State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) Chris Reykdal wrote an article for a pro-socialist publication degrading the achievements of recently retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who many football analysts have tagged with the moniker “GOAT” – Greatest Of All Time.  SPI Reykdal conveniently forgets the years of personal sacrifice, hard work, discipline, and mental toughness that Brady put into his craft, when he writes that the future Hall of Famer reached the pinnacle of his profession only because of the rotating crop of the (union) offensive lineman, wide receivers, and running backs who have played with him. Superintendent Reykdal doesn’t mention that literally thousands of other quarterbacks have played with similar supporting casts, but it is only Tom Brady who has appeared in 10 Super Bowls and holds all of the NFL records he earned.  And just like the innovators who created major Washington State companies, many people have benefitted from the achievements created by Brady’s hard work. (Click to read full Shift Article)

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) workers who obtained exemptions from Governor Inslee’s vaccine mandate for religious reasons were far more likely to be fired than those who received exemptions due to medical reasons.  This is the finding of a new study conducted by Mariya Frost of the Washington Policy Center (WPC).  If a WSDOT employee was granted an exemption from being vaccinated, the governor said the state would try to “accommodate” the worker by placing the worker in a position where they were not in contact with other workers or the public.  Those employees which WSDOT was unable to “accommodate” were then fired.  A total of 402 WSDOT employees were fired, which led to an unprecedented closure of all four Cascade Mountain passes last December, and severely reduced ferry services during the year due to the loss of workers.

The data reveals that only 11% of the workers who sought exemptions for religious reasons were “accommodated”, while 87% of those obtained exemptions due to medical reasons were allowed to keep their jobs.  Thus, the data shows there is an 800% better chance for a state transportation worker to keep his/her job if they obtained a medical exemption than those who received religious exemptions.  And, as the WPC study identified, this was not because these two groups held different jobs.  We wonder if this is the “equity” Governor Inslee keeps claiming he is seeking. (Washington Policy Center)

The House Transportation Committee’s top Republican Andrew Barkis (Olympia) points out that the Democrats’ $16 billion transportation package fails to address the backlog of maintenance and repairs which state transportation officials claim need to be made, while increasing state fees on mandatory items which will hurt lower-income individuals the most.  Representative Barkis was also critical of the divisive actions of the Democrat legislators who failed to hold a public hearing on the GOP’s transportation package and broke a long-standing tradition of working in a bi-partisan way to develop transportation packages.

The Democrats’ proposal only provides funding for 30% of the repairs to roadways which Jay Inslee’s own Department of Transportation previously stated needed to be made.  The funding for the Democrats’ package will come from the revenue collected from the climate bills passed in 2021, which will hit gas pumps later this year.

That’s right, gas is going to cost a lot more due to Democrat proposals.

The Democrats also plan to increase the fees on such items as driver’s licenses and vehicle plates.  All of these fees and taxes will increase the cost of driving in Washington State (and increase the cost of groceries and other goods), and they will negatively impact lower-income individuals the most (while giving tax breaks to wealthy individuals who can afford electric cars.)

The Democrats refused to involve Republicans in the creation of the package and even lied when they claimed they gave Republicans an advance briefing on the package.  This divisive behavior was further demonstrated by the fact that many members of the media (KIRO Radio, Seattle Times, and likely others) were given a preview of the package not afforded Republicans so that the could help the Democrats get their “spin” out at the same time as the package went public (and to Republican legislators). (House Republican Caucus media release, Barkis Twitter, KIRO Radio, and Seattle Times)

The Seattle City Council continues to demonstrate it believes that it’s best for politicians to determine the wages of private sector employees, now with its latest proposal to force companies to pay delivery drivers even more.  The councilmembers seem unconcerned that these wage hikes will increase carbon emissions (it is far more efficient for one driver to deliver products to many individuals instead of all the consumers individually driving back and forth to the store) and that they will impact lower-income individuals the most (lower-income consumers are more dependent on delivery services, since many cannot afford cars).

