Watchmen Ministry North Idaho

(Idaho Freedom Foundation) Kids love the playful PBS cartoons of “Sesame Street,” “Arthur,” and “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.” But what should parents do when Daniel Tiger is used to teach kids about transgenderism? Or a Sesame Street Special teaches white children they are inherently privileged and complicit in systemic racism? Or an Arthur episode acclimates kids toward becoming progressive activists? Or PBS Kids claims babies are racists?

As lawmakers consider approving the budget for Idaho Public Television, they should recognize it is improper to use tax dollars to promote critical race theory, queer theory, and social justice activism. Public television today does far more than teach children to read, write or do mathematics. And House Bill 227 could give $450,000 of ongoing federal tax dollars to Idaho Public Television to breed more propaganda, like that of PBS Kids, rather than teaching ideas with educational worth.

Lawmakers should understand what they are supporting. PBS Kids desires more than damaging young children’s intellectual growth through deceitful cartoons. The group seeks to influence how parents raise their children by providing trainings and resources for parents that bolster the group’s radical and progressive agenda.  (Read More)

(OneNewsNow) A public high school in Ohio jumped into politics and the culture war, and blatantly used its own students to do so, only to be challenged by the community for using them as pawns.

In a February email to school staff, a vice principal at Hilliard Davidson High announced the City of Hilliard was planning to debate an anti-discrimination ordinance. The school official then ordered classroom teachers to block out time during class to watch a propaganda video, produced by students, and to write letters in support of the city law.

“We need YOU to share with our elected officials in the form of a hard-copy letter why expanding the anti-discrimination legislation is necessary,” vice principal Kristen Clausen wrote in the Feb. 16 email that was obtained by the Center for Christian Virtue.   (Read More)

By Bob Shillingstad

Last week we wrote about how we should “not to live by lies” and live supporting truth.  Sometimes that seems more difficult because our choices are limited and maybe we shouldn’t point out what is right or wrong. Since the late 1960’s we’ve adopted the idea that no one is really in a position so say what’s right or wrong.

Many of us look at right or wrong in terms of our salvation and the need for individual salvation. I believe however, along with Francis Schaeffer and others, that we are called to bring a redemptive force in every area of culture.  When most of us, as Christians and conservatives, look at our culture there is a deep hunger to confront and change the attacks on our beliefs and confront the lies.

Each week brings more craziness such as proposing a genderless Mr. Potato Head game or canceling many of the Dr. Seuss books and of course the more we hear about “social justice” indoctrination in our schools and colleges it is appalling!  Or that people have the right to change their gender. We are being presented with a worldview that distorts facts, promotes lies and limits truth in the marketplace of ideas.

HERE ARE SOME ALTERNATIVES TO CONSIDER:

Main Stream Media News: You have the power to destroy the national news media and Hollywood.  Simple put, there is a wobbly, one-legged stool propping up these evil institutions and it is called cable and satellite television.  You strike these people hard when you cancel your television bundle. The game is rigged, did you know that CNN is not only in last place behind MSNBC but that their average viewers are below one million. They can’t survive on just advertising and now they’ve pulled out of airports.  How do they stay in business? They pick your pocket, and you are subsidizing all the fake news outlets!  Whether you watch CNN or not (who watches?) you are putting money into their pockets with a “subscription fee”.  About 50% of CNN’s total revenue comes from suckers like YOU, who pay for obscenely overpriced TV packages.  The same is true for the “sports social justice warriors network” known as ESPN who makes about $7 per month per subscriber!  (CNN makes about $2) That is what I mean when I say you have the power to destroy not just CNN and ESPN, but all of these left-wing networks artificially propped up by bundled TV, including MSNBC and MTV. With the movie industry crumbling, big studios like Disney, Sony, Paramount, etc., all count on these rigged cable fees to keep them afloat. Who wants the sewer piped into their house?  (Take heart, the “conservative Idaho Legislature has appropriated millions more for PBS and NPR which also report the news contrary to our values)

We have these wonderful little boxes that sell for as little as $30 each and no recurring fees. They are called a ROKU box. We have never had cable and love the choices.  My wife Jane and I can watch clips of Tucker on Fox News, One America News, NewsMax and others.  Many wonderful Christian channels and an outside antenna to pick up the broadcast channels. Most people can save up to $100 a month that they can put to better use. Save money, send me an email and I’ll respond with a summary of our favorites on ROKU.

