Opinions
4/17/02
The True Citizen
P.O.Box 948
Waynesboro, GA 30830
(706) 554-2111
"Our people did a good job despite the shortage of manpower. The county has got to do something for us to fill these positions or we will face another situation like this again . and it won't be long." - Earl Porterfield, chief of the Burke EMA, discussing the closing of three fire stations this past weekend.
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Tiger
Woods & Arnold Palmer
Augusta National Golf Club’s attempt to “Tiger proof,” if that
was what they were trying to do when they lengthened the course by nearly
300 yards, failed in the 2002 66th annual Masters Golf tournament Sunday.
Tiger, the world’s top-ranked golfer, won his third Masters Green Jacket
over an impressive international field by three strokes. Tiger, also champion
in 2001, joined a field of a few, Jack Nicklaus (1965-66) and Nick Faldo,
(1989-90) by winning back-to-back titles.
Going into Sunday’s final round, Tiger was tied with Retief Goosen of
South Africa. He quickly pulled away from Goosen and the rest of the challengers
and they spent the rest of the day trying to catch him.
What a joy it was late Sunday evening to watch Tiger nearly sink a birdie
putt on the extra long 18th to clinch yet another Masters championship. A
third championship in the 2003 Masters is not out of the question for this
26-year-old golfer.
Congratulations Tiger … it was a thrill to watch you waltz your way to
another Green Jacket.
While this was a joy, we also must say how sad it was to watch the fabled
Arnold Palmer bow out Saturday morning in his final appearance after 48 consecutive
appearances in competitive golf at the Masters. After all these years, and
four Masters championships under his belt, the 72-year-old Palmer, credited
by many as making the Masters Tournament what it is today, had an emotional
round Saturday actually finishing up his second round which was washed out
by rain on Friday.
On every hole that the “King” played, “Arnie’s Army”
grew and grew, and by the time he reached the 18th and final hole of his Masters
career, with what was called the largest assemblage of golf patrons around
a single hole on the course ever, trying to get a glimpse of his last putt.
Unfortunately, he made a double bogey putting him in last place among the
87 golfers who participated this year, but who cared. They had just witnessed
a gentle giant of the game of golf, a legend in his own right, complete his
last appearance as a player in the Masters.
“Arnie” will be missed in future Masters.
Harold
Rowland
The Tiger
And The Goose
TenThe
2002 Masters Tournament is history. Like a lot of history it will make for
some boring reading, an unusual circumstance for this normally grandiose golf
epic.
Retief Goosen, a superb South African linksman, set an admirable pace. He
opened with a 67, having to complete his first round on Friday morning because
of the inclement weather. He followed with a fine 69. Vijay Singh, from Fiji,
was one stroke ahead with 135 posted for 36 holes. The Tiger was prowling
back in the pack, four big strokes behind. Els, Garcia, Mickelson and Olazabal
were all poised to make a run at one of the most coveted prizes in the world
of golf.
Saturday brought a disquieting sound, muted but distinct. The Tiger was purring,
steadily stalking his prey. Some of the world's best golfers must have trembled
as they looked back to see Tiger creeping up like the temperature.
Sunday came with the promise of a typical dogfight. Every golf fan knows that
the Masters is a tournament that is always won on the back nine Sunday afternoon.
The competitors shift to a higher gear, the tension mounts as the lead swaps
back and forth, the course echoes with rolling sounds of delirious spectators
as one player after another takes or loses the lead.
Not so in 2002. The die was cast on the first hole of the final round when
the Goose faltered and the Tiger pounced. By the time all the top players
made the turn and started the once adrenalin- charged back nine the Tiger
was in control and the rest were struggling to save face after mindless mistakes,
balls falling in the water and putts skirting the holes.
That is not to diminish the Tiger's skillful and deserved win. His play could
not be labeled magnificent, except by us duffers who think bogey is an acceptable
score, but it was certainly adequate to get the job done. And, he defeated
some of the world's best who were playing the same course under the same conditions.
Perhaps the most exciting and emotional moments of the whole tournament this
year was the last hurrah of Arnold Palmer. He played his last round after
48 consecutive appearances in the tournament that he loved and to which he
gave perhaps more fame than any other player apart from Bobby Jones who designed
the world's most beautiful course.
