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It doesn’t happen often — as a matter of fact, the last hurricane to come this way was Hugo in September of 1989, but it seems that we are slated to get something of Fay by Friday or Saturday, although by then it will be only rain and not enough of that to relieve any of our current drought situation.

All but two counties in South Carolina were just last week declared Federal disaster areas due to the drought. By declaring them disaster areas, the farmers in those counties can apply for low interest federally backed loans to see them through until next year.

Our corn crops and hay crops were all but ruined this year due to the drought. Where we normally get 3-4 cuttings a year from a  pasture, they’ve only gotten one so far and it looks like they will only get one more before the grass goes dormant for the winter. Beef farmers have cut back on their herds due to the lack of hay and the high price of grain which is making locally produced meat more expensive. Corn fields are just brown stalks with very small ears on them.

Our beef farmers produce some of the best tasting beef I’ve ever eaten, so this is especially bad to me. South Carolina is also home to dairy herds, chicken farms and other livestock and poultry producers. We also produce corn, beans, milo, hay, cotton and other feed crops. The local sunflower seed grower hardly got enough seeds this year to plant next year.

I know the farmers have insurance for some disasters like this. I can only assume it works something like term life insurance — you pay in until the term limit of the policy is reached or you have to collect on the policy. I’m sure it’s not cheap to have, so it’s doubly important that they have the federally backed low-interest loans made available to them. Still even with insurance and cheap loans, many will lose their farms and businesses which in turn hurts the state at all levels; local, county and state.

Although South Carolina is a fairly prosperous state and has a relatively low unemployment rate overall, things like this still create worry and stress the local economy. It doesn’t help to have jobs in industry and service if you can’t feed the people who show up for work or if food prices are so high because of the distance required to bring the food into the area that wages can’t go beyond living expenses.

The county I live in is primarily a rural one so it is very hard hit by this dry weather. Hopefully next year will be better and the steps taken by the government will help the local farmers keep their farms going until then.

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What is it about American politicians lately that makes it seem like they’re all corrupt?

Democrats are adulterers and Republicans are thieves. Do they all think they are above the law and common morality? I’m going to coin a new acronym — KVM — keep very moral and that needs to be the byword for all new politicians running for office.

I’m just so sick of reading and hearing about John Edwards cheating on his wife and (probably) fathering a child on that woman and HER, Rielle Hunter — her facial expressions on Entertainment Tonight last night was pure spiteful woman, let me tell you! She has no remorse at all, nor does she appear to have any compassion for Elizabeth’s plight at all.

While “everyone” is saying that Mr. Edwards’ political career is now over, I’m strongly doubtful of that. Just look at how Bill Clinton is doing — although he’s no longer IN politics, he’s sure not out of the limelight!

And not to shirk the Republicans, Senator Ted Stevens‘ pled not guilty to charges of scheming to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts from a oil-service company, but c’mon now — I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night!

On Wednesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the “American people have every right to expect the highest ethical standards from every member of Congress. … The American people deserve better, and I would hope that all members would exhibit the kind of ethics the American people expect.”

Well, yeah — we do expect high ethical standards from every member of Congress — at least I do! Problem is, the politicians aren’t delivering them! And equally galling is that they show no remorse for their transgressions. It’s like they feel entitled to do this stuff whether it’s accepting sexual favors or “gifts”.

How do you feel about these recent scandals in the two camps? Do you think they are diverting attention from the Presidential race? Do you think John Edwards can do more to atone for his adultery? What about Mr. Stevens — what can he do to restore his name?

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucmg/20080812/cm_ucmg/johnedwards99percentsolution

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Debt — it’s a four letter word and one more foul than most.

Like many Americans, I’m in debt.

Not as deeply as I once was, but deeper than I want to be. Getting out is hard work! It takes grit and determination and self control as much as any diet ever needed. Our society has become one of instant gratification and that alone has fueled the crisis we find ourselves in today.

