Tragedy in Connecticut

As many of us know a tragedy happened in a small town in Connecticut and it involved a person entering a school and shooting both teachers and students. My heart goes out to all of the people that are suffering because of this one person that may or may not have had mental problems and felt the need to take them out on his mother and the students at that school. Due to this tragedy many people are going to be calling for stricter gun laws and I would agree that there exists a need for some sort of check to make sure the people buying firearms are able to handle them responsibly. However, the problem with any sort of gun control is that if a criminal wants a firearm badly enough they will get one and there is nothing that anyone can do about that.

Every time something happens that involves firearms being used there are people that immediately cry out for stricter gun control and while I am not against gun control it only makes the law abiding citizen jump through more hoops to legally obtain a firearm. While I understand that anyone can snap and have a mental breakdown at any time, it generally takes some significant event to make that person finally snap and give up on life and that is why it is important for people that might think someone is having an issue to help that person get help. Unfortunately since mental health programs are getting cut from budgets and people that have no business being out wondering on the streets.

As governmental agencies at both the state and federal level have felt the budget crunch it has made some states look at privatizing mental health service and while that might be a good thing as far as the budget is concerned it can be a bad thing for the people that need the help. If a person stops and thinks about it companies are out to make a profit so they are going to figure exactly how long it is profitable to keep someone in their program and they will begin kicking as many people out at the point as they possibly can whether they need more help or not. Maybe instead of worrying about stricter gun laws the government should focus on actually funding community mental health programs.

When it comes right down to it the gun control laws can become stricter and it will make it more difficult to obtain a firearm however, if a person wants something they will still find a way to accomplish it and there is nothing the government or anyone else can do about it. However, I do feel that there should be some sort of mental health database for the people that have issues so that they cannot walk it a gun store and purchase a firearm of any type. The problem becomes with a government that is constantly cutting the budgets of mental health facilities and then expecting them to continue to operate effectively. While the government needs to look into creating a database of people with mental problems that cannot handle the responsibility that comes from possessing a firearm, they really need to start actually funding the mental health programs that can help keep people from harming anyone.

Stop Apologizing for Being a Patriot.

Once again a student has been told by a school official that they cannot fly or display an American flag at their local school due to the fact that it might cause racial tensions. Since when has the American flag represented any race?

The American Flag represents the Unites States of American which is a melting pot of different cultures and races. To the best of my knowledge it does not represent one specific race. The student in question was flying the flag on his bike to honor the veterans in his family.  Veterans that have fought and died for that flag and what it represents and they were not all one race.

People these days are way too concerned with making people mad or “causing racial tension.” What they need to say is that, “If you don’t like the American flag you can go back to where you came from.” People come to America looking for a better life or more opportunities and most of the people that come here legally become ardent patriots while keeping their customs intact. Supporting the American flag does not mean that you are abandoning where you came from, it means that you are embracing where have decided to live.

The people that are making these decisions either have a lot of pressure put on them not to make anyone mad or they are not patriots. There is no reason why an American citizen should be stopped from displaying the flag anywhere within the borders of this country. It’s sad that this had to happen around Veterans Day. In my opinion that is a slap to the face to everyone who has fought and died defending people’s right to fly that flag.

The bottom line is that people need to stop bending over backwards to try not to offend people, If the people that founded this country had done that we would still be under English rule. People should never apologize for supporting their country.

Mexican violence Crosses Over Into the United States

Well it happened the other day, the violence that is going on in Mexico spilled over into the United States. The city of El Paso Texas had bullets that were fired from across the Rio Grande hit buildings that are part of the University of Texas El Paso. They also had to shut down miles of highway along the border.

While this happened on the 24^th of August there was no main stream media coverage and there was also no public outcry. So far the United States government has done nothing about this problem. The governor of Texas has decided to send Texas Rangers to the border to help with security.

