Legislation put forward in the Idaho Legislature to abolish the Constitutional Legal Defense Fund

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho Representative Steve Berch of District 15 has put forward legislation to abolish the Constitutional Legal Defense Fund of the Idaho Legislature. In the bill’s statement of purpose, he mentioned how it cost taxpayers millions of dollars in years past. The purpose of the legal defense fund, was to defend the legislature from lawsuits in court, citing legal challenges of pieces of legislation signed into law by the Governor of Idaho. An example of this was the lawsuit filed by the Occupy Boise Movement, known as “Watters V. Otter” which ruled, tents could be symbolically set up on the Old Ada County Court House property, but the people pitching the tents could not live in them. Idaho District Federal Court Judge, Lynn Winmill, ruled against legislation passed by the Idaho Legislature designed to prevent undercover filming of Dairy Farms. This legislation, otherwise known as, “Ag-Gag” legislation by those against its passage. Had its defeat in federal court paid out of the legal defense fund at taxpayer expense According to the Legislature’s website, the legislation known as HB 34 was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee for a hearing. No further action was taken as to when a hearing will take place. More information to come as soon as it comes available. https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0034.pdf https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title67/T67CH4/SECT67-451A https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/H0034SOP.pdf https://www.acluidaho.org/en/news/idaho-ag-gag-law-ruled-unconstitutional-federal-court https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2023/legislation/minidata/ https://www.acluidaho.org/en/cases/watters-v-otter

The Idaho Legislature puts forward another Election Audit Bill

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho In a recent legislative session, the Idaho State Legislature passed an Elections Audit bill, which was signed into law by Governor Brad Little. Seven months ago, according to KTVB, an elections audit was conducted. Last month, according to the same News Channel, they found an election audit had found few variations. According to House Bill 1, which was assigned to the Judiciary, Rules, and Administration Committee. The new audit legislation would require counties facing an election audit, to have their ballots impounded by the County Sherriff with the inspected ballots being returned after being inspected to the County Clerk’s office. The audit itself would be conducted by the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office while being facilitated by the County Clerk. More information to come as soon as it becomes available.

H0001 by Mark Reinhardt on Scribd

Update: The Legislator putting forward the bill is Representative Julianne Young.

Editorial: In the event of an Economic Downturn, the State of Idaho will cut Medicaid again

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho I was one of many people with Disabilities who testified at the Idaho State Legislature during the Medicaid Matters initiative in 2012. What I eventually figured out during the process of my testimony was that the Legislature was going to do whatever they wanted regardless of the desires we expressed in our testimony. It was from there, I figured, Corporations mattered more than those who were on Medicaid. The Legislature at the time was looking to pass House Bill 260 that would cut Medicaid funding to Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Developmental Therapy Services. When it did go into law, the resulting action, was the Federal Government told them to fix the situation or lose Federal Funds. The reality is, without safeguards for people with Disabilities on Medicaid, they will be forced to bear the brunt of Legislative budgeting decisions. Most decisions made in the State of Idaho are to the benefit of wealthy Corporations at the expense of the average person. This ultimately includes those who are living in poverty. One need, only look at, the tax receipt collections from the Idaho Tax Commission. As of November 2022, Individual Income Tax Collections were shown to be $171,571,658.76; whereas Corporate Income Tax Collections were shown to be $26,879,610.94. I am sure there are those in the Statehouse who do care about the average person, but those are few and far between. We will see what the new crop of State Legislators will do in such events. What needs to happen; yet will likely not happen, is an increase in corporate taxes to fund social services. This should be the solution instead of relying on the average taxpayer to fund programs to help people with Disabilities stay in the community. I am certain investing in a trained care provision workforce, will provide for a better-quality service, with the use of increased corporate taxes. Not everyone with Disabilities is a drain on society, there are those who do want to contribute, they just need a little assistance. It may just take time to learn the skills we need to be a part of the community. https://tax.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/reports/EPB00073/EPB00073_11-30-2022.pdf

