500 million smooth landings this decade
It’s remarkable that a Northwest Airlines flight was subject to a Christmas attack; eight years to the day that shoe-bomber Richard Reid bumbled a similar airline assault. Equally noteworthy is the international media scrutiny placed on the uncommon events; while meanwhile few news outlets report on the 500 million airline flights that have taken place in the last ten years, without confrontation of any sort.
In ancient times, when our warriors returned from epic battles, we nurtured them with special care. We led them to spas at city outskirts and helped them cool down with compassionate concern for long spells, until we determined it was safe for them to return into communities, unlike modern times where we often dump soldiers back onto harsh streets with little or no benefits. Nowadays, many of our country’s valiant veterans are homeless or incarcerated at record levels, while perpetually mired in post-traumatic crises.
As Dennis Kucinich said, “Homelessness and poverty are weapons of mass destruction.”
Men develop with different levels of mettle, but sanity has limitation points for even the bravest of soldiers. In earlier wars, ‘Soldiers Heart’ or ‘Battle Fatigue’ affected many Veterans (and their families). Now Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the commonly used expression.
A historically safe place soldiers used to convalesce, both physically and psychologically was the Sun Valley Lodge. Many WW II soldiers, who effectively rehabilitated there in the crisp mountain air, became permanently attached to
The good earth where
We could transform this airport acreage into something for truly banking on. Besides generous monetary donations from valley benefactors to establish a healing foundation, this is an opportunity to show how rich we are in spirit, by welcoming our recuperating warriors back into the community. To contribute further to their continued recovery, we could thank some of our dedicated veterans for their Herculean efforts by offering them desirable jobs; related with support services for the healing center itself.
Moreover, we could construct hundreds of affordable-housing units on the land, along with worker-retraining facilities for displaced soldiers to reattach to our community. Some will likely rejuvenate with a broader sense of understanding, and develop desires to become healing practitioners themselves. A holistic focused healing center would create bountiful meaningful jobs here, not only for our respected veterans, but also for many others suffering in this economic slump. Already established mentoring organizations such as Sun Valley Adaptive Sports, The Advocates and the
The relocated airport itself would even benefit, by becoming a bustling transport center for steady streams of patients, visitors, hospital personnel and supplies.
The hospital could feature Posttraumatic stress disorder therapies like recently advanced Somatic Experiencing, MDMA and Propranolol treatments, as well as other proven curative methods, both ancient and new. A holistic equine center could help our severely traumatized reconnect with the community through nature.
With the sunny climate, fresh air and clean water inherent to this valley, enhanced by the numerous enlightened compassionate people who flourish here, our community could set a new standard for positive rehabilitation and improve on some of the shortcomings that have plagued poor Walter Reed Veteran’s hospital.
The new Airport Advisory commission should consider these ideas and similar ones, such as Tom Iselin’s grand idea for a Paralympics Center to see if they hold enough water to transform soldier’s widow tears into flowing fountains fronting a first class ‘
After all, what should be more important than proper treatment and compassionate care for our wounded warriors who have patriotically served, even if we fought some of these battles for misguided reasons?
Therefore, let us tie some of our yellow ribbons around the old
In ancient times, we nurtured our warriors with special care when they returned from epic battles. We led them to spas at city outskirts and helped them cool down with compassionate care for long spells, until we determined it was safe for them to return into communities, unlike modern times where we often dump soldiers back onto harsh streets with little or no benefits. Nowadays, many of our country’s valiant veterans are homeless or incarcerated at record levels, while perpetually mired in post-traumatic crises.
As Dennis Kucinich said, “Homelessness and poverty are weapons of mass destruction.”
Men develop with different levels of mettle, but sanity has limitation points for even the bravest of soldiers. In earlier wars, ‘Soldiers Heart’ or ‘Battle Fatigue’ affected many Veterans (and their families). Now Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the commonly used expression.
A historically safe place soldiers used to convalesce, both physically and psychologically was the Sun Valley Lodge. Many WW II soldiers, who effectively rehabilitated there in the crisp mountain air, became permanently attached to
The good earth where
We could transform this airport acreage into something for truly banking on. Besides generous monetary donations from valley benefactors to establish a healing foundation, this is an opportunity to show how rich we are in spirit, by welcoming our recuperating warriors back into the community. To contribute to their continued recovery, we could thank some of our dedicated veterans for their Herculean efforts by offering them desirable jobs; related with support services for the healing center itself.
