I read The Citizen article entitled, “Who needs W. F’ville Bypass?” Of course, “who” is the optimal word in that headline.

Last week, John Munford wrote an article (“Who needs W. F’ville Bypass?”) that I found very disappointing. Disappointing because Mr. Munford is usually so much better with his work. Not because of anything that was in the article, but because of the bias that was so evident.

On Monday, Jan. 10, the state legislature convened for Day One of the 2010 session. In many ways it was an historic day.

For those able to think past the human tragedy in Haiti, there are some reminders of life’s realities. One of those reminders is that when disaster strikes somewhere in the world, our elected representatives in Washington will sell us down the river ... again.

For some reason, I’ve always loved full moons. Every time I see one, I stop in my tracks, fully absorb and appreciate its beauty and then thank the good Lord that I lived to see another beautiful full moon.

It’s my birthday. Martin Luther King, Jr. and I share the same birthday, though not the same year of birth. My cousin John Honeycutt, four years younger than I, also shares the same birth date. On Jan. 15, I hit the big five-nine. I can no longer deceive myself into thinking that I am still a kid.

Back to the future — or something like that.

The last time Americans got wound up about the assorted misfeasances and incompetencies of the U.S. Congress, the national conversation opened itself to the possibility of term limits for the members.

Most people fear something in this life. Some will crawl up the wall at the sight of a spider. Others will scurry out of the room away from an approaching cockroach. Still others are deathly afraid of clowns. Not a laughing matter, I assure you. Those sinister clowns are high up on my fear list also.

The latest “screw-up” that let a man with explosives get on a plan on Christmas day is only part of a larger laxness and irresponsibility when it comes to national security. This administration pays lip service to national security and gives out with a lot of rhetorical notions that makes it notional security instead of national security.

Manmade global warming, for many, is an Earth-worshipping religion.

The essential feature of any religion is that its pronouncements are to be accepted on the basis of faith as opposed to hard evidence. Questioning those pronouncements makes one a sinner.

Fond as I am of the little people who are truly our closest neighbors – the occasional field mouse or wood rat, even the chipmunks, squirrels, and birds – sometimes they try my patience.

The year 2009 gave us the nation’s first African-American president, more failing economy, healthcare legislation, and the continuation of two wars.

BY Rep. Lynn Westmoreland

President Obama could learn a lesson or two from the lyrics of my favorite country music singer, Coweta County native Alan Jackson.

The secular left — and some self-described Christians — criticize Brit Hume, the Fox News commentator, for suggesting that the solution to Tiger Woods’ problems is a relationship with Jesus Christ. Hume made his remarks on “Fox News Sunday.” Disclosure: I also appear on Fox News.

It’s true. Some things you have to see to believe. And then, even though you’re certain of the reliability of your own eyes, you don’t believe it.

OK, so it’s a new year. It seems I should write about resolutions or something, but nothing has come to me — besides, I’m as bad as anyone about breaking them. Then again, I could write about the expectation of what is to come in 2010, but really, no one can know what the year will bring; we just know that God will be there.

When I was in New York during the fall, a few of us from the South were talking Southeastern Conference football. One of the local guys said, “You guys from down South sure talk a lot about college football.”

Despite gazillion-dollar bailouts, let’s face it: Our economy is still in a downturn. Experts state the bottom is near and should be reached this year. Unfortunately what they don’t want to tell you is that the bottom is actually a cliff. And with one look at our bank account and stock portfolio statements, The Wife and I are about to take the plunge. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Coupon Man has made a return to save the day.

There has probably never been an era in history when intellectuals have played a larger role in society. When intellectuals who generate ideas are surrounded by a wide range of others who disseminate those ideas — whether as journalists, teachers, staffers to legislators or clerks to judges — the influence of intellectuals on the way a society evolves can be huge.

Suppose Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the Christmas Day underwear bomber, had succeeded and blown up Northwest Airlines flight 253, killing nearly 300 people on board and perhaps others on the ground? Would the response of the Obama administration have been different?

Here’s a sample of last week’s news reporting: “A new decade is about to start ...”, “What better way to start a new year and decade ...”, and “ABC ‘World News’ Decade Look-Back.” One would think that the first decade of the third millennium came to an end midnight Dec. 31 and the new decade began a minute after midnight.

“No one has ever seen God,” we read in John 1:18 (RSV). Artists, poets, and authors, of course, have attempted to portray Him. Michelangelo portrayed him as both ancient and strong. Jonathan Edwards portrayed him as full of wrath in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God.” Bette Midler sang about an indifferent God who is watching “from a distance.” Painters portray God in their own image, making him brown, black, white, yellow, or red. Some imagine his hair is blond, white, or some other shade.

Another holiday come and gone. Another year redolent with feasting, bread baking, and candy hardening. In the 1940s my Mom was at the center of holiday hubbub, coming out of it occasionally to fuss that she could use a little help.

A new Peachtree City mayor and three City Council members will join holdover Councilman Doug Sturbaum tomorrow night in the first of a series of meetings that will set new directions for the city. I voted against two of the new officials but recognize that the election is over and it is time to move forward.

To be, or not to be, that is the question. Well, Mr. Shakespeare, this tragedy will certainly be.

The journey began back in the year of 2006, and a massive rumbling stirred throughout our area when a C-7 Commercial Major Shopping District rezoning application came before the Coweta County Board of Commissioners. It was Scott Seymour of Seymour Construction and Development in Peachtree City who brought this matter to bear.

Funny how situations in life can slip up on you and turn your feelings completely around.

Sometimes it’s downright tragic.

Our bloated federal government has been running amok for a long time, under Democrat and Republican administrations alike, creating mountains of debt and intruding into nooks and crannies of our personal lives where they should not tread. The fingers of state, county and city government reach too far into our pocket and our lives as well.

Today, January 6, is Epiphany Day. So, let’s “Google it!”

What is the Epiphany of Our Lord?

It is the wonderful liturgical festival observed every year on Jan. 6. It is the oldest of the Christmas festivals and originally the most important. Since Jan. 6 is most often a weekday, Lutherans and liturgical Protestants sometimes shift the celebration of Epiphany to the Sunday immediately before or following the 6th. Epiphany is also a season that lasts until the beginning of Lent and encompasses four to nine Sundays, depending on the date of Easter.

You may remember my account, several years ago, of a friend we’ll call Jack, who broke himself into many pieces trying to blow leaves off his roof. His several surgeries and arduous rehabilitation resulted in a truly remarkable recovery.

My friend Rod Albaugh asked a few days ago why I write columns now and then. Rod said he thought he knew but wanted me to tell him. So I explained.