Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 223, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 5, 2010 Page: 4 of 10
ten pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Thursday, August 5, 2010
Sweetwater Reporter
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881
1—x Sweetwater 1
Reporter
■ tWIENIBER
| m A 2010
P.O. Box 750/112 W. Third
TEXAS PRESS
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
ASSOCIATION
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
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
GUEST COLUMN
Charlie Sheen
out of prison
God bless America, and how's everybody?
Charlie Sheen escapedprison in Colorado Tuesday
for the Christmas Day drunken assault on his wife.
He needs to get sober.
After twenty hard years Charlie Sheen's liver is so
black and so bloated it's just been targeted by the
House Ethics Committee.
Brett Favre texted the Minnesota
Vikings he has decided to retire
from the NFL on Tuesday. Here
* we go again. Brett Favre works out
with high-schoolers every summer
and by fall the kids in the drama
I department are awfully glad to be
■ rid of him.
Ik •* W&v I The University of Georgia was
j. M„ rated the nation's number-one
iVyUS party school Monday in Princeton
II niitnn Review's annual survey. Everyone
IIIIOII knows it'sjust a poll. Nothing is set-
tled until Oklahoma plays Wisconsin
at the Betty Ford alumni picnic every November.
President Obama said he will begin withdrawing
U.S. combat troops from Iraq this month. The coun-
try will likely go back to being a threat to regional
stability. That will give President Jeb Bush a chance
to invade Iraq, giving his family the hat trick.
The Washington Post sold Newsweek for one
dollar Monday to business mogul Sidney Harman,
the husband of Democratic Congresswoman Jane
Harman. He says he's not buying it to make money.
He's doing it to get his wife to leave him when he
puts Rush Limbaugh's picture on the cover to sell
magazines.
Mexico's tourism officials published the Ten
Routes of Mexico in international tourist magazines
to lure visitors and thrill seekers to Mexico. It's full
of danger and adventure. Seven of the routes end in
Arizona and three of them end in San Diego.
John McCain released a list of wasteful stimulus
projects Tuesday. It included an accordion festival
and a study of monkeys on cocaine. They could
have killed two birds with one stone if they had had
a camera backstage at the Lawrence Welk Show.
President Obama advised Charlie Range! to retire
Monday, after the president fired a black USDA
official and underminedNew York's black governor.
Who would have believed it. White Southerners
haven't taken up for black people like this since
Gone with the Wind.
Congressman Peter King of New York ripped
plans to build a huge mosque a block from Ground
Zero. It's not just the families that are upset. The
local retailers have already formed an association
saying they don't want a Target in the neighbor-
hood.
BP was assailed by Democrats Monday for using
chemical dispersants to break up the oil spill which
vanished last week. They sure worked. The Gulf of
Mexico is so clear that kids on the beach are going
out on rafts and playing spot-the-Mafia-snitch.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Sunday
economic recovery will be slow and unemploy-
ment will rise before it falls. This is worse than
Halloween. Every August Tim Geithner puts on a
Grim Reaper mask and asks us for eight hundred
billion dollars.
The Financial Times said London's U.S. Embassy
was backed up until February with requests by U.S.
citizens wanting to become British subjects. People
who pay taxes are leaving the U.S. while people
who get government checks are coming in. A year
from now it'll be a crime to leave the U.S. and you'll
need a homemade raft to get to London.
Rick Pitino's mistress went on trial for extort-
ing him Monday in Kentucky. She says he raped
her on their restaurant table right after closing
time. Sometimes the violin player at the Italian
restaurant goes home knowing he really nailed it
tonight.
Argus Hamilton is the host comedian at The
Comedy Store in Hollywood and speaks to groups
and organizations around the country. E-mail him
at Argus @ArgusHamilton.com.
LIFE JUST HAPPENS
Four hours to happiness
Four hours, numerous
small towns, and lots of
open road.
In thought it may seem
like an unwelcoming trip,
but in reality; it's the best
trip I could ever make.
No, it doesn't lead to
some amusement park,
magical kingdom or must
see attraction, but it leads
to the place I want
to be.
The crazy thing is
that usually when
you are heading for
a destination, there
is only one direction
to get you there and
the other direction
takes you away. This
four hours of open
road and passing
through small towns
can get me to the
place I want to be,
whether I'm going
his way or he's com-
ing my way.
