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Jasper Dorsey
Sam, Forget Dukakis
The Honorable Sam Nunn
U. S. Senate j
Washington, D. C.
Dear Sam:
The conventional wisdom today seems
to promote your candidacy for joining
Michael Dukakis as his vice presidential
running mate. Please don't take it. Don’t
even consider it. Shun it like the plague.
We accepted with regret your reasons
for not making the race for the top spot
on the Democratic side. Though you didn't
say so, your friends thought that maybe
you felt the Congress has got the game so
messed up that nobody can play it. More
and more Georgians are beginning to feel
that way.
EXAMPLE: Speaker Jim Wright of
Texas has so many conflicts of interest
that now his conflicts are beginning to
have conflicts. He comes over as a boss
hog in the trough of savings and loans. He
acts as secretary of state often, and his
modesty and sanctimony are about that of
Jesse Jackson. He's not alone.
So many Democrats in the Senate and
House have proven they favor the policies
of the USSR and its surrogate govern
ments in Cuba and Nicaragua over those
of the U.S.A. That is sickening to anyone
who knows the facts. But you know all this
more than most.
ONE REASON the national
Democrats need you on the ticket is that
Dukakis is a loser without the South and
they know you're the most qualified man
to be president. They hate us and your
politics but will swallow that to get your
chips in the game. You would be isolated
from any substantive White House policy
as veep.
Another reason they need you
desperately is that Dukakis is a midget
who seems to think a Midgetman is so
meone smaller than he is. Intellectually he
is your inferior and his knowledge of a
On The Funny Side
By Gary Solomon
Musing Over Dead Cat
“IT’S BEEN 48 hours since I saw her
lying on the side of the road,” the man said
one day this week, ‘“‘and I'm still trying to
figure out what happened — to me.
‘I noticed a small, grey cat lying near
the edge of the road as I drove along Rome
Street. Another cat was standing above
her on the curb, watching. I wondered
later if they were mates.
“THE ONE in the street was lying on
her side. Her front legs were extended out
in front of her, clawing the air. My first
thought was that she was playing with
something — a piece of string, a bug, who
knows what. If you live with a cat, which
I do, you see 'em lying on the patio or in
the yard playing for hours with a new
found object.
“Then I saw the blood.
“I pulled into the nearest driveway and
walked back to where she was lying. She’d
apparently been hit by a car. I have no idea
how long she'd been there. She was badly
injured, I could see that, and she didn’t
make any sound. But she was still
breathing. Occasionally she would quiver
slightly.
“I STOOD THERE looking around,
wondering what I should do, or if I should
do anything,” he continued. ‘I think now
I was really waiting for someone to tell me
to go and forget about it. ‘lt doesn’t mat
ter,’ I was hoping someone would say.
‘Cats get hit by cars all the time. It's a fact
of life. You can’t do anything for her. Let
the city take care of it.’
““No one did, though, so I faced one of
those snap decisions about whether or not
to get involved. Believe it or not, it was a
hard decision. I mean, it was hard because
I could think of all kinds of reasons to just
walk away. I had nothing to carry her to
the car with, I was afraid it would hurt her
even more to move her, and all the time I
kept thinking, ‘By the time I figure out
what to do and get her to the vet, she’ll
probably be dead anyway, so why bother?’
Besides, I wasn’t the one who hit her, so
she wasn't really my responsibility. But
then she quivered again, and I knew I had
to at least try. : ‘
“RIGHT THEN I remembered the
straw cushion in the front seat of my car,
so I ran back and got it, eased the cat over
onto it, laid her in the back of my car, and
rushed to the vet's office. When I got there
they told me to bring her right in. The vet
defense necessary to defend the nation is
about zero. Here again they need you for
your name and reputation only, certainly
not for policy input.
* * *
SOME PUNDITS say the trap to get
you is being baited by throwing in the ad
ditional inducement of naming you
secretary of defense as well as vice presi
dent, or perhaps a veep-secretary of state
combination. Either case has its
supporters.
Take a careful look at this one. The
evidence is overwhelming that the idea is
unconstitutional. Thomas Jefferson
thought so when he was vice president; so
did Calvin Coolidge, and Harry Truman.
Also President Eisenhower. What would
a court test do for decisions you made as
a cabinet officer? Cabinet officers are often
dismissed, vice presidents cannot be.
ONLY THE NAIVE think a vice
presidential candidate can make a great
difference in a presidential contest. The
most Lyndon Johnson could do for Jack
Kennedy was to carry Texas. Even then
Kennedy needed Chicago’s mayor to count
out Nixon up there to win it.
Dukakis is awfully heavy baggage.
He's so far out in left field that nobody can
hit one over his head. The man is a
peacenik compared to you. He's closer to
George McGovern than most other
Democrats. Reading his speeches gives a
clear impression that Dukakis is in favor
of a nuclear freeze, that he favors
unilateral disarmament in hopes the
Soviets will be impressed with our good in
tentions. Where Ronald Reagan believes
you deal with the Soviets more effective
ly from a position of strength, Dukakis
seems to prefer dealing from weakness.