Schooling vs Indoctrination: It is easy to say, “get your kids out of the schools and home school!”  That is not available for everyone or practical.  Fortunately, we have some very good charter schools, private schools and support groups for home schoolers.  Most of our 24 grandchildren have been home schooled and I have taught history and government with Skype to many of these kids in various locations.  On a more practical nature please run for school board or at least be informed and vote.  We need a new slate in many districts and to be there to support them after the election. The local news will attack their character as they are doing with our NIC board members. Be ready to stand behind those people willing to make the decisions to take on the establishment head on. We had two grandchildren graduate from Hillsdale College and another from Liberty University.  These are among some of the high quality, conservative colleges across the country.  Think twice about any of the “public” institutions anywhere else.  Be informed about tax funding and encouraging the legislature to route the monies through the parents by way of vouchers or credits.

Shop Local: Jeff Bezos and his tentacles through Amazon and The Washington Post are not our friends.  I have been caught up with the ease of shopping online and two-day shipping like everyone else.  I recently bought a shovel I liked for snow- I found that I could buy from my local hardware store in Hayden online and pick it up in a few days.  Let’s make every effort to buy local, American made (at least not Chinese) and if we do have to go online let’s buy from someone not a part of the deep state. We have more power as consumers than we realize!

(Creators) I have been telling parents for decades that sending a child to almost any college is playing Russian roulette with his or her values.

But it is a different version of Russian roulette. In the traditional version, only one of the gun’s six chambers contains a bullet. In the college version of Russian roulette, 5 of the 6 chambers contain a bullet. If your child attends almost any university in America (or Canada or anywhere else in the English-speaking world), the odds are that your child’s decency, intellectual acuity, faculty of reason, character and moral compass will be damaged, perhaps permanently.

The worse news is that sending your child to almost any elementary school or high school — public or private — is fast becoming equally toxic. More and more schools are being taken over by left-wing ideologues and by nonideologues who lack the courage to confront the ideologues.  (Read More)

(LifeNews) Senate Democrats today passed the COVID relief bill that forces Americans to fund abortions and the Planned Parenthood abortion business. It is the largest expansion of abortion funding since 2010, when Democrats passed Obamacare.

The Senate voted 50-49 for the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill that spends all but 9% on COVID relief and will spend tens of millions, perhaps over $100 million on funding abortions and the Planned Parenthood abortion corporation. Every Senate Republican, except for Alaska Senator Miller, who did not vote, voted against the COVID measure while every Democrat voted for it.

Democrat Senators Joe Manchin and Bob Casey, who both claim to be pro-life, voted for the abortion-funding legislation.  (Read More)

(Heritage Foundation) H.R. 1 would federalize and micromanage the election process administered by the states, imposing unnecessary, unwise, and unconstitutional mandates on the states and reversing the decentralization of the American election process—which is essential to the protection of our liberty and freedom. It would (among other things) implement nationwide the worst changes in election rules that occurred during the 2020 election; go even further in eroding and eliminating basic security protocols that states have in place; and interfere with the ability of states and their citizens to determine the qualifications and eligibility of voters, ensure the accuracy of voter registration rolls, secure the fairness and integrity of elections, and participate and speak freely in the political process.   (Read More)

(Free The States) Sonya Gonella had an abortion. Many years later after coming to Christ, she knew that the gospel was what post-abortive mothers and abortion-minded mothers needed. Yet the pro-life organizations she worked with didn’t seem to prioritize God’s word.

