Ridenbaugh Press/publishing

The system works

June 4, 2024

So, he's been convicted. Sentencing to follow July 11.

Those nine words sum up Donald Trump's future at the moment.

Convicted 34 times on 34 felony counts. The New York judge will have that basis to work with as he makes sentencing decisions.

Then, regardless how this drama plays out, there'll be more court cases on other charges - both state and federal. Trump's a long way from a jail cell. If ever. But, he's likely to spend the next several years at the defendant's table in several trials. And, his legal bills will mount with each appearance.

There's been a lot of discussion about how this conviction would affect the nation. Conviction of a former President coming on the heels of national upset at the U.S. Supreme Court with Justice Alito - his questionable flag flying and Clarence Thomas's various indiscretions.

Then, there's the Congress which - of late - has been in continuous turmoil.

All of us have been taught from birth there are three branches of government - the three-legged stool example. Legislative. Judicial. Executive. All working together to form the backbone of our nation.

Now, for the first time, all three of those entities are in turmoil at the same time. Each wrestling with its own demons.

The Alito-Thomas problems are internal to SCOTUS. Whatever cleaning up of the court - if any - will be done internally. Failing a code of conduct/ethics for the court, it's hard to imagine whatever is done will have lasting effects.

As for Trump, he escapes one travail after another. Though he faces still more trouble in other courts, it's doubtful he'll ultimately become a ward of the state.

Prior to his conviction, he predicted Americans would stage national protests. But, nothing's happened. Now, he says, if he's jailed, the nation "won't stand for it" and "there'll be rioting in the streets." We'll see. Most people I know seem O.K. with the idea of jail time..

A "rump" group of eight Republican Senators has vowed to deep-six any Democrat-sponsored bills. Speaker Johnson has vowed "vengeance" in the House - whatever that means.

So, we're assured more gridlock - more grandstanding by Republican members. Action on "the people's business" coming to a stop.

Possibly the most disappointing and alarming reactions - from people who should know better - involve threatened attacks on our national justice system. Vows are being made to "overhaul" it. Again, whatever that means.

Since the conviction, many in the GOP have responded like spoiled children. Ignoring the criminal acts that Trump has committed, while heaping scorn on the courts, is hardly the reaction you'd expect from right-thinking adults. But, it is what it is. To our shame.

Trump was tried and convicted according to the laws of New York State. He will be sentenced under those same laws. All legal. All in the public eye. All based on sound evidence.

Republicans attacking the system and threatening retribution would be better off keeping their peace and accepting a jury's verdict and an honorable judge's sentencing.

The system works.

The urgent need for election reform

The urgent need for election reform

June 3, 2024

Once again, the results of the Republican primary election graphically demonstrate how the closed primary, together with massive amounts of out-of-state dark money, ensures minority-controlled government in Idaho. It is no wonder that Dorothy Moon’s extremist branch of the GOP is doing everything possible to stop election reform. If Idaho voters approve the Open Primaries Initiative on November 5, the stranglehold she and her extremist allies have over the Republican Party will be forever broken. The Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) will lose its grip on the Legislature. Reasonable, pragmatic Republicans will oust the divisive GOP culture warriors from positions of power. Every Idahoan will have an equal voice in choosing their leaders.

Ever since far-right extremists closed the Republican primary in 2011, they have been able to tighten their grip on seats in the Legislature. That’s why we see librarians, teachers, doctors, pregnant women needing emergency care, LGBTQ folks and others disliked by the extremists under nearly constant attack. Using hard-edged tactics and tainted campaign cash, they have been able to defeat traditional Republicans in the low-turnout primary, virtually ensuring success in the general election.

The culture warriors who won their primary with just a small percentage of the registered voters in their district foretell another 2 years of frightening legislation. Dan Foreman, who supports private armed militias parading in public and who wants to deny abortions to rape and incest victims, won his race for the District 6 Senate seat with just 11.5% of the registered voters. In 2022 he won his seat with only 8.8%.

