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Posts tagged: Idaho Blogosphere
According to Tom Von Alten of Fort Boise, the Ada County blogosphere lost one of its respected voices recently when well-known criminal justice instructor Michael Blankenship died unexpectedly on campus Thursday. 
Blankenship was the blogger of The Justice Gambit. Apparently, he'd recently had surgery. Of his death, President Bob Kustra of Boise State told the Idaho Statesman: ““Mike was highly respected by his students, who were engaged by his lively debates; by his colleagues, who appreciated his passion for teaching and reforming the criminal justice system; and by the Treasure Valley community, who were touched by his outreach and advocacy.” You can read more of the Statesman story here and see Blankenship's blog here.
None of the people running these efforts, including former reporter Wayne Hoffman in Idaho, 
will talk about the deep pockets. Ironically, while Hoffman regularly blasts government for a lack of transparency and frequently posts the results of his requests for public records - salary information for the Wilder School District, for example - he justifies his own lack of candor about who backs his efforts by invoking the non-profit status of his organization. This is a curious stance for a group that helped set a good part of the agenda for the most recent session of the state legislature/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Post. More info.
Question: Is it fair for a private organization, like the Idaho Freedom Foundation, to demand transparency of government when it is unwilling to reveal who underwrites its organization?
Well here we go, the bad just keeps on getting worse. Last week White House economic adviser Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman, said the United States should consider imposing a “value-added tax” to help get the deficit under control. Here’s an idea, STOP SPENDING! No more bailouts, Start over with health care reform/Idaho Conservative Blog. More here.
Question: Would you support a national sales tax to bring down the deficit?
Still,
last week’s Rasmussen poll does help cement the developing storyline that Otter is the prohibitive favorite. There is a lot of time until November, but that perception is starting to set. The poll, among other things, should be a wake up call to the Democratic campaign. It would appear that the buzz Allred created with his announcement in December was temporary and this race now has many of the makings of settling into the same kind of contest Idaho Democrats have lost every four years since 1994. For example, if the Rasmussen numbers are taken at face value, Allred - a one-time independent turned Democrat - has barely begun to solidify the puny Idaho Democratic base that I think can reasonably be calculated at plus or minus 30%/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Post. More here.
Question: Do you agree w/Marc that Demo challenger Keith Allred has barely begun to solidify his base, let alone cut into the huge lead that the incumbent has?
A question for the next Idaho Legislature is how much more cutting can the state really stand?
At some point, a 21st Century economy will require new investment and new thinking about a 21st Century education system. Good jobs require better schools and a trained workforce. The millions in revenue lost to Internet sales (at a detriment to hometown businesses) or left untaxed due to exemptions may not represent comfortable rocks to look under, but the alternative, if Idaho wants to grow a 21st Century economy, is unsustainable/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Report. More here.
Question: Is it time to consider raises taxes in Idaho to support critical services, like public education?
“Unfortunately, my fears about this summit were realized: rather than a substantive discussion 
about health care reform, the President’s summit was just for show. … It seems the Democrats were more interested in selling the American people the bills they have supported in the House and Senate rather than working together to accomplish health care reform that we can all agree on.” While Democrats have been trying to dub Republicans as the party of “no” when it comes to working on health care reform, the fact is the GOP has several reforms they have been touting for months. To learn more about these reforms, visit here/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Do you think health care reform is a dead issue after the continued deadlock that came out of the summit Thursday?
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.
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?
On Monday Otter declared in his state of the state address that “we’re all in this together” as he addressed an audience of mostly white middle aged men. While failing to mention any cuts in his salary, or even his administration, he proceeded to announce a systematic dismantling of the Human Rights Commission, the State Independent Living Council, the Developmental Disabilities Council, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission, the Hispanic Commission, and Idaho Public Television, stating “These changes are meant to be permanent, based on a philosophy of government that recognizes our responsibility to individual Idahoans rather than to government itself”/Muskrat, 43rd State Blues. More here.
Question: Do you care if Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal to cut off funding to the Human Rights Commission results in the commission closing down?
It will now be possible - and because it will be so convenient, I suspect it will happen routinely - for many legislators to move from their private offices down a non-public hallway and into a hearing room. From the new “garden level” offices lawmakers will utilize private elevators to go directly to the third floor where House and Senate chambers are located. In other words, legislators can do the vast majority of their work without ever setting foot in the public parts of the building. This is very different in both practice and symbolism from what has existed for nearly 100 years/Marc Johnson, The Johnson Post. More here.
Question: Dunno how many of you have seen the renovated new capitol building. I’d like to get an impression of it from those who have.
It was the “eastern” and “new age” beliefs that made it newsworthy, though. Well over half of 
those surveyed find something “other” to believe in, whether it’s reincarnation, yoga as a spiritual practice, astrology, spiritual energy in mountains, trees or crystals, or that old-time favorite, the “evil eye.” In a different direction, and on a different continent, the tiny seed of liberal religion has found some fertile soil; mostly as a result of Africans having contact with Unitarians in the US, but also by “Google-powered spiritual journeys”/Fort Boise. More here.
Question: Do you mix-and-match your religious beliefs, either by attending churches of other denomations occasionally or by sprinkling in some “eastern” and “new age” spirituality?
If Idaho lawmakers greatly reduce or eliminate funding for the arts or government-funded television, I’ll be convinced that they’re serious about not only getting state spending under control but also rebalancing the proper role of government/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. More here. Opposing: What does Wayne Hoffman have against Big Bird?/Sharon Fisher, New West Boise.
Question: Should Idaho cut funding for the arts and public television to help balance its budget?
