Swing state voters in 2012 – including the good people of North Carolina – got a taste of what it’s like to live in Iowa and New Hampshire every four years, and for most folks in my generation it wasn’t fun.  You see, folks my age still use land lines to make phone calls and to keep up with friends and family.

             If you showed up on anybody’s demographic radar screen, you received barrages of robo-calls, robo-polls and occasional live person “polls” on your land line. I put “polls” in quotes because callers want you to think that your opinion will be reflected in the next Rasmussen or CBS temperature read of the nation’s electorate.  Instead, you’re probably just being pegged as unlikely to vote, certain to vote for a particular candidate, or uncertain but persuadable.

             Based on your answers, you’ll receive specific mailings or future robo-calls, and if you’re certain and for their candidate, you’ll be called to get out and vote.

             I didn’t get a single such call on my cell phone. 

             Friends and co-workers everywhere commented on the harassment.  You probably did too. Some let their answering machine fill up and ignored the kitchen or living room phone when it rang.  (I, on the other hand, was interested in how somebody thought they could manipulate my opinions,  and being a political junkie, enjoyed listening and learning about the many things I was supposed to fear about Romney or Obama, with anti-Obama calls outnumbering anti-Romney calls 3 to 1).

             So here’s my prediction, and it’s from a crystal ball that seems clearer than usual. In all 2012 swing states – in particular, Ohio – land lines will be dropped or discontinued at a rate far exceeding the states that were deep blue or red. 

             How is this related to land use?  Cell phones will replace those land lines, and more cell phones means more towers.

             So, if anybody asks you what’s on the political horizon in 2016, tell them it’ll be dotted with more cell towers than ever.

             And tell them you heard it here first.

 Next up

             Next up is a quick commentary on a case I handled that was reported by the Court of Appeals this morning.  And . . . then Lanvale.

             For email alerts on new posts, click the “sign me up” button above. 

             Scroll down to read recent posts.  Click on topics of interest in the right hand column for other posts.