MichaelStrickland

With three members of Boise State's defense gracing the cover of the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, it is easy to overlook significant progress that has been made in Pocatello.

Administratively and athletically, Bengal programs are showing promise. Idaho State Football could be this season's sleeper in the west.

What a difference one week makes. Idaho State's defense came out fast and hard limiting the offense to only 114 yards in a 63-play scrimmage, ISU's second of the season, Saturday morning.

"The defense had a difference in attitude," said Head Coach John Zamberlin. "They started fast and didn't wait for the scrimmage to develop."

Last week, in the first fall scrimmage, the offense gained 239 yards in roughly the same number of plays and did not turn the ball over.

"They played as a group, encouraged each other, and forced turnovers, which they didn't the week before," Zamberlin said. "We need turnovers from the defense to win football games."

Defensive players with big plays included lineman Jake Rouser, who recorded a quarterback sack and recovered the ensuing fumble, and linebacker Tanner Davis, who returned a pass interception for 14 yards. Linemen Rustin Phillips and Chad O'Donnell also had quarterback sacks.

Lineman Jordan Monga led all defenders with five stops, while defensive backs Dustin Tew, Cameron Gupton and Kenny Viser and linebacker A.J. Storms had four each. The Bengal running game gained only 46 yards in 29 rushes.

That isn't to say the offense didn't have some bright spots. Quarterback Kyle Morris, still getting extra reps with starter Russel Hill sidelined by a sore knee, completed five of six passes, one for a 10-yard touchdown to tight end Josh Hill. Hill had two catches for 25 yards.

"Josh has had a very nice camp," Zamberlin said. "He's bigger and stronger with his work in the weight room and still runs like he did."

Kicker Brendon Garcia has been perfection this fall. He made all five of his boots Saturday with a long of 41 yards and is 9-9 in the two scrimmages.

With classes starting, ISU football shifts into one-a-day practice mode. The Bengals practice at 9 a.m. Monday, then get Tuesday off for the first day of school. Idaho State will hold its final fall game-type football scrimmage Wednesday with practice starting at 4 p.m. and contact beginning sometime later.

Prediction: ISU will sneak up on some teams this year and gain some surprising victories.

Second Scrimmage Statistics

As we've seen in numerous polls now, the Keith Allred momentum is undeniable. We're on the same trajectory we've been on since March. The more people learn about Keith Allred, the more they want to see him as Idaho's next governor. People see that he has Idaho values: lower taxes and a strong public education system. When voters compare Otter's dismal record on jobs and education to Keith Allred's story as an Idahoan who can bring government back to people, not special interests, then poll numbers like these are inevitable.

Allred spokesman Shea Andersen told the Idaho Statesman.

When Jerry Brady, who was competitive as a Democratic candidate for Idaho governor in recent years, declined to take another stab at the position, many were left wondering who could possibly fill the void and make the race for the state's highest office, against Idaho's Republican machine, anything but a token gesture.

Who could continue the legacy left by former Democratic Governor Cecil Andrus? Andrus was elected four times to serve as governor, the only governor in Idaho’s history to be so honored by its citizens.

Keith Allred has provided an answer. I first met Allred, candidate for Idaho governor in 2010, back in 1998 when he was a professor at Columbia University. We shared several great conversations about things cultural, spiritual and political in his Manhattan apartment and around the city. So I was happy to find out that Idahoans are enthusiastically supporting his campaign.

Idaho GOP Gov. Butch Otter's lead over Allred has slipped to 11 percentage points, according to a poll commissioned by the Idaho Hospital Association by Republican pollster Greg Strimple. Otter led 47 percent to 36 percent, the first time his support has dropped below 50 percent in polls that have become public. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted July 29 by GS Strategy Group, which has an office in Boise. Strimple has worked on various Republican campaigns across the country. The poll says there is a 95 percent chance that the sampling error falls within a range of plus of minus 4.9 percent.

