the tunnel anyway.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Why do Washington State voters keep sending authoritarian politicians to Olympia to sneer at us and waste our state's resources?

As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Can you believe there are politicians who still wonder why our initiatives receive so much support from the electorate?

Can you believe there are politicians who still don't understand why citizens are furious with Olympia's arrogance and audacity?

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See also Cascade Bicycle Club & Protect Seattle Now (the vote no organization).

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Referendum 1 passed with 58% of the vote. Apparently the voters like the tunnel idea.

Official King County election results for the August 16 primary link

A Democrat's plan to limit democracy

2011-07-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

Look at what comes in the email. Rep. Liias is one of the sponsors of HB 1668, the House bill to limit citizens right to petition, so the position he takes is no surprise.

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Dear Serf

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about Senate Bill 5297 and House Bill 1668 concerning the rules and regulations around signature gathering. I always appreciate hearing from my constituents about these important issues.

I actually signed onto this legislation in the house as a co-sponsor and believe that it is vital to take a look at this process routinely as well as to make it fair to all parties involved. The primary goal of the legislation is to ensure the integrity of the initiative process, by regulating paid signature gatherers and signature gathering businesses. When the state constitution was amended to create the initiative process, I don't believe the drafters would have imagined what big business the initiative process has become.

This last summer, paid gatherers were being paid as much as $3 per signature because of the high volume of initiatives. When an initiative requires 400,000 signatures, which could be over a million dollars in business from just one. So, HB 1668 asks paid gatherers and signature gathering businesses to register with the state, and provide similar information to what paid lobbyists are required to provide.

The other thing the initiative does is raise the filing fee for initiatives to $500. Every year, dozens of initiatives are filed and only a handful makes it to the ballot. But for each one that is filed, the Secretary of State and Attorney General's office spend hours analyzing and preparing documentation, even those that never make it to the ballot. Raising the filing fee would help reimburse more of these costs. This bill imposes some common sense protections that are reasonable and help ensure the efficiency and transparency of the initiative process.

Unfortunately, this bill has not met the requirements to continue through the legislative process this year. However, it can certainly be considered again next legislative session. You can keep an eye on the bills at www.leg.wa.gov. Again, thanks for your message and feel free to contact us again should you have any more questions or concerns.

All my best,
Marko

Rep. Marko Liias (D-21) (Edmonds area)
Vice Chair, House Transportation Committee

Email: liias.marko@leg.wa.gov
Website: http://www.housedemocrats.wa.gov/roster/rep-marko-liias/

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Although Liias' tone is genial, legislative attempts to limit citizen involvement in the law making process are despicable. Plain citizens would be under 1668 regulation, even though they may be volunteering their time.

The remark about money being used in politics is vacuous scare tactics. If a petition can cost the sponsors $3 per signature, only rich sponsors will have the resources to deal with the regulations of 1668.

The real problem in Liias' previous proposals is they would limit non-unionized, plain citizen participation in the democratic process. Heavily funded issues which can afford to spend $3 per signature will remain untouched.

Incidentally, unions were specifically exempted from regulation in signature gathering under 1668.

Rep Liias assures us he will continue to support anti-democracy legislation. If you live in District 21, you should consider sending Rep Liias an email about this. And you should vote for someone else next election.

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The Gang of Too Many

The forces aligned against free democracy in Washington State are Representatives Reykdal, Hunt, Appleton, Kenney, Goodman, McCoy, Dunshee, Carlyle, Pettigrew, Hasegawa, Ryu, Liias, Darneille, Fitzgibbon, Eddy, Dickerson, Ormsby, and Jinkins.

From the state Senate, they are Senators Nelson, Conway, Harper, Chase, White, Kohl-Welles, Kline, Keiser, Prentice, and Shin.

Less Free, But Improving

2011-06-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

The serfs are a little better off. That's so nice....

Washington State is not very free, according to the libertarian oriented Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

"Washington was among the states that improved the most in overall freedom and consequently moved up five spots in the rankings. Unfortunately for denizens of that state, it had—and still has—a long way to go. Washington is still among the 10 least-free states. Indeed, it only barely cracks the top half of states in personal freedom.

[Government] spending is a bit higher than average, but taxes are slightly lower—a recipe for government debt, which Washington has in abundance. Government employment is also too high. Land-use planning is somewhat centralized."

The Center made these policy suggestions

Reduce spending consistent with the state’s relatively decent tax-burden levels, starting with reducing government employment and spending on natural resources (mostly at the state government level) and sewerage (at the local government level), which is particularly far above national norms.
Enact further-reaching eminent-domain reform.
Reduce centralized land-use planning by repealing or amending the Growth Management Act and Shoreline Management Act.

The Mercatus Center study of Washington State, and the study of several United States.

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Retail complications

What certainly classifies as an abuse is what merchants have to do to make an in state retail sale. The merchant gets to add the item's sales tax according to the shipment's destination. This sounds innocuous enough until you realize the state has a crazy quilt of retail sales tax rates.

You can tell the state's tax scheme is too complicated when you look at the Department of Revenue webpage and see they want to know the street address before they tell you the tax rate.

At least the information is available in 6 languages other than English.

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Guns too?

The sales tax slurping sound is audible if you need to transfer a firearm from out of state. All such transfers have to go through a federally licensed firearms dealer. Washington State now compels those dealers to estimate the value of the firearm they are transferring and tax you accordingly.

Olympia's gutlessness, and our Initiative to stop it

2011-06-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Olympia overspent. Spending and tax income are not going to balance. The legislature did not have the fortitude required to cut unnecessary spending. The unresolved spending problem is around $5.5 billion.

But the legislative session is over for now, and Legislature has gone home. Like a bowl of rotten oatmeal, the Legislature left a bad taste and a likely intestinal problem. Why does this Legislature think they can spend our money better than we can spend our money?

Initiative Momentum
by Tim Eyman

Last year's 64% vote for Initiative 1053 was extraordinary. Not only did it receive a supermajority level of public support, it was the 4th time voters approved its taxpayer protection policies. Voters clearly said they'd had it with Olympia's insatiable appetite for taking more of the people's money. Even so, before this year's session started, Gregoire signaled her obstruction: "I'm not gonna let 1053 stand in the way of me moving forward for what I think is right."

That's exactly what she/they did. In direct conflict with what the voters said, the Legislature fundamentally undermined and sidestepped I-1053 in various ways during this year's session. It's shocking how brazen and disrespectful they were of the people's decision. We would need several initiatives to reverse everything they did to I-1053 -- we simply can't do that. Instead, we are focusing on their worst violations.

Totally contrary to I-1053's policies, the Legislature re-empowered Gregoire's Transportation Commission -- a bunch of unelected bureaucrats -- to unilaterally impose tolls on our state's streets, roads, highways, and bridges.

With our state's slow-growing economy and high unemployment rates, families and businesses are struggling just handling their existing burdens -- they're hard pressed to take on any more. Despite the fact that Washington has the highest gas tax in the nation, they're planning on forcing us to pay twice with sky-high tolls. It shows a complete lack of compassion for the taxpayers' plight and totally ignores what the voters said in November.

The Governor's and the Legislature's arrogance and disrespect for the voters has spurred this year's initiative. I-1125 does the following:

Resurrects I-1053's policy that the Legislature, and not Gregoire's Transportation Commission, set tolls so we can hold toll-crazy politicians accountable;
Requires that transportation taxes and tolls only go toward transportation, prohibiting raids and diversions to non-transportation purposes;
Reinforces current law that requires that tolls be project-specific, preventing tolls from becoming de facto taxes;
Requires that tolls GO AWAY/STOP/EXPIRE after the project is paid for (that's the way it's always been, but Olympia recently changed it so tolls will now go on FOREVER -- I-1125 says NO to never-ending tolls).
Prohibits gas-tax-funded lanes on state highways from being transferred or used for non-highway purposes (our state Constitution -- the 18th Amendment -- already prohibits this, but politicians are still trying to weasel out of this constitutional prohibition); and
Ensures that tolls are uniform and consistent.

This year's I-1125 reinforces protections in our state Constitution and resurrects policies approved by voters with I-1053.

Tim Eyman's website

Initiatives 2011

2011-06-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

The legislative session is over, so Impolite attention turns to the people's legislative process -- the right to initiative petition.

Washington State Constitution, Declaration of Rights

"All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights." - Article 1, Section 1

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Initiative -1125 -- This measure would prohibit the use of motor vehicle fund revenue and vehicle toll revenue for non-transportation purposes, and require that road and bridge tolls be set by the legislature and be project-specific.

I-1125 restores I-1053's policies that Gregoire and the Legislature reversed this year. The governor and legislature imposed new tolls on bridge and highway use through a committee of bureaucrats appointed for the purpose -- in effect bypassing the legally required 2/3 super-majority to enact new tolls, fees, etc. Those increased revenues are being used principally to pay for the unsustainable increased levels of state spending. The state constitution requires revenues gathered from motor vehicle sources be devoted to motor vehicle purposes - highway construction, maintenance and the like.

The current, unlawful, practice in Olympia directs tolls to the general fund. Weirdly, there is an ad opposing 1125 which seems to claim road construction will be reduced by $500 million if 1125 is enacted. Not so. What will be reduced is $500 million from roads going into the general fund.

Impolite recommends you sign I-1125 and vote yes in November. The People have the right to control their government.

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The following measure has been withdrawn from the ballot. The Humane Society of the United States made an agreement with the egg industry. The agreement will effectively implement 1130 by 2029.

Initiative 1130 by the Humane Society of WA DC and the Farm Sanctuary of Watkins Glen, New York -- Initiative Measure No. 1130 concerns confinement of egg-laying hens. This measure would prohibit, with certain exceptions, confining hens in stacked cages or cages that limit the hens’ movement, and would prohibit the sale of eggs in the shell from hens so confined.

The well funded I-1130 is the only initiative who got their signature drive out of the gate on day one.

Through the end of April, they've raised a total of $372,011 with $207,035 from the Humane Society, 2100 L St NW, Washington DC 20037 and $150,000 from Farm Sanctuary Inc, PO Box 150, Watkins Glen, New York, 14891. They hired PCI Consultants Inc, 26500 Agoura Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302-1952 as their paid signature gathering firm and have paid them $260,224.30 so far.

I-1130 would allow chickens to "stretch their wings" and not live in production cages. If you know chickens, you know this is a pointless initiative. When the people of the state decided not to hunt cougars, we started seeing news reports of children mauled and killed by cougars. Although this initiative is similarly 'feel-good', at least chickens aren't as dangerous as cougars.

Some vegans say I-1130 doesn't go far enough and recommend a no vote.

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Initiative 1163 by the SIEU (Government employees union, Service Employees International Union Local 775) -- Initiative Measure No. 1163 concerns long-term care workers and services for elderly and disabled people. This measure would reinstate background checks, training, and entangling requirements for long-term care workers and providers. It also creates new financial accountability and administrative expenses for the long-term in-home care program.

Although caring for the elderly has the appearance of sweetness and light, the initiative will make long term care more costly without any real improvement. The metrics in the background check are subject to abuse.

Long term elder care is difficult for the care givers. Its tough to become friends with people and then have them die. That makes a turnover problem for the facilities. Adding in background checks will only alienate potential care givers.

Finally no amount of government imposed regulation can actually make one person care about another. The "feel good" aspect of the initiative is bankrupt from the start.

On April 25, the SEIU transferred $500,000 into a new initiative PAC. They hired PCI Consultants, Inc, 26500 Agoura Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302-1952 as their paid signature gathering firm to collect signatures from both I-1163 and I-1167. They recently abandoned the I-1167 signature drive and are now focusing their efforts on I-1163. The SEIU will certainly get I-1163 on the November ballot.

The SIEU government union has the most treasure to spend on a measure which will fatten their bank account, if enacted.

Big government treasure is being used to force I-1163 onto the ballot. Its a clear abuse of power. Impolite recommends you vote no on I-1163.

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Initiative 1183 by Costco, Washington Restaurant Association, NW Grocers Association, et al -- Initiative Measure No. 1183 would privatize the sale and distribution of liquor. The initiative is not as sweeping as I-1100 was.

Washington State imposed controls on liquor after prohibition was lifted in the 1930's At that time, liquor control was presented as promotion of public virtue. The state government makes 52% margin on liquor. Clearly, the state's actual reason is monopolistic pricing.

The state's principle use of liquor profits is to keep the public employees unions available to incumbent legislators. Government corrupts public virtue more effectively than private liquor sales ever could.

Impolite recommends you vote yes on I-1183.

See the Washington Wire discussion for another perspective.

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Legislative referenda will also appear on this Autumn's ballot.

SJR 8205 is a proposed constitutional amendment which would repeal a non-functioning part of the State's Constitution. The specific part is Article 6, Section 1A, which is a residency requirement for citizens who wish to vote in the federal election. The section was rendered inoperable by federal court order in 1976. Finally (or suddenly - depending on your perspective) the matter came to the legislature's attention.

Impolite will vote for SJR 8205, just to tidy up the constitution.

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SJR 8206 strengthens the set-aside requirement for the state's budget stabilization account, or "rainy day" fund, by specifying a portion of "extraordinary" revenue of good years be set aside in the fund. The fund is used to offset some types of shortfalls in years when state revenue is not so good, so that important spending (like school) can proceed.

Opponents of SJR 8206 make a funny argument that voters have not approved SJR 8206 yet, so they shouldn't vote for it. The opponents also view fat and lean years as no impediment to state spending.

Impolite recommends you vote Yes on SJR 8206.

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Note: Normally, Impolite would link the initiative petition number to the sponsors website. But some initiative's campaigns don't have working websites yet, so those initiative numbers are linked to the official text of the initiative petition.

Sort Of No New Taxes.

2011-05-28T13:28:00.000-07:00

The Washington Legislature closed out the special session without imposing any significant new taxes. But the "Democratic" Party controlled Legislature is pitching a huge hissy fit 'cause the People required accountability with 1053.

We're getting a batch of new fees imposed on use the stuff we already paid for. People in the Puget Sound area are gonna get screwed via the imposition of new fees (tolls on 520, for example) to use the roads they already own.

Freedom Foundation issued a couple of press releases.

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The Tax Loopholes are Rigged

Legislative session is finally over. This year labor unions led the fight to close tax "loopholes" in lieu of budget cuts, but their framing of the issue has a few loopholes of its own. Earlier this month the Freedom Foundation sent out a press release exposing the fact that unions themselves are the primary beneficiaries of select tax breaks.

Labor unions--which have been fighting so hard to paint beneficiaries of tax exemptions as greedy fat cats who enjoy watching small children starve--have conveniently failed to mention their special tax treatment in the myriad press releases, statements and public testimony on the state budget. We at the Freedom Foundation are not the only ones sitting up and taking notice of the issue. Following our release, Washington State Wire's Erik Smith wrote an excellent, in-depth, story covering the murky issue of union tax breaks. Smith expands on the matter, revealing union tax breaks well in excess of many enjoyed by the labor-maligned business community:

"Federal stats say Washington's unionized workers earn an average of $1,068 a week. Union dues typically run one to two percent of gross income. If you figure it at 1.5 percent, that means Washington-state unions collect $503 million a year in dues.

"So at the current services B&O rate of 1.8 percent, the tax break is worth $9 million annually. It might be off a million or so either way, but that's about as close as anyone can come."

To read Erik Smith's full story, visit the Washington State Wire webpage here.

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Unions are big business

Unions are clearly big business in Washington state, bringing in half-a-billion in dues each year. We can only hope the exposure of hefty union tax breaks and the concomitant hypocrisy of union rhetoric rebalances the tax break discussion in the Legislature. And speaking of hypocrisy, when asked to comment on labor's special tax treatment, Washington State Labor Council President Jeff Johnson responded:

"We're calling for a moratorium on a wide swath of business tax exemptions," he said. "We've never said all tax exemptions are bad or do not have a valid purpose--many of them do--but in a time of severe budget deficits, there is a need for greater shared sacrifice out there. That's been our argument--it's not just been an attack on business tax exemptions."

Right. Shared sacrifice is only a good idea when others are forced to do the sacrificing.

What's that, Mr. Labor Council President? You want to close tax loopholes? I'm sorry. We can't hear you through the hypocrisy.

They ought to be ashamed. And we ought to take action. Read the blog that exposed this hypocrisy here.

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There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

Everyone wants government to pay for lots of goodies, but no one wants to pay the taxes for those extra goodies. The Democrat politicians insist there are the "rich" who don't pay their fair share.

For some reason the Democrat politicians can't seem to tax the "rich" effectively. Either the "rich" are rich because they honestly earned it, or because the rich are the Democrat politicians' buddies.

We have both types in Washington State. The Unions Bosses are buddies with the "Democratic" Party; they are corrupt. We also have rich people like Bill Gates, whose Microsoft Corporation is losing market share because innovation eludes them.

Washington State must stop listening to the soothing words of the Democrat politicians and start voting for responsible leadership. We need equality of taxation, not this phoney stick-it-to-the-rich attitude.

Washington State also needs to have realistic expectation of what government should provide -- basic public services which cannot be privately consumed. A lot of the current budget is being directed to the Democrats long-standing buddies. Hacking that off would be a start, but only a start.

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Some revenue increase particulars for policy wonks. More as the details get published.

That day trip across the Sound is going up even more than the Summer fare increase. $41,016,808 from increased fares for ferry rides. 2ESSB 5742

Water system operating permit fees. Take that big gulp now. $15,670,000 in water system permit fees. SSB 5364

Court is going to cost more. You may get justice, but it will cost you. $8,850,000 in increased court fees - final passage. SB 5941

Red Light Camera

2011-05-18T16:14:00.001-07:00

By Scott North and Rikki King

The controversy surrounding traffic enforcement cameras has been a big draw for people who post comments to Heraldnet.com. Some folks seem compelled to weigh in with opinions on nearly every story. Apparently that includes at least one vice president at an Arizona-based camera company.

Meet reader 'W Howard,' undercover traffic cam exec
A poster using the screen name "W Howard" has commented 43 times on our site since June. The unifying themes in these posts are that the cameras ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifre good, that they are making the world safer and that anyone who says otherwise -- particularly Mukilteo initiative activist Tim Eyman -- needs their head examined.

Some readers have suggested "W Howard" has been posting comments as part of a marketing campaign run by American Traffic Solutions, Inc. The Scottsdale-based company contracts to provide enforcement camera services in Lynnwood and Seattle. It had inked a similar deal in Mukilteo last year, then Eyman pushed for a public vote. Upshot: no cameras in Mukilteo, and a spreading movement around Washington that has growing numbers of people asking questions about enforcement camera technology.

More at HeraldNet

Olympia can't be trusted with taxes

2011-05-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

Tim Eyman reports

First, a little history....

The Legislature's decision in 1995 to override the voters' decision not to pay higher taxes for a sports stadium was the worst example of Olympia's arrogance, audacity, and shamelessness in our state's history. The voters said no, but just weeks later, Democrats called an emergency special session of the Legislature and said it was a threat to the public health and safety if a sports stadium was not paid for by taxpayers.

The bill passed. That declaration of emergency -- that emergency clause -- was challenged in court. In one of the most embarrassing rulings of the state supreme court's history, a 6-3 majority decided that the imposition of taxes for a sports stadium was a legitimate exercise of the state's emergency power.

Obscene.

Over and over again during legislative debate on the bill, politicians repeatedly, explicitly, and publicly promised that the stadium's taxes were temporary -- that once their miscarriage of justice was paid for, the taxes would go away. Over and over again, the People knew that the politicians were lying, that they'd later try to extend the stadium taxes forever. But politicians responded emphatically: "No, the bill was written to ensure that all the stadium taxes would automatically expire once the stadium in paid for."

