The Day Idaho Stood Still

Kevin Bayhouse's satire of the science-fiction classic movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still is currently running on the Sagebrush Variety Show. In this adaptation, a flying saucer lands in a park in Boise and the usual mayhem ensues, including characters Governor Clem Stoat and Boise Mayor Abe Biter.

United Vision for Idaho's UV-Eye-Opener Returns

It took us a couple weeks to get a hold of Roger Sherman and make arrangements for producing an audio version of his weekly bulletin on the best and worst of the Idaho legislature while they're in session from UVI's progressive perspective. Normally, Roger reads them in his distinctive wry style but to catch you up to January's events all the Sagebrush Variety Show players got together to perform a special multi-voice dramatic reading for presentation on this weeks show. For the ongoing UV-Eye-Opener broadcast check the Boise Community Radio Schedule for webcast times. Highlanders can also tune in to KRFP 92.5, Moscow where it will start to air sometime this week. You can also read the UV-Eye-Opener at United Vision for Idaho's website. But, honestly, the audio versions are loads of hand-free listening fun that you won't want to miss.

Bucky Buckaw on The Bravery of Chickens and the Cowardice of Congress

Animal Enterprise Terrorist Act (AETA) is as falsely labelled as the PATRIOT ACT. As Bucky says on this weeks Backyard Chicken Broadcast, this bill is not about violent individuals with an agenda. It is about suppressing legitimate criticism of companies. Despite claims that there is a clause in the bill that exempts first amendment protected activities, a wide range of legal experts including Sagebrush Variety Show favorite, National Lawyers Guild, agree that the clause is weak, at best. Undercover investigations, employee whistle-blowing, organizing boycotts, and standing outside a fast food joint handing out pro-vegetarianism leaflets are now all officially equated with terrorism. Seriously, Bucky Buckaw could be convicted and punished as a "terrorist" since his nefarious plan includes telling the truth about factory farms and phony "free-range" operations in order to get people to raise backyard chickens to give up grocery store eggs. AETA is opposed by more than 160 animal protection, social justice, and civil liberty organizations including: National Lawyers Guild, Humane Society of the U.S., ASPCA, Natural Resources Defense Council, the League of Humane Voters and more.

Butch Otter was an original cosponsor of the AETA in 2005. I guess his heroic libertarian streak reaches its limit when the opportunity arises to imprison anyone who might someday picket the Governor's mansion in defense of wolves, ferrets, puppies, kittens or baby chicks. But he was in good company. The bill sailed through both houses with the sole objection coming from Dennis Kucinich as reported here. Barak Obama, "progressive" flavor of the month for the NPR set, attempts to justify AETA in this letter to Blogger, John A. Duerk.

Check out the Equal Justice Alliance anti-AETA site for more information on AETA and how to continue the effort to restore our civil liberties.

Homeland Security Level Red: Photo-Terrorism

This weeks Level Red is inspired by the Reporter Arrested for Photographing Governor's Inauguration Parade in Connecticut earlier this month. Now, consider that Boise and the Spokane/Moscow area have Criminal Investigation Units that are part of the same Local Franchise Opportunities in Homeland Security as the one that decided that Ken Krayeske's work on Green Party campaigns merited a folder with large glossy photographs and, apparently, instructions to arrest on sight. We really, really, love this annotated arrest record.

In fictionalizing our account we made the educated guess that Krayeske was familiar with the National Lawyers Guild Know Your Rights pamphlet. The Sagebrush Players strongly recommend everyone read it before they are arrested. To recap, listeners to our show know that you may be detained, arrested or at least harassed if you: wear a t-shirt with arabic lettering on it, are a documented Green Party volunteer, make non-traditional dietary choices, display the wrong bumper sticker of your bicycle or motor vehicle, are a clown on a unicycle, etc.

The upbeat angle to the story is that people are finally getting outraged about this sort of thing and supporting their fellow activists as noted on Krayeske's Blog. Particularly inspiring is how Connecticut Democrats in the Legislature have made the uncharacteristic decision that defending a fellow wonk's political rights is more important than silencing the Green Party through restrictive ballot access laws, constant negative spinmeistering and various social punishments.

