Editorial

by Gwen Durham
March 9, 2005 - The new Amite Oyster Festival Queen is Meghan Sharkey. Amite has been named Tree City USA. Rebecca Robertson was named Premier Goat Exhibitor at the 70th Annual LSU Livestock Show. She also placed second in the Dairy Premier Exhibit Contest.

It always do make me proud as a peacock when some say dey read and like dis "jerry.dot.com" column. My son, Chuck, called to say a fella what lives in El Paso, Texas called him to axe why dat column missed being in de Amite Tangi Digest as week or so ago. Said he thought it wuz 'cause of me being opinionated. Wal! Sir! Sho don't deny having opinion. However - dat week, jes couldn't get de dots and coms together. So - discovered dat fella is Perry Martin - son of Peck Martin. Now some of ya'll might not be old enough to remember Peck Martin. He taught in Amite High School from 1945 'till 1975.

Nothing makes news like crucial court cases. Consider the media coverage given to high profile trials that garner millions of dollars worth of television time and print space.  Everybody loves a mystery. And there are few arenas of intrigue that compare to courtroom drama.  

The eternal promise of spring, the first daffodil, the tiny buds forming on the elm tree; a faint but distinct musical note from the mockingbird, serves to remind us of the cycle of life. The passing of one season into the next reminds one of the continuity and the never changing change in God’s plan.

Most discussions of health care are like something out of Alice in Wonderland.
What is the biggest complaint about the current medical care situation? "It costs too much." Yet one looks in vain for anything in the pending legislation that will lower those costs.
One of the biggest reasons for higher medical costs is that somebody else is paying those costs, whether an insurance company or the government. What is the politicians' answer? To have more costs paid by insurance companies and the government.

The much-ballyhooed “health care summit” between President Obama and congressional Democrats and Republicans was held last Thursday. Few if any thought the meeting would result in agreement on a bipartisan bill that would breeze through the halls of Congress. The Republicans wanted any legislation to start from scratch and be built in a true bipartisan fashion. The Democrats rejected that approach and said the bills enacted by the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate had to serve as the benchmark for any legislation.