Newspapers / The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.) / March 21, 1984, edition 1 / Page 2
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Meese The Magnificent White House wizard Edwin Meese is at it again. Meese, you will recall, is the presidential counselor who made hunger in America disap pear several months ago by declaring that it didn't exist. Now, Meese is attempting his most daring magic act to date. He is attempting to convince a Senate Judiciary committee that a $15,000 interest-free loan which he failed to report as required by law was an innocent oversight. He will attempt this feat while also convincing the senators that California banks allowed him to miss several years of mortgage payments because Ed Meese is a nice guy. As if this wasn't enough, the presidential counselor will also try to convince the panel that the appointment to government positions of several people who had made loans to Meese was purely coincidental. Meese's present difficulties stem from the fact that his bo6s has appointed him for the wrong Job. The president should appoint Meese to become the Secretary of the Treasury. With his proven ability to convince bankers to make interest-free loans, Meese could reduce the fedptri deficit significantly. Better still, Meese would make a terrific Secretary of Labor. If all the millions of unemployed workers would just scrape their savings together and give Meese a loan, we don't doubt they they, too,, could find themselves on the government payroll. Since this is 1964, perhaps the president will consider creating a new cabinet-level position for his counselor. Meese would make a great Secretary of Illusion. Mr. Meese's options are still wide open, but it has become increasingly clear that he is totally unqualified to head an agency whose last name is Justice. Other Opinions Acid Rain Action Can 't Wait For centuries, the pitter-pattter of rain on roofs has been a universal lullaby. But today air pollution has transformed that soothing lullaby into a vinegary brew boiling its way through precious natural resources. Acid rain is caused by electricty plants, smelters and cars that spew sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide into our skies, where they become sulfuric acid and nitric acid. Those acids wrap tree-covered mountains in sour clouds or fall to earth, where they sap life from lakes and streams, leach fertility from the soil and gnaw away at buildings, bridges, monuments and human vitality. For example: The red spruce and Fraser firs on Mount Mitchell used to live for four centuries; now they are dying before their 50th year. Scientists, who have known for years that acidity destroyed life in hundreds of lakes in the Northeast, have discovered increasing acidity in the lakes of the Colorado Rockies. One of ervery three smallmouth bass pulled from some lakes in Georgia and North Carolina has been deformed Acid smog in Los Angeles is sometimes as caustic as lemon juice. Human lead levels in some Vermont towns are six times the EPA allowance; experts say acid rain releases the lead from pipes into drinking water. In ail, acid rain has caused enviornmental damage in 31 states. Last week, a Senate com mittee approved a bill calling for a phased reduction of air pollution. Those who oppose immediate action say the evidence is insufficient to warrant spending billions on a clean-up. The cost is phenomenal. But so is the cost of the damage attributed to acid rain. They argue that the clean-up's cost will strike at the nation's heartland, where most of the giant utility plant smokestacks are located. Ob viously, one region should not have to absorb the entire cost of reducing emissions; neither can another region be expected to serve as a dump for its neighbor's pollution. Some even say that part of the damage can be traced to nature itself. But we can't do much about drought, frost, sensitive soil- or any natural disaster. We can do something about this man-made disaster. We can reduce air pollution. We can begin to restore our damaged lakes and forests. We can continue to study the damage air pollution casues and find better remedies than we have now. And we can figure out ways to fairly share the cost of reducing pollution and cleaning it up What we cannot do is wait. Even is action begins today, it would be at least five years before it did any good. For far too many of our lakes and trees, that will be a lifetime -USA TODAY March 19,1984 Letters To The Editor Wayne Adams Commends Social Worker ^ 7 V Dear Editor: The profession of social work offers diverse job oppor tunities to a social worter. However, there is one element each professional social worker holds in common; that's their dedication to help ing individuals live to their maximum human potential. Whether the scene be in dustrial or human services, a social worker generates pro grams or ideas which con tribute to an individual's hap piness in some way. To recognize the contribu tions of social workers na tionally. March is designated National Social Worker's Month. One theme is selected for social workers in long term health care is "Creative Challenges, Creative Changes." It-is especially ap propriate because it reflects the ideas that flexibility is the key to the success of a social worker in long term health care. At Madison Manor, for ex ample, Ginny Godfrey is responsible for admissions, room visits, teaching residents new skills, serving as a liaison with community groups, discharge planning and serving as an advocate for the residents These are Just a few areas covered in Ginny's Job al Madison Manor, Her ex per tise must cover a wide scope of audiences-each of which she must handle with great sen sitivity. Ginny has been a profes sional social worker for six years of which she has c on tributed three to long-term care as the Director of Social Servies at Madison Manor. National Social Work is sponsored by the National Association of Social Worker* and supported by Beverly Enterprises, a ftill service health care company which Heard And Seen * ; .? ? . K?s By POP STORY JOE E. GRIFFIN WRITES Joe