This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week: (This is the second of a two part presentation on this subject.)There are many, many important issues facing us collectively as citizens of the United States, as Floridians, and as residents of Jackson County. These issues involve many facets of our lives including matters which are social, environmental, personal, financial, family, religious, criminal, judicial, political, medical, educational, and even sexual in nature. Have you studied each and developed a personal philosophy in each arena?
PART TWO – Criminal Issues, Judicial Issues, Political Issues, Medical Issues, Educational Issues, and Sexual Issues
I hope that presenting confrontational issues for discussion in last weeks column sparked a few lively discussions at breakfast coffee discussions between friends. Developing your own, unique opinions is one of your valued personal rights. My hope is that you will exercise that right.
Criminal Issues:
♦ Should marijuana be legalized? Should liquor be legal? On Sundays? After
Midnight? By the drink? Wine in restaurants with a meal? Out of a liquor store drive through window?
♦ Should Megan’s law be modified to recognize difference in situations that are now all
classified as child molestation? (i.e. an 18 year old boy and a 16 year old girl, vs. a small female child and a forty year old man.)
♦ Are property seizure laws fair? Do law officials sometimes abuse these laws? Does property seizure create a system of inequities in the amount of penalty realized by different offenders for the same crime?
♦ Does the IRS use it’s powers to intimidate citizens? To evoke political reprisals? Is the burden of proof on the IRS or on the citizen?
♦ Do laws protect the rights of the accused too much?
♦ Are there too many police officers, overlapping agencies, police bureaucracies? Too much time and money spent in traffic enforcement instead of solving crimes?
♦ Should marijuana be legalized? Should liquor be legal? On Sundays? After
Midnight? By the drink? Wine in restaurants with a meal? Out of a liquor store drive through window?
♦ Should Megan’s law be modified to recognize difference in situations that are now all
classified as child molestation? (i.e. an 18 year old boy and a 16 year old girl, vs. a small female child and a forty year old man.)
♦ Are property seizure laws fair? Do law officials sometimes abuse these laws? Does property seizure create a system of inequities in the amount of penalty realized by different offenders for the same crime?
♦ Does the IRS use it’s powers to intimidate citizens? To evoke political reprisals? Is the burden of proof on the IRS or on the citizen?
♦ Do laws protect the rights of the accused too much?
♦ Are there too many police officers, overlapping agencies, police bureaucracies? Too much time and money spent in traffic enforcement instead of solving crimes?
Judicial Issues:
♦ Does our judicial system really administer justice? Is it too costly and slow moving? Is it designed this way in order to make income for the lawyers?
♦ Does our system provide too much protection for the criminal? Should prior records, and all applicable evidence be presented to a jury? Are there too many negotiated pleas? Inadequate sentencing ? Too much probation? Too many parole’s and early releases for offenders of serious crimes? Is the system racially biased?
♦ Should victim’s rights be enhanced? Should the system provide victim restitution?
♦ Should prisoners be forced to work? Perform public work to reduce costs to taxpayers? To pay penalties in work credits and/or time served?
♦ Are husbands rights abused in divorces? Grandparents rights?
♦ Does our judicial system really administer justice? Is it too costly and slow moving? Is it designed this way in order to make income for the lawyers?
♦ Does our system provide too much protection for the criminal? Should prior records, and all applicable evidence be presented to a jury? Are there too many negotiated pleas? Inadequate sentencing ? Too much probation? Too many parole’s and early releases for offenders of serious crimes? Is the system racially biased?
♦ Should victim’s rights be enhanced? Should the system provide victim restitution?
♦ Should prisoners be forced to work? Perform public work to reduce costs to taxpayers? To pay penalties in work credits and/or time served?
♦ Are husbands rights abused in divorces? Grandparents rights?
Political Issues:
♦ Are term limits good or bad? Does our system make it too difficult for other political parties to form?
♦ Should all city and county elections be non partisan for all positions? Are our sunshine laws being weakened by legislated exemptions? Should the Chief of Police be an elected position or should it be appointed by the City Commission? Should the Superintendent of Schools be elected or appointed by the School Board? Does electing the Superintendent inject too much politics into schools management?
♦ Should the legislative process allow non related amendments to be attached to important bills.
♦ Should we have line item veto power at the legislative level?
Medical Issues:
♦ Should we allow science to progress on stem cell research? On cloning?
♦ Should euthanasia be legalized? Abortion?
♦ Does the government have an obligation to provide unlimited medical services to all citizens? Transplants?
