If any of our local newspapers (other than Watchdog) would report local meetings, pending taxpayer information/actions, local controversies, etc, then we would not need a watchdog. However this is not the case, and I am grateful for the CC Watchdog to bring together all the relevant information enabling all of us to make an informed decision. Many of the persons in this community are imports to Clallam County and need tutoring on the local issues. Jeff plays a vital role in this.
The newspapers all around us are owned by Black Press a Canadian company who decided that their model would be strip it to the bones, and suck whatever revenue they could get out of them. They were early adopters of paywalls (and ridiculously priced at that).
There have been a few runs at alternative newspapers, in the area, only we are far from the closest printers -- and the cost for newsprint is astronomical (because it is not made locally anymore, and because there are so few newspapers left). The only printer is actually BLACK PRESS --- and I'm sure trying to compete had some amusing tales.
Slumping ad sales, and the loss of classified advertising (hello craigslist and the like). We live in a "news desert". Most of the big newspapers are down to 7% (4% for sunday papers) and, its estimated that 1/3 of newspapers will be folded by the end of 2025.
Mimi that was informative. I HATE the paywalls that all the local newspapers have. Free Press just isn't free press anymore. I enjoy CCWD and all that everyone contributes.
"It comes to your position among elected members of the CRC and being the author of a blog that dabbles in sensationalism. It does lately seem that there is degradation of your normal tidy, but performative, reporting. Take for instance your progression in "Balancing Transparency and Soveignty", "The Chilling Effect", and todays blog post which has this odd title appealing to your subscribers suggesting that they might be silenced when the case is that you as CRC member may have to act impartially.
In "Balancing..." you seeming highlighted yourself as the champion of transparency -including playing on the fears of non-tribal citizens being arrested for protesting on tribal land- while Johnston was presumed to be the antagonist going as far as to suggest further allegations of impropriety, regarding the passing of the recent bond measure, as a school board member.
However in "The Chilling Effect" you, as the champion of transparency, were brought to admit in your capacity on the CRC that you had largely omited the contents of the exchange due to Substacks limitation of publishing in only one color (A claim of technical limitations that prevented complete and transparent presentation of the exchange feels flimsy - especially when you were aware of other means to clarify). Then you wade into a common trope of your reporting: using charge language and guided titles to give readers the impression of collusion by alleging that Johnston and others had preplanned the reconvening of the bylaws commitee to censor you and including the bolded header, "a plan unfolds".
You now rail against the idea that you would have to clarifiy if you had to present yourself as private citizen offering commentary on your own blog or doing so as member of the CRC while seeking to reframe your mishap as an attack on free speach.
What is mosty telling fellow subscribers, is that Jeff, the sole source of information on local reporting - which a fair amount of you admit - has regressed from a paragon of public integrity to using the same schema he accuses the multiple muncipal officials, tribal leaders, and executives of NGO's as using. Instead of owning up to selective reporting , he recast himself as an advocate of free speech under threat. It's a classic "when critizied, change the subject". Your strong and boisterous watchdog is now with its tail tucked between its legs. He is choosing to ignore the legitimate concerns of misrepresentation to which Fisch spoke to, that is the chilling effect that puts peoples live in danger.
Honestly a lot of these people need to support free community college. In just a few days it was plain as day that many of these commenters are "true believers" in what you have been publishing. Keeping mind that you are their elected official, and their sole source on local politics because they belive in you integrity. It worrisome and fascinating how many of them will come to rescue when commenters have a differing opinion calling them trolls or telling them to open their eyes. In the four days that I have interacted with this blog it is clear you have let the koolaid brew. I was gone one day and two of you commenters mistook a disabled veterna (Kevin R.) for me, Kevin. You got a dude down here saying that the literal meaning of fired was just that... fire. And another saying that that public officials upkeep a perception of stupidity because its the only thing that keeps them from being strung up by lamposts.
I will being emailing Loni Gores so that this can be submitted into testimony. And by they way, how often would you say that you use ChatGPT in the course of writing your blog?"
Jeff spins lies, through and through. Watchdog is little more than nuggets of truth buried in too many lies and tales. Learn more about the "journalist" and elected official: https://ixodes.substack.com/p/trains-brains-and-megadeals
Carmen, did you know you can sign up to get email notifications for public meetings, and you can choose to sign up for all of them, or select agencies/groups? You can also view agendas and other materials prior to the meeting, and after the meeting view the video/audio records and/or see the notes. I get email and text alerts way in advance. Then I don't have to wait for Watchdog or PDN to tell me about something I care about. Here's a link to an article that includes links for the County and Cities of Port Angeles, Sequim, and Forks: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/you-can-find-local-public-meetings?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thanks for reading a tiny portion of my post! Jeff sent a 6am email with a call to action to attend a meeting at 9am. Jeff could have alerted folks to that meeting weeks before--or folks could sign up for their own email notifications--but instead Jeff waited till three hours before. That's the "urgency" Jeff created. And, he didn't "discover" anything...he sat on this public notice (anyone could find) until the last minute.
Aleta, Ixodes is just a harmless (probably paid) troller. Every once in a while it attaches to new subscribers and sucks on them. A mild irritation but harmless. I would ignore it.
Seems to me. As long as there is no conflict of intrest. And you are not proffiting from the disclosures. All good. It seems to be the norm in the democrat side of Washington to silence anyone who dissagrees with their liberal and usually skewed veiws. And im talking about even non gov people. Like neighbors ect.
That's a fact. Punishment or suppression to those who speak out against issues like DEI as an example. The entire West Coast does exactly that. When others, like you mentioned, both government employees and/or people like you and I speak out or against such liberal issues we get crucified. Teachers, government employees etc suffer the most in great fear of losing their jobs. Like the scales of justice, Freedom of Speech is both highly and extremely suppressed on the West Coast.
Long live the free press! CCWD strives for transparency and other points of view that local newspapers ignore. Here, we aren't censored by fear; we are self-censored by civility. ND and FB have questionable practices that combined with useless print sources leave us with no voice. Jeff has his Constitutional rights. He is a responsible person, a concerned citizen, and a fighter for truth, fairness, and civil discussion. No one should have any qualms with his having a social media following and being a public servant. If elected officials can be on as many NGO and non-prifit boards as they like, then there is no conflict with an elected official expressing his point of view.
I answered Jeff's opened ended question - why shouldn't journalist be in government?. A question he is best suited to answer. In this blog, however, question are knowledge.
So heres my response typos and all, "It comes to your position among elected members of the CRC and being the author of a blog that dabbles in sensationalism. It does lately seem that there is degradation of your normal tidy, but performative, reporting. Take for instance your progression in "Balancing Transparency and Soveignty", "The Chilling Effect", and todays blog post which has this odd title appealing to your subscribers suggesting that they might be silenced when the case is that you as CRC member may have to act impartially.
In "Balancing..." you seeming highlighted yourself as the champion of transparency -including playing on the fears of non-tribal citizens being arrested for protesting on tribal land- while Johnston was presumed to be the antagonist going as far as to suggest further allegations of impropriety, regarding the passing of the recent bond measure, as a school board member.
However in "The Chilling Effect" you, as the champion of transparency, were brought to admit in your capacity on the CRC that you had largely omited the contents of the exchange due to Substacks limitation of publishing in only one color (A claim of technical limitations that prevented complete and transparent presentation of the exchange feels flimsy - especially when you were aware of other means to clarify). Then you wade into a common trope of your reporting: using charge language and guided titles to give readers the impression of collusion by alleging that Johnston and others had preplanned the reconvening of the bylaws commitee to censor you and including the bolded header, "a plan unfolds".
You now rail against the idea that you would have to clarifiy if you had to present yourself as private citizen offering commentary on your own blog or doing so as member of the CRC while seeking to reframe your mishap as an attack on free speach.
What is mosty telling fellow subscribers, is that Jeff, the sole source of information on local reporting - which a fair amount of you admit - has regressed from a paragon of public integrity to using the same schema he accuses the multiple muncipal officials, tribal leaders, and executives of NGO's as using. Instead of owning up to selective reporting , he recast himself as an advocate of free speech under threat. It's a classic "when critizied, change the subject". Your strong and boisterous watchdog is now with its tail tucked between its legs. He is choosing to ignore the legitimate concerns of misrepresentation to which Fisch spoke to, that is the chilling effect that puts peoples live in danger.
