Spring tennis in Idaho

Don't they look like sun-kissed athletes?



And the spectators. Elitists basking in luxury, languorously taking in a tennis match. Gin and tonic to follow.

Military briefings

You've all seen pix from military briefings, and in particular PowerPoint slides from same. Ever been to one? Here's what it could look like.

Record high gas prices

And this dude chooses this inefficient means to transport a freezer.



Here's a person that strikes me as really negative and very angry. How can you feel this threatened by liberals, in Idaho? What kind of world would it be for this person to feel happy and positive? (click to enlarge)



And as an antidote to the previous, here's a pic taken at Kuna's farmer's market.

Food post

Went to Ben's Crow Inn recently with my sweetheart, and here's a pic of the salad and oyster shooter appetizer. The salad was pretty good, especially if you like lots of ranch dressing. The oysters were obviously out of a jar, and slathered with cocktail sauce, but still cold and tart and dang tasty. The beer was nice and cold.



Here's a pic of the famous bucket of clams, the bucket apparently having been swiped from Barton's in Jackpot. The clams don't come cheap, but they're really tasty. The clams, the beer, the ambiance, hmmmm, a really nice dining experience.



Here's a spaghetti dinner I cooked for my son last week. The interesting part is the sauce, which is simply chili con carne without beans, out of a can. I sprinkled green onions (home grown) and feta cheese on top. Cauliflower and broccoli with cheese sauce (the only way I can get my son to eat cauliflower).



And on a fast food note, here's what the Cup O' Noodles looks like on the label.



Here's what it looked like after I nuked it per the instructions.

Hubris? Complacency? Or just just smart?

Lt Gov and Senatorial candidate Jim Risch apparently has been spending more time in Washington DC than in Idaho lately. Kevin Richert says that Risch has been lobbying for a seat on the energy committee, and has sat in on a Republican caucus meeting. I heard a brief report on BSU radio about how both Gov Otter and Lt Gov Risch were recently out of the state, so Senate Pro Tem Robbert Geddes was the acting Gov, complete with the Gov's salary for the short time.

Larry LaRocco has been all around Idaho doing various jobs, and essentially running a full time campaign, in the state. Jim Risch, I guess, is assuming he's already got the job. It's true, he has been anointed by the Idaho GOP people who count, and that's pretty much all it takes.

Then there's this statement by Shirley McKague, again reported in Richerts' blog:

Mr. Snodgrass consistently votes with the Democrats. That has been his pattern over six years in the Legislature. Leadership thinks of him as a Democrat. That's why he does not hold a position in leadership or chair a committee. Members of the Republican Central Committee also view his Republican credentials as suspect. That's why he failed to make the short list of candidates to fill a vacancy int he Senate.

Ms. McKague lays it right out. Vote the way leadership wants you to, or be punished. Richert argues the McKague is out of touch with her district. I agree. It's possible that Snodgrass actually represents Meridian as it is now. McKague was first elected in 1997. Meridian has changed drastically in the last 11 years.

What happened to all the folks who voted for term limits? The concept behind term limits is to occasionally get some new blood and thinking, and to prevent political monopolies. Well, since our legislature won't allow that to happen, how about voting differently once in a while? How about voting Democratic for a change? Just once. Just in this next election. 2 years. Idaho can survive that, and then everyone can go back to voting all GOP all the time. But that one time may just make the GOP leadership stop taking the electorate for granted, and might make them responsive.

If that were to happen, perhaps we could get some action on transportation, air quality, and property tax relief, which even the most die hard Republicans want.

Wolves gotta eat, too

The Statesman's article on the lady who apparently fed cats to her wolves has sparked a lively discussion in the comments section, and has brought out cat haters and lovers. The title to this post is the title to one of the comments. Another comment: "Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'cat food.'"

Chris believes the "do-nothing Idaho legislature" shares some blame for the situation.

Still here

I haven't been posting much lately because I've had other distractions, and, with the onset of the allergy season, haven't had much energy to post. I've been pretty busy at work as well, including some travel. But, I'm still here.

Remember biorhythms? (http://www.ludnet.com/biorythm/index.php or click the title.) Well, my physical and intellectual ryhthms are bottomed out right now. Maybe that's it.

Thank goodness Grant dropped out

Because I was having a hard trying to decide for whom to vote.

I think Grant ran a pretty good campaign last time, and gave Sali a real test. I also expect that he learned from the experience and could bring that to bear. I heard him speak a the Frank Church Dinner, and he was much more animated than Minnick. Overall, I would have been happy with Grant as the candidate.

Minnick brings connections, money and experience to his race. I expect his speaking styule will rev up as the campaign progresses, and he's certianly been active so far. He'll also make a good candidate.

I'm sorry to see Grant go, and I hope he'll stay active in the party and perhaps try again. At the least, I hope he'll run for state legislature.

The Great State of Ada

Some folks who don't live in Ada County call it the Great State of Ada. I see quite a bit of this anti-Ada/Boise sentiment by N. Idaho commenters at Huckleberries Online. Here's an example. DFO, the proprietor of HBO, poised the first question below, and a poster (Spencer) reframed it against Ada County.

Question: Who's to blame for the Legislature's failure to provide funding for Idaho road repair this session -- Otter? Or Republican leaders? (Spencer: How about asking if the legislature did the right thing by not raising $200 million in taxes to fix Ada county roads?)

I guess the point is, gee, they don't want their tax money spent in Ada Cty, which is understandable but parochial. So, let's have a look at the facts.

A excerpt from the Legislature's Fiscal Facts.

First off, note the overall per capita distribution of various funds (some not shown here, visible on the linked page). Canyon County gets the fewest overall funds per capita, and Ada Cty is second third lowest. (Clark Cty is highest at $1,297.12). Kootenai gets more money p/c, though not a lot. The populous areas subsidize the less populous.

