The timing is suspect, a news dump on a holiday and before Michael Jackson is laid to rest. That, and her lack of explanation of her future plans, would lead me to believe that leaving the only real job she ever had mid-term is in anticipation of furthering her political career in the lower 48. Those announcements will be made at a time when she can dominate the news cycle. But this may also be a tease for her teabagging compatriots sharing their love this weekend and sullying our national holiday with their jingoistic BS. Certainly their adoration is all out of whack with her record and unearned sense of self confidence. Its on the heels of this unflattering Vanity Fair article. Or maybe something bigger is going to be disclosed with regard to her many ethical lapses and she's getting while the getting is good. But this cryptic comment at the press conference speaks volumes: "America is looking north to the future." I'm kind of excited to have her to speak for Republicans.  read more »

A gar bar raid turned violent in Fort Worth:

"[Gibson] was taken down hard," said Camp, with "four or five" officers wrestling him to the floor inside the club. Cellphone photos shot by patrons and posted to blogs show a person being held facedown by officers in a short hallway inside the club, then show a dent in the wall where his head was apparently banged.  read more »

According to the Spokesman Reviews Huckleberries Online, Rep. Bob Nonini is throwing his hat in to the ring for the GOP primary in the 1st Congressional District.

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2009/jul/01/nonini-run-congress/

HBO links to this site for Rep. Nonini's Congressional bid:

http://nonini2010.blogspot.com/

P.S. sorry about the lack of a hot link, it's been so long since I posted I forgot how to insert one.

Finally:

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of a tight U.S. Senate race over Republican Norm Coleman, which should give Democrats the 60-seat majority they need to overcome procedural obstacles and push through their agenda.

Coleman has said in published reports he is unlikely to appeal the state court's decision to the federal courts. Under state law, the court's decision gives Franken the right to occupy the seat, which has been up for grabs since last November's election.

So now what will Gov. Pawtucket(R-Asshole) do?

He admitted to more inappropriate almost-but-not-quite-sexual relations:

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress — but never had sex with them.

The governor says he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed Sanford's once-promising political career.

During an emotional interview at his Statehouse office with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Sanford said Chapur is his soul mate but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife.

What a scumbag.

While the article itself is written in the style of an eight year old hopped up on pixie sticks, the author's point is that the newest Charter School in Nampa is about religious indoctrination:

Students at the Nampa academy will read from a New International Version Bible that includes footnotes denoting cultural and archaeology discoveries, Moffett said. When studying literature, they will read from the King James version.  read more »

One could look on with befuddled amusement to Congressman Bob Ingles' hypocritical suggestion that the Republican Party “lose the stinking rot of self-righteousness” considering he built his career on managing the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Rep. Inglis (R-SC) helped form the coalition of religious fundamentalists that seems to be the base to which Republicans most assiduously cater and which furthers the divisiveness of the culture war in America. But the whole Sanford affair reeks of hypocrisy. In an uncharacteristically charitable fashion, Cal Thomas weighs in by noting an affair could happen to anyone (?????), yet he issued no calls for resignation like he did with Spitzer, nor any prognostications of doom for Republicans like he did to Democrats in 1998 with the revelations on Clinton's failings in his personal life. But it begs the question of whether the stinking rot comes from its overly pious leaders or the "morally exhausted" followers. This graph from the Gray Lady may provide some insight.  read more »

From the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, here is a side by side comparison of the health care proposals:

Achieving comprehensive health reform has emerged as a leading priority of the President and Congress. President Obama has outlined eight principles for health reform, seeking to address not only the 45 million people who lack health insurance, but also rising health care costs and lack of quality. In Congress, a number of comprehensive reform proposals have been announced as the debate begins over how to overhaul the health care system.

This interactive side-by-side compares the leading comprehensive reform proposals across a number of key characteristics and plan components. Included in this side-by-side are proposals for moving toward universal coverage that have been put forward by the President and Members of Congress. In an effort to capture the most important proposals, we have included those that have been formally introduced as legislation as well as those that have been offered as principles or in White Paper form. This side-by-side will be regularly updated to reflect changes in the proposals and to incorporate major new proposals as they are announced.

