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♦ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2005
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans Rex Gambill
Vice President Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Saving Social Security?
This information bothers us:
The United States signed a deal last June with
Mexico, which gives that country’s citizens a sta
tus for receiving Social Security benefits above
Americans.
Here’s the agreement:
Mexican workers can receive American Social
Security and disability benefits after working
only six quarters. American citizens must work
40 quarters to qualify. And former illegal aliens
can become eligible for these benefits if they
become legal citizens at a later date.
Anything to appease Mexico’s president Vicente
Fox, who seems to get everything he wants from
us merely by being obstinate.
Also, one must ask if this raid on Social Security
benefits is a way to save the program?
Maybe They Will Get It Sight
Tort reform, aimed at reducing medical mal
practice insurance, is working its way through
the legislature.
The public is receiving mixed messages as
lawyers and doctors square off against each other
in this important struggle.
Many doctors are giving up specialized practices
where exposure is great. They claim that insur
ance premiums make it difficult to continue their
practices.
Lawyers contend that even if tort reform is
adopted by the legislature it will not result in
lower insurance premiums for doctors. They con
tend that it is immoral to deprive patients of
more than economic damages.
The smoke is so thick that it is difficult to see
what the facts really are.
As we have said before, there should be common
ground where doctors can afford to pay for their
insurance and avoid unreasonable judgments
some courts award.
We hope that this balance can be reached in the
legislature. Patients are the pawns at the present
time.
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I love the smell of democracy In the morning
All Americans should be
feeling an extra dose of pride
this morning.
More than eight million
Iraqis went to the polls for
the first time Sunday to
begin the building of a dem
ocratic government devoid
of the specter of Saddam
Hussein.
Of course, there are the
professional naysayers such
as Sen. Ted Kennedy who
would not give President
George Bush a good word if
it saved his life. Sen.
Kennedy tells us to ignore
the good things going on in
front of us, just wait to see
the bad stuff that may be on
the horizon.
Sen. Kennedy is right on
one point. The fact that the
election was held and more
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Timothy Graham
Staff Writer
tgraham@evansnewspapers.com
than 60 percent of eligible
Iraqis braved the threat of
violence to come out and
vote does not immediately
insure that peace and har
mony will reign in the land
W 6 still have a ways to go
This week marks the
beginning of Black History
Month. For many it’s a time
of celebration. For me it’s a
time of remembrance and
reflection of how far we’ve
come as a nation and how
far we have left to go.I
remember being 8 or 9 and
visiting my grandfather’s
house in South Georgia in
1975. .
It’s twilight and I’ve just
entered a shed where he
keeps his woodworking
tools. There I find two of my
high school-age cousins,
along with one of their
friends, busily making what
looks like a baseball bat.
They laugh, and say it’s a
“knocker,” and they’ll use it
to hit black people.
The friend laughs and
says to be sure and leave
room at the bottom to keep
a notched tally on the grip. I
watch what they’re doing,
but I’m still too young to
understand and soon wan
der off to do other things.
Looking back, now I under
stand and I’m ashamed. I
remember on of the best
teachers I ever had at
Warner Robins High School,
or any school, for that mat
ter. His name was Mr. Few,
and he taught the hard
classes in the social studies
department, the ones other
teachers felt were too con
troversial, like comparative
religion and anthropology. I
remembered being utterly
fascinated, amazed really,
An attack on politically correct watchdog namby-pambys
Once upon a time I was a
little girl and trusted that all
was right in the world. 1
realize now that I was privi
leged to not know hunger
and insecurity, nor did I
know anger. My parents
never left me in a car to go
in Wal-Mart - not that Wal-
Mart existed then - and if I
was cranky, cold, hungry or
tired then I was pacified,
warmed, fed or put to bed.
How many times have you
been out lately and heard
screaming children? I don’t
mean whiny children; I
mean children who are as
miserable as they can possi
bly be. What’s wrong with
these parents? Why are they
out with their children? And
of Hammurabi.
Far from it. The remains
of Saddam’s terror guild will
continue to try and influ
ence future events in the
country. They will murder
newly elected officials. They
will attempt to intimidate
voters in future elections.
They will continue to try to
influence American public
opinion by killing U.S. sol
diers.
One election does not a
democracy make.
Democracy is hard work.
The Iraqis will have to keep
working hard since this rep
resentative government
business does not come nat
urally to them. They have
only to look at the example
of Russia to see what they
S —4 A
Joe Bishop
Columnist
joe@wnng.mgacoxmail.com
when one day Mr. Few told
us the Egyptians and the
Mayans were the only ones
who built pyramids, and
showed us pictures of the
ruins of Kush in the Sudan.
I remember that day well - a
day he challenged his stu
dents to think “outside the
box” of conventional, Euro
centered history. I remem
ber discovering details of a
culture as rich and textured
as any I had ever been
shown before. The sub-
Saharan ancient kingdoms
of Zimbabwe and Moroe. Of
the Empires of Ghana, Mail,
and Songhay. Of medieval
cities, half mystical to
Europeans, like Timbuktu -
an international acclaimed
.university town when Paris
was still a dank shanty. Of
towering figures of the
Middle Ages like Mansa
Musa, a king of such wealth
as to require hundreds of
Tish Mims
Columnist
perry.dda@perry-ga.gov
why do they continue to
keep the children out after
they are obviously incon
solable? Is anything that
important?
Remember way back
when, if a child was “bad,”
then the store manager
would ask the mommy to
take the child and leave?
When did that become polit
ically incorrect? And who
says it hurts a child’s self
esteem to be told he’s bad?
