I Wish My District Had A Senator Like Him!

This was a January 24th feature interview on ShiftWA:

 

This week’s Newsmaker Interview is with Senator Doug Ericksen who has represented the 42^nd District (Whatcom County) since 1999 – first as a House member for 12 years, and as a Senator since 2011.  Ericksen is the ranking minority member of the Senate Energy, Environment, and Technology Committee, where he sees many of the misguided and ineffective climate change policies of the extreme left and big government liberals.  Ericksen talks with Shift about breaching the Snake River dams and the Ballard Locks, low carbon fuel standards, Governor Inslee, taxes, and out-of-touch Seattle legislators.

 

1. Several of your fellow Whatcom County legislators favor a low carbon fuel standard – do they not understand how bad that would be for the county’s economy?

In Whatcom County we have 2 oil refineries.  We create great jobs locally and we produce the energy that powers the economy of the entire state.  When I fight to protect our state’s refining capacity it is not just about my area, it is about the entire state.

 

A Low Carbon Dioxide Fuel Standard is essentially a cap and trade system for liquid fuels.  If your goal is to reduce human based C02 releases into the atmosphere, the LCo2FS program is very inefficient.  The cost per ton of Co2 reduction is very high compared to other methods.

 

It is very hard to construct an effective LCo2FS program.  Under current proposals, consumers would be paying up to 50 cents more per gallon of gas for limited results.

 

This extra tax on gas would not go to roads.

 

2. Do you think that Gov. Inslee actually believes his environmental rhetoric – such as saying his low carbon fuel standard would not raise gas prices – or his he just trying to fool voters?

This is a great question.  I am not a climate alarmist, but I am a person who supports new technologies and a cleaner environment.

 

Gov. Inslee presents himself as a true believer in a radical man-made climate change. I can never claim to get into our Governor’s head to know his true feelings.

 

However, I think that many people have a religious fervor with regards to global warming.  It is my view that Gov. Inslee wants to believe in global warming because he wants to implement a big government, high taxes, high regulations agenda.  The global warming agenda is a mechanism to implement the agenda that Governor Inslee wants.

 

So I would say that Governor Inslee believes his environmental rhetoric because he really wants to believe it is true as a means to achieve his agendas.

 

3. If you were governor for a day, what state regulations would you eliminate – or add – to create jobs?

This is an easy one.   Number one—I would veto any tax increase that did not get a 2/3s vote in the House and the Senate.  I would veto any budget that grows government spending faster than inflation plus population.  I would require that for any new regulation put into place, two regulations would have to be deleted.

 

I would also create rules for economic empowerment zones in Washington to expedite permitting for high quality manufacturing jobs in all parts of Washington.

 

4. Do you believe your Seattle legislative counterparts understand how their proposals will impact non-urban communities?

No.  I could stop right there. When you live in a concrete jungle, I think you lose some understanding about what is means to live on real soil.  The radical elements that currently control Seattle politics scream for the removal of the Snake River dams or for massive buffers on rural streams.  They really do not know the massive environmental changes that were made to the City of Seattle to create the lifestyles they live today.

 

I think the Ballard Locks should be breached before we even talk about tearing out Snake River dams.  Seattle City Light gets their power from dams in my district in Whatcom County.  Perhaps we should free the wild Skagit River by tearing out these dams and let Seattle find its power somewhere else.

 

I will not even try to explain the Denny Regrade—but those who know what it is know how much Seattle has altered their landscape.  I do not think the even 10% of the radicals in Seattle would even know what the Denny Regrade is without searching it on their phones.

 

5. Many counties on the west side of the state have many jobs connected to agriculture. Are the needs of the farmers on the west side any different than those in Eastern Washington?

Yes and no.  We have similar issues.  But our water issues, the scale of our farms, the products we produce, and many other aspects are different.

 

What we share in common is over regulation, over taxation, and a lack of freedom to produce the local food stuffs that urban people say they want.

 

A great example of how out of touch Seattle legislators are was provided in the 2019 session.

