Mor Mor

Edna May Gustafson Larson
May 31, 1911-May 31, 2006

May God Bless You and Keep You.

Constitution Party to Select Mary Starrett as Guv Candidate?

The Oregon state Constitution Party is expected to select the former KATU TV talk host and conservative radio talk show host at its convention this weekend. See O story here.
Starrett's participation in the guv's race would certainly siphon votes from the Saxton campaign, but perhaps not as many as one might imagine. Consider that republicans had the opportunity to select two, count 'em two, pro life conservatives this last time around and chose Ron Saxton, a guy who's more liberal on abortion.
Oregonians are going for pragmatism and genuine movement on the abortion issue. First, as Jack Roberts pointed out during his campaign for governor last time around, the governor doesn't perform abortions, and second, Saxton says he will trim the abortion loopholes that exist now. Those are the need for parental notification and a ban on partial birth abortion, both of which Saxton supports.
Isn't it better to elect someone who will actually do something on abortion and stands a good chance of winning versus returning Kulongoski back to office where he would do NOTHING to reduce the number of abortions or honor a parent's right to know?
As I've said before, you've got to have a guy like Saxton to set the table for more conservative candidates in the future.

Washington State Smoking Police Begin Rounding 'Em Up

Here's the list of the scofflaw smoking establishments caught allowing their patrons to SMOKE! or not properly warning their customers of Washington's ridiculous smoking law. See the cops' list below including the place and the rap sheet. Consider this: the cops won't pick up illegal aliens who commit crimes unless they've already committed several, but they're willing to bust legal establishments.
Patronize these places, won't you?
My favorites are highlighted. Check out the Hookah Lounge being busted.

22 Doors, 405 15th Ave. E., Seattle, April 19, smoking
Al's Tavern, 2303 N. 45th St., Seattle, Dec. 16, smoking and lack of signage
Back Door Pub, 12330 Lake City Way N.E., Seattle, Feb. 24, smoking
Brewsky's Bar & Grill, 9635 16th Ave. S.W., Seattle, Dec. 16, smoking

Brickyard Pub, 28845 Military Road S., Federal Way, Jan. 18, signage
Bubba's Place, 21237 E. Valley Highway, Kent, Dec. 19, smoking
Buckaroo Tavern, 4201 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, Jan. 11, smoking
C.C. Attles and the Cadillac Grill, 1501 E. Madison St., Seattle, Feb. 15, smoking
Central Avenue Pub & Eatery, 1404 S. Central Ave., Kent, Dec. 19, smoking
City Hall Saloon & Eatery, 35317 314th Ave. S.E., Enumclaw, Jan. 13, signage and smoking
Club Hollywood Casino, 16176 Aurora Ave. N., Shoreline, Jan. 4, signage
Diwan Hookah Lounge, 111 Pine St., Seattle, Jan. 19, signage and smoking Hello? It's a Hookah Lounge whose sole purpose is to SMOKE!
Downtown Emergency Service Center, 517 Third Ave., Seattle, Jan. 12, signage and smoking
Eagles Aerie #1, 6205 Corson Ave. S., Seattle, Dec. 16, smoking
Elks Cascade Lodge, 9116 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle, Feb. 16, signage and smoking
Elks Lodge #92, 301 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, Dec. 16, signage and smoking
Gator's Sports Bar and Grill, 21609 84th Ave. S., Kent, Dec. 19, signage and smoking
Good Time Ernie's, 15747 Ambaum Blvd. S.W., Seattle, Jan. 19, signage
Jumbo Chinese Restaurant, 4208 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, March 22, smoking
Lemieux's 97, S. Lander St., Seattle, April 19, signage and smoking
Linda's Tavern, 707 E. Pine St., Seattle, May 4, smoking
Lindmark Machine Works, 49 S. Spokane St., Seattle, March 15, signage
Mecca Bar & Grill, 1 E. Main St., Auburn, March 27, smoking
The Mercury, 1009 E. Union St., Seattle, May 12, signage and smoking
Pony Keg Lounge & Eatery, 8535 S. 212th St., Kent, Jan. 6, signage
Rabbit Hole, 4701 Roosevelt Ave. N.E., Seattle, Dec. 16, signage
Rainbow Room, 33320 Pacific Ave. S., Federal Way, April 19, signage
Rainier BBQ, 6400 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S., Seattle, March 22, smoking
Rimrock Steak House, 12322 Lake City Way N.E., Seattle, Jan. 4, smoking
Roman Casino, 11829 Renton Ave. S., Seattle, Dec. 19, signage and smoking
Rooty's Sports Bar and Grill, 209 S.W. 148th St., Burien, Dec. 19, signage
Seattle Eagle Tavern, 314 E. Pike St., Seattle, Jan. 11, signage and smoking
Serenity Hall, 12536 Renton Ave. S., Renton, Jan. 6, signage
Shelly's Restaurant and Lounge, 1734 Central Ave. S., Kent, Jan. 18, signage and smoking
Sonya's Bar & Grill, 1919 First Ave., Seattle, Feb. 15, signage
Swannie's Restaurant, 222 S. Main St., Seattle, March 1, signage
The Ballroom, 456 N. 36th St., Seattle, May 4, smoking
The Ballroom, 456 N. 36th St., Seattle, May 25, smoking
The Cuff, 1533 13th Ave., Seattle, Dec. 16, signage and smoking
The Monkey, 5303 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle, Dec. 28, signage and smoking
The Pickled Onion, 1314 Union Ave. N.E., Renton, Dec. 19, smoking
The Quarter Lounge, 909 Madison St., Seattle, Jan. 11, signage and smoking
The Tin Hat Bar & Grill, 512 N.W. 65th St., Seattle, Jan. 4, signage and smoking
The Whisky Bar, 2000 Second Ave., Seattle, March 22, smoking
Tony's Liquid Lounge, 2317 N. 45th St., Seattle, March 22, signage
Victrola Coffee and Art, 411 15th Ave. E., Seattle, Dec. 21, signage
Virginia Saloon, 114 Railroad Ave. N., Kent, Dec. 19, signage
Wild Spirits, 944 Harrington Ave. N.E., Renton, Dec. 21, smoking
Zaina Food, Drinks & Friends, 108 Cherry St., Seattle, March 9, smoking

