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WENATCHEE -- Reeling from a courtroom rout, Republican Dino Rossi decided today not to press ahead to the state Supreme Court with his legal challenge to the 2004 election of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. With today's decision, and because of the political makeup of the Washington State Supreme Court, which makes it almost impossible to overturn this ruling, I am ending the election contest," Rossi said at his campaign headquarters in Bellevue. Rossi and the GOP sued in January in Chelan County Superior Court to set aside the closest governor's race in the nation's history, which Gregoire won by 129...

A small, weekend item in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was missed by many, yet it's another example of a dubious trend: liberal Democrats switching between journalism and partisan political positions..... (AND) Election Decision Live Blogging GOP Loses First Round In Gubernatorial Challenge...

A Washington state judge found that more than 1600 votes were illegally cast in the gubernatorial election last year. They were nearly all cast in overwhelmingly Demonrat-controlled regions, and constitute several times the margin of "victory" by the Demonrat candidate, Christinie Gregoire. The judge acknowledged the injury due to the fraud. But, he found that as defined by the Washington State election statute the fraud provided no basis for overturning election. The statute states that the challenging party would have to not only demonstrate that fraud occured, but that the perpetrators of the fraud intended to commit fraud. Merely being...

A judge on Monday upheld Washington's 2004 gubernatorial election, rejecting Republicans' bid to nullify the 129-vote victory of Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges denied Republican claims that election errors, illegal voters and fraud stole the election from GOP candidate Dino Rossi. He announced his decision in court, saying the state's election process was flawed but that he was not the proper person to remedy those flaws. "This court is not in the position to fix the deficiencies in the election process," Bridges said. "However, the voters are in a position to demand of their...

A state judge has upheld the election of Washington Governor Christine Gregoire. In turning back the Republican challenge to the Democrat, Judge John Bridges says there was no evidence of fraud in last fall's election. The judge did find there were more than 1,600 illegal votes, but he says it's up to voters to fix errors in the state's election system. Republicans have said they will appeal to the state Supreme Court.

OK, this thread may be partially vanity...but it looks like breaking news based upon what I'm reading on the soundpolitics web site. Go there and read it for yourselves...but it looks like the county jdge isn't gonna allow a new election. This looks bad for democracy. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Live thread, discuss.

Audio link courtesy of TVW: 6/2/05 Inside Olympia OLYMPIA—Appearing on the June 2 edition of TVW’s Inside Olympia hosted by David Ammons, State Auditor Brian Sonntag agreed with the criticisms offered by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) and Initiative 900 sponsor Tim Eyman concerning the performance audit law passed this session. EFF and Eyman have complained that under the new performance audit law (HB 1064), an unelected political board unnecessarily restricts the state auditor’s ability to conduct performance audits. The text of HB 1064 clearly states that the unelected board will “establish criteria for performance audits” as well as be...

In its 85 years of existence, Smith Brothers Dairy in Kent has survived all manner of misfortune and mistakes. There was the Depression, when milk sales plummeted. There were cow-killing floods. There were modern times, when it appeared the old-fashioned idea of fresh milk delivered to the doorstep had died. And there was the crackdown when society realized cow manure could be as toxic to fish as anything produced at a nuclear plant. "None of that compares to this," says Alexis Smith Koester, 60, dairy president and granddaughter of the founder, Ben Smith. "This is the biggest threat we've ever...

A man fell from a Seattle overpass early this morning onto Interstate 5 where he was hit by two vehicles and killed, police said. The man, who has not been identified by investigators, and another man, age 31, had been drinking and were trying to see who could hang above the interstate from the Olive Way overpass the longest, Seattle police spokeswoman Debra Brown said. The unidentified man struggled and could not pull himself up, Brown said. The other man tried to help him, but he slipped and fell to the traffic below. The man was hit by a semi-truck,...

WENATCHEE, Wash. - The state elections director testified Tuesday that he believes the problems in Washington's incredibly close 2004 gubernatorial election were innocent mistakes. "I saw inadvertent mistakes and errors of human beings who were working their hearts out," said Nick Handy, who was appointed to the post. He said he disagrees with his boss, Secretary of State Sam Reed, a Republican, who has called the problems in heavily Democratic King County "appalling." Handy testified as a trial to determine whether the results of the election should be thrown out entered its second week. Democrats are trying to defend the...

NewsweekJune 6 issue - For the true commitment-phobe, living among the Na people in southwestern China would be paradise. The Na are the only known society that completely shuns marriage. Instead, says Stephanie Coontz in her new book, "Marriage, a History," brothers help sisters raise the children they conceive through casual sex with nonfamily members (incest is strictly taboo). Will we all be like the Na in the future? With divorce and illegitimacy rates still high, the institution of marriage seems headed for obsolescence in much of the world. Coontz, a family historian at Evergreen State College in Washington, doesn't...

