The Reporter

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Thursdays.

Food recalls seem to be a constant item in the news lately and some of the recalls get staggering in size.

The massive peanut butter recall a while back was massive. Someone asked us if we could print out the names of the products affected by the recall but we didn’t. Why? The list of names would fill 500 pages.

Recently we had a massive egg recall. Close to 500 million eggs.

Now Walmart is working on a recall of 380,000 pounds of deli meat sandwiches from a manufacturer in New York.

Whose fault is all of this? It’s our fault.

We have become a society that is interested more in convenience that quality – or even safety.

We have become a society that likes to eat things that come in a box.

We have become a society that isn’t interested in growing our own food and buying something from the grocery store is much easier than even going to the farmer’s market.

Though many of the smart ones will plant a garden and grow at least some of their own food, many shun the idea.

Just stop by a fast-food establishment and get whatever they’re selling for breakfast, it won’t hurt you, right?

We have become a society that makes it difficult to buy local food products.

And then we are shocked when a recall hits us because the product we bought here in Missouri is possibly contaminated somehow in the process of getting to us from some other part of the country, or the world.

We have become a society that is dependent more and more on drugs, and not just from a doctor.

Look into the drugs that farmers are required to inject into the meat that will end up in your stomach.

Pick up a box of any kind of food and read the ingredients. When you’re done, look up what those ingredients are and where they come from. You’ll be surprised.

We knew someone who bought some grape juice made in China. Why? Money, that’s why. Was it safe? They didn’t care; it was cheap and tasted good.

We have become a society that wants to spend as little as possible for everything, even at the cost of our own health.

Large food manufacturers have one goal in mind: profit. A secondary goal is the food.

If they can cut a few corners here and there and make a higher profit, then its done, even if it could possibly contaminate the food.

Do you like eating ammonia?

An article in the New York Times, Dec. 30, 2009 entitled “Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned” explained the ammonia in beef.

What is ammonia doing in beef? It was a process used by Beef Products Inc.

They wanted to expand their hamburger business with a product using fatty trimmings, but the trimmings were susceptible to contamination from E. coli and salmonella.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave them approval for them to use their ammonia treatment.

The Times said the product has “become a mainstay in America’s hamburgers. McDonald’s, Burger King and other fast-food giants use it as a component in ground beef, as do grocery chains. The federal school lunch program used an estimated 5.5 million pounds of the processed beef last year (2008) alone.”

People who lived 150 years ago ate healthier than we do today because they didn’t eat things out of a package that had chemicals and who knows what in them.

So don’t be surprised when a food recall comes forth. Our demand for cheaper and easier provides an outlet for mass food manufacturers.

But today, it’s about convenience and money, so let’s grab that TV dinner and pop it in the microwave.

Doesn’t matter what’s in it, it tastes good and after all – since the government regulates it and allegedly has our best interests at heart, they wouldn’t lie or mislead us, would they?

Editorial: You can’t be serious

The (former) Lake Ozark City Administrator had six days left on a one-year contract when the Board of Aldermen voted 4-2 to “terminate” Dave Van Dee’s employment at its August 10 meeting.

The vote - first motioned by Alderman Susan Drummond and seconded by Alderman Robert Davis - came at the end of a closed session where city officials presumably discussed Van Dee’s contract and the board’s hatred of its nine-month severance pay clause.

A contract, we might add, the board unanimously approved not once, but twice. A contract very similar to one the city’s police chief is operating under.

A contract that now guarantees Van Dee a lump sum of little over $51,000.

We are not futurists, we are not mind-readers, we are not psychics and we do not employ such people. However, in this case, we believe we can speak for our journalistic brethren when we ask the city this question:

Are you kidding me?!?

If this is a practical joke, it is in very poor taste. We wish it WAS a practical joke; that way it might make a bit more sense because we are having a difficult time wrapping our heads around this nonsense masquerading as informed decision-making.
On the contrary, the city has once again displayed its ignorant, closed-minded way of thinking, this time by forcing the citizens of Lake Ozark to pay a competent city official over $50,000 simply because the current Board of Aldermen didn’t like his “tell-it-like-it-is” style of city administration.

