Idaho Senate District 1

Image a world where Rand Paul is running against Mitt Romney. Paul defeated Romney in the last election and Romney is out for blood in the rematch. Sorry, but for folks that live out of Idaho, that’s about the closest comparison that I can come up with to describe the State Senate race here.

The Rand Paul-like character in the race is Scott Herndon. Herndon is a real conservative. He is everything Tom McClintock is not. Herndon’s deeds match his words, and he is a leader; two things McClintock has never been. Herndon will vote against any bill if there is pork or hidden spending increases in it. Unlike Congress, he will only vote to approve money when he agrees where all of it will be spent. If a bill has extra stuff in it, Herndon will not support it. Oh, and unlike other folks in office, Herndon reads every bill and can tell you what he likes or doesn’t in each one.

Scott Herndon

In Idaho, the Legislature is a part-time one, and the legislative session is about 90-days. Things move at a very fast pace. A bill might be introduced on Monday and be heard in committee on Wednesday. It’s a furious pace in a short time. Anything being fast tracked is probably in need of additional scrutiny. I liken it to juggling chainsaws.

Jim Woodward

The Mitt Romney type character up here is Jim Woodward. Jim is a RINO. He thinks Idaho’s abortion restrictions are a problem and seems to want abortion as a form of birth control like it was under Roe v Wade. He voted to support DEI (Diversity, Inclusion, Equity) in academia and business. He pretends to want limited government and lower taxes, but the thrust of his campaign is hitting Herndon both for not spending enough money and Herndon’s reluctance to expand the scope and reach of government.

Were he in California, Woodward would be a proud moderate but in Idaho, he is a chameleon masquerading as a conservative. In a meeting of conservatives, you can sense that Woodward is choking on his own bile just being in the same room as them. But it’s what he must endure to win.

Woodward is supported by a coalition of Democrats, liberal Republicans, and others. One thing they have in common is that they really hate Christians. They have a website that attacks Herndon mercilessly for his faith and values. Started in 2022, this site is North Idaho Republicans.

A week ago, their poorly maintained website had several pages with text that was gibberish (plug text intended to be replaced by actual content). Thankfully, they at least finally took them down. Their Facebook page is their real portal and has more current content.

Here’s some gems from their website.

Conservatives want Dystopian Future

A March 5th post begins with praise for California’s Child Protective Services. Yes, really! Remember, this is a website claiming to be a group of conservative Republicans and they start out praising California (mistake number one) for a government system that is broken (mistake number two).

On the whole, the post seems to lack continuity and substance. In fact, the author has to invent facts out of thin air. Her (I can tell whoever wrote this is female and liberal by the content) entire article is speculation and thus wholly untrue. It is an attack on Herndon and Christians and what harm she thinks they might do in the future. It’s really a classic strawman argument used as a vehicle to trash conservatives. Here are a few parts:

… their Christian Nationalist agenda and make good on their promises to abolish anything they view as an affront to domininist ideologies.

Herndon and his Abolish Abortion arsonist allies …

…  a combination of fear porn and forcing some bizarre pseudo-christian version of Sharia Law down people’s throats.

… the laws of the new Christian state …

The full rant can be found here.

Only Republicans can vote in Republican Primaries

Another thing the North Idaho group dislikes is the Republican effort in the state to say that you must be registered as a Republican for one year before voting in a Republican election. This allegedly conservative group wants Democrats to be able to change registration to select who wins on the Republican ticket. If you oppose any version of “Operation Chaos” or any other means of non-republican involvement in Republican Primary elections, then in their eyes, you are evil.

Yep, just like other groups I can think of, Woodward and his ilk invoke Ronald Reagan as their role model but somehow not Reagan’s beliefs. They only invoke Reagan to claim that others in the GOP must work for what they want. Bipartisanship is always a one-way street. Funny how that happens.

These guys have open hostility to Christianity. Christians started the Republican Party to oppose slavery.

If the North Idaho Republican group wants people in elected office, that claim to be Christian but don’t let it affect their politics, then they should be voting for Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi. Heck, they’re in the wrong political party. No wonder they’re so uncomfortable as Republicans.

Fake Racism Incident

Note: below I have underlined a few places in quotations for emphasis.

A few weeks ago, the North Idaho Republicans also opened their pie-holes about racism in Coeur d’Alene, but the truth is that the incident—in which they blamed people that they lump in with Scott Herndon—never happened. Zero evidence.

Now, almost two weeks since the incident occurred, there remains no evidence to support these claims.

Anatomy Of A Hate Hoax: One Week And Still NO EVIDENCE of Alleged “Racist Incident” in Coeur d’Alene With Utah Basketball Team

However, this didn’t stop the false narrative from making national news.

According to Stewart’s Task-Force [Tony Stewart of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations], the University of Utah Women’s Basketball team “encountered a truck displaying a Confederate flag as the driver began spewing appalling racial slurs at them, including the “N” word.”

According to the Kootenai Co human rights task force, the players were going to dinner when they were followed by a driver yelling the N word at them.

The truck that allegedly accosted the players while they were on their way to a restaurant supposedly waited around for TWO HOURS for the team to eat dinner, and then harassed the team again on their way back to the Coeur d’Alene resort. The team was only staying in Coeur d’Alene because the NCAA “dropped the ball” and forgot to reserve the team a hotel 45 minutes away in Spokane.

The allegations of this “Racist Incident” were first made public by Utah Women’s Basketball Coach Lynn Roberts, shortly after her team lost a game against Gonzaga at the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

Please note this steaming pile disguised as a press release.

