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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PACE 5A
Letters to the Editor
Thoughts on 'Election Day'
Yopp family loses
home in fire recently
Dear Editor:
On Election Day, a woman
on the radio was quoted saying
that she was so glad of the day’s
outcome because she would no
longer have to buy gasoline for
her vehicle, pay her mortgage
or her credit card bills. Head
lines over the past week have
ranged from bleak to ridiculous
including “Foreclosure Rates
up 25%” and “Automaker Bail
out.” In one article, Henry Paul
son, treasury secretary, alleged
that the $700 billion would be
used to bail out automakers,
credit cards and school loans.
The underlying sentiment was
to allow these institutions to
continue to lend money.
The problem may partially
be economic, but I would at
tribute it to accountability and
Dear Editor:
On Nov. 11, our Banks County
Middle School students gave
what could be called a fantastic
loving celebration party for all
veterans of our unpleasant na
tional disagreements with other
countries. The party was so out
standing I can’t let go of it with
out trying to write a letter of ap
preciation to them.
It was the greatest act of appre
ciation of veterans I have expe
rienced, although our wonderful
Brother Jim of Homer Methodist
Church is gracious to all veterans
at all times.
Television has often shown
pictures of returning veterans be
ing embraced by their families
etc, but when I returned from
Italy in 1945 it was a frigid con
trast. We landed at Boston in sub
freezing temperature. There was
a military band playing nearby as
we marched down the gang plank
and onto trains. There were also
some organizational ladies; USO
and Red Cross, a little distance
away waving and clapping.
Then when being discharged
at Fort Gordon, Augusta, Ga., I
was verbally abused by doctors
when I requested hearing aids
to help restore my hearing abil
ity. They accused me of trying
to get my hands in the pocket
of the government. I thought the
accusations they threw at me
were just plain ugly. I have tried
a couple of times since WWH
with no success and gave up. I
hope the doctors have lived to see
the things that have been going
on today with the Rainbow Co
alition receiving “entitlements”
for every need of life including
houses, some of them expensive
houses, which so many of them
trashed and turned into a liability
rather than an asset for the mort
gage companies. The mortgage
companies then turn to the gov
ernment support organizations,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
who in turn go broke and have
to be bailed out by the taxpayers
(even though they also illegally
gave away political contributions
responsibility, both individu
ally and corporately. When did
it become the government’s
responsibility or prerogative to
bail out anyone for bad deci
sions? Poor lending practices,
poor borrowing practices,
greed, poor management, poor
planning, basically, bad deci
sion making and fiscal irre
sponsibility all the way around
have brought us to this very low
economic point.
As a little girl, I was taught
that I would have to live with
the consequences of my ac
tions. This is a very powerful
tool when a bad decision is
made. As a child, the conse
quences may be nominal, but as
adults they can be catastrophic
as we are currently experienc
ing. I cannot imagine shirking
to the political campaign of the
one some people believe to be
the messiah. The managers who
illegally gave the contributions
should have been imprisoned.)
On and on it goes while I have
bought my own hearing aids, and
will do so for the rest of life so as
not to be a burden on the govern
ment for a few dollars.
During the process of being
discharged at Fort Gordon it was
required that we turn in all gov
ernment property except some
of the personal clothing. I tried
to persuade them to permit me to
purchase my blanket as a souve
nir since it had a hole in it made
by a 20mm cannon shell at 1 a.m.
on the night of September 21,
1943 shortly after I had evacuated
the blanket. It would have stuck
me in the face or the side of the
head, depending on how I would
have been positioned. Then my
beheaded body would have been
buried in the U.S. cemetery just
south of Tunis, Tunnisia. They
rudely snatched the blanket away
from me, preferring to bum the
dirty old thing - that kind of ap
preciation for my service. As I
left Fort Gordon I felt I had been
kicked rather thoroughly. It would
have been another good item to
display in the World War II mu
seum in the back of our historic
Banks County courthouse with
a 20mm dummy shell sticking
through the hole.
In contrast to this abusive treat
ment, our wonderful children of
Banks County Middle School;
those of the high school who par
ticipated, their school principal,
teachers and parents, made me
wish I could line them up and
personally hug each of them.
