--30--

*Gotta kick out of Gov. Dirk Kempthorne this week. He (or should I say his flack, Mike Journee?) wrote a letter slamming my editorial of a week ago, which bashed the shabby way he treated Post Falls City Administrator Jim Hammond re: that Board of Education reappointment or lack thereof. In his first try, Dirk/Journee complained about the potshot and accused the S-R of being adamantly opposed to charter schools and school choice. When I pointed out to Journee that this paper has a long, established history of supporting school choice and charter schools, he shamelessly sent back a revised letter a few days later with this line: "That's why I was so disheartened that the Spokesman-Review, a proponent of charter schools and supporter of Jim Hammond, would denigrate his appointment (to the Charter School Commission) in the way it did." Talk about spin. The guv should just admit he jerked Jim around. And give it a rest.

*File this one from a No Holds Barred reader under courthouse conspiracy theory: "Heard an interesting bit of postelection yada, yada: Frank Henderson is supposedly going to 'place hold' his House District 5 seat for a term until Gus is up for re-election on the commission, which he's told lots of people he has no intention of running for again. Gus aspires to the state legislature at the end of the term but this was the first I'd heard of this theory. I think out here in the River City Gus' stock isn't too high, and he'd be hard-pressed to be re-elected to the commission, so I don't see him as a lock to win a legislative seat. I hope Frank lives to be 110 and serves most of those years in Boise!"

*Another reader pointed out that Mark Compton -- no relation to Dick -- has beaten (in chronological order) Alice Rankin and Ron Rankin for GOPrecinct committeeman and then the Rankins' daughter, Kerri Thoreson, for county vice chair, on Wednesday. You might call 'im a Rankin Slayer. (You'll see this one in Monday's Huckleberries. Too interesting an item to pass up.)

*Finally, I want to thank you for making this a successful blog. On Wednesday, I had 683 page hits, a nice increase from the 400 to 600 page hits I've been running all along. My goal is to reach at least 1,000 hits within a year.

DFO

A Word from Steve ...

The Iraq War and the Vietnam War. The similarities become more striking each day. Americans committed their young soldiers for strong reasons: In Vietnam it was the threat of communism sweeping into all of Asia. In Iraq,

is it is the threat of radical Islam terrorists sweeping into all of the Middle East. Vietnam was jungle warfare fought in small hamlets in dangerous difficult terrain. Iraq is jungle warfare fought in urban streets in dangerous difficult terrain. There were no front lines in Vietnam and an unseen enemy moving in and around our troops. Iraq has no front lines and an unseen enemy moving in and around our troops. In Vietnam, We attempted to place a foreign type of government in power with American handpicked Vietnamese leaders. In Iraq, we are attempting to place a foreign type of government in power with American handpicked Iraqi leaders. In the Vietnam War, we had a dogmatic and unyielding Secretary of Defense in Robert McNamara. In the Iraq War, we have a dogmatic and unyielding Secretary of Defense in Donald Rumsfeld. It is oil in Iraq. It was oil in Southeast Asia. The military was hampered by politics in Vietnam. The military is hampered in Iraq by politics. The United States was alone in Vietnam. The United States is alone in Iraq. Our Vietnamese army failed us in Vietnam. Our Iraqi army is failing us in Iraq. We tried to overwhelm the enemy with napalm and the raining down of B52 strikes in Vietnam. We tried to overwhelm the enemy in Iraq with smart bombs. We never won the “hearts and minds” in Vietnam. We are not winning the “hearts and minds” in Iraq. Americans were shocked to see Buddhists monks setting themselves on fire in Vietnam. Americans are shocked to see terrorists blowing themselves up in Iraq. We committed our troops totally to Vietnam War with the Gulf of Tonkin incident that never happened. We committed our troops to the Iraqi war with the threat of weapons of mass destruction that never happened.

Our president was brought down because of Vietnam. Will our President be brought down because of Vietnam? It was the war protesters that finally brought our young soldiers out of Vietnam. Will war protesters again get them out of Iraq? We gave up and got out of Vietnam. Will we give up and get out of Iraq?

The stakes are much higher for America now, but Iraq and Vietnam sure look the same.


Steve Badraun

DFO: One parallel that Steve missed is this: The media's distortion of the war in Vietnam, especially after the Tet offensive, which was portrayed as anything but a devasting loss for the Commies, played a major role in turning public sentiment against our effort. The same is happening now. I do believe this war is justified. And I don't believe the media are telling the entire story, much of which is positive. As a result, the media have played a major role in trying to pull defeat from the jaws of victory.

A Word from Cis ...

As I told you before I was an aide for 17+ in a nursing home until last Dec. So I find the elderly wonderful to be around. I was taking care of the greatest of generations. One lady I took care of

passed away at 104 and she was quite with it. She use to tell about her family traveling across country in a wagon. And she and her sister going out riding everyday and get way ahead of the wagon and her father getting upset with them because they would race off further than he could see. I took care of a guy who played pool against Minnesota Fats. I took care of a gentleman who was a gentle man ... who the French came over 3 years ago to give him a medal, just 6 months before he passed away at 101. And he had a great sense of humor. And yes, I loved the grumpy ones too. Yes, what a great generation... who race across the land on horses, who went to school here in Bonner County and rode horses to school. Who got to see telephones, cars, planes, spacecrafts, computers and so many other things. Will there be such a vastness in a generation again? I don't know. So God Bless (Spokane Valley) Vern and the others like him. I will bow to him any day. And glad that you like to give him space. As you do with all of us for that matter -- Cis the Retired

DFO: It's a pleasure to provide you a chance to express your opinions on line.

Best of the Northwest (5/28/04)

Gotta admit. I agree with Brand X's analysis of that proposed $30 million to $50 million horse track on the western edge of Post Falls. Everything looks good on paper ... for those who can stomach gambling of any sort ... but a proposal like that has a bunch of hurdles to overcome -- not the least of which is industry competition in the Boy-C area. At best, this one's a 100-to-1 longshot. Here's your Northwest roundup:

1. Dang! Cartoonist Milt Priggee mighta had a tough time getting today's offering thru the old S-R screening process. But No Holds Barred is a different animal. Here's his latest.

2. At Wazzu, prez V. Lane Rawlins sez he will appoint a veep of political correctness, er, vice president for equity and diversity, here, and The Daily Evergreen disses that announcement here. Sounds like Rawlins could learn a thing or two from the student journalists.

3. Boy-C State prez Bob Kustra is on board the Vandal Express as the U-of-I seeks to join the Broncos as a full-fledged member of the Western Athletic Conference here.

4. Sgt. Donald Walters of Salem, Ore., who was listed as killed during the ambush that brought national fame to Jessica Lynch, was actually captured alive and then executed by his Iraqi captors. The Seattle Times reports the story here.

5. J. Flipflop Kerry, who has now decided to accept his party's nomination if offered at the Demo convention in Boston, wrapped up his swing thru Seattle Thursday by promising to restore "America's place in the world" as an internationally respected power. Blah. Blah. Blah. Here.

6. Going-to-the-Sun Highway in Glacier National Park is a stone's throw away from opening for the spring/summer here.

7. Boy-C welcomed back nine helicopter mechanics from a 10-month tour of duty in, ahem, bee-you-tiful Afghanistan here.

8. There's trouble in paradise as the Elephants gather in Bellevue today for their state convention here.

*The Idaho Statesman correctly supports the calling of a grand jury to sort thru the University Place mess here.

*The Missoulian opines that the folly of grounding the nation's aerial tankers as a result of an overreaction of a National Transportation Safety Board report already is being felt here.

*With Gary Barnett back, columnist Steve Kelly of the Seattle Times sez nothing has changed at the U-Colorado here.

* Joel Connelly of the P-I sez the spirit of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley is alive and well among the strong-arm politics of the Northwest here.

TGIF QF6 (5/28/04)

It's TGIF before the Memorial Day Weekend. And Tags (Cynthia Taggart) and I are the early birds in the office today. Everything's quiet. And even the traffic seems lighter than normal on Northwest Boulevard. In other words, it's time for a thought. And here it is: I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity to work for this quality company for as many years as I have (almost 20). And to do what I do for a living -- give our readers a piece of my mind 5 days a week. And to live in this beautiful town in this beautiful part of the country. 3-for-3 ain't bad. Here's your TGIF Quick Fix 6:

1. Paul Nowak and Daryl Cagle's stable of top-notch cartoonists get us going today with their TGIF Political 'Toon Fix here and here.

2. Jay Leno was the leader of the pack again last night as he offered this insight into voting priorities: '''American Idol' received a record 65 million votes. 65 million votes! And today Bush and Kerry both started singing lessons." He-e-r-r-res your Late Night Fix.

3. Don't look now, but the gendarmes have come up with another device to deal with property tax dodgers and scofflaws -- the BootFinder. It's a small, hand-held camera that scans license plates of parked cars to identify people with delinquent property-tax bills and unpaid parking tickets. Here's your Big Brother Fix.

4. And, if the Bootfinder isn't enough to scare you straight, a new General Accounting Office survey reveals that dozens of fed agencies are data mining (sifting thru our credit reports, credit card purchases, student loans, etc.) to form a profile on American citizens. Here's your Conspiracy Theory Fix.

5. So. whaddya think the most common alternative medicine is? Acupuncture? Nah. Chiropractic care? Unh-uh. Yoga? Try again. Let me give you a hint: Now, I lay me down to sleep, I pray ... You got it -- prayer. Fifty-five percent of Americans say they've used prayer for healing purposes. Here's your Poll Fix.

6. Remember those Libertarians who planned to move en masse to a state (New Hampshire), run for office and take over? Well, now we have an Evangelical push to do just that. Not only has the quixotic quest sparked interest, but the crusaders have already picked a state: South Carolina. You can find your Huddled Masses Yearning to Take Over Fix here and here.