R. Griffin of Route 7, Mount Juliet, Tenn., sent me a clipping and wrote an interesting let ter in which he says he enjoys reading this col umn every week. He also writes that he visited in Marshall recently and was unable to visit me but "next time I'm in Marshall, I promise to stop by and see you." Joe enclosed a clipping from the U.S. Army Transportation Center at Fort Eustis, Va. published March 1, 1963, describing his com pany's landing at the South Pole. There was also a picture showing CWO Joe R. Griffin with a group of servicemen at the pole. The opera tion was known as Operation Deep Freeze. I appreciate the clipping and letter, Joe. Joe is a native of Madison County. NCAA THRILLING The Current NCAA basketball tournament proves once again that the Atlantic Coast Con ference is the strongest conference in the na tion. With only 16 teams left from the 53-team field, four ACC teams, the Tar Heels, Wake Forest, Maryland and Virginia have advanced to the regional quarterfinals. Only Duke failed to win this past weekend when Washington eked out an 80-78 winover the Blue Devils. The tournament will resume Thursday night. PLEASANT WEATHER HERE We have enjoyed perfect weather in this area for the past several days, much to the delight of everyone. It might be snowing or sleeting when you read this column, but as I close out the col umn for this week, the temperature is 62 degrees. The sun is shining brightly and it's comfortable with the doors and windows open. Many people are taking advantage of the weather to begin gardening and working out side. As usual, many fishermen are getting ex cited and anxious to try their luck. Let's hope that the springlike weather will continue. WALNUT CREEK ROAD IMPROVES Walnut Creek Road is still far from smooth, but workmen have been dragging the heavily used road, making it better than it has been for months. Of course, the dust is terrible, but several residents have improved the situation by using garden hoses to wet down the dust. Maybe someday the road will be completed. Know Comment By JOSEPH GODWIN Since I have progressed this far in my informal poll to determine what is wrong with tM world, it ii time for a pro gress report. The question I ask is, "What do you think is the primary cause of the difficulties we face in 1984?" At the outset, let em state that I found only one person who denied that America faces serious problems at this time. Although he refused to tell me his name, his neighbor said he was Mr. M.Y. Opic. Trying to act like a good, ob jective pollster, I did nor dare argue with Mr. Opic. Numerous people informed me that too many broken homes are the chief cause of our country's problems. They cited the breakdown of discipline and the absence of parental supervision as the major elements in the pro blem of broken homes. Also, people of this persua sion lamented the absence of adequate "role models" when the same-sex parent was ab sent. It would seem that there is considerable validity to these views. According to the most re cent census, almost half of all marriages now end in divorce. The increase in single-parent households is the single most outstanding finding of the cen sus report. Consequently, things are likely to get worse before they improve. Not surprisingly, the in crease in crime was often named as our number one pro blem. I was informed that it is unsafe for a man to walk the streets in broad daylight because he may get mugged. If a woman goes out at night alone, she is subject to being raped. Thses are horrible possibilities, especially in cer tain areas of our largest cities. Have you noticed that there is no great decrease in crimne in proportion to the amount of money we spend on crime prevention? Money alone will not rid or communities of crime any more than money alone will rid our schoolchildren of ig norance) Quite unexpectedly, "not enough school work, at home or at school" was often given as our foremost problem to day. 1 was told that if children are kept busy at school they will not have enough time to smoke pot or stab teachers. Furthermore, if they are assigned enough homework, they will be too busy to watch filthy movies on cable televi sion or to go out on the streets and act as if they themselves were performing in an R -rated movie. I kept hearing the well-worn wisdom that "an idle mind is the devil's workshop." If that is true, the mind of a child who is forcecd to do endless busy work is the devil's automated factory. It is extremely hard to study when one can see no reason for studying a particular matter, when what you are forced to study has no relevance, or when one has no one to show interest in his work or help when he bogs dowon. Over and over, I have heard adults crying that there is "too much pornography for young minds to be exposed to." Frankly, I must admit that this shook me up a bit. People are made of what they see and read as surely as we are made of what we eat. Some people don't seen to realize this. No child should be given in tellectual garbage any more than he should be fed' any other kin^ of slop. What wor ries me most, however, is the notion I encountered that por nography and R-rated and X-rated movies are fit for adult consumption. In my view, no movie is fit for me to see if it would be in appropriate to take my grand son or my neighbor's children along with me. ; All of these concerns, and others that I have heard, are both interesting and valid. They also miss the point. If these were the problems of mankind, our problems would be new, for they are of a modern origin. Our problems are no newer than the unregenerated nature of man. Laziness, greed, hatred, jealousy, anger, lust and over-sized ego, these are the constituent elements of man that have been part and parcel of the human condition all along. These will remain with us until we as individuals submit to a power greater than ourselves who can change us. Slobs Were Here if! '? I .
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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March 21, 1984, edition 1
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