Idaho Speaks

I’m looking for a Cardinals win.  I don’t like Roethlisberger much, (but I like Polamalu just fine).  I like Tomlin and Whisenhut, both good 2nd year coaches.  But…Cards are the underdogs, and deserve this one this time.

In other news, I’m wanting Brett Favre to go to the Vikings, and they will take the SuperBowl NEXT year, against the Jaguars (Maurice Jones Drew is a dynamic back).  And Cassel’s proven himself…where should he go next year when Brady’s back in town?  That’s a tough call, because if they franchise him and Brady works out, it’s tough against the cap.  But letting him go, then Brady doesn’t work out, aarrgghh.

Just my little old pea brain tossing out some thoughts prior to the big game.  Oh, and after that…what’s up with the Pro Bowl NOT being in Hawaii???  Who’s brilliant idea was THAT?

Tags: Brett Favre to Vikings, Cardinals Win, Matt Cassel, Super Bowl, Tom Brady

Well, okay.  I guess it was Bill Clinton who was actually impeached, but Nixon was more slimy, IMO.  But Bribe-Me-Quick Blagojevich got a unanimous ouster vote of 59-0 and his lieutenant governor Patrick Quinn, was sworn in so fast your head would spin (but if it lands on red you break the bank, right?)

I disagree with one thing (so far) in the process they went through.  The House prosecutor David Ellis said in his rebuttal that basically, it was easy to tell that Make-Me-Rich Blagojevich was guilty, because he refused to testify to prove his innocence. 

“He could have put himself under oath and faced my questions.  More importantly, much more importantly, faced your questions. But he didn’t do that, did he?”

Now hold on there, just a cotton pickin’ minute.  There’s this little thing in our Constitution called the 5th Amendment,  and no matter how guilty we all assumed this Now-WhatAmIGonnaDo-Blagojevich is, no “prosecutor” who is claiming to love our land and our laws should make mockery of a defendent’s right to avoid self-incrimination.

Tags: Illinois Governor, Impeachment, Rod Blagojevich

The rhythm of that title reminds me of  “The Empire Strikes Back”.  My local smokin’ cacklin’ earflap cap wearin’ postman (who retired twice already in the last year) isn’t quite Vader, but hey…

Since we’re all online, and with the growing coarseness of American Society (we don’t write thank-you notes or send Christmas cards like we used to) the Post Office is suffering, as they are still operating under the same rules as always.

So, they’re thinking of cutting back to 5 days per week.  Maybe Saturday (my preference) or maybe Tuesday (a light mail day).  It will save them a few billion dollars.

Since all I get from them is paper spam and bills, I won’t mind.

Tags: Post Office cutbacks

SWAT Teams…Special Weapons And Tactics Teams.  Apparently not all of the sheriff’s departments in Eastern Idaho have their own SWAT team on staff.  In the past, when they had a “situation” they had to rely on SWAT personnel from Bonneville or Bannock Counties to arrive.  But no more. 

Two groups have been formed.  One is deputies from Madison, Jefferson and neighboring counties, and the other is deputies from Bingham County south to the Utah border.  The deputies will have 80 hours of specialized training. 

Each group envisions that when needed, their locally trained deputies will be on the spot and will be able to handle the “situation” until the rest of the team arrives.   It stands to reason that some things can be resolved faster this way, maybe more peacefully.

Bingham County sheriff Dave Johnson was quoted as saying that in these economic hard times, the need for the  SWAT team is expected to increase.  Really?  And what are the mad crazy skills of a SWAT Team?  From the Wikipedia article on SWAT teams:

SWAT duties include:

• Hostage rescue.
• Crime suppression.
• Perimeter security against snipers for visiting dignitaries.
• Providing superior assault firepower in certain situations, e.g. barricaded suspects.
• Rescuing officers and citizens captured or endangered by gunfire.
• Countering terrorist operations in U.S. cities.
• Resolve high-risk situations with a minimum loss of life, injury or property damage.
• Resolve situations involving barricaded subjects, (specifically covered by a Hostage Barricade Team).
• Stabilize situations involving high-risk suicidal subjects.
• Provide assistance on drug raids, arrest warrant and search warrant service.
• Provide additional security at special events.
• Stabilizing dangerous situations dealing with violent criminals (such as rapists, serial killers or gangs).

 I’m just a leetle bit skeptical that a stagnant economy will produce many of those situations in SE Idaho, but maybe our day is coming, and I’m just foolin’ myself.