Honestly a lot of these people need to support free community college. In just a few days it was plain as day that many of these commenters are "true believers" in what you have been publishing. Keeping mind that you are their elected official, and their sole source on local politics because they belive in you integrity. It worrisome and fascinating how many of them will come to rescue when commenters have a differing opinion calling them trolls or telling them to open their eyes. In the four days that I have interacted with this blog it is clear you have let the koolaid brew. I was gone one day and two of you commenters mistook a disabled veterna (Kevin R.) for me, Kevin. You got a dude down here saying that the literal meaning of fired was just that... fire. And another saying that that public officials upkeep a perception of stupidity because its the only thing that keeps them from being strung up by lamposts.
I will being emailing Loni Gores so that this can be submitted into testimony. And by they way, how often would you say that you use ChatGPT in the course of writing your blog?"
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
And yet, locally, "they" can do whatever they like to those who try to uphold our FIRST amendment!
Jeff, CC Kommissars have never had to worry about revelations... Until you... Is it a surprise that Frau Frisch wants to hide from revelation and RULE in her own fiefdom free from prying eyes?
Proven public facts. The critical mind that questions. No comment censored. Any mistake acknowledged and corrected.
I for one appreciate knowing that the information the CCWD provides is honest, fair and well thought out. The Gazette and PDN are fluff feel good publications bought and paid for. The CCWD provides the real substance of what is happening in our county government. It’s about time the county leadership is being held accountable and the Wizards behind the curtain have been exposed.
When someone accepts a governmental position - elected or appointed - they don't lose their 1st Amendment rights. They shouldn't report to the public as if what they are writing is the official transcript of, for example, a meeting. That role should be assigned to someone who publishes minutes and the people who were at the meeting should read those minutes to check them for accuracy. If there are mistakes or things left out that are important to capture in text then the minutes should be corrected and eventually "approved" through a vote of the meeting members.
I think anyone privy to PUBLIC information from PUBLIC meetings can report on it as they wish. We have laws about defamation and such. Everyone has the right to criticize government actions and officials, as long as it doesn't become defamatory.
I don't think you have to be an "official journalist" in some sort of way in order to report, especially since anyone who can write or speak these days can post blogs online. Public officials frequently send out letters to citizens in the form of mailers and emails. They express their opinions in public on various topics of public interest through interviews and writing. They sign petitions and lead rallies to bring attention to important issues they care about. This is healthy expression and dissent and a basic part of democracy.
If a professional journalist wants to run for office they can and many have. I have read countless articles written by elected officials that were submitted to newspaper "opinion" sections or "special" sections. But newspapers are not the only media environment where reporting can happen.
I got a kick out of AOC when she first arrived in D.C. and started sharing how Congress members were being initiated and "taught the ropes" via conferences hosted by large corporations. She started to point out the ways in which these corporations were gaining undue influence through hosting these educational meetings for new Congress members. It was hilarious to watch the push-back from the establishment when she spoke in public about "what was really going on." We need more of this - not less. The public deserves to know. The more they know the better.
There are times when closed-door meetings are held to discuss legal matters that are confidential. Meeting members need to honor confidentiality from such meetings. Sometimes these meetings involve individual personnel issues or complex legal matters. No one should discuss in public what was discussed in a closed door meeting.
In my past jobs (before I retired) I have attended various regional meetings as a representative of Jefferson County. At one meeting in particular some big mucky-mucks were discussing the possible creation of wave-induced electrical stations off the coastlines of Jefferson County. I immediately said that if that was to be discussed and implemented I expected the people of Jefferson County to not only have a say about whether this idea moved forward, but that if it did they would directly benefit through local jobs running such stations. I told the people at this meeting that local educational programs in Jefferson County should be funded to train local people so they had the skills to run these stations. The big mucky-mucks looked at me like I was an alien. They were literally stopped in their tracks. They had come to that meeting to "carve the pie" of that coastline and the profit potential it represented and it was a damn good thing I was there because I stopped them. OMG. They were going to make major decisions about these resources without ANY input from Jefferson County citizens.
define "official newspaper"? The press doesn't need to have ink rub off on your hands to be official. News and views are now called blogs, podcasts and substack columns --- these ARE the functioning press, now. Jeff had a substack column prior to being elected -- its not like he just ran out and said "oh gee, I'm going to write about what they DO in these meetings". He is professional, in that he uses material in the public domain (i.e. fair use of documented information, in the public arena) and information sent to him is akin to all press -- send a letter to the editor, write to a reporter and there is no expectation of copyright by the sender. (You'd have to write in big bold letters "not for publication" "do not share".) Its how it has always been... since the "penny papers" of the 1830's. We have 200 years of allowing the press to be free.
For government there are very specific "executive meeting" rules. (Salary, lawsuits, and discipline of an employee, mostly.)
However, since --in our county-- only lip service is paid to "ethics" and its all a muddled and confusing group of "don't do this" (the county's ethics code section 3.01.030 https://clallam.county.codes/CCC/3.01.030), and its so old that the only operative gender is "he"). The violations of law "may be subject to criminal liability ... under RCW 9A, and or other State or local laws" . 9A is just a laundry list of criminal codes.
Meaning, that it would have to be very egregious -- like when our county auditor embezzled.
We have an "Executive Ethics Board" with the state that "enforces the Ethics in Public Service Act RCW 42.52 (note the county code never mentions that state code)
But has the large disclaimer "Please note that we do not have jurisdiction over local officials such as city council members, school board directors or mayors, non-state employees or over complaints filed against an agency as an entity." And, the filing forms are mostly for "whistleblowers".
This agency has been severely curtailed over the last 12 years. It's unfortunate. https://ethics.wa.gov/
There ARE counties and cities with EXCELLENT ethics codes, that include the formation of ethics boards (typically 4 citizens who volunteer and one retired judge) for the inquests. Our county never had anything set up -- that I could find in the last 30 years -- and the City of Port Angeles deleted it's fine ethics code around 2019.
To suddenly decide to have an ethics issue, when there is no framework shouts "witch hunt".
Did I say "official newspaper?" I wrote "official journalist" meaning someone who is on payroll or who makes a living as a journalist. Of course, there can be volunteer journalists too. I agree that newspapers are but one vehicle for reporting these days. I disagree that online systems are the only functioning press now - I think that all forms of media are part of the functioning press. The more the better!
I watched them buy up one after the other, strip staff, do only the bleakest and blandest of reporting and put up paywalls (that are more costly than the New York Times, or WA PO).
There is no functioning press. Which is why most people go to facebook to find out what is going on, and, then read blogs/listen to podcasts (technically substack is a blog) for the rest of the news.
It's pretty egregious when the top officials are signing away our county to foreign corporations and lying like 'Nozias'. Attempted theft of county property (Towne Road Project)...Jeff has caught him in numerous lies (documented). There is no 'witch hunt'...moral and ethical considerations are actually quite clear cut...there's not a lot of ambiguity in whether secret deals are being made which are generally harmful to the public. Whether officials 'Nozias' are making deals which blatantly favor their major campaign donor...even writing an apology to 'the tribe' for not securing the Towne Road Nature Trail agenda.
Come on folks...the only ambiguity is on the part of the corrupt officials carrying out their assigned tasks (NGO's, etc.) without real public support...distinct from publicized support.
There is clearly an ethics issue and the 'framework' is age-old.
Getting 'fired' used to literally involve fire. So let's not pretend we haven't been down this road before. We all know the difference between right and wrong and if we don't, it means we are uneducated or sociopathic.🧐
executive sessions need to be announced as such. They are for collective bargaining, discussing things such as legal action pending, land that is being considered for sale (and determining the price), employee issues, etc. They are well defined. MRSC is the basic guide for all towns and counties in Washington State. mrsc.org
So why do 'they' get to consider land for sale, etc. without public input?
Even employee issues should be under the microscope...we are being scammed...they are Public positions...If we had an ethics board maybe these things could be handled 'confidentially' but we don't, so we have virtually no say on anything or any decisions made on 'our behalf'.🤫
I can only speak from my own experience, having gone into closed door sessions many times. I NEVER found these sessions to be trying to sideswipe the public's need to know. Mostly they had to do with sensitive individual personnel issues that if held in public could injure the person's reputation and/or future employment. There are privacy laws that must be followed in such situations. Sometimes they involved detailed legal matters in which the people on the board or commission were responsible to protect the county or organization from lawsuits. In that sense the closed-door session was due to legal consultations that are held in private.
