The Leftist Thug's Playbook

Former senator and presidential candidate Mike Gravel (D - Luna) was caught giving fellow moonbats advice on how to harrass someone they didn't agree with:

“Find out where he lives, find out where his kids go to school, find out where his office is, picket him all the time,” Gravel said, in an audio tape obtained by the Investigative Project on Terrorism and provided to FOX News.

“Call him a racist in signs if you see him. Call him an injustice. Call him whatever you want to call him, but in his face all the time.”

The subject of Gravel's wrath is a federal prosecutor in Virginia, who, *GASP* wants to prosecute the suspected head of Islamic Jihad in the U.S. for contempt for failure to testify before a grand jury. Perfect. The Party of Tolerance defending the Religion of Peace.

"Call him a racist. Call him whatever you want to kill him." Gee, that sure sounds familiar. I'm sure glad we don't have any cowardly scumbags around here that do that to those they disagree with.

On Blogging, Mountains and Molehills, and No Sense of Humor

To listen to some whiners around here, you would think they had never heard of blogging before or just what that entails. Political bloggers are generally a partisan and snarky lot and blog commenters often get very satirical or downright vicious with their words.

For example, a few years ago, former Whitman County Democratic State Committeeman Dave Gibney wrote the following comment on the liberal Washblog:

ALways thought the rapture would be a good thing. All the stuck up assholes would be gone. :)

Gibney's comment was in response to a Washblog contributor who was "disturbed" that Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers attended a "fundamentalist Christian college," writing:

As another layer is peeled away from that American girl facade, instead of a garden variety Reagan conservative Christian, I see another hypocritical fundamentalist.

Now, did anyone make an issue of this comment when Dave threw his hat in the ring for a Pullman City Council appointment? Did anyone demand that the Whitman County Democrats apologize to all Palouse evangelicals because of Gibney's comment. No, of course not. Dave was making a joke. Hence the smiley face. Some might have been offended, but there is no right in the Constitution to not be offended.

Current Whitman County Democratic State Committeeman and former candidate for Whitman County Auditor Nathan Horter has been a diarist at Daily Kos.

Another diarist at Daily Kos, A. Whitney Brown, wrote last year:

Do I still support the individual men and women who have given so much to serve their country? No. I think they’re a bunch of idiots. I also think they’re morally retarded.

Wow. Once again, has anyone demanded an apology from the Whitman County Democrats, assuming Horter must feel the same way about our troops because he "countenances" posts like that by blogging at Daily Kos. No, of course not. That would be guilt by association a la McCarthyism. Theoretically, American political parties have moved beyond that kind of chilling of free speech.

Or have they? Could a local party be so desperate for a victory that they would say or do anything, no matter how exaggerated, how ridiculous or how base to try to win? I think we now know the answer to that question.

The Whitman County Democrats have bigger problems than me right now, and this little campaign of distraction, distortion, and dirt is not going to help.

An Elitist Snob's Take on Wal-Mart Shoppers

Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers: Here's what the educated elite really think about you. Coastal liberal and long-time Wal-Mart hater Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic magazine wrote the following description of how he saw folks at a Wal-Mart in Martinsburg, WV back on June 23, 2008:

But about those down-and-out customers: If you want to see the underside of the unregulated capitalist economy, the people who can't find the non-existent escape ladder from poverty and its pathologies, visit the Martinsburg, West Virginia Wal-Mart. Morbid obesity; spontaneous, public bouts of corporal punishment directed against dirty children; ten-year girls dressed as whores; tattoos running up necks and down legs; smoking like you only see these days in Baku; it's all here. I considered myself a socialist until I was about 23 (that was when I fled my kibbutz for the final time) but a visit to the Martinsburg Wal-Mart reawakens my distaste for steroidal capitalism.

Goldberg later refers to Wal-Mart workers as "hopeless and toothless." What a collection of stereotypes of working class Americans, straight out of Marx's Grim Fairy Tales of the Lumpenproletariat.

