I have an odd affection for Richard Pope.
Sure, his long and futile record as a perennial candidate and his obsessive posting in the comment threads here and on (un)Sound Politics have painted a picture of a man who is rather, well, unbalanced — a perception unrefuted by a 2005 court document in which Richard bluntly admits: “Frankly, counsel thinks his own mental health situation is terrible.”
I’m also a bit unsettled by Richard’s mean streak, especially his well worn habit of trolling through court records for dirt on public and private individuals, a dubious exercise that is almost acceptable behavior for partisan political bloggers, but totally unbefitting a supposedly impartial judicial candidate.
That said, unlike most of my righty trolls, Richard does sometimes make useful contributions to the occasionally lucid debate that somehow manages to survive the toxic wasteland of HA’s comment threads. And he’s also one of the few righties here who has the integrity and humility to back down when confronted by irrefutable facts. (Usually.)
Furthermore, as a divorced father myself, I have genuine empathy for Richard as he struggles to raise his daughter through what must be some very difficult and trying times.
But… what I absolutely don’t know about Richard, is whether he is in any way qualified to serve as a District Court judge.
An editorial in today’s Seattle P-I suggests “no”, citing his “poor” and “not qualified” ratings from groups such as the King County Bar Association, and his “unprofessional conduct,” some of which I have documented here. But Richard ably defends himself:
Yes, I have made some mistakes during the 15 years that I have practiced law. [M]ost lawyers have. On a few occasions, I have paid monetary sanctions to the other side to compensate them for the harm caused by mistakes. On other sanctions, opposing lawyers have paid monetary sanctions to me to compensate for the harm their mistakes have caused for my clients.
However, I have NEVER been disciplined by the Washington State Bar Association or the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. Very few lawyers or judges have ANY sort of disciplinary record at all, much less an extremely serious disciplinary record like Ottinger does.
The Seattle P-I points out that the “King County Bar Association” has rated myself as “Not Qualified” for this position. But the Seattle P-I completely fails to mention that Ottinger
Richard, I hope you win. Some moonbats here dislike you for being conservative. Some for the rating. Not too many know the person of care to. Typical moonbattiness!
Judges should never be subject to the electorate but appointed by trusted presidents, mayors, etc. Many judges have acted in ways more ethical and less partisan than those who selected them expected. As it should be. Electing judges demands that you get partisan and biased decisions.
Also, am pasting Hong Tran’s response posted on Postmans blog because I think all should know what the party did to her. I believe in honest, even and fair campaigning – I’m not a sheep and I don’t like being herded! – at all!
Perhaps too late for some, I would like to apologize for my election night criticizes of Jim McDermott and Darcy Burner. I have been incensed with the treatment that I have received from Dwight Pelz, chair of the State Democratic Party, and unfortunately took that anger out on these two individuals. Even though the State Party does not endorse candidates, Mr. Pelz has been telling people not to vote for me, has refused to let me leave literature at State Party events and his staff stated that they would throw my literture in the trash if we left materials at State Party events. Despite efforts to obtain access to the voter files prior to the State Party Convention in early June, I did not obtain access to the files until about a week before the September 19th primary. Mr. Pelz has even gone out of his way to speak to me quite nastily at a couple of events. So my quarrel is with Mr. Pelz and the State Party and I should not have taken it out on McDermott or Burner. While there may be those that disagree, the Democratic State Party could be improved as could the primary system. Both parties largely control what candidates make it through the primary and they should not also control how voters vote on primary day.
Posted by Hong Tran at 12:05 PM, Sep 21, 2006
One more thing, I have a friend who tried to get involved at the state level because he was so passionate and his ideas and participation were dissed and untolerated because the party follows it own agenda and does not want new ideas.
I’m sorry, but I say on pox on both their houses!
Judges should never be subject to the electorate but appointed by trusted presidents, mayors, etc. Many judges have acted in ways more ethical and less partisan than those who selected them expected. -Commentby skagit— 9/23/06@ 2:37 pm
I expect you’ll let Madame Murray and her cabal of lefty comrades know of your strident sentiment when President Bush gets his NEXT Supreme Court nominee (Janice Rogers Brown)… or TWO and Madame Murray and her cabal of lefty comradestry their filibuster ruse.
I predict that if Dickey somehow worms his way onto the bench it could end up causing the train wreck that might just be enough to do away with judicial elections. Hopefully, we can keep him on the sidelines where he’s been the last 14 times he ran for office. I am spending as much free time as I can copying the various local media with some of his crazier rants here at HA and on other blogs. If the voting public looked at what this fool has written in this forum they’d pick Charles Manson over Dickey anyday. Dickey acts like he is batshit crazy in my Constitutionally protected opinion.
ProudAss… are you dense?
First of all, I’m proposing a system in which a nonpartisan commission nominates candidates from which the executive may make appointments… hardly what we have now for the federal judiciary.
Second… the Constitution gives the Senate the power to consent… or not. The power to filibuster a judicial appointment is part of the checks and balances of our system.
Sorry, by President Bush is not a king or a dictator, as much as you may want that.
Richard: You should ask the moonbats who visit for their crimes if they drive foreign cars. Take a poll. Ask them what stickers they have on their cars.
GBS: Just think, you are the pride of Furballettes. Tell us how unions are doing the car industry good. Also how come most moonbats didn’t take the foreign car challenge. Maybe more drive foreign cars to the detriment of their union pals?
Proud to be Stupid: expect you’ll let Madame Murray and her cabal of lefty comrades know of your strident sentiment when President Bush gets his NEXT Supreme Court nominee (Janice Rogers Brown)… or TWO and Madame Murray and her cabal of lefty comradestry their filibuster ruse.
Another stupid comment from Proud 2B Stupid: of course, all judges on any level are subject to approval . . . don’t you know your civics, man?
That’s how we get good people – representing all sides. Gawd, you people are stupid to the extreme . . . that’s why I blog on here infrequently these days. When will you get an education?
I like your idea Goldy, however I would have the governor make the appointments. The executive staff is better suited to find and vet candidates. These appointments would then be subject to approval by a senate committee comprised of an equal number of R’s and D’. A super majority would be required for confirmation. Then you would have retention elections every 4 or 6 years.
Goldy:
I don’t think there is such an animal as a nonpartisan commission . . . you’ll get mediocrity. Bush got his nominees – so be it. He was elected by the majority of voters and we got what those voters voted for. I say that is what democracy is about. Even if I don’t like it.
Goldy — both you and the Seattle P-I Editorial Board have chosen to take an insult from Chris Vance (original quote here from 04/02/2004 P-I http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....ary02.html ) and use this as the foundation point for attacking me.
With all due respect — or at least best wishes — to Chris Vance, I think this sort of tactic will backfire. Publicizing such an insult from Chris Vance have almost no effect among Republican voters, while creating additional sympathy for me among Democrat and independent voters.
