A Winter Wonderland

I'm doing real well - I start a blog, then I let a week go by before writing again.... Truth is, I've been overwhelmed, and haven't known quite what to say on any given day. But today, it was such a beautiful day, that I'm inspired to write about this winter wonderland. We have about two feet of snow and it's beautiful! I love all the shades of white and gray. I never knew how many different shades there could be. We didn't have much sun today, but the sunny days of winter are special as well: with white snow everywhere and then a bright sun, clear blue skies, and a glistening wherever one looks. Ah, north Idaho in the winter is very beautiful!

I spent the morning reading the Idaho Statesman in order to keep up with what occurs around the state. In north Idaho, we read most of our news in the Spokesman-Review (out of Spokane, WA), with occasional local news in the Hagadone owned papers of Coeur d'Alene, Sandoint, and Bonners Ferry. All of these papers have a Republican bias, but at least in the Idaho Statesman one can receive news about all of Idaho, including what's happening in the state legislature.

I love the latest report about Risch and his ideas for Idaho roadless areas and wilderness. It seems the Idaho Conversation League seems to think that, so far, his ideas are okay, but with Republicans, it's hard to say what underlying plan they may have. I presume there's underlying plans because next I read about Senator Craig's interference with two bills for wilderness that have come about through much hard work and bi-partisan understanding between the ICL and Senator Crapo, and the ICL and Representative Simpson. Leave it to Craig to interfere, saying he'll only give his support if they change the bills to suit his Rovian requests, thus stalling their passage. In a state where natural resources are the main wedge issue, Craig proves once again that in spite of his fellow Republicans' best efforts, Republicans are, in the end, not to be trusted. That is an unfortunate situation, but from Reagan to Bush I believe that Democrats, and many other US citizens, have learned that in the long run, Republicans just cannot be trusted.

I thought about this today, because I have Republican friends here, and I know that despite being Republican, many of them are honest, decent, caring, responsible and compassionate people. And just to clarify, I know that Democrats are not perfect.... But what I continually do not understand, is not only how the Republicans can get people to vote against their own best interests, but also how they can get votes in spite of their crass, irresponsible, egregious, and dishonest behavior. That's something to work on....

I do think that the media is largely responsible for this promotion of wedge issues between Republicans and Democrats. It makes for great reading, but it's also not very responsible reporting. It's sensational, but not necessarily important. And it's not what I, or many others, think of as news, which is probably why so many people get their news from alternative news sites on the internet.

So, in north Idaho at least, we could use with some good, liberal, progressive reporting. If you fit any of those adjectives, and you've always wanted to own a newspaper, this is the place to start. As the recent election shows, many people here are tired of Republican partisan politics, as well as the wingnuts they run for office. Indeed, north Idaho is ripe for a new newspaper with fair and accurate reporting. So, gather up your democratic friends and family and move here. Who knows, you may find yourself inspired to write about the beauty of our north Idaho winter wonderland.