What Was Clark County’s Most Mis-Reported Story In 2011?

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by lewwaters

As 2011 comes to a close, once again we see the Columbian posing the question to the public, “What was Clark County’s top story in 2011?”

Of course, the real effort is to give themselves a pat on the back. I can’t fault them for wanting to do that as few taxpayers in Clark County will.

But, there is another side of the coin that should also be explored, “What was Clark County’s most mis-reported story in 2011?”

Looking back over the year we have several to choose from. The continuing cover-up of Jim Jacks abruptly walking out on constituents mid-session amid rumors of sexual improprieties with female staffers and admitting to being an alcoholic, the excessive over-coverage of the dwindling Occupy Vancouver rallies, anything to do with their favorite boogieman, David Madore or their successful efforts at slapping Josephine Wentzel around.

Of course, there is also their misleading the public on Proposition 1 and C-Tran and trying to push us into yet another tax to pay for a brand new baseball stadium to benefit a millionaire team owner from Yakima.

Maybe even some of the grumbling employees complaining how things are going down there or any of the vitriol thrown out to the public against any and every thing conservative by Columbian Editorial Page Editor, John Laird. Ankle biters and Hounds of Whinerville are my personal favorites.

We have no limit on just what mis-reported stories they have foisted on us this past year and we should decide which one it is.

Think back to all of the stories this past year and leave your recommendation in comments. Choose from those listed above or whatever you so choose. Choose more than one if you desire. Supply a link if you wish.

Employees of the Columbian are welcome, but just don’t use your real name 😉

Liberals are most welcome if you wish to slap the Columbian for swooning over congresscritter Jaime Herrera Beutler.

I’ll leave this up at the top for a while and we can determine what was the most mis-reported story and compare it to what the Columbian believes to be their top story.

Posted on December 10, 2011 at 12:07 AM in 49th Legislative District, Clark County Issues, CRC/C-Tran, Vancouver | RSS feed | Reply | Trackback URL

Tags: Dinosaur Media, John Larid, Lou Brancaccio, Media Bias, Most Misleading Story., The Columbian, Top Story

71 Comments to “What Was Clark County’s Most Mis-Reported Story In 2011?”

Robert Dean
December 10, 2011 at 2:34 PM

Mis-reported or unreported? They failed to mention that the C-Tran and RTC boards apparently broke several Washington State open meetings laws when they approved the CRC FEIS before it was even published. Joint operating agencies must take public input and take actions in public. The City of Vancouver representatives colluded at a city workshop to vote with one voice on the RTC and C-Tran boards. I might be wrong but to me this warrants more investigation than whether or not Josephine Wentzel was a CASA volunteer.

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K.J. Hinton
December 10, 2011 at 2:40 PM

There’s many to chose from.

In no particular order…

Anything concerning the bridge/lootrail rip off.
Anything concerning the Ballpark scam.
Any tax increase, such as their support of the CTran scam.
Any oftheir

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K.J. Hinton
December 10, 2011 at 3:30 PM

Sorry, I ran into a technical problem.

Any of their editorials.

Anything written by Brancaccio.

And anything written by the Pit Yorkie.

They all rate about equally.

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Jeremy
December 10, 2011 at 3:31 PM

Now, now Robert. Have you not heard that there was one time in 2008 that some one tried to take them to task on that issue? And it just made them go to secret, executive sessions as their preferred Modus Operandi?

I’ll have to think this one over, Lew. There are WAY too choices for me to come down on. I’d like to hear from others what they have to say.

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karmaht
December 10, 2011 at 4:44 PM

*C-Tran/ CRC Bridge w/Lightrail ~no vote
*Sport parks from the one for the Church to the stadium
*Columbian’s do as I say when it comes to posts but yet their own reporters keep disrespecting those that voice their concerns
*Raising taxes and fees when some of these will go to general fund
*Septic tank fees when their own code states the fees have been repealed.
*Loosing money venture in Clark County, to many to list.
*Having their people in place so they don’t have to deal with the Public
*Three Creeks Committee and their redevelopment of CC
*Budget Problems both at the City and County in their layoffs, more to come!
*Lack of Leadership and the lack to follow their oaths that they took.
*Development tanking and foreclosures.
*40 years of neglect and piece meal planning.

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Goldenoldie
December 10, 2011 at 5:14 PM

It appears a lot of the Mis-reporting has already been listed, although I have one…and that is the Columbian’s take on our economic climate in Clark County and our elected representatives’ ideas of getting people back to work.

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Jack
December 10, 2011 at 5:19 PM

You know, after giving the matter some thought, I’ve sort of come to the conclusion that there has been a whole yearful of local issues that The Columbian has tried to “modify” to use to manipulate community opinion. Every other day all year long there is something that The Columbian has tried to “fool” the community about.

That’s why it may be hard to decide which one was the worst journalistic abomination. (the word: “Journalistic” is used loosely here, I don’t think anybody considers The Columbian to be “Journalism”).

Perhaps it’s just time to make a large bumper sticker or sign for the back of your car that says:

“The Biggest Local Enemy You Have Is The Columbian”.

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Goldenoldie
December 10, 2011 at 5:22 PM

Now Jack…don’t you like a “Happy, happy, joy, joy, feel good but damn the taxpayers” supermarket tabloid disguised as a community “Newspaper???”