Recent events in downtown Coeur d’Alene, involving the totally unacceptable verbal harassment of female athletes from the University of Utah and the University of California-Irvine, underscore the importance of the need to commit to uphold moral values and true freedom.

NIR firmly disavows these flashbacks of 1920’s Klan-like and 1990’s Aryan Nations-like activities, underscoring that genuine freedom cannot coexist with bigotry, harassment, and intimidation. Unfortunately, once again the destructive influence of some within the local Republican community is having truly negative effects on our community. 

Press Release: North Idaho Republicans Denounces Racism and Bigotry

Please note in the above that this republican group is saying that they know for a fact that a fellow Republican, who simply must be from the camp they oppose, is responsible for this incident—although, it never happened. Also, if you don’t agree with them then you must be a Nazi.

Not done making asses of themselves, the author of the release then inserts a quote from himself.

Former Idaho Lt. Governor Jack Riggs voiced his concern, stating, “The empowerment of racism within our ranks threatens the very essence of our community and the integrity of the Republican Party.

Again, the guy with the rebel flag must be a Republican, but not one of ours.

Seems like this might be the classic strawman argument in action.

Oh, the gift that keeps give, this Riggs guy is a real nutjob:

“As Republicans, we must do more than merely point to ‘platform statements’ on racism; we must act decisively to root it out where it exists within our organization,” Riggs added. “This means holding our party leaders accountable and ensuring that their actions reflect the values we profess to hold.  There is simply no place for racism anywhere.”

In this paragraph, he now blames the Republican leadership of Idaho Republicans for the incident. This tells you that he’s not part of said leadership, but he deserves to be our master.

I will have more on the website of the North Idaho Republicans shortly.

Woodward and Abortion

These North Idaho whiners aren’t really Republicans. They don’t like abortion restrictions and think we need more DEI, transgender books for elementary school kids, and rainbow stuff.

Their boy, Jim Woodward got a plug of sorts from the UK Guardian newspaper. Apparently, he regrets his previous stand as a prolife Republican and wishes to moderate his positions. The following was written by a freelance writer in Montana, about the uphill struggle to undo the prolife laws in Idaho and once again make abortion lethal through all nine months of pregnancy. Towards the end of this advocacy piece, you will find these paragraphs:

 Then another guest arrives: Jim Woodward, a Sandpoint Republican who served in the Idaho state senate from 2019-2022. He voted yes on all anti-abortion bills, but lost his seat in the 2022 election to Scott Herndon, a far-right abortion abolitionist who believes abortion should be treated as homicide and punished with jail time or even the death penalty. In the 2023 session, Herndon tried to remove Idaho’s rape and incest exception and called rape “an opportunity to have the child … if the rape actually occurred”. (Herndon declined to be interviewed for this story.)

Woodward is running to retake the seat this year. He says he and many other anti-abortion legislators didn’t foresee the ramifications of the bills they voted for. Part of his platform, which promises to reclaim his community from extremism, is to somewhat ease legislative language that doesn’t take the mother’s future health into account and calls for felony convictions for physicians. He didn’t hesitate to accept [Jen Jackson] Quintano’s invitation to the viewing party. “We should be able to talk about all of these things, and do it in a nice way,” he says. Two days later, he shares stories from the Nightline episode with attendees at a campaign meet and greet.

‘Idaho’s seen as a war zone’: the lone abortion activist defying militias and the far right

For those of you that don’t pay attention to legal issues, taking the mother’s health into consideration, as Woodward states above, is how we got almost 50 years of abortion being legal for all nine months of the pregnancy and the main form of birth control in the United States. Clearly Woodward wants to go back to Roe v Wade (and Doe v Bolton) as the law of the land.

Please note that Woodward was willing to vote prolife as long as he knew that only the Supreme Court had the power to overturn Roe. He was defeated by Herndon just a month before Roe was struck down. Now that voting prolife has real world implications, he wants to relax the restrictions that he once voted for. Conclusion, he only voted that way because he was expected to do so to get elected. It was never how he truly felt about the evil of abortion.

Black Lists and Black-balling

As I was poking around the North Idaho Republican website, I clicked on a curious button (Visit NIRPAC.ORG) and was transported to the alt world of their banned and blacklisted enemies list.

On one part of their main website, they quote Ronald Reagan saying he could work with someone that agrees with him 80 percent of the time. I guess if you really believe and agree with Reagan on abortion then the offer to work with you doesn’t apply. Oh, for those that don’t know, while in office, Reagan wrote a book condemning abortion. He is the only US President to write a book on the subject and did so while in office.

On the web page that you jump to for NIR PAC, you will see a button with the curious name of Non-Republican Sites.

There is this curious sentence followed by a list of blacklisted groups and websites.

But North Idaho Republicans ALSO chooses to NOT be associated with the following Non-Republican Network sites.

The list is composed of conservative groups composed mostly of Republicans. Some of the URLs in their list are broken.

Here are the names:

Idaho Common Ground which has no active URL

Kootenai County Spectator

About: I am a Christian, conservative woman who was ‘forced’ to be a stay at home mom when my job required masks, and when my kids’ school ‘forced’ masks on their students to be able to step on campus. My kids are now homeschooled, btw. As the wife of a small business owner, I saw exactly how our liberties could be taken away when we weren’t paying attention, and 2020 helped me understand my red line, my morals, my history, and it made me become even more Conservative than I’ve ever been before. The craziness of 2020 is why I decided to stand up and let my voice be heard. I am the Vice President of the Northwest Property Owners Alliance, a proud member of the Kootenai County Republican Women Federation, Republican party, the Society for Professional Journalism, Candlelight Christian Fellowship in Coeur d’Alene…

The Peoples Pen

No new content since November 2023.

