Were you at the American Legion Post 143 in Post Falls on Saturday to hear nearly all of our area legislators report on the early sessions?

If you were, what are your comments? How accurately and completely did this morning’s skewspaper article report what was said?

This photo appears in today’s online Idaho Statesman skewspaper story headlined Armed man’s Capitol intrusion unnerves Idaho lawmakers.  Mouse-click on the photo to enlarge it.

The photo’s caption reads, “An unidentified man carrying a gun looked through legislators’ papers and also took photos of documents on the floor of the Idaho House of Representatives on Jan. 10.  SEE THE VIDEO AT IDAHOSTATESMAN.COM”  I am unable to locate the video at Idahostatesman.com, but the online photo seems very odd to me.

The photo appears to be a frame-grab from the state’s video recording of the incident.  It also appears to show the man’s left hand grasping something above the top of the desk.  If so, the man’s left hand is disproportionately large in comparison to his right hand.  It is also far more red that the other skin tones in the photo.  Finally, there appears to be a coat or jacket draped over the man’s left forearm.  If the “reddish left hand” is represented to be the man’s left hand holding a paper, the man’s lower forearm, wrist, and hand appear to be misaligned with and both longer and thicker than his upper left forearm.  The man is wearing a white or light colored shirt, but the left wrist area appears dark.

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Here is a link to a summary of California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s proposed firearm control law introduced today in the Congress.

Feinstein is shown holding a rifle in the photo to the left.  Note she appears to have her finger on the trigger.

Today’s Washington Post is reporting that one of the Obama-Holder favor-doers, Lanny Breuer, will be resigning his position as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.

Breuer was purportedly responsible for public corruption and financial crimes prosecutions involving the nation’s largest (i.e., “too big to prosecute”) banks.  Breuer performed his assigned duties well.  He successfully avoided sending crooked bankers to jail, settling instead for heavy fines.

Breuer would do well here in Idaho.  Idaho has plenty of crooked public officials whom he could avoid sending to jail.  Unfortunately, our county prosecutors and Idaho’s US Attorney are already doing that.  Take a number, get in line, Lanny.

Our December 27, 2012, OpenCdA post titled But Not Up Here…  talked about the gangs who had promised they would not come to northern Idaho.  Commenter “kageman” reasonably asked, “But, how bad can the gang/drug activity be in North Idaho?”

That question has been at least partially answered in today’s Spokesman-Review article by Scott Maben.  His article is headlined Interstate 90 a major route for traffickers heading east.

Just another toke over the line…

According to the McClatchy Newspapers, Idaho’s senior US Senator Mike Crapo has pleaded guilty in an Alexandria, Virginia, court to drunk driving.  The court imposed a $250 fine and  a jail sentence of 180 days.  The jail sentence was suspended by the court subject to Crapo’s not offending again within one year and his completion of a state alcohol safety action program.  The court also suspended Crapo’s driver’s license for one year.

Idaho and Virginia are both members of the interstate Drivers License Compact.  Membership is a major step necessary to maximize law enforcement efforts against drunk drivers and other serious traffic offenders. Serious offenses such as drunk driving, vehicle manslaughter, reckless driving, etc., are no less serious when committed in another jurisdiction than when committed in the driver’s home state.  It is the policy of each member state to promote compliance with the laws, ordinances, and administrative actions regarding the operation of motor vehicles by drivers in states which are members of the compact.

Included in the compact are provisions which allow:  Member states to report actions on out-of-state drivers to their licensing state, home states to take the same action on violations reported to them by other member states as if the violation occurred in the home state, and authority to deny issuance of a driver’s license if there is a suspension in another state.

In short, if Idaho intends to live up to its obligation under the Compact, Crapo’s license suspension will be enforced when he is home in Idaho as well.

The Washington Post has a feature article entitled ‘Fiscal cliff’ calculator:  What it means for me.  Using WaPo’s one-step calculator, taxpayers can compare the general effects the Democrat plan, the Republican plan, and the No-Deal plan would have on their families.

For those readers who are entirely consumed with more precise calculations using your own financial data, go directly to the Tax Policy Center’s TPC Tax Calculator and obsess to your heart’s content.

Today our local skewspaper, the Coeur d’Alene Press,  editorially suggested that the City of Coeur d’Alene should get a forensic audit done in order to restore the public’s confidence in the City’s ability to handle its finances.

Now Coeur d’Alene Press Publisher Jim Thompson and Editor Mike Patrick want the City to pay more money to hire a forensic accountant to come in and develop evidence that can be used in court against a person who has already agreed to plead guilty.

The horse named “Forensic Audit” has already left the barn insofar as the case against Sheryl Carroll is concerned.

Forensic audits are accounting processes used by specially-trained accountants to find and preserve evidence that will be admissible in court.  What the Press editorial board ought to have recommended instead is a financial risk analysis to identify all the financial risks facing the City and to suggest appropriate preventive and corrective countermeasures.  The fact is, a competent City Finance Director would already have done exactly that — shortly after being hired. (more…)