Newspaper Page Text
October 14, 2015
PAGE 5A
On The Outside Looking In...
Doctor or PA?
By DON DANIEL
tuUaybear@bellsouth.net
T he two political debates this past Monday
and Wednesday, one sponsored by The
Reporter and another by a former political
wanna-be, revealed how those 10 candi
dates want to be involved in the future of
the City of Forsyth. Just ‘bout want to bet a bottom
dollar a couple of the races and the outcome of the
votes will be challenged.
Absentee and early voting ballots will be scru
tinized with a fine tooth comb particularly since
Election Superintendent Donna Robins has ruled
that one candidate, regardless that evidence revealed
that the candidate isn’t- living where she claimed, is
“qualified” to seek a seat- on the
Forsyth City Council.
Remember back in 2011 when
Georgia’s secretary of state found
fraudulent- absentee ballots count
ed and accepted in the Forsyth
mayor’s race? Don’t- be surprised
if that- happens again after this
election.
A COUPLE of weeks ago,
I decided it- was necessary to
consult- with a skin specialist-
about- what-1 thought- was a
wart- that- was itching. So, I
made the appointment- with
what-1 assumed was going to
be a doctor.
Arriving at- the “doctor’s” office even early, there
was a short wait--surprise-- and I was taken to an
examining room to wait- on the doctor. After consult
ing with nurse, what-1 assumed was the “doctor”
came in. Surprise again, not- the doctor I thought-1
was going to see but- a physician’s assistant-, better
known as a PA.
When I asked where the doctor was, I was told the
doctor only comes to the location on certain days,
which I immediately realized this was not- the day I
was going to see the doctor nor the doctor seeing me!
The PA did her job and determined the wart- was a
minor skin cancer and would be removed by the doc
tor at- his office either in Macon or Warner Robins,
not- in Forsyth. The PA obviously did her job gather
ing information for the doctor. I would be notified in
a couple of weeks where I would have to go to have
the “minor” surgery.
OVER at- the county commission meeting last-
week, the contentiousness between the chairman
and the District- 4 commissioner, from what-1 hear,
boiled again during an executive session to discuss
“property acquisition”. The commissioner from
District- 2 was again not- at- the meeting to add fuel to
the contentiousness.
Here are some unattributed commissioner com
ments:
‘You have to get- close to that- thing”;
“We try to get- this on TV”;
“I’m just- worried about- disparity”;
‘You can’t- get- politics out- of politics”;
“The assessors are bad guys”;
“The slippery slope is ”;
“Unless they have robbed a bank”;
“Government- is politics”;
“Did that- satisfy your curiosity”;
“And I do want- to say this”;
“I don’t- read the local paper. I read the Macon
paper”;
Here are a couple approved checks we taxpayers
paid: $101,142.96 to the Towaliga Judicial Circuit-
for quarterly funding and another check for $17,873
for July through December; $1,200 to Butts County
for housing inmates; Lamar County $875 for hous
ing inmates; $10,490.40 to the Georgia Public Safety
Training Center for supplying meals to our jail
inmates; $10,552.50 to Dillon and Vaughn, county
attorneys, for a month’s lawyering; $224 to Southern
Smiles for inmate dental work; and $1,786.61 to
C. Robert Melton (also Forsyth’s city attorney) for
Juvenile Defense.
Commissioner Larry Evans racked up a lot- of mile
age rambling around his district during July through
September, getting a taxpayer mileage reimburse
ment- check for $871.70.
BASED on the Harper Lee book “To Kill A
Mockingbird”, our Backlot- Players will be performing
the play beginning Friday at- the Rose Theater. Call
the Rose at- 994-0443 for more show times.
THE correct- answer to The Question was the MP
Bulldogs played Howard this past- Friday night- (win
ning) and Judy Jacobs was the first with the answer.
She gets a certificate for a cookie from Jonah’s, Dairy
Queen Blizzard, Romeo’s In Juliette dessert-, two
Lucky Cafe egg rolls, Forsyth Main Street- t-shirt-,
Whistle Stop fried green tomato appetizer.
Here’s the question for this week: What- is the date
of The Forsyth Historic Train Festival? First correct
answer after 12 noon on Thursday gets the certifi
cate.
ALTHOUGH the race for county officers is over a
year away, two candidates have announced they are
going to seek the sheriff s badge from present- Sheriff
John Cary Bit-tick. Troy Copelan and Shane Cook are
the only two challenging Sheriff Bit-tick at- this time.
There will be other elected county officials up for
re-election at- the same time we have the opportunity
to vote for president. 2016 will be a very interesting
year and you can be sure we will be inundated with
promises and “I can do a better job” and “look what-
I have done” rhetoric.
