Woke Boise mayor tosses Appeal to Heaven flag aside like trash, raises LGBTQ flag in defiance of state law



The radical mayor of Boise, Lauren McLean, took time on Easter Sunday to crumple up an Appeal to Heaven flag like trash so she could hoist an LGBTQ flag unobstructed at city hall in direct defiance of a new Idaho law.

Earlier this month, Republican Gov. Brad Little signed into law H.B. 96, which strictly regulates the flags that counties, municipalities, and other governmental entities in Idaho may fly on public property. The law mainly permits only those flags representing the U.S., the military, the state of Idaho, schools, and Indian tribes.

Despite this new law, Boise has continued to fly the "Progressive Pride" flag, depicting the rainbow associated with non-heterosexual identities, the colors affiliated with so-called transgenderism, and black and brown stripes that pay fealty to non-white skin colors.

"We will continue flying it because we are a safe and welcoming city that values all comers," McLean said in a statement.

'Now this is a mayor. We gotta re-elect her. She stands for all the people.'

Early Sunday morning, some area activists attempted to beat McLean at her own game. They brought a ladder, positioned it on the city flagpole, then proceeded to make some changes to the flags blazing there, video showed.

For one thing, the two men placed black trash bags over the Pride flag and a flag promoting organ donation.

They also clipped to the pole an Appeal to Heaven flag made famous during the American Revolution. Because of its official association with the state of Massachusetts, the Appeal to Heaven flag does not violate H.B. 96, the Idaho statesman said.

Later that morning, undeterred by the attempts to bring Boise into compliance with the new state law, Mayor McLean and an assistant went to the flagpole and restored the flags to the way they were.

Far from passively rearranging the flags, McLean took a knife of sorts and cut part of the Appeal to Heaven flag before her assistant finished the job, tearing away the flag and the black bags covering the Pride and organ-donation flags. McLean then balled the flag up into one of the black trash bags and tossed it on the ground like garbage.

Their actions were so politically charged that the Idaho statesman criticized McLean's lack of "respect" for a flag "which has a lot of historical significance for Americans." Yet McLean was so nonchalant about it all that at one point, she paused and wished some passersby a "happy Easter."

Pam Hemphill — a rabid leftist who claims to have previously supported President Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda but who now takes every opportunity to excoriate MAGA and trumpet Democratic talking points — filmed McLean and her assistant and could barely contain her enthusiasm for their woke flag stunt.

"I am so happy. ... This is wonderful," Hemphill gushed.

"Now this is a mayor. We gotta re-elect her. She stands for all the people," Hemphill continued, even as McLean and the assistant basically ignored her.

Hemphill also characterized her detractors as "idiots" and "haters." "All you know is propaganda and hate," she said.

Mayor McLean has managed to flout H.B. 96 so brazenly because the law is basically toothless. Even Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford, whose office has been bombarded with complaints about the flag mess in Boise, has admitted there's little he can do.

"The law, as it stands, doesn’t provide any enforcement mechanism," Clifford said in a statement posted to social media.

Clifford further noted that criminal laws generally "apply to individuals, not institutions," but H.B. 96 applies mainly to local governments and government bodies.

Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, a Republican, also acknowledged that "the law does not allow for criminal prosecution in this situation."

"I cannot prosecute conduct that is not a crime, and I will not distort or stretch Idaho law to invent one. What I can do — and am actively doing — is reviewing every available civil legal option under Idaho law in response to this situation," he added.

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Leftist mayor ignores deep-red state law, flies racial LGBTQ flag



A leftist mayor has opted to defy a new law in her deep-red state by flying a flag that represents the woke racial and sexual agenda.

Less than two weeks ago, Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little signed into law H.B. 96, which strictly regulates the flags that counties, municipalities, and other governmental entities may fly on public property. Introduced by state Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard), the bill basically restricts public flags to those representing the U.S. and its military, the state of Idaho, local cities, schools, and Indian tribes.

Scott indicated the purpose behind the law was to keep flag-flying from becoming too "political."

