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May 26, 2009

In Your View — 05/27/09

Anonymous The Daily Independent Tue May 26, 2009, 03:44 PM EDT

Obama is trying to save the planet

Thank you, Mr. President, for attempting to slow the human race’s determined charge to drive themselves and every other species on the planet to extinction!

On behalf of the planet and the future generations that will be forced to grow up on it, Mahalo for trying to save us from ourselves. Although I am concerned that it will be too little, too late, at least it’s refreshing to see that some people care about the future, instead of going like hogs to the trough and slurping up everything they can get for themselves with utter disregard for the welfare of others.

We can change policies and restrict the “takers” from doing as much damage, but the way is to change minds as well as policies. Good luck with that!

I don't think most people give anything much thought! The key is reaching future generations, so they can start to undo all the damages done by their predecessors, many of whom either don’t believe (or don’t care) that we have dire environmental problems.

Thanks for trying, President Obama.

Barbara Abels, Gallipolis, Ohio

Jury duty should be encouraged

Americans have the power to exercise one of our nation’s paramount democratic responsibilities. They can serve on a jury.

Each year, millions of Americans receive the call to serve — and they do. According to the National Center for State Courts, about a million people serve on some 80,000 jury trials per year in the United States.

The ABA wants to make it as easy as possible for more Americans to serve their country in this way. To that end, the ABA’s Commission on the American Jury Project developed dozens of guiding principles for juries and jury trials. The Commission is encouraging courts across the country to adopt new jury practices and standards.

To make it easier for Americans to serve as jurors, we advocate for the shortest possible jury service as long as the needs of the courts are being met; for the preservation of juror privacy through juror-screening inquiries that are relevant only to the trial and by allowing jurors to answer sensitive questions privately; and for the protection of employees, by prohibiting employers from penalizing those who miss work because of jury service.

We want to help jurors do the best job they can for our nation’s courts. For example, our principles call for specific juror instruction and orientation so that jurors will have an increased understanding of the judicial system. We also recommend that jurors be allowed to take notes during the trial and, in certain cases, be allowed to submit written questions for witnesses.

When a trial is over, we believe courts should give jurors legally permissible post-verdict advice.

We hope that these principles foster a better understanding of, and keener interest in, jury duty as we work on improving jury practice and preserving the right to trial by jury.

H. Thomas Wells Jr., president, American Bar Association

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Editorials

Earmarks again?
Immediately, following the midterm elections of 2010 which saw Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives and capture seats in the U.S. Senate, Republican leaders in Congress announced they had heard the voice of the voters and vowed to cease using “earmarks,” the name given to appropriations slipped into bills by influential legislators without a vote.

May 26, 2012
Best in the nation
It may surprise many readers that Newsweek’s “best high school in America” is located right here in Kentucky and is open to selected students throughout the state, but then the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green is hardly your typical high school. In fact, it would be impossible for even the best public high schools to emulate the amazing success of students at the Gatton Academy.

May 25, 2012
After the vote
We offer today a few reflections on the messages voters sent in Tuesday’s primary election in Kentucky.

May 24, 2012
A mild winter
As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, long hailed as the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, we pause to reflect upon the winter that wasn’t.

May 23, 2012
Devices banned
Emergency breathing devices that tests have proven unreliable are being phased out under a directive issued by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. However, MSHA has given mine operators more than 18 months to remove all the air packs from underground mines.

May 22, 2012
A free weekend
In an effort to promote increased recreational use of the two lakes in the Daniel Boone National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service will offer free fishing and boating during the first weekend in June.

May 22, 2012
Ho-hum election
Psst! Want to know a secret? There’s a primary election Tuesday. And it’s right here in Kentucky! However, there has been so little interest in this election, that Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the state’s top election official, is predicting that only betwixen 10 and 12 percent of the state’s eligible voters will take the time to go to the polls tomorrow.

May 21, 2012
A real rush job
By giving first reading approval to two identical ordinances creating the Northeast Regional Jail Authority, elected leaders in Boyd and Carter counties are reviving a 30-year-old political issue — only this time with different results.

May 20, 2012
KCTC leads way
The ability of Kentucky to compete with other states and the rest of the world for the good jobs of tomorrow keeps improving by degrees.

May 19, 2012
Slow decline?
Louisville’s Churchill Downs is seeing its shortest spring meets since 1975, and some owners, trainers and breeders fear they could get even shorter. That is unless the Kentucky General Assembly has a change of heart and gives the home of the Kentucky Derby the option of increasing its nonracing revenue by offering new forms of gambling.

May 18, 2012
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