 

The State Senate passed a bill requiring all dairy and berry farmers to report to the state the number of slaves they had on their properties.   This is insulting to farmers because we do not have slaves—obviously.

 

Here is the part you cannot make up—the prime sponsor of this legislation was from Seattle.  While there are no slaves on our farms, a law enforcement operation in the Seattle district of the prime sponsor freed several dozen young women trapped in the sex slave industry.

 

6. You have made headlines for suggesting the state should study the removal of the Ballard Locks and the dams that provide power to Seattle.  Do you believe this has had any impact in the thinking of urban environmentalists who want to tear down the Snake River dams?

No.  The goal of this legislation is to highlight that all parts of Washington should have the chance for economic prosperity.   The goal of this legislation is also to educate people about the realities of what needs to be done to build big projects in Washington State.

 

I am not trying to alter the viewpoints of carbon jihadists, I am not trying to alter the viewpoints of radical deep ecologists.  I am trying to work with people who want to improve our quality of life, create good jobs, and build better communities.

 

I am an environmentalist.  I am working on positive solutions to protect our environment while creating more opportunities to enjoy our environment.  Current policies in Olympia are wasting limited resources to take us down the carbon rabbit hole, while ignoring policies that could create better communities.

Prophetic, or Just A Phase?

The following posts put out by ShiftWA.org today provide a disturbing view of the kinds of things currently going on in this beautiful, but rapidly degenerating state. If this trend continues, It's going to become the northern portion of the left coast, called Washinfornicated!

Skim through these items and you'll understand why...

State

Regulatory delays from Inslee’s Department of Ecology (DOE) are the reasons why Phillips 66 announced last week it was canceling the construction of a job-creating renewable diesel facility in Whatcom County.  The company described tactics similar to those DOE is also using with the Kalama methanol facility, and the bureaucratic delays are costing local communities hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue.  These job-killing delays are conducted to boost Governor Inslee’s environmental portfolio so he can selfishly obtain a job for himself (he hopes) in a future Democrat president’s administration. (Lynden Tribune and Senate Democrat caucus) Comment: Looks to me more like he's workin' hard at pissin' off his taxpayers. Department of Transportation road crews used to concentrate on highway “beautification” projects, but today they focus on cleaning up tons of garbage created by homeless encampments.  A spokesperson says $3 million in the department’s budget is currently set aside for “homeless cleanup.” Now that’s a liberal job-creation program! (KIRO) Comment: And the next thing you know,  the U.W. and W.S.U. will be offering degrees for it, with salaries starting at $250,000 a year! In just three weeks, Washington’s new family leave program is already overbudget and behind schedule.  22,000 people have applied for the weekly payout since the program began January 1st.  State bureaucrats had projected they would receive that number of applications in the first three months, not first three weeks. Because the Inslee Administration failed to correctly estimate the caseloads, payment delays will occur. Guess they should have known that when you promise free stuff, people will sign up fast. (AP) Comment: Hey, ain't socialism great? Rep. Melanie Morgan (D-Tacoma) has introduced a bill to make it illegal to discriminate due to “hair texture and protective hairstyles.”  Current state law makes it illegal to discriminate due to race, religion, or sexual orientation, but hair is not on the list…yet. (KREM) Comment: After that... a bill to make it illegal to discriminate against those who wander the streets naked.

