Cousin Pam wins the lottery
From the Los Angeles Times
Russian playwright Anton Chekhov noted that, as a dramatic device, a gun introduced in the first act of a play must be fired in the second, otherwise it has no reason to be there. Let’s hope that’s not as true in life as it is in art, now that we have an armed racist right squaring off against leftist counter-protesters in public confrontations.
We’ve already seen violence, even death, at these rallies. But the potential is for much worse if participants continue to carry guns into such provocative situations. The question is how to minimize the risk without trampling peoples’ constitutional rights. The First Amendment to the Constitution establishes the right to free speech and peaceful assembly. The Second Amendment creates a right to own firearms. Neither is absolute. Nevertheless, firearms have become a significant presence in our culture, and only a dozen states prohibit people from carrying them openly in public. What’s more, over 40 states have NRA-backed “preemption” laws, which to varying degrees, limit the ability of local governments to adopt stricter gun regulations than the state as a whole.
Virginia is a preemption state that also allows open carry, and the nation saw the results at Charlottesville, where paramilitary militias — men heavily armed with military-style weapons and in some cases battle gear — appeared as part of the “Unite the Right” rally. But far-left groups, including the so-called Redneck Revolt, a liberal pro-gun group, have also paraded around with their firearms at various demonstrations.
Now, another provocative rally — aimed at promoting “the true Confederate heritage” — is planned for Sept. 23 in Austin, Texas. Billing it as a “Dixie Freedom Rally,” its organizers, the Texas Confederate Militia, are telling prospective attendees that state law will allow them to bring openly carried and concealed handguns, as well as long rifles. Given the mix of firearms, passions and politics, it’s not hard to see the potential for violence. This is a problem that the nation must resolve. A group of selforganized, trained and heavily armed men (and these groups are predominantly male) is a paramilitary organization, and giving it megaphones and parade banners doesn’t magically transform it into something peaceful. Adding “open carry” to a contentious event can put public safety at risk, and the presence of visible firearms creates unique problems for the police.
“Open carry” can also be an act of intimidation. Here’s one illustration: During the “Unite the Right” event, gun-toting and swastika-carrying Nazis chanting anti-Semitic slogans marched past a Charlottesville synagogue containing 40 worshippers, leaving them so frightened that they felt compelled to sneak out the back. And here’s another: In April 2016, opposing protesters at a Dallas-area Nation of Islam mosque engaged in a tense face-off that, fortunately, ended without those Chekhovian firearms being used. This is not the America we want.
Another complicating factor: Two dozen states, including Texas, have adopted “stand your ground” laws similar to the one that became an issue in Florida after George Zimmerman shot dead 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a confrontation. The details differ among the states, but at their core the laws allow people to shoot to kill if they perceive they are under physical threat. Incendiary speech, demonstrators, open-carry and stand-your-ground laws — what could possibly go wrong here?
This is madness. Police train to control unruly crowds and develop strategies for separating rival groups of protesters, but are they equipped — and able — to keep the peace when the protesters have become paramilitary militias? If states such as Virginia and Texas insist on allowing citizens to strut around their streets with guns slung over their shoulders like Third World mercenaries, they must at least make an exception at rallies and demonstrations. A ban on weapons — from firearms to pointed sticks, concealed or carried openly — should be a condition for obtaining a permit.
Boston took the right approach last weekend at a controversial “Free Speech” rally that drew 40,000 protesters: Anything that could be used as a weapon, from guns to sharp sticks, was prohibited. Fearing violence, some lawmakers and advocates have urged officials not to give permits, period, for these contentious rallies. But that’s the wrong answer. It’s not the right to speech and assembly that should be restricted; it’s the right to carry guns in certain potentially explosive situations. Gun advocates like to argue they have the right to bear arms as a bulwark against tyrannical government, but government has a responsibility here as well: to keep people safe.
It’s been called “one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So why isn’t every public water system in America adding fluoride to its drinking water? That’s a question that has been asked consistently by public health officials and dentists since the fluoridation wars began in the mid 1940s.
And it’s being asked again in Boynton Beach, which is nearing completion of a $30-million upgrade of its aging water treatment plant that won’t fluoridate the system until sometime in 2018 — once all construction is finished — and hasn’t done so for the past year. Public health officials long ago declared fluoridation a highly cost effective approach to fighting tooth decay. Adding minute quantities of the chemical to water strengthens enamel, which enhances resistance to decay. Boosting the natural level of about 0.4 parts per million to 0.7 has proven to be a major weapon in the fight against tooth decay.
