We at the Press-Tribune had to say goodbye this week a few people we have worked with — a couple for a few months, one for several years. Call them casualties of a tough economy. It's difficult knowing how to say goodbye to people in that situation. You feel badly for them, and striking the right tone can be challenging. You don't want to seem too cheerful when you wish them well because, after all, they're really not leaving on their own volition. However, you want to give them encouragement in their search for future employment, hence you want to be as upbeat and positive as possible/Phil Bridges, 2C Etc. More here.

• Daily politics brief/Treasured Valley
• Diet observation: It's the things we don't do that gets us/Adam's Blog
• 5 years of sub-blogging goodness/The Stupid Shall Be Punished
• More troubling numbers re: the recession in Idaho/Kevin Richert
• Big dog Minnick bites/MountainGoat Report
• Medberry says fellow conservationists're wrong to fight wolf hunt/Rocky Barker

Question: How would you console a colleague who gets laid off as a result of the bad economy? Have you had to do so already?