Barn Owl and Great Blue Heron Sighted On Thanksgiving Day

On the way to Thanksgiving dinner at our daughters we saw a Great Blue Heron in the field just down the road from us. We used to see them quite often. We even had a heron nest in a big cedar tree on our farm. Our neighbor had dug a pond fed by the artesian spring that comes down the hill and runs along the front of our place. The neighbor stocked this pond with fish in hopes that his grandson would have a fishing hole. So, the heron wasn't in our tree for the likes of us...it just had a bird's eye view over dinner.

But, on the way home we had a real treat! It was pitch dark, 10:30 PM, as we pulled onto the private dirt road that goes across our pasture and up the hill to the house. As we turned in, the car lights revealed what I thought was a big cat sitting on one of the fence posts. And, then we could see it was a huge owl!!! It was perched looking out into the field for something to move. We stopped the car. We just stared for the longest time. This giant bird with its white monkey like face turned and looked at us full-on several times. We inched a little closer and stopped. Jim and I have never seen a barn owl on the property. (I guess we need a barn!)

We eased forward a few more times, the headlights revealing more of its beauty.
Then it brought up its wings in a surprisingly large span and flew low off into the field.

I have seen great horned owls high in the trees down on the Nisqually delta where I took the kids for cold wintertime birding years ago. But, this owl was only 15 feet away...and caught doing what they do best...hunting at night.

A Reader Asks About Lisa's Father... And A Few Comments On The Money People Make Off Of The Misery Of Others

Lisa's father is a man several years older than the mother. The mother was underage,15, when she became pregnant with Lisa.

Strangely and very coincidentally, (because there are 53 Superior Court judges in King County)the grandparents said they had asked a judge to issue a restraining order against the man who was in his twenties and seeing their daughter. The judge said "NO" to the restraining order. The teen became pregnant. The man was a bad influence. Last Spring,Judge Kessler wisely prohibited the mother from seeing the guy. I understand she does not see the father and has no contact with him. According to the grandparents, the judge who denied the restraining order (not Kessler) is the same judge who just sent Lisa's case back to the juvenile court for termination. This case has some really creepy twists.

Who knows. Maybe there wouldn't be a little Lisa if the restraining order had been granted.

(I will be looking into this issue further. I am sure the judge had some legal reason for not complying. I know that it is relatively easy to get a restraining order for domestic violence, for instance. But I want to see what may have happened in this case. The fee can even be waived if a person does not have money for the fee. More on this later.)

In any event, the father is out of the picture. He has a state paid attorney representing his interests at all of the hearings. But, because he does not talk with his attorney...the attorney can not say anything in court. So, absent his client, the attorney sits in court, saying nothing, and doing nothing, helping no one...and we are paying for it.

This whole thing is quite the money maker....for a WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE. Counselors, judges, attorneys (for the CASA, the state, the father and the mother), two day care facilities, foster woman, social worker, court reporter, the support systems for the agencies and the support system for the CASA...even the guy who sells the gasoline to the social worker who runs around all day...makes money off of this travesty. Heck, DSHS is bigger than Boeing to our economy.

The only ones it costs...in terms of dollars...are the taxpayers and the grandparents. The grandparents have spent thousands trying to get standing in court, driving all over the two counties to help their daughter and granddaughter, missing work for their short visits, etc.

Two of my senate colleagues told me to tell the grandparents to sell their house if they wanted to get their granddaughter back. I said, "They have already spent all their money." One senator responded..."Then sell your house if you want to help them." These two senators have been trying for years to get accountability into this system. "Get a good lawyer and sell your house if you have to, to get the money." Maybe Michele Obama was thinking of DSHS/CPS when she said she had not been proud of America. This system is a racket!

DSHS Anonymously Writes To Blog... They Are Very Angry

DSHS, a closed to the public agency, can say what it wants and give no explanations. No legislator, no member of the public, can sit in and review what they are doing. They do not want the public to hold them accountable. Isn't that true, Insider,? Let's just call this persoan, "insider."

I honestly believe this would be a terrible job (there is a very high attrition rate) but for the ones really making the decisions...there is a lot of money at the end of the day.

About two months ago I wrote about Lisa's black eye. This was something I reported to the police, myself. There was a cover up of what happened. Someone from CPS has sent this blog an anonymous message saying I am awful in what I have been communicating. (Instead of being told I am awful I would rather hear and see why you believe that is the case. Everything I say is in print in front of me or reported to me by two sources...standard reporting etiquette.)

About the foster mother:
What would she teach Lisa about "free speech" should she get her, (that all offending blogs should be shut down...that truth is relative?)
What kind of role model is she if she brings guys around with guns who need restraining orders...how is her judgement at 42?
How is it she dumps the child in back to back daycare and doesn't have the time to take her to the doctor (she sometimes has the social worker do it)?
Does the single woman have any support network but the state?
Who pays for the day care..the taxpayers..right? wouldn't it be cheaper for us all if Lisa were with one of the biological relatives if not her mom?
Who is the man who lists his address at the foster woman's house?
Who was the man that answered the door to the process server?
Who was the man listed in the phone book at the foster woman's residence? (Gee, David, if you don't answer the questions what am I to think? And, if you answer them only to the judge how do we know you have told the truth? Send me an answer...and let's put this aside.
Who are these male friends?
If DSHS has done nothing but have the foster woman fill out a simple form in order to have adoption proceed...certainly there has been no check on the other people who are clearly in her life.
What about the foster woman's family??? Well...no one knows.
There was just another multi-million dollar judgement against DSHS (see earlier PRR)for placing children in a house with "bad people." DSHS never ran checks. In this case they did not know about the restraining order and neither DSHS or one of the judges thinks this is a problem. I do. And, I think the public would be concerned. If the foster woman is fearful for herself and she has two children from the state...it is a bad situation. It is a situation that goes on, everyday for many women. But, why would the state opt to send a child into this kind of risk? And...David throws stones at me!

David thinks I have terribly maligned the foster woman. And, yet, I get no answers. And, David, I am asking because part of my responsibility is to hold government accountable. That is not your job, I understand that. But it is mine.