I used to believe in conspiracy theories, I don’t now, and this is why

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho There is an echo chamber of paranoid conspiracy theory online regarding many issues. Often, it comes from a lack of understanding of how things work when it comes to certain subjects. It is why, I credit my college education for steering me clear of online websites masquerading as truth, when often they come across as carefully manufactured fiction. Infowars, is one of the most egregious of offenders, along with wearechange.org What they often do, is create an audience of paranoid, vulnerable people with kernels of fact and twist it into a narrative to sell a product. While I am skeptical of mainstream press due to its 21st Century track record on its reporting of important issues. I am even more skeptical of the so-called alternative media for its perpetuation of conspiracy theories based on flimsy evidence. It is important to know, anyone can fall for a conspiracy theory, even those who are extremely intelligent. Even I once fell victim to conspiracy theories before going through the process of achieving my education. One problem for me was, “confirmation bias, the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one’s existing beliefs.” This approach in decision making often leads to the ignoring of inconsistent information. What you must ask is, “Is it too good to be true?” This axiom can be both applied to Mainstream and Alternative Media equally, so long as you know where to find the scientific studies mentioned by these outlets. I learned how to see through a narrative by learning how to properly engage in research through appropriate sources. Google Scholar comes to mind, along with certain .gov, .org, and .edu websites that have shown they can be reliable. I learned to apply the SIFT method when it comes to an online source. SIFT stands for, “Stop, Investigate, Find, Trace.” This method is used by college libraries as a guide for Digital Literacy. When it comes to images that you see online a good tool to use is www.images.google.com This allows you to search an image you find online to see where its original source came from. Images and photographs can be doctored through a program like Adobe Photoshop, altering the original context to something other than the original intent. Sometimes images are made through computer programs powered by Artificial Intelligence. A good rule of thumb is unless you can find its original source through a reverse image search, be skeptical. A video from Common Sense Education outlines how you can use reverse Google Image Search, For forensic analysis of video footage posted online. European Union grant funded InVid Project allows the user to look at the origins of individual videos posted online. The tool only works for select websites, and has limited functionality on Baidu, a Chinese search engine. It covers Metadata, essentially a timestamp of when the video was published. It also allows for analysis of stills of the video to see where it was originally published. Google Scholar is a database where you can find scientific research as well as academic articles on a variety of subjects without having to pay fees. www.scholar.google.com When looking through Scientific Papers there are different sections you must consider. The Abstract describes in brief detail what the paper is about, the general methods used, and a summary of the findings. For the average person, it serves as a vehicle to see if the paper is of interest to you. The Introduction of a Scientific Paper is one where the research question and background information are presented. It is there to lead the reader to understand the authors hypothesis and means of testing it. This video explains the process by which a hypothesis is formed, according to YouTube Channel Ashford Science. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the statistical data in the Methods and Materials Section, along with the results. Don’t worry, it will be explained in the Discussion and Conclusion sections. The Discussion and Conclusion sections of the Scientific Paper is where the Scientists explain the implications of their work. They also explain why they have come to certain conclusions about the way a set of data has been presented in their findings. If there are academic papers that require you to purchase to gain access, you can always go to your Public Library and have your Librarian order them for you. This works for databases, such as JSTOR, where you would have access through your Library. As you set off to do your own research, hopefully, some of these resources will be of help.

Reflection: The US Constitutional Debate in the 21st Century

Note:This was a written reflection I did for my Poli Sci 240 class. Mark Reinhardt-Boise Idaho The debates between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists are still playing out today. They are just taking a different form looking at various aspects of society as they stand today. In fact, society is taking more of an Anti-Federalist approach, with a push for decentralization in the modern age from governance to technology. I see the elites of society in the United States treating the Constitution as a prop or largely irrelevant to their aims within the modern age. With economics being largely global, the push for Anti-Federalism becomes even more relevant in how we look at global affairs as a society. While the Anti-Federalists were largely correct in their predictions as to how the government would turn out, the Federalists were correct in their predictions as to the nature of factions. What they failed to consider or did not foresee was proliferation of the conspiracy theory mobilizing the faction to actual violence. The political parties are even further split into smaller factions, making it seem as though they can’t get the process of governing done. I am of the thought process the debates that occurred in the 1700s are even more slightly modified to represent something different than what is portrayed in the media landscape. What I learned in the process of taking this class is the Vice President can only count the Electoral College votes, he cannot switch electors like what was presented by the 45th President. I also learned that Treason is only applicable during a time of declared war. The thing about representation guaranteed by the US Constitution is Congress fits the definition of the natural aristocracy defined by Melancton Smith. With the wealthy contributing a great deal of money through Super PAC groups surrounded by circular prestige. The poor and what’s left of the Middle Class is left out of representation through a great deal of diminished influence. As super wealthy Senators and Congressman continue to chip away at rights guaranteed through the constitution through legislation. The Supreme Court who goes along with it, the US Constitution will ultimately become less relevant in the eyes of the average person, as most are just trying to survive economically. They are kept too busy to be able to research what the three branches of government are doing to take action about the situation they find themselves in with their liberties.