Christy Zito took the District 8 Senate seat from Geoff Schroeder, a remarkable Senator, with just 16.8% of registered voters. Zito is a Christian nationalist who supports library bans and guns in schools..

Scott Syme, who had a distinguished 32-year military career, was beaten by Brandon Shippy for the District 9 Senate seat with 15.8% of the registered voters. Shippy, who had the support of the IFF and other far-right groups would deny abortions to rape and incest victims. He supports subordination of wives to their husbands.

Julie Yamamoto, who stood tall for public education and against using taxpayer money for private and religious schooling, lost her House 11A seat to Kent Marmon after a brutal election campaign. Marmon did it with just 9.5% of the registered vote. Marmon is a favorite of the IFF and its fellow-traveling extremist groups. He supports tax money being used to pay for private and parochial schooling.

Brian Lenney, an IFF-supported culture warrior, retained his Senate seat in District 13 with just 10.8% of the registered vote. This was the second time he bested Jeff Agenbroad, who served as a well-regarded and effective Senator from 2016 to 2022. Lenney won the seat in 2022 with 12.7% of the vote. Lenney is a supporter of using taxpayer money for private and religious schooling and seems to believe that women should be kept in their place.

Josh Keyser beat Senate leader Chuck Winder with 10.2% of the registered vote. Keyser had the support of the IFF and a number of other far-right groups. Winder, who has been unwilling to put up with the IFF’s antics, was heavily targeted by out-of-state dark money and underhanded negative campaigning.

Unless and until Idaho is able to get rid of the closed Republican primary, we will see a repeat of this election pattern long into the future. GOP extremists cleverly engineered a hostile takeover of the GOP in 2011 by closing their primary election. Since then, they have pushed the party farther to the right with every passing year. They will not stop, but the voters can call them up short in November by voting to approve the Open Primaries Initiative. That will allow traditional Republicans and independents to have a real say in who represents them in important public offices.

Easing up on the ideology

Easing up on the ideology

June 2, 2024

Oregon’s highest-profile primary elections did not appear to carry strong messages: Voters sporadically showed what they wanted or didn’t.

But there were exceptions. Two examples in particular, both on the county level in Multnomah and Yamhill counties, were notably clear in demanding a change of direction from what had been endorsed before. The message in both was unmistakable: Extremes in experiments and ideological projects are unwelcome, and what’s wanted is a government that works.

The race for Multnomah County district attorney concerned maybe the most embattled political figure in Oregon so far this decade: Mike Schmidt.

Schmidt had prosecutor and policy experience when he was elected Multnomah DA in 2020 in a landslide. He ran clearly as one of several “reform” big-city prosecutors around the country. On election night that year, he said: “The message from Multnomah County voters was loud and clear: They are ready for major reform in our criminal justice system.”

Problems multiplied fast even before he started and by the time his predecessor resigned. That was the summer of George Floyd demonstrations in Portland, of long-running rioting and vandalism, and in the months to come of increased homelessness and open drug usage in the wake of passage of Initiative 110. Schmidt’s professed approach, moving away from harsh enforcement, became much less popular. Several eventual statements from Schmidt calling for a crackdown on violence and vandalism didn’t land well.

His standing was damaged, too, by accusations of weak management. But the core complaint against Schmidt, reflecting widespread polling in Portland over the last four years, is that public safety conditions needed strong improvement, quickly and decisively.

Schmidt’s opponent this year, Nathan Vasquez, who has been a prosecutor for 25 years, ran with the implicit call for a return to something like what Portlanders grew to expect during the three decades it was run by Mike Schrunk, who made gradual reforms along the way but operated in a mostly quiet and non-controversial but professionally effective, and politically popular way.

The law and order message was so clear that it reached the White House. The website Politico reported, “The defeat of a liberal Portland prosecutor at the hands of a tough-on-crime challenger has hardened a view among top White House officials that Democrats need to further distance themselves from their left flank on law-and-order issues.”

