Idaho Falls–Stand Up For Idaho, an Idaho Falls-based nonpartisan citizens’ organization that peacefully and actively advocates for the rights and liberties of all Idaho citizens, is hosting a presentation by Home Educator and Bannock County GOP Committeewoman LaQueta Morgan at their next Wednesday meeting. Mrs. Morgan will speak on the topic of “A Conservative Perspective on American Education.”
SUFI’s announcement reads:
LaQueta is a homeschooling mom and classical Christian educator with a decade of classical teaching experience. She is a CiRCE certified Master Teacher pursuing the ancient traditions of Socratic and Mimetic teaching.
LaQueta is also the Bannock County GOP Committeewoman. She is a very well-spoken and powerful speaker, and her topic; ‘A Conservative Perspective on American Education’ is very compelling and applicable to the world we are living in today.
The class will be held at the Snake River Event Center (Shilo Inn), located at 780 Lindsay Blvd. in Idaho Falls. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the class begins at 6:30 p.m.
I am always puzzled when I hear people step forward to defend pornographic production or consumption, as if the industry or practice needed defending.
My perspective of liberty – which has born out to be true in my own life as well as the stage of history – is that when people use their liberty to commit degrading or destructive acts, it brings destruction in and of itself, inevitably.
There might be an argument to be made, that government does not have a role to play in regulating or forbidding the “sex trade.”
But apart from that, within the sphere of our own liberty and conscience, we can easily make the decision to discourage people (especially our own children) from participating in the sex trade. We can EASILY and REASONABLY make the argument that such activities are absolutely destructive, debasing, vile, degenerate, predatory, perverted, and even evil.
Moreover, it is worth pointing out that America was founded on “moral legislation,” meaning state laws that condemned adultery, lasciviousness, fornication, sodomy, prostitution, and a slew of other behaviors. Those laws were the chosen laws of the founding generation, which were formulated and consented to by “the People.” In the centuries since, we have steadily walked that type of legislation back – and I would make the argument that we have NOTHING to show for it but misery and sorrow. Divorce rates, skyrocketing abortion statistics, hook-up culture, feminism, the LGBTQ movement, etc. etc.
In my mind, any person defending pornography might as well be making the argument that we CAN choose to drive ourselves off the edge of a cliff, if we so choose. We CAN participate in the sex trade, as things stand – but we might as well shoot ourselves in the foot.
Surely the idea that “we have enough rope to hang ourselves” applies to what we do within the scope of liberty.
And Liberty brings the potential for absolute self-destruction, by definition.
I would prefer to hear more voices argue us away from the edge of a cliff rather than push us towards it.
David George is an independent journalist who specializes in investigative journalism about Idaho politics. He lives in East Idaho.
On Monday, April 17, the group “Patriots for Liberty & Constitution” will begin discussing a new book, Mattias Desmet’s The Psychology of Totalitarianism. The discussion will be led by Art da Rosa.
Originally published in French in 2022, Desmet’s book builds on the work of the German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt to discuss the causes and solutions of modern totalitarianism. In his introduction, Desmet explains, “It is not my aim in this book to focus on that which is usually associated with totalitarianism–concentration camps, indoctrination, propaganda–but rather the broader cultural-historical processes from which totalitarianism emerges…Ultimately, this book explores the possibilities of finding a way out of the current cultural impasse in which we appear to be stuck.”
According to the event notes, “We will begin the discussion of a new book, the Psychology of Totalitarianism, by Mattias Desmet. [On] Monday, we will talk about the author, the Introduction, and Chapter 1, Science and Ideology. This is a good book with deep scholarly and practical values. Have fun reading.”
The group meets at Mountain Valley Baptist Church, 202 S. 7th Avenue in Pocatello, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
PragerU has released a new video in their “Stories of Us” series, featuring Xaviaer DuRousseau.
The video description reads, “Former BLM activist Xaviaer DuRousseau marched in the George Floyd protests and preached the importance of being a “woke ally” until he stumbled onto PragerU videos. He set out to debunk them, but instead, he “accidentally red-pilled” himself and transformed from a lost, angry young man into a calm and confident voice for the conservative movement.”
