Liberal journalists (such as the Spokesman-Review’s Shawn Vestal) like to cherry pick the laws they demand be enforced.  While writing that the state needed to “stick to their guns” to fire former Washington State University Football Coach Nick Rolovich for violating Governor Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate, the columnist failed to express the same sentiment for the liberal rioters who violently took over portions of Seattle in 2020.  Vestal goes on to basically blame Rolovich for all of society’s ills, without understanding the coach has the same constitutional rights as the rest of us, and that he is allowed to make his own medical decisions.  (Click to read full Shift Article)

The Seattle Times tells the citizens of Washington State that they need to have “faith, trust, and belief” in the mandates undemocratically imposed by Governor Jay Inslee and his one-man rule of the state.  The obvious first response to the Times’ editorial is, shouldn’t the governor first show “faith, trust, and belief” in the citizens of Washington State? For 606 days now, Governor Inslee has abused his “emergency powers” and made hundreds of decisions without the inclusion of the elected representatives of the citizens in the state legislature, locally elected officials, or local health officials.  Then the governor showed his “faith, trust, and belief” in the Democrat-led legislature by lying that the reason why the legislature should not be not involved is because Republicans would immediately strip away everyone’s health care. The governor later boasted that he alone had “won the Super Bowl” against COVID, just before the Delta variant filled state hospitals again to capacity.

What is nearly as bad is that almost every action designed and performed by the Inslee administration has been a failure.  COVID dashboards (which Governor Inslee said dictated his decisions) were not connected to any actual data.  A contract tracing program which only reached a very small percentage of the people who came in contact with someone who was infected with COVID, thus falling way short of the program’s stated goals.  A poorly designed immunization plan which placed Washington State near the bottom of the list for vaccinating seniors and health care workers during the critical first months of the program. Nearly every single state-operated hospital and correction facility failed to adhere to health procedures, which resulted in COVID outbreaks amongst staff, patients, and inmates. And let us not forget, the Inslee Administration is responsible for one of the largest thefts in American history.  More than $650 million (they are still counting) was stolen because of lazy decisions made by Inslee’s chosen administrators (and one of the key individuals responsible attempted to disrupt a state investigation into the matter).  These are the people the Times says we need to have “faith, trust, and belief” in. (Seattle Times and Shift)

The latest example of rampant dysfunction within the Inslee Administration is the revelation that the governor’s appointee to lead the Washington State Parks didn’t abruptly leave his position due to “family reasons” as previously lied about, but because he was asked to leave due to abusive behavior toward other employees.  More than a dozen parks employees filed complaints against Director Peter Mayer in his first few months on the job (he was appointed in April), and the commission which oversees the agency asked Mayer to leave his job on October 6^th (but not before allowing him to collect state pay until January).  It is not clear whether additional financial agreements were made as part of Mayer’s severance package, though clearly he needs to talk to the head of Sound Transit for the name of a good lawyer who can design a rich golden parachute filled with taxpayer money, what could be famous as a “Rogoff Payoff” among foul-mouthed bureaucrats. (Seattle Times and Shift)

The popular Roanoke Conference has announced it will be returning once again to Ocean Shores to hold a weekend-long gathering of moderate/conservative elected officials, activists, and policy makers.  The fun and informative event will be held January 28 – 30^th at the Ocean Shores Convention Center.  Discounted “early bird” tickets (just $120) will go on sale starting next Wednesday, November 3^rd.  (Roanoke Conference)

A Spokane company which obtained possession of an Aurora Avenue motel and apartment building, due to the previous owner defaulting on loans, is having problems removing homeless squatters from the properties because of the city’s eviction ban and lenient homeless policies.  Inland Capital took possession of the Hillside Motel and a neighboring three-story apartment complex last summer, and has been attempting to clean up the properties, but cannot remove those living in the building despite the  location’s reputation for illegal drug activity and prostitution. The company’s CEO said, “It’s a nightmare. I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I’ve never had anything like this (happen).” (Seattle Times)

Following one canceled cruise season and an abbreviated one this year, the Port of Seattle is hoping to return to its record-breaking 2019 levels in 2022.  The 2020 season was canceled due to federal orders over COVID and the 2021 season started late and brought in less than 20% of the average number of visitors. In 2019, 1.2 million passengers sailed to Alaska via the Port of Seattle, compared to only 230,000 people who rode the cruise ships into the Gulf of Alaska this year. (Seattle P-I)

KTTH’s Jason Rantz obtained body cam footage of a Spokane police officer informing another officer that liberal Spokane City Councilmember Betsy Wilkerson stated she wasn’t “too enthused to help you” in the investigation of a murder which took place near her private business.  The officers were collecting evidence in a woman’s murder when they noticed that Councilmember Wilkerson’s nearby homecare business had video cameras which might provide evidence in the case.  The officer spoke with Wilkerson about obtaining footage from around the time of the murder, and that is when the officer stated she made her dismissive comment.  Rantz said he’s attempted four times to reach Wilkerson to obtain her side of the story, but she had yet to respond. Wilkerson is running unopposed for re-election this year and given her alleged anti-police animus, is of course endorsed by the Washington State Democrat Party. (MyNorthwest and Washington State Democrat Party endorsements)

Spokane City Council candidate Mike Lish called on his liberal opponent Zack Zappone to take down his television advertising because it appears it was illegally filmed on public school property, and he included signage of a prominent Spokane company, falsely implying an endorsement.  As we mentioned in yesterday’s Daily Briefing, liberal candidates in Spokane often seem to run into legal difficulties with their television ads and mailers.  Sometimes they fail to include the legally required disclaimer and they often attempt to hide who is paying for the ads.  A Public Disclosure Commission complaint was filed against Zappone for filming on Spokane School District premises. Last Friday, Max Kuney sent Zappone a cease-and-desist letter because the liberal’s ad prominently included a “Max J. Kuney Company sign”, and Kuney wants no confusion about an endorsement. (Lish Campaign media release, Shift Daily Briefing (Eastern WA section), Public Disclosure Commission Complaint, and Kuney Cease & Desist letter)

Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center provides the latest data showing that the 2021 Snake River Chinook salmon run is 22% higher than 2020, and 71% higher than 2019.  Meanwhile liberal journalists like the Spokesman Review’s Shawn Vestal ignore the data and falsely claim that the species is “near extinction,” and liberal politicians like Governor Jay Inslee and U.S. Senator Patty Murray continue to placate their wealthy Seattle environmental donors by moving toward expensive plans to rip down the four lower Snake River dams and eliminate the clean energy (and transportation and agriculture benefits) they provide. (Todd Myers Facebook and News Tribune)

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