Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 220, Ed. 1 Monday, August 1, 2011 Page: 4 of 10
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Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Monday, August 1, 2011
Sweetwater Reporter
DEDICATED TO PROUDLYDEUVERIN® LOCAL NEWS SI NTH 1881
T—\ Sweetwatei A
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
business@sweetwaterreporter.com
advertising@sweetwaterreporter.com
editor@sweetwaterreporter.com
composing@sweetwaterreporter.com
TU"
MEMBER
2010
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
Ron Midkiff
Publisher
Gloria Rudel
ad director
Danica Hickson
business mgr./
circulation mgr.
Tatiana Rodriguez
managing editor
Pablo Rodriguez
composing
Bleu Reyes
production mgr.
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.
letter to the Editor
Editor:
As a 1975 graduate of Sweetwater High School, your story
on the school s unacceptable rating does not surprise me. Nor
does it surprise me that East Ridge
Elementary was considered acceptable. I went from first
grade (Philip Nolan) to grades 2 through 6 (East Ridge
Elementary) and on to Jr. High and High School in Sweetwater
during the period of 1963-1975.
There has always been a problem with the "worship" of
football in Sweetwater at the expense of educational excel-
lence. Football is a religion in Sweetwater, even those involved
in other sports take a backseat (including Tennis, Rodeo, Golf
etc.)
I am far from the only person to notice this. People that
move away comment on this aspect of life in Sweetwater.
You can be a great as a Weight Lifter, Saddle Bronc Rider, or
a top Karate or Tae Kwon Do competitor, but if it isn't football
it doesn't count in Sweetwater sorry to say.
Many people I saw that went on to college that had made
good grades at S.H.S. did not in college. The strong point of
S.H.S. during my time there was Science. But, English courses
were considered (at least then) the weakest element of a S.H.S.
education. I must also say that Sweetwater had an extraordi-
nary high percentage of "punks "that I had not encountered in
other places I have lived. Despite my criticism of S.H.S, I do
view East Ridge Elementary as quite good by contrast.
Greg Schopf
GUEST COLUMN
The Nazi from Norway
They were texting their parents as they were being killed.
The horror in that — the horror for all of us who stare
endlessly at our phones waiting for the texts that tell us
our children are OK — is unspeakable, I've never been to
Norway, but I've also never been afraid of it, never thought
of it as a terrifying place, never feared that my children
might go there.
Add to the list. No place is safe from man's inhumanity
toward man.
I shake my head as I read the articles trying to make sense
of pure evil, trying to figure out who to blame and how to
deal with it. Blame it on the free speech of anti-Muslim
extremists. But he didn't kill Muslim children, someone else
screams. So why not blame the elites? Or the liberals who
don't punish killers with death?
My favorite scene in the first "South
Park" movie is "Blame Canada." Why?
Why not?
The most terrifying thing in the world is
having no one and nothing to blame but
the pure evil that lurks in mankind.
My friend Annie is the child of Holocaust
survivors who met in a DP camp. Her par-
ents found love and hope in the rubble. For
most of her life, for most of mine, those
of us who lived in the shadow of Hitler's
atrocities have looked for ways to make
"never again" a reality. Stand up to geno-
cide. Educate a new generation. Build our
museums, say our prayers, try to educate
those who have suffered to replace hatred
with tolerance.
And wake up to the news of innocent hildren texting
their parents that they are being murdered by a man whose
lawyer claims he is "insane."
I teach law, and I don't even know what that means.
Insane? Does that mean he is excusably evil? A beast who
deserves to be treated like a man?
I know there are Muslims who hate non-Muslims and
non-Muslims who hate Muslims; that there are elites with
no love for the masses and poor people with no love for the
rich. There are dictators and tyrants and racists and anti-
Semites, people who prefer war to peace and confrontation
to compromise.
But a mass murder of children? A modern-day Babi Yar?
The only rational explanation is utter irrationality. There
is no sense. Just evil.
You are not going to stop this by censoring the Web, by
holding a seminar, by holding our hands in prayer. These
tarents will never recover. These children ire lost forever.
There is no punishment — none — that will ever be enough
for this man, and no justice" to be had.
When I was a child, one of my Hebrew School teachers
had a number on his arm. To the consternation of many
parents, he made even the youngest of us read the poetry
of the children who had been imprisoned and massacred at
the Terezin concentration camp. He believed that knowing
enough would allow us to fight for never again.
Today, kids don't need a rave Hebrew School teacher to
introduce them to the horrors of the world. They are every-
where. Today, it is impossible to cover their eyes.
