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ONLINE POLL
Are you willing to pay increased taxes in order to give county employees, including the law enforcement officers a raise this year?
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No: 61% Note: these are not a scientific polls. Results are from our daily poll at covnews.com.
Did you attend the big Vampire Diaries celebration on the square this past week?
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from facebook Athens police officer arrested on child molestation charges Empirical1: “Without proposing to pass judgment on the alleged behaviors in this news report, scientific studies based on legitimate empirical evidence do not support the mass hysteria and moral panic that currently surrounds sexually expressed child/older person relationships, which are invariably cast as "child sex abuse/pedophilia." As masturbation and homosexuality were demonized in the past, these irrational emotional responses are based on ignorance and fear, and are promoted by agenda-driven "victimological" academics who argue that all such relationships are intrinsically pervasively harmful. But is this supposed harm intrinsic to the interaction, or does it instead result from the social hysteria that occurs when such a relationship is discovered? Also, there are no legitimate data supporting intrinsic harmfulness, and no credible pathway or mechanism for such harm has been demonstrated. For further discussion, see http://www.shfri.net/mech/mech.cgi There are indeed some people who trick or force children into unwanted sexual interactions. But there are vast differences between consensual sexually expressed child/older person relationships and unilateral "child sexual abuse" by an older person. For a scientific journal discussion of these distinctions as they apply to boys, go to http://www.boyandro.info"
OPINION
Sunday, May 17, 2015 Page 7A
A MINORITY VIEW
Some Odds and Ends Occasionally, I wonin San Diego and San der whether I'm alone in Francisco — have ansome of my wonderings. nual salaries that top Look at the claim that $250,000. That doesn't conservatives or Repubinclude the millions of licans have launched a dollars spent staffing war on women as a part and equipping diversity of their overall meanoffices. WALTER E. spirited agenda. In the The original motto of WILLIAMS case of mistreatment of our nation, E Pluribus COLUMNIST women — or of anyone Unum — meaning "out else — assault, rape and of many, one" — was murder are about as horrible as it proposed for the first great seal of gets. But I would be willing to bet the United States by John Adams, a lot of money that most of the as- Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefsaults, rapes and murders of women ferson in 1776. It recognizes the diare done by people who identify as versity of the American people. You liberals or Democrats, particularly in can bet that the campus call for dithe cases of murderers. Most crime, versity is everything but a patriotic except perhaps white-collar crime, celebration of America. If anything, is committed by people who vote it's a condemnation and criticism of Democratic. Therefore, it's not sur- the United States and Western valprising that former Attorney Gen- ues. The academic vision of diversity eral Eric Holder, President Barack calls for the celebration of people Obama and their liberal Democratic based upon their race, religion, genipartners want to end laws that pre- talia and sexual behavior. And the vent felons and ex-felons from vot- last thing academic diversity means ing. Felons and ex-felons are seen is diversity in thought, opinions and as an important part of their party's political affiliation. Taxpayers and irconstituency. responsible donors foot the bill for What about diversity? Diversity this deviancy. is nothing less than a craze on most Intellectuals argue that diversity is college campuses. Despite budget necessary for academic excellence, squeezes, universities have created but what's their evidence other than diversity positions, such as vice plausibility? Here's what they need chancellor for equity, diversity and to explain. Japan is a nation bereft inclusion; director of diversity and of diversity in anything. Close to 99 inclusion; manager of diversity re- percent of its population is of one cruitment; associate dean for diver- race. Whose students do you think sity; and vice president of diversity. have higher academic achievement Some diversity chiefs — such as the — theirs or ours, who are diversityvice chancellors of diversity at the rich? According to the 2009 Program University of California campuses for International Student Assess-