*TGIF is Ladies Day, and I kick off the Opinion Fixes with Kate O'Beirne of the National Review pointing out that most of our soldiers in Iraq, unlike the clowns at Abu Ghraib, have distinguished themselves here.

*In a 1995 review of Letters of Ayn Rand, Florence King let loose on the Queen of Objectivism here.

*California writer Catherine Seipp opines on war films by Planet Hollyweird here.

*Jennifer Verner of FrontPageMag looks at the dangerous personal jihad of T. Chappaquiddick Kennedy here.

--30--

*Sober Thought for the Day: What if more Kootenai County residents voted for the "American Idol" Wednesday night than voted (24.14%) in the local primary elections? Would that be the end of civilization as we know it?

*Amy Dearest pulled down another $1,422 in three small scholarships at the Lake City High awards ceremonies last night, which means we're thisclose to being able to afford that $30,600 per year (est.) price tag that goes with U-of-Portland enrollment. Actually, between the financial package offered by the university, several Junior Miss scholarships and now these three we're within $6,000 of a full ride for the first year. And that's doable, even on one income in Right to Work Idaho. I deeply appreciate all of you Rotarians, Kiwanians, etc., who sacrifice every year to raise money for scholarships. In my son's case, it made a significant difference in being able to afford the undergraduate schooling that paved the way two years ago for med school.

*A reader wanted to know if I'd seen the May 22 issue of the CdA Press in which a story about Duane Hagadone's megayacht, Lady Lola, inadvertently was placed side-by-side with another story announcing an increase in subscription rates. That'd be delightfully ironic if it happened that way. But the two stories actually were in different sections. Still ...

*You can blame that fierce rainstorm Wednesday night on LCHS official Tom Mollgaard, who, as emcee, began the annual awards ceremony by telling the audience about a sci-fi book he was reading -- one in which a wizard observes wryly: "Someday, the rain will get you wet." Within minutes, it was pouring down outside and forming a massive pool from a leak almost the entire length of the stage. Mild-mannered Mollgaard apologized profusely throughout the p.m.

*No Holds Barred hears that Ron Vieselmeyer and Phil Hart accepted ex-congressman Helen Chenoweth-Hage's offer to cut an radio ad for them prior to the primary Tuesday. But Charles Eberle didn't. Wonder if that gift horse would have provided the 100 votes Eberle needed to retain his seat?

DFO

They're talkin' 'bout us out there ...

RunnersWeb.com, the on-line mag for runners and triathletes, gave viewtiful CdA two thumbs up in a recent article about the upcoming Ironman: The inaugural Ironman in Coeur d’Alene was a resounding success,” said Ironman North America President Graham Fraser. “We expect the popularity of the event to continue to grow as more and more people compete and see the beauty of the area here in Northern Idaho.” Read all about it here.

Lunch Special (5/27/04)

For the Lunch Special today ... I'm offering turtle soup, as in terrapin soup, by way of Patmos, Idaho, and several other Northwest stops, including Seattle and Alaska. That description, of course, fits only one person in these parts -- my old colleague David Bond, over in the Silver Valley. On a good day, D.P. Bond can rant with the best of them. He and I go way back to the '70s, when he was news editor of the Press and I was managing Duane Hagadone's sister paper in Kalispell, Mont.: The Daily Inter Lake. Some called it "the daily mistake," but that's another story for another day. In the past, D.P. has cast himself for column purposes as a Terrapin and an exile on the mythical river island of Patmos a la Apostle John. No one can make EPA bureaucRATs see redder. You can find his latest column, the Wallace Street Journal, which he writes for The Silver Valley Mining Journal here.

Best of the Northwest (5/27/04)

Gotta skewp from Leadership CdA today ... one that I can blog because it was said to me outside the hallowed grounds of the North Idaho College Library, where media day was taking place. (Leadership CdA has a secrecy rule banning participants from using info gleaned at the frank sessions to be used for unholy purposes, er, news stories.) And here it is: Fellow panelist Dick Haugen, the voice of KVNI radio, turned 49 yesterday. Which makes him a pup in some eyes. Anyway, enuf of that news flash, here's your Northwest roundup:

1. Cartoonist Eric Devericks of the Seattle Times gets us going with his take on Dubya's Iraq War speech here.

2. Don't look now, but Idaho grew 1.7 percent between 2002 and 2003, to 1,366,000, which means our state is still attractive to many outsiders. However, our income growth per capita lagged behind to drop us from 43rd to 45th overall. The Idaho Statesman looks at the numbers here.

3. The Idaho Vandals received a healthy dose of good news in their never-ending quest to land a spot with Boy-C State and Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference. (If they do, forget all that nonsense that I said in the dead-tree media about sending the Vandals back to the weaker Big Sky Conference). You can find the Statesman story here.

4. Abu Hamza al-Masri, whose real name is Mustafa Kamel Mustafa (but you can call him Eminem), was arrested at his London home and indicted for trying to establish a terrorist camp in (are you ready for this?) ... Bly, Ore. (east of Klamath Falls). Click here.

5. Dunno what animal enterprise terrorism is (OK, OK, I do know because I read the following link), but the FBI has made a dint in it by arresting seven Crusader Rabbits, including Jess Harper, a radical from Seattical (which rhymes). Click here.

6. Nick Geranios of the AP's Spokane bureau sez there's no women in Washington involved in the following fields: petroleum engineer, tire builder, streetcar driver or rail track layer. Dunno if that's good or bad. But Nick's stickin' to his story here.

7. Gays opposed to a proposed constitutional ban on gay marriages have complained that a Baptist church near Helena, Mont., failed to report contributions for an event supporting the ban. And the beat goes on here.

8. WSU AD Jim Sterk gave the Board of Regents a sneak preview of the plan to overhaul Martin Stadium here.

*For Kootenai County readers, S-Reporters James Hagengruber and Erica Curless asked winners and losers to analyze what happened Tuesday in the primary elections here. (You may have to fill out a simple form for free access to our Web site.)

*The Idaho Statesman tries to make heads or tails of the primary election results here.

*Sports columnist Larry Stone of the Seattle Times points out that our beloved M's followed the Cleveland Indians pattern in rising to almost the top of the baseball world and they're following them in decline, too. Click here.

*Columnist Nicole Brodeur of the Times is shedding "no tears for the folks at Microsoft, who are up in arms over the company's decision to cut benefits to its workers and make changes in an employee stock-purchasing plan that will save the company $60 million." Click here.

*According to the P-I, political discourse in Washington lost ground recently as a result of a series of incidents, including the muzzling of a Repub congressional wanna-be ... by the GOP. Click here.

Thursday QF6 (5/27/04)

Gotta blog quick today because I have a date with the Leadership CdA class at 10:30 to explain, and I quote: What do you do? How do you choose what you cover? And what makes news? Answers: 1. Annoy people; 2. It chooses me; and 3. Anything that makes me say: Ya gotta be kiddin' me. I'll polish those answers by 10:30. Meanwhile, I have to feed the blog monster. Here's your Thursday moanin' Quick Fix Six:

1. Mariner fans will appreciate cartoonist Steve Benson's work today as he provides a Political 'Toon Fix.

2. Conan targeted Dubya last night with this squib: "It’s being reported that President Bush is having second thoughts about having the Republican National Convention in Manhattan. Turns out he didn’t know that Manhattan was in New York City." Here's your Late Night Fix.

3. And The Lefties Want to Turn Iraq Over to Them? A book by three current and former U.N. employees sez U.N. missions have more on their agenda than peace-keeping -- like, say, for example, booze-soaked orgies. Another U.N. scandal is looming as No Holds Barred presents a Corrupt UN Fix.

4. And speaking of nuts, Al Gore gave aid and comfort to the enemy in a rant yesterday before the radical MoveOn.orgites who have compared Dubya to Hitler. A nation divided can't stand, particularly in a time of war. But the Lefties, with fire cover from their brothers and sisters in the national media, know no shame. Here's your fix from the Hate America First Crowd.

5. For centuries, brave American men and women have been dying for the cause of our freedom. And most of them died without much fanfare. World mag tells a few of the stories of those who have fallen in Iraq for our Iraq War Fix.

6. "Taxpayers funding Washington's $20,000-per-household budget have long known they are not getting their money's worth. Farm subsidies are among the most wasteful uses of taxpayer dollars," sez The Heritage Foundation. Yet, we keep throwing money at the problem. Here's your Pork Barrel Fix.

*Wesley J. Smith of National Review On Line opines on that assisted-suicide ruling involving neighbor Oregon here.

*The Wall Street Journal talks of the new evidence linking Iraq to al Qaida here.

*Max Boot of the L.A. Times offers a reality check for those still in denial that we're at war here.

*Firebrand Ann Coulter sez the anti-war media have found their Tet offensive to lie about in the grim Abu Ghraib prisoner scandal here.

--30--

*As many of you know, Katie Brodie -- or should I say, Commish-elect Brodie? -- is the sister of former S.F. 49er QB John Brodie (one of my first sports heroes). Anyway, John suffered a stroke some time ago and is still recovering. Katie made him promise not to watch the election results last night because she planned to fly down to southern California this morning to tell him in person what happened. He didn't know whether Katie won or lost until she got off the plane today. (And news nuggest like that is why you read the blog between Huckleberries fixes.)

*KVNI's Dick Haugen wasn't the only one who was confused by that 94.14% vote total last night that actually was the final total. I spent 90 minutes with Frank Henderson, campaign manager Skip Hissong & Co. at Templin's, waiting for final results. At several points in the evening, Frank was clinging to single-digit vote leads over Charles Eberle. When we learned that the totals we were viewing, indeed, were the final ones, I was the first to congratulate Frank on retiring Eberle, a strange bird who was taking up space at the Legislature.

