One Commissioner's Claim to Fame and BZ's BUZZ

The STATE of AFFAIRS -

Journalism is so bad these days that it is really just a gossip column with one-sided bias. No where do you find any opposing views that might stimulate thinking or discussion. Even Letters to the Editor are limited to just a few sentences.

Then we have to read about the husband* of Mrs. Serverina 'Sam' Haws attesting to her athletic prowess. I guess this means she is proud of being good in bed. (* is an important word in Idaho because if you don't have one you are targeted and suffer tremendous discrimination. Might still be 1806 here.)

She certainly isn't a good commissioner since she continues to engage in harassment, defamation and actively covering for employee fraud (which in some circles is called obstruction of justice and racketeering).

Not bad for a banking school graduate.

I guess this leads to being promoted to the position (commissioner) by polishing political pundits.

So it claims

The mission of the Idaho State Tax Commission is to provide courteous, quality services and to administer the state's tax laws in a fair, timely, and cost-effective manner to benefit Idaho and its citizens.

This is what it says on a job fair web site from Boise State University.

Employees of the tax commmission I have had to deal with have never been courteous or fair. They are Carolyn Hartman, Claire Cunningham, Amy Brown, Natahn Wilson and John Bernasconi. Instead they have been threatening, abusive and subjected me to needless, unlawful and unending harassment throught 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. None of their claims were ever verified, nor did they ever - in keeping with tax commission rules - meet with me to review and verify facts.

They are not cost effective. Their zealous manner of unrelenting attacks has lasted over four years. The time and money wasted is incalcuable.

This activity is another example of secondary and tertiary vitimization of a crime victim. And I guess they don't know that Idaho has a law prohibiting this. This applies also to the commissioners and some tax appeals board staff too.

Can't say too much for the governor's office staff members who went out to maintian the smokescreen.

Remember making false claims is harassment. When you - as a state employee - make a false claim under oath, that's a felony.

and who is watching this hen house? asked the fox, licking his lips....

Chit Chat

Betsy (BZ) Russell, the go-lightly Boise reporter for the Spokesman Review in Spokane hosts a blog that reports on the oddities of S. Idaho.
Russell hasn't ever been willing to report on the oddities of the tax commission. Maybe this is the reflection of the LMT's concept that uncovering irregularities at this agency might "hurt too many people".
Would those 'people' be government hacks?

Now Butch is Gov. and will he follow through on his suggestion ?

Just wondering if Otter will follow through since Kempthorne and Risch didn't...

By the way, Congressman Otter's office suggested I go to the governor's office but I had to explain that the governor's office refused to act on it, which in itself is very telling.

Have to add that my query to Otter was totally ignored. Gee Butch, are you in bed with the tax commission?

Integrity missing

Sam Haws engages in defamation, including both slander and libel.
She may not think so, but when she covers up the wrongful actions of her agency, she becomes an accomplice in the activity.
We have to wonder exactly what she did to determine that her worker at the tax commission had falsified their report and lied under oath?
This is just one example of Abuse of Agency Policy.

Scenic Idaho

Certainly Idaho is scenic. Outside of the scenery though it is THE ultra-right RED state that doesn't follow its own laws.

All the way from the clerical level to the governors office, the bureaucrats here all think they are above the rule of law.

Corruption is exceedingly rampant. The first line of defense for this crowd is not to answer any constituents inquiry.

The same attitude is present in the legislature as well.

Take for instance Delores Crow. She is the chair of the House Tax and Revenue committee and is not at all interestsed in criminal activity at the tax commission.

Who is greasing whose palm here?

Amy, Can You Tell US Why You Left Your Job at the ITC?

In late 2004, Amy Brown from the ITC tells me she contacted the IRS to get my tax returns. She added that it was up to me to prove I was not an Idaho resident during the four years she demanded returns. She told me I had to "cooperate" because "someone" told her** I was in Idaho during these four years. I again have to ask what steps Amy took to verify this allegation. I've also tried to get Amy to tell me to whom she spoke at Latah County, where she claimed she got the information, but to no avail. Gee, Amy, didn't anyone ever tell you it is not nice to make threats, and by the way, it is also against the law. (** in legal-ese they call this 'hearsay' which holds water about as good as a paper boat trying to cross the Atlantic)

Here's Another Press Conundrum

Maybe it is just me, but can some one please explain to me why it would be harmful to a large number of people to report on irregularities at the Idaho Tax Commission?

Yes, it was the Managing Editor of an Idaho newspaper that said this.

should we call in the spirit of Walter Winchell to get to the facts?

Don't They Call This The Fox in the Hen House?

The foxes are in charge of the chicken coop. Having made initial mistakes they are in the position of having to defend those mistakes by compounding them. Clearly, there are not enough checks and balances in place. Not enough watchdogs to guard against the foxes nor enough penalties to make those in charge think twice about lying and compounding the lie. The penalties for compounding lies should increase exponentially over time to prevent the paramount ethic at work from being, "Cover your tracks at all costs."

"A lawyer is a representative of clients, and officer of the legal system and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice."

Not so if your name is Linda Pike and you work for the Idaho Board of Tax Appeals. You don't even have to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct, Court Rules or procedures spelled out in the Idaho Statutes and Administrative Code.

You think too that you have the power, just like Carolyn Hartman, to claim you are a judge in the Superior Courts of two counties in Washington state, and freely alter an order of the court, with no authority to do so, putting a person's life at risk of grave harm.

It's good that you think too your experience with the Tax Appeals Board qualifies you to be a county commissioner.

I guess this puts you on par with another UI Law School grad that suggested I should have lied and then I would have avoided all this.

I majored in Ethics while completing my advanced degrees, maybe you missed this class or the toxic farm chemicals in the air around here altered your moral aptitude.