Free Republic

Attorneys aren't above the law, no matter how much they act like it. When an attorney is summoned to appear in court, he or she, like anyone else, is subject to arrest upon failure to appear. The defendant was there. The defense attorney was there. The court clerk, court services officer, staff attorney, and bailiffs were all there. The victim was there. The families on both sides were there. The only one who couldn't deign to grace the Court with his appearance was the prosecutor.

Prosecutors wield the power to deny liberty to citizens. Their conduct must be of the highest standard. The State's unconscionable delay in this case is contemptible.

What the judge did was to dismiss the case without prejudice, which means that the prosecutor can re-present the case when he is ready to, as he clearly wasn't ready at the scheduled time.

In this case, it was, in the judge's estimation, better to press the reset button on the case than to continue playing along and allowing the prosecution to drag it out. Neither the victim nor the State lost any ability to see Justice served, and an innocent defendant isn't kept dangling by a procrastinating prosecutor.

Yes, the GOVERNMENT mandates all kinds of anti-profit actions on the part of utilities. Unfortunately, the government, Constitutionally required to promote the public welfare, sometimes expects certain things in exchange for free easements and lucrative monopolies. Many businesses are forced to install costly sprinkler systems, to maintain public sidewalks, and to do other things that just don't turn a profit for them, but are in the public interest.

This is a right & proper exercise of government authority. Those to whom much has been given, much is expected. Selfishness & greed are not virtues in & of themselves. We are, indeed, all in this together.

On another note, it's important to recognize that, for a community in the middle of a national forest, solutions involving wireless or microwave towers may not be available due to site restrictions and line of sight limitations. Further, for a system intended to be used for a very long time, it is always preferable to pay a higher fixed cost in exchange for lower operating cost.

Wireless solutions tend to have higher ongoing costs, though they may be less expensive to install. Even so, site analysis, engineering, permitting, and construction costs for a single cell site can run to over a million dillars.

This doesn't even consider the cost of either a microwave station and a couple of repeater sites, all in uninhabited (and unpowered) areas, or of a satellite earth station.

Also, any radio-based solution would rely, to some extent, on external power, while hardwired telephones provide power through the phone lines.

Steve B
steveb_ohio@yahoo.com
+1 937 304 7051

I wrote this message to spodefly, since his post reminded me of the kind of values it seems most Rpeuvblicans & Democrats share. Perhaps it can spark some converation about what other points we are united on, since we hear enough from both sides about what divides us.

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In your message, you remind everyone that lots of Republicans don't hold stereotypical views, just as lots of Democrats aren't stereotypical knee-jerk liberals.

However, I wanted to ask you about why, if your beliefs are as you portray them, you supported candidates whose beliefs differ so much from your own.

I'll quote from your message, and use ">" to mark my comments.

We are not all bigots.

We are not all gun toting rednecks.

> Yet White House & Congressional Republicans blocked
> efforts to renew the ban on assault weapons, weapons
> not designed for any other purpose but killing people.

We is don't talk using ebonics.

We are hard working folks with familys that want the best for our children.

> Yet the White House & Congressional Republicans have
> repeatedly failed to fully fund educational initiatives
> such as student financial aid, and even failed to fully
> fund the Republican-sponsored "No Child Left Behind"
> program.

99% of us could care less who you sleep with and how you do it.

> Yet President Bush & other Republican leaders have
> repeatedly spoken out against equal rights for gay
> people. They have deliberately insinuated government
> into people's private intimate lives & families.

> I can understand opposing gay marriage. There are
> valid religious and traditional reasons to do so.
> But why prohibit alternatives like domestic
> partnerships and civil unions, as Republicans
> supported doing in 11 states this November, and are
> supporting with the demand for a Constitutional
> Amendment as well.

99% of us could care less if you goto church or who you worship.

> Then why do our White House and our Congress continue
> to press for increased religious involvement in
> government-sponsored activity? Why support people
> who are trying to erode the separation of church and
> state by supporting school prayer and public funding
> to religious groups?

99% of us would give the shirt off our back to help a neighbor.

> Then why support candidates who oppose increased
> assistance programs to needy families, who oppose
> increasing the minimum wage to provide a livable
> income for families, and who oppose a healthcare safety
> net for all AMericans, regardless of job or income.

Just don't try to change our values and we will leave you the hell alone.

Really, I don't think our values are that different. I agree with all of the value statements you made. Most Republicans & most Democrats agree on most values issues.

For myself, I supported John Kerry because his policy statements were more in keeping with my values than President Bush's. Do I think the President is evil? Of course not. But, I do think he has made the wrong decisions, according to my values.

You eloquently stated your values in your message. As they don't seem to mesh well with Republican policies & actions, it confuses me.

You obviously think about these things & care deeply about this country, as I do. What am I missing? What are you seeing that I'm not? What drives you to support a party that doesn't seem to share your values?

Sincerely,
Steve Brack
steveb_ohio@yahoo.com
+1 937 304 7051