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120,000 Idahoans have been diagnosed with diabetes. But there are state programs that can help.
Don’t feel badly if you do not realize that Nov. 14 is World Diabetes Day, or that November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. There are no fireworks, parades or party hats to mark the “celebration.” It’s more of a somber time to draw awareness about the crisis of diabetes – an epidemic long before COVID-19 […]
Don’t count on the U.S. Congress to resolve fiscal mess – they got us here in the first place
Round and round we go, and we all know where this stops. It’s Nov. 17, when Congress will face another chapter of tired talks about a government shutdown. There’s no telling who will be speaker of the House by then since House Speaker Kevin McCarthy dared to rely on Democrats to push through a 45-day […]
Dam breaching and saving salmon: An Idaho debate without an end
When I came to the Idaho Statesman as opinion page editor in 1999, it was suggested that I read a special section that the editorial department did on dam breaching. It was a gold-standard argument for saving salmon – the kind of effort that gets a Pulitzer Prize. As the Statesman saw it, breaching the […]
Idaho Sen. Jim Risch breaks with Donald Trump on Ukraine
Don’t get Idaho Sen. Jim Risch started on Ukraine. On second thought, do. That is, if you want to see energy, passion and a dose of common sense. Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, turned a breakout session of the recent Aspen Security Forum into quite a show, and received some […]
States hold the key to affordable insulin for people with diabetes
You can imagine the anguish that people face every month – deciding whether to shell out $500 a month (or more) for insulin, or buying groceries … or making that rent payment. Of course, members of Congress don’t face those choices with their top-grade insurance plans. And even without insurance, affordability for medications is not […]
Children’s Congress set to deliver timely message on insulin prices, diabetes support
Imagine a Congress that accomplishes something … one that isn’t bogged down by gridlock and political posturing. Now imagine, if you will, a lobbying effort that doesn’t involve campaign contributions. That kind of Congress does exist through the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s “Children’s Congress.” It started with a 9-year-old boy from Massachusetts named Tommy Solo […]
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson breaks ranks with view on earmarks
It’s surprising that the Idaho Republican Party’s state central committee – which seems hell-bent on destroying any notions of a “big tent” for the GOP – hasn’t voted to expel Congressman Mike Simpson by now. The Second District congressman simply doesn’t pass the litmus test for “purity.” He certainly doesn’t fit the mold of the […]
Try putting ‘science’ to these presidential politics
It doesn’t take a college professor to realize that former President Donald Trump was in a heap of trouble politically after the mid-term elections. Trump’s endorsed candidates took a beating last November, blowing the Republican Party’s chance of gaining control of the Senate and the GOP managed to win just a slim majority in the […]
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson makes the sensible choice on federal debt default
Three members of Idaho’s congressional delegation had a choice: Vote for a measure they did not entirely hate, or face the possibility of an economic train wreck. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, and Congressman Russ Fulcher chose the train wreck. So be it if a federal default would mean delays in Social Security payments, […]
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch: Don’t bail on Ukraine as it fights back against Russian invasion
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t win many friends in Congress when he dismissed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial conflict,” but may well be the toast of the Kremlin and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has not commented about DeSantis specifically. But […]
Democrats do the work, while Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson takes bows
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson should be sending thank you notes to Democrats and President Biden, for they have given him a wealth of material for press releases. Since the first of the year, Simpson has sent out more than a dozen news releases about how he has “secured” funding through the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus […]
Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke: ‘I will not misuse the office’
A lieutenant governor strolling in to talk with the governor or chief of staff is hardly a shocking development – unless you consider how life was before former House Speaker Scott Bedke took the job a few weeks ago. He provides a marked contrast from his predecessor, Janice McGeachin, who spent much of her term […]