Donating Blood for Coffee

Give a pint of blood and get some coffee. It’s part of the Red Cross’ National Donor month.

STRATEGYPAGE ON CASUALTIES IN IRAQ:

In hindsight, U.S. troops will get credit for keeping their own casualties down to historically low levels (compared to any other 20th century conflict). Professional soldiers have already recognized this feat, and are studying American techniques intensively. Less well appreciated are the efforts the Americans made to keep civilian losses down. But foreign military experts are coming to appreciate that this aspect of the war paid long term benefits. Iraqis saw, day by day, the efforts by American troops to avoid hurting civilians. Initially, Iraqis saw that as an American weakness, but in the long run they recognized it as a sensibility rarely seen in the Middle East. This will have long term consequences for relations between the United States and Iraq.

Read the whole thing.

Steuben Habitat buys new headquarters

Southeastern Steuben County Habitat for Humanity has purchased a former commercial building to house its offices, a construction shop, a materials storage space and a new retail store.

 Issues in the Twin Tiers: Elmira struggles with strays

Hundreds of cats. Thousands of cats. Millions and billions and trillions of cats.The city could pay a bounty of a few dollars to local kids to bring in cat pelts.

I am sure that the cat overpopulation problem would be solved in a few months.

Contests could b held, make it a community event.

NOT QUITE BRINKS SECURITY: “A female homeowner who shot a male intruder in her back yard in October 2006 spoke to KNBC’s Laurel Erickson on Wednesday, one day after a jury found the man guilty of all charges. Nadine Teter shot Michael Lugo twice in the stomach and once in the leg after he broke into her Canyon Country home. Lugo broke the lock on Teter’s door and barged in. She fled to the back yard with her gun, according to police. . . . Teter said she thinks that every woman should carry a gun. . . . ‘I was not going to get raped. I was not going to get murdered. There was no way — and I didn’t,’ Teter said.”

Contaminated Children’s Vaccines May Have Been Given at Guthrie

A Guthrie Group spokeswoman tells WETM that their family health practitioners administer Hib vaccines supplied by Merck, which are under recall for a contamination risk.

It was a government mandated vaccine, if you did not get it for your child, your child could not go to school. So everyone gets it and it is a crap shoot whether your kid dies or not. I guess life is like that, and i bet there is an exemption for politicians children.

Counties want state to take over pre-K costs

ALBANY — The state should take over the entire cost of providing special education services to 3- and 4-year-old children — a $432 million annual expense to counties, county executives said Friday.

Holy god, it costs $432 million for just special ed kids preschool?  Are they out of their minds?  I understand the need for the parents to dump off their kids somewhere, I really do, but to cost $432 million dollars?  Privatize education in NY state, let business run it, it iwll be suddenly cheaper and the schools will turn out kids who actually have marketable skills.

But that alone does not come close to the boondoggle of $432 million dollars spent on special education kids.  There are 80,000 kids in this program, and that works out to $5,400 per kid, more than a private school…

Ok, let me get this straight, a tax exempt entity is getting my money, and lots of it, to do repairs? Doesn’t that church have any kind of flock? Shouldn’t those people pay for their churches upkeep and maintenance? Why are my tax dollars going to support a church? Am I the only one who is really, really annoyed at this?

Park Church gets grant

The Park Church is due to get a $388,135 state grant to help pay for a project to replace the roof and to restore and repair masonry walls and chimneys.

Successful Arctic League Telethon

Telethon Raise More Than $33,000, Many Donations Not Yet Added To Total.  If I were a poor parent, personally I would prefer my child getting the absolute best education I could beg, borrow or steal for them, I think I would skip the teddy bear and the bratz dolls.
Is this a case of feel good over substance?  Or am I scrooge incarnate?

Help available for troubled parents

The death of an infant in the community under suspicious circumstances could lead some parents to consider harming their own young son or daughter, warns one local expert.  Yeah, I can feel it now, my kid didn’t load the dishwasher properly, I must plot his death.  Sigh, save me form the meddlesome know it all do gooders.  Please.