Born in Deutschland 1965, hometown was Bütthart, parents were not U.S. government employees. However, when father was tricked into joining the U.S. Air Force Civil Service, in 1969, with the promise that we could remain in Germany, we were promptly shipped off to Iran. Due to one of my Iranian educators being disappeared, along with her husband, by the U.S. ally Shah of Iran's Israeli & U.S. created Savak (for the then official terrorist act of promoting the idea that women can vote), and due to my U.S. citizen mother being placed on Savak's Terrorist Arrest List (for supporting the idea that women should vote, at that time the U.S. ally Shah of Iran did not allow women to vote, now they can) we left Iran for the United States in 1973, literally in the middle of the night. At the U.S. Embassy airbase the CIA operated Gooney Bird (C-47) was so packed with other U.S. citizens fleeing our ally Iran (because the Shah gave the OK to arrest any U.S. citizen for such terrorist acts as promoting the concept of voting) that we were turned away by the Loadmaster and had to take a chance on a civilian flight out of Tehran's airport.
My father told me he and my mother had three culture shocks; first when they arrived in Germany as civilians, then after being shipped off to Iran as U.S. government employees, then again returning to the United States as unemployed civilians (because so much had changed in the U.S. while they were gone, their only news source was the U.S. Armed Forces Radio & Television Service which heavily censored information about the home front).
Since I graduated high school in 1982 I've worked for U.S. government contractors and state & local government agencies (in California), convenience store manager in California, retail/property management in Georgia, California and Idaho. Spent the 1990s in the TV news business producing number one rated local news programs in California, Arizona and Idaho. 14+ years with California and Idaho Army National Guard and the U.S. Air Force. Obtained a BA degree in International Studies from Idaho State University at the age of 42.
Unemployed since 2015, so don't tell me the economy has recovered.
Credit scoring companies are getting so nit picky that now they judge you based on where you live.
CardRatings.com now considers the state you live in as part of your credit score. One of the states that can make your rating go down is Idaho. Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, says Idaho scores low because of high unemployment and high bankruptcy/foreclosure rates.
A low credit score for your state doesn’t just affect your rating, but the credit ratings of your local banks. This makes it harder for local financial institutions to get major loans from national banks, which in turn makes it harder for them to issue local loans.
Which state can make your credit score go up the most? Oil rich North Dakota.
Initial reports say that a grass fire on U.S. Highway 30 (Old Bannock Highway) near the Hoku plant, and the malting plant, in Bannock County, Idaho, caused a massive junk yard fire. Fortunately the wind was blowing the flames away from the gas company.
Walt’s Auto Salvage fire, July 26, 2011
The salvage yard is run by Walt’s. Law enforcement blocked off several roads, because a gas company, Ameri Gas, is located right next to the salvage yard. They deal in liquid oxygen and propane.
WAS fire, U.S. Highway 30, Bannock County, July 26, 2011
By 14:30 (2:30 PM) about 45 vehicles in the yard were on fire. The fire was brought under control around 15:00 (3:00 PM), thanks to the massive response by local fire fighters. Some witnesses say the junk yard fire started after one or more propane tanks exploded.
I noticed a headline change in front of my eyes on CNN’s website this morning. First it said “Home prices increase”, then when I clicked on the story the headline read “Home prices dip 4.5%”. This is actually common on CNN’s website (that’s why you got to do your research).
What I found out about home prices, is that it really depends on where you live in the United States. Some areas are seeing increased home prices, usually a good sign of a strong local economy, while in other areas home prices are still falling.
Here’s and example: Cities that showed increases in home prices include Boston and Washington DC. Some cities that continue to have home prices decline are Las Vegas and Tampa.
Normally increased home prices are a good sign of a good economy, but the latest numbers show that even in the cities where home prices are up, overall home prices are still below their highs of 2006. Maybe that explains the alternating headlines on CNN’s website?
Both Ford and Chrysler are reporting increased sales revenues, but both are reporting decreases in profits. The culprit, inflation.
Inflation is driving up the cost of materials used to build their cars, and even with retail price increases the result is lower profits.
Now Ford is preparing to deal with Union contract negotiations in the United States. Obviously workers are going to want more money, because inflation is driving up their cost of living.
Taxpayers in the United States lost $1.3 billion when Fiat bought back all the remaining Chrysler stocks held by the U.S. government (U.S. taxpayers lost at least $14 billion, between Chrysler and GM).
Now Chrysler/Fiat is claiming they lost money too. Chrysler would have reported a profit for the second quarter of 2011, it weren’t for the stock buy back, which they claim cost $551 million.
Chrysler is also reporting a 30% increase in sales revenue (compared to the second quarter of 2010), but don’t think you can buy some of that Chrysler stock, they’re privately held by Fiat and Union trust funds.
The city of Pocatello is back to the drawing board after voting against buying $6.2 million worth of water rights. The deal would have been made with Portneuf Marsh Valley Canal Company. City officials backed out after credible threats of lawsuits from water users “downstream”.
