Newspaper Page Text
THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL THURSDAY. JULY 28. 2016 — PAGE 5A
Opinions
Buffington
... continued
from page 1A
to fulfill its obligations as the
leader of the free world?
TRUMP — First, my plan will
begin with safety at home which
means safe neighborhoods,
secure borders, and protection
from terrorism. There can be no
prosperity without law and order.
REAGAN — Let us pledge to
restore, in our time, the Amer
ican spirit of voluntary service,
of cooperation, of private and
community initiative; a spirit that
flows like a deep and mighty
river through the history of our
nation.
TRUMP — Nobody knows
the system better than me, which
is why I alone can fix it. I have
seen firsthand how the system is
rigged against our citizens...
REAGAN — For those with
out job opportunities, we’ll stim
ulate new opportunities, partic
ularly in the inner cities where
they five. For those who have
abandoned hope, we’ll restore
hope and we’ll welcome them
into a great national crusade to
make America great again!
TRUMP — We are going to
build a great border wall to stop
illegal immigration, to stop the
gangs and the violence, and to
stop the drugs from pouring into
our communities.
REAGAN — I ask you to
trust that American spirit which
knows no ethnic, religious,
social, political, regional, or eco
nomic boundaries; the spirit that
burned with zeal in the hearts
of millions of immigrants from
every comer of the Earth who
came here in search of freedom.
TRUMP — It is time to show
the whole world that America
is back, bigger and better and
stronger than ever before.
REAGAN — Isn’t it once
again time to renew our compact
of freedom; to pledge to each
other all that is best in our lives;
all that gives meaning to them —
for the sake of this, our beloved
and blessed land?
TRUMP — All of the people
telling you you can’t have the
country you want, are the same
people that ... said Trump does
not have a chance of being here
tonight, not a chance, the same
people. We love defeating those
people, don’t we? Love it.
REAGAN —More than any
thing else, I want my candidacy
to unify our country; to renew
the American spirit and sense of
purpose. I want to carry our mes
sage to every American, regard
less of party affiliation, who is
a member of this community of
shared values.
TRUMP — I am asking for
your support tonight so that I can
be your champion in the White
House. And I will be a champi
on. Your champion.
REAGAN — The time is now,
my fellow Americans, to recap
ture our destiny, to take it into
our own hands. But, to do this
will take many of us, working
together. I ask you tonight to
volunteer your help in this cause
so we can carry our message
throughout the land.
Reagan would be ashamed of
what the Republican Party has
become.
It is no longer a party of ideas
and optimism. It has become a
cult of personality driven by fear.
It has become stained by rac
ism and fueled by xenophobia.
It has rallied around a man
who appeals not to the best and
brightest American values, but
rather to our darkest and coarsest
impulses.
It has voted to withdraw
America from its role as a world
leader and retreat into a cave of
isolationism.
The GOP of Ronald Reagan
died last week on a stage in
Cleveland, Ohio.
It’s a sad day for America and
for our children and grandchil
dren who may never know the
kind of America that Ronald
Reagan embraced, or the kind of
people that embraced his lead
ership.
Mike Buffington is co-publish
er of Mainstreet Newspapers. He
can be reached at mike@main-
streetnews.com.
Remove the fear; carry a gun
My Georgia Weapons
Cany License expired last
week. Until I get a new one,
I can no longer carry a pistol
to city council and cham
ber of commerce meetings,
which is a shame.
I went to the Probate
Judge’s office, where staff
efficiently took my applica
tion for a renewal and $35
in cash; as of this writing, I
anxiously await its arrival as
I feel vulnerable without the
ability to engage a terrorist
or someone intent on pulling
off a mass shooting with my
five-shot .22 magnum should
the need arise.
The evidence is over
whelming. Gun deaths are
soaring. Never has the need
been so great to protect our
selves by carrying a handgun
for self-defense.
We must arm ourselves
against potential murder
ers, rapists, robbers, terror
ists and drug dealers, all of
whom carry guns, but also
to protect ourselves from the
Gospel
according
to Mark
mark@
mainstreet
news.com
Mark Beardsley
quick-to-anger, the paranoid,
the careless and their chil
dren. As a matter of fact, the
greatest need for self-defense
is often in the home, as most
firearm deaths occur from
family or friends, and a bullet
fired by a 4year-old is no
less deadly than one shot
during a home invasion. The
good news is you don’t need
a carry permit to carry a
handgun, concealed or oth
erwise, in your home.
