Newspaper Page Text
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♦ FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2007
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Group Marketing
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Let's reach a thousand
Having a child with cancer is one of
the toughest challenges a family can
face, and when the child loses the
battle, it’s a lifetime of grief.
Life goes on, but each birthday, each
Christmas brings the pain of knowing that
child who should have grown up is gone.
What all of us can do, of course, is support
medical research
programs aimed
specifically at
childhood can
cer. Many times
research funds,
especially for
experimental
programs or rare
forms of cancer,
go to the testing
of adults, simply
because adults
are able to give
informed con
sent.
The survival
rate for child
hood cancer,
such as certain
kinds of leuke
mia, is improv
ing steadily, but
there are other
cancers that
basically have a
very sad progno-
sis from the beginning.
Rhabdosarcoma, which ended the life of
little Joanna McAfee at the age of just
6 is one of those. The survival rate has
not improved in years, and there is much
research work to be done.
Joanna’s parents, Jeff and Misty McAfee of
Warner Robins, despite their grief over the
death of their youngest child last Christmas,
have worked hard for the last year to
have a living memorial for their daugh
ter through the Joanna McAfee Childhood
Cancer Foundation.
They have already raised money for can
cer research as well as funds to help the
families of young cancer victims.
Now they have a special project under way
that needs everyone’s attention.
Special Georgia car tags with Joanna’s sil
houette and the Website address “support
cancerkids.com” have been approved the
the Georgia Assembly through the efforts
of Rep. Willie Talton. The tags are already
designed and only cost $25, with a portion
of each sale going to the McAfee’s work on
behalf of childhood cancer victims.
Production of the tags will only begin
after 1,000 have been ordered, so here is
a way that we can all help, and also show
visible support of the McAfee family and all
childhood cancer victims as well.
The tags can be ordered at any Georgia
tax office, and there is also a printable form
at www.supportcancerkids.org.
Placing this tag on your car will let others
know that you care about kids with cancer,
and it may encourage others to buy the tag
as well. It’s also a way to honor the memory
of a bright, loving and heroic little girl who,
as her dad has put it, “never had a fighting
chance.”
Worth Repeating __
“Wo affirm that a right for one is a right for another
and a responsibility for all. A right for a Protestant is a
right for an Eastern Orthodox is a right for a Catholic
is a right for a Jew is a right for a Humanist is a right
for a Mormon is a right for a Muslim is a right for a
Buddhist-and for the followers of any other faith within
the wide bounds of the republic. That rights are universal
and responsibilities mutual is both the premise and the
promise of democratic pluralism. The First Amendment
in this sense, is the epitome of public justice and serves
as the golden rule for civic life. Rights are best guarded
and responsibilities best exercised when each person
and group guards for all others those rights they wish
guarded for themselves.”
Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
Gerald R. Ford, 38th President of the United States
Audrey Evans
Vice President
Marketing!Advertising
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Special Georgia car
tags with Joanna's
silhouette and the
Web site address
"supportcancerkids.
com" have been
approved the the
Georgia Assembly
through the efforts
of Rep. Willie Talton.
The tags are already
designed and only
cost $25, with a
portion of each sale
going to the McAfee's
work on behalf of
childhood cancer
victims.
Favorite books of promkient Georgians
U T I The man who doesn’t read
I good books has no advan-
JL tage over the man who can’t
read them.”
- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
What do U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson
(R), and Connell Stafford, former
Executive Assistant to U.S. Sen. Sam
Nunn (D), have in common? Probably,
many things, including friendship, but
for the purpose of this article, it’s their
choices as one of their favorite books.
Both picked
The World Is Flat by Thomas L.
Friedman. Johnny characterized
Friedman’s book “as a look into the
immediate future”.
World War II and the U.S. Navy
was the theme for Buck Melton’s
picks, The Winds of War and War and
Remembrance, both by Herman Wouk.
Buck, a WWII Navy man, former Macon
Mayor, and a one-time candidate for
governor of Georgia (and he would
have made an excellent governor!) said
he read “every word in both books and
intended to read both, again”.
Speaking of Georgia’s governorship,
former Gov. Carl E. Sanders chose
The King James Bible commenting,
“each time I open it, I read something
meaningful, and it is the greatest book
ever printed”. Amen.
The dean of Georgia’s political col
umnists, Bill Shipp, also chose The
King James Bible. Additionally, Bill
cited The Elements of Style by William
Strunk and E. B. White, commenting
that “these volumes have served as
the guideposts of my life and career”. I
intend to get and read this book.
Jim Minter, former editor of the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, named
The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich
I >
/ -^1 LLS m * T-v
Perdue needs to explain land deals to us
Sometimes our elected public offi
cials forget who’s in charge. That
would be you and. me. After all,
we put them in their jobs. They also
forget the media’s role in the political
process. It is the media’s job to fairly
and accurately report on the actions
taken by these public officials so we
can know whether or not we are being
well-represented by those we have
elected to serve us. When politicians
stiff the press, the public loses because
we are denied information to which we
are entitled.
As Gov. Sonny Perdue begins a sec
ond term, his recent land deals just
don’t pass the smell test with a lot of
ordinary Georgians, but he doesn’t
want to talk about it.
To refresh your memory, in December
2004 Perdue paid $2 million for some
20 acres of land in Florida. The land
was purchased from developer Stan
Thomas of Newnan, who Perdue
had appointed to the state Board of
Economic Development. The funds
came from money the governor had
made selling inherited family land in
Houston County.
