Saint Madsen

Roger Madsen, Director of the Idaho Dept. of Labor, has "saved" the Idaho Human Rights Commission from the chopping block. He apparently found room in his budget to absorb the Commission, and it will now be part of the Dept. of Labor.

Of this, a couple of legislators commented:

"Is he a darling or what?" said Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, who co-chairs the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, after Human Rights Commission Director Pam Parks told the committee the good news. "There's got to be a halo on that wonderful head of his."

Democratic Rep. Wendy Jaquet of Ketchum chose similar words. "He's a great rescuer, and he's a saint."

My response? Blaaarrrrrg.

I'm happy that the IHRC has been spared, but, c'mon. Anointing Madsen is a bit over the top. Start with this:

"He's just always been incredible in adapting to whatever the wishes are of the governor at the time," said JFAC's other co-chair, Dean Cameron, R-Rupert.

So this consummate political player always finds a way to please the Gov, right? Then I guess we can safely assume that Gov Otter didn't really want to kill off the IHRC, otherwise Madsen's move would be going against the Gov's wishes.

But, notice that with budgets as supposedly tight and cut back as they are, Madsen still had some money laying around that he could use to fund the IHRC. I guess he hadn't tightened his budget all that much. Also, notice that Madsen just expanded his fiefdom a little bit more. So, yeah, it's good that he "saved" the IHRC, but I think there's more to the story.

Thoughts about spineless Democrats

Essentially, what a bunch of saps, particularly at the federal level. To dither and mess around and allow the ridiculous politicking that occurred in the Senate is a disgrace. And the thing that infuriates me is the stupid 60 vote filibuster rule.

The Constitution calls for majority rule, not super majority rule. The Senate ginned up its own stupid filibuster rule, and now the Republicans have brilliantly shoved it right up the Dems' collective, you know. In the face of absolute party discipline, the Dems allow the Republicans to set the agenda, which is spun out and amplified by the right-wing noise machine, while the Dems allow Lieberman and Ben Nelson to spout whatever contra-party crap they desire. What a bunch of spineless fools.

Yes, that's right, a bunch of spineless fools. Hand the Republicans the filibuster rule and allow them to kill you with it, because of Senate "comity." Dems: We want to all get along, and respect each other, and play nice together, so we'll go along with needing a 60 vote super majority on every stinking vote. Please like us. Republicans: F**k you! We Win!

That seems to sum it up, IMHO.

Which brings me to the Idaho Dems closing their caucus doors. To which I say, good grief, it's about time. Stop being saps and allowing the Rs to know every bit of your strategy. Who cares if they meet behind closed doors? Reporters, and that's about it. Maybe Idaho Dems are growing a spine. It's about time.

Cutting government

We now know that Gov Otter is proposing shrinking Idaho state government by several agencies, probably most notably Parks and Rec and Idaho Public TV. He acknowledges that these cuts won't save a ton of money, but they're in line with his philosophy that in lean times, government must focus on what it needs, not just on what it wants. In other words, Parks and Rec and IPTV are luxuries. Essential functions, like education and police, should not have deeper cuts in order to maintain luxuries.

State Sen. Nicole LeFavour says that Otter is just being mean, cutting these tiny agencies that don't cost enough to really make much of a difference.

I can see both arguments. The luxury/necessity argument makes sense to me, but I'm also sympathetic with the idea that cutting small agencies will hurt various people and not save much money. If IPTV gets cut, it could well stop broadcasting in small communities. I heard Peter Morrill, IPTV Director, say that 80% of their fundraising comes from SW Idaho. So, cutting IPTV could mean that its programs won't be available to folks in small towns across Idaho. After all, TV is a luxury. No more Sesame Street in Rupert or Salmon or Grangeville, I suppose.

One thing I am pretty sure of. It looks like Gov Otter is using this opportunity to shrink government, something he and his fellow conservatives are always seeking to do.

Rich irony that will go unnoticed in Idaho

Others have beat me to this, but here it is anyway.

As Exhibit 1shows, the states most likely to “win” as a result of health care reform are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah. All of these states have a relatively high number of uninsured and all are in the bottom half of states in terms of cost under both financing mechanisms.

So, Gov. Otter threatening to sue over it sure seems counter to the interests of the residents of his state.

Credit where credit is due

Senator Jim Risch made much of his short stint as Governor, and one of his most highly touted "achievements" was a shift in taxes from property to sales tax. He was quite proud of this, and made it a centerpiece of his campaign for Senator.

Well, an unintended consequence of that shift has come to bite us on the kiester. It has been noted that Idaho has suffered proportionally more than most states in the Great Recession. That is, our economy took a bigger hit than most. The economy tanks, and along with it so does consumer spending. And along with that, state sales tax revenue.

Thus, by making sales tax a larger part of our state revenue, the state's budget woes the last couple of years were exacerbated by Risch's tax shift. Had the shift been accompanied by widening the tax base - such as eliminating exemptions, or including a tax on services - the negative impact might have been lessened. But, no, 'twas not to be.

So, our state political leadership is talking about really hacking into state government to keep the budget balanced, with Health and Welfare and education poised to take the biggest hit, because they have the most money. Interestingly, I think Risch will view that as another positive outcome from his delightful tax shift.

I just wonder, why do people who hate government so much want to be part of it?

Beauty is where you find it.

One beautiful thing I'm contemplating today is BSU's win over TCU in the Fiesta Bowl last night.

But, this post is about Iraq. I was listening to NPR this morning, and heard an article about an Iraqi artist who paints Iraqi scenes of beauty, and doesn't portray the bad things happening there.

When I was there I'd occasionally run across a poster or calendar picturing an idyllic image of a classical Arab, bejeweled and wearing beautiful Arab clothing, usually in a lush setting with palm trees and flowers. These were always paintings.

We could get 2 or 3 local Iraqi TV stations, and I liked to watch them from time to time. One of them would fill empty air time by showing tranquil tableaus. Our local public TV station does the same; you can see flowers and high mountain lakes and icy streams, all displayed delightfully.

The Iraqi scene I remember the most was a small waterfall flowing into a stream, very grassy and dotted with flowers. Oh, yeah, and littered with trash. That's what really struck me. The prettiest scene they chose to show also showed the trash and litter that was everywhere in the country.