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♦ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2006 4A Mtfusttm 3)mxnral 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 mmmmmmmmmmmmmslmmmsuu “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 HOW tO SUBMIT LETTERS We encourage readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 350 words and must include the writer’s name, address and telephone number. All letters printed in The Daily Journal will appear with the writer’s name and hometown - we do not publish anonymous letters. The newspaper reserves the right to edit or reject letters for reasons of grammar, punctuation, taste and brevity. Letter Writers are asked to submit no more than one letter per person per week. We cannot guarantee that a letter will be printed on a specific date. The Daily Journal prefers that letters be typed. Letters to the editor are published in the order they are received as space permits. A Journal employee will call to verify thd author of each letter. There are three ways to submit a letter to the edi tor: E-mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to The Houston Daily Journal at P.O. Box 1910, Perry, GA 31069, or drop it off at 1210 Washington 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. gs *» kJ Sherry Martin Columnist in I, i| i| Bmii ain i| * jttißk Pib. m jl k ’ 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.