Memorial Day 2026
Daily Digest 5/25/26
Their hearts were touched by fire
Each Memorial Day for the past few years, I’ve returned to a speech given by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in 1884 in which the Civil War veteran explicated the meaning of the new holiday. He explained that the purpose of Memorial Day was not only to honor the dead, but to inspire the living?
If it was important in Holmes’ time to set aside a day filled with pomp and ceremony to remember our honored dead, it is even more important now, in a world dominated by technology that offers ephemeral experiences to feed short attention spans.
The further we drift from our history, and the more the experience of war is removed from the average person, the more imperative it becomes to put aside our daily distractions and meditate on what their sacrifice really means. It is in the death of our heroes that we find meaning for our own lives, as Holmes captured more than a century ago.
The latest podcast
I received a lot of positive feedback on my essay about the two different political spheres in Idaho. I’ve converted it to a podcast, so check it out on Spotify or your favorite podcast player:
Crapo celebrates America
Sen. Mike Crapo published a piece discussing his support of public lands via the “America the Beautiful Act”:
Public lands face a growing maintenance backlog, which affects roads, bridges, campgrounds, boat ramps, water systems, visitor facilities and trails. The Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) uses a self-sustaining funding model that reinvests 50 percent of federal energy royalties (monies collected from oil, gas, coal and renewable development) back into our public lands.
In Idaho alone, the LRF invested over $86 million in more than 100 U.S. Forest Service projects spanning all seven of Idaho’s national forests. The U.S. Department of the Interior invested an additional $82.9 million in Idaho across 16 projects and improved more than 100 assets statewide from 2020 to 2025.
McGrane’s blue book
The Idaho Blue Book has been a regular publication of the Secretary of State’s office for nearly a century, each edition full of information about Idaho as well as acting as a reference guide to our government. Secretary McGrane celebrated the release of the latest edition over the weekend:
Earlier this month, I joined Governor Brad Little to unveil the newly reimagined 2026 Blue Book of Idaho. This new edition was redesigned with a broader purpose in mind: to invite readers into Idaho’s story, showcase the beauty and history of our state, and honor the foundation laid by those who came before us. It also reflects this remarkable moment in Idaho’s history. Even with the redesign and the addition of full-color throughout the book, we were able to reduce production costs and save taxpayer dollars in the process.
Simpson talks energy and veterans
Congressman Mike Simpson’s weekly newsletter yesterday commemorated Memorial Day and celebrated Idaho’s role in the world of energy:
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Please join me in honoring and remembering the Americans who gave their lives in service to our great nation. To observe this solemn day, I cosponsored a resolution to honor the men and women of the Armed Forces who gave their lives in pursuit of freedom and peace.
It was a busy week here in DC. Appropriations season is still in full swing, and I’m pleased to announce that the Full Appropriations Committee has advanced 7 out of our 12 annual spending bills! One of which was the Fiscal Year 2027 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. I’m excited to share that I have secured critical funding for the Idaho National Laboratory. You can read more about this below.
Stay tuned for more analysis and commentary, and enjoy your weekend in the meantime. The 2026 Idaho GOP State Convention will be here before we know it.
Thanks as always to sponsors Lynn Bradescu’s Boise Realty and Money Metals Please reach out if you have a small business and want to partner with the Gem State Chronicle.
New Saint Andrews College will be returning as a sponsor next month, so go ahead and check them out too! Thanks also to all of you for supporting this work!