Local Republicans may take notice, too, especially of the areas of Multnomah that voted most strongly for Vasquez, on the east side around Gresham but also in parts of the west Portland area.

A comparable message on competence and professionalism, with a very different background, emerged a few miles to the west in Yamhill County, in a race for county commissioner.

The incumbent was Lindsay Berschauer, a media consultant who was elected to the Yamhill County Commission in 2020. With close ties to the county’s effective Republican organization, she won a four-year term and aligned on the commission, generally, with Mary Starrett, a former Constitution Party candidate for governor in 2006.

Berschauer, now chair of the commission, became contentious enough to become the target of a recall attempt just two years later; she won that by about the same percentage she had in 2020, around 52% to 48%. Berschauer did not adopt a cautious approach, however. She faced more controversy, with culture war issues and the commission’s rejection of a proposed rail to trail project that cost the county $2 million.

An editorial in the McMinnville News-Register said this year, “Berschauer seems to relish being a lightning rod. A professional political consultant by trade, primarily in the Portland metro area, she publicly ripped members of the county staff in her first meeting.”

Her main opponent this year, David “Bubba” King, presented himself as an unaligned and nonpartisan contender, in opposition to ideologically driven anger and roiling local government battles. He engaged in efforts to tamp down some of those activities in his home Newberg area, such as in his local school district, and turned his attention to Berschauer late in 2023.

In a three-person primary race, King fell short by only a handful of votes from winning outright, but Bertschauer’s take of the vote dropped to about 44%. She is likely to fall short in the November runoff.

The result was widely seen as a shift on what a majority of Yamhill’s voters are willing to tolerate. The county is well to the right of Multnomah, but the core message from the voters was similar: Pay attention to the county’s work and put ideology to the side.

If there’s any similarity in attitude around the country this fall, that message could be meaningful in the upcoming general elections.

This column appeared originally in the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

The appeal of authoritarians

The appeal of authoritarians

June 1, 2024

(NOTE: This column was filed before a New York City jury on Thursday returned guilty verdicts on 34 felony charges against Donald Trump.)

Well, it isn’t as though we haven’t been warned.

Some of us, believing that common sense — even common decency — would ultimately prevail, continue to expect the best in the face of the worst. The good old USA has been through a whole lot, they say, and we’ll get through this.

Others, believing their political opponents are always wrong and seething with anger at the changing faces of their country, talk of “derangement syndrome.” They are willing to pass off former President Donald Trump’s vulgar threats to judges, insults to women, “Muslim bans,” “Mexican rapists” and unhinged suggestions that a gulp of bleach could end a deadly pandemic. His boast that a third term, the Constitution notwithstanding, is part of his plan doesn’t faze them.

Still others believe our courts will enforce the rule of law against our authoritarian and his lawless acolytes, even as he stood outside his courtroom mouthing the endless lies of a lifelong con man who promises to pardon the men and women convicted of mounting an insurrection to overturn an election he lost. He knows democracy works on the honor system and he has none.

Some contend the old man in the White House is the problem. President Joe Biden is too feeble, too liberal, a destroyer of some idealized vision of America that never was and never will be. It’s all about the economy, they say. But after a prolonged pandemic that our authoritarian mishandled with deadly consequences, the U.S. economy is doing quite well.

As The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell notes: “In reality, the U.S. economy has been growing consistently for nearly two years, even after accounting for inflation. By virtually every benchmark, in fact, we’re exceeding growth expectations. The U.S. economy has been outperforming other advanced economies. We’re also doing better than pre-pandemic forecasts had situated us by now, both in terms of gross domestic product and the number of jobs out there. This generally isn’t true elsewhere in the world.”

But those are facts, not the hard liquor of grievance that powers authoritarian politics.