North Idaho Freedom Fighters

Mission: The North Idaho Freedom Fighters (NIFF) believe in our God-given right to pursue lives of fulfillment, purpose, and happiness. As sons and daughters of the United States Constitution, we will fight to defend our rights and liberties from the evils of tyranny and oppression. Dedicated to preserving America’s freedoms, we will unify and strengthen our community until our republic is once again returned to the citizens of these United States of America.

Redoubt News

About: Redoubt News is a news and opinion online publication featuring the Christian conservative culture around, and important to, the American Redoubt. The goal of Redoubt News is to inform and educate citizens on important news stories from a perspective of individual liberty.

Idaho Freedom Foundation

Mission: IFF’s mission is to defeat Marxism and socialism by building a culture of liberty around America’s founding principles so that Idahoans can prosper.

Idaho Freedom Action

 About: Idaho Freedom Action (IFA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving freedom in the Gem State. Through direct action, IFA supports policies that strengthen free markets, individual liberty and state sovereignty and opposes those that would bring Idaho down a path of socialism.

We love our state, and while we welcome anyone who wants to make a positive contribution to our Idaho communities, we’re not interested in radically transforming what or who we are to become more like the places our new residents are leaving behind. That’s why we are mobilized to fight the big policy battles facing Idaho, from reckless tax-and-spend proposals to the hostile woke takeover of education.

Idaho Freedom Action is the state’s premier free market advocacy organization. Armed with the scholarly products of Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), IFA is fighting every single day to hold accountable politicians who seek to change Idaho in ways that forsake our heritage and undermine our ideals.

John Birch Society

About: The John Birch Society is a non-partisan civics and education organization. We are concerned Americans from many races, religious beliefs, and national origins. Since we were founded on December 9, 1958, we have been men and women of good character, humane conscience, and religious ideals who have worked together to safeguard the Constitution.

Northwest Property Owners Alliance

About: We will continue to take up property and privacy concerns in defense of property owners in the Northwest (Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and Montana.) We strive to keep property owners appraised of local and regional issues affecting them.

Health Freedom Idaho

Mission: Our mission at Health Freedom Idaho is to promote and protect the inherent right of every individual, parent, and guardian in Idaho to choose their own path towards health and wellness. We advocate for access to healing and healthcare treatments, information, and services of their choice, while defending the rights of practitioners to practice. Through the development of state statutes and rules, we honor the unalienable human right to self-determination in all aspects of health. We empower citizens by providing education and advocacy on the laws and factors impacting their right to access healthcare.

Patriot Economic Network

About: We promote and support our local patriot community. The PEN supports Veterans, active military, law enforcement, first responders and all American Patriots in business. We live and work in the Inland Northwest and we are committed to providing our Patriot community with this valuable service. The Patriot Economic Network was born out of our need to find local goods and services while at the same time supporting fellow Patriots in business.

Citizens Alliance of Idaho

About: Citizens Alliance of Idaho was started by a group of Idaho citizens who wanted to see some type of positive change in Idaho politics. In wanting to be a voice of reason in a hyperpolarized environment, the best natural starting point was to focus on the only two documents that every Idahoan has agreed to live by: The Idaho State Constitution and the U.S. Constitution. These are the only two documents that provide the rules for how legislators agree to govern along with the expectations of the citizens they represent. We couldn’t think of a more fair and civic-minded roadmap.

Summation

So, there you have it, all the people that North Idaho Republicans refuses to work with. If you believe in following the Constitution, want accountable government, property rights, religious or health freedom, following the Christian faith, or opposing Marxism, you’re not welcome. Funny but last I checked, Ronald Reagan believed and supported all these things too.

I might have more on these guys as circumstances develop.

Boundary County Sheriff Update for April 2nd

On April 1, 2024, Travis Stolley responded to the attacks made on him via a series of Facebook posts. Stolley said in the post that if you wanna know the truth, meet me at Mugsy’s on April 18th between 6 and 8 PM. “Meet the Candidate. Ask Questions. Drink Beer.”

Here’s my take on this.

Travis Stolley from his Campaign Facebook page

First, this post was put on Facebook on April Fool’s Day. Is it real?

Assuming that it is, this is too little, too late in my opinion. Travis will wait to respond until April 18th and then only privately. By that time, the story will have been circulating for about a month on the Internet with no rebuttal. This was done publicly, and the response should also be publicly, not privately to a bunch of folks that were not involved.

The post from Stolley reads in part:

I will not go into any more specifics of the incident being talked about on social media other than to say this.

I tried to respect the privacy of those involved when initially asked about this incident last fall and I will continue to do so now.

I am far from a perfect person or candidate, but I will always do what I believe is the right thing. I know I did the right thing in this situation given the facts and information available at the time.

Translation: I have no comment. I did the right thing.

Conclusion: what you read online is true, but I deny that I violated the law or procedure by what I did while in uniform. Oh, and if I had to do it over, I’d do the same thing.

This type of non-answer sounds suspiciously like something you might get told to say by a sympathetic lawyer wanting you to deflect without self-incrimination.

The other thing you should know is that his date at Mugsy’s (a local restaurant and watering hole) is that it directly conflicts with the candidate forum at the same date and time. This forum is for all state constitutional offices up for grabs on the May 21st Primary ballot. The most hotly contested of these races is state Senate.

