From the “giving credit where it’s due” department: Because of the clean and renewable energy created by hydroelectric dams, Washington State is already one of the country’s leaders in producing carbon-free power, yet this does not stop radical environmentalists (and Jay Inslee) from wanting to spend more than $33 billion to tear down four lower Snake River dams.  Liberals across the region ignore facts and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists in promoting the myth that removing these dams will magically increase the population of salmon in Puget Sound (and in turn save Orca whales, which depend on salmon for food).  Because facts were inconvenient for a liberal Spokesman-Review columnist, he decided to make false accusations against those who provide actual scientific data in defending the dams. Unfortunately for the columnist, his unprofessional actions were revealed, and his paper was forced to retract his false statements. (Click to read full Shift article)

Brandi Kruse denounced Governor Jay Inslee’s continued use of divisive partisan techniques during the pandemic, which she rightly believes will cause more harm than do good.  As we have mentioned many times in Shift, for more than 500 days Governor Inslee has deliberately chosen NOT to do and say things which could unite state residents to combat the COVID-19 virus.  Instead the governor has repeatedly chosen to be politically partisan in his actions, which has resulted in many state residents disregarding advice from his state health officials on masks and vaccines, and likely has resulted in the unnecessary spread of the virus and for more deaths to occur.

The latest example of the governor’s hyper-partisan statements creating needless harm occurred last week, when the governor made the following silly and politically divisive comment, “If you are a 50-year-old man, you know, who voted for Donald Trump and didn’t think COVID was a problem, and you don’t get vaccinated right now, you put at risk every kid in your city. You could be spreading the virus to a ten-year-old who can’t get eligible for the vaccine.  Some of us think that’s irresponsible. If that’s judgmental, so be it.”

On her “The Divide” news program, Kruse asks the obvious question: “Do you believe there is a Trump supporter, truly, on the planet, who would hear Governor Inslee say these things and suddenly feel compelled, feel a sudden call to duty if you will, to get the vaccine?  Not a chance.  And the governor knows that.”

Kruse goes on to say that the governor has again used the pandemic as an excuse to belittle his political opponents.  Kruse said, “Despite the fact the state has hit the (vaccination) goal it set for itself, the governor still feels the need to shame those who chose not to get the vaccine, but only those who also chose to support the former president.” (Q13’s The Divide/Facebook video and Shift)

Firefighters are expressing concern about the Democrats’ police reform measures and how it will place them in dangerous situations.  As Democrat legislators rushed to reward the violent actions of their political base among liberal rioters during the 2021 session, they passed legislation which limits the ability of police officers to de-escalate dangerous situations and assist those who are suffering a mental health crisis or who are under the influence of drugs.  Thus, while police officers will be severely restricted in the emergency calls they can respond to, firefighters and EMS will still be called to the scene and will now be unprotected by police.  Lieutenant for the Mason County Fire Department, and Republican legislator, Dan Griffey stated, “First responders have often counted on mutual aid from law enforcement officers to protect us and citizens from a hostile and violent response from those in crisis. This will no longer be possible due to the new legislation passed this year.” Representative Griffey says he is working on legislation to correct the hastily drafted reform legislation passed by the Democrats and signed by Governor Inslee, which goes into effect next weekend. (iFIBER One)

A Tri-City Herald editorial was extremely critical of the methods used by Democrat legislators to pass their state income tax (starting with capital gains), which the newspaper argues will hurt many retired residents for it will tax the savings they have worked their lifetimes to create.  The editorial was especially disparaging about how the Democrats “twisted the intent of the legislative emergency clause”, which prohibits citizens from repealing the legislation (SB 5096) through the referendum process.  The paper wrote, “Democrats obviously realize a capital gains tax isn’t going to be popular with Washington state voters, so they set up a way to block their interference. Their sly approach is maddening and indicates a disdain for the constitution and for Washington state voters.”  The Herald called it “cruel” that Democrats would go to such lengths to tax the nest eggs many retirees have worked decades to create. (Tri-City Herald and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

As the City of Seattle’s liberal political leadership continues to make the city one where criminal behavior is left unpunished, even more acts of violence are being committed against drivers near the I-90 and I-5 interchange, just South of downtown. Four more reports of debris being thrown at motorists occurred Sunday, which brings the total number of such incidents to more than 180 in King County this year, most of which have happened in Seattle.  This time, dashcam video caught two of the incidents which occurred just North of I-90.  The victim said, “We have seen the video of scooters and bicycles being thrown off the overpass. What more is it going to take?  Clearly this is not getting better, it is getting worse. (MyNorthwest and KIRO-TV News)

Seattle Times Executive Editor Michelle Matassa Flores outlined her newspaper’s lawsuit against the City of Seattle, and why the city’s reaction to countersue the paper was such a surprise.  Matassa Flores wrote that the Seattle Times is suing the city for its repeated failure to turn over internal documents, emails, and texts regarding the City of Seattle’s actions during last summer’s riots by liberal activists and the unlawful creation of the CHAZ/CHOP.  The executive editor stated that the goal of the lawsuits are to obtain the requested documents, to have the courts force city officials to explain why they have refused to turn over these documents, and to impose financial fines on the city which will provide an incentive for the city to turn over requested documents more promptly in the future.

Matassa Flores said she was surprised by City Attorney Pete Holmes’ motion to countersue the paper for legal fees, and how he deliberately failed to inform the mayor (who found out about the countersuit from media reports) of his, admittedly, unprecedented actions.  She writes, “Why wouldn’t Holmes consult with the city’s top elected official before bringing a countersuit which his office said was unprecedented?”  To many political observers, this is yet another example of the region’s liberal political establishment’s failing to observe state laws. (Seattle Times)

Washington State Senator Perry Dozier (R – Waitsburg) says the governor should have followed the federal government’s lead and declared a drought emergency last month and that the delay has caused more unnecessary harm to Eastern Washington farmers.  Dozier stated, “The governor has known how harsh this drought in Eastern Washington has been for over a month now and should have acted sooner.  The United States Department of Agriculture recognized the severity of this situation in late June when it designated 14 Washington counties as primary natural disaster areas due to drought.” By delaying the state’s action, Inslee denied many farmers from critical resources they need to save their crops.  Many wheat farmers have experienced a 50% reduction in harvested crops. But, Inslee does not care about their plight, because there are probably some “50-year-olds who voted for Donald Trump”(see story is State section) in their number. (Elkhorn Media Group)

Despite recent announcements from Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Washington State border communities are doubtful that they will see a hug influx of Canadians consumers in the near future.  While Canada has stated that fully vaccinated Americans, who have also received a negative test for the virus, can enter their country starting August 7^th, the U.S. has not said when they will allow Canadians to come into our country.  The small towns across the very Northern border of Washington are dependent on Canadian consumers, yet due to the continuing spread of COVID throughout Canada, American officials are hesitant to lift the ban on Canadian travelers. (Wenatchee World/Spokesman-Review)

Governor Jay Inslee wants people to believe that the only reason why any Washington State resident received a COVID vaccine during the past few weeks was due to the extreme remote possibility that they would win a prize from his $2 million vaccine lottery.  Despite 40% of the lottery prizes going unclaimed, and that one of the $250,000 prize winners admitted he had never heard of Inslee’s lottery, the governor wants us to believe that all other non-Inslee sponsored vaccine promotions and incentives failed, while only his lottery succeeded in encouraging residents to become vaccinated. He backs this outlandish claim by using very unscientific data analyzing methods. (Click to read full Shift article)

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