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Redoubt: Northwest a Haven for Dismayed Americans By Chuck Holton CBN News Reporter Monday, October 14, 2013 NORTHERN IDAHO -- You don't hear the word "redoubt" used very much anymore. It means a "fortress" or a "safe, protected place." Some conservative American Christians are so dismayed with direction of the country that they're looking for a safe place for their families. They call it the "American Redoubt." Alarm over the future of America can be seen almost daily in the headlines and on cable news. The loss of privacy, constitutional freedoms, and out-of-control government spending are just a few of...

Idaho GOP Rep. Raul Labrador was back in front of the TV cameras this morning, this time appearing on ABC's This Week With George Stephanopoulos. "We're four days away from reaching the debt ceiling. We gave the president an offer where we would extend the debt ceiling without any requirements ... and I don't see why the president is not accepting that or working with us," said Labrador. "I think it's been very difficult to work with [Obama]. He wouldn't even come to the table to negotiate." And Labrador wasted no time to bring the debate surrounding the federal government...

Rubin rose before Chief U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in Portland, where she pleaded guilty to a dozen crimes – in Colorado, Oregon and California – as part of the underground Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front. ... Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen F. Peifer recounted Rubin's crimes as part of the largest group of eco-saboteurs ever taken down by the FBI. They called themselves The Family and committed an estimated $40 million in damage from 1996 to 2001. ... the terms of the highly structured plea agreement sets limits on the number of years Rubin will spend in prison....

SALT LAKE CITY — An 18-year-old missionary for the LDS Church was killed in Southern California Thursday when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle. It was the church's second missionary death in two days. Both missionaries had been in their assigned missions for less than a month. Elder Andrew Edward Page, 18, from Charlotte, N.C., was hit while riding on Newburgh Street in Azusa, Calif., a little after 4 p.m. Thursday, according to Azusa police. He had been in the Mexico City Missionary Training Center for six weeks and had arrived in California about three weeks...

Public lands continue to draw attention in San Juan County. A series of public meetings in October will allow local residents to learn about several issues and make their voices heard. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has released an environmental assessment and an economic analysis of the Gunnision sage grouse proposals. ... Public comment on the studies will be accepted until October 19. It is expected that the US Fish and Wildlife Service will make a decision on designation by March 31, 2014. The federal agency is considering the designation of the sage grouse as an endangered species and...

Misinformation about the interpretation and application of Arkansas’s new gun laws, specifically about reciprocity, was spread between the legal counsels for the Arkansas State Police and the Idaho State Police in mid-September.What the issue boils down to is whether or not Arkansas will honor Idaho concealed “weapons” permits if said “weapon” is a handgun.The snafu popped up in an official letter dated Sept. 17 written by Arkansas State Police Lt. Cora Gentry to the Idaho State Police: It is our Department’s legal counsel’s opinion that the license issued by another state must specifically be a concealed “handgun” license to be...

Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson was for chipping away at Obamacare during the continuing resolution fight before he was against it. On Tuesday, the GOP congressman told a Capitol Hill publication that he supports voting for a continuing resolution to stop the partial government shutdown — even without provisions defunding, delaying or stopping parts of President Barack Obama’s health care law. “I’d vote for a clean [continuing resolution] because I don’t think this is a strategy that works,” Simpson told Roll Call. “I think the strategy that works is on the debt ceiling.”

Enough with the terrorism references already. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) excoriated House Republicans Wednesday evening, including fellow Californian Rep. Tom McClintock, for waging a ‘jihad’ against American citizens for voting to defund Obamacare in the opening rounds of the fight to extend government spending. The outrageous remark was in the context of a House debate over a Republican-backed ‘piecemeal’ measure to fund the National Park Service, among other programs — McClintock had expressed concerns about the effects of a government shutdown on addressing an ongoing wildfire in Yosemite National Park. “The gentleman from California came and said the towns around...

Jeff Head Cancer Update: September 29, 2013 So, we've been gone for over two weeks from Emmett, ID. This has been my annual checkup for my Chordoma cancer down here in Houston, TX at MD Anderson. Week before last I had those checkups and they went extremely well. No sign of any new cancer around where my sacrum used to be and that is very good. As good a bone fusion to the bone from my right fibula that they used as a support down there as it can be. Very strong and lots of it. Also strong bone fusion...