Moreover, we could construct hundreds of affordable-housing units on the land, along with worker-retraining facilities for displaced soldiers to reattach to our community. Some will likely rejuvenate with a broader sense of understanding, and develop desires to become healing practitioners themselves. A holistic focused healing center would create bountiful meaningful jobs here, not only for our respected veterans, but also for many others suffering in this economic slump. Already established mentoring organizations such as Sun Valley Adaptive Sports, The Advocates and the
The relocated airport itself could even benefit, by becoming a bustling transport center for steady streams of patients, visitors, hospital personnel and supplies.
The hospital could feature Posttraumatic stress disorder therapies like recently advanced Somatic Experiencing, MDMA and Propranolol treatments, as well as other proven curative methods, both ancient and new. A holistic equine center could help our severely traumatized reconnect with the community through nature.
With the sunny climate, fresh air and clean water inherent to this valley, enhanced by the numerous enlightened compassionate people who flourish here, our community could set a new standard for positive rehabilitation and improve on some of the shortcomings that have plagued Walter Reed Veteran’s hospital.
The new Airport Advisory commission should consider these ideas and similar ones, such as Tom Iselin’s grand idea for a Paralympics Center to see if they hold enough water to transform soldier’s widow tears into flowing fountains fronting a first class ‘
After all, what should be more important than proper treatment and compassionate care for our wounded warriors who have patriotically served, even if we fought some of these battles for misguided reasons?
In ancient times, we nurtured our warriors with special care when they returned from epic battles. We led them to spas at city outskirts and helped them cool down with compassionate care for long spells, until we determined it was safe for them to return into communities, unlike modern times where we often dump soldiers back onto harsh streets with little or no benefits. Nowadays, many of our country’s valiant veterans are homeless or incarcerated at record levels, while perpetually mired in post-traumatic crises.
As Dennis Kucinich said, “Homelessness and poverty are weapons of mass destruction.”
Men develop with different levels of mettle, but sanity has limitation points for even the bravest of soldiers. In earlier wars, ‘Soldiers Heart’ or ‘Battle Fatigue’ affected many Veterans (and their families). Now Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the commonly used expression.
A historically safe place soldiers used to convalesce, both physically and psychologically was the Sun Valley Lodge. Many WW II soldiers, who effectively rehabilitated there in the crisp mountain air, became permanently attached to
The good earth where
We could transform this airport acreage into something for truly banking on. Besides generous monetary donations from valley benefactors to establish a healing foundation, this is an opportunity to show how rich we are in spirit, by welcoming our recuperating warriors back into the community. To contribute to their continued recovery, we could thank some of our dedicated veterans for their Herculean efforts by offering them desirable jobs; related with support services for the healing center itself.
Moreover, we could construct hundreds of affordable-housing units on the land, along with worker-retraining facilities for displaced soldiers to reattach to our community. Some will likely rejuvenate with a broader sense of understanding, and develop desires to become healing practitioners themselves. A holistic focused center could create bountiful meaningful jobs here, not only for our respected veterans, but also for many others suffering in this economic slump. Already established mentoring organizations such as Sun Valley Adaptive Sports and The Advocates could tie in with such a permanent wellness festival.
Perhaps an appreciative owner of one of the locally underutilized
The relocated airport itself could even benefit, by becoming a bustling transport center for steady streams of patients, visitors, hospital personnel and supplies.
The hospital could feature Posttraumatic stress disorder therapies like recently advanced Somatic Experiencing, MDMA and Propranolol treatments, as well as other proven curative methods, both ancient and new. A holistic equine center could help severely traumatized reconnect with the community through nature.
With the sunny climate, fresh air and clean water inherent to this valley, enhanced by the numerous enlightened compassionate people who flourish here, our community could set a new standard for positive rehabilitation and improve on some of the shortcomings plaguing Walter Reed Veteran’s hospital.
