Just in case you’re running out of things to worry about, you should know that there’s an ethics crisis brewing surrounding the sale of Girl Scout cookies. It’s perhaps the worst-kept secret in the world that parents of the 3.7 million Girl Scouts worldwide sell more than their share of Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils, Tagalongs, Samoas, Daisy-Go-Rounds, Thanks-A-Lots, Lemon Chalet Cremes, Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips, Dulce de Leche and Lemonades. And they do so, by and large, in their workplaces. This has prompted some employers to create rules against charitable solicitations at the office, according to CNN. I have problems with that policy on two levels. First, if your social skills are so weak that you can’t politely say, “Thanks, but no,” to a cookie-pushing colleague, then you belong in a monastery, not a workplace. And in the second place, I can’t do without my annual fix of Girl Scout Cookies/Steve Crump, Twin Falls Times-News. More here.
Question: I know I asked a question about annoying habits of co-workers earlier today. But I want to spotlight one that bothers some but not others. Should co-workers or their children be allowed to sell Girl Scout cookies at work?
Spokane7
35°
wife does the crossword in bed before we go to sleep. She *also*
has no desire to do puzzles on a machine when she could be nestled
in bed. Some folks seem to be very reductionist in their evaluation of a
newspaper as a simple news source… to MANY of us, it is far more than
the information, it is the organic experience. Let me put this another, albeit somewhat crude way: Would you prefer
to have intercourse with a machine or a human if the end result (a
climax) was the same? I’ll take the human, thank you very much, and
I’ll take the newspaper with my morning constitutional, not my computer.
Minnick posted his reaction at Facebook, the
ubiquitous social networking site. “These times are too tough and there is too much to be done to
linger over the points where we differ. … And all of us, especially
those who recently lost their jobs, are ready to roll up their sleeves
and go to work. I join the president, my fellow Americans and Idahoans
in standing up, ready to go to work.” Within minutes, the debate began: civil but pointed. Some of the
30-plus comments reminded the Democrat Minnick of his vote against the
Obama economic stimulus bill . … Other commenters
stuck up for Minnick: “Nothing like consistently letting the perfect be
the enemy of the good. … Is Rep. Minnick a ‘traditional’ liberal
Democrat? Of course not, and if he was, he could never have won Idaho’s
1st Congressional District.” For a political watcher, this is fascinating stuff. It pays to have a congressman for a Facebook “friend”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
I have a question of fairness and reasonable treatment of citizens about all this: can anyone answer why, as of this morning, Charlie Nipp (pictured) has still had ZERO communication from the Attorney General’s office or the County Prosecutor’s Office but the copy of the letter is on DanG and Mary Souza’s website? Charlie has not been contacted by anyone official, not been informed by anyone official, not had information shared with him by anyone official. He heard about this from the Coeur d’Alene Press AFTER 
Oh, sweet Avista. Three years ago (four?) my November electric bill was $400. I
immediately called Avista to see what was going on. The lady I spoke
with (typewriter keys clicking in the background) told me that my
normal usage, their rate hike, and the current weather combined
suggested this amount was probably pretty accurate. No problem, pay
the bill. In the following months, the bill kept increasing, and the house was
damn cold. Every month I called. Typewriter key sounds, “nope, this
looks totally in line with your normal usage.” By February (bill $550) I got a friend in construction to come out
and look at my place and see what could possibly be wrong (we were
thinking some kind of electric ground fault or something)/Trish Gannon, River Journal (shown in condom dress she’ll wear to Blogfest ‘09 with daughter). Full comment below.
Ignorance Ain’t Bliss: Recently things have happened to remind me that I am still naïve and gullible. How gullible?? Oh, you just wouldn’t believe it. People who know me, know to never be sarcastic with me because I take them literally. I think everyone is honest and straightforward and no matter how often they fabricate something and I believe them wholeheartedly, I keep on thinking good thoughts about them – that they are still honest and straightforward. I had a boyfriend once, after I had divorced my husband, who took this “ailment” I have as far as he thought he could/JeanieSpokane. 
Moon Dollars is a very unique feel to it. I can only describe it as a coffee shop/cute cafe/sports bar/nice restaurant. I know that the sign refers to itself as a “Coffee House”. But that just doesn’t seem right. This place is so much more. The place was spotless, had that “new” feel to it, and was well managed! The young ladies that I talked with were friendly, helpful, and willing to ask questions that any “newbie” customer might have. And you might know by now that that’s a big concern to me!/Dad’s Diner. 
You don’t need to examine the soaring jobless numbers or the stock index to know that we’re headed into another Great Depression. One of the telltale signs is that more and more Americans are looking the part. And by “looking the part” I mean that more and more Americans are wearing retro fedoras. Yes, the fedora – that classic pinched-at-the-crown, bent-brimmed dress hat. The fedora was the stock-and-trade hat for Prohibition-era gangsters, gumshoe detectives and tough guy actors of yore like James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart/Doug Clark, SR. 
A transient faces charges of video voyeurism and child sex abuse after Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department investigators found pictures and videos on a stolen computer that had already landed him in jail. Darryl P. Sheets, 46, was charged with the additional crimes Tuesday after being in the Kootenai County Jail since September on stolen property charges, jail records show. A computer seized as evidence had photos showing Sheets with a girl about 13 or 14 years old, as well as videos of the girl using a bathroom that he shot without her knowledge, said Kootenai County Sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger. Sheets was a friend of the victim’s parents, Wolfinger said. He remains in jail on $75,000 bond.
So, I’m checking my facebook and 
last week on how to “fix” the prison at Guantanamo. Make no mistake, this is tricky stuff. First of all, most folks don’t think there is anything to fix. That is, it is very well documented prisoners at Gitmo are not abused nor are their rights violated. The problem is there are a bunch of folks who don’t believe that. Never mind of course that countless reporters, Congressmen and aid workers have made continual visits to the prison and never reported any serious violations, the myth continues. 
Like my last review 
see a need and I take action. I have been the grunt, the sergeant, and the general. However, most of my time donated now is spent in leadership roles and I really miss those days in which I showed up and just served coffee or stuffed envelopes or walked a dog or delivered lunch or etc. It is my job to thank and inspire volunteers for showing up. However, I don’t receive a simple thank yous for a task or job well done. Trust me, it is brought to my attention when I stumble or don’t read minds but a thank you has not come my way in months now/Sparky’s Notes. 
I’m easily talked into things. Some of my buddies at work had something special planned for an upcoming Mardi Gras fundraiser. Someone had bailed out on the deal, so I was asked if I was interested in helping out. As always, I threw myself onto the wagon. The first sign of trouble was when my daughter wondered why her Daddy would be looking for a dress at Value Village. She kept peeking under the dressing room door, with a giggly confusion. I also found it’s pretty hard to find size 12 high heels, and ended up settling on some chunky brown sandals/Otis G. Experience. 