As reported Monday in the Sun Sentinel, Johnny Johnson, a former pediatric dentist and president of the nonprofit American Fluoridation Society, recently contacted Boynton to urge the city to reintroduce fluoride soon. “You drink the water, it does the job,” he said. Yet many Floridians oppose the practice. Statewide, 77 percent of the water supply is treated. Broward and Miami-Dade fluoridate 98 percent of their water systems. Palm Beach County reaches only 64.7 percent of its population and Boca Raton stopped fluoridating its water in 1999.
Twenty Florida counties are 100 percent fluoride free, which helps bring down the statewide average.
Opponents of this common sense approach to a significant public health problem reject it as a government overreach that takes a medical decision out of the citizen’s hands. And they question the science behind it as well; fluoride could do undetected harm, they suggest.
In Pinellas County fluoridation became a tea party cause. In 2011 the county commission voted to stop the county’s fluoridation program after a bitter fight. Pinellas became the most populous county in Florida to go fluoride free. A year later the 4-3 vote to stop fluoridation was reversed by a 6-1 vote of a newly elected majority. Pinellas came to its senses.
We regard this as a “case closed” issue. The science of fluoridation is as settled as science can be. The health benefit is undisputed save for a small but vocal group of deniers. It’s time to declare victory and move on.
Cousin Pam won the lottery a couple weeks ago and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her since.
I’ve mentioned cousin Pam in the past when I told y’all about family gatherings in Esom Hill and Rockmart. She’s first cousin to Neeve and Kook. Their mom, Billie Sue and Pam’s mom, Mary Jo were sisters.
I’ve seen Cousin Pam at the last few family gatherings in Rockmart. We used to all gather in pawpaw’s old house in Esom Hill for every big holiday or family occasion but that sweet little house with all its memories just isn’t suitable for hosting a large gathering of people anymore.
So now Neeve and Kook fight over who gets to host family get-togethers in Rockmart and Kook usually wins on account of her having the “big table” that can seat a whole bunch of folks.
Well like I said, Cousin Pam has been at the last few holidays and has brought a couple things that are really important. She brings the most delicious strawberry cake which she says is Lovella’s recipe. Lovella was her grandmother — mother to Billie Sue, Mary Jo and Zelia Ann (who we call Zoodie). And she is proud of making that cake just the way Lovella made it. It’s sweet and delicious and I guess because I know it’s their grandmother’s recipe, it tastes a little better than all other strawberry cakes.
In addition — and some would say more importantly— Cousin Pam brings a big ‘ol cooler filled with what I call “good ice.” It’s that magical kind of ice that comes in those little chewable pellets — the kind you get at Chick-fil-A and Zaxby’s and Sonic and a few other places. It’s my favorite kind of ice and Cousin Pam brings a whole lot of it to our family gatherings.
Well fast forward to a couple weeks ago when
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Please limit letters to 250-300 words in length. Be sure to include a daytime telephone number so the letter can be verified. All letters are subject to editing. SEVERO AVILA Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press we get a text from Kook saying that we need to congratulate Cousin Pam for winning the lottery.
Come to find out, she had bought a Powerball ticket in Cedartown for the Aug. 12 drawing and won $50,000. It was in the news and everything. She said it’s the first Powerball ticket she’s ever bought. And boy did it pay off.
In an interview, Cousin Pam said she was going to put a majority of the winnings in her savings which I suppose is the prudent thing to do. But it doesn’t hurt to imagine that she might show up at the next family function and shower us all with lavish presents such as gift cards to Walmart and Cracker Barrel.
(Side note: The Cracker Barrel store is like Disney World to me. It’s filled with such wonders and delights that I secretly hope I’ll have a long wait for a table just so I can walk around the store and see what I can rationalize buying. I’m a sucker for jellies and picked okra and things with Reba McEntire on them).
But anyhow, back to Cousin Pam and her millions...I know it’s thousands but it sounds better to say millions.
I’m hoping she’ll pull up to the next family reunion in a gilded carriage drawn by 12 snow white horses. She’ll step out of it and will have servants carrying a gigantic strawberry cake and buckets full of good ice.
But seriously, I’m happy for Cousin Pam and her lucky ticket. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. I’m sure she’ll be smart with her winnings. And if she ever needs someone to go to Cracker Barrel with her, she knows how to find me. Jim Powell of Young Harris
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