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PAGE 4A-THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JANUARY 9. 2020
Opinions
Is more war our aim in the Middle East?
President Trump gained some of his
first real support as a politician when he
stood on the Republican debate stage
and went after George W. Bush and the
Republican establishment for the war
in Iraq. It was a cathartic moment for
many, because Iraq was indeed a terri
ble move. Trump was right to criticize
the decision making in the Iraq war.
This was Trump’s declaration in a policy
sense that he wouldn’t stand with the old
Republican norms. I was pleased in that
moment that he had the guts to say what
needed to be said about Iraq.
Trump has also signaled that perhaps
he is ready to remove troops from Af
ghanistan. I would absolutely support
him in that. The war has gone on way
too long. What is the point of remaining
there? Truly. Help me understand. Why
remain? We’re two decades in. What’s
left to do? American sons and daughters
are still dying there. Why?
On these two points, do you under
stand that I am concerned with policy,
not person? The issues we face are bigger
than any of us, even Trump. But we have
reduced all politics to a yes/no question:
are you on the Trump train or not? What
a disservice to all thought. What a ter
rible mental state we have collectively
entered. Policy is policy. Can we still
consider the argument itself: what makes
sense versus what doesn’t? Is it purely
the jersey now? Do we have any capac
ity to consider policy matters outside of
the emotional, rah rah college football
atmosphere of partisan warfare? Is all
thought lost, all ability to recognize that
sometimes even your own team is wrong
on big matters? I’m afraid you and I both
know the answer. Hatred leaves us with
no ability to consider the bigger picture
of any matter that is of crucial impor
tance to every one of us in the United
States. For instance, what are we actu
ally going to do about a broken health
care system where prices are a constant
lesson in absurdity? Aren’t we all flab
bergasted by the perverted prices? Why
can’t we address this with some sense?
Also, what are we doing in the Middle
East? That’s a matter that transcends par
ty. I honestly have no idea what we want.
Do you? Is it to protect oil, to promote
democracy, to punish bad guys? Is it to
promote American business interests? Is
it all of this? If so, how much is enough?
What scale is appropriate? What do you
think? Do you think of this?
We can sink trillions of taxpayer dol
lars into wars and nation-building proj
ects. We already have. We can seek “re
gime change” and kill leaders in other
nations. We already have. We’ve spent
many years trying to shape this troubled
region into something we want it to be.
In the
Meantime
zach@
mainstreet
news.com
By Zach Mitcham
Thousands of Americans have lost their
lives in this cause in the 2000s. But a
“cause” is hard to define outside of the
initial reaction to 9/11, which was cer
tainly justified as a police action, but
what about the years of nation building?
For instance, were the billions sunk into
a corrupt Afghani government also jus
tified as needed projects at home had no
funding? Is this what we want yet again?
I liked Trump’s early proclamations
about not engaging in disastrous, bloody,
money pits in the Middle East, where ha
treds have foamed in mouths for many,
many years, leading to the deepest sor
rows for untold millions. Yes, let’s with
draw from such awfulness. If this was
the heart of “America First,” I could get
behind that.
But he is standing on the opposite side
of that ocean now. We are on the prec
ipice of massive conflict. The drone-
strike killing of Iranian General Qasem
Soleimani last week is a huge escalation
of troubling global tensions.
If Iran or any nation, hit one of our gen
erals with a drone strike, how would we
respond? Soleimani was terrible. Abso
lutely. But the context matters, too. Ev
ery military action we take requires the
willingness to imagine our own reaction
to a similar act. You aren’t being smart
as a nation if you can’t do this. It’s the
same as trying to play defense in a foot
ball game without imagining the mindset
of an opposing offense. You’re not going
to be very effective if you don’t do this.
Meanwhile, we live in a bubble of
comfort. That’s just the truth. We all do.
Life as civilization has progressed so far.
We have many nice things. We can waste
time on endless trivialities. We are flood
ed with escapist options: TV, Facebook,
video games, novels, college football,
foods, whatever. It’s all so nice. We’re all
so fortunate to live in a cocoon of sorts.