My parents spanked me
when I was bad, and frankly
I think it made me a better
person. I certainly don’t suf
fer from lack of self-esteem.
And yes, if my children are
bad, you better believe that I
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face.
Russia once had a repres
sive regime and they had a
shot at establishing a demo
cratic government. But they
got lazy. They started look
ing in longing to the old days
under communism when
everything seemed to
“work.” So they allowed
Vladimir Putin to slowly
take away most of their free
doms and become a Stalin in
everything but name.
The Iraqis will have to
beware the Putins in their
future. Leaders will come
and go. Some will promise
milk and honey if they just
give up a few of their hard
won freedoms and give him
just a little more power.
Only history will show
camels to carry his golden
offerings to Mecca when on
pilgrimage, and who could
have bought all of England
from his personal treasury.
All of these from so-called
poor, beknighted Africa.
I remember two of the
best role models I ever had.
They were friends of my
mother, and attended the
same church we did in
Warner Robins. He was a
highly ranked and regarded
civil engineer at the base,
she was a elementary school
assistant teacher. They had
such a personal bearing and
a concern for others that
naturally drew others to
them. My brother and I con
sidered them as family, and
easily called them by the
honorary title - “Mom and
Dad.” And it didn’t matter a
jot that they weren’t the
same color as we were.
I remember sitting on the
patio of the student center
at Macon Junior College (it
was still junior then) and lis
tening in rapt horror as a
fellow student, several years
older than I, recounted the
tale of how she was walking
to elementary school as a lit
tle girl in the 19605. She was
wearing a brand new dress
her mother had sewed, and
was proud of it. All of a sud
den a group of older boys
drove by and, shouting a
racial obscenity, throw a
glass bottle filled with urine
at her.
As it shattered on the
spank them.
Children, especially young
ones, cry in response to their
needs. They need you to feed
them and keep them warm.
Often they need your undi
vided attention.
Occasionally they heed to be
disciplined. But you can’t
spoil your child or ruin them
either by responding to their
needs.
I’ve heard the popular
rhetoric that if you make
any negative comments,
you’ll damage your child.
What a crock. How can any
one improve without honest
criticism? It doesn’t have to
be mean ... just honest. Yes,
teachers, please get out your
red pens and mark the heck
out of those papers. Help to
produce strong, independ
ent, freethinking leaders for
the next generation.
Look around you the next
time you go shopping or out
to eat and observe the chil
dren who are crying to get
what they want, inappropri
ately dressed for the weath
er, or just miserable. Now
picture them as business
owners, local politicians or
world leaders. Not such a
pretty picture, is it? I can
imagine the headlines now
whether or not they will
make the right decisions.
But today is not a day to
try to read the tea leaves.
Today is a day to celebrate
the addition of another
nation to the family of dem
ocratic governments. Iraq
will take its place at the
table right beside
Afghanistan. Afghanistan?
Home of the Taliban? Yes,
they held peaceful elections
just over a month ago.
There is no telling what
Osama Bin Laden thought
he would accomplish when
he sent those planes into the
World Trade Center and the
Pentagon. I doubt if we will
ever get a chance to read his
ghostwritten autobiography
spilling the beans on all of
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
sidewalk and splashed her
grand new dress, she
recounted wondering what
she did to deserve their
hate. Years later, she knew,
but she still didn’t under
stand. And frankly, sadly, I
don’t have any answers
either.
I remember ruefully chid
ing myself every time I get
nervous walking past a
group of black men minding
their own business outside a
store or in the mall. My gen
eration is doing better than
ones in the past, but appar
ently there’s mental and
emotional baggage we still
carry regarding the way we
see the dream of racial har
mony.
I remember watching with
pride as my own children,
Joseph and Thomas, played
with their peers of all racial
heritage without hesitancy.
Color doesn’t matter to
them, not yet. Maybe there’s
hope left after all. Maybe
their generation will be the
one that finally sees her
itage as a point of pride, not
prejudice.
It’s Black History Month.
We’ve come a long way, as
individuals and as a nation.
We still have a long way to
go, with no obvious road
map or easy answers. So if
you have time, spare a
prayer for the future. Your
children and grandchildren,
as well as mine, will appreci
ate the effort.
... “World leader gets his
way by crying.” I don’t think
so. And maybe someone
should say something to
those mommies and daddies
who don’t put socks and
shoes on their children in
January.
Maybe those politically
correct watchdog
namby-pambys would quit
whining about all the “dam
age” we’re causing our chil
dren when we discipline
them if they were forced to
get out their checkbooks
and support a few of those
unwanted and unloved chil
dren, offspring of the obvi
ously undisciplined.
Political correctness is the
tear in the fabric of our soci
ety. I am not referring to the
type of political correctness
that doesn’t allow racial
slurs or attacks on ethnic
groups. I agree wholeheart
edly with that. I’m referring
to the type of political cor
rectness that doesn’t allow
you to tell someone that
they’re wrong. We’ve man
aged to squelch morality,
ethics and conviction in
order to not hurt others’
feelings. Honesty is a much
better policy. Let’s get back
to it.
his dirty tricks. But if we do,
I’m betting that he did not
order those suicide runs for
the purpose of establishing
democratic governments in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
But that has been the
result.
And look at the change in
tone in other Mideast news.
The Palestinians held an
election to replace Yasser
Arafat and the new leader
seems willing to engage in
serious negotiations with
the Israelis. Israel has said
they will turn over control of
several West Bank cities to
the Palestinians.
Amazing what one elec
tion can do for a country.
Maybe we can persuade
the Saudis to give it a try.