PAGE 4A
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2008
Editor: Angela Gary
Phone: 706-367-2490
E-mail: AngieEditor@aol.com
Website: www.banksnewsTODAY.com
Opinion
“Where the press is free and every tnan
able to read, all is safe.”
— Thomas Jefferson
Dumb and dumber
I was cruising the TV channels recently before going
to bed, seeing if there could possibly be anything
worth watching on the 100 or so channels that we
have on our satellite system and to catch up on the latest
news.
Since the case broke, I've been watching snippets of
information about the missing two-year old little girl in
Florida.
It’s fascinating to me to observe how the story is cov
ered. On that night, it was the topic on “Nancy Grace.”
Featured first and foremost on the show was a running
slideshow of partying photos of
Caylee’s 22-year old mom,
Casey, allegedly taken after
her daughter went missing.
All Casey’s jail phone
calls, recorded by law
enforcement and then
released, almost immediately
it seems, to the media.. .were
also played over and over.
Crazy - crazier still
that she continues to talk
fairly freely, even though she
knows this is happening.
There is a brief mention of the smell of decay that
tracking dogs found in the trunk of her car.. .and the cov
erage is interspersed with clips of Caylee’s grandmother,
who seems literally crazed by the whole thing and deter
mined to defend her daughter, maybe because she can’t
face what may have happened to her little granddaughter.
Excuse me, but isn’t the focus supposed to about
finding the little girl? Little Caylee’s face does appear
occasionally, but the news focus is definitely on mom’s
partying and jail phone conversations, both of which have
little to do with what’s being done to find her daughter.
I also can’t help but wonder if this case would be get
ting so much national attention if mom Casey weren’t a
young, attractive woman.
Having had enough of Nancy, I switched news chan
nels and found that another important topic of the eve
ning is the release of the “Brangelina twins” photos.
How very exciting.
Finally just out of curiosity, I googled the word “news”
on the internet and actually pulled up some real breaking
news, such as the sad story thatl45 people were appar
ently killed after a stampede at an India temple, that
six were feared dead in an avalanche and the fact that
tropical storm Eduardo was busy forming in the Gulf of
Mexico.
But just below those stories were the Brangelina twins
again, followed closely by a “gay debate.”
I can’t help but wonder, are the national media fueling
our evident desire for information like this?
Are the “Brangelinas” really that important to us or
are we just being fed so much of this stuff that we just sit
around and stare at it, or read about it until our mindless
minds are hooked on it? After all it doesn’t require much
thought to watch it - it’s kind of like taking a sedative.
One day last week I flipped over to whatever channel
carries the alleged reality show about Tori Spelling and
her husband. This particular episode revolved around
her straggles to sell her jewelry line on TV while heavily
pregnant. Poor baby.
Poor me, when I realized I'd actually sat and watched
this completely self-absorbed individual for about 15
minutes. It’s kind of like having a pendulum swung in
front of you - you’re shuck dumb, literally.
No wonder it’s being said that the IQ of collective
America is dropping. You can almost see it happening.
While we’re worrying about our children’s CRCT
tests, we’re simultaneously consuming all this crap (and
so are the kids).
We are what we eat. And we’re also what we read and
watch and spend our time thinking about.
Pollution and other factors of global warming may be
ruining the planet, millions may be starving around the
globe, but Ton’s jewelry sales are going well, Brad and
Angie and their 20 children are also doing well (or so
it seems from the cover of People magazine) and that
narcissistic mom of a missing two-year old will probably
continue to hold us mesmerized for a while longer.
Oh. and this just in — Paris Hilton’s mom called John
McCain’s ad about Obama that compared his celebrity
status to that of her daughter a “waste of money.” Well it
stands to reason that being Paris’s mom, she should cer
tainly know all about wasting money.
Now that’s a real news flash.
margie
richards
Margie Richards is a reporter for MainStreet
Newspapers.
The Banks County News
Founded 1968
The official legal organ of Banks County, Ga.
Mike Buffington
Co-Publisher
Scott Buffington
Co-Publisher
Angela Gary
Editor
Chris Bridges
Sports Editor
Sharon Hogan
Reporter
Anelia Chambers
Receptionist
Suzanne Reed
Church News
Phones (all 706 area code):
Angela Gary Phone
367-2490
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367-9355
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Published weekly by
MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.,
P.O. Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549
Barnes rakes Sonny over coals
F ormer Gov. Roy Barnes may have
thrown more red meat on the table
against Republicans than all the
national Democrats put together at the
Denver convention.