Columnist Dan Popkey compared the statewide poll to three surveys by Rasmussen Reports, a national firm that uses computer-generated phone calls to conduct its polls, and suggests that the governor's contest continues to narrow. Popkey cites Rasmussen's March survey, in which Otter led Allred 60 percent to 32 percent. In May, Otter led 54 to 32 percent. In a poll conducted July 15, Otter led 53 percent to 36 percent. A strong measure of a newcomer's viability in a high profile race is his ability to raise money. Allred has maintained a strong fundraising edge over the incumbent Otter. The campaign raised $487,101 from its launch in late December 2009 to June 4, 2010. The vast majority, 93 percent, of the campaign’s 2,130 contributors during that period are from Idaho.

“I’m glad to see that our campaign is enthusiastically supported by everyday Idahoans,” said Allred. “I intend to make Idaho government work by, for and of the people, and our supporters are responding.”

The campaign reported to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office that in the period between May 10 through June 4, some 550 Idaho donors contributed to Allred’s campaign. The campaign raised $118,860 in that same period, and now has $189,994 cash on hand. That’s a far cry from the report filed by Otter: In the same period, he raised $95,969 and has $161,532 on hand. The spending records are another story altogether: During the same period, Otter's campaign spent $135,572. Allred's report shows a fiscally conservative spending record of $58,917.

“Not only are we building solid support, but we’re spending less than Butch Otter’s campaign,” Allred said. “I hope Idahoans are taking note: I’ll be running Idaho’s government in much the same way.”

Keith Allred is a fifth-generation Idahoan who grew up working on his family’s ranches. He has been the leader of The Common Interest, a citizens’ advocate group that helped lower property taxes and fight proposals to raise car and pickup registration fees. Bethine Church, widow of Sen. Frank Church, predicted that Allred will energize people all across the political spectrum:

I think we can expect one of the liveliest campaigns we’ve seen in years, she said.

Campaign Treasurer Margaret Henbest, a former legislator, said Allred’s many contacts and the legislative successes of his non-partisan group, The Common Interest, will stand him in good stead:

Keith has the ability to reach out to all sides, she said. He’s a real problem solver, and that’s what Idaho needs.

According to House Minority Leader John Rusche of Lewiston:

I can’t think of a candidate who better represents the ‘Big Tent’ approach of the Democratic Party in Idaho. Allred is also “a down-to-earth good guy.

Senate Minority Leader Kate Kelly of Boise welcomed Allred’s filing:

Keith understands that people want accountability and transparency in their government. He knows that the people’s business must be done in public, that the people’s voices must be heard, that there’s no room for catering to special interests behind closed doors.

Another former Senate leader, Mary Lou Reed of Coeur d’Alene, said she knows Allred well:

We’ve worked together on a number of things and I marvel at his ability to bring people together. But what really delights me is that Keith is an outdoorsman. He knows we must protect Idaho’s special places.

A previous, early finance report showed Allred off to a great start in only three weeks:

The deadline for filing campaign finance reports that cover the period through Dec. 31 hasn’t yet arrived, but two candidates already are releasing numbers. Keith Allred, Democratic candidate for governor, announced today that in the three weeks since he filed his declaration of candidacy on Dec. 10, 2009, through the close of the period Dec. 31, he raised $130,807.

Hindsight is 20/20 vision, or so the saying goes. A previous report from 43rdStateBlues said:

Current Governor Butch Otter had approximately $117,000 on hand in his campaign last July and has yet to disclose his numbers for the second half of 2009. Butch is well tied into the big money interests represented by IACI. The question is whether they've already ponied up or were hedging to see if contributions would be necessary. If they haven't already contributed, it'll be interesting to see if Allred gives them something to think about. The disclosure deadline is January 31.

Note to Idaho Republicans: You have a race on your hands. 

Democratic Party Chair Keith Roark said he’s delighted with the reaction he’s been hearing from around the state:

... Keith Allred is a proven problem solver, someone who can bring people together. He will bring energy, enthusiasm and a new perspective ... And most importantly, this is someone who would be an outstanding Governor for Idaho.

