Just in case you have any question where No Holds Barred stands on the Second Amendment ... I think this parody by Jay D. Dyson of Sacred Cow Burgers provides a clear answer for both of us.
It's My 2 Cents: State Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, (pictured) is at it again. Seems he's too busy knocking on doors to take time to share his views on 
important issues with The Spokesman-Review. Or, at least, that's what his wife sez. He won't talk to our reporters. Mrs. H doesn't believe the S-R would play fair in relating Mr. H's views to the public. I can see why she has a beef with me. Now that Rep. Charles Eberle of Post Falls has been defeated in his re-election bid and Rep. John Campbell of Sandpoint has retired, I believe Hubby Dearest is the worst member of the North Idaho delegation. But, hey, that's me. And I'm paid to have an opinion. The reporters are paid to report. It's no skin off my hide if Harwood passes up a chance for free publicity.
*CBS News duped again: Report on reinstituting draft cites urban-legend e-mails/WorldNetDaily: And the Lefties wonder why Fox News numbers are soaring?
*Bob Schieffer, the next target: In wake of 'Rathergate' scandal, thousands urge CBS newsman off debate/WND: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
*Kerry team miffed about timing lights: Threatens to remove signal mechanism before debate begins/AP: The Kerry team should be miffed that it has fielded the worst Demo prez wannabe since Jimmy Carter in '80.
*Foreigners face tighter airport checks: Visitors from 'visa waiver' nations now subject to fingerprinting/AP: It's about time.
*Officials drop controversial debate topics: Students won't argue about abortion, homosexuality, stem-cell research/AP: Politically correct chickens.
An excellent site,
and picked with great care,
for those folks are used
to wind and hot air.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
In my QF6 roundup this morning, I wrote: What am I going to do when the election is over -- and I don't have J. Flipflop Kerry to kick around any more?
Washington D.C. is packed full of Democrats, Republicans, lobbyists, weirdos and hypocrites who are worthy of ridicule on a continuing basis. For sheer comedic value alone, Bush/Cheney is going to give us plenty to giggle about over the next four years.
Phil Corless
The CDA Blog
DFO: Thanks, Phil, I needed that. You're right. Can't wait to say what I really think of some of the goofy stands Dubya has taken ... on illegal immigration, for example ... and the budget deficit ... and outsourcing ... and ...
Dr. Fouche was my family Dr. for years. He has been the best Dr. that I have ever went to. He generally cared for us as people. He did not treat us they way so many Dr.'s are doing to day with the typical five minute visit and where is your insurance card? I got to know him very well. He is not a bad man, but a good person with a bad problem.
Lori Weatherford
DFO: Indeed, the voyeurism charge that Dr. Bill Fouche is now facing is a hard one for all of us who know the family and, in my case, admired his late wife, Colleen.
If I still wrote Hot Potatoes for the S-R, I'd give a big fat russet to the state Department of Lands and the U.S. Corps of Engineers for withholding public info re: HagaWorld's plans to dredge the Blackwell Island channel. The local bureaucRATs wouldn't provide a conceptual drawing of The Kingfish's plans to convert the island into an upscale big-boat sales, service and slip place. They say it's too preliminary. Earth to Lands/Corps types -- conceptual drawings are part of the public process. Have you already been shaken down by Hagadone's knuckle busters? You guys'd better shape up and play square. You're doing public biz. And this member of the public is watching.
1. David Horsey/P-I takes aim at Dubya and outsourcing here. (Caution: Liberal Content).
2. The Seattle Times provides the full text of that controversial ad by 
U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt claiming U.S. Sen. Patty "Osama Mama" Murray (pictured at what appears to be a religious revival meeting with an -- wink -- unknown fan) is weak on terror as well as the reaction from Murray's camp here.
3. Yippee-yi-yo ... you can find the third edition of the must-read Hauser Times on line, editted by irrepressible Frum Helen Back, here.
4. Jeff Wynn, chief scientist at the U.S. Geologic Survey's Cascade Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash., pegs the chance of a small Mount St. Helens eruption at 70 percent here.
5. IMHO-NW: The Idaho Statesman (Craig's misusing BSU center), Joe Zellers/Amnesty International (Idaho racial profiling), Joni Balter/Seattle Times (Washington shouldn't expand gaming), Collin Levey/Seattle Times (Women ignoring old Demo pickup lines), and Art Thiel/P-I (Ichiro's routine).
6. Few things are bigger and meaner than a mother grizzly bear. But a train is. A 15-year-old grizzly on a train trestle near Essex (east side of Glacier Park) lost a battle with a train Tuesday night, according to The Daily Inter Lake here.
7. With Mount St. Helens rumbling back to life, the Coeur d'Alene Press visited with Kootenai County residents who remembered the big blast in May 1980 here.
8. WSU Greeks got an earful about hazing from Dave Westol/Theta Chi Fraternity executive director, and Sara Gray/The Daily Evergreen was on the scene to report on it here.
I had an awful thought yesterday while driving back from Spokane. What am I going to do when the election is over -- and I don't have J. Flipflop Kerry to kick around any more? I mean ... the guy has been a big part of No Holds Barred since its beginning in mid-February. I don't want another virtual tie, in which a state like Florida holds us hostage for months. Been there, done that. I guess I could mope about the predicament. But I'd rather enjoy The Orange Wonder while I can. Tonight's the debates, of course. Six o'clock. Tune in. But don't turn on. Or drop out.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Daryl Cagle & Co. provide their views of tonight's debates here.
2. Jay D. Dyson of Sacred Cow Burgers spoofs Flipflop's antiterrorism plan here. And, for your My Way Fix, you can find This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the New Fix: Army hits recruiting goal here, Poll: Persuadable voters key for Kerry here, Islamo terrorists kill 34 more children here, Rove: We have "a couple of surprises" for Kerry here, and Bush, Kerry line up for key first debate here.
4. Radio show host Hugh Hewitt warns the old-line media to play it straight tonight during the prez debate or their credibility will continue to dive a la Dan Rather. As an example of the prejudice, the old line media played up the fact that Dubya's hometown paper endorsed Flipflop but said nary a word about that orange glow that Flipflop adopted this week. Here's your Hold 'Em Accountable Fix.
5. If you tune into "Dr. Phil" today, you'll find out that Dubya and Laura are just like you and me (except richer and way more important) here.
6. Opinion Fix: Ann Coulter (Flipflop's political free fall), Robert Novak (Kerry's lies), Marvin Olasky (Peacenik Hatfield endorses Iraq war), Margaret Carlson (Why Bush looks good to women), and Don Campbell (A prescription for voter fraud).
It's been a hectic day due to blog problems and the late-morning run into Spokane. So, I didn't have my ordinary ebb and flow when it comes to the daily offerings of No Holds Barred. Sorry. Again, I'd like to remind you that I'll always warn you when I'm not going to be here. If the usual features aren't in place by the usual times -- or within an hour of them -- you can bet that the movable type is acting up. Or I just won a million dollars in the lottery and instantly retired. There's not much chance of the latter happening because I've never purchased a lottery ticket. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early. Well, at least early -- DFO
Big John Rook sends along a link to "The Ultimate John Kerry Ad" here.
Phil Corless of The CDA Blog tells his readers why you shouldn't take children to Silverwood Theme Park when Spokane radio station Wild 103.9 has control of the mike here.
*POW wives blast Kerry: New swiftboat TV ad latest salvo in media blitz against Democrat (WorldNetDaily): Flipflop (pictured in his dweeby NASA sanitation outfit) is about to discover that hell hath no fury like the wife of a POW who had to listen to his lies about the conduct of American troops in Vietnam.
*'I can't ... I'm Mormon' T-shirts too hot: BYU newspaper yanks ad as some perceive desire to sin (WorldNetDaily): Well, it sounded good on paper.
*Volcano advisory issued for Mount St. Helens (KIRO-TV 7): Do you remember where you were on May 18, 1980? I do. I was attending a church potluck at a member's home in Montana's Flathead Valley. It wasn't long before the ash hit.
*Poll: Public doesn't know Bush's positions from Kerry's (NewsMax): And you wonder why those attack ads work?
*Kerry misspeaks about 'inarticulate moment': Blames infamous comment on lateness of evening, but it was made at noon (WorldNetDaily): "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." I they say Dubya can't talk.
So, did you hear the one about a coupla skinny dippers who were enjoying a swim at 9:30 last night next to Duane Hagadone's (pictured) world HQ on the North Shore? Seems they didn't care where they were swimming. Or who was looking. They were cavorting under a lamp post, too. I'm surprised the Hagadroid security guards didn't catch them. Remember that old cop drama that ended with the statement: "There's a million stories in this naked city." Well, we don't have a million stories. But we occasionally get nekkid.
1. Political cartoonist Eric Devericks/Seattle Times nails how I feel -- and probably how you feel -- about the rhetoric of the current prez/congress/local campaigns here.
2. I hate to do this to you long-suffering UI Vandal fans, but the Boise State Broncos are putting Idaho on the football map. USA Today visited BSU recently to write up the Blue Carpet Wonders who soon might be playing in a major bowl game around New Year's Day 2005 here.
3. Meanwhile, the Vandals are ready to put the worst behind them here.
4. "Ignoring a warning to abort the flight, a test pilot took a stubby-looking rocket plane on a corkscrewing, white-knuckle ride past the edge of the atmosphere Wednesday, completing the first stage of a quest to win a $10 million prize," writes John Antczak/AP, here.
5. An albino black bear in the Flathead Valley? Yep. And Montanan Rob Derby has the carcass to prove it. Rob's bear was the third albino bruin harvested in the Griffen Creek drainage area near Whitefish in the last 20 years here.
6. IMHO-NW: G. George Ostrom (Krag the Kootenay Ram), Joel Connelly/P-I (Bush-Cheney flipflops), Michael Shadow (Bush's rhetorical skill), Floyd J. McKay/Western Washington journalism prof (Back-door military draft), and Danny Westneat/Seattle Times (NASCAR race track).
7. Army Capt. Eric L. Allton, a Boise resident, was killed in Iraq Sunday when a mortar round hit him here.
8. U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt is using a photo of Osama bin Laden and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray's words to challenge his rival in a campaign attack ad here.
Sorry, the blog has been acting up ... and I've been in Spokane for much of the day. Bad combo. I thought the Quick Fix 6 had posted earlier today ... before I left. But it didn't. I just posted it. And I'll post other items as I catch up -- DFO
I don't have time this morning to bring you all the usual features because I'm going to Spokane in an hour. So, you'll have to make do with the Quick Fix Six until I get back in the midafternoon. Sorry. But my real job calls today.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Paul Nowak looks at Gen XYZ's apathy toward public affairs and voting here, and Wayne Stayskal doodles about the war on obesity here. And you can find Guy Gilchrist's latest angel here.
2. Leno: "First he gets the Botox. Now he’s got the rich tan. Apparently the senator’s confused. The Miss America Pageant was last week. This is the presidential debates. In fact it was reported today Kerry got a bikini wax." And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Feds: NYTimes reporter tipped off terror charity here, Martha Stewart to spend time in W. Virginia here, Poll: Debates key to 18% of vote here, Kerry: Bush the flipflopper here, 2 sentenced to death for Cole bombing here, and Baseball returns to D.C. here.
4. American snipers are doing their duty picking off Sunni Triangle terrorists way before their military mates have had breakfast. It's dangerous duty. But someone has to do it. And these guys are doing it well. Here's your Americans At War Fix.
5. J. Budziszewski, a University of Texas government prof, makes a compelling moral case for capital punishment for your Hang 'Em High Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Myrna Blyth (Women don't trust Kerry), Kate O'Beirne (A post-Vietnam War hero), Walter Weber (Terri's Law), Al "Girlie Man" Gore (How to debate George Bush), and Kathleen Parker (Why Rathergate matters).
Gotta roundup of sorts to end the work day (roundups are great when you dial up your brain for fresh words but only get a dial tone).
*Milt Nelson of Rathdrum passes along this poem ("Poor John Kerry") from Chuck Muth's Web site:
Poor John Kerry:
He throws away someone else's medals.
He drives someone else's SUV.
He marries someone else's wife.
And he inherits someone else's money.
I think we should all vote for him to go be president............of someone else's country.
*Kootenai County Clerk Dan English recommends this "great new voter information website sponsored by the Secretary of State" here. (BTW, Dan guessed correctly that he's one of my two Demo friends, and Mike Kennedy of John Kerry's Idaho campaign guessed correctly that he was the other. Actually, I have more than just two. But I can't think of anyone else at the moment.)
*Roman Catholic Don Morgan sez Catholics, which represent 25 percent of the electorate, are tipping big time for Dubya and offers this link to back up his contention that the prez election is over here.
*From RunnersWeb.com comes news that general registration for the 2005 Ironman USA Coeur d'Alene is now closed here.
DFO
All my Demo friends -- both of 'em -- are urging me to blog the fact that Dubya's hometown paper, The Lone Star Iconoclast (circulation 425), has endorsed Flipflop. Hey, I can take a dare. You can find the story here.
re: My Best of the Northwest lead-in comment today: "I'm still not accustomed to the thought of Dr. Bill Fouche being charged as a sexual predator."
Dave, in life, people make some bad choices... some real bad choices... you hope and pray that this was a bad time for him.... and most of all I am sure your Padre will tell you.... to pray for Mr. Fouche.. he is going to need a lot of them. Pray that he brings his life back around to what must have been a good person at one time.
Cis The Retired
DFO: Bingo.
re: "30" item last night about my sports boosterism: "The philosophy is simple. As long as 'my team' is winning, I'm on the bandwagon."
Good for you – I’m sick of self-rightous sports fans deriding those of us who jump on the bandwagon. They paint it as a bad thing, but in reality, it provides the motives for the team to build a winner. Consider – If a team sold out EVERY game, and had every game heavily watched on TV, then what would be the motivation for the teams GM to build a winner? If he puts a lousy team on the field and the money STILL rolls in, why should he try any harder? It’s the bandwagon fans that INSPIRE the GM’s to build a winner.
I think there are two rules of fandom:
1. The Rule Of Proximity – A person is honor bound to root for the local team. He need not be a rabid fan, but he must clearly pull for the local team. “Cold is the heart of a man who roots against his local teams.”
2. The Rule of Enduring Proximity – If you lived in another locale for a reasonable length of time, you can root for a team from that area to beat a team in your local area. If you want to.
Rooting for non-local team for any other reason is just wrong. Especially the “I root for
Scott Burrington
Liberty Lake
Don Morgan sends along the latest Electorial Vote projection here (but it's hard to believe that Oregon is tipping for Bush).
*New closing record for NY crude oil at 49.90 dollars (Turkish Press): Almost time to pump up the tires on the bikes in your garage.
*Italian and Egyptian hostages freed (Reuters): What?! The black-hearted, head-lopping, mother-raping and baby-stabbing Islamo-fascists have compassion for Italian femmes. Will miracles never cease?
*T. Chappaquiddick Kennedy: Bush made U.S. vulnerable to terrorist nuke attack (NewsMax): Michael Moore's political twin keeps his mouth running full throttle while his brain remains disengaged.
*Iraq Marine: Troops 'Terrified' of a Kerry Presidency: News skewed to make mission look like a failure and bolster Kerry candidacy (NewsMax): Out of the mouths of those in the line of fire.
*Springsteen knocks FOXNews, sez 'press has let the country down' (Rolling Stone): Another Lefty artist with an ax to grind about the Right.
I'm still not accustomed to the thought of Dr. Bill Fouche (pictured) being 
charged as a sexual predator. But there he is in an orangish T-shirt looking out at us from the pages of the S-R and the Coeur d'Alene Press. As I've mentioned before, Bill's wife, Colleen, had a ha-huge impact on my son's formative years through her small Christian school in the basement of the Coeur d'Alene Nazarene Church. I didn't know Bill. But he was always around, helping with the school and fund-raisers. During my 34 years in the news biz, I've seen almost everything you can see, including community leaders fall from grace over and over. But this one hits particularly hard. Be careful out there.
1. Eric Devericks/Seattle Times offers a dead-on doodle about Thurday's foreign-policy debate here.
2. No one can do a better job of telling you what happened at the Silver Summit 2004 in Coeur d'Alene last week than David Bond/Wallace Street Journal (pictured to the right) here.
3. Scientists believe there is a significant chance of a small eruption of Mount St. Helens in the days or weeks ahead, according to Hal Bernton/Seattle Times, here.
4. IMHO-NW: The Missoulian (USFS plane crash), The Argonaut (UI budget cuts), Larry Stone/Seattle Times (Ichiro's record chase), Seattle Times (NASCAR speedway), and Seattle P-I (Mount St. Helens preparedness).
5. According to The Argonaut, the University of Idaho is planning a land swap for 10 acres of WATCO railroad property here.
6. WSU has a mascot in white patent leather boots and American flag hot pants to promote recycling on campus here.
7. Aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan will try again tomorrow to get his privately financed rocket into outer space tomorrow and claim the $19 million Ansari X Prize. But Rutan isn't the only scientist racing to get the first private rocket into space, according to Tom Paulson/P-I, here.
8. Washington State University will sell Camp Roger Larson on Idaho's Lake Coeur d'Alene to the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe for $1.4 million, according to The Associated Press, here.
Late-night show host Jay Leno reminded the audience last night that the all-important first presidential debate is scheduled for Thursday with this: "Despite Hurricane Jean, this Thursday’s presidential debate in Miami is still on. Is that a good idea with a hurricane going? Do you realize if both candidates were to drown, we could be looking at President Ralph Nader." Gulp.
1. Political 'Toon Fix: Paul Nowak here and Wayne Stayskal here.
2. Jay D. Dyson provides one of his Sacred Cow Burgers here. And My Way provides: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: J. Flipflop Kerry has turned ... orange ... here, draft-dodger tribute facing abandonment here, Arnold governing like a 'girlie man'? here, Cat Stevens (pictured) was guest of Canadian Hamas front here, and ABC poll: Bush has solid lead here.
4. You may shrug your shoulders and ask: What would the government-sanctioned death of comatose Terri Schiavo mean in the great scheme of things. Nat Hentoff of the Village Voice has the answer: It would be another step toward breaking down barriers to killing disabled people. Here's your Reality Check Fix.
5. Within two or three years, Robert Bork claims, the U.S. Supreme Court will discover a "right" to homosexual marriage. That's why, he argues, Congress needs to approve the Defense of Marriage Act to stop this runaway freight train. Here's your Traditional Values Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: David Brooks (Insurgency bluster), Christopher Hitchens (Demos root for bad news), Brendan Miniter (Military in good shape), John F. Cullinan (Muslim moral challenge), and Phyllis Schlafly (Ten Commandments).
It's Tuesday. I met with my padre this a.m. Running late. ETA for QF6: 10:30 -- dfo
After sending the inspirational piece earlier today, Cis The Retired wrote in to razz me about the (mis)play of the S.F. 49ers in Seattle yesterday. Writes she: "You were a 49er fan while in Ca. right?" Indeed, I was -- and through all the championship years and beyond, too. However, folks around the office know that I became a fair-weather fan a few years back for all teams but the S.F. Giants. The philosophy is simple. As long as "my team" is winning, I'm on the bandwagon. Washington State. Gonzaga. UI women's basketball team. Etc. But if they're mediocre or worse, I switch to a better local team until the primary team improves their performance. (I'm still waiting on the Idaho Vandal football team to return to its Humanitarian Bowl glory. Meanwhile, go Broncos.) The philosophy saves wear and tear on the emotions. I've been much happier since I adopted it. I've broomed the hapless, Joe Montana-less S.F. 49ers in recent years. Now, if I could only get the S.F. Giants out of my system ...
DFO
So...what temp (f) is 41.1(c) for us lib arts majors...
Steve Sibulsky
Steve Sibulsky Productions
DFO: I have no idea. I was a lib arts major, too. (Steve's referring to that trailer that targets Fahrenheit 9/11 here.)
Here's a joke passed along by Milt Nelson of Rathdrum: "A Florida man has asked Kerry to skip the first Presidential Debate in Miami Thursday night. Said the Floridian: "We've had Charlie, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. The last thing we need is a fifth blowhard."
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m geographically challenged when it comes to towns in Idaho. So, where is North Coeur d’Alene? It appears not once but twice in Jeri McCroskey’s article “Home remodeling challenge learning adventure” on Saturday.
“What does she do when she is not remodeling her home or teaching at the Coeur d'Alene Christian School, located in North Coeur d'Alene?”
“She also works part time as a checker at Fred Meyer's North Coeur d'Alene store, a job she says she likes because of the contact she has with people.”
Since the AP Stylebook says the preferred form is to lowercase compass points only when they describe a section of a state or city (unless it’s a widely known section, and goodness knows Coeur d’Alene isn’t big enough to have widely known sections), perhaps McCroskey and the editors (sounds like a vocal group) will educate this uninformed Idahooligan. Lat-long, anyone?
Bill McCrory
Coeur d’Alene
DFO: We gotta keep those AP Stylebooks out of the hands of the laity. Otherwise, you guys will really know how much we goofed up. ... As to Bill's point, I agree that "north" -- and "northern" -- is presumptuous in describing Coeur d'Alene. We're too small for that. I call North Coeur d'Alene: Dalton Gardens or Hayden.
You can find some big-time inspiration from Cis The Retired here.