Now, as you can imagine, this column set off quite an uproar in Martinsburg. Rather than apologize, Goldberg states:

It's interesting to me how many people conflate an attack on Wal-Mart with an attack on their community. I suppose this just how the malevolent merchants from Bentonville, Ark., would have it.

Yeah. Wal-Mart made Goldberg an arrogant and self-righteous asshole. Who knows though? Maybe Goldberg is a double agent for Wal-Mart; his overbearing pretentiousness discrediting other Wal-Mart haters. But let's face it. "Ten-year girls dressed as whores?" It WAS a vicious attack on the Martinsburg community, and more generally an attack on all the people who shop at Wal-Mart.

And that ultimately is what the war on Wal-Mart is all about. It's rank class hatred, bigotry and pure snobbery from wealthy elitists towards the people they claim to be "protecting" from Wal-Mart.

But I for one am glad for Goldberg's hateful rant. Next time you read in the Daily News about "$45,000 traffic studies" and "wreaking havoc on small towns," you'll know what those code words really mean.

Technorati Tags: wal-mart walmart

Will Palousitics Be Next?

Blogger blogs with bad things to say about the Obamessiah are being shut down. From Publius' Forum:

Apparently, this campaign merely took advantage of Google/Blogger’s flawed system of finding spam blogs. So, it looks like what we have here is an Obama dirty trick to shut down political opposition. Looks like Obmatons aren’t much for that whole democracy thing, eh?

Stay tuned. Looks like I may be making the move from Blogger sooner than I had planned.

They're Baaaaacckkk.....

Remember our mysterious visitor from Olympia last week, looking for dirt on Schweitzer Engineering? He/she is back again today, and this time he/she has learned that he/she has been busted.

Racism, Hate and Lies We Can Believe In

Remember a few months back when John McCain asked the North Carolina Republican Party to pull a TV ad attacking two Democrats running for governor by linking Barack Obama to the racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright? McCain was also uncomfortable with a Tennessee Republican ad that used the words "Barack Hussein Obama," implying somehow that Obama was a Muslim.

I wonder now if the Obama campaign will ask the Washington State Democratic Party to pull the video above that plays the theme to "The Sopranos" while attacking Dino Rossi (Michelle Obama will be campaigning in Seattle for Gregoire on July 17.) I guess the racist implication the Rats are making is that since Rossi is Italian-American, he must be in the Mafia. The Italian Club of Seattle is already demanding that the ad be yanked and Washington Democratic chairman Dwight Pelz resign.

And be sure to check out the Dems new Rossi slimesite here. It is the most over the top negative campaigning site you'll ever see, filled with lies and distortions and even a picture of Dino morphing into George W. Bush. Perhaps the Rats are thinking of including Schweitzer Engineering in this hate mongering as well.

As I said, there will be no rules in this gubernatorial knife fight, not from the Rats anyway.

Obama supporters: Is this "change we can believe in?" Is this a departure from the "politics of failure" and "politics as usual?" Do we really want someone as governor who will do and say anything to remain in office? Vote Obama if you must, but you can't vote for Gregoire.

Who in Olympia Hates Schweitzer Engineering?

From the Palousitics hit counter:


If you click on the image, you can see that someone with an IP address in Olympia hit Palousitics this morning using the Google search string: "I Hate Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories forums."

Is this the beginning of a smear campaign by the Queen's evil minions in retaliation for Ed Schweitzer's strong opposition to her business-unfriendly policies and support of Dino Rossi?

Stay tuned...

Say What?

Sadly, the reality of living in a capitalist society is that not everyone can “make it” the way Rossi did. A lot of people work their entire lives and never see the same type of success. For that reason, it makes little sense for someone in Rossi’s position to represent a working-class public.

- Amir Hassan, "Rossi needs to tell the truth to voters," Summer Watermelon, June 23, 2008

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

- Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

You see Amir and his fellow Marxist-Leninist "progressives" wish to turn the words of our Founding Fathers around completely backwards. They believe that all men are not created equal but all men are guaranteed equal happiness (at least happiness as the government defines it.)

