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DawsonOpinion
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022
This is a page of opinion — ours, yours and
others. Signed columns and cartoons are the
opinions of the writers and artists, and they
may not reflect our views.
Courtroom not
place to decide
Greenes future
I think Marjorie
Taylor Greene is a
joke. An unfunny
joke. She has
accomplished
nothing in her one
term in Congress
except to be
denied assignment
to any Congressional committee where the
real work is done. That means she has no
influence in what passes or doesn’t pass in
Congress and is relegated to making out
landish statements.
Even before she was elected, Greene had
endorsed posts calling for the execution of
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She also liked
Facebook comments about executing law
enforcement agents who are in the “deep
state,"’(not to be confused with the Gazpacho
police.)
And who can forget her concerns about
the California wildfires having been started
by a laser beam in space controlled by the
Rothschilds, a prominent Jewish banking
company. There are more examples, of
course, but I think you get the idea. She has
made buffoonery an art form.
Now, Marjorie Taylor Greene is making
headlines of a different kind. Five of
Greene’s constituents represented by a group
called Free Speech for People are seeking to
disqualify her from appearing on the ballot
in next month’s primary. They contend she
violated the U.S. Constitution by engaging
in an insurrection with her alleged support
for the January 6th Capitol riots.
The case centers on a provision of the 14th
Amendment of the Constitution - known as
the disqualification clause - which bars any
person from holding federal office who has
previously taken an oath to protect and
defend the Constitution and then has
“engaged in insurrection” against the United
States.
Administrative Faw Judge Charles
Beaudrot has heard from both sides on the
matter and says he will finalize his recom
mendation shortly. That recommendation
will then go to Georgia Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger, who will decide if
Greene remains on the ballot for the May
24th primary.
Greene’s attorney James Bopp said, “The
right to vote is at stake, right here, right now.
Because they (meaning the plaintiffs) want
to deny the right to vote to the thousands of
people in the 14th District of Georgia by
having Greene removed from the ballot.”
You may want to sit down lest you fall
over in a faint at what I am about to say:
Despite my oft-stated antipathy for Greene
and her motor mouth, I agree with Mr. Bopp.
It is not the court’s business whether
Maijorie Taylor Greene is or is not on the
ballot in May. She was duly elected by the
voters of Georgia’s 14th Congressional
District. It is their right to return her to office
or to kick her out if they so choose.
Assuming she survives the current court
challenge, a group of six candidates are lined
up to face off against Greene in the May 24
Republican primary while three Democrats
battle it out in their primary for a chance to
be on the ballot in November’s general elec
tion. Defeating her will be a tall order.
Greene has over $3 million in her war chest
and the reelection rate for incumbent U.S.
House members is roughly 95 percent.
But however things turn out, there is no
question that Marjorie Taylor Greene is the
gift that keeps on giving. You may have read
about the text she sent to former Trump chief
of staff Mark Meadows in the days follow
ing the Washington riots suggesting that his
boss might want to declare “Marshall law.”
I’m not sure if she was referring to the late
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
or former Secretary of State Gen. George C.
Marshall or Cuddles Marshall, the hard-
throwing righthander for the old St. Fouis
Browns. I doubt Meadows knew, either. I
suspect he was more worried about what the
Gazpacho police might do.
Greene told the media that she didn’t
“recall those being my text messages.” I
don’t blame her. I would try and forget that,
too.
Now we await the recommendations of
Judge Beaudrot and the final decision of
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as to
Maijorie Taylor Greene’s political fate. I am
going to assume that he will allow her on the
ballot. Invoking the 14th Amendment is a
stretch. Besides, I find it ironic that a group
calling itself Free Speech for People is trying
to stifle her free speech, as onerous as it is.
Marjorie Taylor Greene may be a joke to
some - or to many - but voters in Georgia’s
14th Congressional District sent her to
Washington to be their elected representa
tive. They very well could do it again. And
that’s no joke.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough atdick@dick-
yarbrough.com; at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta,
GA 31139; online atdickyarbrough.com or on
Facebook at wvwv.facebook.com/dickyarb.
DICKYARBROUGH
Columnist
A different perspective on Mothers Day
Mother’s
Day has taken
on a new mean
ing for me
since I became
a mother
myself.
Fargely
because it is a
day I never thought I’d cele
brate.
I wasn’t one of those
women who normally cooed
over every baby; they typi
cally terrified me. since they
had a soft spot and people
talked about umbilical cords
falling off. Not to mention a
friend explained something
in terms of “explosive” and
“projectile” one day, and I
said that sounded like some
thing I didn’t think I could
handle.
But it wasn’t just that I
feared babies.
Fong before Famar and I
married, I had dealt with a lot
of issues, which only got
worse with each year.
It got to the point where I
felt like I needed answers, so
I went to the doctor only to
find out that more than likely.
I wouldn’t be able to have
children.
Even though we hadn’t
been talking about the possi
bility yet - we had only been
married about two months -
we had discussed
wanting children
on our first date.
Hearing that
news knocked the
wind right out of
me.
It was just not a
possibility I had
even remotely considered.
A few months later, when I
found out I was pregnant, it
was hard to believe.
I had thought I had some
how caught mono and that
was why I was tired all the
time.
The smell of Famar mak
ing espresso in the morning
could make me nauseous
even when I was in the show
er.
“You need to take a preg
nancy test,” my friend.
Cherie, said. Her husband
had been an OB/GYN, and
she had often helped in the
office, so she knew a few of
the not-so-normal symptoms.