On Monday, four US military recruiting offices in Seattle were shut down when students blocked the entrances to protest recruitment practices and to oppose the occupation of Iraq. Meanwhile the Parent Teacher Student Association at one school has passed a resolution recommending that military recruiters be barred from the campus. [includes rush transcript] Students from nine local universities, community colleges and high schools joined in simultaneous demonstrations. A military recruiting office near the University of Washington and another near Garfield High School were also blockaded by groups of students. Garfield High School also made news recently when the school's Parent...

When adopting the record $26 billion tax-and-spend 2005-07 budget, the legislature and governor with each tax increase and spending addition signaled their intent to carve R.I.P. on the tombstone of Priorities of Government (POG) budgeting. POG, the highly successful and renowned budget process that requires state officials to prioritize all state spending within available revenue, was used in crafting a no-new-taxes 2003-05 budget under the direction of then Sen. Dino Rossi and former Governor Gary Locke. In fact, current Governor Christine Gregoire, prior to signing the tax-and-spend $26 billion budget, highlighted the state’s nomination for Harvard’s Innovation in Government Award...

The trial to determine whether Christine Gregoire stole the governor's election last November began today at 9am Pacific time. (I can save everyone a lot of time . . . SHE DID! . . . . but for some reason the lawyers insist on playing their silly games. My link is to TVW (essentially local C-SPAN), which is broadcasting the trial live on regional cable, and streaming on their website. More coverage is available here on NWCN as well. This is a landmark trial, as it looks to expose massive 'Rat corruption and voter fraud.

For months, state Republicans have insisted that hundreds of votes cast illegally by felons put Democrat Christine Gregoire in the governor's mansion. But a Seattle Times analysis finds that even if those votes were disqualified, Gregoire would still prevail over GOP challenger Dino Rossi. That finding undercuts what has been the most prominent element of the Republicans' case to overturn the election. The case moves to trial in Wenatchee tomorrow. Gregoire won the election by a scant 129 votes — and only after Rossi finished ahead in the first two of three vote counts. ...

Gregoire: 'No meek and mild' for this embattled governorBy DAVID AMMONS AP POLITICAL WRITER OLYMPIA, Wash. -- In recent days, Gov. Christine Gregoire has signed a passel of "sin taxes" and the largest gas-tax hike in state history. She has sacked 1,000 middle managers and sent a number of Gary Locke's appointees packing. The activist rookie was an unexpectedly effective dealmaker in the Legislature, showing the timing and finesse of a seasoned card sharp, even her critics said. On a parallel track, she was prodding the bureaucracy and looking for concrete ways to hold agencies accountable. She threw some sharp...

Mother Who Killed Little Girl Jailed After Flunking Drug Test POSTED: 8:00 am PDT May 20, 2005 EVERETT, Wash. -- A woman awaiting sentencing for the death of her 4-year-old stepdaughter has been jailed after flunking a drug test, an outcome her lawyer blamed on crack cocaine smoked by friends of her father. After deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said Thursday in Snohomish County Superior Court that traces of cocaine had been found in the blood of Heather B. Ewell, 25, of Lake Stevens, Judge George N. Bowden issued the order and set bail at $300,000. "I'm not willing to tolerate...

I can only post a link. It's a disturbing story about anti-military activities in Seattle.http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-861303.php

When snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, as happened this session with performance audits, it is tempting to settle for anything that comes close to what you have fought for, especially if the journey has been difficult and fraught with failure. Such is the case with performance audits of state government. We have been working for more than a decade to secure independent, comprehensive performance audits, and lawmakers came closer than ever to adopting them this past year. Instead, we got HB 1064. Unfortunately, the new performance audit law requires that an “advisory” board of political appointees “establish...

Thursday, May 19, 2005 Garfield volunteers for military recruiting battle By M.L. LYKE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Sgt. Melisa Porter had just spread out the freebies yesterday on her Army of One table -- give-away pens, pencils, computer games, slick brochures -- when the anti-recruiting leader arrived ready to do battle. "Do you understand that we don't want you here?" said PTSA co-Chairwoman Amy Hagopian, who came to the Garfield High School lunchroom carrying pictures of Iraq vets maimed in war. Lunchroom confrontation Zoom Dan DeLong / P-I Amy Hagopian, co-chairwoman of the Garfield High PTSA, lights up Marine Sgt. Christopher...