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Jeremy
December 10, 2011 at 5:40 PM

Goldie ~ 🙂 Is that where you get to read the happenings now? Right next to Vogue, Cosmopolitian, Star, the National Enquirer and the SnoozeMedia? ™ All right before you have to talk to the cashier?? 🙂

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Goldenoldie
December 10, 2011 at 5:55 PM

Aw Jeremy…you know my secret! – NOT!!! I do admit I sometimes miss seeing the Globe when it talked about some baby from the midwest giving birth to a three-eyed baby whose other parent was from outer space…or where Elvis had reappeared in some diner in the midwest…

or was that the Columbian??? Hmmm… (Just kidding, Lou B).

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Jack
December 10, 2011 at 6:12 PM

Gee Goldie, I would hardly call John Laird or Lou Brancaccio “happy”. And from what I’ve heard from Columbian employees, The Columbian is a pretty tense and unhappy place to work, too.

Liberals are always miserable. They live in misery.

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Goldenoldie
December 10, 2011 at 6:18 PM

But, but Jack…they all look so happy in their photos. You mean to tell me that they’re unhappy??? I’ve heard that when unhappy people write, they will say what’s on their mind rather than tell fact. Sometimes, the facts do arise in the C…but I believe they’re clouded by the writer giving a piece of their mind…possibly????

hmm…

Well anyhow, I do have to say that all year, the C has done quite a chop job on Mr. David Madore, trying to discredit his honesty and integrity as though he’s got some hidden agenda waiting to surface. Shame on David…having an agenda to turn Vancouver into something we can all afford to live in. Oh the blasphemy of it all!!!

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Jack
December 10, 2011 at 6:48 PM

Liberals are always lying, sneaky bastards Goldie, especially because they think they’re “elite” and “better” than anyone else. Liberals would stab their own mother in the back if they thought it would gain them any power.

And when Liberals do gain some power, they always act like taunting, arrogant smartasses such as Jim Moeller and Pat Campbell.

It makes you wonder what those people have to go through before the pictures are taken to generate those phony smiles of “happiness”.

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karmaht
December 10, 2011 at 9:06 PM

Thank you Jack for your reply, maybe that is why Lou sent me the you could be banned if you keep replying with your negative posts?
So I was glad to get his email and told him to please do it! I’m tired of the do as I say and not as I do, bullying and you wonder where the kids get it.

Anyone hear, there are more layoffs coming down the pike? I now know why they have been so gun ho to getting volunteers to maintain those parks the Columbian has been so supportive of.

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Jeremy
December 10, 2011 at 9:29 PM

karmahappytoes – If there is going to be more layoffs in the parks department, how is the parks director going to handle that nifty new direction and law that Bob has been fuming over the past month about?? (the one they just pass that has no adjuctive relief and they can exclude you by just posting some thing on your door OR through the mail? and a lot of other dumb rules…)

And yes, it probably was better that you left the SnoozeMedia ™ forums just like the rest of us did when the conversations devolved into a lot of political he/she said that Lou and John so perpetually instigate. I went there a few days ago to check things out and really now the forums look like just a cattled feedlot to the side to keep the sock puppets from actually having any voice or expectation that anyone cares anymore. Its just a sidelot sideshow for the perpetual adoration of each other. A whole lot of wasting time armchair quarterbacking with Lou or John at the helm!

If you did not agree with their commentary like so many of us here posting off Lew’s blog probably disagree with a significant amount of paperwad that comes out from the local newspaper, though try to post through their new verification system through facebook (which CAN be faked!) and they don’t like your well thought out posts, its a simple delete/dump button for them to hit.

Now there is the biggest thing for me from the local paper that they squelched free speech on their own site and ignored privacy concerns over political expediency…..

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Jack
December 11, 2011 at 4:17 AM

The Columbian always “eliminates” posts that it “doesn’t like”. What the bastards used to pull was “blanking” your posts. You would still “see them” when you signed in but nobody else could see them.

I guess they thought they were being “sneaky”. Liberals don’t have the “man-equipment” it takes to allow views to be seen and heard that don’t agree with their views. That’s because Liberals are narcissistic sissies and are inherently chickensh*t.

Liberals don’t like anyone with big, brass “man-equipment” because they have none of their own.

That being said, I defy anyone to tell me that since The Columbian went to Facebook that the comments have been any less vitriolic and any more “civil” on The Columbian Blog. I also defy anyone to tell me that there are less sockpuppets posting from Facebook than there were before that idiotic idea came about.

And please notice that the sockpuppets that The Columbian “keeps around” always lean hard to the Left. People on the Right don’t need to use sockpuppets. One identity is enough to do a great job of kicking ass on Lefties.

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Dan Barnes
December 11, 2011 at 5:37 AM

What about Jim Moeller’s massive charitable contribution of his 3% raise? Who the heck at the Columiban thought that was worthy of a story? How do they know he has actually followed thru?
Perhaps it says more about the reporter and editor’s charitable giving, that 3% would be newsworthy.

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Bob Koski
December 11, 2011 at 7:11 AM

In my book, the combined Columbia Crossing Project/C-Tran/Loot Rail fiasco continues to be the most under-reported and mis-reported topics for yet another year.

The latest find is that if Mayor Progressive gets his way and gerrymanders the vote on the sales tax to support M&O for Loot Rail to just the City of Vancouver and/or its urban boundary, it will require a .2 (two tenths) raise in the sales tax, not just the .1 (one tenth) that has been discussed for years.