Doing the highway funds math, it breaks out like this. Ada Cty gets $58.75 in highway funds per person; Canyon, $63.03; Kootenai, $65.68; Bonner, $72.20; Boundary, $105.03; Shoshone, $112; Benewah, $131.32.

Ada Cty has about 24% of Idaho's population. It gets $21 mil in highway funds. 24% of total highway funds would be $30 mil, so Ada is shorted $9 mil. Adding in Canyon Cty increases the shortfall to the Treasure Valley to about $17.5 mil.

Granted, that's not $200 mil. But, if Canyon and Ada Cty had an additional $17.5 mil PER YEAR to spend on roads, I think that'd take care of the problem over time. Of course, roads in the rest of the state would deteriorate pretty badly.

It just shows me that we're all in this together. Carping about spending highway money in Ada Cty is silly; Ada is actually subsidizing the rest of the state. C'mon. Do you really want to keep all money in the county in which it's generated? Ada Cty will win. Get over it.

Please, Spencer and others in N. Idaho, I'd like your response to this. I'd like you to prove me wrong. If you can't, stop with the anti Ada/Boise rhetoric.

Update: Ada Cty is third lowest. Bonner Cty is second lowest.

New threads

We're getting our issue of the new uniform. Most of us bought one a while back, but now we're getting issued a set of four, incluing t-shirts and socks. More crap to clutter up my house.



Also, getting a new bullet proof vest. The green thing on the left is the kevler insert. Without that you're just wearing cloth.



And then there's this helpful hint, with military understatement.



Turn it in if bullets have hit it. In other words, if you've been shot.

Band camp

This afternoon as I was working, this was going on outside my office. The band was practicing pass and review.

It's nice, for a little while. After that, not so much. Very brief clip. An ending which reflects my expertise with the video function of my digital camera.



Amusingly, to me, the leader was hollering at them using a bullhorn, which was necessary to be heard over the music. Not angry, just giving guidance and training. You can hear his voice at the very start of the clip.

Inside my building, this was going on. Danny Boy. Just shoot me. They also practiced the theme from Mission Impossible, which was little more tolerable.



The Idaho Army National Guard's 25th Army Band. They are really an excellent military band. If you get a chance to hear them play, and if you like martial music, you'll enjoy it.

First sighting of the season

No, not a Robin. A candidate's sign. This one is on Gowen Road about a half mile west of the Outlet Mall. Senator Kelly, your opponent is on the move. Or maybe the property owner had it stored in some corner and just brought it out.



This sign seems familiar. Anybody got a picture of Sheila Sorenson's campaign sign? Or an old picture from the last time Dean Sorenson ran?

Jim Hansen named Executive Director of Idaho Democratic Party

As usual, I'm late on this story. Serephin reports it here, with comments. Betsy Russell's story here. Julie's take here, with an update. Mountain Goat has it here. Idaho Rocks weighs in.

Update: Jill has a lengthy story with comments at New West.

David Archuleta

Tara has a message from David Archuleta about why he's running for the senate. Short and to the point. Worth a look.

Idaho Chooses Life Alliance

I posted about Idaho Chooses Life PAC below. This post is about its counterpart the Idaho Chooses Life Alliance. The ICLA is a 501(c)(3)non-profit corporation. I'm not exactly sure of the relationship between the two, but they're pretty closely tied together. ICLA was incorporated, in 2000 I think, by Bill Sali, and he, Corbett Lynn, and Henry Kulczyk were the initial directors. . Sali has moved on, but the other two appear to still be involved. At least they contribute regularly to ICL. (No information available on ICLA's finances.)



In 2007, Kukczyk was the Chairman, and Dennis Mansfield a long time director. Wendy Ripley has been the secretary since its inception.



In 2005 the ICLA tapped the special expertise of Brandi Swindell to serve on the board. Also notice Director Sharon Nettles.



In the same year, 2005, ICL PAC has Sharon Nettles as its Treasurer, so the two organizations are tied together pretty closely.



ICLA cannot use its income or assets for the benefit of a director, and officer, or private person, though it can pay for services rendered.



Recall how much David Ripley got paid by ICL PAC? He's a registered lobbiest for the PAC.



That's it. Nothing Earth shaking or particularly startling. Just that the two organizations are very close, and they have to be careful not to violate the prohibition against benefiting an officer, i.e., Wendy Ripley by paying her husband so much.

Hurt me now and get it over

Patsy Cline has a song "Leavin' on Your Mind," a snippet of which has been been on my mind as I watched the end of the legislative session.

Specifically, the debate over eliminating $120 million in business personal property tax while also trying to end the legislative session brought the song to mind. I was thinking, jeez, another effort to shift taxes from business to individuals. Always the same reason; business taxes are too high and if we would just lower them, business would flock to Idaho, lots of jobs would get created, and everything would be wonderful.

In a cynical moment I thought, well then, just eliminate all business taxes. With all the economic activity that would spur, according to the supply siders, Idaho's economy should take off like a rocket and replace the lost revenue in a heartbeat.

The biggest benefit, for me at least, is that the desires of our Republican friends would be laid bare, and we wouldn't have to endure any more tiresome debates on the issue. Just do what you want to do, eliminate all business taxes, and be done with it. And do it as you leave town.

"If you've got leaving on your mind,
tell me now, get it over,
hurt me now, get it over."

Another benefit; I won't have to watch IACI ravish and have its way with the legislature anymore (at least, not as much). I mean, it's almost embarassing.

***

BTW, I left the previous post up for a week. I thought I was onto something, but it didn't seem to resonate much. I guess campaign financing isn't as interesting as I thought.