Lee Recall: The Goldsmith Report - Read It For Yourselves

The Goldsmith Report:

With all involved parties and certain media groups trying to contest the validity of this reoport, I figure you might want to read this yourselves before Monday morning's musings coming from at least one of its subjects, guided by a local and obviously supportive media outlet.

Here it is.

Click on the link below.

http://www.ccfog.org/docs/Goldsmith%20Report.pdf

Commissioner Lee To Be On KAST-AM Monday Morning.

1370 AM Radio....Tune in to hear his side of the story in answer to the recall allegations.

Call in, make yourself heard. Of Course you may not get on the air but, call in anyway.

Actually I am certain CCFOG members that may have something to add may just be patched into the conversation as well. Call in and ask for equal time.

County Transportation and Planning.....nows your time to be heard as well. Is there really a conspiracy against Former County Commission Boss Lee? It would be beneficial to the constituents in District 3 specifically, and the rest of us as well to be able to weigh all sides to see wherein "The Truth" may actually lay and monday morning is as good a time as any so that all can have a clear picture going to the ballot for the vote.

Northern Star Letter to F.E.R.C. Clearly speaking For Clatsop County

Stating the applicant, Northern Star, get this, has voluntarily undertaken to work with applicable local authorities to obtain vatious state and local approvals. This would be obviously working with our esteemed and recently notorious Board of County Commissioners?

Yes, those same people, all, seemingly in some turmoil of their own if not collectively, of late, with one even commenting to a local Radio Communicator that our local planning staff had no experience, didn't know what they were doing and allegedly are in a conspiracy against him.

And these people are the same Northern Star Natural Gas/Bradwood landing are going to rely on in their decision to seek all local land use authorizations that would otherwise be required by Clatsop County.

And all holding the Life Quality of at least 33,600 people, for decades to come, in their hands for the sake of, maybe, 60 end jobs and a few unqualified promises and still many unknowns?

Finally Someone Conveying The Aburdity Of LNG Talking Heads And Their View of "US"

Stephen McIntyreLangley, BC

An expanded booklet with more of WestPac's LNG Corporation's details on its proposed LNG [liquefied natural gas] facility is not going to cut it with people who see that their homes, health and happiness are threatened by this corporate enterprise ["Clean power bridge," February 6].

There will be no "Oh, now I see" moments for Texadans reading the subtler points of such clarifications. For example, of how LNG is only flammable when it comes in contact with air. How likely is that during an industrial accident on planet Earth?

WestPac president, Stu Leson, appears to feel that islanders' bumpkin brains can't handle all that technical information "that can seem confusing or misleading" and that, if WestPac dumbs it down further and deletes some bits, it just might wash on the next round. Perhaps he has assurances from government that the LNG plant will be a go.

After all, the Liberals gave the green light to expanded fish farming despite all the science predicting doom for wild salmon. Only an appearance of public process and environmental concern and, perhaps some sleight-of-hand, is necessary to get those permits in a row.

As for WestPac's flawed mail-out, who can believe its claim of a mail contractor error? Accidentally missed one of only two communities on the island? I think not. This trick is employed regularly in the Fraser Valley.

Yet again, Langley township is embroiled in a scandal after a secret sale of public land at a bargain price. The law requires them to publish such intent in a local paper.

That obligation, officials claim, was fulfilled, though they must now investigate why their notice did not identify the address of the parcel for sale and why it appeared right at Christmas and then only in a tiny paper that is not delivered in the area of the land sale. Indications are--wait for it--it was a "contractor error.

"This time, the people of Texada Island will not back away. This is home and there is nowhere else to go. Exchanging a shot at fortune for the grief of others is immoral. It is time for Leson and his investors to give it up.
©The Powell River Peak 2008

The Port? Clatsop County Government?: Is It Time For A State Performance and Financial Audit?

How do we, as citizens and constituents of Clatsop County, being served by both these agencies, The Port of Astoria and Clatsop County Government's Board of Commissioners get all the ills that have befallen us in their dysfunction get all of them on the table for treatment and dismissal?

The only immediate and effective way, in our interest, is through The Oregon Secretary of State's Office by a Financial and Performance Audit and it is not voluntary on the part of either agency or under their control.

The question is: should we be presented with the opportunity to have these audits performed, would you as a taxpayer, citizen, voter, resident of Clatsop County approve it?

Clatsop County Planning Staff Says: "Go With State Sale"

Scott Derickson this morning said County Planning Staff, in their Findings of Fact, supports the sale of Delaura Beach to the State of Oregon as originally recommended.

Now our "Bleeding" County Board of Commissioners, with an estranged Commissioner who states Planning Staff is essentially inexperienced and don't know what the heck they are doing, has it in their hands today, 02-27-2008, for final disposition.

