Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 191, Ed. 1 Monday, June 28, 2010 Page: 4 of 9
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Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Monday, June 28, 2010
Sweetwater Reporter
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881
1—x Sweetwater 1
Reporter
P.O. Box 750/112 W. Third
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
325/236-6677
Fax: 325/235-4967
Website:
www.sweetwaterreporter.com
E-mail addresses:
publisher@sweetwaterreporter.com
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TA
MEMBER
2010
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
Sharon E. Rrfedander
publisSier/ad director
Danica Hickson
business mgr.
Michelle Ashford
circulation mgr.
Tadana Rodriguez
managing editor
Pablo Rodriguez
composing mgr.
Rleu Reyes
production mgr.
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
Another year has almost passed and it is time to celebrate
once again the birth of The United States of America with
parades, patriotism, fireworks, food, family, friends and neigh-
bors. Somewhere during all this the words of a 35-year-old
lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, that later became
our National Anthem will be sang or at least thought of some-
where along the way. Please allow me to share Mr. Key's words
from all stanzas he wrote those long years ago and some of my
thoughts oil his words.
O! say can you see by the dawn's early light, What so proudly
we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, Whose broad stripes
and bright stars through the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts
we watched, were so gallantly streaming And the rockets' red
glare, the bombs burs ting in air, Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there; O! say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave?
Yes Mr. Key a star-spangled banner still waves over the land
of the free and the home of the brave, there are more stars
and fewer stripes on it but it is still here. The rockets have
continued to glare and the bombs continued to burst around
our countrymen both at home and abroad from time to time
over the years. Each year fireworks are set off to celebrate the
birth of our Nation, often to your words Mr. Key, for some of
the bravest in the land of the free the displays take them back
to their most perilous fight. The ramparts we watch over now
are in our living rooms, in our offices, on our laps, and hi our
hands and give us information and different viewpoints from
around the globe with dizzying speed.
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What
is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully
blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam
of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines
in the stream 'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it
wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
At this moment in more than one of our foes there is little
repose. They call for our heads at the top of their lungs, vilify
us at every opportunity, and claim us to be oppressors of free-
dom. One of our foes I dread is in silent repose and that foe
is the American public. Let your voice be heard by more than
your company at the coffee shop or back yard barbecue, pick
up pen and paper, put your fingers on the keypad and overflow
the mailboxes and crash the servers in Washington D.C. and
Austin. Most importantly let your voice be heard at the ballot
box. All of us are free to talk about it, too few are brave enough
to act on it.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the
havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country
should leave us no more! Their blood has washed out their
foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and
slave, From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave, And
the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave, O'er the land
of the free and the home of the brave
It has held true in our history that as soon as we get one
band to exit stage left there is another waiting in the wings to
tune up, take the stage, and put their new spin on an old song.
Borrowing the words from another author who reminds us in
Matthew 24:6: And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars:
see that you be not troubled: for all these tilings must come to
pass, but the end is not yet.
I know we will be forever challenged; for that is part of the
cost of greatness. We must cut the purse strings of those who
fund the hireling and free the slave through education; neither
task is easy, bloodless, or painless.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand, Between their
loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and
peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath
made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when
our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust.
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the
land of the free and the home of the brave!
Much can be said here but I will keep it brief, Mr. Key almost
nailed it when he wrote of our motto, it was not until 1956
when an act of Congress made our official national motto "In
God We Trust."
Today there is much debate about the founding fathers of
this nation and their take on God and just where God belongs.
It is fascinating to me how much power those three letters
strung together in the right order have. Even non-believers
know how much power that simple word representing a com-
plex and powerful being has. That much energy is not worked
up over dog. See right now some of you are thinking about
lighting torches to come after me for comparing God to a dog.
I do not go to church, but I do believe in God and I am very
blessed to be in a country where I am free enough to do so. For
those brave enough to go through this life without a belief in
God, guess what? You are free to do that too.
I do not know what you are going to be doing on the 4th of
July this year, but I plan to keep drinking from the fire hose of
life and being glad to be part of the grand experiment that is
the United States of America under that star spangled banner.
I am going to lift my glass to those thai came before me, I am
going to revel with those around me with all their differences,
and I am going to hope for the future of those to follow w ill still
be able to belt out with pride O'er the land of the free and the
home of the brave.
While I am on the Na tional Anthem and before I leave you
in your own thoughts about my thoughts here is some more
information. United States Code, 36 U.S.C. A§ 301, states that
during a rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is
displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand
at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart;
Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present
and not in uniform may render the military salute; men not in
uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand
and hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being
over the heart; and individuals in uniform should give the mili-
tary salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that
position until the last note; and when the flag is not displayed,
all present should face toward the music and act in the same
manner they would if the flag were displayed.
Thanks for indulging me and have a wonderful 4th of July.