They knew they were lying, we knew they were lying, and this Tuesday, the Senate Gov Ops Committee will prove they were lying.

At their 1:30 pm hearing, today, in the Cherberg Building in Olympia, we have the opportunity to testify against Seattle Democrat Scott Smith's Senate Bill 5958 appropriately called "The Latest Example That Politicians Can't Be Trusted On Taxes Act".

This despicable bill demands a vocal, contemptuous repudiation. Join us and let Olympia's politicians know how you feel about their latest betrayal.

Can you believe some politicians wonder why voters don't trust them when it comes to taxes?

Special Session Update

2011-05-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

by Rep. Cary Condotta, May 11, 2011

We are now 15 days into the special session and very little has been decided. The Legislature was supposed to adjourn on April 24, but we adjourned two days earlier (only to return). It would have been great if we had completed the work we were sent to Olympia to do, but plenty of work went unfinished and there is already talk of a second special session.

Going into extra time is inexcusable and taxpayers should be upset. The Democrat majority party is dragging its feet on the state operating budget.

We all knew in November the financial situation our state was in and drafting a budget would be difficult. However, 105 days is plenty of time. The House Democrats waited until after the March 17 revenue forecast before writing a budget that came out April 4.

That budget passed the House on April 9, but the Senate took no action until April 19 – less than a week from adjournment. There seemed to be no incentive for the majority party to finish on time, as we didn’t work late or much on the weekend during the last month. It was a frustrating situation.

It is important to know that House Republicans did not stand on the sidelines and say “no” to Democrat proposals. In fact, it was the first time ever the minority party offered its own budget proposal.

Many of our budget ideas were incorporated into the House Democrat budget, but when it came down to it, there were still too many differences with Republicans prioritizing education and the Democrats pushing for more in social services. You can find our Republican budgeting principles and alternative budget solution here.

A special session costs nearly $16,000 for every day that lawmakers are at the Capitol. At a time when the Legislature is struggling to write a balanced two-year budget, it seems ludicrous we are spending more money for a special session.

Workers’ compensation reform
The fact that we were unable to get meaningful workers’ compensation reform passed during the regular session is just as big a disappointment than not passing a budget. This is another instance in which we knew how badly something needed to be done because of the dire financial situation of the workers’ compensation system, yet nothing that would provide long-term reform has been passed. The workers’ compensation fund is in a poor state.

In fact, last year, State Auditor Brian Sonntag sent a letter to Labor and Industries Director Judy Schurke addressing the $360 million deficit in the workers' compensation accident fund that read in part, “Our report is a warning that if this condition continues, the future liabilities may exceed assets within a few years, creating a financial hole difficult to recover from.” He also pointed out the fund has a greater than 70 percent chance of insolvency and the Medical Aid Account could also be facing insolvency within the next few years. The Wenatchee World recently published an editorial Condotta wrote on the issue. You can read it here.

Capital budget and debt reduction
Washington state legislators are considering a measure that would reduce the state’s long-term debt to put our state budgets on more stable and sustainable footing.

The Debt Reduction Act of 2011, Senate Joint Resolution SJR 8215 would accomplish both of those goals. My colleague in the Senate, Linda Evans Parlette, actually co-sponsored the measure in the Senate. The Senate passed the bill unanimously during the regular session and have already passed it again in the special session. The Senate had to pass the measure again, because the House failed to take any action on the bill.

Keep in mind, the capital budget is our budget that funds construction of schools and colleges, develops community infrastructure, maintains parks and recreation areas, and is funded in part by state bonds. Payment on those bonds is made from the state operating budget, which also funds other priorities such as education and health care.

This debt is one of the fastest-growing parts of the budget, climbing from $970 million 10 years ago to $1.8 billion in the current biennial budget. The operating budget has doubled its level of debt payment in the past decade. The Debt Reduction Act addresses this problem by phasing down our constitutional debt limit from 9 to 7 percent. This will reduce the debt payments we make in the operating budget over the next 20 years by more than $3 billion.

Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, is our ranking member on the House Capital Budget Committee. You can read her column on this issue in The Seattle Times here.

The status of The Debt Reduction Act and capital budget are still up in the air. Chair of the Capital Budget Committee, Rep. Hans Dunshee, is holding up SJR 8215, which in turn is delaying passage of the capital budget. He says he feels the legislation will cost us jobs, which is not the case.

Rep. Warnick pointed out in her editorial, thousands of people would be put to work by the capital budget even if SJR 8215 is in place.

SJR 8215 is a common-sense measure to put our state on more solid financial footing and benefit our state into the future by avoiding a senseless buildup of debt.

Water rights tax

2011-05-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

The state legislature is attacking the industries, farms and orchards in the state with HB 2050. This bill is designed to tax the "right" to hold a right to use water, which proves this legislature is willing to sink to any depth to suck up more of our money.

The impact of the bill is the farms and orchards with ancient water rights will have to pay protection money to the politicians in Olympia to keep on using water. This sounds much like the tax Olympia used to collect for rain which fell on your house or land. The courts found that tax stupid and indefensible. Why do we have to go to court to spank the legislature for being stupid thugs?

Tax and Fee Increase

2011-04-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Legislative Indigestion - What the politicians in Olympia think they can slip by.

By now you've heard we're giving medical marijuana fuller legal status in Washington State. What you may not hear about is the taxes which come with your "medicine." Cannabis taxes are projected to average $5,529,902 per year. E2SSB 5073 AMH ENGR H2509.E allows the state to muscle in on your regular weed pusher.

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HB 1382 (Short version)- Ordinary drivers will lose a lane to HOV; for this bonus, you'll be charged tolls for certain highway and bridge use. This will sit well with liberals around the Sound and Lake Washington. The poor will have to stay home.

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Some other abuses
SB 5945 Modifying excise tax laws to provide funding for essential government services (e.g. gold plated doorknobs). The legislature will probably pass this to the voters for their approval.

The bill is a list of Democrats micromanagement ideas designed to use or abuse private enterprise. Another stupid idea for more taxes, I'll review this more closely if the legislature passes it. The primary impact is we would get higher retail taxes and more complicated regulation for making a living.

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HB 2094 Tax preferences (usually reserved for food taxes) - HB 2094's windy language would impose new taxes on laundry list of stuff. Boeing airplanes to electronic newspapers will get taxed. Section 501(4) will impose a tax on home generation of electricity. VOIP will get new taxes. So will your membership fees for the club. 2094 is another labyrinth of taxation to feed a bloated legislature.

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SB 5487 will add more taxes on eggs. The bill also requires reports form egg producers that the chickens are treated properly, better than citizens in fact.

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HB 1494 adds compulsory fingerprinting to elder placement referrals. The legislation as passed bears the title, "Concerning vulnerable adult referral agencies."

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SB 5502 Limousine services will get another new tax.

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HB 2079 / SB 5742
would raise ferry fares another 25 cents. Also, ferries will be required to run on unicorn dust. (I made that part up.)

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SB 5937 would add $6,918,101,000 in new taxes as an emergency measure. Proposed by politician Paull Shin of Mukilteo, it perpetuates the use of the term "emergency."

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HB 2078 will add $922,960,000 to retail and B&O taxes for school funding, to enhance class size for K3. This bill is fast tracking.

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Why can't the politicians leave things alone for once? Why do they constantly push pet projects and taxes on us? Isn't "bringing home the bacon" legalized theft?

Lucky us.

Good News for Violent Offenders

2011-04-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

HB 1793 will restrict access to juvenile crime records. The legislation especially targets landlords, to force them to rent to violent offenders.

The consequence: You may be forced to live next door to a violent criminal.

The state is considering barring access from a violent offender's juvenile records. This is good news for violent offenders who started criminal activity early in life. Landlords, including public landlords, use criminal records to evaluate an applicant-renter. This act will bar that practice for young, violent offenders.

HB 1793 passed the Senate. Tell the governor to veto this one.

Anti-Self-Defense Bill in the State House of Representatives

2011-04-12T22:41:00.002-07:00

Presently, Washington State citizens have legal protection of their right to self defense. The state will pay the defense costs of those falsely accused.

House Bill 2067, introduced by state Representative Ross Hunter (D-48) [Vote WA questionnaire], would repeal the existing Washington law that provides for the reimbursement of legal defense costs to law-abiding citizens who are charged with a crime but found not guilty by reason of self-defense.

Here is actual language from the law that is proposed to be repealed: “No person in the state shall be placed in legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever for protecting by any reasonable means necessary, himself or herself, his or her family… When a person charged with a crime…is found not guilty by reason of self-defense, the state of Washington shall reimburse the defendant for all reasonable costs…”

Self-defense is a fundamental right that can be weakened by overzealous prosecution. Current law provides an incentive for prosecutors to give serious consideration to whether the accused has a viable claim of self-defense before the prosecution begins. The passage of HB 2067 would repeal an important citizen protection in the state's legal system.

HB 2067 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Ways & Means Committee this Wednesday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m.

Please contact your state Representative, by calling the toll-free legislative hotline, (800) 562-6000, and respectfully urge him or her to OPPOSE this anti-self-defense bill.

If your state Representative sits on the House Ways & Means Committee, please refer to the list below and call and e-mail their office directly.

If you need help identifying your state Representative, please click here.

House Ways & Means Committee members:

Representative Ross Hunter (D-48), Chairman <- Hunter is the sponsor.
(360) 786-7936
ross.hunter@leg.wa.gov

Representative Jeannie Darneille (D-27), Vice Chairman
(360) 786-7974
j.darneille@leg.wa.gov

Representative Bob Hasegawa (D-11), Vice Chair
(360) 786-7862
bob.hasegawa@leg.wa.gov

Representative Reuven Carlyle (D-36)
(360) 786-7814
reuven.carlyle@leg.wa.gov

Representative Eileen Cody (D-34)
(360) 786-7978
eileen.cody@leg.wa.gov

Representative Mary Lou Dickerson (D-36)
(360) 786-7860
marylou.dickerson@leg.wa.gov

Representative Kathy Haigh (D-35)
(360) 786-7966
kathy.haigh@leg.wa.gov

Representative Zack Hudgins (D-11)
(360) 786-7956
zack.hudgins@leg.wa.gov

Representative Sam Hunt (D-22)
(360) 786-7992
sam.hunt@leg.wa.gov

Representative Ruth Kagi (D-32)
(360) 786-7910
ruth.kagi@leg.wa.gov

Representative Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney (D-46)
(360) 786-7818
phyllis.kenney@leg.wa.gov

Representative Timm Ormsby (D-3)
(360) 786-7946
timm.ormsby@leg.wa.gov

Representative Eric Pettigrew (D-37)
(360) 786-7838
eric.pettigrew@leg.wa.gov

Representative Larry Seaquist (D-26)
(360) 786-7802
larry.seaquist@leg.wa.gov

Representative Larry Springer (D-45)
(360) 786-7822
larry.springer@leg.wa.gov

Representative Pat Sullivan (D-47)
(360) 786-7858
pat.sullivan@leg.wa.gov

Representative Ed Orcutt (R-18)
(360) 786-7812
ed.orcutt@leg.wa.gov

Representative Gary Alexander (R-20)
(360) 786-7990
gary.alexander@leg.wa.gov

Representative Barbara Bailey (R-10)
(360) 786-7914
barbara.bailey@leg.wa.gov

Representative Bruce Dammeier (R-25)
(360) 786-7948
bruce.dammeier@leg.wa.gov

Representative Bruce Chandler (R-15)
(360) 786-7960
bruce.chandler@leg.wa.gov

Representative Larry Haler (R-8)
(360) 786-7986
larry.haler@leg.wa.gov

Representative Bill Hinkle (R-13)
(360) 786-7808
bill.hinkle@leg.wa.gov

Representative Kevin Parker (R-6)
(360) 786-7922
kevin.parker@leg.wa.gov

Representative Charles Ross (R-14)
(360) 786-7856
charles.ross@leg.wa.gov

Representative Joe Schmick (R-9)
(360) 786-7844
joe.schmick@leg.wa.gov

Representative J.T. Wilcox (R-2)
(360) 786-7912
jt.wilcox@leg.wa.gov

Update
The April 13th hearing for House Bill 2067 was cancelled minutes before it was to start. This bill is likely dead for this legislative session.

State Government Overspending Report

2011-04-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

Going into debt is bad news. Giving greedy Democrats the state's credit card is a very bad idea.

State revenue is expected to be $778 million less for the combined 2009-11 and 2011-13 budgets: Download the official projection here.

$79.8 million less for the 2009-11 budget, creating a $229 million shortfall.

$698.4 million less for the 2011-13 budget, creating a $5.1 billion shortfall. (Spending is going way, way up.)

This means the 2011 Legislature must address a projected total shortfall of $5.1 billion. I say projected because that assumes a budget of $37 billion, or roughly a 15 percent increase. In the current economy we cannot expect to increase spending by 15 percent. The revenue forecast itself is 13.5 percent more than the previous biennium. At $32.5 billion, it is our highest revenue number ever.

That said, this will require major adjustments since many, many programs were added or expanded, and even more promises were made before the downturn. Like the rest of the economy, we are now having a hangover from our years of exuberance. I will give you a view of the budgets when they are presented in the next few weeks.

Closing Tax "Loopholes"
The majority party and a number of their supporters continue to push for additional revenues despite the projection they will exceed the expenditures in our current budget cycle. They are calling on the Legislature “close tax loopholes to balance the state budget.” What these special interest groups are actually talking about are “tax preferences.”

One of the largest tax preference "loopholes" is food. I don’t think many of us would want to close that so-called tax loophole. It is important we are clear about what we are talking about on this issue.

Each tax preference should be reviewed for effectiveness, because there are many that are beneficial. You may recall the tax incentives we passed in 2010 for aluminum companies. It allowed Alcoa to restart additional pot-lines at the Wenatchee Works plant. You may not recall this either. Its a sort of wonkish thing to know.

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In November, the People voted down I 1082. Now we face the consequences of trusting government to do the right thing.

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) pays $1.84 in benefits for every $1.00 in premiums it collects, the highest “combined ratio” of any public or private workers’ comp insurer in the country.

According to L&I, these costs are not sustainable without annual double-digit premium increases on employers that pay into the state fund.

The 2008 Washington Pension System Review (Upjohn Institute) confirmed one reason for the highest number of long-term disability cases and pensions in the nation is the absence of a voluntary settlement option that exists in 44 other states.

Total benefits paid in Washington grew from $1.3 billion in 1998 to $2.2 billion in 2008. That’s an increase of 70.4 percent, compared to 34.2 percent growth for all states.

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Merrily into debt we go. But Washington State is prohibited from accumulating debt*. So we are going to have a round of increased fees or taxation. But We the People forbid that without a 2/3rds majority in the Legislature. So the majority Party (along with some help from RINO Mike Armstrong) delegated "rate increases" to the various agencies which actually charge the rates.

The Puget Sound area will probably face ferry rate increases, other than the regular Summer increase. A toll will likely be imposed on routes in addition to the 520 bridge. Tolls will be added to use certain HOV lanes on some highways. (My cousin, who is an urban planner, refers to these as HIV lanes.)

The increases are probably illegal. I-1053 requires super-majority in the Legislature for revenue increase. But you can rely on the "Democratic" Party to suck around for your money to buy itself "friends." As long as politicians can act irresponsibly and get away with it, they will.

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*Current debt may not exceed 9% of current spending. This was supposed to prevent uncontrolled spending of exactly the type we are seeing.

Eliminating Democracy, Union Style.

2011-03-04T11:03:00.000-08:00

Interest Groups Say Union Fraud Case Justifies a Crackdown on Initiatives ---
Guess What? – The Bill Excludes Labor Unions

By Erik Smith, Staff writer/ Washington State Wire

"OLYMPIA, Feb. 26 — Union officials and left-wing activist groups are saying that an embarrassing signature fraud case involving the Service Employees International Union last summer is a terrific reason to regulate everyone else [Service Employees International Union is the government workers union].

"They’re pushing a bill that would impose tight new restrictions on signature-gathering companies. It’s the same basic idea they’ve been backing for years, and it’s looking like it is picking up support in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

"But here’s the funny thing about it. Not only is the SEIU case the only time in recent years that any campaign has turned in fraudulent signatures to the state – the bill that SEIU is backing wouldn’t apply to labor unions."

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Regulating Citizen Initiatives - The Great Tragedy

2011-02-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

by Tim Eyman

House Bill 1668 and Senate Bill 5297 are a monstrosity of anti-initiative policies. Instead of separate anti-initiative bills where each anti-initiative policy can be critiqued and highlighted, this year the Democrats went with the omnibus approach, putting all their anti-initiative eggs into one basket.

There is no justification for any change to the initiative process because there is no problem. Over 12 years, 12.7 million signatures have been submitted to the Secretary of State, and there's been 1 problem with 1 SEIU volunteer last year. The SEUI volunteer "collected" 250 forged signatures and subsequently has been charged.

The large number of signatures is a substantial enough hurdle that only a handful of initiatives qualify each year and voters approve some and reject others (and more times than not, the side which spends the least amount of money wins at the ballot box -- voters don't care which side has more money, they care about which side has the better argument).

But the greatest tragedy would be the bills' increase in initiative filing fees. Here's why: opponents of the initiative process say this will stop "frivolous" initiatives from being filed. There's no such thing. Some Washington citizen felt strongly enough about an idea or policy to fill out an affidavit making public their home mailing address, phone number, and email address, draft the initiative language, and submit it to the Secretary of State. They agreed to put themselves and their idea in the public realm for public consumption and public debate. And yes, he or she included $5. That is a good faith effort by a regular citizen to participate in our state's initiative process which is guaranteed by our state Constitution. Usually about 10 to 20 regular citizens do this each year. It takes a great deal of courage for a regular citizen to go through all that.

By way of comparison, legislators introduce 3000 bills in Olympia each legislative session. None of them fill out an affidavit disclosing their home address or pay $5, they just introduce or co-sponsor as many bills as they want. Some are serious, some are not (allowing dogs in bars, naming the state drink, banning body piercing). These thousands of bills are sent to the Code Revisor's office which, with a yearly $4.6 million budget, helps legislators draft them.

No one works on commission, they are paid the same whether it's 3000 bills or 3200. These same people at the Code Revisor's office help the handful of regular people who file initiatives each year. It doesn't cost the taxpayer anything extra for there to be 50 initiatives filed, or 25, or 10, or 5.

These bills propose to increase the filing fee 10,000% to $500. The bills' increase in the filing fee GUARANTEES that regular citizens will no longer have access to their own initiative process. The 'big guys' (us, SEIU, WEA, Bill Gates Sr, BIAW, Costco, etc) will continue to file initiatives but no one else will. The bills' proposed $400 refund if the initiative qualifies for the ballot will only reward the big guys; it'll clearly kill off participation by regular citizens.

Again, we're only talking about a handful of initiatives each year and again, there are no additional costs to taxpayers for initiatives filed (Code Revisor, Secretary of State, AG, they are all salaried, none are paid on commission, so there's no marginal cost for the 10-20 initiatives filed each year by regular citizens).

The initiative process has worked for over 100 years. Please just leave the initiative process alone.

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Related Link

Please see Eliminating Democracy for the Unions.

Sometimes you see a bill in legislature where the supporting arguments are weak. Its not often you see a bill where the arguments have no connection with the legislation, as is the case with SB 5297. No one seems able to point out a problem that the bill would actually fix. The bill only makes it more difficult for the people to control their government.