Allred's official campaign website: http://www.allredforidaho.com/home.aspx

Are you headed to Boise next week?

I attended this event last month and it was absolutley terrific.

Story Story Night, a monthly live storytelling program, continues with the theme "Dog Days: Stories of Summer" at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 23, at the Linen Building, 1402 W. Grove St. in Downtown Boise's Linen District. Admission is $5 at the door. All ages, full bar with I.D.

The popular Story Story Night (storystorynight.org) gives the Boise community a forum and format to come together and share real experiences, live on stage and without notes. At each event, featured storytellers share a story on a theme, followed by an open story slam. Dan Costello performs as guest musician.

The featured storytellers for "Dog Days" are Jan Schlicht, Katy Gilbert and Clay Morgan. Schlicht will share the story of heading west on a summer backpacking adventure with her husband. Gilbert will tell a story about the sudden start of a summer war in Beirut, Lebanon. Gilbert is visiting from Beirut, where she is the project manager for Stories of Our City, a Boise-headquartered, worldwide peace project cultivating community and understanding by sharing true stories from around the globe. Morgan will tell a story about one fateful summer for a smokejumper and the space program. Morgan is a co-founder of Story Story Night and director of the Boise State Story Initiative.

Featured storytellers have 10 to 15 minutes to share their story on the theme, then become judges for the story slam following the intermission. Potential participants for the story slam drop their names in a hat at the door or at intermission. Names are chosen at random, and each person selected has five minutes to tell a true summer story, on stage and without notes. The slammer with the best story receives a small prize from local handmade boutique Bricolage.

Story Story Night, in partnership with Boise State Public Radio, also launched a new weekly podcast this August. Each podcast showcases one featured storyteller and one story slammer from a previous event. Available on radio.boisestate.edu and iTunes, a new Story Story Night podcast is available every Monday. Dan Costello composed an original song for the recordings that he'll perform live at "Dog Days."

"Boise State Public Radio has been recording every show since our first invite-only kickoff in March. Now, with the phenomenal success of this program, we're so pleased to be able to broadcast our incredible stories to a wider audience," says Jessica Holmes, Story Story Night Director and Host. "Thanks to the partners we have in place, this program has turned into something magical."

Anyone who wants to be a featured storyteller is welcome to submit a short pitch to storystorynight@live.com.

Fall Story Story Night events will take place on the last Mondays of each month - Sept. 27, Oct. 25 and Nov. 29. Fall themes will be announced on Aug. 23. Stay tuned in at storystorynight.org.

For interviews, images or more information on Story Story Night, contact Jessica Holmes at 208.794.7536 or idahojessica@gmail.com; or Chad Dryden at Bandwagon PR, 208.284.0355 or bandwagonpr@yahoo.com.

For more information on the Linen Building, call 208.385.0111 or email info@thelinenbuilding.com. Visit thelinenbuilding.com and interact with the Linen Building on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
ABOUT THE LINEN BUILDING: Built in 1910 and originally known as the American Laundry Building, the Linen Building Event Center has been transformed into an architecturally unique special events center and art gallery. The two-story facility hosts art and fashion shows, music concerts and events, weddings and receptions, corporate meetings and functions, proms and many other events. The Linen Building offers clients catering, full bar, audio/video, lighting and many other customized services.

1. True or False... If I’m wearing sunscreen, I can stay in the sun as long as I want.

2. True or False... I can’t get skin cancer because my routine doesn’t include any outdoor activities.

3. True or False... A sunscreen labeled SPF 30 blocks twice as much UV radiation as one labeled SPF 15.

4. True or False... It’s safe to let my children stay in the pool all day if they slip on a T-shirt after a couple of hours and reapply sunscreen to their faces, arms and legs.

5. True or False... Getting a “base tan” at an indoor tanning salon is a good way to prevent sunburn when I go to the beach later this summer.

Consultant Christy Stansel has answers to these and many other skin care questions.

