Mover Mike

HUMA ABEDIN

Mickey Kaus writes:

Do you sense there is some large mass of dark matter, an unseen Scandal Star, the gravitational pull of which is warping the coverage of what seems, on the surface, a pretty dull presidential race? I do. So does Ron Rosenbaum. I thought the Dark Star was the Edwards affair allegation. But Rosenbaum says "everyone in the elite Mainstream media" knows about another juicy scandal that the LAT is supposedly sitting on.

We’re still a bit incredulous on this one, but a top level U.S. Department of Justice official is telling Big Head DC that Michael Musto’s rumor about Hillary Clinton fooling around with one of her top female aides Huma Abedin is based in reality!

A couple of "wide-stancer" in the Republican party have gotten into trouble recently. Just today a Republican state legislator, Rep. Richard Curtis, resigned amid revelations that he had sex with a man he met at a pornographic video store while in Spokane on a party retreat.

What will the national reaction be, if true, that Sen. Hillary Clinton is having sex with a woman who works for her. A good looking, smart woman, a thin Monica, who is rumored to never wear the same outfit twice. Why that in itself is just wrong!

Huma Abedin Sen. Hillary Clinton Mover Mike

DJIA prior to the announcement was up over 70 Points.

Alum Rock, CA Earthquake Mover Mike

Live webcorder of Prince George, BC site.

Date Time Lat. Long. Depth Mag. Felt? Region

---- ---- ---- ----- ----- ---- ----- ------

2007/10/31 10:33:57 52.86N 124.06W 28.8 1.6ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/31 06:17:34 52.88N 124.07W 29.2 1.0ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/31 04:39:22 52.87N 124.09W 29.8 1.8ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 21:19:48 52.86N 124.06W 28.4 1.4ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 20:13:52 52.86N 124.06W 28.6 1.3ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 18:47:40 52.86N 124.06W 29.1 1.3ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 18:40:23 52.84N 124.08W 28.8 1.0ML 148 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 18:17:05 52.86N 124.07W 29.3 1.0ML 147 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 18:14:32 52.85N 124.06W 28.7 0.9ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 18:12:15 52.86N 123.94W 30.0 1.4ML 141 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 17:39:09 52.86N 124.08W 29.6 0.9ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 17:34:33 52.86N 124.06W 29.1 1.2ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 16:52:20 52.87N 123.98W 29.2 1.5ML 142 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 15:49:20 52.86N 124.05W 29.5 1.5ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 15:12:20 52.87N 124.00W 30.1 1.3ML 143 km SW of Prince George,BC

Here's where we left off at 14:18:19:

2007/10/30 14:18:19 52.86N 124.07W 29.0 1.3ML 147 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 13:44:39 52.87N 124.03W 29.5 0.8ML 144 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 13:43:34 52.86N 124.06W 28.7 1.2ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 13:16:17 52.86N 124.06W 30.1 1.2ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 13:06:53 52.86N 124.08W 29.0 1.1ML 147 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 12:45:46 52.86N 124.07W 28.6 1.0ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 12:13:36 52.86N 124.08W 28.5 1.0ML 147 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 08:02:00 52.86N 124.05W 29.0 0.9ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 06:34:47 52.86N 124.05W 29.7 1.0ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/30 06:26:35 52.86N 124.05W 28.5 1.4ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

Prince George, BC Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

You may recall that the Hollyrood third graders and I wait for the older kids at Fernwood. We may sit there 10 to 15 minutes, so to pass the time, I wrote some poetry for them and they howled with laughter. You can read my first two poems at "More Mike!"

Last week I came up with my third poem. This was the way I originally wrote it:

Carson

Carson's a girl who rides on the bus
From Hollyrood to home.
Either dad takes her from us
in his coat and his tie
or Grandmas meets her
while eating her pie.

You can see how I reached for that last line. The kids chuckled mildly. How quickly they turned on me!

So I revised the poem, my confidence shattered, and tried again:

Carson

Carson's a girl who rides on the bus
From Hollyrood to home.
Either dad takes her from us
in his coat and his tie
or Grandmas meets her
while eating pooberry pie.

Well, I gotta tell you. I was back. The kids rocketed off the walls with laughter. I Learned something. A good third grade poem has to have rhythm, rhyme and some possible "poo".

Today I tried again with this one:

Paul & Sylvia

My two backseat drivers are Paul & Sylvia
They came to the U.S. from Brazil-via
the Mexican border.
They speak Portuguese, not Spanish or Latin
English is used when they fatten a toad-or
a Moose.

It's doggeral, I know.
The kids love it, though,
and it helps pass the time.
Next time I'll try some Shel Silverstein.

I miss Shel Silverstein

Poetry Hollyrood Kids Mover Mike

map 1.2 2007/10/31 13:52:04 45.123N 120.925W 14.9 14 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 2.9 2007/10/30 16:14:47 44.346N 121.006W 0.0 14 km ( 8 mi) WNW of Prineville, OR - just south of the National grassland and just north of the crooked river

map 2.2 2007/10/29 20:10:51 45.123N 120.936W 18.2 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.1 2007/10/29 19:03:50 45.125N 120.928W 15.2 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

Precise measurements of atmospheric CO2 at the South Pole have been obtained by Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) researchers since 1957. This record is based primarily on biweekly flask sampling. The SIO CO2 record from the South Pole shows that annual-fitted averages of atmospheric CO2 concentrations rose from 314.78 ppmv in 1958 to 374.61 ppmv in 2004. This represents an average annual increase of 1.3 ppmv per year.

The Mauna Loa record shows a 19.4% increase in the mean annual concentration, from 315.98 parts per million by volume (ppmv) of dry air in 1959 to 377.38 ppmv in 2004. The 1997-1998 increase in the annual growth rate of 2.87 ppmv represets the largest single yearly jump since the Mauna Loa record began in 1958. This represents an average annual increase of 1.4 ppmv per year. This is smaller than the average annual increase at the other stations because of the longer record and inclusion of earlier (smaller) annual increases.

and this chart incorporates the Mauna Loa data and goes back to 1820:

Now notice around 1940 and 1820, CO2 levels rose sharply, just as today. We are currently at approximately 380 PPM, 1940 it looks like about 425 PPM and about the same for 1820. And there was a rapid rise to the high level, again just like today. The advocates of global warming look at the Mauna Loa numbers and see only bad news. How is today unlike 1940 and 1820? Also, please explain to me why Oregon had some of the worst winters in my lifetime in the 1940s when CO2 was so high? Can we infer from this brief history that high CO2 levels will again lead to bad winters? Someone help me out! What's different this time?

Rising CO2 Levels Global Warming Mover Mike

Just in case you missed the significense,

Unless a dramatic and perhaps historical flurry of activity occurs in the next 9 weeks, 2007 will rank as a historically inactive TC year for the Northern Hemisphere as a whole. During the past 30 years, only 1977, 1981, and 1983 have had less activity to date (January-TODAY, Accumulated Cyclone Energy).