Hey Open Borders Crowd: They Like to Work AND Offend Here.

Deborah Schurman-Kauflin of the Violent Crimes Institute in Atlanta analyzed 1,500 cases from January 1999 through April 2006 that included serial rapes, serial murders, sexual homicides and child molestation committed by illegal immigrants.


Schurman-Kauflin concluded that, based on a figure of 12 million illegal immigrants and the fact that more of this population is male than average, sex offenders among illegals make up a higher percentage than offenders in the general population.

She arrives at the figure of 240,000 offenders – a conservative estimate, she says – through public records showing about 2 percent of illegals apprehended are sex offenders.

"This translates to 93 sex offenders and 12 serial sexual offenders coming across U.S. borders illegally per day," she says.

She points out the 1,500 offenders in her study had a total of 5,999 victims, and each sex offender averaged four victims.

Schurman-Kauflin breaks down the 1,500 cases reviewed this way:

• 525, or 35 percent, were child molestations
• 358, or 24 percent, were rapes
• 617, or 41 percent, were sexual homicides and serial murders

OPEN THREAD WEDNESDAY

Seattle's parking tax anyone? Sounds coincidentally like the Tri Met tax extortion.

Mayor Greg Nickels today proposed a $1.8 billion tax increase to pay for Seattle's backlog of street, bridge and sidewalk repairs, plus a host of transit, bike path and safety improvements.

Nickels' package would be funded through a mix of increased property taxes, new taxes on commercial parking lots and an employer tax, which would be based on the number of employees who work at companies and organizations in Seattle.

If approved by the City Council, the mayor's proposed property tax increase would go to voters for their approval in November. The new parking and employer taxes could be imposed without voter approval.

The levy would cost the owner of a typical Seattle home $195 during the first year. The levy would grow at the rate of construction inflation, but would be capped at a 5 percent increase per year.

Largest Expansion of Welfare and Immigration Bill. Ever. In the History of our Country.

Voting in favor of the Senate Bill 2611:
Wyden
Smith
Cantwell
Murray

OPEN THREAD THURSDAY

You asked. I answered. Here it is boys.
PS Family emergency. Not on tonight but 2611 will be discussed by fill in.

NO ON SENATE BILL 2611!!!!!

THE VOTE IS TOMORROW! ROY BECK OF NUMBERS USA ON TONIGHT.
CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND SAY "NO" TO SB 2611!GET THE LATEST ON THE SENATE DEBATE AT NUMBERSUSA.COMTOLL FREE NUMBERS FOR CALLING CONGRESS:866-220-0044, 866-340-9281, 800-833-6354, 866-340-9281,877-762-8762, 866-808-0065, 888-355-3588, 866-220-0044Senator Gordon Smith’s Oregon numbers: Pendleton (541) 278-1129 Portland (503) 326-3386 Medford (541) 608-9102 Eugene (541) 465-6750 Bend (541) 318-1298Senator Ron Wyden’s Oregon numbers Portland (503) 326-7525 Salem (503) 589-4555 Eugene (541) 431-0229 Medford (541) 858-5122Cantwell, Maria- (D - WA)Class I717 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510(202) 224-3441Web Form: cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.htmlHere's Maria's immigration voting record: http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=WA&VIPID=844Murray, Patty- (D - WA)Class III173 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510(202) 224-2621Web Form: murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfmHere's Patty's immigration voting record: http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=WA&VIPID=840Smith, Gordon H.- (R - OR)Class II404 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510(202) 224-3753Web Form: gsmith.senate.gov/webform.htmHere's Gordon's immigration voting record: http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=OR&VIPID=669Wyden, Ron- (D - OR)Class III230 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510(202) 224-5244Web Form: wyden.senate.gov/contact.htmlHere's Ron's immigration report card: http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=OR&VIPID=667
posted by Victoria Taft at 09:46 0 comments