Rather than someone from an immigrant family who has "made it" in the private sector like Rossi, Mr. Hassan would prefer Queen Christine, who has never worked a day in her life outside the bureaucracy of state government, to represent the "working class" as Governor.

And they say Republicans are bigots.

Quote of the Day

People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Gregoire and her political operatives have been shamelessly trying to smear Dino since before our campaign even began. The Washington Education Association ran radio attack ads against Dino in February, the Democratic Governor’s Association and local unions have put more than $800,000 into the new Evergreen Progress PAC that will undoubtedly be used to attack Dino, and the State Democratic Party sends out almost daily press releases filled with distortions. Is Gregoire suddenly going to take a stand against all of these groups? I wouldn’t count on it.

- Dino Rossi spokesperson Jill Strait, June 19, 2008

Neither would I. There are no rules in a knife fight. And the 2008 Washington gubernatorial race is going to be as bitter of a political knife fight as you can imagine. There will be no prizes for Miss (or Mr.) Congeniality.

Eric Earling at Sound Politics is calling for those responsible for the "Don't Let Seattle Steal This Election" sign to knock it off. I completely disagree. It's effective. It will put ballots in the box. I'd like to get a thousand of them to put up in Whitman County. Does anyone doubt that the leftists would not use a similar tactic if the situation was reversed? If Rossi wins what promises to be a very close election again, it won't be by playing to the delicate sensibilities of the latte liberals in the Emerald City.

Dislike of Seattle's one party rule is a VERY valid campaign issue here in Eastern Washington, and it's not just a bad taste left over from 2004. The disaffection is not limited to mouth-breathing wingnuts. Moderates, like Eastern Washington's most respected business leader Ed Schweitzer are fed up too. Remember how the imperious Puget Sound Dems tried to push through legislation this past session concerning global warming and the environment that would have very adversely affected us? I won't even get into the Department of Ecology's business-killing stormwater regulations that have created great antipathy among Eastern Washington's smaller cities. Dems can say "One Washington" all they want, but that doesn't play outside downtown Spokane. The "Cascade Curtain" is wider and deeper than ever before as Queen Christine fiddles while issues like the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the WASL burn.

The Queen's press conference was simply a vain attempt to draw public attention away from the simmering scandal of Wampumgate that is about to overtake her floundering campaign.

This Is Going To Be A Shame

Included among WSU Provost Robert Bates' proposal to trim back "nonessential" courses by 20% yesterday, according to the Lewiston Tribune, was a recommendation to combine the Departments of American Studies, Comparative Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies into a single unit.

Apparently, when President Elson Floyd say WSU "cannot be all things to all people," he is referring to certain WSU faculty members being bullies, racists, and left-wing agitators on the taxpayer's dime.

Non Sequitur of the Day

Instead of waiting until gas is $9 per gallon, we could seek to develop augmented water supplies.

- Chuck "Mr. Civil Discourse" Pezeshki, "Like it or not, change is coming for us all," Moscow-Pullman Daily News, May 10, 2008

Huh? What does the price of gas, which we have no control over, have to do with water supplies?

Runners-Up:

We could pull out all the stops and work toward developing sustainable housing close to the university, where many of the staff that now must commute from Colfax, could live.

Apparently, with Chuck away in Europe, he didn't hear that College Hill has been designated a historic district listed with the National Register of Historic Places. Good luck putting in your "sustainable housing" now. Those drafty, old, energy inefficient houses are here to stay.

We could work toward making both Moscow and Pullman the most bike-friendly communities in the West, and move the majority of our student population toward cycling.

Ditto. Chuckie must not be aware that Pullman was recently named one of the most pedestrian-oriented cities in the U.S.

We could actively engage our organic farming faculty toward a goal of campus food self-sufficiency.

I can't wait to see the organic farming faculty grow enough food to feed 18,000 students.

Honorable Mention:

Some of our faculty and staff in my university building, from professorial to janitorial, still drive from homes far distant, alone in their pick-up trucks, spending up to 15 percent of their take-home pay on gas.

15 percent?

We celebrate the commissioning of an unnecessary and useless golf course that will only further deplete our pristine water supply.