Oh, my wife has been checking up on the candidates in her travels through the area. The story she gets is that Stolley is the favorite of some of the local power brokers. Stolley’s family apparently goes way back in the community. He is the choice of the good ole boys in the county. My wife was told that due to his family connections with the area that Stolley is the odds-on favorite to win with virtually no experience. The good ole boys want Stolley because they think they can control him. This belief works out like this: due to his inexperience he will need to heavily depend on their aid to be an effective sheriff.

(Note for California readers: good ole boys, and most everyone else here, have facial hair, drive four wheel drive pickups, and wear Carhartt clothing, baseball caps, and open carry pistols.)

Oh, Dave Schuman got a positive plug. My wife was told that Dave will answer the phone if you call him for help and is an asset to the community. Schuman is described as a genuinely nice guy.

My sense that both represent the status quo and “do no harm” seems to be holding up.

In gatherings where I have met the candidates, all three seem like decent folks. I would be happy to have any one of them over for a BBQ meal—if I had a barbecue. Nevertheless, I have decided to support Jon VanGesen.

Thoughts on Biden, transgender day of whatever, and his dissing of Easter

All law is legislating morality. All law is religious. Ditto for other political acts. The is no neutrality. This is a figment of the imagination. Those claiming neutrality are simply using such a claim to force their will on others while trying to stifle any opposition as they impose their morality on others.

Such was the case yesterday when the President of the United States, for the first time in the history of the Republic, purposely dissed any proclamation of Easter and thanking God for so great a salvation. (OK, Obama got close to this, but Joe went even further.) Joe proclaimed Easter Sunday as Transgender day of Visibility. Furthermore, no Christian symbols were allowed on any Easter eggs at the traditional White House Easter Egg Hunt. Yep, I know bunnies and eggs are not really Christian but in our Hallmark culture, the two have been baptized as Easter symbols.

Biden and company have been in an all-out war on Christianity—as was Obama when sleepy Joe was his Vice-President.

Biden—who thinks he can somehow be pro-abortion (for all nine months of the pregnancy)—and a Roman Catholic in good standing is simply an evil man. The spirit of antichrist is the platform of the Democrat Party (and of many Republicans too).

As for the cult of sterility, they are claiming 28 feast days and three months of the Julian Calendar in their attempt to abolish Christianity.

Fox News Digital found at least 28 other related holidays celebrated in the U.S., including International Asexuality Day, International Day of Pink, Day of Silence, Harvey Milk Day, Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness Day and International Drag Day.

There are also entire months devoted to LGBT causes or commemorations, including Pride Month in June, LGBT History Month in October and Transgender Awareness Month in November.

3 months and 28 days: LGBTQ events clog calendar as White House faces backlash over Easter announcement

Biden should not be flying the rainbow flag or proclaiming any fag days to start with. Transgenderism is even more evil than homosexuality. It is a false and destructive religion. Changing one’s name is a sign of it being a religion. Thinking that one can change their gender is hubris and a type on mental illness. Thinking its God’s fault because He made you the wrong gender is blasphemy. On the face of it, transgender ideology violates at least half of the Ten Commandments.

To promote transgenderism (and a lot of other false crap in our society) is to tear down the Christian roots of our country.

Oh, we have known that Sunday March 31st, 2024, was Easter Sunday for at least the last four hundred years. The church calendar was figured out to the year 8,000 back in the 1600’s. So, there’s no excuse for a conflict… unless you want to have one.

Boundary County Sheriff’s Race Goes Nuclear

Hi. Just a brief update on the race. Two bombs were thrown over the last week. The two candidates claiming the mantle of “I’m from here, vote for me” are both mortally wounded. Jon VanGesen looks saintly compared to the homeboys from Bonners Ferry.

Travis Stolley was hit with a report that he covered up a child pornography case in a local school. Two minors that were 13 years old at the time were involved plus one adult male from out of state. If I understand the story correctly, one of these girls was sending photos of the other girl’s private parts to a person believed to be an adult male live elsewhere. Stolley filed no police report and made the evidence disappear. This was last year. FYI Stolley is no longer in law enforcement but wants to be sheriff. Recently, someone with insider knowledge of this incident began publicizing it on Facebook. As a result, someone else calling themselves the Boundary County Watchman, went public with the full story.

If the seriousness of the charges is your metric, this is grounds to disqualify the man for being in law enforcement.

Bomb #2 was a hit amidship on Dave Schuman. The Bonners Ferry Herald ran a story on the sheriff’s debate on March 28.

In it was this little nugget:

Schuman confirmed with the Herald he is on administrative leave pending an Idaho Police Investigation regarding police standards.

Sheriff candidate debate, more of Q&A

Sorry, but this is not a good look for Schuman. He has time to campaign because he is suspended.

Dude, like we live in Mayberry. This place is lax in many ways so what must Dave have done to be suspended? It’s a really bad look.

I think VanGesen will prevail, in part because the homeboys will split the good ole boy’s vote.

Megan Rapinoe is the worst kind of person

Megan Rapinoe; aka the purple haired girl formerly on the women’s (can I use that term Megan?) soccer team; aka the girl who in her last game tore her ACL and claimed there was no God, is shooting off her mouth again.  This time her vile stink was slung at a fellow women’s (again, is this offensive to you Megan?) national team player.  Check this out.

U.S. Women’s National Team midfielder Korbin Albert issued an apology on social media after she liked and shared posts mocking soccer star Megan Rapinoe and the LGBTQ+ community.

Fans on social media noticed Albert, 20, had liked and shared several videos on TikTok and Instagram that included anti-LGBTQ+ messaging, including one post making fun of Rapinoe’s injury in the final game of her career.

