“How dare they,” Jan kept hearing repeated over and over. “How dare those bastards in Washington do this to us.” For her part, Jan managed to maintain an air of objectivity, although she knew such a stance was fast becoming impossible to maintain. The sight of body bags filled with men, women, and children whose only crime had been to live in a particular place, along with the stench of death tends to evoke strong emotions in even the most dedicated journalist, drawing them to side of the conflict or the other.

Jan didn’t need to wait for this to happen. She already had a personal stake in this crisis. Still, she did manage to rally and pull herself together and report the events of the day. “What we’re seeing here today,” she summarized in one of her broadcasts, “may only be the beginning of a downward spiral as what had been a war of words becomes, for the people of Idaho, a struggle for survival.”

Using buildings in downtown Boise engulfed in flames as a backdrop, Jan described the attitude throughout the capital of the rebellious state. “The apprehension over ‘What’s next?’ that had been so prevalent here in Boise after this morning’s surprise airborne assault,” she explained, “has given way to an overpowering desire to lash out.” Cutting to a film clip of Guardsmen reporting for duty shot earlier in the day, Jan’s voice-over explained that what had been a limited call up had turned into a full scale mobilization. “Few of the Guardsmen who had not been part of the first call up waited to be summoned. Though most of these men and women confess that they do not fully understand why this confrontation between their state and the Federal government came about, no one I’ve talked to after the air strike left any doubt as to where their loyalties lie. As one Guardsman explained, ‘This is where I live. The politics of Washington and what happens there mean nothing to me. Idaho is my home. Everything I own and everyone I know is here. So I guess if it comes to it, this is where I will die, defending my people and their right to live their lives as they see fit.’ It is with this sort of sentiment,” Jan concluded, “that the Federal government must now contend. What was a struggle between politicians involving abstract, constitutional ideas has become a blood feud for the people of Idaho.”