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Paye 4A
Opinions
Politics is a sad mess
In this week's issue is a letter from a 12-year-old seventh
grader who is concerned about our modern definition of
politics. Basically, he says that from watching, listening to,
and reading the news, it
becomes evident that
modern-day politics involves
digging up some dirt on a
fellow politician . . . and little %
else.
Isn't it amazing that we
adults often cannot see
ourselves as we really appear
until a child points it out to If
us? I can’t help but agree with
Billy Lee Wells, Jr.’s assess¬
ment of our national political \uJi
scene.
I think many of our young ^
people share Billy's view, f
They are sick and tired of
reading about probes, in- Mike
vestigations. Watergate, Lovvorn
Irangate, ABSCAM, and so
on. We have either raised a
generation of crooked politi¬ Editor
cians or a generation of mud¬
slingers, or a combination of the two. Meanwhile, running the
country as efficiently as possible takes a back seat to "who’s
doing what to whom.” That may go a long way toward explain¬
ing why we are running up a record deficit.
Give us a political candidate who is interested in balancing
the budget and leveling out our trade deficit and spare me the
muckrakers. Over the weekend, Republican candidate Jack
Kemp summarized my feelings when he said that the only way
we are going to turn around our economy is to start at Square
One with a whole new batch of Congressmen with new ideas.
Kemp said that he meant both parties, and further pointed the
finger at fellow candidates George Bush and Bob Dole, saying
they are more of the same bad lot that put us in this situation.
Speaking of political candidates, as if enough irrationality
doesn't come out of Congress every day, along comes Pat
Robertson How can you take someone seriously who makes
We are sowing what we reaped in Panama
All of the civil unrest that characterizes the nation of
Panama today is but the result of a flawed foreign policy dur¬
ing the Jimmy Carter Administration that resulted in the
United States giving away —
nay paying that Central
American nation to take - the
vital waterway that we had
built and paid for with blood,
sweat and tears.
Americanists can say with
justification, “I told you so”
as the nation is bombarded
with news of protests,
demonstrations and
economic sanctions.
: First of all, it is widely
believed that the United
States has backed President
Delvalle, whose authority has
Cornelia B. been scuttled by Antonia
Noriega, head of the military.
Nichols Stang, Opinion” In November, writing magazine, for 1977, “American noted Alan
NCWS Editor that Noriega was (under
former dictator Omar Torrijos)
head of the G-2, the Secret Police, and a communist. That
same Noriega is now ruling the republic of Panama, without re¬
nouncing any communist ideological beliefs.
Now, why, pray tell, cannot our government remove Noriega
and allow Delvalle to restore peace to his troubled nation? Our
government found ways to remove Marcos in the Philippines,
Somoza in Nicaragua and Diem in Vietnam, to name only a
few. Could this hands-off attitude toward Noriega be due to
the fact that he, in contrast to the others, is a communist? You
be the judge, based on the history you have seen taking place
around you in this troubled world! Remember, nothing hap¬
pens by accident in the political arena.
Secondly, our giveaway of the canal sent a message to Latin
America that we are weak and will not defend our interests or
those of our allies around the world. Our seven billion dollar in¬
vestment our Congress gave, lock, stock and barrel - along
with about two more billion dollars - to this country the popula¬
tion of which roughly equals that of Atlanta.
At the time of the treaty a Knight News Service reporter in¬
terviewed a Panamanian who said, “All of us here . . . would
THE LEADER-TRIBUNE IS THE OFFICIAL LEGAL
ORGAN OF PEACH COUNTY, THE CITY
OF FORT VALLEY AND THE CITY OF BYRON
825-2432 P.O. Box 1060
Fort Valley, GA 31030
Mike Lovvorn Editor and General Manager
Cornelia B. Nichols News Editor
Sherida Lovvorn Production Manager
Hallie Rigdon Bookkeeping
June Doles Production Assistant
David Sawyer Production Assistant
Vicky Whitehead Typesetting
David Ogletree Advertising
Mary Denise Jackson Advertising
Donald Cornwell Pressman
The Leader-Tribune (USPS No. 307740) is published weekly at 109 Ander
son Avenue. Fort Valley, GA 31030. Subscription rates: $12 60 per year in
Peach County, $15.75 per year elsewhere in Georgia. $20.00 per year out
of-state. Second-class postage paid at Fort Valley. Ga, Postmaster
should send address changes to P.O. Box 1060. Fort Valley. GA 31030
The Leader-Tribune. Fort Valley, Georgia. Wednesday. March 2 1988
one ridiculous claim after another every tirtje he opens his
mouth?
I have a problem with a TV evangelist wanting to be presi¬
dent in the first place. It has something to do with the Con¬
stitutional theory of separation of church and state on one
hand, and on the other hand, most of our citizens are tired of
the entire lot, thanks to Jim Bakker, Oral Roberts and now Jim¬
my Swaggart.
Some have accused President Reagan of being borderline
senile, especially when he couldn’t remember who he told cer¬
tain things or what he told them about the Iran-Contra deal.