I am definitely taking up golf because it pisses off the liberals so much.

We still welcome obesity with our dietary choices.

What a rant. Chuck is taking swings at everything that makes him mad, including apparently, fat people driving pick-up trucks. You gotta love the intolerance of the "tolerant."

Instead of having city councils making backroom deals for large developments promoting failed models of consumerism, we could have our local governments actively address some of these big issues.

"Failed model of consumerism?" Unfortunately for Chuck and his fellow socialists, consumerism hasn't failed. Otherwise, Hawkins wouldn't be building a mall. And just what would he have local governments do? It's the people that decide where they want to shop last time I checked.

"PARD campaign intended to promote local businesses"

Back in Spring semester of 2007, I worked on a project with the PR 313 class at WSU. So did Deirdre Rogers and PARD. This sounds suspiciously like their "project," especially the part about "instructors who will assign Web site creation projects to students as part of their class work."

It's too bad Don Pelton didn't live long enough to refute this hypocritical silliness.

From Saturday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News (annontated with my comments in red):

Stores that sell high fashion aren't limited to the big city.

Nate Schafer, co-owner of Straight Up Fashions, said he likely loses customers who figure designer duds can't be found on the Palouse - let alone in downtown Pullman.

"Because of Pullman's size, people have a mentality that they have to go somewhere else to get something," he said. "There's no place in Spokane, Moscow, or Lewiston-Clarkston that you can get fashions like ours."

The 2-year-old Straight Up Fashions is an example of targeted businesses in the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development's recently launched "Think Local First" campaign.

PARD member Christopher Lupke said the project is meant to encourage area residents to purchase goods from a small business rather than head to big-box stores like Wal-Mart.

"There's a bit of a trend toward corporatization," said Lupke. "I'm not saying we can eliminate and get away from it ... but what we really hope is that we can protect, enhance and maintain local businesses." [Corporatization. Spoken like a true leftist. I'm sure he had disdain in his voice when he said that.]

Lupke said support for small businesses will keep tax dollars in the community to boost the economy and provide jobs. Small businesses also tend to reduce environmental impacts because they generally contribute to less sprawl, are on public transportation routes and add to a vital community. [Excuse me, Lu Laoshi? Keep tax dollars in the community? Reduce environmental impacts? On public transportation routes? Contribute less to sprawl? That's why on the "Think Local First" website, PARD directs you over to Moscow if you can't find something in Pullman, as is likely, since according to the CLUE study commissioned by the No SuperWalMart group in Moscow, Pullman is underretailed in every category except dining out. In fact, they state that "we don't buy into the silly idea that Pullman and Moscow are at economic war." That's funny, because in Chris Lupke's last Town Crier column, he stated that, "Driving seven miles is not going to save any Pullmanite a penny's worth of gasoline." Not to mention it's not going to help those pesky carbon emissions. I've said before that Moscow is Pullman's automobile sprawl. Forget about the thousands of trips made daily by Pullman residents to shop in Moscow stores. How about the 3,000 or so WSU faculty members who live in Moscow and make 20 mile round trips to work every day? It's not sustainable!!!

Chris also said that the Hawkins development is a bad idea because it will "permanently situate the retail center in and near Moscow, miles from Pullman." Read on, The tortured logic and hypocrisy get worse.]

"I think everyone needs to make this decision for themselves, but the goal is to help people realize the whole picture," he said. ["Everyone needs to make this decision for themselves?" That's obviously why PARD has fought Wal-Mart every step of the way. They want to make the decision for everyone else on where they shop.]