What has Butch Otter been up to in the nation’s capital? Within days of appointing a bipartisan panel to review plans for spending money from federal stimulus legislation, Idaho’s chief executive is listed among those Republican governors now in Washington, D.C., telling Uncle Sam to take his cash and shove it. Saturday, the New York Times reported that “the governors of Alaska, Idaho, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas have said their states may not want to meet the conditions that accompany the money or expand programs that will have to be paid for by the state once the stimulus money runs out.” And Monday, an editorial in the Wall Street Journal praised Otter and four other governors for “saying thanks but no thanks to some of the $150 billion of ‘free’ money doled out to states”/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. 
the history of black people being compared to primates. Not only that, but the paper apparently called for the assassination of the president. Let’s think about this for a second. Obama did not write the stimulus bill — a congressional committee did. The chimpanzee was chosen only because of the story in Connecticut. According to the artist himself, if the chimp was meant to personify anyone, it was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Even if it was supposed to be Obama, it is only fair considering the existence of bushorchimp.com. A serious problem is growing in the ongoing race debate. This cartoon had nothing to do with a single minority, and yet it has started a witch-hunt for the cartoonist and his boss, Rupert Murdoch. Is this what the next four years have in store? If an attack on a congressional bill is immediately interpreted as a racist attack on the president, then the voices of the opposition have successfully been silenced/Jeffrey Reznicek, UI Argonaut. 
A prominent Coeur d’Alene insurance agent and school booster charged with possessing cocaine this month is part of a larger criminal conspiracy investigation involving at least a half a kilogram of the drug and dating back more than a year. In addition to a state charge of possession of a controlled substance, Jerry S. Carlson, 47, faces three federal charges, one related to distribution of more than 500 grams of cocaine that took place over several months, documents show. Carlson was indicted on charges of conspiracy to posses with intent to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to deliver cocaine, and attempt to possess with intent to deliver cocaine/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR. 
Beginning March 15, the Prairie Voice will merge with the Handle Extra. The Prairie voice, seen the last two years as a handout as well as part of the paper on Thursdays, and the Handle Extra, covering both Kootenai and Bonnner County, formerly seen Saturdays, will switch to the Sunday edition. With the combination, there will no longer be free distribution. You’ll have to buy a Sunday paper. The positive side, is that a much larger audience will see what is published, than in the prairie Voice/S&S Herb, Bay Views. 
Micron Technology, the state’s largest private employer, announced today that it’ll phase out manufacturing of 200 mm wafers at its Boise plant, meaning 500 layoffs “in the near term” and “as many as 2,000 positions by the end of the company’s fiscal year.” In a press release, Steve Appleton, Micron chairman and CEO, said, “We remained hopeful that the demand for these products would stabilize in the marketplace and start to improve as we moved into the spring. Unfortunately, a better environment has not materialized, and we are at a point where we wanted to let our employees and the community know in advance what will occur later this summer”/MamaJD. 
In the two decades that I have been entering our office Oscar pool, I have won once. Mostly I do terribly, often placing strictly middle of the pack. This year, though, was different. For some reason, I was able to correctly choose 20 of the 
Tonight’s Oscar Awards Ceremony was a success on so many levels. Slumdog Millionare deserved those many Oscars…and the respect of the world for allowing us a glimpse into the lives of those in Mumbai. The prep and presentation of the Awards night, itself, is unmatched by anything produced during the Johnny Carson or Billy Crystal days. Hugh Jackman did a fine job. The sets were amazing. My ONLY question is whether Sean Penn’s slap in the face of CA voters was needed. Imagine a John McCain supporter making a public statement at that podium/Dennis Mansfield. 
Representatives. Nevertheless, I did listen to his strong statements concerning fiscal responsibility. I didn’t doubt his sincerity, but I thought he’d have to follow the big spenders, most of the time, once he became a member of the majority party in the House. I’m sure Rep. Minnick knew that most Idahoans opposed the so-called “stimulus package.” Yet, I believe the reason for his “no” vote was a clear conviction that it is shameful to load a crushing debt on future generations of Americans and to totally usurp state rights and responsibilities. I don’t yet know if I’ll back Mr. Minnick for re-election, but I want him to know that I appreciate him standing up for Idaho/Phil Batt, former Idaho governor. Idaho Statesman.
We were driving through the high country last week when I saw a stock pond covered with ice. And I think I caught a glimpse of my father in his second childhood. My parents migrated to Idaho long ago from North Dakota where winter ice was plentiful and where ice skating was sometimes a part of a farm kid’s life. On slow days when the fields were frozen solid, farm families had fun for a change. In warmer months, they might play baseball on summer weekends or fish a bit in a nearby stream. But mostly they got their exercise the old-fashioned way - drudgery/Bill Hall, Lewiston Tribune. 
Money, money everywhere and not one cent fit for New Orleans. The recently passed $787 billion porkulus bill contains Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s, D-Nev., pet $8 billion earmark to build a high-speed train linking Disneyland to Las Vegas. And Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., topped off the lard bucket ironically misnamed as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with tens of millions of dollars dedicated to restoring the habitat of the salt marsh harvest mouse, a treasured mascot of San Francisco’s environmental extremists. Billions are destined for ACORN, the voter-fraud wing of the Democratic Party. But, there is not a single dime designated for rebuilding New Orleans/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. 
We made the northern trek that day with the idea of investigating a new Mexican place suggested to me by a work friend. We got out of the truck and looked around, soaking in the historic charm of downtown Spirit Lake. “Cute” is an adjective which I seldom-to-never let escape from my lips or typing fingers, but I can’t think of a better word to describe Spirit Lake’s tiny-but-impactful collection of multi-sized and multi-colored restaurants, bars, and massage therapists. It’s cute like a Danbury Mint series of old-timey miniature light-up ceramic buildings ordered through the mail in fun, once-a-month packages until the entire town was complete/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. 
It was many years ago, we only had one child then. That’s when he asked me “do you ever think about being single again?” “What?” I replied. “You know, being a bachelor. What it would have been like had you decided NOT to get married and have children.” he clarified. This
was a loaded question, I thought. What he’s really asking is “how are
you two getting along.” At least, that’s what I thought was the
subtext. Back then, my answer was simple. “Of course. Who
doesn’t think about that? I think that I’d be a lonely alcoholic if I
weren’t married. She keeps from going over the edge. Remember, I was a
bachelor for a while before I was married.” Eight years after
this conversation now, and I still remember it … still contemplate it
from time to time. I always come up with the same conclusion as well. I
can’t imagine life now, with out them/Toadman, Synaptic Disunion. 
After five months of inexplicable good health, I finally caught the Kindergarten Krud. In a room full of kids just learning the ins and outs of
nose-blowing and hand-washing, germs abound. Today, for example, I
caught one of my students using a Kleenex she had just sneezed in to
“wash” her desk. Though I instantly cordoned off the area and hosed it
down with hand sanitizer, it made me wonder how many other incidents of
inadvertent plague-spreading escape my notice every day. Kindergarten
is a place for hugs and hand-holding and sharing snacks and trading
pencils. It’s also a place where germs meet, fall in love, and have
millions of offspring–a roiling, boiling kettle of bacterial diversity. Apparently, my very robust immune system has met its microscopic match/Katrina, Notes On A Napkin. 
around on his big plane anywhere and everywhere.
As is Hillary. I may think it’s being a bit over done considering these
economic times, but it is, at least, a part of their jobs. But Pelosi?
She’s a legislator! Supposedly she is talking with top Italian
officials about the economic crisis and other “leading issues”,
whatever they may be. Oh, yes, she’s talking to them about the
environment and the situations in the Middle East, Iraq and
Afghanistan. Right. How many troops do the Italians have committed? Or
is it just chit chat? I’m sorry. It’s bad enough we, who pay our taxes and mortgages yet see
the value of everything we hold dear diminish, are asked to bail out
the deadbeats, but to also have to fund automatic pay raises and
worldwide boondoggles is more than I can swallow. Enough!/Dogwalk Musings. 