See: http://www.idahoarbonne.myarbonne.com/

IDAHO FALLS — U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, both Republicans, say they oppose repealing the 17th Amendment that provides for direct election of senators by the public.

The repeal is a goal approved by the Idaho Republican Party at its convention last month.

The 17th Amendment was adopted in 1913 after a decade of problems with state legislatures unable to agree on a candidate to fill vacant U.S. Senate seats. The move for change also gained traction amid bribery scandals that led to some senators being removed from office.

reads a story in today's Idaho Press Tribune.

I first heard about this issue on the Facebook page of Brian Cronin, who posted:

This, you gotta read to believe. And if you don't have time, here's the re-cap: Both leading Republican candidates for US Congress in CD1 believe that legislators--not voters--should elect US Senators. And they're being egged on by the Tea Party. Please, please, please tell me voters are paying attention to this!

Cronin, a Democrat, is an Idaho State Representative in District 19B. Idaho's two Republican United States Senators agree with him on this issue. So does Idaho District 2 Congressman Mike Simpson, also a Republican.

“The platform on the 17th Amendment is one I disagree with,” Crapo told the Post Register. “I think senators should be elected by popular vote.”

Risch rejected arguments that states’ rights would increase by having state lawmakers pick U.S. senators.

“How can you be more accountable to the states than if you have to stand up and face the electorate?” he told the newspaper.

The Press Tribune reported that Idaho Gov. Butch Otter on Friday released a statement saying he sympathized with supporters of the resolution, but declined to state his own position.

Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, is a backer of the resolution that he said is also supported by Otter, and that socialism in the federal government would be stopped by repealing the amendment.

“I have supported (repeal), and the governor has supported this, for a very long time,” he said. “If we had the senators responsible to the state legislators, well that’s the state of Idaho right there. We need to have those senators responsible to the state legislators.”

The Associated Press reports that Rep. JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, also supports repealing the 17th Amendment.

I think the Founding Fathers set up for the senators to represent the state government, not the state as a whole, and I feel like that’s gotten twisted. I think this resolution would give Idaho a much larger voice.

Back in early May Randy Stapilus of Ridenbaugh Press wrote about the fact that a:

Tea Party questionnaire delivered to Idaho candidates, and signed by a number of them, has all sort of peculiar entries. Maybe the most peculiar of all has gotten little attention, but it should for what it says about the real nature of the Tea Party, and the forces behind it.

It came up, though, when the two main candidates for the Republican nomination in Idaho’s 1st congressional district, Vaughn Ward and Raul Labrador, appeared on an Idaho Public Television weekly program in a near-debate. One of the questions (at just past the 13-minute mark) that may have seemed obscure to many voters came from analyst Jim Weatherby, who had noticed that the Tea Party form indicated support for repeal of the 17th amendment, and that both Ward and Labrador had said they supported repeal.

The 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1913, and it changed a procedure in place since the nation’s founding, Stapilus said.

Up to then, U.S. senators had been chosen by state legislators. The amendment, which was enacted as part of the progressive movement, changed that to provide that the voters of each state would do the honors.

The state legislatures idea grew out of the caution that the nation’s founders had about placing power directly in the hands of ordinary voters; those voters, remember, were once far more limited (by gender, property ownership and otherwise) than they are now. As the right to vote expanded, so gradually did demands that voters rather than politicians choose their own senators.

Stapilus goes on to explain how eventually, problems associated with legislative selection made the case ever stronger. In some cases, legislatures deadlocked over choices, and states went without senatorial representation for years. Worse than that were the many cases of bribery and corruption; a seat in the U.S. Senate was something worth bribing and corrupting over. Popular election of senators has hardly been a perfect thing, but it has worked a lot more smoothly than its predecessor approach, he argues.

So why would the Tea Party, which likes to present itself as a movement which takes power away from politicians to give it to “the people,” be so enamored of this idea that specifically and clearly does the opposite?

Do we have a Democracy fetish?

Conservative blogger Adam Graham says we do.

