A Debt Not Fully Paid

The following is via whatreallyhappened.com

Remember the Wounded

We should recognize and honor all sacrifices for America.
By John Wheeler
Monday, May 30, 2005; Page A21

(Excerpt)

Thanks to forward surgical teams, in mini-hospitals close to battle, the ratio of wounded to killed is 8 to 1 in Iraq, up from 5 to 1 in Vietnam. Surgeon Atul Gawande wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine about one Iraq case, "Injuries like his were unsurvivable in previous wars. The cost, however, can be high. The airman lost one leg above the knee, the other in a hip disarticulation, his right hand, and part of his face. How he and others like him will be able to live and function remains an open question."

[Snip]

Unfortunately, no Memorial Day ceremony or war memorial that I have seen has explicitly honored the wounded. In fact, under House Concurrent Resolution 587 of Feb. 10, 1966, Memorial Day is simply for paying "tribute to those who gave their lives."
This oversight needs correction. We need to honor the wounded as well as those who died. Their numbers are growing, and society needs to both acknowledge their sacrifice and understand their situation. And it needs, through this tribute, to give support and encouragement to the families of the wounded -- families that bear great anguish, time devoted to care and economic loss.

Some wounds are not as visible as others. The Purple Heart excludes post-traumatic stress disorder as well as infections and disease that often become evident after a veteran has left the war zone. The Department of Veterans Affairs has reported, concerning Afghanistan and Iraq, that these new wars "will produce a new generation of veterans at risk for the chronic mental health problems that result, in part, from exposure to the stress, adversity, and trauma of war-zone experiences. . . . [I]t is important to . . . raise the awareness of civilians back home, to prepare loved ones for soldiers' return."

The nation and its government need to give some thought to ways to honor the wounded and to recognize the full range of impairments suffered by those who have served and sacrificed for their country. Topics for discussion could include officially expanding the purpose of Memorial Day, establishing medals for cases excluded from the Purple Heart (severe illness in the war zone or later, and death in battlefield accidents), and mentioning the wounded, veterans who suffer illnesses and their families in war memorials. This is a good day to start.


(My Comments)

America has borrowed the lives of her young men and women to fight her battles in distant places. When the time comes to give those young men and women their lives back, shouldn’t they be given back in full with a sense of gratitude for the deep sacrifices made in the name of “Patriotism”?

I contend that a grateful country should sacrifice equally to show our returning warriors how much we value them and the efforts they have made on our behalf. They absolutely deserve:
Free heath care for life.
Free education for themselves and their immediate family members.
A lifetime exemption from all Federal taxes. (States do not declare war).
One interest free Federal loan to purchase a house and land.
A lifetime pass to all publics lands and monuments.
A $500.00 monthly allowance for the remainder of their lives.

We could do more, but these things are a reasonable beginning. Anyone able to argue with this line of thought should immediately sign up for a tour of duty in Iraq.

After Downing Street

About AfterDowningStreet.org:

ADS is a coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups, which launched on May 26, 2005, a campaign to urge the U.S. Congress to begin a formal investigation into
whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war.
READ MORE

Regarding the Downing Street Memo

Letter to Pres Bush Concerning "Downing Street Memo"

Representative John Conyers is working hard as a triple minority in Congress (1. Member of the Black Caucus, 2. Member of the Democratic Party, and 3. One of the voices asking the questions that matter to the American people). When someone like Representative Conyers speaks out, he deserves to know for whom he is speaking. Read his letter to President Bush, and sign on if you agree.

A Veteran’s Prayer (2005)

As a Viet Nam Veteran (a proud member of the “Gator Navy” with service aboard the USS Eldorado AGC-11 from early 1967 to late 1969) and one who celebrates his birthday during this Memorial Day Week-end, I would like to reach out from here to all my Brothers and Sisters who have EVER served, and to the friends and Family members who have served with them through a continued level of Love and support.

I know that most men and women who don the uniform of our military services simply do so in an effort to better their lot in life. Some do so because of a Family Tradition, and others because they are unexplainably drawn to the military way of life. Regardless of the reason, they each take on a personal commitment to give up “self” in the effort to further the ideals of Country. The results of this commitment will ultimately become their personal blessing or burden through their service connected experiences.

