DeVos Visits WA - State's A.G. Protests

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at the Tom Foley Dinner in Spokane earlier this year.

Here's a "pull quote" from the Washington Policy Center's article, "Why We Invited Betsy DeVos to Speak" about her recent visit to our state to share her views about Charter schools. The state's A.G., Bob Ferguson* (a.k.a. "Sideshow Bob") was among those who were outside protesting her presence in the state and her stance on Charter schools, despite the fact that it became law in 2016.

Naturally, the people most upset about Secretary DeVos’ visit are those who gain most under the current system.

The primary obstacle to improving public education in our state are executives at the WEA union.  They are fearful and angry.  They want to maintain their power, to keep mandatory dues money flowing to their bank accounts, and to keep children and families trapped in a monopoly system that is failing them.

They see Secretary DeVos as someone who is disruptive, asks too many questions, listens too much to parents, and poses a threat to their position of power.

As a retired public schools educator of 35 years, I am passionately keen on this issue; I support Charter schools because I believe competition is best for our future generations. As things are now, the entrenched interests - NEA, WEA, and AFT - are quaking in their boots that there's a rising resistance against them. The tax payers are finally seeing right through their empty promises of improving education. Common Core, the brainchild of state's governors who obviously don't understand what education is about, is now fading away only to be replaced by an ever increasing bureaucratic oriented set of curricula that is all the more nonsensical.

How do I know this even though I'm no longer teaching full-time? I have a close source who provides me input on a regular basis about what is going in the classroom and am appalled at what I'm told. The overarching theme in education today seems to be "change for the sake of change". Not that it's better, or more effective. In fact, much of it has totally ignored the basic psychological research of many well known education researchers; like Piage'. Much of the lessons involve having the students working on lessons which are way above their cognitive abilities to comprehend; all in the name of making education look like they're really buckling down on getting these students prepared for middle and high school.

The typical public school teacher today is overburdened with a mountain of data collection in order to show that their students are learning, while all the while, most 4th graders haven't even mastered simple math facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division! Yet they're given lessons which require them to formulate an algebraic equation after getting an answer to a word problem that they have difficulty deciphering because they're only at a 1st - 3rd grade reading level.

I've written in past posts here on my blog about the sociological reasons behind why we so many children in this situation in our public schools, so I won't go into those points here. Suffice it to say that, until and unless we get this country on a path of making a stable family environment for the nuclear family to thrive, rather than flounder, we're just spinning our wheels and getting nowhere, no matter how much money our state Supreme Court demands the state legislature should spend to meet is responsibility of "paramount duty".

* 
In addition to politically motivated lawsuits, AG Bob also spent last week protesting alongside the WEA… you know, instead of actually doing his job. Liv Finne with the Washington Policy Center was rightfully shocked that he would participate. “You should be shocked because the attorney general is required to defend the law of the State of Washington, and one of the laws of the State of Washington is the charter school law that was passed in 2016 … and that law has been challenged by the WEA union in court,” Finne said. “He’s calling into question his impartiality, which he is supposed to have.” (MyNorthwest)

AND...

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing Secretary DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education. The lawsuit is aimed at protecting an Obama era rule related to assessing the quality of degrees. Readers wondering if this is nothing more than a stunt to advance Bob’s political career would be right in doing so. (The Seattle Times)

Hey Hillary! Here's What Happened!

There are a few of these kinds of messages going around right now. In fact, this may well be a revised version of an original like it. No matter, the point is crystal clear as to why Trump won and Hillary lost. But does she have the brains to comprehend why? Apparently not! Oh, and BTW, Sen. McConnell, you'd do well to heed these points as well. (See my earlier post titled, "Ditch Mitch")

Just today I was going through all my junk mail and shredding things. These very thoughts went through my mind, so I decided to pass this on via my blog... for those few who even read it.

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Donald R. “Dick” Ivey, PhD, is a minister, educator, technology executive, entrepreneur,  Marine Corp Veteran, and straight shooting Republican Patriot from Celina, Texas, who is Fed up!  Here’s what he has to say today.

I am now in my 80's.

Recently I received a questionnaire and request for money from the Republican Party and strongly agree with every question, as I have ever since Obama was elected.

Unfortunately, the one question that was missing is: What have the  Republicans done for the American people?

We gave you a majority in the House and Senate, and you never listened to us.  Now you want our money, my money, more money.  You should be more concerned about our votes, not our money.

You are the establishment which means all you want is to save your jobs and line your pockets. [If it's not obvious to you that the establishment Republicans are not concerned about those who work their butts off just to keep our bills paid from paycheck to paycheck, then you're either not in the middle-income level of society, or you are living in your own bubble.]

Well guess what?  It's not going to happen.

