Free Republic

The likelihood of outrage seems inevitable this year in college football: The BCS controversy, which even President Obama has issued proclamations about, seems ready to explode, since six undefeated teams - two from minor conferences - survive with only three games left in the season. Two conferences, Mountain West and Western Athletic (WAC) are excluded from automatic participation in the BCS, and must compete for one of two wildcard teams, and both still have undefeated teams. But should a team which has gone undefeated and unchallenged take a slot from Alabama or Florida, which are likely to also go undefeated......

Tour bus carrying high school band members crashes on the I-15 in Idaho, at least 1 dead and up to 30 believed injured.

Every now and then, you stumble upon a town that's gotten everything right—great coffee, food with character, shop owners with purpose. These 10 spots have it all, in perfectly small doses.

SNIPPET: "SPOKANE -- Authorities in North Idaho are reporting that sometime early Tuesday morning a small airplane was stolen from the Boundary County Airport. The Boundary County Sheriff confirms they received a report regarding the theft of a 2005 Cessna T182T aircraft around 7 AM Tuesday morning. The aircraft, with tail number N2183P, is a white and blue fixed wing single engine aircraft. It is believed the aircraft was taken from the airport around 5:45 Tuesday. They're not sure in what direction the plane was flown from the airport." SNIPPET: "Authorities are working to confirm if the theft is related...

Pilots would get 29 percent more elbow room and the base’s airspace would edge farther into Oregon and Nevada. If approved by federal officials, the expansion could pave the way for state-of-the-art aircraft like the F-35 at the base. More importantly, according to 366th Fighter Wing commander Col. John Bird, the expansion would double the effectiveness of the airspace and the training offered in Idaho. “We are starting to get customers,” Bird said. “It’s the perfect practice ground.” An expansion would make Mountain Home comparable to Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base, Bird said.

SALT LAKE CITY -- There's rising concern in Idaho about a religious cult that packed up and moved out of Utah earlier this summer. Neighbors near Pocatello are upset about the group's plan for a massive new residence. The group is called the Church of the Firstborn and the General Assembly of Heaven. It was based for years in a Magna duplex. In June, KSL News followed a caravan as the cult consolidated its members and moved to Idaho. They left Utah for greener pastures in Idaho, but their new neighbors worry that the pasture is getting too crowded. Church...

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled that the fall wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana can proceed, denying a legal effort by environmental groups to stop them. The Montana and Idaho wolf hunts will not irreparably harm wolf populations and may proceed, according to a ruling filed last night by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy. Molloy on Aug. 31 heard arguments from environmental groups seeking to halt the fall wolf hunts—the first of their kind in the lower 48—on the grounds that the killings would irreparably harm the species, which was on the Endangered Species List until just this...

Ashcroft liable for detentions, court finds By Tony Romm - 09/04/09 04:18 PM ET Former Attorney General John Ashcroft may be sued and held liable for wrongly detaining witnesses after the Sept. 11 attacks, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. In its decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that Abdullah Al-Kidd, a U.S. citizen detained as a material witness for two weeks, may sue the former attorney general for breaching his constitutional rights. Al-Kidd claimed during the case that his brief imprisonment caused him to lose a scholarship and crippled his chances of finding employment, according...

After two seasons of chukar hunting that could best be described as grim, chukar hunters have reason to be encouraged. It appears that chukar numbers are on the rise. Surveying the highlands along Brownlee Reservoir on August 26, wildlife biologist Jake Powell counted nearly 900 chukars in the 12 square mile survey area. That translates to 73.7 chukars per square mile, double last year's dismal count of 37.8. "It's encouraging news," Powell noted. "We found 106 groups of chukars distributed across the entire survey area with an average group size of 8.3 birds." In contrast, the 2007 and 2008 surveys...

BOISE, Idaho – A federal appeals court delivered a stinging rebuke Friday to the Bush administration's post-Sept. 11 detention policies, ruling that former Attorney General John Ashcroft can be held liable for people who were wrongfully detained as material witnesses after 9/11. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the government's improper use of material witnesses after Sept. 11 was "repugnant to the Constitution and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history." The court found that a man who was detained as a witness in a federal terrorism...