FBI Fibs to Portland Mayor Potter Declaring: "There's no corruption in Portland."

Potter: "Unacceptable" for FBI to try to an establish informant inside City Hall. Ken Lay, Congressmen William Jefferson and Randy "Duke" Cunningham agree.

Portland Mayor, Prince Tom Potter, has accused the local office of the FBI of trying to set up a snitch at City Hall. In an open letter to the "Portland Community", Potter relates the story about the Federal Agent who approached a City Hall worker on the public street:

He asked if she would be willing to pass information to him relating to people who work for the City of Portland . He said that while he had duties in other areas, the agency was always interested in information relating to white collar crime and other things.
One important and legitimate role of the FBI is to investigate public corruption within government entities. For example, recently the FBI arrested a member of Congress for public corruption. But federal officials have told me they know of no public corruption in our city. Federal officials say they are conducting no investigation of the City of Portland.

Potter then goes on to explain that recent [LEGAL] wiretaps of Al Qaeda connected individuals has tainted the FBI and added fuel to the 'big brother' fires burning on the fringe left.

So here's the apparent logic: Because the FBI has conducted perfectly legal wiretaps of al qaeda types there's no corruption at Portland's City Hall.

Hostile Work Environment Applies Only to Government Employees When Victimized by Protesters

Schumacher employee displays picture of protester in front of store on a typical Saturday protest.
On Sunday we saw in the O that peace as we know it at Schumacher Fur was imperiled because of what possibly could be the break down of peace talks between the nutty Portland Professional Protester Class and the legal, longstanding, successful fur store.

City-sponsored mediation could start this week between activist Matt Rossell of In Defense of Animals and Gregg Schumacher of Schumacher Furs & Outerwear, a Portland business since 1895, though there could be a hitch.

The O goes on to explain that the anti fur, nutty, professional protesters are slightly out of control and therefore appeasing these kooks might be problematic. For instance:

At one point, activists enveloped two departing fur-store patrons in a bedlam of catcalls and chants: "Shame on you. Shame on you. Shame on you."
The patrons, Dave and Janet Denton of Gresham, first walked half a block down and back. Then they beelined across the street to complain with venom to police that they should not be letting picketers treat shoppers that way.

Today we read in the same newspaper a story with the headline "Animal Excludes Animal Activist" that sounded quite familiar:

The county formally barred Gail O'Connell-Babcock from the animal facility.
... an Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division report suggested the county remedy a "hostile" work environment that employees attributed to O'Connell-Babcock's frequent presence.
The document banning her for one year cites O'Connell-Babcock for abusive or threatening behavior, unreasonably noisy and/or disruptive behavior, and for interfering with county business." (emphasis added)
Employees told me that some days she would walk by staff and say, 'Murderer, murderer,' or 'Puppy killer, puppy killer,' under her breath," Steward said. "Other days she would bring out cookies for the employees. It was very disconcerting."

So, here's the lesson, if you work for the government the government will protect you from crazy protesters who threaten you. If you work for a legitimate business the government will NOT protect you from crazy protesters who threaten you. Oh, and those protesters have done plenty of threatening, "educating," chasing customers, shouting in the faces of customers, trespassing--you name it. I've seen it ALL on videotape.

AND THE CITY WANTS THEM TO 'TALK ABOUT THEIR DIFFERENCES.'

Social Security for Illegal Aliens. Now I've Heard Everything!

Even if the documents are phony. Even if the social security cards are phony. Even if they were here illegally: THE SENATE HAS VOTED TO GIVE ILLEGAL ALIENS SOCIAL SECURITY. Read about it here.
Call your Senators. See below all the numbers etc.

WaPo Weighs in on Oregon Guvs Race

OR-Gov: Kulongoski Survives
Oregon's Democratic governor, Ted Kulongoski, beat back two primary challengers Tuesday to win his party's nomination. He now moves on to face Portland attorney Ron Saxton (R) and state Sen. Ben Westlund, a Republican until recently who is expected to run as an independent, in this fall's general election

Read the rest here.