Aldermen Larry Buschjost and Judith Neels are notable and praiseworthy as exceptions who voted AGAINST firing Van Dee. It’s a pity they were not successful in changing the minds of the other four aldermen.

According to Alderman Davis, Van Dee had been offered a new contract with a reduction to six months’ severance pay along with a $1,000 bonus and an extra week of pay. That’s the city’s version of negotiation.

“Hey, Dave, we know we agreed to the nine months severance but, you know, it’s like, how about taking just six months instead? Huh? Yeah? Isn’t that a good deal? We’ll even throw in an extra $1,000 and an extra week of pay! Wow! What a deal! You’d have to be stupid to pass that up! Right?”

Van Dee turned down the insulting and unprofessional offer, and rightly so. Perhaps the city could explain to us why anyone in their right mind would trade $17,000 (the estimated worth of the three months the board wanted Van Dee to give up) for a $1,000 and an extra week of pay?

We confess that Van Dee is not one to suffer fools gladly. His administration style could be best described - at times - as brusque and to the point. Apparently several aldermen took offense to that. Perhaps their feelings were hurt, their egos bruised. Perhaps Van Dee’s competent but abrasive handling of city matters made the aldermen feel left out of the decision-making process.

For instance, Alderman Don Langley has long complained about being kept “out of the loop” especially with the recent remodeling of City Hall. However, that seems to be the extent of Alderman Langley’s complaints (although he wasn’t fond of the nine-month severance package either). Van Dee didn’t bother to get Alderman Langley’s official okey-dokey so obviously he has to be fired.

Alderman Drummond has often had a contentious relationship with the administrator, with her frustration bubbling over repeatedly during city meetings. This time she threatened to read from what seemed to be a long list of offenses that Van Dee supposedly committed: a list that had been apparently brought up in closed session.

If that list had been read out loud in open session, it could have led to a lawsuit from Van Dee over private personnel matters made public in an open forum. We aren’t too sure the former administrator WON’T sue the city. If so, he’ll have to get in line behind two previous administrators with pending lawsuits.

Alderman Davis thought the nine-month severance package was extravagant and excessive, even though the board unanimously voted to approve the contract twice. One would assume Alderman Davis knew that if the board fired Van Dee without an example of criminal intent, he would be entitled to that nine-month severance pay.

It certainly contradicts Davis’s consistent stance of voting against expenditures, and calling for tight budgets to make every penny count. Throwing over $51,000 away simply because you don’t like the man is not acting fiscally responsible, Alderman Davis. The next time you complain about the city not maintaining its streets, we’ll be happy to remind you how far $51,000 would have gone to patch potholes.

To his credit, Alderman Jeff Van Donsel thought long and hard about his decision.

When the vote came to him, it was 3-2 in favor of firing Van Dee. Had he voted against the motion, a tie vote would have landed in the mayor’s lap and we can safely say Mayor Franzeskos would probably have voted NOT to terminate the city administrator.

Alderman Van Donsel knew the weight his vote carried, and long moments of silence stretched within the confines of City Hall that night while he struggled with the decision.

He too questioned Van Dee’s “golden parachute” but then again, he too had voted in favor of said parachute two times.

His vote to terminate Van Dee’s employment settled the matter.

The city once again is forced to seek yet another candidate for the often-empty position of city administrator, but this time the action carried with it an immediate cost of over $51,000 to the city.

We wonder who they expect to hire, given the indifferent and callous way the city has treated its city administrators (deserved or not) in the past.

Perhaps in this economy there ARE qualified individuals looking for a job, perhaps there ARE people desperate enough for work to apply for the position of Lake Ozark City Administrator.

We recommend they not make any long-term plans. Given the city’s history, they won’t be around too long.

Editorial: The voters speak: time for a change

The voters have spoken and for whatever reason, there will be a change in the Camden County Courthouse beginning in January.