Back on April 1, 2004, I was opposing the “pick-a-party” primary and supporting the “top two” primary. Chris Vance was upset at me, for all sorts of reasons, and chose to make this injudicious insult to the press in an attempt to promote his own position in support of the “pick-a-party” primary.
Evidently, Chris Vance was upset that I had managed to become the nominee of the Republican Party for state Attorney General in 1996 and 2000, and for King County Assessor in 2003. Vance apparently didn’t feel I was a “real Republican” (whatever that may be) and was upset that state election law allowed me to become the GOP nominee against the supposed wishes of “party leadership”.
Of course, Chris Vance failed to point out that I was the only person seeking these three GOP nominations, so it didn’t really matter what “party leadership” thought or didn’t think. If they didn’t want Richard Pope to be their nominee, they should have found someone else whom they really did like, and done everything possible to support that person and get them nominated. Moreover, in the “pick-a-party” primary, just like the old “blanket” primary, if only one person filed for a party nomination, that person was automatically nominated (absent a successful write-in campaign).
Chris Vance went on to exercise his “party leadership” and “First Amendment” rights in August 2004, by personally hand-picking Will Baker to run for state Auditor when no one else filed during filing week. Will Baker was an embarrassing disgrace and made Vance into a total laughingstock — 19 or so arrests and several convictions for disrupting city council meetings, and promotion of totally nutty conspiracy theories. The backlash from this FIASCO (yes a REAL FIASCO) probably cost Vance’s hand-picked candidate for Governor at least 130 votes in the November 2004 election.
Chris Vance would have probably been booted out as state GOP Chair in January 2005 over this FIASCO, but the election recount controversy allowed him to stay on in the meantime.
(I certainly wish Chris Vance the best personally. I know he has a family to support, and wish him success in his current employment position, whatever that is. But obviously I don’t appreciate his FIASCO comment, or the Seattle P-I and Goldy using Vance’s comment as the foundation for their current arguments.)
Finally, it is hilarious that the Seattle P-I is calling MY CAMPAIGN a “FIASCO”. If they should be calling anything a “FIASCO”, it should be Mary Ann Ottinger. CENSURED TWICE by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct — one step below being suspended. SUSPENDED from office without pay by the Washington Supreme Court on July 20, 2006 — one step below being permanently removed and disqualified from judicial office. That is a TRUE FIASCO!
I certainly don’t consider my campaign to be a “FIASCO”. Instead, I consider it to be a RESOUNDING SUCCESS. I am in first place with 35.35% of the overall vote. If current trends continue, I will be facing Ottinger in November — and will be first place on the general election ballot as the top primary vote getter. More than two-thirds of the people have voted against Ottinger — despite Ottinger outspending me by 3-to-1 in the primary. (And I did all this without a single dime from the BIAW!)
Giffy – “retention elections” – that’s what we’ve got now. Tenure gives the best chance for good justice, I think. Most of the time, judges truly do their best. If improper acts are outed, impeachment is possible. Look at Judge Manuel Real in the 9th circuit. . .
Chris Vance is not the best example of trusted leadership . . .I might agree with Pope here. Oh gawd – forgive me!
@8- “of course, all judges on any level are subject to approval . . . don’t you know your civics, man?
Gawd, skagit- you are stupid in the extreme. Who approves any judge appointed by the Governor?
NOBODY- don’t you know your civics, fool? The Gov annoints, the judge puts on the robes.
Glad yo post infrequently- there s enough stupidity here without you adding your uninformed drivel…
Jim King – are you as stupid on this blog as you are on Postman’s blog? The citizenry approves with ever judicial election. Where have you been?
I’d like to see that changed . . .
I think it’s time to start making public records requests of Dickey and BIAW to see if we can catch Dickey in a lie.
And it’s very telling that this fool thinks having two thirds of the voters NOT voting for him is a resounding success. Only in the mind of a republican.
Hmmm…I’m getting a vision of the effect an appointment system would have in some little wide spot in the two-lane blacktop in Eastern Washington. Picture a real-live “Boss Hogg” elected mayor by his relatives, then appointing some of the same relatives water commissioner, fire chief, police chief—AND the local court. You could drive into one of those little burgs with a Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker and never be heard from again.
I also think the “pick-a-party” primary system that’s been imposed on us is a joke. We’d be better off doing away with the primary entirely and returning to the days of the smoke-filled room….er, I guess without the smoke.
I suspect the judicial branch of government would survive if Richard Pope was elected, even if he proved out the worst that many here believe will happen. We have had rotten judges before and will have them in the future, and somehow we manage to survive. Get over yourselves.
BTW, I think Richard is a better choice than someone who has been censured twice. The level of disrespect and ad hominem attacks here just show the lack of class on the left. You guys sound a lot like Chavez, and deserve the same Bronx cheer.
ART – I actually agree with you. Anyone who is truly non-partisan doesn’t have any values, and certainly is not qualified to be appointing judges. Currently judges do not declare a party, but are you seriously telling me that they are non-partisan?
Everyone who thinks has a bias. Judges review every case within the context of who they are. Same with reporters, same with those who write history books.
And, yes, I agree the party should be picking their own candidates, probably using the caucus system. And paying for it themselves.
ART: If that little town is really all that small, won’t all those relatives be voting each other in anyway?
Janet, survival is a whole lot different than democracy. Maybe you conservatives do only care about survival . . . given the absence of compassion that we liberals see extant today.
Skagit, I think our system of government is vigorous enough to withstand the occasional incompetent. In fact, the system was designed knowing that humans are fallible, so no one should have too much power.
Also, competence can be in the eye of the beholder, as is compassion. I don’t think letting car thieves get caught 10 times before going to prison is compassionate, or having repeat DUI offenders walk free is compassionate. But our legislature does. Conservatives use their head, liberals use their emotion.
Janet S/Pam Roach and I actually agree for the first time ever. The government can and will survive an incompetent. Look at that fool Bush. Despite his best efforts to destroy our country and Constitution, we will prevail.
Conservative: A person who is so narrow-minded that their brain has been squeezed out of their head.
There can be no serious doubt that Mr. Pope is not qualified to be a judge (though I know that he, for one, will raise a dispute). For voters in that district, the only significant issue is whether Judge Ottinger is qualified. While it’s quite true that she has had a bad year (censure causing a negative bar evaluation), she has been a judge for a long time, which means she has had to go through periodic assessments before. I went looking for them to learn what they might teach us about her qualifications. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
Every four years, the King County Bar Association surveys practicing lawyers to evaluate all sitting judges in several categories, and Judge Ottinger has consistently been one of the highest rated judges of the District Court in every category. Judge Ottinger has been on the bench since 1992 and would have been evaluated by attorneys in 1994, 1998, and 2002. Also, in 2003 Judge Ottinger was rated “Well Qualified” by the KC Bar Association when she was being considered for a position on the King County Superior Court. You can verify this with the King County Bar Association (206-267-7100). She was named Judge of the Year by the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association in 1998, and she received a similar award from the Misdemeanant Corrections Association in 1997.
