MORT'S MUSINGS

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #47 How a blue state Republican became the face of mail voting https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-07-30/kim-wyman-washington-vote-by-mail-trump?fbclid=IwAR3xuhcfso-fYa7M0fTF-10PKAU7zRQjIB-3TPgDAR35nr-XW9ZeMeHLBrs 7.31.20 WEA endorsed Kim Wyman in 2012 & 2016. They seemed to understand that experience and training are important, just as they are in the educational professions. But, for reasons that I find hard to understand, WEA has chosen to endorse a Democratic legislator with no training or experience in running elections. And that’s why I have begun this effort to make clear to WEA’s “More Conservative Members” that they should not only vote for Wyman but also work to get other WEA members to do the same. Here’s what the Los Angeles Times has to say about Sec. of State Kim Wyman. ------- “As the rapid spread of the coronavirus made it clear that the 2020 election cycle would have to accommodate social distanci

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #46 Tarleton Continues Unwarranted Criticism 7.29.20 Tarleton has contended “Wyman hasn’t done enough to make sure Washington is protected against election interference from foreign governments.” https://www.voteforgael.org/ “The secretary of state had not taken the lead in addressing how we would deal with that persistent threat,” said Tarleton… https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/secretary-of-state-kim-wyman-seeks-reelection-as-democrats-look-to-win-a-rare-gop-stronghold/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=article_inset_1.1&fbclid=IwAR0H0gR9jEnoKtltf8-ArgLs123GtgwvjMp6-krr4rajlPLGTRmsLTVb4ow In the wake of the 2016 Russian interference, Wyman worked to tighten election security, including recruiting the cyber-specialists from the Washington National Guard to help protect the 2018 midterm elections. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/with-russian-hacking-fresh-in-mind-washington-state-b

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #45 KOALiFiED OR QUALIFIED Tarleton may be KOALiFiED, but Wyman is QUALIFIED This is a T-shirt caption for a shirt belonging to my grandson. I find it interestingly relevant to the race for Secretary of State. Kim Wyman, who has served successfully and with distinction as Secretary of State for eight years and for twelve years as Thurston County Auditor (Elections Director), is truly qualified for the job and was so when she was first elected in 2012. Gael Tarleton has been an international intelligence operative, a Seattle Port Commissioner, and a state Legislator. By all reports, she’s been good at each. However, she has no training or experience in managing elections. She may be KOALiFiED, but she’s not qualified. Secretary of State Kim Wyman should be returned for another four years, as she’s the only ‘qualified’ candidate in the race. Ken Mortland is a member of WEA-Retired, continuing a long career of activis

SERIOUSLY! ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME!! #6 Isn’t This Person Supposed to Know Better? — President Trump, in an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, July 19, 2020 8.14.20 “Dr. Fauci at the beginning said, ‘This will pass. Don’t worry about it. This will pass.’ He was wrong.” Fauci never said anything like “This will pass.” He spoke as a scientist, evaluating the data in front of him. From the start, he warned of the need to be vigilant. On Jan. 20, Fauci told CNN: “If this evolves into a pandemic, there’s no way we in the United States are going to escape having more infections in this country.” On Feb. 29, “When you start to see community spread, this could change and force you to become much more attentive to doing things that would protect you from spread.” “When you have cases throughout the world, the way we’re seeing now — South Korea, Italy, Iran and places like that — the United States cannot be completely immune to that. In other words, Fauci never said “Don’t worry abo

SERIOUSLY! ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME!! #5 Isn’t This Person Supposed to Know Better? https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-administration-seeks-to-cut-tests-funding-from-coronavirus-bill-2020-7?fbclid=IwAR0pl0i7lh7BykCple39olztvWUUrawS2GgAELn5x5CzNLE11nK80FxP7tE 7.25.20 Trump has falsely claimed that increased testing is why infection rates are rising in the US, but public health experts say testing is measuring a real increase in cases. The Trump administration is seeking to cut funding to boost coronavirus testing from a new relief bill, reported The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/07/18/white-house-testing-budget-cdc-coronavirus/ The White House is also reportedly seeking to exclude funding for measures to fight the pandemic at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pentagon, and the State Department. ------ Once again, we get mixed messages from the White House and there appears to be no coordinated policy. And the president’s rating continu