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Western Washington

A leader of a liberal special interest group attempts to portray Amazon as an “abusive boyfriend” simply because the company has stood up to the crazies in Seattle government.  If we use writer Katie Wilson’s silly analogy, and honestly analyze the dysfunctional relationship, isn’t the Seattle City Council the “abusive partner” here?  First the council blames Amazon for the homeless problem the city has created (development and landlord regulations that reduce affordable housing, and a criminal justice policy that enables a drug/crime/homeless culture).  Amazon has arguably done more to help homeless individuals with its support for Mary’s Place and other effective charities than the city has with its expensive homeless programs that selfishly increase government employee headcount (the city council giving money to their “enablers”, i.e. government unions). Then, even though Amazon and its employees pay millions (maybe billions) in local taxes, the city thinks it deserves all the money Amazon earns.  The abusive partner (city council) keeps saying that if we just give them a little more money, things will get better. Yet they keep coming back demanding more money.  Finally, the abuser (city council) now wants to punish Amazon for standing up for itself.  The Seattle City Council is the real abusive partner here.  (BTW – we won’t attack Wilson for her sexist stereotype that only men are abusive in relationships.) (Crosscut) Comment: I thought this was the from the script of some soap opera show. Predictably, the Seattle City Council is attempting to find a scapegoat instead of fixing the criminal culture which led to the recent mass shooting.  Members of the city council focused their efforts on computer programed aps that automatically increased fares as people were attempting to escape downtown after the shooting.  Apparently councilmembers believe they are empowered to force private-sector Uber/Lyft drivers to risk their own lives to go the scenes of a mass shooting, after public-sector transit officials had stopped serving the area, at a price the city council determines. (Seattle Times) Comment: Let's face it, Seattle isn't dying, it's  DEAD! Sex trafficking is also associated with the homeless culture which liberal policies have created.  At a recent forum in Federal Way, victims who were homeless spoke how they were promised shelter, food, clothes, and drugs in return for sex. (Bellevue Reporter) Comment: Okay, so what's new? Leaflets around the University District reveal there is a “Seattle Drug User’s Union.”  The flyers indicate members are “Proud to be a drug user” and they are seeking ways to decriminalize their drug use.  The union members meet the first Thursday of each month at a needle exchange location. (MyNorthwest) Comment: I know, let's enroll them in SEIU! Reports are circulating that the name of Seattle’s new National Hockey League team might be the Seattle Kracken.  For those who are unfamiliar, a “kracken” is a giant octopus-like creature from Scandinavian folklore (and Pirates of the Caribbean movies). (MyNorthwest Sports) Comment: Yea... and the fans will be puffin' on their pipes in the seats too.

It Isn't Much Better Outside Seattle Either!

After scanning through the entire article, I kept telling myself, "This is how bad it's gotten now!"

Question: Why are public schools so bad now, in terms of both learning and behavior, that we are regularly learning about teachers who are being reported for behavior we find difficult to believe?

Answer: To anyone who thinks they can do the job of most teachers currently dealing with the kinds of students in many schools today, go for it! If they think they can both maintain discipline and keep them interested in learning, be my guest! Good luck!

After 40 years of doing my best to do the same, I speak with experience and authority in saying that over those years, the deterioration of decent social behavior of a growing percentage of students, especially by the time they get to middle school age, has gotten to the point where I can understand why many school districts will do their best to keep teachers, rather than fire them. 

And why do I say that? Because those teachers who have attempted to do the job for a reasonable amount of time know from experience that even though they're paid what seems to many as an exorbitant salary for the work they do, leave as soon as they realize they can no longer tolerate the abuse and disrespect they must endure on a regular basis, while also feeling that the district administration's edicts about what they can, and can't do, finally leave for another profession; it's just not worth it! So, many districts do their best to keep who they can.

Until and unless school boards begin to stand behind teachers who are attempting to establish their classroom as one that is oriented toward a learning environment that observes polite, respectful social conduct and treatment by the student of the teacher who's there to help them apply skills to get them prepared for a prosperous future, then public schools will only get worse.

Think about it... why are private, charter, and home schooling growing in popularity and demand by parents across the country? Because they can afford it? No, because they understand that their child's learning, as opposed to a constantly disruptive and anti-social, disrespectful climate which dominates many classrooms in middle and high schools today stunt's their child's experience and, in the long run, their potential for success in the future.