She’s obviously a good judge who had a bad year. Maybe if her opponent were more qualified the equation would be different, but in a Pope vs. Ottinger race it’s not even a close call.
Janet wrote: Conservatives use their head, liberals use their emotion.
Cite your source please.
So, Left Foot, does that mean you believe it is compassionate to let repeat DUI offenders continue to walk free? It is very compassionate towards the poor alcoholic who can’t make good decisions. Again and again. Obviously, the Democrat-controlled legislature agrees with you, and refuses to make stricter sentencing laws.
Same with car thieves. We sure wouldn’t want to hurt the feelings of those poor guys who take one of your largest investments. Again and again. The legislature refuses to make this a third strike offense.
I guess if believing that criminals should be removed from society makes me narrow minded, then so be it.
I don’t care a lot for either candidate here. But given Ottinger’s long experience as a judge and her endorsements from
Washington State Patrol Troopers Association
King County Police Officers Guild
Issaquah Police Officers Association
Snoqualmie Police Officers Association
5th District Democrats
41st District Democrats
King County Labor Council
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
SEAMEC (Seattle Metropolitan Elections Committee)
Plus having read Richard in here, I would support Ottinger. Of the two.
4
comradestry? WTF? Went to dictionary.com and http://www.m-w.com/ and there is no such word.
proudofherlyingthreateningass is again proving that she has no clue. Reading, comprehending and understanding any issue just pass her right by. Comradestry? Classic. Just classic.
Janet S
You want car theft to be a strike? You think someone should do life for stealing a car? What the fuck…
Daddy Love, if you press Janet too hard, she disappears. . . c’mon, Janet, what’s your source for your claim about the left?
comradestry? WTF? Went to dictionary.com and http://www.m-w.com/ and there is no such word.
proudofherlyingthreateningass is again proving that she has no clue. Reading, comprehending and understanding any issue just pass her right by. Comradestry? Classic. Just classic.
Commentby My Left Foot— 9/23/06@ 5:06 pm
dear little mommy’s numb nuts… I missed a SPACE key… ‘comrades try’…moron
wi’ant you smarter?
“Classic. Just classic.”
Commentby My Left Foot [Stealing from JCH Kennedy?]
Janet @ 27:
Don’ be silly. You have a knack for taking things to the extreme.
Drunk driving: If you get caught once you should lose the privilege of driving for a year. Caught twice: Five years. Third time: Forever. If you are found to be driving sober while suspended for DUI, you get the next penalty up. I don’t mess with stupid people who are so careless with my safety.
We have laws that deal with car thieves. I suppose you would favor the cutting off of hands for stealing. Sending someone who steals a car for the rest of their life should seem harsh, even for the most conservative WingNuts.
Each case deserves to be judged on its merits. Some are almost impossible to mitigate..cold blooded murder, drunk driving, child molesting, spouse abuse…. we have given judges the ability to be compassionate, to be lenient when they believe the circumstances call for it.
All judges use this discretion, not just the supposedly liberal minded jurists.
You want car theft to be a strike? You think someone should do life for stealing a car? What the fuck…
Commentby Daddy Love [………………No, like stealing a horse in the Old West…….Just hang them. Not many Democrat felons would be around to steal another car!]
32
Proudofherfatlyingthreateningstupidhumorlessass:
Once again you miss the humor. Conservatives have no sense of humor. God must have nothave had room for it when he gave them the extra helping of stupid and stubborn.
Just for Janet I study of people who strongly identified as either Republican or Democrat showed that making a judgment about their party’s candidate activated brain areas associated with emotion, but not those associated with conscious reasoning. ”
“. . . another study conducted before the 2004 election, describes how people who had spent time thinking and writing about their own deaths were more likely to say they would vote for Bush, while those who considered a neutral subject were more likely to say they’d vote for Kerry. Pushing the fear button is obviously part of Bush’s strategy (I’ve seen an analysis of how he uses language to this end . . . “
“Nonetheless, some differences appeared between the brain activity of Democrats and Republicans. Take empathy: One Democrat’s brain lit up at an image of Kerry “with a profound sense of connection, like a beautiful sunset,” Freedman said. Brain activity in a Republican shown an image of Bush was “more interpersonal, such as if you smiled at someone and they smiled back.” And when voters were shown a Bush ad that included images of the Sept. 11 attacks, the amygdala region of the brain — which lights up for most of us when we see snakes — illuminated more for Democrats than Republicans. The researchers’ conclusion: At a subconscious level, Republicans were apparently not as bothered by what Democrats found alarming.”
Now I see that common everyday comments are now the copyrighted property of the WingNuts. As if I actually would have used something one of them said in any kind of seriousness. Again, the parody and satire passed right over their little pointed heads.
I’ve mentioned before that I like the Missouri system best – appointed judges with retention elections.
Here in Washington state we seem to want an election on everything, including the dog catcher.
At least this election is showing how difficult it is for the average voter to determine whether or not a judge is qualified.
Comment 38 addresses comment 33 (apparently used without permission.
Nov. 9-14.
rph6033: What’s the difference between what we have and “retention elections?”
In retention elections the judge in question was appointed by a governor or other executive. Then, after serving a term, the public votes on whether the judge stays or goes. If he goes, then another judge is appointed. Here in WA we elect judges in the first place.
Yeah, I kind of guessed that but how does that solve the problem of partisan politics in retaining judges? Won’t their tenure be beholden to special interests just like now?
Yep. There will always be that possibility. Money is the root of the problem. With publicly financed elections, or dollar limits, this problem could be mitigated somewhat.
Bill the Ump @ 28
Actually, Ottinger has had MANY bad years. You need to go to my website at http://www.PopeForJudge.com, and click “My Opponent” on the home page. This provides documentation concerning Ottinger’s censures, her recent suspension from office without pay, her criminal convictions, and her other misdeeds — complete with hypertext links to the supporting documents.
Read the Commission on Judicial Conduct documents. Ottinger has been disciplined for a consistent pattern of breaking the law since at least 2001. Presumably, she committed the same misbehavior since she took office back in 1992, since she claims she had always done things that way. However, the district court only keeps audio recordings of court proceedings for two years, so they couldn’t go back any further than she did.
As many people have pointed out, the general public takes the “King County Bar Association” ratings with a grain of salt. The KCBA is a voluntary organization to which less than 30% of the attorneys in King County choose to belong to. When I was admitted to the Bar in 1991, 55% of the attorneys in King County belonged to KCBA. Membership has declined for many reasons, including KCBA’s reputation for subjective and biased evaluations.