THIS LITTLE myopic feller of the
hard Left is offering you a chance to cam
paign for second-in-command of the
Titanic.
came in and checked her heartbeat. It
seemed like forever, but it was probably
only a few seconds before he looked up and
said, ‘She’s dead.’
“When he said that, I started crying.
It surprised me, because I don’t show emo
tion very often, and I'm not a softy when
it comes to pets. But I just couldn’t keep
from crying.
“‘SHE’S NOT even my cat,’ I told the
vet when I could speak again, trying to
make sense of why I was so upset. ‘I just
saw her lying on the side of the road and
decided to see if she could be saved.” He
didn’t say much, except to thank me for
bringing her in and to let me know they’d
take care of her. One of the assistants
brought me a box of tissue, and I stood
there and cried a few more minutes before
finally drying my eyes and leaving.
“I've thought a lot about it the last two
days,” the man admitted, ‘‘not so much
about the cat, but about why I could hurt
for it and not for human beings. I hear
about people every day who are starving
or terminally ill or in need, but I hardly
ever respond emotionally. I hear it, go
‘Hmmm, that’s too bad,” and forget about
it. And that bothers me.
“I THINK the difference is that this
(incident with the cat) was personal. It was
first-hand. I saw her and touched her. I
don’t touch hurting people very often,
maybe because I avoid situations where
they might be. It occurs to me that maybe
if I looked, if I got more involved, if I tired
to help people like I tried to help the cat,
I might feel more and hurt more for them.
“MAYBE that sounds corny or like I'm
overreacting to the situation,”” he conclud
ed almost apologetically, ‘“‘but it's just
been on my mind. I don’t think I'll forget
it for a long time.”
Albert Einstein
was perhaps THE premier thinker of
our time. He probably developed the
‘Theory of Relativity’ one evening
after reading The Summerville News.
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“l Just Hope Reagan and Gorbachev Have Better
Luck Bringing Peace Between Their Countries Than
hey Do Between Their Wives..."”
Commentary
from editorial page
later on, but the unforgettable evening really didn’t start
until we arrived at Red Lobster to eat.
AS IT HAPPENED, we went down on Thursday,
which was my birthday. Due to religious beliefs, however,
I don’t do anything to commemorate it. My caring friends,
though, engaged the staff at Red Lobster to sing for the
occasion. Instead of the familiar birthday song, though,
I was surprised by a serenade of “Happy Thursday to
You.”
After eating, we paid a visit to Georgia Square Mall
for some shopping. We also saw the movie, ‘“‘Beetlejuice,”
while we were there. We were very pleased to have with
us the company of staff photographer and hysterical
chuckler Jason Espy at the theater. Most of us didn’t find
the film overly hilarious, but old Jason did.
WHEN HE SAW what he considered to be a funny se
quence (and there were plenty, believe me), Jason was
thrown into spasms of uncontrollable cackles, guffaws, and
bellows. At one point we feared that Jason might injure
himself by laughing so hard, but he didn’t, as it was.
Everyone in the theater had their plentiful share of
laughter, more coming, I think, from Jason than the
movie.
After we arrived back at the hotel around midnight,
we found out that Shane Waters’ car had died on the way
back. The guys riding with him had pushed it into a park
ing lot a few blocks from the hotel. So all 23 of us made
the journey to find the car and push it back to the inn.
WE MANAGED to get it out into the street and from
there we pushed it uphill and ultimately back to the hotel.
A police car passed us as we were pushing, and we all sud
denly had this numbing fear of being arrested for grand
theft auto and having to be bailed out of jail. But the of
ficers just waved and drove off.
I told my father of this incident after arriving home.
“You pushed a car up a hill?"" he retorted. “‘l'd give a thou
sand dollars if I could have seen that!”’
TWO MEMORIES can certainly take up a lot of space.
I could go on and relate about the GSPA awards banquet,
working on the student publications staff each week, or
working for The News, something I've greatly enjoyed,
but I don’t think I'll use this space to do so.
Well, as far as graduating goes, there’s not much I can
find words to say. I don’t think I'm alone in this, 'cause
we seniors have all gotten sentimental during the last few
days. It was inevitable, I suppose.
ANYWAY, I WOULD like to express my thanks to my
close friends (and teachers, as well) who have been able
to put up with me during our lengthy association. Thanks,
people; you really made going through school a lot more
pleasant.
There’s a lot I'll miss, like getting up on Monday mor
ning to put together an Indian Lore and film a television
show, seeing old friends every day, and even the routine
of going to school itself. But I plan to enter missionary
work, and I'm sure the passing void will be quickly filled
with plenty of activity.
TWELVE YEARS is a long time. As for myself, look
ing back over the past 12-year span, this year in particular,
I call to mind a phrase I used in Athens, during the GSPA
awards: ‘lt just doesn't get any better than this.”