The Road Closure and Traffic Report for the City of Pocatello for the week of April 16 has been posted on the City’s website.
Some of the highlights include:
Street sweepers are performing their spring clean-up
Street Operations is patching potholes and curblines throughout the city
Replacement of the water main line on Hayes Avenue continues
Chubbuck Road will be closed between Pleasant View Dr. and Fairgrounds Rd. as part of the I-86/I-15 System Interchange project, and will remain closed until Fall 2024
Crews are installing upgrades and resurfacing parts of Ammon St.
Crews will be jetting sewer lines throughout the city
Idaho’s Voice Must Be Heard, and Early On, in 2024 Presidential Race
By: Dorothy Moon, IDGOP Chairwoman
Dorothy Moon, Chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party
The 2024 Republican Presidential Primary is shaping up to be one of the most consequential primaries of the last forty years. Selecting the delegates who will decide the next Republican nominee can seem a complicated and arcane process.
Across the country, state Republican parties use different procedures to select delegates to send to the Republican National Convention. After the implosion of violence and mayhem at the 1968 Democrat National Convention, the Democrat Party moved to implement a series of primary elections, where voters cast a secret ballot for eligible candidates. A primary allows voters the semblance of participation in a process still largely controlled by “super delegates” and party insiders. For a time, Republicans largely copied this model. But unlike Democrats, Republicans have never allowed party bosses to wield outsized control of the nominating convention.
Alternately, some states use a caucus system, where registered party members gather together and work, through dialogue and deliberation, to determine their preferred candidate. Iowa, with some of the highest election participation rates in the country, is one of the leading models of the caucus system.
The key thing to keep in mind: whether a state party uses a primary or a caucus, votes are tallied to determine the total delegates a presidential candidate can be awarded. In other words, a presidential nominating contest is about determining pledged delegates for a potential party nominee.
Idaho’s presidential nominating process has undergone several changes over the years. In 1976 the state held its first presidential primary. The presidential primary was historically held in May, late in the national presidential primary cycle.
In 2012, to increase Idaho’s relevance in national policy discussions and to attract presidential candidates to the state, the Idaho GOP decided to switch the May primary to a March caucus. The change required a lot of manpower and resources, but the new caucus attracted some of the most significant presidential candidates to come to Idaho and campaign directly for Idaho votes.
Leading up to the 2016 presidential cycle, the Idaho Republican Party worked closely with legislators to change the law governing the presidential primary, moving the date of the primary from May to March. This change was an enormous success for the State of Idaho. An earlier primary electrified grassroots activism, donors, as several leading presidential campaigns came to the Gem state to discuss and debate Idaho-specific issues. Many of us remember the infusion of energy—and the attention paid to Idaho industries—during visits from 2012 to 2020 from Ted Cruz, Newt Gingrich, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter and campaign representatives from eventual nominee Donald Trump and others.
An earlier primary compels presidential candidates to focus their attention — and spend some of their resources — in Idaho. When candidates know that they need to win a state’s delegates, they will spend more time and resources campaigning in that state. This means more rallies, more town hall meetings, and more opportunities for voters to engage with the candidates and build momentum in the party. It also means more meals eaten in our restaurants, more nights booked in our hotels and motels, and more time spent listening to our farmers, miners, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. A later primary date will mean that candidates won’t bother to show up in Idaho at all, as they focus on states that vote earlier and, because of their size, have more delegates to offer. Make no mistake: a primary held in May means Idaho’s voice is drowned out by the decisions made in earlier primary states, leaving Idaho — and Idaho’s Republican voters — largely irrelevant in a national nominating process.
This past legislative session, Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane brought forward HB138 — a bill that would remove the Republican Party’s March presidential primary. The bill passed out of the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Brad Little. McGrane and his backers say that an error and omission in the legislative language unwittingly removed the presidential primary; their goal was to move the primary to May. But because of sloppy drafting, Idaho is now without a “legal mechanism for political parties to request a presidential primary election”, as McGrane recently put it.
