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“America, to me, is freedom,” -wuiieNeison
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Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
June 16,2022
From the Staff
Civility should not be abandoned
for political arguments
When Donald Trump was president,
there was a song often heard at protests
with the title and chorus and maybe only
lyrics “ Donald Trump.” And as
the old Christmas Story movie says, it
was the queen mother of all obscenities.
Now that Joe Biden is president, his
critics have flags repeating this phrase
but with Joe Biden instead of Donald
Trump, obviously.
And there are vehicle stickers showing
the cartoon kid urinating on the Biden
name.
Presumably if Mr. Trump retakes the
White House in 2024, we’ll see new anti-
Trump messaging follow along.
Free speech, particularly regarding
politicians is pretty much wide open and
apparently even displaying the F word on
a vehicle is both legal and tolerated.
Going back literally to ancient Rome,
passing through the Founding Fathers,
there is a proud tradition of political
jokes and creative statements including
the Let’s Go Brandon phrase, which are
funny and creative. Some of the imita
tions of both Trump and Biden on Satur
day Night Live and other comedy shows
are hilarious precisely because they pin
point the shortcomings of our politicians.
But, it’s hard to imagine George
Washington publicly being so crude as to
let fly, “that John Adams is a real
ing *& A %.” It would have low
ered our estimation of Number 1 as much
as the target of his verbal gut-punch.
Having the right to speak truth to
power, to state your political views in the
strongest words possible is sacred in this
country but we’d encourage a little
thought on whether some of the more
crude depictions are appropriate in a pub
lic setting?
Admittedly there is a fine line in ex
pressing political disagreement and still
be respectful of our nation. After all
whether it’s Trump, Biden, or maybe
Trump again, they are the commander in
chief of our armed forces and the elected
head of the United States of America -
and that still means something, so a little
respect please, if not for the men, then for
the office and the nation and its history.
A few questions we might pose re
garding some of the more crude depic
tions of any of the top political leaders.
* Would the people still have their
flags and stickers if it said “F*** the
President of the United States” rather
than someone’s name?
* Would people find it amusing if they
saw on cable news, people in the Middle
East waving some of the same political
flags or wearing t-shirts showing some
kid peeing on our country’s president’s
image? Or what about if Russians were
doing it? Would the foreigners then be
considered political allies?
• Is it still funny to see jokes about our
nation’s president or past president made
by a snobbish guy in Europe?
* Do you pull up at church with a flag
that has the F-bomb on it?
• Do you buy a “urinate on someone”
sticker for your grandmother’s car?
• What do our international rivals,
such as China, think when they see the
jokes and stickers? Is it, “What a great
country America must be with so much
freedom of expression?” Or is it, “The
cracks are forming over there and now is
our chance?”
If you are answering negatively to any
of these questions, might we suggest, you
maintain your freedom of speech in the
strongest terms possible and stick to your
political views but express it in ways that
wouldn’t give hope to other nations
wanting to see America fall apart and of
fend the crowd when you pull up at a
Sunday School cookout.
Tell us your thoughts with a letter to the editor. E-mail to news@pickensprogress.com
See letter submission guidelines on the Letters to the Editor page or call us 706-253-2457.
Senior Moments
Is there a USB for me?
By Mary Migliaro
When is the last time you
told someone that you
needed to “recharge your bat
teries”? That usually means
that you are tired and want to
regain some lost energy by
taking a vacation or even just
a nap.
Batteries have been
around for a long time and so
many things require them.
The human body, however, is
not one of them. If only!
Now, even batteries are
going the way of the world
and will soon be obsolete.
Enter the USB. The term
USB refers to a Universal Se
rial Bus, a technology that al
lows computers to be
connected to other devices or
for devices to be connected to
electrical outlets for charg
ing. Your cell phone uses a
USB to charge, and many
other devices use USB only,
thus eliminating the need for
batteries.
I spend a lot of my time
connecting many things I
own to USB charging cords
including my phone, tablet,
wireless sound machine, and
even battery extenders that
act as portable charging de
vices. I just wish I had a USB
for me!
So, short of having a USB
to recharge, how can we hu
mans recharge our batteries?