Maybe it's too much to ask that every Master's supply thrills like those Jack
Nicklaus lavished upon us even in his waning years. When he won his last in
1986, it was perhaps one of the finest and most exciting contests in the history
of American sport.
When you take a long subjective look at golf and sports in general, when you
take away the cheering galleries and the roaring stadiums, when you forget
the staggering sums paid athletes, you must wonder why we revere those who
can hit, catch, throw or run with a ball. Their skill is amazing. Their dedication
to the sport is self-sacrificing. But in the long run, how has the world been
bettered by mere physical mastery of a sport?
Granted, many use their fame and wealth to generously assist and inspire others.
They are the ones who deserve the greater respect and admiration.
One commentator, remarking about Tiger's domination of the game, noted that
if any of the young golfers coming along want to equal or excel his accomplishments
they would have to match his work ethic, his focus, and his motivation. Exploring
the world of the golf wannabes, one documentary focused on a young man who
dropped out of high school with his father's blessing and financial support.
He enrolled in a famous golf school in Orlando and is struggling to make it
on the pro tour. His father sold his business and had invested already $2
million in the boy's potential and his dad's dream. Sports, like most everything
else, seem to be priced way above the average person's means. Do we have our
priorities right?
A Solution To The World's Problems
 |
A Solution
to the World's Problems Parents, do me and the rest of this community a favor,
beat your children. Send notes to school instructing teachers and principals
to beat your children as well.
If your child is going to spend the night at a friend's house, tell the other
child's parents that if your child misbehaves, they should beat them on the
spot. Then they should call you so you can pick your kid up and beat them
again when you get home. This county, no, this nation, will thank you. And
believe it or not, your child will thank you one day, too.
In order to keep The True Citizen and myself out of a courtroom, I should
probably clarify the above statements. I use the word "beat" as
an exaggerated term for "discipline." For instance, my father used
to threaten my brother and I with, "I'll beat you like a drum."
This never happened to our little sister.
Beat can also mean "abuse." There is a huge, and I mean HUGE difference
between discipline and abuse. If you don't think you know the difference,
give me a call, and I'll put you in touch with a local authority that can
explain it to you.
In this week's paper, you'll find the second part of a story I wrote on Family
Violence, a large portion of this deals with child abuse. Let's be clear on
this: there is absolutely no reason under the sun that someone, anyone, can
justify putting his or her hands on a child in an abusive way. There is a
good reason I'm not in law enforcement; I don't have the self-restraint for
it. If I was called to your house with a warrant to arrest you for child abuse,
or molestation, you would never make it to the jail. Wrong as it may be, I
make no apologies for this statement. Now that we've cleared that up, let's
talk about discipline. Parents, you need to be hitting your children - some
of them on a daily basis. But there is only one feasible place to hit them,
the backside. Not the back of the calves or thighs and certainly not anywhere
above the waist, just the backside. I mean it was practically made for that
purpose, think about the way it's built. Take a look at someone around you
or in your office. Okay, scratch that, go find a mirror and take a look at
your own backside. It could probably withstand a few licks from mom or dad's
belt, don't you think? If you're like me, and eat enough for two and then
sit at a desk for the majority of your day, you probably wouldn't feel it
if someone hit you with the whole cow.
Abusing a child is a terrible thing, but almost as bad is simply letting him
or her run amuck with virtually no boundaries. I've been surprised at how
much juvenile crime we have in this county, but I was even more surprised
to hear that parents blame others for their children's mistakes.
Recently, the parents of two juvenile boys accused and convicted of a litany
of charges were themselves charged with failing to supervise a minor. In court,
both mothers plead "not guilty." One said there was nothing she
could do; the child would not listen to her.
I find this hard to believe. But if so, may I make a small suggestion? Try
putting a little fear of God in him and see what that does for his listening
comprehension. It worked wonders with me as a youngster.
If cowboys had used belts instead of pistols in the old West, and being the
fastest draw meant your belt could clear the loops of your pants faster than
anyone else, they'd be making movies about my dad instead of Billy the Kid.
In fact, if I had been accused of some hefty crimes as a child, I would have
begged for the police to come and take me away. Jail would have been the safest
place I could be when my parents found out what I'd done.
Now there are some of you out there who think this is wrong. You'll point
out that there are kids whose parents never spanked them and they still turned
out to be fine citizens. I'll agree with that. However, I'm willing to bet
that if you did some sort of survey, you'd find that the folks who'd had their
hides tanned as children when they deserved it have been, in general, far
less troublesome to our society than their unbeaten counterparts.