If this were DOT or DOE for example...I could hold a public meeting and they would attend. For example, DOT would try to explain to the people of Enumclaw why they should have a round-about in the middle of a highway. The truth was they just wanted to experiment on a highway and chose a sleepy little town to do their work. The public spoke and there is now no roundabout. But, there are no public meetings with DSHS, David. You take poor people to court and needlessly go after their children.

David:

Why didn't DSHS honor the positive in-home studies of the grand parents and the aunt/uncle? Why didn't you go first to the state law that says you place with relatives first?

Why, did you place this young mother in a house with 13 people and one bathroom?

Why did you place her in a basement bedroom and have to share the one room with another mother and her two older children?

Why did you have the mother and daughter placed in a home with two old, turned over refrigerators in the front yard?

Why did you leave everyone bunched up and without supervision and so little food that relatives had to take in a bed and were compelled to take in food?

WHY IS IT YOU HAVE YOU ALLOWED LISA TO STARVE? SHE HAS ONLY GAINED 4 POUNDS IN THE 15 MONTHS THE STATE HAS HAD HER. SHE COME TO DAY CARE WITH FOOD LODGED IN HER NOSE...A BLACK EYE MORE THAN ONCE..SORES IN HER MOUTH. THAT IS NOT A LIE DAVID. READ THE DOCTOR'S REPORT.

Why was the original email about the black eye altered?

Why did you tell me in a recent phone call that cases like this one are never terminated and yet you keep pushing for it.

I have to think that was simply a lie...or that the taxpayers are paying millions and millions of dollars to bluff. And this is not a bluff. You want to take this little girl from a good family. AND, under your care she has diminished. Like so many others..and after a year has passed you want to tell the judge that is the mother's fault!!

What kind of credibility do you think CPS has, for heaven's sake?

Why do you not tell the judge that there is no place that will take the mother and Lisa for overnight visits? You don't allow the grandparents home...and there is no place that will take a mother without the child. THE FAMILY HAS LOOKED ALL OVER KING COUNTY TO SATISFY THE JUDGE'S ORDER AND TO ENJOY THE COMPANY OF LISA...BUT FACILITIES ARE GEARED FOR MOTHERS EITHER WITH OR WITHOUT THE CHILD. THERE IS NO PLACE THAT TAKES THE MOTHER IF THE CHILD IS ONLY THERE INFREQUENTLY...BUT, THEN, YOU KNOW THAT. DON'T YOU? YOU HAVE SET THE MOTHER UP TO FAIL IN FRONT OF THE JUDGE. YOU WILL SAY SHE DIDN'T HAVE THE OVERNIGHT VISITS...BUT THEN...WHILE SHE DESPERATELY WANT TO...YOU HAVE MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE. YOU WANT THE CHILD.

There was an email that I saw. It was from the day care supervisor at Childhaven to Lisa's mother. The piece I saw was the original.It was later changed at least twice. A judge should demand to see the original and question the worker over this! Instead a study is made and the whole thing is quickly covered up. But, how do you dismiss this:

In the email the supervisor said a day care worker had asked Lisa how she got hurt (referring to the black eye). Lisa responded by pulling up her Capri's, pointing to a scratch, and saying she did it on the slide. "No, " said the worker. "What happened to your eye?" (The email said Lisa had a significant black eye...no picture....no immediate reporting....)Lisa's response to the day care worker was covered with a black felt tip. Instead of making that response known to the mother...they covered it up. Literally.

The version of the same email was altered. (You know this as I presented it to CPS high-up, Cheryl Step-on-me.)

Someone took out the question and the blacked out answer and it then looked like the question was never asked.

However...the person who doctored this email added a one sentence paragraph at the end of the email saying that parts of the email had been redacted for privacy reason. Really? OK...then we have an admission that someone doctored the email. Someone removed the direct question to Lisa about what happened to her eye.

Then, strangely, a third version of the same email surfaced. This one had little Lisa merrily coming into daycare that day and announcing, happily, "Oh, look...(all smiles) I fell and hurt my eye."

I have asked the DSHS Ombudsman (yes, "independent") to get a copy of the first email. She said she could not share it with me if she got it. And two weeks later said she was unable to get it.

Here is what we know about children, especially young children.

First: If they fall and get hurt....THEY SCREAM AND CRY REALLY LOUD. They are very self-centered at this age and cry first because of fear, then the actual pain, and then they cry until comforted. I raised five kids. I have ten grand-kids...I know this. So who the hell saw what happened to her? No one? This toddler is supposedly supervised every hour of every day. And no one heard a thing. I DON'T BELIEVE IT.

Second: You can change history through a child. The younger the better. Just alter the email and give the child a new memory. Tell her what happened to her...and that is what she will say. What she said the first time she was asked was what was important here...and that was conveniently removed.

Lisa's mother brought the black eye to the attention of Childhaven and demanded to know what had happened to her little girl. This was a Friday morning visit. (Please note that it was a Friday morning...so, if Lisa's mother had not been there this would have gone unreported and it would have healed by Monday...how convenient.) It was the first thing she had noticed in seeing her daughter. There was a hint that DSHS and CASA wanted to blame the mother. But that was kind of hard. Blackeyes are red before they turn black. So, they couldn't blame the mother with a straight face (actually, come to think of it...they really only have straight faces.)

Lisa had not been to Childhaven the previous day. (It was closed for some reason.)She had spent the whole day either at Kindercare (her other haunt) or...at home with her foster woman. This injury happened either at home, on the bus (yes, she was only 2 years-old and boarding a school bus...that, ALONE, is reason enough to take her from this situation!!!!!), or she was at Kindercare.

Note: DSHS tells me I am not the only one to report this. I reported it to the police. DSHS will not show me, again, the first email. We may never know whose name was taken out of Lisa's answer.

Thanksgiving Is For Families

To My Readers:
...the good people who have had children taken by CPS without due process...to DSHS (David and others who spend state time reading my blog and trying to get even with me through threats to the family)...to the press who monitor my blog (including the liberal Seattle bloggers)...to Lisa's extended family that has been needlessly going through hell...to my grown children who see this blog...and to Little Lisa who I have never met but love...