On his blog, Graham made an attempt at explaining the rationale behind such thinking:

It’s been quite popular in the Idaho blogosphere to question why anyone in the World would want to do away with the 17th Amendment and the wonderful direct election of Senators.

Boise Guardian finds Raul Labrador and Vaughn Ward’s stance “worrisome.” One might as well worry about being attack by the Flathead Lake monster when visiting Kalispell, Montana. The odds are about as good. I’ve talked before about how the odds of this actually passing are slim to none. Neither Raul Labrador nor Vaughn Ward are planning a bill and the knee jerk response we’ve had here indicates none will be forthcoming. Their answer was that if a hypothetical bill were offered, they would support it.

Stapilus contends that Ward and Labrador have been incoherent in delivering sort-of answers, making reference to states rights, blogging:

“I think it’s important that the senators be beholden to the people of Idaho,” Labrador responded at one point; but this change would make them directly beholden not to the voters but to fellow-politician legislators. Under either plan, senators are chosen within the various states; the question is whether they are beholden to the state’s voters or to a majority of the state’s legislators. (Ward said that he agreed.) Could it just be a general disapproval of every reform enacted in the United States since the dawn of the 20th century? (If so, there go the initiative, referendum and recall too.)

Stapilus then asks more specifically: Who benefits from such an approach? Which "people" would be getting government under their contorl?

Presumably, Stapilus argues, the same people who tended to benefit way back then: Those who have the big bucks to corrupt state legislators with, and to buy Senate seats – which often is exactly what happened in the 19th century.

Graham fired back that he is surprised that Stapilus thinks that this is

a position held only by three headed aliens. The late Congressman Jack Metcalf supported repeal of the 17th Amendment (see Politics in America 1996 from Congressional Quarterly.)

"At any rate, I’ll take an opportunity to explain my position," Graham said.

To begin with, we must first understand that our Founding Fathers didn’t establish a Democracy, had no intentions of it. As good political scientists, they studied the history of democracicies and found that democracies failed in short order

Graham offers a couple of choice quotes:

Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide ... -John Adams

A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49%.- Thomas Jefferson

"In our modern society," Graham says, we have a bit of a democracy fetish (emphasis added). We believe if only we have more issues that people vote on and give people a greater direct vote that it will make things better. It’s simply not the case."

Graham wrties that The Founders sought to build a Republic where all power would still come from the consent of the governed, but that the direct source of this power would be diffuse to the end of protecting American liberty, to protect us from tyranny and improper laws that may arise from public passions. James Madison wrote in Federalist 62:

Another advantage accruing from this ingredient in the constitution of the Senate is, the additional impediment it must prove against improper acts of legislation. No law or resolution can now be passed without the concurrence, first, of a majority of the people, and then, of a majority of the States.

Graham says that the Senate, as designed by the Founders was meant to represent the interests of the State. According to him, the 17th Amendment "fundamentally changed the character of the U.S. Senate and to great national injury."

His position is that the growth in the size and scope of the federal government, as it has assumed more duties and functions that were once handled by the local and state governments, is caused by the fact that the Senate no longer has to directly answer to the State legislature for the way it votes.

Graham argues that the 17th Amendment transformed the body intended by our founders to represent the State Government of each state into a body of career politicians with eternal careers.

See Graham's blog for the full text of his argument.

Labrador, who won the May 25th who won the May 25 GOP primary for Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick’s seat, also says it’s a state’s rights issue. To paraphrase his position: The 17th Amendment has contributed to an erosion of state’s rights and to a too-powerful federal government.

Minnick responded to the Tea Party Boise survey with a statement that included his opposition to repealing the 17th Amendment.

Stapilus gave this update on his site:

In his blog, Adam Graham refers to the televised exchange on this:

“(Former Boise State Political Science Professor Jim) Weatherby called this out as some big problem. In reality, it’s one of those conservative wish list items that Ward and Labrador won’t spend one minute thinking about if elected to Congress. It’s because moments like this that the issue won’t be addressed, because the argument is not given a serious treatment.”

