Andy Hedden-Nicely is running for Idaho's First Congressional District as the candidate for the United Party, a political party he founded last year whose slogan is "re-taking the middle ground." He faces opposition from those who consider his candidacy a potential Nader-esque spoiler tipping the November election to the Republicans, Boise Weekly reports. Even BW contributor Bill Cope dedicates a column to "this United Party nonsense": He begins by calling Hedden-Nicely a "fine fella," but concludes, "as far as your 'United Party' goes, pal ... unity my butt. Until Republicans have something other than beastliness to offer, this is one Democrat who thinks we would only debase ourselves by meeting them in the middle."
In a blog post dated Feb. 28, Rall announced that he had raised $21,000 toward legal fees for a potential slander lawsuit against Ann Coulter. In February, Coulter said in a speech and a later column that "in response to the Muhammad cartoons, one Iranian newspaper is soliciting cartoons about the Holocaust. (So far the only submissions have come from Ted Rall, Garry Trudeau and The New York Times.)" Rall wrote in a syndicated column that he had received e-mails calling him "an anti-Semite and anti-American traitor."
Bingo and Sally Barnes bought Boise Weekly in August 2001, and the paper's business plummeted a few weeks later in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. By October of that year, when Gannett announced the launch of its Boise faux-alt, Thr!ve, the Barneses were petrified. But their fears were unfounded. After revamping the paper and forging closer ties with the community, they have soundly trounced the faux alt in the three-plus years since its debut.
