Afghanistan continues to unravel
Vicious combat, dead soldiers, troop level debates, President Obama says it is a just cause and in America’s interest to fight. The president’s implication channels FDR: no matter what the past, this is where we are now. Citizens, what should you do?
Join the Army, no time left to blame the hated Bush and Cheney while sipping your latte. To those who chanted, “bring the troops home,” Obama no longer agrees. It’s your job to be one of them. Collectivists are first in line.
Join the Marines, if you hated the neo cons. Show your [undying?] support for your president, especially if you have previously praised his every word, thought or deed.
Join the Navy, if you decried Iraq as the wrong war and yet claimed Afghanistan as the “good war.”
Join the Air Force, show your friends you’re more than a cocktail conservative, soapbox socialist or consumerist coed.
Or just be quiet. Blog in your underwear, download music or burn up tons of fuel while jetting away on vacation or motoring down Ingersoll Avenue. Realize that your bumper sticker slogans and attendant actions are dissonant. Know that you are unhindered by anything other than your self-centeredness. Accept that you possess no consistent moral rectitude. Be assured your teachers were right — it’s all about your feelings, and who is anyone to judge the almighty you.
Gary Wilson
Des Moines
Something to think about with health care
I am a human being. If I could not pay for medical care, I could die. For those opposed to providing adequate basic health care to all, I have but one question — If I died but couldn’t afford a burial, would you throw me in a roadside ditch?
Jennifer Nosbisch
Des Moines
Problem is noise, not class warfare
Cityview’s recent editorial (“Our View,” Sept. 17) about neighbors on Des Moines’ Westside who are upset with late night noise from the Val Air is an irresponsible piece of journalism. No one from Cityview’s reporting or editorial staff bothered to communicate with neighbors who have been working to resolve this problem, such as the cooperative sound testing done a little over a week ago by West Des Moines police, the manager of the Val Air and concerned Des Moines residents.
Instead, the editorial pompously professes to know what the problem is — class warfare.
The problem is not class warfare. It is noise. It isn’t the sound of music. It is loud, rhythmic bass thumping that goes on sometimes until 1:30 a.m. on weeknights. The noise is in excess of the Des Moines sound ordinance, but since the noise is generated in West Des Moines, the Des Moines police can’t do anything about it. Des Moines’ ordinance limits noise after 10 p.m. to 50 decibels, as does Windsor Heights; West Des Moines’ ordinance is 55 decibels.
The affected neighbors are not trying to shut down the Val Air, or to control what kind of music the Val Air plays. The petition that neighbors signed and presented to the West Des Moines City Council asked the WDM Council to work with the Des Moines City Council about a noise pollution problem that spills over from one municipality into another, and in the greater Des Moines metro area it would make sense for communities with contiguous borders to have compatible ordinances on things such as noise pollution.
Instead of focusing on the stated complaint — noise — Cityview insulted the neighbors who have raised concerns, saying that if the music is “too loud, you’re too old.” Tell that to parents who are trying to get youngsters to bed, or back to bed after the bass drumming noise has disturbed their slumber.
Patti Brown
Des Moines
No love for the new Web site
The new site is horrible. Some of the links still go back to info from weeks ago. Maybe someone in your office should actually use the site, too, and they would realize how bad it really is. Its not that I don’t like change either, but whensomething isn’t broke, why fix it?
Michelle Meyer
Des Moines
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