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Talmadge-Miller Grudge?
IS IT POSSIBLE that die-hard sup
porters of former U.S. Sen. Herman
Talmadge could hold a 10-year grudge
against Zell Miller and try to ambush him
during the governor's race in 1990?
Yes. In fact, there seems to be enough
animosity simmering in south Georgia
over Miller’s attacks on Talmadge during
the 1980 Senate race, that some say it
could translate into one percent of the
primary vote in 1990. In a field crowded
with the number of Democratic candidates
expected, one percent is critical for Miller.
GRUDGES stewing for decades are a
fact of life in politics, so it is not difficult
to imagine one still on the slow boil after
only 10 years. Why some Talmadge
diehards see Miller as the architect of the
former senator’s 1980 downfall, however,
is both unclear and unfair. While Miller
pulled no punches in his attempt to turn
the electorate against Talmadge in 1980
by painting him as corrupt, it was actual
ly former wife Betty Talmadge who
brought to light the damning revelations
of the overcoat filled with unreported cam
paign cash. The news media and the
Republicans did the rest.
The cash-filled overcoat and Senate
censure were Talmadge's undoing among
the majority of the electorate, yet Miller
still is seen in the mind's eye of some more
dedicated Talmadge people as the visible
arch-enemy who had the nerve to attack
their man personally in public.
UNBELIEVABLY, some in Talmadge
country below the gnat line blame Miller
for six years of severe financial hardship
down on the farm during Mack Matting
ly’s term. Fact enters not into their judg
ment. Perception reigns supreme here.
Many of those same people in 1986
worked on the successful senatorial bid by
Wyche Fowler. ‘“The anti-Miller sentiment
was just the hum everywhere,” said one
Fowler loyalist.
TALMADGE wouldn’'t talk to me
about lingering grudges, declaring that
Cheri’s Copy .......
cond father to every kid in band. I am no
exception. When he seems to be nosey,
he's really only showing he cares. He's
always ready with advice. And of course
he loves a good joke.
MR. PERRY tries to become the pal of
every person on the student publications
staff. This year he became even closer to
his AP English class, which is like a small
family in itself. I've taken a lot of jokes
from Mr. Perry, but I know he didn't mean
all of them.
My high school graduation seemed sad
and final.
IN A WAY, I was glad for school to be
over, because the last few days were very
strange. Memories kept hitting me in the
face every time I walked down the hall or
went into a room.
For this to be a time of new beginnings
of Seniors, there sure are a lot of final
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The Summerville News, Thursday, June 9, 1988 . .
Capitol Beat
By Andy Bowen,
Capitol Correspondent
whatever there was to say about Zell
Miller, he had said in his recent memoirs.
In the book, Talmadge draws an ugly pic
ture of Miller, at one point calling him a
reformed “‘redneck segregationist.” The
resentment rings through loud and clear
during his many mentions of Zell Miller in
the memoirs, published just last year.
Miller, insisting that some of his
closest friends and campaign officials to
day were Talmadge supporters in 1980,
would not speculate on the possible impact
of the grudge.
HE SAID he had run two successful
campaigns since then, winning the lieute
nant governor’s post in 1982 and 1986
with more than 70 percent of the vote each
time.
He's right, but his 1982 and 1986 vote
tallies from Talmadge counties such as
Telfair, Laurens, Coffee and Dodge show
an obvious bias.
“That is something that is gone. I
don’'t want to get into that,” Miller
declared. “‘I just don’t want to talk about
it, but neither am I concerned about it.
There are some folks that hold grudges
3nd there are some folks that don't. I
on't.”
WHETHER it is indeed ‘‘something
that is gone”’ depends on who you ask.
State Rep. Terry Coleman, a Dodge Coun
ty Democrat from the heart of Talmadge
country, asserts flatly that the grudge is
not gone. Will it hurt Miller in 1990?
“The thing about it, it could spring up
again if it were fanned,” Coleman said. “It
is the kind of thing that smolders and it
might die out, but then it could spring
back up.
“THERE IS still a great deal of resent
ment from Talmadge’s hard core sup
porters who think that Zell was too rough
on him” Coleman commented. ‘‘ln politics,
I think a lot of people vote against a per
son more than some people vote for them.
Sometimes it makes a little bit of dif
ference.” -
things happening to us. Everytime we
started to do something, we were remind
ed that ‘‘this is the last time I will ever do
this.”
FOR SOME of us this meant our last
band, baseball, football, or cheerleading
practice, the'last state championship, and
the last prom.
But, E)r others it meant the last after
noon in study hall, last time to cheat on
a test, last time to torture naive young
teachers or the last visit to the office.
FOR MY BEST friends, Michele, and
I, we took our last walk around the halls
of CHS like we used to when we were in
secure freshman who didn’t feel right stan
ding in one place.
Our class was really successful.
Though we are saddened by the thought
of leaving CHS, we can really be proud of
the record we left behind.
5-A
David Boyd