The total SPD separations come as seven more officers left the force in May. At the current rate, and considering nearly a third of the force is eligible for retirement, the city projects that it will lose 94 officers by the end of the year. The city only expects to hire or rehire 34 this year.

The total number of deployable officers can vary day to day because of injuries, planned extended time off, or maternity/paternity leave. But as of June 3, there were only 848 total deployable officers (not including recruits and students).

Compare the current stats to January 1, 1958, and the crisis is clear. According to a staffing document obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, there were 918 deployable Seattle Police staff. There’s been a dramatic rise in population and crime since.

How is the city of Seattle addressing the police staffing crisis?

The mayor’s office said it’s stepping up recruitment efforts for SPD. But their strategy so far has not worked.

In a virtue signaling pivot, SPD is actively recruiting so-called DREAMERS — recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Status (DACA). Bipartisan legislation allowing DACA recipients to be hired for civil service jobs went into effect on June 6.

But DACA is still being challenged in court and a DACA recipient’s ability to carry a firearm is based on January 2024 guidance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives under the Biden administration. DACA could be declared unconstitutional and the guidance can change with a new administration.

Moreover, how many DACA recipients could possibly be interested in being a police officer? The general public has little interest as it is. This strategy won’t likely bring in many — if any — applicants.

Jason Rantz Exclusive: Former Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz announces he’s gay

Crime is still out of control

There is an urgent need for police as the City of Seattle is trying to recover from last year’s historic high of 74 homicides.

At 21 homicides this year (plus two additional ones that happened in the city but are being investigated by Washington State Patrol), Seattle is trending lower than where it was in 2023 (ending June with 30 homicides). But there’s caution as the city deals with a surge in juvenile crime and summer months usually see a bump in violent crime.

But it’s not just violent crime plaguing the city. Businesses and car owners are hounded by frequent break-ins, theft and vandalism as the city struggles to reach pre-2020 criminal justice reform numbers. The crisis has deteriorated to the point where small businesses are spending big dollars to hire private security since they know there are not enough police to protect their neighborhoods.

Much of the property crime isn’t even reported — a point conceded by former Seattle Police Department Chief Adrian Diaz –which skews data that is cherry-picked to downplay the crisis for political purposes. As activists and some politicians claim, Seattle is thriving, an alarming number of businesses continue to shut down, and downtown commercial real estate is being sold on the cheap.

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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The image is the latest evidence exclusively reported by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH to detail what led to a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMR) for committing fraud against the U.S. Army and for wearing badges and awards Bird did not earn. The Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) is now under pressure to address the fraud, with a Tuesday night Executive Board meeting scheduled to discuss the issue.

At the time of the reprimand, Bird took responsibility for all the findings in the GOMR. But after the GOMR was reported, Bird claimed that allegations made against him at the time were proven false. He said the GOMR was placed in a restricted file and not supposed to be made public, claiming it was illegally obtained. This is disputed by three soldiers directly involved in the research into what led to Bird’s GOMR.

Despite repeated promises over the course of weeks, Bird hasn’t released any documentation to support his assertions. Instead, he’s accused “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH of working for “the establishment” to bring down his campaign and offered irrelevant documents and statements that do not dispute the original reporting.

According to multiple sources and his personnel files, Bird claimed to have earned the Special Operations Diver Badge, even though he never trained for it.

For the last month, Bird claimed he never said he earned the badge and never wore it. Video from 2006 shows otherwise. pic.twitter.com/K8pLPf8ASY

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 19, 2024

Jason Rantz Exclusive: Former Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz announces he’s gay

Did Semi Bird wear a badge he did not earn?

Bird was honored at a 2006 ceremony in Kennewick where he was awarded a Bronze Star Medal with Valor. He was dressed in full uniform for the event. The video was captured for an unidentified news report, obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

In the video, Bird wore the Special Operations Combat Diver Badge on the left side of his uniform coat. The badge was identified by two independent military experts for “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. Screenshots of the video are provided in this story.

Bird wore the Special Operations Combat Diver Badge on the left side of his uniform coat. (Photo courtesy of the Unidentified Eastern WA news report, provided by the Washington National Guard)

The only way to earn this badge is by completing the U.S. Army Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course in Key West, Florida. Bird never trained in Key West for this course.

The Semi Bird reprimand

While serving in the National Guard, the “Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH exclusively revealed that Bird received a GOMR from then-Brigadier General Hector Pagan in 2009.

Among the general’s many outlined findings, Pagan said that Bird “wore awards and badges that you had not earned.”

The findings came after Bird submitted falsified documents as part of a Warrant Officer packet, which would have led to a promotion had his application been accepted and completed the program. Bird responded to the GOMOR, writing, “My actions constitute nothing less than a fraud against the United States Army plain and simple.”

Expert weighs in

Charles Ritter is an active duty United States Army Special Forces soldier serving as the Deputy Commandant of the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. He reviewed Bird’s uniform for “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH and said he has no doubts: Bird is wearing the Special Forces Combat Diver Badge.

“That’s the only badge that looks like that, with the scuba mask … it’s got the sharks around it, you get the two knives … there’s no other badge that even resembles that. There’s no way that can be mistaken,” he said.

At the time, the Tri-City Herald published a photo from the ceremony. Special Forces soldiers saw the photo and said it bothered them because they knew he wasn’t supposed to wear it, according to multiple military sources.

The photo is briefly featured in a Semi Bird campaign video where he explains the court martial he received for assaulting a sergeant when he was in the Marines. It was this campaign video that allowed “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH to track down footage of the ceremony.

Blue Infantry Cord

Ritter, along with a Senior NCO who was personally involved in researching Bird’s record, noted it wasn’t just a Special Forces Combat Diver Badge being worn inappropriately.

Bird also wore a Blue Infantry Cord and Infantry Disc at the ceremony. Special Forces soldiers (Green Berets) do not typically qualify to wear either, even if they have an infantry background. They wear their own distinctive insignia and accoutrements that reflect their Special Forces affiliation, rather than infantry.

Bird said he became a Special Forces soldier post-9/11. Ritter said that when you become a Special Forces soldier you remove the Blue Infantry Cord and “put it on your mantle.”

“It’s not something you can wear as a Special Forces soldier unless somehow you … have your (Special Forces) tab revoked,” Ritter said.

More from Jason Rantz: After pushing to decriminalize, Bob Ferguson says he wants to tackle drug OD crisis

Did Bird’s records show badges or awards he had not earned?

In an interview with “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, Bird said he never claimed to have trained at the Key West facility. He further said that “Every single one of my awards has been verified. So My DD-214, which I can submit to you, so that you have it, is fully accurate, and it has been verified at my last unit.” (A DD-214 is a document issued by the U.S. Department of Defense that certifies a service member’s retirement, separation, or discharge from active duty and includes details about their service, including assignments, training, and awards.)

More recently, Bird claimed on his June 17 podcast “Common Sense,” that his personnel file is “proof that there is no mishaps of any of my awards, no matter what people had said, or badges.”

It is true that what appears to be Bird’s last DD-214 does not include awards or badges he did not earn. But that is likely because it was a corrected DD-214, a result of the GOMR. Prior to the correction, Bird listed the Special Operations Divers Badge on two separate DD-214 forms and a DA 2-1 form (an additional personnel file).

During the podcast, after previously indicating there was ever even a question as to whether or not he was wearing the Special Operations Diver Badge, Bird read a statement from a supposed character witness (who knew Bird years after the reprimand) in which he acknowledges there were reports he was erroneously wearing it.

Bird had to take a new Department of Army photo post-GOMR. (Photo courtesy of the Unidentified Eastern WA news report, provided by the Washington National Guard)

In the end, Bird had to take a new Department of Army photo post-GOMR. In it, he removed German Jump Wings, an oak leaf cluster on his Army Commendation Medal, a star device on his National Defense Service Medal, and a Scuba medal (which he, according to multiple sources, spoke of interchangeably with the Special Operations Diver Badge).

The forms can be viewed as a PDF here.

Afghanistan Campaign Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge

Bird’s record also listed an Afghanistan Campaign Medal before it was removed in his final DD-214. But he never served in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.

Bird served in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Sinai Peninsula at the time in direct support of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. His role was not for combat duty in Afghanistan.

A solider earns the Afghanistan Campaign Medal for service performed in Afghanistan or its airspace, or in direct support of operations in Afghanistan. Personnel who serve outside of the designated area, but in direct support of the operation, may also qualify. This would require specific authorization from the Secretary of Defense. A Senior NCO involved in researching Bird’s record, speaking exclusively to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, said Bird wore that medal when he did not earn it.

Bird’s records also showed a memo by a training instructor awarding him the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) first award from Special Forces Training Group at Fort Bragg, NC, while he was a student in the Special Forces Qualification Course. An award like this offered by a training instructor is unusual.

Gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird denied wearing a Special Operations Combat Diver Badge, that he didn’t earn. Video shows he did. (Photo courtesy of the Unidentified Eastern WA news report, provided by the Washington National Guard)

Retired Special Forces (SF) Master Sergeant Derek Elsberry, a veteran with 26 years of military service, was also one of the soldiers who reviewed Bird. He exclusively told “The Jason Rantz Show” that Bird was not authorized for the CIB because “he wasn’t an infantryman, and wasn’t in combat in Afghanistan.”

Bird denies wrongdoing

Bird has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, insisting that the GOMR is being misrepresented. Instead, he focuses on his claim that it was illegally obtained either by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH or a source. But the senior NCO said he was able to confirm that both the GOMR and Bird’s response were in the permanent file in 2010, not a restricted file (at least at the time it was written). Both documents were still in the permanent file in 2011 when they were saved.

“This reprimand was placed in his permanent record and not the local file, or a restricted file,” he said.

It’s possible the GOMR was placed in a restricted file at some point, but Bird has not been able to provide any documentation to back his assertions.

Bird complained that “what they accused me of is the same thing as sexual assault, or doing an unspeakable, it’s despicable. It’s disgusting.”

Neither Bird nor his campaign spokesperson responded to a request for comment.

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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Accusations of “predatory behavior” and “grooming” by female officers have painted Diaz, who is married with three children, as a villain. One female officer claimed he tried to walk in on her getting undressed between shifts. There was even a rumor promulgated by a local media outlet that Diaz was sleeping with his chief of staff.

But the reality is far more complex and heartbreaking. His innocence, overshadowed by these damning allegations of predatory behavior, remained hidden behind a secret he wasn’t ready to share.

Adrian Diaz is gay and has struggled privately with his identity for the last several years.

“It’s a story that it’s struggled with, over the last four years, that I’m a gay Latino man,” Diaz, through tears, exclusively told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “You know, it doesn’t bother me. It’s more of my concern for my kids because they’re going to have to deal with a lot of the struggles that I might not have to deal with.”

His announcement comes as Diaz hopes to find himself on the shortlist to take over as chief of the Austin Police Department in Texas.

When did Adrian Diaz admit to himself that he’s gay?

Diaz said he realized he was gay late in life and he only started to truly admit it around 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“You kind of initially, you challenge yourself with it and you say, ‘Nah, that’s just, that’s not me,’ because I’ve always identified as straight for so long. And then being married …” Diaz said.

He said it was a struggle to come to terms with his own sexuality. It led to “tough conversations” with his wife and kids. He never wanted to hurt them and vowed, throughout this, to continue to live at home so his kids would see both their parents every day.

When he was ready to come out, he said there didn’t seem to be a good time. If it wasn’t COVID-19, it was the death of George Floyd, followed by his selection as police chief.

“I have not been able to just come out. And that has been a struggle,” Diaz explained.

Jason Rantz Exclusive: Soldiers who researched gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird detail what led to reprimand for ‘fraud,’ wearing awards and badges he did not earn

Who knew Adrian Diaz is gay and why didn’t they defend him against allegations?

It became more clear to Diaz that he needed to come out after rumors surfaced that he was having an affair with his close confidante, his chief of staff.

His chief of staff was one of the very few who knew Diaz was gay. She would never break his confidence and share his secret, even as it meant being hounded by the unsubstantiated allegations of a rumored relationship that went citywide after a report by KUOW radio’s Ashley Hiruko and Isolde Raftery.

Then the claims of sexual harassment or predatory behavior started. He had a clear defense against claims he wanted to sleep with a female officer, but the question was when he would go public.

Diaz told Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell he is gay in February. He said Harrell was supportive.

Publicly, however, Harrell had been hesitant to offer a full-throated public defense of his chief, even though he must have doubted the allegations.

After a $5 million tort claim was leveled against the city over, in part, the chief’s alleged predatory behavior, the mayor announced an independent third-party investigation. 

Ultimately, Harrell did not wait for the findings of the third-party investigation. The mayor and Diaz decided it was time to part ways as chief.

“I would have loved to still continue to do the job. Don’t get me wrong. I love this city. I love the officers. I love this department. I believe that for 27 years, I’ve given my heart and soul to it and I would have loved to finish out every ounce of my career here. It makes me sad that I’m not able to. But … you kind of know when that time is to say, ‘OK, how do I actually make the department able to move on?'” Diaz explained.

Was Adrian Diaz ‘allowed’ to come out as gay?

Diaz wonders whether or not coming out sooner would have helped save his job. He notes that “just because you’re a gay man doesn’t mean that you can’t be a misogynist.” But he said his identity could have addressed many of the concerns that people raised.

It was frustrating that he was told by the mayor’s office that he couldn’t really comment on pending litigation. When asked if he was told not to come out as gay, Diaz deflected: “That would be something that will be discussed at a later time.”