Tags: County joint efforts, County Sheriff's Departments, Increased Crime due to Bad Economy, SE ID SWAT Teams, SWAT

Wow.  With the north wind, it feels like -32 degrees.  As if I would have a clue about how cold it really feels, out there.

Please, make sure your animals are inside and warm.  Make sure your neighbors are okay, that your relatives have heat and are safe.  This is the kind of weather where people who are elderly and live alone, usually end up dying due to hypothermia, as their heating systems sometimes fail or they don’t pay attention to dangerously bad weather.

Be warm, and be safe!

Tags: below zero temperatures, elderly people freezing to death, hypothermia

This is something I’ve been reading about on other blogs.  Take the Pantry Challenge!  It’s simple.  Resolve to eat the food you have already purchased, for a change.  What am I referring to?

Well, if you’re like my family, you have things sitting in your cupboards that looked great when you bought them, but now you’re not really in the mood to eat them, or aren’t quite sure how to actually work them into your family’s meals.  Then, months later when it comes time to donate to the Scouts or to the Post Office, those items are the first to go. 

In my household we go to the store regularly, and accumulate more and more food items that we don’t eat, and sometimes when we get home, we wonder, what were we thinking?   I happened to be in the store and they ran a close out special on pasta salad kits…and I got 10 of ‘em because, hey, they were a good deal at 25 cents apiece.  But my family doesn’t usually eat pasta salads, so I have yet to fix one.  How silly is that?

Two months ago, I had a list of things we needed, and when I got home, I tallied up the items on my list.  They came to $16  and change.  But my total purchase that day was $106 and change…so I got $90 worth of stuff on a whim.  That happens almost weekly for me…our food budget is about $200 per week.  It got me to thinking…

So.   This month I started a Pantry Challenge.  I took stock of what we had, and I planned meals around those items.  I make a short list of things that are needed to complete the meals, AND I GIVE IT TO MY HUSBAND, who goes to the store and comes home with exactly what is on the list, and nothing more.   (How unimaginative, but great for the budget!)

After doing this for three weeks, my food budget was $500 in the black.  I promptly transferred that to the savings account for our upcoming vacation.   And I’m not done, yet, because we still have the entire freezer, plus another closet, full of food.  And that doesn’t begin to make a dent on the case canned goods in the garage.

Take the pantry challenge, and roll your food budget savings into your special account, or use the money to pay down credit cards, or put extra on your mortgage, etc.  In these difficult economic times, it’s one easy way to do your part!  And you can still donate to the food charities, just purchase the specific items before the pickup.

Now, if I can figure out what to do with the bulk couscous, canned fruit cocktail, and little smokies… 

Tags: dine at home, economic hard times, groceries, household budget, kitchen budget

I can’t believe all the last minute flurry of shoppers out there, did they think this was a joke?  Or that some Republican filibuster would do the trick, and we’d stay analog for the rest of our days?  Converter box coupons notwithstanding, people are just not ready for HDTV.

And my mother in law, bless her, got the coupons, but let them expire before she got around to using them.  And she called but she was told she can’t get two more, not noway, not nohow.  (Bert Lahr there!)  So she’s stuck, and will have to pay full price for the converter boxes unless she can find someone who has extra coupons they don’t need.

We have subscription service, so we don’t worry about our reception.  But many people do not and will be sad when HD Day finally arrives.

Will YOU have a picture on your TV after February 17?

Tags: converter box coupons, converter boxes, digital tv, HDTV

homework

 

(Here’s the reply the teacher received the following day)  

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit.  I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. 

Her picture doesn’t show me dancing around a pole.  It’s supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. 

From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Smith

Tags: weekly funny

Brothers and sisters, it’s a winter wonderland in Eastern Idaho today.  It’s a soft heavy snow, and it’s steadily falling for several hours now.  It’s beautiful out there.

Be careful if you are driving!

Wow.  The birth of this website is coinciding with the rebirth of our nation.  Tomorrow is the Inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama.  It’s a tremendous accomplishment, one our country will look back upon as a time of rebirth, when civil rights took a giant leap forward.

But we are not yet at the end of our struggle.  Women, anyone of color, gays/lesbians, all of these are still separate and not yet truly equal (in our society) to the white Anglo Saxon Christian male.  But we are not giving up the fight, and we shall overcome, one day.

Tags: civil rights struggle, GLBT rights, Obama Inauguration, President Barack Hussein Obama, We Shall Overcome