Tom Paine's blog

Checkout this latest release (today) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewqtr.t03.htm

It clearly shows the dramatically slowing (and awfully mismanaged) Idaho economy on 2 fronts thru the end of 2007 (latest verified time). Ada County Idaho only squeaks in with a 0.4% increase in job numbers, and a 0.5% increase in the average weekly wage. How is it the Otter Administration could fool so many people? One BIG part: their Commerce Dept routinely had help from all those business magazines touting Idaho, in exchange for state-placed advertisements.  read more »

Looks like the end is coming [this technological phase, at least] for the parent company of the Idaho Statesman. Total revenues, off some 15% IN ONE MONTH, have brought notice that McClatchy is set to jettison more than 10% of their entire workforce.

After their haughty rebuff of Spokane's Cowles Media's offer to buy the Statesman in 2006, and McClatchy's subsequent failed attempt to get Cowles back in the mood in '07....big changes could be in store for the Boise operation. Their Idaho GOP buddies certainly haven't helped any with their management of Idaho's economy.  read more »

The 100+ year old Albuquerque Tribune was closed this am by the Scripps Howard Newspaper chain. Scripps had owned the Trib for 80+ years.

You can see the Reuters story at http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKN2037448120080220?rpc=44  read more »

Earlier this afternoon Idaho's Director of Commerce, Jim Ellick, the successful former technology executive from Washington state, announced his "leave of absence" (it's permanent), due to "personal reasons".

According to my sources there's more to this story than meets the eye. Ellick had often expressed outright incredulity to many of the economic assumptions and policies he was forced to stomach from the Otter administration. According to press reports, his take 3 weeks ago on multi-year budget assumptions being floated---refused to allow for the remote possibility that Micron (and HP, AMI, CWI, BEA, Coldwater, et al) might not be around to generate this revenue. This is supposedly the base reason that took Mr. Ellick out.  read more »

Anybody remember this? circa October 2006: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=5324

Well, well...it turns out some high-flying SV neighbors of mine have been down to old Paraguay on buying trips themselves. It also turns out a little known Austin Texas based oil company named Pantera Petroleum has the exclusive Paraguayan concession for some 16,000 sq kilometers, over a geologic formation known as the Chaco Basin.

It also turns out that Chevron has developmental rights just adjacent & over the Argentine, Bolivian, and Brazilian borders (where they operate the Frade Field). Operationally, they're in primo position to pipe out what experts concede is 7-10 trillion cu feet (tcfe) of natural gas and up to 1-2 billion barrels of oil in Chaco.  read more »

In a story out of Houston, HP is selling over 2 million sq ft of space there and plans to implement "a cost-reduction plan announced two years ago to consolidate real estate holdings into "core sites in key locations" around the world, give up some leased space and close sites it owns". Story at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/sarnoff/5468874.html

Estimates of their revisions in the Boise area to their imaging division part, range from a high of 6600 jobs down to a present number of appx 1800. [**anyone got actual, up to date stats?**]

For years, HP has been seriously irritated by the state of Idaho's refusal to invest in numerous things more beneficial to technology development. HP folks from Mark Falconer to Dr. Ken Lindblom have gently chided Idaho about it....all to no avail. HP's imaging division showed the least growth & profitability of their business units in the past year, with analysts openly asking if it was time to exit that biz-line, while it still had some valuable cachet. Mark Hurd, HP's new CEO, has shown he's not afraid to take action.

A European based friend of mine with a house here in SV, just notified me Larry Craig has been recently (last few days) seen in Prague and Budapest, and in some rather unsavory places. He's "giving interviews" to local media, and calling on old east European buddies who he soire-ed with back in DC. Many of these were fronts for "child-refugee" problems originating in the Balkan War.

What's going on Larry-boy? Does Popkey need to hop a jet to the sex capital of Europe?

There is disturbing *anecdotal & *2nd hand evidence this am from New Yorkers up here to ski, that Micron will lay off half of their remaining Treasure Valley workforce by the beginning of their 2nd quarter (March 1). Seems their bankers & other institutional investors have given them the hard news, to survive in this climate---where the real estate debacle is taking so much time, energy & attention, Micron must move quickly and broadly in order to get "credit-ability". Their stock chart shows a negative & gigantic double-top formation going back to 1/1/03. This is the end-game for Micron, what happens now (buyout, bankruptcy, split-up, etc) is anyones' guess.  read more »

It seems my associate, William [Wallace] Sellers has been busy in Idaho Falls. He blast their representation in the Legislature this am in a Post Register op-ed openly calling for defeat of many GOP reps.

Sellers is very well connected in that community and has extensive political experience from New Mexico, where he was in a well-heeled guerilla group that had profound influence. Big problem for Democrats...this guy is a Republican! If they get any traction in the 'Falls, it could signal earth-shaking repercussions statewide.

