Month: December 2016
Law allows huge expansion of historic Civil War battlefield
What a great addition to such an already great park!
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The Petersburg National Battlefield, a climactic site in the collapse of the Confederacy in the Civil War, has been cleared for a huge expansion under a new law that would authorize it to become the nation’s largest protected battlefield.
The park commemorates sites in the war’s longest battlefield conflict, marked by bursts of bloody trench warfare spanning some 10 months between 1864 and 1865.Legislation signed days ago by President Barack Obama authorizes, but does not pay for, the addition of more than 7,000 acres to the existing 2,700 acres of rolling hills, earthworks and siege lines already under protection at Petersburg.Expansion has been a longtime priority of park advocates and comes amid a push to bolster and protect battlefields around the country as the nation marked the 150th anniversary of the war.Supporters say the larger boundary would not only protect historic sites from commercial development but also give park visitors a more comprehensive understanding of the Petersburg campaign, which left tens of thousands of men dead.“We’re finally moving forward. … We’re looking at the park and looking at the story in a whole new way,” said Lewis Rogers, the park’s superintendent, who joked that the weeks of waiting for the president’s signature had left him in misery.About 25 miles south of the former Confederate capital of Richmond, the Petersburg area became the crucible of Gen. Ulysses Grant’s 10-month Union siege that broke the back of the Confederacy and precipitated a retreat of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army that ended at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.
Source: Law allows huge expansion of historic Civil War battlefield – Roanoke Times: National
The muslim Question – Men Of The West
Muslims are not Men of the West, and they never will be. They are something else, and not anything we want or need.The desert, where Muslims belongTo be clear – Muslims need to go home. They have no place in Europe, America, or anywhere else that lives according to Western Cultural Principles. As long as they are content to remain in their sand and tents, then we can leave them alone, as we have always done. If they attempt to infiltrate or attack our lands, people, or culture, then we must call forth our next Jan Sobieski or Charles Martel, and defeat them mercilessly. Drive them to the ocean and scatter their bones. There can be no other option. There will be no compromise or debate.It is time for the Men of the West to call things for what they are. Muslims are invading our lands, and they must be repulsed. Our heritage, our culture, and the lives of our progeny demand it.
“Didn’t know you had a BMW.” Vanity plates: Drivers take to the road with rude, controversial and hilarious slogans
Two from North Carolina (including the lead)
The most outrageous vanity plates in America: Drivers who take to the road with rude, controversial and hilarious slogans
US will not have aircraft carrier in Middle East, report says
WTH!!! This is unacceptable!
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The U.S. will reportedly face a carrier gap in the Middle East as President-elect Trump prepares to take office.
The carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, which has been conducting operations against the Islamic State in the Middle East for the past seven months, is set to return to its home port in Norfolk, Va., on Friday, according to a Navy statement.
But the carrier George H.W. Bush, which is set to relieve the Eisenhower, has not left the U.S. due to delays in the maintenance yard, Defense News reported. That’s setting the Navy up to not have an aircraft carrier in the Middle East for up to two months.Fleet Forces Command did not return a request for comment on when the Bush might deploy.
The gap leaves the region without a U.S. naval presence at a tumultuous time. The fight against the Islamic State, including the offensive to retake Mosul, is ongoing and the Russians and Turks will begin enforcing the latest cease-fire in Syria.
The Pentagon often prepares for a gap by sending additional U.S. Air Force units to the area to continue carrying out the air campaign, a precaution that has been taken in this case as well, according to the report.
A carrier gap in the region is not unheard of. The last gap lasted several weeks in 2015 when the carrier Theodore Roosevelt left the Middle East in mid-October and the carrier Harry S. Truman deployed in mid-November in the days following the Paris terrorist attacks.
Source: US will not have aircraft carrier in Middle East, report says | Washington Examiner
Why 2016 is getting an extra “leap second”
Hope everyone enjoyed 2016, because this year is going to last one second longer than usual.No, really: On December 31, the world’s timekeepers will add in a “leap second” to keep all our clocks in sync with the Earth’s rotation. They do this because the Earth technically takes a bit longer than 24 hours to complete a full rotation (86,400.002 seconds, to be exact).
