Idaho State Journal Editorial The fruits of Idaho's first closed Republican primary have been harvested and the crop was sparse. A new rule forcing voters to declare party affiliation at the polls helped set a record for the Gem State – the lowest turnout by voters in 24 years.
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By Michael H. O'Donnell It's Mother's Day. And although the ancient Greeks and Romans held festivals to celebrate motherhood, our American event was invented by Anna Jarvis in 1908 to commemorate the sacrifice her mother and other women made to tend to wounded soldiers during the bloody days of the Civil War.
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By Ron Daugherty Legislative dust has by now settled. Legislators pulled up stakes, briefcases, seat cushions, and moved on homeward. So what did we all gain from the 2012 Legislative Session? Not much reality. The citizenry lost the most, and were generally ignored. Oh, I know, some legislators listened to smokers, educators, and certain concerned citizens in well publicized PR sessions. But so what? People were basically ignored.
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By Martin Hackworth One hears a lot these days about various things that will be the end of us all. One has, I’m quite sure, heard the same things in other times and in other places. Societies rise and fall. History books are full of tales that one ought to regard as cautionary. Alas and alack. Personally, I have more faith in humanity’s ability to rebuild and move on than I do in our ability to halt decline.
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By Richard Larsen
The unambiguous imagery of blindfolded Lady Justice holding the scales of impartiality aloft, idyllically characterizes our understanding of how American justice is expected to function. We expect it to be dispensed neutrally; blind to race, creed, socio-economic status, and political associations. Yet clearly this administration’s Department of Justice is blind in ways not represented by Lady Justice.
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By Neal Larson A few days ago, Congressman Ron Paul used the word “infiltration” while describing his supporters’ relationship with the Republican Party. On more than one occasion Paul supporters have called my radio show telling me, “We’re taking over your party, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Months ago, one of my politically-connected friends warned me of the Ron Paul strategy to win the nomination by hijacking delegates, and while I didn’t disbelieve his prediction, I was skeptical that it could be done. Since the outcomes in both Maine and Nevada now have been manipulated by Paul supporters, I’m awake to the effort, and find myself scrambling to warn as many as possible with the few days left we have before the primary election on May 15.
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By Eniko Jordan Well, I’m writing this on May Day and I want you to know that I spent the day occupying, just as the Occupy Wall Street gang called on the nation to do. Well, not quite. The Occupiers called on Americans to spend May Day not going to work, not going shopping, not going to school or to the bank, and to generally cause all sorts of disruption to our economy and society. Instead, I spent my May Day occupying two jobs to make ends meet. I confess I didn’t go to the bank or to the store, but only because I had done that the day before.
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By Richard Larsen
According to Supreme Court precedent, U.S. citizens are presumed to have a “right of privacy.” Whether we concur with how the precedent has been applied or not, it makes sense that in a republic where the rule of law protects citizens, that we not be unduly exposed to prying government or corporate invasions into our privacy. That “right” has all but vanished.
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By Wayne Hoffman Yet another disappointing legacy of the 2012 legislative session is the licensure of massage therapists in Idaho. Gov. Butch Otter signed the bill without comment, but his spokesman, Jon Hanian, told IdahoReporter.com that because the bill “was brought by the individuals in that profession as a means of self-policing and self-governing their own profession, the governor did not see any reason to oppose the legislation.”
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By Neal Larson I recently interviewed a doctor who was against Obamacare because it didn't go far enough. His vision was to implement a single-payer system based on his firmly-held belief that health care is a foundational human right.
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