random thoughts about political stupidity in idaho
thought 1:
well, yesterday's ebullient hope has been tempered quite a bit by the local election results. all the major races here were retaken by republicans. the governor elect said, and i quote, that we could "all take pride in knowing that idaho remains the reddest of the red nations." red nation, indeed. moron. we couldn't even get that 1-cent sales tax increase for school funding passed, even when idaho ranks, like, 46th or 47th in school spending. everyone in this state who voted against that needs their head examined. though it will prob'ly happen by some poor soul who got educated in the idaho public school system, so don't rely on it being thorough, accurate, rigorous or helpful. idiots...
thought 2:
at least the local initiative to re-erect a monument with the 10 commandments in a city park near the anne frank human rights memorial failed. yes, i said re-erect. how did this get on the ballot? believe it or not, there used to be such a thing. then some bigoted fundie with his knickers in a twist about his belief that homosexuals are causing the downfall of american society wanted to put up an anti-gay 'monument' near the decalogue. the city said no, and he said, 'why can't i? this other thing is already here,' so they took that thing down. it generated a lawsuit, which went all the way to the idaho supreme court, which ruled that only the voters could decide. thankfully, boise is nearly 70% blue, a fact i did not know until yesterday, so it was voted down. not for the first time, i wonder what poor anne frank would think about idaho's commitment to human rights. also not for the first time, i ruefully continue to speculate on whether or not the erection of the beautiful, elaborate human rights memorial itself would be supported by idahoans in this climate. boiseans? likely. the rest of this backwater compassion-challenged state? who knows.
thought 3:
many, many homegrown idahoans resent californians and seattle-ites for moving here with astronomical levels of disposable income garnered in sales of their own over-priced homes in that state, resulting in their being able to afford more than premium prices for the nicest house one could ever hope to live in here & still have enough left over to go without working for years at at a time. this has also resulted in a lot of them investing in real estate for second homes, vacation homes & rental properties, jacking up real estate prices to a strata beyond the grasp of some local people earning at the low end of the economic bracket in many neighborhoods, and beyond the grasp of many people earning the average income or even above-average income in some of the more desirable neighborhoods (my own neighborhood--one of only a scant 2 or 3 i would like to live and eventually own a home in, assuming for a moment that i stay here for more than a year or two--is a prime example of this). this increase in property values has resulted in a painful increase in property taxes, a situation many say idaho is behind states like california in beginning to address in any sort of meaningful way. fair point. it irks me too, in that i will likely need to wait another 18-24 months myself before a combination of my own savings and falling real estate prices converge at a low enough level for me to be able to buy my own first home here in an area i would desire to live in. (to be clear, i could afford a home in many areas of boise right now, but subdivisions on the outskirts of the city never have been my style... maybe someday, but not now). however, if more and more californians moving in means more people committed to progressive political ideals & justice & human decency and inclusion for all people, then i am all for it. so come on in, californians. the cost of living in idaho is fantastic. recreation is cheap & plentiful & varied. crime is low, quality of life is high. boise is growing by leaps & bounds, and the investment opportunities here are broad & various. traffic is relatively non-existent, compared to what you are used to. the climate is agreeable, the scenery is beautiful, and your car(s) won't rust. food is affordable, your children will be safe, and you have the ability to influence the politics here in a big, big way. with only 1.3 million people, or what-have-you, 30-40%% of those voting democratic, we would only need another 20% of that population total in an influx to take over the system here. think of it as the way that has been recommended that we who support gun control neutralize the NRA. join it in larger numbers than those who control it now & take it over. this idea has also been discussed ad nauseum in libertarian circles, as they try to figure out which state THEY could take over. (personally, i hope that when they get it together, they choose one i am not living in at the time. anywhoo...) so yes, please move here, 260,000 californian progressives. right away. and bring your restaurants & culture & broad ideals & open minds with you. we'll save you a seat.
thought 4:
i was interviewed by a reporter from the idaho statesman, the biggest & 'most powerful' daily paper in idaho, yesterday when i left my polling place. she said i had given her a couple of good quotes. so being the american that i am, i logged on to their website looking to see if there was a chance i was mentioned in any of the articles on the election. on the main page there, if you scroll down to the near-bottom of the page, under the subhead 'idaho news' please to check out the bylines on those stories. yes, that's right, they are from the Associated Press. the largest daily in idaho outsources news about idaho from the AP. i could be wrong, but i don't think it gives them much credibility when claiming to be an influential powerhouse of news & information if they have to pick up wire stories about their own local news from an outside syndicated service. sheesh! for all its flaws, i'll stick to the alternative paper, the boise weekly, thanks.
whatever. i'm so glad that the democrats made irrefutable progress in other places, but it's the end of a long day & i'm pretty tired. where's a nice glass of wine when you need one?
