Autism Awareness Cut-A-Thon
May 10, 2012
Elite Academy in Yakima is having a fundraising event for Children’s Village this weekend:
Clint Didier’s Curious Compadres
July 18, 2010 1 Comment
Friday night, July 16, 2010, Clint Didier made a public appearance at the Yakima Convention Center. It was advertised as a Tea Party event, and the theme for the evening was “Israel: Friend or Foe?”
His fellow speaking companions were curiously different in their message though.
U.S. Senate Candidate Clint Didier addresses a Tea Party event in Yakima.
This marks the third time that I have seen Clint Didier speak. A few months ago, Clint Didier spoke at a Senate Candidate Forum sponsored by the Yakima Tea Party. It was a packed house. This time around, it was barely 50% of the previous crowd, with a notable difference being that Dino Rossi has now entered the Senate race.
The second time I saw Clint Didier speak was at the Washington State Republican Party Convention in June 2010. He gave a good speech there, and his message is consistently a conservative one that plays well with Republicans and Tea Party folks alike.
His most recent speech hit on many of the same themes he has spoken on in the previous appearances I have seen. Not much new there, but this event was not like the other two.
Didier spoke first, and did not address the comments of speakers coming after him.
The second speaker was Stephen Pidgeon, an attorney who has gained some notoriety for bringing lawsuits related to Obama and his birth certificate.
The third speaker was Dr. Jonathan Hansen, of World Ministries International. Hansen claimed to have prophesied of Hurricane Katrina and the 911 World Trade Center attack before the events took place. He also warned of the coming New World Order, a one-world government, and said that we would all be implanted with computer chips as part of the Anti-Christ’s plan.
It seems to me that the Yakima Tea Party may be losing its way. While the limited government message of the Tea Party is one that conservatives identify with, the blending of politics with pastoral ministry crosses a line for me.
Didier made a big point of stating that he would support getting the U.S. out of the U.N., perhaps knowing what his fellow speaking companions were about to say. He said this was one of the distinctions between him and Dino Rossi.
I am no big fan of the United Nations either, but we still need a place for nations to gather in order to discuss issues. It is called diplomacy, and I would prefer that over open warfare. However, we should not cede our national sovereignty to the U.N. or anyone else, through the signing of treaties, so I can see where Didier is coming from on this.
The fact that he has tied himself so closely with “New World Order” fear mongers, who self-promote their books, CD’s, and conferences, is more scary to me than the “warnings” they gave at the event.
In a few short weeks, we shall see who will carry the torch of liberty into the general election. If Didier keeps appearing with “bozo” experts like these, Rossi will remain the front-runner.
Two Shootings In Under 24 Hrs: Had Enough Yet?
June 9, 2010 1 Comment
Sunnyside Police Scrambling To Deal With Increasing Shootings
Monday night, there was a shooting incident at 13th Street and North Avenue, resulting in a Zillah resident being treated at our local hospital with a gun shot wound to his ankle. The so-called victim is 21 year-old Justin Cavasos. I call him a “so-called” victim, because the police are indicating that no witnesses are willing to talk about what happened. (See the Sunnyside Police Department Nixle Alert for more information.) For me, if someone fires a shot at my ass, I would want the police to go after the shooter. What about you?
Is the “victim” the same Justin Cavasos that was arrested by Toppenish Police on December 13, 2009 for unlawful possession of a firearm? See the KIMA story for info on the Toppenish Police arrest that resulted in a teen being brought up on murder charges. That incident was gang related, but the Sunnyside Police Department didn’t mention if the shooting that just took place here was gang related. What’s up guys? Too scared of the gangs to be blunt about what’s going on in our town? Maybe Justin Cavasos is just a common name for those caught up in gun crime in the Lower Valley. If this isn’t the same guy, my sincerest apologies go to the non-cooperative “victim”.
These shootings are starting to really tick me off.
Sunnyside Police Chief Ed Radder and Assistant Chief Phil Schenck Question Residents Of South Hill Apartments Following Tuesday's Shooting Incident
As if that is not enough, we had another shooting incident on Tuesday afternoon outside of the South Hill Apartments. In what appears to be another gang-related incident, two groups of folks got in an argument outside of South Hill Apartments, and someone (perhaps on a Lucky 7 provided bicycle?) upped the ante by drawing down on the others, and firing some shots. Preliminary information received by this blog is that no one was injured in the Tuesday shooting incident. However, it occurred across the street from a preschool operated by the Washington State Migrant Council. The preschool was forced to go into a lockdown. In addition, students of the Sunnyside School District use this area as a bus stop, and were getting off buses shortly after the shooting incident.