Middleton Idaho Homeowners file complaint against Idaho Power in the Idaho Public Utilities Commission

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho A complaint filed with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, outlines how Idaho Power, allegedly refused to apply the grandfather clause to Solar Generation customers Sara and Matthew Hartzheim of Middleton Idaho. In the complaint, they point out their home had burned down due to an electrical fire, “Unfortunately, on 5/17/22 our family experienced an electrical fire which destroyed our home and with it our solar array.” The complaint further detailed how Idaho Power informed them that if they could not take care of the situation in 6 months, they would lose grandfather status. It was also pointed out that the rules were governed by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. The order that Idaho Power cited, which was IPE-E-18-15,order no. 34546 covers four areas: 1) A customer who moves into a property with a grandfathered net-metering system gets to "inherit" the grandfathered status of the system. Likewise, when a customer moves from a property with a grandfathered system, that customer does not get to take the grandfathered status of the system with them to their ne×t property. 2) If a system is offline for more than six months, or it is moved to another site, the grandfathered status of the system is forfeited. 3) To allow for the replacement of degraded or broken panels, the customer may increase the capacity of the grandfathered system by no more than10% of the originally installed nameplate capacity or 1 kW, whichever is greater. 4) Grandfathered status terminates December 20, 2045 In the same order, there were several motions to reconsider for the purpose of having the grandfather clause be cited by the customer instead of the system. According to the Press Release issued for the order, it said,

20200206Press Release IPC E 18 15 by Mark Reinhardt on Scribd

In the complaint, the Hartzheim’s point out they had done their due diligence in notifying the Utilities of their situation. Filing the complaint with IPUC on the basis they believe their situation was not handled fairly pursuant to the rules,

20220920Formal Complaint Redacted by Mark Reinhardt on Scribd

In Idaho Power’s written answer to the complaint, they outlined several reasons why they could not accommodate the Middleton Homeowners,

20221102 Answer by Mark Reinhardt

More information to come, as soon as its available. Update: January, 14th 2023 The Idaho Public Utility Commission ruled in favor of the Middleton Homeowners citing circumstances relating to the facts of the case. They further mention in the order, it is a one time application, of an exemption to a previous order on file with the Commission.

20221230Final_Order_No_35651 by Mark Reinhardt on Scribd

Editorial: Capitalism and Western Governments have a credibility problem

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho The two beacons of Capitalism, the United Kingdom and the United States have used force to serve the interests of the wealthy in other parts of the world. Whether through Military force, or through theft of natural resources, Capitalism and Western Governments have a credibility problem when it comes to the claim that interactions are done through voluntary consent. There is also the issue of Fraud and the enforcement of laws on the books to punish bad behavior. This is largely an issue of allowing corporations to become so powerful they can capture regulatory system to do the bidding of their interests. There was enough evidence reported by news outlets of Fraud by Big Banks in Capitalist countries, however governments declined to prosecute. Instead, bailouts are given to favored industries in return for political favors. When vulnerable communities are impacted by the malfeasance of corporate practices around the world and here at home. The impact remains loss of liberty in the case of an attorney who sued Chevron. The destruction of entire towns due to poor environmental practices by the production of toxic resources. Eventually, the world is going to transition from Capitalism to something else entirely. What that looks like will be up to the people to decide.