Newspaper Page Text
♦ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2007
6A
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Say what you want... and
apparently Williams can...
There was an interesting news story to hit
the airwaves the first week of December.
Many, or most, of you probably saw
it, but in case you didn’t, here are the details
reported among at least several news gather
ing agencies - one of them being the Savannah
Daily News, which as you’ll read had a “personal”
stake in it.
Celebrity talk-show host Montel Williams was in
Savannah reportedly promoting Partnership for
Prescription Assistance’s “Help is Here Express,”
when a student-intern reporter asked Williams:
“Do you think pharmaceutical companies would
be discouraged from research and development
if their profits were restricted?”
Williams reportedly got angry over the question
and was said to respond: “I’m trying to figure out
exactly why you are here and what the interview
is about.”
He then reportedly reminded her of why he was
there and terminated the interview.
Following that, the intern, along with two col
leagues, went into the Westin Hotel - Williams
was also at the same hotel, although reports
don’t say if he was staying there or was there as
part of the promotion.
He was in the lobby, however, reportedly noticed
her and went up and pointed his finger in that
direction and said: “Don’t look at me like that. Do
you know who I am? I’m a big star, and I can look
you up, find where you live and blow you up.”
He reportedly later issued an apology and
offered the intern an invitation to his television
program.
End of the story right? Yes, apparently it is and
that’s what we don’t understand. Why is it the end
of the story?
How can Williams make a threat of that magni
tude - “blow you up” - issue an apology - report
edly through a staff member no less - and that be
it, so easy when others - time being a testament
- not being nearly so lucky.
Where was/is the national outcry? Why were
there no repercussions? Or, if there were we’ve
found no record of them.
Remember Don Imus? And for the record, this
editorial IS NOT about vindicating Don Imus.
He is a bottom feeder. He got exactly what he
deserved, or maybe not enough as he’s appar
ently making his comeback broadcasting some
where else.
But Imus made some racist and sexist com
ments and there were those who would not rest
until he was fired. Further, the media were on
him like paparazzi, aided by the aforementioned
“those who would not rest” giving them plenty of
quotable fodder.
They, or anyone else from the looks of it, don’t
appear to care that Williams made a statement,
See SAY,page ?A
Letters to the editor
Train money better spent elsewhere
I can’t believe that the City of Warner Robins is going to
spend $50,000 to “rehabilitate the Elberta Train Depot
for use as a transportation museum ...” with funds from a
state/federal grant. Why not use this money to improve our
local animal shelter, which has a terrible reputation? Or,
improving our sidewalks near our county schools. Can’t our
mayor and council be a little more creative?
Centerville needs more sidewalks so folks don’t have
to walk on the roads but where they can more clearly see
the abandoned cars in residents' backyards. Mayor Bubba
Edwards rides his bicycle to city hall along Gunn Road and
should be able to see his local wrecks rusting away! I told
him so but to no avail.
- Frank W. Gadbois, Warner Robins
HOW TO SUBMIT:
There are three ways to submit a letter to the editor: E
mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to Houston
Home Journal at 1210 Washington St., Perry, GA 31069, or
drop it off at the same location between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday.
Letters should not exceed 350 words and must include
the writer’s name, address and telephone number (the last
two not printed). The newspaper reserves the right to edit
or reject letters for reasons of grammar, punctuation, taste
and brevity.
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
BELIEF ;
For many HOPE lost, other notes
Only two weeks to Christmas.
No shopping done. What’s the
rush?
■ I have written in the past how
much I am impressed by the remark
able achievements of modern medicine.
Once again, I have benefitted from one
of these medical miracles.
About two months ago I woke up
one morning blind in my left eye. I
had a detached retina. A skillful retina
specialist in Macon performed surgery
on the eye. “If we’re lucky you will see
from this eye soon,” he told me. “Not
as good as before, but pretty good.”
This morning I am looking out the
window of my office, using my left eye,
and feel very fortunate.
■ I see automobiles driving by and
stopping at the intersection which has
four-way stop signs. A young woman
just went by riding a bicycle. She
ignored the stop signs and, without
looking in either direction, she rode
through the intersection without slow
ing down.
I always am amazed when I see this.
I wonder why bicyclists believe it is
safe for them to ignore stop signs or
traffic lights while cars and trucks
obey them.
Do they believe that they are immor
tal?
■ Believe it or not, while Mexico
thumbs its nose and interferes in our
government the United States gives
$1.4 billion dollars a year to that coun
try. What do we get for our money
other than disrespect and criticism
of our policies? Seems to me that we
Top, tell me again about the good old days
when you used to get Christmas cards."
The lottery hits the jackpot
When state government plays huckster
It looks like it’s going to be a very
Merry Christmas at the office of
the Georgia Lottery this year.
