Mr. Obama may have received 1.5 million dollars from Muslim Mosque in the far east.

Sigh. So, what's your source, John?

It is well known that Rossi's father was a public school teacher.

It is also well known that Rossi made his reputation as a state legislator by cutting public school funding. Rossi also home schooled his kids.

Now I am no psychotherapist so I could be wrong, but it apears to me that Rossi has some unresolved anger toward his father and he takes out his anger by sabotaging the schools. It does nothing to resolve his anger, it just hurts everyone else's kids.

So how come no political reporter has ever asked Rossi about this? I would think that the character and maturity of anyone seeking the governor's office is vitaly important, even someone as charming as Rossi.

My brother in law works at cnn will break at convention.

So here's what I want to know:

Is it normal for people to be OK with the president of the Christian Businessmen's Connection not telling the truth about stuff like this?

Or, is it OK with this group to lie and break the law to protect its tax status?

And, is it OK for a candidate to accept money from an organization that breaks the law collecting the money, and lies about it to protect their tax status?

Maybe there's a Bible lesson in all of this the Christian Businessmen's Connection can learn from at its next meeting.

They might start with the ten commandments.

John may have hit his wife. My sister-in-law is his dog groomer.

Hey look, I can make anonymous bogus claims too!

Back on subject, jan, the answer you're looking for is that these people are doing God's work. So if they have to bend a Commandment or two, it's okay. Because God wants Rossi to win.

Wow John, what a LIE!
YOU ARE A LIAR!

Rossi is a hack.
He has lied his entire life, he is scum of the earth, real estate salesman...gross

He can't even win by cheating, that is how unappealing this loser is.

A lesson of the Seattle Times rumor mill called fact!

Anyone know the meaning of " may have"?

You BO backer's are a bunch of sheep.

I have posted my correction in Sundays paper section Z right next to postman's correction for the Rossi "May have"

The only reason this story got reported is because Sullivan was denied access to the event. And for good reason, she's been acting like a moron, using her gossip blog since the legislature ended to heap praise on Gregoire. This whole affair is a non-story, a stretch requiring plenty of imagination, and "secret" sources with audiotapes and private blogs that only Sullivan supposedly has access to...

I guess what Sullivan didn't know (and what David is apparently forgetting here) is that candidates speak to non-profits all the time, think: chambers of commerce, etc. But, if you're the new kid reporter on the block, I guess you don't have that experience to draw on. If there's any code broken here it's the journalist's own ethics, not the candidates or this group.

There is nothing unlawful about this.

A candidate may receive funds in any given environment and praying for a campaign hardly constitutes anything but a failed comprehension of ANY degree of spirituality.

Also go ahead and email the FEC - it'll take them about a week to get back to you, but after asking several questions... leaving donation forms or envelopes NEVER goes through as a violation.

My question: Is this a hit job or is a slow news week?

First, as Ali said, yes, there is nothing wrong here. The only thing that COULD POSSIBLY be wrong is the placing of the envelopes, but as Ali said, that is up to the IRS' interpretation and that is extremely unlikely to amount to anything.

Second, this has nothing to do with the Rossi campaign. Even if all of the allegations against the group he spoke to are true -- which they are not -- then still Rossi and his campaign did absolutely nothing wrong. Even if this group stood up and say WE LOVE ROSSI AND ENDORSE HIM AND WANT TO GIVE HIM THIS SACK OF CASH, as long as that cash meets normal reporting requirements and limits, it is perfectly legal ... it just means this group could lose its tax-exempt status, which is none of Rossi's concern.

So EVEN IF there is a story here, which there isn't, why should any of us care about the tax-exempt status of some group we've never heard of?

This story is just bored or biased -- and certainly ignorant -- people looking for something to talk about.

I don't know what everyone is so upset about, it's not like the Governor offered a private dinner at the Governors Mansion for being the high bidder at a fundraiser for Darcy Burner or something. Not that there is anything wrong with that...

Well, what's wrong - at a minimum - is the secondary story of how the president of this supposedly Christian group lied to the Tacoma News Tribune about the nature of any fundraising at the event Rossi attended.
He told the TNT that "no funds were solicited", but an audio tape has him referring to "a couple envelopes...", etc.
Dwight Mason is a bold-faced liar.
And that wouldn't be such a big deal in politics, except that he represents the "Christian Businessmen's Connection" - a name that clearly implies a superior moral code of ethics.
He invites a higher standard of judgement, which he's clearly failed to achieve with this stunt.
I won't stoop to judging someone's faith, but I'm always amazed by the right-wing, low-life scum that try to pass themselves off as "Christian" - taking a ride on our tax dollar by claiming religious priveledge while lying and cheating like white collar criminals.
I intend to find out which business are represented by the Christian Businessmen's Connection, and make sure I DON'T do business with these crooks.
If Rossi had one once of integrity, he'd give the money back and disassociate his campaign from such tax cheats.