♦ Is it fair for citizens that can afford health insurance pay escalated premiums for their care in order to cover the cost of the uninsured in our society.? Should those that can not pay for health care receive the same level of care as those that are paying for their care? (ie. Choice of doctor, choice of hospital, private room in hospital?)
♦ Has the actions of lawyers in our society burdened the medical profession with too much insurance cost and time consuming administration?
♦ Should patients have full access to their own medical records?
♦ Are term limits good or bad? Does our system make it too difficult for other political parties to form?
♦ Should all city and county elections be non partisan for all positions? Are our sunshine laws being weakened by legislated exemptions? Should the Chief of Police be an elected position or should it be appointed by the City Commission? Should the Superintendent of Schools be elected or appointed by the School Board? Does electing the Superintendent inject too much politics into schools management?
♦ Should the legislative process allow non related amendments to be attached to important bills.
♦ Should we have line item veto power at the legislative level?
Medical Issues:
♦ Should we allow science to progress on stem cell research? On cloning?
♦ Should euthanasia be legalized? Abortion?
♦ Does the government have an obligation to provide unlimited medical services to all citizens? Transplants?
♦ Is it fair for citizens that can afford health insurance pay escalated premiums for their care in order to cover the cost of the uninsured in our society.? Should those that can not pay for health care receive the same level of care as those that are paying for their care? (ie. Choice of doctor, choice of hospital, private room in hospital?)
♦ Has the actions of lawyers in our society burdened the medical profession with too much insurance cost and time consuming administration?
♦ Should patients have full access to their own medical records?
Educational Issues:
(A report released this week demonstrated that the graduation percentage across the nation has declined to nearly 50%, and school systems in many major cities are graduating only 25 to 30% of their students.)
(A report released this week demonstrated that the graduation percentage across the nation has declined to nearly 50%, and school systems in many major cities are graduating only 25 to 30% of their students.)
♦ Has the decline in the effectiveness of our schools been caused by over regulation? Decline in the family structure in the nation? Decline in work ethic? Decline in morality and values? Because of television and internet? Because of unionization of teachers and school employees?
♦ Is providing more tax dollars the answer to the problems in our schools? Are teachers paid enough? Do rules and regulations prevent teachers from maintaining discipline and control in their class rooms?
♦ Should increased emphasis be placed on vocational preparation for students not planning to go to college?
♦ Should the school system be held accountable for the level of graduation and the qualifications of the graduates? Should testing such as FCAT be used to evaluate overall performance by school systems?
♦ Is the class size reduction requirement creating unnecessary added costs? Is it unfair to small schools in its present application?
♦ Should standards and requirements be lowered in order to advance non performing students? Should a second type of certificate of achievement be given to students that can not reach a minimum level of educational advancement?
♦ Should sex education be taught at home or at school? Should the school system provide child care for students with babies?
♦ Should schools establish and enforce dress codes? Tattoo policies? Hair style codes? Body piercing policies?
♦ Is providing more tax dollars the answer to the problems in our schools? Are teachers paid enough? Do rules and regulations prevent teachers from maintaining discipline and control in their class rooms?
♦ Should increased emphasis be placed on vocational preparation for students not planning to go to college?
♦ Should the school system be held accountable for the level of graduation and the qualifications of the graduates? Should testing such as FCAT be used to evaluate overall performance by school systems?
♦ Is the class size reduction requirement creating unnecessary added costs? Is it unfair to small schools in its present application?
♦ Should standards and requirements be lowered in order to advance non performing students? Should a second type of certificate of achievement be given to students that can not reach a minimum level of educational advancement?
♦ Should sex education be taught at home or at school? Should the school system provide child care for students with babies?
♦ Should schools establish and enforce dress codes? Tattoo policies? Hair style codes? Body piercing policies?
Sex Issues:
♦ Should government be able to legislate what constitutes proper sexual practices between consenting adults?
♦ Should government determine what is pornographic and what is not pornographic?
♦ Should prostitution be legal? Homosexuality?
♦ Should marriages between homosexuals be legalized? Should homosexuals be allowed to be teachers? Child care workers? In the military? On police forces?
♦ Should women be eligible for any job at any time? Front line military positions?
♦ What should be the age that is legally defined as being adult? Should that age apply to drinking laws as well as sexual consent laws?
♦ Should parents always be informed of sex related activities discovered by school or other government agency officials? Should parents consent be required before dispensing of contraceptive devices or medication to their child by any government agency? Before administering an abortion?