According to reports, a whopping $3
million in bonuses will be disbursed
among the 260 lottery employees,
including a check for $236,500 to lot
tery president and CEO Margaret
DeFrancisco. If you add that bonus to
her $286,000 annual salary, she is pull
ing in almost four times what Georgia’s
highest ranking public official Gov.
Sonny Perdue will make this year.
There are many reasons the news
doesn’t sit well with me. There’s some
thingunsettling about the lottery, these
bonuses and the role state government
plays in all of this.
Government makes policies that are
in many ways intended to point us
toward what is good - things for which
we should aim. Take for example laws
that encourage civil behavior among
citizens or promote quality education
for kids. These point us toward actions
and activity that make life better and
benefit society. The laws say “this is
good.”
The problem with the lottery is that
it puts our state government, which is
constitutionally charged with preserv
ing the well-being of Georgians, in the
peculiar role of actively enticing us to
“One voice can make a c/if/ere/u e
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
"’Should failing to vote
be a crime?' Not in my
opinion."
should get some leverage in return for
that kind of money.
Too bad we have leaders in our gov
ernment who are afraid to act in the
best interest of the American people.
■ Here are some recently released
statistics from the federal government
which are scary. In Georgia 35 percent
of children live in single parent homes.
39 percent of births in Georgia in 2004
were to unmarried women. Almost 70
percent of black children were born
out of wedlock. Almost 50 percent of
Hispanic children were born out of
wedlock. 25 percent of white children
were born out of wedlock.
What happened to the great, family
oriented country that my generation
left at the end of World War II? What
has happened makes my generation
ashamed and disappointed
■ Almost 20,000 students will fail
to receive HOPE scholarships under
Randy
Hicks
Columnist
Georgia Family Council
spend our money foolishly in order for
the state to profit from our losses. Put
another way, it’s playing the huckster.
And there is no worse example of this
than how it affects the poor.
A few years ago the Atlanta-Journal
Constitution found that the areas
where the lottery is played the most
also benefit the least from the HOPE
Scholarship, which is funded by the
lottery. In fact, the 20 zip codes with
the highest number of lottery players
all had household incomes below the
median income statewide. In the 20 zip
codes with the most HOPE recipients,
household incomes were 72 percent
higher than those poorer zip codes. The
higher income areas received two-and
a-half times as many scholarships.
The poor in Georgia are spending
money that disproportionately benefits
higher income families (whose children
would probably go to college without
HL
H
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
the new guidelines that will require
a 3.0 grade, instead of “B”. There is
suspicion that some grade inflation is
going on all over the state to help some
students receive a HOPE scholarship.
Critics of the new guideline claim
that these students “lost” scholarships,
when in reality they just failed to earn
one. There is a difference.
■ Economists predict that S2B bil
lion in gift cards will be issued this
Christmas. It would be interesting to
learn how much of this will wind up
being a windfall for businesses.
Some people who receive gift cards
never use them. And some businesses
actually discount cards as they grow
older, while others put a deadline on
when they can be used, even though
the purchaser put cash money up front
for them. A lousy practice that should
be illegal.
■ AARP Bulletin asks, “Should fail
ing to vote be a crime?” Not in my
opinion. Too many people who should
not vote are permitted to do so. People
that radio commentator Neal Boortz
describes as “dumb, lazy and unin
formed” should not be permitted to
make decisions on our governments.
Government is too important to be
decided by people who have no idea
what goes on and only are interested in
what government can do for them.
It has been pointed out that a coun
try is on the way to destruction when
more people look to the government
for income than actually pay the bill
through taxation. That tipping point
is near.
access to HOPE). Somehow that sheds
a different light on the hundreds of
millions of dollars the lottery brought
in for education last year. Does such
redistribution of wealth sound like
something the state of Georgia should
be doing?
This is one reason why the enormous
bonus checks handed out to lottery
employees bothers me. It’s bad enough
that the poor are not benefiting as
much from the lottery. It’s even worse
to find out that money from ticket
sales is being used to make lottery
executives richer. To borrow from some
lawmakers’ reaction, it’s “insane” and
“absolutely absurd.”
Lottery president Margaret
DeFrancisco defended the bonuses say
ing they aren’t unlike compensation
handed out by other corporations as
incentive to keep employees motivated
to increase profits. It’s true the lottery
must work hard to keep sales up, espe
cially because of “jackpot fatigue” that
sets in over time as players desire high
and higher jackpots. Doing so requires
more aggressive advertising and novel
games to maintain sales.
But the lottery is not comparable to
other corporate entities. It is a monop
oly created by the General Assembly.
See HICKS, page 148