Roy Beck, Exec Dir of NUMBERSUSA on the Victoria Taft Show Tonight

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND SAY "NO" TO SB 2611!
GET THE LATEST ON THE SENATE DEBATE AT NUMBERSUSA.COM

TOLL FREE NUMBERS FOR CALLING CONGRESS:866-220-0044, 866-340-9281, 800-833-6354, 866-340-9281,877-762-8762, 866-808-0065, 888-355-3588, 866-220-0044
Senator Gordon Smith’s Oregon numbers: Pendleton (541) 278-1129 Portland (503) 326-3386 Medford (541) 608-9102 Eugene (541) 465-6750 Bend (541) 318-1298
Senator Ron Wyden’s Oregon numbers Portland (503) 326-7525 Salem (503) 589-4555 Eugene (541) 431-0229 Medford (541) 858-5122

Cantwell, Maria- (D - WA)
Class I
717 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3441
Web Form: cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html
Here's Maria's immigration voting record: http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=WA&VIPID=844

Murray, Patty- (D - WA)
Class III
173 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2621
Web Form: murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
Here's Patty's immigration voting record: http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=WA&VIPID=840

Smith, Gordon H.- (R - OR)
Class II
404 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3753
Web Form: gsmith.senate.gov/webform.htm
Here's Gordon's immigration voting record: http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=OR&VIPID=669


Wyden, Ron- (D - OR)
Class III
230 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5244
Web Form: wyden.senate.gov/contact.html
Here's Ron's immigration report card: http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=OR&VIPID=667

Heritage Foundation Immigration Expert on the Show Tonight

Read the assessment of the latest Senate Immigration bill here.

Governor Saxton

Saxton whoops up on Mannix and Atkinson to everyone's surprise ---including Saxton-- who predicted that , while he would win, it would be a whole lot closer. I called for Saxton to win by only a couple of points. Pollster Tim Hibbits called race practically at 8:00:59 for the fastest projection ever. From KATU'S website:
... Saxton had 43 percent of the vote to Mannix's 30 percent. Atkinson, a state senator from Central Point and the third major contender for the nomination, had 20 percent.

Kevin Mannix called early to concede and pledge his support in November. Before the tally all three candidates for the Republicans pledged to hold a news conference on Thursday to bring the party together to defeat the Democrats in November.

Election Day: What to Watch and Where to Get the Results

I'll be out taking in all the hoopla of the night and watching election returns. KPAM has wall to wall election coverage starting with The Victoria Taft Show at 6 and News Team election coverage starting at 8pm. Stream KPAM here.
Here are the races to watch:
Marion County Circuit Judge--THE most important Judicial race in the state.
Ross Day must defeat Judge Lipscomb.
The contested race for Oregon State Supreme Court. Go Jack Roberts. Looking at a possible run off in November.
City of Portland: Hoping for a run off for Erik Sten in the fall. Go Dave Lister, go!
Metro: Hoping Tom Cox gets enough votes to head for a run off in November.
State Senate District 13: Larry George looks like he'll knock off incumbent Charles Starr.
Multnomah County Chair: Nobody seems to care much about Ted Wheeler's background. Voters only know he's not Diane Linn and that will be good enough to see him to victory.
Multnomah County District 2: Jeff Cogan (Dan Saltzman's aide) is expected to face Lew Frederick(former PPS schools spokesman and TV reporter) in the fall for the spot being vacated by Serena Cruz (-Walsh) (Erik Sten's former aide who's married to Tom Walsh Junior).
RinoWatch's new blog, A Better Watch, has all the links for you to keep track of all the races in the state here.

Pentagon tape from 9/11 released

Here's the story.

Frankly, I've never understood why some nuts believe no plane flew into the Pentagon. Barbara Olsen is still dead. She was riding in that plane-American Airlines Flight 77- and on the phone saying goodbye to her husband, solicitor general Ted Olsen.
"What do I tell the pilot to do? * Here's the story with the video but I'm afraid it will only fuel more conspiracy theories and speculation because the video stinks. Popular Mechanics Mythbusters here.

Immigration Speech Reaction: Guarding the Border with Symbolism

Senate Immigration Bill Would Allow 100 Million New Legal Immigrants over the Next Twenty Years. Read the report here.

Here's the President's speech.
Here's today's reaction. From National Review is Rich Lowry's piece with this nut graph:
Having the National Guard sharpen pencils and fetch coffee for the Border Patrol can't fix our broken immigration system. It is no substitute for a fence, nor for real interior enforcement that punishes employers for hiring illegal labor. The Bush approach to the latter also relies on symbolism. A 26-state immigration raid garnered extensive press attention last month, but most of the aliens arrested were quickly released again.

