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Idaho’s former Chief Justice Burdick hasn’t slowed in retirement, drawn firearms notwithstanding
Many Idaho court watchers figured the former Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court, Roger Burdick, would slow down to smell the roses when he retired at the end of June. It was not to be. On Sept. 25, Burdick played an instrumental role in the arrest of two individuals on a variety of charges […]
How can we bestow love upon our neighbors in Idaho’s COVID-19 crisis?
“Love thy neighbor” is a bedrock tenet of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Leviticus 19:18 portrays God directly telling Moses, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Building on this theme, when Jesus was asked which of the commandments was greatest, he replied that the first and greatest commandment was an unquestioning love of God and “the […]
Joe Biden’s ‘most egregious and tyrannical’ action may actually help GOP governors save lives
A convergence of three unsettling headlines appeared for my morning reading the day before the nation observed the 20-year commemoration of the tragic deaths of almost 3,000 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001. The very day of the remembrance ceremonies, the 7-day average for loss of American lives to the ongoing COVID-19 catastrophe was 1,666, as […]
Words of advice to my brothers and sisters who served in Afghanistan
Originally published on Aug. 21, 2021 in The Hill Having served in Vietnam in 1968-1969 and had my heart broken by the precipitous fall of the South Vietnamese government in 1975, I have a sense of how our veterans who served in Afghanistan must be feeling now. How could a good and generous country like […]
Idaho’s defense of unconstitutional initiative bill cost taxpayers another third-to-half a million
The Idaho Supreme Court delivered a resounding blow for democracy of, by and for the people on Aug. 23, declaring the Legislature’s bill to throttle the initiative and referendum to be unconstitutional. Although many people, including five former Idaho attorneys general, had warned that the legislation, Senate Bill 1110, was violative of the Idaho Constitution, […]
Idahoans are tough. We can protect our freedoms by fighting our common enemy: the coronavirus.
The valiant struggle of today’s health care workers against the coronavirus hearkens back to one of the toughest enemies George Washington faced while fighting for American independence: variola, the smallpox virus. Smallpox was decimating the ranks of the Continentals in 1776, threatening our fight for freedom. Despite misgivings of the Continental Congress, Washington ordered a […]
Idaho-grown lawyer nominated by President Joe Biden to become next U.S. solicitor general
President Joe Biden has nominated a native Idahoan, Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar, to serve as next Solicitor General of the United States. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would be the second woman to head that office. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who served from 2009 to 2010, was the first. Prelogar would be the […]
Can Idahoans really be required to get COVID-19 vaccines? Case law says yes.
Hennings Jacobson strongly objected to the state’s requirement that he be vaccinated. He argued that “a compulsory vaccination law is unreasonable, arbitrary and oppressive, and, therefore, hostile to the inherent right of every freeman to care for his own body and health in such way as to him seems best.” Similar arguments have been made […]
Idaho needs to up its game in providing behavioral health services. These clinics could help.
There is a chronic shortage of behavioral health resources in Idaho. The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that about 100,000 Idaho adults had an unmet need for mental health treatment in 2018-19. Children fare no better in the Gem State. Idaho has received a 46th place ranking among the states for child access to mental health […]
As climate change disasters strike, couldn’t we at least try to leave our descendants a livable world?
Every Scouting family knows that Lord Robert Baden-Powell was the founder of the world Scouting program. Included in his last message to the Scouts was this piece of wisdom: “Try and leave this world a little better than you found it, and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that […]
This July 4, we must reject extreme partisanship that ‘foments occasionally riot and insurrection’
A group of American patriots met in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, to sign a document declaring independence from the British Crown. The signers ended the Declaration of Independence, saying “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” They knew that formation of a new nation was dangerous and […]
Immediate U.S. action is essential to save our endangered Afghan friends — before it’s too late
Editor’s note: This guest column was originally published in The Hill on May 19. President Joe Biden and White House officials on Thursday said they plan to evacuate Afghans who worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and could be targeted by the Taliban as the U.S. withdraws military from the country. “Those who helped […]