FOR WHAT it- is worth: According to a recent-
study/survey, “football what once was a “contact”
sport- has become a “collision” sport- and we know
what- happens in collisions, one or both parties end
up with serious damages, including permanent- brain
damage”.
If you want to share your opinions or voice concerns,
contact Don Daniel at tullaybear@beUsouth.net. And,
don’t forget to listen to The Reporter On The Radio on
Mafic 100 at 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings.
^Reporter
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Videos expose horrible truth
To the editor:
read in Marilyn
Langford’s Sept. 30 col
umn in the Reporter,
“About- those abortion
videos” where she accused
presidential candidate Carly
Fiorina of lying about- the videos
showing Planned Parenthood
selling aborted babies and their
body parts. The films are shock
ing to say the least- and
I would hope they were
inaccurate. To see for
yourself, the videos can
be viewed on the Center
for Medical Progress
(CMP) YouTube channel.
However, as I researched
the matter, I found there
is evidence that- the videos
are true and are exposing
the truth behind Planned
Parenthood. According to Coalfire
Systems, a cybersecurit-y and
forensic analysis company, an
extensive report- finds the only
edits consisted of bathroom breaks
and time eating meals. “Last-
month, after eight- videos had been
released, Planned Parent-hood’s
own experts admitted that- there
was no evidence of manipulation
of the audio in any of the eight-
shocking videos.”(Lifenews.com
9/29/15)
Interestingly, the ninth video
shows Planned Parenthood offi
cials admitting that- they are
breaking federal law by selling
aborted baby body parts for profit-
There is a world of deception going
on here and I have to wonder if
women, who have made the dif
ficult- decision to terminate their
pregnancy, after paying hundreds
of dollars, are informed that- t-heir
babies’ body parts are sold for
profit- Do they sign a consent- form
understanding the entire truth of
t-heir decision?
Abortion is a money-making
industry. Legally, Planned
Parenthood cannot- use the $528
million dollars from taxpayers to
fund abortion; that is why they
raise millions of dollars from
private donors, foundations, fees
charged for t-heir services and end
the year with a profit- An abor
tion at- a Planned Parenthood in
Atlanta costs over $500 if you are
8 weeks pregnant- As you review
all t-heir services, even donations
are welcomed on t-heir website “to
help support- our mission”.
And what- do these
services include? Not
mammograms, as some
have believed. During a
Congressional Hearing
this past- June, Cecile
Richards, the CEO of
Planned Parenthood,
stated “No Planned
Parenthood clinics
have mammogram
machines .’’(Lifenews .com
9/29/15) Their sites can only pro
vide referrals and conduct- manual
breast- exams. Services include
testing for Sexually Transmitted
Diseases (STD’s) at- about- 4 times
the cost- of the local health depart
ment- The sex-education curricula
and advice to teens encourages
a promiscuous sexual lifestyle
which often leads to more STD’s,
unplanned pregnancy and abor
tion. Back to Planned Parenthood
we go. They aren’t- the only group
offering abortion services; just- do
a Google search on abortion clin
ics in Georgia and one can find a
number of clinics around the state.
So if Planned Parenthood were
to lose t-heir government- fund
ing, where would women all
across America go for health
care services? To start-, there are
over 9,000 Community Health
Care sit-es (CHCs) across the
country compared to the 700
Planned Parenthood facilities
which are mostly found in high-
populated cities. There are three
in the Atlanta area. According to
Democrats For Life of America
(DFLA), compared to Planned
Parenthood, CHC’s provide nearly
5 times the number of pap tests,
over 400,000 mammograms
and zero abortions. “Planned
Parenthood: the largest- provider
of healthcare for women only if
you define health care services as
abortion.” (Democratsforlife.org)
A woman walking into a Planned
Parenthood facility is 174 times
more likely to receive an abortion
rather than an adoption referral.
(Family Research Council July
2015 Issue Brief)
In addition, Federal and State
healthcare service options include:
federally qualified health centers,
local health departments, hospi
tals, free clinics and pregnancy
resource centers. Many CHC’s and
clinics offer more basic services
including pre-natal care, immu
nizations, STD testing, mam
mograms and cancer screenings
often for free or at- a pro-rat-ed
cost- Medical Pregnancy Resource
Centers also offer limited STD
testing and sonograms at- no
charge, as well as ‘options coun
seling’ and post-abortive support-
DFLA urges Congress t-o reallo
cate federal funding for women’s
health services from Planned
Parenthood t-o Community
Health Centers. Conservative
Republicans would also like t-o
see that- $528 million re-dist-rib-
uted to life supporting clinics and
Community Health Care Centers.
