This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on October 29, 2012 3:17 PM.
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Elections sure do bring out the silly in some people. Oregon secretary of state Kate Brown picks today to release a hard-hitting audit:
A Secretary of State investigation of Mt. Hood Community College’s (MHCC) wilderness leadership program inventory identified missing equipment and questionable reimbursements. MHCC had already initiated an internal investigation, but asked the Secretary of State’s Audits Division for assistance.
Using MHCC purchase records, auditors identified about $13,000 in equipment that was missing from campus. Among those missing purchases, about $1,500 appeared to match personal gear requested by students. However, the college did not receive reimbursement for personal gear purchases even though emails indicated some students may have directly reimbursed instructors.
Auditors also noted instances of travel and purchase reimbursements that were in excess of the per diem rate, appeared contrary to policies, lacked sufficient detail, gave personal rewards benefits that may violate state policies, and paid instructors for purchases paid by a MHCC credit card. Secretary Brown has also submitted the report to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission for possible ethics violations.
Amazing how this all timed out. By Friday she'll be counting the M&M's in the bowl at the reception desk at the State Archives Building. Somebody's been eating all the green ones!
Kate Brown touts her role as "Auditor in Chief." She "audited" the Oregon Department of Revenue 3 times in the past 2 years and failed to see any problem with the way the Department was issuing huge undocumented refunds. The Department in 2012 paid a $2.1 million refund to a Salem woman who had never before reported more than $15,000 of income. The folks at TurboTax, not the government, revealed this fraud. The state employees even manually overrode the computer-generated warning about this refund. Now, the government refuses to disclose how many other huge, fraudulent refunds it has paid.
Kate Brown's ads claim that her audits have "identified $180 million in savings" or that they have "found $180 million in savings." She also claims to have "saved" $64 for every $1 spent on auditing. These are all phoney numbers. Her auditors have merely suggested to agencies that they do things diffently in a way that the auditors think might save money. Kate Brown is not enforcing her suggestions, and there is no proof of any savings even if the suggestions are sdfsdfsimplemented.
As the Associated Press reported on October 24: "In some circumstances, the secretary of state can have the state withhold 10 percent of the money owed to local governments if they won't correct problems identified in an audit, or she can recommend that the governor withhold pay from state officials who drag their feet.
Brown acknowledged that she couldn't say exactly how much money was saved or recovered as a result of her audits, but she said her office has stepped up efforts to follow up on recommendations."
Note that she has never recommended withholding funds from state agencies and have never used her authority to order funds withheld from local governments.
If Obama is reelected he'll subsidize the replacement of those green M&Ms. If Kate Brown is reelected there is no hope for a Republican, however outstanding, in a state that is going to elect a Democrat, however dismal.
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (7)
As the saying goes "too little and too late".
Posted by Usual Kevin | October 29, 2012 3:27 PM
Vote for the higher integrity candidate that won't waste Oregon taxpayer money counting the M & Ms.
Vote Knute Buehler!
Posted by Brian | October 29, 2012 3:43 PM
Gee, it almost sounds like the current regime is a little scared. if she loses myabe she and Diane Linn can open afirm lobbying firm
Posted by Steve | October 29, 2012 5:24 PM
Well, Vera used to like to say that there were different colors of candy.
Posted by Old Zeb | October 29, 2012 6:01 PM
wow.....13,000 dollars....
Steal 2 million from the dept of revenue and have a nice day...but pilfer 13k from a community college and it's the firing squad for you.....
Talk about screwed up priorities.....
Posted by thaddeus | October 29, 2012 7:06 PM
Kate Brown touts her role as "Auditor in Chief." She "audited" the Oregon Department of Revenue 3 times in the past 2 years and failed to see any problem with the way the Department was issuing huge undocumented refunds. The Department in 2012 paid a $2.1 million refund to a Salem woman who had never before reported more than $15,000 of income. The folks at TurboTax, not the government, revealed this fraud. The state employees even manually overrode the computer-generated warning about this refund. Now, the government refuses to disclose how many other huge, fraudulent refunds it has paid.
Kate Brown's ads claim that her audits have "identified $180 million in savings" or that they have "found $180 million in savings." She also claims to have "saved" $64 for every $1 spent on auditing. These are all phoney numbers. Her auditors have merely suggested to agencies that they do things diffently in a way that the auditors think might save money. Kate Brown is not enforcing her suggestions, and there is no proof of any savings even if the suggestions are sdfsdfsimplemented.
As the Associated Press reported on October 24: "In some circumstances, the secretary of state can have the state withhold 10 percent of the money owed to local governments if they won't correct problems identified in an audit, or she can recommend that the governor withhold pay from state officials who drag their feet.
Brown acknowledged that she couldn't say exactly how much money was saved or recovered as a result of her audits, but she said her office has stepped up efforts to follow up on recommendations."
Note that she has never recommended withholding funds from state agencies and have never used her authority to order funds withheld from local governments.
Posted by Ralphie Buffalo | October 30, 2012 4:32 AM
If Obama is reelected he'll subsidize the replacement of those green M&Ms. If Kate Brown is reelected there is no hope for a Republican, however outstanding, in a state that is going to elect a Democrat, however dismal.
Posted by sally | October 30, 2012 5:54 AM