Coming to Craig's defense
|
|
Reid |
Post Register editorial board members are Roger Plothow, publisher; J. Robb Brady, publisher emeritus; Marty Trillhaase, Opinions Page editor; and Monte LaOrange, executive editor CHEERS to the American Civil Liberties Union. Not only is its defense of Sen. Larry Craig a matter of principle, it also happens to make a great deal of sense. Craig is trying to overturn his guilty plea resulting from a June 11 Minneapolis airport sex sting operation. A judge will h ear the case next week. No, that doesn't mean Craig shouldn't stick to his word and leave office. His combination of deception and buffoonery -- first by covering up his arrest and conviction, then by blaming the Idaho Statesman for throwing him into a thre e-month-long panic and finally by conning Idaho into thinking his Sept. 1 resignation speech was sincere -- has made Craig a national punch line. None of which excuses the actions of the Minneapolis airport police. At worse, Craig was engaged in inappropriate signals about having gay sex, but nothing more. That's called free speech. And when cops start arresting people for speech -- however unpopular -- it's not long before all speech is threatened.
|
|
Fuhriman |
For good measure, the ACLU points out the statute Craig was accused of violating drew a rebuke from the Minnesota Supreme Court 30 years ago. And the ACLU asks: If the Minneapolis airport cops wanted to stop sexual liaisons in their bathrooms, why didn't they simply post signs? Sting operations are much less effect ive -- unless, of course, some cop wants to fill his arrest quota. Craig is hardly a sympathetic figure. The ACLU, for instance, rates his voting record in favor of civil liberties at no better than half -- and as low as 11 percent -- during the last four se ssions of Congress. But it's in defending the rights of unsympathetic figures that the ACLU protects the civil liberties the rest of us enjoy. JEERS to the critics of Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's choice of Fourth District Court Judge Joel Horton to replace L
|
|
Christensen |
inda Copple Trout on Idaho's Supreme Court. True, as Democratic Chairman Richard Stallings and Idaho Women Lawyers Inc. note, the appointment leaves Idaho with an all-male court for the first time since Copple Trout was appointed 15 years ago. But no group -- not gender, ethnic or every regional -- should have a lock on a Supreme Court seat. That's why it was foolish three months ago to complain that eastern Idaho wasn't getting a seat on the court when Otter replaced Gerald F. Schroeder with Boise lawyer War ren Jones. It's just as foolish now to assess judicial appointments on gender. After paring a list of applicants that included Idaho Court of Appeals Judge Sergio A. Gutierrez, the Idaho Judicial Council presented Otter with four nominees: Judges Darla Wil liamson of Ada County and Juneal Kerrick of Canyon County, attorney Kenneth Howard of Coeur d'Alene and Horton.
|
|
Wood |
If all things are equal, then, of course, a governor should look for diversity on the bench. But what you want above all else is a judge who is competent, has integrity and demonstrates judicial demeanor. CHEERS to state Rep. JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, and Bonneville County Commissioner Roger Christensen. They've lined up the resources that will launch Bonneville County's pilot project that might -- jus t might -- lead Idaho away from mindless prison expansions. The project involves linking an expanded work release center at the Bonneville County Jail with new drug treatment. It would divert people headed to prison into a graduated system of confinement, w ork release, transitional housing and home release. What's enlightened here is how this system would handle relapses. Rather than face an automatic trip back to the main yard, the inmate would move up the hierarchy of confinement and work his way back towa rd more autonomy. Wood helped secure about $5 million in state funding that will pay for classrooms and office space during the next four years.
|
|
Otter |
Christensen and the county commissioners have provided the estimated $5.5 million to build new work release spa ce -- and renovate the existing work release section of the county jail. He's also chipped in county resources where needed. The center could open within four months. JEERS to the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. The city of Idaho Falls won't ask vote rs to approve a new police station until February. But the Legislature's vote is already in -- and it's no. Here's why: Lawmakers, led by the Revenue and Tax Committee, have refused to give most cities any alternative to the property tax. Small resort towns can turn to sales tax and fast-growing communities can impost impact fees. But if Idaho Falls wants to replace its cramped, antiquated cop shop, it's going to need a bond issue. That means raising property taxes. And it's going to require two-thirds of th
|
|
Larry Craig |
e voters to back it. Mayor Jared Fuhriman and the City Council may beat the odds and persuade that many voters to go along. But it's a long shot. That's why city officials such as Rexburg Mayor Shawn Larsen have periodically asked lawmakers for local optio n taxation. They'd still need voter approval, but taxpayers may agree to support a project if it didn't lead to a hike in the detested property tax. CHEERS to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Following up on requests from American Indian tri bes, sportsmen and conservationists in his state, Reid has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to require Idaho Power Co. to provide passage to salmon and steelhead above its Hells Canyon dam complex on the Snake River. The dams block fish runs that would restore salmon and steelhead to Nevada. Idaho Power is seeking a 50-year license renewal for the complex. FERC's staff has recommended rejecting fish passage. This isn't necessarily about hugely expensive, perhaps unfeasible, fish ladders on the se high dams. Instead, fish advocates point to an Oregon's fish and wildlife department proposal to divert migrating adult and juvenile fish -- and then truck them around the dams. It involves research and development -- at the modest projected cost of about $6 million a year. JEERS to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management leadership. The agency is rejecting its own researchers by failing to use the Kochia shrub in reseeding wildfire-ravaged forests after one of the worst fire seasons in Idaho and across the W est. Researchers contend that the Kochia shrub can effectively compete with cheatgrass, which has taken over areas of southern Idaho after a brush fire. Cheatgrass has long proven to choke out native species and fuel wildfires. The Kochia forage plant also provides food for livestock and wildlife. So what's to lose? Jerry Chatterton, who retired as director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's research service, contends the "the BLM is ignoring years of research." Ignoring Kochia was "the big reason why I retired," Chatteron said. This is a bad call -- and it's going to come back to haunt the BLM with every passing summer. JEERS to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for allowing industrial agriculture to use antibiotics excessively on livestock. Doing tha t puts your heath at risk. Widespread use of antibiotics leads to strains of bacteria that are resistant to these drugs. So the next time you get an infection, the antibiotics you depend on may be less effective. Factory farms use these antibiotics because they've crowded so many animals into such close quarters. Idaho has its factory dairies and huge livestock feedlot throughout the state. But Idaho's regulation of that industry is too lenient. So here are some choices: Ban the widespread use of antibioti cs among herds. Or tighten the regulations of large-scale livestock operations, including the monitoring of manure containment systems. J. Robb Brady and Marty Trillhaase
|