The mayor of Nelson, British Columbia, may be a peace activist who originally thought a monument to American draft dodgers in Canada was a good idea, but Nelson businessmen don't. Nor do some of the members of his council. All hell has broken loose since media organizations, including Fox News, has spread the word about plans by Nelson goofs to honor U.S. draft dodgers with a monument and festival in 2006. Politicians are denouncing the festival/monument here. US Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci wants nothing to do with the flap here. And Edmonton Sun writes how the monument has divided Nelson here. Meanwhile, the city administrator of Nelson has issued a statement for the community bulletin board in which he sez plans to build the monument have been abandoned (according to his sources) here.
At 41.11 degrees Celsius, the brain begins to die -- a condition that seems to be affecting all those in this country (50 percent of John Kerry supporters, including white fatso Michael Moore) who don't believe in the 21st century terror threat. If you have a good computer, you'll enjoy this coming attraction to the right's response to Fahrenheit 9/11 here.
*Ron Reagan, Jr.: Bush is a cheat 'From what I can gather, he's nothing like my father as a man' (Sunday Herald, Scotland): Neither is girlie-man Ron Reagan Jr. (pictured at Demo National Convention).
*Draft-dodger monument ignites U.S. rage: Americans beg Bush to oppose tribute to 'cowards' who fled (WorldNetDaily): Remember this when you're tempted to spend tourist dollars in Nelson, British Columbia.
*Kerry owns assault rifle: Despite pushing for bans against public possession (WorldNetDaily): Do as I say, not as I do.
*Conan O'Brien to take over 'Tonight Show': But comedian won't succeed Jay Leno as host until 2009 (Associated Press): Conan's about to get an upgrade in gag writers.
*Bishop indicted for child rape: 1st Roman Catholic prelate to be charged in sex scandal in U.S. (Associated Press): A block off the old chip.
Since the firewall prevents me from providing nonsubscribers with a link to today's Huckleberries for nonsubscribers, I'll do the next best thing and provide you with the lede Huck:
In the "sign of our times" category, Andy Edmondson of the CdA street dept. noticed a tyke along the road while working at Ninth and Harrison on Sept. 16. Andy was steering a backhoe at the time. As he passed the kid, who appeared to be about 4, Andy prepared to wave. Most little ones are thrilled with friendly heavy-equipment operators. Not this one. The boy squared his shoulders, scowled – and then flipped Andy off. Stunned, Andy told a driver about the boy's gesture. And the driver tracked down the boy: "Are you bothering my buddy?" he asked lightheartedly. Still glowering, the boy put his hands on his hips and exclaimed ere he stomped off: "I'm 6 years old!" The crew thought the boy was hilarious. But I'd hate to see what Junior becomes in another 10 years.
Subscribers can find the rest of the column here.
1. Cartoonist David Horsey of the P-I opens the week with an interesting toon about -- well, you can look and see -- here.
2. The Coeur d'Alene Resort golf course, with its floating green, has gone virtual. It's one of eight courses featured on the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 was released last week for Xbox, GameCube and PlayStation 2 consoles here.
3. A survivor of the USFS plane crash in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of northwest Montana said the accident happened without warning here, and the gruesome ordeal in the wilderness is described here.
4. Fifty-three percent of Washington state believes the U.S. made a mistake by going to war with Iraq, but 61 percent believes we should remain in that country until a stable government is formed here.
5. NASCAR confirmed a site for a Northwest track between Arlington and Marysville, Wash., here.
6. There's a whole lotta shakin' going on at Mt. St. Helens here.
7. "The number of Idahoans without health insurance is 252,000 and growing, despite a state economy that creates jobs faster than the national average," writes Joe Estrella of The Idaho Statesman here.
8. IMHO-NW: Dan Popkey/Statesman (Idaho Senate District 17 race), The Argonaut (Coping with 5 deaths), Jim Moore/P-I (Dennis Erickson), Seattle Times (Reject gambling expansion), and Idaho Statesman ("Under God").
As advertised Friday in this space, we got Hayden Bible Church painted, except for some trim work that was left at evening when the volunteers finally pooped out. And the Extended Family Oliveria officially adds another member at 1 p.m. today when my mother-in-law signs papers on a house in Coeur d'Alene Place. That's 15 of us in North Idaho, spread over 5 families. And more will be on the way in the next 2 years. We shall overcome some da-a-a-a-y. Not all of them are full-blooded Portuguese like my mother, sister, brother and me. But we love them any way.
1. Daryl Cagle & Co. launch the week with your Political 'Toon Fix (Caution: Mild Liberal Content).
2. Tongue firmly cheeked (I hope), Democrat Bob Morris believes God is trying to tell Floridians something about the next prez elections by using hurricanes to punish counties that voted for Bush here. For your My Way Fix, click This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Pakistanis kills Daniel Pearl slaying suspect here, Pfc. England (pictured) to face January court martial here, U.S. jets pound Sadr city here, Canadian draft dodger monument enrages U.S. vets here, and Carter foresees unfair vote in Florida here.
4. "Adolescents who take a virginity pledge have substantially lower levels of sexual activity and better life outcomes when compared with similar adolescents who do not make such a pledge," according to recently released data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health survey). The National Heritage Foundation brings your What Would Jesus Do Fix.
5. "The new documentary 'Stolen Honor' documents how a young John Kerry jumpstarted his political career by denouncing American soldiers -- and how the Vietnamese used his actions to torture, demoralize and threaten American Prisoners of War," according to Roberta Lequizamon of FrontPageMag. Here's your Blast From The Past Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: William Safire (The kidnap weapon), Bill O'Reilly (Focused George Bush), Bobby Eberle (Lies about Iraq), William Kristol (Disgraceful John Kerry), and Katherine Mangu-Ward (Hurricane State polls).
Gotta church to paint tomorrow (Hayden Bible) and a mother-in-law to move into her new home in Coeur d'Alene Place Sunday. Busy weekend ahead. When my wife's mother, Dorothy, moves from northern California to Coeur d'Alene this weekend, I'll have 15 family members up here, spread over 5 families, from Coeur d'Alene to Bonners Ferry. A sixth couple in the extended family has purchased a home in River Harbor (Post Falls) with intentions of moving up here from Big Sur, Calif., when the husband retires in 18 months, and they might bring their son-in-law, daughter and granddaughter with them when they come. Bottom line? We're taking over baybee. See what happens when you let one of us stay here 20 years?
*Ralph Hallock provides a link to "An Open Letter to John Kerry from a Green Beret" here.
*Don Morgan introduces us to a pretty savvy blog by Boisean Rich Galen here (check out Rich's take on Ayad Allawi's visit). Don also provides a link to a Washington Times column by John McCaslin that reminds folks that J. Flipflop Kerry advocated a preemptive strike against Iraq on "Crossfire" in 1997 here, and another one from the Cleveland Plain Dealer about possible fraud problems in Ohio elections here.
*Big John Rook sends along a Washington Times story that concedes there's no way to stop from 8 million to 12 million aliens from voting here.
*Big John also sends along eye-opening links about Cat Stevens from Music Biz.com here (keep scrolling), and the coming shakeup for network evening news here.
*L.C. Johnson of Moscow sends along a link in which former U.S. senator Mark O. Hatfield, a peacenik who's currently in intensive care after a bad fall, declares his support for George W. Bush here.
*Milt Nelson provides a link to The American Thinker, "an amazing new blog" (according to Rush Limbaugh) here.
Looking for indicators as to whom will win the '04 prez race? Well, BuyCostumes.com Presidential Mask Election Predictor sez (drum roll, puh-LEEZ) -- it's Dubya fairly handily. BuyCostumes bases its call on Halloween masks sold during a prez election year. And Dubya is leading Flipflop 56% to 44%. BuyCostumes has picked every winner since 1980. Kudos to Phil Corliss for sending the story along to No Holds Barred readers here.
I've been talking about the Nadler brothers, George and Charles, of Post Falls and Bayview, respectively, who won two Distinguished Flying Crosses apiece for their incredible service during the Vietnam War. And I've been telling you about Gen. Tommy Franks 
and his book, "American Soldier," in which he cut his teeth in Vietnam. Now, Kootenai County Undersheriff Gary Cuff writes in to remind me about Tommy Norris, the former Navy Seal and Medal of Honor winner who retired in North Idaho after a 20-year career undercover with the FBI. In 1972, Norris led one of the most daring -- and bloodiest -- rescues during the Vietnam War. Hollywood made a movie of the rescue, "BAT 21," starring Gene Hackman and Danny Glover. (In the photo, you see Tommy Norris with Vietnamese Sea Commando Nguyen Van Kiet shortly after their successful rescue attempt of the downed pilot). You can read all about Tommy's bravery here.
*Teresa sees Osama capture before election: 'I wouldn't be surprised if he appeared in the next month' (Phoenix Business Journal): Any time is good by me.
*Heinz family battles to keep estate sealed: Newspapers argue such records normally open to public inspection (Los Angeles Times): I'm sure glad she's on Flipflop's side.
*CBS CEO Sumner Redstone endorses Bush: Sez Republican values are what U.S. businesses need (Wall Street Journal): Even a liberal Demo knows in his heart that Dubya's best.
*Cheney 'appalled' at Kerry's slap at Allawi: 'When political leaders sound the siren of defeatism in the face of terrorism, it only encourages more violence' (NewsMax): At this point, Flipflop will do anything, say anything, to prop up his declining numbers, even sell out soldiers in harm's way again.
*CBS source: Lockhart asked for Bush memos: But denies plot with Kerry campaign to release now-discredited documents (WorldNetDaily): Yeah, right. Ahaha. And I believe in the tooth fairy.
I'm slammed today, so I combined the Best of the Northwest and IMHO-NW roundups into this feature. I also want to draw your attention to the new columnist in the IMHO-NW rotation: Marianne Love of Sandpoint. Credit Marianne for continuing the tradition of excellence at Sandpoint High's Cedar Post student newspaper. She was the staff instructor for years. You have to use a little computer skill in finding her excellent column today about ex-SHS student Cindy Wooden, who now handles P.R. for the Vatican. Yeah, that Vatican. First, click on my link in No. 6, and then Click on "Love Notes" when Marianne's Web page comes up. Then, enjoy.
1. How about a NW political 'toon triple-header to end the week? Milt Priggee (pictured) takes aim at Fox News here (Caution: Mild but funny liberal content), Eric Devericks of The Seattle Times doodles about Kerry vs. Kerry here, and David Horsey targets the Iran N-bomb situation here.
2. Survivors of that USFS plane crash in northwest Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness had only seconds to escape the wreckage before it was consumed by fire, according to an initial assessment, here. The Daily Inter Lake of Kalispell also provides stories about the two who made it here the three who didn't here, and what happened here.
3. "A developer of NASCAR racetracks has selected Snohomish County as its preferred site for a Northwest speedway, county officials and executives from International Speedway Corp. will announce Monday." This, according to The Seattle Times here.
4. First, this week, two Seattle brothers are charged with murder in the shooting death of UI footballer Eric McMillan, and now two Coeur d'Alene roommates, 21 and 18, are arrested for threatening to kill a North Idaho College wrestler over a young woman. The Coeur d'Alene Press tells you about it here.
5. The Idaho Statesman tries to find out which conference is better -- the Western Athletic Conference (with Boy-C State) or Mountain West (with Utah) -- here.
6. IMHO-NW: The Idaho Statesman (Gay father ruling), Marianne Love (click on "Love Notes" re: Sandpoint's Vatican connection), Danny Westneat/Seattle Times (Trout plan), Robert L. Jamieson Jr. (Ex-prof Condi Rice), and Jim Moore/P-I (M's manager Bob Melvin).
I slept through an alarm and woke up at 7:29 for a 7:30 appointment, so I knew it was going to be one of those days. Dang that Gen. Tommy Franks' book ("American Soldier"). Can't put it down. Finally pulled myself away at 12:30 a.m. today. Tommy's just been through the 100-hour first gulf war and has been kicked upstairs further to handle battlefield operations in the Middle East. As he said at the end of the chapter I just read: 3 stars and 2 wars are ahead. Stay tuned.
1. Paul Nowak and Wayne Stayskal do the Political 'Toon Fix honors this TGIF morning here and here. And you can find the thoughts of Daryl Cagle & Co. on Rathergate here. (Caution: Some liberal content.)
2. Leno: "Yusuf Islam used to be Cat Stevens. I was thinking, Osama bin Laden was formerly known as Vanilla Ice." And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. TGIF Top of the News Fix: Discrimination against white male found here, Muslim outrage over beheadings found lacking here, Congress sends Bush tax cut bill, victory here, Jeb Bush might appeal Schiavo (Terri Schiavo pictured) decision here, and 6 Egyptians snatched in 2 Iraqi kidnappings here.
4. If you're like me, you're beginning to wonder if J. Flipflop Kerry is stuck in a time warp. Not only did he base the Demo convention on his Vietnam War record, but now, as he encourages the enemy by blasting our tactics in Iraq, he's beginning to sound like the anti-war double-crosser of old. The Center for Security Policy tells Americans what they need to know about the war on terror: You can't win it without Iraq. Here's your Reality Check Fix.
5. In the Femme Left mind, Margaret Sanger is a hero for breaking ground that led to wholesale abortion and Planned Parenthood. In reality, she was one of America's first white supremacists, according to Michael S. Adams of Orthodoxy Today here. Daniel J. Flynn ("Why the Left Hates America") discusses Sanger and many others in his superb new book "Intellectual Morons." Here's your Un-PC Fix.
6. TGIF Opinion Fix: James S. Robbins (Iraqis see improvements), Anne Bayefsky (UN MIA in terror war), Brent Bozell (CBS' other mess), Kathleen Parker (Wooing Mom), and Fred Barnes (Kerry and the other F-word).
It's late. I'm done. I've run out of words. I enjoyed bloggin' for you today -- along with the other stuff I do, like write editorials and Huckleberries. BTW, there's enough of you out there to provide me with good material for Huckleberries. From now on, I'll expect bumpersnickers, slices of life and tips (Yeah, I know about all the bigwigs who are splitting the sheets. Can't/won't print it in Hucks -- or even here. Divorce is a domestic tragedy.) about what's happening in viewtiful Coeur d'Alene as a payment for No Holds Barred 24/5. What? You expected 24/7. My wife would shoot me. Well, I have to eat before I allow myself a night of TV with "Survivor" (sorry, it's my one reality show weakness) and CSI: the original. If you ask me, CSI: Las Vegas has a better ensemble, but CSI: Miami has the strongest lead. Anyone out there see it differently?
*Don Morgan sends along a dyne-oh!-mite link that shows the current view of the Electoral College here.
*Bill McCrory provided a swell parody on a RegisteredMedia.com web site that I wasn't able to find to give you a link. So, I plucked another from the site here.
*Share The Truth sends along a Gallup poll that shows the public's faith in the media has hit bottom, thanks to Dan Rather, here.
*John Rook is amused at how many public school teachers send their children to private schools here.
*Ralph Hallock appreciated this Ollie North column about J. Flipflop Kerry here.
*Milt Nelson of Rathdrum liked this Cal Grondahl cartoon about Dan Rather here (click "Get Image" and then "Back" once).
*And you can find U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's explanation of what that tax-cut extension means to you in a news release here.
Seems a little too quiet in Coeur d' Alene, judging from your lack of comments Dave. Must be something brewing. Regarding the great white haired man's application to dredge, just give him the permit. He will get it anyway no matter whether is it good or bad.
Steve Badraun
Nampa
DFO: Check tomorrow morning's editorial. Heeheehee.
The border protection watch list makes no sense... Cat Stevens, or Yusuf Islam, is no terrorist. He's not even sympathetic to the terrorists. He has spoken out against the fascist Muslims who kill in the name of Allah. A portion of the profits from his DVD box set goes to the 9/11 Fund. He has traveled to the USA numerous times in the past few years for speaking engagements. It makes no sense for the US to turn him away. Meanwhile, the real terrorists are just walking across the Canadian and Mexican borders!
Phil Corless
www.pkmeco.com
DFO: Very good points, Phil.
If these photos on the Club for Growth web site don't make you laugh ... you must be a Democrat here.
*'Terri's Law' struck down: Florida high court rejects Jeb Bush's attempt to keep brain-injured woman from starving (WorldNetDaily): And the godless social engineers continue to wreak human havoc from the bench. May God have mercy on Terry Schiavo.
*House blocks court from ruling on Pledge: Bill says Supremes can't strike down words 'under God' (Associated Press): Republican congressmen finally get a back bone and stare down our rotten judiciary.
*Reuters challenged on 'terrorist' policy: Wire service objects when newspaper changes wording to reflect militancy (WorldNetDaily): A terrorist by any other name is still a terrorist -- except in Reuterville.
*Laryngitis forces Kerry to sideline: Edwards to fill in at campaign appearances today (Des Moines Register): Oh-oh, whenever Flipflop shuts his mouth, he gains points.
*Bush says Kerry demoralizes troops: Repeated flip-flops on Iraq sending 'mixed signals' (Washington Times): J. Flipflop Kerry does two things well: Marry extremely rich women and double-cross troops in the line of fire.
*Political cartoonist David Horsey of the P-I couldn't address Rathergate without taking a swipe at Dubya here. (Caution: heavy liberal content and questionable thought process).
*Collin Levey/Times editorial columnist: Dumb Democratic distractions drown out Kerry's message here.
*Jamie Kelly/The Missoulian: Why we all still love 'Star Wars' here.
*Sherry Devlin/The Missoulian: Missoula native Andy Taylor shines in "The Producers" at the Spokane Opera House here. And you can find The Inlander's account of the play here.
*Nicole Brodeur/The Seattle Times: Does a man have to be "a follower of Jesus Christ" to keep his promise to love and cherish his wife ... and kids here? (Caution: mild liberal content).
Reacting to Duane Hagadone's (pictured) plans to dredge the channel west of Blackwell Island as part of an expansion of the Marina Yacht Club LLC, The Edge wrote: "So Big D wants to dredge up the channel to make room for a larger marina. He should hire Al French and Tom Hamilton to do the work on Thanksgiving weekend. The permits are in the bag…" The Edge is almost as cynical as I am. You can read all about The Kingfish's plans to muddy the water by clicking on the Erica Curless' S-R skewp here (subscription required).
1. At a UI press conference, John Ligon, guardian of slain UI Vandal CB Eric McMillan, said: "Life's got to go on; you can't hide from it. We have to be strong enough to deal with it" here; meanwhile, police in Eastern Washington have recovered an empty box of .40-caliber shells allegedly thrown from a car window by two Seattle men suspected in the killing here.
2. Xtreme racers in the Sabaru Primal Quest challenge continued onward yesterday, unaware that premier racer Nigel Aylott, 39, of Australia was killed when a 400-pound boulder hit him while he was climbing down a mountain in western Washington here.
3. A worthy measure, backed by U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, to create the first wilderness area in Washington in 20 years died in committee when it became a political football with enviros cuh-rying for more here.
4. Two men presumed dead when a USFS-contracted plane crashed into the Bob Marshall Wilderness of northwestern Montana emerged from their ordeal two days later on a forest road here and here.
5. Boise State and Fresno State may meet in ESPN's popular "College GameDay" show in a month if they both stay unbeaten here.
6. Unlike the city of Boise, which cowered when Christophobes complained about a 10 Commandments monument in Julia Davis Park, the Capital Complex Advisory Committee said the 10C's in the Montana capital grounds in Helena had historical significance and should stay here.
7. Plans in Nelson, B.C., for a bronze monument and festival in 2006 for U.S. draft dodgers understandably is drawing anger from the States here.
8. Ralph Nader lost his spot on the Oregon ballot again here.
Something jumped out at me while reading General Tommy Franks' "American Soldier" last night. After he returned from 13 months as a forward observer in Vietnam, Franks was asked by his father about all the medals on his uniform, including the THREE PURPLE HEARTS (which could have won him a trip home, if memory serves me correctly). He told his dad that he'd been wounded far more than three times but he accepted the purple hearts only for those times that he required hospitalization for his wounds. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone. Wink. Just telling you about the great man who led our successful war efforts in the Middle East.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Chuck Asay looks at the big bills we're passing along to our children here, and Paul Nowak doodles about Canada's plans to erect a monument to Vietnam era draft dodgers here. For inspiration, Guy Gilchrist provides one of his angels here.
2. In the interest of fair play, you can find J. Flipflop Kerry's "Top 10" list about Dubya from the Letterman show Monday here. And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Rove touts Bush headway in key areas here, Zarqawi's mentor said to be killed by U.S. strike here, Syria to help U.S., Iraq secure border here, Florida Supremes say husband can allow Terri Schiavo to die here, and Google censoring search results critical of Red China here.
4. Offering a simple, "Thank you America," Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi (pictured) declared Thursday that his country is succeeding in its effort to move past the war that ousted Saddam Hussein here. And No Holds Barred offers his complete statement to the joint session of Congress as the second half of your Mr. Allawi Goes to Washington Fix.
5. So, is The Pop Singer Formerly Known As Cat Stevens A Security Risk? Stephen Schwartz of The Weekly Standard doesn't think so. Nor does Schwartz think Stevens is as attached to terrorism as he may have been in the past. But Schwartz believes Stevens still is a fundamental Muslim whose extreme views set him apart from the majority of peace-loving Muslims. Here's your This Cat Got Skinned Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Naomi Wolf (Kerry's female trouble), Catherine Seipp (Liberal journalists are from Mars), Dick Morris (Kerry's anti-war turn is a loser), Joseph Loconte (Fighting anti-Semitism with faith), and Ann Coulter (Dan Rather).
