Right Mind

Prison Justice

From CNN:

Officials: Inmate got 'Katie's Revenge' tattoo by force

EVANSVILLE, Indiana (AP) -- An inmate serving a life sentence for molesting and murdering a 10-year-old girl named Katie was apparently forcibly tattooed across the forehead by a fellow prisoner with the words "KATIE'S REVENGE," authorities say.

Continued

Shofar, not so good: Blower barred from Temple Mount -- Israelis concerned sound of Jewish instrument offensive to Muslims congregating at holy site

I’m really surprised that the Jews would fall for this. From World Net Daily:

A Jewish man removed by Israeli police from a key section of the Western Wall for blowing the shofar, or ceremonial ram's horn, during prayer services for last weekend's Rosh Hashana high holiday has been barred from the holy site for the upcoming Jewish holidays, WND has learned.

The shofar traditionally is blown hundreds of times during Rosh Hashana prayers.

Shmulik Ben Ruby, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Police Authority, told WND the Jewish man, 19-year-old Jerusalem resident Eliyahi Kleiman, was taken forcibly from the Western Wall last weekend for fear the sound of the shofar would offend nearby Muslims congregating on the Temple Mount, which is opposite the wall.

"Hundreds of Muslims went up to the Temple Mount. In order to prevent any tensions between the two sides, we asked Kleiman to stop blowing the shofar," Ben Ruby said. "He continued and so he was removed and detained."

Update: Looks like this has been overruled. Good.

A Jewish man who was barred from the Western Wall after blowing the shofar, or ceremonial ram's horn, during prayer services for last weekend's Rosh Hashana high holiday is allowed to return to the holy site after an Israeli judge yesterday cancelled a police restraining order.

Shmulik Ben Ruby, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Police Authority, told WND earlier the Jewish man, 19-year-old Jerusalem resident Eliyahi Kleiman, was taken forcibly from the Western Wall last weekend for fear the sound of the shofar he was blowing would offend nearby Muslims congregating on the Temple Mount, which is opposite the wall.

Boys told no standing to urinate: 'It is a human right not to have to sit down like a girl'

OK, now they’ve gone too far.

From World Net Daily:

It's an entirely new definition of "Standing Room Only." Or perhaps a new measure of "equality" has arrived.

Whatever it is, it has sparked a huge political debate at a school in Kristiansand, Norway, according to the Norwegian paper Fædrelandsvennen.

The trigger for the explosion of opinion? A decision in the local district that schoolboys must sit on toilet seats when urinating, not stand.

According to the news report, the rule was announced for boys at Dvergsnes School, prompting outrage from Vidar Kleppe, the chief of The Democrats Party.

He's accusing the school of "fiddling with God's work," and now he wants the issue discussed at the executive committee level of the area council, according to the newspaper "Dagbladet."

"When boys are not allowed to pee in the natural way, the way boys have done for generations, it is meddling with God's work," Kleppe, whose group is a splinter group of former Progress Party hardliners, said in the newspaper.

HT: John V.

Tasked with pinpointing motivation, analysts find terrorists 'rational actors' following 'holy book'

My friend John V. writes:

Five years after 9/11 the Pentagon is getting around to reading the Koran and now knows what many have known for the past five years and is common knowledge among those who've read the book.  

I wonder if "Bushie" will allow this "analysis" to become public or will he order it be given a security classification of:  "DEEP DARK SECRET NEVER TO SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY- BURN/SHRED/MUTILATE/FOLD ON SIGHT".

It’s as I’ve said before: there is warrant within the Koran for the atrocities that we see. Muslims have to go against their holy book not to follow its precepts.

Here’s a thought for the day: why do you think that “fundamentalist Muslims” are called “fundamentalists”? Is it not because they are going back to the fundamentals of their holy text?

Dedicated to Nick Gier, who still cannot tell the difference. From WND:

With suicide bombings spreading from Iraq to Afghanistan, the Pentagon has tasked intelligence analysts to pinpoint what's driving Muslim after Muslim to do the unthinkable.

Their preliminary finding is politically explosive: it's their "holy book" the Quran after all, according to intelligence briefings obtained by WND. [DMC: Duh! I wonder how much money and time was spent on coming up with that revelation?]

In public, the U.S. government has made an effort to avoid linking the terrorist threat to Islam and the Quran while dismissing suicide terrorists as crazed heretics who pervert Islamic teachings.