Global Warming Hurricanes Mover Mike

UPDATE 10-28-07: WOW! That's the biggest in ahile:

map 2.3 2007/10/28 18:45:39 45.123N 120.942W 18.4 12 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.0 2007/10/27 01:37:22 45.126N 120.930W 17.0 13 km ( 8 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 2.1 2007/10/26 15:36:03 44.261N 123.246W 4.0 6 km ( 4 mi) NW of Junction City, OR

Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

The AP Top 25

Go Ducks! Go Beavers!

"In September 2007, the Arctic sea ice reached the minimum extent – the lowest amount of ice recorded in the area annually – in the history of ice charting based on satellite, aircraft and surface observations, continuing a recent trend of diminishing sea ice that began in the 1980s and has accelerated. While there will still be natural inter-annual variability, the decline is likely to continue," the statement reads.

Mow, let's revisit the Arctic Ocean model referred to by Robert H. Essenhigh, he E. G. Bailey Professor of Energy Conversion in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ohio State University. He writes

So the model we now have is that if the Arctic Ocean is frozen over...the existing ice cap is not being replenished and must shrink, as it is doing today. As it does so, the Earth can absorb more of the Sun’s radiation and therefore will heat up—global warming—as it is doing today, so long as the Arctic Ocean is closed. When it is warm enough for the ocean to open...then the ice cap can begin to re-form.

As it expands, the ice increasingly reflects the incoming (shorter-wave) radiation from the sun, so that the atmosphere cools at first. But then, the expanding ice cap reduces the radiative (longer-wave) loss from the Earth, acting as an insulator, so that the Earth below cools more slowly and can keep the ocean open as the ice cap expands. This generates “out-of-sync” oscillations between atmosphere and Earth. The Arctic Ocean “trip” behavior at the temperature extremes...was originally estimated at about 500 years, then reduced to 50 years and, most recently, down to 5 years (Calder, N. The Weather Machine; Viking Press: New York, 1974.). So, if the ocean is opening right now, (and it is) we could possibly start to see the temperature reversal under way in about 10 years.

International Ice Charting Working Group Arctic Ocean model Mover Mike

Update:

* Ocean acidity is rising as sea water absorbs more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from power plants and automobiles. The higher acidity threatens marine life, including corals and shellfish...

* The ocean-surface pH has been reduced by about 0.1 during the past two centuries (It has gotten more acidic.)

* During the last 200 years, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide increased from about 275 parts per million to about 380 parts per million. Unchecked, it could surpass 550 parts per million by mid-century.

* "Warmer water...directly reduces the ocean pH...(makes it more acidic)

* warmer water also absorbs less carbon dioxide, which makes the ocean less acidic.

* future changes in ocean acidity caused by atmospheric carbon-dioxide concentrations are largely independent of climate change."

Tell me again about the theory of Global Warming!

rising CO2 levels corals and shellfish Mover Mike

Update:

Tropical coral reefs could be directly threatened by the buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)

and some reefs may already be declining

Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas produced by fossil-fuel use.

there is now documentation...of an 850,000-year global-temperature sequence, showing that the temperature is oscillating with a period of 100,000 years, and with an amplitude that has risen, in that time, from about 5 °F at the start to about 10 °F “today” (meaning the latest 100,000-year period) (2). We are currently in a rise that started 25,000 years ago and, reasonably, can be expected to peak “very shortly”.

Robert H. Essenhigh, the E. G. Bailey Professor of Energy Conversion in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ohio State University, argues that “Arctic Ocean” model is the driver.

According to this model, the temperature variations are driven by an oscillating ice cap in the northern polar regions. The crucial element in the conceptual formulation of this mechanism was the realization that such a massive ice cap could not have developed, and then continued to expand through that development, unless there was a major source of moisture close by to supply, maintain, and extend the cap. The only possible moisture source was then identified as the Arctic Ocean, which, therefore, had to be open—not frozen over—during the development of the ice ages. It then closed again, interrupting the moisture supply by freezing over.

Returning to the IPCC data...fossil fuel combustion cannot be expected to have any significant influence on the system ...

the absorption coefficients for the CO2 bands at a concentration of 400 ppm are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude too small to be significant even if the CO2 concentrations were doubled.

Global Warming Robert H. Essenhigh Mover Mike

It all seems so doggone perfect. You've got the whole Oregon farm family, Mom and Dad, two kids and a set of grandparents, walking the family spread to soothing background music. Filbert farmer-dad Tom Sweeney is the first to speak up:

"My family spent 45 years building up this farm and without Measure 49, 22 subdivisions will be built around us, threatening our water and our way of life."

It is, of course, a political ad for Measure 49's repeal of Measure 37 property-right protections, and it's a pretty little thing. It tugs on the heartstrings of even the most cynical city slicker and presents a vision of simple people of the plow being driven off our emerald land to make room for evil subdivisions.

But there's more to this story -- isn't that always the case in campaign ads? -- and it has nothing to do with the intriguing question of how large a circle Tom and Pieper Sweeney drew around their farm to come up with the 22 subdivisions figure.

No, the rest of this Measure 49 story concerns the Dayton couple that's now so worried about subdivisions that "will be built around us, threatening our water and our way of life." The Sweeneys, it turns out, sold 11-plus acres of farmland on the edge of Dayton to developers who are putting up 56 homes on the old Sweeney spread. Country Heritage Estates the new subdivision's now called, a takeoff on the Sweeneys' Country Heritage Farms. In fact, one of the subdivision's streets is named after the Sweeneys.

All things considered, the Country Heritage Estates houses should be made of glass, but that's not the worst of the Measure 49 hypocrisy here. Before selling their farm to the developers, the Sweeneys went before the Dayton planning commission, which Pieper served on a few years back -- and sought two things, both of which would boost the value of the farmland. One, the Sweeneys moved to have the farmland annexed into the city. (It was already just inside the urban growth boundary.) This would mean the land would be eligible for Dayton city water and sewer services. Two, the Sweeneys sought the highest possible housing density designation for their property. Their success on both counts drove up the value of their property and the number of homes in the Country Heritage Estates subdivision.

But it doesn't end there. The Sweeneys have kept three acres along the highway, across from Dayton High School. Perfect for a commercial establishment -- a convenience store or restaurant, perhaps -- or more homes in a subdivision, if that doesn't work out.

All this development, real and potential, is right near the farm of the elder Sweeneys seen in the ad.

On the Lars Larson show last week, Pieper Sweeney explained that she and Tom sold the farm to developers because nearby development made it "completely impractical" to farm. The land just "could not be farmed." But she acknowledged that nothing really prevented the family from continuing to grow marionberries on the land and that Oregon has a strong "right to farm" law. She further said there had been no reduction in the farm's output right up to the time they cashed in, though she told me Friday the costs of farming this particular piece of land have gone up dramatically.

It's hard to blame the Sweeneys for making the best deal they could on farm property they bought 18 years ago. But it's a bit rich for them to tutor Oregonians on the threat of subdivisions scarring Oregon's farmlands -- and the threat to their way of life -- if Measure 49 doesn't pass. They got theirs. They worked the system to enhance the value of their farm property. They saw to it that the highest number of houses allowable could be built on the old spread. Now they tell us all they're worried about subdivisions and the family farm.

