We honor the memory of our fallen soldiers Memorial Day 2012. Lest we forget the lives they lived and could have lived – the young men and women who served our country with the ultimate sacrifice. Without them -and those who continue to serve – our country would not be as free as it is.

Thanks to the Freedom Foundation for the following video:

Sadness at the loss of one of our own

With great sadness, I share the news of the passing of R.W. (Bob) Robinson, a lifetime Sequim resident, a very active Republican and Precinct Committee Officer (PCO) and prolific letter writer to the newspapers to help spread the message.  Bob always brought a witticism or two to every meeting, had great knowledge of political affairs from national to local, and was a wonderful Christian man.  We will miss him greatly.

Results of testing government knowledge

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute examines the relationship between higher education, civic knowledge and citizenship. http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/2011/summary_summary.html

It’s interesting to note that college educators have on average only gotten a 55% correct answer rate on the test. Average Americans got only a 49% average correct. Take it, and see how well you can do…

http://www.isi.org/quiz.aspx?q=FE5C3B47-9675-41E0-9CF3-072BB31E2692

The Cost of EPA Lawsuits

from Cathy McMorris-Rodgers

Fact of the Day: From 1999-2010, the U.S. Department of Justice spent $43 million to defend the EPA against lawsuits and paid out $14.2 million in attorneys fees alone from 2003-2010 – 75% of which went to environmental groups. Source: Government Accountability Office (GAO), Report 11-650 (published August 2011).

WA State Dept. of Ecology’s Payroll

 

Have you ever wondered how much we’re paying the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) in the way of salaries?  Here is a link to the State Office of Financial Management which breaks down the earnings for each of the 461 employees that the DOE has on its (YOUR) payroll.  http://www.ofm.wa.gov/persdetail/2011/461.pdf

 

If you are interested to see how your tax dollars are being spent in other departments as far as personnel – er, human resources – is concerned, click here: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/persdetail/2011/alpha.asp#e