Barrow journal. (Winder, Ga.) 2008-2016, June 22, 2016, Image 4

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Barrow journal., June 22, 2016, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextPAGE 4A BARROW JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2016 Opinions “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. ~ Thomas Jefferson ~ Georgia can certainly learn from Louisiana Violating the rights of law-abiding citizens never helps Items from my political notebook as the Georgia summer continues: •Tragedies like the one at the Florida nightclub always seem to bring out the anti-gun advocates. What those in the anti-gun crowd fail to realize, or are incapable of real izing, is that taking guns away from law- abiding citizens will never prevent one criminal act from taking place. It will, on the other hand, allow for more law-abiding citizens to be harmed or killed by those who don’t care what gun laws are on the books. •Florida Republican attorney general Pam Bondi was recently exposed to a national television audience for being the bigot she is and always has been when it comes to gay Americans. With the nightclub shooting tragedy occurring in her state, the spotlight has been on Florida’s elected officials, includ ing Bondi. First, some background on that state’s elected attorney general. Bondi has been a huge critic of marriage equality for gay citizens in Florida, as well as equality for gay Americans in general. She has fought legal battle after legal battle to keep marriage equality illegal in the Sunshine State. Perhaps the greatest irony in all of that is that she has used taxpayer funds, including taxpayer funds of gay Florida citizens, to fight these court battles. Even after the United State Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, Bondi refused to give up the fight and has vowed to keep gay couples from enjoying the same rights and benefits under the law in Florida. Why do things of this nature always take place in a Southern state? Following the events earlier this month in Florida, Bondi has tried to paint herself as being sympathetic toward the victims and to the gay, lesbian and transgender communities in her state. In reality, Bondi has never had any sympathy for those who are not heterosexual and has fought in court to keep those who are not regulat ed to second and third class citizen status. Following the shooting at the gay night club in Orlando, Bondi was interviewed by CNN’s Anderson Cooper concerning the event. Cooper, in perhaps one of his best interview performances, rightfully questioned Bondi on her past history of working against equal rights for all Florida citizens. Bondi was the proverbial deer in the headlights as she had no answer to Cooper’s questions. She couldn’t refute anything he was saying because she has fought legal battle after legal battle to keep gay couples from enjoying the same rights under the law. Bondi, of course, then tried to use the old “I was set up” tactic concerning the interview, but how in the world could she not expect to be questioned on her history of being a champion of the far right when it comes to social issues, which includes denying gay couples the same rights under the law. Remember, if Bondi had her way then the spouses of those killed in that Orlando nightclub would not have had the legal rights to bury their loved ones. To Bondi’s way of thinking, they really weren’t mar ried and didn’t deserve the same treat ment under the law as a straight man and woman. And perhaps the greatest irony in all of this is how Bondi, a supposed champion of defending the sanctity of marriage, has been divorced twice. That’s irony so thick folks you need a knife to cut it. Bondi is in her final term as Florida’s attorney general as she is term limited. However, there is talk she may run for governor in the future. Let’s hope Florida voters, led by the gay community, retire this extremist from politics once and for all. She is a joke and an outright bigot. And like the questions posed to her by Anderson Cooper, she really can’t counter those labels either. • Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson continues to poll in double digits nationally. In theory, Johnson will be in the national debates if he reaches 15 percent. In reality, the debate commission, run by Democrats and Republicans, will still find a way to exclude him. Count on it. Winder resident Chris Bridges is editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournaI.com. This may be the first time I’ve ever writ ten these words, but here goes: Georgia could learn a lesson from Louisiana. On June 1, Louisiana became the first Deep South state to launch a Medicaid expansion program funded through the Affordable Care Act. That happened because of the upset victory last fall of Democrat John Bel Edwards in the gover nor’s race. Where outgoing governor Bobby Jindal denounced Obamacare and refused to expand Medicaid cover age, Edwards pledged to bring healthcare access to more low- income residents of the Pelican State. In less than three weeks since the expansion was launched, more than 200,000 people signed up for Medicaid coverage; Edwards’ goal is to attract at least 375,000 enrollees. Louisiana’s rollout is being closely watched by people in other states where Medicaid expansion has been a non starter, including Georgia. Amanda Ptashkin of Community Catalyst, a healthcare advocacy organiza tion, said many of the Louisiana enrollees signed up through limited expansion pro grams that were already in effect in several cities. Edwards’ administration also devised a way to work around the legislature’s refus al to appropriate money for the admin istrative costs of expanding Medicaid. Louisianans apply for Medicaid coverage at the same time they apply for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). “I really do believe it (coordinating with SNAP signups) would work here,” Ptashkin said. “I think the lessons learned in Louisiana certainly will resonate with the southern states.” Whether the Louisiana model is followed or not, there is more talk in Georgia these days about the possibil ity of Medicaid expansion, even if it isn’t directly connected to the Affordable Care Act. The state could customize its own version through the use of federal waivers, as other states have done. Gov. Nathan Deal and the Republican leadership of the General Assembly have refused to accept the federal funding that has been available for Medicaid expan sion since 2014. That refusal has cost Georgia nearly $9 billion and kept an esti mated 650,000 citizens from potentially getting healthcare coverage. State Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford), who chairs the senate’s health and human services committee, has been talking about the need for Georgia to bend a little so it can get some of that money. “You have to reexamine where you are because the times change, you can’t stay stagnant,” Unterman