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Homeland security or facism?
> his past week President
George Bush appointed
former Pennsylvania
Governor Tom Ridge as the
leader of the first White House
Office of Homeland Security.
Mr. Ridge was sworn in by
Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas in the East
Room of the White House. As
I sat and watched Tom Ridge
taking the oath of office in the
White House with Clarence
Thomasin hisblackrobe, there
was something unsettling
about this affair. My uneasi
ness could have simply been
linkedtoH.R.297sand 5.1510,
theantiterrorismbillsthat are
before the House and Senate.
Limbaugh, Kabul, and G.W. grows up
This past week ultraconser
vative AM radio talk show host
Rush Limbaughannounced that
he was completely deaf in his
left ear and 80 percent deaf in
his right. Limbaugh gained
prominence with talk show lis
teners throughout the Clinton
yearsbybeing Bubba Clinton’s
number one critic. I can appre
ciate that since my ongoing
battle with our mayor is simi
lar, however my criticisms are
based on the mayor’s job per
formance (or lack thereof) not
his personal life. Limbaugh has
alsobeen credited with helping
‘renergize republican voters in
-the 1994 sweep that gave the
+GOP control of both houses of
~thecongress. Followingthe 1994
«congressional electionsthe GOP
-can be credited for having ob
«structionist policies and block
ing most all of President
Clinton’s legislative proposals.
Not only can we thank
zLimbaugh for that but also for
sputting Austin Rhodes on the
radio. Without Limbaugh’s
‘coattails Rhodes would still be
‘covering high school football
games for local public access
TV andlwonderifhisshowcan
Jome .
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Call Us At
(706) 481-0430
We honor Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and Check Cards
black 3%
By The Rev. Dr. '
Ralph C. Watkins s,
These bills in essence will be
the marching orders that will
guide the work that Tom Ridge
is tasked to do.
The antiterrorism bills be
fore the House and Senate
have the right intention, but
theremedies need toberecon
sidered. Thebillsgotoofarin
giving the government un
abridgedliberties totap phones
and computers, check personal
The (3
-piniong;,
By Brad Owens f
survive if hearing loss forces
Limbaugh off of the air. Smart
mc ley bets that Rhodes would
fade quick, however his ill-in
formed opinions, limited edu
cation, small vocabulary, and
simple highschool debateteam
analogies du bode well with his
audience. Imyselfwill continue
to listen as a form of motiva
tional therapy; he reminds me
of what I’'m fighting for and
against.
In other news the much
awaited allied counter attack
against thebin Laden terrorist
network iswellunderway. U.S.
and British warplanes pounded
key targets all over Afghani
stan since Sunday. The main
focus of these strikes were
Osama bin Laden terrorist
training camps and the
Taliban’s command and con
trol facilities. Other strikes
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A Closer Look
records, and secretly search
homes. We need to be vigilant
and protect our bordersduring
this time of war, but we can’t
make Americans our enemy.
We must protect and hold true
to the principles of freedom
and democracy. It is hard to
balance the principles of free
dom and the need for national
security in desperate times, but
we must embrace the tension.
It is admittedly a difficult
time in our country and I un
derstand theactionsof our lead
ers but in our effort to do the
right thing, let us not do the
wrong thing. The right thing
istomove with theintentionto
develop abalanced approach to
were made on key points: com
munication, airdefense, aircraft,
andtroop concentrationslocated
throughout the Afghan coun
tryside. Also being dropped is
Meals Ready to Eat similar to
the ones that our armed forces
eat. Since the bombing started,
some 70,000 of these mealshave
been dropped to the Afghan
people that have been hit the
hardest by the drought and
fighting. This tactic of “win
ning the hearts and minds” isa
goodideaand we shoulddropas
many meals as it takes to help
alleviate the suffering of the
starving Afghan people. I was
sent aninterestinge-mail about
that subject by a person that
opposes the war. The e-mail is
titled “Bomb them with butter”
and makes the assertion that if
we just drop food and fill up
their belly that they will see the
light and peace will reign su
preme. I agree that we should
export Americanismin the form
of freedom and full bellies but
only after we take out the bad
guysthat are waiting with guns
to take the food away from the
people that need it the most. All
of the Taliban officials that I
protect Americans. The wrong
thing would be to develop an
irreversible policy that chips
away at the principlesand val
ues of freedom.
