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PAGE 4A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 7, 2016
Opinions
Guest
column
mark@
mainstreet
news.com
Mark Beardsley
Republican,
Democrat...or neither
Are you a Democrat or a Republican?
It should come as no surprise that more people
are answering that question, “neither.” I drifted
into that category back when Roy Barnes ran for
re-election as governor. For once, I was ahead of
the curve.
A recent poll by Gallup declared 42 percent of
Americans call themselves Independents, 29 per
cent Democrats and 26 percent identify themselves
as Republicans.
Which means the intelligent 42 percent of
Americans are embarrassed to be identified with
either party. With the Republicans nominating a
soulless demagogue as their standard bearer and the
Democrats nearly selecting a socialist, my question
is, why would ANYONE want to be affiliated with
either party?
That’s like asking someone to choose between
being identified as stupid or being identified as
incompetent.
In theory, each party stands for some basic princi
ples that anyone who has to watch the political con
ventions this summer will hear about from speaker
after speaker. Those of us in the 42 percent, how
ever, realize that principles are the first casualty of
the election process. They are to be broadcast, not
lived by. The only principle that matters is that of
getting elected, of beating the other team, and when
it comes to winning, there are no rules of engage
ment, no standards of civility, no level below which
one candidate or his or her supporters will not sink.
Donald Trump has eliminated what few standards
remained for personal conduct in a campaign,
but he’s just the latest product of an evolutionary
process ongoing for decades and hastened by
the Citizens United ruling that opened the flood
gates of campaign funding. By winning, however,
he’s given Republicans the choice of selling their
Republican souls and supporting him, gritting then-
teeth and voting for the hated Democratic nominee
— or sitting out the election.
Had Bemie Sanders won the Democratic nomi
nation, and he came very close, Democrats would
face the choice of rallying behind a socialist, vot
ing for the GOP psychopath or staying home in
November.
But the issues with the two parties go beyond
their presidential nominees. The root of the prob
lem is a Congress whose members feed at the
trough of corporate and special interest money and
who represent the corporations and political action
committees that keep the trough filled. We may still
have a representative form of government, but its
constituency is the rich and influential.
And that is our fault for being Democrats and
Republicans.
What is the definition of insanity? Doing the
same thing over and over and expecting a different
result? That’s what we do when we routinely send
back to Washington the same members of Congress
who are more interested in making sure everyone
can own an assault rifle than in preventing gun
violence and to Atlanta members of the General
Assembly more vexed about the possibility of
someone having to sell a wedding cake to a same-
sex couple than whether our schools and trans
portation systems are functional. We cannot cause
— See “Beardsley” on 5A
The Madison
County Journal
(Merged with The Danielsville Monitor
and The Comer News, January 2006)
P.O. Box 658
Hwy. 29 South
Danielsville, Georgia 30633
Phone: 800-795-2581
E-mail: zach@mainstreetnews.com
ZACH MITCHAM, Editor
DALLAS BORDON, Sports reporter
MARGIE RICHARDS, Reporter/Office Manager
MIKE BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
FRANK GILLISPIE, Founder of The Journal.
Jere Ayers (deceased) former owner
of The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News
Periodical postage paid at Danielsville, Georgia 30633
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL
P.O. Box 658, Danielsville, Ga. 30633
A publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc.
- The Official Legal Organ of Madison County, Georgia
- Periodicals postage paid at Danielsville, Georgia 30633 (USPS
011-097; ISSN 1074987X)
The language of marketing and the extinction of ‘small’
Marketers are masters at word
play.
For instance, have you noticed
how some businesses forgo the
plain “sale” for the five-day
“bonanza” or “extravaganza?”
Does the zinging “za” at the end of
those words somehow turn a dull,
old “sale” into wild partying? Pass
the Visa, Snoop. We gonna’ to do
this bonanza up right, or what?
Likewise, the phrase, “We're
passing the savings on to you,"
has to be etched in bronze above
the marketers' Hall of Fame for
manipulative phrases. It makes
me feel dumber just hearing it.
Someone wants me to believe that
taking my cash equates extreme
generosity on their part. Let me
walk out of the store, no cash or
plastic down, without the shoplift
ing alarm yelling “get the crook,”
then we’ll talk about generosity.
No, wait. On second thought,
many things come for “free” these
days, don't they, until you pull the
magnifying glass from the dusty
drawer and read the little print at
the bottom of the page? Yes, you
can certainly get suckered if you’re
By Zach Mitcham
looking for all things ‘Tree.”
And on the subject of “savings,”
what’s with the “rebates” that are
supposed to lead to cash back
in your wallet? Yes, you can get
some money back at times. But
is there a wing of the Alexander
Campbell King Law Library at
UGA devoted to “rebate law?”
With all the technicalities that can
get your rebate rejected, perhaps
there should be.