The campaign is outlined on the Web site www.pullman-ard.org/thinklocalfirst, which touts a comprehensive list of area businesses. PARD member T.V. Reed admits there are businesses outside of Pullman promoted on the site, and ShopKo - a national chain - also is listed. [ShopKo??? Well, of course, PARD lists ShopKo, or you couldn't even buy a pair of sneakers in Pullman. But ShopKo? PARD does realize, of course, that by listing ShopKo, they invaldiate many of the arguments they make about Wal-Mart (e.g. big boxes killing Mom-and-Pop stores, proximity to schools, utilization of sweatshop made goods, selling cheap Chinese crap, making Pullman a big-box clone of a thousand other places, etc.) Not to mention the fact that ShopKo violates all the benefits of "locally owned businesses" PARD praises on its "Think Local First" website, such as "a dollar spent in a local business circulates through a community at rate 3-5 times greater than a dollar spent on a mega-retailer that goes mostly to the home office somewhere else." The bullshit here is of Augean proportions.

Noticeably absent from PARD's list are grocery stores, as Pullman has had no "local" grocery store since Jerry Finch retired. And I guess directing folks over to the Moscow Food Co-Op would have been too much hypocrisy even for PARD.]

He said the ultimate goal of the campaign is for people to shop at small, local businesses in Pullman. The next best thing would be to keep their money in the region. [How does "keeping money" in Moscow help us? Those tax dollars are gone forever, headed off to Boise. We in Pullman get absolutely no benefit from shopping in Moscow at all. Better that PARD tell people to shop in Spokane or Clarkston, as at least we may get a tiny return on our sales tax.]

"The reason we called it 'Think Local First' instead of 'Shop Pullman' is because we recognize that not everyone can find what they want in a small town like Pullman," he said.

The campaign also includes free Web site development for businesses who want to increase their customer base. Reed said PARD has coordinated with several WSU instructors who will assign Web site creation projects to students as part of their class work.

WSU students will be the primary targets for the campaign, Reed said. He believes many students are not familiar with vendors in Pullman because they don't frequent areas off-campus. The students - who account for a large percent of Pullman's population - also likely are more familiar with businesses in their hometown, where they may shop during school breaks.

"They're not as aware of what is local and they are by far the most potential market and the least developed market," Reed said.

Fritz Hughes, executive director of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce, applauds PARD's efforts. He said the chamber does have several shop-local campaigns throughout the year and added that PARD's project won't interfere but may in fact help reinforce the idea.

"Anything that promotes shopping locally, the chamber is behind," he said. "Shout it from the rooftops. Anything to get the word out there is good." [Fritz, by the way, has worked tirelessly to bring Wal-Mart to Pullman. He believes, as do the vast majority of Pullman business leaders, that we need a mix of national and local retailers for a healthy economy.]

Schafer also praises PARD's efforts to support local businesses - especially via the Internet.

"Everything is Internet-based. These kids are so computer savvy. Anything you can do Internet-wise is going to be beneficial. It's a huge tool and it's a successful tool," he said. The official Straight Up Fashions Web site will be online soon to provide high fashion to customers worldwide. [Nothing against having web sites for local stores, but that won't solve Pullman's sales leakage problem.]

Leslie O'Dell, owner of At Home Designs, a custom frame shop on Main Street, wasn't aware of PARD's campaign but said shopping locally should be a consumer's first instinct.

"We are the people of the community; that's what people should do," she said. "People should support small business."

Reed isn't surprised some business owners weren't aware of PARD's project. He said the first step of the campaign was to launch the Web site. The next step will include fliers and advertisements, and the group then will gauge the campaign's effectiveness by talking with local business owners.

"It's not centered around the businesses," Reed said. "They're not helping us. We're doing this for them." [That's the one thing in this article I believe. Dale Hammerly and our own April Coggins, both of whom have been attacked publicly by PARD, have their businesses listed (Jerry's Auto Repair is conspicuously missing. Hard feelings still I guess.) There are several other businesses listed whose owners are no fans at all of PARD either. I have a feeling that the list will grow somewhat shorter in the next few weeks.]

O'Dell said she's appreciative of the free advertising, but isn't sure she wants customers to associate her with PARD's longstanding opposition to a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Pullman. She has mixed feelings about the retail giant potentially locating on Bishop Boulevard and doesn't want her business to suffer if customers see her name on a PARD Web site.

