In a straight, party-line vote, all the Idaho House Republicans voted “yes” in favor of Jim Clark’s “health freedom” bill, and all the Dems voted “no,” including Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd, of Wallace, who often sides with the supermajority Repub party. This, according to Eye On Boise’s Betsy Russell. You can see Betsy’s story here.

Benewah County Sheriff Robert Kirts isn’t going to win his battle to continue to treat Coeur d’Alene tribal police with contempt. He’s already losing that battle. Already, the House Judiciary Committee has voted unanimously to allow a bill removing authority for cross-deputization from him, if he can’t act like a grown up in dealing with tribal police. Importantly, the dislike, distrust, and possibly bias Kirts and other elected officials have toward the tribe is now on full display for Idahoans to see. Kirts hasn’t helped his cause by referring to respected human rights official Christie Wood as “stupid” and by labeling concerns from the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations as a bunch of “fecal matter.” That might play well in St. Maries coffee shops. But Kirts’ crude comments and dug-in attitude are fueling human righs reform — and giving Benewah County a bad name. A similar thing happened in Bonner County at the cusp of the new millennium when uberconservatives Bud Mueller and the late Larry Allen bulled their way into power. And began to shake things up in a neaderthal way. Only to land their county on the Southern Poverty Law Center watch list and become a target for human right efforts. Ultimately, they and their movement lost control when Bonner County residents got fed up with their Far Right antics and the stigma attached to them. This battle over cross-deputization may be the beginning of the end for redneck bigotry in Benewah County. Kirts may discover he’s become the pin-up guy for small-mindedness in Benewah County/DFO.

This three photo combo shows the words including “energy,” “tax” and “lift American spirits” on Sarah Palin’s hand at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, Tenn, on Saturday, left, a note to her mother on Sunday in Cypress, Texas, center, and notes with the words “eggs”, “milk”, “bread” crossed out, “hope” and “change” on White House spokesman Robert Gibbs’ hand on Tuesday during his daily briefing. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, Pat Sullivan, Charles Dharapak)

Question: Can Huckleberries Nation at least agree that Palin has nicer hands than Gibbs? (Why do I think that we’ll see a “Saturday Night Live” skit about this?)

• 4:14 p.m. Caller reports seeing juveniles riding on the hood of a white passenger car that turned on Covington/Post Falls.
• 3:45 p.m. Mother is concerned that 11YO daughter Ally didn’t get off the bus from River City Middle School. But officer responded she’d missed the bus and was walking home.
• 3:13 p.m. Jim @ Holiday station reports that a white BMW left w/o paying for $4.09 worth of gas.
• 2:56 p.m. A mother with a child has a flat tire @ Hayden & Huetter.
• 2:36 p.m. A female shoplifter is being cooperative at one of the Super 1s.
• 2:11 p.m. A Rathdrum runaway named Caitlin has returned home, so there’s no longer a need for police involvement.
• 1:15 p.m. A local girl who cuts her arms regularly is believed to have taken 10 to 12 hydrocodone from a parent and reportedly has threatened to kill herself. Her father has a number of police alerts.
• 1:05 p.m. Mother in Boise from a morning post reportedly has had contact from daughter who hadn’t contacted her from Spokane for a day.
• 12:50 p.m. Neighbors in 7500 block of Fourth/Hayden are involved in dispute over a property easement.
• AM Scanner Traffic

The Idaho AARP has released a strongly worded statement condemning today’s House vote in favor of HB 391, the “Idaho Health Freedom Act,” headed, “Idaho House moves state closer to health care disaster.” In its statement, the group said the bill could cost Idaho millions in federal health care funding and thousands of jobs, and called it “irresponsible.” “A vote for this bill is a vote against the people of Idaho,” Jim Wordelman, state director for AARP in Idaho, said in the release; click below to read it in full/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

• Denney: ‘Tempers are getting shorter’
• House debates ‘health freedom’ bill
• Luker: ‘Extreme deviation from constitution’
• Clark: Not saying no to health care reform
• AARP to legislators: We’re watching your vote

Question: Do you belong to AARP?

Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, was sitting in the audience as the House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously today to introduce legislation proposed by the tribe regarding cooperation with tribal law enforcement agencies. “I know there has been a lot of misinformation out there, and now we have a chance to really separate the facts from the fiction,” Allan said. “I think … at the end of the day, they’ll do the right thing”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

• House voices support for F-35 jets/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter
• How to control feral cats/Eye On Boise
• Hart rolls out own anti-immigration bill/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter
• Melba School Board urges Land Board to back Luna’s $52.8M plan/Dan Popkey, Idaho Politics

That hard-boiled egg and piece of toast that I had for breakfast doesn’t seem to be as filling now that I realize this is Denney’s Free Grand Slam Breakfast Day. I could take a break for 90 minutes or so to get re-filled. But I don’t know if you’d put up with my absence. So I’ll soldier on. That growl you hear is my stomach. Speaking of growls, make sure you read Don Sausser’s review of Nosworthy — and head out to the sports bar on Government Way to take part in the 2nd HBO Grub Club review. You’ll be able to follow the Nosworthy updates and reviews by clicking onto the Grub Club button in the right rail. Now, for your Wild Card …

A. Digrindakis enjoys unseasonably warm weather by twirling a hula hoop around her neck on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Ore., Friday (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Question: Have you ever been able to keep a hula hoop in motion around your waist?

At www.Bayview-Idaho.com, Bayview Bob reports: “A cougar was spotted in the park behind First street yesterday around Noon. Watch your kids!” Herb Huseland elaborates further in an e-mail to Huckleberries Online: “A cougar was spotted yesterday around noon, which is unusual and could indicate a starving animal hunting during the day, rather than at night. It was just behind First St. in Bayview, inside Farragut State Park.”

MamaJD: You now have to register to get access. The whole thing seems like a headache. It is not user friendly. It is not easy to read/post. People with political opinions but not Dummies-proficient would not be able to post easily there. They’ve actually accomplished something I thought not possible: ensure that an even smaller group than OpenCDA will participate with one another. Well done — their choir just got smaller.

Question: Is CHRG and expression similar to that one from WSU’s glory days “Couged” — you know, when the Cougars were playing well but choked at the end of the game? How would you use the acronym CHRG?

Sex abuse charges against a Coeur d’Alene man have been dismissed in Missouri because of a technicality. Randall L. Tetzner, 50, left the Adair County Detention Center on Monday after a judge dropped two counts of sodomy and two counts of rape for alleged incidents in 1986 and 1987, said Adair County Prosecutor Mark Williams. The dismissal hinged on a change in the Missouri statue of limitations for sex crimes. Previous law didn’t allow charges more than 10 years after an alleged crime. That changed in June 1997 to 10 years after a victim’s 18th birthday, Williams said. But under the old law, the statue of limitations for filing against Tetzner had already expired - in February 1997/Meghann M. Cuniff, Sirens & Gavels. More here.

CoeurGenX: I am donating my $35 Witness Fee (from being subpoena’d by Starr Kelso) to the Mike K defense fund. I cracked up when on Friday afternoon; I was re-served the subpoena with a $35 witness fee check attached. I laughed my butt off when the same kid from Confidential Investigations handed it to me. He SO did not look happy about it. So I guess by donating my $35 witness fee to the Mike K defense fund, Starr Kelso is helping fund his opposition. This is getting FUN :) I can’t wait for Friday. ARPIE- I will have an attorney there and I still need some advice on what to wear. Sorry OrangeTV, your suggestions just didn’t seem to fit the occasion. I am thinking of wearing a I HEART MIKE K shirt and maybe a speedo. Now if I can just find a speedo!

Question: Is CoeurGenX making lemonade out of lemons by donating his witness fee to the MikeK defense fund? And/or: If I receive a photo of CoeurGenX in a speedo, would you like to see me publish it?

In the Coeur d’Alene Press online comments section, OpenCDA.com’s Mary Souza explains the monitoring process for comments at the new Citizens for Honesty & Responsible Government: “Our ‘monitoring’ of the CHRG web site is NOT to keep out reasonably stated content or opinion, it is to insure that civility prevails. You don’t have to agree with an idea but, on our web site, you DO have to address the subject and not attack the messenger. I think we all know that’s important.”