It’s been almost 38 hours since I had anything but juices, broths, Jello and, ahem, “cleansing agents” in preparation for my date early this afternoon with Dr. Chris Kutteruf. I admit that the fasting part wasn’t as difficult as it was in the past. It’s all in the mind. That, and the hours past quickly when you’re blogging. Yes, blogging is addictive. But it takes your mind off things, too. Like hunger. I’m not that hungry today. I’m told the hunger passing at hour marker No. 30. I’m not very nervous re: the proctology procedure itself. Been there, done that. Three times. The drugs take any edge there might be out of the exam. I don’t look forward to prancing around in a night gown with the slit up the back. White with little blue flowers doesn’t become me. (Think Morty Seinfeld in the “Seinfeld” episode where he thought the doctor had taken his wallet.) I’ll try to take off any dark socks so I won’t look totally like a nerd. I’m looking forward to the drugs and a clean bill of health. I’m trying to decide between Chinese and Mexican for my first meal afterward, leaning toward the former. I’ll pull the plug on what I’m doing here around noon. I believe I can count on you this time to understand.
most Republican state in the country. His
narrow victory was a small but striking example of Democrats’ growing
political strength in the Rocky Mountain region; six of the 21 House
seats the party gained in November were won out West. But success brings its own set of challenges. If Democrats hope to
remain a majority party nationally, they will have to embrace a fresh
breed of Western candidate like Minnick, 66, a former corporate
executive who campaigned as a pro-gun, anti-tax, small-government
conservative and shows every intention of behaving like one. Party leaders seem mindful of that reality. Days after the stimulus
bill passed the House and the rookie lawmaker published his criticism
in newspapers across Idaho, Minnick was invited to fly home as Vice
President Joe Biden’s guest aboard Air Force Two. He reluctantly
skipped the trip to Boise and the Special Olympics rather than miss a
day of votes/Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times. 
Like yesterday. I got home, and I wanted to veg out a bit before I headed back to KMS for a meeting and then the Tostado Feed. The last two final episodes of “Gilmore Girls” were in the DVD player, so I watched them. The tears first started coming when Rory graduated from Yale. Then they came when Luke threw the surprise party for Rory and Loralie. Then they came when Luke and Loralie kissed. Z2 got home, and I’m a blubbering mess on the couch, all red-eyed and smiling, with her rolling her eyes at me, because she knows full well I’ve seen this a few times already. But, hey, when tears come, tears come/Silver Valley Girl. 
Apparently this is becoming a huge, growing (no pun intended) problem in the area. Yes, naked hiking. I found it hard to believe. I mean, try wandering nude around here in the mountains and your family jewels would be covered in mosquito bites faster than you could pull your pants back up. Although if I’m ever in that area, with an extra $170, I might have to give it a go. It seems a lot of people do. I found 
Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, proposed legislation today that would ban repeat drunk drivers or those who drive drunk at far above the legal limit from buying or possessing alcohol, for anywhere from five years to life. “Have you ever read in the paper about somebody with their eighth DUI, their ninth DUI, 10th DUI?” he asked the House Judiciary Committee, which he chairs. “This will put a stop to it. … This is a big idea. It’s a total shift in how we deal with these individuals.” Clark said the bill hasn’t yet been reviewed by sheriffs or others; he asked the panel to introduce it so that discussion could start/Betsy Russell, SR Eye On Boise. 
Recently named Idaho’s “Optometrist of the Year,” by the Idaho Optometric Physician’s Association, Marossy was nominated and selected by her peers. She is the youngest and the only female to receive the award for distinguished professional and community service. Optometrists in Idaho are primary health care providers who examine, diagnose, treat and manage diseases and disorders of the eye. They can prescribe and provide eyeglasses, contact lenses, low vision aids, prescribe and administer medications, and perform minor surgical procedures/Laura Umthum, SR. 
New restaurant scoop! Local eyes are moist with joy, or at least mine are, with the news that former Henry’s owner/architect Joe Chapman is returning to the Coeur d’Alene restaurant scene soon when Grumpy’s opens for business in the former Bambino’s location in midtown Cd’A, which for aeons before that housed a cracked-out all-nite laundromat. If you know Joe at all, you’ll know that Grumpy’s is THE perfect name for his new culinary endeavor. As I’ve mentioned before, Joe was my first boss and an old family friend; I washed dishes there at age 15, and it was a default hang-out spot for several decades/OrangeTV. More Bread Crumbs & Tuna Chunks.
flash before you. It happened at Queen Anne’s Bartell drugstore at First Avenue North, early last Thursday around 2:45 a.m., as Seattle slept. About a half-dozen patrons were inside. At the checkout aisle, I chatted with the manager for a few minutes and turned for the exit. That’s when a short man — a blur in dark clothing — cycloned inside. He wore a gray hoodie, gloves and had a black mask across his face. He said nothing at first — and didn’t have to. The object in his right hand, raised slightly in my direction, said it all. “Gun!” I yelled. Patrons stampeded for the door/Robert L. Jamieson Jr., Seattle PI. 
Post Register Publisher Roger Plothow fired Executive Editor Dean Miller on Wednesday, citing a desire “to change the direction of the paper a little bit.” A veteran of three decades in Idaho journalism, Miller began his career at the Twin Falls Times-News. He moved to the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., where he manned the newspaper’s Sandpoint bureau and later its full-time office in Boise. In 1995, he was named city editor of the Post Register and was promoted to executive editor a year and a half later. In August 2007, Miller began a nine-month fellowship at Harvard University in Boston, returning to the Post Register last summer. Miller’s removal comes at a time when many newspapers are reducing staff sizes and cutting budgets/Corey Taule, Idaho Falls Post-Register. 
purpose by letting you know that I’m fasting — nothing but juices, broths, Jello, coffee, etc. — in preparation for a colonoscopy early Friday afternoon. I’ve gone through the drill 3 times before, in my early 50s. The procedure probably saved my life when a problem was detected. The procedure itself isn’t bothersome. Once the IV drugs hit, you relax and you’re unconscious or barely conscious while the doc is checking out the rabbit trails in your nether regions. It’s the fasting that bugs me. A day and a half of fasting. I was assured by my doc’s office that it has never lost a patient this way. Then, there’s the, ahem, “cleansing agents.” Two bottles of “cleansing agents” — to be taken at 7 tonight & 7 in the morning. My wife, bless her heart, provided plenty to cleanse last night — a wonderful meal consisting of meatloaf, a monster potato & a salad. I’m still not very hungry. Then, it’s only 10:45. 27 hours to go till Proc Time. I haven’t done this since I started blogging. Mebbe you bloggers, commenters & blurkers will pull me through this time. Ever notice how time stands still when you’re facing something like this? I’m such a wuss.
Attorney General Eric Holder, in a speech to Justice Department employees, said the United States is a nation of cowards on matters of race and that most Americans avoid discussing awkward racial issues. That begs me to question if such is the reason Roland Burris is still a member of the United States Senate. A spotlight seeking egomaniac with questionable abilities, he has been controversial from the start as Obama’s replacement. He convinced everyone, at the outset, that he was squeaky clean when it came to his appointment by “Pay to Play” Blogojevich. Well, as squeaky clean as one is when involved in Illinois politics. Which would seem to be not very/Dogwalk Musings. 
