News Brief

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today about whether cost should be a factor for power plants in conforming to the Clean Water Act.

At issue is the use how the billions of gallons of water plants use for cooling effect fish and whether or not 554 older plants should be forced to upgrade their systems to match the mandates for new plants. The Bush administration, the EPA and the power plants are seeking to overturn an earlier ruling in a circuit court that sided with the six states and several environmental groups that challenged the Bush administration's stance, arguing that plants should have to upgrade, despite the cost of those upgrades.

Some, however, were hoping the issue would be cleared up by the incoming Obama administration, which is expected to restore water quality regulations after nearly a decade of weakening.

More on the story:
Associated Press: Court Weighs Power PlantcCosts vs. Protecting Fish
National Public Radio: High Court Case Tests Power Plants' Water Rules

Diary of a Mad Voter: Heath Haussamen

One common argument many New Mexico lawmakers have made against ethics reform is that the Legislature doesn't have ethical issues and its members don't need additional checks on their power. When Manny Aragon admitted several weeks ago to abusing his position in the state Senate to steal millions of taxpayer dollars, he blew that argument out of the water.

So, of course, some lawmakers have come up with bogus arguments against ethics reform.

Missoula City Analysis

Missoula is a liberal town ready to shell out bucks to support its progressive ideals, or the Garden City is a dollars-and-cents conservative place, anxious to rein in government and trim taxes.

Whatever the state's perception of Missoula may be (as the state's bleeding heart, usually), the Missoula City Council has been either been split 7-5 or evenly divided -- often along classic liberal-conservative lines -- for years. And as the economic crunch continues, the debate has gotten even louder.

The most recent flare-up arose over $651,000 allotted for new dump trucks and other city vehicles. According to Mayor John Engen's office, the purchase, which the council approved on a 7-5 vote last week, fit the city's basic mission, to take care of necessities such as fixing streets while reducing long-term fuel costs. Over the last decade, while growing in size by about one-third, the city has cut unleaded gas usage by 10 percent and diesel by 8 percent.

But that's not how everyone sees it.

Cabinet Appointments

While Obama's centrist cabinet appointments on the economy and national security have been well-received in most quarters, there could be a lot more dissent if he goes ahead with one of the current front-runners for Agriculture Secretary, reports Jonathan Hiskes at Crosscut.

Citing The Hill, Hiskes says that Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) are the leading contenders for Agriculture - and that both are representative of the status quo.

Agriculture reform is both a budget issue and a social issue as the organic- and local-food movements gain momentum. Indeed, reform of irrational subsidy programs and various types of incentive schemes that favor chemically-oriented agribusiness over family farms is potentially a great opportunity for Obama and his message of change. We don't know Peterson or Sandlin, but when it comes to Ag, we definitely support change.

News Brief

The bi-partisan Western Governors' Association has given President-elect Barack Obama a four-page letter detailing its recommendations for the new administration's energy policy, including an "aggressive and achievable national greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal."

The letter, signed by Utah Gov. John Huntsman Jr. and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer also urges Obama to "promptly" (within the first 100 days of office) to, among other things: Propose a national mandatory system of emissions reductions through "market-based mechanisms;" Pursue a national energy efficiency program; Establish an oil import reduction goal; and spend tens of billions of dollars each year to encourage private investment in clean energy.

WILL IT END OR EXTEND THE WILDERNESS DROUGHT?

For four years, I've been writing about what I've coined the "Wilderness Drought," 25 years of frustration and infighting since we've seen a single acre of Wilderness designated in Montana. Now, several mainstream groups have joined forces with representative of the wood products industry in a grand attempt to end it.

The political reality of today requires this collaborative, "bottom-up" approach because politicians are so gun-shy about Wilderness legislation. They only want lay-ups with all stakeholders already on board, which is the motivation behind this upcoming legislation. After decades of nothing, Montana wilderness advocates have decided to play the new, quid pro quo game to have some chance of success.

Regrettably, this flawed bill looks more like a half-court shot for our congressional delegation and could extend instead of end the Wilderness Drought.

The Obama Effect

Since the election of Barack Obama, and the Democratic near-sweep of Congress, two weeks ago there have beenhundreds of news stories about an up surge of gun sales across the West and across the country. Many of these have appeared in newspapers in the Rocky Mountain West: the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, the Salt Lake Tribune, and so on. The problem is, while these accounts seem to present persuasive evidence, they're almost all based on anecdotal evidence.

Diary of a Mad Voter: Joan McCarter

The litany of damage done by a government of, by, and for Big Oil really is too much to try to delve into in one essay. Suffice it to say, the Iraq War wasn't the only gift to the friends of Bush and Cheney out to maximize profit. Millions of acres of our public lands sweetened that pot. Trying to figure out how to ameliorate this giveaway is going to be one of the biggest jobs the next Secretary of Interior faces. I agree with Bill Schneider, please let it be Raul Grijalva.

Guest Opinion by Keith Roark, Idaho Democrats Chair

Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko’s comments about the 2008 Idaho general election appeared recently in this space. Mr. Semanko took pains to assure everyone that his party is alive and well. The nation is bogged down in two costly wars, our economy is in the worst shape since the Great Depression and our standing with other nations reached its lowest point during the Bush years. But here in Idaho, Mr. Semanko tells us, the GOP - the party that got us where we are today - is alive and well. That’s not necessarily good news, Norm, but the future is not as dismal as your words suggest.

Democrats are still in the minority in Idaho, but the demographic trends are very much in our favor. For a sign of things to come, look no further than Caldwell High School. Not only did Barack Obama win the mock election there by more than a two-to-one margin; down ballot Democrats Walt Minnick, Larry LaRocco and state legislative candidate Mike Warwick won, too. Idaho’s young people are looking to Democrats to address the issues of the future and turning away from the shrill and negative views of an increasingly extremist Republican Party.