I'll close today with the text from the latest Swift Boat ad:
"Even before Jane Fonda went to Hanoi to meet with the enemy and mock America, John Kerry secretly met with enemy leaders in Paris. Though we were still at war and Americans were being held in North Vietnamese prison camps. Then he returned and accused American troops of committing war crimes on a daily basis.
"Eventually Jane Fonda apologized for her activities, but John Kerry refuses to. In a time of war, can America trust a man who betrayed his country?"
Bull's-eye
DFO
I enjoyed the piece on Jason Bay here but I have to disagree with you on why NIC doesnt have baseball. It had nothing to do with the basketball program. Burke wanted the field for the new building and baseball was in the way. The building is going to be a great addition to the campus and well needed. Baseball could make a comeback at NIC if the field on Ramsey ever is developed. But they are a few million short on building it and CDA has alot of building needs. It could be awhile. Does Hagadone like baseball????
(Tongue firmly in cheek)
Eagle Eye
DFO: Does NIC baseball return a profit of 40 percent?
OK, OK, I'm reprinting my Saturday column in toto for those of you who don't have an S-R subscription. It's 18 newspaper inches long, so please follow the jump -- DFO.
George Nadler can't believe the calm in the voice coming from the old Maxwell compact tape.
"We make it look like daylight down there, and you shoot the bad guys, OK?" says the voice, Nadler's, a half of a lifetime away, to a Laotian "friendly" about to be overrun by communists on the ground.
As he circled the night-time firefight in northern Laos on Feb. 21, 1970, Nadler, pilot of a C-130 "Blind Bat," directed the placement of flares, talked to the wounded Laotian, called in fire power and avoided ground fire from 23mm and 14.9mm guns.
Then 34, Nadler got excited only when ground fire got too close.
"Mother Hump, we're taking a whole pocketful of that (stuff)," air commander Nadler exclaims as tracer bullets whiz past.
During three tours of duty in Vietnam, Nadler flew 467 sorties, including 1,200 hours during 228 combat missions, in which he bombed targets, dropped flares to guide fights to targets, flew supplies to special forces and located down pilots. In Laos alone, he flew 150 missions – or 115 more than the average pilot. Many of those missions were as scary as the night illustrated on tape when the enemy was firing as many as 1,000 rounds per minute at his plane. The Blind Bat's only defense was its color: black as the night. And Nadler's .38 pistol.
"I don't think I could do that now," said Nadler.
Retired as a lieutenant colonel after 21½ years in the U.S. Air Force and another 10 years as a supervisor for Kaiser Aluminum-Trentwood, Nadler talks in that calm, matter-of-fact voice still. A slightly stooped 6-footer with thinning white hair, he's 68 now and lives in Post Falls. He has served as a Kootenai County planning commissioner and was involved in charity work in Athol for awhile.
As an officer, Nadler believed the welfare of his men came before his.
"You lead men by your actions," Nadler said. "If you're willing to risk your life, they'll go through hell with you. Some of those kids volunteered for second or third tours of duty because of me. They were braver than I was because they weren't flying the darn aircraft."
Nadler's devotion to the safety of his men explains in part why he's among the Vietnam War veterans who oppose the presidential quest of decorated Democrat John Kerry. Although he's bothered by the discrepancies in Kerry's war record, Nadler, above all, can't understand how an officer with Kerry's experience could leave his men in harm's way after gaining three Purple Hearts for minor wounds.
"His experience at handling swift boats would have given his crew a better chance to fight properly," Nadler said.
Nadler isn't envious of Kerry's medals. He won two Distinguished Flying Crosses for his heroics, including one for the night caught on tape that enabled Laotian allies to escape. Altogether, he won 18 significant medals and a handful of minor ones. Charles, his older brother from Bayview, won two Distinguished Air Crosses, 14 other major medals and several minor ones for service as a rescue helicopter pilot. The heroics of Nadler brothers are outlined on "The Wall of Heroes" of the Kootenai County Courthouse Veterans Memorial.
Neither Nadler can forgive Kerry for his testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on April 22, 1971, in which he helped turn public opinion against fellow veterans and servicemen still in harm's way by painting them as murderers, rapists and baby killers.
"I flew into a lot of special camps, and I never saw anything of that sort," Nadler said. "Other than My Lai, I never heard of anybody doing anything of that sort. If I'd seen anyone doing the things he described, I would have shot him or turned him in. I wouldn't have tolerated another enlisted man shooting an unarmed civilian. The American soldier – outside of some nut cases – doesn't act that way."
What about President George W. Bush, who opted for the Texas Air National Guard rather than Vietnam War duty?
"Flying those high-speed jets wasn't a walk in the park," Nadler said. "People were getting killed on those training missions all the time. Why do you think Air Force pilots had to pay a premium for their life insurance policies. I take my hat off to Bush for flying that plane."
George Nadler knows about terror in the skies. He kept himself in harm's way for so long for one reason: "If I could save one American life – and I know I did – I knew it would be worth it," he said. "I had to have a higher ideal; otherwise, it was a miserable war."
Of such ideals are heroes made.
I received this in response to my Saturday column (subscription needed) on Vietnam War hero George Nadler:
I happened to read that lousy article you wrote for the Sept.18 Spokesman claiming or insinuating all veterans find it hard to forgive Kerry....forgive him for what? Putting his life on the line to protect all you damn draft dodgers? You republicscums have a way to distort all the news.
Don't judge anybody until YOU have worn the boots on the ground in a combat situation. As a so called newsman, you above all should know that.
I suppose you think the Irag war is just hunky dory. Join up!!! Mr. GUNG HO!!! Go for it you phony!!
Why don't you draft dodgers have a reunion! Your theme could be " How Us Cowards Let Those Stupes Go put their LIVES On the LINE while We PLAYED"
You phony! Retract the word veterans and say "Some republiscum veterans find it hard to forgive Kerry,but will do anything for a price"
Better yet...go find something you can do right, like cleaning toilets. You probably couldn't hack that as you might see some danger of falling in.
Let me know when you have your COWARDS reunion.
Bernie Knapp
Former U.S. Marine, 1950/ 1960
DFO: Wonder if military service was an issue for Bernie when Bill Clinton ran for president?
Wanna know how your personality affects the way you look at prez wannabes? Blogger Andrew Sullivan just posted an interesting quiz that matches your personality with the two major candidates. It takes about 15 minutes, so make sure the boss isn't looking over your should before you click here.
*Cat Stevens denied entry: Former rocker on U.S. no-fly list (Rolling Stone): The singer formerly known as Cat Stevens should have considered the consequences before he converted to Islam and became provocative.
*Banks canceling canceled checks: Consumer advocates balk at mandated system pushed by Fed that goes into effect next month (WorldNetDaily): The banks are always looking out for No. 1 -- them.
*Swift-vet ad flays 'Hanoi John': Recalls Kerry's meeting with enemy leaders in Paris (WorldNetDaily): You can find the wording of the new ad by clicking on the link I provided. All I can say is: Ouch!
*CBS producer on thin ice: Mary Mapes described as journalist who made no secret of liberal beliefs (Associated Press): Why is she still employed?
*Kerry: Draft likely to return under Bush (Yahoo News): Flipflop will say anything for a vote.
*David Horsey kicks off IMHO-NW with this view of Dubya's troubles in the Middle East here. (Caution: Liberal Content)
*The Idaho Statesman sez UI and the state of Idaho benefit from research at the Palouse school here.
*Tongue somewhat cheeked, Publisher Dan Hammes of the St. Maries Gazette-Record opines on the road blocks faced by drug companies pushing male, ahem, enhancement and anti-balding products here.
*Columnist Joel Connelly sez drooling candidates are crowding around the money trough here.
*John Levesque of the P-I applauds Mariners prez Chuck Armstrong for admitting the M's played their fans for chumps here.
"Two Seattle brothers might have had revenge on their minds when they drove to this small university town, where authorities say they killed a 19-year-old University of Idaho football player Sunday night," according to the Seattle P-I. Seems the two thugs held for the murder of UI Vandal CB Eric McMillan might have been sticking up for a younger brother who got into a fracas with Idaho players after the UI-WSU game Saturday. You can find the P-I story here.
1. Meanwhile, UI players and students are trying to deal with the McMillan murder here.
2. The Idaho Stampede picked former Zags' Blake Stepp and Cory Violette and Eastern Washington's Alvin Snow (pictured) in the CBA draft here.
2. Poll: Democrat John Kerry cements lead in Washington here.
3. All 5 people aboard were killed when a USFS-contract plane crashed en route to a remote Forest Service site in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of northwestern Montana here. Meanwhile, The Daily Inter Lake points out that 10 lives have been lost in four crashes involving Flathead Valley pilots in the last six weeks here.
4. A gay Idaho Falls man lost his custody battle for his two daughters but may have won the war for fellow gays as the Idaho Supreme Court stengtened gay parents' rights here.
6. In Seattle, biz writer Kristi Heim of the Times reports on the phenomenon that brought Trent Lott and Dan Rather down: blogging here, and blog pioneer Dave Winer's visit to the Emerald City here.
7. An Australian adventure racer died in Skagit County yesterday after he was struck by a boulder on a hiking portion of the competition, according to the Seattle Times," here.
8. Spokane Mayor Jim West had surgery again for liver cancer here.
I started a terrific book last night: Gen. Tommy Franks' "American 
Soldier." Retired Lt. Col. George Nadler loaned it to me after I wrote that column Saturday about his experiences in Vietnam and his feels toward J. Flipflop Kerry. (I'll provide this link, but you need to be an S-R subscriber to get to it here.) I'm about 100 pages into the book and already Franks has been in 10 firefights and wounded twice as a forward gunner in South Vietnam. Amazing stuff. You want to know what life was like in the rice paddies with Viet Cong all around, this book is for you (click on book review here). Around midnight I finally had to put it down to get some shut-eye so I could blog this a.m.
1. Paul Nowak and Wayne Stayskal do the honors this morning for your Political 'Toon Fix here and here.
2. Jay D. Dyson provides some fresh meat from Sacred Cow Burgers, titled "Capt. Kerry," here. And My Way provides the usual fixes: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Zogby: Presidential race a dead heat here, Body found in Iraq confirmed as hostage's here, Swift Boat ad flays 'Hanoi John' here, Nader blames Kerry for ballot access fight here, and At UN, Afghan Karzai trumpets progress here.
4. Editor Cliff Kincaid of Accuracy In Media has this to say to Dan Rather: "We want to say this personally and directly to Dan Rather: We're sorry, but you have to go. And your producer Mary Mapes and CBS News President Andrew Heyward have to go, too. We say to Dan Rather: put on your pajamas, become a blogger, and take Journalism 101." Here's your Dan Must Go Fix.
5. David Neff of Christianity Today explains how Evangelicals got outside their comfort zone to help the oppressed overseas for your Human Rights Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Dick Morris (Kerry's confused campaign), Eric Fettman (Rathergate is Watergate), William Safire (Find the forger), Michelle Malkin (Anti-homeschool bigots), and Rebecca Hagelin (Joe Scarborough).
Cis The Retired is back from vacation ... and she immediately caught an error in No Holds Barred. Writes Cis about my "Best of the Northwest" roundup today:
5. An Oregon surfer suffered a shark bike at Gold Beach.
Cis: How is that again? was the shark on the bike or the surfer?
DFO: What's that the femmes say: A woman without a man is like a fish without a bike. What? You've never seen the talented bike-riding sharks of the Oregon coast?
Actually, I appreciate it when readers call a mistake to my attention. I blog at warp speed without an editor. So, you'll find way more typos and context errors in my blog copy than in my dead-tree media stuff. I could go slower. But I wouldn't get as much onto the site. Never hesitate to point out something that doesn't add up. Or to let me know when a link doesn't work. I also appreciate the links you send. And your readership. As I told you yesterday, I thought I had my best week since July 4-10 last week. And I did, averaging just over 1,200 page views per day. That's big among us little bloggers. Keep it up. And remember to share this site with your family and friends. I'm sure that was the reason things picked up after the dog days of summer.
DFO
*Ex-NIC baseballer Jason Bay is in line to become the first rookie of the year for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The story about him on the Major League Baseball site notes that NIC no longer has a baseball program. The program was sacrificed so the hot-shot men's basketball program could play in the SWAC and consider itself fortunate to come in fourth of fifth place each year. Click here.
*Don Morgan labeled this link here from the Village Voice purporting that J. Flipflop Kerry's claims about American atrocities were true as "swill." Judge for yourselves.
*D.P. Bond sends along a must-read N.Y. Post edit about Blathergate here.
*The bigshots of the world's silver industry will begin meeting in Coeur d'Alene tomorrow here.
I'll let you know who wrote this as soon as I can track it down in the blogosphere. Until then, you can find "The Ballad of Dan Rather" (as sung to the tune of "The Beverly Hillbillies") below:
Come and listen to my story 'bout a man named Dan,
The documents were fake and he didn't give a damn;
He put 'em on the air, an' he thought he'd done the job,
But up from the web come a howlin' mob.
Blogs, that is.
Web logs.
Checkin' facts.
Well, the first thing you know ol' Dan's a-runnin' fast;
Made a false report an' it bit him in the ass;
He said 'dog-gonnit, I done thought I'd get away!'
But it turned out to be his a-reckonin' day.
Busted, that is.
Red-faced.
Mud in the eye.
Well, now it's time to say goodbye to Dan and all his men;
And they would like to shoot you folks for turnin' them in;
You're all invited back next week to watch the Evening News,
And see which correspondent's picked to fill Dan's* empty shoes.
Y'all come back, now, hear?
DFO: NRMET@aol.com sent it in. Thanks.
Come January we’ll remember
how bright the sun shone in September.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
Just got a note from U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's office that the Senate has approved another $1.5 million (for $2 million total this year) for the Rathdrum Aquifer study here (last item). (BTW, you can thank Mike Tracy and Sid Smith, CHS class of '96, for providing links to Larry's news releases at my request.)
Got the OK from Jay D. Dyson of Sacred Cow Burgers to run this spoof on J. Flipflop Kerry and the foreign and local leaders who support him:
Dear Senator Murray:
Being a resident of Idaho, I cannot vote either for you or your opponent, but I am amused by your TV spot purporting to chastise George N. for his absences from the House chamber when votes were being taken on certain legislative bills.
I wonder whether you find it troubling that Sen. John Kerry has been absent from more than 70 percent of regular sessions of the Senate, I believe during this current session. Level all the valid complaints you wish against your opponent, but some of your constitutents may view this double standard as less than honorable.
Leonard C. Johnson
Moscow
*Chirac: Time for global tax: French president backs plan to fight international poverty (WorldNetDaily): Actually, it's time for the Vichy French and Germans to join the fight against global terrorism so our kids won't inherit the curse of the 21st century.
*Kerry views on Iraq, Vietnam 'virtually identical': Critics draw comparisons of current speeches to talks in '70s (CBS News): A leopard can't change its spots.
*Affiliates distance themselves from CBS: 'We certainly aren't happy with the way [they've] handled this mess' (WorldNetDaily): How have the mighty fallen.
*Report: 2nd American beheaded in 2 days: Statement on Islamic website promises video of killing 'soon' (Associated Press): Apparently, American editorialists aren't going to squawk about these brutal killers until they put women's panties on their captives' heads instead of lopping them off.
*Al Qaeda seen planning for 'spectacular' attack (Washington Times): What? The Islamo-fascists have run out of defenseless captives to behead, so they're going to stick their necks out again?
*C-B.S. coordinated Bush bask with Kerry campaign: Aide Talked to Retired Guard Officer (USA Today): No surprise there. Aren't the major networks the P.R. arm of the Demo National Committee?
* Political 'Toonist Eric Devericks takes on Dan Rather here.
*The Idaho Statesman sez the USFS should take advantage of this low-fire year to thin the forests here.
*Rep. George Nethercutt needs to join the Washington congressional delegation and support the carefully crafted Wild Sky Wilderness Act, sez The Seattle Times here.
*Guest columnist Graham Allison of Harvard tells Seattle P-I readers that there city is particularly susceptible to nuclear attack here.
*In the first of two parts, P-I columnist Bill Virgin sez Washington should say "no thanks" to supporters pushing a NASCAR track for The Evergreen State here.
When ESPN.com picked Idaho for 3rd place in its Bottom 10 football standings here, it had no way of knowing the tragedies that would strike the Moscow campus. Frosh cornerback Eric McMillan (pictured) was fatally shot Sunday, while two students from Boise were killed in a motorcycle accident here. (Seattle Times story here.) What an awful way to start the week.
1. George Washington Upton, an ex-con sent up the river in the early 1990s for scams involving used cars and real estate in North Idaho, now is suspected of conning women, including nine or more whom he married, here.
2. Brothers Matthew and James Wells made their first appearance in a Whitman County court this morning for attempting to elude Washington authorities following the shooting death of UI Vandal footballer Eric McMillan, according to the Argonaut here.
3. The Seattle P-I informs readers that the two Seattle men accused of the murder of UI Vandal Eric McMillan were standout Rainier Beach High football standouts here.
4. The motorcycle accident that took the life of University of Idaho junior Jason Yearout and sophomore Jack Shannon has left many at the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity in shock, according to The Argonaut here.
5. An Oregon surfer suffered a shark bike at Gold Beach here.
6. A southern California man survived a rough day in the Bob Mashall Wilderness of northwestern Montana after his horse fell over backward and landed on him, breaking his pelvis and rendering him vulnerable to hypothermia, here.
7. A USFS-contracted plane was reported missing Monday night in the Flathead Valley here.
8. Local veterinarian Bruce King thought the little black cat with white paws had broken ribs when the Humane Society brought it in. When he X-rayed the cat, however, he saw a tip of an arrow inside and went to work here.
I see J. Flipflop Kerry has taken yet another position on the war in Iraq. Last time I looked, he was saying that he'd have gone into Iraq, as Dubya did, with or without WMDs. Now, he's saying that Bush had "misled, miscalculated and mismanaged every aspect." Wonder if that includes toppling Baghdad in three weeks? Don't worry. With three debates planned between Dubya and Kerry, Flipflop has an opportunity to change his stand on Iraq at least three more times. Mebbe more. Meanwhile, Osama, al Qaida, al Jazeera and France remain solidly lined up behind Flipflop's candidacy.
1. Paul Nowak and Kevin Tuma provide this morning's Political 'Toon Fix here and here.
2. Leno: "President Bush still continuing to lead in the polls. In fact when John Kerry was told the latest poll numbers, he called President Clinton again. Not for advice, just to make sure he had his vote. 'You’re still with me right?'" And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Bush addresses UN here, C-B.S. coordinated Bush bash with Kerry campaign here, Michael Moore: Kerry's a lousy candidate here, Gibson's 'Passion' inspires Christian CD here, and U.S. victim's family prays for other hostages here.
4. Don't look now, but the U.N. wants to stick its corrupt oar in our waters (read: Kofi & Co. are trying to forge a pact that would require sovereign America to turn to them for permission to harvest timber in our national forests. Incredible, hunh. Here's your We Are The World Fix.
5. Kerri Houston of OpinionEditorials.com looks at voting patterns among Senior Citizen as she tries to figure out which prez wannabe the "fogeys" and "gaffers" will prefer in the 2004 election. Here's your Election '04 Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Wall Street Journal (Rather/Demo Fix), Judith Thurman (Theresa Heinz-Kerry), Aman Verjey (Bush deficits), Henry Sokolski (Neutralizing Iraq), and Stanley Kurtz (Media bias).
*Extra! Extra! Eric McMillan, 19, a starting cornerback for the UI Vandals football team from Murrieta, Calif., died from a gunshot wound early this morning here.
*David Bond sent along this observation by Kathleen Parker re: the blogosphere:
[T]he blogosphere isn't just a challenge to journalism in its currently stagnant state, but a potential boon to problem-solving of a higher order. The beauty of the blogosphere is that it is self-igniting, self-propelling and self-selecting, a sort of intellectual ecosystem wherein the best specimens from various disciplines descend from the ethers, converge on an issue and apply their unique talents. Though virtually newborn, the blogosphere has blossomed exponentially in a matter of Earth-time seconds, from a few random voices to a mighty and diverse chorus of sometimes spectacular talent. Bloggers are the Big Bang of the Information Age.
*Blogmeister Ken Sands of the S-R has broken down his terrific slide show on the "History of Hate" in the Inland Northwest into 7 parts that you can find by clicking here and scrolling down the page.
*All the returns aren't in, yet, but it appears that last week was No Holds Barred's best, numberswise, since july 4-10, when the page-views were off the charts. As I said earlier, I wasn't sure what was happening with the blog because August was slow and that continued into September. I had days of 1,782 and 1,860 last week. It's always fun and encouraging to know you're reading.
DFO
John Austin wrote: "I believe Coeur d'Alene is a much better place because Duane invested here." Very true, of course. But it could be an even better place, and Duane has the tools to make it so. He doesn't even have to write a check. He could simply put the wheels in motion and get it done.
Phil Corless
www.pkmeco.com
DFO: Duane should give some of it away now, so he could build monuments to his name before he kicks off. Otherwise, his two sons are going to blow it having fun.