Again, who decides what is confidential and what is not...is it and ethics issue?...then ethics needs to be applied across the board with oversight
It is obvious that the commissars are making a LOT of decisions affecting us with no due process of public input...of course we are not going to go along with permanent cap-lifting on our taxes, etc...so they do it clandestinely or willfully against our will. Not a good idea. And that's just skimming the surface of what 'olympia' is doing. 😱
I agree there needs to be much more structure related to ethics across all governmental sectors - commissioners, judges, congress members, senators, cabinet members, etc. There needs to be real consequences for people who violate ethical standards.
I totally disagree with your first sentence. When people DO accept government positions they are absolutely suppressed of their Freedom of Speech. We have laws against defamation but like so many laws that are there but they aren't enforced. Then those who have the the most money and best attorneys I believe determine in a court of law what so called defamation really is.
except there is no defamation possible if someone is a public figure (i.e. once you run for any office you're a public figure). Once you thrust yourself into the public eye -- well, there is that. You can't say "I spoke in public and was damaged by what that person wrote about me". Because, speaking in public has been considered as to be "public figure". There are some very specific rules about defamation: the statement was false/caused damage. I find all this quite amusing.
I don't disagree with you that people have unequal resources when it comes to filing court cases. As far as freedom of speech, we all have things that suppress our speech. For example, if someone hires me they expect that I won't stand in the grocery store line and talk smack about their business. If they find out that I have done that they are within reason to fire me for insubordination. We expect people to solve problems internally - within the business - before going external with their gripes.
If someone says they want to "speak to me in confidence" I tell them "I don't keep secrets." I let them know that if what they share with me creates a serious concern for their or other's safety I will NOT keep their confidence. So we all have to assess what we keep private and what we do not. It can be complicated.
I worked at many jobs that required serious consideration of people's privacy. There are red lines you don't cross when it comes to medical privacy and such. People who work in counseling and other helping professions understand this quite well.
Elected officials don't work in a vacuum. They have to coordinate with other people to get things done for the citizens. Not everything they do is done in public. They hold lots of private conversations with voters every day and that is important so they stay connected with citizen's needs. I don't think we would want those conversations filmed and posted on Youtube. That would not be healthy.
These officials also work together with other elected or appointed individuals. They have lots of private conversations about important issues to come to consensus. For some counties there are laws related to those conversations. For example, if the private conversation involves too many elected officials sometimes it's called therefore an official meeting and it must be public. So we have to follow the rules depending on what type of board or commission you have.
That 'RAW' exchange between Zelensky and Trump is exactly the kind of thing that needs the light of truth shone on it. Now we now exactly what kind of character we are dealing with.
MORE exposure...MORE light...MORE truth...a strong ethics board made up of 'non-paid' individuals with a retired (honorable-ethical) judge (as mentioned above) would draw the lines where needed to protect people who needed protection.
Leaving it up to unsupervised unaccountable politicians is ruinous.😎
AOC is now a multi-millionaire like so many grifters...they play both sides of issues and can never be trusted to do what's right on behalf of The People.
Anybody that opposes legit ethical public comments must have something to hide.Corrupt radicals try to avoid legit questions and will try to implement rules that will protect them from answering legit questions.
Nailed it in a nut shell. The more you are censored the less people will know. The censors are so afraid of the facts because their control becomes less effective. People will begin to question, can’t have that, the less anyone knows the better for controlling and keeping control.
I've had local feds at Olympic National Park close rank on the question I posed about re-opening Olympic Hot Springs Road after the Environmental Assessment for the repair was approved by the Regional Director. I was told by a forthcoming staff member that orders had come down to direct all inquiries regarding the matter to the Superintendent.
That road re-build is a complex and 'iffy' proposition.
After the dam removal the upper river is uncontrolled and the kind of event that took out the road and campground is common in fact the river channel historically was right where it now runs.
'They' also want as much wilderness kept wilderness as possible...'they' have a whole different perspective and it ALL can be traced back to Agenda 21+++ and NWO.
Why is freedom of speech Amendment # 1 to our constitution? Charter Review Commissioners should be very careful treading on this. We all may want someone to speak for us someday. Just a thought.
This is ill informed and tantamout to numerology. James Madison proposed twelve amendments to the constitution of which the first two were rejected so three through twelve become the first through tenth amendments. For example: twelve minus two is ten. Therefore, the constution is not written as greatest hits album. You might as well say that the thirteenth is the unluckiest thing to happen to black people, or that the 7th is super duper lucky for those facing a jury trial.
The reason no one spoke up is they knew they would be arrested and shipped off in the middle of the night...just like their neighbors.
Do you think the goons that raid your complex at 0300 are going to listen to a reasoned argument about why it's wrong to do what they are doing?
You literally put your freedom and safety in jeopardy by going against the dominant paradigm and the more effective you become the more draconian the attempts to silence you will become...still...here we are!🤣
Progressives are absolutely comfortable with double standards. Somehow, opposing principles are effortlessly reconciled in their minds if a “greater purpose” is being served. Must be nice.
It would be nice if the useless little rag called the PDN would exercise critical thinking but I fear it’s too far gone. They definitely report with a “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” mindset.
If the evil rotten bullies & terrorists who constantly work to undermine American rights and freedoms didn't have their "hypocrisy" they would have no visible platform at all~! This small diminishing criminal class of "scum & villainy" is clearly organized and they constantly play a dangerous and deadly game as they dance between being fully engaged in their treasonous agendas and the absolutely fraudulent & fake appearance of legitimacy in the hopes that the majority do not catch on to their true intentions & highly criminal shenanigans~! They know well their fate should their facade of hypocrisies suddenly become revealed for all to see~! So, Jeff Tozzer, The Clallam County Watchdog, and ALL of us who regularly do our part to simply attempt to understand what REALLY is happening behind all of those highly suspicious "closed door meetings" pose a substantial threat to ALL criminals in and outside of the government structure. If these deceivers of humanity were forced into the light of truth, where their evil deceptions no longer worked, they would quickly disappear from their never-ending crime scene~! So, these as yet unindicted criminals, specifically in government leadership roles, ALWAYS very intentionally encourage the demonstrably false public perception that they are "stupid and/or ignorant" rather than to have the general public suddenly realize that they are really the worst kind of criminals who have the worst of possible intentions, because that is more often than not the only thing that keeps them from being hung by lampposts by enraged mobs of their victims~! It is a dangerous and deadly game that they always play, as they hide behind extremely dubious one sided "laws" that they ram through without public input and they are protected by the police who only follow their orders exactly like the evil despots of the entire historic record... That is exactly why when these criminal thugs are finally caught and being successfully prosecuted for their LONG laundry list of crimes, they always claim "ignorance" and/or "I was just following orders" so that the generally good and decent folks are deceived into wanting to be lenient instead of doing their REAL Constitutional duty to end their abilities to ever do harm again once and for all~! The historic record is FULL of absolute proof of this evil process and anyone who reads criminal case law would know this dastardly process very well~! Be it known that those of us who take The American Constitution and the safety & best interests of the American people seriously, will NEVER allow these evil criminals the opportunity to do harm to current or future generations again~!!! The time for Justice has already begun, as can be readily seen in the "current events" that have already been unfolding, so these criminals are without doubt now playing losing hands~! The general public will just keep on suffering until they have finally had too much to remain victims ;-) To all Americans I with you a happy "Liberation Day" and a great many more to come~! Sincerely, Mike
I have been studying law & history since I was about 9 years old, among other things, and I was COMPLETELY shocked and angered when in law school we were quickly taught "The Reasonable Man Standard" (The Reasonable Person Standard as it is commonly referred to today). I could not believe that ALL of us were not told of this early in elementary school where it would have done the most good. Then, are "we" taught anything of real value in the public educational system, or is it to create a "dumbed down" society that is easy prey for the criminals of humanity? Anyway, The Real Person Standard is described as "The Perfect Individual" who makes no mistakes and is flawless, however our judicial system acknowledges that is an unattainable goal for us humans. Being highly Spiritual and NOT "religious" because religion has been wrongly used to divide folks against each other so many times and that never seemed right to me, I always envisioned this "Reasonable Person Standard" as one only God and/or Jesus could actually really achieve. Ha! So, I simply just continued to struggle to improve my pitiful flawed self in my personal goal of being the best American Constitutionalist that I could become~! Ironically, but I am confident it is quite intentional, The American Constitutionalist is also the ultimate American version of The Reasonable Person Standard, especially in the way that American Constitutionalists are to by all means be "Constitutionally Correct" in law and Spirit with no "violations or demerits" as the ultimate goal to aspire to~! So, in a very meaningful way ALL good Americans (and folks all over the world really) should be in a constant state of improving themselves with the higher aspiration of mimicking "God" or attempting to ascertain what God would do under whatever circumstances that we may face. Of course, without running around "playing God" as if an Individual is somehow able or empowered to do that! That is another problem entirely, but aspiring to follow in God's footsteps can be a great thing as long as we don't let it go to our heads~! Fun stuff really, but for folks who don't think that they need to improve, or are too lazy to improve, they are the ones who always drag everyone else down~!
