Football: Should It Take A Hike and My Response

I was asked by "Out of Step Radio" to offer my opinion on whether Football is too dangerous and we should do away with the violent sport. Here is my response as provided to the blog radio program:

"I don't think banning football is the answer. We as a civilization like violent sports football, hockey, rugby, boxing, martial arts, NASCAR, etc.  All of these sports have collision, broken bones, long term effects, death. Doing away with one means doing away with all.

I do believe that our young people need better education in their own anatomy and the results of diverse injuries that go along with them.

Banning them is not the answer and you can only go so far in addressing serous hits with rules.

Young men need to know what they're signing up for. They need to be told "this game could maim or even kill you.

Then they get to decide the pros vs cons. I'm a football fan. I love my team. I don't think banning football or other high contact and impact sports is the answer.

Parents, coaches, recruiters, and important figures all have that responsibility of educating our young men and women too about the danger that goes with a risk for glory.

Is it worth it? Yes! Is it our duty to let them know the odds of success? Yes! Then let them play after age 18 or before with parental consent. Every time a player goes down I don't care who he is playing for. I just hope he's okay.

Now play ball."

Starting Over In Three Months

I took a job out of state and now I am coming back home to where I started. Wound licking is and obvious side effect.  Now the big test is how am I going to take this next part, the reboot.

Well, first there is good old fashioned self analysis. How, where, who, what, where, and why? How did I get here.  Second is getting on the run and making sure that I am doing what I can to make sure that I get out of the box running.

Everyday is a new day and so it is. But the difference is the the sun rising and sitting around vs actually making something happen.

I don't recall such bad challenges happening to me in the past. Now it is working for a goal of being employed again.

Rather than hit my loved ones with a sad sack story, it is time to move forward and hopefully top out on the end.

But I do wonder why sometimes? Does it really matter? I have some sort of greater faith that things are hopefully work out.

Until I blog again.

Great Places To Get Passed on Interstate 84

Ever since I relocated to Twin Falls, Idaho I have been back to the Wasatch Front in Utah, which is still sort of my "home base." Practically everyone I know is there. Most important, my family is there as well.

But there are miles of road between Twin Falls, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah. Along Interstate 84. Here are some great places to avoid unless you torture yourself with bordome.  Then be my guest and to each their own.


If Governor "Butch" Otter, yes his real name, wants to brag about "Idahome Road," I would suggest a new thing to brag about in branding your state. In the far southcentral Idaho, someone loved dust and isolation. The only problem is they could have used greater imagination than this name.  So if you get off the highway to visit here, maybe a visit to a psychiatrist is also in order.

 

 

There is not a Sweetzer place along the 80 MPH zone than Sweetzer Road. Near Sweetzer Pass, Idaho this exit should only be used to find a bush to relieve "nature's call."

 

 

 

Juniper Road, Idaho is just road with a freeway interchange. Celebrating one of the Great Basin's larger shrubs or tree the pinyon juniper managed to get a road named after it. Maybe that is because there are more choices to find a bush of your liking, or Idaho is ashamed they don't have more of these lovely trees.

Crossing over the state line into Utah, the Hansel Valley gets an exit. Is this where the famed "Hansel and Gretel" tale took place? Was a man by the name of Hansel passing through? Maybe its named after one of thousands of Germans? Who knows? Again see if you can find a toilet or the boredom may kill you.

The name "Rattesnake Pass"makes sense here because one can see rattlesnakes living here. But the other exits featured here also most likely have the venomous reptiles here as well. Maybe you should not stop here including for nature calls because nobody wants to get bit while taking a pee by a rattler. Utah does have some great gifts to the 8 million worst places of the world to have to go through.

Not to be confused with Pocatello, Idaho is Pocatello Valley, Utah. There are no services here except ones you can create. Pocatello, Idaho should sue the namers of this Utah valley for worst name and copyright infringement. You will be glad when you are through this maze of  well bleh.

Happy travels.

Judges No Longer Abritraters of the Law, But Rulers of Us All

The United States Supreme Court again demonstrated why an overhaul is needed of the highest court in the land, and all other federal and state courts.

