"Look, if we had the rules that the Republicans have, I'd already be the nominee."

Let's review ...  read more »

Today the Congress passed the foreclosure prevention act. This is the first real legislation I have seen that looks to help the American Homeowner who is danger of losing his/her home. It gives money so that the loans can be renegotiated at the current value of the homes. This bill could help 1.5 American families stay in their homes. I was so happy....

But wait.... first all but one democrat voted for the bill... Bill Sali and Mike Simpson Voted against the Bill. I guess that Sali and Simpson do not care about homeowners in trouble. It gets worse....  read more »

Bad news in the South East Idaho - Mexican Flag in the trash?

http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2008/05/07/news/local_state/136244.txt

Recently, a Minico High School student had a Mexican flag taken from him while celebrating Cinco de Mayo on school grounds. Reportedly, the flag was then thrown in the trash.  read more »

See the full article; click here.

Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidates Debbie Holmes and David Sneddon both live in Boiseand work in real estate, but for political purposes, their similarities pretty much end there.

Holmes, 46, is a newcomer to politics who decided to run for office at the urging of her 21-year-old son,Jesse, a junior studying political science at the College of Idaho. Holmes' stances mirror those of her son, who's serving as her policy researcher, and are generally in line with the platforms of the party's progressive wing.  read more »

From the Walt Minnick for Congress campaign:

Minnick thanks drivers for stopping by, sharing concerns

For immediate release
May 6, 2008
3:00 PM

Walt Minnick this afternoon thanked hundreds of Idahoans for supporting his efforts to call attention to Bill Sali's failed energy policy.

"We heard some amazing stories today," Minnick said. "People told us that high gas prices are forcing choices. For some people that means not being able to visit family or enjoy a trip to the mountains. For others, like one woman we met, the choices are harder. She said that without today's gas discount, she wouldn't have been able to take her kids to school and drive herself to work."  read more »

Its over already. We've all done the math. We can wait to see if Hillary exercizes the nuclear option but its a divisive game for idle speculation. As we go through the end of the primary election cycle things become rote. And we must suffer the the little media children obligated to focus on a story that is dry as dirt. There's nothing salacious, Wright is back in the south side, and there's nothing left for them to do but listen to Hillary's pundits try to spin a victory out of her most assured defeat. But for those of you that must be glued to watch tonight's (yawn) election tally here's a primer to enable you to parse the bullshit.  read more »

You do? Well then, Democratic candidate for congress Walt Minnick is the man with the plan for your thirsty fuel can:

Cheap gas in Boise on Tuesday, May 6

Minnick campaign partners with local business to
offer gas at $2.26 per gallon from 10 to 11 a.m.

The Minnick for Congress campaign is partnering with the Cole Village Chevron station to offer discounted gas for one hour on Tuesday, May 6. Walt Minnick will be at the station tomorrow from 10 to 11 a.m., pumping gas and talking to drivers.

The gas will be discounted Tuesday at the exact time Congressman Bill Sali sits down to a $1,000-a-plate lunch with oil lobbyists in Washington, D.C. The lunchtime fundraiser for the Sali campaign has been advertised via e-mail.

“This is exactly what’s wrong with Washington,” Minnick said Monday. “Idahoans are being pummeled at the pump while their congressman is hobnobbing with the very people who are getting filthy rich from high gas prices. Sali should be taking a tough stance with the oil lobbyists, not looking to them for a handout.”

Regular gasoline at the Cole Village Chevron is currently $3.59 per gallon. From 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, the station will sell regular for $2.26 a gallon, the price in January 2007 when Sali took office. The Minnick for Congress campaign will pay the difference.

“The people of Idaho deserve a man in Washington who will work for them, not someone who works for people making record profits on the backs of Idaho drivers,” Minnick said.

You know you're starting to panic the dark powers-that-be in the Rethuglican Party when somebody or -bodies break into your campaign headquarters (paging G. Gordon Liddy, Mr Liddy, please pick up the red discourtesy phone...). The LaRocco campaign reports:

An unknown person or persons broke into the Boise campaign headquarters of U.S. Senate candidate Larry LaRocco around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.