It is obvious what the Office
of Homeland Security will do
for Americaduringthis timeof
crisisbut thequestionremains,
what does its future hold?
What will this Office of Home
land Security do after the war?
Whom will they choose to moni
tor? How will they identify
enemies of the state?
Dr. Watkins is a sociology
professor at Augusta State
University and can be reached
at (706) 737-1735 or email:
rwatkins@aug.edu
have seen on TV were fat and
healthy so that leads me to
believe that bombingthem with
butter may not havethedesired
affect.
What a difference one month
and a war can make. In four
weeks “Dubya” hasbecomethe
president, Commanderin Chief;,
and terrorist butt kicker num
ber one. Nothing ages a person
like stressand I can see proofof
thatin theeyesofour president
these past few weeks. G. W.
“Cowboy” Bush has grown up
fast and I predict that he will
have a full head of gray hair by
theend of his first year in office.
Nothing puts more pressure
and stress on a president than
a war and I do not envy the
president’s job in these trying
times. lam proud ofthe way the
Commander in Chief has con
ducted himselfand our response
has been appropriate so far.
His cabinet may not have been
able to tackle domestic prob
lemslikesocial security reform,
sagging economic times, or job
creation but fighting a war is
right up their alley. I cannot
think ofagroup of people better
equipped to fight and win our
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AUGUSTA FOCUS
Rebuild safety net
From page 8A
because they care for children
or elderly relatives); institute
a federal unemployment in
surancebenefit supplement, to
insure that the benefits can
keep families intact; and re
peal thetaxation of unemploy
ment insurancebenefits, which
is a particularly cruel form of
double taxation.
Asforwelfare, thegreat con
cern many expressed when the
new act was passed may be
about tocome true: that we're
aboutto “punch” the five-year
timeclock on familiesand poor
childrenstillontherollsinthe
midst of a severe economic
downturn.
We should turn the “clock”
off for all recipients during
this economic crisis, and sus
pendimposing sanctions until
the economy returns to nor
mal. Secondly, during the re-
Brigham is best for Fifth
For the past 15 years, Au
gusta-Richmond County has
been blessed with the quiet,
levelheaded leadership of
Henry Brigham.
Never one to scream and
draw attention to himself, he
has nevertheless made great
contributions to thiscommu
nity, especially for senior citi
zensand young people. It was
because of his leadership that
the Belle Terrace Community
Center wasrenovated and the
war on terrorism than his cur
rent cabinet. It is also amazing
how quickly President Bush has
corralled both houses of con
gress and solidified foreign sup
port. Thataccomplishmentalone
is a real testament to him and
his cabinet’s abilities. If this
spirit of bipartisan focus can
remain in place, those domestic
e
854-9200
OCTOBER 11, 2001
authorization debates of the
1996 welfare act, Congress
should reinstate an economic
“automatic stabilizer effect”
for welfare — that is, allow
former recipients to again re
ceive benefits when the
economy slowsand they’'reout
of work.
These are just a few of the
recommendations Congress
and the American people must
consider.
The jolt the horrible events
of September 11 havegivenan
economy that was already sig
nificantly slowing have also
underscored the need torepair
thedamagedoneto America’s
social safety net when the
economy’sboomingblindedus
totheinevitability of economic
cycles.
We can’t afford to ignore
this lesson.
Hugh B. Price is president
of the National Urban League.
Senior Center and Swim Cen
ter were built. Wholesome
recreation has changed the
face of this community. Our
kids have something to do
now, and so do we.
It makes sense to keep ef
fective leadership. lurgeyou
to re-elect Henry Brigham
District Five Commissioner
on November 6.
George R. Mitchell
Augusta
issues I mentioned above
should be an easy task for the
president and the congress to
tackle after the war is won. I
ask you to pray for our fight
ing men and women now in
harms way defending us and
our way of life.
brad.owens@lycos.com
X Plan,
College Gra
& Military
Discount
9A