Mitt Romney is trying to capitalize on twin victories in Arizona and Michigan as the GOP nomination race expands to the 10 states that vote on Super Tuesday. Rival Rick Santorum, who narrowly lost in Michigan, faces splitting the conservative vote with Newt Gingrich as the former House speaker counts on Southern primaries to revive his campaign. Mitt Romney speaks to supporters Tuesday night in Novi, Mich. Texas Rep. Ron Paul remains a factor as he attempts to mine delegates in caucus states like North Dakota, where his campaign team says the process plays to his strengths. Super Tuesday is March 6, just three days after Saturday's Washington state caucuses/AP. More here. (AP photo of Mitt Romney in Michigan last night)

Question: Was Kid Rock the key to putting Romney over the top in Michigan?

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer points during an intense conversation with President Barack Obama after he arrived at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Wednesday in Mesa, Ariz. Asked moments later what the conversation was about, Brewer, a Republican, said: “He was a little disturbed about my book.” Brewer recently published a book, “Scorpions for Breakfast,” something of a memoir of her years growing up and defends her signing of Arizona's controversial law cracking down on illegal immigrants, which Obama opposes. Obama was objecting to Brewer's description of a meeting he and Brewer had at the White House, where she described Obama as lecturing her. Story here. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Question: Should Gov. Brewer have confronted President Obama like this?

A Running of the Bulls participate stumbles as charging bulls close in behind him Saturday in Cave Creek, Ariz. Over 1,000 thrill seekers experienced an adrenaline rush of a life time by running a quarter mile in front of forty 1,500 lbs. raging bulls during the 4th Running of the Bulls in America. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Question: What animals do you run with?

A statement from the parents of Jared Loughner that was delivered to the media by unknown persons from inside the home Tuesday in Tucson, Ariz. is shown. Loughner is the alleged gunman in the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who is still in critical condition, and other victims who were shot on Saturday, leaving six dead and more injured. Washington Post story here. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Question: Does the family of accused mass murderer Jared Loughner deserve our sympathy?

The Arizona Legislature has approved emergency legislation to head off picketing by a Topeka, Kan., church at the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was killed during Saturday's shooting in Tucson. Unanimous votes by the House and Senate on Tuesday send the bill to Gov. Jan Brewer for her expected signature. The bill prohibiting protests at or near funeral sites would take effect immediately. The Westboro Baptist Church said Monday it plans to picket Thursday's funeral for Christina Taylor Green. She is one of six people who were killed in the shooting that injured U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others/Associated Press. More here.

Question: Does this action infringe on the free speech rights of Fred Phelps & his Westboro Baptist Church followers?

A 22-year-old man charged with trying to assassinate a U.S. congresswoman in a shooting spree that left six people dead has remained silent and has not been cooperating with the investigation, according to a sheriff. Jared Loughner, described as a social outcast with wild beliefs steeped in paranoia and deep distrust of government, was due to make his first court appearance Monday at 4 p.m. ET. At 11 a.m. ET, President Obama led the nation in a moment of silence to remember the victims. A federal judge, a congressional aide and a young girl were among the six killed Saturday, while Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others were injured in the bursts of gunfire outside a Tucson supermarket/MSN.com. More here.

DFO: There were two impassioned threads over the weekend (here and here) re: this assault on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that left six dead and a dozen others wounded in Arizona Saturday. I allowed the discussion to continue to provide an outlet for raw feelings as the nation tried to cope with the horror of this attack. Some went over the line. Others tried to use this murderous assault for a political statement. I'm amazed by those who lament the political vitrole in this country and yet add to the fire. With the hope that we've had time to process this mass murder, I'll post this new thread on the attack, with the question:

Question: How can we come back together as a country and turn the hateful political rhetoric down?

Kerri Thoreson, a Post Falls councilwoman writes on her Facebook page re: the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords and slaying of others with her in Arizona Saturday: “What I'm unsettled by, influenced no doubt by holding public office, is the number of violent attacks on members of school boards, city councils etc. in recent months. Will we come to a point when regular citizens will no longer serve in their communities in these offices? Will people like me wonder whether holding a public office is worth risking my life for? And will the access to our elected representatives here in Idaho on the local, state and federal level disappear? Congresswoman Giffords was doing something I could imagine myself doing … meeting with her neighbors and constituants on a Saturday morning to listen to their concerns.

Question: Would you have second thoughts re: holding a public office today, as a result of increasing attacks against public officials?

Maricopa County Sheriff  Joe  Arpaio is shown during a news conference in Phoenix July 30. The controversial Arpaio, who will speak at the annual Kootenai County Republican Women’s Women In Red gathering at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Oct. 4, was sued by the U.S. Justice Department last Thursday. (Story here.) The fedeal government says the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records in an investigation into allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers, File)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Wednesday Scanner Traffic/DFO, Huckleberries Online
  
• Look for sun to return Friday/Spokesman-Review
• Sheriff Knezovich ruing flap over deputy’s vacation/Meghann Cuniff, S&G
• Post Falls mayor receives national environmental honor/Brian Walker, Press
  
• Idaho Vandals keep big-money road games to 1 per season/Josh Wright, SR
• Gonzaga sued over alleged delayed rape investigation/John Langeler, KXLY
  
• Pullman teen accused of raping children he was baby-sitting/Kalae Chock, KXLY
  
• Currie to try to keep job by running as write-in vs. Nelson/Alecia Warren, Press
  
• Lake Coeur d’Alene drawdown begins/Coeur d’Alene Press
• TESH remodel to begin Monday/Maureen Dolan, Coeur d’Alene Press
• Numbers up on UI, LCSC campuses in Coeur d’Alene/Maureen Dolan, Press

Question: Why do you think the local Republican women invited Sheriff Joe Arpaio to speak at their annual gathering this fall?