One of my greatest causes for thanksgiving is the liberty we have here in America. I have traveled the world and I love my country. I love the people. I love the rule of law.

This year I sat down with a despot in the Philippines. I reported my whereabouts to the Communist Chinese police. I gave school supplies and medicine to children in Honduras. I voted on the Senate floor. I had my picture taken with Ron Paul, worked for Mitt Romney, and voted for John McCain. I have hugged each one of my ten grandchildren and write this blog, in part, so they will have a remembrance of me.

But, life becomes really full... when you fight for something good. Isn't that what gives the living of life meaning?

I want a responsive government that is open to scrutiny by the people. I want government to be better than it is. I want simply to help people. And, for me, the best way to do that is to go after what is right and good. Fighting for the rights of others is a passion that, for me, is also a duty.

In our turning to God in giving thanks this holiday, let's pledge to keep moving forward. And, for you at the top of CPS...you need to get a soul.

Little Lisa's Mouth Filled With Sores, Her Back Is Bruised....God Help This Litte Girl In The Hands Of Washington State CPS

I just received a phone call.

Little Lisa was just seen in a supervised visit. She has a big bruise in the middle of her back. She has sores in her mouth. Her gums are blood red. She has a sore or cut on her lower lip.

She cried when given a sip of apple juice because of the pain.

The social worker said, "She should not be in daycare right now. She is sick." (One daycare won't take her because of the blood laced diarrhea...the other one does.)

Lisa screamed when the visit was over and the social worker tried to get her into the car. So, the relative had to get her to the car. Lisa cried "hysterically" when the social worker tried to put the seat belt on her...so the same relative had to buckle her into the seat.

I called the governor's office again. YES, YOU PEOPLE ON THE ETHICS BOARD....I AM TRYING TO HELP SOMEONE!!

We can only hope the mouth sores are not from sexual abuse.

This family had two very positive in-home studies (one with the grandparents and one with an aunt/uncle). There was never ANY accusation of abuse by the teen mother. In a time of budget deficits I have no idea how much money could be saved by having DSHS follow the law. They should place with biological relatives first.

"Get the child into the system and then crush them [the family]" Quote from a colleague in the Senate.

Crush the good families financially and emotionally, and then take their children.

Just think of all the money that could be saved to help kids who are really in need.

Seattle P.I. Publishes Pam Roach Op-Ed....DSHS Should Be Broken Down And Over-Sight Added

This is not a link. Please cut, paste, and read the following:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/389233_roach25.html

Thank You,
Pam

There Is Support In Olympia

A reader asks: "Do you have support in Olympia?"

Many of my colleagues have had similar experiences with DSHS. And, others understand the issues simply through their understanding of due process. Others have a respect for the powerful people in government who wreck havoc with unrestrained raw power that comes from having behavior shielded from public review.

Legislators are just like the rest of us. They come from every walk of life. They have families. They get joy from doing good work (as they define "good").

Some legislators side with big government. But, more and more they are questioning what government does without divulging its methods.

I have mentioned before that I am a member of the statutory "Sunshine Committee." It is made up of liberals and conservatives, legislators, an AG, a couple of newspaper appointees, and the Seattle City Attorney who likes to protect city information from public view but who has been fair in airing the issues. We are charged with removing exemptions from public disclosure. That means...the legislature passed a law and the governor signed it...to open up government to the people. Laws that were passed through the years that seal up information will be removed. It will happen slowly. Government moves slowly. In matters involving government accountability it is never soon enough for me.

The greatest opponents of open government will be government itself. DSHS will urge committee chairs to kill bills before they even get a hearing. DSHS will hide behind the "need for privacy" as the reason to keep the agency closed to review. There is certainly no need to compromise privacy in making government accountable.

I talked today with three Senators who agree that the problems are great. They think the department lies to them (notice I am not using their names). They are appalled at what is happening.

One legislator was quick to say that over the years the law has been tightened to protect the public. Twenty years ago, for instance, Lisa's mother would have stood in the court without representation and without the right to participate in court. Progress is slow. Taxpayers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on the salaries of high level bureaucrats who lobby to keep the agency behind closed doors and unaccountable.

The governor, too, must allow the public the right to hold their government accountable. She has to make a decision. Remember, the legislature can pass the legislation but nothing happens without the governor's signature.

I called two of the governor's top aides today to try to get help for Lisa. They have not returned my calls. They responded the first time or two, but, when they know you are calling about a child "in the system" they stop returning the calls. Both of these people are good people. When I first described the situation they were appalled. But then...I am sure it was just easier to ignore the situation and decide that the decisions should be left to the department. (Meaning...even the governor doesn't hold them accountable.)

The department is so massive...it is so powerful...and they have the time to block all attempts at accountability. The governor's staff just doesn't have the time to deal with someone else's problems. I really don't think there is any control on this agency.

Only the courts can reign things in and that is hard when the department has total access and the relatives can't afford to get in the battle.

More later.

Rally In Olympia....They Need To Hear

I feel a rally in Olympia coming on....
I have talked to other legislators who have the same experiences.
What do you all think? Will you come to a rally in Olympia after session starts?
Will you lobby your legislators in mass?

You may email my office or post to the blog. I need your opinions.

Little Lisa Is Passing Blood And Has Part Of Her Colon Hanging Out

Instead of being home and under the comfort of her biological grandparents and natural mother, little Lisa (fresh out of the hospital) is back in daycare, generally.

She has had rotavirus diarrhea for over a month! Her diarrhea is full of blood!!! She has a protrusion from her anus. She is bleeding in that area. She turned three in August.

One of her two day care facilities will no longer take her. SHE IS SICK!!

She is using pull-ups again. Lisa was "potty trained" but not any more. And the diarrhea is a terrible mess...right there at the daycare.

Her mother went to visit today but no one had the courtesy to call her and tell her Lisa would not be in daycare today. CPS is really a rather rude bunch. They couldn't give a rats ass if someone has to take three bus transfers to see their child only to have the child not be there.