In the last days of the 2005 legislative
session, Perdue’s floor leader and per
sonal attorney, Rep. Larry O’Neal (R-
Warner Robins), helped push through
a change in Georgia’s tax law allowing
Georgians to delay paying state taxes
on land they sell in this state if they
buy similar property in another state.
A last-minute change approved at
O’Neal’s urging made the provision
retroactive to land sales in 2004 giv
ing Perdue a SIOO,OOO tax break. The
governor says he only learned later,
when his accountant prepared his
OPINION
"Now I know why I stopped believing in Santa!"
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-lawcom
by William Shirer and commented:
“The story of Nazism is both instruc
tive and describes the epic event of
the 20t,h Century topping the rise and
decline of communism .. . every school
child should be required to read this
book”.
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
was ‘four-novel author’ William
Rawlings, Jr.’s choice. Of the book,
Rawlings writes: “In a time when mys
teries were considered something below
literature, Chandler mastered the art
of description and surprise. Though
his major works are more than half a
century old, they are as true today as
they were in the 1940’5”.
Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice
Leah Ward Sears selects as one of her
favorite books, Integrity by Stephen L.
Carter and opines, “unless we can find
a way to put the virtue of ‘integrity’ at
the core of both our public and private
lives, the American ideal of a strong
and great democracy will die”. Very
true, Madam Chief Justice.
Fellow Perryan and a great American,
Sam Nunn, listed as one of his recent
favorites April 1865 by Jay Winik, say
ing about the book: “Great example of
the power of leadership to shape the
future, showing that a few big decisions
by a few individuals greatly influenced
100 years of American history”.
Dick
Yarbrough
Columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
taxes, that he had gotten the benefit.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
reports that in December 2003, Perdue
acquired 101 acres next to Oaky Woods,
one of Georgia’s major wildlife pre
serves which happens also to be located
in Houston County.
The state had declined to help the
Nature Conservancy purchase the pre
serve. The state also refused to bid on
the property, citing a lack of funds.
Oaky Woods is now primed for com
mercial and residential development.
Perdue had bought the adjacent land
through a company called Maryson.
He was not listed on any public records
as being associated with the company,
although news reports indicate that he
paid taxes on the land while it was in
Maryson’s name. In May 2004, nine
days after the state formally notified
the Nature Conservancy that it could
not help the conservancy purchase the
property, the governor put his land in
his name.
In the spirit of “Let ‘em eat cake,”
the governor doesn’t seem interested
in assuring the rest of us that lucky
breaks just come naturally to lucky
people who also happen to be gover
nor. His spokesperson, Bert Brantley, is
quoted as saying, “Despite the media’s
attempts to rehash old news, we are
M *
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Another great Georgian, Zell Miller,
listed Flags of Our Fathers by James
Brady. Not a surprising choice from an
ex-Marine like Zell. Zell quoted Stephen
Ambrose as saying it was the “best bat
tle book” ever written. I’ve read this
book and agree with Governor/Senator
Miller and Mr. Ambrose.
Former Gov. Roy Barnes selected
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.
Roy’s comments: “Great lesson for
today. Hate and prejudice can blind
us”. Right on, governor.
State House Speaker, Glenn
Richardson, likes The Firm by John
Grisham. Glenn said, “I like virtually
every John Grisham book”. Glenn, I
do, too!
One of my favorite people is Bert
Lance (another one-time gubernatorial
candidate who would have been great
in the job).
Bert’s choice was The Bible and his
next favorite was a book by his favorite
author (and wife), Laßelle D. Lance,
entitled This Too Shall Pass.
If you’re looking for a gift, con
sider a good book - perhaps one of the
one’s mentioned here. I know I like to
receive and give books. It’s a gift that
often outlasts the giver or receiver.
Better yet, regardless of your reli
gious faith, or lack thereof, or your cul
ture, follow Sander’s advice and read
the Christmas story in the King James
version of The Bible.
It’s about faith, charity and love - the
basis for almost every religious faith
and belief - and would be a good gift to
yourself.
This was my article in the December
2006 edition of James Magazine. It is
re-printed here with permission of the
Managing Editor of James Magazine.
focusing in on the policies and issues
that matter most to Georgians jobs,
education and health care.” It also
matters to most Georgians if our public
officials are perceived as using their
good offices to enhance their personal
bank accounts.
There are two inviolable rules for
dealing with the media. First, remem
ber that the media are not the audi
ence.
They are a pass-through to the audi
ence in this case, the people of
Georgia. Refuse to talk to the media,
and you leave the public, you and
me to draw our own conclusions.
Second, the questions aren’t going to
go away simply because the governor’s
office wants them to. The press has
a responsibility to check out the land
deals and to assure us that nothing
illegal or unethical took place. If they
don’t, the press are not doing their job.
Whoever is handling the governor’s
media strategy assuming anyone is
needs to understand that. So does
the governor.
If these are the legitimate business
transactions he says they are, Perdue
should have no problem explaining
them to us, the people of Georgia. If
they are not, he should sell back the
land for the original price he paid, and
apologize for undermining our confi
dence in him and his office. Most of all,
the governor needs to remember that
the press is not his enemy, and that his
good name is far more valuable than all
the land in Georgia and Florida.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box
725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139 or Web
site: www.dickyarbrough.com.