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♦ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2006 4A Muusimt Pa%ioumai OPINION Daniel F. Evans Editor and Publisher Julie B. Evans Vice President Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans Managing Editor Editor Emeritus Joint ops a good thing? The Vision 20/20 group brought up an interesting topic of discussion dur ing their meeting Monday: Turning the base into a joint operation - basically a commercial airport with the twist presum ably of it still being under the control of the military. On one hand, and based on the justifica tion - fill a void for businessmen and such - it sounds like a great idea. There’s money to be made, according to the group, in way of hotels, rental car agencies and commercial freight carriers. But, that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg. As we all know wher ever there’s a hotel there has to be an eat- ing establish ment, a bank and on and on it goes. It all sounds great. On the other, however, we have to play devil’s advo cate. Let’s just say “what if” there is anoth er round of base closings? And people continue to whisper there will be some day. Would hav ing a joint flightline, and airport terminal, bode well in our favor? First off, there’s the issue of what all this will do in terms of encroach ment. Second, one of the things the very first Base Realignment And Closure commission looked at hard was how easy it would be to transition the installation into a civilian counterpart. In other words, what would be the base be used for in the future? That appeared to be what was going to save Loring Air Force Base in Maine. To find where Loring used to be located, just place your finger on the map and go to the very top edge of Maine. It was about five miles from the Canadian border and there was absolutely nothing up there but moose - plenty of moose. So getting a company to take over a multi million dollar installation - an installation, by the way, that had just constructed a brand new hospital and a bunch of other facilities - seemed slim at best. So, the word on the street - as told to the installation’s commanders by some very high-ranking political officials representing the state (former Sen. George Mitchell was one) - was Loring was safe. Then another politician, who had his best interests in a base in New York at hand (and even though he/they were supposedly forbidden to turn the BRAC political) got on TV and said: “Nobody wants to live at Loring.” Which, considering the tempera tures get down to 30 below and it was right in the path of every major storm - meaning lots of snow - was true. But, that’s beside the point. The point is the area had no industry and appeared to have no future for industry thus closing it was a tough, tough decision. Contrast that to Robins AFB. If we turn it into a major airport, aren’t we just making it - a transition into a strictly civilian opera tion - easy for them (the BRAC)? Voters have lot to learn Those among us who believe that the Libertarian candidate for governor, Garret M. Hayes, is the most qualified candidate have a lot to learn. His main platform plank is the abolition of the state income tax, which sure sounds great. But that means the loss of $6 billion in tax revenues that are vital for all the services to citizens of See LETTER, page That appeared to be what was going to save Loring Air Force Base in Maine. To find where Loring used to be located, just place your finger on the map and go to the very top edge of Maine. It was located about five miles from the Canadian border and there was abso lutely nothing up there but moose - plenty of moose. Picks but not preferences This column is timely, but perhaps not wise. Living in a small town and writing about politics can be bad for your health! Nonetheless, with next Tuesday’s elections looming, here goes with one explanation: These are my predictions and not necessarily my preferences. Before I wade in, two qualifiers. Number one, I have had experience in picking winners. I was the person who opined, the first time Zell Miller ran for Governor, “he won’t be elected, he is too liberal!”. Perhaps as accurate as my Miller prediction: The Republicans, on the national level, will have a bad day on Tuesday next, but this will not be the case in Georgia. Their Georgia march to the Democratic Sea will con tinue. ■ 1. Governor: Sonny wins. It might not happen next week (he could be forced into a runoff), but ultimately he will be re-elected. If I had to “bet the farm,” I would say he squeaks through with 50 percent plus on November 7. His many Houston County friends hope so. ■ 2. Lt. Governor: Two good men in Jim Martin and Casey Cagle. Both are capable, experienced, and men of integrity. Cagle is very conservative. Martin leans to the left. Georgia voters are not rewarding liberals this year. Cagle wins. ■ 3. Congress, Bth District: I write this before President Bush’s Perry visit. rPOPS, WE'RE STUDYING NEWTONGTHREE J LAWE OF MOTION AT SCHOOL! I'll J» SET YOU CAN T QUOTE THE y— ' ITh \ol J. | W gosh, thats right: can yoq pr (GIVE AN EXAMPLE? yL ££oo6 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC N» JV' @6A?