Bucky's Backyard Broadcast: Background Links

As promised, here's the page with notable quotes from chicken intelligence researchers. and the study indicating chickens worry. In other words they can anticipate the future and act to influence outcomes. Also, a sample conversation from a fairly typical chicken message board. And in all fairness, I should post to the two essays that dared to talk smack about chicken smarts. There's no doubt that Barbara Kingsolver has a profound appreciation of chickens in Lily's Chickens and When Chickens Fall From the Sky got a chuckle from me despite the "size of a pea" crack. It does seem like the hens get more respect than the men in her family.

Homeland Security Level Red: Rutabagas & Emmetonians - Episode Links

This episode is inspired by The Idaho Green Party, the city of Emmett police and the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) but the main inspiration was this article, Protester=Criminal?, from The Progressive. You know the oft quoted and even more often paraphrased "they came for so and so and I just chilled, then they came for so and so and I was like, it's not my problem, then they came for me and there was no one left to watch my back"? Well, they came for the clowns in 2003 so watch yer back.

I couldn't bear to change the Flying Rutabagas cool name for this episode but the members names and other details are, of course, tweaked for fiction. I'm not sure what the organization or its founding members are up to these days but the original Cycle Circus website is still up.

It is true, however, that Idaho Green Party member, Kevin Bayhouse, ran for Ada County Highway District with a logo featuring a unicycle on his website, pamphlets and road signs. Unfortunately, we never managed to arrange for a real unicyclist to help promote our cause.

Furthermore, although the real Rutabagas didn't protest the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). I'm pretty sure they would agree with our own Bucky Buckaw's anti-NAIS sentiments. NAIS uses the flimsy excuse of disease control as a rationale for a widespread program of microchipping and databasing of poultry and livestock that would be a boon to agribusiness but would most likely smother small farming and backyard animals. After several years of protest from small farmers, homesteaders and "hobbyists," the USDA has officially toned down their rhetoric about mandatory, universal implementation. However, it seems NAIS proponents simply changed strategies to make it appear as if it's not a federal plan but one being implemented by a each states Department of Agriculture. For more on how the NAIS two recommended starting points would NO NAIS and Stop Animal I.D.

The bit about the FBI going through people's trash and the nerdy agent putting a "trash cover kit" in the secret santa pool came from the Sagebrush Variety Shows mole in the Bureau so we can't give you any more details on that. We've said too much already but we thought it was too good to pass up.

And finally, the Sagebrush Variety Show Players have, indeed, been stopped by the Emmet police on flimsy pretexts - at least 3 times. "Technically not breaking the speed limit but failure to slow down well in advance of a new posted speed limit" was one of them and the fictional "interrogation" scene is actually edited down considerably from the interminable and pointless ones we experienced. Tune in next week for Level Red based on Ken Krayeske's outrageous arrest at the hands of his local CIU (it can happen here, folks, Boise's CIU is no doubt spying on your local group as we speak).

The Public Comment

For all the current public comment opportunities at DEQ mentioned on the program, see the list on their public comment opportunities page. 31 January: Idaho Public Utilities Commission, Case Nos. IPC-E-04-15 and IPC-E-06-32. Idaho Power Co. is seeking approval for two pilot programs. Read carefully; their website is user-hostile. Then again, so is the entire agency. 7 February: Idaho Housing and Finance Association and the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor are accepting public comment on their Annual Action Plan.

Bucky Buckaw on WOOL 100.1 FM Tonight

Bucky Buckaw, host of the Sagebrush Variety Hour's Backyard Chicken Broadcast segment, as heard on Boise Community Radio and KRFP, Radio Free Moscow will be the special guest on Mark Green's "No Depression" music show on WOOL 101.FM serving the Great Falls area of Vermont and New Hampshire tonight at 9:15 EST (that's 7:15 for all you local Mountain Timing Backyard Chicken aficianados). We're hoping WOOL's webmaster will see lots of logins of people tuning in to the webcast from IP addresses in Idaho. We know you Bucky fans are out there!

