Newspaper Page Text
♦ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2006
4A
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Group Marketing
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Someone is always watching
in the stands
Some - hopefully all - of you read the
letter to the editor we ran Wednesday
entitled: “Crying foul over fans.”
In it, the letter writer - a Habersham
County fan - criticizes some of Northside’s
fans for their behavior during the game.
The letter writer accuses some of the
Eagle fans of sitting on their side of the sta
dium and making, to quote the writer, “the
most tacky and sometimes profanity-laced
comments.”
It, the writer’s story, sounds credible
enough. It
would certain
ly seem odd
for a Raider
fan to submit
a complaint to
the Houston
Daily Journal
- an entity
they’ve never
had dealings
with in the
past - out of
the clear blue.
Still, there was no clear-cut evidence
enclosed to support the letter, so there is
still the issue of whether or not Eagle fans
have been falsely accused.
So, why run it you may ask. Why bring
criticism to a program on the verge of its
first state trophy?
Ah, and that is the heart of this editorial.
: The fact is any team, any school - yes,
;even Habersham County on its mighty ped
iestal - could have been guilty of this sin.
-If it happened to Northside, it was simply
;because they were in the wrong place at the
■wrong time or following the example set
(down by others (more to follow on that).
; It is quite common. Our reporters have
(witnessed it over and over again during
•football and basketball and every other
(sport.
; Try going to Evans for a baseball playoff.
(You want heckling. There, you will find the
True definition of the word.
( And now the kicker: Most often this con
dition is/has been noted not by a student,
although students are certainly capable
(this is where the example part comes in)
but by the parent.
That’s right. As you probably already
know, either by witnessing this firsthand or
seeing/reading news reports where a sport
ing event got out of hand, it is the parents
who are nine times out of 10 the guilty
party.
Why run that particular letter to the edi
tor? Only because it makes a great remind
er: Anyone who ever has or ever will attend
a sporting event may/probably will find
themselves on both sides of that fence.
They will be presented with these choic
es: To heckle or not to heckle. Or, how to
respond when heckled.
Know this. There is always someone
watching. There is always someone judg
ing. It’s our hope all from Houston County,
whether at home or on the road, will be on
their best behavior.
And, with any luck we’ll get a letter from
another fan praising their restraint/sports
manship.
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Audrey Evans
Vice President
Marketing!Advertising
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
And now the kicker:
Most often this is/has
been noted not by
a student, although
students are certainly
capable (this is where
the example part comes
in) but by the parent.
Grading our national institutions
In those long-ago days of personal
accountability, and about the time I
was learning to write cursive at the
Perry public schools, I learned an even
more important school lesson which
was: Grades matter!
My father, Cohen Walker, was my
chief accountability instructor - as he
met with me every six weeks to review
my report card.
A’s were good. B’s were acceptable.
C’s brought on lots of talk, and some
times remedial action.
With Cohen’s requirements firmly
in mind, I have decided to grade our
national institutions. I will grade them
like school youngsters used to get grad
ed in this country - without grade infla
tion. What is working, and what’s not.
Here goes.
1. Church. T.V evangelists have
hurt the church. Scandals in major
denominations have emboldened crit
ics. Still, the church is our major bul
wark against anarchy. I’d give the
church a B.
2. Congress. D. Where is the leader
ship? Too many prima donnas. What
happened to the old seniority system
- when Senator Richard Russell and
Speaker Sam Rayburn and a few oth
ers ran things? You say it was archaic.
I say, “it worked”.
3. Corporate America We’ve
always had controversy - remember
the ‘Robber Barons’? Goods and prod
ucts are being produced. But, corpo
rate greed at the highest levels is out
of hand. I say a C.
4. Entertainment. Some is great,
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Don't confuse why our troops are in Iraq
With the nomination of Mr.
(Robert) Gates to replace
Secretary Rumsfeld, comes
the temptation of blurring the reason
why our troops are Fighting in Iraq. I as
a veteran of the USNR and USAF have
never believed that we could make Iraq
a mini-USA by sacrificing our young
men and women in a land that has
never had even a taste of democracy.
We now call the fighting and ram
pant killing sectarian violence. I believe
it is driven by deep seeded religious
convictions that no number of U.S.
troops could bring to a happy solution.