*BTW, Dick H. sez that Commish Dick Panabaker said on his radio show today that he's going to have to learn to walk like a duck -- a lame duck. He's bruised. But he still has his sense of humor. Without Piazza scraping off the courthouse vote, Dick might have survived Katie's challenge. That, and about $20,000 more to run his campaign.

*Henderson, 81, told S-Reporter Erica Curless that he was proud of me for not falling asleep late last night as we waited for the, ahem, missing 6% of the vote. In fact, he even offered to be my personal trainer to get me back in shape.

*Skip Hissong was proud of himself -- as he had a right to be -- that he and wife, Jodie, wound up on the front page of the Coeur d'Alene Press on election day -- with him holding a campaign sign for Henderson. The Press, of course, should have known better than to pull a stunt like that. It's a no-no to provide free publicity to a candidate on election day. Eberle reportedly went through the roof. And he had a right to be mad. That's what distinguishes us from them.

*Ex-Commish Ron Rankin had an awful night at the polls. He pumped money into 5 or 6 campaigns, but only one of his horses came through: incumbent Jim Clark. And he was beaten by Mark Compton (no relation to Dick) in a race for a precinct committeeman seat. Who sez you can't beat a dead horse.

DFO

Another Word from Duffer ...

You should be aware that I'm considerably more moderate than you in my thinking. Not to the point of being called "liberal", but certainly more in the center on many issues. But, that's the great thing about living in the United States. We can agree to disagree! As I'm retired now, I can be more free to express my opinions than when I was working in CDA. Usually, I just sit back and listen until I just can't stand it anymore and I vent.

And on that point, I disagree that Meyer's pro-choice stance played a major part of his defeat. If that were the case, Hollingsworth and Vieselmeyer, who are pro-life would have polled 12-16% more of their district's vote assuming the demographics (and philosophy) were the same throughout the county. IMHO, Meyer was defeated solely on the burning and self-serving legislation issues.

I don't know if you're aware, but the organization SAFE (Safe Air For Everyone) furnished Mr. Hart with a mailing list of its members (over 1,000). Two weeks prior to the election, I received a well prepared Hart campaign brochure and letter asking for my support knowing that I wasn't even in his district. His defeat may be a mute point as I believe the Supreme Court will declare the protection legislation unconstitutional and the class action suit will proceed against the burners -- Duffer

DFO: I stand by my original opinion. I know that Hart fans were working the large evangelical churches in the area. And that he benefitted by that pro-life literature dump at evangelical church Sunday morning. So did Sen-elect Mike Jorgenson, another pro-lifer. As far as the District 5 race went, Nonini and Henderson worked their tails off, spent bundles, had the gale-force backing of the Post Falls Mafia -- and still only won by a hundred votes or so over pro-life wannabes. Yes, field burning and self-serving legislation played a role in Meyer's defeat. But so did his vote against the partial-birth abortion ban a few years back.

A Word from Jonathan ...

* Lewiston? I can come up with two better-known towns by that name. One's in Maine, a snow-covered mill town where old-timers still speak French and whose most famous happening was the one-punch Ali-Liston fight in '65. The other, just upstream from Niagara Falls, was the final home of my beloved race-tracker buddy, Dear Ol' Daryl Wells. This one (Lewiston, ID),

however, has a feisty little newspaper (which I can't read because it's pay-per-view) and a feisty little sports scribe who covers the Cougs. I love the guy's name...Dale Grummert. Dale Grummert! That's a Garrison Keillor creation if there ever was one. Or maybe some exotic tool-box gadget: "Hand me that Dale Grummert over there, willya?" I enjoyed his work when Wazzu went to Pasadena behind Cryin' Ryan Leaf, whom the Big Sky guy- that would be the inimitable John Blanchette- admits let Montana down. Still wondering what the heck a Dale Grummert is, I remain --Jonathan Cohen, Brookline, MA

DFO: Here's why Jonathan is unlike anyone else I've ever met, even in Cyberspace. He reads extensively on line and appreciates the best. And he even knows about Grummie, a former Coeur d'Alene Press sports writer and one of the Northwest's best-kept secrets, laboring away down there in Lewiston. Most folks around here don't remember Grummie. As I've said before, Jonathan has never set foot in these parts, and he knows more about us than we do.

A Word from Spokane Valley Vern ...

The guy with the "go in the snow SUV." He doesn't know what driving in the winter is. I drove for years before there were such things as "all winter tires," "sawdust tires," etc. For several years, in a Model A Roadster, that had tires with about a three inch wide tread, I drove up and down the old Lewiston Grade going to and from college. There was no such thing as "snow melt" or salt used on that road in the winter. One day I made it almost to the top, hit a bump and did a 180 degree turn and started back down the hill. Finally got turned around and this time made it to the top. (No heater in the rig and side curtains that did not fit all that well). The lady from Otis Orchards that is a state representative from the Washington 4th District opposed any legislation that would outlaw studs. I told her that her problem had to be just one thing: she must be a lousy driver -- Vern

DFO: Ah, Cis the Retired, from Kootenai, who advocates large SUVs over eco-cars for winter protection, is a femme not a guy.

A Word from 'Duffer' ...

I know that you called it, but this morning's headlines should read: Meyer Smoked by Downwind Constituents. I could go on at length about his self-serving legislation, but I need to get my coffee and S-R fix. BTW, it looks like you batted .667. Have a good day -- Duffer

DFO: Bayview Herb isn't gonna like it, but I'm adding "Duffer" to my stable of anonymous commenters. He's right about my batting average. And I'm glad I missed on two of my calls. I picked correctly: Currie, Clark, Hart, Chadderdon, Gridley and Nonini. I missed: Brodie, Jorgenson and Henderson. I was big-time happy to see Jorgenson and Henderson win. And we can do a lot worse than Katie Brodie in the commish office. Thanx for keeping score, Duffer.

Jim Fisher of the Lewiston Trib writes ...

How come the S-R continues referring to Wayne Meyer as being powerful as chairman of Ways and Means? In other states, and in Congress, that might be a powerful position, but the chair in Idaho is just a toady for the speaker, whose committee it is. It holds no regular meetings and gets together

in hallways and the like only when the speaker wants something done. Membership other than the chairs are leaders of both parties, and votes are nearly always party-line, with the chair (voting as the speaker wants) breaking the tie. In my years in the Statehouse, the chair was a known idiot, Noy Brackett. Anyone calling him powerful by that position would have been laughed out of the place. I know Meyer is no idiot, though. How'd he get beat? -- Jim Fisher, Editorial Page Editor/Lewiston Trib

DFO: Meyer was toast going into this primary. First, constituents were fed up with what they saw was a self-serving advocacy for his industry, grass growers; secondly, that vote against partial-birth abortion a few years ago came back to haunt him; and, finally, the 2002 redistricting caught up to him. Pro-lifer Phil Hart was able to play on Meyer's social liberalism. And the Hayden/Hayden Lake portion of Meyer's new district didn't think much of field burners. Strike One. Strike Two. Strike Three.

A Word from The Edge ...

Well, I was wrong about a three races. But let’s focus on the positive. Mike Jorgenson—I called it. He will raise the intellectual bar of the legislature, and probably will do very well.

There were a couple of surprises last night, including Piazza’s strong showing. I think it made the difference in Panabaker’s defeat. Biggest winner: Katie Brodie. She gets the keys to the kingdom,

and a nice boat ride in the south of France. Second biggest winner: Big D. Everything is shaping as the emperor has forseen.

Biggest they think they’ve won but really didn’t: Rocky Watson. The sheriff might get the money for his deputies now that Katie is in office. I wouldn’t hold my breath. Who has a mandate: Rick Currie. He trounced Brennan who had big bucks and support. The question is will he use his new power? Will he stand with Gus, or Brodie? Who will be back: DeLange, she just needs seasoning. A good battle against Wal-Mart will help her credibility. Charles “The Rake” Eberle, Jim Hollingsworth, and Bonnie “committee” Douglas will probably pop back at some point. Who’s gone for good: Politicians are like cats, they have nine lives. But I would guess Panabaker, and Piper won’t be back.

Biggest losers: Kootenai County residents who failed to pick up the keys to democracy, and let a few decide the future of North Idaho and the state.

The Edge

Best of the Northwest (5/26/04)

As I watched the local election results Tuesday with Frank Henderson, Prosecutor Bill Douglas, Commish Gus Johnson & Co. at Templin's, I heard several comments about the low voter turnout. Which was a lousy 24.14% here in Kootenai County. At one point, Frank, who has traveled to several eastern European countries as an economic consultant, shook his head. Eastern Europeans, he said, wouldn't understand our low turnout. To them, voting is a privilege. But how do you drill that fact into the heads of us fat, dumb and lazy Americans? On a brighter note, my Amy Dearest, now 18, voted for the first time. I'm as proud of her as I am ashamed of those who couldn't be bothered. Here's your Best of the Northwest roundup:

1. Cartoonist Milt Priggee and David Horsey provide our Best of the Northwest cartoon roundup here and here.

2. The Idaho Statesman provides all kinds of good political stuff in today's edition: Columnist Dan Popkey predicts Idaho D's will pick up a half dozen more seats here; Wayne Hoffman analyzes the primary results Tuesday here; and the paper provides a rundown of Kingdom of Ada results here.

3. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, co-chair of J. Flipflop Kerry's Washington state campaign was crowing after a Seattle affair raised an approximate $2 million for the prez race. Sez she: "If you can raise $2 million in five weeks in Seattle for this guy, it's because America thirsts for what he has to say." The Seattle Times provides the rest of the story here.

4. Boeing reacts to news that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has delayed orders for 100 aerial-refueling tankers for at least six months here.

5. In a radio ad, King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng has added his voice to the growing list of individuals who are warning Washingtonians to beware of signing initiative petitions. Sez Maleng: "Ask questions. You have a right to know the truth about what you are signing and who is asking you to sign it." Click here.

