The Stonewall Courier (Aspermont, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 1, 2014 Page: 3 of 6
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THE STONEWALL COURIER | THURSDAY, MAY 1,2014 3
The Paperboy
Enemy of the State'
V epublican or Democrat - Are
1-^ you happy with our govern-
JL Vment?
Does it make you nervous that non-
military/non-law enforcement employ-
ees of the government are armed and
have their own SWAT teams?
Are you curious as to why the Bureau
of Land Management wants 90,000
acres between Texas and Oklahoma?
Are you angry because of excessive
spying on Americans by federal agen-
cies and the fact the IRS has targeted
non-profit organiza-
tions unfairly?
Does it trouble you
that the mainstream
media is in the pocket
of the Obama Admin-
istration?
The questions above
are legitimate.
Our government will
CHRIS not all°w us to prop-
erly secure our own
borders, but will give
government agencies
enough guns, ammuni-
tion and drones to wipe out our own
cities.
I did not sign up for this and it really
scares the hell out of me.
Now, there are some people reading
this, and many more around the coun-
try, that would view this as an extreme
opinion. In fact, just writing what I’ve
written, would earn me several labels in
certain circles.
But which label fits?
Am I a racist? I don’t feel I am. I
have friends and family members of
many races and I do not condone
speech or action that reflects negatively
on any race.
Am I a religious zealot? I’m a Chris-
tian man who sins just about every day
in some way. I have a personal relation-
ship with Jesus and I do ask for for-
giveness out of necessity.
Am I a right-wing conservative or
member of the Tea Party? No. I’m just
a man who sees little attraction in any
political party because I don’t see much
leadership.
So here we are. I’ve aired it out. I’m
an angry American who is sick of being
lied to and who has completely lost
faith in our government.
I’m writing this because there are
many of you who feel as I do and who
probably also feel that we lack a voice.
I’m also writing this to illustrate this
point: I don’t care about labels, opin-
ions or the sheep who blindly follow
leaders who do not produce the results
we pay them for.
We are quickly approaching a time
when America will officially be “funda-
mentally transformed” into something
very unAmerican. In my opinion, it is a
travesty.
Perhaps one day, when enough people
wake up, we can once again feel like we
have a Democracy that is of the people,
for the people and by the people. But
right now, we are a far cry from such a
thing.
Chris Blackburn serves as CEO at Blackburn
Media Group, proud owner of The Floyd Coun-
ty Hesperian-Beacon, Hall County Herald, The
Hollis News, The Knox County News-Courier,
The Post Dispatch, The Childress Index, Wel-
lington Leader and The Stonewall Courier. He
can be reached by email at chris@blackburn-
mediagroup.com and you can follow him on
Twitter @WCSBIackburn.
The 501
Hung out to dry on Earth Day
■ A arth Day was last week. You
rH knew that. I observed the spe-
ll J cial occasion by harnessing the
power of wind and sun to dry clothes
the natural way. I didn’t really plan my
clothes-drying experience to coincide
with Earth Day. Sometimes things just
work out. And yes, “harness” is prob-
ably too strong a word, but it’s the
kind of term that sounds right here on
the farm.
Maybe it’s a stretch
to say hanging clothes
outside does very
much to save the
earth from pollution,
but I’m sure we saved
electricity. Doesn’t
that count? And I felt
closer to the earth. It
was right under my
HANABA feet.
MUNN If you’re Pictur_
ing me reaching up
WELCH to hang everything
on a clothesline,
guess again. I pinned
everything to the fence. The cows
were somewhat puzzled, but they kept
their distance. Not one longhorn got
wrapped up in a sheet.
If you’re imagining a barbed wire
fence, guess again. It was hogwire -
smooth and sturdy net fencing that
lends itself to drying stuff. Our regular
clothesline got taken down last week
to make way for some dead tree fell-
ing. Then we carried it off to measure
the water column in the well. That
clothesline is somewhere. Anyway,
here’s to hogwire.
Here’s to dead trees too. They make
perfect firewood for people who don’t
want to be responsible for the death of
a living tree. Some folks I know who
trim trees and sell firewood got a call
from a woman who wanted a cord of
wood made from dead trees only. They
obliged.