"The terrorists distort the idea of jihad into a call for violence and murder," the White House maintains in its recently released "National Strategy for Combating Terrorism" report.

But internal Pentagon briefings show intelligence analysts have reached a wholly different conclusion after studying Islamic scripture and the backgrounds of suicide terrorists. They've found that most Muslim suicide bombers are in fact students of the Quran who are motivated by its violent commands – making them, as strange as it sounds to the West, "rational actors" on the Islamic stage.

In Islam, it is not how one lives one's life that guarantees spiritual salvation, but how one dies, according to the briefings. There are great advantages to becoming a martyr. Dying while fighting the infidels in the cause of Allah reserves a special place and honor in Paradise. And it earns special favor with Allah.

"Suicide in defense of Islam is permitted, and the Islamic suicide bomber is, in the main, a rational actor," concludes a recent Pentagon briefing paper titled, "Motivations of Muslim Suicide Bombers."

Not all Christians share view

The following letter to the editor appeared in today’s Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

In his Sept. 23 column, Ed Iverson once again shines his black and white flashlight on the world. It is probably too much to ask him to recognize that not all Christians share his views. But when he makes statements which imply that we all agree, I must protest.

At the very least I hope that those who read his words will understand that his views do not represent all Christians. For example, he writes, “Do Christians … denounce homosexual marriage?” I suspect he thinks the answer is (or at least should be) yes.

Let me state as clearly as possible that the answer is no, not all Christians denounce homosexual marriage. Many of us have a very different understanding of how to read and interpret scripture regarding this matter.

My own view is that the God of Love rejoices whenever and wherever genuine love and commitment are expressed. In the words of singer/songwriter Michael Tomlinson, “God doesn’t care who we love, just that we do.” I’m quite certain nothing I have to say regarding this important issue will change Ed Iverson’s mind, but hopefully others will be able to recognize that he does not speak for all of us.

Pastor Roger Lynn, Moscow

One has to wonder if Lynn’s conclusions are more from isegesis than exegesis; less from historic orthodoxy than moral relativism.

Lynn has drunk deep from the well: if you don’t believe in anything, you’ll fall for everything.

Cartoons

More cartoons about the Democratic Party members.

Gore: Cigarette Smoking 'Significant' Contributor To Global Warming

And this is the man that the Dems saw as their political Messiah in 2000?

Via the Drudge Report:

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore warned hundreds of U.N. diplomats and staff on Thursday evening about the perils of climate change, claiming: Cigarette smoking is a "significant contributor to global warming!"

Gore, who was introduced by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said the world faces a "full-scale climate emergency that threatens the future of civilization on earth."

Gore showed computer-generated projections of ocean water rushing in to submerge the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, parts of China, India and other nations, should ice shelves in Antarctica or Greenland melt and slip into the sea.

"The planet itself will do nicely, thank you very much what is at risk is human civilization," Gore said.

HT: John V.

Ohio car dealer drops "Jihad" commercial

Ohio car dealer drops "Jihad" commercial Mon Sep 25, 5:21 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A car dealership in Ohio has decided not to run a commercial proclaiming a "jihad" on the U.S. auto market, a Muslim activist group said on Monday.

Continued: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060925/od_nm/autos_jihad_dc

‘Fertility gap' helps explain political divide: Analysis finds party preferences reflect marriage, parental status

From USA Today:

Republican House members overwhelmingly come from districts that have high percentages of married people and lots of children, according to a USA TODAY analysis of 2005 Census Bureau data released last month.

GOP Congress members represent 39.2 million children younger than 18, about 7 million more than Democrats. Republicans average 7,000 more children per district.

Many Democrats represent areas that have many single people and relatively few children [DMC: Is that because they have aborted off their progeny?]. Democratic districts that have large numbers of children tend to be predominantly Hispanic or, to a lesser extent, African-American.

This “fertility gap” is crucial to understanding the differences between liberals and conservatives, says Arthur Brooks, a professor of public administration at Syracuse University. These childbearing patterns shape divisions over issues such as welfare, education and child tax credits, he says.

…

big difference in family life is clear:

• Democrats represent 59 districts in which less than half of adults are married. Republicans represent only two.
• Democrats represent 30 districts in which less than half of children live with married parents. Republicans represent none.

“The biggest gaps in American politics are religion, race and marital status,” says Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg.

HT: Tim T.

