by Sue | Oct 2, 2017 | From the Chair
Don’t look now but the government has its hand in your wallet. And… no surprise… it’s a “left” hand, of course.
Yes, Olympia is at it again. Or, rather, the democrats in Olympia. According to Freedom Foundation’s list of big spenders, the top 20 spendthrifts in the House – all democrats – pushed through new or increased spending bills that, over the next ten years, will put Washington’s tax payers on the hook for over 64 Billion dollars. That’s “B” for billion… And yes, both Steve Tharinger at number 6 and Kevin Van De Wege at number 12 are among these top 20 profligates…
To put that in perspective, all remaining House members are responsible for a paltry 3 Billion. Can you imagine… the top 20 spends over 20 times as much as the other 78 house members COMBINED!!!
We see a similar picture in the Senate whereby the top 15 spenders –all democrats but one – are burning through over 67 Billion dollars whereas the remaining 34 senators account for a measly 6 Billion. Do you get that… the bottom 34 Senators account for less than 10% of total projected expenditures. And yes, Senator Jim Hargrove is in that top echelon – number 8, in fact – accounting for over a Billion dollars which, compared to Senator Maralyn Chase’s 11 Billion, is peanuts but still a healthy chunk of change.
Of course, we have to remember that all politicians spend money. Lots of it, too. You see, it is really easy to spend other people’s money. Because if you don’t work for it… if you don’t sweat for it… if it isn’t your hard-earned cash, it is easy come, easy go. Especially the “go” part…
But this tendency to spend and I mean really spend big – the term “drunken sailor” comes to mind – seems to be a particularly democrat trait. Like, if spending money was a contest, the democrats would win every time. And easily too.
And the only way to stop it is with your vote. So fill in your ballot and take ‘em out of your wallet.
~Dick Pilling, Chair
by Sue | Oct 2, 2017 | From the Chair
I don’t know if you have noticed, but our universities are, by and large, dominated by lefty liberals… a bunch of progressive panderers preaching propagandist pap. And I believe the reason for this is a result of the Viet Nam era of the 60’s.
You see, those who wished to avoid military service sought the safety of college campuses where they were able to avoid military service for at least four years. Even more if they opted for advanced degrees.
Trouble is, not all of those draft dodgers flooding into colleges were actually cut out for higher education much less advanced degrees. Many saw mathematics as a mystery and science a secret and so, therefore, were not destined to be engineers or doctors or accountants or, indeed, practitioners of any profession requiring real thinking and actual abilities.
The universities, sensing a hitherto unexploited profit center, began to cater to these intellectual incapables by developing courses that did not require any real aptitude but merely a physical presence and, of course, money… usually provided by parents. Suddenly, Fine Arts, Literature, Afro-American Studies, Gender Studies, Female Studies, and other similarly unchallenging programs – leading to dumbed-down degrees relying upon “feeling” rather than “thinking” – were prominently featured in their catalogs and were seized upon by the less-than-patriotic effete in order to avoid Uncle Sam’s attention.
Trouble is, once they graduated, they had no marketable skills. Face it, how on earth do you exploit a degree in Gender Studies, for gosh sakes? What does it prepare you to do? Not much except teaching other ability-challenged students wishing to pursue non-essential academic endeavors.
So, once they finished their so-called education and were, unfortunately, totally ill-equipped to support themselves with these degraded degrees, they stayed at the universities and became teachers, professors and, later, administrators presiding over legions of students that are taught to “feel” rather than “think”.
So… if you have a “feeling” that our universities are turning out educated incompetents, I “think” you are right…
~Dick Pilling, Chair
by Sue | Oct 2, 2017 | From the Chair
I don’t know about you but, personally speaking, after the recent elections, I am still in a state of euphoria. Ecstatic is hardly the word. It is so bad that people are making me chew on lemons just to take the silly grin off my face.
How sweet it is to be able to use the words “Commissioner” and “Peach” in the same sentence! Which means that, for the first time in recent memory, we will have three conservative commissioners in office. Three commissioners who understand that government does not create jobs but, in fact, frequently serves to prevent job creation.
At last, maybe we can stem the flow of jobs away from Clallam County. And maybe even attract some. Which would attract workers… and families… and economic growth. What a concept!!
As GOP chair, I was blessed to have two very qualified candidates vying for the position of Prosecuting Attorney. Speaking personally, and a bit selfishly, I simply could not lose!! Nor could the county!! However, watching two good personal friends contend for the same position was sad in that only one of them could win.
But that was the case and so I offer hearty congratulations to the newly elected Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols who assumed the office effective November 25. I also wish to thank Will Payne for the exemplary job that he did for the short time he was in office and note that the office – and the county – is all the better for his presence. Well done to you both.
