Governor Jay Inslee stubbornly ignores the more comprehensive and accurate vaccination data from the federal government which would finally set the state free, as he continues to find any excuse to keep his dictatorial control over the state going, of course without any oversight from those pesky legislators or input from local health or elected officials. Inslee, while responding to the growing criticism over his failure to accept the numbers collected by the Biden White House (which showed 10 days ago that the state had reached the 70% vaccine threshold),  used one of his silly sports analogies, which provided no answers to state residents, claiming  “we are on the two-yard line” of the pandemic.  If the governor understood the situation the state’s small business owners faced, he would stop calling timeout and instead move everyone across the goal line, thus allowing the residents of Washington State to win without delay.  It is as if the federal government has said we have already won, but Inslee keeps looking for ways to take the points off of the board.

Ever since June 6th when the White House tweeted a congratulatory statement to Washington State for reaching the 70% vaccination mark, Inslee’s Department of Health (DOH) has had to defend the governor’s stubborn refusal to accept the federal government’s data (even though the Inslee’s various administrative departments have failed basic math for most of his tenure in office; see, ESD, Corrections, WSDOT scandals).  The problem for Inslee is that the DOH’s press releases and tweets only reinforce that the data collected by the federal government is more comprehensive and current than the data reported by Washington State officials.  The feds include vaccines given to military members and their families, to inmates and prison personnel, and to Washington State residents who received doses in other states. (Some residents went to neighboring Idaho and Oregon during the critical initial weeks of the immunization period last December and January, when Inslee’s vaccination effort was an utter failure due to lack of preparedness by state officials.) The data the state (and Inslee) use requires everyone to pretend these vaccinations were never administered, so we can’t count them in a way which would reduce Inslee’s control over every citizen of Washington.  We should also note that while the state uses 2019 population estimates from the state Office of Financial Management, the federal government uses current population data from the 2020 census. (KEPR/KOMO News, White House June 6^th tweet, Washington State Department of Health June 7^th media release, and Department of Health tweets)

A new report from the non-partisan Washington Research Council claims that the 2021 Democrat-controlled legislature pointlessly raised taxes (since there was no tax revenue shortfall), irresponsibly spent federal COVID “relief” funds, unnecessarily emptied the state’s rainy-day fund, and created future budget problems for the state.   After passing a budget that represented a 12.4% spending increase over the previous 2019-2021 biannual budget (which itself was a 20% increase over the previous 2017-2019 budget), Democrat legislators appear to be more concerned with buying votes (using your money) and increasing the size of government than in stabilizing the state’s finances.  The Democrats used federal relief money to create more childcare and early learning programs (because previous state programs were failing to solve the problems they were created to fix). Yet since these programs were financed with the one-time federal payment, the state will need to raise taxes in the future to keep them funded (regardless of whether they are succeeding at doing anything other than employing new state union employees, of course). At the same time, Democrats ignored existing obligations, and  failed to correct the unfunded liability in the (state public employee union) Teachers’ Retirement System. These problems, along with having to rebuild the state’s rainy-day fund after it was irresponsibly drained, have left the Democrats with a future excuse to raise state taxes to make up for the greedy irresponsibility they displayed during the 2021 legislative session.  (Washington Research Council)

Legislative Democrats failed to act on legislation which would have assisted local governments to combat the dumping of sewage into drainage systems and bodies of water, which is currently causing environmental damage at Seattle’s Green Lake.  Recent reports state show there is evidence that individuals in an encampment and living in vehicles on the West side of Green Lake are dumping sewage into the lake.  Representative Peter Abbarno (R – Centralia) introduced HB 1540 to help local governments prevent raw sewage from being dumped into their waterways, even as those who are homeless find it a convenient method to dispose of their waste.  Unfortunately, Representative Joe Fitzgibbon (D – West Seattle), the Chair of the House Energy and Environment Committee, refused to bring the bill up for discussion or hearing, because he evidently does not mind raw sewage being dumped into city parks that are not near him.  Similar legislation was brought up as an amendment to the HB 1220 (pertaining to homeless services), but was blocked by the Democrat majority which is used to the smell of sewage given the ideas that emanate from their caucus. (KOMO News, Peter Abbarno tweet, and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

A column in the Longview Daily News calls the Inslee Administration’s handling of the proposed Northwest Innovation Works methanol plant in Kalama “deceitful, capricious, and arbitrary.”  The column continues by asserting that Governor Inslee’s rejection of necessary permits was a “disregard for facts, disrespect for legal procedure and triumph of personal political biases over fairness and common sense.”  According to the columnist, two other potential Cowlitz County large employers were reconsidering their plans to open facilities due to the state’s handling of the methanol plant proposal and fear they will receive the same rude treatment from the state’s liberal authorities. Thus 500 additional new jobs will be lost due to the greedy actions of Governor Inslee. Remember, Governor Inslee first supported the methanol plant, until he reversed his position in a selfish attempt to attract wealthy environmentalists to prop up his failed presidential campaign. The columnist concludes that in order to attract future job creation opportunities in the state, Republicans need to nominate a mainstream candidate for governor (i.e. not like the scam-artist Loren Culp) that can capture the disapproval of Left-wing policies and restore sanity to the permit process. (Longview Daily News)

An increase in random acts of violence is occurring in Seattle, as people believe they can commit crimes without consequences due to the city council defunding the police and liberal prosecutors’ unwillingness to prosecute criminals.  So far this year, there have been 74 reported incidents of material being thrown onto freeways around the I-90 and I-5 interchange in downtown Seattle (that is an average of three a week).  On Monday evening, a driver was hit in the head with a rock near the Rainier Avenue exit, causing him to crash his car into a barrier.  Even as Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and community leaders are encouraging people to return to downtown Seattle, the city’s liberal leadership’s aversion to public safety is rightfully keeping shoppers and other visitors away. And setting up more lawsuits against the city for failing to provide public safety. (Seattle Times)

Johnny’s at Fife permanently closes its doors, as another longtime gathering place is a casualty of Governor Inslee’s arbitrary orders wreaking havoc on the hospitality industry for the past 16 months.  Pierce County establishments have been especially impacted by the governor’s political decisions, as he restricted retail activity there, even while not imposing the same restrictions on King County businesses (despite the counties having almost identical COVID case rates).  And despite Pierce County Democrat legislators threatening to reform the governor’s emergency powers due to this unequal treatment, their statements were hollow as they did nothing to back up their statements.  The famous eatery just off of I-5, opened in 1968, was often the meeting location for political hacks from King County to meet with their Olympia counterparts. (News Tribune and Shift)

Washington State University officials announced that it is loosening its COVID protocols due to declining case rates and the widespread availability of the vaccine.  Starting yesterday, students, staff and visitors to WSU campus facilities do not have provide information regarding their health status in order to be granted entry.  Also, many university committees related to COVID procedures will wind down their activities.  The school stated it expects to receive guidance from the state as to what will be required when school resumes in the Fall.  (KQQQ Pullman Radio)

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