CPS wants this child. They are unrestrained in what they will do or allow in order to get her.

And, there are no apologies. It is just the way CPS treats people. No R-E-S-P-E-C-T. One of my colleagues says that the average CPS worker lasts under two years and then they move on to other government posts. Maybe attrition rates in this department should be studied. Decent people do not like adversarial activities when they know the department has gone too far.

Two More Children Die In Yet Another Foster Home Blaze

(I just had a communication from someone who knows the foster parents in this terrible case. The caller stated that they think I am "targeting" the family by way of this blog. Following tragedy is, unfortunately, what you do if you report on CPS. It is not "targeting" the family. Please read the blog. If there is something incorrect send me a message. If the state allows that many kids in a house the upstairs should have a special "way out." This home was a facility and being such...with this many kids...there needed to be special fire escape equipment: slides, outside stairs, whatever. How would you vote on something like that? What is on the state's safety check list? Anything?)

My sincere condolences to the family and those who loved those troubled boys. Each case like this should be thoroughly investigated so that a tragedy like this one will never occur again...in a foster home...or a non foster care residence.)

When Saturday night's local TV News reported two children had just died in a house fire, I wondered if DSHS was involved. Specifically, I wondered if this was a foster home.

Sunday, November 23, 2008
The Seattle Times

ARLINGTON--- Two boys died in a house fire late Friday, but their foster parents and six other children escaped.

The blaze had spread so fast, with flames shooting out several windows, that firefighters couldn't go inside to rescue the boys, ages 11 and 12, even though they had arrive just six minutes after the 911 call....

The firefighters said they think it was an electrical malfunction. I am not a fire investigator but am concerned about the reason for the fire and that this 4,000 sq. ft. house with ten bedrooms went up so fast. The article did mention that the foster kids were placed in this home through Compass Health which is "a local social-service agency that works with foster children who suffer from depression and other mental-health issues. (Like "setting little fires around the house?" Please see previous PRR)

We learn about this from the reporters who have interviewed the neighbors. DSHS will make no reports. We may see something after a settled law suit...but usually the details are sealed as part of the settlement.

This reporting is not aimed at failings of the foster parents. I understand that one parent is a juvenile court worker who takes in troubled kids and is a very kind hearted man. He is paid for this work...so he and his wife make probably $80,000 a year to do what they do. But, this blog is about built in safe guards for the kids, use of taxpayer money, and lack of citizen oversight. Good people should have better support (home inspections, a definition of hotel v. home, full mental health reports, from the same department.)

What we will never know:

How many fire alarms were in this huge house that was being remodeled to provide more beds?

Was the reconstruction finished?

Were there hazardous situations on the premises because of the construction?

Was there a child in this mix that had a "little problem" in the fascination with fire department?

What was the report that CPS had on this home and its safely?

How much money was the foster couple making by taking in the kids with "mental-health" issues?

When does this house with ten bedrooms full of kids with mental problems move from being a foster home to a mental institution? (I guess it is all under DSHS so it doesn't matter.)

ABC's Sunday Morning " Roundtable" Isn't Round...But Tipped

As usual, the George Stephanopoulos' "Roundtable" was really a lopsided three-liberal-democrat panel (including George S. who was the press secretary for Clinton) and one lone conservative...George Will.

If you study the dynamics...the thing tips. Think of the Olympic hammer thrower. As Will leans back to try to center things an elongation occurs. The table is not round and it is not even. Because it is a three-on-one debate and flys high and left, I think "round" should be replaced with "tipped." "ABC's Sunday Morning 'Tipped Table Report'."

George Will does a more than able job but only gets 1/4 vs 3/4 of the talk time and does not get to formulate the questions.

Never satisfied with these advantages the new administration will be going after talk radio that has been successful for so many conservative commentators. Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck are sounding the warning for government attacks on free speech. Government does have the nasty habit of trying to silence critics.

Better Butter Brownies....Stay Away From Trans Fat Says My Daughter

What would a blog written by a woman be if there wasn't a recipe!!!

I have a very health conscience family. One of my daughters-in-law is an Olympic athlete and watches her diet. Another daughter-in-law has a master's degree from the University of WA in dietetics. But, it was my daughter who taught me about evil trans fat.

The only brownies I eat must be homemade. NO box brownies for me! I am much more selective about what I eat to gain weight. I do have my standards. No sugar soda. No pastries. No straight butter. And, NO BOX BROWNIES.

However, my favorite "from scratch" recipe called for shortening (full of trans fat).

The definition of learning is: a change in behavior. And,I was pleased that with one simple explanation I changed my recipe for a better butter brownie batch. This shows I do learn...I do care...and I will do anything to please my wonderful daughter!!!

For a 9x13 pan...Here...In Time For the Holidays is:

Pam Roach's Relative Pleasing Better With Butter Brownies

1 cup butter
4 oz. unsweetened CHOCOLATE (Food of the Gods)
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (the real stuff I get in Honduras is what I use)
salt to taste
1 1/2 c. white flour
1 cup nuts (let's understand how the nuts work. My family doesn't like them. So...I take their share and put the whole damn cup in my 1/4 of the pan.)

Bake in flour dusted buttered pan for 35 minutes (or so) at 350 degrees.

These things are so rich you have to buy an extra gallon of milk or you will run out.

And, God Bless America for it's liberal cocoa importation policy.

Washington State Taxpayers To Pay $6 Million After Another Child Dies Under CPS Abuse

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/388692_fosterchild21.html

And....drum roll....

Dateline 11/20/2008

Here is yet another horrendous story about CPS/foster adopts in WA State and hell for kids. Several kids were harmed and a 7 year old is dead of starvation.

Costs:

One bruised, beaten and starved to death boy...

Other children terribly abused but able to survive though ruined for life (money doesn't fix this stuff folks)...

$6M from the taxpayers...

Court costs in the hundreds of thousands...

The defense attorneys for the state (what do you want to bet they were the best in the state... no free attorneys here...

Hopefully, the cost of a long prison term for the foster adopt hell woman the state failed to check out before entrusting with our vulnerable kids.