The courts do not listen to the people anymore, they rule them.  A judge is a nobleman and a justice is a duke, lord, or a black knight in somewhat rusted armor.

The time has come with the refusal of the United States Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution  of the United States, to overhaul that organ of government.

Most all the several states had laws and state constitutional protections against being compelled to accept same sex "marriages." These laws were voted in by the majority of the people, to protect the sanctity of marriage and its extension, the family.

But judges now seek to invalidate not just fair and just laws of the land, but have the gall to lecture us and tell us we are not tolerant of those who shop for the right judges and justices to hear cases and make arbitrary and capricious rulings with no basis in US legal, traditional, state, or community standards.

They hold on to their lifetime jobs and bark "royal" decrees at the uneducated "masses."  The country is a mess. We have an imperial President who invokes decrees bypassing the Congress. The Congress is impotent, but it own choice to let the Executive and Judicial branches run amok with no consequences to these oligarchists for their actions.

The people on the other hand are hitting the tipping point and things will soon become not urgent, but an emergency to throw every bum in all three branches out, maybe at the same time. I hope it does not come to this. You cannot legislate the heart, mind, might and soul of a nation.

We who hold on to traditional values that are time tested and have worked for thousands of years are just supposed to yield the floor to the various left wing and amoral police lobbies. If not we will be put in "our place."

We who are holding on to principles of majority rule "tempered" not steamrolled by majority rights will be vilified whether in the majority or not.

Its time for our "diaper wearing" Supreme Court to answer to the people and to God. I propose the following.

1. Every supreme court judge appointed will serve 10 years and then must step down regardless of his or her age.

2. All federal judges will serve 5 year terms and will be subject to reappointment through a retention election in their jurisdiction after one term. If the circuit court and district court judges cannot retain a confidence vote of the electorate they will step down after their term is ended and cannot be reappointed and confirmed in that jurisdiction. The President and the Senate will then appoint and confirm new judges to fill vacancies. All federal judge vacancies that need immediate filling will be filled by the Governor and Legislature of the federal district of the state or Council of Governors for circuit court justices in which the vacancy or vacancies arise until the President and Senate can nominate and confirm replacements.
No federal judge shall serve more than three terms or 15 years. A federal judge cannot be re nominated for the same bench in which he or she held office after retiring or removal. They can be nominated for another jurisdiction or higher bench upon nomination of the President and consent of the Senate.

3. All federal judges at the district level will account annually to the governor and legislature of the state in which they reside to give an accounting of their rulings and justifications. If they be circuit court judges then each justice will account the same annually to the governors and legislatures of the states in their appellate jurisdictions.

4. All Supreme Court Justices, including the Chief Justice, will account to the President of the United States and both houses of Congress annually to justify their opinions, rulings, and actions. Upon hearing of the accountings the President will recommend to Congress a resolution of confidence in that justice's service and the Senate and House of Representatives may concur, be silent, or take lawful action up and to impeachment.

5. A Supreme Court Justice may be given a recommendation of no confidence by the President of the United States and the Congress then will consider lawful sanctions of that justice for failure to be a steward of his or her office and may extend to impeachement by the House of Representatives and Conviction and removal from office by the Senate according to the laws and Constitution of the United States.

The following changes will make the judges more politically accountable to the people, the several states, and to the Executive and Legislative bodies of the nation.

Corruption will be able to be dealt with as quickly as time allows and the people can redress the judges and justices of the lower federal courts through retention election.

Our Founding Fathers sought out wise men to carry on the task of defending the laws and the Constitution and the protection of all people, not just minorities who have redress issues nor arbitrarily throw out laws of the people with which they disagree.

The states should consider a similar model for the appointment and retention of judges. But state courts are the jursidiction of the states in which they are created and are free and independent organs of the federal system except as defined by the laws of appellate jurisprudence defined in the Constitution.

If we do not do something to hold the judges and yes all political officers of our federal and state governments accountable they will eventually become the nightmare so many hundred years ago feared by the Founders of the United States.

