Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2016
BARROW JOURNAL
PAGE 5A
On becoming a birder
I’ve always liked birds, but it wasn’t
until my youngest son became enamored
with them that I started to pay more
attention to them. Children have
a way of making the world new
and exciting for you, and what’s
more, they teach you how to
relax, if you let them. Birding is
not only infectious, it takes you
away from all your troubles.
Now everyone in my house is
a “birder," and for me, I think
this hobby will outlast my son’s
interest in it. But you never
know - he may never lose inter
est in the birds either. Birds are
some of the most beautiful and
interesting creatures to watch,
and I’ve learned that we get
quite a variety of birds in our wooded
subdivision.
Some of the most familiar birds I
already knew the names of - cardinals,
bluebirds, blue jays, tufted titmice, and
Carolina wrens. Carolina wrens are small
brown birds, but they aren’t like the spar
rows you might find in the grocery store
parking lot. They are a reddish brown,
and whenever I hear birdsong in the
morning, it’s usually a wren signaling to
the other birds right outside my window.
When I hear the wren, I know it’s time
to get the binoculars. On more than one
occasion, if a wren is outside, other birds
soon follow. Cardinals might appear in
the tree, and as the male watches, the
female will fly to the ground to forage
on seeds in my flower garden. The tuft
ed titmice might arrive to forage on the
ground too.
These are birds that we see here year-
round, but lately I’ve seen some win
ter visitors too. My whole family was
thrilled to find a pair of golden-crowned
kinglets in the yard one day because
that’s one of my six-year-old’s favorite
birds. He thinks it’s so cute that when we
came across its picture in our bird app,
he wanted to have a picture of it on his
bedroom wall.
The male golden-crowned kinglet has a
bright yellow and orange stripe on the top
of its head. The female looks exactly the
same except her stripe is yellow minus
the orange. It’s a very small bird, almost
as small as a chickadee, and it never
stops moving, so it’s hard to spot without
binoculars.
We also spotted what we think is a pine
warbler. It doesn’t come through our yard
often, but when it does, it gives us a wel
come splash of color because its
feathers are a beautiful green
ish-yellow. The phoebe is much
more plain with its brown and
pale white feathers, but it’s still
an elegant bird. It gets its name
from the sound it makes: “FEE-
bee!”
Very occasionally, we get to
spy woodpeckers. We’ve seen
downy woodpeckers, hairy
woodpeckers, and once, long
ago, a pileated woodpecker,
which is very big and gorgeous.
Most recently we’ve discovered
that a yellow-bellied sapsucker
has claimed one of the trees in our back
yard as a regular feeding station.
Larger birds do travel through our area,
but we rarely see them in our yard. Once
when I woke up my eldest son in the
morning, we looked out his window to
see a red-tailed hawk sitting in a nearby
tree! My husband has taken our dogs
outside during the night and heard owls,
and once he heard something large take
off from the ground in our backyard, but
it was too dark to see much.
There was one night my husband heard
a pair of owls, and he quickly woke up
my eldest son. They stood on the back
deck for several minutes and listened
as two great horned owls spoke to each
other from either side of the woods.
We so easily forget that the wilderness
is right in our backyard. We’re lucky to
glimpse the flash of a wing or hear their
elusive calls, but as my sons have taught
me, if I take just a few minutes each day
to pay attention, I am always delighted
by what I find.
If you like watching birds, you might
enjoy participating in the Great Backyard
Bird Count, a citizen science project
which asks you to count the birds you
see for just 15 minutes over the weekend
of February 12-15th. See https ://www.
audubon.org/content/about-great-back-
yard-bird-count for more information.
Winder resident Shelli Bond Pabis is
a contributing columnist for the Barrow
Journal. You can reach her at writeto-
spabis@gmail.com or visit her blog at
www. mamaofletters. com.
letter to the editor...
The conspiracy against cannabis and hemp
Dear Editor:
Of all the plants God
created few have as many
beneficial uses as the genus
cannabis. In Genesis God
gave every herb (plant) for
food. Consuming natural
ly grown food is the best
way to be healthy. As the
US Declaration of Indepen
dence states our rights come
from God, not government.
Therefore government has
no lawful authority to tell
people how to live as long
as it doesn’t adversely affect
others.
If people want a real eye
opener they should read the
history of hemp in America.
The first drafts of the Decla
ration of Independence, the
first American flag, and the
first Guttenberg Bible (in
Europe) were made from
hemp. Cannabis and hemp
are related but entirely dif
ferent.
At one time hemp was
one of the most important
resources in America and it
was against the law for farm
ers not to grow it. Watch on
Youtube the USDA govern
ment film Hemp for Victory
of 1942 promoting hemp
production. Hemp became
a threat to certain financial
tycoons and hence had to
be outlawed to protect those
interests.
Just as cannabis is a threat
to pharmaceutical compa
nies today which the FDA
protects. Those with the
money have the power to
get what they want. Can
nabis has many medicinal
uses. Many people have
cured their cancers with
cannabis.
