Soul Snatcher, Productions ™ Democracy Wall

ABERDEEN, Wash. – The Northwest is on the verge of becoming a gateway for crude oil. Three different developers have plans to use docks on Grays Harbor, Washington to transfer crude oil from trains to ships. Other projects are getting off the ground in Tacoma, Vancouver, B.C. and on the lower Columbia River.

There was a huge turnout Wednesday night at an introductory public workshop in Aberdeen, Washington. The response indicates crude-by-rail may be the region’s next big environmental controversy.

There’s a growing glut of oil in eastern Montana and North Dakota. It’s part of the shale drilling revolution, which promises to turn North America from an energy importer to an exporter. But pipelines can’t keep up with the gusher of production. Port of Grays Harbor CEO Gary Nelson says that creates opportunities for railroads and ports to get oil to market in other ways.

“You’ve always got to look for the next new thing.”

Nelson spoke to a standing-room-only audience in Aberdeen. The crowd was testy. Around the sides of the meeting hall, a trio of prospective crude oil terminal operators handed out literature and fielded questions.

One questioner asked which refineries are you going to be fed by rail. Other people asked about oil-spill response, rail congestion, how many jobs would be created and how big the oil tankers could be.

In many respects, this event represents a public “coming out” for a business opportunity that is catching the eye of multiple Northwest ports and companies. Some examples:

• Near Clatskanie, Oregon, a Massachusetts firm has paid $95 million for a newly established crude terminal on the Columbia River.

• In Tacoma, the port just approved an expansion of the Targa Sound Terminal so it can receive crude and other liquids by rail.

• Up in British Columbia, energy giant Kinder Morgan plans to greatly expand its pipeline and Vancouver terminal to supply Asian markets.

• In Hoquiam, Washington, U.S. Development Group proposes to build an oil terminal.

• Separately nearby, the owner of a biodiesel refinery wants to diversify into crude oil shipping.

Add Aberdeen, and you’ve got six potential crude oil terminals in the Northwest, versus having just one half a year ago.

On the Aberdeen waterfront, Westway Terminal Company Vice President Robbie Johnson explains why this place appeals to his company.

“Grays Harbor is in the catbirds seat for handling crude by rail. It’s very close to deep water. It’s a desirable location. It’s very pro-business. Labor is available. We’re very, very excited about this.”

Johnson says federal law bans the export of U.S. crude oil to foreign countries. So the customers for the crude rolling our way will be coastal refineries in California and northwest Washington.

“We are very good stewards of the environment,” Johnson says. “We have not had spills. We’re very careful.”

But the potential for spills is just what they’re worried about across the bay.

Cannery workers are shucking freshly harvested razor clams at Brady’s Oysters. Co-owner Korey Engvall says his seafood company also cultivates about 30 acres of oyster beds in Grays Harbor.

“There’s a large record of oil being spilled everywhere it is transported,” he says. “So, you know, it makes us very nervous. We do not like the idea at all.”

Korey’s dad, the business namesake Brady Engvall, previously opposed a plan to export coal from Grays Harbor. That’s now shelved. He argues crude would be worse.

“This is just a risk we can’t afford to take.”

Others around the harbor weigh the risks and benefits differently. As of last month, Grays Harbor County had an unemployment rate of 12.4 percent. That’s the second highest among Washington counties. The crude terminal developers in this area say they’ve received wide support from local elected officials hungry for new, family-wage jobs.

SUMAS, Wash. — (from: The Bellingham Herald)

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested one man Tuesday and were searching for another in a remote area along the U.S.-Canadian border in northwest Washington, after the agents encountered the camouflaged pair and one shot at them, officials said.

Michael Milne, a spokesman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the agents were on patrol Tuesday morning when they encountered the pair in the Columbia Valley, a forested area east of Sumas well-known as a drug-smuggling corridor. They were wearing camouflage and carrying backpacks, he said.

“One of the subjects fired at the agents and fled into the woods,” Milne said. “The other individual was apprehended.”

No injuries were reported.

Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks said deputies were called to help.

Abbotsford, British Columbia, Police Constable Ian MacDonald said the incident happened on the U.S. side, and that Canadian police were told the second suspect might have made his way into Canada.

Agents set up road blocks and a helicopter scoured the area.