FreedomWorks is endorsing a primary foe of one of Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) closest allies. The Tea Party-aligned group is backing attorney Bryan Smith (R) in his race against Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a good friend of Boehner's. "Bryan Smith is a strong fiscal conservative with close ties to the grassroots all across his district. He is not a career politician," FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe says in the endorsement. "Smith will be a roadblock for either party that tries to continue to spend us into a more debt. Idahoans need a strong voice in Congress, and Bryan Smith is their...

Sixteen-year-old Noah Graham of Solway is lucky to be alive after being attacked without warning by a wolf while sitting at a campfire with friends last month on Lake Winnibigoshish near the town of Bemidji in far northern Minnesota. ... the willingness of the Clinton administration to accede to the demands of DOW and other environmental groups, wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1994 and quickly spread over a 500-mile radius to all corners of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Earlier this month, a pack of wolves stampeded 176 sheep — two were bitten and killed; one was half...

As the 2013 season of devastating wildfires continues to rage across the American West, the question of arson as a form of major terrorism is again being raised. Already this year, 35,440 reported fires have burned a total of 3.9 million acres, with a quarter-million acres scorched the iconic Yosemite National Park. Large blazes continue to burn in several states, with six alive in Idaho, five each in California and Montana, and one each in Alaska, Louisiana, Oregon, Texas and Washington. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, says at this time last year, 45,278 fires had burned 7.9...

“So, what did you do during your summer break?” If you happen to be a certain 12 year old boy from Pocatello, Idaho, you spent the summer being productive and successfully carrying on an entrepreneurial venture, and then experiencing your state government cracking-down on you for not being licensed and demanding a portion of your revenues. The 12 year old son of Jason Weeks is who we’re talking about. Weeks’ son announced at the beginning of the summer that he wanted to acquire a motorcycle. Weeks had the good sense to tell his son to earn money and purchase one...

Starting a widely unpopular war which will inevitably escalate and will likely involve Russia and China, not to mention all the countries that neighbor Syria, and at best, result in a regime dominated by Al-Qaeda? No problem. Here are the Senators who voted to push America into the latest middle eastern war: Yoting Yes:Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Chris Coons, D-Del., Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Bob Corker, R-Tenn., John McCain, R-Ariz, Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. Voting No: Tom Udall, D-N.M., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., James Risch, R-Idaho, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Rand Paul, R-Ky.,...

Attorney Bryan Smith earned the Club for Growth’s first major endorsement of the 2014 cycle, but he said he made the decision to challenge one of Speaker John A. Boehner’s top allies in Congress independently of the cash-flush, conservative group. ....... Smith is challenging eight-term Republican Rep. Mike Simpson for Idaho’s 2nd District. He got the Club for Growth’s attention after the group launched a campaign against several Republican incumbents, including Simpson, called “Primary My Congressman.” ....... So if Smith makes it to Congress, would he back Boehner in a leadership race? “We’re talking about an event that would take...

Another day, another law disregarded by the Obama camp. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and representatives from nine other states have signed a letter to the Obama Administration demanding the administration pay up on mineral lease revenues owed to the states under the 1920 Mineral Leasing Act. This nearly century-old contract requires a certain percentage of the royalties collected by the federal government to be returned to the states where the minerals were produced. The administration now is trying to trim these payments under the guise of sequestration, saying that these royalties are subject to across the board spending cuts...

MERIDIAN -- A bizarre rampage on Wednesday left behind many victims, including two men severely beaten who are still recovering in the hospital. Meridian Police say a man under the influence of drugs, violently attacked several people, and terrorized a neighborhood. THE SUSPECT Police tell us the suspect is 23-year-old Sean Carnell from Meridian. Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea says Carnell was arrested around 11 a.m. Wednesday on several charges. According to court documents, he's now charged with battery, robbery, second-degree kidnapping, battery with the intent to commit a serious felony, cruelty to animals, malicious injury to property, and other related...

“Ruby Ridge” used to refer to a geographical location in the state of Idaho, but after an incident that took place there 10 years ago on Aug. 21, the phrase has come to refer to a scandalous series of events that opened the eyes of many people to the inner workings of the federal government, including the vaunted Federal Bureau of Investigation. Now that 10 years have passed, the feds will accelerate their ongoing effort to “move forward” and have the scandal declared “ancient history.” But the Ruby Ridge episode should not be soon forgotten.On August 21, 1992 a paramilitary...

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- A southeastern Idaho ranch lost 176 sheep as the animals ran in fear from two wolves that chased through a herd of about 2,400 animals south of Victor....