"I believe this bill is necessary for government to be neutral and unified and that government buildings should represent all Idahoans and not be used for political movements or social movements," she said, according to KIVI-TV.

The law took effect immediately. However, Lauren McLean, the radical mayor of Boise, does not seem to care.

According to reports from over the weekend, Boise City Hall still flies a flag known as the "Progressive Pride" flag, depicting the rainbow associated with non-heterosexual identities, the colors affiliated with so-called transgenderism, and black and brown stripes that pay fealty to non-white skin colors.

The Idaho Dispatch reported that the flag was momentarily removed, but the mayor's administration raised it again.

McLean indicated in a statement that the sex- and race-based flag represents the inclusiveness of the Boise community. "We will continue flying it because we are a safe and welcoming city that values all comers," she said.

'I never looked at her as a law breaker, but I guess she is.'

McLean also claimed in her statement that flying the Pride flag has been a Boise tradition that dates back almost a decade. "For nearly ten years the city has been flying the Pride flag," she said.

However, keen observers at BoiseDev noticed that the flag that flies over the city currently appears in better condition than the one that flew as recently as February. The colors on the current flag "now appear more vibrant, and a small hole in the flag is no longer present," the outlet reported.

The city did not respond to questions from BoiseDev about whether a new flag had been used.

BoiseDev also noted that McLean and other city leaders quickly abided by another state law, S.B. 1141, that prohibits sleeping in outdoor public places or inside cars, even while they continue to ignore H.B. 96.

The difference may be that S.B. 1141 imposes penalties for noncompliance. Cities that fail to enforce S.B. 1141 can be hit with a $10,000 fine imposed by the state attorney general. Even McLean admitted that she would work with the police department to enforce S.B. 1141 "because we must."

H.B. 96 has no such enforcement mechanism. Still, Scott is shocked by McLean's defiance.

"I just assumed [McLean] would follow the law," Scott told BoiseDev. "It’s interesting that she’s not going to follow the law. I never looked at her as a law breaker, but I guess she is."

In a conversation with KIVI, state Rep. Monica Church, a Democrat who represents a district that includes Boise City Hall, seemed to relish the fact that there is no way to enforce H.B. 96 at the moment. She also views H.B. 96 as "an opportunity for political grandstanding," the outlet added.

Gov. Little and Attorney General Raul Labrador did not respond to a request for comment from the Idaho Dispatch.

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Idaho Bill Sitting On GOP Governor’s Desk Could Shatter School Vaccine Mandates

The Idaho Freedom Act would prohibit businesses and schools from requiring vaccines for employment or attendance.

Idaho enacts new protections for teachers who don't play the pronoun game — and all the right people are upset



Idaho has enacted new protections for teachers and other public employees who do not use someone's "preferred pronouns."

On Monday, Gov. Brad Little (R) signed H.B. 538 into law. The bill prohibits:

... any governmental entity in the State of Idaho from compelling any public employee or public school student to communicate preferred personal titles and pronouns that do not correspond with the biological sex of the individual seeking to be referred to by such titles or pronouns.

The legislation explains the prohibition is necessary to "ensure that the constitutional right to free speech of every person in the State of Idaho is respected."

Teachers, moreover, are empowered under the law to sue their school district if they are forced to comply with someone's preferred name or pronouns. No student, teacher, or government employee can be disciplined for not using someone's preferred pronouns or for refusing to call someone by a name other than that person's legal name, the law states.

The law takes effect on July 1.

A spokeswoman said Gov. Little signed the Republican-backed bill because he supports policies that advance "free speech and parental rights."

"While Gov. Little expects state employees to treat each other and members of the community with dignity and respect, he does not support government compelling speech at risk of penalty or excluding parents from significant decisions impacting a child’s health and wellbeing," spokeswoman Madison Hardy said.

Progressive organizations, meanwhile, have voiced their opposition to the law.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho claimed the "human cost" of the law is "devastating."

"Transgender people live in and call Idaho home. By creating exclusionary public work and school environments, the state is subjecting them to predictable and dire harm," the organization claimed.