Editors of the NRO also call this a lost opportunity. Big Time.
In his Oval Office address, the president squandered what was probably his last chance to reconnect with conservatives on immigration. They will undoubtedly note that the president has waited six years to start talking about enforcement, and will accordingly ask why he can’t postpone his amnesty long enough to give enforcement at try? A speech that had reiterated his support for amnesty in theory, but conceded that enforcement had to come first, would likely have won significant public approval and helped shape events in Congress. The speech he actually gave, on the other hand, is likely further to demoralize conservatives and harden opposition among House Republicans to the Senate amnesty proposal. President Bush’s speech, contrary to its goal, probably ensures that no immigration bill will reach his desk this year. Given the options, that’s probably a good thing.

The Washington Post calls the President's plan the 'middle ground' here.
A Republican strategist with close ties to the White House, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly about the president's problems, blamed Bush for not standing up forcefully to supporters of a House bill that would make felons of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country as well as anyone who tries to help them. "The president responded to that House bill rather passively," he said. "Leadership is standing up to demagoguery." This strategist said last night's speech was less about immigration than "about the total collapse of the president's numbers among conservatives."

PHONE RECORDS: Quick. Call the Cops.

The NSA phone records spying "scandal". 63% of Americans are in favor of spying on Al Qaeda. The other 37% use the services below. The congress uses this.
Trace Phone Calls, Phone Number Trace, Cell Phone Directory, Phone records, Monthly phone call activity, Find calls ...Find telephone calls made from any phone number and get monthly call activity ... Please note that listings for any type of phone records have been removed from Abika.com websites and ... on how to protect your phone records. The following searches will only ... www.abika.com/Reports/TracePhoneCalls.htm More pages from abika.com
Sponsored Matches Become a sponsor Spy-Tronix - 33-Hour Phone Recorder $123Hard to find mini spy cameras, phone recorders, spy recorders, bug detectors and gadgets for personal or professional use. Fast and discreet shipping. Mini 65-hour spy recorder is $147.www.spy-tronix.comFind Phone Records - $29.00Easily find phone records, cell phone records, public records, and more. Instantly find or investigate anyone right from your home. Unlimited access for only $29.www.net-investigator.orgPhone Record: Compare PricesFind Bargains on Phone Record at thousands of trusted online stores. Get tax and shipping information, merchant ratings, and professional product reviews at BizRate.com.www.bizrate.comYour phone records available online... Your phone records available online. 1/6/2006 2:05:52 PM, by Nate Anderson ... routinely goes online to track down cell phone records. They help him answer such burning ... arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060106-5919.html More pages from arstechnica.com kyw.com - Selling Cell Phone RecordsYour cell phone calling records are not as private as you think. As CBS 3's Natasha Brown found, companies are making money selling your cell phone calling records to whoever wants them. Just look - we did it. ... have helped find runaway kids and dangerous criminals -- and that getting cell phone records is not illegal ... cbs3.com/seenon/local_story_314215614.html More pages from cbs3.com Phone Records Obtained Through Spoofing (Phone Scoop)mobile phone news, info, reviews, community, and deals. JUMP to a phone: Phone Records Obtained Through Spoofing. Date Posted: Jan 17, 2006, 2:08 PM. Source: Wired ... proceedings against a Florida company that sells phone records reveals how these businesses obtain records from carriers ... www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=1544 More pages from phonescoop.com I *still* know who you called last month - The Red Tape Chronicles - MSNBC.com... Take cell phone records -- literally. Your cell phone bills are there for the taking, for about $100 a ... who wanted John Smith's cell phone records would just call up the ... redtape.msnbc.com/2005/11/its_actually_ob.html More pages from redtape.msnbc.com

NSA TELEPHONE RECORDS Fact Sheet
These guys have cried wolf too many times. Come in from out on the ledge. We’re fighting a war.

The NSA computers take the four trillion numbers in the two trillion calls to look for clusters that might suggest terrorist connections.

There is no constitutional protection for information YOU PROVIDE to a third party (phone company?)

There is no surveillance of the person whose phone records are received.

It’s a quadrillion bit program designed to analyze if there are patterns of phone calling. No names, addresses, personal info of any kind is given. No conversation information is given.

The government can –if it sees a pattern of calls—de-anonymize the records.

After 9/11 JetBlue Airways and Northwest Airlines offered privacy protected passenger records to NASA and the Pentagon for research for data mining.

Verizon, Bellsouth, ATT all coorperated with the Gov’t. Qwest didn’t want to without a warrant. That’s nice. Qwest: you’re gone.

INCOGNITO: Secretary of State's Mouthpiece Blogs/Comments on Taxpayer Time? Or is "LUNCH" Usually at 9am?