Marriage gap could sway elections: Residents' status often predicts district's vote

First of two articles that are getting a lot of discussion in the blogosphere. From USA Today:

The wedding band could be crucial in this fall's congressional elections, according to a USA TODAY analysis of 2005 Census data.

House districts held by Republicans are full of married people. Democratic districts are stacked with people who have never married. This “marriage gap” could play a role in the Nov. 7 congressional elections. Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to take control of the House of Representatives.

Twenty-seven of the 38 Republican-held districts with seats considered vulnerable by independent political analysts have fewer married people than found in the average GOP district. The USA TODAY analysis also shows that:

• Republicans control 49 of the 50 districts with the highest rates of married people.
• Democrats represent all 50 districts that have the highest rates of adults who have never married.

The political tug-of-war is between people who are married and those who have never been.

The “never married” group covers a variety of groups who form the Democratic base: young people, those who marry late in life, single parents, gays, and heterosexuals who live together.

The marriage divide drew attention in the 2004 presidential race. President Bush beat John Kerry by 15 percentage points among married people and lost by 18 percentage points among unmarried people, according to an exit poll conducted by national news media organizations.

HT: Tim T.

Accused Burglar Sues Homeowner Who Shot Him

Accused Burglar Sues Homeowner Who Shot Him Thu Sep 28, 1:28 PM ET

A Janesville man who admitted breaking into a home is suing the homeowner who shot him.

Continued:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/wisn/20060928/lo_wisn/9950016

HT: Gary E.

Clinton's Braggadocio Will Haunt U.S. in War on Terror

OK, all my readers, stop and read this.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,216480,00.html

It’s by Oliver North and it has to do with Clinton’s comments on TV this week.

"I worked hard to try to kill him. I authorized a finding for the CIA to kill him. We contracted with people to kill him. I got closer to killing him than anybody has gotten since."
—Former President Bill Clinton, Sept. 24, 2006

Videos: Watch Chris Wallace's Interview With Former President Clinon | Part 2

North notices:

Not one of the "experts" has, as yet, observed that in all of this, the biggest loser wasn't on the screen; it was the American people. The tape of a former president arrogantly proclaiming on international television that he personally authorized the assassination of a foreign foe may be great stuff for the screenplay of "Rambo V," but U.S. and international law specifically forbid it. Over the course of fighting the jihad being waged against us, Mr. Clinton's intemperate words will come back to haunt us many times over. And of course, he won't be the one to pay the price.

Apparently neither violations of law nor increasing the vulnerability of the American people seem to matter much to Mr. Clinton, his political cronies or his allies in the media. The silence has been deafening from the barons of bombast and political potentates who went nuts last year when Rev. Pat Robertson suggested that Venezuela's tin-horn dictator Hugo Chavez should be "eliminated." Then, there were calls for an investigation of Dr. Robertson. Not so for Bill Clinton.

For the record, Mr. Clinton proudly claimed to have broken a long series of U.S. laws:

• Executive Order 11905, signed Feb. 18, 1976, by President Gerald Ford in response to the Church Committee. Section 5(g) of that order states "no employee of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination."
• Section 2-305 of Executive Order 12036, signed by President Jimmy Carter on Jan. 24, 1978, broadens the prohibition from "political assassination" to "assassination" generally.
• Executive Order 12333, signed by President Ronald Reagan on Dec. 4, 1981, specifies that assassination is against the law and contrary to U.S. policy. Section 2.11 of the order, which is labeled "Prohibition on Assassination," says "no person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination." The next section (Section 2.12) states "no agency of the Intelligence Community shall participate in or request any person to undertake activities forbidden by this Order."

You can read the entire article for yourself.

I have to agree with North — Clinton’s off-hand remarks say that he broke a long series of US laws.

But it’s OK — he’s a Democrat and had his mind on other things.

HT: P.A.

Keep Moscow out of Whitman County

The following outstanding letter to the editor appeared in today’s Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Doug Bauer’s editorial (Opinion, Sept. 23) about the upcoming water summit has me pondering a few things. If Whitman County decides not to participate, will the city of Moscow gain authority by default over Whitman County? If Moscow declares the sky is falling, must the other government entities of the Palouse be required to operate under the premise that the sky is falling?