King County's absentee-ballot supervisor has testified that she collaborated with her boss when she filled out a report that falsely showed all ballots were accounted for in the November election. Nicole Way said in a deposition Friday that she and assistant elections superintendent Garth Fell agreed to the misleading report because officials didn't know how many absentee ballots were returned by voters. Way is the first employee to link an upper-level manager with a practice that failed to meet state ballot-auditing regulations. ~snip~ Way said she and Fell agreed that adding together the number of ballots accepted and rejected was...

More and more reports are emerging of the extent to which Democrats were willing to go to try to influence the 2004 election. Well, their tactics worked in Washington State. Our Republican candidate for Governor, Dino Rossi, actually won the election. Then he won the recount. Then Democrat-controlled King County "found" 566 new votes just in time for the second recount, enough to overturn the results of Election Day and the first recount. The new result? Dino Rossi "lost" by 129 votes. But consider the following facts in Washington state; 943 felons illegally voted 49 dead people voted 3 people...

Office of Governor Christine GregoireFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 18, 2005 Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136 Gov. Gregoire, schools superintendent join president of Mexico in launching online-learning program OLYMPIA – May 17, 2005 – Gov. Christine Gregoire and Terry Bergeson, state superintendent of public instruction, yesterday joined Mexico’s President Vicente Fox and others in launching a web site and online resources that will allow 55,000 Latino students in Washington to take school classes online in Spanish. The curriculum, which will include basic literacy and high-school-level subject matter that can apply toward graduation, has been produced in Spanish by the government...

SEATTLE – While most Parent Teacher Student Association meetings might center on finding funding for better math books or the best way to chaperon a school dance, a recent meeting here at Garfield High School grappled with something much larger - the war in Iraq. The school is perhaps one of the first in the nation to debate and vote against military recruiting on high school campuses - a topic already simmering at the college level. In fact, the Supreme Court recently agreed to decide whether the federal government can withhold funds from colleges that bar military recruiters. High schools...

OLYMPIA—The Evergreen Freedom Foundation and a coalition of organizations seeking to protect the people’s right to a referendum filed a brief Friday with the Washington Supreme Court in which it argues that the Legislature has violated the separation of powers doctrine by attempting “to shut out a co-equal legislative body, the people, who in this state constitute the fourth branch of government.” Joining EFF in filing the brief were the Washington State Farm Bureau, Washington State Grange, National Federation of Independent Business and Building Industry Association of Washington. The coalition has filed a writ of mandamus asking the state Supreme...

Washington state is in the midst of a crisis! Or, at least, that's what we've been told. The Legislature recently approved 89 bills with ``emergency' clauses. Lawmakers cried wolf 89 times. The Democrat-controlled Legislature invoked the emergency clause so that these new laws will be implemented immediately and will not be subject to a referendum by the people. The state Constitution includes the ``emergency' provision for laws that are ``necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, support of the state government and its existing public institutions.' The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit public policy organization...

The $26 billion operating budget Gov. Christine Gregoire will sign into law tomorrow includes nearly $400 million in new taxes -- primarily the revamped estate tax and cigarette and liquor taxes. But the additional state revenue won't include new tax dollars from the source Gregoire promised to scour -- the state's 503 tax breaks, valued at more than $32 billion a year. Shortly after taking office, Gregoire said she had identified exemptions that could be repealed to bring in more than $50 million. She proposed reducing the taxes on small businesses and closing other loopholes to compensate for the subsequent...

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- After a decade where tax cuts were king, Washington lawmakers have fearlessly boosted highway taxes by $8.5 billion -- including an eye-popping 9.5-cent gas tax hike phased in over the next four years. Well, maybe not fearlessly. Lawmakers concede that their constituents are hopping mad, particularly with gas prices already through the roof. They fear the biggest tax vote in state history will come back to haunt Gov. Christine Gregoire and other backers in the next election. Critics are mounting an 11th-hour initiative drive to get the taxes on the fall ballot, but the more likely scenario...

When does a retired Marine and self-described conservative Republican get a standing ovation from a fired-up crowd of anti-war activists in Spokane? When he calls for the impeachment of President Bush to avoid another war "based on lies." Scott Ritter, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, told a packed house at The Met on Thursday evening that the Bush administration has ordered the Pentagon to prepare a military attack against Iran as early as next month. "We must go home tonight, look in the mirror and ask ourselves, 'What are we going to do about it?'" Ritter said...

State Democrats say their latest research shows that Republican Dino Rossi cannot overcome Gov. Christine Gregoire's 129-vote victory under any theory proposed in court. Even using the GOP's method of analyzing alleged illegal votes in the November election, the Democrats claimed, Gregoire would win by 67 votes. Former two-term Gov. Gary Locke -- the man Gregoire replaced in the Statehouse -- accused Rossi of "fighting for himself at the expense of the citizens of this state." He and state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt called a news conference yesterday to urge Rossi to drop his lawsuit. Our question is, 'Why...