Full Title: Revealed: California killer who abducted teenage girl is shot dead in Idaho wilderness 18 years TO THE DAY after his own father committed suicide while holding another 16-year-old hostage James DiMaggio's kidnapping of 16-year-old Hannah Anderson, whom was said to have a 'crush on,' could be a horrific case of history repeating itself, it has been revealed. DiMaggio's father, also named James DiMaggio, shockingly killed himself 18 years ago to the day that DiMaggio was shot dead by an FBI agent in the Idaho wilderness. Hannah was found safe and is expected to be reunited with her father...

San Diego Sheriff's Department says 16-year-old Hannah Anderson found safe in Idaho. San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said the suspect in the massive Amber Alert case was shot and killed. Hannah Anderson was successfully rescued and "appears to be in good shape," according to Gore. Check back for updates.

San Diego Sheriff's Department says 16-year-old Hannah Anderson found safe in Idaho. San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said the suspect in the massive Amber Alert case was shot and killed.

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A car belonging to the suspect in the disappearance of a teenage girl in California has been found in Idaho, authorities said on Friday. San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore also said that horseback riders reported seeing two people matching the description of the suspect and girl in the Cascade area 70 miles northeast of Boise on Wednesday.

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho -- Several hundred thousand dollars worth of rare silver and gold coins were stolen in a burglary early Sunday in Coeur d’Alene. It happened around 12:55 a.m. when the 54-year-old homeowner returned home to find an unknown man standing in her doorway and a car parked in her driveway. When she asked him what he was doing in her home, a second man emerged from the car. ... Police said the thieves took two safes filled with rare coins valued at a total of $250,000.

Energy Policy: The Environmental Protection Agency declines to have outside experts review its study claiming water contamination from fracking in Wyoming. Why confuse an analysis based on ideology with the facts? As we noted in December 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency, under pressure from environmental groups, tried to manufacture a crisis in which hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was said to have contaminated test wells in Pavillion, Wyo. Those claims and others made in the six-decade history of the technology's use have repeatedly proved groundless. In 2011, the EPA released the non-peer reviewed report on Pavillion in which the agency publicly...

For 30 years, a Saskatchewan drifter somehow eluded one of the largest manhunts in Canadian history despite his face becoming part of the urban landscape – on billboards, posters and newspapers. Named as the sole suspect after a missing nine-year-old girl tumbled dead from a refrigerator in his Toronto flophouse, Dennis Melvyn Howe became a figure of outrage and fear and then a man of mystery. Now, an appliance repairman in Idaho says Canadian authorities think he may be Dennis Howe, and police confirm his claim.

Since 1993, 98 percent of EPA regulations (196 out of 200) pursuant to these programs were promulgated late, by an average of 5.68 years (or 2,072 days) after their respective statutorily defined deadlines. Currently, 65 percent of the EPA’s statutorily defined responsibilities (212 of 322 possible) are past due by an average of 5.88 years (or 2,147 days). EPA’s persistent failure is troubling—and not just because it suggests incompetence, Yeatman explains. “Despite the agency’s failure to meet nondiscretionary responsibilities, EPA in 2010 took on an enormous discretionary responsibility in proceeding with greenhouse gas regulations. Why is the EPA giving priority...

The Club for Growth’s political action committee announced Wednesday that it will support Rep. Mike Simpson’s (R-Idaho) 2014 primary opponent, attorney Bryan Smith. The conservative PAC is openly soliciting suggestions for which GOP lawmakers it should target in primaries. Smith represents its first crowd-sourced endorsement. Simpson has a lifetime 58 percent score on the Club for Growth’s scorecard — ranking among the most moderate Republicans in the House. But he comes from one of the most conservative districts in the country — one that went 64 percent for Mitt Romney last year.

The Talk Shows July 7th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Egyptian reform leader Mohammed ElBaradei; Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.; Janet Murguia, president and CEO, National Council of La Raza; Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.THIS WEEK (ABC): President George W. Bush and Laura Bush; Egypt's ambassador to the United States, Mohamed...