Please take the time to read it and then ask yourselves why this happened..

DSHS...OPEN UP YOUR DOORS AND LET US SEE WHAT HAPPENED. YOU NEED CITIZEN OVERSIGHT TO FIX THE SYSTEM. YOU CAN NOT DO IT YOURSELVES. YOU HAVE PROVED THAT OVER AND OVER.

Congresswoman Tracy Eide???

With Obama comes the changing of the guard.

The word is that democrat Congressman Adam Smith (WA-9) will be stepping up to a spot in the Obama administration. That leaves his congressional seat up for grabs. But, no grabs here.

State Senator Tracy Eide (D-Federal Way) may just have a lock on Adam Smith's seat. Republicans will have to fight for it. In a US Senate vacancy there is an appointment by the governor until there can be an election. With a US House seat in a situatuon where a house member vacates the seat there is a vacancy until a special election can be held. We do not fill US House seats in this state very often.

I'm a fan of watching Democrats mix it up. It would be much more fun if King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson and State Senator Jim Kastama would join in the fight.

Eide is the Senate Democrat Floor Leader. She generally has a nice temperament.

(I have to watch it when I say something nice about a Democrat. In an earlier PPR I mentioned that I thought Senator Marilyn Rasmussen (D-Eatonville) was a person of integrity. I was criticised by some Republicans for that (without talking to me) and one was telling people that I was not supporting the Republican candidate. One and one is three?)

In any event, I am sure Eide will be an even-tempered though liberal member of congress. I hope she likes the long red eye to D.C.

Then the 30th District can look forward to a war over Eide's senate seat in the fall. Could we have an appointed Mark Melosia (D)defending against attorney Jim Ferrel(R)? After the tax increases that could be a race!

Will Mayor Michael Park (Republican at this point but with many in the Korean community who would urge him to run as a "D") jump in the race? Or, would he go after the vacated Melosia seat?

Update On Lisa

Now having left the hospital, our little three-year-old heroine is now back at the foster adopt's house. She is still very ill. She has a protruding intestine due to rotavirus and persistent diarrhea.

I understand the daycare is not too happy that CPS did not tell them that one of the little playmates has a highly contagious illness.

The mother is not allowed to visit her sick daughter and give her comfort.

In fact, the mother has had a great deal of trouble in that department. She was directed to find a place where both she and her child could over-night together. That was a very good sign. But, the mother could not find a "residence" that was set up for overnight stays that would take her. The reason for that was because the mother did not have the child. The judge blamed the 19 year-old mother for this.

Why wasn't she just allowed to have visits with her child at the home of the grandparents? This situation defies any reason at all.

By the way...the in-home studies for the grandparents and the aunt/uncle have expired. The relatives are not allowed to re-submit their applications without a request from CPS. So...if you are CPS....you don't tell the judge the studies exist, let them expire, and then just don't ask for a new one.

The department makes small and insignificant motions so they can say they want to reunify...but just look at their behavior. I learned a long time ago you don't listen to what someone says...you look at what they do. The likely outcome of activity tells you what the real goals are.

I actually talked with David Davilar Fox of the department a few weeks ago when things were looking positive.

Fox said, "We were never going to terminate in this case."

Me: "Oh really, then why did you shove termination papers before the judge even before the hearing was held? And, why do you push for termination in EVERY court proceeding?"

Fox: "Oh, that doesn't mean anything."

Well...to him it obviously doesn't.

There Are No Natural Allies to Protect Families...They Are On Their Own

(I have received over 20 comments as of 11 AM today. Some are too long to print and I read them for background. Thank you. I will see if I can free up some time to comment on the comments!)

Another of the troubling things here is the fact that CPS is the only agency in government that has no natural predator.

If you are the Department of Natural Resources you have builders or logging companies who, through the court, will hold you accountable. If you are Labor and Industries, big business or labor unions will keep you honest. If you are Education...the WEA will keep you in line, etc. And, there is money at stake.

But, if you are mom and pop with a regular household budget...you are really on your own. As yet, I do not know how the Hispanic man (see earlier PRR) who has his termination case before the State Supreme Court got help. Attorneys generally only take a case if there is a pot of gold in sight. And, by that I don't mean the fees they charge...I mean the 30% they get when damages are awarded.

In any event....

The People have no over-sight of this area of government.

There is no motivation for anyone to help "troubled families"..ie: 'it must be their fault...they must have done something wrong.'

And, assigned free attorneys are no match for experienced government lawyers and the highly paid private firm lawyers that help the CASA (who can be hostile to the biological family for no reason at all).

Angry CASAs Descend On Senator Roach At Public Hearing

The state has a "Sunshine Committee" to review laws that restrict information available to the public. I am a member of that committee.

Last week the committee held a hearing on my proposal to require more information about CASA volunteers and to make that information public.

After all, I reasoned, all government employees at the court and legislative branches at all levels must declare financial information. And, I felt that just knowing a person was not a felon was really not enough to know if they were fit to be a CASA.

Talk about angry!!!!

[Are they therefore unfit? Please see PRR of yesterday.] The King County CASA coordinator, a judge, the state CASA honcho, and a few other defenders of the closed and secret citadel made it very personal.

"Pam Roach wants to kill the CASA system." The judge even said, "If people have to declare their financial status there will be no volunteers. It will kill the CASA program. It will no longer exist."

No, really, that is what they said.

And, they didn't really stick to the subject. The committee already voted at the last meeting that it could, under its purview, discuss the openness (or lack of it) regarding the CASA program. That has already been decided. The defenders of a secret government arm were just plain livid at the thought of anyone knowing more about their program. What is there to hide?

(Even the judge had to give up her financial information to run for office, for goodness sake. I see a lack of judicial candidates but it is not because some lawyers are afraid of giving up portfolio information...they actually make pretty interesting reading, by the way).

Judge Recommends Termination Based On False Information

Today, Judge Catherine Schafer, in King County Superior Court declared Lisa's mother to be unfit. The reason was a blog (not mine) that has been exposing the CASA and the system. Apparently, the judge was told that the 19-year-old mother had written the blog. Someone must have lied to the judge because the mother did not write the blog.

