Newspaper Page Text
♦ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28,2006
4A
Houston Daily .IJuumali
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Group Marketing
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Gerald Ford passes
We lost our 38th President, Gerald
Ford, Wednesday.
Ford died at the age of 93 (the
cause had yet to be released as of press time
Wednesday).
For all that he accomplished, and he did
accomplish plenty, he is somewhat of an
enigma in regard to our memory of him and
his presidency.
We can remember he took office after
Richard Nixon’s resignation over Watergate,
and that later he pardoned Nixon, but not
much more without a little help from sourc-
es.
To that end,
here are a just
a few “little
remembered”
things about
his life.
For starters,
he had the
option, had
he chosen, not
to be in poli
tics at all. He
was a football
standout, so
much so that
he received
offers from
the Detroit
Lions and the
Green Bay
Packers. But,
he decided to
study law at Yale instead - although he kept
his hand in sports by coaching.
In April 1942 he joined the U.S. Naval
Reserve. His closest brush with death came
not as the result of enemy Fire, however,
but during a reportedly “vicious” typhoon
in the Philippine Seas. That was in 1944.
He was discharged in 1946, returned to his
native home of Grand Rapids, Mich., and
became a partner in a local “prestigious”
law firm.
In 1948 he took his first plunge into poli
tics, winning the nomination by a wide mar
gin. He was elected to Congress Nov. 2 and
from there he was on his way. He served in
the House of Representatives from 1949
to 1973, being reelected 12 times, and each
time with more than 60 percent of the
vote.
He became a member of the House
Appropriations Committee in 1951,
and rose to prominence on the Defense
Appropriations Subcommittee, becoming
its ranking minority member in 1961.
Some years later, Ford gained the first of
two unique distinctions. First he became
the first “appointed” vice president - that
coming in 1973 after Spiro Agnew left amid
scandal - and then in 1974, after seeing
Nixon out the door, he was appointed the
president.
4 His accomplishments in office following
are many - too many to repeat here. But, we
would encourage each of you to read more.
Because of his mild-mannered demeanor,
he may not be remembered with the kind of
flashiness or popularity as, oh say someone
like Ronald Reagan (although he did beat
Reagan out for the Republican nomination
once) but his life is well worth the read. (Did
you know he was the target of an assassina
tion attempt - twice?)
More can be found at: http://www.white-
Worth Repeating
“I believe that truth is the glue that holds government
together, not only our government but civilization itself
... Our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution
works. Our great Republic is a government of laws and
not of men. Here, the people rule.”
Gerald R. Ford
38th President of the United States (Republican, MI)
Speech, August 9,1974
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Audrey Evans
Vice President
Marketing!Advertising
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
For starters, he
had the option, had he
chosen, not to be in
politics at all. He was
a football standout,
so much so that he
received offers from
the Detroit Lions and
the Green Bay Packers.
But, he decided to
study law at Vale
instead - although he
kept his hand in sports
by coaching.
A few notes before die new year
With another year about to
become history it would be
nice if we could wipe the slate
clean and start off anew. We can’t. We
will carry with us all the baggage we
have today and will have to make the
most of it.
New Year’s resolutions are for dream
ers. And they have a way of vanishing
like early morning fog.
But it is possible to clear my desk of
some notes that I have accumulated
and the desk, at least, will be clean and
ready for another year of hope.
Here goes:
■ I keep thinking about the two
brothers who tied a dog up and put
it in an oven alive to cook and die. A
weak brained juror stood down 11 oth
ers and the brothers will get another
trial. Seems to me appropriate punish
ment should be the same treatment
they gave the dog.
■ Speaking of punishment, it is dis
gusting to hear bleeding hearts com
plain that it is cruel and unusual pun
ishment to execute a murderer with
a death dealing injection. Appropriate
punishment for murderers should be
execution the same way they commit
ted the murder. There might be less
murders.
■ Isn’t it absurd to call for “sensitiv
ity training” when someone says some
thing to which someone else objects.
There is a steady stream of celebrities
who express their true opinions, which
go contrary to political correctness, and
they issue a contrived apology and take
“sensitivity training.” What a joke.
■ The latest word out of Washington
is that President Bush is talking to con
gressional Democratic leaders about
raising taxes after the New Year. He
rolled over a long time ago and gave
j
Government ethics: A tale of two cities
I read something startling the other
day. You may have read it, too.
It seems that at Monday’s Warner
Robins City Council meeting, a major
local developer made a donation of
$15,000 to the city, and it was accepted.
