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The ADVANCE, Morch 3, 2021/Page 2A (Eift Aiiuancg TeadkcxbLe MorvteKf: What is the harm in Euphemisms? “Euphemism” is defined by OED as “A mild or indirect word or expres sion substituted for a harsh or blunt one when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.” Eu phemisms, also considered political correctness, are embedded so deeply in our language that we use them every day. There is a dark side of eu phemism which makes the had seem good and the unpleasant seem at tractive, and can be abused to keep important words out of a discussion. No matter if you face “career change,” “surplus reduction in per sonnel,” or “downsizing,” you’re still fired! Euphemisms are used to hide the horrors of war in de scribing soldiers’ response to the trauma of battle. During World War I the term was ‘shell shock’; during World War II ‘battle fatigue’, ‘operational exhaustion’ and ‘Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.’ Eu phemisms change the mental image from a war-torn human to an inopera tive war machine. The accurate legal term “illegal alien,” became “unauthorized immi grant,” “undocumented immigrant,” and “misdocumented immigrant.” The words are changed in order to emotionally change Americans’ opin ions about people who climb fences waving their native countries’ flags and demand entrance into the Unit ed States, while ignoring the plights of immigrants who follow American laws and spend thousands of dollars on legal fees and wait for years before being allowed into the country legally. A Harvard law profes sor was asked to exchange emotional terms in rape law for euphemisms such as “in appropriate behavior,” "hav ing sex,” or “taking advantage.” Revictimizing the vulnerable by trying to obscure the ugly dirtiness of rape is cruel. Overly sensitive future lawyers will be useless to help the victims with trauma and to get rapists off the streets. It is more rational to put emotions aside to discuss vital issues. The im portant thing is solving problems, not using ineffective words to minimize them. Your Mind ONLINE Got a complaint? Got a compliment? Call Your Mind On Line at 537-6397 and let us know what's on your mind. Quotes are printed exactly as they are called in and are not nec essarily factual, but rather, callers' opinions. Libelous, slanderous, personal at tacks, and unfounded ac cusatory or lengthy com ments will not be printed. Two calls per week per caller, and calls should not exceed 30 seconds, please. “We should all be extremely grateful to Senator Blake Tillery for his weekly updates to keep us informed about what our Sena tors are doing in Geor gia. It should also make us proud that they are responding to our concerns these days." “As a Toombs County taxpayer, I was wondering has the county and state gotten together and made the road from Lyons to Center to Alston a truckers' route? I remember there used to be signs up saying "No Through Trucks'. The signs dis appeared, the speed limit is 55, and trucks are through there all the time. Is someone getting a kickback from these truck lines?" “I’m calling about speeders on Church Street. I hope the city will do something about them. Please send out cops to slow them down." “Thank you, Vidalia Advance, for publish ing the beautiful pic ture of the Ledford babies. We need more of that kind of publishing in our pa pers. It's so uplifting to see family pictures. Thank you for sharing your family with us." “I got pork rinds from the Dollar Tree. They tasted so good I looked to see the name on the bag, Bryans' Snack Food. There was a Bible verse on it. John 3:16. That's what wrong with the world. Believe on God and not the world." “Crystal Hobbs, if you’re reading this, I sure did miss you at Oxley Dental this week." “Taxes are going up, more of our men in uniform have just been sent back to Syria, boys can now compete with girls and use girls' rest rooms, gas and food prices are skyrocket ing, and no $2000 checks. Any of you Biden voters got buy ers' remorse?" “Rev. Warnock and Mr. Ossoff, where is my $2000 check you promised me for my vote?" “When gas gets up to about $3.75 a gal lon, I wonder if any of these Biden voters will have second thoughts about casting their votes." “What has hap pened to Wendy's? It used to be my favor ite place for a ham burger and fries and a frosty. But the last 2 times I've been in there, the customer service has been hor rible." “Why can’t Toombs County and Vidalia fix the roads? The farm ers road in Johnson's Corner and the other end of the county are fixed." Financial Strength In A Growing Community