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PAGE 4A
BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2008
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”
- Henry Ward Beecher -
Chris Bridges, editor • Email: cbridges@barrowjournal.com
our views
Reps’ stand
was the right
thing to do
B ARROW County State
Representatives Terry
England and Tommy
Benton were just two out of 25
legislators who had the cour
age to stand up this week for a
change in how Georgia is being
led.
Both Rep. England and Rep.
Benton voted in the Republican
Caucus meeting Monday to
oust Glenn Richardson as
speaker of the Georgia House
of Representatives. The bid
failed with only 25 legislators
supporting the change.
Despite the defeat, the
stand taken by England and
Benton was the right thing to
do. Speaker Richardson has
become an embarrassment to
the state’s political leadership
with his autocratic style of gov
erning and his pettiness in deal
ing with other state leaders. He
does not deserve to hold one
of the state’s most powerful
positions.
It remains to be seen how
Richardson will respond to
the failed coup. It’s likely that
England and Benton will be
sent to a political “Siberia,”
stripped from key committee
positions and banished into a
legislative wilderness. That is
Richardson’s track record, to
punish opponents who chal
lenge his authority with harsh
paybacks.
But doing that would be a
mistake. By being petty and
vengeful, Richardson would
only reinforce his image as
a second-rate leader with a
Napoleonic-complex.
Tuesday morning, State
Senator Ralph Hudgens, whose
district includes Barrow and
Jackson Counties, sent a strong
message to Richardson at a
Jackson County Chamber of
Commerce meeting. Alluding
to Benton’s vote on Monday
against the speaker, Hudgens
paused in his remarks to make
what he called an “editorial”
comment in which he chal
lenged Richardson to “be a
man” in his response to the
uprising by not punishing his
critics.
Translation for Richardson:
Be big enough to accept criti
cism without being vindictive.
Good advice.
The Barrow Journal
Winder, Barrow County, Ga.
www.BarrowJoumal.com
Mike Buffington Co-Publisher
Scott Buffington Co-Publisher
Chris Bridges Editor
Susan Norman Reporter & Web Editor
Susan Treadwell Advertising Manager
Susan Mobley Office Manager
Jeremy Ginn Marketing Manager
Jessica Brown Photographer
The Barrow Journal
77 East May Street
Winder, Georgia 30680
Web Site: www.BarrowJournal.com
Email: news@barrowjournal.com
Phone: 770-867-NEWS (6397)
Fax: 678-425-1435
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
Inside Barrow County $15.00/yr
Senior Citizens in Barrow $13.00/yr.
Surrounding Counties $19.75/yr.
Other In-State $38.85/yr.
Out of State $44.50/yr.
Military/APO $42.50/yr.
Out of county Senior Citizens Deduct $2
Mr. President, adopt a Greyhound
With the election finally over, we, as a nation can roll
up our sleeves and turn to the challenges that lie ahead.
One of the more heartwarming, admittedly minor, chal
lenges is to get our collective two-cents worth in about
what kind of dog Sasha and Malia
Obama should adopt to serve as
our nation’s First Dog.
There is rumbling about how
fitting it would be for the first fam
ily to rescue a shelter mutt and
I believe the Obamas have said
a rescue dog is certainly on the
short list of potential candidates.
Well, Mr. President (elect),
here’s my advice: The idea of
rescuing a shelter dog is nice, but
be careful! You won’t know what
you’ve ended up with for months.
Over the years, I have rescued more than my share of
shelter mutts and I can tell you, most of these dogs
carry deep scars that only begin to manifest themselves
as “behavioral challenges” months after the dog has
settled in to your heart and your home.
There was Purdy, the expensive-electronic-device-eat-
ing dog... and Buster, the I-bite-the-ankles-of-people-we-
pass-on-a-walk dog... Greta, the I-eat-rocks-and-break-
my-teeth dog... and Rosie, the I-rip-up-pillows-dog.
One of them, whose name I don’t even remember,
ate Mr. Clark’s brand new, eyeglasses the day after
he bought them... So, many worthy dogs, so much
destroyed property!
In many cases, the Heinz 57-kind of a shelter dog
turns out to be a loveable, but unpredictable blend of
too many breeds and bad past experiences — not really
First Dog material. After all, it is the White House we’re
talking about. Wouldn’t it be a shame for some national
treasure to end up chewed, or shreded, or buried in the
Rose Garden, especially after the mutt in question has
moved in and stolen your daughters’ hearts.