Question: How much monitoring do you think a comments section on a Web site should have?

At Betty Kiefer Elementary/Rathdrum a half hour ago, a 7-year-old student was so upset with his computer than he began hitting the monitor. Yes, I know, the individual was receiving instruction in the school’s special education classes. But that’s besides the point. I’ve seen grownups come unhinged when their computer seized up. How about you?

Question: Do you ever yell at your computer when it’s malfunctioning or functioning slowly? Or worse?

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has the words “Eggs, Milk, Bread (crossed out), Hope, and Change” written in marker on his hand as he briefs reporters after President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to the James Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington earlier today. Former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been seen with hand written notes on her hands in recent public appearances. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Question: When did you last write something on your hands or arms to help you remember later?

It’s the time of year when my mailbox begins to fill with white and cream envelopes with my name and address written in calligraphy and gold-monogrammed initials on stickers sealing them shut. Wedding invitations usually begin to arrive in February for the summer wedding season. Couples want to make sure to give adequate time for guests to “save the date” and buy them a present from one of their registries. I enjoy getting these invitations — it makes me feel important. I am happy to know I mean enough to someone they would want to share this special day with me. Then again, a lot of times I apparently mean a lot to the bride or groom’s parents (i.e. former colleagues, fellow church members, friends of my parents, etc.), as I do not have any recollection of ever having a conversation with the ones who are actually getting married/Erin Harty, UIdaho Argonaut. More here.

Question: How many wedding invitations do you get per year? In most instances, do you actually know one of the members of the couple getting married?

• 11:24 a.m. A 7YO student in the special education classes at Betty Kiefer School is hitting his computer monitor.
• 11:08 a.m. A woman is concerned that someone with a key was trying to open her door while her elderly mother was home alone Monday in Emerald Estates/Hayden.
• 10:45 a.m. Motorist saw a male in a Mazda trying to insert a needle in himself while w/b on I-90 @ Pleasantview and then followed him to Subway on Pleasantview to await police. The other driver turned out to be a Moyie Springs resident.
• 10:17 a.m. Vehicle belonging to female student suffered reportable, front-end damage from a parking block in front of NIC gym.
• 10:05 a.m. An elderly female has suffered a compound fracture of the left leg, just above ankle, in a fall on Hollister Hills Drive/Hauser.
• 9:55 a.m. An employee at the new Post Falls dump on Prairie reports a fellow employee may be “showing off” a gun at work today.
• 9:37 a.m. A Boise mother is concerned that she hasn’t heard from her daughter since 1 o’clock Monday when she was in Spokane picking up a new vehicle.
• 9:13 a.m. A female in her early 20s is suffering heart palpations at Boswell Hall/NIC.
• 8:36 a.m. Two-vehicle crash is blocking 4th & Coeur d’Alene.
• 8:33 a.m. 73YO female is unconscious in her kitchen @ 13615 S. H95 (M/P 421, near Mica Creek Bridge).
• 8:31 a.m. Caller is concerned that a large dump truck exceeds the load limit for Carpenter Loop/Post Falls.

Steve DeBerry shows some of the “hen houses” an Oregon chapter of Delta Waterfowl is installing along wetlands to provide ground-nesting mallards with protection from predators during the upcoming nesting season. (Medford Mail Tribune photo)

• Fellow Baptist has faith in detainee Silsby/Statesman, AP
• Sculptors carve art work out of spam/Melissa Weaver, Daily Inter Lake
• Mountain lions attack alpacas near Twin Falls/Nick Poppino, Times-News
• Missoula OKs bear buffer zone/Keila Szpaller, Missoulian
• Missoulian in jail after alleged felony assault over parking spot/Tristan Scott, Missoulian
• Game officers confiscate wolf carcass from Idaho animal advocate/AP
• Ex-Nez Perce County sheriff claims he was hurt in jail/Brad W. Gary, Lewiston Tribune
• 2-fer: Daily politics brief, and: Tuesday morning news/Treasured Valley
• Orbusmax Special: 3 lose nursing jobs after nude photos of residents alleged here