Via Goldy (Horse's Ass). Noemie Maxwell does some rudimentary fact checking and finds that the WA Farm Bureau is exhibiting gross negligence with respect to the truth. Mr. Appel (of the Farm Bureau) gave a speech kicking off its initiative campaign to reform land use regulation in the state of Washington. From Washblog:

In that kickoff speech, which is published on the website promoting the initiative, Mr. Appel tells about Bruce Ritter who owns a small amount of non-agricultural land (10 acres) and presents his case as an example of a property owner whose plight resembles that of thousands of others across the state who would be helped by the initiative.

This choice is a matter of some public interest. Why not a farmer? And why only one family?

Odder than this choice of a representative landowner, and more troubling, is the inaccuracy in Mr. Appels' statement about the Ritter property. Half of the assertions made by Mr. Appel are easily debunked. The other half are not substantiated and are, in fact, shown by the public record to almost certainly be untrue.

The property in question is in Thurston County. Since the Farm Bureau has chosen this particular case as its chief example, it might be interesting to track its progress. Noemie's work calls into question the motives and tactics of the Farm Bureau. She concludes:

Political shortcuts and tricks, such as making inflammatory statements and presenting unverified assertions as facts - are not going to help farmers or anyone else deal with complex land use issues. Insulting and intimidating people who ask for accountability, is simply counterproductive. These tactics trivialize the real issues, stand in the way of public deliberation, prolong the personal and economic distress people are facing in Washington around land use, and increase our danger in relation to environmental challenges.