6. About 30 new businesses have opened shop in downtown Boise in the last eight months, changing the face of the skyscape around the Capitol. Click here.

*The Seattle Times sez Kerry should reject a proposal to hold off accepting the Demo nomination in order to raise more money here.

*Across the state of Idaho, 70 percent of the voters stayed home yesterday, which means 3 in 10 voters decided the final lineup for this fall's election. (In Kootenai County, only 24-plus % turned out.) F'shame. Click here.

*Somehow, I missed a column by Joel Connelly of the P-I, who's rapidly becoming one of my favorite Northwest columnists. In his May 14 column, Connelly sez U.S. Sen. Patty Murray shouldn't "misunderestimate" U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt in their 2004 Senate race here.

*The Oregonian opines on the ordeal of former terrorism suspect Brandon Mayfield here.

Extra! Extra!

Fresh off his 119-vote win over Ron Vieselmeyer for a Post Falls House District seat, Landslide Bob Nonini has told No Holds Barred (via Erica Curless) that he's stepping down as Kootenai County GOP chairman tonight to concentrate on his fall race. (Bonus points if anyone can name the 3 Demos running against Dick, Bob and Frank Hint: Ian, David and Lyndon.) That should make the realignment meeting tonight fun. And almost worth attending. But I'll be at Lake City High finding out how much scholarship moolah Amy Dearest has raked in for her frosh year at University of Portland.

A Must Read re: Iraq

If you're sorting out what's going on in Iraq, Andrew Sullivan's commentary in the London Times Sunday is a must read. Rather than trying to win the peace now, which the anti-war media keeps harping on, we're still fighting the war that So-Damn Insane intended all along. And winning. At this point, the only thing that can defeat us is fear itself. And Demos and nattering nabobs may be overplaying their hands in trying to seize defeat from the jaws of victory. Click here.

Hump Day QF6 (5/26/04)

Our primaries in North Idaho have received plenty of attention in the last few weeks. And they decided some things last night -- like who's going to run the courthouse and the entire lineup in Legislative District 3 (Hayden/Rathdrum) since the Democrats didn't bother to field a candidate. But before we get into all that, you need your Quick Fix 6:

1. Cartoonists Paul Nowak and Wayne Stayskal provide your Hump Day Political 'Toon Fix here and here.

2. It's apparent that we can begin to move on from the Abu Ghraib obsession. Why? Jay Leno's finally joking about it: "The White House announced the notorious Abu Ghraib prison will be torn down, demolished and done away with. But don’t worry, we’ll always have our memories and of course the photographs." Here's your Late Night Fix.

3. The New York Times semi-ap-hollow-gized today for not being more skeptical in reporting stories that depended on Iraqis with a bone to pick with So-Damn Insane. In other words, the Gray Lady is beating its breast that it didn't do an even better job of undermining the administration and the war with Iraq. Here's your Lefty Media Fix.

4. If you didn't hear what J. Flipflop Kerry said when he heard that Dubya had tumbled off his bike, here it is: "Did the training wheels fall off?" Well, Flipflop gotta kick out of that. But Demo Chicago Mayor Daley didn't. He scolded The Arrogant One from Taxachusetts for being uncivilized. Here's your Civility Fix.

5. Most Americans don't know how close America came to losing its war of Independence. General George Washington's bravery in crossing the Delaware to defeat a surprised Hessian army followed a five-month string of losses that decimated and demoralized our troops. Here's your American History Fix.

6. For my money, Zogby is the only poll that counts. And the only Zogby poll(s) that count are the ones for the battleground states, not overall national numbers. And you can find those numbers in your Poll Fix.

--Don't look now, but there's a new skank on Capitol Hill a la Monica Lewinsky, and conservative flamethrower Michelle Malkin is on the spot to knock her down here.

--David Limbaugh questions why the national media has refused to take a serious look at Flipflop Kerry's controversial Vietnam War record here.

--Tony Blankley, editorial page editor of The Washington Times, discusses Dubya's speech here.

--Dick Morris looks at that three-way presidential race -- Dubya, Flipflop and al Qaida -- here.

--30--

*Gotta fix a leak around an upstairs skylight, so I'm blasting out of here a little early tonight with plans to be back when the polls close.

*From what I hear, the commish race between Dick Panabaker and Katie Brodie is going to be a barn-burner, with the winner decided by a few votes. Then, we're all experts before the absentee ballots are calculated.

*Here's where some of the political parties/wakes are going to be tonight: Katie's at The Caddy Shack; Dick, Rick and Rich Piazza are going to be at Sargents; Mike Gridley, at Toro Viejo downtown; Marge Chadderdon, at her Fernan area home with family; Frank Henderson and the Post Falls Mafia will be at Templin's.

*My only regret from the talk show with Dick Haugen Monday morning is that I forgot to mention the candidacies of Rich Piazza and Mike Piper in the race for Panabaker's seat. Obviously, I wasn't thinking on my feet very well at that moment. Both of run credible races. Piper, in particular, has done a credible job raising public consciousness on his important issue: local environment.

*Rumorama: Keep hearing that Marshall Chesrown (of Black Rock) has purchased the river edge from Spokane developer John Stone of Riverstone to develop the condo phase. But Stone insists that Chesrown is one of three entities vying to purchase the property on the perimeter of his impressive property. The other two include a local company -- Coldwell Banker? -- and a southern California company. Stay tuned.

DFO

Larry's Schedule

Here's U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's schedule for his two days in Kootenai County beginning tomorrow:

Wednesday, May 26:

4:40-5:30pm -- Post Falls: Dedication of trees planted at the University of Idaho Research Park, 721 Lochsa Street.

Thursday, May 27:

9:40-10:45am -- Coeur d'Alene: Speaking to Coeur d'Alene High School Seniors.

11:00-11:45am -- Coeur d'Alene: Tour Cd'A Airport/Empire Airlines facility expansion.

12:00-1:45pm -- Post Falls: Post Falls Chamber of Commerce at Red Lion Templins, 414 East 1st Avenue.

3:30-5:00pm -- Post Falls: National Guard Armory, mission briefing and meeting with troops prior to deployment.

5:15-6:00pm -- Coeur d'Alene: Cd'A Business After Hours at Specialty Recreation and Marine, 910 West Kathleen Avenue.

A Word from Jonathan ...

Like you, I'm a David Horsey fan -- best political cartoonist in the country, and maybe the world. I don't quite consider him loony-left, but the man not only draws like nobody else -- he uses words as part of it like nobody else. I call him "a columnist who draws", and even have a book of his work that somehow surfaced up here. Hey, I'd rather have Horsey for oppo-work than some of the guys who write. Wouldn't you? David Horsey. The man they should retire the cartoonists' Pulitzer for.

* Can't thank you enough for the David Brooks blog. More than any pundit I've ever read, David Brooks makes me darned proud to be an American. Last summer, after an unfortunate mishap by Your Humble Writer finally settled down, I just happened to see the NYT and a tiny squib: "David Brooks will join The Times' Op-Ed..." Only time I ever stood up and cheered over a hire. The man's brilliant. Even my mom, who doesn't read the Times, heard this remark on the Imus show: "That David Brooks is the smartest guy in Washington." Now, that's the kind of radio talk I like (not Imus, I mean). What I wouldn't give to share a meal with the man! Keep him on your list, Dave-O. You won't be disappointed.

* Believe it or not, My Lovely Rabbi (who has five kids) has a tiny connection to Idaho. Seems her youngest son, now a reporter/anchor for the local CBS affiliate, got his very first TV job about a decade ago- at the CBS affiliate in Idaho Falls. Now, I've never been anywhere near Idaho Falls, but My Lovely Rabbi and her (now-deceased) husband flew out to Salt Lake and drove up to see him. Since the boy was, arguably, the only one of My Tribe in town, she was a little worried, but reported that the locals- mostly Mormon over there, I believe- treated him with respect and even steered him to the only rabbi in the state- in Boise- when the major holidays came along. Their neighboring state of Utah sent us our current Gov., Mitt Romney, a/k/a The Mormonator. I must admit he's probably too much of a wing-nut for this state, and nobody I know l! ikes him. We like Bill Weld-style, progressive-patrician Reps, though.

*That's it from this Corner. Loved your description of Cd'A as "Hagadonia". I must rent "Duck Soup" to go with those other Marx-ist flicks I saw recently. By the way, the real Fredonia is a town in Western New York, and when the original picture came out, Groucho said to its mayor: "Don't change the name of your town! It will help our picture!" Guess he knew early that any publicity is good publicity, right?

Jonathan Cohen
Brookline, MA

DFO: Another entertaining entry from my Massachusetts correspondent.

A Word from Cis Gors ...

I, as a SUV driver, may be crying all the way to the gas station, now ..... but I am safe each and every winter and so are my co- road drivers.. See those of us in the North Idaho area have real snow... and don't freak out at an inch of the stuff... like the Seattle coffee drinkers -- Cis the Retired

DFO: Cis is reacting to that statement in the Seattle Times today by a letter writer: "I'm really, really enjoying hearing those SUV drivers whine about these new high gas prices." And she has a dang good point.

Lunch Special (5/25/04)

For today's lunch special ... I'm offering a twofer: The Edge and Steve Badraun explaining why No Holds Barred anonymity is important in any political blog in This Company town:

Tell Herb (Huseland) I respect his opinion, even if he doesn’t respect mine. I didn’t realize the blog was being taken so seriously by the folks in cyberspace. I prefer not to lose my job here in the Lake City, so I keep my name hidden. If it becomes a rule that you have to have your name, I won’t actively participate in the blog anymore. That’s Dave O’s call. I don’t see any harm in poking a little fun at the power structure and its players in Hagadonia. My thoughts are simply observations and opinions. -- The Edge

---

I agree with the writer. In a perfect world, comments need to be identified . But, I can assure you that Kootenai County politics ain't a perfect world. It is a treacherous place to be on the dissenting side. Those opinions will affect your life and job and future. Until that changes and there is a strong enough group that can stand up to this bunch of South American tin generals, we just should be glad that people find any avenue to express their voices -- Steve Badraun.

