Right Mind

Why Leno Needs a Bodyguard

Response to caller 'a serious mistake,' says Planned Parenthood of Idaho

Notice that Planned Barrenhood Parenthood tries to shift the blame to the whistle blower.

They also criticized The Advocate, a right-to-life student magazine at the University of California-Los Angeles, for trying to discredit Planned Parenthood employees in seven states in a series of tape-recorded phone calls last summer.

The Advocate didn’t try to discredit Planned Parenthood in seven states; it accomplished it by showing the ongoing legacy of racial prejudice in Planned Parenthood here in Idaho and in those seven other states. One only has to do a quick background search on

From today's Idaho Statesman:

Planned Parenthood of Idaho officials apologized Wednesday for what they called an employee's "serious mistake" in encouraging a donation aimed at aborting black babies.

A serious mistake? That’s it?

Or perhaps it was just a serious mistake to get caught?

They also criticized The Advocate, a right-to-life student magazine at the University of California-Los Angeles, for trying to discredit Planned Parenthood employees in seven states in a series of tape-recorded phone calls last summer.

The call to Idaho came in July to Autumn Kersey, vice president of development and marketing for Planned Parenthood of Idaho.

This is not some lackey. This is the VP of development and marketing for Planned Parenthood of Idaho.

On the recording provided by The Advocate, an actor portraying a donor said he wanted his money used to eliminate black unborn children because "the less black kids out there the better."

Kersey laughed nervously and said: "Understandable, understandable. ... Excuse my hesitation, this is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited and want to make sure I don't leave anything out."

…

"It turns out that blatant racism is alive and well in Idaho, but it's not coming from the Aryan Nation types - it's coming from way-left organizations like Idaho's own Planned Parenthood," [Bryan] Fischer said. "They should have stridently rebuked that donor for being a racist and a bigot and refused to take that money."

The national Planned Parenthood office did not return phone calls Wednesday, but local officials denounced the editor of The Advocate as "a known anti-choice extremist."

"While the actions of our staff member were unacceptable, it's also unacceptable for opponents of abortion to use racist, deceptive tactics to smear Planned Parenthood," Poedy said. "The race-baiting tactics on display in this case are not news 'exposes,' but rather the product of the most cynical form of politicking."

But it looks like PP took the bait hook, line, and sinker.

Legislative Update # from Rep. Tom Trail

From Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow).

Constituents:

Well, the Ides of March are almost upon us, and the Idaho Legislature has a long way to go before finishing up major business. It sounds like lots of excitement in Moscow with a stray moose wandering around the middle school grounds, and all of the students were kept inside. When I told this story of other legislators they remarked that we should change the name of Moscow to Moosecow, and I guess that would make us Moosecovites.

Monday I attended a press conference with Governor Otter. He signed the Dog Fighting/ Felony Penalty bill. He gave me the pen that he used to sign the bill. I heard that a fund raiser for our local animal shelter was being sponsored on Saturday with a dance and other activities. I sent the pen on to Moscow indicating that it might be a great auction item to raise funds. It will now go on E bay for auction. All funds will go toward our local Humane Society and Animal Shelter. It will be fun to see how high the bidding goes. I just received word that the Wyoming Senate just past their Dog Fighting Felony bill by a 29-1 margin. This next year I plan on sponsoring a Game *** Fighting/Felony Penalty bill -- we are the only state without the felony penalty.

Here are some other issues:

1. The Big Issues -- The Press has criticized both the Legislature and the Governor's Office for delaying action on three key issues:
1. Grocery Tax -- The Governor has yet to bring his plan to the House Rev and Tax Committee. However, I understand that Rev and Tax did approve the introduction of a new bill this morning. The bill would provide increased tax credits for Idaho citizens. I understand this bill has provisions that would allow the very low income citizens who don't file income tax a chance to claim their credit.
2. Personal Property Tax -- I understand that a bill is almost ready to be introduced. The business community wants to get rid of this administrative headache that covers everything from business furnishings, computers, and pencils. Alex LaBeau, IACI President, plans on introducing the bill after the grocery tax legislation moves ahead. I expressed my concerns to Mr. LaBeau that I'd support the bill if it has a neutral impact municipalities and counties. He said it would, but the devil's in the details. If it has a neutral impact, I can support it since it would help our small businesses and not add more taxes on our local citizens.
3. Transportation -- I was at a Grange meeting when the announcement came out that the Governor was proposing a flat $150 registration charge on all cars. No one at the Grange meeting supported the idea. I suspect that legislators are crafting various bills that would increase registration charges, but in a tiered or layer approach with more expensive cars being charged more. I suspect the increased fees might be phased in over time. The disadvantage of increase registration fees is that it doesn't tap the tourists and truckers driving through state, but implies raising taxes on fuel. I don't think that idea will fly right now.
2. HB 501 -- Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence -- this bill that I cosponsored with Representative Ringo passed the House by a 67-0 margin. The bill would protect the addresses of harassed victims of domestic violence by allowing the Sec. of State to serve as their post office. This has been a very successful program in 22 states.
3. Scholarships -- JFAC approved $12 million for the needs based Idaho Opportunity Scholarship Program. This is the scholarship program that I've worked on for the past four years with the State Board of Education. Ten million will go to the endowment fun thus building it up to $20 million. The goal is reach $40 million which will sustain the program with no new funds being added. The Governor wanted to go for $50 million but I suspect with the financial problems the ten million will be it for this year. It is interesting to note that there are 196 students at the University of Idaho already enrolled in the program with scholarships totaling near $600,000. There is another scholarship program that would create a scholarship fund for nurses who teach nurses.
4. 4 HB557 -- Field Burning -- this passed today by a 64-0 margin. This will restore the traditional practice of field burning of blue grass but with strict new standards that afford schools, hospitals and asthma sufferers special protection. It will also allow farmers to grow up to 20,000 acres of blue grass a year and the monitoring function will go over to DEQ.
5. Tax Breaks for Uranium Enrichment Plant -- The House Tax Committee passed a bill providing big tax breaks for a French nuclear services company to build a plant in Eastern Idaho. We've gone down this tax break path before for Micron and Albertson with very little benefit to show for it.
6. Early Childhood Education -- Most Idahoans believe that the government should provide high quality pre-K programs according to a BSU survey. Generally, in Idaho early education is neither available nor affordable. Idaho law prohibits the expenditure of public school money on children under the age of 5 so most of the programs are either federally or privately funded. Research with programs like Head Start clearly shows that there is at least a $4-$5 payoff for every dollar invested. I'm a co-sponsor of a bill sponsored by Senator. Schroeder which would give districts the option of leyving taxes to support early childhood education.
7. ISTARS -- The ISTARS Teacher Merit Pay Proposal was voted down by a 19-16 margin in the Senate this morning.

Well, those are some of the highlights of the week. We keep hearing that we will wind up business by March 31st. I'd appreciate your comments and recommendations. My e mail is ttrail@house.idaho.gov and phone (208) 332-1184.

Representative Tom Trail

Population characteristics - Migration and natural change (2000 - 2006)

I’ve posted this kind of data before for Latah County, but here it is for the entire State of Idaho.

The no-growth policies here in Moscow have clearly worked.

Look who else in Idaho has negative growth.

Just what you want in a college town, right?

From the Northwest Area Foundation:

County Name	Net Migration (%) Rank	Net Migration (%)	Net Migration (Number)	Natural change (%)	Natural change (Number)
Canyon	1	22.9%	30,140	9.2%	12,096
Teton	2	19.4%	1,165	11.6%	693
Kootenai	3	17.7%	19,278	3.7%	3,978
Valley	4	15.2%	1,165	0.8%	58
Ada	5	13.2%	39,839	6.5%	19,501
Boise	6	12.5%	837	2.3%	156
Bonner	7	11.4%	4,208	0.8%	312
Gem	8	8.5%	1,295	0.8%	129
Jefferson	9	8.2%	1,571	8.8%	1,691
Boundary	10	7.9%	782	2.1%	211
Camas	11	7.7%	76	2.8%	28
Twin Falls	12	7.6%	4,891	4.1%	2,604
Bonneville	13	7.5%	6,230	7.5%	6,196
Blaine	14	7.3%	1,389	6.2%	1,177
Lincoln	15	7.1%	289	5.0%	202
Payette	16	6.2%	1,270	4.0%	816
Franklin	17	3.2%	362	7.4%	843
Lemhi	18	3.2%	248	-1.2%	-97
Jerome	19	3.0%	553	7.1%	1,303
Idaho County	20	2.1%	330	-0.1%	-23
Nez Perce	21	2.1%	787	0.6%	239
Washington	22	1.4%	143	1.2%	116
Benewah	23	1.4%	127	0.9%	84
Adams	24	1.2%	40	-0.6%	-21
Lewis	25	0.3%	13	0.2%	7
Oneida	26	0.0%	0	1.5%	63
Madison	27	-0.9%	-252	12.7%	3,496
Owyhee	28	-1.0%	-111	5.7%	610
Bingham	29	-1.3%	-558	7.2%	3,017
Fremont	30	-1.7%	-199	6.6%	781
Shoshone	31	-2.0%	-274	-2.0%	-279
Gooding	32	-2.6%	-369	4.7%	664
Latah	33	-2.9%	-1,001	3.4%	1,189
Power	34	-3.3%	-250	5.5%	417
Custer	35	-3.4%	-149	0.0%	0
Clearwater	36	-4.8%	-427	-1.7%	-153
Bear Lake	37	-5.5%	-350	1.9%	124
Bannock	38	-5.8%	-4,375	6.9%	5,201
Butte	39	-5.9%	-172	1.9%	56
Cassia	40	-6.3%	-1,357	6.4%	1,374
Caribou	41	-7.2%	-526	3.2%	234
Minidoka	42	-10.3%	-2,085	4.9%	989
Elmore	43	-11.2%	-3,272	8.0%	2,334
Clark	44	-16.1%	-165	6.0%	61