Snow Blow Hard Songs of the Week

The original concept for Snow Blow Hard: Xmas with a Vengeance was to combine elements of A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life with characters, settings, and events from Idaho politics and business, de-christianize it, give it our leftist spin, and make it as a musical. Last year's debut only included two songs but this year we've written 4 additional songs (so far) and it's a bona fide musical. Today's set of episodes contains a duet between a very old billionaire rancher (guess which Idahoan he's based on) and a version of Tiny Tim recast as one of those "South Park Republican" youths that drive us up the wall. The other is a number about genetically modified organisms sung by an angry food activist. Question: which recently elected Idaho Democrat provided fodder for the first verse of the song with a remarkably uninformed apology of Monsanto et al's success at weakening biodiversity, seeding genetic pollution and then suing for "infringement," introducing allergenic (in some cases fatally allergenic) proteins into the food supply, and resisting attempts at testing or labeling through lies, deception, and manipulation of international trade agreements (for starters)? "Isn't [genetically modifying organisms] just progress?" NO!!

Snow Blow Hard - Extras

So while we generate new material from our undisclosed location, we present the comedy series Snow Blow Hard: Xmas with a Vengeance, as well as its sequel, Eternal Quest, through back-to-back episodes until they're all played. This should get us halfway through the show premiering on 19 January, when we'll give you a taste of what's to come. One thing we did augment were the number of songs in these series. Originally we had hoped to make SBH a musical, but with only two songs ever making it into the series, we can hardly make that claim. Veteran Sagebrush listeners who are hearing SBH and EQ for the second time will be delighted to find that we've written and recorded more songs for the series.

True Crime of Homeland Security Links - No-Fly Episode

This week's Code Level Red is partly inspired on the notorious excesses of Homeland Security's no-fly list denied (sort-of) by this squirmingly defensive FBI press release. Not that we're "anti-FBI." Indeed, we celebrate the Bureau's efforts to root out public corruption in our side-story based on the University of California San Francisco employee indicted for selling confidential bid information But ultimately, even the Government Accountability Office has a hard time calling the program success in this Terrorist Watch List Screening: Efforts to Help Reduce Adverse Effects... report which should open in pdf for ya.

The big inspiration, however, is the story Amy Goodman has been telling on her book tour of the guy strong armed for wearing an anti-nazi t-shirt. To read the non-fictionalized version see Raed Jarrar's Blog where he tells it in his own words. Finally, watch out for Artists Against the War and their dangerous T shirts.

Updated True Crimes of Homeland Security Links for Premiere Episode - "Breach 'Em"

The premiere episode of Code Level Red was called "Breach 'Em." Airing on Boise Community Radio and Radio Free Moscow the week of September 11, 2006 (available as podcast), it was based a little on the vanity plate on the motor vehicle driven by our station manager but mostly on the real life story of Jim Bensman. I was researching future episodes of Code Red when I came across Jim's webpage with the story in his own words and loads of links to mainstream media reports.

Interfaith Sanctuary

This week we interview Ed Keener, president of the Interfaith Sanctuary board. This is the group that houses Boise's homeless without forcing them to subscribe to any religious activities or imposing any lifestyle rules. This is the second winter this massive operation is being undertaken. Only two paid staff positions coordinate the approximate 70 volunteers that are needed every week to make the shelter work. These are great people doing great things - why not contribute? You can make a financial contribution or find out how to volunteer or donate food, clothing, or other supplies to this cause at the Interfaith Sanctuary website.