Cannabis has been used
to foment the phony war on
drugs which does nothing
but perpetuate small need
less crimes, furnish cheap
slave labor for America’s
prison system (the largest
per capita in the world),
and furnish the cover for
building America's milita
rized police state as well
as provide them substantial
revenue.
Properly administered
prescription drugs kills
far more people than ille
gal drugs yet politicians do
nothing to stop it.
They think nothing of
preventing ill people from
obtaining healing from can
nabis yet in their hypocrisy
many get their own drug fix
from their legal booze. Yes.
many users abuse cannabis
but far more abuse alcohol
and with much greater harm
to society.
If you want another eye
opener check out the web
site http://www.leap.cc/. It’s
law enforcement against
prohibition. If government
truly wanted to war against
illegal drugs they would tar
get the CIA and the massive
drug running of hard drugs
they have been doing for
at least 50 years, with pres
idential approval. People
need to understand the truth
about cannabis, hemp, and
the many myths that have
built up over the years.
The health component
CBD can be obtained from
hemp on the internet and
is legally available in all
50 states but since hemp
produces so little of it com
pared to cannabis it takes
much more to make it and
is inferior in quality.
Canadian politicians are
evidently less insane and
corporate owned than those
in America so hemp is legal
there. Ground hemp seed is
one of the most nutritious
and delicious foods there is.
Grown worldwide it would
greatly lessen world hunger.
If hemp were to be legal
ized in America again it
would likely provide the
biggest boom to the econo
my in decades but of course
the powers that be cannot
allow that to happen.
I neither drink, smoke,
and rarely even use pre
scription drugs but people
have a Constitutional right
to live as they want to in
private.
If the financial interests of
Georgia lawmakers against
medical cannabis were to
be discovered I'm sure it
would be quite revealing.
Others have simple been
brainwashed by myths.
So Mr. Buffington I truly
hope your civil disobedi
ence is sincere and success
ful for your son’s sake. We
need a lot more of it if lib
erty is not to be totally lost
in America.
P.S.: Upon saving the first
draft of this letter at Yahoo
it was gone when I went to
retrieve it. Fortunately I had
a copy on my computer. I
am sending two copies from
two sources.
Sincerely,
Steven Garren
Winder
Class of 1962 plans next mini-reunion
The Winder-Barrow High School graduating class of 1962 will continue to have its
mini reunion luncheons.
The next mini-reunion will be on Monday, Feb. 22, at 1:30 p.m. at Longhorn Steak-
house off Hwy. 316 in Bethlehem. All members of the class are invited.
Those wishing to attend contact Dianne Fleeman at dfleeman@windstream.net or call
her at 678-425-2531 so reservations may be made.
Governor, don’t stand in
schoolhouse door on cannibas
Dear Governor Deal:
When I began growing my medical
marijuana plant last month as a polit
ical statement about Georgia’s need to
make cannabis oil available for medical
use, I had no idea the kind of nerve it
would hit. Dozens of people from all
across Georgia have contact
ed me in support of making
medical grade cannabis oil
available in Georgia.
Governor, it’s a huge issue,
much larger than I ever imag
ined. This issue has, in just a
few years time, jumped from
the political fringes into the
political mainstream. It’s an
issue that crosses political
party bounds in a way that a
few years ago, was unthink
able.
Some of the strongest sup
port I’ve had comes from
very conservative Republi
cans, your core supporters, Governor.
Ministers have called me in support.
The current runs deep and wide.
So how did a conservative state like
Georgia go from being closed to any
debate about the medical use of mari
juana to having a majority of citizens
support it?
Governor, a little background for you
to consider:
Cannabis has been used for over
3,000 years, partly for its medical and
psychological impact and also for its
fibers to make ropes and cloth. By
1850, the medical cannabis oil was
being used in a variety of drugs in the
U.S. A lot of that was for pain control.
But in the early 1900s, cannabis got
caught up in the prohibition movement.
It continued to be used medicinally, but
its recreational use, like recreational
alcohol use, came under increasing
government pressure.
In 1930, Harry J. Anslinger became
commissioner of the Federal Bureau of
Narcotics. Anslinger began a crusade
against cannabis, claiming it caused
insanity and led to crime. It was at this
time the term “marijuana” came into
use rather than cannabis. That was an
effort (led by the Hearst newspapers
in California) to stigmatize cannabis
as a drug used by low-class Mexi
can immigrants. “Marijuana” sounded
more Mexican than “cannabis.”
The anti-cannabis hysteria of that
era led to the (now campy) 1936 film,
“Reefer Madness” that demonized can
nabis as making women sexually lose
and driving people insane.
At the same time this cultural assault
was hitting cannabis, newer drugs were
coming into the marketplace for pain
relief. In 1937, the federal government
began to tax cannabis prescriptions.