The question that is not being asked or answered, is what happens if that .2 sales tax increase passes in a gerrymandered vote, and the actual revenues never appear because even more people avoid the tax and shop in Oregon?? Who pays for M&O if sales tax revenues are insufficient?? A special levy on Homeowners??

My next choice would be the continued sorry condition of the City Parks, and how we are just finding out that both of the City’s major Community Centers are only recovering 70% of their costs, and this is justified because the Parks and Rec Department consider themselves a “social services provider”.

In short, there is little or no maintenance in our Parks because the money is being spent to prop up Firstenberg and Marshall instead; that thirty percent shortfall would pay for a lot of maintenance in the parks. (Of course there is never any mention about what all of that Unionized labor costs to provide all of those services that are losing so much money by competing with private business…recall that one of the first things the Staff at Firsenberg did when it opened was vote to unionize.).

Of course, the City of Vancouver can still afford to pay for the salary, benefits and retirement for a Full time Parks and Recreation Director and his Staff, and pay for the City Staff time to help come up with the recent tobacco ban…

C-Tran, the CRCP and Loot Rail are so intertwined it is hard to separate them, and there is no bigger turd in Clark County’s collective punchbowl than that, but the Columbian is still trying to convince people that it is really just a piece of floating fruit and that second hand smoke smells much worse……

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karmaht
December 11, 2011 at 9:24 AM

Morning gang! Oh this is so nice to see some familiar names here!
As for the forums there at the Columbian, they are running off those that they feel aren’t what I call cheerleaders and thank you Jack for your take on the posts. Now I know the problems I was having were on their end, again it’s, say as I do not as I say. So call freedom of speech, only their way?? I have butted their rules before and let’s just say changed some of them! There is the appearance since Lou took over as editor and the move towards the ICC agenda is what has caused the downfall of the C? I saw some stuff while sitting on there committee that I was shocked to see and glad I left! Let’s just say they too have their cheerleaders in place! Just as the County and City has theirs to push their agenda and get around the Public. X-Commissioner Morris made the statement to this fact and we know how these players work.

Thanks Jeremy for putting the full name out there, I tried the karma when I registered but it didn’t go, so the business name works. I have serious problems with FB and tying any site where my garden friends are. So that had to be locked down due to the C which they tried to say it’s was on my end.

Mr. Koski, it’s great to see you are still active!!

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Jeremy
December 11, 2011 at 11:45 AM

Karma, You and I got back some years. 🙂 That is how I know who you were. And Bob’s been active here for a few months. So you’ll see both of us posting here on some issue or not.

I try not to focus all of my attention on Identity Clark County per se. It is rather a waste of mental acuity, look at one of its members can lose a forty million dollar building?

Should we also talk about all of the tax abatements and sweet heart deals members got to build downtown Vancouver over the past fifteen years plus?

And to Bob’s comments about the loss of money and parks, have you thought of trying to find a way to change the rules of parks and rec in the city so maybe businesses or individuals can “pick a park” to work on? Kind of like picking a stretch of highway.

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karmaht
December 11, 2011 at 1:09 PM

Jeremy, hold your horses on the parks gigs!! You will know I’m the one that Commissioner Morris stole the park button from! It was a gift from another Community Activist and that is how she put this mess in play. I totally back off parks when she made a commitment of my time to make her look good after seeing my landscaped yard! Yep, she used folks to make herself look good and when we had all three commissioners out, for the yearly NA meeting it turned out to be a zoo! From the soccer folks, NACCC Pres. whom showed up screaming, to the local sheriff’s deputies due to the Neighborhood Staffer called them in. It was a hostel and to this day they say they put in the parks as they pat themselves on their back. Let me correct them, they were used to do the warm and fuzzy by a local developer for their league soccer field. It was also stated about that time by an X-commissioner that, ” if they moved forward in putting in parks, that would keep the CA folks happy! Yep parks, trails and horse path would keep the citizen quite so they wouldn’t figure out just how bad it is here.” More can be added but what can one say? For years I helped do different items for my area and over head one staffer one day tell another how they loved to use citizens! There is also the liability if one maintains a park and if one uses their equipment, there is the wear and tear that you can request in funds. That evening I asked some serious questions of the current Commissioners and their attorney that was there later told me I was on the money. You pay taxes and that should cover what is done for the parks and smart to not do so. But again it is X-Commissioner Dave Sturdevant (yep one of the founders of ICC, to teach those how Clark County does business and our leadership will come from those that take the classes), whom uses to scream to the NA folks, “you need to get your priorities straight, what is more important, your wants for parks or the needs of every citizen?” Where in the oath taken for office of the County Commissioners take does it state they owe the citizens Parks??

Bob’s comments on the park issues were in today’s print. But what I want to point out again is the fact that the Bond measure that was passed was touted as development of parks and then money to maintain parks after the Neighborhood Associations failed to keep up what they committed to do for the county giving them parks. State law states the Counties buy the land but here it’s backwards as hell when folks want city services but refuses to annex. But with the County being as broke as they are, money being collected according to the C will be used to pay off debt on county buildings! Hey, WA State auditors, again we are seeing money that was collected for one thing being used for something else. No wonder folks don’t trust their elected officials when they lie like this???

There is more I can add about the promises made by NA leaders and how some abuse the positions they hold. Elected by just a hand full of folks in their areas but some feel they can speak for all citizens in the county, without being dully elected and they make the County Commissioners look bad!