There’s a bit of news, actually, in that: Since when is taking away election of senators from the voters and giving it to the legislature a “conservative wish list item”? Can’t recall seeing it in years past; maybe missed it. But if in any event it is now, why is that? What’s the appeal in it for conservatives, even if they (Graham, at least) consider it a long-shot preference?

So Cronin's wish about this issue receiving more attention was granted. Weeks ago, in the Idaho Press Tribune, Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Hansen called Ward’s and Labrador’s position on the issue “bizarre” and “odd.”

That Press Tribune story also mentions that Congressman Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, proposed repealing the 17th Amendment in March.

According to College of Idaho political economy department chairman Jasper LiCalzi:

The 17th Amendment was ratified in order to more democratize our political system ... It’s hard to believe they want to say the people can’t make this decision,” LiCalzi said. “The whole history of this country has been one of giving more power to our people, and this would be the first time we’ve stepped (back).

Hansen added:

“All the issues facing this state ... and they’re worried about turning back a century of electing U.S. senators by direct vote and turning it over to the Legislature. Clearly they’re out of touch with what’s affecting people’s lives.”

According to Boise State University Department of Public Policy and Administration Chair Stephanie Witt:

The presence of the Tea Party movement and its possible influence on the Republican Party could have something to do with Vaughn Ward and Raul Labrador’s stance on the issue.

I would like to know if the public would like to lose control of saying who their senators are going to be. My guess is they would not.

I'm enjoying one of Idaho Statesman opinion editor Kevin Richert's characteristically lively discussions. On his blog and Facebook page is the latest press release from the Idaho Democratic Party.

Here's the full news release:

Idaho voters are astounded at the radical right-hand turn taken by the Idaho Republican Party at its recent state convention. It is now clear that the “new” Idaho Republican Party is interested not in governing but in ruling our state and its people. The recent convention approved platform planks that would take away the right of Idahoans to vote for their U.S. senator, require Republican candidates for public office to sign a “loyalty” oath and “order” a candidate for Ada County Commission who has spent a lifetime in public service to renounce his candidacy because he has from time to time reached out to Democrats in working to solve common problems.

The citizens of Idaho want elected officials who work together to solve the problems that are important to them and their children,

Responding on facebook, Ralph Perez a Republican Candidate for Idaho Representative in District 16, wrote:

So what exactly were the "radical platform proposals" of the Democrat party at their convention? Hmmm? Guess we will never know, because they shut you all out, including the media. Doesn't that remind you all of the Washington Democrats and their closed door, back room dealing Mr. O'bama promised us would not happen. The Democrat party tends to ... See Morehide it's true agenda, knowing the American people would reject them out of hand, if they were made public. Mr. Roark's holier than thou rant therefore rings hollow. I love the fact that he is crying out so loudly against our party. Means we touched a nerve with this guy and he's running scared. The voters will decide and I will place my faith in them.

Perez continued:

“The citizens of Idaho want elected officials who work together to solve the problems that are important to them and their children,” stated Keith Roark, chairman of the Idaho Democratic Party. “Instead, the Republicans delivered the very kind of high octane partisanship that voters across this state and nation are no longer willing to tolerate.”

This from a Democrat? He should call Nancy Pelosi, the queen of partisanship, perhaps he did not get the memo.

Ty Palmer added:

I was on the platform committee and would love to see before the election how the candidates feel about the issues contained therein so as to hold them accountable to more than just their talking point flyers after they are elected.

Many have speculated that the Idaho Republican Party's choice of hardliner Raul Labrador as the candidate to try to unseat Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick, as well as this recent purity purging in the form of a platform, are the best thing that could have happened to state Democrats.

What do you think?

NAMPA, Idaho's Northwest Nazarene University will host the 2010 Pastors and Leaders Conference (PALCON) for the Church of the Nazarene July 27-29, 2010 sponsored by the Board of General Superintendents and the Office of Clergy Development. The conference is built around the theme "Rooted in Missional Passion," and is designed for clergy, both assigned and unassigned, as well as deacons, elders, chaplains, evangelists, staff ministers, students entering the ministry, missionaries on furlough and retirees. Conference presenters include Nazarene General Superintendent Dr. Jerry Porter, and Dr. Leonard Sweet, a world-renown author, lecturer and futurist.