A criminal report was filed with the Boise Police Department, who are investigating. Nothing appeared to be stolen, meaning the intruder or intruders left thousands of dollars of equipment untouched. It is unknown whether campaign documents or computer files were inspected by the intruders.

“We will not know whether this was a politically motivated break-in or just a random act of senseless violence until the Boise police conclude their investigation,” said Bob Stout, campaign manager for LaRocco for Senate. “We would like to thank the police for their prompt and professional work.”

The campaign office is on 919 27th Street, Boise, Idaho. The damage to the door was estimated at over $200.

LaRocco, a former U.S. Representative, was out of town at an event in Idaho Falls. He has 13 paid campaign staff, a multitude of volunteers across the state and a field office in Twin Falls.

D2 and I have an alibi -- we were at the Bonneville County Democrats' Truman Banquet in Idaho Falls, as was Larry LaRocco. Tara Rowe at The Political Game, however...

Not interviewed for this article, Rethuglican U.S. Senate candidate Jim 'Angry Gnome' Risch did not say in his squeaky-high voice, "I certainly can account for my time during the break-in. At 12:30 PM I was... um... doing my "marital duties" with Idaho's Second Lady Mrs. Risch. At 12:31, I completed my husbandly effort and spent the next two and a half hours in deep slumber. I then woke up and attended to my... ah... 'constitutional' for the next hour. Milk of Magnesia and bran -- whooo, boy, you don't wanna know!" Angry Gnome Risch also did not say that, after using nearly an entire pack of Tucks Hemorrhoidal Pads, he shrank in height an additional 3 inches.

Myers' Law says every creationist argument will be built on false premises that expose the arguers ignorance.

• Red State Rebels: New West scoops up Press Club honor
  Congratulations to Jill Kuraitis and everyone at New West for New West Boise's second-place honor in the general excellence category for "print" websites in the Idaho Press Club's 2007 Awards, which were given out Saturday night here in Boise.

• The Unequivocal Notion: A Seasonal Disguise and The Very Most @ Market Limone
  It was a great show in Downtown Nampa last night from two extremely talented songwriters.

• The Political Game: Cutting the Budget, Cutting Access
  An interesting story appeared in the Times-News today, a story that either hasn't been printed or went unnoticed in Pocatello, and should for every reason be disconcerting to students and anyone interested in the accessibility of higher education in rural Idaho.

• NewWest Boise: Idaho’s Village Green Development Files for Bankruptcy
  The Village Green at the Valley Club, a new high-end subdivision and golf course development in Ketchum, Idaho, filed last week for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, owing more than $24 million to its creditors.

• Fort Boise: Press On
  The nice thing about the Idaho Press Club Best of 2007 Annual Awards is that there seems to be something for everybody; looks like more than 400 prizes.

• Ridenbaugh Press: Editing down at the LMT
  The editorial page at the Lewiston Tribune has been - has been literally for decades - one of the region’s newspaper treasures: Uncommonly sharply and brightly written editorials, two of them a day, and a solid roster of columns.

• Arbitrary and Capricious: Mawashi 'ed up
  I can only avert my eyes in awe of the awesome awfulness of a local colleague's Craigslist ad:

• Eye on Boise: Why Risch declined
  In a letter to the organizers of the “Idaho Debates,” Lt. Gov. Jim Risch’s campaign spokesman, his son Jason, wrote, “We chose to participate in the KTVB debate rather than the League of Women Voters debate because of its format, and because of its wide circulation to Idaho voters.

• Morialekafa: What for?
  Anonymous: Of course if 88% of blacks are voting for Obama it is racist. That would seem to go without saying. At the moment this would seem to be in the nature of the case.

• IdaBlue: McCain on economics
  [. . .]

• The MountainGoat Report: Injustice Anywhere . . .
  Boise based PrideDEPOT describes their latest special feature as: a story about queers in rural America, where being out of the closet means facing powerful people who demonize you.

• IdahoRocks: Just Another Day...
  Ah, the days pass quickly and blend into each other all too easily... Last Friday the Boundary County Democrats had a great Spaghetti Fundraiser/Auction.

• Rob's Idaho Perspective: Close Encounters
  This is a continuation of my previous post on our adventures in Yellowstone National Park titled Live, Love, and Die.

