~~~~
It was a beautiful day outside today. Nice in the 60’s, tomorrow should be the same way and I may get to open up a window when I get home and go to bed. Dawnell had the day off work today and she went to her doctors appointment but found out it had been cancelled and no one had called her. It really sucks how doctor offices will cancel an appointment and not notify the patient, especially with gas prices as high as they are.
J had a good day in school today and got all stars on his homework so Dawnell took him to a skating party for the school. When she got home she said he did pretty good on the skates and he said he had a good time. I stayed home with Shane while he worked on his homework.
We bought a catbox, it is a cat genie self flushing cat box. When you start it, the scoop comes down and scoops everything up and puts it into a chamber where it is all ground up and then pumped out into your toilet. It does this 3 or so times, then it washes the litter and dries it. It really does work and I am happy we got it. It sure is easier than arguing with Shane to clean the box out every day.
Congratulations Kendra on the birth of your son.
~~~~
WHY I LOVE MY WIFE
Why do I love my wife? Well Dawnell is my soul mate, when I look into her eyes I see never questioning love not only for me but for everything. She always puts other before herself and accepts people for who they are. She accepts me for who I am and no matter how big of a mistake I make, she is always there for me with a twinkle in her eye. Although I don’t show my affection all the time, I love her with all my heart and will continue to love her forever no matter what.
Thanks for being you Dawnell.
~~~~
MARY ANN CAUGHT WITH MARY JANE
She was sentenced February 29 to five days in jail, fined $410.50 and placed on probation after pleading guilty to one count of reckless driving.
Under a plea agreement, three misdemeanor counts — driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance — were dropped.
On October 18, Teton County sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Gutierrez arrested Wells as she was driving home from a surprise birthday party that was held for her. According to the sheriff’s office report, Gutierrez pulled Wells over after noticing her swerve and repeatedly speed up and slow down. When Gutierrez asked about a marijuana smell, Wells said she’d just given a ride to three hitchhikers and had dropped them off when they began smoking something. Gutierrez found half-smoked joints and two small cases used to store marijuana.
The 69-year-old Wells, founder of the Idaho Film and Television Institute and organizer of the region’s annual family movie festival called the Spud Fest, then failed a sobriety test.
Wells’ lawyer, Ron Swafford, said that a friend of Wells testified he’d left a small amount of marijuana in the vehicle after using it that day, and that Wells was unaware of it. Swafford also said several witnesses were prepared to testify that Wells had very little to drink at the party and was not intoxicated when she left. He said she was swerving on the road because she was trying to find the heater controls in her new car.
~~~~
BIG OIL = BIG MONEY IN IRAQ
The expected surplus comes as the U.S. continues to invest billions of dollars in rebuilding Iraq and faces a financial squeeze domestically because of record oil prices.
“The Iraqis have a budget surplus,” said U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. “We have a huge budget deficit. … One of the questions is who should be paying.”
Walker and the other auditors did not give a figure for the likely surplus. U.S. officials contend that Iraq’s lack of spending is due primarily to Baghdad’s inability to determine where its money is needed most and how to allocate it efficiently. Two senators have called for an investigation into the matter.
Democrats say the assessment is proof that the Iraq war as a waste of time and money. The U.S. has spent more than $45 billion on rebuilding Iraq. And while officials in Iraq contend that much progress is being made, many projects remain unfinished and U.S. troops are still needed to provide security.
“They ought to be able to use some of their oil to pay for their own costs and not keep sending the bill to the United States,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat.
The Government Accountability Office estimates that the U.S. has designated $6 billion to rebuild Iraq’s energy sector and $300 million to develop Iraq’s government ministries. But GAO contends that the U.S. does not have a strategic plan on how to accomplish either goal.
The State Department told investigators it believes the Iraqis should be responsible for devising such a plan. GAO disagreed.
“In our view, it’s a shared responsibility. U.S. taxpayer money is involved,” Walker said.
Last week, Sens. Carl Levin, a Democrat, and John Warner, a Republican, asked GAO to investigate what Iraq is doing with its oil revenue. The senators estimated that Iraq will realize “at least $100 billion in oil revenues in 2007 and 2008.”
~~~~
BYE BYE F117
The world’s first attack aircraft to employ stealth technology is slipping quietly into history.
The inky black, angular, radar-evading F-117, which spent 27 years in the Air Force arsenal secretly patrolling hostile skies from Serbia to Iraq, will be put in mothballs next month in Nevada.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, which manages the F-117 program, will have an informal, private retirement ceremony Tuesday with military leaders, base employees and representatives from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.
The last F-117s scheduled to fly will leave Holloman on April 21, stop in Palmdale, California, for another retirement ceremony, then arrive on April 22 at their final destination: Tonopah Test Range Airfield in Nevada, where the jet made its first flight in 1981.
Stealth technology used on the F-117 was developed in the 1970s to help evade enemy radar. While not invisible to radar, the F-117’s shape and coating greatly reduced its detection.
The F-117, a single-seat aircraft, was designed to fly into heavily defended areas undetected and drop its payloads with surgical precision.
A total of 558 pilots have flown the F-117 since it went operational. They dub themselves “bandits,” with each given a “bandit number” after their first flight.
The government has no plans to bring the fighter out of retirement, but could do so if necessary.
~~~~
ANOTHER MUSLIM IN CONGRESS
Democrat Andre Carson had a 5,000-vote lead over Republican Jon Elrod out of nearly 59,000 votes counted. With 88 percent of 445 precincts reporting, Carson had about 53 percent of the vote compared with about 44 percent for Elrod.
Carson will represent a district that covers most of Indianapolis for the remainder of the year. In a primary in May, he’ll seek to be the Democratic nominee for a full two-year term.
In his victory speech, Carson told more than 100 supporters gathered at a downtown Indianapolis hotel that he would have to “hit the ground running.” One of his top priorities, he said, would be ending the war in Iraq.
“We need to bring our men and women back home and end this useless war,” Carson said.
Elrod held out hope for a late surge and did not concede defeat. Elrod campaign manager Kyle Casting said the candidate would not give up until the last vote was counted.
“We are waiting for the last ballots to come in. There are several precincts left to come in,” Casting said.
Carson, whose grandmother raised him in a Baptist church, converted to Islam more than a decade ago.
Carson will join Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., as the only Muslims in Congress. His religious identity has drawn little attention during the campaign, and Carson said he doesn’t believe it hurts him politically.
“I’m a proud Hoosier,” Carson said after his speech Tuesday night. “I’m an Indy 500 Hoosier, I’m a Covered Bridge Festival Hoosier, I’m a Black Expo Hoosier, I’m a state fair Hoosier. I just happen to be a Hoosier of the Muslim faith.”
~~~~
“My view is that state laws reigns supreme when it comes to the Indians, whether it be gambling or any other issue.”
George W. Bush
November 4, 1999
The Texas governor was forgetting that U.S. government treaties with the Native Americans always take precedence over state laws.
~~~~
314 Days Left
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring
Freedom casualties as confirmed by U.S. Central
Command: 4437