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Bob Koski
December 11, 2011 at 5:32 PM

Merry Christmas karma! I am not a part of Facebook Nation and i refuse to join under any circumstances, much less give access to my entire life along with links to my close personal friends and relatives lives to a repeater service for the Ass-ociated Press.

We’re mulling some wine on the woodstove this chilly evening, and yes, contrary to popular myth it is still legal to heat your home on cold nights with a woodstove, and wine gets up to proper mulling temperature quickly….so I’m going to go have some right now and enjoy the kickoff for Sunday Night Football.

Cheers everyone!

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karmaht
December 11, 2011 at 7:19 PM

Merry Christmas Mr. Koski! I hear ya on FB and I’m only there due to family and my gardening friends. My real friends know how to get a hold of me! Speaking of gardening, in October I finally registered my first flower after testing her for a couple years across the nation!
We also had to put our beloved Mitzy done in August and DH has a new four legged fur-baby! She is a 4 lb Peek-a-Pom!!

You sound like your are having a great Sunday evening all toasty on your end of the world. Wishing you and your family the best this holiday season! How are all your fur-kids?

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Goldenoldie
December 11, 2011 at 7:24 PM

Amen to THAT, Bob. I too refuse to delve in the FB or Twitter world! Too much trouble with lives disrupted. That was the Columbian’s downfall which pushed me to finally leave. Our comments were no longer with meaning as we were pushed to the basement…or as we fondly called it – the Whine Cellar. Our public sounding board was chopped right out from under our feet so to speak. It has come to the point that we were persecuted by some and it was allowed to continue by their “monitors.” Heck, on the Facebook side, the persecution continues with hacks attacking Lew just because he states what he has every right to state which some people can’t take the truth very well, you know.

And that persecution I mention…it even continues with me in the discussion over three weeks AFTER I left the forum. Funny how they think I’m about 7 different people, including Karma and Penny Schinke. Nice compliment there, though.

On November 19th, I said my farewells on my wall to the folks who I have shared discussion…and boy am I glad I did. I’ve made some good friends out of it, so something good came from posting on the Columbian. I see Karma has left the building on the C as well…only to see you here in Lew’s blog. Oh yes…LewWater’s Clark County Conservative is Much friendlier by far!

And Karma!!! Glad to see you here!!!

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Bob Koski
December 11, 2011 at 8:03 PM

Hey karma…aren’t you glad you have a rainwater recovery system to water with now, since water rates are about to go through the roof..??

There’s another vastly under-reported story for you…isn’t it funny how nobody in the recent City Council elections ever mentioned the possibility of the dramatic rate increases we are about to see for everything from storm water to solid waste to water, sewer, and ad valorem taxes?? Funny how none of the Clark Public Utilities Commissioners ever run on the rate increases they pass once they are safely reelected, too! Anyone hear Byron Hanke mention these kinds of rate increases when he ran last year?? Anyone at the Columbian think to ask them??

I would also mention that it took the Oregonian to finally do the reporting on the other ships that were partially stripped and abandoned by Brett Simpson, who was also responsible for the wreck of the former SS Davey Wu…

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Bob Koski
December 11, 2011 at 8:04 PM

I mean….the wreck of the former SS Davey Crockett….

Freudian slip….

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karmaht
December 11, 2011 at 8:17 PM

Hey Goldenoldie!! Missed ya…… I was wondering where you took off to and I’m not a nosy one to check everyone’s wall, sorry I missed your farewell. I really wasn’t planning on staying there after what they pulled with Bob’s site.

I will admit the Columbian did some of us a favor by hooking up to FB, I used it as a tool to put the puzzle pieces together. If you value your privacy, lock down your wall and make sure the friends you accept are in lists. I use FB as a tool and push them there.
I also found that some of their games are fun if you have some laid up down time.

Sorry I didn’t come here sooner ( I thank you, Mr. Dean for the light) but went back to the Columbian after someone pushed me to put on my old shoes due to the Mc Cann Road issues again and going thought all my boxes of information. While at the C, I had some serious issues and after talking to Libby and Matt some of them were worked out, I thought. But after reading what Jack posted I’m adding up the problems in a different light. I’ll only be visiting to read the Public Notices or Obits. I really didn’t want to put those old shoes back on but now that they are on and doc filed, we’ll see if they stay on.

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karmaht
December 11, 2011 at 8:28 PM

Dang Bob, I’m still out in the County!! We are up to 12 rain barrels and PUD show we have a $600 credit so why do they need more money is beyond me?? I cut our water usage in half for the last reading!! Now if I can get some solar units on the house I’d be happy. I opted for a security cameras due to the issues of the past which haven’t gotten any better. Got to love the PTZ and the 64 positions of scanning w/ the zoom up to a couple blocks that reads licenses from the comforts of the computer. Then there is the smaller camera that scopes out the whole yard! Nice to see all the wild life! ; )

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Jeremy
December 11, 2011 at 9:26 PM

Yes, Karma, I do remember the pounding that Bob got. it was fun and tragic in some ways. And I’ll it at that as I have been requested to do.

I’m in a new place from the eastside of town, where traffic, fire station six’s engine would BLARE their horn into my window/sleeping wall that was recently put back together after a funding shortage of a year.

