Wednesday, March 27, 2013

We're number 2


An international travel publication has named Bozeman one of the “10 Best Small Towns in America.”
Fodors.com last week ranked the best cities based on population (all under 50,000), draws like great local food, interesting museums and cultural points, and noteworthy natural attractions or outdoor adventures.
A college town with an artsy vibe, Bozeman “is a nature-lover’s paradise, no matter the season,” the website states.
The article cites Bozeman as a base for fly-fishing, skiing, rafting and exploring Yellowstone National Park. In addition, the Bozeman Symphony and Shakespeare in the Parks are mentioned as popular activities.
Other towns that made the list were Sedona, Ariz., Heraldsburg, Calif., and Walla Walla, Wash.
Large cities may get the most media attention, Fodors.com said, but for savvy travelers, small towns are the best-kept secrets.
“In a time when ‘authentic’ is a travel buzzword, these hamlets are attracting visitors with an often unexpected – and surprisingly sophisticated – array of independent and locally-minded cultural, outdoor, and culinary offerings, all minus the urban price tags,” the article states.

Monday, March 25, 2013

clicking Like is not activism,


clicking Like is not activism,
it does not change a thing..
you have to throttle the problem
with your own two hands.
Get down in the trenchs
and bleed for the cause.
If you are not willing
to suffer nothing will get done .
Clicking like does not absolve the sin

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Remember Duck and Cover ?


  Back in the 50's  and 60's duck and cover meant hiding from a nuclear bomb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbtsiMb64zM


  Now it means hiding from the crazy guy with all the guns

Friday, March 15, 2013

I wish they'd go back where they came from



Enjoying this false spring I went out past the Crazy mountains and drove the scenic road between Ringling  and Two Dot. you need to do it some time if you have an urge to see beautiful country.


I stopped for a beer at the Stop and go in Two Dot Mt. As I waited in line the woman behind the counter closed the register and frowned at the Mexican couple and their three kids left the store with several bags of groceries.
“ I wish those people would go back where they came from. “
The tall Indian in front of me, With PROUD TO BE CROW embroidered on the back of his jacket
said to the woman
“ My Grandad used to say the same thing all the time about you people.”

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Water Boarding your kids as a learning exercise


HELENA, Mont.


 A Montana man accused of waterboarding four 

children as a learning experience for them has reached a

plea deal with prosecutors in which he will receive 

probation.

Court records say the children were the Jefferson 

County man's 9- and 12-year-old sons and two neighbor 

kids, ages 13 and 15.

The 42-year-old man was sentenced to two years' 

probation after pleading guilty Friday to four 

misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child
.
Court records say the man's girlfriend at the time told 

authorities she walked in on him Dec. 5 as he simulated 

drowning his sons by pouring water over their faces.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

while little Goat takes a bath


 Watching my three year old Daughter,
while she takes a bath on a snowy march day,
I imagine a young Grizzly trying to catch her first trout
in a high mountain lake.


Friday, March 8, 2013

Listening to the Prairie Prophets

Got to stop listening to Militia radio late at night ( everything  from Fox to  the Flathead self defense  family time ). It just amazes me how they twist , tweak and  project quotes and stories to remind the listener about the evils that lurk in the world out side the perfect world of the homestead . I often puzzled about the  goals of these broadcasters. I guess a small part of them (2 .m.  to 4 a.m.) want donations to their church.  Or buy our end of the Days monthly food supply program ( payment requires in  advance of course ).b The other night I listened to a business offering to take care of you Pets and horses  if you are taken up by the Rapture. ( again for a small monthly insurance plan )
      But the majority of these  Tea Party, biblical , doom and Gloom , anti spics and Indian radio guys are pushing Gold on the listener. Buy gold now , prepare for the end of civilization!




The Money that is made off of touting gold to the low browed  and paranoid is Amazing. For the most part the hype and product is all made up. If the economy and world goes to hades do you think the  machine will just hand you the gold you think you own ?If you are playing with lunch money sure buy some GLD or gold futures, but  If you dream about the colapse of western civilization buy your wife a gold necklace. you  can trade it for a goat herd when society colapses


Today Fox News provided more evidence for why the odious relationship between the right wing media and gold sellers deserves some serious investigation. Despite endless shilling from Glenn Beck, it seems that even Fox doesn’t know if gold is a safe investment. Over the course of two different programs Fox said that gold will collapsed but also promised a 30% increase. Way to play both sides, Fox News.
Here is FNC’s Jonas Ferris predicting a collapse in gold via Media Matters:
Ferris said, “Have I been a little off on gold for the last 5 years sure, but let me tell you something, gold is my super bubble this week, and I can prove it. The US dollar is up, inflation’s down, those are things that should be bad for gold, yet gold is up every day, because it is in a crazy insanity mode just like the NASDAQ in early 2000. It’s going to collapse and it’s going to collapse big time, 50% or more.
Eric Bolling on FNC’s Bulls and Bears offered the exact opposite prediction:
Bolling said, “I like gold. States are going to get bailed out. Gold’s got to go up. You have to have to print currency…gold’s going to go up 30%.”
The conflicting predictions on Fox News run counter to what Glenn Beck has been telling his viewers and listeners. At various times Beck has said, “I’m not recommending gold as an investment strategy. I am recommending gold because when this country falls apart, gold will be the only thing worth anything.” He also urged his listeners to, “think like a German Jew” during the period of Nazi ascendance. “I think people are running out of options,” he said, “of something that could be worth something at all.”"
If Beck’s urgings sound a lot like endorsements from a paid pitchman, that’s because they are. Beck is helping to fuel this gold bubble with his dubious claims about the safety of gold. Bolling’s analysis is either wishful thinking, or he owns a whole lot of gold that he plans to be selling soon. Contrary to all claims of the paid right wing media, nobody knows what gold is going to do, and historically speaking when gold goes on a run during a recession, when the economy gets better, the bubble bursts. That is the part that Beck and Bolling tend to leave out.
Beck has been using scare tactics to get his audience to buy gold, while he is getting paid to convince people to buy gold. This is not only a conflict of interest for Beck, but he is also misusing his position in the media to help inflate a market.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

