Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 10A
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, January 10,1998
The Forsyth County News
Opinion
''l
This is a page of opinions - ours, yours and others.
Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the
writers and artists and may not reflect our views.
Donors who provide
life-saving blood are
honored during this
month’s observance
While the label of
“Critical Blood
Shortage” from
the American
Red Cross
hasn’t impacted service providing
at Baptist North Hospital, officials
there are quick to join with Red
Cross officials and other health
care professionals in saying
“Thanks for giving.”
To the volunteers who roll up
their sleeves on a consistent basis
to donate blood, the American
Red Cross is marking this
month’s observance as National
Volunteer Blood
Month with special
recognition to
tnulti-gallon
donors.
January 1999
has been declared
National Volunteer
Blood Month by
President Bill
Clinton and past
and present donors
are getting a spe
cial thank-you,
according to Greg
Bautista of the Red
Cross’ Northeast
Georgia Chapter
and Community
BJood Center, located in
Gainesville.
Bautista said individuals who
have given five gallons or more
are being placed on a special roll
of honor, and 81 Forsyth
Countians are among the hon
orees. One of those individuals is
Lloyd Compton, who is the sub
ject of a feature that appears on
Page 3C. He explained to Bautista
why he donates: “Really I donate
because it’s simple and it’s easy.
And it’s fun, too. You get to enjoy
cookies and juice. I have a good
time doing it.
In the war, they asked me to
donate blood for someone else
Letters
Appreciation for
support and prayers
Dear Editor,
On Oct. 31, 1998; our son Joshua was
in a tragic car accident leaving him para
lyzed from the waist down. After making
very few calls, a community of friends
and family were praying. Thanks isn’t
enough but we are so grateful. The best
part of all is seeing him get stronger
every day and standing again. Also walk
ing with braces and a walker. We’ll never
know all who took the time to pray, but
Thank you from the deepest part of our
hearts. Joshua is a 1996 graduate of
Forsyth Central. He played football four
Jntars.
Judy Ramey
Cumming
Voices of decency
need to ask questions
Dear Editor,
Phil Danner asked, what do I think. I
agree with everything you said. It’s dis
couraging to see you list the failures of
the president but encouraging to see that
there are still voices of decency in the
media.
When considering those people who
continue to defend Clinton, I wonder
about the strength of “belief* they have
in their cause. If your cause can’t be
who needed B-type blood, and I
was happy to do so. I’ve been
donating regularly every since.”
Steve Haynes, manager of the
Northeast Georgia Community
Blood Center, said the need for
blood is constant and volunteer
blood donors contribute to nearly
all the blood used for patient care
in the United States.
“If all who are eligible to
donate would do so on a regular
basis - three or four times per
year - then blood needs could be
met and shortages could become a
thing of the past,” Haynes said.
Bl
I
Lloyd Compton (
days.
This holiday season was appar
ently a busy one for regular
donors, who may have been kept
away from blood drives by the
cold temperatures. An emergency
blood shortage resulted, and the
Red Cross began looking to
encourage new donors. Across the
nation, only 5 percent of eligible
Americans donate blood.
The American Red Cross is a
United Way of Forsyth County
agency.
If you are interested in becom
ing a blood donor, contact the
Northeast Georgia Community
Blood Center at (770) 532-8453
for information.
I While Red Cross
officials acknowl
edge there are some
blood shortages
every winter, the
shortage grew criti
cal earlier this
month and there was
a call for metro hos
pitals to postpone
elective surgeries. A
half-day supply of
blood was on hand
in the metro area, so
scheduled holiday
drives at some mall
locations were
extended several
moved forward without the help of this
immoral, self-concerned man, can it real
ly be a just cause? I ask this of women’s
groups who have linked their cause to
Clinton’s, a man who obviously has no
respect for women. 1 ask this of liberals
and moderates who support abortion,
promote the homosexual lifestyle and
want to continue and expand welfare
programs. I ask this of the liberal media
who make this out to be a popularity
contest instead a question of law. I ask
this particularly of the people who perse
cute those who are doing right by the
American people and our Constitution by
acting to remove this unworthy presi-.
dent. Why is it you aren’t condemning
the man’s actions to remove the ‘bad
apple’ from your barrel?
Carol Lindeland
Cumming
Let’s mix and fix
Social Security
Dear Editor,
You’ve 'ecently ran a series on your
op-ed page by Dick Spreen, urging the
replacement of the publicly funded
Social Security system with a privately
funded Pension Savings Account system
patterned after one in use in the South
American country of Chile. The author
failed to disclose that his model country,
Chile, spends a whopping 25 percent of
Bueu. ,
"I had a terrible dream last night about
getting a long form 1040... whatever that is!"
A sour note in an upbeat time
Must someone always try to rain on a
parade?
Gov.-to-be Roy Barnes’ spin doctors
worked overtime last week to let the pub
lic know that economic development
keeping the boom booming will be a
central mission of the new state adminis
tration.
Barnes announced a major initiative,
The Yamacraw Mission, to draw more
high-tech companies into the state.
The governor has said he will strive to
solve metro Atlanta’s air-pollution prob
lem so the economic expansion of the
region can continue.