• Left Side of the Moon: Dementness
  Just a bit of an update . . . . we’ve been absolutely consumed with the affairs dealing with my dad. We go to the attorney’s office this morning to seek emergency guardianship.

• PaleoMedia.org: The Daily Newsrack
  Is 2nd District Judge John Bradbury’s challenge of Justice Joel Horton a thinly veiled partisan race or is it about cutting court costs?

Jill Kuraitis deserves high marks for breaking the story on the Kuwaiti sand, tainted with lead and depleted uranium, being shipped into the Idaho desert for disposal. This shipment makes little sense. Many have commented that this "sand" has very low levels of radioactivity making it appear not so toxic. Which begs the question of why then was it so important to ship such innocuous sand half way round the world to little ol' Idaho and the site run by publicly traded American Ecology Corporation. On the one hand, AEC states that the Kuwaitis certainly didn't want this bad sand mixed in with their good sand. So why does Idaho need it here when Idahoans already paid in blood and treasure for the privilege of destroying of all those pesky Iraqi tanks for the Kuwaitis?  read more »

Thanks for the earlier post.

There continues to be misinformation circulated regarding this case. I would like to clarify some of those issues.

I moved to District 15 in April of 2007. I am an Idaho native and have lived in Boise for approximately 9 years. I am currently a registered voter of District 15. I was a registered voter of District 15 when I submitted my application for candidacy to the Secretary of States office. I am politically active and have been for many years. I fully intended to vote in the general election in November of 2007, casting my ballot for David Bieter, but circumstances called me out of town at the last minute and I had to leave before I was able to arrange for an absentee ballot. I did not register prior to that time since Idaho allows for same day registration.  read more »

I've figured it out. Conservatives can't read, or comprehend what they've read, for shit. How else to explain them taking a NASA press release that states that a shift in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) may cause a 20-30 year cooling cycle and end up with ridiculous claims like this:

...NASA was also quick to point out that such natural phenomena should not confuse the issue of manmade greenhouse gas induced global warming which apparently will be going on behind the scenes while our teeth are chattering from a decade and a half long cold spell.

Wow, they really make them stupid over at "American Thinker", don't they?  read more »

From Jill at New West (they broke the story):

The U.S. Army is shipping 6,700 tons of contaminated sand to Idaho from Kuwait. It will arrive at American Ecology in Grandview, Idaho, sometime in May.

And then our own Bubbles wades into the comments to compare apples to refried beans:  read more »

Last Monday, April 28, Matt Yost took his case against Secretary of State Ben Ysursa straight to the Idaho Supreme Court. In his Petition, Yost asked the Court to order the Secretary of State to reinstate his candidacy, and to declare that voter registration is not a requirement for candidate eligibility, as the SOS has maintained.

Below is a portion of a story about the case that recently ran in the Idaho Statesman.

At issue are two constitutional provisions, according to legal documents filed in the case.

The first, which covers qualifications for an "elector," or someone who can run for office, reads:

"Every male or female citizen of the United States, eighteen years old, who has resided in this state and in the county where he or she offers to vote for the period of time provided by law, if registered as provided by law, is a qualified elector."

The second covers qualifications for election to the Legislature and requires that a legislator "shall have resided within the legislative district one year next preceding the general election at which he offers his candidacy."  read more »

If you support Debbie Holmes for Congress in CD2 please write a letter to the editor of your local paper (and maybe others). Points to concentrate on might be that I am a main line democrat (if there is such a thing), health care reform, education, climate change, the housing crisis, the recession (OK its not official), the rising cost of energy and food, the war in Iraq. Obviously, pick one or two of your favorites when you write.  read more »

If you haven't been following some of the more snarky web pages lately, such as Sadly, No! or The Rude Pundit you're really missing out on one of the top Conservative meltdowns of all time.

Witness, now, the glory that is the Porn King Dragon!  read more »

From Idaho's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Larry LaRocco:

Lansdowne, Virginia – Despite running a vigorous U.S. Senate campaign, former U.S. Rep. Larry LaRocco took time to raise money for veterans and their families. His likely opponent, Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, was back East last week, taking cash from pharmaceutical and tobacco companies.

