Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
Random thoughts
SOME YEARS
before she was
nominated to be
a Supreme Court
justice, Sonia
Sotomayer said “a
wise Latino woman”
was likely to reach a
better decision than
‘‘a white male.”
During confirma
tion hearings, just
about every mem
ber of the Senate
Judiciary Committee asked her
what she meant. She tried to
explain. But the senators, one
after another, kept asking her.
Over and over they asked -
and got pretty much the same
answer every time. Through it
all, she was not the least bit
flustered.
As I watched the proceed
ings, I got the distinct feeling
that she might be right. She
seemed to be at least as wise as
the white gentlemen interrogat
ing her. The illustrious senators
probably thought so, too. ‘‘This
is one wise (and cool) Latino
woman.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Later on, during a
town hall meeting to
answer questions about
health care, one sena
tor also showed a bit of
wisdom.
It appeared to me
that the audience was
more interested in rant
ing and raving than
they were in getting
answers. Near the end
of the riot, one disgrun-
ded man blurted out,
‘‘What this country needs is
term limits.”
Senator Arlen Spector
replied, “You can limit my term
anytime you like.”
I suppose he was referring to
the next election. Elections are
an opportunity for voters to end
the term of any politician. It's
an opportunity we need to take
advantage of more often.
❖ ❖ ❖
Young girls, ladies and
women would die - not to men
tion be embarrassed - if they
had to show up in public in
their underwear.
But they delight in show
ing up at the pool or beach
in far more skimpy swimwear
that shows a lot more skin. Go
figure.
❖ ❖ ❖
Dirty old man topic No. 2:
Why do TV networks hire
young, pretty, shapely news
anchors and reporters? Why
not older, talented, more expe
rienced women?
Why indeed! It’s because
dirty old (and young) men
watch - all googleyed. (Is
googleyed a word?) It's all
about ratings, and ratings are
all about money.
Makes you wonder how
interested we are in the news.
Nothing like a young, pretty,
shapely reporter to distract us.
Right, fellows?
❖ ❖ ❖
People who show up at town
hall meetings to rant and rave
aren't the only rude, crude,
gross and socially unaccept
able clowns on TV. Talk show
hosts - most of them men - are
just as bad.
They are really bad when
they invite a panel of three or
four “experts” to share their
opinions. The problem is the
virgil
adams
on random
host and the panel all share
their opinions at once. You have
no idea what anybody said.
❖ ❖ ❖
The older I get the more
troubled I am about what kind
of role models these suppos
edly mature, intelligent adults
are for our kids and grandkids.
When you see young people
make fools of themselves, do
you ever wonder where they
learned to act that way?
❖ ❖ ❖
Looks like I'm on a
TV-bashing roll. Let us con
tinue.
This pet peeve is really about
TV advertisers - especially
financial institutions. They
make their pitch with smooth-
talking spin masters and color
ful copy.
It's what they don't want you
to know that bothers me. It
shows up in a dozen or more
lines of small type near the
end of the commercial. You
couldn’t read it if the letters
were a foot high. Their secret
message is on and gone so fast
that the fastest speed reader
in the world wouldn’t have a
topics
chance.
I suppose it's all about “cer
tain restrictions apply.” When
you see that on anything,
beware.
❖ ❖ ❖
O.K., some of you think I am
obsessed with change. I have
written a lot about it lately.
Please try to understand. I hap
pen to believe that, along with
death and taxes, it’s the only
sure thing left in the world.
Change, like every other
word in English or any other
language, is constantly chang
ing. If the word doesn’t change,
our understanding of it does.
And that’s a good thing. We
should never get the idea that
an idea, word, thought, opin
ion or belief is set in concrete.
You may be interested to
know that change and change-
related words appear in the
dictionary more than 20 times.
(Look ‘em up.) You will dis
cover that there are more than
100 definitions.
We make a mistake when
we think of change only as
a noun: “the act, process, or
result of changing.”
Change is also a verb, and
that's where the action is. It
means “to make a difference.”
Too often we depend on some
body else - parents, teachers,
friends, banker, merchants,
rapper, celebrities, gang mem
bers, athletes, preachers, poli
ticians and even the govern
ment - to make a difference
for us.
We need to get personal.
Make a difference? Yes, I can.
Yes, you can.
We can change our minds.
We can change our hearts. We
can change our behavior. We
can change our lives - for the
better. If we don’t change for
the better, change will change
us for the worse.
If you understand that last
sentence, you are smarter
than I am. There's a lot about
change I don't know. I guess
that means I need to keep
learning. That would be posi
tive change (“n 1: the act, pro
cess or result of changing”),
and that’s a good thing.
Virgil Adams is a former
owner/editor of The Jackson
Herald.
continued from gage 4A
fellow marcher's chair. The
sight took my breath away.
We had been standing on the
Capitol lawn for about an
hour by then and there were
still marchers streaming
down Pennsylvania Avenue,
spilling onto the Mall. Too
many people to estimate,
flags proudly flying in the
breeze.
I pointed toward
Pennsylvania Avenue and
told my mother, “Look they
are still coming!” I think
I know how our soldiers
felt when reinforcements
arrived during the American
Revolution; knowing that
you are not alone, that their
are others who are willing to
fight for what we all cherish
so much.
Although our battle on
September 12th, was not
with weapons, and our lives
were not in danger, the pride
the swelled in my heart can
only be the same pride that
swelled in theirs so many
years ago. I will never for
get that sight and that feel
ing.
