Why not turn all the energy used to marching and poster waving to face your commissioners on Tuesday mornings and learn where they are spending money. Maybe we can be our own DOGE and help set PRIORITY spending with our representatives. Street protests have their place, and FACE to FACE seems to be more impactful. Just a thought.
Having directly addressed the board myself and my partner did during C-19...there was no apparent effect at all and they are actively limiting input and censoring, ignoring the public...'Nozias' has stated they only allow comments as a courtesy and they do not have to consider or reply to any public input...it's closed loop and the directions come from the U.N. Agenda 21+++ and ICLEI, NODC and other NGO's/NPO's.
They need to be removed and competent people (fairly elected, not selected)
which means DEBATES, PAPER BALLOTS, ID REQUIRED, HAND COUNT, SAME DAY COUNTING(NO MACHINE "TABULATING") AND A TOUGH ETHICS BOARD WITH TEETH!
WITHOUT TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY WE HAVE NO-THING!
We cannot continue to allow the 'party' or 'person' with the biggest budget and the most yard signs to continue to be 'selected' like this...it's insane.
MERITOCRACY AND HIGH MORALS, ETHICS ARE ESSENTIAL!😊🤪🤓😱😎
Frustrating for sure. I relocated from Pierce County 9 years ago after watching the complete breakdown of the local politics of the City of Sumner. Big money took over as Sound Transit made its way through and homeownership gave way to large Apartment complexes and the smaller apartments get bought up and go Section 8.
Gentrification on one side of town and low income on the other side.
The power that the Tribe is able to muster reminds me of Sound Transit. It’s a juggernaut with no elected representatives able to just levy large costs along its footprint. From University Place to Everett and East to Samammish everyone pays enormous taxes to fund the trains.
Alllll of the stuff you are demanding here is still RULERSHIP. Majority rule is mob rule. It marginalizes the minority. It is immoral. Voting so you can use thugs in uniforms to beat the other side into submission is incredibly depraved and completely immoral.
Election processes will *always* move toward selection over time. That is the nature of rulership. It's not corrupt; it's doing exactly what the ruling bloodlines designed it to do. It's keeping you in the trap of thinking "if only we can just vote right.."
No one, not even the majority, gets to rule anyone else. Everyone is to be free and to receive the natural consequences of her actions, good or bad.
There are more of us than there are of the rulers. We can remove them from power. All we have to do is get about 8% of the population to comprehend the facts I've just laid out and get onto the same page thereby. That is the approximate critical mass.
The longer we keep playing their games, the more deeply enslaved we are making future generations, and that just isn't acceptable. The time is NOW.
Well, getting the 8% to comprehend the facts is a monumental task in itself... we are in a 'free will' zone and if people want to remain ignorant or stupid there is nothing to be done there...I agree with you that we are playing a zero sum game but the Universe is full of convulsions, explosions, implosions and other 'ions' that we have no direct control over. I don't see evidence (yet) that beings are receiving the natural consequences of their actions...I am impatient which is not a higher attribute I admit. I perceive you are intimating 'self rulership' which I will claim as a higher value and which I fall short of all the time.
I am saying 'rulership' IS corrupt compared to the magnanimous values of cooperation and loving community which many of us desire.
Maybe we aren't yet able to know what's best for ourselves and our planet...we just want a 'pleasant' life to the extent we can achieve it and there are a lot of challenges in our paths.
I hold, with you, that a conscious minority can change 'reality'...I just don't know where we are on that timeline and I'm drifting toward 'mind over matter'...if I don't mind, it doesn' matter.'
For the wise, giving input is its own reward, as it improves the lives of those who heed it, thereby improving the lives of everyone around.
Notice that for all the times you said "I don't know x", you didn't once ask a question. They were all just statements about how you don't know things, as if that is some kind of response to another's assertions. No ill will intended, just take notice of the fact that you do that.
A lot of male people especially do it, and would do well to find the humility to request information from another rather than going on at length stating the things they don't know as if it is a rebuttal.
Yes, deprogramming enough people to reach critical mass is a huge job, did someone say it isn't? Life is working hard and working smart.
"Free will" as opposed to "enslaved will?" The former is meaningless when we really think about it. It's just "will". We all have will. We are to use it courageously and diligently.
