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PAGE 4A
ForsythOpinion
New session
awaits states
lawmakers
positions they hold.
Unlike members of
Congress, who serve in
that capacity on a full
time basis and have sala
ries commensurate with
the position, most Georgia
lawmakers have to find a
way to juggle their regular
jobs, or put them on hold
for weeks at a time, in
order to serve the public.
And they aren't going to
get rich off their legisla
tive paychecks.
There are a few bad
apples in every barrel, but
most legislators in
Georgia are well-meaning
public servants who aren’t
going to use their position
for personal gain, who
aren’t going to make
money illegally off their
state job, and who aren’t
going to use their posi
tions inappropriately.
That such is the case is
one reason so many of
them bristle when others
push for stricter ethics
laws or reform of lobby
ing rules — they know they
aren’t doing anything
wrong and resent the
implication that they are.
It won't be long until
we are joining in with oth
ers to offer criticisms of
“the job being done at the
Capitol, to suggest better
ways to run the state and
to point out all the idiocy
that annually seems to be
part of the legislative gath
ering.
But for now, let's be
thankful that there are
some among us willing to
undertake the responsibil
ity of conducting the pub
lic’s business in what is
often a difficult and thank
less job. There will be
plenty of opportunities for
skewering of our lawmak
ers at a later date.
The Georgia General
Assembly cranks up again
this week, and with it all
the accompanying politi
cal and govemment news
anybody could want for
the next couple of months.
Soon we will be
immersed in everchang
ing plans for a state bud
get that is never big
enough to do everything
that someone thinks needs
to be done; exposed to
tors obsessing over a con
troversial but silly bill that
has no chance of passage;
and bombarded with the
frantic pleas of bureau
crats hoping to convince
us that their particular
piece of the state puzzle is
more important than any
other. ¢
It is, indeed, that time
again.
It won't be long before
we are joining with others
in critiquing some state
issue or the other, or offer
ing to heap criticism atop
of complaint for the way
our government is con
ducted.
But in the quiet before
that storm, we would be
remiss if we didn’t pause
for a minute to think
about those we send to the
Gold Dome each year to
Our legislators, for the
most part, are not profes
sional politicians. For the
the legislative session
means taking time away
from their personal busi
their private lives in order
to have a role in govern
ing the state. Sometimes
we forget that, and it’s
worth remembering even
though those who do so
sought election to the
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Hagel’s selection meant to be irritation for Republicans
“Never make an enemy
by accident,” housemaid
Anna Bates warned her
husband in the third sea
son premiere of
“Downton Abbey"
Sunday night. That’s
what the housemaid's
mother always told her.
If his mother ever gave
him the same advice, for
mer GOP Sen. Chuck
Hagel — now President
Barack Obama'’s pick to
serve as secretary of
defense — seems to have
ignored it.
Biographically, the for
mer U.S. senator from
Nebraska and decorated
Vietnam War hero makes
a great choice.
As the president noted,
“he’d be the first person
of enlisted rank to serve
as secretary of defense,
3
%
DEBRA SAUNDERS
Columnist
one of the few secretaries
who have been wounded
in war and the first
Vietnam veteran to lead
the department.”
But temperamentally,
not so much. Though
Obama lauded Hagel for
representing “the biparti
san tradition we need
more of in Washington,” I
think that what the presi
dent really meant is that
Hagel is his favorite kind
of Republican, the self
loathing kind.
Make that: the kind
Send a letter to the editor to PO, Box 210 Cumming, GA 30028; fitx it to (770) 8885-6017: 0f o 4 editor@forsythnews.com.
SOCIETY OF CLIMATE SKEPTICS WITHOUT CREDIBILITY
BECAUSE THEY ARE FUNDED BY THEOIL INDUSTRY
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Support for military
much appreciated
We would like to share a ran
dom act of kindness that occurred
on Friday, Jan. 4.
While in route to Ft. Benning to
take our son back following his
Christmas leave (our son was in
his Army uniform), we stopped at
the Cracker Barrel Old Country
Store on Windward Parkway for a
late breakfast/early lunch.
When we went to check out, a
very nice female employee of the
Cracker Barrel approached us and
asked if we would permit her to
pay for our son’s meal, as she
wanted to say thank you to him
for his willingness to serve our
nation’s defense.
We would like to ask that you
publish these proud parents’ pub
lic “thank you" to that very nice
woman for her random act of
kindness, and to Cracker Barrel
for having such a nice person
working for them!
Michael and Mary McMahon
Gainesville (Forsyth County)
Congress remains
a national problem
I hope everyone had a merry
Christmas and the new year is
good to all of you. I have been
very troubled with what is going
on in our country and have put a
few thoughts on paper and hope
you agree.
Congress is broke and it is now
beyond repair. They have become
the worst enemy of our country
along with our president. Our con
servative and moderate members
of Congress should fight the liber
als that are destroying this country
before it is too late. People have
got to understand that the more
liberals give you, the more control
they have over you, and their pur
pose is to take away more of our
liberties.
Congressional members do not
vote for what is good for our
country, but vote according to
what their leadership tells them to
whom Democrats like
because Republicans do
not.
