Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 136, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 21, 2011 Page: 4 of 10
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Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Thursday, April 21, 2011
Sweetwater Reporter
DEDICATED TO PROUDLYDEUVERIN® LOCAL NEWS SI NTH 1881
T—\ Sweetwatei A
Reporter
1EMBER
| * 1 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 wait-
ers and not those of the Sweetwater Reporter.
letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
In response to the letter written by Kelly Andrus
about the unruly fans at the Little League games I
can relate. As a soccer referee for 30+ years I have
seen how a few can ruin the experience for all. Most
of the parents are there for the right reason - the
enjoyment and learning experience of the game for
their children. There are a few that as soon as their
child sets foot on the field it is the World Series
n your case or the World Cup in mine. I had an
experience some years back in a rec league where a
handful of fans got so out of control that I had to
clear the sidelines of spectators. Most of the fans
said it was a long time coming. Some probably didn't
ever want to see me again. But I had little trouble
thereafter. A no nonsense reputation can go a long
way. Hang n there, don't let a few spoil le enjoy-
ment of the game for you or others.
Robert C. Peterson, PE
Sweetwater
Dear Editor,
There is a dog thief in our community. Our Tipper
s still considered a member of our family. She dis-
appeared from our yard one afternoon between two
and three p.m. Someone had obviously been watch-
ng for an opportunity to take her. If you are hoping
for 1 ilters < ' puppies you will be disappointed. She
has been fixed. So whoever you are - please bring her
back. I also noticed a sign about a "lost" Boxer 'om
a residence on the southwest side of Sweetwater.
Shame on people who take animals from their own-
ers!
Mickey Williams
Sweetwater
Dear Editor,
When serious engine trouble 1 Is, repowering
your vehicle rather than buying a new one is an envi-
ronmentally sound decision that lets you keep more
"green" in your wallet.
For the cost of an average down payment on a
new car or truck, repowering adds years of reliable
vehicle life, mproves fuel efficiency, and reduces
operating costs and harmful emissions, all without
monthly new car payments and higher insurance
rates.
With repowering, a vehicle's engine or an identical
one from another like-vehicle is completely disas-
sembled, cleaned, machined and remanufactured/
rebuilt. Unlike used or junk yard engines with an
unknown performance and maintenance history,
repowered engines are dependable, reliable and
backed by exc lent warranty programs.
Remanufactured/rebuilt engines save the tremen-
dous amount of energy used in processing discarded
engines and vehicles. Repowering also saves an
ncredible amount of raw materials that would have
been used in building a new engine.
To learn more about the "green" benefits of engi ne
repowering, visit www.enginerepower.org.
Ken Carter
Chairman, Engine Repower Council
Bel lesda, MD
Letter to the Editor Policy
The Sweetwater Reporter welcomes Letters to the
Editor for possible publication in the newspaper. A
letter must be original, signed by the writer and bear
the address and phone number of the writer. Only
the name and the city will be published with the
letter, but the phone number and address are neces-
sary for verification or clarification of content.
The Sweetwater Reporter reserves the right to edit
all letters. If deemed derogatory, libelous, unclear
or for other reasons determined by the newspaper
to be unwise to print, it will not be used.
It is the feeling of the ne wspaper that an unsigned
letter has little meaning, and thus it will not publish
anonymous letters to the editor.
During elections, the Sweetwater Reporter will
accept Letters to the Editor discussing the issues or
offering endorsements. However, the deadline for
letters during elections will be two weeks prior to
election day.
The publishi ng of Letters to the Editor are offered
by the newspaper to the community for expression
of personal views on matters of concern. Residents
are encouraged to use the column in a constructive
manner, sharing their views on subjects of nterest
with the newspaper's readers.
GUEST COLUMN
The Republican Dwarfs
I must admit that it
took me at least a minute
to figure out lie Drudge
_Report headline: "Paw
In."