Dr. Porter has written for various Nazarene publications and is known primarily as a missionary evangelist. Porter and his wife Toni were appointed missionaries to the Dominican Republic in 1977 to help launch the work of the Church of the Nazarene. The assignment included church planting and directing the theological education by extension program. Following rapid and explosive growth of the church there, the Porters were assigned to San Jose, Costa Rica, where he served as rector of the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas.

During the next seven years, the enrollment of on-campus students at the seminary and those in extension centers throughout Latin America greatly increased. In 1986 Dr. Porter was elected by the General Board of the Church to serve as the regional director for the Mexico/Central America Region, which encompasses eight nations from Mexico to Panama.

Porter was elected General Superintendent for the Church of the Nazarene at the 1997 General Assembly while serving as the district superintendent for the Wash. DC District of the Church of the Nazarene.

Dr. Leonard Sweet is currently the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, and a visiting distinguished professor at George Fox University, Portland, Ore. He is the author of more than 200 articles, over 1,200 published sermons and dozens of books, including SoulTsunami, AquaChurch 2.0 and SoulSalsa: 17 Surprising Steps to Godly Living. Sweet is the primary contributor (along with his wife Karen Elizabeth Rennie) to the web-based preaching resource, sermons.com. For nine years he and his wife wrote for Homiletics, which became the premier preaching resource in North America under their watch. In 2000, Sweet authored the first religion e-book on Amazon.com, The Dawn Mistaken for Dusk: If God So Loved the World, Why Can't We? In the past two years, Len has written The Gospel According to Starbucks, The Three Hardest Words in the World to Get Right, The Church of the Perfect Storm, AquaChurch 2.0, and 11 Indispensable Relationships You Can't Be Without. In 2005, he introduced the first open-source preaching resource online at www.wikiletics.com. Dr. Sweet's newest book, So Beautiful: God's Design for Life and the Church, was quickly followed by Pay Attention: Every Bush is Burning in late 2009.

Sweet has held distinguished lectureships at various colleges, universities and seminaries, and has presented academic papers before major professional societies. He is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, state conventions, pastors' schools, retreats, and is often invited to lecture around the world.

Conference information and registration is available at http://www.palcon2010.org/event-information or by contacting NNU's Wesley Center at 208-467-8530. When registering you will be invited to select your workshop preferences. Northwest Nazarene University, a Christian comprehensive university, offers over 60 areas of study and 18 master's degrees in seven different disciplines. In addition to its 85-acre campus located in Nampa, Idaho, the University now offers online programs and works in cooperation with programs in 10 other countries. Founded in 1913, the university now serves over 1,900 undergraduate and graduate students, more than 8,500 continuing education students, and 2,300 high school students through the concurrent credit program.

by Amanda Cairo

MOSCOW, Idaho – In an effort to take the resistance out of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, University of Idaho researchers are getting down to the genetic level to figure out how multi-drug resistance plasmids increase their resistance.

Thanks to a five-year, $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Eva Top, professor of biology, and Zaid Abdo, assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, will study drug resistance plasmids and the range of bacterial hosts in which they can be supported.

“More and more bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, making it more difficult to treat infections,” said Top. “Plasmids play an important role in this spread of drug resistance, and we want to find out what determines the range of bacterial hosts they can move into. Very little is known about the range of hosts to which plasmids can transfer, and if and how that range can change over time.” Plasmids are little pieces of DNA within a bacterial cell that jump from bacterium to bacterium. As they spread, they bring genetic information into the new cell and can rapidly increase the number of antibiotics to which bacteria are resistant.

Top notes these mobile plasmids can confer resistance to 10 or more antibiotics as they move around. While some plasmids have a narrow range of hosts they can transfer to and stably replicate in, broad-host-range plasmids can transfer and replicate in distantly related bacteria – increasing the resistance spectrum. That is where Top's and Abdo's research will focus and provide a foundation for future opportunities to restrict transfer and spread of resistance.

