SpoonDog

I'm pinning my hopes on the American people. Honestly Bernie's positions are probably closest to my own, plus he seems more focused on actual problems than manufactured ones. He doesn't seem as ideologically rigid as some of the republicans- Cruz can't even work with the folks in his own party. And he isn't as beholden to corporate interests as Clinton or Trump. IMO his biggest liability is just how incredibly white he is- I was watching his speech last night and it looked like a mashup between an Elks meeting and Bingo night at the old folks home. Any candidate is gonna have trouble passing legislation if Congress is dominated by the other party- whether it's Bernie or Cruz or anyone else.

The idea that rich kids go to school and poor kids go to the front lines doesn't sit particularly well for me, and if we're gonna pay a kid to sit in a barracks in Kuwait I don't see why we can't pay for a kid's physics course. But there were some sort of public service requirement (military or CCC/WPA type program like some have suggested) I'd be on board- have them lay pipe in Flint or fight fires out west for a season or two. "Where will the money come from?" is an excellent question, and one I wish we'd take seriously. No one raises the question when it's an aircraft carrier, and we have $400 billion to spend on the F-35. We don't ask the same question about the hundreds of military bases all over the globe, and we're spending $2.5 million plus per prisoner at Guantanamo. We're not opposed to blowing money, I just think we could be blowing money on something more constructive.

Seriously. You guys are pinning the salvation of the country on a guy with no voting record, a guy who trades in distorting facts, a guy who's business model is getting people to buy into his brand, a guy who doesn't feel accountable to anyone. If the big criticism of Obama is that he acts unilaterally as though he's a king, the last person in the universe you'd pick to head the Republican ticket is a megalomaniac with his own television show where he's "the boss." That's the thing that leaves a foul taste in my mouth when it comes to the republican candidates- and hillary, too. The actions don't match the rhetoric.

to/too. It's a common misconception that professors are highly paid, in reality they're making about as much as any other profession which requires a phd, and bear in mind they're not being paid or barely being paid the 10+ years they're in school. They're not working 40 hour weeks. And adjuncts? The folks most likely to be teaching freshman-sophomore level, intro-level college courses? They're making 20-25k a year, without bennies. A few professors make a lot of money. In many instances it isn't because of lavish university salaries but because they get grants from other sources (NIH, NSF, NASA, ...your buddies in the military/ defense industry spend obscene amounts of money padding the pockets of chemistry and engineering profs). If the conservative mantra is rewarding hard work, the last thing in the universe you'd be advocating is cutting the pay of the profs who go out on their own and put in the time finding funding, securing grants, and producing research. If you can prove need universities will knock tons off the sticker price, sometimes >50%. They don't just eat that cost, they make it up through the folks paying full-price. It doesn't cost a university in Missouri twice as much to educate a student from Chicago as one from St. Louis, yet they'll gouge the out-of-state student with tuition and use those revenues to defray the cost to residents. Tuition's always been a shell game. If you're paying tuition right now for your kid, you're paying part of someone else's too- and someone else is paying part of yours. About half of the founding fathers went to college, folks like Jefferson and Franklin were scientists and inventors, and free public education- especially for the underprivileged- has a long history since colonial times. Heck, the founding fathers set up instruments like the Senate and the Electoral college not because they trusted the collective wisdom of the masses but because they understood the importance of an education (self-taught or formal). The people who made this country thought an education was pretty dang important, necessary for the health and functioning of the nation. I think of "free education" the same way I think of "free vaccines"- they're an inoculation against stupidity. If we need educated folks to keep this country running, I see no societal value in putting up a toll-booth in front of our institutions. I see no societal value in denying citizens higher education because it's prohibitively expensive. It isn't just about textbook learning and it doesn't just benefit the poor students, either- affluent students or rural students are interacting with folks from different economic, social, religious or cultural groups, sometimes for the first time in their lives. Folks they'd never meet or interact with, otherwise. Maybe folks from both sides of the political spectrum would be a little more tolerant if they had to engage with folks from different backgrounds. I don't think education is necessarily a right, but I do think it should be accessible to everyone, and I think our form of government works best with an educated population. Getting drunk and chasing girls is an aspect of college culture- just like sexual assault or disability fraud is an aspect of military culture- but I don't see anyone suggesting we disband the Marines. I don't see the societal value or the rational sense in penalizing the people who want an education because of the people who don't.