California:LNG And Clean Energy Laws Go Head To Head

LNG and Clean Energy Laws on a Collision Course in California, According to New Report

Contact: Rory Cox, California Program Director – Ph. 415.399.8850 x302 or rcox@pacificenvironment.org

A PDF version of “Collision Course” can be downloaded at http://www.pacificenvironment.org/article.php?id=2710.

San Francisco – A report released today details how efforts to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) into the West Coast will undermine California’s laws and policies intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy development. The report, Collision Course: How Imported Liquefied Natural Gas Will Undermine Clean Energy in California, also provides policy solutions towards a clean energy future for California.

The comprehensive report details the severe environmental, economic and energy security implications of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the West Coast. At its core, the report finds that importing Liquefied Natural Gas is not compatible with California’s clean energy commitment.

The report finds:
Meeting the state’s renewable and energy efficiency goals requires that all additional electric generation, as well as most replacement of aging generators, built between now and 2020 come from renewable sources.
New research demonstrates that the greenhouse gas emissions from LNG, when considering the entire lifecycle of production, transportation and combustion, are often as bad as coal.
Building new fossil fuel infrastructure to supply LNG binds California to a multi-billion dollar investment. This investment requires a minimum 20 year commitment of fuel purchases by utilities, and likely longer. LNG is not a transition fuel to renewables; LNG will heighten our dependence on foreign fossil fuels for yet another generation.
LNG will compete directly with, and likely undermine, renewable energy and energy efficiency programs in California.
Sufficient natural gas supply exists in North America to meet California’s declining natural gas usage for the next several decades. This fuel burns cleaner and is more reliable than imported LNG, and we should not lock the state to a new foreign fossil fuel because of false scare tactics – propagated by the energy industry – that California needs new sources of natural gas. Responsible and efficient use of North American supplies, while cleaner alternatives are developed, is the best course.
Despite a state Energy Action Plan promoting conservation and renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, California’s regulatory agencies instead favor increased natural gas dependence.
While California has an ambitious policy of getting 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and 33 percent by 2020, the state is far behind in achieving these goals.
The scale of financial commitment implied by LNG is similar in size to what is required to meet the state's clean energy goals, but LNG carries much higher environmental, financial, national security and public safety risks.

About Pacific Environment: Pacific Environment protects the living environment of the Pacific Rim. We coordinate the coalition Ratepayer for Affordable Clean Energy (RACE), which has been working with community leaders, elected officials, environmentalists, scientists and economists throughout the West Coast to prevent California’s clean energy goals from being derailed. Over 25 organizations have joined RACE to take a stance against LNG including Environment California, Greenpeace and Center for Biological Diversity.

Push Poll - Defined And It's Still Ugly

Wikipedia Defines Push Poll As:

A push poll is a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll. In a push poll, large numbers of respondents are contacted, and little or no effort is made to collect and analyze response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of telemarketing-based propaganda and rumor mongering, masquerading as a poll. Push polls are generally viewed as a form of negative campaigning [1]. The term is also sometimes used inaccurately to refer to legitimate polls which test political messages, some of which may be negative. Push polling has been condemned by the American Association of Political Consultants,[citation needed] and is illegal in New Hampshire.

Clatsop County Commissioner Samuelson Clarifies Her Position On Jewell Recall Petition

From: North Coast Oregon

Tryan,

So here’s proof that recall petitions do not have to state what is true and still be done in the state of Oregon.

Agencies such as Government Standards and Practices and others can be used for the sole purpose of harassing elected officials that make a decision somebody doesn’t like. You could literally put on a recall petition that you didn’t like my hair color and circulate it.

The truth becomes irrelevant and meaningless. I was not at this meeting due to a family member being in an emergency room in a Portland hospital and I had to be there.

Even though I wasn’t present I am presumed guilty by this group, and the local newspaper. According to OSBA no laws were broken at the meeting.

I received the letter from the five past board members by certified mail, threatening me with a lawsuit and recall effort if we did not meet their demand to have a meeting by Feb. 15th and recind the motion.

Again, just another bullying tactic, I’m pretty much used to it at this point since the money laundering accusation, made front page.

Mr. Taylor refused my certified letter demanding a retraction. I wish we could get half this much enthusiasm for a girls state playoff game in Jewell.

Richard Lee: $8000 To Finance His Own Anti-Recall Campaign?

Update 02-26-2008: Anybody from District 3 been contacted by a phone survey the last few days on the Lee Recall?
Survey Questions Asked:
"First question: If you were to vote today would you vote to recall County Commissioner Richard Lee?"

"Second Question: If you knew the recall was being run by individuals with a grudge Mr. Lee and the information was false and manufactured would you change your vote?"

This from an email:

"Now, I read Mr. Lee's wife has inserted a fresh $8,000.00 plus an unnamed, aditional $175.00 into a new Anti-Recall Campaign filed with the Oregon State's Elections Division.

