More Voice of the People, Jan. 25, 2013 - Voice Of The People

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More Voice of the People, Jan. 25, 2013

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Posted: Friday, January 25, 2013 12:01 am

Upper Twp. well-prepared

for storm such as Sandy

Kudos to Upper Township for its caring and efficient response to the citizens of Strathmere in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Within 20 minutes of any trash being carried to the curbs, the trash was collected.

Upper Township's five years of pre-storm preparation has also been impressive. If Sandy had hit Strathmere six years ago, I believe the ocean would have met the bay everywhere on the island, just as it did in 1962. Instead, our dunes held up admirably in 98 percent of the island.

Having two beach-replenishment projects completed in the past six years was an enormous help. Township officials, Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, and the state Department of Environmental Protection all deserve praise for that. Critically important also was the fact that in each year for the last five years, the township has put new rows of snow fencing closer to the ocean and planted new dune grass between the new and old snow fencing.

The effect has been phenomenal. The dunes in many areas are three to four times wider than they were four years ago. In 1962, at a time when the dune system was minuscule, virtually every structure in Strathmere that was fortunate enough not to be washed away completely had major structural damage. In 2012, I am not aware of even one house that sustained any damage from the ocean.



Use foreign-aid funds

to help seniors in U.S.

What is going on with Social Security? What is that clown doing in Washington? Why is Social Security always threatened? Seniors in this country are struggling with everyday problems. I have Type 2 diabetes and pay $549.20 every 90 days for insulin, plus other prescriptions. How can we afford a cut in benefits?

We ship billions of dollars every year overseas to countries that hate us and our standard of living. Why don't the clown and the rest of Washington worry about the people in this country.

Everybody forgets our senior citizens. This money could be used to help our national debt.



Freeholders MIA

in Atlantic County

Where have all the leaders gone? Our Republican-dominated freeholder board turns the Airport Circle into an abomination, then throws its respective hands up and says live with it. Only pressure from the public and The Press finally jolted the freeholders into trying to fix the problem.

Also, there are now several county bridges out. Even the orange cones are fading because they've been out there so long. The freeholders are nowhere to be found.

Many of our shore towns continue to look like war zones. The freeholders have been silent. One would think they'd be on TV or in the newspapers every day demanding help, because we all know the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

And don't think the Republicans have cornered the market on comatose political leaders.

In Buena Vista Township, the Democratic mayor and his two running mates are trying to take the town back to the 1860s. They want no commercial development. They're killing off ratables and have actually returned almost $250,000 in grant money to be sure that property taxes go sky-high.

Where have all the leaders gone? Gone fishing, I guess.



Stress sportsmanship

in response to Armstrong

Lance Armstrong's delayed confession is one more unfortunate event for our children who truly idolize sports and their popular athletes. As we continue to see and to hear the scandals that involved violence and/or substance abuse, we must work even harder to reinforce true values and what it means to be an honorable person.

As an educator, I know that the hope and future of our children demand that we take action now. Swift penalties and fines must be implemented to stress the consequences of these pseudo role models' actions. Good sportsmanship must be kept alive in our country.



Go after violent media

- not Americans' guns

Once again, the liberal propaganda machine is ridiculous. Liberals feel we are morally bankrupt without gun control, but fail to realize that America has been on a steady decline since the 1960s. This tragedy in Newtown, Conn., has nothing to do with a citizen's right to bear arms, which should be protected from political opportunists who want to take advantage of this tragedy to disarm citizens.

Instead, go after the movie, porn and video-game industries that glorify assaults, rapes and mass murder of men, women and children. These industries come at us day after day, devouring the heart, mind and soul of every individual, which in turn desensitizes the young and old alike.

These industries are protected under the First Amendment, and we as citizens accept this. Are we that blind to the truth - that money can buy protection and a politician's persuasion at the expense of moral character? Are we that naive?



Federal government

crucial to our welfare

The Jan. 3 letter, "Redistributing wealth not government's job," argues that the Constitution grants the government the power to provide for the general welfare of the United States "at large," but not for the general welfare of individuals. The words "at large" do not appear in the section of the Constitution in question.

What's more, absent its citizenry, the United States is just an empty shell, a concept or an abstraction. And it makes no sense to speak of the general welfare of a concept or an abstraction. Even the best example of the general welfare at large - our national defense - entails not just the protection of our borders, but the protection of every citizen.

The writer is correct on one point: Church, family and friends all have roles to play in the general welfare of our country. But neither they nor individual states have the ability to address and rectify critical issues of national importance that also affect us as individuals - for example, the safety of our food supply, the safety of air travel, a clean environment, or voting rights.

Perhaps the most obvious example of the government's proper role in providing for the general welfare of the populace is its ability to protect from injury or disease the most vulnerable of us - infants and children. Consider federal safety standards for cribs, bassinets and playgrounds whose previously faulty designs or inferior materials have injured or killed children. And a recent disturbing development is the discovery that some babies are being born with hundreds of synthetic chemicals in their blood. In effect, they are pre-polluted with toxic chemicals. Do church, family, friends or individual states have the resources to confront this threat to the general welfare of the individual? No, but the federal government does.




By Sue Mead, Motor Matters    More »