October Meeting:
Traffic Ordinance:
We heard quite a bit of testimony on Buena Vista Road. The traffic ordinance did several things, but the one that generated the most comment was eliminating truck traffic (> 10,000 lbs) on Buena Vista Road. The ordiance was adopted at the regular meeting following the public hearing.
Township Manager Position:
The position has been filled by promoting Diane Hollenbach to the position of township manager. This position was not the budget buster that Maidencreek Voters Alliance (MVA) founding members Joe Rudderow and Barry Higo warned of at the public hearing. Diane Hollenbach was promoted from within the ranks and the differential cost to the taxpayers is very small.
Thoughts on Government:
I ran across an annoying web site the other day:
http://youthforhumanrights.org/introduction/udhr_abridged.html
You'll find a simplified version of the UN declaration of “human rights” at this site, and I've cut and pasted it below. Before reading the UN declaration of “human rights” read our own Bill of Rights to get yourself in context.
The US Bill of Rights can be found at: http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/funddocs/billeng.htm
Here is the U.S. Bill of rights in a simplified form:
The Government can not make an official religion. The Government can not prevent free speech by any individual; nor can the Government prevent people from demonstrating.
The Government can not prevent individuals from owning guns (if you doubt this was the intended meaning see the Pennsylvania 1776 constitution declaration of rights section XIII)
The Government can not force you to have a soldier or soldiers live in your house.
The Government can not search your house or possessions with out a warrant.
The Government can not take your property for a public purpose without compensation. The Government can not try you twice for the same crime. The Government can not force you to give evidence against yourself. The Government can not take your life, liberty or property with out proving in court that you should lose these rights.
The Government must give you a speedy jury trial (if you are accused of a crime) The Government must let you confront the witnesses against you, and the Government must make witnesses you want to come to court and tell the truth about you.
The Government must give you a trial by jury in civil matters exceeding $25.00 (before the currency was devalued)
The Government may not use cruel and unusual punishments.
The fact that the above rights are numbered does not eliminate other rights not mentioned here that are held by the people.
Powers not given to the federal government by the Constitution, are held by the states or the people.
Contrast the above with the UN declaration:
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We are all free and equal. We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way. |
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2. |
Don't discriminate. These rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences. |
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The right to life. We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety. |
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Slavery – past and present. Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone our slave. |
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Torture. Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us. |
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We all have the same right to use the law. I am a person just like you! |
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We are all protected by the law. The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly. |
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Fair treatment by fair courts. We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not treated fairly. |
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Unfair detainment. Nobody has the right to put us in prison without a good reason and keep us there, or to send us away from our country. |
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The right to trial. If we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try us should not let anyone tell them what to do. |
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Innocent until proven guilty. Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is not true. |
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The right to privacy. Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters or bother us or our family without a good reason. |
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Freedom to move. We all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel as we wish. |
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The right to asylum. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe. |
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The right to a nationality. We all have the right to belong to a country. |
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Marriage and family. Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated. |
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Your own things. Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason. |
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Freedom of thought. We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want. |
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Free to say what you want. We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people. |
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Meet where you like. We all have the right to meet our friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don't want to. |
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The right to democracy. We all have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own leaders. |
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The right to social security. We all have the right to affordable housing, medicine, education, and child care, enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill or old. |
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Workers' rights. Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union. |
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“ a fair wage for their work” I suppose unless you make beds or food (see right # 25) or provide child care or medical services (see right # 22 above) |
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The right to play. We all have the right to rest from work and to relax. |
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A bed and some food. We all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children, people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and all people have the right to be cared for. |
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The right to education. Education is a right. Primary school should be free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our parents can choose what we learn. |
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How are the teachers and administrators getting right # 23 if school is “free?” How do Parents choose what is taught when the “free” school is mandated by the highest levels of government? |
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Culture and copyright. Copyright is a special law that protects one's own artistic creations and writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all have the right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that "art," science and learning bring. |
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A free and fair world. There must be proper order so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world. |
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Our responsibilities. We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their rights and freedoms. |
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Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms from us. |
Notice that our founders LIMITED government from interfering in our lives. There is nothing in the US Bill of Rights that is self contradictory and gives you a claim over the fruits of your neighbor's labor or his property. The UN declaration states that your NEED does give you a claim over the fruits of your neighbor's labor and his property. In the society formed by the US Bill of Rights, the best way to get what you need is to develop a skill and work. In the society formed by the UN Declaration the best way to get what you need is to demonstrate that you NEED it more than you neighbor. The the government can take it from your neighbor and give it to you. The UN Declaration assumes “Thou shalt not steal” does not apply if you NEED it, and the government takes it and then gives it to you. The UN Declaration shows how intellectually impoverished statesmen have become since 1791. Pity there is no way to mitigate their need.
I still have copies of the Fredrick Bastiat book “The Law” available to Maidencreek residents. Email me if you want one.
Paid for by Roy Timpe