The truth is, taxpayers deserve
to know where t-heir tax dol
lars are spent- Women deserve
to know the truth regarding the
reality of abortion and what- hap
pens t-o t-heir baby post- abortion.
The hard truth is these videos,
with t-heir graphic and unsettling
content-, has brought- the issue of
abortion to the surface once again.
What- will you do with the truth?
Mary Beth Johnston
Forsyth
Mary Beth Johnston is the
director of the Monroe County
Pregnancy Center.
JOHNSTON
How can we influence curriculum?
To the editor:
am perpetually entertained
by your column and often
enlightened as well. Thank
you for exposing “What-
are our kids learning?” to
the community in your Oct. 7 On
the Porch. We as parents
certainly need to hold
our board accountable
for using good judgment.
I would like to see more
public forums around
reviewing the literature
that- is being adopted.
Otherwise, no one is held
accountable. This certainly
can’t- be done by a glance
at a Board of Education
meeting. I would like to know
WHEN these reviews can be made
and be able t-o have a discussion
before any changes are adopted. I
certainly applaud this mother you
referenced in the article. I have
been reading a lot- on social media
about- similar concerns parents
are having in other counties. I
can’t- say I have experienced
what- she has, yet- I would like t-o
suggest- we petition this type of
review (input- into curriculum) be
listed on the school calendar so we
can know in advance to
schedule it- as a priority. I
think most parents would
appreciate it- Everyone
who pays taxes should be
interested in knowing how
t-heir money is spent-
You are correct- in stat
ing that- our children
have many influences
on them. I would like for
the values I uphold and
the people who share them t-o con
tinue to have the MOST influence
on them. The LAST sentence of
your article was unexpected but
was a bullseye for what- inputting
garbage in a person results in.
Please keep injecting your humor
and the facts into the paper so
traditional values can be upheld
in our town. Oh, speaking for my
values and protection of them I
can think of no less than 100 great-
ideas for the 1/4 page space you
can alternatively use for what- is
currently Marilyn’s Corner. Please
educate her on the fact- that- we
already have gun laws with back
ground checks! And remind her if
people at-e “responsibly” we would
have no obesity, and if we drank
“responsibly” we would have no
victims of drunk driving! Guns,
food, and alcohol don’t kill. It’s
the irresponsibility and misuse of
them that- DOES!
That’s all. I feel better now. This
was a lit-t-le therapeutic for me.
Now, I’ll responsibly drink that
glass of wine.
Keith White
Forsyth
P.S. Awesome article by Claude
Curlee
WHITE
Unfair and Unbalanced
When Erickson and I agree...
BY MARILYN LANGFORD
mdlangford@bellsouth.net
n my column last- week
I suggested that- in the
absence of sensible gun
control, we should just
give in and dress
our children in bullet
proof vests and protective
headgear before sending
them to school. When
I wrote t-hose lines I
thought it was such a
preposterous and out
landish proposal
that- it- would cause
people t-o realize
t-hat- perhaps guns
aren’t- wort-h t-hese
drastic measures. Little did I
know, my fantasy is already a
reality.
AFTER READING my col
umn, a friend sent- me a web link
to a site called Bullet- Blocker.
When I clicked on the link, what-
I saw turned my stomach. The
cover picture was of a mother
holding her little daughter’s
hand as they were walking t-o
school. The little girl was wear
ing a bullet-proof backpack!
THE BULLET Blocker site
advertises an array of
bullet-proof garments and
other items. These cloth
ing items are very stylish
and designed t-o conceal its
life-saving function. As
you can imagine, they are
a tad pricey. If you hurry,
there is a purple
child’s backpack on
sale for $189. A
child’s nylon jacket-
is a mere $750.
THE COMPANY has a nice
collection of bullet-proof leather
jackets for a minimum of
$1000. These jackets are suit
able for the more casual affairs
you attend where you suspect
a shooting may occur. For you
businessmen who deal with irate
clients, you can purchase suit-
jackets starting at- $1,000. I
particularly like the farm jacket-
for $1,000. Lots of shootings
take place on farms. If you work
in a medical clinic, a white bul
let-proof lab jacket- is the perfect-
protection for only $900. Spend
a lot- of time at- the gym? A bul
let-proof duffel gym bag for $300
may be for you. If you are on a
tight- budget- but- want- minimum
protection, you can purchase
various briefcases for less than
$500, or a notebook folio for only
$145.
A SIGN these body armor gar
ments are growing in popularity
and have become mainstream,
replacement- bullet-proof inserts
and backpack panels can be
purchased from The North Face,
Under Armour, JanSport- and
L.L.Bean, t-o name a few. So for
you who want to protect your
child without- mortgaging your
house, you can buy a Walmart
book bag for $10 and then pur
chase a backpack protective bul-
see LANGFORD page 6A