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office says there is no truth to Idaho Sen. Jim Risch’s contention today that the federal stimulus package contains $50 million to save the “red-breasted harvest mouse” in Pelosi’s California district. Drew Hammill, spokesman for Pelosi, called the story about the mice “a total fabrication.” It apparently originated a week ago in talking points distributed by Republicans in Congress, charging that $30 million would go to the mouse/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an Aggravated Battery that occurred in the parking lot of Wells Fargo Bank/Hayden. Initial investigation indicates that Kimberly Booker, 24, or Athol, Idaho was arguing with her estranged husband, Jerry Booker, 25 also of Athol, over income tax return when he tried to leave the area.
While I’m off getting surgery and recovering in Seattle, feel free to use the comments here to post your best sea stories, or whatever else strikes your fancy. (Nothing too controversial, please!) I’ll hopefully be able to post occasionally from my phone, but I probably won’t be able to include links, like 
Billy Jeffrey, the Lewiston contestant on the ABC reality show “True Beauty,” has made it through another week in Monday night’s episode and is now among the final three contestants. Jeffrey, whose real last name is Scharnhorst and who uses his middle name for show business purposes, was one of 10 contestants on the show about beautiful people living in a Los Angeles mansion while competing for the title of Most Beautiful Person. While contestants know they are being constantly filmed they don’t know they are being judged on their inner beauty/Lewiston Tribune. 
the State Board of Education with his fourth appointment to the eight-member board. Last week, a confrontation between House Education Committee Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Lt. Gov. Brad Little underscored the stakes as lawmakers jockey for their favorites. Nonini has a favorite for the job and let Little know. The appointment is the first major post to be vetted by Little since he took office last month. Otter assigned Little to review candidates for jobs that require Senate confirmation before Otter makes his nominations. But Nonini made his point to the even-tempered Little in such a loud voice that word of the incident quickly spread through legislative circles. “There was an issue,” Little confirmed. “He was pretty exercised and was talking about holding up the governor’s state board package”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
The irony did not escape me that I was going to introduce a new life to her as she was losing hers. It was a bittersweet thought; one not to be fulfilled. Mom didn’t make it through that first day. So there we were, Bacchus and me. We stayed a month taking care of everything that has to be done to close out a life. Funeral arrangements, estate sale, getting the house ready and putting it on the market. The two of us together. At night, when exhausted, he’d snuggle up with me and give me the comfort I sorely needed. We formed a very special bond/Dogwalk Musings. 
If you love somebody and you want to say so other than to her face, is it classier to do that by deliberate illiteracy? Or is it cooler to use that same textable cell phone to call her instead and let her relish the sound of your actual voice trembling with affection and passion? Apparently that is an ignorant question. I suspect the texters are caught up in the game of showing off how much you can say in the fewest letters possible, providing they use the same style of condensed fadspeak that everyone else is using. In other words, texting is like jeans. If you don’t use the same style as everyone else, you’re not with it/Bill Hall, Lewiston Tribune. 
House Education Chairman Bob Nonini said Thursday his legislation permanently weakening collective bargaining between Idaho’s teachers and school districts needed to be passed quickly, and it wasn’t hard to see why. As Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, was launching his sneak attack, the federal government was preparing to send the state enough money to remove the urgency for it or any other assault on schools and their teachers. The disconnect between what was happening in the state and federal capitals should have been more than enough to cause legislators to take another look at House Majority Leader Mike Moyle’s suggestion that legislators recess until the effects of Congress’ economic stimulus bill are known/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. 
Irish author and notorious wit Oscar Wilde once observed “Who, being
loved, is poor?” In this long cold winter of recession, even with your
sweetheart to keep you warm, the quick answer to that question is,
well, just about everybody. Still, it’s Valentine’s Day and you want to
do something special to show your true love exactly how much they put
your gizzy in a twirl without going too far in the red. You sent
away for a Gold Kit envelope, and returned it filled with the tacky
jewelry you inherited from your great Aunt Fanny. The local Coin Star
machine repairman knows you on a first name basis. You cut off your
long, gorgeous hair and sold it on the black market to a drag queen in
desperate need of a weave. Now you’ve finally got some cash together,
but how can you take your sweetie on a whirlwind trip to the moon for
$187? Why not stay right here in Coeur d’Alene and have a Romantic East
Sherman Valentine’s Day getaway?/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. 
A no-contact order filed two months after Becky and Uriah Brosnan were married in 1997 showed early signs of domestic abuse. After
that, there were no police reports or repeated emergency calls to the
couple’s home indicating trouble – until Becky Uriah was beaten to
death and her husband charged with murder. That pattern isn’t unusual, authorities say. “In
most cases where there were domestic violence homicides, there had been
almost no contact with police,” Spokane police Detective Jan Pogachar
said. Instead, victims often go to shelters or seek help from family members. Becky
Brosnan, 32, died Jan. 28 after she met with her estranged husband at
his workplace parking lot to discuss child custody arrangements/Jody Lawrence-Turner. 
He made his mark on Idaho through 10 years in the state Legislature,
fighting for causes including education and the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum
Prairie Aquifer. But Wayne Meyer wanted to be remembered as a farmer. That was the message delivered to more than 500 people who packed
St. Pius X Catholic Church in Coeur d’Alene on Friday to say goodbye to
a man whose name became synonymous with bluegrass farming on the
Rathdrum Prairie. Meyer died Tuesday of colon cancer. He was 59. The service was short, and there was no eulogy. When it ended, a
procession of cars traveled across Meyer’s precious prairie to
Evergreen Cemetery in Post Falls, where he was buried/Alison Boggs, SR. 
bought me flowers. You can go to buy flowers during the year and get some really nice dozen of roses for $9.95. But this week, it is $39.95 and $100. Highway robbery. We don’t need candy … neither of us. And we have even given up on the cards. They aren’t our words. See the King and I feel you should be Sweethearts every day. And we are. So what is the big deal? And we don’t need a guilt day/Cis, From A Simple Mind. 
to accept it, is to cut 71 certified and 64 classified staff, an approximate one-third reduction in employees. How do you start? Given you must cut approximately one in every three employees, you might just gather everyone together and play duck, duck, goose, eliminating all the geese. Not that you’d be allowed to, but it has the virtue of simplicity. Instead, you must determine which programs you will cut. Because all extra-curricular programs were funded by the levy, you can eliminate all coaches, all publication teachers, all Aca-Deca teachers, the band and music instructors, art and drama, dance and cheerleading, photography and athletic directors. Unfortunately, most of these positions are not full time—they are ‘extra duties’ that staff pick up in order to work a full time position/Trish Gannon, River Journal. 
What Walter Minnick did is what Republicans should have done. He didn’t just whine about the current bill. He offered a reasonable 
Sharon Ullman is doing something every politician ought to do. She has joined the growing ranks of local 
It would also mean $62 million in budget cuts for public schools next year, no increase in the grocery tax credit, no conformance with IRS tax law changes (a $2 million cost, and a bill that’s already moving quickly through the Legislature), no enhancements in any agency budgets, and more - all decisions that haven’t yet been made, and that, if they go otherwise, will require other cuts or other budget changes. The approach also anticipates spending $95 million from the state’s various reserve funds, another call that hasn’t yet been made/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
Let’s celebrate “Friday the 13th” with a little red meat, shall we? And hard numbers. There are 13 grisly deaths in this latest sequel: machete decapitations, an arrow through the head, somebody burned to death in a sleeping bag – you know the slasher drill. Three nubile young things take their tops off. Two of them have hot sex with not-nearly-as-naked guys in the same forest by the same Crystal Lake where all those camp counselors were butchered back in the 1980 original. This Michael Bay production is a graphic homage to the series that helped turn simple slasher pictures into a formula for success. It may have Bay’s big-budget sheen, and it’s every bit as efficient and heartless as the original Fridays. But for all its attempted jolts, it’s not all that scary/Orlando Sentinel. 
