We might not like to pay the electric bill, water bill, gas, and cable TV. But we're getting a product, so we pay it. When price hikes come, there seems to be little we can do about it. So we pay more.

But what about when the product is not there?

During the first night of the storm this week, much of our neighborhood lost cable. So no TV weather news. Luckily our house had other media to keep us up with what was going on. But one elderly lady who lives alone a few houses down had nothing.

I will ask but I don't expect my cable TV bill to be pro-rated. It wasn't last winter when the cable was out for several days. The same with the other utilities. If I water my lawn every day in the summer or burn lots of Christmas light deocrations in December, I will be paying more. If they can track useage going up, why can't they track it when no water or no electricity is being used? Did any of you who were without electricity for half a month last year get a smaller bill?

It'll be interesting to see if trash pick up stays on schedule. If the city misses a day at your house, shouldn't you be able to get a bill that's $6 less and what if it misses two days? The same could be said for when it's not picked up on holidays.

It's all stacked in favor of the utility companies and municipal services -- and the politicians we elect, let them get away with it.

The word along 2nd Street, just down from Prairie Dog Town, is that Target is coming into the new revitalized area. Of course it was rumored for years that we were getting an Olive Garden before it really came to pass. So who knows how long it would really take. I like Target. Good prices, a little more upscale than Wal-mart, and a lot more than K-mart. But let's face it, the stores are not known for their architectural appeal.

You know how everyone who sees Lawton for the first time asks, "Is that your downtown -- a mall?" I think a big box store with a big parking lot just as you come into town will have the same effect.

I hope 2nd Street looks more like sidewalk cafes and boutique stores and maybe, some historic aspects to it. The city has done a great job so far, with the lighting, bricked intersections, planters and benches. If a big box store does come into the area, it should be set back at least a block. Afterall, beautification has been one of the major selling points for the project. Let's not make the same Urban Renewal of Yore mistake again.

I was driving up Gore Boulevard this weekend and noticed in front of Eisenhower High, there’s a marquee stating the school’s support of the “Boys and Girls Basketball” teams and the “Wrestling” team.

I had a few minutes at the traffic light, so I pondered, “No one gives two shakes of a prairie dog’s tail that the sign means ‘Boys Wrestling Team.’ Why? Because there is no such thing as a Girls Wrestling Team.” But why not? This seems a denial of rights. Why are girls not allowed to get trophies, medals, cheers, cauliflower ears, concussions and gouged eyeballs just like the boys?

OK, we all know that the greeting card companies started Mother's Day and Father's Day. Though credit for the holiday's longevity no doubt goes to a good dose of offspring guilt. The card companies also tried to get Grandparents Day and Secretary's Day off the ground, but have had less success. Gotta give em credit for tryin' to boost capitalism though. But Cyber Monday -- Really? Who's behind this?

As if on any given day, trying to log on, traverse password Hades, get all the nuances of a Web address right, being bounced from site to site, crashing, and so forth isn't bad enough, THEY (whoever they is in this case) want us to all get on our computers at the same time and try to order something.

Oh, yeah. Good plan.

Could this be the most sinister terrorist plot to date?: "Let's make the Americans think Cyber Monday is the only day they can order their precious Christmas gifts online. Then we watch them crash their own Internet. Mooohaaahaaahaaaha!"

Did you get the text about HB 2276 and SB1908 -- the cell phone and texting legislation?

As of Nov. 1, two new state laws went into effect that now allow for penalties if mobile phone use causes an accident or leads to reckless or careless driving, and for ending use of electronic handheld devices by drivers with "junior licenses."

The House passed a the bill March 3 and the Senate passed its bill a month later. They were both signed by Gov. Henry. Simply stated:

• HB 2276 -- drivers are required to “devote their full time and attention to such driving.” Fines $100.
• SB 1908 -- Drivers with permits or graduated licenses (teens) are prohibited from using a handheld electronic device to talk or to text while the car is in motion.

Also, proposed is HB 2611 which would prohibit text messaging by all drivers. Secondary enforcement. Fine of $250 plus two points/$500 three points. In addition, five more pieces of legislation outlaw text messaging and use of cell phones have been introduced.

Gov. Henry has already banned all state employees from text messaging while operating government vehicles.

Seems our politicians are getting serious about this. All I can think of is what my ol' mom used to say, "Kids, you brought this on yourself."

Well, I think the title pretty much says it all.

This is a huge and important election today. The biggest mid-term election in recent memory. In Oklahoma, we will be choosing our first female governor. And there is a world of difference between the two. You probably have your preferences in what you look for in a candidate, whether male or female.

There are other decisions to be made in the election, as well, such as Oklahoma court decisions may or may not be made using Sharia (Muslim) law, as was recently done by a judge in a New Jersey case. It was eventually overturned, but the judge tried it, so to speak.

Important too, is that the selections we voters make will send the message to Washington, that we support or do not support the national direction of the last two years.

There's a message going out to the world as well: The United States of America will borrow billions of dollars from China, send its sons and daughters to kill and be killed on the other side of the world, all in the name of democracy -- But predictions are that our own voter turnout on Nov. 2, 2010 is expected to be barely half of all eligibe voters. If this happens, what kind of forgetful, I'm-too-busy, I-can't-be-bothered-to-learn-the-issues, I-can't-stop-texting-long-enough, I-have-to-take-care-of-the-kids, I'm-too-tired-after-I-get-off-work, soul-less hypocrites are we anyway?

It's time to put up or shut up. So get up off your lazy butt and vote. How about in Southwest Oklahoma, we shatter that fifty percent prediction and send the message that we do the right thing in our Red Dirt country burrows?

It seems like I've been seeing a lot of Fidelity Cable's  5 for $85 deal (phone service, long distance, calling features, Internet, and ... um ... oh yeah, extended basic cable). In their defense, I must say the Fidelity folks are showing a lot more polish than the old Lawton Cablevision ownership, who, in all honesty, just couldn't be bothered. Check out the Fidelity Web site and you will see a far more professional product. And the emphasis in branching out into other services will show Fidelity...

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OK, I'll admit it. I forgot that sales tax issues don't need 60 percent to pass. The LPS half-cent issue hit 56 percent. The big news was that the bond issue didn't come close to the 60 percent threshold. It didn't even his 50 percent. What that means is that there is very little likelihood that any school bond issue will pass in the foreseeable future. It also means that a significant number of voters split their vote, OKing the sales tax and voting against the bond issue. Most voters are also property...

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