Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2016
Random Rants in Rhyme
Welcome 2017
Letter to the Editor
Welcome 2017, a year of great hope.
Just when we seemed near the end of our rope
and about to succumb to socialism,
God heard our prayers and, in His great wisdom,
decided to give us another chance
if we’d give Him more than a casual glance.
So many Americans knelt and prayed
that our country’s transformation was temporarily stayed.
Just one election will not turn the tide
if we don’t return to God. and truly abide.
If we are to nurture this chance for survival,
America must experience a spiritual revival.
We, as a nation, have turned our backs on God -
have declared that in government, He is Ichabod.
He is effectively barred from our schools
where prayer and Bible reading are against the rules.
No government building has the consent
to even display the Ten Commandments.
The law of the land is abortion on demand,
and “hate laws” limit what a pastor can
preach from the pulpit about certain sins.
The list of our backsliding seems without end.
The “elite” from everywhere in our great nation
calls a man an imbecile who believes in creation.
We who are Christians must not only pray,
we must live our faith and witness every day.
We must put into office those who will not squirm,
but, on important matters, will stand quite firm.
And those whose interest is solely on self,
we must work hard to put on the shelf.
Second Chronicles 7:14 shows the way:
if the people of God will get humble and pray,
and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways,
then He will hear from heaven and
He will heal our [sin-sick] land.
Calling all Christians from shore to shore:
in 2017, let us pray and witness more
© 2016. cbs
skelton
Buffington continued from 4A
create turmoil in elections
of his biggest enemy.
The larger danger is that
Putin comes to think the
U.S. has lost its resolve
and he decides to move
into the Baltic States or
parts of Eastern Europe.
Those are NATO countries
and the U.S. and other
European powers are obli
gated to defend them. But
what happens if a Pres
ident Trump balks and
refuses to back up NATO
to fight Russian aggres
sion?
There’s no doubt Russia
will continue to exploit the
nationalistic turmoil in the
West and to find ways to
expand its own power.
We are more at danger
today of a major world
war than at any point since
the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The huge flood of
refugees from
war-torn nations
There are over 65 mil
lion refugees in the world
today, a number that sur
passes that at the end of
WWII.
The turmoil in the Mid
dle East, Afghanistan, Iraq
and Syria, has driven a
lot of that, but Somalia
and other nations also
have large numbers of dis
placed people due to war.
The migration of some
of these refugees into
Europe has created a lot
of turmoil.
While the U.S. is an
ocean away and has a
system of background
checks on its refugees,
most European nations do
not have that distance or
a strong system to clear
those coming in.
Half of these refugees
are children so this situa
tion is creating problems
not just for today, but also
for many years to come.
And since many of these
refugees are Muslim, the
taint of terrorism follows
in their migrations.
All of that is ripe for
exploitation by populist
sideri ng
(T(M*R) )) buying or
selling?
770-867-9026
www.maynardrealty.com
“We live in dangerous times, not just
because of these major global problems,
but also because of our nation’s decline
of intellectual capital. We have become
shallow in our political thinking. ”
demagogues who use the
fear of terrorism to cul
tivate a hatred of immi
grants, especially Muslim
immigrants.
Finding a way to deal
with all these refugees is
critical to tamping down
issues that only fuel dan
gerous demagogues.
The rise of
propaganda
and fake news
The creation of the
internet has opened the
doors for anyone to say
anything online.
In the social media
sphere, that has led to
massive amounts of fake
news, conspiracy theories
and political propaganda.
All of that has in the
past existed in the shad
ows, but it’s now become
part of mainstream social
and political culture.
The problem is, many
Americans can’t tell the
difference between what is
fake and what is real.
More troubling, many
don’t care so long as the
information they absorb
fits the narrative that they
already believe.
Americans are more
susceptible today to being
influenced by falsehoods
than at any time since
World War II.
The sun is setting on
facts and truth in the fight
against the darkness of
propaganda.
Our culture has become
anti-enlightenment and
— Mike Buffington
citizens more open to
being manipulated.
Of all these issues, the
most dangerous is the rise
of propaganda as a substi
tute for truth.
The nation can survive
the rise of nationalism and
isolationism as it has in
the past.
The nation can survive
the rise of Russia as a
global bad boy as it has in
the past.
