Monday, February 24, 2025. In Idaho, bully with a badge Bob Norris has launched an attack on the First Amendment, concerns continue to mount over convicted felon Donald Chump, and much more.
Bob Norris was a wee man
And a wee little man was he
He blustered and threatened
As long as the target was a she
Sheriff Bob Norris.
Look at the fat goober. Bob Norris. Of Idaho. Although he seems to believe he lives in Nazi Germany. He's a sheriff who needs to be removed from office immediately. He's a smug looking piece of crap because he's never been held accountable before.
In 2023, Norris claimed that books with explicit sexual content were available to teenagers in local libraries, specifically citing the books Deal With It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a Gurl and Identical.[15] Norris argued that these books generally violated Idaho state law and should be placed in an area for adult library patrons only.[16]
Norris's unauthorized removal of two books and his refusal to return them drew public attention to the county.[17][18] The Community Library Network (CLN), which operates the Post Falls library, defended the books following Norris's actions, noting that they are classified as young adult non-fiction. CLN also clarified that minors require parental or legal guardian permission to sign up for a library card.[19]
The CLN had and continues to have a process in place for people to request that the library reconsider the materials it makes available to youth.[20]
In July 2024, Pennie Collinson, a photographer who had worked for Norris's opponent from the 2020 election during his 2022 primary campaign for county clerk, filed a notice of tort claim against Norris personally, seeking over $500,000 in damages for defamation.[21] She alleged that during an April 2024 campaign event, Norris made derogatory remarks about Collinson and her photography business.[21][22]
After the defendants, Norris and Kootenai County, failed to respond to the initial tort claim, Collinson was able to file a lawsuit in October 2024.[23] The lawsuit accuses Norris of slander, defamation, placing her in a false light, and causing emotional distress.[24] Addressing the lawsuit once more in a sheriff's office news release, Norris reaffirmed his stance, describing the claim as politically motivated and promising to contest what he termed "a hoax".[23][24] He offered a $10,000 reward to members of the public who could assist with defending himself from the personal lawsuit, issuing his statement on the official sheriff's office letterhead and posting it on the office's Facebook page.[21]
The Spokane Spokesman-Review reported the response of Fred Scheffelmaier, owner of the Country Barn Bed and Breakfast in Cataldo, who hosted the forum where Norris allegedly made his statements. Scheffelmaier expressed shock at what Norris said, saying, "Why would you call someone something like that in a public meeting?"[24]
His use of official sheriff's office resources to address personal allegations raised concerns regarding the legality of his actions, prompting inquiries to state agencies for clarification on potential campaign finance violations.[25]
Local Coeur d’Alene photographer Pennie Collinson filed the lawsuit Monday against Norris and the county over comments she said he made to her in July. Collinson attended the Kootenai County Republican Party Primary Election Forum in Cataldo at the time, where she was working as a photographer for Mike Bauer, a candidate for sheriff. During the candidate questioning portion of the forum, the lawsuit says, Norris pointed out Collinson and accused her of performing sex acts and photographing child pornography at a local library. More than 50 people attended the event.
The lawsuit, filed in Kootenai County, accuses Norris of slander, defamation, publication in a false light and inflicting emotional distress. Collinson originally filed an intent to sue Norris over the alleged incident in August, but because there was no reply to the claim, Collinson was able to sue.
Since the lawsuit was filed, Norris wrote in a news release on a sheriff’s office official letterhead he will be fighting the accusations and will “expose the extent of this hoax.”
While Norris says it didn’t happen, four witnesses provided written statements in which they corroborated Collinson’s accusations against Norris. Norris said “she likes taking pictures” of pornography and accused her of molesting children, a witness wrote in a statement. Another said he acknowledged Collinson and told the crowd she “likes” performing certain sex acts.
All witnesses in the lawsuit stated the crowd gasped and the room went silent.
Fred Scheffelmaier, the owner of the Country Barn Bed and Breakfast in Cataldo, hosted and emceed the forum. Scheffelmaier opened the meeting with a prayer, he told The Spokesman-Review in August.
“I was dumbfounded,” he said. “Why would you call someone something like that in a public meeting? … It wasn’t right. I just got through stating we were there to promote yourselves, no negative conduct.”
Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea released the following statement regarding the incident:
“Our democracy rests on our First Amendment rights. If we can’t question leaders elected to represent us without fear of reprisal, we are not free. The town hall is a valued American tradition that embodies these principles, providing a place for constituents to ask questions and share their opinions on the issues of the day. At the recent Kootenai County Republicans’ town hall, it was clear organizers did not intend to allow dialogue between legislators and the constituents they serve. It is a very sad day when a woman who voices dissent is physically dragged out of a public venue by unidentified men while the event moderator belittles and taunts her. Idaho deserves better.”
Now, records from Transparent California reveal Norris collects $186,675 annually from the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association - including $150,282 in disability payments and $36,393 in benefits. While claiming in 2020 he received only pension payments, he recently disclosed having partial disability ratings - 12% for his right shoulder and 13% for his left. However, after video surfaced of Norris physically grabbing and attempting to remove Borrenpohl from the town hall, users online have begun questioning whether he should still be receiving disability payments based on alleged physical impairments.