SERIOUSLY! ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME!! #4 Isn’t This Person Supposed to Know Better? 7.24.20 WHAT WAS SAID “If you look at the job he did on swine flu — I looked at a poll, they have polls on everything nowadays and he — they got very bad marks on the job they did on the swine flu. H1N1. He calls it N1H1. H1N1. Got very poor marks from Gallup on the job they did on swine flu. And they stopped very early on, testing.” --Pres. Trump False. Mr. Trump was referring to the performance of Mr. Biden and the Obama administration in dealing with the potential for an earlier pandemic. Diagnostic tests for the swine flu were approved and shipped out less than two weeks after the H1N1 virus was identified in April 2009 and a day before the first death in the United States. From May to September 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shipped more than 1,000 kits, each one able to test 1,000 specimens. Gallup polls showed that 67 percent of Americans were very or somewhat confident i

SERIOUSLY! ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME!! #3 Isn’t This Person Supposed to Know Better? 7.23.20 WHAT WAS SAID “Biden personally led the effort to give China permanent most-favored-nation status, which is a tremendous advantage for a country to have. Few countries have it. But the United States doesn’t have it, never did, probably never even asked for it because they didn’t know what they were doing.” — (Pres. Trump) in a news conference at the White House False. “Most favored nation” refers to a principle of fair trade that members of the World Trade Organization confer on each other. The United States has enjoyed “most favored nation” status from all members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade since 1947, and all 164 countries in the W.T.O., except Cuba. The United States has declined to grant this status, also known as normal trade relations, to just two countries: Cuba and North Korea. Cuba reciprocates American sanctions, while North Korea is not a W.T.O. member. Further

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #44 Sec. of State Wyman’s Least Partisan Official 7.22.20 Much is being made by the WA State Democratic Party of Sec. of State Kim Wyman’s alleged loyalty & perceived ties to Pres. Trump. Here’s an analysis posted on July 13, 2020 by BlogVoter-Science.com. It reports on an analysis that infers a candidate’s nonpartisan rating. The report defines “most-partisan” to mean “a candidate that only gets votes from their party”, and “least-partisan” to mean “a candidate that got the highest number of votes from the opposite party (ie, cross-over votes)” “Based on statistical analysis of over 150,000 data points across 7000 precincts from the 2016 election results, we conclude Secretary of State Kim Wyman is the least-partisan statewide elected official in WA state. And further analysis shows only the most deeply partisan voters voted against Wyman.” According to this report, Wyman earned a crossover rating of 13.05%, based upon the Se

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #23 FEDERAL COURT ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO ACCEPT NEW DACA APPLICATIONS: 7.21.20 The District Court of Maryland ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program must be restored to its pre-Sept. 5, 2017, status. That means the Obama-era program must continue the way it was before the Trump administration began to wind down the program, which includes accepting new applications. https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.403497/gov.uscourts.mdd.403497.97.0.pdf

SERIOUSLY! ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME!! #2 Isn’t This Person Supposed to Know Better? 7.20.20 Rose Garden at the White House - July 14, 2020 Catherine Herridge, CBS News reporter: “Why are African-Americans still dying at the hands of law enforcement in this country?” Mr. Trump: “So are white people. So are white people. What a terrible question to ask. So are white people. More white people, by the way. More white people.” This is misleading. Although more white Americans have been killed by police than Black Americans, Black Americans are killed at a far higher rate than white Americans. Since 2015, The Washington Post has logged 2,499 white Americans killed by police for a rate of 13 per million, compared with 1,301 Black Americans for a rate of 31 per one million. ------ The question was “Why”, not how many. And that was never answered. Perhaps the question should have been, “Why are more African-Americans per million than White Americans still dying at the hands of law enforc

SERIOUSLY! ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME!! #1 Isn’t This Person Supposed to Know Better? (This series started back in March, 2019 and the thread is being brought back today.) Pres. Trump Blames Union Dues for Closure of GM Factory? 7.18.20 In his speech to the around 1,000 employees, Trump said the workers at the Lordstown GM factory, which up until its recent shuttering produced the Chevy Cruze, didn’t try to save the facility. GM announced the Lordstown plant’s shutdown in November as part of a plan to lay off more than 14,000 workers in the United States and Canada. “They could’ve kept that gorgeous plant,” Trump said. “Lower your dues. Lower your dues.” His statements about union dues are curious. Union dues are paid by employees, not by the company. Regardless of the accuracy of his statements, Trump’s comments were clearly intended to blame the union workers for the plant’s demise in the latest bit of a feud that has at times approached the bizarre. Presidents rarely tell bargaining