In the recently completed 2005 legislative session, legislators enacted 98 bills with emergency clauses. An emergency clause serves two purposes: 1) bills adopted take effect immediately, and 2) the people are denied their right of referendum due to the purported emergency addressed by the bill. In addition to the 98 bills adopted with emergency clauses, even more bills started the session with emergency clauses (eventually stripped from final bill) and still more were proposed but did not receive final passage (such as HB 1608 – Creating the potato commission). Because Article 2, Section 1 of the Washington Constitution grants the...

Today, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) released its Performance Audits Pledge Scorecard, comparing the promises made by candidates for the Washington state legislature against the actions taken by those individuals once in office. Nineteen (19) pledge signers violated their pledge, costing taxpayers their first real chance at truly independent, comprehensive performance audits. Last year, seventy legislators signed the Performance Audits Pledge, which read in-part: "I pledge to support independent, comprehensive performance audits of state agencies. The scope of performance audits should be established by the elected state auditor, not an unelected group of citizens appointed by the governor and legislature."...

Spokane mayor takes leave amid sex probe The Associated Press Updated: 10:58 p.m. ET May 9, 2005SPOKANE, Wash. - /snip An hour after West’s announcement, the paper posted a new story on its Web site alleging West offered city jobs to two young men he met through a gay Internet chat room — and that one of them briefly accepted a city appointment. Ryan Oelrich, an openly gay 24-year-old, told the paper he accepted West’s appointment to the city’s Human Rights Commission in April 2004 after meeting West online at Gay.com. Oelrich said he resigned from the commission in January...

SEATTLE — Seattle's new city hall and justice center have received awards for their environmentally sensitive design. But just two years after opening, both buildings are plagued with problems — and fixing them is going to cost taxpayers millions....(snip) For example, the light-reflecting shelves in the building haven't worked -- intended to reduce electric bills, workers complain of glare. An oxygen-producing, rainwater-preserving "green roof" died and will have to be re-seeded with heartier plants. Boilers have exploded. Cops have trouble getting hot water to their locker rooms. Offices are too hot or too cold. "Tenants are uncomfortable and we are...

The controversy swirling around Spokane Mayor Jim West grew substantially Friday when two men, now living in Seattle, came forward with new allegations about his conduct in 1980 and as recently as 2001. West faces allegations of sexual abuse of children dating to the 1970s and more recent allegations of abuse of public power. Brad Crelia said he was a 15-year-old Lewis and Clark High School student in 2001 when West, then Senate minority leader, asked him out. http://www.spokesmanreview.com

Spokane Mayor Jim West gave no indication Thursday he is ready to relinquish the power of his office even as allegations of his sexual misconduct gripped City Hall. "I have 1,150 days left in my term of office and each and every one of those days will be dedicated to serving the city and making sure we prosper..." the mayor said in a one-minute statement to the news media just before lunch time. http://www.spokesmanreview.com

<p>For a quarter century, the man who is now Spokane's mayor has used positions of public trust – as a sheriff's deputy, Boy Scout leader and powerful politician – to develop sexual relationships with boys and young men.</p> <p>In addition, an investigation by The Spokesman-Review has revealed that 17 months after leaving the state Legislature, West has used the trappings of the mayor's office to entice and influence young men he met on a gay Web site.</p>

For a quarter century, the man who is now Spokane's mayor has used positions of public trust – as a sheriff's deputy, Boy Scout leader and powerful politician – to develop sexual relationships with boys and young men. One man, Robert J. Galliher, claims in a court deposition that Jim West molested him in the mid-1970s when he was a boy and West was a Spokane County sheriff's deputy and Boy Scout leader. A second man, Michael G. Grant Jr., also accuses West of sexual abuse during the same era, including an incident at Camp Cowles, a Boy Scout camp...

John Carlson and Kirby Wilbur have gone on the air today in support of an initiative to repeal the 9.5-cent gas tax just approved by the Legislature. In its arrogance, the Legislature put an "emergency" clause on the bill, which means we can't have a referendum (which would be cheap and easy). Instead, we have to have an initiative. We need 250,000 signatures...and the group behind NONEWGASTAX.COM will spearhead it if they get $25,000 by COB Friday, 5/6. John and Kirby are standing behind this group. What can you do? 1) Contribute (goes without saying) give the cost of a...