Apparently, if you are the state or the CASA...no one has to prove anything to a judge. All you have to do is say something and it becomes fact. I will assume that the mother's court appointed attorney stated that her client did not write a blog at all. But, without proof, the judge apparently (I was not there) decided that someone was writing a nasty blog and that it must be the teen mother. And, the writing of a blog proved the mother to be unfit.

So, the mother is accused of writing a blog that said bad things (at least someone thought the bad things were true) about the CASA and the state. She did not write the blog (neither did I, for the record) but because the judge thought the teen mother had written it....she was declared unfit. Writing a mean blog meant she was unfit to be a mother! I guess the judge thought the mother must be angry, or something.

However, the foster adopt did not like me writing this blog and in anger...filed an ethics complaint against me demanding that I stop writing. So...she is mean and angry and stupid and gets to keep the child that is not hers.

The state attorneys were seen laughing as they left the courtroom.

Little Lisa Is In The Hospital/ CPS Keeps Her Mother From Her Side

Everyday there is some awful new development in the case of little Lisa. There is no way to keep up with it all. The department wants the child.

Today, Lisa is in the hospital with rotavirus. A person gets this from contact with feces. The biological mother has been refused visits. That's right. Her 3-year-old is in the hospital and the department will not let her see her mother. They want the child to bond only with the foster adopt parent.

A Senate colleague of mine has a case in another part of the state where the parents took twin three-year-olds to the hospital because they were very ill with diarrhea. (A small child can die fairly quickly of dehydration. Rotavirus causes sever diarrhea.) In this case, CPS was called in. The state took the twins into custody. The father has had his wages garnished to pay for the foster care and has nothing left for an attorney. So, the state wants to terminate parental rights when parents take their kids to the hospital. I guess they didn't get them there soon enough. How does a parent know when that point is reached? They are not doctors. They did their best. So, as a reward for being as responsive as they knew how...the kids have been taken. (Seems the state likes the young ones...no memories, you know.)

But, in our case... no problem. The "annotated foster one" still has the child. Same problem...different reaction.

I understand that the staff coordinator for the Senate Republican Caucus monitors my blog.

"Hi, Jim (Senate Republican Staff Coordinator and sometimes advisor). Maybe the Senate Republicans could work to open up government. CPS could be a start. Do Republicans just sit back and let the state go at it? There is a caucus reorganization meeting coming up. You will be taking notes after someone asks 'What we should prioritize?' Why don't we prioritize having CPS investigated?"

A Letter From My WWII Veteran Father

Veteran's Day is big in our family.

This year we again polished up the red CJ jeep, decked her out with flags and loaded up a few grand kids. I shook hands with veterans as I walked the parade route. The Auburn Veteran's Day Parade is the largest west of the Mississippi. The governor attended. Newly reelected Congressman Dave Reichert was just ahead of me in line. Notably, it didn't rain.

(On several lines of my family, relatives fought in the Revolutionary War and for the Union Army during the Civil War. My dad and husband are Army veterans. My son is in the Air Force.)

I have always felt that the legislature is the battlefield of a free nation. We battle our issues with words and alliances, votes and public support, with the free press and talk radio reporting the play. The chamber floor is ranked with people who have fought "campaigns" to win their seats. We thank our veterans for this freedom. Gladly, our family stops it's daily activity and attends the memorials and remembers.

I was going through some storage boxes this weekend and ran across a letter from my World War II veteran dad.(I am documenting it here for my children and theirs.) My dad passed away in 2007 at age 82. He was a perfect father. I won't lose this letter again. I want him by my side.


March 6, 1994

Dearest Pam,

Gosh---I can't remember the last time I wrote a letter to you. As you know it's not one of my favorite things to do. But, I just got thinking the other night what you mean to me, and how much I love you.

It's at a time like this that I run out of the appropriate words to use.
I look back at my life and wonder what it might have been like without you. The thought doesn't even register.

There are many reasons that I love you, and many reason that I am proud of you.

I remember when you were a teenager, and you came home from school angry. Seems one of your teachers was teaching HIS political beliefs to his class. I can't remember whether you confronted the teacher, or reported it to the principal, but you thought it [he] was wrong and you stood up for your beliefs. I knew then, that you would cope with life and people, because you stood up for yourself.

I wasn't wrong.

You do set standards and maintain them. All I have to do is to talk to any of your children to see that you do not waiver from your standards.

You and your husband are truly blessed with wonderful offspring, and of course they are a reflection of you and your husband.

You must take great satisfaction from your accomplishments and the respect that your fellow politicians have for you.

Pam, I don't believe that a day that goes by without my thinking of you or talking about you. I'm so proud of you dear, and I want you to know how much you mean to me. I love you very much. Just thought I'd take a few minutes and tell you of my feelings.

With all my love,
Your happy father,
Charlie

Reader's Suggestions For DSHS Reform

One PRR reader has suggested that CPS not do both the investigating and the enforcement.

Pam: "Good idea. Most of us agree that the police do the investigations and the prosecutor's office does the charging. How would it be if they also did the judging (and without a jury)? There are other institutions that do the investigations, prosecutions and are the trier of fact. The Senate Ethics Committee and the WA State Judicial Conduct Commission proceed in that fashion."

The Legislature Has A Responsibility To The Public In Reigning in DSHS

With the consent of Senate Leadership, a committee chair can actually use subpoena power to hold senate investigative hearings. In the case of CPS and its repetitive egregious "mishaps"...the committee chair should consider such hearings.

The legislature needs to fully grasp what is happening and not happening in this huge and powerful monolith. It is too big. There are no checks and balances. And, they work in secrecy.

This year, as a consequence of my sharing the experience of Lisa with the family, I will be introducing legislation to open up government in the area of DSHS.

I believe the agency is too big and should be divided to allow for more accountability within its own workings.

I will be proposing the creation of a "transparency board" made up of legislators and the public. The board would review cases and make recommended policy changes to the department and to the legislature.