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #22 Gallup: Party preference swings dramatically in favor of Democrats AXIOIS: Jul 16, 2020 - Politics & Policy Fadel Allassan https://www.axios.com/gallup-party-preference-democrats-republicans-e6330b61-3cb8-4385-9f5a-1aaef6836cd3.html?utm_campaign=organic&utm_medium=socialshare&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3UPeb_Z_55gzmY-V5aEMMRCayWssDxizKNB3advuQ_RIHbtfXvLzzN3Yg 7.20.20 By the numbers: 50% of U.S. adults identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared to 39% for the GOP. 32% of Americans polled identified as Democrats, and another 18% said they are independents who lean toward the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, 26% identified as Republicans, with another 13% saying they lean toward the GOP. The big picture: The dramatic shift is more a product of fewer people identifying as Republican or Republican-leaning (down 8% since January) than gains among those who identify as Democratic or Democratic-leaning (up 5%).

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #21 Trump Administration Deploys Federal Police Is it possible we’re seeing a last ditch effort by Republicans to save their party? 7.19.20 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal agents in green camouflage uniforms have been taking into custody people in the streets of Portland, not close to federal property that they were sent to protect, in what the ACLU on Friday said "should concern everyone in the United States." Gov. Kate Brown said President Donald Trump, who deployed Department of Homeland Security officers to Portland, is looking for a confrontation in the hopes of winning political points elsewhere. https://komonews.com/news/local/oregon-aclu-actions-of-the-militarized-federal-officers-are-flat-out-unconstitutional-07-17-2020?fbclid=IwAR1bTBpp3LfXQwn9iqJAooR-juRYcxI6Y54dP2K-zAudPsuoxs2GvFVo_jI Brown said that on Tuesday, she bluntly told the acting secretary of homeland security, Chad Wolf, that the presence of federal officer

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #20 George Will Brings Out the Big Guns - Again Target is Pres. Trump 7.18.20 •Under the most frivolous person ever to hold any great nation’s highest office, this nation is in a downward spiral. •The nation’s floundering government is now administered by a gangster regime. •By commuting Stone’s sentence, Stone’s beneficiary played his part in this down-market drama, showing gratitude for Stone’s version of omertà •…including Trump’s selection of friends such as Stone and Paul Manafort, dregs from the bottom of the Republican barrel. •Today’s less serious nation is unable to competently combat a pandemic… https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-what-national-decline-looks-like/2020/07/14/ef499fd4-c5f0-11ea-b037-f9711f89ee46_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #43 Podlodowski Rants about Sec. of State Wyman - Again 7.18.20 I suppose, when you lie about your candidate’s opponent often enough, it becomes second nature. At least that's what it seems like whenever Tina Podlodowski starts talking about Sec. of State Kim Wyman. Before I go on, it may be worth noting here that Podlodowski ran against Kim Wyman in 2016 and lost by 296,705 votes out of 3,129,303. Podlodowski got 42.26% of the vote to Wyman’s 54.74%. One can only wonder if that drubbing has anything to do with Podlodowski’s attitude in 2020? So, what’s the beef about this time? On May 20th, Podlodowski posted the following: Here is WA, we also MUST have an outside audit of the disastrous VoteWa System that failed again and again during Filing Week. How many WA Voter registrations are not being processed, or being purged, because GOP SoS Kim Wyman won't acknowledge a busted $10M expenditure that has NEVER working p

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend?  #20 George Will Brings Out the Big Guns - Again Target is Pres. Trump 7.16.20 •Under the most frivolous person ever to hold any great nation’s highest office, this nation is in a downward spiral. •The nation’s floundering government is now administered by a gangster regime. •By commuting Stone’s sentence, Stone’s beneficiary played his part in this down-market drama, showing gratitude for Stone’s version of omertà •…including Trump’s selection of friends such as Stone and Paul Manafort , dregs from the bottom of the Republican barrel. •Today’s less serious nation is unable to competently combat a pandemic… https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-what-national-decline-looks-like/2020/07/14/ef499fd4-c5f0-11ea-b037-f9711f89ee46_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #42 Is Podlodowski Lying Again? 7.15.20 In a Facebook posting dated May 6, WA State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski claimed Pres. Trump, having appointed a large donor to his campaign as the new Postmaster General, plans to use this appointee to undermine mail-in voting. She also urges Democrats to help vote out of office Pres. Trump’s crony - WA Sec. of State Kim Wyman. She then cites a Washington Post article (citation below) to give credence to her accusations. The article leaves little doubt that the appointee is indeed a Trump donor of major proportions. However, the rest of the article focuses attention on the rates charged by USPS to large company’s package rates. There is no mention in the article of any impact of mail-in voting. There is no mention in the article of Kim Wyman. In short, the citation is a ruse to attempt to add credence to Podlodowski’s accusations. That’s apparently what you do, when you