Sumas is 95 miles north of Seattle on Highway 9. It is 22 miles east of the main border crossing on Interstate 5 at Blaine.

Police in Abbotsford, British Columbia, say a man suspected of shooting at U.S. Border Patrol agents Tuesday near Sumas was arrested at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday across the border at a residence in Abbotsford.

Police say in a statement he is a B.C. resident known to police.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Michael Milne said agents on patrol Tuesday encountered two men in camouflage and wearing backpacks in the Columbia Valley, a forested area known as a drug-smuggling corridor. One of the men fired at the agents and fled. He was the subject of a search by multiple agencies on both sides of the border until his arrest.

The other man was arrested Tuesday and is making his first court appearance at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in federal court in Seattle.

Everyone’s favorite brunette Mouseketeer, Annette Funicello, from Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club died today. Annette was Disney’s favorite and he was her 2nd father figure. She never disappointed him in maintaining her squeaky clean image. Walt Disney took a hand in promoting her post-mouseketeer career in ways he never did for the other cast members.

This ennui on Disney’s part rankled one ambitious starlet, Doreen, to the point that she deliberately set out to embarrass Disney Studios for failing to help her prop up her career once she became an adult and down on her luck. The now much older Doreen had gained too much weight and girth to pass as a leading actress. So it was she posed, topless, with two large gold rings piercing her nipples on her ample breasts while she posed on a Harley wearing nothing…what else?…but a pair of Mickey Mouse ears.

Annette died from complications due to multiple sclerosis, a chronic incurable progressive disease which attacks the central nervous system. Annette refused to bare so much as her belly button in her adult acting career out of genuine deference/respect for Disney, who had always doted on her.

Former British Prime Margaret Thatcher has followed President Reagan into that welfare Cadillac Heaven in the sky today. Thatcher was an arch conservative who almost inspired a rebellion among her countrymen when she imposed a ‘poll tax’, a form of per capita tax for the privilege of merely existing, regardless of means or lack thereof.

The Poll Tax Riots were a series of mass disturbances, or riots, in British towns and cities during protests against the Community Charge (commonly known as the poll tax), introduced by the Conservative government led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. By far the largest occurred in central London on Saturday 31 March 1990, shortly before the tax was due to come into force in England and Wales.

The disorder in London arose from a demonstration which began at 11 am. The violent confrontations between the Metropolitan Police Service and demonstrators ended up in rampaging and looting that ended at 3am the next morning. This unrest is sometimes called the Battle of Trafalgar, particularly by opponents of the Community Charge, because much of the rioting took place in Trafalgar Square.

Abandonment of the Community Charge

John Major announced in his first parliamentary speech as Prime Minister that the Community Charge was to be replaced by Council Tax, which, unlike the Community Charge, took account of ability to pay. While less harsh on lower-income earners than the Community Charge, the new tax took no account of the income earned by the taxpayer, but did take into account the value of the property on which the householder was taxed. The anti-poll tax movement believed direct action was at least partially responsible for the change in government policy.

President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher governed during the same period and were considered philosophically conservative twins by their contemporaries. While Reagan increased military spending in the face of the perceived threat from the USSR during the Cold War, Thatcher launched the British Navy to defend a sparsely settle group of islands in the extreme South Atlantic in the Falkland War against Argentina…a war in which Britain prevailed by recapturing the islands from Argentina’s military after sinking its capital ship, the General Belgrano. 

Both politicians reviled the welfare state, believing all that was necessary for individual or national success was simply hard work along with dedication to the ideal of private property and capitalism in its most fundamental form. Each will be missed by many, but not by others. Their legacies remain controversial and incomplete.

Daniel McGowan (Photo from www.supportdaniel.org)

An environmentalist from the United States has been sent back to prison — and his friends and family say it’s because he spoke up about the government’s attempts to silence activists just like him.

Daniel McGowan had been serving the last chunk of a 7 year incarceration at a half-way house in Brooklyn, New York, but earlier this week was taken into custody and transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City.

The Bureau of Prisons has yet to issue a public statement about their decision to put McGowan back behind bars, but his associates say it’s likely the result of a recent op-ed in which the activist condemned the conditions of his incarceration and the Justice Department’s attempts to silence its critics.

