Wandering with the Publisher

America Is Indeed A Daring Nation

   In last week’s column, I wrote about the “Happy 232nd Birthday of The United States of America.”
   I guess my patriotism has been stirred up a bit, and I am still thinking about our daring nation.
   I truly believe that it is precisely in times of crisis and strife that the resiliency and determination of the American Character is tested.
   I encourage you the next time you open your slow “snail mail” that you take a look at the quaint ink-on-mail form of communication that seems a relic of an earlier age.  Also, take note of the stamp cancellation mark on the envelope.
   It was John Adams, America’s second president, who said, “Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.” And, they harken to an age when patriots dared to birth a new nation conceived in liberty.
   Of course, the words do ring a bit hollow when we recall that the Adams’ legacy was tainted by his embrace of the Allen and Sedition Acts, which made it a crime for Americans to dare to speak, or write critically, of his government.
   The lesson of history is that even our most revered political leaders are, in the final analysis, human beings and possessed of all the flaws, insecurities, and imperfections of….well, of human beings.
   Adams himself would come to regret signing those shameful acts.
   I read an editorial in the Gainesville Sun recently that brought out some interesting information about our early years.  They brought out that the beauty of American participatory democracy is ultimately that it is a self-correcting mechanism. The delicate balance of powers between branches of government and the compact between the people and their elected representatives has for more than two centuries preserved the spirit, if not always the later, of Adams’ dare.
   They brought out that this year, on Independence Day, America seems in many ways a troubled nation.  Polls show public pessimism to be as high as it has been in three decades. Approval ratings of the executive and legislative branches are near rock bottom.
   I say, “If you love America, treat it with respect.”
   The good news is that the American land itself is rich and strong.  It is the basis of our independence.  If we treat it with respect, it will sustain us indefinitely, but if we continue to squander our resources on greed and excess, then our civilization will be remembered as a short ugly blip on the page of history.
   I encourage you this year to dare to read, think, and speak out and write.  And, most of all, dare to vote.
   Dare to challenge the status quo.  Dare to dream of an America that promises the next generation all of the hope and opportunity that the last knew.  And, dare to resolve to help make it happen.
   We dare you.  America dares you.  And, the next generation dares you.
   America is majestic.
   We are a nation that dares to turn dreams into reality.
   Teach your children that the American way of self-governing has time and again endured crises and met challenges of the like that Adams and his fellows could not have imagined.
   God Save America.  Let’s do our best to help Him for generations to come.
   “Nuff said….Bye for now… .See ‘ya.

Jacob Bembry
Columnist

Jacob's Ladder

Is It Worth The Cost?

   As a Christian, I am finding one thing to be more and more difficult. That thing is being able to express my belief in Christ or my position on social issues, such as alcohol.
   The opposition wants to shout down my opinion or the opinion of my fellow Christians and accuse us of mongering hate.
   So many times, we can see movies that promote debauchery and deny the power of Christ. Some movies released recently even claim that Jesus Christ never even existed but once we protest these movies, we are accused of censorship.
   I have recently become involved with a group called CALL, which stands for Citizens Against Legalizing Liquor. The group has been formed to combat a petition drive led by Elmer Spear to legalize alcohol in the county. Elmer told me that he had been asked to lead the effort by a county commissioner, whose name Elmer refused to reveal (although he did tell me it was not Wayne Vickers or Roy Ellis). If what Elmer said is true and the commissioner did ask Elmer to lead the drive, it is an act of cowardice that the commissioner would not put himself on the line and, instead, ask someone else to do it for him.
   Along with my 50-plus (so far) colleagues from CALL, we are prepared for a battle. The battle will be long and hard fought. We may get bloody (metaphorically speaking) but we will fight to win. At the end, regardless of the outcome, everyone still needs to remember that Madison County is family.
   I am personally opposed to alcohol, because of my faith and because of what I have seen it do to family members and friends. I have seen traffic accidents. I have seen people die because of it. If I had an opportunity, I would put sanctions against any and all alcoholic beverages, including beer. I don’t have that opportunity. I do have this opportunity to oppose a ballot initiative that would legalize hard liquor and wine in our county.
   I love Madison County. I was born here and have spent most of my life here. I plan to die here. I grew up in Jefferson County (a wet county) and I know what kind of financial difficulty that county is facing. Being a wet county is not worth the toll it will take on Madison County. Extra law officers will have to be hired. There will be extra taxpayers’ expense. We will basically end up with nothing except heartache and we may even end up with a budget deficit because of being a wet county.
   I know that this column will probably anger people who are pushing for a wet county, but I have to ask one thing, “Is the cost of one life worth all the money that a wet county could conceivably generate?”
   The next meeting of CALL will be Monday, July 28, at 7 p.m., at the Madison County Courthouse. I hope to see you there.