Spurring the research is a growing trend of bacteria that are becoming resistant to antibiotics, like methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections that can become life-threatening. In extreme cases, doctors can run out of antibiotics to treat the infection.

“Plasmids have always been around and have carried antibiotic resistance,” she said. “But with the high usage of antibiotics, we need to figure out how the plasmids work before we can fight them.

” Top, Abdo and their teams of students and researchers will be working to unlock the mystery behind plasmids: why do some plasmids multiply with the bacteria and sometimes the transfer doesn’t take place?

With five years of research ahead of them, Top, Abdo and their students will be gaining experience that could ultimately lead to saving hundreds of lives. Their NIH-funded research project is titled "Plasmids as Vectors of Antibiotic Resistance: The Evolution of Plasmid Host Range."

Have you called Representatives Walt Minnick or Mike Simpson to express your support for emergency funds to save education jobs in Idaho? The proposal is still pending in the House, and your voice is needed to encourage votes for its passage.

Take a few minutes now to call Congressman Minnick (at 202-225-6611) or Congressman Simpson (202-225-5531) and ask them to support the inclusion of education job funds in the supplemental appropriations bill now before Congress. The NEA estimates that the $115 million Idaho stands to receive from the bill would save 1,908 jobs in K-12 education. Nationwide, Sen. Tom Harkin’s proposal for $23 billion in aid to states would prevent the layoffs of more than 300,000 people working in education.

In a May 27 memo from the Economic Policy Institute, Josh Bivens writes: “A misplaced obsession with the size of federal budget deficits remains the single biggest obstacle to enacting new measures to create jobs on a scale commensurate with the crisis in the American labor market.” Citing estimates from the respected economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com, Bivens says that each dollar of federal aid funneled to states during periods of high unemployment leads to an increase of $1.40 in overall economic activity, or gross domestic product. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that each 1 percent increase in actual GDP relative to potential GDP leads to a 38-cent reduction on the dollar in the federal budget deficit. Bivens explains that taken together, these numbers mean that $23 billion in spending would generate a $32 billion increase in GDP – money that will generate extra tax receipts that will lower the budget deficit by $12.2 billion. With this offset, he adds, the net cost of Harkin’s proposal would be $10.8 billion.

Saving education jobs is the right thing to do for our children’s future. Make your call now, and ask family and friends to speak up, too.

Reprinted with permission

Source: http://idahoea.org/news/its-not-too-late-to-make-call-for-ed

Republicans are seriously retooling in order to try to win back the congressional seat held by Walt Minnick.

Executive Director Jonathan Parker announced that Lindsay Hemmer has been hired as the 2010 Victory Director for the Idaho Republican Party. The Victory Director's primary responsibility is to help State Rep. Raul Labrador and the Idaho GOP reclaim the First Congressional District. Lindsay comes to Idaho from Arizona where she ran In-House Communications, a consulting and marketing firm.

This is a shrewd move by the Idaho Party and its statewide chair, Norm Semanko.

"We are really looking forward to having Lindsay join the team and help us reclaim the First Congressional District," said Parker. Lindsay's experience working with the Arizona Republican Party will play a vital role in securing Republican victories in Idaho in 2010.

Lindsay is a graduate of Hillsdale College in Michigan where she graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Since graduation, Lindsay has lived in Phoenix, Arizona until moving to Boise recently with her husband who is a Boise native and graduate of Centennial High School.

"I am honored to be chosen for this position and I am very excited to join the Idaho Republican Party in their efforts to ensure that Idaho remains the most Republican State in the Nation," Hemmer said.

Starting on June 8th, Lindsay Hemmer can be reached at Idaho GOP headquarters at 208-343-6405 or by email at Lindsay@idgop.org.

I look forward to communicating with Lindsay, since this election season is going to offer a ton of topics to blog about.