The KCBA does not do any significant background check on judicial candidates — unless they dislike the candidate’s philosophy, in which case they will go out of their way to throw the kitchen sink at you.
For example, Ottinger was convicted of two misdemeanor criminal offenses in Seattle Municipal Court in 1988. However, Ottinger stated on her 2006 KCBA Judicial Candidate Questionnaire that she has never been convicted of any criminal offense since her admission to the Bar (which was on 10/18/1973). Presumably Ottinger answered the same way in 1992, when she was first appointed through the KCBA “merit selection” process, and in 2003 when she was seeking an appointment to the King County Superior Court. The KCBA requires that its Judicial Candidate Questionnaire be signed under PENALTY OF PERJURY.
It would have been an extremely simple matter to check the court computers to find Ottinger’s criminal convictions back in 1992 or 2003. I did exactly that when I saw Ottinger had filed for office again. Had the KCBA done even the most rudimentary background court records check — which is something tenant screening companies check out very easily for landlords on a daily basis — they would have determined that not only did Ottinger have criminal convictions that detracted from her fitness for judicial office, but that she was also a liar and evident perjurer — which would rule out her fitness for judicial office entirely.
Likewise, a King County Superior Court records search would have revealed the Sara Totten habeas corpus lawsuit filed against Ottinger in Case No. 01-2-31442-4SEA, filed on November 7, 2001.
Ottinger denied Ms. Totten the right to an attorney and sentenced her to more than one year in jail for underage drinking allegedly committed when she was only 17. Ms. Totten had no prior record whatsoever — not even a traffic ticket. After about three months in jail, Ms. Totten got a public defender attorney and sued Ottinger in King County Superior Court for habeas corpus. King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng agreed that Ottinger had broken the law and refused to defend her actions. King County Superior Court Judge Glenna Hall released Ms. Totten from jail, finding Ottinger’s violation of the law to be egregious. Ms. Totten’s new attorney was then able to get the original charges dismissed.
The Washington Women Lawyers rated Ottinger “Not Qualified” to serve on King County Superior Court in their March 2003 evaluation. Evidently, WWL did some sort of rudimentary background check — which KCBA completely failed to do — and discovered the Totten habeas corpus lawsuit. In addition, the WWL tries to be politically neutral, while the KCBA has a decided political bias.
http://www.kcwwl.org/current_ratings_110205.doc
Frank LaSalata also has a pretty good webpage with background information on Ottinger:
http://electfrankvlasalatajudg.....page4.html
I’m glad to see Janet/Pam wants to see crooks locked up. We’ll count on your vote when we impeach that traitor Bush!
Ah, good one! hahahahaha
Told you Janet gets lost when the going gets tough.
Elections Results as of 4:27 p.m. Saturday, September 23, 2006:
King County
Northeast Electoral District Judge Position No. 2
Richard Pope NP 20025 35.04%
Mary Ann Ottinger NP 18741 32.80%
Frank V. LaSalata NP 18267 31.97%
Write-in 109 0.19%
Total 57142
Snohomish County
Northeast Electoral District Judge Position No. 2
Richard Pope 939 40.70%
Mary Ann Ottinger 787 34.11%
Frank V. LaSalata 570 24.71%
Write-In 11 0.48%
Total 2307 100.00%
Totals for Entire District
Richard Pope NP 20964 35.26%
Mary Ann Ottinger NP 19528 32.85%
Frank V. LaSalata NP 18837 31.69%
Write-In 120 0.20%
Total 59449
Report on Guantanamo Detainees: A Profile of 517 Detainees through Analysis of Department of Defense Data
MARK DENBEAUX
Seton Hall University – School of Law
JOSHUA W. DENBEAUX
Denbeaux & Denbeaux
February 2006
Seton Hall Public Law Research Paper No. 46
Abstract:
The media and public fascination with who is detained at Guantanamo and why has been fueled in large measure by the refusal of the Government, on the grounds of national security, to provide much information about the individuals and the charges against them. The information available to date has been anecdotal and erratic, drawn largely from interviews with the few detainees who have been released or from statements or court filings by their attorneys in the pending habeas corpus proceedings that the Government has not declared “classified.”
This Report is the first effort to provide a more detailed picture of who the Guantanamo detainees are, how they ended up there, and the purported bases for their enemy combatant designation. The data in this Report is based almost entirely upon the United States Government’s own documents. This Report provides a window into the Government’s success detaining only those that the President has called “the worst of the worst.”
Among the findings of the Report:
1. Fifty-five percent (55%) of the detainees are not determined to have committed any hostile acts against the United States or its coalition allies.
2. Only 8% of the detainees were characterized as al Qaeda fighters. Of the remaining detainees, 40% have no definitive connection with al Qaeda at all and 18% are have no definitive affiliation with either al Qaeda or the Taliban.
3. The Government has detained numerous persons based on mere affiliations with a large number of groups that, in fact, are not on the Department of Homeland Security terrorist watchlist. Moreover, the nexus between such a detainee and such organizations varies considerably. Eight percent are detained because they are deemed “fighters for;” 30% considered “members of;” a large majority – 60% – are detained merely because they are “associated with” a group or groups the Government asserts are terrorist organizations. For 2% of the prisoners, a nexus to any terrorist group is not identified by the Government.
4. Only 5% of the detainees were captured by United States forces. 86% of the detainees were arrested by either Pakistan or the Northern Alliance and turned over to United States custody. This 86% of the detainees captured by Pakistan or the Northern Alliance were handed over to the United States at a time in which the United States offered large bounties for capture of suspected enemies.
5. Finally, the population of persons deemed not to be enemy combatants – mostly Uighers – are in fact accused of more serious allegations than a great many persons still deemed to be enemy combatants.
The high school wrestling community is in mourning.
Rest in Peace, Mikey
Maybe you guys should go help with dinner instead of spending so much time noticing my presence or absence.
And, yes, I think that if someone is caught three times stealing a car, he goes away for life. Do you think maybe, just maybe, that could be a deterrent? At present there is very little cost to stealing cars around here, so our car theft is increasing while other crime is decreasing.
Ah, thinking with your hard-heart again, are you? Nothing deters but life is it?
You do make me laugh, Ms. Cook.
BTW, Janet, still awaiting your source now that you’re done with your kitchenly duties.
Dickey’s argument continues to be. . .two thirds of voters don’t like me. . . I don’t participate in bar reviews because if I did, I’d get smoked. . . I’m a fuck up but so is the other judge.
Strong credentials.
Still waiting to find out how a conservative who’s constantly crying about taxes sees no problem with taking taxpayer money to buy his bread.
I guess it’s like all things GOP – hypocrites rule!
Janet @ 53:
Just as the death penalty has been shown to be no deterent to murder, so has the three strikes law.
The trouble with three strikes is that taking a DVD from a store can be felony. So can driving with a suspended license. Surely, even with your cold, cold heart, you would not advocate life in prison for stealing a DVD and twice driving while suspended? Or would you?