So far, TRUMP hasn't asked for a dime.

You might think we are fools because you feel Trump is on a self-destruct course, but look beyond Washington and listen to the masses.  Nobody has achieved what he has, especially in the state of New York.

Here's why I wanted Trump.  Yes, he's a bit of an ass; yes, he's an  egomaniac; but I don't care.

      The country is a mess because politicians suck.

      The Republican Party is two-faced and gutless, and illegals are

      everywhere.  I want it all fixed!

      I don't care that Trump is crude.

      I don't care that he insults people.

      I don't care that he has changed positions.

      I don't care that he's been married 3 times.

      I don't care that he fights with Megan Kelly and Rosie O’Donnell.

      I don't care that he doesn't know the name of some Muslim terrorist.

Our country has become weak, and bankrupt.  Our enemies are making fun of us.  We are being invaded by illegals.  We are becoming a nation of victims where every Tom, Ricardo and Hassid is a special group with special rights to a point where we don't even recognize the country we were born and raised in, [not to mention those NFL gladiators who, for some weird reason, think it's now their job to make political statements during the National Anthem] "AND I JUST WANT IT FIXED."

And Trump is the only guy who seems to understand what We The People want and need.

I'm sick of politicians, sick of the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and sick of illegals.  I just want this thing fixed!

Trump may not be a saint, but he doesn't have lobbyist money controlling him; he doesn't have political correctness restraining him; all you know is that he has been very successful; a good negotiator; he has built a lot of things; and, he's also not a politician.

And, he says he'll fix it.  And, I believe him because he is too much of an egotist to be proven wrong or looked at and called a liar.

I don't care if the guy has bad hair.

Oh, and by the way, I don’t care if Sheriff Joe didn’t obey a zealot judge, he upheld the law on illegal immigration.  So I’m glad Trump pardoned him.

You are welcome to pass this on, or not.

Thought for the Day "No country can sustain, in idleness, more than a small percentage of its numbers.  The great majority must labor at something productive!"

WA State Attorney General Must Testify Under Oath

The following story - in email form - is what was sent out by Tim Eyman; WA state's initiative leader who's been keeping state government in check for decades on raising taxes. (He has graciously given permission to reproduce that email here.)

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By Glen Morgan, October 17, 2017, www.wethegoverned.com
 

Last Friday morning, in Thurston County Superior Court, a courtroom drama played out which may signal the beginning of some serious legal problems for Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the near future. Ferguson brought this legal jeopardy upon himself. It is exceptionally rare that a sitting Attorney General can be legally forced to submit to questioning under oath – the legal hurdle is exceptionally high – but this judge, after hearing about Ferguson’s actions in this case, has decided that that hurdle has been cleared.  Friday’s ruling will result in Ferguson’s deposition (out-of-court testimony made under oath and recorded by an authorized officer for later use in court).

Ferguson vs. Eyman – in Friday’s hearing, three attorneys appeared. On the Left is Mark Lamb for Tim Eyman, on the Right is Linda Dalton and Todd Sipe for the AG’s office.

I was running late to get to Judge Dixon’s courtroom in Thurston County. I expected to see a full courtroom, and I was surprised to find it nearly empty with only two attorneys and a guy with a video camera set-up in the jury box. Other than the camera guy, I was the only unpaid witness to the drama in the room. I also brought my camera. 

 

The significance of this hearing was not why I attended. My intention was to watch Tim Eyman’s attorney, Mark Lamb, in action because I was considering retaining him on other legal cases (I prefer to see how an attorney performs before I hire them).

 

Ferguson vs. Eyman – Background on the drama

Tim Eyman is the well-known “initiative guy” in Washington State, famous for qualifying numerous successful initiatives to the Washington state ballot over the last 20 years. These initiatives mostly involve reducing taxes or improving accountability in government. He doesn’t win every time, but his successes have earned him great enmity and exceptional hatred and vitriol mostly from the Left. He is known for dressing up in a gorilla suit and a Darth Vader costume, and pulling other publicity stunts to promote his initiative efforts. His stunts and successes have infuriated his opponents, earning him an impressive amount of hatred and fury from his detractors.

 

 

 

One of them is Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who narrowly won his “Hunger Games” reelection to the King County Council in 2005 after Eyman helped pass a local initiative (Initiative 18) reducing the size of the King County Council from 13 to 9 members. Ferguson has been channeling the anger of his political allies against Eyman very effectively in his role as Attorney General, a position he first won in 2012.

 

 

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks at the Tom Foley Dinner in Spokane earlier this year.

