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•THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2006 4A Mmtstmt flatly OPINION Daniel F. Evans Editor and Publisher Julie B. Evans Vice President Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans Managing Editor Editor Emeritus Voters head to the polls uninformed Georgians will go to the polls next Tuesday fully “uninformed.” We mean that. They will have very little information on the qualifications of candidates and even less information on what they will do if elected. This is an unfortunate side effect of the kind of campaigning, which has come to dominate political races from the state level to the White House. Georgians, including us here in Houston County, have been bombarded with millions of dollars worth of television advertising designed to destroy can didates’ oppo nents while telling us very little about themselves. Disgusted voters are expressing their feelings and many are saying that they will stay home. They say that what we need is posi tive advertising from the candidates. Pollsters call the shots in political cam paigns and they know that selling candi dates with positive advertising can be a losing proposition. The very people who say that they are turned off by the negative advertising are the same people who go to the polls and respond to the advertising. Pollsters, who call the shots in most cam paigns, have proof that negative, often false advertising gets results and this is the way tfo win elections. It is a reflection on all of us that we can be manipulated this way. Wouldn’t it be refreshing for all politi cal campaigns to stick to honest, positive advertising? We would actually know some thing about the candidates and their goals if elected. It won’t happen, unfortunately. Each election cycle brings more deplorable attack advertising. As long as this kind of advertising pays off we can expect more of it. Truth in advertising is commendable. We have government agencies that work to make sure that advertising by businesses adhere to the truth as much as possible. Unfortunately, there is no one monitoring political advertising and protecting voters. A few voters will go to the trouble of learn ing more about the candidates. They will reject advertising that is patently false. But they are a minority. Most of the voters who go to the polls next Tuesday will vote based on misinformation, or no information, and there is nothing we can do about it. Letter to the Emtor How do we protect our neighborhoods l As the seasons begin to change, leaves begin to fall, change is in the air. In Houston County, the campaign for county commis sioner post 2 is about vital issues that will determine whether we shall continue to tax all citizens to ensure the fattening of developers’ bankrolls. It is about whether we will continue to permit spot zoning and the hodge-podge annexations by our cit ies that permit commercial enterprises and high density sub-divisions to encroach upon quiet, secure neighborhoods. Our families need community parks to provide recreational facilities for themselves. Maurice Braswell understands these challenges. We must decide whether we will continue to allow devel opment of our unique and vital natural environment. One example is the proposed destruction of some 24,000 acres of Oaky Woods that is home to plants not found elsewhere and is a home to middle Georgia s black bear. The probability is that the wetlands there will be silted over as is the case in much of Houston County as development runs amok. Braswell will help to implement a property tax freeze in See LETTER, page *4 Disgusted voters are expressing their feelings and many are saying that they will stay home. They say that what we need is positive advertising from the candidates. Seeing the President is a rare treat Seeing a sitting President of the United States in person is some thing special, and thousands anx ious to take this opportunity showed up in Perry Tuesday. It could be the only opportunity some of them would ever have and they came from all over Middle Georgia to hear President Bush. There is a certain aura about the presidency, even in times like these when many Americans are not giving this position the respect it deserves. Hatred for George Bush has made the presidency a target for slander and dis respect that would have been unheard of a generation ago. When I was growing up everyone looked up to the President. Not every one voted for him, but the office was given respect and admiration. Almost every boy wanted to grow up to be President. I remember my father telling me that it was pos sible for me or any of my friends to grow up to be President someday. I didn’t. But a few miles away from my home there was a young boy growing up on a farm who someday would become President. He was Jimmy Carter from Plains. I didn’t know him. He was five years younger than me. My baby sister went to school with him. His cousin Don was one of my best friends and was one of two people who inspired me "Golly, I didn't know there was going to be a test!" At least it wasn't a 'Bangkok Wedgie’ Amid all the political headlines of late, I found delightful refuge in the following offering: “Principal Suspended For Giving Kid A