Emerald's Gem Box

Big Brothers Make You Tough

   God blessed me with two beautiful daughters, and I thank Him everyday for that blessing.  However, I have always felt like they have missed out on “something” in life by not having an older brother(s).
   I was born third in my family, Harvey is six years older than me, and William is four years older than me.  The Lord had blessed my parents with a fourth child, Forest Greene, but then decided that Heaven might possibly benefit more from his presence than earth ever could, and Forest passed away at a young age.
   Growing up with two older brothers, I do believe, can make a girl tougher than the “hard-knocks” of life ever could.  The fact that the age difference was quite large made the well thought-out pranks even more treacherous.
   I grew up learning how to defend myself, could wrestle “with the best of ‘em,” and knowing how to fight “like a man.”  That was the only way to survive in my house.  Harvey and William seemed relentless in their pranks, as I’m sure all boys are to their sisters.
   But I have to ask, “Why is it so fun to pick on younger sisters?  Is it something that is just bred into boys?”  But I do admit, I grew up tough, and not afraid of anything. I had to learn to “give it back” and not to take any “slack.”  It was the instinct of survival.
   Some of my “favorite” (and I say that sarcastically) memories of their pranks go something like this…..

• William would knock on my bedroom door (and then run.)  When I opened my door, firecrackers would explode in my face.  He could somehow rig the firecrackers to explode when the door was opened and the string was pulled.
• Being told that the green paint (that we were painting the fence with) was “lime flavored.”  Of course I found that not to be true as I had an entire mouthful of paint in my mouth.
• Being told “Ooohhh.  Smell this.  It smells like sunscreen and the beach.”  As I stick my nose to the bottle, pure baby oil (felt like half the bottle) was squirted up my nose.  Now, imagine how hard it is to get that much baby oil out of your nose.
• Being told that the way to tell if a 9-volt battery is still good is to stick your tongue to it.  For all of you who have never heard of this……DON’T DO IT!
• Having my foot stomped on while Harvey was still wearing his track shoes – with spikes and all.  I think I had 50 little bloody holes in the top of my foot.
• Never knowing what is around the next corner or might sneak into my room in the middle of the night.  William always collected scary masks.  Whatever vacation we went on, William's souvenir was a new mask.  I was the guinea pig to these masks and just how scary they actually were.
• I was also the guinea pig to the “Figure 4.”  When the “Figure 4” first became the “new/in” thing on wrestling, it was Harvey and William’s favorite past-time to put me in this position to see how much it actually did hurt.  This was where survival instinct came in and I learned how to fight.
• When I was around the age of five or six, Ray Stevens’ song “The Streak” became the hit song.  Ethel Thomas worked for my grandparents and my parents back during this time.  William and Harvey talked me in to taking all my clothes off and running through the house screaming, “Don’t look Ethel.”  Boy did I get in trouble for that one.  I think Ethel only spanked me two times in all my years – this was one of those times.

   I must say though, as I look back I can remember a few times that I think I actually paid them back for some of their pranks on me.
* Once I hit pre-teen years and up, the bath beads and Avon’s Skin So Soft had become the hot product for girls.  I always took my bath first, so by the time Harvey and William got in the shower I had it so slippery and oily they had problems standing up.  Several times I can remember hearing them slipping down in the shower.  Then the complaints would start to my parents about not allowing me to use the bath beads or letting them take their baths first.
* There was also the fact that about that same age is when girls (for some strange reason) cannot take a shower in less than 20 – 30 minutes.  All hot water was gone by the time I climbed out.  So not only could my brothers not stand up, they had to slip and fall in cold water.
* This is about the same age that I learned that men cannot use the same razor that a woman just used to shave her legs.  If I couldn’t find my razor or needed a new one, I would just grab one of their razors, use it, and then replace it where I had gotten it.  It took me awhile to understand how they knew I had used their razor.  Little cuts and nicks all over their face was proof enough for them I guess.
* And my favorite - - one morning my Dad woke me up to shave a sink full of pigs feet, so that he could make homemade pickled pigs feet.  Well I sure wasn’t about to use MY razor for that.  So, I got William’s (Harvey was gone to college by this time.)  When I finished shaving the pigs’ feet, I, again, replaced William’s razor back where I got it.  I apparently didn’t wash the razor out as good as I thought I had, because when he got up and went to shave, there were long hairs still stuck in his razor.  You could hear him throughout the house on that one.