In 2014, she discovered the Abolitionist Movement and attended the “Against the World, For the World” abolitionist conference in Memphis. There, she connected with a group of like-minded believers who were pointing out many of the exact errors in the Pro-Life Movement that she had long been frustrated with.  (Read More)

(FRC) They can’t say they weren’t warned. Everyone in America knew where Joe Biden stood on abortion — because he told them. In 13 debates, multiple campaign ads, and a Planned Parenthood townhall, no one had any doubt that if this man won the White House, his folksy faith talk would take a backseat to his political deal with the far-Left. If Evangelicals for Biden want to say they never saw this COVID bill and its abortion funding coming, then they were the only ones.

Joe Biden was emphatic about his stance on the Hyde amendment, going all the way back to 2019 when he changed his longtime position. “For many years, as a U.S. senator,” he told a DNC crowd in Atlanta, “I’ve supported the Hyde amendment — like many, many others have… But if I believe health care is a right, and I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code.”  (Read More)

(The Federalist) It broke my heart to hear about Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ decision to stop printing some of his classic children’s books at the behest of outraged leftists. It was even more horrifying to witness so many people in power, from President Joe Biden to the executives at eBay, willingly comply with a small mob’s demands. Maybe it is easy to obliterate something valuable when you have never lived without it before.

The first time I read Dr. Seuss’s books was when I was pregnant with my son. Ever since I knew his existence, I began to read to him every night. I bought Dr. Seuss’s books in both English and Chinese to read each story to him in two different languages. I wanted him to become familiar with my voice. Like all mothers, I wanted him to have a much better childhood than mine, including having things I never had, such as great children’s literature.

I grew up in China. At the time, adults had nothing else to read other than books written by Mao Zedong.  (Read More)

(Idaho Freedom Foundation) Idaho’s legislative budget writers are being dishonest when they say a proposed higher education budget combats the leftist indoctrination happening on college and university campuses. It does not. Not even close.

It is true that the Legislature’s budget committee voted to restrict the use of state funds for social justice. But that prohibition does not preclude the schools from accessing other pools of public money to keep funding such programs, rendering the restriction wholly meaningless.

Additionally, lawmakers pathetically voted to cut Boise State University’s budget by about $400,000, supposedly to punish the school for its otherwise unflappable fealty to socialist professors and their brainwashed students. But that’s a measly 0.2% of BSU’s $255 million state appropriation and less than a tenth of its total budget of more than $615 million. It’s just a rounding error.  (Read More)

(PJ Media) Nine years ago, a gay couple went into Masterpiece Cakeshop and asked baker Jack Phillips to craft a cake to celebrate their same-sex wedding. Phillips refused, based on his Christian conviction that marriage is between one man and one woman, but he offered to sell the men anything else in the shop. They reported him to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, sparking a six-year legal battle up to the Supreme Court. Shortly after the Supreme Court found in favor of Phillips, a transgender lawyer targeted the Christian baker, beginning the battle all over again.

On Thursday, the Denver County district court granted Phillips a partial victory, striking down one of the legal claims the transgender lawyer, Autumn Scardina, brought against him. Yet the court refused to drop Scardina’s other claim in the lawsuit, leading to protracted litigation, once again.  (Read More)

(The Federalist) Dr. Seuss has been cancelled. Some of his work has been deemed racist, and we can’t have that. On Tuesday, the entity that oversees the estate of Theodor Seuss Geisel announced it would no longer publish six of Geisel’s books because they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”

Among the works now deemed unfit for children are Geisel’s first book under the pen name Dr. Seuss, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” published in 1937, and the much-beloved, “If I Ran the Zoo,” published in 1950. The former depicts a “Chinaman” character and the latter shows two men from “the African island of Yerka” in native garb.