I only wish we veterans could
leave a better world for these
wonderful young people than we
are leaving. The atheist, and mis
nomer ACLU (American Civil
Fiberties Union), and liberal
politicians are destroying our fine
country from within in addition to
the assaults from without. It was
capitalism that built this country
and made it the greatest place in
responsibility for my actions.
They are mine. I own them and
will reap the rewards or suffer
the consequences. Government
intervention is not appropriate.
While I cannot fix the prob
lems of an entire nation, I can
certainly take care of my own,
and everyone else in this nation
should do the same.
The government was not
founded to coddle us, balance
our checkbooks, or pay our
mortgages. I challenge each
and everyone to read the U.S.
Constitution and cogitate on
the viable functions of the
government. It may come as
a surprise, but there is nothing
in there about paying my Visa
bill or my car payment. Con
versely, corporations should be
held accountable for their bad
the world so that a poor person
could raise himself to a higher
standard of living by exercising
initiative. This is a more self sat
isfying way to live than receiving
handouts of various kinds from a
government Nanna. On the other
hand, now our liberal politicians
are telling college students that
capitalism is a politically bad
word, and selling socialism and
elements of communism to buy
votes from those who would
rather be cared for by govern
ment redistribution of the income
earned by someone else.
In the parable Jesus used about
the talents in Matthew 25:14-30
Jesus instructs about initiative;
about performance according to
“several ability.” Read it and see
if it appears he approves of be
ing cared for by a government
Nanna. Specifically he calls the
unproductive one talent servant,
“slothful” and “wicked.” There
fore, any politician who promotes
government Nannyism to people
who are already inclined to be
unproductive are wicked them
selves because they are subver
sive to the nation, and destructive
to the character of the individuals
who listen to them and vote ac
cordingly. Our country is now
simply loaded with one talent
people described by Jesus.
Do Jesus’ words “several abil
ity” validate the liberal lie we
hear today that “everyone is cre
ated equal?” The full sentence is
that everyone is created equal in
the eyes of God, but the liberals
in our country want to leave God
out of everything, so they drop
the reference to God off the end
of the sentence, and claim every
one is created equal. Any think
ing person should be able to see
that everyone is not created equal.
Some are bom with genius intel
ligence, and some are bom with
such lack of intelligence they be
lieve the liberal he and vote the
way the crazy liberals tell them
to vote.
Socialism and communism
countries have always been coun
tries from which people flee - wit-
decisions. An automaker who
is behind the design curve, pays
tremendous wages, and refuses
to adjust mileage as others is
reaping the consequences of
their actions. They have cor
porate leaders, voting stock
holders, and should be held ac
countable just as an individual.
It is a harsh reality. I have had
to make budget adjustments
to accommodate economic
change and that may result in a
leaner holiday season. I cannot
sit around and wait on the gov
ernment to offer me a “Holiday
Bailout.” That would be an in
appropriate function of govern
ment.
Sincerely,
Aubrey Groves
Gillsville
ness every country in which it has
taken over. It is strange thinking
that some of the people who have
fled socialism and communism
come into this country and vote
for candidates that are pushing
the U.S. into elements of govern
ment from which they fled. May
be they should have stayed where
they were. Maybe they would
have been happier, and certainly
the U.S. would be better off with
out them. Socialism and commu
nism have never created a country
anywhere in the world that could
even begin to compare to what
capitalism has done in the United
States of America. However, now
it has become the politically cor
rect thing to discredit God and
country and tear down. The only
reason China is now doing well is
because it has adopted some ele
ments of capitalism, and because
of their exceptionally low labor
cost with no labor unions.
May God please bless our
young people and multiply their
endeavors throughout their lives
as they face increasing burdens
that should not have happened.
The air is full of lies, and distor
tions of truth (as for example the
ACLU interpretation of the first
amendment and others). Be care
ful of what you accept as truth no
matter how it is presented. Learn
the subjects Civics, and basic ele
ments of Economics well when
you have the opportunity in high
school, and thus be able to use
your own intellect for decisions.
Keep your textbooks for future
reference.
Especially thank you for that
sweet song “I will remember
you.” We will remember you
also. A hug, and best wishes to
each of you.
Sincerely,
Nolan E. Ragsdale,
Homer
Remember Jeremy and
Maryland Yopp and fam
ily who lost their home and
everything in it (except for
their Bible) on Wednesday
morning last week on Hwy.
