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Wednesday, July 6, 2005 | ||
For past Letters to the Editor, view our Archives by publication date.
Bad Links? | What our Readers Are SayingLetters to the Editor Story was unfair to Fayette D.A. BallardShocked and stunned. That was my reaction to your across the top of Page 1 story about District Attorney Scott Ballard testifying on behalf of a defendant in a south Georgia court. I was stunned to read the severity of the courts sentence; shocked at your play of the story and its unfairness to Mr. Ballard. I am familiar with Jeff Allens case. The severity of his sentence simply does not match the charges, however inflated they may be. We should be grateful that we have a district attorney who can distinguish between justice and injustice, and who has the courage to do what is right regardless of political and public relations consequences. Jim Minter Jim Minter is the retired editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Abuse story unveils Fayettes dark secretThank you so much for printing on the front page of the June 26 Sunday Citizen the article entitled, Man faces battery charges, about a Fayetteville man who beat his girlfriend with a hammer and his fist while he forced his young children to watch. His reasoning was he wanted to teach her a lesson and wanted the children, a daughter age 11 and a son who is 12, to learn the lesson as well. We can all learn a lesson about the crime of domestic abuse in our community. Domestic violence is a huge problem in Fayette County and growing each year. You will be shocked to know that over 400 women and 500 children are served by Promise Place, the nonprofit Fayette County Council on Domestic Violence, annually. And the numbers continue to rise. Violence in families is a dark secret that nobody wants to talk about so I was so appreciative when I saw The Citizen put this article on Page 1. Promise Place has a goal to break ground on a much needed emergency shelter so women, like the one in Sundays article, have a safe place to turn in their hour of desperation. Donations and volunteers are always needed. On behalf of Promise Place and all the abused women in Fayette County, thank you again, Citizen, for bringing the domestic violence issue to the forefront of our news and out of the closet. Heidi Becker, outreach director
AJCs put-down of Georgia continuesOn the day base closure commissioners meet in Boston to discuss the fate of Groton, Connecticuts submarine base, the Hartford Courant will likely run a front-page story on why that state should keep its massive submarine base which has been targeted for closure. As the battle to lure the new Free Trade Area of the Americas (and its 11,000 jobs) heats up between Miami and Atlanta, the Miami Herald has run story after story touting their cities advantages and sneering at Atlantas bid. Newspapers have a history of boosting their hometowns. They may beat up local politicians and gnash their teeth over local road construction or corruption, but when it comes to contests between their hometown and the folks across the state line, they become big-time home team boosters. Not so the Journal-Constitution and its hate-hate relationship with Georgia. [The June 29] paper was a perfect example. When base closure officials awoke in Atlanta to hear testimony on the reasons to keep our Georgia bases open, they were greeted by a front-page AJC story on the devastating impact of base closures - on Connecticut! Ahem, some of those Connecticut submarines will be coming to Georgias Kings Bay and will provide hundreds or even thousands of jobs for Georgians. Connecticuts newspapers would throw Georgia under a bus to keep those jobs. Heck, theyd do it with a smile. The same front page also took the time to attack our communitys bid for the NASCAR museum which will (if we can overcome the AJC-driven negative publicity) bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue to state coffers. Again, our competitor cities are touting their offers and using Georgias open records laws to look over our shoulder and peek at our hand on the specifics of our bid. The governor teamed with senators Chambliss and Isakson to write an opinion piece boosting our military bases, hoping the BRAC commissioners would read it when they woke up Thursday morning in their Atlanta hotel rooms. The AJC refused to run it. Instead, they insisted it be sliced, then stuck it in the small print where I (a careful reader of the paper - not by choice but by vocation) missed it on the first read. Georgia businesses buy the advertising that pays the bills over at the AJC. The people whose jobs are threatened by the AJCs anti-Georgia slant are the readers who buy the paper. The newspaper, the citizens, the business owners and the politicians are all in the same rubber boat. We may not always paddle in the same direction, but it would be nice if one of us would stop trying to punch holes in the bottom. I dont know why the AJC is so predictably anti-Georgia. It may be that it is a blue-state, liberal paper stuck in the middle of a big red, conservative state. Being stranded amongst us the ignorant barbarian masses may make them irretrievably grumpy. What is apparent is that, while Atlanta may be the city too busy to hate, the AJC apparently has that kind of time on its hands. Dan McLagan