said in a public radio interview. “Everything’s on the table and we need to be open-minded.” She suggested that Georgia could follow the example of Arkansas, which imple mented a version of Medicaid expansion that required recipients to pay small pre miums for their coverage. “The consumer would have to have some skin in the game,” Unterman said. “You don’t want to give these people a handout, but if they contribute to what they’re trying to purchase or get, they have some skin in the game.” Unterman also acknowledged that the Affordable Care Act, which she has opposed for the last five years, is not likely to be repealed. “I believe some form of it is here to stay, and that’s why I am willing to look at a (federal) waiver,” she said. “The infra structure has already changed. You can’t flip back time.” One good reason for Georgia officials to consider accepting these federal funds is the precarious financial condition of many hospitals, particularly those in rural areas that treat a large number of indigent patients who can’t pay their bills. Since 2013, at least five rural hospitals have shut down because of finan cial shortfalls. The lat est one, North Georgia Medical Center in Ellijay, was in the district of House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), one of the most power ful figures in state govern ment. If the state had agreed to Medicaid expansion three years ago, that federal money would have flowed to the hospitals and might have helped keep them in operation. Ralston declined to talk about the Medicaid situation. “We are still more than six months before the 2017 session, and the speaker will be happy to chat in the future should developments warrant,” said his spokesman. While Ralston waits, thousands of Georgians continue to lack healthcare coverage and more hospitals are in dan ger of closing. It’s way past time that the political leadership started talking about this issue. Tom Crawford is editor of The Georgia Report, an internet news service at gare- port.com that reports on state govern ment and politics. He can be reached at tcrawford@gareport. com. Barrow Journal Winder, Barrow County, Ga. www.BarrowJoumal.com Mike Buffington Co-Publisher Scott Buffington Co-Publisher Chris Bridges Editor Jessica Brown Photographer Susan Treadwell Reporter Alex Pace Reporter Sharon Hogan Reporter Vickie West Ad Design Wesleigh Sagon Photographer Jessica Payne Advertising Legal Organ of Barrow County SUBSCRIPTIONS: $25.00/yr. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Barrow Journal 77 East May Street Winder, Georgia 30680 Published 52 times per year by Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Winder, Georgia 30680 (USPS 025-132) Email: news@barrowjournal.com Phone: 770-867-NEWS (6397) Fax: 706-621-4115 MEMBER: Georgia Press Association National Newspaper Association Georgia Sports Writers Association Accidents are allowed to happen When did we enter a society where acci dents can’t happen? Something terrible happens and something or someone must be held accountable for an act of nature. Orlando has had its fair share of turmoil this month with the murder of Chris tina Grimmie, the terrorist attack at the Pulse Nightclub and now the death of Lane Graves, a two-year-old who was attacked by an alligator. Though all of these are tragic events, one is not like the other. Grimmie’s murder was not an accident, and certainly the ter rorist attack that killed 49 people was not an accident. It’s easy to find blame for these crimes because the perpetrators had motives to kill. When it comes to poor Lane Graves’ death, what do we get? We get holier than thou key board warriors condemning the parents. What happened to Lane Graves can only be described as an accident. An alligator attacked him while he was at the water’s edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon near the Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World. His parents were both less than a foot away from him. When the alligator grabbed him, both parents fought to save their toddler. They desperately fought to protect their child, and their failure to do so will haunt them for the rest of their lives. It will haunt them worse than if they had done nothing. They will forever be broken and forever hating themselves for not saving their baby. But of course, it has to be their fault that this happened, right? A young family from Nebraska takes their children to the Hap piest Place on Earth for summer vacation and might not have realized that alligators are a threat. It’s obviously their fault their baby is dead because they should have known alligators are in the water. They should have known that they shouldn’t have gone in the water. It’s their fault this happened. Better yet, say it is Disney’s fault this happened. Though it was the first instance in 45 years, it’s definitely Disney’s fault. Despite posted signs saying “no swim ming’’ and despite Disney’s continued effort to capture and relocate alligators found on the property, it’s Disney’s fault. Disney has already begun constructing a fence around the lagoon to prevent another tragic accident which is a good preventa tive measure. People scream and yell “why wasn’t the fence there before?’’ It’s obvi ously Disney’s fault that a wild animal did something wild animals do. I am tired of seeing the posts and the angry comments and the rants about both the parents and Disney for this accident. The condescension is unnecessary. The holier than thou Facebook parents touting the “if that was my child, this wouldn’t have happened” or the sickening “they deserved it for being bad parents” are despicable. Where is the compassion for a grieving family who lost their son? Or in 2016 we believe that accidents are no longer a reality? There is always some thing or someone to blame for something tragic? When Barrow County resident Tripp Halstead was struck by a falling tree branch several years ago (which caused him to have life threatening injuries and brain damage) did we blame his parents for not being there? Did we blame the daycare for allowing a tree branch to fall on him? No, because it was a tragic accident as his mom has posted many times on the Tripp Halstead Updates Facebook page. It was a tragic accident and no one was at fault. Accidents are allowed to hap pen. We don’t have to come bounding in with our torches and pitchforks calling for the parents’ heads on a silver platter. The Graves family fought to save their son from a tragic act of nature. Like a light ning strike, tornado, or tsunami you can’t regulate and control nature. It is a hard concept to accept. Though we have advanced technologies and we like to think we can stop terrible things from happening, sometimes there is nothing we can do. The best thing we can do is offer love and sympathy to a griev ing family. Winder resident Jessica Brown is the staff photographer for the Barrow Jour nal. You can reach her at picsbyjessical @ gmail.com.