Do you smell black churches burning? I do. Back in 1996 the Democrat/media complex created a false narrative about a wave of black church arsons. Then President Bill Clinton eloquently recalled how a strikingly similar epidemic in his home state of Arkansas had touched his heart when he was a child. Everyone swooned. It was a remarkably Clintonian feat of memory, because those church burnings that were seared into his memory didn't happen either. But the purpose of the fabricated narrative was to cement the re-election of Bill Clinton, who was portrayed as the only man capable of healing the racial rift that these burning churches represented. And it was all a fraud. USA Today strayed off the reservation, committed an act of investigative journalism and proved that the wave of black church arsons was wholly apocryphal.The mainstream news media was exposed for making it all up. They used to have a word for fake, inflammatory journalism. It was called “yellow journalism.” Today, it's called journalism. Democrats seized upon the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida as an opportunity to reprise their 1996 role as racial conciliators. And the media played along. But they've blown it mightily/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Thoughts?

As did Virginia's Legislature last month, Idaho's Legislature is wading into controversial territory with a new law that, if enacted, would require that abortion providers administer an ultrasound test and share the results with women seeking abortions before the baby is destroyed. The unproven theory behind such laws is that once a woman sees her baby or hears its heartbeat, her maternal instincts will be activated and she'll change her mind, sparing the child's life. Naturally, the left is portraying this as the highest order of extremism. If there is any evidence that such information ever changes a woman's mind, I have not seen it. Pro-life activists believe it would, but they are already predisposed to loving their children, born or unborn/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Anything left to be said on this controversial issue?

This dismantling of two cranes in Lewiston last week and the dismantling of jobs make a fine metaphor for the state of the economy in the Age of Obama. Megaload opponents celebrated a victory last week, which is anotherway of saying that the local economy lost. The last megaload heading up U.S. Highway 95 passed through Moscow Tuesday. And environmentalist puritans were celebrating. Not so long ago, the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley was eagerly looking forward to handling hundreds of “megaloads,” that would be shipped up the Snake River, unloaded at the Port of Lewiston and transported over Lolo Pass on U.S. Highway 12. Today they're hoping for six. Regardless of what route the megaloads take, the ultimate destination of all this oil extraction equipment will be the Canadian tar sands. But who needs oil?/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Are you glad/mad the megaloads have stopped for now?

No, my fellow conservatives, the world as we know it did not end Monday when Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire signed gay marriage into law. For that matter, her signature did not even do significant harm to the institution of marriage. After this last week's assault on religious liberty by the Obama regime, small government conservatives should be particularly sensitive when government tramples upon issues of faith. And when government intrudes upon the religious institution of marriage, it does harm both to the church that yields government sovereignty over marriage and to marriage itself. Gays cannot possibly do more damage to marriage than heterosexuals have already done through its secularization/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: What has damagd the institution of marriage most during your time on Earth?

So now we celebrate bullies? I can't tell you how many “news” articles I've read in the last week that speculated on whether or not the Susan G. Komen Foundation will be able to repair its reputation after attempting to withdraw $650,000 worth of annual funding that it currently sends to that billion dollar per year abortion mill, the ironically misnamed Planned Parenthood. Considering the heavy handed thuggery that Planned Parenthood and its allies used to reclaim that tiny sliver of their revenue stream, I have to wonder why it is that Planned Parenthood doesn't have a reputation that is in need of restoration. When Susan G. Komen's new leadership decided that it could do more to fight breast cancer with that money than Planned Parenthood could, Planned Parenthood turned its mighty guns on the Komen Foundation and painted its leadership as a cabal of religious extremists. The mainstream news media actually took the lead on this assault/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Will Komen Foundation fund-raising efforts be hurt in the near future by the way it handled this controversy, from beginning to end?

In his Saturday column, conservative columnist Michael Costello, writing for the Lewiston Tribune, said he'd give this address if asked to speak at the Washington State graduation exercises: “First of all, I would like to pronounce nonsense upon the most common theme running through most commencement addresses. Most speakers will come to the microphone and extoll the virtues of public service, which, in their world, means working for the government in some capacity. Typically, the speaker will shower himself with praise for the sacrifice he or she made by choosing public service. In truth, the public employee earns far more than his private-sector equivalent and will rarely experience the job insecurity of the private-sector worker. There is no sacrifice in government employment. And the truth is that the private sector is where real public service is performed and where it is actually rewarded.” More here.

Question: Which provides the greatest degree of public service — private sector or government employment?