Questions surround countys water rate hikeSo whats up with residential water rates being boosted to satisfy the state EPD (Environmental Protection Division)? The Fayette County commissioners last summer actually considered ignoring a watering restriction requirement because it would cause more harm than good since Fayette has planned well and has, even in drought conditions, an ample water supply. However, they apparently decided not to stand up to the EPD because of a fear of retaliation in other areas. Now the EPD is back demanding proof of enforcement. Naturally the big idea on the table is a money-maker, charge more for water. It might be a good idea to ask a few questions and try to understand whats happening since now besides being inconvenienced by totally unnecessary watering restrictions, they are going to charge you for experience. 1. What exactly is the EPDs charter and scope of authority to require a one size fits all, full-time, statewide water restriction plan? Do they explicitly have this authority or do they not and is there simply an unwillingness by local government to take anything but the path of least resistance ? 2. What will be the actual impact if water rates are raised? If usage decreases how much will sewer rates go up in municipalities like Peachtree City which already has a threatened sewer increase because of a decrease in water usage by the loss of a large commercial customer. 3. Why has the EPD has been unwilling to make exceptions for counties where this ruling is unnecessary and will cause a hardship? Albin Thomas
Later story gives better glimpse of cycle victimWhen I and the friends of Adrian Dye saw the article about his death in The Citizen before it had been rewritten, we were shocked, angry, and hurt. We felt that that article was written in a way to make it seen as if the alleged circumstances involving his death somehow made him less of a person, as if it made what happened less of a tragedy. It made a horrible, unthinkable situation just that much worse. It was a slap in the face for the many who knew and loved Adrian, for those left devastated and heartbroken at his loss. Adrian was full of life, known for his impish grin and free spirit. Everyone who knew Adrian loved him. You just couldnt help yourself. He was so much more than a statistic. Someone reading the revised article gets a sense of who Adrian was, of what the world lost that day. Thank you for giving a glimpse of the real Adrian. Tara Kujawski
Nursery demise is sadToday my wife and I were out looking for some plants, and decided to go to Rare Plants on Ga. Highway 34 towards Newnan from Peachtree City, only to be shocked to find it closed. When and why did this happen? I speculated several weeks ago that due to the road construction some of the businesses in that corridor would be badly hurt. Was the closing part of this result? Did they close for good or did they relocate? I ask because there was no sign indicating any relocation. Any information would be greatly appreciated. We are deeply saddened by the loss of this wonderful nursery. David Kirsch
Discerning a larger purpose for government this July 4th holidayThe movie, The Patriot, had its fans and its critics. Some, with a mind to the contrary, viewed the violence in the name of patriotism disgusting. True, the British redcoats were portrayed as tyrannical villains, but the patriot was merciless as he settled scores in the name of liberty. Where were the Christians in the war of independence from Great Britain? They were on both sides and equally convinced that they were in the right. Modern Americans sit under the tree of freedom from their British overlords because many Christians took up the fight for the establishment of a new nation. The American Civil War brought Christians into conflict with one another over the right of states to secede from the union. Where one was born seems largely to have determined loyalties. In some cases brother fought against brother. Christians who were not necessarily for slavery rallied to the defense of their families and state. Wars such as the War Between the States and Revolutionary War in America forced the church to think about what constitutes good citizenship as revealed in the Scriptures. Even in our own day the war in Iraq has some Christians at odds with one another over its legitimacy. On this July 4th the features of biblical patriotism need to be revisited. The Bible does not endorse any particular form of government. Whether it is a dictatorship, oligarchy, monarchy, or a democracy, Gods people are to obey the laws of their government. Civil government has a two-fold God-given purpose. The good of society by being a terror to evil-doers and praising those who exemplify good citizenship constitute the essence of good government. This is accomplished by the protection of life and property and the preservation of peace and order. Through fines, imprisonment, confiscation of property, and the execution of the death penalty, human governments function to repress evil. This all reminds us of the value of law as a restraint to wrong-doing. Those who say that morality cant be legislated are right if they mean you cant have laws to prevent anger. But laws and penalties against crimes of