It’s not as though Trump hasn’t told us he plans to be a dictator — only for a day he confidently proclaims — and such talk is easy for some to dismiss, but only if you don’t listen to the detailed plans for his second term. He’s really not going to destroy the nonpartisan civil service, is he? Those mass deportations and internment camps are just campaign season talk, aren’t they? Withdrawal from NATO: Can he do that? Wholesale pardons? Surely not.

Sure he provides a platform for white nationalist racism and posts a video saying all liberals will die when he’s back in power, but that’s just the way he talks, right? Claims of total immunity? Not to worry. The courts won’t let anything really, really bad happen, will they?

He talks of “human scum” and tells supporters he will deport all the pro-Palestinian protesters while courting Wall Street and Big Oil with promises of more tax cuts and more warming of the climate. But he was good for business, wasn’t he? At least his tax cuts worked for the people who frequent his golf courses.

Trump has outsourced his plans for another term, such as they are, to the Heritage Foundation, which has produced “Project 2025,” an ultra-right-wing manifesto that proposes to be the playbook for an authoritarian American state: Eliminate public education, white Christian Nationalism, further restrict abortion, deport millions and institute a loyalty test for anyone in the federal government. The “project” is our “Mein Kampf” for the 21st century.

Of course, it’s not like he has any real plan to improve anything. But that’s not the point, is it? He makes some of us feel really good by saying outrageous things and giving a middle finger to all the old complications of democracy. He speaks for me, some say, when he speaks of hatred and revenge and attacks a “crooked” legal system that strangely is best exemplified by his Supreme Court, which reeks of the entitlement, arrogance and elitism that his supporters believe he’ll eviscerate.

After promising to destroy 50 years of established law concerning abortion, he now has no straight answer about whether he’d support a national ban or how he feels about contraception. Testimony at his recent trial confirmed he didn’t wear a condom with the porn star, so perhaps we have his views on the subject.

As Marianne Levine wrote in The Washington Post: “In under 48 hours this week, Donald Trump’s social media account promoted a video featuring a term frequently associated with Nazi Germany and later removed it. He suggested he was open to states restricting access to contraceptives and then walked that back. He falsely accused President Biden of being ‘locked & loaded’ to ‘take me out.’ And in between, he was in court as his legal team rested its case in his ongoing criminal trial.”

It isn’t as though we haven’t been warned.

“His campaign speeches these days ring with Nazi rhetoric,” The Guardian’s Margaret Sullivan wrote this week, “as he claims that immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood of our country’ and that his political opponents are ‘vermin.’ ”

Trump recently posted a video calling for a “unified Reich.” This language isn’t any longer a mere dog whistle, it is a blaring claxon. And it is working with many of his followers who willingly embrace his brand of American fascism.

To understand the appeal of what has happened one must understand the history of authoritarian movements, as the great British journalist and writer George Orwell understood them in the 1930s and later.

In his famous 1940 review of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto — the aforementioned “Mein Kampf” — Orwell wrote: “The initial, personal cause of his grievance against the universe can only be guessed at; but at any rate the grievance is here. He is the martyr, the victim, Prometheus chained to the rock, the self-sacrificing hero who fights single-handed against impossible odds. If he were killing a mouse he would know how to make it seem like a dragon.”

The appeal of the authoritarian is visceral and very personal, Orwell said, for “Hitler could not have succeeded against his many rivals if it had not been for the attraction of his own personality, which one can feel even in the clumsy writing of ‘Mein Kampf,’ and which is no doubt overwhelming when one hears his speeches. … The fact is that there is something deeply appealing about him. One feels it again when one sees his photographs … a pathetic, dog-like face, the face of a man suffering under intolerable wrongs. In a rather more manly way, it reproduces the expression of innumerable pictures of Christ crucified, and there is little doubt that that is how Hitler sees himself.”

Our authoritarian has, of course, repeatedly compared himself to Jesus.

It isn’t as though we haven’t been warned.

