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The Braselton News
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Opinion
No cokes on my head—yet
A woman in Chattooga County (Northwest Georgia) did
last week what I’m sure a lot of people would like to do to
me — the wife of that county’s lone commissioner poured
a cup of Coke over the head of a local
reporter, saying, “You deserved that.’’
The event made national news and
the Coke-pouring wife was reportedly
arrested for the assault. The reporter
left the meeting, Coke dripping from
her hair. (The incident was apparent
ly sparked by something that had been
posted on Facebook.)
I’ve never had a Coke poured on my
head, but have gotten some pretty hot
phone calls and emails from people who
didn’t like something I wrote. “Moron”
and “idiot” are two very common phras
es I get.
Fair enough. People should be able to disagree. And
I’ve been writing this editorial a very long time, so getting
fussed at isn’t new. It goes with the territory.
I consider myself an equal-opportunity critic. I don’t
care where you grew up, how many degrees you have, what
your political affiliation might be, your race and age, or
who your mama is — if you’re a public official and you
screw up, or say something really dumb, you’re fair game
for an editorial critique.
Shining a bright light on a public official or agency is
one way the public can hold their elected (and appointed)
officials accountable. It’s part of our democratic process to
make public officials defend their actions, especially when
those actions are suspect. There is a long tradition in this
country of newspapers giving voice to this process of ac
countability with investigative reporting and editorials.
One of the advantages we reporters have in this regard is
that we get to see a variety of public officials across a broad
spectrum of government agencies over a period of years.
Often, the reporter has been covering a government longer
than any of the elected officials sitting around the table.
That kind of institutional knowledge is helpful when we
write a story about a government action; it allows us to
provide context and background that would otherwise be
unavailable to the reader.
It also allows us to write editorials that go beyond what’s
on the surface, to cut through the BS and political postur
ing to get to the underlying issues at play. Nothing happens
in a vacuum and many of the issues we see have deep roots
in the past.
But there’s a cultural war in the nation today that seeks to
undermine and dismiss this kind of traditional aggressive
reporting and political commentary.
Part of that revolves around technology where social me
dia saturates people with millions of messages, often times
fake or misleading. It’s amazing how gullible people can be
when they see something on social media, no matter how
inane the posting might be. Social media postings seem to
turn on our “stupid button.” The result is that people often
believe the crazy stuff they see on social media over news
done by legitimate reporters. (The anti-vaxx movement is
a case in point; people sometimes believe false anti-vaxx
memes on Facebook over what their own doctors and ob
jective reporting tell them.)
Another aspect of that is the polarization of our political
culture where people reject anything, including facts, that
don’t fit with their preconceived narrative about the world.
We have an example of that in a letter to the editor where
the writer complains about some Fox News reporters not
being Republican enough for him. ’’Remain true to the Re-
publican-centered programming that has grown Fox into a
powerhouse,” he writes.
“Republican-centered programming?” What the hell is
that?
What this writer is really saying is that he doesn’t want
any information — news — that might challenge his prede
termined view of the world. He wants his internal political
narrative reinforced, not challenged. He doesn’t want any
viewpoints except those that he already agrees with. His
mind is made up, don’t confuse him with any pesky facts.
But facts are facts are facts. When a significant percent
age of a country reject facts and say they want only propa
ganda, that country cannot survive.
Which is where we are in the U.S. today. People of all
political stripes reject fact-based news that doesn’t con
form to their narrative. That’s true on the left and right, but
has become epidemic among some Republicans. (A recent
Monmouth University poll shows that more Republicans
believe Donald Trump is equal to, or better than, George
Washington as president. Propaganda is to blame for creat
ing that kind of irrational thinking.)
Making this even more complex is that our 24/7 news
channels, and much of what you read online, isn’t really
news, it’s commentary. That has blurred the line between
reporting and opinion such that many people can no longer
tell the difference. Facts get lost in that confusion.
• ••
All of this is very troubling. The war on traditional re
porting and fact-based news has been unrelenting since
2015. The nation has become hyper-polarized into two
very different tribes who see the same facts very differ
ently based on which bubble they live inside. Many peo
ple would rather believe lies that reinforce their own world
view rather than facts that challenge it.
There are no moderates left in our political culture. Ev
ery politician on the state and national level has to be par
tisan no matter what the issue might be. That’s because the
public has become so partisan and demand that their elect
ed officials reflect their extreme views. Democrats have to
be hyper-liberal and Republicans hyper-pro-Trump.
Which makes the U.S. little more than a large banana re
public. Throughout most of the nation’s history, our culture
of moderation, compromise and service-above-self mental
ity was the foundation of success. Extremism on the left
and right were kept to the fringes while moderates held to
the political center.
