“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” said Peter Finch as newscaster Howard Beale in the 1976 movie “Network.” Are you that mad? You should be. Thirty-two years ago “Network” documented many of the outrages and dangers we’re still facing

In the past month we have seen the biggest slide down the road to serfdom in history. Never have such massive lies and half-truths been sold to the American people. Never have the perpetrators been so open and unrepentant in saying that what they’re doing to our country is for our own good.

Republican and Democrat presidential candidates both voted for the bailout. We now know that nationalizing our banking industry is one of the unstated goals of this program. Nationalizing banks happens in socialistic, third-world countries run by dictators.

But it’s different here, you say, we have free enterprise and capitalism. Not anymore. Not when Treasury Minister, half-billionaire Henry Paulson calls in the CEOs of nine major banks and tells them they WILL sell shares of their banks to the US Government or be on Treasury’s banking blacklist. Funny thing is, a short time ago Paulson, as CEO of Goldman Sachs, was helping create the massive financial problem he now tells us can only be solved with tax dollars that he controls. He’s wrong.

Our forefathers fought and died in the American Revolution over far less than this.

But, from our couch, as we watch our televisions in digital widescreen, high definition, everything is resolved by the end of the hour-long program. Howard Beale accused his viewers of relying on only the TV for their information and he said they were crazy for doing so. Howard was right.

A key component in this drama is the mistaken notion that government can actually do anything productive. Government can only tax, control, and destroy. The bailout and most of what Congress and the President do to us today are so far beyond constitutional boundaries that it’s accurate to say our Constitution is given only lip service and is seen as an annoying roadblock to “getting things done.”

Conventional wisdom says all citizens need do is “vote the scoundrels out” and we can retake our country. Libertarians have offered a peaceful path back to our roots for over 30 years if you’d elect their candidates. How well has voting for one of the two old parties worked for you these past 75 years? Talk about wasted votes.

Economists now recognize that FDR extended the Recession of 1929 into the Great Depression through government bailout programs. It was wrong then and it’s wrong today. Politicians and bureaucrats must not force us down a bailout path that will insure our destruction from within through fraud and greed.

We desperately need citizen-statesmen, not career politicians, to represent us. Voting for Libertarian candidates still offeres what may be the last hope for a peaceful return to the roots of our constitutional republic. When will you take a principled stand?

When it comes to expressing my opinion to my elected representatives, I believe in sharing the love.

Dear Senator Craig,
I saw on the news last night you want us, Idahoans, to tell you what we want.

Well. You asked for it.

First I’ll tell you what I don’t want. I don’t want the banks, lenders, wall street, etc. baild out with my money. Period.

I don’t want them bailed out with a slap on the wrist, or a wink and a nod, or a wing and a prayer. Under no circumstance can I be convinced to bail them out.

Oh, but it’s more complicated than that, isn’t it? Wasn’t it all the government incentives to give credit to non-creditworthy people, all the incentives that promoted the ridiculous idea that EVERYONE should own a home that made the banks feel “safe” with bad lending practices? Hey, Uncle Sam said it would be cool–so let’s do it! So here’s a suggestion. Don’t do that again. Don’t let D.C. engineer the economy directly or indirectly anymore. Quit it!!

Since when is owning a home something that everyone should do? Should everyone get to own a Mercedes? Should everyone get to go to Hawaii? How about we give incentives to banks willing to finance a Mercedes in every American’s garage and a tropical vacation for every man, woman, and child?

Okay, so it doesn’t work that way. Not everyone is in a position in their life to have everything they want. Individuals get to work and eventually they will (or won’t) get to a place where they can responsibly own their own home. That’s how life works. And when given the opportunity the free market will work. But D.C. doesn’t really want to give the free market the opportunity.

Lately we, the American People, have been threatened with a specter–The Great Depression. We’ve been told it’s coming to get us like the Boogie Monster hiding under our bed–the Boogie Monster of American history. That monster was the beginning of some pretty scary social programs which exist to this day. These social programs have helped strip away the personal and financial liberty of the people under that horrible catch phrase “the Greater Good.”

The current Great Credit Crisis is being used in the same evil way. It will lead us to turn private business into government entities. It will lead us inexorably closer to huge Socialist government. Please don’t do that. Please, don’t turn the U.S. of A into Europe. We’re close enough as it is.

Now IF D.C. really does have billions of dollars burning a hole in their pocket, how about they give every American over the age of 18 another tax bonus? I’m sure you’ve seen that email circulating, “The Birk Economic Recovery Plan.” It outlines a plan to give all that “bail out” money directly to the people–and tax it to boot. I can’t say I’m really for that either, honestly. But, IF money has to be given away then at least it will go directly back into the hands of the people. Not credit machines. It doesn’t even have to be a full 700 billion dollar tax return to the American people. I think most of us would be happy with just a five to ten thousand dollar boost. Peanuts, right? The people can pour that money back into the economy. They can make good on their debts, they can save their homes and their cars, and yeah, some can buy a vacation to Hawaii and put a Mercedes in their garage.