The new Republican geography

The new Republican geography

May 31, 2024

On June 13 the Idaho Republican Party will hold its biennial convention at Coeur d’Alene, and the delegates to it will decide on a number of things, including resolutions, a platform and party leadership.

Those decisions have been playing an increasingly central role in Idaho government, so they matter.

It might, or might not.

Marco Erickson, a Republican state representative from Idaho Falls, evidently is in the “it will” category, and his reasons are understandable and based on personal experience.

Party officials on the state, and in many places, county level have in the last few years gotten into the business of critiquing votes on legislation and even specific debates and statements by Republican legislators, calling them on the carpet, censuring and even threatening them with a loss of party support, in ways the party has never done in Idaho. It hasn’t happened everywhere around the state, but it has in many places.

Erickson was among those legislators criticized by his local Republican organization. He rebuffed the party actions, and has prevailed: This month he won his contested primary election and a precinct committeeman seat, which makes him a party official. He was one of a bunch of Republican legislators in the Bonneville County area where that happened. On top of that, the roster of precinct officials changed too.

Speaking of state Republican Chair Dorothy Moon, Erickson told writer Chuck Malloy, “She will not be returning as the party’s chairwoman, and I think she knows that … Every candidate they have endorsed in the last two years has lost, with the exception of one state race. In Bonneville County, voters paid attention to the negativity they were spreading, and they didn’t like it.”

Bonneville County is likely to raise major objections to the party leadership’s direction.

But what about the rest of the state?

Overall, 15 incumbent Republican legislators lost their primaries. A few of those who lost were aligned with GOP leadership but most were not. The Magic Valley legislative roster saw a sharp turn to the right, and determined and strong efforts against some of the party-aligned members in places like Nampa, Middleton, Mountain Home and Moscow-Lewiston all fell short.

I’ve seen no reports yet on how the Republican precinct committee contests statewide - and there were an unusual number this year - have shaken out. But if they reflect at all the results in legislative races, as seems likely, then what’s emerging may be this:

A geographic mottling of different kinds of Republicans prevailing in different parts of the state, sometimes in hard to predict locations. The Idaho Falls area may be a geographic center of some of the resistance. Other regions may run more in the other direction.

In the panhandle, Kootenai County shows signs of sticking with its hard right, but the Bonner-Boundary area seems more conflicted, as does Latah-Nez Perce. The Magic Valley seems to have taken a sharp turn toward the right; Canyon County may have too.

Why is Idaho Falls reacting as it has? Maybe the fact that its party organization has more visibly and enthusiastically than in most places gone after its legislators for a lack of platform purity - thereby generating an angry reaction - was a factor. If so, then only time may be needed for similar dynamics to rise up elsewhere.

Last December, Erickson seemed to envision as much: He speculated the party actions against legislators in Bonneville County, “wakes up people to the idea of why they need to run as precinct officers. We need to have rational people in there and civil discourse again.”

A new Republican geography may be on the rise. And we may see it reflected at the state convention in Coeur d’Alene.

Replacements?

Replacements?

May 29, 2024

If Dorothy Moon wins another term as chair of the Idaho Republican Party, it will be without the help of Bonneville County Republicans.

That’s because the central committee’s leadership team, which includes Doyle Beck and former congressional candidate Bryan Smith, were thrown out on primary election night and a new slate of officers will move in after reorganization this week.

The immediate focus of the leadership team will be to restore peace and harmony to the central committee. In mid-June, during the state party’s convention in Coeur d’Alene, the group will be leading the charge to remove Moon as the GOP’s leader. At least one state representative thinks that a change is inevitable.

“She will not be returning as the party’s chairwoman, and I think she knows that,” said Rep. Marco Erickson of Idaho Falls, who was re-elected to a third term in the Legislature and won a precinct position as well.

Predictions can be perilous in a state convention, where mood swings can change rapidly. But Bonneville County is a traditional Republican hotbed and delegates there can have a big say over who runs the party and how the platform reads. If the statewide turnover rate of precinct positions is anything like Bonneville County’s, then Moon’s chairmanship may end.