There’s not much point in quibbling over whether these and other such illustrations in the condemned Dr. Seuss books are in fact racist or bigoted, or whether Geisel held racist or xenophobic views. By all accounts he was a liberal-minded and tolerant man who hated Nazis and, as a political cartoonist, mocked the antisemitism that was all-too-common in America during World War II.  (Read More)

(Idaho Freedom Foundation) Nearly $6 million federal taxpayer dollars could be used to traffic the pernicious and false ideas of critical race theory and the ideology of social justice into public elementary schools.

House Bill 226 sends federal funds to a non-profit education organization called the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (IAEYC). The IAEYC is governed by its parent organization the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). IAEYC’s personal website at first appears relatively germane, upon further examination one will find links to many trainings, curricula, and parent education resources from the NAEYC website.

The NAEYC is known for promoting “Anti-Bias Education” in teacher training and curriculum. Anti-bias education peddles the narrative that America is systemically and irredeemably racist and sexist. As a remedy, anti-bias education argues that teachers must discriminate in their treatment of white and black students, teach gender as a social construct, and abuse educational institutions for the purpose of political indoctrination.  (Read More)

By Bob Shillingstad

“And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we [a]entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.”   -I Corinthians 4:12-13

After the  publication of his Gulag Archipelago, which exposed the rottenness of Soviet totalitarianism and made Alexander Solzhenitsyn a global hero, Moscow finally expelled him to the West. On the eve of his forced exile, Solzhenitsyn published a final message to the Russian people, titled “Live Not By Lies”.  This became the title of a book published last year by Rod Dreher with a subtitle, “A Manual For Christian Dissidents”. 

“The Western world has become post-Christian,” Dreher writes, “with large numbers of those born after 1980 rejecting religious faith. This means that they will not only oppose Christians when we stand up for our principles—in particular, in defense of the traditional family, of male and female gender roles, and of the sanctity of human life—but also they will not even understand why they should tolerate dissent based in religious belief.”

It is more than a new “morality” or “immorality” being forced on us but we are now in a culture that wants us to disregard clear facts and accept their lies. There are only seven nations in the world that allow elective abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy and that includes countries like North Korea, Viet Nam and China but also the United States.  That an unborn child is just a clump of cells and we can end that life at any time – even up to and including birth— of course these are all lies!

We are told by our President that a man can call himself a woman and use a women’s locker room or rest room.  Didn’t God say “He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created” Genesis 5:2.  Our President, lawmakers and judges are lying and we need to be bold and call this out.  Because a person sits on the bench and wears a black robe does not mean that they make sense.  When they tell the State of Idaho that boys can compete as girls in school athletics or that the State has to pay for castration of a mentally ill male in prison we need to stand up and  say we will not “live by lies.”

Marriage is between a man and a woman. People are not allowed to camp on our sidewalks or streets despite what a judge says, and they have no jurisdiction in these matters.  Idaho is a sovereign state under the Constitution and these are issues reserved for the States. We are bombarded with diversity issues, racial issues, gender issues, social justice issues, issues of free speech, and issues rooted in socialism and Marxism. More importantly, it covers issues related to the Church and the response of the church is critical. Erwin Lutzer, the pastor of Moody Church for over 30 years has written a book confronting these issues this last year also, entitled, We Will Not Be Silenced.  Lutzer asks the questions, “How did we get here?  Why are these things happening? How did we get to where we are without noticing where we are headed? “

Lutzer explains that this has been happening since the ’60’s when the radicals realized they would not be successful without the “long march through the institutions”. They needed control over education, news media, the courts, the culture and entertainment and the Democratic party.  They have succeeded and we are reaping the results.  Now we need to start from the “bottom up” and compete with the media.  We are lied to by the main stream media and even local news.  Fortunately we have the alternatives of sites like this Watchman Ministry site but also Gem State Patriot News, Redoubt News, and the Inland NW Report.  All of these are sources of truth and updates that are important. Spread the word!

