Northwest Territorial Mint To Leave WA State

Washington's Department of Revenue is charged with bringing in more money. (That is how they see it anyway.) So, they are revisiting businesses to see where they can get more money.

They are, for instance, going to gun clubs and assessing more taxes saying those who come to view the sport (even though they do not pay for use of the facilities) factor into the tax equation. DOR extracts more taxes when people are allowed to view the sports for free.

During session the mints in WA went to a certain Senator to sponsor legislation to protect against a new DOR tax classification. Without regard for the issue, the Senator withdrew support of the bill because an aide found something negative but unproven about the owner of one of the mints. The bill failed to pass.

Northwest Territorial Mint is the largest in the state and the west. They do a $300 million a year business. During session they said they would move if the bill did not pass. They are now moving to Nevada. One of my sons has been working for minimum wage (hoddying molten silver) and will be one of those out of a job thanks to "personal" issues rather than working on legislation for the best interests of the state. I can honestly say I have never done that...voted on how I felt about an individual rather than how I judged the bill.

Pam Roach Responds To Reader. "I Am Unique," Says Roach.

From two readers:
"Let's not get caught up in the investigation of CPS to the extent that we overlook crimes, molesting, abusing, neglect, etc. that actually occur in SOME cases on the part of parents or grandparents. These outrages do happen, and CPS, however imperfect needs to be involved. No governmental authority or agency or body acts at 100% efficiency or correctness at all times, and we'd be fools to expect that kind of perfection. We are not anonymous. We are
Dave and Lorrie Davis, Auburn, wa"

Thank you Dave and Lorrie. I appreciate the opportunity to reset the debate. This is just a humble blog. I follow a few stories and a few subjects...and mention a little about my family. I have been told by a reporter for the AP that I am the ONLY elected official in the country who writes their own blog. So, I am unique.

I am a legislator and I am interested in law and whether or not it is being followed and how it might better serve the people. Government accountability is important to me. Here are my responses:

#1. No one is forgetting about the crimes and molestations, etc. that happen at the hands of relatives. Let's not forget that DSHS has knowingly left children in dangerous situations. I reported on the 47 pound 14 year old who had gone to CPS via her school. The social worker had spent 30 minutes interviewing the family and left the girl there four years prior. They never went back...even though the girl stopped going to school. What did they think...that the girl wasn't punished after she blew the whistle? No, Dave and Lorrie, I don't forget these things! I am probably the only elected official who called the King County Prosecutor and asked for an exceptional sentence for the worse than wicked father and wicked step-mother. But, what do you think Dave? Should the department do an investigation on this? Should the public have a right to know what happened? Should we be able to see the statewide statistics on these foul ups? Would public knowledge put pressure on CPS to do a better job? I think the more the public knows the better. There is too much secrecy in CPS. Open government is a tool for the public and the lack of it is a shield for those that need correction within the department.

#2 I disagree that we can't shoot for a 100%. The WA State Patrol is a very good example of a disciplined agency. If an officer is even thought to make a mistake they are put on administrative leave until an issue is resolved. The employee is actually the point of newspaper stories, etc. Real names are used for Pete's sake! If you are following this blog ask yourself this: What happened to the person who lied in the in home study of the Stuths? The report said they did not financially support their daughter or visit her at all. It took KING5 to tell the world the truth. The government's own records showed the visitation vouchers paid to the Stuths and the Stuths produced cancelled support checks. Did the department investigate any of the many, many terrible things to which the Stuth's were subjected? What would happen if a cop wrote a false report and it was proved? Yeah...that's right. Different agencies have different standards.

Just like you, dear readers, I expect the best performance from government. That means no lies, and it does mean accountability, openness, and an effort to correct their wrongdoings.

Dave and Lorrie...it just isn't news when everything goes well. We must spend our time working toward perfection. I will continue to work for constitutional freedoms and the protection of vulnerable citizens.

Comment From The Wall Street Journal

FYI to PRR Readers...This from the Wall Street Journal:

After Clinton backed Aristide, key Democrats went into business with the Haitian.

By MARY ANASTASIA O’GRADY

In October 1994, President Bill Clinton used the U.S. military to force Haiti to take back former President Jean Bertrand Aristide, an intolerant populist who had been deposed in a coup three years earlier. The Haitian people didn’t fare well under the decade of Aristide tyranny and corruption following that U.S. intervention. But key Democrats, who secured contracts with the Haitian government, did.

This sad chapter in U.S. foreign policy is a reminder of the immortal words of the French statesman Charles Talleyrand: “Countries don’t have friends, they have interests.” The Clinton administration had interests in Haiti. And that fact is worth recalling as President Barack Obama, defying all logic, insists that Castro-ally Manuel Zelaya be restored to the presidency in Honduras.

Healthcare, Cash For Clunkers, Keeps Focus Off Caribbean

U.S. News media has focused on domestic issues: health care, cash for clunkers, joblessness, trillions in deficit, looming tax increases and even birth certificates, Sarah Palin, and custody of Jackson's children. But, while of legitimate interest there are important hemispherical concerns that should not be over-looked.

Democracy in Honduras is a very big issue for us. It is not in our interest to lose another country to socialism in our hemisphere. America's left can't give the land away fast enough.

Another hunk of acreage is in Cuba. Finding a replacement location for the prison at Gitmo is not so much about moving prisoners as it is ceding land to Cuba. Wait and see. That is where Obama is going on this one.

Obama has set a deadline of January 22, 2010 to close the prison camp. When that is accomplished giving the site to Castro will be touted as a reasonable next step, ostensibly to save money. But, in reality a gift to the Castro-Ortega-Chavez cabal that he is now pleasing with diplomatic aggression in Honduras.

Garden And Chicks

Good news! Jim has harvest 60 zucchini in 20 days. (They are great marinated and grilled.)

But here is the BEST NEWS!
Of the 27 sexed chicks we bought at the feed store around Easter...one turns out to be a rooster! We are in business!!

Republicans Are Not Fundraising With This Information...Just Getting The Word Out

APPARENTLY THEY HAVE ANOTHER 500 PAGES TO GO

"Contact your Representatives and let them know how you feel about this. We, as a country, cannot afford another 1000 page bill to go through congress without being read. Another 500 pages to go. I (another elected official) have highlighted a few of the items that are down right unconstitutional.

• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll
• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.
• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected."
• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).
• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.
• Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.

NOW IS THE TIME TO CALL OR E-MAIL YOUR STATE AND FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES AND LET THEM KNOW IF YOU WAHT THIS PLAN."

Congressional Democrats Fundraise Off Of Healthcare Fears Just As They Accuse Republicans Of Doing

Letter From Bill Clinton and Paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

(This is an excerpt from the fundraising letter. It seems the money will go to candidates.)

Dear (personalized),

It seems like the 1993 health care debate all over again. Back then, I led the charge for comprehensive health insurance reform. I fought tooth and nail to get it done, keenly aware that millions of Americans were living in fear that a serious illness or injury could spell economic disaster for their families. Americans needed health care reform then and we urgently need it now.....

But, just as I did in 1993, President Obama has run into a buzz saw of special interest opposition to his top domestic policy priority -- health care reform. He is facing off against some of the most powerful special interests in Washington who've launched a furious campaign to preserve the status quo....

Republicans have made a political calculation that they'd rather attack Congressional Democrats with sound bites and misleading characterizations of the President's health care reform plan than work on behalf of the American people.

It's up to us to prevent the Republican Party and their special interest backers from doing whatever they can to prevent this historic opportunity to make quality health care affordable and accessible to all.

(Please give, address, etc.)

Paid for by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Signed by Bill Clinton