"Maybe we aren't yet able to know.."
Nearly everyone is *able* to know. Those who choose to be ruled by fear will be relegated to a very low status once we reach the turning point. The glow of "celebrity" will be a shadow compared to the regard soon to be given to those who fought tooth and nail, forgoing financial wealth and popularity among the masses (to say nothing of being martyred) in order to do WHAT'S RIGHT.
Our species is evolving. There is no way to stop that, no matter how psycho govt gets. They want to corral us and use the momentum of natural fits and starts to create their new regime. We are not going to let them, end of story.
Adults "govern" themselves and choose to behave wisely, no oversight needed. Consequences, both good and bad, come naturally.
What about Olympic Hot Springs? Why cant they keep the trail opening. Buckhorn wilderness is 11 miles farther than it used to be now that they have pushed the gateway almost down to little river road.
The protesters need to be outraged at the fiscal irresponsibility of our County leaders as well as our State government! Constantly spending money they don't have and then having their hand out to us taxpayers wanting more!!
Protesters really need to look at the money being poured into social services in Clallam County. There seems to be no lack of money for Peninsula Behavioral Health, Serenity House and the homeless “health” bus that perpetuates drug use.
They view the world through tangerine-tinted hate glasses. Droning mindlessly the whole way:
*bzzzzzt* ORANGE-MAN-BAD *bzzzzzzt*
"Because the county’s leaders refuse to exercise fiscal restraint. They can’t say “no” to costly pet projects. They can’t say “no” to dishwashers and a dog-washing station for the homeless. They can’t say “no” to providing pizza to drug users collecting their weekly boofing kits. They can’t say “no” to the special interests and NGOs that hold sway over their decisions."
300 rally to support efforts against shrinking our Federal Government which has wide support of the American public. If one paid attention in the last 4 years to employment data you would've seen a massive increase in Federal Hiring. The layoffs of the last 6 weeks only amount to .06% of the Federal Workforce according to what I heard on KIRO radio. With a 2 Trillion dollar spending gap radical transformation is needed in spending and rapid expansion of the economy to generate increases in Federal Tax collection. If the dollar wasn't the worlds Reserve Currency we'd either of fixed this problem or living in a hyper-inflated economy not unlike Brazil. Having lost 30% of my purchasing power since the Covid Crisis I'm all for reigning in any Government spending other than the basics. Our elected officials need to do the same.
Geez, that .06% sounds like an incredible savings. Is that why Trump might need to raise the debt ceiling...or is it to pass his tax cuts? Also, you're kidding about equivocating us to the hyper-inflation of Brazil, right? I mean, with all these tariffs, hold on tight, maybe it'll come! Meanwhile, something for more critical minds to read: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Ixodes, I read through your substack. You do have some points to ponder. As a subscriber, I don't feel people need to give their full names but when you become an author, you need credibility to establish believability, otherwise it looks like you have something you want to hide.
You're right; hiding my identity does negatively impact "credibility to establish believability." Really, if a few folks ponder some points a bit more, that frankly is enough for me. And the comments I've received for folks who have felt that no one has defending them in the face of lies, that's been the most important aspect. Would this be stronger if you could verify me--absolutely. Also, thanks for reading through my substack! I'm no Voltaire, George Orwell, Ayn Rand, George Eliot, Mark Twain, C.S. Lewis, Silence Dogood (Ben Franklin), Maya Angelou but I do feel like Lewis Carol, falling through the looking glass. https://blog.enotes.com/2018/02/02/21-famous-authors-and-their-pen-names/
The cuts aren't making a dent because the GOP directed budget is increasing the debt by trillions. There is no interest in a balanced budget, just reshaping the govt in Trumps image, which involves pandering to the rich with tax cuts while the middle and lower class get gutted by tariffs and inflation.
The complete instability and poor temperament of POTUS has found us increasingly isolated and at odds with our allies and voting with Russia, Iran, and North Korea. We tried to extort Ukraine for a profit, advocated for ethnic cleansing Palestine to build an upscale resort, tried cohersion to try and force a sale of Greenland among others.
In your response on taxes you fail to mention that the county automatically gets a raise in revenue due to appreciation of property. My taxes are now $6400 for 2025 versus $4200 in 2019. My home valuation has risen from @500k to 800k. These are real numbers that do not reflect yet the additional $600 estimated increase from the recently passed school measures.