Where my parents scrimped and saved before they bought the new car or television, now we borrow, charge and make payments-same-as-cash. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can and SHOULD have waited to buy fill-in-the-blank. But I didn’t. I charged it to my credit card and blithely went on my merry way.

When I found myself without a job and payments on credit cards far exceeding anything I could hope to pull in until I secured another, debt consolidation seemed to be an answer to a prayer. They would handle my creditors, get my payments and interest rate reduced and make it where I would have my debt paid off in two to five years instead of the nearly 30 it looked like it was going to take. Who would have ever thought how much debt consolidation hurt?

In my case, it hurt my credit, my ability to find a job and that hurt continues to this day even though my foray into debt consolidation was 8 years ago.

I thought that all those ads on the radio and t.v. meant the company was reputable, sound and truly in it to help people. Instead I found they were liars, cheats and crooks and are only just now being prosecuted for their crimes.

If you are tempted to seek out help from a debt consolidation company, be sure to take care in choosing one. While they are not all cheats, crooks and liars, there is profit in it for them and don’t be fooled into thinking there isn’t. You should check them out with the Better Business Bureau in both your state and the state they do business from.

But also, you should check out how to handle your debt responsibly. There are ways to make arrangements with your creditors to do the exact same things a debt consolidation company will attempt to do on your behalf. Just by taking the initiative and making those arrangements, you can save yourself quite a bit of grief.

Bankruptcy laws have changed drastically in the last five years, so it’s not as easy to file bankruptcy and where you once could file for it without an attorney, now you MUST have one to represent you. Even the Chapter 13 bankruptcy is more difficult to obtain as the qualifications for it are stiffer. You must also receive credit COUNSELING before you can file and this is NOT the same thing as the debt consolidation companies offer. Rather this counseling must come from an agency approved by the United States Trustee’s office. (For a list of approved agencies, go to the Trustee’s website at www.usdoj.gov/ust and click “Credit Counseling and Debtor Education.”) These agencies are allowed to charge a fee for their services, but they must provide counseling for free or at reduced rates if you cannot afford to pay.

Before you either seek out a debt consolidation firm or bankruptcy lawyer, it would be a good idea to go through counseling first.

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It’s been coming for years. Alaska’s senior Senator, Ted Stevens was indicted today for failure to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts received from VECO Corp, an Alaskan Oil pipeline and oil company.

Stevens, the longest serving Senator in Congress, has not yet turned himself into the Justice Department, but is being given the time to arrange to do so.

“The indictment charges that, while he was sitting as a United States senator between 1999 and 2006, Sen. Stevens accepted gifts from a privately held company known as VECO, its chief executive officer and others,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich told reporters at the Justice Department.

While Stevens didn’t receive one of those Vegas vacations, he did purportedly receive improvements to his vacation home in Alaska in the form of a garage, wrap around porch, electrical and plumbing improvements to the tune of some $250,000 while using his position as Senator to support and enact legislation favoring VECO.

FBI agents photographed Senator Stevens’ home from many different angles before entering it and removing a trash bag full of unidentifiable items.

“I continue to believe this investigation should proceed to its conclusion without any appearance that I have attempted to influence its outcome,” Stevens said. “The legal process should be allowed to proceed so that all the facts can be established and the truth determined.”

Fine words by Senator Stevens, but it’s another black eye for the Republican Party which has been plagued by scandals, indictments and convictions of members of Congress, the Justice Department and even the Oval Office for taking bribes, using political privilege where none was allowed and using the office to sway the hiring of Federal officials based on political affiliation.

And there’s no end in sight. Although Democrats have managed to lay low in recent weeks, the past has proven they are no strangers to corruptness.

It seems the entire US Government is made up of whoremongers, cheats, fraudsters and liars (and those are charitable descriptions of their characters). What happened to the high morals and standards that were once held by those who served the people of the United States? What do voters have to do in order to let Congress know that we want honesty, fair mindedness and truth to be the bywords of actions and political life in the United States? Are there any such people left in the world who can lead our proud nation?

Will the last honest man (or woman), please step forward?

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