My granddaughter Margie tells me there are three primary colors: Red, yellow, and blue. Secondary colors are orange, green and violet..I thought there were seven forever colors and other sources say there are four or five. How can this be so confusing? The white light that emits from the suns ray creates the colors of the rainbow, there are seven of them or ten according to one source. The three primary colors additively can create nearly all other colors. I did not realize if you add the three colors together in equal amounts in the light spectrum you have white. Some sources include black as a primary color along and if you consider white a color there are 5. Now you have all the information to clarify your understanding of colorimetry.  Margie and I are sticking with the colors I can remember. 

Today I started thinking about the word primary and its importance to our democracy. I am very interested in the present and future of public education in Idaho. This legislative session saw a great deal of progress for the financial support and health care coverage of our teachers and early literacy. The legislators believed a large tax cut was preferable to beginning the funding of our deteriorating school infrastructure. Education in Idaho still faces many challenges from those whose fringe ideologies lean to fear a of indoctrination.   A bill to hold librarians liable for the books in their schools, critical race theory curriculum outright fabrications, a general distrust of our school system and higher education are examples. Too many Legislators who apparently are more concerned about what the Freedom Foundation preaches than what people in their own districts believe.  How can we find more balance.

There could be up to 30 new legislators in Idaho next year. I would first encourage you to know who is running in your district and how they vote on key education issues, for new candidates it is important to understand where their priorities lie. You can go tothe Idaho Business for Education education scorecard to see how your legislators voted on the key education issues. (Idahobe.org) Unfortunately, Idaho has a closed primary system so you can only vote in the primary on candidates from your declared party. I do know quite a few voters who have switched to the majority party to give them a chance to contribute to the right choice for their areas. The net step is to vote, I was shocked to know that in 2020 only 17.34 percent of voting age Idahoan’s participated in the primary which was 25.76 percent of all registered voters. In the general election 81.16 percent of voters participated which was the highest level since 1980 in Idaho. It seems to me we are voting on the candidates chosen by a very small portion of our citizens. 

My primary concern is education at this moment but the same approach to all Idahoan’s being accurately informed voters on the issues should give us all comfort.

I hope you enjoyed a little more “color” on the importance of the word primary.

Take good care.  Mike