Newspaper Page Text
4A
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2006
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Winning is everything
The general election is a few weeks
away. Campaigns are getting dirtier
by the day.
Soon we will be hearing the same thing
people say as each election on the state or
national level approaches: “I don’t want to
vote for either candidate. We don’t have a
real choice.”
Listen to people talk and they will tell you
that they are turned off by the attack ads
which, give the impression that all candi
dates are scoundrels, unworthy of serving
us in high office.
We should know better than to believe
these ads.
But we
apparently
don’t know
better. We lis
ten to them
and we begin
having doubts
about all the
candidates.
Voters say they believe such ads should not
be permitted. They say they want ads that
discuss the issues. Ads that are positive.
Tell us all the good things you can about the
candidates and we will yawn.
Political pollsters, as well as the candi
dates, know from experience that positive
ads are almost a waste of money.
Attack ads get the attention of voters. They
do the job for which they are prepared.
The candidate with the most money to
spend on these ads has a big upper hand on
his opponent and usually wins the election.
Perhaps that is an indictment of all of us.
But that is the way it is.
When candidates spend money on adver
tising they do so to influence voters. They
are not interested in hearing how nice they
were. All that counts is results.
The purpose of running for political office
is to win. Praise for running a “clean” cam
paign will get a candidate nowhere. Getting
the most votes at the polls is what counts.
Political campaign managers and consul
tants know what brings votes to the polling
place. They know that more people vote
“against” than vote “for”.
Because of these facts we can expect more
ads that we consider revolting, but they are
the kind of ads that win elections.
And, in the world of politics, winning is
everything.
Letter to the Editor
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Complaints appalling
I am writing because I am appalled at the recent
complaints by GOP and Democratic Senators regard
ing the interrogation techniques used on Iraqi/Al Qaida
prisoners. They have no argument, in my opinion.
Our country lost almost 3,000 American Citizens on 9/11.
We have lost almost that many Soldiers in the War on
Terror. Yet, our intelligence, whom interrogate these mon
sters only to protect our citizens from any future attacks,
are now being told that their methods (such as sleep
deprivation) are too harsh. Have these representatives
watched the videos, released by the A 1 Qaida militants,
showing our troops and journalists being beheaded?! Do
these representatives think that once we “civilize” our
treatment of these prisoners that they will think better of
America?! These prisoners don’t care how we treat them,
good or bad, they think of us as infidels and wouldn’t think
twice of bombing us again if they had another chance.
What in the world are these Senators thinking, or are
they?
Kellie Day, Fort Valley
Informing the readers
Mac Collins is running single issue TV ads opposing
the “Death Tax.” Could you enlighten your readers on
this issue.
If it were a real “death tax” surely all of us would pay
the tax when we die. The death tax is really the “estate
tax.” Only estates worth more than $2 million pay the
estate tax. The Federal credit card is maxed out at $9
trillion and we are three years into the war in Iraq. This
is not the time to give tax breaks to the children of mil
lionaires. Two and a half million people died last year but
only 30,000 paid any estate taxes. What ever happened to
fiscal responsibility?
Bill Goggin, Warner Robins
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
But we apparently don't
know better. We listen
to them and we begin
having doubts about all
the candidates.
Mayor wants to reduce the 'fat'
The mayor of New York City is tak
ing another major step toward
making everyone in his huge city
healthy, whether they want it or not.
Mayor Bloomberg made New York
the first city in this country to outlaw
smoking in restaurants. It caught on
and spread across the country.
Now he wants to prevent restau
rants and other places that sell cooked
food from using trans fats, the gummy
substance that makes many fried foods
taste so good but have the unhealthy
habit of sticking to the walls of arteries
and causing heart problems.
Trans fats are not absolutely essen
tial for cooking. They make foods taste
better, though. You find them in cook
ies and French fries and other items
intended for longer shelf life. French
fries, according to cooks, just taste bet
ter when cooked in trans fat grease.
So much for taste.
Bloomberg is going for the big
score and he may be onto something.
Considering the success he had with
smoking in restaurants I imagine his
war against the use of trans fats will be
successful in New York and eventually
will spread across the country.
We didn’t have trans fats, such as
margarine and other synthetic cooking
oils, when I was growing up.
As a matter of fact, we did not have
fast food drive-through restaurants
when I was a boy.
We ate at home. Three meals a day,
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We must prevail in war on terror
Just over three weeks ago families
gathered at the site of the World
Trade Center clutching photo
graphs close to their hearts and blow
ing kisses to the sky. Tearful loved ones
of the September 11, 2001 victims of
the terrorist attacks recited the names
of those who lost their lives in a litany
that took three and one half hours.
Similar events were held at
the Pentagon and on a windswept
Pennsylvania field where others died
in the worst terrorist act carried out on
United States soil. If not for the heroes
on United Flight 93 that painful morn
ing, the U.S. Capitol or White House
could have been hit as well.
