Good morning, everyone... This morning's news is full of two Gonzaga University students who died in a snow avalanche near Mullan, Idaho last evening. What I found laughable was that out of two television news stations here in Spokane, both of them tried to insist that Mullan, Idaho is just outside Kellogg. That is because both of the remote news trucks were parked outside the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office in Kellogg, and had absolutely no idea of where the ridge where the young men died is on the map.
The other news story that caught my eye was a news story that the Iroquois River in Illinois is over its banks due to a winter ice jam breaking up, and that evacuations are taking place all along its banks. For as long as I have lived, several variables in life have virtually never changed: (1) that once each seven years or so the Iroquois River in develops ice jams during a January warming trend, flooding the entire town of Iroquois, which is largely built along the low-lying river banks, and (2) in the mountains of the West, that during winter snow storms in the mountains, when wet snow falls atop existing dry powdery snow, avalanches are always a likelihood, and people should stay out of the mountains until the snow pack stabilizes. Sitting here this morning watching the "professionals" talking about the news, somehow I cannot fathom how either of these two events are particularly newsworthy. The Iroquois River has been flooding over its banks during the winter since before I was a child, and only stupid people go up into the mountains to go snow boarding right after a heavy snow fall, particularly when a wet snowfall lands atop a dry powdery mix. Is this because we as a nation now celebrate stupidity? This does seem to be a fair question, particularly from the perspective of the Libertarian point of view that *demands* each of us be responsible for our own actions. The people in Iroquois have been building their homes and businesses along the banks of the volatile Iroquois River for at least two generations, knowing as they must, that the river is prone to Spring flood and winter ice jams. I distinctly remember a time less than a decade ago, when the river flooded over half a mile from the old metal bridge that spans its banks near Iroquois, destroying nearly everything in its path. Everyone rebuilt, using their insurance money, and life went on until today, when they were once again forced out of their homes. Two Gonzaga University students, for whatever reason, decided to go snow boarding after dark in an uncharted area near Mullan, Idaho which due to a series of snow storms, had an extremely unstable snow pack. They *chose* to go into an area that is very dangerous, based upon a series of statements made by the Shoshone County Sheriff this morning, and they perished in a quarter-mile avalanche. Are either of these news stories actually "news"? Dave -- Dave Laird ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) The Used Kharma Lot Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 11/24/2004 Usenet news server : news://news.kharma.net Fortune Random Thought For the Minute When Dexter's on the Internet, can Hell be far behind?" _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