Source: 2000-2006: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Estimates Program, (http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/); DATE LAST UPDATED: March 27, 2007.

HT: Debbie Gray

Redneck Condo

25 Reasons I Owe My Mother

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION .
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL ;.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC .
" Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT .
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS .
"Shut your mouth an d eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM .
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10.. My mother taught me about STAMINA .
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER .
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY .
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE .
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION .
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY .
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION .
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE .
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP .
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR .
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS .
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM .
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.

Via Karen D.

Racism Alive and Well at Planned Parenthood

See: YouTube videos: Planned Parenthood Racism Investigation

I posted about this yesterday. Now this from the FRC:

A shocking set of recordings was released this week that could prove disastrous for Planned Parenthood's ties with the African-American community. Lila Rose, a pro-life student and reporter at UCLA, launched an undercover investigation aimed at exposing the racism of the nation's largest abortion merchant. With the help of an actor, she contacted Planned Parenthood clinics in seven states, inquiring if they would be willing to accept a donation earmarked for the abortion of black babies. The results were jaw-dropping.

Rose was appalled to discover that every last clinic agreed. Not one employee objected or questioned the request, even when the actor insisted that the purpose was to "lower the number of black people" in America. When the caller phoned an Ohio branch, he was told that Planned Parenthood "will accept the money for whatever reason." Read the outrageous transcript from the Idaho clinic, which is also available with Rose's other recordings in a montage at http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=LK08B57&f=WA08B46.

Actor: ...I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don't want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids.
Planned Parenthood: Yes, absolutely.
Actor: And we don't, you know, we just think the less black kids out there the better.
Planned Parenthood: (Laughs) Understandable, understandable... This is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited and want to make sure I don't leave anything out.

Students at UCLA are so infuriated by the investigation that they are petitioning the university to cut all affiliation with Planned Parenthood. What few people realize is that the organization has a history of racism that has been ingrained since Planned Parenthood's earliest days, when founder Margaret Sanger advocated negative eugenics and spoke to a woman's branch of the KKK (Margaret Sanger, An Autobiography, 1938, p. 336-367). However, as is customary for Planned Parenthood, the organization has managed for decades to cover its tracks--and the facts. That task has just been made monumentally more difficult. Abortion has taken the innocent lives of over 14 million black children--a national tragedy that has begun uniting and mobilizing African-Americans across party, state, and financial lines.

Today, FRC hosted a press conference to kick off the National Black Pro-Life Gathering in Washington, D.C. which drew pastors, parents, leaders, and activists from across America to commemorate Black History Month by calling on abortion merchants like Planned Parenthood to stop preying on their community. As these abortion clinics continue to demonstrate that blood money is not colorblind, we call on Congress to de-fund and disavow Planned Parenthood. Taxpayers should not be forced to spend over $300 million on an organization whose scruples are for sale, even to those who seek racial genocide.

In 52 Secs Why Barack Obama Cannot Win A General Election

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl32Y7wDVDs

He plans on disarming America.

HT: Bill J.

Britain is repossessing the USA. . . in light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President

Britain is Repossessing the U.S.A.

A Message from John Cleese

To the citizens of the United States of America:

In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new prime minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.

A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.

1. Then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.
2. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix -ize will be replaced by the suffix -ise.
   
   Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').
3. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as 'like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.
   
   There is no such thing as US English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize. You will re-learn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen.
4. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
5. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent.
   
   Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.
6. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
7. All American cars are hereby banned. They are pants and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.
8. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
9. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.
10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
11. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them.
12. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters.
    Watching Andie McDowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
13. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of ninnies). Don't try Rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.
14. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
15. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
16. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
17. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; strawberries in season.

God save the Queen.

Only He can.

