Boise in the News

Why is it that any time Boise or Idaho is in the national news it is not for anything good. The last two days the national media have carried stories about Brandi Swindell being detained for protesting in Tiananmen Square. I know that she is a "good Christian" that is trying to save souls and all that but she is helping add to the picture of Idahoans as just a bunch of racist rednecks and double talking fools. What sort of Christian goes to another person's house to make a scene. I think the Chinese government should revoke her visa and send her home where maybe someone can teach her some manners.

Then there is Larry Craig, the punch line that just wont go away. He is yet again in the news fighting his guilty plea for soliciting airport bathroom sex. He says he is not going to the Republican Convention because he is not running for re-election and he is still fighting his case in court in Minneapolis and he doesn't want to be a distraction at the convention. This could have been all over if he had just quit like he at first said he would and then fought his case as a private citizen but no he has to remain in office so as to be a punch line that again shows Idaho in the worst possible light.   

In the early part of this decade we had the Boise City Travel Gate scandal. While that was mostly a local story it did generate some stories in Washington, Oregon and Utah. Yet again Boise and Idaho shown in a less than flattering light.

In the 1980's and 90's we had the White Supremacists at Hayden Lake with all their prejudices and hatred. They were good for almost 20 years of showing Idaho in the worst possible light. Add to that the Ruby Ridge Incident and the resulting Federal trials for all involved and we once again come out at the bottom.

I know that there has to have been some stories that show Boise and Idaho in a good light but for the life of me I can't come up with one right now. There are local stories about good kids in school but those are just that, local stories. We need some good national press and not just some top 10 listing as a good city for walking. Maybe the Special Olympics next year will be our chance to show the nation and the world what a great place Idaho and its people really are.