In essence, McGrane’s goof makes an Idaho GOP presidential nominating contest that much more difficult for the people. Where does that leave us? The Idaho GOP is evaluating all legal avenues and working to determine how to safeguard the early March nominating process that has already brought significant benefits to Idaho.
As the last Red State in the West, Idaho should be a beacon of conservatism, with a clear role in the Republican presidential nominating process. By keeping our earlier primary, Idaho is a more significant player in determining the direction of the national party and the policy views of the candidate who ultimately receives the nomination. The Idaho Republican Party will fight to ensure the momentum we gained in the 2016 and 2020 March nominating contests are not lost because the “smartest guys in the room” tried to unilaterally change the law. The Party will fix this error and ensure that the voice of the Idaho GOP is heard loud — and early — in the 2024 presidential nomination process.
Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon issued the above guest column that first published in the Times-News, and now will be published in other media outlets around Idaho.
Pocatello–The City’s Parks and Recreation Department is offering a four-part series of hiking classes next month, all centered on exploring the City Creek trail system. Their announcement reads:
Pocatello is a city worth exploring, let’s start at City Creek with a 4-part class! The goal is to get out in nature, explore the local trails and to be prepared for short hikes. Take this 4-part class to better understand the benefits, limitations, uses, safety and skills necessary for hiking. Keep in mind, you will need water, proper shoes (required), change of clothes for weather, and a small day-pack. This is a progressive series, building upon hiking endurance and knowledge.
We will meet at the trail head at 5:30pm. E-mails will be sent giving detailed directions to participants the Monday before the hike.
Part 1: Information on equipment, safety and trail resources for future use. Then, group will procced to hiking City Creek for about 4 to 6 miles at minimal elevation gain.
Part 2: Review of information from previous class. Increase hiking endurance and elevation. Location TBA.
Part 3: Loop hike. Location TBA.
Part 4: Point-to-point hike. Shuttle provided.
This class is open to adults, as well as to teens ages 14 and older who accompany an adult. Each class costs $10 per person. Pre-registration is required, and closes one week before each class. To register, click here.
With a little bit of flexibility and responsible outdoor stewardship, hunters should still be able to get on some birds in the coming weeks.
Spring turkey hunting season is upon us, despite what the view outside our windows may indicate. This seemingly eternal winter has been one for Idaho’s record books and will no doubt shake up this year’s spring turkey hunt.
That is, however, not a reason to sound the alarm and hang up the shotgun until fall. Fish and Game’s wildlife managers still anticipate a healthy crop of spring turkeys — pun intended — and with a little bit of flexibility and responsible outdoor stewardship, hunters should still be able to get on some birds in the coming weeks.
Here are a few reminders and helpful tips to help navigate the fading winter and get the most out of your spring turkey hunt.
Snowbirds
“It’s been a rough winter,” Fish and Game’s Upland Game and Migratory Game Bird Coordinator Jeff Knetter said. “We’ve seen record snow levels across the state, which could have an impact on turkey movements and where to find them.”While brutal winters may not have the same devastation on turkeys as they do other wintering wildlife, deep snow and prolonged freezing temperatures do shuffle the birds around. Like other wildlife, turkeys typically leave higher elevation areas and ride out the winter in lowlands. Many of these lower elevation regions fall under private landownership. Agricultural fields can be a nice, tropical getaway for a wild turkey, where food is easier to find and snow is minimal to nonexistent. “You tend to see turkeys concentrated during winter, and a lot of times they’re in privately owned fields,” Knetter said.That effect is multiplied when you have a long, severe winter, which can bunch up turkeys even more. As you plan your hunt, be thinking about the lower elevation areas where turkeys may still be hanging out.
Ask for permission
With the potential for more turkeys to still be down low (and most likely on private land), Fish and Game wants to remind hunters to always ask permission well before they head out hoping to bag a bird.
“Don’t be surprised to see even more turkeys hanging up on private land while we wait for the snow to melt,” Knetter said.
