Idaho Shoots Back
PLUS: Cargill on property taxes, Moon on abortion, and more!
Twin Falls hero honored
On Friday evening, Money Metals presented Twin Falls hero Jordan Salinas with a plaque containing a 25-ounce pure silver bullet in recognition of his act of bravery and selflessness during the August 1 shooting at the Twin Falls In-N-Out Burger.
Salinas was recorded on video engaging the shooter, an action police credited—along with two other armed citizens who engaged the gunman—with potentially saving lives by diverting him away from the restaurant. The shooter eventually took his own life after killing three people and injuring several more.
Money Metals director Mike Gleason and Rep. Rob Beiswenger, who works for the company, presented the plaque to Salinas in a short ceremony at the Money Metals office in Eagle. Sen. Tammy Nichols and Rep. Josh Tanner were also present.
Gleason presented the plaque and silver bullet on behalf of everyone at Money Metals—and, he said, all Idahoans—praising Salinas for being prepared to exercise his Second Amendment rights in defense of others.
For his part, Salinas said that he “trained for the situation, not for the attention,” and added that the only nightmare he had since the incident was one in which his phone wouldn’t stop ringing. He was in Eagle on Friday on his way to meet with gun YouTuber Garand Thumb.
Salinas began training for the possibility of an active shooter situation after seeing news coverage of the 2021 shooting at Boise Town Square Mall, which killed two and injured four.
When asked about how that training prepared him for what happened in Twin Falls, Salinas pointed to what he called “stress inoculation”. Even intense training in a controlled environment cannot fully prepare someone for the chaos of a real life situation.
Salinas said he heard the first gunshot from across the street and immediately ran in that direction, assessing the situation as he approached. By the time he engaged the shooter, he said, he had a good idea of what was happening. He also identified a brick wall behind the shooter, giving him confidence that any shots he fired would not endanger anyone else.
Salinas said that he relied on the OODA Loop, a mental model developed by USAF Colonel John Boyd in the 1970s. The acronym stands for “observe, orient, decide, and act.” The idea is that in a rapidly developing situation, a person must continually process what is happening, determine how to response, make a decision, and act on it. The faster and more accurately someone can move through that loop, the better prepared they are to respond.
Although people have reached out to Salinas seeking training, he said he would rather point them toward the professionals who taught him. I had an opportunity to ask Salinas a question, and I chose to ask why he carries an FN Five-seveN—a somewhat unusual handgun chambered in the distinctive and relatively expensive 5.7×28mm cartridge that has become the subject of countless internet memes, including the one below from 4chan:
Salinas said his original reason for choosing the Five-seveN was considerably less tactical: He played Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell frequently as a teenager and thought the gun was cool. But after researching ammunition, he said he came to believe the cartridge offered some advantages, including armor-piercing ability while producing less over-penetration than some other defensive ammunition.
Salinas was also asked whether he was concerned about running afoul of Idaho law in the process of shooting back at the Twin Falls gunman. He said he wasn’t.
“I was putting some faith in Idaho, and I believed in it, and hoped it believed in me,” Salinas said.
After a short interview with Money Metals employees, Salinas was asked if he had anything else he wanted to add.
“Look out for each other,” he said. “Division is not the reality; we are more united than we aren’t.”
Money Metals is a sponsor of the Gem State Chronicle and invited me to attend Friday’s event. They did not review or direct this story in any way.
Spending drives property taxes
Chris Cargill, president of Mountain States Policy Center, pointed out that the debate over property taxes can’t ignore the spending side of the equation:
One of the most persistent misconceptions about property taxes is that rising assessments are themselves responsible for rising tax bills.
Assessments matter, but they aren’t the whole story.
Idaho doesn’t have a statewide property tax. Property taxes are imposed locally to fund local governments, school districts and other taxing districts.
Ultimately, local spending matters.
If government wants to collect more property-tax revenue, taxpayers should be able to clearly see that decision, understand why officials are asking for more money and hold those officials accountable for it.
Instead, homeowners often receive a new assessment showing that their home’s value has increased dramatically and understandably conclude that the assessor “raised their taxes.”
That can obscure the far more important question: How much money is the taxing district collecting, and how much has that amount increased?
Idaho Values Life
Idaho GOP chairwoman Dorothy Moon explained the meaning of all those signs that are popping up throughout our state:
Many critics say Republicans only care about life until birth, but that’s absurd. Republicans believe that all human beings are made in God’s image and deserve both dignity and equality under the law. We believe that children deserve to grow up in safety and innocence, not groomed or exploited for political purposes. We believe human dignity is best served by hard work and voluntary charity, not confiscatory taxation to support a welfare state. Finally, we believe that the most heinous criminals—those who brutally and wantonly take the lives of others—should face the ultimate penalty following a fair trial and conviction by a jury of their peers.
Valuing life means wanting each and every human being ever conceived to reach his or her full potential. Abortion destroys life before it even has a chance to see that potential. That’s not the Idaho way. Vote no on Prop 1 this November, and keep Idaho a state where all life is valued.
Press releases:
Gun YouTuber (and soon to be congressman from Texas) Brandon Herrera explained how one of the biggest wins for Second Amendment rights in recent memory came about:
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Once again, a big thank you to sponsors Lynn Bradescu’s Boise Realty, Money Metals, and New Saint Andrews College. Thank you also to all the paid subscribers who make it possible for me to do what I do, as well as all the readers who are constantly encouraging me to keep it up. I appreciate you!