Must Be Something In The Idaho Water

The Letters to the Editor section of the Idaho Statesman has been full of wacky letters from all sides of the political spectrum this week; even moreso than earlier this spring. On Tuesday, a writer from Boise (5th letter down) finds a way to blame Washington for everything (emphasis mine):

"I sent an e-mail to the White House asking Bush to resign and take Cheney, Rumsfeld and many of Congress and the U.S. Senate with him. I explained that I was going broke due to failures by all the above. I should have explained that we need to outsource these positions, downsize, cut health care, retirement and pay...
"...When I tell people I sent this e-mail they warn me of government coming to get me. Is that the democracy we're promoting in Iraq? A government of the people who are so afraid of their government they wouldn't send an e-mail? Terrorists may be an improvement over the allies that we have in Washington, D.C. At least terrorists are upfront, our representatives are killing us slowly with lies..."

Fascinating. Not only are politicians making him go broke (High taxes? Mind control rays making him buy things? Failure to enforce drug laws such that he got stoned all the time instead of getting an education? He kinda mentions outsourcing and free trade later, but it's hard to tell what the real reason is.) My favorite part, though, is in the last paragraph. The people he apparently talks to think that people are getting arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights, and he's blaming D.C. politicians because he and his friends believe something that's not true. Maybe the letter is really about the failure of the educational system.

It's not only paranoids who are jumping on the "the paper'll print any drivel I write" bandwagon -- conservatives are joining in too. A writer from Kuna (5th letter down) makes quite an interesting statement:

"...Please, please, please, do yourself a favor next time you vote — tell the illegal liberals to stay in California by not putting them in office..."

Illegal liberals? What the hell does that mean? I know some people here in Idaho don't like people moving here from California (as I did, although I kind of get a pass since I was moving my wife back home) but "illegal"? Idaho's generally conservative, true, but I don't think they've gone so far as to outlaw liberals -- even California ones.