We got ours, now you get lost -- that's the message here. Measure 49 won't protect landowners from the government reducing their property's value through land-use restrictions that were not in place when they purchased the land. It would abolish the property-rights protections Oregonians thought they secured in Measure 37. And it would stop landowners in the same position as the Sweeneys from doing the same thing the Sweeneys did with their now-subdivided farm, if the government passes a land-use rule after a property's purchase.

The Dayton filbert groves, it seems, aren't the only place the Sweeneys are spreading the fertilizer.

David Reinhard, associate editor, can be reached at 503-221-8152 or davidreinhard@news.oregonian.com

#11 South Florida 15, Connecticut 22 - Final

#14 Kentucky 14, Mississippi State 31 - Final

#15 South Carolina 24, Tennessee 27 - Final

#21 Virginia 24, North Carolina State 29 - Final

UCLA 7, WSU 27 - Final

NO UPSET: #5 Oregon 24, #12 USC 17 - Final

OSU 23, Stanford 6 - Final

#7 Arizona State 31, #18 California 20 - Final

Update:

Update:

Global Warming Mover Mike

Go Beavers!

It looks like Natural Resources Canada has made at least one webcorder (the most important temporary seismometer station (available) online: "UBRB". This station is the closest, if not on actually ontop of the actual quake epicenters.

Using the 2 links below U can view the realtime & archives of it, and other stations. From my information I gratefully received from the Natural Resourses Canada Seismologist's Dr. Issam Al-Khoubbi, one of the next closest online stations to UBRB is THMB.

I find the setting I like the best for viewing the data is the "Band-pass filtered and autoscaled" option on the Filter options menu ...

Note: times & dates are in UTC (GMT-ish)

UBRB station is very close to epicenter)
THMB station is nearby new seismometer, (you) can use to verify event on station UBRB)

Map relating Station THMB to station UBRB (epicenters).. I believe..)

summary of events so far from Natural Resources Canada)

A common expression in Nazko is "the seismic line"

Nazko has had electricity for about 20 years and telephone for about 15. That gives you and idea of how remote it was. There are still ranches in the area that do not have electricity.

From Nazko, west to the coast, (about 200 miles) was basically nothing but miles of green trees. In the midst of those green trees, was a straight, swath of bare ground, running for miles, which the locals call the seismic line.

I think it was probably in the late seventies, early eighties, that a group came in and ran the seismic line. I suppose it was an oil company. My dad said they came in quietly, set up camp, and quietly left. I don't know how long they were there for one summer or two.

They were testing for natural gas, which I have heard they found lots of. I know the line runs through the Itcha mountains which are part of the Anahim belt.

There might have been more than one line. It seems like I have seen one that runs north/south, but I can't remember.

No longer is it a sea of green for 200 miles to the coast. It is a sea of red, or, as the dead pine needles fall, a sea of gray. The picture you have posted of the Nazko cone, must be a few years old, because the green pine trees are no longer green.

The winters in central BC usually had cold snaps that would reach 50 below. Now they often don't get below minus 20. Definitely a climate change and not enough cold weather to kill the mountain pine beetle.

Forest fires are a fear.

Last year the road crew in Nazko spent the summer, widening, oiling and graveling one of the forestry roads. Speculation was, maybe they were going to open up some gas wells.

I wonder now if they will.

Nazko Cone Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

2007/10/26 07:24:09 52.87N 124.07W 28.6 0.8ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/26 07:21:48 52.87N 124.05W 28.9 1.1ML 144 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/26 07:18:09 52.88N 124.07W 28.5 1.0ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/26 07:14:44 52.88N 124.09W 28.4 1.2ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/26 07:14:18 52.87N 124.08W 29.7 0.7ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/26 06:26:49 52.89N 124.09W 28.0 0.6ML 144 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/26 05:49:42 52.87N 124.06W 29.3 0.7ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/26 04:21:23 52.87N 124.04W 28.2 0.8ML 144 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/26 00:14:15 52.86N 124.06W 26.6 1.5ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

Prince George,BC Earthquake Mover Mike

USD Mover Mike

The Fortwo is darn cute, three feet shorter than the Mini Cooper and only priced as high as $16,590.

Mercedes-Benz will show off its Smart Fortwo, a tiny two-seater that goes on sale early next year, to the nation's auto journalists starting next week at a glitzy event headquartered in San Jose at the Hotel Valencia.

Smart+Fortwo Mercedes-Benz Mover Mike

Update:

Nazko Cone is a small tree covered "hill" about 100 km west of Quesnel photo courtesy Natural Resources Canada

Opinion 250 in Eruption From Nazko Volcano Unlikely, notes that the quakes showing up in the Nazko Cone area are likely magma moving at great depths.

Although it is doubtful there would be an eruption, if there WAS one, scientist say it would most likely be "a small cone building event" similar to the Nazco eruption that took place about 7000 years ago.

Nazko+Cone Earthquake Mover Mike

FURNITURE/Today reports,

One supplier said that about a week before the High Point Market it was told by a factoring firm that Levitz was not cooperating in supplying certain financial disclosures. That led the factor to withdraw the retailer’s credit line, and the supplier subsequently stopped shipping new orders.

Three other suppliers also confirmed they have cut the retailer off in recent weeks. A fifth company said it has been “trading dollars” with the retailer for some time — shipping new goods as it pays off other bills.

Twice in the past 10 years — under different corporate ownership and variations on the name — an undercapitalized Levitz chain has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The last one came in 2005, when Levitz ultimately was bought out of bankruptcy by Prentice Capital Management and liquidator Great American Group...

Levitz Home Furnishings Mover Mike

2007/10/25 12:45:07 52.87N 124.09W 27.5 1.2ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/25 11:42:02 52.87N 124.08W 28.8 1.5ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/25 11:16:25 52.87N 124.11W 30.4 1.3ML 147 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/25 11:02:54 52.86N 124.09W 27.9 1.0ML 147 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/25 07:18:42 52.87N 124.10W 29.0 1.4ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/25 06:59:24 52.88N 124.08W 28.8 1.3ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/25 01:52:25 52.87N 124.09W 30.1 1.7ML 147 km SW of Prince George,BC

I corresponded with Robert when Maupin quakes popped up and renewed the acquaintence with this Seismic Application Programmer, who holds a B.Sc. (Geophysics). Robert said most scientists were not expecting activity near the Nazko Cone but in the in the Stikine volcanic belt or perhaps the Wells-Gray area. The last activity in the Stikine area was less than 150 years ago. The Wells-Gray area's last activity was less than 500 years ago and the Nazko Cone area is considered extinct.

I asked Robert if most scientists were expecting activity in the (stikine) or (wells-gray) vocanic belts because of subduction zone or the young age?

Wells-Gray...could be a continuation of the Anaheim hot spot track, could be a separate hot-spot, or just a weak & thin area of the crust (some activity very recent 1600-1700s?)