Does anybody know if there is any effort going on to reverse the open primary system that gave us John McCain? According to Wikipedia the following states have open primaries: * Alabama * Arkansas * Georgia * Idaho * Indiana * Michigan * Minnesota * Mississippi * Missouri * North Dakota * South Carolina * Tennessee * Texas * Vermont * Virginia * Wisconsin I've run a google news search and come up with blanks.

A new line of shotguns will roll off the assembly line for the first time Thursday in Meridian, boosting a business that has lost jobs and work hours in the recession. Advanced Precision Machining, 180 S. Adkins Way, founded in 1981, makes proprietary precision medical and semiconductor parts and prototypes for other companies. It recently began making parts for the shotguns and for rifles.

A lawsuit is challenging Idaho officials who contend the state constitution forbids use of the Bible in a charter school opening this fall. The Alliance Defense Fund has filed an action against the Idaho Public Charter School Commission on behalf of Nampa Classical Academy, which, the ADF reports, was threatened with the revocation of its charter if it uses the Bible or any other religious documents or text as part of its curriculum resources. "The Bible shouldn't be singled out for censorship in public schools, especially since the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that it is entirely constitutional for...

The 48-year-old female was visiting from California ... She was unfamiliar with the area and did not carry water, bear spray, a map or a cell phone with her. She became lost and had jogged to the Idaho/Montana border before turning around. The Sheriff's office reminds the public that recreating alone in unfamiliar areas can be hazardous, and carrying the appropriate equipment ...can save your life.

The left use to do this to Bush everyday, but the difference was, they weren't joking....

At a GOP rally Tuesday in Twin Falls, someone shouted "Obama tags." Rex Rammell said: "The Obama tags? We'd buy some of those," the Twin Falls Times-News reported. Rammell, a former elk rancher and Senate candidate who is challenging Gov. Butch Otter in 2010, said he was being sarcastic. The reaction: "He and his party should tone down the violent rhetoric," said Idaho Democratic Chairman Jim Hansen. "It distresses me that the governor and the Republican leaders of the state immediately ... didn't say, 'This doesn't reflect our party.' " Jonathan Parker, executive director of Idaho's GOP, did just that...

Starting today, hunters can walk into any license vendor in Idaho and buy a tag to kill a gray wolf. Vendors such as Daniel Stephenson, owner of River of No Return Taxidermy in Salmon, Idaho, expect robust demand. "In our area, there're lots of [wolves] and they're not a real popular thing for deer and elk hunters," Stephenson said. "So everybody wants a chance to go get one." The Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved a plan August 17 to allow up to 220 wolves to be killed by the public this coming fall and winter. Licensed hunters will be...

For 42 years, the God and Country Rally in Idaho has started its rally with a military fly over. The God and Country Rally is a non-denominational rally that supports American soldiers. For 42 years the Pentagon has carried out the military fly over. Not any more. In Barack Obama’s America, the military is no longer allowed to do such things if the group requesting the fly over is Christian oriented. That’s not an exaggeration.

U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick has agreed to appear at a town hall meeting Saturday hosted by Tea Party Boise

Note: Photo and videos included. COEUR D'ALENE -- The Aryan Nations is experiencing an unwanted resurgence in North Idaho. SNIPPET: "However, a man named Paul Mullet claims he is going to bring the racist organization back." SNIPPET: "Mullet says he moved here from Ohio five months ago because North Idaho is the "last stand" for the Aryan Nations movement. Mullet says he's in the process of buying a large amount of land in the area." SNIPPET: "Monday's distribution of racist material in Spokane Valley's Trentwood neighborhood was the latest in a series of similar incidents. Aryan Nations literature has also...

Watch this video - I did a keyword search for 'flyover', and 'God and Country' - so sorry if this has already been seen. If there's a better link, please add it to the thread.

A friend needs to know any town hall meetings that are scheduled to discuss health care in northern Idaho.

