Newspaper Page Text
4A
♦ THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2005
(f i 24 nu stmt 3rimru' d
(LLtje
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans Rex Gambill
Vice President Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Let the energy bills die
The versions of the energy bill that have been
passed by the House and Senate, and are being
negotiated by a conference committee, are pretty
bad, although the House one is worse.
In both there's far too little emphasis on conser
vation and on alternatives to fossil fuel, an
increasingly percentage of which, of course,
comes for abroad and a little bit of which helps
pay the bills of the terrorist community.
Indeed, there are heavy tax-break incentives to
the very prosperous oil and gas industry, which
would not seem to need such incentives at the
moment. President Bush has noted that such
incentives are unneeded. After all, we'll be
dependent on the oil, gas and coal sector for a
long time to come. Companies within the sector
will do fine.
Perhaps the worst example of shortsightedness
is that SUV and light trucks continue to be
excluded from national fuel-economy standards
because of lobbying by the auto industry. This is
nuts!
It would be better if the energy bills died in con
ference committee, as they did last year.
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service,
www.shns.com.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
An open letter to frank
Dear Mr. Gadbois:
I have been reading your
letters to the editor for some
time, thanks to the frequent
mailings of my father, Glenn
Lowery.
I have been living in
Caceres, Spain, for eight
years now, and while I share
your love for Europe and
the way of life here, I must
say that I don’t find it to be
quite the utopia that you do.
Europe, like America, has
its good points. Socialized
healthcare is not one of
them.
I live and work in Spain as
a civilian. I pay approxi
mately S3OO a month in
social security taxes so I can
be processed like a second
class letter through the sys
tem when I am in need of
medical attention. This is
not because I am a foreigner
- everyone I know goes
through the same thing.
While an appointment with
a general practitioner is
arranged fairly quickly,
there is never any kind of
examination, and you are
merely given a prescription
or a referral for a specialist.
Recently, I injured my
back, and was completely
bedridden. My general prac
titioner arranged an
appointment with a back
specialist ... for three
months after my injury
An analysis of today's issues with the help of my new computep
What you are reading
today is courtesy of a new
wireless laptop computer
equipped with everything
but a flush toilet. It has
more RAMs than a Scottish
sheepherder, and so many
bells and whistles that the
computer salesman nearly
slobbered himself to death
describing them.
The salesman claimed
that this computer is so
advanced, it has the ability
think for itself. (Correct me
if I’m wrong, but I believe
my computer colleague, Big
Blue, beat like a drum some
hotshot Russian chess play
er back in 1997.) I laughed
out loud. (Laugh at this:
Your fly is open.) No com
puter is capable of being
that smart. (At least I don’t
alienate half the world like
you do.)
But back to the subject at
hand. Today, I want to com
ment on some of the mqjor
issues currently facing us.
occurred. Another friend of
mine found a lump in her
breast and was scheduled
for an appointment ... six
months later. She didn’t
wait that long. She made an
appointment with a private
clinic. Unfortunately, this is
what most people I know
have to do, if they can afford
it. Those that can’t afford a
private doctor must simply
wait, and hope that their
ailment isn’t life-threaten
ing.
People who live under this
system are not as taken
with it as you. EVERYONE
I know complains about it.
While I am grateful that I
don’t have to worry about
outrageous medical bills,
and prescriptions are much
cheaper here, I know that
this system has its flaws.
The reason Spain can
afford socialized medicine is
because while you’re wait
ing to be treated you either
get better ... or die, thus lib
erating space in the assem
bly line for someone else.
While I agree that the sys
tem in the U.S. is out of con
trol, I know from personal
experience that socialized
medicine is not the answer.
About 40 million Spaniards
know it too, as do the other
Europeans who are forced
to pay for a system that
doesn’t really work.
Denise Lowery
Caceres, Spain
HH
Im&T Waste. -***&-■
Dick Yarbrough
Columnist
yatb24oo@bellsouth.net
(Oh, great. Most of my bud
dies went home with
accountants, lawyers and
college professors, and I am
stuck with a guy who thinks
he is Will Rogers.)
InsiderAdvantage.com,
the influential national
political polling firm, says
that retired UGA athletic
director and Hall of Fame
ACLU clueless on subway profiling
As a result of the most
recent bombings in
London’s subway and a bus,
the city of New York has
instituted random searches
of bags carried by people
using that city’s subways.