McGowan was sentenced in 2007 after pleading guilty to arson and other charges in connection with fires that targeted lumber companies in 2001 and were attributed to the Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmentalist group that has been equated as a domestic terrorist organization by the US government. McGowan spent more than two years of his sentence locked-up in what he called an “experimental segregation unit” within a federal penitentiary in Illinois, and during that time was subjected to restrictions and monitoring so harsh that critics of the facility labeled it “Little Guantanamo.”

According to the Bureau of Prison, the “Communication Management Unit,” or CMU, where McGowan spent more than two years was “established to house inmates who, due to their current offense of conviction, offense conduct or other verified information, require increased monitoring of communication between inmates and persons in the community in order to protect the safety, security and orderly operations of Bureau facilities and protect the public.”

And although the BoP has acknowledged McGowan’s model behavior after his 2007 conviction, he was relocated to the CMU at Marion Penitentiary in August 2008 and stuck there until October of the following year.

Nearing his release back into society, McGowan has been allowed to spend the last few months of his 7-year sentence in a work-release facility in Brooklyn. That was until this week, however, when McGowan was spontaneously moved to a detention center just days after writing about the Marion CMU for Huffington Post.

In an article published on Monday this week, McGowan claimed that the reason he was sent into a unit where his communications were closely monitored was because the Justice Department didn’t like what he had to say. He even titled the op-ed, “Court Documents Prove I was Sent to Communication Management Units (CMU) for my Political Speech.”

“Since August 2008, when I first arrived at the CMU, I have been trying to get answers as to why I was singled out to be sent there.  Only now — three years after I filed a federal lawsuit to get to the truth — have I learned why the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) sent me to the CMU: they simply did not like what I had to say in my published writing and personal letters,” McGowan wrote. “In short, based on its disagreement with my political views, the government sent me to a prison unit from which it would be harder for me to be heard, serving as a punishment for my beliefs.”

Later in the editorial, McGowan pointed out specifically what conduct he engaged in from behind bars that were labeled by the prison bureau as reason enough to segregate him in an ultra-restrictive unit, where he was originally only allowed one phone call per week until he took legal action. Citing internal prison memos, McGowan said he was singled out because of:

“My attempts to ‘unite’ environmental and animal liberation movements, and to ‘educate’ new members of the movement about errors of the past; my writings about ‘whether militancy is truly effective in all situations’; a letter I wrote discussing bringing unity to the environmental movement by focusing on global issues; the fact that I was ‘publishing [my] points of view on the internet in an attempt to act as a spokesperson for the movement’; and the BOP’s belief that, through my writing, I have ‘continued to demonstrate [my] support for anarchist and radical environmental terrorist groups.’”

“It may be true that courts have held that a prisoner’s freedom of speech is more restricted than that of other members of the public,” added McGowan, “[b]ut no court has ever said that means that a prisoner is not free to express political views and beliefs that pose no danger to prison security and do not involve criminal acts.”

McGowan’s op-ed ran on Monday and on Wednesday afternoon he emailed investigative journalist Will Potter to let him know that his work pass was revoked. He was taken into custody shortly after.

“If McGowan’s incarceration is retaliation for his First Amendment activity, it would fit a pattern of behavior by the Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons to keep these units secretive,” Potter wrote.

Jenny Synan, McGowan’s wife, told Huffington Post that an official told her that her husband violated a term of his release by authoring the op-ed, as he was barred from “interacting with the media.”

“He just posted his thing a few days ago about all this stuff — about his political beliefs and speech — and they do something to him because of his post about this,” she said. “It’s crazy.”

“Needless to say, this is outrageous,” Rachel Meeropol of the Center for Constitutional Rights responded to HuffPo. “I’ve never heard of a regulation limiting an individual from blogging or contacting the news media.”

Stuart Whatlet, executive blog editor at The Huffington Post, says the Justice Department is wrong to write-off McGowan’s op-ed as an interview with the media.

“The HuffPost blog is a platform for contributors to share opinion, commentary and their thoughts on any topic of their choosing,” Whatley said. “As our guidelines explicitly state, ‘you can write about anything you want. Huffington Post does not select or approve your topics.'”