WASHINGTON — The fathers of Sarah and Todd Palin will be joining forces this month to help an Idaho congressional candidate who's getting an early start on his 2010 election bid. Both Chuck Heath and Jim Palin will be in Idaho later on this month to help out Vaughn Ward, a Republican candidate for Congress. They’ll be attending events for Ward at the end of the month in Boise and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Ward's campaign spokesman said. The former Alaska governor's father is an Idaho native who graduated from Sandpoint High School in northern Idaho. Palin, Sen. John McCain’s vice-presidential...

WORLEY, Idaho -- Democrats from around the West are gathering in northern Idaho for four days of planning and strategy.

Reporting from Flint, Mich. -- As the unemployment rate topped 25% and General Motors planned to cut more jobs in this long-struggling auto town, voters decided to focus their anger on one person: Mayor Donald J. Williamson. More than 17,000 residents signed a petition demanding his recall, citing waste, corruption, mismanagement and sundry other complaints. Williamson resigned 10 days before the vote. "He made people so mad," said Eric Mays, a retired GM worker who led an earlier effort to recall Williamson that failed. "He had to go." Fueled by the recession, voters nationwide are recalling local leaders, including mayors,...

Well, turns out I didn't get my transfer request to any of my company's Wyoming branches. However, I do have a possible opening in Spokane/Coeur d' Alene. I'll be working for both offices, in which case that would give me latitude as to which city to live in. That said, I'd sooner scoop out my own eyes with a melonballer than move to a blue state. However, WA has no personal income taxes and ID does. Need some FRiendly advice on this one, since I haven't lived in either state. Thanks in advance.

July 14, 2009House Leadership's Health Care Plan Pushes Top Tax Rates Over 50% in 39 States Couples Earning More than $1 Million Hit with 5.4% SurtaxWashington, DC, July 14, 2009 - A third updated Tax Foundation report shows that 39 states would see top tax rates exceed 50% under a health care funding plan announced today by House Democrats.The latest proposal—one of several floated on Capitol Hill in the past few days and the third analyzed by the Tax Foundation since Friday—would impose a surtax of 1 percent on married couples with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) between $350,000 and $500,000...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana and Idaho are moving to host the first open gray wolf hunts in the lower 48 states after the animal's removal from the endangered list across much of the Northern Rockies.

A lifetime hunting ban. That's the sentence handed down in Couer D'Alene Friday to a man guilty of poaching. Timothy Herbert was also ordered to pay more than 12 grand in fines, and was tagged with 4 years probation. Fish and Game says Herbert hunted deer and turkey illegally....there have been fewer than 50 lifetime hunting bans imposed in Idaho's history.

A Coeur d’Alene cleaning equipment supplier is eliminating 40 local jobs as it moves production to Mexico over the next six to eight months to save money. Nilfisk-Advance Inc., the Minnesota-based maker of products including riding floor scrubbers, is keeping 22 administrative positions at its U.S. Products site in Coeur d’Alene. But 40 manufacturing jobs are being shifted to Queretaro, Mexico, over the next several months, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported. Nilfisk-Advance is consolidating U.S. plants in the Mexican location in a bid to cut its costs by shifting production to a country where it can pay workers less money....

Now the government has taken over General Motors. Hundreds of profitable auto dealerships are being closed down against their will, sending 100,000 more people to the unemployment lines. And we also now have a “Pay Czar” who will not only control the income levels for businesses taking government bailouts, but will also set the standards for private business that has not. The government thinks they know best; they will tell business how to run itself and how to pay its employees and executives. Is it time yet? Our local government also acts as if it knows far better than the...

When Nampa gun store owner Roberta Regnier offered a chance to win an AR-15 rifle for anyone who brought in two cans of food, she got 7,000 entries and collected 10 tons of food for the Boise Rescue Mission. The winning ticket was drawn on April 15. The raffle piqued so much interest that Regnier's Alpha Omega Services is doing another one - the shop's third - this time for a new, 1927-style Tommy gun. Other businesses are catching on. Sheepdog Ammo in New Plymouth donated 1,000 rounds of ammunition to Regnier's raffle. Archery Outfitters of Nampa is holding its...

