“Here, then, there was a cessation from toil, from hunger, and alarm. Past ills and dangers were forgotten. The hunt, the game, the song, the story, the rough though good-humored joke, made time pass joyously away, and plenty and security reigned throughout the camp.�
-Description of Captain B. L. E. Bonneville’s trapper’s camp, Stanley Basin, December, 1832 (Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series)

In 1832, befriended by Nez Perce and Flathead Indians, Captain Bonneville and thirteen fellow trappers found refuge and a bountiful supply of wild game in the Stanley Basin of the Snake River Canyon in Southeastern Idaho from December 9 through December 26. According to the Idaho State Historical Society, the trappers enjoyed “an elaborate Christmas celebration with the Nez Perce, who joined enthusiastically in the celebration.â€? A decade later (1842), Father Nicholas Point and Father Pierre J. de Smet, Catholic missionaries decorated the Sacred Heart Mission (now Cataldo) in North Idaho for Christmas, celebrating with the Coeur d’Alene Indians. These are some of the first Idaho Christmases in recorded history. Reflecting on these helps us appreciate the spirit of our holiday today. Read the rest of this entry »

Today, the people of Illinois and across America grieve the passing of a giant, a man who used his enormous intellect and his passionate words to change the world. As a Member of Congress from Illinois, I had the honor and privilege to spend a significant amount of time with my neighbor from Chicago’s western suburbs. Henry Hyde was my friend and my teacher, a great leader who showed us that a strong spirit and dedication to principles will always trump politics in the many noble causes he championed. Read the rest of this entry »

I thought that Sen. McCain was the most dignified of the candidates up there, while the Giuliani and Romney teams went after each other. I thought he looked the most presidential.

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) says he knows that lower taxes yield more revenue.

In his latest TV ad, Giuliani says Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), “are making the promise to raise taxes.”

“The only thing I can tell you in addition to that is they’ll raise taxes even more then they promise,” Giuliani says.

In case you missed the Republican YouTube debate Wednesday, here is Fred Thompson’s video attacking Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee that caused a stir.

Recently I authored a friend of the court brief to the Supreme Court urging the Court to overturn an onerous Indiana state law that requires individuals to provide a photo identification to vote on Election Day.

While photo ids seem harmless, I believe they are in fact, a modern day version of the poll tax of the pre-Civil Rights era.   Studies have clearly illustrated that the requirement to present a photo id at the polling place disenfranchises voters. The people that are most likely to be affected by an id requirement, and hence denied the ability to vote, are people of color, the elderly, and the young and poor people.

I believe that the right to vote in America is a sacred right and a moral obligation.  We actually have a problem in this country of getting people to vote.  That is why we must do everything that encourages, fosters and facilitates eligible voters’ ability to exercise this fundamental right in our democracy – not find ways to disenfranchise them. Read the rest of this entry »

I am proud to stand in solidarity with the members of the Writer’s Guild of America as they strike for the wages they deserve.  When the WGA strike began, big media corporations tried to cast it as the work of selfish, overpaid Hollywood writers trying to run television producers into bankruptcy.  What the public now sees, and what we have known all along, is that this strike is about fair compensation.  Writers deserve to be paid for the profits they bring to the conglomerations that employ them and they deserve new contracts that reflect the modern marketplace.  I look forward to seeing a resolution to this labor dispute that brings equity and economic safety to the members of the WGA.  I hope the braveness displayed by their strength serves as a beacon to downtrodden workers across the country and around the world.

As the nation continues to feel the pinch of high gasoline and oil prices continue above $94, the Virginia Grain Producers Association (VGPA) is encouraging Congress to pass a strong renewable fuels standard (RFS) that includes a 15 billion gallon RFS. This will ensure a solid and comprehensive energy package for this country.

Gasoline is once again at an all-time high. Oil prices are still above $94.00 a barrel. This should above all else illustrate the need to encourage and utilize this nation’s renewable energy source such as ethanol made from corn. If Congress does not pass a strong, robust RFS that includes corn ethanol, the message to the ethanol industry would be counter-productive to the market just as ethanol producer’s ramp up production for the growing demand and new technologies coming online.

The corn-based ethanol industry must continue to progress in order to lay the infrastructure for cellulosic. The comprehensive energy legislation passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives increases the 7.5 billion gallon renewable fuels standard to 36 billion gallons by 2022. Fifteen billion gallons will come from corn-based ethanol.
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Wayne Gilchrest is arguably one of the most liberal Republican representatives in the United States Congress. On the Club for Growth’s 2006 scorecard, he ranked 206th out of 228 Republicans. That’s not a record to write home about.

But now Gilchrest is using taxpayer dollars to try to present himself as an economic conservative. Using congressional franking priviliges, Gilchrest is sending letters, funded by taxpayer dollars, to his constituents that say, “Government spending is out of control, and that’s why Congressman Gilchrest supports common-sense measures to eliminate wasteful, pork-barrel spending — he is a leader in ending earmark abuse.â€?

A leader? Gilchrest must have an odd definition of what it means to be a leader, because the Maryland Representative is a proven porker who voted for one outrageous pork project after another. Read the rest of this entry »

Twenty years ago, nobody gave a second thought to showing a Social Security number on a driver’s license. How times have changed! In the Internet Age, the Social Security number is the key to our personal, medical and financial records. If we don’t protect it, other people can unlock our lives and steal both our money and our reputations. The thought of a universal identifier like a Social Security number falling into the hands of an identity thief strikes a chord of fear in every consumer in this country, and it should.

There are a few easy steps that each of us can take to cut the risk of people’s Social Security numbers falling into the hands of a criminal. H.R. 948, the Social Security Number Protection Act, is a good start. This bill accomplishes something so simple that it is hard to believe it hasn’t been done already. It makes the sale and purchase of Social Security numbers illegal. Read the rest of this entry »