There are many ways and
since one size doesn’t fit all,
you may want to try a few
when you feel the need to
recharge your batteries.
Sleep is the ultimate body
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia.
Entered at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia 30143
as Mail Matter of Second Class.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year Subscription: $41.17 for residents of Pickens County
or the cities of Ball Ground, Fairmount, and Ranger;
$52.30 for all other Georgia residents; $62.32 out of state residents.
recharger. Experts recom
mend seven to nine hours of
sleep per night for healthy
adults ages 26 to 64. Main
tain a healthy sleep schedule
by going to sleep and getting
up at the same time every
day.
Naps aren’t just for little
ones. We seniors can also
benefit from naps. In be
tween sleep and activity, it’s
important to allow your body
to rest. According to experts,
60- to 90-minute naps can be
a great energy booster. If you
feel yourself getting too busy,
schedule a nap into your day
to help you recharge.
Here are a few more tech
niques to help you recharge.
• Let go of past mistakes.
A common source of stress
comes from focusing on past
mistakes. Help let go of the
past by focusing on your
goals for the future.
• Do something fun. Hav
ing fun is an important part of
staying mentally healthy.
Taking a weekend trip, see
ing old friends, or going out
can help.
• Take breaks from
things and people that
bring you down. If certain
people or situations have you
feeling down, take a break
from them. This could mean
putting certain relationships
on hold until you have the en
ergy to deal with them.
• Don’t wait until you
are totally depleted.
Recharge your batteries on a
regular basis and your body
and mind will thank you for
it. No USB required.
[Mary Migliaro is a fre
quent contributor to the
Progress as both a columnist
and with a regular parenting
column. She may be reached
at maiymigliaro@aol.com.]
#lbe ^>cf)ool
Progress brings home
Georgia Press awards
The Pickens Progress
staff and contributors placed
in seven categories for Geor
gia Press Association’s 2022
Better Newspaper Contest.
Caleb Smith took home
1 st place for Humor Column.
This marks Caleb’s second
first-place finish in this cate
gory in a row.
He has been on a hiatus
for the past several months
but the editor is encouraging
him to return to action and go
for a three-peat.
Staff Writer/Reporter An
gela Reinhardt placed 2nd for
Feature Column and also 2nd
for Breaking News Writing.
Progress Editor Dan Pool
placed 2nd in Investigative
Reporting.
Dwight Henderson placed
2nd as Editorial Cartoonist.
Contributor Max Caylor
placed 3rd for News Photo
graph.
The Progress Staff placed
3rd for Headline Writing.
Georgia Press Association
honored the winners on Fri
day, June 3 at the Jekyll Is
land Club Hotel during the
group's 135th annual conven
tion.
Progress editor Dan Pool
said, “I am always happy to
see our staff recognized by
our peers. We compete in a
very tough category with the
largest weekly papers in the
state so it is an accomplish
ment to place in this divi
sion.”
Above are Winning
Progress staff and contribu
tors (L-R) Angela Rein
hardt, Max Caylor, Dan
Pool, Dwight Henderson,
and Caleb Smith. Cartoon
by Dwight Henderson.
Transportation available for veterans
The Fannin DAV Chapter 28 van transports veterans to
the Atlanta VA Medical Center for free. The van’s first
pickup is at the Fannin County Veterans Conference Center
in Blue Ridge and stops in Ellijay, Jasper, Canton and
Woodstock.
Please call John Bailey at 706-851-5204 for transport and
for more information. Volunteer van drivers are needed.
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
June
7
73
64
.63
June
8
78
66
.78
June
9
78
55
.00
June
10
76
60
.00
June
11
81
65
.00
June
12
85
67
.00
June
13
89
71
.00
Coin Club
welcomes
all ages to join
meetings
The Pickens County Coin
Club meets the first and third
Tuesdays of the month at
5:30 p.m. with an auction
starting at 6:30 p.m. at the
Amicalola Electric Center’s
Dean Center at 544 Highway
515 in Jasper.
All ages welcome and you
don't have to be a member to
attend. For more information
contact Chris Paire, cptxag-
gie@yahoo.com, 678-770-
0118.
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