...all of them?

Not sure anyone knows the answer to that. From what I've read the sewage treatment point runs about 6.75 million gallons of turds a day - about 10 cfs. Meramec @ Valley Park is around 1950 cfs right now, so we're talking about a very poopy drop in a pretty big bucket. My guess is it won't have much impact.

Cruz is also second followed by Rubio in the number of Senate votes he's missed- I dunno that I'd tap the folks least likely to show up as the next leader of the free world. We're talking about the Ted Cruz that read Green Eggs & Ham on the senate floor without understanding the moral of the story, right? The guy who shut down the government? The guy who doesn't show up to work 20% of the time? He has a good work record with the federal government? If you're disqualifying Bernie because he didn't accomplish anything in the Senate, the last thing in the universe you should be doing is supporting Cruz or Rubio. Fiscal responsibility is important- it's one of the reasons I can't wrap my mind around republicans floating a slate of candidates who can't pass budgets. Cruz particularly- he'll vote to withhold emergency funds from Hurricane Sandy victims, and he'll make sure he still gets a paycheck even if Congress doesn't do its job (pass a budget). But rare is the day Ted Cruz votes to fund the position he's running for, among other things. Rubio's done a little more- when he bothers showing up, and Rand Paul has the audacity to vote for budget bills and show up to work. If you're passionate about fiscal responsibility, demonstrate some fiscal responsibility. If you're gonna blast welfare queens for not showing up to work, show up to work. Do what you do, not what you say. Cruz and Rubio are symptoms of a dysfunctional government, not a solution.

It may be better than the alternative :). And there's congressional elections slated for this fall, too.

Exactly- putting ball fields in a river bottom is one thing, but building a Maserati dealership seems to be just asking for God's wrath. If there's a bright side it's that feds and state agencies bought up a fair bit of MO river bottomland after the 93 and 95 floods and that may allow the river to spread out more- but more likely those re-built levees will be overtopped at some point and folks will wring their hands calling it a tragedy.

The Valley Park gauge was 4+ feet above the previous record and 12+ feet above the 1993 level at 12/31/15. The term "100 year" and "500 year" flood doesn't reflect the frequency of the event, the chances of either happening in any given year are basically the same and they don't accumulate- whether you're 5 years since the last big flood or 400 years from the fast big flood, the chances of it happening the next year are the same. The only thing that really reflects the frequency is folks building higher levees that prevent the river from spreading out onto its floodplain, so that the only place for the water to go is up and over. Trust me, a big flood can happen back to back to back on the Meramec, like in 1993, 1994 & 1995, carrying away promising little-league careers in the process :).

Exactly. I may not agree with everyone on the forum, I may think some of them are simply wrong, it isn't some personal indictment of their character. If you can't stand spending time with someone because they don't share your same ideas or beliefs exactly...it says as much about you as it does about them.

I dunno how long it'd take to repair a house after 25 feet of water had sat in it for a week, but probably a month or more. Most sewage treatment plants run on bacteria which has to repopulate- it ain't like you can just wait for everything to dry out and then flip a switch. All "500 year flood" means is there's a 0.2% chance of it happening any given year.