"Being listed on that, maybe they'll connect me with that," she said. PARD was formed several years ago to appeal the store's environmental checklist and traffic studies. The appeal still is pending. [I said this in an open letter to TV Reed almost two three years ago. By pushing this Wal-Mart issue so aggressively and by continuing their costly legal appeals when there is no further point, PARD has burned their bridges with the community. Even if this wasn't a anti-Wal-Mart smoke screen (it is) and the "Think Local First" effort was being conducted for the best of reasons, it doesn't matter. PARD has destroyed any political capital they may have once had. They are too hated and too controversial to be effective at doing anything in Pullman.]

Reed said the local campaign is not related to PARD's protest of Wal-Mart locating in Pullman per se, but mirrors efforts nationwide to encourage consumers to buy goods from small businesses in their communities. The time is right to spread the word about the benefits of keeping dollars local. [Per se, that's baloney. This campaign is right out of the Wal-Mart Haters handbook: "Step #6 Present An Alternative"

On their "Think Local First" web site, PARD says, "try a local small business first, if they can't meet your needs, then try a Pullman-based national chain, or a Moscow independent business." Well, I think we all know what non-independent Moscow business they don't want you to go to, and the initials are WM. Come on.

Speaking of the "Think Local First" web site, it is located on the PARD web site. I'm sure they are hoping that people who visit there will look around at the anti-Wal-Mart propaganda elsewhere on the site. It's just a publicity gimmick. If PARD truly had wanted this effort to be separate from their Wal-Mart bashing they would have used a separate domain name. Domain names are very inexpensive to purchase.]

"It's long overdue," Reed said. "I hope the whole community will get behind this." [I'm sure they will TV, just like your "affordable housing" campaign.]

Technorati Tags: wal-mart walmart

Quote of the Day, Part Two

[Whitman County Commissioner Jerry] Finch pointed out a lot of rancor was directed at environmental groups because of that [giant Palouse earthworm] lawsuit. He said much of the disconnect between farmers and environmentalists has been brought on by “outsiders” at the universities who tell residents of the Palouse how to best manage their land.

- "One percent left: Grad students seek to save Palouse prairie remnants," Whitman County Gazette, May 1, 2008

Amen, Jerry!!!

Quote of the Day

We all have a responsibility to be environmental stewards. But that stewardship requires that science, not political agendas, drive our public policy.

Co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace Patrick Moore, "Why I Left Greenpeace," Wall Street Journal, April 22, 2008.

Attention Scotty Cornelius, Queen Nancy, and King Solomon....

This column by Moore is a must-read.

Future Democratic Leaders

*NOT SAFE FOR WORK*

MoveRed.org, the young Republican group I profiled the other day, has discovered a disturbing video posted on Facebook by the UW Young Democrats. Filmed in a car returning from a Texas event, the UW Young Democrats president, an ASUW senator, and other UW Young Democrats are apparently attempting to mock Republicans. But all they end up doing is dispalying the profanity, bigotry, contempt, and intolerance that apparently lies just beneath every the liberal facade of every so-called progressive.

BREAKING NEWS: WSU School of "Architorture" Not Done Insulting Pullman

Palousitics has just learned of plans by the WSU School of Architecture and Construction Management to stage another PR event insulting Pullman. Professor Rahmani's demonstration was just the tip of the iceberg apparently.

In addition, I have learned of leftist political indoctinration occurring within the school. "Tempest in a teapot?" Hardly.

MANY more details later.

Quote of the Year

There is no really good area outside of what’s on campus.

- WSU architecture professor Ayad Rahmani passsing judgment on Pullman, "Architecture students protest on Bishop Boulevard," The Daily Evergreen, April 1, 2008

Rahmani hopes his imperious and insulting comments will "generate some intelligent discussion."

Runner-Up:

Each building is completely independent from one another

"WSU class protests Pullman sprawl"

How unbelievably repugnant. An elitist professor bribes students who are not even from Pullman to go out and protest supposed "sprawl." They don't even know what "sprawl" really is. If those students are unhappy with the economic development that helps pay for the police, fire, streets, water, sewer, bus service, etc. that they enjoy, then they are more than welcome to run for City Council and effect a change. Perhaps they could actually even show up at a City Council meeting or Planning Commission meeting. But Bishop Blvd. is being developed in accordance with the city's Comprehensive Plan as determined by our democratically-elected representatives.