The President of the Washington Education Association testified against state funds being used to support charter schools.  Since the teachers’ union does not control charter schools – nor receive dues from the teachers in those schools – the unions are opposed to parents providing their children with an education option that better fits their needs.  Charter schools are increasingly more attractive to students from low-income families than their neighborhood public schools.  The teachers’ union continues to demonstrate that its greed and political power are more important than parents choosing what is best for their children’s education, especially those from poorer families. (WEA) from ShiftWA.org

The last 10 years were spent substituting in a few different districts. Even through that brief period, I experienced a noticeable deterioration of even elementary students at the upper grades exhibiting what I dealt with at the middle school level years before. Why? Because many children see their older siblings modeling the inappropriate behavior in various settings, or on television.

I know, I've managed to hang in there over the past four decades and it's gotten worse with the type of undisciplined child who comes from a home that has no father figure to provide them the needed guidance and nurturing so critical to a growing child. This is where our society has failed itself.

Senate Impeachment Trial - Day 7

After watching today's presentation by President Trump's defense team on the second day of arguments for the impeachment trial - if you can actually call it one based on what they've been pointing out (which I'll explain here) - it is obvious to me that there are two points which need to be made.

In the process of listening to some talking heads - even on Fox News - speak about the so-called "bombshell" news - gee, where have we heard that euphemism before - I'm infuriated to hear them speak of the John Bolton manuscript as though it's undisputed fact, thus planting an unverified claim in the minds of the public as though it is true. How can I, and why do I, say this? Rush Limbaugh, during his introductory half-hour this morning, he spoke to this very issue by explaining that there are two brothers, both who work for the National Security Council, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindmin - who testified before the House hearings - and then there's also a Lt. Col. Yevgenny Vindmin, who is currently conducting a manuscript vetting on, wait for it, wait for it... John Bolton's manuscript for his book coming out soon.

If you write a book like this and you’re part of the Security Council, National Security Council apparatus, you have to submit this to the National Security Council for vetting before it can be send to the publisher. They have to clear it to make sure no national security secrets or violations are being written about and published. Alexander Vindman’s brother, Yevgeny Vindman, is the guy vetting Bolton’s book!

Limbaugh went on to point out that this story follows the pattern by the Democrats throughout the past three years in trying to take down our duly elected president through bogus articles which hold no water. (The link in this sentence is of the whole transcript from Rush's show today.) Here's a key point from that transcript:

Isn’t it just magical that on the very day after the Trump defense team decimates the House managers’ case, the very next day here comes this leak from the New York Times about what Trump told Bolton supposedly that he didn’t want to do? What remains amazing is the leak supposedly is that Trump told Bolton that he didn’t want to release any aid to Ukraine until Ukraine turned over him material related to investigations. That’s from the Maggie Haberman tweet. “New York Times scoop:

So, when the talking heads on news channels speak about it, they are being incredibly irresponsible about discussing it as though it is true, when it is merely a leak story to the New York Times, a paper with zero credibility after how it's covered the last three years against the president. 

As Dan Bongino maintains as his rule "Wait 24 - 72 hours before commenting on the latest media leak because it is debunked totally within that time frame." He has accurately pointed out on his podcasts, "There is no crime, if there is no victim! Ukraine has repeatedly said they were not subjected to any pressure campaign."

The second issue is that Speaker of the House Pelosi obviously blew it "big time" by allowing the investigative committees in the House for five or so weeks PRIOR to having the whole House vote on providing those committees the Constitutional power to authorize demanding subpoenas for testimony. The defense team accurately explained today that, because of this delay of the whole House's vote, then all testimony records in those hearing prior to the whole House vote to give them the authority to subpoena them makes it all null and void.

Therefore, much of the material the House's articles of impeachment - other than the fact much of the articles are based solely on hate, malicious opinion and urgency to staunch the political bleeding for the Democrat Party's defense of their hopeful candidate; Quid-Pro-Joe Biden - have no place in these Senate hearings. Boom! The House Manager's points have been obliterated! If anything in this whole impeachment process is unprecedented, it is that "Shifty" Schiff's team and any points they've made are completely bogus and unfounded.