The CCR has since issued a statement condemning his re-incarceration. “If this is indeed a case of retaliation for writing an article about the BOP retaliating against his free speech while he was in prison, it is more than ironic, it is an outrage,” it reads in part

UPDATE

This (A)rticle contains controversial news reports and images/videos of female breasts which may offend some. Parental Discretion advised.

Topless Jihad Day. Milano by femen_org

After Shelton’s Mayor and City Council made themselves the butt of jokes across the nation banning bikini baristas in a recently passed moratorium documented HERE, activist women seeking new standards of autonomy are sorely needed in Geezerville, WA. Muslim autocrats hardly exceed the creeping state paternalism/maternalism evident in Mason County’s biggest town, Shelton–gateway to industrial blight on the Olympic Peninsula. It’s a town that doesn’t mind breathing sh*t so long as it’s coffee remains untainted and its women properly haltered.

Shelton’s guardians of public morality railed against the display of complete asses because…well–they couldn’t stand the competition. *sigh* Where are the ‘barecades’ when ya need ’em?

FIRE OF REVOLUTION! by femen_org

The video reportages of news agencies from the action of burning the salafists flag by FEMEN sextremists near the Big Mosque didn’t reach European audience in a strange way. We don’t claim that there is a censorship or Islamist lobby in the European media industry, we are just showing the fact of absolute lack of footage from the action in the Internet and TV. So. Here it is, the exclusive video of the burning salafists flag by Tunisian Femen provided for FEMEN byEverydayrebellion. Everyone, share the video!

VIVA Topless Jihad! Our breasts are more dangerous then your stones/laws! Topless Jihad has started yesterday in Paris by burning the Salafists flag near the Grand Mosque. There will be topless-protests in more than 10 countries.

ToplessJihad from Paris by femen_org

Topless Jihad Day. Brussels by femen_org

Topless Jihad. Berlin by femen_org

The Story Behind Femen by femen_org

FEMEN by femen_org

December 15, 2012 is the first day of voting in the referendum on the Constitution of Egypt was overshadowed by the fact prosecution on the part of European secret services known activist and blogger Aliaa Elmahdy. Unknown forces affecting management of airlines Lufthansa and Scandinavian airlines was deprived of the opportunity for Aliaa to travel to Paris to participate femen action against Constitution of Mursi. This story about vandalism of human rights Aliaa Elmahdy wrote on her blog arebelsdiary.blogspot.com.

“I was disappointed that my freedom of expression is oppressed even in Europe,” said Aliaa in her blog, attaching the her topless picture with message “Free to act”.
FEMEN requires management of the European Union to conduct an investigation into the violent obstruction of human rights activist and blogger Aliaa Elmahdy.

The French Republic issued an official notification of registration stating that FEMEN is now a voluntary association and an international women’s movement. At the same time, Ukrainian justice refused again to recognize FEMEN as a legal movement in Ukraine, accusing the organization of being extremist.

In response to that, Ukrainian authorities said, “the purpose of the association to fight for women’s rights and against women’s discrimination in society can be seen as an attempt to disturb public order or others’ rights and freedom.”

The FEMEN movement has been receiving international support.

Before the match at the Olympic Stadium in Kievtwo FEMEN activists broked in a closed area.
With their looks activist demonstrated the essence of Euro 2012, as an act of physiological and economic rape of Ukraine.

US Experts Say Climate Change is Threat to National Security

By Kylie Schultz – WEDNESDAY APRIL 03, 2013

Air Breathers Huddle

In February, the Partnership for a Secure America published an open letter signed by 38 United States national security experts urging President Obama and Congress to take action on climate change as a threat to national security. The letter states that consequences are undeniable if inaction continues. “The cost of inaction, paid for in lives and valuable US resources, will be staggering,” it states. “Washington must lead on this issue now.”

The letter argues that in order to protect American security domestically and abroad, the United States must find adaptive solutions to aid and stabilize conditions in countries vulnerable to climate change or risk instability or conflict that would be harmful to national security. Without precautionary measures, the letter warns, “climate change impacts abroad could spur mass migrations, influence civil conflict and ultimately lead to a more unpredictable world.”

