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Declare among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not. - Jeremiah 50:2
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 winner: Editorial Page excellen
2019, 2018 winner: Best Headline Writing
2019 winner: Best Community Service
2019 winner: Best Layout and Design
2019 winner: Best Serious Column - Don Daniel
ON THE PORCH by Will Davis
DRAWING ON THE NEWS by AF Branco
This Trump voter
says time to move on
A fter two years of absurd COVID restrictions,
budget-busting inflation and a feckless, dete
riorating and incompetent president, many
Monroe Countians hoped a Red Wave election
would wash out the Democrat Party.
It didn’t happen. It was more of a red ripple. Yes, the
GOP took over the U.S. House. And 75 percent of Monroe
County joined the rest of Georgia in re-electing Republi
can Gov. Brian Kemp.
But Herschel Walker came in second and now must
try to win a Dec. 6 runoff with Sen. Raphael Warnock.
You may remember that the last time we had runoffs in
Georgia, we lost both U.S. senate seats to socialist Dem
ocrats. That little election in January 2021 (i.e. Georgia
voters) cost the country trillions of dollars, because it gave
Democrats full control of the machinery in Washington.
That’s why I’m a little depressed about the whole thing. If
after the last two years, “red” Georgia is still electing Dem
ocrats, we’re in bigger trouble than I
thought.
But there’s another way — a more
positive way — to looking at it. Re
publicans won EVERY state-wide race
in Georgia except this one. Only the
candidate most closely aligned with
Donald Trump failed to win outright.
That was a pattern repeated across the
country.
In Arizona, as in Georgia,
customary (normal) Republican
candidates won almost all the
“down-ballot” races. Arizona flipped their Congressional
seats from 5 to 4 for Democrats to 6 to 3 for Republicans.
It was a Red Wave, except for two Trumpy candidates at
the top of the ticket, gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake
and senate candidate Blake Masters. Acolytes of Trump,
both went down to defeat even while the GOP won most
other races.
The 2022 election results confirm something I suspected
after the 2020 race: Trump has become electoral kyptonite
to the Republican Party. I write that with some displeasure.
It has long been true that rank and file Republicans are
more conservative than their milquetoast party leaders. I
was thrilled that Trump took over the party from the pa
per pushers and the grey-suited flaks who merely wanted
power for power’s sake. The Dole, Bush, McCain Repub
licans rarely delivered on their conservative rhetoric for
smaller government or to take on liberals. I was very glad
Trump called them on it. And he was a great president.
The economy was humming. America’s enemies were on
their heels.
Trump deserves much credit for showing the GOP that
it can actually accomplish what it promises if it’s willing to
fight. In time, millions of American babies will live instead
of die because of Trump. He deserves the thanks of the
nation, and he deserves much better than the deceitful and
malicious treatment he’s gotten from our corrupt federal
law enforcement agencies. But he has become a net nega
tive to the ideals he claims to represent.
COVID didn’t help. That’s when Trump failed to do
the one thing he was famous for — telling bad personnel
“You’re Fired!” Instead he empowered Dr. Fauci and the
public health bureaucracy to shut us down for a respirato
ry virus. It’ll be a generation before we recover from this
awful decision. Our young people’s educations, mental
health and family Eves were devastated. And when our
own Gov. Brian Kemp became the first in the nation to
re-open, Trump criticised him for “opening too early”.
And then when Trump lost in 2020, his ego propelled him
to go scorched earth on Kemp and other Republicans for
somehow failing to give him the election.
And so the Republican Party has spEntered into two
See ON THE PORCH Page 5A
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, President • Robert M. Williams Jr., Vice President
Cheryl S. Williams, Secretary-T reasurer
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Publication No. USPS 997-840
REECE’S PIECES by Steve Reece
Voodoo is alive, and it’s scary
Y ou maybe surprised to
learn Voodoo is alive
and doing weE. Voodoo
first came to America in
French Louisiana brought by slaves
from West Africa. They had ex
tensive knowledge of poisons and
herbs and brought with them their
cultural practices and religion. Their
amulets and charms are used for
healing, protection and to keep a
close connection with loved ones. To
cure a variety of ailments including
anxiety, addictions, and depression,
practitioners of the religion take
spiritual baths, pray, chant, beat on
drums, dance with snakes, and go
into trance-like states.
Early slaves in Louisiana were held
in large groups far from white settlers
and were able to preserve their African
traditions. After a slave revolt in Haiti
in 1791, many took refuge in New Or
leans and by the 19th century, Voodoo
queens and longs had become spiritual
and powerful political figures.
A smaE effigy commonly caEed
a voodoo doU is weE known for the
practice of inserting pins into human
oid figurines to cause harm to witches
and the Eke. Movies from the early
half of the twentieth century depict
people poking sharp pins into the dolls
to cause sickness and pain to adver
saries. By the twenty-first century,
voodoo doEs were everywhere
as novelty items. You can
even buy them from vending
machines in shopping centers
and there are tutorials on how
you can create your own. The
most difficult part involves
securing a lock of your
enemy’s hair.
In truth, voodoo doEs
aren’t used in the religion.