For the territories of the United States Congress shall make all necessary redress of federal judges in those areas until statehood or the affected territories independence from the United States is achieved. Territories are the jurisdiction of Congress and the national legislature owes it to these people in our territories that are not states to remedy their causes for judicial accountability and stewardship.

Failure to act will further insulate the judges at all levels of government to become oppressors rather than champions of the people and the laws that govern our nation.

The Future of the United Kingdom is Federalism

Recently Scotland rocked the political world, especially in Europe, by holding a formal vote to leave the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom also known as Great Britain is composed of four major political subdivisions. These are England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Over the past decades Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each have gained what are called devolved governments from the main national government in London, England.

Powers though not completely equal in each area devolved to the areas except England include, transportation, taxation, local services: sanitation, police, public works, and education.

In truly federalized nations such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates  have federalized systems.

The areas of these respective nations make up a national government. Each area is a main political subdivision that is equal more or less to the federal government in each nation. The federal government is reserved powers to govern the nation state composed of states, provinces, cantons, or emirates . The rest of the powers not given to the national federal government are the areas of the major political divisions of that nation.

Generally federal governments are assigned national law making, raising armies, navies, air forces, printing and/or coining the national currency, interstate or interprovincial commerce, and federal prison systems.

States as we will call them, though known by different names around the world in their respective lands are assigned overseeing the day to day local functions. The either directly supervise or devolve to cities and towns within them police powers, sanitation, fire protection and prevention, local judicial matters that involve petty and lesser crimes, education, incarceration at the sub national level for crimes against the various states, environment, etc.

Some powers both the federal and state entities share concurrently. These are incarceration for crimes, police powers, taxation, maintaining militias (part of a greater national force such as an army or navy when called upon) but otherwise subject to the heads of government to carry out defense and other emergency powers when the emergency is localized, regulation of commerce on the intrastate and interstate levels, judicial systems, and overseeing the political activity in each jurisdiction at the federal or state level.

Great Britain has been a unitary state for many hundreds of years with the King or Queen as Sovereign, the national legislature and government or parliament with the House of Commons having the most power and the House of Lords the upper house having diminished greatly over the years in its role as national government. In a unitary state the national government delegates or devolves powers it sees fit to the local levels of governance and reserves greater powers for itself both national and local powers not devolved.

At anytime a superior government can reserve back to itself the devolved powers with a stroke of a legal pen with or without justification.

In the federal systems the Constitutions limit the soverign where one reigns such as Canada and Australia. In the United States the federal government cannot dissolve state governments under any conditions. The US Constitution gives both the national and state governments reserved, concurrent, and/or implied powers that cannot be taken away except as the national constitution directs. The states can also check the federal government through their national congressional delegations or parliamentary deligations, laws or appeals to the federal government. In some cases states have refused to enforce federal laws as there is no constitutional mechanism to compel states and their political subdivisions to act on federal legislation.

An example of this in the United States is with drug laws, particularly marijuana. Federally the cannabis plant is illegal to grow, manufacture into product and sell in all 50 states. However, California, Colorado, Alaska, and Washington State all defy this law by only enforcing their own laws and leaving the federal law enforcement to do its work solo unless there is a compelling interest to join forces.  Usually both jurisdictions work together where required and even not required. Similarly the federal government of the United States has arbitrarily chosen to enforce immigration law, which is national and not subnational leaving states to try to enforce federal law and the federal government deciding if it will or will not cooperate with the states.

In a unitary state all of this is decided at the national level, avoiding a check and balance system that exist to a greater or lesser style in federalized units.

Now the UK has develoved or delegated out the more localized powers to the governments nearest the people, it will be hard to take this back into London even though in English law the Westminster Government is completedly able to do so without reservation  or accountability to the regional and local governments.

The UK is on a collision course with permenant federalism de facto or formally given up by London to the other regional units. This would leave the UK government almost soley with national issues and the regions of the UK with the day to day affairs of delegating out their respective local responsibilities. Even laws passed would be independent of London, except as agreed federally.

What should happen is during the current time devlolution in the UK should be maintained and the last devolvement of local government going to England.  Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all have Capital cities, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast respectively.