We now have a majority on the North Idaho College Board but they are taking personal attacks to force them out.  We desperately need people of courage to run for local school boards and city councils.  As we start here and continue to encourage people of faith and integrity to represent us in Boise we will make progress.  House Bill 215 in the legislature would provide grants to parents for tuition as an alternative to the government schools.  Tell your legislators to vote YES on this.  Vote NO on the school levy coming up March 9th.

Erwin Lutzer tells us in his book:

“I want to inspire us to have the courage to walk toward the fire and not run away from the flames. God has brought us to this cultural moment, and our future cannot be taken for granted.  As it has been said, ‘In a time of universal deception, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.’ “

(FRC) There were a lot of powerful arguments against the Equality Act, but Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) resorted to the ultimate authority: the Bible. During an intense debate on the House floor, the Florida representative said it was time for his colleagues to hear the truth about the transgender issue. But Democrats aren’t interested in the truth — or God. And far-Left radical Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) didn’t mind saying so.

“‘A woman must not wear men’s clothing nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this,'” Steube read from Deuteronomy 22:5. But let’s be clear, he said. “It’s not clothing or personal style that offends God, but rather the use of one’s appearance to act out or take on a sexual identity different from the one biologically assigned by God at birth.”  (Read More)

(Faith & Freedom) You’ve probably heard—if you’re listening, “that last Thursday was a red-letter day in American history—an occasion for dancing in the streets from Bangor to Burbank, and for socially distanced champagne toasts from Key West to Ketchikan,” writes Bruce Bawer for “Front Page.”

Bruce is sounding the alarm. So is Sen. Rand Paul, and the Catholic Church, and Protestant churches, and anyone who has even an inclination toward biblical truth about human sexuality.

President Biden has nominated “Rachel” Levine—formerly “Richard” Levine as the first openly transgender nominee for a high government office. Dr. Rachel Levine is Biden’s choice for the next assistant health secretary for HHS.  (Read More)

(Foundation for Economic Education) By keeping healthy children under quarantine, we are cruelly depriving them of the in-person free play and social interaction that are critical to their development and emotional well-being.

I read an advice article at Slate recently where a mom of a nearly five-year-old daughter wrote in to express concern that her child hasn’t seen any friends in five months, since COVID-19 lockdowns began. She said:

Because of COVID, my husband and I have decided to skip [pre-K] altogether and teach her everything she needs to know before kindergarten ourselves. This doesn’t worry me academically, but I am concerned about her development and the loss of the social interaction she was going to experience.  (Read More)

(PJ Media) In the wake of the Capitol riot, the House Committee on Financial Services — chaired by none other than Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) — held a hearing entitled “Dollars Against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of Insurrection.” Who should testify at such a hearing? Democrats invited none other than the scandal-plagued far-left smear factory the Southern Poverty Law Center, which routinely brands mainstream conservative and Christian nonprofits “hate groups,” listing them along with the Ku Klux Klan.

In her testimony, SPLC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks suggested concrete ways that government and Big Tech can separate “hate groups” from their “online funding sources.” She praised some tech companies for taking action while demanding far more throttling in the future.  (Read More)

(FRC) It’s a battle, Pastor Mike McClure said, that he “never wanted to be in.” But it’s a battle that God called him to fight — and he knows it. Keeping his church open hasn’t been easy, but then being obedient in the face of controversy usually isn’t. Still, Pastor Mike pointed out, it’s amazing when you do what’s right how “the Lord just shows up.” And late Friday, He wasn’t the only one. The Supreme Court decided to weigh in too — and the Christians of Santa Clara County couldn’t be happier.

It’s been more than three weeks since the Supreme Court ripped up Governor Gavin Newsom’s (D-Calif.) worship ban. And even then, some liberal officials wouldn’t comply. Santa Clara County decided that “indoor gatherings of all kinds remain very risky” and took it upon themselves to keep the churches closed despite what the justices had ordered.  (Read More)

(Creators.com) Nancy Pelosi’s top priority is to turn America into a one-party nation ruled by Democrats. Her bill HR 1, to be voted on this week, trashes the U.S. Constitution in an attempt to rig the system and make it virtually impossible to elect a Republican president or Congress again. It’s a power grab.