I found your BLOG surfing for more in depth info on Le Duc Tho. I found your style of writing interesting. As a former GB (Green Beret) with 4 tours (64-68), it does not take me long to identify PX soldier heroes like Kerry. Kerry has succeeded in waking up a 35 year old “Sleeping Giant”(VietNam). I sincerely hope that the conviction and subsequent majority of the “American People” will vote this communist out of office and then out of the Senate. What’s happening to our country? Survived the Hurricanes just fine, thanks.
Michael Munsell
Melbourne, Fla.
DFO: A Vietnam War hero checks in from hurricane country.
*Rather apologizes for CBS 'mistake': 'After extensive additional interviews'
no longer 'confident' in Bush memos (WorldNetDaily): Earth to Dan -- And the American public is no longer confident in you.
*Israeli missile kills senior Hamas leader: Palestinian terrorist made, fired rockets at towns (Associated Press): And another one bites the dust.
*American beheaded? Posting on Islamic website claims U.S. hostage killed in Iraq (Associated Press): And we're still wringing our hands about Abu Ghraib? C'mon.
*Iraq PM: 'Broken' Saddam appealed for mercy: Allawi says ex-dictator claims he meant no harm to his people during reign (Associated Press): And his people are going to mean no harm to Saddam when they string him up.
*Marriage Supporters Swamp Louisiana Polls, Approve Constitutional Amendment: But Voting Irregularities May Spawn Court Challenges by Pro-Homosexual Groups (Agape Press): Now watch for the gay-marriage activists to find a numbskull Lefty judge to thwart 78 percent of the voters who support traditional marriage.
*Cartoonist Milt Priggee kicks of the IHMO-NW roundup with his regular political 'toon here.
*The Missoulian agrees that college is expensive but that doesn't mean that it isn't unaffordable (follow that triple negative) here.
*Columnist Dan Popkey gives state Rep. Kathy Stippen, R-Emmett, credit for shaming party leaders into admitting the U.S. government harmed Idahoans downwind with N-bomb tests in the '50s and '60s here.
*Columnist Art Thiel of the P-I sez Seattle manager Bob Melvin shouldn't be blamed for the M's horrific season here.
*The Seattle P-I applauds Washington's draconian click-in-and-ticket laws here.
Since I no longer can link to stories behind the S-R on-line firewall, I figured I'd give you a sample of today's Huckleberries: "'If I emulated you, I'd publish the fact that I wish you'd get hit by a car the next time you vote Republican,' letter writer Mary Jean Tranfo of CdA, protesting the Huckleberry in which I wished a man had drowned after he'd sexually assaulted a 24-year-old femme on The Coeur d'Alene Resort Boardwalk and was punched into Lake Coeur d'Alene. So voting Republican is as bad as wishin/hopin/prayin a perv had met his maker? I'll be looking both ways – twice – before I cross a street near Mary Jean's house." The liberals are getting restless as the election approaches.
1. You can read all about Celia McGinty, the brave 16-year-old from Moscow, Idaho, who foiled a possible Columbine-type plot near Detroit, Mich. by telling her father about a weird chat room mate, here.
2. Indeed, someone got fired for the Rathergate, and it wasn't Dan Rather at C-B.S. News. Rather, Brian Maloney sez his show as canceled by KIRO-AM radio in Seattle after he criticized Rather here.
3. Andy Taylor, who will play Leo Bloom when "The Producers" opens at the Spokane Opera House Tuesday, is a native Missoulian who graduated from Hellgate High. The Missoulian tells you all about it here.
4. The Looney Tunes from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have WSU's superb vets' school in their cross-hairs this week, according to The Daily Evergreen, here.
5. According to Jim Brunner of The Seattle Times have gone from political outsiders to insiders in their U.S. Senate race here.
6. Lt. Alex Weatherbee became the first UI grad to be killed in Iraq War combat, according to The Daily Argonaut here.
7. Boy-C State's Broncos are No. 21 after dropping Mike Price's UTEP 11 for its third win in a row to start the season here.
8. Canada has joined the search for Frederick Russell, the WSU student who killed three fellow students in 2001 while driving drunk and then vamoosed, here.
Dan Rather's comments about Rathergate as carried on The Drudge Report:
Last week, amid increasing questions about the authenticity of documents used in support of a 60 MINUTES WEDNESDAY story about President Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News vowed to re-examine the documents in question—and their source—vigorously. And we promised that we would let the American public know what this examination turned up, whatever the outcome.
Now, after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically. I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers. That, combined with some of the questions that have been raised in public and in the press, leads me to a point where—if I knew then what I know now—I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question.
But we did use the documents. We made a mistake in judgment, and for that I am sorry. It was an error that was made, however, in good faith and in the spirit of trying to carry on a CBS News tradition of investigative reporting without fear or favoritism.
Please know that nothing is more important to us than people's trust in our ability and our commitment to report fairly and truthfully.
In the "Truth Will Come Out In The End" category, "CBS News" finally is admitting grave doubts about the bogus documents it used to try to string up Dubya. Quoth The New York Times: "The officials, who asked not to be identified, said CBS News would most likely make an announcement as early as today that it had been deceived about the documents' origins." Dunno what the cuh-razies would do in Iraq to a man who made such a blunder. But the Japanese in days of yore would hand Dan Rather a sword and tell him to do the honorable thing. Can you say hari-kari, baybee?
1. Chuck Asay and Paul Nowak kick off the week with your Political 'Toon Fix here and here.
2. Tongue firmly cheeked, The Onion presents its 2004 Votes Guide (courtesy of Daniel Kurtzman's Political Humor site) here. And, for your My Way Fix, you can find This Day in History here, This Day in Music here and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Hostage deadline looms here, Why voter surveys don't agree here, Photog of Viet Cong execution dies here, Distraught Saddam begging for mercy here, and Kerry drops TV ads in 7 states here.
4. Lowell Ponte of FrontPageMag sez of beleaguered Dan Rather of "CBS News": "the lengthening shadows cast by his latest controversy have begun to expose how eccentric, megalomaniacal and devoid of ethics and judgment he for decades has been." Here's your Tainted CBS News Fix.
5. Now, that J. Flipflop Kerry sees his chances of winning the prez election flying out the window, he's decided that the war in Iraq is unwinnable, and he's doing everything possible to paint it as another Vietnam. The Viet Cong had no greater friend in this country that Kerry, once he got back from Vietnam. And he seems to be reprising his war as the best friend out enemy ever had. Here's your Flipflopflip Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Wall Street Journal (UN has no moral standing), MacKubin Thomas Owens (Vietnam vets), John Leo (The internment taboo), Jerry Falwell (Why Christians divorce), and Colorado Gov. Bill Owens (Proportionately distributing electoral votes is bad idea).
The blog's been acting up again today, but superb Blogmeister Ken Sands is on the case. Seems the blog allowed me to save what I'd written but it wouldn't allow me to post. Therefore, you couldn't see several letters debating Duane Hagadone's philanthrophy earlier this afternoon. Usually, you can be certain that the software is acting up if one of the daily features fails to appear within an hour of its usual time. I'm not as punctual as clockwork. But I'm close to it. Before I leave for my weekend r-'n'r, I have one last link for you -- a superb piece by former network correspondent Bernard Goldberg in the Wall Street Journal opining on the mess that CBS News and Dan Rather find themselves in re: those questionable Bush National Guard docs here.
I had to laugh and laugh at “In the know,” because just about every fundraiser, or party, or event that Big D and his friends have are blasted all over the front page of his newspaper.
I think it’s time to shatter the In the know's myth that Big D is moving behind the scenes, giving a helping hand. Big D is a shrewd businessman, who used
skill, vision, talent, and a little luck to become the most powerful person in Kootenai County. But he is not a great philanthropist. He is what he is.
Show me where he has donated large sums of cash to charities. And by large, I mean half-million dollar checks or larger. I know he likes to open his home for fundraisers, cater the event, and provide entertainment. It’s all very nice. But where is the picture of Big D handing over a $5 million check to the library
foundation, or $100,000 check to the local’s woman’s shelter? Or the matching check for Old Bob’s Christmas fundraiser every year? If he is so generous why does he pay his people so poorly?
If he is so generous, why did he insist on bending the city of Coeur d’Alene over a barrel and refusing to donate Sanders Beach to the public? I believe there are many people in the community who make a lot less money than Big D and give a whole lot more than he does, proportionally speaking.
The Edge
DFO: Hard to argue with The Edge's logic.
DBH does not give a darn about the quality of his newspaper. He only cares about advertising sold and they do a great job of it. The CDA Press makes a bundle.
As far as giving on a large scale to this community, I would have to call B.S. Giving 10% of ones income is considered to be fairly generous. That would mean that he would give a few million in cold hard cash back to the community. He considers paying property taxes and providing jobs to be his community service and to his credit he does alot of that.He is a shrewd businessman who does not make a move that will not help his bottom line. That is why he has a ton of money. But philanthropy is the the effort to promote happiness of mankind by making generous donations.
That is not his style and never will be.
Eagle Eye
While I've opined (with tongue firmly in cheek) about Duane Hagadone's wealth, I can't minimize the "invisible hand" that he has already placed upon his hometown. Adam Smith, in 1776 wrote in "The Wealth of Nations": "by pursuing his own interest (the entreprenuer) frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it". I believe Coeur d'Alene is a much better place because Duane invested here. And, he is surely not the only wealthy person in north Idaho to hold onto what he has earned.
John Austin
(D.P. Bond's letter is a bit long, but it brings out some important facts about life in the military as the Vietnam War was winding down. I hope the jump function on this blog doesn't malfunction again.)
Let's assume that Dan and the BAM are right, that the bloggers (a nation of fact-checkers, according to today's WSJ) are wrong, that the CBS 60 Minutes documents are genuine. The larger question becomes, Did "W" get special treatment to get out of Guard duty early. Probably, maybe, but he didn't need it! From my own experience with the USAF, just about any junior officer who wanted out of duty in the 1970s got it.
This was the early 1970s. Nixon was "vietnamizing" the Vietnam war before Ford ended it. All branches of the US military were top-heavy with officers as a result of draft and recruiting efforts in the late 1960s.
Now, here was the deal. You signed up for ROTC or took OCS or even went to Colorado Springs, and a pilot's commitment was 7 years after college; one year of Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT), followed by 6 years' active duty service. In exchange (remember, I entered college in 1969) they paid for your last two years of university education. You got your commission upon graduation. So, seven years of military duty hanging out there, seems like a very long time to a 21-year-old, lemme tell you.
In 1972 the service branches realized they had this huge overhang of officers coming on line. They'd just spent (or were about to spend) $250k in 1972 dollars per pilot for that year's training, get six years' service out of him after that. A pilot of my age would have, if he stayed in either the Guard or the Regular AF and kept his flight status, would be looking to retirement in 1993 after 20 years as a light bird (lieutenant colonel) which in 1974 was about $30k a year and now is $78k a year. Military retirement pay is 50 percent of salary. Which means I could have put in my full 20 and processed-out at $39k/year a decade ago! Plus full VA and BX privileges.
I gotta think some actuary guys at the Pentagon in the 1970s were looking at this mushrooming unfunded pension liability, too, at having basically everyone who escaped the draft sucking off the federal retirement teat in 1990. It would have scared hell out of them.
Dave, the big-shots walked through the hallways of the BOQs and the barracks and said to us, "Hey, if you guys want out early, you go it. No VA, no retirement, no base privileges, no medical, that's the trade. You go out as an E-0 with no bennies." Because my late wife Christy didn't like the military, and I wasn't particularly fond of it myself, I took that option. Nobody jangled any telephones. Nobody cashed any checks. That was just a fact of the post-Vietnam US military. They were officer-heavy and they were willing to let anybody out who wanted out.
Well, hell, I looked around. United Airlines was on a 7-year furlough of pilots. Commuter airlines weren't born yet and nobody was hiring low-time turbine pilots like me no matter how good their fitreps were. So I took the deal. No phone calls to influential relatives required. The USAF had a way of converting flying hours into years of obligated service, and from what I've read, W put in a hell of a lot more cockpit time than I did and earned early discharge with full bennies. So he took an early-out, as we called it back then.
He earned it more than I did; again, I cannot stress enough, he didn't have to expend any political capital for an early-out. They were begging us to do it and we were kids, dumb enough not to see that when we hit 40 the VA might be a nice thing to have. That's giving Rather the benefit of the doubt, too. Personally, I'd rather fly with W than take a boat-ride with John Kerry.
David Bond
Wallace
In defense of Duane and Lola's (Hagadone) philanthropy ... it's mostly done quietly without fanfare, but they do contribute on a large scale in this community. There's no defense, however, for the fact that Duane must no longer read or much care about his so-called flagship publication, the Coeur d'Alene Press. Throwing dollars at newsroom salaries might very well boost the local economy and morale but it can't resolve the absolute lack of interest in quality by those in the top positions of his communications division. I'm not alone in wishing that Duane, Brad and whomever else is controlling the purse strings in that area of the corporation would place a priority on producing a quality publication. The advertising dollars would follow.
In the Know
DFO: Brad Hagadone was my darkroom technician when I was running Duane's newsroom in Kalispell, Mont. He was a very good still photographer. But I thought he was a little too laid back to make it big in the corporate world. He must have connections somewhere.
*C-BS' Andy Rooney believes National Guard memos are fake (The Mercury News): At this point, Dan Rather and his producer are the only ones who don't believe the memos are fake and the producer is wavering.
*NY Times issues series of corrections in CBS Rather-gate story (The Drudge Report): It hasn't been a very good year for the Old Gray Lady.
*City council candidate calls for killing Bush: Handbill also urges sex attack on president's twin daughters (Associated Press): Why is this nut still walking around free?
*Russia will strike first in fight against terrorists, Putin says (Voice of America): Go for it.
*Teacher arrested after bookmark called concealed weapon (Local 6): Airport screeners continue to terrorize cuss-tomers.
*David Horsey of the P-I looks at that controversial Deborah Senn race here, and Eric Devericks of The Seattle Times doodles about Washington's new primary here.
*In the lead to a three-dot column, Jim Moore, the P-I's Go 2 Guy, discusses a new book about former WSU coach Jim Walden, ghost written by former S-R sports writer Dave Boling, here.
*Jamie Kelly of the Missoulian writes a letter to a young Libertarian capitalist here.
*Columnist Joel Connelly of the P-I sez mushy talking points aren't help Flipflop's campaign here.
*UI's Argonaut makes a good point that federal Republicans don't share the same smaller-government principles as Idaho Republicans here.
I flat don't know what to make of the story in the Coeur d'Alene Press today about the love affair between journalist Lucy Dukes and National Guardsman Doug Hoffman. She found love on assignment. Which certainly is OK. But I wonder if she provided too much info in writing about it? Oh well, I wish them well, particularly Doug, a brave serviceman from Bonners Ferry. Click here.
1. No Holds Barred publishes stories about our valiant men and women who have fallen in battle to honor their memories -- not undercut the war effort as is the habit of many in the Big American Media (BAM). Today, NHB provides this story about Sgt. Jacob Demand (1975-2000), who died in combat this week while patroling west of Mosul. R.I.P. Click here.
2. Robert Delgado, an assistant basketball coach at Rainier Beach High School, wasn't moved to tears by the wound he suffered when he was stabbed randomly by an 18-year-old. He cried when his assailant died on the gurney next to him here.
3. Miss Washington Allison Porter brings quite a resume with her to the Miss America Pageant, including pre-med student, violinist ... and boxer here.
4. Seatbelt use in "click it or ticket" Washington state has reached 94 percent, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced here.
5. Last month, Marine Maj. Kevin Shea, 38, of Seattle, was nominated for a Bronze star for valor in the Iraq fight, but he never told his family about it. Which is typical. Now, the family has its memories to cling to because the courageous major was killed in the line of duty this week here.
6. At Fort Bliss, Texas, Idaho National Guardsmen practice their final mock missions before being deployed to Iraq here.
Yesterday, No Holds Barred provided the John Kerry Loyalty Quiz (I scored 1 out of 10) from Daniel Kurtzman's Political Humor site. So, turnabout's fair play. You can see how loyal you are to Dubya by taking the George W. Bush Loyalty Quiz here.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Paul Nowak looks at J. Flipflop Kerry as weatherman here, and Wayne Stayskal doodles at Dan Rather's expense here.
2. Leno: "Did you see Martha’s (Stewart) press conference? She said when she goes to jail she will miss her dogs, cats, canaries horses and chickens. That’s gotta make her daughter feel special? She didn’t even make the top five! Can’t you squeeze her in between the canary and the chicken." And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: CBS News 'source' compared Bush to Hitler here, Kerry flipflops on same-sex marriage here, New MoveOn.org TV ad shows defeated American soldier here, Bush up 54-40 in new Gallup poll (but another poll shows virtual tie) here, and 'Football Fans for Truth' poke fun at Kerry's fumbles here.
4. Fifty-one percent of Americans responding to a Pew Poll sez church leaders should express their political views. (If they do, however, they'd be shut down by the Democratic Central Committee.) Here's your Latest Poll Fix.
5. The Democrats (who suddenly consider military service important) have been bashing Dubya for his National Guard service. This, despite the fact that Guardsmen served valiantly in Vietnam and are leading the charge in Iraq now. But the Guard treats Dubya like a hero, if its warm response to the commander in chief is any indication. The current cover story of World mag looks at Dubya, his warm reception and those fraudulent Guard docs here.
6. Opinion Fix: Colin Powell (Insurgents will not succeed), Dick Morris (Kerry campaign), Charles Colson (Thinking about Vietnam), David Limbaugh (Old media's disproportionate interest in Bush's past), and Charles Krauthammer (No where left to flop).
I'm a ha-huge Garrison Keillor fan, when it comes to "A Prairie Home 
Companion," the dyne-oh!-mite Public Radio broadcast on weekends that takes you back to the amateur hour of days gone by. But he occasionally writes a stinker of a book (the one on the fictional radio station comes to mind). And his Lefty politics are suspect. However, Demos take enough of a beating in this blog that I feel obligated to publish excerpts from Keillor's book, "Homegrown Democrat," sent to me by Silver Valley D Iris J. Byrne. (Warning: Incendiary Liberal Contents). Click here.
Poor, John, he doesn't understand the POWER of the darkside ... There is no way, and I mean no way, that Big D will ever part with one extra dime than he needs to pay for anything. He could write a $10 million check for the library foundation, $15 million check for a new community center (swimming pool included), and a $20 million check for a new civic center, and not skip a beat. His quality of life wouldn’t go down at all. Alas, he doesn’t adhere to the "giving back to the community" theory, which is his right. However, his legacy lacks substance, much like everything he owns.
The Edge
DFO: Harsh.
Unquestionably, the blogosphere played a major role in outing Dan Rather and his highly suspect hit on Dubya's National Guard record. The Wall Street Journal published a superb article on what this means to the media here (big-time thanks to David Bond for bringing this to my attention). And the Big American Media (BAM) licked its wounds in this Editor & Publisher piece here.
Our cloudy skies are
full of rains,
but we aren’t dodging
hurricanes.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
re: Duane Hagadone's plans to build 32,016sf mansion at Palm Desert, Calif., here.
One more note on Duane Hagadone: Maybe he could cruise Coeur d'Alene Lake on the "Idaho" (sell the Lady Lola: estimated cost of $52 mil), downsize from the Stanley Hill mansion (pictured, 30,000 SF: $5 million, minimum), fly first class (sell the G-4, reportedly $20 mil), ace the chopper (reportedly $8 mil) and nix Palm Springs (32,016 SF: $5 mil, if it is a penny). That still leaves him the Casco Bay Lake Place and a very nice lifestyle.
Now, he can invest the $90 million he just made at 8% (probably more, but let's use 8%), and he would net $7.2 million annually. That would pay 1,000 of his most valued employees $3.46 per hour more ($7,200 annually), and he would never touch the principal.
Oh, to be King for just one day.
John Austin
DFO: John must be a hopeless romantic.
*CBS concern over viewership plunge; Rather ratings fade in major markets (The Drudge Report): Couldn't happen to a nicer propagandist.
*Dobson: Boycott Procter & Gamble: 'Tacit support' of same-sex marriage 'affront to its customers' (WorldNetDaily): The B-word gets advertisers nervous.
*U.S. report offers gloomy outlook for Iraq: Worst-case scenario includes country deteriorating into civil war (Reuters): Dubya said it wasn't going to be easy.
*Drunken Kerry supporter diverts flight: Man became enraged with female passenger who argued for Bush (Newsday): Dems who can't hold their liquor shouldn't argue politics. And vice versa.
*Amendment introduced to let 20-year citizens run for White House (Associated Press): President Ahnold?
*
*Cartoonist Milt Priggee considers J. Flipflop Kerry's changing views on Iraq -- and Dubya's -- here (Warning: Moderate Liberal Content).
*The Missoula opines that our part of the world is better off without Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler, who died last week, here.
*Pulitzer Prize-winning John Hughes, former editor of the Christian Science Monitor, tells Seattle Times readers that terrorists are trying to divide Muslim moderates and extremists here.
*Bill Virgin of the P-I columnizes on why readers love, hate those Geico ads here.
*U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt has displeased Demos with his compromise bill that will please a powerful California congressman who stands in the way of the Wild Sky Wilderness bill. And Joel Connelly tells you all about it here.
Today's edition of Best of the Northwest is brought to you by the No. 233. Or the number of hits Ichiro Suzuki has at this moment as he pursues George Sisler's 84-year-old record. Ichiro is the reason to keep tuning into Seattle ballgames. Larry Stone of The Seattle Times columnizes on this amazing athlete here and here.
