sabertoothmonster

And I mean texmex, not mexican or southwestern. There is a huge difference. I moved from Houston to Phoenix a few months ago and I love it here. The only thing I miss is texmex.

I went outside on my back patio this morning and honey bees started pestering me. Flying around me and wouldn't go away. I killed about 3 of them with bug spray. Then I realized what was going on and I felt terrible for killing the bees:(

I live in southeast Texas and like much of the country, we are under severe drought conditions. Locally, lakes and rivers are dry as a bone. It's taking a toll on our ecosystem. Everything is dying or dead. No flowers or anything.

A few days ago I noticed my hummingbird feeder was empty. I took it down from the overhang of the patio and set it on the patio table with the intention of refilling it. Appearantly, the bees have been using the feeder as a source for their nectar. I moved it from the patio table to a table out in the yard and some remaining nectar spilled out onto the table. Within minutes 10 or 12 bees were drinking it up. All they were doing this morning is looking for it. I felt really bad for killing a few of them. They are just trying to survive.

I'm more than happy to use my hummingbird feeder to help this colony of bees survive this drought(in the back of the yard and away from the patio of course!). I was wondering if there was a better way to feed the bees or is the hummingbird feeder good enough? Thanks for your help.

B.H.

Kingwood, Texas

What's wrong with America?

"We" pledge billions to Haiti for earthquake aid. Granted, I regret their pain and suffering. But what about my social security benefits? I'm 36 and concerned there will be no money left when I retire. Why not pledge 1.5 billion to that cause? We have our own problems.

"We" reformed health care in a way that does nothing to make it cheaper for those of us who have it, probably make it more expensive, and give it to people who don't have it and will have to pay practically nothing for it. I personally can't wait for all hospitals to be just like the general hospital here in town where people go if they don't have insurance. It'll be fun, like going to the post office and standing in line for 45 minutes to mail a letter.

"We" jumped on the global warming green planet bandwagon. The earth has been here for billions of years, through superheated periods and ice ages lasting tens of thousands of years or more at a time. So with a few years of data "we" can determine that our minute presence here has an effect on global climate patterns? I doubt it.

"We" give a black man in Galveston 20 years for throwing a brick through a gay bar window and injuring a man. Yet "we" give a white man 10 for getting behind the wheel drunk and killing an entire family. Well hey, he didn't hate the family, he just killed them. Yeah, that makes sense.

"We" have done many good things also. Except for Vietnam and Korea, my grandfathers or myself have fought in every war starting with the American Revolution, both sides during the Civil War, and up to the Gulf War. If any of them were to stand before me today, I'm not so sure I could look them in the eye. In many ways I would be very proud. However, in many ways I would be very ashamed.

What would happen at each end of the tube?

If America can build a spacecraft that goes for 15 years on a trip to Mars, doesn't break down, and receives zero maintenance, why can't we build cars that aren't pieces of crap?