Author Archives: ddxdx

  Chairmen of committees have a lot of power. They are appointed by the majority party. At the end of our Tuesday morning Agricultural Affairs Committee meeting the chairman announced he would be bringing a rule before us for consideration … Continue reading →

The Living Years Last year, 2011, was my first session so I had no comparison. Other legislators with more experience said it was difficult. I believed them. This is my second session and I am gaining perspective. Last year in … Continue reading →

We had a “Kitchen Table Economics” presentation Monday night in the Senate Auditorium. It was quite well attended, with many union and Occupy folks milling in the hallway. I came out of my office planning to go to the meeting … Continue reading →

I have written before about all the laws that get passed in this conservative state. Hundreds of bills make it into law each session, at least half, I swear, are working to fix problems from bills passed the year before. … Continue reading →

  Last winter when I was in Boise for the legislative session I got a call late one evening from Katy my oldest daughter. She is in nursing school and lives just down the hill from us. “Dad? Mom fell … Continue reading →

Our Founding Fathers required a census every ten years to make sure there was appropriate representation. Indeed, what matters to people is evident in what they keep track of, what we count. People matter. Our representative democracy was founded on ONE … Continue reading →

How we pay for health care in this country is complex and distracting. I would like to describe a part of the picture here in Idaho. Don’t let it distract you. Idaho requires counties to pay for healthcare costs for … Continue reading →

Earlier this spring my daughter called me about health insurance. You see, we had added her to a policy we had with the state. I get state employee health insurance as a legislator. Prior to being elected we purchased individual … Continue reading →

Idaho has an Energy Plan . It was written in 2007 as a legislative response to a planned coal power plant in Southeast Idaho but its scope was broad. It is supposed to be updated every five years so the Energy, … Continue reading →

A friend sent me this.  It’s a damming piece on the Canadian Kearl oil sands and how multinational companies are destroying our environment. He was most upset about how our leaders, our Governor and our Senators and Representatives seemed to … Continue reading →