1. Weymouth Symmes, a retired Missoula banker, has played a major role in the presidential campaign as the treasurer of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the organization that's holding J. Flipflop Kerry accountable for his war and post-war actions here.
2. Fans going to this weekend's WSU game against UI on College Hill in Pullman had better be careful. According to The Daily Evergreen, Pullman police plan to strictly enforce the town's parking policy here.
3. Three soldiers from the Northwest have died in fighting this week in Iraq, including Sgt. Jacob Demand of Palouse (Whitman County) here.
4. History may play a role in preserving Hanford's B Reactor as a museum. The reactor, near the banks of the Columbia River, was the world's first full-scale plutonium-production nuclear reactor. It produced the plutonium for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945. Click here.
5. Sgt. Kevin Kencheloe, 48, a counselor at Kootenai Junior-Senior High School, is the "Platoon Daddy" for about 30 troops at Fort Bliss, Texas, who are on their way to northeast Iraq. The Coeur d'Alene Press tells you all about it here.
6. According to The Associated Press, Capt. James Yee, a Muslim chaplain imprisoned for 76 days in solitary confinement and then cleared in an espionage probe, will receive an honorable discharge here.
OK, No Holds Barred in cooperation with Daniel Kurtzman of Political Humor wants to know (for you few Dems who view this site) if you're a true believer in J. Flipflop Kerry or you believe he's going to be roadkill. Dan'l provides a little quiz to determine which your are here.
1. Daryl Cagle & Co. here (Warning: Mild Liberal Content) and Paul Nowak here do the honors today for your Political 'Toon Fix.
2. Leno: "There seems to be more and more evidence that those documents about George Bush’s time in the National Guard that they showed on "60 Minutes” might be fake. In fact, on nightline, Ted Koppel said the Kerry campaign put this stuff out forgeries would be "unbelievably stupid.” You know what this means? Bush is the smart one." And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: CBS docs traced to Texas Kinko's here, 2 Americans, 1 Briton kidnapped here, Ivan slams Alabama, killing 12 here, Coalition allies rejected Annan's Iraq 'Illegal' claim here, and India leads world in HIV cases here.
4. On Saturday, Louisiana will vote on a constitutional marriage during its primaries to protect marriage from the social engineers. Ten more states will follow suit in November. In August, Missouri adopted a similar resolution by a 71 percent vote. Allan Carlson, president of the Howard Center for Family Religion and Society, said the popular movement to protect marriage, manifested by ballot questions, is “democracy in action at its best.” Here's your Marriage Means A Man And A Woman Fix.
5. In voting against J. Flipflop Kerry, there's no need to decide whether or not he's a Vietnam War hero or an anti-war traitor. All you have to do is to look at his lousy voting record. And The Weekly Standard did. Here's your It's The Voting Record, Stupid, Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Ann Coulter (C-BS), Jeff Jacoby (How to steal an election), Chuck Colson (Campaign of hate), Marvin Olasky (Why Kerry is doing so poorly), and Shannen W. Coffin (Jane Roe expose the truth).
I'm still getting responses from that Tuesday note about Duane Hagadone approaching planners in Palm Desert, Calif., to seek permission to build a house of 32,016 square feet on the Bighorn golf development here. The latest:
I believe Bighorn is where Michael Milken lives. It costs $250,000 to join the country club, according to my buddy in Palm Springs. Wives, however, join for the bargain price of only $125,000. $375,000 just to join the country club! A little quick math - 32,000 sf at $300 per is $9,600,000, throw in a few million more for the lot, landscaping, furniture, pretty soon you are talking about real money here!
Deep Throat CDA Style
DFO: If Duane'd put a tenth of that money into the CdA Press newsroom, he could produce a dyne-oh!-mite paper. But he probably thinks he already has a dyne-oh!-mite paper. Ahaha. Ahaha. Ahaha.
Big D gives out raises? I am shocked to here that. I have spoken with waitresses at the Resort and they tell me that Big D operates on the principle that keeping your job is all the reward you need, and that there is always somebody who can do your job for less money, so work harder, look cute, and don't complain about nuthing...
The Edge
DFO: The Edge is responding to my comment that Kingpin Duane Hagadone's new home in Palm Desert, Calif., of 32,016 feet will torpedo any raises in wages and benefits for the Hagadroids in 2005.
More on the Hagadone Palace in (Palm Desert) California.... At 32,000 sq. ft., maybe Duane could build it here in Coeur d'Alene instead, and they could fill most of it with books and just call it the new Public Library (proposed at 38,000 sq. ft.).
Phil Corless
www.pkmeco.com
DFO: Brilliant.
*Experts hired by CBS say concerns ignored: Network wanted them to authenticate documents in Bush report (ABC News): CBS News fake doc fiasco has hijacked the spotlight from J. Flipflop Kerry's vain attempt to gain traction. Way to go.
*Documents show Arafat paid for disco bombing: Sent thank-you note to family of terrorist who killed 21, injured 120 (WorldNetDaily): And he has a face that'd scare a crocodile.
*Saudis rebuked over lack of religious freedom: U.S. adds nation to oppressive regimes of China, Cuba, Iran, N. Korea (Reuters): I've always said: With friends like the Saudis, who needs enemies?
*Direct hit by Ivan could sink New Orleans: Worst scenario: Treetop-deep in sewage, industrial chemicals (Associated Press): Here's hoping the AP is using scare tactics to sell papers for its subscribers and this doesn't come to pass.
*Kennedy to hit campaign trail for Kerry: Launching 7-week election drive for Massachusetts colleague (Associated Press): The Chapaquiddick Kid would get a warm reception in Idaho -- not.
I decided to move the Pacific Northwest political cartoonists to the "IMHO-NW" feature because they relate better with opinion than news. Here's today's IMHO-NW:
*David Horsey of the P-I looks at Putin's response to the terrorists brutal slaughter at Beslan here, and Milt Priggee takes aim at Dubya's National Guard record (but not Dan Rather's suspect reporting) here. (Warning: Liberal Alert)
*The UI Argonaut brings Coeur d'Alene into the fray as it blasts the current administration's approach to sex education here.
*Another of the fine Iraq dispatches from Editor Ralph Bartholdt of the St. Maries News-Gazette can be found here.
*After talking to two dozen Washingtonians at the polls yesterday, Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times characterized the state's political mood in one word: irked. Click here.
*Blaine Newnham of the Times sez the M's have the money to make major moves in the offseason here.
Yeah, I know Washington held its primary yesterday, and Washingtonians are still upset about the new primary ballots. But first things first. Ichiro Suzuki got another hit in pursuit of George Sisler's record 257 hits way back when. And now there's a book out about the private Japanese rightfielder for the Mariners. So, let's begin today's Best of the Northwest roundup with an excerpt for M's fans on "Ichiro on Ichiro" here.
1. Finally, it's Patty Murray vs. George Nethercutt straight up in a race for the U.S. Senate here.
2. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig was glad to see the "ineffective" assault weapons ban be sunsetted here, and The Idaho Statesman takes him to task for his views here.
3. The ACLU has told Ada County Muslims who are questioned by law enforcement personnnel to be polite to the FBI but get a lawyer here.
4. It's Gregoire vs. Rossi for the Washington governor's seat here. And some voters are still frustrated by the new Washington primary system here.
5. What is it with doctors all of a sudden? First, Dr. Bill Fouche of Post Falls gets apprehended for voyeurism and now a South King County gynecologist is about to be slammed for assaulting several women here.
6. Speaking of pervs, Eric R. Cannavero, a former KXLY-TV newscaster, pleaded guilty Monday to sexually molesting the son of a friend. He faces 15 years in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 8 here.
7. A high school basketball coach from the Puget Sound area was stabbed by a teen he didn't know for no apparent reason here.
8. WSU's Cougars are going to start mediocre Josh Swogger against UI when the two clash -- ah, mebbe we should make that "meet" judging from the lackluster performances last weekend -- Saturday here.
The annual "See You at the Pole" Day took place this morning on high school campuses across the United States. Never heard of it? It's the day when Christian high schoolers gather around their flag pole to join hands and pray for their classmates, schools and country. My son and my daughter participated in the event at both Coeur d'Alene and Lake City high schools. When I consider the fallen and dangerous world that they'll face as adults, I know they and their generation of Christian kids will need all the prayer they can get. So do all of us. You can read more about this marvelous event by clicking here.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Daryl Cagle's gang and Chuck Asay lead the way here and here. And one of Guy Gilchrist's angels provides inspiration here.
2. Daniel Kurtzman of Political Humor provides "The 10 Dumbest Quotes of Campaign 2004" here. For your My Way Fix, you can find This Day in History here, This Day in Music here and Today's Birthday's here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Bush receives warm reception from National Guard here, ABC, experts: CBS ignore concerns about Bush docs here, Martha Stewart wants prison now here, New Orleans has 10,000 body bags ready here, and Top Demo rips Kerry campaign here.
4. Dr. Walid Phares sez Islamic fundamentalists started the war on terror, but the U.S. is catching up here. Who's he? Phares is a Professor of Middle East Studies and Senior Fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Here's your War on Terror Fix. And some dittos from Donald Rumsfeld here.
5. William Kristol of The Weekly Standard looks at Flipflop Kerry's latest position on Iraq for your Flipflopflip Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Zev Chafets (Rather's scoop), Dick Morris (Nobody likes Kerry), Richard V. Allen (What Bush did right in Korea), Michelle Malkin (Bloggers), and Tony Blankley (Rather, CBS in death throes).
Writing for the New Republic, Andrew Sullivan recounts that direct hit scored by the blogosphere on the mainstream media -- or, in blogger's terms, MSM -- re: Dan Rather's highly questionable report on Bush's National Guard service. The MSM, of course, is studiously looking the other way on this. The New York Times barely can bring itself to report there's a problem here. And the rest of the MSM is following suit here. Basically, I believe, the MSM is so caught up in liberal groupthink and trying to float Flipflop's sinking ship that they've sold out on this election. I've never seen such liberal bias in my 34 years in the news biz in terms of story play, slanted headlines, slanted drop heads and, in this case, sins of omission. And the execs wonder why mainstream America -- or MSA -- is tuning out and turning to other sources for its news.
32,000 sq. ft.??? What, is he taking in orphans?
Phil Corless
www.pkmeco.com
DFO: I don't believe The Kingpin's big on charity. Still, I can't think what he and the original Lady Lola need with 32,016 square feet. That's four times the size of partner Jerry Jaeger's Coeur d'Alene mansion ... oh!
HOTDOG! The assault weapons ban is off. Too bad my better half won’t let me get that TEC9 have been eyeing for the last 10 years. She wants to spend the money at Bed Bath and Beyond. There should be a law against foo-foo shower curtains, perfumes, and bath beads. Those are truly dangerous.
The Edge
DFO: Sounds like The Edge has been domesticated. But that's just as well. Cuddling up to a wife that's been pampered by Bed Bath & Beyond beats cuddling up to a hunting buddy any day.
Victor Davis Hanson of National Review On Line has written a parody of how Edward R. Murrow would have covered the attack on Pearl Harbor if he had been caught up in the PC squeamishness of today's media here.
It’s interesting that in the CBS memogate issue, it sounds as if none of the examiners, including CBS’s own, saw original documents. I can’t imagine that a qualified professional examiner of questioned documents would offer an opinion without having access to the original so that not only the typeface and signatures but the papers and inks could be examined. I also wonder if the memos presented by CBS were compared linguistically to authenticated exemplars from the alleged writer.
Bill McCrory
Coeur d’Alene
DFO: James Taranto's "Best of the Web" provides some more insights on Rathergate here, and the New York Sun details how four bloggers punctured Dan Rather's skewp here.
CdA kingpin Duane Hagadone is planning to build a house of 32,016 square feet near a golf course in Palm Desert, Calif. -- to go with his Lady Lola, Lady Lola Shadow boat and helicopter, Coeur d'Alene Resort, recent purchase of The Cedars floating restaurant, etc. Oh well, there goes next year's raises and benefit packages. You can read all about it here.
P.S. This is why you have to read this blog daily and sometimes several times a day.
I'm terribly saddened to report that my son David Carter Rook was killed in a tragic trucking accident last night in South Dakota. My grandson Matthew will be traveling to South Dakota to pick up his fathers remains returning them to Georgia for burial. Matthew is a police officer at Rockmark, Georgia. David was born August 1, 1956 in Fort Worth, Texas. I'd very much appreciate you remembering him in your prayers. Thank you
John Rook
DFO: Big John is a very good man who loves his two sons, David and Clifford, very much. This is a sad day indeed. Keep the survivors in your prayers.
*Kerry Silver Star report backs critics: Confirms Democrat shot wounded enemy fighter as he fled (WorldNetDaily): Betcha that's something he didn't brag about to Hanoi Jane Fonda.
*Democrats hammer Bush in new video: 'Fortunate Son' implies president lied about Texas National Guard service (WorldNetDaily): Say what you want about the Demos' slimy attacks on Dubya's National Guard record (including the bogus one reported by Dan Rather), I think it's nice that they now consider military service important after 8 years of supporting Slick Willy.
*CBS expert: I didn't authenticate papers: Examined only signature – 'copies ... far removed' from originals (Washington Post): If the Washington Post is onto Rather's gullibility and possible complicity, can the rest of the mainstream media be far behind? Mebbe.
*Bush agenda price tag: $3 trillion: Yet president slams Kerry for proposed $2 trillion in long-term spending (Washington Post): I certainly applaud Dubya for taken the fight to Islamic extremists when the news media/Demo/Planet Hollyweird complex is doing everything it can to undermine him, but (as I've said before) he's lousy with the nation's checkbook. He and Flipflop are both big spenders.
*Judge targeted for same-sex ruling: Group opposing California domestic-partners law plans recall (San Francisco Chronicle): Good riddance to a bad judge.
I met G. George Ostrom of the now-defunct Kalispell News 27 years ago during my stretch as editor of The Daily Inter Lake of Kalispell, Mont., owned by Coeur d'Alene's Duane Hagadone. Ostrom was larger than life, a Montanan with a nose for news and adventures that took him all over northwestern Montana and beyond to hike and report. He almost sold me his paper once. But that's another story. He's now the news director of KOFI radio in Kalispell and writes a column for the Whitefish Pilot, which Hagadone has bought along with all the other once fine weeklies in the Flathead Valley, including Mel Ruder's Pulitzer Prize winning Hungry Horse News. Mel must have rolled over in his grave the day Hagadone bought his paper. Why am I telling you all this. I wanted you to pay attention when I blog G. George's column. Click here.
*The Idaho Statesman appreciates U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo's promise to help radioactive downwinders fight for federal money but wonders why the rest of Idaho's delegation isn't helping out here.
*Columnist Neal Peirce tells Seattle Times readers about the wi-fi revolution here.
*To silence both Bush and Kerry, sez columnist Bill Virgin of the P-i, just mention China here.
*Columnist John Levesque of the P-I explains why M's fans who bought memorial bricks for a museum at Safeco Field got the shaft more than the rest of us during this horrible summer of the Mariners disintegration here.
Idaho U.S. Sen. Larry Craig had this to say about our silly and 
ineffective assault weapon law, which expires tonight:
Today marks the death of an ineffective law - a law whose very foundation is based on emotion and cosmetics, not facts," said Craig. "The only effect this ban had was to deny law-abiding citizens the right to own certain firearms that look more dangerous than others. It did nothing to reduce crime, save lives, or keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
Bingo.
The arrest of Dr. William Fouche of Post Falls on voyeurism charges is unwelcome, indeed. I don't know Bill that well. But his late wife, Colleen, was a wonderful woman who had a tremendous impact on the lives of many children with her small Christian school that meets in the basement of the Coeur d'Alene Nazarene Church, including my two. Without her and her fine staff challenging my son to quit goofing off in school, I doubt that Seth would be in medical school today. Bill supported Colleen's work with his time and his money. And he's innocent until proven guilty. But that doesn't mean I'm not heart sick about this. You can read about this awful story here.
1. Political cartoonist Eric Devericks of The Seattle Times takes on the bruising political season here.
2. More than 100 bosses were airlifted to Fort Bliss, Texas, to see first hand how their Idaho National Guardsmen are training to face the dangers of Iraq for a year. They found out that the training isn't kid stuff here.
3. Washington voters are still having a hissy fit about the new primary ballots here.
4. The $1 million anti-Deborah Senn ad campaign in the Washington attorney general's race is part of a campaign by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to target supreme court and attorney general candidates in 25 races around the country here.
5. Shoppers in the Northwest can kiss the Bon Marche/Bon Macy name goodbye. Beginning in January, the string of 50 stories in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming will officially become Macy's here.
6. U-Dub student Caitlin Murphy has written a book that's sure to be a best seller on campus: "Fighting the Freshman Fifteen: How to lose weight in college -- or better yet, never put it on." If you have a freshman in college, like I do, you might want to put it on your shopping list here.
7. NASCAR has nixed two potential sites from Thurston County (Yelm & Lacey) as it continues to look in Washington and Oregon for a place to build a new race track here.
8. At 2-0, the Montana Grizzlies are back on top of the I-AA football poll here.
You guys scared me when we installed the firewall that forced nonsubscribers to pay to view our Web site. I lost about 40 percent of my traffic for about a week. But that's beginning to bounce back to pre-Sept. 1 levels. If you enjoy this blog, please do me a favor and share the Web link with your friends and encourage them to kick the tires and look under the hood of No Holds Barred. The more the merrier. Now, here's your morning fixes.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Paul Nowak presents his view of gullible Dan Rather (pictured) and the purported anti-Bush forgery here, and Wayne Stayskal has fun with the end of the assault weapons ban here.
2. I can't resist Jay D. Dyson's Sacred Cow Burgers. Today, J.D. spoofs "CBS's Black Eye" here. And for the rest of your morning My Way Fix, you can find This Day in History here, This Day in Music here and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Black voters call on Kerry to refocus here, Poll: Kerry ranks lower than Dukakis, Putin here, Home-schoolers hit campaign trail here, Baghdad car bomb kills at least 59 here, and Europe to be new Roman empire? here.
4. Brent Bozell of Media Research Center is demanding that CBS (Can't Believe Squat) News come clean about its complicity in the character assassination involving President Bush's National Guard service. Sez Bozell: "With every Watergate-like denial, the integrity of CBS News continues to crumble." Here's your Can't Believe Squat News Fix.
5. Citizens Against Government Waste has issued a Category 5 warning, claiming that the pork bellies in Congress are prepared to use the hurricane catastrophes in Florida and southeast U.S. to dump plenty of pork into the remaining budget appropriations. With a $400 billion plus deficit, opines the group, the pork could cost more than the clean. Here's your Let 'Em Dine on Pork Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: David Brooks (Hawk vs. hawk in Iraq), James Pinkerton (Blogosphere takes down CBS News), John Podhoretz (CBS forgeries), Mark Steyn (Move on, MoveOn.org), and Timothy Wheeler (The assault weapon myth).
'Tis the day that I meet with my padre first thing in the morning. So, I'm running late. You'll get your morning fixs in about an hour -- dfo
I've had a rough time on the blog front today -- just getting things into print. Which means I have leftovers -- good leftovers. So, let's start with the folks who provide Sacred Cow Burgers, including John D. Dyson's spoof, "Kerry is so 9/10," here and "CBS Forgery" here.
*Big John Rook provides a fantabulous little story about a men who changed his tune after singing about hunting for women rather than game. Follow this one until the end for a coupla surprises. It's sorta like a "rest of the story" here.
*Deepee Bond recommends "a fabulous new site" that's holding CBS' Dan Rather accountable for embracing those Bush National Guard docs that are looking more and more like a forgery here.
DFO
If you're as fed up as I am about the mainstream media's fixation on negative news when it comes to "reporting" (their word, not mine) the war in Iraq, Polish Australian Arthur Chrenkoff's "Good News from Iraq" is a must read. You can read his tenth installment here.
*Study: Racial profiling a growing problem (Associated Press): The biggest problem is that we're not doing enough of it. Or we're profiling little old ladies at airport security points rather than twentysomethings of Islamic persuasion. We're at war, folks.
*Florida OK's Nader's Name on Election Ballot (My Way): Meanwhile, the Lefty Florida Supreme Court -- surprise! surprise! -- is doing its darndest to block Nader from being on the ballot.
*AP stands by its story about anti-Bush SEAL: Man with Muslim name doesn't come up on search of elite sailors (WorldNetDaily): The mainstream media should double check the info they receive in the middle of the night from the Kerry camp.
*Powell: WMDs probably won't be found: 'I think it's unlikely that we will find any stockpiles' (Reuters): They should try looking in Syria.
*Kerry: I'll 'Take On the Terrorists' With Gun Control (NewsMax): Is Flipflop really this clueless?
*Public Editor Michael Arrieta-Walden explains why the Lefty Oregonian endorsed Bush last time and how it does endorsements here.
*Dan Popkey of the Idaho Statesman columnizes on U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo's promise to help Gem County downwinders seek relief here.
*Jim Moore of the P-I sez the Cougs and Dawgs resemble each other at QB here.
*Joel Connelly of the P-I sez the voters will have the last word on whether the nasty politics nationwide and in Washington state work here.
*John Levesque of the P-I looks at one of the worst trades in Mariners' history here.