John Cleese

Explosive: Racism At Idaho Planned Parenthood

• Seven-State Investigation Organized By UCLA Students Shows Evidence of Racism at Planned Parenthood - Christian Newswire
• The Advocate: Winter Quarter 2008 (see article, p. 4)
• YouTube - Planned Parenthood Racism Investigation (includes audio of actual phone conversation with Autumn Kersey of Planned Parenthood of Idaho) 

From Bryan Fischer, Executive Director of the Idaho Values Alliance:

EXPLOSIVE: RACISM AT IDAHO PLANNED PARENTHOOD

 

A seven-state investigation conducted last summer by a student magazine at UCLA, The Advocate, revealed the presence of an ugly strain of racism in Planned Parenthood affiliates, including Planned Parenthood of Idaho.

 

An actor, posing as a racist donor, called Planned Parenthood development centers and asked that his donation be used to abort African-American babies in order to "lower the number of black people." According to the magazine, every branch - including Idaho's - agreed to process the racially earmarked donations, and none expressed concern about the racist reasoning for the donation.

 

And so it turns out that blatant racism is alive and well in Idaho. But it is not being perpetuated by the Richard Butler - Aryan Nation folks but by radical leftist organizations like Idaho's own Planned Parenthood. Idaho may be a haven of white racism after all. Tragically, the nation discovers today that, if so, Planned Parenthood is to blame.

 

The press release issued by the magazine contains a partial transcript of the conversation between the actor and Autumn Kersey, the Vice-President of Development and Marketing for Planned Parenthood of Idaho. At one point, the actor says, "the less black kids out there the better." Kersey's response? Unbelievably, she chuckle and says "understandable" - not once but twice!

 

The phone conversation was recorded, which is legal since Idaho is a single-consent state. Here are excerpts from the phone conversation:

 

Partial transcript of telephone conversation with Autumn Kersey, Vice-President of Marketing and Development, Planned Parenthood of Idaho:

 

Idaho Donor: Wonderful. I want to specify that abortion to help a minority group, would that be possible?

 

PP Rep: Absolutely.

 

Donor: Like the black community for example?

                               

PP Rep: Certainly.

 

Donor: The abortion-I can give money specifically for a black baby, that would be the purpose?

 

PP Rep: Absolutely. If you wanted to designate that your gift be used to help an African-American woman in need, then we would certainly make sure that the gift was earmarked for that purpose

.

Idaho donor: Great, because I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don't want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids. I just had a baby; I want to put it in his name.

 

PP Rep: Yes, absolutely.

 

Idaho donor: And we don't, you know we just think, the less black kids out there the better.

 

PP Rep: (Laughs) Understandable, understandable.

 

Idaho donor: Right. I want to protect my son, so he can get into college

 

PP Rep: Alright. Excuse my hesitation, this is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited, and want to make sure I don't leave anything out.

 

(To listen to the whole transcript, visit www.LAadvocate.com/pp; complete transcript below.)

 

Kersey had not returned a call from the IVA by the time this Daily Update was released.

 

The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was a well-known proponent of eugenics and minority abortions, who said, in 1921, that eugenics is "the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political and social problems." At another point, she lamented "the ever increasing, unceasingly spawning class of human beings who never should have been born at all."

 

Planned Parenthood, obediently marching in lockstep with Sanger's racist vision, has located 79% of its clinics nationwide in minority neighborhoods. About 35% of all abortions are performed on blacks, even though they comprise less than 13% of the population. Almost half of all black pregnancies are aborted. In essence, Planned Parenthood is engaged in a form of racial genocide.

 

IRS Investigates Obama's Denomination

You’ve got to love the Dems. These kinds of investigations are “chilling” and “disturbing” when they are looking into liberals. But they are perfectly acceptable (and expected!) when looking at the Religious Right.

From the Associated Press:

The IRS is investigating the United Church of Christ over a speech Sen. Barack Obama gave at its national meeting last year after he became a candidate for president, the denomination said Tuesday.

Obama, an Illinois Democrat, belongs to the 1.2 million-member Protestant group through his Chicago congregation.

In a letter the denomination received Monday, the IRS said "reasonable belief exists" that the circumstances surrounding the speech violated restrictions on political activity for tax-exempt organizations. The denomination has denied any wrongdoing.

Obama, a member of Trinity United Church of Christ, spoke about faith and public life at the denomination's June 2007 General Synod in Hartford, Conn.

The IRS said in the letter that it was concerned about articles posted on the church's Web site and on other sites stating that Obama had addressed nearly 10,000 people at the event. The agency also said Obama volunteers had staffed campaign tables "outside the center to promote his campaign."