Their website:
http://www.cbmc.com/
The call themselves a "Movement Of Men."
Apparently just white men - not a single person of color is pictured in their slide show, and women are only shown as companions.

"CBMC is founded on a set of simple yet profound Core Values. They are the guiding principles that direct our ministry activity. These are the non-negotiables which we consider to be of utmost importance.
Preeminence of Christ: Intimacy with Christ is paramount, and all that we do must emanate from our life in Christ and His life in ours.
Life-on-Life Relationships: We value the process of committed one-on-one relationships for evangelism and discipleship.
Teams: God calls us to work together in teams in order to multiply what He wants to accomplish through us.
Generational Spiritual Reproduction: The goal of the discipleship process is spiritual reproduction to the 3rd and 4th generations and beyond."

Adherence to biblical commandments didn't seem to make the list.
Here's a list of their Washington State contacts if anyone's interested in finding out more:
http://www.cbmc.com/find/default.aspx

(bad week for religion, audio tapes and politics)

Pudge is in denial. So is Anonymous.

Rossi is taking money solicited by a group that denies it solicited, apparantly because it knows that telling the truth would violate the law. Rossi took money from tax cheats, knows it, and won't give it back.

The fact that this is a "christian" group makes it all the more appalling to people who are christians..

That's why it was reported in the News Tribune and picked up here.

Speaking of Tax Cheats who contribute to the Governor Jim D. How much have the tribes contributed to the Governors re-election campaign? Shouldn't they lose their Government enforced monopoly on electronic gaming for not paying a dime in B&O on 1.75 Billion Dollars they made last year? It's not a church, but it is a tax-exempt "Dependant Nation" or Soveriegn when we want to be.

Do you Dems really want to start kicking over rocks on what non-profits are doing and who they're supporting? Really?

Because the list of 501c3s who support, campaign for and dish money to liberal candidates dwarfs those of a conservative bent.

It's dumb politics. And the fact that all three major dailies jumped all over this puts everybody on notice.

If you want to play the non-profit game Dems, you're going to get burned. And you'll have no one to blame but yourselves.

Turbine,
The tribes ARE sovereign nations - by official treaty - and can give their earned money to anyone they damn well please, so sayeth the courts.
They're not breaking the law, they're are not LYING about it, and they're certainly not disguising their activities as religious in nature to avoid tax liability.
Dwight Mason's group on the other hand, overtly flaunts the tax exempt status generously offered religious non-profits (theft from the state) and then lies about it (false witness).
This is just the wrong week for sunshine to light-up the unseemly world of yet another crook from the republican far-right.
The public has had it with these religious perverts.

JimD,
What about your Rev. Sharpton, Jackson, or Wright?
Let’s not forget your Koran follower BHO ?
Do you pray east everyday too?

Talk about perverts look in your house.

No Jim, the Tribes have a monopoly granted by the State and specifically the Governor on the payroll Gregoire. You remember her, the one that fought so hard to limit gaming and defeat I-892. When it cam time to negotiate in "good faith" with the tribes she bent over to allow THOUSANDS of more gaming machines in tribal facilities. The tribes "Sovereignty" survives under the good graces of the Federal Government. If they are truely "Sovereign" and not a Dependant Nation then we can start saving a couple hundred million tommorow by disbanding the BIA.

a question to all the loopy conservatives on here:

is there something wrong with being a muslim? you guys use the label as a slander at every opportunity. but given the history of violence and oppression waed in the name of various faiths through the centuries and up to this day it seems the label christian (even without all the associated hubbub raised in this post) should be no less negative.

Postman- here's a headline:

OUT OF STATE ADDRESSES TOP GREGOIRE'S CONTRIBUTORS.

someone wants her elected. it's not washingtonians.

The TNT reporter who "broke" this story is proving herself to be quite the agenda driven hack. Here, her only concern was dishing some dirt because the group wouldn't let her in. Enter the concern trolls.

Perhaps her editors would do well to ask why that is the case...could it be that her reporting has been unreliable and biased, and therefore untrusted? If you look at her initial story, she was quick to report that "a TNT reporter was not given access." Boo-hoo.

When these stories that don't even pass the laugh test start cropping up on Friday afternoons -- we should all begin to wonder what has come over our local press corps, or should I say "echo chamber."

