And another thing …

Is Iraq’s press free, or just marked down? After being scolded a few months ago for buying favorable commentary in some American news media, the federal government is now reported to have used a similar strategy in Iraq.

A Washington, D.C., public relations firm has been paying Baghdad newspapers to run stories that were produced by U.S. military personnel and translated into Arabic, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times. It’s not that the stories were untrue, just that they were deliberately one-sided, emphasizing U.S. accomplishments and leaving out anything that would put the U.S. or Iraqi government in a bad light. Paid propaganda, in other words.

If you find this tactic inconsistent with the free-press tradition embodied in the democratic principles we hope to see in Iraq, remember that Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton used it, too. Maybe the Pentagon just wants to launch democracy in Iraq from the same starting point we used in the United States.

Taxing decisions. For the second time this year, Kootenai County residents are experiencing a decrease in their sales tax.

In July, the state of Idaho eliminated its temporary sales tax of a penny. Today, the county will quit collecting the half-cent, local-option sales tax because it has paid off the object of the tax – a $12 million jailhouse expansion. The half-cent also provided an equal amount in property tax relief, as required by law.

Now, county residents will pay only the state’s 5 percent sales tax. But they will receive no property tax relief because last month they rejected the chance to extend the local-option tax to pay for a $50 million jail expansion. When property tax bills are mailed out next November, Kootenai County residents will discover firsthand why they should have approved the once-popular, local-option measure.

They’re making a list. Publications crank out superficial “Best City” listings at such a dizzying rate, it’s difficult to keep track. Only cities with self-esteem issues could possible take them seriously. Enter Spokane.

Men’s Health magazine says our region gets an A minus for its relative paucity of erectile dysfunction occurrences. That’s an amazing feat when you consider that the same magazine called us one of the tipsier cities. Yes, we got an F for alcohol abuse. That’s not too bright, and don’t think that has gone unnoticed. A list of “Smartest Cities” places Spokane 60th.

But let’s not confuse smart with intelligent, because Spokane was called one of the world’s seven-most intelligent cities for having embraced broadband technology. That’s not all we embrace. We’re also one of the best places to raise children. That might be because we’re hard to rattle, what with the city being the fifth safest in terms of natural disasters.

So what does it all mean? Well, we have our strengths and weaknesses, but you can’t call us listless.