But Pat Robertson? This man who would be president claims
there are Soviet missiles in Cuba, that he knew where
hostages were being held in Lebanon, that an impotent man
gave AIDS to his wife by kissing, a school district in Ten¬
nessee was denied federal money for not cheering loudly
enough at ballgames, and so on.
Reagan may be forgetful at times, but his comeback to
Robertson’s claim about hostages in Lebanon was classic.
“Why didn’t he tell us?” the prez asked.
Why didn’t he tell us indeed? Mainly because when pressed
for clarification, all he could do was stutter and stammer
about that information being buried in CBN’s news files.
On the eve of Super Tuesday, I’m doing little besides telling
you who not to support. That, my friends, is simply because I
have not made up my own mind.
Right now, Kemp is my choice on the Republican side.
Robertson is not credible enough. Bush, as an ex-CIA man, is
sure to be a Freedom of Information nightmare, and thus, too
dangerous. Dole is a decent second behind Kemp, but is too
much a part of the big-money political machine.
On the Democratic side, Gephardt and Dukakis are emerg¬
ing as the front-runners, and look for Jackson to run strong in
Georgia. Hart was piobably the best-qualified Demo, but Don¬
na Rice finished him for good.
Funny isn't it, that a man’s political career was ruined by
one incident of hanky-panky, something that John Kennedy
made as regular as eating breakfast the whole time he was
president.
What the heck, vote your convictions on Super Tuesday,
whatever they may be. With the three-ring circus we have in
Congress, Superman couldn’t balance the budget . . .
fight for America to keep the Canal in American hands. You
see, the only people in Panama who have ever given the United
States trouble are Communists, rich university students, and
parasitic intellectuals who live off the blood and sweat of peo¬
ple like us. We have nothing against America or the Canal
Zone because we know as long as America has control of the
Canal, there will be jobs for Panamanians. But as soon as you
give it back to Panama, it’s going to go all to hell and nobody
will have jobs.”
Since we signed and approved the treaty the communists
have become more firmly entrenched in Nicaragua and Mex¬
ico, taking orders from Moscow and working with Cuba to
subvert the whole region. President Reagan had to root them
out of Grenada to prevent their building a huge airstrip for of¬
fensive purposes against the United States.
Next, we quote from an article in The Wall Street Journal of
July 10, 1987, that Ann Brown shared with us. At that time,
almost eight months ago, 28 of the largest business associa¬
tions in Panama signed a unanimously approved resolution
demanding that Noriega be “separated from his office and in¬
vestigated for a number of crimes, including electoral fraud,
murder and drug trafficking.”
In the article Eduardo Vallarina said that many organiza¬
tions and individuals had joined the struggle there “to restore
effective and real democracy” because “a system of gover¬
nance based on the arbitrary whims of the corrupt individuals
who hold the reins of power has reached the point where it is
choking every aspect of our lives.” This business leader ended
the article by saying, “Toppling a dictatorship is no easy task,
and we realize that we still have a distance to go. As we con¬
tinue to press on, we look for EVERY SIGN OF SUPPORT, IN¬
TERNAL OR EXTERNAL (emphasis ours), while trying to main¬
tain the spirit of the people.”
In conclusion, we urge our President and our Congress to go
to the aid of a beleaguered people who have begged for
assistance in overthrowing a tinhorn dictator. Further than
that, we encourage our government to declare null and void
the treaty that surrendered our vital waterway to a government
that is unstable at best and communist at worst. Our children
will thank us for that action.
Legislative review
-ROBERT RAY
The 1988 session of the General Assembly will adjourn on
March 7th, and the last week at the Capitol is like a circus.
Thursday was the last day that the Senate would accept
bills from the House, so we were all trying to get our bills
through the Rules Committee and onto the floor for action. I
was lucky enough to have everything that I introduced pass in
time for Senate action. There are several hundred bills that did
not make it out of committee, and will die from iack of time.
This past week, I was very disappointed that the Senate kill¬
ed a bill banning the State Insurance Commissioner from
receiving campaign contributions from the industry he
regulates. Over the past several years, there has been several
such bills introduced in the House, with one that I cosigned,
that were all killed in the House Insurance Committee. It is
wrong and in direct conflict of interest for any commissioner
or public official to receive contributions from those they
regulate. I will continue to oppose such doings as long as I am
in the House of Representatives.
The big issue the past week was the change in the method
that the State School Board and Superintendent are chosen.
At the present, the State School Superintendent is elected by
the voters of Georgia, and the State Board of Education is ap¬
pointed by the Governor. The House passed a measure that
would require the ten-state school board members to be
elected by the legislators from each congressional district.
Another bill that passed will provide for the board membe rc
Reader’s Forum
Lewis seeks utility seat
EDITOR:
My fellow Fort Valleyans.
Once again the Electi6n Season
is upon us. In the past year I have
given serious consideration to
offering my candidacy for the
Fort Valley Utility Commission.