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Voice your opinion

Please email your State Legislators, and let 'em know they ought to vote No on House Bill 1668 and Senate Bill 5297. Look up your legislator

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Update

Senate Bill 5298 has passed out of committee on a party line vote. It is headed to the floor of the State Senate.

Betrayed! - The Death of Democracy.

2011-02-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

You remember the TEA Party rally on April 15, 2009? That when the movement caught the public eye. The movement taught the people they don't have to lie down and let the moonbat authorities run over them.

I was at a rally when this woman came up to me and stuck a camera in my face. I mentioned she was being a little rude to take the peoples photos without permission. She replied How else would they identify me later. Its amazing how intimidating she thought she was. But I was ready for rock and roll that day. "Bring it on," I answered.

That seemed to put her off photographing the rest of us. But I wonder how many of the little old ladies in our group would have stayed in the protest had the moonbat photographer tried to scare them.

All of which leads us to the following quotes, taken from internal memos of the Washington State Council of County and City Employees. The memos are provided by a mole inside the AFSCME - AFL-CIO. The quotes all indicate that intimidation tactics be used on signature gatherers.

"Keep an eye out. The best way to beat this is at the signature gathering stage. Please let us know if you see those paid signature hunters in your area and let them know in no uncertain terms what their job will do to your job! Every signature we stop is one more Eyman has to pay for."

"If you see a signature gatherer, call us. We want to do all we can to stop them."

"Keep an eye out for signature gatherers. Mr. Eyman wouldn't have been able to qualify his initiatives if it wasn't for the paid signature gatherers. We need your help to track these mercenaries."

"If you see a signature gatherer, we suggest you ask signature gatherers if they are being paid, find out their names and take their pictures (alone). 'We would like to identify as many as possible.'"

Even the Moonbat Authoritarian Daily Kos reported (suggested is more like it) that the Democrats ought to use similar tactics in the 2008 Presidential race.

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The Washington State legislature will soon be voting on a bill to make signature gathering more intimidating. HB 1668/SB 5297 will require every signature gatherer to register with the state authorities, get licensed, provide a photograph for identification, and publish home addresses. All information will be made public. This move would put a thick frosting on citizen involvement in government.

These bills are being pushed by the union bosses of Washington State Council of County and City Employees (AFSCME - AFL-CIO). Unionized "public servants" have already been able to push the legislature into fantastic pay raises during the depression. Now the union bosses are looking to freeze out the people from control of their own government.

Email your legislator and tell them to vote No! on HB 1668/SB 5297.

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This story was compiled from sources.
Voters Want More Choices - Numerous Pictures Show Harassment of Danielle M.
Sound Politics - Anti-initiative Bills Would Make Harassment Easier
Seattle PI Letters column
ParkenFarken blog - Secret Plot to Kill Initiative Process

Pierce County Voters Send Message -- No More Tax Hikes!

2011-02-12T20:09:00.000-08:00

Olympia ignores the message and plans tax hikes anyway.

by Caleb Heimlich

This week Washington voters sent another clear message to the Legislature: cut the waste and don’t raise our taxes. Pierce Transit, who already collects a .06% sales tax, was seeking to raise the sales tax in Pierce County by .03%. Voters resoundingly rejected this measure 54% to 45%. In 2002, the last time Pierce Transit sought to increase taxes, the measure passed by an 8% margin.

This victory for taxpayers illustrates the power of grassroots citizens and shows that we are on the winning side of the policy debate. The rejected proposition 1 campaign; a coalition including Tea Party Groups, Campaign for Liberty members, Republicans and members of Americans for Prosperity-Washington were outspent 85-1 by special interests, including government unions. Our side won because of hard work and perseverance. We won because voters agree with our message and oppose tax increases.

While this victory was sweet and should send a clear message to Olympia that taxes are not what the people want, big government forces are already seeking a way around this vote.

Just this week HB 1536 was introduced by Representative Marko Liias which would give local transit agencies the ability to levy taxes on vehicle registration. Without requiring a vote of the people, local transit agencies in Pierce, King, and Snohomish counties would be able to re-institute a $30 tax [increase] on vehicle tab registration.

So while voters rejected one tax hike, it looks like more could be coming our way. Be sure to be in touch with your Legislator and let them know that you do not support higher taxes. The number for the Legislative exchange is 1-800-562-6000.

HB 1536 was passed by the transportation committee on a party line vote 15-12. It will be moving to the House floor. We need you to tell your Legislators to say no to higher taxes and fees.

There is a companion bill in the State Senate, number SB 5457

Clearly the state legislators are ready to spend lots more of your money. Contact them and let them know what you think of these bills.

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Adapted from Democrats Seek to Raise Taxes on Vehicle Registration posted at Americans for Prosperity.

Olympia Plots to Overthrow the People's Initiative Process

2011-02-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

Tim Eyman sent out this alert today about the legislature's plans to silence the initiative procress.

[The] New bill will completely shut down the initiative process (join us at 2 hearings in Oly next week Wed 8 am & Thurs 10 am)

"Initiative process, born 1914, died 2011, cause of death HB 1668/SB 5297." That's how the death certificate will read for our constitutionally guaranteed right to initiative if House Bill 1668 / Senate Bill 5297 is approved and signed into law by Gregoire. This monstrosity of anti-initiative policies passed the state senate last year (29 Democrats yes, 19 Republicans no). It failed to get out of committee in the house, but this year, they've added more anti-initiative legislators to that same committee to prevent that from happening again.

These bills are being fast-tracked through the process. And these bills are not requested by the Secretary of State. And amazingly, it's estimated to cost $360,000 to implement (I thought they had a budget problem?).

Before we list all the ways this legislation burdens the signature gathering process, let's first analyze if there's a problem. From 1999 to 2009, there were 36 ballot measures that submitted a total of 10,516,645 voter signatures to the Secretary of State. Zero instances of verified forgeries or fraud. Last year in 2010, there were 6 ballot measures that submitted 2.2 million signatures, no verified forgeries or fraud except one SEIU official, not a paid petitioner, collecting for the income tax initiative I-1098 who is now being prosecuted under current law for several petition sheets. 12 years, 12.7 million signatures, 1 problem with a SEIU volunteer.

The current system is working and current laws are clearly deterring bad behavior. The state Constitution clearly says that only laws that facilitate the process are allowed (making the process easier), laws that burden the process are unconstitutional. But that's not stopping these anti-initiative zealot politicians, backed by anti-initiative special interest groups, pushing their shut-it-all-down bill to regulate the initiative process to death. Here's just a few of its most egregious policies:

* HB 1668/SB 5297 is the "gotta-register-and-be-licensed-by-the-government-to-gather-voter-signatures" bill. We'd have to apply for a license, be subjected to criminal background checks ("paper-copy finger-print based background checks"), provide a "conventional photograph showing head, neck, and shoulders appropriate for copying and processing,” and if approved by the government, carry it with us when collecting signatures (only one license per initiative) and must produce it whenever asked ("Show us your papers" just doesn't sound right in America). There's also a laundry list of fines and other requirements that heavily burden the signature gathering process. In Oregon, these rules TRIPLED the cost to qualify for the ballot (before, the average was $150,000, after, the average was $470,000).

* Right now, both volunteers and paid petitioners print their name on the back -- in 2006, out of 17000 petition sheets, 3000 from our volunteers either forgot or chose not to put their printed name on the back. HB 1668/SB 5297 would require printed name, signature, address, city, state, zip code, and date. With that, fewer volunteers would collect signatures, fewer petition sheets would be sent in, among those sent in fewer would have the necessary information, and the campaign would be fined for any sheets without the information on the back, resulting in the campaign discarding perfectly valid voter signatures. All that extra burden for everyone in order to make it easier to find the people collecting bad signatures which isn't happening.

* The 9th Circuit struck down a 1993 Washington state law that required the names and addresses of people collecting voter signatures for ballot measures to be publicly reported (again, we're not talking about petition signers, just signature collectors). They ruled that citizens who ask voters to sign petitions have a right to anonymity ("There can be no doubt that the compelled disclosure of this information chills political speech.”). People who gather signatures are regularly harassed and forcing them to publicly identify themselves will make them even more susceptible to intimidation.

* A 10,000% increase in the initiative filing fee. This bill radically increases the cost to file an initiative and is clearly intended to deter citizens from petitioning their government for change. The huge number of signatures required to qualify for the ballot already provides a big enough hurdle. The people overwhelmingly support the initiative process and oppose legislative sabotage, like HB 1668/SB 5297, imposing additional burdens on the citizens.

The initiative process is already really tough and getting tougher every four years (the number of signatures keeps increasing). This bill will shut it down.

There you have it. Olympia is trying to make us their subjects. Tell your legislators what you think of HB 1668 and SB 5297.

Remind them they are your hired servants.

Regulating Olympia

2011-02-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

This is a review of a couple of the more egregious bills to hit the legislature.

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Washington State allows initiative petition campaigns to hire signature gatherers. House Bill 1668 increases the initiative filing fee, and will increase regulation on petition "circulators", and will charge a fee to register signature gathering companies.

Every element of this proposed legislation is designed to clamp down on the petition voice of the People. (Part of the Democrats plan to see democracy inaction.)

The "Democrats" have been repeatedly stung by the initiatives of the people. Its no surprise all the sponsors of this bill are all "Democrats". The "Democratic" Party has not been happy serving the will of the People in a long time.

Try looking at the Get Fiscal Note link on the state HB 1668 webpage. The link didn't work for me. It would be interesting if there is monkey biz happening in Olympia on this one.

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HB 1692 will establish rent control in manufacture housing rentals. The authoritarian, nanny-state element of the legislature is sticking their toe in the door again.

Here is the official bill digest:

"Facilitates and encourages fair bargaining between tenants and owners of manufactured/mobile home parks to achieve mutually satisfactory agreements regarding space or lot rents in the parks.
"Protects tenants from unreasonable space or lot rent increases while simultaneously recognizing and providing for the need of park owners to receive a just and reasonable return on the investment in their property.
"Creates the manufactured/mobile home park rental review board.
"Provides that the act is null and void if appropriations are not approved."

That phrase "fair bargaining" is a tells us someone is gonna get hurt if this bill is enacted. The phrase presumes someone is getting unfair treatment, and the legislature has to fix the bad boys wagon.

Another government regulatory agency will be created: The Rental Review Board.

Rent control never made rental housing better. Rent control has only limited the quantity of housing available and degraded the quality of the housing. Although the dollar price of the housing may go down, the loss of quality way offsets the price decrease.

If this bill is enacted into law, it will be another Great Waster of human effort. Rent control is a hateful idea. Rent control is bad because it interferes with free people making use of their property.

The greedy Democrats want to make free use of your private property, so they want rent control. They want to impose their sense of what should be as long as it doesn't cost them anything. It doesn't matter to them that it costs you the control of what you own.

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Once again, into the breach. Notify your legislators in Olympia and tell them what you think of these ideas to micromanage our way of life.

Initiatives To Cost More?

2011-01-28T08:32:00.000-08:00

Two Democrats (naturally) introduced a bill into the Washington State Senate to increase the filing fee for initiatives. SB 5216 increases the current fee to $500. they must be smarting from the restoration of the two thirds majority requirement imposed by Initiative 1053.

Democracy does not seem to agree with Olympia's Democrats.

The two legislators are Paull Shin and Maralyn Chase.

Olympia Plans Home Inspections

2011-01-26T14:16:00.000-08:00

Olympia is introducing regulation to inspect residential rental units supplied by private owners.

HB 1266 is ostensibly designed to ensure landlords will not supply the market with "substandard" housing.

If you rent, the bill will authorize government agents to inspect your home for whatever the current definition of substandard is.

At this writing, the list includes a number of judgment calls to be made by an inspector by way of an unsworn statement; Owners will be compelled to comply without any benefit of witnesses against them.

If the inspector discovers a "defect", such as a dent you made in the wall with your couch when you moved in (I used to rent), the inspector will be able to force the landlord to repair the hole, at the tenant's expense. It all depends on whether the inspector thinks the tenant might be at some sort of risk.

That's not all....

If you have recently rented a place, you are aware of the large amount of written material the landlord handed you. That bulk is to be increased with noticed of how you should exit your home in am emergency; a notice there is a smoke detector in the unit, with a detailed description of how the detector works, plus you will have to sign the notice and hand one copy back to the landlord; an alert about the health dangers of mold; and more micromanagement.

The legislature is making a clear attempt to invade privacy with warrantless searches. The way the bill is written, it can be expanded to include all privately owned housing.

We need to tell Olympia to stop screwing with us. We can take care of ourselves.

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This legislation will probably result in some state inspector being beaten up by an irate renter. We should start a legal defense fund for those renters. The renters will be the victims.

Please let your legislator know what you think of this stupid bill.

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Olympia's planned home invasions will cost renters much in money and privacy. Renters live under protection of a contract with their landlords. The US Constitution, Article 1, Section 10, states, "No state shall enter into any ... law impairing the obligation of contracts...."

Contact the sponsors and remind them they serve under higher laws. The sponsors of the bill are: Jamie Pedersen, Jay Rodne, Judy Warnick, Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney, and Troy Kelley.

Betrayed! Democrats vote to gut I-1053

2011-01-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

The Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee voted to gut I-1053 concerning fee increases. The house committee vote re-delegates all authority to impose tolls and ferry fares to Gregoire's unelected, unaccountable Transportation Commission.

I-1053 is the requirement that tax and revenue increases be enacted by a 2/3rds majority of the legislature. Democrats spit in the eye of the voters on Wednesday by undermining I-1053's fee increase requirement a mere 77 days after voters approved it.

They are following Gregoire's call for to screw the People: "I'm not gonna let 1053 stand in the way of me moving forward for what I think is right." -- Gregoire http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/jan/10/legislature-convenes-local-lawmakers-get-down-to-b/

On Wednesday night the Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee were debating the current year general fund budget. Without public notice, without public hearing, an amendment was offered by Rep. Larry Seaquist (Democrat, Gig Harbor). (Seaquist's district voted 69% in favor of I-1053) to re-delegate all authority to impose tolls and ferry fares form the legislature to Gregoire's unelected, unaccountable Transportation Commission. This is totally contrary to the explicit language in I-1053.

Despite providing no public notice, no public hearing, no public testimony, and no public input, his amendment was adopted on a party-line 16-11 vote (all Democrats in favor, all Republicans opposed).

So now, as the House and Senate debate how to balance the current general fund budget deficit, a totally unrelated item is buried in the bill which completely repudiates the voters' ballot box decision requiring a recorded legislative majority vote for any fee increase, including new tolls or ferry fare hikes.

This isn't about whether tolls or ferry fare increases are good or bad, it's about who should decide.

Voters very clearly decided that issue with I-1053. The People have spoken.

Democrats ignored that unambiguous voter mandate on Wednesday. This is the Democrats at their absolute sleaziest.

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The levels of voter support for I-1053 by legislative district are stunning. Look at the district-by-district results for the anti-democracy Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee:

(Green means the legislator voted against the will of the People in his/her district.)

Carlyle, Reuven (D) Homepage
Cody, Eileen (D) Homepage
Darneille, Jeannie (D) Homepage
Dickerson, Mary Lou (D) Homepage
Haigh, Kathy (D) Homepage
Hasegawa, Bob (D) Homepage
Hudgins, Zack (D) Homepage
Hunt, Sam (D) Homepage
Hunter, Ross (D) Homepage
Kagi, Ruth (D) Homepage
Kenney, Phyllis Gutierrez (D) Homepage
Ormsby, Timm (D) Homepage
Pettigrew, Eric (D) Homepage
Seaquist, Larry (D) Homepage
Springer, Larry (D) Homepage
Sullivan, Pat (D) Homepage

The legislators in red at least represented the majority of their districts, even though the voted to undermine the state Constitution.

These public employees have violated the law in utter contempt of election. It is appropriate they be removed from office with loss of all retirement benefits. Further, they should never be allowed to take an office of public trust.

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Get a pdf listing of all the House legislators here. Email them.

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Tim Eyman furnished some elements of this report.

Rigging judicial elections

2011-01-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

A bill has been introduced into the Washington State Senate which would require public campaign sponsorship for State Supreme Court judge election. The State Supreme Court primarily hears reviews of government actions and legislation.

In the interest of "fairness" the Democrats in the Senate have determined they ought to take over funding control of Supreme Court elections. There is a “Judicial Integrity Surcharge” fee. Its supposed to net the state treasury over $590,000 in fees.

They say the concern is the we the People are too easily corrupted by campaign spending. We might vote for someone who puts on a better campaign.

In short the legislature plans to control who does reviews of the legislature's action, by control of the public vote -- Democracy be damned.

Its a clear power grab by the legislature. If this bill becomes law, the legislature will control the purse strings of judge campaigns, effectively controlling who gets to run. They hope to expand their power by reducing unfriendly reviews of their actions.

If you think carefully about your ballot, let your state Senator know you are watching their vote. Look up your legislator here.

The bill is 5010 SB.

I-1053 - Protection at last (again)

2011-01-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

Thank Heaven we have protection again. One of the protections of I-1053 (and the earlier I-960) is the "sunshine" provision. The State Legislature is required to report all proposed fees and taxes and who proposed them. When voters know what legislators do, the legislators scurry for dark corners the way cockroaches do. I-1053 is working as it should.

1046 HB will increase the fee to vehicle and vessel quick title fees has been introduced into the Washington State House. The total cost over the next ten years is expected to be a mere $1,524,713. The proposed bill is not up for vote yet.

Compare this to the 30 days or so the legislature was hiding in a dark corner, sneaking in billions in new taxes, while they had "suspended" I-960 --- That cost the state's citizens over $200 million per day in increased taxation.

The Legislature are still rascals who spend your money as if you had too much. They deserve a close eye. If your own legislator voted to suspend I-960, canvas to get the creep unelected, starting right now.

Sign up for emailed sunshine reports on the Legislature's activity at the I-1053 information Subscriptions page.

Look into the Legislature's other activity at Legislative Bill Information.

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Update 01.21.2011

The House Ways and Means Committee has decided to reject I-1053 (The Will of the People). They decided to pass fee increase decisions to Gregoire. This is an illegal move. But it will remove fee increase decisions from the bright light and legislative control required by I-1053.

Email your legislator and tell them what you think of this illegal act. Get active or get screwed.

Governor Gregoire Offers to Sieze Control of Education

2011-01-06T11:31:00.000-08:00

Governor Christine Gregoire proposes she control education in Washington State. Naturally Gregoire used smooth speech and honeyed words, but what is she up to?

This will require Gregoire "edit" the current state constitution.

ARTICLE III
THE EXECUTIVE
SECTION 1 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, and a commissioner of public lands, who shall be severally chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and place of voting as for the members of the legislature.

"Every Governor I've known has wanted more power. This is a smokescreen that takes time and energy away from the more important issue of funding," the elected Education Superintendent Randy Dorn said. "In February 2009, a King County Superior Court Judge ruled that basic education is underfunded in the state - and that ruling was based on financial data from two years before. Since then, education has been cut even further [by Governor Gregoire's administration.]"

Governor Christine Gregoire has already proven she will not fund education adequately. Now she wants to re-write the state constitution and take total control. Will we resist?

Video

Governor Gregoire Rebels Against the People

2011-01-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

"I'm not gonna let 1053 [the law] stand in the way of me moving forward for what I think is right."
-- Governor Christine Gregoire

On Tuesday, at a pre-session Associated Press event in Olympia, Gregoire placed herself firmly in favor of lawlessness, and against the will of the people.