Anne Martens again. This time she's spending time at the Shark's blog here.
Is this part of her job? The Shark posts in part:
Oregon Secretary of State's Spokeswoman is covertly posting comments here
Check out the comments on yesterday's post ""Security and Economics": Vote-by-mail is a double loser" Towards the bottom is a comment by "Anne":
First of all, if you visit the Oregon Secretary of State's office link (http://www.sos.state.or.us/executive/policy-initiatives/vbm/execvbm.htm) then you'll see further links to independent research on Vote By Mail and additional information from a number of sources. The government is not some big boogeyman trying to get you, the government is you, and exists to provide ideas and information and assistance. ... Over 70% of Washington voters have been voting this way for years without issue1.Anne also posted a couple of comments on the subsequent entry, repeating the figure of "over 70% of Washington voters".
Anne didn't identify herself as such, but as it turns out, she is Anne Martens, spokeswoman to Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and a Democrat blogger and advocate for mail-only voting. She posted her comments here from an Oregon state IP address, but identified herself only by first name and private email address. I called her at the office and she confirmed that she posted the comments. I explained that I thought it would have been ethical under the circumstances for her to identify herself by full name and title, given that she was, you know, touting her employer from an office computer during business hours. She got all defensive and claimed it was on her lunch break [The comments were posted at 8:41AM and 9:57AM]. in between the time I got off the phone with her and finished this entry, she posted yet another comment here, disparaging a critic of mail voting and without fully identifying herself.
Sheesh.

On the Trail of Zarqawi

Thomas Joscelyn has the latest on the newly refreshed search for Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the franchisee for Al Qaeda in Iraq. Could it have anything to do with this previous story? The Jordanian press is reporting:

"The Americans and the British set up electronic listening bases in areas located south of the capital, Baghdad; namely, Al-Latifiyah, Al-Yusufiyah, Jurf al-Sakhr, Al-Mahmudiyah, Al-Bu'aythah, and Hawr Rajab, where Al-Zarqawi is believed to have been moving about in the past weeks."The intelligence information available to the Interior Ministry's Staff Major General Husayn Ali Kamal (under secretary of the Iraqi Interior Ministry for intelligence affairs) indicates that security officials hope for surrounding the areas where Al-Zarqawi could be located in order to conduct, later on, house-to-house and street-to-street searches. This in turn could lead to his quick arrest.High-level quarters at the Iraqi Defense Ministry said that the Americans are waiting for Al-Zarqawi to phone his colleagues, even by using a code, in order to identify his exact location and subsequently act to either arrest or kill him.

Oregon's Illegal Alien Prisoners Cost You Heart Ache AND $22 Mil/Year

909 Illegal Aliens in Oregon's county jails. See the entire list here at Daniel is Right and see Daniel's Political Musings here to see how he got this list. Plus check out the offenses these hard-working-taking-the-jobs-Americans-won't-do-guys are in for: Murder, Rape I, Sodomy, selling drugs within a thousand feet of a SCHOOL, Manslaughter. And what do we get for all the "hard work" they do committing crimes "Americans Won't Do"? A $22 MILLION DOLLAR BILL. Oregon: The Sanctuary State. Commit a Crime on Us!

More on Moose

Michelle Malkin discovers her former police chief (and ours) former police chief Charles Moose's new gig as a police recruit in Hawaii. Add sulphuric acid and stir!

"Say a prayer for the people of Honolulu. My former
police chief, the utterly incompetent Charles "Still waiting for the white van" Moose, has resurfaced. Hope they can keep him from shaking down anymore island hotels."

We're Winning the War. Just Ask Al Qaeda.

Centcom releases some captured documents written by an Al Qaeda (AQ) operative "of significance." Captain's Quarters has deep down 411 on these here.
A couple of money line items:

2. The strength of the brothers in Baghdad is built
mainly on booby trapped cars, and most of the mujahidin groups in Baghdad are generally groups of assassin without any organized military capabilities. 3. There is a clear absence of organization among the groups of the brothers in Baghdad, whether at the leadership level in Baghdad, the brigade leaders, or their groups therein. Coordination among them is very difficult, which appears clearly when the group undertake a join[t] operations. 4. The policy followed by the brothers in Baghdad is a media oriented policy without a clear comprehensive plan to capture an area or an enemy center. Other word, the significance of the strategy of their work is to show in the media that the American and the government do not control the situation and there is resistance against them. This policy dragged us to the type of operations that are attracted to the media, and we go to the streets from time to time for more possible noisy operations which follow the same direction. (emphasis added) This direction has large positive effects; however, being preoccupied with it alone delays more important operations such as taking control of some areas, preserving it and assuming power in Baghdad (for example, taking control of a university, a hospital, or a Sunni religious site).

Is a Terrorist a Terrorist?