Current Presiding Commissioner Carolyn Loraine was defeated in her run for re-election by challenger Kris Franken.

Franken will meet Eric Mayer in November and one of them will be the new county commissioner.

We do wish the best for Loraine in her future endeavors (really, we do!) and hope that she will finish out her term with dignity and not anger.

As for the new commissioner, we have some suggestions that we think would be beneficial to the county taxpayers.

• Be more open with the county government.

Though there currently is an alleged “open door policy,” finding out what the commissioners do is a difficult job.

The agendas for each day have very little on them and when an item is on the agenda, no outcome of that issue is ever revealed without asking, which brings us to the next point:

• Press releases.

The commissioners do have secretaries and they are more than capable of writing a press release and should be utilized in that manner (if they stay on board with the new commissioner).

For instance: we see occasional listings on the agendas for bid openings. What is the outcome of that bid? It may not be a big deal, but even something as simple as what the bidding was for, who was awarded the bid and what the cost is would be a positive thing to tell the county residents.

That way taxpayers could understand a little more on what the commissioners do, which brings us to the next point:

• What exactly is the function of the commissioners?

The press may know and some of the public may know, but what is the day-to-day function of the three commissioners? What can they address and what is beyond their jurisdiction and so on?

If taxpayers understood more of what they do, then they may be more supportive when the need arises. Again, that can be accomplished by regular press releases or even by weekly summaries. And finally:

• Learn the Sunshine Law!

Believe it or not, there are people and newspapers watching for violations of the Sunshine Law and the press finds them on a regular basis in many government entities. Knowing what the law says will be a big step toward a true transparent government.

It is the people’s money and they have a right to know what is being done with it and it’s better to let them know on a regular basis by following the law than to have it come out in a Sunshine Law violation court case.

Everybody who voted – and even many who did not - will be looking at the county in the next year in the hopes that their decision at the ballot box was not a wrong one.

Editorial: Welcome to Commie-fornia

It has finally happened. In one state in this “union” democracy is dead. California is no longer a democratic part of the United States, it is now a dictatorship.

When given a say so in an issue, people have the right to make a decision on that issue. BY THE PEOPLE and for the people, right? Not in the issue of homosexual marriage.

Every place in this country that has approved homosexual marriage has been done by the courts or a board or congressmen.

They refuse to let the people decide. That is a dictatorship.

So finally one state, California of all places, decides to let the people have a say in the matter and the people by a clear majority vote no to homosexual marriage. It was called Proposition 8.

Proposition 8 was not a rule of law that they were voting on but a state constitutional amendment. They amended their constitution to avoid being overruled by congressmen or a judge.

So two homosexual couples take the constitutional amendment to court – and a court does not have the authority to overrule a constitutional amendment – and the judge decides to hear the case.

And guess what, according to Fox News the judge deciding the case is one of three openly homosexual judges in the country. Now how do you think he’s going to rule?

Last week he struck down the specific language of the constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

In other words, the court overruled the will of the people. California is no longer a democracy.

To be more precise about it, the judge, who is not an elected official, has overruled the will of seven million people who passed a constitutional amendment. That is a dictatorship.

It’s gotten to the point in this country where the courts are making laws and people no longer have a choice.

Even if the matter is appealed, the point is the people have to ask permission of the courts to decide an issue in their own constitution. That is not a democracy.

People in Commie-fornia need to flee that state as quick as possible and find a place to live that is still allowed to be a democracy.

Last week the voters in Missouri voted for Proposition C, which would deny the government authority to penalize citizens who refuse to buy health insurance. It passed overwhelmingly by 71%.

You can bet your bottom dollar this will end up in court. The current administration does not listen to the will of the people – just look at Arizona.

The government took the side of the illegal aliens and fights against the people of Arizona.

They will also go against the voters of Missouri and force us to do what they say. That is not a democracy.

Federal judges, appointed judges and especially the Supreme Court need to be reigned in and controlled by the people because if these agendas of letting the courts decide issues rather than people continue, then this country is doomed.