Your Local Financial Center... Home Loans • Auto Loans • Consumer Loans • Mortgages • Checking Accounts • Savings Accounts • Safe Deposits • Drive-In Service- ATM & Debit Cards 24 Hour Banking: 537-4540 www.vidfedonline.com Summary for 7th Week of 2021 Session The seventh week of the 2021 leg- ^ * islative session marked | 1 the halfway point and proved to be our busi- • est week yet. The House jRBn a - examined a wide variety of legislative initiatives By Rep. Robert Pruitt , ° , , r (District 149) and passed a number or bills. One of these be ing House Bill 286 which would prohibit counties and municipalities from reducing their police force budgetary appropriations by more than five percent, unless specified conditions exist Additionally, House Bill 307was passed at the beginning of the week and authorizes health care providers to continue providing telehealth services from home even after the pandemic is over. To ensure insurance coverage for these services, HB 307 would prohibit insurers from requiring separate deductibles or an in-person consultation before paying for a virtual appointment and restrict insurers from requiring providers to use a specific telehealth platform or vendor. They also could restrict the prescribing of medication more so than what is currently required by state and federal law. The House also passed House Bill 437 to require gas station employees to dis pense gas to vehicles that have a special dis ability permit displayed when the disabled driver is not accompanied by someone who can provide adequate assistance. If only one employee is working, then the gas station would not be required but encouraged to provide assistance. Decals will be added to pumps that displays the international symbol of accessibility. Currently, Georgia’s child custody laws require one or both parents to be responsible with decision making authority for a child’s upbringing. House Bill 442 was passed and would re quire parents to include so cial media management in their joint parenting plan. This bill would allow our child custody laws to remain relevant with ever changing technology. We received news from Governor Brian Kemp this week that the state is poised to expand Georgia’s CO- VID-19 vaccine priority list to include teachers and school staff. Start ing March 8, all of Georgia’s pre-k and K-12 teachers and school staff, as well as Depart ment of Early Care and Learning staff, will join the state’s Phase 1A+ group. In addition to Georgia teachers and school staff, the state will also expand vaccination access to adults with mental and developmental dis abilities and their caregivers and children with complex health issues plus their care takers. Since vaccination efforts began a lit tle more than two months ago, roughly 1.9 million vaccines have been administered to approximately 1.2 Georgians, which means we have surpassed 50% of our eligible resi dents. Our testing positivity rate is also at its lowest in months at approximately 10 per cent. As “Crossover Day” draws near, we will continue to vote on meaningful House legis lation before we start the process of review ing Senate bills. I encourage you to reach out to me with any comments or questions about legislation that is important to you, your family and our community. My capi- tol office number is 404-656-0116 and you can reach me directly via email at robert. pruitt(a)house.ga.gov. As always, thank you for allowing me to serve as your representa tive and I look forward to seeing you soon. As the State Representative for District 149, Robert Pruitt serves Dodge County, Telfair County, Wheeler County, Cadwell, and Hazlehurst. During the second week of the 2021 Legislative Session, Rep Pruitt was appointed to serve on the Industry and Trade, Economic Development, and Small Business committees for the next two years. Robert and his wife Kelly have been long time residents of Eastman. SIAVO KU Solu,lon ’ pa9e 10A Fun By The Numbers Like puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test! Lsvek Intermediate Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle! 9 8 4 0 7 5 2 3 7 4 6 2 1 1 2 7 0 9 1 3 4 0 5 1 Weight Loss Management Our Weight Loss Plan Includes: JSBk newyear NEW YOU BY SUMMER • Lose up to 25 lbs per month • Weight loss medications • Healthy diet plan • Exercise plan • Medical oversight and evaluation of progress $25°°OFF your first visit. With this coupon. Expires April 3, 2021. Appointment times are limited, so schedule yours now!! Locally Owned & Operated Accordia URGENT CARE & FAMILY PRACTICE 3193 East First Street, Vidalia, GA 30474 • ph 912-537-8588 • fax 912-537-3488