One reporter making it O.K. for other reporters to print false information.  If it would have been a Bible that had been mis-treated, then I can bet you there would have been a firestorm of activity surrounding the action.  And if we "hated" Muslims like they hate us.  The same thing would have happened on our soil. 

Quote

Media: Irresponsible, stupid, or calculating? - Profiler's Perspective - MSNBC.com

I find it very hard to believe that Newsweek has been allowed to murder 17 people by falsely reporting that U.S. interrogators at Guantánamo prison had placed the Qur'an on toilet seats and even flushed one. "This is what the U.S. is doing," exclaimed Khan, "desecrating the Qur'an.

Are we as a nation going to set back and allow this sort of thing to happen?

Sadly, yes

To some it seems a Blog should be short and to the point.  For others, the need to clairify demands length.

A Blog my friends, is a Web Log.  Make it as short or as long as you see fit.

After all, freedom of speech has no limitations.

Or does it.... 

Well, the birds are back, and the days are growing longer.  It’s time to get the ole camper ready for another fun season with the family, in the mountains of North Idaho.

My family loves to go camping.  My first daughter had been camping something like 16 times by the time she was 18 months old.  We moved from the tent world, into the Pop-up world, to the full on 30 ft Travel Trailer world in the matter of 3 kids.  Camping with 3 kids, 2 dogs, and enough gear to stay forever tends to get a little busy.  We spend almost every weekend on either the Coeur D' Alene River, or on the St. Joe, but only above Gold Creek.

My wife and I are devoted to Catch and Release.  Something that, we see as a way to teach our children the importance of maintaining our environment.  When we first met, we discovered that we both had a love for fishing.  Something about the peacefulness of the river, the wonder in that it continues to flow, whether watched or not.  The thrill of the hunt, because fly-fishing can be at times, more hunting than fishing. 

We are teaching our children a love for the outdoors, a respect for things that can remain unchanged, for many centuries, without the influence of man or man made things.  My 3 year old daughter already understands that some things in the world are better left to themselves, while others welcome her intervention.  The curiosity of our children, while walking outdoors amazes me at times.  The questions that they ask, the things that they see, that I personally have looked at many times and never saw.  The wonder that they bring to me, as they explore and discover all that is the outdoors.

I really think that every parent has a responsibility, to take their children out into the world, to explore and discover.  To learn about life, outside the city.  Kids can learn many things about life from watching it.  I am not talking about watching it on TV, or watching it from inside the glass.  I mean getting out there, getting in it.  I do realize that not all parents are “outdoorsy” types.  But that time you spent reading that new murder mystery, or that new romance novel, could have been spent reading a little about the outdoors and then taking your kids out and showing them, teaching them, what you have learned.

Back in the day, to coin a phrase, families went camping, together.  Maybe once a summer, maybe every weekend, but they stopped their busy lives and took the family to the mountains, or the lake.  They cooked on an open fire; they washed in the streams or the lakes.  They read stories around the campfire.  They were family, doing family things.  It seems now that we are so busy going to social events that we have forgotten about family time.  How very important it is to spend time together.  A child should learn from their parents, not the daycare provider or the nanny.  Not that those people aren’t looking out for our children, and teaching them.  But for better or worse, my child will learn who I am, and with any luck at all, take some of that along with them in their journey.

In a previous blog, I spoke of my wife.  Someone who gave up one career, to begin another.  She began a fulltime, career of raising our children.  Now, we could be driving brand new expensive cars and living in a much bigger, fancier home.  But the few sacrifices that we make for our children, seem so small, so un-needed.  I watch my children learn from their mother, and it makes me think of the creatures of the forest.  How the mother teaches its babies, the things that she has learned in her life, the things that will be taught to the next generation and the next. 

It seems that life is an adventure, not knowing what will come our way next, or who will try to eat us.  Only knowing, that with what we have been taught, we will survive, and we will teach again.

This guy wants to do this, that guy wants to do that, how come I am not hearing anyone from here that wants to do things for this area?  All I have read and all I have heard is about other people who want to change this area to fit what they think it should be.

What they think it should be? 

Coeur D’ Alene is a beautiful part of the world.  It is home to many things that can not be found anywhere else on the planet.  Its people are friendly, its streets are inviting.  The lakes are perfect and pristine, the summers are warm and the winters are cold, and up to a few months ago we even had rain.