Like gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson, David Bond has been to Lost Wages, Nev., a time or two. And, like Thompson, D.P. has written about the city of sin. Recently, DP visited Las Vegas for an investment convention. The report he provided for his weekly Wallace Street Journal, however, is a must-read for anyone who enjoys good writing here.
1. David Horsey is right on the money with his view of Florida politics here.
2. About 60 people turned out to commemorate the 127th anniversary of the battle at Canyon Creek, Mont., in which Chief Joseph held off the U.S. cavalry to escape for another month in his futile push toward Canada here.
3. The New York Times analyzes what the death of Aryan Nations founder Richard Butler means here.
4. Boy-C State moves to No. 23 here.
5. The bears are running wild in search of food in Northwest Montana, where a bear conflict specialist fielded over 100 bear calls over the Labor Day weekend alone here.
6. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the sneak behind a $1 million campaign to smear Democrat Deborah Senn, a Washington attorney general wannabe, here.
My blog's been down most of the day as a result of a crash at Blog Central downtown. However, the alert computer fixers took "Kramer" apart and put him back together in record time so I can continue. As a result, I'll provide you with an abbreviated version of this morning's features so I can catch up. Sorry.
I'm running late for my best of the northwest & imho items because i was busy interviewing a bonafide war hero this a.m. you'll read all about it saturday. stay tuned.
Don Morgan drew my attention to a must-read by Stanley Kurtz of National Review On Line explaining why Dan Rather and CBS News won't admit its error re: the bogus documents provided by an anonymous source impugning Dubya's National Guard service here.
Although bloggers have had an impact on the 2004 prez election (bringing to light, for example, the controversy surrounding the Bush National Guard docs), they're not getting rich at their advocation. Even a biggie blogger, like Andrew Sullivan, has to do free-lancing on the side to pay the bills. And he occasionally puts out the word that he needs doughnations. Meanwhile, as long as the Cowles family is paying my bills, I'm enjoying this new media. So, don't expect me to begin begging soon.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Chuck Asay nails the bias of network news here, and Paul Nowak provides his thoughts on Flipflop's weapon stand here.
2. Leno: "According to the latest poll today, Ralph Nader (pictured at a signature-gathering event in Portland this spring) is down to 1% of the popular vote. That’s embarrassing, 1%! He’s even trailing low fat milk, that’s 2%." And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Vietnam vets protest Kerry here, Gore unleashes fury on Demo behalf here, Bounce buoys Bush electoral vote tally here, TV reporter killed on camera here, and stronger Ivan heads toward Cuba here.
4. Barbara Stock at IntellectualConservative.com tells why Vietnam War vets are taking their revenge on John Kerry. Here's your Sauce for the Gander Fix.
5. The Netherlands, which the loopy Left holds up as a model society, isn't content to allow medicalized suicide for adults. It now wants to extend the courtesy of offing yourself to children under the age of 12. Here's your Slippery Slope Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Zell Miller (I'll never trust John Kerry with my family's safety), Robert Novak (Kerry's Nader trap), Dawson Bell (Black abortions), Yuri Ashukov (Beslan), and William Safire (Those discredited memos).
I have one more thing to blog before I leave because this is a hoot. You can see how the horse race for electoral votes between Dubya and Flipflop has gone since May 24 by clicking here. Enjoy.
Before I go tonight for a weekend of r-'n-r with my faithful hunting beagle, Snoop Doggy Dogg (the family's scattered to the winds, as I write), I have a few leftovers to drop on you.
*You can find another serving of Sacred Heart Burgers here. (Warning: Not for the politically corect.)
*In The Know, a relatively new commenter to No Holds Barred, sent along an interesting story re: the role that bloggers played in the possible forgery scandal involving George Bush's National Guard records here.
*Experts like Norm Gissel of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations say hate groups in North Idaho are going, going ... here.
*I missed this Seattle Times feature on WSU tackle Sam Lightbody this morning here.
*And a sneak peak at the football game between Utah State and Idaho this weekend here.
Be careful out there ...
DFO
Jamie Kelly here. You may not remember me, but I was a reporter for the Bonner County Daily Bee round about eight years ago. I’m happy to inform you that I’ve since clawed my way out of the Hagadone muck and am now working as a journalist in Missoula. Here’s another clue: About seven years ago, I’m the one who discovered that your name is an anagram for “Rid Evil Oaf” and “Voila! Fired!”, a fact you printed in your Huckleberries column.
Say, I noticed you linked to my very own column in the Missoulian a few times on your blog. Can’t tell you how much I appreciate that. However, your recent blog would have your readers believe that I am a female. ... No biggie.
Jamie Kelly
Missoulian
DFO: Oops! I didn't realize the Missoulian's Jamie Kelly was the same one that did hard time at the Bonner County Bee. Mea culpa. One of these days, we former Hagadone Snoozepaper Corp survivors should form a club and stage a reunion. The stories we could tell. But I digress. Jamie's a superb writer whose columns are featured in the new IMHO-NW. You can find his latest here.
Bumpersnicker: War is post-partum abortion. (Therefore, I would expect my conservative friends to be anti-war and also anti-capital punishment.)
Gary A. Edwards
DFO: Under the same premise, I'd expect my liberal friends to be anti-war, anti-capital punishment and anti-abortion. Unfortunately, the bad guys aren't going to quit simply because we put a flower in our hair and flash them a peace sign. Still, I appreciate the fact that Gary's trying to win converts among the red-meat tribe that reads No Holds Barred.
"But now we know that Bush dishonored the Oval Office by lying to the American people." Democratic National Committee "Action Alert" 9/10/04
Are these the same people who stood proudly arm in arm with President Bill Clinton during his impeachment for sexual liaisons with an intern in that same Oval Office? Where was their outrage at dishonoring the Oval Office and the presidency when he lied under oath and to the public and to his wife? I guess moral indignation is subjective for those of liberal persuasion.
In the Know
DFO: Well said.
CAPTION: Just like the good old days ... a hot-headed Repub grabs a clueless protester by the hair and leads her from a meeting of Dubya supporters yesterday in Colmar, Pa. (APhoto)
*Ben Barnes' daughter: Father lied about Bush: Radio show confirms ID of female caller saying dad on '60 Minutes' to help Kerry (WorldNetDaily): Those Swiftvets are sounding better and better all the time.
*Little Suicide Bomber's show canceled: Russian public outraged over planned September 11 'terror concert' (Reuters): A Russian idiot gets his comeuppance.
*Dutch use cows to cut down on public sex: Bovine presence shown to discourage human trysts in parks (Reuters): A cow in the outdoor bedroom is a real turnoff.
*Democratic National Committee circulates 'action alert' E-mail (CNSNews.com): Desperate Dems are still trying to score points with Dubya's National Guard service record (see actual wording of Dem action alert). Dunno if the alert was forged or not.
*Mass. Gov. office gets suspicious letter: Massachusetts governor's office gets apparently booby-trapped letter, similar to ones received earlier (AP): I believe they're talking about an attempt at domestic terror here -- not the Dems' "action alert."
*Jamie Kelly of the Missoulian observes the arrival of Starbucks to her little liberal enclave here.
*News Editor Paul Bartholdt of the St. Maries Gazette-Record, who's now back from Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, provides more reports from the front: "Hot Fallujah Nights: Marine team makes routine run in unpredictable Sunni territory" here and "A day's work, miles from home" here.
*Editorialist Lance Dickey of The Seattle Times explains why Granny Smith-green Washington is going to go for Flipflop in the prez sweepstakes (and I believe he's right) here.
*Danny Westneat of the Times admits he was wrong to question gamble made by Muskleshoot Tribe here.
*For you Seahawk fans, John Levesque of the P-I sez Coach Mike Holmgren is focusing on what works here, and Les Carpenter of the Times worries that Seattle could get ambushed in New Orleans this weekend here.
Extra! Extra! Brock Adams, the horndog former U.S. senator from Washington who blew a political career by chasing skirts, died today at 77. In a Seattle Times story, Demo poohbah Paul Berendt sez Adams "will always be remembered fondly as a 'giant-killer' who defeated Slade Gorton" in the 1986 election. "It is very sad he has passed away, and our thoughts are with his family." Actually, Adams will always be remembered as an opportunistic pol who dethroned Slade Gorton in 1986 and then didn't seek re-election after 8 women told the Times that Adams had harassed them. Click here.
1. David Horsey and Milt Priggee have veered to the left this week, but that doesn't prevent No Holds Barred from featuring their wares here and here. (Warning: Liberal alert.)
2. Jim Doyon, a member of the Green River Task Force who called the arrest of Gary Ridgway (pictured) "the highlight of my life," has died of Lou Gehrig's Disease at age 59 here.
3. Assistant News Editor Sam Taylor of the Argonaut reports that UI enrollment has increased 13.4 percent over the last five years, holding its own with Boy-C State, but the number of students are off a half percent from last fall's enrollment here.
4. Slick Willie isn't the only one who had trouble defining "sexual relations." In Washington, the bar is trying to determine what the "is" is in sex in a case involving former public defender Theresa Olson, who got up close and personal with a cold-blooded killer, here.
5. Alaska Air Group announces plans to cut 900 jobs here.
6. Idaho's congressional delegation tried to strike a compromise yesterday that could lead to downwinders telling their stories about the impact of N-testing at Hanford back when here.
7. In sports, UI coaches want WR Wendell Octave to kick it up a notch after the 65-7 shellacking at the hands of Boy-C State last week here, and the Broncos are seeking their first win over a PAC-10 opponent when they put their 19-game home winning streak on the line tonight against Oregon State here.
8. Too bad, so sad for D's, but an Oregon judge has overruled the state's Demo lt. gov. and put Independent Ralph Nader's name on the ballot (not that it'll affect the outcome of the state election much as Portland liberals should tip the scale for Flipflop). Click here.
The New York Times Web site has a graphic that features all the American service personnel killed in Iraqi fighting. I question the Times' motives. Is it trying to honor those who have fallen in the cause of freedom? Or, like so many of the nation's media, is the Times trying to undercut the war effort? My motive is simple. These brave men and women should be remembered Click here.
I've run into three or four people who don't like our new S-R site "firewall" which prevents them from accessing our site free. I'm not a fan of it either. Then, I'm not paying the bills around here. However, there's a feature you can see without paying the $7 per month to access the site: "A History of Hate." The photo/on-line crews have put together a dyne-O-mite pictorial history of the late, not-so-great racist Richard Butler and his Aryan Nations compound. Brings back not-so-fond memories. You can check it out by going to our site and clicking on the appropriate spot below the mug shot of Butler here.
1. Sometimes, cartoonists think alike -- like Daryl Cagle & Co. in their takes on the mass slaughter of school children by Chechen Islamofascists here. For the rest of your Political 'Toon Fix and for a little inspiration, you can find one of Guy Gilchrist's angels here.
2. Letterman: "You know since Clinton’s surgery Americans have been lining up for heart checkups. You know he has that effect on people. During his impeachment Americans were lining up for oral sex." And your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: CBS investigates suspicious Bush docs here, Poll: Europeans, Democrats think alike here, No easy answer for number of storms hitting Florida here, Gun-toting homosexuals endorse Libertarian wannabe here, and Courageous boy uses wits to survive Russia school slaughter here.
4. For your 9/11 3rd Anniversary Fix, FrontPageMag provides a dandy roundup: How The Left undermined America's security before 9/11 here, Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism apologizes for 9/11 here, a 9/11 story here, and Patriotic Muslims join war on terror here.
5. More than 1,000 women who have been harmed by abortions are taking their stories of pain and regret across the United States as part of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign. Here's your Pro-Life Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: John R. Guardiano (Bush twins' speech), Gary Aldrich (Kerry and the FBI), Chuck Colson (Ben Stein's 'real stars'), David Limbaugh (Dick Cheney was right about Kerry), and Paul Greenberg (Fox News).
Got some good stuff to leave you with this afternoon as I leave the first day of my third decade with the S-R. (BTW, we'll be celebrating the 10th anniversary in our new Coeur d'Alene building in another 10 days. My how time flies.)
*Next time some Lefty complains about the war in Iraq and the number of "innocent" Iraqi citizens who have been killed in the fighting, you might want to introduce him to six women from the Iraq The Model blog who say their lives are better now than under Saddam or who believe things will improve here.
*Dems now are digging in again about Bush's war record (although they thought military service was no big deal when it came to Slick Willie). You can find a column by Byron York in The Hill that gives a complete accounting of Dubya's service, which was every bit as intensive as Flipflop's and just as dangerous, here.
*Powerlineblog.com has interesting stuff re: the possible forgery of documents that purport to show that Dubya was AWOL from National Guard duty here.
*The second item in James Taranto's Best of the Web today re: fallen hero Mick Bekowsky is a must read here.
Finally, thanks for 20 good years in the news biz here in Coeur d'Alene. You've provided me with tips and enough attaboys to keep doing what I do. Dunno if I can make it another 20 years. But ... who knows? I'm still having fun.
DFO
If God is a black Jew, Butler may have some serious problems right now...I hope he is packing a lunch....He may be at the Pearly Gates for awhile and likely has a lot of explaining to do......
Tom Hearn
DFO: You think he's going to get as far as the pearly gates? Trap doors were made with a guy like Butler in mind.
It's interesting that the passing of Rev. Butler is on the front page of the Seattle Times, The Spokesman-Review, probably other papers, and all over CNN, but in The Press it's on page B1. Go figure.
Howard Martinson
DFO: See my note at the top of the Best of the Northwest roundup today. It's bad play. We underplayed it a little, too -- at the bottom of Page 1 and all. It should have been the the banner story throughout the Inland Northwest.
The cartoons in today's blog (Quick Fix Six No. 1) needed a little balance. In January, 39 troops were killed in Iraq in combat. In Detroit, same month, there were 35 murders. Detroit, only one American city, is nearly as deadly as the whole country of Iraq!!!!!!!
Supern1987@aol.com
P.S., You didn't get an offer for one of ol' Dick's pallbearers? Must be that you might tell where the body is going to be hidden!
DFO: From what I hear, the family wants Butler's carcass in the ground pronto, so what's left of his cuh-razy followers can't make a big deal about him at a funeral service. The autopsy was concluded today. So, he might be pushing up daisies by tomorrow.
My Google search turned up 443,000 hits for the words (Bush is a Nazi) without quotes. Pretty sad. I do, however, own one of the controversial KK Klan bumper-snicker. I don't find anything wrong with it - when the Democrats apologize for all the names they've called President George W. Bush over the last 3.5 years I'll get rid of the sticker.
Henry Johnston
University of Idaho
DFO: Henry's talkin' about the squawkin' done by K-County Demos re: those "Kerry/Kennedy = KK Klan" bumperstickers handed out by Repubs at the North Idaho Fair. It was a bit over the top. But hardly in the same league as some of the foul Nazi parallels Dems have made between Bush & Adolf.
I figured there would be some commentary on Butler's passing in the Press, but there was nothing. Nada. Zip. It's not surprising it wasn't on the front page,
after reading it for years, I have compiled a set of unofficial rules that seem to be in place there.
1. Happy topics that promote a positive image of the area are best.
2. Any story that Big D feels strongly about are next in line.
3. Any story that could take money out of his pocket are important.
4. Stories about Big D's friends are sweet.
5. Stories about people who buy advertisments in his paper, well, they rock.
6. Stories about Hagadone's businesses are top-notch.
7. Stories about raising money for various causes, which in turn Big D uses as tax breaks, make everybody happy.
8. Stories about Big D himself are nice too. Self-promotion never hurt.
9. Stories about nasty enviornentalists are warm and fuzzy.
10. National news.
The Sting
DFO: Actually, the story about Butler's death was buried on a local section front inside. Otherwise, The Sting's observations are fairly right on.
Now he and the Fuhrer
at last get to meet
and together complain
of the unpleasant heat.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
*'60 Minutes' Documents on Bush Might Be Fake /// 32-year-old documents produced Wednesday by CBSNEWS 60 MINS on Bush's guard service may have been forged using a current word processing program // typed using a proportional font, not common at that time, and they used a superscript font feature found in today's Microsoft Word program, Internet reports claim... Developing...(The Drudge Report): What?! The mainstream media caught with their pants down again, trying to resuscitate Flipflop's campaign? Stay tuned.
*Gore: Bush faith akin to fundamentalist Islam: Former veep says president emphasizes ' vengeance,' 'brimstone' (WorldNetDaily): Algore didn't seem to mind that ha-huge Bible that Slick Willie carried under his arm from church every time he was dealing with a "bimbo eruption."
*RNC chairman says 'brace yourselves' for vicious attacks (NewsMax): Wonder if Kootenai County Dems, who whined about Kerry/Kennedy being compared to the KK Klan, are going to protest John Glenn comparing a GOP gathering to a Nazi rally? Of course not.
*Al-Qaida No. 2 man on Al-Jazeera: Turban-wearing al-Zawahri on new tape with machine gun at his side (Fox News): The devil incarnate.
*Black Caucus ignores black clergy: Ministers gather in D.C. to oppose same-sex marriage (WorldNetDaily): Black pols would start listening if black evangelicals joined arms with white evangelicals.
*I wished that my editorial this morning about the death of Richard Butler wasn't hidden behind the new Spokesman-Review firewall. But it is. Therefore, I'm offering you The Idaho Statesman's opinion on the death of the Old Croc here.
*The Daily Evergreen supports WSU's decision to play its home openers in Seattle here.
*Whether you support the war in Iraq or not, The Idaho Statesman urges, you should honor those who have fallen in the line of duty, including nine from Idaho, here.
*A father agonizes for the son who was killed in a prep football game here.
*TV critic Kay McFadden of The Seattle Times columnizes that Matt LeBlanc's new series, "Joey," isn't that good, but it might make here.
Dunno who was running things at the Coeur d'Alene Press last night, but the 
story about Richard Butler's death should have been on Page 1 -- not the local section front inside. For 25 years, Butler (pictured) cast a long, ugly shadow across North Idaho. He kept the community around him on pins and needles with his compound, congresses, parades and the riffraff they attracted. He was a bad guy. But he was the most prominent bad guy in this neck of the woods. Even the Show-No News-Press of Kellogg, the Press' sister paper, put the story out front. I'd like to think that someone higher up that Editor Mike Patrick made the story placement call. You can find the Press' take on Butler's death here.
1. Political cartoonists David Horsey and Milt Priggee have similar views of our war losses in Iraq here and here. (Beware: Liberal alert)
2. Duane Hagadone expands his waterfront kingdom by buying another established business here.
3. You can find stories about Richard Butler's death by The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer here and here.
4. A judge has rejected a request to convene a jury so prosecutors can seek extra-long sentences for two young white supremacists who pleaded guilty in the stomping death of a transient, according to the P-I, here.
5. Two teens, one 16 and the other 14, have been arrested in the murder of a popular Tri-Cities prep football coach here.
6. DeShawn Smith, a 15-year-old running back from a Washington high school, died after a helmet-to-helmet tackle in his team's opening football game here.
I've officially been with The Spokesman-Review 20 years today. When I came in 1984, I didn't plan to stay this long. Until then, I'd moved from up the ladder from one newspaper to another, beginning in Chico, Calif. By the time I arrived at Duane Hagadone's newspaper as news editor in Kalispell, Mont., I'd made three stops. I stayed in Kalispell, working my way up to managing editor before moving to the Lewiston Morning Tribune for a coupla years. In Coeur d'Alene, I enjoy the best of both worlds: working for a mid-sized paper, which pays decently, and living in one of the best towns in the U.S. Retirement's still a ways off. So, you'll have to put up with my rantings for another 10 years or so.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Chuck Asay and Wayne Stayskal do the honors here and here.
2. Leno: "As you know, Kerry is now behind Bush in the polls, so he’s trying to reach out to more people. I guess the Kerry campaign has been experimenting with new slogans. They sound kind of familiar. Have you heard his latest one? 'Did somebody say Vietnam?'" Your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: U.S. calls Sudan slaughter 'genocide' here, Car bomb kills 7 near Indonesia embassy here, Ad aims at Bush National Guard service here, Cosby urges leaders to aid black families here, and AP poll: Fear of terrorist attacks persist here.
4. The "civilized world" generally has been slow to react to monsters, like Hitler and Stalin, and their policies of genocide. And now we're getting more of the same in the wake of the Russian school massacre. Where are the angry editorials in top U.S. newspapers denouncing Islamofacists? William Kristol of The Weekly Standard wasn't surprised at their absence. Here's your Reality Check Fix.
5. According to the silly new government standards, "Joey," the "Friends" TV character played by Matt LeBlanc (pictured with other "Friends" above), is obese at 5 feet 11 and 218 pounds. But you wouldn't get a nation of sighing young women to agree. Here's your Jelly Belly Joey Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Dick Morris (Beyond the Bush bounce), Jeff Jacoby (Where is the Muslim outrage?), John McWhorter (Why I'm black, not African-American), Robert Novak (Hate in New York City streets), and Emmett Tyrrell (The '60s generation).
I spent the afternoon writing an editorial about the life and death of Aryan 
Nations founder Richard Butler. What a wasted life. For 31 years, he tried to transform this part of the world into a whites-only homeland -- only to lose everything, including his wife, compound, movement and even claim to the Aryan Nations name. For the last 20 years (as of tomorrow), I covered the human rights movement that challenged him at every step peacefully. Dunno what would have happened if the task force hadn't been there to do battle. In the 1980s, the local business community wanted to ignore Butler, hoping he'd go away. Things began to change in late 1986 after Bill Wassmuth's home was bombed and the community won the Raoul Wallenberg Civic Award. Now, it's stylish around here to be a human-rights advocate. Bottom line? I believe in an afterlife. And I don't envy Richard Butler at this moment in eternity.