The new Airport Advisory board should consider this idea or similar ones, such as Tom Iselin’s grand idea for a Paralympics Center to see if they hold enough water to transform soldier’s widow tears into flowing fountains fronting a first class ‘
After all, what should be more important than proper treatment and compassionate care for our wounded warriors who have patriotically served, even if we fought some of these battles for misguided reasons?
NERC and cyber security
Mr. Banholzer:
Thank you for your question to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission regarding the Smart Grid and cyber security.
The Commission is well aware of issues regarding cyber security and makes sure that Idaho and its regulated utilities are actively involved in the national effort to work to protect our transmission and distributions systems from cyber attack.
Idaho is part or a regional Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) and our commission as well as utilities are part of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Reliability and well as security for transmission and distribution have been ongoing concerns for a number of years, and particularly so since 9-11. Our utilities must meet basic ERO and NERC standards or face stiff financial penalties for not doing so. And, obviously, it is in utilities’ self-interest to ensure their systems are reliable and secure.
The vendors in charge of installing Idaho Power’s smart grid are certified in their respective areas of expertise and have had considerable experience installing automated metering infrastructure nationwide. In fact, a major advantage of smart-grid technology will be its ability to detect outages and “troubleshoot” other areas of concerns that, overall, will make the transmission and distribution system more reliable and safe than it is without automated metering infrastructure.
Since the issuance of FERC Order 706 addressing cyber security standards, state commissioners as well as the national organizations and utilities have been working together to implement the standards. I’m including some links to press releases announcing updated cyber security standards. From these press releases and the Web sites (below) for NERC and FERC you can find more information than you probably want on what is being done in these areas.
Thanks again for writing and please forgive my delay in responding. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Gene Fadness
Executive Assistant
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
gene.fadness@puc.idaho.gov
208.334.0339
May 6 press release announcing NERC standards:
http://www.nerc.com/news_pr.php?npr=308
June 17 press release re: Updated developments in cyber security:
http://www.nerc.com/news_pr.php?npr=336
FERC press release re: cyber security standards:
http://www.ferc.gov/news/news-releases/2008/2008-1/01-17-08-E-2.asp
NERC website: www.nerc.com
FERC website: www.ferc.gov
Smart meters aren't helping consumers
It appears that Idaho Power will be getting paid for these meters three times by their own admission. There was an Oct. 18 article in the Kuna Melba News about the new smart meters being installed by Idaho Power, plus a Statesman article on Oct. 29. I've put them together, and here is what it says:
Kuna Melba News: Meters will pay for themselves in seven years.
Kuna Melba News: Idaho Power got an increase from the PUC for installing the meters.
Statesman: Idaho Power received stimulus money for installing the meters.
How many times does Idaho Power get to be paid for these meters? Won't it be prudent of the Public Utilities Commission (key word is "Public") to truly protect the public and grant the public a rate reduction since Idaho Power is collecting three times for these meters? Call the PUC and complain about this terrible treatment of the consumers.
Does everyone also understand that, once these meters are installed, Idaho Power can change your rates during the day at anytime to increase the fees being charged? One minute you are paying "x" for electricity, and then the next you are paying "y," and all this in the name of helping the consumer.
