Newspaper Page Text
4A
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2006
Jiuu&ian ©uilti Sourtuil
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Save the trees
U T think that I shall never see a poem
I as lovely as a tree.”
That well-known line from a Joyce
Kilmer poem died with progress.
Rare - make that almost non-existent - is
the developer who looks out over the land
scape of what will soon be his or her latest
and greatest housing development and sees
anything but flat.
We build gas stations. We bulldoze the
land flat first. We build hotels. We bulldoze
the land flat first. We build business after
business after business - an all too common
sight in Houston County these days - and
each and every time, we bulldoze the land
first.
Years and
years ago
we blazed
America
by “going
around.” Look
at our vast
network of
roads. Unless
you’re on an
interstate, you
can’t get from
point A to
point B with
out first wind-
ing through a serpentine world.
Today, however, we see straight. And we
plow straight - right over oaks and maples
and birch and more. We destroy trees that
have more rings than we’ve had presidents.
Then we go out to wherever and whatever
store and bring in more trees - all the same
kind, all the same size ... which is “small.”
They could be enjoying shade now. They
could be saving energy now. But, oh well, we
must make sure our little utopia is all the
same. It doesn’t make sense. Bulldozers can
go left and/or right. We’ve popularized the
catchphrase “think outside of the box.”
Well, wouldn’t it be nice for someone to
look out across a landscape and have the
vision to see around things and do just
that?
Letter to toe Editor
Other issues trump Foley
As important as the Mark Foley affair is, there are for
more important issues which need to be addressed by our
Congressional representatives. One is the looming crisis
in Social Security.
Section 201 (a) of the 1935 Act created an “Old Age
Reserve Account” in the Treasury (changed by the
1939 Amendment to Trust Accounts) and provides for
Congress to appropriate an amount sufficient to provide
payments required under this title.
Also, part (b) directs the Secretary of the Treasury
to invest such portion of the amounts “credited” to
the account not needed for the annual disbursement of
checks. The invested funds must be in interest-bearing
obligations of the United States or in obligations guar
anteed as to both principal and interest by the United
States and must be secured at “the market price.”
However, part (c) of the 1935 law authorizes a, “special
obligations issued exclusively to the Account” which is
a non-marketable obligation instrument issued by the
Treasury to the Social Security Trust Funds in exchange
for Trust money.
There is no “Trust Fund” money balance! The Social
Security Administration only has appropriated funds
from Congress for current payments and operations and
cannot touch the Trust funds for entitlements or for
investments. Why? Because all excess taxes received are
spent by Congress using Part (c) for authority!
Is this deceit legal? The answer is yes. The Supreme
Court made an interesting comment in the decision of the
Helvering v Davis case on 24 May 1937. The court decided
that Title Two of the Social security Act establishing “spe
cial accounts” outside the Treasury was Constitutional
and commented in part - “It creates an “Old-Age Reserve
Account” in the Treasury and authorizes future appro
priations to provide for the required old-age payments,
but, in itself, neither appropriates money nor brings
money into the Treasury.” This part not only legalized
the Social Security concept; the Decision left the matter
of tax administration to Congress via Part (c).
Now, the question is why did the Supreme Court decide
to allow Congress to spend the Social Security taxes
instead requiring the taxes to be invested in obligations
guaranteed by the United States government at “market
prices” according to Part (b)?
The Court addressed this point by acknowledging that
the Social Security tax is simply an income tax (a flat tax
if you will) and the “employer contribution” is nothing
more than a business excise tax based on payroll costs.
See LETTER, page $A
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Year* and years ago
we blazed America by
"going around." Look
at our vast network of
roads. Unless you’re on
an Interstate, you can’t
get from point A to point
B without first winding
through a serpentine
world.
Should we promote failing students?
It didn’t happen in Houston County,
but I have been hearing a lot of talk
about the fact that the Bibb County
public schools promoted 462 eighth
grade students who failed the CRCT
test twice into high school.
Logically students who do not pass
the test after two tries should be
required to repeat the grade.
But, as I pointed out in a recent col
umn, there are two exceptions, which
turns the state requirement into a
farce.
Either teachers or parents can say
that a student really has what it takes
to be promoted to the next grade.
Apparently, every one of those in Bibb
County who were unable to pass the
CRCT test have been beneficiaries of
the exceptions.
There are two schools of thought on
the subject requiring students to repeat
a grade. Advocates of this process insist
that students who are unprepared for
promotion will fall behind and stay
behind as long as they are in school.
Critics of such a policy claim that
making students repeat a grade is non
productive and can result in most of
them dropping out of school.
These conflicting views are at the
root of the issue.
There’s no doubt that older children,
held back in grade, may not fit into a
class of younger students. His or her
presence could be disruptive for other
students. But at the same time this
older student will learn skills needed
to advance in school in a productive
manner.
Promoting students who obviously
are unqualified for promotion puts
"I'm glad all the candidates want to cut taxes. What worries
me is how many different kinds of taxes there are to cut!"
1 xM> K>^ y yJ
Curing the dogs - dress for success
Vanderbilt University was invit
ed to join the Southeastern
Conference (SEC) in 1932 for
one reason and one reason only: To
serve as a Homecoming patsy for the
real football schools.
And for the last 74 years, the
Commodores have served that admi
rable purpose ably, becoming the SEC’s
own Washington Generals in terms of
Homecoming bait.