Hagel alienated some
on the right when he
turned against the Iraq
War, for which he had
voted in 2002. A lot of
people changed their
minds about that war, but
Hagel went so far as to
say in 2007 that “of
course” the Iraq War was
about oil.
Hagel angered folks
from both parties when
he said during a 2006
interview, “The Jewish
lobby intimidates a lot of
people up here.”
The Jewish lobby? Not
the Israeli lobby? That's
why Sen. Lindsey
Graham, R-S.C,, told
CNN on Sunday that the
Hagel pick was an “in-
(o)
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your-face nomination.”
Hagel's opposition to
sanctions against Iran led
Bill Kristol, editor of the
conservative Weekly
Standard, to warn that
“nominating a person
who is clearly soft on
Iran would send exactly
the wrong message to
Tehran.”
The Washington Post,
which endorsed Obama
in 2012, editorialized that
Hagel is the wrong choice
because his “stated posi
tions on critical issues,
ranging from defense
spending to Iran, fall well
to the left” of the presi
dent’s first-term policies.
Some Democrats didn’t
like the fact that Hagel
opposed James Hormel's
appointment as ambassa
dor to Luxembourg in
This is & page of opinion — ours, yours and
others. columns and cartoons are the
opinions of the writers and artists, and they
may not reflect our views.
do and what will get them elected
to another term to be a career poli
tician. What a shame and disgrace
that grown men and woman with
their educational backgrounds
cannot vote the way they should.
We are presently spending
approximately $10.5 billion every
day. The deficit is approximately
sl6 trillion. They do not take care
of our veterans as they should and
they keep our military in harm’s
way by allowing the people we
are fighting to protect to kill them
with their explosives.
Now, if we want to correct these
problems, we need term limits and
a spending limit for getting re
elected to office. They have so
much money now that no one can
hope to win an election against
them. Of course that is the way
they want it.
Call or write your congressional
members ASAP and let them
know you do not like the way
things are, and that they need to
change and vote for the good of
our country instead of worrying
about the next election,
Sid Barfield
Cumming
Seniors thankful
for holiday thoughts
Forsyth County Senior Services
extends our sincerest thanks and
appreciation to all who supported
our two holiday programs -the
Holiday Gift Angels Program and
the Home-Delivered Meal
Holiday Gift Certificate Program.
Through the Holiday Gift
Angels Program, 597 gifts were
given to local seniors solely from
the generosity of their fellow citi
zens in Forsyth County. While a
blanket, robe or cookies may not
seem like much to others, these
gifts were greatly appreciated by
the seniors in our community.
Most importantly, it showed these
seniors that someone was thinking
about them during the holidays.
What a precious gift!
Through the Home-Delivered
Meal Holiday Gift Certificate
Program, we received financial
donations that allowed us to pro
vide 4,688 meals to seniors in
1998 on the grounds that
Hormel was “openly,
aggressively fly." Last
month, Hagel apologized
for that remark.
The apology did not
mollify Barney Frank, an
openl( gay former mem
ber of Congress, Frank
called Hagel “aggressive
ly bigoted" last week.
On Monday, as he was
angling to be the interim
npgolmee to replace Sen.
John Kerry when Kerry
becomes segretary of
state, Frank dialed back
his opposition,
It seems that “aggres
sively bigoted” talk is OK
when it comes with
someone who infuriates
the right. “With the attack
coming out of the right, I
hope he gets confirmed,”
Frank told The Boston
Forsyth County. Individuals,
churches, corporations and other
groups truly shared the spirit of
- m-:ynm these
seniors generous
contributions. It is this type of
support that makes the Meals on
Wheels program, a program on
which so many of our communi
ty's seniors depend for not only a
nutritious meal but also for human
interaction, possible.
On behalf of everyone at
Forsyth County Senior Services,
thank you and best wishes for a
safe and prosperous 2013,
Michael Bohn, director
Forsyth County Senior Services
Cumming
Letter policy
The Forsyth County News
welcomes your opinions on
issues of public concern.
Letters must be signed
and include full address and
a daytime and evening
phone number for verifica
tion.
Names and hometowns of
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Letters should be limited
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same writer or group may
only submit one letter per
month for consideration.
Letters must be submitted
by noon Wednesday for
Sunday publication. We do
not publish poetry or blanket
letters and generally do not
publish letters concerning
consumer complaints.
Unsigned or incorrectly
identified letters will be with
held.
Malil letters to the Forsyth
County News, P.O. Box 210,
Cumming, GA 30028, hand
deliver to 302 Veterans
Memorial Bivd., faxto (770)
889-6017 or e-malil to edi
tor @forsythnews.com.
Globe.
In Obama’s world, the
most important qualifica
tion for secretary of
&fenu qkueghtb\riell be:
üblicans.
3/'l’3‘ the ‘?flwll cliff”
fight over, you would
think Obama would want
to save his fire for the
loomlnf battle over the
debt ceiling.
To the contrary, in pick
ing Hagel, Obama has
shown that he prefers to
throw lighted matches at
the right.
The president has cho
sen to make more ene
mies, and it’s no accident.
Debra J. Saunders is a
nationally syndicated col
umnist. You may e-mail her:
dsaunders@sfchronicle.
com,