Erickson and friends in Bonneville County would have no trouble getting support from the likes of Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke – assuming that they bother showing up to the convention. They are no fans of Moon, or her brand of leadership.

So, we’ll see what happens in the Lake City rumble. To borrow from the late sports announcer, Keith Jackson, this should be “a real slobberknocker.”

Meanwhile, the post-election celebrations continue in Bonneville County, where six incumbents who were reprimanded in some form by the central committee, easily won re-election. According to Erickson, the party’s more moderate faction now holds 40 of the county’s 53 precinct posts.

“The central committee had zero influence,” Erickson said. “Every candidate they have endorsed in the last two years has lost, with the exception of one state race. In Bonneville County, voters paid attention to the negativity they were spreading, and they didn’t like it. To lawmakers, they tried to call us names – like RINOs or Democrats. No, we’re all Republicans.”

Rep. Wendy Horman, a co-chair of the Legislature’s budget-writing committee, said that primary voters sent a strong message.

“The message is that we (legislators) are more in touch with voters than the central committee. Voters spoke loud and clear that they don’t care for DC-style campaigning and they want to be the ones to hold their legislators accountable,” she said. “All six of us were brought under that inquisition process, and all of us won.”

The other winners included Sens. Kevin Cook and Dave Lent and Reps. Barbara Ehardt and Stephanie Mickelsen, who the central committee tried to bar from running on the Republican ticket.

“I don’t think they (the central committee) had the influence they thought they had,” Mickelsen said. “I think you will see a more collaborative relationship between legislators and the central committee … without feeling that we’re in front of a jury trial, and without being with someone who is trying to reprimand us. We can have a good conversation, without kangaroo courts or trying to take away the ‘R.’ It has been a difficult situation for a long time with the legislators and the central committee.”

Erickson says the central committee will have a new direction – one that supports Republicans and does not choose winners and losers in a primary campaign. Erickson says that as a precinct officer, he plans to support all Republican candidates – even those he might not like.

“If you are the Republican candidate, then you will be treated well,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve felt confident that the central committee will not have a side agenda, or not having some puppeteer pulling the strings.”

One of the first orders of business for the revamped central committee, he says, will be to reverse the reprimands against his fellow legislators.

“Hopefully, there also will be an apology,” he said.

Chuck Malloy is a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com

The danger is now

The danger is now

May 28, 2024

There comes a time when you've got to say "Enough is enough!"

For me, when talking about the 48-percent of Americans who refuse to get vaccinated, that time is NOW! Enough is enough!

The child-like stubbornness exhibited when it comes to protecting oneself from the ravages of COVID - and whatever morphs from these strains we're now dealing with - has created very dangerous conditions for all of us. Damned fools who refuse scientific fact are listening to TV talking heads who know nothing. But, you just know, the talking heads have gotten their own shots.

People with real medical emergencies are being turned away from hospitals filled with unnecessary COVID cases and sick fools who've taken horse medications. People have died because of this mindless refusal on the part of some 48-million of us to get the shot(s).

Health care programs like Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance are being hit with unnecessary costs. Again, from these same people - driving the costs of care up by their ignorant behavior.

Because of the lying excrement from Faux Neus, OAN and other right-wing media, that ignorance is seen as "truth" - as "knowledge" - from their closed-circuit input of lies. They 'exist' in a world of fallacies, fantasies and untruths, ignoring mountains of scientific advice and evidence from government agencies steeped in many years of research.

We're being warned by credible medical authorities that, if current conditions continue without change, if the unvaccinated count remains as it is, more than 100-thousand of us will die this year because of the large number of people unvaccinated.

We see calls for government or business to "do something." Do what?

This medically dangerous condition in nearly half of all Americans not taking the necessary steps to protect themselves - to protect the rest of us - can't be remedied by either entity. The shots - paid for by government - are free. Programs and campaigns underwritten by business already exist. Again, do what?