But what do we say? That it only happens in Norway and
Oklahoma City; only on 9/11; only at bus stops in Israel, in
markets in Afghanistan and in hotels in India? Where do we
go to be safe? What do we do to make the world safe?
How silly our politicians look fighting about who will take
the blame for the budget when children are texting their
parents as they are being murdered.
Hug your children as close as you can.
To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features
by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit
the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
Susan
Esfrlch
THE IDLE AMERICAN
Caddie sacked?
You gotta hand it to
Tiger Woods. He's a quick
study, this fallen-from-
grace golfer who's follow-
ig last year's divorce with
another break-up, When
he backed out of
the caddie deal,
however, he ran
over no shrubbery,
damaged no vehi-
cles and required
no investigation of
police—at east not
yet.
The 2010 litany of
"he said/she said"
morphs to "he said/
he said." Details
continue to emerge
on the break-up of
the one-time world
gol leader and his
caddie of a dozen years,
Steve Williams.
Maybe this planet
will remain big enough
for both of them, since
Woods hangs out mostly
in Florida and W7illiams in
New Zealand.
Woods is learning,
however painfully, that
media adoration of past
years can turn ugly when
off-the-course conduct
becomes public. Now,
negative coverage races
like a runaway train, with
no braking in sight for a
former golfing giant who
has now dropped from
the world's top 20.
Headline writers are
having field days with
Williams' dismissal. With
apologies to Chevy Chase
and Bill Murray (movie
Caddyshack, 1980), how
do you feel aboui this
he; 1 ine possibility:
"Caddie Sacked?"
Hey, it's not too late.
This might be an equally
clever title for a movie—
or, more likely—a book.
Whichever venue, writ-
ers can go to town with
some "can't miss" dialog
between two guys who
were once best friends-
even participants in each
othe: ; weddings.
"I've decided to go in
a different direction,"
CAPITOL COMMENT
Dr. Don
Newbury
Woods might decree.
"That's old news,"
Williams could answer.
"That's the direction
you've been going in since
your divorce."
"You are no
longer helping
me improve my
lies," Woods
might snap,
mumbling about
Williams fail-
ure to help his
swinging.
"Some of your
prevarications
simply can't be
improved upon,"
the discharged
bag carrier could
counter, "And I
ain't to ching
the mumbled stuff." To
Woods' charge that golf
is driving him crazy, Steve
will have an easy answer:
"That's no drive, that's a
putt."
For comic relief, writ-
ers should keep in mind a
few anecdotes, including
the one about the cheat-
ing golfer who subtract-
ed one stroke from his
score on each hole. He
faced a dilemma on the
day lie lucked out with
a hole-in-one. By force
of habit he wrote down
"o." And how about the
lady who said she knew
nothing about golf, clue-
less about "which end of
the caddie to hold?" She
also expressed surprise
that the Woods' divorce
wasn't finalized in Reno,
NV, the "'dairy capital of
the world." Why? That's
where the cream of the
crop goes to be separated.
I seem strange watch-
ing some other caddie
c "ering club selections.
If the situation were
reversed, Williams would
likely settle for random
club choice.
Any would work well to
wrap around his former
boss' neck.
The caddie, of course,
has many options. If he
ever carries another bag,
it'll be by choice, not
necessity.
ie could reap big bucks,
of course, with a book. It
wouldn't need to be a "tell
all," just "tell some."
Big profits could be mul-
tiplied several times over
if it carries the tease "as
told to Elin Nordegren,
the former Mrs. Woods."
H. Roe Bartle, colorful
Kansas City mayor from
1956-63, was an accom-
plishe speaker, charm-
ng audiences with his lec-
tern repartee. He spoke
of figures who'd written
memoirs, including Harry
Truman and Douglas
MacArthur "The books
warmed the hearts of mil-
lions," he said.
He admitted that when
he finished "mayoring,"
he might himself write
memoirs.
"I don't think I'll sell
many books, but I'll guar-
antee you there'll be sev-
eral dozen people leaving
Kansas City."
In these days of "cultural
contention," the Woods
Williams break-up won't
make the biggest splash
on a planet that is drown-
ing in discontent. Pick the
continent, the conflict or
the cause, and adherents
will be lined up on both
sides—maybe even several
sides.
Shakespeare's magi-
cal writing, capturing *
human condition, still
applies. "Uneasy rests
the head that wears the
crown," he wrote in Henry
IV. We might also do well
to revisit a line in Hamlet,
"Give every man thine ear,
but few thy voice." Then,
a century later, anoth-
er playwright, William
Congreve, penned, "Hell
has no fury like a woman
scorned." Today, he might
equate the same rage to a
caddie scorned.