51 in Lula. Remember this
family when you
pray. If anyone
would like to
make a donation,
they can contact
Jan Parks at 706-
677-4470 or Ruth
Parson 706-677-
3037.
Mark your cal
endars for the 4th annual
flag football fundraiser to
be held on Dec. 5 at the
Banks County High School
football field. Gates will
open at 6:30 p.m. and kick
off will be at 7 p.m. There
will be homemade cakes at
a silent cake auction. Raffle
ticket will be given for each
donation for a prize give
away. All proceeds will be
divided between the families
of Deputy David Dunson and
Firefighter Henry Galloway.
Come out for some clean
fun and help two deserving
families. These two men
have helped many families
throughout their combined
years of public service. You
can make your donations at
the gate or the concession
stand. God bless them and
hope to see you there.
Readers in the Cornelia area
should be aware that there
have been several reports of
people breaking windows in
cars and stealing items from
inside.
Those in our community
who are overseas fighting or
state-side being trained to
defend our country include:
Johnny Woodell, Levi
Simpson, Dustin Holcombe,
Matthew Ledford, Jason
Ledford, Pvt. Nathon
Bagwell, Gary Hogman,
Jason Ledford, Sgt. T.J.
Brookshire, Kyle Delaigle,
David McWhorter, John
Groves III, Clint Medlock,
Timothy Reems, Richard
Davenport, Kyle Pilgrim,
Russell Cantrell, Shawn
McClure, Sgt. Amanda
Justus, Matthew Sutton,
Justin Johnston, David
Puttnum, Alex Head, Tiffany
Sorrows, James Sullivan
and Mark Sullivan Jr.
Those who are sick in our
community include many
who have cancer and need
our prayers. Those on the
sick list are: Shirley Boyle,
Shelby Turpin, Teresa Sims
Chester and baby boy, Eli
and Evan Watson twins
who were born early and
are very sick in Arkansas,
14-month-old Abby Pethel
from Jefferson who has can
cer, Lucas “Luke” Martin a
14- month-old with cancer,
Mrs. Jay Tumlin, Radd Cape,
Betty Griffin who asks that
everyone remember her as
she battles cancer again,
William Sims in Germany,
Shane Wilson, Florence
Tootsie Whitehead, Mary
Ferguson, John Owensby,
Lurleen Hosch, Mike Davis,
Mrs. Jay Tumlin, Amanda
Ivey, Colton Standridge,
Ollie Savage, Beth Wilson,
Jessie Jamerson, Pvt. Nathan
Bagwell, Barbara Sue
Holcomb, Ray Bellamy,
Robert Wood, Mrs. Avery
Bonds, Bob Boyle, Brenda
Nicholson, Horace Whitfield,
Penny McClure, David
Dunson, David Campbell,
Mae Chitwood Smith, Ruth
Evans, Juno and Bobbi
Samples, David Smith, Ruby
Nix, Roy Broome, Royce
Jones, Steve Fattig, the Rev.
Leroy Burns, Blanch Burns,
Odell Wade, Zine Bell
Wade, Claudette Griffin, Loy
Palmer, Allene Montgomery,
Wayne Holcomb, Dennie
Maxwell, Henry Galloway,
Mary Sims, Frank Cronic,
Dan Tomlin, Jerry Poole,
Greg Baker, Cidney Wilson,
Jeremy Gaddis, Tommy
Gray of Cornelia, Luther
Campbell, Carol Dean Beck,
Johnnie Dalton, Allan Poe of
Commerce, Chad Standridge,
Scott McClure, Winford
Baker, the Rev. Jerry Smith,
Coy Marlow, Bennie Jackson,
Clifford Wilson, William
Wilson, Christine Chitwood,
Johnny Smallwood, Eddie
Borders, Pauline Arfin,
Crystal Medlock, Michelle
McClure, Mary Bell Echols
and J.R. Boswell, Remember
our family when you pray.
If you know others who are
sick, please call me so I can
add their name to our prayer
list.
Happy birthday to: Shelia
Jones, Ricky Savage, Chad
Hope, Bree Harris, Don
Harris, Cecil Callaway,
Sharon Callaway, Pat Harris,
Lee Parson and Talmadge
Savage.
Happy anniversary to: Mark
and Sherry Whitfield, Joyce
and Ernest Turpin, Mark and
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