I do not have copy of what he wrote....so if any of you have such or can scan in, please do so...WWS is not returning my e-mails.  read more »

Yeah, maybe in Arkansas or the 1-liner he used as a pickup tactic. More reasons all western Democrats should be deathly afraid of these two. See MSNBC link at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22356197/

**you can't make this s**t up**

The Otter Administration is planning a secret meeting tomorrow (12/19) with executives of Micron in an effort to head off a complete business-line breakup and withdrawal of the company from Boise. Sources ‘inside the greenbelt’ reveal as early as last week Otter called into his office Commerce Secretary Jim Ellick after an unusually blunt assessment of Micron’s actual survival prospects from outside (New York) investment bankers. According to these sources who overheard Otter staffers Mark Warbis and others in a downtown bar describing how the shaken Otter was quoted as asking Ellick, an increasingly skeptical former technology executive, ‘what could be done’? Ellick’s incredulous response was something on the order of you can “give them bags of cash”. Tomorrow’s meeting is evidentially an effort to do just that by raiding the Idaho Treasury for even more Micron benefits.  read more »

I realize in this holiday season, all us cynical political junkies tend to stay immersed in the minutia of our trade, craft, or preoccupation. Yet if there's anyone of you who's traveled this world as much as I have, then you must realize, in the last analysis how fortunate we are. Even more so, if you traveled during the Cold War, or to some of Planet Earth's 'garden spots' like Africa, equatorial & central Latin America, etc. America is blessed, and yes---we're even wealthy enough to be able to afford the bums running this state (ever thought about what a real sh**hole Idaho would be if we weren't?). Anyhow, I digress...  read more »

Whether you like what he says or not, you have to admire this guy's realistic assessment of what happens to western Democrats if Hillary is the nominee. This goes double or triple in Idaho, if she gets it (but little Dickie Stallings ain't sayin' nuthin')

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7716742

Let me connect the dots for all you little Donkeys out there...
As sure a sign of disharmony as there is: Jayson Ronk, the "Executive Director" of the Idaho Republican Party, married to the niece, Megan Ronk, of Idaho Car Dealers' el supremo politico, Con Paulos and former staffer to Dirk Kempthorne, was recently "released" by the GOP el hefe, Dr. Kirk Sullivan (a.k.a. 'Boss Hogg').

Seems the young & aggressive Ronk was the hidden GOP 'inside man' on the forced court-attempt to mandate closed primaries in Idaho. The Ronks fancy themselves Boise's latest "power couple", and this--and his close proximity to the wingnut-wing of the GOP didn't set too well with the Boss.  read more »

Some clever realtor in Boise has let the cat out of the bag....MORE THAN 50% of all active real estate listings there are for EMPTY HOUSES. If I lived in Ada County, first I'd be frightened, second I'd be pissed...extremely pissed.

Link is http://www.boiseblog.com/journal/2007/12/4/boise-real-estates-see-through-listings.html

This just popped up on MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22087867/
Brings to mind former SLC-Mayor Rocky Anderson's take, "the culture of obedience"....or else the state is outlawing some serious anti-depressant meds.

The McClatchy news empire made it official on Friday, losing nearly $1.4 billion in the quarter just ended September 30th. This wiped out 43% of their total shareholder equity, as the stock price threatens to go into single digits from a year ago price near $45/share. No doubt their banksters and all the hedge fund managers who ponied up the funds for them to buy the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain less than 18 months ago are about to swing the axe.

McClatchy actually owns some pretty good properties in growing or strategic areas, like Miami, Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, Silicon Valley, Kansas City, etc. The Kansas City Star just began a buyout of their newsroom staff.  read more »

PILLOW TALK and CRONYISM: Late word on the real Jeff Malmen leaving explanation: Lori Otter and Mike Gwartney. Turns out (surprise, surprise) Otter’s main advisors are his wife, Lori, and his old time political consultant-crony & new Head of the Dept of Administration, Mike Gwartney.

Malmen basically got tired of butting heads with these 2 and saw an opening when Idaho Power fired their #2 lobbyist, plus the pay & benefits are better. His replacement, Jason Kreizenbeck, is described as a hot-headed, cocksure, smart ass….who hasn’t a clue about getting along with the Idaho’s wingnut & ‘good old boy’ legislature. His tenure is also handicapped at less than a year, although for far different reasons than the savvy Malmen, who actually reads political petroglyphs.  read more »

The Idaho Taliban being dominant so long, and already having their policies entrenched to the point of creating a class of followers who are not capable of independent, critical thought....will never give way to our (or anyone else's) rational arguments.

This premise needs to be taken as a given by Idaho Democrats, and not in a way that is condescending, angry (I am though at times madder than spit), or in a smart-ass way. We need to focus on the consequences of this form of gullible obedience....what happened in the end?...who really benefits?....are you really better off? (a Reaganesque line) ...are your kids better off? ...are they suffering? ...is your family having to split up (or live together) to make ends meet? Ditto for our most powerful allies in the fight---the media. Are you selling more ads? How's business?  read more »

But not a time for Dems to get slack or arrogant

Recent high level studies and projections done by a number of major consulting firms for US & international business clients indicate a broad, deep, and growing "outright disgust" with the central tenets of the Bush-Cheney political doctrine [right-wing religious fervor mandating foreign & domestic policies, profound US government deficits with zero-taxes for the uber-rich, lip-service for a calamitous deflation of the dollar's value abroad & its collapsing underpinning of a global financial system based on the post-Bretton Woods paper reserve doctrine, the deliberate connivance to and continuing aftermath of a real estate debacle poisoning portfolios worldwide, and the unpopular use of the US military to back a currency regime where oil is (formally) priced only in dollars---now quickly in dangerous disarray].  read more »