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The Fiske Production
A single lawyer, Robert Fiske, special Whitewater investigator, now
sets the course of U.S. history. Just as Lawrence Walsh and his dozens of
lawyer-employees and millions of taxpayer dollars held the national
spotlight investigating Republican administrations for seven years, now
Fiske is off and running. How long? What cost? No one knows.
One suspects there isn't enough in Whitewater scandals to produce a
resignation or impeachment. But if there is, the Democrat-controlled
Congress won't permit it. (Democratic leadership in Congress has sought
to use the Fiske investigation as an excuse to bar congressional hearings
on Whitewater.)
Whatever the outcome of the Fiske effort, one has second thoughts
about all this power in the hands of a group of free-wheeling lawyers,
answerable to no one on a hunt tempted by publicity, fame and notoriety.
A better approach might be a congressional investigating committee in
which a third of the members could always demand and get a hearing.
Members of Congress are elected by voters. Lawyers like Fiske and Walsh
are really answerable to no one.
Democrats & Hearings
Washington-Democrats who hoped a special investigator could ward off
congressional hearings on Whitewater were transparently political. They
enthusiastically proposed and conducted hearings over twenty times in
recent years (when a Republican sat in the House).
One investigator was working on a case (with thirty lawyers at a cost of
tens of millions of dollars), over seven years. Now Tom Foley, House
Speaker, and George Mitchell, Majority Leader, are oh-so concerned about
complicating an investigator's job.
There's a strong suspicion Fiske was chosen for that purpose—to
counter momentum for Senate and House investigations. Key Democrats
in Congress could then argue hearings aren’t justified.
To understand the behavior of Democrats, one has to keep in mind the
political power game. Should the Whitewater scandal result in
Republicans capturing control of the Senate this fall, every Democrat
chairman in that body would lose his power. President Clinton would be
forced to compromise with Senate Republican leadership on every piece of
legislation, every appropriation bill.
A messy enough scandal would, perhaps, lose Democrats the White
House in 1996. So, while Democrats waxed enthusiastic about hearings
when there was a Republican president, they lost their vigor when one of
their own was vulnerable.
That is, except for a few such as Lee Hamilton (D-Ind) in the House,
and several Democratic senators, who might be looked back upon one day
as having saved their party’s reputation in the upper legislative body.
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Editor
Houston Times-Journal
P.O. Drawer M
Perry, GA, 31069
Houston Times-Journal
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Family Breakdown Blamed As Cause of Crime
It is refreshing to see some black
leaders begin to step forward and
express their opinions on crime that
is being committed by members of
their own race, and the things that
breed this crime.
Former Savannah State College
President Prince A. Jackson Jr.
spoke in Columbus Monday at a
rally in honor of Martin Luther
King Jr.’s birthday. He said during
his speech that "on the streets,
blacks are primarily killing blacks,
making homicide the leading cause
of death among young black men
between the ages of 15-24. Blacks
commit 42 percent of all crimes in
the U.S., which has a black
population of only 12 percent.
More than 650,000 black men are
in prison, while 350,000 are
attending college."
He went on to say that education
was in trouble because many blacks
are dropping out of school with
some graduating from the
Perry Mayor Malcolm Reese looks over some of the brochures being prepared by the local
chamber for Chamber of Commerce Week In 1970. Pictured also are Tom Daniel and Elwyn
McKinney from the local chamber.
STFEETTALK
On Thursday, Perry Middle School parents and Perry leaders held a meeting with
Houston County School Superintendent Tony Hinnant and the Houston County
Board of Education. This week we asked people who attended the meeting, "Why
are you here?"
£ 1
JBRPiII; \
Jim Worrall
“I'm here to represent the
city of Perry and the city
council, which has a con
cern as to where new
schools are located.”
4
Dennis Bartlett
“I have two small children
fixing to be middle school
age, and I'm concerned
about the conditions they
are going to have to go to
school in.”
Houston Times-Journal
"principal's office."
Jackson got to the meat of the
matter when he said, "too many are
raised by one parent and too many
are becoming mothers and fathers at
a much too early age." He blames
many of the problems on the
family breakdown among blacks
during the last 25-30 years. "There
was a bottom line of what we
would not do," the father of five
said of the decline of two-parent
families, "but somehow that line
has been erased."
Our problems with the family
unit (both black and white) began
30 years ago, as Jackson said, and it
began with the Great Society
program of then Pres. Lyndon B.