We have people in office, who are paid, to keep our area prosperous, keep us moving in the right direction.  Paid to find business’s that want to move into our area, to bring jobs, to continue growth in all the right directions.  To grow our area in the way that we see fit.  A government, by the people, for the people.  So why is it that all I am hearing is what others want to do for us? 

Now, I am sure that we need multi-million dollar resort properties, with homes in the two million plus range, which we will probably never be able to afford.  And more hangers, to store aircraft out of the weather, that we will never be able to fly in.  Larger roadways to accommodate all the out of state plates that I have been noticing, and Wal-Marts that will close business’s that have survived for 40 years.  All of these things we did fine without for many, many years. 

I have to give you this.  In an area of the country that is as pretty and friendly as this area is, people will surely want to move here.  They like the way we do things, they like the small town feel of the place.  Not unlike Orange County, California only 20 years ago.  Many small communities, farm land, nice people.  Now for the most part, gangs, crime, unemployment, and more and more empty houses everyday.  What was once a very beautiful, unique area has become San Angeles, what I think will become of southern California as San Diego and Los Angeles continue to grow together.

I really want to hear from the people who are supposed to be looking out for us.  The people in office, those that we pay to keep us as still or as mobile as we want to be.  What are you doing for us?  What will you do in the future to insure that we can enjoy our home?  How many jobs are you bringing to the area this year? Next year?  What are you doing to assure that we will not be run out of our homes and our farms to make way for “all those that are coming”?

I can be sure, that we wont hear a thing, they will bury their heads in the sand of Coeur D’ Alene beach, take their families to Montana to vacation because our campgrounds are full.  Spend the weekend in Seattle to get a look at where we are heading.  I can be sure that not a single one of our trusted leaders will poke their heads out long enough to change it, fix it or even take a stand.  Besides, no one is sure who will be in our local government next year. So we don’t want to make any waves, who are we to know what is best... 

Well, the man just backed up almost everything I have said.  Did you know that we can all afford a $250,000 home in Liberty Lake.  Good for every single one of us, I didnt know we had it in us.  I think the problem is this man has no clue what Middle Class is.  He thinks we can all afford homes in the $250,000 to $300,000 dollar range.  Someone help me bring him back down to earth. 

The homes he speaks of in L.L. are on 2500 sq ft lots.  Thats not even a 1/4 of an acre.  And the lots start out at $175,000.  I am very pleased to hear Marshall, that I am also part of the new rich here in North Idaho. 

Listen to what you are being told by the citizens Marshall.  We are middle income people.  We do not make $200,000 a year.  The average person in this area is lucky to make $50,000 a year.  We can not afford $250,000 1200 sqaure foot homes.  Go back to Denver...

It took me a couple days to get over the fact that the only people that were quoted in the local paper were realtors and chamber staffers.  If I was a realtor or a chamber staffer, I would love the exposure that Coeur D’Alene got on the view.  I am hoping that the Press will go outside and ask some regular people on the street, first question, how long have you been in Idaho?  Second, and what part of California did you come from?  Third, did you watch the View last Thursday?  Fourth, what were your thoughts on the show? Fifth, how long before you called your old neighbors in California?  And lastly, how much land to you intend to purchase?

If the average home is $174,000, why is it, that I am home shopping right now and can’t find anything under $200,000 that is even halfway decent.  I would say that home prices start out around $174,000 because after that last price explosion, anything under that is a wreck. With basic Spec homes out on the prairie starting at 180,000, and prices going into the millions around the lake, how can you give a figure like that? 

As someone from Century 21 stated, yes, we “up and came”.  I won’t even make the connection here to recent events, only to say, here they come.  They are coming, and they will keep coming.  As long as we let them come. 

After reading the article in The Independent, I have to tell you about my stay at home wife.

My wife and I chose to keep her at home to raise our 3 girls.  Knowing full well that we would have to do without a lot of things and that our children would be raised by us, instead of a daycare provider or nanny.  We talked about it, knew it would be hard, but decided that it would be best for our kids.