Ultimately, this crisis has been caused by D.C. and in regular fashion, D.C. is using the crisis it created to scare the people into accepting more government tyranny. Please don’t do this to us. You may be a senator and I know for many many years you have been a cog in the D.C. machine and that probably makes one’s vision quite cloudy and confused. But on this, please see clearly for yourself and for all the liberty-loving individuals here in Idaho you represent.

Yours in Liberty,
Ginny Eggleston

My sister and I and our collective four kids were canning beans this weekend. Seems crazy, as you can get green beans for $1 per can from the store, but for some reason we hate the taste of those beans and can our own.

It was hot and beautiful outside, the kids played in the pool, ran in and out wondering what we were up to as we snapped 60 pounds of beans with our mother, their grandmother. Canning beans is a big job and it took us all day Sunday and Monday afternoon, and we ran out of jars before beans. But we had good snacks, drinks, and company to make the time go by.

It may seem crazy, but it was one of the best Sundays on record for me. Not only do we get the joy of producing our own food to feed our famlies the rest of the year and the joy of spending time with each other shooting the breeze, I know our children will remember this, just as we remember from our childhood with our mother, who would grow her own garden and can everything. Our children will remember, and there will never be anything like the flavor of home canned green beans.

It seems so many families have forgotten these things, our society now mainly creates memories by spending money - movies, cars, trips. But it is all these homegrown things - food, quilts, crafts, talk, play - that bind us to our roots and our children in a way that can’t be explained. And every time we open a jar of home canned green beans for dinner, we taste the memory.

Robbi Blessin is a certified public accountant and stay-at-home mom of one son, Jonah. Robbi, her husband Barry, and her son Jonah live in Nampa, ID.

Got a special story of family life, community life, or local interest? Send it via news@kunachronicle.com. We would love to publish you!

The Kuna Farmers Market will hold the 2008 season kickoff meeting Saturday, April 26 from 10:30 until noon at the Kuna Fire Station, 150 West Boise Avenue.

The public is invited. Coffee and sweet rolls will be provided. New vendors, not-for-profit organizations who would like to hold fundraisers, entertainers, shoppers, volunteers, and anyone interested in the market are welcome.

The Kuna Farmers Market specializes in locally grown produce, meats, eggs, and plants, baked goods, an select, vendor-made crafts.

Come and learn more about our new vendors, our expanding list of produce and meats, planned demonstrations, and events. The new vendor mentor program will be introduced. New vendors team up with experienced vendors to share information and best practices.

The Market opens Saturday, May 10. For more information contact Cheryl McCord at 922-5113 or visit the webstie at www.KunaFarmersMarket.com.

We at Kuna Chronicle thank Ms. McCord for providing us with Kuna Farmers Market information. Past Market articles can be accessed in Kuna Chronicle’s Community pages.

We are happy to publish community announcements and happenings. Website members may send us their community announcements via news@kunachronicle.com.

Lily Virginia was born at St. Luke’s hospital in Meridian on March 18 at 2:26 p.m. to Ginny and Kevin Eggleston.

She weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz and was 20 inches long.

Lily joins siblings Robert Eugene 7, and Mina Rose 2.
Paternal grandparents are Mel and Jan Eggleston of Boise. Maternal grandparents are Teddi and Skip Hyde of Nampa, and Robert and  Patricia Kier of Firestone, CO.

Great Grandparents are Gloria and Bob Eggleston of Buhl, ID and Bettie Perkins of Boise.

Jury duty is one of the obligations we each share living in our free society. Representative government works because it’s a government of the people and people are involved. Juries play a crucial role in our republic. They provide one of the checks that balance the application of government power. The jury is the last line of peaceful defense against a government run amok.

Under our constitution, the jury is charged with both judging whether or not the person did the crime, but also judging whether or not the specific law makes sense under the constitution. This time-honored principle of both English and American law is called jury nullification. The jury can rule that the law violates the plain language of the constitution and, therefore, is not a law at all and no crime was committed.

Over the years judges have assumed more and more power unto themselves by instructing juries that they may only rule on facts using the instructions provided by the judge. Yet complete silence from judges about the jury’s right and obligation to also consider the validity of the law itself. This is a cover-up of such monumental proportions that it easily qualifies as a judicial conspiracy to hide our rights and duties from average citizens.

How could this apply to me? What if, for instance, you were preparing to board a flight in Boise and overlooked removing your revolver from your carry-on bag? TSA would call Boise Police and you would likely receive a ticket and might even end up in jail. You plead not guilty and request a jury trial. At your trial the jury might find that you, in fact, had the revolver with you. And they could also find that the law you violated was not a valid law at all under our constitution, therefore you did nothing wrong. Your case would be dismissed. The jury’s decision to nullify the unconstitutional law would essentially veto that law and protect others from its inappropriate enforcement.

The legal system is usually considered a non-partisan part of our government. Why then, do you only hear educational information about jury nullification from the libertarians? Please feel free to ask any and all republicans and democrats why Idaho does not yet support having fully informed juries. The founding libertarians who created our representative government certainly supported informed juries. So should we. For more information visit the Fully Informed Jury Association website at www.fija.org.