£TT£>CdM A vote for Perdue - Mary that is Dear Ms. Perdue: We haven’t met, but I feel like I know you because I have seen you on television a lot recently. I’m not sure who convinced you to do commercials for your husband’s re election campaign, but they deserve a gold star. I have been around the advertising business for 40 years, and have a little walking-around knowledge on the sub ject. Your commercials are good. Very good. Besides, it has been a treat to see some positive ads in the midst of the usual political mudslinging. Your husband’s opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark “the Big Guy” Taylor, can’t coun ter your genteel and dignified appear ance. He is on his third marriage, and bringing up that fact isn’t going to endear him with many women voters in the state. (If he did win, I am won dering if the current Mrs. Taylor would be the state’s Third Lady? Stuff like that confuses me.) By the way, The Woman Who Shares My Name didn’t know much about you either, because you have been a low-profile First Lady, but she took an instant liking to you after seeing your ads. You should be honored. She doesn’t take an instant liking to many things, including my drinking milk out of the bottle, people who don’t turn their headlights on in the rain and just about anything having to do with politics. I don’t want to alarm you, but your television spots are so effective and you come across so well in them, you might have some folks voting for you instead OPINION Larry Walker Columnist lwalker@whgb-law.com What effect will this have? Remember Roosevelt’s attempt to defeat Georgia’s Senator Walter George? I say it will be Marshall over Collins, in a squeaker, although I wouldn’t “bet the farm” on this pick. ■ 4. Commissioner of Agriculture: Lots of local interest. If just those in agriculture circles (farmers, agri-busi ness, etc.) were voting, Black would win. Of course, this is not the case - 90 percent of the voters won’t know anything about either except that Irvin will have the (I) for incumbent by his name and “haven’t I heard Irvin’s name, before”? Tommy Irvin is elected to his final term. ■ 5. Attorney General: Thurbert Baker, a good man, waxes Perry McGuire. ■ 6. Secretary of State: I will deviate and express a preference. Karen Handel defeats Gail Buckner (with whom I served in the General Assembly). At least, I certainly hope Handel wins. ■ 7. Supreme Court: Carol Hunstein, a capable and conscientious incumbent Dick Yarbrough Columnist yarb24oo@bellsouth.net of your husband. There are those among us who believe that in some cases we may elect the wrong spouse to public office. For example, if Barbara Bush had been president instead of George H.W. Bush, there is no question she would have finished the job in Iraq the first time around and not left such a mess for her son. No head of a country with half a lick of sense including that little weasel in Iran would have messed with Barbara, and today we might have Peace on Earth instead of a bunch of little satraps threatening us all the time. The same holds true for Laura Bush. I’ll bet that if we had elected her 4 president, she would have charmed the Democrats and the Republicans into passing all the legislation George W. can’t get passed. Who could say “no” to Laura Bush? Plus, being a former teacher and school librarian, she has a good com mand of the English language and wouldn’t get things as balled up as the president does to the point that we aren’t always sure what he’s talk ing about. And she has a nice, genuine m* * 15 W “FOR EVERY ACTION THERE'S AN % EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION!”! m S /.\eERAL JUSTICES IN NEW JERSEY WILL] HELP GET CONSERVATIVE \toTERSTOTHE i V POLLS IN COLORADO AND __ tSEVEN OTHER STATES HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL judge, wins big over her opponent. What’s his name? You see his prob lem. ■ 8. State Representative, 146th District: Larry O’Neal wins big. A big majority of voters feel that Houston County needs this Larry in Atlanta. ■ 9. State Representative, 147th District: It’s Johnny Floyd in a land slide against his phantom opponent. ■ 10. Houston County Commissioner: Pro-development or impact fees? Pro development wins. I like that Walker named - “Jay” Walker, that is. Let’s see. I picked six Republicans and three Democrats (the Supreme Court Judge’s race is non-partisan). But three of the Republicans used io be Democrats. Does that count? Before you answer, let me acknowledge that there were winning reasons for the switches and the switchers. The most difficult two to pick? The Marshall-Collins Congressional race and the Irvin-Black Agriculture Commissioner contest. Picking any Democrat in a Georgia state-wide race is risky. Either of these could go the other way, and expect the winner in both to have a thin margin. In seeing how I did, after November 7, I will use Daddy’s evaluating standards just like he used to do to my report cards. Ten or nine - excellent. Eight gets me by. Seven is barely acceptable. Less than seven, who will administer the corporal punishment? smile, not that little smirk that makes her husband look like he knows some thing we don’t know but isn’t going to tell us. I don’t think either you or your husband want that to happen here in Georgia. You’ve got a lot better things to do with your time than to be governor, and he seems to enjoy the job. But you do need to tell him to be careful about his recent land purchas es. Frankly, they just don’t pass the smell test with a lot of rank-and-file Georgians. I have had people who have strongly supported him in the past tell me that he is beginning to act like the Democrats he replaced and that they are disappointed in him. That is a shame, because he is a good and decent man, but the land deals make him look like someone who is using his high office for personal gain. Either he is getting bad advice, or he refuses to heed good advice. I’ll bet he’ll listen to you. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that your commercials are dynamite, and you are a terrific asset to your hus band’s campaign. I am always bragging about the things that make Georgia such a great state: Majestic moun tains, beautiful beaches, nice people and Vidalia onions, just to name a few. After watching you on television over the past few weeks, I am adding Georgia’s First Lady to that list. Sincerely, Dick Yarbrough You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb24ooo@bellsouth.net, EO. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or Web site: www.dickyarbrough.com. IS