Maybe that’s why Barnes didn’t get much
TV time. He sounded as tough as Zell Miller
talking about Democrats. But Barnes didn’t
get around to challenging anyone to a duel as
Miller did four years ago.
A newsletter report and interview on
Barnes’ performance this year will have to
suffice. At a gathering of the Georgia delega
tion in Denver last week, “Barnes delivered
a stemwinder to wake up the delegates at
their breakfast meeting, excoriating the
Republican-majority Legislature for the
‘stench’ it has caused at the Capitol, and
slamming Gov. Sonny Perdue for misman
agement of the state budget,” reported Tom
Baxter of the Southern Political Report
newsletter.
When I called Barnes to confirm his
remarks, he poured oil on the fire.
“If [legendary former House Speaker]
Tom Murphy were still alive and speaker, he
would have asked Sonny Perdue, ‘Are you
drunk or what? Don’t you know we’re head
ed into a recession?”’ Barnes said, referring
to Perdue’s most recent official estimate of 6
percent growth in state revenue.
The state budget, based on that forecast, is
headed for a $1.5 billion to $2 billion deficit,
causing Perdue to slash spending across state
government. Education has been hit espe
cially hard.
Barnes ripped Perdue for moving to take
away a tax break for homeowners to try
to reduce the looming shortfall. He noted,
however, that the Republican governor has
done nothing to eliminate special-interest tax
breaks that have benefited Perdue and his
pals.
To hear such a fire-breathing speech and
interview, one might think Barnes is prepar
ing for liftoff as a candidate for governor in
2010.
“Some people have asked me to run,” he
says. “But, right now, I’m leaning against it.”
His leanings did not dilute his remarks at
the breakfast, which included a couple of
would-be gubernatorial candidates, at least
one of whom is noted as a get-along kind of
guy.
Barnes said GOP lawmakers have become
so beholden to special interests that they
should be required to “wear patches like
NASCAR drivers, with logos of the interests
that have bought them
out.
“The only problem
is, they may not have a
coat big enough to put
on all those patches,”
Barnes said. The break
fast crowd was delight
ed, Baxter reported.
Barnes also delivered
the obligatory plug for
Democratic presiden
tial nominee Barack
Obama. He asserted that
Democrats have to win the state for Obama
“because it is the beginning of us taking the
state back for ourselves.”
An Obama victory in Georgia would signi
fy more than a return of Democratic power.
It would constitute the beginning of the age
of political miracles. We shall see.
Barnes’ last presidential hoss, John
Edwards, didn’t run too well in these parts.
And that contest occurred before Edwards
was exposed as a lying, two-timing, hypo
critical scoundrel.
However, Barnes sounds like a guy who is
mad as hell and not going to take it anymore,
at least not on his home turf.
Perdue has done little as governor, except
dismantle Barnes’ programs and blame
Georgia’s misfortunes on the former gover
nor from Cobb County, whose administration
vanished nearly seven years ago.
If your lowly correspondent were a gam
bling man, I’d say the chance of Barnes run
ning for governor is about one out of five.
Some people close to Barnes put the odds
nearer to 50-50.
He already has the fire in his belly to make
the race, but he probably needs more push
ing and pledges of cash.
In any event, Barnes’ little breakfast
speech may have set the tone for the next
campaign — an attack on a corrupt General
Assembly and a do-nothing gubernatorial
administration.
We haven’t heard from Republicans yet.
The Georgia crowd will undoubtedly have
some harsh words for local Democrats when
they convene in Minneapolis to nominate
John McCain.
You can reach award-winning political
commentator Bill Shipp at P. O. Box 2520,
Kennesaw, GA 30156, e-mail: shippl@bell-
south.net. or Web address: billshipponline.
com.
Letter to the Editor:
Concerned with county taxes
Dear Editor:
Last week, the Banks County Board of
Commissioners approved the fiscal 2009 Banks
County budget with the disclaimer that any cut
in the state sponsored Homestead Exemption
Act would result in an imposed half million
dollar budget deficit to be subsidized by Banks
County taxpayers. Chairman Gene Hart warned
“if this (shortfall) happened, they (county com
missioners) would have to go back and re-bill the
homeowners” in order to balance the approved
budget. Isn’t it time for, and the responsibility
of. Banks County to find additional sources of
revenue instead of continuously burdening the
resident taxpayer?