So a “leap second” gets added every few years.In fact, this adjustment has actually become quite common: Ever since leap seconds started getting added in 1972, fully 27 out of 44 years have included one.For those living on the US East Coast, this year’s leap second will occur at 6:59:59 pm EST on December 31. Official clocks will hit 6:59:60 before rolling over to 7:00. If you feel like celebrating, you can. If not, well, this probably won’t affect your life all that much. A previous leap second in 2012 caused a glitch in the software running Reddit, Gawker, and other websites, but systems are far better prepared this time around.
DIY Rabbit Tractor
Reader Valinda Mullin shares a clever DIY hack that allows her to raise healthy, happy meat rabbits in a mobile pen.
This DIY rabbit tractor will help you raise healthy, happy rabbits.
~ Photo by Valinda Mullin ~
By Valinda Mullin
I thought it’d be great to have a tractor for raising meat rabbits, just like people do with their chickens. I started by gathering up recycled supplies that I’d been saving for this purpose and then got to work.
Materials
• 1-by-4s
• 1 1⁄4-inch screws for wooden frame
• 1 sheet of plywood
• 3⁄4-inch fencing staples
• 2-by-3-inch welded wire mesh for bottom (use 1-by-2-inch welded wire if you’ll be raising small meat rabbits)
• 1⁄2-inch hardware cloth for sides
• 1 center-mounted wheel (2 wheels if using a side-by-side design)
• 2-by-2s for handles
• 3-inch screws for handles
• Lightweight sheet metal for roof
•…
View original post 537 more words
Moscow invites Trump administration to join Syrian peace talks
Moscow invites Trump administration to join Syrian peace talks
Source: Moscow invites Trump administration to join Syrian peace talks
North Carolina corporate tax changes that go into effect Jan. 1
This is good for NC but it would be better if SMALL BUSINESSES received a break!
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Bill Nelson, a partner at Smith Anderson law firm in Raleigh, predicts a lower corporate tax rate will further incentive businesses looking to expand in North Carolina.“The 3 percent corporate rate will give North Carolina the lowest corporate rate of any state that levies a corporate income tax rate,” he says.
“It will make us much more competitive.”But this particular rate drop has limits, points out H. Lee Miller, a certified public accountant with a practice in Raleigh.“That’s only corporate income taxes, not for people who are still self-employed,” he says.While personal income tax will take a dip Jan. 1, dropping from 5.75 percent to just under 5.5 percent, “you’re still having the corporations paying a lower income tax rate than individuals, and on top of that, individuals have to pay sales tax as well,” Miller says. And that includes taxes on certain services, such as automotive repairs, enacted last March.
Source: North Carolina tax changes that go into effect Jan. 1, 2017 – Triangle Business Journal
Opioid Overdoses Plague North Carolina
This past summer, Gov. Pat McCrory signed Senate Bill 734, authorizing a statewide standing order for naloxone, meaning anyone in the state can purchase the drug without prescription. Naloxone, which is sold under the brand name Narcan, reverses the effects of an opioid overdose and works within minutes of injection. It is an opioid antagonist and does not hurt the body if a person has not overdosed.
“It’s not so much to the people being affected by the drug because you can imagine if they’ve overdosed, then they can’t save themselves,” said Williams. “It’s really for their loved ones and those around them, their friends, co-workers, family. We’ve heard, anecdotally, stories of 14-year-olds getting it so they can save their 18-year-old brother’s life if he overdoses while he’s at home.”The governor’s action follows a 2013 order that made naloxone available to law enforcement officers to carry. Just in late November, the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition (NCHRC), a statewide nonprofit dedicated to reducing drug overdose deaths, reported there have been more than 5,000 drug overdose reversals using naloxone.In addition, McCrory signed a 911 Good Samaritan law. This gives some immunity to individuals who call for help during an overdose situation. If police respond to a 911 emergency where there are small amounts of drugs or paraphernalia, the users in that house will not be charged with a crime. This has freed up users to call for help without fear of criminal prosecution.
The way I see things ... 