Hunting on private land can be a new and enjoyable experience. Landowners who do allow hunting are more likely to grant access to their land to people who ask well in advance.
It also doesn’t hurt to grease the wheels with a potential new landowner relationship by bringing them a small gift or writing them a letter. Sportsmen can improve landowner/sportsman relations considerably by looking at things from the perspective of a landowner. Landowners want gates left the way they had them (opened or closed) before the hunter arrived and don’t want vehicles driven on soft ground, creating ruts or damaging crops.
Plain and simple: Always ask for permission and be sure to follow the landowner’s rules when on their property.
Head for the hills (eventually)
Hunters looking to get after it on opening day and the subsequent first few weeks might have a harder time finding birds where they’ve historically had success. That lush mountain meadow or that mid-elevation hillside might still be buried under three feet of snow. Wild turkeys typically spend the winter down low, then follow the snowline up as the snow recedes. With multiple feet of snow still blanketing some places, it could be several weeks before the turkeys start creeping back up to their summer homes.“It may be a while before hunters start to see turkeys back in the places they hunted them during past, milder springs,” Knetter said. It might be a smart move to start low and work high. Think like a turkey.
Tread lightly
Access is another important factor this year as snow (hopefully) begins to recede. Afterall, all that water has to go somewhere. And nowhere is that more apparent than dirt roads.Whether you’re a turkey hunter, antler collector or mushroom picker, we’re all eager to get out and hit the mountains as the temperatures start creeping back up. But with that excitement comes the responsibility to recreate and travel appropriately.
“Whether on public or private lands, traveling on wet and muddy roads causes unwanted and unnecessary damage, and also makes a mess of your vehicle. We’re all excited to get outdoors, but to do it responsibly and wait until roads and trails are dry enough to be on,” said Roger Phillips, Fish and Game’s Public Information Supervisor.
Knetter adds there’s no reason for turkey hunters to push into the higher elevations.
“Turkeys won’t be up there anyway,” he said. “Be patient, start low and follow the snowlines as they recede.”
The turkey season runs relatively long, until May 25 in most of the state. There will be time to access your favorite turkey hunting spots as the weather changes, so be patient and flexible in the early season.
Final reminders before you head out
Turkey hunting isn’t dissimilar to other types of wild game hunting, but it does present some unique, important complexities due to the nature of close-range hunting, usage of full camouflage and calling.
Here are a few more important reminders before you head out this spring.
Positively identify your target.
Assume every noise and movement is another hunter.
Never stalk a turkey or turkey sound.
Don’t wear red, white or blue.
Protect your back.
Shout “Stop” to alert approaching hunters.
Make your position known to other hunters.
Preselect a zone of fire.
Choose safe, ethical hunting companions.
Practice courtesy and self-control at all times.
All ethical wild turkey hunters support a series of rules that make wild turkey hunting the quality experience it can be. Following these rules will not only help maintain healthy flocks of wild turkeys in Idaho, but will also add to the challenge and excitement that is wild turkey hunting.
Do not disturb nesting hen turkeys or their nests.
Though it is legal (during legal hours) to shoot a tom out of a roost tree, this practice is unacceptable among most hunters.
If you hear another hunter calling a bird, allow that hunter to continue undisturbed and leave the area.
Have fun out there this spring and stay safe. Be sure to check Fish and Game’s 2022-23 Upland Game, Furbearer and Turkey Seasons and Rules booklet — available online, at regional offices or most license vendors — and review the rules and restrictions depending on when and where you’ll be hunting.
The American Legion’s monthly steak night, held on the 2nd Friday of each month, is tonight, Friday, April 14, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building, 300 N. Johnson Avenue in Pocatello.
For $16 per person ($9 per person for the Senior meal) you can enjoy a hand cut ribeye steak cooked over a charcoal fire, baked potato, assorted vegetables, baked beans, and their famous apple crisp with ice cream.
All proceeds help support programs sponsored by Pocatello’s American Legion Post 4.