Now I am in a quieter place, with less stress and good access to the freeway if I so choose to go somewhere. the only negative is now I’m in the same legislative district as Lew. And possibly after the census based legislative and County commissioner redistricting, I might be in the same one as karma. So maybe I’ll have to give Jim, Sharon and Craig a call. Might give me some thing do to like I used to do in the past. 🙂

To the comments about the newspaper’s comment area. I simply just refuse to go back there and post. My feeling is they wanted the real meet and posters put into a corralled sideshow off in the distance, so they really did not have to do any real work to keep the discussions reasonable. Now I don’t say the people who were on the site were not perfect or were jerks but that is how communities work?

And now Matt and Libby, have to be babysitters for the rest of the facebook posters instead of having real discussions. And count how many “yes” people comments are under Lou and John’s posts now. Does anyone have any circumspect on that? That they might be moderating posts, so they is no real ability to discuss issues?

Honestly, I think it is time to setup another community based news outlet online, so that people can get the real news of what is going on. I have seen too many local weekly or monthly scandal sheets come and go. It is just not an effective, cheap and easy way to handle it. It just costs way too much money.

The Battle Ground Buzz is one such animal and there are a few others. But do they really have any comment sections? Couv.com is just as rigorous as the Columbian is.

I would love to hear your guys ideas.

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Jack
December 12, 2011 at 12:36 AM

“Couv.com is just as rigorous”.

I think it’s a major mistake for a blog to require a Facebook identity for some very simple reasons. In today’s climate, it has become very popular to savage a person’s thoughts and opinions by character assassination rather than to effectively refute them. “Who they are” quickly becomes the focus of the discussion rather than “what they think”.

I don’t give a damn who someone is, what their name is and what “status” they have in life. If what they say is BS, I’ll call it BS, and show them why it’s BS.

Conversely, if they’re “right on” I’ll be happy to tell them that they’re “on the mark”.

And when you effectively refute someone’s BS and they don’t like what you say, some of them become quite angry and look to attack you or your family physically.

There are just too many nutcases out there, especially on the Left. Little raging, hysterical punks who just can’t stand to see that their “ideas” won’t hold water on a public forum.

I have no need to go beyond refuting their thoughts and opinions in public. I can kick their unwashed butts well enough with my keyboard and so can others on this blog.

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Goldenoldie
December 12, 2011 at 5:59 AM

Jack, you’ve made me smile with your comment. Ahhh…the memories of a once enjoyable Columbian forum!!! Whether you realize it or not, Jack…you’d taught me a lot about commenting on the C and it was to my benefit when presenting “My” opinion and for that, I thank you.

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Goldenoldie
December 12, 2011 at 6:03 AM

Karmaht, I’ve been posting here for some time…on and off. I find this is a good place to actually find out information about our government (thanks, Lew)…and it’s user friendly to boot. Our comments are shared to everyone who reads…no necessity to be on Failbook…er rather, Facebook….no advertising signs hiding the articles from view…

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Goldenoldie
December 12, 2011 at 6:04 AM

BTW Mister Lew Waters…

I know this is off subject but in discussion about Couv.com…I saw your interview. Nice one!!! I have even more respect for you than I did before watching the video. Thanks for being you!

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Goldenoldie
December 12, 2011 at 6:16 AM

Last comment then I’ll stop monopolizing the conversation here, folks. Sorry about that!

Karmaht: Two years ago, we purchased a wood stove insert which drastically lowered our utility bills. It was a necessary purchase because our dysfunctional ceiling cable heat was going out in our living room and ductless systems are less than desirable in a ranch house with no vaulted ceiling. Yes, the heat is wonderful…but it is labor intensive to keep the fire going, cutting, splitting and hauling and to keep the bins full. Some day, we might not have the ability to do so, so I’m looking in other directions once again. I too want that investment in solar and even with the rebates, it’s still quite expensive. I wouldn’t mind more rain barrels myself…so that too will be a necessary investment. I also would like to invest in a gray-water system which will help cut back on utility water usage. I guess we’re skirting around the cost increases which are about to nail us, but if it delays the inevitable…hopefully indefinitely, it’s ALL worth it!

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Lou Pinocchio
December 12, 2011 at 7:08 AM

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karmaht
December 12, 2011 at 8:02 AM

Morning everyone! Goldenoldie, the newer wood inserts are the best and less pollution but I have issues with those that have fireplaces of the old style and they burn trash or wire in them and it smell up the neighborhood. If you burn properly you shouldn’t have the white smoke as we see in our neighborhood that makes folks have breathing problems. I know you and Bob do it right from reading your past posts.
Jeremy, printed newspapers are a thing of the past and find those that are in place now only do so for the money, not the real news as they try to spoon feed the public the agendas that they are paid to do. I sat on the C committee and was shocked to see they have writers that will write what they need to write even if they know it’s not what was stated. So many times I would be sitting in the same room and wonder what fairyland they lived in. This rosy stuff to make folks love their community when in reality they got screwed!!
I have to laugh when folks write letters and try to push an agenda without the correct doc. to back their letter. Or those ‘Nimby’ folks that sit on committees and are hand feed doc to make them believe what is happening is just one sided without doing their own research. Then there are the folks that don’t know the process of gov and know when they can speak or the programs that are in place and how they work. This is why the old shoe were put back on. Let’s just change the laws to benefit our agenda, when they can’t enforce the laws on the books. Another issue that really needs to be looked at, a good example is the group homes that are being looked at now. Yes we need a forum where all issue can’t be discussed openly not in pushing agendas as we see on the C.