Just ask the subjects living in Commie-fornia.

Editorial: Our voting recommendations

(Editor’s note: This editorial originally appeared in our November 2008 edition, but it is still relevant.)

In a few days voters will go to the polls and choose our next leaders. Since many newspapers locally and around the country make recommendations on who you should vote for, we thought we would do the same.

So here is our recommendation:

THINK FOR YOURSELF!

Many Americans have devolved to the point where they let someone else tell them what to do and who to vote for. But if you think about it, do you really care what a newspaper thinks?

The mainstream media is unbelievably biased and getting the truth from them is near impossible. Many if not all of the recommendations from newspapers will be found on the editorial or opinion page.

Readers need to remember that items on those pages are an individual’s opinion, not an opinion from a group of people.

That individual is usually the editor of the paper, the publisher or at times a guest writer. So those recommendations come from one person, who may or may not know anything more than you do.

Whoever you choose for president, governor, county commissioner or sheriff should be chosen because YOU did the research and YOU came to the conclusion that they would be the best choice.

Not because some yahoo told you who to vote for.

Reading how other people feel is fine, talking to others is something we should do and we may learn some things, but check those things out for yourself and in the end, choose because YOU have made your own decision.

In all things, politics, religion and any other decision we make in our life, we need to think for ourselves and make our own decisions.

But if we actually think for ourselves, then we have to take responsibility for our actions including our vote.

For many, that’s too much so they will let others tell them who to vote for.

Editorial: Break the law, help the city?

The government of the city of Lake Ozark has what could charitably be called a checkered past.

Board of Aldermen meetings have been compared to three-ring circuses and aldermen themselves have called the city a “banana republic”; city administrators come and go with alarming regularity; and the police department continues to dig itself out of a public relations nightmare leftover from previous administrations.

We begin to wonder why anyone would volunteer to serve the city on its numerous commissions and committees when faced with the tarnished, bruised image Lake Ozark labors under.

It doesn’t help recruitment efforts when volunteers are interrogated by the mayor pro tem, Alderman Robert Davis.

At the city’s July 13 Board of Aldermen meeting, Alderman Davis did just that.

It is the mayor’s responsibility to submit possible commission and committee appointees to the board for their approval. Mayor Johnnie Franzeskos presented the names of three people who were willing to serve on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. Out of those three, only one was able to attend the meeting.

We wonder if he regrets that decision.

Some of Davis’s questions could be considered relevant: What are your qualifications for serving on the P&Z Commission? Have you ever attended a P&Z meeting?

One query was clearly intended to provoke the potential appointee. Alderman Davis actually asked the following question:

“Would you be willing to break an ordinance if it would benefit the city?”

How exactly was the person supposed to respond?

On one hand, an affirmative answer implies the person would be willing to ignore city ordinances, thereby breaking the law.

On the other hand, a negative answer implies the person simply doesn’t care enough about the city to bend a few rules.

We in the newspaper business refer to that as a loaded question, and so did the person being interrogated by Alderman Davis.

The question is reminiscent of the journalistic trap laid for politicians: “Is it true you’ve stopped beating your wife (husband, child, pet, whatever)?” No matter how the politician answers, they’re screwed.

Some people are clever. Some aren’t so clever. And then there are some who excel in wasting everyone’s time by arguing with the obvious, by trying to be clever but failing miserably.

As it turns out, the volunteer in question was eventually approved by the aldermen but not before the issue was dragged through procedural hoops in a secondhand, roundabout, time-consuming way the board is famous for.

Another volunteer - not present at the meeting - was also approved, but the third was turned down because he lived in the wrong ward. (Certain aldermen expressed a desire to see someone from Ward One be appointed to the P&Z Commission.)

Public service - in the form of volunteering one’s time and energy - seems to be dying off in this current climate of cynicism and anger. It doesn’t help recruitment efforts when a potential volunteer’s intelligence is insulted and their time is wasted in the selection process.

Editorial

Is there a bear in the woods?