Stikine seems to be related to the transform fault (Queen Charlotte fault), with possible crustal extension behind it (or maybe even subducted spreading center??? {personal speculation} ) , causing crustal weakness... some of the eruptions (specifically the Aiyansh River flow near Stewart is recorded in Indian folk lore, others near the Alaska panhandle would have been historical, if there had been anybody in the area to observe them) .. This is my memory of my private investigations, U might/should (want) to double check on this ...

note the Cascadia subduction zone ends about the north end on Vancouver island, turns into the Queen Charlotte transform fault , the turns back into the Aleutian(?) subduction zone about at the Yukon-Alaska border area ....

Crude Oil Inflation Mover Mike

The chart shows that subprime resets peak in mid-2008, but the Option Adjustables don't peak until mid-2011. So this problem is going to be with us for some time.

What are Option Adjustables?

There are typically 4 payment options to choose from each month and you actually get to elect which one you make. This is the primary advantage of choosing this type of mortgage. These options will help you better manage your monthly cash flow, and provide more liquidity in the day to day operations of the normal household. The monthly payment options you have each month will depend on which version of this hybrid loan program you have. The following is the basic options that exist:

1. THE MINIMUM PAYMENT OPTION - The minimum payment option is the LOWEST of the 4 payments and should be considered like a credit card payment for the simple reason that with this payment you are paying neither the principal nor the entire amount of interest due on the loan. The interest that does not get paid gets added back into the interest due on the loan and this increases your actual loan balance

2. INTEREST ONLY PAYMENT - The interest only payment - you avoid deferring interest but at the same time you are not making a principal reduction payment. This payment option is your second lowest payment type. As with most interest only payment loans, there is a clause in the mortgage note that will dictate how long you can make interest only payments.

3. 30-YEAR PAYMENT - The 30-year payment or 30-Year Fully Amortizing Payment is the regular vanilla payment most people are probably used to making with payment going towards principal and interest. Consistently making this payment will payoff the loan in 30-Years.

4. 15-YEAR PAYMENT - The 15-year payment or Accelerated Payment Option will payoff the loan in 15 Years - both principal and interest are being paid.

This loan program is not for everybody; however, for those comfortable with a little risk, in exchange for a great deal of flexibility together with the discipline to check the mortgage statement every month, this could be the right loan.

It is a great loan for someone wishing to leverage their house as an investment, and invest some of those hard earned dollars elsewhere for possibly a greater return, for example an annuity offered by a financial planner. It is also excellent for those that derive their income from commissions or any other potentially fluctuating source.

Two items to research:|

First, this item,

INITIAL INTEREST RATE - The interest rate applied to the ARM from the time it is originated until the first adjustment date.

Option Adjustables Mortgages Mover Mike

"ACE" = Accumilated Cyclone Energy - An index that combines the numbers of systems, how long they existed and how intense they became. It is calculated by squaring the maximum sustained surface wind in the system every six hours and summing it up for the season. It is expressed in 104 kt2.

John and Lawrene, do you see any trend in that picture? Is the ACE Index moving up? Moving down? You predicate so much of your research on rising levels of CO2 exacerbating climate change. Do you see that happening here? No! No! And No!!!

UI will concede one point. Looking at the ACE Index since 1851, the average per year is 94.5. In the last 11 years 9 out of 11 years have been above average. GHowever, looking back to 1851, being above average doesn't appear to be predictive

ACE Index Hurricane Mover Mike

We have some neighbors up the street who every election season support the candidate who is a Democrat. Every election season lawn signs sprout on their lawn. This year the sign say Yes on 49 and Yes on 50. How do Democrats always know which is the wrong side to support?

While we are on Measure 49, I was disappointed that the Portland Tribune, an independent paper and to the right of The Oregonian has an editorial in Tuesdays paper, urging a yes vote on 49. They say you have to hold your nose to vote on it, but it is better that 37 which Oregon voters approved twice. Don't worry the Tribune says, we can fix 49 later. I am NOT going to vote that way. I urge you to vote

Keep 37 the way it is and if it is a bad law, fix it the right way! A way that doesn't smell like crap!

Measure 49 Property Rights Mover Mike

map 1.4 2007/10/23 13:01:21 45.286N 122.793W 24.2 3 km ( 2 mi) SW of Wilsonville, OR

Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

John Cassidy is another federal earthquake seismologist who has been monitoring events in Nazko from his Sidney office near Victoria. He said in an interview Tuesday that the area continues to produce 50 to 60 microquakes per day, measuring 1.0 to 1.5 on the Richter scale.

[...]

"It's a swarm, a tight cluster of seismicity," confirmed Cassidy, noting scientists would expect the quakes to eventually get bigger — in the range of 4.0 — if magma is working its way to the surface.

Map shows in purple, the Anahim Volcano Belt, which is home to the Nazo cone. The borwn shaded areas indicate other volcanic belts which are either in B.C. or which could impact the province)

Update:

Texas Fred is upset with Barack Hussein Obama's lack of respect.

During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. Men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. – United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171

Barack Hussein Obama The "FLAG CODE" Mover Mike

(Click for a larger view)

Laureen writes,

To arrive at Bella Coola from the interior of BC, you drop something like 1,000 feet in 5 or 6 miles. The road from Anahim Lake to Bella Coola is called The Precipice. You drop from the coastal range to the coast. There are corners that you have to back up to be able to turn as you descend or ascend. I have heard even the toughest cowboy tell me the trip scared the piss out him.... He also told me the next time he had to make that trip he was going to be drunk and let someone else drive.

People making the trip by horse can't keep the saddle from sliding over the horse's head or some horses just freeze up and won't move.

This is an 11 km (18 km) climb (starting at approximately 300 m, 1,000 ft) and rising to where the road crosses the Coast Range via Heckman Pass in Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park at an elevation of 1487 m (4,879 ft). From this point the road descends over 9km (6 mi) of switchbacks to the Bella Coola Valley at a maximum grade of 18% (about 1 in 6). The road is winding, in some places only wide enough for one vehicle, and in many places bordered on one side by cliffs and on the other side by a drop of hundreds of meters (many hundreds of feet) unprotected by guardrails. Tourists who have driven to Bella Coola from Williams Lake have been known to refuse to drive back and have had to be taken out by boat or float plane.

We've been watching this area for a swarm of unusual earthquakes.

Bella Coola, B.C. The Precipice Mover Mike

Yet each day the names stretched south on 33rd to Alberta, then to Prescott, then to Wilshire Park. Today my curiosity got the better of me. I stopped and walked across the street and looked at the names. Many appeared foreign. Every once in awhile the names were sketched in white. I asked the woman in knee pads, "What's going on?" She told me each name is a U.S. serviceman who died in Iraq. The names in white were from Oregon.

Artist Nancy Hiss started the Iraq Names Project at the Federal Building in Portland Oregon on Memorial Day May 28 2007. So far she has inscribed over seven miles of the fallen. (Map) At this time she is up to October 2006. She has another year of names to add to the Portland sidewalks.

Artist Nancy Hiss is creating an art work that consists of writing the names of all dead coalition men and women.

The names will thread their way through the fabric of Portland OR. Only last names will be listed to honor the sacrifice of individuals & their families.

The names will be listed chronologically by date of death.