<p>BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Four men are suing the Mormon church and Boy Scouts of America in federal court, saying they were sexually abused while attending scouting functions in Idaho.</p> <p>Attorneys Gilion Dumas, Andrew Chasan and Timothy Walton filed the lawsuit in Boise's U.S. District Court on Monday on behalf of the men, who are named only as John Does I-IV.</p>

With two layers of pork deterrent… Jihawg Ammunition 9mm Pig Tainted Ammo – an all natural deterrent to sudden jihad syndrome. An Idaho company has come up with a culturally-sensitive solution to dealing with sudden jihad syndrome… Pork-infused bullets. Ammoland reported, via Weasel Zippers: You’ve probably already heard about the bizarre, Islamist slaughter of an off-duty British soldier in broad daylight on a busy street in London in May 2013. The two assailants struck the victim with a car then jumped out and began hacking and slashing him with knives and a meat cleaver. The murderers then strutted around the...

N. Idaho company invents world's first rifle adapter for smartphone By James Cramer CREATED Jun. 11, 2013 An Idaho company is mixing weaponry with a taste of Apple. Inteliscope LLC announced the launch of the world’s first tactical rifle adapter for smartphones. The company was founded in Sandpoint by Jason Giddings, who is waiting from Apple to review the application software used for the rifle. “We’re ready to get started with what we came to Idaho to do: hire good employees and help the economy of North Idaho,” Giddings said. The Inteliscope mounts on a rifle using a tactical rail...

To paraphrase William Shakespeare, there’s something rotten in Washington, and the odor is emanating not just from the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department. It’s also coming from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies accused of colluding with radical environmental groups to write regulations that are threatening the livelihoods of millions of Americans. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce study has found that the EPA has given green groups a seat at the table when drafting environmental regulations, but it has excluded the people and industries most likely to be affected. The Sierra Club has participated in “closed-door...

The Illinois pension saga just keeps getting worse. In response to the state legislature’s failure to pass a pension reform bill before adjourning, Fitch downgraded Illinois’s bonds from A to A- earlier this week. On Thursday Moody’s joined the party, lowering the state’s rating from A2 to A3. S&P is now the only agency not to have downgraded the state, but it is issuing its own dire warnings. As Reuters notes, Illinois now has the lowest credit rating of any state in the country even without the S&P downgrade, and the worst rating in its history. The higher borrowing costs...

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, left the group after saying he could not come to an agreement with the other members on health care ... Labrador was expected to play a key role in the House, similar to that of Marco Rubio in the Senate... Labrador, a tea party Hispanic with ties to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, is viewed as a critical loss, even by Democrats. The remaining three Republicans (are), Reps. John Carter of Texas, Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida and Sam Johnson of Texas

COEUR d'ALENE - The next step is taking a breath. A day after the Coeur d'Alene City Council adopted an anti-discrimination ordinance 5 to 1, Tony Stewart said the next move is, well, stopping and taking it easy. "We've been getting a lot of calls and emails," said Stewart, Human Rights Task Force on Human Relations member, on Wednesday on the positive feedback he had received from the previous night's vote. "These things wind up being a great celebration." And a lot of work. Stewart, who brought the ordinance to the city to consider, said months of studying went into...

A church-state separation group touting its access to Defense Department officials is taking credit for the removal of a painting from an Idaho Air Force base on Friday that featured a Bible verse within an hour of making the demand. The organization, Military Religious Freedom Foundation, has called for the court martial of military personnel for “proselytizing,” having met with Pentagon officials in the past. The group is citing this victory in Idaho as proof of its influence over the U.S. military. The painting in the Wagon Wheel dining hall at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho showed...

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s long-anticipated plan for the Oregon & California Railroad trust lands amounts to a bold call for — input. Anyone who thought that Wyden would propose something specific has to be disappointed. Nevertheless, people as prominent and impatient as Gov. John Kitzhaber dutifully issued stilted remarks thanking Wyden for his “leadership.” Tongues had to be firmly in cheek. No one dared point out that the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee had again failed to do anything to help the people who inhabit a large part of his state. Instead of legislation, Wyden offered...

Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger says he’s compelled to drop the department’s Boy Scouts of America charter after the organization opened its ranks to gay Scouts. Wolfinger said the organization is promoting a lifestyle that’s against Idaho law. The sheriff said he sent a copy of the state law banning sodomy to the Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press. “It would be inappropriate for the sheriff’s office to sponsor an organization that is promoting a lifestyle that is in violation of state law,” Wolfinger said. Tim McCandless, CEO of the Inland Northwest Council, said...

BOISE, Idaho — A lawmaker who had his firearms bill killed in the 2013 Legislature has complained to the secretary of state that it was torpedoed by lobbyists who weren't properly registered.

