Aerial photos could track home projects

County mulls deal with high-tech firm

GENESEE COUNTY

THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION

Sunday, March 20, 2005

By Marjory Raymer

mraymer@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6325

New technology soon could let government officials look right into your back yard to see your new deck - and then check whether you filed the proper permits.

 

Something also to think about in Canada

"LIVE FREE OR DIE" IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

It the same everywhere in Canada and the USA

About 250 years ago, citizens in New Hampshire lived under the heel of a foreign tyrant. King George III had approved laws that imposed taxes on the importation of sugar, restricted colonial credit, and required a royal stamp be affixed to any newspaper or public document.

  These oppressive laws eventually gave rise to a popular uprising. In New Hampshire, the image of local militiamen marching off to fight the well-provisioned British army gave rise to the modern-day state motto, "Live Free or Die."

  Now, the men of New Hampshire face a different sort of tyranny. In the past 20 years, well-meaning laws have been passed that have had the cumulative effect of unjustly separating fathers from their families. These laws allow fathers to be evicted from their homes based on fabricated charges of domestic violence, to lose child custody, to be denied access to their own children, to be obligated with onerous child support obligations, to be jailed if they fall behind in making these payments, and to suffer the humiliation of being branded as "deadbeats."

  According to the 2001 report, "The Status of Men in New Hampshire" http://www.ncfcnh.org/nh_status/index.php  only 15% of divorced fathers obtained sole custody of their children. The remaining 85% of divorced fathers typically received visitation rights every other weekend.

  As a result, "the suicide rate for divorced men is almost 10 times higher than the suicide rate for divorced women," according to the report. In an average year, 139 persons in New Hampshire commit suicide, 110 of whom are males.

  Overall, New Hampshire men died 10 years sooner than women in 1998. This compares to the U.S. lifespan gender gap of only 5.6 years.

  Based on the recommendations of the landmark report, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen recently signed into law HB 587-FN-A, to establish a Commission on the Status of Men. The purpose of the Commission is to look into the problems of men's health and other issues that affect men and fathers.

  But now, Governor Shaheen is having second thoughts. She is trying to sandbag the Commission appointments. In one case, she wanted to name a person who previously had opposed the creation of the Commission. Other nominees were persons who had no particular knowledge or interest in men's issues. More information on Gov. Shaheen's delaying tactics can be found at http://www.ncfcnh.org/nh_status/history.php.

  Governor Shaheen needs to hear from persons around the country that the Commission on the Status of Men needs committed members who care about men.

  For the men and fathers of New Hampshire, "Live Free or Die" is not just a slogan on an automobile license plate. It is a grim reminder of the choices that men are again forced to make.

Gov. Shaheen can be contacted online at this address:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050527170515/http://www.state.nh.us/governor/comment.html.