In order of importance...that's tough. But the issues driving my choices in this election cycle are: 1.) Economics- Wealthy people are great, but as a taxpayer I resent having to underwrite Walmart employee's healthcare expenses (through Medicare) as their owners and shareholders make wads of cash. There's plenty of CEOs out there making tons AND paying their employees a reasonable wage- it doesn't have to be $15/hour, but it should be enough to live on after an honest day's worth. 2.) Politics- anyone who thinks Chrysler or DuPont or a superPAC donating boatloads of cash to candidates is the same as you or I donating $30 or signing some petition is delusional. We need to re-think how congressional districts are drawn, so that races are actually competitive instead of all-red or all-blue, so that people actually have to debate policies and issues and re-think their own positions, instead of just drinking the kool-aid and pulling the lever for one party or another. 3.) Education- we're training a third or fourth generation of dunces at the moment, who are fair-at-best at bubbling in answer sheets but awful at exercising (and it took me four attempts to spell exercising correctly) critical-thinking skills. 20+% of adult Americans (potential voters) read below the 5th-grade level, it's estimated 34 million are illiterate. Regardless of where you stand on issues like Syria or climate change they're complicated issues, and you can't expect someone to develop nuanced views on complicated issues if they've never developed that skill. 4.) Investments- Once upon a time in America you graduate high school, you went to college, you got a job and you went into debt. Now you graduate high school, you go into debt, you get a degree and if you're lucky you get a job that'll help you pay it off. We need to re-think profit-driven education models and re-invest in education. We need to re-invest in crumbling infrastructure- roads, bridges, locks, dams- we can beef up border security if it makes y'all sleep at night. 70% of our population lives on one coast or another and high-speed transit is still a long way away, that's nuts. Investing in education, infrastructure, research and development should all be priorities. 5.) Health- If the big knock against Syrian refugees is we need to focus on Americans first, carpet bombing that country should be the furthest thing from our mind. One bombing run covers mental health services for American veterans for...who knows how long? ISIS is bad, but the number of citizens dying at their hand pales in comparison to the domestic lunatics gunning folks down on a monthly basis- and while we have plenty of cash to spend on guns and bombs and planes and aircraft carriers, not one red penny can go to mental health reform. Obesity epidemic- if I'm paying your grocery bills through SNAP and WIC benefits, I get to decide if you spend that money on Coke & candy bars or kale and brown rice. That'll make healthcare cheaper for all of us and it'll probably make the recipient feel a heck of a lot better, too. There's others- reinvesting in urban centers (although parts of that are fulfilled through political reform, education, investment and health), and Americans generally getting over the outrage syndrome that says what is or isn't written on a holiday coffee cup is as big a deal as kids who can't afford college or war refugees trying to free oppression, but those five listed above definitely float among the top.

The only Republican debate I've watched was last night's, specifically because Trump wasn't there. I dunno if boob is one of the words you can't say on here, but man- Trump strikes me as the definition of a boob. I get that he appeals to one's inner four year olds, but it was nice he took a time out and let the adults talk. The compliment sandwich: Bush didn't have a whole lot to say, but he looked presidential saying it. Couldn't really get a read on Rubio or Rand Paul. Christie reminded me of the kid who's surprised he's just been called on to spell sheriff, Ben Carson seemed truly bewildered. Kasich seemed reasonable, and as much as I fundamentally disagree with Ted Cruz's politics, he seemed the most polished and prepared of all of them. I like bernie and I think a lot of his policies and positions are focused on actual problems instead of manufactured ones. I think it's pretty impressive what he's been able to do, given a stacked deck, essentially zero support from the DNC, and basically ignored by the media. I dunno that it'd be wise the DNC put all their money on Hillary when she's such a toxic brand to so many Americans, but I could definitely see them doing it.

I feel bad for the guy who's dead, I feel worse for the 11 kids he leaves behind. At the same time if the things he said in interviews are true, he never planned on handing control back to the feds and walking out of there, or going to prison. I can't imagine what other rational option was on the table, but then again you can't rationalize irrational behavior.

