I saw the footage of Monday's Tea Party gathering and heard a dear friend of mine, Rep. Lenore Barrett, speak to the assembled crowd. She was civil and kind in her remarks. Strong and firm, but civil. Yet, one of the organizers of the event called elected Federal officials "evil"...say what? If anyone knows political theater, I do. Yet, having quality people like Rep Barrett, Rep. Labrador and others there in attendance and THEN having the event organizers paint "broad-brush evil strokes" does not settle well with Idahoans. The dissonance sets off the "creep factor", doesn't it? Now, did the organizers have good intentions? Maybe...not sure, possibly, SURE. I DO know that Glenn Beck and others who traffic well in large scale national political cowboy-theater have been a'ridin this horse lately ... and that gives me pause/Dennis Mansfield. More here.

• Idaho's broken tax code/Adam's Blog
• Dreaming of fire/Nicole LeFavour, Notes from the Floor
• Hill: Maintaining parks is part of state mission/Rocky Barker
• Two-fer: Idaho tea, and: Red meat/Randy Stapilus
• Two-fer: Remembering from wince we came, and: Celebrating Forrest Church/The Johnson Post
• 3-fer: Treasure Valley blogs, and: Daily politics briefs, and: Tuesday morning news/Treasured Valley

Question: How do you react when you hear diehard partisans use terms like "evil" to describe politicians at any level of government? Or: What do you make of state Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, being one of the four main speakers at the Boise Tea Party?