Today, 5:30 p.m., LaRocco will be auctioneer for Fisher House Foundation, a group that shelters families of military service members. The charity donates “comfort homes,” built on the grounds of major VA or military hospitals, to keep families close to loved ones receiving medical care. Monday’s charity auction, in Lansdowne, VA, caps the Fisher House Charity Golf Tournament, an event recognized by the Department of Defense program, “America Supports You.”

LaRocco, a Vietnam-era U.S. Army veteran, has worked as a volunteer auctioneer for the group two years running.

The former congressman’s charity work contrasts with Risch’s favorite charity—himself.

Risch visited the nation’s capital city, last week to raise money at a party thrown by Washington, D.C., lobbyists Jeffrey Kimbell and Rick Murphy of R.B. Murphy & Associates The pair work for big drug and tobacco companies, among others.

Thou shalt not kill except for a long list of good reasons is like saying you should not covet your neighbor's wife unless she's hot.

• Red State Rebels: Weekend edition 4/25-27 and open thread
  Welcome to another weekend! Here are a few events happening this weekend and beyond. Add more in the comments.

• The Unequivocal Notion: Is it just me...
  ...that thinks having the "Boise Metro Regional Leadership Conference" in the Wood River Valley just a little stupid?

• The Political Game: Smothered
  In chess, when your king goes down at the hand of your opponent's knight because your own men have you trapped, it's what they call "smothered mate."

• NewWest Boise: Weekend Essay: Blue Blankie Panic
  I’m spending my weekend making a blankie for a six-year-old I’ve never met, but it’s an emergency.

• Fort Boise: Test of Obedience
  At some point, I guess you have to make a stand for common sense. Carl Chew drew the line on one more round of high-stakes testing for his elementary school students, and got suspended for his trouble.

• Ridenbaugh Press: Don’t watch this at work
  Hadn’t watched the Ron Wyden health plan video; just didn’t quite seem to make it to the top of the stack.

• Arbitrary and Capricious: ID: Duncan DP defense team DUI
  From KTVB: Attorney for Duncan charged with DUI, possessing pot

• Eye on Boise: Another sign of spring
  Idahoans have to remove their studded snow tires before May 1 – that’s Thursday.

• F-Words: Recovery blog
  I've decided to start a new blog to keep track of my recovery experience, called "Like I Need a Hole in my Head."

• Morialekafa: Tasers and bullets
  Another young man, 24 year old graduate student, dies from being tasered.

• IdaBlue: Wolves gotta eat, too
  The Statesman's article on the lady who apparently fed cats to her wolves has sparked a lively discussion in the comments section, and has brought out cat haters and lovers.

• The MountainGoat Report: Minnick Tops Competitiveness Chart
  Swing State Project has compiled a competitiveness chart based on a first quarter cash-on-hand comparison between the challenger and the incumbent in the top seventy-five U.S. House races this election cycle.

• Rob's Idaho Perspective: Coyotes and Carcasses
  Yesterday we departed on a trip to Yellowstone National Park for some wildlife and bird watching.

• The Royal Northwest Mounted Valise: Continuing Signs of the Decline of Civilization
  One responsibility we take quite seriously here at the Valise is to report on the continuing signs of human devolution.

• PaleoMedia.org: PaleoMedia.org’s Hot 10 primary races
  With about six weeks to go until Idaho’s Primary Elections, PaleoMedia.org is picking the 10 hottest races across the state.

Via the good folks at United Action for Idaho:

Register NOW for Camp Wellstone! Today is the LAST DAY register for this amazing experience! To register, and for more information, click here to go to the Wellstone Action website.

This is an amazing 2 1/2 day experience for anyone who wants to help create change in our state!

As someone who has attended Camp Wellstone in Caldwell in the past, I can't encourage folks enough -- sign up now and attend! Camp Wellstone is the best training a volunteer, campaign worker or candidate can receive, and from what I've heard, we're not going to get the Wellstone trainers back in Idaho for a long time.

As previously, this year's training will be held at the College of Idaho in Caldwell next month, May 16th through the 18th. There are three tracks you can choose from: Citizen Activist, Working on a Campaign, or Being a Candidate.

Click Here Now to sign up for Camp Wellstone, or call (651) 414-6037 for more information.