There’s a bear in the woods.
For some people the bear is easy to see.
Others don’t see it at all.
Some people say the bear is tame.
Others say it’s vicious and dangerous.
Since no one can really be sure who’s right,
isn’t it smart to be as strong as the bear?
If there is a bear.
(Ronald Reagan 1984 presidential ad)

The words above are from a brilliant political ad that helped elect Ronald Reagan as president in 1984.

At the time, the bear was the Soviet Union and Reagan standing up to “the bear” with a show of superior force helped destroy the Communist regime.

Today we have a different bear to contend with and that bear is Islam.

Maybe it is tame and a “religion of peace”, but maybe it’s really vicious, dangerous and cunning.

Wouldn’t it be prudent to be stronger than “the bear” rather than coddle it?

Common sense says yes, but the current leadership in the White House is doing the opposite and is feeding the bear.

Before Obama was sworn into office, his people had already met with Hamas to talk to them about something, but we don’t know what.

In case you have forgotten, Hamas is a terrorist organization. Why are we coddling the bear and feeding it meat?

An Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit was abducted by Hamas and taken to the Gaza Strip four years ago. Why would you talk and negotiate with a terrorist organization, one who kidnaps an Israeli and will only release him if Israel releases 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of which are Israel’s worst enemies?

Immediately after being sworn in to office, Obama’s first interview as president was with Hisham Melhem on Al Arabiya TV, an interview reaching out to the bear.

In that interview he said the following:

“…we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world, that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress.”

“We're going to follow through on our commitment for me to address the Muslim world from a Muslim capital. We are going to follow through on many of my commitments to do a more effective job of reaching out, listening, as well as speaking to the Muslim world.”

He also said in the interview that we are a strong ally of Israel.

You wouldn’t know that by his actions.

In a CBS news story in April of 2009 Israel was worried about the direction of Obama:

“Israeli officials say the Obama administration has asked Congress to change a U.S. law to allow such indirect funding for Hamas, even though the group is on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the Obama administration requested the changes this month as part of an $83-billion emergency spending bill that also includes funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would provide $840 million for the Palestinian Authority and for the reconstruction of Gaza following the Israeli assault on the territory in January.”

Gaza is ruled by Hamas.

In June of 2009 Obama also said "if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we'd be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world.”

That is an outright lie. There are no figures to support that nonsense.

In May of 2009, The Sunday Times (Great Britain) had the following headline:

“President Obama tells Israel: stop expanding settlements”.

In a Sept. 2009 address to the United Nations, Obama ordered Israel to “end the occupation”.

Does that sound like an ally of Israel or a champion for the bear?

(By the way, read a real history of the area and you will find out that there is no occupation going on by Israel. It’s propaganda).

In June of this year Obama pledged $400 million in aid for the Palestinian-controlled West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Your money was promised after a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House.

Maybe this will all work out and long lasting peace can come to the world between Islam and everybody else.

Maybe the bear is tame, maybe it’s vicious, but with the current course Obama is leading us on, we may not find out the truth until its claws are ripping us apart.

Editorial

Independence and freedom

(Editor's note: In celebration of Independence Day we wanted to bring you a portion of the farewell address by the seventh President of the United States Andrew Jackson. His words of warning on how freedom and independence can be destroyed seem appropriate for today.)

“In presenting to you, my fellow-citizens, these parting counsels, I have brought before you the leading principles upon which I endeavored to administer the Government in the high office with which you twice honored me.

Knowing that the path of freedom is continually beset by enemies who often assume the disguise of friends, I have devoted the last hours of my public life to warn you of the dangers.

The progress of the United States under our free and happy institutions has surpassed the most sanguine hopes of the founders of the Republic. Our growth has been rapid beyond all former example in numbers, in wealth, in knowledge, and all the useful arts which contribute to the comforts and convenience of man, and from the earliest ages of history to the present day there never have been thirteen millions of people associated in one political body who enjoyed so much freedom and happiness as the people of these United States.

You have no longer any cause to fear danger from abroad; your strength and power are well known throughout the civilized world, as well as the high and gallant bearing of your sons.