The bill eviscerates state voting laws and forces all the states to conform to a set of rules that includes automatic voter registration. Anyone who goes to a DMV or applies for food stamps, Medicaid or other social services, or attends a public college will be automatically enrolled to vote. Noncitizens are obligated to identify themselves and opt out, but there are no criminal penalties if they don’t. From California to New York, Dems are already pushing to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. They see this as their roadmap to a future permanent majority.  (Read More)

(The Federalist) A new Gallup poll published on Feb. 24 shows 1 in 6 Gen Z adults identify as LGBT. These results represent a remarkable jump from 2017, when 4.5 percent of Americans identified as LGBT, a number that has now risen to 5.6 percent just three years later.

The increase is indeed dramatic, yet it doesn’t fully tell the whole story. Why? While the population of Americans identifying as LGBT has risen steadily since 2012, last year the question was expanded from a simple “yes” or “no” to LGBT identity to include specific categories to choose from. Only one identity group showed a dramatic increase: bisexual women.

Of the 5.6 percent of all adults who identify as LGBT, 3.1 percent identify as bisexual, making up 54.6 percent of all LGBT adults. When broken down to the Gen Z age group (those aged 18 to 23), 11.5 percent identify as bisexual. In contrast, 5.1 percent of millennials and only 1.8 percent of Gen X identify as such. Across the board, all other categories, which include gay, lesbian, transgender, and others, remained steady.  (Read More)

(Idaho Freedom Foundation) Idaho lawmakers have only one job each and every year: deciding how much money to take out of the economy to run whatever government program they decide to fund. Media distractions to the contrary, this is the job, and lawmakers aren’t very good at it. They’re focused on evading responsibility so they upset no one – or at least, none of their donors. So when public money is spent against Idahoans’ interests, lawmakers can claim plausible deniability and say they’re not responsible.

Case in point: Idahoans are deeply concerned that they’re the ones funding the instrument of our country’s demise. We are the ones on the hook because we’re paying taxes and fees to indoctrinate young minds at Idaho’s public colleges and universities. But chairmen of the House and Senate education committees didn’t bring up the issue when they met recently with the Legislature’s budget panel, JFAC.

The chairmen didn’t mention it to JFAC even though the problem of Marxist and socialist training at Boise State University and the University of Idaho is well-documented and has been talked about in all three committees.  (Read More)

(Faith & Freedom) Candidate Joe Biden promised the far-left if they would elect him to the presidency he would pass the so-called “Equality Act” in his first 100 days in office.

Now President Joe Biden, who often struggles to remember many things, has not forgotten his promise to the LGBTQ community to force this deceptive, conscience-crushing, Orwellian legislation on America.

Enabling the president, 3 Senators, including Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon, have reintroduced the bill to the Senate, while Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) has reintroduced it to the House where it has previously passed.

The legislation does not create “equality”—it strikes at the very heart of our culture, turning “equality” on its head.  (Read More)

Written by Bob Shillingstad

An issue affecting Idaho and other states that should be of concern to all Christians is the legalization of Marijuana either through ”medical marijuana” or total legalization.  We have a number of “Blue” states that are fully on board with legalized marijuana and a number of other states that have been duped into marijuana as a “wonder drug” for all kinds of pain management.  Studies have shown that smoking marijuana is not effective, however some health conditions respond to manmade versions of THC found in marijuana.  Marinol, Cesamet treat nausea and lack of appetite in chemotherapy and AIDS patients.  Epidiolex, another drug with THC, is used to treat children’s epilepsy.  Idaho is one of 14 states without a “medical” marijuana law and for good reason.  Idaho does allow for CBD oil, a derivative of cannabis without THC or a very low level of that chemical.