While police investigated, many children were ambling up the sidewalk to their homes in the apartments, and in nearby neighborhoods. Some told their parents that they were scared after seeing the large police presence. Is this how we want our children to grow up? Have you had enough yet?
If you are upset by events like these, and want them to stop, take some hope in upcoming actions the City Council will be considering to help our police be more effective. The City Council is due to consider a Crime Free Rental Housing ordinance at their next meeting, which will provide a way for police and landlords to act quickly following gang and drug crimes, to evict the troublemakers, before they can cause more harm. This means that gang members will potentially lose their place to live if they commit these types of acts in our city.
It is time to show some tough love, and hand out some hard discipline to those that are endangering the lives of others, and depriving us of our liberties.
The City Council should adopt this ordinance immediately, and demand tough action by police following these latest shooting incidents.
Yakima Tea Party To Host U.S. Senate Candidates
January 30, 2010 6 Comments
The Yakima Tea Party will be hosting a public forum with four U.S. Senate candidates on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. The event is free to the public, and will be held at the Yakima Convention Center from 7:00PM to 8:30PM.
Although the event is not being sponsored by the Republican Party, all the candidates appearing are Republicans hopeful of unseating the incumbent, Democrat Senator Patty Murray.
The candidates that will be attending are:
Art Coday: http://www.codayforussenate.com/
Clint Didier: http://www.clintdidier.org/
Chris Widener: http://www.chriswidener.org/
Sean Salazar: http://www.seanforsenate.com/
Check out this promotional image for the candidate forum:
Candidate Forum, Yakima Convention Center, 2/10/2010, 7PM-8:30PM
Micah Cawley: An Inspiring American
January 8, 2010 2 Comments
Micah Cawley is the newly crowned Mayor of Yakima. At Micah’s young age, he has built up quite an attractive political resume. I say that he has a very promising political future.
His public service launched in 2005 at the age of 21 when he decided to file for a Yakima City Council position. No one at that point would have guessed that a 21-year-old kid was going to shake up politics in the City of Yakima. Of course, questions came sliding Micah’s way. “Isn‘t he too young to serve the city in that capacity?” ”Is he qualified for that position?” Then came primary election night, a shocker. The young kid finished second in a field of five candidates with 27.41% of the vote. Micah had just won his ticket to the final game, the general election.
Yakima Mayor Micah Cawley
Now Micah was up against the incumbent, Bernard Sims. The picture certainly did not look in Micah’s favor. However, he continued campaigning hard and the end result surprised everyone. Micah Daniel Cawley had just defeated the incumbent in a landslide, gathering 68.84% of the vote.
Two years into his first term he had the honor to serve as Assistant Mayor and is now the Mayor of Yakima. What an inspiring story! The sky is the limit for him, and I believe many more significant opportunities will come his way.
Kirby Wilbur Show Cancelled
November 16, 2009 7 Comments
Photo From Kirby Wilbur Page On Facebook
For many years, people in Seattle have been able to listen to a Conservative talk show with a local host: Kirby Wilbur.
His show has now been cancelled by the KVI radio station management, and will apparently be replaced with nationally syndicated Laura Ingraham.
Seattle listeners are losing a local host for another that is broadcasting out of radio nowhere. Across the state of Washington, Conservatives are upset over the loss, but it unfortunately is part of a nationwide trend in radio.
We have seen a consolidation of radio stations nationwide, with mega corporation ownership. Monster companies like Clear Channel, Citadel, and others own 90%+ of the radio stations in many local markets. In past years, these stations would have their own news departments, but in the bigger cities, they are being combined into just one news department. They then play the same news on all of the company owned stations.
This means you listen to the same news being broadcast on six or more stations! Where they used to compete with each other, you now have just one source of news.
In addition, it is generally cheaper for a station to play syndicated content, and not have staff on its payroll. They don’t have to pay salary and benefits for Laura Ingraham, Rush Limbaugh, and the like, but they do have to pay this expense for someone like Kirby Wilbur.