Why not adopt a dog from a purebred rescue orga
nization? You’re still saving a life and you know what
you’re getting into. That’s the thing about purebreds,
their behavior and temperaments are predictable
My personal advice, Mr. President, would be to consid
er adopting one, or maybe even two, retired Greyhound
racers. They are easygoing, calm, well-behaved, fairly
low maintenance and tolerant. They don’t bark much
and barely shed. They come pre-trained and have
impeccable manners. They are also elegant and loving
and they look great in winter clothing — which I’m sure
the girls’ would enjoy picking out.
I know all of this because one of my “granddogs” ( I
don’t have grandchildren) is a retired racer and she is a
wonderful dog in every way.
Lily started out as “Octavo.” She was born in March
of 2005, and ran 49 races in eight months during her
second year. Her race record was all over the map,
which is probably why she was retired at just over age
two. She had 15 top-three placed wins and 24 last or
near last place finishes.
When my son and his wife got Lily, she was a tall, rail-
thin, shy, near ghost of a dog. She was very well-man
nered and highly trained, but there didn’t seem to be
much spirit left in her. She never, ever wanted to run.
As she settled in and learned how to do things like
get in a car and go up steps and jump on the bed, Lily’s
personality began to emerge. She started playing with
her toys and sniffing noses with her cats. A little later,
she started running again. This time, it was in Gramma
Lorin’s big yard, round and round, in joyful circles,
seeming to discover, maybe for the first time, that being
born to run can be a good thing.
Now, a little over a year into her life away from the
track, Lily is a fun-loving, rambunctious, but still very
well-mannered goof of a dog with a lot of personality.
She’s spirited and playful, but impeccably polite. She
walks perfectly on her leash and never begs at the table.
She looks elegant, prancing down the street in one of
her winter coats and watching her run is just a joy.
Yes, Mr. President, a retired racer, or two, would
make perfect White House pets. Your girls would have
fun dressing them up. Your guests would be charmed
by their elegance and excellent manners. And, watch
ing the First Dog gallop around and around the White
Hounds grounds, well that would just be fun for us all.
Give it some thought anyway, and if you’re interested,
go to: wwwgreyhoundadoption.org or the National
Greyhound Adoption Program’s website.
Lorin Sinn-Clark is a columnist for the Barrow
Journal. She can be reached at lorin@barrowjournal.
PATiEMCE
HE’S
COMING
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Georgia voters go their own way
YOU CAN say this about Georgia voters: they aren’t
about to be swayed by any of those newfangled ideas
and trends you might see having an influence on other
states.
Back in 2006, while a
Democratic wave was sweeping
dozens of Republicans out of
Congress and state legislatures
across the country, our state
swam strongly against that tide.
Georgia returned a Republican
to the governor’s office and was
the only state where every GOP
incumbent running for another
term in Congress and the General
Assembly was reelected.
We saw a similar result last
week. Where states that had
been solidly Republican in
past presidential elections - Virginia, North Carolina,
Indiana, and Nevada - delivered their electoral votes
to Democrat Barack Obama, Georgia remained loyal
to Republican nominee John McCain and maintained
GOP majorities in the Legislature.
For the moment anyway, Georgia is still a very con
servative state that will generally vote Republican in the
biggest elections.
But there are signs that even here, long-term electoral
changes are underway. That largely is a product of the
demographic forces reshaping the state: the percent
age of white voters continues to slowly decline, while
the proportion of black and Hispanic voters continues
to go up.
Look at the contrast in vote totals for the past two
presidential elections. George W. Bush carried Georgia
by a margin of 17 percentage points and 548,101 votes
in 2004. The lead for McCain was nearly two-thirds
smaller: only five percentage points and 206,022 votes
separated him from Obama.
Obama pulled a higher percentage of the Georgia
vote, 47 percent, than did white candidates Bill Clinton,
Albert Gore and John Kerry.
The U.S. Senate race is another indicator of fading
Republican strength. Incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss,
who had a huge lead in the polls until the financial
markets collapsed in September, could not reach
the 50 percent vote level and, as a result, has been
forced into a Dec. 2 mnoff election with Democrat Jim
Martin. It seemed inconceivable six months ago that a
Republican incumbent would lose a Senate race, but it’s
not such a far-fetched possibility now.
Democrats are showing more strength in suburban
areas around Atlanta that, until this year, could be
counted upon to deliver their votes to GOP candidates.
That’s a trend that can be attributed to the movement
of blacks, Latinos, and other ethnic groups into these
counties.
Cobb and Gwinnett counties have been fundamental
pillars of strength for Georgia Republicans over the past
20 years, but those pillars are crumbling. Nearly 45 per
cent of the Cobb County vote went to Obama while 44
percent of Gwinnett’s vote came in for the Democratic
nominee.