Which one do you like?

Religious accommodationists, such as President Obama and his new friend Francis, are trying to make all atheists into "bad people" while exclaiming the virtues of faith. All this while saying that the New Atheists shouldn't be condemning all religious people for the actions of a vocal few.

Sorry but this just leads to an epic fail:  read more »

Up till now I've just been watching the Iran riots with a trepidation that I didn't really understand. I knew something would happen that would indicate a time to interfere or a time to congratulate them.

Evidently, it's just time to stomp the shit out of their fundamentalists:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A hardline Iranian cleric on Friday called for the execution of "rioters," in a sign of the authorities' determination to stamp out opposition to the June 12 presidential election result.  read more »

Peer reviewed and everything, and guess what? Nothing about those damn vaccinations!

The new study identifies 27 loci that have rare copy number variations, where there are more or fewer repeated DNA segments than expected, common to the genomes of several children with autism spectrum disorder. These variations are not present in controls without autism spectrum disorder.

This is a major finding, and one that will unfortunately be ignored because some baby-diddling pop star choked on a small bone.

There is no justice.  read more »

Has anyone seen or heard recently from former Idaho senator Larry "wide-stance" Craig? Is he, perchance, walking the Appalachian Trail?

Far-right wingnuts want the right to be bigoted, which they have, but they also demand that nobody call them on it. Fuck that.

• Treasured Valley: Thursday afternoon watercooler
  ‘Nother “We the Tweeple”, Idaho at the bottom, ten beers and a strawberry rhubarb crisp…

• The Political Game: Finding the Light
  One of my greatest fears, a fear I surely share with many, is that someone I love will be hurting and there won't be anything I can do to help.

• NewWest Boise: Former Statesman Reporter Barred From Army Unit For Not Reporting Good News
  The mideast edition of Stars and Stripes, “the independent news source for the U.S. military community” has a story today on one of its own reporters, Heath Druzin. Druzin left the Idaho Statesman last year to report from Iraq.

• Fort Boise: Felony? Burglary?
  Dine, dash, and down the river, and for whatever an entree and a drink costs at a "BoDo area restaurant," Mr. Murphy could get "up to 10 years in prison."

• Ridenbaugh Press: ID: Polling Otter and Minnick
  Idaho’s Greg Smith Associates polling is also actively pulling up numbers for leading political figures and - considering how static and one-sided things often are in Idaho - some of them ought to be of broader interest.

• Arbitrary & Capricious: VA & ID: volunteering for DP a "fatal attraction"
  From the Charlottesville Daily Progress, June 21: Death request raises ethical, legal questions

• Eye on Boise: A rerun of this year’s legislative session, this time in 2011?
  Longtime Idaho political observer Jim Weatherby says Gov. Butch Otter’s decision to have his transportation funding task force present its recommendations in December 2010 - a year and a half from now - could lead to a rerun of this year’s difficult legislative session in 2011.

• Morialekafa: Family values
  Another holier-than-thou family values Republican hypocrite confesses to an affair.

• IdaBlue: Gov. Sanford
  Well, yet another moralizing politician laid low by personal peccadillo's. S.C. Gov Sanford, once considered presidential material, and having famously grandstanded about stimulus money, has been revealed to be cheating on his wife.

• The MountainGoat Report: Lawnmowing Is Dangerous In Burley?
  From the Times-News this morning: William Stirling Teeter, 50, of Burley, was charged with felony aggravated assault Friday night following an unusual response to a teenager's ball landing in his yard.

• Left Side of the Moon: Conservative Mind, Liberal Penis
  on Stewart on Mark Sanford: “Just another politician…….”

• BW citydesk: Cyclists Get Cop Scrutiny
  In the wake of three recent cyclist deaths, Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson is stepping up enforcement of bike laws on Boise Streets.