The Laurie Roth national radio show http://www.TheRothShow.com will cover this story tonight. An article written factually by a high school freshman, Morgan Filan, for her Walla Walla, Washington high school newspaper bring threats from Hispanic's. Not all immigrants are the same. Many come here and become good citizens. They apply themselves, work hard, learn the language; they dedicate themselves to this country and make a contribution to society. These are the kind of immigrants that we should welcome into this country. Aside from them there are other immigrants who lie, cheat and sneak their way into this country. As soon...

Consortium challenges clause used by Democrats to pass budget By CHRIS McGANN SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER The way Democrats raised taxes this year ought to be against the law, according to a consortium of conservative and small-business groups that sued the state yesterday. At issue is the roughly $400 million tax increase Democrats were able to usher through the Legislature last month after adding an emergency amendment to voter Initiative 601, which originally capped state spending and required a two-thirds majority vote to raise taxes. With the Democrats' slim majorities in the House and Senate, the two-thirds threshold set by I-601...

ELMA - A local woman went 'through the roof' when a deputy took his anti-drug message to high school. She says he showed students how to make methamphetamines, and she has the video to prove it. Grays Harbor County sheriff's deputy shows class, "And the reaction will start occurring down there and start bubbling up." It is part chemistry class and part drug enforcement as a member of the Grays Harbor drug task force talks to Elma High School students about making Methamphetamine. Deputy shows class: "Then you'll have a little bit down at the bottom, the white stuff, and...

OLYMPIA—The Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF) today filed a lawsuit asking the Washington Supreme Court to protect the voters’ right to file a referendum on legislative actions, as guaranteed by the state constitution. In the last days of the recent legislative session, lawmakers passed SB 6078. The measure overturned I-601—the voter-approved initiative that limited government spending and required a two-thirds vote in both houses to raise taxes. Last week the Washington Farm Bureau filed for a referendum that would put the issue back before voters in the next general election. The Secretary of State’s Office, however, refused to accept the referendum...

Lobbying firm paid for part of Dicks trip Congressman calls it honest mistake; he pays back $571 By CHARLES POPE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT WASHINGTON -- Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., allowed a lobbying firm to cover part of the cost of a trip he took to a military conference three months ago, a violation of House ethics rules that he says has now been corrected. Dicks took full responsibility yesterday for initially allowing the Spectrum Group, a defense lobbying firm to pay for his lodging and meals during a two-night stay in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in February. Dicks, who as...

Soak The Poor For the first time since the 1994 election, Democrats controlled both houses of the Washington legislature. They celebrated by imposing new taxes, most of them regressive. The Democratic-controlled Legislature pushed through a $481 million package of "sin taxes" and other revenue bills to balance the budget. Cigarette taxes will shoot up by $6 a carton in July, liquor prices will increase and you'll begin paying sales tax when you sign up for an extended warranty on consumer goods. Estate taxes will be assessed on about 250 large estates each year. And, with the strong support of Governor...

Did you hear the one about the lady lawyer who had sex with the strapping male cop? She's suing the police force for performance issues. Really. The lawyer, Margita Dornay, is suing along with her cuckolded spouse who, it turns out, is a lawyer, too. The couple say the cop, Dave Hick, was violent, made threats against them and was a ticking time bomb. So, naturally, the suit, which was filed the other day, focuses on the party most responsible: the cop's bosses. Laughing yet? Hick's bosses at the King County Sheriff's Office should have known he was trouble. They...

GOP Wins Election Challenge in Washington By REBECCA COOKThe Associated PressMonday, May 2, 2005; 2:03 PM WENATCHEE, Wash. -- The Republicans won an important victory Monday in their legal challenge to the election of Gov. Christine Gregoire when a judge allowed them to use a type of statistical analysis to try to prove illegal votes swayed the race.Republican Dino Rossi is trying to have the election results from November declared invalid. Rossi won the first count and a machine recount, but his Democratic opponent won by 129 votes in a hand recount of 2.9 million ballots.The trial is set for...

U.S. Sen. John Kerry lent his star power last night to a Washington state Democratic Party fund-raiser for Gov. Christine Gregoire as she battles in court to keep her job. The state Republican Party is challenging Democrat Gregoire's 129-vote margin of victory in November over Dino Rossi in a lawsuit that will be a heavy drain on the treasuries of both parties. Pretrial motions will be heard today in a Chelan County courtroom. In remarks last night to hundreds of party faithful, who paid between $75 and $250 for a salmon dinner, state Chairman Paul Berendt praised Kerry's commitment to...

Republicans win right to challenge Wash. state election: Republicans have won a victory in their challenge to the election of Governor Gregoire. The judge says Republicans will be allowed to use "proportional analysis" to prove their case that illegal votes swayed the election.