Johnson. Over the past 30 years
there has been a 400 percent
increase in illegitimate births, a
quadrupling in divorces and a
tripling of children living in single
parent homes. Today 30 percent of
all births, and 68 percent of all
Perry Scrapbook
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isy&K' -
Julie Cawthon
"Because I am interested
in where my kids go to
school.”
Cindy Bemis
"They're (her children)
getting ready and will be
in middle school in a few
years. I came here for a
meeting and found the
cafeteria terrible over
crowded. The plans to add
new classrooms does not
deal with cafeteria over
crowding."
Saturday, March 26,1994
black births, are illegitimate, and
the checks to welfare mothers each
time they birth an illegitimate child
has a major player in the problem.
The decay of family values in
this country has been brought about
to a large extent by our failed
welfare programs. Thirty years ago
families (husbands, wives, children)
were the core of this nation's
people. But not anymore. Today
our country ranks near the top of
the industrialized world in divorce,
unwed births and single parent
homes. We led the industrialized
world in murder, rape and violent
crimes, and remember that the large
majority of violent crimes are
committed by persons raised in
single parent homes. Not poverty
mind you, but single parent homes.
Coretta Scott King said on the
anniversary of her deceased
husband's 65th birthday that
poverty and injustice do not justify
violence and brutality.
'H
Betsy Portman
"It's a horrible situation
there. I am really con
cerned about overcrowd
ing of the classrooms and
don't see how they
(students) can get a qual
ity education.”
mm fr s?
Tony Hinnant
"To listen to the concerns
of these people about the
location of our middle
schools.”
Page 4A
Bob I
I Tribble I
Reuben Greene, a Memphis,
Tenn. preacher said, "He (King)
taught us not to be violent against
our enemies. Perhaps if he were
here today, he would teach us how
not to be violent against
ourselves."
Yet, it is good to see some of
our black leaders step forward and
discuss the crime problem among
their own people. And it is
especially good to see these leaders
talk about the major cause of this
violence-that being the breakdown
of our families and family values.
Brenda L
* Thompson!
0 Staff writer I
I*3/ M ■
Springtime In
Perry: Pollen
And Dogwood
Nasal voices on the other end of
the telephone line and sneezes echo
ing off the walls of every office and
home.
Parking lots filled with cars, all
the same dusty yellow color, and
folks that spend half their time dab
bing their eyes and the other half
trying to find another Kleenex.
No doubt about it. . .It’s defi
nitely Spring and Perry, Georgia
has been pollinated top to bottom
east, west, north and south!
But, while that pollen is aggra
vating to many allergy sufferers,
myself included, I’m here to tell
you that there is a bright side to all
of this-a bright side that even the
most watery eyes should be able to
see.
Yes, indeed, pollen, the same
pack of pesty little airborne parti
cles that’s making everyone’s si
nuses go crazy, is really a blessing;
the good guy.
Nature’s gold dust, if you will; a
magical powder sprinkled from the
heavens that will spark a rainbow
of colors and plush greenery in the
coming weeks.
The fertilizer of fresh new
growth; a fresh, new season; a
fresh, new start
Now, when you look at it like
that, sneezing and wheezing don’t
seem that bad, do they? A small
price to pay; especially considering
some of the alternatives.
You could live in New York or
some other city of concrete, steel
and smoke stacks. Which one do
you prefer? A little of nature’s gold
dust sprinkled on the hood of your
car or the gray aftermath of smog
covering you little world year
round?
Me? I’ll take the pollen any day.
It wont last that long and just look
at what it’s going to bring.
In the interim, I think I’ll just
keep on taking my Tavist-D (what
a wonderful creation) and smile
knowing that as the April showers
come, the pollen will settle and the
beautiful flowers of spring will be
right behind.
Hey, no pain, no gain, right?
***
Know what else Spring brings
to Perry?
The Dogwood Festival.
This fun community event kicks
off for the sixth annual time this
weekend with several exciting activ
ities.
On tap are:
•The Miss Dogwood Pageants.
With five different competitions for
five different age groups, these ex
citing pageants will culminate
tonight with the crowning of Miss
Dogwood and Miss Teen Dogwood.
Three younger age groups com
peted on Friday night with
tonight’s competitions slated to
start at 7:30 p.m. at the Perry High
School Auditorium.
•Family Day At Rozar Park.
An afternoon of enjoyment, ac
tivities and games for all ages will
begin at 1 p.m. Sunday.
There will be co-ed softball and
tennis tournaments as well as a
wild game cook-off for the big peo-