Before Desert Storm, strategists were
asking who would replace a deposed
Sadam. Well, we now have the answer
Chaos.
We all remember the purple fingers
that the Iraqi people displayed on elec
tion day in what was a mere formal
ity prior to the formal entry of King
Chaos. Now we are saying try diplo
macy and if it fails leave. I can see us
looking for the back door as the reality
of the regional Islamic politics reveals
itself to our puzzled diplomats.
The more we study those whose
religion is titled “submission,” the less
we understand. Our troops have and
always have been used as an instru-
OPINION
some is good. Much is trash. Is a D+
about right?
5. Healthcare. Miracles are per
formed every day. People are living
longer. Costs are skyrocketing. Access
is not what it should be. The system is
tremendously complicated. Too many
fall through the cracks. Is a C too
generous?
6. Judiciary. I want to be fair and
not biased because 1 am an attorney.
Still, I feel that the courts are doing a
pretty good job. Like the church, the
courts help to keep order in our society.
I’d say a B-.
7. Military. Give 'em the objective
and the tools to get the job done and
our military will perform. How about
an A?
8. Political Parties. F. I’m sick of
both parties - at the state and national
level. Don’t party leaders understand
that some things (most things) are
more important than winning - like
saving the Republic? Partisanship
fueled by political party rhetoric is
totally out of hand. A pox on both your
houses!
9. Presidency. How about a “B” for
Bush and a “C” for Clinton (these two
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com
H.M.
Edwards
Columnist
ment of national policy.
Mr. Gates rightfully stated that “the
use of military force should be the last
resort.”
Once again, our troops have won
every engagement.
However, winning every engagement
is not at issue here. The utter failure
of the Iraqi people to grasp the golden
ring of freedom that has been offered
through the blood sacrifice of our best
and finest attests to our failure to
understand the nature of a relatively
backward land that has but on asset
oil. The other chief export of the
region is terrorism.
Hello, did you hear me it’s the
terrorism folks, Iraq is surrounded by
nations that export oil and terrorism.
We can deal with the oil but the terror
ism must be isolated like the cancer it
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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
have had it for the past 14 years)? Or,
should it be a B for Clinton and a C for
Bush? Either way, it’s a C+. Where is
Sam Nunn when we need him?
10. Public Schools. A few are excel
lent. Some are good. Many are terrible.
Most are mediocre. C.
11. Sports. Out of hand. College ath
letics is not about students, it’s about
money. Increasingly, I am ‘turned off
by pro sports. So much of it reminds
me of Rome and its obsession with
gladiators, etc. How about a C-?
12. Transportation System. The
best in the world, despite massive prob
lems in urban areas. Need a part for
your Kubota tractor out of California?
It can be trucked to Georgia in three
days. Our interstate highway system
is amazing. Delta, despite its troubles,
has transformed Georgia and made
Atlanta the capital of the southeast.
My prediction: Delta will come back.
My grade, a B+.
Let’s see. One A. One B. One B-. One
B+. One C+. 3 C’s. One C-. One D+.
One D. And one big F. Cohen wouldn’t
be very happy with this.
In fact, if this was my card, there
would probably be some corporal pun
ishment involved. But, then again, get
ting me straightened out was much
simpler than getting our country on
the right track.
This was my article for the November
2006 edition of James Magazine and
is reprinted with the permission of
the editor. This article was written by
me prior to the November 7 General
Election.
is and be removed at the source.
That is the real reason why we must
engage the terrorists where they thrive.
Our troops are fighting there so we can
drive to the mall and not get mauled.
They are fighting there so our children
can go to school and learn regardless
of race, gender or national origin. They
are fighting there so that in January we
can have an orderly change of power in
our legislature sans car bombs and
political assassinations.
They are fighting there so that we
can have a Merry Christmas. They
are fighting there so that we can go
to the bowl games and argue over the
methods used to arrive at a National
Champion.
They are fighting for each other
and they mourn the loss of any buddy
killed by enemy fire, lED’s or a tragic
non-combat related death. Many have
not returned the way they arrived but
still they fight. They have given those
who’ve never tasted freedom a shot at
the chance and they’ve maintained our
freedom as they’ve done since the birth
of our nation.
We owe our liberty to those who
swear to protect us against all enemies
foreign and domestic so help me
God.