The good professor and his students are also more than welcome to purchase a lot on Bishop and build their own "sustainable" structure if they choose. Until then, they should just shut up and stop meddling in things they nothing about. These kinds if things only exacerbate tensions between the university and the town and build resentment towards students and professors.

I encourage you to register your disapproval of this agenda-advancing cheap stunt to Professor Rahmani at: arahmani@wsu.edu and WSU President Elson Floyd at floyde@wsu.edu. Let's clog their inboxes with our indignation at our town being used as some social engineering laboratory.

From Dnews.com:

A group of more than 100 Washington State University students protested building sprawl on Bishop Boulevard Thursday morning.

Enrolled in an Architecture 202 class taught by Ayad Rahmani, the students carried signs proclaiming “Stop Architorture in Pullman” and “The Show Starts on the Sidewalk.” The group’s purpose was to promote sustainable structures and growth, not haphazardly constructed strip malls and big box stores.

“There’s no cohesion,” said 21-year old WSU student Angela Congdon. “Everything is random.”

Participation in the protest was optional for the roughly 200 students enrolled in the class. Extra credit was given to students who protested, as well as those who didn’t — as long as they justified their position in writing.

Thank You for Flying Saddam, Buh-Bye Now!

Looks like ol' Baghdad Jim may be facing a Travelgate of his own. From the Associated Press:

US: Saddam paid for lawmakers' Iraq trip

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

An indictment unsealed in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a member of a Michigan nonprofit group, of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam's regime. Prosecutors say Iraqi intelligence officials paid for the trip through an intermediary.

At the time, the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq.

The lawmakers are not named in the indictment but the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California. There was no indication the three lawmakers knew the trip was underwritten by Saddam.

"Obviously we didn't know it at the time," McDermott spokesman Michael DeCesare said Wednesday. "The trip was to see the plight of the Iraqi children. That's the only reason we went."

During the trip, the lawmakers expressed skepticism about the Bush administration's claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. Though such weapons ultimately were never found, the lawmakers drew criticism for their trip at the time.

Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, the second-ranking Senate Republican at the time, said the Democrats "sound somewhat like spokespersons for the Iraqi government."

In exchange for coordinating the trip, Al-Hanooti allegedly received 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.

DeCesare said McDermott was invited to go to Iraq by a Seattle church group and was unaware of any other funding for the trip.

"Dem Goes From ‘Sleazy’ to ‘Seattle’ and Back Again in One Short Weekend"

Remember Washington Democratic Party staffer Kelly Steele, the one reponsible for the ad calling Dino Rossi "sleazy?" It gets worse. Much worse. According to the Centralia Chronicle:

The day after the video was released, on a Friday, a Chronicle reporter interviewed Steele on his motivation, and asked him if he understood how blatant and hurtful this video is to journalists when their unbiased reporting is so misused. Steele was unconcerned. He did tell our reporter, Rossi was guilty of “a shameless attack by a sleazy politician.”

Steele must have realized he made a mistake over the weekend. By Monday he was telling both the reporter and a member of the Editorial Board that he didn’t say “by a sleazy politician,” but had been misunderstood and had uttered “by a Seattle politician.” Steele was told his revision was unbelievable.

So it came as no surprise, but with some satisfaction, when Steele changed his story when he was interviewed by The Olympian as published this past Tuesday.

Steele told their political reporter “he was calling Rossi’s politics sleazy, not him,” as reported in that newspaper.

It appears quite clear that Steele is less than honorable with his word. Steele was adamant with us he never used the word “sleazy,” but “Seattle.” He then changed his story and admitted he used “sleazy,” but in a different context. We are astounded the state Democratic Party continues to use such operatives that exhibit such low ethics. We believe in our word. We wish we could believe in the words coming out of a Washington State Democratic Party spokesman.

What unbelievable hubris. It's time to sweep the liars out of Olympia.