It is from within, among yourselves--from cupidity, from corruption, from disappointed ambition and inordinate thirst for power--that factions will be formed and liberty endangered.

It is against such designs, whatever disguise the actors may assume, that you have especially to guard yourselves.

You have the highest of human trusts committed to your care. Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has chosen you as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the human race.

May He who holds in His hands the destinies of nations make you worthy of the favors He has bestowed and enable you, with pure hearts and pure hands and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge He has committed to your keeping.

Andrew Jackson Speech - Farewell Address March 4, 1837

Editorial

An important part of growth

It’s good to see the Camdenton Memorial Airport installing new equipment to make it easier for pilots to visit the lake.

That results in more tourists and translates into more money for the local economy.

In the past, this editor was a regular fixture at the Camdenton Airport – just as a visitor and aircraft enthusiast.

We never were officially an “airport bum” because we were told we didn’t own a pick-up truck, be we were close. It was enjoyable and seeing the expansion was always a plus.

When many cities are scaling down or even eliminating their airports, the Camdenton Airport has expanded over the past 10 years, with more hangars and runway improvements.

A very smart move on the part of the city.

Other cities around the state who are considering eliminating their airports should use this one as an example.

The city of Festus, south of St. Louis, has been trying to get rid of their airport for quite a while. Not expand, but to eliminate it.

That is a ridiculous thing to do. Cities need an airport nearby for future expansion.

Fenton, also in the St. Louis area, used to have an airport. It had quite a bit of traffic and was located right across the highway from the Chrysler plant. It’s been gone for a number of years now and many miss it still.

An airport will be a boon to a growing area and the lake is a perfect example; planning for the future growth of any city should include the airport.

The Grand Glaize Airport is in a great location, but is landlocked and will probably never be able to extend its runway. With residences and businesses very close to the airport, it may be a matter of time – maybe decades, maybe a few years before it is done away with.

The Lee C. Fine Airport – the largest in the lake area – is in a state park. It is only a matter of time before someone in Jefferson City wants their park land back.

That leaves the Camdenton airport.

Keeping the airport modern, expanding by building more hangars and the addition of the Automated Weather Operating System can only be a plus to the lake area and making it a part of the city – and the lake’s – future is a great idea.

Editorial

No news can be the best news

The Memorial Day weekend statistics came in too late for us to put it in last week’s issue, so we have added them to page eight and one very comforting thing we noticed was there no fatalities reported.

That includes on the roads throughout the lake area and on the lake itself.

It seems like every holiday – especially the big ones (Memorial Day and Labor Day) - someone dies on the lake and if not there, then on the roads.

It’s always a tragedy when a friend or family member dies in an accident and it will scar your memory of that holiday weekend for the rest of your life, so it’s always great news to read the Missouri Water Patrol roundup and see no deaths on the water.

It’s also a surprise. With no lanes, and basically no speed limits in the daytime plus the massive abundance of alcohol available all over the lake, a death on the water is unfortunately expected.

The Water Patrol and various authorities, including newspapers, constantly warn people to not drink while boating, but the plea is ignored by many boaters.

You can bet your last dollar – and you’d win – that there was at least one person, blitzed out of their mind driving a boat or a personal watercraft over the holiday weekend.

Either they were busted by the Water Patrol or a higher power was watching out for them and others, but for whatever reason, they escaped the grim reaper.

People are going to take alcohol on the lake but there’s no reason to drive a vessel while under the influence.

On the other hand, we could just report the “feel-good” news, like how everything is fine, the lake is a great place to swim and boat in, and not report real news.

But that would be a disservice to the readers.

An ad which we occasionally run sums it up: “If the time comes when you like everything you read in your newspaper, you’re no longer getting all the news.”

We don’t like reporting on deaths on the lake or on the lake area’s roads, but we have to because a real newspaper will report the news – good or bad.

We also hope that this is a new trend for the lake: no deaths on the water or on the roads.