Louisiana Voodoo High
Priest Robi Gilmore said in 2020,
“HoEywood reaEy did us a number.
We do not stab pins in doEs to hurt
people; we don’t take
your hair and make
a doE, worship the
devil with it, and
ask tire devil to give
us black magic to
get our revenge on
you. It is not done, it
won’t be done, and
it never wiE exist for
us.” Maybe not, but
still I’m stayEig away
from y’aE’s magic.
My brother David
and I once set up camp on a riverbank
over in Alabama one Friday evenmg
for a night of fishing and jamming
on the guitars. Many folks wouldn’t
beEeve it, but there are places in
Alabama that are beautiful beyond
beEef. This fishing spot was one of
those places. We hurriedly pitched the
tent, gathered firewood, and rushed
down to the river for our supper. No
luck. After two hours of watchEig the
water go by, not even a nibble. We
were a Ettle disappointed, of course,
but it wasn’t a deal buster. Just in case,
we had brought along a few cans of
sardines, some crackers, and beer, so
we were good.
Soon the sun went down, a fiEl
moon came up and we headed for
our guitars for some fireside singing.
While we were waiEng out a good
one, about the third song in, David
suddenly stopped and silenced
my guitar by putting his hand
on the strings. “Did you hear
that?” I didn’t hear anythmg
and told him to take his hand
off my guitar while I was m the
middle of my best song.
And then I also heard
the drums. Faintly at
first but somewhere in
the woods, someone
was beating a beat that
had a strong voodoo rhythm going
on. And whoever was pounding that
drum was getting into it and his music
A pin going into a voodoo doll
got louder and loud
er. Soon another
drum joined in with
an alternate beat
that inspired my
brother and me to
pick up our instru
ments and add our
sound to the strange
sound that fiEed that
Alabama forest.
AE m aE, it was
a pretty good jam
session but when the
moon was directly over us the drum
ming faded away and the fire was
merely glowing embers. I poured what
was left of my beer into the firepit,
packed up the guitars, and we headed
for the tent.
We talked a bit about what a strange
place we were in and wished we
could’ve recorded the night’s music.
It was sounding pretty good there for
a while and certamly different. David
took off his shoes and zipped up his
sleeping bag which did little to cover
the smeE of his feet. It seems that the
person who snores is always the first
asleep and soon I was listening to that
racket as weE.
Somehow, I finaEy dozed off but a
couple of hours later, probably around
midnight, I was awakened by the
sound of loud splashing in the river. It
sounded Eke fish jumping and I woke
David and told hEn to grab the poles.
We ran down to the bank and saw
thousands of snakes dropping from
the trees into the water and swimming
downstream. WhEe we were stand-
Eig there in amazement, the voodoo
drums started beating again.
We both reached the truck and
slammed the doors shut in the same
instant. I reaEy hate to admit it, but we
left behEid two guitars, two fishEig
rods, and a tent.
Steve Reece is a writer for the Reporter
and a known crime fighter. Email him
at stevereece@gmail.com.
CAROLYN S CORNER by Carolyn Martel
The greatest love story of all
ast week, I attended my best
friend’s church. At the end of
the service, an unusu
al and beautiful thing
happened. Before the pastor
dismissed the church, he
paused his closing remarks
and looked over at a young
man who is a member of the
praise team. When
the pastor nodded his
head, the young man
excitedly left the stage
and the praise team,
and walked towards a young lady
sitting in a pew near the front of the
church.
THEN HE knelt down in front of
her and said, “WEI you marry me?”
With tears in her eyes, she enthusias-
ticaEy repEed, “Yes!” As the church
erupted in joyous applause, the young
man slipped a dazzEng engagement
ring on her finger.
I was sitting in the pew right in front
of the young lady. As I turned around
to witness the proposal,
I could see the love this
couple felt for each other. I
have never seen or heard of
a proposal taking place in a
church, but I can honestly
say it was a special moment
in time. It was a beauti
ful love story unfolding
before my very eyes.
BUT, HAVE you
heard or read about the
greatest love story of aE time? Have
you read about the Bride of Christ
mentioned in the Bible? The “Bride of
Christ” is metaphor used in scripture
to describe Jesus’ relationship with His
bride, the church. Just as a bridegroom
loves his bride, Jesus loves and adores
His church.
The love that Jesus has for His church
is not only expressed in words, but
also through His sacrificial love: “God
shows his love for us in that whEe we
were still sinners, Christ died for us”
(Romans 5:8). When we accept Jesus
as our Lord and Savior, we are not only
welcomed into the family of God, we
have the blessed assurance that we are
joyfiEly received as the Bride of Christ!
THE GREATEST love story of aE
time wEl be celebrated in a glorious
wedding ceremony, that wEl take place
in a future heavenly event! We read in
Rev. 19:7: “Let us rejoice and be glad
and give hnn glory! For the wedding
of the Lamb has come, and his bride
has made herself ready ’ An eternity of
love and joy awaits the Bride of Christ!
HaEelujah!
Carolyn Martel of Forsyth is the re
tired long-time advertising manager for
the Reporter. Email her at carolynmar-
tell @bellsouth. net.