I remember hearing the late
comic Bill Hicks, who had scath
ing words for marketers, urging
them to kill themselves. He fol
lowed that with the marketers’
rebuttal to his plea, which he
surmised would be about money.
“Oh, you know what Bill’s doing,
he’s going for that anti-marketing
dollar. That’s a good market; he’s
very smart.”
I’m not that jaded. But Hicks
had a point. If anti-marketing angst
ever caught on with the public,
wouldn’t somebody recognize
them as a target market, too?
Wait a minute, wasn’t that called
“Grunge?”
In his book, “BAD,” Paul
Fussell describes “bad” as a ‘Tail
ing grade or a case of scarlet fever.”
Meanwhile, “BAD” is something
phony, clumsy, witless, untalent-
ed, vacant or boring that many
Americans can be persuaded is
genuine, graceful, bright or fasci
nating.”
I remember when “small” was
stolen from one fast food chain
menu. I recognized that as a mar
keting tactic that Fussell might call
“BAD.” I asked for a small order
of fries, but was told I could only
get medium, biggie or supersized.
I wondered if I could walk “east”
out of the door, or had “east”
been eliminated, too, replaced by
‘ ‘mega-westwardly ?’ ’
Perhaps the pinnacle of all goofy
marketing is in the astrology busi
ness. Commercials for psychic
lines sometimes claim to have
“real psychics,” while all the oth
ers are frauds. Fussell pointed out
that the American Federation of
Astrologers regards it as unethical
to cast a horoscope fraudulently.
Horoscopes should be based not
only on time of birth, but place, the
Federation says.
Here, here. Good to know how
to spot a fraudulent horoscope,
isn't it?
O.K., I laugh, but I’ve been a
sucker for too many sales pitches
in my time. My lifetime purchas
ing history includes many impulse
buys based on shiny packaging
and a quick draw wallet.
And I’ll be duped again, no
doubt.
But if you ever claim to “pass
your savings” on to me, I will raise
my right hand in a parade wave
and walk on by.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The
Madison County Journal.
Is there any relief in sight?
I suppose I could answer that
question with a smart-aleck
response like “Sure, in October,”
but that wouldn’t make any of us
feel better about this heat.
As advertised back in early
May, this summer has already
seen more than its fair share of
heat and drought. Back in April
we mentioned that summer 2016
might bear strong resemblance to
some of those hot summers in the
80s. You may not remember 1986,
but farmers all across the South
do. We had 68 days of 90 or above
and five days of 100 or above.
Scattered storms did little to help
the heat, and we had a streak of
37 straight days of 90 degrees or
higher. It was not until the second
week of August that more frequent
rains began as we moved into an
El Nino that fall.
The summer of 1987 was
almost a repeat. Fifty eight days
brought highs of 90 or above, and
there were two days of 100-plus
temperatures. But 1987 was even
drier than 1986, so the effect of
the heat was, like this year, much
worse. 1988 was the year most
similar to this one, however. We
were coming out of a strong El
By Mark Jenkins
Nino and moving rapidly into a La
Nina. June that summer was hot
and ridiculously dry. It still holds
the record for the driest June ever
here. I thought for a while that we
would beat that record this year,
but heavy rains the last few days
of the month saved it. We had 68
days of 90 or above that year and
four days in the 100s, peaking at
102 on July 15.
But 1988 was hot and dry over a
huge expanse of the country from
Minnesota to Texas, east to the
Carolinas. This year, the severe
drought and heat is mainly south
of Memphis to Charlotte and east
of the Mississippi. But it is grow
ing, and before the summer is
over, I do expect other areas of the
country to get in on the “fun."
The Climate Prediction Center
is forecasting drought to grow
over the northeastern states, espe
cially New England. This may be
our chance to see some relief from
the heat. If the persistent ridge of
high pressure does indeed shift
northward later in the summer,
this would begin to put us in more
of a southeasterly flow, bringing
in more moisture and “less hot”
conditions. Please notice that I did
not say “cooler.” But I am begin
ning to have my doubts about this
scenario happening any time soon.
High-pressure areas just love
dry ground. They feast on it, bak
ing it even further into “submis
sion.” Basically, drought produc
ing stagnant high pressure areas
don’t want to leave dry areas,
producing what is called “positive
feedback loop.” Meanwhile, areas
from Missouri to West Virginia are
water-logged and getting worse.
They have been the recipients of
the “ring of fire” around the stag
nant high that keeps storms over
them on an almost daily basis. So,
unfortunately, my answer to the
above question is as of now: “no
relief in sight." In 1988, the pattern
finally switched in the first week
of August with three-to-four inch
es of rain and cooler temperatures,
but the heat didn’t leave for good
until September.