By the Collective, For the Collective

The Shift: A movie "by the collective, for the collective.”

Looks like a plausible basis for a global religion of man.

Reagan's Comments about William F. Buckley

“You didn’t just part the Red Sea — you rolled it back, dried it up and left exposed, for all the world to see, the naked desert that is statism,” Mr. Reagan said.

“And then, as if that weren’t enough,” the president continued, “you gave the world something different, something in its weariness it desperately needed, the sound of laughter and the sight of the rich, green uplands of freedom.”

—Ronald Reagan

More on Moscow's Domestic Partnership Law

One of my readers forwarded the following:

When the amendment was being debated, opponents said that it did prevent domestic partnerships, as an argument against it. This was even stated on the ballot under "Effect of Adoption". It was written in clear language on the very ballot that every voter saw when they voted.

You can view a Latah County 2006 sample ballot at this link. Page 5 has the language.

The official "Effect of Adoption" was included on the ballot.

And domestic partnerships were mentioned in the official "Statements AGAINST the proposed amendment.”

This blog from Betsy Russell quotes a letter signed by "members of the Idaho legal community" (which may have included Liz Brandt) mentioning domestic partnerships.

And this article says the same thing.

Here is the actual language that is now in the Constitution.

RIP: William F. Buckley, Jr.

William F. Buckley, Jr., passed away today at the age of 82.

I didn’t realize he was that old.

The NY Times has an article devoted to him.

Buckley, William F., Jr. (born 1925). An influential political commentator known for his debating power, U.S. author and editor William F. Buckley, Jr., espoused conservatism both in print and on television.

Muslim medics in hygiene stand-off, claiming rolling up sleeves is against their faith

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

From the UK Daily Mail:

Health officials are having crisis talks with Muslim medical staff who have objected to hospital hygiene rules because of religious beliefs.

Medics in hospitals in at least three major English cities have refused to follow the regulations aimed at helping tackle superbugs because of their faith, it has been revealed.

Women medical students at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool objected to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands and removing arm coverings in theatre, claiming it is regarded as immodest.

Similar concerns were raised at Leicester University and Sheffield University reported a case of a Muslim medic refusing to “scrub” because it left her forearms exposed.

Some students have said that they would prefer to quit the course rather than expose their arms, but hygiene experts said no exceptions should be made on religious grounds.

A Royal Liverpool hospital spokesman said they had experienced issues of Muslim staff not sanitising their forearms with alcohol gel although this had now been addressed.

 

Booming Hong Kong cuts taxes as surplus soars

Also, notice what they are doing when they have a surplus: cutting taxes.

What do we do here with surpluses? Spend them as fast as we can and raise taxes.

From Breitbart:

Hong Kong's financial chief said Wednesday he will cut salary and corporate taxes and abolish duty on beer and wine after a booming economy pushed the city's budget surplus to a record high.

In his maiden budget speech, Financial Secretary John Tsang said he would increase spending on health services and introduce measures to bridge the widening wealth gap and reduce air pollution.

Duty on beer and wine -- currently at 40 percent -- will be cut with immediate effect.

Tsang estimated the budget surplus would reach a record 115.6 billion dollars (14.8 billion US) in the fiscal year to March, four and a half times the government's forecast and nearly twice as much as last year's figure.

The territory's fiscal reserves will reach 484.9 billion dollars, he said.

Tsang attributed the surplus to higher-than-expected tax revenues from the city's booming stock and property markets as well as company profits and salaries.

Tsang fulfilled the government's last year promise to cut salaries tax to 15 percent in 2008-09 from 16 percent and the corporate tax rate to 16.5 percent from 17.5 percent.

He also announced a one-off tax reduction of 75 percent of salaries tax and tax under personal assessment with a ceiling of 25,000 dollars.

HT: Dave G.

Fifteen Years Ago Yesterday

I meant to post this yesterday, but forgot.

15 years ago yesterday was the first World Trace Center bombing.

See Bombing of February 26, 1993.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

HT: Gary E.

City Council to reconsider domestic-partner benefits plan

The focus of this issue is the Idaho Constitution, and whether or not Moscow can violate the Idaho State Constitution with impunity. This issue is not a debate about marriage policy in Idaho – that debate took place in 2006 and was settled at the ballot box.

This debate is about something pretty simple: do cities have to follow the Constitution? And should a city be allowed to spend money in ways that violate the Constitution?

As reported in yesterday’s edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

The Moscow City Council Administrative Committee heard the same message from many angles at its Monday meeting: Look deeper into the issues of offering insurance benefits to employees' domestic partners.