If you have loved ones there, now or are yourself a veteran, or support our president and the actions taken in the Middle East, you can be comforted by the recognition these men and women are getting compared to the Vietnam soldiers.

We are going to have a week of nice days in Portland. Stop on 33rd to read the names and honor the dead before the rains come and wash them away.

Iraq Names Project Nancy Hiss Mover Mike

Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) is a retired military police officer. He and his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) have raised two sons, both of whom followed him into the service. The older son was killed in a military training accident in the States. The younger one, Mike (Jonathan Tucker), has served in Iraq for 18 months. When Hank gets a phone call informing him that on his first weekend home, Mike has gone missing and is reported AWOL, he decides to travel to New Mexico to help locate him.

In many ways this is an anti-war, Hollywood, propaganda movie. Let's see how bad we can make our troops look, under the guise of look how hard war is on soldiers. If I had a son or daughter in Iraq or Afghanistan, would I want their sacrifice represented this way? No way! The film didn't show anything good done by our troops, just how fucked up the war is and how it corrupts our young men.

Coming up is Rendition, a movie that shows how corrupt is the CIA and how bad is the U.S., in the way we justify torture.

Michael Clayton is another Hollywood movie, this time bashing the agricultural chemical business.

I get tired of propaganda.

In the Valley of Elah is based on the David and Goliath story and really asks the question, why would any of us willingly go into the valley, overcome our fear, to battle a formidable foe? We should thank God there are those who choose to do it.

In the Valley of Elah Movie Review Mover Mike

Update:

Date Time Lat. Long. Depth Mag. Region2007/10/23 15:17:36 52.88N 123.97W 25.0 1.3ML 140 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/23 14:50:55 52.89N 123.95W 25.3 1.4ML 139 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/23 14:26:15 52.88N 124.03W 15.4 1.4ML 143 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/23 07:43:49 52.89N 124.02W 19.6 1.3ML 141 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/23 05:57:39 52.88N 123.99W 19.0 1.4ML 141 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/23 03:31:50 52.89N 124.01W 19.5 1.2ML 141 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/23 03:13:48 52.89N 124.02W 15.2 1.2ML 142 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/23 00:52:32 52.87N 123.97W 15.2 1.4ML 141 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/22 06:21:34 52.88N 124.07W 28.4 1.9ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/22 06:15:27 52.87N 124.09W 26.3 1.9ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/22 05:30:03 52.87N 124.15W 30.7 1.7ML 149 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/22 04:17:59 52.88N 124.07W 27.0 1.6ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/22 00:40:58 52.87N 124.06W 26.1 1.9ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/21 23:39:07 52.87N 124.06W 28.4 1.4ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/21 14:38:17 52.87N 124.05W 24.7 1.7ML 144 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/21 12:09:45 52.86N 124.08W 30.4 1.4ML 146 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/21 11:32:26 52.88N 124.07W 22.8 1.5ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/21 11:06:38 52.86N 124.05W 29.6 1.4ML 145 km SW of Prince George,BC

2007/10/21 10:48:28 52.89N 124.06W 22.9 1.5ML 144 km SW of Prince George,BC

Prince George, BC Earthquake Mover Mike

Update:

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

#6 South Carolina 6, Vanderbilt 17

#8 Kentucky 14, Florida 37

#10 California 21, UCLA 30

#20 Tennessee 17, Alabama 41

#23 Cincinnati 17, Pittsburgh 24

#25 Kansas State 39, Oklahoma State 41

Not Upset was #7 Oregon 55, Washington 34

Go Ducks!

Next week it's USC

Oregon State plays Stanford on Oct. 27, 2007, then at Southern Cal on Nov. 3, 2007 after Oregon gets through with them.

Go Beavers!

College Football Mover Mike

There are certainly a lot of questions!

John Edwards Sen. Hillary Clinton Mover Mike

I pick up my K through 3rd kids at Hollyrood and drive a short distance to Fernwood to pick up some 7th and 8th graders, Usually we arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the bell rings to end the school day. While we were waiting another bus driver popped her head in and asked a question about cars running her student loading lights. Now this bus driver has a pierced lower lip and a pierced tongue. I pointed it out to my kids and Devon said, "Yeah, and she has a lot of rings, Mike!" I made up this poem on the spot and the kids went wild with laughter.

She has rings on her arms
and rings on her toes.
She has a ring in her eyebrow
and a ring in her nose!

"Do another one Mike", they said. So I came up with a few more, none quite as good as the first.

The next day I got more elaborate:

A little girl with hair to the floor
asked the genie for just two more.
She wished for a big dog and a yellow cat, too,
But the genie gave her a hot dog...
And a tray of cat poo!

I have found my audience. They loved it and they keep asking, "More, Mike!"

Third graders can be so discriminating.

Wait until they hear this one:

A little boy dressed in a brown striped shirt,
Tucked in and neat,
Couldn’t sit still in his Bluebird seat.
He wiggled and he waggled
And he wobbled to and fro.
He shimmied and he shaggled,
And swooped high and low.
He dizzied as he danced
Down the steps to his Mom.
Stepped In a puddle
And away he was borne

poems Hollyrood Mover Mike

The Corps manages the water usage between the states. It faced heavy criticism in June when it accidentally released 22 billion gallons of water from Lake Lanier, a major source of drinking water for the fast-growing Atlanta metropolitan area. The error came as the state was sinking into a drought.

Florida has complained the state is not sending enough water downstream to protect endangered and threatened mussels on the banks of a drying river. And Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has urged the Corps to release more water from Georgia's lakes to help his state cope with the dry conditions.

Isn't it interesting that (sharp intake of breath) global warming is supposed to bring about more hurricanes, like Katrina, yet in the Southeast "Scorching summer temperatures and a drier-than-normal hurricane season fueled the drought."

State climatologist David Stooksbury said it will take months of above average rainfall to replenish the system. He is now predicting the drought could worsen if "La Nina" conditions develop and bring little winter rainfall.

Update:

The USDA dropped a bombshell last week — reporting that U.S. wheat stockpiles may fall to the lowest level in 59 years!

Global stockpiles have already fallen to 26-year lows. World stocks of grain — that is, the food held in reserve for times of emergency — are now sufficient for just over 50 days.

[...]

The USDA estimates overall food price inflation will run 3% to 4% in 2008.

Here's what Domino's Pizza Inc (DPZ) CEO David Brandon said during a conference call.

While international same-store sales rose 8.3 percent, higher labor, food and packaging costs along with weak consumer spending hurt domestic sales.

But there is no inflation!

Wheat Inflation Domino's Pizza Inc (DPZ)

map 1.1 2007/10/18 09:50:41 47.691N 120.106W 5.9 5 km ( 3 mi) NNW of Waterville, WA

Maupin Earthquake Mover Mike

First Hillary can't seem to shake the "corrupt" issue, as I posted yesterday in Political Corruption.

