Sandy,
I don't recall using the word retirees in my ranting and raving, your words, and your opinion,
so could you enlighten me why you think this?

I've read a few of Mr. Hite's writings on his web-site and I agree that he writes well, seems like a thoughtful person, and the guy has a Springer Spaniel (I have three) so he can't be all that bad, even though he may subscribe to the Wall Street Journal.

On the other hand, and on another subject, he uses the word, or phrase, I am/was the intruder when he tells of seeing a whitetail on a trail. I read a similiar thought by a person who visited the old missile launching site last winter/early spring--that they were intruding.

Perhaps some other place is where they really belong? When they find that place, perhaps they could send us a postcard. As for myself, I am not an intruder anywhere I go on earth, including land that is posted "no trespassing". Especially if it is posted land, over a hundred acres in size, without a home or camp upon it.

Thinking, thinking, okay, so how am I disenfranchising (whew! say that word out loud)
anyone? Why does Sandy think this, Walt? I don't know, Sandy, please tell me.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. For God's blessings may we forever grateful be.

P.S. I saw that four-year-old buck again, that one I've been hunting for over ten years. He was running in the opposite direction.

Ted - I'm not asking anyone to do anything, and I agree the ski hill is a done deal, BUT I'm irritated that Black Bear is permitted to do things that no private citizen would be allowed to get away with. The laws should be, but seldom are, equally applied to all.

On the flip side, I was delighted to see that the infomercial about Mt. Bohemia spotlighted Keweenaw County amenities. Apparently the Advisory Committee is helping to bring KC concerns to the forefront.

It sounds like the Fla. Supreme Court has made a decision. Let's all stay tuned for that one!

Paul asked how we can get the word of our winter wonderland out. The best snow info available comes from a website called www.johndee.com. JD is accurate in forcasts and totally truthful in trail and snow descriptions. It cracks me up watching the radar pictures of where snow is falling. Because the Keweenaw Peninsula is in the radar shadow of the Huron Mountains, we never show up as getting snow but that 12"+ of white stuff in our front yard came, and is still coming, from somewhere!

Walt, as you rant and rave about the retirees that have come home or built here, have you considered that most of them have very nice homes, built by local contractors, with locally bought building supplies, and carry a higher tax burden than full-time residents because most of them aren't taken as homestead exemptions? And how many residents of the area go south to escape our winters? Should they also be disenfranchised? George Hite makes excellent points on this subject and I'd like to tip my hat to him and his well-reasoned writings on this subject.

Sandy,

Why not just ask all the people opposed to the hill to RIOT? Isn't it time to work together? Or do you want to become one of those "watch dogs" that gets put out to pasture for making racial slurs or other comments? Come on, I know you are better than that! The Ski Hill is a "done deal", let's make the best of what we can.

On a seperate note:

There has been a lot of talk (and argument) about Rev. Niemela's plans for the Whispering Pines motel.

There have also been recent talks about the Omega House (hospice).

I urge all to send a strong message to Mr. Niemila by donating to the Omega House, to show what kind of support you can have for a project that will benifit the community and not harm it.

Ted

p.s. If there is anyone that would like more information on the Omega House please e-mail me.

Six 700 square foot yurts. No septic permits in place, with the hearing scheduled after Christmas. Those fur-lined porta-potty seats are looking more plausible every day. A question comes to mind. I understand that any structure over 120 Sq. Ft. is not considered either portable or temporary. Ask any KC contractor what would happen if they tried to erect structures without a valid septic permit in place. Once more we see an example of the big money being able to do things that nobody else could even dream of getting away with. To my mind, every KC resident should be at least thoroughly irritated, if not outraged!

On another issue, I certainly hope that the young twits who broke into, and robbed, Mohawk Superette get the book thrown at them! Trying to get a new business up and running is hard enough without that kind of 'help'! I have long held that delinquents like this should be punished by swats administered on a bare bottom on the courthouse steps at high noon. Respect and decency don't seem to be in their vocabulary but perhaps total embarrassment (ever dissected that word?) would be a viable deterrent. Its hard to maintain a macho attitude with your drawers around your ankles!