Washington state legislators have a $6 billion budget shortfall to fix, but it’s nice to know they’re still seeing the Big Picture. Earlier in the legislative session, Rep. Mike Armstrong (R-Wenatchee) introduced a bill (HB 1024) to declare Aplets & Cotlets (manufactured in Cashmere) as the Official State Candy of Washington. The bill quickly became one of the most talked about of the session. Late last month, The Stranger 
deputy found her border collar heeler mix in a vacant yard with its mouth duct-taped shut Wednesday morning. The deputy found the woman’s unleashed dog at 30450 Railroad Street & Highway 54 after KCSD fielded an anonymous tip. A woman from across the street admitted to the officer that “Blue” was her dog and that she’d taped his mouth shut the previous day b/c she didn’t want him biting a friend’s two Pomeranians. The friend left between 10 and 11 o’clock the previous night. She told the officer that she hadn’t taken the tape off the dog’s mouth because it was difficult to get off. Also, she admitted that she had taped the dog’s mouth before, insisting that the tactic was “better than it killing something.” When the deputy advised her that it was not allright to tape the dog’s mouth shut, the woman responded: “I know that.”
Yeah, the thyroid ultrasound test. The thyroid is a teeny tiny rice-sized grain of something, I don’t know what, at the base of your throat. You have to throw your head way back so the ultrasound gizmo can even find the little thyroid. So, mine seems to have nodules. And one of them is “suspicious.” This is a diagnostic term that makes my skin crawl. I’ve had “suspicious squamus cells” before. Suspicious raises the eyebrows of lab techs and they love to scrutinize those suspicious cells and find things. Like cancer/JeanieSpokane. 
Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, failed to persuade the House Environment Committee this afternoon to introduce his bill to repeal last year’s much-negotiated, long-sought air quality vehicle emissions testing bill. The panel voted 6-5 to return the bill to its sponsor rather than introduce it. Harwood told the panel, “What this emission does is got the DEQ chasing the tail. … Our emissions have been going down since the mid-‘70s, down, down, down.” He said he feared the vehicle testing program would spread to North Idaho, because last year’s bill applies statewide to areas where vehicle emissions hit certain levels/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
Refaeli is no stranger to Americans — she’s been one of the most in-demand models since age 15, and she frequently graces the pages of celebrity magazines by virtue of her three-year relationship with actor Leonardo DiCaprio. But for a model, gracing the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue is truly hitting the 
Izzit just me, or has the vocal Demo blogosphere gone in the tank since Barack Obama won the presidency? I don’t mean to stir things up (and if you believe that you’d believe that I’m one of the 36 singers still in the running for “American Idol” this season), but the Gem State’s liberal blogosphere, which tracked Bill Sali like a bloodhound and helped boost Walt Minnick into office, has become a snoozer since November. Consider. Red County posts are rare since Julie Fanselow left. 43rd State is compelling reading only when our friend Sisyphus posts. MountainGoat Report and Political Game are bogged down bird-dogging Zeb Miller. Which is a worthy goal. But not nearly as interesting in North Idaho as MGR’s reports on Sali’s voting record. IdaBlue is good when he posts. Fort Boise is about the same as ever. 
One caller, from Boston, said Republicans like Risch have little room to carp about big spending, after the Bush years. Risch didn’t really dispute the caller’s point, but was quick to point out that he is new to the Senate. Fair enough. But Risch also made what I thought was a veiled criticism of President Obama, who has gone out of his way to paint the current economic crisis as a problem he inherited from the Bush administration. Said Risch: “This is now his problem”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. 
Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, the House Education Committee chairman, proposed two far-ranging bills this morning to make permanent changes in state law to allow cuts in Idaho’s public school funding. Among them: No state funding for field trips, including academic outings, ever again. All school district contracts with staff would expire at the end of every fiscal year, and no terms or conditions could carry over beyond that. Idaho would repeal the law that requires no reduction in salary or contract days for experienced teachers. School districts could impose reductions in force regardless of contract terms/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
golf course, which is to be built next year and opened in the spring of 1991. “You need golf,” says Hagadone, citing the chief executive officer of a major hotel chain, who reportedly will not consider building a resort hotel without a golf course. 
Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, noted that the Legislature has “been very generous when we’ve had the money to be proactive on milfoil, and with the leadership of Rep. Anderson and others, made some great strides.” But now, she said, “Obviously, in our economic downturn we’re at a crisis point, and we have quagga mussels looming 100 miles from our border, so there’s a grave concern.” She asked state Ag Director Celia Gould if she’s “identified other funding sources that could help us with this threat?” Gould responded, “We just haven’t found that money tree for quagga mussels”/Betsy Russell, SR Eye On Boise. 
So North Idaho isn’t known for having a longstanding love affair with government. But the anger that erupted online Tuesday — not just from the peanut gallery, but from some readers who claim to be insiders — set a modern local standard for governmental disgust. The cause? Our front page story Tuesday about the heroic postal carrier who saved a woman’s life, had a minor accident running into a mailbox later that day, and has been fired from his job starting this Saturday. “Every silver lining has a cloud,” wrote one reader. “If you are a hard worker, and do a good job working for the people — you have no future in the government,” posted another/Coeur d’Alene Press. 
achieved. Now I know most new mothers like to brag that their babies are the cutest ever and are way ahead of the learning curve but that’s not what this is. I’m not bragging. It is 100 percent fact. While most newborns are spending their first days of life either sleeping, eating or pooping mine is actually forming sentences. Not only that but he can also use the telephone. At least that’s what his grandma and grandpa Kraack are telling me. 
Now, the 
The parents of the woman found dead Sunday after being dragged more than a mile in north Spokane have a message for the driver, who’s still at large. “I have forgiven the person that did it,” said Gene Littell, sitting in his Spokane home today with his wife, Vicky. “If he was to walk through the door right now, so help me God I would give him a hug.” The Littells are urging the driver to turn himself in. Their daughter, Susette G. Werner, 42, was found dead in the intersection of Maxwell Avenue and Ash Street about 4 a.m. Sunday. Police say she was struck near Cedar Street and Carlisle Avenue by a man driving a boxy green sport utility vehicle or van, then dragged about 15 block to the intersection/Meghann M. Cuniff, SR. 
Of all wildlife/vehicle encounters, moose are generally the most dangerous. In part it’s because their weight makes for a massive obstacle to hit at any speed, but in part it’s also their size—those gangly legs are generally the part that gets hit by the average car, causing the moose to be flipped into the vehicle. Which is exactly what happened to Adam. The moose’s legs hit his car on the right front fender, causing her body to crash into the windshield, roll over the top of the car and then down the back. The moose died. So did the car. “I can buy another used car like this for less than what it would cost me to fix this one,” Adam explained as he looked over the crushed windows and dented body. Which is what he hopes to do as the car itself runs just fine, and he can use it for spare parts/Trish Gannon, River Journal. 
Yesterday we were walking through the toy aisles at Target when all of a sudden I exclaimed, “
looks like another old goat marrying appearance rather than substance. But having said that, I admit I am personally a bit of an age bigot. During my dating years, I was always a little uncomfortable dating a younger woman. But that was mostly because of generational differences in popular culture. If you cut your teeth on Elvis and she cut her teeth on Elton John, some compromises have to be made when listening to the car radio. If your favorite movie is “From Here to Eternity,” and hers is “The Lord of the Rings,” turn yourself in. You’re dating a child/Bill Hall, Lewiston Tribune. 