I-1053 is the law.

I-1053 was approved by 64% of the voters and it is the 4th time it has been approved by them.

Thanks to Senator Roach and Attorney General McKenna, we have an AG legal opinion that backs up this clear principle supported by 64% of voters: decisions about taking more of the people's money must be made by elected representatives in the Legislature -- we, as a state, reject taxation without representation.

It is truly scary when the highest ranking official in the government declares her superiority to the rule of law. No one is above the law, not even the governor.

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As many as nine Democrats lost their seats in November for refusing to abide by Initiative 960 approved by 51% of the people 3 years ago. Now we see governor Christine Gregoire advocating disrespect of 64% of the people who approved I-1053 just 2 months ago.

Voters will assuredly go medieval on officials who follow Gregoire on her lawless, political-suicide mission.

A super-majority of voters approved I-1053 in November. The initiative requires taxes and fees be treated differently: Tax hikes need a 2/3 vote of the Legislature and fee increases need a majority vote. Simple, plain, understandable.

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The opinion by Attorney General Rob McKenna, requested by Sen. Pam Roach, backs up what we've been saying since day one. State agencies -- including the Transportation Commission on tolls and public schools on tuition -- can no longer unilaterally impose new fees. (The transportation commission, and other state commissions are staffed only by bureaucrats. Bureaucrats are unelected and are unresponsive to the will of the People.)

And if a tax increase is truly necessary, then getting 2/3's legislative approval or a vote of the people -- I-1053's requirement -- shouldn't be a problem.

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But Governor Christine Gregoire advocated overthrow of lawful government.

Governor Christine Gregoire - This is America. You work for Us! You are not above the law!

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Washington State Constitution
ARTICLE I
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

SECTION 1 POLITICAL POWER. All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.

Involved in Olympia

2010-12-31T09:30:00.000-08:00

Bob Williams, Evergreen Freedom Foundation

The year 2011 will bring problems both old and new. While budget problems are old news, our state is facing one of the worst budget problems in its history. Next year our state will have the third-largest deficit as a percentage of its budget in the nation…7.1%. Only Illinois and Arizona are in worse shape.

The budget cuts and temporary patches passed by the legislature during their recent special session only delayed the inevitable. The legislature will have to make some hard decisions about what are the most important things for the state to do. We are working with legislative leaders to use this crisis to build a priority-based budget. This means fully funding the most important things first and reducing or eliminating everything else.

But legislators will not make good decisions without the backbone provided by active citizens from around the state. This is one of the reasons we began our Citizen Action Network several years ago. After so many years of working with lawmakers and holding them accountable before the public, we realized that lasting change would only come about when “we the people” became active and joined together to make a difference.

This is one of the reasons we have shifted many of our activities to educating and empowering citizens. While we still work with elected officials, we also work with large groups of freedom-loving people who are awakening to their duty to this and future generations.

Email your legislator.

Say WA?

2010-12-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

Remember Say WA?

That was Washington state tourism slogan in 2006. One supposes it was meant to inspire tourists to make noises, when the tourist saw the state's majestic mountains, rugged coastline and glorious sunsets.

The dim bulbs who raise our taxes are as stogy as ever.

WADH, the Department of Health, always strange about something, presently is simpleminded about the flu. BobOne sent in a recent screen shot.

Since then, the DOH has gotten slightly more erudite in their approach. The odd, health care photo-postcard concept appears as only an image on their "FluNews" home page.

Its easy to smile at this until you realize this is not some private company indulging a silly whim. This is state government frivolously wasting your money.

Too harsh of an assessment? This is the same government which has raised your taxes over billion and a half dollars (over $200 per person) this year, while the state is in an economic depression. That's a pretty good argument for not letting the children in state government have our money.

Olympia and the Giant Sucking Tax Increase

2010-12-08T00:40:00.000-08:00

Taxes are going up lots. The tax hikes were much bigger than anyone knew. There is no deficit in Olympia, and we are screwed.

“Democrats” and their special-interest-group-backers are whining about getting "no new revenue" because the voters reinstated I-1053's two-thirds vote requirement. But the truth is there's a lot of "new revenue" coming in to government coffers. The Office of Financial Management (OFM), the state budget office, confirms these numbers:

After suspending I-960, Gregoire and the "Democrats" imposed $774 million in "revenue enhancements," i.e. taxes. The voter-approved I-1107 repealed only 7% of it, meaning we're still paying $719 million in higher taxes. In other words, 93% of the “Democrats” original tax package remains in effect.

In the next budget (2009-2011), the “Democrats” revenue package from this year was expected to bring in $1.69 billion. Even with I-1107's repeal of food & beverage taxes, Olympia will still receive $1.473 billion in "new revenues."

The OFM said the 10 year cost of this session's revenue package totaled $7.1 billion. I-1107 repealed just 5% of that, meaning their "temporary" suspension of I-960 still resulted in a $6.748 billion hit on Washington's families and businesses.

The most up-to-date revenue projection for the 2009-2011 budget is $28.127 billion (Economic & Revenue Forecast Council). And for the 2011-2013 budget, it's $32.605 billion. That's a $4.48 billion increase (and $1.473 billion of that -- see #2 above -- came from this year's tax hikes).

It is totally untrue that state government is getting "no new revenue" even with the passage of I-1053 and I-1107. Both in the short term and long term, the taxpayers of Washington will continue to pay heavily for the Legislature's "temporary" suspension of I-960's fiscal restraint.

We must never let this happen again. Even a single day without the 2/3's super-majority requirement will result in Billions Of Dollars In Higher Taxes Forever.

~~~~~~~~

Part of I-960 (and revived with the passage I-1053) was the transparency requirement regarding new taxes or fees. When the Legislature increased taxes or fees, they had to reveal the increase, and who voted for it, immediately.

When the “Democratic” Party controlled Legislature “suspended” I-960, they made sure to suspend the transparency requirement. We are only now finding out how much the “Democrats” despise the People. The “Democrats” massively increased taxes when they gave themselves a little dark corner to plot and scheme against the People of Washington State.

The election makes it clear the Legislature increased taxes against the will of the People. Its also clear the Legislature maliciously knew their tax increases had to be made in secret so they could be re-elected. This Legislature has lost its moral authority to govern our State democracy.

~~~~~~~~

The OFM website makes repeated reference to reduced revenue. The state is taking far more than they should, but because they are getting less than they want, they feel deprived. We have a perfect example of spoiled brat government in Olympia.

City Government Hikes Taxation

2010-12-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

The State legislature must have a 2/3rds majority to raise taxes (I-1053). But hyperactive local government marches on.

Lynnwood Council Boosts Taxes To Avert Layoffs by Lynn Thompson of the Seattle Times.

The Lynnwood City Council approved several new taxes Monday night to close a projected $22 million budget deficit for the 2011-2012 biennium and avert the layoff of up to 102 city employees.

A majority of the council said the new revenues, including higher property and utility taxes, were necessary to preserve the jobs of 25 police officers, 15 firefighters and other city workers.

"The message we heard was that people are willing to pay a little more as long as they know what they're buying. We've reduced the cuts in the Police Department from $9 million to $3 million and saved 25 officers' jobs," said council President Mark Smith. [Is Smith lost in a fantasy? According to official Snohomish County results, about 64% of the SnoCo vote favored reduced taxation. - Impolite]

But anti-tax activist Tim Eyman, who was on hand for the council's approval of new $20 car-tab fees as well as the other taxes, denounced the measures as a "tax-hiking rampage" that ignored voters' message in the November election.

"Taxpayers are totally tapped out and can't afford any more taxes. Governments need to stop taxing and spending and start prioritizing and reforming," he said.

Even with the new taxes, Smith said that about 25 city employees will likely be laid off in January in order to cut $10 million in spending for the biennium and put the city budget on a more sustainable basis. The city had been heavily reliant on sales-tax revenue, which dropped $4.6 million in 2009.

A final budget must still be approved by the council before Jan. 1. The city is also negotiating for wage concessions from its unions.

A state audit released in October criticized elected city officials for spending millions in reserves in 2009 without raising new revenues or cutting services. That left the city with a negative general-fund balance in 2009.

In its meeting Monday night, the council agreed to raise property taxes by 11.5 percent. That means the owner of a $250,000 house will pay about $90 more next year.

It also approved an increase in utility taxes to 6 percent from 4 percent. Residents will see bigger bills starting in January for water, sewer and storm drains. The increases for electricity, gas and cable television go into effect in April.

The council also approved an increase in the city's business-license fee from $15 per employee to $85, over the objections of the local business community. Jean Hales, president of the South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce, said imposing new taxes on an "already overburdened public" did not address the city's long-term financial picture in which liabilities — including employee pensions and benefits — continue to outstrip revenues.

Councilman Ted Hikel, who with Jim Smith cast no votes on the hikes in property and employee taxes, said that while the new revenues likely preserve most of the threatened jobs in the city, the plan isn't sustainable in the long run.

"Two years from now, when we fall off a cliff, there will be nothing to do but lay off an extraordinary number of people or adopt a B&O [business-and-occupation] tax, which is the worst possible option," Hikel said. "We've maxed out all our available taxes."

When the People of Washington State voted, they made it clear they were taxed enough (I-1053 & I-1107 were enacted). I suspect the People would have added they are restricted and regulated enough too. Perhaps we will get to the bottom of the problem and stop government from providing all the extra restriction they lay on us that they call $22 million in "service."

But, gee, aren't police and fire protection worth it? Lynnwood suffers from the same malfeasance as other Washington State cities: The actual public servants -- the people on the line -- are the first to be cut from the payroll. The staffers who make the bureaucracy top heavy are never threatened at all. This must change. Hold your city government accountable.

Olympia Feels the Squeeze

2010-12-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

Olympia is sucking around for ways to pay off their Union Bosses with taxpayer money. These days, Olympia must work to raise taxes under the people's fresh re-imposition of a super majority requirement. Cutting costs is another legislative option, but that would require a break with their Union buddies.

The "Democratic" Party controlled legislature would rather break the People.

But we should make some suggestions

How about getting rid of the stupid new regulations on housing? For example, there is new requirement that every rental unit and every house offered for sale must have a carbon monoxide detection system: Cost about $100 per unit. Another example, the new requirement that housing older than 1978 must be painted by someone with lead abatement certification. The certification costs about $300.

Stupid regulations require more enforcement effort and personnel than wise regulation. The Left's tendency to make oppressive, stupid regulations is because they want to throw their weight around and make gifts of our resource to their corrupt buddies.

Wise up everybody. Hyperactive government micromanagement is cruel. If Olympia legislators won't do good and fair government you want, elect someone else next time. But voters keep putting the "Democratic" Party in power. The voters must be in love with pain.

What's Happening in Olympia?

2010-11-18T22:59:00.000-08:00

The gloom of November is thick in Olympia. You can hear politicians rustling about as they scurry in the darkness.

Initiative 1053 was enacted by the state's voters. I-1053 only re-enacts I-960, which the "Democrats" in the State Legislature set aside last Spring in their lust for more taxes.

One requirement of I-1053 (and the old I-960 for that matter) is the legislature is to report who voted for or against on each taxation or fees bill. State government should be transparent.

You'd think the Legislature would have gotten the message from the People they work for. But no... the Legislature is behaving like a bad employee.

The Legislature has voted on several tax increase measures since the election. They are not reporting the results. We don't know for sure if they are increasing the tax burden or not. I-1053 does not go into effect until next January. So the Legislature is not obliged to report what they are doing. And they aren't reporting.

Impolite is pretty certain our taxes are going up. If the Legislature was voting these measures down, they would say something --- if only to bask in the glow of finally doing the People's will.

But who knows? The politicians aren't telling. We the People are in the dark. When politician can make law in a corner they are most dangerous.

Reviewing the Election

2010-11-10T09:59:00.001-08:00

Sometimes you go back over an election and think about why things turned out the way they did.

I was reflecting on a comment left on the blog. about Mr Gates backing I-1098, the failed income tax initiative. The commenter said something like, "Just because Mr Gates is rich doesn't mean he doesn't care about society," by was of explaining why Mr Gates should back an income tax. (The actual remarks are found here)

Naturally, my innocent commenter had overlooked the detail that had 1098 been enacted, we would all be paying income tax in two years. Mr Gates would not be first among equals, but a leading backer of oppressive taxation for the little people. That is, Mr Gates liberalism manifested itself just like someone who is accustomed to controlling the little people.

In a free market, rich people get rich because they are good at what they do. Talent and good work ought to be rewarded in a free society. The motive for the already rich to tax the up-and-coming rich is obvious. The already rich people are content being in control. People working on becoming rich are loaded down with income tax. That tends to leave the already rich in control.

Hot Enough? Climate Change and the Great Northwest

2010-11-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday's high temperature at SeaTac airport was 74°, breaking the daily record by 4° and tying the all-time record for the month of November set in 1949.

In case you are thinking of packing away your winter clothes, canceling your Hawaiian vacation and starting to believe Al Gore really did invent global warming - the winter of 1949-1950 went on to be the coldest and snowiest in Seattle history.

Just thought you might want to know... .

Report filed by Bob1

Election Results Continue

2010-11-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

The election news is mixed. Patty Murray leads Dino Rossi by less than 28,000 votes. A recount is likely -- in which case the "Democratic" Party will betray the citizenry again and print as many extra ballots as needed to put Patty Murray in office.

King County inexplicably slowed down on their ballot counting, letting the rest of the state's less populous counties submit their totals first. Inexplicable, until you remember that's where most of the election fraud has happened before.

The King County officials in charge of election fraud will hold off until they see how many extra ballots Patty Murray needs. Then they will print them. No doubt.

A useful link to track fraud is the Voter Turnout page. The page offers information about the rate of voting. If the King County rate of ballots cast versus voters casting them exceeds 100% like it did in 2004, its time to make some arrests.

~~~~~~~~

Up to date results on state-wide races are near the top of the page.

Election 2010 Summary

2010-11-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

"You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatreds."
-- Abraham Lincoln

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"Voters see a bloated government riding in the wagon constantly bitching that the people aren't pulling hard enough. Governments need to stop taxing-and-spending and start reforming-and-prioritizing using existing revenue. But what I liked most about the voters' decision tonight concerns what resonated with people and what didn't:

"With all three initiatives, the voters rejected the argument that the business community and successful people are the enemy. Divisive efforts to demonize them backfired. They are allies, not enemies. They are heroes, not villains. They are the job creators who provide the fuel for our economy's growth. They are role models who deserve a pat on the shoulder, not a knife in the back. Voters rejected the ugly politics of envy, resentment, and class warfare -- that's just not how most Americans think or feel. Our state and our society benefits from appreciating and encouraging our entrepreneurs and risk-takers. Voters rejected stealing their earned achievements.

"Tonight, the voters embraced a positive, hopeful, we're-all-Americans attitude. And that's inspiring.

"The citizens of Washington are smart and fair -- they're perfectly capable of making decisions on initiatives. Attempts by the elite to belittle the people's intelligence and underestimate their interest in public policy have only energized the electorate even more.

"We ask everyone to join us in thanking those who helped with this year's various initiatives. Taxpayers appreciate your efforts and so do we."

(edited from Tim Eyman's remarks about Election 2010)

Condescending to America

2010-11-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Is there any doubt the "Democratic" Party takes a dim view of the middle class?

The "Democratic" National Committee is running a smear ad for their pet Senator, Patty Murray. The Party says her Republican opponent, Dino Rossi, is "Not on our side."

According to the "Democratic" Party, middle class Americans cannot forget the fact that Dino Rossi voted not to extend unemployment benefits beyond the state's ability to pay, that he voted against increasing the minimum wage, that he voted not to require low income children enroll in Washington State's government controlled health care.

The "Democratic" Party insists middle class values require unemployment compensation be extended (the alternative is to let the People get a job). The Democrats insist on increasing minimum wage (they want no one ever to make more). The Democrats are certain the middle class needs government to control health care (or else the middle class might be able to get the health care they need).

The "Democratic" Party is sure the middle class needs the "Democratic" Party to control them.

Or else the middle class will discover they can stand on their own, with dignity and self-respect. The "Democratic" Party can't let the middle class discover that.

~~~~~~~~

Its clear what the Demos mean when they say "not on our side": They mean Rossi didn't vote the Demos's way.

In review, the Demos have controlled Congress from the 2006 elections when they took over the Congress. Polling data from 2008 indicated this fact escaped 43% of the Demos' base.

The economy started to run rough in 2007.

The Demos have had an absolute majority in the Congress and the hold the White House. Everything that has happened to the economy in the last two years is entirely caused by the "Democratic" Party.

Incredibly, the Demos keep saying the Republicans are causing the economic problems. More incredibly, the Demo base keeps agreeing with them.

If the "Democratic" Party policy of deceit continues to put them in power, we're in for a very rough future.

This is cross posted from wallpaperandlife.blogspot.com

End the tax tug-of-war: Vote Yes on 1053

2010-10-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

by Jason Hagey, October 23, 2010

The basic idea behind Initiative 1053 - to require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to raise taxes - is certainly not a new one.

Voters have previously approved of it on three separate occasions, only to watch elected lawmakers overturn it each time.

It's back on the ballot this year in the form of Initiative 1053, and it's timing couldn't be more critical: The economic recovery is fragile, at best. Unemployment remains high. And families and taxpayers are just beginning to absorb the $770 million tax hike that lawmakers approved earlier this year.

Amid this backdrop, lawmakers will encounter an estimated $4.5 billion state budget shortfall when they convene this January in Olympia. If they choose to follow this year's near-record tax hike with another big boost in taxes, it could have a disastrous impact on struggling businesses.

And yet without the protection of I-1053, that's exactly what The Seattle Times predicts will happen.

"If I-1053 fails, taxes will go up within six months," the newspaper said.

The Daily News of Longview, while claiming that it's generally not a fan of of supermajority requirements, said the past several budgets have convinced the editorial board that the Legislature needs a push toward fiscal reform.

"The current budget, in particular, was an eye-opener," the paper said. "It's a patchwork of one-time spending cuts, revenue enhancements and budget gimmicks. Resorting to tax increases was just too easy."

Critics of the initiative say it's "undemocratic" because it takes away the idea of "majority rules," and that it will bring California-style gridlock to Washington state. Newspaper editorial boards have exposed the fallacy of those arguments.

"The opponents should rethink that strategy," The Spokesman-Review said, pointing out that "if I-1053's foes really fancy majority rule, they should side with the majority of state voters who have approved variations of the two-thirds requirement three times, only to see it circumvented by a scant several dozen legislators in Olympia."

The Seattle Times was equally blunt: "I-1053 is a direct act of the people upon the state. You cannot get more democratic than that."

In addition, the Times discredits comparisons to California, calling claims by critics that Washington will experience California-style government gridlock a "hysterical prediction." That's because in California, legislators need a two-thirds majority of both houses to pass a budget. I-1053 only requires a two-thirds majority to approve a tax increase.

I-1053 wouldn't be necessary, of course, if lawmakers had not suspended Initiative 960, the last voter-approved supermajority requirement. Likewise, it wouldn't be necessary if lawmakers had tackled the hard work of restructuring government rather than simply raising taxes.

"On the disgust-o-meter, it's a toss-up between legislators' unwillingness to budget with restraint instead of new taxes, and their habitual willingness to dump the will of the people," the Kitsap Sun writes.