MICHAEL LUEDDEKE, Meridian
Pink Rabbits and Flying Dreams
Last night, I had a fanciful dream that I was back at my old
In the dream, I awoke on Saturday daybreak and went outside, barefoot in my pajamas to collect a Washington Post from our snowy driveway. In reality, we lived on a sleepy dead end, but in the dream, cars could now connect into the forest. In fact, it was a bustling thoroughfare now; some elaborate racecars were speeding into the woods, as one or two old jalopies were pulling out and returning to civilization. Even though it was snowy, I was excited to be back, and thought I would take an encompassing walk around the backyard, while waiting for the newspaper. Still barefoot, I walked to the side yard, to see several children shouting with squeals of glee, preparing to sled down our hill. It was a magnificent morning for sledding, and I thought I would trudge up the hill a way, to be closer to the enjoyment. Halfway to the pinnacle, the children easily maneuvered around me on their toy-sleds. While I reached the top, I saw there were several more houses. The furthest yard was filled with dozens of other children, enjoying some festive event. The first few modern houses were quiet and dim, but the ancient house was where the action was. As I approached, I saw a great cauldron of stew boiling over a fire in the front yard, as the happy children continued to dart about, every which-way. It was a four-story grey house, and I tried to picture it from my past. I remembered it being an old house, even back when I was young. Then in the hub of activity, I spied the property owner. She was somebody, I knew from decades ago, but she hadn’t aged much. She had some wild grey curly hair around the fringes of her head, and everyone there respected her with high regard. Trying to be polite, I asked in a curious voice, above the merry din, “How old is this house?” She was elusive with her answer, but smiled, and then kindly but sternly, grabbed me around the forearms, saying, “I remember your kind; I had to straighten you and your brother out a few times, from some of the trouble you caused out here in the woods.” I thought that this wasn’t necessarily true, but perhaps there was a small element to what she spoke. We briefly conversed some more, then I asked what her name was. She spoke a name so peculiar that I knew instantly that I would be incapable of remembering it. It was as if she had cast a spell upon her obscure name, rendering it impossible to recollect, although, I do remember her long singular name had four “i’s” in it. She released me and I trotted a little further down the wet
Suddenly, as I spun around in the wet mud, I realized that I was able to fly again. I was flying feet-first with my bare feet sticking out straight ahead of me. Remarkably, the fact that I was able to fly felt quite natural, as it usually does with such flying dreams. This incubated a thought that I would like to turn my body around and fly like Superman to show the Virginians what their prodigal son had learned, while living twenty years in
Awakening to present day reality, I lay there motionless for several minutes, lightly buzzing about the powerful flying dream. Then, as the dream partially melted away, it occurred to me that those uncanny houses in the woods were never actually there, but rather had been places imagn’d in my childhood dreams. Vivid places I occasionally revisited over the decades, where many events had taken shape and form – enough to record a small history deep in my subconscious. This made me wonder if this all was merely in my mind, or are our minds potentially much more powerful than what my instructors taught, in our
Then I realized that I had been sleeping on a sofa brought home recently as a gift from a friend. The sofa is emblazoned with some cute animals, the most notable of which are some pink rabbits dancing on the pillow, which had been pressing against my dreamy head…
Fresh Healing Angles
Five summers ago, at the little
I shuddered slightly and immediately looked at it as a bad omen. To me the bird augury was powerful enough that I decided to keep it a secret from my housemate, so as not to frighten her. I didn’t think much more about the matter, until a few weeks later: While winterizing the grounds, I placed a large tarp over a tent next to the maple. As I made a broad swooping motion with the tarp, the same sharp branch I had pruned earlier, speared through my ear and into the side of my head. It was a Tuesday afternoon and almost five o-clock. After standing there stunned for a few seconds, trying to figure out what had hit me, I realized the severity of the situation. I was alone and bleeding profusely from the left side of my head. Hastily, I rounded up the dog, grabbed a small towel, to press against the wound and drove 2 & 1/2 miles to our local emergency room.
It’s a small hospital, but well-staffed. As I arrived, something deep inside, switched my gears into survival mode, and helped to rally me through the surgery. I cracked a few jokes about my dilemma to the physician and his assistant, hoping this would put all three of us more at ease. (I truly believe that there are cases where if you act like a jerk, your level of quality service is apt to diminish.) This seemed to help, but while examining the complexity of damage, the young doctor expressed hesitation as to whether he could stitch my ear back together properly, and suggested that I may need to transfer to a
However, right then, a visiting plastic surgeon *just happened by* our emergency room to see the problem. He encouraged the attending physician to try a specific stitching method and even made some animated motions of how to do this. After the physician made a few careful stitches with the newly suggested method, he soon gained more confidence. The visiting plastic surgeon saw the doctor was getting it right, so he left us alone. Soon all was well and I was back at work the next afternoon. However, a few weeks later, my housemate broke me the bad news that the developer, who bought our tiny tumbledown shack, would soon be smashing it to smithereens and we would have to move.
(One of the new property owners speculated that they would try to save the maple, because such trees are rare in this climate and its vibrancy would enhance the property. However, the maple is gone and we’re not sure what happened.)
