(Idaho Governor’s Office Press Release, October 29, 2021)
Governor Brad Little (Official Photo)
Boise, Idaho – Governor Brad Little announced today he joined a multistate lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14042, also known as the federal contractor vaccine mandate.
Biden’s Executive Order 14042 requires employees of federal contractors be fully vaccinated by December 8, 2021, with few exceptions.
“President Biden’s federal contractor vaccine mandate not only harms Idaho workers and businesses that partner with the federal government, but it forces states to implement Biden mandates that are without legal precedent. Tens of millions in university research dollars are at stake. This is coercive federal overreach, and it must be stopped,” Governor Little said.
The Idaho Office of the State Board of Education is also party to the lawsuit on behalf of Idaho universities. The universities could lose up to $89 million in existing federal contracts, much of which involves important research.
Idaho’s participation in the suit was facilitated by Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and his office.
Georgia, Utah, Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina, and West Virginia also joined the lawsuit. Florida filed a similar challenge this week.
In addition, Governor Little wrote a letter to President Biden today urging him to halt implementation of the federal contractor vaccine mandate because it harms Idaho businesses.
“Many Idaho businesses of all sizes engage in contracts with the federal government to provide products and services that ensure our country can function properly. Now, business owners who pursued the American dream and worked to fill important needs for our nation are being coerced into policing your vaccine mandates,” Governor Little wrote. “Some of these Idaho contractors have been in longstanding business relationships with the federal government, and changing their contracts midstream forces them to choose between losing their employees or giving up their business. It is just plain wrong.”
Patriots for Liberty & Constitution invites the public to attend their weekly classes, all of which delve into the founding of and principles which established the United States of America. The group meets every Monday from 6:00 p.m. until 7:15 p.m. at Mountain Valley Baptist Church, 202 S. 7th Avenue in Pocatello. The group lecture and discussion is led by Art da Rosa.
October 30, 2021 (Cover Photo Credit: Barbara Worley)
Pocatello Mayoral Candidate David Worley has released a series of videos on good governance at the local level. This video is entitled, “Economic Development that Matches Pocatello’s Values and Strengths”
Our family has known Clayton Armstrong for decades. I first came to know Clayton well when my oldest son decided to wrestle. I know him to be a man of fairness, integrity, honesty, and dignity. He was both a teacher and a coach to most of our children. Our kids looked up to, and respected Clayton. Some of my children worked for him. He encouraged them at work, at practice and at school to be their best. Never at any time did he mistreat them or any other student or athlete that I have been aware of. In fact, the opposite of that is true; he encouraged them. As a coach he sometimes pushed them more than they may have wanted to be pushed but it was always to get them to excel and be their best. As a boss they weren’t always pleased with him. He expected them to work hard and to be on time and to be efficient. As our kids grew I traveled to many events with Clayton. I have spent time with him in a wide variety of social activities.
He may sometimes not appear to be the most cheerful or friendly person to be around but we’re not putting him on the school board to be everybody’s friend. He is the best person for the job because he stands up for what he knows to be right and true and he is not afraid to speak up for those values and principles that we should all hold dear.
Clayton has the strength to stand up and be heard when others might be inclined to just “go along with the crowd” or avoid “making waves.” He has run a successful business for many years here in Pocatello and understands what it means to be productive and he knows what it means to be “fiscally responsible.”
Clayton ran what could arguably be called the most successful youth wrestling program for Junior High and High School aged kids in Pocatello. He was involved from the early 80’s through 2013. I know while my sons were competing, his program always seemed to have twice as many kids as the other schools. I saw him buy shoes; provide equipment, encouragement, and opportunity for kids from EVERY walk of life. He had his favorites (and his favorites were anyone who worked hard) and he gave his wrestlers extra attention like every coach does. But if ANY of these outlandish accusations thrown around recently have any merit at all…why did so many kids follow him and love him as a coach? It wasn’t because wrestling practice was fun! It was because they found structure and success through hard work and encouragement.
Because of Clayton Armstrong’s background in education/coaching, owning and operating a successful small business, devotion to family and friends and his commitment to this community, he is the very best choice as a school board member in SD25 for zone 2. Clayton will listen to community members, parents and teachers and allow their voices to be heard. He is the change we need to move the education process forward in a positive and productive way. We encourage everyone to vote CLAYTON ARMSTRONG for school board zone 2.
The Chubbuck Police and Fire Departments are hosting their annual Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, October 30, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the new City Hall, 290 E. Linden Street. Click on the image below to learn more:
The Leavitt Center, located at 1030 E. Sublette Street in Pocatello, will be hosting a Haunted Theatre and Kids Carnival on Friday, October 29 from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 30, from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
The event description reads, “Spook Alley with awesome animatronics and fun carnival games! $10 for spook alley with unlimited walk-throughs and $5 for carnival games with guaranteed prizes and yummy treats! Costume contest each night with prizes to winners-kids and adults.”
Local churches will be holding Trunk or Treat events this weekend. Faith Lutheran Church, Rocky Mountain Ministries, and the Salvation Army have all planned events.
Faith Lutheran Church, 856 W. Eldredge Road in Pocatello, will host a trunk or treat event from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday. There will be candy and hot dogs. Allergy-free items are available, too.
Rocky Mountain Ministries, 845 Hyde Ave. in Pocatello, will host Treat Street, a trunk or treat event, from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday.
The Salvation Army, 400 N. Fourth Ave. in Pocatello, will host a trunk or treat event from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday.