The authors boil down “Idaho traditions” with two curious paragraphs: “The United States Constitution allows every citizen the right to own firearms. Hunting and shooting sports are a proud tradition in Idaho. There is a chance that you will see a person with a firearm, or see a firearm in a truck window, particularly in the small towns. This is legal and poses no danger to you. Do not be alarmed.” And: “Most Idahoans own dogs and you will see dogs in public places. You are welcome to pet the dog with the owner’s permission. It is also common to see dogs in the back of parked pickup trucks. However, these dogs are often protective and should not be approached”/2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games media guide. More in Kevin Richert’s blog 
I grew up in barbershops. 1950 and 60-style barbershops…the ones with fake wood siding and barbers who wore smocks. I grew up with the smell of man-lotions and the sight of combs in a naturally-unnatural blue liquid. Barbers didn’t ask how you were doing. They didn’t care. They only wanted to know how you’d like your hair cut. Guys like Barber Martin. “High and tight”, I’d repeat what my Dad had told me to say. “OK.” he’d reply. Then, on went the floor-length barber bib, over my body and the chair. 
And even he never did anything as dopey as giving Avista fourth place in customer satisfaction. That’s like making Joan Rivers a runner-up in the Miss America pageant. That’s like giving Britney Spears an honorable mention in parenting. That’s like the Boy Scouts handing Bernie Madoff a merit badge for honesty. Nobody I know is satisfied with Avista. Except the company execs, of course, and the investors. Those fat cats must be cackling louder than the witches of “Macbeth.” Avarice-sta has been raking in more dough lately than the Hostess bakery. It seems the worse the economy gets, the more money Avista makes/Doug Clark, SR. 
Schroeder’s idea allows us to entertain ourselves with thought
exercises imagining where we can send truckloads of wolves so that they
may plague those who deserve to be afflicted the most. First,
send a truckload or two to California. California would be the ideal
destination for wolves. Malibu comes to mind. After all, it was
touchy-feely Californian style environmentalism that inspired wolf
transplantation to the northern Rockies in the first place. Shouldn’t
Idaho invite Californians to share the love? And California has the
right cultural attitude for making an aggressive predator feel right at
home. I can remember about 20 or so years ago when a cougar
stalked, killed and partially ate a woman who was jogging on a trail
near my parents’ home. The Department of Fish and Game tracked the lion
down and shot it. Bereaved Californians raised money to support the
lioness’ orphaned kittens. It was left to Rush Limbaugh to raise money
nationwide for the motherless children of the jogger/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. 
There aren’t many places left in our modern realm that harbor such a
rarefied, historic aroma like the one that hits like a whammy upon
entrance to the bar portion of Susie’s, where Q. and I landed one
recent Saturday morning. It’s a mix of cigarettes, dust, the men’s
room, heavy cuisine, beer taint, and loads and loads of time. Not that it’s necessarily a terrible odor, in fact it’s oddly
comforting, reminiscent of an era when it was possible to sit down with
your neighbors and loved ones and have Whiskey Sours and Pall Mall
Lights with your bacon, eggs and hotcakes. It’s a scent that seems to
have been present in nearly every diner/lounge or truck stop I dined at
as a child in the 1970s, the last truly carefree era before health
freaks ruined it for everyone with their overwrought concerns about the
dangerous effects of second-hand smoke, trans-fat and getting drunk
by noon/OrangeTV, Get Out! North Idaho. 
insane,” said Flack, who was thrilled to have
obtained a coveted final audition before the judges. Flack’s journey to
American Idol wasn’t easy. She faced homelessness and the loss of both
parents before age 16. After moving to North Idaho to live with her
brother, she eventually was invited to live with the family of her best
friend, fellow workmate, and wardrobe consultant, Kaitlynn Bye. The living situation has worked out well. “She’s kind of wild and crazy and adds a lot of spice to the
household,” said Kaitlynn’s father, Gary Bye, during an American
Idol interview. And Flack knows she is lucky to have found the Byes. “They are
extremely supportive and truly amazing people,” she said of the family
who dropped everything to drive all night when she called to say she
had made it to a final interview with the judges/Mary Jane Honegger, Handle Extra. 
In 1944, while still a senior at Rogers High School, Conant, along with six other girls, was asked to be an observer for the U.S. Weather Bureau. Prior to World War II, the organization listed only two women as observers or forecasters. “The government was in a real bind for weather observers,” recalled Conant. “Our school was picked as an experiment to see if girls could understand (the job). All seven of us got special wartime appointments.” Conant and her band of “weather girls” proved up to the task. By the end of the war, more than 900 women were working as weather bureau observers and forecasters, filling positions of men who’d been called to duty/CindyH, Voices. 
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has committed to pay half the cost of implementing the new Coeur d’Alene Lake Management Plan next year, matching the state’s contribution equally even though the tribe owns only the southern third of the lake. Helaman Hancock, legislative director for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, said, “I think it’s extremely important. One thing that we have to understand here is that if this lake management plan doesn’t get funded, the alternative is a federal Superfund remedy, which is not what we need in Idaho.” That’s why the tribe agreed to contribute so much of its own money, he said, more than $375,000. “I think everyone agrees Superfund isn’t the answer”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. 
Hello. I was an early supporter of Barack Obama during his candidacy. I am also a strong proponent of civil discourse in our society. You and I may have vastly different ideologies about the world around us, and have world views that are often at odds with one another, but that does not mean we cannot meet one another and talk and discuss out of mutual respect for the other’s opinions. I believe it is possible for people to amicably disagree with one another, and still find mutual ground on which to form a compromise. And though I disagree with you on many social and religious beliefs, I greatly respect you for continuing to be a strong supporter of civil discourse in our deeply divided and angry society/Toadman, Synaptic Disunion. 
Beware of Windows 7’s Starter Edition. When new software is developed, it usually builds on the backs of older software, bringing with it improved functionality, repaired bugs, and more bells and whistles to entice you to give up your old software and fork over cash for an upgrade. Sometimes it fails. But it’s bewildering when a company that has developed an operating system used by the vast majority of computer users in the world puts years of development into a new piece of software that is almost entirely useless. This appears to be the case with the upcoming Windows 7’s Starter Edition, which is one of six versions of Microsoft’s new operating system expected to be released in 2010/Randy Lavorante, 2C Etc. 
The biggest strike against EchoHawk (shown as a 1994 gubernatorial candidate with Republican winner Phil Batt and Independent Ron Rankin) has been repeated time and again throughout Indian country: When he served as Idaho’s attorney general from 1991 to 1995, he called on the governor to change the language of state legislation so the state no longer would have a legal obligation under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to negotiate for Class III gaming with Idaho’s tribes. It’s a true charge, and EchoHawk is now making a special effort to indicate that he isn’t in favor of taking away any tribal gaming rights if he gets the nod to head the BIA/Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today. 
really don’t want. They don’t like the idea of a federal deficit-busting stimulus bill. They don’t want a bunch of one-time federal dollars — with whatever strings that may come with them. They would just as soon set their own budgets, spartan as they may be, with money collected and paid at the state level. There was a thanks-but-no-thanks subtext to the message 
Institute and plenty of religious organizations, go out of their way to send out don’t-support-it messages claiming “The Vagina Monologues” are demeaning to men and destructive for women because they glorify promiscuity, objectify women and promote bad sexual behaviors. Betty Dodson allegedly went as far as to say “The Vagina Monologues” are “a blast of hatred at men and heterosexuality.” I strongly disagree and think every man and woman ought to see a production. The award-winning play is the cornerstone of the global V-Day movement dedicated to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and generate broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation and sexual slavery/Anne Marije-Rook, UI Argonaut. 