Pres. George Bush laid a wreath
in the Shanksville, PA. field where
the plane was forced down by young
Todd Beamer and other heroes who
answered his call to “let’s roll.” The
president greeted relatives of those
killed there, and afterwards he and
the first lady bowed their heads for a
prayer and the singing of “Amazing
Grace.”
After visiting Shanksville, the presi
dent and first lady placed a wreath
near a plaque on the outside of the
Pentagon where Flight 77 claimed 184
lives. Pres. Bush was teary eyed as he
greeted family members of the victims
and as he embraced them saying “God
bless you.”
The president ate breakfast with New
York fire fighters on Monday of the cer
emonies, and had walked ground zero a
day earlier laying wreaths in reflecting
pools that symbolized the north and
OPINION
Foy . HLJK;
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net HIL „ ™
cooked by our mothers.
I never ate a meal in a restau
rant until I left home, after finishing
college, for my first full time job in
Macon. It was there that I learned that
there was such a thing as steak that
had not been ground up or beaten to
a pulp. It was there that I discovered
Len Berg’s, which was run by the man
himself, where you could buy a steak
dinner for 49 cents.
The cooking ingredient that made so
much home cooking taste so good was
lard, which was retired in disgrace by
most cooks generations ago, replacing
it with trans fats, which it turned out
are not so healthy, either.
The best tasting food, believe me, is
not necessarily the best for you. That is
something everyone knows.
When I was a boy we were told that
we were what we ate. We seldom had
a piece of candy or store bought cook
ies. I haven’t heard that saying about
“you are what you eat” for a long time,
though it certainly is true.
—..." * =1 C
Tribble "jjffc
Columnist
Trib Publications
south towers.
Monday night of the five year anni
versary, the president made a speech
from the Oval Office saying that the
war against terrorism was a struggle
for civilization that required a deter
mined effort by a unified country. “We
are fighting to maintain the way of life
enjoyed by free nations,” he said.
No doubt our nation came under
attack by enemies of freedom on
September 11, 2001. But the terror
ists underestimated the response our
nation would take to their cowardly
attacks. Over the past five years our
country has taken the fight to the ter
rorists on their soil in Afghanistan and
Iraq so we hopefully will never have to
witness another act such as we did on
September 11, 2001 in our nation.
As we look back five years ago to the
horrible attacks on the World Trade
Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93, we
need to remember these were not the
first acts of terror committed against
our nation and our people.
We did not think much about terror
ist when Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian
Muslin, shot and killed Robert F.
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
We are being warned that obesity is
one of the greatest dangers facing our
nation today. Obesity comes from (1)
eating too much of the wrong foods and
(2) inactivity. We have become a nation
guilty of both sins.
One question raised by Bloomberg’s
campaign against unhealthy food is
when should people be responsible for
their own well being? When is it the
duty of government to think for us?
The decision, apparently, was made
when smoking was banned in restau
rants.
Or was it?
For one thing, it has been pointed
out that smoking affects people other
than the ones smoking, which is true.
Second hand smoke is dangerous and I
can testify to that.
On the other hand, it has been point
ed out that eating cookies or dough
nuts or French fries or any food cooked
in trans fats affects only the person
eating them. It does not affect or harm
others.
So this really is Big Brother intrud
ing just one bit further into our lives.
If we won’t take care of our health,
then Big Brother will protect us from
ourselves.
It will be interesting to see how this
new campaign works out. I believe
that it will spread. Then I will hold my
breath until the next way to protect me
from myself will come along.
I wonder what it will be.
“Bobby” Kennedy on June 5, 1968
in Los Angeles in the middle of the
Presidential Campaign. It is not clear
whether he acted alone or was setting
the pace for things to come.
Let’s look further, at history in
regards to radical Muslims who have
attacked America or our people.
■ The United States Embassy in Iran
was taken over by Muslim extremists
in 1979.
■ During the 1980’s a number of
Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon
by Muslim extremist.
■ Muslim extremists attacked and
blew up a U.S. Marine barracks in
Beirut in 1983 killing 241 American
servicemen. It was the highest single
day death toll for the U.S. Marine
Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima and
remains the deadliest post World War
II attack on Americans overseas.
The list goes on; 1985 the Achille
Lauro, 1985 TWA Flight 847, 1988
Pan Am Flight 103, 1993 the first
World Trade Center bombing attempt,
1998 the bombing of U.S. embassies in
Kenya and Tanzania, and others that
didn’t involve Americans. Not much
doubt that radical Muslims do not like
this great country and the freedoms we
stand for.
At this point whether the war in Iraq
is right or wrong doesn’t really mat
ter. We must do something to fight the
terrorist and it is certainly better to
fight them on their own soil. We must
not retreat in the face of adversity. We
must prevail in the war on terror.