“I can’t get pregnant,” I
said.
“I don’t care. You need to
take a test.”
So I did.
I didn’t want to tell anyone
until the doctor confirmed it.
“I thought I couldn’t have
kids,” I said to the physi
cian’s assistant.
She looked back through
my file. “Based on those tests
you had a few months ago, it
was very unlikely.”
“Were those tests wrong?”
She continued reviewing
them. “Nope. There was a
very slim possibility, but
somehow you defied those
odds. That baby’s supposed
to be here.”
It wasn’t an easy pregnan
cy though.
You know how there are
some women who just glow
and look amazing when preg
nant? That was not me.
That was the total opposite
of me.
Even when I was put on
bed rest, all I could think was
how no matter how miserable
I was, it was worth every sec
ond of it.
The day my son was born
our scheduled C-section was
bumped for hours; we
learned later that one baby
being delivered was in dis
tress, and another was still
born.
As I held Cole that night in
my hospital room, it hit me.
Not every mother was get
ting that moment to bond
with their baby, count their
fingers and toes, and smell
their little heads.
There are some women
who may try and try to con
ceive and never do.
There are women who
have miscarried.
And some delivered a baby
they wouldn’t take home.
While Mother’s Day is a
day to celebrate mothers,
there’s a lot of women who
have yearned and ached for a
baby, and this day hurts.
Hearing someone ask,
“When are you going to have
a baby?” to someone is one
of the most obtrusive and
painful questions that can be
asked, and it’s one that some
people ask, not thinking that
maybe that woman has strug
gled with infertility or maybe
even lost a baby.
It’s such a personal and
sometimes painful thing to
deal with.
Knowing I was told I
couldn’t have a child, then
being able to, has given me
such a different perspective
on Mother’s Day, one that I
don’t think I would have had
otherwise.
This year, may we hold
that space in our hearts for
all those women who are
mothers and those who have
yearned to be.
Sudie Crouch is an award
winning humor columnist and
author of "The Dahlman Files:
A Tony Dahlman Paranormal
Mystery."
SUDIE CROUCH
Columnist
DR. ANDERSON
Pay attention, be proactive to protect yourself from viruses
By Dr. Larry Anderson
Anderson Family Medicine
We have some interesting
numbers today. 25 people
in the metro Atlanta area
have died so far from influ
enza. 97 people in Dawson
County have died from
COVID. 3 Bald Eagles in
Georgia have died from the
Avian Influenza. Over 28
million birds have been
culled because of Avian
Influenza. 1 person in
America has contracted
Avian Influenza and has
survived. Viruses are not
always our friend. We need
to pay attention to protect
ing ourselves and being
proactive. Wash your hands
a lot. Dirt has nothing to do
with it. It would be a lot
easier if we could see the
virus. They are everywhere.
Just a thought. When was
it ever a good idea to put
people on a cart and let
them pedal from bar to bar.
The Ukrainians are giv
ing a good accounting of
themselves. The atrocities
never seem to be slowing
down. Yet most of the world
is still sitting back and not
doing much. Sanctions are
being applied but slowing
down the killing is not the
same as stopping the kill
ing. Soldiers wear a uni
form for a reason. You can
separate them from the
civilians just by looking at
what they are wearing. This
is not like dealing with the
Taliban when they dressed
as civilians and it was very
hard to tell who was who.
Pray for the safety of the
Ukrainians and for the
Russians to go home. Wash
your hands. Cover your
mouth. Sneeze into your
elbow. Stay away from sick
people. Thanks for reading.
LETTERTOTHE EDITOR
Who is at fault?
The whole Ukraine war is a tragedy
for the world and for the Ukrainian peo
ple and the Russian people, and it is just
at the beginning. It will touch us all even
if the best possible ending comes to
pass. The damage is already horrific.
The root cause of that damage is
Putin. He imagined that he and his peo
ple were threatened and he imagined
that the Ukrainians would welcome him
and the Russians. He imagined that
Ukraine wanted to be part of the old
imperial Russia or the renewed mini
Soviet Empire.
Biden may not be he direct cause but
he has thrown gas on Putin’s fire. Putin
said clearly that he wanted Ukraine to
never become part of the NATO alliance
and that he wanted the NATO alliance to
pull back from the borders of Russia. He
said those things as he assembled his
troops and equipment.
Biden said absolutely — No!!! to all
Putin’s demands. Biden spoke for
NATO because without the USA, NATO
is as weak as old dish water. So no it
was. Putin moved and we had no real
options to stop him. He is close and we
are far.
Then real negotiations started with the
Ukrainian leader and the Russians, and
in the middle of those talks Biden says
that Putin should not be allowed to
remain as the leader of Russia. Rus-sia
protested.
More talks were then resumed. Then
Biden, who cannot control his brain or
his mouth said that Putin was a war
criminal. War criminals, if they lose a
war, are tried and either hung or sent
to a dark prison hole for the rest of
their days.
Then more talks happened and in the
middle of those talks stupid Biden says
that Putin has committed genocide. How
would you negotiate with someone who
has already convicted you and sentenced
you to death?
Biden may be right but he is the head
of State not some Senator from
Delaware. He needs to shut his mouth.
There are no talks now. Absolute posi
tions preclude negotiated settlements. It
will be settled by a terrible war of
destruction.
Biden was a bad negotiator. Putin is in
a dream reality of his own making. My
guess is that Russia will grind Ukraine
into surrender and there may be nothing
much worth having when sur-render
comes. God help us all.
Gary Pichon
Marble Hill