Former Seattle Police Department Chief Adrian Diaz sits down with Jason Rantz for a 1-on-1 interview on KTTH 770 AM. (Photo: Benjamin Huffman, KIRO Newsradio)

Sources have explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that, while Harrell has been supportive, his Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess has not been. They believe Burgess wanted more of a footprint on the department than Diaz was willing to give.

But if it were up to Diaz, he would have been more forceful in response to the claims made against him.

What are the claims of ‘predatory behavior’ and ‘grooming’ against Adrian Diaz?

Officer Valerie Carson, through her attorney in the tort claim, alleged that Diaz “began to pay special attention” to her when she started with the Public Affairs Unit.

Carson said Diaz was overly chatty, leading members of his security detail to claim “he was trying to engage in a romantic relationship” with her. The tort claim said “this suspicion was warranted” because Diaz wouldn’t talk about work with her.

The tort claim also suggested Diaz would try to see her get undressed at the office. At the time, Carson was changing out of her uniform to civilian clothes in a cubicle at headquarters because she said there was no changing room for women on this floor.

“The entire staff, including Chief Diaz, knew Ms. Carson changed out of her clothes on a regular basis. All other officers would alert Ms. Carson before walking by the cubicle to make sure they did not catch her changing. Chief Diaz, on the other hand, would simply walk into Ms. Carson’s space without making an announcement even though he knew she could be changing,” the tort claim read.

Carson also claimed that she feared Diaz would try to kiss her on New Year’s Eve while on duty with the chief, made “flattering comments” on her “leopard print outfits” and tried to help her with housework at her house.

Diaz defends himself against the claims

The former Seattle police chief did not deny being chatty with Carson, or offering to help her with housework.

But he said he was not interested in her sexually. He’s just talkative and likes to work on do-it-yourself projects. In fact, he said he’s helped many friends with their projects.

“There’s so much work that I’ve done with my neighbor who’s 90 years old. Literally helped her out with her plumbing. Does that mean I’m going to sleep with her?” Diaz asked. “And you know, it’s sad because even just talking with some of the female chiefs across the (country), they’re like, it was always rumored that they were sleeping with somebody.”

Diaz said he even recalled hearing that he and former Chief Carmen Best were in a relationship. He thinks some of it is just office gossip, but he also suspects rumors were amplified by people who were working with one another to bring him down.

More from Jason Rantz: Seattle Police Department recruiting DACA recipients to be cops

Did Diaz oversee a culture of misogyny?

Veteran officer and former Assistant Chief Deanna Nollette also filed a lawsuit against the department after she was demoted to captain following Diaz’s appointment. She suspects it was retaliation for applying for the chief’s job.

Nollette claims that Diaz “has a history of misogyny … is demeaning to women in the police force.”

But Diaz thinks this was sour grapes that she didn’t get the job. He demoted Nollette because, as is common practice, chiefs get to pick their senior leadership staff and he had other people in mind. He said the evidence that’s already been collected will bear out his position that there was no sexist reason behind Nollette’s demotion.

“You’re not looking to hire somebody for a position. You’re actually looking to hire the person; you’re looking for their attitude and what they bring to the table, the agility, the innovation, the creativeness, and people who are flexible and can work around others. And so my commitment was making sure that I did that,” he said.

Nollette herself has a history and faces a complaint with the Office of Police Accountability.

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH exclusively reported that several officers accused Nollette of having a “bias” towards women and once warned them not to get pregnant because it caused staffing problems.

“In front of everyone, Nollette said she wanted people to stop getting pregnant or we all needed to do a better job scheduling with each other because it was hard for her,” an officer told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH on the condition of anonymity fearing retribution. “She was trying to joke, but it came off bad … Coming from female Command (Staff), it was downright ridiculous and it was in a room of like 30 people so it spread like wildfire.”

More from Jason Rantz: Seattle business owners turn to private security as crime rises, police staffing dwindles

Navigating a staffing crisis

There had been rumors early in the chief’s tenure that he was gay. But they soon faded away as the SPD faced an unprecedented staffing crisis in the aftermath of the defund police movement.

Diaz earned the spot after former chief Carmen Best resigned following an attempt by the Seattle City Council to cut her and her Command Staff’s salary, along with eliminating the SWAT unit. It was the final straw in contentious debates during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 when the council promised 50% cuts to the SPD budget.

The defund movement took its toll. The SPD has since lost over 600 officers. As of June 2024, there were only 847 deployable sworn officers, leaving the SPD with the lowest staffing since 1958.

As staffing hit historic lows, crime was soaring. Seattle saw its highest-ever recorded homicides in 2022. Diaz said he did his best to address these issues head-on.

“I took our department through some of the most difficult times and challenges in our history,” he said. “Reset a consent decree, dealing with the death of an officer, defund movement, staffing losses, violent crime up. And we’ve tackled each and every one of them.” 

Adrian Diaz hopes to be on short list for Austin, Texas

As Diaz was unable to defend himself against the claims, the allegations — and his secret — were taking their toll.

While he didn’t want to leave the City of Seattle, he realized he just might have to. And he didn’t want future employers or media members to not get the full story.

“I want to make sure people understand who I am,” Diaz explained. “I want to live my truth. I don’t want to be hidden behind any curtain or anything like that. I want another opportunity to serve a city. And, you know, it’s not easy when you have some false allegations against you. I don’t want to have any secrets if I decide to go to another city.”

When Harrell announced Diaz was leaving the chief position, parking him in a nebulously defined “Special Projects” role, the former chief said he was open to other opportunities. One has come up in Austin.

Diaz said the prospects look promising but is waiting to see where it goes. He said Austin is a lot like Seattle.

“I think Austin is a very progressive city, very similar to Seattle. And there’s a lot of similarities. A lot of struggles with staffing and a variety of different challenges. They had crowd management issues during 2020,” Diaz said, in addition to drugs and homelessness.

While Diaz takes time off to deal with a nagging health issue and now live more openly, he said he’s proud of what he was able to accomplish at the SPD.

“I took our department through some of the most difficult times and challenges in our history,” he said. “Reset a consent decree, dealing with the death of an officer, defund movement, staffing losses, violent crime up. And we’ve tackled each and every one of them.”

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Senate Bill 6157 allows DACA recipients to apply for civil service jobs across Washington State. These include police officer, firefighter and sheriff’s deputies. Prior to the legislation, they were prohibited from holding these positions.

The bill is getting renewed scrutiny after a LinkedIn job application post from the SPD for DACA recipients started receiving attention. The ad explains the SPD “is now accepting applications from DACA recipients! Apply Now!”

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Is it constitutional to hire DACA recipients for police jobs?

Seattle is not alone in hiring DACA recipients for police positions. Earlier in the year, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) made the same move. They even altered its written firearms policy to allow DACA cops to carry a firearm while off-duty.

With new guidance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), DACA recipients are allowed to carry firearms and ammunition if it’s part of official law enforcement officer duties. But any local agency hiring DACA recipients must reform their gun policies to make it clear that their DACA employees can carry firearms.

But the changes in policy and guidance leave open questions as to the constitutionality of the decision. Guidance from ATF isn’t forever binding, and it won’t change how a court uses the Gun Control Act should this legislation face challenges. The whole concept is also subject to changes with any new administration. And it’s contingent on DACA protections remaining in place.

With potential uncertainty, it could put DACA cops and their agencies in difficult and costly positions. Will a DACA recipient want to become a cop if their ability to carry a firearm is contingent on an agency not changing policy? It’s obviously not worth the resources to train if the policy suddenly changes under a new administration or via the courts.

Is it right for DACA recipients to become law enforcement?

There’s nothing inherently controversial about the decision to hire DACA recipients as police officers.

DACA recipients are allowed to work in the United States, though they do so under a renewable two-year work permit.

There’s also a need for new officers. Thanks to an alarming staffing crisis hitting departments like the SPD, agencies could use as many qualified applicants as possible. Based on the latest Seattle police staffing data available, only 424 patrol officers were in the department. Across all positions, there are 280 eligible for retirement this year. They need bodies to patrol the streets.

It’s true, however, to note the irony.

DACA recipients are in this country illegally and they’d be tasked with enforcing laws. But DACA recipients were brought to this country illegally through no action of their own. Even though a teen from 13-15 years old would have known what they were doing is illegal, it’s not a reasonable position to fault a child for following their parents into this country.

But the legislation has the potential problem of treating legal citizens unjustly.

Extra points for DACA recipients at the Seattle Police Department?

The City of Seattle has struggled with recruiting beyond dealing with the catastrophic defund movement, which demonized officers and scared off new recruits. But the Mayor’s Office hasn’t made recovery easy.

Under this new law, applicants may earn extra points for being fluent as a “native speaker” in a language (or languages) other than English. This gives an advantage to a DACA recipient that progressive hiring managers and agencies may use to reject an American citizen.

It would be unwise to offer this kind of preferential treatment when staffing is so dire. But it’s not hard to imagine how this could be used once staffing course-corrects. In fact, the Seattle Mayor’s Office has already shown an interest in socially engineering the SPD.

More from Jason Rantz: Adrian Diaz out as Seattle Police Chief, will stay with department

City of Seattle looked to hire fewer white men, military veterans

Under strategist Ben Dalgetty from the Mayor’s Office, recruitment has struggled. Rather than seek applicants who are qualified, Dalgetty and other mayoral staff have sought a more diverse-looking department. But that means an SPD free from too many white men or military veterans.

In a March 2023 memo to SPD human resources staff titled “SPD Marketing More and Less,” Dalgetty asked for “less” images and videos of “officers who are white, male,” and “officers with military bearing.” In their place, Dalgetty asked for more “officers of color,” “officers of different genders,” and “officers who are younger.” And rather than reach as many possible applicants as possible, the strategy was to hyper-target black, Hispanic and Asian Seattleites with early marketing efforts.

After complaints from SPD, Dalgetty edited the memo several times. Moreover, the original memo was destroyed and not initially turned over via a public disclosure request by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Still, it’s reasonable policy

Despite the easy way to abuse this law, the policy itself is advantageous. It’s why all but one Republican in the Senate supported the bill.

Though it was adopted in a clearly unconstitutional way, it seems likely that DACA recipients are here to stay. If they’re interested in helping protect our communities, how can their employment be problematic? They’d still be subject to the other qualifications to become an officer or deputy. And they’d still be required to go through the same training.

The media (and the public) must ensure DACA recipients aren’t offered special treatment as a result of their status. If that happens, we should demand reforms. But short of abuse, that a DACA recipient wants to become a cop is something that should be celebrated.

This isn’t someone knowingly coming to this country illegally, jumping the line ahead of people who are waiting to be eligible the legal way. These are people who are trying to make good on illegal actions taken by their parents or guardians by giving back to the community.

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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The teacher is based at Bow Lake Elementary School in SeaTac. “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH is not naming the teacher because she didn’t appear to violate any policy.

She sent an email to staff this week to ask if they’d be interested in having their students join her “March for Justice” from 12:15-12:45 p.m. The 5th grade teacher said the students will chant, “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” The protest route is planned to march by the 3rd and 4th grade classes, then to the 2nd grade classes, down the hall to kindergarten and 1st grade classes. They will then snake down the halls to the front of the school, according to the email obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. She signed the email, “In solidarity.”

The 30-minute long, school-wide event comes after lesson plans around activism over the last several months.

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Is this social justice march assigned by a teacher appropriate for 10 and 11-year-olds?

According to her email, the teacher said her students “chose an activist issue to research and wrote an opinion essay on.”

“Students have learned about issues including LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, Black Lives Matter, immigration, climate change and gun control,” the teacher wrote of her 10 and 11-year-old students.

The district provided “The Jason Rantz Show” with some of the source material used for the lessons.

While there was nothing especially outrageous or age-inappropriate on the topics of illegal immigration, women’s rights, and even Black Lives Matter (though this content was a complete misrepresenting of the movement), the content was all framed through a progressive ideological lens. (The messages on climate change, LGBT rights and gun control were inaccessible without a username and password but the district, via a spokesperson, said in these instances equal weight was offered to both sides of issues).

There was no parental consent for the political protest

A district spokesperson said this lesson is aligned with state standards. The intent, the spokesperson said, “is to help students learn that protest is a fundamental American right and a way to have a voice in a democracy, starting with the founding of our nation.” And since it’s deemed a basic lesson plan that doesn’t violate policy, parents weren’t notified of the march.

“Families were not notified about this particular activity. It is our recommendation that teachers communicate regularly with families about the learning their children are experiencing, though there is not an expectation that they share every lesson in detail,” the spokesperson told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “However, we recognize that we need to raise awareness about lessons that some families may have questions about. We will be addressing that in a training with principals before the start of the next school year.”

Having students march around campus as part of a political protest, no matter the topic, is something a teacher should recognize as controversial. Parents should have been looped in.

More from Jason Rantz: Seattle English students told it’s ‘white supremacy’ to love reading, writing

Here’s why any teacher taking kids on a social justice march is a problem

I have no doubt that the district, school administration and teacher may think this is appropriate and harmless. But having kids this young be part of a political protest is profoundly inappropriate.

Schools are meant to be neutral grounds focused on education, not political battlegrounds. When educators endorse participation in protests, they risk indoctrinating rather than educating. It infringes on parental rights, imposing specific viewpoints on impressionable minds without consent.

It strains credulity to believe the teacher’s own viewpoints didn’t influence the classroom discussion. I have a hard time believing the lessons truly gave both sides equal weight when brought up as a discussion. When a “March for Justice” includes a chant championed by progressive activist groups, it’s not very subtle which ideological lens the students are being taught through.

Encouraging civic engagement is crucial, but it should be done in a balanced, informative manner, allowing students to form their own opinions. There’s little reason for parents to trust most local school districts to provide objective conversations on political issues, especially on complex topics for 5th graders, like gun control and LGBT rights. This is a district that has fully embraced Critical Race Theory and staff bring that activism into the classroom.

