[Vision2020] NYTimes: In Search of Dignity

[bear at moscow.com]

Joe,

The breaking news in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News is but a recent example
of what I was referring to:

"July 7, 2009, 1:24 pm
The Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that David Meister must be retried for
murder in Latah County, determining that he was not given the opportunity
to mount a full defense.
Meister was convicted of killing Tonya Hart in 2001 and was sentenced to
life in prison.
Hart, 21, was shot and killed at her north Moscow trailer home Dec. 11,
2001. Prosecutors alleged Jesse “Shorty” Linderman, Hart’s longtime
boyfriend, hired Meister to kill Hart for $1,000 with a $100 bonus if her
death occurred before Christmas of that year. Initial charges brought
against Linderman were dropped because of a lack of evidence.
The case was appealed in April."

Now, who steps up to the plate and says: I was responsible for the errors
committed and I accept full responsibility for David Meister not being
tried properly"? Who accepts the financial responsibility for the costs of
a retrial, that IF he was tried properly would only have to have been paid
for once? The reality is NO ONE, just let the county taxpayers suck it up!

And it's not just in something as complicated as a murder trial. The next
time you're out in front of Sisters Coffee Shop, take a look at the storm
sewer and parking curb on the northeast corner of Main and 3rd. The sewer
is HIGHER than the street, so when it rains and snows, the water/ice
floods the sidewalk. Now, either the city installed the drain improperly,
or whomever the contractor was installed it improperly. Where was the
oversight? WHO in city government steps up and says "I was responsible for
the errors committed and I accept full responsibility" WHO failed to
conduct proper over sight and is now going to cost the city taxpayers
money do to their negligence?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Joe,
> Thanks for the great OP-ED that you posted and I agree with it 100%!
> Now, the question is, how do we get back to it? And I will fess up that I
> am just as jaded about it as others. For instance, when the Governor of
> Alaska announced that she was resigning, my first two thoughts were,  1)
> What has she done that is about to hit the media, and (2) Who is going to
> pay for her new clothes now that she is out of office?
>
> For instance, I can remember as a child growing up, and older adult was
> ALWAYS addressed as Mr or Mrs (Miss) or if they were a close friend of the
> family but no blood relationship, they were Uncle Xyz or Aunt  Xyz.
>
> I remember  when the age of calling police officers "Pigs" was in vogue,
> either deservedly or not, and people thought that was bad, but I can
> remember when we called them police officers, NOT cops!
>
> But having said all of the above,  I again ask, Why/How did we get where
> we are today as far as civility is concerned?  I feel as though it is
> because those that should be treated to our respect have failed miserably
> to EARN that respect, and have so many times let us down. My first
> Sergeant Major in the army explained it to me like this: "Sir, you have
> the right to demand and are owed deference, but you have to earn respect".
>  I think I did earn his respect, for when I left the battalion I was in,
> he presented me with his fathers service pistol. His father was a General
> during WW2.
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  From The New York Times:
>> OP-ED COLUMNIST: In Search of Dignity
>> By DAVID BROOKS
>> The old dignity code that George Washington once followed has not
>> survived modern life. Every week there are new scandals featuring
>> people who simply do not know how to act....
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/opinion/07brooks.html
>>
>> Get The New York Times on your iPhone for free by visiting
>> http://nytimes.com/iphoneinstaller
>>
>>
>> Sent from my
>> iPhone=======================================================
>>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
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>>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>> =======================================================
>
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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>