State Auditor Brian Sonntag did a performance audit and found many things that needed to be addressed. The transparency board would watch dog DSHS to see if they are willing and in the process of making the institutional changes necessary to provide better service.

I have always thought it would be good for government to give out "satisfaction" surveys to users (citizens and taxpayers). Fat chance of that when it is so much easier just to ignore criticism and go after your critics.

If ever there was a need for a bipartisan effort...it is in fixing DSHS.

Senator Roach Attacked Again

Excuse me, I have to look over my shoulder....

Yep, the Senate Republican Caucus and the Senate Ethics Committee and yep...several DSHS workers at high levels read this blog and are documenting what I say.

They are really glad I am blogging because they want to use something...ANYTHING...against me.

Today, I called the attorney for the Senate Ethics Board. He told me that after he received a complaint from the foster mother that the board would have to look into whether or not my trying to help a constituent was, in fact, unethical.

(Note: The foster mother's complaint was about what I was saying...I never used her name...but she thought I was talking about her and just didn't like free speech. Her name was used in open court...so it was public...but I never used it. The Ethics Board with Senate Republicans agreeing---without asking I know this---have decided to expand the complaint on their own. They want to find me guilty of unethical conduct for helping a constituent and fighting tyrannical government. That, by the way, is what I do when government wants to take away rights. God forbid an elected official who battles for rights. That is so passe.)

I guess it is OK to help...sometimes. For instance, the Department of Transportation wanted to put a round-about on a rural state highway in my district. Most of us felt it was a bad idea to put cattle trucks and logging trucks (essentially big semis) in a round-about. We also thought that it was wrong to take the private property it would have required to put in the round-about when they would not have had to take any private property to put in a traffic light at the same spot.

I fought hard to influence government. After all, they serve the people and the people did not want any of what they were dishing out. And, today there is no round about.

There is, by the way, no manual that is given out when you become a state senator. You work for the people you represent.

In the same area of the round-about (Enumclaw) DSHS took a child and has ignored the law that says family should be the first consideration for placement. They actually had two positive in-home placements for relatives (the grandparents and an aunt/uncle). DSHS actually hid the fact of the aunt and uncle from the judge. That's right. They did not want the child with relatives so they withheld information from the judge.

And, as I have been told...DSHS has almost totally ignored a court order to let the grandparents see their grandchild. For months and months, in fact...they were told (a lie) by the CASA that they had been ordered NOT to see their grandchild by the court! Imagine how they felt when they found out they were lied to all those months.

Where the heck is an ethic board when the attorney CASA lied to these people?

So, now the Senate Ethics Committee wants to attack me for calling it like it is. Surely, there must be something wrong when a Senator fights for an individual family. Why would anyone spend their time that way?

I have asked only two things from DSHS...that they follow the law and the court orders.

Oh, and, yes, after the fact, I expressed my displeasure that they put this mother and child in a home with 13 people and one bathroom. Oh, I certainly did tell them about the restraining order that the foster mother had against her old lover. It would have been irresponsible if I had not done so. And, I certainly did report and demand an investigation when little Lisa showed up at daycare with a black eye! That was not happening without me! People who care about kids do not put them in danger. (Let's see...wasn't it DSHS that put the pyromaniac teenager back in the home with four other children...only to have two kids burn to death?)

How about it...I am being persecuted for trying to help people against an agency that forces a child to stay with parents that are starving her!! (Pls. see earlier PRR: the 14 year-old who weighed 47 pounds.)

For those persecutors that read my blog....SHAME ON YOU FOR NOT HAVING THE GUTS TO STAND UP FOR ANYTHING AND THEN PERSECUTE THOSE WHO DO.

Little Lisa Closer To Coming Home

Two days ago I learned that the demonic CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) who tried everything in the book to keep little Lisa from her family and permanently give her to a "troubled" foster adopt...removed himself from the case!

This is a very good sign that Lisa will be coming home! Someone delivered that news to him. I believe that is the only reason this man would leave the case. He was fanatical about stealing this child.

He is seething mad! His goal was to have parental rights terminated. He did everything in his power. He placed the mother and child in a couple of hell-pit houses. He yanked Lisa from her mother because the mother was having trouble living with 13 other people in a house with one bathroom. He had knowledge of relatives with positive in-home studies and kept that information from the court. He yelled at and threatened the grandparents screaming, "You will never see your grandchild," and, "She will never go out of state [to the aunt and uncle]." He was a disaster! He over stepped his authority on numerous occasions. He should never be a CASA in this state.

But...he left!!! This is a sign that he knows Lisa will be going home. He lost his battle to steal this child and give her to someone else. This attorney put over 1,000 hours in this case.

He bluffed his way through DSHS and past the CASA coordinator in King County. He put on a nice attorney suit and dazzled the new, young social worker to get his way. He worked with the "K and L Gates" attorney friend from California where they, together, had been so successful at alienating affection between young children and their families...and then delivering them to foster adopt single parents. The evil man is gone for now.

But, he will be back. He likes what he does...stealing children...so he will be back.

We are much closer to reuniting this family. But, there have been no new visits for the grandparents (DSHS continues to thwart the court order).

The mother is doing "fabulous" say the grandparents. She has been allowed to take Lisa to the mall. There is another hearing on Nov. 17th.

What do we think this ordeal has cost the taxpayers?

Little Change In WA State Politics

Tonight my neighbor of 25 years and I chatted on the phone. I knew that years ago she used to be a Democrat, but then she "started paying taxes."

She was my Republican Precinct Committeeman. She works tirelessly on Republican campaigns at all levels. She is a lobbyist both in Olympia and in D.C. for a business organization.....she voted for Barack Obama!

The top went big time left. Obama swept the state. Assisted suicide passed (we are the second state in the nation to pass it). Tim Eyman announced his win on his transportation initiative at 8:05. At 8:10 he learned his initiative failed...BIG! A four year second run at the governor's office and Dino Rossi lost.