In Douglas County, which was previously a strong
Republican county, 50.5 percent of the voters preferred
Obama. Rockdale County, another reliably Republican
county for the last 15 years, gave 54.4 percent of its vote
to Obama, and GOP-leaning Newton County delivered
50.3 percent of its vote to Obama. Obama got 46 per
cent of the vote in Henry County, which also had been
strongly GOP in its voting patterns.
Democratic challengers toppled Republican incum
bents to win state House seats in Cobb and Gwinnett
counties; the Democrats captured another GOP House
seat in Rockdale County after Rep. Bob Mumford
(R-Conyers) decided against running for another term.
These trends suggest that two years from now,
suburban Republican lawmakers like Bill Hembree
of Douglas County, Steve Davis of McDonough, Dan
Weber of Dunwoody and John Douglas of Social Circle
could find themselves in very competitive races if they
decide to run for another term.
The next big race in Georgia, of course, will be the
2010 election for governor, where incumbent Sonny
Perdue is prevented by law from running for another
term.
The rumored candidates on the Republican side
are well known in the political community: Lt. Gov.
Casey Cagle, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine,
Secretary of State Karen Handel, House Majority Leader
Jerry Keen, and maybe a congressman or two.
But what about the Democrats? The big name float
ing out there is former governor Roy Barnes, who so far
has dismissed all talk of mnning for public office again,
at least in his public statements.
Could the stronger showing of Democrats in this
year’s election cause him to change his mind? Stay
tuned for further developments.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s
Georgia Report. He can be reached at tcrawford@
caDitolimDact.net.
‘Small town’
radio alive and
well in Winder
I ’ve always had an ear for
small town radio stations.
Perhaps it’s because I
come from
a small
town and
have always
worked in
them. In
addition, I’ve
made my
career work
ing for com
munity news
papers, which
concentrate
on local
news. Local sports, local obits,
local meetings and everything in
between is what we deliver to the
readers.
It’s the same way with small
town radio stations. Growing up
in the small, Middle Georgia town
of Monticello, I listened to WJGA
out of nearby Jackson. Monticello
was actually too small for its own
radio station, but WJGA gave
the community coverage and
it made us feel somewhat “big
time” since the station in Jackson
would cover Monticello and
Jasper County as well.
Admittedly, some of my friends
would poke fun at me for listen
ing to the station.
“Why are you listening to that?”
they would ask. “Turn it.”
I’m not going to pretend I didn’t
also listen to the big stations in
Atlanta. 96 Rock, Power 99, 94Q,
Z93 and the like were all part of
my listening habits. However, I
always enjoyed the smaller sta
tion in nearby Jackson as well.
Today in Winder, the tradition
of “small town radio” is alive
and well. “Community radio” is
also a good term for what WIMO
in Winder does. I’ve listened to
WIMO since I moved here more
than a decade ago.
WIMO general manager Scott
Pinner is doing big things with
the “small town” station. Like
small town newspapers, Pinner’s
focus is local, local, local. From
local news coverage to local high
school football and athletics to
local racing, WIMO is on the
scene covering it live.
Covering high school football
on Friday night has long been
a staple of broadcasting format
ting for local stations. WIMO is
carrying on that tradition and
taking it several steps further
with extended pre-game and
post-game coverage. With two
local high schools, one game is
aired live with the other being
streamed lived on WIMO’s web
site. Yes, even small town radio
stations are in the Internet age in
a big-time way.
All football games are rebroad
cast on Sunday afternoons as
well for those who might not
have been able to listen on Friday
nights. It’s quite an impressive
effort Pinner and his radio crew
have undertaken in making
WIMO a viable asset for the com
munity
WIMO also recently moved
into the downtown area and is
located across from the Barrow
County Courthouse.
Of course, some of my old
favorites of WIMO are still there,
like the Ludlow Porch Show. In
addition, various local talk shows
are also aired which focus on
news and sports.
In our ever advancing techno
logical world, one thing I hope
never goes away (in addition
to community newspapers, of
course) is small town radio sta
tions. They have too much his
tory, too much tradition and too
much to offer local listeners.
Fortunately, I don’t see that hap
pening anytime soon. Here in
Winder and Barrow County, we
have plenty to listen to at the 1300
spot on the AM dial.
I’ll sign off for now as I hear the
music for Ludlow Porch starting
to cue up. The “Funseekers” are
waiting.
Chris Bridges is editor of the
Barrow Journal. He can be reached
at: cbridges@barrowjournal. com.
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chris
bridges