As long as the trip is
being made, I know that
in four hours we will be
seeing each other and
happiness will be the end
result. I have driven many
directions, taken many
trips, but none of them
have ever led me to hap-
piness like this. I never
could have imagined that
driving a direction that I'd
never been and entering
the desert could possibly
bring me something that I
didn't want to lose.
Long distance relation-
ships have never been my
strong point and I never
imagined myself in one. It
was one of those things on
the list of 'I would never.'
I am slowly learning that
it's that list of 'I would
nevers' that is bringing
me the most happiness in
life. Long distance rela-
tionships are something
that I would never do just
because I am the kind of
person that has to have
my partner next to me. I
require reassurance and
distance isn't something
that can give you that, or
so I used to think.
Since I've entered this
long distance courtship,
whirlwind romance, or
whatever you want to call
it, I have learned that I am
getting more reassurance
than I have ever received.
I may not get to see him
daily, but somehow I still
know that at the end of the
day, he is coming home to
me. I know that through-
out the day I am on his
mind and the love that he
has for me goes far beyond
GUEST COLUMN
the spoken word. Through
the past relationships, I
always assumed that sim-
ply speaking the words I
love you, or going through
the motion of seeing me,
and being near me was
enough. It was the reas-
surance that I thought
I needed, but yet, I was
constantly needing more.
It seemed that
no matter how
often I saw them,
spoke to them, or
heard the words,
it wasn't enough.
There was still
that doubt, the
not knowing if
they truly were
only talking to
me.
Now, instead
of having a few
minutes between
me and my part-
ner, I have count-
less miles between, but I
also have a feeling that I
never knew existed. Not
only do I hear the words
numerous times a day, I
constantly have the feeling
of knowing that I am the
only one. I know that even
though he is four hours
away, I am the only one he
wants to see. I know that
I am the only one that he
sees himself growing old
with and having a fam-
ily with. The reassurance I
Amanda
Mareno
need is coming to me in a
form that I never thought
possible.
Absence was something
that I thought I couldn't
have in my relationships.
It was something that I
thought would tear it apart.
Between the insecurities
and jealousy, I assumed
that the only way to make
a relationship work was
to have them by my side
every second. This is far
beyond true. The truth is
that being able to be away
from each other, espe
daily extended periods of
time, is what truly brings
strength to the relation-
ship. Having the distance
and space, not only makes
you count on and build
trust, but it shows you that
independence can be a
good thing. Knowing that
you have that person that
would stand by your side
no matter what is a won-
derful feeling, but knowing
that they will still be there
when they don't have to
be is even better. Having
that distance shows both
people that there is some-
thing worth fighting for,
someone is worth it. Not
only does that feeling make
your partner feel better,
but for me, it makes me
feel better. Knowing that
I have finally found that
someone that makes me
want to put effort into a
relationship. Knowing that
I found that someone that
makes me want to be a
better person and contin-
ue to strive to do whatever
it takes to make the rela-
tionship work.
Making it through the
distance is starting to
show me that the reas-
surance isn't what I was
needing; I was needing
someone who didn't have
to reassure me. I was look-
ing for that person that
gave me the constant feel-
ing inside of knowing that
I was with the one for me.
The one who made me feel
that everything would be
alright no matter what.
Once again, the fact
that I took a chance and
did something that I said
I would never do, has
brought me a happiness
that I never could have
imagined. I know that four
hours is a long way, but I
also know that those four
hours are building the
strength for a lifelong rela-
tionship. Finally, I can say
— it's worth it.
Amanda Moreno
is a staff writer for the
Sweetwater Reporter.
Comments about this col-
umn may be e-mailed to
editor @sweetwaterre-
porter.com.
IF! HAVING
SEfiou^SKioug
PooBTS
m
TOLSTeew
■ S-SMg m-
EMCar-
SA1ETTE
D oes he get it?
The conventional wis-
dom these days is that the
best shot for Democrats
heading into the November
elections in marginal dis-
tricts is for the president
to raise money and lower
his profile. Just send
checks. Events after
7 p.m. Closed to the
press. This is not an
election Democrats
want to "national-
ize." Better to keep
it local. Better to run
as your own man or
woman, not as the
president's best
friend.
Republicans, by
contrast, will spend
as much time as they
can running against
the president. If his
popularity is down to his
base (low 40s), that means
voters in the middle are up
for grabs, and Republicans
will try to grab them by
capitalizing on their con-
cerns about the man they
elected two years ago.