William Randolph Hearst OWNED newspapers and was twice elected to the US House of Representatives. He (unsuccessfully) ran for US President and for Governor of NY. His father was Senator George Hearst. Joseph Pulitzer served one term for New York's 9th congressional district. ...I could go on, but I have work to do today.
It comes to your position among elected members of the CRC and being the author of a blog that dabbles in sensationalism. It does lately seem that there is degradation of your normal tidy, but performative, reporting. Take for instance your progression in "Balancing Transparency and Soveignty", "The Chilling Effect", and todays blog post which has this odd title appealing to your subscribers suggesting that they might be silenced when the case is that you as CRC member may have to act impartially.
In "Balancing..." you seeming highlighted yourself as the champion of transparency -including playing on the fears of non-tribal citizens being arrested for protesting on tribal land- while Johnston was presumed to be the antagonist going as far as to suggest further allegations of impropriety, regarding the passing of the recent bond measure, as a school board member.
However in "The Chilling Effect" you, as the champion of transparency, were brought to admit in your capacity on the CRC that you had largely omited the contents of the exchange due to Substacks limitation of publishing in only one color (A claim of technical limitations that prevented complete and transparent presentation of the exchange feels flimsy - especially when you were aware of other means to clarify). Then you wade into a common trope of your reporting: using charge language and guided titles to give readers the impression of collusion by alleging that Johnston and others had preplanned the reconvening of the bylaws commitee to censor you and including the bolded header, "a plan unfolds".
You now rail against the idea that you would have to clarifiy if you had to present yourself as private citizen offering commentary on your own blog or doing so as member of the CRC while seeking to reframe your mishap as an attack on free speach.
What is mosty telling fellow subscribers, is that Jeff, the sole source of information on local reporting - which a fair amount of you admit - has regressed from a paragon of public integrity to using the same schema he accuses the multiple muncipal officials, tribal leaders, and executives of NGO's as using. Instead of owning up to selective reporting , he recast himself as an advocate of free speech under threat. It's a classic "when critizied, change the subject". Your strong and boisterous watchdog is now with its tail tucked between its legs. He is choosing to ignore the legitimate concerns of misrepresentation to which Fisch spoke to, that is the chilling effect that puts peoples live in danger.
Honestly a lot of these people need to support free community college. In just a few days it was plain as day that many of these commenters are "true believers" in what you have been publishing. Keeping mind that you are their elected official, and their sole source on local politics because they belive in you integrity. It worrisome and fascinating how many of them will come to rescue when commenters have a differing opinion calling them trolls or telling them to open their eyes. In the four days that I have interacted with this blog it is clear you have let the koolaid brew. I was gone one day and two of you commenters mistook a disabled veterna (Kevin R.) for me, Kevin. You got a dude down here saying that the literal meaning of fired was just that... fire. And another saying that that public officials upkeep a perception of stupidity because its the only thing that keeps them from being strung up by lamposts.
I will being emailing Loni Gores so that this can be submitted into testimony. And by they way, how often would you say that you use ChatGPT in the course of writing your blog?
I actually agree to a point. There are some ethical and impartiality issues raised when a journalist writes about ongoing matters in the elected office they currently hold. But there are also ethical and impartiality issues raised when journalists outright ignore government business, insinuating they are being paid to look away, like most if not all of the local media. In today's world, watchdogs are more important than ever and open reporting in a town square forum like substack can keep the reporter on track with partiality as we all become watchdogs of the reporter. Most of the elected officials now have X accounts where they post information daily, if not hourly, about their current business.
We are all watching Jeff, reading and responding with our own individual opinions. Some like you not afraid to say the hard things.
I understand Mark...separation of powers... but the MSM seems to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the NWO.
Maybe while you were doing your job as prescribed there were others involved in the trade with different understandings of what their role was/is.
I was commenting on your relief about being able to openly express yourself after apparently not being able to in your profession.
You are still part of the public and should still be able to voice your opinion separate from the 'reporting' you were doing, just not the same platform. Control is manifested by divide and conquer and we have never been more polarized as a nation and as a global community.
So let me disagree with you and feel free to poke holes in my thinking. If Jeff was to step down from his position how much of the goings on would he be excluded from. Can the Commission meet behind closed doors? Are alliances easily hidden if your not on the inside? My understanding of the rules are pretty much non existent. It seems to me you need an insider. Am I wrong?
I don’t know if the Charter Commission is bound by the Open Public Meetings section of WA code.
Journalists don’t usually report on government activities that they are a part of. It puts them in the position of reporting on things they’re involved in — reporting on themselves. That gives others an opportunity to suggest they are less than objective.
of course it is bound by OPMA...however, the OPMA wasn't what it once was. It has been erroded over time, and by general ignorance. Add to that civics hasn't been taught in schools for decades.
Amoral/Immoral governance erodes the goodness right out of a society.
Recommend "How The Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World" from the editorial board of "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party"
published by The Epoch Times.
I don't agree with some of the newspapers watered down views on some issues but the books are blatantly honest about what's playing out on the World stage.
Epoch Times is Chinese-American owned...patriots who know what Communism is and does to every society it touches.
If you read the OPMA, there are exceptions that allow governing bodies to meet in executive session — like labor negotiations or discussions with counsel regarding lawsuits.
Well, if you want to throw your money to the wind, you can always sue your local government in the name of transparency. They get to defend themselves with the finest attorneys they can find at the public’s expense. You get to pay your own way. And you better win, too. If you lose, you get stuck with their legal bills. Ask other CC Watchdog readers how that works.
From personal experience, I can tell you the media doesn’t have a boatload of money to spend on lawsuits in the name of transparency. You do the best you can with the people you can.
If any of our local newspapers (other than Watchdog) would report local meetings, pending taxpayer information/actions, local controversies, etc, then we would not need a watchdog. However this is not the case, and I am grateful for the CC Watchdog to bring together all the relevant information enabling all of us to make an informed decision. Many of the persons in this community are imports to Clallam County and need tutoring on the local issues. Jeff plays a vital role in this.
The newspapers all around us are owned by Black Press a Canadian company who decided that their model would be strip it to the bones, and suck whatever revenue they could get out of them. They were early adopters of paywalls (and ridiculously priced at that).
There have been a few runs at alternative newspapers, in the area, only we are far from the closest printers -- and the cost for newsprint is astronomical (because it is not made locally anymore, and because there are so few newspapers left). The only printer is actually BLACK PRESS --- and I'm sure trying to compete had some amusing tales.
Slumping ad sales, and the loss of classified advertising (hello craigslist and the like). We live in a "news desert". Most of the big newspapers are down to 7% (4% for sunday papers) and, its estimated that 1/3 of newspapers will be folded by the end of 2025.
Mimi that was informative. I HATE the paywalls that all the local newspapers have. Free Press just isn't free press anymore. I enjoy CCWD and all that everyone contributes.
How is this for testimony?
"It comes to your position among elected members of the CRC and being the author of a blog that dabbles in sensationalism. It does lately seem that there is degradation of your normal tidy, but performative, reporting. Take for instance your progression in "Balancing Transparency and Soveignty", "The Chilling Effect", and todays blog post which has this odd title appealing to your subscribers suggesting that they might be silenced when the case is that you as CRC member may have to act impartially.
In "Balancing..." you seeming highlighted yourself as the champion of transparency -including playing on the fears of non-tribal citizens being arrested for protesting on tribal land- while Johnston was presumed to be the antagonist going as far as to suggest further allegations of impropriety, regarding the passing of the recent bond measure, as a school board member.
However in "The Chilling Effect" you, as the champion of transparency, were brought to admit in your capacity on the CRC that you had largely omited the contents of the exchange due to Substacks limitation of publishing in only one color (A claim of technical limitations that prevented complete and transparent presentation of the exchange feels flimsy - especially when you were aware of other means to clarify). Then you wade into a common trope of your reporting: using charge language and guided titles to give readers the impression of collusion by alleging that Johnston and others had preplanned the reconvening of the bylaws commitee to censor you and including the bolded header, "a plan unfolds".