The premise of I-1053 is not new, but it's as necessary as ever. "If the people want to prevail in this, they have to impose the rule again," The Seattle Times said.

"This time," the Yakima Herald declared, "Democrats really deserve this initiative. They have repeatedly ignored calls for reforming a broken fiscal system and instead have imposed a patchwork of budget cutbacks and tax increases. Apparently the voters need to push lawmakers along into finding long-term solutions. Consider this the push."

The full list of newspapers endorsing I-1053 (with a link to the endorsement article):

* Bellevue Reporter
* Centralia Chronicle
* The Everett Herald
* Kitsap Sun
* The (Longview) Daily News
* Port Orchard Independent
* The Seattle Times
* The Spokesman-Review
* The (Vancouver) Columbian
* Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
* Wenatchee World
* Yakima Herald-Republic

Patty Murray is Recycling Lies

2010-10-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

No Lie Like a Recycled Lie.

Dishonest people are usually not very imaginative or creative. Their lies are complicated enough they have a hard time remembering them, so they have to stay stogy and unimaginative. Patty Murray's latest authorized campaign ad recycles the old song, “Dino Rossi Favors Wall Street Instead Of Us.”

Is Dino Rossi the deceiver? Or is Patty Murray telling lies?

Patty Murray voted for the Financial Regulation bill enacted by Congress last term. Then Patty Murray collected $500,000 in campaign contributions from Wall Street bankers. Are we supposed to believe Patty Murray got Wall Street special interests gave her a big half-million payoff for whittling those same Wall Streeters down to size?

Here's the link to the Federal Government's list of Patty Murray's list of PAC contributors. Examine the list for yourself. Its 1219 records long. It takes little while. But follow the money -- Would entrenched Wall Street interests give an enemy $500,000 for hurting them? You find Patty Murray holding the money at the end.

On the other hand, Rossi threatens the entrenched Wall Street interests. He will work to reverse the corrupt Democrat Patty Murray's so-called Financial Regulation bill. The end result will be cleansing competition of the financial interests on Wall Street.

Here's the link to the Federal Government's complete list of all 30 of Dino Rossi's PAC contributors. Click on the "Show All" link. There are no bank PACs at all. Dino Rossi got nothing from Wall Street interests. The list takes only a few seconds to scan.

You see, Financial Regulation is how Patty Murray gave her Wall Street buddies control of our future and piles of our money.

~~~~~~~~

Patty Murray's next example of reused baloney:

Patty Murray says Rossi tried to reduce the minimum wage – This fear mongering fits with the “Democratic” Party's view that we should all be working for minimum wage. Who would really be satisfied working for minimum wage? Would you?

The minimum wage acts as a fence to keep out new and inexperienced (unproven) workers. Thus the minimum wage serves Patty Murray's buddies, the union bosses. Make no bones about this one, Murray favors the Union bosses over the people.

~~~~~~~~

Patty Murray is dishonest. She claims to be on Washington State's side because she would take from other parts of the country and "give" it to us. Isn't that called stealing? And Patty Murray causes more damage to good morality. With her "gift" she also takes away the sense of accomplishment and honor.

Its no surprise Patty Murray and her Special Interest backers will say and spend anything to assure the defeat of government responsible to the People. Patty Murray completely lacks personal integrity.

Well, at least Patty Murray is recycling.

Examining King County Ballots

2010-10-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

Live webcam in King County's election ballot counting room.

This is the room where about 1,400 ballots cast by imaginary King County voters were counted in the 2004 over-vote scandal. Since this is a live web cast, it will be interesting to see if anything is revealed in 2010. Probably nothing, since the extra ballots were "found" in a mail room before being brought here to be counted.

Scandals like the over-vote weaken the confidence of the voting public in election results. Democracy is based on the idea that the majority of the People constitute the wisest government. If the voice of the People is being squelched by corrupt politicians, then wisdom is also squelched.

That's the old democratic theory of democracy. Its a shame the modern "Democratic" Party has brought so much doubt into the ballot count. King County is a "Democratic" Party machine controlled county.

Reasons to Vote for Dino Rossi

2010-10-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

The "Democratic" Party won't tell you where Dino Rossi actually stands. (Do you believe the cartoon of Dino Rossi the "Democratic" Party is pitching?)

~~~~~~~~
Government has been complicating the economic recovery in the United States. So the number one issue is the economy.

Economic Growth is harmed by the National Debt - The current federal debt load is unsustainable, yet the Demos announced plans for a $1.4 trillion in federal deficit for 2011. That will increase the federal debt to $15.4 trillion. Reduce federal deficit. Keep the politicians from spending all our money. We must consider the future.

Reduce Government Spending - Our national debt topped $13 trillion this year. If Congress keeps spending your money at this unprecedented pace, our national debt will reach $19.6 trillion by 2015.

Health care is the ultimate individual issue. Nothing is more personal than health care. Has health care been improved or worsened by the current administration's health care law?

Fix Health Care - The bill passed by Congress was standard tax-and-spend with a little bit of health care sprinkled on top. It must be repealed in entirety. The spending must be stopped and the taxes must be controlled.

Real health care reform must be enacted - Access to health care must be improved. So permit citizens to buy health insurance from out-of-state (this is presently restricted). Allow small business to join together in health insurance buying groups (this is presently forbidden). Give individual buyers a full tax discount for their health insurance premiums.

Rossi on health care

Taxes are one of the two principle tools government uses to implement policy (the other is regulation)

Tax Code Reform - Economic development and innovation are being strangled by hyper taxation. Control taxes to promote economic growth and job creation. Straighten out the tax code so it is equitable instead of labyrinthine. Stop new broad-based taxes.

Energy - We need to reduce American dependence by developing more of our own resources. Cap & Trade is a terrible idea - it is a tax, not a solution.

National governments must control the border or else the nation ceases to be.

Control the Border and Fix Immigration

Rossi on Immigration

Defend America - We need a strong military, and a strong sense of mission.

More on the issues at DinoRossi.com

Does Dino Rossi Really Support Tax Loopholes?

2010-10-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

The Democratic Party and Patty Murray carry ads announcing "Dino [Rossi] supports keeping tax loopholes for corporations that send our jobs overseas."

The Democratic Party controlled government has spent a lot of our money, so they are hungry to tax us. Mr Obama targeted American based corporations who manage overseas operation from America. He seeks to disallow the tax deduction of the cost of American operations.

Management is an expense. If an international company cannot deduct the expense of the American based operations, the company will not keep any operation in America. The effect of disallowing cost deduction of American management will send the management jobs overseas. The Democratic Party proposal will have the opposite effect of what they claim; their policies will ship American jobs overseas.

There is second prong. Murray attacks what is called "foreign tax credit." If an American corporation has foreign taxes assessed, the corporation can deduct the tax from the American tax bill. As you would expect, the American tax credit has percentages and limits applied to it, so sometimes the whole foreign tax is not offset, but the basic idea is fair: American companies should not be double taxed.

Patty Murray is against it. She pushed a bill through Congress to decrease the allowance for foreign taxes. That will increase the amount of double taxation on American corporations. That also will also encourage American multinationals to leave the US.

Patty Murray is practicing the same economics which Washington State did when they drove Boeing headquarters out of Washington. Meanwhile she claims she is for the worker. But workers have to have jobs. Patty Murray does not seem to understand this.

Beating up corporations and management is the wrong way to restore the economy. Patty Murray's ideas are old and too outmoded. She has been in office for 18 years. Its time to say goodbye to Patty Murray.

~~~~~~~~
Dino Rossi signed a "Taxpayer Protection Pledge." the pledge means Rossi pledges to oppose any increase in taxes or any net reduction in tax credits -- for all taxpayers. Its time to vote for Dino Rossi for the US Senate.

~~~~~~~~
King5 posted an article and video critical of Murray's recent attack ad. This is interesting, since KING5 Broadcasting was a major endorser of Murray 18 years ago.

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Some Democrats have reservations about such whole-hearted attack on American corporations. Patty Murray may not comprehend how much damage her policies will inflict.

New Patty Murray Attack Ad Is Out

2010-10-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

The tangled new Patty Murray attack ad, called "Trust", claims Dino Rossi would 'turn back the clock' on abortion rights. Patty Murray had to turn back the calendar several years to find material she could distort into an attack.

The ad menacingly insinuates Mr Rossi would deny women self-sovereignty. He voted against Washington State mandating all private insurance be required to cover contraception, funding of abortion, and battered women unemployment coverage.

Mr Rossi did not vote to make women a target of domestic violence. The "Democratic" Party controlled legislature did by rigging the bill with government control garbage. The "Democratic" Party did this to manufacture an issue at women's expense.

Mr Rossi was voting for your freedom to get the kind of health insurance you wish to buy --- not state mandated, compulsory one-size-fits-all insurance coverage.

~~~~~~~~
Ask Patty Murray this question: What kind of self-sovereignty do you get if you are entirely dependent on the government to provide it?

The answer is: None at all.

WA Ballot Measures Voting Recommendations

2010-10-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

For information and recommendations for the 2011 ballot, click here.

The People's dissatisfaction with Olympia's performance is manifest. The Legislature has done much in direct opposition to the will of the People and sensible government.

Its time for the People to be Impolite! Here is Washington State Impolite's Voter's Guide for statewide issues.

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Initiative Measure 1053 - Concerning tax and fee increases imposed by state government.

I-1053 would restate existing statutory requirements that legislative actions raising taxes must be approved by two-thirds legislative majorities.

The legislature "suspended" the existing statutory requirement so the could spend us into an illegal $5.5 billion budget imbalance. The legislature did this by enacting taxes which have damaged the state's economy, and thus could not be collected, but were used to pretend-offset the spending madness.

(The Washington State Legislature can repeal or amend an initiative by a two-thirds vote of each house during the first two years of enactment. After those first two years, the Legislature can repeal or amend by majority vote [WA Constitution, Section 41]. The Legislature had to wait for two years to elapse because only a slight majority wanted to go on their insane spending spree.)

I-1053 re-asserts the People's control of the legislature's spending habit.

Impolite recommends you vote YES on I-1053

~~~~

Initiative Measure 1082 - Reforming the state's industrial insurance.

Present law requires nearly every worker in the state be insured against on-the-job accidents. The state government maintains a monopoly as the only source of workers' insurance.

I-1082 expands workers' choice by allowing private companies to compete with the state government. Required on-the-job coverage is total. Worker premium co-pays to the state are eliminated.

Impolite recommends you vote YES I-1082

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Initiative Measure 1098 - Establish a state income tax

I-1098 directly imposes a tax on people earning more than $200,000 ($400,000 if married). Sundry other taxes are reduced for the 2 year life of the initiative.

After the 2 year limit, the legislature may extend the income tax to all earners in Washington state, and re-escalate the reduced taxes.

I-1098 is odious in more ways. See Reasons To Vote No on I-1098 for more. Do you really want a new tax?

Impolite recommends you vote NO on 1098

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Initiative Measure 1100 - Liquor (beer, wine and spirits) distribution and sales.

I-1100 removes the state from the business of importation, distribution and sales of liquor. The state would continue to regulate retail liquor sales permits, but with an additional classification of distilled spirits. The legislature will still lay and collect taxes on liquor sales, so state income is unaffected.

Sales to minors would still be against the law.

I-1100 does not affect state micro-brewers nor wineries. That is a lie spread by opponents of the initiative.

Impolite recommends you vote YES on I-1100.

~~~~

Initiative Measure 1105 - Liquor (beer, wine and spirits) retail sales.

I-1105 would close the State Liquor Stores, but leave the State Liquor Control Board intact. Private retailers of liquor would become operatives of the state.

Impolite predicts corruption is this Byzantine initiative is enacted.

Impolite recommends you vote NO on I-1105.

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Initiative Measure 1107 - Repealing the new taxes on food.

I-1107 would repeal the sales tax on candy; end temporary sales tax on some bottled water (only some bottled water was taxed); end temporary excise taxes on carbonated beverages; and reduce tax rates on in-state food processors.

I=1107 is largely a repeal of Olympia's new taxes on foods.

Impolite recommends you vote YES on I-1107

Engrossed Substitute House Joint Resolution 4220 aka Referendum Bill 52
Issuing state bonds for energy efficiency projects.

Referendum 52 asks voter approval to issue general obligation bonds for energy improvement in education buildings. The bonds are to be paid for by taxes on bottled water. The details on this are intricate. See this summary to study this measure.

In short, the state legislature seeks authorization to spend more money. Tra-la, tra-la

Impolite recommends you vote NO on Referendum 52

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The state legislature proposed amendments to change to the state constitution.

Senate Joint Resolution 8225 -- Wishful Accounting amendment

Current law requires the legislature to allocate 9% of current revenue toward reduction of state debts. The state constitution allows bonds to be issued for buying things like schools buildings, bridges, fire brigade buildings other public works.

SJR 8225 would allow the legislature to pretend the federal government will send money to cover some part of current state debt, and overspend accordingly.

Impolite recommends you vote NO on SJR 8225

Engrossed Substitute House Joint Resolution 4220 - Grounds for Denial of Bail Amendment.

Current law allows a court to deny bail for a capital offense, such as murder. In other cases, bail must be "reasonable," which depends on that particular judge's judgment.

This proposed amendment would allow a court to deny bail for a persons charged with a criminal offenses which, upon conviction, could result in a life sentence.

This amendment allows the legislature to continue to decrease imposition of capital punishment. Life is valuable and execution ought to be rare, but the penalty should be available for imposition in any dastardly crime. Innocent life is most valuable life. Its hard to see how requiring an un-convicted person to sit in prison enhances the judicial process. The nature of the proposed amendment violates the judicial canon of presumption of innocence.

Impolite recommends you vote NO on HJR 4220

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You can find more information on these issues at Vote Smart - Washington

Patty Murray Revises Her Lies About Rossi

2010-10-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

Clarification of a Lie by Exaggeration.

Patty Murray decided to exaggerate about Dino Rossi instead. The latest smear ad from Patty is an update of her "Repeal" smear from a few months ago. In the current version Murray states Mr Rossi "owns part of a bank." The ad's insinuates Mr Rossi would work against the "FinReg - Wall Street Reform" for personal gain.

The Facts: Mr Rossi invested $10,000 in 2001, in the now financially troubled Eastside Commercial Bank of Bellevue, WA. (From Politico). Rossi is one of 35 stakeholders who started the bank. Rossi's investment is currently worth $75,000, if the bank remains solvent. Like many other U.S. banks, Eastside may have overextended the bank's resources. This is not a result of Murray's FinReg.

But other, bigger banks, are affected.

The new mortgage disaster at Bank of America is happening in spite of the new financial regulation Patty Murray voted for. The storm stems from messy or incomplete paperwork in Bank of America foreclosures. Bank of America's problems are freezing the whole consumer real estate market, screwing up service to potential home buyers. Is Bank of America alone to blame, or is there something more?

Government ham-handed policy has been instrumental in the collapse of 279 banks since 2008. This is the largest number of bank failures in 20 years. It has eliminated jobs, aggravated lending problem and left surviving banks more the unwelcome power to squeeze customers. Wall Street Journal

So ask yourself who is more of an expert to do adequate financial reform; Patty Murray the lawyer, or someone with banking experience?

Its important the banks not get crushed by government regulation, or else we will all be crippled. And its important they deal honestly with depositors and borrowers. Regulations which exceeds these limits is bad for the economy and the country.

Patty Murray should have studied the Law of Unintended Consequences before she voted for FinReg. Good intentions don't make good policy results (assuming her intentions were good). Competence is required.

Should government make banking regulation? Yes. But the policies must work.

Mr Rossi can craft better banking regulation. He bought the hard lessons in banking with his own money, like the rest of us.

Patty Murray is a lawyer, used to thinking in terms of "billable hours," with no real concept of what its like to earn a living in the real world. For 18 years she has been out of touch in DC.

Dino Rossi is better qualified to serve the People of Washington State.

Patty Murray & Her Newest Dishonest Campaign Ad

2010-09-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Originally posted as Patty on Dino on Boeing on the Seattle Times opinion page, by Bruce Ramsey

In a new ad, Sen. Patty Murray has charged Dino Rossi with not caring about Boeing jobs, which is ridiculous. The ad goes like this:

Announcer: Illegal foreign subsidies are threatening Boeing jobs, putting the Air Force tanker contract in jeopardy. When Dino Rossi was asked if he thought Boeing workers should have a level playing field, he said…

Dino Rossi: No, not as far as I’m concerned.

Announcer: Dino doesn’t get it… He doesn’t care enough about our jobs going overseas. Dino Rossi - just not on our side.

Sen. Murray: I’m Patty Murray and I sponsored this ad because the men and women who defend our country should be flying planes built in America.

This ad pulled a Rossi quote out of context. He said it in an editorial board at the Tacoma News Tribune. Here is how it went:

QUESTION: On the issue of trade, I wanted to ask Mr. Rossi about WTO rulings that have come out both against the EU and the US - and I realize we’re still sorting out the U.S. and how bad that may be. But if it does come out as it appears, at least from the US side, that Airbus got harder than Boeing did, do you believe that should have a factor - be a factor in the awarding of the tanker contract?

ROSSI: We need to fight for the tanker contract no matter what. The ruling, how it ever comes out - the reality is that the Boeing company since 1977 has lost 30,000 jobs in our state and we have to make sure we fight hard for that. You know, I’ve had a family member working continuously for the Boeing company since World War II and I - talk about a Boeing family, you want to talk about a Boeing family. And unfortunately there - this is, I think, where we - where I divert from Senator Murray on a number of different things. The Boeing company, they don’t want things like - that Senator Murray’s sponsoring such as card check, which is eliminating the secret ballot for unions. They don’t want the $150 million tax increase that they calculate as going to be coming from the health care bill. These are the sorts of things that are going to hurt the Boeing company.

I will be there. I will fight the, obviously fight for jobs. The reality is that we have to make sure that we have the right playing field to do that. And I will be, you know - strong on those issues.

Q: When you say “fight for it,” and “you want a level playing field” - I’m not still understanding if you’re saying that that WTO ruling should have a factor in the tanker bid?

ROSSI: No, not as far as I’m concerned, no.

Is the questioner asking about the WTO ruling against Airbus earlier this year or the WTO ruling against (and also for) Boeing just released? The question is not clear. The Boeing ruling is news; the Airbus ruling isn’t, so it’s more likely the questioner is talking about the Boeing ruling, and that Rossi is saying that it not be a reason to deny the contract to Boeing.

Rossi’s spokeswoman said that’s what he meant. The Murray campaign assumed otherwise, and issued a statement that began this way:

"Seattle, WA , Sept. 20- Instead of standing up for Washington state Boeing workers as Senator Patty Murray has always done, constant candidate Dino Rossi today said that illegal, job-killing WTO subsidies given to Airbus should NOT be taken into account in awarding the next Air Force tanker contract.

"The next day, a Rossi spokeswoman was asked whether Rossi would have the Air Force ignore the French subsidies to Airbus as well as the U.S. subsidies to Boeing. (The USAF has said it is ignoring both rulings, but nobody was asking them.) And the Rossi spokeswoman said she'd have to ask Rossi."

Which was reasonable. If the spokeswoman doesn't know, she shouldn't make stuff up. The Murray camp immediately put out a press release saying:

“Dino Rossi’s first instinct was to throw Washington workers under the bus and even upon reflection he’s not so sure whether job-killing subsidies should be considered in the tanker bids. He doesn’t understand or doesn’t care..."

And then the Murray camp went on the air with their ad accusing Rossi of not caring about Washington workers.