• Byron Yankey: Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
  This is one of the easiest desserts you can make this time of the year. Not everyone knows how to use rhubarb. That is too bad, because its unique tart flavor is a real treat.

• All I'm Saying...: November 22, 1963
  That date is seared into my brain tonight. I just got back from The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which is in the Texas Book Depository, the building from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy.

• Nemesis Today: Coming Home a Day Early
  Well, we got to Rapid City a lot earlier than we had planned for, so we did the quick jaunt to both Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse national monuments before settling in to a local motel.

• Rant Against the Machine: Robots Rights NOW!
  So, while many of the NPR commentators on this story say it is a waste of time, they weren't looking at the representations of what it means. This simple "Should Robots Speak 'Jive'?" question is asking us to look at many deep topics.

Yep, he was schleping a friend in Argentina. Like, really surprising, eh? Still not as good as getting caught dressed in scuba gear and doing blow off a male hooker's ass, but then again we don't always get what we want.  read more »

Clayton is distorting science again. Big surprise, I know. Just in case anyone was interested in hearing from the actual authors of the latest quote that Clayton took out of context:

We want to respond to a recent Focus on the Family characterization of scientific findings reported in our book, Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States (Oxford University Press) that misrepresented findings in the book to suggest that childhood sexual abuse causes male homosexuality. The Focus on the Family description of the findings reported in Unequal Opportunity is inaccurate and, in our opinion, a distortion of the scientific literature.  read more »

6/24 (10:15am) UPDATE!!!! Gov. Sanford now says he was in South America. Stay Tuned for more hilarious Sanford Hijinks! His presidential hopefuls have now sunk to below that of Dubya's brudah Jeb.

How do you know when a Republican is lying?

Sanford hadn't spoken with his staff since last Thursday. He left the state on what Sawyer called a routine post legislative vacation to unwind.

His absence left fellow state leaders scratching their heads.

The lieutenant governor couldn't figure out where Gov. Mark Sanford was. Calls from a state senator and close friend rolled to voice mail. Even his wife said she hadn't talked to him for several days.

The explanation came late Monday night from his spokesman: The second-term chief executive was hiking along the Appalachian Trail "to kind of clear his head after the legislative session."

So what will be the excuse when he's found tied up in 2 wetsuits with a dildo up his ass in some backwater hotel room? There should be a betting pool on this one.

Thanks to Nemisis! Through her efforts, I was able to meet some of the folks who post here regularly face to face for the first time today.

It's very good to know the faces behind our internet handles, and especially fine to know that I'm not just howlin' in the wind, all alone.

But especially big thanks to you who started 43rd State Blues! This site made it possible, and we're all Idahoan to the bone here. Keep on keeping strong, all of you. Always remember that we're all out here, doing our parts and we're not alone, not a single one of us.

From the office of U.S. Congressman Walt Minnick (ID-1):

Representing Idaho’s independent values in Congress

C.L. “Butch” Otter is now the governor of Idaho, but on October 24, 2001, he was serving in the U.S. House as the representative for Idaho’s First Congressional District. The country was still reeling from the events of 9/11, and on that October day the House voted on the Patriot Act, a sweeping measure which we now know compromised the core Constitutional rights this country holds dear.  read more »

Molk Ybqy مع Alkfr and La Ybqy مع Alzlm: A country will survive without God, but not without justice.

• Treasured Valley: Friday afternoon watercooler
  Missing driver, a swollen eye, Governor’s Cup, some summer vino and fried pickles…

• The Political Game: Can't Take the Chaos II
  Something I failed to mention in my observances of the current cultural and political chaos this country appears to be engulfed in is how mainstream the previously fringe fears and accusations have become.

• NewWest Boise: Planning in the West: Morning Sessions, Key Word “Sustainability”
  The morning sessions at New West’s Planning in the West Conference has been devoted to the key issues facing planners today: the challenges faced in an economic downturn; how to turn the buzzword of “sustainability” to actual, on the ground planning; moving beyond planning to sustainable design; and the granddaddy of all issues--the massive growth facing the region.