violence and murder are not morally neutral. God has ordained human government to protect its citizens in an evil world. A fierce debate rages today over the relationship between church and state in a constitutional republic. What seems to have been lost in appeals to a strict separation of church and state is the will of our founding fathers, namely a free church in a free state. The Bible does not subordinate the church to the state nor the state to the church. The state is not to establish a state church, but nowhere in the founding documents of our nation is it declared that God is to be banished from the public square. Those who are working for a secular state are conspicuously promoting unconstitutional endeavors and schemes of rebellion against God Almighty. Patriotism for the Christian honors the right to serve in the military. This is not a violation of responsibility to obey Gods laws. In relation to the spiritual kingdom Gods servants do not fight (Jn. 18:36). This, however, does not conflict with bearing arms and fighting for ones country. When the war is a just war, soldiering is both a service to ones nation and a ministry on behalf of God (Rom. 13:4). A biblically enlightened conscience led some to fight as Loyalists to the throne of England in the Revolutionary War and others to fight as American patriots. The Civil War created a similar divergence of action. Gods judgment is equitable and according to His infinite wisdom. Today we have young men and women serving in our armed forces all over the world. Many have given their lives in the service of their country. This is an honorable and noble cause. They need our support and prayers. The nations of this world will not bow their knees to Jesus Christ until He returns in glory at His second coming. Human government does not hold the solution to moral and social ills. Nations are doomed to futile efforts as they seek to bring about a utopia. But, like Daniel and his three friends, the church of Jesus Christ is to serve God by holding its respective governments accountable to God. At the same time service is to be rendered to ones nation as a true patriot as long as no demand is made to disobey God. Christian patriots know that one day the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever. Dr. Howard E. Dial, pastor
Americas leaders lack visionIn the first century, Rome sat astride the world as a colossus. Three centuries later, the Roman Empire lay in ruins. In the 19th century, Great Britain emerged as the most powerful empire on the globe. Within a single century, however, the empire on which the sun never set found itself bankrupt and reduced to the status of a second-rate power. Today, it is the United States of America which is the most powerful nation on the planet. As in the case of Rome and Great Britain, the evidence suggests that our sun is setting and that, within a generation, we will find ourselves in the unenviable position that other great civilizations have previously occupied, namely, as a nation whose glories are past and whose future is bleak. After World War Two, the United States of America became the largest creditor nation in the world. Today, we are the worlds largest debtor nation. Our massive budget and trade deficits threaten to overwhelm Americas national economy. Foreigners, including Chinese, Japanese, and Europeans, pump billions of dollars into our economy to keep the American juggernaut afloat. They can do this because these nations save whereas Americans spend. How much longer these foreigners will choose to sacrifice their own consumption desires to maintain our debt-driven way of life is a subject that scholars and economists are currently debating. That it cannot go on indefinitely is the single point on which all knowledgeable persons agree. Americas healthcare system is threatening the economic viability of businesses and individuals alike. General Motors estimates that it costs $1,500 per vehicle to fund its huge healthcare commitments. GM can no longer spend so much. Either they must shift the burden to their beleaguered workers or outsource these jobs, which have provided such a good livelihood to so many for so long. Other organizations, both public and private, are confronting a similar stark reality. Americas dependence on foreign oil is jeopardizing our fragile economic recovery. Since our nation has no comprehensive energy strategy to reduce Americas dependence on foreign energy supplies, we must continue to pay the escalating price at the pump. As the price rises, however, individuals must dig deeper into their own pockets and companies, such as Delta Air Lines, discover that the odds of bankruptcy, with all of its attendant miseries, increase with the rising price per barrel of imported oil. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, American high school students could graduate from schools with mediocre grades and minimal effort assured of comfortable jobs in our nations large manufacturing sector. These graduates achieved the American Dream, earning annual salaries as high as $100,000. They bought homes, cars, and sent their children to good colleges and universities. Today, those manufacturing jobs are gone. Mediocre grades and minimal effort guarantee nothing as increasing numbers of young men and women find themselves joining the ranks of the unemployed and the underemployed. In the 1980s and 1990s, American college graduates could graduate from schools with passing grades and, through sustained effort, assure themselves a comfortable job in business, telecommunications, engineering, computer science or a host of other service-related occupations. Today, these high-paying jobs are vanishing as businesses realize that they can hire workers, who are both less expensive and better skilled, in Madras, India than they can in Madras, Georgia. Bill Gates recently decried the lack of skills and deplorable work ethic of Americas high school and college graduates. Leave no child behind? Mr. Gates, and countless other business leaders, threaten to leave all of them behind, yet, as in the case of our deficits, healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and service sector crises, no one appears to be paying much attention. When our leaders ignore the great problems and challenges that confront us and, instead, choose to spend their (and our) precious time, energy, and efforts debating amendments banning flag burning or laws regulating when feeding tubes can be withdrawn from the clinically dead, then it becomes obvious to anyone with any vision whatsoever that the greatest crisis we confront is a crisis of leadership. Where there is no vision, the Bible says, the people perish. Currently, there is no vision in Washington, D.C. Or, as George Bernard Shaw once warned, Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. It is of paramount importance that the people, all of us, understand what lies ahead and demand leadership from those who purport to lead us. Otherwise, as history sadly attests, the road is strewn with the wreckage of civilizations unmindful of their pasts and apathetic toward their futures. We should therefore be mindful of William Shakespeares words in Julius Caesar, There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries. Where that tide threatens to take us should frame our national debate in the days, months, and years to come. Tony Pattiz
Big Tobacco ad campaign ranklesImagine McDonalds launching a campaign to warn the public about the health risks involved in eating their food. The packaging on your Big Mac might include a Surgeon Generals warning: Warning: Eating this food will likely render you obese, unattractive and unhealthy. The McDonalds Web site would then include information on the health risks of obesity and high cholesterol, along with the advice that much healthier food may be prepared at home, and at far less expense. The reader is enjoined to cultivate healthier eating habits and to create a tradition of family dinner and conversation. One section provides an analysis of the rather unwholesome ingredients in McDonalds food, along with a rather detailed scientific account of the effects that these ingredients have upon the digestive and cardiovascular systems. A free color brochure, complete with recipes of grilled salmon, steamed asparagus and the like is offered upon request. Crazy? Of course! Why would a company that has been built upon a product go to great lengths to dissuade the public from consuming that product? Why would the Ford Motor Company advise that you would be better off buying a Honda, the Dell company hawk Gateway products, or the Philip Morris Company, whose conspiracy to keep the known dangers of their product from the public was documented in the Al Pacino film, The Insider, offer advice on how to quit the nasty habit of smoking? Well, imagine that you are in this situation. People who consume your product do so because they have become physically addicted to it. You can safely assume that the vast majority of your customers will remain loyal, so that there is little danger that any contrary information that you provide will dissuade them. Suppose, on the other hand, that, because of its past tactics, your company has acquired a sinister reputation among the public-at-large. They say that image is everything, and your image, like a smokers lungs, has been blackened to such a degree that you run the risk of losing out on new, potentially addicted, customers. You have a serious public relations problem on your hands. What to do? Well, you do a bit of cost-benefit analysis. What is the probable cost, in terms of lost customers who manage to kick the habit, as opposed to the benefit, in terms of a more positive public attitude toward your company, of portraying your company as public-spirited, civic-minded and, above all, concerned about the health and welfare of its would-be customers? Your calculation leads you to conclude that the ironic, self-denigrating campaign will yield the greater long-term profits. (Add to this that, with a widespread ban on advertising the product, this is one of the few ways that you can keep the company name before the public eye.) So now Philip Morris is running a television commercial with the sole message that smoking is an addictive and life-threatening habit that ought to be broken. They offer a free Quit Assist Guide for all who request it. How very nice. And how good to know that we have such guardians as the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the Marlboro Man looking out for our welfare. I write as a father whose four grown children are all addicted to cigarettes, and who realizes that the odds are that he will one day watch at least one of them suffer tragic consequences as a result. And I write as a nephew who saw an uncle die of lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking, whose wife, in turn, who never smoked in her life, died of the same thing from decades of his [second-hand] smoke. So when I see a tobacco company running such public service ads as they continue to push and pimp their deadly product on our children, I must ask: Is it just me, or does such a duplicitous campaign render them even more despicable? Mark Linville