When we transition back into civilian life, it is with a sense of understanding about the futility of war. I was never required to carry a weapon into battle, but I witnessed the devastating effect on some who made that journey. They did so at the behest of our Country’s Leaders, which is always reason enough at the time. These men and women deserve our respect, gratitude and commitment to ensure they live out their lives knowing that their basic needs will always be met (not simply a stated priority by an empty suited politician seeding his/her vote garden for the next election).

At this moment in history, we are fortunate to have decision makers in Congress who understand the unselfish demands of military life during a time of war. Their abilities to meet the needs of our Country’s Veterans are enhanced by the richness and intensity of their own personal experiences. The only downside possible is that they are so immersed in their unique Congressional Battle Unit that they have lost the ability to think and act as individuals, and are blindly following the lead of those with no sense of the sacrifices made by our military men and women, or the devastating effects of those sacrifices.

As a country, we need to move forward in history taking advantage of the wealth of opportunity available through “lessons learned”. We need to elevate the stature of all Veterans, and we need to divest our leadership of all individuals and organizations refusing to mature beyond the use of force to make their point.

We have leaders in Congress with the ability to step out into America’s unknown future in a manner that benefits the world, and it is beyond time to invest our faith and power in these men and women. Perhaps we will be able to eradicate the foul taste of greed, corruption, and immaturity by taking the initiative to demand a fuller menu of options.

As a proud Veteran, this is my most fervent prayer.

Long Arm of DeLay

(Below is a post directly from MOJOBlog)

The Public Campaign Action Fund has put out a fun ranking list that helps you look up how close your representative is to Tom DeLay. (A representative's ranking is based on money received and/or donated, as well as lockstep voting patterns, among other things.) My own representative managed to clock in at a measly #406—that would be, ah, Nancy Pelosi—but perhaps your representative does better.

Posted by Bradford Plumer on 05/23/05 at 12:06 PM

If you are not yet plugged in to MOJOBlog, you are missing out.

Throw the BUMS out

The Downing Street Memo by itself is adequate grounds for Impeachment.


It is my fervent belief that George W. Bush has never in his life won a Presidential election (never mind debate). In concert, it is my fervent belief that the election process has become a plaything of the Republican Machine that owns everything having to do with elections and make no bones about it. Many of the Republican Legislators infesting the House and Senate at this moment in time are a direct result of the corrupt voting system and their ability to use it to steal 51% of the vote.

I voted a Republican ticket in 2000 because I was judgmentally injured in the media war I was unaware of at that time. Had it not been for the five knife thrusts into the back of Democracy by members of the Supreme Court, I would undoubtedly have bled to dumb from my media war wounds. As it happened, I found myself glued to the television following the court battle and listening to every word the cable newsmeisters were feeding to their rapidly growing audience. Had I not been so into it, I would have missed discovering for myself that ALL the cable faces are spin doctors…actually, make those bald-faced liars. I watched one of the Democrats make a statement on CSPAN that I thought was well spoken, and when it concluded, I went searching for more news fodder for my dying brain. This brought me to Fox News where I listened to a face give an analysis of the statement I had just witnessed…only he got it wrong…all messed up…completely ass backward from what was actually said. I have since witnessed this spin behavior on all cable news many times.

I have to admit that I didn’t think lying and calling it news was such a big deal at first, but the casualties from this action have been piling up steadily, and our Republic is in grave danger of succumbing to the daily pummel of bullshit that is not now and never has been news. We have allowed political misfits funded and directed by their corporate masters to take over the only game in town with the intention of retaining perpetual power by virtue of rules modifications and blatant cheating.

I can understand the dilemma of the 60% would-be greats caught in the squeeze between doing the right thing and getting your asses kicked off the map by the corrupt machine, but something has to happen to alter the course of this Governmental train wreck. I know it doesn’t sound like salvation or solution, but I signed up for impeachment when Ramsey Clark presented the opportunity, and it is obvious millions of concerned Americans are surging toward that conclusion.

This administration is led by, seconded by, and full of BUMS…it is time to throw them out and give this severely violated country an opportunity to get back on the righteous trail.


"The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." ...


http://www.impeach-bush-now.org/

http://impeachbush.tv/

http://www.thefourreasons.org/

http://www.rise4news.net/impeach.html

They told us we’d go blind…

FDA Looking Into Blindness-Viagra Link

(Excerpt)

Viagra was approved by the government in 1998. It may aid in the treatment of enlarged hearts that can result from high blood pressure, tests on animals indicate.
Viagra, approved to treat erectile dysfunction, should not be used by men with heart conditions whose doctors have warned them not to have sex. Also, patients taking drugs that contain nitrates have been warned not to take Viagra because of sudden, unsafe drops in blood pressure.
The drug's label also warns of erections lasting longer than four hours, painful erections lasting longer than six hours, headache, flushed skin and vision problems.