You now rail against the idea that you would have to clarifiy if you had to present yourself as private citizen offering commentary on your own blog or doing so as member of the CRC while seeking to reframe your mishap as an attack on free speach.
What is mosty telling fellow subscribers, is that Jeff, the sole source of information on local reporting - which a fair amount of you admit - has regressed from a paragon of public integrity to using the same schema he accuses the multiple muncipal officials, tribal leaders, and executives of NGO's as using. Instead of owning up to selective reporting , he recast himself as an advocate of free speech under threat. It's a classic "when critizied, change the subject". Your strong and boisterous watchdog is now with its tail tucked between its legs. He is choosing to ignore the legitimate concerns of misrepresentation to which Fisch spoke to, that is the chilling effect that puts peoples live in danger.
Honestly a lot of these people need to support free community college. In just a few days it was plain as day that many of these commenters are "true believers" in what you have been publishing. Keeping mind that you are their elected official, and their sole source on local politics because they belive in you integrity. It worrisome and fascinating how many of them will come to rescue when commenters have a differing opinion calling them trolls or telling them to open their eyes. In the four days that I have interacted with this blog it is clear you have let the koolaid brew. I was gone one day and two of you commenters mistook a disabled veterna (Kevin R.) for me, Kevin. You got a dude down here saying that the literal meaning of fired was just that... fire. And another saying that that public officials upkeep a perception of stupidity because its the only thing that keeps them from being strung up by lamposts.
I will being emailing Loni Gores so that this can be submitted into testimony. And by they way, how often would you say that you use ChatGPT in the course of writing your blog?"
Guess that's why 'Nozias' wants to subsidize the paper to keep their last little mouthpiece active. Let them (papers) die if they can't self-support.
They might hang on if they were seeking truth and practicing journalism.
We The People, are tired of the lies, manipulations and gaslighting by the media.🙂
Jeff spins lies, through and through. Watchdog is little more than nuggets of truth buried in too many lies and tales. Learn more about the "journalist" and elected official: https://ixodes.substack.com/p/trains-brains-and-megadeals
Carmen, did you know you can sign up to get email notifications for public meetings, and you can choose to sign up for all of them, or select agencies/groups? You can also view agendas and other materials prior to the meeting, and after the meeting view the video/audio records and/or see the notes. I get email and text alerts way in advance. Then I don't have to wait for Watchdog or PDN to tell me about something I care about. Here's a link to an article that includes links for the County and Cities of Port Angeles, Sequim, and Forks: https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/you-can-find-local-public-meetings?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Example for Clallam County:
Meetings & Agendas posted here: https://clallamcowa.portal.civicclerk.com/
Sign up for public notices and meetings alerts: https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/list.aspx
Bonus: Board of County Commissioners Contact Page: https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/186/Board-of-County-Commissioners
Bonus: Citizen Participation Page: https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/696/Citizen-Participation
Bonus: A “how to” for Public Input & Citizen Participation Guide: https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/227/Public-Input-Citizen-Participation
Click here for Port Angeles, Sequim, and Forks links (and some others, too!): https://open.substack.com/pub/ixodes/p/you-can-find-local-public-meetings?r=5b9x9x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Rick bites
Oops Tick bites
He meant Tick. The tick is Ixodes
Thanks for reading a tiny portion of my post! Jeff sent a 6am email with a call to action to attend a meeting at 9am. Jeff could have alerted folks to that meeting weeks before--or folks could sign up for their own email notifications--but instead Jeff waited till three hours before. That's the "urgency" Jeff created. And, he didn't "discover" anything...he sat on this public notice (anyone could find) until the last minute.
Aleta, Ixodes is just a harmless (probably paid) troller. Every once in a while it attaches to new subscribers and sucks on them. A mild irritation but harmless. I would ignore it.
Seems to me. As long as there is no conflict of intrest. And you are not proffiting from the disclosures. All good. It seems to be the norm in the democrat side of Washington to silence anyone who dissagrees with their liberal and usually skewed veiws. And im talking about even non gov people. Like neighbors ect.
That's a fact. Punishment or suppression to those who speak out against issues like DEI as an example. The entire West Coast does exactly that. When others, like you mentioned, both government employees and/or people like you and I speak out or against such liberal issues we get crucified. Teachers, government employees etc suffer the most in great fear of losing their jobs. Like the scales of justice, Freedom of Speech is both highly and extremely suppressed on the West Coast.
Long live the free press! CCWD strives for transparency and other points of view that local newspapers ignore. Here, we aren't censored by fear; we are self-censored by civility. ND and FB have questionable practices that combined with useless print sources leave us with no voice. Jeff has his Constitutional rights. He is a responsible person, a concerned citizen, and a fighter for truth, fairness, and civil discussion. No one should have any qualms with his having a social media following and being a public servant. If elected officials can be on as many NGO and non-prifit boards as they like, then there is no conflict with an elected official expressing his point of view.
Lets get Jeff a cape. ;)
They are selling a cape/speedo combo on line right now. Shall I order?
Yeah, don't forget the tights too. (your choice of color)
I answered Jeff's opened ended question - why shouldn't journalist be in government?. A question he is best suited to answer. In this blog, however, question are knowledge.
So heres my response typos and all, "It comes to your position among elected members of the CRC and being the author of a blog that dabbles in sensationalism. It does lately seem that there is degradation of your normal tidy, but performative, reporting. Take for instance your progression in "Balancing Transparency and Soveignty", "The Chilling Effect", and todays blog post which has this odd title appealing to your subscribers suggesting that they might be silenced when the case is that you as CRC member may have to act impartially.
In "Balancing..." you seeming highlighted yourself as the champion of transparency -including playing on the fears of non-tribal citizens being arrested for protesting on tribal land- while Johnston was presumed to be the antagonist going as far as to suggest further allegations of impropriety, regarding the passing of the recent bond measure, as a school board member.
However in "The Chilling Effect" you, as the champion of transparency, were brought to admit in your capacity on the CRC that you had largely omited the contents of the exchange due to Substacks limitation of publishing in only one color (A claim of technical limitations that prevented complete and transparent presentation of the exchange feels flimsy - especially when you were aware of other means to clarify). Then you wade into a common trope of your reporting: using charge language and guided titles to give readers the impression of collusion by alleging that Johnston and others had preplanned the reconvening of the bylaws commitee to censor you and including the bolded header, "a plan unfolds".
You now rail against the idea that you would have to clarifiy if you had to present yourself as private citizen offering commentary on your own blog or doing so as member of the CRC while seeking to reframe your mishap as an attack on free speach.
What is mosty telling fellow subscribers, is that Jeff, the sole source of information on local reporting - which a fair amount of you admit - has regressed from a paragon of public integrity to using the same schema he accuses the multiple muncipal officials, tribal leaders, and executives of NGO's as using. Instead of owning up to selective reporting , he recast himself as an advocate of free speech under threat. It's a classic "when critizied, change the subject". Your strong and boisterous watchdog is now with its tail tucked between its legs. He is choosing to ignore the legitimate concerns of misrepresentation to which Fisch spoke to, that is the chilling effect that puts peoples live in danger.
Honestly a lot of these people need to support free community college. In just a few days it was plain as day that many of these commenters are "true believers" in what you have been publishing. Keeping mind that you are their elected official, and their sole source on local politics because they belive in you integrity. It worrisome and fascinating how many of them will come to rescue when commenters have a differing opinion calling them trolls or telling them to open their eyes. In the four days that I have interacted with this blog it is clear you have let the koolaid brew. I was gone one day and two of you commenters mistook a disabled veterna (Kevin R.) for me, Kevin. You got a dude down here saying that the literal meaning of fired was just that... fire. And another saying that that public officials upkeep a perception of stupidity because its the only thing that keeps them from being strung up by lamposts.
I will being emailing Loni Gores so that this can be submitted into testimony. And by they way, how often would you say that you use ChatGPT in the course of writing your blog?"
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
And yet, locally, "they" can do whatever they like to those who try to uphold our FIRST amendment!
It's only a right if we can defend it.🧐
Nationally, too.
You know you’re over the target when the rats start running for cover
Jeff, CC Kommissars have never had to worry about revelations... Until you... Is it a surprise that Frau Frisch wants to hide from revelation and RULE in her own fiefdom free from prying eyes?
