Governor Otter selects Senate replacement with close lobbyist ties.

The “ties” don’t get much closer than those used to form the wedding “knot”.

Governor Otter selected Melinda Smyser to replace Brad Little (who was ejected up into the Lt. Governor’s office).

Smyser’s husband is “Charles ‘Skip’ Smyser, a former state House and Senate member who is a lobbyist for private prisons, tobacco companies, the Idaho Trucking Association and mining companies.”

However, Melinda assures us, “I’m independent. I’m going to represent my constituents in District 11 and the concerns they have.”

Thanks for the assurance, Melinda. I feel so much better.

AT&T drops a heavy axe

AT&T announced another 12,000 employees will be terminated or attritioned out.
How many of these will be offshore employees? I think corporations refuse to look at “those people” as employees since a single piece of paper contracts thousands of workers they may simply be referred to as the “contracted”.

So, to save the necks and salaries and bonuses of their own “Gold Collar” chiefs they turn 12,000 people to the streets in America which adds even further to the downward spiral of our dying economy.

Can I sanely argue that they do not have to let people go? Perhaps not, but I can sanely and patriotically argue they should let the “contracted” go first.

Senator Crapo and windfall profits taxes

From Senator Mike Crapo’s E-News, dated June 25, 2008:

“There are those in Congress who want to impose windfall profits taxes, and some have even suggested nationalizing the oil companies.  The fact is increasing taxes is not the answer.  More taxes will not produce even one additional barrel of oil. “

Agreed, if we did tax the nauseating profits of the oil companies, this alone will “not produce even one additional barrel of oil.” But… just what could our Congressmen do with that extra money if they would impose those taxes?

• Borrow less money from China
• Invest in alternate energy sources
• Invest in drilling our own oil
• Improve our country’s health care system
• Maybe Exxon and buddies could subsidize our nation’s school districts that have to put gas in their buses to get children to and from school

Am I a Capitalist? Yes I am. But the suggestion of “nationalizing the oil companies” sounds ever more attractive to me every day. My reply to the Senator is perhaps this would be an appropriate solution at this time. Our elected representatives are not courageous enough to control the oil oligarchy.