England should move the regional government out of London to decentralize the national government to a Capital the English people would designate. Candidates for the English Capital  would be Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Dover or another designated city. Once devolution is complete and all governments are functional at the regional level London would call a national constitutional convention. Representatives would come from England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and hammer out a written constitution making each regional government sovereign from the national and each regional government would have the same responsibilities within its sphere and London could not take back, except in national emergency, any localized function or regionalized function.

London would take care of the national business and the four regions would send representatives to comprise the national government and run the country from London.  London would work with Cardiff, Belfast, Ediburgh and the English capital to resolve problems. The queen would be represented by a governal general as in other former English colonies now independent of the British Crown at the regional levels as a delegate to exercise her powers as defined by federal agreement.

This would strenghthen the United Kingdom and ensure that they remained a major player on the global stage. The United States was the first to reject the unitary state and devolution government back in 1775 which resulted in the American Revolution. Other now independent nation states that have maintained a tie with the British Crown almost always "interact" with the queen via the governor general, who is like the Monarch left to ceremonial purposes except as defined by law.

The British though proud of tradition need to realize that all of their former colonies now independent especially the US, Canada, and Australia, have become more powerful due to each one's federal model. Canada's is actually more European in style while Australia is a hybrid of the US and European systems.

The Act of Union in 1707 unified the British people under one government. Now it is time for the National government to act as a purely national government by the people and for the people of the British Isles.

This will save the UK in my opinion. All that would need to happen are the Welch to get mad and hold a plebocite on separation from the UK. Scotland would almost equally follow. Northern Ireland would leave and only England would remain, unless it to desoloved a British government and the once great empire will have completely fallen without hope of a second wind resurrection.

The Snake River Plain...Desert?

Today I decided to take my lunch break away from both home and work. Those of you who check in probably have figured I am pretty open about some things. I left myself scratching my head is this too much or about right to disclose.

Well there are places that God leaves for us to get away from the mundane, boring, hectic and insane world we live in.

I have lived in desert land all my life. The American Southwest is most famous for the dust devils, sage brush,   yucca, cacti and other flora and fauna of all kinds. Did you ever stop and see the greater desert of North America?

It extends beyond the traditional five. The Great Basin, The Mojave, The Colorado Plateau, The Sonora, and The Chihuahua.

Shoshone Falls Park, Idaho

One of the most interesting deserts of the Northwest North American Continent is the Snake River Plain Idaho.

This large lava field covered in thin topsoil, sagebrush, grassland, pinion juniper at higher elevations is an anomaly that isn't often looked at as a desert.

Located in southern Idaho and stretching from Hell's Canyon on the west to the Yellowstone plateau on the east is largely thought of as farm land or barren. But it has all the major characteristics of a continental desert.

It is in a large rain shadow of the Cascades and northern Sierra Nevada to the west. There are smaller ranges within the Snake River Plain but they more rim the plain than cross it.  The Rocky Mountains lie to the north, northeast and east.

Near Shoshone Falls Park, Idaho on the Snake River.

Millions to just 2,000 years ago this area was highly active with lava flows and earthquakes. The Yellowstone Caldera  is closely associated with the Snake River Plain formation.

The "Nile" of the Pacific Northwest the Snake River flows from the highlands of Wyoming, across southern Idaho to form the western Idaho and eastern Oregon state line.

If there were no Snake River, there would be far less agriculture in the area because of the thin top soil and basaltic lava bed on which much of south Idaho rests.

Snake River, Idaho

The area is extremely dry with precipitation similar to the Great Basin. Ringed by mountains on all sides gives the area a dry atmosphere. The Snake River provides the silt for topsoil and the water necessary to grow crops in the Snake River Plain.

The Snake River provides not only agricultural water, and culinary water. A series of dams provide flood control, hydroelectric power, and recreational use making the area much more habitable than it otherwise would be.

Hells Canyon at the end of the Snake River Plain is the deepest gorge in the United States, deeper than the Grand Canyon and the central feature of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

In this desert area the porous lava beds absorb water into aquifers and  eventually the water finds it's way to places like Snake River Canyon where there is no more room and the water seeps out in many waterfalls along the canyon walls.