The nation can survive
the rise of refugees as a
global problem as it has in
the past.
But the nation cannot
survive unless it values
truth and facts over polit
ical propaganda.
We live in dangerous
times, not just because of
these major global prob
lems, but also because of
our nation’s decline of
intellectual capital.
We have become shal
low in our political think
ing.
Showmanship is valued
over ability.
Angry rhetoric is valued
over restraint.
Stupidity is seen as
being bold.
As we enter 2017, one
has to wonder: Are we
witnessing the sun setting
over the mightiest nation
to ever exist?
Mike Buffington is
co-publisher of Mainstreet
Newspapers, Inc. He can
be reached at mike@
mainstreetnews. com.
HAZEL
In Memory
Dec. 27,1932 - May 7,1954
Killed by a
drunk driver
Don’t privatize Medicare
Dear Editor:
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sec
retary of Health and Human Services
nominee Tom Price claim Medicare is
going broke and should be privatized to
control costs.
Their claims are misleading.
The 2016 report of Medicare’s trust
ees finds that Medicare’s Hospital
Insurance (HI) trust fund will remain
solvent — that is able to pay 100
percent of the costs of the hospital
insurance coverage Medicare provides
through 2028.
Even in 2028, when the HI trust fund
is projected for exhaustion, incoming
payroll taxes will still be sufficient to
pay 87 percent of Medicare hospital
insurance costs.
According to the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities, the share of costs
covered by dedicated revenues will
decline slowly to 79 percent in 2040
and then rise gradually to 86 percent
in 2090.
This shortfall will need to be closed
through raising revenues, slowing the
growth in costs, or most likely both.
But the Medicare hospital insurance
program will not run out of all financial
resources and cease to operate after
2028, as Ryan would like for all of us
to believe.
In fact, according to the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
Medicare spending per beneficiary has
grown more slowly (5.7 percent) than
private insurance (7 percent).
Medicare’s financing challenges
would be much greater without the
Affordable Care Act, which substan
tially improved the program’s financial
outlook.
Repealing the measures implemented
by the ACA will worsen Medicare’s
financial situation which Price is hell
bent to do.
Privatization of Medicare means
changing Medicare from a guaranteed
benefits program for seniors into a
premium assistance program providing
a voucher or coupon to an individual to
buy insurance on the open market.
The coupon would have a fixed value.
There’s no guarantee a person can get
the level of coverage they need.
A $500 voucher is useless if the
product the person needs to buy costs
$5,000 a month
Privatized Medicare means there
would no longer be a guarantee that
senior citizens have health insurance
coverage for hospital visits, means
higher costs for doctor visits and pre
scription drugs.
Increases would most certainly hap
pen because privatizing Medicare shifts
the negotiating power away from the
government.
The negotiating leverage of millions
of people is necessary to keep costs of
medical services low.
If Ryan, Price and the GOP take that
leverage away by privatizing Medicare,
it puts you-alone — against the insur
ance companies.
Imagine the contributions that are
flowing or will flow from the insurance
and pharmaceutical industries to Ryan
and other like-minded politicians to
make this happen.
Throughout the 2016 presidential
campaign, Trump made it clear that
he believed that Medicare is a program
that works; a program that people love;
and a deal with the American people
that must be honored.
I couldn’t agree more.
However, his appointee, Price, and
the Speaker are setting plans in motion
that contradict that position.
Or, is this more of Trump’s “I really
didn’t mean that” campaign rhetoric?
Medicare can be here for future gen
erations of retirees.
It is one government program that
works well.
What can you do?
Contact Sen. Johnny Isakson, 202-
224-3643, Sen. David Perdue, 202-
224-3521 and ask them to vote “no” to
Price, and contact Rep. Jody Hice, 770-
207-1776 to say “no” to Paul Ryan.
Sincerely,
Peggy Perkins
Winder
ATHE1NS
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Dr. Fields
Dr. Fields is an Orthopedic Surgeon, who received his
medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia.
He completed his residency at West Virginia University,
Morgantown, West Virginia. Dr. Fields did a fellowship
in Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic Surgery at the
Orthopedic Research of Virginia.
706-583-9000
Athens • Commerce
Elberton
Jefferson • Royston
Winder
www.athensboneandjoint.com