If, by chance, you are a kid under the age of 13 or so, you probably think
I'm doing you a huge disservice by writing this. Well, you're wrong, you just
don't know it yet. Besides, I'm an adult and we get to make the rules, it's
been that way since the dawn of time. If you don't like it, tough. And if
you back talk me, I'll beat you.
Miller Changes His Act Again
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In a floor speech in the Senate last week, Miller lambasted the Democrat controlled Senate for ducking out on legislation to provide Medicare prescription-drug benefits. He says would-be presidential candidates in the Senate don't want to address the prescription drug issue now; they want to save it as a campaign issue for 2004.
"We should cut down on some of this presidential candidate posturing," he exclaimed. "Say 'no' to some of those high-priced political strategists -those consultants who couldn't get elected dog-catchers themselves - whose advice is always the same, 'Have an issue, not a result.'"
(When the Georgia senator lashes out at high-priced consultants, he knows whereof he speaks. The highly vaunted and equally highly paid political adviser Dick Morris counseled him on how to lose to Herman Talmadge for the Senate in 1980. Democratic darling James Carville advised Miller how to win the governor's election of 1990, and then ditched him last year when ol' Zell became too cozy with W. and the Texas Republicans.)
In any event, Daschle & Co. must be squirming at Miller's current use of 1930s rhetoric. They undoubtedly hope no one will pay attention as Miller invokes FDR's famous adage: "Try something. If it doesn't work, try something else."
"For God's sake," cried Miller in his speech. "Try something."
The presidential candidate wannabes in the Senate must have felt like hunkering down in their seats as Miller hollered: "You wanna be a contender? Quit preaching and preening and produce. You want the well-off to 'show you the money'? Show the not-so-well-off a prescription drug program."
Citing the long and tedious debates over trade bills and campaign financing, Miller asked, "Do any of these important, time-consuming, well-meaning pieces of legislation that will tie this body in knots and run out the clock come anywhere close to dealing with the clear human need of a prescription drug benefit for our elderly?"
As a reminder that he hasn't forgotten his Republican sweethearts and his endorsements of their pet projects, Miller declared, "If someone had tuned into our debates since Christmas, they would conclude we care more about the welfare of the caribou than we do about the welfare of our elderly. This ain't about the fragility of the tundra; it's about the fragility of a human being's last days on this earth."
One is tempted to write off Miller's efforts to become white knight for the geezer class as pure demagoguery. But is it? Demagoguery for what? Miller has all but said he will not seek re-election in 2004. His wife, Shirley, is not well. And he seems obsessed with returning to the mountains where his old buddies still say "tar" for tire and "purr" for pure, just as Miller does.
Or perhaps Miller is trying to become the high-profile "maverick of the Senate" to gain an extra measure of national fame and glory. Sorry. That spot is taken. The TV networks have crowned Sen. James Jeffords, a former Republican from Vermont, as "Maverick of the Decade." Jeffords left the Republican Party to hand majority control of the Senate to the Democrats. TV producers have profiled Jeffords repeatedly, and mostly ignored Miller.
Whatever is driving Miller, he appears to have struck a chord - not just with old folks but with all folks. "We fear we see ourselves-to-be, the lonely elderly waiting, waiting for someone, anyone, to knock on our screen door and, as John Prine sings, say 'Hello in there,'" Miller declared to his fellow Senators who, by now, must view him as a lurid and loud bug in a bottle.
They must wonder why their comrade in The Club berates them at every turn … and why this successful former governor doesn't understand the necessity of fooling the people at least some of the time … and why this super-successful career politician insists on solving a problem right now that could be strung out for years as an issue "that must be addressed."
In short, many of Miller's Washington colleagues, fed up with the junior senator's accusatory statements, will be glad when he's gone. They think he plainly doesn't fit. They're right. He doesn't. And that is precisely why he should consider sticking around. Georgia and Washington need more misfits like Miller. They help the cause of honesty.
Bill Shipp
is editor of Bill Shipp's Georgia, a weekly newsletter on government and business.
He can be reached at P.O. Box 440755, Kennesaw, GA 30144 or by calling (770)
422-2543,
e-mail: bshipp@bellsouth.net,
Web address:
http://www.billshipp.com
