By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher
JAN. 27, 2026 | After a night of hearing small frozen limbs and pine cones falling on the roof, most of us survived cozily despite hearing all sorts of warnings from the weather forecasters.
Yep, they missed it again.
But let’s cheer the weathermen and women. We thank them for their diligence in warning us of what might happen…..but luckily for us, their dire predictions were astray again.
Apparently weather people up and down the East Coast were all predicting all sorts of forecasts, all bad. Here’s a note we saw from a guy in Baltimore, who also survived without much happening, and put out this screed:
“Weathermen cannot be held criminally, or civilly responsible for an inaccurate forecast unless the plaintiff can show malfeasance or neglect. That’s what I gleaned from a few articles I Googled.
“I believe, and you’ve probably heard this, that the weathermen (or their producers) are selling a product, and the more sensational, the more people (buyers) will tune in. Why do news organizations choose to dramatize like this? I can only imagine it is to attempt to grow their audience.”
We beg to differ slightly in defense of the forecasters.
All these weather people are doing the best they can to warn us that this MIGHT happen. They would rather you recognize and prepare for the worst, than to be surprised with even more serious weather outcomes. If they are to err, let it be to our benefit.
So cheers to them for their warnings!
SPENDING THREE DAYS in California recently, when we got our hotel bill, we saw again how local officials prey on travelers. The locally-added tax to travelers is slightly shy of robbery. In effect, it’s “tax the non-voters,” who only stay short term in a city, yet this group of people contribute taxes to that city.
Yet I wondered, then realized, that we in Georgia do it, too.
From the internet, we found: “In Gwinnett County, Georgia, a state-mandated $5 per night “hotel-motel fee” is applied to most short-term room rentals. This fee applies to the first 30 days of a stay, after which it is not required. Additionally, a 7 percent Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax and state sales tax (4 percent) are often applied to short-term rentals.”
Yep, we are guilty, too. While areas compete for those staying in hotels and motels, it’s to fatten the local tax revenue. It’s today’s best example of the phrase, “Taxation without representation.”
DO YOU DRIVE an automobile that is “limited?” Many automakers put out models they describe as “limited.”
We looked up one definition, which reads: “’Limited’” typically denotes a high-level trim package, often near the top of the lineup, offering premium features, upgraded materials (like leather seats), and advanced technology not found on base models. While originally suggesting limited production numbers, it is now primarily a marketing term for a well-equipped, luxurious version of a car.”
ONE MORE THOUGHT to leave you with on this cold day: from a small story in The New York Times: “In 1917, to buy the Virgin Islands from Denmark, the U.S. agreed not to make any claims on Greenland.”
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