U.S. Soccer’s Korbin Albert Apologizes for Her ‘Disrespectful’ Posts Mocking Megan Rapinoe and LGBTQ+ Community

Albert, it should be noted, wears Megan’s former number 15.  Rapinoe skewered her and put her on blast….

“For people who want to hide behind ‘my beliefs’ I would just ask one question, are you making any type of space safer, more inclusive, more whole, any semblance of better, bringing the best out of anyone?” Rapinoe wrote in her Instagram story.

The message continued, “Because if you aren’t, all you believe in is hate. And kids are literally killing themselves because of this hate. Wake, TF up! Yours truly, #15.”

Rapinoe concluded her story by writing, “For all my trans homie enduring this horrific treatment day in and day out I see you and hear you and I am WITH YOU.”

Wow.  This is coming from the tolerant left?  No surprise.  Albert I will note attends Notre Dame University and was likely raised in a Roman Catholic (oh my, bad Megan…. hateful right-wing cult) family.  Megan, being the nasty vile person she is, has now sic’d her hateful followers on Albert.  Her followers have one goal, to seek and destroy anyone who dares speak out or have an opinion that isn’t Group Think.  I would love to see the DM’s (direct messages) Albert has received, I bet it’s full of hate. 

Congrats Megan.  You won.  You aren’t even Transgender, but you feel you must lead a small army of folks who have massive mental health issues like yours, to destroy any opposition or contrary opinions.  At my business, thanks to your soldiers, we no longer have a men’s and women’s bathrooms, they are “restrooms.”  The building is populated almost entirely females, as some offices have private bathrooms for their staff.  The female employees (oh wait…ummm persons with a vagina) have been complaining that the toilet seats have urine on them, or the floor has urine on it.  Congrats Megan… you won!  At my favorite Mexican Restaurant, we have a women’s restroom, and something called a family restroom.  I guess a family that pee’s together, stays together?  Which restroom does the biological male choose Megan?

As far as hate goes?  How about stop inflicting hate on groups you do not like?  It’s obvious you hate white men and women; however, allow me to point out, the only, and I mean only group who supports trans folks, are older white men and women.  Check the polling data out.  You want to know what groups hate you, Megan?  Black, Hispanic and Asians.  Big Time.  Again, check it out.  Want to know what other groups hate your LBGTQ lifestyle?  Middle Eastern folks.  Again, check it out, coming out and being discovered as a member of the alphabet soup can lead to death.  Yup.  Afghanistan?  They are going to bring back public stoning.  Oh, check out how their judicial system works.  They think you committed a crime… you are guilty, it’s a sham trial.  But hey, the USA is terrible right?

Hate religion? Ok, then religious holidays no longer apply to you!  No time and a half pay because you do not believe in a God.  You are required to report to work and work you will on that day.  It shouldn’t be a big deal working on Christmas, right?  BTW should we cancel Christmas altogether?  Last I checked it’s a Mr. and Mrs. Claus not trans/gay/lesbian couple.  So, let’s get rid of it right?

Megan…may I make a suggestion; you won’t listen but let me try.  It’s called “live and let live”.  You should understand some folks will not support your lifestyle (you are married to another woman, so I call it a lesbian “marriage”) however since it is the law of the land (at least for now), I am happy for you and your partner.  I attend church services once a week… how about we agree to a cease fire?  As far as trans folks go, if you are over 18 by all means you do you.  I just want folks to understand the consequences down the road, as I feel this isn’t discussed at all.  If a bakery won’t do a wedding cake etc. for LBGTQ folks, find another one?  Why try to destroy that business?  The logic is simple, an LBGTQ friendly store likely won’t make a GOP/Nazi/KKK etc. cake.  Just find a different store.  Some people believe in God, others don’t. The believers go to church or watch it… the non-believers do not attend.  Frankly it doesn’t bother me.  But why not live and let live?

Finally, I want to run a scenario by you Megan.  Say its 4 years ago, you are still playing professionally.  I join your team. I am a 27-year-old white male biologically, but since I started puberty blockers and doing estrogen injections, as far as your sport is concerned, I’m cleared to partake.  I make the team since I possess a body and skill set superior to your teammates.  Of course, I have your support and likely some of your teammates, right?  I’m trans so you better support me, right?  It doesn’t matter if I start, come off the bench, or seldom play because I made the team.  The game/practice ends, and we go back to the locker room.  It’s time to dress down, shower etc.  I have long hair, and have shaved everywhere else on my body, but I have all my male parts still.  You going to be completely naked around me?  You ok with me being naked around you?  Would your teammates care?  Carli Lloyd seemed fairly outspoken that she wouldn’t accept me.  What would your reaction be Megan?

Best part Megan is you don’t have to react.  You have retired.  Your safe space is the 5-million-dollar apartment you and your partner Sue Bird own.  It’s likely one of many properties you call your own.  The biggest decision you have to make is what Michelin Star restaurant to eat at.  You likely attend an exclusive gym for only the super wealthy.  You have zero interaction with the unwashed masses you claim to care about.  You are the worst kind of person. You’re just another limousine liberal trying to tell the rest of us how to live. Be better. Start a support group for trans people.  Share what trans people want/need to feel included.  Quit glorifying countries that hate folks like you.  Need I remind you Britney Griner was arrested, jailed, and convicted in Russia likely because she is a girl, black, and a lesbian.  Be an agent of change.  Stop your hate.

Jake the Snake

Editor’s Comment: I think Korbin Albert should have stuck to her original comments. Megan’s real problem is God not Albert. Megan doesn’t like being reminded that she is wrong. (See Romans 1:21-32) She resorts to blustering and bullying and tries to cancel those that disagree with her. Too bad. It’s curious that often the loudest voice is the one that’s in the wrong. They hope their volume will drown out the rest of us.