Some statistics on housing and hunger (thanks to the Idaho Foodbank:

- A minimum wage worker earns about $11,000 per year. In 1996, the most recent year for which these figures are available, 46% of all jobs in Idaho paid less than the $9.22 needed for a single adult in 1996. The same year, 74% paid less than the $14.42 needed for an adult with two children. (University of Washington Job Gap Study)

- 20% of Idaho’s households don’t make the $20,534 ($9.87 per hour) per year needed to rent a two-bedroom house. In Ada and Canyon counties, the necessary income is $23,200 per year. (University of Washington Job Gap Study)

- A newer study found that in 2003, 28% of Idaho renters don’t make the $10.13 per hour ($19,449.60) per year needed to pay rent and utilities for a two-bedroom apartment. This is an increase of 26 cents per hour from 2002. Idaho renters must earn at least $11.20 per hour to earn enough for a two-bedroom apartment. (Boise Neighborhood Housing Services and National Low Income Housing Coalition)

- This means that on average in Idaho minimum-wage workers must work 87 hours a week at $5.15 per hour to pay the rent. In Ada and Canyon counties, it is 98 hours per week; Bannock is 76 hours; Nez Perce is 79 hours. Madison County has the lowest rents and requires an average of 69 hours; Blaine County is highest at 119 hours. (National Low Income Housing Coalition 2004)

- In Ada County the average rent for two-bedroom apartment was $654 per month, $512 in Bannock, $527 in Nez Perce, $795 in Blaine (highest), $462 in Madison (lowest). (National Low Income Housing Coalition)

- On any given night, there are approximately 2,000 homeless people in Boise. (Boise City, 2005) In 2004, 18 homeless people died in the Boise area, up from 12 deaths in 2003. (Idaho Statesman)

- 20.7% of Idahoans (269,000 people) have no health insurance, compared to the national average of 17.6%. (U.S. Census)

- Bankruptcies in Idaho have risen from 7,119 in 2000 to 9,660 in 2003, the ninth highest total in the country. (Administrative Office of U.S. Courts)

- Idaho’s welfare laws rate 51st compared to all other states and Washington, D.C. when ranked for their likelihood to encourage and support families’ efforts to become economically self-sufficient. (Tufts University’s Center on Hunger and Poverty)

- Idaho was graded as an "F" for having the worst post-welfare reform social safety net (tied with Indiana and Wyoming) among the 50 states. (Center for Third World Organizing)

- Idaho is 11th in the nation in the rate of bankruptcy, 25% higher than it is in the nation as a whole. The bankruptcy rate is increasing over time, too – up 30% from 2000. (Center for American Progress)

- Despite the growing number of food banks and food-recovery programs, the U.S. food service and retail industries throw away 96,000,000,000 pounds of food each year. That is almost 26% of all the food produced for consumption each year. (Former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman) America’s Second Harvest affiliates distributed 1.4 billion pounds of food in 2001. [yours truly's partner personally oversaw the disposal of hundreds of pounds of perfectly good produce at Fred Meyer in just one month. Employees were threatened with immediate dismissal if any of the produce were taken home and were forbidden to give it away.]

Farm Report - Lang Bide Kale!

We couldn't resist throwing in these two links to non-commercial websites run by fellow gardeners who they share our fascination with Kale growing in snow

Monte of Michigan's Veggie Adventures

Growing Taste (Northwest, Zone 6ers)

Bucky's link-of-the-week

Bucky takes his chickens inside when the temperature drops below 10F but he admires these plans for a solar coop. The first Idahoan to contact us and tell us they've built one will be a special guest on an upcoming Backyard Chicken Broadcast.

True Crime of Homeland Security Links

This week's Homeland Security: Code Level Red is almost entirely based on true stories. Honest. In some case we can't reveal our sources (such as our Sagebrush Variety operative working as an "agent" for the FBI) but following is the thoroughly documented inspiration for this week's episode "Footballers."

Our Agent Bailey's misdeeds are based on

Former University of Idaho Football Player Sues Federal Government.

Abdullah Al-Kidd has now started a lawsuit against former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.

The American Civil Liberties Union on the U.S. District Court decision on federal material witness law in Idaho.

This weeks "balance" story of an FBI investigation based on like, evidence, and targeting actual bad guys comes from this

FBI Investigates Rep. Curt Weldon

The phony threat was based on this story

'Dirty bombs' threat against stadiums was inspired by 'writing duel'

And the crazy comic relief shizzit element was inspired by last month's chemical spill along the Greenbelt. We actually wrote this episode the week this story came out but we had a backlog of material. Alas, we just can't keep up with all the civil rights abuse, public corruption and real-life absurdity out there.

