Meet Moscow's Ugly Stepsister

Chamber of Commerce President Nominates Self for Late City Councilman’s Seat

On January 7, Moscow City Councilman John Dickinson was apparently killed in an accident on the John Day Bridge in Oregon. I say “apparently” because John’s body has not yet been found. He had stopped to help a stranded motorist. A third car crashed into the scene, and John either fell over or jumped the highway barricade as a consequence of the impact. He fell thirty feet into the cold, swift river below.

John was a friend of mine. He was a smart, funny man, and I liked him a great deal. Politically and socially, we agreed on most issues. We also disagreed on a few, most notably Moscow’s dog ordinance; I believe that Moscow’s dogs should be fenced or leashed, no exceptions. John was concerned that requiring fences would disrupt some of Moscow’s historic neighborhoods. This disagreement, though strong and intractable, didn’t bother either of us. John was a retired college professor. He handled ideological differences and respectful debate with grace and equanimity. In other words, he was a true political gentleman.

Not so the man who would replace him.

Weasel Words

How Did Hunger Become Food Insecurity?

It would seem that the Bush Administration has redefined hunger as "low food security." The words have a real and technical use. Extension agents use "low food security" to describe people who don't know if they're going to be able to afford both food and rent. Low food security can lead to hunger, but it's not the same as hunger. Conflating the two is a nasty political trick. If you'll forgive the pun, it's a way of making starvation seem palatable. The news that 35 million Americans are going hungry sounds so much better when we take terms like low food security and turn them into weasel words.

Don't Like Bigots? Got Some Extra Money? Then Donate to Idaho Votes No

Idaho Votes No Launches Major Fund Drive: $15,000 in 15 Days

I am not the original author of this post. I am merely a link in the chain of messengers. I received the following announcement today from the Idaho Votes No campaign, and I've decided to pass it along to New West's readers. The State of Idaho can ill afford another black eye, and that, I believe, is what passage of HJR2 will give us.

For those of you who are not familiar with HJR2, where have you been? HJR2 is the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and anything that approximates it. There is much that you can do to help defeat this civil rights menace, beginning with writing a check for whatever you can afford and sending it to the good folks at Idaho Votes No.

Up to my Eyeballs in Internet Scams

Madame Bogamil Doudou and her Nigerian Friends Let Me Down Again

Calm down, American Express. Relax Visa, MasterCard, and Wells Fargo. The check from Nigeria is in the mail . . .

The Overheard Blog

Hat Trick

Just leaving for work at about 9:00am, I ran into a 20-something guy walking by my house near Orange Street Food Farm with a silver hat, smoking a cigarette. I nodded "hi" in his direction, and he took the gesture as an opportunity to inform me of his previous evening's encounter:

Silver Hat: (loud and boisterous) "Not one, not two, but THREE women I took home last night!"

Me: (stumbling to find the right words) "Wow, man, really?"

Silver Hat: "Yeah, my back is sore as hell."

And then, for some reason, he started running away.

Overheard blog

Believing in Virginity

Girl standing on street corner in Missoula with a gaggle of friends Monday night:

"The only one in my family who believes I'm not a virgin is my brother."

The "Overheard" Blog

Burritos and Cat-Calls

While sitting outside Taco del Sol eating yet another burrito, listening to their bluegrass selection of the day…

A beefy guy in a fancy, flare-collared button-down with greasy hair, clearly flustered, walked out of del Sol with a wad of brown napkins in his hand. He headed toward his two equally fancy friends who had been waiting for him by the curb.

Beefy Guy: “Dude. This has been going for five minutes. I can’t get it to stop.” He was referring to his nose. It was packed tight with a napkin, I then noticed, like a boxer’s after a fight....

The "Overheard" Blog

Grandmas Teach Step Class

After a long day of standing behind the front desk at the fitness center where I work, I decided to attend a step class to free my mind and get my blood moving. When I got to class, I became privy to the conversation the instructor and an attendee were having about age and life.

Attendee, with blond hair and black shorts: Do you like teaching this class?
Instructor, with short black hair and a black workout outfit: Oh yeah. It keeps me young. You would never guess how old I am.
Attendee: I'm not even going to go there.
Instructor: Fifty-one.
Attendee: I'm fifty-one too! That's amazing. Do you have children?
Instructor: I have grandchildren. I'm a grandma.
Attendee: Wow. You must've had your children pretty young.
Instructor: Yeah, I have two children that are about 30 and 31. I had my first when I was 19. Sheesh that was a long time ago.
Attendee: Yeah. I can't believe I'm 51. I remember being 19 and thinking even 40 was sooo old. I remember when my mom was 50... and she looked... old. I don't want to look like that. Not yet at least.
Instructor: Well keep coming to step class!
Attendee: I know. Having children was what did it to me. I would look a lot younger if I hadn't had children. Cause I mean, you have no time to sleep, you don't eat right and you can't work out.
Instructor (to the class): Alright let's get going everyone! (Goes to turn the music on)
Attendee looks at me and smiles.
Me: All I can say is, if I look like either of you when I am 51, I'll be very happy.
They both laugh and the class begins.

Plane Talk

Fireworks, Real Estate, Frogs and Famous Football Players: All in a Morning’s Flight

It was way too early in the day to be talking, but listening, especially in the close confines of the airport gate and jam-packed airplane, was unavoidable.

My 7:40 flight out of Glacier Park International Airport was sold out. The gate agent began offering the standard $400-flight, usable for up to one year, and by the time we were boarding, she'd upped the ante to "breakfast, lunch, dinner, and $400 flight to anywhere in the U.S....please?"

A woman standing at the gate with her two children announced over her shoulder to her travel friends, "they're paying for hotel too, so we're staying until tomorrow. I'm fine with it-- we get another day in Montana!"