(My Comments)

All joking aside, it takes an adequate amount of blood coursing through the brain to allow logical and reasonable thinking. If most of that blood is trapped elsewhere for four or six hours, how can one be expected to recognize the perils of headache, flushed skin, blurred vision or palm stubble? Could this dilemma possibly be what has created the current gaggle of National Legislators?

Suckers are made…not born

Laser Weapon Firm Targeted


The feds have given the company $12 million to chase these ray gun dreams. But good luck finding anyone in the Defense or Energy departments who will publicly endorse Ionatron's ray gun work. Or even say they're passingly familiar with it.

[Snip]

Shares in a high-flying penny stock called Ionatron Inc. had been climbing for months… [when] suddenly, on March 18, with Ionatron's shares having climbed to a high of $10.41, the company's stock was hit with an avalanche of insider selling, as more than 50 Wall Streeters privy to Ionatron's innermost secrets bailed out of nearly every share of stock they held, knocking more than 30 percent off the price in the days that followed.

Another cautionary tale from the pump-and-dump annals of the penny stock market? In fact, it's a lot more than that, for… nearly every one of the more than four dozen insiders who dumped their Ionatron shares on March 18 have now been identified by The Post as employees of a secretive, Arlington, Va., investment group that is owned, operated and financed out of the black box budget of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

(My Comments)

I wanted to post this article to highlight the fact that the Pentagon is saturated with deal makers spending money that is earmarked for one thing or another, but never gets where it is supposed to go, and in many cases, no one ever becomes the wiser.
I keep being drawn, however, to the part about the high-flying penny stock that is manipulated, and then dumped to the profitable delight of about four dozen insiders. I have long tried to understand why an average individual would even consider putting hard earned money into (what seems to me) the most obvious scam in existence. We have been shown time and again that the stock market is merely a tool to gather massive amounts of collective funds at the input, and funnel them straight up to the fat cats at the top of the heap. The stock market has been foisted on Americans (and now the world) through advertising campaigns that target our egos and emotions much like any other worthless product is relentlessly pushed. I honestly believe that the only time the stock market will EVER work for average Americans is when we all get real and put our money back into savings accounts (credit unions, not banks) and divest ourselves of the worthless paper we are led to believe drives the economy. Ask any Enron employee whether they have more faith in a two percent gain from savings or their killer Enron portfolio.

Beef: It could be your last supper!

Meatpacking Maverick
By Michael Scherer

(Excerpt from Mother Jones)
Instead of tracking the contaminated meat back to its source, the USDA launched an investigation of Munsell's own operation in Miles City, Montana. Never mind that the local federal inspector had seen the beef go straight from the package into a clean grinder -- a USDA spokesman called that testimony "hearsay." By February 2002, three more tests of meat Munsell was grinding straight from the package came back positive in USDA tests for E. coli. This time, as he would later testify in a government hearing, he had paperwork documenting that the beef came from a single source: ConAgra's massive Greeley, Colorado, facility, which kills as many cows in three hours as Montana Quality Foods handles in a year.

Munsell fired off an angry email to the district USDA manager, warning of a potential public-health emergency, and adding that if no one tracked down the rest of the bad meat, "both of us should share a cell in Alcatraz." The agency moved immediately and aggressively -- not to recall meat from Greeley, but to shut down Munsell's grinding operation, a punishment that lasted four months.


(My Comments)

I will no longer purchase beef in any form from a retail outlet unless I feel confident the meat has been raised and processed with the safety of the consumer in mind (this has been my position since the first major fast food E Coli outbreak a number of years back).
Every Government Agency tasked with consumer safety has been unable to accomplish that task because corporate farming has contributed heavily to a corrupt congress.Fair and ethical behavior in every existing marketplace has taken a vacation under the Bush Administration, and will not return until power definitively swings to a third party

Studies should be conducted on Monsanto management

Revealed: health fears over secret study into GM food

(Excerpt)

Rats fed on a diet rich in genetically modified corn developed abnormalities to internal organs and changes to their blood, raising fears that human health could be affected by eating GM food.