BSU's Arbiter reports on Strange odor on Cesar Chavez Lane causes subsequent investigation

And The TV people's coverage of the same story. Be sure to check out the googy video if you've got the bandwidth.

Robert rides his bike through BSU along the Greenbelt a few times a week and he was convinced that the dorm residents were ordering onion pizzas delivered all day and night.

Ukiah Digby for Coroner Links

Last week, during our "Making of Ukiah Digby for Coroner" episode, we promised to link to some coroner scandals about illegal body trading and unethical use of cadavers. Then, after wrapping the show, we forgot about our vow. So, sorry about the delay. Illegal trade in bodies shakes loved ones, USA Today, 4/28/06 and make sure you while you're there you read the related story on Donated bodies sold for personal profit. The body snatchers about the convoluted supply chain for body parts. Some of this articles propose or imply that the real tragedy here is that it discourages donors or gives parts trading a bad name. We agree but suggest that one way to encourage better regulations might be to refuse to sign the donor card. Former Rock County Coroner Going To Jail: Woman Stole Drugs From Dead People is the story that inspired Robert to add "stealing drugs from corpses" to Umatilla Kenniwick's scandal list. There's lots of "leftover" drugs involved in a coroner's work and it seems that employees of coroners' offices sometimes can't resist the temptation but this is the only case I know of where the Coroner was directly responsible for drug theft. Wecht indicted by grand jury: Medical examiner accused of public use, private gain shows how a shrewd coroner, like any public official, can come up with ways to abuse their public trust for private gain. This one is from early 2006. It seems like whenever we search for this kind of stuff we come up with new ones. and check these out: Critics Say Coroner Puts His Morality Before the Facts on politicizing coroners reports is a case of truth being stranger than fiction. Robert had Digby talk about the dangers of falsifying coroners report in order to protect an interest group or corporate profits but we thought it was his over-the-top sense of humor. We never thought someone would actually think to do that. We hope this guy didn't get the idea from us. And if you still haven't had enough death industry scandal be sure to check out Forensic Science's Hall of Shame. image from Edit International

Addition Facts Bayhouse on Electricity

Customers who volunteer to participate in the air conditioner cycling program have their air conditioners turned on and off (cycled) by direct load control switches installed by the company. Those who volunteer to participate in the program would be given a $7 credit for each month they participate. Customers can temporarily opt out of the program for one day each month. There is no penalty for terminating participation in the program at any time. http://www.puc.state.id.us/internet/press/020405_IPCoACcycle.htm

Show 59

Part 9 of Ukiah Digby for Coroner, the current radio soap opera the tomatillo is featured in the Sagebrush Variety Show Farm Report the Sagebrush Pollution Report Suburbia Watch Now that you've seen the Otter - Brady debate, compare and contrast it to our production of Welcome Back, Otter The Essay of the Week with Professional Conservationist Merrill Numbnuts on how to sell out public lands, followed by a summary of the CIEDRA bill and, of course, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast.

Welcome Back, Otter

"But he's not Governor, yet!" That's what Rischak said, too, but we felt the need to market test the series before the elections. If Butch Otter wins the mansion we will at least have plenty of fodder for future episodes. Our regular and attentive listeners may have noticed we've recycled this skit - twice - but it's a short piece and we got some multipartisan feedback that at least the theme song is hilarious and we're a little proud we predicted (in satire form) the state of the "debate" situation. Plus, we've skewered everyone in the race while still giving their fictional dopplegangers a shred of humanity. Or at least charm. That's half of what good political satire should do. As for the other half, where are the outraged emails reacting to what we said about your favorite D or R - or even L for that matter? Huh?! If it's because you haven't heard the show yet, you can still tune in to the webcast tonight at 8pm or this Sat & Sun at 6pm. Or download the podcast - we archive the show 1-24 hours after the last webcast.