Moscow has a curious way of negotiating with its regional Palouse neighbors. First, Moscow tries to sue Whitman County into submission, then they threaten to withhold cooperation for emergency services and now they demand cooperation in their “water crisis.” As a Whitman County resident, I resent this intrusion and would like to remind Moscow’s interlopers they have no authority to make decisions on my behalf. I do not agree with Moscow’s NewCities recommendation to “make the state line disappear.” [DMC: What, April? You don’t want to be part of the People’s Republic of Moscow? Why not? No growth; heavy taxes; regressive Progressives? What’s not to like?]

If Moscow objects to Whitman County retail development being built so close to Moscow retail development, maybe Moscow shouldn’t have built all the way up to the Whitman County border.

How hypocritically rich that Moscow’s environmental concerns for Paradise Creek don’t seem to start until the creek is on the Washington side. Apparently, Moscow sees no problem with stormwater runoff from their large retail parking lots, University of Idaho livestock pens and dumping from their sewage treatment plant flowing into Paradise Creek and ultimately into Whitman County. Moscow’s stormwater objection is that possible run off from the Hawkins Companies development will flow into Paradise Creek, except that any run off will be on the Whitman County side of the border, flowing directly away from Moscow.

Moscow’s objections to odor, light and traffic due to the Hawkins Companies development are just as hypocritical, but I will leave that for another time.

April E. Coggins, Pullman

Preach it!

Poll: Dems Fear Torture, Wiretaps More Than Terrorists

From Scott Ott over at Scrapple Face:

According to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, 89 percent of Democrats believe it’s more likely that they will personally be subjected to NSA wiretaps and CIA waterboarding, than it is that Islamic terrorists will attempt another attack on U.S. soil.

The results come in the wake of Congressional passage of President Bush’s terrorist detainee and NSA wiretap proposals designed to prevent future attacks.

“The only thing we have to fear,” said one unnamed Democrat Senator, “is Bush himself.”

The source noted that al Qaeda is not a “legitimate threat”, since the so-called terror group has mounted only one successful operation on U.S. soil in the past six years.

“In that same time, Bush has ordered many wiretaps and the CIA has tortured lots of detainees,” he said. Then he asked rhetorically, “Which one presents a clear and present danger: Bush or Bin Laden?”

The anonymous senator also noted that the al Qaeda leader’s effectiveness has been neutralized because, “Bin Laden has been virtually dead since President Clinton nearly killed him years ago.”

Notice Any Difference

Notice any differences between the cover picture of the Europe, Asia, Latin America, and U.S. Edition of Newsweek this week?

HT: The Raw Story

Juan Williams has had "Enough"

From WorldMagBlog:

FrontPage Magazine today carries a really interesting Q&A with Juan Williams, NPR correspondent and liberal-leaning Fox News analyst. In his new book, Enough, Williams, an African-American, joins Bill Cosby and others in calling on black Americans to set aside Sharpton-esque victim-politics and instead walk in the footsteps of black civil rights leaders who emphasized civic participation and self-reliance as the roads to equality and success. In the FrontPage interview, Williams paraphrases Cosby's message, saying poor blacks

"have not been stepping through the doors of opportunity that have been opened since the Brown decision, since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the passage of the Voters Rights Act. So here was Cosby saying, 'You have the power to do it.' That’s in the great tradition of leaders from Frederick Douglas, to W.E.B. Dubois, to Booker T. Washington to Doctor King. It’s an important message, an important message from Cosby, and an important message that has not been delivered to this generation."

St. Maries Man has Close Encounter with Rabid Bat

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required):

A couple of weeks ago Jim Thornes saw something in the grass about 100 feet from his Pettis Peak home.

He walked over, reached down and snatched it up.

The bat was dead, but deadly nonetheless.

He didn't know.

He turned the ball of fur into the Panhandle Health District, which dropped the small mammal into a plastic bag and sent it to a lab.

A week later Thornes got a reply. His bat was rabid – the first found this year in North Idaho, according to Panhandle Health.

"I didn't know it was a bat," the retired forester said. "If I had known, I wouldn't have even touched it. It was already dead."

He didn't know either, that rabid bats, once dead, could still transmit the rabies virus to others through contact. "I picked it up with my bare hands," he said.
…
People who handle bats, regardless of whether they have cuts on their hands, are encouraged to get rabies shots as a precautionary measure, she said.

"Part of that is, if you rub your eyes, or put your hand to your mouth before washing, without even thinking," the virus, if it has surfaced, may spread.

To stymie it, five shots are administered over 28 days.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "People get rabies from the bite of an animal with rabies (a rabid animal). Any wild mammal, like a raccoon, skunk, fox, coyote or bat can have rabies and transmit it to people.