The Independent on Sunday can today reveal details of secret research carried out by Monsanto, the GM food giant, which shows that rats fed the modified corn had smaller kidneys and variations in the composition of their blood.

According to the confidential 1,139-page report, these health problems were absent from another batch of rodents fed non-GM food as part of the research project.

[Snip]

Although Monsanto last night dismissed the abnormalities in rats as meaningless and due to chance, reflecting normal variations between rats, a senior British government source said ministers were so worried by the findings that they had called for further information.

Environmentalists will see the findings as vindication of British research seven years ago, which suggested that rats that ate GM potatoes suffered damage to their health. That research, which was roundly denounced by ministers and the British scientific establishment, was halted and Dr Arpad Pusztai, the scientist behind the controversial findings, was forced into retirement amid a huge row over the claim.

[Snip]

Now, however, any decision to allow the corn to be marketed in the UK will cause widespread alarm. The full details of the rat research are included in the main report, which Monsanto refuses to release on the grounds that "it contains confidential business information which could be of commercial use to our competitors".

A Monsanto spokesman said yesterday: "If any such well-known anti-biotech critics had doubts about the credibility of these studies they should have raised them with the regulators. After all, MON 863 isn't new, having been approved to be as safe as conventional maize by nine other global authorities since 2003."

(My Comments)

Information concealment and selective release should be grounds for criminal prosecution whether we are talking about GM food, nuclear power (energy policy), ethical lapses by our elected representatives, or a multitude of other issues that intentionally result in harmful effects toward the American people. This behavior has become so common place, it will take continuous radical reaction to force the issues into the public square discussion.
It is beyond time for accountability to take on the level of importance required to match the degree of affront being perpetrated upon the common citizen. We are afflicted with every disease and malady concieveable (and many that aren't) because the industrial practices that have spawned them are being protected by elected and appointed officials who think it is more important to fatten their bank accounts than protect and nurture the citizenry who defenselessly depend on them. It is time to try them as adults in the courts of shame.

Working hard on public opinion

(My comments)

Chávez may plan on being new Castro
By Danna Harman, USA TODAY

(This headline tells me that Harman is giving Chavez permission to plan…I applaud that move.)

(Excerpt)

At the invitation of Venezuela's president, nearly 30,000 Cuban health care workers and sports instructors have spread out across Venezuela over the past two years offering free checkups, medicines and stretching classes. In exchange, Hugo Chávez, leader of the world's fifth-largest oil supplier, is sending up to 90,000 barrels a day free to Fidel Castro's communist island.

(I am trying to figure out what the downside could possibly be here…)

[Snip]

"Chávez sees Castro as a father figure," says Otto Reich, former undersecretary of State for Latin America in the Bush administration. When the 78-year-old Castro dies, Chávez can take over the Cuban's "built-in network of supporters around the hemisphere," says Reich, who calls the Castro-Chávez relationship an "axis of subversion."

(Let’s see…Otto Reich…what can we possibly say about this paragon of virtue?)

[Snip]

The Venezuelan president has called Bush a "jerk," the U.S. government a "mafia of assassins" and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice an "illiterate."

(So, what exactly is your point here?)

In testimony in January before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice said the United States was concerned about Venezuela's activities beyond its borders.
"We know the difficulty that that government is causing for its neighbors," she said.

(Perhaps you would like to share some specifics on this issue, Condi, like you did with Iraq’s WMD.)

[Snip]

Chávez's opponents have done their best to get rid of him - leading street protests in 2001, orchestrating a short-lived coup in 2002, mounting a two-month strike which shut down the country in December 2002, and finally, holding a referendum on his presidency, which they lost last August. He won 58% of the vote.

(I believe opponents include the Bush Administration…backers of said short-lived coup)

[Snip]

In her January testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice said, "I think that we have to view at this point the government of Venezuela as a negative force in the region."

(His concern for the poor of his country is making us look bad…but once again, specifics please.)

(The Bush Administration doesn’t seem to be able to intimidate this man, so they continue to load and fire through the lapdog press in hopes of convincing the American Public that this is a bad, bad man…much like they do with anyone opposing their views.
I consider any amount of money spent on an opportunity to consume this bullshit is money spent unwisely. Of course, I think it is ludicrous to participate in the stock market…and very few people pay attention to me on that issue.)