   God blessed my life tremendously when I was born into my family.  I wouldn’t trade anything for my life with my parents and my two big brothers.
   As a child, I longed for a sister.  A calm female to be with.  As I grew up, however, I learned that my two big brothers were God’s greatest gift to me.
   Don’t forget to thank God for the gifts in your life, and find a child to hug.
   Until then….I’ll see you around the town!

National Security

Stray Vectors

(Editorial note: “Stray Vectors” is the author’s term for random thoughts.)

   The renowned British economist John Maynard Keynes said, “in the long run, all of us are dead.”  There you have it!  Despite all of their promises to the contrary, no trial lawyer or politician can save you or me from our ultimate fate.
   Joe’s opinion: The reason why Congress has an approval rating below 10 percent is because our elected representatives are engaged in political warfare rather than trying to solve problems in a bipartisan approach which would benefit the American people.  What problems? energy; mortgages; Iran, Social Security; … the list goes on and on.  
   Experience counts when it comes to the presidency.  John Kennedy was relatively inexperienced when he was elected in 1960 and his short presidency was marred by numerous mistakes, particularly in foreign policy.  Barack Obama is much less experienced than Kennedy was 48 years ago.  By contrast, John McCain with his naval career and 26 years of legislative experience is very seasoned.
   I’m part of the “drill here; drill now; pay less” coalition.  The folks on the other side of the energy argument tell me that drilling isn’t the answer; that we need to conserve more.  I don’t need anyone to remind me of the importance of energy conservation; every time I fill up at the pump or pay my light bill, I’m (painfully) reminded of energy conservation!
   If the Republicans want to escape the legislative wilderness, they need to adopt some bold policies like they did in 1994.  It doesn’t do any good to play prevent defense when you’ve lost the lead.  They need a philosophical leader like Gingrich, Reagan, and Goldwater in previous times.
   When you owe $200,000 on a house that in today’s market is worth only $150,000 (if you can find a buyer), there is a lot of incentive to walk away and let the bank repossess.
   The market approach to feeding the world’s poor is to adopt policies that will decrease food prices.  As food becomes more affordable, poor people will have more to eat.  In Haiti, there is plenty of food, but most people cannot afford to buy it.
   I have an idea for a new form of alternative energy.  We need to develop a way to capture and use all the hot air that politicians generate in places like Washington and Tallahassee.
   How can people who claim they don’t know when life begins advocate abortion?  Isn’t it possible that the abortion is taking place after human life begins?  Wouldn’t that be murder?
   The city of Vallejo, CA recently filed for bankruptcy when it could not reach an agreement with unions representing policemen, firefighters, and electricians.  Three-quarters of the city’s budget is devoted to paying salaries for public safety workers.  When the purpose of government is to provide jobs, we’re in a heap of trouble!
   Al Gore blames the recent killer storm that struck Burma on global warming.  If he can make that assumption, so can I.  Since April was the coldest in 11 years, I say it is evidence of global cooling!
   If you read this column regularly, you know that I have a bias toward lower taxes.  To me, it is a freedom issue.  Let me explain.  The more money that I earn which the governments (federal, state, local) allow me to keep, the more freedom I’ll have to do the things I choose to do.  On the other hand, the more of my money that the governments confiscate, the fewer choices I’ll be left with.  Instead, I’ll be locked into choices made by the politicians and their bureaucracies.  Lower taxes and freedom go hand-in-hand.
   Some Democrats in Congress recently suggested that we sue OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) for restricting the supplies of oil.  Isn’t that what the Democrats are doing by refusing to allow drilling on Alaska’s North Slope, the Outer Continental Shelf, and oil shale in the west?  Why don’t we sue the Democrats instead?
   Here is the big question for Barack Obama:  You say that you are a centrist who will unite America and bring us together.  Yet, the National Journal rated your 2007 voting record as the most liberal in the United States Senate and you vote with your party 97 percent of the time.  There appears to be a contradiction between what you say and what you do.  How will you square that contradiction with average Americans?
   The Democrats in Congress want to pass a “windfall profits tax” on the five largest American oil companies.  What other industries should we tax if they make “too much money?”  Since the Federal government is growing at an unprecedented rate, shouldn’t we tax the government’s windfall profits and give them back to the American taxpayer?
   A new report indicates that the Iraqis are making satisfactory progress on 13 of 16 benchmarks established by the Democrat leadership in Congress.  A year ago, the figure was eight.  Sounds like progress to me!