"It is also possible, but quite rare, that people may be exposed to rabies if infectious material from a rabid animal, such as saliva, gets directly into their eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound."

Humans seldom contract rabies. In the U.S., there are usually one or two cases annually, according to the CDC.

Among the 19 cases of rabies in humans from 1997 to 2006, 17 were associated with bats, the CDC reports. About 5 percent of bats tested have rabies.

North-Central Idaho Commerce & Labor News

From the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor (click to enlarge).

Sandy Springs puts public services in private hands

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Marsha Holcomb wasn't used to swift service.

But as erosion spilled down her Sandy Springs street one rainy day, Holcomb took a chance and called City Hall. She spoke with a real person immediately and was amazed when workers showed up the same day to put up silt fences.

"Even if somebody can't do something, when you get a voice on the phone that means a lot," said Holcomb, who is president of the Cherokee Park Civic Association.

It wasn't a government bureaucrat who took Holcomb's call, and they weren't city employees who erected the silt fences; they were employees of CH2M Hill-OMI, a private company hired by Sandy Springs to run the city.

And that's why it was faster — say city officials — and why top-to-bottom privatization of government services is catching on.

The manicured lawns of Sandy Springs, the stacked-stone shops of Johns Creek and the sprawling horse farms of Milton have all become petri dishes in a bold experiment in municipal government — the outsourcing of day-to-day services to a single company.

Last year, Sandy Springs hired Colorado-based CH2M Hill to provide services for the new city, such as running parks, handling planning and zoning matters, issuing building permits and even drafting the city's budget. The company has 190 employees working for Sandy Springs.

The newly incorporated cities of Milton and Johns Creek are drawing up similar contracts with CH2M Hill to provide their services. And cities from California to Florida are calling Sandy Springs and CH2M Hill, wondering how the experiment is going.

I wonder if we could also outsource Moscow’s Mayor and the City Council?

Cut-And-Run Democrats

From Fox News:

President Bush fired a shot across the bow of the Democratic Party Thursday, saying "the party of FDR... has become the party of cut and run."

In his most direct attack this election season, Bush flatly charged that Democrats are incapable of effectively fighting the War on Terror. [DMC: No one doubts that. What the question is — do Americans care more about that than about other problems?]

"The stakes in this war are high and so are the stakes this November. Americans face a choice between two parties with different attitudes on this War on Terror," he told an audience in Birmingham at a Republican fundraiser for Alabama Gov. Bob Riley.

"Five years after 9/11, the worst attack on the American homeland in history, the Democrats offer nothing but criticism and obstruction and endless second-guessing. The party of FDR, the party of Harry Truman has become the party of cut and run," Bush said.

USMC Rules for a Gunfight

More truth here than we care to admit…

US Marine Corps Rules:

 1. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.

 2. Decide to be aggressive enough, quickly enough.

 3. Have a plan.

 4. Have a back-up plan, because the first one probably won't work.

 5. Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

 6. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun whose caliber does not start
    with at least a "4."

 7. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is
    expensive.

 8. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral
    & diagonal preferred.)

 9. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.

10. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.

11. Always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.

12. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or
     tactics. They will only remember who lived.

13. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating your intention to
     shoot.

Navy SEALS Rules:

1. Look very cool in sunglasses.

2. Kill every living thing within view.

3. Adjust Speedo.

4. Check hair in mirror.

US Army Rangers Rules:

1. Walk in 50 miles wearing 75 pound rucksack while starving.

2. Locate individuals requiring killing.

3. Request permission via radio from "Higher Authority" to perform killing.

4. Curse bitterly when mission is aborted.

5. Walk out 50 miles wearing 75 pound rucksack while starving.

US Army Rules:

1. Select a new beret to wear.

2. Sew patches on right shoulder.

3. Change the color of beret you decide to wear.

US Air Force Rules:

1. Have a cocktail.

2. Adjust temperature on air-conditioner.

3. See what's on HBO.

4. Ask "what is a gunfight?"

5. Request more funding from Congress with a "killer" Power Point
   presentation.

6. Wine & dine 'key' Congressmen, invite DOD & defense industry executives.

7. Receive funding, set up new command and assemble assets.

8. Declare the assets "strategic" and never deploy them operationally.

9. Hurry to make 1345 tee-time.

US Navy Rules:

1. Go to Sea.

2. Drink Coffee.

3. Watch porn.

4. Deploy the Marines.

Latah County rejects Naylor Farms permit

The following article ran in today's Lewiston Tribune (subscription required).

