[Vision2020] Poor dear Idaho
rhayes at frontier.com
rhayes at frontier.com
Fri Feb 14 09:50:21 PST 2014
While the legislature wastes it time on social legislation spoon fed to it by ALEC and the NRA, it is suffering "death by a thousand cuts." All of this year's hot button legislation is a smoke screen meant to divert the interest of a mostly disinterested public. We need to wake up! Please read on...
Idaho Facts
Shame On Us
For all that’s good about Idaho, there is plenty that is bad, if not downright shameful. For example: The Gem state ranks 49th among the 50 states in average per-pupil spending, 42nd in salaries for classroom teachers, 47th in the number of high school grads who enroll in college, 44th in college graduation rates, and 40th or worse in attainment of degrees.
(Sources: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/states/ )
Idaho ranks 48th among all states in its wages and salaries and trails the rest of the country by three-tenths of a percentage point in the rate of wage increase, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. As recently as 2006, Idaho’s personal income was 83.4 percent of the U.S. average. Last year, it was just 79.1 percent of the national average.
(Source: http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTable.cfm?reqid=70&step=1&isuri=1&acrdn=3#reqid=70&step=1&isuri=1 )
As ill-prepared as U.S. high school students are for college, Idaho’s scores on Scholastic Aptitude Tests are even worse. The College Board says the 17,306 Idaho students who took the SAT test in April this year scored an average of 1,349, virtually unchanged from 2012, and well below the 1,550 (out of a possible 2,400) considered college-ready.
(Source: http://media.collegeboard.com/homeOrg/content/pdf/sat-report-college-career-readiness-2013.pdf )
Idaho ranks seventh in the nation in the number of women killed by men. The Violence Policy Center reported 12 of 14 female homicide victims in the state were over the age of 18 and 13 of them were killed by someone they knew. That translates to a rate of 1.77 per every 100,000 people, higher than the national average of 1.17 per 100,000.
(Source: http://www.vpc.org/studies/wmmw2013.pdf )
Idaho ranks dead last in the percentage of women over age 49 who had a mammogram in the past two years (68 percent). Idaho also has the lowest number of practicing physicians per person in the country (17 for every 10,000 people, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The state is last in the number of psychiatric physicians, at five per 100,000 people. The somewhat good news is that Idaho does have state programs, like Women’s Health Check, which offers free breast and cervical cancer screening to uninsured, low-income women. Dial 211 to reach the Idaho Care Line, or call 1-800-926-2588, for more information.
(Sources: http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/updates/2013/statetrends22013.html ; http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Health/DiseasesConditions/Cancer/WomensHealthCheck/tabid/255/Default.aspx )
Idaho ranks 11th in suicides, at about 20 per 100,000 people. During the worst of the economic crisis, from 2007 through 2009, Idaho suicides increased by 40 percent. The state is also 14th in the rate of adults aged 65 and over who have not received pneumonia vaccinations, even though those vaccinations are covered by Medicare.
(Sources: http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/ ; http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/stats-surv/nis/default.htm#nis ; , http://healthyamericans.org/states/?stateid=ID )
Idaho is among the bottom 10 states for average personal and household income, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. According to Bob Fick of the Idaho Department of Labor, low education levels are largely to blame - but it goes deeper than that. Idaho jobs requiring specific qualifications pay less in than most other states, but even professionals with advanced degrees make less here than in other states. Idaho's average wage is about 76 percent of the nation average down from the high 80 percent range in the 1960s and 70s.
(Sources: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/IDPCPI ; http://lmi.idaho.gov/WagesIncome/WagesbyOccupation.aspx ; http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/16000.html )
Idaho women who work full time earn 78 percent of the income of their male counterparts, near the bottom rank of all states, with the widest disparities in health care jobs. The imbalance has remained relatively unchanged for years.
(Sources: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-10 ; http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/04/Idaho-Pay-Gap.pdf )
Idaho ranks 18th in the nation in the number of families receiving government nutritional assistance and the number is growing faster, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, although the total percentage of families receiving assistance is 14.5 percent - close to the national average of 14.3 percent, and safely within the middle of the pack compared to other states. The sluggish economy is primarily to blame for this, Fick speculated, although the number may be artificially inflated by Idaho's traditionally low food stamp usage. Many Idaho families that may have qualified for nutritional assistance in the past never applied, but with more applications than available jobs in the state, more Idahoans are looking for help wherever they can get it.
"We have 1,600 job openings in our system today, statewide," Fick said. "And there's 65,000 people that are unemployed, 7,000 who dropped out, 40,000 working part-time. So there's a lot of competition for the handful of jobs that are out there."
(Source: http://www.healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Portals/0/FoodCashAssistance/FoodStamps/data_FSparticipationByCounty.pdf )
________________________________
From: "vision2020-request at moscow.com" <vision2020-request at moscow.com>
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Friday, February 14, 2014 5:52 AM
Subject: Vision2020 Digest, Vol 92, Issue 79
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Today's Topics:
1. Out of Touch (Tom Hansen)
2. Re: Idaho Senate Bill 1254 . . . (Moscow Cares)
3. Re: And now Kansas . . . (Sunil)
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 04:22:00 -0800
From: Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
To: Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: [Vision2020] Out of Touch
Message-ID: <2FD62C7F-8567-4B88-BAC8-01A7BC039057 at moscow.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Courtesy of today's (February 14, 2014) Lewiston Tribune with thanks to Brian Wolf.