As I have stated before it was only a matter of time before the violence continues to go unchecked in Mexico will spill over into the United States. The Mexican government obviously cannot quell the violence nor do anything to diminish the drug cartels stranglehold on the Mexican people. Everyone has heard the stories about the police in Mexico being corrupt and what is taking place now seems to be a product of the government turning a blind eye.

The bigger question has to be why isn’t the president doing anything about this?

The president seems to be more focused on pushing his healthcare plan or going after BP for the oil spill in the gulf. While the oil spill should get his attention I believe the threat of Americans being killed by gunshots that are being fired across the border should receive some of his attention. The president needs to be in contact with the Mexican president and offering his assistance in any way possible.

So far there have been over 28,000 deaths in Mexico since the violence was sparked by the government actually deciding to go after the cartels. Now while I applaud their efforts in bringing these criminals to justice, they also need to keep the violence contained to keep innocent people out of harm’s way. They obviously don’t have the man power to keep the cartels at bay.

What is happening in Mexico should have the world’s attention but the main stream media seems to focus more on a mosque that is going to be built near ground zero. There always seems to be something else that they will always focus on more than thousands of innocent people dying.  Where is the public outcry? Where is the twenty four hour coverage of what the Mexican government is doing?

Mosque or No Mosque

There are plans to have a mosque built just yards away from ground zero and the debate over whether or not it should be built is all over the news. A lot of questions about the people that are funding the project keep dominating headlines. While constitutionally they are right that they can build the mosque anywhere that they want, the question is should it build they build it right across from where Muslim extremists killed over 2,900 people?

Like I said the constitution allows people to practice any religion they want in this country and doesn’t restrict where that religion is practiced. Legally if someone wants to build a church somewhere then they are allowed to no matter what kind of church that may be.

While I agree that freedom of religion is one of the most important rights that there is in this country, in fact it was one of the reasons the first settlers came over here from England. The founding fathers thought that it was so important that they put it in the first amendment along with the freedom of speech.

While I don’t contest that they have a right to build a mosque one has to question their motives in insisting that it be built right next to where the twin towers once stood. I have to wonder if this will be seen as a victory in the eyes of terrorists. Also I have to wonder if this is the kind of message that American Muslims want to send.

While I would never discourage anyone to practice the religion that they believe in, I would say the placement of this mosque is questionable. There is no reason why it can’t be built somewhere else. What do you think about where they are building it?

Abilene Mayor Responds to Pet Problem

After writing the blog post about what was going on in the city of Abilene I sent an email to the mayor of Abilene. Here is a copy of what I sent to her:

http://wp.me/pV6Ga-Q Why do you continue to let this happen day after day? It only takes five minutes to post a picture of the animal on a webpage and see if anyone wants to adopt it. Would the city of Abilene rather kill pets then make sure they lead a happy life?

Now while I didn’t expect a response I received this back from her:

The city of Abilene currently has no way of keeping a stray animal –
that is what the animal shelters/hospitals are for.  Staff is looking
into the issue and if your group has a proposed solution for boarding
animals other than the animal hospital with no additional cost to the
taxpayer, we would be glad to listen.  I’m not sure why the city is
all of the sudden the bad guy when the animal owners allow their pets
to stray.  Would a media campaign directed towards animal owners who
no longer care to keep their animal(s) for whatever reason, posting
their pet’s pictures for adoption be helpful?  Maybe there are
avenues your group could pursue to help aleviate the problem from
happening in the first place.

Thanks for your input.

Diane Miller

My big problem with what she has sent is that she is not getting the message that others and I are trying to convey. We are simply saying that Abilene needs to make an effort to get the animals adopted. It doesn’t hardly take any time to post pictures of them to a website and get the word out that there are animals that will be available for adoption.

Also, she does not address the fact that they don’t allow rescue groups to come in and get the animals without paying the full fee. I would hardly expect the Abilene Animal Hospital to do anything that the city has not told them to do. If the city does allow rescue groups to come and get these animals then why are they being turned away?

