Captued

What a mess in Afghanistan. The Taliban captured an American soldier. Now, what will happen? The Taliban knows that we have captured theirs, we have tortured theirs, we have water boarded theirs, we have imprisoned theirs for years. Just like the Taliban, our soldiers are young volunteers. Just like the Taliban, ours are fighting for what they believe is right. Now we have to watch and see what the Taliban will do. This young soldier is alone, is scared, and will say anything he’s told. The story leaked out today, from our military, that this soldier was distraught when he left his base camp unarmed. It doesn’t matter how he was captured. It doesn’t matter how he feels about the military war. He is an American. He is being held by our perceived enemy. IMHO this is not the time for the military to spread possible, but not proven scenarios. After he is released, or after he is extracted, then the military can follow its own rules to deal with this soldier. This is the time to protect Americans. This story will only get murkier in the days to come.

The thunder started early today, and continued through most of the day. The rain showers came, stopped, returned, stopped and returned again. The thunderheads came, and moved out, leaving us overcast. Quite a monsoon day her in our little mountain town. Cooler temps lasted all day. That was really nice. This has been the hottest July in years. Most people in Flagstaff don’t have air conditioning as it would only be used a few days each summer. This last two weeks have many thinking about what to do. A huge windstorm hit Gila Bend and Ajo AZ last night. It knocked out electricity for 2500 customers. It will take another 24 hours to get it back on. Both Gila Bend and Ajo passed 100 degrees today. Life is tough for both these communities most days. These days it is much worse. Dry Ice is being distributed by AZ Public Service in both towns. That will help people with freezers, but I don’t know how it will cool them off. It took APS eight hours to find a generator that could be brought to the only cooling center in Gila Bend. Many elderly and frail had to be transported to towns with electricity. Guess we in Flag can’t complain too much about the heat.

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Random Fact
60% of all US potato products originate in Idaho.

July is…

…Air Conditioning Appreciation Month…Blueberries Month…Cell Phone Courtesy Month…Family Reunion Month…Herbal/Prescription Awareness Month…Nat’l Doghouse Repair Month…Nat’l Grilling, Nat’l Hot Dog, Nat’l Horseradish, and Nat’l Ice Cream Month…Smart Irrigation Month…Social Wellness Month…Tour de France Month…Women’s Motorcycle Month…

Week of July 21
National Baby Food Week

July 21—202 days so far this year…163 days remain in 2009

Legal Drinking Age Day
*Belgium: National Holiday since 1831—Inauguration of Leopold I
*Guam: Liberation Day [1944]
*Singapore: Racial Harmony Day

BIRTHS ON THIS DAY…
1804
Victor Schoelcher Guadeloupe, abolished french slavery
1816
Paul Julius Baron von Reuter founded Reuters news service
1899
Ernest Hemmingway Oak Park, for whom the bell tolled... (Nobel 1954)
1920
Isaac Stern Kremenetz, Russia, violinist (debut SF Symph)
1924
Don Knotts Morgantown WV, actor
1938
Janet Reno U.S. Attorney General (1993-2001)
1947
Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam, rocker (Peace Train, Father & Son)
1948
Garry Trudeau cartoonist: Doonesbury
1952
Robin Williams Chicago Ill, comedian

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY…

1588
English fleet defeats Spanish armada
1773
Pope Clement XIV dissolves the Jesuit order of priests. The ban remains in effect until 1814, when the Jesuits are revived by Pope Pius VII.
1806
Crow Indians steal twenty-four of Lewis and Clark’s horses.
1846
Mormons found 1st English settlement in Calif (San Joaquin Valley)
1861
1st major battle of Civil War ends (Bull Run), Va-South wins
1873
Jesse James, 1st train robbery
1930
US Veterans Administration established
1925
A Tennessee jury finds high school teacher John Scopes guilty of teaching evolution, and he is fined $100.
1957
Althea Gibson became the first black woman to win a major U.S. tennis title
1970
Egypt completes the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River, a major Soviet-funded project that creates Lake Nasser and provides much of the country's electrical power.
2007
The last and final Harry Potter book goes on sale " Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

Word Puzzle from NPR Sunday Puzzler…1987
Every answer here is a word or name starting with the syllable ‘brrr’, in any spelling
EX: pack animal
Answers: burro
1. French wine
2. Germany’s capital
3. Low comedy
4. Sack material
5. Comedienne Carol
6. Alabama city
7. Vermont city
8. Kind of shorts
9. Grow rapidly
10. Myanmar’s former name
• Bonus: Upper Volta’s modern name

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Answers:
1. Burgundy
2. Berlin
3. Burlesque
4. Burlap
5. Burnett
6. Birmingham
7. Burlington
8. Bermuda
9. Burgeon
10. Burma
* Bonus: Burkina Faso
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