Saturday morning shorts (not Saddam’s)

Short roundup from Raw Story

Santorum Regrets Making Hitler Comment
(Mom and Dad regret making Santorum)

Libya lobbyist holds seat on top U.S. Energy board
(Manipulator…manipulatee?)

N.M. Capitol Evacuated, White Powder Found
(Attack, or Hoax? Only the nose knows for sure)

Morgan Stanley to pull ads from 'negative' newspapers
(I’ll teach you to hold me accountable)

GANNONGATE
I'm just asking
(Happy Trails to you until WH cowboy rides again)

What Upward Mobility?

(Excerpt from mojoblog)

Heather Boushey of the Center on Economic and Policy Research has a new report (pdf) out on minimum wage workers that has a few important findings. First, contrary to the claims of many conservatives, minimum wage jobs simply aren't the confine of young workers looking to get a start on their careers. Less than one-in-five minimum wage workers was under the age of 20 in the early 2000s, and many of these workers are supporting families with their earnings. And the earnings are bleak: working full-time for a full year at the minimum wage earns you just $10,300, which is $3,000 under the poverty line for a one-parent, one-child family. Clearly, boosting the minimum wage will help these families out, and as economists like David Card and Alan Krueger have pointed out, this can be done in ways that don't severely impact the employment rate. (See here for more on why minimum-wage boosts won't lead to employment Armageddon.)

Can Wind Power the World?

(Excerpt from mojoblog)

Two Stanford researchers have put out a new scientific study suggesting that the potential for wind-driven energy is actually many times greater than was previously believed, and may, in fact, be more than enough to meet the whole world's energy demands. Analyzing thousands of sites around the globe, the researchers estimated that wind power could produce 72 terawatts of energy per year—many times greater than the 1.6-1.8 terawatts the world used in 2000. North America, meanwhile, was found to have the greatest wind power potential, though its unclear whether the United States could satisfy its own needs through domestic wind power alone.

From the Top up

The following story has not been making the rounds, however, the Newsweek staff is in dire need of a reason to smile…so I have lowered my non-existent journalistic standards one minute notch to pass along this modified note from the DC Shadow (fictitious, I am sure).


Scott McClellan was confused about paying an invoice, so he decided to ask the White House Press Pool for some mathematical help. Addressing the reporters from the podium, he said, "I assume all of you are college graduates, and I need some help. If I were to give you $20,000, minus 14%, how much would you take off?"
Jeff Gannon thought a moment, and then replied, "Everything but my nipple clamps and earrings."

Nothing but hens in the Fox House

This plum was also featured on whatreallyhappened.com

FNC's 25-54 Prime "Downward Spiral"

April '05 marks "the sixth consecutive month where FNC declined versus prior month in M-F, primetime P25-54 (every month since Nov '04),"

CNN's press release says. The 25-54 demo is coveted by advertisers. One insider called it a "downward spiral." FNC still has more demo viewers than CNN, though (443k vs. 304k in April).

Here are FNC's month-by-month weekday primetime averages in the 25-54 demographic:Oct. 04: 1,074,000 / Nov. 04: 891,000 / Dec. 04: 568,000 / Jan. 05: 564,000 / Feb. 05: 520,000 / March 05: 498,000 / April 05: 445,000

Also: In April 2005, FNC's weekday primetime demo average decreased 25% compared to the year-ago, while CNN increased 27%

WRH Blogger Roars...does MSM hear?

I have posted an excerpt here that shouts about something I feel is critically important, but the entire post on WRH is worth reading, re-reading, and using for your next "Letter to the Editor".

(Excerpt from whatreallyhappened blogger post)

The mainstream media's attitude is perhaps best typified by the story of Fox News and the Monsanto Growth Hormone. A team of reporters, Steve Wilson & Jane Akre, researched the effects of synthetic bovine growth hormone on cattle and discovered that a great deal of evidence exists that people who consume the meat or dairy products from treated cattle can suffer adverse health effects. Monsanto got wind of the story and together with dairy associations pressured Fox News to shut the story down. Fox News ordered the reporters to change the story, the reporters refused and Fox fired them. The reporters sued and LOST on appeal when the court ruled that since there is no law requiring the media to tell the truth about anything, the mainstream media is within their legal rights to fire reporters who refuse to lie! As a side note, that legal precedent is troubling when one realizes that our national elections are counted by a privately owned company, owned jointly by the TV networks (who are not bound by law to tell the truth) and not subject to either citizen or governmental oversight.