Meanwhile, the Near Death Experience trauma from the sweet sugar maple seeded something new into me. It forced me to reflect hard about the haphazard direction of my life and slowed me down enough to dedicate some quiet time to writing. In the five years since the incident, I’ve had a small measure of success at this. I feel strongly that writing about items of a meaningful nature is something I should be dedicated to for several hours each week.
Until now, I have shared this personal tale with only a handful of friends. Yesterday evening I recounted it to a new friend. She is a professional Hypnotherapist, recently transplanted to
| HEADLINE: "D.C. Police are "cracking" down on speeders. For the first offense, they give you two Redskins tickets. (If you get stopped a second |
A question for the Newseum (newspaper museum) repository
With the many complaints that the Statesman garnered from not having featured the eighth anniversary of September 11 on its front page; it made me wonder: What did the majority of front pages of our nations newspapers feature on
In the spring of 2007, my friend Mark Thornock hollered down the phone line from
Destiny had chosen a hi
Mark invested his time wisely in the months preceding the hunts. He inspected the conditions of backpacks and insulated clothing and prepared other equipment. He sharpened dull knife blades, placed calls to check on the availability of butchers, and consulted with conservation experts around the state for advice and conditions, keeping in mind where the dozens of fires that had befallen
He figured moose were abundant enough around
Mark’s flight into Hailey showed up on time. His old hunting rifle appeared to be intact, but he soon sighted it in on a makeshift range to determine it hadn’t been jostled in flight. The next morning we arose at five and encountered little traffic on the way to
When we pulled into
Most of the good
On that first day, three young, agile and experienced hunters on a break from school helped us search for moose. The five of us walked along and drove by mossy creek drainages characteristic of prime moose habitat. Yet even with all those eyes glued to
During our first night in the cabin, it rained constantly, and an intermittent drizzle kept up through days two and three. Our youthful acquaintances returned to school but two other experienced hunters, Jon and Gary, joined us. This was especially helpful because Mark hadn’t yet fully recovered from recent knee surgery. As for me, seemingly imbedded with these camouflaged experts in my laidback Ketchum threads, I must have looked laughable to passersby.
Skill and experience notwithstanding, we were soon reminded that hunting, as with fishing, requires a certain measure of luck. In four hundred miles of deliberate driving, the only moose we spied were on a high hill above private land. It seemed that everyone we encountered in
I headed home for a week, while Mark drove by himself to the Arco area. There he bagged an antelope at two hundred yards, from a thick herd someone had told him about. But doing it alone was a struggle because of his knee problem, so he decided to hunt with others for the remainder of his journey. He headed over to the
From the valley below them, I could see the group would be experiencing snow, but it was difficult to gauge how much. A buddy and I drove to Lost River on Saturday and were pleasantly surprised to see the recently graded Trail Creek Road in the best shape we’d ever found it. No more rattling washboards, at least until we got to the bumpy
Few hunters were in the hardscrabble upland. On the road, we encountered a covey of about eight chuckers. We speculated that the mild climate of the last eighteen months, combined with recent fires, might have lead to the small bird migration here. On the other hand, they could have hopped the hill from a nearby
After the brief challenge of a mud traverse, we discovered the camp, where Mark already had laid out his bull elk. We admired its attractive, dark-reddish hue, and noticed it was a five-by-five point. Mark said while tracking in fresh snow that morning, he had had a close encounter with an alpha wolf. Had the animal shown more aggressive intentions instead of turning tail and whisking away, Mark thought it could have developed into an unpleasant situation on the high terrain.
We took photos of the elk, had a few celebratory nips, then helped pack up part of the camp. Mark’s two friends offered to take the elk to the butcher for him. They tucked it down low in the bed of the truck, which had been licensed at their other home in
As we packed up the camp, I sensed empathy between these longtime hunting companions. Some people live for the thrill of the outdoor chase, and their enthusiasm is infectious. Standing there in the snow, I recalled another inspiring experience in this same camp: my father bringing me out here many years ago for a taste of the West.
As we wheeled back down the road to the valley below, Mark said he had swung over towards
Later, I got this story from him about his effort to round-out the super-combo with his second try at the elusive
