Who's Discrediting Who?

You may recall a couple of my previous posts where I described KCACC "Exposed" as group with a beef against the King County animal shelter, and some of its unfortunate activities.

I imagine many members of the group believe they are fighting the good fight. Unfortunately, it's come to the point now where these folks' honest efforts have apparently been hijacked by people with ulterior motives--motives that seem ultimately aimed at channeling public funds into private coffers. Worse, they aim to do so under cover of the shiny, happy "no kill" label so taxpayers unfamiliar with the problems of region-wide "no kill" policies will be snowed into thinking everything will be OK.

As I've indicated, the King County shelter had and still has issues, but the process of modernization is ongoing, and more are on the way, if the latest effort is allowed to continue.

Unfortunately for the animals of King County, this KCACC "Exposed" group doesn't appear to have any problem publishing the allegations of folks like Brad Crauer and Nathan Winograd who have a history of questionable actions and failed policies, respectively, in the animal welfare industry.

Worse, the KCACC "Exposed" co-chairs apparently have no problem with printing outright lies. For instance, they recently said the "volunteer coordinator" hired to build a modern program was hired at a salary of $93,000 a year.

Well, let me just say, "I wish." Since I'm married to the Volunteer Program Manager hired at the shelter, I can tell you she was hired into tough job for a lot less than that.

I presume KCACC "Exposed" thought their claim the volunteer manager was making such a large salary might drum up discontent among outsiders and shelter volunteers alike. Discontent that could lend unearned support of their cause. A dishonest tactic, I'm afraid.

Tactics like these are being used to drive the county to consider privatization and "no kill" policies.

So, beware of crazy-sounding allegations about the shelter when you run across them. If it sounds like something akin to "Satanists are killing babies!" then the allegation is likely just as untrue. Better yet, head over the King County shelter in Kent to take a look for yourself, meet the staff, and see for your own eyes what conditions are actually like.

Draconomicon Excerpt: Brown Dragons

Check out the excerpt from Draconomicon I: Chromatic Dragons (by yours truly, as well as other authors) that just posted here at the wizards site.

I'm particularly stoked about this fabulous picture:

Grubb Guide to Responsbile Voting Is In

Want to research every candidate and issue before you on the ballot, but just don't have the luxury of time? Well, if you live in King County in Washington State, one of your first stops should be the blog of someone who always does his own research, and better yet, posts his conclusions on his blog.

Yes, I'm talking about Jeff Grubb, my friend and fellow Alliterate.

His latest take on the issues facing us on Nov 4 are up and posted here.

Take a look!

http://grubbstreet.blogspot.com/2008/10/jeff-recommends-annotated-version.html

Viral It: The Truth About ACORN

I think we saw the first salvo last night that will become an attempt to delegitimize Obama's upcoming presidency, at least among McCain's unswerving base. So let's get the truth out there and spread it around.

Here's the deal: ACORN is not trying to steal the vote for Obama.

* The only fraud committed was against ACORN itself. ACORN hired 13,000 workers to register a remarkable 1.3 million new voters. And a few of them turned in registration forms with inaccurate and even made-up names to get credit for work they didn't do. ACORN fired them and turned them over to the authorities.
"The Truth About ACORN's Voter Registration Drives,"
http://acorn.org/quickfacts

"Group Answers Charges of Voter Registration Fraud," New York Times, October 14, 2008
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/acorn/

* ACORN reported the fraudulent registration forms. In most states, ACORN is required by law to submit all forms collected whether they appear to be bogus or not—that way election officials, not partisan groups, can make the call. ACORN flags cards that may not be legitimate. And in many places, the charges of fraud only came up because ACORN was the one who flagged the cards!
"Voter Group Admits Mistakes, Defends Work," ABC News, October 14, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31241&id=14429-6672261-LU6AT3x&t=5

"Is there ACORN fraud in Florida?," Orlando Sentinel, October 15, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31239&id=14429-6672261-LU6AT3x&t=6

* This won't have any impact on the election. No one is allowed to vote unless they are properly registered. And there is no evidence of false registrations actually leading to organized voting fraud.
"'Fraud' vs. 'Suppression'," Politico, October 14, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31240&id=14429-6672261-LU6AT3x&t=7

Slaves of the Red Goddess

My friend Wolfgang Baur has opened voting for his next round of Open Design. Wolf's RPG writing hearkens back to the patronage in Renaissance Italy when wealthy individuals would commission a single work from an artist and employ him until that work was finished. Yes, he's a modern-day Michelangelo, and he paints with your imagination.

He's previewed the set of Open Design candidates here, if you're interested in becoming one of his patrons and helping to choose which project he next tackles.

I notice that one of the candidates is one of those "The Truth is Stranger Than You Can Ever Know" pieces that I really enjoy :-).

Slaves of the Red Goddess (4E D&D): Bruce Cordell is writing a take on the “Kingdom of the Ghouls”, so it seems only fair that Open Design do a riff on the Far Realms. This 4E adventure features the cult of the Red Goddess, and attempt to summon Things from the Realms Beyond, and an assault on the goddess’s followers stronghold in the Grey Marshes. Adaptable to any campaign, it features a “points of light” approach, a dozen new monsters, and a set of ruthless arcane and divine villains. Possibly some emphasis on the Glass Books, Slave Wands, and other new magical items.

http://www.koboldquarterly.com/kqforums/viewtopic.php?t=229

Plague of Spells Dec 2

The final cover for Plague of Spells has appeared on Amazon. Very nice! In two more months, the Abolethic Sovereignty shudders towards a long-foretold awareness. Will you be ready?

Kittens Ready for Adoption

The King County Animal Care & Control shelter has many great foster cats ready to find their permanent homes, including Carson and Charlie, two kittens we are currently fostering. If you would like to adopt Carson and Charlie, please email dee dot cordell at kingcounty dot gov. This video includes some of the highlights of the kittens time in our home.

To socialize the kittens, we let them interact with our other cats and dog after they were old enough. Being around 5 months old, they love to play, and play hard. But when they've had their fun, they also love to snuggle and purr. Both are very calm and sweet, and ready to go into their forever home.

maps.google.com/vote

This is amusing, but has some NSFW language in it. So, put on your headphones.



The magic web page? maps.google.com/vote

Top 1% Should Aid Bailout

Senator Bernie Sanders voted against the bill that would put Wall Street's burden on the backs of the American middle class. "The bailout package is far better than the absurd proposal originally presented to us by the Bush administration, but is still short of where we should be," Sanders said.

Bernie Sanders, and Independent from Vermont, describes how the top 1% of the wealthy in this country who profited handsomely during the lead-up to this popped bubble, should be on the hook for fixing the situation.

A very interesting read:

http://www.truthout.org/100208J