Huckleberries: At least she knows female anatomy

Democrat Kathy (Kraack) Kahn, of Medimont, chuckled when I mentioned state Rep. Vito Barbieri’s infamous gynecological question, during an online interview last week. Remember? Barbieri, a Dalton Gardens Republican, made international headlines as a result of a 2015 legislative discussion of a proposed ban on telemedicine abortions. Barbieri asked Dr. Julie Madsen whether gynecological exams could be performed by swallowing a pill containing a camera. Amazed, Madsen replied that would be impossible because swallowed pills do not end up in the vagina. Kahn, who is running for Barbieri’s seat in House District 2, says the incumbent has given her plenty of issues with which to challenge him, including his regular opposition to proper funding of education, roads, bridges and mental health issues. But, Kahn laughed, she has another advantage. She knows how the female anatomy works far better than the legislator some call Veto the Barbarian.

Smart dog

Michelle Lippert, of Post Falls, a North Idaho College philosophy instructor, recently asked hubby Patrick whether he wanted to go to Fred Meyer or walk the dogs. Only she spelled out W-A-L-K, to put the dogs off the scent. It didn’t work. As soon as she spelled the word, Cali, an 8-year-old German shepherd, began jumping. You can guess which option the Lipperts selected … A Prius, photographed by an Inlander staffer at the Ted Cruz rally in Coeur d’Alene, had 14 bumper stickers on its rear end, including: “How about I put my carbon foot print up your liberal (butt).” Commenting on the other stickers, a Huckleberries Online wag named Dennis said: “Does anyone else see the irony in having the Gadsden (‘Don’t Tread on Me’) sticker right next to the ‘Take Back America’ sticker – on a Toyota Prius?” I do.

Huckleberries

Poet’s Corner (two-fer): “ ’Twas a mighty tough season,/and some fans got the blues,/but the Zags now are lacing/those March Dancing shoes” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Would You Care to Dance?”) … And: “To call this a boulevard/is very nearly to cheat –/for it’s three-quarters pothole/and just one-quarter street” – The Bard of Sherman Avenue (“Of Spokane Streets”) … Hey, didn’t you used to be – a Mark Few critic? … Poll: 67 percent of Hucks Nation wants to see daylight saving time eliminated. Here’s hoping you sprung ahead this morning … Last Sunday, Darrell Kerby, of Bonners Ferry, Facebooked: “I have looked both above and below the fold of the front pages of today’s Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Not one story about Gonzaga’s winning their 18th ticket to the NCAA tournament. Yellow journalism at its best.” Bingo … Quotable Quote: “If you don’t register Republican for (Idaho) primary elections, you have no voice at all since many elected offices have no non-Republican options” – a former Democrat who goes by the pseudonym Searcher on my blog … Old College Try: Animal control officer responding to a Coeur d’Alene call Friday learned from cop on the scene that the owners couldn’t catch their pit bull named Blue. She responded: “I probably can’t either, but I’ll try.”

Parting shot

A Californian was moved to action after reading about migrating tundra swans who swallow lead from mine waste along the Coeur d’Alene River. SReporter Becky Kramer mentioned the swans while reporting on a plan to transform developer Marshall Chesrown’s former 1,000-acre Black Lake Ranch into a wildfowl refuge. The Californian wanted to know where he could buy tundra swans for the 80-acre lake he lives on: “Swans are dying up in North Idaho,” he said. “We have a lake here where they could have a nice life.” Nice sentiment, but …