Committee members debated whether to rescind, keep or alter the resolution extending benefits through the city's Regence Blue Shield of Idaho plan. They settled on sending the issue forward to the whole council next week with no direct recommendation. In the meantime, the resolution stands and benefits are available, although no one has signed up for them.

•WHAT HAPPENED: The Moscow Administrative Committee decided to forward a discussion about insurance benefits for employees' domestic partners to the full City Council.

•WHAT IT MEANS: As it stands, employees can apply for health benefits for their same- and opposite-sex domestic partners through Regence Blue Shield of Idaho. The council could uphold, rescind or alter the resolution enabling employees to access those benefits.

•WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: The council will discuss the issue at its 7 p.m. Monday meeting.

•WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: An Idaho Attorney General's Office opinion states the benefits could be unconstitutional, putting the city in legal jeopardy if the council upholds the resolution. City Attorney Randy Fife and other lawyers argue otherwise.

A Feb. 4 opinion from the Idaho Attorney General's Office stated an Idaho court would likely find the benefits conflict with an amendment to the Idaho Constitution declaring marriage between a man and a woman as the only domestic legal union recognized in the state.

The amendment was approved by voters in 2006.

Deputy Attorney General Mitch Toryanski concluded that Moscow's decision to extend benefits to domestic partners "constitutes recognition of a domestic legal union other than marriage."

City Attorney Randy Fife has argued otherwise.

Fife said he agrees the Idaho Supreme Court likely would turn down the benefits plan, but that is different from agreeing it's unconstitutional. There has been no interpretation of the breadth of the marriage amendment.

"It's my own opinion that this is not unconstitutional, that if a court just looked at the law itself and not beyond the law, or not beyond the language, that this is likely to be upheld," Fife said.

Of course, Fife’s personal interpretation disagrees with the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, the UI attorneys, and the wording of the Idaho Constitution itself.

And Fife himself admitted that the Idaho State Supreme Court would likely rule that Moscow’s law is unconstitutional.

So why dig in our heels to keep an illegal law on the books? Because we’re Moscow.

University of Idaho College of Law Associate Dean Liz Brandt also refuted Toryanski's conclusion in a letter to Councilman Tom Lamar. She argued that there is "no presumptive connection between health insurance and marriage," and an employee and partner who received the benefits would not receive other legal benefits of marriage.

Brant wrote that the marriage amendment itself does not limit the state or cities from recognizing "unmarried relationships so long as such relationships are not elevated to such an extent that the recognition could be similar to marriage."

The committee also received a letter from the Moscow Human Rights Commission urging it to uphold the resolution.

Commission member and Moscow lawyer Tim Gresback spoke in support of the resolution, but added that the committee did not need to rush on a final decision. He said local lawyers would be willing to review the issue for free in the meantime.

"Before this type of controversy would percolate through the legal system, it has to be ripe," he said. "There has to be a case or controversy. In other words, somebody challenging this in court."

Gresback said that would not likely happen until someone applied for the benefits.

Patti McKinney, the city's Employee Advisory Committee chairwoman, spoke to the committee about the EAC's ambivalence on the benefits issue. The EAC discussed the issue in December, before it had all the details and before the council voted on it

McKinney said many employees did not support the benefits in December, but may change their minds as they learn more.

She said employees' primary concern is that their own health insurance costs do not increase.

"Rather than offer more or the same benefits to other people, we would rather the city take care of its current employees and their dependents and spouses," she said.

City Supervisor Gary Riedner said more people on the city's insurance rolls could increase costs to the city, but not to current employees.

Jay Lewis, Moscow facilities maintenance supervisor, said after the meeting he still has some concerns about extending benefits to domestic partners. For example, he wants to know how the city would find out if domestic partners split up, and how it would affect their benefits.

"I think the employees are looking at it as kind of a dollars-and-cents issue," he said.

The only person at the meeting who spoke strongly against extending the benefits was Moscow resident Dale Courtney. He encouraged the committee to examine the benefits plan from the side of the law that could come down against it.

"I think we would find ourselves very quickly in a lawsuit from somebody who's very disgruntled" if the resolution stands, Courtney said.

To be precise: I told them that since Moscow’s current law is unconstitutional, it should be rescinded and reexamined from the position of being on the side of the law as opposed to on the side of breaking the law.

Committee members Lamar, Bill Lambert and Dan Carscallen agreed they would like to hear more from lawyers, the Human Rights Commission and the EAC.

"The more information you've got, the better decision I think you can make," Carscallen said.

Riedner cautioned the committee that getting more public input wouldn't answer whether the council is comfortable with upholding the resolution.