It was even noted that the developer
has made other generous donations to
the city in the past.
At the same meeting, the council
approved two rezoning requests from
that developer.
The next evening in Perry the issue
of donations was dealt with in a dif
ferent way. The Council approved a
policy that spells things out very clear
ly. According to their city manager,
they never have accepted donations
from developers although at least one
was offered and declined. (The County
Commissioners have not accepted such
donations either, just for the record.)
As of Tuesday, Perry Council has a
written policy that no donation can be
accepted if the person making it has
any matter currently pending before
the mayor and council or any city
department. Also a donation will be
returned if the donor comes up with a
OPINION
Sen. Ted Kennedy what he wanted in
an education bill. It would be a shame
if he collapsed entirely and let the new
Democratic congress run over him the
next two years.
■ Those of us with stents in our
hearts have kept up with medical
advancements in this field. Stents that
were approved for use in this country
about five years ago (they were used
in Europe for many years) are medi
cally coated to prevent plaque and scar
buildup. They were hailed as a great
advancement over the old kind (the
kind that I have), but now it has come
to light that they can contribute to
bleeding and blood clots and, in some
instances death. Guess what? Already
some ambulance chasing lawyers are
advertising on television for clients to
sue manufacturers of the new kind of
stents. Attempts at medical progress
should be protected from these scoun
drels.
■ Sign of the times: In jolly old
England the name “Mohammad” is
now more popular than the name
“George”.
■ Christmas is a time for joy and
happiness, but I cannot avoid a feel
ing of sadness when I see the excesses
around me. How can our children ever
grow up with a sense of values? How
can they appreciate anything when
they are given so much? Okay, maybe
I am an old Grinch trying to steal
request later.
Which city got it right?
From an ethical point of view, an
eighth grader in a civics class should
know the answer. Perry did.
Granted, the generous donation
accepted by the Warner Robins coun
cil was made to help the city with its
Commercial Circle rejuvenation.
Granted, the rezoning requests were
probably going to be passed anyway.
Granted, no law was broken, but
ethical questions are definitely raised
by this kind of donation and so are
questions of how such a donation is
perceived by others on the same play
ing field.
To the many citizens who speak up
at public meetings about rezoning and
if
Foy
Evans
Columnist
toyevansl9@cox net
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Charlotte
Perkins
Columnist
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Christmas. But it is something to think
about.
■ I am annoyed and so are my
friends when greeted on the telephone
by businesses in two languages, when
instructions are printed in two lan
guages, where everywhere we turn we
are reminded that millions of people in
our country do not speak English. Why
do you see all those signs in stores say
ing “Habla Espanol”? The answer is
simple. They are doing what it takes to
communicate with potential custom
ers. And there is nothing anyone can
do about what is happening. The horse
is out of the barn.
■ Perry may or may not impose
impact fees on new homes, but predic
tions that it will slow the growth of
Houston County just don’t fly. Growth
here is a steamroller that will not be
denied.
■ Houston Countians who know
Sonny Perdue resent the hatchet job
that that the Atlanta newspaper is
doing on him because of his real estate
transactions. One of the most knowl
edgeable real estate developers in this
county has told me that the AJC’s
claim that the 100 acres he purchased
adjacent to Oaky Woods had increased
in value 150 percent in a little over a
year is a fabrication. “The land today is
not worth any more than it cost him,”
I was told. Sen Ross Tolleson says
that the AJC’s accusation that Perdue
stood in the way of the state purchas
ing Oaky Woods is untrue. And, finally,
one of the owners of the Oaky Woods
property told me that claims coming
out of Atlanta that the state is trying
to purchase the property are untrue.
“Nobody from the state has contacted
us,” I was told, adding, “but it can be
bought.”
annexation issues, hoping to have an
impact on decisions that may change
their neighborhoods, it already seems
that the developers have the advan
tage.
They already feel embattled, like a
passle of Davids up against some big
Goliaths. $15,000 donations do not
make this perception go away. They
make it worse, and that doesn’t help
developers at all.
Common sense also suggests that if
any developer wants to do good works,
the opportunities are there. $15,000
would make a big difference to a strug
gling charity or worthy local organiza
tion, and raise no ethical question for
the recipient whatever.
Still, the developer didn’t do any
thing wrong.
It’s the Warner Robins City
Government that needs to take a hard
look at the ethical issues involved here
and send the check back. Either that,
or they should all abstain from voting
on any questions involving that devel
oper in the future.
That’s what I think.
What do you think?