The yellow buses came today
and carried summertime away.
The Bard of Sherman Avenue
You folks have sent along some good stuff today:
*Believe it or not, and reader Scott Burrington of Liberty Lake barely does, Nelson, B.C., is announcing plans for a festival and a monument to honor draft dodgers who fled from the United States to avoid the Vietnam War here. Writes Scott: "Time to give Nelson the “France” treatment: No tourist dollars for you!" He believes Mayor Dave Elliott can be reached at: mayor@city.nelson.bc.ca.
*Big John Rook sends along a heckuva good Kerry/Edwards Web site here. Enjoy.
I hope God gives Richard Butler Auschwitz.
The Edge
DFO: Gotta feeling than the Old Croc realizes the error of his ways at this point in time and eternity. Betcha he won't be preaching any of that Christian Identity nonsense in the afterlife. On the other hand, he might get a chance to ask for an autograph from old Adolf.
Understanding that two wrongs don't make a right, it's curious to me that Marshall Mend and others didn't notice or feel any indignation over items the local Dems have proudly displayed for months at their appearances. In particular, stickers and pins with the sophomoric pro-democratic essage, "Ever heard of a good piece of elephant?" Tacky, tacky.
In The Know
DFO: You mean like that little biz card circulating among some local D's that equates Bush to femme pubic hair? If you want to see the extent of the D's hypocrisy, type this into a Google search: "Bush is a Nazi." I got 217,000 hits.
AP writer Nick Geranios provides his take on Richard Butler's death here.
Ding dong, the witch is dead. Richard Butler, founder of the Aryan Nations, died in his sleep last night here.
Fuhgeddabout that 11-point lead that some national polls give Dubya. Zogby's still the only one that I pay attention to. And John Zogby has Dubya up by 2 points in a head-to-head match, which doesn't seem like much, but it's quite an accomplishment when you consider he was trailing by 7 point in mid-August. You can find the whole story here.
*Global poll shows Kerry landslide: Survey described as largest sample of worldwide opinion (International Herald Tribune): Mebbe Flipflop should run for U.N. secretary general.
*
*Russia to strike terrorists 'in any region': Offers $10 million reward for info on Chechens blamed for school massacre (Associated Press): Welcome aboard, Vladimir.
*Nader doesn't make Virginia ballot: State says many signatures collected were not from registered voters (PilotOnLine.com): Dubya no longer needs him.
*FBI probes Arafat for 1973 murders: Suspected of ordering execution of 2 U.S. diplomats in Khartoum (WorldNetDaily): Better late than never.
*Study links teen sex to TV sexual content: Depictions, innuendoes present in about 2/3 of all shows (Associated Press): Duh.
*The Idaho Statesman wants the state's new death penalty put on hold for review here.
*Robert L. Jamieson Jr. of the P-I criticizes the pace of the Iraqi war here.
*The University of Idaho Argonaut didn't like the decision by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to back away from breaching dams here.
*The Missoulian sez the war on terrorism is a fight against fear here.
*In the sports world, Steve Kelley of the Times, columnizes that uninspiring Bob Melvin is managing is final 25 games for the Seattle Mariners here.
The Coeur d'Alene Public Library Foundation has backed off plans to ask voters for $5 million for a new downtown library, which is wise. The foundation couldn't get a two-thirds vote for that, especially after telling residents back when that it wouldn't build the library with taxpayers' dollars. The library foundation plans to raise $2 million and, with council approval, ask voters for another $3 million. Which would leave room for businessman Duane Hagadone to come riding to the rescue at the last minute with a donation of $2 million for the original state-of-the-art library (if the library is named after his parents). Or not. This one's worth watching.
1. David Horsey of the P-I doodles re: the tough guy convention here.
2. Don't forget to check out Phil Corless' new blog, "The CDA Blog," here.
3. In Iraq, News Editor Ralph Bartholdt of the St. Maries Gazette-Record talks to the man in charge of mortuary affairs at Camp Taqaddum in the Sunni Triangle here.
4. Condi Rice told a Seattle audience Tuesday night that "time and truth are on our side" in the war on terrorism here.
5. The hits keep coming for Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki here.
6. Knife found in slaying of Tri-Cities middle school teacher/coach here.
7. Parents over 50 are more at risk for contracting the West Nile Virus than their children, according to an Idaho Statesman story, here.
8. There's good news and bad news for the University of Montana. The Princeton Review gave it four stars for campus life but only one star for academics. That won't impress parents who are paying the bills. Click here.
A coupla you have sent along a joke that's credited to T. Bubba Bechtol, "a part-time city councilman from Pensacola, Florida." Actually, Bechtol is a comedian from Nashville via Pensacola. But the joke's just as funny. In discussing allegations about the torture of Iraqi prisoners, Bechtol said: "If hooking up an Iraqi prisoner's scrotum to a car's battery cables will save one American GI's life, then I have just two things to say: Red is positive, black is negative." My sentiments exactly.
1. Cartoonists Paul Nowak and Jim Huber provide their views of Flipflop and peace protesters here and here for your Political 'Toon Fix.
2. Leno: "Well I’m sure you all heard the good news – President Clinton’s heart operation was a complete success and he’s expected to make a full recovery. He’s really doing well. In fact, he’s up and walking. In fact today Clinton was seen roaming the building with his hospital gown on backwards. He’s back!" And the rest of your My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Globe: Bush didn't meet National Guard commitment here, Carter blasts Zell Miller here, Vet: Kerry coerced me to testify of atrocities here, Judge: Abortion ban unconstitutional here, and Islamic leader hails Chechen attack here.
4. Don't buy the lie that we're alone in the war on terror. We may not have the backstabbing French or girlie-men Germans, but 30 countries are involved in our Iraqi coalition and 35 in our Afghanistan coalition. The Heritage Foundation provides your Reality Check Fix.
5. Slick Willie's quick access to health care when it was learned that he had clogged arteries should be a lesson to his wife and others who covet Canada's system. Willie'd still be waiting in line if he lived north of the border. The Cato Institute provides your Best Care Money Can Buy Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Michelle Malkin (Quit sanitizing Islamofascists), Patrick J. Michaels (National Review meltdown), Christopher Hitchens (Murder by any other name), Youssef M. Ibrahim (Silence is danger to Islam), and Catherine Seipp (Showbiz columnist Nikki Finke).
I have a few items remaining from the weekend and today:
*Phil Corless has a nice new blog featuring the good things that go on in viewtiful Coeur d'Alene, including swell pix of the Labor Day Weekend Balloonfest, here.
*When he isn't hanging out at his parents place in Moscow, North Idaho songwriter Josh Ritter is an underground favorite who's thisclose to making it big here.
*David Bond of the Wallace Street Journal recommends the Washington Times report on superfund shenanigans here.
*Marie Scott came happened upon this bumpersnicker at the Bonner County Fair: "BIPARTISANSHIP: I'll hug your elephant if you'll kiss my ass." E-mails she: "It gave me quite a chuckle and those Rs that I shared it with were not offended."
*The Edge recommends this read: In the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine there is an interesting story acalled the “The Curse of Dick Cheney.” It outlines a history of Cheney’s failures, including how helped sink two U.S. presidents.
*WSU has agreed to sell Camp Roger Larson on Cottonwood Bay on Lake Coeur d'Alene to the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe for $1.4 million here.
DFO
Are you still laughing? As a man of influence, part of "the media", you previously gave approval to vandalism by printing publicly that it was funny. What are you going to say this time? Idaho Republicans apparently see nothing wrong with combining KK Klan with Kerry on a bumper sticker. Do you? Idaho Democrats believe the Republican sheriff would do nothing if the vandalism to their booth and billboards was reported. I know several people in Davenport,
Washington who are afraid to put up Democratic signs in their yards or cars for fear of vandalism or retribution. Free speech is meaningless if one doesn't speak out of fear. What are you going to do with your influence?
Steve Gigliotti
Davenport, Wa.
DFO: I wrote an editorial for tomorrow condemning the "KK Klan" bumper stickers, while pointing out that the Democrats have no room to talk. They've been comparing Bush to Hitler and female pubic hair for the past year. You can check out the former by writing this in the appropriate Google search place: "Bush is a Nazi." I got 217,000 hits. Neither side has a right to point fingers re: overheated Nazi/Hitler rhetoric this year.
Gotta coupla new Flipflop spoofs from the guys who provide fresh meat for Sacred Cow Burgers here and here. Enjoy. And remember to tip the waitress.
*Kerry would ban gun he waved at rally? Candidate co-sponsored bill outlawing weapons with pistol grip (The Drudge Report): Doesn't a candidate have a right to change his mind -- again and again and again and ...
*Book: Bush did cocaine at Camp David: Author Kitty Kelley claims W used drugs while his father was president (London Mirror): Spokane's femme fatale strikes again.
*$442 billion federal deficit projected: Highest ever but smaller than predicted earlier this year (AP): Dubya's spending like a drunken Democrat.
*Michael Moore wants '9/11' to win best picture: 'For me the real Oscar would be Bush's defeat on Nov. 2' (AP): O' Tub of Guts should prepare himself to be disappointed.
*Muslim Radicals Plan Tribute to 9/11 Attacks (NewsMax): Let 'em celebrate. Then, send a gun ship over to level the hall they're meeting in. What scum!
*The Idaho Statesman criticizes Idaho's cuh-razy quilt of election dates that makes it seem like every day is election day here.
*WSU should follow the example of other universities, such as Duke and Maryland, and provide free downloading services to prevent students from breaking the law, sez the editorial board of The Daily Evergreen here.
*Joel Connelly of the P-I columnizes that conservatives have mastered the art of the new media here.
*Syndicated columnist Neil Pearce tells Seattle Times readers about the value of charter schools here.
*Commenter Phillip Longman tells Oregonian readers that America's politics are tipping to the right if for no other reason than that religious conservatives outbreed their secular liberal counterparts here.
No Holds Barred begins its first Best of the Northwest of the new school year with David Bond's right-on opinion piece on the Russian school massacre. Sample: "As a friend of ours is fond of saying: In times such as these, there are only three precious metals worth owning: silver, brass and Winchester blue." You can read the rest of DP's latest edition to the Wallace Street Journal here.
1. Cartoonist Milt Priggee provides his take on Kobe Bryant's big W in court here.
2. Supporters have found outside funding to keep the Vandal Taxi and possibly drunk University of Idaho students alive this year here.
3. Bellevue is supersizing its parking lots to fit our SUV lifestyle here.
4. Benton City is stunned by the late-night murder of football coach Bob Mars, 44, of Richland, at Benton City High School here.
5. If he's found guilty of murdering his wife, Azad Abdullah could be the first Idahoan sentenced to death by a jury here.
6. John Hancock, the "spider man" of Waterton National Park in Alberta, Canada, has this unsettling news for arachnophobes: A spruce tree can contain as many as 1,000 Shelob wannabes. He has found 371 different varieties of spiders, including 52 previously unknown to be at Waterton, in his current study here.
7. Chad Cripe of The Idaho Statesman looks at that record romp by Boy-C State over our Vandellas Saturday here and then tells us about the potato farmer who led the one-sided Demolition Derby here.
8. Believe it or not, an urban mobility report found that today's traffic in gridlocked Seattle is better than it was a decade ago here.
We're back in school up here in viewtiful North Idaho. I didn't realize that until I read the readerboard on the downtown fire station on the way to work, advising motorists to drive carefully because school was back in session. For us, school began last week when Amy Dearest began her first class at University of Portland (the answer to a trivia question: What was the last team to beat Gonzaga in conference play). Junior, meanwhile, is enjoying a weeklong cruise in the San Juans with his wife's family before returning to medical research at the University of Colorado. Momma and I are still adjusting at our suddenly empty home. And doing well.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Kevin Tuma gets us rolling with another Purple Heart for Flipflop here, and Chuck Asay doodles re: fallout from Kobe Bryant case here.
2. On this day in 1966, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" aired its final episode on CBS-TV. For the rest of your My Way Fix, you can find This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: 14 deaths blamed on Frances here, Clinton (pictured with an admiring, ahem, fan) breathing on his own after surgery here, Russia rallies against terror here, Moore wants best picture, Oscar, 9/11 on TV here, New group of Viet vets in anti-Kerry ad push here.
4. David Horowitz of FrontPageMag sez Democrat Zell Miller is an American hero for holding fellow Democrats accountable for playing partisan games in the midst of a war and for running from the field of battle the minute Baghdad was liberated. Here's your Standing Tall Fix.
5. Try as they might -- and they don't try very hard -- the mainstream media can't get their arms around the concept that evil men, like the Chechen/Arab terrorists who slaughtered around 400 in Russia, are Islamo-Fascist thugs. The media'll call them anything but terrorists. Daniel Pipes of FrontPageMag provides your Terrorist By Any Other Name Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: David Brooks (Islam's Cult of Death), Mark Steyn (Bush-hating snobbery), James Carroll (The unwinnable war), John O'Sullivan (John Kerry's contradictions), and George Will (25 years of ESPN).
Several of you have been shocked by my appearance on Page 2 this morning in the Coeur d'Alene Press -- along with Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin, Coeur d'Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem and Press Editor Mike Patrick. None more so than The Edge, whose letter appears below. It was a fund-raiser thing. And it also was the first time I've appeared in the Press in my 20 years here (as of Sept. 9). It'll probably be the last time I appear in the Press this side of my obituary. Now, for The Edge:
I must be in bizarro world. My eyes can’t believe that you appeared in the Coeur d’Alene Press. Either you’ve been replaced by an alien look-alike, and that the real Dave is currently on the mothership, heading back to Zebulon 5, or you’ve lost it. The picture is just too much for my brain to comprehend. What’s next, are you going to start defending Big D and Old Bob? I am waiting for you to say that city council did the right thing with Sanders Beach and that John Kerry would make a better president than Dubya. I'm concerned...
The Edge
DFO: You can put me out of my misery on the day you see me defending Big D, Old Bob or Flipflop. Just be thankful that the organizers of the library fund-raiser to ask us to pose nude a la "Calendar Girls." Coulda pulled it off when I worked out regularly in the gym. Nowadays, it wouldn't have been too pretty.
Imagine how conservative Shawn Macomber of The American Spectator felt when he inadvertently was snagged by NYPD Blue along with dozens of Far Left protesters. Well, you don't have to imagine. Macomber tells an amusing tale of his time in a NY jail here.
*The Aryan Nations may be gone from North Idaho but there's still a crop of separatists, militia and worse planted throughout northwestern Montana, particularly in my old stomping grounds in the Flathead Valley here.
*The Journal of Business reports that Best Buy will plant its first store in North Idaho here.
*According to the Bonner County Bee, Coldwater Creek ain't going anywhere here.
*Marc Stewart of the Journal of Business tells us that the Coeur d'Alenes have outgrown their innovative medical facility in tiny Plummer and now are planning to build a $15 million new one here.
*In case you haven't read that story in which the Spokane Better Business Bureau is investigating a possible scheme in which Valiree Jackson's uncle may have tried to cash in on the dead girl's name, click here.
I wonder what the betting odds are that the female nurses at the Bill's hospital are sending in the male nurses for him...
Cis the Retired
DFO: If I was a female nurse, I'd make sure Slick Willie was handcuffed and full of morphine.
Nope, no way, fuhgeddaboutit. The NOW rally idiots in no way represent one iota of my take on any issue they spew forth about. Not one solitary thing.
{{{{shiver}}}} They make my skin crawl. Why oh why oh why have SO many people forgotten that WE were the ones that got attacked FIRST? I don't get it.
That Naples Gal
P.S. Have a great Labor Day!
DFO: That Naples Gal is responding to some of the cuh-razy things uttered, rhymed and sung by femme wackos at that NOW rally in Central Park here. TNG is right on.
*Bill Clinton to Undergo Bypass Surgery (NewsMax Wires): He-l-l-l-o-o-o, nurse.
*Russian Troops Storm School; More Than 100 Killed (Update8): Anyone who'd kill children to support his cause is pure evil. Anyone who'd put these evil dogs out of their misery should be described as good. Yet, The Left compares Dubya to Hitler, the most evil man of the 20th century. Which sez more about The Left than Dubya.
*Economy adds 144,000 jobs in August: Biggest gain since May, 12th straight month of increase (New York Times): That's 1.7 million new jobs since this "jobless recovery" began in August 2003.
*AOL map: Bush leads all 50 states: Kerry takes only D.C. in hours after president's acceptance speech (WorldNetDaily): It's not going to be this big of a blowout. But I continue to believe that Dubya's going to win big.
*Kerry wrong about Red Sox: Incorrectly claims Boston team gained on Yankees (WorldNetDaily): Seems close isn't good enough when you're a prez wannabe discussing the AL East standings or whether or not your were in Cambodia around Christmas Day 1968.
*Jamie Kelly of the Missoulian has had it with those lame UM Grizzly analogies here.
*The Idaho Statesman opines on the season opener between Boy-C State and UI here.
*Dan Morrow, an avid cyclist and outdoorsmen, urges Inland Northwesterners to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act today by enjoying the great outdoors this Labor Day weekend here.
*Jim "Go 2 Guy" Moore sez ex-WSU coach Mike Price to his first step toward rebuilding his rep-P-U-tation and the UTEP program despite a lopsided loss to Arizona State in the Miners' opener here.
*Joel Connelly of the P-I sez the blue-blooded Bush dynasty has changed its colors to rule over red flyover country here.
*John Levesque sez the final tune-up for Seattle against Minnesota last night provided angst and glory for those on the Seahawk fringe here.
*Kay McFadden of the Times looks at TV coverage of the national conventions with thumb and forefinger pressed over her nose here.
Oh my goodness! The Coeur d'Alene Press published a photo of that library 
fund-raising calendar shoot -- one that featured Post Falls Mayor Clay Larkin, CdA Mayor Sandi Bloem (pictured), Press Editor Mike Patrick and ... me. The mayors are in tuxes with tails to illustrate "A Tale of Two Cities." While goofing off, Mike & I grabbed the tails, like a bridesmaid might grab a bride's train. I'm smiling. Sandi looks ill at ease (as she does whenever I'm around). All of which prompted blog reader John Austin to write just now: "Our very own DFO riding the coattails (literally) of a local politician (Her Sandiness, no less.) And to have the photo featured by the competition is further evidence of the decline of western civilization as we know it." I plead guilty and throw myself on the mercy of the court of public opinion.
1. The GOP convention didn't play well among cartoonists in the Puget Sound area. You can find Eric Devericks here, David Horsey here, and Milt Priggee here. (Liberal Alert)
2. Gonzaga University is busting at the seams with a record enrollment of 6,100, including 4,100 undergraduates. And its fund-raising is setting a record, too. You can read all about (if you have an S-R subscription) here.
3. Spc. Ryan G. Anderson, of Lynwood, Wash., a WSU student and Muslim convert, apologized to his country, fellow soldiers and family for aiding and abetting the enemy before being sentenced by a military tribunal to life in prison here.
4. Boy-C State will be a 31-point favorite when it takes the field Saturday night against our Idaho Vandals, according to The Idaho Statesman here. (UI fans who want to get a Vandal perspective on this matchup can turn to Vandal Venue here.)
5. In this week's issue of The Inlander, William Stimson spotlights the late local historian John Fahey, who died this summer after producing intensive studies of the Kalispels, Flatheads, Coeur d'Alenes and the mining industry. Click here.
6. Five men from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Mont., joined some Canadian Crees to win the singing competition at the world championship powwow -- the "superbowl of powwows" here.
7. Dressage rider Debbie McDonald is glad to be back in her Hailey, Idaho, home after spurring her USA dressage team to a bronze medal at the Olympics here.
8. Washington Democrats are doing everything they can to help wannabe Reed Davis' long-shot bid to swipe the U.S. Senate nomination from U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt in this month's GOPrimary here.
With this posting, I reach a milestone for No Holds Barred: No. 1,000. Since I began in mid-February, I've ranted and raved for you an even 1,000 times. Sometimes, as the blog was building, I didn't think I'd get here. But I promised myself that I'd try it for a year. And I still have 6 months to go to fulfill that promise. The blog has produced surprises, such as yesterday when the GOP convention blogger checked in. It's been fun. Thanks for faithfully checking in.
1. For your TGIF Political 'Toon Fix, cartoonist Paul Nowak and Chuck Asay do the honors with their takes on Lefty Michael Moore here and the focus of the two national conventions here. (And for a little inspiration you can find one of Guy Gilchrist's angels here.)
2. On this day in 1966, the "Ozzie and Harriet" series ended its 14-year run. For the rest of your My Way Fix, you can find This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Your Top of the News Fix: At least 100 dead in Russian school standoff here, Kerry rips non-vets Bush, Cheney here, Bush camp hits the ground running with bounce here, Release imminent for French hostages here, and Frances downgraded but Floridians still bracing for the worst here.
4. In a stirring acceptance speech last night, Dubya said: "The terrorists are fighting freedom with all their cunning and cruelty because freedom is their greatest fear -- and they should be afraid, because freedom is on the march." If you missed his speech, No Holds Barred provides it for your GOP Convention Fix.