This is why Democrats and liberal minded people everywhere are making strides in reclaiming our government.
We are taking our damn country back!!!!
She must be off serving dessert, Left Foot!
Skagit @ 58:
I noticed the sexist remark earlier from her, assuming we did not help with dinner. As for dessert, we have a healthy portion of WingNut Pudding nightly here at HA.
I just figured no one could be fixing dinner for the family AND commenting here, whether male or female.
Since when is driving with a suspended license a strike?
If you steal that DVD at the point of a gun, yes, you should get dinged for a strike.
Even if a life sentence isn’t a deterrent, at least the perp won’t be out on the streets committing more crimes.
Why do conservatives always think a gun is involved? This from the party who is opposed to gun control.
Don’t get me wrong, I own weapons. They are not for sport or hunting. They are designed for and used for defensive purposes (note: my house would not be a good place for a B & E), but the majority of crimes are commited without the use of a gun.
I looked up the RCW on driving while suspended, and Janet is correct, it is a third degree misdemeanor. In some very special circumstances involving another crime, it can be a felony. But not usually.
It’s time to stop electing judges
typical liberal. Fair honest elections are liberals worst nightmare.
Rufuck – you don’t know fair and honest from swift boat liars . . .
Janet, where’s that citation? Ms. By-the-book!
Swift boat liars? What did they lie about? Did Kerry’s military medical records get published recently? Ahhh just more liberal drivel. hehehe
RUFUS- which candidate served in a capacity where is was POSSIBLE he would be exposed to enemy fire?
“Just as the death penalty has been shown to be no deterent to murder……”
Commentby My Left Foot [???????? The death penalty works every time! The criminal NEVER commits another crime after he is fried! [See Democrat felon hero murderer “Tookie” Williams. After he took the needle, he hasn’t been involved in any more felonies!]
Rufus- Which candidate used Daddy’s connections to get easy guard duty?
(66 was mine also)
The trouble with three strikes is that taking a DVD from a store can be felony. So can driving with a suspended license. Surely, even with your cold, cold heart, you would not advocate life in prison for stealing a DVD and twice driving while suspended? Or would you?
Commentby My Left Foot [……Yup!! So much for the career criminal. Don’t worry, Carl. Jesse Jacksoooooooon will help them vote Democrat!]
If the death penalty is a deterrent, why did Ted Bundy leave Washington, which at the time was not executing to go to Florida where the death penalty is often used? It did not deter him.
Ooop, just broke my personal committment to never engage with JCH. There is no point to it.
rufuck! You haven’t learned to read yet? I’ve linked it so many, many times! I even pasted it! You’ve just got to go to remedial reading!
Oh, I know. You can’t prove you got any honorable medals either . . . as I recall, I saw you running the other direction. Cowardice must be hard to live with, huh Rufuck.
Come on, Skagit. I don’t have a citation. It is an opinion, for heaven’s sake! Liberals feel, Conservatives think. Maybe each should do more of the other, then we’d all be better off.
Left foot – I’m not a lawyer, but I think only certain felonies qualify as strikes for the “three strikes” law. But holding up a store with the threat of a gun I think qualifies. It isn’t what is stolen, it is the trauma inflicted on the victim by having his/her life threatened.
Interesting fact about suspended licenses: DOL suspends licenses without notification. It has been found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but they are still doing it. Someone I know was pulled over for speeding (excessively), and got thrown in jail. Seems this person’s license had been suspended for non-payment of a fine that had been dismissed. The charge was dropped, but that doesn’t make up for the time spent in jail. Really, it wasn’t me.
Ah not this crap again. Of course the death penalty is a deterrent. I would love to see a State make murder punshible by death only on Thursdays and come back a year later to read the crime statistics. This death penalty is not a deterrent is just more lying lefty drivel.
RUFUS- which candidate served in a capacity where is was POSSIBLE he would be exposed to enemy fire?
Commentby Anonymous— 9/23/06@ 9:18 pm
Rufus- Which candidate used Daddy’s connections to get easy guard duty?
(66 was mine also)
Commentby K— 9/23/06@ 9:19 pm
So you to fucks voted for Bush senior in 92 right? Somehow I think you voted for the Womanizing,draft dodging Clinton.
rufuck! You haven’t learned to read yet? I’ve linked it so many, many times! I even pasted it! You’ve just got to go to remedial reading!
Oh, I know. You can’t prove you got any honorable medals either . . . as I recall, I saw you running the other direction. Cowardice must be hard to live with, huh Rufuck.
Commentby skagit— 9/23/06@ 9:23 pm
You know where to find a copy of Kerry’s military medical records? Great post it!!! It better be the real deal though.
Ooop, just broke my personal committment to never engage with JCH. There is no point to it.
Commentby K [“committment”]?
As long as felons can vote Democrat, why do you libs give a shit?
What kind of idiot would go out bragging about his war medals when he knows that 50-60 of his fellow soldiers think he is full of shit.
Skagit I freakin crush you libs everytime this subject comes up. If you run for president everything is fair game. In fact people have been known to deliberately falsify documents to incriminate presidential candidates. Just ask Dan Rather. heehe
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Three young children were found dead Saturday, hours after a woman was charged with killing their pregnant mother and her fetus in a grisly attack in which her womb was cut open, authorities said. The two boys, ages 7 and 2, and their 1-year-old sister were found together in an apartment in the East St. Louis public housing complex where their mother lived, Illinois State Police Capt. Craig Koehler said. [……..East St. Louis………..Not a Republican around for miles!! Right out of the “Bonfire Of The Vanities”!]
“185 Swift Boat Vets are liars! Only John Kerry is telling the truth!” [Carl Grossman]
Janet: Come on, Skagit. I don’t have a citation. It is an opinion, for heaven’s sake! Liberals feel, Conservatives think. Maybe each should do more of the other, then we’d all be better off.
Well, I did. Why can’t you? #37 above But, I know you conservatives don’t care about facts . . . just opinions. So who’s thinkin’ with their emotions here?
Rufuck! 185 soldiers? Are you crazy? How many soldiers in Nam? 185 is like less than .01%! Like I said, go back to remedial reading and remedial math!
Rufuck: Yo’ a crazy man!
What’s the difference between George Bush and Jane Fonda? Jane Fonda had the guts to go to Viet Nam. Commentby RightEqualsStupid— 9/23/06@ 8:54 pm
JustPlainStupid: Jane Fonda went to North Vietnam, our enemy!
Stupid is as stupid writes, and you write stupidly!
You know, cut and paste can be fun. This from the AP for instance. WingNuts still believe, still swilling the Kool-Aid.