• Fort Boise: Jumpy
  I enjoyed Nathaniel Hoffman's piece about the plans for Jack's Urban Meeting Place, aka JUMP, and its cute headline, Tractor piazza. Italian like American pizza.

• Ridenbaugh Press: Upstream: Adjudicating the Snake River
  The Snake River Basin Adjudication is one of the largest water adjudications the United States has ever seen, and it may be the most successful. Here is how it happened, drawn from the pages of the SRBA Digest, which for 16 years has been tracking the details of the massive case - the advances, the slips, false starts and unexpected leaps.

• Arbitrary & Capricious: ID: north side teens in attempted murder trouble
  From the Twin Falls Times-News: Shoshone murder plot: Two boys remain jailed for safety

• Eye on Boise: North Idaho freeway could include bottleneck
  When the big Garwood-to-Sagle freeway project on Highway 95 in North Idaho is completed, it may have a two-mile, two-lane bottleneck at its southern end before it reaches an existing four-lane highway at Hayden.

• F-Words: YOUR body - be afraid of it!
  If all media were like women's magazines, it would be as confusing as these two headlines caught on CNN's homepage today:

• Morialekafa: Republicans are so funny!
  Republicans are sooo funny! I hope they never regain any political power, not merely because their incompetence at governing is legendary, but because as a minority they are so absolutely hilarious.

• IdaBlue: Crapo is undecided; riiiiight
  The Statesman reports that Senator Crapo claims to be undecided about how he'll vote regarding the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court. Well, if he votes to confirm, you can color me "surprised" to say the least.

• The MountainGoat Report: You Could, But Why Would You?
  Great read at High Country News on recently passed legislation allowing national park visitors to carry loaded firearms.

• IdahoRocks: "Nice People Take Drugs"
  Nice People Take Drugs, is a new, British campaign by Release, "...the national centre of expertise on drugs and drug law...." In consideration of current laws, and specifically the "War on Drugs" as criminal offenses that require punishment, Release calls for a new paradigm, a new way of thinking about current drug problems.

• Rob's Idaho Perspective: Diversions
  On a lighter note, I discovered a new online beta tool which looked fun. This tool, called TweetPsych, analyzes your twitter comment stream (same as my Facebook comment stream) and provides some observations about your writing style and what you tend to write about.

• Left Side of the Moon: I Wonder If God is Shaken
  From Nico’s live blogging at Huffington Post comes this very touching video.

• BW citydesk: Might as well, Jump
  In writing this week's news feature on Jack's Urban Meeting Place, we went for a little lap around the Simplot site, bounded by Front and Myrtle streets on the north and south and Ninth and Eleventh to the east and west.

• Byron Yankey: Let the games begin....
  State Representative Ken Roberts is challenger number two in the race for Republicans to face off with Walt Minnick in the 1st Congressional race. The field could become more crowded with Republican candidates as pointed out in a recent post from Kevin Richert.

• All I'm Saying...: Spyglass Gardens CSA: Week 3
  It's our third week of picking up our subscription of produce from Spyglass Gardens.

• Nemesis Today: So We Got the New iPhone
  Pop says it’s really cool, it’s faster and has more bells and whistles like a video camera and a built in compass (shows which direction you’re pointing the phone), plus has that 32 gig hard drive (instead of the weinie 16 gig he got a fewiphone weeks ago).

• Rant Against the Machine: Bozeman City job requirement raises privacy concerns
  A friend of mine just shared this story on Facebook and I thought I would pass it along and maybe start some discussion about it.

Michael Steele. Clown of the RNC, whipped puppy at Rush Limbaugh's feet, token racial outcast of the GOP.

And now? It appears he's sent out his final application to The Movement:

1. Do you agree with Barack Obama and the Democrats that taxes should be raised for the sake of “fairness,” regardless of the negative impact it is likely to have on the economy?
Yes
No
No opinion

That is only one example of the 18 push-poll leading questions that Michael Steele sent out to the Republican party base, and it identifies him, as well as those that answer properly, as Movement Conservatives.  read more »