U.S. Sen.  John  McCain, R-AZ., leaves his polling station earlier today in Phoenix after casting his vote in the Arizona primary election.  McCain is being challenged by former Congressman J.D. Hayworth. An AP story reports that McCain and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are poised to win bitter primary fights against Tea Party opponents today here. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Question: Any predictions re: surprises in primary elections around the nation today?

John McCluskey is shown being taken into custody Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010 by U.S. Marshals in eastern  Arizona. McCluskey and his fiancee Casslyn Welch have been on the lam since July 30. They’d been sought in the Inland Northwest and Northwest Montana and Canada. Both were apprehended at an eastern  Arizona campground on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Story here. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Office)

Question: Does this photo meet Cindy’s never-ending demands for beefcate?

A state-by-state solution is not the “ultimate solution” to the immigration problem, says Rep. Mike Simpson. Nonetheless, the Idaho Republican is siding with Arizona in its court battle with the U.S. Justice Department. He is writing a court brief siding with the state — and its strict immigration law. “The Arizona situation is an example of what happens when the federal government fails to secure our borders or address illegal immigration,” Simpson said today/Kevin Richert, Statesman. More info.

Question: Richert adds a quote in which Demo Walt Minnick expresses his opposition to the try by the U.S. Justice Department to stop the Arizona law from taking effect. What do you think of this bipartisan support for the Arizona law from Idaho’s congressmen?

• Tuesday Poll: 151 of 219 respondents (69%) said they oppose action taken by the federal government to sue to stop the state of Arizona from enforcing new illegal immigration laws. Only 63 of 219 (29%) supported the action taken by the U.S. Department of Justice. 5 of 219 (2%) were undecided.
• BSU’s Smurf Turf: 217 of 311 respondents (70%) said they didn’t like the blue turf on the Boise State University football field. Only 88 of 311 (28%) said they liked the Smurf Turb. 6 of 311 (2%) were undecided.
• Today’s Poll: Is Kootenai County right to fight the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s attempt to place 143 acres in trust land status, over $9900 in lost property taxes?

Joe Heller/Hellertoons

• Thursday’s Poll: A plurality of 73 of 181 respondents (40%) chose none of the above when asked which of 6 controversial planks from the Idaho GOP platform that they supported. Only 5 of 181 (3%) responded “all of the above.” Among individual planks that did receive backing, 54 of 181 respondents (30%) supported a call for an illegal immigration law like Arizona’s; 20 (11%) 10th amendment sovereignty; 17 (9%) transgender marriage ban; 5 (3%) loyalty oath; 4 (2%) paying taxes w/gold or silver; and 3 (2%) repeal of 17th amendment.
• Today’s Poll: Does Idaho need an illegal immigration law as tough as Arizona’s?
  

A northern Idaho lawmaker says he’ll push Arizona-style immigration reform if voters return him to the state Legislature. Sen. Mike Jorgenson, a Hayden Lake Republican, still must survive his May 25 GOP primary, where he faces Steve Vick. There’s no Democratic foe for November’s general election. Jorgenson, who has tried unsuccessfully to enact a law to punish Idaho employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens, vowed to push “an exact duplicate of the Arizona law” in the 2011 Legislature. Arizona’s new law requires police to ask for citizenship documents from those suspected of committing a crime, if officers had reasonable cause to believe the suspect was an illegal alien. Jorgenson says following suit in Idaho would “force Congress to get off their kiesters.” At least nine states are considering Arizona-style laws/Associated Press.

Question: Will Jorgenson’s push for Arizona-style immigration reform help him in his GOPrimary fight against Steve Vick? Or hurt him?

Fresh on the heels of a new immigration law that has led to calls to boycott her state, Arizona’s governor has signed a bill banning ethnic studies classes that “promote resentment” of other racial groups. Gov. Jan Brewer approved the measure without public statement Tuesday, according to state legislative records. The new law forbids elementary or secondary schools to teach classes that are “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” and advocate “the overthrow of the United States government” or “resentment toward a race or class of people.” The bill was pushed by state school Superintendent Tom Horne, who has spent two years trying to get Tucson schools to drop a Mexican-American studies program he said teaches Latino students they are an oppressed minority/CNN. More here. (AP Photo: Immigration rights demonstrators in Los Angeles protest Arizona’s new immigration law last week)

• Otter: Arizona immigration law opens door to personal bias/Kevin Richert

Question: Do you support or oppose a boycott of Arizona as a result of steps its taken re: immigration and ethnic studies?

Michael Ramirez/Investor’s Business Daily

Joe Heller, Hellertoons