But, the legislature did not see the big sweep of of two years ago. Actually, Marilyn Rasmussen (D) did lose. And, Mike Carroll (R)won. (I called them both today.) So, Republicans in the Senate picked up a seat in this landslide Democrat year. The House lost two Republicans: Norma Smith in Oak Harbor and John Ahern in Spokane.

And, my favorite candidate DAN ROACH...won with 57% in a swing district.

Election Day 2008

Election Day will be a busy one. I will be an observer for the State Republican Party at King County Elections.

I toured the facility last week and have been looking forward to the action. King County has hired over 500 people to work the absentee ballots. The line for early poll voting was out the door when I was there. The media was coming in and out. I was interviewed by NPR but didn't think to ask when it would air.

I have a couple of meetings during the day but I will spend the bulk of the time at King County Elections.

My favorite candidate? Well, it has to be Representative Dan Roach. Son, Dan, is running for his fourth term in the State House of Representatives. GO, DAN!

The big celebration will be at the Hyatt in Bellevue. Initiative guru, Tim Eyman, has run a campaign to fix traffic congestion. Through the initiative he is forcing state government to implement the outcomes of a performance audit on the Department of Transportation. (This is another part of government that has not met the expectations of the people!) Tim will give his victory speech at 8:05PM...minutes after the polls close! Ya gotta admire that guy!!!Minutes after the polls close and he declares victory! He is a crack up!!!

Then we will wait for the first runs of the absentee ballots to be counted (8:20). As we go through the night we will see gubernatorial candidate, Dino Rossi, start with a statewide lead. Then, as the liberal King County votes are counted the lead will shrink. The question is, "Will Chris Gregoire make up the difference with the election day King County (democrat) voters?

I will be praying for friend Sen. Mike Carroll. I have gone through many tough races and when you have done all you can...there is nothing left to do but count the votes.

Races To Watch...Sen. Mike Carroll (R) and Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen (D)

The WA State Senate is as lopsided as the U.S. Senate. And, it could get worse.

Balance is a good thing in government. And there is little of that in Olympia.

If the Senate loses just one more Republican Senator then the Democrats will have a veto proof majority. I really don't think that has happened before...possibly, in the 1960's.

There are two critical races to watch Tuesday night. One is the Republican seat held by

Senator Mike Carroll

in Lakewood (near Tacoma). The last days of the campaign have been brutal. In WA it is OK to lie in political campaigns...our Supreme Court said so! Mike has campaigned as hard as a person could. He is honest. He is a good man with high standards. He votes his district. But, he is up against the ropes.

The Obama factor is weighing down on him. Supporters of his D opponent are now sending out nasty and illegal phone calls. They are illegal because there is no disclaimer as to who paid for them. They are nasty because they are lies.

There is another close race in Pierce County.

Senator Marilyn Rasmussen

is the long time Democrat incumbent who is running in a district that has become more Republican as it has grown. If Marilyn loses this race it will be because her own party let her go! Her consultant is weak. Her caucus has failed to send the money she needs to finish off a tough campaign. The word is that the majority leader views Marilyn as expendable. I have known Marilyn for a very long time. She is a woman of integrity and great compassion.

Both Mike and Marilyn are the finest that we have in Olympia. And, the reason for that is that they have integrity. No, I don't vote with either of them on all things. We represent our districts not a club of pure party line people. We are elected by people...not parties (though both parties would have it otherwise.)

The battle is for the veto over-ride ability. Of course, it really is not an issue if we have the same governor...but it is the goal of any party.

If Carroll and Rasmussen both lose It is a wash. If Carroll loses and Rasmussen wins then the D's have a veto proof majority in the legislature.

Quick Lisa Update

Little three-year-old, Lisa, the granddaughter of my constituents is still in foster care. The last visit with her mother went very well. The mother is doing everything that has been outlined in order to get her child back.

Unlike the Hispanic man in the Washington State Supreme Court case, Lisa's mother was not into hard drugs. She did experiment with marijuana. The department classified her as having an alcohol problem. She did drink while under age but did not have a dependency problem as the state claimed.

The next court hearing is November 17th.

But, there are many unresolved issues. There was an email from the day care supervisor. I saw it. It reported that Lisa was asked by a daycare worker how she got her black eye. Lisa gave a direct answer and it was redacted. The email was then altered by DSHS to delete even the fact that the question had been asked. This agency will do anything to cover its tracks and change the truth.

DSHS is hiding the truth. They are protecting someone in the instance of the black eye.

We need to open up this department to public scrutiny. Let the public know the truth.

What a disgrace the bureaucrats in this department have been. It is the only department in state government where leaders accept absolutely NO responsibility. Their answer is to hire more PR people to spin the stories!

When they are unaccountable the abuses continue. Children are needlessly killed, or starved, or burned to death on one hand. Other children (the young ones) are kept from families and terminated from all biological connections. All this comes under the category of EVIL. It is evil because they know the problems, they don't ask for help in preventing the deaths of children, and on the other hand...they love the power to play God...to take a child and dole it out to someone they feel is more worthy. (And they lack any selectivity!)

See the WA court hearing referenced in a previous blog entry. The same DSHS that placed Lisa in a house with a restraining order...placed an Hispanic child in a home with a felon! We still do not know who the mystery man is in the home with Lisa. Is he a felon too? Did he cause the black eye???

Hurry home Lisa. God grant that you are home with your loving family soon.

CPS On Trial

http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?EvId=2008060032D

The Washington State Supreme Court is known as a defender of government. In the case that mirrors little Lisa's, I have no idea how they will rule. From the questioning it is evident that several of the justices are concerned that "failure to bond" be used as a reason to terminate. After all, that is not in the statute. "Government" courts will go to "best interests of the child" and courts that stick to the law will do just that.

Justice Charles Johnson asked if (in a hypothetical case where there was no longer a mother in the picture) a soldier with back to back tours of Iraq would have his rights terminated if there was a failure to bond with the child he had not seen for 2 years. You need to see the clip and watch the government attorney.

Please view the court proceedings. This is an excellent case study. In her closing rebuttal, Susan Wilk correctly portrays the role that DSHS has played in taking children (usually from poor parents) and giving them (as in Lisa's case)to an unworthy foster parent.