This is nonsense. Dino Rossi did not express an uncaring sentiment; he was for Boeing "no matter what." And further: as a senator from Washington he would have to be. No senator from Washington, Democrat or Republican, would put the interests of France, Spain and the U.K. ahead of the Boeing Company.

The senator's ad is dishonest. It is preposterous.

In slamming Murray's ads, I am not defending Rossi’s. He has one that blames Sen. Murray for Boeing setting up 787 assembly plant in South Carolina, and also for moving its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago, implying that it was her job to prevent those acts. They were corporate acts, and Murray cannot be blamed for them. Nor could any other senator. So those, in my view, are misleading. But they are not as grossly malicious as the Murray ads.

~~~~~~~~~

Patty Murray issued the video "Airbus" repeating her lies about Dino Rossi. Power is so important to Patty Murray she will repeat a distortion even after the lie is exposed. She ought to retire from the Senate.

Patty Murray is lying about Dino Rossi.

2010-09-20T15:06:00.001-07:00

In this official campaign ad, Murray claims Dino Rossi sold himself to Wall Street Financial interests.

Patty Murray is lying.

The Facts
According to the Federal Election Commission, Dino Rossi got donations from 30 Political Action Committees, for a total of 6.4% of all of his campaign donations. Almost 87% of Rossi's campaign donations come from individual donations. But...

Mr Rossi got no banking PAC donations at all.. None. Zero. Zilch.

On the other hand, according to the Federal Election Commission report on her, Patty Murray got donations from a total of 1219 Political Action Committees, 1121 of which are out-of-state. Patty Murray received 24.3% of her campaign funding from PACs. Only 75.7% came from individuals.

Senator Patty Murray took in $11,600 from 3 different banking PACs. If you count non-banking financial institutions, this amount goes much, much higher.

Patty Murray's claims are so outrageous they call for investigation. Washington State voters have to decide if they like Patty Murray lying to them.

Did Patty Murray help?

2010-09-20T10:27:00.001-07:00

Senator Patty Murray boasts she backed all the bailouts and small business "tax breaks." (See YouTube) Despite what CNBC and like Party controlled cheerleaders say, its clear the bailouts have prolonged the economic malaise.

Normal economics require re-allocation of productive assets and labor be done freely. In normal economics this hurts for a short time. But free markets are very quick, then everyone is back to work again. Patty Murray worked to freeze the economy instead, causing a longer agony.

The "tax breaks" have been so intricate they applied mainly if the small business was already flush enough they could afford to hire the staff necessary to comply with the breaks. In other words, the only businesses who could afford the breaks were businesses which didn't need them. The other way a business could obtain a "small business tax break" is by towing the "Democratic" Party line, i.e. kickbacks and corruption.

Patty Murray has helped to push the nation deeper into debt. Murray has saddled the children with a monster debt burden for decades to come, but Patty doesn't care. She has power and she boasts about it. This is the "Democratic" Party's main failing: Eating the young.

Get State Government Out of Liquor Sales

2010-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

The forces arrayed against Initiatives 1100 and 1105 are lying through their teeth. They claim the initiatives will ruin small, privately owned wineries. Talk about fear mongering.

Wineries will be unaffected. Bottled wine is already sold through grocery stores and other licensed retailers. Taverns and restaurants already dispense wine by the glass or bottle. The distribution of wine will be unchanged.

The only thing the initiatives do is reduce the state's control of hard liquor sales through the State Liquor Control Board owned stores. Retailers would still be licensed and required to operate according to the rules. Liquor taxes are unaffected.

The State Liquor Control Board is an artifact of the national attempt in the 1920s to eliminate alcoholic beverages. The 18th Amendment prohibited sales of any sort of spirits and the Federal Volstead Act underscored prohibition with federal enforcement. 1920s government control of society was set to soar.

It didn't work out that way. Instead, gangsters got their foothold in American society. Nearly all modern crime problems and government gun control got started during the government's effort to change society morals.

When national Prohibition failed, the US Government recognized it and in 1934 repealed prohibition. Ever backwards, Olympia immediately instituted the State Liquor Control Board for control of -- and to profit from -- Demon Rum.

Its time to eliminate the State Liquor Control Board altogether and get the state out of the liquor trade. The legislature will still set liquor taxes. I-1100 will do this.

I-1105 is a half-hearted attempt which will close the State Liquor Control Board retail operations; the SLCB will still exist and administer prices and distribute profit. (That explains why the SLCB has never made any money)

The Impolite should vote for I-1100.

Reasons To Vote No on I-1098, the Income Tax Initiative

2010-09-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

In a television advertisement, Bill Gates Sr. came out in favor of Initiative 1098 -- the income tax initiative. Mr Gates is not as wealthy as his son, the Microsoft Bill Gates, but the senior bill is a pretty wealthy lawyer. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy; I'd like to try it too.

But a rich guy is for it: Does this mean I-1098 income tax is good for Washington State? Or does it mean the rich Gates Sr. thinks he can dodge income taxes? Would anybody sincerely try to increase his own taxes?

1098's real hazard is in the details. Washington State's constitution effectively bans income tax. In order to get around the ban, the initiative would legally redefine your income as not your property, but rather a purchase subject to excise tax. This is so nutty most people can't believe it, but its there (See the section 501 pdf)

The other hazard of I-1098 is the legislature will not be satisfied with the tiny amount of tax collected from the rich people. Washington's constitution allows the legislature to change initiatives after a two year waiting period. The legislature will have a voter approved tax. The legislature's recent history shows they will extend the income tax to everyone who makes an income.

If you're tired of paying taxes on nearly everything in Washington State, you should vote against new taxes on income. They'll get around to taxing you with whatever you vote for. Vote No on I-1098.

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Afterword

The top five donors to the Initiative 1098 campaign, according to Ballotpedia

Most revealing is the government bureaucrats' union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), gave $1,237,954. The Washington State Federation of State Employees gave $100,000. The union bosses will be delighted to tax you.

Bill Gates Sr. gave $500,000 to sponsor I-1098. The other two major donors are Nicolas Hanauer at $250,000 and Ann Wyckoff, $200,000.

Legislators fiddle while Washington burns

2010-09-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Governor Gregoire has announced she will authorize across the board cuts to state agencies starting October 1. We won’t know how big those cuts will be until Thursday’s quarterly revenue forecast update.

The state has collected about $190 million less than expected since the June revenue forecast. (This is no surprise. Taxes depress economic activity, a point the "Democratic" Party mulishly refuses to get --- BQ.)

Thursday’s forecast is likely to be bad enough to wipe out the state’s remaining reserves, and to push the budget into the red. Hence, Governor Gregoire’s executive order for budget cuts.

Posted by Amber Gunn at Liberty Live

Senator Patty Murray Heroically Saved Jobs?

2010-09-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Not at all.

Senator Patty Murray is lying about ObamaCare in truly creative ways.

Patty Murray's latest campaign ad tries to take credit for leaving privately owned medical facilities somewhat less clobbered by the feds.

Her target in this particular propaganda is Wenatchee Valley Hospital. The Hospital is also called the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, a privately owned medical center in Wenatchee, Washington. Wenatchee is in the esophagus of Washington State, sort of.

Senator Patty Murray claims the "[T]he Wenatchee Valley Hospital was in danger of closing its doors. Senator Patty Murray fought to restore funding and saved 1,500 jobs in Central Washington." By "fought" she means she was mud slinging again.

Senator Patty Murray conveniently forgot she and her "Democratic" Party cronies are the cause of the pending shutdown. ObamaCare prohibits privately owned hospitals. After bilking the Hospital and voting for ObamaCare, Patty Murray agreed to champion a change in federal regulation which "saved" the Hospital.

Pure extortion.

Of course the ad spins it differently. Patty Murray got 3 of the dozen or so Democrats on the hospital staff, plus the establishment-liberal mayor of Wenatchee, to agree that she saved the Hospital. The truth is, Congressman Doc Hastings(R) has been working to save the clinic from stupid legislation since 2007.

Senator Patty Murray should check with the rank and file employees of the hospital, who despise her for using their job security so deceitfully.

Report filed via Bob1, from Wenatchee

Patty Murray saved us all --- yawn

2010-09-08T15:00:00.001-07:00

To hear Patty Murray tell it in her campaign advertising, she single handedly saved us from "Wall Street Bankers" The "Wall Street Bankers" threaten our way of life so the "Democratic" Party controlled government had to restrict the bankers from lending us money. You see, Patty Murray knows we the People are too stupid to mind our own business.

So Patty Murray voted for financial regulation (FINREG) which richly rewarded "Democratic" Party operatives with positions of great power. Yay, Patty Murray.

Naturally, Dino Rossi thinks we can be trusted to mind our own financial affairs, so he would like to reverse the FINREG. Boo... Hiss....

I can't believe the stupidity the Democratic Party expects from their own supporters.

~~~~~~~~

Now if only Patty Murray would save us from the "Democratic" Party economic platform.

Since the Democratic Party took control of Congress (where the laws are made) in 2007, U.S. unemployment rates have increased dramatically. Here's an month by month overview

The chart shows the last ten years of data. You can download the raw data spreadsheet for yourself from the US Government Bureau of Labor Statistics. The link is rigged to download the latest spreadsheet, so the data will grow next month.

The chart shows the economy began to get worse within 12 months of the "Democratic" Party taking control. The immediate impact is the same magnitude as the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, which shows in the 2002-3 employment statistics.

The "Democratic" Party damage gets worse the longer it goes on. The clear cut cost of having the "Democratic" Party control Congress and the White House shows as an increase in unemployment of over 4% --- from under 6% to 9-10%.

Millions are out of work thanks to the "Democratic" Party. That much unemployment is a lot of human misery.

Gun Control's Senator Patty Murray

2010-09-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

When Senator Patty Murray was elected in 1992, the very first thing she did upon being sworn in was to propose a 10,000% ad valorem excise tax on ammunition. That bill died, since it would dramatically increase the cost to local government of outfitting police forces (Murray wouldn't mind this).

Then Patty Murray voted for the Brady Law, which gave us national waiting periods and the “Instant” Check. Senator Patty Murray also voted for the “Violent Crime Control And Law Enforcement Act Of 1994,” which gave us magazine bans and the so-called "Assault Weapons Ban."

Her hatred of self-defense goes even farther. That same year, Senator Patty Murray introduced legislation that would raise the handgun tax to 25 percent and extend the tax to all transactions — from manufacturer to distributor through retailer to consumer. The total tax would be a 95% added to the cost of a firearm.

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Gun Control by Taxation Archives

Lying Politicians

2010-09-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

I really shouldn't watch television at all. Lying politicians tick me off.

Incumbent Senator Patty Murray's lying is fevered in intensity. Now Murray's ads assert candidate Dino Rossi is somehow going to prolong the economic depression Patty Murray voted to start.

Murray takes this stand because she sold herself to the Union bosses.

The union bosses insist she defend monster raises for the rank and file government workers so operatives like Gov Christine Gregoire raise taxes on the people of Washington State to pay inflated wages to State union employees.

Presently the state employees make about 22% more per hour than citizens who are lucky enough to have a job. Plus deluxe medical, dental, eyeglasses, etc. The kind of stuff we get to pay for, especially under Obamacare, another Patty Murray backed people restriction.

Senator Murray is doing nothing other than pushing the addiction to federal control and government intrusion.

~~~~~~~~
American jobs are being shipped to China because of Patty Murray and the rotten policies she votes for.

1. The present administration has gotten us deeply into debt with the Chinese. They want payback, and Senator Patty Murray has voted for those programs.

2. Senator Patty Murray has repeatedly voted to enslave private enterprise to the federal government. This raises the cost of US domestic production to the point it the doors of the factory must be closed.

3. Senator Patty Murray never met a tax she didn't like to tax us with.

4. Senator Patty Murray voted to impose ObamaCare. The "Democratic" Party now admits ObamaCare will raise everybody's cost of medical care.

Senator Patty Murray, you got to go. Your kind of government is way too costly.

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For more about “Democratic” Party gun control efforts, see Just Facts

Vote Against Income Tax

2010-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Its another tax
If passed, Initiative 1098 will impose an income tax on Washington State wage earners making more than $200,000 per year.

The Legislature is greedy
Despite the fact that the drafters of I-1098 stipulated income tax would be imposed only on high wage earners, the State Constitution says the legislature can change that restriction after 2 years. Want to bet the legislature will make all income taxable? Remember this is the legislature which threw out I-960 tax restrictions as soon as they could. All other accountability and transparency measures in I-1098 are just as vulnerable.

If 1098 is passed, what you earn is not yours.
Income taxation is not the most pernicious part of 1098. In order to get around the State Constitutional restrictions (Article 7, section 1 requires uniform, not "progressive" taxation on property), I-1098 re-defines your income as not your property, until you take physical possession of the income. This is obscene.

Vote NO on 1098.

The Myth of Wage Inequality.

2010-09-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

Washington State voters are going to vote on I-1098 to decide whether the state gets to tax our income.

The statistic keeps popping up that the top 20% of wage earners earn 9, 10 or 11 times as much as the bottom 20% of wage earners.* Governor Christine Gregoire and her buddy Bill Gates Sr. would have us believe this requires a state income tax to set straight.

What we have to pretend is that if someone finds himself in the bottom 20% of wage earners, he's stuck. There is nothing he can do to get increased income. This assumption is bogus.

The most important thing you can do to increase your income is get older. The bottom 20% of earners is overwhelmingly inhabited by young people. A special example of a young person getting a lower annual wage is the college student who works only in the Summer.

Generally, the young wage earner is most likely the newest person on the job. That makes him or her least experienced and least productive. As people gain experience, they also gain income, unless they decide to stay with perpetually low income jobs by frequent quitting.

As a worker ages, he or she gains experience and stability. Both of these qualities makes the worker more desirable and productive. The employer will pay more to retain the better worker.

Compare age versus income, 2008 **

There is no such thing as an income tax on the rich in America. Riches are always property, not income. There is only a tax on better workers, better producers. The drop in average income after age 65 is presumably based on the effect of retirement form the work force. By the age of 65, you hope to be rich enough to be able to pay for the remaining years of your life.

In order to justify "progressive" income taxes, the politician must pretend to be interested in social justice or similar lies. In fact, politicians are greedy to take more of the peoples' money.

More taxes means less sales, less sales means fewer jobs, fewer jobs means no recovery anytime soon.

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* The precise multiplier is dependent on whether the statistician compared pre-tax wages or post tax wages. You see, politicians love to find new excuses to raise taxes so they can take more of the peoples' money for themselves.

** table based on ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ce/standard/2008/age.txt

Well, you're on your own....

2010-08-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow you can finally start working for yourself.

The typical Washington State slave citizen must work more than two-thirds of the year — 241 days to be exact — to pay for all the expenses of government at all levels of governnment (federal, state, and local), including regulatory burdens.

Calculated by Americans for Tax Reform, today - August 29 - marks the day when the average Washington resident stops working to pay for the enormous cost of free spending Democratic PArty controlled government.

Washington’s Cost of Government Day is 10 days later than the national date, August 19. In 2010, we are fifth worst in the country. Last year Washington’s Cost of Government Day fell on August 17.

Not only do we work longer than 45 other states to support our bloated government, Washington State's debt to Gross State Product ratio is nearing 26%. Only eight other states are worse off. Washington State is only few hundredths of a percent less in debt than California.

The "Democratic" Party controlled government has been giving their cronies billions of our tax dollars. Christine Gregoire and the Olympia "Democratic" Party have saddled us with huge debt.

~~~~~~~~

See US Debtclock dot Org

Mr Kettle Black, Sen. Pot "Reports."

2010-08-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Senator Patty Murray slings mud at the Dino Rossi campaign

The Dino Rossi campaign solicited donations, and the corporate lobbyists came to donate. Patty Murray pouts this theme in her new advertisement. Murray tried to suggest Rossi has sold out to his donors, as if Patty Murray were as pure as the driven snow. Of course she is innocent Democrat, 18 years in Washington DC Beltway insider. Her insider status explains why she is pure.

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Open Secret

From OpenSecrets.com report posted July 7 2010, "LOBBYISTS TOP LIST OF SENATOR'S BIGGEST CAMPAIGN DONORS: Now seeking her fourth term in office, the donor list for Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) may reflect one of the benefits of incumbency: Lobbyists are the senator's biggest campaign supporters."

According to the OpenSecrets.com list of 100 top donors in 1998, Boeing Co donated $24,230, making them number 3 on the list of corporate donors. No wonder she campaigned for the Boeing KC-767 Tanker design rather than the Northrup design. KC-767 would be made in Everett Washington.

If we are to judge Senatorial candidates by the donors they keep, certainly we should judge the candidate by the accusations leveled against those donors, PMA Group, an Arlington, Virginia based corporation. PMA has not been found guilty of anything, yet but does the accusation color the water?

By Murray's subsequent action is does. She felt so guilty about the PMA donation, she made a donation to a food bank. Gee, doesn't that make her all warm and fuzzy?

If you think you cannot trust incumbent Senator, you're on to Patty "Murky" Murray.

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Compare Candidates

Mr Rossi has been a businessman with experience in the real world. Private business will teach you right away about the importance of fiscal responsibility. A businessman must think in terms of priority and restraint. Mr Rossi understands the economy is broken because of Big Government inteference, something Ms Murray doesn't seem to grasp. Rossi is also serves as academician on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the School of Business at Seattle University. More at the Dino Rossi campaign site.

Ms Murray has never been anything but a lawyer or a Senator. Lawyers think in terms of "billable hours." Democrat Senators tend to think in terms of "taxability," not accountability. This lack of real world experience gives her a blind spot about responsible government. She has voted largely the party line, and she voted for federalizing health care and she voted for the catastrophic increase in taxes that will require.

Democratic Party versus the truth

2010-08-18T15:33:00.000-07:00

We get to suffer for their mistakes.
"Who cares?" they say, "Have another fat cigar."

Some people think the President makes law. The President makes suggestions, but Congress makes the law of the land, which the President then signs. When George W Bush was President, it was the Republicans in Congress who made us prosper.

Democratic Party members insist George Bush's policies failed. If so, the timing is interesting, because it wasn't until after the Democratic Party took full control of Congress the economy began to wobble. When the Democratic Party took control of the Presidency too the nation's economy collapsed.

The Democratic Party must believe George Bush has spooky influence now that he is out of office. Repu-u-ublican... boo!

Clearly the policies of the Democratic Party have failed. And no wonder. Their policies are based on the notion that central planning works. If that were so, the militaristic Soviet Union would still be around. Central planning requires force. I doubt the Democratic Party have the nerve, but for them not to use force means more and more malaise.

So how do you plan to vote this November?

Washington State Primaries Recommendations

2010-08-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

State Positions
The State Supreme Court contests are vital to the future of Washington State. Please make sure you vote in these races. The Court must not be controlled by the massive government interests which currently control the legislature. Keep in mind, the Big Government legislature currently has us slated for another $3 billion in taxation. Do you support that?

My picks for the State Supreme Court
Pos.1. Jim Johnson. The primary determines who wins this race. http://www.jimjohnsonforjustice.org
Pos.5 Barbara Madsen (unopposed)
Pos.6 Richard Sanders http://www.friendsofjustice.com/

Federal Positions
Opposing Big Government and massive centralized power in the federal government is just as vital for the future of the United States. I believe these candidates will resist the growth of federal intrusion into private life and will resist the growth of government debt.

U.S. Senate: Clint Didier - I watched Mr Didier take a live interview from some hostile policy wonks. Mr Didier impressed me as genuinely interested in building federal government which is responsive to citizens, and which would function within the bounds of the US Constitution. Mr Didier's website.