The Seattle Times asks the question if Eco Terrorists are in fact terrorists. The story is here and in a follow up story announcing the latest rounds of indictments out of Eugene, the paper is careful to call them sabateurs.
If you've been following the meta discussion by those in the media you'll note they're concerned that people who wanted to bomb trucks, scare and terrorize workers in the natural resources industries, and torch peoples' legitimate, law abiding companies in abject disregard whether anyone might have been literally in the line of fire might be marred by being called terrorists.
Remember when Reuters decided to call the terrorists of 9/11 freedom fighters? Now the BBC is being advised that it's okay to call a terrorist a terrorist. Seattle Times where are YOU?

Victoria Taft Endorsements

Governor: Saxton, Mannix. I wasn't going to endorse in this primary and this is as far as I'm willing to go. I really, REALLY like Jason Atkinson but he won't make it out of the primary (unless Jim Moore's assessment of the a statistical dead heat is spot on). Atkinson's a comer but he needs a little more life's seasoning to take to heart that not everyone is out to get him. I look forward to voting for Jason when Mannix or Saxton term out as Governor. Saxton is absolutely on the money with his desire to reduce capital gains tax, PERS reform, and in acknowledging the drain illegal aliens put on our economy. Plus he knows his way around a boardroom. He's ready and he can do the job. If he emerges as the Republicans' candidate, Saxton needs to remember what he said during the primary. I don't think this Goldschmidt stuff will hurt him.
Mannix has been there and done that and nearly got the governor's job last time around. Mannix is the guy who helped get Measure 11 done. He's a star for that. He can win in the general if this Loren Parks hoo ha can be dealt with. Parks may be a weirdo but thank goodness Mannix isn't. Mannix showed up to the Operation ID rally at the capitol and has taken to heart its message. Plus he gave a terrific speech.













Congressional District 4: Jim Feldkamp. Jim Feldkamp wants to be in Congress and has the guts to jump in. He's an attorney, businessman, a Naval Reserve Commander, and a former counter terrorism officer with the FBI. Unlike democrat Peter Defazio, Feldkamp actually believes that Saddam was a bad man who helped train terrorists before 9/11. Feldkamp has run this race before and his name ID in the last go round was good enough to garner him 32% of the vote in CD4. Even the Oregonian can't stomach a Defazio endorsement. The newspaper of record (ha!) rightfully endorsed Feldkamp. Feldkamp signed his Operation ID letter while observing a Carousel of Crime at the University of Oregon. He's not a wimp, he's a man's man, and he likes single malt scotch. So THERE!













Congressional District 5: Mike Erickson. He's new, he's exciting, pulled up by his own bootstraps kind of guy and is looking at this sickening overspending on the part of the members of Congress (who have an even LOWER approval rating than the President and Oregon's Governor) and seeing it for the wrong it is. This guy's made a payroll, he's successful, and he's ready. I don't see him sliding into Gordon-"well Ron and I"-Smith terroritory. Oregon's congressional delegation needs to be shaken up. Darlene Hooley is a back bencher, a me-toer, and it's time for some real leadership in CD 5.










CD 1: Derrick Kitts is the latest yin to David Wu's yang. He is the guy in the primary.
Supreme Court: Jack Roberts. Roberts has held elective office, he comes to the job with his Eugene sensibilities in tact so lefties need not be afraid that he's some reactionary kook. He's an attorney who's honest, funny, smart and possesses conservative values. I don't know about you ladies out there, but the endorsement of the woman in this race JUST BECAUSE SHE'S A WOMAN (Oregonian, Willamette Week) is deeply insulting as if we have no core set of values ourselves. Jack Roberts is the guy. This Oregon Supreme Court swings only one way: left. Jack Roberts will go a long way toward bringing some sanity to this collection of nuts.

Marion County Circuit Judge: Ross Day. There is no more important race than this one against entrenched incumbent Paul Lipscomb. Lipscomb deep sixed Measure 7 (the precursor to M 37), he's done the will of the democrat apparatus in deconstructing initiatives that Oregonians have passed, and he is the one who handed off the Measure 37 to Judge Mary Merten James who did his bidding by finding a way to unravel Measure 37 by any means necessary. She should resign in disgrace. He should go with her. Plus, how dumb is it to use your office and office phone for your campaign headquarters all these years? Hint: it's illegal.

Metro Council: Would you be suprised if I told you Tom Cox? Of course not. He's the only choice for Metro Council but if there were a choice of reasonable candidates he'd still be my choice.

Portland City Council: Dave Lister. He's the "East Side Guy." He's not some elitist, utopia-at-all-costs dope. He's a level headed businessman who's got a blue collar heart. Plus, he's a sharp computer guy but doesn't make the mistake of thinking he's the smartest guy in the room (Even though he usually is). Erik Sten must go and Ginny Burdick is not the answer.