That is how percentage-based taxes work and .81% is pretty well on par with a national average.
As far as the "County getting a raise" about 50% of that is just keeping track with inflation, otherwise, "Rising tides lift all boats" is as the saying goes. The county isn't inventing value and if anything, their appraised values are quite lenient compared to market realities.
The cold hard reality is the Peninsula is a highly desirable market and the demographic looking to purchase are not as concerned with the economics of being a blue-collar worker paying the mortgage.
There are just too many factors preventing a correction.
This is an excellent point, though I might feel differently about it, I appreciate this perspective. Thanks, Lawrence, for adding substance not vitriol. I’ll take a closer look; thanks again!
If an investigative writer does not have the balls or eggs to put their name to an article, the article is worthless. It’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to write a counterpoint just have the integrity to put your name out there as well.
Some people gang up and I certainly understand why others wouldn't feel comfortable using their name. But I'm not either of those people. Critical thinking and keeping an open mind was encouraged when I was a student and young adult gaining a foothold in life. Bullies had to be confronted and more timid people respected. Ixodes, I welcome other opinions even if I disagree. People really need to pay attention (myself included) as to how they say what they say. The heading of this Substack is Clallam County Watchdog so I expect a bit of a dustup now and again.
Ixodes, I'm sure when Jeff started CCWatchdog he too was aware of exposing himself and the possibility of being "ganged up" on. What made me subscribe to his site, in part, was his telling about himself openly with or without the fear of exposure and backlash. If you could do the same it would show you hold your head up high and stand behind your beliefs no matter the cost.
A name doesn't legitimize fact or journalistic take. Thats the neat part about facts and logic, they are self-evident. If the name was a pseudonym or ghost written for privacy with anonymous sources (as is common in investigative writing) you wouldn't know the difference and you shouldn't. All that invites is an effort to delegitimize or attack the author, rather than the body of work and the points made.
Saying "The name is Jim Bob" wouldn't move the needle and make anything more or less true. Jim could be an astronomer or a 5th grade dropout, that doesn't change the accuracy of "the sky is blue". It's up to the reader to reason with the take presented.
If facts, logic, and thinking are "chickenshit" while you demand a name it's pretty clear you're not here for intelligent conversation. You just want a target to attack because it's easier than thinking over the material.
It is not what needs to be done that people are objecting to but how and by whom. I do not want musk and his boy toys going through our personal information. One was in trouble from his last job for divulging personal information, and his boss fired him but didn’t press it because he was considered a vengeful little prick. We aren’t a business,and peoples lives are deeply affected by sudden cuts in programs, the people slashing may have no idea of what the affects are. We keep saying we love children and you must have them as programs will be getting cut.
Where was your outrage when people that refused an experimental bio weapon were fired and shamed ? Did you care when Obama laid off massive federal workers or even Clinton? As far as your personal information, Elon Musk has an extremely high level security clearance (before Trump) and the people he has working for him also have to be cleared as they work on government projects. I don’t think that the bureaucracy and slush funds and stealing from the American people deserve a soft hand. Will there be a mistakes? Yes hopefully they will be rectified. And just curious, were you outraged with the amount of sex slave trade that was occurring at our borders with children?
Crickets to the drug trafficking, human trafficking (aka slave trade), and child sex slave trade. Even crickets from the Commissioners when I made a public comment at a Board meeting.
Bulls Eye! Yes fund the non working and take away the pleasures of the working! Shows the leadership of our County Officials. Taxes are being miss directed by failed decisions makers. In the military I slept in a barracks and foxholes. Could only dream of dishwashers and electric hookups for my electric vehicle subsidized by the Goverment. People wake up!
Did any of the American Rescue Plan Act free money go to the park services department(s) for any of the parks during the extended lockdowns? Even volunteer services? Just curious. Great article and great presentation on Tuesday, Jeff. A perfect combo to get people thinking!
Best one yet, Jeff! Too bad the protesters aren’t willing to consider that local government can have an effect on local issues (and should remain focused on them).
Do we really care what your breakdown is since you can't even be bothered to use your real name. Makes one wonder why you feel the need to hide behind this nonsense of a name. I don't have the time for dishonest people.