well, yesterday's ebullient hope has been tempered quite a bit by the local election results. all the major races here were retaken by republicans. the governor elect said, and i quote, that we could "all take pride in knowing that idaho remains the reddest of the red nations." red nation, indeed. moron. we couldn't even get that 1-cent sales tax increase for school funding passed, even when idaho ranks, like, 46th or 47th in school spending. everyone in this state who voted against that needs their head examined. though it will prob'ly happen by some poor soul who got educated in the idaho public school system, so don't rely on it being thorough, accurate, rigorous or helpful. idiots...
thought 2:
at least the local initiative to re-erect a monument with the 10 commandments in a city park near the anne frank human rights memorial failed. yes, i said re-erect. how did this get on the ballot? believe it or not, there used to be such a thing. then some bigoted fundie with his knickers in a twist about his belief that homosexuals are causing the downfall of american society wanted to put up an anti-gay 'monument' near the decalogue. the city said no, and he said, 'why can't i? this other thing is already here,' so they took that thing down. it generated a lawsuit, which went all the way to the idaho supreme court, which ruled that only the voters could decide. thankfully, boise is nearly 70% blue, a fact i did not know until yesterday, so it was voted down. not for the first time, i wonder what poor anne frank would think about idaho's commitment to human rights. also not for the first time, i ruefully continue to speculate on whether or not the erection of the beautiful, elaborate human rights memorial itself would be supported by idahoans in this climate. boiseans? likely. the rest of this backwater compassion-challenged state? who knows.
thought 3:
many, many homegrown idahoans resent californians and seattle-ites for moving here with astronomical levels of disposable income garnered in sales of their own over-priced homes in that state, resulting in their being able to afford more than premium prices for the nicest house one could ever hope to live in here & still have enough left over to go without working for years at at a time. this has also resulted in a lot of them investing in real estate for second homes, vacation homes & rental properties, jacking up real estate prices to a strata beyond the grasp of some local people earning at the low end of the economic bracket in many neighborhoods, and beyond the grasp of many people earning the average income or even above-average income in some of the more desirable neighborhoods (my own neighborhood--one of only a scant 2 or 3 i would like to live and eventually own a home in, assuming for a moment that i stay here for more than a year or two--is a prime example of this). this increase in property values has resulted in a painful increase in property taxes, a situation many say idaho is behind states like california in beginning to address in any sort of meaningful way. fair point. it irks me too, in that i will likely need to wait another 18-24 months myself before a combination of my own savings and falling real estate prices converge at a low enough level for me to be able to buy my own first home here in an area i would desire to live in. (to be clear, i could afford a home in many areas of boise right now, but subdivisions on the outskirts of the city never have been my style... maybe someday, but not now). however, if more and more californians moving in means more people committed to progressive political ideals & justice & human decency and inclusion for all people, then i am all for it. so come on in, californians. the cost of living in idaho is fantastic. recreation is cheap & plentiful & varied. crime is low, quality of life is high. boise is growing by leaps & bounds, and the investment opportunities here are broad & various. traffic is relatively non-existent, compared to what you are used to. the climate is agreeable, the scenery is beautiful, and your car(s) won't rust. food is affordable, your children will be safe, and you have the ability to influence the politics here in a big, big way. with only 1.3 million people, or what-have-you, 30-40%% of those voting democratic, we would only need another 20% of that population total in an influx to take over the system here. think of it as the way that has been recommended that we who support gun control neutralize the NRA. join it in larger numbers than those who control it now & take it over. this idea has also been discussed ad nauseum in libertarian circles, as they try to figure out which state THEY could take over. (personally, i hope that when they get it together, they choose one i am not living in at the time. anywhoo...) so yes, please move here, 260,000 californian progressives. right away. and bring your restaurants & culture & broad ideals & open minds with you. we'll save you a seat.
thought 4:
i was interviewed by a reporter from the idaho statesman, the biggest & 'most powerful' daily paper in idaho, yesterday when i left my polling place. she said i had given her a couple of good quotes. so being the american that i am, i logged on to their website looking to see if there was a chance i was mentioned in any of the articles on the election. on the main page there, if you scroll down to the near-bottom of the page, under the subhead 'idaho news' please to check out the bylines on those stories. yes, that's right, they are from the Associated Press. the largest daily in idaho outsources news about idaho from the AP. i could be wrong, but i don't think it gives them much credibility when claiming to be an influential powerhouse of news & information if they have to pick up wire stories about their own local news from an outside syndicated service. sheesh! for all its flaws, i'll stick to the alternative paper, the boise weekly, thanks.
whatever. i'm so glad that the democrats made irrefutable progress in other places, but it's the end of a long day & i'm pretty tired. where's a nice glass of wine when you need one?