DFO: I agree with both writers. After almost 20 years in CdA, I'm amazed how many people here are afraid of their shadows. And The Powers That Be. And I'm not just talking about folks, like The Edge, who earns a living by working for others. Big Shots are afraid to speak out for fear of saying the wrong thing. Almost reminds me of those Flying Monkeys in the Wizard of Oz. Anyway, I'll continue to grant anonymity to those who have something to say and the expertise to make those statements. Hey, it's my blog. And I make the rules.

Best of the Northwest (5/25/04)

1. I don't buy what Seattle Post cartoonist David Horsey is selling here re: Dubya's speech last night. (It was top-notch and statesmanlike.) But I'm committed to giving you the best stuff from the NW each day. And Horsey's one of the best. So, click here.

2. Well, The Idaho Statesman was offering a column about Playboy's 50th anniversary and another feature on a guy that's becoming a woman. So, No Holds Barred decided to go to Option 3: a simple promo to help you decide to exercise more here.

3. For all of you who are tired of reading about the bad that kids do, meet outgoing Borah High student body prez Stephanie Armstrong. Because of her student-to-student tutoring projects, several classmates are graduating that otherwise wouldn't have done so. Read all about it here.

4. Political infighting, sez a Seattle Times story, is breaking up that old congressional delegation of Washington state here.

5. Quote of the Day from Seattle Times letter writer Dave Gamrath: "I'm really, really enjoying hearing those SUV drivers whine about these new high gas prices." And all the eco-car readers said: Amen.

6. Contractors have underreported the number of injuries and illnesses at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and other nuclear-cleanup projects, creating a false image of safety and possibly masking threats to workers, according to a federal audit. And according to a report from Lisa Stiffler of the P-I here.

7. With the Mariners going as bad as they are, they may be looking for some help soon from three minor leaguers who were given up for dead in recent years. Click here.

8. Jack Phillips was fired as head of the Spokane Civic Theater in what, one insider said, was a coup d'etat. You may have to fill out a free form for entry after you click here.

--For you fellow Spudheads, The Idaho Statesman opines on why you should vote today here.

--Nicole Brodeur wanders if King County exec Ron Sims is ready for the Washington governor's mansion here.

Bayview Herb Slams The Edge ...

I think he (The Edge) should have been blocked out at least the last two weeks (from commenting on primary races). I'm not talking about law here, just fairness. I sign my name to every opinion I give, and please pass on my lack of respect to the person that has a shield. I will never, even if I agree with his/her position, respect either the person, or the process, that allows him/her/it to anonymously slam/support positions. That simply is not good journalism, or morals, for that matter -- Herb Huseland

DFO: But it is the blogosphere.

A Word from The Edge ...

I want to thank the United States and the men and women of the armed forces for allowing me to vote by defeating the British (twice), the Germans (twice), the Japanese, the communists, and special thank you to Ronald Reagan for outspending Russia, (even though he can’t remember it now), and the terrorists (Afghanistan, Iraq). Democracy is pretty sweet. I can’t tell you who I voted for because I hate exit polls. But here are my predictions for today’s election:

Kootenai County commissioner: Dick Panabaker and Rick Currie retain their seats sending Brodie and Brennan back to sulk with their pals from Concealed Biz and Minimum Wage Jobs Plus. In bizarro world, Mike Piper wakes up a winner.

Senate District 3: A shocker – Mike Jorgenson beats Bailey and Boatwright.

House District 3: Jim Clark smashes Hayden's nicest councilwoman DeLange; and Phil Hart barely beats the Wayne Meyer.

House District 4: Jim "Who needs rules" Hollingworth edges Marge; Mike "Flaming hair" Gridley edges Douglas.

House District 5: Charles “The Rake” Eberle over Henderson in a steel cage match; Bob Nonini wipes the floor with nice guy Vieselmeyer.

The Edge

Election Day QF6 (5/25/04)

Finally, the primary elections are upon us in viewtiful North Idaho. At 7:40 a.m., I was the third to vote at the Assembly of God Church on 7th, which is in the heart of the Borah Triangle, that never-never land on the edge of the boundaries of the Coeur d'Alene and Lake City high school districts. The election judges said -- hopefully, I believe -- that most people probably think the polls open at 8 rather than 7. Hate to see a lousy turnout today when absentee voting is way up. On my way back from meeting with my padre this a.m., I saw Phil Hart and his family at Hayden & 95 waving at people. Nice man -- and probably a new state rep from District 3. But enuf of this stream of consciousness stuff. Here's you Election Day Quick Fix 6:

1. Cartoonists Paul Nowak and Wayne Stayskal provide a coupla shots @ J. Flipflop Kerry for today's Political 'Toon Fix here and here.

2. Jay Leno also had fun with Flipflop during his monologue last night: "Shrek 2” made $104 million this weekend. That is the most money taken in on one weekend since John Kerry’s honeymoon." Here's your Late Night Fix.

3. Dubya made his reputation for dealing with terror in the days following the 9-11 attacks. Now, however, some of his harshest critics are survivors of those attacks, prompting charges that they're using 9-11 for partisanship gain. Here's your Campaign 2004 Fix.

4. I used to end my old Hot Potatoes' column with a number -- ya know, today's column was brought to you by the number ... Well, here's an unsettling number: 18,000. A leading think tank believes that al Qaeda has that many killers available to hit soft targets in the U.S. and Europe. And you thought the Patriot Act was needed. Here's your Number Fix.

5. Irwin Stelzer of The Weekly Standard sez that high gas prices are transforming politicians into dissemblers who are doing nothing to address the problem. Here's your Gas Price Fix.

6. Before the hand-wringers from The Left begin attacking Dubya's speech last night, I'm offering some commentary from conservatives to provide balance. For your Opinion Fix (which continues on the jump with other subjects), I have Dubya's entire speech here; John Podhoretz (Bush bets the House); David Brooks (Bush's Epic Gamble); and Jim Geraghty here.

--Editor Wesley Pruden of the Washington Times opines on the possibility that Flipflop will delay accepting the Dilemmacrats' nomination so he can raise more moolah here.

--Columnist Bob Just of WorldNetDaily believes the Dilemmacrats will soon betray Israel here.

--Writing for FrontPageMag, Arab-American Noni Darwish explains why Arab-Muslims have to ap-hollow-gized for 9-11 or anything else their faithful have done ... and why they view Dubya's ap-hollow-gy for Abu Ghraib as a sign of weakness here.

--Thomas Sowell applauds Bill Cosby for having the guts to blast black parents and offspring for not learning the king's English here.

--30--

Who's gonna win the primaries tomorrow? I see it this way:

Kootenai County Commish: Dick Panabaker by a neck over Katie Brodie, with Rich Piazza 5 or 6 lengths back and Mike Piper still in the back stretch; and Rick Currie in a blowout over Claudia Brennan.

Senate District 3: Kent Bailey by a nose over Clyde Boatright with Mike Jorgenson a distant third.

House District 3: Jim Clark by a coupla lengths over Jeri DeLange; and, in an upset, Phil Hart by a coupla lengths over incumbent Wayne Meyer.

House District 4: Marge Chadderdon over Jim Hollingsworth by a three lengths; Mike Gridley over Bonnie Douglas by a half length.

House District 5: Charles Eberle over Frank Henderson by two lengths (solely because the religious right in Post Falls doesn't know better) and Bob Nonini over Ron Vieselmeyer by a length.

--Dilemma-crats: A coupla office D's who live in CdA asked for advice today because they don't know whether to stay home and vote for challenger Mike Gridley in that only Kootenai County D primary or to cross-over and vote in the GOPrimary for K-Commish because it's a winner-take-all situation in both races. I wouldn't hesitate to cross-over unless I had a horse in the race. The opportunity to help elect two county commish trumps voting in a D legislative semi-final any day.

DFO

Q & A

Question: I was surprised today that you didn't comment on the Press' endorsement of Rick Currie over the weekend, when the Concerned Business group had previously donated money to Claudia Brennan. Sorta looks like they left her blowing in the wind.

Answer: As a long-time Hagadonologist, I look at it like this: It doesn't make sense that the HHagaCorp would leave Brennan dangling in the wind, after HHexec John Barlow held a fundraiser for her, paraded her around the county and shook down Concealed Biz jumbos for funds on her behalf. Unless ... Bob Paulos' polling numbers showed Currie clobbering Brennan tomorrow, And Duane wanted to make nice because he'll have to deal with the Rickster for the next four years. A little egg on Barlow's face is a small price to pay for backing a horse that might treat you kindly when you develop Blackwell Island. BTW, I mentioned this on Dick Haugen's show this morning.

A Word from Election Central ...

Thought you might like an update from election central on the last day of absentee voting. It's been busy all and and looks like we will end up with about 2,400 absentee votes. That is about 75 votes ahead of our record number of absentee ballots cast in the 2000 primary. It sounds like we might actually come out ahead of the statewide average which would be nice for a change.

According to Randy Stapilus, Ada County is seeing a much smaller absentee rate than normal here.

Dan English

One Grande of Regular, Please

If gasoline
keeps going up,
I’ll have to buy
it by the cup.

The Bard of Sherman Avenue

A Word from Steve Badraun ...

I just like to read the newspaper column of Bob Paulos of the Coeur d' Alene Press once or twice a year. Whenever I am impressed with the journalism profession, his comments bring me streaking back to earth. There is just plenty of very bad writing and thinking out there. Bob Paulos, when he attempts to talk seriously about the issues of the day, has and always will be silly and small.

