Viewpoints

To the Editor:

I’m going to be 90 years old in about three months (God willing). My energy is not what I’d like it to be. Things I used to love to do I called fun, now I call it work - even writing this letter.

I am joined by many people in being deeply concerned about the direction of our country the last eight years. Al Sharpton, a so-called minister with a love child, has made big money by recreating chaos, and he is our present president’s most trusted advisor.

The liberals in our government have done the most damage to our country when they eliminated anything to do with Christianity in our schools - no mention of God, no reading the Bible, no mention of the Ten Commandments, no prayers. When they eliminated all of the above, the devil walked in our schools and our country has taken a downhill slide.

To the Editor:

A big thank you is deserved by all law enforcement, thank you for keeping us safe.
You are all doing great work. I am praying for your safety.
God Bless you all.

Sincerely,
Cindy Duvel
Waukon

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that it was disconcerting to open the morning paper this Fourth of July and read of another Islamic state slaughter, this one in Baghdad. And there was another attempt in the area as well that was less successful. And there seems to have been almost daily instances during this period of Ramadan.

Islamic terrorists reportedly were advised to step up the killing during the Islamic period of fasting. Contrast that with the Lenten fasting period practiced by Catholics and some other Christian churches. I don’t recall ever being asked to kill people.

What makes it even more ironic, is that in this latest attack, it was a case of Sunni Moslems again killing Shi’a Moslems. Same religion, different beliefs.

To the Editor:

On July 14, 2016, FCC will be voting on whether to move forward with 5G. This proposal is called the Spectrum Frontiers Proceedings. If they do this, many more stronger antennas and transmitters will be put on power and light poles across the US. The cesspool of man-made radiation in our environment will greatly intensify. This must be stopped.

Scientists have proven that wireless radiation is a carcinogen and greatly damages biological life. They have proven that wireless damages mitochondrial DNA and is irreparable, which will be passed on and further damage to all future generations.

To the Editor:

Over the past decade we have ferreted out several criminals who were employed by the National Park Service. These people have caused a great deal of damage to my beloved little park (Effigy Mounds). And now we watch as only one employee is held responsible for his crimes. Yet all of these criminals have been rewarded with retirement benefits.

If this burial site had been a white people’s cemetery there would be a national cry of indignation.

I believe these governmental actions are nothing short of racial genocide toward the native woodland people who originally occupied the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Valley.

This racist activity first began during the early days of exploration!

They have brought a black eye to our National Park Service’s Centennial year. This is not what John Muir, who tramped these same hills in his youth, envisioned.

To the Editor:

The American Revolution came about because the British Parliament denied local, community self-government to the colonies. Are we now being colonized by corporations masquerading as “family” farmers and denying our local rights to protect our water, air and property?

We already have enough local large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to know the dangers to air, water, and neighboring property values. We do not need people from outside the area building here just because they can. My purpose here is not to enumerate the dangers of allowing CAFOs to be built in the Village Creek area. Others are doing that quite well.

My purpose here is to remind us all that we have the right and the obligation to take the matter into our own hands. It’s time for an Allamakee County Revolution!

The very first article of the Constitution of the State of Iowa says:

To the Editor:

Congratulations to the Allamakee Community Players for their outstanding production of “A Night to Remember.” Did Annie Oakley get her man? Did Jim Ward make it to the church on time? Did Zach Troendle ever find the perfect girl? Did the State Fair judging team recover from the mince meat contest? Does Peter Pan still fly for those who believe? Does Russ Hagen still walk on “The Street Where She Lives”? Did the Prince find Cinderella?

Each little segment of former musicals brought smiles to our faces, and even some tears to our eyes during the final number of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
There is such great talent in our community. Thanks, Players, for a wonderful evening.

Marge Strike and Linda Ryan, Waukon

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that it sometimes seems as though there is a conspiracy to force one to think about things now in common, but which were not at the time of their origin.

This Fourth of July weekend was one of those times for me.

I know I have discussed some of these things here before, so I apologize for repeating myself. I’m told we senior citizens sometimes do a lot of that!

Anyway, the Iowa Natural Heritage magazine which came out recently has a nice article about the Iverson Bottoms Wildlife Area along the Upper Iowa River in northwest Allamakee County. I have been an INHF member for several years, and because of that I suppose I am on the mailing list, which recently included two notices of things taking place in that area, having to do with trees and harvesting of native plant seeds, as I recall. They wanted volunteers to help.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that having once visited Okinawa for a few days courtesy of the Navy, I was both bemused and amazed by the stories and photos of the island in the dailies this morning.

The story was to the effect that the citizens of Okinawa, who are Japanese, want the American air base removed. The U.S. has proposed moving it to another, less populated and less hospitable to humans part of the island.

It is not a large island. Only about twice the size of little Guam, the U.S. protectorate in the South Pacific. I was not impressed. My main memories, and I have color slides of both, are of the waterway which ran through Naha, and of the unusual concrete constructions in several places.

To the Editor:

When I talk to some of the older folks in northeast Iowa at least as old as I am, they always say things like, “Don’t you ever wonder whatever happened to the (blank) around here?”

Some of those blanks have been filled in with things like “sand burrs”, “blue gills and crappies”, “milk weed”, “garter snakes”, “trail rides”, “soda grills”, “shoe stores”, etc.

When I think about how much life has changed during my over 60 years of dancing on the skin of this Earth, it is frightening. I’m “just saying,” maybe we need to take at least two steps back before trying to go what we think is three steps forward.

I was talking to a mental health professional the other day that reported there are studies showing that technology has affected the frontal lobe development of this upcoming generation. The frontal lobe is all about common sense and impulse control.  Just think about that, folks.