All of them voting blue and are the people that got us into this mess by paying for the Ukrainian war. They should have been at Biden's White House signing songs and a carrying signs.
Bravo, Jeff! You have a keen analytic way of connecting the dots. It amazes me that the other side cannot - will not see what is right before them, either a huge physical building or a looming economic crash of unsustainable debt, local or national.
I hope everyone understands how much support I receive in the form of information. It comes in comments, emails, Substack messages, my physical mailbox, and occasionally appears on my front porch. I'm so grateful for our friends who care about the direction of our county.
We are already bankrupt...just hasn't been declared yet...bankrupt morally leads to bankrupt financially...a return to Higher Values is the only hope for all humanity...not holding my breath...the worse things get the more important Higher Values become.
Most households have no hope of ever paying off the personal debt they have accrued let alone the federal debt...it's all smoke and mirrors and when the smoke clears and the mirror cleaned...all that's left is us looking at ourselves and wondering...what the hell happened!?
We can save over $1,000,000 annually on 'commissars' salaries and millions more by eliminating the positions and the reckless spending altogether. We don't need communists bankrupting the county with psychotic spending and confounding the departments that actually do the work of the county.
The dept. managers and their teams know how to run things efficiently and effectively.
If they don't, they get replaced.
Tyrants ALWAYS cut spending where it will hurt the most so people get upset and 'go-along-to-get-along'.
We need 3000+ at the courthouse demanding 'commissars' resignations effective immediately.
Still, too many folks are 'comfortable enough' for now...so frustrating that so many choose ignorance in their comfort...but I get it...complacency and apathy are part of the human psyche.
Until they're not.
When we completely block the downtown corridor they either have to start arresting or comply with the will of the people.
At this point we have nothing to lose because when the county is bankrupt they will borrow money from the 'deep state' banks and we will be a wholly owned subsidiary of darkness.
Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst...anti-Trumpers are advocating for violence just like Mike French did about the violent vandalism in Port Angeles awhile back...and there are quite a lot of them in our area.
Get ready for anything!😱😎😊TRUTH, JUSTICE, LIBERTY AND TOUGH LOVE!
Why not turn all the energy used to marching and poster waving to face your commissioners on Tuesday mornings and learn where they are spending money. Maybe we can be our own DOGE and help set PRIORITY spending with our representatives. Street protests have their place, and FACE to FACE seems to be more impactful. Just a thought.
One showed up on Tuesday. Remember the request for the Commissioners to write a letter of protest against the current administration in DC?
I do not agree with his ideology, but do know that engaging commissioners face to face has an effect.
Having directly addressed the board myself and my partner did during C-19...there was no apparent effect at all and they are actively limiting input and censoring, ignoring the public...'Nozias' has stated they only allow comments as a courtesy and they do not have to consider or reply to any public input...it's closed loop and the directions come from the U.N. Agenda 21+++ and ICLEI, NODC and other NGO's/NPO's.
They need to be removed and competent people (fairly elected, not selected)
which means DEBATES, PAPER BALLOTS, ID REQUIRED, HAND COUNT, SAME DAY COUNTING(NO MACHINE "TABULATING") AND A TOUGH ETHICS BOARD WITH TEETH!
WITHOUT TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY WE HAVE NO-THING!
We cannot continue to allow the 'party' or 'person' with the biggest budget and the most yard signs to continue to be 'selected' like this...it's insane.
MERITOCRACY AND HIGH MORALS, ETHICS ARE ESSENTIAL!😊🤪🤓😱😎
Frustrating for sure. I relocated from Pierce County 9 years ago after watching the complete breakdown of the local politics of the City of Sumner. Big money took over as Sound Transit made its way through and homeownership gave way to large Apartment complexes and the smaller apartments get bought up and go Section 8.
Gentrification on one side of town and low income on the other side.
The power that the Tribe is able to muster reminds me of Sound Transit. It’s a juggernaut with no elected representatives able to just levy large costs along its footprint. From University Place to Everett and East to Samammish everyone pays enormous taxes to fund the trains.
Lets talk about morality and ethics:
Alllll of the stuff you are demanding here is still RULERSHIP. Majority rule is mob rule. It marginalizes the minority. It is immoral. Voting so you can use thugs in uniforms to beat the other side into submission is incredibly depraved and completely immoral.