Water is a big issue for Pocatello. Its main source of water is the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer, and it’s running dry. The Portneuf River flows through Pocatello, but it does not recharge the aquifer, and the city does not take any water from it.
To add to the problem, the city of Pocatello is not the only one using the Aquifer, the city of Chubbuck also gets its water from the same source.
For a long time it was thought that surface water runoff made its way to the ground water (Aquifer), but now its known that most surface water runoff just ends up in rivers heading out to the oceans (although some recharging comes from Mink Creek, and snow).
Geoscientists believe the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer was created 17,000 years ago when a natural dam broke, releasing a huge sea into the area (Bonneville Flood). Part of that sea was trapped in what is now known as Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer.
Another issue is that while many aquifers are held in small rock formations, even pebbles and sand, the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer is trapped by huge boulders, which were part of the natural dam holding back the ancient sea. You can see huge boulders around the area now. Every time a housing development goes in they end up spending a lot of time digging out the boulders in order to put in basements. It has also resulted in lucrative local rock mining businesses.
The water in the Aquifer is almost finite, it does not easily recharge as was once thought.
However, while most rain ends up in rivers, any water from slow melting snow, or used on farms or residential properties can get into the Aquifer. The problem is that large boulders do not filter the incoming surface water, like sand or pebble aquifers. This means the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer is very vulnerable to contamination.
To add to that, the soil is only about 2 to 8 feet thick, before you hit rock. I can attest to that since I’ve done a lot of landscaping here, and I grow vegetables and fruits. I can dig the depth of a shovel blade and hit rocks 4 inches in diameter or bigger. The thin soil means if you dump used motor oil on the ground, or use chemicals on your garden, it’s almost instantly heading for the Aquifer.
There is a three part (boring, basically a college lecture from 2010) video explanation of the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer issue, presented by Glenn Thackray of Idaho State University:
Thackray explains that the cities, residents, farmers and businesses take out more water from the Lower Portnuef Valley Aquifer, per year, than what flows into the Aquifer. This has been going on for a long time, and is why we’re running out of water. Add to that the fact that we’ve had some very dry winters, with less than normal snowfall (a big source of recharge, because it melts into the ground, unlike rain that runs off). The water level has been dropping since the 1990s.
Pocatello city officials say they are taking this issue seriously, and are being proactive about finding a solution.
Scotland Yard (Metropolitan Police, aka Met) has come forward with the cost of dealing with all the various anti government protests.
From April 2010 to March 2011, the Met spent $56.7 million to provide security for demonstrations for everything from anti spending cuts, to anti student fee increases, to even elections and a visit from the Pope, and, protecting former Prime Minister Tony Blair for his appearance before the Iraq War Inquiry.
The most expensive single event was the December 9, 2010, anti tuition fee increase demonstration. It cost $2.1 million.
To be sure, the yearly costs to the London Met wouldn’t have been so high if it weren’t for all the anti government demonstrations.
British Prime Minister David Cameron lamented that “…a general feeling that maybe our best days as a country are behind us…”. He was talking about everything from the economic disaster to the scandal involving Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and public officials.
Cameron says it’s become clear that elected leaders, as well as corporate leaders, even government employees, are acting out of pure greed: “I’m talking about the expenses scandal, the financial crisis, this whole disgraceful and sorry episode of phone hacking. There’s a sense that the rich and the powerful – politicians, bankers, the press and the police – have been serving themselves…”
“It really doesn’t do much good if the money goes back to repairing the irrigation system. I can’t use it. I’m paying for a service I have no choice to pay for, but I have no access to the benefits.”-Mary Fullmer, 77 year old school bus driver
The city of Gooding, Idaho, is charging residents $104.00 per year for an antiquated irrigation system that many don’t use, not even the mayor: “It’s an old and broken system. But we can’t stop charging people. I even have to pay the fee, and I don’t use the irrigation system either.”-Duke Morton, Gooding Mayor
Six years ago Mary Fullmer’s access to the irrigation system was cut off, when the city cemented over the pipes that connected her property to the system. Yet she still has to pay $104 per year.
Many city residents complain about the fee, and city officials claim they’re looking for an alternative, but they admit they don’t see it as a priority.
The USPS lost $8.5 billion in 2010. It lost $3.8 billion in 2009. So far this year the USPS has lost $2.2 billion. The result; the United States Postal Service will make public a list of post offices that could be closed this year, as many as 3,653.
The United States Postal Service does notmake money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge. The problem is that Congress controls the postage they are allowed to charge, and so far Congress has refused to allow postal rates to reflect the actual operating cost of the USPS.
On top of that, Congress overcharged the USPS $75 billion for the Federal Employees Retirement System plan. The Postmaster General asked for that money to be returned, but Congress refused (you think they already spent it?).
As a result of incompetence (or is it on purpose?) by our elected officials in Congress, thousands more USPS employees will lose their jobs.