Second, Republican Ogonowski lost, narrowly, to Democrat Tsongas. Tsongas won with only 51% in the the 5th district of Massachusetts, a strong Democratic territory, but was crushed by the 35 and younger voter. Tsongas also, outspent Ogonowski by 4 to 1. (HT to Glenn Reynolds and Instapundit.com)

Third, if you are anti-war, you have no home in the Democrat party. The leader, Sen. Hillary Clinton is now getting the big money from defense contractors that usually goes to Republicans. Why not, she says the same things that Bush says, she is even getting coached by the Bush crowd?

Fourth, the MSM media is asking questions about the leadership capability or lack of it, from Pelosi and Reid. They have lost the S-Chip battle, the FISA battle, and the Iraq battle.

Republicans will be singing happy days in 2008!

Sen. Hillary Clinton Democrats Mover Mike

Mr. (Peter) Paul accuses Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton of deceiving him into spending well over $1 million on the fund-raiser for her Senate campaign. Mr. Paul contends the Clintons obtained the money by falsely promising that Mr. Clinton would become Mr. Paul's business associate after leaving the White House in January 2001. Mr. Paul also maintains that Mrs. Clinton and her campaign violated federal election law in connection with the fund-raiser.

Peter Paul Sen. Hillary Clinton Mover Mike

October 13, 2007: NZ women most promiscuous: survey

October 15, 2007: Men should ejaculate more, say scientists

Also, on October 15, 2007: Then to top it off, 9 SoCal Drivers Missing After Inferno

Maybe, those drivers are in New Zealand!

New Zealand SoCal Inferno Mover Mike

(Click to enlarge)

Before Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick was elected, he served in the Clinton Justice Dept. There, he used the anti-discrimination laws in a way that coerced lenders into making risky loans, especially in the areas now witnessing the highest default rates.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick received $360,000 in 2005 for serving as a director of Ameriquest in his own words to “deal with the allegations of predatory lending and to put in place policies that will protect low-income consumers.”

So, first he coerced lenders like Ameriquest to make loans in risky areas, then went to work for Ameriquest and now those loans are being foreclosed on.

Once his constituants find out why they are losing their homes, assuming the Globe reports it, Gov. Patrick might have trouble in his state getting elected dog-catcher.

Hat tip to Squaring The Boston Globe.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick Sub-prime Mortgages Mover Mike

Update:

The Columbia River Crossing project could replace the existing six-lane bridge with new spans containing five or six lanes in each direction, plus room for either light rail or bus rapid transit. Toll charges might apply.

This is curious!

Natural Resources Canada map of earthquake activity over the past 30 days

Prince George, B.C. - Over the last three days, the earth has been moving in an area south west of Prince George.

In fact, there have been 8 earthquakes in the area, the smallest one registering a Richter magnitude of 3.0 , and the strongest had a Richter magnitude of 3.2

“This is unprecedented” says Gary Rogers a Seismologist and Research Scientist with Natural Resources Canada. “We haven’t seen anything like this since we starting keeping records in the 1960’s so certainly we haven’t seen that many quakes in about 50 years.”

[...]

“This region is an area of old volcanoes, but there hasn’t been any activity in modern times. (Emphasis added)

The earthquakes, the first of which was recorded on Tuesday at about 7:30 p.m. and the latest on Thursday at about 8 p.m., occured about 21 km. west of the Nazko Cone, a small tree-covered volcano that last erupted about 7,200 years ago.

Hat tip to Laureen!

Nazko Cone Earthquake Mover Mike

map 2.1 2007/10/15 18:39:10 45.116N 120.954W 19.5 12 km ( 7 mi) ESE of Maupin, OR

map 1.7 2007/10/13 15:50:49 42.574N 124.451W 12.7 19 km (12 mi) N of Gold Beach, OR

map 1.2 2007/10/13 12:13:00 44.572N 123.392W 8.0 4 km ( 3 mi) NW of Philomath, OR

map 1.4 2007/10/13 06:44:05 44.132N 121.809W 0.0 27 km (17 mi) SW of Sisters, OR

map 1.0 2007/10/13 06:42:54 44.144N 121.810W 0.0 26 km (16 mi) SW of Sisters, OR

Oregon Earthquake Mover Mike

That's Tektronix in blue in the middle and Intel in pink. Together they share responsibility for the growth of Silicon Forest. Some of the notable people who worked at TEK:

Tom Bruggere: engineer; later founded Mentor Graphics in 1981;

Gerry Langler: engineer; later co-founded Mentor Graphics in 1981
Dave Moffenbeier: engineer; later co-founded Mentor Graphics in 1981

Norm Winningstad: engineer; founder of Floating Point Systems

Tektronix to be sold to D.C. conglomerate

Many companies populating the Silicon Forest started as seedlings cast by Tektronix, which flourished in the years following World War II. Current and former Oregon tech businesses that trace their roots to Tek include Planar Systems Inc., InFocus Corp., Mentor Graphics Corp. and Floating Point Systems. Intel has credited Tektronix with laying the groundwork for the chipmaker's substantial presence in Oregon

[...]

Tektronix is now slated to join Danaher's electronic test platform, joining Everett, Wash.-based Fluke Corp., which makes testing equipment used by electricians, air conditioning technicians, and others who perform installation and maintenance tasks at commercial and residential properties.

Danahar, best-known as the maker of Sears' Craftsman tools, reported sales of $9.6 billion last year.

GOOD AFTERNOON LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

SOME OF YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE THIS BUT I AM GLAD TO BE HERE. WHEN SIG ASKED ME IF I WOULD CONSIDER ADDRESSING YOU THERE WAS NO DOUBT THAT I SHOULD COME INTO THE LION'S DEN. THIS WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE I HAVE FIRMLY BELIEVED SINCE DESERT SHIELD THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE STRENGTH OF OUR DEMOCRACY THAT THE MILITARY AND THE PRESS CORPS MAINTAIN A STRONG, MUTUALLY RESPECTFUL AND ENABLING RELATIONSHIP. THIS CONTINUES TO BE PROBLEMATIC FOR OUR COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY DURING TIMES OF WAR. ONE OF THE GREATEST MILITARY CORRESPONDENTS OF OUR TIME, JOE GALLOWAY, MADE ME A BELIEVER WHEN HE JOINED THE 24TH INFANTRY DIVISION DURING DESERT STORM.

TODAY, I WILL ATTEMPT TO DO TWO THINGS - FIRST I WILL GIVE YOU MY ASSESSMENT OF THE MILITARY AND PRESS RELATIONSHIP AND THEN I WILL PROVIDE YOU SOME THOUGHTS ON THE CURRENT STATE OF OUR WAR EFFORT. AS ALL OF YOU KNOW I HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF RELATIONSHIPS AND EXPERIENCES WITH OUR NATIONS MILITARY WRITERS AND EDITORS. THERE ARE SOME IN YOUR RANKS WHO I CONSIDER TO BE THE EPITOME OF JOURNALISTIC PROFESSIONALISM - JOE GALLOWAY, THOM SHANKER, SIG CHRISTENSEN, AND JOHN BURNS IMMEDIATELY COME TO MIND. THEY EXEMPLIFY WHAT AMERICA SHOULD DEMAND OF OUR JOURNALISTS - TOUGH REPORTING THAT RELIES UPON INTEGRITY, OBJECTIVITY AND FAIRNESS TO GIVE ACCURATE AND THOROUGH ACCOUNTS THAT STRENGTHEN OUR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND IN TURN OUR DEMOCRACY. ON THE OTHER HAND, UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE ISSUED ULTIMATUMS TO SOME OF YOU FOR UNSCRUPULOUS REPORTING THAT WAS SOLELY FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING YOUR AGENDA AND PRECONCIEVED NOTIONS OF WHAT OUR MILITARY HAD DONE. I ALSO REFUSED TO TALK TO THE EUROPEAN STARS AND STRIPES FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS OF MY COMMAND IN GERMANY FOR THEIR EXTREME BIAS AND SINGLE MINDED FOCUS ON ABU GHARAIB.

