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4A ♦ FRIDAY/SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10-11, 2006 Houston iEUul|j OPINION Daniel F. Evans Editor and Publisher Julie B. Evans Vice President Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans Managing Editor Editor Emeritus GOP election fallout OK Republicans. You thought losingcon trol of the House of Representatives was bad. You thought losing control of the Senate was unfathomable. And then there was Wednesday’s fallout - Democrats would say in disgrace - of Donald Rumsfeld being replaced by CIA Chief Robert Gates. You/we (as we have our fair share of Republicans in our midst) are still reel ing from the repercussions. Well, just be glad you/we don’t live in rural Alaska. (Or, we sup pose given your/our state of mood you could wish you did.) There, in Anchorage, it’s reported that a dead woman won re-election to a school board. Katherine Dunton died of cancer (unfor- tunately) before the election but still won when her opponent, Dona Highstone called “heads” in a tiebreaker and it landed on “tails.” And to think Mac Collins and some others made this look hard ... Or, just imagine you were a voter in Missouri. You go to the polls, exercise your American right faithfully out of good con scious and with confidence in the system only to find out you’ve been duped. That is if you voted for Amendment 2. Reportedly, some crafty wording made this offering appear to be a vote against human cloning when in fact a vote against was a vote for. You think our president has had it rough. Pretty soon their politicians will have twice as much trouble - literally. Our apologies for the inappropriate humor because you can bet nobody in Missouri is finding it funny and rightfully so. This kind of tampering/deceit in our system is an outrage. We have enough trouble trying to defend its integrity as it is, let alone having some sleazy lobbyists - armed with a sneaky lawyer - give it yet another black eye. Alas, at least - regardless of which side, Republican or Democrat, you reside - there was some good news for us all. Seven states, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin all voted to amend their state constitutions to protect marriage as the union between a man and a woman - with Arizona’s amendment still awaiting a final outcome as of Wednesday. Can't fight the feeling Flashback to Nov. 1. Our children began asking for Christmas gifts. Of course they did so through mouths/teeth filled with Halloween candy, but asking nonetheless. Advertisers around the world helped kick start this process - a rush faster than sugar - and here we are. We can talk about how many worry it will make people forget the real “reason for the season” at a later date but for now, we can turn our radios over to 96.5 and get a full holiday plate of Christmas songs. . Send your Letters to the Editor to: The Houston Home Journal P.O. Box 1910 • Perry, Ga 31069 or Email: hhj@evansnewspapers.com Our apologies for the inappropriate humor because you can bet nobody in Missouri is finding it funny and rightfully so. This kind of tampering/deceit in our system is an outrage. We have enough trouble trying to defend its integrity as it is r let alone having some sleazy lobbyists - armed with a sneaky lawyer - give it yet another black eye. Dawgs, friends, death and politics How ‘Bout Them Dawgs? Yeah, how about them? In a season that started with so much promise, it’s reallv degenerated, hasn’t it? What’s wrong in Athens? And, how much does it really matter? Let’s see, that’s four questions in a row. Just like with the football team, lots of questions. My take: 1) Little senior leadership: 2) Inexperienced quarter backs; 3) Weak offensive line; 4) Poor tackling; 5) Predictable play-calling; and, 6) Lack of lucky breaks Is there anything else? Let me really go out on a limb - the Dawgs will upset either the Tigers or the Jackets on their way to Georgia’s worst season in many years. Polities: I remember that, with some trepidation. I picked the winners in 10 state and local races, last week. By the time you read this, you will know how well I did for how well I didn’t). This is written before I know the outcomes, but I do intend to come hack next week to take my applause, or, more probably, take my punishment. Daddy's grad ing system required punishment after reaching a certain low level, you know. Death of Friends: Maggie Ruth Dorsett was a rock ■ just ask any member of her family or one of her many friends. You don't see many ‘Miss' Maggie Ruths in a life-time. Dan Nelson was a good man - to his wife, children, business associates, and The little guys can still win in America I will share my opinions on the recent elections with you when all the media pundits have stopped to catch their breath and I can be sure the political consultants have crawled back into the mud holes from whence they came. It’sjust too noisy right now. In the meantime, let me relate to you a true story about how a group of local citizens took on the biggest bank in the nation and tanned their pinstriped fan nies. There is a moral to this tale. It started innocently enough when the Alapaha Area council of the Boy Scouts of America, headquartered in Valdosta, asked Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. for a SI,OOO dona tion. Now, a thousand dollars to a bank with over one trillion dollars in assets doesn’t even qualify as pocket change. They spend mqpe than that on tow els for the executive washrooms. So, imagine the shock when the