MeAndG's blog

Crossposted On Daily Kos

"Yeah, I you know when I drink alone/ I prefer to be by myself." - George Thorogood.

(NOTE: It could also be called a nightmare)

So you think you can blog?

You call yourself a progressive, a liberal, a Democrat or something along those lines?

Do you live and blog outside of Idaho?

Ha!

Come join us.

Here's why:

As I wrote in my recent entry: UPDATED: Idaho Senator Mike Crapo charged with drunken driving:

Idaho:

One large land mass.

One small population.

One political party filled with more screw-ups than you can fit in an average class at the Betty Ford Center.

Nice going!

Great family values!

Way to set an example for our children! (triple snark)

Yeah, there is not much out here, except for one thing: a target rich environment to bust on Republicans!

Can your state beat our list of anti-GOP blogging topics?

Just when you thought it was safe (or if you were ready to be bored), Crapo, for example, recently plead guilty to drunk driving. The senator said he felt like he owed people a full explanation of his behavior and took questions outside the courthouse.

Idaho's GOP: the gift that keeps on giving.

Crapo gave an apologetic statement where he acknowledged that he been drinking alcohol on occasion for the past year or so, in violation of the tenets of his Mormon faith.

Crapo said he had been drinking vodka and tonic at his Washington home on the night of Dec. 22, became restless, couldn't sleep and went out for a drive.

.

Crapo said he was not with anyone at the time, was not going to see anyone and was not coming or going from seeing anybody.

Well that covers just about everybody (gay, straight, male female, and other) doesn't it?

"In recent months, and for less than a year, I have on occasion had alcoholic drinks in my apartment in Washington, DC. It was a poor choice to use alcohol to relieve stress—and one at odds with my personally-held religious beliefs. However, on the night of Saturday, December 22nd, I made another even worse decision to go for a drive to get out of my apartment and try to wind down. I left my apartment, driving out past the monuments. I was alone during this drive and never left my vehicle. After driving around for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, I realized what a mistake it had been for me to drive and decided to return to my apartment. I approached a multi-street intersection and mistakenly turned against a red light. It was at that time that the police pulled me over.

On Daily Kos, I asked: You think you can have more fun blogging about Republicans in your state?

Take at look at these jabs:

Sisyphus Idaho:

I'm feeling restless. I think I'll go for a drive. --not said by a drunk 61 year old at night ever.

And

... Interesting that he was now drinking vodka tonics. So let me get this straight. The senate adjourned on December 21 due to return December 26. His family is in (Idaho Falls). He's still in DC 48 hours later, drinking, alone and restless. Not passing the smell test.

Spitball:

So you think your Republicans are more twisted, demented, and downright backwards that ours here in Idaho?

Who is your Larry Craig, your John McGee?

Where is your Rex Rammell and your Bill Sali?

In about a month we are going to have another topic which is sure to disconnect readers from any imaginable reality.

Tag.

You're it!
 read more »

Crossposted on Daily Kos

News recently broke that Senator Mike Crapo will not contest his DUI:

Police have said Crapo registered a blood alcohol level of 0.11 percent when he was pulled over early Sunday in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Va., after running a red light. But a secondary test performed after Crapo was brought to the jailhouse - the one that will be used in court - registered at 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit ... .

The Idaho Statesman goes on to report that the 61-year-old's arrest two days before Christmas stunned colleagues and constituents alike, not only because of his squeaky-clean image but also because the senator, a Mormon, had said previously he abstains from alcohol, in accordance with his church's practices.

While no one will ever mistake Bill Clinton for a leader held up on a Holy Roller pedestal, I am reminded of this book by George Stephanopoulos during this quasi-epic fall of Crapo:

All Too Human is a new-generation political memoir, written from the refreshing perspective of one who got his hands on the levers of awesome power at an early age. At thirty, the author was at Bill Clinton's side during the presidential campaign of 1992, & for the next five years he was rarely more than a step away from the president & his other advisers at every important moment of the first term. What Liar's Poker did to Wall Street, this book will do to politics. It is an irreverent & intimate portrait of how the nation's weighty business is conducted by people whose egos & idiosyncrasies are no sturdier than anyone else's.

I like what reviewer Rebekah Warren said about Stephonapolous book:

Written with the jittery cadence of a bookie, All Too Human is a lively look at the complex and motley cast of characters who rule the world.

Crapo's "arrest two days before Christmas stunned colleagues and constituents alike."

Which brings me to a fundamental question.

Why are we surprised?

Rumours swirled around Larry Craig for years. One day, he got caught. Did it really matter, or was it just fun to knock him off the pedestal?

Trivia question: How many DUIs exist between George W. Bush, Idaho Governor Butch Otter, and former Vice President Dick Cheney?

Shock?

Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner is:

... sitting on a $4.5 million campaign war chest — is mulling a bid for citywide office next year and “seriously considering” a mayoral run, multiple sources told The Post.

I hope he wins.

While DUI is a serious crime and perpetrators deserve all the resulting hits that come with it, there is a separate dialogue that needs to be addressed.

The excerpt below, by Nampa, Idaho blogger Amy Larson, speaks to her experience on the editorial board of the Idaho Press Tribune.

I loved going to the Editorial Board meetings on Thursdays. ... The Editor was a savvy, strong woman who knew who she was and offered no excuses. A great role model for me. I observed how she masterfully cut off comments that droned on for too long, changed the subject when necessary, and her overall leadership of the group. I enjoyed the members of the Board, too, how each one of them brought a different perspective to the items of discussion.

We got to meet VIP's, politicians, and other newsmakers. For the most part, I was surprised to find myself unimpressed. One or two politicians stood out here and there, due to their seeming rather genuine, but I thought I would be more wowed by those in the public eye. It was a bit of a let-down. They were ordinary people, just like me. Many of them lost track of their tone when they got overly-passionate about a topic. Some of them talked too much. One very well-known public figure showed up wearing a shirt that looked as if it had been slept in. It being an election year, we were invited to the paper-hosted public forum. This is where I had my eyes opened when it came to how imperfect we all are, with few exceptions. Tempers flared, basic rules were ignored, and the Editor/ Moderator had to quite forcefully demand that a man in the audience sit down and remain silent.

Those on the stand who retained their maturity level made an impact, but they were the minority. I'd always envisioned community leaders as a composed, well-controlled lot. That forum changed my mind.

Nice reflections, Amy.

I guess I've simply outgrown the surprise factor, and have been emotionally past it for a long time.

What expression would you use to describe the people who run the world?  read more »

Crossposted on Daily Kos

UPDATE 10:14 p.m. MST. HERE IS THE MUGSHOT

Crossposted on Daily Kos

In many people's eyes, the Broncos were the best thing that ever happened to Idaho. This little sandlot of a state was now on the big screen, in the big time. Bronco pride and fever ran deep, and so did sales of tickets, paraphernalia and other goodies.

The giddiness was not lost on the BSU administration. Eyeing the big paydays of the New York area television market, the Broncos were set to leave the Mountain West Conference and join the much more lucrative Big East, after this season.

And to those who said that the miracle finish in 2007 when Boise state beat Oklahoma was a Cinderalla story -- a one hit wonder -- the team went on to rattle off multiple championship and bowl victory seasons in the following years. They compiled some of the best winning statistics in all of college football.

But the big dance may finally be over; for now, at least.

Boise State's future of playing football in the Big East could be in severe jeopardy. Today, the seven basketball-playing Catholic colleges of the Big East announced their decision to leave the league, according to the USA Today.

Marquette, Villanova, Seton Hall, St. John's, Georgetown, Providence and DePaul have made the decision to defect from the league based on the football moves the Big East has made.

Jeff Landers, Sports Director of LocalNews 8 is reporting that the league could be dissolved.

According to ESPN.com, the conference still doesn't have a television contract, which is only estimated between $60 million and $80 million with the basketball schools as a part of the package. ESPN is reporting the value could drop 15 or 20-percent with the loss of the seven schools.

That would affect BSU's television revenue as a football-only member of the Big East.

And here's a fascinating take from a blogger on D.F. Oliveria's Huckleberries:

Sometimes when you’re chasing dollars and swing for homeruns you strike out. Same applies to (University of Idaho); independence chasing dollars by staying in WAC as long as possible to maximize their share of the payout the defecting schools owe the WAC and body game bag payouts.

BSU chasing the higher dollar TV contract they thought was inevitable by going to the Big East. Tough spin job for (Boise State President Bob) Kustra on this one.

Money hungriness. Win at all costs. Bigger is better. The trend can be deadly. But is it reversible?

A Local 8 commenter wrote:

Boise is not in a tough spot. They just stay in the open arms of the Mountain West and forget this ever happened. It was a colossal blunder than can still be undone, remarkably easily. No court in the world would hold them liable for any breach of contract with the Big East as it is about to be constituted.

I hope they do.

Crossposted on Daily Kos

Held annually, the McCall, Idaho, winter carnival has become a modern tradition. A festival and celebration, it is also a source of community income and opportunity for shared community effort; a chance to display the town attractively to outsiders and to define and assert McCall's identity; and consequently, a source of disagreement among citizens over what their community is, how it should be presented, and what the carnival means.

Though rooted in the broad traditions of community festival, annual civic events, often sponsored by chambers of commerce, such as that in McCall, are as much expressions of popular culture and local commerce as of older traditions. Yet they become dynamic, newer community traditions, with artistic, informal, and social meanings and practices that make them forms of folklore as well as commoditized culture.

Winter Carnival in a Western Town: Identity, Change and the Good of the Community (Ritual, Festival, and Celebration), is the first volume in a Utah State University Press series that began in 2011, titled Ritual, Festival, and Celebration.

Author Lisa Gabbert, an associate professor of English at Utah State, is a specialist in Folklore Studies. Her research includes study on landscape and place, festivals and play, and medical folklore.

Cookie traditions? Family reunions? Snipe hunting? Jell-O recipes in Utah? These are just a few of the topics that Gabbert's undergraduates research for projects in her Introduction to Folklore class. They cover:

an amazing variety of offbeat subjects. These topics may seem superficially unimportant to many scholars in other fields, and they usually are overlooked in the serious halls of academe (although undergraduate research in folklore often finds its way into professional books and publications as scholars use materials deposited in folklore archives, a recent example of which is Elizabeth Tucker’s 2007 book Haunted Halls). In fact, undergraduates’ folklore research projects document everyday practices that are the staff of local community life. These projects offer insider interpretations of local traditions, providing insight into the cultural dynamics of arenas such as family organization and the teen cultures of high school and early college. These arenas can be difficult for outsiders to study since the nature of such materials is ephemeral and rarely recorded. For these and other reasons, undergraduate research in folklore contributes to knowledge of contemporary social and cultural life.

Gabbert's students are required to go out into the community to document folklore using anthropological fieldwork techniques, and they analyze their findings in the written portion of the project.

Lisa Gabbert

Her book serves as a classic and user-friendly sample of a research product, for her students as well as anyone who interested in folklore. James P. Leary, editor of Journal of American Folklore called Winter Carnival a first rate ethnographic study:

Whereas other folklorists have scrutinized festival in relation to cultural and social systems, Lisa Gabbert offers the first fully developed study of festival in relation to work and place. Her contribution is distinguished by its engagement with environment, the industrialized backwoods, winter, and tourism in the American West.

"Without recourse to jargon, and always at a comfortable pace, the author takes us into the heart of McCall's winter festival yet always returns to key questions: how does community take shape or fragment around festive activity?" writes John H. McDowell, author of Poetry and Violence: The Ballad of Mexico's Costa Chica. "How does festival respond to changing social environments?"

"In sum, undergraduates’ folklore research benefits both students and the discipline," Gabbert writes. "Students learn about and come to more deeply appreciate community traditions; they acquire basic ethnographic skills; and they learn critical thinking by analyzing materials they have collected while they are writing up their research. In turn, folklore studies benefits from these student projects by having an ever-expanding and constantly updated archive materials upon which to base future study."

There is tremendous value in helping students see the relevance of folklore to their every day lives. I highly recommend this work for its wonderful blend of writing, theory, teaching, and practice.

Crossposted on Daily Kos

"Boise State basketball coach Leon Rice and his players knew enough to get out of Derrick Marks' way. The sophomore guard did the rest," according to the Idaho Statesman. Marks scored a career-high 35 points, leading Boise State to a stunning 83-70 upset No. 11 Creighton, on Nov. 28. This result is the greatest victory the team has ever scored. Just take a look at these facts:

Marks hit 18-straight in the second half, 28 of his overall points in the second half before 16,364 shocked fans at CenturyLink Center Omaha. The Broncos, who played No. 13 Michigan State within four points on the road a week earlier, beat a ranked opponent for the first time in four seasons; and on the road for the first time since March 2005.

Creighton came in with all six of its wins by double figures, and the Bluejays were impressive in weekend wins over Wisconsin and Arizona State in Las Vegas. Creighton hadn't lost a regular-season November home game since 1989, a span of 42 games.

The Bluejays are the highest-ranked team Boise State has ever beaten. Prior to this game the best victory was over a No. 15 Washington team in 1998. Boise State was 1-18 against ranked teams on the road entering the game. The lone win was against Nevada in March 2005. It was Boise State's first win over a ranked opponent since they beat Utah State in February 2009. The Broncos were 5-34 all-time against ranked teams.

"The players and coaches did a great job of figuring out that Derrick was the hot hand. We kept running different plays for him to get the ball in his wheelhouse," Rice said. "And credit Derrick, he made some tough shots." Boise State shot the lights out in the first half, making seven straight three-pointers after an initial miss and would lead by as much as 39-28 with 3:10 remaining before the break.

Boise State led 39-33 after shooting 64 percent from the field in the first half. The Broncos made seven straight 3-pointers and were 9-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

Marks 35 points are tied for 10th-most by a Bronco in a game in school history. Rice showed his team the film from the end of the close loss to Michigan State, before the Creighton game. "I was just in the zone," Marks told the Idaho Statesman. "I just felt like I had to do that so we could win the game. We reviewed the mistakes we made. I knew we'd have to deal with that again," he said. Boise State did not trail after the first minute.

At one point late in the second half, Boise State "came apart and they answered a little bit. But we put ourselves back together. It's something we didn't do against Michigan State," Rice said. "I'm proud of how they finished."

"We just had no answer for them on the defensive end of the floor. I thought they outhustled us, I thought they communicated better than we did," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "If you're watching that game tonight, it was obvious who the better team was tonight, and it wasn't us."

Marks' 35 points were 10th-most in school history and 11 more than his previous best. Boise State's nine three-pointers at halftime were the most by a Bluejay opponent in a first half in at least 10 years. Boise State outrebounded Creighton 31-19.

Nonetheless, with all the honor and glory that comes with this accomplishment, Rice kept things in perspective. "It's a great win for our program," he said. "But we don't want to be defined by one win in November."

... nor will the teachers at Frank Church High School, Boise's alternative school.

"Virtually everyone agrees that designing and monitoring a Merit Pay program would be a bureaucratic nightmare of almost epic proportions," writes Beth Lewis.

Lewis continues:

Success is difficult, if not impossible, to define and measure. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has already proven how the various unleveled playing fields in the American education system inherently set up a wide variety of standards and expectations. Consider the diverse needs of English Language Learners, Special Education Students, and low income neighborhoods, and you’ll see why it would be opening a messy can of worms to define standards of success for American schools when the stakes are cash in the pockets of real teachers.

In Idaho, the nightmare has become a reality. According to Betsy Russell:

Idaho state schools Superintendent Tom Luna has announced that under the now-repealed “Students Come First” laws, teachers in 499 schools across the state will receive bonuses for their work last school year, while those in 155 schools will not. Data for 12 schools still is in the works. The bonuses are going out on the basis of student achievement by school, measured partly by test scores. In the Boise School District, for example, teachers at North Junior High will get $234,955 in bonuses, while teachers at South Junior High will get nothing. Teachers at Highlands Elementary School will split $78,000 in bonuses, while those at Garfield, Whitney and Hawthorne elementaries will get nothing. Every high school in the district qualified for bonuses for its teachers, except for Frank Church High School, the district's alternative school.

JamesGatz offered an interesting response:

Garfield Elementary School received nothing. Garfield Elementary, a Title 1 school serving poor students, immigrant students, students who speak English as a second language, homeless students, and in general a lot of students who just have tough row to hoe in their young lives received absolutely NOTHING under Luna’s so-called pay for performance scheme. Nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Bupkis. Nada.

Garfield School received nothing In spite of being one of nine schools to be singled out to receive a Distinguished Schools Award for 2012. One of nine out of all Idaho schools.

Here’s the Boise School District press release about the achievement of Garfield School:

Boise, ID — 10/25/2012 — Boise School District’s Garfield Elementary School is one of only nine schools in the entire State of Idaho to earn the Distinguished Schools Award for 2012. During an awards ceremony held on Thursday, October 25, 2012, Mike Rush, Executive Director of the Idaho State Board of Education, presented Garfield Principal Debbie Donovan and District Superintendent Dr. Don Coberly with the award for 2012.

“We are honored to have received this award,” said Donovan. “It symbolizes the hard work of our staff, students and parents to create a positive and effective learning environment for students here at Garfield.”

The award is given by the State Board to schools in Idaho that meet the following criteria:  read more »

UPDATED 11/13/12:

This diary was published last week under the title:

Should the Secret Service Investigate this Tweet?

While @LauraFlyMe's Twitter account is still active, the link to a tweet that read like a threat to Obama now shows "This Twitter Page does not exist."

This development adds new light to the dialogue below.

What do you think happened?

_____

Crossposted on Daily Kos

UPDATED 11:33 a.m. MST

The watchful eye of Sisyphus has uncovered this lunacy.

This tweet has been up many hours:

what do Abraham LincolnJohn F Kennedy and Barack Obama have in common?NOTHING YET

— Laura (@LauraFlyMe) November 10, 2012

If you scroll her page you will notice that a few people have already used the @ command to forward the tweet to the official Secret Service Twitter page:

Contact your nearest field office with time-sensitive or critical info or to report a tweet. 1.usa.gov/VzrtsV

— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) November 1, 2012

And here is a similar response:

Good thing we've got lots of Secret Service agents across the US. They'll be visiting @lauraflyme twitter.com/LauraFlyMe/sta… #p2 #DEM #GOP #tcot

— David Badash (@davidbadash) November 10, 2012

Others took a more academic approach, saying things like:

"Thanks for making us Christians look bad."

Her message crosses the line. And is @LauraFlyMe involved in the airline industry? Maybe. A quick read of the site shows it to be either a fake or a generic profile. As tytalus points out in the comments under the Daily Kos post:

"That background looks old. seems to be an old advertising campaign from National Airlines dating back to the 1970s."

The page is also filled with other extremist rants.

What do you think the consequences should be?

Here is the screenshot:  read more »

Tom Cohen at CNN:

Listening to Republicans try to explain what went wrong in
their worse-than-expected election thumping reveals a party struggling
to define itself amid continuing change in the nation it seeks to lead.

"We have to allow for a period when it's going to be messy and in which
there's going to be an attempt for the Republican Party to find it's
soul," noted Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow in economic studies at the
Brookings Institution. "It's a divided party, it seems to me right now."
The well-known division pits a loud and powerful conservative base,
fueled in the past three years by the tea party movement, against a
once-prevalent moderate faction now relegated to wing status.

The Bloomberg editorial board:

Republicans have two options. They can join the White House
in shaping immigration reform, all the while knowing that the president
will get the lion’s share of credit. This is politically unappealing in
the short term, which is certainly one reason Republicans have resisted
it. However, the alternative promises even more dispiriting political
consequences.

If Republicans again oppose immigration reform, they risk cementing
their reputation as obstructionists and, in the process, tightening the
Democrats’ hold on a large and rapidly growing constituency. This is
tantamount to political surrender, if not suicide. It would be a
terrible outcome for the country and a self-inflicted wound that could
hobble national Republican campaigns for years to come.

Michael Gerson at The Washington Post:

The 2012 election was a substantial victory not only for
President Obama but also for liberalism. Obama built his campaign on
abortion rights and higher taxes for the wealthy. He was rewarded by an
electorate that was younger, more pro-choice and more racially diverse
than in 2008. The Obama coalition is not a fluke; it is a force.
Some conservatives have reacted in the tradition of Cicero: “Oh, the
times! Oh, the customs!”Rush Limbaugh concluded, “We’ve lost the
country,” which he described as a “country of children.” “There is no
hope,” Ann Coulter said. And Bill O’Reilly: “It’s not a traditional
America anymore.”

As a matter of strategy, it is generally not a good idea to express disdain for an electorate one hopes to eventually influence.  read more »

*UPDATED 11/8/2012*

Republicans believed their own spin

Mitt Romney will win. The tie in the polls goes to the challenger. Here’s why:

In 2008, self-identified Democrats led Republicans in turnout by seven percentage points. Gallup’s projection is that Republicans will have a 49-46 percent edge this year. “The political environment and the composition of the likely electorate strongly favor Governor Romney,” Goeas says. The Battleground Poll’s “vote election model” projects Romney with 51 percent.

The words above are from a Weekly Standard article written the day before the election.

And get a load of this bold prediction:

Romney will win big w/over 300 electoral votes. Most polls use flawed modeling. See why tonight will b decisive victoryonforb.es/PURqRF

— Steve Forbes (@SteveForbesCEO) November 6, 2012

But reality settled in: Before Republicans went looking for answers Tuesday night, some of them went looking for the remote, according to CNN in a story called Analysis: Why Romney lost.

When it became clear about midnight that President Barack Obama was safely on the way to re-election, a handful of cranky and inebriated Republican donors wandered about Romney's election night headquarters, angrily demanding that the giant television screens inside the ballroom be switched from CNN to Fox News, where Republican strategist Karl Rove was making frantic, face-saving pronouncements about how Ohio was not yet lost.

Romney's 'all' proved not enough

Rove was wrong, of course.

Congratulations to President Barack Obama, the first Democratic president since FDR to win more than 50% of the popular vote in two elections.

The election finally "was a great night for pollsters, too! Well, maybe not so much for Jonathan Paleologos," wrote blogger deminva.

On October 10, 2012, Paleologos told Fox’s "The O’Reilly Factor.

“I think in places like North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, we’ve already painted those red, we’re not polling any of those states again,” " “We’re focusing on the remaining states.”

deminva snarked:

"Jonathan Paleologos, the political scientist with his finger on the pulse of his own state, Virginia."

Story: Pollster pulls out of Fla., NC and Va., says Obama can’t win there

___

According to the Washington Examiner, what was striking after Fox News called the race for Obama, at about 11:15 p.m., was how stunned so many of Romney’s supporters were. Many said they were influenced by the prominent conservatives who predicted a big Romney win, and they fully expected Tuesday night to be a victory celebration.

“I am shocked, I am blown away,” said Joe Sweeney, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “I thought I had a pretty good pulse on this stuff. I thought there was a trend that was going on underground.”

“We were so convinced that the people of this country had more common sense than that,” said Nan Strauch, of Hilton Head, South Carolina. “It was just a very big surprise. We felt so confident.”

“It makes me wonder who my fellow citizens are,” said Marianne Doherty of Boston. “I’ve got to be honest, I feel like I’ve lost touch with what the identity of America is right now. I really do.”

___

In response to the wide reaching enthusiasm of Romneyites, one source questioned:

“Was last week a head fake, or were they just not that smart?”

Crossposted on Daily Kos

"I think all of America can get behind (in front of?) this sort of bi-partisan advocacy." - Alexandra Grande (Facebook comment)

_____

Looking for a wild time?

Well just be sure to regularly check the Facebook page of Congressman Raul Labrador.

First, we had Labrador Retweets Endorsement from Fictional 1960s TV Character, prompting Huckleberries Online to ask:

Which fictional TV character would you want to be endorsed by?

DFO wrote:

The Twitterverse and liberal The Daily Kos are having fun with a R/T by Congressman Raul Labrador's crew — of Dr. Alfred Bellows' endorsement: “I'm supporting @Labrador4Idaho, and you should too. The man has delivered on his campaign promise of fiscal responsibility.” If that name sounds familiar, you're probably a fan of the old TV show: “I Dream of Jeanie.” Dr. Alfred Bellows was the psychiatrist in the 1960s comedy. Tweeter Sharon Fisher may have been the first person to spot the R/T — and hilarity that went with it.

And this in today From Tony Shallat:

At about 11:30 MST:

If you want a quick laugh today go to

https://twitter.com/Labrador4Idaho/favorites

Look at what tweet he favorited. Yes this is real.

Then an hour later:

Well Labrador fixed his twitter account....but I have a screenshot....can't escape naughty behavior in the iPhone generation:

"I didn't realize he was such a health fanatic." - Ben Wilson (on Facebook)

Crossposted on Daily Kos

Canyon County has not sent a Democrat to the capitol since the early 1980s when Terry Reilly unseated a Nampa Republican.

Times have changed.

And one overriding and particularly heated issue through this entire election season has been the education reform referendums. See Audios: Did Idaho's Superintendent of Public Instruction Grab and Curse Out A Legislator? Idahoans will vote to keep or trash Propositions 1, 2, and 3. These laws, ironically called "Students Come First," would reduce the number of classroom teachers in favor of technology purchased under questionable circumstances. They also virtually eliminate collective bargaining.

Travis Manning is currently an English teacher at Vallivue High School where he has taught for seven years. He is Executive Director of the Common Sense Democracy Foundation of Idaho, an Idaho grassroots think tank formed in June 2011 in response to radical education reform measures in Idaho. He is a member of the Idaho Council of Teachers of English and active participant with the Boise State Writing Project. Travis is active in his local teacher’s association where he has led and been engaged in numerous committees. He supports all of his fellow teachers and all of the hard work they do. In 2011 he spoke out at the Idaho House and Senate Education Committee hearings in support of Idaho public schools, and has since published a number of editorials across the great state of Idaho supporting the voices of all Idaho citizens in the legislative process. He supports the needs of all learners in public schools and works hard in his teaching to reach out to help struggling students. He is an advocate for parents and teachers, believing they are critical stakeholders in the success of Idaho’s children.

Canyon County Democrat Travis Manning Endorsed by Idaho Press Tribune and Idaho Statesman bit.ly/UV9BHA

— Boise Idaho News (@boisenews) October 28, 2012

Here is an excerpt from the Manning endorsement in the Idaho Press Tribune:

Republican Brandon Hixon has been a good party worker, even leading the charge for the county GOP caucus.

But in a period where elected officials have disgraced the Grand Old Party — particularly in Caldwell where then-Sen. John McGee twice brought shame to the Legislature, and a long and expensive legal battle (on the taxpayers’ dime) involving former Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujak, voters may be more inclined to vote for candidates with untarnished records.

When answering this pre-election question: What standard should elected officials be held to, Hixon said this: “Much higher standard than average, with the understanding that even elected officials are imperfect humans.” ... Many people have a few mistakes that could haunt them if running for office, but only one candidate – 31-year-old Brandon Hixon – has five misdemeanors, 15 infractions and three civil actions for financial failings. Hixon says his court history is not a reflection of what will happen in the future. But let’s face it, his standard of expectations is low. That’s not the way to start a political career.

I wrote more about this troubled young man here: Candidate Brandon Hixon: The Newest Face of Canyon County Republican Corruption.

From the Idaho Statesman:

Manning was drawn into this race because of Students Come First; he is a teacher opposed to the laws. But Manning, a Democrat, isn’t a one-issue candidate, and we were struck by one difference between Manning and Republican Brandon Hixon.

Where Hixon downplayed ethics issues, saying most of the complaints are coming from Democrats, Manning says the issue resonates with Canyon County constituents who have followed the McGee case and the saga of former prosecutor John Bujak. In this open race, Manning offers a stronger command of the issues, and gets our endorsement.

All the pundits now agree. Travis Manning is the right choice on November 6.
 read more »

Update 10:20p.m. MST

As of this post, you can still go to Raul Labrador's Twitter page and see his wonderful endorsement. It has been on there (and all over the web) for more than 10 hours.

I know that Raul was busy debating Jimmy Farris tonight.

I wonder when he will realize this.

Or maybe Raul is just proud of the vote of confidence!

Labrador Retweets Endorsement from Fictional 1960s TV Character bit.ly/XbXuoS

— Boise Idaho News (@boisenews) October 24, 2012

UPDATE 4:33 p.m. MST

Huckleberries Online picked this one up:

The Twitterverse and liberal The Daily Kos are having fun with a R/T by Congressman Raul Labrador's crew — of Dr. Alfred Bellows' endorsement: “I'm supporting @Labrador4Idaho, and you should too. The man has delivered on his campaign promise of fiscal responsibility.” If that name sounds familiar, you're probably a fan of the old TV show: “I Dream of Jeanie.” Dr. Alfred Bellows was the psychiatrist in the 1960s comedy. Tweeter Sharon Fisher may have been the first person to spot the R/T — and hilarity that went with it.

Question: Which fictional TV character would you want to be endorsed by?

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Crossposted on Daliy Kos

Check Raul Labrador's Twitter page Right Now!

Sharon Fisher explained:

@labrador4idaho is retweeting his endorsement by @dralfredbellows, apparently not realizing he is the psychiatrist in "I Dream of Jeannie."

— slfisher (@slfisher) October 23, 2012

The screen shot below is from 3:32 p.m. MST:

Here is Alfred's page:

I'm supporting @labrador4idaho, and you should too. The man has delivered on his campaign promise of fiscal responsibility.

— Alfred Bellows (@DrAlfredBellows) October 23, 2012

Who is Alfred Bellows?

Col. Alfred E. Bellows, M.D. is a fictional character in the popular 1960s situation comedy I Dream of Jeannie, which ran for five seasons. Dr. Bellows was portrayed by Hayden Rorke from 1965 to 1970. Rorke reprised this role in the 1985 TV movie I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later before his passing in 1987.
Overview

From the first season onwards, Dr. Bellows is the psychiatrist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). I Dream of Jeannie is set in the town of Cocoa Beach, Florida. Dr. Bellows is a colonel.

Dr. Bellows is a shrewd and cautious man who is inevitably used as a scapegoat. He becomes fixated on Tony Nelson (Larry Hagman) and Roger Healey (Bill Daily) when they are caught in a web of inexplicable situations resulting from the magic of a genie, appropriately named "Jeannie". He observes, records and ponders their activities, determined to uncover the cause.

Throughout the series, Bellows tries to prove that Tony is up to something. Generals Hadley, Peterson, Stone, and Schaeffer in turn reluctantly accompany him when he attempts to prove Tony's strange "tricks". Fortunately, thanks to Jeannie, none of these generals witness the strange events and Tony is saved from being fired from the space program. This means that the generals are more wary of Bellows than Major Nelson or Major Healey. In some cases the trick can extend to the generals, such as Jeannie's mother trying to court Bellows and dressing him in the robes of a pasha (and causing Jeannie to scold her mother for going after a married man). Bellows' appearance causes one general to worry he is suffering from hallucinations by seeing Dr. Bellows in pasha robes, and Bellows in turn saying the vision is real but he has no clue how he acquired such exotic clothing. Nevertheless, Dr. Bellows relentlessly devotes his entire life to "figuring out" Major Nelson. At one point Bellows tells Nelson and Healy that the moment he brings in General Peterson it all goes away, so he is forgetting this is brought up.

Click here for photos of Alfred Bellows.

And be sure to congratulate Congressman Labrador on this big time endorsement!

Conservative big gun author Dinesh D’Souza did a real hatchet job on Blacks in his book: The End of Racism.

Now it appears that African Americans are not the only one's he's been ... well ... sticking it to.

From World: Today's Christian News

After a meteoric rise in the evangelical world, The King’s College president Dinesh D’Souza now faces his board’s likely questions about his relationship to a woman not his wife.

David Waldman. points out that D'SOUZA'S MISTRESS:

"In a post on a conservative blog, rails against feminists and “RINO men” for ruining marriage and traditional morality. “Feminists/liberals who intended to destroy and transform that sacred cornerstone of American society—the traditional family” she explains, adding that today’s state of the family proves that “the 19th Amendment was never the best idea ever.” She blames feminist academics for increases in adultery, failed marriages and cohabitation, and even goes on to say that America’s children “are going the way of black ghetto society” thanks to feminists and Ke$ha."

And commenter Empty Vessel added:

Had to check ...

and yes, the woman half his age that has become D'Souza's soulmate does also, just as it happens, seem to be very good looking.

Odd how older men's newfound soulmates always seem to be half their age and hot.  read more »

About Travis Manning,

Child Advocate

Travis Manning is currently an English teacher at Vallivue High School where he has taught for seven years. He is Executive Director of the Common Sense Democracy Foundation of Idaho, an Idaho grassroots think tank formed in June 2011 in response to radical education reform measures in Idaho. He is a member of the Idaho Council of Teachers of English and active participant with the Boise State Writing Project. Travis is active in his local teacher’s association where he has led and been engaged in numerous committees. He supports all of his fellow teachers and all of the hard work they do. In 2011 he spoke out at the Idaho House and Senate Education Committee hearings in support of Idaho public schools, and has since published a number of editorials across the great state of Idaho supporting the voices of all Idaho citizens in the legislative process. He supports the needs of all learners in public schools and works hard in his teaching to reach out to help struggling students. He is an advocate for parents and teachers, believing they are critical stakeholders in the success of Idaho’s children.

Community Builder

Most recently, Travis gave up coaching high school wrestling, one of his passions, in order to advocate for parents, teachers and students in Idaho governmental affairs. Travis, an Eagle Scout himself, has recently been a Scoutmaster of a Boy Scout troop in Caldwell, Idaho, and has been involved in Scouting in some capacity or other his entire life. From being a Den Chief and Patrol Leader in his younger years, to being a merit badge counselor, district commissioner, Scout camp counselor or Scoutmaster, among many other duties, in later years. One of the highlights of his Scouting experiences was working on the media staff at the 2001 National Scout Jamboree in Fort AP Hill, Virginia, with his younger brother. Travis believes passionately that youth must understand their local environment — neighborhoods, city, people, culture and natural world — so they might become young ambassadors for the communities in which they live.

Man of Faith

Travis has been involved in numerous school, community and church sports leagues over the years. He takes the lessons he learned in sports and Scouting to heart and has been active in numerous political campaigns and community advocacy activities. He is a freelance writer, active in his church congregation, and has served in a variety of church leadership roles throughout his life. In college, he worked for his university newspaper as a beat reporter. His most recent athletic accomplishment was completing the Boise Half Ironman Triathlon in 2010. He served a two-year mission to Philadelphia in the early 90′s and enjoys traveling, camping, bicycling, reading, and spending time with his wife and three children, Eliza having been adopted from China in June 2012.

Happily Married

Travis is married to Ann Ellison, who stepped down as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey when the family came along. They are avid supporters of the Caldwell YMCA and believe this partnership between an organization and its citizens greatly benefits the community in which they live. Ann currently serves on the Caldwell Bikeways and Pathways Committee which works to protect pedestrians, bicyclists, joggers, children attending school, and to encourage a healthy lifestyle filled with exercise.

From the Facebook page of Branden Durst:

I love it when I am at a door and the voter says something like, "You know, to be honest, I voted for your opponent last time, but I won't make that mistake again." Happens regularly and makes me smile!

More info: Durst for Idaho

Who is Branden Durst?

In November 2006, Branden Durst was first elected to the Idaho House of Representatives by beating a long time incumbent. The race was never considered to be in doubt until Durst pulled out the surprise upset of the year. The campaign and what has followed demonstrate Branden's tireless devotion to public service.

Background
Branden Durst was born at St. Luke's Hospital in Boise, Idaho in January of 1980. He was raised in Southeast Boise and attended the local public schools through high school, where he became a third generation graduate of Boise High School. Branden went on to attend Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), where he studied political science, economics, and communication. While at PLU, Branden earned a scholarship for speech and debate. Additionally, Branden worked throughout this time to assist in paying for his college education.

After graduating from PLU, Branden went on to graduate school, first at Kent State University and then to Claremont Graduate University (CGU), studying public policy analysis and international political economy, respectively. Prior to completing his degree at CGU, Branden returned to Boise and began working at Micron Technology in the strategic communication division. He completed his graduate coursework at Boise State University (BSU). During his time at BSU, Branden was awarded a research assistant position in the Department of Economics.

In July of 2006, Branden and his wife Jaime were married in Bayview, Washington. Branden is the proud father of three boys, Nicholas (10), Broden (7), and Carter (4) and one daughter, Graciana (3). Branden is the managing partner of Rational Strategy Consulting, a market and policy research firm he operates along with his business partner. The Dursts fellowship at Vineyard Boise where they are puppeteers for the Children's Ministry. Branden enjoys going fishing, and watching international soccer.

Innovative Leadership
Branden's time in the Idaho House of Representatives was marked by his unique ability to think of new ideas to challenges that plague state government as well as his ability to think independently. Branden's supporters and critics agree that his approach to policymaking is unique and thoughtful. Branden credits this to his professional and academic background in policy analysis and a desire to make the right decision, not necessarily the popular one.

In his first legislative session, Branden was the only member of the House Business Committee to oppose legislation that would have mandated that individuals give results from DNA tests to insurance companies so that they could be used against them in setting rates. Despite being a relative newcomer, Branden's independence and thoughtfulness were on full display as he led the charge in the House to defeat this intrusive policy. This was only one of many other examples where Branden has shown his unique qualities that make him an innovative leader.

In the 2010 legislative session, Branden once again demonstrated his knack for innovation. In this case, Branden was the co-author and co-sponsor of the Mastery Advancement Pilot Project (MAPP). MAPP was designed as a completely voluntary program to assist gifted students accelerate through course curriculum at their pace. The program was widely accepted and acclaimed as, "the most innovative education concept to hit the Statehouse since the late 1990s (Idaho Press Tribune Editorial, March 7, 2010)." MAPP was passed with large, bipartisan margins in both the House and the Senate. The process Branden went through in the development of MAPP is a perfect illustration of his commitment to bipartisanship.

Branden served on three standing committees in the House; Education, Business, and Health & Welfare. In addition, Branden's expertise in the technology sector was utilized as an appointed member of the Information Technology Resource Management Council, the State of Idaho's primary IT strategy group.