Wedgie.” I was not disappointed. According to the Associated Press story, Park High School (Livingston, Montana) principal Eric Messerli was suspended for two days without pay and four days with pay for “grabbing a Park High senior’s soccer jersey and pulling it over his head and giving the student a ‘wedgie’ by pulling up on the waist band of his underwear.” Witnesses of the wedgie say Messerli’s actions were done in an effort to “joke around” with the student. The incident apparently caused quite a stir in the community, as Messerli cried as he read a statement to the board and public. “I’ve made mistakes in my life, but none have had the impact that this one has had,” he is quoted as saying. Must not be much trouble to be had up in Montana. I consider myself something of an expert on wedgies, having been on the receiving end of literally thousands while growing up as the shortest, skin niest, most smart-alecky kid in my class, school, neighborhood, county, and state, for roughly a decade (ages 4-14). That said, I think these folks are r,’ * * i Foy Evans Columnist foyevansl9@cox net to enter the newspaper business. I have had an opportunity to see three previous Presidents. Lyndon Johnson landed at Robins AFB and rode in an open convertible up Highway 247 to Macon. I was among the hundreds who lined the highway to see him. Thirty-four years ago this month I had the rare opportunity to attend a reception at the White House with several other small town newspaper editors. Richard Nixon was President. When I was introduced to President Nixon he recognized the name “Warner Robins.” At the time there were rumors that the base here would be closed or cut back substantially. President Nixon mentioned this to me and said, “You can go back to Warner Robins and write in your news paper that your base is safe and it will not be closed.” I flew home that night and wrote a column for The Daily Sun the next day delivering that message. He gave each of us a set of cufflinks with the seal of the President of the United States on them. I have passed overdoing it a bit. Yeah, I know he was the principal, but all he gave the kid was a simple “Blind Wedgie.” It’s relatively harm less in the world of wedgies. I mean, he could have given the kid a hundred different types of wedgies that would have made the victim cry, not the per petrator. For instance, there’s the “Jock Lock Wedgie.” With the “Jock Lock Wedgie,” a regular wedgie is given, then the legs of the victim are pulled back to touch their buttocks (Helpful hint: This is best performed if the victim is lying down). The perpetrator then wraps the underwear around the ankles, creating a constant wedgie. Or there’s the “Egg Wedgie.” First, place an egg in the underwear. Then the victim is wedgied until the egg is cracked (Note: It may take a while). Then, there’s the hideously simple '' v - w /lv -< Jr MJ ... _ Len Robbins Columnist airpub@planttel.net HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL them along to my son and I hope he will pass them on to his. That evening we stood on Pennsylvania Avenue trying to wave down a cab to get to the airport. We never gave a thought to it being unsafe. Today a white man and woman stand ing there late at night alone should fear for their lives. I have been there since then and know how dangerous that area is. I have had many opportunities to talk with former President Jimmy Carter. He was featured speaker at the Georgia Press Association annual convention when I was president of the organization. During his presidency he came to Warner Robins for a speech. I was mayor at the time. I remember the Secret Service swooping down on our city hall and commandeering it, treat ing all of us as if each of us was a threat to the President’s life. All of us at city hall were glad to see them leave and made a wish that they would not return. Our country has had only 43 presi dents. That is an elite club. Seeing one of them in person is a special treat. Having an opportunity to talk with one is icing on the cake. I’m sure that the thousands who waited for hours and endured consider able inconvenience Tuesday will agree that it was worth the effort. “Bangkok Wedgie,” which is accom plished by performing a regular wed gie, then kicking the victim in the groin. Ouch. I was once the victim of a “Hanging Wedgie,” where I was wedgied and my underwear hung on a utility pole spike, leaving my puny body dangling in agony. It took two kids to deliver the “Hanging Wedgie.” For some reason, they were miffed after I urinated on them as they climbed up the ladder to a tree house. While the wedgie as punishment did work in that case (I haven’t urinated on anyone, other than myself, since), I have not found it to be an effective disciplinary tool with my children. I tried it with my daughter once, to punish her for some minor indis cretion. She seemed unfazed. Twenty minutes later, she was pulling on my sleeve, “Daddy, can you give me a wed gie again? That was fun.” She kept pestering me until I gave her a “Melvin,” which is a wedgie from the front. I have since switched to “Indian Burns” and “Noogies” to punish my children. I would suggest the same for parents, and principals, everywhere. I have found them highly effective.