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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JANUARY 22, 2009 — PAGE 5A
Opinions
Let’s observe ‘Sanctity of Human Life Week’
Dear Editor:
Did you know that the
group People for Ethical
Treatment of Animals has
decided that fish should not
be called fish any more?
They are sea kittens. Sea
kittens feel things and they
love. And who would want
to put a hook through a sea
kitten? [I would]
Economist George Ure has
been tracking the use of the
word “bailout” as compared
to “rescue package,” and sure
enough, his prediction came
true. It was only two months
before the media's use of
rescue caught up to and then
exceeded that of bailout.
What do bailouts and
sea kittens have to do with
Sanctity of Life? Because
“All social engineering is
preceded by verbal engi
neering.” This is a profound
saying from Catholic moral
theologian William Smith.
Changing the name of
something helps to dimin
ish attachment to it. Devalue
it. Making a euphemism
for it helps to conceal an
unpleasant truth behind
a nicer sounding phrase.
Example: The Euthanasia
Society became Society
for the Right to Die. The
Euthanasia Council became
Concern for Dying. Death
penalty has become capi
tal punishment. A pre-bom
baby has become a fetus. An
abortion has become termi
nating a pregnancy. A person
is not pro-abortion, they are
pro-choice.
These softening terms are
purposely slipped into our
vernacular. Many people
don't even notice our lan
guage is being manipulated.
The phrase “all social engi
neering is preceded by ver
bal engineering,” recognizes
that the mind is the first
battlefield. This is Satan’s
territory, the mind. As the
late Rev. Adrian Rogers said
so well, “Ephesians 6:12
tells us that there is a war
going on, and it's of a spiri
tual nature. Satan's desire is
to conquer and control your
thought life and then make it
a citadel from which he can
war against God.” The battle
first begins in the mind, and
its weapons are words.
In Matthew 5:22, Jesus
said, “But I tell you, every
one who is angry with his
brother will be subject to
judgment. And whoever says
to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be
subject to the Sanhedrin. But
whoever says, ‘You moron!’
will be subject to hellfire.”
Here, Jesus is emphasizing
that murder begins before
the act, it begins when peo
ple view others as less than
human. Euphemistic lan
guage helps this transition of
devaluation of the sanctity of
life. When we begin seeing
a baby as tissue, a coma
tose person as a vegetable,
as a death row convict as
an inmate undergoing capital
punishment, thus begins the
devaluing. Murder begins
when people view others as
less than human.
Today's point is that I urge
us all to be on guard men
tally when we read or hear
of terms that try to diminish
the sanctity of life. The act of
murder is actually a lengthy
process, and it begins in the
mind, with the words you
choose to use to describe
human life that God gave
us.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Prata
Comer
Says ‘first Civil War’ coming to America
Dear Editor:
Never has this nation
been closer to civil war than
now. Some uninformed will
claim the war between the
C.S.A. (Confederate States
of America) and U.S.A. in
1861 was a “Civil War,” but it
was not. The C.S.A. seceded
from the U.S.A. and became
a separate country. So that
war was between two separate
countries, not a war within
one country.
After the war. Congress
allowed the Southern States to
re-enter the union. Each state
was re-entered individually.
Thus for a Southern state to be
re-entered into the union, they
must first be out of the union.
making the southern states a
country of its own called the
C.S.A.
Abe Lincoln said the South
never left the union, but
Congress overruled him by
re-entering the South. So this
coming war will be America’s
only Civil War and will be
about race, religion, doctrine,
indoctrination and treason
The traditional American that
puts family and country first
are dying out. The love of
country, hope, values, honor
and respect are dying out as
each older honorable genera
tion leaves this earth.
The new crop (not all, but
the most vocal) are leaning
toward following the leader.
any leader. Just don’t make
them think or make them
react, just lead them. Sounds
like Hitler’s Germany after
the population was indoctri
nated by their government.
Does any of this sound famil
iar? Think back to the election
of 2008, were you indoctri
nated?