Any teacher leading kids on a social justice march is the type of lesson that threatens the more noble goal of teaching students how to form opinions, rather than having the opinions formed for them.

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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They said it was clear that Bird was falsifying a Warrant Officer packet in order to advance his career over more qualified candidates and that they were shocked by the level of fraud.

“I was personally involved in this specific incident beginning in 2009,” a retired Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the Army National Guard explained exclusively to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “I was there when SFC Semi Bird contacted our local Special Forces unit and asked for some documentation from his time there. He had not been assigned to the unit and never worked there. This was an attempt to document service he had not performed.”

The veterans are now providing additional context after Bird’s misleading response to the original exclusive report. Additionally, newly obtained documents by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, including DD-214 and DA2-1 forms, appear to clarify which badges or awards Bird claimed but did not earn, including a Special Operations Combat Diver Badge.

Two of the veterans asked to remain anonymous fearing retribution. The third source, retired Special Forces (SF) Master Sergeant Derek Elsberry, a veteran with 26 years of military service, is on the record.

What led to the reprimand of Semi Bird?

As part of a Warrant Officer packet, Bird said he was in the Alpha Company 1st Battalion 19th Special Forces Group (A/1-19 SFG) in the state of Washington.

At first, there was excitement about slotting Bird into the dive team through the Warrant Officer program. The veterans said Bird indicated that he took the Special Forces (SF) combat diver course in Key West, Florida, which is exceptionally difficult.

“Most guys assumed because he’s a little bit older, he had a Combat Infantry badge, a SF Dive badge, he often referenced First Group, which is the active duty group at Ft. Lewis, the assumption was that he was a fairly senior SF guy,” one of the soldiers tasked with validating Bird’s Warrant Officer packet said to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

It didn’t take long for the lies to unravel. The soldier said that, “You just pull all these threads and each one you get, just bulls***, upon bulls****.”

Semi Bird faked multiple documents

The retired Senior NCO explained that once the Company staff started to research Bird’s official records, they “found many discrepancies.”

“I personally found that SFC Bird was wearing unauthorized awards and badges to include the SCUBA badge, foreign jump wings, Afghanistan Campaign Medal (he had not been [to Afghanistan]), Aviator wings and several other ribbons,” the soldier explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

The soldier researching the claims said that Bird, “wrote three totally fake NCOERs (Non-Commissioned Officer Evaluation Reports) to say he was assigned to a unit that he was not assigned to, and then shopped it around to get signatures.” He said that if this was done purely to get a “Rater,” and if he didn’t fabricate his unit and experience, “it wouldn’t have ever hit the General’s desk.”

An NCOER is a performance evaluation tool used to document the achievements, leadership, and overall performance of non-commissioned officers. A Rater is the individual responsible for assessing and documenting the performance of a subordinate on their NCOER, typically the immediate supervisor of the evaluated NCO.

But sometimes that immediate supervisor is unavailable. It’s not uncommon to get someone superior to sign the NCOER. But sources said this went several steps beyond that practice because it was for NCOERs for a unit he never served in.

Soldiers go on the record

Derek Elsberry was a Washington Army National Guard soldier involved in the Bird research at A/1-19 SFG. He spoke exclusively to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. He said he vividly remembers Bird’s case 15 years later, because of the level of what he considered fraud.

In 2009, Elsberry was the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) Training NCO. He was with his superior, the Readiness NCO, which is primarily responsible for ensuring that their unit is prepared for deployment and mission execution, when he said Bird asked for a fraudulent NCOER.

“The Readiness NCO called me into his office and instructed me to be silent and listen in. I heard Bird, himself on the phone, asking for help in finalizing signatures on NCOERs, that he had written up, to show that he had served on an ODA in A/1-19 SFF without ever having been assigned to the unit,” Elsberry explained. “He stated he needed them to show he met the minimum ODA time required for submitting an SF Warrant Officer packet.”

ODA is an Operational Detachment Alpha, better known as a Green Beret team.

A closer look at Bird’s record

Elsberry said he distinctly remembers Bird acknowledging he was asking for NCOERs showing he served on an ODA in A/1-19 SFG even though he hadn’t. He said the Readiness NCO offered to help Bird get assigned to A/1-19 SFG “so he could just get the ODA time required,” but he said Bird said no.

“Bird continued to insist that the only way he could submit a WO packet was by forging several NCOERs, and he needed others to sign off on them,” Elsberry said. “He stated it wasn’t a big deal, just needed some people to help an SF buddy out, so he could further his career in SF. The Readiness NCO was noncommittal in agreeing to help out, said he’d just look into things, without saying what that meant.”

It was at this point that the Readiness NCO began looking into Bird’s military records.

“He thought that being asked to help produce fraudulent NCOERs was not right, and there had been concerns about some of Bird’s military badges prior to this, so combined with this very direct request to participate in evaluation report forgery, the Readiness NCO wondered if there was anything that Bird might have falsified in his record,” Elsberry said.

A ‘false Combat Diver badge’

There were immediate suspicions about the Special Operations Diver Badge (colloquially referred to by SF soldiers as a Combat Diver Badge or Special Forces Diver Badge) that Bird wore in informal pictures that were provided by other SF NCOs in the National Guard.

One example was Bird in full uniform at a military ball wearing the Special Operations Diver Badge, according to Elsberry. The “Jason Rantz Show on KTTH” has not been able to independently verify this photograph.

You earn the Special Operations Combat Diver Badge at the U.S. Army Combat Diver Qualification Course in Key West, FL, which is where Bird said he earned it, according to Elsberry and the Readiness NCO. But the Readiness NCO had heard Green Berets had asked Bird about his experiences and “his answers didn’t match up with what others would say about getting Combat Diver qualified.”

At times, sources said Bird wore different badges, like the Scuba Insignia, but treated them interchangeably.

“In our unit, we had a former Recon Marine who had then later joined the Army and become SF-qualified. He related to our Readiness NCO that when he briefly spoke with Bird about his Combat Diver badge, that his explanation made no sense, was lacking key details and was rather vague,” Elsberry said.

‘A complete fabrication’

At that point, Elsberry said his superior obtained copies of Bird’s military record and couldn’t find supporting documentation for a Special Operations Combat Diver Badge or even a Scuba Diver Insignia, which could have been earned in the Marines.

As most soldiers from the Army National Guard will likely tell you, paperwork can be messy, incomplete, or just plain wrong. Giving Bird the benefit of the doubt, Elsberry and the Readiness NCO reviewed documentation from Bird’s service in the Marines to see if he earned a Scuba Diver Insignia during his time there. They reviewed his Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), a code to identify a specific job or career field within the military. But it wasn’t adding up.

“Concerning Marine Recon, his USMC MOS was not that of a Reconnaissance Marine, but some kind of communications equipment operator/maintenance MOS. There were no documents showing he had been affiliated with Marine Recon in any way. The records of his USMC time were very limited, and other than the information of his USMC MOS, I recall seeing the UCMJ disciplinary action documents, and nothing else,” Elsberry said.

Elsberry said he and his superior concluded that his Special Operations Combat Diver Badge was “a complete fabrication.” Bird’s multiple DD-214 forms helped shine a light on the confusion.

(The “UCMJ disciplinary action” is a reference to Bird facing a court-martial for assaulting a sergeant he said used a racial slur against him at the time. When initially confronted with the court-martial incident by the Tri-Cities Observer, the report said Bird lied and claimed he had not been court-martialed. He said it was his first cousin with the same name, before later admitting it was him.)

What are in Bird’s DD-214 forms?

A DD-214 is a document issued by the U.S. Department of Defense that certifies a service member’s retirement, separation, or discharge from active duty and includes details about their service, including assignments, training, and awards. It is updated when necessary, like getting new training or seeing new overseas service.

It’s not a “proof document,” but it helps establish details that must be proven with supportive documents (like certificates, diplomas, academic reports, etc.). It’s different from a DA 2-1 form, which is an ongoing record to track a soldier’s personnel data, qualifications, assignments, and career progression.

In a July 2003 DA 2-1 obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, a Scuba Dive Badge is listed as an award. Elsberry said this award would not have come from the only quasi-relevant training course listed in his education section, Water Safety Survival. Though the Special Operations Combat Diver Badge is primarily earned by Special Forces, it’s the same for all those who complete the U.S. Army Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification Course, which can only be earned in Key West. Bird never trained in Key West for this course.

Yet in an October 2005 DD-214 form, Bird is listed as earning a Special Operations Diver Badge, appearing to replace the Scuba Badge, which was no longer listed. The same award appears again in a 2006 DA 2-1 and an unsigned February 2009 DA 2-1. And the course Water Safety Survival disappeared and Combat Diver course was added.

“To wear the Special Operations Divers badge, you had to attend the course from a certain date forward. Bird absolutely did not do that, yet had that badge listed on his official records, and was wearing it on the uniform. Then he backtracked, saying he had been to the previous combat divers course ‘somewhere,'” Elsberry said, noting that he had not seen any actual supporting documentation for that Combat Divers course.

DA DD forms – Bird – KTTH – 0624 by scoogan on Scribd

The forms can also be viewed as a PDF here.

‘We came across something unusual’

While researching the Special Operations Combat Diver Badge issue, Elsberry said he and his superior “came across something unusual” concerning Bird’s Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) 1st Award.

Bird’s records showed a memo by a training instructor awarding him the CIB from Special Forces Training Group at Fort Bragg, NC, while he was a student in the Special Forces Qualification Course, according to Elsberry. He called this a “highly unusual and irregular document” because the CIB is usually awarded as an order from someone senior in command.

The memo said the CIB was for participation in Operation Enduring Freedom as an Infantry Team Leader. But Elsberry and the Readiness NCO found an NCOER and DD-214 showing Bird’s Primary MOS was a medic (91W Health Care Specialist), with a Duty MOS of Infantryman. Qualifications for the CIB are found in Army Regulations (AR) 600-8-22.

“This is not too unusual, as sometimes soldiers are assigned to a position that they don’t hold the MOS for, in order to support unit operations. But serving in a duty position, that one doesn’t hold the proper MOS for, will not qualify you for any kind of award that would be authorized for that duty MOS,” Elsberry said.

For Elsberry and his superior, the “smoking gun” was that Bird never served in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. He was in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Sinai Peninsula at the time in direct support of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel – not for combat duty in Afghanistan.

“He was not authorized a CIB for OEF, because he wasn’t an Infantryman, and wasn’t in combat in Afghanistan,” Elsberry said. “In short, Bird had used documentation of his duty as a medic, in support of the MFO in Sinai, to fraudulently show that he had earned a CIB.”

A second Combat Infantryman’s badge for his duty was determined to be legitimate.

Of note, the 2006 DD-214 lists an Afghanistan Campaign medal. A solider earns this for service performed in Afghanistan or its airspace, or in direct support of operations in Afghanistan. Personnel who serve outside of the designated area, but in direct support of the operation, may also qualify. This would require specific authorization from the Secretary of Defense. The Senior NCO said Bird wore medal when he did not earn it.

CIB Forms-Bird-KTTH-0624 by scoogan on Scribd

The forms can also be viewed as a PDF here.

The Semi Bird reprimand and response

As a result of the findings, Bird earned a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMR) in 2009, signed by then-Brigadier General Hector Pagan. The document’s authenticity was verified by Bird during a recent podcast.

The Brigadier General told Bird that an investigation found he “wore awards and badges that you had not earned.” Additionally, Pagan said Bird knowingly “submitted false documents for the sole purpose of gaining an unfair advantage against other individuals” seeking entry into the Warrant Officer Corps.

The reprimand also said that Bird “manipulate(d) the system for your personal gain by aiding in the drafting of NCOERs (non-commissioned officer evaluation reports) which you knew to be false” and “enlisted the help of senior NCOs and Officers to perpetuate this fraud against the government.”

“The submission of false information to gain a promotion amounts to fraud against the United States Government,” General Pagan wrote.

At the time, Bird responded to the reprimand by taking “full responsibility for my actions.”

“The intent of this memorandum is to acknowledge the fact that I submitted false and inaccurate information in my Warrant Officer (WO) packet to include false NCOERs in order to compensate for unrated time and meet the requirements for the WO program. My actions constitute nothing less than a fraud against the United States Army plain and simple,” Bird wrote, noting he would take a new official photo and update records. In the second photo, he removed several badges and awards.

A PDF of the documents can be seen here.

Was the reprimand placed in a restricted file?

Bird addressed pieces of the original “Jason Rantz Show” report in press releases and an episode of his podcast Common Sense, vowing to provide additional context to the reprimand.

The gubernatorial hopeful characterized the report as a hit piece from the “establishment,” falsely claiming “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH supports his Republican gubernatorial opponent Dave Reichert. Bird has even compared the reporting as a “sexual assault,” and “inappropriately touching a child.” He said the report was intended to “lynch me publicly.”

“I think this is part of the Saul Alinsky’s rules for radicals, right? You keep them distracted. And when they try to defend, twist it, weaponize it, use it. And you know the game. You know the game of the ‘establishment.’ It’s the same game as the progressives. The progressives invented and the ‘establishment’ uses it. But we’re not doing the blame game,” he said on his podcast.

Both the press releases and podcast focused on his claim that the document was “illegally obtained” because he said it was placed in a “restricted file.” A reprimand letter placed in a permanent file is added to the soldier’s official personnel record, potentially affecting future promotions, assignments, and career advancement. If it’s placed in a “restricted file,” it has less of an impact, if any, on career advancement.

But the document cited in the original report was not accessed from a restricted file.

