Your last question is does Mortenson believe drug users are bums to be abandoned is exactly what he seems to believe. He appears to have no clue about how drug courts work. He says the judge isn’t a social worker. True, but drug court has staff who have social work background who report to the judge and make recommendations. I was a social worker for dependency drug court for 6 years. I know graduates who are working as chemical dependency professionals now over 15 years later. Not only have they stayed clean, but they are helping others get clean. Mortenson is just spouting off opinions without facts.
What authority does Commissioner Mortenson have to back up his bias? If he had any, he should have disclosed that. What gaul to shoot from the hip and turn your questions into a partisan attack. This is exactly what people such as Putin and Kim do. He should retire and allow someone that is prepared to analyze and assess the various subject matters. That is not competence. It is outright laziness and chutzpah.
In my opinion, the citizens in Cowlitz deserve better and this Commissioner owes that to himself too. He should strive to be better and not scrape the proverbial bottom of the barrel.
thought I'd share my email exchange with Arne Mortensen:
Me: One man's junk is another man's treasure. Democracy sometimes involves taking from one to support another.
Arne: This where we absolutely differ. Our founders never called for a democracy because it was well understood that a democracy will devour itself. They formed a Republic. We pledge to our republic in the flag salute. There are many quotes from many erudite individuals regarding this matter.
Me: We will have the opportunity to express our appreciation or concerns at the ballot box...
Sadly, this doesn’t seem to work very well; just consider the low level that Congress scores. Folks are keen on term limits, suggesting dissatisfaction. We humans fall prey to slick talking and promises of easy gains.
Me: We see things very differently and your comment that taking from one to gift to another is illegal set off a red flag. Helping a human being that is caught in the web of addiction, many times because of circumstance beyond their control, is a gift in a way, those people have value too.
Arne:These people have had every opportunity given to them in this country of ours. That they squandered the opportunity is on them. But, regardless, there are plenty of resources for them without having to commit a crime.
Me: If 15 people were helped by drug court that's 15 people who might go on to do great things. 1 penny is a very small price to pay in my opinion.
It is far far more than a penny. Can you name me someone who has gone through the program and done great things? I think the odds of converting an addict into a taxpaying person employed by other than a government agency is modest; add paying back for the cost of the courts, etc. is slimmer; and to do great thing becomes very very slim. Should a public policy be gambling on low odds events?
Me: If a penny of every ten dollars spent is a burden for this community, then maybe they might entertain the idea of spending a few bucks less on fireworks or bullets?....we listened to maybe $100 worth of bullets fired off by our neighbor on Saturday not a block away from our home. So, I guess there are a lot of ways to look at a situation.
Arne: As you state people make strange choices. They buy tickets to seahawks games and don’t give to cancer research and then they wonder why they die of cancer.
Clearly you don’t like fireworks, and there probably are many more such things that you dislike. Count me in on that. But I cannot use my desires to base decisions for the public. We are supposed to be a republic; we work with rules.
Me: Your unsupportable arguments that drug court is unconstitutional are an effort to justify your belief in limited government in my opinion.
Arne: Why is it unsupportable? I told you that it is a violation of the equal protection under the law and the 14th amendment.
Me: Everyday Americans, to a high degree, disagree with that point of view. (my remark was about citizens moving away from the Republican party/Libertarians.
Arne: Prove it. Judge Bork was interviewed after his failed confirmation to the US Supreme Court; he stated that the majority of decisions of the SCOTUS for the past 100 years mostly were illegitimate (unconstitutional), but he did admit that he preferred the earlier decisions. MY Mother told me as I argued, “so and so does it,” that if they jumped off a cliff is no reason for me to do so also. The point being, again, that we work under the rules of a republic (state and federal Constitutions); that we violate those rules does not make those rules invalid, but it does impoverish us materially and spiritually. We see that as civil, moral, and material decay happening all around us.
Me: Thank you again for responding to my email.
Arne: And I thank you. I want to find better solutions and I can’t do that absent thoughtful input.
Thank you, Andre! Mortensen must be replaced. He has demonstrated that he cannot be trusted to work for the good of the people in our community.
Your last question is does Mortenson believe drug users are bums to be abandoned is exactly what he seems to believe. He appears to have no clue about how drug courts work. He says the judge isn’t a social worker. True, but drug court has staff who have social work background who report to the judge and make recommendations. I was a social worker for dependency drug court for 6 years. I know graduates who are working as chemical dependency professionals now over 15 years later. Not only have they stayed clean, but they are helping others get clean. Mortenson is just spouting off opinions without facts.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments Andre! As always you are able to put into words how many of us believe!