Saturday, September 23, 2006 · Last updated 6:40 p.m. PT
Many hopefuls keep Bush ties under wraps
By JENNIFER LOVEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
President Bush speaks during a joint press availability with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in the East Room of the White House in Washington Friday, Sept. 22, 2006. Bush said Friday he was “taken aback” by a purported U.S. threat to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age if it did not cooperate in the fight against terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
WASHINGTON — Since President Bush’s approval rating sank to the lowest level of his presidency in May, nearly six in 10 of his appearances helping Republican candidates have been closed to all media coverage.
Unlike his barnstorming leading up to the 2002 congressional elections, when he was more popular and the divisive Iraq war had not begun, Bush has yet to hold a single traditional campaign-style rally for one of his party’s hopefuls this election cycle.
This is so much fun.
Skagit: http://wizbangblog.com/2005/09.....s-feel.php
Written by a gay marriage supporter.
Skagit: didn’t your boy say he feel’s our pain? Need I say more?
TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Easy!
PuddinHEAD: North Vietnam you say? No? Really? I didn’t know she had that many more guts than your guy! WOW!
Skagit: http://wizbangblog.com/2005/09.....servatives -think-liberals-feel.php
Written by a gay marriage supporter.
Commentby Puddybud Mo Money Ray Nagin— 9/23/06@ 10:18 pm
Why do you liberals force your morals down everyones throat?
“cause you open your damn mouths stupid! Nobody tells you to do it . . . you just can’t stay out of the fucking rain.
Doofus @ 90
It is the RightWingNuts who are doing the moral forcing down throats thing. It is liberals who are refusing to take it anymore and you don’t like it. Funny, you don’t hear about the Christian Left, We hear about the Christian Right wing. Speaking of that, when a church endorses a candidate, that church is giving up its tax exempt status.
We are taking our damn country back.
It is the RightWingNuts who are doing the moral forcing down throats thing. It is liberals who are refusing to take it anymore and you don’t like it. Funny, you don’t hear about the Christian Left, We hear about the Christian Right wing. Speaking of that, when a church endorses a candidate, that church is giving up its tax exempt status.
We are taking our damn country back.
Commentby My Left Foot— 9/23/06@ 10:45 pm
Then why are liberals so scared of putting gay marriage to a vote? In this state you liberals have a 1-3% lead before the voting even starts because of liberal voter fraud. Why are you liberals so scared of the people voting on this?
Just for the record I already know why, just seeing if there are any honest libs out there. hehehe
Carl: Who enforces Separation of Church and state?
A C L U, that’s who! Lawsuit city!
Puddybud sez NUFF Said!
Rufuck! Just for the record, we all know you don’t have fucking clue!
We don’t put it on the ballot cause it is a basic right and nobody should tell anybody else who they can marry. And the only way it gets forced on YOU, you dumbshit, is if you get involved in it. Are you afraid that you might turn gay if this happens?
96
I thought so….hehehe
Just for the record I am all for making sure everyone has basic rights, just as long as the right defines those basic rights. Goodnight dumbasses.
Basic right if you are hetero Scumbaggit!
MWS posted what your good friend Elton John said. Civil Unions are for faggots (paraphrased for emphasis), marriage is between a man and a woman!
Rufuck: “I thought so….hehehe”
So, you’re agreeing that you think you might turn gay? Well, at least it is on the record!
and Puddin’HEAD: you another phobic male who’s afraid of his sexuality
90:
This from an Englishman, with a known drug history. We are all taking his word as gospel. How many EJ albums do you own?
Carl, Awww Poor Carl. I don’t own one EJ album. Not even Candle in the Wind. There’s many jokes there but I’ll allow someone else to blow out that candle.
But when a lefty says something true, we on the right applaud his/her or even it’s honesty and truthfulness. Maybe that’s something you should look into Carl!
Oh, Puddin’HEAD: We all know what you’re busy blowin’! But I won’t tell that little secret . . . you go right ahead and keep visiting the bus station bathroom downtown. You got a right . . . and I extend to you all rights and privileges I’d give everybody else.
Dear brainless skumbaggit: Let me clear your head of filthy thoughts before I go to bed. I have been happily married for way over 20 years to the same woman. When she calls I drop ASSWipes like used toilet paper in the commode. I have no use for your fantasies or real life escapades. Maybe tomorrow you’ll grow up. Keep the hershey highway lubricated for some of your good lefty moonbat librul friends.
Oh BTW I proved you libruls feel, while conservatives think, right from librul web sites. Take two Clintons and call me in the morning. I’m sure you’ll Feel better.
GOOD NIGHT!
Oh, I must be on to something! That was quite a defensive response, yes indeedy. Hmmmmm. . . well, we all know married guys do it, too. Especially you conservative married guys . . . all that pent-up “goodness” and all. . .
Gawd Almighty, Puddn’HEAD, I give you a science site and you give me a stupid righty site? Go back up to #37: you need a lesson just like Janet did . . .
Course, I know you dropped out of school before learned to read . . . but, try anyway. God will bless ya for it, son.
Puddn’HEAD . . . did you read that article you cited? It talks about gay marriage, has not scientific sources and I can’t figure out a single way it supports your rant?
Like I said, learn to read what you post if you want to score points with intellectually honest liberals.
Skagit you fuckin’ fool- I gave up posting when Postman wouldn’t stop taking it up the ass from Left Turd…
Anyway- most judges in this state never face approval by the voters- or anyone else. They are appointed by the Gov, put on the robes, and never look back. Yes, they file for office- no one else files, they don’t even appear on the ballot.
Or haven’t you noticed that most judges do not appear on the ballot?
You are as clueless as Goldie is on this. As has been repeatedly poiinted out- and as a perfect example- Ottinger lied prior to her appointment as a District Court judge. Only now do we get an airing of things that should have been aired before- and they wouldn’t have been aired without there being a competitive election. Pope not your cup of tea- raise hell with the bar for being too gutless to recruit a candidate more suitable. At least Richard had the guts to taker her on- most lawyers run scared of challenging a judge.
Retention elections are a joke. Who puts in the resources to get rid of a bad judge just to let the same appointing authority make a similar decision? A competitive election offers an incentive- the judge you want- for getting rid of a judge you do not like. Or is incompetent. Or corrupt.
We have had several recent elections in Pierce County where competitive elections got rid of corrupt or incompetent judges-
Rudy Tollefson was another. That was at the Superiot Court level. We have had similar situations in the lower courts. While the Bar and the Judicial Cnduct Commission fiddled, the voters acted.
We have had several cases over the years of new`appointments being rejected within months by the people- usually when it was a clearly political appointment. Governor Evans had to appoint one friend twice to get it to stick. Governor Locke had to settle with putting a friend in as Chief Administrative Law Judge when the people rejected him for the Court of Appeals.
Competitive elections provide a safety mechanism- one I would much rather keep in place, rather than trust the bar and others in the establishment to police their own. They do NOT have a good record in that regard.
