Sometimes you just shake your head in disbelief. Kate Brown's finger pointing bureaucrats now argue that Salem's on again, off again toxic algae water crisis could have been avoided if Salem's water bureaucrats had just known that DEQ had the equipment to test the water each day rather than ship samples by FedEx out of state resulting in three day delay for results, while people are consuming potentially harmful water.
I mean, it's not like state water bureaucrats ever talk to Salem's water bureaucrats you know, right?
If you believe that explanation for this mess, then you believe that OJ is still searching for his wife's killer.
This story quotes a DEQ official making the argument that Salem water bureaucrats may not have known the state could have tested the water for them as Salem didn't ask them to do so.
Except DEQ couldn't have done so anyway because they had no one trained to operate the testing equipment and DEQ never kept that equipment up to date. Obviously, someone at DEQ dropped the ball.
Oh well... Just another day in Kate Brown's incompetent state government.
By all means yes! Prosecute the food stamp recipients engaging in fraud! It is a missing part of solving food stamp 'cash back' fraud here in Oregon. Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has issued an advisory report about food stamp fraud investigations and while it details prosecutions of retailers engaging in this fraud, it doesn't include prosecuting the other willing participants, the food stamp recipients. The full report is here.
If they were prosecuted and forced to pay back the money, the word would get out on the street quickly and the cash back fraud that allows recipients to buy banned items like alcohol and lottery tickets would stop.
An interesting note: the data about 1% fraud in EBT is 10 years old before the massive Obama administration's push for record levels of participation which has 25% of all Oregonians in the program and Oregon government receiving 15 million dollars in bonuses for signing up so many. Its hard to believe that 25% of all Oregonians need food stamps with our full employment and the economy roaring.
Research shows that nationally, its rare for EBT card recipients to actually be prosecuted or required to pay back the cash they fraudulently obtained working with a corrupt retailer. As here in Oregon, some recipients are banned for life from receiving benefits or are temporarily suspended from receiving benefits. The latter offers no real punishment that keeps them from finding the next retailer willing to engage in the fraud. The SOS report talks about restitution, but it is likely from the retailers and not the recipients.
Technically cash back is not allowed on EBT cards but is for a similar program, TAFDC. Either way, the potential for fraud and misuse is serious and must not be tolerated.
The only way to stop it cold is to prosecute the retailers and the receipients engage in this fraud.
It seems Oregon Governor Kate Brown is taking a page out of disgraced fellow democrat Brad Avakian's playbook by redacting large portions of her official calendar according to this recent article by Adam Andrzejeweski in Forbes magazine.
Is she hiding the same kind of illegal activity that Avakian did?
As noted in our post about Avakian's calendar redactions which lead to the admission that BOLI employees were in fact illegally working for Avakian's campaign during normal work hours, it isn't a stretch to believe that Kate Brown is doing the same.
This time honored Democrat technique of using taxpayer funded resources to illegally benefit Democrats like Governor Kitzhaber and BOLI Commissioner Avakian appears to be the same tactic Governor Brown is employing now as the Forbes article points out.
The article shows evidence of an astounding 86% of the Governor's personal calendar days have redactions which is an awful lot of non transparency.
So, what is 'Kover Up Kate' hiding now?