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #19 Republicans Speaking Out Against Trump https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/07/10/lincoln-project-former-republicans-anti-donald-trump/5412909002/?fbclid=IwAR0nol7oHc0mlraJiKc8yyx1FvPBrm97EjIy10M8F1vExR2LUSU1JLLhp1I 7.13.20- Jeff Timmer used to be a key Republican operative in Michigan, the state party’s executive director, the smart guy who helped draw legislative and congressional districts that still make Democrats crazy. He spent three decades linked to a party fighting for abortion controls, limited government, free-market policies. But he couldn’t bring himself to support Donald Trump in 2016. Four years after he and 75,000 other Michiganders sat on the sidelines in that election, Timmer is back, though not so much as a Republican: On Twitter, he excoriates Trump and mocks him and the president’s allies in the starkest of terms. As an adviser to the Lincoln Project — a group of former Republican consultant

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #18 “Cancel Culture” & “McCarthyism” & Albert Canwell 7.12.20 One of their political weapons is "Cancel Culture" — driving people from their jobs, shaming dissenters, and demanding total submission from anyone who disagrees. This is the very definition of totalitarianism, and it is completely alien to our culture and our values, and it has absolutely no place in the United States of America. -Pres. Trump, Mt. Rushmore Speech What is meant by ‘cancel culture’? According to Wikipedia, it is, “The act of canceling, also referred to as cancel culture, ...describes a form of boycott in which an individual”… is “ostracized and shunned by former friends, followers and supporters alike, leading to declines in any careers and fanbase the individual may have at any given time.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shaming#Cancellation As Pres. Trump uses the term, it’s something only liberals do and for which they sh

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #41 ‘Privileged Monologue’ Making Assertions Without Support 7.11.20 One of the more unfortunate developments in political discourse in the last decade is that on social media there appears to be no need for a writer/poster to provide context or offer corroboration for any assertions made. I suspect one of the more annoying aspects that other posters find in my social media interactions is my constant demand that a writer/poster provide documentation for the assertion being made. When confronted with such a demand, many writers are astonished. It’s as if they believed that no one had the right to challenge them to prove their assertions. Often, posters/writers will repeat unsubstantiated assertions over and over again, and simply ignore replies demanding proof. I think there are three possible explanations for this rather extraordinary behavior: First, many professional posters on the internet make wild assertions, offering no

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #16 The Righteous US v. The Evil Them, Pt. 2 7.9.20 Among my academic heroes is Dr. Will Durant, co-author of “The Lessons of History”. I used many of the things I learned from this book in my Freshman Civics classes. For me, one of his more meaningful assertions is that we all show our biases in our choice of words. As Martin Luther put it, “You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.” "Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children." - Pres. Trump at Mt. Rushmore From my perspective, the use of the word “merciless” designates bias. It could also have been “coordinated”, “persistent”, or “on-going” and been just as powerful and less reflective of bias. The words “wipe out”, “defame”, “erase”, & “indoctrinate” are also examples of such bias. It seems to me that such words are chosen in order

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #15 The Righteous US v. The Evil Them 7.8.20 There’s a great line, spoken by Ben Franklin, in the stage play/movie “1776”. I’m paraphrasing here, but it goes something like this…. “Revolution in the first person, our revolution, is always good. It’s only bad in the third person, their revolution.” As I look at the text of President Trump’s Mt. Rushmore speech, I see this concept in the form of an effort to emphasize an “US v. Them” scenario. On the Fourth of July, I would imagine a speech would emphasize the “WE”, but that does not seem to be the case. For example: "Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children." To start with, I’m struck by the scenario of “our nation”, not theirs; the “our history”, not theirs; “our heroes”, not theirs; “our values”, not theirs; and “our children”, not theirs. It implies “they” are not p

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #14 Trump’s push to amplify racism - Pt. 2 Racial animus & toxicity 7.7.20 •”... credited Trump with understanding “that there is a constituency — a deep constituency, a solid constituency, a resolute constituency — in the electorate for these views.” •“The Republican Party under Donald Trump has become a party wandering aimlessly in the street talking to itself and responding to itself, and all the rest of us have become the pedestrians trying to avoid that guy,” ---Patrick Gaspard, a former Obama White House political director who is now president of the Open Society Foundations https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-racism-white-nationalism-republicans/2020/07/04/2b0aebe6-bbaf-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #40 FACT CHECK: Trump Spreads Unfounded Claims About Voting By Mail 7.6.20 President Trump has made it clear that he does not support allowing all registered voters access to mail ballots this fall, even during a pandemic. But he keeps changing his story about why he's opposed. Among his past claims, the president has said ballots would be stolen out of mailboxes, despite very little evidence of such fraud over the past 20 years. Trump has also said universal access to mail-in voting would boost Democrats and prevent Republicans from winning future elections, despite studies and real-life election results contradicting that theory. On Monday, he changed his argument again, claiming without evidence that foreign countries would print and send in "MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS." "IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES!" he tweeted. Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WI