Crime Victims United's judge endorsements:
Washington County Circuit Court: Charlie Bailey
Multnomah County Circuit Court: Kathleen Paine
Lane County Circuit Court: Deborah Vogt
Marion County Circuit Court: Ross Day
State Supreme Court: Jack Roberts

THE CASE FOR DRUG TESTING ELECTED OFFICIALS

Hey I know, let's ask the authorities to release his medical records. If he were Rush Limbaugh you can bet they would be released.
He wasn't drunk but he took ambien so he's going into drug rehab. Again. He'll be admitted to the Kennedy Wing of the Mayo Clinic starting this weekend. Read all about it here.

Candidates: Come One, Come All on Monday 7:30-9:00pm

Monday evening from 7:30-9:00pm The Victoria Taft Show will announce endorsements of candidates and allow candidates of all political stripes air time on the program to tout their candidacies. Expect some questions. These are the numbers: 503-225-0860, 877-774-KPAM (5726).

Moussaoui Headed to the Alcatraz of the Rockies.

Zaccarias Moussaoui will be going to the "Alcatraz of the Rockies" (see below) today as he begins his life sentence for terrorist activities. He'll be joining his old buddy, Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber," and the guys who helped start it all: Ramzi Yousef who was implicated in the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and their oracle, blind Egyptian Muslim cleric Omar Abdel-Rahman. One stop shopping for bad guys hoping to spring their buddies.
Moussaoui may be able to bring news from his old boss Khalid Sheik Mohammed, one of the architects of 9/11, to Mohammed's nephew, Yousef. And hey, as long as we're talking about connections, don't forget that the bomb expert for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was Iraqi and disappeared into Baghdad after the US LET HIM GO for some inexplicable reason. Abdul Rahman Yasin was actually picked up a couple of times and told to go home to Iraq. See previous post here. In case you didn't hear him on the show last night, read Tom Joscelyn's take on the sentencing here. And as we pointed out amply in the show last night, you can't fight a war on terror in a court room, especially with all the rules of evidence that apply in a US court room. See the CounterTerrorism blog on that here.
One of the more bizarre revelations from this trial is that three jurors believed Moussaoui was a bit player in 9/11 and that he couldn't have had enough information to share with the FBI before the strike. The jury, I suspect, expected Moussaoui to pull out his Clyde Crashcup diagram for them. Ain't gonna happen. That's the way it works in a cell. If they'd been able to see his laptop with his connections to 9/11 perhaps that would have been more persuasive although I doubt it. If they don't believe he knew enough about 9/11 by being paid by the Al Qaeda paymaster in Germany and working for Khalid Sheik Mohammed then there's not much hope for this box of rocks. Jury nullification anyone?
And here's another disturbing question: What if the French come to Moussaoui's rescue?
Reuters is reporting that the French Foreign Ministry could call for Moussaoui to serve out his sentence in France because they don't have enough jihadists over there.

Knowing what we know of Moussaoui is this place too good for him?

Dubbed by the Guinness World Records as the most
secure prison in the world, the 37 acre complex comprises four separate
detention facilities, each with a different grade of security. Supermax is
equipped with motion detectors, 1,400 steel remote-controlled steel doors, laser
beams, barbed wire fences, pressure pads and attack
dogs.

Last Helicopter Theory Redux

Back by popular demand (okay, mine). But think about this when you contemplate the Moussaoui verdict.
In the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal today is an interesting piece about what Iran's version of Dr. Kissinger, Hassan Abbasi, thinks about American will. Find it here.Here's the essential 'graph:To hear Mr. Abbasi tell it the entire recent history of the U.S. could be narrated with the help of the image of "the last helicopter." It was that image in Saigon that concluded the Vietnam War under Gerald Ford. Jimmy Carter had five helicopters fleeing from the Iranian desert, leaving behind the charred corpses of eight American soldiers. Under Ronald Reagan the helicopters carried the corpses of 241 Marines murdered in their sleep in a Hezbollah suicide attack. Under the first President Bush, the helicopter flew from Safwan, in southern Iraq, with Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf aboard, leaving behind Saddam Hussein's generals, who could not believe why they had been allowed live to fight their domestic foes, and America, another day. Bill Clinton's helicopter was a Black Hawk, downed in Mogadishu and delivering 16 American soldiers into the hands of a murderous crowd.
Here's something you might find interesting; they all (Iran, Al Qaeda) think GW is an aberration and believe the old cut and run strategy will resume once G-4-3 is gone. The author continues in the piece about his research finding among other things that the American leader-elite don't support a cut and run strategy. He believes 9/11 changed everything and everyone. Do YOU?