He just goes off recently about how Dick Panabaker has sullied the reputation of Hagadone employees when Dick spoke of the "Hagadone bunch". He fills the page with examples of the "average" Hagadone employee and the community work of this group. Now the community knows about the "Hagadone bunch" and it is not the people making the beds in the resort.

Stick to stories about your Palm Springs golfing buddies, Bob. Leave the important stuff to journalists. Column closer: Stay our there and play another round. We would be grateful -- Steve Badraun

DFO: See opening commentary in today's Best of the Nortwest roundup.

Lunch Special (5/24/04)

Remember when the nattering nabobs of America's media were predicting America's waterloo as a result of al-Sadr's last stand in Fallujah? All hell's breaking loose all over the country, they whined. Well, it didn't happen. In fact, it seems like Americans and Fallujahans are learning to play nice. The National Review reported on an extraordinary press conference last week that was pretty much ignored by the media-ocrity. Here's a sample: "But the big news out of Fallujah, last week, was a press conference held by Muhammed Ibrahim al-Juraissey, the city's mayor; Gen. Mohammed Latif, commander of the Fallujah Brigade; and Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division. Though scant media attention has been paid to the three men's comments — delivered on Thursday, May 20 — their words speak volumes about the blossoming relationship between Iraqis and Americans, and the fact that insurgents operating in the city are losing friends fast." Today's Lunch Special? A healthy dose of truth re: the current situation at Fallujah here.

Best of the Northwest (5/24/04)

Well, Bob Paulos, the one-time publisher of the Coeur d'Alene Press, has finally lost it. OK, OK, he lost it some time ago. But he's finally lost it in print, taking exception to in comment in which Commish Dick Panabaker referred to the Hagadone, ahem, family as a "gang." On Sunday, Paulos ranted about the comment in "the out-of-state newspaper" -- he's so sour he can't even mention our name -- and stated Hagadonia employees are above average (like the children in Lake Woebegone, Minn.). And he demanded an ap-hollow-gy. Seems Paulos has been sucking at the company udder so long that he doesn't realize that the majority of this town would say that Panabaker was being kind in his description. Well, enuf of that. Here's your Northwest roundup:

1. Cartoonists Eric Devericks and Milt Priggee get the roundup off to a liberal start today with their political 'toons here and here.

2. I'm providing a three-fer from weekend pages of The Spokesman-Review (you'll need to go thru a brief, FREE, sign-in procedure): My Huckleberries column this a.m. here; a roundup of our Tuesday primary endorsements here; and my Saturday column of Middle East broadcaster Dave Dolan here.

3. Reporter Patrick Orr of The Idaho Statesman provides a behind-the-scenes look at the terrorism conspiracy trial of Sami Omar al-Hussayen, which is now entering its seventh week in Boise here. And for an even deeper look at the long trial, check out S-Reporter Betsy Russell's blog here.

4. Ella Gunderson, the 11-year-old Redmond, Wash., girl who shook up Nordstrom's by writing a letter to execs asking for modest clothing for pre-teens, has appeared on NBC's "Today" show and soon will make a second appearance on CNN. Goes to show what a little common sense can do in today's cuh-razy U.S. of A. Click here.

5. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist appeared in Bellevue to boost George Nethercutt's long-shot bid to unseat U.S. Peppermint Patty Murray here.

6. U-Dub sociologist Becky Pettit sez African-American men are more likely to end up in prison than to enter the military or gain a bachelor's degree here.

7. R.J. Khron (Rjd2) of Ohio and other musicians -- their word, not No Holds Barred's -- has joined the crusade by Seattle-based Music for America to register 1 million young voters this year here.

8. Once on the edge of instinction, peregrine falcons have made a full-scale comeback in cities such as Portland, Ore. Click here.

--The Oregonian looks at Portland's quixotic big to land the Montreal Expos here.

--According to Joel Connelly of the P-I, P.C. Canadians can't stand Dubya, but they also have a bellyful of their own Left Wing government, which has been in power since 1993. Click here.

--With the Mariners going nowhere in their AL Western Division race, Bob Finnegan of The Seattle Times suspects that a major overhaul of the current team may be just around the corner here.

--Now that Puget Sound talkmeister Dave Ross has decided to run for one of Washington's congressional seats, The Seattle Times opines, he should leave the air. And the Times is right. Click here.

Monday Moanin' Quick Fix Six (5/24/04)

I'm runnin' a little late today because I was on KVNI talkmeister Dick Haugen's show this morning talkin' about tomorrow's primaries. The guys in the office said I pronounced depot as dee-pot (as in pots and pans) twice. And wondered if I was nervous. Answer? Negatory. I hadn't had my morning brew. So, the brain was still addled from sleep. I'm a night person. Don't function well before 9 a.m. And we were on the air at 8:15. It was fun. As always. Remember to vote tomorrow -- early and often. Here's your Monday Moanin' Quick Fix Six:

1. Daryl Cagle of Slate.com and his friends get us off to a roarin' start this week with a whole lineup of cartoons for our Political 'Toon Fix.

2. How about some potential headlines for the year 2035 to start your morning with a grin before we get serious with conservative stuff. Here's one tongue-in-cheek entry from Daniel Kurtzman's political humor site: "Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking." And here's your Future Headlines Fix.

3. All of us need to tune in tonight as Dubya discusses what's going on from his viewpoint (rather than the media's) and how we're going to extricate ourselves from the mess by handing over power to an interim government June 30. Here's your Straight From The Horse's Mouth Fix.

4. It's hard to get a handle on civilian casualties during the first 12 months of the Iraqi War and aftermath. But we do have a ballpark figure from Baghdad and three provinces (from a morgue count): 5,558. Before you start wagging your finger, however, consider: During his 23-year reign of terror, So-Damn Insane may have slaughtered as many as 500,000 Iraqis. Here's your Iraqi War Fix.

5. Repub Idaho may have caved on term limits because political Fat Cats wanted to hang onto their seats longer, but San Antonio didn't. Despite being outspent 100-to-1, the term-limiters prevailed in a recent election. Here's your Reality Check Fix.

6. More than half of the country's journalists believe their profession is headed in the wrong direction and by an almost 5-to-1 count liberals outnumber conservatives in the media. You can find your Behind The Headlines Fix here and here.

--Celebrated author E.L. Doctorow was almost booed off the Hofstra University stage for delivering a graduation address that ripped Dubya here.

--Jeff Jacoby, the Boston Globe wonder, discusses the overblown fears liberals and conservatives alike (see: Otter, C.L. "Butch") have about the Patriot Act here.

--Michael Barone of U.S. News & World Reports opines on Dubya's speech to the nation tonight about the situation in Iraq here.

--Jules Crittenden sez the quagmire's developing in Washington, D.C., not in Fallujah here.

--30--

It's Friday night, and I tapped out. Wrote a column on Dave Dolan, the Coeur d'Alene native who reports on the Middle East from Israel and has written three books. And I wrote Huckleberries. Some good things in there, including Dave's close encounter with K-Co baliffs and jury duty and two more poems by The Bard of Sherman Avenue. I will tell you one funny thing about Dave, though. He was looking forward to seeing "The Passion of the Christ" at the Discount Theaters in Hayden because he understands Hebrew, which is thisclose to Aramaic, and wouldn't have to read the English subtitles. However, he got snagged in traffic due to construction on Government Way and then missed the turnoff to the theaters. By the time he got turned around, it was too late to get to the movie on time. He now plans to see "The Passion" in the Middle East, where the original showing, of course, was performed live. And those who believe that (and have made it the core of their lives) are way better off for it. Behave yourselves until Monday, when we blog together again -- DFO

Dealer's Choice

I'm cleaning out the e-mailbag as the week ends. Here's what's left over:

--Big John Rook sends along a link that wonders if evangelicals and other religious conservatives can vote for Democrats any more here.

--L.C. Johnson of Moscow sends a link from Democrat Zell Miller's (who's one Democrat I'd gladly vote for) U.S. Senate Web site that sez fingerpointing and apologies over prisoner treatment only boost the enemy's cause here.

--Dunno who's hiding behind the pseudonym, Share the Truth, but s/he sends along a link that talks up some of the good news that's happening in Iraq here.

--Alton Leftfield, my liberal alter ego in the newsroom, sends along several things to debunk the righty stuff that I've blogged, including: Max Boot, a former Wall Street Journal idiotorialist who sez religious conservatives should fuhgeddabout gay marriage here; the hawks are having second thoughts about the Iraqi war here; and a photo of Laura Bush and the double-crosser Ahmed Chalabi at the State of the Union address here. Writes Alton: "Chalabi is just above Laura Bush and to the left. Played us ... Big time!"

A Word from Massachusetts ...

HI DAVE-O! We'll happily end our first week of correspondence with a few weekend witticisms...

* Somebody (K-Commish Rick Currie) checked in yesterday with a word about being called to see Duane-O? Reminds me of the end of "Wizard of Oz"...as in "Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain"! Sounds like the man has the power to cloud men's minds.

Hee-hee-hee! Bet you thought I wasn't old enough to drop that line or tell you where it's from! Actually, as an old MAD magazine fan from way back, I remember seeing a spoof on "The Shadow" which said something like "I am the Shadow'! (Short for Shadow-skeedee-boom-boom)". To give you an idea of how hopelessly retro I am, I was studying old-time radio when I was in college circa '77. I listened to '50s and '60s oldies in the '80s. I moved on to big bands and Great American Songs in the '90s. Now, I'm doing the Marx Bros., Bugs Bunny and Rocky and Bullwinkle. At this rate, I'll probably do Al Jolson ten years from now. Forward into the past, I say, but it's what I like.

