After months of no rain–and withering heat— North Carolina’s Governor finally said it.. We need to stop watering our lawns, and quit using water for non-essential purposes….

That would have been a nifty idea months ago— but—I think we need to go a LOT further..

The U-S drought monitor placed us in the catagory of exceptional drought about 2 weeks ago… And if you look at some of the area’s water supplies—you can see how exceptional it is…

Everything in these pictures that is grass or mud USED to have water covering it…

We are running out of water—and fast. Durham talks of 70 Days of water left. Creedmore’s Lake basicly went dry months ago. Rocky Mount’s hurting and getting water from neighboring Wilson..

The list just goes on and on…..

With all the forecasts indicating a pretty dry winter—we’ve got to take some drastic action NOW.

One of the Drought Monitor’s provisons for dealing with exceptional drought is to ration water.

And that time is at hand.

We need to do this on a state-wide level—-so that everyone is impacted equally.

If we get rain—and the ground water starts to recharge—we can ease off the rationing.

But, if we don’t do it now—we may find we’re rationing sludge instead of drinking water.

Personally—I’d prefer a little inconvenience now…And it’ll be cheaper and easier than having to shower with beer.

—Steve

Link here to the story Steve covered today on NBC-17

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Years ago—there was a cliché that went: “What this country needs is a good 5-cent cigar”….

Now, it seems certain groups are saying, “ What this country needs is a good censor”…

That’s because there’s a lot of people who think that other people ought to shut up…

Here’s a few recent examples:

You’ve got California Representative Henry Waxman having his staffers investigate talk radio folks to stop them from saying things they disagree with because they don’t like what they’re hearing from the right…

You’ve got the National Association of Black Journalists trying to keep Don Imus off the air because they don’t want to hear what he has to say when he returns daily broadcasting… They believe he must keep paying for his racially insensitive remark made last April..

And there are scores of other groups who want this one or that one to be silenced.

What we’re seeing here is a slow erosion of divergent opinion… The founding fathers knew that all points of view were necessary to keep us strong…That’s part of what freedom of speech is about.

As someone once said—debate is the great disinfectant of democracy.

However, pressure groups on all sides want to shut everyone up—and make people see and hear only their point of view.

When it comes time to speak—everyone has the right to do it. It’s just that some have a bigger soapbox than others.

For example, millions upon millions of people listen to talk radio broadcasters who represent the left and the right…. And no one puts a gun to the heads of those who listen forcing them to tune in..

Those commentators exist because there are people who WANT to hear their viewpoint…And shouldn’t you want that viewpoint to exist—even if you DON’T agree with it?

If you want to shut them up—I suggest you call in the greatest censor in the world—the on/off button on your radio or TV.

—Steve

Link here to the story Steve covered today on NBC-17

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To those who were deterred from commenting by the requirement that you be a member or have a log-in to post—that is no longer the case.

WE APOLOGIZE.

That was never our intention. This is supposed to be an open forum .

The problem that created that condition has been corrected.

You may now post comments freely without the hassle of “being a member.”

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What seems like a good idea at first might not always stay that way… for example:

DO YOU WANT FRIES WITH YOUR CHALUPA?
Taco Bell is going to open its fast food Mexican restaurants in Mexico…. I’m no expert on this—but, I’d think there’s probably a lot of Mexican food ALREADY available in Mexico.. The company says it’ll try and make their version of Mexican food “different” by offering french fries on the menu…. Before they do that, I think someone ought to offer the company’s CEO a better business plan first…

TILL RECYCLING DO US PART…
A British robotics researcher says it won’t be long before humans are marrying robots… He says here certain trends indicate that as we become more accepting of intimate relationships with artificial beings, robots will come to be accepted as suitable marriage partners. ..

….Currently, marriage vows are “until death do us part”…. What happens when one partner never dies?

..And… If you recycle your robot spouse, are you guilty of murder?

…..Most importantly—CAN YOU IMAGINE THE TURMOIL if the husband forgot an anniversary and didn’t bring home a quart of oil as a gift?

HAND ME AN EAR….
An Australian man has had an EAR implanted in his ARM!! This link shows a picture of the ear, as well as a detailed explanation of how the ear was grown from cells in a lab before it was placed under the skin of his arm..

I’m not sure how practical it is to have an extra ear on your arm… I’m guessing this guy is not married with kids… Because if he was, I’m sure he’d have wanted to have a couple of eyes implanted in the back of his head instead…

—Steve

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To those who were deterred from commenting by the requirement that you be a member or have a log-in to post—that is no longer the case.

WE APOLOGIZE.

That was never our intention. This is supposed to be an open forum .

The problem that created that condition has been corrected.

You may now post comments freely without the hassle of “being a member.”

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We spend so much time looking for the perfect candidate—we sometimes forget that those who run for elective office are human too—and they have a few warts on the skeletons they keep in the closet..

We also tend to look at these superficial things—and not at the candidate’s ability to rise to the occasion…That in turn gives the public more and more reasons to reject a candidate—who JUST MIGHT happen to be the right person for the job.

Here’s a few true facts about a presidential candidate…

The candidate suffered from bouts of depression so severe it was sometimes debilitating… And the candidate’s spouse also suffered from mental issues too—along with a violent temper.. Some believed the spouse was unstable. As a result of these problems in both of them, the candidate’s marriage was rocky at best and turbulent most of the time.

The candidate was disloyal to the party that helped elect the candidate to office. In fact, that candidate was SO disloyal, the candidate bolted the party and joined another which best fit the candidate’s views.

But, the candidate’s views so angered the new party, it was decided by party leaders that it would be best if the candidate not run for any office again—because the party believed the candidate just couldn’t get the votes.

In civilian life, the candidate’s business abilities were so poor, the store the candidate owned went into bankruptcy. The candidate then went into partnership with another store owner—and that business also failed.

That left the candidate with huge debts—which the candidate eventually paid off—but it took years.

Given all this—there’s plenty of juicy stories for the media to spread about the candidate when the candidate runs for the presidency.

Based on the candidate’s dismal personal issues, chances are you won’t vote the candidate dog catcher.

But in 1861, those stories and more didn’t stop voters from electing Abe Lincoln.

—Steve

Link here to the story Steve covered today on NBC-17
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To those who were deterred from commenting by the requirement that you be a member or have a log-in to post—that is no longer the case.

WE APOLOGIZE.

That was never our intention. This is supposed to be an open forum .

The problem that created that condition has been corrected.

You may now post comments freely without the hassle of “being a member.”

As promised—the answers to our little quizlett….

1. Here are the states:

(click map for larger version)

2. Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie and Ontario

3. Pierre is the capitol of South Dakota

4. Helena is in Montana. It is the state capitol.

5. False. The Bill of Rights which amends the Constitution gives us that freedom.

6. India. It’s the ONLY sub-continent in the world. All the rest of the land masses are continents.

…..TALK BACK…..

Reader “RicR” sends us this link for more fun and games with maps. You can read more in his skool daze “comment” post–but I thought this little on-line game deserved its own special highlight !

With the most recent presidential debate just behind us—it’s clear the race for the presidency is heating up.. And the media is on the lookout for any juicy tid-bit from a candidate’s private life that would be good to exploit under the guise of real news.

Tomorrow, we’ll share some true facts about a presidential candidate that are great grist for the gossip mongers—and you can decide if those stories about the candidate’s private life would affect the way you’d vote.

Join us then—BETWEEN the LINES….

—Steve

Link here to the news story Steve covered today on NBC-17