Although the conversation surrounding climate change in US politics remains contentious, according to national security experts, think tanks and even the military, the stakes are clear. Climate change poses a tangible security risk, and inaction could have severe consequences if not addressed. Many different groups have been urging for action on climate change for decades, but tackling climate change solely as an environmental issue has brought inconclusive results. Can redefining climate change as a national security threat make the difference?

Threats to national security

A pivotal 2007 report written by the Military Advisory Board of CNA, a not-for-profit research and analysis organization, highlights the capacity of climate change to “influence… geo-strategic balances and world events that could likely involve US military forces or otherwise affect US strategic interests anywhere in the world.” Redefining climate change as a security threat goes beyond traditional environmentalist arguments and seeks to analyze climate change as a “threat multiplier,” or a condition that exacerbates or accelerates pre-existing social, political, and economical tensions and conflicts in a region.

“On the simplest level, [climate change] has the potential to create sustained natural and humanitarian disasters on a scale far beyond those today,” the report states. “The consequences will likely foster political instability where societal demands exceed the capacity of governments to cope.”

Global warming has already caused climatic changes, some far more rapidly than predicted. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reported that January marked 334 consecutive months of above average temperatures, and recent years have seen an increase in extreme weather events, droughts, and floods around the world, and notable sea-level rise. While wealthy nations like the United States have been able to react to these changes, many developing countries have not. Change in weather patterns is causing drought and famine leading to food shortages. Water scarcity and competition for resources are exacerbated by the rural-to-urban migration of populations whose livelihoods have been affected by extreme weather, which also stresses infrastructure and institutional services.

“Economic and environmental conditions in already fragile areas will further erode as food production declines, diseases increase, clean water becomes scarce, and large populations move in search of resources,” states the report. “Weakened and failing governments with an already thin margin for survival, foster the conditions for internal conflicts, extremism, and movement toward increased authoritarianism and radical ideologies.”

The report notes that this global political instability could foster extremism, terrorism, or transnational crime which could threaten US security and interests in numerous ways. Instability may stretch domestic humanitarian and aid resources, as well as the US military in struggles to maintain social, political, and economic stability in affected regions. The US may also be pressured to take in migrants seeking to escape environmental degradation, or refugees escaping conflict or whose livelihood has been destroyed by ecological devastation. Such possibilities put an onus on the US to assess how capably it could address food security, internal migration, extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and water scarcity at home, while also addressing them abroad.

For now, these threats and conflicts remain unaddressed because the United States is so far removed from directly experiencing many of these changes. But some American analysts say that as these upheavals and disruptions continue to unfold around the world, their consequences might soon be felt closer to home.

Climate change and the Arab Spring

In February, the Center for Climate and Security with the Center for American Progress, released The Arab Spring and Climate Change: A Climate and Security Correlations Series. A series of essays within the book discuss how climate change was a contributing factor to the Arab Spring.

In Syria, for example, the authors point out that a prolonged drought, compounded by poor governance and resource mismanagement by the Assad regime, forced nearly 800,000 people to migrate due to environmental degradation which destroyed their farms and livelihoods. The rural-to-urban migration added additional stress on Syria’s already depressed cities, worsening crumbling infrastructure, access to water and employment opportunities. This combination of social, economic, and environmental stresses, exacerbated by climatic change, “eroded the social contract between citizen and government in the country, strengthened the case for the opposition movement, and irreparably damaged the legitimacy of the Assad regime.”

The essay points out that although it is important to re-establish political and economic stability in Syria (which US experts consider the lack of to be a threat to national security), any stable solution will require addressing the human security issues which have been accelerated by climate change. Management of vital resources such as food, water, and arable land are just as important to maintaining stability as a stable government.

“If mitigating climate change and adapting to its effects is not integrated into the policies and plans of new and existing governments, and if the international community does not assist in the endeavor, the social contract between citizen and government in the Arab world will likely not improve and the stability and prosperity of the region may erode,” concludes the essay.

While the armed forces have been effective in mitigating certain negative impacts of climate, others hope that addressing instability through peaceful methods which focus on social and political ills rather than military intervention might help the US foster positive global relationships and re-establish trust.

A new type of battle: leading the fight against climate change

Activist groups hope that labelling climate change as a national security issue will give it a higher priority in the government, which has been slow to address climate change and reduce emissions. While the CNA report and reports from the Department of Defense and State Department argue that greenhouse gas and carbon emissions and energy use must be regulated to ensure domestic security, it seems effective action from the US will require a much more cooperative approach.