If you have already voted for Rossi, you're still okay with me, even though he is not as good a choice as Mr Didier. Mr Rossi is a far superior choice to the corrupt incumbent Patty Murray. Patty Murray must go.

U.S. House
1st District (Bainbridge Island, to north King County, to Kirkland and Redmond): James Watkins.
2nd District (Everett north to the Canadian border): John Koster
3rd District (Thurston county south to the Oregon border): Either David Castillo or Jaime Herrera. Both candidates are good.
4th District (Wenatchee - Yakima – Tri Cities): Richard (Doc) Hastings
5th District (Spokane and most of the rest of eastern Washington): Cathy McMorris-Rodgers
6th District (Bremerton – Peninsula): Jesse Young
7th District (Seattle): Bill Hoffman
8th District (Bellevue and east King County to Mt. Rainier): Dave Reichert
9th District (Pierce-Thurston counties): Dick Muri

Senator Patty Murray (D) Sucks Up to Public Employee Unions... again

2010-08-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

The U.S. economy continues to lose jobs and where is Patty Murray? The headline in the Washington Post says it all --- "Economy Sputters." The nation's economy continued to frazzle out as private-sector employers added just 71,000 jobs in July, reports the Post.

"The small increase in private-sector employment was more than offset by the loss of 143,000 temporary census jobs, and the nation's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.5 percent. Overall, the nation shed 131,000 jobs in July."

Meanwhile, Sen. Patty Murray continues to vote for job-killing spending bills we can't afford.

Patty Murray is voting like she thinks there no hard times, no economic crisis and no debt. This week she supported a so-called "jobs" bill that not only cost taxpayers $26 million, but also took away money that was intended to go for U.S. troops.

The bill bails out states with a one-time infusion of federal taxpayer dollars to states to pay for state employees!

The Washington Post description:

"The crusade for an education jobs bill, led by the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress, has always struck us as more of an election-year favor for teachers unions than an optimal use of public resources. Billed as an effort to stimulate the economy, it's not clearly more effective than alternative uses of the cash."

Its worth remembering that during George Bush's final two years in office, the Democrats controlled the Congress, where laws are made. Beginning in 2007, with Democrats making law, the economy began to run rough. Compare that to the entire time Republicans ran the Congress (even under Bill Clinton's presidency) the economy of the country hummed along. Republicans know how to make the economy work for everyone. Blaming George Bush or Republicans for the present state of the economy is nonsense.

Unemployment is at 9.5%. Millions of Americans are in this personal economic disaster, the disaster which is happening on Patty Murray's watch. Yet Senator Murray continues to vote for the same kind of hyper-spending bills which caused the disaster in the first place. The inescapeable conclusion is Patty Murray is out of touch.

Do us all a favor and help vote her out of office come November.

Senator Patty Murray(D) says Dino Rossi(R) bad.

2010-08-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Murray says Rossi is icky-poo too

The Patty Murray campaign made an ad stating Senator Murray(D) backed the Senate's financial regulation bill (the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 - ha-ha-ha). The ad stated her opponent Dino Rossi would reverse the FINREG bill.

Patty Murray's ad hinted that FINREG would make Wall Street pay (for what?). Murray hinted that FINREG was hard on Wall Street. BullCrap. Look at the chart. FINREG was enacted into law July 22 (the date is marked with a dot). Wall Street has done okay in the Patty Murray endorsed purgatory.

The ad went on that times are tough in Washington State, job are in decline, things are hard on ordinary folk, etc. Murray's ad concluded since Rossi would reverse the FINREG, he is on the the "Side of Wall Street, not the little people." BullCrap 2.

FINREG was enacted July 22, Stock rise. Clearly Patty Murray wants to set it up so only her buddies on Wall Street win and the rest of us... we can sink. Lying Patty Murray does not care.

Wall Street was a servant of the people until liars like Murray began to use the government to corrupt it. Patty Murray will distort and lie about history itself in order to stay in power.

All the disasters for the "little people" mentioned in the Patty Murray advertisement have happened to us while Patty Murray was on watch. Clearly, Patty Murray is incompetent to help, or worse -- she's cutting herself in on government allocated profits.

We can lose our freedom, investments or grandmother's life savings and Patty Murray will launch another Lie Campaign to trick us. In a classic Class Warfare misdirection, Comrade Patty Murkey seeks to confuse the masses into voting for her.

Patty Murray stinks. She must go.

Simultaneously posted at Resistance and Life.

Government Lobbies Government

2010-07-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

There is a horrible cancer growing in Washington State government. Can you imagine anything worse than government lobbying government? The American system of government is becoming so inbred that government self-lobbying is becoming rampant. Government is only talking to government. The people are getting completely shut out.

Evergreen Freedom Foundation formally filed complaints with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) against sixty-eight public agencies for failing to disclose the hiring of lobbyists with taxpayer dollars. You can view the video showing delivery of the complaints to the PDC by clicking on the image to the right.
When people think of lobbyists, they usually imagine big businesses buying off corrupt politicians. They probably don’t imagine government agencies hiring lobbyists to buy votes at the capitol. It sounds absurd—and it is—but here in Washington public agencies spend millions of our dollars every year hiring lobbyists.

Unfortunately, the flagrant use of tax dollars to lobby for bigger government is a growing problem. While conducting research for the Freedom Foundation’s just-released report detailing taxpayer-funded lobbying in Washington, Preston Mui of EFF found that public agencies spent over $42 million on lobbying in the last decade. And with unreported lobbying, hidden administrative costs, employee benefits, and lobbying at the federal level, the true cost of government lobbying is much, much higher.

Not only do city governments, county governments, public utility districts, and other public agencies spend millions of dollars every year lobbying the state, sometimes they don’t even tell us about it.

View the EFF reports (in pdf)
View the PDC complaints (in pdf)

Similar things happen in other states. Local government lobbies the state government, or state governments lobby the federal government. Then the "little" governments get some project to spend money on. Never mind the project is something the people never wanted, the government officials crow they are "doing something" for the people at no expense.

Yeah, right. All we lose is our freedom and we still pay the taxes in the end.

We the People must require smaller, less controlling, government.

Gregoire goes dictator

2010-07-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last year, in May, Governor Christine Gregoire issued Executive Order 09-05. Ostensibly, the subject of the order was to care for the environment. In fact the order allowed the governor to regulate and tax industry in the state by personal fiat. This is an intolerable abuse of power.

The legislature had already considered and rejected Gregoire's proposed extension of gubernatorial power. The fact is the Washington State Constitution prohibits the governor from sole determination of taxation and spending. The legislature determined they would not authorize the governor to have this power, so Gregoire just took it.

Wait a second.... "Democratic" governor Gregoire overturned the decision of the democratically elected legislature to suit her own personal whim. That's insurrection, isn't it? Don't we hang traitors anymore?

Not this chicken legislature. The "Democratic" Party controlled legislature could not muster enough courage to repudiate what the governor did. So its up to us, the people. I hope we can do this with ballots rather than force.

Evergreen Freedom Foundation finished drafting their lawsuit against this governor and announced filing the lawsuit July 21, 2010. Given Gregoire's indifference to the legislature and the state's Constitution, she may deem to ignore a court decision too. If Gregoire does, there is no alternative but criminal process; she would need to be tried and punished.

You can donate to support freedom in Washington State at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation's donation page. No taxation without representation!

Restore Rule by the People in Washington State!

The People's Initiatives – Summary

2010-07-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

Washington State's Constitution explicitly states, “SECTION 4 RIGHT OF PETITION AND ASSEMBLAGE. The right of petition and of the people peaceably to assemble for the common good shall never be abridged.”

Several petitions appear headed for the ballot this autumn.

I-1053 would reinstate a requirement for two-thirds majorities in the Legislature to approve any tax increase. (The Legislature modified the similar requirement in the I-960 so the 2/3rds rule could be suspended when convenient for the legislature, i.e. permanently.) We the People must enact I-1053 or we are lost to big government. A vote for I-1053 is a vote for better government.

I-1082 would let private insurance companies sell workers’ compensation insurance, which at present is a state-run system. (Private insurance companies typically offer lower cost for the same coverage. Matching coverage is required from the private sector by the petition's language.)

I-1098 would create an income tax – individuals making more than $200,000 or couples making more than $400,000 – while cutting property taxes 20% and business and occupation taxes by varying amounts. (The initiative's language requires wage income be defined as not property, but as a taxable sale. Under the State Constitution, the only property tax and excise tax are permissible taxes.) Despite what the initiatives backers say about their tax increase being "more fair," the initiative sets a dangerous precedent in defining wages as not the wage earner's property (Who owns the income if the wage earner does not?).

I-1100 would eliminate the State Liquor Control Board and allow retailers to bypass them and buy directly from the manufacturers. The initiative establishes a uniform, free-market for retail sale of distilled spirits. State monopoly power would be eliminated, but state taxes on liquor would continue.

I-1105 would eliminate the State Liquor Control Board retail function, but does not eliminate state regulatory functions. There would be a major role for liquor distributors, who would be closely regulated. State monopoly power and taxes would continue.

I-1107 would roll back taxes the Legislature approved this year on soda pop, bottled water, food processing businesses, candy and gum. Candies which contain flour were not affected by the legislature's weird tax increase and would remain untaxed. Before the legislature's tax action this year, foodstuffs had not been taxed in Washington since the 1970's.

Abortion, Rossi and Murray

2010-07-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

Washington Life Coalition is being disingenuous in their Little Emily video. The pure emotion appeal plays right into the Leftists' hands.

They present their complaint about Republican Dino Rossi, with no comparison to Democrat Patty Murray's staunchly pro-abortion stance. Ms. Murray's appalling indifference to the life of the unborn is certainly anathema to the pro life position.

According to dontknowdino.com, Mr Rossi "wants to take away a woman's right to choose...."

So the Leftists would have Mr Rossi twist in the wind, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Ms Murray gets a pass because she is a Democrat.

~~~~~~~~

Does Mr Rossi have a perfectly pro-life position? That is, would Mr Rossi absolutely defend the right of the unborn to life. I doubt it. But he is a vast improvement over Ms Murray's murderous ways. In this world, it is not sound strategy to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

~~~~~~~~

Every life is sacred, by authorization of the Almighty.

In 1973, abortion became legal in Washington State by Initiative 120. The legislature has cheerfully overturned one after another of the petitions of the people when it suited them. For some reason, this same delight in anti-democratic legislation has not extended to an initiative which kills the people.

Pause and reflect on this for a moment: Persons who were not born as a result of the enactment of I-120 would now be as old as 36 years.

Harder Times in Washington State.

2010-07-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Taxes went up this morning in Washington State. Did you feel it? Thanks, Olympia Democrats.

Not all increases were exactly a tax, but an increase in fees. Either way, the government is still fishing around in your pocket.

2 liters of of your favorite carbonated beverage went up 6¢. Safeway didn't raise the price, Gregoire did.

Sales of bottled water are subject to the retail sales tax. Seems bottles bug the Democrats in Olympia.

Candy and gum sales tax exemption is repealed. To make matters more complicated, the legislature made a distinction between certain types of candies.
Olympia's new definition of candy:

Candy is a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings and formed into bars, drops, or pieces. Candy does not require refrigeration. Candy does not include any preparation containing flour.

Flour is made from grain such as wheat, rice, corn, rye, oats, and barley. Flour does not include flour substitutes, such as starch. Any product that lists flour as an ingredient on the nutritional facts label is not taxable as candy.

Whew.
If a city located within an Regional Transportation Authority (tax district) annexes unincorporated territory, the annexed territory is simultaneously included within the RTA and subject to all RTA taxes, liabilities, and obligations applicable to the city.

Natural gas sold by a brokered agreement is subject to a use tax in effect where the gas is burned or stored. Storage of a consumable is treated as the end use of the consumable. It makes no sense at all.

Food production will be taxed. The following use of sales taxes are imposed for materials used in dairy production.
licensed dairies with a certified dairy nutrient plan,
animal feeding operations that have a waste disposal permit issued under RCW 90.48, and
animal feeding operations that have a nutrient management plan approved by a conservation district meeting certain requirements.
This is an indirect tax on food. I have yet to sort out what the increase will mean to food prices, but they will go up.

The Legislature holds the chief executive and the chief financial officer strictly liable for collected but unremitted sales tax regardless of fault or whether those individuals were aware of the unpaid tax liability (2ESSB 6143 Section 801). I work with a store whose trusted employee took all the money in the sales tax payment account. The first the rest of us found out about it was when the state finally notified us our account was delinquent. Under the new law, the store owner would be held accountable despite the fact he was a victim of the crime. That's wrong.

The bad debt credit or deduction is limited to the original retail seller. That ought to kill the loan market.

Businesses with reportable Business and Occupancy income of over $50,000 per year will see increases of B&O tax 0.3 % bringing the rate up to as much as 1.93 %

A business "nexus" tax imposed. If you do any business in Washington State, you will be taxed for it. The laws here are very murky, but seem to be pointed at Boeing and similar businesses.

Direct sellers B&O tax exemption is repealed.
Property management salary B&O tax exemption repealed. That ought to catch a bunch of old folks by surprise.

High risk mortgage deductions for banks are now limited. This will hit the loan market for first time home buyers.

Compensation paid to members of corporate boards of directors is taxed as a service.

Private purchasers of privately owned timber must report the purchase to the Revenue Department, presumably for taxation.

For you tobacco users:
The cigarette tax increased $1.00 to $3.025 on a package of 20 cigarettes.
The tax on Other Tobacco Products (except little cigars and moist snuff) increases from 75 to 95 percent of taxable sales price (equivalent to a 95% tax rate), with the cap per cigar increasing from 50 to 65 cents.
Little cigars become a separate category of OTP, taxed at the same rate as cigarettes.
Moist snuff also becomes a separate category of OTP but continues to be taxed at 75 percent until October 1,2010, when it will be taxed at the greater of $2.526 or 83.5 percent of the cigarette tax on each single unit of 1.2 ounces or less and proportionately on larger units.
RCW Ch 82.02 to allow local government to impose impact fees for high density urban development.
VOiP is taxed under the Enhanced 911 tax. 25¢ per line (per month).

Increased the tax on beer.

A tax increase on beer! Olympia is getting greedy.

~~~~~~~~

This information is abstracted from http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/Reports/2010/Summary_2010_Tax_Leg/2010LegSummary.pdf

Have You Joined The Fight Yet?

2010-06-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

by Dino Rossi

27,000.

Incredibly, in just the few short weeks since announcing my candidacy for U.S. Senate, that’s the number of people on Facebook who have joined our fight to change direction in Washington, DC and change America for the better.

Have you joined the fight? If you’ve already sent a contribution to Rossi for Senate, we thank you. If not, I need your help and contribution right now to defeat Patty Murray. She’s well-funded and has been running for re-election for years. She’s already proven she will do whatever it takes to hold onto her job.

But, this isn’t her Senate seat – it’s yours!

Do you think we are headed in the right direction? Are you angry about the trillion dollar budget deficit, the wasteful stimulus packages, and the bailouts for Wall Street? Are you frustrated with skyrocketing unemployment, massive new deficits and debt for as far as the eye can see? Are you worried that our children won’t have the same opportunities we had because our government seems completely out of touch with what it should do to help our economy grow and create jobs?

The political establishment in Washington, DC is out of touch with just how serious our problems really are! Patty Murray has been one of the U.S. Senate’s leading advocates for: increasing the size of government, growing our debt to staggering proportions, and seizing more government control over things the government has no business controlling.

We must rise to the challenge of our time – or our nation will head off the edge of the fiscal cliff. Join the fight by June 30th – our first deadline for filing our list of public support – so our amplified voice for a new direction can be heard all the way from Washington State back to Washington, DC.

I am certain we can solve our problems with common sense, bold leadership, the right vision and values, and most importantly -- the ability to say NO to the Washington, DC establishment and the liberal special interests.

Join me today as we fight to bring common sense, a new direction and new leadership to our nation’s Capitol.

Dino Rossi

http://www.dinorossi.com/

High-income Elitists Relieve Their Guilt With Your Money

2010-04-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

Talk show host Dave Ross used to be somewhat independent - then he ran for Congress as a Democrat. Tim Eyman was a guest on his Seattle radio show on KIRO last week. They talked about Bill Gates' income hyper-tax initiative. This is a partial transcript of that interview.

Tim Eyman: "The Pandora's Box isn't just this proposal. It's a message from the voters, by voting for something like this, we're saying "You guys don't have a spending problem, you have a revenue problem, here's a bunch more money." And they're going to interpret that as "now we don't have to reform ourselves, we don't have to prioritize." I think Bill Gates Sr. is being extremely selfish ... he can afford any tax system. But what about those people on the bubble who are going to end of being jacked up with higher taxes (because of his initiative). He's only thinking of himself ... what we're going to end up getting in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years is higher taxes on everybody, people who can't afford the higher tax burden. Liberalism is a fantastic program if you can afford it. But there's normal people who can't afford all the things you guys wanna have."

Dave Ross: "The thing I noticed yesterday is that the liberals that would be affected by it were for it. ... I do feel a kind of liberal guilt for them to get the chance."

Eyman: "Don't feel guilty ... you're probably spending your money, giving a bunch of your money back to the economy. You have no reason to feel guilty. Chances are Libby (his producer) wouldn't have a job unless you have a job. I mean there are a lot of people who are benefiting from you making money. And I don't think you should feel guilty for it. If you want to give the government more money, feel free. You can give 'em extra money and I'm sure they'd be happy to take it. But when you start imposing taxes on everybody else to relieve your guilt, I think you're only thinking of yourself and you're not thinking of everyone else."

Ross: "That's true and I do feel better now. So you'd be OK if we cut my income taxes and institute a flat tax and got rid of progressive taxation altogether?"

Eyman: "I think that a flat tax would be better than the current federal system we have now. But once again, you always have to look at combined local, state, federal: we're all getting the crap kicked out of us when it comes to taxes. I don't think they should be raising taxes in the middle of a recession. I don't want it on the working class, I don't want it on high earners. I think they shouldn't be raising taxes right now."

During this year's legislative session, Democratic Party politicians in Olympia and the 'Public Interest Groups' (PIGs) that support them imposed $800 million in higher taxes. That turned out to be just an 'opening bid.' Now they're pushing for a billion dollars more with this income tax initiative.

They claim property taxes will be offset by 20%, but 1. This doesn't add up, and 2. Olympia has never willingly lowered taxes. A billion more won't be enough. No matter how much we give them, they always want more. Our tax initiatives are the only thing that have effectively restrained their insatiable appetite for higher taxes.

I-960's required 2/3's of the legislature vote in order to raise taxes. The I-960 law completely protected us from tax hikes for 2 years. There wasn't a single tax increase in 2008 and 2009 despite $9 billion in attempted deficits. Frustrated, the Democratic Party politicians in Olympia overthrew the will of the people and eliminated I-960.

I-1053 will restore this same complete protection for taxpayers in 2011 and 2012. Click to Voters Want More Choices

~~~~~~~~

According to Article VII, Section 1 of Washington’s Constitution “all taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax and shall be levied and collected for public purposes only.” Tax on income is illegal in Washington State. A 1933 State Supreme Court case also struck down the idea of creating an income tax.