Tim,

I read the www.allegedfraud.com site and found it interesting. Unless it's proved otherwise, however, I tend to think bad things usually result from general human screw-ups rather than intentionally evil actions. Lots of old folks in Palm Beach seem to think they voted for Buchanan by mistake because they didn't understand the butterfly ballot.

They should definitely have counted the military votes that were rejected only because of the lack of a postmark. Rejecting those votes was outrageous.

But I think it's clear that both sides in the presidential election are doing exactly what they think it takes to win the election. Both sides think that Gore may win if the votes are counted manually and so they're acting accordingly. My understanding is that both sides also believe that recounting the whole state, including republican counties, would only help Gore, not Bush. That's why Gore proposed it and Bush rejected it. I read that the republicans looked into it and found that, even in the republican areas, more Gore voters messed up and left "dimples" and "hanging chads" than did Bush voters. Not surprisingly, the Bush voters tend to be more effective in voting (we can all speculate on why that might be J).

Still, the law in Texas specifically states that dimpled and hanging chads do indicate that a voter clearly intended to cast that vote and also says that hand recounts give the most accurate tally. Of course the problem is in Florida, not Texas, but it's nevertheless amusing to see the Bush attorneys argue strongly against the Texas law.

Of course, the reason is that the election hangs in the balance, and both sides are acting strictly in their political interest. Gore has a big edge over Bush in the screw-up vote, so Gore wants the screw-up votes counted and Bush doesn't.

As you know, I believe it's best for the country if the white house and the congress are controlled by different parties, so I'd just as soon see the screw-up votes counted. But the way things have gone, I don't think either guy will be able to do much damage, whichever one gets in. I'm glad I don't have a big emotional stake in the outcome--my blood pressure gives me enough trouble as it is.

For all you conspiracy people out there try this site ( www.allegedfraud.com ). Seems to be pretty convincing that something went wrong.

On a calmer note, as for the Democrats (I used to vote straight dem. until they s****** over the unions), it appears very obvious what they are trying to do and I can't believe there isn't more outrage. They have absoutely no regard for the law and if the recent people in control are not stopped by us, they will be the fall of this country, and we the people have allowed it.

Paul,
I just read your post about the snow and wondering how you get the word out about the coming winter wonderland. I assume you refer to Mt. Bohemia... I recently received a copy of a publication promoting Midwest Ski Hills and was very surprised to see the Mt. Bohemia was not included although Powderhorn, Black Jack, and even Porcupine Mtn. were.

Hello everyone,
Back for lunch and too late because it is nap time "shucks". Anyhow, how are ya doing Lynn, bet you missed the snow, well here it is.

Arlene,
I do understand your concerns about the Electoral College, but I think there is one thing you are missing. This country was established as a union of individual states, with the power of the federal government being limited to protection and regulation of interstate and international commerce. This is very important because if our states rights get swallowed by the federal monster then we will be ripe for tyranny. In the near future this premise has beem lost mainly because of apathy and lack of education (my opinion). blah blah blah..sorry almost got going there. I guess my point is, when we vote, it is for our representitives and when our vote is put into the same pot as everyone else, we will lose our voting power. This is very evident here in Michigan with the lower, more populated areas having the majority of the voting power. This is why we have to be sure to elect reps (state) that are true to our area and understand this. If anything, I would consider the electors being more representitive of the areas they represent (i.e. one representitive or senator can only have a maximum land area in a certian state thereby making our reps more liable to thier populace....something like having a maximum population and maximum land area in thier district) This would likely mean a few more representitives in the house and maybe add one more senator per state. You could also fracture the electors into the representive's districts thereby splitting the electorals in each state. Anyway, there are many different options to abolishing the Electoral College.