Galloway takes on the US

(Excerpt from This is London)

Mr Galloway rejected a claim in the sub committee's report that he had had "many" meetings with Saddam Hussein, saying he had only met the former dictator twice.
"I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns and to give him maps the better to target those guns," he said.
Mr Galloway said he had a record of denouncing Saddam's regime "in the most withering terms" since the days when Senator Coleman had been an anti-Vietnam War protester.

[Snip]

He said the lists on which his name appeared had been provided by "the convicted bank robber and fraudster and conman" Ahmed Chalabi.
"What counts is not the names on the paper. What counts is where's the money, Senator? Who paid me money, Senator? Who paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars? The answer to that is nobody and if you had anybody who paid me a penny you would have produced them here today." he said.

My addendum:
Possible Future Headline…”Condom use suffocates Minnesota Senator”

I applaud Senator Coleman for his anti-war stance during Viet Nam, but recognize his current stance as a flip-flop.

Bonaparte Lake

This high altitude lake (about 3000 feet, I think) produces Mackinaw Trout that typically run in the 20 + pound range, although it takes a boat and trolling rig to bring one home.
We had the boat, but our tackle was set up for Rainbow Trout which typically ran five pounds and under.
This lake is about ten miles south of Chesaw, Washington...very close to the Canadian Border.

A touch of heaven

This is a small piece of my favorite place to watch the deer and chipmonks roam. It is within a twenty minute drive to at least seven excellent fishing lakes. It is also very quiet and peaceful.

Two limits + one

These fish were taken at Fancher Reservoir using power bait and a variety of spinners. Four of us took a limit each (a total of twenty fish) in an afternoon.
The water is still cold in May, so the fish were very firm...and more than a good meal.

Good to be home

It is going to take awhile to get back into the groove after two weeks of fresh air, late night campfires, great lake fishing, and a voluntary blackout from political news.

I tried to catch up by blog reading until the wee hours last night but still have a ways to go. Who could have known that the same old crap would still be going on? The House is still headed for a showdown on DeLay, and the Senate is still headed for a showdown on the Nuclear Option (which Schumer put in the proper perspective on the Senate floor today). The Newsweek editors played with their belly buttons until their balls dropped off, and Rumsfeld quickly snatched them up and ate them. Damn Liberal press is crazy to think they can get a true story from any High Government Official in this administration.

In any case, I’d like to share a few items passed along from Lynn in Colorado.

From tbrnews

From brilliantatbreakfast

From digsbysblog

What is said..vs..what is done.

(Found at LeftEdgeNorth)

"I was falling for the shortage of refineries argument all week until this morning. On CNBC they mentioned the recent mergers/acquisitions of the oil giants, and how this allowed them to close refineries and drive price of gasoline up. The profit margin before this frenzy was 4c/gal and now it is 12c/gal.

There are a lot of well written commenters out there putting the true level of greed and corruption into a perspective that should send chills up the spine of any progressive who has one left. I have just added this author to my list of daily reads…Thanks Joe.

A trip to the wild side

I have been busy this week getting ready for a trip to North Central Washington which is on the East side of the Cascades. I closed up camp in September last year… a month earlier than usual, and am anxious to get it opened back up. I made the mistake of obligating myself to a part time job that devoured my entire summer last year. Not this year. . . I still have the job, but I am going on vacation.

I have a chunk of acreage just off Aeneas Valley Road, which is between Tonasket and Republic in Okanogan County. The floor of the valley is a little higher than 2600 feet above sea level, and my property works its way from there up to about 2800 feet. The upper twenty acres are on a Forestry Management Plan, so I get to take out a lot of pole size timber to make room for the larger healthy trees to grow. This year, I have a group of friends making the trip over to help me harvest some poles and use them to erect a shelter over the tent trailer that I use as a second home.

I put up a shower house two years ago, which contains an expansion tank, hot water heater, shower stall and toilet. This area will be known as The Dumin Room (in honor of my deceased Brother Ron) as soon as there is enough lighting to be able to read on the toilet. [I miss you, Ronnie]

If you really enjoy fishing and/or hunting, and a quiet place to park your camper without paying overnight fees, I advise you to spend some time looking through this website.

I could go on and on, but I have to finish loading the car…and I still have a few blogs to read before I call it a day.