The reprimand did not come from a restricted file

A senior NCO confirmed to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that both the reprimand and Bird’s response were in the permanent file in 2010, not a restricted filed (at least at the time it was written). Both the reprimand and response were still in permanent file in 2011 when it was saved.

“This reprimand was placed in his permanent record and not the local file, or a restricted file,” he said.

It’s possible that the reprimand was placed in a restricted file at some point. In a press release, Bird released a generic statement from General Pagan seemingly meant to suggest Bird’s reprimand was placed in a restricted file, but it does not say when. The statement doesn’t even say the General was talking specifically about Bird. General Pagan did not respond to requests for comment.

Bird has not provided any documentation to reveal whether or not the reprimand was placed in a restricted file, for what reason it would be placed there, or even when it was placed.

Still, Bird implied a reprimand in a restricted file means he did nothing wrong. But that’s not what that means.

Does a restricted file mean Bird was cleared?

Citing Army Regulations 600-37, Bird implied, but did not say explicitly, that the reprimand was placed in that restricted file because he provided evidence that the accusations were “either untrue or unjust in whole or in part.”

Bird is referencing Chapter 7-2 under the regulation. But that’s not all 600-37 said.

Placing a reprimand in a restricted file does not imply that the soldier did not deserve the reprimand or that it was proven false in part or in full. Instead, it indicates that “the document has served its intended purpose and that maintaining it in the performance file is no longer necessary for the Army’s interests.”​

In other words, it may indicate that the Army believed Bird learned a lesson and would not violate policy again. It’s a point Bird himself conceded during his podcast when, post-reprimand, he said General Pagan “taught me a lesson. He calibrated me. He was confident that his point was made.”

The process for moving the reprimand to the restricted file involves an appeal to the Department of the Army Suitability Evaluation Board (DASEB), which “may recommend the transfer of those administrative memoranda of reprimand when such transfer would be in the best interest of the Army.” There’s also a process to fully remove the unfavorable information from the soldier’s file, if the information was untrue or unjust in whole or part. The DASEB is comprised of multiple members.

The appeal process involves submitting a written appeal with substantial evidence to the DASEB, which then reviews and makes a recommendation based on the case’s merits.

Bird won’t provide supporting documentation

As Bird explains in his podcast, he provided evidence to rebut the reprimand to the Brigadier General: “And he gave me seven days to bring forth my rebuttal and to bring forth my evidence, which I did, clearly. And the reprimand was put in a restricted file we talked about.”

Bird’s actions here, if accurate, are puzzling because he submitted a memorandum accepting full responsibility for defrauding the Army by knowingly submitting false and inaccurate information in his Warrant Officer packet, including false NCOERs, and wearing awards and badges he did not earn.

But if he appealed the decision because the accusations were unjust or untrue, Bird may still have committed a fraud against the Army by falsifying the memorandum taking full responsibility.

Despite repeated declarations on his podcast and interviews with media and the Washington State Republican Party that he would immediately provide all documentation to back his claims, such as an appeal letter and evidence he said he brought forward, Bird has yet to do so. Instead, he’s released misleading or irrelevant documentation.

Bird did release a letter from retired Command Sergeant Major Steven Saunders who said he has “personal and professional knowledge of the Restricted File” and that “an inquiry was conducted, and all allegations were concluded as unfounded.” Saunders’ knowledge of the file, from a position as a superior, came after the reprimand letter and Bird’s response, indicating it could have been placed in a restricted file after a period of time when it wasn’t. It’s also unclear what “inquiry was conducted” and by whom.

Saunders did not respond to multiple inquiries.

‘Document dump’ wasn’t a dump at all

After promising his podcast listeners a “document dump,” Bird released a handful of documents that do not dispute any of the original report. Indeed, they appear to have been released to confuse a non-military audience and exploit the loyalty of his base.

On May 31st, Bird released five documents on his X account, three of which were either quoted or referenced in the original report: the Bronze Star Medal certificate, the narrative of the events that led to the Bronze Star, and documentation by superiors who agreed with the commendation based on the narrative.

The final documents show Bird’s Purple Heart certificate and the orders behind it. But the Purple Heart wasn’t mentioned in the original report.

A suspicious decision on documents

Curiously, Bird’s campaign appears to have provided a supporter additional documentation for them to post to X.

The documents were posted at the same time Bird promised to release exculpatory paperwork. But they seem meant to confuse civilians over the Special Operations Combat Diver Badge controversy.

Activist and Bird supporter Amber Krabach posted an Oregon Army National Guard document to X. It shows an “Awarded” MOS for S00B1O with the hand written note “scuba” that does not appear on the original document. An MOS is a code used by the U.S. Armed Forces to identify a specific job or career field within the military.

The administrative document posted is not a “source document” for an award. It is paperwork adding a scuba qualification skill identified to his Army MOS after Bird left the Marine Corps, but it doesn’t explain where the skill was acquired and could have been added based entirely on the word of the soldier. And it was dated 2001, not after the reprimand when it would have been removed.

“I was informed directly that anything from his USMC record that said he was combat diver qualified was removed as a result of the investigation,” Elsberry told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “This is a poor attempt to prove something that doesn’t exist.”

Scuba File-Bird-KTTH-0624 by scoogan on Scribd

The forms can also be viewed as a PDF here.

In podcast, Bird says he was asked to lie

Bird offered a dizzying array of excuses and justifications for his conduct over the nearly 90 minute-long podcast. He did not respond to multiple requests for an interview for this report.

According to Bird, his superiors brought forward the idea of submitting a Warrant Officer packet. He then implies the idea to submit fraudulent NCOERs came from an unidentified Lieutenant Colonel. As Bird retold the story, he indicated that General Pagan was “harsh” in the reprimand simply for him “to take ownership” for the incident.

“When the general met with me, he proceeded to educate me and said, ‘Semi, look it was harsh, it was hard. But I wanted you to take ownership. I wanted you to take ownership. No, you didn’t try to defraud, you couldn’t do it? It’s a packet, I get it. But you are a senior noncommissioned officer, and regardless of whether they outrank you by six or whatever ranks, we need you in the senior officer corps to be that balance for us. To take ownership. You have an important position, you cannot give that away. You must take responsibility and tell us no at times,'” Bird said the Brigadier General told him.

Bird went on to say he’d release documents to back up his account, but hasn’t. He then returned focus to how the reprimand was obtained, claiming it was “procured illegally.”

Bird addresses wearing badges and awards he did not earn

Towards the end of his podcast, Bird briefly discussed wearing awards and badges he did not earn.

Bird dismissed the accusation in the reprimand as the result of faulty paperwork. He acknowledges, rightly, that the military makes numerous mistakes when updating personnel records, including the DD-214.

“Not all the information goes in the system. And sometimes the information is incorrect. But when soldiers or service members do their DA photos, it’s supposed to mirror what’s on your DD-214 That’s the way it’s supposed to work. Are things always right? No, they’re not. Do service members get it wrong every now and then? Yes, they do. No excuses for me. I’m not saying that at all. But I promise you this. I have orders for everything I have ever worn. That’s what I can promise you,” Bird said, promising to release the orders behind all the badges in his original photo, but thus far failing to do so.

The DA photo, or Department of the Army photo, is an official photograph of a U.S. Army soldier used for personnel management purposes. After the reprimand, Bird retook his photo. According to an independent third-party expert who reviewed the photos for this story, Bird appears to have removed the German Jump Wings, an oak leaf cluster on his Army Commendation Medal, a star device on his National Defense Service Medal, and the Scuba badge.

Will this affect his party endorsement?

Some members of the Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) are split on how to move forward with Bird’s controversial party endorsement. Revoking Bird’s endorsement is “on the table,” according to WSRP Executive Board officials.

“I think it’s very important, and the chairman agrees, that we look at all options available on the table. I myself am a US Marine Corps veteran. I understand the seriousness of receiving a letter like Semi did from his commanding officer, and the implications of that. And so that is definitely something that needs to be considered,” WSRP Vice Chair Lisa Evans explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

The WSRP investigated the allegations into Bird, based on the report. Party leadership gave the campaign an opportunity to respond to the story by providing the documentation he promised, but he hasn’t provided it. It’s unclear how the WSRP will move forward.

Bird’s endorsement followed a contentious vote to overturn WSRP leadership’s initial decision to postpone an endorsement after it was revealed that Bird withheld information about a 1993 conviction on a federal misdemeanor charge of bank larceny. Bird used his father’s name and social security number on the application and has taken full responsibility for the incident.

The WSRP was not made aware of this official reprimand until “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH published its report. Bird is a member of the WSRP Executive Board.

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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Tara and Ava are two senior council members for the school’s student government. They said student leaders put a lot of thought into the senior class gift to the school and settled on a mural because the school was recently renovated and the walls were still mostly barren.

“We were really excited to have the mural up, we thought by Spring Break,” Tara told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “But then we had to go through the district a few times to make sure that the image that we were permanently putting up on the walls was something that they could agree with to represent our school.”

Thor mascot is apparently too white, too male, and too colonialist

Thor is not technically an official part of the school’s logo or team name; they’re called the “Thunder.” But there’s a Thor statue in the main entrance and imagery around the mascot include Thor’s hammer. The AI-generated mural shows the Norse god Thor standing on a mountain with light bolts flowing from his hammer, held over his head.

An Evergreen Public Schools district administrator sent an email to the students involved in designing the mural.

Students were asked if the senior class surveyed students about their thoughts on the mural and then reminded them that, “We are a system that strives for inclusive representation and our Title IX and Gender Inclusive Schools commitments obligate us to create a neutral and diverse representation of the ‘Thunder’.”

The email rejected the mural, though that wasn’t said explicitly. It said the district would like “to see some other options of the mural from the artist” so that they could review the new concept and ask the student body to vote on it. The staff member also offered an “idea” to “remove the person (Thor), enlarge the hammer and rotate it so that it’s hammering the center of the mountain.”

Tara said she knew something was wrong when they met with district staff, including the equity advancement specialist. The other elected senior class council members attended, as well.

“(Equity department officials) had an issue with the image not being racially and gender inclusive, as well as upholding an image of pure colonization, white power, white supremacy and even going as far as to say that it was alluding to racist anti-black imagery in the south,” Tara said she was told at the meeting.

Move intended to protect students in the future from being offended by mural

Ava said they were told that “without context, our image could be taken the wrong way,” including being seen as an example of white supremacy. Tara noted they were warned to be “mindful that the image, despite it not being problematic is something that could grow to be controversial” in the future.

Ava said she remembered being flabbergasted by the claim that the Thor mascot mural was deemed offensive.

“Realistically, as a student, if I’m walking down the hallway, and I see this image up on the wall, that’s not going to be the first thing that comes to my mind. The first thing is going to be like, ‘This is my school mascot on the wall. And it looks pretty cool,'” Ava explained.

Tara said the meeting was a “very uncomfortable position for a bunch of high school students to be put in.”

They were treated, she felt, like they were being talked down to, which was different than how their supportive school administration had been towards them. She said their pleas to keep the mascot mural as is were ignored. Instead, Tara said the staffers claimed that the district was speaking for the “silent minority students that are too afraid to speak up and talk for themselves.”

“We were just essentially told that we will maybe understand their perspective when we’re in our 40s and have more life experiences (like) they do,” Tara explained, noting she’s not sure any students are too afraid to say anything.

Tara couldn’t help but observe the administrators feigning offense at the Thor mascot were white.

“We find it extremely disturbing that those who benefit from white privilege would utilize the ideals of equity to silence a predominantly female, ethnically and racially diverse, democratically elected body for daring to speak truth to power,” Tara wrote in an email when she first reached out to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Where things stand

District officials did not respond to multiple requests for comments. But it’s Tara and Ava’s understanding that the original mural is now axed, and they will have to make changes. One of the proposed changes, they argued, was ludicrous.

Tara said staff pulled “a bunch of AI-generated images” of people of color and females to add to the mural but they “had nothing to do with school.”

“It was very obvious that if we put something like that up, it would be very obvious the entire student body and anyone that knows anything about Mountain View that it was just to fulfill a diversity quota,” she said.

They believe the district will try to ignore this entirely moving forward and put up their own version of a mural when the time is right.

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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Seattle Police said there was a lunchtime altercation on June 7. The victim was shot multiple times in the chest as a result. Some of the violence was recorded on a cell phone and circulated on social media. Despite life-saving measures, the teen was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center. A source told me the victim may have been trying to mediate a disagreement when he was killed.

Democrat politicians and the Seattle activists they enable responded precisely the way they always do: Blaming guns. To the ideologically-obsessed, the lack of School Resource Officers (SROs), soft-on-juvenile-crime policies that let gangs roam carefree, and the message that guns are only dangerous when wielded by law-abiding citizens played no role.

More from Jason Rantz: Seattle business owners turn to private security as crime rises, police staffing dwindles

Why are Seattle Democrats partly to blame for the school shooting?

After the shooting, Mayor Bruce Harrell lazily recited the same speech he always gives. He decried the easy availability of guns.

“I can’t use the word ‘trauma’ enough to describe what our children are going through,” Harrell said at a press conference that afternoon. “This is not the first shooting at Garfield, and these kids deserve better.”

No, it’s not the first shooting, but it is the same response.

A student was shot in March while waiting for her bus next to campus. Last October and June, there were a number of shootings around the campus, though they were unrelated to students.

On Friday, students, staff, parents and other community members held a “silent walk” to protest gun violence. They shouldn’t be silent. They should ask to undo some of the very policies they called for that led to this.