Had there been some
gruesome animal attack
somewhere, illigators
eating little girls' arms in
Florida, a train accident
in Eastern Europe
or something else I
could worry about
as my children
travel to places that
are literally beyond
my world?"
I looked at the
picture quickly,
and I didn't have a
clue. Matt Drudge
being taste-
ful about a grisly
animal attack by
picturing the zoo-
keeper instead of
the animal? Not
likely.
It was, of course, Tim
Pawlenty, putting some
part of himself (presum-
ably greater than a paw)
in the 2012 presidential
race. I've heard many
Republicans sing his
praises as governor of
Minnesota, and I have no
reason to doubt his com-
petence. But to misquote
Mario Cuomo, the ssue
in this race is not com-
petence but ideology — at
least on the Republican
side.
-
iress
guessing and the
cameras
ing, but
The candidate who
would truly electrify 2012
is Sarah Palin. Like her
or hate her, she is way
beyond a politician. Snow
White to the dwarves, as
the Democratic field was
referred to in 2007 before
Barack Obama (never a
dwarf) got in the race.
Here's my guess
based on abs te-
ly no inside infor-
mation. She won't
run. She may flirt
with it for a while,
keeping the p
d
flash-
there's
not much talk of
her meeting with
Sllgan top fundraisers
_ . . and trying to lock
tT iCll them up or at least
keep them neu-
tral. Palin is mak-
ing money and drawing
crowds of admirers (an<
also getting paid for that)
doing exactly what she
wants to do. If she runs,
she loses at least two out of
three of those things and
gains a hostile press corps
and all the other candi-
dates shooting at her, to
boot. And, being realistic,
do you really think she
could beat Obama?
Which leaves Mitt
Romney as the GOP front-
runner, if for no reason
other than that no one can
remember who the other
potential candidates are.
Right now, Romney looks
to be the strongest gen
eral election candidate of
the group because of his
experience with economic
issues and his more mod-
erate (Massachusetts)
views on social issues.
He's not a divisive gen-
eral election candidate,
which makes him a less
than ideal candidate in
the Republican nomina-
tion battle.
The Democrats did it
first, The Republicans
didn't even know they
were doing i1 until :he
Christian Coalition had
already taken control of
the party-nominating
apparatus — going to cau-
cuses, voting in primaries,
taking the power to pick
delegates away from cen-
tral committees, even as
Democrats were attempt-
ing to give more power
to the insiders. After you
lose for a while, pragma-
tism reasserts itself over
ideology.
The nomination pro-
cess measures different
strengths. Even today,
with everyone seeing the
same news, winning state
caucuses and even pri-
maries is a personal exer-
cise. It's more like run-
ning for governor every
wee! than it is like run-
ning for president. I am
proud of the governor I
worked for in 1988, and I
think he would have been
a much better president
than he was a presiden-
tial candidate. The same
may be true of Pawlenty.
But getting elected in a
national election, which is
completely different from
the primary process, is a
prerequisite to being any
kind of president.
Lee Atwater, the late
and legendary Republican
political operative, used
to say there was a little
boat with all the people
Americans could imagine
being president, whether
they agreed with them or
not. Getting into that boat
is a necessary step to win-
ning Obama is obviously
already n that boat, as
was Hillary Clinton. The
Republican who is clos-
est to the boat is almost
surely Romney, but his
nomination is anything
but certain.
Fun and games to come,
and definitely not the
Disney sort.
To find out more
about Susan Estrich and
read features by other
Creators Syndicate writ-
ers and cartoonists, visit
the Creators Syndicate
website at www.creators.
com.
GUEST COLUMN
Coffee news USA
God bless America, and
how's everybody?
Coffee News USA pre-
dicted Tuesday that the
pending free trade agree-
ment between the U.S.
and Colombia will help
lower coffee prices. A
recent survey says
ninety percent of
Americans drink
caffeinated bev-
erages. The other
ten percent are air
traffic controllers.