On the evening of March 31st, 2009, Tim Tevebaugh was driving home from work east of Craigmont in the southern Idaho Panhandle (see map below). Across the rolling hay fields, Tim saw a very unusual phenomenon. The snow rollers that he took pictures of are extremely rare because of the unique combination of snow, wind, temperature and moisture needed to create them. They form with light but sticky snow and strong (but not too strong) winds. These snow rollers formed during the day as they weren't present in the morning on Tim's drive to work. Based on estimations from Tim...

Public health officials are conducting tests on four Idahoans who may have contracted swine flu. According to reports, two people from Madison county, along with one from Fremont and Ada counties have exhibited symptoms of swine flu. The four are currently undergoing tests to determine if they have contracted the virus. Results of those tests will be released sometime this evening or tomorrow morning. Meanwhile the Idaho Division of Public Health has alerted medical providers across the state to monitor respiratory illnesses that might be related to swine flu. Federal health officials said 40 confirmed cases of swine flu have...

It's been said that conservatism has different meanings for different people. It may not be textbook, but without a whole lot of navel gazing, here's what it means to me and what Free Republic is all about: In a word, Freedom! In two words, Preserving Freedom. In a handful of words as stated by our Founding Fathers, to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity! America was founded on the proposition that all men are created equal by God and that our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness are granted directly by God...

And on the 100th day, they retreated to their respective corners. After cake, of course. One day after Gov. Butch Otter threatened to keep the Legislature in session indefinitely if he did not get enough money for road and bridge maintenance, the Idaho House defiantly rejected another bill to increase the state's gas tax. With just four Republicans siding with the Republican governor, the House voted 55-15 to kill the bill that would have increased the gas tax by 6 cents over the next 15 months, raised license, registration and other Division of Motor Vehicles fees, and eliminated the tax...

Do not believe the nattering nabobs of negativity. The Nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt was a huge success!! What we need now is MORE and LOUDER!! Obama has no clue. Being confronted by millions of fed-up citizens is new to him. He never expected the otherwise docile American people to rise up against his wannabe Marxist/fascist totalitarian regime. He's now lashing out at us through the Dept of Homeland Security as if We the People are his enemy. Well, we are! And he now knows it. And he's scared witless!! And the media has been reduced to the speechless,...

A northern Idaho woman says she has a problem pet. She says her one-year-old cat is burglarizing neighbor's clothing. "It's his fetish. He collects clothing mainly at night," owner Judy Waring said. Waring's one-year-old feline named Jack started stealing clothing in October, CBS station KCNC-TV reported. As the belongings started piling up, Waring said she no longer felt comfortable staying quiet about her pet's habit. Hats, shorts, underwear and 27 pairs of gloves are among the personal items Jack has nabbed. Warning said she put all the clothing out on a clothesline in front of her house and encouraged her...

Congratulations FReepers and Patriots! According to Henchster's ongoing tallies, we've surpassed 750,000 participants in our nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt! Woo hoo!! All 50 states fully engaged! Over 600 cities represented and reports still coming in! Huge turnout, huge SUCCESS!! Elected officials take note: DO NOT TREAD ON ME!! Tyranny, usurpation, corruption, overreaching, big spending, high taxing will no longer be tolerated! We the people are FED-UP and we're not going to take it anymore! Ignore us at your own peril! All Congressional seats, all elected offices throughout the land at risk! Revolution is in the air!!

If the Obama administration has taken flak for suggesting that conservative groups might be home to domestic terrorists, it looks like some House Democrat leaders are willing to go even further: But in an interview on Fox TV in San Francisco, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) chalked up the GOP grass-roots effort as “AstroTurf.” “This initiative is funded by the high end; we call it AstroTurf, it's not really a grass-roots movement. It's AstroTurf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class,” Pelosi said....

