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THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 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
Random thoughts
I f Governor Palin were a man, would
there be mention of five children, other
than in the context of “family man” or
“family values?”
•••
I once tided to interview the “Hubcap
Man,” whose Hwy. 98 yard fairly sparkled
with well-shined hubcaps hanging just about
everywhere. He declined, proud to turn down
all media, saying that he had been asked for
interviews repeatedly through the years. I
was sorry to notice
yesterday evening on
my drive home that all
the hubcaps have
been taken down. The
“Hubcap Man” has
passed away, and all
those stories with him.
At what point does
that realization —
“Now why did I come
into this room? What was I doing?” — become
so frequent that it is cause for true concern?
Or, what about that piece of paper you’ve jot
ted notes on, you know, the one you apparently
hid, very well, somewhere in the house? It
hasn’t turned up yet, although I expect to find
it any day now, perhaps in the freezer or the
dishwasher.
•••
My sister made a CD for my daughter, com
plete not only with new songs, but also with
the tunes she and I remember from Sesame
Street and Electric Company (remember
Electric Company?). The “Ma-nom-me-nomp,
doo do de do doo, ma-nom-me-nomp, do do
de doo, ma-nom-me-nomp, doo do da do da da
do da, da doo doo doo doo do” (or something
to that effect) song brings to mind my father
in the kitchen, singing that, and making our
school lunches. And what about the martian
beauty, my number nine cutie, with nine hairs
on her head and nine toes on her foot - “she
doesn’t like shopping ‘cause she doesn’t like
hopping, so usually she just stays home.” Yes,
it does bring back memories, every time we
listen to it.
•••
What do you do when you realize that you
will soon reach an age milestone and it seems
like it’s one your mother just reached a year or
two ago?
I can remember, in fact, when my mother
hung up the “Lordy, Lordy...” sign for her
good friend. Could it really have been that
long ago? And here I am, almost the age
my mother was, who is almost the age her
mother was...and so it goes. I suppose you
keep going through the years, hoping you are
lucky enough to reach all those next milestones
together.
Jana Adams Mitcham is features editor of
The Jackson Herald, a sister publication of The
Banks County News. E-mail comments about
this column to jana@mainstreetnews.com.
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
Angela Gary Fax
367-9355
Homer Office Phone
677-3491
Homer Office Fax
677-3263
(SCED 547160)
Published weekly by
MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.,
PO. Box 908, Jefferson, Ga. 30549
Subscription in county
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Member: Georgia Press Association
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^REMEMBER <1/11
Early analysis: How Obama lost
P erhaps Barack Obama should
throw in the towel now. The ball-
game looks like it’s over. We still
have two months to go before the presi
dential election, and anything can happen.
But Democrats would have to perform
the equivalent of a Sarah Palin miracle to
rescue their campaign and restore their
momentum.
A couple of weeks ago, I thought Obama
had a chance to win. His spectacular appear
ance before 80,000 people in a Denver
football stadium was a stunning show of
Democratic strength. His speech was great
and on point.
A day later, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
appeared out of nowhere and made just
about everyone forget Obama’s eloquence.
A good old girl from the tundra stole the
show by being tapped for VP. She turned
the Obama-McCain traveling act on its ear.
Stopping abortions replaced energy costs,
the economy and the Iraq war as the pri
mary issue in the campaign.
The born-again Christian bloc — the
heart of the Republican Party — is pulling
out the stops for the GOP The evangelicals
had been skeptical of John McCain and
his advertised choices for vice president.
Palin was 100 percent on the side of the
conservative religious crowd. There was
no doubt where she stood. And the church
folks loved the drama that surrounded her
selection.
Palin even advocated banning “unsuitable
books.” The NRA praised her skill in mow
ing down moose.
Quiet speculation circulated as to what
kind of president Sarah would make if
McCain, 72, were incapacitated and the VP
had to take over.
Before it could take hold, something else
happened that helped McCain and inflicted
another wound on Obama. The big bloggers
and the national media stepped in. Irked that
McCain had not let them in on tapping Palin
for VP and even circulated misinformation
among them, the big media set out to dig up
scandalous material on Palin and her fam
ily. The media’s efforts succeeded only in
creating a wave of sympathy for Palin, thus
Letters to the editor policy given
The Banks County News has established
a policy on printing Letters to the editor.
We must have an original copy of all
letters that are submitted to us for publi
cation.
Members of our staff will not type out
or hand-write letters for people who stop
by the office and ask them to do so.
Letters to the editor must also be signed
with the address and phone number of the
person who wrote them.
The address and phone number will be
News department contact numbers
helping solidify support
for the decision to tap
her for VP Don’t these
big-shot media types
ever leam? The voting
public hates the media
almost as badly as it
detests Congress. The
press barrage against
Palin may have inocu
lated her against future
legitimate attacks and
criticism.
Most polls continue to show Obama hold
ing a slight lead over McCain. Don’t be
fooled by those numbers. Pollsters say get
ting accurate numbers from a black-white
election contest is nearly impossible. Poll
respondents are known to fib when asked
racial questions.
The debates between candidates will
occur shortly, but I doubt they will change
the election’s outcome, unless someone
makes a gigantic gaffe. However, Palin’s
appointment may not look as good in 30
days, following her appearances, as it does
now.