If you can’t see this, you are blind.
Earth will not continue in this way for
ever. It just won’t. The comforts won’t
always be there. We all know this. We
are mortal as individuals, but also as a
collective — all of us, liberal or conser
vative.
Global war is probably the biggest
threat to human existence, and the path
to war is not a logical one. It’s an emo
tional one. What was the cause of WWI?
Right, it’s so hard to say. There were es
calating tensions among nations, and the
assassination of Franz Ferdinand was a
trigger event on global war, which could
have been avoided if humans of the time
kept their wits about them. The differ
ence between then and now is this: full-
on global war won’t last years. It will
last minutes.
The killing of Soleimani most likely
won’t be the Ferdinand incident of our
time, but we are indeed gambling on the
good sense of others not to escalate vio
lence against us, (like they just did), just
as they are gambling on us not to esca
late, which we will.
That’s why I go back to this: What is
our aim? What is our policy? What do
we want in the Middle East? Are we so
partisan that all we can think about is
our neighbor as our enemy, our punch-
in-the-Tweet counterpart online? For
eign policy is a bigger deal than this, but
whatever your jersey, you have to admit,
our president, love him or hate him, is an
impulsive punch-in-the-Tweet man with
real bombs in an incendiary age.
When it comes to the Middle East,
Trump has been two opposite things:
an isolationist and an instigator. I pre
fer the isolationist Trump in this regard,
because he called a spade a spade with
Iraq, once showing the courage to voice
common sense against the power of the
time. I do not like the instigator, because
I don’t think he has clear strategy for the
country beyond his reactionary anger.
And beyond that, how much are other
nations willing to gamble with us when
they are filled with intense rage? Rage
has a tendency to override logic. Check
the crime page of this paper any week of
the year for confirmation of that human
fact. This condition is true for leaders,
too. They are all too human and subject
to rash, terrible decisions once rage is in
play.
In the nuclear age, pride-versus-pride
battles between leaders are so risky.
Fire is fire. You may think you can start
one and contain it, but sometimes con
ditions are too windy and dry and the
fire spreads in unexpected ways. That’s
the state of the world now. The earth is
parched. And no, I am not at peace inside
with the prudence of the man with the
codes. I’m just not. No amount of parti
san pressure will budge me off that feel
ing, which is as real as my heartbeat. We
need more than rage to guide us now in
this increasingly hateful world. We need
so much more than that.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The Madi
son County Journal. He can be reached
at zach@mainstreetnews.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Pay attention at all times to what governments are doing at every level
Dear Editor:
I feel Ted Fowler’s pain (Why should
we suffer for other’s riches? January 2,
2020). I live in northwest Madison Coun
ty, far from and upwind of the Georgia
Renewable Power plant, but I'm as angry
as he is for the same reasons.
We have a toxic entity in our midst,
threatening our health even as far away as
I am. This on top of the toxic soup already
out there from thousands of other sources
near and far (particularly Atlanta).
Some years ago, the county was in the
process of laying out a master land use
plan. It was decided that the Hwy. 72
corridor and the south end of the county
would be dedicated to business/industrial
development since it was closest to Ath
ens’s ever-expanding influence and had
the rail line. Such development would
reduce the property tax burden on county
residents, many of whom complain about
property taxes. Was Mr. Fowler aware of
this? Did he voice his opinion on that?
Was a coalition formed to fight that con
cept?
Madison County’s millage rate is quite
high relative to the very low rates of Ath
ens and Oconee County because they have
more residents, more business and more
industrial development. Do the residents
of Madison County want high property
taxes and peace and quiet or do they want
low property taxes in exchange for part of
the county getting less peaceful and quiet?
We can’t have our cake and eat it, too.
This is a lesson in paying attention at
all times to what governments are doing
at every level. It takes time and effort that
is in very short supply in each of our lives,
but if we don’t (each and all of us), we end
up where we are now. We should start by
voting for the person, not the party! And
then don’t trust that person. Communicate
your opinions regularly to them so they'll
know what to do. Watch for corruption,
self-serving and immorality. Speak up; if
you see something, say something right
away not later after the fact.