Good argument for reincarnation...the same kind of characters keep showing up over and over.🧐
Good one ; )
Proven public facts. The critical mind that questions. No comment censored. Any mistake acknowledged and corrected.
I for one appreciate knowing that the information the CCWD provides is honest, fair and well thought out. The Gazette and PDN are fluff feel good publications bought and paid for. The CCWD provides the real substance of what is happening in our county government. It’s about time the county leadership is being held accountable and the Wizards behind the curtain have been exposed.
When someone accepts a governmental position - elected or appointed - they don't lose their 1st Amendment rights. They shouldn't report to the public as if what they are writing is the official transcript of, for example, a meeting. That role should be assigned to someone who publishes minutes and the people who were at the meeting should read those minutes to check them for accuracy. If there are mistakes or things left out that are important to capture in text then the minutes should be corrected and eventually "approved" through a vote of the meeting members.
I think anyone privy to PUBLIC information from PUBLIC meetings can report on it as they wish. We have laws about defamation and such. Everyone has the right to criticize government actions and officials, as long as it doesn't become defamatory.
I don't think you have to be an "official journalist" in some sort of way in order to report, especially since anyone who can write or speak these days can post blogs online. Public officials frequently send out letters to citizens in the form of mailers and emails. They express their opinions in public on various topics of public interest through interviews and writing. They sign petitions and lead rallies to bring attention to important issues they care about. This is healthy expression and dissent and a basic part of democracy.
If a professional journalist wants to run for office they can and many have. I have read countless articles written by elected officials that were submitted to newspaper "opinion" sections or "special" sections. But newspapers are not the only media environment where reporting can happen.
I got a kick out of AOC when she first arrived in D.C. and started sharing how Congress members were being initiated and "taught the ropes" via conferences hosted by large corporations. She started to point out the ways in which these corporations were gaining undue influence through hosting these educational meetings for new Congress members. It was hilarious to watch the push-back from the establishment when she spoke in public about "what was really going on." We need more of this - not less. The public deserves to know. The more they know the better.
There are times when closed-door meetings are held to discuss legal matters that are confidential. Meeting members need to honor confidentiality from such meetings. Sometimes these meetings involve individual personnel issues or complex legal matters. No one should discuss in public what was discussed in a closed door meeting.
In my past jobs (before I retired) I have attended various regional meetings as a representative of Jefferson County. At one meeting in particular some big mucky-mucks were discussing the possible creation of wave-induced electrical stations off the coastlines of Jefferson County. I immediately said that if that was to be discussed and implemented I expected the people of Jefferson County to not only have a say about whether this idea moved forward, but that if it did they would directly benefit through local jobs running such stations. I told the people at this meeting that local educational programs in Jefferson County should be funded to train local people so they had the skills to run these stations. The big mucky-mucks looked at me like I was an alien. They were literally stopped in their tracks. They had come to that meeting to "carve the pie" of that coastline and the profit potential it represented and it was a damn good thing I was there because I stopped them. OMG. They were going to make major decisions about these resources without ANY input from Jefferson County citizens.
define "official newspaper"? The press doesn't need to have ink rub off on your hands to be official. News and views are now called blogs, podcasts and substack columns --- these ARE the functioning press, now. Jeff had a substack column prior to being elected -- its not like he just ran out and said "oh gee, I'm going to write about what they DO in these meetings". He is professional, in that he uses material in the public domain (i.e. fair use of documented information, in the public arena) and information sent to him is akin to all press -- send a letter to the editor, write to a reporter and there is no expectation of copyright by the sender. (You'd have to write in big bold letters "not for publication" "do not share".) Its how it has always been... since the "penny papers" of the 1830's. We have 200 years of allowing the press to be free.
For government there are very specific "executive meeting" rules. (Salary, lawsuits, and discipline of an employee, mostly.)
However, since --in our county-- only lip service is paid to "ethics" and its all a muddled and confusing group of "don't do this" (the county's ethics code section 3.01.030 https://clallam.county.codes/CCC/3.01.030), and its so old that the only operative gender is "he"). The violations of law "may be subject to criminal liability ... under RCW 9A, and or other State or local laws" . 9A is just a laundry list of criminal codes.
Meaning, that it would have to be very egregious -- like when our county auditor embezzled.
We have an "Executive Ethics Board" with the state that "enforces the Ethics in Public Service Act RCW 42.52 (note the county code never mentions that state code)
But has the large disclaimer "Please note that we do not have jurisdiction over local officials such as city council members, school board directors or mayors, non-state employees or over complaints filed against an agency as an entity." And, the filing forms are mostly for "whistleblowers".
This agency has been severely curtailed over the last 12 years. It's unfortunate. https://ethics.wa.gov/
There ARE counties and cities with EXCELLENT ethics codes, that include the formation of ethics boards (typically 4 citizens who volunteer and one retired judge) for the inquests. Our county never had anything set up -- that I could find in the last 30 years -- and the City of Port Angeles deleted it's fine ethics code around 2019.
To suddenly decide to have an ethics issue, when there is no framework shouts "witch hunt".
Did I say "official newspaper?" I wrote "official journalist" meaning someone who is on payroll or who makes a living as a journalist. Of course, there can be volunteer journalists too. I agree that newspapers are but one vehicle for reporting these days. I disagree that online systems are the only functioning press now - I think that all forms of media are part of the functioning press. The more the better!
that never was a definition of an "official journalist". Payroll has nothing to do with it. That was never a factor.
SIX companies own almost all the media in this country. SIX! https://www.webfx.com/blog/internet/the-6-companies-that-own-almost-all-media-infographic/
SEVEN companies own all of the major daily newspapers in America. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/futureofmedia/index-seven-big-owners-dailies
Locally, ONE company (Black Press Group Ltd.) a Canadian company owns all the newspapers around us -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Press
I watched them buy up one after the other, strip staff, do only the bleakest and blandest of reporting and put up paywalls (that are more costly than the New York Times, or WA PO).
There is no functioning press. Which is why most people go to facebook to find out what is going on, and, then read blogs/listen to podcasts (technically substack is a blog) for the rest of the news.
It's pretty egregious when the top officials are signing away our county to foreign corporations and lying like 'Nozias'. Attempted theft of county property (Towne Road Project)...Jeff has caught him in numerous lies (documented). There is no 'witch hunt'...moral and ethical considerations are actually quite clear cut...there's not a lot of ambiguity in whether secret deals are being made which are generally harmful to the public. Whether officials 'Nozias' are making deals which blatantly favor their major campaign donor...even writing an apology to 'the tribe' for not securing the Towne Road Nature Trail agenda.
Come on folks...the only ambiguity is on the part of the corrupt officials carrying out their assigned tasks (NGO's, etc.) without real public support...distinct from publicized support.
There is clearly an ethics issue and the 'framework' is age-old.
Getting 'fired' used to literally involve fire. So let's not pretend we haven't been down this road before. We all know the difference between right and wrong and if we don't, it means we are uneducated or sociopathic.🧐
So who gets to define what gets discussed or contained in a closed meeting?
There are NO ethics/accountability processes in place so abuse of power is rampant.😁
executive sessions need to be announced as such. They are for collective bargaining, discussing things such as legal action pending, land that is being considered for sale (and determining the price), employee issues, etc. They are well defined. MRSC is the basic guide for all towns and counties in Washington State. mrsc.org
So why do 'they' get to consider land for sale, etc. without public input?
Even employee issues should be under the microscope...we are being scammed...they are Public positions...If we had an ethics board maybe these things could be handled 'confidentially' but we don't, so we have virtually no say on anything or any decisions made on 'our behalf'.🤫
I can only speak from my own experience, having gone into closed door sessions many times. I NEVER found these sessions to be trying to sideswipe the public's need to know. Mostly they had to do with sensitive individual personnel issues that if held in public could injure the person's reputation and/or future employment. There are privacy laws that must be followed in such situations. Sometimes they involved detailed legal matters in which the people on the board or commission were responsible to protect the county or organization from lawsuits. In that sense the closed-door session was due to legal consultations that are held in private.
Again, who decides what is confidential and what is not...is it and ethics issue?...then ethics needs to be applied across the board with oversight
It is obvious that the commissars are making a LOT of decisions affecting us with no due process of public input...of course we are not going to go along with permanent cap-lifting on our taxes, etc...so they do it clandestinely or willfully against our will. Not a good idea. And that's just skimming the surface of what 'olympia' is doing. 😱
I agree there needs to be much more structure related to ethics across all governmental sectors - commissioners, judges, congress members, senators, cabinet members, etc. There needs to be real consequences for people who violate ethical standards.