Last March, Ferguson launched a major headline grabbing lawsuit against Eyman for campaign finance violations dating back to 2012. He held a splashy press conference in Olympia with full attendance by the political press corps (Watch Ferguson’s statements on KIRO TV (he had a lot to say to the media that day):

Not only is Ferguson asking for a $2.1 million judgment against Eyman, he’s also trying to get Eyman permanently barred from participating in politics for the rest of his life.

A Seattle PI columnist referred to Ferguson’s attempt to bar Eyman from politics as “the nuclear option.” — from the article: If the “nuclear option” succeeds, “Eyman will have to find something else to do with his life,” said Andrew Villeneuve, founder of the Northwest Progressive Institute, an obsessive Eyman critic.).  Ferguson’s promotion of the lawsuit that day resulted in numerous articles about the case (see here and here). 

 

During his press conference, Ferguson talked about “silencing Tim Eyman” and “removing” Eyman from the political process, promising never to settle the case. Ferguson’s public statements were strangely personal and vindictive.  Consider this, the State of Washington settled with Gary Ridgeway.

The State will settle with the Green River Killer but not Tim Eyman?  This was a strange thing to say, but it was political catnip to Ferguson’s political supporters. 

During this case, Ferguson relishes every opportunity to schedule a press conference and issue a press releases (like the 9 linked below) at every legal step in the lawsuit against Eyman (see this video as just one example).

Cartoons about Eyman are easy to find. In this one, he is featured as Satan (the snake in the garden)

Mark Lamb, representing Tim Eyman in Thurston County Superior Court on Friday

Eyman’s attorney Mark Lamb responded to Ferguson’s lawsuit against Eyman by filing what are called counterclaims against Ferguson, accusing the AG of violating Eyman’s free speech and civil rights and highlighted how Ferguson was personally profiting from his lawsuit against Eyman (when running for reelection, Ferguson featured his prosecution of Eyman prominently as a campaign theme, and he promoted this lawsuit at Democratic Party functions where he often speaks throughout the state).

Assistant Attorney General Todd Sipe argued that Tim Eyman deserved no Constitutional legal defense

Friday’s hearing involved the AG’s office asking the judge to quash (throw-out) all of Eyman’s counterclaims and affirmative constitutional defenses and sanction Lamb for even asking for such relief.  If you watch the 28 minute video of the hearing (link here) you can see that the AG was represented by Senior Assistant Attorney General Linda Dalton (who arrived about 8 minutes late and had delayed the start of the hearing – lucky for me, but annoying to everyone else), and Assistant Attorney General Todd Sipe (who made the oral arguments for the State). Eyman was represented by Mark Lamb.

 

Attorneys Linda Dalton and Todd Sipe represented the Washington State Attorney General’s office on Friday and were understandably not happy with the outcome.

Significance of Judge Dixon’s ruling

Watching the video, you won’t hear dramatic music or witty verbal interaction.  However, I was struck by several actions taken by the court.  The first is that Judge Dixon denied the AG’s effort to quash and sanction (fine and penalize) Mr. Lamb – Eyman’s counterclaims and affirmative defenses against Ferguson were affirmed.  The second is that the judge said he had come to court planning to rule one way but based on Mr. Lamb’s oral argument that “his client deserves to be heard”, he was persuaded to rule the way he did.  Judging from the body language of the AG attorneys after the case, this was not the result they expected. They appeared to not only be surprised, but also were not relishing the discussion with Ferguson about how soon his legal ethics in this case will be scrutinized and he’ll have to answer questions about his actions under oath.  This is a big deal.

 

Freedom isn’t easy to maintain, and everyone should be concerned when the government makes a priority to suppress it, even for Mr. Eyman.

Eyman’s attorney Lamb made an impactful statement which should also be noted. Mr. Lamb identified the very real effort by the AG’s office to invalidate all constitutional defenses of Mr. Eyman, which should concern everyone. In theory, even though this fact gets lost in the repetitive drama of high-profile posturing press conference litigation from this Attorney General, he is supposed to be defending the constitutional rights of its citizens, not striving to destroy the constitutional protections for those on his political enemy list.

 

The Washington State Attorney General has the ability to crush anyone…

As indicated at the end of this hearing, there is great concern by the attorneys for the AG’s office that they may not be able to prevent Ferguson from being compelled, under oath to submit to questioning by Eyman’s attorney. Based on the interchange in the courtroom, it appears that this will include Ferguson’s attempt to personally profit and make money from his prosecution of Tim Eyman. This is ugly stuff, and it looks likely to get messier the more layers are removed to get to the truth of this case. Ferguson may be the first Attorney General in Washington State history to put himself in this position. I am unable to find any other examples that compare.

 

Eyman might dress up in an orange jumpsuit to make a political point, but he probably has no desire to make this his future uniform.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson has been emphasizing in his many repetitive, hyped lawsuits against President Trump that nobody is above the law. He is absolutely right, and Ferguson may become another example of this truth very soon himself.