The Latah County commissioners Wednesday night denied a conditional-use permit application for Naylor Farms and received a standing ovation from mostly people who live around the proposed mining site.

But Brent Thomson, spokesman for the Naylor family, said afterwards the commissioners had effectively driven another "death nail" into Palouse agriculture.

"Everybody loves the Palouse," Thomson said, "but when we move right out in it and give it a big hug we're killing it."

Thomson said the Naylor mining proposal came under fire from nonfarmers who've moved into the country to savor what farmers created over the past century. And when farmers, who continue to be squeezed economically, try to seek a different way of making their land profitable, those new residents demand government stop the change.

"That's why we don't have a house on the farm," Thomson said. "It bothers me when I look out and see a mansion on a hill. This itself is killing the Palouse." 

Federal money will aid elderly living on Palouse

The following article ran in today's Lewiston Tribune (subscription required).

A three-year federal grant will help people 65 and older in Latah and Whitman counties live independently at home longer.

Getting the money is important, grant manager Daquarii Rock said, and it took two tries to get it.

"It was a collaborative effort, which is a really big deal," Rock said.

"It's intended to increase access to medical care and services."

It's a collaboration among Gritman Medical Center, Whitman Hospital and Medical Center and Pullman Regional Hospital. The Area Agency on Aging in Latah County and the Council on Aging in Whitman County are also involved.

The money comes from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' health resources and services administration.

What it is funding is called Project Access, Rock said. Palouse will be the pilot town for all the parts of the project.

Isn't It Ironic...

that the Democrat running for Congress in Idaho District #1 is from Fruitland?

Funny, you don’t normally see it written this way: Larry Grant (D-Fruitland).

Too bad.

Property taxes to drop for many: Assessor cites up to 50 percent cut in levy rates

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required).

Note: this is for Kootenai County. They “get it” — when property values increase, so do property taxes. You do not need to raise the tax rate to generate a lot of new revenue. In fact, you can cut the property tax rate and still generate more revenue. 

Now compare that to the actions by the People’s Republic of Moscow’s Mayor Nancy Chaney. The liberals’ insatiable appetite for spending drives her to raise the property tax rate 3% while the assessed values are also going thru the roof.

Only in the People’s Republic do we go along like sheep to the slaughter. The rest of the State of Idaho is putting up a stink.

As I’ve said before: the mantra of Moscow’s liberals is “taxing ourselves into prosperity”.

Kootenai County homeowners have been crying out for property tax relief for years. Now they're getting it.

County Assessor Mike McDowell and his staff fielded hundreds of angry phone calls from frustrated taxpayers when property assessments were mailed out earlier this summer. The new property values increased an average of 40 percent from 2005 – a drastic increase that property owners feared would lead to higher taxes.

But the assessor has good news for property owners: Many will see lower tax bills in November, even if their property value increased.

McDowell said that's because local levy rates, which determine how much property owners pay, are going down from 30 percent to 50 percent in the county.

"This is exciting," he said, adding that he hadn't seen such a sharp decrease in levy rates in his 29 years with the county. His personal property increased in value by 55 percent, and he said he's expecting a tax decrease of about $300.

McDowell and County Treasurer Tom Malzahn said the No. 1 reason levy rates are decreasing is the Legislature's decision to eliminate the maintenance and operation levy for schools from local tax rolls.

The decrease is also attributed to the decisions by some county taxing districts – including the county itself – to not take the annual 3 percent increase allowed for their budget.

Yes, Moscow — you can increase revenues while decreasing the tax rate.

But that’s probably higher-level math that’s not tested on the ISAT…

Leaf it, for modesty's sake

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required):

