To the Editor:
The President speaks to the children of America and the nation roars in outrage. What is a local Board of Education member to think of this strange controversy?
On the face of it, the President is the perfect person to champion education. His story is nothing if not inspirational, and President Bush the elder made a very similar speech 18 years ago.
But did you know that back in 1991 Democrats not only denounced Bush’s speech, but ordered the General Accounting Office to launch an investigation over the lousy $26,000 the Department of Education spent? Even in the glorious '90s bipartisanship was hard to find.
And it was particularly unhelpful for the White House to bypass state Department of Educations to go directly to the schools, placing school boards all over the country in the unenviable position of making policy on the fly about a speech they know nothing about. The accompanying “teaching materials” were frankly goofy -- and insulting to teachers, who know very well how to teach their children without the federal government reaching into their classrooms. And I firmly believe that if not for the public outcry, the speech itself might have been quite different.
But what was lost in this debate was the excellent message the President actually gave. “Don't let us down -- don't let your family or your country or yourself down.” It was a badly needed challenge to the next generation -- that they must work harder than ever if America is to remain the greatest, most successful country on the planet.

To the Editor:
I guess I was about six or seven years old when we finely moved back to Rome,  my place of birth, after a vagabond lifestyle with my parents and grandparents. Both my father and grandfather worked with the Department of Defense building Airfields along the Gulf coast of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi during the late thirties and early forties up until the end of World War II. We were poor and lived in rental housing on the street that separated the white and black neighborhoods of South Rome.

Even though both mom and dad worked, we never seemed to be able to get ahead. We pretty much lived from hand to mouth as they used to say. We didn’t have a car and walked everywhere we went, including the four or so miles to town on a regular basis. I had never heard of insurance and I’m fairly certain that we couldn’t afford it even if it had been available. That didn’t mean that we never got sick or hurt, but it did mean that we were responsible for our own healthcare on the rare occasions when we used it.

It may seem unrelated, but we raised rabbits. My sisters and I got little bunny rabbits for Easter one year. As rabbits do, they got big and soon our three little bunnies turned magically into a lot of little bunnies! I learned a lot about rabbits in a very short timeframe. They were easy to breed, perhaps too easy. They were easy to raise, they made excellent pets and also made an excellent meal. To my amazement, I also learned that even our doctor loved rabbits.

To the Editor:
The other day I came across an interesting historical artifact. It is an “advertising fan” distributed by the Gallant-Belk Company of Madison, probably from the 1940s or '50s. For those born before the arrival of air conditioning, churches and businesses gave these hand fans away as a useful way to get their names out.  
This particular fan touts Gallant–Belk as Madison’s ‘leading department store’ and the ‘home of better values’.
This particular fan contained some very good advice under the title “The Ten Commandments of How to Get Along with People.”
I. Keep skid chains on your tongue; always say less than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice. How you say it often counts for more than what you say.
II. Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully, no matter what the cost.
III. Never let an opportunity pass to say kind and encouraging words to someone. Praise good work done, regardless of who did it. If criticism is needed, criticize helpfully, never spitefully.
IV. Be interested in others; interested in their welfare, their homes and families. Let everyone you meet, however humble feel that you regard them as important.
V. Be cheerful. Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Laugh at good stories and learn to tell them.
VI. Preserve an open mind on all debatable questions. Discuss, but never argue. It is a mark of superior minds to disagree and yet be friendly.
VII. Let your virtues speak for themselves; and refuse to talk of another’s vices. Discourage gossip. Make it a rule to say nothing of another unless it is something good.
VIII. Be careful of another’s feelings. Wit and humor at the other fellow’s expense are rarely worth the effort, and may hurt when least expected.

To the Editor
There is much to oppose about the proposed “healthcare” legislation. However, there is a basic gut feeling that people have about Mr. Obama’s programs and “It’s about freedom, stupid.”
Because Mr. Obama’s presidency so far, from taking over General Motors, appointing Czars, pushing Cap & Trade, to taking over the student loan program and telling the banking industry what their employees can be paid, is all about control.
This is what brings unprecedented crowds to Town Hall meetings and over a million people to march on Washington, DC. Some people may be willing to trade their freedom for Mr. Obama’s healthcare and other plans, but millions of Americans have made it clear that they are not.

Eloise Grubaugh
Buckhead
Faxed

To the Editor:
This letter is in reference to a stolen camera memory chip. My husband was at Ingles in Madison on Saturday, August 30 where he was picking up some things and then he was coming to the hospital where our son was having surgery the next day. He was at the u-scan and took his money out to pay for the items and laid the chip down on the u-scan and he picked up his bags and walked out and the chip was left lying there. When he went to the car he forgot he left it laying there so he went back in to the store to get it and, guess what? It was gone. He asked the person in line had they seen it lying there and they said no. So whoever got the chip you know it did not belong to you, but you took it anyway, instead of doing the right thing and turning it in.
There are pictures on that chip that I can never get back. So if you wanted the chip that bad just call me and let me get my pictures off and I will give it back to you, or I will go to Wal-Mart and buy you a new chip. There are only two people who know who took what did not belong to them. You and the Lord above. So if you can live with what you have taken from me and my best friend then I hope you are happy and can sleep at night and I am happy for you. I just can’t believe people in this world will take things that don’t belong to them. If the chip was taken by accident and you would like to do the right thing you can call me at 706-414-3343, or if you would like to mail it back to me my address is 2051 Lower Apalachee Road, Madison, GA, 30650.
I would just love to have my chip so I can get the pictures. God bless you!

Michelle Stephens
Madison
Hand delivered
(Received prior to institution of 250-word limit)

By: Fred Johnson

Democrats control the House under Nancy Pelosi, the Senate under Harry Reid and the Presidency under Barack Obama. The House of Representatives has 259 Democrats to 176 Republicans. The Democrats have 60 votes in the Senate which is enough pass any legislation without even allowing debate. Democrats have the votes to pass any legislation they want. The $1 trillion Stimulus Bill (now widely called the “non-stimulus” bill) sailed through the House with no Republicans voting for it and passed the Senate with 60 votes and no debate.

But even with the votes to pass anything they want, the Democrats are finding it tough to pass their agenda. Guantanamo is still there, troops are still in Iraq, Afghanistan is turning into a disaster, our enemies are thumbing their noses at us, Cap & Trade is stalled in the Senate and Nationalized Health Care has run into fierce opposition from citizens where 85 percent are happy with their current health care. The approval rating of Congress is down to 37 percent and over 50 percent of the people polled say they would like to see all Congressmen voted out.

So with their agenda failing, there is only one thing to do: blame the citizens who oppose them. Any opposition is called an angry mob, Jimmy Carter calls them racists, Nancy Pelosi calls them Astro-Turf protestors and fears violence, Harry Reid calls them mobsters and the President says Republicans are spreading lies about his plan and to “call them out.”
Hello, you have an overwhelming majority in Congress, so it must be Democrats who are holding things up.
As I said in my column (Rooting for the Democrats) last March, “Republicans are now in the position of rooting for the Democrats. Maybe they can form a new coalition of conservative Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress.”