Finally, she states that pet owners should be educated to adopt them out when they no longer want them. That point has never been brought up by either myself or anyone else that is involved in this that I know of. If a pet owner can no longer take care of their pet then there are already many avenues that are available to them. The public doesn’t need educated as to what to do if they can no longer take care of their pets.

In my opinion the city need to educate people on what they will do with animals if they are found running loose. There is no reason an animal should die needlessly when there are plenty of groups out there that would make sure they go to a good home.

Rescue groups are licensed by the state and will make sure animals are placed in a loving caring environment. They are required to keep records of all the animals in their care and can only keep them for one year without special permission. Most rescue groups go above and beyond what local animal shelters when it comes to allowing people to adopt. They require everything from home visits to documents from your veterinarian to make sure your current pets are update on required medications.

The bottom line is that unless an effort is made by the animals are dying needlessly. They shouldn’t be killed simply because someone doesn’t want to take the time to at least try. I’m not asking the city of Abilene to spend anymore of the taxpayers money just adjust it to where they list the animals somewhere so the animal has a chance at a long happy life.

Also, the $85 dollars the citizens of Abilene spend every time an animal is put down costs them money, while if they animal is adopted out or rescued they either make money or spend less. I’m sure the city pays to board the animals in addition to what they spend to have them killed. Wouldn’t the people and animals of Abilene be better assisted if the city spent less money on dealing with strays?

When It Comes to A Member of the Family is the Minimum Enough?

Recently it came to my attention that the city of Abilene Kansas decided to adopt a no tolerance policy when it comes to strays. They have decided that if a dog is found running at large in the city and that dog does not have its registration tag then it will be euthanized at the end of a three day period. Now while this follows the minimum standards of the current state laws and they have no legal obligation to do more than what they have decided to do, they also have decided that it isn’t worth the time or energy to list the dogs on any kind of adoption site or contact any animal rescue groups in the hopes of finding a home.

A friend of mine learned that there were two dogs that were nearing their time limit at the Abilene Animal Hospital and notified an animal rescue group to see if they could help out in any way. When the representative showed up to see about rescuing the two dogs they were told that the city of Abilene does not release its dogs to rescue groups and if they wanted them then they had to adopt them and pay all the fees.

Now if you don’t anything about rescue groups they are mainly volunteer organizations that rely on their members to feed, house, and care for the animals they take in. There is usually no way that they can spend over a hundred dollars on every dog that they take in. However that is exactly what the city of Abilene is was asking them to do. After a little research I found that most shelters either allow people to volunteer to provide a foster home for animals or allow rescue groups to come and get the animals at little or no charge.

This story ended well as the two dogs were saved by a very generous person and my friend was able to go and pick them up from Abilene. Now my friend is taking donations to help pay this generous person back and is going to start getting the word out about what is going on. One of the workers at the animal hospital even admitted that they get $85 per animal that they euthanize.

One question that I have to ask is why aren’t they adopting them out? They charge over $100 dollars per animal adopted so why don’t they make the effort to adopt them out? The simple answer would be that they either don’t care or don’t want to take the time to try to make sure a loving animal can have a good life.

I cannot condone what is going on in Abilene there is no reason that an animal should be killed for no other reason than people don’t wish to put forth any effort. If the Abilene Animal Hospital doesn’t want to put forth the effort to get these animals into a loving home then I would invite the citizens of Abilene to go down to where the city holds its animals and use the state law to their advantage by requesting to see the animals that are being held for the city. According to state statute they have to allow you to see the animals that are available for adoption.

Maybe if we get enough people flooding the animal hospital then they will see that they need to change their ways. It is maddening that a pet owner in the city could leave adequate food, water, and shelter for their pet and be away for three days and come back to find that their beloved family member has been killed by the city because it got loose and slipped out of its collar.

If you wish to help stop the mindless killing I would invite you to  get in touch with my friend via her website http://foreverhome.yolasite.com/.  I hope we can stop any more animals from dying senselessly.

