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John Livingston

Idaho’s Romper Room

Down at the capital this morning I heard a new term to describe the more progressive branch of the Republican Party in Idaho—formerly referred to as RINOs. The term was “Romper Room Republicans” I am sure the term was used in a pejorative fashion, but there were some very positive things about the TV show […]

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John Livingston

Do We Know Who We Are?

I watched the Tucker Carlson—Vladimir Putin interview twice last night. Before I give my impressions of the interview, I want to note that there has been very little notice given to it by any in the mainstream media—including Breitbart and Fox. Could you imagine the “noise” if Bret Baier or Rachel Maddow had been able […]

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John Livingston

Priority Inversion and Thrashing

Today’s article was inspired by my Pastor who knows far more about computers and IT than I could ever hope to learn. He told a story in a sermon about the algorithms that were deployed on The Mars Rover in 1997 that resulted in the delayed execution of a priority task that resulted in a […]

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John Livingston

Idaho’s War on Fentanyl — Let’s Try Again on HB 406

All one has to do to see the devastation that has been brought by drug use and its impact on the potential of human capital is to go to Pioneer Square in Seattle or go two blocks from Temple Square in Salt Lake City or go to Portland or any of our major cities. The […]

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John Livingston

Can We All Agree on at Least One Thing?

Several years ago, I was honored to have lunch with one of the “Grand Dames” of Idaho Republican politics. She and her husband had built several businesses and raised a wonderful family. Her children had built their own businesses, and one became a lawyer. The lunch occurred during one of the many debates in the […]

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John Livingston

Where Does Woke Come From?

The central preoccupation and conversation in our society today, in politics, in economics, and in religion and culture is centering around the idea of “Wokeness”. Many disciplines are claiming responsibility for introducing “woke” concepts into the worlds of law, business, academia, and our everyday social interactions. This idea did not just spring up “de novo” […]

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John Livingston

The Concentration of Power

Before I begin my discussion about the ever-increasing concentration of power into government bureaucracies at all levels, let me say that I have tremendous admiration and respect for people who put themselves and their families on the line to run for public office, and if elected serve, many times sitting at endless meetings and briefings […]

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John Livingston

Leadership

Arguments of the extreme have been the tool of the progressive movement since the early part of the twentieth century. Both Democratic and Republican progressives have painted conservatives in a corner. The progressive arguments have always been theoretical. They are never empiric. They claim the moral high ground without ever establishing a moral predicate. Such […]

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John Livingston

Medicaid has hurt those it was Intended to Help

Medicaid Expansion has been a dismal failure and as we predicted ten years ago the people most adversely impacted have been the people that Medicaid was originally designed to help. These are people living on the margins with chronic diseases who through no fault of their own cannot provide for their own medical care. I […]

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John Livingston

Wilberforce

The “Anglosphere” has recently taken a big hit as the world has become enthralled with theories of wokeness, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and pushers of Critical Theory (CRT) like Ibrim X. Kendi have raged this weekend on numerous progressive platforms and networks at the news of Claudine Gay resigning from her position as president of […]

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John Livingston

A Still Noble Profession

I have been following health care polling by Rasmussen, CNN, and Gallup since March 23rd, 2010, when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Since 2018—before Covid, the general public’s feeling about the insurance system and health provider networks has become increasingly more negative. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/health/us-health-care-poll-gallup/index.html Beginning early this year, the patients who have […]

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John Livingston

A Football Team the University will be Proud Of

College Division 1 football is in the throes of early anarchy. There is much to learn from the misadministration of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that can be applied to any field of endeavor, but especially to anyone who believes that the cure to any problem is money alone. Decisions are being made by […]

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