February 9, 2010 on Page A9 When Idaho Gov. Butch Otter set the Idaho Human Rights Commission on a four-year glide path to extinction, some innovative thinkers took charge. Now it looks as if the commission … 1

February 8, 2010 on Page A7 It is the enduring paradox of our centuries here. It is the paradox that stood its ground at Bunker Hill, that made a doomed charge on Fort Wagner, that stormed … 5

February 8, 2010 on Page A7 More U.S. and international attention should be focused on the plight of three American hikers who have been languishing in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison for six months. … 1

February 7, 2010 on Page B8 I keep hearing Democrats complain that Republicans don’t have a health care plan, but they do. It’s just that it doesn’t achieve the same goal of covering more Americans. House … 3

February 7, 2010 on Page B8 It was toward the end of President Obama’s riveting visit on Jan. 29 with the House Republicans in Baltimore – a rare 90 minutes of candor on both sides that …

February 7, 2010 on Page B8 In a reasonable world, a public-safety measure like one the Idaho Legislature should see in the coming days would not be necessary. But sometimes the world is decidedly unreasonable – … 15

February 7, 2010 on Page B9 Amanda Colin didn’t hesitate when Spokane County threatened to cut its methadone treatment program last summer. She and a group of other patients met with county commissioners to tell them … 2

February 6, 2010 on Page B4 “I am not an ideologue,” President Obama protested at a gathering with Republican House members last week. Perhaps, but he does have a tenacious commitment to a set of political …

February 6, 2010 on Page B4 Sunbelt-and-sprawl advocate Joel Kotkin wrote two years ago that the future of American urbanism wasn’t in the “elite cities,” such as New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but …

February 6, 2010 on Page B4 Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s proposal to end the subsidy for Idaho Public Television raises interesting theoretical questions: Is this something government should be funding? Couldn’t it be fully privatized? Yes, …

February 6, 2010 on Page B5 No legislator would welcome the closure of a vital, job-producing and community-impacting facility within his or her district. So when the Pine Lodge Corrections Center in Medical Lake appeared on … 1

February 5, 2010 on Page A17 Howard Zinn, legendary historian, author and activist, died last week at age 87. His most famous book is “A People’s History of the United States.” Zinn told me last May, … 1

February 5, 2010 on Page A17 The Obama administration is calling for significant revisions to the No Child Left Behind Act to align good intentions with reality. The current law did an admirable job of highlighting … 1

February 4, 2010 on Page A9 My favorite thing about J.D. Salinger wasn’t his seminal work – or his most famous character, Holden Caulfield – but how little I knew of him, thanks to his relentless …