Rep. Walt Minnick told the Moscow Daily-News regarding going back to Congress for another term. It's no biggie:

"I would like to go back. If I don't, that's not the end of the world."

(Hat Tip: The Political Game.)

I wonder if Minnick told that to Barney Frank and friends when he showed up for a big political fundraiser in Washingtona few months back. Minnick has...read more

The Idaho Conservative Blogger got an audience or at least an e-mail audience with my Congressman Mike Simpson and they asked about a somewhat caustic remark I wrote last month:

Well, Simpson is so confident, he's done the political equivalent of walking out on the battlefield in t-shirt and gym shorts. When he's back in his district, he doesn't hold town hall meetings where his constituents can ask him questions. He doesn't have representatives show up at Central Committee meetings, which is a good thing as his staff makes the downtown DMV look like the Missionaries of Charity. I've gotten more polite service at a Subway near BSU. That says something."

"Simpson has taken his position for granted. Even Simpson's fundraising numbers are weak. They're the numbers of a man whose political career has become a never-ending victory lap. Now, he faces a challenge. Not two unknown challengers throwing in their hats at the last minute before the filing deadline, but one challenger who is raising money and building an organization in a year when incumbency will offer less advantage than any year since 1994."

Simpson...read more

The media made a big deal out of Congressman Sali's issues with the FEC, which later turned out not to be his fault.

Well Congressman Simpson seems to have run into a little bit of a problem as he received a Disavowal notice from the FEC for not filing a statement of candidacy, which is legally required. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, so having this issue happen in 2009 wouldn't be...read more

What would happen if the immortal detectives, Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown met with a brutal murder to solve?

This is the fascinating question posed by Rev. Stephen Kendrick's 2001 Book, Night Watch. The plot of the story is that Sherlock's Holmes' brother, Mycroft, the British's government's most indispensible man as Sherlock Holmes described him, calls his younger brother...read more

Cheers to Governor Butch Otter who has set up a website for citizens to provide feedback for how Government can tighten its belt during these hard economic times. Said Otter, ""We need your help. Government does not have a monopoly on good ideas." Indeed, they don't, Governor, however an anti-trust lawsuit may be forthcoming against government on the other type.

Boos to...read more

Boos to Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Planned Parenthood) for his vote for funding abortion through Obamacare. His vote for Planned Parenthood and NARAL v. his constituents is telling. The people of the first district don't want their tax dollars to subsidize abortion. On the other token, Minnick's own folks are not happy about his vote against the underlying bill, so I don't think he's long...read more

Cheers to Dave Frazier of the Boise Guardian. On his blog, the Idaho Statesman's Kevin Richert referenced that Boise City Council Candidate Dave Litster is referring to Mayor Bieter's downtown trolley as the Folly Trolley. Of course, the term is not of Litster's making, it was originally coined by Frazier on the Boise Guardian as he has reported on politicians' seeming love affair...read more

Boos to Governor Butch Otter (R-Id.) who declared himselfopen to delaying the long-delayed grocery tax credits due to the budget crisis.Idahoans needs tax relief and Otter's decision to hold out during a recession is bad.

While Otter should be praised for not actually raising taxes, his conduct of this budget crisis has not been awe-inspiring. In his old age, Otter has decided every part and...read more

Got an e-mail last night from the Ward for Congress campaign wanting to be sure that we are all aware that National Journal had called the fundraising efforts of his opponent, "small potatoes."

Well, that's really relevant because we know that the quality of potential Congressional representation can be judged based on the size of the campaign's bank account. That's why we...read more

Boos to Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and those continuing to back a train despite finding out it would cost $374 million of our grandkids tax dollars to upgrade the tracksplus an ongoing of subsidy of $25 million per annum. Dave Frasier at the Boise Guardian Estimates that for the price of the upgrade, we could buy 1500 busesand have one leaving for Portland or Salt Lake every minute of every...read more

I'm a huge fan of Old Time Radio. With all the political news going on, it's been a nice way to relax. I have two old time radio podcasts and am working on a third that will be even better.

Anyway, I was curious if there was old time radio news. I did a Google News Search. And yes, there was Old Time Radio news, but one item had a twist. A resident of Brookline, Mass. gave a collection of 4,000 original Old Time Radio Recordings to Boston University...read more

Want to take a course on how to use Twitter or Facebook or learn about your reincarnated past as Marie Antoinette's cousin. Then Boise Community Education might be for you.

I just received the catalog in the mail from the Boise School District. I don't mean to trivialize the program. In fact, there are some facinating courses out there that teach useful skills. Others provide fairly low...read more

Last night, Andrea and i watched, "Come What May" a film released this year by Patrick Henry College.

The film follows Caleb, a nineteen year old college student as he struggles with issues of right and wrong in his quest to win the National Moot Court Championship.

I have to say that Caleb comes from a beautifully geeky family, which argues modern political issues by writing Latin...read more

• Cheers: To the Nampa Classical Academyfor filing suit to appeal the ridiculous ruling of the Idaho Public Charter School Commission barring the use of the Bible as instructional material. Look, the state shouldn't try and teach people a creed. In a state that has Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Mormons among others, there's no way the state can or should teach theology. We got it. However, the role of the Bible in the history and literature of Western civilization is huge and to deny that important component in their education is doing a disservice to students in the name of a war against religion and the Bible.
• Cheers to Boise City Council Candidate Lucas Baumbach: Who has kept the heat on the city of Boisefor Partisan poll closure decisions coming out of City Hall. City leaders should have hell to pay for trying to disenfranchise conservative precincts. The question is whether voters will come out and make them pay the price.
• Cheers to Idaho Governor Butch Otter: Otter got one thing right during the last session. He didn't spend all of the State's reserves to avoid cuts in education. Otter left healthy reserve accounts, which will come in handy as the state is experiencing revenue shortfalls. Had Otter listened to short-sighted Democrats and some Republicans and avoided hard decisions during the last session, he'd have met this crisis with no safety net. Procrastination doesn't make budget cutting easier and now most state agencies are getting time to adjust.
• Boos to the Minnesota Vikings: They cut Ian Johnson. 'nuff said.
• Boos to Tim Kirkman, the playwrite who will premier his play about the Larry Craig scandal in Boise. The play is called, "Wide Stance." Apparently Idahoans didn't suffer enough during the scandal and Craig's relentless efforts to hold onto his seat until the very last day. Kirkman said he wouldn't be inviting Craig to the performance and that he "feels bad for him." Here's an idea. If you feel bad for Senator Craig, don't make the play. And if that's not enough, give some love to his constituents and don't premier it here.

So, by now, gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell's Obama tags story has been across the wires and around the nation. For those who didn't read it, here are the facts:

After an audience member shouted a question about "Obama tags" during a discussion on wolves, Rammell responded, "The Obama tags? We'd buy some of those."

Rammell, a veterinarian and former elk rancher from Idaho Falls, said his comment was a joke and he would never seriously talk about President Obama that way, although he doesn't support anything Obama's done as president.

"I was just being sarcastic. That was just a joke," Rammell said. "I would never support him being assassinated.

"She kind of caught me off guard, to be honest with you."

That...read more