"The answer to your question is legally do you desire to defend this, or desire to rescind it?" he said. 

As Obese Population Rises, More Candidates Courting The Fat Vote

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

Put your drinks down before watching!

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

HT: Dave G.

Teens losing touch with common cultural and historical references

From USA Today:

Big Brother. McCarthyism. The patience of Job.

Don't count on your typical teenager to nod knowingly the next time you drop a reference to any of these. A study out today finds that about half of 17-year-olds can't identify the books or historical events associated with them.

Twenty-five years after the federal report A Nation at Risk challenged U.S. public schools to raise the quality of education, the study finds high schoolers still lack important historical and cultural underpinnings of "a complete education." And, its authors fear, the nation's current focus on improving basic reading and math skills in elementary school might only make matters worse, giving short shrift to the humanities — even if children can read and do math.

Even if? The major area of failure identified has been in math. But I digress…

"If you think it matters whether or not kids have common historical touchstones and whether, at some level, we feel like members of a common culture, then familiarity with this knowledge matters a lot," says American Enterprise Institute researcher Rick Hess, who wrote the study.

Among 1,200 students surveyed:

• 43% knew the Civil War was fought between 1850 and 1900.
• 52% could identify the theme of 1984.
• 51% knew that the controversy surrounding Sen. Joseph McCarthy focused on communism.

HT: Dave G.

An economic assault on Moscow

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

It’s from Citizen Ament. If he hadn’t implemented his no-growth policies while on the Moscow City Council, we may have had growth in Moscow instead of in the corridor. We may have seen businesses remaining in Moscow instead of running over to Whitman County.

And he may have not seen himself out of a job.

Funny, I didn’t realize that this was the GMA’s “fault” that Ament was booted off the city council. All this time I thought it was the voters’ decision.

Especially Ament losing his seat, since he garnered the least number of votes of anyone that ran.

Talk about a reverse mandate…

An economic assault on Moscow

When I took my seat on the Moscow City Council the Hawkins development was an inevitability.

By the end of my term Hawkins was a possibility, nothing more. I took it for granted that it was my responsibility as an elected official to protect the natural resources and economic health of Moscow. The Hawkins development will be detrimental to both.

The possibility of the Hawkins project was so remote that without financial assistance the project would not move forward. Whitman County made the same bad decision that many other government entities have made - to offer financial incentives to lure new business. Then our Greater Moscow Alliance-dominated Moscow City Council went to work. I knew these guys had a business-first philosophy. I naively thought they meant Moscow business. Our GMA City Council made the Hawkins development a surety.

Moscow sits atop a resource that is in scarce supply worldwide - pure, clean, unpolluted water. We have yet to work out our own water issues. We need to carefully consider each new burden we place on our water supply. Our GMA City Council sees no need to conserve our water.

Our GMA City Council allocated our water to ensure growth in Whitman County. I am not opposed to growth in Whitman County. I believe we need a healthy region to have a healthy city. Placement by Whitman County of a "big-box village" right next to Moscow, miles from needed Whitman County utilities, is growth I can not support. The Hawkins development is nothing less than an economic assault on Moscow.

The GMA City Council voted against Moscow business and for squandering our resources. Thanks to our GMA City Council, Whitman County will be building infrastructure "in Moscow" that will ship our resources out, their waste in.

Aaron Ament, Moscow

Solar Sunspot Activity vs. Global Temperature Variations

I’ve been looking into the causality of global temperature variations.

Because of the “global warming” occurring on Mars, Pluto, Titan, etc, I’m convinced that it has to do with the sun and not with my carbon footprint.

I did some digging over at Solar Cycle 24 — a site that tracks the sun’s activity (in two minute increments).

There’s been a lot of discussion that global temperature is directly controlled by solar activity (measured by the sunspot activity).

Recall that to prove causality, you must demonstrate a) correlation, b) time sequence, and c) eliminate other factors.

This graph below demonstrates all three. First, you can see that the global temperatures track with and follow directly after the sunspot activity.

Finally, since the global warming alarmists have not demonstrated that there are Martians (or “Plutoans” or “Titans”) causing anthropogenic warming on their respective planets/moons, this eliminates earthly factors.

Voilà!

Ralph Nader

Coeur d’Alene Film Festival

If any of my readers are interested in the making of films in Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene Film Festival will be split up into three different weeks this year. It will be held at the Cd’A Resort:  

• Part 1: May 2-3, 6 & 9 PM
• September 26-27, 6 & 9 PM
• November 21-22, 6 & 9 PM

I’m hoping to make it to at least one of these and see what our Idaho talent are making in the way of films.

Here’s the details from the Idaho Film Office.