Pulling School Resource Officers

In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists and their Antifa army convinced local and state politicians to introduce “criminal justice reforms” that falsely implied cops pose great risk to black residents. That was never true, but Seattle activists have never missed an opportunity to exploit a tragedy or national news story for ideological gain.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS), with the support of Democrat politicians and activists, removed SROs from schools, claiming they were a threat and that students felt uncomfortable around armed officers. Are they more comfortable around armed gangbanger classmates? Some of the very student activists demanding safety measures are the ones speaking out against SROs.

While there have been brief moments where parents have called for the return of SROs on campus, the conversations peter out in large part due to an unwillingness of SPS board members and Democrat politicians to admit their failures. Left-wing Seattle media outlets seem unwilling to push the conversation, either.

Soft-on-crime policies, especially with juvenile suspects

Dangerous juvenile suspects belong in jail. But in Seattle and King County, in particular, they get a pass.

Rather than jail time, they are pushed into “restorative justice” programs as an alternative. They rarely work since many of them are run by police and prison abolitionist groups that don’t hold juveniles accountable. It takes an act of G-d to see a juvenile land in detention. This is by design.

Democrat lawmakers have been dismantling the criminal justice system as we know it since 2020.

They passed a bill prohibiting cops from talking to juvenile suspects until a lawyer is present, even if the parents of the suspect demand he or she speak to the police. No lawyer lets their clients speak.

This law is almost certainly why police still have made no progress in the case of a 15-year-old Chief Sealth International High School student fatally shot in a boys’ bathroom at a youth recreation center. The three teens who were with the victim, Mobarak Adam, haven’t been interviewed because of the Democrat law.

Do gangs exist if you Democrats don’t acknowledge them?

Most Seattle Democrats and community activists stay silent on the gang problems plaguing the region. Ask any cop, however, and they’ll tell you gang-related crimes are rampant.

Since local gang membership is disproportionately black and Latino, Democrats won’t say much — they think it’ll lead to racist assumptions about black and Latino teens. Conversely, it could be used to better focus police and community resources, but Democrats prefer performative politics.

In Olympia, Democrats don’t even hide their agenda.

House Democrats pushed HB 1268. The bill reduced or, in some cases, repealed sentences for gun, drug, and gang crimes committed near schools. During public testimony, it was argued that gun, drug and gang enhancements have “resulted in the incarceration of young black men from urban areas in a grossly disproportionate manner.”

These shootings are all connected to failed Democrat policies they won’t admit failed

While Seattle Democrats blame guns, they could be taking concrete steps to save the lives of kids. And, frankly, the students, staff and parents aren’t blameless here, either.

Going after “guns” means you and I can’t carry to protect ourselves from the criminals Democrats keep out of jail. Instead, there could be a collective demand that SROs be returned to campus. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) offered two bombshell reports dissecting the positive impact SROs have on school discipline and overall safety while cutting down on disciplinary problems.

Instead of silently marching to SPS headquarters, they could march in Olympia and demand soft-on-crime policies be repealed. Then, they could make a stop at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and demand we throw the book at violent teenage suspects. They can get restorative justice in juvenile detention.

Finally, at the next Harrell press conference, maybe someone can ask for him to offer a plan to tackle gang violence. If we’re not going to put gang members in jail for using guns, what exactly does he think will keep us safe?

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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Listen to The Jason Rantz Show weekdays from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on AM 770 KTTH or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts.

Diaz was removed from his position following a series of high-profile complaints and lawsuits about a sexist and racist culture within the department. He’s been placed in a different unit as he weighs his next steps, almost assuredly outside of SPD. As he departs, Beach and other community activists who have worked with him closely say they’re angry. They worked with Diaz to form meaningful bonds with the black community, in particular. In Diaz, Beach felt she had a trusted ally who wanted to bridge the gap between the black community and police.

But now that Beach is vocally opposing the staffing decision, she said that she’s being silenced under threat of discipline, including termination.

More from Jason Rantz: Seattle business owners turn to private security as crime rises, police staffing dwindles

Why did Victoria Beach say she is being silenced by City of Seattle?

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH reached out to Beach to discuss the chief’s departure. She explained that she was told in a meeting from Command Staff that she’s not allowed to speak to media members anymore.

Beach suspects the orders came from Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess, a close ally of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. Burgess is believed to be behind the changes to SPD, upset he hasn’t been able to control messaging and, in some cases, policy, according to sources.

“I met with Brian Maxey (Chief Operating Officer for SPD) and an assistant chief. I have orders that I can no longer do interviews,” Beach explained on the record. “They’re claiming policy even though when I got hired, there was a discussion about allowing me to do interviews. I believe this is retaliation because I stood up for the chief.”

Beach believes the demands of silence are to stop negative press around Diaz’s removal.

“I left today feeling betrayed and used,” Beach said.

Maxey confirmed the meeting took place in an email to “the Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

“All SPD employees, including Ms. Beach, are subject to SPD Policy Manual 1.110, which prohibits unauthorized media contacts. Ms. Beach was reminded of this policy and instructed to request permission before engaging with media, as is required of all employees regardless of the content of the engagement,” Maxey explained.

Burgess did not respond to a request for comment.

More from Jason Rantz: Asylum seeker says Seattle activists are taking advantage of migrants

Will this interview lead to termination?

By Seattle activist standards, Victoria Beach is atypical.

Beach has earned the ire of many officers for believing that the department’s culture allows for racism. She also has argued that the city must hire more police officers. More recently, she called out progressive activists for exploiting the death of Jaahnavi Kandula for ideological purposes. Kandula was hit by a patrol vehicle speeding to an overdose call. Video evidence shows that she tried to run across a crosswalk but miscalculated the speed of the oncoming vehicle.

Beach says she has previously been allowed to talk to media with few restrictions. If there are consequences for her speaking to the media now, it could come at a political cost. After lawsuits and complaints alleging racism and gender bias, will the department and mayor’s office feel comfortable firing a black, female, community activist?

To be clear, Beach said she wasn’t expressly told that if she gave interviews she’d be fired. But while “they didn’t say it in those words,” it seemed like termination was on the table. If she’s fired, she jokingly said, “I’d have to do a GoFundMe page.”

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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The faux controversy centered on UW President Ana Marie Cauce incorrectly attributing photos of antisemitic graffiti to some Jew-hating students at the former anti-Israel encampment on campus. Cauce released a statement on May 15 to belatedly condemn the “rhetoric and language used in chants and signs within the Quad and at protests” as “vile and antisemitic.”

During a meeting eight days later, the UW Daily said graduate student activist Juliette Majid asked for evidence of antisemitism at the so-called Liberated Zone encampment. The UW president responded, misattributing two photos that weren’t taken on campus or in Washington State. Cauce said it was an accident and is not retracting her statement on the vile antisemitism as activists demanded.

This misattribution outraged the antisemitic students who took to Instagram to defend their honor. How dare Cauce accidentally use photos of antisemitism off campus when she could have been honest and displayed photos taken at UW.

More from Jason Rantz: UW Seattle gave barriers to Antifa to keep Jews out of Liberated Zone

Can we all give proper credit to the UW antisemites for their antisemitic graffiti?

Photos from the UW show antisemitic graffiti.

The activists just choose to pretend calling for the destruction of Israel, siding with Hamas “freedom fighters” and tagging buildings with “piss on Zionists,” “end Israel,” “from the river to the sea,” and “Save a life, kill your local colonizer” (after declaring Israel an example of “settler colonialism”) isn’t antisemitic. Indeed, all messages coming from the activists are antisemitic because their very movement is antisemitic in nature.

This week, as antisemitic graffiti and damage from the Jew-hating encampment dwellers was still being fixed, the campus was hit with more antisemitic graffiti. Taking an LGBT Pride month theme, two messages said “Queers for Palestine” and “No pinkwashing during pride.”

Pinkwashing is a term antisemites use to claim Israel pretends to support LGBT rights as a way to mask human rights violations against Palestinians. It’s often used by supposedly progressive activists to justify fighting for the side that denies LGBT people the very right to exist. Being “queer” in Gaza is punishable by death. It’s why gay Palestinians flee to Israel for freedom.

NEW: Antisemitic students at UW Seattle again vandalize property on campus. The school isn’t even done fixing the previous damage from the anti-Israel encampment. pic.twitter.com/YMu1X3TBjJ

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 3, 2024

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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Like many cities in the Pacific Northwest, Tacoma has a pothole problem. City workers patched 12,099 potholes, while permanently fixing 2,889 potholes in 2023, according to the City of Tacoma per the Tacoma News Tribune. Water seeps through concrete, freezes and breaks up our streets. Unfortunately, whether it’s Tacoma, Seattle or anywhere else in Washington, cities rarely tackle the potholes with the gusto necessary to save drivers from damaging suspensions or losing hubcaps. They rarely seem to have the budget or staff.

But the City of Tacoma has a plan with a city works event. Tragically, it comes at the expense of an adorable creature named Phil the Pothole (he/him/it) and all his friends and family.

More from Jason Rantz: A friend asks Patrick to wait at bus stop while he pukes

What is Pothole Palooza and why is it necessary to murder a family of innocent creatures to do it?

As part of the oddly titled Pothole Palooza, which makes it sound like they’re celebrating the potholes that destroy your cars, the city will tackle larger projects each day this week.

Potholes at specific intersections (in areas that likely offer political support for the people in charge) will be filled, weather pending. If the rain continues like it did Tuesday and projects must be postponed, the city says it will tackle the pothole by the end of 2024. That’s called government efficiency.

Featured in the campaign promoting the Pothole Palooza is an adorable, purple, three-eyed creature.

Phil the Pothole suffers from Resting Discomfort Face (RDF) because of its rounded teeth being too big for his mouth, making him seem like a monster when he’s just merely misunderstood. But he just wants to live amongst the rest of us. He’s probably looking for an optometrist who can handle a patient with three eyes.

And what are the ghouls doing in Tacoma? Burying Phil and his friends and family alive!

More from Jason Rantz: Let me ruin WSU’s ‘Name the apple’ contest for you

Phil the Pothole has had a rough life

Phil the Pothole. (Image courtesy of City of Tacoma)

Phil the Pothole hasn’t had an easy life. The creature and his friends and family have been looking to settle down after bad experiences in the Pacific Northwest.

The creatures weren’t weird enough for Portland, so the Phil the Pothole crew made their way into Washington state. After briefly living in Kelso, they left to find a larger city more accepting of their kind. They quickly learned Sequim and Aberdeen weren’t a good fit. You wouldn’t believe the stares they got.

Priced out of Seattle, ultimately they settled in Tacoma, first in the Hilltop neighborhood but got displaced thanks to gentrification. The journey was rough. Phil the Pothole lost a sibling, Patch the Pothole to COVID (he had a pre-existing condition) and his mother <Insert Car Themed Word to Make Name Sound Clever> the Pothole to cholera.

Now, the Pothole crew is spread out throughout the city using potholes to come street side and enjoy what Tacoma has to offer. But it’s now experiencing the Tacoma Ugly.

You’d think a city that supposedly embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion would celebrate the differentness of Phil the Pothole and his family. But the city seeks to trap him and his friends underground, where they will ultimately starve to death. Phil and crew were merely looking for a place to belong.

Is murdering Phil the Pothole worth it, Tacoma?

There’s actually an idea where everybody wins!

The city could just … fix the potholes? Not one week a year, but every week of the year, tackling pothole by pothole without making a campaign out of it. Taxpayers have relatively simple needs: we just want things to work. Our streets are broken and they need to be fixed.

The point of turning it into some event like this is to earn some points from the community: “Look at us! We’re filling potholes (and murdering rare three-eyes creatures)! Give us an award!”

But you don’t get extra points for filling potholes. It’s a basic function of your job!

But what about Phil the Pothole?

The thing is, I didn’t particularly care about Phil the Pothole or his family — Patch, Paive and the patriarch of the family, Park — because I didn’t know any of them existed. I’d have preferred the city keep me ignorant.

But the adorable monster can’t be unseen and now I feel bad. It’s like seeing a cow before it’s slaughter. I still want the steak, but I’ll feel a bit worse while eating it (at least for the first couple of minutes). I still want the potholes fixed, I just don’t want to see how the sausage is made to accomplish it.

So next time, maybe the City of Tacoma could just do its job, not ask for credit, and avoid introducing cuddly characters into the mix. But perhaps this is all some sick PSYOP. When the city doesn’t make a dent in the pothole problem, we’ll give them a pass because it means we’ll be saving the lives of some cute creatures?

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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Puget Sound Energy (PSE) initially reported outages are impacting approximately 15,000 people from Redmond to Graham to Olympia. Seattle City Light also reported outages that impacted thousands of customers.

It all stemmed from a storm that led to heavy winds and a number of trees breaking and/or falling across the area.

Power outages stretch across Western Washington: Thousands affected, school start times forced to be delayed

During an appearance on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH Monday afternoon, meteorologist and University of Washington (UW) atmospheric sciences Prof. Cliff Mass explained how strong the storm was.

“Well, we had essentially a strong winter storm during the summer time and this was really quite a doozy. Winds gusted to 35 to 45 mph, you know, all over Western Washington,” Mass said. “And with the trees all leafed out, you know that’s danger. And there was a massive number of trees that were down. I biked in on the Burke-Gilman Trail (Monday) morning and it was virtually impassable in sections with trees down.”

Rantz went on to ask Mass about what explains a storm like this at this time of year. Mass discussed the atmospheric river event and its international origins.

“We have this unusual atmospheric river that pulled moisture all the way from off of China or across the Pacific and to us,” Mass explained. “And then a low center went to the north of us and that drew this moisture right into us. And also there was a strong difference in pressure because it was low. And so the moisture was streaming in.”

Mass then told Rantz that Western Washington residents are in a “break” now but another, albeit less severe, system is coming in Monday night.