And when it comes to some real reporting, this gal, Niki Sullivan, couldn't even get the numbers straight on the campaigns' respective totals. If this is the best the TNT can do to cover what looks to be our state's hottest race, I for one won't be tuning in to their coverage.

t's just fine to attack Christians until someone brings up muslims.

Since 9-11- I personally haven't meet or seen a muslim I can respect.
There God says kill the non muslims.
My God says tho shall not kill.
Big difference.
Where are these muslims outrage over the hanging and burning of our troops? But say something in a book about them and they will kill you. No difference from a Democrat to be truthful.

Jan:

Um. You say I am in denial, while you are asserting something that NO ONE has even ALLEGED? You are inventing facts that do not appear anywhere.

Turbine,
Look, changing the subject to tribal gaming doesn't change the fact that Dwight Mason lied to the TNT, was in fact holding a political fundraiser, and Rossi refuses to return his ill-gotten gain.
Slandering Islam doesn't change those facts.
Whether a reporter was denied access to the meeting doesn't change them...
There's something particularly galling about those who claim a holier-than-thou set of "core values" with the "Christian" brand, when the reality is a cheap, dishonest scam to avoid tax liability.
Sure - you can find all sorts of tax inequities.
But attempting to excuse behavior by pointing to other bad behavior is neither "Christian" nor "right". Such penitentiary inmate logic exemplifies the perversion of conservative values that has virtually destroyed the republican party.
if Rossi doesn't have a problem with how this group cathered its donation to his campaign, how honest and law-abiding could one expect him to be in office?

Nice try Jim, but you cannot have it both ways. If you are going to challenge tax exempt status for one, then it opens the door for examination of all of the others. The tactic is a common one with your party in particular, they rant ans scream about violations and nothing ever comes of it, it simply becomes a propaganda tool until the accused is cleared. The very thought that someone from "another party" could have the power to change the status quo in Olympia scares the hell out of most Democrats. Rightly so, they are dirty and they no it, if the Demos lose the Governors Mansion, the taxpayers might actually get a fair shake.

That should read "dirty and they know it". An example can be found sitting the State Supreme Court right now. Jim Luce and the Energy Facilities Siting Commission V Kittitas County. We get to pay for the defense of the illegal acts of one of the Governors patronage cronies. Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars of taxpayers money. It's not an isolated case, but where is the press? Why don't they tell us about Mr. Luce and his Thousands in contributions to the Governor from he and his Department of Licensing Director wife?

Turbine,
Fine. Open the door for all.
Who said anything about wanting both ways?
But don't excuse Dwight Mason's lying about raising funds for Rossi with his Christian, tax-exempt event - with the "everyone does it" excuse.
The fact is that everyone does NOT lie and steal like Dwight Mason does - especially while hiding behind the "Christian" brand and the tax exempt status he uses..

Sure - let's clamp down on the tribes, AND eliminate the tax-exempt status of churches and other religious institutions. Works for me.

Great,
You get the Governor to give back all of the tribal donations and start negotiating mitigation monies for the State. I will ask Rossi to stop leaving envelopes at Christian mens groups he is speaking at. Let us know what she says.

JimD:

Please understand the facts before you talk.

You say, "Look, changing the subject to tribal gaming doesn't change the fact that Dwight Mason lied to the TNT, was in fact holding a political fundraiser, and Rossi refuses to return his ill-gotten gain."

It was NOT a political fundraiser, not according to the law that defines such things. You are wrong. Mason did not lie. You are wrong. Saying that envelopes are available is NOT the equivalent of raising, or even soliciting, funds. You Are Wrong.

And EVEN IF you were right, even if this was a political fundraiser for Dino Rossi (which it was not), the gain for Rossi was not "ill-gotten." Any agreement that that CBMC gas with the IRS has nothing to do with Rossi. Even if you want to say it was a violation of IRS rules for 501(c)(3)s, it is perfectly legitimate funds for Rossi: it only would mean that the CBMC could lose its tax exempt status. That has nothing to do with Rossi, in any way.

There is no rational or logical or ethical or legal reason why Rossi would, or should, give back any such funds, even if the CBMC violated IRS rules ... which they didn't do.

If YOU have integrity you will educate yourself about the facts and the law and then come back and apologize when you realize how incorrect you are about all of this ... and in the meantime, you -- again, if you have integrity -- can apologize for your despicably low implication of racism.

If Rossi is found to have accepted the money illegitimately, he should give it back. Hasn't Gregoire pulled this stunt also and if she has or does, she should give the money back.

Is this really about the alleged donation or the fact that a Christian charity that allegedly gave the donation ?

KS: "If Rossi is found to have accepted the money illegitimately, he should give it back."

He absolutely did not accept it illegitimately. There is no argument otherwise.

