Labor Day Weekend

I want to wish all of you a wonderful Labor Day weekend! Celebrate the fruits of your labor and enjoy your time with those you work so hard for. I plan on doing very little, eating a lot, and staying away from the areas on my farm that last year on Labor Day weekend contributed to over 110 chigger bites.!!

I still itch every time I think about it!!

On Tuesday we kick off a new month, which historically is the poorest of the year for the stock market.

Only a third of 2007 remains. Lets all strive to make it the best!!!

GOP=Group Of Perverts

If Bill Clinton can receive oral sex in the White House by a young woman who was not his wife, lie about it and still keep his office, a lowly Senator can get it in the men's room. Let's be fair, sex is sex and double standards are double standards. There isn't any physical proof here unlike the presidential stain on Monica's blue dress.

One of my liberal friends has suggested to me that there isn't any proof, that maybe the cop lied.

Ladies and gentleman, the esteemed Senator from Idaho PLED GUILTY.

That, my dear friends, is proof enough.

Over the hill Dad.............

Senator Larry Craig is in a world of pain in Idaho.........and the GOP ship looks to want to set him adrift. I was in an airport stall fairly recently and had a hand come waving under the side of the stall I was in...........clueless me didn't understand what the hand signal meant at the time, I just figured it was somebody who was traveling with somebody and thought maybe their buddy was in the stall next to them. Maybe I am what my teenager thinks I am........clueless as to what is going on in the "real" world. If so, I love being clueless. And Mr. Craig appears to have a sense of judgement about him on par with Michael Vick. The Senate and Idaho deserve better representation. I hope the Senate still represents America.

MN highest in exercise........

Obesity rates continued their climb in 31 states last year and no state showed a decline. In the past few years Minnesota has been in the middle of the pack — but efforts have been made to counteract obesity in Otter Tail County and across the state the past two years.

“Today, schools are mandated to have a school wellness committee in place,” Otter Tail County Public Health Director/CHS Administrator Diane Thorson said. “These committees recommended positive changes in the school settings.”

Thorson said simple changes that have been put in place over the past two years include the availability of water and milk in vending machines and at concession stands, and vegetables, fruit, and dairy products available at concession stands.

Minnesota ranked 27th last year, a gradual improvement from the previous year when the state was in 25th place. North Dakota ranked 18th, which put it among the 20 states with the worst obesity problems; South Dakota ranked 22nd.

The states of Mississippi and Alabama had the highest rates of obesity in 2006. The healthiest states were Colorado and Hawaii.

Otter Tail County Public Health first began looking at the obesity issue in 2002.

“We analyzed the height and weight data collected by schools of students in grades four and eight,” Thorson said, “and then we made recommendations to the schools about changes that could be made in the school setting.”

She said that solving the obesity epidemic will not be easy — for children and adults alike.

“Diet and exercise are the two prescriptions that are ordered to treat this problem,” she said.

“Each of us can start by doing two simple things — eating smaller portions of food and walking for 10 minutes at a time, three times a day. Gradually, we all should have a goal of 20-minute increments of walking.”

The 2006 rankings were released by Trust for America’s Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention.

Minnesotans led the way when it came to exercise. An estimated 15.4 percent of the state’s residents did not engage an any physical exercise — the lowest rate in the nation. The fact that close to 85 percent of all Minnesotans exercise on a regular basis is good news. Still, the state’s ranking of 27th overall when it comes to the percentage of obese adults is a negative factor.

“Unfortunately, we’re treating obesity more like a mere inconvenience instead of the emergency that it is,” Dr. James Marks said. “I’m happy to be part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropy devoted to improving health care on a nationwide basis.”

Officials at Trust for America’s Health advocate for the government to play a larger role in preventing obesity. They point out that people who are overweight are at an increased risk for diabetes, heart problems and other chronic diseases that contribute to greater health care costs.

“It’s one of those issues where everyone believes this is an epidemic, but it’s not getting the level of political and policymaker attention that it ought to,” the organization’s executive director Jeffrey Levi said. “Every candidate for president talks about health care reform — but we really need to hone in on the obesity issue as well.”

Levi said we as a country have designed suburban communities where there are no sidewalks for anybody to go out and take a walk. That has to change, he said.

“A lack of exercise is a huge factor in obesity rates,” Levi said. “Our organization found that more than 22 percent of Americans did not engage in any physical activity in the past month. The percentage is greater than 30 percent in four states: Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.”

Another factor in obesity rates is poverty. The five poorest states were all in the top 10 when it came to obesity rates. An exception to that rule was the District of Columbia and New Mexico. Both had high poverty rates, but also one of the better (healthier) obesity rates among adults.

Officials said the report is not designed to stigmatize states with high obesity rates — but to stir them into action.

Vince Lombardi said..............

"People who work together will win, whether it be against very complex football defenses or the problems of modern society."

Desired words in Indian Country.............

"help me graduate"

"mom and dad raised me together"

"tribal employees are NOT allowed to gamble in the casino"

"high school drop-out rates are less than 5%"

"Meth isn't a problem, period"

"gang violence on reservations became non-existant in 2007"

"diabetes isn't a problem across Indian Country"

And you think stocks stink??

The top bond guru in the world returned a three year average of 3.83% in his "Total Return" Fund. One could have parked money in a money market fund, CDs, a bank, or short term Treasuries and done better than that.

The SURGE in Iraq..............

America's troop build-up and effectiveness has no relationship to the dysfunctional Iraqi government.

It is a quagmire of death, destruction and instability for a long time to come.

And you can take that to any banker of the military industrial complex.