Folks, I think it's going to be up to the blogosphere to be sure that Blackwater stays the hell out of Idaho. If you missed my earlier post, read it (and the comments) here.
One commenter wonders where Blackwater will try to locate. (In a current California case, Blackwater wants to take over a site permitted for a dental school to start doing anti-terrorism training mere blocks from the Mexican border.) From last week's Coeur d'Alene Press story, it appears that the site has not been chosen but that it would be built from scratch in partnership with the Idaho Peace Officers North Idaho College:
Judy Hodge, the dean of professional, technical, workforce education at NIC, said she hasn't been approached by Idaho POST about the project.
"This is the first that I've heard about it," she said. "I'd hope we would be included."
Black said because the project is in its infancy he hasn't met with college officials yet.
"Absolutely, we're committed to North Idaho College," Black said. "This is going to be nothing but a positive for NIC."
No, no, no .... it'd be a HORRIBLE thing for North Idaho College, which currently is considered a fine two-year school with one of the loveliest campuses in the country, right on Lake Coeur d'Alene. (I'm pretty sure there's no room on the actual campus for what Blackwater has in mind, thank God.) And no matter where it's built in the fast-growing Panhandle area, it'd be a bad idea.
It doesn't appear there's been a whole lot of trad media coverage of this so far, other than the CdA Press story. And that's part of why Blackwater could succeed here: our culture is very pro-military, pro-police, and pro-GOP. Pro-Blackwater propagandists are already beating the drum on why this would be so great for our state. That's why I was most heartened to see that the Kootenai Co sheriff seems to have big reservations about the idea. Then again, he seems to realize that Blackwater is neither the military nor the police but something else entirely, which is why the company has been able to operate in such a shadowy way.
Idaho must say no to Blackwater. Click here to see how grassroots Californians have fought Blackwater in their state.