Congress Should Support Ukraine
By denying the urgently needed assistance to Ukraine, several Georgia members of Congress are placing at risk the very survival of Ukraine as an independent democratic state and endangering the security of all of Eastern Europe.
These congressmen need to stop playing games. Congress must approve the vital assistance essential to preventing the Russian victory over Ukraine and the resulting threat to the United States and NATO.
Georgia congressmen have the immense potential to either protect our national interests and honor our commitment to defend democracy, or to irreparably sabotage those vital interests. Our congressmen must show they can and will faithfully discharge their duties to our country and to our state. Members of Congress from Georgia unwilling or unable to do so should return to private life so that Georgians committed to protecting our national security can take their places in Congress and provide the support essential to prevent the Russian suppression of democracy throughout Eastern Europe that was a nightmarish reality for nearly 50 years following the Second World War.
Bruce Menke
Athens
Protesters Misguided About Hamas
I would like to address several issues in your news section from Dec. 13 regarding the Dawgs for Gaza report.
Pro-Palestinian protesters came to a recent Athens-Clarke Commission meeting with a slew of complaints and accusations. Some of them claimed that they do not feel safe in Athens because ACC police stood by during demonstrations organized by Students for Justice in Palestine and a couple of socialist parties. It is the case for police to stand by during protests and demonstrations to assure safety of participants and onlookers alike.
What they did not realize is that other people in the room felt unsafe because of the protesters’ unruly and provocative behavior, and by their accusations that the ACC government, and specifically the mayor, have blood on their hands because the ACC government did not issue a resolution condemning Israel for committing “genocide” and supporting a ceasefire in Gaza.
Do these demonstrators realize that it was Hamas that violated the ceasefire, which was in place for some time; that attacked unsuspecting Israelis and butchered them in a
particularly vile and barbaric way; that raped, tortured and killed many Israeli women; that dragged 240 people as hostages to Gaza? It was Hamas leadership that declared that many more similar attacks will follow, and that their goal is to erase Israel from the map. Israel is conducting a war it did not initiate or even expect, a war that threatens its very existence.
It is truly unfortunate that so many Gazans are suffering and dying—this is primarily because they are used as human shields by their Hamas leadership, which is cowardly embedded in hospitals, schools, mosques and private dwellings. Hamas is a jihadist terrorist band harmful to everybody not only in the Middle East, but in the world. It aims to undermine freedom and human rights everywhere, just as it has done in Gaza. Palestinians have nothing to gain from supporting Hamas; they should join in struggle to get rid of it.
If the demonstrators do not realize or do not know that Hamas is a ruthless terrorist organization in the same class as ISIS and al Qaeda, they should go back to school and expand their reading. Their complaints about U.S. support of Israel do not mention U.S. support of Palestinians through direct aid to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, humanitarian aid to Gazans and through support of several UN organizations working in Gaza.
Jaroslava Halper
Athens
Put Solar Panels on Clarke Middle
The Community Oversight Committee for the Educational SPLOST has a quasi-advisory role in the construction of new schools in Clarke County. As a member of this committee, I perceive a lack of commitment to eliminate long-term energy costs through the use of sustainable sources of energy. The most current example is the building of Clarke Middle School.
CCSD used a number of reasons for why it is not appropriate to use solar power as the primary energy source for this new school. First, the reliance of solar power for commercial buildings is in the “beta stage” of development. Second, the proposal of placing solar panels on CMS was not raised earlier in the construction process. Third, solar equipment on the roof of a building the size of CMS would weigh “a million pounds” and thus demand much greater construction costs.
At the last COC meeting, a number of points were made by committee members. First, solar power on commercial buildings is well established. The Richmond County School District in Augusta, for instance, is building its third school that is energy self-reliant. Second, CMS staff raised the issue of solar power reliance before building plans were even completed. Third, First Presbyterian Church of Athens is prepared to install solar panels to meet the bulk of its energy needs. It is doing so to gain financial savings. It is also doing so without making construction changes.
I would like to hear more community discussion on the topic of CCSD sustainability by those who are much more knowledgeable of engineering and construction than I am.
Greg Davis
Former Clarke County school board member
Holy Liars Lost, Then Found
After being missing for over 12 years I found my Holy Liars CD, Smoke, issued way back in 2008, and have listened to it half a dozen times in the backyard recalling happy memories of Tasty World and Caledonia Lounge—and the road trips involved since it was a car CD. An internet search proved they’ve issued new songs after a decade’s hiatus titled Fury Of The Days. Hooray!