One thing to consider when politicians determine the wages of specific private sector employees is the impact this will have on political discourse.  When politicians determine how much people are to make in their jobs, the election of public servants takes on a very personal and emotional meaning to members of the public. This will only increase the divisive and negative political discourse which is occurring in our country.  Sadly, all of these factors take a back seat to the liberal councilmembers who seem to relish in the power to punish private industry (and the public) when they are not busy passing other liberal measures which increase crime, homelessness, and housing costs in Seattle.   (MyNorthwest)

A controversial makeshift homeless camp in a downtown Olympia parking lot, which was supported by an LGBTQ non-profit, has been forced to close after a fire last week.  Fortunately no one was hurt in the fire and no damage occurred to nearby buildings. The City of Olympia had previously denied a recent request from the LGBTQ non-profit group Stonewall Youth for an emergency shelter permit for the space because of the lack of bathroom facilities, water, and location near an existing shelter space. The encampment had already been issued more than $1,700 in fines before the fire broke out. (The Olympian)

Shift acknowledges the passing of business leader and community leader William (Bill) Conner. His housing development company Conner Homes remains an innovative leader in construction of new and energy efficient homes throughout the region. Bill Conner’s friendly personality and insightful wisdom will be missed. A memorial service will be held next Wednesday at 4:00 PM at Holy Names Academy in Seattle. (BIAW tribute)

Governor Jay Inslee posted a tweet yesterday in which he used the suffering of the victims from Monday’s incident at the Richland Fred Meyer to promote his anti-gun political narrative.  We do not recall any tweet from the governor, and we certainly don’t find any media releases from his office in which he sympathizes with the increasing number of crime victims which have resulted from the Democrats’ hastily developed “police reform” package. Yet this didn’t stop the governor from immediately tweeting that he was “heartbroken over the senseless act of gun violence.”

Apparently he isn’t “heartbroken” over the victims of the increased violence which has mostly occurred in lower-income neighborhoods since he signed the Democrats’ 2021 pro-criminal laws.  It is also interesting that the governor, who failed to support police while they were being attacked (and even feigned that he knew nothing about the violence) by liberal activists in Seattle, suddenly states an appreciation for law enforcement efforts in arresting the suspect. (Governor Inslee Twitter, Governor Inslee’s media releases, NPR, and Rebecca Perry Twitter)

In a classic case of “locking the barn door after the horse has bolted,” yesterday Governor Inslee’s campaign announced to its contributors that the state is distributing free at-home COVID test kits “to weather this COVID wave.”  One only has to look at the Washington State Department of Health website to see the latest COVID wave is rapidly becoming a ripple, as other governors across the country are quickly ending facemask mandates and testing requirements.  While it might have been a nice idea to promote test kits a few months back, it seems odd that this announcement was sent only to the governor’s campaign contributors, while no announcement was made from the governor’s office.  It’s as if the governor is playing favorites in who receives the free test kits.  But Governor Inslee would never give special treatment to any group of people since he is such an “equity” advocate.

With Governor Inslee removing “moderate” Democrat Steve Hobbs from the Washington State Senate by appointing him Secretary of State, wealthy far-Left environmental special interest groups are salivating over all the economic destruction they can cause to the state and harm they can bring to working families. As the Chair of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, then Senator Hobbs was often a roadblock for many of the environmental groups’ (and thus Governor Inslee’s) expensive measures to increase the cost of fuel while doing very little to reduce carbon emissions.  But as one of the legislative leaders of the environmental extremists, Representative Joe Fitzgibbon (D – West Seattle) said “With Hobbs out of the Senate, that opens up possibilities we didn’t have in the past.”  The Democrats replaced Hobbs as the Transportation Committee Chair with Senator Marko Liias (D – Edmonds) who, as his personal bankruptcies prove, is not concerned with economic realities. Unless Republicans are successful in taking control of one or both of the legislative chambers this November, we can expect plenty of extremist environmental policies coming from Governor Inslee, radical legislators, and their wealthy urban friends in the state’s environmental community. (Click to read full Shift Article)

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