Snake River Canyon, Idaho

Underside of Perrine Bridge, Twin Falls, Idaho

The Snake River Canyon on the left was the site of one of the famous jumps by late legend Eval Keneval. The jump was attempted, but was botched and Keneval never attempted the jump again. The ramp is still visible today built up for the .5 to 1 mile jump the daredevil was trying to attempt.  But there are other adrenaline junkies as well. The Snake River Canyon has two famous bridges. The more famous, the Perrine Bridge has thousands of BASE jumpers that come to take the 500 foot jump and hope their parachute deploys. 

Snake River Canyon, Idaho

Above is the superstructure of the Perrine Bridge. It is a steel arch structure bridge built in 1976 to replace an older model torn down.  The traffic deck is on the top of the structure. Heavily used the arch structure distributes the weight of the bridge, and traffic into the canyon walls from the center of the structure out from the middle of the arch, creating a similar effect of both ancient and modern arch bridges.

BASE jumpers usually take the east side of the bridge and plunge off the bridge. From there due to the limits of height they have 3 seconds from flight to deployment of the parachute. There is little room for error.  Botched jumps have resulted in fatalities that are a known and accepted risk among the jumping community. The Perrine Bridge is the only structure in the United States with unlimited jumping 365 days per year with no permit. Many jumpers miss the landing zones established and have to quickly ditch in the river. But the river has saved many jumpers from near certain death or short of that life changing injuries.  Sadly the other type of jumper of the suicide nature often take this bridge as a way out with no purpose to make a return trip. BASE jumpers take suicidal jumpers and help in spotting the suicide jumpers and getting them help.

On the border of the Snake River Plain, basaltic hills or low mountains rim the Snake River Plain. This transition zone on the north and east leads to the Rocky Mountains and to the Great Basin Ranges in on the south.  The City of Rocks National Preserve is near the Utah State line and famous among rock climbers.

Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho

On the north of the Snake River Plain is Craters of the Moon National Monument. This area has recent geologic history of lava flows just 2,000 years old. Some scientists who study the area say it is just a matter of time until the lava comes to the surface again. Only Hawaii has younger lava flows in the United States and Craters of the Moon has the next oldest in the 48 Contiguous States.

As mentioned above sagebrush, rabbit brush, grasses and other scrub take hold on the barren rock leaving much of the lava fields exposed. Even older fields across the plain punch through the surface due to shallow top soils and some believe the Lake Bonneville Flood of about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.

When Lake Bonneville burst through a natural dam site on the present day Utah-Idaho state line the flood scoured in days what we see today as the Snake River Canyon and Hells Canyon, eventually finding its way up the Snake River flow way into the Columbia River and out to see. Some speculate that is why the older lava canyon such as the Snake River Canyon with much older and stronger rock looks like it was "blasted" just yesterday.

Head to any barren area or outlying area of the Plain and you will find the prickly pear cacti and some small barrel cacti as well. Cacti are native to every US state except Hawaii. Most are concentrated in the West and Southwest of the United States and southern Canada. Cacti do not need much soil to get a foothold and some need just a good rock base.

So the desert is all around south Idaho, far eastern Oregon and southern Washington State. One could draw a line at the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains and all around the Snake River Plain forming a ring along the Great Basin and Palouse in northern Idaho and Eastern Washington and get a rough estimate of the size of the Snake River Plain which with little but even rainfall, hot summers, cool dry winters, a true desert with a most unusual distinction. It is not basin and range like most desert areas. It is a volcanic desert with hundreds of old volcanic spatter and cinder cones and lava breaches in the Earth's crust.

Next time you get a potato from Idaho you can thank the Snake River and the unique desert that surrounds it, the Snake River Plain

What just happened? My Boss Jumped the Shark?

Tonight I don't feel so wise.  I came home feeling down and somewhat insulted.  These are feelings that I do have some control over.

Earlier today about 4:30 PM my boss poked her head in my office door. With some that is a good experience. With this current boss, not so much.