Christians, Jews, Hindus
and some others will be facing
war or death as some facist, so
called religious fanatics, con
tinue their quest to conquer
the world. Listen to the news
media who exercise the moral
obligation to tell you the truth
of what’s happening to other
countries around the world by
these fanatics.
Consider the media that
hides the facts, distorts the
truth, as enemies of our coun
try. Freedom of the people
trumps freedom of the press.
As proven in the past, the
freedom-loving people and its
mighty military forces will
rise up and defeat the enemies
within our shores.
This will be a “civil war”
which will be the beginning of
the end of oppression and the
end of terrorism as we know
it today. This is our people’s
war.
This is my opinion and I’m
unanimous in that.
Sincerely,
Pappy Skinner
Comer
Caretakers needed for feral cats
Dear Editor:
I’m a member of Disaster
Relief Animal Rescue which
was formed since Hurricane
Katrina by Mark and
Shannon Martin, owners of
Pet Supplies Plus in Athens.
Later the organization was
moved here in Athens and
is now concerned with
felines, feral and stray cats
and kittens. I have been
involved in trapping now
for the past five years and
have trapped about 500 plus
felines. Many of the feral
cats were spayed or neu
tered and put on ranches,
farms or people that have
buildings to provide the cats
a good home and give them
food and water daily. Many
were trapped/neutered and
returned back to their envi
ronment under the TNR
(Trap/Neuter/Release) and
a caretaker feeds and waters
them daily like I have been,
and many like me.
Presently, I feed 81 felines
before my work day begins
and am using about two
bags of Cat Chow every
day. Purina loves me.
On really cold days, I
will buy some good wet
food for them. These cats
are what I call victims of
human beings because peo
ple dump them off in popu
lated areas like restaurants,
grocery stores, office com
plexes, doctor’s offices and
more. People move out of
their homes and leave their
animals, which is a problem
in Clarke and surrounding
counties. Some people will
not spay or neuter their pets,
thus they keep producing to
the point that it gets out of
control!
Feral cats are undomesti
cated; they have never had
a human touch. They are
afraid of us. They are not
aggressive towards us, but
if you grab one (which isn’t
a good idea), you may get
scratched or bitten. As far
as kittens, it's a good idea
to try and get them before
they get past the seven-
week period or they will
become feral.
Many cats get lost and
never make it back home,
but if they had a collar or
were micro-chipped, they
probably would have been
returned by someone that
finds them. During my five
years of working with cats,
none of them that I have
caught have had an ID.
These beautiful animals
want to live, just like you
and me, and that’s the pur
pose of this letter.
We need people, farmers,
ranchers, etc. that will take
our feral cats and give them
a good home and be a care
taker to them. If you have a
problem of rodents eating
the animal feed, you won’t
anymore with these cats on
your farm. We have one
chicken farmer who was
overrun with wharf rats. He
now has five of our cats
and he doesn’t see the rats
anymore.
In one area I’m feeding
a group of growing kittens
that were dumped by their
owners. I can pick most of
them up by hand, and have
done so by giving seven of
them to people that said
“Pick one out for me and I
will get them to a vet and
have them fixed.” There are
18 left. In closing, I’m not
going to ask you to please
have your animals spayed
or neutered. I’m begging
you to.
You can contact me at
home at 706-546-0433, or
speak to Sue Jordan, also a
member of D.R.A.R, at this
number.
Sincerely,
Bill Koehlke
Winterville
TELADOC
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Access doctors and
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Tuesday, January 27
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706-757-3422 • 706-207-8163
Thankful for the
service of Judge Tise
Dear Editor:
On behalf of the State Bar of Georgia, I extend congratulations
and thanks to Judge Lindsay Tise on his retirement from active
service on the Northern Judicial Circuit Superior Court.
Judge Tise is a dedicated public servant. Before his 12 years
of service as a Superior Court judge, he represented the people
of Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Madison and Oglethorpe counties as
district attorney.
The Northern Circuit and the entire state of Georgia benefit
from the service of public-minded lawyers like Judge Tise.
