An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Morning Coffee 11/30/07
Durham’s crisis: 59 days of water left
With central North Carolina suffering through the worst drought on record and a projected dry winter ahead, the Triangle is as close as it has ever been to severe restrictions limiting water use to hygiene and extinguishing fires.
Durham, with just 59 days left in its main water supply, could be on the front lines of this worst-case scenario.
Up to now, the prospect has been too far-fetched to entertain in detail, which is why there are few specifics in Durham ordinances about what would happen if the drought doesn’t let up. Raleigh also lacks a set plan for an end-times-type drought.
Pray for rain!
Terrorism: Bin Laden says European leaders ‘like living under the shadow of the White House’
In the most recent audio tape purportedly by Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader accuses some European leaders of prefering to “live under the shadow of the White House.”
“It is no longer a secret that (former British prime minister Tony) Blair, (British Prime Minister Gordon) Brown, (former Italian premier Silvio) Berlusconi, (former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria) Aznar and (French President Nicolas) Sarkozy and their ilk like to be under the shadow of the White House,” the speaker said in Arabic.
“They’re not much different from many Third World leaders.”
I detect a bit of desperation here. Besides, in the countries of those named, the people actually have indoor plumbing. Yep, even the French. If they were truly “under the shadow of the White House”, how come Spain pulled out of Iraq, etc?
Exclusive: ‘Fatah, Hamas may join ranks’
Fatah will fight alongside Hamas if and when the IDF launches a military operation in the Gaza Strip, a senior Fatah official in Gaza City said Thursday.
“Fatah won’t remain idle in the face of an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip,” the official said. “We will definitely fight together with Hamas against the Israeli army. It’s our duty to defend our people against the occupiers.”
The Fatah official said his faction would place political differences aside and form a joint front against Israel if the IDF enters the Gaza Strip. “The homeland is more important than all our differences,” he said.
Evidently, they’ll never love their children enough to want to stop killing over any excuse. Just because Israel refuses to disappear is not a good reason to destroy.
The Candidate’s ‘Catch Me if You Can’
ABC correspondent Kate Snow was ready to push through the crowd and ask Hillary Clinton a question until an aide blocked the path of Snow’s sound man as he aimed his boom mike in the senator’s direction.
“Sorry, we’ve gotta go,” the woman said, though it was clear that Clinton would be shaking hands for some time.
I wonder if the Hildebeast is afraid that if she got asked some REAL questions, she just might have to give some REAL answers? Don’t think she could handle that. Heh.
Presidential race turns a negative page
This weekend marks the first negative TV advertising in the two early-voting states as the campaign headed into the critical weeks before the first voting, with an independent group’s claim that the former Massachusetts governor has flip-flopped- a sometimes crippling charge in presidential politics. Analysts say similar negative ads are likely against his chief GOP rival, Rudy Giuliani, whose positions on gun control and immigration are markedly different from those he espoused as New York mayor.
The anti-Romney ad campaign, by a Republican group that supports abortion rights, is fairly modest in scope. But it may open the door to bigger ad buys targeting other candidates and topics, several campaign veterans said.
And it was so positive before? Hmmm…. Ok, I have a real problem with any group that calls itself Republican and is pro murder. Something just doesn’t jibe. Romney said he was wrong on his previous stance, and these folks dislike him so much for previously being on their side, and now not……I’m confused.
Georgia Mom Charged With Fatally Stabbing Her 2 Toddlers in Store Bathroom
A 22-year-old woman fatally stabbed her two young children in a convenience store bathroom Thursday, police said.
A worker at Food Mart told police she saw Jeanette Michelle Hawes enter the restroom Thursday afternoon with the two children, a boy and girl, and then heard a scream, Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength said.
The worker called 911, and when deputies arrived they forced the door open and found Hawes on the floor, holding a steak knife and covered in the children’s blood, Strength said.
What on earth would make a mother do that to her children? Pray for the little ones.
The media phenomenon that is Hannah Montana turned the FedExForum into a screamfest of idol worship Thursday night for nearly 14,000 kids and their bemused attendants.
Part carnival, part rock concert and part cult of personality, the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus “Best of Both Worlds Tour” was this year’s hottest ticket for the 6- to 14-year-old demographic.
I’m trying to remember if I was so fanatical about anyone when I was a kid. There were the Beatles of course, but if I wanted one of their 45’s, I had to save my allowance to buy it. I think parents are turning their kids into little looney toons. Is it really harmless? Look at the obsession with Brittany Spears a few years back, and look how THAT turned out. No connection, but……
Many Katrina victims lose trailers today
Dozens of Hurricane Katrina victims still living in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer parks will have to find new housing by today, as the agency works to shutter the temporary facilities it set up after the 2005 storm.
The move is intended to help the hurricane victims move into more stable, permanent housing, FEMA said. But advocates worry that a housing shortage in the still-recovering area could leave some struggling to find a place to live.
Ummm….no offense, but it’s been over two years. Isn’t it about time the folks still living in the FEMA housing get a move on, and start standing on their own two feet?
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We had to fight our way through the crowds for HSM in Chicago and then again in Baltimore. There were absolutely nutzoid crowds for an 11 AM show.
There’s a whole lot of audience devotion and buyer loyalty there.
HSM? High School Musical?