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I came across probably the most interesting advertisement I’ve ever seen today. It had a link advertising for me to win a United States green card. The privacy service I was using has a proxy service while browsing, so the website I was on probably thought I was outside of the United States at the time and was likely targeting foreigners. Having recently read about another growing international internet scam, I was interested to see how this one would work, so I did something I wouldn’t normally do - I clicked on the ad.

It took me here: http://www.usafis.org/_sys/EN/count_land3_en.asp?af=add_en_exm_300×250_en

I never knew getting a green card was so easy?

Of course they make it look like a US Government website. It even had a countdown timer of 5 minutes - so if you really want a Green Card you have to hurry! I was tempted to register to see what their next step is, but I decided to avoid the flood of spam (or the trouble of setting up a temporary online email account). The sad part is they probably extract money from hopeful foreigners - money they cant afford to lose. (Or who knows, maybe there’s a chance this thing is real…)

A friendly reminder to be careful of internet scams out there. 

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy reading: Speed Traps in Southeast Idaho, High Definition Television - Worth Its Cost?, Win A U.S. Green Card?,

Five years ago the hills and mountains of Southeast Idaho were a beautiful site to see on the horizon. I remember growing up and looking towards the east seeing the sun come up over the mountains and thinking to myself what a beautiful site it was, and how lucky I was to be living in a place of such calm and beauty.

Then, a few years ago I remember seeing the white towers start appearing on top of the mountains to the east of Idaho Falls. First there were six, then ten, now there are so many I don’t even count them any more. It is a sad scar on such a beautiful part of the world.

I’m not against wind power. Wind power is a great clean source of energy. It is an alternative to water and coal power. But if it is going to be used, it can and should be done so without destroying a valuable asset like the scenic views of 100% of the citizens population.

I recently read about a new wind farm being planned for development in Bingham County. Ridgeline Energy wants to start developing the wind farm as soon as possible. If they get to place their windmills where they are currently planned, that will destroy another beautiful view so unique and valuable to Southeast Idaho.

KIDK has a picture of the planned development here: http://media.kidk.com/images/figure1-2.jpg

The money makers behind Ridgeline Energy will likely include Steve Voorhees (founder) and Dennis Meany (president).

The profiles of the individuals involved with Ridgeline Energy listed on their website (including founder, president, vice presidents, directors, etc - a total of 15 individuals) reference numerous states, including California, Vermont, New York, Texas, Minnesota, etc only two individuals indicating a connection with Idaho - one of them being a Project Manager by the name of Randy Gardner.

I can’t figure out why we let these people in to take advantage of and destroy our resources and scenery. If they don’t live here, they won’t care a lick about what the place looks like, only about making a buck.

The local government is destroying a valuable asset by allowing these wind farms to continue to develop without restricting the view of the windmills. If we don’t make some changes to how things are managed, this beautiful location we live in will continue to erode and years from now we won’t be able to recognize our own home town.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy reading: Speed Traps in Southeast Idaho, High Definition Television - Worth Its Cost?, Win A U.S. Green Card?,