Foremost, the US needs to be welcome to cooperative measures in order to address climate change and its consequences. PSA Advisory Board co-chair and former Rep. Lee Hamilton states that, “The US must work to forge a consensus, both domestically and internationally, with leaders from around the world on both parties, on a unified strategy that can succeed in countering this threat to international security.”

Some initial steps have been taken. The US Department of Defense included addressing climate change in its national defense strategy in 2010, and US military forces are beginning to reach out to other armed forces to engage dialogue surrounding future security issues. But more must be done if the US really wants to protect its national security and promote international stability.

Dr. Peter H. Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, testified before the US Congress Committee on Government Reform that the US must be willing to lead in international climate change policies. “The perception that the US bears a disproportional responsibility for impacts and is unwilling to join multilateral efforts to reduce emissions affects our international reputation and standing,” he said. “These growing international disagreements can lead to worsening relations with long-time allies over environmental policies as well as new disputes with developing countries over how to address both the causes and effects of climate change. There is also a risk that these disagreements will spill over into economic policy, trade agreements, and security arrangements.”

History shows reluctance from the US to commit to international climate agreements, and mitigating climate change and emissions at home continues to be a contentious proposition. Reaching true US led international stability will first require domestic successes, but also must account for wider geopolitical needs to promote fair access to resources and services. While it is clear that the United States has much at risk as global climate change continues to alter social, political and economic conditions around the world, there seems to be very little urgency to address it either as an environmental issue or one of national security.

by Amicus Curia, investigatory photojournalist for Soul Snatcher, Productions ™ of the Mason County Blog (amicuscuria.com/wordpress), and sometimes WIP (Works in Progress of Olympia). 4-5-13 (cc)

It’s intuitive that the distinction between Corruption and Incompetence is one without an effective difference.  After all, if you found yourself on death row because of an incompetent or corrupt judge, would you *really* care which?–given the end results are the same. So it is with the average businessman or citizen who cannot pursue their livelihood (whether as a local produce/espresso stand) or quality of life because we don’t fully examine the caliber of candidates annually throwing their hat into the ring…some becoming wealthy beyond their native ability by doing so. How?

What garners the most publicity are the classical money deals containing large sums of cash in surreptitiously exchanged sealed envelopes behind closed doors or in darkened corners. Vice President Agnew once explained his own demands for bribes by pointing out how expensive it was keeping up with appearances as governor of Maryland.

Yes, rich candidates may be less susceptible to corruption — or they may not — but how much do we know about how they amassed their resources in the first place? What are their networks of friends, family and colleagues? What world view will they advocate for? Our political system’s increasing reliance on people of means — both as financiers of candidates, like Sheldon Adelson, or candidates themselves, like NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg — has a direct impact on policy choices. The orientation of the uber-wealthy makes them different from the 99 percent in important ways.

Given the disparities, rich officials won’t necessarily bring better representation to average — to say nothing of poor — Americans.

It’s not illegal to be wealthy, and the rich should have as much right to run for office as anyone else. But it’s also not too much to ask, expect and demand that public officials of whatever means resist the temptation to, say, sell a vote.

Bribes are poorly understood by the general public because the press seldom reports on more than the classic variety. The feathers lining ones own nest can be as countless as the stars in the heavens. These permutations of inventiveness are limitless. It’s been said, nothing straight was ever carved from the crooked timber of humanity. Or, as grandmother used to say, “Everyone cheats to the best of their ability.”

Corruption is not limited to bribing public officials for material gain, it can involve the use of public office to deprive one group of constituents of their rights to enhance the privileges of another for any reason. An enthusiastic advocate in office for this or that agenda usually is indifferent to unintended consequences of that agenda upon others which deprives them of their basic rights, and that is a corruption of government as great as bribe seeking.

While affluence can come as the result of hard and very smart work, it often comes as the result of clever but mediocre efforts happening to be in the right place and the right time. There is no correlation between wisdom and wealth, as anyone who lives and works with the more affluent members of society have noted.