"Is this really about the alleged donation or the fact that a Christian charity that allegedly gave the donation ?"

No charity or organization gave any donation at all. A nonprofit (not a charity) had him speak, and some individuals there chose to make donations. Perfectly legal.

The only argument here is whether the nonprofit violated IRS rules by engaging in some sort of political activity that favored Rossi, such as by soliciting funds for him, endorsing him, and so on. Acknowleding the fact that people can donate money to Rossi if they wish, and praying for Rossi, do not constitute any such violations.

Gosh, I've read the Bible, several times, in fact. And I've yet to find the passage that encourages "Christian" groups to lie in order to support their political candidate.
And churches wonder why their membership is falling...

Pudge wrote:
"...Even if you want to say it was a violation of IRS rules for 501(c)(3)s, it is perfectly legitimate funds for Rossi: it only would mean that the CBMC could lose its tax exempt status. That has nothing to do with Rossi, in any way.
There is no rational or logical or ethical or legal reason why Rossi would, or should, give back any such funds, even if the CBMC violated IRS rules ... which they didn't do...."

Read my posts. My complaint is with CBMC - and specifically Dwight Mason who tried to cover-up the fundraising nature of the meeting (codumented on tape) by lying to the press.
The fact that Rossi is not legally obligated to return the money does NOT mean keeping it is the right thing to do.
I would not HAVE to return a $20 bill I saw someone drop on the ground, But any person of conscience would, just as Rossi would return money that violates the group's tax-exempt status, if he was an honest man.
He isn't, and neither is Dwight Mason, whom no one can deny lied about the nature of the event to cover-up what he obviously knew to be a prohibited activity - in the name of Jesus Christ no less.
The FACT that Mason is a sleaze-bag, two-bit liar posing as a man of Christ is enough for me.
The FACT that Rossi plans to keep the money is just icing on the cake.

Speaking of hypocritical Democrats, when is Patty Murray going to return the $41,000 she took form lobbyist Jack Abramoff from 1999-2005 from his out of state Tribal clients? Maybe she can get together Maria Cantwell who kept $10,000 of Mr. Abramoff's Tribal Largess. Of course we wouldn't want to look Democrats right Jim? The local Press here in Seattle is hardly known for investigating "Their Own".

Thanks for the clarification Pudge. I more or less figured that was the case, but it is important that issues like this get sufficiently vetted.

I call bullcrap on Jim D. He is obviously a defender of Christine Gregoire and before he criticizes the opposition, his side needs to clean up their own back yard. When that will happen is like waiting for Godot.

Speaking of lying, I am sure all the liberals here will be happy to point out that GREGOIRE lied when she told us 4 years ago she would not raise taxes.

thanks for the response, 'the best'

i'll just take your answer to mean that when someone plays the 'muslim card' they are indicating that not only are they conservative, but they are also close minded, bigoted, and racist.

Upchuck,
Your remarks to The Best

you can jump to conclusions without any real facts or history of The Best.

Must of been his remark about Democrats that made you run for Prozac bottle.

"... call bullcrap on Jim D. He is obviously a defender of Christine Gregoire and before he criticizes the opposition, his side needs to clean up their own back yard. When that will happen is like waiting for Godot..."

sheesh... The right-wing just doesn't get it. They're all about relative ethics - "he doesn't have to be any better than the worst example on the other side...
THAT'S bullcrap.
This isn't about the Indian tribes, Gregoire, Islam..or anything else except DWIGHT MASON and political fundraiser he improperly produced through his Christian Businessmen's Connection, a tax-exempt religious non-profit that's prohibited from conducting such events.
Period.
To suggest the D's have to "clean up their own backyard" before criticizing the R's improper fundraising is ridiculous.
It's like telling a cop issuing you a speeding ticket to "ticket everyone going faster than me first."
It's childish, adolescent and irresponsible - especially for a party that claims a higher moral code of conduct.
But hey - if that's how Rossi and the R's want to identify themselves - "yes we're crooks and thieves but the dems are even worse!" - fine by me.
The sooner the republicans hit total bottom, the sooner they can purge this criminal mentality from their ranks and start building a party the public can trust again.

i'm just questioning why the muslim label is used as a slander. because it seems SOME on the right accuse others of being muslim with no other connotation except to suggest that simply being of that faith is wrong, or unintelligent, or immoral. i posed the question, and the only response was from 'the best' who confirmed, with no facts only false accusations, that his prejudice was indeed against the muslim faith not some other possible nuance of this or other political debates. to simply say that another faith shared by predominately another race/culture is blatant racism and very close minded and therefore should be called out every time!

