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Washington home buyers are being charged reparations to help first-time homebuyers of color. Governor Jay Inslee’s EV bribe doesn’t do much for the environment. Florida passes bill mandating DNA collection, but does it go too far? More women are freezing their eggs as they wait for Mr. Right.
Student demonstrators show their naivete on foreign affairs. Governor Jay Inslee calls Bob Ferguson ‘brain dead.’ The Seattle Times misspells ‘pedophile.’ The clock is ticking for TikTok.
Prefer to listen? https://audioboom.com/posts/8495474-clueless-at-columbia-and-cal-anderson-4-24-24
Comparing Seattle’s CHOP to the wave of college protest zones. Inslee punts on school walkouts. Attorney General candidate Pete Serrano on gun rights. Not even the leftists actually believe housing is a human right. Students and parents protest furries, claim kids are being bitten at school. Huh?
Prefer to listen? https://audioboom.com/posts/8494895-no-lessons-learned-4-23-24
The following remarks were delivered to the Whatcom County Lincoln Day Dinner on March 23, 2024, in Ferndale, Washington.
I struggled with what to talk to you about tonight.
Well, that’s not true. I didn't struggle with what to talk to you about – I struggled with whether I was brave enough to say what I wanted to say.
When I'm invited to speak to groups, I don't want to offend anyone or be too controversial. So, I reached out to a few of your fellow party members to ask whether any topics were off limits or wouldn't go over well with the crowd.
I got some good advice.
Then I decided to ignore that good advice entirely.
Too much is at stake to be polite.
As we sit here tonight, we are in the final battle of a war.
A war that has pit sanity against insanity.
Pragmatism against idealism.
A war that has sacrificed the public good, in favor of a twisted idea of progress.
It's a war that began long before I moved here 15 years ago. It started silently and it was mostly waged in the shadows.
Most of us didn't even realize that a war was being fought. We were too caught up in our own lives and our own problems. ...
During a visit to Eastern Washington, Brandi sat down with Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA04) to discuss the fentanyl crisis, fuel costs, border security, Chinese land acquisition, and how he was able to survive his vote to impeach Donald Trump.
The following remarks were delivered to the Kitsap County Lincoln Day Dinner on June 2, 2023, in Bremerton, Washington. They are shared here as prepared and edited for print.
((REMARKS))
It is an honor to be here tonight, especially considering my friend Dori Monson was here last year as your keynote.
Dori was one of the last true government watchdogs in media. He took the responsibility seriously.
He was fierce.
He was fair.
He was unflinching.
He believed that if left to its own devices, government would move further away from the People.
In a lot of ways that’s already happening.
May I propose a toast to our friend Dori, to what he stood for, and to why we’re all here tonight – our shared mission to keep a government of the People, by the People, for the People.
When I’m invited to speak at events like these, there are always a few people in the room who are confused why I’m here. There is certainly a segment of Republicans in Washington who don’t understand why a self-titled moderate independent who has been critical of the former president and his claims of a stolen election would be invited to be a keynote at...
Student demonstrators show their naivete on foreign affairs. Governor Jay Inslee calls Bob Ferguson ‘brain dead.’ The Seattle Times misspells ‘pedophile.’ The clock is ticking for TikTok.
Comparing Seattle’s CHOP to the wave of college protest zones. Inslee punts on school walkouts. Attorney General candidate Pete Serrano on gun rights. Not even the leftists actually believe housing is a human right. Students and parents protest furries, claim kids are being bitten at school. Huh?
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today on a case that could help stem the tide of homelessness in West Coast cities and beyond. We dissect a raucous WA GOP convention. Gavin Newsom’s latest political ad is dishonest, even for him. Columbia caves to the mob.
Happy Thursday, gang. A few housekeeping items to attend to:
Nicole and I will see all of you this evening!
Monday, November 27
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A Pierce County judge rejected the terms of a lenient plea deal for confessed killer Joshua Ellis, instead sentencing him on Friday to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
"Mr. Ellis has destroyed a life. He's traumatized a family ... it is damage that will ripple for generations," Judge André M. Peñalver said, fighting back tears.
Peñalver said a recommended sentence of just over 10 years was "not sufficient" to account for Ellis' decision to murder his ex-girlfriend inside her Milton apartment in 2017.
"I must also consider the punitive purpose of sentencing, to impose a sentence that reflects the seriousness of the offense – which is the murder of Wendi Traynor."
The sentence marks the end to a long and, at times, emotionally devastating legal saga for Wendi's family and friends – one that raises larger questions about the state of Washington's criminal justice system and how attitudes around race and equity are inserting themselves into every aspect of the accountability process.
In 2019, a jury convicted Ellis of shooting and killing Wendi Traynor, not long after the two ended their relationship. Wendi had only recently returned to Washington state from Kentucky, where she moved with Ellis so he could be closer to his family. It is unclear whether Ellis followed her back in hopes of reconciling, or with the intent to take her life.
After his first trial ended in a conviction for second-degree murder, Judge James Orlando sentenced Ellis to more than 20 years in prison – the maximum allowed by law.
“The autopsy pictures from Wendi's case will haunt me,” Judge Orlando told Ellis. “You didn't do anything that deserves anything other than the high end.”
But justice for Wendi was short lived.
Ellis' conviction was later thrown out by the Washington State Court of Appeals, which cited prosecutorial misconduct during jury selection. Rather than take the case back to trial, prosecutors reached a deal with Ellis' defense team. In exchange for pleading guilty, Ellis would avoid a 60-month firearm enhancement and get the lowest sentence allowed under state guidelines.
Wendi's family felt blindsided by the deal, which Pierce County prosecutors did not consult them about beforehand.
Read our previous coverage of this case here.During Friday's hearing, Wendi's family members pleaded with Judge Peñalver to set the terms of the deal aside in the interest of justice. Under Washington state law, judges have ultimate discretion at sentencing – and are not bound by deals or recommendations brought before the court.
For her part, public defender Mary K. High urged the court to accept the terms of the deal. She presented the court with several witnesses who testified that they would support Ellis following release. High also revisited arguments made in a pre-sentencing memorandum, suggesting Ellis' skin color should be taken into consideration.
"Offender race has led to the correlation in our judicial systems that we place more value on the lives of whites, resulting in disproportionally harsh treatment of black offenders who have white victims," she said.
Ellis is black. Wendi was white.
Judge Peñalver, who has personally advocated for criminal justice reform, said race plays a role in his job as a jurist – but not in the way the defense argument might suggest.
"While it is frustrating to have to address race, I do think it is a necessary exercise," he said during the hearing. "It is important to address racism when it arises so we can dispose of it and then turn our focus to the case at hand."
unDivided published an op-ed in the Tacoma News Tribune ahead of Friday's hearing, advocating against the defense’s arguments. You can read it here.Ultimately, Peñalver's sentence fell far short of the 280 months Ellis received in 2019. Still, it is a five-year increase from the plea deal and a small, but welcome victory for Wendi's family.
"I'm happy with the outcome," Wendi's mother, Tammi Anderson Black, said after sentencing. "But it's never going to be enough, not for the entire life of a young woman."