Election processes will *always* move toward selection over time. That is the nature of rulership. It's not corrupt; it's doing exactly what the ruling bloodlines designed it to do. It's keeping you in the trap of thinking "if only we can just vote right.."
No one, not even the majority, gets to rule anyone else. Everyone is to be free and to receive the natural consequences of her actions, good or bad.
There are more of us than there are of the rulers. We can remove them from power. All we have to do is get about 8% of the population to comprehend the facts I've just laid out and get onto the same page thereby. That is the approximate critical mass.
The longer we keep playing their games, the more deeply enslaved we are making future generations, and that just isn't acceptable. The time is NOW.
Long Game:
Well, getting the 8% to comprehend the facts is a monumental task in itself... we are in a 'free will' zone and if people want to remain ignorant or stupid there is nothing to be done there...I agree with you that we are playing a zero sum game but the Universe is full of convulsions, explosions, implosions and other 'ions' that we have no direct control over. I don't see evidence (yet) that beings are receiving the natural consequences of their actions...I am impatient which is not a higher attribute I admit. I perceive you are intimating 'self rulership' which I will claim as a higher value and which I fall short of all the time.
I am saying 'rulership' IS corrupt compared to the magnanimous values of cooperation and loving community which many of us desire.
Maybe we aren't yet able to know what's best for ourselves and our planet...we just want a 'pleasant' life to the extent we can achieve it and there are a lot of challenges in our paths.
I hold, with you, that a conscious minority can change 'reality'...I just don't know where we are on that timeline and I'm drifting toward 'mind over matter'...if I don't mind, it doesn' matter.'
Thanks for your input!😊
For the wise, giving input is its own reward, as it improves the lives of those who heed it, thereby improving the lives of everyone around.
Notice that for all the times you said "I don't know x", you didn't once ask a question. They were all just statements about how you don't know things, as if that is some kind of response to another's assertions. No ill will intended, just take notice of the fact that you do that.
A lot of male people especially do it, and would do well to find the humility to request information from another rather than going on at length stating the things they don't know as if it is a rebuttal.
Yes, deprogramming enough people to reach critical mass is a huge job, did someone say it isn't? Life is working hard and working smart.
"Free will" as opposed to "enslaved will?" The former is meaningless when we really think about it. It's just "will". We all have will. We are to use it courageously and diligently.
"Maybe we aren't yet able to know.."
Nearly everyone is *able* to know. Those who choose to be ruled by fear will be relegated to a very low status once we reach the turning point. The glow of "celebrity" will be a shadow compared to the regard soon to be given to those who fought tooth and nail, forgoing financial wealth and popularity among the masses (to say nothing of being martyred) in order to do WHAT'S RIGHT.
Our species is evolving. There is no way to stop that, no matter how psycho govt gets. They want to corral us and use the momentum of natural fits and starts to create their new regime. We are not going to let them, end of story.
Adults "govern" themselves and choose to behave wisely, no oversight needed. Consequences, both good and bad, come naturally.
All we can do is AL WE CAN DO and ALL WE CAN DO is enough. Many things we can do.
We need more bingo cards
😂
Yeah I forgot the Trump, DOGE hater.
Constitution hater.
We forgot we are love incarnate...silly us!😊 How deep can we dive and still make it back to the surface?😊
If the protesters show up to a county meeting, will that get federal NPS jobs back? I ran through a few sceneries in this article, and the two don't seem to come together. https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
One dude thought so. Maybe you and the other people with clever stage names can get him in a headlock before he testifies to the Commissioners.
The irresponsible Clown Car of Clallam County that are our Commissioners.
So easy to chant Musk and Trump when the threat to our lifestyle is slouching in Port Angeles.
Shame on you Ozias!
Is ONP also not part of our lifestyle? What about Buckhorn Wilderness? Rialto Beach? Why not protect both? I ask this and more, while uncovering even more deceit from Tozzer: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
What about Olympic Hot Springs? Why cant they keep the trail opening. Buckhorn wilderness is 11 miles farther than it used to be now that they have pushed the gateway almost down to little river road.
Great point, John. Options to think through! I’ll take a look.
Take a look? through what? JP Patches' ICU tv.