To upchuck,

"No facts from The Best"

Which one of his remarks isn't fact forgetting about his Democrat remark, no we should include It. For starters please name one National Muslim or Democrat that was outraged over treatment of our POW's in Iraq?

(what in the hell is John rambling about this time...?)

Point taken, Upchuck. I just ignore those who slander Islam (the largest religion in the world and the majority faith of many democratic countries, by the way) in the same way I ignore blatantly racist comments about Obama - same thing.
No one of any education or intelligence believes Islam is an inherently violent religion.
The "terrorists" are motivated by a bastardized, convulated fundementalism - not unlike how Christianity was similarly perverted over the centuries for similar evil.
When it comes to those who spout such prejudiced, bigoted religious nonsense, I remind myself that, "If your opponent is beating himself up, get out of the way!"
:-)
:-)

To JimD,

Jim D - you are being a self-righteous leftist. Everything that you accuse the Republicans of is what the Democrats have been guilty of and at this time it is only alleged.

I do not give the Republicans a pass- they have been stupid and inept, while the Dems have irresponsible and sneaky. Do you think a one-party benefits anyone except those in power and their lobby ? A balance of power in this state that has been a one -party state too long will benefit more, but the worthy candidates have to be there.

Let see how this matter is legally decided before leaping to conclusions.

"If your opponent is beating himself up, get out of the way!"

i hear ya, JimD... = )

i usually ignore the muslim slander and assume most intelligent people recognize how ridiculous these folks sound. but for once i felt motivated to speak out a little and get off topic. what a shame if a muslim in our community were to read this blog and think that this sort of hateful speech was not only common, but left uncontested and thus tolerated.

To upchuck,

....

KS,
The republicans (or whatever brand they come back as) will have to EARN their respectability.
It's not going to happen with lame excuses or comparing their scandalous behavior to democrats.
The electorate is making their current opinion very clear - the dems are now the "lesser of two evils", if you will.
I for one, look forward to a more rigorous, balanced power structure.
Too much unchecked power is bad for democracy, and dems are building a virtual monopoly on every level - state and national this cycle.
However, they're doing it fair and square, in-part by default due to a dysfunctional and disgraced republican party.
The new reality is; If Rossi or anyone else wants to create a credible conservative following, they'll have to sell something better than hatred for democrats and "liberals", yadayadayada...
Those days, and the mess they got us in, are thankfully over.

upchuck,
I hear ya, and agree.
I just wanted to say the same thing in a more confrontational manner- which apparently left our resident hate-monger speechless (or censored?)

It's really telling you can't find one person Jim or upchuck.

The left is alive and wading in this cesspool of hate with smiles. This is their domain.

Take your Prozac everyday children.

case in point /\

You type with so much hate you don't realize what you say JimD.

I feel sorry for you and your kind.

Hope better days are in your future.

Take your pills.

Americans United has filed a complaint with the IRS:

http://www.au.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr007=7wg0cuhfh3.app1b&abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9847&security=1002&news_iv_ctrl=1241

JimD: you are incorrect on all counts, prety much.

"Read my posts. My complaint is with CBMC - and specifically Dwight Mason who tried to cover-up the fundraising nature of the meeting (codumented on tape) by lying to the press."

False. You claimed that Rossi should give the money back, which necessarily means that you have a complaint with Rossi.

Also false, because there IS NO documentation OF ANY KIND that shows that the meeting was a fundraiser.

"The fact that Rossi is not legally obligated to return the money does NOT mean keeping it is the right thing to do."

That is irrelevant: you have not made any case that he SHOULD return it.

"I would not HAVE to return a $20 bill I saw someone drop on the ground, But any person of conscience would, just as Rossi would return money that violates the group's tax-exempt status, if he was an honest man."

That comparison is completely illogical. I don't even know where to begin, because it doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. You appear to be simply trying to say that a "person of conscience" would "do the right thing," but you have not made ANY argument that the right thing is to return the money.

The money was given legally and freely. There is no reason to return it, and you have not given us any cause to think otherwise.

"no one can deny [Mason] lied about the nature of the event to cover-up what he obviously knew to be a prohibited activity"

I can, and do. You have no evidence of this whatsoever. Simply saying that there are envelopes on the table does not make it a fundraiser. You are either lying, or ignorant of the facts.

"The FACT that Mason is a sleaze-bag, two-bit liar posing as a man of Christ is enough for me."

This "fact" (which is, of course, mere opinion) is based on incorrect claims.

"The FACT that Rossi plans to keep the money is just icing on the cake."

And again, you have not given anyone a single reason why he shouldn't, except for attempts at fallacious question-begging.

You beat your chest a lot, but it signifies nothing.