My wife’s day starts anywhere from 4:30am to 7:00am.  One of the girls wakes up and then has to wake up every sleeping thing in the house.  After the fresh diapers and the morning kisses, it’s up the stairs to start the day.  Now to give you a little better idea what we are talking about, my girls ages are 3 ¾, 2 ½, and 4 months.  So as you can see, if you have ever been around kids, a couple of handfuls.  Breakfast time is next, and most days no two kids will eat the same thing.  After being a short order cook, and the buser, as well as cleaning the kids off, because they are now wearing their breakfast, its time for clothes.  Now imagine trying to dress kids of the ages I speak.  The oldest wants to do it for her self, and tries hard, but if she can’t then the world has ended.  The middle child can’t sit still for more that 2 seconds, I am not joking here.  And the baby, well, she’s a baby.  She eats, expels and then eats more.  That’s about it for her.  So now all the kids are dressed and maybe 30 minutes have gone by.

Now that was about 30 minutes, I won’t be home for at least 8 more hours.  Trips to pre-school, or the doctor, trying to shop with 3 kids, just going to get the mail, can be a very thought out strategically planned event.

My wife does one of the hardest jobs I have ever seen a person do.  And at the same time as she says, ”It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done”.  I can tell you without a doubt, I could not do it. 

I think more women should consider the benefits of raising their children.  My 3 year old can count to 20, has known her alphabet since 2, my 2 year old can count to 13, and the baby, well she can expel with the best of ‘em. 

Having a job and raising children, that’s just not possible for a mom.  You have a job and someone else is raising your children.  You can not do both.  If you think about it, back when mom stayed home and dad worked, we did not have special icing on our valentine’s brownies either.  Guns in schools were not an issue.  And for the life of me, I can not remember kids wearing all black clothes and white makeup.

I just had to tell you about the best wife and mom I have ever known, I bet there are a lot more out there, and all I can say to you stay at home mom families.  I know it is hard, every day, but you are doing all of us the greatest service ever…

Oh yea, for the record, my wife has a Bachelors degree in business and gave up a very rewarding career to raise her children.

It seems to me that Wal-Mart wants in the area of Hayden so bad that they will say and\or do just about anything to get the city to change our laws or permit process.  http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2005/03/09/news/news05.txt 

Why is this?  What is so special about Hayden?  I guess to a large corporation, being able to say "We put another 5 mom and pop stores out of business today" is a big deal.  I kind of like being able to go into a shop and know the person behind the counter.  I know that some will say that here is another big business coming to the area, welcome them.  I am going to be very sorry to see the little shops close down.  Our college educated youth working for Sam to the tune of $6.00 an hour and all that un-needed traffic.  Hey Wal-Mart, I hear Boise is looking for another one.  Let me dream for a minute here, I see opening day, bright pretty store, big parking lot, but not a soul in sight.  Seems the people of Hayden got together and decided to boycott your store.  It would make more sense to just move on.  I hear Moose Jaw, Canada might be looking for a new Wal-Mart. You won’t have to threaten them to get your way.  

I have been noticing a lot of drivers have forgotten what crosswalks are for.  I am not just referring to the ones at the corner.  I am talking more about the ones in parking lots.  The ones marked with 30 feet of yellow or maybe white paint, right in front of that big glass door that people seem to walk in and out of all day.  The lines are not there to judge your speed as you try for the parking spot near the door.  People are walking there.  Children are walking there. 

I am not real sure why the local police seem to avoid those areas.  Remember officer, one way of raising money in the community is pulling out that little black pad in your pocket and filling it full of information about the driver who almost ran over someone in the crosswalk.  You can call it reckless driving, endangerment, attempted vehicular homicide, whatever you like.  Don’t forget to fill in that price at the bottom.  That’s were the money comes from.  I am sorry if I offend, but this is getting crazy.  Next time you are leaving that super store or the one with the big red ball out front.  Stop and watch that crosswalk for a minute or two.  I bet a full minute won’t go by before someone in a car, cuts off someone walking. 

I was in a town that took running over pedestrians seriously.  They went so far as to install stop signs at those crossings.  If you ran that stop sign, you got a ticket.  If you did not yield to a person crossing, you got a ticket.

 I have three very beautiful young daughters.  Almost every time I take them to a store, someone tries to beat us through the crossing.  If you get in the store 30 seconds later than you planned, I won’t tell.  They won’t run out of your favorite brand of shorts, and you can even brag to your friends about how you let those people cross right in front of you.