Why are People Putting Illegals Rights Above Our Own?

Well Arizona got its Illegal Immigrant law enacted, and even after a federal judge removed several key components there are a lot of people up in arms over it. While I understand their concerns I still have to applaud Arizona for doing something that should have been done in some form by our federal government. There needs to be harsher treatment of illegals and the people that hire them. While the people will say this gives law enforcement free reign to go after any person that looks Hispanic I would say that this is a step in the right direction.

The law follows federal guidelines and states that an officer cannot go against federal law pertaining to immigrants. The only thing about this law that varies from common practice is that the officer can require a person to show proof that they are in this country legally. This can be done by either showing some kind of federal immigration document or any kind of state identification and if the person can’t do this then they are taken to jail to await deportation. It also makes trying to hire “day laborers” a crime punishable by a fine and possible jail time, this just expands on the federal law already making it a crime for business owners to knowingly hire an illegal.

In my opinion this law just expands on the federal law that was already in place and makes it to where state and local agencies can actually do something. Illegal immigration is a problem that this only going to keep growing in this country if we don’t do something to convince the people coming here to go about it the legal way.

The United States is one of the most lenient countries in the world when it comes to illegal immigration. If you go and visit most of the countries in the world you can be stopped at any time and be asked to produce documents stating that you are either a citizen or are in the country legally. All this new law does he make it to where illegals can be detained if they are not able to prove that they are in this country legally. They are then turned over to federal authorities to ascertain their status in this country.

Arizona has done something that should be in place all over this country. Law enforcement officers in this country already have to take classes to identify whether or not they are racial profiling. All Arizona is doing is protecting its resources so they aren’t continually overrun with immigrants taking up resources that are meant for citizens. Especially with all the violence south of the border and given the fact that the cartels are trying to control the border and all the people crossing it this law will help to detour. Now that Arizona has passed this law will all the illegal immigrants that live there move to another state that doesn’t have a law like this?

Threat of Mexican Violence Needs Addressed in U.S.

Well once again violence has erupted in Mexico, this time it was near the border. I know a lot of people know about the violence. My main question is how has this not made national headlines. Do we not  care what happens with the country that has thousands of people fleeing to this nation? Why hasn’t our government offered some assistance to the Mexican government with the cartels that are causing the problems?

Now I’m sure some of you are thinking that it isn’t our place to help out a foreign government with internal problems. However it wouldn’t be the first time our government has helped out a foreign country with something that was obviously their own problem. It is something the United States has helped with in many countries since we gained our independence. Specifically we helped in Latin America before where the cartels are concerned the difference being that those countries were much further away than Mexico is.

Don’t get me wrong I know we have plenty of our own problems to deal with here in our own country, but with the violence in Mexico getting closer and closer to our own borders how long will it be before it spills over the border?  This situation has been largely ignored by the media who is choosing instead to focus more and more attention to the oil that was spilling into the gulf. The big question being that with the oil now supposedly stopped will they turn their focus on to something that has been going on a lot longer than most people realize?

Due to the sheer number of illegal immigrants we have in this nation it is my opinion that it is only a matter of time before this violence head over here since we are the cartels main customers. The current administration is claiming to be cracking down on drugs and drug related crime and yet seems not to be concerned with what the cartels are doing. How can we stop drugs coming into the country when a country that borders our own is basically ruled by drug lords? This is a situation that I will definitely keep track of and I hope you will too.

Judges Not To Blame For Lax Sentences

Recently there was an embezzler from the town of Inman that stole over $300,000. They were tried and convicted but was only sentenced to probation and restitution. Many people have asked me and are wondering why there wasn’t any jail time involved. Also, many people are blaming the county attorney and the judge for allowing such a small sentence.

While I agree jail time is warranted in this case unfortunately the way our state legislature has set up the sentencing grid for crimes that would not have happened in this case regardless of what the judge or prosecutor wanted to do. Since this person did not have any prior criminal history the state sentencing grid would only allow probation.