Ixodes turned 60 today. Look in the dryer Ixodes
.
The protesters need to be outraged at the fiscal irresponsibility of our County leaders as well as our State government! Constantly spending money they don't have and then having their hand out to us taxpayers wanting more!!
Protesters really need to look at the money being poured into social services in Clallam County. There seems to be no lack of money for Peninsula Behavioral Health, Serenity House and the homeless “health” bus that perpetuates drug use.
They view the world through tangerine-tinted hate glasses. Droning mindlessly the whole way:
*bzzzzzt* ORANGE-MAN-BAD *bzzzzzzt*
"Because the county’s leaders refuse to exercise fiscal restraint. They can’t say “no” to costly pet projects. They can’t say “no” to dishwashers and a dog-washing station for the homeless. They can’t say “no” to providing pizza to drug users collecting their weekly boofing kits. They can’t say “no” to the special interests and NGOs that hold sway over their decisions."
Completely despicable.
300 rally to support efforts against shrinking our Federal Government which has wide support of the American public. If one paid attention in the last 4 years to employment data you would've seen a massive increase in Federal Hiring. The layoffs of the last 6 weeks only amount to .06% of the Federal Workforce according to what I heard on KIRO radio. With a 2 Trillion dollar spending gap radical transformation is needed in spending and rapid expansion of the economy to generate increases in Federal Tax collection. If the dollar wasn't the worlds Reserve Currency we'd either of fixed this problem or living in a hyper-inflated economy not unlike Brazil. Having lost 30% of my purchasing power since the Covid Crisis I'm all for reigning in any Government spending other than the basics. Our elected officials need to do the same.
Geez, that .06% sounds like an incredible savings. Is that why Trump might need to raise the debt ceiling...or is it to pass his tax cuts? Also, you're kidding about equivocating us to the hyper-inflation of Brazil, right? I mean, with all these tariffs, hold on tight, maybe it'll come! Meanwhile, something for more critical minds to read: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Until you put your name to your writing, your integrity is at stake, and your words are worthless
Ok “KC” where’s your name.
Ixodes, I read through your substack. You do have some points to ponder. As a subscriber, I don't feel people need to give their full names but when you become an author, you need credibility to establish believability, otherwise it looks like you have something you want to hide.
You're right; hiding my identity does negatively impact "credibility to establish believability." Really, if a few folks ponder some points a bit more, that frankly is enough for me. And the comments I've received for folks who have felt that no one has defending them in the face of lies, that's been the most important aspect. Would this be stronger if you could verify me--absolutely. Also, thanks for reading through my substack! I'm no Voltaire, George Orwell, Ayn Rand, George Eliot, Mark Twain, C.S. Lewis, Silence Dogood (Ben Franklin), Maya Angelou but I do feel like Lewis Carol, falling through the looking glass. https://blog.enotes.com/2018/02/02/21-famous-authors-and-their-pen-names/
The cuts aren't making a dent because the GOP directed budget is increasing the debt by trillions. There is no interest in a balanced budget, just reshaping the govt in Trumps image, which involves pandering to the rich with tax cuts while the middle and lower class get gutted by tariffs and inflation.
The complete instability and poor temperament of POTUS has found us increasingly isolated and at odds with our allies and voting with Russia, Iran, and North Korea. We tried to extort Ukraine for a profit, advocated for ethnic cleansing Palestine to build an upscale resort, tried cohersion to try and force a sale of Greenland among others.
The USA is falling into a plutocracy.
You're my hero. PREACH IT! You might enjoy a response I wrote to this and another article by Jeff: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web and another one I wrote in response to his reporting on the Humane Society: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/vegan-in-furs?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
In your response on taxes you fail to mention that the county automatically gets a raise in revenue due to appreciation of property. My taxes are now $6400 for 2025 versus $4200 in 2019. My home valuation has risen from @500k to 800k. These are real numbers that do not reflect yet the additional $600 estimated increase from the recently passed school measures.
Great point.
That is how percentage-based taxes work and .81% is pretty well on par with a national average.
As far as the "County getting a raise" about 50% of that is just keeping track with inflation, otherwise, "Rising tides lift all boats" is as the saying goes. The county isn't inventing value and if anything, their appraised values are quite lenient compared to market realities.
