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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
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Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
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The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
April 8, 2009
/ 14 Nissan 5769
Obama Census Plan: No Illegal Alien Left Behind
By
Michelle Malkin
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
If you need a shining example of the utter disingenuousness of Barack Obama's commitment to government transparency, I have two words for you: Ron Sims. This lifelong political hack is to transparency what sunlight is to Dracula, what salt is to a slug, what kryptonite is to Superman, what "The View" is to intelligent debate.
That is: lethal.
In its press release announcing the nomination of the Seattle-area county executive to the No. 2 post at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the White House described Sims as a "visionary urban leader." The White House also touted Sims' "willingness to make the tough choices necessary to ensure that American tax dollars are spent wisely."
But Sims' key accomplishments in the Pacific Northwest have involved illegally keeping taxpayers in the dark. Despite his long-known notoriety in Washington State as an incompetent manager and obstinate campaign finance law-breaker, President Obama trusts Sims to oversee the day-to-day operations of a federal agency with 8,500 employees, a $39 billion yearly budget, and a chronic history of corruption and cronyism.
A Senate Banking Committee staffer told me this week that Sims' confirmation hearing will likely be scheduled soon after the Easter recess. Let's hope someone on the committee is talking to the folks who have fought the real Sims in his own backyard.
Ask Stefan Sharkansky. A Seattle blogger and citizen activist, Sharkansky blew the whistle on election fraud shenanigans involving Sims' office during the November 2004 gubernatorial election. He has fought since December 2004 to obtain public records related to gross errors in the county's ballot counting. Since filing suit against Sims in October 2005, Sharkansky told me, "the county has released a number of additional documents which confirm both (a) that county officials unlawfully counted hundreds of ineligible ballots in the 2004 election (a multiple of the 133 vote "margin of victory" in the governor's race); and (b) that they unlawfully withheld documentation of the illegal vote counting from public disclosure for many months (up to a few years) after the documents were first requested."
"What we've seen is not just a lazy agency dragging its heels to respond to document requests, but an organized effort to cover up official misconduct and to obstruct justice," Sharkansky stated in his suit. His case goes to trial next week.
This alleged defiance of open-records laws fits a disgraceful pattern in Sims' office.
Ask Armen Yousoufian. In 1997, the former Boeing engineer embarked on what would be a 12-year legal battle to force Sims to obey public-disclosure rules. Instead of making the "tough choices necessary to ensure that American tax dollars are spent wisely," Sims did everything in his power to ensure that King County, Wash., taxpayers were deprived of vital information on how their money was being spent.
Yousoufian wanted access to government documents related to a sports stadium subsidy plan up for a vote in Washington in the summer of 1997. The records he requested at the end of May 1997 pertained to the fiscal impact of a massive tax-hike proposal to build a new football palace for the Seattle Seahawks. Time was of the essence: County residents were preparing to vote on a ballot initiative package worth $300 million on June 17, 1997. Boosters of similar "public-private stadium partnerships" had made dubious claims of economic windfalls that never transpired. Yousoufian serving as the watchdog that Sims failed to be for his constituents was absolutely right to question the numbers.
But Sims, a leading stadium subsidy booster and corporate water-carrier for Microsoft billionaire and Seahawks owner Paul Allen, didn't put an informed citizenry first. His office deliberately stonewalled Yousoufian's request at first failing to deliver the documents, then claiming they didn't exist, and then admonishing him to bug off because he had been given everything he requested. All lies. While Sims' deputies gave Yousoufian the grand runaround, Referendum 48 passed by a margin of 51-49.
Yousoufian launched a one-man crusade to hold Sims accountable to taxpayers. In 2000, he sued under Washington's open-records law. He spent $330,000 of his own money in legal fees and 4,000 hours of his own time. A lower court ruled in his favor, dinging the county's obstructionism as "egregious," but skimped in awarding him the minimum $5 a day for each of the 8,252 days that Sims' office withheld the documents. The courts found "hundreds" of instances where Sims' office deceived Yousoufian or refused to tell the truth. To deter future abuse, Yousoufian appealed for higher fines.
In January 2009, just weeks before Obama would tap Sims for the No. 2 HUD post, the high court issued a historic ruling in Yousoufian's favor, damning Sims' "blatant violations of the state Public Records Act." This travesty is the singular responsibility of Ron Sims. It dragged on through his entire tenure as King County executive and beyond. The state Supreme Court remanded the case back to the lower courts to determine a final fine that may exceed some $1 million in taxpayer funds. In keeping with his whitewashing ways, Sims is now trying to have the Supreme Court ruling vacated.
Obama's best and brightest: working hard to keep taxpayers in the dark. Long live transparency!
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Michelle Malkin's column by clicking here.
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© 2009, Creators Syndicate
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