Good morning, everyone... For the sake of those of you tuning into Liberty Northwest from outside the Pacific Northwest, our lovely Lilliputian Headquarters, Spokane, Washington, has been in national headlines three days standing since it was revealed that our staunchly-conservative Republican Mayor, Jim West, who, prior until this time, has been considered to be anti-gay in deed and thought, has admitted a fondness for cruising gay web sites and setting up dates with young gay men. This has had the same effect as tossing a lit match into a fireworks factory, as all kinds of people, including politicians, have been popping off at the mouth like never before.
It seems, largely based upon the stories on the front page of the Spokesman-Review, hardly a credible news source in its own right, that during West's tenure as a State Legislator, before he became Mayor of Spokane, he may have had a series of trysts with young gay men. That probably wouldn't be of any real significance, EXCEPT, during this same period of time, West consistently voted down every gay rights bill that came his way. He portrayed himself to voters as Mr. Moral Majority Republican, but the real disclaimer should have read, "Don't bend over". Is this a libertarian issue? The hell if I know! However, anytime ethical issues, such as honesty and credibility, are left in the gutter in favor of anything else on the agenda, the business of providing good government for our region falls by the wayside. At least, if I understand the libertarian principles correctly, although West's sexual persuasion is not an issue, if he knowingly lies or attempts to deceive the public, it is a matter for serious consideration. If he misuses his authority as an elected official for sex, he should have his tallywacker held up to the fire of public opinion which, by now, should probably be set on FRICASSEE. What is even worse, West's alleged actions have held Spokane up to public derision. In the last three days, I've heard from people in the Midwest, Deep South and even the snow belt in Alaska about the controversy over Jim West using his City of Spokane office computer to engage in masturbatory sex acts while in a Gay Chat room on the Internet. There are allegations that West even took troubled teens from Morning Star Boys Ranch on unexplained "camping trips" while a member of the ranch Board of Directors. He also purportedly offered a lucrative position to one of the members of a gay chat room who later turns out was an undercover employee of the Spokesman-Review newspaper. Granted, the Cowles Spokesman-Review newspaper, responsible for breaking the news story about West's improprieties, is hardly what anyone in Spokane would call a credible news source. After all, it's only been a few years since the paper's Editorial Board admitted, in print, that they misled and lied to the public over the Cowles' involvement in a downtown mall and parking garage. In fact, the investigative journalist that broke the story about West, Bill Morlin, is unquestionably one of Frank Reichert's favorite journalists. Somehow I feel certain you are bound to get a really good discussion going if Frank discovers Morlin is largely responsible for breaking the news stories about West. Public opinion, like the winds that regularly quarter Spokane, is drifting first one way, then the other. Some people are madder than a cat in heat with its backside in kerosene. Others are too busy laughing to be bothered with such a puny issue as a politician caught with his pants proverbially down. But it is keeping everyone talking and sitting on the edge of the cheap seats where most voters spend their times. Dave -- Dave Laird ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) The Used Kharma Lot / The Phoenix Project Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 05/01/2005 Usenet News server: news.kharma.net Musicians Calendar and Database access: http://www.kharma.net/calendar.html An automatic & random thought For the Minute: Never give an inch! _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