The cold hard reality is the Peninsula is a highly desirable market and the demographic looking to purchase are not as concerned with the economics of being a blue-collar worker paying the mortgage.
There are just too many factors preventing a correction.
This is an excellent point, though I might feel differently about it, I appreciate this perspective. Thanks, Lawrence, for adding substance not vitriol. I’ll take a closer look; thanks again!
If an investigative writer does not have the balls or eggs to put their name to an article, the article is worthless. It’s OK to disagree. It’s OK to write a counterpoint just have the integrity to put your name out there as well.
Watching the way all of you gang up of folks, why would I. And what’s your name?
Some people gang up and I certainly understand why others wouldn't feel comfortable using their name. But I'm not either of those people. Critical thinking and keeping an open mind was encouraged when I was a student and young adult gaining a foothold in life. Bullies had to be confronted and more timid people respected. Ixodes, I welcome other opinions even if I disagree. People really need to pay attention (myself included) as to how they say what they say. The heading of this Substack is Clallam County Watchdog so I expect a bit of a dustup now and again.
Thank you and well said.
Ixodes, I'm sure when Jeff started CCWatchdog he too was aware of exposing himself and the possibility of being "ganged up" on. What made me subscribe to his site, in part, was his telling about himself openly with or without the fear of exposure and backlash. If you could do the same it would show you hold your head up high and stand behind your beliefs no matter the cost.
A name doesn't legitimize fact or journalistic take. Thats the neat part about facts and logic, they are self-evident. If the name was a pseudonym or ghost written for privacy with anonymous sources (as is common in investigative writing) you wouldn't know the difference and you shouldn't. All that invites is an effort to delegitimize or attack the author, rather than the body of work and the points made.
Saying "The name is Jim Bob" wouldn't move the needle and make anything more or less true. Jim could be an astronomer or a 5th grade dropout, that doesn't change the accuracy of "the sky is blue". It's up to the reader to reason with the take presented.
It’s what I would call back in my day chickenshit
Spin it however you want, if you don’t have the balls to give me your name I’m not going to take you seriously.
If facts, logic, and thinking are "chickenshit" while you demand a name it's pretty clear you're not here for intelligent conversation. You just want a target to attack because it's easier than thinking over the material.
It is not what needs to be done that people are objecting to but how and by whom. I do not want musk and his boy toys going through our personal information. One was in trouble from his last job for divulging personal information, and his boss fired him but didn’t press it because he was considered a vengeful little prick. We aren’t a business,and peoples lives are deeply affected by sudden cuts in programs, the people slashing may have no idea of what the affects are. We keep saying we love children and you must have them as programs will be getting cut.
Where was your outrage when people that refused an experimental bio weapon were fired and shamed ? Did you care when Obama laid off massive federal workers or even Clinton? As far as your personal information, Elon Musk has an extremely high level security clearance (before Trump) and the people he has working for him also have to be cleared as they work on government projects. I don’t think that the bureaucracy and slush funds and stealing from the American people deserve a soft hand. Will there be a mistakes? Yes hopefully they will be rectified. And just curious, were you outraged with the amount of sex slave trade that was occurring at our borders with children?
Crickets to the drug trafficking, human trafficking (aka slave trade), and child sex slave trade. Even crickets from the Commissioners when I made a public comment at a Board meeting.
That is all true.
🤬
NSA has servers in Utah that have all that and more.
Bulls Eye! Yes fund the non working and take away the pleasures of the working! Shows the leadership of our County Officials. Taxes are being miss directed by failed decisions makers. In the military I slept in a barracks and foxholes. Could only dream of dishwashers and electric hookups for my electric vehicle subsidized by the Goverment. People wake up!
Thank you for your service!
Did any of the American Rescue Plan Act free money go to the park services department(s) for any of the parks during the extended lockdowns? Even volunteer services? Just curious. Great article and great presentation on Tuesday, Jeff. A perfect combo to get people thinking!
Yes, I meant to thank Jeff about his presentation with the long patient pause waiting for a response. You also ask very good questions, Denise!
I thought my watch broke. Was that the longest 3 minutes ever?
They were so uncomfortable🫣
This is a great question!
Best one yet, Jeff! Too bad the protesters aren’t willing to consider that local government can have an effect on local issues (and should remain focused on them).