♦ Should pornography be regulated by government in movies? Television? Radio? Newspapers? Magazines? Books? Internet?
♦ Should government be able to legislate what constitutes proper sexual practices between consenting adults?
♦ Should government determine what is pornographic and what is not pornographic?
♦ Should prostitution be legal? Homosexuality?
♦ Should marriages between homosexuals be legalized? Should homosexuals be allowed to be teachers? Child care workers? In the military? On police forces?
♦ Should women be eligible for any job at any time? Front line military positions?
♦ What should be the age that is legally defined as being adult? Should that age apply to drinking laws as well as sexual consent laws?
♦ Should parents always be informed of sex related activities discovered by school or other government agency officials? Should parents consent be required before dispensing of contraceptive devices or medication to their child by any government agency? Before administering an abortion?
♦ Should pornography be regulated by government in movies? Television? Radio? Newspapers? Magazines? Books? Internet?
RUDIMENTS – ODDS AND ENDS WORTH MENTIONING:
♦ Mosquito Population – Have you tried to grill outside lately? Walk your dog in the evening? The mosquitos are so thick they fill the car when you stop and open the door. You can thank our state EPA for requiring mosquito breeding ponds to be built behind every new building. In my opinion they have created a public health hazard and have detracted from our quality of life. No legislator dares confront their awesome political power so the public suffers. They have brought the swamp to the city!
♦ Kelson Avenue (Water Street) - This water bill funded Marianna public works project is moving along at the speed of bureaucracy. I’ll bet the businesses that are trying to survive during this year long project are ready for some relief.
♦ Administration Building – Our county commissioners are in the process of ignoring the problem of needing a building that consolidates county functions. They are going to wait with their heads in the sand until the Wal-Mart building is occupied and unavailable, then they will again try to build a new high cost facility. They need to proceed with a full evaluation of this facility with intent to purchase.
♦ Airport Park Regeneration- I applaud those officials involved in the industrial development activities underway at the Airport Industrial Park in Marianna. There were too many empty buildings out there presenting the impression of a dying industrial park, while new parks were being filled on I-10. Good work City of Marianna Commission and JCDC!
♦ Sign Ordinance Revision – The Marianna City Commission needs to conduct a review of the existing sign ordinance. Standards for the downtown area where Mainstreet Marianna is involved should differ from the standards in outlying areas of the city. I would suggest first forming a volunteer committee of local businessmen to review the existing codes and to suggest revisions where needed. Then a joint committee formed of local businessmen, city code officials, and one or two City Commissioners would meet and finalize recommendations. Then the Commission should vote on the recommendations. This needs to be done……
♦ Mosquito Population – Have you tried to grill outside lately? Walk your dog in the evening? The mosquitos are so thick they fill the car when you stop and open the door. You can thank our state EPA for requiring mosquito breeding ponds to be built behind every new building. In my opinion they have created a public health hazard and have detracted from our quality of life. No legislator dares confront their awesome political power so the public suffers. They have brought the swamp to the city!
♦ Kelson Avenue (Water Street) - This water bill funded Marianna public works project is moving along at the speed of bureaucracy. I’ll bet the businesses that are trying to survive during this year long project are ready for some relief.
♦ Administration Building – Our county commissioners are in the process of ignoring the problem of needing a building that consolidates county functions. They are going to wait with their heads in the sand until the Wal-Mart building is occupied and unavailable, then they will again try to build a new high cost facility. They need to proceed with a full evaluation of this facility with intent to purchase.
♦ Airport Park Regeneration- I applaud those officials involved in the industrial development activities underway at the Airport Industrial Park in Marianna. There were too many empty buildings out there presenting the impression of a dying industrial park, while new parks were being filled on I-10. Good work City of Marianna Commission and JCDC!
♦ Sign Ordinance Revision – The Marianna City Commission needs to conduct a review of the existing sign ordinance. Standards for the downtown area where Mainstreet Marianna is involved should differ from the standards in outlying areas of the city. I would suggest first forming a volunteer committee of local businessmen to review the existing codes and to suggest revisions where needed. Then a joint committee formed of local businessmen, city code officials, and one or two City Commissioners would meet and finalize recommendations. Then the Commission should vote on the recommendations. This needs to be done……
Please slow from the hectic pace of your life and take the necessary time to form personal opinions on the issues of our time. Then vote for candidates who seem to best match your beliefs. Do not be led by other groups or individuals in making your choices. Do these things….and you will be Getting It Right.
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