The ACLU came up imme
diately with objections
because it might, in their
words, lead to profiling.
Mayor Bloomberg readily
assured the ACLU that
there absolutely will not be
any profiling.
How ridiculous.
Certainly there should be
profiling wherever there is
fear that terrorists might
strike.
This includes the subway
system of New York City,
Washington and any other
subway system in one of this
country’s major cities.
There should be profiling
in airports across the coun
try, too, though efforts are
being made to lean over
backward so that the ACLU
and other such groups can
not cause trouble.
It is absurd not to profile
UII death do us part
Remember the line “till
death do us part” in the
wedding ceremony that
makes so many men break
into a cold sweat and causes
the best man to hold the
groom up in the upright
position lest he should fall
heavily to the floor and start
crying for his mommy?
Recent reports are saying
that many couples are now
substituting the line “till
death do us part” with
something like “for as long
as our love shall last.”
Call me crazy, but this
does not bode well for the
institution of marriage.
Over half of all marriages
already end in divorce.
What does it mean that
couples are standing in front
of hundreds of people on the
most important day of their
lives and basically saying “I
will love you until you leave
beard stubble in the bath
room sink!”
If you think about how
sloppy guys are and consider
the daily things we do to
drive women crazy, you can
understand that there are
plenty of reasons for men to
be concerned.
I have taken the liberty of
creating more phrases below
that women may be reciting
at future wedding cere
monies:
“My love for you will last
until you leave the toilet
seat up in the middle of the
night, causing me to plunge
tail first into the dangerous,
swirling waters.”
“My love for you will last
until you use the scratch
and-sniff test to determine if
your T-shirts are clean or
dirty.”
“My love for you will last
until our kitchen garbage
can resembles an overflow
ing landfill because your
lazy behind never leaves the
recliner unless you’re stum
football coach Vince Dooley
might be contemplating a
challenge to Gov. Sonny
Perdue in the Republican
primary next year. I find
that interesting. (I find that
quixotic, to say the least.
Dooley is a good man who
deserved better treatment
than he received from UGA
president Michael Adams
and a few ingrates on the
Board of Regents, but he is
trying to buck the political
establishment in Georgia
and he won’t be successful.
Tell him not to run. He does
n’t need the hassle. Tell him
to enjoy his family and
friends. He has lots of both.)
Ralph Reed, former head
of the state Republican
Party, is raising a lot of
money to run for the politi
cally impotent position of
lieutenant governor. I’m not
sure why he wants that job.
(Are you kidding? He does
n’t give a flip about being
Fov Evans
Columnist
foyevans 19@cox.net
in these venues. Innocent
people should be willing to
undergo the inconvenience
of profiling if, in the long
run, it can lead to saving
lives ... even their own.
So far terrorists have been
from the Middle East.
Special efforts should be
made to make sure that
potential passengers on air
lines who obviously come
from that part of the world
are singled out for special
checks.
,
SKIISu
Steve Tesseniar
Columnist
writeronstorm@aol .com
bliitg to the refrigerator dur
ing a commercial break.”
“My love for you will last
until you start slobbering
and snoring while I’m shar
ing my innermost hopes and
dreams for our future.”
“My love for you will last
until you attempt to have
The Lifetime Channel
blocked so I can’t watch
more movies that always tell
"O
r 0Q P°* ,tlca * fundraising^
Q. /C* ( this time of the year. i
/k \ So far we've received /
*" x five cash donations,
k i\ three pledges and \
[■ \W A J*“\\ 15 bags of tomatoes! )
lieutenant governor. He
wants to be governor, then
senator and then the presi
dent of the United States.
This is just the first step in
that process. Kind of like
going through the chairs to
become Head Antler of the
Moose Club. He’ll probably
win because the religious
right will conveniently over
look his association with
gambling interests and the
Atlanta Journal-
Constitution will go over
board in opposing Reed and
will make him a martyr of
liberal press coverage. This
is the best of both worlds for
Ralph Reed. He can’t lose.)
Meanwhile, political
columnist Bill Shipp says
some state Democrats are
urging former U.S. Sen. Max
Cleland to run for lieu
tenant governor. (I’m not
surprised. It’s a do-nothing
job and Cleland showed us
during his one term in
We can understand that
some people with ancestry
from that part of the world
may not like this special pro
filing. But law-abiding peo
ple from every part of the
world should understand
that profiling can save their
lives, too.