If my husband and I can figure out
a cost-efficient way to turn all the
dead trees on this farm into firewood
for that trending market, we’ll make
a fortune. I’m working already on the
sales pitch:
“No trees were harmed to make this
product.”
You can’t harm a dead tree, can you?
I’m asking.
Back to clotheslines and Earth Day.
Why not make it a global day for
people to dry their clothes outside?
Drawback:
People in the Southern Hemisphere,
through no fault of their own, observe
Earth Day in the fall. Spring is a more
inspiring season for things like spring
cleaning and hanging clothes outside
to dry and beating rugs. Fall is when
you get ready for winter and make sure
you’ve got a big enough woodpile.
Obvious solution:
Proclaim Earth Day a time for the
top half of the earth to hang clothes
outside and for the bottom half of the
earth to cut firewood from trees that
are already dead. You heard it first
right here.
By the way, how about rug beating?
Do people anywhere still beat rugs?
I’ve seen rug beaters only in classic
cartoons. Usually somebody ends up
using one on someone else instead of
the rug.
RUG BEATER RESEARCH
PAUSE.
Very good reading for anyone inter-
ested in rug beaters - even for anyone
not interested in rug beaters - is the
Wikipedia article on “carpet beater.” I
suspect it was translated from Polish.
That’s all folks!
■
eefdPeyotiofuVl
One of the unfortunate effects of aging is the inability to read
without glasses. My husband and I have purchased several pairs of
magnifying eyeglasses and placed them strategically throughout
the house so that we can see the words in the phone book, in the
newspaper, or on the computer. Without magnification, words on a
page are a blur and we are unable to decipher the information we
need. After Jesus’ death, his disciples’ vision was limited, hey had
relied on Jesus to lead them and to show them how the scriptures
were fulfilled in him. While they knew their mission was to carry
on his teachings, without Jesus to light their way their vision was
clouded by doubt and confusion. When God sent the Holy Spirit,
they were able to see with clarity the promises of scripture. God
will do the same for us. Receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit can
magnify the solutions to our problems and show us the way.
Central Baptist Church
919 S. Washington
(940) 989-3172
Robby Harris, Pastor
SS - 9:45 a,m,
WS - 10:45 a.m,
& 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday - 6:30 p.m.
Community Church
137 E. 2nd Street
(325) 725-5662
Greg Goza, Pastor
SS - 9:30 a.m.;
WS - 10:15 a.m.
Wednesday - 7:00 p.m.
F rst United Methodist
Church
6th & Franklin
(940) 989-2696
Jeff Sedberry, Pastor
SS - 9:45 a.m.;
WS - 11:00 a.m.
www.aspermontfumc.org
First Baptist Church.
Peacock
150 CR 463
(940) 989-8034
Brian Burgess, Pastor
SS - 10:00 a.m.:
WS - 11:00 a.m,
& 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday evening prayer service at
Syl & Jean
Godfrey’s home in Aspermont
floni
(Pehh&M^ahlco, RSyU
VeAAG o(j tlves HJceJfc
Swenson
11434 US Hwy 380 West
Mickey Wagoner, Pastor
SS - 9:30 a.m,;
WS - 10:30 a.m.
& 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday - 7:00 p.m.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not
speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the
things that are to come. - John 16:13 (NIV)
First Baptist Church
733 N Broadway St,
Erik Lankford
(940) 989-3373
SS - 9:45 a.m.
/fad detecting id made fioddiMe &y
tfade fate dfxmd&id. (fall today to
adveniide ok tfa (f/twcA dinectony.
Ellison Dozer
PO Box 144
Aspermont, Texas
(940) 989-2626
(940) 989-3485
Fax (940) 989-2746
WS - 11:00 a.m,
& 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday - 6:00 p.m.
fbcaspermont.org
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Hodgin, Wayne. The Stonewall Courier (Aspermont, Tex.), Vol. 27, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 1, 2014, newspaper, May 1, 2014; Childress, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth741340/m1/3/: accessed May 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Stonewall County Library.