It’s a strange fight for the GOP to pick here. Maybe it’s the political equivalent of a brush-back 
pitch — an attempt to put Allred on the defensive as he formally announces his campaign today and Friday. Maybe it’s also a way to undermine Allred’s appeal to his Common Interest membership — the group that, until last week, constituted his political base. But at least some of those 1,500 members are Republicans or Republican-leaning voters. By turning The Common Interest into a partisan talking point, the GOP risks alienating these politically active folks. The Common Interest’s response was disappointing as well/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.
Question: Had you heard of Common Interest before Allred announced his intention to run for guv?
What is a basic protection? It is a minimum standard of treatment. We have the minimum wage, which may not be adequate, but we can rely on it. Governments have a constitution as outline of behavior. We even have a bill of rights, a promise of protection on certain issues. And we HAD a tuition cap in Idaho. A minimum promise that the State Board of Education gave us about *even the possibility* of tuition increases remaining below 10% in one year. They have revoked their promise this week in Twin Falls. Asking to remove the 10% tuition cap, even if it is just for 1 year, is asking us to give up our right of basic protection from excessive budget increases/DianaMarie, 43rd State Blues. More here.
From long ago and far away, up pops the “beloved hippy van” that was stolen 35 years ago. Allstate is the current title holder, having paid off the Insured way back when. She can’t remember what she (or they) paid for it, maybe $600? I’m thinking it must have been more because this thing is totally cherry, not quite 77-thou on the clock, original bumpers, seats, engine clean as a whistle, whitewalls, the moon hubcaps, everything. Current bid is $17,900 with Allstate sending the proceeds to charity. You’re looking at the imaginary version of the first automobile I owned, purchased the same year this baby was stolen/Tom Von Alten, Fort Boise. More here.
Question: Did you own a VW bug or hippy van back in your glory days?
Keith Allred has announced as the Democratic Candidate for Governor in 2010. I think that Allred has a good chance of being our State’s next Governor, but only if this is the start of a five-year campaign, not a one-year campaign. If 2010 were shaping up to simply be an “anti-incumbent” year, I’d say Allred would have a slight chance in 2010 against Governor Otter, but it’s not shaping up that way. It’s really looking like an anti-Democrat year, and in idaho having the same party as President Obama isn’t going to get you elected/Adam Graham, Give Me Liberty. More here.
Question: Do you see 2010 shaping up to be an anti-Democrat year in politics?
Allred may be a relative unknown statewide — especially compared to incumbent Gov. Butch 
Otter and even GOP primary challengers Rex Rammell and Sharon Ullman, an Ada County commissioner. But he’s well-known around the Statehouse and Idaho public policy circles. His group has analyzed some of the most vexing issues on the legislative agenda — from transportation funding to closed party primaries. The group has also remained assiduously nonpartisan, which makes Allred’s jump into partisan politics a stunner/Kevin Richert, Statesman. More here. And: A Berry Picker sent HBO an e-mail from Allred. And: Allred ready to run for governor/Fort Boise. And: Demos hail Allred candidacy.
Question: Are you more interested in Demo gubernatorial wannabe Keith Allred, after learning a bit about him at Huckleberries Online today?
If the government decided that Viagra wasn’t necessary (which strictly speaking, it isn’t), and decided that it shouldn’t be covered, you would not get any argument from me. But the bigger issue here is Boxer’s misunderstanding of how analogies work. Boxer clearly doesn’t understand that the moral discomfort that most Americans have with abortion isn’t about sex; it’s about killing what is going to be, in a very short time, a human being. And this is analogous to Viagra in what way?/Clayton Cramer. More here.
Question: What do you make of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer’s comment, comparing an effort to limit women’s access to abortion to restricting men’s access to Viagra.
Jorgenson attempting to deputize himself as the Purity police in this race is kind of curious. I keep tabs on legislator’s voting record and overall, Jorgenson’s got a 71% Conservative Voting record, not horrendous, and certainly not as bad as North Idaho Senators Shawn Keough (R-1) or Joyce Broadsword (R-2 ) Jorgenson’s record includes support for Otter’s Gas Tax increase and opposition to a bill by Rep. Marv. Hagedorn’s (R-20) legislation to raise transportation funds through a specialty plate plan rather than raising taxes/Adam Graham, Give Me Liberty. More here. Also: Idaho GOP fight of the week/Kevin Richert, Statesman. And: Labrador’s announcement, interrupted/Randy Stapilus.
Question: Will Mike Jorgenson’s opposition hurt Raul Labrador’s bid to win the GOP nomination for the 1st Congressional District.
I have
a love-hate relationship with coffee. I married a beautiful, wonderful woman who LOVES coffee. My son and my daughter LOVE coffee. I LOVE reading my son’s Coffee Blog. And I hate the taste of coffee. … 4 sips in my soon-to-be-54-years…aghh…yuck. And yet I LOVE the social aspects of coffee shops (other than those in Amsterdam…hmmm). I LOVE the smell of coffee; the scents of so many different roasts that so my family and friends seem to love/Dennis Mansfield. More here.
Question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy coffee?
Newsweek chose the Runners World of Palin in running shorts for its cover, which is clearly a 
cheesecake type of photo. Oprah Winfrey asked Palin about the choice to use that picture, and Palin said she’s thinks it’s kind of cheesy. I was thinking about that. Using a cheesecake photo of a woman in politics for its cover does seem a bit cheesy, at first. But, upon further reflection, I think it is the exact right photo. Such a photo, of a powerful woman, highlights sexuality over any other trait, and probably tends to objectify the woman. But in Palin’s case, her attractiveness is her defining trait, and is the reason she’s where she’s at/IdaBlue. More here.
Question: Do you think Sarah Palin would be where she is today — a media superstar and popular with conservatives — if she wasn’t so attractive?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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