I suspect that most of the public is not going to pay attention to these points the Trump Defense Team has made, but instead will rely on talking heads' remarks which are baseless, but are mentioned because it continues to promote the Democrat's narrative in a desperate attempt to maintain a false basis for control and dominance in national politics.

Such tactics reveal that the Democrats are nothing more than liars and power hungry swamp rats who use the long practice of intimidation and threat of destroying anyone who attempts to stand up against those lies!

Senate Impeachment Trial, Day 6 - Slam Dunk!

Two hours! Folks, the Democrat Candidates owe the President's Defense Team in this trial a big "Thank You!" for giving them the rest of the weekend to go and campaign again.

Two hours! After the House Managers spent 24 hours to drone on an on filled with incorrect statements, half-truths, omissions of critical information in that presentation of their case to support the two articles of impeachment, the President's Defense Team tore apart everything in just two hours. Hey Burbank, are you embarrassed yet?

I post this link to C-SPAN2's video presentation of this morning's presentation of those points the team presented to the Senate because it's worth providing to anyone who might not have watched at 8 a.m. PST. 

As someone who's followed this "Witch Hunt" over the past three years, I know just how much information the team finally exposed to the nation who may have NEVER heard any of the facts it pointed out have been deliberately withheld, both from members of the House Managers Team and the Media (D); ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS, also now understood as the Democrat Party's propaganda arm.

Now, you may assert that my statement in the above paragraph is biased, opinionated, or based on my conservative ideology. I understand why you might claim that. Unlike some of my liberal friends, I don't base those remarks on opinion, but provable facts which my friends ignore. I don't!

 However, ask yourself this question... Of all of the investigations and claims against Pres. Trump; Spygate (Russian Collusion), Ukraingate (Quid-Pro-Quo), and now the House's two articles of impeachment to the Senate, has resulted in ANY sound, legal evidence which indicates Pres. Trump committed a crime which rises to the level which justifies removal from office? 

If you watch the video of the presentation from this morning, you'll realize there is none! This is what I've known all along. Every time a new attack was launched, facts kept trickling out over time which revealed that the assertions weren't true. In fact, they revealed that it was all an orchestrated collaboration of the same key players in what's become widely known as "The Deep State" who are holdovers from the Obama administration.

A Campaign Ad Like NEVER Before!

If you've not yet seen this new campaign ad for reelecting the president, you've got to watch it!

A fair trial starts now!


However... Media Research Center's Brent Bozel has a slightly different message which we should heed... I think he's got a very good point. 

So, I'm not going to buy the excuse that contacting our state representatives - House & Senate - will do no good, even if I have to harass them DAILY to tell them how I feel about their attempt to take away our vote for the one president in decades who's actually made a positive difference in our country's future.

The Height of Hypocrisy

It has begun!

Opening argument for setting the rules of the impeachment trial are now being presented. As I watched and listened to the points from each side, I couldn't help but wonder, are these two lead managers of the trial from different planets?

One side says that the president will be proved to have not risen to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the House's articles don't even rise to that level because he has committed no crimes the two articles assert has occurred.

The other side says that he has committed two crimes - abuse of power (withholding funds to Ukraine), and obstructing Congress's investigations by refusing certain witness requests (exercising executive privilege by directing those close advisors not to testify before the House Judiciary committee).

What confuses the general viewing public about these totally different perspectives on this paramount issue before the nation is the details which are an integral part of what's gone on over the last few years. I've posted many an article which touches on those details to point out just how much hypocrisy has been exercised in these many months. I'll assume that readers will have a basic understanding of those points from having followed what's gone in in the past. 

