Representative My-Linh Thai (D – Bellevue) is evidently oblivious to the concerns of her constituents regarding the many flaws of the Democrats’ 2021 “police reform” laws, which made it easier to be a criminal in our state and resulted in a predictable dramatic rise in crime.  While citizens are demanding lawmakers support law enforcement officers and do more to protect victims, Representative Thai and her fellow Democrats are pushing her legislation which makes it even easier for criminals to sue police officers.  What does it say about the liberal lawmaker’s priorities when the issue on which she chooses to write a major opinion piece displays more concerns for criminals than the victims of their crimes and only provides lip-service respect for our communities’ police officers? (Click to read full Shift Article)

Finally a Seattle Times’ editorial points out Governor Jay Inslee’s autocratic behavior through his reckless proposal to jail any candidate who lies about election results, calling Inslee’s proposal a “clear threat to free speech.”  The governor, who obviously forgot about the many wild allegations of voter fraud and rigged voting machines which Democrats made following the 2016 elections, and the multiple lies he himself has proudly made in his career, suggested this legislation to be able to paint his many rational critics with the same broad brush as actual electoral con artists (think Loren Culp).  And why is it that only politicians’ lies about elections that concerns the governor? What about politicians’ lies regarding the public safety of our state’s residents, like when the governor falsely claimed he never heard about liberal rioters forcibly taking over six blocks of public and private property in Seattle in 2020?

While nearly every single expert on our country’s constitution agrees that this irresponsible proposal by the governor is unconstitutional, nine Democrat Senators have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill (SB 5843), and Senator Sam Hunt (D – Olympia) has provided valuable public hearing time on Friday before his State Government and Elections Committee.  We wonder if the senator will cut-off in mid-sentence the testimony of those who support this ridiculous bill, the same way he cut off testimony of those who lost their businesses or were concerned about their child’s education due to Governor Inslee’s abuse of emergency powers. (Seattle Times, Shift Article, Rebecca Perry Twitter, and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

A Tri-City Herald editorial informs readers that the Democrats who control the legislature have finally given citizens upset with Governor Inslee’s undemocratic abuse of emergency powers an opportunity to publicly state their views. For two legislative sessions, the Democrats in the legislature have refused numerous requests by Republican legislators to hold hearings on the governor’s undemocratic one-man rule of the state, which has severely impacted nearly all Washington State residents’ lives.  Instead Democrats have chosen partisan loyalty to enable the governor’s actions by denying citizens a legislative forum to express their legitimate concerns.

This Friday morning (on the 699^th day of the governor’s undemocratic “emergency” rule) at 10:30 AM the Senate State Government & Elections Committee will hold a public hearing on SB 5909, the Democrats’ admittedly tepid alterations to the state’s emergency rule laws (the editorial calls the Democrats’ bill “toothless” and describes how it is inferior to Republican legislation).  Citizens can testify remotely or provide written testimony on how they have been impacted by Governor Inslee’s unilateral actions while ignoring concerns brought up by legislators, local elected officials, local health officials, and citizens. Those interested can register online to give remote testimony through the Senate Committee Sign In page.  As the editorial states, those who are upset with the governor’s action should use this opportunity, for it is likely the only one the Democrats will allow the “little people” during this session.  (Tri-City Herald, and Washington Legislative Bill Summary)

Both House and Senate Democrats quickly passed legislation to delay their embarrassing (and poorly crafted) Long-Term Care payroll tax so that it won’t begin again until after the upcoming 2022 elections.  Democrat leaders fully understand that the misnamed WA Cares program (which will be funded by the payroll tax) is incredibly unpopular and is a major negative for many Democrat members as they seek re-election this November.  This is why in near-record speed, Democrats passed legislation to delay what they were so proud of last year – a major expansion in government entitlements, forcing hundreds of thousands of Washington workers to pay for a benefit they would be ineligible to receive.  The Democrats hope voters will forget about this incredible public policy disaster, which has created serious workplace confusion and has already forced more than 400,000 Washington residents to purchase private long-term care policies they were not planning to buy, just in order to avoid the Democrats’ confiscation of their taxes for the rest of their career. (Seattle Times)

We previously wrote about the large-scale theft of cables and copper wiring under the Magnolia Bridge which cut off phone and cable service to much of the Magnolia neighborhood last weekend.  Media reports did not include the fact that this crime occurred in the middle of an illegal RV encampment that the city has allowed to exist for a number of years.  When phone crews showed up to do repairs, that had to contact the city to clear a path among the broken-down RVs so they could commence working. (Safe Seattle Facebook post)

Five juvenile detainees assaulted employees as they escaped from the Echo Glen Children’s Center on Wednesday.  Responding to the escape, the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28 released a statement regarding the lack of training and security measures at the facility, which contributed to the escape.  The union labeled conditions “a recipe for disaster.”  While it is appropriate to appreciate the tough conditions which dedicated corrections’ staff members must face every day, the government employee union officers should examine their own record of who they endorse and how their recent policies have impacted public safety conditions both in and out of corrections facilities.  According to the labor group’s webpage, out of approximately 200 endorsements made in 2020, only five were for Republicans (one of which was a duel endorsement with the Democrat opponent), the rest were for Democrats.  These are the same Democrats who last year passed their “police reform” laws which consistently sided with criminals and against the law enforcement and corrections’ workers, whose job is to keep our community safe. (Seattle Times, The Stand and Washington Federation of State Employee’s 2020 candidate endorsements)

The Spokesman Review’s Sue Lani Madsen highlights Governor Inslee’s narrowminded approach to the unfair policies contained in his latest buffer zone proposal, which is little more than an attack on our state’s agricultural community.  The legislation (HB 1838) would double buffer zones around rivers, streams, and seasonal floodplains from the current 50100 feet to 100–249 feet. Farmers would not be allowed to use this land and would be forced to pay for 30% of the trees the state says must be planted in the land stolen from them.  It is universally agreed that this bill will negatively impact many farms (and some small farms will be forced to cease farming).

Madsen argues the problems this bill created could have been avoided if the governor had been more open in his development of this policies.  Only wealthy urban environmentalists and some tribal governments were consulted as the policy was being developed.  Madsen reports that even Governor Inslee’s own Department of Agriculture was left out the process despite the issue dealing with Agricultural lands. (Spokesman-Review and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson blasted out an email to inform his supporters that he is working with Representative Tarra Simmons (D – Bremerton) on health care legislation.  Yet he fails to mention whether he collaborated with the far-Left legislator on her bill that has considerably more relevance to the state’s top law enforcement officer, HB 1692, which would reduce penalties for those convicted in drive-by shootings. It is interesting to note that not one member of the media has asked AG Ferguson about his views on this controversial legislation, even though one of the architects of the Democrats’ disastrous 2021 “police reform” laws, Representative Roger Goodman (D – Kirkland) said, “I don’t have time for it this session.”   (Bob Ferguson campaign email, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, Shift, and MyNorthwest)

The U.S. Supreme Court announced earlier this month that it will review Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the 2016 lawsuit filed by former Bremerton High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy after he was fired by the district due to his refusal to stop holding a voluntary post-game prayer at midfield.  Kennedy’s case made national headlines as it weaved its way through the federal court system.  In 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court (in a split decision) ruled against the former Marine turned football coach.  The Supreme Court initially denied reviewing the case, writing the lower court still needed to rule on some of the issues in the lawsuit.  Now that those legal issues have been settled, arguments are expected to be heard sometime in April.  In a special Newsmaker Interview, Shift spoke with Coach Kennedy’s lead attorney, Mike Berry of the First Liberty Institute, to learn more about the case and upcoming arguments in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.  (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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