Tribe Sovereignty For Dummies

20 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

• 

  Lizard_People on February 15 at 1:34 p.m.

  A Paleocon point of view would say Indians are still getting a raw deal, because Indians aren’t able to take mortgages out on the land held for them by “trust”.

  Most Paleocons support the Lakota Nation, and I’ve heard the President of the Lakota nation explain some interesting complications re: indian/American relations. I think he was a libertarian candidate for POTUS a while back.

• 

  LarrySpencer on February 15 at 2:07 p.m.

  “The Tribe’s economic impact on North Idaho is huge.”

  Is that how come they were able to buy Senator Jorgenson?

• 

  christiewood on February 15 at 2:11 p.m.

  Wow Larry…pretty low. You are normally a fairly nice guy. A bit of a rebel rouser(nothing wrong with that) but not usually this derogatory. I am surprised by this.

• 

  Phaedrus on February 15 at 3:34 p.m.

  I am surprised by this.—CW

  I’m not, LarrySpencer and “fairly nice guy” haven’t been residing in the same zip code lately. BTW LarrySpencer, in which zip code do you reside?

• 

  LarrySpencer on February 15 at 4:10 p.m.

  Christy, if you were Mike Jorgenson, You would have decried me as being a racist for having said what I did. I get tired of getting called names for pointing out that the good Senator recives thousands of dollars from the tribe and then pushes legislation for them.

• 

  Lizard_People on February 15 at 4:57 p.m.

  I don’t hear anyone denying that that is what Jorgenson does…

• 

  DFO on February 15 at 5:05 p.m.

  @ Lizard People re: “I don’t hear anyone denying that that is what Jorgenson does …”

  Are you talking about Spencer’s claim that Jorgenson is bought and paid for by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Most people simply are ignoring Spencer in this instance rather than engage him over his blast at Jorgenson. If you followed Jorgenson at all, you’d know that he has been a consistent supporter of Idaho’s 5 tribes. What’s the difference between the tribe donating to Jorgenson’s campaign (as Spencer claims) and the forest products industry or some other special-interest group donating to a candidate who votes in favor of them?

• 

  hmoffsuite on February 15 at 5:12 p.m.

  I have understood the tribal casinos hold a competitive advantage over private businesses. Isn’t that so? Do they play on a level playing field?

• 

  Phaedrus on February 15 at 5:54 p.m.

  it is right and just to ignore LarrySpencer.

  hmoffsuite, can you explain a bit what your understanding of a competitive advantage is that the Tribe possesses, I don’t follow.

• 

  LarrySpencer on February 15 at 6:07 p.m.

  DFO, you ask, ” What’s the difference between the tribe donating to Jorgenson’s campaign (as Spencer claims) and the forest products industry or some other special-interest group donating to a candidate who votes in favor of them?”

  I would point to the first line of Mark Stewert.

  “The Coeur d’Alene Tribe is a sovereign nation.”

  Then I would point to the following lines that read

  “They do not pay state income tax for work done on the reservation. They do pay property taxes on land not held in trust by the federal government.”

  These things are the difference. It is not an us verses them issue, this is an issue of a Senator who is taking money from a tribe that is not in his district and then using his clout (even though he has so little of it) to help those nonconstituants, even if the interests and wishes of his constituants are opposed by his support of the Tribe’s agenda.

• 

  hmoffsuite on February 15 at 6:09 p.m.

  Phaedrus. Do they have the same tax liability as private business? Taxes, of course, are an operating expense.

• 

  Phaedrus on February 15 at 6:18 p.m.

  Thanks for the explanation, hmoffsuite, I don’t know the answer to that question, maybe if Mr Stewart is blurking here he could answer that.
  \
  LarrySpencer if anyone had any interest in discrediting your willd-ass opinion about Jorgenson I’m sure it would not be difficult to flip through the Sunshine Report of just about any GOP elected official in this state and find the ones who take money from PACS and special interest groups and then go and do their bidding. Your outrage wouldn’t have anything to do with Jorgensen;s special interest being Native American’s, would it?

• 

  LarrySpencer on February 15 at 6:24 p.m.

  Mark was nice to point out that the Tribe pays “thousands” to help fund the highway district, but the rest of the story is that the tribe pays no property taxes to the district, and the “donation” they make is a pitance compared to what they would pay if they paid their actual share of the cost the district spends on those roads. Same thing for the EMS, fire districts, etc.

• 

  LarrySpencer on February 15 at 6:39 p.m.

  No, Phaed, I more dislike the good Senator’s pushing for more gaming in the state. Those interests pay lots of money to him.

  I still don’t know why he voted against hunters and fisherman when he opposed a constitutional amendment that would protect the right to hunt and fish from being one day taken away by a future legislature. I don’t know who paid for that stance. Anybody out there know?

• 

  HonestGeorge on February 15 at 11:04 p.m.

  “I have understood the tribal casinos hold a competitive advantage over private businesses.” More like a state-guaranteed monoply in regards to the casino. They do/or will also have an advantage with the US government financed high-speed internet system because I doubt if private enterprise will be able to match their pricing.

  But with the Tribal gas tax and plain old common sense in pricing I think that the playing field is level as far as their retail businesses are concerned and I’ve shopped in all of their shops and stores. Even though they don’t pay county and state taxes they do pay higher wages and have better benefits than surrounding competitors. They also subsidize non-profit enterprises that enhance the lives of both Indian and non-Indians, the Medical Center, Wellness Center and pharmacy are big plusses that comes to mind. (So will the high-speed internet service).

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  Nick_Adams on February 15 at 11:47 p.m.

  @LarrySpencer: How much has Sen. Jorgenson taken from the Tribe? Also, what exactly is the difference between what the tribe contributes to the highway/EMS/Fire districts vs. what they’d pay if they were included in the tax structure.

  Once again, you throw mud (or Kroc center dirt) without providing any facts.

• 

  Phaedrus on February 16 at 8:33 a.m.

  “he opposed a constitutional amendment that would protect the right to hunt and fish from being one day taken away…” ConstitutionalLawyerLarrySpencer

  Love how the extreme right wingers rant about the sanctity of all things constitutional and the threat posed by their perception of the left’s willingness to view the constitution as a living document that can or should change with the times, yet they would amend the constitution willy-nilly for their pet paranoias. Just goes to show that when you have an agenda, but no core values you become a walking, talking contradiction.

• 

  Lizard_People on February 16 at 9:04 a.m.

  Wait a second, are you saying that it is okay for sovereign nations to influence our government leaders with cash payouts?

  That’s pretty interesting.

• 

  Phaedrus on February 16 at 9:11 a.m.

  are you saying that it is okay for sovereign nations to influence our government leaders with cash payouts?—liz

  That is what the US Supreme Court just ruled.

  http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/01/22/court_lifts_a_ban_on_political_spending/

• 

  rezzdog on February 16 at 4:21 p.m.

  Umm,
  Your tribal members are Federally recognized and are American citizens and they pay taxes to governments other than their own government. So tell me, where is your sovereingty then?

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