Let's fantasize here a moment.

Suppose we stop paying for these miscreants when they eventually show up at the hospital. And they will. Medicare, Medicaid, all private insurance. Just stop paying. Do lots of advertising. Posters, news stories everywhere. Even sky-write if necessary. Really get the word out. No shot, you're on your own for all associated heath care costs. Every penny.

Second, make masks mandatory, when necessary, in all places of business for the unvaccinated - Mom and Pop groceries to Yankee Stadium! No mask, no vaccination card, no entry. And enforce it.

Third, for businesses having sales on merchandise, no discount for the unvaccinated. Show a valid shot card or pay full price. For businesses selling large items like RV's, cars, boats or even houses, add 10% to the price for the unvaccinated.

Now, I realize these fantasies come from an old desert rat. And, there are likely laws to prevent some of the "recommendations." And, legal challenges sure to come.

But, if we don't start thinking "out-of-the-box" and take some stiff actions to increase compliance, more than 100-thousand Americans will die each year!

We can't stop Faux Neus and the other irresponsible media from their deceitful and disgusting output. We can't stop the flow of lies and disinformation rampant on (un)social media. "First Amendment" don't ya know.

But, allowing nearly half the population of this nation to endanger the lives of the rest of us - and themselves - can't continue.

When you have insurance companies, medical practice organizations and hospitals trying to recruit retired professionals, you have to realize what's coming. Every day, some of those 40-million or so, unvaccinated are flooding the system. In some cases, forcing denial of life-saving care for the innocent - people who got the vaccine but have immediate care needs and can't gain access due to the lines of the unvaccinated.

There is no 'one answer.' But, if our nation is going to continue to function - if we're ever going to be a healthy nation again - if we're going to avoid the destruction of our health care system - we need real answers.

NOW!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day

May 27, 2024

The last Monday in May has been established by Congress as Memorial Day, the day to remember, honor and mourn the Americans who have died in the country’s wars. We should all put aside our differences on May 27 to thank those who gave their last full measure to protect America’s “government of the people, by the people and for the people” as President Abraham Lincoln described it.

Memorial Day encompasses the almost 1.4 million Americans who have died in the country’s wars and conflicts, beginning with the Revolutionary War. That figure does not tell the full story of our war dead because each conflict leaves a broad wake of destruction, including future deaths of service personnel from war-related physical and psychological wounds, substance abuse, suicide and exposure to harmful substances like Agent Orange and burn pit emissions.

Our recent conflicts, starting with the Korean war, had disappointing outcomes, which left a bitter taste in the mouths of many, including some veterans who fought in them. I remember going overseas in 1968 with a country generally in support of the Vietnam War and returning in 1969 to a fiercely divided country. Even though the 58,220 Americans who died in the Vietnam War served honorably, they did not get the measure of respect owed to them by a broad spectrum of their countrymen. It took years for many Americans to separate their anger against the war from their feelings toward those who served in it. The dead, and the survivors, were doing just what was asked of them. The politicians, not the soldiers, were responsible for the unfortunate outcomes.

When I returned from Vietnam, I was proud of my service and felt like we had kept South Vietnam from being taken over by the Communists. When Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese on April 30, 1975, it was like a knife to the heart for me and many other Vietnam veterans. All of those lives had been wasted with nothing to show for it, not to mention the many thousands of South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians who died, the American troops who returned home with serious health problems that would plague them for years to come and the lingering hard feelings of Americans on both sides of the war issue. Was it all for naught?

There was nothing to do for it those years later, but Americans could step forward to remember and memorialize the brave Americans who lost their lives in service to the country. An Idaho Falls group, the Freedom Bird, named after the flights that took the troops home from Vietnam, decided to do just that. Freedom Bird announced plans in 1984 to construct a state memorial to recognize and honor those who died in the war. The funds were raised, the state designation was obtained and the Idaho Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on August 4, 1990.