Jim King, you are hilarious! I quit posting because Postman got to PC in what he would allow . . . I loved Left Turn’s posts! So prim and proper . . . but I see you have no trouble letting go on this blog! (LOL!)
You and I have been in it before . . .
Judges do appear on the ballot but they go unrivaled . . . that’s not their fault. Nobody runs . . . so why blame them. I don’t like it either. I worked thirty years in the Court system . . . good ones and bad ones. I always said that media should be covering judges. But, they don’t. There’s a lot of good stuff on the court beat if anyone took the time anymore to care.
Also, I agree, retentive elections are a joke but for the reason I cited long ago . . . they can still be bought. Special interests – as they are starting to do – will buy judges. That should be obvious, even to you.
Pierce Co. judges – I don’t know about. Incompetent according to whom? You? Corrupt? Why not impeachment? Anyone can be brought up on charges. You have a clean government or a dirty one. Turning the judicial process into a partisan process only makes it worse.
As for Evans appointments . . . you’ll have to explain his lack of competence because I had great regard for Evans. What was wrong with his appointment? When you say “the people rejected” . . . was it a rejection based on the merit or a rejection based on politics and special interests. I worked in the municipal system. I don’t know about the cases to which you refer . . .
But, I believe if a citizenry votes in a mayor, gov, president, I think those people should appoint and the legislature should approve. That is one branch of government I will always believe should be above politics. As I said before, their ethics generally rise to the occasion.
You’re obviously a better court watcher than I . . . I’m speaking from the point of view of the system and procedure that I think protects our judicial branch best.
I should have said “the pres, mayor, etc.” nominate . . . not appoint.
I guess we’ve gone full circle on this thread.
“Stay the course” in Iraq is a disaster that is only creating more terrorists and making us less safe.
Janet S @ 53
“yes, I think that if someone is caught three times stealing a car, he goes away for life. Do you think maybe, just maybe, that could be a deterrent? At present there is very little cost to stealing cars around here, so our car theft is increasing while other crime is decreasing.”
I think yuo guys throw around life senteneces in a way that will ultimately turn against you. Aren’t they supposed to for serious crimes, not just prevalent ones? Shoplifting is very common and costs millions a year—why not a life sentence for shoplifters? People jaywalk all the time and put themsleves and drivers at risk—why not life sentences for shoplifters?
Three strikes is intended to address serious crimes. Cheapening to include penny-ante offenses will prove unenforceable because juries simply will not convict an offender to a life term for a minor felony, even if it is the third.
Wanna see just how bad off the righties are? They’re RUNNING away from their wannabe dictator GW Bush!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....ained.html
HE HE!
How long before ordinary Americans start being torured for ordinary crime? How long after news reports of this behavior before Republicans stand up to applaud it? What have we become?
Just to clarify some of the misinformed statements about Washington’s three strikes law, it only applies to three “most serious offense” felony convictions. What are “most serious offenses”? It’s defined in RCW 9.94A.030. See http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/def.....=9.94A.030
You’re not going to prison for life if you’ve driven on a suspended license three times. You’re not even getting a felony, because driving with a suspended license can never be a felony in Washington. The only way you’re going to prison for life is if you’ve proven that you’re a criminal who has committed three most serious offenses, things like serious assaults, robbery, vehicular homicide, or muder. Only the worst of the worst put themselves in that position. And when they get a life sentence, it’s typically well deserved.
RIO GRANDE CITY — First it was a trickle, now it’s a flood.
Rising numbers of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America are streaming into Texas to give birth, straining hospitals and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, health officials say.
Doctors and health officials say they are overwhelmed by both the new arrivals and those immigrant mothers who already are in the state. Even Houston’s feeling the pinch. An estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of the 10,587 births at Ben Taub General Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital last year were to undocumented immigrants, administrators say. [..Turning the USA into a Hillary Village Third World “Baja Norte”, one Democrat anchor baby at a time!! Pay up, libs!! Get your check books out! hehe, JCH]
Sept. 24, 2006, 11:11AM
‘Border baby’ boom strains S. Texas
More illegal immigrants are pouring into the state to give birth
By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
RIO GRANDE CITY — First it was a trickle, now it’s a flood.
Rising numbers of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America are streaming into Texas to give birth, straining hospitals and costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, health officials say.
Doctors and health officials say they are overwhelmed by both the new arrivals and those immigrant mothers who already are in the state. Even Houston’s feeling the pinch. An estimated 70 percent to 80 percent of the 10,587 births at Ben Taub General Hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital last year were to undocumented immigrants, administrators say.
Also feeling the strain is Starr County, an already poor South Texas county that has the region’s only taxpayer-supported hospital district.
Immigrants “want a U.S.-born baby” and know that emergency room staffers don’t collect any money up front, said Dr. Mario Rodriguez, an obstetrician in Starr County.
“The word is out: Come to Starr County and get delivered for free. Why pay $1,000 in Mexico when you can get it for free?” Rodriguez said.
”When we are separated only by the distance of the river, it’s easy to do,” Starr County hospital administrator Thalia Muñoz said. “It’s gotten worse, and it’s because the economy in Mexico is not good and because we provide all these benefits.”
Unfortunately, doctors say, Starr County isn’t alone.
”Our little snapshot is duplicated in all the municipalities between here and California,” said Tony Falcon, a Rio Grande City physician who was appointed to the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission in April. ”What you see here is what is happening in Brownsville, McAllen, El Paso and San Diego.”
He operates a private family clinic and delivers babies at the Starr County hospital. About a third of his deliveries are what he calls “walk-ins” — mothers in labor showing up at the ER.
”Obviously, it has a huge impact on patient health and the kind of health care that’s provided,” Falcon said. “You don’t get the kind of prenatal care you should get.”
‘Anchor babies’
Immigration-control advocates regard the U.S.-born infants as “anchor babies” because they give their undocumented parents and relatives a way to petition for citizenship. They estimate that 360,000 of these babies are born in the U.S. every year and warn that the numbers are rising.
Once parents have an “anchor baby,” they become more difficult to deport, said Jack Martin, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a lobby organization in Washington, D.C.
”It’s a fairly big factor in complicating the removal of illegal aliens,” Martin said. “Illegal aliens know that and, to some extent, we think they’re being influenced into having children as soon as they get into the U.S. to complicate their removal.”
Some lawmakers want to begin denying citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants.
Birthright citizenship, as it is known, has been in force since the approval of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment in 1868. But several bills under consideration in Congress would abolish the longstanding federal policy. Sponsors include U.S. Reps. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson, and Nathan Deal, R-Ga.
In a largely symbolic move, the Michigan House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Sept. 8 to end birthright citizenship.
Undocumented immigrants say they are being attacked unfairly and think that all children born in the U.S. should have equal rights.