Planned Parenthood said that Gov. Little should be "ashamed" for supporting H.B. 538 and H.B. 421, a bill that would change the legal definition of "sex" in Idaho to "an individual’s biological sex, either male or female."

Mistie DelliCarpini-Tolman, Idaho state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, called Little "callous and cruel" for supporting "harmful bills that target LGBTQ+ Idahoans."

"We’re heading in the wrong direction. Our state needs more kindness, compassion, understanding – not permission to discriminate against others," DelliCarpini-Tolman said.

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Idaho Governor Signed Bill Banning ‘Abortion Trafficking,’ First Of Its Kind

"The provisions of this act are hereby declared to be severable"

Idaho governor signs legislation allowing firing squad executions



Idaho's Governor Brad Little (R) signed legislation Friday allowing execution by firing squad beginning July 1.

"The families of the victims deserve justice for their loved ones and the death penalty is a way to bring them peace," said Gov. Little in a transmittal letter to Idaho's Speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Moyle (R).

"Fulfilling justice can and must be done while minimizing stress on corrections personnel ... For the people on death row, a jury convicted them of their crimes, and they were lawfully sentenced to death."

Idaho's House Bill 186 calls for the director of the Idaho Department of Corrections to determine within five days of a death warrant being issued whether lethal injection is available. available. If lethal injection is available, lethal injection will be used as the method of execution. If the director does not so certify, fails to file the certification, or determines lethal injection is not available, the method of execution shall be firing squad.

In addition, the bill says if a court finds lethal injection to be unconstitutional, the method of execution shall be firing squad.

The legislation applies to all executions carried out on or after July 1.

Pharmaceuticals used to carry out executions by lethal injection have become more challenging to acquire due in part to pharmaceutical companies barring the use of their drugs for that purpose, the Associated Press reported.

The Idaho Department of Corrections estimates the cost to retrofit a death chamber for firing squad executions at about $750,000, CBS News reported.

Idaho became the fifth state to permit execution by firing squad when Gov. Little signed HB 186. Other states allowing the method include Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. South Carolina's law, however, is currently being challenged in court, AP also reported.

Ronnie Gardner, the most recent person to be executed by firing squad in June 2010, chose the method himself, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

How are executions via firing squad carried out?

TheBlaze cautions readers that the following section contains graphic descriptions of death via firing squad.

The death row inmate sentenced to execution by firing squad is typically first bound to a chair with leather straps across his or her waist and head, DPIC explains. Sandbags surrounding the chair are meant to absorb the blood. The chair is positioned in front of a canvas wall.

A black cloth is pulled over the prisoner's head. A doctor pins a cloth over the target, the prisoner's heart.

A number of shooters either 3 or 5, depending on the state, stand in an enclosure about 20 feet away. Each shooter has a .30 caliber rifle with single rounds. One of the shooters is given blank rounds. In South Carolina, each shooter's rounds are live.

Each shooter aims his or her rifle through a slot in the canvas wall and fires. If the shooter(s) miss the prisoner's heart, the prisoner slowly bleeds to death.

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Idaho Mom Arrested In 2020 For Letting Kids Play At A Public Park Is Still Being Prosecuted By Republican AG’s Office

'Idaho should be one of the most conservative states if not the most conservative ... but I think Covid really brought out the true colors of our supposed-Republican leaders,' said Sara Brady.

Horowitz: Chairman of the Idaho House Health Committee refuses to hold hearings on dangerous COVID policies



The state motto of Idaho is Esto Perpetua – "it is perpetuated," as if to say that God's blessing and bounty for the Gem State should last forever. But in the mind of Fred Wood, the state House Health and Welfare Committee chairman, it means that the imperial administrative state and federal executive control over our bodies, property, and health care should be perpetuated and last forever without any legislative check or balance reflecting the will of the people. Who needs California when you have Idaho Republicans who behave like this?