Freedom Bird members followed up with a book recognizing the 251 Idahoans who were listed as dead or missing. The book, “Reasons to Remember: A tribute to the unsung heroes of the Vietnam War” was written by Marilyn Whyte of Blackfoot and published in 2002. It included biographies of the fallen, as well as stories based on input furnished by their survivors. It provided an insight into the character of many of these individuals who died in service to their country.

The book is, unfortunately, out of print, but used copies are available on Amazon. More can be found about the Freedom Bird project in my book, “Vietnam…Can’t Get You Out of My Mind,” which is also available on Amazon or from Ridenbaugh Press.

The point is that we all have the ability, just like the Freedom Bird members, to take the time and effort to honor those who have died in the United States’ wars and conflicts. Dislike for the conflict itself is beside the point. May 27 will soon be upon us and it is incumbent upon Idahoans and other Americans, regardless of political leanings, to pay respects to the men and women who have given their all for the Land of the free and home of the brave.

Footnote

Footnote

May 26, 2024

I got these publications as a State Senator and read them avidly. “Facts, Figures and Trends” published by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Now, on the Board of Health and Welfare, I get them again. You could read them online. I get great joy from turning the pages and folding over a corner. But they are printed at your, the taxpayers’ expense.

The trends, the facts are thrilling.

That’s a joke.

But if you are in charge of spending the public’s money, I believe you should pay attention to how it is spent. I watch our current batch of Idaho legislators and I don’t think they are paying much attention. You should be.

Let me draw your attention to the plot twist on page 57. This pertains to the Division of Family and Community Services, specifically Foster Care. The graphs clearly show that the number of children placed in foster care has gone down over the past four years. Yeah, the crowd roars, less children needing state intervention. But then it shows the cost of this to the taxpayers has tripled. If I was still on the Budget committee, I’d be looking at that pretty closely.

To be honest, you should know the IDHW, and the oversight committee has their eyes on this. But you, the voter, the taxpayer should too. Ask your legislator at the next town hall when he asks for your vote. I’ll bet you get a blank look.

We shouldn’t overlook the foreshadowing on page 31. This is a different chapter concerning the Division of Behavioral Health. The data here is deep, but on the forementioned page numbers struck me. Facts, don’t you love them?

The table shows the number of children served by this division over the last four years. In 2020 3,300. In 2023, 1715.

What? Are there suddenly half as many children needing mental services? Indeed, the number of court-ordered services dropped by 25% too. Are our youth suddenly more resilient? Are we doing something great that we should all know about?

Then I turn to page 35. The plot deepens.

Adults have also seen a decline in services. Over the four-year trend, 2000 less adults needed behavioral health services between 2020 and 2023. Only a quarter needed other services, housing, meds, employment.

Don’t skip over the footnotes.

Should footnotes be at the bottom of the page or in the back? Same type, or smaller? This one was on the same page, but small enough print I needed to squint.

Medicaid expansion happened in January 2020. Many adults needing behavioral health services became eligible for this health insurance and then moved to that care.

Do your legislators know such care is paid for with 75% federal dollars? Taxes pay for all of this. How do you want to pay?

Of course, maybe you just don’t think folks need this care. These are important questions. You might want to ask your representative.

I’ll skip over the bouncing numbers of communicable diseases on page 132.

At community town halls I have heard my representative say about Medicaid: “We can’t just keep paying for this, we have to get a handle on these expenses.”

I would encourage our representatives to get a handle on the expense by embracing the numbers. Only by paying attention to details can we manage a budget.

But then the question comes, should we embrace our fellow citizens with the comfort of health insurance?

Do you even understand where Medicaid money is spent?

You legislators are still whining about Medicaid Expansion. But the annual taxpayers’ cost for those coved by this health insurance is about $7500. While we taxpayers pay over $20,000 a year for the health insurance for our legislators.

Maybe you just think you deserve it, and others don’t.