One reason I love the Athens music scene is because bands go through the starving artist phase and frequently produce their most heartfelt work in the beginning. But if Flagpole can convince Holy Liars, Lullwater, Hayshaker, Kick The Robot and Guadalcanal Diary to perform at AthFest next year, I’ll be down in a trice to enjoy another night at Holiday Inn or Gameday, and return to the Old Dominion with autographed merch. It’s a pity so many musicians never get the respect I think they deserve.
Stephen Miroy
Stafford, VA
Pro-Palestine Hypocrisy
Where were pro-Palestinian protesters when Assad tortured hundreds and killed thousands of Palestinians in Syria?
Where were they when Syria demolished Yarmouk and other Palestinian refugee camps?
Why were they silent in the face of the massacres, rapes and arson of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims?
Why didn’t they march against the atrocities committed by Isis?
Why are they silent about this month’s atrocities and murders of hundreds of people in Darfur, Sudan?
Yet, hypocritically, they were quick to support Hamas, protesting on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza while ignoring all the other world tragedies. Protesting on behalf of Hamas while ignoring the fact that Hamas used innocent Palestinians as human shields and has raped, mutilated, beheaded and burned alive innocent civilians.
Do the protesters really care about solving the Palestinians’ problems? Are they antisemitic? Or are they simply naïve, jumping on bandwagons without thinking, examining sources or asking questions, ignorant of history because it’s exciting and “the thing” to do? Or are they both?
Does Israel have problems? Yes. Do the Palestinians have problems? Yes. One of their mutual problems is bad leadership. But the way to solve these problems is not to call for wiping Israel off the map. These problems cannot be solved by hate-filled, racist marches. Both sides must come to the table. New leadership on both sides is essential. Let us pray that out of this tragic war, a phoenix will arise.
Marilyn Gootman
Athens
Bidenomics Help the Working Class
Did anything good happen in 2023? As a matter of fact, yes!
Over the last three years, a tight labor market has undone an estimated 38% of wage inequality between poor and wealthy workers, and young workers without college degrees benefited the most. An increase in clean energy companies opening in Georgia is creating thousands of jobs, with unemployment hovering around 3.2%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Barrow County’s average weekly wage is $942.00. It was around $100 less under Trump.
Stocks soared in 2023, and those gains mean that everyone with savings and investments in the market is quite a bit richer than they were at the beginning of the year. Holiday sales rose this year, and spending remained resilient. People vacationed and traveled at record levels.
The sheriff’s office received federal funding to purchase law enforcement technology to keep our community safe. Westside Middle, Holsenbeck Elementary and Apalachee High School received grants to give their students opportunities that prepare them for life and keep them engaged in school.
A grant funded by the American Rescue Plan was awarded to Learning Voyage Success Center of Winder to assist its providing child care services outside the traditional hours of Monday through Friday, 6 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
The price of insulin for Barrow County seniors dropped, and Medicare can now negotiate drug prices for some medications. In addition, rural areas received funding to deal with climate change and aging infrastructure systems, and to expand high-speed internet.
The Food and Drug Administration approved a groundbreaking pill to treat postpartum depression, which affects up to one in five women. That agency also approved the first-ever gene editing treatment, offering a potential cure for sickle cell disease. Understanding dementia and how to prevent it made progress with the FDA giving full approval, for the first time, to a drug that modestly slows Alzheimer’s disease.
These good things that happened in 2023 for Barrow County and our state would not have occurred without the leadership of President Biden and Democrats working with Republicans to solve problems.
Peggy Perkins
Winder
Clarifying the Wilderness Act
I greatly appreciate Ron McNiff bringing awareness to the Wilderness Act (“Wilderness Idea,” Dec. 27). Still, his summary that the act “focuses on the absence of humans” could be easily misinterpreted. The Wilderness Act was created to protect natural areas from permanent development and machinery use. For many of us, visiting these areas is the only way to fully appreciate the meaning of human existence, including our terrible and wonderful technological capacity.
True, Native Americans can no longer settle in Wilderness Areas, but most tribes are highly supportive of the act’s conceptual basis, and still use these areas for traditional rites and hunts because of their protected status. The conservation of farmland he discusses is a completely separate ecological and philosophical issue, though it, too, has legal and institutional support, such as land trusts.
Anyone who has hiked the Appalachian Trail through Georgia can easily contrast Wilderness Areas from less-protected tracks that are often strewn with litter and accosted with road noise. They can also see that Wilderness Areas are not characterized by the “absence of humans.” On the contrary, we need far more wilderness to satisfy demand. Thankfully, we have a profound legal instrument in the Wilderness Act to support that expansion and protection.
Justin Vaughn
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