To begin with, it took months to even get the GOP supermajority legislature back in session to place a check on this dangerous executive power. Now that leadership is back in session and rank-and-file members have introduced nine bills to reorient the immoral response on COVID to reflect more compassion, science, parental choice, and informed consent and to restore the doctor-patient relationship, the committee chair flat-out refused to hold hearings on them.

"I profoundly disagree with all nine of them," Wood (R), told the Idaho Reports.

"If you don't like that company and you don't like its policy, go work somewhere else," Wood said. Wood also added, "I have the right not to be infected by somebody that has a communicable disease."

Well, gee, if you have your shot and your mask, and they work so effectively, why does someone else who has not chosen to get these shots affect your health? Moreover, how are you to get another job when it is the federal government forcing all businesses across many industries to require the shots?

Hey, Mr. Wood, if you don't want to be a committee chairman or a legislator, then just resign. How dare you decline to hold a single hearing for 19 months probing both sides of a debate that affects every aspect of our health and wellness? For example, two of the bills being blocked would prevent the state medical licensing board from attacking doctors who actually seek to treat patients with FDA-approved drugs that are infinitely safer than the shots or remdesivir. We have people dying, including those who got both shots, because of a war on treatment. How could Mr. Wood not even conduct a hearing on the state of play with therapeutics and treatment of COVID? How many patients has Mr. Wood treated? I can personally attest to the fact that Dr. Ryan Cole of Boise has saved hundreds of lives, yet he is being attacked by Idaho's licensing board.

Here are some of the commonsense bills rejected by Rep. Wood:

  • HB 424: Prohibits any person, individual, business, or school from releasing one's vaccination information.
  • HB 426: Bars any state or local governing entity from discriminating based on injection status or any employer from discriminating against one not showing proof of injection.
  • HB 428: Affirms a parent's right to consent to any vaccination of his or her child.
  • HB 432: Bars any requirement of a vaccine that has not been fully approved by the FDA.
  • HB 433: Bars any licensing board from punishing doctors for prescribing FDA-approved drugs to treat COVID and prohibits pharmacists from blocking such prescriptions.
  • HB 435: Prohibits any local government from enforcing Biden's injection mandate.

The ball is now in the court of Speaker Scott Bedke. If he really wants to stand up to Biden and support health care freedom, he will make sure these bills get a vote. Six other bills that were routed through other committees did pass the House yesterday. One of them was HB 429, which allows parents to opt out of school mask mandates. Shockingly, 16 Republicans still voted against it, including Wood, House Education Committee Chairman Lance Clow, and House Speaker Scott Bedke, who is also running for lieutenant governor. Wood and Clow also voted against HB 414, which prevents employers from questioning sincerely held religious beliefs in the context of injection mandates. Now these bills head to the even more liberal Senate.

Also, where exactly is Gov. Brad Little when it comes to standing up to Biden and the war on treatment for COVID? The reality is that the shots are not working, people have the right to access safe and effective therapeutics, doctors have the right to prescribe them, and state and federal bureaucrats have no right to block them while coercing people to take unsafe and ineffective therapeutics. I can't think of a more important topic on which to hold a hearing.

What is so disappointing about people like Wood, especially as committee chairmen in critical red states, is not just that they are California liberals ruining red states. It's that they have zero interest in representing the people in what was supposed to be the strongest branch of government and the one closest to the people.

We live in a time when the federal and state bureaucrats are essentially running all of the policies that matter to our lives – and now our bodies – through executive fiat without any legislative oversight. They are directing spending for a sum of COVID funds that is larger than the entire state's general fund. How can it be that committee chairs throughout the country like Wood have zero interest in holding hearings on the shots, remdesivir, hospital treatment, early treatment, masks, lockdowns, conflicts of interests, and spending priorities even from a facially neutral standpoint? Wouldn't he want to call in experts from both sides and get to the bottom of some of these disputes?

For those wondering why there is no check and balance on Biden in a state with 4-1 majorities in the legislature, people like Fred Wood are the culprit. They literally agree with Biden – up to and including his sentiment that somehow the unvaccinated could affect the protection of those who are already supposedly protected ... but the "protection" failed to protect them.