If the Banks County Board of Commissioners
are truly concerned about the citizens of Banks
County and have any interest in saving tax
dollars, why haven’t they considered Waste
Management’s request to close Poole Road
at the point where the pavement ends. It is
my understanding that Waste Management has
offered to increase the host fees currently paid
to the county in exchange for closure of an
impassable desolate corridor that runs through
the landfill.
In addition to a boost in host fees, which are
currently estimated in the 2009 Banks County
fiscal budget at one million dollars. Waste
Management has agreed to provide financing
for county water improvements to residents
residing on the paved portion of Poole Road.
Maybe it’s time for the county to become the
responsible steward of tax revenues in which
they were elected to perform.
What benefit is realized by Banks County
taxpayers when the county spends thousands of
dollars maintaining an inhabitable passageway
in which no homes currently exist or will ever
be constructed?
The windfall of additional revenue generated
by increased host fees would certainly help off
set any potential shortfalls created by a cut in
the Homestead Exemption Act. Furthermore,
should the state decide to leave the Homestead
Exemption Act intact the extra revenue gener
ated by the increased host fees would bol
ster Banks County budget revenue projections.
Consequently, any excess revenue could then be
passed along to taxpayers in the form of a tax
cut instead of a tax assessment.
I certainly do not want to incur additional
taxes to offset a possible Banks County revenue
deficit perpetuated by state decisions instead let
Waste Management pick up the slack!
Sincerely,
K.D. Webb
Maysville
McCain keeps
maverick status
with VP pick
J ohn McCain, who has never
been above stepping out of
line with the powers-that-be
in the Republican Party, pulled a
fast one last week with his selec
tion of a political unknown as his
running mate.
Out of the clear, blue Alaska sky
McCain stunned political pundits
(and literally had them guessing
until the final hour) by selecting
the governor of our northern most
state in Sarah
Palin. Many
jaws could be
heard hitting
the floor with
a resounding
thud when it
became offi
cial on
Aug. 29.
I admit the
pick surprised
me because
I didn’t see
any way in which McCain was
not going to select Mitt Romney.
I feared the pressure from the
extreme right wing of the party
would accept nothing less. In fact,
I was all set to criticize McCain
for losing his maverick status for
selecting Romney. I guess once
you are a maverick you are a mav
erick for life, however.
In some ways, we shouldn’t be
surprised that McCain went his
own way and made this selection.
Some published reports over the
weekend indicated McCain really
didn’t know Palin at all before
selecting her as his vice presiden
tial running mate. It doesn’t get
much more maverick than that.
Realizing McCain’s choice had
been made, the extreme right-wing
element of the Republican Party
figured it had no choice but to get
on board late last week. I hap
pened to be in my vehicle when
the official selection announce
ment was made and flipped the
radio to Rush Limbaugh’s live
show. Limbaugh, who of course
long ago lost any ounce of credi
bility he had, acted like a complete
buffoon as the announcement was
being made.
Limbaugh carried on like he
was viewing a peep show rather
than carrying the announcement
of the selection of the person who
could one day become the leader
of the free world. Limbaugh began
drooling over Palin like a young
teenage boy who strikes gold
when he finds a copy of a Playboy
magazine.
But enough about Limbaugh
and his inflated ego. McCain went
his own direction with his choice.
Make no mistake, Palin is a con
servative across the board from
gun rights to abortion. However,
the choice certainly was a bold
move.
The presidential election of
2008 is now set up to be historic
regardless of the outcome. We
will either have our first African-
American president or we will
have our first female vice-presi
dent. It is a major step forward for
our country and one we should all
be proud of as citizens. Hopefully,
it will open the door wider during
future elections.
With exactly two months to go
until we enter our respective vot
ing booths, I once again encourage
everyone to get involved in this
historic election.
Whether you support McCain,
Obama or even another candidate
like myself (Bob Barr), become
involved in what is the most
American of processes.
Few things you will ever do
will be more important or more
rewarding.
chris
bridges
Chris Bridges is a reporter for
The Banks County News. E-mail
comments about this column to
chris @ mainstreetnews. com.