ment, the academic performance of U.S. high-school students in reading, math and science pales in comparison with their diversity-starved counterparts in Japan. I also wonder about sex equality. The Army's physical fitness test's minimum requirement for 17- to 21-year-old males is 35 pushups, 47 situps and a 2-mile run in 16 minutes, 36 seconds or less. For females of the same age, the minimum requirement is 13 pushups, 47 situps and a 19:42 2-mile run. In "Defense Department 'Diversity' Push for Women in Land Combat" (http://tinyurl.com/axn9l93), Elaine Donnelly, director of the Center for Military Readiness, points to U.S. Army studies showing that women are twice as likely to suffer injuries and are three times more undeployable than men. Women are less likely to be able to march under load; that's marching 12.4 miles in five hours with an 83-pound assault load. They are also less likely to be able to crawl, sprint, negotiate obstacles and, worse yet, move a wounded comrade weighing 165 pounds while carrying that load. So here's my wonderment: Should male soldiers sue the Department of Defense for sex discrimination, or should everyone have to live up to the same standards? Or should sex inequality be the official standard for our military? Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
To Georgia’s public school teachers: thank you Dear Public School educate us. Teachers in Georgia: We ignore the fact that Congratulations on surschools merely reflect viving another year in the the societal issues that classroom. surround them. Yet, we As you take a moment expect you to shut the to catch your breath and school house door and enjoy a brief respite before lock out poverty, apathy, DICK YARBROUGH you start the process all abuse and a lack of famCOLUMNIST over again, I hope you will ily structure and somereflect on the good you do, how magically teach a the impact you have on young people, hungry child from a broken home and your ability to make a difference. how to conjugate verbs. Yours isn’t a job. It is a calling. Society may be beyond repair but I Many years ago, I was part of an ad- am hoping we can mend public eduvisory board at the Grady College of cation in Georgia. I am a member of Journalism at the University of Georgia. Gov. Nathan Deal’s Education Reform The board members were preeminent Commission that has been tasked with in their field: Newspaper publishers, the responsibility of looking at all faceditors, a network television president, ets of public education from funding the head of one of the nation’s largest to teacher recruitment and retention advertising agencies, and business lead- to “school choice.” I don’t know if I can ers from across the country. make much of a difference — I’m still At the end of one of the meetings, trying to understand all the acronyms. the discussion got around to school As exciting as the possibilities are that teachers. It turned out that each per- the Education Reform Commission son in the room could name at least might be able to overhaul and improve one teacher that had been influential public education in Georgia, including in his or her life and could recite why. the opportunity to keep the best teachI never forgot that experience. That is ers in the classroom, I believe it is safe to when I realized that teachers are sculp- say that you, reader, probably don’t have tors. Only you don’t work with clay, a lot of faith that we can do it right. I you shape future generations. don’t blame you for feeling that way. We I don’t know where public educa- haven’t always walked our educational tion got off track. I suspect it was along talk in this state. about the time that our society went Georgia has had more high-soundhaywire and lost respect for authority ing education commissions, studies, as well as a lot of our core values. May- task forces and blue ribbon commitbe it was Watergate. Maybe it was Viet- tees than a yard dog has fleas and not nam. Maybe we just woke up one day much to show for it. Gov. Deal says it is and decided that those who entertain going to be different this time around. us like athletes and actors are more im- I have taken him at his word. portant than those who protect us and In the meantime, I remind you that
the next general elections are a year away. That is when you can expect our intrepid public servants to once again wax eloquently about the fact that their mother/brother/sister/cousin was a school teacher and how they feel your pain and how hard they are working for you and blah, blah, blah. They must think we fell off the education turnip truck. We all know that once they are reelected it is back to business as usual, which includes promoting private school tuition tax breaks, cozying up to for-profit charter school management companies, messing with curriculum while homeschooling their own kids and trying to fix a teacher retirement system that doesn’t seem to be broken. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to flunk a few of them at the ballot box when the opportunity arises. In spite of all of the obstacles we throw in your way, you soldier on. While we are eager to point out the failures in public education, no one seems to focus on all the young people you have inspired to bigger and better things and who will one day sit in a meeting as I witnessed those many years ago at the Grady College and talk about how you made a difference in their lives and why. That is why you do what you do. You make a difference. A big difference. Thank you for your efforts. Enjoy the break. You have earned it. You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb2400@bellsouth.net; at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139; online at dickyarbrough.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dickyarb
eyesore of the week
This eyesore is located on Highway 278 in Covington
Darell Everidge / The Covington News