Life kills you, and everything gives you cancer. 2nd law of thermogoddamics.

• Red State Rebels: GOP riding to Sali's rescue
  As reported Thursday on BoiseWeekly.com, the Republican establishment seems to be waking up to the fact that Bill Sali is lagging in the moolah department.

• The Unequivocal Notion: More Idaho Legislature failures
  As a "cat" person, this story has just gotten sicker and sicker as the days unfold and more news is released.

• The Political Game: When Art Collides
  When I first read Dubliners, I was not immediately comfortable with the prose of James Joyce. I was intimidated by a literary name and not entirely open to the idea of connecting with any of his characters.

• NewWest Boise: Wide Stance an Expensive Dance for Larry Craig
  Funny footwork in airport bathrooms doesn't pay.

• Fort Boise: Petra Principle
  Rumors of McCain's interest in yet another blonde of a certain age, Carly Fiorina, for his running mate.

• Ridenbaugh Press: The local paper, 2.0
  The newly newspaper-less counties in Idaho who just got word their weeklies in Shoshone and Rupert will be closed, might have another option.

• Arbitrary and Capricious: ID: sounds like Duncan's a volunteer
  In several recent posts on the Spokesman-Review's "Eye on Boise" blog, reporter Betsy Russell has foreshadowed where admitted murderer Joseph Duncan is heading with his request to represent himself in his federal death penalty phase:

• Eye on Boise: Paper: ‘Some things you don’t trifle with’
  Now that U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson has served notice that he’ll move his Idaho Falls offices out of a building owned by former state GOP Chairman Blake Hall, because Hall blocked peaceful anti-war protesters from the premises, he’s winning praise from the local newspaper, the Post Register, which said in an editorial today, “Some things you don’t trifle with.

• F-Words: You know, it's true: not having an eating disorder is like having cancer.
  Via Gawker, Emily Brill sez: And If I don't watch every piece of food (and drink) that goes into my mouth and keep up a vigorous cardio and strength training regimen, I will get fat again.

• Blog for Idaho: On Larry Grant’s exit
  I’m in the process of opening a new insurance office in the Boise area (and consequently neglecting my blogly duties, sorry). Today I was up there signing some papers and took the opportunity to meet with 2nd District Congressional candidate Debbie Holmes, who I’m serving as campaign treasurer for.

• Morialekafa: Running while black
  We know that people often get stopped for “driving while black.” They even sometimes are stopped for walking black. Indeed, it is not entirely uncommon for people to be stopped just for being black.

• IdaBlue: Still here
  I haven't been posting much lately because I've had other distractions, and, with the onset of the allergy season, haven't had much energy to post.

• The MountainGoat Report: Sali, Minnick and Money
  Boise Weekly reported today that Idaho Congressman Bill Sali held a swanky D.C. fundraiser yesterday, raking in $66,000 in one night.

• IdahoRocks: They Say It's Your Birthday....
  Ya, it is. There's an inch of snow of the ground and the sun is shining. Me and Mother Nature are tight!

• Rob's Idaho Perspective: Sunday, April 20, 2008
  My favorite science story of the week comes from the latest book I just finished, The Singing Life of Birds.

• United Action for Idaho blog: Tax Day Action
  This morning members of United Action for Idaho, the Idaho Peace Coalition and others joined together to make a statement about how our tax money is being spent.

• Left Side of the Moon: How Misogynist is This?
  My father for all his foibles had six daughters who he would tell from time to time, ‘you can do anything or be anything you want.’ It was his way of telling us we were just as capable or smart, even more so, than ‘the boys.’

• The Royal Northwest Mounted Valise: Washington Teacher Practices Civil Disobedience
  Carl Chew, a Seattle science teacher, has been placed on two week suspension without pay for refusing to give his sixth-graders the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

• Bill Sali Fan: Congressman Bill Sali Lives His Beliefs!
  A lot of Congressman talk about wanting a balanced budget, but only Bill Sali, Hero of the Owyhees, is enough of a leader to actually walk the talk.

• PaleoMedia.org: Craig to write energy book
  Idaho Sen. Larry Craig recently revealed that he plans to write a book about the nation's energy future after he leaves the Senate.