Even if my hunch proves correct and
Obama loses the election, his run has not
been wasted. He has shown that a black
candidate can make a heck of a stir in a
national political contest. He has made his
tory with his campaign and set the stage for
future black candidates.
In addition, Obama is the new breed of
black leader who figures to be around for
a long time. In a sense, he has picked up
where MLK left off.
One other thing: One of the positive tales
about Palin is that she sold the state plane
on eBay. Good idea! Gov. Sonny Perdue
could sell the state’s entire fleet of aircraft
on eBay and shore up the state budget,
which is now roaring like a freight train
toward a $2 billion shortfall.
You can reach award-winning political
columnist Bill Shipp at PO. Box 2520,
Kennesaw, GA 30156, e-mail: shippl@
bellsouth.net, or Web address: billshippon-
line.com.
for our verification purposes only and will
not be printed unless the writer requests
it. Mail to, The Banks County News, PO.
Box 920, Homer, Ga. 30547.
E-mailed letters will be accepted, but
we must have a contact phone number
and address. Letters that are libelous will
not be printed. Letters may also be edited
to meet space requirements. Anyone with
questions on the policy is asked to contact
editor Angela Gary at AngieEditor@aol.
com or by calling 706-367-2490.
Anyone with general story ideas, com
plaints or comments about the news
department is asked to call editor Angela
Gary at 706-367-2490.
She can also be reached by e-mail at
AngieEditor@aol.com.
Anyone with comments, questions or
suggestions relating to the county board of
commissioners, county government, coun
ty board of education and crime and courts
is asked to contact staff reporter Chris
Bridges at 706-367-2745 or by e-mail at
chris@mainstreetnews.com.
Bridges alsois sports editorofthepaper and
covers local high school, middle school and
recreation sports.
Anyone with comments, questions or
suggestions relating to Alto, Lula, Baldwin
and Gillsville, should contact Sharon
Hogan at 706-367-5233 or by e-mail at
sharon @ mainstreetnews.com.
Calls concerning the City of Maysville
should go to staff reporter Justin Poole at
706-367-2348 or e-mail him at justin@
mainstreetnews.com.
Calls for information about the
church page should go to Suzanne
Reed at 706-677-3491. Church
news may also be e-mailed to
churchnews @ mainstreetnews.com.
The Banks County News website is
updated throughout the week and
may be accessed on the Internet at
www.banksnewsTODAY.com.
Taking time to
stop, be thankful
for little things
T he arrival of fall means an
increase in the hectic work
pace for us at Mainstreet
Newspapers.
I realize it’s not technically fall as
Georgia’s summer sun continues to
fight us almost daily. I say fall since
football season is now upon us and
kids are back in school.
With the overall slower pace of
the summer months now a thing of
the past, we often forget to stop and
be thankful for the little things in
life. You know
those things
which we too
often take for
granted but are
still grateful
when we are
able to notice
them.
With that in
mind I give
thanks today
for:
•a good
night's sleep.
•arriving at the local high school
football stadium two hours before
kickoff. There's nothing like soaking
in the atmosphere that is high school
football on a Friday night. It’s the
bands, the teams, the community.
It’s a slice of Americana at its abso
lute best.
• Wednesday afternoons when I
arrive home knowing another edition
of the paper has been finished.
•a classic movie which I’ve seen
at least 100 times, but still enjoy
watching it again.
•guilty pleasures like “The Jerry
Springer Show” and “Cheaters” and
knowing that no matter how far I’ve
fallen, I've never made an appear
ance on either. Ditto for the show
“Cops.”
•college and pro football media
guides.
•an old song which immediately
takes you back to the year it was
first popular.
•sports talk radio.
•a comfortable pair of shoes that
are broken in just right.
•columns by sports writing leg
end Furman Bisher. We’re still able
to enjoy his work which makes us
luckier than we know.
•newspaper reporters like Bob
Woodward and Carl Bernstein who
did more good for this country with
the printed word than I could ever
hope to. Do high school students
today even know about Watergate?
•Keith Olbermann's “Worst Person
in the World” segments.
•the overnight radio show “Coast
to Coast AM,” especially when the
topic centers on UFOs, bigfoot,
aliens and the like.
•memories of hearing a liberal
radio talk show host in Atlanta.
•political columns by Bill Shipp
like the one he wrote recently about
Secretary of State Karen Handel
and the questionnable decisions she
has made. While some may contend
Shipp is simply showing his liberal
side, the column was backed up with
tons of evidence which could not
be simply ignored when it comes to
Handel’s attempts to keep certain
candidates off the ballot in our state.
•watching the flock of birds and
family of squirrels arrive at the
feeding area we have established
for them. Birds of all descriptions,
as well as several squirrels, have
become quite demanding but are still
enjoyable in daily viewing.
•those of you, like myself, who
still enjoy reading a newspaper by
holding it in your hands rather than
looking at it on a computer. Much
has changed about the newspaper
business even in the time I entered it
professionally in 1993 but I hope we
will always have the printed edition
to enjoy.
•my recliner after a long day of
work which often stretches well into
the late afternoon and on into the
evening.
•the first rays of light as it peaks
through the window in the morning.
Chris Bridges is a reporter for The
Banks County News. E-mail com
ments about this column to him at
chris @ mainstreetnews. com.
chris
bridges