“You know the main system has moved through you know the winds are starting to die down, but then another system comes in, you know to (Monday night to Tuesday) and that will bring in some more rain,” Mass stated on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “I don’t think it’ll be quite as heavy and the winds will be quite as strong but you know we could get another pulse of rain.”

A ‘Pacific Northwest heat wave’ is coming

After Tuesday’s weather event comes and goes, Mass expects the weather in the Puget Sound region to get drier and warmer.

“We’ll get into a drying period as we get into later in the week and the temperatures will move back up into the 60s, into the and and even into the 70s,” Mass said. “So, it’s gonna be really improving once we get through that Tuesday storm.

Later, when Rantz called the temperatures getting into the 70s, a “Pacific Northwest heat wave,” Mass agreed. It will definitely warm up and feel a lot warmer as well, but it won’t reach the levels of the June 2021 heat wave that blistered Seattle and much of the Pacific Northwest.

“So, we’re not talking (the) 90s here. We’re just going to feel like a heat wave, but we’re we’ll be getting above normal,” Mass said. “Normal right now is the upper 60s. So, we could get, potentially, 10 degrees above that, which will be actually quite welcome after what we went through.”

More from Cliff Mass: ‘I don’t think they can say’ 2023 was the hottest year on record

Summer after July 4th in the Pacific Northwest

Mass’ appearance on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH also featured an exchange about summer in the Pacific Northwest and its traditional arrival in the first week or two in July.

“If you plot up how much precipitation falls on average each day, there’s a tremendous drop after the July 4th weekend, Mass said to Rantz. “And, particularly around the periods from the 5th to the 15th of July, the bottom drops out and we dry out rapidly.”

Mass also noted that once we get to that dry period in July, this area in the country will be one of the most arid places in the U.S.

“By the time we get into mid-July, we are probably close to the driest place in the whole country for the next month or so. That’s when it happens, Mass said. “So, the National Weather Service has a joke: Summer starts on July 13th and that’s not that wrong.”

To hear more from Cliff Mass, including his opinion about a recent story in The Seattle Times about a possible drought in Washington and what he thinks the UW campus in Seattle is like now that the pro-Palestinian encampment has broken up and has been cleared, head here to listen or click on the player below.

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.

The story begins by stating much of the state is “either abnormally dry or suffering from a moderate drought.”

Washington’s dismal snowpack over the winter is turning into a dismal water supply for the growing season as farmers already are struggling to irrigate their crops.

Summer is still weeks away and almost two thirds of the state is either abnormally dry or suffering from a moderate drought. The state declared a drought emergency in mid-April and in late May officials with the Roza Irrigation District — covering 72,000 acres and some of Washington’s most fertile ground — shut off its spigots in an attempt to conserve water for the dry months ahead.

During an appearance on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH Monday, meteorologist and University of Washington (UW) atmospheric sciences Prof. Cliff Mass wasted no time in taking on the outlet’s writing on climate change and its impacts.

“Well, this is the Seattle Times Climate Lab, and they tend to hype and exaggerate the effects of climate change. So, I’ve been very disappointed in the writing,” Mass said.

Mass went on to explain a strong El Nino is what is to blame for a lower snowpack this year as opposed to climate change.

“The snowpack was less this year than normal. Well, we know why that is. There was a strong El Nino which they generally don’t mention. But this time they mentioned the very end,” Mass said. “So it’s not due to climate change or global warming that we didn’t have so much snowpack. It’s because of a natural phenomenon called El Nino when the tropical Pacific becomes warmer than normal.”

From Ted Buehner: Summer weather is just around the corner

Mass also took issue with the Times’ explanation that the reason why officials shut off the water spigots to the Roza Irrigation District is because it was an attempt to conserve water for the dry months ahead.

“Some of the the water rights people had a gap in their water. So, they, basically, shut things down for a week. Now what (the Times) didn’t mention is the reason they shut it down for a week and that is because it has been so cool and wet.

“And so instead of running water down these canals, when the farmers didn’t need it, it made a lot of sense not to put the water in the canals now when they didn’t need it and save it for later in the summer. So it’s actually the cool, wet weather is what caused the drop in water in these canals. And it wasn’t due to climate change,” Mass explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

When the word ‘drought’ should be used

Host Jason Rantz went on to say that any sort of drought impacts the agriculture industry and that’s serious as it has economic impacts. So, he asked Mass what the basic takeaway should be for people who are concerned about this being a statewide issue.

“If you go to the (USDA) analysis of where the crops are right now, it’s extremely favorable,” Mass said. “We may be a little bit drier than normal, a little less snowpack, but the cold, there’s some drought with a ‘big D’ and that’s kind of deceptive. But people think the word drought should only be used when there’s a serious negative impact on this lack of water or snowpack. But that’s not the case this year.”

To hear more from Cliff Mass, including his thoughts about the “strong winter storm during the summer time” the Puget Sound region saw and what he thinks the UW campus in Seattle is like now that the pro-Palestinian encampment has been cleared, head here to listen or click on the player below.

More from Cliff Mass: Winter-like storm in June was ‘quite a doozy’ for Washington

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.

At least a half dozen times a day, a Triple Canopy Security vehicle cruises around the Bonneville Seattle offices. The security drivers patrol up and down the quiet side streets and busy Eastlake Avenue East. They don’t provide security for Bonneville, the parent company of KTTH, but employees here benefit.

A security guard with Triple Canopy Security told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that the firm was hired by one of the labs doing work in the Eastlake neighborhood. They patrol throughout the day and early evening because many of the employees park on the surface streets. The security guard, who wasn’t speaking on behalf of the company, said it’s meant to show a presence in the neighborhood to cut down on property crime and theft.

The patrols have been working.

Before the security patrols, car break-ins were a common occurrence. Two blocks north, a restaurant recently suffered a 23rd break-in, with the restaurant owner telling “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that he’s “lost all faith in the city.” But after security patrols, anecdotally, there have been fewer crimes reported. In the last seven days, there was just one motor vehicle theft in the general area, according to the SPD crime dashboard.

How much are Seattle business owners spending on security to deter crime?

The Downtown Seattle Association’s (DSA) Jon Scholes told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that businesses are spending more on security than ever.

Contracted security costs have also skyrocketed. In March, downtown Seattle building owners said private security costs rose between 40% and 400%, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. The Metropolitan Improvement District itself spends $2 million on contracted security. 

“The private sector in Seattle is spending millions of dollars a year to attempt to compensate for the negative impacts to public safety from the defund police movement,” Scholes explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Erin Goodman of the SODO Business Improvement Area mirrored the sentiment, explaining more businesses have turned to private security because of crime. 

“With property crime continuing to be a significant issue in SODO, hiring private security is a necessary reality for many of the businesses and properties in this area,” Goodman told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Not all Seattle businesses can afford the added expense

Some business owners reluctantly pay for the added security for the safety and retention of their employees. But the business environment in Seattle is already exceeding difficult and expensive. 

For some Seattle business owners, the extra expense is not sustainable even if it helps cut down on crime.

Trevor Boone owns Emerald City Guitars in Pioneer Square. He used to pay for private security, but because of the cost, has had to be selective in how it’s used. He relied on local construction workers who would tip him off if they noticed suspicious-looking people casing his shop.

“We take those tips super seriously. And we obviously can’t, you know, nobody’s going to help you out down here. I mean, there’s no help,” Boone told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. “So when we do get these tips, we’ve had to hire private security guys that will stay the night here. We did this a few times where it’s three days or something. We leave the shop, and they come in and stay the night, a few people. And I mean, three days is $10,000.”

Seattle is a ‘third-world country’ at night

Boone said it’s relatively safe during the day, but at night it becomes a “third-world country.” He said it’s not uncommon for businesses to have to replace broken windows several times a month.

“I’ve talked to other shops in West Seattle, North Seattle. It’s all the same stuff happening in these areas, truly, and it’s just that everybody wants to be quiet about it. No, news channels are showing what’s going on,” Boone said.

Emerald City Guitars has seen significant security upgrades making it considerably more difficult to burglarize. But the costs all add up.

“There’s not a lot of places that either can afford (security), even get close to affording to put any extra money in anything besides trying to keep their doors open, and replace their windows. And from what I’ve gathered from Pioneer Square (Alliance), they have a couple of guys walking around with pepper spray. It’s hardly effective,” Boone said. 

Why are Seattle businesses turning to private security?

Businesses have been forced to turn to private security to mitigate the consequences of an understaffed police department. At only 913 deployable officers, the SPD says staffing is at the lowest level since 2009.

As officers left the SPD, property crime and vandalism surged. 

The SPD confirmed an April 2024 exclusive report that it only had 424 police officers working patrol as of December 31. Of the 424 officers, at least 66 are currently eligible for retirement, and 84 are over 50, according to a Human Resources document obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. Patrol is rounded out with 11 police student officers, 22 lieutenants and 76 sergeants.

The staffing crisis is supposed to continue to worsen in 2024. Making recruiting more difficult? SPD chief Adrian Diaz was forced out of his position thanks to a coordinated campaign of aggrieved SPD staffers and allies in the mayor’s office amplified claims of a toxic environment. 

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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In a dramatically titled column, “Plot twist: WA has a law against felons running for office,” Seattle Times’ Danny Westneat cites a local activist lawyer who said he has clients ready to keep Trump off the ballot. The columnist cites RCW 29A.68.020 as providing registered voters the right to “challenge the right of a candidate to appear on the general election ballot after a primary.” This could apply to a candidate who was “convicted of a felony by a court of competent jurisdiction, the conviction not having been reversed nor the person’s civil rights restored after the conviction” prior to the election.

“I have clients lined up who are going to be all over pursuing a ballot challenge in this case,” Seattle attorney David Vogel told Westneat. The former King County deputy prosecutor was “briefly involved in an earlier ballot challenge against Trump before the presidential primary,” according to Westneat.

In an email to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, Vogel confirmed his plan to challenge Trump in the general election. His effort in the primary, like this new threatened one, won’t only fail. It will expose left-wing hypocrisy.

More from Jason Rantz: Exclusive – Secretary of State says AG Bob Ferguson demanded he break law in vulgar tirade

Does this law even apply to Trump being on Washington state’s ballot?

The RCW, based on changes made via House Bill 2624, likely doesn’t apply to Trump.

HB 2624 was introduced to address election errors and irregularities, particularly those involving ballot measures. In the bill, it added the right of a voter to challenge a felon from appearing on the ballot.

However, the bill was intended solely for state and local elections. The Code Reviser’s Office, in the bill’s digest, notes the legislation is about “local and state ballot measures under certain conditions.” The House Bill report at the time, after it was passed, noted the bill was relegated to “local and state” elections.

Giving an opening to Vogel if he plans to use this RCW in his challenge, and cheered on by Westneat, is that the language in the law doesn’t specifically state this is about local and state elections. But that’s not all that meaningful in this case.

More from Jason Rantz: Progressive candidate upset he isn’t running unopposed, makes up candidate

States don’t supersede the United States Constitution on presidential qualifications

As much as activists want to keep Trump from the Washington state ballot, federal elections are governed primarily by the U.S. Constitution and federal laws. Neither Washington nor any state can impose additional qualifications or restrictions on federal candidates beyond those specified by federal law. This is established in Supreme Court decisions in Powell v. McCormack (1969) and U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995).  There is no constitutional qualification barring felons from running for office.

Westneat argues that “States do have latitude to control the ballot,” pointing to the drama in Ohio. “Ohio has been debating whether to bar President Joe Biden from its ballot over a filing deadline issue, so it’s clear states can do such a thing,” he said.

As proof, Westneat links to a January editorial claiming states can remove Trump from ballots under the Fourteenth Amendment. In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court recently stated the very obvious: no states cannot. Why Westneat chose this editorial to make his case is perplexing but it matches the laziness in which he argues his case.

But states have some rights, don’t they?

Westneat is right that states have some latitude over the ballot. Indeed, he notes the extent they can likely impact national elections.

States are responsible for administering our federal elections. The responsibilities include managing voter registration, the design of ballots, and election procedures. The Ohio drama is around administrative issues. The deadline to submit the nominees for the ballots (August 7) comes before the Democrat’s nominating convention (August 19). That deadline was set by the legislature, as is the case in Washington state.

There is no federal mandate that a party re-nominate an incumbent president in late August. That is a choice by the Democrat National Committee. This isn’t even a particularly good argument from Westneat. As he must know, since it’s in the article he links to, the DNC is going to virtually nominate Biden before August 7.

More from Jason Rantz: Poll says Washington state is in play for Trump, bad news for Biden, Ferguson

Even so … would this law keep Trump off the ballot?

Even if this law were to unconstitutionally apply to federal elections, the way it’s written gives Trump an obvious path to the Washington state ballot.

The RCW makes it clear the candidate found guilty of a felony can still appear on the ballot if the conviction has been reversed. Trump will be the nominated candidate in July. By then, the appeal will have already been filed. Unless the Supreme Court gets involved, which is highly unlikely at this point, the appeal won’t be settled until after the election.

Washington has some of the most partisan judges in the country and the challenge can go virtually anywhere. I can imagine a hyper-partisan judge has no problem outing themselves as incompetent and removing Trump from the ballot. But that would obviously lead to an appeal. And not even our state supreme court would sully their chambers by ignoring an active appeal to keep Trump off the Washington ballot.

The attorney isn’t providing too many details yet

Vogel, the attorney threatening to bring claims to keep Trump off the ballot, would not disclose who his clients are.

