Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wants a “national divorce” — separating conservative “red” from progressive “blue” states. Former Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney tweeted: “Our country is governed by the Constitution. You swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Secession is unconstitutional. No member of Congress should advocate secession, Marjorie.”

Greene says “everyone” she talks to supports the “divorce.” But Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called Greene’s rhetoric destructive, wrong and “honestly, evil.”

By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun

The Republican-controlled Idaho House of Representatives voted along party lines Feb. 20 to pass a bill that would remove student IDs from the list of types of identification accepted to vote at Idaho polls.

Rep. Tina Lambert, R-Caldwell, sponsored House Bill 124, saying it would help prevent fraud at the polls — without citing any specific instances in Idaho where student IDs were used to commit voter fraud.

“The problem with student ID cards is that they are not secure,” Lambert said on the House floor. “Proof of identity is not required in order to get one. Some are going to say that this bill will prevent young people from voting. That is certainly not the goal. The goal is simply to ensure that only qualified people are voting in Idaho elections.”

It is already a violation of federal election laws to use a student ID or any other means to vote in multiple states in the same election.

Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, debated against passing the bill, saying removing student IDs basically amounts to a poll tax by forcing students — particularly young people who don’t drive or have a driver’s license — to obtain another accepted form of identification to cast their ballots.

“There is nothing more important than people voting,” Gannon said in his floor debate. “I want to encourage people to vote. I want to make it something they can do, that they want to do and that they can participate in.”

Gannon said his position on the bill might change if the Idaho Legislature had passed a bill that would provide a no-fee state-issued ID card that could be accepted at the polls. Providing a no-fee state ID card is one of the provisions included in another bill, House Bill 126, that was introduced Feb. 14 but has not yet made it out of committee.

If the bill removing student ID cards is passed into law, the only acceptable forms of identification for voting in Idaho would include:

•An Idaho driver’s license or ID card issued by the Idaho Transportation Department;

•A passport or photo ID card issued by the U.S. government;

•A tribal photo ID card;

•A license to carry concealed weapons or an enhanced license to carry concealed weapons.

In the end, House Bill 124 passed 59-11, with every Democrat voting against it. The bill heads next to the Idaho Senate for consideration. For the bill to become law, it would have to pass the Idaho Senate and be signed into law or allowed to become law by Gov. Brad Little.

This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com

It costs $17.74 to produce the highly effective COVID-19 treatment molnupiravir, but it’s sold to the government for $712, according to Harvard School of Public Health and King’s College in London. Federal agencies spent $29 million on the drug’s development, leading Knowledge Ecology International to state that the public should have rights to the drug “under reasonable terms.”

The Dominion Voting Systems vs. Fox News Corporation defamation lawsuit indicates Fox News opted to say what viewers wanted to hear about the 2020 elections, including statements about Dominion Voting rigging the election, to avoid viewers abandoning the network.

Materials filed by Dominion in the case include numerous instances of Fox personalities saying off-air there was no evidence of “widespread voter fraud.”

Tesla has voluntarily recalled 362,758 vehicles with experimental driver-assistance software, saying the software may cause crashes.

A train derailment this month in Ohio released toxic fumes and contaminated waterways, including the Ohio River, which is the water source for 5 million people Human health complaints have included nausea and headaches. Reputable media report vinyl chloride was released, a known risk for various cancers. The controlled burn of the derailed cars’ contents released phosgene, used in WWI as a chemical weapon, and hydrogen chloride, linked to chemical burns, respiratory failure and death.

The politics regarding the catastrophe: examining fallout from corporate pressure (including big donations) on various government administrations, determining who allowed lax safety standards, and reviewing profit-maximizing measures (including stock buybacks) that led to exhausted railroad employees. Two workers’ concerns about the train were dismissed. They said there was advanced recognition the train could be dangerous.

Several environmental groups may take the U.S. Department of Transportation to court for

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

long-term failure to act. The Lever reported that then-President Donald Trump had undone a 2015 Obama-era rule requiring better locomotive brakes, but the Biden administration has failed to reverse Trump’s actions.

Evolutionary biologist Rob Wallace stated that current corporate agriculture practices hasten the next pandemic. Speaking to The Nation, Wallace pointed out that flu from birds and swine easily cross over from crowded corporate farms, whereas wild animal virus spillovers come from overcrowding of humans who interact with nature. Pinpointing the economic sources of viruses has not favored Wallace’s rise as a scientist: Universities that protect certain Big Ag practices that Wallace finds problematic have avoided hiring him. He now has a blog, Farming Pathogens, and has written Big Farms Make Big Flu. The solution to Big Ag approaches, Wallace says, is agroecology.

Former-President Jimmy Carter opted for at-home hospice care. At 98, he is the longest-living U.S. president. His most memorable campaign statement: “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president.”

At the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Vice President Kamala Harris said the U.S. has determined that Russia’s military actions in the Ukraine are war crimes, NPR reported. That includes murder, torture, rape and forcible deportation, and targeting of children — many of whom have been taken to Russia for adoption and “re-education.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was also at the conference, and promised that U.S. Republicans would not abandon Ukraine.

President Joe Biden recently visited Ukraine, close to the war’s one-year anniversary since Russia invaded, the AP reported. Biden stated that Russia had aimed to “wipe Ukraine off the map,” adding that Russia’s aggression has resulted in its economy struggling and a brain-drain from those fleeing. Current Russian billboards proclaim, “Russia’s borders end nowhere.”

PEN America, a free speech advocacy organization, says more than 1,600 books were banned during the 2021-’22 school year.

Blast from the past: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

— Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, author and Nobel Peace Prize winner, 1928-2016. A high-school principal in Pennsylvania recently ordered the school librarian to remove a poster with that quotation