Clown show

Holy cow, whoever the German author of the article quoted here pulls no punches.

Africa is a country. The Taliban rule in Libya. Muslims are terrorists. Immigrants are mostly criminals, Occupy Wall Street protesters are always dirty. And women who claim to have been sexually molested should kindly keep quiet.” 

Welcome to the wonderful world of the Republican Party. Or rather: to the distorted world of its presidential campaign. For months it has coiled through the country like a traveling circus, from debate to debate, from scandal to scandal, contesting the mightiest office in the world — and nothing is ever too unfathomable for them… These eight presidential wannabes are happy enough not only to demolish their own reputations but also that of their party, the once worthy party of Abraham Lincoln. They are also ruining the reputation of the United States. 

They lie, deceive, scuffle and speak every manner of idiocy. And they expose a political, economic, geographic and historical ignorance compared to which George W. Bush sounds like a scholar. Even the party’s boosters are horrified by the spectacle… 

Platitudes in lieu of programs: in serious times that demand the smartest, these clowns offer blather that is an insult to the intelligence of all Americans. But as with all freak shows, it would be impossible without a stage, the U.S. media, which has been neutered by the demands of political correctness, and a welcoming audience, a party base that seems to have been lobotomized overnight. Notwithstanding the subterranean depths of the primary process, the press and broadcasters proclaim one clown after the next to be the new frontrunner, in predictable news cycles of forty-five days.

Right on.

The august majesty of our justice system

My son turned 21 this summer, and a scant two months later he got a ticket for open container.  Walking along just a street off the BSU parking lot during a home game, on which lot you can find literally thousands of folks drinking alcoholic beverages.

Anyway, he's walking along with some beer in a plastic cup, which is what the masses are doing just across the street on the BSU lot, and a plain clothed cop in an unmarked car pulled up and asked him "What's in the cup?"  He replied honestly; "Keystone Light."  So the cop wrote him a ticket for open container, notwithstanding the thousands of folks just feet away, amongst whom mingled dozens and dozens of non-ticket-writing cops.  No warning or admonition. 

Per the State of Idaho, a driver with an open container gets a misdemeanor ticket, and a passenger gets a $15 infraction ticket.  But in Boise, that open container is a $150 misdemeanor, and the law applies even in private parking lots.

So my son, who has been to plenty of BSU games and seen the dozens and dozens of non-ticket-writing cops mingling with thousands of drinkers, gets tagged for a misdemeanor.  He had no idea about the open container law, having plenty of times seen the dozens and dozens of ... well, you get it.

So we roll into his preliminary hearing (aka, ticket mill) and two prosecutors are calling names (no judge present).  The prosecutor talks to us a bit and we see the almost complete lack of evidence (no police report, for example).  Anyway, we ask for it to be reduced to an infraction, the prosecutor reasonably agrees, and my son then plead guilty to the state infraction of being a passenger with an open container.  Which of course was a lie.  Anyway, $15, plus court costs, which I think run about $60 these days.  My son's comment was "Huh. It pays to fight the system, I guess."

More on that and about the ridiculous open container policy follows. (Can't seem to get the jump break to work.)

In the last year or two, the Boise cops have really cracked down on open containers around BSU games.  They used to have the same policy near the campus as they do on the campus; keep your booze in a plastic cup, and you're good to go.  Just don't cause trouble.  But now anywhere off campus you'll get a misdemeanor ticket for that.

BSU's campus, like all the others in the state, outlaws alcohol.  So allowing drinking at BSU games is a clear violation of that policy, but they're willing to look the other way because BSU can sell a parking spot for the game, and thus a tailgating spot, for hundreds of dollars.  Yes, hundreds.  The last time I was part of one, it was around $800 for the season.   That's about $120 per home game.  So they overlook the little detail that it's illegal because there's such huge money in it for them.  Estimate; if there are 500 parking spots, and I'd say that's ball park, that's $60,000 per game.

Now, I'm all for the tailgating and the open container blind eye policy, but the inconsistency is maddening.  On one side of the street it's okay, and on the other, a plain clothed cop in an unmarked car will write you a $200 ticket, with no warning, and for no real reason other than, just because.  Actually, I think the real reason is revenue for the city, which pisses me off.

I think if folks are just standing around, enjoying a little tailgate party, not causing any problems, then they should be left alone.  If they're rowdy, or loud, or littering, or obviously drunk, then by all means, write them up.  But otherwise, c'mon.  The cops, at the behest of their leadership, at the behest of the city and mayor, are just being jerks, and it really undermines respect for them.

What did my son take away from the experience?  Cops are jerks, and if you fight the system, you'll gain from it.  Nice civics lesson.  Hard for him to feel like he was doing much wrong since, just across the street, dozens and dozens of non-ticket-writing cops mingling with thousands of drinkers, at the exact time he got the ticket.  Right after he got the ticket, he walked across the street and became one of the thousands.

Government as business partner

Gov. Otter has written to extol the virtues of Idaho state government, especially as it has been run under his watch.  It's clear that he has a vision of government as being basically just a vehicle for helping business.

Here's, to me, a startling quote:  State government can no longer even be the "primary social safety net."

This just boggles my mind.  I mean, if the government doesn't provide a social safety net, who will?  I guess churches help out to an extent, but they don't meet all our citizens' needs, not by a long shot.  And that help is ephemeral, can be withdrawn in an instant, and can be  completely withheld if you have some social disqualification, like being gay.

You've probably seen the quotes from various folks, and to paraphrase, if you get cancer and can't afford your medical bills, just hold a bake sale.  That'll do it.  No worries.