I think the height of the
march for me was when
an announcement was made
that there was a report of
only a “few thousand” peo
ple attending the march, but
in fact the estimated count
was 1.5 million! The crowd
roared with excitement and
I knew that everyone there
felt that pride that I was feel
ing. I was simply overcome.
Tears rolled down my face.
I looked around and saw
many other teary-eyed peo
ple surrounding me. Folks
were grabbing for tissues
and wiping their cheeks. I
looked at my mother. The
most politically aware per
son I know, and she was
crying too.
It is simply amazing to
me that I was praying for
at least 100,000 people to
arrive. God did not have to
answer that prayer for us.
The American People did!
And we thanked God for
blessing our country MANY
times that day.
During the event the
police announced that we
did not have a permit to
gather on the Mall and that
marchers would be arrested
if they stayed on the Mall.
The crowd responded “It's
our Mall, it's our Mall!”
The police fenced us into
the Capitol lawn that we did
have a permit for. If some
one left to use the 30 or so
porta potties that were avail
able (each one having a line
of at least 50 people waiting
to use it), they were not
permitted to return to the
Capitol lawn unless some
one else left in their place.
People were climbing walls,
and knocking down the
flimsy fence that the police
had placed around us, to get
back to their families that
they had left on the lawn.
Twice the speakers at the
rally had to be interrupted
to announce missing chil
dren. Their description was
given. I saw every head in
that audience look down and
around them searching for
those children. They were
found, escorted to the police
and reunited with their par
ents.
It was a huge crowd. At
times it was so huge that it
was overbearing and even
the possibility of being
crushed to death crossed
my mind. I watched people
cry and yell out in anger.
I watched people helping
others and picking up trash
from the lawn. People sang
and chanted. Hugged and
shook hands. Phone num
bers and email addressed
were passed to each other.
When the rally was over,
the marchers took their trash
with them. They neatly piled
their homemade signs and
posters next to the garbage
if it was full. We left just
as peacefully as we arrived.
But we left full of pride, and
confidence.
I had my doubts. I saw
what the media was say
ing and what the Democrats
were saying. What the
President was saying. I
heard them say that we are
hate-mongers and racists,
that we do not represent the
views of the majority of the
American people. I heard
their lies and the way that
they have been misleading
Americans.
I heard them and with the
million plus other marchers,
we made our voices heard:
“Can you hear us now?”
Today is the Monday fol
lowing the March. I have
to search to find articles
about this march! Where is
the media on this? Why is
this being kept so quiet?
Who wants this to be kept
quiet? Are we going to let
this be a silent movement?
No we are not!
I am not a journalist. I am
an average American. I’m
sure that people will read
this and point out all of my
grammatical errors.
But I feel like I have to
do my part to help the rest
of America see that they are
not the silent minority. Look
at the photos. These are real
and un-doctored. This hap
pened. I was there. It was at
least a million people. And
these are only the people
who could make it to D.C.
There were rallies all across
America held by people
just like you who wanted to
show support.
These are just the people
who took a chance hoping
that maybe 100,000 people
would show up.
So, please. Look at these
photos. Demand that there
be media coverage on this.
Call your local government.
Go to the town halls. Make
your voice heard!
This was not a moment, it
was a movement.
Andrea Joseph of Jefferson
is a homemaker, mother of
two girls and a Girl Scout
leader. She says she is new
to the world of politics.
In Memoru of
CONNIE
DAVENPORT
April 25th 1963 - Sept. 14th 2008
You Will never be Forgotten,
and May your Soul "R.I.P".
We Love you!
Mother, Cristal & Lala
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PUBLIC HEARING
The Jackson County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 6:00 p.m. on
Thursday, September 24, 2009, at the Jackson County Administrative Auditorium, 67
Athens Street, Jefferson, Georgia, to consider the following matters:
Old Business
None
New Business
1. RZ-09-09 - John C. Buchanan requests a rezone on approximately 4.11 acres
located at 1032 & 6036 Hwy. 124 West from Agricultural Rural Farm District (A-
2) to Community Retail Commercial (CRC) for commercial development. (Map
105 Parcels 003F & 003G)
2. Also, the purpose of the public hearing is to brief the community on the
contents of the Comprehensive Plan Community Participation Program and
Community Assessment, obtain additional input, and notify the community of
when these documents will be transmitted to the Northeast Georgia Regional
Commission for regional and state review. A copy of these documents will be
available for public inspection no later than September 11, 2009, in the
Department of Public Development, in the Administrative Building at 67 Athens
St, Jefferson, 30549. All interested persons are invited to attend the public
hearings and to review the draft document. These documents will also be
posted on the Jackson County Government website at http://
www.jacksoncountygov.com. Comments and remarks on the drafts will be
accepted by the Department of Public Development in writing at 67 Athens St,
Jefferson, 30549, or via e-mail to: tsmith@jacksoncountygov.com until 5:00
p.m., October 31,2009. For more information, call 706-367-5908.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners will address the recommendations of
the Planning Commission at a public hearing on October 19, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at
the Jackson County Courthouse at 5000 Jackson Parkway.
Complete applications, plats, texts, maps, and public hearing procedures are
available for review in the Planning Division Office, of the Department of Public
Development during regular office hours. All interested persons are invited to
attend.
Anyone desiring to speak in opposition to one of the above cases shall file a
Campaign Contribution Disclosure form at least 2 business days prior to the
September 24, 2009 Public Hearing.
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