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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 5A
Dr. Google
Over the Labor Day holiday weekend,
I psyched myself up enough to spend
some time outdoors clearing out my hosta
garden.
Well, “garden” may be a bit of a
stretch, but there's a nice little patch
of hosta plants that continue to mul
tiply each year. My neighbors have
been so wonderful to keep my lawn
looking nice and fresh, but with
each passing week the jungle grew
worse in my little garden area.
After donning my work clothes
and shoes, rustling up some garden
gloves, and dousing myself with
insect repellant. I headed out into
the oppressive heat to tackle the
weeds. A few of them were taller
than me. It didn’t take very long, as
it's just a tiny little spot, but pretty
soon I was a hot, sweaty mess, with
dirt smeared on my legs, arms,
and face. I pulled up all the weeds, little
seedling trees that had sprouted, and one
purple-stalked plant that was about waist
high. I still have a little ways to go, but
it's still too hot for pansies in my planters,
and I need to replenish the pine bark chips.
A few days after working outdoors, I
noticed the tell-tale sign of a few yellow
blisters on my lower left calf. I have seen
those blisters before, and I know they usu
ally mean POISON!
I thought back to the purple-stalked
plant that I had pulled up, and decided it
must have been sumac. Great. I figured
a little calamine lotion would clear it up
right away, so I started painting it on. It
seemed to grow before my eyes, and soon
I discovered a patch on the opposite leg.
My co-workers told me about a magic
potion you could buy at Hodgson’s, but
when I called. I found out they no longer
mix it.
I called my friend Andy over at Haw
thorne Drugs, and he knew exactly what
I was talking about, so I went over after
work and got a bottle. Sadly, that didn’t
do the trick, either. The spots on my legs
continued to grow, and by now I was
convinced I had leprosy. Or Ebola. Or
necrotizing fasciitis. Or ephazutas. Or
something horrible. As my condition con
tinued to worsen, and I started breaking
out in other places, my boss gave me a
prescription for a steroid dosepak. I was
optimistic that I would be all well in a few
days.
But alas, I continued to deteriorate, and
when it seemed as if my poor flesh would
just disintegrate off my bones, I decided to
see what Dr. Google had to say. Ummm.
Yeah. Let’s just say I was ready to ampu-
cathy
watkins
bennett
tate all my extremities and burn them in
an incinerator, and scrape my body with a
hot razor. Yeah, Dr. Google isn't the best
source of information when there’s an
unidentified illness or condition.
After looking at pictures and
reading articles, I was convinced
it was shingles. So off to my PCP
I went. Of course, it wasn't shin
gles. (Thank you, Jesus!) She
gave me some steroid cream to
use topically, and it is finally
beginning to respond. (Thank
you. Jesus!) But while I was
doing my Dr. Google search, I
came across some really creepy,
gross causes for dermatitis.
Made me want to take a show
er in bleach and then douse
myself in alcohol. I’ve had the
opinion of three doctors now,
and I'm finally beginning to trust
that I will get well, and that I don't have
flesh-eating bacteria.
Dr. Google doesn’t embrace the primum
non nocere concept, “first do no harm.” I
can attest that he has done far more harm
than good on my previous attempts at
researching undiagnosed conditions in the
past.
When Corey was bom, he was very
braised, resulting in his bilirubin skyrock
eting. Dr. Google told me that he was just
a few points away from dying. I went
to my boss bawling my eyes out, and he
told me to stay off the *&@#$ A internet,
because I didn’t know what I was looking
at, and was scaring myself to death with a
bunch of nonsense. I’m not sure how we
ever survived without Google. Hardly a
day goes by when I don’t use it. Back in
my day, we had World Book Encyclope
dias. Oh, how I loved those books!
Today, we have millions of pieces of
information with the click of a mouse, and
nobody has time to “look it up” in a book
any more.
But we must beware... Dr. Google is
sometimes a troublemaker. I'm happy to
say that I don’t have leprosy, or shingles,
or parasites, or flesh-eating bacteria. But
you can rest assured that I will never pull
up another sumac plant again as long as I
live. I think I’ll fill Corey's Super Soaker
with weed killer and eradicate it from a
safe distance. Maybe I'll Google a recipe
for weed killers
Cathy Watkins Bennett is a Bar-
row County native and a graduate of
Winder-Barrow High School. Send
comments about this column to
bencath@aol.com.
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Voter fraud: An American problem
jimmy
terrell
We have a big problem in America
with voter fraud.
Illegal voting concerns have
exploded in this country in the
last 15-20 years and the cur
rent Department of Justice and
democratic administration isn’t
doing very much about it.
In a recent letter issued on
behalf of the American Civil
Rights Union (ACRU), Edwin
Meese III, former U.S. Attor
ney General and a member of
the ACRU Board of Directors,
says state “...governors need
to enact laws that require a
photo ID to vote.”
The former Attorney General went on
to say that he “...can’t think of a more
common sense requirement.” He points
out, however, that the Obama administra
tion is doing just the opposite while “...
doing everything in its power to make
VOTER FRAUD as easy as possible.”
J. Christian Adams, General Counsel
for the Public Interest Legal Foundation,
recently said voter fraud “...is reach
ing epidemic proportions” and supported
his comment saying, “One recent study
found that in presidential years, voting
by non-citizens can reach close to one
million votes nationwide.”
Adams also worked for the Department
of Justice (DOJ) under both the Bush
and Obama administrations. He resigned
after Obama’s DOJ failed to prosecute a
voter intimidation case against the New
Black Panthers (NBP) party.
In 2008, members of the NBP party,
wearing military gear and holding a
nightstick, were accused of intimidat
ing white voters at a voting precinct in
Philadelphia. The group was caught on
film and news commentators expressed
outward concern.