Fishing is a profession that attracts a different breed of men from those who grow up aspiring to careers as accountants, lawyers or physicians. The men who make their living on crab boats have more in common with U.S. Army Rangers, Marines and Navy SEALs than they do with college professors. I was not always the suave, sophisticated, erudite man of letters who stands before you today. I came into this world descended from a long line of hard-rock miners who clawed out a living by busting rocks deep beneath the Earth's surface or in Arizona's open-pit copper mines. They were all hard men. And although early on in my life I decided that I did not wish to follow generations of Costellos into the mine shafts, it never occurred to me that my life would be as anything other than a hard man. The hard man works hard and relaxes hard. Hard men often live lives that are cut short by the intensity of the lives they lead/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here. (AP file photo from 'Deadliest Catch' TV show)

Question: Are you a rugged man?

Idaho Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, has introduced a bill that would require pestocrats seeking to block megaloads in court to post a bond that they would forfeit should they lose. The bond is big enough that they would have trouble raising it in the first place and would sting if they lost it. Up until now, only the plaintiffs has suffered any tangible harm from pestocrat lawsuits. This would level the playing field. In reality, this principle should be applied to all lawsuits, in which those initiating the lawsuit should bear some level of responsibility for wasting the court's time and peoples' money. Too many people look at the courts as a form of lottery, hoping that they will become the next person striking it rich after spilling hot coffee on themselves/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Should there be a bond required for filing most lawsuits, as Costello suggests?

I once labeled Portland, Ore., as Portlamabad for its refusal to cooperate with federal antiterrorism efforts. I now realized that I was too kind. I should have called Portland “Shmoo Land.” Readers of the comic strip Li’l Abner will recall the shmoos as a pear-shaped species that lived near Dogpatch and eagerly offered themselves up to be eaten by humans. Shmoos were so eager to be consumed that they would adjust their own flavor to suit the tastes of the person eating them. Portland is a city of shmoos because they have cooperated in making their city a target for terrorism. And now that they have been saved from a potentially horrific attack, many Portlanders, I mean shmoos, are angry at the FBI for having saved them/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Would you consider Portland’s refusal to allow its police to cooperate with the FBI to prevent terrorism part of its quaintness? Or simply foolish?

According to Politico, Olbermann’s crime was that NBC News “policies and standards” requires that its on-air personalities avoid “potential conflicts” that could compromise their status as “impartial journalists.” Don’t laugh. That’s what it actually says. And even if Olbermann did make donations to left-wing Democrats, how could that possibly run afoul of NBC’s supposed journalistic ethics? By law, donations to candidates are limited to $2,400 per election cycle. I don’t know how much MSNBC charges for advertising on its network, but I’m confident that it’s considerably more than $7,200 per minute. And considering that MSNBC is nothing but a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-per-week, 52-week-per-year disinfomercial for the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party already, Olbermann’s donation would scarcely purchase more than a few pixels of the in-kind donation that MSNBC already provides to the far left/Mike Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Which media entity is more balanced & fair — MSNBC or Fox News?

The large majority of Americans have made it clear that they don’t want moderation. They want decisiveness. If Republicans are capable of learning, they could take lessons from what has worked. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell both won surprising victories by promising to govern conservatively. Both have grown in popularity by adhering to those promises. This is especially notable in New Jersey as that state is about as hostile to Republicans as any in the union. If Republicans can demonstrate that they’ve learned their lessons and are willing to make the difficult choices necessary to steer America back on the right track, they are likely to be rewarded in 2012, because it’s unlikely that Democrats will be able to give Americans an affirmative reason to restore them to power/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Is Costello right — that Americans want Republicans in Congress to make tough conservative choices rather than to embrace moderation?

We seem to have slipped into one of those vortices in which people are trying to surpass one another in oafish behavior. I would have found it difficult to imagine anything that could do more to aggravate the already strained relations between Islam and Christianity than building a mosque at New York’s Ground Zero. But then, I don’t have Terry Jones’ imagination. Jones is the senior pastor at the ironically misnamed Dove World Outreach Center, a puny fundamentalist church in Florida. This otherwise inconsequential man has drawn considerable attention to himself by declaring today, Sept. 11, 2010, “International Burn a Quran Day” — although it would be more accurate to say that the mainstream news media have focused considerable attention on him by weaving him into their “America is Islamophobic” narrative. He intends to recognize the anniversary of 9/11 by burning a stack of Qurans/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Who’s more to blame for the fervor surrounding Terry Jones’ threat to burn the Quran — the mainstream media or the online media?