Boundary County Sheriff’s Debate

Last Thursday, a local group, The Panhandle Republican Women, hosted a debate featuring all three candidates for county sheriff. The event was held at the Bonners Ferry High School gym. It was literally a standing room only event. Interest in the contest is high and this event might be the only time all three participate in such a forum. In my travels over the last several months, I have had occasions to listen to all three men give public presentations.

In Idaho, the sheriff is a partisan office. (The current sheriff is retiring.) In our county no Democrats filed to run. Thus, the winner is the Republican with the most votes. There is no fifty percent plus one vote requirement here. Whoever wins on May 21st is the new sheriff.

For those of you outside of north Idaho, let me paint a brief description of each guy.

I will do this in the same order as the debate began, namely, alphabetically.

Dave Schuman

Dave Schuman. I can best describe Dave as reminiscent of Boss Hogg. Dave is your stereotypical career deputy (just shy of 30 years on the force) in small town America. A friend said they pictured his leadership style as sitting in his office, with his feet on the desk while scarfing down a couple of donuts. He is the favorite of many old-timers here. He stands for the status quo. His motto seems to be “do no harm.”

Travis Stolley

Travis Stolley. Travis is a young fellow that grew up in the area. He spent time in the Marines and then joined the sheriff’s department. I like him and think he might make a good sheriff, just not this time.

Jon VanGesen

Jon VanGesen. Jon has the most experience of any of the candidates, but I think many view him as an outsider. He retired from a sheriff’s department in Washington state and then started working as a sheriff’ deputy for neighboring Bonner County. Jon lives in the southern part of the county near Naples. If elected, Jon wants to move the department forward and into being more proactive and professional. He wants to build a new jail and find ways to increase deputy’s pay. He represents change and modernization.

We arrived at the debate right at the 6 PM start time and parked far from the entrance of the gym. Once we entered the building, we milled around for a few minutes before deciding to look for seats on the far side of the place. Amazingly, not only did we find seats but the guy next to us turned out to be the pastor of the local church where we worship.

As the debate started, I took photos of each guy. It was then that I noticed that each podium was different in size, shape, and color. Then I noticed that Schuman had a solid base on his podium, Stolley has legs on his podium, and VanGesen had wheels on his. After noticing this, I naturally wondered which one Buffalo Guy would choose to steal.

2024 Bonners County Sheriff debate

The debate was informative, cordial, and well run. Thankfully, there were no audio mishaps. The four microphones held up fine, which is not always the case when using wireless devices. The moderators tried to rotate the questions, so each candidate had opportunities to be the first to answer questions. At the end, each guy was given two questions specifically targeted at them.

Here are my notes as to each question. (I list only what I felt was the meat of each question).

  • 1 This question was about the difference in line officer vs administrator.
  • 2 If something like Covid happens again, would you obey the mandate or obey the Constitution?
  • 3 How have you saved money or brought it into the department?
  • 4 If elected, what would be your management style?
  • 5 Child safety and protection
  • 6 Are drugs a problem in the county?
  • 7 What is your experience in grants and grant writing?
  • 8 Second Amendment topic, if ordered, would you be willing to go door-to-door and confiscate weapons?
  • 9 Ruby Ridge—what would you have done?
  • 10 What is your experience working with other agencies?
  • 11 Do we need a new jail? If so, remodel or replace? How would you fund it?
  • 12 What would you do if Biden or his minions dumped a bus of illegals in our town?
  • 13 Mental health issues, what can you do?
  • 14 Concerns a case known as “baby Cyrus”. It involves police removing a child from his home. This was recently part of a court case. (Note: This question was VanGesen’s worst and most mediocre answer of the night.)
  • 15 Concerned a shutdown order and would they obey it?

Individual questions

Schuman

  • 1 Asked about advancement. His reply was that’s why I’m running.
  • 2 Citizen involvement

Stolley

  1. You only have 8 years of law enforcement experience, why should we vote for you?
  2. How does being raised here make you a better sheriff?

VanGesen

  • 1 You’re from the big city, how does that experience help you here?
  • 2 As a deputy in Washington state, why was there a suit against you for excessive force. Answer, suit was not brought until 3 years after the alleged event, and it strangely coincided with rise of BLM riots in the Seattle area. No wrongdoing found by investigators, no merit. The insurance company wanted it to go away and wrote a check—this happened after I retired.

Differences

In my mind, VanGesen won almost every question. I think he scored the best on the Ruby Ridge question. He quoted Sarah Weaver and got to the heart of the issue.

Schuman said that the previous sheriff used to take all new deputies to walk the property and talk about what happened. This was one of his most detailed answers all night.

Stolley was lost on this one, which is somewhat understandable since he wasn’t on the planet when it happened.

On the mandate vs Constitution question, Stolley and VanGesen said they would go with the Constitution, Schuman stumbled a little bit on this and finally stated he took an oath to uphold the Constitution and then dismissed the idea that Constitutional conflict could happen.

On grants, VanGesen nailed it, and the others were clearly lost trying to come up with an answer.

On the new jail, Schuman commented that when he was hired in the late 1990’s it was in disrepair and hasn’t gotten any better. He did not seem to have any detailed knowledge of the new jail proposal.

I have a few other thoughts on the debate. All questions were submitted in advance by the public with the possible exception of the individual ones at the end. I know that public speaking is not everyone’s best skill. Also, I concede that there is a bit of a beauty contest aspect to such a spectacle, but on the other hand, any election is a bit like that or a job interview if you will.