Yet, just for the sake of perspective, I must suggest to my readers that they use this link to go to the 11:43 mark for the video composite of media remarks about the impeachment of Pres. Bill Clinton in 1999. If watching the whole hour long video of today's post by Dan Bongino one will learn the total hypocrisy of the Democrats when comparing it to their remarks about impeaching Pres. Trump. As a taste of what I'm referring to, when it comes to the left's hate against the president, read this statement by one Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D) N.Y. who is on the prosecuting team of the trial:

Why were so many people who worship at the altar of white supremacy drawn to Donald Trump’s campaign? What was it about this individual that so many folks dripping in hatred flocked to his candidacy?
That’s not to say that every American who voted for Donald Trump is a racist. We do know that every racist in America voted for Donald Trump. That’s a problem. But this president has a responsibility to address the rise in hate crimes that have taken place on his watch, whether or not his election is directly connected to it.

I must, however, point out here the hypocrisy which lead manager Rep. Adam "Shifty" Schiff (a.k.a. Stimpy) has displayed in his opening statements about demanding to have the Senate allowing a continuation of the House's investigations by allowing witnesses during the trial portion of the Senate's proceedings; something which the House failed to complete, along with holding secret hearings in the basement of the Capitol building and is STILL withholding secret witness testimony from the pubic that's damaging to their arguments. This is the height of hypocrisy!

It is these details which, I'm confident, the defense team of managers in this Senate trial will present, explain, and convince the sitting body that the president is not guilty of any crimes, but that those managers from the House are, as the president himself has stated many a time, engaging in a "Witch Hunt" motivated by hatred and malice.

Moreover, it is fascinating to observe how the Media (D) - ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, PBS - are couching their choice of words applied to every comment so as to present a highly opinionated perspective to the consuming public, thus exposing them to unwitting bias while pushing polls which are skewed to favor those biased views toward the president they hate.

First Day Trial First Impressions
After watching most, but not all, of the opening remarks of both sides of the impeachment teams to set the rules for proceedings of the trial, I am beginning to wonder why Speaker Nancy Pelosi allowed both Chair Jerry Naddler (a.k.a. Rhen) of the House Judiciary Committee, and Chair Adam "Shifty" Schiff (a.k.a. Stimpy) of the House Intelligence Committee, to be #2 and leader managers - respectively - for this trial.

I think I've figured it out! Pelosi wants to get rid of the two clowns who, having no principles, are doing the most damage of humiliating the Democrat Party's image... they're so inept and incompetent. Remember, back in March of last year, Pelosi was saying there wouldn't be an impeachment hearing in the House because certain criteria of hers wasn't being met. Then, over time, I'm convinced, the more radical left element in her caucus persuaded her to change her mind.

Based on what they've claimed are the reasons for the two articles of impeachment, it's clear that they're making up 99% of their reasons from a pure hatred of the man, for he has exposed what the Democrats were up to during the 2016 presidential campaign and are desperately attempting at every turn to distract the public from learning what they themselves are guilty of doing; attempting to completely rig - with the help of Ukrainian operatives - the 2016 election against Trump and for Hillary!

This is not a criminal trial! It's strictly a political exercise! Don't believe me? Just do some searching for both of these clowns above and what they are on record of saying about Pres. Clinton's impeachment! Prove it to yourself. However, if you're not interested in taking time to do the research, go here to read this article by Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner.

Yet, what most people haven't heard is that we taxpayers paid to have nominee for the GOP, Trump, spied on through the Office of Net Assessment; a tax funded federal agency. Again, don't believe me? Check this article from SaraACarter.com about U.S. Attorney John Durham now investigating this fact. (For comments by Dan Bongino on this matter, I recommend watching further on in his video;especially at the 30:00 mark.)

Folks, I'm very hopeful that those out there who've not been paying attention much previously to all of this and who don't really understand all of what's actually gone on because they've only learned from hearsay and tidbits of news over the last six months or so, and are still at a neutral position on this will hear some of the trial presentations from Trump's team of lawyers and learn what's really gone down that will cause them to realize just how horrible the liberals have been in conducting this whole charade. Then, after Trump's been acquitted, come November, will pull the lever for him for reelection. However, if nothing's done about potential voter manipulation, our republic is truly in trouble. (See video below.)

It will be interesting to follow these proceedings as the days go on. More to come!