....The Media! Which media are we talking about- the folks who say these guys are yokels or the folks who say they're "patriots?" Maybe it's just me and I lack the imagination necessary to envision a wide-ranging media campaign against a handful of dirt farmers. Or maybe it's that these guys are so dang adept at self-reporting. They are not shy about taking to YouTube and dumping whatever ponderous, half-baked excuse they feel justifies their actions on a near-daily basis. You can't blame "The Media" for that. If the media's twisting these folks' intent it can easily be verified, provided you're willing to sit through 10-15 minutes of hemming and hawing before they actually get to anything resembling a cogent point. Look, it wasn't NBC execs knocking down fences and it wasn't Megyn Kelley rifling through gov't documents and Indian artifacts. An armed militia group took over and occupied a federal wildlife refuge for nearly a month and you guys are upset "The Media" didn't do an adequate job polishing that turd? I don't know that the problem is the media covering Ammon Bundy's actions so much as it's Ammon Bundy's actions. If I were gonna argue one issue or another was the #1 thing wrong with this country it'd be grownups allergic reaction to taking responsibility for their own actions. Or maybe the idea that any ideology, no matter how unhinged from reality, is legitimate just because someone's dumb enough to believe it. But media would be way down on that list.

From what I've read, 6-7 years is the maximum lifespan for spots, not the average. Old fish don't grow as fast as young fish (just like people), and while five years isn't a long time in terms of human lifespan, it is for spots. Most aren't gonna make it to five years and 15", much less seven years. Without trying to state the obvious, TR and Truman are different reservoirs, and the White River coming out of Arkansas is a whole lot different than the Osage coming out of Kansas. Table Rock's max depth is what, 220'? And for a good part of the growing season you have adequate dissolved oxygen (DO) levels through a good chunk of the water column. Deepest spot on Truman is 80' and a whole lot of the lake is much shallower. I'd be willing to bet oxygen is depleted higher up in the water column than TR, and that low-oxygen conditions last longer and are more severe on Truman than Table Rock, too. If big spots like deep water, and there isn't much deep water in Truman, perhaps that explains the lack of big spots in Truman. If a 12" Truman spot doesn't have the access cool, deep, well-oxygenated water a TR spot does- maybe it doesn't extra boost in growth a TR spot does. Maybe it has less to do with reservoir aging or angling pressure or size limits or skewed fisheries data- maybe the differences are just a reflection of the fact Table Rock and Truman are two very different systems.

Otters!

Nice Hatches magazine article on the Malheur standoff. Some interesting points from the article: "It’s important to note that, upon statehood, western states signed away any claims to unclaimed land, Oregon included. Most public land in Oregon has never been “owned” by anyone (although a compelling case for ownership of the refuge and the surrounding forest could be made on behalf of the Burns Paiute Indian tribe) but the feds. " " Last March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Land Management raised their grazing fees as required by Congress (yes, the same Republican Congress that starves the budgets of the Forest Service and the BLM, continually tries to float the idea of public land privatization through government channels and disregards overwhelming public sentiment supporting the one, true birthright every American enjoys—a stake in public real estate) to a whopping $1.69 per animal unit (a cow and a calf)...In 2014, when the feds rounded up his herd and tried to collect $1 million in unpaid grazing fees accumulated during Cliven’s twenty-plus years of failure to pay (remember, these grazing fees aren’t onerous, they’re generous—and are a mere fraction of the average $20.10 per animal unit charged by private landholders in the Western U.S.), the Bundys called in their anti-government brethren and forced an armed standoff with BLM agents. " I dunno that I can run into McDonalds and get a burger for $1.69, and looks like I could float grazing fees for two dozen cows on what's in the change drawer on my dresser. How is it these guys are getting screwed? Heck, they probably could've paid what they owe with the gas money they used getting to Oregon in the first place. A million dollars in unpaid grazing fees at $1.69 a cow-calf pair? If I owe a million dollars on my farm the bank will come and take my farm- not because they're terrible people, but because I'm a terrible businessman. The guy's not anti-government, he's anti-responsibility.