In addition, self interest can distort the perspective of even the most highly intelligent and erudite of people. To enjoy good government requires citizens be well informed and vigilant about how their government is run–to acknowledge a duty to obey just laws and disobey intrinsically unjust ones alike, to demand those responsible for unjust laws/policies be held accountable.

An illustrative local example of just such corruption serves as a window to understanding. Mason County, adjacent to Thurston, affords a gateway to the Olympic Mountains and its National Park replete with once pristine alpine lakes now polluted with mercury and its Oakland Bay/Shelton Harbor sediments containing the highest concentration of Dioxin in the Puget Sound…902 ppt in the harbor!

How did such an environmental disaster involving  the most toxic chemical known come to be? Who was responsible for exposing the public to a persistent bio-accumulative carcinogenic, mutagenic, immune system suppressant with NO known ‘safe level’ (if it can be measured, it’s dangerous to human health) of exposure? The bio-accumulative effect can be demonstrated by the fact human mother’s breast milk (on average) contains 400% of the level of Dioxin permitted in commercial dairy cattle milk for sale. Even the smallest traces of this insidious poison cause learning deficiencies (somewhat like lead exposure) in children.

Simpson (aka ‘Green Diamond’) timber company incinerators sit within Shelton City limits on its waterfront. Its smokestacks spew pollution into the air daily as they have for decades. City officials have traditionally done nothing about subjecting city residents to this  chemical cocktail. When Simpson floats plans for even more/bigger smokestacks, city officials appear eager to accommodate them, stonewalling the reasoned objections of local citizens. Residents farther afield too often seem nonplussed unless it’s their ox getting gored. Yet these chickens have a habit of coming home to  roost. Federal government studies (those documents are available on this web site) confirm Simpson (during the time preceding and including the mid-80’s) removed the Dioxin contaminated ash from the bag-house of its downtown Shelton waterfront incinerator and FLUSHED THEM DOWN THE CITY’S SEWERS! Logically enough, the Dioxin was pumped into our Harbor and Oakland Bay through the treatment plant’s outfall.

Mason County’s 3 sitting Commissioners: Tim Sheldon, Terri Jeffreys, & Randy Netherlin.

Commissioners Randy Netherlin, Terri Jeffreys, Tim Sheldon

The 35th Legislative District (http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/default.aspx?District=35) takes in much of Mason and Kitsap County, a sizable chunk of Thurston, but a sliver of sparsely populated Grays Harbor County. Tim Sheldon holds office as State Senator in that district as well as County Commissioner of Mason. He has been reelected repeatedly simultaneously to both offices. His tenure in the State Senate (one of the 5 currently longest held in that body) and one of 2 Democratic swing votes who crossed over party lines to throw in with a conservative Republican lead majority caucus makes him one of Washington’s most powerful politicians. Senator Sheldon’s penchant for business (corporate) oriented policies have often been at the expense and contemptuous of his constituents–especially with respect to environmental issues. Sheldon was rewarded by this new majority coalition for his apparent perfidy by being elected President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Sheldon is acting President of the Senate when the Lt. Governor is not available or acting Governor.

Despite a significant plurality of voter antipathy based on his official track record (privatization of liquor sales, biomassacre friendly legislation at the County and State level, tax subsidies amounting to corporate welfare to pollution prone industries, Court findings of his refusal to bargain in good faith with public unions, refusal to let major public contracts for open bidding, sitting on the corporate board of companies he funnels public monies to and/or receives campaign donations from, ad infinitum) Sheldon continues to remain comfortably rooted in a lucrative form of double dipping and cronyism.

Senator Tim Sheldon, some years ago, began a service based corporation known as the EDC (Economic Development Council) which is not a public entity in any sense of the word, but a closely held for profit corporation. Sheldon acted as its well paid chair for many years before handing off the position to his business colleague, Jay Hupp (now a Port of Shelton Commissioner responsible for many decisions affecting the regional environment, resources, and tax expenditures). The EDC purported to attract business (thus ‘JOBS’) to locales such as the City of Shelton, the County of Mason, the Port of Allen, and others. On this theory alone, without any accountability or proof the company was actually giving citizens much bang for their buck, it repeatedly approached the respective elected officials with its hand out. Unsurprisingly, it was not disappointed as the same officials who sat on the EDC board of directors obliged with tax money emptied from residents’ pockets. The EDC and its staff, in turn, upon each ensuing election cycle generously contributed to those same politicians’ campaign fund according to Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission records.