I’m all for the Ground Zero mosque in New York City. But I have a few conditions. If, as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says, commitment to diversity and tolerance is what New York’s firefighters and other first responders gave their lives for on Sept. 11, 2001, then all sides need to show the same level of commitment to that principle. So I suggest that we all embrace Fox News host Greg Gutfeld’s idea of a Muslim gay bar next door to the Ground Zero mosque. And I would go a little farther. On the opposite side of the mosque, we should have a barbecue restaurant that specializes in North Carolina pulled pork sandwiches and Kansas City spareribs. And across the street we need a Fredrick’s of Hollywood storefront. And perhaps a Larry Flynt strip club behind the mosque. Then we’ll find out who truly is intolerant/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: What do you make of Michael Costello’s view of tolerance in New York City?

It’s graduation day at Washington State University and because I have not yet received my invitation to deliver the commencement address, I’m going to assume that they’ve once again settled for someone else. As such, I’m going to use this forum to deliver my own advice to our most recent crop of graduates. My advice is to go forth and make as much money as you can. Contrary to what is often advocated at commencements, I am not going to encourage you to enter public service. Public service is typically defined as politics, political advocacy or government employment. And according to those who recommend such a career path, only by doing so can you exert a possible influence on the world. That is nonsense. The truth is that, until recently, the amount of money you earn in your lifetime is a pretty accurate gauge of how much you have contributed to the world’s well being/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: In 50 words or less, what would you tell a class of graduates, if you had the opportunity to be a commencement speaker?

Money, money everywhere and not one cent fit for New Orleans. The recently passed $787 billion porkulus bill contains Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s, D-Nev., pet $8 billion earmark to build a high-speed train linking Disneyland to Las Vegas. And Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., topped off the lard bucket ironically misnamed as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with tens of millions of dollars dedicated to restoring the habitat of the salt marsh harvest mouse, a treasured mascot of San Francisco’s environmental extremists. Billions are destined for ACORN, the voter-fraud wing of the Democratic Party. But, there is not a single dime designated for rebuilding New Orleans/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Correction: Risch had wrong mouse, district in blasting stimulus package

Question: Some here have objected when I referred to the stimulus package as “porkulus.” Obviously, Idaho schools will benefit from the Mother of All Bailouts. But can you mention any other specifics about the bill that would cause you to support it?

What Walter Minnick did is what Republicans should have done. He didn’t just whine about the current bill. He offered a reasonable alternative to the Pelosi-Reid-Obama boondoggle. In this fearful environment nurtured by Obama and the news media, doing nothing is not going to sell. And since Republicans seem to lack the imagination to come up with something on their own, they should have gotten onboard with Minnick. Minnick’s bill is much, much smaller and is frontloaded so that it might influence the economy. It actually spends more money this year than the Obama boondoggle. In addition, Minnick’s proposal has a trigger that will shut down spending should the economy show signs of growth/Michael Costello, Red County. More here.

Question: Do you agree or disagree with this opening statement of Costello: “Probably nothing speaks to the sorry state of the Republican Party than the fact that Idaho’s Walter Minnick might be the smartest Republican in Congress”?

Schroeder’s idea allows us to entertain ourselves with thought exercises imagining where we can send truckloads of wolves so that they may plague those who deserve to be afflicted the most.  First, send a truckload or two to California. California would be the ideal destination for wolves. Malibu comes to mind. After all, it was touchy-feely Californian style environmentalism that inspired wolf transplantation to the northern Rockies in the first place. Shouldn’t Idaho invite Californians to share the love? And California has the right cultural attitude for making an aggressive predator feel right at home. I can remember about 20 or so years ago when a cougar stalked, killed and partially ate a woman who was jogging on a trail near my parents’ home. The Department of Fish and Game tracked the lion down and shot it. Bereaved Californians raised money to support the lioness’ orphaned kittens. It was left to Rush Limbaugh to raise money nationwide for the motherless children of the jogger/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Where or to whom would you like to send a gift-wrapped, live gray wolf from Idaho?

I can’t help but wonder how a Republican Senate majority leader would have been treated by the mainstream news media if he had made it clear he didn’t want no coloreds appointed to fill the Illinois U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by Barack Obama. According to Illinois’ impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, D, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D, (pictured) called to ask that the governor not appoint any of the leading African-American candidates seeking that seat. Reid revealed himself as a soulmate of Pennsylvania Gov. Fast Eddie Rendell, D, who argued during last year’s Democratic presidential primary that conservative Democrats might not vote for a darkie. Reid worried that labor union Democrats would recoil from a candidate with a name like “Jesse Jackson Jr.” in the 2010 election and the Democrats would lose that seat. All this drifted through the ether with little comment from the mainstream media/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here (pdf).

Question: Agree? Disagree?