The main reason for establishing the electoral college was not based on speed of information but on states rights, which we lose almost everyday.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Had an interesting email this am.It follows as this:
Gotland Radio is sending two reporters on Dec.3 to do a report about imigrants and their descendants from Gotland,Sweden area.Tenative route is Grand Rapids,Manistee,Traverse City and Escanaba.Do any of you know if your ancestors did migrate here from Gotland Sweden? If so email David Larson in Salt Lake City at
dlars@juno.com
Alicia

Hi everyone!

Just got back from a few days in the south and have been enjoying all the posts I missed. By the way, I saw snowflakes in Birmingham, Alabama on Sunday morning, and a couple of cars there with an inch of snow on top also.

Tim,

Thanks for the info about the change in the Wisconsin law. I was quite unaware of that, and I know several others who didn't know that either.

Paul,

It seems to me that your creative and interesting posts will likely draw folks to settle in Eagle River just to be near someone with a real personality! Maybe they'll have kids who can help build up the wood piles of the older folks...

Jeff,

One idea I heard was to change the electoral college system so one elector is chosen from each congressional district in a state, with the other two going to the overall winner of the vote in the state. I think that is the way Maine does it now. Or, the electors could simply be divided according to the proportion of the vote in the state.

Arlene,

Yes, the voting situation is unsatisfactory regardless of how the Florida results turn out. There's no solution to the current predicament that won't anger lots of people, and we can't help that now. But in the year 2001 we ought to be able to fix things up so that in the future every voter's choices will be counted correctly. It seems that this has been a disaster just waiting to happen for years.

Walt,

Thanks for the in-depth information and your personal observations. The no trespassing signs are definitely getting more and more numerous. It seems to me that we in Houghton County need to get a handle on things at least as much as Keweenaw County does. We already get the CSOs (kind of an antiseptic term for an unpleasant reality), so we all need to take stock of where we are now and what we want this area to be like in the future. I wouldn't like the future to be that Keweenaw County looks like a beautiful park and Houghton County looks like one big housing project.

Lisa,

It was great to hear about the turkeys! What a wonderful thing to be a part of.

Lynn

Jeff,
I understand what you are saying but where do you think the rural vote from up here makes a great deal of difference now? As you said we are a small area but whatever way the people down state vote is what swings the vote to go one way or the other. The Population is there not here and that we both agree on. It still doesn't change anything as we saw during the last campaigns. How many times was Bush or Gore up here? Still the same if no electoral vote was in place.
I am open to new ideas and would be glad to hear it but I feel the present system stinks.

ARLENE:
If there were no electoral college, and only the popular vote mattered, rural areas(like the U.P.) would have about as much political clout as Election Year 2000's Natural Law Party.
Presidential candidates would spend all their time and money pressing flesh(and staging photo-ops) in America's top 10-20 metropolitan areas. It wouldn't make strategic sense to bother with country folk.
Is that what you'd like to see?
There are some better ideas floating around I've recently heard that can fine-tune popular representation however(I just can't remember at this moment what they are--sorry).
LISA:
Bully for you, Lmt!

Hey everyone,
On a more lighter note.
Recently the restaurant I work in, has done something to give back to the community that has helped make us a success for so many years.
We got together and collected frozen turkeys.
Our store only got 300 hundred pounds, and alot of the other stores in the company got alot more, one reaching over one thousand pounds.
Today, the people from United Way came to our restaurant and picked them up to distribute to the areas needy.
I have been proud of alot of things in my life and hopefully will be proud of alot more, but it sure made me happy when the people came to pick them up and kept saying how much this was appreciated, and it was truly a wonderful thing to do. Most people that received these turkeys, are in recovery centers, homeless shelters, and state funded places for people in need like shelter homes, half way houses, places that run on a very tight budget. Most of those places would not have had a very good day, come the day when most of us give only perfunctuary thanks for everything we have been blessed with.
It gave me a deep sense of pride, not to mention well being to be able to be a part of this effort.
I would strongly urge you all, to go to the grocery, and pick up a little something and take it to one of these places, I'm sure there are plenty that would be very thankful to see a smiling face that was willing to take some time and think of the less fortunate in your area.
Do it for them, for you, if you have ever been in need, do it because it's a blessing for you to do so.
You will be rewarded in some way some day.
Thank you.
God Bless
Lisa

The Advisory Board Meeting for November will be at 7:00 on November 28th, at the American Legion Hall in Mohawk. Hope to see you there.

