From Fake News to Not News
*Update from John Green, 5/1/2018:
by John Green
4/27/2018
Yesterday, the Coeur d’Alene Press printed a front-page story entitled “Green’s liens raise questions”. The story doesn’t really qualify as fake news, insofar as the documents mentioned in the story do exist in public records. However, the story does qualify as “Not News”, because, in context, the facts behind the documents should elicit a “Who cares?” response from anyone familiar with them.
Here is my, very brief, explanation of the facts behind the documents:
Until the day the story was printed, I had never seen, nor been served, with any of the documents described in the story. I saw them for the first time after I purchased copies of them from the Kootenai County Recorders Office.
Notice of Federal Tax Lien: Apparently, in 2014, an employee of the IRS caused a document to be filed with the County Recorder purporting that I owed some amount of unpaid federal tax. Many people have had disputes with the IRS, including me. Many people have also experienced, first hand, the unlawful and immoral actions the IRS takes to squeeze money out of them. I have spent a good portion of my professional life over the last 25 years, battling this Criminal Organization we know as the Internal Revenue Service.
With regard to this notice of “lien”, it was filed without my knowledge. It is void on its face and should never have been filed with the County Recorder. Additionally, I never owed the tax in the first place and the notice constituted a false claim against me.
However, there is one fact that best illustrates the ill will of the Cd’A Press, which is that the Notice of Lien actually constitutes a Release of Lien. Based on the face of the document, there is no lien existing and no tax debt owed. If the Press had read the document completely, they would have discovered that. Instead, they chose to turn Not News into a hit piece on a Conservative Republican running for public office.
Claim of Lien: The next document that constitutes Not News is the claim of lien filed in 2009 by a company called “Sandstone Materials”. I was the General Contractor for our home. I designed it, hired all the subs and supervised construction myself. I never contracted with Sandstone Materials to provide any labor or materials for our home. The lien claim is wholly without merit. Furthermore, the claim for the purported lien expired almost 9 years ago. The company filing the claim had 6 months from the date of filing to file suit to collect, but they did not do so. I suspect because it was a false claim and they knew there would be no recovery.
The Cd’A Press did not report that the claim had expired almost 9 years ago. Instead, they purport that it “raises questions”. With whom did it raise questions? What benefit did it serve the public to have such information? Again, I would propose that the Cd’A Press printed this Not News, in an effort to thwart me from succeeding in my race for the Idaho Legislature. What other possible purpose could there be for printing such worthless information?
Notice of Building Ordinance Violations: My wife and I bought our property in about 2006. We obtained a building permit, paid the permit fees (In excess of $2000.00) and completed construction in 2009. Upon completion, and prior to moving in, we obtained all necessary sign off’s from the relevant “authorities” and had a final complete inspection. The Building Department employee took possession of all sign off sheets and inspection documents. The week following the final inspections we moved into our home. We have paid the full and appropriate property tax on our home from the time we moved in, and continuing to this day. Our home is safe and is engineered to exceed the then existing “Code” standards, in many respects. There has been no loss, monetary or otherwise to anyone, as a result of the County’s failure to issue a “Certificate of Occupancy”.
Approximately 6 years after we moved into our home, the Building Department notified us of the purported “violations.” It is due to their negligent preservation of our inspection documents that this situation exists. Never the less, we have a real and ongoing dispute with the Building Department with regard to the status of our home. However, this dispute becomes moot, effective April 30, 2018, when the opt-out provisions of the Kootenai County Building Department go into effect. This is yet another good example of why the opt-out policy adopted by the Board of County Commissioners is needed. I applaud the Commissioners for taking this step toward eliminating the waste, expense, and stress inflicted upon citizens trying to develop their own property, by an inept and inefficient bureaucracy. (I have to say that there are some great folks working in the Building Department, by the way! There have been many changes in that department since 2009.)
Is the dispute of a citizen of Kootenai County with the Building Department news? Clearly, this is another example of Not News? Why would the Cd’A Press report on such Not News? I think I’ve already established that quite clearly.
So in conclusion, there are not, in fact, any liens against me. My dispute with the County Building Department is real and ongoing. This is Not News, but as they say, there is no such thing as bad advertising. At least I got my picture on the front page of the Press!
Thank you for your support and if you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. You may send me email to john@electjohngreen.com.
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I second Mr Green in his indictment of this rabid, libtard rag, The Coeur d’ Alene Press. Is there something about the environs of a newspaper office that makes people leave their conscience and integrity at the door ? At any rate, these small news outlets do seem a nesting place for the worst of irresponsible “Journalists”. No unscrupulous villification is too low for them, while skirting, of course, any liability for defamation. Our own local birdcage liner is no different – Identifying me as a Malhure occupier, it published a vicious, front page hit piece on me, with photo. No matter to them that I was a simple private citizen with no responsibility to the public, no matter that my actions were taking place 1,000 miles away and in a different state. During his time in Virginia City, Mark Twain took umbrage at a certain reporter’s criticism, and challenged the miscreant to a duel. Perhaps it is time to settle such affairs of honor in the same way…But of course the cowardly weasles would throw a hissy fit and hide behind the nearest skirt. Withal, who credits such drivel anymore? Thank God for Redoubt News and the alternate media !
Well said!