While it is a pleasant surprise to see the liberal local media portray a couple of Republican lawmakers in a positive light – when the usual treatment is a silent one, if not hostile – these recent stories reveal the persistent bias within the media.  Journalists refuse to hold Democrats to the same high standards they impose on Republican lawmakers.  It should be repeatedly mentioned in the media that our state’s GOP leaders all condemned the January 6 violence by Trump supporters – while it was taking place.  Yet nine months have passed, and Democrat politicians have still said nothing about the ongoing liberal political violence in the Pacific Northwest. And their silence has made political violence a routine occurrence.  (Click to read full Shift article)

Play in Shift’s “Madness in Olympia” contest before Wednesday, as you determine which of the many bad proposals the Democrats have made this year deserves to be crowned 2021’s Worst Idea.  In a tournament format, we have included our top eight contenders.  Each week we will ask our readers to vote on the worst ideas. We have two brackets, one for “More Taxes” and one for “Less Public Safety,”, which have turned out to be the top two Democrat priorities for this session, Share it with your friends. (Shift’s Madness in Olympia)

While state Democrats are breaking their arms patting themselves on the back for U.S. News and World Reports ranking Washington as the top state to live, they fail to mention that their current legislative agenda will remove many of the key reasons why the state scored so well.  As the Association of Washington Business points out, “Washington ranks well in the survey in part because of our state’s lack of an income tax and our affordable energy. But how much longer will we be able to maintain those competitive advantages with moves underway to enact a capital gains tax — the first step toward an income tax — and threats to remove the lower Snake River dams?”  We should not forget that Governor Jay Inslee’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the Democrats’ 18-cents a gallon gas tax will also significantly impact the state’s low energy costs.  It is also easy to believe that the Democrats’ criminal reform measures will also have a negative impact on the state’s already worsening crime statistics.  Nearly all of the reasons for the state’s high ranking is due to the wealth and prosperity which Washington State’s private sector has created.  Yet it is these successes that current Democrat proposals are attempting to tax or regulate and force them to move out of state. (Association of Washington Business and List of Democrat Criminal Reform Bills)

The Washington Association of School Administers (WASA) is asking Governor Inslee and the Washington State Department of Health to reconsider the state’s “six-foot rule.”  WASA points out that Harvard University research identified 3-feet of separation as safe for schools.  WASA is making the request in an effort to return all students to the classroom.  Unfortunately, the major roadblock for returning to in-person instruction is the stubborn attitude of the bosses of the teachers’ unions, as they have repeatedly demonstrated that scientific data (even from Harvard University!) and expert advice from thousands of health professionals is irrelevant, as they continue to seek to use the COVID-19 pandemic as just another way to boost the unions’ bank accounts. (KEPR – TV)

While the “House of Origin Cutoff” has passed in the Washington State Legislature, a deadline which used to mean a lot more during in-person sessions, there is still time for the lawmakers to join nearly all other states in placing restrictions on a governor’s emergency powers.  According to a study from the Maine Policy Institute, Washington State ranks near the bottom when it comes to legislative oversite of the governor’s emergency orders.  Nearly everyone agrees that that the state’s chief executive should have the ability to impose orders for a short period of time during an emergency, but it is undemocratic to allow those powers to go unchecked for an extended period of time. While many other states have amended their emergency powers to include approval from legislators, Democrat legislative leaders have killed all efforts to do the same in Washington.  Evidently, Washington State Democrats believe the current governor lacks the leadership abilities to build approval for his decisions, even when they control both houses of the legislature, so they must leave him with complete control. (Washington Policy Center and Maine Policy Institute)

As the Seattle City Council considers even more cuts to the Seattle Police Department’s budget, Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz says the department has failed to meet its response time targets for the past seven months.  The department has set seven minutes as a goal for the average response time for 911 Priority 1 calls.  Yet, because nearly 200 officers left the force in 2020, due in part to the constant antagonism from the city’s far-Left political leaders, the department no longer has the personnel to meet this level of public safety. (KOMO News)

The exodus continues – Amazon continues to escape the City of Seattle’s self-inflicted damage to its economy (and its tax base), as the company announced the signing of a lease for a new 25-story tower in the more business-friendly (and prosperous) Downtown Bellevue.  Currently, Amazon is planning to house more than 25,000 employees in 13 different towers in Bellevue.  It is easy to believe that most (if not all) of the company’s high-salaried employees (those making more than $150,000) that are the target of City of Seattle’s “JumpStart Seattle” tax, will be relocating to the Eastside along with their jobs. (Wouldn’t a more appropriate name for Seattle’s tax be “JumpFrom Seattle?”).   (Seattle Times and Fox Business News)

In news that will scare even more Seattle businesses to move to the Eastside, or maybe Idaho, ultra-liberal activist Nikkita Oliver has announced as a candidate for the At-Large Seattle City Council seat being vacated by Lorena Gonzalez, who is running for mayor.  Oliver came in a competitive third place in the 2017 primary race for mayor, and has advocated for nearly all of the destructive policies that has led to the current large migration out of Seattle, including defunding law enforcement, ending sweeps of homeless encampments, higher employer taxes, and the expensive and environmentally ineffective Green New Deal.   Currently Oliver is the executive director of “Creative Justice”, which advocates for “an arts-based alternative to incarceration.” (MyNorthwest and Seattle Times)

Finally, some good news for The Boeing Company, as it announces that for the first time in 15 months it has more new orders than cancellations.  The company’s 82 new orders more than offset 51 cancelations. Many of the new orders are for the recently un-grounded 737 Max jets, which shows airlines are confident that Boeing has taken the necessary steps to ensure the plane is safe. (AP)

The City of Everett is considering banning homeless encampments in parts of the city, while building temporary shelters to house homeless individuals. The city is looking to ban the encampments along a 10-block stretch of Smith Avenue and some of the nearby streets.  Business owners have said current encampments are scaring away potential customers. The city plans to be finished with a 20-unit shelter by this summer. (KOMO News)

The local media has blindly accepted the Democrat legislators’ spin of calling its capital gains tax an “excise tax,” and not identifying it as an “income tax” as the IRS, 49 other states, and the rest of mankind do. The Democrats know this is a particularly important distinction, since an “income tax” is unconstitutional in Washington State and an “excise tax” is not.  The legislation (SB 5096) was sneaked through the Senate , by a single vote, in a rare Saturday session, and will likely sail through the Democrat-controlled House.  Just as certain as Governor Jay Inslee signing any bill that raises taxes, there will certainly be a lawsuit which will eventually require the Washington State Supreme Court to rule on whether or not Inslee’s income tax on capital gains is an unconstitutional income tax.  By the local media choosing to ignore the IRS, 49 other states, and common sense that this is an “income tax” and choosing instead to support the Democrats’ false script that it is an “excise tax,” the “watchdogs” have clearly taken sides on the issue and are helping build the Democrats’ defense in a future court case. (Click to read full Shift Article)

Do you like The Daily Briefing?

Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment.

Forward this to a friend.  It helps us grow our community and serve you better.

You can also follow SHIFTWA on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected].