Blue-shifting the Gem State, one blog entry at a time.
Submitted by Serephin on Mon, 10/14/2013 - 1:43pm.
Dear 'Muricans --
We, the Republican Congressmen and Senators of these here United States of Wealthy America, have shit the governmental bed. We will continue to shit the bed until you give us everything we demand, even if we're not certain what that is. Besides giving in to our outrageous whims, we also demand you allow us to save face by not acknowledging that we have, in point of fact, shit the bed like a pack of over-stuffed baboons with explosive diarrhea. We look forward to your total capitulation. Please excuse us now as we feel the need to gather some of this shit from our bed and fling it at the walls. Never fear -- there's more where that came from.
Sincerely,
Your Motherfucking Insane GOP.
Addendum: Look, there are reasonable Republicans out there but, sadly, not enough to make a difference, and the ones who do exist in Congress are too afraid of their insane base to take the GOP back (see Simpson, Mike). So until the Teabagger whackjobs are locked back into their padded cells, I can only hope President Obama and Congressional Democrats stand their ground and refuse to give in to their lunatic hostage demands.
Submitted by Serephin on Sat, 10/12/2013 - 12:12pm.
From a letter we received from Kevin Lish, an insurance agent from Pocatello who signed himself up for the Affordable Care Act on Your Health Idaho's website (http://www.yourhealthidaho.org/):
Affordable Care Act Experience
Saturday (10-12-2013) I was able to get on the Marketplace for Idaho. The website was easy to navigate and I was able to enroll in a new Gold Plan effective January 1, 2014.
My current coverage, which I will cancel December 31, 2013, was $385.00 a month with a $5,000.00 deductible, 80/20 coinsurance with a out of pocket of $10,000.00 which was in addition to my $5,000.00 deductible.
Being self-employed, I did qualify for a subsidy and my new Gold Plan has a $1,000.00 deductible, then 85/15 coinsurance with a new annual out of pocket of $6,350.00.
The great part is, my new monthly premium beginning in January 2014 will be $164.08 a month for my new Affordable Care Act health insurance plan."
This, ladies and gentlemen, is why the GOP political machine is melting down like a Hershey bar in a microwave oven. People who, previously, could never get or keep insurance will now be able to do so, and it's become more affordable. Booyah!
Submitted by TUBOB on Wed, 10/09/2013 - 7:16am.
there once was a speaker named Boehner
who kept his tan dark using the Xerox toner
he smoked, he screamed and he sobbed
when Obama grabbed his balls and lobbed
now even the Koch bros can't give him a boehner.
Submitted by TUBOB on Thu, 10/03/2013 - 8:01pm.
Here we are, a collective dynamo of a freedom and compassion loving nation, thrumming not with throaty, synced up horsepower and quick shifting velocity but with a horrifying noise, like cats in flames leaping off collapsing nuclear plant cooling towers.
A small sect of extremists have held a jagged chunk of dirty broken glass to our throats and hissed
NEGOTIATE
No, that's not what they are hissing
it's
Don't talk uppity to us, boy. We don't do shit for your kind. We'll shut this town down for talkin' to us like that.
I'm going to set my controls for the center of the sun and go to the core and base issue behind this nightmare.
Extreme right wing tea partying white men do not cotton to an intelligent black man who is, by virtue of his elected status, one up on them.
It is visceral and it is grounded. They are willing to put on suits of flames and leap into pools of gasoline holding their political futures in little paper baskets soaked in kerosene. Extremism in the defense of stupidity and hate is no virtue. It is a vice.
The gasping vestiges of an ideology long ago left in a wastebasket by folks who like their country clean of trash, is making one last lunge at us.
It ain't about socialized medicine. It ain't about slowing the growth of government. It ain't about abortion or granny facing a death panel.
It's about white wing politicians and their shambling microcephalic base wanting to take that Kenyan liar communist down a notch or two. Don't believe any of the other narratives and dialogues.
Obama knows this too. No accident he called their leaders in the other day and told them no, I'm not negotiating with you crackers.
The self destruct button on extremist ideologues is always pushed down by the belle curve outliers. It is the step that comes once they lose whatever attention and expansive base they had. Expected. But this time they really hit the Kamikaze button. They have no exit strategy but to try to take everyone down with them into the deepest whirlpools of hatred and fixations. But we are standing on the banks of the river America and shaking our heads in both disgust and a sort of wonder.
Namaste, motherfuckers. read more »
Submitted by MeAndG on Sat, 09/28/2013 - 5:00am.
Crossposted on Daily Kos
Leif Skyving boxing in April 2012 at O’Connor field house in Caldwell, Idaho
Leif Skyving is currently a Caldwell School Board Trustee running for Idaho State Senate District 10. District 10 includes most of Caldwell.
He is also a boxer.
Leif Skyving literally fighting for you! See Leif's Facebook page for more photos of of him in action.
"After a long, testy debate last week, the Caldwell School Board voted 3-2 to retain its membership with the Idaho School Board Association," reads an editorial in the September 18 Idaho Press Tribune.
Those who follow the Caldwell School Board know Skyving is also among the board’s more liberal members. He ran as a Democrat for a seat in the Idaho Senate against former Sen. John McGee and staunchly opposed key components of Idaho Schools Superintendent Tom Luna’s Students Come First education plan. ...
So when the ISBA encouraged Idaho lawmakers earlier this year to adopt key elements of failed Proposition 1 — limiting conditions of teachers’ salary contracts to one year, giving districts permission to reduce salaries and shorten teacher contracts, and allowing school boards to operate under the district’s “last, best offer” if negotiations stall — Skyving was not amused. He and Amy Rojas voted to end Caldwell’s affiliation with ISBA, and he cited the endorsement of that legislation as a major reason. ...
If Skyving and other board members believe they can get by without ISBA services, they should come to a rational, deliberate, thoughtful conclusion and end their affiliation. But terse, emotional arguments based on policy disagreements shouldn’t play a role in the ultimate verdict.
Skyving counterpunched:
I was disappointed to see the Press-Tribune editorial board on Sept. 18 question my motives for making a motion to save the Caldwell School district $10,000 per year by withdrawing our membership from the Idaho School Board Association.
Turning the editorial in to a partisan issue by using politically charged phrases such as “Skyving is one of the more liberal members of the school board and has run as a Democrat against John McGee,” the IPT claimed that I made my decision on a “rash” and “emotional” basis because I was known to oppose the parts of the defeated “Luna Laws” that the ISBA had helped usher back in using lobbyists paid for with tax dollars.
Had the editorial board members actually attended the school board meetings in question, they would have heard my complete statements. Yes, I was opposed to the “Luna Laws,” as were the majority of voters, and yes, the ISBA’s use of taxpayer dollars to nullify the will of the people did offend me.
They also would’ve heard me say that this action had: “awakened me to take a close look at what we are paying the ISBA and what we are getting in return” and that when I found we were paying $10,000 per year for services that we already receive through two law firms that we employ, I believed we could use that money for something that would actually benefit the kids.
As a trustee, I don’t see saving the Caldwell school district $10,000 as a “liberal” or “conservative” issue; I see it as common sense.
To further the irony, the reason the IPT gave for not endorsing my candidacy when I ran for state senate was that I opposed the state of Idaho borrowing $900 million and paying a whopping $50 million per year in interest for road construction. The IPT did not agree with me that we should “pay as we go” so as not to burden Idaho taxpayers with this huge debt and interest payments.
Being fiscally conservative seems too “liberal” a concept for them to accept.
And in true tag-team form, local educator Bob Solomon hopped in the ring today:
The IPT editorial board had no right to personally tar Caldwell School Board member Leif Skyving with those terrible words: “Democrat” and “liberal.” Had they reviewed the agendas for the last several months, they would realize that a long-planned policy decision was being made after strong debate.
Skyving pointed out that the ISBA “services” had not been used for over two years, that some of the “services” were duplicative, and that the $10,000 could be used for other pressing needs. Sounds rather conservative to me.
Then he proposed (what audacity!) that the board adopt “benchmarks” (it refused) by which to evaluate whether the board’s experience with the ISBA helped the citizens of Caldwell. Note: everything in education today is evaluated by benchmarks.
So in what way does it make sense for the IPT to attribute partisanship to a public servant, serving in a non-partisan office without remuneration, who questions excessive government expenses and insists on accountability? In the old days this was called “good government.”
For more information see facebook.com/ILikeLeif and be sure to support and vote for this terrific candidate for District 10!
"Working hard to lock down the baby vote!" - Leif Skyving
Submitted by MeAndG on Thu, 09/05/2013 - 10:56am.
Let's change it up a bit.
Here's a riddle for you to solve:
If you throw me from the window, I'll leave a grieving wife. Bring me back, but through the door, and you'll see someone giving life! What am I?
If you want the answer, simply make a contribution to the IDLCC Victory Fund by CLICKING HERE. The answer will come to you in our thank you note for your contribution! Thanks for your support of Democrats in Idaho.
IDLCC is on your side.
Senator Elliot Werk
IDLCC, Chair
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Submitted by TUBOB on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 1:27pm.
My LiveJournal account was deleted by those bastard sonsuhbitches I HATE SO MUCH today. I am bereft of my dignity and ability to track my emotional states every day and continue a self narrative of my interior landscapes and who is hurting my feelings and who I am silly about.
My LiveJournal tribe, close internet names who share my interests in Disney Princess fan fiction, will be an aching void in my life now.
I don't think I'll start a new one with a new name, it could never be as magical or as sparkly.
Unicorns aren't fucking real. I know that now. I truly do.
Submitted by Sisyphus on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 11:46am.
Wayne Hoffman of the so called Idaho Freedom Foundation fired off a missive to Boise City officials asking them to shelf their bond proposal. The proposal asks the people of Boise to approve funding for a variety of things including the securing of open space in the foothills and improving public parks. Noting that democracy and freedom are not mutually exclusive, Emily Walton, of the Idaho Civic Engagement Project, fired back:
Why would someone who runs an organization dedicated to freedom and open government argue against people voting in decisions for their city?
Hoffman’s claim that Boiseans shouldn't get to vote on parks and open spaces because they’re just for “fun” demonstrates a lack of understanding when it comes Boise and the history of this city that we love.
Boiseans have invested in their city for 150 years. From the beautiful parks, foothills and a downtown we enjoy to the good schools and safe neighborhoods we cherish, we all know that a city of Boise’s caliber doesn't just spring up without investment and devotion. Since when did a guy from Nampa have so many opinions on how Boiseans should run their city?
Thereafter, IFF stooge and noted hack, Dusting Hurst threatened: “Emily Walton just picked a fight with Wayne Hoffman? This will not end well for Emily. Not at all.” Wayne Hoffman subsequently issued an ap-hollow-gy. Idaho is too great for bullies. read more »
Submitted by Sisyphus on Tue, 09/03/2013 - 2:00pm.
Alas, my belligerent ways got the better of me. Facebook deigned to note my existence and takes umbrage at my name, insisting no one would actually name their child "Sisyphus". I'm hurt. Since I doubt very much that the Facebook behemoth has a minion devoted to discovering and deciding worthiness of participants, one must assume that I angered some ideologically rigid, arrested development wingnut with the truth, who then gathered up their negative emotions, ran off to their Facebook mommy, demanded and obtained censorship, thus achieving no victory, but satisfaction in fulfilling their ad hominem, with no one left to point out the fallacy.
At this point I can engage them and launch into yet another defense of pseudonymity and how it filled a vital role in accomplishing change in rigid and dogmatic environments throughout history in enabling the speaking of truth to power without recrimination. Indeed, our country's birth owes much to pseudonymous writers, the right to which was incorporated into the first amendment. Or I could point out that pseudonymous internet users actually improve a site's comment section. But we all know how that will turn out.
Being a Democrat in Idaho, I'm no stranger to quixotic endeavors, but there has to be an end game worthy of achievement. Given the multitude of assumed names which grace Facebook, commercial or otherwise, their stand is little short of hypocritical and certainly randomly erratic. But I'm fond of my subversive persona and loathe the idea of acquiescing to such arbitrary power and control. So I bide my time while mulling whether to die ignobly and permanently or rise like a Phoenix in another guise. I loved my community of friends and hope my existence enabled you to engage each other on a more personal level. Adieu. read more »
Submitted by d2 on Fri, 08/16/2013 - 3:19pm.
Wow, apparently Idaho First Lady Lori Otter didn't get taught the First Celebrity Rule of the Internet: DO NOT GO INTO THE COMMENTS!!!
Diana Ravitch posted an article nearly a month ago about the ongoing Republican war on teachers and education. When someone called Guv'ner Skinnyjeans' wife a dilettante, Miss Lori posted a punctuationally-and-grammatically-impaired rant, deploring teachers (shock!), educational blogs, and in trophy tradition, "mean people". She has run-on sentences, a ton of half-ellipses (I really can't complain, I abuse the shit out of three-dot ellipses), misspellings and leaves out the occasional word, all while lamely tooting her own horn as an English teacher. Beleaguered teachers and liberal grammar nazis will absolutely love this post. Be sure to check it out, but here's a taste:
...I am entitled to my opinion- don’t insult me by inferring that I only do what my husband wants me too.. hello- what century are you living in?..I have the right to support things in my profession that I think are good for it. It has always surprised and disappointed me that teachers or educational forums such as this accomplish little except allowing adults to say mean and unfounded comments, things which do not have to be defended or factually supported… Which I might add is something we would not want our students to do. So.. That’s all I have to say -I am a teacher, a very good one I might add, I am qualified to speak on education..just as much as all of you are and will continue to do so.. I am perfectly fine with disagreeing with points of view.. But really? Yes.. Nice matters. . Thanks.
"Yes.. Nice matters." I guess the question is whether it matters more than a systematic campaign of sabotaging the education of half a million of Idaho's kids or more before we re-embrace Idaho's progressive free-public-education origins.
Meanwhile, I suspect someone'll teach her that other little Celebrity Internet rule. It's likely happening today. Hell, even my ten-year-old surfs youtube enough to viscerally know that online comments are Where Intelligent Discussion Goes to Die.
H/T: Sisyphus
Submitted by 5thstreetdem on Mon, 08/12/2013 - 10:10pm.
I don't imagine I can write a better post than this. (But ... hooray! I remembered my password!)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/18/jimmy-carter-edward-snowden_n_3616930.html
Submitted by MeAndG on Sat, 08/10/2013 - 10:27am.
Crossposted on Daily Kos
by Travis Manning
Sen. Branden Durst’s recent op-ed critiquing Superintendent Luna’s “end around” the Idaho legislature, and his subsequent analysis of GOP political genealogy, has merit, especially as it relates to a newly minted news organization called Idaho Education News (IEN).
Funded by The Albertson Foundation, IEN started seven months ago in order to advance the school privatization agenda of Chairman Joe Scott. They bought the Boise State University name, where IEN is housed, simply by donating millions of dollars. Strategically, Albertson hired away established reporters Kevin Richert, Jennifer Swindell and Clark Corbin to do its messaging work, under the auspices of their new identity. Albertson uses the B.S.U. trademark as a PR gimmick to expedite credibility within Idaho.
Albertson and IEN blur the arena of ethical journalism, which situation is different from Boise State’s relationship with National Public Radio, where Boise State Public Radio, an NPR affiliate, is housed. In this case, NPR is an already-established news entity with decades-long experience and an international reputation for quality and unbiased reporting. IEN is far from achieving NPR’s status.
While I wouldn’t say IEN produces “pseudo journalism,” as Sen. Durst suggests, I will say they have work to do. If IEN is not careful, they will be seen as the propaganda arm of Scott and Albertson, much like IdahoReporter.com is seen as the propaganda machine of The Idaho Freedom Foundation and Executive Director Wayne Hoffman (and whomever else funds the IFF, as Hoffman refuses to publicly disclose its corporate master).
I queried Betsy Russell, president of the Capitol Correspondents Association, as to why IEN received full press credentials as an upstart news organization and IdahoReporter has not. Her response, that “All three of their reporters are B.S.U. employees. The grant from the Albertson Foundation went to B.S.U. No one involved with the operation is involved in lobbying, which is key to credentialing. That is why IdahoReporter.com doesn’t qualify; it is a lobbying organization headed by a registered lobbyist.”
In a recent IEN article, cross-published by the Idaho Press-Tribune on July 19 titled, “Nampa, Vallivue among districts chosen for Idaho Leads program,” such a disclosure was not placed. Whenever IEN reports on projects associated with The Albertson Foundation it is, essentially, reporting on itself. Not to disclose such a conflict of interest is entirely unethical. The Idaho Press-Tribune, and news outlets statewide, need to be cognizant.
While IEN does a decent job allowing for a diverse cadre of op-eds, they have much work to do regarding selection of news topics and the angle and trajectory from which they report on these topics.
IEN reporters tend to report fairly on education issues occurring within Idaho state government (legislature, Idaho state school board, Idaho Department of Education, and within a handful of school districts). However. Idaho’s public schools, teachers and students are doing amazing things, especially in the current political environment rife with policymakers who despise Idaho’s public school system, its teachers, and its outcomes. IEN needs desperately to broaden its content and reporting to include the many successes occurring within Idaho’s public schools – not just charter schools – both large and small, across the state, especially rural schools, and especially regarding traditionally underserved populations.
This bias towards charter schools and against public schools casts a long shadow across IEN’s early body of work.
Finally, IEN has not examined how the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is drafting many of Idaho’s so called education reform laws behind closed doors with legislators, lobbyists and politicians at the table – but not the public – which practice circumvents democracy.
Idaho Education News needs to report on the elephant in the room.
Travis Manning is executive director of The Common Sense Democracy Foundation of Idaho and can be reached at manning_travis@hotmail.com.
Submitted by TUBOB on Wed, 08/07/2013 - 9:01pm.
temple pond holds coins
frog guards wish pennies, lazily
fat monk steals wishes, laughs
Submitted by MeAndG on Sat, 08/03/2013 - 11:22am.
Idaho State Rep. Mat Erpelding will raise money for the Idaho Redside Foundation this August. He will attend to hike the nearly 1,000 mile Idaho Centennial Trail in 40 days. He hopes to raise money for a nonprofit cause. He is also attention to Idaho’s rural economies and the value of our public lands.
Donate now to support Mat’s ambitious goal and spread awareness of The Redside Foundation:
 Mat Erpelding is a high-altitude climbing guide, an educator, a business owner, and a member of the Idaho House of Representatives. In 1993, Mat moved to Idaho to attend Idaho State University, and now lives in Boise. A vibrant and healthy community with exceptional access to wildlands drew Mat to Boise, and it is why he loves Idaho.
Mat is a co-owner of Experiential Adventures, which he founded in 2004. Experiential Adventures LLC specializes in leadership development, group facilitation, and teaching collaboration using experiential education as its foundation. EA has grown over the years to include clients such as the military, higher education institutions, and corporations seeking to improve their organizational culture.
Until December 2012, Mat was an instructor at the College of Western Idaho Dept. of Physical Education, specializing in training teachers to use experiential education in the classroom. Mat is an adjunct faculty member in the Leadership Studies Minor at Boise State University.Mat has also worked in the Division of Student Affairs at different colleges and universities including Boise State University, California State University, Chico, Evergreen State College, and Texas Tech University. Mat recently co-edited a textbook for outdoor leadership programs called Outdoor Program Administration.
In addition to being elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in 2012, Mat has served as the Vice Chair of the Ada County Democrats, and was named “Activist of the Year” by the Idaho Democratic Party at the 2012 Frank Church Banquet. Mat understands the challenges faced by Idaho legislators. He worked hard to support the members of both the house and senate by organizing and preparing the 2012 Idaho Jobs and Opportunity Blueprint during the legislative
session. He has pledged to devote much of his career to public service to help build sustainable urban and rural communities in Idaho.
Studies Minor at Boise State University. Mat has also worked in the Division of Student Affairs at different colleges and universities including Boise State University, California State University, Chico, Evergreen State College, and Texas Tech University. Mat recently co-edited a textbook for outdoor leadership programs called Outdoor Program Administration.
He is the Past President of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE), and in 2006 was awarded the Jim Rennie Leadership Award for outstanding service and dedication to the Association. In 2010, Mat was awarded the Wilderness Education Association’s Instructor of the year for bringing innovative and substantial curriculum improvements to the organization. He ranks among the Idaho Business Review’s “40 Most Accomplished Under 40.”
As a high-altitude mountain guide, Mat has reached the 20,320 ft summit of Denali (Mt. McKinley) in four out of five attempts while helping more than twenty clients reach the top as well. Mat approaches mountaineering much as Willi Unsoeld did as a member of the first American Everest expedition in 1963. Willi said, “The final test for me of the legitimacy of the [mountaineering] experience is ‘How well does your experience of the sacred in nature enable you to cope more effectively with the problems of mankind when you come back to the city?’” Mat’s passion for wilderness has shaped his belief that civic engagement is essential to living in our community.
In addition to being elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in 2012, Mat has served as the Vice Chair of the Ada County Democrats, and was named “Activist of the Year” by the Idaho Democratic Party at the 2012 Frank Church Banquet. Mat understands the challenges faced by Idaho legislators. He worked hard to support the members of both the house and senate by organizing and preparing the 2012 Idaho Jobs and Opportunity Blueprint during the legislative session. He has pledged to devote much of his career to public service to help build sustainable urban and rural communities in Idaho.
Submitted by Sisyphus on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 12:44pm.
For all the Idaho Political junkies, The Idaho Blue Book, published by the Idaho Secretary of State, is the starting place for any research on state government, with biographical information of all state and county office holders, stats and historical information for all state institutions, and pictures suitable for meme-ing. Of interest in this latest edition is the dedication to three stalwarts in advocacy for Human Rights in Idaho, Bill Wassmuth, Tony Stewart, and Norman Gissel, who organized and confronted the Aryan Nations in North Idaho. Take some time to read this great dedication and kudos to Ben for honoring these great Idahoans while working with a Governor who attempted to dismantle the Idaho Human Rights Commission. read more »
Submitted by Sisyphus on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 11:09am.
Submitted by TUBOB on Tue, 07/30/2013 - 8:54pm.
Shea: Whoa, Ha!
Barbieri: Yeah! Argh!
Nugent: Fuckin' kill a deer and a libtard!
Shea: Ho! Ha!
Barbieri: Grunt!
Nugent: Burp
Shea: Collapse! Society Kill Kill!
Barbieri: Bad! Eat squirrels! YUM
Nugent: Fuck Squirrels with a broadhead dipped in DYNAMITE. WANGO TANGO
Shea: Urp
Barbieri: Fighting the city people! Yeah!
Shea: Hell yeah!
Nugent: Bait 'em with foodstamps HO HO
Shea: HO HO Yeah
Barbieri: HAHAHA and peanuts!
Shea: Peanuts?
Nugent: Penises for the libgays! hahaha Kill Elk Yeah!
(it goes on a lot longer but this was the part with the most elucidated exchange of ideas regarding the pre-apocalyptic visioning and strategic planning of certain Northwest GOP representatives)
Submitted by TUBOB on Sat, 07/27/2013 - 5:48pm.
Staying up at the lake to beat the heat draped over Spokane like a thermonuclear blanket on an Ammonia Giant on the hot side of Mercury.
Some random impressions: Every day EVERY FUCKING DAY someone is blasting rounds though their gun either on the other side of the lake or just up the beach. I'm not unused to the gun popping hilarity of the locality. But even for North Idaho this is extreme. IS IT BECAUSE THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR IS ABOUT TO COMMENCE? Scary Obama! It's truly annoying me. I've been tempted to bring out my Mossberg SX 12 gauge auto loaded and arc about 8 fast ones over the lake. But why bother? I'll be gunfighting these microcephalic squirrel eating quilt lovers soon enough.
CURAD CAMO MO-FKNG BANDAIDS - no shit. Bought them in Rathdrum. Perfect for when you got to bandage up the wounds and still BLEND IN WITH THE WOODLANDS. Jesus Christ. This country has gone nuts.
Climate Change weirdness: While North Idaho isn't exactly the canary in the coal mine for climate change (it is, perhaps that for the event horizon of inbred genetics) I was trippin' to watch a bat fly out over the lake eating bugs DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE BLISTERING HOT AFTERNOON. I grabbed a kayak paddle and much impressed the neighbors who were imploring me to get that bat! Lucky for it, it flew a different way. Also - I watched an osprey doing touch and go landings on the lake spraying a sort of osprey rooster tail. WTF was that? Raptors having fun? Dig.
One more day and it's back to civilization and all. I will miss North Idaho. But I will work on my aim!
Submitted by Serephin on Fri, 07/19/2013 - 2:43pm.
We get letters...
Open Letter to Liz Cheney
Ms. Cheney:
Pssssstttt! I’m over here... just across the border in Victor, Idaho. Can we talk?
You’re causing quite a ruckus over the pass in your new state of Wyoming. The GOP establishment is not very happy with you at the moment. You’re coming off a bit brash and aggressive.
I've got a suggestion: move over the border to Victor and run against Senator Risch. Why be persona non grata in Wyoming when you could be a hero in Idaho? Seriously. read more »
Submitted by 123Idaho on Tue, 07/02/2013 - 7:29am.
Follow us at http://twitter.com/123idaho
WILDER — About 20 people gathered Monday near Chula Vista Acres in Wilder to begin a three-day, 30-mile walk from that spot to Meridian City Hall in the name of immigration reform, today's Idaho Press Tribune reports.
“The walk is symbolic,” said Ruby Menendez, a member of the Idaho Community Action Network. “We are collectively taking a path, current voters and future voters, to recognize that real change, lasting change to our immigration system will build a future together.”
The event is a collaborative effort between the ICAN, the Coalition for Immigrant Rights of Idaho and the Community Council of Idaho. The group walked to Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church on Monday and held a vigil Monday night and will continue walking to Nampa all day today.
On Wednesday, they plan to arrive by 1 p.m. at Meridian City Hall for a press conference and rally, and will deliver “thousands of petitions” to Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador’s office to pressure him to vote in favor of the immigration reform bill.
And Labrador sees any compromise at this time as "pandering to Hispanics."
“In fact, the biggest mistake we can make as conservatives is to pander to the Hispanic community and to think that the only way we’re going to get votes is to vote a certain way on immigration,” Labrador said at the monthly ‘Conversations with Conservatives’ event. “Because what we start doing is, we start pandering and we start giving goodies out to people, then we’re going to get into a bidding war with the Democratic Party.”
Labrador said that inciting a bidding war with Democrats over issues such as immigration would only result in Republicans losing because “Democrats are always more willing to give goodies to a certain group than we are.”.
The congressman went on to say he wishes that Republicans would stop basing legislation and policies off of politics because the American people want immigration legislation based on the principle of a secure border.
A bit of history:
On June 5, Labrador, a former immigration attorney, informed his colleagues that he was leaving the bipartisan group negotiating a House immigration bill because he was not satisfied that taxpayers would not have to foot the bill for immigrants in the country illegally in their legislation.
Rather than agree to detailed language on healthcare, the group decided instead to essentially punt the issue and hew to the contours of the Senate Gang of Eight legislation, which makes clear that undocumented immigrants in a provisional legal status cannot receive federal benefits from the 2010 healthcare law.
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