The feds have the authority to acquire land through treaties with foreign powers, and to my knowledge there's nothing in the Constitution transferring land ownership at statehood. This lady's real mad the federal government is behaving unconstitutionally because they're not following her policy- one which doesn't appear in the Constitution. Ask yourself whether that makes any rational sense. There's a reason she's arguing it on YouTube instead of a courtroom. It's a moot point, as the Bundy's and their supporters have demonstrated through their actions they're not interested in representative democracy. I still haven't heard anyone explain how their actions- wresting control of land and resources from locals and then dictating how those lands and resources are used- is any different from what they allege the feds are doing.

That's sort of the whole point, wrench- it isn't about you

Right, and it was our founding fathers who made sedition illegal. I don't recall Alexander Hamilton advocating for a treasury and the rights of an individual to torch his neighbor's property, I don't recall Franklin's speech in Philadelphia on walking away from contractual obligations. You guys can't seriously believe the Bundy militia has their finger on the pulse of what the founding fathers intended. Look, the rule of law came across the ocean with us, it was around before the revolution and it was enshrined in the Constitution. Again, you don't have to believe me- it's a fact. The founders adopted the rule of law because they believe in the rule of law. They wrote the constitution because believe in the constitution. They created a representative democracy because they believed in a representative democracy. Now, maybe you believe gov't has overstepped its bounds, and that's totally fine. But there's a legal process, there's a democratic process, and the Bundy Bunch aren't interested in participating in that. Call me crazy, but if I were in the position of initiating daily press conferences telling folks I'm defending the constitution, it'd be a whole lot more believable if I, you know- followed the constitution. I mean if their big beef is gov't doesn't abide by the constitution, and they don't abide by the constitution...how is it their @#$!! don't stink?

I did a float a couple years back, Groat Landing to Trego Landing I think, early October. Caught a few good smallies on topwater/slider deals but it was the end of the season and many fished had moved to winter territories. Like Dan said, didnt catch a lot of fish but everything was >15". I did see a couple muskie. You'll probably do better in the spring. It hadn't occurred to me how low-gradient streams are up there compared to Ozark streams and I had to paddle through some good looking water to meet my shuttle, June you'll have more light and if you're camping you'll be able to get an early start. If you're doing it over a weekend you'll have company, it's really not that far from St. Croix/Namekagon to the Twin Cities.

Oh you don't have to take my word for it, I posted the guy's press conference and you free-thinkin' fellers are more than welcome to take a look and tell me at what time he says he found undercover agents posing as militia and harassing locals. He never says it. Now, if someone told me I said something I didn't, I'd think they were very silly people. If they insisted I said something in a video-taped press conference which is provably not there, I'd say they're nuts. If you guys wanna anoint yourselves as the arbiters of Truth and the ones who know what's really going on here, you'll have to develop some capacity to separate reality from your overactive imagination. Seriously, if the Bundy militia is so clearly in the right, why are you guys so hesitant to, you know. Use facts? Either sedition is legal or illegal- it isn't subjective and it isn't a matter of opinion. The fact is, sedition is illegal. These guys don't recognize the authority of the US government (among other things), which means they've committed a crime. No one cares whether you believe it's a crime, it is. No one cares if you think it's a serious crime, it's a crime. No one cares what you'd do in law enforcement's position, and just because no one's in handcuffs doesn't change the fact crimes have been committed. None of your personal opinions change the facts, and if people aren't jumping to support your position it isn't because they're blind or complicit in some far-reaching government conspiracy- it's because you're wrong, and that isn't my personal opinion. If you guys think the Bundy militia shouldn't be held accountable for their actions because they've done nothing wrong you either haven't been paying attention or you don't understand how the world around you works.

It's a joke. Western states can't afford their own firefighting costs, and that's just one line on a land management budget. Of all the nutty stuff these folks say they believe, the idea the State of Oregon is going to purchase or effectively oversee an area the size of Mississippi might be the craziest.