But every once in a while, the law
of averages, or perhaps voodoo, steps
in, and the Commodores spoil an SEC
Homecoming with a gridiron upset.
Such was the case last Saturday in
Athens, as the ‘Dores topped the
Georgia Bulldogs, 24-22, in Athens.
This loss, coupled with the Dogs’
defeat the week prior to Tennessee,
has the Bulldog Nation in a state of
hysterical tizzy not seen since the days
of, well, their last Homecoming loss to
Vanderbilt, in 1994.
On the popular DawgVent, and other
Internet message boards devoted to
following Georgia football, the Bulldog
faithful, or faithless, are calling for
all sorts of drastic changes: “Fire the
defensive coordinator!”; “Run the ball
more!”; “Pass the ball more!”; “Bench
the quarterback!”; Bench the head
coach!:” “Drink more pickle juice!;” and
“IMHO, CMR GATA, ROTFLMAO,”
which is Internet acronymic jargon
for... something.
As a UGA grad and a follower of the
game myself, I don’t think anything
drastic, like drinking more pickle juice,
OPINION
them at a disadvantage. They are
unprepared for subjects they are tak
ing. They will have to struggle every
step of the way. And how many young
people are capable of dealing with
this?
I am having a front row seat observ
ing how much young people are expect
ed to learn early. I have seen what first
graders are doing and what they are
learning and I am impressed.
Without support as well as encour
agement at home I do not know how
students, especially in the early grades,
can keep up.
Unfortunately, there are about as
many one-parent households as those
with a father and mother.
Of course, there are grandparents
who are caring for hundreds of young
children in their homes in Houston
County and providing the support they
need.
But what about the single family
homes? Usually, of course, the one par
ent is a mother. Most of them need to
work. They do not have much time to
devote to helping their children with
school work, though some of them per
form remarkably in this role.
If students are learning at a pace
far faster than when I was young they
is the elixir for Bulldog gridiron suc
cess this season. Methinks the solution
is more simple, more superficial.
What, for instance, do Vince
Lombardi, Bear Bryant, George Halas,
and Tom Landry all have in common?
All legendary football coaches, right?
You betcha.
But they also had something else
in common. On the sidelines, they
dressed for success. They wore suits,
and ties, and hats, like Bear Bryant’s
famous hound’s tooth hat.
Have you seen what pro and col
lege football coaches wear today?
Sweatshirts and gaudy polyester “golf
shirts” made by an athletic apparel
company.
If they wear a hat, it’s of the baseball
variety or a visor, not a chic chapeau
culled from the teeth of a hound.
So, my recommendation, since every
one seems to have one, is that Georgia
head coach Mark Richt improve his
manner of fashion, and his team will
improve their manner of play.
Science has proven that men are
more likely to take orders and accept
criticism from a gentleman in a crisp,
§V| ■ •-.*§
Foy
Evans
Columnist
loyevansl9@cox net
isoL -
Len
Robbins
Columnist
airpub@planttel.net
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
have to keep up with homework and
reading and arithmetic on a daily basis.
From my observation, it would be easy
to get behind and never catch up.
What to do about the students who
fall into the category of those who do
not learn enough to pass the CRCT
tests is a challenge that still has not
been answered.
Promote them? Hold them back?
Create separate classes for those who
cannot keep up and do not hold hack
other students.
Teachers in regular classrooms do
not need to devote an inordinately
amount of time to one or a few stu
dents who are unprepared to deal with
a grade.
I think about something a grand
mother told me.
She enrolled her grandson for swim
ming lessons. Five children were in the
swimming class. Unfortunately, one of
the children was a crybaby and should
have been kept home, instead of being
turned over to the swimming instruc
tor.
So what happened? For six lessons
the instructor had to spend so much
time baby sitting the crying child that
the other children did not learn to
swim.
I think of that when I consider
unprepared students in the classroom
with others who are moving ahead.
Will the unprepared student monopo
lize a teacher’s time at the expense of
others?
It is an interesting subject, certainly
one that will receive more study and
attention as the number of students
who fail one of the CRCT tests grows.
tailored suit than a chump wearing
a Nike mock turtleneck (which also
doubles as a dentist’s uniform).
My suggested fashion makeover for
Coach Richt would include the follow
ing:
■ First, put on a tie. Go with some
thing red and black. I’m sure he can
find one somewhere in Athens.
■ Secondly, instead of going with a
suit, let’s try a black sports jacket with
some silver britches, perhaps jodhpurs.
A basic white dress shirt completes the
ensemble.
■ Now, we need a hat. Fedoras have
been done by football coaches, as have
cowboy hats. I suggest a tall, black top
hat, with a red band around the bot
tom.
■ Cap off the look with a monocle.
Nothing spells leadership like a mon
ocle, as followers of Colonel Klink and
Charlie McCarthy can attest.
Such sartorial splendor is bound to
elicit respect, or, at least, attention,
from the players - and opponents’ fans
as well.
Dressed in such dashing refinement,
a football coach could utter “Boy, you
ain’t hustlin’ as hard as a tree,” and
still sound Cary Grant suave.
Or, if Coach Richt doesn’t like the
top hat/monocle/Mr. Peanut look, he
can try a pirate motif with a patch on
his eye and a parrot on his shoulder. He
can teach the parrot to say things like
“Fumble, and ye will walk the plank.”
Hey, we lost to Vandy. It’s worth a
try.