Stay tuned The plot is
bound to thicken.
Dr. Newbury is a
speaker in the Metroplex.
Send inquiries/comments
to: newbury@ speaker -
doc.com. Phone: 817-447-
3872. Web site: www.
speakerdoc.com.
' VteMV €>°RRV. IVI C-,omna HAVE TO INSIST" OH CASH",
Numbers, numbers, what
do they really mean?
of the
Americans today are
surrounded by a cloud of
confusing numbers on the
economy and the federal
budget. But what do the
numbers really mean?
What do they describe?
How are they related to
the debt ceiling crisis?
Below are some
more frequently
mentioned fig-
ures - from the
astronomical to
the pedestrian -
and a brief expla-
nation of their
background and
ramifications
$4.5 trillion:
The total value of
Treasury bonds
held by China,
.Japan, Brazil,
Iran and other
nations. As econ-
omists Stephen
Moore and David Malpass
have pointed out, this is
money that foreigners are
not investing in the next
Google, On le, Wal Mart
or bio-medical company
here in the U.S. Instead,
this investment is financ-
ing Medicaid, unemploy-
ment insurance, and other
federal government pro-
grams.
$8i2billion:Thepricetag
of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act, or
President Obama's 2009
so-called "stimulus" that
was going to bring the
U.S. out of recession. Th(
administration's Council
of Economic Advisors
noted last week hat the
stimulus ha: added or
saved 2.4 million jobs, at
a cost to date to taxpayers
of $666 billion. Even with
this home-field refereeing,
that's $278,000 per job.
1,471: The number of
waivers granted by the
Obama Administration
allowing organizations to
opt out of parts of the new
Kay Bailey
Hutchison
health care law until 2014.
A McKinsey & Company
survey estimates that 36
percent of employers will
take that a step further,
opting out of the law
entir y in 2014: they'll
pay a fine rather than
offer healthcare to their
employees.
30 million: The
number of bar-
rels of oil released
from the Strategic
Petroleum
Reserve last
month by the
President, who
said at the time
this would lower
gas prices, then
at a nationwide
average of $3.61 a
gallon. Americans
use 19.9 million
barrels a day; the
SPR release pro-
vided the United States
with 36 hours of fuel, and
the average nationwide
gas price today is $3.67 a
gallon.
24 percent: The
unemployment rate for
American teenagers. This
means that one out of four
youths is missing out or
the basic fundamentals of
building a productive life:
getting up in the morning,
putting on clean clothes,:
being courteous to cus-
tomers, working within
a team, handling respon-
sibility, and gaining the
confidence at comes
from earning a paycheck.
As Jim Tankersley writes
in The Atlantic, "The U.S.
job market is struggling
mightily to bring its next
generation of workers into
5 fold."
9.2: The percentage of
working-age Ame cans
who are seeking a job, but
remain unemployed.
44.5 million: The num-
ber of Americans receiving
food assistance from the
federal government. This
is commonly known as the
"food stamp program."
But participants today
are given an Electronic
Benefits Transfer (EBT)
card, which like a debit
card, they can use at a
supermarket to buy food
until they hit their month-
ly limit of $134. One out
of seven Americans now
relies on the EBT card -
including 22 million chil-
dren.
$3.68 trillion: The esti
matedbudgetfortheUnited
States Government, Fiscal
Year 2012. Approximately
two-thirds of the budget,
or $2.44 trillion, is man-
datory spending, includ
ing Social Security and
Medicare; $1.24 trillion
is discretionary outlays,
$242 billion is interest
on the debt. It's difficult
to see how any long-term
spending cuts can avoid
that portion of the budget
accounting for two-thirds
of the federal budget.
These numbers reveal
a grim picture for the
American economy, relat-
ed to Washington's inabil-
ity to confront spending,
budget, and entitlement
reform. This last number
is emblematic of the situ-
ation:
o: The number of meet-
ings the Senate Budget
Committee has held to
mark-up a Federal bud-
get. This means the federal
government simply con-
tinues to fund programs,
with no investigation of
whether the programs
are useful, if they should
be continued, expanded,
or eliminated. This auto-
pilot approach is a major
reason we're in the midst
of this debt ceiling crisis.
Because, when there is no
budget, there is no direc
tion - and that leads to all
the numbers above.
Kay Bailey Hutchison
is the senior U.S. Senator
from Texas.
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 220, Ed. 1 Monday, August 1, 2011, newspaper, August 1, 2011; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229527/m1/4/?q=%22Texas+Press+Association%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.