Outrage Better Received If Actor Would Register, Vote

Hmmm. Seems actor Bruce Willis has been so busy pushing an initiative to stop nuclear waste shipments to Idaho he hasn’t registered to vote - for the nine years he’s lived here. In a recent column, Dan Popkey of the Idaho Statesman captured Willis’ rantings and chest-thumping on the nuclear-waste issue before popping the big question: Are you registered to vote? Willis claimed he was, but he couldn’t produce a piece of paper to prove it. Said he: “I voted in this state - I voted in the last election here.” Popkey then had the unpleasant duty of telling him that the Blaine County clerk said otherwise. After the interview, Norma Douglas, director of Stop the Shipments, dashed to the courthouse to get Willis signed up to vote. Quoth she: “That’s not good for our credibility.” Bingo.

Only ‘D’ cups need seek counsel

So, what quality does the new president of the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association admire most in others? “Big hooters,” apparently. In an otherwise informative piece in the Coeur d’Alene Press Sunday, Coeur d’Alene attorney Mike Verbillis stumbled badly when he put a woman’s cup size at the top of his favorite-trait list. Now, I have little tolerance for political correctness, and I’d guess Verbillis was trying to be funny. But the comment was way over the line - particularly for someone who heads a state organization that routinely defends women against abusers and rapists. The offhand remark says to mothers, wives, daughters and sisters that no matter what they achieve in life their principal value to men (or at least to male attorneys) is measured by the sum of their parts. Nothing else. No wonder feminists contend we males think only with our groins.

Chamber conjures odd lodging numbers

North Idaho tourism information provided by the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce recently was as fictitious as its release date: June 31. Chamber spin doctors painted a rosy picture of how hotel and lodging sales were up 25.8 percent in April over the same month a year ago. But they couldn’t fool Post Falls resort owner Bob Templin. Bob called Boise for the straight scoop. Seems the hotel and lodging tax revenue from North Idaho actually was down $3,000 from the same month last year. Idaho’s Mr. Hospitality wondered: If the tax on rooms dropped, how could occupancy in North Idaho rise? Good question. Hotel consultants also show occupancy rates are down throughout Idaho. If the chamber continues to feed news outlets bogus information, I’d recommend that it begin its releases: “Once upon a time …”

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