But what if your income is not your property? The Democratic Party is trying to establish the dangerous precedent that your money is not yours. Gates insists the tax would be on income before an individual collects the income; the income is not in your immediate possession, therefore the income is not personal property. This notion only works if you do not own the income you make. Clearly, the Democratic Party scoundrels are trying to lay the axe to the root of the tree.

~~~~~~~~

Part of this item is from a press release by Voters Want More Choices

In Comes Income Taxes

2010-04-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

This week, Bill Gates, Sr. kicked off his version of fair taxes for Washington with his income tax initiative I-1077. Gates was not happy that Olympia raised taxes by 14% this year. Gates seems to think taxes are not high enough. Bill Gates, Sr. is stooge for every big government abuse out there.

Gate's initiative 1077 makes clear the need for initiative 1053. No matter how much Olympia takes from the taxpayers, they always want more. Olympia jacked up taxes $800 million this session [$5.7 billion over the next 10 years].

Instead of the big government types saying 'thanks, that's enough,' they follow up with a $1 billion per year income tax initiative. [And a $90 million water rights tax only yesterday] You can be sure, even that won't be enough. It's like pouring water into a bucket with a hole in the bottom -- it's never enough.

The initiative kick-off event was held in Seattle. The media (!) highlighted I-1077's fundamental flaw:

Bryan Johnson of KOMO TV asked: "Does anyone have to fear soon this (income tax threshold) will creep to above $150,000, and then above $100,000, and then everybody pays?"

Bill Gates Sr. responded: "Uhh, the, the initiative provides that the rates and levels cannot be changed without a vote of the people. So there is that protection built in."

Essex Porter of KIRO TV followed up: "But could you expand on that, because initiatives can usually be changed after two years. And Initiative 960 was changed after two years and there was a vote of the people then."

Gates responded: "Uh, that's right, that's a very astute question. And I don't know that anybody knows completely the answer for that. But for myself, I would be astonished if, given that specific provision in this specific tax statute, that the Legislature would undertake to make a change in it without complying with the language of the initiative and going to the people to get their permission."

Gates clearly lives in a bubble.

First we need to get Olympia on a diet we can pay for before we let them add even more taxes to our burden. The best way to do this is by requiring law makers have a 2/3rds majority every time they raise taxes. Responsible government is everybody's business.

http://www.VotersWantMoreChoices.com

(part of this column is from a report by Tim Eyman)

Gregoire's $8 billion lie - field report.

2010-04-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

"Gregoire promised that if she was reelected as Governor that she wouldn't raise taxes. The following year, facing a $9 billion deficit, Initiative 960's 2/3's vote requirement stopped her from jacking up taxes. But this year, she and the Democrats suspended I-960 and jacked up taxes $8 billion over the next 10 years, $800 million per year (she'll claim that some of the tax increases are 'temporary' -- but as everyone knows in Olympia, temporary taxes are always made permanent). [ Note - Mr Eyman was prescient. See the Olympia Policy Watch article Did we say "temporary" tax? ]

"So she promised 'no tax hikes' and yet she imposed $8 billion in higher taxes. That's Gregoire's $8 billion lie."
-- From Tim Eyman, http://www.VotersWantMoreChoices.com

The only thing that restrains Olympia is the citizens saying No New Taxes! The most effective way to say "no" is with the 2/3's legislative vote requirement. That's what Initiative 1053 will do. It makes raising taxes an absolute last resort....

That is until the big government politicians overthrow the will of the people again. The hyper-taxing, big-government, lying politicians must go too.

WA Tax Update - from the front lines

2010-04-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

"Looks like an increase in the sales tax (2% to 3%), for now, is not being considered to balance the budget. There is a possible add in a sales tax on beer.

"Possible increases could be on B&O for services business from 1.5% to 1.8% or more. The Governor is threatening a 20% cut in the state budget if no agreement is reached.

"There is still a proposal for “on-site property managers” [an indirect rent tax for apartment dwellers], plus raising apartment house Business & Occupancy tax.

"Lawmakers will be coming to Olympia tomorrow and may work through the weekend."

Mark Gjurasic
Public Affairs of Washington, LLC

Washington State's Knee-jerk Tax Increase

2010-04-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

from the Evergreen Freedom Foundation newsletter

"As time runs out on the special session—scheduled to end April 13—lawmakers continue to struggle on finalizing the state budget. The big holdup is over a disagreement between Democrats in the House and Senate on the tax package.

"Both chambers have approved tax proposals that raise $800 million to close the budget gap, but the content of the proposals are different. All the hand-wringing has come down to about $100 million worth of disagreements over which taxes to raise.

"Meanwhile, the Legislature did manage to pass a few taxpayer-unfriendly proposals. Last week legislators passed a tax increase to pay for an enhanced 911 system that is expected to collect nearly $79 million over the next 10 years. Legislators seemed impervious to the argument that core functions of government, like public safety, should be funded first and within existing resources. This tax hike is in addition to the $800 million package (nearly $3 billion over 3 years) legislators expect to pass to balance the budget.

"Imagine the progress we could have made if legislators had dedicated even a tenth of the time spent haggling over taxes to considering real reforms needed to balance the budget over the long haul! Some of the reforms we’ve suggested include paring down state employee benefits, privatizing the liquor system, and allowing private companies to get taxpayers a better deal by competing with each other to provide vital government services.

"Ironically, Sen. Ed Murray said, in defending the Senate’s recent tax proposal, “There are no real good choices when you’re raising taxes.” We agree! And if that’s true, why is that the only thing Democrats in the Legislature are considering? We have proposed many common-sense solutions to our budget problems. You can read many of them on our website at www.effwa.org.

"We need to send a loud and clear message to lawmakers that they need to work to save money and make government more efficient, not raise taxes! That’s one of the reasons we are co-sponsoring a “Tea for Two” Tax Day Rally next week on April 15. Several staff members will also be speaking at Tax Day Tea Party Rallies in other locations.

"Please join us as we rally for common-sense solutions. Both “Tea for Two” rallies are packed with an assortment of dynamic speakers, live music, and family-friendly entertainment, while at the same time giving you the chance to make your voice heard on issues like health care, taxation, and out-of-control government."

Amber Gunn, Evergreen Freedom Foundation

~~~~~~~~

Tea Party Rallies on April 15, 2010
Tea for Two Part 1: Olympia Rally – Capitol Campus from Noon-3:00 p.m.
Event link

Tea for Two Part 2: Seattle Rally – Westlake Park from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Event link

Whidbey Island Tea Party Rally in Oak Harbor – Windjammer Park Gazebo from 4-6 p.m.
Event link

Information about other rallies in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Bellingham, and others:
Event link

After Tax Day Rally on April 17, 2010
Vancouver “We the People” Rally – Esther Short Park from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Event link

Governor Gregoire is Dissatisfied.

2010-03-19T21:06:00.001-07:00

Thars trouble a-brewin' with hyper taxation in Washington State

"[Voters are] no more frustrated than I am," Gregoire said. Democrat Gregoire claims to be unhappy with the results of overthrowing democracy in Washington State. Her approval rating is at 31%, according to Survey USA.

As recently as January, Gregoire assured the citizens that there would be no tax increases. Nobody likes a fibber.

The Democratic Party controlled legislature is fairing even worse at 20% approval, according to Survey USA. Small wonder. This legislature decided to kowtow to the SEIU union of government workers and give them a raise in the current recession. Now a Washington State employee makes about $21,000 more per year than a comparable private sector employee.

See KING-Five for more.

$680 milion more

2010-03-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

The State House enacted $680 million in new taxes today.

In a move which can only cripple the state economy, the Democrat controlled legislature enacted a 4.8% overall increase in tax. If Governor Gregoire gets her way, the state take of the sales tax will increase to 6.8% of all retail sales in the state. The overall authorization will exceed 10.5% in some counties.

''We're all here to make a courageous decision in a balanced way, and that's what this bill does,'' said Rep. Marko Liias, D-Mukilteo. The Democrats call pandering to the Service Employees International Union bosses courageous. Its clear the Democrats expect the SEIU to support Democrat candidates with money and canvassing.

One Democrat who voted against the arrogance of his party sided with the Republican minority. “I promised the people I would not [vote for] increase taxes, and I stood by my promise,” said Tim Probst, D-Clark County said. Probst has supported business friendly legislation n the past. He may be the only Democrat in Olympia who understands government does not create wealth, it only taxes it.

Most Democrats seem to think a crushing tax burden will create wealth. "Democratic" Party rationale is presented here.

“The power to tax is the power to destroy, and these tax increases are going to destroy jobs, small businesses and the future economic prosperity of our state,” said Hinkle, R-Cle Elum. “People want to work – they want a job. Since when did the equation for job creation in our state begin and end with the expansion of government?

~~~~~~~~

I960, which used to protect us against unjustifiable tax increases, was suspended recently. Apparently the Democrats had to commit fraud in order to enact the suspension. A number of Democrats cast votes in place of their absent colleagues. The Evergreen Freedom Foundation broke the story.

Not only do the Democrats crash the state economy, they brag about it, and they did it illegally and screwed up by blabbling. Amazing! And criminal.

Freedom & democracy from beyond!

2010-03-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Predatory Indifference

2010-03-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

The notice said,

ESSB 5543, as amended by the House Committee on Environmental Health, titled AN ACT Relating to mercury reduction, has been passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate has concurred in the House of Representatives amendments for ESSB 5543, and has passed the bill final passage.

The Governoire Gregoire will sign this new tax soon.

This one is irksome. Now that the US Congress has outlawed sale of incandescent lights, people are forced to switch to CFLs. The Washington State Legislature, sensing a chance to draw blood, is going to tax CFLs because they contain tiny amounts of mercury. In fact, the Legislature is merely greedy.

The tax is "only" about $1,000,000 per year statewide. But given the people have no real choice but to buy fluorescent lights, this is merely a new tax masquerading as environmental concern. Its just the government showing a predatory indifference to the people.

Stop the massive tax hikes!

2010-03-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

The politicians in Olympia show huge indifference to the state. They are cranking up tax rates, seeking to feed on the lifeblood of the people. Send the State government officials an email about your concerns. May I suggest something like the following text.

As a Washington taxpayer and your constituent, I want you to know that I oppose extending the state sales tax to candy, a tax on bottled water, and boosting taxes and fees on tobacco products. These are clear violation of the will of the people.

I urge you to cut wasteful and unnecessary spending to eliminate the $2.6 billion budget shortfall.

On your watch Washington State is facing one of the toughest economies in decades. You should work to relieve the financial burden on cash-strapped families and pursue policies that encourage, rather than discourage, economic activity -- like lower sales taxes.

In addition, while backers of the tobacco tax hike say it will raise as much as $88 million annually, history has shown that raising excise tax rates does not produce projected revenue. Of the 57 excise tax increases states enacted between 2003 and 2007, only 16 met or exceeded revenue targets. Know your history.

When tobacco tax revenue fails to materialize, you will raise other taxes to make up the "shortfall."

Rather than raising any taxes -- Cut wasteful spending to pay only for vital priorities.

The "Governoire" and Legislative contacts can be found on the right.

Much of the material for this post came from
http://councilfor.cagw.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=621.

State Income Tax (for all, eventually)

2010-03-04T19:49:00.001-08:00

Lynn Harsh sent this in an email.

"If legislative leaders get their way, we will have a whopping new income tax next year and a big new bureaucracy to implement it.

At about noon today (Thursday), we learned that the Senate Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on a tax proposal at 4:30 p.m. (today). For the second time this week, the contents of a proposed tax bill were not available to the public in advance. Nonetheless, Amber Gunn will do her best to testify on behalf of taxpayers.

The intent of the bill was made clear in a blog by Senator Lisa Brown, its architect. She wants to pass a “temporary” three-tenths-of-a-cent sales tax increase to go into effect immediately. Coupled with her proposal is a referendum to the people, giving them the opportunity in November to repeal that three-tenths-of-a-cent increase and an additional half-cent off the state sales tax in exchange for a high earners’ 4.5 % income tax.

They are using sneaky, class warfare strategy to get the camel’s nose under the tent. Brown and her liberal colleagues have long wanted an income tax, and this is the way she intends to implement it. Don’t think for a minute the tax would be relegated only to “high earners.” In a few years, it would encompass most of us.

Perhaps the most crass part is Brown’s assertion that she wants to “let the voters decide.” That’s hard to swallow considering the public had less than five hours notice to testify on a bill whose contents were not publicly disclosed. Add to that the eight times before voters have said “no” to an income tax.

So what can you do? First, please communicate your thoughts about this issue to your elected representatives. I’d love to hear that their phone lines were swamped and their emails flooded."

Up to the minute reporting on this legislative hustle is available at the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

Contact the governor and the legislature.
Governor Christine Gregoire
Find your legislator

And don't forget to vote the rascals out.

a little tax protest

2010-03-01T11:37:00.000-08:00

Washington State Governoire Christine Gregoire overthrew the people's initiative 960 so her party can raise state taxes. The "Democratic" Party has never liked the democratic process when it gets in the way of them raising taxes.

Time Eyman appeared at the ceremonial signing so he could present his opposition to the dismantling of democracy and the resulting tax increase. He can be excused for being a little juvenile. I suspect he wanted to vomit.

Tim Eyman said, "[I]t was just my way to peacefully protest an enormous injustice. It also gave me an opportunity to counter Gregoire's statements and speak out. As you can imagine, feedback almost perfectly matches KING 5's polling results -- the 24% who think the Democrats were right to suspend I-960 are outraged by my protest, the 68% who were against the Democrats' suspension of I-960 are supportive or OK with my protest, but most people rightly don't care one way or the other. After all, my disrespect for the Governor won't cost taxpayers anything -- whereas Gregoire's disrespect for the voters by overturning voter-approved I-960 will cost taxpayers billions of dollars in higher taxes."

The smiling Governor Christine Gregoire was apparently unaware of the gesture Eyman was making behind her back.

Well, at least we still have free speech in Washington State. Word is, the "Democratic" Party is working on ways to tax that too.

Chicken-hearted

2010-02-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

We the victims of Washington State's "Democratic" controlled government are expecting massive tax increases. The chicken-hearted governor and legislature refuses to stand up for the people and kowtowed to their special interest cronies instead.

Republic is about one law for all. No one is above the law. There is no special treatment for elected officials or government workers.

If the Republican Party is about Republic, then Republicans will connect with millions of voters in this state if they use that message.

The officials of this state have decided they are above voter approved law (960). These subverters must be ejected from office and their place given to another. 70% of this state’s voters will agree with you.

Are the Republicans ready to take the wheel? They need to talk about how government is responsible to stay out of the way of the people in their daily lives.

The current dinosaur Democrat administration will try to evade responsibility for the mess they made by placing blame on the “Economy.” This is a familiar “Democratic” Party pattern -- We need responsible government, we get evasion by the blame game.

Gregoire & DemocRats Overthrow Democracy.

2010-02-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

"Governoire" Christine Gregoire overthrew democracy in Washington State, Feb 25, 2010 by signing into law Senate Bill 6130, a "suspension" of the voter enacted initiative 960. I960 required the legislature to enact tax increases by a 60% majority rather than 50%. I960 also had a sunshine provision, which required step by step accounting of the tax increase process so voters could evaluate their legislators performance.

Christine Gregoire authorized the "Democratic" Party controlled legislature to raise taxes by $2.6 billion. In ordinary times, this would not sound like much (weird), but during the current depression brought on by Democratic Party policies, its a chunk of flesh. Gregoire and the Democrats add rebellion to their list of crimes against the people.

“Article 1. Section 1 POLITICAL POWER. All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.”
-- Washington State Constitution

Indictment text

The people clarified the constitution’s recognition of the power of the people by requiring the legislature report to the people about each stage of the legislative process; a “sunshine” provision. The governor and legislature have turned off the sunshine of I960 for a year. The fact they turned it off for only a year shows they know sunshine is necessary for proper government, as found in Article 1, Section 34, "authority hereby conferred upon the legislature shall not be construed to grant to the legislature any exclusive power of lawmaking nor in any way limit the initiative and referendum powers reserved by the people."

The Constitution also guarantees right to recall as needed (Sections 33 and 34). This can only be done by an informed electorate. Suspending I-960 sunshine provisions works counter to this information, and cannot be tolerated.

Therefore, the governor and certain legislators have worked to subvert the Constitution. They should be indicted, tried and punished for the felony crime of subversion under RCW 9.81.010 and RCW 9.81.020

~~~~~~~~

State Representative Cary Condotta said,

"Jobs and people are leaving California due to high taxation and the inability to find work. Washington is not far behind if the only solution those in charge in Olympia can find are new taxes and fees. Businesses will close or relocate, families will move where they can find good-paying jobs and it will further erode our state’s economy. We cannot tax ourselves into prosperity."

Listen up Democrats: Unemployment isn't working! Unemployment is misery!

Olympic Obfuscation

2010-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

From Olympia, WA. 2/18/2010

HB 3176, a massive tax increase bill, includes increases in the airplane excise tax. For example, tax Boeing for leaving the state. That will encourage Boeing to stay. Delusional.

The bill's list of sponsors is all Democrats. Naturally.

Click here for the text of the bill. The title of the bill blathers on about increasing funding for the "elderly and vulnerable people." In fact, this is classic Demo-crap. The Democrats' buddies are taken care of. You are screwed.

Tax Increases and Secret Government

2010-02-16T23:03:00.000-08:00

Olympia is voting all types of unconscionable power for itself. The right to vote is itself under attack. ESSB 5808 takes away the right to vote on the matter of annexations.

Washington citizens used to have a control on tax increase. Control of spending increases always belonged to the legislators who support their "buddies" with your taxes. The only reason to take away the control of taxation from the people is to corrupt government. The "Democratic" Party is doing it.

Tim Eyman delivered a statement against the tax increases and closed government provisions Olympia is pushing. I-960 is the main defense the people have against this very sort of thing. The "Democratic" Party is against responsible government, so responsibility also is under attack. This following is an excerpt.

~~~~~~~~

"Chairman (Ross) Hunter is quoted as saying that I-960 makes the process 'unworkable.' It's quite an admission that [Democratic Party controlled] Olympia can't function if it's forced to follow the law, abide by the Constitution, and keep the people and the press informed.

"For two years, I-960 has worked exactly as voters intended.
"Two years -- the voters have learned that that's the maximum amount of time the Legislature can be restrained by a citizens initiative like I-960.

The rest of Eyman's testimony was read directly, without voice inflection, but he says he intended it to be taken as sarcasm, "When we did I-960, we made a mistake: we allowed a legislative session to be held without I-960's protections. We assumed that restrained by an upcoming election, that the Democrats would never, ever disrespect the voters this much.

"We were wrong. The voters, our supporters, and the sponsors of I-960 underestimated the Democrats' audacity, their arrogance, their shamelessness."

Ross Hunter (D-Redmond) then interrupted to slam down his gavel, upset that Eyman had criticized the Democrats, urged on by cheers and catcalls from the anti-960 people there.

Eyman took a deep breath and continued: "We can never make that mistake again. Two years is the maximum.

"The 2010 legislative session must always serve as the poster child of what happens when Olympia is not restrained by the law, not bound by the Constitution, nor obliged to keep the public and the press informed.

"Voters have approved I-960's policies 3 times, in 1993, 1998, and 2007. Yet without hesitation, Olympia's Democrats are getting rid of them. The Legislature does not want the citizens to know what it's doing, they want to keep it all a secret, and it's very unfortunate ..."

Hunter interrupted again: "That's it. Next," he said.

~~~~~~~~

To be sound and responsible, government must meet only one condition: The same law must apply equally to everyone. The "Democratic" Party is attacking the fundamental principle of good government; equality under the law.