today’s news and information gleanings from here and there!

Quote for today… “The vandals are ages as follows … 11 … Yes boys and girls..I said 11 freaking years old…..12 and 14 ” – One of the comments on one of the facebook sites with chatter about the recent tire slashing incidents reported in Columbia.

• Today is Independence Day. “Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation’s most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson’s most enduring monument. Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in ‘self-evident truths’ and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.” – SOURCE: US.gov

• Nothing about tire slashings at the Columbia Police Department facebook page nor Website. But there are quite a few postings at several of Columbia’s other facebook sites, including this one – ” if the police and mayor took PRIDE in Columbia it would be a safer more controlled place….but they just dont care because its not happening in their part of town” and this one – “if you can not get any satisfaction from the Columbia police call the sheriff department in Lancaster and i guarente they will do something. i recently had a problem with the West Hempfield police and called them and the problem was resolved real fast, so do not give up just go a step higher.”

• At issue, when individual social media posts have more information than the municipality’s law enforcement department’s, is government doing its job of providing security for its citizens?

• Interestingly, the US Embassy in Japan’s Website says this: “Activists at the local level are finding the Internet to be particularly helpful. These are the people who get involved in politics as a way to improve conditions in their own neighborhoods and communities. They organize block cleanups, trash recycling efforts, crime watch groups, and adult literacy programs. ‘Their aim is not merely to perform community service,’ says Ed Schwartz, ‘although that’s part of it. They simply believe that healthy communities are possible only when residents make a personal commitment to contribute to their well-being.’

• Columbia Spy points out the South Fourth Street “Mess”

• “There were fly larvae (maggots) too numerous to count in some barrels the chicken was in. Raw chicken in the reach-in cooler in the front service area was slimy to the touch, spoiled, emitting a putrid odor and is adulterated. Vegetables in a cooler were spoiled and moldy, and adulterated.” – Don’t know how we missed this food insptctor’s comments at the inspection of Country Boy Meats last month. – PennLive.com