Opinion
John Rung President and Publisher
Dan McCaleb Group Editor
Jason Schaumburg Editor
Monday, May 13, 2013 • Page A9 • Northwest Herald • NWHerald.com 8SKETCH VIEW
8ANOTHER VIEW
Some hope in Afghanistan The story of Afghanistan known by most Americans is of horrific war scenes, lost lives and injuries to troops and civilians. Late last month, another roadside bomb killed five soldiers working to rout terrorists. Less well known is another campaign: building infrastructure, health facilities and schools. While tremendous waste and ineffective projects have been exposed, there is also evidence of striking improvements. Life expectancy in Afghanistan, for example, rose from 42 in 2002 to 62 in 2010. Deaths of newborns fell dramatically. In 2002, only 900,000 boys were in school and virtually no girls. Now there are 8 million students, more than a third of whom are girls. And the number of primary health care facilities increased from fewer than 500 in 2002 to nearly 2,000 in 2010. Alex Thier, assistant to the administrator for the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs in the U.S. Agency for International Development, cites a report that shows Afghanistan has made more progress on a percentage basis since 2000 than any country in the world. That also shows just how miserable life was under the Taliban era. To Thier, the biggest hope for the future rests with better-educated women who are holding a growing number of government jobs, serving in elective office, and launching entrepreneurial businesses. While calls routinely emerge in the U.S. to cut foreign aid, Thier says the entire development budget for Afghanistan over the past decade equals the cost of four to six weeks of the military campaign. Thier finds hope in Afghanistan’s increasingly educated and tech-savvy youth. He suggests that this youth contingent plus upgraded infrastructure should help keep Afghanistan from slipping backward after troops depart. One can only hope he’s a better prognosticator than the pessimistic analysts. The Kansas City Star
8LEGISLATIVE DIRECTORY U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam R-6th District 2700 International Drive, Suite 304, West Chicago, IL 60185 630-232-0006 Fax: 630-893-9735 227 Cannon House Ofice Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-4561 Web: roskam.house.gov U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren R-14th District 427 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-2976 Fax: 202-225-0697 Web: www.house.gov/foster Gov. Pat Quinn 207 Statehouse Springield, IL 62706 800-642-3112 governor@state.il.us www.illinois.gov State Sen. Pamela Althoff R-32nd District 5400 West Elm Street, Suite 103 McHenry, IL 60050 815-455-6330 M103E State House Springield, IL 62706 217-782-8000 Fax: 217-782-9586 pamela@pamelaalthoff.net State Sen. Dan Duffy R-26th District 330 E. Main St. Suite 301 Barrington, IL 60010 847-277-7100 105D Capitol Building Springield, IL 62706 217-782-8010 State Sen. Karen McConnaughay R-33th District 81 S. McLean Blvd. South Elgin, IL 60177 (847) 214-8245 303A Stratton Building Springield, IL 62706 (217) 782-1977 State Rep. Jack Franks D-63rd District 1193 S. Eastwood Drive Woodstock, IL 60098 815-334-0063 Fax: 815-334-9147 239-E Stratton Building Springield, IL 62706 217-782-1717 Fax: 217-557-2118 jack@jackfranks.org State Rep. Michael Tryon R-66th District 1500 Carlemont Drive, Suite D 815-459-6453 Fax: 815-455-8284 244-W Stratton Building Springield, IL 62706 217-782-0432 Fax: 217-782-1275 mike@miketryon.com
State Rep. Barb Wheeler R-64th District 37 E. Grand Ave., Suite 101 Fox Lake, IL 60020 847-973-0064 214-N Stratton Ofice Building Springield, IL 62706 (217) 782-1664 repwheeler64@gmail.com State Rep. David McSweeney R-52nd District 105 E. Main St. Cary, IL 60013 847-516-0052 226-N Stratton Ofice Building Springield, IL 62706 ilhouse52@gmail.com State Rep. Timothy Schmitz R-65, Geneva 127 Hamilton St. Suite D Geneva, IL 60134 630-845-9590 224-N Stratton Ofice Building Springield, IL 62706 217-782-5457 timschmitz.org Tina Hill Chairman, McHenry County Board McHenry County Government Center 2200 N. Seminary Ave. Woodstock, IL 60098 Phone: 815-334-4221 Fax: 815-338-3991 TRHill@co.mchenry.il.us President Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20500 202-456-1414, Comment: 202-456-1111 www.whitehouse.gov U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin 230 S. Dearborn Kluczynski Federal Building Suite 3892 Chicago, IL 60604 312-353-4952 711 Hart Senate Ofice Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-2152 www.durbin.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk 387 Russell Senate Ofice Building Washington DC, 20510 Phone: 202-224-2854 Fax: 202-228-4611 230 South Dearborn Suite 3900 Chicago, IL 60604 Phone: 312-886-3506
Editorial Board: John Rung, Dan McCaleb, Jason Schaumburg, Kevin Lyons, Jon Styf, Kate Schott, Stacia Hahn
8IT’S YOUR WRITE Alert for Americans To the Editor: This letter is not an indictment of personnel keeping our country safe. It is an alert to Americans to guard freedom and liberty from the federal government. Next time you are accosted by the TSA or scrutinized by a government agency, consider how the Boston bombers were apprehended. The suspects were captured. This was made possible, not by the government and its futile attempts by the Department of Homeland Security or the TSA, but rather by people like you and me. Those responsible for identification and capture were normal, everyday citizens. Identification of the suspects was made by an injured marathoner from his hospital bed. Video surveillance was not recorded by Big Sister or her DHS, but rather by a department store camera protecting goods from shoplifters. Ultimately, it was a homeowner, out for a smoke, who found something that did not look right when he found the bomber hiding in his backyard and alerted police.