In the video, Borrenpohl can be seen asking the men several times to identify themselves, which they did not do. Although, in the video, it is clear that Sheriff Norris directed the men to grab Borrenpohl, he then told the Idaho Statesman that he did not know the security personnel.
Norris also told the Statesman that their actions were in keeping with the event's protocols, however he did not explain what those protocols were.
Chief Lee told the Statesman these security guards worked for a private firm, LEAR Asset Management
Meanwhile, at THE AMERICAN PROSPECT, David Dayan writes:
Last week, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump was about to announce a reorganization of the U.S. Postal Service by executive order, firing the Postal Board of Governors and moving the quasi-independent agency under the Commerce Department. Liberals were outraged, and some were miffed that Joe Biden couldn’t even fire Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. But everyone drove past one fact: The very idea is ridiculous.
In his previous discussions of USPS, Trump had talked about privatizing it, not bringing it further into the federal government. Only Congress, though, can actually reorganize an agency that it established through statute. Unlike USAID, the impact of shaking up USPS would be immediately felt by every American with a mailbox, a group that gives the Postal Service the second-highest approval ratings of any federal agency. And then, there’s this little point: By law, the Postal Service is generally exempt from executive orders.
The White House walked back the story almost immediately, saying there was no executive order in the works. When Trump was asked about it, he went into his usual mode of bulls[**]tting on something where he has no real plan: he was “thinking about doing that” and “looking at it.”
This is an administration that has set a standard of constant consolidation of power and punishment of enemies. A month in, the Postal Service trial balloon and quick cleanup shows it has run out of ideas. But the real question about Trump’s second term was always whether he would bully the country into an effective monarchy, or fall prey to the laws of political gravity.
I’m taking a pundit risk by saying that we now have that answer, after one month in office: Trump’s cooked.
His failure has followed the usual direction of political overreach. Brave dissidents from the political opposition, corporate America, or his own coalition didn’t suddenly rise to the challenge. It started from the bottom up, as the governed gradually but definitively withdrew their consent, giving space for those we somehow call “leaders” to distance themselves.
While at THE NEW REPUBLIC, Michael Tomasky offers:
Last Thursday, while his henchmen were busy selling out Ukraine and Elon Musk was hoisting that chainsaw at CPAC, Donald Trump spoke to the Republican Governors’ Association. He bragged about how much money he’d raised. He talked about helping other candidates. Then he got to the point: “So we’ve got that money, and I got to spend it somewhere, and they tell me I’m not allowed to run,” Trump said. “I’m not sure. Is that true? I’m not sure.”
This was at least the fourth time Trump has “joked” about running again since he returned to the White House—that is, in the last month or so. He did it at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 6. Also at an event in Las Vegas in late January. And during a speech in Mar-a-Lago. On top of these, there was the “joke” the White House posted on social media, apropos of Trump’s attempt to kill congestion pricing in New York, that showed him wearing a crown with the all-caps message “LONG LIVE THE KING!”
When this comes up on cable news, the host typically asks the guests whether Trump is just trolling the libs or should be taken seriously. It’s a silly question, because the answer is obviously both. He’s always trolling. But if you’ve watched these first four weeks and think he’s not capable of finding a way to suspend the Constitution and stay in office, well, you’re not watching the same show I am.
Pay attention and connect the dots. Trump installed a loyalist at the Justice Department. Pam Bondi is qualified for the job of attorney general on paper, but there is no question as to why she’s really there: to wield the department’s power as Trump wishes. He installed a loyalist—an unqualified one—as the head of the nation’s intelligence services. Tulsi Gabbard will also do whatever Trump wants. And he’s done the same at the FBI. Kash Patel is obviously there to investigate Trump’s political foes and critics. Incidentally, this week, Patel is also apparently going to be sworn in as the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. These moves give Trump personal control over the country’s legal and intelligence services.
Then, on Friday night, he took an even more ominous step with a military purge, firing the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and five other senior officers. His new chairman is another loyalist, John Dan Caine (nickname “Razin”), who does not meet the legal qualifications for the job. Under law, the president can override the language about qualifications if he deems the appointment to be in “the national interest.” I’m not sure about the national interest, but Cain is surely in the Trumpian interest. Trump once claimed that Cain said to him, “I think you’re great, sir. I’ll kill for you, sir.”
Those terminated included the judge advocates general of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Why do they matter? Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall put his finger on it last week: “Among many other things it’s the military lawyers who determine what is a legal order and what’s not. If you’re planning to give illegal orders they are an obvious obstacle.”
Donald Chump is a coward and a liar. Things could have been so much different for the country. However, DSA organized the attacks on Kamala Harris and put Chump back in the White House.