Conclusion

We entered the debate unsure of who to support and left with a VanGesen yard sign. On our way out of the gym, we saw our pastor, walking out the door with the middle podium tucked under his arm. I didn’t see that one coming.

    Troubling Future for our Medical Field (USA)

    This blog has admittedly been a long time coming but now that my doctor has retired and moved back to his home country, I feel I can get away with it.  I had this doctor for about 20 years of my life. He is from a part of the world where most of our doctors came from 20 or so years ago.  I am trying to conceal his identity as most of the items I list in this blog were told to me by him verbatim and I wish no ill will on him.  He chose to retire, not to a different state, or part of the US but back to a country I do not hold in high esteem as developing.

    My doctor and I grew to be friends, and I value his wisdom, I ask you to really set aside any preconceptions you have and listen to his commentary.

    1.  Our best and brightest no longer want to be doctors.  Six/seven figure student loans are the norm, then you must either: buy a practice (adding more debt) or join a health network and be an employee.
    2. Medicine is dictated from the top down, not via peer reviewed research.  You may remember the Covid-19 shot, and if you refused you were a whacko.  No dissent is allowed.  If you speak out your medical license could be revoked.  Worse yet, if you are an employee, you get muzzled and terminated. 
    3. Don’t believe point #2? Most hospital boards are run by lawyers now.  Check it out yourself.
    4. The debt issue: my doctor was never really in debt, so he could bill for only needed expenses. New doctors must bill for “extra services, not likely essential” knowing your insurance will pay.  As my doctor states, this is now routine practice not an outlier. 
    5. Distribution of prescription drugs is at unsustainable levels.  Go to your doctor, tell him you are experiencing pain/anxiety/depression etc.  He will find a pill for you.  We have a current shortage in Adderall pills right now. Adderall is used for focus/attention disorders. I have read zero about an increase in folks with diagnosed ADD/ADHD. 
    6. Mental Health Blarney:  Again, his words, we have folks walking in wanting a diagnosis simply to essentially “pull the mental health card” at work or at school.  He had a client who didn’t like his answer in diagnosing so this person traveled all the way to Modesto (3 counties over) to get a medical pot prescription. 
    7. Prescription drugs = lawsuit.  Ever see the ad on TV…ask your doctor if_____ is right for you?  Kinda weird right? You go to a guy with a medical license and you’re trying to tell him what to prescribe to you?  Well, I guess that’s why you pay for internet and cable right?  Yup.  The bad part about those “ask your doctor ads”? The ad that comes later is “did your doctor prescribe ____ and you experienced any of these symptoms? Call 1-800-bad-drug now!”  Yep, that “ask your doctor” drug got sued and now a 10-figure settlement has been reached.
    8. Medical Malpractice Insurance is too expensive: it’s easier and cheaper to settle than litigate.  My doctor was sued 10 times in the past decade for largely dubious claims; however, in each case the lawsuit was settled for literally pennies on the dollar, it got too expensive.  Again, it’s a lawyer thing, settle and save $$, fight and we could lose more money.  In one case the plaintiff signed the settlement papers, and the following day scheduled a physical with my doctor.  Yep, the same one she had for 15 years and sued for “inappropriate touching.” Yep, after claiming to be victimized, she was so mad and angry that she wanted to go back the next day for more.
    9. Too many idiots trying to play doctor.  I know at least one. They Google or watch the TV for affirmation about what they believe.  This person was convinced he could get off his anti-depression pills because “it was time,” he didn’t.  While this person didn’t go to my doctor, he told me numerous stories as well.  Folks, when you tell your doctor about mental health issues; especially suicide, you don’t ever get off the pill; no matter what Google or your cable news channel host says.
    10. His 2 children are going to law school.  Yep, the family business is over.  They would rather sue and collect than research and listen.  It broke his heart, but it’s a change in America and it isn’t good.
    11. There are 2 genders.  This actually is science; you know like the Covid vaccine was marketed as?  Check out what puberty blockers are.  BTW you are being a colossal dickhead for trying to make any doctor sign off on this procedure.  Just go to the local murderer of the unborn, at least you won’t be putting someone’s medical license in jeopardy.  Don’t believe me?  If you are here in California and approach your doctor about this, watch them squirm and get uncomfortable really quick. Said California doctors will not stick their neck out to save your child when such action will cost them their medical license.

    Not an exhaustive list but you see the point.  The independent doctor is now a thing of the past.  Say hello to large corporations buying up and creating “in house” options to save $$ and overhead.  Get off your damn computer, put the remote down, and quit listening to doctors like Anthony Fauci who don’t practice medicine.  We have a massive crisis coming here and it’s not going to get better.  I want a free-thinking doctor who researches, not a mindless dolt who is scared to be sued.  And my god quit this mental health BS.

    The Chief

    Trump Throws Unnecessary Grenade into Abortion Debate

    Democrats are livid that their Sacrament of Abortion suffered a major setback when Roe v Wade was undone by the Supreme Court. This threw the issue back to the states. Each state has different laws on the subject. Some like California have enshrined not only abortion but infanticide as the law of the land while others have essentially eliminated the abominable practice all together.

    Donald Trump is responsible for putting justices on the Court that had the principles to do the right thing. Now, Trump is trying a dangerous gambit that has little upside. He again, and I say again because he floated some similar rhetoric many months ago, is trying to get a national agreement on abortion limitations. We just got the issue sent back to the states and now Trump wants it Federalized via Congressional action. Whiskey Tango Orange Man?