Thank you to all who did the right things and the agents who made the arrest. Shame on the federal government, which again showed ineptness in allowing the suspects to travel freely in and out of the U.S. These men should have been on the radar of Big Sister, but now she can’t get her story straight. Did we know or did we not know? These are the agencies who want to expand and intrude on law abiding citizens. This is the same administration and government who you elected to run our health care. John Mercurio McHenry
Volunteers are critical To the Editor: The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) wishes to take this opportunity to recognize the ongoing efforts of RSVP volunteers as they provide a variety of services helping communities. For more than four decades, Senior Corps volunteers have used their lifetime of skills and experience to meet community needs. Today, more than 330,000 volun-
How to sound off We welcome original letters on public issues. Letters must include the author’s full name, home address and day and evening telephone numbers. We limit letters to 250 words and one published letter every 30 days. All letters are subject to editing
teers age 55 and older are serving through Senior Corps’ programs. While helping others, older volunteers also are helping themselves by living active, healthy lives through volunteering. Research shows there are mental and physical health benefits associated with volunteering, including lower mortality rates, increased strength and energy, decreased rates of depression, and fewer physical limitations. Locally and nationally, RSVP volunteers enable tens of thousands of frail and elderly adults to live independently in their own homes by transporting them to medical appointments, shopping for groceries, assisting with bills, assisting with small home repairs, and offer-
for length and clarity at the sole discretion of the editor. Submit letters by: • E-mail: letters@nwherald.com • Mail: Northwest Herald “It’s Your Write” Box 250 Crystal Lake, IL 60039-0250
ing respite to caregivers. Senior Corps Week, which was last week, celebrates the powerful impact of 55-plus volunteers and inspires others to get involved. The initiative recognizes that service by older Americans benefits everyone – it helps volunteers by keeping them active, healthy, and engaged; it helps our communities to have millions more skilled volunteers; and it helps our nation by saving taxpayer dollars and strengthening civic participation. If you are interested in getting involved? Contact me at 800-3393200 or email ddanitz@seniorservicesassoc.org. Deborah Danitz McHenry
Senators weren’t always elected by us On this day (May 13) in 1912, Congress passed a bill that called for direct popular election of senators, which when ratified became the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The June 12, 1911, vote in the House of Representatives was 238-39, with 110 abstentions, and the May 13, 1912, Senate vote was 64-24, with four abstentions. This amendment superseded Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution under which senators were elected by the state legislatures. It also allowed state governors to make temporary senatorial appointments until special elections could be held. The framers of the Constitution intended that the Senate would represent the states whereas the House of Representatives would be “The People’s House.” The framers thought that the Senate would “take a more detached view of issues coming before Congress,” that it would “temper” the “populism” of the popularly elected House of Representatives, that it would allow the states to retain a direct representation in the national government (as it had under the discredited Articles of Confederation), that it would provide a much-needed state check on the power of the national government, and that it would inevitably be composed of the better educated, more politically experienced and wise men of society – men who would not have to cater to the whims and prejudices of the “uneducated masses.” Interestingly, Pennsylvania delegate
ON THIS DAY Joseph C. Morton James Wilson was the only delegate at the Grand Convention who proposed electing senators by popular vote, and his motion to that effect was soundly defeat, 10-1. However, in the 19th century, there were numerous, but always unsuccessful attempts in Congress to enact a constitutional amendment to mandate the direct election of senators. By the early 20th century, however, this movement had gained considerable support. By 1910, 31 of the 48 state legislatures had passed motions calling for the direct popular election of senators. That same year, 10 Republican senators who opposed this reform measure were defeated in re-election campaigns. Maverick Sen. William E. Borah of Idaho, former Republican Sen. Albert Beveridge of Indiana, and three-time Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska led the fight in Congress and in the press for this increasingly popular manner of electing senators. The proponents of this reform measure argued that the U.S. Senate had become “a sort of aristocratic body – too far removed from the people, beyond their reach, and with no special interest in their welfare;” further, that election through state legisla-
8THE FIRST AMENDMENT
tures was an anachronism that was contrary to the wishes of the American people. There were, however, eminent opponents to this reform measure. Several prominent senators (most notably Republicans Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts and Elihu Root of New York) opposed the measure on the grounds that it violated the intention of the framers who wanted the states to have a direct say-so in the national government and that it, therefore, destroyed the “Federalism” (i.e., the allocation of political power to both the national government and the states) so laboriously fashioned in the original Constitution. By April 8, 1913, the proposed amendment had been ratified by three-fourths – 36 of the 48 states – of the states. Of interest, four states ratified after April 8, 1913 – Louisiana (June 11, 1913), Alabama (April 11, 2002), Delaware (July 1, 2010) and Maryland (April 1, 2012). Seven states (Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia) have not voted to date on the proposed amendment. One state – Utah – explicitly rejected the amendment. On May 31, 1913, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan triumphantly declared that the 17th Amendment was officially and formally adopted. • Crystal Lake resident Joseph C. Morton is professor emeritus at Northeastern Illinois University. Email him at demjcm@ comcast.net.
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