Havent Fville police got better things to do than hide on Bates?I am extremely upset at the manner in which the Fayetteville Police Department is wasting our tax dollars. On a regular basis there is a Fayetteville Police Department patrol car hiding on a side street (Bates, I believe) off Beauregard watching for some hardened criminal to roll through the useless stop sign posted there. This is definitely not a dangerous intersection like the one a block away at Grady and Beauregard, but the hiding places are obviously much better. One can only assume from this practice that our police department is more interested in revenue building and especially the kind that doesnt involve any real work than they are in protecting the citizens that pay their salaries. In case you are wondering, I have not gotten a ticket from the Fayetteville Police Department ever. I am writing to the chief of police to ask that this ridiculous practice be discontinued and would encourage other concerned taxpayers to do so as well. John Gaddy
The winner is ... American history!The other day, I was filling out my ballot for Major League Baseballs All-Star Game and a thought occurred to me. Its not terribly difficult to come up with a system to help make the tough comparisons between great players. How many home runs has a player hit? What is his batting average? How many runs batted in? There are many numbers we use to measure athletes across the decades. Its comparing apples and apples. I watched the series Greatest American on Discovery Channel and found the opposite to be true. It seems impossible to measure a brilliant president against a groundbreaking scientist against an innovative entrepreneur. What is greatness, anyway? Each choice was great in some way. (Though, with all due respect to Brett Favre and Dr. Phil, I find it hard to put them in the same category as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.) Like many notable American TV shows and many notable Americans, such as Alexander Hamilton and Albert Einstein, the idea for Greatest American was born somewhere else. Similar programs in England and France chose Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle respectively. To be sure, Greatest American only scraped the surface of information about the most significant figures in our history. But there is value in thinking about individuals like Franklin, Lincoln and King, and even greater value in reading about them. The popularity of books by David McCullough, Ron Chernow, Walter Isaacson and many others is evidence that all Americans, not just scholars, are interested in history. The beach book we take with us doesnt have to be filled with fluff. It can be filled with the story of our country. The important choice being made is not in choosing the greatest American; it is in choosing to learn about all of our great Americans. So, when we join our family and friends at picnics and baseball games, when we share hot dogs and apple pie or peanuts and Cracker Jacks, its worth talking about our countrys all-stars and the seasons in which they lived. The records they set are not likely to be broken anytime soon. James G. Basker The writer is president of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City and the Ann Whitney Olin Professor of English at Barnard College.
PTC outdoes itself with July 4th displayA round of applause to Peachtree City and the members of the fire department for this years spectacular fireworks display. I am always amazed that our little city does such a great job. I grew up in New York City, watching the Macys display on the East River from the roof of our apartment house and I dont remember them being any better than what I saw last night. Thank you. Ellie Kyriacou
PTA column full of ignoranceMr. Throckmortons ignorance shines brightly in his reactionary piece on PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays) not being allowed at the PTA convention. PTA obviously made the right choice as PFOX has nothing to do with students welfare, and everything to do with bogus claims about reversing homosexuality. PFLAG, on the other hand, merely helps families deal with issues surrounding gay and lesbian friends and kids. Gay kids are often harassed simply for being gay, and PFLAG acts as a wonderful support system for such people. Period. I doubt that Mr. Throckmorton would encourage the PTA to allow the Aryan Nation, Nazis, the KKK, or other such hate groups to participate in its convention. Why, then, does he encourage participation of the lunatic-fringe PFOX? And, yes, Mr. T, there are 9-year-old gay kids. I was one once. Tom Mertz |
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