Robert R. McBride
Roscoe
THE IDLE AMERICAN
He who laughs last
The world applauds
folks who are masters
of spontaneous verbal
come-backs. Somehow,
they are "right-
worded" in facing
tenuoussituations
with grace.
Never seen
sweating, they are
unflappable rari-
ties. Their words
flow effortlessly
while the rest of
us melt to mush
at binding times,
our facial expres-
sions and skin
tones dead give-
aways that our
goats have been gotten.
We can make long
lists of times that "duh"
would have been bet-
ter than our stumbling
responses. "Do you have
any reason to be driving
so fast? Your luggage is a
pound over the limit; you
owe another $35.1 know
your son is a gregarious
fourth-grader, but he
must learn soon not to
bite others. I'm sorry I
asked if the woman is
your daughter; how long
have you been married?"
Such questions stretch
toward infinity.
One such guy with a
hair-trigger brain is Jim
Bob Solsbeiy. "Yep, my
folks named me 'James
Robert,' but I was 'Jim
Bob' before we left the
hospital. They say our
dogs got all the good
names," Solsbeiy claims
with a distinctive Texas
twang.
Some of his kin-
CAPITOL COMMENT
Dr. Don
Newbuiy
folks stop just short of
Hatfield/McCoy stale-
mates, arguing about
whether "Solsbery" origi-
nated in England
or Germany.
Jim Bob cares
not; he just
knows that his
first and last
names are about
as compatible
as a mule in the
Kentucky Derby.
He resembles
the Marlboro
man, except he's
shorter, older
and doesn't
smoke. More hat
than cattle, he and his
trademark Stetson are
inseparable. Blue jeans
and boots made for amb-
lin' complete his daily
attire.
A 30-year agriculture
specialist with the gov-
ernment, this son of West
Texas has long had a
keen eye for humor. He's
a wonderful storyteller,
convinced that humor is
an attitude—the title of
his book. He maintains a
blog(TheHumorAttitude.
com) and commits funny
speeches around the U.S.
when he's not tied up
with his grandkids.
His ability to dif-
fuse difficult moments
is undeniable. Jim Bob
doesn't raise his voice
and maintains unflag-
ging optimism. Hard to
rile and determined to
smile, he rarely encoun-
ters obstacles that he
can't climb over, sneak
around, dig under or
stare down.
Here's one example.
Changed plans recently
forced him to make an
eleventh hour cancella-
tion at a fancy out-of-
state resort. Jim Bob and
wife Jan weren't sure
they could avoid a late
cancellation fee.
First off, repeated
phone calls to the swank
place went unanswered.
Then, the desk clerk
could find no reserva-
tion for "Solsbery." The
resort manager joined
the search, and his com-
puter screen failed to
show "Solsbeiy" either—
for that date or later.
Jim Bob was resolute,
adamant that he had
made reservations sever-
al weeks earlier. Finally,
the manager asked if he
had a reservation num-
ber.
He bluffed, saying he
needed a few minutes
to put his hands on it.
Truth to tell, he didn't
remember jotting down
the number, and certain-
ly didn't know its where-
abouts.
"I checked my office
in the car," he related.
"I found several items,
including ballpoint pens,
rubber bands, hamburg-
er wrappers and church
bulletins."
But wait! There was
a crumpled envelope
lodged between the seats,
and on it, a scrawled
number. Shorter than
his Social Security num-
ber and longer than a
Baskin-Robbins "wait
in line" number, it was
maybe, just maybe.
His voice oozed confi-
dence when he returned
to the phone. Seconds
later, the computer
coughed up a "cha-
ching"reservation. It was
for a week later, howev-
er, and under the name
"Fosbury."
"You folks got me con-
fused with the high jump-
er," he drawled. "I'm not
the 'Fosbury Flop;' I'm
the 'Solsbeiy Sot'!"
The manager, him-
self of granddaddy vin-
tage, broke into laugh-
ter, recalling the unique
"flopping," back-first
style of Dick Fosbury,
whose leap of seven feet,
4.25 inches set a new
world record at the 1968
Olympics. The clerk,
much younger, had no
clue why the boss was
laughing, and probably
couldn't define "sot,"
either.
Maybe next time my
friend will make reserva-
tions under "Jim Bob."
That would be hard to
get wrong.
In the meantime, he's
got more fodder for
his blog and upcoming
speaking engagements.
And his firm belief that
humor is an attitude,
unshaken.
Dr. Newbury is a
speaker in the Metroplex.
Inquiries/comments to:
newbury @speakerdoc.
com. Phone: 817-447-
3872. Website: www.
speakerdoc.com.
Bureaucratic barriers must
not obstruct oil spill cleanup
More than two months
have passed since the
Deepwater Horizon oil rig
exploded, tragically killing
11 workers and causing a
leak that is gushing up to
60,000 barrels of oil into
the waters of the Gulf of
Mexico each day. For Gulf
Coast communities fearful
oil will wash up on their
beaches, for the fisher-
man and shrimpers whose
livelihoods have essen-
tially been cut off, and for
the wildlife and ecosys-
tems that are being
destroyed, help liter-
ally cannot come fast
enough.