North Idaho College sophomores Spence Butterfield, 22, and Travis Temple, 19, have nothing on John Goedde, as far as the Coeur d'Alene Republican state senator is concerned. Butterfield and Temple are the two candidates for the NIC Student Senate featured nearly nude (save for strategically located tree leaves) in posters around campus. One young man struck a pose mimicking Rodin's "The Thinker," the other, Michelangelo's "David." (David was classically posed sans leaf.) The posters and the ensuing sexual harassment flap were on state Sen. Goedde's mind as he began his three-minute speech during a candidates forum in the NIC student union Tuesday. You'd never see me doing something like that, Goedde quipped, because (drum roll, puh-leez) "there isn't a leaf big enough." Huckleberries heard that the audience gasped. At least two witnesses interpreted Goedde's comments to mean that he was bragging about … ah … well … you know. But Goedde had a different explanation after I posted online his comment and a Photoshopped image of him wearing only a tree leaf. (See what you miss when you're not reading Huckleberries Online weekdays?) Quoth John: "You missed the point entirely. To be unoffensive (sic) at my age and in my physical condition, the leaf would have to be huge. It has nothing to do with private parts." Ohhh … K. The NIC votes were counted last night. Dunno if the beefcake helped Butterfield and Temple. But Goedde remains the favorite to retain his Senate District 4 seat, with or without leaf.

 Goedde cracks me up. He’s a conservative’s conservative.

Grant campaign ad omits party affiliation

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required):

In an election year when congressional candidates in other states are making news by declining help from unpopular President George Bush, an Idaho congressional candidate has been running a TV ad that neglects to mention that the candidate is a Democrat.

"We need problem solvers in Congress, not problem makers," 1st Congressional District candidate Larry Grant says in the ad, which has been running in the Spokane TV market to reach North Idaho for the past two weeks, as well as in the Boise and Lewiston areas. "My background is not partisan politics, it's business and solving problems, the kind of work I did as vice president at Micron."

The ad closes with, "I'm Larry Grant and I approved this message," with words on the screen saying, "Grant for Congress."

Grant said it was just an oversight that his party affiliation wasn't mentioned in the ad, but its overall point was to declare that he'll take a different approach than the current partisan politics in Congress.

“Just an oversight?” If I were a liberal in a hard-core conservative state, I’d probably be ashamed of being a Democrat and hide that from the message as well.

Two vie for top schools job: Candidates differ on charters, Proposition 1

The following story of interest was in today's Spokesman Review (subscription required):

Republican Tom Luna, owner of a weights and measures firm, uses the language of business to talk about what he'd like to accomplish as state school superintendent. He supports doubling the number of new charter schools to open each year because "that's what the customers of education are demanding," and "I think we should have a customer-driven education system."

He decries the bureaucracy of education, and talks of setting up a "career ladder" to allow the best classroom teachers to earn higher pay.

Luna also wants to set up a new "Office of Innovation and Choice in Public Education" and trim spending for non-classroom expenses like busing and administration.

Democrat Jana Jones, the current chief deputy superintendent, is a career educator [DMC: Read educrat] with a doctorate in education. She's backing Proposition 1 on the November ballot – which Luna opposes – to require a big increase in school funding. She talks about boosting teacher salaries so Idaho doesn't lose teachers to nearby states, replacing textbooks so they're up-to-date, and getting "balance back into our curriculum" after years of pressure to focus on tests results. [DMC: Read getting away from “The Three R’s”]

"I would like to see us work to application of that knowledge, not just the rote memory and facts and figures we can regurgitate on a multiple-choice test," Jones said. "I want kids to know it and be able to use it. … We've lost ground, I believe, in that area."

How does Jana Jones expect kids to “know it and be able to use it” if they’ve never had to learn the basic facts and figures?

Education in the USA really is upside down.

E-Coli Claims another victim

HT: Gary E.

The Crisis in Citizenship--Family Matters

From the FRC:

The prestigious Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) announced yesterday the results of a nationwide survey of civic learning at 50 of America's top colleges. ISI's President, T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., pointed to one key variable in the study: family structure. Students whose parents discussed current events in the home did better. The ISI administered a 60-question multiple choice test to 14,000 students. The questions covered U.S. history, economics, foreign affairs, and political science. The results were presented by Lt. Gen. Josiah Bunting (U.S.A. Ret.) and Mr. Cribb at a press conference at the National Press Club. "Dismal," "disappointing," "worrisome" were some of the words used by the ISI panel to describe the students' scores. Overall, college seniors scored 53.2%--a failing grade. ISI survey administrators warned of a crisis in citizenship unless these results change. They noted that political and civic participation is directly linked to student knowledge of the American system of government and politics. Some of the most prestigious colleges and universities ranked at the bottom of the list (see www.americancivicliteracy.org). Students at top-flight schools like Williams College (#39), the University of Virginia (#42), and Cal Berkeley (#49) actually lost ground during their college years. One bright spot: some small, private liberal arts colleges--Rhodes College (#1), Calvin College (#3), and Grove City College (#4)--are bucking the downhill trend.