And keep watching government. How?
Reliable sources of journalism! Learn
how to discern what is supported by truth,
not what individuals want to hear; not
what anyone finds fun and exciting; not
what everyone else around them seems
to be sourcing. Without real, profession
al, unbiased journalism democracy will
die! They go hand in hand. We all need to
support the truly professional members of
the journalism community by subscribing
regardless of the cost, even donating or
advertising with them. They are our eyes
and ears because we can't do it alone.
Sincerely,
Virginia Moss
Ila
Food Bank director thanks everyone for successful Christmas program
Dear Editor: I want to thank everyone
that worked so hard to make this a very
successful Christmas and food program
this year.
The volunteers that gave their time on
Mondays taking applications, those that
worked on a Saturday bagging up all the
gifts for the children and the ones who
helped carry out all the bags on pick up
day.
None of this could have happened with
out Madison County’s EMS and the Sher
iff’s Office annual Toy Ride and those
folks who came out and those who gave
donations, including churches, schools,
businesses, civic groups and the many,
many individuals that made personal do
nations.
Thanks to a very giving, caring commu
nity of people, we assisted 266 children
with gifts and 565 individuals with food,
clothing or some type of assistance in De
cember.
May God bless each of you.
Sincerely,
Bobbie Rooker
Madison County Food Bank
Weather
wise
mmjenk
@uga.edu
By Mark Jenkins
2019 weather:
It’s deja vu all
over again 5
Yogi Berra’s famous saying (one of
many) is the perfect way to summarize our
weather in 2019.
Last year, was the fifth-straight year of
an above average mean temperature. The
mean temperature of 63.0 was 1.6 degrees
above the average and tied with 1998 for
the third warmest since records began in
1982. Only 1990 and 2016 were warmer.
In fact, seven of the past 10 years have
been above average. Interestingly, sand
wiched in these last 10 years are our two
coolest years on record: 2013 and 2014.
2019 was also another wet year, the third
in a row. The total of 59.19” was over nine
inches above average and brings the third-
year total to nearly 185 inches of rain; the
most in any three consecutive years since
1982.
Of course these last three wet years
follow our driest year on record in 2016.
But these last three years finally broke a
pattern of "dry/wet/dry” years started in
2012. One doesn’t need to need to resort to
climate change hysteria or declaring a “cli
mate emergency” to explain the warmth.
I see this as primarily the result of the in
credibly warm ocean temperatures in the
Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific,
especially since 2015. These warm waters
put enormous amounts of water vapor into
the atmosphere. This leads not only to the
enhanced rainfall, but warmer tempera
tures as well, especially at night. Drier air
is able to radiate heat back out to the at
mosphere much better than moist air. This
difference is especially seen in night-time
lows. Each year since 2015 has produced
an average low of 52 degrees or higher.
Before 2015, only three years out of 32
had an average low of 52 or higher.
Two of those three years were in El
Nino years when the equatorial Pacific
waters were unusually warm, and one of
them (2012) was a very dry year that con
tributed to the unusual warmth. And what
happened in 2015? Just the strongest El
Nino ever recorded, and one of the longest
as well, lasting 19 months. There’s never
been another El Nino like the one from late
2014 to mid 2016. It literally was a climate
game-changer, and in my opinion is the
leading cause for the warm years of late.
Now don’t get me wrong: I realize that
we are in a warming climate and have been
since the late 1980s at least. But to blame
all the warming on everything from your
uncles 1989 Buick to eating meat is sim
plistic and quite frankly unscientific.
Studies trying to definitively link the
warmer oceans to “sequestered heat” from
C02 absorption have been inconclusive at
See Jenkins, page 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
MARGIE RICHARDS, Reporter/Office Manager
MIKE BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
FRANK GILLISPIE (deceased), Founder of The Journal.
JERE AYERS (deceased), former owner
of The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News
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