At Saturday night's NAACP's Image Awards, one of those honored was Kamala Harris. Accepting the Chairman's Award, Kamala observed of our struggling nation:
This organization came into being at a moment when our country struggled with greed, bitterness and hatred. And those who forged the NAACP, those who carried its legacy forward, had no illusions about the forces they were up against - no illusions about how stony the road would be. But some look at this moment and rightly feel the weight of history. Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy, and ask, "What do we do now?" But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before, and we will do it again. We use our power; we organize, mobilize, we educate and we advocate. Because, you see, our power has never come from having an easy path. Our strength flows from our faith - faith in God, faith in each other, and our refusal to surrender to cynicism and destruction. Not because it is easy, but because it is necessary. Not because victory is guaranteed, but because the fight is worth it.
We'll cover Alien Musk tomorrow. I'd hoped that Ava and I would have something at THIRD yesterday. However, when there was nothing else completed to post, we took it as a sing to stop. It's a disgusting topic that I'd prefer not to cover but Republican officials have made it necessary for us to cover since they're covering for Alien Musk.
Senator Patty Murray's office issue the following on Friday:
ICYMI: Murray Blasts Trump and Musk Decimating HHS, Risking Americans’ Health and Livelihoods
***FACT SHEET: WA State Impacts of Trump and Musk’s Reckless Mass Layoffs***
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and the entire Senate Democratic caucus in sending a letter demanding answers from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for firing more than 5,000 HHS workers, blatantly undermining Americans’ health and safety. Within days of being sworn in, Secretary Kennedy blindly followed Trump and Musk’s baseless directive.
HHS consists of 13 operating divisions and 10 agencies responsible for protecting the health, safety, and wellbeing of Americans nationwide. These highly qualified, dedicated public servants protect millions of families, seniors, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable communities against public health threats by advancing scientific innovations, discovering breakthrough cures, and providing lifeline services such as child care and home-delivered meals.
Senate Democrats emphasized, “As HHS Secretary, the consequences of epidemics, lost treatments, and lack of access to care are your responsibility. These firings represent the abdication of your sworn duty to ensure the health and well-being of America’s families. You have an obligation to the American people, who rely on you as the nation’s top public health official, to stop these ill-conceived and dangerous attacks on agencies and programs that Americans rely on every day.”
Specifically, these layoffs will:
- Harm children, seniors, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable communities. Agencies across HHS are responsible for delivering everyday services that Americans rely on, including affordable child care, home-delivered meals, placing foster children in safe environments, and so much more.
- Block the development of new treatments and cures. FDA and NIH nonpartisan staff research and develop life-saving treatments. Firing them may delay medical breakthroughs and will weaken America’s biomedical science leadership for years to come.
- Put patient care at risk. More than 160 million Americans rely on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) programs for affordable health care coverage. CMS is already understaffed and leans heavily on its existing workforce to maintain current service levels. Any cuts to the CMS workforce could have wide-ranging consequences across the health care system, including potential disruptions in medically necessary care, delays in payments to hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care providers, and reductions in the frequency of safety inspections in nursing homes.
- Make the nation less prepared. With the worst flu season in more than 15 years, an Ebola outbreak in Uganda, and the growing threat of avian influenza, firing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) employees will make American communities more vulnerable to dangerous diseases and less prepared to deal with any potential outbreaks. Also, broader public health response infrastructure would be less able to address cyber attacks, supply chain shortages, and natural disasters.
In their letter, Senate Democrats asked the following questions:
- How many HHS employees were fired between January 20, 2025 and February 18, 2025? How many of these employees were probationary? Provide a breakdown by agency, position type, and justification for termination for each category of employee at each agency.
- How were HHS employees notified that they were being fired, and on what grounds? Provide the method of communication and content of the message employees received.
- Provide any analysis conducted prior to firings to determine the immediate and long-term impact it will have on programs and activities those employees were tasked with administering.
- What role did DOGE have in identifying or prioritizing employees for termination? What metrics did they use?
- As additional layoffs are anticipated according to the EO, Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative, what specific guidance was given to HHS for identifying additional employees to lay off?
The full text of the letter can be found here.
Earlier this week, Senator Murray responded at length to the Trump administration’s mass firings of dedicated workers across HHS and its many subagencies—and last week she released a fact sheet detailing how reckless mass layoffs across the federal government will jeopardize essential services Americans rely on. Senator Murray was a leading voice in opposition to the confirmation of RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary. Earlier this month on the Senate floor, she warned of the dangers of confirming RFK, Jr.—given his lack of health care experience and deadly rhetoric—and encouraged her colleagues to “show some courage” by rejecting his nomination. A longtime congressional leader on health care and former HELP Committee Chair, she called her meeting with him the “most troubling” she’s ever had with a cabinet nominee.
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Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Point THE NEW YORK POST Missed," "White House Service: Donald Tries To Please His Man" and "The Tongue Bather In Chief" went up Saturday. The following sites updated over the weekend:
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DOGE is the Theranos of Cost-Cutting2 hours ago
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The Fight Over The Panama Canal1 day ago
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Easy Frittata in the Kitchen1 day ago
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Idiot of the Week2 days ago
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