    Trump wants four things in the federal abortion law, a limit to 16 weeks (which we concede is a major improvement on California, New York, and many other states) and he wants the exception clause of rape, incest, and life of the mother.

    First, why does Trump expect candidates for Constitutional office–the House and Senate–to take campaign positions on a clearly state issue? If the Supreme Court couldn’t find abortion in the Constitution, then why should Congress claim they have the power to add it unilaterally?

    Second, at 16 weeks, all we are doing is trying to reinstate abortion as a form of birth control. Less than one percent of abortions when it was legal under Roe were for such situations as rape, incest, or life of the mother. The few have always been the grounds for slaughtering the many.

    If Trump is simply trying to illustrate that Democrats are hellbent on abortion being legal everywhere, for all nine months of pregnancy, and daring them to defend this extreme position, maybe he makes a political point, but I see weak-kneed Republicans as terrified that Roe is gone. Like many other issues in politics, it was safe to fundraise on an issue that they have never been willing to correct via the legislative process. Repeal and replace Obamacare being the other example on the Republican side of the ledger, immigration on the Democrat side. As stated before, politicians would rather campaign on an issue than actually try to fix it.

    Oh, 16 weeks is on the edge of viability under current medical knowledge and about the time folks begin noticing the “baby bump” on pregnant women.

    When Roe was legal, Planned Parenthood would never report cases of rape and incest to law enforcement so what makes you think they will now? They will just call it that in order to kill the baby, but no police reports will be generated. They will hide behind HIPAA, and other privacy laws and it will be back to business as usual.

    Molach god of child sacrifice

    The only potentially moral reason for abortion is an argument of self-defense in the rare case of the mother’s life being balanced with her child’s. The reality is that the life of the mother is the only time a decision is made between a woman and her doctor.

    Trump is wrong to float this idea even if it is just to flush-out the extreme views of the Democrats. Abortion is wrong be it 16 hours, weeks, or in the case of California 16 months. Abortion is wrong in cases or rape and incest. Better to punish the offenders and place the baby up for adoption if mom can’t care for the child.

    Lastly, Trump just galls me when he uses the Disney lie of following your heart when dealing with abortion.

    But I tell people, No. 1, you have to go with your heart. You have to go with your heart.

    Trump promotes abortion compromise as Democrats push issue in 2024 race

    The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? — Jeremiah 17:9

    Sorry Donald but you can’t be a child of God and offer your children to Moloch. Furthermore, asking God to Bless America when we serve other gods is using God’s name in vain. Abortion is a violation of several of the Ten Commandments in one act. Any nation supporting such abominations is on the chopping block of divine judgement.

    Cooper Cams Get Reality Check

    I have talked about this before but since it’s back in the news, it’s time to take another whack at Jim Cooper.

    For those that think they can find everything on the Internet, I have some bad news; namely, people pay good money to have unfavorable things purged from the Internet. This includes deleting pages and purging or altering search engine results. Thus, you won’t find the following: in his first run for Sacramento County Sheriff, candidate Jim Cooper pledged to fix the department’s budget shortfall by installing traffic cameras like he had done as an Elk Grove City Councilman. Yep, Cooper said that traffic cameras should be used to fully fund the Sheriff’s budget. Thankfully Scott Jones won and kept Sacramento County from becoming a police state.

    Jim Cooper — Official Bill Mill Portrait

    Flash forward about a decade. Cooper is now Sheriff and in charge of the department’s budget. Local station KCRA ran this article about the department.

    Red light cameras in Sacramento are no longer in operation after the sheriff’s office pulled the plug on the program due to financial reasons.

    Why Sacramento put the brakes on its red light camera system and how drivers are reacting

    Wait, What? Cameras pulled for fiscal reasons? Jim how can this be?

    Maybe if Cooper had actually attended all his MBA classes and done the homework instead of letting his study group carry him across the finish line, maybe then he might have a clue about economics…

    As it turns out, it costs money to run a traffic camera program and the county was losing its fiscal butt.

    The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office managed the program. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Amar Gandhi told KCRA 3 the program was meant to be cost-neutral, but it cost the department $898,000 per year, which was higher than the money generated from violation tickets.

    The next sentence in the story is no surprise:

    On Thursday, the sheriff’s office could not provide a specific number of tickets given or a total revenue amount from tickets given.

    Yep, Jim, it’s not free money. In typical government fashion, they don’t know how many tickets were issued or how much revenue was collected. Also note that the Sheriff’s Department was administering the program. This is curious. Usually, these programs are farmed out to a third-party vendor, and they give a cut (or percentage if you prefer) of whatever they collect to the county. Sounds like it would be hard under such an arrangement to lose almost a million dollars a year. Clearly more cameras are needed not less. If only the right people were in charge…

    KCRA goes on to report that the department had operated 23 cameras. Let’s do the math. That means for each camera, the county lost $39,044. Oh, each ticket issued by a Cooper Cam was a fine of $480. That means if each camera issued 81 more tickets (just over one more a week), then the program would be in the black; except that so many folks had their hands in the till that this doesn’t work in reality.

    Map of Sacramento County Cooper Cams

    The story then ends lamenting the public harm that will result because the Cooper cams are no longer in operation.

    KCRA concludes their article with:

    People driving around the county will still see the cameras in place for right now. The sheriff’s office said it is up to the company that was contracted to install them to take them down. It is unclear when that will happen.

    So, the county didn’t own the cameras, or run the day-to-day operations but got a percentage of each ticket issued and still lost about a million dollars? How? Wanna bet a person related to a Steinburg or Pelosi or other Democrat crime family owns the Cooper cam company or is a beneficiary thereof.