It’s much more pleasant to report that, than to report that someone’s life on this earth had tragically come to an end while trying to have fun.

Everybody likes clean water to swim in or to go boating or even fishing, but the continuing witch hunt by Governor Nixon, through DNR, is getting a bit ridiculous.

Every week we get reports of water quality problems around the state and like last week, a lake area beach was closed because of elevated levels of E. coli.

The lake is not a big stinking pile of sewage, but it also isn’t the cleanest water you can enjoy. Anybody with half a brain knows that.

Was the recent closing of the beach due to the excessive rain, a local sewer system or something else?

Maybe it was the ducks, after all, ducks poop also. Or it could be the fish, since there are a lot of fish in the lake and they poop all the time.

It’s more than likely a natural source, since the only waste near the beach would come from some natural source or the park itself.

Giving us a basic idea where the E. coli came from, or even multiple choices, would help us understand what, if anything, we could do about the problem.

In defense of Nixon, maybe raw sewage has been a problem all over the state for a number of years and Nixon is the only one to address it.

It could also be that democrats in general are more concerned with the environment than with the livelihood of people, or of the massive amount of tax revenue the lake brings into the state.

(Cleaned-up version) Poop happens.

Yes, we don’t want it in our lakes and streams and yes, we do want to stop the violations but when it comes to a tourist attraction that is big source of state revenue; a little discretion and a consideration for the economy would be helpful.

Next Monday is Memorial Day, the day this country sets aside to remember and honor the brave soldiers that have fought for freedom.

But in case you forgot, there is still a war going on and soldiers are still fighting for freedom.

Afghanistan and Iraq are better countries since we shed our blood to make them free.

Whether the people in those lands take our gift of freedom is their choice, but we gave them the opportunity.

The United States – and the rest of the world – is better off since those two countries have been freed, though the mainstream media and their anti-freedom allies will tell you different.

We are still there not because of the soldiers, but because of political correctness.

That rancid disease, if around in World War Two, would have caused us to lose the war.

A perfect example is the bombing of Dresden, Germany in February of 1945.

Many say it was wrong and some are even calling it “The WWII Dresden Holocaust”.

The bombing of Dresden was necessary to finish the victory against Germany.

According to the Air Force Historical Studies Office, “in February 1945 Dresden was known to contain at least 110 factories and industrial enterprises that were legitimate military targets, and were reported to have employed 50,000 workers in arms plants alone.

“Among these were dispersed aircraft components factories; a poison gas factory (Chemische Fabric Goye and Company); an anti-aircraft and field gun factory (Lehman); the great Zeiss Ikon A.G., Germany’s most important optical goods manufactory; and, among others, factories engaged in the production of electrical and X-ray apparatus (Koch and Sterzel A.G.), gears and differentials (Saxoniswerke), and electric gauges (Gebruder Bassler).”

It was also a major transportation center for Germany.

This country and Great Britain would be tried for war crimes if we did this today, but it was necessary.

Today we have no idea of what’s wrong or right; in fact, for many - including the current administration - there is no wrong or right- everything is gray.

Instead of wiping out the enemy, we are embracing them.

A recent story from Reuters said the following:

“United States President Barack Obama's administration is looking for ways to build up ‘moderate elements’ within the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla movement and to diminish the influence of hard-liners, a top White House official said on Tuesday.”

The story quoted John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security who said Hezbollah is not a pure terrorist organization anymore.

Maybe we should have worked with Hitler and tried to be more understanding to his needs.

To the people who have lost loved ones in wars; we appreciate the sacrifice and their deaths do mean a lot to many of us.

Our soldiers today are the best trained and best equipped and are doing the best they can to defeat the ones trying to destroy freedom.

We need to support them, thank them and encourage them in what they do, for it is just as important for our freedom today as the fight against Hitler was for those living at that time.

And when they are killed, as is the case with the recent soldier from St. Charles, we need to honor their sacrifice and pray for their families.

And to any military personnel out there: we thank you for what you are doing, it is worth it and we are grateful for what you did in the past and for what you still do to make the world a better place.