So sorry Lew to be off topic, but there is protocol in how one needs to do things to be taken seriously. If they do not follow this and skip process then it’s time to take this up the ladder.

Jack your post speaks loudly as to why Lou decided to pass the pink email my way. But ya know my grandmother kept saying give them enough rope they will hang themselves. The running off of Bob’s site cut the news flow to the C and the new reporters and the people the gov have in place have no clue to the history of what they write about. They will fail and repeat the past mistakes if they don’t look at the history. I have had several run in with reporters and their stories without the facts. Matter of fact one reporter called and requested my time. When they showed up I was told how other reporters said they were crazy to talk to me as I wasn’t liked. This reporter respected my wishes of leaving me out of the article or where they got all the information they left with and wrote a prize winning article. All I’m about is getting the right information out to the public not the rosy crap.

As for Matt and Libby, babysitters and web designers. I will admit I was taken by their wanting to make for a better site but they also know some folks were running off those that knew what was going on and they were willing to help make some of the problems of accessing their site work. Mind ya when you have your security set high and firewalls that of many, it makes some sites not work right.
No way would I drop the security to the level suggested.

Morning tea is gone, time to move on! Thank you Lew!!

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Bob Koski
December 12, 2011 at 8:25 AM

GO…we designed and built our home to be heated with the woodstove and it is infinitely cheaper than electric heat would be.

We have a vaulted ceiling in our family room where the woodstove is. Our zoned forced air system draws heated air from the family room and blows it into the back of the house. The front and back are two different zones, each with its own thermostat, and computer activated valves to isolate one zone from the other. The fan in the system is a variable speed DC motor that uses a fraction of the power a comparable AC motor would use. The computer uses a “circulate” function to run the motor on low RPM to keep the air moving through the electo-static filter, and keeps the house at an even temperature without running the fan on high speed.

With this system, I keep the front of the house at 73 and the back at 70 with just the woodstove whatever the outside temperature. I buy only clean, split and seasoned firewood, and normally use my hydraulic splitter to make the pieces evenly sized. The stove is 3 years old and state of the art. It exceeds the EPA standards for woodstoves and when it is burning the only thing coming out of the chimney is heat waves. We burn one piece of wood at a time, and it burns completely with a 78% efficiency rating. Our old woodstove might have done well to produce 15% efficiency.

Like I said, it is not against the law to heat your home with a woodstove, and it is possible to do it in such a manner that it provides an incredible savings over electricity. A standard heat pump cannot keep our house as warm as we like it. The efficiency of a heat pump drops off dramatically along with the outside temperature to the point where as the temperature drops below freezing, emergency heat radiators kick in because the heat pump is not producing any heat.

Many houses here in East vancouver were also designed and built to be heated with firewood as the chimneys on all of the houses over here prove. Most were built with woodstoves, and a lot of people have upgraded them over the years. At some point, a person can only do their very best, and that should be good enough…

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Martin D. Hash
December 12, 2011 at 9:07 AM

Bob, if you’re a connoisseur of energy-efficient construction using passive convection-heating, I should give you a tour of my place. I was the General, the Builder, and contributed to the engineering. (Though I’m a PE, this design is over the top: 3 floors, thermal-mass construction with R45 insulation, South-facing windows that shade in the summer and allow maximum light in the winter, etc.)

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Jeremy
December 12, 2011 at 10:00 AM

🙂 Now Bob and Martin have my engineer ears perks. Nothing says more when men speak of their accomplishments in such regards! 🙂

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Bob Koski
December 12, 2011 at 10:26 AM

Hi Marty; When we installed the new ventilation system, the first thing we did was strip everything out from under the original part of the house and reinsulate up to R-30 (which was the maximum amount of insulation we could fit under the existing floors). All of the water pipes are insulated with foam sleeves and then buried in additional insulation. All of the air ducting had maximum R value and was thoroughly sealed as well. We also put down a complete new vapor barrier under the house that was heavier than the old one.

My wife the trooper even helped me to blow an additional 25 bales of insulation into the ceilings of our house. She fed the shredder/blower in the garage while I handled the hose up in the attic; together we added another 2 feet of insulation upstairs, and along with the insulation under the house, we can heat with wood for a fraction of what it would cost otherwise. Not sure what the R value is in our attic but it is considerable, and considerably better than what we started with…exposed ceiling joists.

I’m in the process now of working with a local architect to engineer a new workshop that will take maximum advantage of natural heating and cooling along with the thermal mass of the concrete slab it will be built on. For starters we’re putting R-10 dense foam slabs under the entire concrete slab to help stabilize the temperature along with other passive design features as simple as appropriately sized and placed windows and plenty of insulation in the 2×6 framed walls. We hope to break ground for the foundation in May, and it should be largely complete by Labor Day next year. I hope to need nothing more than a sweater and a space heater in the Winter, and open windows in the Summer….

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Martin D. Hash
December 12, 2011 at 12:52 PM

Very cool, Bobby. I’d like to see that when you get started.

p.s. In the 10 years since I built my house, about half the summers I didn’t turn the air-conditioning on even once, and the heating (natural gas) bill is about the same as a house 1/3 its size. However, the money savings isn’t nearly as important as the satisfaction.