For more information, including Durst on the issues, see: durstforidaho.com

Twitter: @DurstforIdaho

Donate Here and help Idaho's working families have a voice in Boise!

Tom Luna

UPDATE 6:11 p.m. MST: Truth Seeker Sisyphus wrote:

Here's the first half of the Luna Cronin City Club debate. Please observe the 28:20 mark and the Luna Cronin exchange that the media was anxious to question them about afterwards. At 28:29 Luna's second grab was clearly done with animosity. In the law, an offensive touching is called a battery.

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Crossposted on Daily Kos

Audios of fiery exchange: from Tom Luna toward Brian Cronin.

You decide!

According to Besty Russell: Here's how fiery the debate between state schools chief Tom Luna and Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, got at the City Club of Boise today: After the debate, Cronin accused Luna of grabbing his arm after his opening remarks and berating him. “He grabbed my arm rather forcefully and got in my face and said, 'That's the biggest bullshit I've ever heard,'” Cronin said. “I looked at the people at the lead table and I think they saw that I was visibly alarmed, shaken, but that's what he said. He grabbed my arm hard enough such that I spilled my water. … When he tried to touch me again, I told him not to touch me.”

Luna's spokeswoman, Melissa McGrath, said, “He never used that language. That's completely inaccurate.” Supposedly, the exchange wasn't picked up on the event's microphones.

Russell wrote that Luna denied afterward that he'd become angry with Cronin at any point during the forum. “I think we both were passionate,” he said.

Here is Betsy's audio of the exchange.

I also have this enhanced MP3 of the exchange. Luna's voice is bassy so you may need headphones. The cuss is between 1 second and 3.5 seconds in this one.

What do you hear?

Crossposted on Daily Kos

This article by Clayton Trehal references the Vote NO on Propositions 1, 2, 3 movement of parents, teachers, and supporters of public education across Idaho, working together to reject the three harmful "Luna laws." These laws, ironically called "Students Come First," and are implemented by Secretary of Education Tom Luna.

This morning I heard a “Vote Yes” ad on the radio that began with a line that ran something like,“Voters are being misled about the facts” and after all the usual talking points, the narrator explained that efficiencies gained by Luna's laptops would pay for the technology without any tax increases. She pointed out that traditional text books cost as much as eight times the price of e-books, which is a patently false statement that I'd like to debunk.

One would think that an ebook would be considerably cheaper than a physical textbook, but at this point, ebooks are actually significantly more expensive than physical texts. In order to verify what the vote yes folks said, I looked up an AP US History text book I know is one of the more popular texts across the nation and compared the price of physical vs e-copy, and here's what I found: A new copy of The American Pageant, 14^th edition runs $183.57 if you buy the physical copy, which is a steep enough price to make anyone want the ebook, which it turns out only runs $59.00. At first glance, it appears that one has saved a fortune going electronic, but as always, the devil is in the details. You don't actually buy e-textbooks like this one, you rent them for a period of time, and the $59.00 cost covers a 180-day period.

Bad for children. Bad for teachers. Bad for Idaho.

Now let's compare the two versions of this book side by side from the perspective of a purchasing school board to see which is cheaper. A physical books lasts 4-8 years, depending on how well it's taken care of, so we can break down the price this way. If the physical copy of this text lasts 8 years, the cost to the district works out to $22.95/year vs $59.00/year for the ebook. If physical text only lasts for 4 years, the cost is $45.89/year, vs $59.00 for the ebook. Here's another way to look at it: If the district can get 5 years out of the physical text, its total cost for that period on a physical text is $183.57 vs $295.00 for the ebook over the same period. This is just one text, but I strongly urge readers of this to look up any textbook and you will see the same story. The bottom line is that currently, ebooks are actually significantly more expensive than physical texts because the textbook publishers want it that way.

Like so many other parts of Luna's laws, downloading textbooks on the laptops doesn't seem to have been too well thought out. If you consider that a typical Idaho high school student has somewhere between 6-8 courses, buying ebooks at 70%-200% higher prices than physical texts is certain to drive up costs for school districts quite a bit. Often the “Vote Yes” folks assert that we citizens are being misled, and indeed we are. The bit on their commercial about e-books being cheaper than physical texts is completely incorrect and seems like a pretty blatant lie to me. This is the only lie I feel like debunking today, but I personally hope some of our journalists and media outlets will take a look at the Vote Yes campaign and the misinformation they are spreading.

Reposted with permission  read more »

Crossposted on Daily Kos

D20 Senate candidate raises concern about enormous government waste

"Chuck Winder is the chair of the committee that approved $177,000 a year for upkeep on the 'Governor's mansion' that the Idaho Governor doesn't live in," wrote James Mace, yesterday, on his campaign Facebook page. "Idaho, is this the best use of your tax dollars? You have the opportunity to TELL Winder what you think today, and to SHOW him what you think on November 6."

He cited this Oct. 2 article:

Idahoans will get to weigh in on what to do with Idaho's official governor's mansion, the former J.R. Simplot home on a grassy hilltop in north Boise, topped by a giant American flag. The Governor's Housing Committee, chaired by Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Meridian, will meet in room WW55 of the state Capitol from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.; you can see the agenda here. There'll be a presentation about the history and operation of a governor's residence in Idaho, followed by public testimony. There's more info here.

The state has justified that cost by saying the mansion is frequently used by government departments and the first family, accroding to Emilie Ritter Saunders of a project by NPR. But data show the mansion has been used just 42 times in three years.

For more info see James Mace for D20 Senate on Facebook.

For more about his opponent, Chuck Winder, click here.