There are two chinks in
the conventional wisdom.
The first, on the
Democratic side, reflects
the reality that a president
can't really disappear,
even if he tries to, and in
this president's case, the
act of trying may make
people mad enough to
want to send him a mes-
sage. I'm thinking here of
the president's forthcom-
ing vacation to Martha's
Vineyard, one of those
terrible decisions that
has even his strongest
supporters shaking their
heads. Why is he going to
Susan
Estrich
Martha's Vineyard?
For vacation.
Because he likes it.
Because he knows people
there, has friends there,
enjoys himself there.
I'm from
Massachusetts. I was in
my 30s the first
time I ever set
foot in Martha's
Vineyard. Elite.
Fancy. Expensive.
Hard to get to.
The Estrich fam-
ily from Lynn
considered
Nantasket Beach
exotic. Martha's
Vineyard might
as well have been
an island off of
Spain.
I don't begrudge
the president a nice vaca-
tion. But having already
spent time in Maine this
summer, a second vaca-
tion to a place other than
the hard-hit Gulf is an
invitation for people to
think what too many of
them already think: The
president just doesn't get
it. He doesn't understand
what's happening out
there, out here. People still
don't have jobs, home val-
ues still haven't recovered,
and 40i(k)s are still in a
slump. The only signs of
recovery are a lot of high-
way projects, which, as we
are told every day when
the traffic slows, are being
paid for by us.
The danger for
Democrats is that if people
keep thinking the presi-
dent doesn't get it (and
that's what I am hearing,
particularly when those
golf course shots hit the
front page), the easiest
way for them to send him
a message, since he's not
on the ticket, is to vote
against the Democrat who
is. November could be a
disaster for Democrats
if that mentality sets in.
The president may not be
in any position to rescue
Democrats, but his absence
from the campaign trail -
particularly if he's playing
golf and hobnobbing with
rich donors instead — will
be viewed (and advertised
by Republicans) as an
imitation to send him a
message he doesn't want
to hear.
On the other hand, the
Republicans also have
their problems. The mid-
dle may be up for grabs,
but by whom? The devil
you know or the one you
don't? In tough times, do
you go with someone who
is unknown, inexperienced
and maybe a little bit too
far off the beaten track?
The best hope for
Democrats from Joe
Sestak to Harry Reid is
not the president but their
opponents. I don't think
"tea partiers" are racist,
but I'm not sure they're
all qualified for the offices
they seek. Maybe I'm old-
fashioned, but in tough
times, even more so than
in good times, it makes
sense to have someone
who knows what they're
doing, whether you're
hiring someone to fix the
pipes or fix the country.
To find out more about
Susan Estrich and read
features by other Creators
Syndicate writers and car-
toonists., visit the Creators
Syndicate website at
www.creators.com.
The SWEETWATER REPORTER
(USPS 5300-860) is published daily
except Saturdays and holidays by HPC
of Texas Inc. (Periodical Postage Paid)
112 W. 3rd, Sweetwater, Texas 79556
Postmaster: Send address changes to:
SWEETWATER REPORTER
P.O. BOX 750.
SWEETWATER, TX 79556
City Delivery $9.00 per month, $90.00
per year, 6-months $50.00, 3-months
$26.00. By mail In-County Rates
3-months $36.00, 6-months $65.00,
12-months $115.00. Out-Of-County
Rates 3-months $50.00, 6-months
$88.00, 12-months $140.00.
Correction □ Policy
EditorialDD
Asd aD mcferO cd policy,□ the
Sweetwater Reporter will
publishDcorrectimsDcClerrors
inDfafilhaOhaeDbeenDprirt-
ecOinllhelllnewspaper.
ThelH corrections!!! wild be
madeD Ml sooriD asd possible
afterO fried errorO haslH been
brought] tod them atenfonD of
frieD newspaper®] ecforiH at
236-6677. □
AdvertisirQDD
Published reserves^ frieD right
fflteDectDecBoDcamelDany
adverlisingDalDanyllimeDwith-
ouOiability.DPublisherSDIiabil-
ilynfiDfDefrcrDisDimtednfcOfrie
amountDpaicOforDaclvertising.
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881
V
__ Sweetwater
Reporter
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 223, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 5, 2010, newspaper, August 5, 2010; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229234/m1/4/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.