‘Attagirls’ are much cheaper

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter recently held a “Women’s Day in the Capitol” to spotlight the important work women are doing in his administration. Meanwhile, The S-R’s Boise reporter, Betsy Z. Russell, found that “of the 77 state agency heads on the state’s payroll on that date, 50 were men and 27 were women. Average pay for the male state agency heads was $109,658; average pay for the female state agency heads was $88,681.”

When asked about that, Otter said he’d need to analyze the numbers, but added: “I’m telling you this: If Nancy Merrill became the head of the Department of Corrections, she would get Brent Reinke’s salary.… If there’s inequities, then we oughta correct them where we can and as soon as we can.”

It’s nice to know that Merrill would get a man’s salary for the same job, but when Pam Lowe was replaced as the head of the Idaho Transportation Department by a man, he was awarded $22,000 more per year.

Oh well, at least the women get their own special day.

Tax Advantage. Idaho State Rep. Phil Hart is behind on his state and federal income taxes because of a “principled” stand against them and delinquent on his property taxes because, well, he just hasn’t gotten around to it, unlike the 88 percent of Kootenai County residents who pay on time.

But none of this appears to have hurt him politically, because he is running unopposed for re-election. It wouldn’t surprise me if these revelations have helped him, given the anti-tax fervor of the Gem State. Call it representation without taxation. How long do you suppose it will be before other candidates begin to fall behind on payments to get ahead politically? Could spawn some interesting ads:

“My opponent denies paying his taxes, but we have the records to prove that he does! Elect me. I’m years in arrears!”

The Grumpiest Generation? The latest Gallup Poll reports that 49 percent of respondents have a favorable view of the new health care law and 46 percent don’t. Democrats and progressives like it by a wide margin. Republicans really, really don’t. More independents dislike it than like it.

Younger people (18 to 29) generally like it. Older people (65 and up) generally do not. Those in between are almost evenly split. Senior citizens dislike it by a wide margin, 60-39. That’s right, the only nonmilitary group in the country with single-payer, government-run health care dislikes the fact that younger folks will also be gaining access to care.

Never mind that the legislation closes the nefarious “doughnut hole” in the prescription drug benefit or that Medicare will continue to exist.

Sure, Medicare Advantage is being targeted, because it costs more per enrollee. And the waste in Medicare itself is getting a long overdue look. But that’s because we need the money to help those who have no health care coverage. Is that really too much to ask?

No excuse. On his “Best Defense” blog, Tom Ricks, who wrote the terrific Iraq War book “Fiasco,” had this observation just before President Barack Obama dumped Gen. Stanley McChrystal:

“I’ve noticed an interesting pattern in my e-mails over the last 24 hours regarding the question of whether McChrystal should be fired. That is, the more someone knows about the military, the more likely they are to call for his removal. Political types, by contrast, don’t see what the big deal is.”

EMPTY GEsture. I was on vacation in Utah when the executioners pulled their triggers on double murderer Ronnie Lee Gardner. A curious feature of the Utah firing squad is that four of the five marksmen are given live rounds and one is given a “dummy” cartridge, which simulates the recoil but isn’t lethal. The idea is that the shooters can’t be certain they killed him, just in case such a thing might weigh on their consciences.

This isn’t practiced for any other form of execution. I can’t fathom why shooters need to be “protected” while those administering lethal injections are not. Besides, it’s the state that is responsible for the killing. For that reason, I think executions should be televised, so citizens can see what’s being done on their behalf.