The one time that wasn’t true, in the 1860s, we were
plunged into a bloody civil war. While such a geographic
conflict is unlikely today, we are in a sense experiencing
a propaganda civil war being played out on social media
and in our legislative bodies at the state and national levels.
One of the casualties of this propaganda war has been
fact-based reporting. Media outlets that seek to do tradi
tional reporting have come under fire for not being partisan
enough. It’s insane.
• ••
It’s not clear that partisan politics had much to do with
the Coke-pouring incident in Chattooga County. That
county has long had some heated local politics (my mother
and uncle were editors of the local newspaper there in the
distant past and I lived there for a few years as a child.)
But public decorum in many of our local government
meetings has gone down hill in recent years. We’ve seen
that at some meetings this past year, especially in Hoschton
where comments from both the public and government of
ficials sometimes devolved into ugly, personal verbal at
tacks. Rezonings also tend to bring out the worst in people.
So far. nobody has tossed a Coke on my head. I guess it
could still happen since I have no plans to stop writing any
time soon. Having grown up in a newspaper family, the ink
is in my blood. Guess I’ll continue giving public officials
hell until I run out of words.
But if I piss you off and you decide to toss a Coke on my
head, mix a little Maker’s Mark bourbon in with it first.
Mike Buffington is co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspa
pers. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com
Grandkids in NYC
NEW YORK - You likely agree, if you have reached that
station in life, that grandchildren are not overrated. While,
I didn’t originate that assessment—it came from a pretty
friend Suzanne Chastain—I succumb
passionately to that notion.
You glory in their birth, you swoon
to their charming and innocent com
ments, laced with poignant, if frac
tured wisdom; their refrigerator art,
their candor, their warm hugs and
heart touching overtures of affection.
The late television personality Art
Linkletter delighted audiences for
years with his show, “Kids Say the
Darndest Things.” Do they ever with
out any censors or filters!
Although our two youngest grand
children, Sophie and Penny, have the present-day addiction
to their iPhones, there is also an enthusiastic appreciation
for books which brings about a recurring gratefulness.
They seem to have engaging curiosities. (It is difficult to
type while your thumbs are up.)
They recently were the beneficiary of an early Christmas
gift of a trip to New York City. They made a list of sites
they wanted to see in Manhattan, the usual for any tour
ist, any age—Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Saks Fifth
Avenue to see the window displays, but the attraction that
brought about the highest regard from them was the World
Trade Center Museum. Even in their pre-teen state, they
seem to have an historical bent which brings about appre
ciative Hallelujah’s from their doting grandparents.
We rode through the edge of Central Park, disembarked
our Uber chariot at Times Square for a photo op, enjoyed
a very good meal at a very good restaurant, Toscano’s, on
East 48th Street, literally a hop, skip and a jump from the
Marriott East Side, our delightful holiday home. Toscano’s
doesn’t carry a signature reputation but is the equal of
many which do.
It is cozy, a few feet below street level with white table
cloths and an ambience conducive to good feelings, good
eating and sprightly conversation with an accommodating
acoustical atmosphere — even for kids like Sophie and
Penny who especially enjoyed the tasty bread and pasta
sauce.
At their precocious ages, they are living up to their gen
der heritage. The first thing on their mind after checking
into their hotel room was to hit the streets and go shopping.
With a mother keen on connecting them via Uber app and
a grandmother with an indulgent and approving smile and
a reservoir of VISA card options, they soon were two of
the countless shoppers who come to New York each year
to Christmas shop.
With a drizzling rain which segued into intermittent
sunshine, accompanied by a winter chill, there were all
purpose boots for immediate use, a number of things to
ferry home and some on order. A grandmother’s generos
ity called for shopping fulfillment. Both grandmother and
granddaughters got their wishes.
‘ Dinner at the rebirthed “Tavern-on-the-Green” and
braving the cold to see the taping of the Today Show almost
within arm’s length of the giant Christmas tree at Rocke
feller plaza were memorable highlights, but the signature
stops on a long weekend in “The City,” were the 9-11 Me
morial and taking in the Rockettes at Radio City Music
Hall.
The production of this time-honored Christmas story
dates back to 1933 and has never become passe. This mu
sical speaks to the hearts of kids and adults. All kids’ eyes
are on the performers. All parents’ eyes are on the kids who
are exposed to a wholesome story, legendary dancers with
unsurpassed synchronizing dance routines and an inter
spersing of such animals as camels and donkeys on stage.
The Rockettes at Radio City at Christmas may just be the
“Greatest Show on Earth.” For sure that acclaim would be
endorsed by two happy kids with whom I am familiar.