Since I don’t spend much time in Seattle, I don’t listen to Kirby Wilbur very much. I have tuned him in over the Internet occasionally, but I feel the loss of his program anyway. He talked about Washington politics. We are losing one of the watchdogs that helped keep the folks in Olympia under public scrutiny. This is not a good thing for the people of Washington.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of attending an event in Yakima where Kirby Wilbur was one of the speakers. While I don’t agree with him on many issues, I enjoyed listening to his take on things.
It is too early to know what Kirby Wilbur will be doing next, but I wish him the best of luck in whatever it may be!
Federal Stimulus: Division Of Money In State Of Washington Explained
February 24, 2009 Leave a comment
At Monday night’s Sunnyside City Council meeting, City Manager Eric Swansen noted that Yakima County is not receiving very much in the way of Federal stimulus money.
The Yakima Herald documents the City of Yakima’s frustration in an article entitled: Stall Stimulus: There’s little in it for City of Yakima
So how does this happen, when over $800 billion has been appropriated for this “stimulus”? One Washington State Senator, Mary Margaret Haugen (D) Camano Island, explains what happened at the state level in a YouTube video. She does state that this is Federal money with lots of strings attached:
Update: Stimulus Funds To Pay For Roundabout at I-82 and Valley Mall Blvd
From Biggest Surplus To Biggest Deficit: Legacy of G.W. Bush
November 1, 2008 Leave a comment
You can say all you want about George W. Bush, the Republicans, lobbyists, terrorists, and the Democrats. You can assign blame to any and all of our top policymakers during the last eight years. The facts are this: When George W. Bush came into office the country was running the biggest budget surplus in history. As he is getting set to leave office, we are running the biggest budget deficit in history. Some people seem to think that deficits don’t matter. I disagree.
As a person who expects more from Republican leadership, I have started to get involved with the Party on a local level. This year I was elected Precinct Committee Officer for the Republican Party, and will have a chance to vote on some Yakima County Republican Leadership. It’s a small thing, but it’s a start. As I get plugged in, I will share some information on this blog about some of my experiences with this.
This past spring the Ron Paul campaign energized me to do more than just be a voter. It was very disappointing that he was denied the oppotunity to speak at the Republican National Convention. The reason this happened is because he did not endorse 100% of McCain’s platform. Ron Paul then proceeded to hold his own convention nearby and give a speech anyway. It is my opinion that the Party would have been better off to allow him to give a speech from the convention floor.
Currently, the NeoCons are running the show for the Republicans, but as the country’s economy takes a beating, they will need to adjust policy positions or face loss of influence. With any luck, it will be the latter, and limited government minded Republicans can bring some positive change in the elections 2-4 years from now.
Ron Paul has started the Campaign For Liberty to encourage this kind of change. Here, in Washington State, a convention will be held in Yakima on Saturday. The convention will be held by the GOP Liberty Assembly and while I don’t know the full lineup of speakers, Washington State Supreme Court Justice Sanders will be making an appearance. I am working to rearrange my schedule to attend. If you are interested in this locally held convention, follow the link above where you can register to attend. The cost is $40 with lunch provided.
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Coming Soon: More News, More Commentary, More Authors
January 5, 2010 by Jason R. Raines Leave a comment
New Author Coming To BLOGSUNNYSIDE
Contributor’s Identity To Be Revealed Soon
BLOGSUNNYSIDE is growing. More readers are sending me story ideas. The number of readers is steadily increasing, with December 2009 showing the highest rate of increase in the history of this blog.
Several dedicated fans are contributing their own time and money to conducting research, and are offering some interesting ideas to expand readership even further.
However, the biggest change of all is coming soon. Since its inception, BLOGSUNNYSIDE has been a one man band, with yours truly providing all of the commentary. Those days are now numbered.
Soon, you will be able to read posts from another area citizen, who is just as interested in politics as I am. At this point, I need to mention that even though this new author is a friend of mine, we will not always agree. It will only be safe to assume that the opinions expressed on a post are those of the author, and not necessarily those of all the contributors on the blog.
Having said that, you will find that we, as authors on this blog, will be in agreement more times than not. 2010 promises to be a wild and fun time for all.
The new author’s identity will not be revealed yet. However, I will share that he lives in the Lower Yakima Valley, just not in Sunnyside. He has had letters to the editor published in the Daily Sun News, and the Yakima Herald in the last year. In addition, his contacts with local elected officials, and political causes, should yield some interesting posts.
BLOGSUNNYSIDE is giving you more of what you want. Still rollin’, rock n’ rollin’…
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