The sentencing grid was designed to eliminate so called “hanging judges” and bring more uniformity to the way criminals are punished. However as usual they laws are way too lenient with so called white collar crime. You can even go out and rob a bank and get less time than if you are caught making drugs. The grid does not allow enough room for the judges of the state to decide whether or not a person really needs to go to jail or not. I do not condone hanging judges however allowing someone to take over a quarter or a million dollars and then just make them pay it back and report in to a probation officer once a week is being way too easy.

When you combine a lenient sentencing grid and state budget cuts the results are more criminals out on the street and the state is shutting down prisons and boot camps making it harder for to send people to prison or to send a first time offender to boot camp so that they can hopefully be set straight. While I understand the state is having a hard time with the budget and not enough money to go around is the answer really shutting down institutions that keep the bad elements of society away from the rest of us?

People should research what your local judicial system can do before you start blaming them for things they cannot control.

Sexton Not to Blame for McPherson Cemetery Woes

Recently there was quite a lot of unrest in the city of McPherson due to new cemetery regulations that prompted the sexton of the cemetery to remove many decorations from around people’s graves. While I don’t agree with this regulations that were implemented I can’t hold the sexton responsible for following them. I can however disagree with the way they were implemented.

The regulations were not enforced the same all over the cemetery and some of the decorations that were removed did meet the new requirements while others that were left did not adhere at all. While I agree that the regulations were a bad idea and people should be allowed to a point to decorate their loved ones’ graves with whatever they want. I do not hold the sexton personally responsible for this I hold the mayor and the rest of McPherson’s city commissioners responsible for not using common sense and understanding that people do not want their loved ones gravesites messed with.

To further the outrage the local paper is insinuating that people should have voiced their opinions at the city commission meeting that outlined the new regulations. The meeting are held Tuesday mornings at the BPU building in McPherson and the paper goes on to state that there are other avenues to learn about things that go on during these meetings. The only thing listed on the city of McPherson’s webpage is the regular meeting. No detailed schedule of events, what will be discussed, or even what was discussed in prior meeting. The only thing listed is a contact number for someone to call that I’m sure is between the hours of 9 and 5 Monday through Friday. Most people work during the day and can’t normally attend these meetings and the paper doesn’t offer these resources either.

If McPherson wants to become a better city then they should work harder on making sure that their residents know what is going on. Ultimately it is the residents responsibility to stay in the know but it is hard to do when the information is not readily available to them. Does the city and the local paper honestly expect everyone to call when they are at work or take off work to attend every meeting??

Speaking as a resident that has many friends and loved ones buried in McPherson cemetery the city commissioners should have stuck with the old adage: If it’s not broke don’t fix it. As usual they tried to copy other cities regulations regarding things instead of thinking for themselves and making this a unique community and not just another cookie cutter city. They said that they strive to have one of the best cemeteries in the state. Well what makes cemeteries good in my opinion is the ability to make the plot or gravesite that you loved one is buried in your own. You actually get a deed when you purchase a cemetery plot and we pay taxes for it to be maintained not for the city to decide to make it where a sexton feels the need to remove decorations that aren’t in disrepair.

Having worked at a cemetery when I was younger I can understand that some decorations do not need to continue to be at a gravesite when they are not looking good anymore. However, respect needs to be paid to the people that are buried there and the people that come to visit the graves and place the decorations there. I have seen it from both sides and there is a delicate balance that needs to be placed when dealing with cemeteries. There has to be attention paid to decorations that would just be too cumbersome to deal with and those that have outlived their purpose but, there also has to be recognition to the fact that those decorations were placed for a purpose unique to the individuals that are buried there. The bottom line is the cemetery is MAINTAINED by the city and the individual plots are OWNED by individuals. We pay taxes for it to be maintained not changed in such a way that makes it to where people don’t want to go visit their loved ones and fear placing things that are meaningful and could possibly be thrown away with any forethought.