Any profiling will bring
outcries that civil liberties
are being violated. Maybe
so, but sometimes drastic
measures are justified. With
terrorists from the Middle
East targeting the Western
World and its culture drastic
measures are in order.
When - and if - there are
terrorists with blond hair
and blue eyes, then profiling
them would be in order, too.
How can random searches
be as effective as profiling?
Isn’t it a waste of manpower
and money to target old
women and blond men and
women for searches while
permitting people who fit
the profile to go through
security without challenge?
Some friends who travel
by plane frequently tell me
the same story: Sad woman
meets tall, dark and hand
some stranger. Intense love
develops within minutes.
Happy couple gets married
and plans sunny future. Oh
no, man turns out to be an
ax murderer on the run
from the Tulsa Police
Department.”
“I will love you until you
wait so long to cut the grass
that our family dog gets lost
for a week in our own back
yard.”
“I will love you until your
buzzsaw-like snoring and
other nighttime vulgarities
make it mathematically
impossible for me to get 10
minutes of uninterrupted
sleep.”
Guys, that deck is stacked
against us. Do what you can
to make sure your lovely
bride says “till death do us
part” at the altar. If you
don’t, chances are you will
end up alone on a rubber
couch at the Sunny Delight
Washington that he could do
nothing as well as anybody.)
Strategists running the
Democratic gubernatorial
campaign of current Lt. Gov.
Mark Taylor, aka “The Big
Guy,” are branding his chief
rival, Secretary of State
Cathy Cox, as a “liberal.”
Yet, Taylor is a strong pro
abortion advocate and word
is that our Ambassador to
Outer Space Cynthia
McKinney is quietly backing
Taylor’s candidacy. This all
seems a little strange to me.
(In the first place, “quiet”
and “McKinney” don’t
belong in the same sentence.
Second, Taylor calling some
one “liberal” is like a frog
claiming to be an expert on
ugly.)
The column on my grand
sons facing the prospects of
going to war got some heat
ed response from the anti
war crowd. (Yeah, I saw the
letters when you fed them
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
that it seems as if the
screeners at major airports
are taking extra efforts not
to search persons who fit the
profile of the terrorists for
fear of being criticized.
Passengers who do not fit
the profile of the known ter
rorists should be searched
randomly, but common
sense tells us where screen
ers should really focus their
attention.
One friend - more than 70
years old, a Caucasian with
white hair and blue eyes -
has told me that every time
he goes through the Atlanta
airport he is searched, he
must take his shoes off, strip
to his underwear. Does this
make sense?
We are at war. There are
enemies of us and our cul
ture. The enemy is ruthless.
Terrorists live among us. So
far they all look very much
alike. Let’s profile people
who look like them until
such time as there is no
longer the fear that our
country is in danger of
bombing by terrorists.
Retirement Home.
You’ll be wearing a jumbo
diaper, searching for your
glasses so you can find your
teeth, and fighting off a
relentless head nurse named
Bertha who is frisking you
and insisting that you give
up the remote control so
that your retirement home
colleagues can change the
channel to “Wheel of
Fortune.”
And you will curse your
lonely fate and mumble
something disparaging
about Vanna White as she
turns over another vowel.
And as you drift in and out
of consciousness you will
hear the distant voice of a
Wheel of Fortune contestant
announce, “Yes, Pat, I would
like to solve the puzzle -
TILL DEATH DO US
PART.”
Sieve Tesseniar is princi
pal ofParkwood Elementary
School. His column appears
on Thursdays.
into my system. Some of
them were pretty interest
ing, to say the least. One
anti-Bush advocate claimed
that “anybody can be presi
dent.” Can’t argue with that
logic. After all, President
Peanut made it.)
That completes my in
depth analysis of the burn
ing issues for this week. By
the way, this new computer
really is as good as the sales
man claimed, but I am still
chuckling over the fact that
some people believe a com
puter can think for itself. If
computers are so darn
smart, I’d like to see them
try and write a newspaper
column. (If I did, at least I
would know where all the
commas go. By the way,
genius, your fly is still open.)
You can reach Dick
Yarbrough at
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net,
P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta,
GA 31139, or Web site:
www.dickyarbrough.com.