He was the “Lion of Idaho.”

He kept the United States out of the League of Nations
after World War I.

William E. Borah took seriously President George Washington’s warning to stay out of foreign entanglements. His critics suggested that he and others who believed this were "little Americans.

"Call us little Americans if you will," he answered in his speech against the League of Nations in 1919. "But leave us the consolation and the pride which the term American, however modified, still imparts. . . . If we have erred we have erred out of too much love for those things which from childhood you and we together were taught to revere .. . because we have placed too high an estimate upon the wisdom of Washington and Jefferson, too exalted an opinion upon the patriotism of the sainted Lincoln."

Folk-rocking Grammy winner Ani DiFranco hasn’t performed in Boise for years. Look, she’s been busy. The famously prolific feminist icon releases a new CD what seems like every 10 minutes. Plus, she owns a legitimate business, Righteous Babe Records.

DiFranco has found time to return to The Big Easy on July 23 -- which had dang well better be called the Knitting Factory by then, right? Tickets go on sale for $32.50 at 10 a.m. Friday at TicketWeb.

Mel Gibson's best performance? If not, "Braveheart" was near the top of the list.

To win a pair of tickets to the May 21 showing of "Braveheart," e-mail cdryden@idahostatesman.com with your phone number and the answer to the following question:

Well, should they?

It's an annual debate that I purposely avoided in today’s Scene column about Alive After Five. In the past, nothing BUT local bands played the free weekly bash at The Grove. Beginning in 2005, the Downtown Boise Association began hiring out-of-state acts in an effort to revitalize the party. Simply put, Boiseans weren’t turning out in droves anymore to see the same groups they can see any time at bars or weddings.

Should Alive After Five book local acts again?

It’s not an easy question. In recent years, a handful of vocal musicians have made a stink about it. I have no problem with anyone who argues that area bands should be booked – in fact, I agree that they could be booked on a limited basis. (More on that in a moment.) What drives me nuts is when certain indignant musicians become unpleasant and territorial about the disagreement, as if they’re entitled to play Alive After Five. Calling for a boycott of Alive After Five is not the right way to approach this issue. (Yes, a couple of local bands actually suggested that last year.) And let's face it: LOTS of Boiseans are obviously pleased with the touring bands being booked. It's fun to see new music. And there are definitely diehard fans of proven acts such as Asylum Street Spankers or Pato Banton.

The big political question of the week goes like this: “What the heck’s Nancy Merrill thinking?”

Or, put in more scholarly terms, “Can a write-in candidate — even one who, as former Eagle mayor, has built-in name ID -- actually unseat a powerful member of the Legislature with a two-week campaign blitz?”

Odds and time are against Merrill, and on the side of Ada County’s most influential, albeit polarizing lawmaker, House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star.

Merrill’s on-again, off-again campaign kicked back into gear last weekend, 16 days before the May 27 primary. Voters are already casting absentee ballots – which list Moyle running alone in the GOP primary. Once voters figure out that Merrill is running, she has to educate voters about how to write in a candidate.

The winter season ended late this year and this weekend the summer season will unofficially begin here in the Treasure Valley.

Now communities like Sun Valley, McCall and in what people generally call the shoulder season or the off-season. Business owners catch their breath and prepare for the much larger summer rush, which seems to start earlier every year.

Jackson Hole, one of the longer established winter-summer tourism communities has the best name for this period. They call it the cocktail hour.

Weary waitresses, ski patrollers and marketing directors take off for vacation in Moab, Mexico or Maui, depending on the size of their tips, salaries or trust funds. Those with year-round jobs just try to make ends meet.

In honor of "Speed Racer," movie Web site Rotten Tomatoes listed 50 of the most famous movie cars.

No. 1? Doc Brown's 1981 De Lorean DMC-12 from "Back to the Future" (parts I, II and III).

Idaho has one of the "worst historical sites in America" • Don't go swimming in Hayden Lake • Editorial slams Washington gov. for failing to land Areva • Idaho Falls bike shop helps young cyclists • Heated runway would help with "greening" of airport • Wolf death toll part II

Adventuresome archaeologist Indiana Jones returns May 22 in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

OK, so Harrison Ford is 27 years older than he was when he starred in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Still, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is one of the summer's most eagerly anticipated films.

I've got four trivia questions for you and four extremely cool 27-by-36 original movie posters from each of the "Indiana Jones" films to give away to one lucky winner.

Go figure. Now that Boise doesn't have a comedy club, we start getting a bunch of comedians.

Actually, Boise should have a comedy club open by the time Mexican-American comic George Lopez performs waaaaay down the road at the Morrison Center: Nov. 23. It's a confirmed concert. I'll post ticket information when I have it.

Lopez is a big name in comedy. Until recently, he starred in his own ABC sitcom, “George Lopez,” which now airs in reruns on cable channel Nickelodeon.

Update: Tickets will go on sale in late August or early September, according to the Morrison Center.