Newspaper Page Text
Page 6
Wednesday, October 18,2006
liberals
continued from page 4
consider the fact that he
may have made a mistake.
He has paid the penalty
for it and has not stooped,
as some do, to simply
attacking the credibility of
his accusers.
On the charge that
Sonny cut programs
such as education
during his tenure, it is
necessary to look back
to the circumstances that
forced him to do that.
Georgia and every other
state in the union was
experiencing a monetary
shortfall as a result of the
9/11 recession.
Almost every
state was forced to cut
something, and Georgia
was no exception. I
would imagine that
Sonny didn’t only cut
education, as Akins
suggests, but he cut the
entire budget in order
to be able to continue
paying government
employee (including
teachers) salaries.
It is ludicrous to
suggest that when it came
down to the final list of
things that Georgia could
save money on. Sonny
looked at the list and
said, “Who cares about
The West Georgian is currently looking for
a sports writer.
Stop by UCC room ill and pick up an
application.
Be part of a winning team!
Say 'Blah!' to politics
The
Editor’s
Box
With Bobby Moore
rmoore7@my.westga.edu
In recent weeks, the opinion
section has featured political
opinions, which makes sense with
this being election season.
Both the Democrats and
Republicans seem to have candidates
who tickle the fancy of their loyal
party members, but what about those
of us who are not into party politics?
While Americans seem to have
no alternative to the major parties
other than a wasted vote, some of
our apathetic friends overseas have
flexed their creative muscles and
created the Blah! Party.
That can’t be real, can it? Of
course it is.
They have their own website
at http://www. blahparty.org, and
they even have an official sponsor in
Seabrook potato crisps.
This party, which was originated
by pop music legend Captain
Sensible, is the political party for
people who hate political parties.
Sensible, who is a long time
member of punk rock legends The
Damned, once played on a song that
proclaimed that his politics don’t
sell cloths.
Apparently, he really is a political
kind of guy even u lie 1. ps it out of
his m'”lc.
According to the website, the
Blah! Party is “for no-nonsense
people who are fed up with the
irrational and senseless aspects of
children? Lets take their
tuition money away!”
On this same note,
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor is
supported by the Georgia
branch of the National
Education Association.
This is a fancy name
for one of the most liberal
unions in the country,
which wouldn’t support
Sonny Purdue even if
he gave every child a
SIO,OOO scholarship
this instant, because he
believes in other issues
which go against their
liberal agenda.
Let me tell you
something about the
NEA. All teachers in the
NEA have part of their
wages garnished for dues
to the union. Much of
this money goes to help
support pet programs of
the union bosses, in which
the individual teachers
have no say.
I’ll give a couple
examples of some
preposterous stands they
take on certain issues,
though you can go to
http://www.nea.org and
click on “other issues” to
leam more.
They are against the
“65 percent plan”, which
mandates that at least 65
percent of education funds
go directly to classroom
everyday life and modern politics."
The site goes on to point out
some of the hypocrisy in the British
government.
For example, they apparently
have a big obesity debate going on at
the moment. Deputy Prime Minister
John Prescott’s weight problem
makes the Blah! Party believe that
he should be leading by example.
Sensible says that the party
simply demands accountability for
the actions taken by politicians and
individuals.
“We believe in the right to
opinion, the right to question, the
right to disapprove and the right
to change things for the better- we
want to see the current leading
parties pull their socks up, stop
spouting hot air and actually deliver
on their promises,” Sensible said on
the party’s mission statement.
The party is also opposed to
non-violent offenders spending
time in prison and multi-national
corporations taking over British
brands like Rolls-Royce.
I’ll admit that I probably
wouldn’t know about this party if
I was not a huge fan of Sensible’s
music, but I can’t help but like the
idea of a true party for the people.
Will this party accomplish
anything? I doubt it. Would I love to
see an American equivalent of it? Of
course I would.
Even if you don’t care about
foreign politics, the concept behind
this party should still make you
think about things.
It’s a shame that people keep
silent or, even worse, don’t vote
because they feel like they have no
say in the direction of C eir nation.
Regardless of if you live in
Europe or America, you should feel
entitled to say “blah!” to either major
political party and their agendas.
instruction.
They are against the
successful “Taxpayers
Bill of Rights”, which
kept Colorado’s budget
balanced even when
other states were in the
red.
They are against
vouchers, which allow
kids in failing schools to
take the money given to
them by the government
for their education and
enroll in another school.
All in all, it seems to
me like education is their
last priority. I wouldn’t
consider an endorsement
by them a compliment at
all, but a liability.
I want to close by
encouraging everyone
who reads an article by
me or anyone else to read
it skeptically and with
one eyebrow raised.
Even if something
sounds right, or “makes
sense”, do a little research
before you make up your
mind. It didn’t take me
very much time at all to
find enough information
to quickly disprove
these two columns, and
I learned a lot along the
way.
Always look up
anything you don't
understand, and check all
facts and claims.
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