I thought Mr. Lee insisted that he is guilty of nothing and his socalled "Silent Majority" of supporters in Commission District #3 were behind him all the way and would support him to the end.

If that is so, why would any of this effort be necessary and doesn't it, in some sense, infer guilt on his part to react in this manner?"

Do not publish my email address - please

Op Ed: From Clatsop County D.A. Josh Marquis

Let's not squander our moral capital
Thursday, February 14, 2008

The Oregonian

T he Bush administration has announced it will seek the death penalty against six of the men being held as detainees for their involvement in terrorism against America.

I have both prosecuted and defended capital cases for more than 15 years, and I am a vocal supporter of the death penalty in appropriate cases.

If it is proved that these men masterminded the murder of more than 3,000 people, such a crime would indeed warrant the death penalty.

But I'm absolutely opposed to seeking death against these men under the terms of the military tribunals the administration has put forth.

Defending the decision on PBS' "The News Hour," former Associate White House Counsel Brad Berenson explained that for most observers the trials would look almost exactly like one that would be held in one of the 37 states that have capital punishment. "There's only a 10 percent difference," Berenson claimed.

But in making a decision to execute someone, 10 percent is an unacceptably massive difference.
Under the terms of the tribunals, trials would take place at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, at a location called Camp Justice. Each case would be decided by a panel of military officers, one of whom will have legal training. The rest will essentially act as jurors. In no way can a panel of U.S. military officers be compared to a jury of the peers of these terrorists. The rules of evidence will be "relaxed," meaning that hearsay evidence will be admissible.

The argument is that national security could be compromised if the source of some of the evidence is revealed. But that's no different from being unable to produce an informant against a Mafia killer because the witness is afraid to testify. In our system of justice, the defendant who faces death gets to confront his accusers, and hearsay is allowed only in very few situations. One of them is not that the witness is a secret agent.

Many of us among the 70 percent of Americans who believe the death penalty is appropriate for the worst of the worst killers would agree that the crimes these men may have committed are indeed worthy of death. We who support the death penalty believe it to be an affirmation of the importance of life. But the devil is in the details -- and that's "due process" in our legal system.
We squander our moral capital if we take a shortcut through Camp Justice to avoid having to prove these cases to the necessary level, and with a quality of proof that would pass muster in a trial for stealing a car.

The same rules of evidence apply to the shoplifter and the murderer.
by the Bush administration will undermine confidence in the American system of justice at home and abroad. The death penalty has proved to be a deterrent, but we must ensure that every defendant is factually guilty and warrants the ultimate punishment -- even for those who might prefer to be martyred.

It may well be that the government has a valid right to detain combatants in an undeclared war and deny them the same rights as citizens. But that's a far cry from executing them without due process. It may be just to imprison these terrorists for a very long period of time -- perhaps their entire lifetime -- but it would be wrong to execute them without affording them the very cumbersome but necessary rights that the American judicial system affords people it seeks to judge.

Joshua Marquis, district attorney of Clatsop County, is a co-author of "Debating the Death Penalty."

©2008 The Oregonian

What's This?: Citizens For Elections Not Recall?

Statement of Organization for Candidate Committee
Committee Information
Name:
Citizens for Elections not Recall
ID:
12782
Statement Effective From:
02/22/2008 to present
Filing Type:
Original
Address:
42501 Bagley Ln. #5 Astoria, OR 97103
Campaign Phone:
(971)570-0670
Treasurer Information
Name:
Melissa A Cokley
Mailing Address:
42501 Bagley Ln. #5 Astoria, OR 97103
Work Phone: Home Phone: Fax:
(503)325-1662 (503)458-5350
Email Address:
mellfish15@hotmail.com
Candidate Information
Name:
Richard Lee
Office sought:
Recall Election, 3/25/08, Clatsop County County Commissioner, Clatsop County, District 3
Party Affiliation:
Nonpartisan
Candidate Address:
92257 Lewis & Clark Rd. Astoria, OR 97103
Work Phone: Home Phone: Fax:
(503)440-1456 (503)440-1456
Mailing Address:
92257 Lewis & Clark Rd. Astoria, OR 97103
Email Address:
Occupation:
Not Employed
Employer:
Additional Committee Information
Persons Associated with Committee Campaign Finance Activity

History Account Summary

LNG Terminal-Employee List

From Quoddy Bay LNG

Administration Manager
Electrical Engineer
Electrician
Emergency Medical Technician
Facility Manager
General Clerk
Instrument Technician
Longshoreman
Maintenance Mechanic
Maintenance Manager
Maintenance Supervisor
Operations Manager
Operator
Process-Instrument Engineer
Security Manager
SH&E Manager
Shift Supervisor
Site Nurse
Welder