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lewwaters
December 12, 2011 at 1:21 PM

Goldie, thank you for the compliment. That was one of the nicer things ever said about me.

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Jack
December 12, 2011 at 2:37 PM

This is a forum where all can participate in discussion, Goldie. The Columbian Blog definitely isn’t. And because this is a forum where all can participate, you’ll notice that “certain people” generally don’t show their faces in here.

I’m speaking of the “certain people” who are too deficient in “man-equipment” to put their ideas out into an open forum where they can be effectively discussed and told that they are “full of crap” if need be and those “certain people” don’t have the power to censor the comments.

Who are those “certain people”? They’re all Liberal Eitists. Like Lou Brancaccio & John Laird. Like Tim Leavitt and Jim Moeller. Like Pat Campbell and Jeanne Harris.

Just imagine what it would be like if those people had the guts to come here and put their ideas out for discussion.

Of course, that will never happen because we’re all really equal here. The only “power” that counts is your ability to back up your ideas and opinions with facts.

So for those “certain people” who I know for a fact are reading this blog, we’ll be here any time you want to join the real world. Quit hiding behind your phony “titles”, grow a pair, and let’s talk about your screwy ideas. We’re not chickensh*t – you are.

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Molly Ivins Laird
December 12, 2011 at 3:21 PM

Memo to Jack: I saw an empty school bus the other day. It was on its way back to the bus barn. I’m not gonna advocate abolishing school transportation systems. Another time, I saw a fire truck moving along slowly, with no sirens blaring or lights flashing. Guess what? I still love the Fire Department.

C-Tran devotes great expertise and technology toward researching ridership statistics, all for the purpose of maximizing efficiencies. In my mind, that scientific scrutiny trumps the work of all the amateur sleuths like our boy Jack here.

Kwitcherbitchin!

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Jack
December 12, 2011 at 3:33 PM

Gee “Molly”, didn’t you like the bouquet of Venus Fly-traps I sent you?

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Jack
December 12, 2011 at 3:38 PM

Maybe I could interest you in some “Flesh-Eating” Mistletoe instead.

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Goldenoldie
December 12, 2011 at 4:08 PM

Lew: Respect isn’t something that should be taken for granted. You deserve a lot more respect than what you are getting on the Columbian. I’ve seen the same type of personal attacks against David Madore as well as against myself in recent months…and I mean PERSONAL attacks just because we had a differing view.

Just to let you know, I made a stink to Matt in a personal email regarding the personal attacks by your stalker…even though you have him set on “Ignore.” I have a good idea as to who he used to be known as…and was booted off the forum.

Yeah, I know you can handle it when it comes to these troublemakers. You’re a tough one…but enough is enough. More people are turning their backs on the C. I have a feeling not as many people are visiting their site as they have in past years and that hurts for advertising revenue. Also, more people are finding out how to disable the pop ups which hurts advertising revenue as well (thanks Jeremy). It has gotten so nasty that even Lou had to bite the bullet and finally post on the forum of all places. Only THREE comments thus far in the forum for this week as of 3:45 pm. Usually, there’s at least 60-100 by now. And Lou??? He hasn’t visited the forum for several months till today and he’s asking for people to choose different subjects to discuss. Tells you something, huh!!!

And Lew….

You’re welcome.

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Lou Pinocchio
December 12, 2011 at 4:13 PM

Thanks Jack.

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karmaht
December 12, 2011 at 4:41 PM

Being the newbie here would someone please tell me if Lou Pinocchio or Molly Ivins Laird are for real McCoy?

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lewwaters
December 12, 2011 at 4:46 PM

Karm, let’s just say that both Pinnochio and Molly seem to share the exact same IP address as someone else who also regularly posts here.

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Jack
December 12, 2011 at 5:09 PM

Thank God there are Florists that still sell Venus Fly Trap bouquets and flesh-eating mistletoe. I hear that “Killer Tomatoes” are still available, too.

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Jack
December 12, 2011 at 5:13 PM

It’s too bad that Brancaccio doesn’t have the “man-equipment” to come here and join in the real discussion, Goldie. I battled his ass in his “world” but he won’t come here.

He’s just “afraid”.

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Jack
December 12, 2011 at 5:17 PM

We even have room here to “educate” some “wayward” Texans.

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Lou Pinocchio
December 12, 2011 at 5:28 PM

Is that you John Wayne?

Is this me??

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Jeremy
December 13, 2011 at 12:34 AM

Karma, Lou P and Molly have a friend in common from our past that you would recognize! 🙂 Just enjoy their show-n-tell. They help us get out the word on the local news scene. They are our humor relief squad because some one is busy scribbling up their next weeks column on a web site is not currently active??

Goldie – The reason why you did not see more than a few posts today is that the columbian has been down a lot the past three weeks. I’d say at LEAST 3 days of the past week or more, they have been down.

And being former IT, there is no excuse for that templated content management system to be down that much! So if you are wondering about the forum counts, it is not because of people not posting, its because Lou has stepping on his computer power cord of his laptop that is serving as the C’s web site server! (joking)

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Jeremy
December 13, 2011 at 12:43 AM

And in particular according to the Twitterati, it was down this morning and afternoon….

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Jack
December 13, 2011 at 1:24 AM

Maybe they don’t have the money to buy better batteries…

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Jeremy
December 13, 2011 at 2:04 AM

Nah, I thought Lou only wrote his columns and fact based checking with 20 year old encyclopedia britannica sets? Oh no, that Tom Koeninger? (Tom was famous for writing his columns by typewriter.)