Tim,
Thanks for the site address and I will read it. As far as the media hype about the E College that is not the case. I have not agreed with it since I learned all about it in school. I believe that the politicians should cater to the People and their concerns for the people and not just the Electoral vote of the state they are in. I also believe that the E C points matters more to them than the voice of the people or the so called peomises they make. That is a can of worms I will leave alone.
I understand the reasons for establishing the College in the beginning but the times have changed and our communications have grown. The polls are regulated now and monitored. We have counting machines that will count the votes and I think that after the show of how faulty the voting machines are they should go back to filling in the circle.
What is most aggravating is the concern for the electoral votes and the lack of concern of having the peoples votes ALL counted. Like I said back to the Electoral Votes.
Also after watching the Special this afternoon with the Supreme Court of Florida, I am more concerned. When the Attorney General can put her state regulations above that of the United States, I find that very disturbing. When in a National election, which is for the President, such unique situations arise, how can anyone even think of using the normal guide lines. This election has been anything but normal and requires special treatment.The counting should go on until it is done and all the votes have been counted, not by a specific date.
The unsettling events of this election has made it more apparent that our voting ways need to be looked into and revised accordingly.

Dear Arlene,
If you believe all of this media bull about the electoral college please read this. It is some very good information concerning the Electoral College. I believe the founders were much more intelleigent then most politicians we have today (either party) and had the best interest of our country in mind then the wimsical follies of our people today. They lived tyranny and opression and understood what freedom and responsibility meant. As for Fla. and the election, it seems very clear to me which party has no regard for the laws on the books.

www.avagara.com/e_c/reference/00012001.htm

Hi All,
Not sure how you feel about our latest National election but I am really very concerned about the lack of concern for the actual votes of people of the United States. Since they are having such a problem of counting the first votes for one reason and another, they should throw out the first vote and then another vote should be taken with no other voting done but for president. This would have saved the time they are screaming about and have cost a lot less money than what has been spent already. It would seem this could be done and done in such a manner as to elimate confusion for the voters as to who they are voting for.
Since it appears that their electonic voting machines do not work properly then use the kind where they fill in the circle. No confusion there.
I very much resent that they want it done, no matter as to what the actual count is and votes that have been thrown out, but just take the numbers now. What about the other peoples votes . This I can only see that it shows that the vote of the people does not matter. With the count as it stands the majority of the electoral votes go to Mr. Bush. Another example of each vote does not matter. To let the people know they do count is to get rid of the electoral college and go back to popular vote. It only causes me to wonder how many other elections have been decided this way. With our communications as they are now, we no longer need the college and it should be elimated.
Sorry for the ramblings but all the delays that have taken place to try to stop the counts infuriates me. It appears these delays have been done to keep Mr. Bush ahead no matter what the public voted. His insistence at stopping the counts shows me , at least, how much he thinks of the people of the United States, and he would be OUR supreme leader?

Well so much about the not enough snow!! Right now we have near blizzard conditions in Eagle River. Looks like one of those times where you say its going to warm up and it doesn't. I say 8 inches tonight, so that would translate into 5 inches. Has anyone seen if the ski hill has much snow on it yet? I would think if Crosswinds had the equipment in place there would have been Thanksgiving day downhillers around. What a boost for our local business in the future. Now how do we get the word out about the comming winter wonderland!!!