Forget global warming: Welcome to the new Ice Age

Some very interesting data and quotes in this article from the National Post.

More and more scientists are questioning anthropogenic global warming.

It’s about time.

Snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966.

The U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that many American cities and towns suffered record cold temperatures in January and early February. According to the NCDC, the average temperature in January "was -0.3 F cooler than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average."

China is surviving its most brutal winter in a century. Temperatures in the normally balmy south were so low for so long that some middle-sized cities went days and even weeks without electricity because once power lines had toppled it was too cold or too icy to repair them.

There have been so many snow and ice storms in Ontario and Quebec in the past two months that the real estate market has felt the pinch as home buyers have stayed home rather than venturing out looking for new houses.

In just the first two weeks of February, Toronto received 70 cm of snow, smashing the record of 66.6 cm for the entire month set back in the pre-SUV, pre-Kyoto, pre-carbon footprint days of 1950.

And remember the Arctic Sea ice? The ice we were told so hysterically last fall had melted to its "lowest levels on record? Never mind that those records only date back as far as 1972 and that there is anthropological and geological evidence of much greater melts in the past.

The ice is back.

Gilles Langis, a senior forecaster with the Canadian Ice Service in Ottawa, says the Arctic winter has been so severe the ice has not only recovered, it is actually 10 to 20 cm thicker in many places than at this time last year.

OK, so one winter does not a climate make. It would be premature to claim an Ice Age is looming just because we have had one of our most brutal winters in decades.

But if environmentalists and environment reporters can run around shrieking about the manmade destruction of the natural order every time a robin shows up on Georgian Bay two weeks early, then it is at least fair game to use this winter's weather stories to wonder whether the alarmist are being a tad premature.

And it's not just anecdotal evidence that is piling up against the climate-change dogma.

According to Robert Toggweiler of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton University and Joellen Russell, assistant professor of biogeochemical dynamics at the University of Arizona -- two prominent climate modellers -- the computer models that show polar ice-melt cooling the oceans, stopping the circulation of warm equatorial water to northern latitudes and triggering another Ice Age (a la the movie The Day After Tomorrow) are all wrong.

"We missed what was right in front of our eyes," says Prof. Russell. It's not ice melt but rather wind circulation that drives ocean currents northward from the tropics. Climate models until now have not properly accounted for the wind's effects on ocean circulation, so researchers have compensated by over-emphasizing the role of manmade warming on polar ice melt.

But when Profs. Toggweiler and Russell rejigged their model to include the 40-year cycle of winds away from the equator (then back towards it again), the role of ocean currents bringing warm southern waters to the north was obvious in the current Arctic warming.

Last month, Oleg Sorokhtin, a fellow of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, shrugged off manmade climate change as "a drop in the bucket." Showing that solar activity has entered an inactive phase, Prof. Sorokhtin advised people to "stock up on fur coats."

He is not alone. Kenneth Tapping of our own National Research Council, who oversees a giant radio telescope focused on the sun, is convinced we are in for a long period of severely cold weather if sunspot activity does not pick up soon.

The last time the sun was this inactive, Earth suffered the Little Ice Age that lasted about five centuries and ended in 1850. Crops failed through killer frosts and drought. Famine, plague and war were widespread. Harbours froze, so did rivers, and trade ceased.

It's way too early to claim the same is about to happen again, but then it's way too early for the hysteria of the global warmers, too.

Shall we assume that if we head into a little ice age, that the hysterical global warming alarmists will be calling to increase our carbon footprints in order to save the earth?

Not holding my breath.

Is Barack Obama the Messiah?

I’ve been posting quite a bit here about how many in the US are treating Obama with a messianic hope.

• Farrakhan: Obama "Hope of the Entire World"
• Barack Obama criticized over cult-like rallies
• Obama Is Messiah In Post-Christian USA
• Che Guevara Flags in Obama's Houston Office

The kind of unhinged emotions I’ve seen directed towards Obama is like nothing I’ve seen before.

It really does give me the willies.

Well, someone has created a new website: http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

It’s pretty good at documenting (and spoofing) all the messianic happenings surrounding Obama.

The pictures alone are worth surfing over and checking out this website.

100 Cupboards Radio Interview

N.D. Wilson has a radio interview on Salt Lake’s KCPW:

N. D. Wilson author of the tween book 100 Cupboards will be here, along with a couple of signed copies for Midday Metro listeners. 100 Cupboards follows Henry York and his cousin through the 99 different worlds held within the cupboards of his bedroom. He'll do a reading at King's English tonight, Deseret Book tomorrow night.

Listen here (MP3 file).

HT: Blog & Mablog