* Dave Ross for Congress on the Eastside (Washington)? I'm impressed. Obviously, I've never heard him in person, but I think Dave's as good a talk-show host as anyone out there. I do wish we had someone like him here in the Northeast, where right-wing screamers dominate. (We've got one of the most notorious, Howie Carr, who also writes for the Boston Herald.) I also like Dave's well-written- and well-sung!- song parodies; they're on line at www.daveross.com . His recent ditty about Martha Stewart (to "Jailhouse Rock") was fantastic. I believe that Dave's a centrist by Seattle standards; of course, that Dr. Demento across the lake, Jim (Saddam's Shill) McDermott, is beyond the pale. Still, if I lived on Mercer Island (yeah, right, I know only the Gateses and Allens live ther! e), I'd vote for him.

Jonathan Cohen
Brookline, Mass.

DFO: Sometimes, I think Jonathan can read my mind ... from over there in Taxachusetts. BTW, Alton Leftfield sez I got it wrong about T. Chappaquiddick Kennedy's home state. In terms of local and state taxes, Massachusetts is far better off than Idaho. But it falls far behind when federal income tax is figured in. Guess minimum wages are good for something.

A Word from Steve Badraun ...

That entire county commission system of management is just plain dumb and no way to run an organization. Three people who have little or no experience running large departments and super budgets tinker around with problems way over their heads. This commissioner formula is a political process and not a management process. Get someone in there who runs the county and leave the political calls to those commissioners. We would all feel that our money is more efficiently used if the commissioners would stick to politics and stay away from county management. It is an old system that we finally have to put away for good.


Steve Badraun

DFO: I tend to agree.

A Word from Big John ...

In the late 1960's, while I was program director of WLS radio in Chicago, Buckminster Fuller was invited to address our ABC group. Following his lecture, a few of us were fortunate to have a few minutes with him when the subject of the Vietnam war came up. I remember "Bucky" saying, "Oh yes, the great American experiment. It too could die from too much freedom and a lack of unity".... His words never seemed more apropos than they do today... How right he was.

John Rook

DFO: Big John's a legend in the radio field. You can find out about him here. And you can read up on the book he's writing on line, which includes a chapter about his sojourn in Coeur d'Alene here.

A Word from Herb ...

Something unusual happened yesterday. I got a campaign phone call. No, wait, that's not unusual. What was, was that it was from the candidate herself. Claudia Brennen, probably cold calling, rang me up and discussed her views, as well as mine for over fifteen minutes.

I found little to criticize, and much to admire. I have never met this woman, or for that matter, any other current candidate. I also have never been asked for my opinion by one. I can only think that those that are putting down the "run it like a business" line, have either not run their own, or haven't faced up the the issue of raising taxes if necessary, if you can't make ends meet otherwise. If I'm not mistaken, none of the incumbents, honorable as they may be, own, or have had to budget a business. I am going to vote for this highly intelligent candidate.

This my opinion, and I own it, and am not willing to hide behind a screen name.

Herb Huseland
Bayview

DFO: I've never owned a biz, but I've been a reporter/opinion writer for 34 years. I coulda retired if I had a double sawbuck for every time a Repub has had to eat his words about running government like a business. You can't for alotta built in reasons, including the type of tenured employee with locked-in benefits that the public employs. BTW, K-Co. commish Dick Panabaker owned an upholstery shop in Hayden.

TGIF Lunch Special (5/22/04)

In my freshman year at Gridley (Calif.) Union High School, Parley Mel Anglen, my arrogant English teacher, made a statement that remains with me to this day: A woman has never written anything worth reading. For years, I believed that chauvinistic crap. As a result, I never read anything by women ... until one lost weekend when I picked up Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind." (Mebbe my, ahem, feminine side broke through -- briefly.) I know now, of course, that the terrifying Parley Mel was full of horse manure (as well as himself). Some of the columnists I now enjoy reading most are written by women: Florence King, Camille Paglia, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Kathleen Parker and so on. Why am I telling you this? I'm letting the gals bring you the Lunch Special today. You can find a collection of great columns by women here (don't waste time looking for that Lefty Texas Shrew, Molly Ivens): King (opining on Mark Twain), Mona Charen (children of gay couples), Debra Saunders (clueless animal lovers), Malkin (unsung heroes at Abu Ghraib) and, of course, Coulter (L.A. Times ethics).

A Word from The Edge ...

I am soooooooooooooooo tired of campaign rhetoric that says government should be run like a business. I wonder how many businesses are required by

state law to give medical and dental care to meth tweakers, thieves, and violent thugs. What would happen if the state mandated every business provided FREE medical benefits, and FREE dental care. There would be rioting in the streets. It’s ironic that so many companies are reducing health care benefits (some don’t even offer dental plans), and the county is mandated to keep giving the same level of care. I see the my career mistake, I should have been a criminal to have clean teeth.

Here’s another cliché. We need to manage growth responsibly. What the heck does that mean exactly? Dixie “I am not happy” Reid couldn’t tell ya. Deanna Goodlander sold a bunch of land to a developer. Is that managing it? Or making money? Here’s another one: We need to make growth pay for itself. Ok. How about some impact fees, or stricter rules. You can’t build a wall around the area and not let anybody in.

Yet more: We can do better than the current people in power. Oh really, how? They never mention that part. It’s all general statements because they know there are no easy solutions.

The Edge

DFO: Bingo.

TGIF Best of the Northwest (5/21/04)

1. Eric Devericks of the Times and David Horsey of the P-I begin our Best of the Northwest roundup on this overcast TGIF morning with their latest 'toons here and here.

2. Significantly, Idaho AG Lawrence Wasden has recused himself and his office from the investigation into the University Place shenanigans. And Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower sez he hopes to name Federal Prosecutor Allen Garten from Oregon's AG office to lead the investigation. Garten's a bulldog. If he gets ahold of this one, heads will roll. Click here.

3. Say It Ain't So, Mark: Sports report Bud Withers of The Seattle Times opines on those rumors that Gonzaga's Mark Few might be in line to become head basketball coach of Stanford here.

4. Ella Gunderson, 11, caught the attention of Nordstrom execs with a letter asking for clothes that were fashionable ... and modest. May her kind increase. You can find the Times story here.

5. Don't look now, but a government report sez three Northwest rivers suffer the nation's highest pollution for mining wastes. Do you know which ones? Uh-huh. The Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and Clark Fork rivers. We got 'em all. Click here.

6. Signature gathering for an initiative to ban same-sex marriages in Oregon could begin as early as today. Proponents will have six weeks to gather 100,840 valid signatures. Click here.

7. Ichiro is two hits away from 2,000, a major milestone for any Major League Baseball player. Of course, the Times is fudging a bit because it's counting the Japanese wonder's production in two nations, over 6,000 miles, here.

8. Oregon attorney Brandon Mayfield has been released from custody in the investigation into the Madrid railroad bombings, but he remains a material witness here.

--You can find the editorial I wrote about the appointment of community activist Sue Thilo to the Idaho Board of Education here. (You'll have to sign in to read it, but access is still free -- for now.)

--Former U-Dub softballers opine/whine that media reports painting coaches and players as a bunch of drug-giving or -taking zombies are horse feathers here.

--Daniel Pearl's father, Judea, wonders where is the outcry from Muslim leaders about the senseless beheadings of his son and Nick Berg to make a political statement. Joel Connelly of the P-I asks that $64,000 question here.

TGIF Quick Fix Six (5/21/04)

Gotta kick out of that letter to the editor by Sandy Clark this morning, promoting the candidacies of Katie Brodie and Claudia Brennan and insisting that you can run county government like a bizness. Sandy pooh-poohs the notion that unfunded mandates, regulations, etc., prevent county officials from doing so. Well, Sandy, they do. I've watched one Repub after another, including the current commish Billy Goats Gruff trumpet into office with the same claims. Only to be hit in the face by reality. Indeed, you can streamline some things to save money. But, ultimately, you're hands are tied in so many areas. If some want to believe in the Tooth Fairy, I don't have the time to correct them. With that, how about a quick fix?

1. Let's do a cartoon two-fer for TGIF with Chuck Asay here and Paul Nowak here providing your Political 'Toon Fix.

2. Jay Leno had this to say on his show last night: "The show is finally somewhat back to normal. Yesterday we had First Lady Lara Bush on the show. We had all the Secret Service guys here on the set. They’re like 6’2”, wear those suits, they just stand there and don’t smile. It was like a room full of John Kerrys." Here's your Late Night Fix.

3. In an effort to strike a balance (shaddup!), No Holds Barred is providing you with the latest caterwaul over Abu Ghraib prison abuse here and a Washington Times story denouncing the media's obsession with this tempest in a teapot here for your Media Overkill Fix.

4. No Holds Barred has some good news for the huddled masses yearning to be free of Internet porn. As of Thursday, porno spam has to come with a warning label that includes the words, "sexually explicit" in the subject line and it can't open up to graphic images such as a skank strung out on heroin doing the nasty with a barnyard animal. Here's your Spam Fix.

5. I believe I've stumbled upon a must-read for anyone who wants an insider's look into the world's news from a conservative perspective. Today, FrontPageMag has introduced its "war blog," which provides the best blog commentary and e-mails available. Here's your War Blog Fix.

6. Steven C. Baker of FrontPageMag looks at the sheer stupidity of a recommendation to U.S. athletes that they shouldn't wave the Stars & Stripes at the Olympic Games this summer in Greece. Here's your P.C. Fix.

--You can find how U.S. hospitals are helping average Iraqis suffering life-threatening diseases here.

--Author Colleen Carroll Campbell sez the fun-and-games lifestyle portrayed by "Sex in the City" actors is a myth here.

--Denis Boyles of EuroPress Review sez we're inundated with pornography because (drum roll, puh-leez) it works as a selling device here.

--Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal sez: It's the war on terror stupid. Click here.

--30--

Got bunches of stuff to blog, including this one from one of my spies (which you'll probably see in Monday's Huckleberries, too, because it's so good):

--"Overheard this being said at Brix by a table full of golfers wearing BlackRock logo apparel..."if I knew I had to drive so far for so little i would have re-thought buying a place here" Hummm... guess when the elite buy million dollar houses they don't check out the community first. Sorry we are such a dissapointment down here in whoville."

