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♦ THURSDAY, MAY 12, 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
Democrats Should Like It
President Bush has submitted his proposal to
“save Social Security” to the nation.
It went over like a lead balloon because he
wants to apply “progressive indexation” to Social
Security.
His plan for Social Security, in other words,
mimics the unfair income tax code, which penal
izes the most productive citizens by increasing
the percentage of income they pay as their income
grows.
Now he wants to index Social Security so that
the biggest earners, who pay the most taxes, will
receive less than those who have earned less dur
ing their productive years.
This kind of redistribution of wealth, which
makes the income tax code so onerous, is some
thing you might expect of the Democrats, but
President Bush seems to have stolen their play
book.
We wonder why the Democrats haven’t
embraced his proposal wholeheartedly. They
couldn’t have done better.
Republicans are calling on Democrats to pres
ent their own solution to Social Security reform.
They probably are stumped because a plan right
up their alley already is on the table and they can
not get credit for it.
Former Senator Zell Miller said last week that
“I doubt anyone would claim our tax code is fair
or just. If it’s not from hell, it’s from Comedy
Central.” His comments could apply to President
Bush’s proposed plan for Social Security.
Progress On State Park
Without fanfare, progress is being made toward
making a state park in Houston County a reality.
The news that a contract has been made to con
struct a 108-acre lake came as a surprise ... a
good one.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources
is moving ahead as money is made available by
the General Assembly.
Once the lake is completed and stocked it will be
available for public fishing while work progresses
on the rest of the park.
Rep. Larry Walker got the ball rolling on this
project while he was a power in the Georgia legis
lature. Apparently it had enough momentum that
it will stay on a steady course toward reality.
Middle Georgia is the only part of the state
without a state park. This one is needed and,
without doubt, will not go lacking for use.
Send your Letteis to the Editor to:
The Houston Home Journal
P.O. Box 1910 • Peny, Ga 31069 or
Email: lilij@evansnewspapeis.com
An apology from the 'Runaway Columnist'
Good morning, ladies and
gentlemen of the media. My
name is J. Barnyard
Blatherington, and I am the
attorney, spiritual counselor
and part-time ukulele
instructor for Dick
Yarbrough, the modest and
much-beloved newspaper
columnist who recently ran
away for no apparent reason
before suddenly showing up
again on the arms of a
knockout police babe.
First off, I’m sorry we are
late in getting this state
ment to you. Frankly, we
were not aware that you
folks in the media were
going to devote so much
interest to the Jennifer
Wilbanks story. I realize
that she, too, disappeared
right before her wedding
and showed up in
Albuquerque, which I
believe is somewhere
around North Dakota,
However, we were surprised
you gave her so much time
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Dick Yarbrough
Columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
and attention since you were
so deeply involved in a major
investigative effort with
national security implica
tions - trying to identify the
fat guy holding the umbrella
for that pathetic little
dweeb, Michael Jackson.
Let me start by saying
that Mr. Yarbrough wants
everyone to know that he
was not kidnapped by a
Should teacher be forced to give good grades?
The incident in Gwinnett
County where a high school
teacher was fired because he
would not change the grade
of one of his students high
lights what some teachers
say is a common practice.
A student receives a low
grade. Parents complain to
the principal. The principal
sides with the parents. The
teacher is ordered to raise
the student’s grade or hit
the road.
I never have heard of this
happening in Houston
County. However, it appar
ently is happening in some
school districts in Georgia.
It is a big issue in Gwinnett
County, where the teacher
was fired and educators are
going public with the charge
that there is a lot of pres
sure on them.
One of my sisters taught
in one of the larger school
districts in Georgia several
years ago. She saw this kind
of thing first hand.
She told me that she
retired from teaching
because she was ordered to
make sure that all of her
Jim Crow still alive
Editor:
I read with disbelief the
recent article about Gov.
Sonny Perdue signing a set
of bills that erased the last
vestiges of Georgia’s segre
gation-era “Jim Crow” laws.
