A good portion of the snow cover has melted away, between the warm temperatures and heavy rain. Mostly it's the snow banks that we still see. At least the thaw didn't greatly affect the ice on top of the lake, meaning it's highly likely the annual Ice Fishing Derby will take place as scheduled.
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I did watch the AFC Divisional game between the Tennessee Titans and the New England Patriots. Listening to some of the commentators the Patriots were outgunned by a much stronger Titans defense and offense.
The Patriots won 35-14.
The first quarter pretty much belonged to the Titans as they managed to score one touchdown and prevented the Patriots from reaching the end zone. But the next 3 quarters belonged to the Patriots as they scored 35 unanswered points before the Titans managed to score their second touchdown towards the end of the fourth quarter.
Now we wait the outcome of today's game between Jacksonville and Pittsburgh to see who the Patriots play next week.
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By way of Wirecutter comes this story from Michigan where an active duty Marine has been charged with multiple felonies after protecting his family and home from and armed intruder. Ironic considering the miscreant was wounded by the Marine after he had fired into the house after trying to kick in the door, and then released after posting a $500 bond on an illegal weapons charge. The Marine, one Joey Nelson, has been charged with 5 felonies and is being held on a $150,000 cash bond.
WTF?
But wait, it gets worse!
They denied him access to his lawyer, chose to ignore a judge's writ of habeas corpus to release him, and acted as if the law didn't apply to them.
Apparently the police department in Westland, Michigan, where this all took place, has a history of abuse and incompetence. These are the types of guys that give the rest of our nation's police officers a bad name.
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Want to see how some towns and their school work their budgeting? Then take a look at one brief view of our schools budget from the viewpoint of the budget committee, a group of our townsfolk elected to review, modify, and recommend/not recommend certain budget items.
The attendance at our three schools has been declining for years, dropping ~13% over a period of 8 years, but the school budget keeps climbing.
The school board and the superintendent's office have told us that the proposed school budget is just under 1% smaller than the budget approved for the current school year, but they're wrong. It's actually up almost 1% from the budget approved by the town's voters. It's only 1% down from what they've actually spent, meaning they've spent more than the amount approved by the voters last year. That's not the same thing.
While I understand that not all spending is under their control, an example of that being special education expenditures, a lot of the rest is. Special education is funded by the federal and state governments, not directly by the taxpayers in this town. That still doesn't explain the expected expenditures until the end of the present school year being 2% above what was approved by the voters.
I always find it interesting how a budget increase can be portrayed as a budget decrease even though it really isn't.
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I find it interesting that the only person who says President Trump labeled a number of countries as s**tholes is Senator Dick Durbin (D), someone not exactly known for his veracity. That it appears that no one else in the meeting where Trump allegedly uttered that term actually heard him say that means that either they are all lying and Durbin is telling the truth, or that everyone else is telling the truth and Durbin is lying.
Of the two, I am more inclined to believe that it is the latter and not the former.
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Antifa better be careful what they wish for, because if they get it I can guarantee that not long after that they'll wish that the very same folks they want to incinerate were there to protect them.
They really believe that somehow they'll be the ones in control if they get their wish. Instead they'll be the second round of victims once the rest of us decide that “they just plain need killin'”, to use a Southern aphorism.
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The latest thing on the list of things that are racist?
Not wanting to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Really? Hmm, if that goes forth then I guess I am a racist and that will give me power the non-racists won't have, that being knowing what works and what doesn't.
To think that folks actually believe this drek. If nothing else it shows just how mentally deranged and dangerous these idiots have become. It's time to put them into mental institutions to make sure they don't hurt themselves or others due to their mental state.
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Yup, it must have been Donald Trump that forced that employee at Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency to push the wrong button which sent out the false missile attack warning.
Is there nothing the president can't do?
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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where the January thaw has ended, things are freezing up again, and where the level in the propane tank is dangerously low.