October 2, 2021 (Photo Credit: Stand Up For Idaho, FB)
Stand Up For Idaho (SUFI), an Idaho Falls based nonpartisan citizens’ organization actively advocating for the rights and liberties of all Idahoans, has launched a YouTube channel.
The group currently has four videos on their YouTube page, each part of a forum the group recently conducted with candidates running for local office in Idaho Falls. The forum was moderated by popular KID NewsRadio (92.1 FM) Talk Show Host Steph Lucas.
Editor’s Note: In a front page article printed in the Idaho State Journal (Journal) on Wednesday, October 27 (Pocatello officials question Worley’s views on guns, local sovereignty), “several city officials” were said to question Mayoral candidate David Worley’s support of the 2nd Amendment and individual rights, apparently calling them, “fringe beliefs.” While, according to the article, “Other local politicians who contacted the Idaho State Journal with concerns about Worley’s views declined to speak on the record,” his opponents in the race for mayor, current Mayor Brian Blad and City Council Member Chris Stevens, are quoted in the piece. You can find the article on the Journal’s Facebook page. Here, David Worley responds:
On Sovereignty, Freedom, and Radicalism
By: Pocatello Mayoral Candidate David Worley
David Worley (Photo Credit: David Worley for Pocatello Mayor, FB)
My position on local sovereignty is clear and rooted in the principles and ideals of the American Revolution. However, my detractors argue that it is extreme and radical to assert that local government officials have a right and moral obligation to resist the tyrannical acts of a higher level of government. In reality, what is radical is the idea that the only appropriate response to tyranny is surrender.
If the duty of a lower level of government, a lesser magistrate, is to obey the orders of a higher government power in all circumstances; when did this begin? Should the thirteen colonies have yielded to King George III? Should the colonial legislatures have stopped at petitions to the British Empire? Should Samuel Adams, a tax collector, have served the king instead of forming the Sons of Liberty? The answer is clearly no. There is a time to refuse the orders of the king.
“…resistance is justified when it comes to protecting fundamental rights such as the right to provide for your family, bodily autonomy, or the right to keep and bear arms.”
My opponents want you to believe that I am lawless and reckless, potentially plunging us
into “chaos and anarchy.” This is far from the case. I recognize the same limitations the
Founders recognized in the Declaration of Independence on the right to resist tyranny. These types of conflicts are not to be had over “light and transient causes.” However, resistance is justified when it comes to protecting fundamental rights such as the right to provide for your family, bodily autonomy, or the right to keep and bear arms.
During the pandemic, federal and state mandates shut down or curtailed the activities of
businesses deemed “non-essential.” This was a direct attack on the property rights of business owners and the right of people to put food on their tables. People lost their jobs, businesses, and homes. No government program even came close to compensating for the damage these policies did. Our local officials did nothing to resist COVID restrictions, or were advocates for them.
The federal COVID vaccine mandate is a direct attack on bodily autonomy. No one
should live in fear of losing their job or becoming a second-class citizen due to a private medical decision. Yet, my opponents have said little or nothing about resisting the mandate or protecting our right to control what goes into your own bloodstream.
Only tyrants need a disarmed citizenry. Any attempt to disarm a free people should be
resisted. Local law enforcement should interpose on behalf of the citizens they serve. The
alternative is for our police to actively assist tyranny from a higher level of government or
passively let it happen. The Declaration of Independence is clear “to secure these rights,
Governments are instituted among Men.” The central purpose of government is to protect your God-given rights. Failure to do so is a dereliction of the highest duty of government.
It is true. I gave a speech on the Second Amendment to a group of patriots who formed a
militia in response to a direct threat to the right of Virginians to keep and bear arms. Our nation was founded by brave men who were willing to fight for their freedom, and I am proud that the same spirit still exists in the hearts of many Americans.
What was truly radical about Virginia’s situation in 2020 was that the state’s governor,
Ralph Northam, was trying to pass a law that completely violated the United States and Virginia constitutions – a law that was such a naked attempt to disarm the people of Virginia that 86 of Virginia’s 95 counties passed resolutions saying they would not enforce it. Bannock County has a similar resolution regarding any Federal attempt to violate the Second Amendment.
“I will fight for our freedoms; my detractors have shown in word and deed they will not.”
The proposed law was so extreme and such a clear threat to the right to keep and bear
arms that groups like this sprouted up across the state. The right to gather and organize with one’s fellows to protect the freedom of yourself and your community is as old as recorded history. Again, the truly extreme position is to presume that the only suitable response to tyranny is capitulation.
My opponents also challenge the idea that an official can decide which laws are
unconstitutional or immoral. Their concerns would be justified if I argued for arbitrary power, but that has never been my argument. My views are summarized best in the words of Martin Luther King Jr. in his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
“One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.
…How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.”
This is why the Founding Fathers appealed to the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” in the
Declaration of Independence. I claim no arbitrary power for local government, only the same concepts of rights, justice, and law that have been recognized in Western thought for hundreds of years.
Finally, this right and responsibility to resist tyranny has an ultimate check against its
unjust use, the people. The Declaration of Independence states that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Suppose the people decide at some point that I, as mayor, have unjustly resisted a higher level of government. In that case, they can and should remove me from office at the next election or through a recall if a speedier removal is required.
I am offering the citizens of Pocatello a clear choice between two fundamentally different
views on government. I will fight for our freedoms; my detractors have shown in word and deed they will not. So if you want change in Pocatello, make your voice heard on November 2nd.