Let’s face it though, there
are countless situations
when your safety and that
of your loved ones and
complete strangers may be
contingent on your ability to
return fire, including:
•high school and recre
ation sports activities where
shooting could break out
over a referee’s decision or
a coach’s choice of a start
ing pitcher. Quick, decisive
action could prevent a trag
edy, and the knowledge
that hundreds of Second
Amendment enthusiasts are
packing might make referees
and umpires strive harder for
fairness and accuracy.
• church on Sundays
when the collection plate is
passed. Who knows when
the devil might send armed
gunmen to make a play for
the offering? Should we not
defend God’s collections?
•work—you don’twant to
be unarmed when an angry
co-worker or former co-work
er goes postal.
• in public schools — the
best way to stop a school
shooting is to out-gun the
shooter. It is probably not
yet time to allow kids in K-12
to carry, but we need to be
open-minded about that.
•wherever alcohol is
served. Booze and guns
are not complementary so
you need to be prepared to
respond with deadly force
if the loud, drunk guy in the
corner booth pulls a weap
on to illustrate his contention
that Georgia Tech is superior
to Georgia in football. Prac
tice using your gun while
intoxicated, just in case.
•on public streets and
highways. Nothing calms
down an irate motorist quick
er than flashing your Glock at
him to let him know you can
protect yourself if he doesn’t
get off your tail.
•at concerts, movies and
stage shows where who
knows what kind of idiots are
packing guns and might use
them. If tensions get high,
a couple of warning shots
could restore order before
things spiral out of control.
•during an armed rob
bery. Whether you’re the
perpetrator or the victim,
having a gun is pretty much
a necessity.
• family gatherings — see
above. A high percentage
of firearm deaths occur
between family members. If
your brother-in-law is carry
ing, you need to be prepared
to intervene in the event that
he gets violent again.
• day care centers. You’d
be surprised how many gun
deaths are caused by tod
dlers. Don’t let a 3-year-old
get the drop on you.
• in public restrooms, just
in case some transgender
person tries to enter the
McDonald’s restroom while
your grandson or grand
daughter is using the facil
ities.
The world is a fearful
place. You’ll be safer and
feel safer if you’re adequately
armed.
Mark Beardsley is the edi
tor of The Commerce News,
a sister paper of The Madi
son County Journal.
Tired of an angry world
To be frank, I am sick and
tired of 2016. Every day it
gets harder and harder to
remain positive and disil
lusioned to the world that’s
falling apart. It’s hard to
ignore the terrorist attack
in Nice, France. It's hard
to ignore the dead police
officers in Dallas and Baton
Rouge, It's hard to ignore
the hatred and violence in
the world.
It's difficult to focus on
just one of the plethora of
issues we have across the
globe because there are just
too many to count. Some
times I feel this world is
too far gone. Some days I
see glimmers of good like
the release of Pokemon
Go, a game that has been
praised for helping children
and adults with learning dis
abilities to interact with the
world. Then some days, I
feel humanity is hanging by
a thread when a mother and
her daughters are stabbed
because they were dressed
“provocatively” while wear
ing summer attire while on
vacation in France.
Sometimes it's just too
much to take.
Guest I
column ***
picsby
jessical @
gmail.com.
By Jessica Brown
We see Hillary Clinton
continuously lying and
the FBI acknowledging
and admitting she was at
fault, yet she gets away
with it. The FBI exiled
Snowden for similar acts,
but Hillary doesn’t even
get a slap on the wrist.
She gets a bump in the
polls. We see rule of law
mean absolutely nothing
anymore.
We see this disregard
for the law in the recent
deaths of Alton Sterling
and Philando Castile
where protesters have
already condemned the
police officers to hang
before the official find
ings have been released.
Protesters waving signs
and chanting they want
all cops dead demonstrate
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the disrespect for the law.
The dead officers in Dallas
and Baton Rouge and the
various outbreaks of vio
lence towards officers in
this nation further prove it.
Taking out the anger on
those not even involved in
the incidents at hand must
stop. We are constantly told
we shouldn’t judge all Mus
lims based on the actions of
the few extremists so why,
then, are all police officers
judged for the actions of
the few at fault? All we
see in the media are the
cops doing wrong, and in
many of these scenarios
they should be prosecuted
in the court of law. That
doesn't mean all cops need
to be crucified in the court
of public opinion.
We saw the potential can
didate Bemie Sanders say
he stood against the estab
lishment then cower and
endorse Hillary. Though I
am not a Sanders support
er by any means, a lot of
Sanders supporters liked his
appeal because he suppos
edly stood against the estab
lishment. Then these people
see him bowing down to
Hillary and wonder what
happened for someone who
talked so big against her.
It's all just a ploy to stop
Trump. This election truly
is that lesser of two evils
mentality for many. You’ll
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