What authority does Commissioner Mortenson have to back up his bias? If he had any, he should have disclosed that. What gaul to shoot from the hip and turn your questions into a partisan attack. This is exactly what people such as Putin and Kim do. He should retire and allow someone that is prepared to analyze and assess the various subject matters. That is not competence. It is outright laziness and chutzpah.
If he is interested in knowing more I suggest spending some time researching the issue. Hmmm. Let me help him. Listen to this: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/bf3905e4-b0b8-44ce-9f91-900deb92e2c2/episodes/43bd29a1-11d8-41aa-95da-b075f99002c2/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-harris-a-controversial-new-way-to-think-about-addiction-carrie-wilkens
how about reading on this subject matter. Check https://cmcffc.org/team/carrie-wilkens-phd. Under Resources go the Recommended Links.
In my opinion, the citizens in Cowlitz deserve better and this Commissioner owes that to himself too. He should strive to be better and not scrape the proverbial bottom of the barrel.
Arne seems determined to run the county into the ground.
thought I'd share my email exchange with Arne Mortensen:
Me: One man's junk is another man's treasure. Democracy sometimes involves taking from one to support another.
Arne: This where we absolutely differ. Our founders never called for a democracy because it was well understood that a democracy will devour itself. They formed a Republic. We pledge to our republic in the flag salute. There are many quotes from many erudite individuals regarding this matter.
Me: We will have the opportunity to express our appreciation or concerns at the ballot box...
Sadly, this doesn’t seem to work very well; just consider the low level that Congress scores. Folks are keen on term limits, suggesting dissatisfaction. We humans fall prey to slick talking and promises of easy gains.
Me: We see things very differently and your comment that taking from one to gift to another is illegal set off a red flag. Helping a human being that is caught in the web of addiction, many times because of circumstance beyond their control, is a gift in a way, those people have value too.
Arne:These people have had every opportunity given to them in this country of ours. That they squandered the opportunity is on them. But, regardless, there are plenty of resources for them without having to commit a crime.
Me: If 15 people were helped by drug court that's 15 people who might go on to do great things. 1 penny is a very small price to pay in my opinion.
It is far far more than a penny. Can you name me someone who has gone through the program and done great things? I think the odds of converting an addict into a taxpaying person employed by other than a government agency is modest; add paying back for the cost of the courts, etc. is slimmer; and to do great thing becomes very very slim. Should a public policy be gambling on low odds events?
Me: If a penny of every ten dollars spent is a burden for this community, then maybe they might entertain the idea of spending a few bucks less on fireworks or bullets?....we listened to maybe $100 worth of bullets fired off by our neighbor on Saturday not a block away from our home. So, I guess there are a lot of ways to look at a situation.
Arne: As you state people make strange choices. They buy tickets to seahawks games and don’t give to cancer research and then they wonder why they die of cancer.
Clearly you don’t like fireworks, and there probably are many more such things that you dislike. Count me in on that. But I cannot use my desires to base decisions for the public. We are supposed to be a republic; we work with rules.
Me: Your unsupportable arguments that drug court is unconstitutional are an effort to justify your belief in limited government in my opinion.
Arne: Why is it unsupportable? I told you that it is a violation of the equal protection under the law and the 14th amendment.
Me: Everyday Americans, to a high degree, disagree with that point of view. (my remark was about citizens moving away from the Republican party/Libertarians.
Arne: Prove it. Judge Bork was interviewed after his failed confirmation to the US Supreme Court; he stated that the majority of decisions of the SCOTUS for the past 100 years mostly were illegitimate (unconstitutional), but he did admit that he preferred the earlier decisions. MY Mother told me as I argued, “so and so does it,” that if they jumped off a cliff is no reason for me to do so also. The point being, again, that we work under the rules of a republic (state and federal Constitutions); that we violate those rules does not make those rules invalid, but it does impoverish us materially and spiritually. We see that as civil, moral, and material decay happening all around us.
Me: Thank you again for responding to my email.
Arne: And I thank you. I want to find better solutions and I can’t do that absent thoughtful input.
But he doesn’t listen to thoughtful input at all.
One additional resource to consider https://cmcffc.org/resources/books-and-workbooks