While I applaud this effort
to end racial segregation/
discrimination, as a health
care provider, I must break
the bad news to our gover
nor that a discriminatory
attitude still exists in
Georgia’s hospitals and in
many health care programs,
but not concerning the
treatment of black patients
or the discrimination
against black MDs.
However, unlike racial
segregation, it is still politi
cally correct to discriminate
against doctors of chiroprac
tic despite the laws that for
bid it. The public may be
unaware that segregation
still exists in Georgia’s pub
lic hospitals until they ask
for a chiropractor to treat
them. As well, workers,
compensation programs and
the military health services
routinely discriminate
against DCs despite state
and federal laws that give
patients legal access to chi
ropractors.
In terms of scientific
research on this epidemic of
back pain, in 1994 the U.S.
Public Health Service’s
Agency on Health Care
Policy and Research con
ducted an extensive two
year study on acute low back
pain in adults and listed
spinal manipulation as a
“proven method.” It also
stated that “Surgery has
been found to be helpful in
only one in 100 cases of low
back problems.” Yet spine
fusions have tripled in the
last few years despite a 70
percent failure rate!
white guy and a one-armed,
height-challenged Hispanic
lesbian, as he had originally
claimed. Therefore, he wish
es to sincerely apologize to
all the white guys in the
world.
My client wants also to
state emphatically that his
disappearance has nothing
to do with cold feet about his
marriage. In fact, he told me
- and this is a direct quote -
“Barnyard, I do not have
cold feet, but the Woman
Who Shares My Name has a
pair of tootsies that would
freeze a polar bear dead in
his tracks.” I counseled him
not to say that, since he
runs a very real risk of hav
ing broccoli shoved up his
nose.
Mr. Yarbrough would like
to beg forgiveness of those
who were upset over some
comments in his recent col
umn about the South. He
has asked me to relate to
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students had good enough
grades so that no parents
would be upset.
“Don’t rock the boat,” she
and other teachers were told
by their principal. He said
that he did not want to cope
with unhappy parents.
This occurred more than a
decade ago.
There was a time when
parents complimented
teachers for cracking down
on their children and
demanding that they work
for their grades. Some par-
LETTBIS TO THE BIITOR
Despite the laws, over
whelming scientific
research, governmental rec
ommendations, and positive
clinical outcomes that show
the superiority of spinal
manipulation for the majori
ty of back problems, this
archaic attitude has led to
higher costs for all medical
insurances, WC premiums
to employers, and TRICARE
for taxpayers who must foot
the high costs of ineffective
spine surgeries and the
resulting disability claims.
I challenge Gov. Perdue to
stand by his statement to
end Jim Crow laws: “Any
time there’s a stain on the
state of Georgia that we can
erase or cleanse, we need to
take the steps to do that.”
But does he have the back
bone to confront this last
bastion of discrimination?
JC Smith, MA, DC
Warner Robins
"Make that three scoops... I want to
do my part to fight global warming!"
you that he didn’t know
what he was doing, which
should come as some com
fort to his detractors who
have been saying that for
years. He is truly grieved
that someone from
California was incensed over
his statement that
Californians say “like” all
the time while Rollerblading
on their skateboards. Like,
he feels real bummed about
that, dude.
He also has asked me to
apologize on his behalf to all
the Yankees who thought he
was making fun of them.
Mr. Yarbrough is sympathet
ic to the fact that our friends
north of the Mason-Dixon
line live in snow up to their
navels for ten months of the
year, which tends to freeze
their sense of humor - if
they ever had one in the first
place.
My client wants you to try
and understand the pres
ents feel that way today.
Regrettably, more and more
parents refuse to believe
that their offspring are any
thing less than perfect and
are quick to jump on teach
ers who don’t agree.
Under such circumstances
teachers have an unpleasant
choice to make. The teacher
in Gwinnett County decided
he would rather be fired
than to compromise his
responsibility as a teacher.