LET ME REVIEW SOME OF THE DESCRIPTIVE PHRASES THAT HAVE BEEN USED BY SOME OF YOU THAT HAVE MADE MY PERSONAL INTERFACES WITH THE PRESS CORPS DIFFICULT:

"DICTATORIAL AND SOMEWHAT DENSE",

"NOT A STRATEGIC THOUGHT",

LIAR,

"DOES NOT GET IT" AND

THE MOST INEXPERIENCED LTG.

IN SOME CASES I HAVE NEVER EVEN MET YOU, YET YOU FEEL QUALIFIED TO MAKE CHARACTER JUDGMENTS THAT ARE COMMUNICATED TO THE WORLD. MY EXPERIENCE IS NOT UNIQUE AND WE CAN FIND OTHER EXAMPLES SUCH AS THE TREATMENT OF SECRETARY BROWN DURING KATRINA. THIS IS THE WORST DISPLAY OF JOURNALISM IMAGINABLE BY THOSE OF US THAT ARE BOUND BY A STRICT VALUE SYSTEM OF SELFLESS SERVICE, HONOR AND INTEGRITY. ALMOST INVARIABLY, MY PERCEPTION IS THAT THE SENSATIONALISTIC VALUE OF THESE ASSESSMENTS IS WHAT PROVIDED THE EDGE THAT YOU SEEK FOR SELF AGRANDIZEMENT OR TO ADVANCE YOUR INDIVIDUAL QUEST FOR GETTING ON THE FRONT PAGE WITH YOUR STORIES! AS I UNDERSTAND IT, YOUR MEASURE OF WORTH IS HOW MANY FRONT PAGE STORIES YOU HAVE WRITTEN AND UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF YOU WILL COMPROMISE YOUR INTEGRITY AND DISPLAY QUESTIONABLE ETHICS AS YOU SEEK TO KEEP AMERICA INFORMED. THIS IS MUCH LIKE THE INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS WHOSE EFFECTIVENESS WAS MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF INTELLIGENCE REPORTS HE PRODUCED. FOR SOME, IT SEEMS THAT AS LONG AS YOU GET A FRONT PAGE STORY THERE IS LITTLE OR NO REGARD FOR THE "COLLATERAL DAMAGE" YOU WILL CAUSE. PERSONAL REPUTATIONS HAVE NO VALUE AND YOU REPORT WITH TOTAL IMPUNITY AND ARE RARELY HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR UNETHICAL CONDUCT.

GIVEN THE NEAR INSTANTANEOUS ABILITY TO REPORT ACTIONS ON THE GROUND, THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ACCURATELY AND TRUTHFULLY REPORT TAKES ON AN UNPRECEDENTED IMPORTANCE. THE SPECULATIVE AND OFTEN UNINFORMED INITIAL REPORTING THAT CHARACTERIZES OUR MEDIA APPEARS TO BE RAPIDLY BECOMING THE STANDARD OF THE INDUSTRY. AN ARAB PROVERB STATES - "Four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past, the neglected opportunity." ONCE REPORTED, YOUR ASSESSMENTS BECOME CONVENTIONAL WISDOM AND NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO CHANGE. OTHER MAJOR CHALLENGES ARE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO BE MANIPULATED BY "HIGH LEVEL OFFICIALS" WHO LEAK STORIES AND BY LAWYERS WHO USE HYPERBOLE TO STRENGHTEN THEIR ARGUMENTS. YOUR UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCURATELY AND PROMINENTLY CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES AND YOUR AGENDA DRIVEN BIASES CONTRIBUTE TO THIS CORROSIVE ENVIRONMENT. ALL OF THESE CHALLENGES COMBINED CREATE A MEDIA ENVIRONMENT THAT DOES A TREMENDOUS DISSERVICE TO AMERICA. OVER THE COURSE OF THIS WAR TACTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS HAVE BECOME STRATEGIC DEFEATS FOR AMERICA BECAUSE OF THE TREMENDOUS POWER AND IMPACT OF THE MEDIA AND BY EXTENSION YOU THE JOURNALIST. IN MANY CASES THE MEDIA HAS UNJUSTLY DESTROYED THE INDIVIDUAL REPUTATIONS AND CAREERS OF THOSE INVOLVED. WE REALIZE THAT BECAUSE OF THE NEAR REAL TIME REPORTING ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU FACE IT IS DIFFICULT TO REPORT ACCURATELY. IN MY BUSINESS ONE OF OUR FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS IS THAT "THE FIRST REPORT IS ALWAYS WRONG." UNFORTUNATELY, IN YOUR BUSINESS "THE FIRST REPORT" GIVES AMERICANS WHO RELY ON THE SNIPPETS OF CNN, IF YOU WILL, THEIR "TRUTHS" AND PERSPECTIVES ON AN ISSUE. AS A COROLLARY TO THIS DEADLINE DRIVEN NEED TO PUBLISH "INITIAL IMPRESSIONS OR OBSERVATIONS" VERSUS OBJECTIVE FACTS THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE FOR US WHO ARE THE SUBJECT OF YOUR REPORTING. WHEN YOU ASSUME THAT YOU ARE CORRECT AND ON THE MORAL HIGH GROUND ON A STORY BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT RESPOND TO QUESTIONS YOU PROVIDED IS THE ULTIMATE ARROGANCE AND DISTORTION OF ETHICS. ONE OF YOUR HIGHLY REPECTED FELLOW JOURNALISTS ONCE TOLD ME THAT THERE ARE SOME AMONGST YOU WHO "FEED FROM A PIG'S TROUGH." IF THAT IS WHO I AM DEALING WITH THEN I WILL NEVER RESPOND OTHERWISE WE WILL BOTH GET DIRTY AND THE PIG WILL LOVE IT. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOUR STORY IS ACCURATE.