Lost in the academic hand-wringing and presidential apology at the University of Idaho this week over assorted vulgarities perpetuated by students and others at the recent basketball cotillion with Boise State was a bulletin of Richter magnitude. There were fans at a Vandals game? Look, not to dismiss any over-the-top grossitude in the undergraduate seats – shame-shame, guys – but the guess here is that the Broncos were considerably less disturbed by the verbal grenades than by the realization that something close enough to competitive basketball is being committed at UI these days to entice 4,731 thrill-seekers into the Cowan Spectrum. There have been years when it took six games to get that many people through the door. OK, it was last year/John Blanchette, SR. 
the employers she worked for. She is alleged to have taken the money for personal reasons. So she has been charged with embezzlement. And she will go to jail for this, if proven. Which from the article it looks pretty much given, as she has confess to taking the money. In New York, and other larger cities, we have employee’s of different titles of CEO’s who have taken money from the company and the US government, used it for hundred of thousands, for remodel of bathroom (waste basket cost $1,500) and another redid his office, another gave bonuses to his fellow employees and etc. This is called “mismanagement of company funds” and there is no jail time for such things/Cis, From A Simple Mind. 
Like so many single girls, I’d spent years dreaming up my own vision of Prince Charming—some impossible combination of Antonio Banderas and Atticus Finch, gorgeous and intelligent and whimsical and high-minded and mysterious and transparent and powerful and gentle and confident and humble and…and, and, and.
National news anchors and reporters said President Obama had a bad day Tuesday, when his nomination of Republican New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg as commerce secretary was overshadowed by the collapse of two troubled nominations. But how many Americans agree that hearing a president admit error makes for a bad day? After eight years of an administration marked by serial bungling but led by a man who studiously avoided conceding mistakes, there is something mighty refreshing in hearing the president of the United States take credit for anything having gone wrong. And Obama did it not once, but repeatedly, in televised interviews with five network anchors/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. 
Lynne: I stopped at 
properly addressed to my store, let alone to me personally. You’d think that if you receive a business card with the manager’s name you’d at least take the time to transcribe it accurately on your cover letter when you return. I guess my definition of “simple” escapes some of the folks who want to be gainfully employed. I can be a little bit forgiving when applicants don’t take the time to print their applications on decent quality paper. It is the content, after all, that is important. But I’m not so forgiving when spelling and grammar errors stand out like a turgid zit. Case in point - an objective listed on a résumé I received stated “I seek to gain a position to gain a position within the company.” I guess I could creatively interpret that to mean I’d be hiring a go-getter who wants to advance quickly but considering the cover letter was addressed to “Dear To Whom It May Concern” I’m not holding out hope/Henry Johnstone, Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 
My breakfast choices are sadly pedestrian and even more sadly almost always involve the drowning of cold cereal in cold milk. I think, in order to vary the soul-deadening mundaness of my existence, I may have frozen eggo waffles this morning, except of course I will toaster them first. I will add both butter and peanut butter to my eggo waffles as they need something heavy and oily spackled upon them to provide them sufficent substance to leave my feeling I’ve eaten a meal of sorts if you ask me. Fried potatoes? ZOMG I love fried potatoes for breakfast. Do I ever make myself fried potatoes? No I never make myself fried potatoes/TUBOB. 
Not I spend much time reading the gossip mags, but I did happen to stumble over an online phenomenon concerning 
Duane Nellis stood before a packed house at the University of Idaho on Tuesday and said he would like to finish his career by making it a better school. Nellis, 54, is the provost and senior vice president at Kansas State University, and one of two finalists for the top job at the UI. He told those who attended a 90-minute open forum the next UI president needs to stick around for a while if he is to build lasting, fruitful relationships with donors, the business community and state government. “You can’t do it if you’re only there for a few years,” Nellis said. “You need some stability. I’m looking at my next move as a president as hopefully my last move”/Joel Mills, Lewiston Tribune. 
other night? She is an incredibly talented, dependable singer. But her passionate performance (she sure looked like she was belting it out) was pre-recorded. Faith Hill, too, was lip synching when she sang “America the Beautiful.” Both did so at the request of the Super Bowl’s producer. His reason: “There’s too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live, because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance.” (At least Bruce Springsteen was live. And up close and personal too, as he slid into the camera at the end of his walkway)/Beth Bollinger, Accidental Rabbit Trails. 
Here comes the worst of all of it: our bodies. It is so easy for gals to gain weight and almost impossible for them to lose it. Women work their asses off (don’t we all wish so literally) to lose weight, and it still is twice as hard for us. Furthermore, whether you have them or not, boobs are nothing but trouble. We have to buy a bra for every different occasion and activity. Yet no matter how many bras a woman has, very few are actually comfortable. Women who have boobs usually don’t want as much as they have, and for some they even cause back problems. Women that don’t have boobs would do almost anything to get them. And no matter how much a woman has, they spend way too much time trying to make them look good before they go out. 
wolves responsibly. He admits the bill his Resources and Environment Committee introduced Monday is not seriously intended to export wolves to other states. But he says the absence of takers will be “the answer why we need to kill some.” The day he said this, Otter and the members of Idaho’s congressional delegation sent President Obama a letter asking him to remove the hold he put on a second delisting attempt and other last-minute moves by the Bush administration. The letter calls the president’s attention to what its authors call “the consensus-based example Idaho will set in executing its management plan.” Thanks to Schroeder’s stunt, Obama couldn’t be blamed if he concluded what the letter pointed to was a consensus of crazies/Jim Fisher, Lewiston Tribune. 
I sent the President an Email this morning to apply for the job that Nancy Killefer has declined. As I read about her and the position, I thought ” I can do that!” Efficiency Officer is pretty much my job description here at home. I manage to squeeze 26 hours into 24, shop for deals, cook from scratch, turn off lights in empty rooms, turn down the thermostat and put sweaters on the kids, reuse, recycle, repair, and most importantly, resist. Resist the seduction of wishes and wants, and upgrades and super-sizes. I like the idea of make-do, make-over, do without. I like simple, it’s efficient/JanTri, Brand X Ranch. 
disappear and all of us are worried about what comes next. That’s why Idaho families, workers, businesses and local governments should get what they have asked for from the U.S. Congress: smart investments to create new jobs and put people back to work. I do not believe that the largest spending bill in U.S. history is the most effective way to do that. That’s why I voted against the American Recovery and Investment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus bill. What began with a tight focus on job creation and infrastructure improvements ballooned into a ‘something for everything’ spending proposal. And it will saddle our nation with economic burdens which could be just as onerous as the one we are wearing now/U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick. 
and I’m not sure the 
enough to think that one term as Superintendent of Public Instruction is all he needs in order to run for higher office. His OTJ training hasn’t really worked out and some would say that he has bungled the job so far. I’d say that there isn’t much internal support to keep him around for another term — especially under these economic conditions. Second; he has no allies in the Capital. It’s no secret that he doesn’t have the confidence of anyone — from Governor Otter on down. Needless to say, having no administrative or leadership skills Luna has all but decimated one of the most important institutions in Idaho government/Chris, Unequivocal Notion. 
basketball game against Boise State University prompted UI Interim President Steven Daley-Laursen to send an e-mail letter to the campus community on Sunday condemning those fans’ actions. The urgency of Daley-Laursen’s letter — he did not wait until Monday to send it — emphasizes the serious consequences of what happened. His description of the behavior as “ugly, outrageous and utterly unacceptable” is entirely accurate. We are living in a time when cameras are ubiquitous. Flagrant and embarrassing behavior in public is an invitation to be filmed and made a spectacle of on the Internet. It happened in the fall at a football tailgating event. Several UI students who openly attacked BSU had their exploits filmed and posted on the Web site of BSU’s student newspaper/Holly Bowen, UI Argonaut. 
