According to The Capital Sun, another conservation group has filed suit against the federal government, this time demanding that it finally designate “critical habitat” for the wolverine. The government, apparently, can’t begin to protect these rare northern carnivores until it first defines where they live. It’s a fair point—and one that might just apply to another vanishing […]
It seems to me that it’s far too easy to get caught up in news cycles and politics at every level. Being engaged and informed matters—it’s our civic duty—but these things are not the most important part of life. The story below captures my thoughts about setting priorities and remembering what really counts. When the final whistle […]
Why is the Idaho Republican Party so divided, even as it holds a supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature and the Governor’s office? That question was recently posed on Idaho Reports to former Governor Butch Otter and former Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General David Leroy—two of the most skilled retail politicians Idaho has ever produced. Along […]
C. S. Lewis, Natural Law, and Immigration Non‑Enforcement In Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis writes: “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.” Lewis assumes an objective moral law (the Tao) that orders personal life, social life, and life under […]
When I was a boy growing up in central Ohio, my father didn’t join the country club until my senior year of high school. That summer, I was playing Legion baseball when he asked if I wanted to take golf lessons instead. I told him no. Trying to persuade me, he said, “You can play […]
So tonight, I’m inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Those words from President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union address […]
Abraham Lincoln, often regarded as America’s greatest president, and F. A. Hayek, the Nobel laureate economist, lived nearly a century apart but were united by their championing of liberty. Both recognized the progression of Western Civilization—from Ancient Greece and Rome, through Jerusalem, the Magna Carta, the Enlightenment, and the Declaration of Independence. Each deployed language […]
Bishop Robert Barron has warmly praised Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s address at last week’s Munich Security Conference. He highlights Rubio’s remarks as a much‑needed affirmation of the Christian roots of Western civilization and of the spiritual bond between Europe and the United States. What Barron actually said: On X, Barron wrote that he was […]
State Senator Brian Lenney’s recent essay, “Idaho Built an Ag Empire on Modern Day Slavery,” was an act of moral clarity that deserves not just notice, but public thanks. In an era when too many officeholders treat human beings as abstractions in a talking‑points war, Lenney had the courage to name what is happening in […]
Most readers of the Gem State Patriot aren’t avid sports fans, and few will lose sleep over the fact that multimillion-dollar athletes owe income taxes in every state and city where they play. But here’s the hidden story: professional sports teams spend staggering sums on accountants and compliance staff just to navigate the tangle of […]
My father often told me, “Tend to business and keep your eye on the ball.” I heard those words as a child and again as a young man, and I’ve come to understand how much wisdom they still carry. We live in a time when noise has replaced focus, and political theater has replaced governing. […]
When Governor Butch Otter asked me to serve on the Idaho Health Insurance Exchange board, I agreed on one non‑negotiable condition: that an independent outside auditor be hired and funded to document, in detail, how taxpayer dollars flowed through that new organization. That requirement was adopted, written into the exchange’s governance, and ultimately led to […]