Comments on: Public Records Are Media Obstacle

By: Forced Air

Forced Air — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 16:09:40 +0000

I have witnessed the progressive downfall of print and TV reporting for over 50 years. I remember when the Idaho Statesman was filled with news stories from stem to stern. When contrarians made claims and stated positions about important topics, they got coverage. Didn’t matter if they were right or wrong, readers could decide for themselves. As the years went by, the paper shrank in size and the contrarians have disappeared. The only time they appear is when the Swampish editors can use them for their own backlash smearing campaigns, like we see day-to-day against Trump.

There is no more reporting, there is just a monolithic propaganda system that has been building for years over time. It’s about 100% lockstep Fake News. You MUST go to alternative news sources to get informed and develop your own critical thinking skills. Dare to think outside of the mainstream box that constrains your perspective. You are supposed to be a compliant consumer of their Fake News, not a thinking citizen who is interested in a just and fair look at facts.

This is how crooks in politics succeed. They know they can count on compliant media to help them shape their “woke” narratives.

By: TFBoy

TFBoy — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 21:10:06 +0000

I am coming in late, but it is an important issue. There are two approaches to record requests. The first and appropriate one is that all records are public and the presumption is to disclose unless an exception applies. That is the approach the State has taken over the years. The other is figure out how the records are exempt and figure out how to jam the response into the code provision. Local governments seem to follow that route. Elected officials come to the issue with no knowledge and have to be educated, often by their civil attorneys. So, and I hate to say this, but it really is the attorney’s bias and fault driving this bus. Moreover, the bias becomes institutional because electeds come and go and never learn the topic to the degree necessary to undo the culture.
Court cases cause ripples in the pond, yet one decision in Ada County has no impact on, say Nampa or Mountain Home.

By: Caeth

Caeth — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 21:05:39 +0000

David, it’s not that we’re stupid, we are lazy. Low voter participation rate would become even lower with term limits. The attitude would be “I’ve done my job so why bother to vote, they won’t be eligible next cycle anyway.” In the meantime the interest groups will continue to fund popular, persuadable, pop-up puppets to further dilute the choices of the electorate. Transparent information and public involvement in the election process is the only solution.

By: David

David — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 09:28:44 +0000

We would not have these problems if the legislature led by “Idahoans are stupid Bruce Newcomb” back in 2002 had not voted to eliminate term limits.

Think about it Team Dave would be gone completely as would many of the so-called servants in the legislature.

We also need better transparency laws that includes police, fire and ems communications.

Idaho also needs laws that mandates politicians make available to the public all tax records and personal income, no exceptions! We need to know who is bribing whom, or rather taking a lobbyists money.

Nice photo. How many words per minute could you type on that old clunker?

By: JB

JB — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 05:12:58 +0000

Clancy – I would forward all your info to the Idaho Press Club. It may or may not be helpful to their suit.

By: Gary E. Richardson

Gary E. Richardson — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 03:54:07 +0000

Trying to figure out how a couple of years of Military Reserve bike-skills park decisions were made under wraps at the request of the donor, Friends of Military Reserve had to put up nearly $700 to have our Public Records Requests filled. Nearly 80 percent of the records deemed responsive to our requests were withheld as “privileged.” Incredulous, we consulted an attorney to challenge those determinations, which of course means appealing to the district court. Our cost for the city to produce all those contested records for the court was enough to dissuade us from pursuing the matter.

I’m glad to see that the Press Club is taking on the county for its PRR violations. I hope someone will do the same for the city’s rampant abuses of public-records disclosures. I also have difficulty believing that a multi-million dollar project like the Military Reserve bike-park got approved without some council deliberation prior to its placement on a consent agenda where it was approved unanimously.

By: Boisean Since Forever

Boisean Since Forever — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 17:35:27 +0000

How things change. The government exists to protect the people, but now the maze of regulations causes a thoughtful citizen to conclude that the job of government has evolved to the point of protecting itself FROM the people.

By: Concerned Neighbor

Concerned Neighbor — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 14:08:35 +0000

99% of the media are no longer factual reporters or have the ethics and drive that Dave does. Because of that, nearly every government, corporation, and private entity has blocked media access because of the reported twisting of facts that TV misinfotainment has abused them with. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been at an incident with police or fire then watched it on the 6pm news but didn’t recognize anything that TV was talking about because they twisted it so far from reality.

Does the 1st amendment protect lying? Because that’s what passes for most “news” today.

By: Handsome Oldtimer

Handsome Oldtimer — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 20:10:25 +0000

Love the photo, thanks for adding this.

By: Three Libs

Three Libs — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 19:28:31 +0000

Fraz is spot on with his illumination of the failures and sellouts controlling the MSM headlines. Local media absolutely sucks with very few exceptions, and they are proud of it. Anything it takes to make TeamDave happy and maybe be considered for a government spokesperson job.