5. There are two kinds of courage, argues Lt. Col. George Cucullu -- the physical kind that prompts a soldier to step out of a plane at night with people firing at you and the moral kind that enables a leader to stay the course because you know its right. George W. Bush exemplifies the second kind. You can read all about it for today's George The Lion-Hearted Fix.
6. Your Opinion Fix: Jeff Jacoby (The right kind of diversity), Jonah Goldberg (Zellzapoppin), Michael Moore (Why Democrats shouldn't be afraid), Andrew McCarthy (Mathews vs. Zell), and Rush Limbaugh (McCain, Giuliani and Arnold are conservatives).
I received a note from Earl E. Appleby Jr., blogmaster of Times Against Humanity, this afternoon. He wrote: "I have added No Holds Barred to my bloglines and look forward to reading it. BTW, I too am glad that freedom of religion has not been traduced to freedom from religion at the RNC." (He musta read that Huckleberries comment about the flap at the Kootenai County Pachyderm Club involving a human rightist who objected to the elephants closing their prayers "in Jesus' name.") Earl blogged during the Demo National Convention and now is present at Madison Square Garden to cover the Repubs. Judging from his work, Earl sounds like a Catholic conservative who doesn't mind turning his guns on the R's when they deserve it. But overall, he bends to the right. As I close tonight, I urge you to check out his insights here.
Andrew Sullivan's blog is always interesting. I agree with the comments regarding the hate coming from the protesters. The level of anger and hate coming from both extremes in frightening. The failure of either party to clearly denounce their extremists is predictible, but understanding. On another note, check out his comments on the Zell Miller speech. Right on point.
Tom Taggart
DFO: Sullivan goes after Zell Miller in a series of notes that begins with the second one down on his current blog. I didn't hear Miller's speech. But I've read the text and seen the battle that ensued between Chris Mathews' and him on the "Hardball" show afterward. I don't agree with Sullivan's opinion of the speech. But that shouldn't prevent No Holds Barred readers from agreeing with it. Tom's a good thinker. I enjoy receiving other points of view.
I was wondering if anyone questions the fact that the city of CDA can dump 130,000 gallons of raw sewage in the river and all they say is OOPS ? What do you think would have happened if someone in the private sector would have done the same think? Do you think the person responsible may have been fired and the company fined big time? What a double standard!
Eagle Eye
DFO: Sid Fredrickson at sewer central is a good public servant. But Eagle Eye makes a good point, too. You and I would be in deep do -- pardon the expression -- if we'd done the same thing as private citizens.
Subject of the hate people yelling etc. outside of the Republican Convention... My thought is how many are actually New Yorkers? Many years ago in Newport Rhode Island there was the trial of Claus Von Bulow. The TV media was pumping up the 200+ Newporters (?) who were yelling outside of the court house in favor of Mr. Von Bulow (he was on trial for the murder of his wife, he was acquitted on the second trial). The local paper did a poll of the people who were there. Out of the 200+ there were actually 8 Newporters. All the rest? Boston and New Yorkers and etc.. So when I see on TV the crowd yelling what ever, I wonder where are they actually from.
Cis the Retired
DFO: Cis makes a great point. I just talked about the protesters with Bonners Ferry Mayor Darrell Kerby, who was on the GOP convention floor waiting for Dubya's speech. He sez most of the protesters he's seen are young '60s throwbacks bussed in from out of state. A group of them accosted his wife and them after they attended a play, using the F-bomb on Patty Kerby and worse. What scum.
Hey now. As somebody who spent almost 47 of his almost 48 years in Nebraska (one of the most-frequented vacation spots for tornadoes), I must take exception to your nugget today, and I quote: "Why do people live in the paths of hurricanes and tornados?"
That's akin to saying "Why do people eat vegetables and rat poison?" I grew up within spitting distance of Nebraska's Tornado Alley and can count on my fingers how many tornadoes I actually saw. With a digit or two left over. There are years when NOBODY is killed by a tornado in the U.S. of A. They are devastating, and truly scary, but their footprint is narrow and the vast majority of them don't even touch down.
Why people live in areas frequented by hurricanes is another matter, though my Florida friends seem to think all of that sunshine and fresh seafood & citrus is worth it. Hurricanes are monstrous, and you pretty much KNOW if you live around the gulf or southeastern seaboard you are gonna get whacked, and with regularity. Us hearty midwesterners know that your odds of seeing a tornado up close & personal are surely better than hitting the Powerball jackpot, but not by much....
Thanks, Dave! Welcome back. (And as someone who recently shipped his firstborn back to Nebraska for her sophomore year of college, I feel your pain...).
Kent Propst
NIC PRmeister
DFO: I was doing OK until Kent alluded to Amy Dearest in the final graph. Sob.
For those of you keeping score at home, Kurt Sigler, the former Coeur d'Alene High and Eastern Washington University standout, has signed with the practice squad of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers here.
*Kerry medal complaint reaches Navy secretary: Probe request comes as ex-chief Lehman calls Silver Star citation 'complete mystery' (WorldNetDaily): Curiouser and Curiouser.
*
Zell Miller indicts Democratic Party: Says leaders now 'see America as an occupier, not a liberator' (WorldNetDaily): If you have a computer capable of playing an MSNBC video, you absolutely have to see Miller's angry exchange with Chris Mathews of "Hardball" after he gave his speech. Click "Matthews and Miller square off" midway down the page here.
*A million ordered to flee Florida coast as storm intensifies (New York Times): Why do people live in the paths of hurricanes and tornados?
*Passion of the Christ DVD sales top 4 million in a single day (Halifax Live): The Passion continues to strike a cord. But Planet Hollyweird isn't listening.
*Kuwaiti editor: Bush is 'history maker': 'Who else will come to the rescue of people suppressed by dictators?' (WorldNetDaily): Out of the mouths of the oppressed.
*Bush 2000 victory compared to 'savage rape': Featured performer at NOW rally lambastes president (CBSNews.com): I suppose this femme fool thinks she speaks for all women, right? Wrong. Another lame brain who shared the platform sang an anti-Bush song that said in part: "I object not just to this war, but to all of the things that you stand for, like dropping bombs to lower the price of gas. I guess the Constitution is just some piece of scrap paper you use to wipe you're a**, you bastard." I'd hate to go on a blind date with her.
I'm going to try something a little different today. Usually, I include opinion pieces from the region on the Best of the Northwest jump. I'm not sure that provides proper exposure for great writers, like Art Thiel and Joel Connelly of the P-I, Dan Popkey of The Idaho Statesman, and Nicole Brodeur of The Seattle Times. So, I'm going to separate Northwest opinion into its own feature, titled IMHO-NW (or, In My Humble Opinion-Northwest). Let me know what you think.
1. Jamie Kelly of the Missoulian sez there's nothing quite like a "Missoula earthy woman" here.
2. A good way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the federal Wilderness Act in Idaho, sez The Idaho Statesman, is to designate as wilderness the Owyhee Canyonlands in the southwest corner of the state and Central Idaho's Boulder-White Cloud mountains here.
3. Joni Balter of The Seattle Times slams U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt for an ad that claims that U.S. Sen. Patty Murray led the effort to cut the Coast Guard's budget after 9/11 here.
4. Collin Levey of The Seattle Times explains why the GOP chose John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rudy Giuliani to kick off their convention here.
5. Jim Moore, the P-I's Go2Guy, is betting that WSU goes bowling this year with a 7-4 record here.
6. Contrary to what that Andrew Sullivan e-mailer said yesterday, Joel Connelly of the P-I sez New York protesters have been peaceful here.
You know you're no longer a spring chicken when contemporaries begin to retire. As I got up on paper's after a week's vacation, I noticed the story in the Coeur d'Alene Press re: Librarian Julie Meier's retirement here. Gracious and visionary, Julie's the quintessential librarian -- a driving force behind the quality service Coeur d'Alene residents have come to expect of their library. It's too bad she won't be on board if/when Coeur d'Alene builds a truly modern library. But she's earned her rest after a life of public service.
1. David Horsey of the P-I pens a liberal's view of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's stirring convention speech and Republicans in general here. (Warning: If you're a red-meat conservative, hold your nose tightly between thumb and forefinger.)
2. U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt (pictured at Bush-Cheney rally at Yakima July 30) pressed the flesh in New Yawk aboard the Good Ship Amway, hoping to attract money from high rollers to underwrite his long-shot U.S. Senate campaign in Washington state, here.
3. Third-party candidate Ralph Nader was one-for-two in the Northwest yesterday, making the ballot in Washington but failing to do so in Oregon, here.
4. The Rattlesnake Mountain elk herd wisely retreats to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation when hunting season starts because it's safe there -- or it was. The feds now plan to cull a tenth of the herd -- 60 of 600 -- because it has gotten too big. Where's a reintroduced wolf pack when you need it. Click here.
5. William Stimson of The Inlander details a Spokane controversy that happened over a century ago, and like the River Park Square parking garage hubbub, began with a private-public partnership and individuals who wanted to rescue the local economy here.
6. Is there a link between hunting and wildlife conservation? Film director George Butler believes there is. After making the movie that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger to super stardrom, "Pumping Iron," Butler made a lesser known film that examined the hunting/conservation link, "In The Blood." It'll be featured at a wildlife film festival in Missoula Sept. 9-12 here.
7. It's been a rough week for Northwest Montana grizzlies, and I'm not talking about the top-rated football team that calls Missoula home. Five grizzlies have been killed in the last week, including a 500-pound one that couldn't break the habit of raiding sheds, barns and garages in the Kalispell area here.
8. For your Inland Northwest sports roundup, WSU's Daily Evergreen previews the Cougs' opener against New Mexico at 5 p.m. Friday on ESPN here, The Idaho Statesman looks at UIdaho starting QB Michael Harrington here, and the Statesman sez players on both sides of the ball in the UI/BSU opener will have butterflies here.
For those of you who enjoy parody, the sacredcowburgers.com Web site is a bookmark must. Tons of stuff there about the current prez race to send your friends (as long as your friends are Righties). I found a coupla spoofs today that poked fun at Flipflop and the whack jobs who are always available to protest anything, anywhere, any time, because no one has told them that the '60s ended 34 years ago. You can find your yucks here and here.
1. For your Political 'Toon Fix, Paul Nowak provides his take on the Swiftvets controversy here, and Wayne Stayskal views Flipflop's "tough talk" here.
2. Leno: "Arnold is a powerful weapon for the GOP. He appeals to Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives - everybody but film critics." My Way Fix: This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. Top of the News Fix: Legion gives Kerry lukewarm reception here, Terrorists release 26 hostages in Russia here, Bush: 3/4s of al-Qaida leadership liquidated here, Palm Beach County botches another election here, and US strikes Fallujah safe houses here.
4. For your GOP National Convention Fix, you can find the full text of speeches by Zell Miller here, Dick Cheney here, Arnold Schwarzenegger (again) here, Laura Bush here, Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele here, and Education Secretary Ron Paige here.
5. Democrat Zell Miller (pictured) was an unabashed pro-abortion governor who would one day introduce unabashed pro-abortion prez candidate Bill Clinton at a national convention. Now, he's pro-life. What happened? His great grandchildren began appearing in this world. Miller sez those births gave new meaning to that old Roberta Flack song: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Faith." Miller believes America is rethinking its position on abortion. And so do I. Here's your Pro-Life Fix.
6. Opinion Fix: Ann Coulter (Unsubstantiated heroism of Hanoi John), Michelle Malkin (NYTimes bias against conservative Christians), Emmett Tyrrell (New York protesters), John Podhoretz (Zell Miller's speech), and Dick Morris (Dems great divide).
Wanna know what's going on outside the Republican National Convention in New York City? Pure unadulterated hate. An e-mailer sent blogger Andrew Sullivan a note that began:
"Tuesday night I ventured over to Herald Square, where delegates had to be escorted into the Garden by riot police. An angry throng of demonstrators was lined along 32nd Street to "greet" them with screams, jeers, placards, raised middle fingers and the vilest form of name-calling. The bile and hate was palpable and, as a lifelong New Yorker, I found the offensive display hugely embarrassing. This is not how a world-class city behaves."
You can find the rest of the note on Sullivan's blog site here.
Seems hate is not an attribute limited to the Far Right. The Far Left is loaded with it, too -- only Lefties don't get called on it. I appreciated Sullivan's summary graf: "This does not only come from one side, of course. But the pathologies now affecting the far left are as real and as deep as those afflicting the far right. They deserve each other; but they do not deserve to usurp the discourse in the next two months." Bingo.
DFO
I wanted to let you know I revisited the North Idaho Fair and again agree that it is the best fair in the State. While the weather wasn't the greatest, it has a real down home feel and the grounds are first rate. It was refreshing to be there not as a candidate, but as a visitor. We even watched the sheep judging for an hour and just really enjoyed ourselves.
Bob Sonnichsen
U.S. Bank
Boise
DFO: Bob Sonnichsen ran as a Democrat against Republican Keith Johnson for the office of State Controller two years ago. During a stop in the Coeur d'Alene office, he promised he'd be back -- win, lose or draw. Sounds like he kept that promise.
Here's some of the articles about us from other papers:
*After the Coeur d'Alene High spanked Flathead High of Kalispell, Mont., Friday, visiting coach Grady Bennett said some good things to The Daily Inter Lake about the Vikings here.
*The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course gets high marks from the Everett Herald here.
*The Circling Raven Golf Course adjacent to the Coeur d'Alene Bingo Casino gets rave reviews from Cybergolf.com here.
*Bret Taylor, head coach of the North Idaho College volleyballers, told the Twin Falls newspaper that College of Southern Idaho should be favored to win another Scenic West Athletic Conference title here.
*Gonzaga men's soccer coach Einar Thorarinson is expecting better things this year from his Bulldogs, who include former North Idaho College star goalie Tyler Rutz. Rutz posted nine shutouts in leading the Cardinals to the title game of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges. Click here.
*Andy Martin, who finished fourth in the 2003 Coeur d'Alene Ironman, is trying his luck in Wisconsin this month here.
*A group of kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County traveled to Bonners Ferry to thank children of 14 children from Bonner and Boundary counties who have a parent serving with the Idaho National Guard here.
I was in attendance at the Pachyderm meeting in question. The "human Rights" type you referred to was absolutely correct in his assessment that at a public meeting, a prayer should be "generic", as they are at all the service clubs and public meetings. As a Christian I would not want a prayer at a public meeting to end with "in the name of Allah or Buddha, etc.", so I understand and agree with those who feel that it should not end with "in the name of Jesus Christ". While there was honest disagreement (that's what makes America great), I think a majority or at least a significant number agreed with the "human rights" type. Regardless of political persuasion, we should respect the fact that when a meeting is public and the audience is composed of people with various ethnic and religious backgrounds, a prayer should accommodate everyone.
Tad Leach
DFO: Tad is referring to this Huckleberry: "Rumorama: Huckleberries hears that a local human-rights type complained to the Republican Pachyderm clubbers because they end prayers "in Jesus name." Saying yes to tolerance means saying no to Christianity?" This country still is overwhelmingly Judeo-Christian. And it's nice to have one of the two major political parties respect that.
The link you provided didn't answer this question, so I am writing this. If people use guns three times more in defending themselves, it would appear as a matter of logic or simple arithmetic that their assailants are not using guns. Doesn't that fly in the face of the pro-gun statements? Just asking...For the record, not that you were lying awake in your empty nest brooding about this, but I am a fierce advocate of the Bill of Rights, which, of course, includes the Second Amendment.
Fred Glienna
DFO: I, too, am very pro-gun. But there are times when it's hard to extract fact from fiction on either side of the debate.
DFO:
Last time I checked, we do not live in the Center of the Universe (Boise). Nobody cares about Boise State football. No more Bronco stories!
Phil Corliss
DFO: I have a good friend here in Coeur d'Alene who's a Boy-C State fan, and I follow the Broncos at a distance, longing for the day that the Vandals return to their glory and kick BSU tail again. Unfortunately, with our new firewall and the firewalls that exist at the Moscow and Lewiston papers, it'll be hard to get Vandal info for the blog. UI's Argonaut should be up and running soon, however. Bottom line? I'll continue to blog Boy-C State stuff mindful that it's the enemy in these parts.
*AIDS activists disrupt GOP youth convention event (My Way): Are you as sick to death of these '60s wannabes as I am? They don't have respect for the opinions of others. They don't deserve our respect. Book 'em, Dan-O.
*Al-Sadr linked to mass killings (Washington Times): Seems like Bad-Teeth Moqtada doesn't mind torturing and killing Iraqis either. Too bad he didn't follow through on his promise to fight the Americans to the last drop of his blood.
*Kerry takes Legion stage with salute: Challenges Bush terror policy, nothing on swiftboat vets (AP): I hear he gave a good speech to the former brothers in arms whom he once defamed as mother rapers and father stabbers.
*8 killed in Russian school seizure: About 400 held by Islamists with suicide-bomb belts (AP): Your average Islamo-Fascist monster at work.
*Bush campaign files suit against FEC: To force action on March complaint against soft-money groups (AP): So much for campaign finance reform.
Apparently, I'm still free, although I've never been easy. In other words, this blog will remain outside the new Spokesman-Review "firewall" that, starting today, denies freeloaders access to our stories and photos. We've been losing too many subscriptions to readers who quit the paper because we're too, ahem, liberal and then read us on line. None of that affects this blog. Please bookmark "No Holds Barred" and continue to tell your friends about it.
1. Eric Devericks of the Seattle Times here and David Horsey of the P-I here provide a coupla views on this year's prez election.
2. In places like Aspen, Vail, Sun Valley and Jackson, a new type of tourism is taking hold -- one fueled by rich folks looking for a super-sized second home that prices local residents out of the market. Allen Best of Writers on the Range looks at that phenomenon here.
3. Writing from Camp Taqaddam, Iraq, News Editor Ralph Bartholdt of the St. Maries Gazette-Record weekly, writes that children are the key to change in Iraq here.
4. Kane Funke, who grew up in Kalispell, Mont., and fulfilled his dream of joining the military, was one of five men with ties to Washington who died in Iraq last month. The P-I looks at the fallen hero here.
5. The family of a cremated Washington man has taken that old singsong seriously -- you know, ashes, ashes, we all fall down. While circling in a plane, family members dropped the bag containing four pounds of their loved ones ashes through the roof of an unsuspecting homeowner below. Click here.
6. The newest member of the Boy-C State football team is an assistant prof for the engineering department who knows more about soccer and computer animation than X's & O's here.
7. The University of Montana was among the 81 universities nationwide chosen to be included in "Colleges with A Conscience: An Engaged Student's Guide to College" here.
8. Reversing a Clinton administration policy, the feds tentatively have concluded that dam on the Columbia and Snake rivers don't harm fish, which means fish managers have dropped dam removal as an option to save wild salmon runs. In other words, they've come to their senses here.
*Floyd J. McKay, a journalism prof emeritus from Western Washington University sez the, ahem, smear by swift boat vets against has worked against John Kerry here. (However, McKay fails to mention the various smears against Bush by Michael Moore, Richard Clarke, et al.)
*Danny Westneat of The Seattle Times sez moderate -- read liberal -- Republicans are endangered, like salmon, here.
*Joel Connelly of the P-I opines on the Republican National Convention here.
*The Oregonian opines on the value of U.S. Sen. John McCain's speech on behalf of George W. Bush here.
I'm still catching up with a week's worth of mail, e-mail, papers, etc. So, I'm running late on the usual early-day features (Best of the Northwest & Headlines). Stay tuned.
DFO
Well, this is the first work day in the rest of my life without children in the nest. What a weird feeling. I don't have anyone to chase away when I want to use my home computer. I don't have to put up with chick-flick videos or apologize for wanting to see a sporting event on TV. I don't have to borrow my own car. I have one less person in the house letting me know when I blow it. And I don't have to worry when my daughter's a bit late coming home. Gosh, I miss her. But life goes on. And, after a week's hiatus, so does the blog:
1. For our first Political 'Toon Fix in a week, No Holds Barred turns to Paul Nowak here and Wayne Stayskal here.
2. On this day in history, in 1939, Germany invaded Poland and began World War II. For the rest of your My Way Fix, you can find This Day in History here, This Day in Music here, and Today's Birthdays here.
3. For your Top of the News Fix, Islamo-Fascists free 7 foreign truck drivers here, Kerry campaign in for major shakeup? here, Swiftvets to Kerry: Confess and we'll quit here, Falwell: Evangelicals energized for Bush here, and Attackers wrapped in suicide belts seize Russian school here.
4. Did you know that guns are used defensively by private citizens in the U.S. three times more than they're used to commit crimes? Of course not. The media's bias against guns has swayed us to believe they're used overwhelmingly to commit crimes. John R. Lott Jr. of the American Enterprise Institute (review of his book, "The Bias Against Guns" here) sets the record straight for your Reality Check Fix.
5. Arnold Schwarzenegger hit a home run with his "economic girlie men" speech at the Republican National Convention. If you didn't hear him or want to read the speech in the privacy of your home, here's your Say It Again, Ahnold Fix.
6. For your Opinion Fix, No Holds Barred offers: Jim Geraghty (GOP convention), Ward Connerly (The diversity elephant), Jonah Goldberg (Pro-Kerry media), Brent Bozell (New York Times), and Dick Morris (Terrorism focus).
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria is an associate editor and columnist for The Spokesman-Review. In that position, he writes editorials and columns, including his Monday Huckleberries column, 1999 winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Award.