Best one, really, it's the least focused piece of writing out there. Here's my breakdown: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Do we really care what your breakdown is since you can't even be bothered to use your real name. Makes one wonder why you feel the need to hide behind this nonsense of a name. I don't have the time for dishonest people.
All of them voting blue and are the people that got us into this mess by paying for the Ukrainian war. They should have been at Biden's White House signing songs and a carrying signs.
The deep-state propaganda has done its job well...best wishes for all!😊
Yes, Robert, you're living proof.
Some of us voted for JILL. RUN FOR THE HILLS! And read something new: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Oh the irony with these people. Demand transparency and accountability from our local government, how bout that?
Yea, and the irony that Jeff doesn't want the same transparency of the Federal government. That's IRONY. I dive in deeper, here: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Bravo, Jeff! You have a keen analytic way of connecting the dots. It amazes me that the other side cannot - will not see what is right before them, either a huge physical building or a looming economic crash of unsustainable debt, local or national.
I hope everyone understands how much support I receive in the form of information. It comes in comments, emails, Substack messages, my physical mailbox, and occasionally appears on my front porch. I'm so grateful for our friends who care about the direction of our county.
What, wait, no. There's literally NO analysis here. In fact, that's why I wrote this article: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Couldn’t agree more! Thank you Jeff.
De nada :)
Did you just culturally appropriate another ethnic language?
OMG! You're so racist!🤣😂😆🤪🥸🤓😱😎LMAO
I learned an ethnic Ukrainian term this week that could be appropriated for the next BOCC meeting "suka"
Thank you Leo and Google... I learned something new today :)
Fortunately for you, it's also Russian.
No, really, you didn't say much. https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Agree with what, exactly, that the NPS protesters don't want county parks? Here's my take on this article and another by Tozzer: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/a-double-feature?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
The US is 36 trillion in debt. Continue on that path and we’ll be bankrupt. Elon is actually trying to save Social Security, Medicare, etc.
Um, someone tell Lee that the Republicans and Trump continue floating an increase to (or getting rid of) the debt ceiling.
We are already bankrupt...just hasn't been declared yet...bankrupt morally leads to bankrupt financially...a return to Higher Values is the only hope for all humanity...not holding my breath...the worse things get the more important Higher Values become.
Most households have no hope of ever paying off the personal debt they have accrued let alone the federal debt...it's all smoke and mirrors and when the smoke clears and the mirror cleaned...all that's left is us looking at ourselves and wondering...what the hell happened!?
We can save over $1,000,000 annually on 'commissars' salaries and millions more by eliminating the positions and the reckless spending altogether. We don't need communists bankrupting the county with psychotic spending and confounding the departments that actually do the work of the county.
The dept. managers and their teams know how to run things efficiently and effectively.
If they don't, they get replaced.
Tyrants ALWAYS cut spending where it will hurt the most so people get upset and 'go-along-to-get-along'.
We need 3000+ at the courthouse demanding 'commissars' resignations effective immediately.
Still, too many folks are 'comfortable enough' for now...so frustrating that so many choose ignorance in their comfort...but I get it...complacency and apathy are part of the human psyche.
Until they're not.
When we completely block the downtown corridor they either have to start arresting or comply with the will of the people.
At this point we have nothing to lose because when the county is bankrupt they will borrow money from the 'deep state' banks and we will be a wholly owned subsidiary of darkness.
Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst...anti-Trumpers are advocating for violence just like Mike French did about the violent vandalism in Port Angeles awhile back...and there are quite a lot of them in our area.
Get ready for anything!😱😎😊TRUTH, JUSTICE, LIBERTY AND TOUGH LOVE!
"We need 3000+ at the courthouse demanding 'commissars' resignations effective immediately."
I agree. I'll be there. Who will join us?
Count me in because I’m retired and have time. When I was raising a family a 40 hour week was not in the cards. More like 60 hrs +
Very best to you, Jeff. I am so thankful for your consistent, excellent reporting.
It's my pleasure.
Jeff, food for thought: this kind of thing is usually the precursor to an announcement that The Tribe or Tribes will be taking over the parks.
I was thinking the same thing
Yes. Jeff writing what the Snooze Gazette and the People's Drivel for News won't dare put into an editorial.
Thanks, Paul.