Opinions

Independence Day is really July 2

Posted by
Mark Beardsley
in Opinions
Wednesday, June 30. 2010
Comments (2)
By Hasco Craver

Stop the band. Hold the speeches. Take down the banners and snuff out the fireworks. Independence Day is not the Fourth of July.

No one seems to know how it happened, but for well over 200 years we’ve been celebrating our independence from Britain on the wrong day. [Full Story »] 

Somebody has to pay the nanny

Posted by
Mark Beardsley
in Opinions
Wednesday, June 23. 2010
Comments (11)
By Mark Beardsley

It was a relief to read Friday morning, June 11, that 16-year-old sailor Abby Sunderland was alive and well. She’s the kid who attempted to set a record as the youngest woman to sail solo around the world. Her boat became disabled in a storm on the Indian Ocean and, for some time, she was out of contact with the world.

It also happened that I was working on a Commerce budget story, looking at all the depressed revenue figures. I couldn’t help but ponder the amount of money spent to rescue Sunderland.
[Full Story »] 

Time to stop the cuts to education

Posted by
Mark Beardsley
in Opinions
Wednesday, June 16. 2010
Comment (1)
The ink is barely dry on Georgia’s 2010-11 budget, but warnings are already sounding that school systems could face another six to eight percent cuts in Quality Basic Education funding by next January.

That’s the prediction a Georgia state Board of Education member gave school superintendents in Atlanta, according to Mac McCoy, Commerce’s superintendent of schools. McCoy notes that a seven-percent reduction would cost the Commerce City Schools another $500,000.
[Full Story »] 

It's so easy to be the governor...

Posted by
Mark Beardsley
in Opinions
Wednesday, June 16. 2010
Comments (0)
By Mark Beardsley

Duty required me Sunday, June 6, to spend a couple of hours listening to Democratic candidates for office spout their virtues. While some of those candidates were appealing, I was repeatedly reminded of the disconnect between those running for office and what they’ll be up against should they win.
[Full Story »] 

About our anti-intellectualism

Posted by
Staff Writer
in Opinions
Wednesday, June 9. 2010
Comments (0)
By Susan Harper

Reading the great documents of American history is a startling reminder of the kind of thinking that went on a couple of centuries ago. Our “new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” was created almost a century before those descriptive words were penned on the back of an envelope — created by committee, if you will, and in language so ringing and incisive that we still recite it today.
[Full Story »] 

Suffering from AAADD

Posted by
Staff Writer
in Opinions
Wednesday, June 2. 2010
Comment (1)
By Susan Harper

I’ve been wondering what was the matter with me. This week I almost forgot to write my column! — and not for the first time, I might add. The esteemed editor of this newspaper must think I was put on this earth to give him heartburn, which of course is a possibility. The Lord does work in mysterious ways. But I have a condition, and I just recently found out what it is. [Full Story »] 

Congratulations to the Class of 2010

Posted by
Mark Beardsley
in Opinions
Wednesday, May 26. 2010
Comments (0)
Upwards of 700 local high school students received their diplomas over the past week in the schools in Jackson County, bringing a sense of pride to their families in the process, and probably more than a few sighs of relief. [Full Story »] 

Taxpayers on the hook for oil cleanup

Posted by
Mark Beardsley
in Opinions
Friday, May 21. 2010
Comments (2)
Citizens angered by the federal bailout of General Motors and various financial institutions should love this. The taxpayers are also legally on the hook for virtually all of the costs of the cleanup of the massive (an yet unrestrained) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
[Full Story »] 

How about a state tax system that makes everyone happy?

Posted by
Mark Beardsley
in Opinions
Wednesday, May 19. 2010
Comments (0)
By Mark Beardsley

In response to the growing anger about taxes, maybe it’s time to offer taxpayers a “cafeteria plan” of services at the state level of government.

We see this in health plans. You pick and choose coverages you want based on your need and budget. Let Georgia do the same with taxes so everyone will be happy.
[Full Story »] 

A better choice than laying off teachers

Posted by
Staff Writer
in Opinions
Wednesday, May 12. 2010
Comments (0)
Shortening the school year by 10 days is not ideal, but for the Commerce City School System, that’s a better option than laying off teachers.
[Full Story »] 
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