--My courthouse spy sez Koot-commish wanna-be Claudia Brennan just loaned her campaign $1,550 for the final push to Tuesday. According to her treasurer, Freeman Duncan, she had $29.32 on hand at this week's 7-day reporting deadline after collecting $13,550 for her campaign this year.

--For those keeping score at home, Sheriff Rocky Watson, who's running unopposed in the GOPrimary, has raked in $7,550 for his re-election campaign -- mostly from the usual suspects, including former CdA police chief Tom Cronin, who's supporting several wanna-bes to the tune of $100 apiece. So far, Rocky's spent only $675 -- all on campaign key chains, whatever that is. I'll need to grab one to go with that old "Rocky for Sheriff" button that I have ... from the '70s.

--Also, for those keeping score at home, here's the final fund-raising numbers in the commish wanna-bes and will-bes sunshine reports (in descending order with treasurer's names in parenthesis): Katie Brodie (Jim English), $24,540; Brennan (Duncan), $13,550; Dick Panabaker (Michelle Kramer), $5,700; Rich Piazza (Mary Lou Piazza), $5,035; Rick Currie (Jim Deffenbaugh), $3,992; and Mike Piper (Sharon Johnson), $1,301. Only found two mentions of Concealed Biz of North Idaho: $1,000 each for the ladies. But there's plenty of mention of the Usual Suspects hiding behind CBNI in commish and legislative reports.

--Remember to tune in to KVNI at 8:15 Monday morning for my gabfest about the election with Dick Haugen.

DFO

A Word from Jonathan Cohen ...

...my new on-line friend reporting from Massachusetts:

One of those pitiful Phelps people from Kansas showed up in Cambridge the other day as the gay-nuptial movement began. Here's another way I differ from rabid-dog righties: I don't mind honest conservatives but hate angry single-issue zealots- of any stripe. I do, however, accept opposing views from sincerely religious folk- in my case, the Orthodox branch of My Tribe- provided they "hate the sin and love the sinner". Frankly, the principal reason I (quietly) support the new couples is my friendship with My Lovely Rabbi (her name is Emily), a staunch supporter, and My Other Lovely Rabbi (her name is Karen), half of a lovely two-woman couple. Their opposition is only political- you know, ACLU stuff. I can take that, too, as long as one emphasizes the "civil" part.

Jonathan

Where are they now?

Kurt Sigler, a former EWU offensive tackle and 1998 Coeur d'Alene High grad, is trying to catch on with the Buffalo Bills. The Easterner, his college newspaper, tells ya all about it here.

A Word from Steve Badraun ...

So, Rick (Currie) has been summoned to (Duane Hagadone's) big office (today).

Oh, I remember getting the call from the white haired man. Once when I was a planning commissioner and he thought I might have some influence on his big plans for the Potlatch site after his purchase. Two phone calls were placed prior to my arrival that day to get my personality profile from my friends. You sit in these deep chairs positioned around a half circle table with Duane facing you. There is a shiny chromed band around the table with vent holes neatly positioned directly in front of your face. Duane hits the remote and the blinds open and close automatically. It is just you and Duane having a little chat together as you talk into the vent holes.

Steve Badraun

DFO: It'll be interesting to see if Rick returns as George Bailey ("It's A Wonderful Life") or Team Player Rick with two all-expenses-paid tickets for a cruise to the French Riviera.

Lunch Special (5/20/04)

For our Lunch Special today ... I'm presenting a big double-beef Hero Burger with a big helping of Major Ben Connable of the 1st Marine Division on the side. Ben? He's now in his third deployment to the Middle East. And he's had a bellyful of the defeatists/media/Democratic politicians who never veer from their determination to undercut our troops with their coverage. He remembers the media hand-wringing from the first Gulf War and the dire predictions of widespread insurgency a few weeks back when that goofy rebel cleric was holed up in Najaf. None of those predictions have come to pass. As the good major sez, the battlefield is rife with setbacks. Read: the media should cool it. And let the professionals take care of things. You can read the major's thoughts here.

Best of the Northwest (5/20/04)

Mah people are meeting with KVNI talkmeister Dick Haugen's people to set up a time Monday morning for the two of us to discuss the primary election Tuesday on the air. It looks like 8:15 a.m. startup at this point. Dick and I have a good time guesstimating winners. And beating up on a politician or two. While you consider tuning in, here's your Best of the Northwest roundup:

1. Jack Ohman of the Oregonians doodles his views on the new interrogation technique at Abu Ghraib here.

2. The Idaho Statesman provides a complete camping guide to 20 Idaho campgrounds and plenty of other good outdoors stuff here.

3. In a guest opinion in The Idaho Statesman, ex-governor Cecil Andrus and former U.S. Sen. Jim McClure applaud U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson's attention to managing the spectacular Boulder-White Cloud Mountains area in central Idaho here.

4. According to The Seattle Times, hundreds of Washington residents who thought they might be done with their days in the Army may be pulled back into service in the weeks ahead. Click here.

5. Scott Richards, the Cape Elizabeth man who spent two days on an icy ledge with a dying from on Washington's Mount Rainier, has returned home here.

6. Peter Vinikov, one of the Northwest's premier jazz bassists, has died at age 47 here.

--In its entertainment and arts section, The Seattle Times bids good riddance to "American Idol" third-stringer Jasmine Trias whose adoring fans in Hawaii almost caused critical Simon to blow a gasget on national TV. Click here.

--Like me, Collin Levey of The Seattle Times is wondering why the national media was in such a tizzy to downplay the discovery of a WMD that was used against us here.

--Ex-U.S. Rep. John R. Miller of Washington applauds the battle against AIDS but sez that, to be successful, disease warriors also have to cut off a major source of AIDS: prostitution. Click here.

--John C. Dreschler of the Discovery Institute in Seattle sez: "Iraq is to the war on terror what West Berlin was to the Cold War — freedom's hope in a sea of totalitarian despair." Click here.

Thursday Quick Fix Six (5/20/04)

Happy thought for today: "So a Sarin-infected device is exploded in Iraq, and across the border in Jordan the authorities say that nerve and gas weapons have been discovered for use against them by the followers of Zarqawi, who was in Baghdad well before the invasion. Where, one idly inquires, did these toys come from? No, it couldn't be...." -- Christopher Hitchens - Slate

1. Cartoonist Paul Nowak and Wayne Stayskal bring us today's Political 'Toon Fix here and here.

2. Conan delivered last night's best one-liner with this: "Today John Kerry met with Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader. Kerry said the meeting went well until his gun jammed." Here's your Late Night Fix.

3. You may have heard of the blogger of Baghdad, a Web logger who captured a worldwide following by describing life under So-Damn Insane, the shock and awe of our three weeks of bombing and then liberation. Now, Salam Pax has been outed and he sez, half in jest, that he's waiting for an Islamic cuh-razy to come over and out him. Here's your Iraqi War Fix.

4. In a speech next week, Dubya's going to lay out strategy for handing over complete sovereignty to the Iraqi ruling council. Meanwhile, we're on the outs with our former buddy Ahmed Chalabi. And the polling numbers of rebel clerk Moqtada al-Sadr are almost as high as Dubya's. You can find your Top of the News Fix here, here and here.

5. Writing for FrontPageMag, Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu provides a little perspective on what happened at the Abu Ghraib prison. The national media, of course, will ignore this perspective as they beat their breasts and dump ashes on their heads. But regular folks should get it. Here's your Reality Check Fix.

6. Oil industry officials and others are blaming part of the run-up to $2-a-gallon gasoline on air pollution regulations that are forcing refiners to supply 18 different blends of gas around the country, including four in New England alone. Here's your Eco-Twinkie Fix.

--The Belmont Club blog reports how the U.S. news media using their selective coverage of the Iraqi War, and the Vietnam War before, as a weapon here.

--Joel Mowbray provides the good news from Iraq that the mainstream media won't tell you here.

--Columnist Larry Elder sez the outrage expressed by Nick Berg's father against Dubya was misplaced here.

--John Leo looks at the battle between pro-life Catholic bishops and pro-abortion Catholic politicians here.

--30--

I've had my head down today, writing a column about Coeur d'Alene native Dave Dolan, who has lived in Israel and reported on the Middle East since 1980. It should run Saturday. But I do have a coupla pieces of gossipy news:

--I hear Commish Rick Currie has been summoned to the Office on the Lake to meet with The Boss Thursday. DBHimself. Probably means that Bob Paulos' polling numbers show that Rick's way ahead. So, it's time to make nice with a man who'll be sitting in a commish chair for the next four years. (btw, Barlow, if you're the one assigned to read this today, Rick didn't tell me about this. So, don't break his legs.) I'd love to be a fly on the wall at tomorrow's meeting. Then, I could just call my Deep Throat over at HHagadone Central.

--In its attempt to knee-cap Dick Panabaker before Tuesday, Brand X'll be running a story about a Panabaker Hater who claims the commish abused its power by annexing the prosecutor's civil department many, many moons ago. Guy's name is Larry Spencer. On a scale of 1 to 10, the story's about a .05.

--Wonder what mainstream Dems for Mike Gridley thought about Brand X endorsing state Rep. Bonnie Douglas for that House District 4A seat? Quoth: "Gridley simply hasn't distinguished enough differences between his platform and the incumbent's, and until that happens, Douglas should retain the title." I wouldn't smile too broadly if I were Bonnie. The big headline and glowing endorsement for Repub Marge Chadderdon on the editorial above reveals where Brand X will come down with its general election endorsement this fall.

--Gotta kick out of Union Pacific dropping $300 into Bonnie's kitty, however. Mike worked as a staff attorney for UP for 10 years. But he didn't getting a dime from the railroad.

--You heard it