I totally disagree with your first sentence. When people DO accept government positions they are absolutely suppressed of their Freedom of Speech. We have laws against defamation but like so many laws that are there but they aren't enforced. Then those who have the the most money and best attorneys I believe determine in a court of law what so called defamation really is.
except there is no defamation possible if someone is a public figure (i.e. once you run for any office you're a public figure). Once you thrust yourself into the public eye -- well, there is that. You can't say "I spoke in public and was damaged by what that person wrote about me". Because, speaking in public has been considered as to be "public figure". There are some very specific rules about defamation: the statement was false/caused damage. I find all this quite amusing.
To paraphrase 'Mick Frenchy', 'sometimes damage has to occur to effect change!'
So then is defamation a crime or an asset?
Don't you just love legalese?😃
I don't disagree with you that people have unequal resources when it comes to filing court cases. As far as freedom of speech, we all have things that suppress our speech. For example, if someone hires me they expect that I won't stand in the grocery store line and talk smack about their business. If they find out that I have done that they are within reason to fire me for insubordination. We expect people to solve problems internally - within the business - before going external with their gripes.
If someone says they want to "speak to me in confidence" I tell them "I don't keep secrets." I let them know that if what they share with me creates a serious concern for their or other's safety I will NOT keep their confidence. So we all have to assess what we keep private and what we do not. It can be complicated.
I worked at many jobs that required serious consideration of people's privacy. There are red lines you don't cross when it comes to medical privacy and such. People who work in counseling and other helping professions understand this quite well.
Elected officials don't work in a vacuum. They have to coordinate with other people to get things done for the citizens. Not everything they do is done in public. They hold lots of private conversations with voters every day and that is important so they stay connected with citizen's needs. I don't think we would want those conversations filmed and posted on Youtube. That would not be healthy.
These officials also work together with other elected or appointed individuals. They have lots of private conversations about important issues to come to consensus. For some counties there are laws related to those conversations. For example, if the private conversation involves too many elected officials sometimes it's called therefore an official meeting and it must be public. So we have to follow the rules depending on what type of board or commission you have.
That 'RAW' exchange between Zelensky and Trump is exactly the kind of thing that needs the light of truth shone on it. Now we now exactly what kind of character we are dealing with.
MORE exposure...MORE light...MORE truth...a strong ethics board made up of 'non-paid' individuals with a retired (honorable-ethical) judge (as mentioned above) would draw the lines where needed to protect people who needed protection.
Leaving it up to unsupervised unaccountable politicians is ruinous.😎
AOC is now a multi-millionaire like so many grifters...they play both sides of issues and can never be trusted to do what's right on behalf of The People.
Corruption is wide, deep and long.🙂
Anybody that opposes legit ethical public comments must have something to hide.Corrupt radicals try to avoid legit questions and will try to implement rules that will protect them from answering legit questions.
Nailed it in a nut shell. The more you are censored the less people will know. The censors are so afraid of the facts because their control becomes less effective. People will begin to question, can’t have that, the less anyone knows the better for controlling and keeping control.
I've had local feds at Olympic National Park close rank on the question I posed about re-opening Olympic Hot Springs Road after the Environmental Assessment for the repair was approved by the Regional Director. I was told by a forthcoming staff member that orders had come down to direct all inquiries regarding the matter to the Superintendent.
That seems like a solid example of government silencing criticism.
"King of transparency cowers at ethical implications of transparency. Who is he to tell himself how to act?"
That road re-build is a complex and 'iffy' proposition.
After the dam removal the upper river is uncontrolled and the kind of event that took out the road and campground is common in fact the river channel historically was right where it now runs.
'They' also want as much wilderness kept wilderness as possible...'they' have a whole different perspective and it ALL can be traced back to Agenda 21+++ and NWO.
Top-down management.🤔
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Why is freedom of speech Amendment # 1 to our constitution? Charter Review Commissioners should be very careful treading on this. We all may want someone to speak for us someday. Just a thought.
This is ill informed and tantamout to numerology. James Madison proposed twelve amendments to the constitution of which the first two were rejected so three through twelve become the first through tenth amendments. For example: twelve minus two is ten. Therefore, the constution is not written as greatest hits album. You might as well say that the thirteenth is the unluckiest thing to happen to black people, or that the 7th is super duper lucky for those facing a jury trial.
It's ok to admit you stopped learning.
The reason no one spoke up is they knew they would be arrested and shipped off in the middle of the night...just like their neighbors.
Do you think the goons that raid your complex at 0300 are going to listen to a reasoned argument about why it's wrong to do what they are doing?
You literally put your freedom and safety in jeopardy by going against the dominant paradigm and the more effective you become the more draconian the attempts to silence you will become...still...here we are!🤣
Progressives are absolutely comfortable with double standards. Somehow, opposing principles are effortlessly reconciled in their minds if a “greater purpose” is being served. Must be nice.
It would be nice if the useless little rag called the PDN would exercise critical thinking but I fear it’s too far gone. They definitely report with a “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” mindset.
Keep up the great work Jeff. Your our own Julian Assange!
My family is just happy I'm exposing something other than myself.
Your a gas Jeff!
If the evil rotten bullies & terrorists who constantly work to undermine American rights and freedoms didn't have their "hypocrisy" they would have no visible platform at all~! This small diminishing criminal class of "scum & villainy" is clearly organized and they constantly play a dangerous and deadly game as they dance between being fully engaged in their treasonous agendas and the absolutely fraudulent & fake appearance of legitimacy in the hopes that the majority do not catch on to their true intentions & highly criminal shenanigans~! They know well their fate should their facade of hypocrisies suddenly become revealed for all to see~! So, Jeff Tozzer, The Clallam County Watchdog, and ALL of us who regularly do our part to simply attempt to understand what REALLY is happening behind all of those highly suspicious "closed door meetings" pose a substantial threat to ALL criminals in and outside of the government structure. If these deceivers of humanity were forced into the light of truth, where their evil deceptions no longer worked, they would quickly disappear from their never-ending crime scene~! So, these as yet unindicted criminals, specifically in government leadership roles, ALWAYS very intentionally encourage the demonstrably false public perception that they are "stupid and/or ignorant" rather than to have the general public suddenly realize that they are really the worst kind of criminals who have the worst of possible intentions, because that is more often than not the only thing that keeps them from being hung by lampposts by enraged mobs of their victims~! It is a dangerous and deadly game that they always play, as they hide behind extremely dubious one sided "laws" that they ram through without public input and they are protected by the police who only follow their orders exactly like the evil despots of the entire historic record... That is exactly why when these criminal thugs are finally caught and being successfully prosecuted for their LONG laundry list of crimes, they always claim "ignorance" and/or "I was just following orders" so that the generally good and decent folks are deceived into wanting to be lenient instead of doing their REAL Constitutional duty to end their abilities to ever do harm again once and for all~! The historic record is FULL of absolute proof of this evil process and anyone who reads criminal case law would know this dastardly process very well~! Be it known that those of us who take The American Constitution and the safety & best interests of the American people seriously, will NEVER allow these evil criminals the opportunity to do harm to current or future generations again~!!! The time for Justice has already begun, as can be readily seen in the "current events" that have already been unfolding, so these criminals are without doubt now playing losing hands~! The general public will just keep on suffering until they have finally had too much to remain victims ;-) To all Americans I with you a happy "Liberation Day" and a great many more to come~! Sincerely, Mike
For those with eyes to see and ears to hear!
Thanks, Michael.😎 'who is like God'?
Always a pleasure Robert~!
