Newspaper Page Text
♦ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2006
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
Perdue goes after sexual
predators
In case you haven’t heard or read Gov.
Sonny Perdue launched a major initia
tive Monday against sexual predators.
The Child Safety Initiative, according to a
release from the governor’s office, “triples”
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s spe
cial agent force. To that end, spots for eight
new agents and five forensic computer spe-
cialists who
in turn col
lect technical
evidence have
been added.
Combined,
their role is
to investigate
child internet
predators and
child pornog
raphy cases.
Perdue even
delivered
the message
with a bang.
"Anyone who
would prey on
a child is a vile and disgusting human being,
he said. Today we are sending a message
to sexual predators: You will not be able
to lurk behind your computer monitor any
longer. We will find you, our courts will
convict you and our prisons will keep you
from harming otir children."
While some rriay say this is just shrewd
politics in his bid to get re-elected, we say
we don t care. It could have been delivered
by anybody and we would have celebrated
just the same.
Any measure that protects our children is
good news!
Letter to the EDfTOR
Taylor cares about us
Scott Taylor is the Democratic candidate running
against Willie Talton in November. He is a progressive
young man who cares about the education of all of our
children.
He is concerned for those in Georgia without health
insurance and thinks that our state government has a
role to improve healthcare.
Also to preserve our natural environ
ment which is the source of millions of dol
lars in tax revemies from tourists and hunters.
(Gov.) Sonny Perdue heeds to restore the millions of dol
lars he took from the Dept, of Natural Resources to cre
ate our so-called “budget surplus.”
Our forests, parks and pastures are unprotected by
state environmental inspecters because of Sonny’s theft.
Does Sonny care if out industries pollute our streams and
air and water supply? Local developers are violating state
and local ordinances with little fear of being detected.
Especially in Perry! We all need to protect our natural
resources for future generations.
Frank Gadbois, Warner Robins
Worth repeating
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“Every two years thO American politics industry fills the
airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall
character assassination of nearly every political practitio
ner in the country-arid then declares itself puzzled that
America has lost trust in its politicians...”
Krauthammer, Charles
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St. in Perry - between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday.
Today we are sending
a message to sexual
predators: You will
not be able to lurk
behind your computer
monitor any longer. We
will And you, our courts
will convict you and
our prisons will keep
you from harming our
children.
Please call me on my cell
My son has decided at the ripe
old age of 6 that he needs to be
technologically advanced.
“When can I have a cell phone?” he
asks on a regular basis.
“I don’t know - maybe when you’re
16,” I answer without much thought.
He then proceeds to tell me everyone
under the age of 16 he knows who has
a cell phone.
It doesn’t help that certain cereal
boxes advertise the chance to win a
“cell phone for you and four of your
friends!”
He has made a point to point it out
every single chance he gets. “I could
win a cell phone. See, it says right here
on the back of the Fruity Pebbles box
- win a cell phone for you and four of
your friends!”
Now buying cereal has become an
adventure in searching for boxes that
offer cheap toys on the inside rather
than techno toys on the outside, avail
able with only two proofs of purchase,
a five page questionnaire and $5.99
plus shipping and handling.
His other favorite question of late is,
“When am I going to get a television in
my room?”
“Never!” I answer automatically.
This is something my husband and I
ACCOEWSTOTOKENtW WNMCT Ktffil...
SPEECH!
Prodigal e-mail message proves necessity of prayer
Recently I had a day off work,
and with nothing to do I spent
that weekday mowing the yard
so I could take the weekend off to do
all the things I never get to do when
I’m spending my weekend mowing our
yard.
It was hot, and halfway through
the acreage, I went indoors to get a
drink of water. The telephone answer
ing machine was flashing.
The message was for my wife, from
one of our pastors, Mac. He had called
to tell her he had just found out I was
in the hospital but could find no record
of me at the hospital.
I looked out the window. Yes, I was
sure I was looking at our half-mown
yard, not a hospital parking lot.
I walked over to the mirror and
checked myself out. What I saw was
not pretty, but it was no worse than
usual. Hot, sweaty and dirty was pretty
much my usual look. I wasn’t a candi
date for the hospital. Yet.
What I did next shows just how
uncreative I am. What I should have
done was to call Mac back, cough a few
times, and tell him I had been released
by the hospital and could really use
some meals delivered to my house, and
maybe a fruit basket.
Instead, I called him and asked him
OPINION
are pretty adamant about, right up
there with body piercing and tattoos.
We already watch too much television
as a family; we certainly don’t need
another TV borrowing the time of our
children.
My parents gave both my sister and
me a television for our rooms when
we turned 16. I became very good in
high school at listening for my moth
er’s footsteps coming down the hall
towards my room.
I could hit the off button on the
remote control and look like I was
engrossed in my homework in no time.
She would look in suspiciously. I don’t
know how often I actually convinced
her that I was totally innocent, but
since I somehow managed to keep my
grades up, she couldn’t ever pin the
crime on me.
However, I also became very good at
what was going on. He said the church
had just gotten an e-mail from my wife,
asking them to put me on the prayer
list because I was in the hospital.
I told him I had been in the hospi
tal with double pneumonia - seven
months ago.
In fact, some nice people from the
church and from work had delivered
some home-cooked meals after I was
sent home last February.
Except for having e-mail that appar
ently is slower than Pony Express,
I was fine now, except for being hot,
sweaty and dirty.
Somewhere between our computer
and the church’s computer, my wife’s
e-mail had gotten sidetracked, perhaps
bouncing through the solar system,
caroming off moons and comets and
misplaced space station bolts like a
pinball before finding the way to its
intended destination.
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Sherry
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Columnist
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Glynn
Moore
Columnist
Morris News Service
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
watching late night television with the
volume turned down low, thereby set
ting a pattern for my life that I have
a hard time breaking to this day. I still
prefer to stay up late, by myself, watch
ing television or reading. Or both.
I have a hard enough time getting
my older son to go to sleep at night; I
certainly don’t need a one-eyed mon
ster in his room keeping him awake.
Plus, since he shares his room with his
little brother, who usually likes to go to
sleep earlier than big brother, & televi
sion absolutely would not work.
I don’t go into all of this logic with
his 6- year-old brain. He could prob
ably think of a 10-point dissertation on
why he disagrees. I just say, “Never,”
and leave it at that. Enough said. End
of story. Turn off the power button.
You ain’t getting a television in your
room, ever.
Finally, when he gives up on enter
ing the modern world of technology
personally, he goes outside to ride his
bike, play with the dogs, or dig in the
dirt and mud. Anything with buttons,
beeps and batteries are the farthest
things from his mind.
He comes in dirty and happy, and I
know it is still possible to raise a coun
try boy, even in the 21st century.
It just goes to show you that prayer
works, even retroactively, Mac said
with a laugh after he had determined I
was on my feet and healthy.
It’s a good thing, too, because I need
help in just about everything I do.
I firmly believe that, although I had
no direct connection with the seven
month e-mail, the simple mention of
my name in it was enough to jinx its
timely delivery.
It’s not just computers that work
against me, although they are the
worst offender.
Many years ago, I mailed a letter
that meant a great deal to me and
the intended recipient. Eleven months
later, it came back to my mailbox,
unopened and marked with a stamp
that said no such recipient existed.
Had that letter been bouncing off
moons all that time, too?
As soon as I finish typing this, I have
to go outside and mow the grass again.
Jinxes await me at every corner.
The grass might still be too wet. The
mower might not start. I could be out
of gas.
As with anything I do, it’s a guessing
game.
Pray for me.
' Reach Glynn Moore at glynn.
moore@morris.com.