Could This Be the Beginning of a Trend? #13 Trump’s push to amplify racism unnerves Republicans who have long enabled him 7.5.20 •GOP’s muted and scattered response to the president on race this week underscores how the party is “in decline” and has become a vessel for Trumpism •”It started with Charlottesville and people remained silent then, and we find ourselves in this position now.” •“They coddled this guy the whole time and now it’s like some rats are jumping off of the sinking ship. It’s just a little late,” --- Former Ohio governor John Kasich, a Republican who ran against Trump in 2016 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-racism-white-nationalism-republicans/2020/07/04/2b0aebe6-bbaf-11ea-80b9-40ece9a701dc_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #39 Seattle Times Comments on Wyman’s Opponent Those of you who have followed this blog and my Facebook page may remember what I wrote in #6. “What does a political candidate do when he or she has no qualifications for the job she or he is seeking? That’s easy! Simply try to tie the incumbent to some nefarious individual and then demonize him or her.” That’s what Tina Podlowdoski did in 2016 and that’s what Wyman’s opponent is doing now. And the Seattle Times picked up on it. “In fact, she seems set on tying President Donald Trump around Wyman’s neck — an utterly unfair tactic, given Wyman’s approach to elections and the other duties of her office.” When it comes time to vote, WEA Members should remember two things. Wyman’s opponent has attempted to demonize the incumbent by tying her to Pres. Trump. And,. Wyman “has rebutted the president’s unfounded claims that vote-by-mail is somehow inherently vulnerable.” https://www.seattl

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #38 Wyman Wins Glowing Seattle Times Endorsement 7.3.20 •These turbulent times demand a steady hand at the helm of state elections. Voters should return the incumbent, Kim Wyman, to office for a third term. •Wyman is a strong advocate for Washington’s vote-by-mail system and consistently has rebutted the president’s unfounded claims that vote-by-mail is somehow inherently vulnerable. •Kim Wyman has proven a thoughtful leader, eschewing party politics to tread a centrist’s path. •Wyman has earned the respect — and endorsements — of elections officials from both major parties. •Wyman’s record and conduct are a firm answer to the unfounded rhetoric. •Wyman runs a tight, respected office, with the esteem of election officials around the state. Washington voters should return her to the job for a third term. https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/the-times-recommends-kim-wyman-for-secretary-of-state/ ------------ Ken Mortland i

Constitutional Rights #3 Right to Vote v. Voter Suppression How to combat online voter suppression June 25, 2020 Yaël Eisenstat https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/how-to-combat-online-voter-suppression/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_medium=email&utm_content=90453885&utm_source=hs_email 7.2.2 The Brookings Institute article quoted in the last posting goes on to offer recommendations: 1. Updating campaign finance laws to include digital advertising. In addition to setting enforceable rules for companies like Facebook and Google to follow, this would allow the Federal Election Commission to fulfill its mandate of tracking money in political advertising. One lingering piece of legislation that addresses some of this is the bipartisan Honest Ads Act, which seeks to ensure “that political ads sold online are covered by the same rules as ads sold on TV, radio, and satellite.” 2. Limiting the ability of advertisers to target users based on criteria—which the civil ri

On Behalf of WEA’s More Conservative Members #37 Why I’ve Decided to Support Kim Wyman: Comment on Partisanship by Sec. of State Wyman Partisanship of Election Leaders? Election leaders must not be partisan “But more important, I have found over 27 years working in elections that election administrators cannot act in a partisan manner. Doing so destroys the foundation of our elections. I supported vote-by-mail because I thought it was the right thing to do for our voters, not because of the partisan effects it might have. As Washington’s chief elections officer, I can’t ever place politics above the confidence people put in our elections system. As I said before, public confidence is the most critical element of our elections.” “Even in a pandemic, it’s wrong to dismiss voter concerns, so I will keep listening to voters who have concerns about our system; they must have confidence in our elections, and they deserve straight answers. I hope states across the country will support