Washington State law allows for service contracts (like this one) to be let without bidding…a loophole for legal corruption/bribery large enough to drive a Mack truck loaded with currency through. Not all counties/municipalities take advantage of this invitation for abuse, opting to let such contracts out for open bidding instead. But Mason/Shelton officials routinely engage in this kind of corruption. They have been successfully called out on it by outraged plaintiffs on more than a few occasions. Mason County’s refusal to let out its garbage/refuse disposal contract stands as a recent example. Age discrimination and unlawful termination are another.

Yet voters continue to gorge themselves on the meal Sheldon has supplied: A dish featuring himself as a valiant maverick politician doing the people’s business in the face of Party bosses and Democratic recriminations. Had these citizens bothered to examine the facts set out in Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission records, they’d have found Sheldon routinely receives over 90% of his campaign contributions from a who’s who list of corporations. Fully 4 times as many corporations donate to his campaign coffers as do individual citizens. This serves as one explanation of why Senator/Commissioner Tim Sheldon can be seen (in photos on amicuscuria.com/wordpress) openly SNEERING at his constituents while stonewalling their pleas for protection from environmentally disastrous policies/projects.

On at least two separate occasions (while running for office, no less!) Tim Sheldon was asked how many signatures it would take from his constituents to get him to reconsider his position. His answer on BOTH occasions?: “It wouldn’t matter!” In other words, if Senator Sheldon received 100% of the signatures from his registered constituents on an issue of vital importance to them, he opines it would not make any difference. Sheldon has SEEN the enemy–and it is US!

If this does not fit the definition of ‘bribery’ by other means (than immediate cash in an envelope) then nothing else does. It promises we will be stuck with such ‘arrangements’ as government witnesses being ‘bribed’ with value far in excess of any monetary currency, i.e. their freedom/liberty by reducing the number of years they face behind bars. Like the above described rotting  fish and the U.S. Supreme Court’s pronouncement that corporate influence/money is tantamount to ‘free speech’ (People United), the government continues to bribe witnesses in criminal proceedings, as only it can, with actions that would send anyone else to prison for witness tampering.

It’s been said we get the government we ‘deserve’. So take a close look and renew your civic pride, your self respect, and your sense of duty to your community where hopefully we can depend on each other when we cannot rely on government to provide such core functions as preventing force, fraud, and providing for the national defense…including/especially the environment! Demand both integrity AND competence in our elected officials. Doing so will lessen the need for reliance on 2nd Amendment principles: the duty to sever political bonds with oppressive, corrupt, and incompetent public officials.

Tin Ear

“In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.” -Hunter S. Thompson-

Primer: How to Elect a Corrupt Politician (Hint: take an issue voters don’t care about…or even admire, and repeatedly–after losing many elections on the point–make a really big deal out of it. e.g: Keep carping about Sheldon holding 2 full time political offices, which voters have rejected as a material issue by repeatedly reelecting him to both.)

After a murder suspect fired at an officer Thursday night inside police headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi both were found shot to death, police said. According to Police Chief Rebecca Coleman, the suspect was being interviewed on the 3rd floor of the building before the shooting. Shots were heard. When other officers entered the room, both the officer and suspect were dead.

Detective Eric Smith was interviewing a homicide suspect when the two got into an argument. Sources say the man reportedly overpowered the officer, took his weapon and shot him. Another officer ended up shooting the suspect.

ONE GIRL WITH COURAGE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.

The YWCA of Olympia, in conjunction with Intel Corporation, will host a free community screening of the film Girl Rising at 7:00p.m. on Friday, May 3 at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. 

This groundbreaking film is presented by 10×10 (a global action campaign for girls’ education and empowerment) and tells the stories of nine extraordinary girls from nine countries, written by nine celebrated writers, and narrated by nine renowned actresses. Directed by Academy Award nominee, Richard Robbins, Girl Rising showcases the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change the world.

Tickets for this event will not be sold; however patrons are welcome to “pay what they can” at the door. Following the screening, a panel of advocates and educators will discuss the film and local efforts to strengthen opportunities for girls’ education here in our community. A reception with the panelists and YWCA program staff will follow.