Historical Image of the Day

Two images today--the top is the failure of the Teton Dam in Idaho on June 5, 1976. The bottom is the city of Rexburg, Idaho, inundated by the flood waters. Fourteen people died in the flood. One of the greatest dam failures in the history of the American West and a symbol for the peril we face when we try to control every drop of water.

Shorter Idaho: Kill the Poor

Idaho's response to its budget crisis:

But one other option that Popkey reports is under contemplation is cutting tax credits that help Idaho’s poorest residents afford food:

One possibility, though no legislators want their name on it yet: Ending the grocery-tax credit, which saves taxpayers $100 million. That would mean conflict because it would hit the poor hardest during hard times.

The credit is intended to refund some of the state’s sales tax to its poorest residents, as, unlike in many other states, the Idaho sales tax is levied on groceries. In an editorial, the Lewison Morning Tribune slammed the notion of cutting grocery credits, writing that “when it’s time to cut taxes, it’s Idaho’s wealthiest who get the breaks. When there’s a tax to be paid, it’s the people on the bottom rungs who get soaked.”

This will surely solve the state's problems.....

Obama Season?

Aren't jokes about killing the president against the law? Out of Idaho:

Rex Rammell, a long-shot gubernatorial candidate seeking the Republican nomination, criticized Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter on Wednesday for not making good on a promise to buy the first wolf tag. Tags for hunting the gray wolf went on sale Monday.

Rammell's remarks on Otter came in an interview Wednesday after the Times-News asked about comments Rammell made Tuesday night at a local Republican party event.

After an audience member shouted a question about "Obama tags" during a discussion on wolves, Rammell responded, "The Obama tags? We'd buy some of those."

Oh right, it's only against the law if you aren't a Republican politician. For them, it's just part of acceptable political discourse. Also, Idaho sucks.

Via Neiwert.