The members of the State Bar wish Judge Tise well in his new
status as a senior judge. We are grateful for and inspired by his
distinguished service to the public and to the principle that fair
and impartial courts are essential to the preservation of freedom
and the vindication of justice.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey O. Bramlett, president
State Bar of Georgia
Update offered from the
\A Clinic on Hwy. 29
Dear Editor:
It is my privilege to provide you with a brief report of the
2008 activities of the Athens/Elberton division of the State
Department of Veterans Service. This division serves the coun
ties of Barrow, Clarke, Elbert, Jackson, Madison, Oconee and
Oglethorpe with an estimated veteran population of 23,000.
It has been a very busy and exciting year in that we had over
17,000 veteran related contacts, which reflects a growth of
26 percent over the previous year. The necessity for personal
assistance to eligible beneficiaries filing and pursuing claims
with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) results from
the legal principle that no veterans’ benefits are awarded auto
matically. All benefits to which a veteran may be entitled must
be applied for.
Our department provides free representation and advice to
beneficiaries regarding all state and federal veteran’s benefits.
This related in 2008 into direct payments in the amount of
$52,359,000 to the veterans in the Athens/Elberton division;
dollars that the veterans pour back into the local economy.
To improve access to our services, we were fortunate enough
this past year to relocate our office to the Athens VA Community
Based Outpatient Clinic at 9249 U.S. Hwy. 29 South.
Our veterans gave much in the defense of our great nation
and we must all continue to work together to make sure their
sacrifices are not forgotten. I look forward to continuing this
partnership in 2009 and beyond.
Additional information or assistance may be obtained by call
ing 706-369-5630 (Athens) or 706-213-2040 (Elberton).
Sincerely,
Dale O. Bell
Manager, Athens/Elberton Division
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GROUP'S MEETINGS!
Let your members know
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Call (706) 367-5233 lo advertise your meeting time, place and date in,,,
• The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News • The Braselton News
• The Banks County News • The Madison County Journal
Georgia Real Estate Investors
Association, Inc. - Athens
Meets the third Thursday each month
6:30 pm at the UGA Conferen ce Center
1197 South Lumpkin Street,
Athens, GA 30601
Tom Hewlett - Chapter President
thewlettl@charter.net pj 12/09
BANKS COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
meets first Monday each month
7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial
Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441
North in Homer pd.-07/09
Citizens Organized for
Pipeline Safety
investigating the health risks to citizens from
underground pipelines and booster stations in
Madison Co. Meetings 6:30 p.m. at the Colbert
Grove Baptist Church the 2nd Thurs. of each
month. 706-783-4702. Pd.04/09
JEFFERSON
Ip AMERICAN LEGION
Albert Gordon Post 56
Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Harvie Lance, Commander
Phone (706) 654-1274 no
White Plains Baptist Church Pd 02/09
Faith Bible Class meets every Sunday morning
at 10:00 a.m. It is a place where strangers
become friends and friends become family.
706-367-5650
White Plains Baptist Church
3650 Hwy. 124 West, Jefferson, GA 30549
The Jackson Co. Republican Party
Would like you to meet us for
breakfast the second Sat. of each
month, 8:00 at The Jefferson
House. For more information, call
706-652-2967 or email
fishyglass@yahoo.com Pd.n/os
BANKS COUNTY
fgf AMERICAN LEGION
Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 pj,06/09
VETERANS OF
9 FOREIGN WARS
Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr.
Each 4th Tuesdasy, 7:00 p.m.
Lamar Langston, Commander
Phone 706-652-2627 263
JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB
Meets 2nd & 4th Monday
Jefferson City Clubhouse
6:30 p.m. *(706) 387-1156
Mack Cates, President
542
Jh UNITY LODGE
W( F&A.M.
No. 36, Jefferson, GA
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Dwayne Potts • 706-367-4449
Borders St. behind Tabo's 260
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays
Jefferson City Clubhouse
12:30 p.m. -(706) 367-7696
Gina Mitsdarffer, President
547