The poster contest is open to all school districts in the Boise
Valley. Home schooled students can enter through their local assigned school districts.

The age categories are as follows:

The grand prize winner will be recognized in conjuntion with the promotion of the Boise Aquarium and on the web site and the winner’s name will be on a plaque in the aquarium. The grand prize winner will also recieve a $2,500 scholarship, a three year family pass to the aquarium, a special “behind-the-scenes” tour of the aquarium including one-on-one time with the animal trainers, and a Boise Aquarium t-shirt.

Second prize winners (one from each age category) will receive a two year family pass, a special “behind-the-scenes” tour of the aquarium as well as one-on-one time with the animal trainers, a Boise Aquarium t-shirt, and recognition on the Boise Aquarium web site.

Third prize winners (one from each age category) will receive a two year season pass to the Boise Aquarium, a Boise Aquarium t-shirt, a “behind-the-scenes” tour of the aquarium as well as one-on-one time with the animal trainers, and recognition on the Boise Aquarium web site.

The entry deadline is May 9 and winners will be announced by May 28. For more information visit www.BoiseAquarium.net.

I am also a member of the House Environment, Energy & Technology Committee. On Wednesday, H0482 was presented to the committee dealing with air quality emissions, and is currently being held in committee. The purpose of this bill provides authority to the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a vehicle emission testing and maintenance program. Currently, District 21 already has emissions testing with a maximum cost of $15 per test which is administered by the Air Quality Board.

H0482 currently has unknowns that could negatively affect District 21. In one case, the required testing could be expected every six months, whereas we are currently on an annual basis. With the passing of this bill also brings potential for a complete overhaul of the current system, and that could amount to a lot of unneccessary spending. I understand the reasons for emissions testing and the benefit that it provides to our local valley and the nation as a whole, however, I am uncomfortable with the unknowns of this bill. When these questions are answered, we will have a better understanding of the ramification of H0482 and its affect on District 21.

What I am doing for you: my bills

HB0439, Income Tax Credit - Groceries (read full bill text here)

This bill has been printed and is currently in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. This bill would provide for income tax credits or refunds for certain resident individuals to offset the cost of sales tax on groceries.

Other important bills for District 21

HB0482, Air Quality Emissions (read full bill text here)

This bill is currently in the House Environment, Energy & Technology Committee. This bill provides authority to the Department of Environmental Quality to establish a vehicle emission testing and maintenance program.

HB0524, Relating to Annexation (read full bill text here)

This bill was presented, revised and has again been presented to the House State Affairs Committee as a routing slip. This bill deals with the clarification of annexation, and implied consent.

The district is looking at building the alternative school on the northwest corner of the current Kuna Middle School property, according to Jay W. Hummel, Kuna’s Superintendent of Schools

The school will provide a more flexible course of study for high school students within the Kuna district. In the valley, alternative high schools have offered smaller class sizes, giving teachers the opportunity to spend more time one-on-one helping students who are often over-looked in the more traditional high school due to large class sizes.

With the addition of an alternative high school, Kuna will be joining the ranks of other local communities such as Meridian (Meridian Academy), Nampa (Alpha I), and Boise (Fort Boise, Mountain Cove, and Booth Memorial).

Read the Kuna Melba News next week for a follow-up story on this event.

WASHINGTON — President Bush signed the fiscal 2008 Defense authorization bill into law Monday. The signing will belatedly activate a bigger pay raise and more than two dozen bonuses owed to troops.

The measure, passed by Congress in December, was vetoed by Bush on Dec. 28 over concerns that one overlooked provision could freeze billions in Iraqi government reconstruction funds held in U.S. banks.

Congress finalized a revised version Tuesday, removing that language and backdating pay increases and bonus language to the start of the calendar year.

The measure calls for a 3.5 percent pay hike for all military personnel, 0.5 percent above what troops saw on Jan. 1. The difference is about $9 a month for an E-3 with four years service, and just over $13 a month for an E-5 with 10 years service.

Even though the extra pay increase in retroactive, Defense officials said servicemembers won’t see the extra cash until mid- or late-February, because payroll officials won’t have time to process the new rate for the end-ofJanuary payroll period.

They added that backdated bonuses will likely take a few more weeks as well. Since Jan. 1, the services have delayed payment of 26 bonuses and specialty pays while waiting for reauthorizing language included in the legislation.

The list includes some six-year re-enlistment bonuses worth up to $90,000, the Army’s enlistment referral reward of $2,000, and a host of special pay and incentives for health professionals.

The $696 billion authorization bill, which sets spending priorities and policy for the fiscal year, also includes language allowing troops to carry up to 75 days of leave from one year to the next and allowing certain deployed troops to sell back up to 30 days of unused leave.

It also elevates the Chief of the National Guard Bureau to a four-star general; guarantees combat veterans mental health evaluations within 30 days of their request; establishes a Family Readiness Council to better coordinate family programs; and sets aside nearly $5 billion for efforts to combat roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.