Why does the U.S. Constitution make no mention of education? Because the Founding Fathers understood that the education of children must be at the local level. We now stand at the edge of a cliff as the federal Common Core State Standards continues its march across the country. How did we get here? In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education blackmailed the states with stimulus money in the form of Race to the Top (RTTT) grants. If states wanted to get out from under No Child Left Behind, and wanted more funding they had to agree to adopt the Common...

U.S. authorities in Idaho said they have arrested an Uzbekistan Muslim national, Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, on federal terrorism charges involving WMD’s. Huffington Post The Idaho indictment alleges that between August 2012 and May 2013, Kurbanov knowingly conspired with others to provide support and resources, including computer software and money, to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a designated terrorist organization. Federal prosecutors said he was arrested in Boise on Thursday after a grand jury issued a three-count indictment as part of a terrorism investigation. The indictment charges Kurbanov with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist...

U.S. officials charged an Uzbek citizen in Idaho with providing bomb-making knowledge and other support to an Islamist militant group, knowing that it would be used in an attack, authorities said on Thursday. Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, a national of Uzbekistan living legally in Idaho, was arrested in Boise and faces a three-count grand jury indictment in Idaho and a single-count indictment in Utah, prosecutors said. They said Kurbanov provided information and money to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which the United States has designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The group supports establishing strict Islamic rule in Uzbekistan. Authorities said...

COEUR d'ALENE - Gary Brown wouldn't tell The Press anything more than he told a Fox News reporter about the genesis of a video in which North Idaho school-age children say that because of their Christian beliefs, they've endured ridicule and had their rights trampled on in public schools. The video titled "The Thaw" features kids who participate in Reach America, a Coeur d'Alene-based Christian ministry and education program run by Brown. The video has been rapidly gaining viral ground on the Internet. By Saturday afternoon, it had been viewed just shy of 84,000 times. Brown told Fox News' Todd...

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Idaho man charged with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama by shooting at the White House practiced with his weapon for six months and may have been upset about the country’s marijuana policy, prosecutors said in a newly filed court document. Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez is currently awaiting trial for the 2011 shooting, which didn’t injure anyone but left more than five bullet marks on the executive mansion. Prosecutors filed a 14-page court document Tuesday that adds additional detail about Ortega-Hernandez, who allegedly shot at the White House the night of Nov. 11 while the president and...

Democrat Former state senator says she thought she earned unemployment benefits Boise — Former Sen. Nicole LeFavour's application for a $155 weekly unemployment check has been denied after the state objected to her claim. Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/04/30/2558137/former-state-senator-says-she.html#storylink=cpy

During a hearing into the constitutionality of voter identification laws enacted across the country, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) tore into claims by the Department of Justice that those laws were racially discriminatory. In the space of five minutes, Gowdy knocked down the claims, one by one, that a voter ID law passed in South Carolina in 2011 discriminated against African-Americans or was dissimilar to laws the Justice Department had cleared in a variety of other states. Gowdy began by noting that, when the Palmetto State’s voter identification law was passed, a third of the state’s congressional delegation were African-American; former...

A transgender woman whose use of a women's restroom in an Idaho grocery store reportedly upset other customers has been cited for trespassing and banned from the store for a year, police said on Friday. A Rosauers supermarket in Lewiston asked police to charge 25-year-old Ally Robledo, who was born male but identifies as female, with the misdemeanor trespass charge on Monday, Lewiston Police Captain Roger Lanier said. "The store security officer said he had been dealing with a problem over a couple days with the person going into the women's restroom and urinating while standing up," Lanier said. He...

A plan to drop a recognizable logo in this part of the country — the Forest Service’s iconic shield — generated so much outrage among the agency’s retirees that the idea has been dropped. In early January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly introduced a policy to phase out all of its sub-agencies’ logos, including the Forest Service’s, and replace them with the USDA symbol. But that policy was kept so under wraps that not even Pacific Northwest forest supervisors were told. Some of them only heard about it in retrospect late last week — after the USDA had decided,...

WASHINGTON – An international framework for controlling the global arms trade appears to be headed for a brick wall on Capitol Hill, and Idaho’s junior senator is among the chief bricklayers. “Save your ink. It’s not going anywhere,” U.S. Sen. Jim Risch said this week. The United Nations arms trade treaty, approved by an overwhelming majority of countries Tuesday, seeks to regulate an industry that topped $85 billion in 2011, according to the Congressional Research Service. But the Senate will have the final say on whether the United States joins the pact. Risch and other senators on both sides of the...