Etc...

We're thin-skinned on this one

In hindsight, state Sen. Hal Bunderson probably won't regard it as the high point of his legislative career. But, reasoning that you never know until you try, the Idaho Republican decided the time had come to file a bill that would rid his state's license plate of the slogan: "Famous Potatoes." No spudnik he, Bunderson argued that high technology now is the state's top income-earner. In fact, he said, milk and beef have dropped the starchy tuber all the way to third place, just among agricultural commodities. Then, with a rhetorical dig, he added: "Other than as a consumer, the majority of people in Idaho have no connection " to potatoes. As you might imagine, the Idaho Potato Commission thought the idea was - pardon the expression - half-baked. A spokesman said the organization didn't expect this sort of roasting after spending in excess of $100 million over the past seven decades to promote the field crop. Besides, Bunderson was using old data , the spokesman contended, and potatoes are worth at least $2 billion a year to the Idaho economy. Late last week, the Senate Transportation Committee considered Bunderson's measure and ended up dropping it like a ... well, you know. It's now dead, at least for the rest of the session.