This Used to Be Paridise


Standing in the river in a march thaw

casting a streamer into the current,

I listen to the ice crack along the shore,

while beer cans and plastic bags

Migrate down stream.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Save the city get rid of highways



In the 1950s, 3 out of every 10 people on the planet lived in a city. Today, that ratio has nearly doubled — and the United Nations projects that by 2050, nearly 7 in 10 people will live in urban settings. Our population is gravitating towards cities, and this shift is creating amazing opportunities as well as critical problems that need our immediate attention. Modern cities are hubs of connection and creativity and, at the same time, centers of pollution and dehumanization.

Why do highways have a bad effect on cities?
While highways connect cities that are hundreds of miles apart and allow us to move people and goods across this vast country, many highways were built at the height of suburban development. They are not designed to bring people into cities so much as to allow people to drive past them. As a result, these highways often bisect neighborhoods, cut cities off from their waterfronts and obstruct the natural development that occurs along boulevards and streets. The land beside or under urban highways is often underdeveloped, creating no-go zones that are bad for the city’s economy, safety and appearance. Highways carry loud, polluting cars, and research has shown links between road pollution and asthma. The impervious highway surface creates stormwater runoff and heat-island effects, which are bad for a city’s resilience in climate change. And unlike other kinds of property, highways don’t generate tax revenue, preventing dozens of acres from being productively used. Simply put: highways are a blight on livable cities.
I don’t think we should keep investing in highways. In this era of climate change, downtown revitalization and population density, they can no longer be the solution. As cities see their highways become structurally obsolete, it’s a perfect time to start thinking about how to connect cities through other modes of infrastructure.
What are some of the alternatives to highways?
Any plan to replace a highway needs to account for the cars that will be displaced. Ideally, you replace a highway with more transit options so people can take a bus or train instead of a car. In New York, when the city decided not to replace the West Side Highway, it cleverly took federal highway funds and used them towards improving transit. In San Francisco, a former highway was replaced with a trolley line. The footprint of the highway itself might become a boulevard, property for new development, a park or a bike lane. On a larger scale, our national network of highways should be replaced with a better rail network that allows people the option of taking a train between cities rather than having to choose between driving or flying.
You say in your essay that more walkable neighborhoods contribute to lower foreclosure rates. Why would that be?
It’s plain math. Imagine a couple that has to pay for two cars in addition to a mortgage; they’re less likely to be able to handle their monthly bills. Each car costs the average driver nearly $9,000 a year. Compare that with a monthly MetroCard pass in New York City — it’s less than $1,250 a year, and that’s as expensive as public transit gets. If you can bike or walk to take care of your daily needs, life gets even cheaper. The money saved on not owning a car actually helps keep people in their homes.
You also say that there’s a connection between highways and obesity. Share more on that!
It’s really a connection between obesity and driving. Researchers have found that driving and obesity have a shocking 99 percent correlation. The more you drive, the more likely you are to be obese, because you have less time to walk for daily errands and otherwise be active.


http://blog.ted.com/2013/03/05/cities-without-highways-a-qa-with-ted-book-essayist-diana-lind/


City 2.0: The Habitat of the Future and How to Get There is a new TED Books anthology that seeks to answer some of the key questions about how to develop thriving cities — tackling everything from issues of sustainability to infrastructure to the happiness of urban dwellers. Born out of The City 2.0, a broad initiative for citizen-powered change that began with the 2012 TED Prize, this collection of essays offers potential answers to the question: How can we ensure that our cities are sustainable, efficient, beautiful and invigorating? Produced in partnership with The Atlantic Cities, the 12 authors featured in this book offer fascinating ideas, from transportation to food to public art.
Over the next three days, we’ll hear from three City 2.0 essay authors. Today, we sat down with Diana Lind, the editor-in-chief and executive director of Next City, to discuss her essay that envisions cities without highways.


Saturday, March 2, 2013

Eastern Montana 2013


Eastern Montana 2013


The Exhaust of A thousand trucks
cloud the horizon

and bottles of Pee
glitter among the sage.

plastic bags race tumble weeds
across rivers of metal pipes,

And Ravens feast
on a road side dump.


The oil boom is here
and nothing will be the same...