• • •
Chronic fatigue syndrome
is becoming so widespread
that the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention has
started a telephone survey
to identify the extent. It is
estimated that about
800,000 people have this ill
ness, which used to be
known as mononucleosis.
The extent of this illness
interests me because I had it
while I was in the Navy dur
ing World War 11.
I had entered the hospital
with an infected throat and
doctors diagnosed it as
mononucleosis. It was a rare
illness, because at the time I
Not the Christian way
Editor:
Mr. Russ Norris had some
rather unusual points to
make in his letter published
in the Houston Home
Journal, particularly regard
ing Messrs. Huckeba and
Gadbois. I’ve read many of
the letters written by these
two gentlemen and general
ly do not agree with many of
the positions they embrace.
This, however, does not
declare them in open season
for their views. And, Mr.
Norris obviously has not the
slightest idea of the struc
ture or goals of the Friends
of the Library.
Messrs. Huckeba and
Gadbois may well be in for a
difficult time on the Day of
Judgment. But, when Jesus
left us, he did not leave Russ
Norris to judge the rest of
us. I, too, am a Christian,
and am very concerned for
sure he is under to come up
with an extremely humor
ous and thought-provoking
column week after week
after week. To again quote
Mr. Yarbrough, “There is no
question that I succeed
beyond anyone’s wildest
imagination every week, but
being a creative genius
makes my head hurt and my
nose run and sometimes I
just have to chuck all the
fame and adoration and flee
to Albuquerque, which I
believe is somewhere
around North Dakota.” He
is hopeful that his readers
will come to appreciate that
being a modest and much
beloved columnist is no walk
in the park and cut him a lit
tle slack when he says
smart-alecky stuff, rare as
those occasions might be.
Mr. Yarbrough has asked
me to thank the hoards of
people who combed the state
looking for him. Since he is
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
was told that the only other
case among Navy personnel
was in Hawaii. No one knew
how to treat it. The illness,
which showed up first as an
infected sore throat, lin
gered for months as fatigue
and, often late in the day,
with a low-grade fever.
I’m not sure that there is
any quick and sure way to
get over the illness. You see
advertisements for products
that allegedly will cure you
in a few days, but this
sounds like other propagan
da affiliated with the drug
industry.
In my case, I had reoccur
rences of the illness for
many years during the sum
mer months, long after I had
been out of the Navy. I never
did find any medication that
helped me, but eventually
the fatigue and low-grade
fever went away.
It will be interesting to
learn the results of the CDC
survey and learn how they
plan to deal with what can
be a debilitating illness.
those who are not. Many of
my brethren seem to think
that the way to win people
to Christ is to be judgmen
tal, abrasive, irascible and
generally mean-spirited. It’s
not.
When Mr. Norris and I
both reach our Heavenly
destination (and I know I
will), I sincerely hope Mr.
Norris’ glorious mansion in
the Holy City is far, far away
from my little cabin in the
comer of Gloryland.
And between now and
then, we both should ask
our Lord to keep chasing the
two individuals you so obvi
ously detest. He might have
something in mind for them
on HIS time, not Norris’
time. And, Norris could do
well to review the General
Epistle of James on
Christian conduct.
Bob Hubbard
Perry
in such an extremely deli
cate state at the moment, I
haven’t had the courage to
tell him that it wasn’t exact
ly a “hoard.” In fact, it was
just two winos from down
town Atlanta who looked in
a couple of trash bins. They
didn’t find my client, but
they did stumble across a
half-empty bottle of
Thunderbird wine, so it was
n’t a total waste of time.
Please understand that
Mr. Yarbrough won’t be
available to answer your
questions anytime soon. He
just met a one-armed,
height-challenged Hispanic
lesbian, and they have run
away to Albuquerque, which
I believe is somewhere
around North Dakota.
You can reach Dick
Yarbrough at
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net,
P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta,
GA 31139, or Web site:
www.dickyarbrough.com.