He has met with representatives of
Alabama and Florida to work out a com
promise on the use of river basins shared
by our three states, all in the name of let
ting the good times roll.
A week before he officially took
office, Barnes asked the Legislature to
allocate additional millions for expansion
of the World Congress Center to bring
more big conventions to Atlanta and
Georgia.
His speech-writers are busy weaving
economic-development themes through
his first official orations.
Barnes sees himself as Georgia’s No. 1
salesman —a latter-day George Busbee
bent on bringing new industries, tourist
attractions and conventions to the state.
He just can’t talk enough about keep
ing Georgia’s economic lantern burning
brightly.
But, suddenly last week, Atlanta
Mayor Bill Campbell left Gov.-elect
Barnes speechless.
Just as the firearms industry’s largest
trade show planned to alight in Atlanta
with nearly 35,000 visitors, Mayor
Campbell announced he intended to file a
its program’s money on “administrative
expenses.” We call that “waste, fraud and
abuse” in this country. The U.S. Social
Security system, recognized by all for
lifting tens of millions of our elderly
from poverty, spends only 2 percent on
administration. Its also notable that the
folks pushing hardest for abolition of
Social Security and giving the most
money to the key congressmen in
Washington are stock brokers. Who do
you think that 25 percent would go to?
That wasn’t disclosed by the author
either. The author also failed to disclose
that one of his information sources, the
Cato Institute, is a far right “think tank”.
I’d direct Mr. Spreen to the Nov. 30
issue of the “left wing” Business Week
magazine (“Social Security: Let It Be,”
page 34) which opposes radical change
in Social Security. This issue also has an
article about investor lawsuits over high
fees charged by mutual fund companies.
The Chilean system was imposed by
force by a military dictatorship which
also suppressed the labor unions. No
wonder the Cato Institute likes it. What’s
more, the Chilean military exempted
themselves from the private system; they
kept a generous, publicly funded system
for themselves! I suggest we could find a
better model for the democratic United
States, interested in keeping its retirees
out of poverty, than a hypocritical mili
tary dictatorship’s corrupt system for
protecting its wealthy benefactors.
The mixed U.S. system, using public
financing (Social Security) as a base
Bm
| Shipp
lawsuit against gun-makers. He contends
gun-makers and gun-dealers are responsi
ble for the high incidence of violent
crimes on Atlanta’s streets. Chicago and
New Orleans have filed similar litigation.
Bobby Kahn, the new guv’s usually
garrulous chief of staff, said crisply that
his boss would have no comment on
Campbell’s lawsuit against the gun folks.
Perhaps Barnes’ silence is understand
able. Campbell was a belated supporter of
Barnes’ candidacy for governor. The
National Rifle Association, the high-pow
ered political arm of the gun business,
endorsed Barnes earlier.
An executive of the Shot Show, the big
convention that comes to Atlanta Feb. 1-4,
was not so reticent as Barnes about dis
cussing Campbell’s courthouse ploy.
“You can tell the mayor that his town
can kiss $l5O million good-bye,” said
Robert Delfay, president of the National
Shooting Sports Foundation. “We are not
planning to come back.”
State and city convention promoters
had nearly persuaded Delfay to return to
Atlanta with his convention in 2001, 2003
and 2007, when Campbell disclosed his
plans to litigate. The shooters’ convention
and its delegates spend an estimated SSO
million in their host city.
The theory of the announced gun law
suit is simple: If tobacco manufacturers
which is supplemented by private financ
ing (401 k and pension), is a more flexi
ble and secure system. Dismantling such
a successful system would make as much
sense as disbanding the U.S. Army
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i
can be held responsible for deaths caused
by smoking, then gun manufacturers sure
ly must be the cause of deaths by shoot
ing.
Big tobacco coughed up billions to set
tle its litigation. The gun people might do
the same. At least that’s the city’s hope. It
would be like winning the lottery.
Campbell and the city would wake up one
morning, and a whopping settlement
check from the firearms industry would be
waiting on the mayor’s desk. Atlanta’s tax
problems would be solved. The cops
could get their raise. Water-and-sewer
bills might be reduced. Potholes might be
filled. Non-Atlanta Georgians might quit
pointing fingers and snickering at the cap
ital’s fiscal irresponsibility.
Dream on, Mayor Bill. Big Tobacco
and Big Guns are not the same. If you’re
going to sue firearms manufacturers for
shooting deaths, why not sue the auto
industry for causing car crashes or
even ski-mask manufacturers for facilitat
ing bank robberies by masked bandits?
Besides, the General Assembly con
venes Monday, and there’s already talk of
passing a state law to nullify Atlanta’s
legal standing in a court case against gun
makers.
In any event, the idea of the gun law
suit is a little nuts. It also sounded a sour
note, though perhaps not a major one, in
the prelude to what promises be a go-go
state administration.
Bill Shipp is editor of Bill Shipp’s
Georgia, a weekly newsletter on govern
ment and business. He can be reached at
P. O. Box 440755, Kennesaw, Ga. 30144
or by calling (770) 422-2543, e-mail:
bshipp@bellsouth.net, Web address:
http://www. billshipp. com.
because it once paid SIOO for toilet seats.
Social Security is not perfect, but it can
and should be fixed.
James B. Robinson
Cumming