Gambling comes with a high price

For those who think legalized gambling would be good for our economy, let me tell you about my mainland niece.

Her gambling problem led her to steal the daily receipts from her employers three times. Finally, she was sent to jail. Before that, she had attempted suicide and had to be hospitalized.

You could say that the money she spent on gambling stimulated the economy — but the spending on the ambulance, emergency room, intensive care unit, police, courts and prison cost the taxpayers a lot more.

Banks not alone in causing bubble

President Barack Obama's latest attacks on the nation's banks have some justification. Many banks did take unfair advantage of the real estate bubble and helped cause it to burst. But Obama ignores the culprits who caused the bubble and enabled the banks to misbehave: Congress, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act over 20 years ago, forcing banks to make mortgage loans in low-income areas. To comply with Congress' quotas, banks made loans to marginally qualified and unqualified borrowers.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bought or guaranteed thousands of these loans. When the loans began going sour, Congressman Barney Frank famously said, “;Let's roll the dice and see what happens”; instead of saying, “;Let's tighten up the requirements for making or guaranteeing loans.”;

Hundreds of thousands of failed loans later, Congress bailed out Fannie and Freddie with taxpayer money and they are now wards of the federal government, facing $400 billion of bad loans. Congress' response: remove the $400 billion ceiling on taxpayer funding for Fannie and Freddie.

Elevated rail safer for at-grade traffic

No one likes to be told they do not know how to cross a street, but the lines painted on the road as a crosswalk do not create a magic barrier to prevent traffic from hitting a pedestrian. People still need to watch the traffic while in the street, whether in a crosswalk or not. Now they want to make the rail project at street level instead of elevated. Haven't they been watching the news? Drivers go around the barriers of flashing lights and get killed because they think they can make it. Elevated should at least eliminate the danger of stupidity.

Civil unions are a good compromise

Civil unions are a compromise measure. They do not affect the definition of marriage, but ensure that couples who choose civil unions, including same-sex couples, enjoy equal protection under state law. House Bill 444 specifically states that under no circumstances shall any person be obligated to perform civil unions, so duly licensed clergy of every denomination are free to participate or not. It is time for those with strong religious convictions about marriage to step back and make room for this means of granting equal civil rights to same-sex couples. They have preserved their definition of marriage; they should not stand in the way of civil unions.

Obama helped Brown get elected

I think that the newly elected senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, should send a thank you letter to President Barack Obama. I think that, single-handedly, President Obama ensured Mr. Brown's victory.