I have been studying law & history since I was about 9 years old, among other things, and I was COMPLETELY shocked and angered when in law school we were quickly taught "The Reasonable Man Standard" (The Reasonable Person Standard as it is commonly referred to today). I could not believe that ALL of us were not told of this early in elementary school where it would have done the most good. Then, are "we" taught anything of real value in the public educational system, or is it to create a "dumbed down" society that is easy prey for the criminals of humanity? Anyway, The Real Person Standard is described as "The Perfect Individual" who makes no mistakes and is flawless, however our judicial system acknowledges that is an unattainable goal for us humans. Being highly Spiritual and NOT "religious" because religion has been wrongly used to divide folks against each other so many times and that never seemed right to me, I always envisioned this "Reasonable Person Standard" as one only God and/or Jesus could actually really achieve. Ha! So, I simply just continued to struggle to improve my pitiful flawed self in my personal goal of being the best American Constitutionalist that I could become~! Ironically, but I am confident it is quite intentional, The American Constitutionalist is also the ultimate American version of The Reasonable Person Standard, especially in the way that American Constitutionalists are to by all means be "Constitutionally Correct" in law and Spirit with no "violations or demerits" as the ultimate goal to aspire to~! So, in a very meaningful way ALL good Americans (and folks all over the world really) should be in a constant state of improving themselves with the higher aspiration of mimicking "God" or attempting to ascertain what God would do under whatever circumstances that we may face. Of course, without running around "playing God" as if an Individual is somehow able or empowered to do that! That is another problem entirely, but aspiring to follow in God's footsteps can be a great thing as long as we don't let it go to our heads~! Fun stuff really, but for folks who don't think that they need to improve, or are too lazy to improve, they are the ones who always drag everyone else down~!
Take care and enjoy the path~!
Sincerely, Mike
I respect what you’re doing but my viewpoint is old school: I don’t think you should be a journalist and also be involved in some part of government.
Why shouldn't journalists be involved in government?
The involvement of journalists is CRITICAL to gov't.
It should be mandatory that gov't meetings should be public and publicized.
That's not happening.
Jeff is willing to do this and accurate reporting is NOT a conflict of interest.
It's essential!🥸
William Randolph Hearst OWNED newspapers and was twice elected to the US House of Representatives. He (unsuccessfully) ran for US President and for Governor of NY. His father was Senator George Hearst. Joseph Pulitzer served one term for New York's 9th congressional district. ...I could go on, but I have work to do today.
It comes to your position among elected members of the CRC and being the author of a blog that dabbles in sensationalism. It does lately seem that there is degradation of your normal tidy, but performative, reporting. Take for instance your progression in "Balancing Transparency and Soveignty", "The Chilling Effect", and todays blog post which has this odd title appealing to your subscribers suggesting that they might be silenced when the case is that you as CRC member may have to act impartially.
In "Balancing..." you seeming highlighted yourself as the champion of transparency -including playing on the fears of non-tribal citizens being arrested for protesting on tribal land- while Johnston was presumed to be the antagonist going as far as to suggest further allegations of impropriety, regarding the passing of the recent bond measure, as a school board member.
However in "The Chilling Effect" you, as the champion of transparency, were brought to admit in your capacity on the CRC that you had largely omited the contents of the exchange due to Substacks limitation of publishing in only one color (A claim of technical limitations that prevented complete and transparent presentation of the exchange feels flimsy - especially when you were aware of other means to clarify). Then you wade into a common trope of your reporting: using charge language and guided titles to give readers the impression of collusion by alleging that Johnston and others had preplanned the reconvening of the bylaws commitee to censor you and including the bolded header, "a plan unfolds".
You now rail against the idea that you would have to clarifiy if you had to present yourself as private citizen offering commentary on your own blog or doing so as member of the CRC while seeking to reframe your mishap as an attack on free speach.
What is mosty telling fellow subscribers, is that Jeff, the sole source of information on local reporting - which a fair amount of you admit - has regressed from a paragon of public integrity to using the same schema he accuses the multiple muncipal officials, tribal leaders, and executives of NGO's as using. Instead of owning up to selective reporting , he recast himself as an advocate of free speech under threat. It's a classic "when critizied, change the subject". Your strong and boisterous watchdog is now with its tail tucked between its legs. He is choosing to ignore the legitimate concerns of misrepresentation to which Fisch spoke to, that is the chilling effect that puts peoples live in danger.
Honestly a lot of these people need to support free community college. In just a few days it was plain as day that many of these commenters are "true believers" in what you have been publishing. Keeping mind that you are their elected official, and their sole source on local politics because they belive in you integrity. It worrisome and fascinating how many of them will come to rescue when commenters have a differing opinion calling them trolls or telling them to open their eyes. In the four days that I have interacted with this blog it is clear you have let the koolaid brew. I was gone one day and two of you commenters mistook a disabled veterna (Kevin R.) for me, Kevin. You got a dude down here saying that the literal meaning of fired was just that... fire. And another saying that that public officials upkeep a perception of stupidity because its the only thing that keeps them from being strung up by lamposts.
I will being emailing Loni Gores so that this can be submitted into testimony. And by they way, how often would you say that you use ChatGPT in the course of writing your blog?
Thanks for explaining that. Yes, the CRC is bound by the OPMA.
https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=42.30.020
I know the PDN is somewhat of a liberal minded newspaper, but even so why aren’t they reporting?
It's not any minded... it's Canadian owned, and controlled. It is a mere shadow of the newspaper it was, just like all that Black Press gobbled up.
They are and have been 'controlled' as have many if not most publications...no transparency allowed.🤔
I think they’re down to two reporters.
More like '2 recorders' who only submit what is acceptable narrative.🥸
I actually agree to a point. There are some ethical and impartiality issues raised when a journalist writes about ongoing matters in the elected office they currently hold. But there are also ethical and impartiality issues raised when journalists outright ignore government business, insinuating they are being paid to look away, like most if not all of the local media. In today's world, watchdogs are more important than ever and open reporting in a town square forum like substack can keep the reporter on track with partiality as we all become watchdogs of the reporter. Most of the elected officials now have X accounts where they post information daily, if not hourly, about their current business.
We are all watching Jeff, reading and responding with our own individual opinions. Some like you not afraid to say the hard things.
One of my greatest joys in retirement has been openly expressing my personal viewpoints after 20-25 years in paid journalism.
So you just reported on what you were 'allowed' to in your career.
Doesn't seem very transparent to me.
'They' aren't following any kind of ethical protocol with gov't secrecy.
No oversite ensures corruption.😱
Allowed by my employers, which were newspapers. The rule was always that anyone working in editorial was not allowed to be a part of government.
I understand Mark...separation of powers... but the MSM seems to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the NWO.
Maybe while you were doing your job as prescribed there were others involved in the trade with different understandings of what their role was/is.
I was commenting on your relief about being able to openly express yourself after apparently not being able to in your profession.
You are still part of the public and should still be able to voice your opinion separate from the 'reporting' you were doing, just not the same platform. Control is manifested by divide and conquer and we have never been more polarized as a nation and as a global community.
We're being played....that's all I'm saying.😊
It was a weekly paper, bigger than the Sequim Gazette but smaller than the PDN. Family owned. Yeah no.
So let me disagree with you and feel free to poke holes in my thinking. If Jeff was to step down from his position how much of the goings on would he be excluded from. Can the Commission meet behind closed doors? Are alliances easily hidden if your not on the inside? My understanding of the rules are pretty much non existent. It seems to me you need an insider. Am I wrong?
100% Right!🙂
I don’t know if the Charter Commission is bound by the Open Public Meetings section of WA code.
Journalists don’t usually report on government activities that they are a part of. It puts them in the position of reporting on things they’re involved in — reporting on themselves. That gives others an opportunity to suggest they are less than objective.
of course it is bound by OPMA...however, the OPMA wasn't what it once was. It has been erroded over time, and by general ignorance. Add to that civics hasn't been taught in schools for decades.
Amoral/Immoral governance erodes the goodness right out of a society.
Recommend "How The Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World" from the editorial board of "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party"
published by The Epoch Times.
I don't agree with some of the newspapers watered down views on some issues but the books are blatantly honest about what's playing out on the World stage.
Epoch Times is Chinese-American owned...patriots who know what Communism is and does to every society it touches.
Like secret meetings are 'objective'?🤔
If you read the OPMA, there are exceptions that allow governing bodies to meet in executive session — like labor negotiations or discussions with counsel regarding lawsuits.
And that rule is always followed honestly?
Like they wouldn't ever abuse executive privilege?
Apologizing for 'the system' doesn't further transparency or help people understand what they are dealing with.😊
Journalism is supposed to be part of the checks and balances in governance not the gatekeeper of the corrupt.🤩
Well, if you want to throw your money to the wind, you can always sue your local government in the name of transparency. They get to defend themselves with the finest attorneys they can find at the public’s expense. You get to pay your own way. And you better win, too. If you lose, you get stuck with their legal bills. Ask other CC Watchdog readers how that works.
From personal experience, I can tell you the media doesn’t have a boatload of money to spend on lawsuits in the name of transparency. You do the best you can with the people you can.
Link to Home Rule Charter.
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3210/Home-Rule-Charter-PDF?bidId=
Government Officials attempting to silence criticism
TRUMP
😁