There were also a number of non-partisan races and, while they may not publically declare a party preference, the winners were all solid professionals and a credit to their positions. Accordingly, congratulations to: Auditor-elect Shoona Riggs, re-elected Assessor Pam Rushton, Director-elect, Mary Ellen Winborn (Department of Community Development), re-elected Sheriff Bill Benedict and, lastly, re-Elected Judges Chris Melly and Rick Porter.
And not to forget the conservative candidates elected to the Charter Review Commission; Sue Forde, Nola Judd, Maggie Roth, Glenn Wiggins, and Connie Beauvais. You will be hearing much more about them in the near future.
I have often said that we can’t do much about elective offices in Washington DC; and not much more about those offices in Olympia. But where we can make a difference is locally, here in the county. And this time, we sure did make a difference. Like, can you say Commissioner Peach??
Whoops… better pass that lemon again… I feel a grin about to break out.
Dick Pilling, Chair
by Sue | Oct 2, 2017 | From the Chair
You know, we hear a lot about how various Islamic factions have declared war on America. You know, Al-Qaeda… ISIL… Muslim Brotherhood, etc…
They fly their flag in victory over lands upon which we spilled American blood in an effort to free their citizens from their own despotic leaders… they now taunt us with threats about bringing their war to America… they brutalize their prisoners – some American – in the most barbaric manner possible…
They are, in fact, throwbacks to a much earlier age where the sword ruled and peace was but a brief interlude in an on-going war….where primitive peoples inflicted carnage on each other in their quest for power and domination…
Yes, we hear that a relatively small group of misogynistic religious misfits have declared war on America. But why the hell haven’t we heard about how America has declared war on them? Why do we mute our rage with inane comments about workplace violence? Why do we blame the bestial slaughter of an American ambassador on an inconsequential video? Why do we not place the blame squarely where it belongs instead of beating around the bush?
The fact is, virtually every problem besetting the world today seems to stem from Islam and its ongoing jihad with the rest of civilization. And yes, we know that while not all Islam devotees are terrorists, almost all terrorists are Islam devotees. Funny how that works, huh.
But it seems that if we ignore this undeniable fact, we can somehow pretend that we are not at war with these sacrilegious perverts… that if we but indulge ourselves some in sort of childish make-believe, we can convince ourselves that if we were just nicer to them, they would not hate us.
But they will… you see, they hate us not for what we do or say… They hate us for what we are…
And they always will…
Dick Pilling, Chair
by Sue | Oct 2, 2017 | From the Chair
Still in keeping with my motto, “everybody has a right to my opinion”, this column reviews those candidates vying for “non-partisan” positions. I attempt to fairly evaluate them on the basis of their perceived logical and intelligent stances and/or actions, because, party politics aside, we need competent people in these key positions regardless of their affiliation. (But don’t be surprised if they turn out to be conservative Republicans)
County auditor… Shoona Riggs vs. Kim Yacklin. Both capable candidates but the nod goes to Shoona who has 23 years in the auditor’s office. Shoona was hired just out of high school and has come from the “ground up”. She has performed virtually all of the jobs in the office and is, therefore, very capable of supervising subordinates in the tasks that she knows so well. Vote Shoona.
Director, Community Development… Sheila Roark Miller vs. Mary Ellen Winborn. Both candidates have desirable attributes but incumbent Sheila has a broader skill set plus years of experience in the department and, as noted above, can easily supervise/oversee job performance throughout the department. Sheila gets my vote.
Judge, District Court One… Rick Porter vs. Cathy Marshall. Incumbent Rick Porter has performed well; especially in the area of holding criminals accountable for their actions. I particularly like his pay-or-appear program which provides opportunity for offenders bear up to their responsibilities and, also, have the program pay for itself. Give the gavel to Rick again.
Charter Review Candidates… As most of you are aware, Clallam County is one of 6 Washington counties that have a County Charter which can be likened to a county constitution. This charter is subject to review in 2015 and each of our three commissioner districts will elect 5 candidates from their district to serve on the review committee.
While non-partisan, it certainly behooves us to ensure that successful candidates will embody conservative values. In my opinion – there I go again – the most capable candidates are as follows:
Commissioner District One… Sue Forde, Brandon Janisse, Nola Judd, Jon Kirshbaum, and Jerry Sinn.
Commissioner District Two…Kaj Ahlburg, Stephanie Noblin, Maggie Roth, Susan Shotthafer, and Glenn Wiggins.
Commissioner District Three… Connie Beauvais and Bill White.
When you go to the polls, please consider voting for these candidates. But, for sure, vote. Because those who do not vote are destined to be ruled by their inferiors.
And you can see how that is working out…