The South was
smashed by tor-
nadoes Saturday
from Oklahoma
and Arkansas all
the way across to
North Carolina
and Virginia.
These Civil War
centennial re-
enactments ire getting a
bit ahead of themselves.
We don't start losing the
war for another three
years.
Tax Day saw huge lines
of last-minute taxpay-
ers at the Post Office on
Monday. It was tough on
rich ancl poor t is year. If
you're doing well, the gov-
ernment takes aboul orty
percent of what you make
Argus
Hamilton
tvc
and the other forty per-
cent, of course, is taken
by the gas station.
Donald Trump dis-
missed Mitt Romney's
fortune as small potatoes
Tuesday, saying his own
fortune is much, much
bigger This could work.
If cowboy rhetoric got
us into two wars in the
Middle East perhaps porn
star rhetoric could make
the employment rate go
up.
The Los Angeles Lakers
agreed this week to
work with the Gay and
Lesbian Alliance against
Defamation to atone for
Kobe Bryant's homopho-
bic rant against a ref
Friday. Their demands are
outrageous. The Lakers
shouldn't have to
pay reparations
to the WNBA.
Barry Bonds
escaped all per-
jury charges
Wednesday a :er
his jury dead-
locked over the
truthfulness of
his steroid use
denial. He was
only convicted of
obstructing jus-
tice. He was so
thrilled with the
mistrial verdicts
that he hugged the entire
jury simultaneously.
Jesse Jackson was
accused by his openly
gay former assistant
Thursday in front of the
Illinois Labor Board of
unwanted sex advances.
In the complaint the fired
assistant s requesting
both front and back pay
from Jackson. That's not
harassment, that's solici-
tation.
Standard and Poor's
lowered its outlook on the
U.S. credit rating from
stable to risky this week,
setting off a stock mar-
ket dive on Monday. It's
demoralizing the nation's
capital. The country's
credit is so bad that all the
White House appliances
are now rent-to-own.
Michelle Obama
appeared on ABC's The
View Monday where she
was quizzed about her
constant traveling. It's
lecome a hot topic. The
first lady said she loves to
travel so she can embrace
the country she loves but
she didn't specify if she
meant Spain or Brazil.
Bill Clinton flew to
Arkansas Saturday to ded-
icate his childhood home
as a historical site. He
compares favorably to the
current president. Barack
Obama seems detached
from the needs of ordi-
nary people as opposed to
Bill Clinton, who was on
top of everything.
The White House said
Monday President Obama
will not visit the tornado-
clobbered areas of the
South this week The trip
would make little sense
politically. He's never
going to be able to pres-
sure the tornadoes into
setting up a victims' com-
pensation fund, so what's
the point?
Governor Rick Perry
demanded that President
Obama declare Texas a
disaster area Sunday due
o Lone Star State brush
fires. Dry conditions and
high winds are fanning
flames in the region.
Hundreds of thousands of
Mexicans could be forced
to flee to Mexico.
The University of Texas
took possession of a oil-
lion dollars in gold bullion
Monday after ;dge fund
managers of the school's
endowment fund decided
to cash out. The school
will store seven thou-
sand gold bars in Austin,
each gold bar weighing a
hundred pounds. It's e
Texas way to impress high
school Dotba recruits
with the weight room.
Argus Hamilton is
the host comedian at
The Comedy Store in
Hollywood and enter-
tains groups and orga-
nizations around the
country. E-mail him at
Argus@ArgusHamilton.
com.
The swi rrw\it r reporter
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Correction Policy
Editorial:
As a matter of policy, the
Sweetwater Reporter will
publish corrections of errors
in fact that have been print-
ed in the newspaper.
The corrections will be
made as soon as possible
after the error has been
brought to the attention of
the newspaper's editor at
236-6677.
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 136, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 21, 2011, newspaper, April 21, 2011; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229452/m1/4/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.