There was a 3-D sleigh ride across Manhattan at the top
of the show and a Santa Claus who looked and talked like
Santa ought to. Not sure how many times I have seen this
remarkable presentation, but it dates back to the early six
ties. I give it the highest of marks since it makes you ap
preciate Santa Claus and the Christmas story, glorying in
the coming of the holiday season and seeing kids frolic in
the theatre and being subtly reminded by the preachment
that there can be peace on earth and that goodwill can be
extended to all peoples.
There is no place like New York at Christmas and there is
nothing more uplifting for a grandparent than to take their
grandkids to New York for the holidays.
Loran Smith is a UGA announcer and a columnist for
Mainstreet Newspapers.
Loran
Smith
Encourages Congress
to support health
insurance tax relief
Dear Editor: As we all know. Congress has been en
cumbered in partisanship all fall. It’s time it does the
people’s work before the end of the year. Few issues are
as wide reaching as the Health Insurance Tax (HIT)—it
ultimately raises healthcare costs for 142 million Ameri
cans and will undercut the economy, and more than half
of the cost of the entire tax is paid by working- and mid
dle-class households in the end.
But it is particularly burdensome for Georgia’s
small-business community as well. The HIT is assessed
on insurers, but it affects the 88 percent of small busi
nesses that purchase their healthcare plans through the
fully-insured marketplace.
As someone who has several small businesses, I ap
preciate the struggle many entrepreneurs face. Starting a
business often means giving up a good job and investing
your life savings, not to mention the time and emotional
energy involved. Small-business owners are the back
bone of our economy; they are the first ones in and the
last ones out every day, and they provide jobs, expand the
local tax base, and contribute to our communities.
So, we deserve unequivocal support from our elected
officials. With just a week left on the legislative calen
dar, we need our elected officials’ support to help pass
H.R.1398 and S.172, the Health Insurance Tax Relief
Act of 2019. Congress has passed similar relief mea
sures in 2015 and 2017, and it is important that it does
so ahead of the new year as businesses are planning their
own budgets.
Sincerely.
Thad Joiner
Braselton
Same old, same old - or
new day in education?
I have heard all my life that fads come and go in
life - and in education.
The current fad is to change the process for “ac
countability” in schools - and that means drastically
lowering the number of required
tests.
It is a noble idea since a recent
state law reduced the number of
required tests from (don’t use
these numbers) something like 32
to 24. I don’t remember the num
bers, but even with the change
they were far too high.
I was struck by the fads com
parison by something I read over
the weekend. A comprehensive
change was made in the early
2000s when No Child Left Behind
was passed at the federal level - at the insistence and
with the support of - a Republican president.
That put the federal stamp of approval on stan
dardized testing - what educators call “summative”
tests and derisively talk about all the pressure being
placed on the teachers and students for “one day.”
Now we (in Georgia and other states) are in the
midst of experiments - also known as “pilot” proj
ects - to redo the testing so that it is more a part of a
routine classroom experience. It is a noble goal.
These tests are “formative,” educators say. They
are given three times a year and provide near-imme
diate results so teachers can make adjustments.
One version, GMAPS, which Barrow and Jackson
counties are involved with, can adjust each question
for the students - if the kid gets a “wrong” answer,
the next question is at a lower level in difficulty until
the student gets the correct answer.
That helps the student and teacher know at what
level the student has accomplished and where he
needs to go. It is a noble goal.
One of the keys is figuring out how to use that pro
cess and layer it on an “accountability” structure that
gives a teacher a “grade” that is used in an evalua
tion.
Teacher evaluation is a separate area in education.
Teacher pay is supposed to be tied to that, eventually.
Then, principals’ pay also would be dependent, at
some point, on how their teacher’s students do on
required tests.
Getting dizzy yet? Think about the educators who
are pulled in different directions. As I said to an edu
cator last week, I thought the “common core” - a set
of standards that could be applied nationally - made
a lot of sense. The fact that the impetus and support
for those standards were driven by businesses and Re
publican governors provided political cover and made
sense.
That, of course, was before the Republican governor
of Georgia joined the crazies and attacked the “com
mon core” as a liberal notion. Brian Kemp has turned
the education standards upside down and promised to
stamp out that idea.
What might replace them has not been outlined?
Pardon that detour.
School calendars are dictated by the testing sched
ule to a certain extent. Several years ago, schools be
gan starting school in mid-summer. It is to ensure that
tests are completed in the first semester, and before the
long break at the winter time off. Students remember
more if they are tested while the material is fresh.
Some of us remember when the first semester in
school ended in mid-January. That also was before
“block scheduling” and end-of-course tests.
I’d still like to know that students are learning ba
sic knowledge and that public schools are functioning
more or less as they are intended.
Accountability is as important for students as teach
ers and educators should decide how to get there.
Ron Bridgeman is a reporter for MainStreet News
papers. Send him email to ron@mainstreetnews.com.