“My clients in the primary ballot challenge were subjected to harassment, so I will disclose the identities of the plaintiffs in this general election challenge only when the complaint is filed, and only if necessary,” Vogel explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

It’s not entirely clear if he plans to use this RCW exclusively. He told me that, “As recognized by the US Supreme Court, States are allowed to regulate the selection of their electors in the Electoral College.”

Democrat lawmakers are unlikely to call this scheme out the way they would if it was even uttered by a Republican supporting Trump.

Democrats don’t care that you know they lack principles

In-between claims that democracy is on the line (if we vote for a candidate Democrats don’t like) and that we may never have elections again if Trump is elected, Democrats are trying to prevent an election contest between the two inevitable nominees for president.

When it comes to Trump, Washington state Democrats have neither shame nor moral compass. Democrat activists tried, and failed, to keep Trump off the primary ballot. While chiding Trump for denying the results of the 2020 election, Seattle congresswoman Pramila Jayapal tried to stop Trump’s certification in 2016.

So much for fighting for democracy. Democrats don’t particularly care their actions are inconsistent with their stated views because they don’t actually believe democracy is on the line. This is all a performance courtesy of Trump Derangement Syndrome; one that will earn them several Razzies.

To highlight the hypocrisy, we should note that there is even a current felon serving in the state legislature.

State Rep. Tarra Simmons was celebrated for being a “formerly incarcerated person” who now serves because she brings the perspective of felons to the table when discussing criminal justice reforms. How can she be celebrated if Democrats stay quiet as Trump is being threatened with a lawsuit pulling him from the ballot? (For her part, Simmons said she doesn’t support pulling Trump from the ballot and is using this as an opportunity to note there may be some agreement on an “unjust system” on both the Left and the Right.)

Moreover, Democrats spent the last legislative session attempting to get currently incarcerated felons the right to vote and serve on juries. And, of course, Democrats, particularly in Seattle and King County, have been working hard to keep criminals (including violent ones) out of jail.

Are Democrats scared of Trump?

Suddenly, Democrats pretend to be offended by Trump’s politically motivated felony convictions on a case everyone knows will be overturned on appeal. Given who the Democrats fight for, had Trump actually shot someone in the middle of Times Square, as he joked, he would have been given a pass in Washington and could stay on the ballot.

Or perhaps they fear that the party’s overzealous and disturbingly extreme reaction to Trump running for re-election is going to backfire.

A new Cascade PBS/Elway Poll shows Biden with soft support. The numbers suggest Trump has a path (however narrow and unlikely) to win even in Washington state. Despite being a deep blue state, Biden only has 42% support (31% certain, 11% inclined to support the president but could change their minds). Trump has 34% support (25% certain, 9% inclined to support the former president but could change their minds). With media coverage so positively skewed towards Biden and against Trump, both poll results are surprising for Washington voters.

With Biden showing such a poor showing, it’s no wonder Democrats are desperate enough to try to keep Trump off the ballot again. But it’ll just backfire again, making it easier for Trump to engender sympathy while exposing Democrats as extremists and hypocrites. That can’t help their brand.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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George, who lives in Issaquah, was out with his new black Labrador puppy on May 10. He said they went paddle boarding and were “trying to do a bunch of fun things” to bond. Rooster had been a part of the family for only three weeks at the time but they were all in love with him.

Unfortunately, the puppy never made it home that night and he’s still missing. But, according to George, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) isn’t helping with the theft any longer.

More from Jason Rantz: Seattle restaurant owner ‘lost all faith’ in city after 23rd break-in

How did the family’s puppy get stolen in Seattle?

George’s family brought Rooster into their lives after their seven-year-old dog Goose died suddenly after an illness. A few months later, a friend of his wife was giving away a dog that looked identical to Goose.

“This dog had the same white patch, was born around the same time that my dog died. It all just felt really good. It was like we were all meant to be together,” George said.

After their paddle-boarding adventure, George went to a restaurant to meet friends in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. He brought Rooster along.

“I had him in the restaurant with me for the whole time. The staff was loving on him … he was having a great time, and eventually just fell asleep,” George exclusively told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Rather than keep waking up Rooster, George took the puppy to his 2005 Chevrolet Silverado so he could sleep more soundly.

When George returned 40 minutes later, the truck was gone. And it would have been obvious to the thieves that a dog was in the car.

“They ended up breaking the windows and stuff. So you know, I don’t think they did know (initially). I think that they would have known right away though,” George said. “So it definitely didn’t stop them or deter them in any way. I don’t think that it was the intention to steal the dog, though, as the main priority.”

A disappointing Seattle Police response to the puppy theft

George called SPD, but he waited four hours for an officer to arrive, but one never did.

“It was a sad experience just having to leave with no closure, no understanding, no anything. I took an Uber late at night, with no car and no dog, home feeling just devastated,” he said.

SPD has been crippled by staffing shortages since the defund movement of 2020, losing over 600 officers. And George felt the pain of an understaffed department, saying there “wasn’t much of an investigation.”

George, his wife, and two young children (11 and 14 years old) plastered Seattle with flyers and contacted veterinarians and shelters. They also drove around Seattle hoping to come across their dog, who had not yet been microchipped, but came up empty.

They found the truck. But did they find Rooster the puppy?

Two weeks later, George’s truck was found abandoned in Burien with windows broken out and the steering column damaged. He got the call and rushed to the scene, but Rooster was nowhere to be found. There was no indication of a struggle or that the puppy was harmed. But what happened next frustrated George.

“Once I got the car, they (SPD) sent me an email saying the case was closed, and they’re not going to do anything more with it,” he explained.

George said the email was “devastating.” A spokesperson for SPD did not respond to requests for comments by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

‘We’re not going to give up’

This has been particularly difficult for his kids to “come home to an empty dog bed again.” To lose Goose and now Rooster is a lot for adults to handle, let alone children.

Even though it’s been nearly a month since the puppy theft, George and his family are still trying to stay positive. He said they will never give up on searching for Rooster. He’s still connecting with local pet shops and veterinarians to see if they’ve been visited by any new customers with a young Labrador puppy.

“We really feel like this is a part of our family so we’re not going to give up. It’s a weird feeling to feel like you have no closure to any of it, too. It’s just it’s an odd feeling of just who knows?” he said.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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One well-placed Seattle Police source told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH that it’s true. A second source with knowledge of the situation said he’s out as chief. Diaz will instead have a different role within the department.

If true, the departure comes as Diaz and the department faces a number of complaints and lawsuits alleging sexism, harassment and discrimination. A 27-year-veteran of the department sued Diaz for sex and wage discrimination lawsuit. Four female officers alleged they faced bullying, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination within the department. A third lawsuit claimed retaliation for reporting racial discrimination.

More from Jason Rantz: Officer suing Seattle police for gender discrimination accused of gender bias

Is Adrian Diaz really out as Seattle Police chief?

The source said that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell “does not like the drama around Diaz.”

“I know this mayor and the mayor’s office. I know the mayor is committed to equity and women having equal wages as men. I think they are very, very concerned about women, generally, and (dislike) the drama. I don’t want it to be the case (that Diaz is fired),” the well-placed Seattle Police Department source.

The claims of drama appear to be part of a coordinated effort by a small group of aggrieved Seattle staffers unhappy with Diaz’s staffing decisions and other policy choices.

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH has not independently confirmed that Diaz will depart from the chief role.

Related: SPD’s assistant chief placed on administrative leave

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, and  Facebook.

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Bird was awarded a Bronze Star Medal with Valor for “exceptionally valorous conduct in the face of the enemy” on July 9, 2006. He was serving as a Special Forces Engineer during Operation Iraqi Freedom at the time. He was also awarded the Army Commendation Medal for “exceptionally meritorious service” as an Area Support Team Member. Both awards are highlighted on Bird’s campaign website and have been noted in speeches and on social media to bolster his candidacy.

However, documentation obtained exclusively by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH includes a 2009 letter of reprimand against Bird. The letter, signed by then-Brigadier General Hector Pagan, details several instances of misconduct, including that Bird wore awards and badges he did not earn, falsified documents and sought career advancement by deceiving the U.S. Army. (A PDF of the documents can be seen here.)

What did Semi Bird say he did to earn commendation?

Bird was awarded the Bronze Star and a Commendation Medal for heroic work on the battlefield. A narrative accompanying the Bronze Star, obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, said he helped neutralize an ambush attack “with total disregard for his personal safety.”

Additionally, two Green Beret operators who were on the ground on July 9, 2006, including one who he says was responsible for conduct which Bird (and Bird’s major) claimed credit for, spoke exclusively to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, describing Bird as a “fraud.”

Bird has responded to the allegations by asserting they are an attempt “to dishonor a veteran.” He denies any acts of stolen valor, while downplaying the significance of the reprimand.

Why did the U.S. Army reprimand Semi Bird?

As outlined in the reprimand letter, Pagan told Bird the investigation found he “wore awards and badges that you had not earned.” Additionally, Pagan said Bird knowingly “submitted false documents for the sole purpose of gaining an unfair advantage against other individuals” seeking entry into the Warrant Officer Corps. Entry into this program would have afforded Bird a significant increase in pay and responsibilities.

Pagan also discovered Bird “manipulate(d) the system for your personal gain by aiding in the drafting of NCOERs (non-commissioned officer evaluation reports) which you knew to be false” and “enlisted the help of senior NCOs and Officers to perpetuate this fraud against the government.” He said Bird was seeking “personal gain” at the expense of the “good order and discipline of the armed forces.”

“The submission of false information to gain a promotion amounts to fraud against the United States Government,” Pagan wrote.

Pagan began investigating after members of the Special Forces community raised questions about the veracity of many of Bird’s claims. Some heard him claim he was from a unit they knew he was never with. Others said he attended schools that they had been to, but Bird was never able to confirm his attendance.

“Your actions represent a serious departure from the high standards of integrity and professionalism expected of a Special Forces Solider in this Command. Your conduct in this matter causes me to seriously consider your suitability for continued service as a Solider in the United States Army,” Pagan added.

Bird responded to the reprimand within seven days as required, writing that he “first and foremost accept full responsibility for my actions.”

Bird accompanied Green Berets as part of a Tactical Psychological Operation Team on the evening of July 9, 2006. He was in the trail vehicle in the convoy alongside his major.

In the narrative, then-Staff Sergeant Bird is said to have killed an enemy combatant who threatened soldiers with rocket-propelled grenades (RPG). He then helped secure the perimeter around a disabled American military vehicle while still under heavy attack.

The narrative says that at least four enemy personnel engaged the convoy in an ambush, which included two RPGs. Bird exited and “without hesitation, dismounted the vehicle in order to effectively return fire,” according to the narrative.

After reportedly suffering a concussion from the RPG blast approximately twenty feet away, he “immediately regained his composure, got accountability of his security element, and returned fire.” A second RPG reportedly struck Bird “in the helmet with a piece of fragmentation.”

After a third RPG severely wounded an Iraqi Special Operations Force soldier embedded with the Americans, the narrative says Bird “was able to neutralize the threat.”

But, according to operators on the ground during the ambush, Bird did not engage the enemy as the narrative claimed.

Semi Bird accused of stolen valor

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH spoke with two Green Berets who engaged the enemy on July 9, 2006. Both Special Forces operators, requesting anonymity to avoid personal gain from their service, provided a stark contrast to the narrative surrounding the commendation awarded to Bird.

“I shot the guy. I shot the RPG gunner. So, it was a bit of a surprise to me many, many years later to read a copy of the award where apparently that was claimed by Sergeant Bird, or whoever wrote the actual write-up for him,” the Green Beret disclosed.

Amidst the chaos of battle, where “everybody’s firing in all directions,” the Green Beret acknowledged that some details could be mistaken. However, he characterized Bird’s claim as “a stretch,” expressing doubt over whether Bird even exited his vehicle during the engagement.

“Yes, he was firing off if he was outside of his vehicle firing at all, which I have no knowledge of. He surely wasn’t doing any of that in the direction that I was engaged in. He definitely didn’t get the RPG gunner, which was one of the bits of the write-up in the actual award, which again, I didn’t see until years later,” the Green Beret said.

‘There was immediate pushback’ from stolen valor claims against Semi Bird

While recovering from an injury sustained during the battle, the Green Beret heard Bird and his major had “written each other valor awards” for their supposed conduct.

“I got a good laugh at it at the time. That’s just a s*** show. That’s never gonna go anywhere because nobody ever saw them do anything,” he explained. “And then it just kind of disappeared off into the darkness, right? Didn’t hear anything else about it. Didn’t really care. But I was never asked or interviewed about any of the stuff because I’d been medevacked.”

The Green Beret says when Bird and the major’s awards were submitted, “There was immediate pushback in-house.”

He and others didn’t make too big a deal after the initial pushback because, he said, “We were in the middle of a war.”

‘Stolen Valor isn’t just some idiot at the mall wearing a combat award that he didn’t earn’

About five months later, the Green Beret says there was an awards ceremony that honored Bird’s major. He said he remembers Birds’ narrative to closely mirror what was submitted for his major.

He called the ceremony “bittersweet” because he had been jumping through hoops to get two other Special Forces recognized for their valorous conduct. He said he had to repeatedly nominate them before they were finally awarded Bronze Star medals.

“I finally got them approved. And in the same ceremony, there is this field grade who is having a valor award read for his actions during this same deployment. It was comical because of how long it took me to get guys who actually, really deserved something recognized. Two years, submitting over and over again” he said.

The Green Beret said there were other parts of the narrative that he knew other Special Forces were responsible, yet Bird and the major were taking the credit.

“That was probably the most unique and egregious type of aspect of this,” he said. “Stolen valor isn’t just some idiot at the mall wearing a combat award that he didn’t earn or whatever. But somebody who actually took credit for stuff that other people around him did. This is the first time I’ve ever seen or heard of that.”

