BORING? MAYBE NOT.

Wayne Cornell wrote this in the Idaho Press-Tribune:

Bill on initiatives shows arrogance

The arrogance of some of some of Idaho’s elected officials is beyond belief.    In November, Idaho voters resoundingly approved three initiatives that canceled out education “reform” bills proposed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna and passed by the Legislature.     

Getting those initiatives on the ballot required obtaining signatures from qualified voters all over the state. That was no small task.     

One of the first bills introduced in this year’s legislative session, sponsored by Farm Bureau lobbyist Russ Hendricks and Nampa Sen. Curt McKenzie, is obviously aimed at fixing things so the drubbing lawmakers took last fall can’t be repeated.    The new proposal would require 6 percent of the registered voters in at least 22 Idaho of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts to sign petitions to get an initiative on the ballot. That would make the task virtually impossible. 

A similar amendment passed in 1997 by the Legislature that would have required the signatures of 6 percent of registered voters in 22 counties was ruled unconstitutional by a U.S. district court.    

The message to Idaho voters is clear. Our lawmakers believe they know what is good for us and we don’t have any business interfering with their work. Absolutely unbelievable.    So if the boys and girls at the Statehouse want to play hardball, here’s a message: the people who elected you showed through the initiative last fall that they have considerable power. As a member of that group, I promise to actively campaign in the next election against any legislator — Republican or Democrat — (particularly those from Canyon County) who votes for Sen. McKenzie’s proposal. And I urge anyone else who is tired of the “voters aren’t smart enough” attitude in state government to make the same pledge.     

Wayne Cornell, Caldwell 

Mr. Cornell has a point.  Along with Gerrymandering, this is another way to control votes and the voting proceedures set down by the State's Constitution.  Does it sound familiar?  It should.  This is exactly what many states tried to do to suppress votes around this country.  This man speaks up...I say here, here!

Education in this state has been on the chopping block ever since Governor Otter appointed Tom Luna as the education czar of this state.  Tom Luna got his degree out of a Cracker Jack Box [internet] and hasn't spent one day teaching in a classroom in his life and he supposes he knows what is best for the educational system in this state.  He can barely write a cogent paragraph himself.  His grammer is attrocious and he can hardly spell his name and his math...his math?  He thinks 5 + 5 = 11.  He actually thinks teachers are in the business for the money and that by offering 'merit' pay, the teachers will shape up and teach better.  What rot.  Every one who knows a teacher knows h/she is not in it for the money.  They are in it for the joy of influencing young minds...NOT MONEY.

Thank you Wayne for your post.