However, the DOJ dropped the case
without further investigation saying there
was a lack of evidence.
A large number of voting issues and
complaints have been identified since
that particular incident.
In 59 Philadelphia voting districts,
Obama received 100 percent of the votes.
Republican candidate Mitt Romney did
not get a single vote which some say is a
mathematical impossibility.
Voter rolls in Alexandria, VA had more
registrants than eligible citizens alive on
their voter rolls. In Mississippi, Noxubee
County reportedly had 110 percent of its
voting age population registered to vote.
In the last presidential election, it was
reported that in 21 districts in Wood
County, Ohio, Obama received 100 per
cent of the total votes cast. Romney
received no votes and GOP observers
were illegally removed from the polling
places.
In another Ohio county, Obama won
by 108 percent of the total number of
registered voters.
St. Lucie, Fla. raised an eyebrow while
reporting 247,713 presidential votes were
cast. Voter records, however, show only
175,574 eligible and registered voters.
One St. Lucie polling location had a
158 percent voter turnout. Palm
Beach County, Fla. had a 141 per
cent registered voter turnout.
Other investigations have found
the names of deceased people that
have voted in the last two elec
tions.
The ACLU is confident in say
ing there are probably as many as
four million illegitimate voters,
including 1.8 million deceased
people, registered to vote in
America. They have identified
more than 200 counties with more
people registered to vote than they
have adult residents.
Even though the Supreme Court ruled
in favor of requiring a photo identifi
cation card to be a legitimate issue, the
Obama administration, with supporters
like George Soros and others on the left,
are ignoring the court and leading the
fight to block voter ID laws.
Most recently a federal appeals court
blocked Georgia, Kansas and Alabama
from requiring residents to prove they
are U.S. citizens. The League of Women
Voters and several civil rights groups
argued against the states, basically say
ing the laws disenfranchised thousands
of potential voters.
What’s wrong with requiring a voter
I.D. card?
After all, a person in the United States
must show an ID to purchase alcohol, to
obtain a passport, and to board a passen
ger plane.
You can’t purchase a firearm without
an identification card, nor can you buy
certain pharmaceuticals. Neither can you
get into certain movies, bars, open a bank
account or access certain government
buildings and military bases.
Our Constitution doesn’t mention any
of these things, yet governments at var
ious levels can create such requirements
and they find support in the courts.
The right to vote in a free country is
a gift that we should take very serious
ly; even demand the right to require a
legitimate ID card. A non-citizen should
never be allowed to vote in an American
election at any level.
And, those that would take that right
away from us must be kept under close
watch and defeated at the polls. No legit
imate American citizen should have his
or her vote cancelled out by an illegal
voter.
Who would have even thought one of
our most cherished prizes and gift could
be so easily taken from us?
If we lose the right to require identifi
cation at the polls, our founding fathers
and those who have died for freedom's
causes will have given all in vain.
We must not allow that on our watch!
Jimmy Terrell is a retired law enforce
ment official. He can be reached at
ejterrelI65@ gmail. com.
September 21,2016 ~ Crossword Puzzle
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Headmaster’s
Comer
by
Steve Cummings
HELPING OR HURTING? -
I recently read about a sign that
hangs in front of a boys’ school
which says: “STOP! If you are
dropping off your son’s forgot
ten lunch, books, homework,
equipment, etc., please TURN
AROUND and exit the build
ing. Your son will learn to prob
lem-sol ve in your absence.”
When this went viral, it
sparked a heated debate and
110,000 shares on Facebook.
One psychologist said, if par
ents believe the school has
the best interest of the child in
mind, they will view this favor
ably.
At ACS, we have the best
interest of all of our students
at heart. We also believe that
students grow when they are re
quired to solve some problems
on their own.
ATHENS
CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970"
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristian.com
Across
1. Court wear
6. “To thine own be true”
10. Darn, as socks
14. “Haste makes waste,” e.g.
15. “Aquarius” musical
16. Sundae topper, perhaps
17. Policy to stay out of other
countries’disputes
20. Fancy
21. Medicinal liquid rubbed
into the skin
22. Decide to leave, with “out”
24. Art
25. Against the current
30. Be a snitch
34. People from Kuala Lumpur
35. Fanatical
37. Beldam
38. Born’s partner
39. boom
40. Vice president under
Jefferson
41. Clairvoyance, e.g. (abbrev.)
42. Fills
43. Falsify
44. “ Weapon”
46. W. Maugham, writer
48. Hip bones
50. “ any drop to drink”:
Coleridge
51. Bridge support
55. Didn’t shuffle
60. Having a benevolent goal
62. Channel
63. Certain surgeon’s “patient”
64. Spiked
65. Antares, for one
66. All there
67. Foe
Down
1. “We the Living” author
2. Aroma
3. Bete noire
4. Auspices
5. Afferent
6. “ Cried” (1962 hit)
7. Benjamin Disraeli, e.g.
8. Enraged
9. Uncontrolled
10. Tropical American bird
11. Ashtabula’s lake
12. Advertising sign
13. “Stop that!” (contraction)
18. Sort
19. A type of rechargeable dry-cell
battery
23. Divination deck
25. Flat-topped flower cluster
26. Analyze, in a way
27. Caught some Z’s
28. Bit
29. Bison features
31. Heavy footsteps
32. The T of XXL
33. “Snowy” bird
36. Range rover
39. Projecting parts
40. Sticker
42. Game ragout
43. Producing abundant crops
45. Der Fuhrer
47. Lion’s share
49. Sinuses
51. Cobblers’ tools
52. Doozy
53. Arm bone
54. Freshman, probably
56. Bookbinding leather
57. “ bitten, twice shy”
58. Adjudge
59. Christian Science founder
61. Formerly known as
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