I feel like a new woman today with my apple peeler. I brought it home yesterday afternoon, screwed it to the counter, practiced with three apples and then wondered how many hundreds of hours of my life could have been spent hiking, biking or riding my horse rather than sitting there, chewing away, and peeling and quartering those apples at a rate of about 30 per hour. It takes a lot of apples to make sauce or cobbler. If I counted it all up, it could get downright discouraging–-just like the amount of time I sit here staring at this computer while it takes 20 minutes to get going full speed ahead on some mornings/Marianne Love, Slight Detour. 
Yesterday’s post with all its French sayings made me think of my favorite personal saying, one I coined and use as somewhat of a mission statement: “that which works for me may not work for you.” I’ll let you think about it for a moment. Say it aloud. That which works for me may not work for you. Now, I want you to imagine a large naked man with his body painted brightly like a clown and he’s wearing a big fuzzy pink clown wig and he’s completely on fire. He runs screaming through an arena full of people and dives into a large tank of liquefied brown sewage. Then he emerges with a pained smile and bows to the now cheering and shrieking crowd. Work for you? Doesn’t work for me. But it worked for him!/TUBOB. 
to say. Screw them and
their stupid Laguiole knives I like to say. I picked up a brand new one
with a spicy, aromatic juniper wood handle and a handy corkscrew for my
birthday. Very sharp with a thinly profiled “slicer” edge. Perfect for
those picnics in bucolic spring meadows with wine and cheese and a
nearby medivac chopper with a full crew. Friday night I was
dicking around with it while otherwise engaged on the computer, I was
gently and safely sliding my thumb perpendicular to the blade admiring
its chisel ground (one side of blade is ground in) sharpness when I
decided to close it ON MY THUMB MEAT. They are spring loaded, they
close hard and fast. The chisel ground sharpness sliced into my thumb
like it was a willing soft piece of cheese and next thing I know my
thumb is spurting red Bob juice all over the place and I’m rushing off
to cold compress it with a wet towel and later wrap it tightly with 17
(seventeen) band-aids. And, it throbbed all night/TUBOB. 
defense? OK they said. First, most of the real good ones are gone. Not only gone, but like many or most of them, they know they have a good thing. That leaves me with one: losers. Two, winners that don’t want a second go-around, and three they don’t live in Bayview. Oh, and three, I can’t do it anymore. I can’t be wrong when I’m right and all of those other stupid compromises we men have to make to keep peace. I continue to believe that I am equal to women, no matter what they think, and until I find one that admits that, forget it/S&S Herb, Bay Views. 
Monday, but the measure faces stiff opposition. Sen. Joyce Broadsword said the commission — founded by Gov. Bob Smylie in 1965 by executive order and established by law by the 1970 Legislature — is out of date in a world where women are fully integrated into society, the economy and politics. “In my opinion, that goal has been reached,” said Broadsword, R-Sagle. “Women have taken their place. While (the commission) may have been important in decades past, they are now duplicative of other services.” Broadsword told the Senate State Affairs Committee that Gov. Butch Otter supports her bill and that Otter’s staff asked for her help in eliminating the 10-member commission/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. 
Think of the similarities. Crowds coming together, music bringin’ them into the building. Everyone knows their ‘label’ and each has superstars they follow. When it all starts up, hands are raised, shouts happen and the ‘service’ is underway. There’s a tempo to the Super Bowl and a general ‘feel’ as to whether it’ll be a great event…or not. Like being at a really good church service. What? Yeah, read on … A communion of sorts happens, food is shared, drink too. People hang out. And they love each other. It’s church with a pigskin. And our whole nation attends the ‘service’. Well almost all. Some idiots fish…or read/Dennis Mansfield. 
the mainstream news media if he had made it clear he didn’t want no coloreds appointed to fill the Illinois U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by Barack Obama. According to Illinois’ impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, D, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D, (pictured) called to ask that the governor not appoint any of the leading African-American candidates seeking that seat. Reid revealed himself as a soulmate of Pennsylvania Gov. Fast Eddie Rendell, D, who argued during last year’s Democratic presidential primary that conservative Democrats might not vote for a darkie. Reid worried that labor union Democrats would recoil from a candidate with a name like “Jesse Jackson Jr.” in the 2010 election and the Democrats would lose that seat. All this drifted through the ether with little comment from the mainstream media/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. 
the lady trying to help him, he wasn’t able to show me proof of a rabies vaccination. I guess you didn’t think to send that along with him when you dumped him off. I killed your cat today, and I want you to know how and why. I want you to know so that maybe, just maybe, you think about this before you decide to get another pet. I want you to know so you can see just how emotionally draining it is on those of us who chose to take responsibility for your pet. I want you to know your cat died on a cold, stainless steel table, in the hands of total strangers. Strangers who held him close and stroked his fur while he drifted off to a never-ending sleep/Karen Williams, county animal cruelty investigator. (
In two straight Super Bowls now we have seen the greatest play in the game’s history. Last year it was an unknown Giants wide receiver named David Tyree who caught a pass from Eli Manning with the ball somehow pressed against his helmet as he tumbled to the ground on a reception that still defies explanation. And now James Harrison, a player no one had heard much of until two years ago, when he suddenly blossomed into a star linebacker for the Steelers, jumped in front of a Warner pass at the goal line and rumbled past lunging, stumbling Cardinals and into history as he plummeted breathlessly into the end zone 100 yards away in what must be the finest feat of endurance we have seen in a game like this/Washington Post.
More Info: According to German superstition, if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early. Since 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, hasn’t seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. In reality, Phil doesn’t see much of anything. The result is actually decided in advance by 14 members of the club’s Inner Circle, who don tuxedos and top hats for the event.
brain to remembering the latest take on life that I heard this week while sweeping the alley way in the barn. I’ve heard it only once, but, believe me, it made my brain itch and my funny bone tickle itself. It’s called “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.” Now, I’m sure country aficionados will pooh pooh my awareness of late and tell me this Joe Nichols ballad has been around for years. But I heard it for the first time this week, and I’m expecting to hear it a lot from now on. It definitely leaves an itch in the brain matter and conjures of some pretty wild images, which have appeared 
new Treasury Secretary, was bad enough. Now Daschle.
The Senate has given them both a gentleman’s pass. Rather like the
passing grades Bush got at Yale and Harvard! And don’t tell me it was
an “honest” mistake! Especially Daschle - he helped make the very laws
he has chosen to scoff! Plus the fact, no matter how many “people” he
has, he has to sign the return. Just like the rest of us. I’m
even more disappointed with the idea that Obama has allowed these
passes to be given. Poor Bill Richardson must be scratching his head in wonder.
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