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Joel McEntire Is Spiraling Out of Control, and the Receipts Are Piling Up

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There comes a point when an elected official stops looking like someone who is defending himself and starts looking like someone who has completely lost the plot. Joel McEntire appears to be getting dangerously close to that point. What started as criticism of his online behavior toward people he disagrees with has turned into something increasingly bizarre. Rather than ignoring criticism, addressing legitimate concerns, or simply moving on, McEntire repeatedly jumps into other people's comment sections to attack the people criticizing him. Then he takes to his own page and makes a weird post like it's some big AHA moment about who Bann Hammer really is. The screenshots tell the story remarkably well, and that story is really weird. This Is More Than Just Being Thin-Skinned Politicians get criticized. Constantly. It is one of the many glamorous perks of public office, right up there with fundraising calls and people yelling at you about potholes. The normal response is to answe...
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It Just Hasn’t Been Joel McEntire’s Week

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  It’s only Wednesday. Rep. Joel McEntire, Washington’s 19th Legislative District representative, has already had a week that most politicians would probably prefer to erase from the internet. Unfortunately for him, the internet has an inconvenient habit of remembering things. There was the hearing in Cowlitz County District Court over the restraining order sought by Britney Brown. There was the very public mess over his claim that he had the “support” of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. Then there is the little matter of an ethics complaint that Joel apparently felt confident enough to dismiss. The Courtroom The case in Cowlitz County District Court concerns the restraining order Britney Brown has filed against McEntire. The judge is expected to issue a decision in approximately two weeks. From what happened in court, it certainly did not appear to be an especially comfortable afternoon for Rep. McEntire. One particularly notable moment came when the ju...
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Apparently a Drag Queen Being Around Children Is the End of Civilization, According to CCN

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  The Outrage Machine Has Officially Driven Into the Ditch There are some things you see online that make you stop and wonder how we got to this point as a society. Then there are the things posted by Cowlitz County News that make you realize the outrage machine has officially driven into the ditch . Let's be clear about what CCN is actually outraged about, because this isn't really about Poison Waters reading a children's story. CCN's outrage is much more than that. CCN is outraged because they have no control over what a school district, in another city, in another county, and in another state does. CCN is outraged that a drag performer is getting really great community recognition. CCN is outraged because, while the majority of the kids would be able to sit through a storytime with this drag performer and have a great time, CCN's kids would be yanked out of school and miss out on the fun that the other kids are having. CCN doesn't want themselves to look li...
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The Long Way Around the Truth: CCN’s Latest Political Narrative

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  The Story About Children That CCN Keeps Making About Stacey Rivera  There is something remarkably pathetic about watching a Facebook page with more than 50,000 followers work this hard to turn a serious subject into a political grudge match. The original post about this situation did not even come from Cowlitz County News. Failed Leadership posted about it first. CCN then picked out a screenshot from that discussion and somehow managed to build an increasingly elaborate political narrative around it. The screenshot shows Susan Donahue saying she received a screenshot of a comment made by Stacey Rivera from a friend who had seen it on Facebook . That is what CCN had. One screenshot. One statement that Susan received it from a friend. The screenshot does not say Stacey Rivera was that friend. It does not say Stacey sent it to Susan. It does not establish that the two women were friends or that they were communicating about the allegations. Yet somehow CCN managed to turn that...
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