A Senate committee narrowly approved a bill that would encourage companies to adopt policies that let workers keep guns in their cars. The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 4-3 on April 16 to pass a measure that would provide legal protections to companies that “allow or (do) not prohibit” employees to store firearms in their vehicles. Those businesses could not face civil damages for such policies. Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Idaho Falls, said prohibitions on guns in employee vehicles infringe on the rights of hunters and people who carry guns for self-defense. But he said businesses that have such policies wouldn’t...

Several part coverage. First (and link is in title) is to video by local news outlet. Of course the "other side" is a release from the democratic party of Idaho blaming Bush and the "unnessecary" war in Iraq for the economic problems. Second part is from Tea Party Boise: Tea Party Boise Rally/March a HUGE SUCCESS!!! Wow is a word that could sum it up. There have been reports from 2500 to 6000 people throughout the day who came for a peaceful and successful protest. Keep in mind, the Treasure Valley has much less population in comparison to these major...

Just got back from the North Idaho Tea Party. GREAT GATHERING! The crowd was All-American - young and old, boys and girls, men and women, fat, skinny and in between. We met on the North Shore of Coeur d'Alene Lake. Right in the middle of town. I am sure the crowd was over 1,000 people. Very lively, but typically well behaved. TV crews from two local stations were there. Local for us is Spokane, WA. Great speakers. One young man named Brock [10 years old] stole the show with Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech. He...

After the 2010 census has been held, the number of seats held by each state in the U.S. House of Representatives will change. The National Conference of State Legislatures recently estimated what the 2010 reapportionment will mean for each state. Eight states are expected to lose one seat each, in the U.S. House and in the Electoral College. They are Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. States that will gain will be Texas (3 seats), and one each for Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah. If the bill now pending in Congress to expand the...

Idaho town could ban drive-thru windows02:39 PM MDT on Monday, April 13, 2009 SANDPOINT -- Residents in this northern Idaho city might have to start waving bye bye to drive-through businesses. A proposal to prohibit drive-through services recently passed the city's planning and zoning commission and goes before the city council in May. If approved the ordinance would regulate drive-through restaurants, banks, coffee shops, pharmacies, dry cleaners and other businesses that cater to customers in cars. Existing drive-through businesses would be allowed to continue but not rebuild. "Conceivably, as these existing drive-throughs degrade if they're not maintained, this could lead...

We cheer the reddest. We corn the hardest. And, apparently, we grin the widest. Because Nebraska is the happiest state in the U.S., a new study says. The survey — conducted by personal finance Web site MainStreet.com — ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from fiscally happiest to saddest based on a few factors of economic well-being. These included foreclosure numbers, unemployment rates and the ratio of average debt to average annual income. “It reflects the attitude of this state,” said Gov. Dave Heineman. “We are a positive people with a can-do attitude who are focused on...

Alaska Via TenthAmendmentCenter.com: [Check the website, there is no comment from Phil, just links and a summary from each state.]

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The Senate used a voice vote to pass a resolution telling the federal government to respect Idaho's sovereignty.Sen. Monty Pearce, a Payette Republican, on Tuesday compared laws protecting states' rights to rules that govern sporting events, then accused Congress of ignoring those when it passes bills mandating states to do certain things under threat of lost funding or other punishment.

Are you ready for a FReepathon!!? Well, it's a new quarter and a new president and he's everything we knew he would be. In less than 90 days he's managed to take an economic downturn and turn it into an unmitigated disaster for good old American capitalism. Never let a good crisis go to waste! The government is now printing money as fast as they can run the presses. Our federal budget is doubling and tripling and the Fed is running with no controls or oversight whatsoever from the congress, pumping trillions more into the "economy." The government now spends...

Rep. Walt Minnick, Idaho's best liaison to the Democratic majority, surprised his colleagues and some Idaho institutions with the news he wouldn't bring federal dollars to his district through the widespread but controversial use of earmarks. --- SNIP ---- Minnick said he would not push for earmarks - specific spending authority placed in congressional bills - for at least one year. He said he would try to bring money to Idaho by helping businesses and agencies win competitive grants offered in the stimulus package. The Republicans who dominate Idaho's delegation were skeptical of his motives - even though all have...