The big unknown is, of course,
the tropics. The most active area
for tropical storms this year is
expected to be the eastern Gulf
and the southeast coastal areas. It
would only take one to douse us
with two-to-four inches of rain
to change things dramatically.
But the high would have to shift
further north, putting us in that
southeasterly flow, which I don’t
see on the horizon yet. My best
advice for dealing with this heat
and dryness is to “hunker down”
and keep praying for relief and
waiting for October.
Weather averages for June,
2016: Avg. low: 68. Avg. high: 91.
Lowest : 56. Highest: 99. Mean:
79.6 (+3.3, tied 2010 for warm
est June ever). Rainfall: 1.98”
(-2.30”). 2016 rain total to June
30: 15.19” (-9.46”).
Mark Jenkins is the coop
erative weather obsen’er for
Madison County. He provides a
monthly weather column to The
Madison County Journal.
The Supreme Court sends a message
More than four decades
have passed since the
Supreme Court issued its Roe
v. Wade decision that made
abortions legal, but the pro
life movement is still trying
to find some way of reversing
that.
The latest strategy is to pass
state laws that nullify abortion
clinics by imposing burden
some regulations that make it
too expensive or administra
tively impossible for them to
continue operating.
Texas did this three years
ago when it enacted a law
requiring clinic physicians to
have admitting privileges at a
hospital within 30 miles and
mandating abortion clinics to
comply with the same regula
tions that apply to ambulatory
surgical centers.
The intent of the law was
to shut down abortion clinics
and it worked: the number of
clinics in Texas dropped from
41 to 19.
The Texas law was appealed
to the Supreme Court, where
a majority of the justices
agreed last week that the
measure was unconstitutional
because it put too much of a
burden on women seeking an
abortion.
“In the face of no threat to
women’s health, Texas seeks
to force women to travel long
distances to get abortions in
crammed-to-capacity super
facilities,” the court ruled.
“Patients seeking these ser-
The
Capitol
Report
tcrawford@
capitol
impact.net
By Tom Crawford
vices are less likely to get the
kind of individualized atten
tion, serious conversation,
and emotional support that
doctors at less taxed facilities
may have offered. . . . these
effects would be harmful to,
not supportive of, women’s
health.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
added: “Given those realities,
it is beyond rational belief
that H. B. 2 [the Texas law]
could genuinely protect the
health of women, and certain
that the law would simply
make it more difficult for
them to obtain abortions.”
Texas is not the only state
that’s tried to block abor
tions this way. Ever since
Republicans gained major
ity control of the Georgia
General Assembly in 2005,
there have been similar
attempts to ban the procedure
through legislation.
The late Rep. Bobby
Franklin for years introduced
bills that would have banned
all abortions and made it a
capital offense for a physician
to perform them. His propos
als never made it out of com
mittee, so Franklin once tried
to attach his abortion ban to a
bill regulating electronic dog
collars.
“I’m not going to give you
a vote that you can play a
game with,” Speaker Glenn
Richardson said. “This is a
bill about collars around a
dog, not your bill.”
In 2011, state Sen. Barry
Loudermilk (who’s now serv
ing in Congress) sponsored a
bill that would have allowed
a woman who got an abor
tion to go back later and sue
her physician — even if the
woman had already signed
consent forms.
The measure was called
the “rapist’s bill of rights”
because it would also have
allowed a man who raped
and impregnated a woman to
sue the physician who subse
quently performed an abor
tion.
That bill did not make it
to the governor’s desk but
the next year, Rep. Doug
McKillip of Athens had more
success.
McKillip, who had switched
from the Democratic to the
Republican Party, introduced
a bill to prohibit abortions
after 20 weeks. Democrats
reacted by sarcastically
sponsoring a bill that would
prohibit men from getting
vasectomies unless they were
medically necessary to avert
serious injury or death.
“Thousands of children are
deprived of birth in this state
every year because of the lack
of state regulation over vasec
tomies,” the bill read. “It is
patently unfair that men can
avoid the rewards of unwant
ed fatherhood by presuming
that their judgment over such
matters is more valid than
the judgment of the General
Assembly.”
The Democrats’ bill didn’t
go anywhere, but the 20-week
ban passed and was signed
into law. It turned out to be
the end of McKillip’s polit
ical career, however. When
he ran for reelection later that
year, his constituents booted
him out of office.
The Supreme Court’s lat
est decision makes a couple
of things clear: the Roe v.
Wade decision is not going
to be overturned anytime
soon. Legislatures that try to
get around this by regulating
abortion clinics out of exis
tence will be slapped down.
Will that stop Georgia law
makers from trying to pass
bills banning abortions? Of
course not. But it seems likely
that those measures won’t be
treated kindly by the nation’s
highest court.
Tom Crawford is editor of
The Georgia Report, an inter
net news service at gareport.
com that reports on state gov
ernment and politics. He can
be reached at tcrawford@
gareport.com.