Scouts were told “no.” The bank’s foundation, responsible for doling out the money, said the BSA discriminates against homosexuals because they won’t let them be Scout leaders. Therefore, there would be no check in the mail. That should have been the end of the story, but it was just the beginning. The corporate suits forgot who they were dealing with. If folks in South Georgia can handle sand gnats and humidity that you can cut with a knife, they sure aren’t afraid to take on a big corporation like Bank of America. Matt Hart, the scout executive for the Alapaha council, wrote the bank after the refusal and said, “Every non profit organization serves a specific OPINION friends. Dan always had a quick and wide smile and a good word for every one. Fred Klein exemplified what can be done in our great country for those who are willing to work and pay the price for success. Fred was a success in business and in life. Gary Bishop in his excellent eulogy of Freddy said it best - “Freddy wasn’t afraid”. We will miss Fred and Dan and ‘Miss’ Maggie Ruth. May God Bless each of them and their families and friends. Literary Festival: I participated in the Georgia Literary Festival in Macon last Saturday. I was on a political writers’ panel with Buck Melton and Judge Frank McKenney. Both have written books - I think Frank has written three. Rick Hutto, Macon City Councilman, was the moderator. It was lots of fun. You may recall that Buck, former Macon Mayor, ran for Governor in the early 80’s. For my money, Buck would have made a great Governor, just like he has been an outstand ing lawyer and wonderful citizen of KOREA AT NIGHT audience, as does Scouting. To open membership to those who do not share the values of the Scout Oath and Law would violate our constitutional right to freedom of association.” He pointed out that other nonprofits restrict mem bership, including gender, race or other practices. He also slyly mentioned that a young boy doesn’t have the right to join the Girl Scouts. Ouch! People in Valdosta began closing accounts at the local Bank of America office, including the Alapaha council, which happened to be a pretty good customer of the bank. Andy Smith, a Valdosta attorney who is president of the Alapaha council and a longtime customer, closed his account and fired off a letter to bank chairman Ken Lewis, saying, “You say you seek diver sity, and then you try to stamp it out by making everyone follow your policy line. This is a terrible way to run a bank in Valdosta.” Frankly, it is a ter rible way to run a bank anywhere. In the end, the bank blinked and wound up giving the Alapaha coun cil $1,700, instead of their original request of SI,OOO. They also changed a donation policy that practiced reverse L v -M m p UmiV' JHHHH Larry Walker Columnist lwaHrer@whgb-lawcom ■ ... wow Dick Yarbrough Columnist yarb24oo@bellsouth.net HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Middle-Georgia. Thanks to Frank and Buck for letting me be on the panel with you. Friends: Have you ever had some one to give you a gift, unexpectedly, and for no apparent reason? It hap pened to me this week and made me feel very good. I will enjoy wearing it. He knows who he is and he knows the high regard I have for him. Thanks, my friend. Books: Ella Ann Beckham recom mended the book, “Devil In The White City” by Erik Larson. Ella Ann was right, it is excellent, this book about the legendary 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. It’s a novel based on historic facts. It kind’ve reminds me of the non-fiction book, “Rising Tide,” that I’ve written of before. Do you have a book recommendation? If so, let me know, and I will try to mention it in this column. How ‘Bout An Old Dawg?: He was the 1976 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year before he was Georgia’s head football coach (starting at age 34). And, he was Perry Rotary’s program last week. Ray Goff was an excellent program, and, apparently, enjoyed by all. There are thihgs worse than being the fired UGA football coach - like, let’s see, being the hired UGA football coach. Better fired than hired? Ask Coach Mark Richt. And, by the way, How ‘Bout Them Dawgs? discrimination. And the Scouts’ policy is still the same as it was before tbe big hoo-hah with Bank of America. So what is the moral to this story? Actually, there are two. First, in our country, the little guy can still take on the big guys and win. Most folks would have thrown up their hands and just railed at the injustice of it all. The Alapaha council decided to chal lenge the policies of the largest bank in the country and they won. Second, no institution including utilities, retailers or even the news media can be an effective player in the local community when key man agement decisions are being made in some corporate treetop in some distant home office, far, far away from living, breathing customers. It seems that in all of their merging and consolidating, the bureaucrats at Bank of America had overlooked this very important point. I am delighted at how this story turned out. The Boy Scouts will posi tively influence more young people in the communities they serve than all the mega-banks and gay rights special interest groups on the planet. They will also stand up for their beliefs. A wise old manager once told me, “In the corporate world, we take advantage of the weak and the strong take advan tage of us.” It worked in Valdosta. It can work anywhere. You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or Web site: www.dickyarbrough.com.