A second Green Beret backs ‘Stolen Valor’ claims against Semi Bird

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH spoke with a second Green Beret and senior operator who took part in the firefight. He also said Bird was not responsible for what earned him the commendations.

“(The other Green Beret) killed one of the RPG firers. So that part where Misipati (Semi) Bird says that he shot and engaged and neutralized the guy that was shooting RPGs — that’s a blatant lie,” the second Green Beret told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

He said this RPG enemy was the one directly in front of, and closest to, the truck Bird was in. He does not believe he could have been talking about another enemy fighter.

This second Green Beret also said he did not see Bird exit the disabled vehicle to help get it towed out. According to this Green Beret, who saw the operational summary report, no enemy KIA (“killed in action”) was attributed to Bird.

“(The other Green Beret) facilitated that hookup, not Misipati Bird. Bird didn’t get out of the truck and pull security, all those (are) complete lies,” he said.

He also questioned Bird’s concussion, calling it “an embellishment of bulls***.”

“What I will tell you is that Misipati Bird and this whole process, you know, he used this to gain favor and empower his career after that particular point, all the way up to now, including being the nominee for the Republican Party for the governorship of the state of Washington. And it’s all been built on a fabrication of lies,” he concluded.

‘This is personal. It’s very personal.”

When he saw that Bird and the major were up for a valor award, the second Green Beret says he remembers thinking, “This is such bulls**t.” But he also acknowledges that, at the time, the awards process for Special Forces “was absolutely broken.”

“This is personal. It’s very personal,” he explained. “And I’ll tell you, the biggest regret that I have about my time is not fighting hard enough for my teammates. Because they should have been — each one of them — should have had multiple awards recognizing, (and) acknowledging their valorous activities, the gallantry, that inconspicuous valor that they put their asses in harm’s way for, over and over.”

A fear of his is to see Bird’s stolen valor discredit the Green Berets — the “quiet professionals,” which is how Green Berets prefer to behave — and be used to advance a political career. He hoped  Bird would quietly go away after this news was revealed. He says this is an example of Green Berets trying to police themselves.

But this is not the only claim of “stolen valor” made against Bird.

The ‘scuba’ claim

The second Green Beret said Bird initially submitted a photo to the Army where he was wearing Scuba Diver Insignia on his uniform (it’s commonly referred to as a “scuba bubble”). It is earned after qualifying as a Special Forces combat diver. The Green Beret said Bird falsified this history as well.

When asked about his scuba bubble, the Green Beret said Bird could not recall basic and key facts about the scuba combat diver school in Key West, Florida. He initially told someone he thought the school was in “Key West, California,” according to a third military source.

“It is a very memorable experience. It will be one of the most physically challenging and exhausting activities you will participate in your life,” the Green Beret said.

He said that because Bird couldn’t explain his experiences particularly well, it led to the Pagan investigation. He called Bird “a snake slithering through the National Guard processing system.”

A third military source, who requested anonymity, confirmed this account.

Bird accepted the reprimand’s findings at the time

In a Dec. 9, 2010 memorandum in response to the letter of reprimand, obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, Bird wrote, “I first and foremost accept full responsibility for my actions.” Bird incorrectly dated the letter 2010 instead of 2009.

“The intent of this memorandum is to acknowledge the fact that I submitted false and inaccurate information in my Warrant Officer (WO) packet to include false NCOER’s in order to compensate for unrated time and meet the requirements for the WO program. My actions constitute nothing less than a fraud against the United States Army plain and simple,” Bird wrote.

He admitted that he “took advantage of the senior NCO’s and Officers in my chain of command” by betraying their trust and offered that “this incident has served as a wakeup call for me as a senior NCO.” He said he has submitted new forms, corrected records, and offered a new official photo “to correct the wrong I have perpetrated against the United States Army.”

Prior to this reprimand, Bird had been court-martialed for assaulting a sergeant while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. He said it was the result of the sergeant using a racial slur against him.

Bird pushes back on stolen valor concerns

Bird defended his record during a 67-minute phone interview May 24. He lamented that “it’s amazing how on Memorial Day we lost ourselves once again to try to discredit a veteran” and called the claims made against him “evil.”

The gubernatorial hopeful flatly denied taking credit for the actions of others. He pointed to documentation from the award narrative and his major’s witness account as proof.

Bird also alleged that, at the time, a senior noncommissioned officer from his unit “had a problem with me” and had been out to get him. He would not name the individual.

“This individual went so far as to a Judge Advocate General telling him, ‘If you continue to push this, we will file charges on you. I don’t know why you’re going after Bird so hard. But if you continue to do this, we will file charges on you. We verified his stuff. Why are you doing this?'” Bird recalled.

What “awards and badges” did Bird wear that he didn’t earn?

Bird also addressed the reprimand finding that he wore awards and badges that he did not earn.

Initially, Bird said he could only think of the scuba bubble badge. He denied telling anyone he said he trained in Key West and this resulted from a paperwork problem that prevented him from verifying that he attended training school.

Bird said there was an allegation made about an Aviator Badge he was wearing from his time as a flight medic. But he said that the National Guard “verified all of my awards and medals” when they “scrubbed” through his personnel form and the Aviator Badge “was verified.”

“That was it. So, when they (Pagan) say ‘awards and badges,’ that’s the terminology,” he said.

But that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Washington Republican gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird has addressed the reprimand finding that he wore awards and badges that he did not earn. (Photos obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH)

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH obtained two official Army photos: one taken before the reprimand, and one after. According to an independent third party expert who reviewed the photos for this story, between the photos, Bird appears to have removed the German Jump Wings, an oak leaf cluster on his Army Commendation Medal, and a star device on his National Defense Service Medal, in addition to the Special Forces Combat Divers Badge.

Promises of access to files were unfulfilled

Bird explained that he had documents on his computer in a folder titled “Slander” that would dispute claims made against him. During the interview, he promised to provide them to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

“I’m gonna give you everything, OK? I’m gonna give you so much more. Because at this point in time, I am sitting here with my wife … we signed up to try to do something good for our state … this is going to be good because I want everyone to know …,” he explained.

Hours after the call, attorney Matthew Taylor with Boise-based Taylor Law Offices emailed “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH. He said he would assist Bird in providing “additional answers or comments regarding your discussion about his military history” and that future requests should go through him, to be taken “under consideration.”

Initially, Taylor did not respond to multiple emails asking for the files and for clarification on what awards and badges were referenced in the reprimand to put better context to the photos. We had set a noon deadline for receiving these files. However, at 3:54 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28, Bird representatives contacted “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH requesting a meeting the following day, Wednesday, May 29. But he did not provide the promised documents. After careful consideration, we have decided to publish the story at 5 p.m. on May 28. Any new information or context provided by Bird’s representatives will be included in future updates.

Bird claimed confusion over the reprimand

When first asked about the reprimand, Bird went into detail about a rule violation, explaining what, why, and how everything happened. He said the reprimand was not supposed to be public, claiming it was “a reprimand that … happens all the time in the military. And my reprimand, again, was supposed to be buried.”

But he was talking about a separate incident unrelated to the Pagan reprimand.

Bird said he falsely attested on an evaluation sheet for a soldier in his unit, to help that soldier advance in his training. This incident had not been previously reported.

Bird explained that he merely confused this new incident with what Pagan found because this happened so long ago. He then said this incident didn’t lead to a reprimand. But he also claimed it was “the only reprimand I ever had” and claimed this incident “was supposed to be sealed.” This leaves an open question as to whether or not Bird actually did face a second reprimand tied to the incident he revealed.

“This is a duress moment for me. And I’m not trying to make excuses for it. I’m just being very, blatantly honest with you. There is truth in what I’m saying. But there’s a lot of confusion because I don’t recollect much of what you’re saying. I do recollect that firefight,” Bird said.

Former JAG breaks down the severity of Semi Bird stolen valor claims

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH shared the DOD documents and Bird interview with attorney Jeffrey Lustick for his review and expertise.

Lustick served in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps and was the director of Military Justice for the 1st Special Operation Wing and the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. He’s also a former Washington Air National Guard member and currently has a civilian legal practice with offices in Bellingham and Las Vegas.

“When you wear a badge, a ribbon, or medal on your uniform, and it’s something that you did not earn, it is potentially a criminal offense under Article 106(a) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and could result in brig (jail) time, (rank) reduction to Private, forfeitures of pay, and a bad conduct discharge,” Lustick explained to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

It’s also a crime under the UCMJ to make a false official statement under Article 107. Lustick says it has a maximum punishment of five years in prison, a reduction to E-1, and a possible dishonorable discharge.

Lustick explained that, “this can also be termed ‘stolen valor’ under civilian law and military law, and it’s a complete slap in the face when valor is stolen by a military member.”

In 2005, Congress passed the Stolen Valor Act to prohibit falsely representing oneself as having been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces or any service medals or badges. However, in 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional. In response, Congress enacted a more limited version of the Stolen Valor Act in 2013. This revised act makes it illegal to falsely claim to have earned the top four valor awards, the Purple Heart, or combat-related qualification badges for financial gain or any tangible benefit.

Is this stolen valor under the law?

When asked if Bird’s case was one of stolen valor, Lustick said “it depends.”

“If his German Jump Wings and the ‘scuba bubble badge’ and a cluster on his ribbon rack are all fake, it’s probably a minor case, except it’s even more aggravated when done by a Special Operations soldier who tells lies like this and get others involved in telling the lies,” he said.

If Bird’s Bronze Star with Valor device wasn’t actually earned, then Lustick calls it “a clear case of stolen valor and it’s no wonder why members of Bird’s Green Beret Team are still talking about this several years later. It’s not an axe to grind. It would be about trying to get Bird to stop stretching the truth.”

“There is a professional culture within the Special Operations Community, which is made up of Army Green Berets and Rangers, Navy Seals, Marine Raiders, Air Force Pararescue and Combat Controllers, and other not so publicly well known operators,” Lustick explained. “They describe themselves as being ‘silent professionals’ who often shrug off individual accomplishments as a simple fulfillment of their difficult duties. This is their personal ethos that they live by all throughout their careers.”

Why did this only earn a reprimand?

After reading the General Officer Letter of Reprimand given to Bird for the 2009 incident, Lustick said that was “surprised that he being such a senior NCO with 17 years of experience, that it didn’t result in at least non-judicial punishment, which is when a commanding officer calls out the misconduct and the soldier agrees to accept punishment.”

Lustick speculates Bird only faced a letter of reprimand because there’s “a gray area” involving members of the Army National Guard regarding whether they serve in a federal or state status.

“But National Guardsmen also serve sometimes in positions with the Department of the Army or the Department of the Air Force, where they change status day by day. They become federalized for special duties or when receiving federal training and then revert back to state status,” Lustick noted.

The ‘gray area’ explained

When a National Guard member is not in a federal status, they do not automatically fall under the jurisdiction of the UCMJ.

“A senior NCO who is a Special Operator and who wears badges and ribbons he didn’t earn to embellish his record is not tolerated within the SOF community. Plus, as the letter of reprimand also says, this NCO got others to help him carry out the fraud submit a fraudulent special selection application. That’s almost always going to result in a court-martial if the person doing it is on active duty in a federal status.” Lustick explained.

It is unclear if Bird was on federal orders and, therefore, in a federal status when he received the Letter or Reprimand. If Bird had been in the National Guard in Washington at the time, then jurisdiction would have fallen to the Washington State Adjutant General, who at the time was Air Force Lt. General Frank Scoggins.

A group of people in attendance at the Washington State Republican Party 2024 Convention hold up signs supporting Semi Bird as the gubernatorial candidate they wish to endorse. (Photo provided by the Semi Bird for Governor campaign)

Lustick was one of a few military prosecutors for the Washington Guard until late 2008 and says, “Bird’s name never came up. When the SOCSOUTH JAGs handled this, they apparently never reported what had happened to us.”

Political implications with Semi Bird stolen valor claims and official reprimand

Bird, a former Richland School Board Director, earned the Washington State Republican endorsement after a somewhat contentious party convention in April.

Delegates endorsed Bird over his Republican opponent, former King County Sheriff and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert. It was an early endorsement for the party, intended to help keep Republicans focused on backing the candidate with the best chance of winning in the general.

The endorsement vote was initially called off at the convention. Party leadership said Bird “was not forthcoming” during the vetting process. It was a reference to a 1993 conviction on a federal misdemeanor charge of bank larceny. The Seattle Times reported it was connected to falsifying a credit application “with intent to steal and purloin” funds from U.S. Bank. Bird used the name and social security number of his father on the application. He said he takes full responsibility for the incident.

Delegates overturned the decision to nix the endorsement and voted to back Bird.

Will a reprimand and claims of stolen valor end the Semi Bird campaign?

It’s hard to imagine that stolen valor claims, and an admission of falsifying records to defraud the Army, won’t leave even the Semi Bird campaign supporters with questions about his conduct.

For Lustick, the letter of reprimand and Bird’s response make it clear: he can’t be trusted.

“I think it calls into question a lot of claims that he’s made about his military service. I think it calls into question about his ability to be truthful and honest. And this is not the type of person that you should trust moving forward,” Lustick said. “Because if you will put yourself in front of soldiers who have died, who have been permanently injured, who have given their lives for military service, and you’re trying to claim that you did the same thing when in reality you didn’t, that is despicable, and certainly should not be something that we overlook.”

But Bird contends he will not allow this “slander” to stop him his gubernatorial campaign.

“But here’s what’s not going to happen. I’m not going to quit. I’m not getting off the ballot. They’ve already tried to character assassinate me. So now, here’s this,” Bird said to “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

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