Not surprisingly, the Attorney General’s office didn’t issue a press release after Friday’s hearing…

 

Mexican Drug Trade's Innovation - A Real Eye Openner!

Want to see innovation in the Mexican Drug Trade? Watch this 2+ minute video. You will not believe your eyes.

On August 1st President Trump told the Southern border patrol to carefully screen every truck coming into the U.S. from Mexico. The Obama administration had our border patrol only sporadically checking. The border officials said they felt like a welcoming committee. Watch the attached video to see what President Trump's new policy is doing to the Mexican drug trade.

 

The media has not reported a word about this terrific policy of President Trump's.

 

 

New York Times editor's True Attitudes Exposed

James O'Keefe and his Project Veritas crew have been producing some rather revealing videos of the left's agenda and actual intentions for the future direction of our country. In this latest video release, Desiree Shoe - The New York Times' London based homepage editor - is discussing her honest feelings about what the paper is attempting to do to persuade readers - and voters - about how they should think about Pres. Trump and V.P. Pence by setting the anti-Trump narrative.

If you've not seen this yet, you definitely want to watch it;very revealing!

Don't Hold Your Breath!

Will any of the players in the Obama administration involved in this latest revelation of cover-up over national security issues of dealings with Russia on the uranium deal end up in prison? Don't hold your breath! Gee... could this be a perfect example of why the nation's people don't put much, if any, trust in its government? Could this be why Hillary lost the election?

As if Hillary's private email server issues doesn't already have enough material to indict her for prison stripes to last the rest of her natural life, this news just revealed by TheHill.com breaks open a story that I hope will. The story is of new information - which goes back as far as 2009 - about how the F.B.I. has learned from documented evidence, witness testimony and other means that the DOJ not only suppressed their knowledge of this illegal activity for four years, but that Hillary, along with Eric Holder, was sitting on a board, C.F.I.U.S., which approved this deal with Uranium One - unanimously - for Russia to acquire 20% of U.S. uranium, and, through money laundering kickbacks, received hundreds of millions of dollars into the Clinton Foundation coffers - to the tune of $145 million - to boot! Robert Muller and Rod Rosentein are also included in the report and knew about this all going on during their time in the F.B.I. and should remove themselves from any involvement in current prosecutorial investigation of Pres. Trump. The high rollers scam has been exposed!

For nearly a year now, the mainstream media has been harping on the fake news narrative that there was a Russia/Trump conspiracy to rig the outcome of the election causing Hillary to lose. Now, this news reveals factual information that the real conspiracy was that the Obama administration, DOJ, and other key players, like Hillary, was the real Russia connection and influence. More significantly, they were put our nation's security at risk at the highest level!

Don't forget, whatever the liberals at the top are accusing conservatives of, they themselves are just as guilty, if not more so! It's their way of telegraphing their true actions.

Liberal Control of Law

The hand on the right is King County government, while the hand on the left is a homeless heroin addict.

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Over the past several years we've witnessed decisions by judges which have shocked the nation in multiple instances. Obamacare being labeled as a tax and recognizing gay marriage as acceptable at the Supreme Court level, to the current one in Seattle, WA over heroin injection sites as the city council's solution to the out of control homeless problem plaguing the city and county.

Federal law has long held the legal position that heroin is an illegal and deadly substance that must be restricted because of its deadly consequence to the user. However, in Seattle, only yesterday a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of allowing the city to block an initiative by those opposed to their tax dollars being used to fund "safe injection sites" in locations around King County for those homeless heroin addicted individuals camping out in the area.

It's clear that, IMHO, that in light of such situations which challenge the liberal establishment in this country, the liberals have carefully and strategically planned ahead. They've placed as many of their kind in key court positions to fall back on when the need to control those challenges of existing law which prevents them from moving their agenda forward. This most recent decision in Seattle is a prime example.

To understand the specifics of this particular case, use this link to MyNorthwest.com. To listen to the local radio talk show host, Todd Herman, speak about this issue, use this link to play the second hour of the October 16th podcast. The basic premise of the county's reason for blocking this initiative which successfully gathered the required number of voter's signatures to put it on the February ballot is that the people are too stupid to have any right to vote on this issue.

That's right, local county government is now taking the position that they know better about how to deal with drug addiction than the very people who vote them into office. Whether this results in a massive backlash in the coming elections, time will tell. In my mind, it's questionable whether this will occur in a region which is traditionally extreme liberal. However, there is the eastside area of Bellevue which has traditionally been conservative. 

Footnote: At the Federal level, the judges are still at their efforts to block Pres. Trump's travel ban. This is another example of how liberals are attempting to rule by non-authoritative fiat.