Articles by Section - OPINION
Mothers make for good shopping buddies
Attention, Newton County mothers and your adult daughters: When you're out and about shopping, picking out spring plants for your garden, or maybe enjoying lunch and a little family gossip, do not be alarmed if you notice me lurking about. I have neither sinister nor larcenous intent.
The joys of a garden
Spring is here, and after we sailed past Good Friday and the risk of frost, it is now planting time! I've bought seeds and pots and I'm ready to plant something.
Brown: Firearms ordinance about safety
During the last county commissioner's retreat, I submitted a proposal regarding the discharge of firearms in high-density areas. After careful research, we asked the county to allow us to return to the guidelines established prior to the 2006 version of the county ordinance governing this matter.
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Archive By Section - OPINION
Community Christmas
Christmas came early this year for me. I was elected president of the Friends of the Newton County Library, starting in 2010. My involvement with libraries started many years ago. My first after-school job was working in a public library not much larger than my living and dining rooms combined. To paraphrase Charlie Brown, it was a "very sincere little library."
Dear Santa
Dear Santa, Well, it's that time again and I thought I would write you. Postage has gone up and I just thought I'd save a little bit by publishing it in the paper. I'm sure glad you still get The Covington News at the North Pole. I've been pretty good this year. Not my best, but certainly not my worst. I eat too much, don't get ...
The battle for speaker is not over
The Republican leadership in the Georgia House worked out an arrangement among themselves last week for the scandal-plagued Glenn Richardson to step down as House speaker and be replaced by Mark Burkhalter in the powerful legislative position. The high-ranking Republicans hoped to put their problems behind them with the removal of Richardson, but they still have some long-simmering issues to resolve. The decision from on high to change speakers is not sitting well with some ...
Troop surge has fatal flaws
On the evening of Dec. 1, President Barack Obama addressed the nation on his plan for troop increases in Afghanistan. He spoke from the hallowed and historic halls of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Obama has decided to send 30,000 troops to the war zone, some to leave almost immediately. Beginning in the summer of 2011, our troops will begin the pullout and return home. I am a very strong advocate ...
Remember Pearl Harbor
Last week, as I listened to the 44th president tell the entire world of his plan for administering the Afghanistan-Pakistan War, I was struck by how helpful the information he outlined was to the very enemies we seek to conquer. Any rat hiding in a cave, wondering how much longer he'd have need of that cave, would gain inspiration from hearing his opponent state that it would be for just 17 more months. The rat ...
No health care at all
I don't often agree with Jim Marshal, but for the most part find his comments at least thoughtful and interesting. His plan for ending the use of private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid to pay for healthcare and how it would lower costs leaves me puzzled. Marshall wants to end government coverage for the elderly and poor and private insurance for the rest of us as well. I don't want to use anyone else as an ...
Are lawmakers ready to gamble?
Horse racing? Casino gambling? Until recently, those were two topics you didn't discuss at the state capitol. Bills would occasionally be introduced by liberal lawmakers from Atlanta to legalize pari-mutuel wagering or allow casinos to operate at Underground Atlanta, but the measures typically would be assigned to committees that wouldn't bother to give them a hearing.
Paying homage to 3 wise men
This is the story of three wise men. They do not come bearing gifts of gold and myrrh and frankincense. Their gifts are service, intelligence and integrity. They don't have exotic names like Bithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa. Theirs are ordinary names: John, Raymond and Roy. But there is nothing ordinary about them. All three are World War II veterans, a part of the Greatest Generation. One lives in northeast Georgia, one in deep south Georgia ...
Thankgiving 2009
It's hard to believe, but nevertheless true, that Ben Franklin wanted the turkey - not the Golden Eagle - to serve as America's national emblem. I'm thinking old Ben may have gotten one too many jolts when he flew that kite in a storm and caught lightning in a bottle. But at least his beloved turkey performs national service when served up on Thanksgiving Day - that special time of year when, with the full ...
Pecan Pie for the Mind: The decline of Southern civilization
Our civilization here in the South is dying on the vine. I'm quite sure of it. Look around and see if you don't agree with my assessment of the sorry state of society. It's just gotten pitiful, and I want some answers: Where are our next quilts coming from, why can't we fix our own cars anymore, and how come our kids can't make a living collecting pop bottles by the side of the road? ...
The enemy is us
It was 40 years ago, about this time of year that I repented of my sins and was baptized. At 9, my list of sins paled in comparison to some of the whoppers I committed over the ensuing years. I figured if I sinned once a day over that time, that is 14,600. There were some days I was in double digits. But I am grateful that there is forgiveness and that's all forgotten.
Failure of imagination, lack of understanding
Were the atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001, the result of criminal action or an act of war? Nomenclature matters because it shapes peoples ideas, thought processes and, thereby, actions.
Restoring certified teacher funding
Attention, National Board Certified teachers in Georgia who got hosed by the state in the last legislative session: I think I have found the guy in the white hat that plans to ride to the rescue. And he is a good one to have on the horse.
Roy Barnes takes a major risk
In the months since he announced he would try for another term as governor, Roy Barnes has been flying under the radar of Georgia politics.
Pecan Pie for the Mind: The end of manners
I think I have good manners. I say "yes, ma'am," I hold the door for old people, I don't spit on sidewalks, and I don't talk during movies. That's just rude, and I've been raised to be polite. In general, I'm well-mannered. But, there's one place where my manners go out the window. If you see me at an all-you-can-eat buffet, and they're serving snow crab legs, you should expect me to be on my ...
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