-----------------------------------
Out of Touch
Romans 2:11 says "For God shows no partiality" but evidently some Idaho politicians do. The groundswell in citizen opposition in Boise to House Bill 427, the so called "Religious Freedom Bill," shows just how far out of step many lawmakers are with so many Idahoans.
The bill does nothing to advance "religious freedom," which is already enshrined in the First Amendment. What this bill does do is sanction the discrimination against the LGBT community as well as any other group a religion may deem as "immoral."
The bill is especially worrisome in that it aims to impose a moral code or religious law within the interpretation of state laws. What religious decrees does it endorse or ignore? Will a Protestant teacher be able to refuse instruction to Catholic students? Will a Muslim businessman be able to refuse service to a woman unaccompanied by a man? Does a physician who is a devout Christian get to deny treatment to a person who has remarried after a divorce? The problem with laws such as HB 427 is that it is impossible to say where the law begins and ends without singling out or favoring one group over another. These laws are inherently unjust, open to costly court challenges and represent a net expansion of government.
Freedom of, as well as from, religion is an important part of the fabric of our state. Nobody has the right to impose a religious decree on others, be it through Sharia law or through HB 427.
Brian Wolf, Moscow
-----------------------------------
Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 04:45:04 -0800
From: Moscow Cares <moscowcares at moscow.com>
To: Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Idaho Senate Bill 1254 . . .
Message-ID: <C33CE999-80FE-4B4F-8BDC-1B7E33342D21 at moscow.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
The complete set up videos (Introduction, Public Testimony, and Closing) are available and accessible at:
"Senate Bill 1254"
http://www.moscowcares.com/Idaho/2014/SB1254_021214.htm
Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
> On Feb 13, 2014, at 6:34 PM, Moscow Cares <moscowcares at moscow.com> wrote:
>
> Idaho Senate Bill 1254
>
> "FIREARMS REGULATION - Amends and adds to existing law to provide penalties for carrying concealed weapons under the influence of alcohol or drugs on a college campus; to revise the preemption of firearms regulation regarding college campuses; to provide authority of governing boards of public colleges and universities regarding firearms; and to provide civil immunity of colleges and universities allowing firearms."
>
> The Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee conducted a public hearing on February 12, 2014 regarding Senate Bill 1254.
>
> At the opening of this session, a 45-minute presentation of SB1254 was made by Cota Moore . . . an out-of-state representative . . . of the National Rifle Association.
>
> http://www.moscowcares.com/Idaho/2014/SB1254_021214_Intro.htm
>
> Ninety minutes of public testimony (led off by University of Idaho Interim President Don Burnett), followed the presentation. These videos will be ade available online tomorrow, so . . .
>
> Stay tuned, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 05:52:12 -0800
From: Sunil <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>
To: vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] And now Kansas . . .
Message-ID: <BAY169-W4692676F98DE8892A00ECFBD9C0 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Roger,
Let's turn what you're saying on its head: How about, if someone doesn't want to serve the public, he or she doesn't become a pharmacist? How about that person goes and digs ditches instead?
It would be interesting to see the bills and how similar they are. Which organization is drafting them? Or did people in different states happen to come up with the same bigoted, boneheaded idea at the same time?
Sunil
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 17:13:11 -0800
To: vision2020 at moscow.com; thansen at moscow.com
From: lfalen at turbonet.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] And now Kansas . . .
I have mixed feelings about theses bills. EMT's and Emergency Room Personell should provide service to everyone no matter who they are. Like wise any government agency should provide service to everyone. A Pharmacist dispensing pills is another mater. A person could simpley go to another pharmacy. Likewise for the people who wanted a wedding cake.
As written though I would be against the Idaho, Tennessee and Kansas bills.
Roger
-----Original Message-----
From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
To: "Moscow Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Date: 02/13/14 16:14
Subject: [Vision2020] And now Kansas . . .
Courtesy of Time magazine at:
http://nation.time.com/2014/02/11/kansas-bill-allowing-refusal-of-service-to-gay-couples-moves-forward/print/
-----------------------------------
Kansas Bill Allowing Refusal Of Service to Gay Couples Moves Forward
Bill would permit businesses and government employees to deny service on basis of religious principles
Kansas lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday that would permit businesses and government employees to deny service to same-sex couples on the basis of their religious principles. The measure passed an initial vote in the house by a significant margin, 72 votes to 42 votes. In a final vote on Wednesday, the bill succeeded 72 votes to 49 votes and will now be considered by the Republican-controlled state senate.
State lawmakers engaged in heated debate over House Bill 2453, which would allow hotels, restaurants and stores in the state to refuse to serve gay couples if "it would be contrary to their sincerely held religious beliefs." The bill would also allow government clerks to refuse to sign same-sex marriage licenses without threat of a lawsuit.
If a government employee chooses to refuse service, the bill states that the government must attempt to provide another employee to "promptly" provide that service "if it can be done without undue hardship to the employer."
This bill is part of a larger trend across the U.S., pitting gay rights advocates against conservatives who say same-sex marriage is contrary to their religious beliefs. A baker in Colorado was ordered to stop discriminating against same-sex couples in December, after refusing to make a cake for a gay couple's wedding.
--------------------
Kansas House Bill 2453
http://kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2453_00_0000.pdf
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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
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