Prompting this concern has been
the high cost of utilities and the
financial burden that it has plac¬
ed upon our citizens; especially
our senior citizens and those on
fixed and low incomes.
The purpose of this letter is to
announce that I will be a can¬
didate for the Fort Valley Utility
Commission, in the City Elec¬
tion on April 6, 1988.
As your Utility Commissioner
my first priority of office will be
to work with our citizens and
the Utility Department as well as
fellow commissioners to seek
ways and means to deliver
utilities to our customers at the
lowest possible cost. I will also
pursue specific initiatives
whereby uniform payment
plans can be devised so that fix¬
ed income families will not be
saddled with high utility bills
during months of peak usage.
Please let me share with you
my qualifications and some of
my areas of involvement.
Recently appointed to the Peach
County Development Authori-
Politics disgusts 7th grader
EDITOR:
My name is Billy Lee Wells Jr.
I'm 12 years old and in the
seventh grade. I attend school at
Byron Elementary School,
Byron, GA.
I wrote this editorial because,
the president’s race is not really
a race. It seems like finding faults
in colleagues. Please let this get
in the proper hands!
WHAT IS POLITICS?
Is it the handling of govern¬
ment affairs or is it trying to find
fault in a colleague’s past?
Which is it? Well, Webster’s
Dictionary says politics is: the
theory or practice of public
policy or of political parties. But
Stealing from RAFB?
EDITOR:
I refer to a media story today
entitled Macon Man, Jasper
Trio Charged In Theft, Sale of
RAFB Property.”
Now what can be wrong about
stealing from the Air Base? On
the 24th, 25th and 26th of
September 1986, Robins AFB,
under the command of Col. Billy
G. Edenfield, through several of
his contractors, took some 1100
containers which they had
previously sold to me, fair and
square. They deposited them in
the Peach County dump.
Hired help mocks citizens
EDITOR:
Our hired help in Atlanta,
from Governor Harris on down,
continue to mock us. Can
anyone conceive that another
tax on real estate will help “the
homeless”. We need a substantial
homested exemption. To help
preserve the family, (where
Quality Basic Education can
start) the young with children
need tax relief most.
Monies allocated for Ag &
Carpet centers, covered football
fields, and unneeded in¬
cinerators, could better be spent
as tax reductions for the
to hire a commissioner for education. These measures now go
to the Senate. It would be a dangerous situation if the Senate
approved the appointed State School Superintendent without
the elected board. This would mean that the Governor would
appoint the State School Superintendent and the State Board
of Education.
A bill requiring the State to inform its employees when they
are exposed to hazardous chemicals, and to train them in the
use of the substance, passed the House Thursday. The legisla¬
tion gives state workers protection that federal law already
gives to federal government and private sector employees.
Despite opposition from legislators, the House approved a
key piece of legislation for construction of the Georgia 400 ex¬
tension, which would be the State’s only major toll road. The
bill, which passed the House and now goes to the Senate,
allows the State Tollwav Authority to issue revenue bonds
which will be repaid with toll receipts.
The House also passed a bill to give grandparents legal
standings to seek visitation rights to grandchildren, despite
warnings that it would let courts interfere with the rights of
parents. The bill will allow a court to order the visitation rights
even in cases where the children’s parents are happily mar
Continued on Page 16A
I
ty. 1 am a member of the
Chamber of Commerce and the
Peach PIE Association. I also
serve as co-chairman of Peach
20001 Last year I was a chairman
on the Peach Festival Commit¬
tee. I am currently employed at
Blue Bird Body Company and
reside with my wife, Shirley and
two sons, James and Bryan. I re¬
main respectfully yours.
James F. Lewis
m
i
James F. Lewis
in the past eight months it seems
to be a game to find faults in col¬
leagues and their past.
If you listen to the news or
radio or pick up a newspaper,
you never hear or see anything
good about a politician. But you
always hear about what a person
found out about a politician or
his past.
People do change, and I think
people should quit looking into
people’s past and look at the per¬
son's present and future plans.
As long as they ask for
forgiveness, the good should be
looked at in their past, and erase
the bad.
Billy Lee Wells, Jr.
Nearly a month before
removal, they saw fit to declare
once again they were legal and
non-hazardous. All my claims
for compensation have been
summarily denied. So MY pro¬
perty lies buried in the Peach
County landfill. I cannot afford a
lengthy lawsuit either in money
or time.
I wonder what would have
happened to me, had I attempted
to drive out of Col. Edenfield’s
gates without paying for those
barrels.
William E. Suber
homeless” and those about to
become so.
The phony seat belt law, pass¬
ed only to preserve the Gover¬
nor’s immense ego, is an insult.
The same ego, outrageously
displayed following his Taylor
County defeat, needs checking,
not inflating.
The public can hardly get to
the Capitol because lack of park¬
ing, so most of the lobbyists
seem to be State employees seek¬
ing more money and power.
They have reserved parking and
special tags.
William E. Suber