Here's another clear statement about the Governor's view of government: 

We took plenty of heat along the way from those for whom growing government — and the sense of entitlement it inevitably fosters — had become a way of life during the years of economic expansion.

Republicans have been in total political control in Idaho for decades.  Just who, I wonder, are the folks for whom growing government was a way of life?  It'd have to be Idaho Republicans, wouldn't it?  Dean Cameron, I think this is a shot at you.

I think Gov Otter is being honest about his views, and I think they're in accord with lots of Idahoans.  I just do not understand it.  It comes across to me as, I've got mine, you go to hell.

Here we have Idaho...

Winging her way to ... what?  Is it even a real state if its government does not meet the needs of its citizens?  I don't know.  I do know that we get the government we vote for.  Just seems odd to me that Idaho citizens tolerate getting so little from its social compact.

24/7 Wall Street ranks Idaho as the 26th best run state.  That is, about half are run better, half worse.  But, check out the blurb below.

Idaho has the seventh-lowest violent crime rate in the country, a manageable debt per capita and a AA+ credit rating. Otherwise, the state leaves much to be desired. It has the 11th highest rate of residents without health insurance coverage. It also had one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country last month. On a state and local level combined, Idaho spends less per capita than any state in the country on its population.

Depending on your view, that last sentence is a cause for deep pride and joy, or it's an embarassment.  Given the Christian admonition that we should help those less fortunate that ourselves, and given that lots of folks in Idaho claim to be Christian, with a capital C, there seems to be some disconnect in the state.

Statesman's stinky web site

I did a quick Google News search to see if I could find an article about Rep. Steve Thayn's new education initiative, 8 in 6.  Say what you will about Thayn, like, for instance, he's a reactionary wing nut, but at least he is consistently banging away on his pet issue, education, and he does spark some discussion.  And, at least he's coming up with new ideas, even if some are pretty outre.

Anyway, the search turned up an article in the Idaho Statesman.  So I clicked on over, then waited for however long, a relatively long time, for the page to load up.   To me, the Statesman and Huffington Post are very similar in that they both are like diving into a fever swamp.  I hate going to the Statesman site, because it loads slowly, it's full of crap and nasty links, and it's just waaaaaay to aggressive in trying to gin up page views.  Example, you read a story, then have to click at least once, probably more, if you want to read the comments.  And, of couse, each click leads to a very slowly loading page.

We have a content blocker where I work, and something it blocks (for now) is social networking sites.  Okay, fine, don't need to be updating my facebook page at work, but we have legit need to access those sites from time to time.  So, we get 30 minutes a day, and then the blocker's timer runs out and we're frozen out for a day.

Well, jeez, don't go the Statesman's site during those thirty minutes, because it has some stinky link that our system perceives as accessing a social networking site.  So, without even knowing it, my 30 minutes gets eaten up by visiting the Statesman's site.  (This happens with other sites as well.)

Anyway, I only visit the Stateman's site when I have no other choice.  It's an unpleasant experience.

States rights

Republicans in Congress are happily pushing the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, which means essentially that a concealed carry card issued in one state will be valid is all other states.  On one hand, that seems like kind of a good idea.  Lots of folks travel from state to state, and might want to have a fire arm, for whatever reason.  It would suck to do all the right stuff in your home state, and get tagged in another state more or less inadvertently.

ut, in the irony (or perhaps its hypocrisy) department, a federal law overriding choices of the various states sure doesn't seem to fit into the Republican narrative of being all for states rights.  Upon reflection, it's definitely in the hypocrisy department.  Kind of like Idaho Republicans who champion local control, but won't let cities have local option taxes.

He's gone

Well, Paul Ezra Rhodes has been shuffled off this plane of existence.  Can't say I'm sorry to see the guy go.  I was living in Blackfoot when he killed poor Stacy Baldwin and his other victims*, so have been sort of following this asshole's** odyssey since***.  It felt pretty close to home at the time.

I'm generally not a fan of the death penalty, mostly for logistical reasons (it's expensive, and tragically sometimes gets the wrong person), but I don't have a big problem with it.  If I was sure that our criminal justice system always convicted the real perpetrator, I'd have very little problem with it (though, gotta admit, it's kind of barbaric; pretty rough justice).

* Nolan Haddon, and Nicole Michelbacher.  Interestingly, Rhodes admitted killing Michelbacher, but not Hadden or Baldwin.  The "law"  believes that a person who is about to meet the maker will not want to die with a lie on the lips; thus, a deathbed utterance is believed to be reliable evidence.  So, it makes one wonder, why would Rhodes admit to one murder but deny the other two?  And, did they get the right guy for the other two?  Was it a rush to judgment?  Will they reopen the other two cases?  What if the real killer is still out there?

**I know, I know, De mortuis nihil nisi bonum.  Fine, you might not like the lingo, but really, do you think he wasn't an asshole?  Sorry if you think it's disrespectful.  Of all the things I'm sure of, it's that a murderer doesn't deserve respect.

*** Black foot had a real run of asshole killers at the time.  Ricky Leavitt, who carved up poor Danette Elg, used to come into the convenience store where I worked in Blackfoot to buy beer.  Had a big blue jacked up Chevy pickup with a roll bar and lights across it.

Robin LePage offed Kurt Cornelison about the some time.  For some crazy reason, young folks in Blackfoot at the time would holler "Free LePage" at police cars as they drove by.  The guy escaped from the State Hospital South, so he was probably nuts.  Then and now.

And there was Randy McKinney, who killed Robert Bishop, Jr.  I'd known Robert 1st grade through 12th.  In elementary school he was one of my closest friends.

Seriously?

That's really her name?  Buffy Poon?