How come towns have strict leash laws for golden
retrievers, but coyotes are allowed to run around and attack cats,
terriers and – you know it will happen eventually – small children.
I like coyotes, in their place, but when did they become more
politically correct than poodles and kids?
I’ve read in recent news articles that federal law prohibits killing or
trapping coyotes. This is not accurate. The law that prohibits trapping
them is the Massachusetts law that voters created in 1996, which I voted
for, my partner Chip voted against, and I will never hear the end of.
But nasty leghold traps aside, why can’t we shoot them when they
threaten our pets?
Teenage boys have been expelled from Milton Academy and charged with
having sex with a minor because they accepted oral sex from a 15 year
old female classmate. But didn’t the former President of the United
States say that oral sex isn’t sex? How come the boys could go to jail,
while President Clinton becomes a revered elder statesman? He should
have been impeached, not just for perjury, but for contributing to the
delinquency of thousands of minors.
First they came for the medical marijuana, then they come for the
Oxycontin.
I ask myself this question a lot, and here it is again: has the world
gone mad? Some state lawmakers, encouraged by the usually rational 9th
District Congressman Stephen Lynch, want to ban Oxycontin for everyone
in severe pain because some people abuse the drug and become addicted.
Since alcohol destroys more lives than Oxycontin, should we be trying
Prohibition again? It worked so well the first time...
Why can’t any substance be prescribed by doctors, in their best medical
judgment, no matter who is going to be dumb enough to take it
recreationally and ruin their lives? Why can’t we just hold all people
over twelve responsible for their actions? Get me a bumper sticker:
"Your addiction is not my fault."
Speaking of personal responsibility, two young men were revving the
engine of an SUV and drove it through a fence and into a swimming pool.
Why do some people call this an accident? And why do some people blame
the SUV?
Across the nation, John Kerry supporters are still complaining that some
citizens did not get a chance to vote for him because of various
electoral anomalies. In Massachusetts, voters who actually do get to
vote on ballot questions are ignored and their decisions dismissed. And
the interesting thing is, the same people who complain about the first
item think the second item is just fine. Does this make sense to you?
Massachusetts House members refused to restore the 5 percent income tax
rate demanded by the voters, and instead voted to a study to assess the
impact of the revenue loss. Then they voted for impact-unstudied pork
projects. My question is, why do we keep electing these people?
But of course I ask that about Marblehead selectmen, too, after voters
returned all the incumbents who wanted the trash fee that the voters
rejected. Do voters ever connect the people they elect with the
political actions they deplore?
I know it doesn’t work the other way, because even though the majority
of voters agree with Governor Romney on most issues, a recent poll has
them choosing a Democrat instead just for "a change." My question is:
what!?
At least our North Shore communities aren’t giving clean needles to
illegal drug users, like the town of Westport just began to do. And
state legislators, fearing a roll call vote, decided not to give
taxpayer-subsidized in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Have
advocates of these things finally looked up the word "illegal" in a
dictionary?
However, I like legal immigrants, who do so many of the jobs that need
doing. Do you think the Americans who want to have a moratorium on
immigration would also support a moratorium on their unemployment
benefits, so there will be enough workers to clean our homes, take care
of our lawns, and serve our fast food?
On the national scene, the big story is Republicans wanting to stop the
use of the Senate filibuster to prevent a vote on presidential judicial
nominees. I understand that the filibuster is a valuable tool for
minority-party legislators, but the way it’s being used now could
prevent anyone ever replacing a retired Supreme Court Judge. When did
"advise and consent" become "blockade until our guy is in the White
House"?
Democrats have been busy criticizing every Republican suggestion for
dealing with the coming Social Security crisis. Maybe they’ll come up
with an idea of their own sometime. Ya think?
Barbara Anderson is executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. Her syndicated columns appear weekly in the Salem
News, Newburyport Times, Gloucester Times, (Lawrence) Eagle-Tribune, and Lowell Sun; bi-weekly in the Tinytown Gazette; and occasionally in the Providence
Journal and other newspapers.