Socorro Gonzalez, an undocumented immigrant who in August gave birth to her fourth child on U.S. soil, said she and her husband aren’t trying to take advantage of immigration laws or abuse the health care system.
”We’re not here to have a child. We are here to work,” she said as she cradled her infant son, Orlando Soto.
Gonzalez, 42, said she moved to South Texas four years ago to join her husband, a cabinet maker. Two of their older children were born at a private midwife’s clinic, she said, and two were delivered at taxpayer expense at hospitals in McAllen.
Gonzalez said the benefits of undocumented immigrants’ labor in the U.S. more than compensate for the costs of their medical bills.
”I don’t see why they should deny a medical service if we’re here struggling for this country,” she said. ”Because of the help of Mexican workers, whether they want us or not, this country is progressing.”
Still, someone has to pay the bills, and not everyone is happy about that.
Uncollected medical bills
Starr County Memorial Hospital had $3.6 million in uncollected medical bills in 2005, up from $1.5 million in 2002. The total when fiscal 2006 ends on Sept. 30 is expected to hit $3.9 million, chief financial officer Rafael Olivarez said. Unpaid bills for the past five years will reach nearly $13 million, he said.
To make up for the shortfall, Starr County’s hospital district is proposing a 25 percent tax hike.
Already, the U.S. government is pitching in, setting aside $1 billion in Medicaid funds to pay for emergency care received by undocumented migrants over the next four years.
But Olivarez said getting the reimbursements isn’t easy. Federal officials ”told us at a meeting they would pay us about 20 cents on the dollar,” he said. “But it’s better than nothing.”
No one knows for sure how many undocumented immigrants there are or what they cost the health care system. Most hospitals don’t ask whether patients have papers.
Total cost unknown
”It puts them in the position of being border police,” said Amanda Engler, a spokeswoman for the Texas Hospital Association in Austin.
Harris County Hospital District officials say their policy is not to question patients directly about their citizenship.
”We do not explicitly ask if our patients are illegal, but we do ask them for proof of Harris County residency,” district spokeswoman Shannon Rasp said. “Often citizenship status becomes clearer when billing issues come up.”
Eighty-three percent of the undocumented immigrants receiving in-patient care at the district’s hospitals and clinics last year were from Mexico, officials said. Six percent were from El Salvador or Guatemala. And the remaining 11 percent were from such countries as Britain, Canada, Haiti, India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Vietnam.
”Using anecdotal information provided us by our staff, statistics from other public hospital systems and our patient demographics, we believe that approximately 70 to 80 percent of our obstetrics patients are undocumented,” Rasp said.
In all, 57,072 patients visited the district’s hospitals, clinics and health centers last year, and nearly a fifth were undocumented, Rasp said. The cost of their treatment was $97.3 million, up from $55 million in 2002.
In defense of Janet S. @ 53, it cannot be denied that if life in prison is handed out universally for all crimes (except corporate crime, natch) that the prison population will increase beyond all ability to pay for the costs of incarceration, thus demonstrating unequivicably that government does not work.
Simply put, she will not be happy until private armies swarm out from the gated communites of the rich to wreak death and destruction on the poor in order to “teach them a lesson”. And if rich people commit crimes? Why, no problem, the free market will take care of this, and the derivatives market for “get out of jail free” cards will magically reveal the confluence of both moral and economic optimums.
Proud One @ 119
Janet will have to read that three times before the irony occurs to her.
Great post!!!!!
Agreed, MLF and PROUD, Dame Janet will finally be happy . . . but, who will serve dinner?
Janet S aka Pam Roach won’t be happy until there’s only two kinds of people in this world….those who live in prison and those who work in prison.
Anyone know how to find the member list of the BIWA or it’s local arm the Master builders Association of King and Snohomish counties?
It looks like these members all contribute (might be a condition of membership) to the political action committees that are financing the attempted takeover of the WA Supreme Court as well as the dismemberment of existing protections in the areas of Labor, Environment, Growth Management and workplace safety as well as looking the other way as subcontractors use illegal aliens in the painting, roofing and drywall sectors.
I think it is ironic that there are several developers selling condos and houses at the “Green Expo” at Highpoint in West Seattle this weekend.
Proud To Be An Ass, Put the felons in a work camp in Alaska. In the middle of nowhere. No cost, and lots of fresh air for the Democrat felons!
Agreed, MLF and PROUD, Dame Janet will finally be happy . . . but, who will serve dinner?
Commentby skagit [My guess is lots of “take out”, but the Democrat felons will be locked up in work camps in Alaska.]
The Democratic felons will love Alaska . . . thanks to you ignorant Republicans, it will be the new resort destination! Of course, we’ll be thinking of you Corrupt Empire Felons (already beginning to over-capacitate our jails) in your new digs at Gitmo! Have fun!
I will be at Danny’s.5′2″, Shorts, Hawaiian, flip-flops, yellow Corona hat. Nice big target for you.
Commentby My Left Foot— 9/22/06@ 10:23 pm
5’2″…
Carl always did remind me of a yappy little lap dog… try not to step on him in the crowded bar americafirst…IF he shows up.
skagit, Lots of road construction and land clearing prison labor work in Alaska. No drugs, booze, smokes, but 14 hour days of work. Oh……….and no voting for felons!! Enjoy, Democrat criminals!!]
“5′2″, Shorts, Hawaiian, flip-flops, yellow Corona hat.” [Carl Grossman: Danny Devito?]
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and her fetus told police she drowned the woman’s three young children and stuffed them into a washer and dryer at their apartment, an official said Sunday. Preliminary autopsies on the dead children Sunday appear to show they were drowned, Ace Hart, a deputy St. Clair County coroner, told The Associated Press. [………..We must “understand” and “respect” Democrat “cultural diversity”. Although not a Republican around East St. Louis for miles, this must be Bush’s fault!!!]
Agreed, MLF and PROUD, Dame Janet will finally be happy . . . but, who will serve dinner?
Commentby skagit— 9/24/06@ 11:15 am
Why, those on work release, ‘natch!
“We need to create some sort of nonpartisan commission to interview and nominate slates of candidates from which the Governor is free to make appointments. And we need to institute regular retention votes, through which voters can remove sitting judges based on their performance on the bench, rather than in a name-familiarity contest.”
I have two questions for you, Goldy:
1. Do you really want Gov. Dino Rossi appointing all of our state’s judges?
2. Do you really want judicial elections in which only one name appears on the ballot?
So what exactly did she do? I go to Richard’s site and I see two charge sheets that say “NO VALID DRIVERS LICENSE” and that the associated fines were paid in full.
As far as I can tell, these could very well be infractions (cf. the standard scenario where you send in a payment for a traffic fine, but it gets lost in transit or misfiled or whatever, and then they suspend your license and issue a bench warrant, resulting in lots of fun the next time you get stopped).
Sure would be nice if there were some actual information rather than something that looks very much like an attempt at a smear.
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