The worsen-
ing environmen-
tal and economic
consequences of
the spill should be
easy motivation to
make absolutely sure
every form of aid
is available for the
cleanup. However,
there are some who
are willing to help
and are being turned
away. According to the
U.S. Department of State,
more than 20 countries
have offered assistance
in responding to the Gulf
of Mexico disaster. But a
law designed to promote
United States shipping
interests is preventing
them from sending their
ships and equipment to
aid in the oil spill cleanup
and response.
The Jones Act was estab-
lished in 1920 to ensure
that the United States was
able to maintain a fleet of
merchant ships by requir-
ing that all goods trans-
ported by water betw een
U.S. ports be carried on
U.S. flagged, owned, and
crewed ships. This means
that many foreign vessels
have to obtain a waiver to
this law in order to help
with the oil spill. Under the
Jones Act, a bureaucrat-
ic review involving three
separate federal agencies
- the U.S. Coast Guard, the
Maritime Administration,
and Customs and Border
Protection - is required
in order for a waiver to
be granted. In crisis cases,
such as the Gulf of Mexico
oil spill, a burdensome
review process does not
serve our nation's best
interests.
A Coast
Guard offi-
cial told ABC
News, "We
have exhaust-
ed all our East
Coast supply
of skimming
vessels. We
are now look-
ing at Norway,
France, Spain,
and other
European ves-
sels." While
there are cur-
rently 15 foreign vessels
assisting in oil spill recov-
ery efforts, these vessels
cannot perform skimming
operations within 3 miles
of our shoreline without
a Jones Act waiver. In
other words, they are not
allowed to assist with the
cleanup effort to the fullest
extent and helping to pro-
tect our coastline, which
clearly is the area in need
of the most protection.
Although the adminis-
tration claims it will use
a streamlined process for
granting Jones Act waiv-
ers, we are already more
than 65 days into this crisis
and the red tape appears
to be intact. On June 16, a
representative of a Dallas-
based company began the
application process for
a Jones Act waiver for a
Kay Bailey
Dutchison
fleet of foreign ships to
get involved in the Gulf of
Mexico cleanup efforts. He
offered the federal govern-
ment use of a mother ship
for personnel and equip-
ment, six oil slamming
vessels, a specialized boom
deployment and recovery
boat, and 10 transport ves-
sels. He was told that the
expedited procedures had
not yet been established.
This constituent has also
appealed directly to the
administration for a Jones
Act waiver, and he has not
yet received a response.
Meanwhile, the oil slick
is spreading wider across
the Gulf of Mexico and
many Gulf Coast commu-
nities are bracing them-
selves for the oily waters
to lap up onto their shores.
To waste any tools or
equipment that could help
mitigate this disaster - or
to delay the availability
of critical assistance - is
unthinkable.
I have introduced leg-
islation to temporarily
grant Jones Act waivers
for foreign vessels so they
can quickly deploy and
assist with the cleanup in
the most vulnerable areas
along the Gulf Coast. The
Water Assistance from
International Vessels for
Emergency Response, or
WAIVER Act, would sim-
ply cut the red tape, clear
up the process confusion,
and allow our response to
the oil spill to be as expe-
dient as possible. I also
hope that this gesture will
signal to our foreign part-
ners that their assistance
is welcome - and badly
needed.
It is worth noting that
the same thing could be
accomplished without leg-
islation. Three days after
Hurricane Katrina hit the
Gulf Coast, the previous
administration issued an
executive order to waive
the Jones Act so that for-
eign-flagged ships could
help with disaster relief
efforts. Unfortunately,
with the Gulf Coast
oil spill, more than two
months have passed with
this bureaucratic bar-
rier standing in the way
of recovery efforts. I hope
that, whether through
passage of my legislation,
or through an executive
order, we can immediately
take this commonsense
action to help protect the
environment and the live-
lihoods of the residents of
the Gulf.
Kay Bailey Hutchison
is the senior U.S. Senator
from Texas and is the
Ranking Member of the
Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and
Transportation.
EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial section of the newspaper is a forum for
expression of a variety of viewpoints. All articles except
those labeled "Editorials" reflect the opinions of the writ-
ers and not those of the Sweetwater Reporter.
The SWEETWATER REPORTER
(USPS 5300-860) is published daily
except Saturdays and holidays by HPC
of Texas Inc. (Periodical Postage Paid)
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Correction Policy
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As a matter of policy, the
Sweetwater Reporter will
publish corrections of errors
in fact that have been print-
ed in the newspaper.
The corrections will be
made as soon as possible
after the error has been
brought to the attention of
the newspaper's editor at
236-6677.
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to reject, edit or cancel any
advertising at any time with-
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amount paid for advertising.
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 191, Ed. 1 Monday, June 28, 2010, newspaper, June 28, 2010; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229202/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.