We also have some conservatives who are more of a libertarian bent in their philosophy who resent almost all government restriction and believe in individual freedom to choose.  I don’t deny that they make a logical argument in many areas but in this case the evidence against legalization or even for “medical” purposes is overwhelming.  Most law enforcement are vehemently against legalization based on a broad examination of experience in other states.

Idaho is nearly surrounded by legalized pot.  Very liberal states like Washington and Oregon are totally in for legalized pot sales and dispensaries everywhere.  Oregon became the first state to decriminalize many hard drugs including heroin, meth, LSD, cocaine, and oxycodone.  If you are caught with small amounts of any of these drugs it a noncriminal violation similar to a traffic ticket. Montana and Utah have both adopted “medical marijuana” laws.  There is much evidence of abuse of these laws and the list of opponents in the medical community is long.(https://www.herkimercountyprevention.org/Marijuana.pdf) The history of adopting these laws is not good.

Idaho and Wyoming are the two holdouts in our region that have refused do change our state laws and agree with federal law.  The Controlled Substances Act was enacted in 1970 strictly regulates, regardless of state regulations, the growth, distribution and possession (regardless of recreational or medicinal purposes) are prohibited under federal law aside from lawful research.  I find it interesting that states openly flaunt this law, however, when it comes to transgender rights, marriage or abortion we all have to fall in line! A clear double standard depending on what is “politically correct”.   I believe Idaho is a sovereign state and can make up its own mind on marijuana and recognize the mistake allowing the broad use by society.

The marijuana used in the 1970’s is far different than what we see on the streets today when you measure the THC, the chemical in cannabis responsible for its psychoactive effects it contains.  In the 1970’s most marijuana contained less than 2% THC. Today it routinely contains 20 to 25% THC.  Think of the difference between near-beer and pure grain alcohol, to understand the difference.  Alex Berenson and others have been warning about what this is doing to our society and especially young people.  Please read his book Tell Your Children or the article he wrote in Hillsdale College’s Imprimis. (https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/marijuana-mental-illness-violence/)  There are many similar sources for the truth.

The Idaho Legislature appears to understand the issues but contact your legislator to give your opinion and support against legalization.  Talk to your sheriff or other law enforcement and get their opinion on this important subject. The biggest danger we face if from outside sources attempting to put this issue on the ballot and deceive the voters into thinking since “everyone else is doing it” we should also.  George Soros and others have been funding for legitimization of illegal drug use, especially marijuana.  He launched his “Open Society” propaganda campaign in 1993 with $15 million. Slogans of “medicalization” and “compassion” became the by-words along with “non-violent drug offender” to shape the dialogue in the public arena. These bad actors are using the initiative process and boat loads of money to fund their propaganda to twist the facts and talk us into bad legislation.  The money has vastly increased since 1993 and Soros and his kind do not have our best interests at heart.

I agree with Theodore Dalrymple, who says, in Don’t Legalize Drugs, “If the war against drugs is lost, then so are the wars against theft, speeding, incest, fraud, rape, murder, arson, and illegal parking. Few, if any, such wars are winnable …. The extreme intellectual elegance of the proposal to legalize the distribution and consumption of drugs, touted as the solution to so many problems at once (AIDS, crime, overcrowding in the prisons, and even the attractiveness of drugs to foolish young people), should give rise to skepticism.”  Don’t be fooled Idaho!

(Daily Signal) Apart from the bizarre notion that educators should set aside one month to salute the historical achievements of one race apart from and above the historical achievements of other races, Black History Month appears to omit a lot of black history.

About slavery, do our mostly left-wing educators teach that slavery was not unique to America and is as old as humankind? As economist and author Thomas Sowell says:

More whites were brought as slaves to North Africa than blacks brought as slaves to the United States or to the 13 colonies from which it was formed. White slaves were still being bought and sold in the Ottoman Empire, decades after blacks were freed in the United States.

Are students taught that “race-based preferences,” sometimes called “affirmative action,” were opposed by several civil rights leaders?  (Read More)