The use of medical cannabis extracts
subsequently fell and in 1942, it was
removed from medical use in the U.S.
In 1970, the federal government clas
sified cannabis/marijuana as a Sched
ule 1 drug, the highest classification
along with LSD and heroin. In that
classification, a drug is supposed to
have no medical value.
The practical impact of that was to
make it almost impossible for anyone
in the U.S. to study cannabis for med
ical use.
The reason it was classified as Sched
ule 1 wasn’t based on science; it was,
many believe, political payback by
the Nixon Administration against the
pot-loving “hippies” he detested.
The “war on drugs” of the 1980s and
1990s further demonized cannabis. But
that had an unintended consequence:
It pushed illegal production of can
nabis indoors to become an industrial
manufacturing process which in turn
led to new hybrids whose compounds
could be manipulated. All of that has
proven important to medical research
of cannabis oil.
Follow the progress of my
medical pot plant with a
live-streaming video at
dadsmedicalpotplant.com.
By the mid-1990s, a backlash was
brewing to the war on
drugs. Many came to
believe that marijuana
wasn’t as dangerous as
the federal government
had led them to think.
In addition, a 1990 study
by an Israeli scientist had
found the medical con
nection between THC, the
most active compound in
cannabis, and the brain.
Slowly, people began to
revive the idea of using
cannabis for medical pur
poses. In 1996, California
legalized medical canna
bis.
Over the last 20 years, other states
have followed in defiance of federal
law. Last year, the federal government
removed its review process for canna
bis research, making that research a
little easier.
Governor, three important things you
need to consider about Georgians’ atti
tudes on this issue:
First, most Georgians no longer
believe that cannabis/marijuana is as
dangerous as its law enforcement crit
ics have claimed. It is certainly much
less dangerous or addictive than the
powerful prescription painkillers that
fill many of our medicine cabinets. The
tide has shifted.
Second, 20 years of experience in
other states has given rise to a body of
work that shows clear medical benefits
of medical cannabis for some very seri
ous medical conditions.
Third, the experience in other states
demonstrates that if the cultivation
of medical cannabis is legalized, the
world doesn’t come to an end. The old
stigma of “evil marijuana” has lost its
sting.
Today, polls show that Georgians
support in-state manufacturing of med
ical cannabis oil. Many state legisla
tors also support in-state production,
although there are some minor differ
ences of opinion about the details. It’s
ideology, not science that is standing in
the way of the production of medical
cannabis in Georgia.
So Governor, your opposition to the
manufacturing of medical cannabis oil
in Georgia is behind the curve. The
train has left the station on this issue
and it isn’t going to stop. Hundreds of
Georgians are now buying medical can
nabis illegally because there is no other
way to get it. That isn’t going to stop.
Wouldn’t it be better for our citizens
to make medical cannabis available
here in a regulated atmosphere rather
than force it to stay underground? Why
should we make some of our sickest
citizens criminals?
Governor, if you had a sick grand
child whose body was wracked with
seizures, you would see this issue dif
ferently. Come with me the next time
my son has a seizure and I have to do
CPR to keep him alive until the seizure
stops. If your wife suffered from severe
Parkinson’s or MS, you would see it
differently.
If you were sick from harsh chemo
treatments, you would see it differently.
Governor, it’s 2016. It will be embar
rassing to our state and destructive
of your own legacy if you block the
schoolhouse door on this issue.
Your Friend,
Mike
Mike Buffington is co-publisher of
the Barrow Journal. He can be reached
at mike @ mainstreetnews. com.
mike
buffington
Star Student banquet scheduled Feb. 17
The Barrow County Chamber of Commerce will host the STAR Student and STAR
Teacher Award Breakfast on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 a.m. at the Park Avenue
Event Center located at 138 Park Avenue in Winder.
The breakfast will honor Bethlehem Christian Academy’s STAR Student, Aaron
James Gano, the system winner, and his chosen STAR Teacher, Jennifer Proch;
Apalachee High School’s STAR Student, Cassidy Eden Hayes and her chosen STAR
Teacher, Amy Cronic and Winder Barrow High School’s STAR Student. Bradford John
Hagin and his chosen STAR Teacher. Jerry Pharr.
The breakfast is sponsored by Park Avenue Event Center and Georgia Power Com
pany. For information on becoming a table sponsor or to purchase tickets, contact
Missy Milner at the Chamber of Commerce at 770-867-9444.
Independent Filmmakers tour in Winder
The City of Winder and the Winder Cultural Arts Center will present Art and Craft
with directors and producers Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman as part of the South
Arts Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers at the Winder Cultural Arts
Center on Sunday. Feb. 7, at 4 p.m.
Following the screening of the film, director Sam Cullman and film subject Mark
Landis will engage the audience in a discussion about the film and their work. Admis
sion is free and open to the public.
The Winder Cultural Arts Center is located at 105 E. Athens Street in downtown
Winder.
Subscribe today: 770-867-6397 for award-winning local news