I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THIS IS WHAT OUR FOREFATHERS INTENDED. THE CODE OF ETHICS FOR THE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS STATES:

...PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT IS THE FORERUNNER OF JUSTICE AND THE FOUNDATION OF DEMOCRACY. THE DUTY OF THE JOURNALIST IS TO FURTHER THOSE ENDS BY SEEKING TRUTH AND PROVIDING A FAIR AND COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF EVENTS AND ISSUES. CONSCIENTIOUS JOURNALISTS FROM ALL MEDIA AND SPECIALTIES STRIVE TO SERVE THE PUBLIC WITH THOROUGHNESS AND HONESTY. PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY IS THE CORNERSTONE OF A JOURNALIST'S CREDIBILITY

THE BASIC ETHICS OF A JOURNALIST THAT CALLS FOR:

1. SEEKING TRUTH,

2. PROVIDING FAIR AND COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF EVENTS AND ISSUES

3. THOROUGHNESS AND HONESTY

ALL ARE VICTIMS OF THE MASSIVE AGENDA DRIVEN COMPETITION FOR ECONOMIC OR POLITICAL SUPREMACY. THE DEATH KNELL OF YOUR ETHICS HAS BEEN ENABLED BY YOUR PARENT ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE CHOSEN TO ALIGN THEMSELVES WITH POLITICAL AGENDAS. WHAT IS CLEAR TO ME IS THAT YOU ARE PERPETUATING THE CORROSIVE PARTISAN POLITICS THAT IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY AND KILLING OUR SERVICEMEMBERS WHO ARE AT WAR.

MY ASSESSMENT IS THAT YOUR PROFESSION, TO SOME EXTENT, HAS STRAYED FROM THESE ETHICAL STANDARDS AND ALLOWED EXTERNAL AGENDAS TO MANIPULATE WHAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SEES ON TV, WHAT THEY READ IN OUR NEWSPAPERS AND WHAT THEY SEE ON THE WEB. FOR SOME OF YOU, JUST LIKE SOME OF OUR POLITICIANS, THE TRUTH IS OF LITTLE TO NO VALUE IF IT DOES NOT FIT YOUR OWN PRECONCIEVED NOTIONS, BIASES AND AGENDAS.

IT IS ASTOUNDING TO ME WHEN I HEAR THE VEHEMENT DISAGREEMENT WITH THE MILITARY'S FORAYS INTO INFORMATION OPERATIONS THAT SEEK TO DISSEMINATE THE TRUTH AND INFORM THE IRAQI PEOPLE IN ORDER TO COUNTER OUR ENEMY'S BLATANT PROPAGANDA. AS I ASSESS VARIOUS MEDIA ENTITIES, SOME ARE UNQUESTIONABLY ENGAGED IN POLITICAL PROPAGANDA THAT IS UNCONTROLLED. THERE IS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND THAT THE STRENGTH OUR DEMOCRACY AND OUR FREEDOMS REMAIN LINKED TO YOUR ABILITY TO EXERCISE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS - I ADAMANTLY SUPPORT THIS BASIC FOUNDATION OF OUR DEMOCRACY AND COMPLETELY SUPPORTED THE EMBEDDING OF MEDIA INTO OUR FORMATIONS UP UNTIL MY LAST DAY IN UNIFORM. THE ISSUE IS ONE OF MAINTAINING PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND STANDARDS FROM WITHIN YOUR INSTITUTION. MILITARY LEADERS MUST ACCEPT THAT THESE INJUSTICES WILL HAPPEN AND WHETHER THEY LIKE WHAT YOU PRINT OR NOT THEY MUST DEAL WITH YOU AND ENABLE YOU, IF YOU ARE AN ETHICAL JOURNALIST.

FINALLY, I WILL LEAVE THIS SUBJECT WITH A QUESTION THAT WE MUST ASK OURSELVES--WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE ETHICAL STANDARDS OF THE PROFESSION IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT OUR DEMOCRACY DOES NOT CONTINUE TO BE THREATENED BY THIS DANGEROUS SHIFT AWAY FROM YOUR SACRED DUTY OF PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT?

Lt Gen Sanchez Iraq Mover Mike

Levitt Corp. said it loaned $84 million to Levitt and Sons through Sept. 30 to help meet its cash requirements but is unwilling to loan more money unless Levitt and Sons' debt is restructured.

Levitt (LEV) Home Builders Mover Mike

Update:

Al Gore Supreme Court Mover Mike

Acting on a tip from Portland police, Skamania County authorities found Capt. John Frueh's rental car about noon on Saturday. They quickly began a search and rescue mission and, with the help of search dogs, found Frueh's body near the vehicle about 5 p.m., the Skamania County Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities said foul play is not suspected.

Yesterday, Ralph the dog and I decided to drive near Badger Peak to see the area for ourselves. It was a beautiful day. The sun was out. Away from Portland the fog had lifted. We left Portland at 10:00 AM, our odomrter read 43065. We drove up I-5 to Woodland, exit 21, and onto State Highway 503. The highway took us to Cougar about 30 miles away. We stopped there for some Big Hunks and Cheetos, road trip food. Ralph watered the plants.

503 runs along the Lewis River which has been dammed to form Lake Merwin, Yale lake and Swift Reservoir. At the east end of the Swift Reservoir the road splits. The road to the right goes to Carson, WA. That's where the Skamania County authorities came from. The left fork becomes State Highway 25. It runs between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams for about 50 miles to Randall, WA. 25 is a pretty good paved, but narrow windy road, hemmed in on both sides by trees turned yellow by the fall. If we were able to see through the trees, we would catch a glimpse of fir trees that covered steeply pitch mountain sides, with glints of yellow fall foilage. On a few occasions, we could see the looming presence of Mt St Helens, its jagged snow covered top a reminder of the violent eruption.

There are few road signs. Just mile markers and an initial sign to the Windy Ridge viewpoint. There was no Badger Peak sign. There were many unnamed forest roads that took off from 25 with no name or numbers. I kept asking myself, "Why would anyone come up here?"

Capt. Frueh's car was found on one of those dirt roads, 2816. I thought, maybe, the road was identified by the mile marker, so when milepost 28 came up, I took the next road and drove on it for several miles until I met a pickup carrying some deer and elk hunters. I asked if Badger Peak was up this road. They dug out some detailed maps and discovered the road was just a loop road that eventually connected back up to 25. It appeared from the map that Badger Peak was north on 25 another 5 miles. I turned around and drove to milepost 23 and took the first road to the right. There were no signs for Badger Peak and the road looked very much like the other dirt road. I saw no crime tape left behind, nothing to my eyes indicating anything out of the ordinary.

Did Capt. Frueh read somewhere about Badger Peak on the internet? Did he have instructions to follow the mileposts. Some might find this beautiful country. Not me! There is very little of it that can be seen from the road. It is very steep and overgrown. It would be very slow going to move through the trees. The news reports say he was found, with the aid of dogs, some distance from his car. Was he dressed for this country? I did try to call out on my cell phone from Cougar. No luck. I was able to listen to the Ducks play football when I turned around. When we got back to Portland, my odometer said 43257, almost 200 miles round trip. All I'm left with is why?

Capt. Frueh, 33, came to Portland in late August to attend a friend's wedding. He last spoke with family on Aug. 30. The day he rented a car at the Portland International Airport and drove to Badger Peak.

USAF Capt. John Frueh Badger Peak Mover Mike

Click to enlarge

One could look at this and see strong evidence for, sharp intake of breath, global warming. Snow's yearly average accumulation peaked in the 18