It is a crosswalk.

Cross, transitive and intransitive verb to move or move somebody or something from one side of something to the other.

Walk, intransitive verb to move or travel on legs and feet, alternately putting one foot a comfortable distance in front of, or sometimes behind, the other and usually proceeding at a moderate pace.

I am not seeing anything in there about cars.  Maybe the idea behind a crosswalk is to let people move from one side to the other by placing one foot in front of, or behind the other, without having to run for their lives because you’re in a hurry.

Someone locally said in the press, that they think an improvement to the college would be a great thing for our future students.  It would enable them to get better, higher paying jobs.  Where exactly are those jobs?  Surely they were not talking about North Idaho.  It already takes a bachelors degree to be an assistant manager at the local burger joint.  Maybe they were talking about all those empty jobs in California.  That makes perfect sense to me.  Instead of bringing business and manufacturing to Idaho, we will ship our children off to California.  They can build on mud slides and in flood plains and once every so often they can see Coeur D’Alene on TV.  Wow, the intelligence of some people is just amazing.  Now do not get the wrong idea.  I think that expanding the college is a great idea.  First things first though, lets build up some jobs, get some big business in here.  The money that we make off the taxes they will pay will allow us to build our city in the way we see fit.  All the while, we will be feeding out families, improving our area, and keeping North Idaho for North Idaho residents.

Paradise

When I was a child my family would travel
Up to Northern Idaho where my parents were born
And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered
So many times that my memories are worn.

And daddy won't you take me back to Kootenai County
Down by the ole river where Coeur D' Alene lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Chesrown's pocket book has hauled it away

When I die let my ashes float up Coeur D' Alene River
Let my soul roll on up to Old Rockford Bay
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Coeur D' Alene waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I lay.

And daddy won't you take me back to Kootenai County
Down by the river where Coeur D' Alene lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Chesrown's pocket book has hauled it away

Adapted from John Prine's  Paradise

Thanks John

Now I realize that this is a little out of my area, but just a question for all of you.  Why is it that we pay the high prices that we pay for fuel?  If a guy is selling, lets say, straw for our horses.  Would we pay $15 a bale if another guy down the road is selling for $3?  And if both of those guys decided to sell for $15, wouldnt we go somewhere else?  Or maybe we would cut a deal with another guy that has $3 bales.  Ive got something you need, and you have something I need.  I tell you what, you keep the price low and I wont raise my prices either.  We will let the other 2 guys starve because they wont lower thier prices and I bet in time they come around to charging what the going rate is.  I dont see why this isnt true for oil.  We let the Arabs charge what they see fit.  So in turn, they raise prices everyother day.  We are the largest consumer of oil in the world.  What would happen if we told the Arabs that we have decided to go someplace else?  We have enough oil production in country, with a little care, to keep ourselves going.  Mexico was a major exporter of oil, and now I hear they will be importing for the next 2 years.  Between Canada, Mexico, and the USA, if we cant produce enough oil to keep ourselves in fuel, then we really need to rethink our consumption.  I am sure that there are things that the Arab world needs from us in order to thrive.  Other than our money.  HEY OPEC !  We dont need you anymore.  Go sell your oil to someone else.  We are going to stop giving you the technology that you need to produce it.  We are also going to limit the amount of goods that you require from us to survive.  We wont stop sending you product, but rather, we will be raising the prices by 300 %.  We have it, you need it.  Pay what we say.  If everyone around the world decided that enough is enough, this is what I will pay for a barrel of oil, not a penny more.  If you dont like it, then there you go.  What do you think they would do if everyone stoped buying oil.  Or even hinted that we would.  I bet they would lower prices.  I bet they would lower them alot.   

Will somebody please tell me?  Where on earth are all these people coming from?  And where will they work?  How will they care for our state?  More importantly, when will they leave?

I see houses, many houses, on land that once fed us, land that we once hunted, banks of rivers that we fished.  Water that we could drink without fear. Air that was fresh and crisp.  Things I wanted to share with my children.  Places that I wanted to walk with my wife.  Now all I see are houses.

Neighborhoods springing up like nap weed.  Where are all these people coming from?  Lists for these homes are filled before the builders even start building.  I left this area for a little over a year to come back and drive through a prairie full of subdivisions.  Places that I used to sit and ponder are now roads and yards and driveways.