She gave me that clarion call to her office kind of like an Elk bugle and a zombie stampede.  In there was our  on site HR guy. Of the two of them I would much rather see him.

The conversation covered much mundane stuff which really I don't feel is important to the story, other to say it was demeaning.  The topic of course was "you suck" and the criticisms kept coming and coming and coming.  I defended what little alibi I had. There is not really an alibi against accusations that most people will never hear of in their lives.

Password entries was one goal to be measured. Another one was asking for help when I didn't know the answer.

No antecedents were offered to the accusations. Just criticisms. At the end I asked "there must have been something I have done right." The HR guy said "Your getting here on time has improved."

Yeah, oh boy!  I went back to my office and shut the door.

I sat and pondered the silly to somewhat justifiable goal list to avoid getting fired.

Then I began to write an email. First to my colleagues asking them for their honest input of my work. All bcc because of confidentiality stuff.

Then I finally wrote to my boss and cc the HR guy.  I offered up my own rebuttal. It was professional, but to the point on several issues.  The two of us will most likely collide over the content. But I am glad I wrote it.

Sometimes writing your boss in an email after silly talks to serious ones is very important. Communication is key to job survival. As I pointed out to a friend I vented to if you don't let your feelings be known and establish proper boundaries, you are bound to get hurt.

Bosses have to be kept in check as much as coworkers.  When they cross the mark, they have to be respectfully and forwardly put back on their side of the line.  Failure to communicate will lead to at the very least more problems and at the most going postal. Most of us will fall way between these extremes.

I spend 2 hours carefully selecting the written words. Taking out as much emotion as I could to keep the tone business like.  But nonetheless keeping it to myself was going to eat at me.

So I employed one of Dr. Abraham Low's methods. I expressed myself in a "cultured" manner.

Now I wait and see the results.  Yes it is always a risk telling your authority figure to back down and offer criticism that is deserved back to them. But so is doing something stupid by stuffing it in.

Tomorrow the results of the email will be read. What happens next I hope does not happen.

Now a few tips I have learned from this exercise in what seems futility.

First, Establish firmly what boundaries are expected and why they were crossed. Second, make sure that counter criticism is not demeaning or insulting. Make sure it does not whitewash the truth either. State the facts as you see them. No more and no less.

Third if human resources is ever involved then cc them so that it does not turn into boss vs employee. Chances are you'll lose if you're not the boss.

Fourth make sure you document the areas the boss has let you know are subpar and reasonable. If your boss can follow the "paper trail" then show him/her that you can create one in your own defense.

Fifth is that nobody should be bullied. Bosses like other bullies feed off of your fear and uncertainty of how to deal with them. Bosses that engage in power bossing, being overcritical of your work, vague about antecedents that precipitate their actions on you, or they must be "right" even if they are dead wrong.

Sixth for each incident of interaction with your boss, leave a note somewhere of the date, time, and nature of the discussion.

Seventh is if your boss sees weakness, they will most likely try to turn it against you. But if you are strong, they will modify their approach and/or back down.

Eighth is that employment is a two way street. Your boss needs to be reminded that you can go elsewhere and not return. That power they wield is not too good outside their sphere of influence. Don't be flippant or exaggerate. Just let them know that you have begun to consider all your options concerning the employment  relationship.

A person really needs to be wise when picking and choosing battles. The workplace is no exception. This is especially true of management.  Your boss can set you up with broad and very loose goals that you might not be able to obtain. If you take on your boss keep respect and objective wording to them. Emotions unchecked can be hard to recover from bad karma in a job situation.

Ninth, Don't stay where abusive relationships exist. Bide your time and bolt. Never be direct about quitting unless you are that sure that you can incur possible maladaptive behaviors. Keep your cards close to you and continue working in your present employment up to the last day.

Tenth is that you remember forgiveness is for healing you or the "inner vessel" before cleaning the "outward vessel" may save you eating crow. It sucks to tell someone you forgave them only if in the part.

Everybody will face the school yard, peer member, bad comment by an uncle you see twice on Facebook in six months. Will you give or takeaway their power? That is the final answer for now.