Your property taxes fund our schools, roads, and safety services. But who decides how that money is spent? The November 4th local elections give you the power to choose leaders who shape Kootenai County’s future. These off-year elections fill critical seats in local government, including mayors, city councils, school districts, and fire districts, with the […]
In Idaho, what mechanisms are in place to ensure the quality and fairness of Idaho’s third branch of government? Previously I wrote about how judges are appointed and subsequently stand to be retained by the voters. The problem is that voters are being asked to make the decision about retaining a particular judge without significant […]
Idaho has one of the most comprehensive abortion laws in the United States, effectively banning the procedure at all stages of pregnancy with narrow exceptions. The state’s framework consists of multiple overlapping statutes, primarily enacted or triggered after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. […]
“That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.” The Declaration of Independence In our Republican form of government, the people select those that will govern. Gerrymandering is where those that govern select the people. Since the Reapportionment Act of 1929 the number of […]
North Idaho is largely populated by good and friendly people. People who volunteer their time for civic and charitable causes. People you would want for neighbors. People who inspired the joke: “I was at the local hardware store and while I was searching for what I wanted, three different people asked if I needed assistance…. […]
How much influence do you, the everyday American, have over the policies shaping our nation? If you think your voice drives change in Washington, brace yourself. A 2014 study by Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page, analyzing 1,779 policy issues, delivers a gut punch: when economic elites or organized groups like corporate lobbies want something different, […]
“Don’t tax me; don’t tax thee, tax the fellow behind the tree.” With the election season coming up the subject of taxes, particularly property taxes, is often discussed. Knowing how property taxes are assessed is helpful when evaluating candidates. Kootenai County has over 240 elected offices with budget authority in 45 taxing entities including the […]
They say that a judge is just a lawyer that knows a governor. This is mostly true in Idaho. When a vacancy occurs in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals or a District Court, the Idaho Judicial Council, a nine-member body, solicits applications, reviews candidates, and conducts interviews. The council then submits a list of […]
“You only catch flak when you are over the target” comes from the WWII bomber crews who would attract anti-aircraft fire as they approached their destination. In modern terms it describes that if a group or organization is being attacked it is because they are effective in their mission. Why bother going after something that’s […]
Sophistry is the use of fallacious arguments with the intent to deceive. Critics will use sophistry to make an argument when the facts do not support their position. We see this all too often in the political realm where false arguments are epidemic. An example would be “Trump drinks water, and you know who else […]
The Idaho Republican Party has undergone a fiscal conservativism transformation, but some political establishment cronies are so habituated to spending that when presented with fiscal conservatism facts they refuse or are unable to understand. It is outside their world experience, as if you were trying to discuss fire with a fish. What is a “fiscal […]
Politics is packed with propaganda, some blatant and some subtle. Often the propaganda will have a “tell” that makes it easier to spot. Once you are familiar with tells you will start seeing the propaganda. Here are a few examples. The “So” Tell. If someone starts off a sentence or post with “So” then there […]