Good/Bad

Idaho Edition

First, The Good:

Two northern Idaho lawmakers say they will introduce legislation that would penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, and Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, said they will try to pass the proposed law that has been rejected the last two years.

Lawmakers in the last session rejected a bill that would have required employers to verify workers’ immigration status. But Hart said that some lawmakers who voted against the bill have either been voted out of office or have changed their minds.

If the proposed law passes, companies that violate it could have their business licenses suspended or revoked.

I like the lack of fines. Just shut them down. There is no way to cover the loss caused by the fines that way.

Unfortunately, now The Bad:

Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, is drafting a bill to require bloggers to post under their real name, and require online commenters to do likewise. In essence, Hartgen wants online commentary to more closely resemble newspaper opinion pages, where letter writers are generally required to identify themselves.

Would you find in odd if you found out that this guy is a former newspaper editor/publisher?

He is, and I don’t.

Some folks don’t care about their anonymity. I do. Although, I will say anything I say here in person. In fact, I actually hold back here. Just can ask David. He was running a list of quotables during the last Boomershoot. I think I’m somewhat lucky he didn’t have a pen and paper handy.