I was gone for awhile, maybe large companies have moved into the area and needed lots of employees to make their American made products.  Maybe someone pushed for tax breaks for business’s so that companies would relocate to our area and pay a decent wage.  But all I see are houses.  I see no factories; I see no progress for our citizens.  I go to the stores that I used to visit and there are the same people working there that were there before I left.  How can this be?  Where will all these people work.

Ok, its time to start asking questions.  I call a realtor, “who is purchasing most of these homes” I ask.  I am told that many of the new houses are being bought by “out of town’ers”.  People from other areas are buying the houses in order to rent them to people who will be relocating to our area.  I have heard this from several people so I have to believe that it is happening. 

I used to play simulation games on the computer; I bet you know the ones.  You started with a very empty map, slowly you added things to the map like homes, but to add homes you had to add factories, after all people who live in homes need to work to make money.  Then you needed roads, factories need roads to receive there goods in order for the workers to make the product so that they get a pay check.  Now we need to add things for the people to do.  Churches, schools, smaller business’s, more roads, fire stations, you get the idea.  I bet you know the games I mean. 

I wonder if I were to dig one of those old games out, and placed some small business’s, maybe a few small factories, and oh why not throw in a few high priced neighborhoods, a few very good churches, and some things for people to do so that they can escape form their 9 to 5 once in awhile.  Now I think I will start adding houses, lots of houses, small houses, large ones, different colors, side by side.  More and more houses, nothing but more houses.  Lots and lots of houses.  It seems my little map is very full.  But why aren’t all the little people happy?  Why are all those older houses that have been there for a few minutes emptying out?  Where are all the people going? Oh wait, I see, they are going down that other road, the one that leads to that other town, that town way over there that has all those jobs, all that wide open space.

Well. So be it, if they don’t like it here I guess they can leave.  But they were happy, weren’t they.  They had places to walk, and things to do.  Fresh air to breath.  Clean water to drink.  I think they were happy.  I watched them go camping with their families, fishing with their grandchildren.  They looked happy.  But look at all I have done for them.  I built house after house, I moved in new people from out of town.  I miss my old friends.  Look at all these new faces.

I wonder when they will leave… 

Now there is talk of changing Coeur D Alene, ID to accomodate the people that are coming to the area.  Ok, I will give you the fact that people are coming to the area.  Lots of people.  People who may not need jobs, people who sold thier homes in Southern California for a small fortune and will be able to buy a new home in North Idaho outright.  People who want to build huge mansions on the river, people who will surely make this private property.  Some newcomers talk of how they will make our area better for these new members of our state.  Stop to think a moment.  With these new high cost developments that these new members of our state propose, the only people that will be able to afford all this are those who are moving here from other areas.  The people of North Idaho are being run out of thier state.  We can not afford $200,000 homes, yet you are building $2,000,000 homes.  We can not walk allong the banks of our rivers, because your developments do not allow regular people access to your high priced resorts and your multi million dollar neighborhoods.  Next time you drive through our city, look around.  I mean get off your cell phone, roll down your tinted limo window and look at the people of North Idaho.  We are working class people, raising families.  Most are working parents, earning $8 or $9 an hour at dead end jobs.  Fast food, Quick marts, Gas stations, Banks.  Thats what we have to look forward to every day.  If you want to do something to improve our state, bring in business.  Bring in jobs.  Lots of jobs.  Not grounds keeper jobs at your new resort, or fast food jobs at all the new burger joints that it is going to take to feed all these new people.  Jobs that a person can work for 20 years and retire.  Jobs that allow mom's to stay home and raise thier children because dad earns enough to make it work.  We dont need more homes.  We need to grow crops in these open praries.  Not houses.  We need to turn river front areas into places that we can walk with our children.  Not places that we can look at from the interstate and only dream of.  You want to grow an area?  Dont take this wrong, but look at your Denver, your San Diego.  What did you do there?  If you did such great things then why are you here?  I know, why not build a golf resort that only movie stars and professional sports stars can afford.  That will surely help us raise our families.  You can give us all the jobs cleaning the rooms, mowing the grass, picking up your trash.  What great things you have done for us. What great things you have done for North Idaho.