Nah, Lou would not DARE come over here and post some thing intelligent. I think Lou Pinocchio does a great service as a stand-in for him.

Though I would love to hear from Josephine or

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Goldenoldie
December 13, 2011 at 6:11 AM

Well Jeremy, just for the heckuvit, I logged in just fine on the C…not to comment, but to send a private message to someone. I had no problems. The activity was silent till later in the afternoon – no glitches seen. I know they were down a couple of times.

The problem is that the C has morphed into an almost unrecognizable internet rag site. And that Captcha thingy they’ve got going??? Upside down words? Foreign lettering??? Gothic English letters with accents??? Fuzzed out beyond recognition??? That alone is discouraging a lot of people.

.

Lew, I figured Lou Pinocchio and Molly Ivins Laird was someone I recognized from the C….!!! Glad to see the clever one is here, entertaining the lot of us! It’s fun to have a little fun (redundant???) with the teaser’s comments.

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karmaht
December 13, 2011 at 2:02 PM

Thank y’ll for clarifying those CC critters. Let’s just say one needs to be careful where one steps when dealing with those two??

Lew, I’m so glad I found there the common sense folks hang out!

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Jeremy
December 13, 2011 at 8:54 PM

Goldie, well I’m just paraphrasing my experience with the C site and the messages that I was seeing through twitter from the different reporters, C’s posters and ?. And I doubt many disagree with you about the latest incarnation of the local “national enquirer” that popped up about two or three years ago from what it was originally.

And now they keep adding more and more features that I really could care less about. Solid fact checking and reporting on Clark County news is what I’m looking for. Not the daily rationing out of political favor or fervor over nothing.

And yes, I’m loving our resident “experts” who have come in great handy speaking some of the truth of how I felt over the past number of years…..

And yes, common sense seems to have gone from a lot of things when I deal with some of the people around town….

And you what I was thinking? Maybe seeing Goldie, Martin, Karma and Bob starting a site of their wonderful ideas on home making and cooking? 🙂 (Yes, Bob. You still have my mouth watering!)

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Jack
December 14, 2011 at 1:31 AM

Goldie, the reason that the comment “traffic” was lower at the Columbian is because the little bone-headed, unwashed sockpuppets are probably all out on OWS “protests” and the normal people have quit The Columbian.

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Jeremy
December 14, 2011 at 4:31 AM

Hey Lou Pinocchio, your Link to Rick Astley’s song does not work in the embedded screen mode. it flashes one of three favorite errors up saying it won’t play… So you might want to find another VERSION or some thing else.

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karmaht
December 14, 2011 at 8:05 AM

Jeremy, I too would love to have another site and not take up Lew’s space with the off topic chatting we can do. I so loved the items Bob shared while on his site.

As for the C, if they run folks off they traffic count will be down. I’m not a cheerleader and that is all I’m seeing. When folks hand feed their reporters, they sure don’t want those of us that know the history to show up and correct them.

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karmaht
December 14, 2011 at 1:49 PM

Goldenoldie, I just had to read the Public notices and went to read the forums, what a hoot!! Love how they are guessing who is who.

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Jeremy
December 14, 2011 at 11:26 PM

🙂 Maybe I’ll go see what is going on over there?

Though I think the newest screwed up story was the ways in which the C decided to squelch people’s speech without some formal reason. Remember six months back when Lou and others were deleting comments before Libby and Matt were hired to do the job?

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karmaht
December 15, 2011 at 8:10 AM

Jeremy, I just love the do as I say and not as I do attitude over there as they hand feed what news they select for the public to read. I was just tired of the constant digs of a few citizens and thought it was time to give Lou a taste of his own medicine. He didn’t like the word ‘hate’ when referring to his column but when one hears from reporter that is how some feel about community members, what can one say? Reporters rushing to write a story without all the facts just so they can be first with the news. Then you have folks that know the whole story and they speak out, well that is a no no. Some may have the freedom of speech but then there are others that get it squelched. Nothing new down there at the C. Yes, I’m karma but I’m not Goldie or Penny or anyone else they try to pin on me. A county staffer gave me the name ‘karma’
with the first go around of GMA and it has stuck all these years. I even use it in my business name, which is registered.

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Jack
December 16, 2011 at 2:24 PM

There are just so many stories of 2011 that the local Media has “mis-reported” or totally “skewed” that it isn’t funny. I suppose the one thing you can say for sure that is the biggest story of 2011, is that the Media is still letting America down by not reporting the truth and it gets worse every day.

Thank God that the Media dies a little more each day as a result.

So this Christmas Season, let’s all drink a toast to a dying and dead Media, and hope that the new year will kill off more of the disgusting bastards.

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Jeremy
December 16, 2011 at 8:40 PM

Gosh, its such a warm, foggy bottoms day? Boy, this thread isn’t getting much chatter today.

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Jack
December 19, 2011 at 5:09 PM

Probably the biggest mis-reported story of 2011 is, that the Economy is still in the toilet, and that Obama and the Democrats caused it to go into the toilet in the first place.

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Jeremy
December 20, 2011 at 1:02 AM

I just remembered some thing while emailing someone…. What about the C’s use of data off local blogs without attribution like what other newspapers for each other? And it is done frequently for how many years??

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