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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
What Carter
really deserves
Well, President Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace prize.
What a joke.
Jimmy Carter deserves the Nobel Peace Prize like I deserve the Tact in
Column Writing award.
I have no doubt that President Carter is a nice person. I also have no
doubt that his weak-kneed policies caused conflict and death _ not peace.
Walking around whining that you want peace does nothing to promote peace
and everything to encourage aggression.
Whining for peace may make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when you
are sitting on the front porch on your peanut farm, but what you are promoting
is war.
The world is an elementary school playground. The only differences are
that many of the players have funny sounding names, are unwashed heathens,
and the stakes are a bit higher.
Ever try telling the class bully and his fellow thugs that you just want
peace? Ever see some poor slob try that?
Did it work?
Did Elmo the Grade Flunker who needed a shave in 5th grade
back off his demand for your ice cream money because you were nice to him?
Did a civilized approach when confronted with brute violence allow him
to see the light and mend his ways?
Yeah, sure it did.
Elmo and company understand one language _ pain. Elmo is a businessman.
You have something he wants. If the cost is not too high, he will try to
get it.
That is why you have to stand up to him and get clobbered. If you get
a lick or two in while he is whaling on you he probably won't come back after
your dime the next day. He'll be looking for easier pickings.
Even bullies shop around.
Or, if you are considered a polite but twisted young man by your teachers,
you organize a small gang of kids who don't like giving up their hard earned
money and catch Elmo behind the gym with a few sticks. (The real world called
this organization NATO).
The next day you enjoy your ice cream by the monkey bars in peace with
Elmo resting comfortably at home with his new cast.
There will always be Elmo's on the playground and there will always be
Elmo nations.
They do not want peace. They want your stuff. They want your liberty.
They want your wealth. Whatever. You have got it and they want it.
A weak posture only invites their attention.
Switzerland did not spend the last 500+ years living in peace because
she was nice to her neighbors.
The rest of Europe left the Swiss alone because the Swiss were ready to
charge a very high admission to their little show. And they advertised the
price.
The Krauts were not willing to pay that price during World War II despite
the many strategic benefits.
Hitler's Third Reich considered it. They decided against it despite the
projection of final victory. Victory was going too be expensive.
A weak American foreign policy is an invitation to the Elmo's of the world.
Until Clinton I did not think we could project a weaker image than Carter
did. Obviously I was wrong.
We are reaping the benefits of Carter and Clinton's combined efforts today.
The only award Carter deserves for his efforts is a swift kick in the
pants.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Smokey Briggs is the editor and publisher of the
Pecos Enterprise whose column appears on Tuesdays. He can be e-mailed at:
smokey@pecos.net
Our View
What can the Key Opinion Leaders' Summit accomplish?
Kudos to those who participated in the Key Opinion Leaders' Summit last
Saturday.
If Pecos is going to continue to exist, our community is going to have
to come to grips with many of the issues this group took up: issues such
as taxes, civic pride, the appearance of our city, the attitudes of our elected
officials, and race, to name a few.
Of course, even if this meeting and the work that may flow from it, is
wildly successful, it cannot create a magic bullet that will solve Pecos'
economic problems.
What can be accomplished is the creation of an atmosphere that is conducive
to business and industry in Pecos, Texas.
If we have that atmosphere, then we have a chance that businesses or industries
might decide to locate here.
This is the magic bullet _ industry. Companies that create a product and
ship it down I-20 in return for a check.
Until we create this atmosphere, the chances of an industry coming to
Pecos are slim.
Your View
Halloween should be celebrated on October 31
To The Editor:
Unlike Carole Keeton Rylander, I'm not "one tough grandma," just
one disgruntled, unhappy one regarding the decision of the Pecos City
Council to change arbitrarily the date for Halloween "Trick or Treating".
I agree completely with the Enterprise editorial of October 22nd
. What's next on their holiday change list? Veterans' Day? Christmas Eve
and Christmas Day? New Year's Eve and New Years Day? I plan to celebrate
Halloween on October 31st.
Very Sincerely,
EMILY FERNANDES
Important pieces of legislation deserve to be recognized
Dear Editor:
Oftentimes the work that our State Legislators accomplish goes largely
unnoticed unless an individual is personally affected by that legislation.
As a Peace Officer I have seen that legislation authored by state Representative
Pete P. Gallego, District 74, has greatly benefited law enforcement,
crime victims and all the citizens of Texas.
H.B. 84, effective September 1, 2001 and authored by Gallego made it a
felony offense for convicted felons to possess body armor. By preventing
convicted felons from having "bullet-proof vests" the safety of our peace
officers is greatly increased.
H.B. 519, effective September 1, 2001 and authored by Gallego ensures
that victims of Family Violence are covered by the Texas Crime Victims Compensation
fund. This is important legislation to assist those who are the victims
of criminal acts.
H.B. 1188 effective September 1, 1999 and authored by Gallego enables
law enforcement to obtain DNA samples not only from individuals convicted
of sexual offenses, but also those convicted of murder, aggravated assault,
and certain burglaries. This legislation greatly assists law enforcement
is solving crimes and insuring that the guilty are brought to justice thru
the use of DNA evidence.
I am prompted to write this letter because these important pieces of legislation
deserve to be recognized and should not go unnoticed by those who are most
benefited by them-all of us who live in Texas.
Respectfully,
JOHN C. NEWSOME
Special thanks to the Women's Division, volunteers
Dear Editor:
We would like to express our gratitude to the Women's Division of the
Pecos Chamber of Commerce. The generosity of all those involved in
the Golden Girl committee over the years has been vital to the success
of the West of the Pecos Museum for nearly 40 years. The countless
hours the committee dedicates to this tremendous endeavor are greatly
appreciated. We each strive to promote Pecos, serve our community and
preserve our western heritage and we look forward to another 40 years
of successful partnership with the Golden Girl Revue.
In 2003 the West of the Pecos Museum will have accomplished 4 decades
as a nationally recognized landmark. Plans are in the works for the yearlong
festivities. It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. We
believe this to be true of our museum. We wish to congratulate all involved
in the 40 years raising the West of the Pecos Museum.
WEST OF THE PECOS MUSEUM
DEBRA THOMAS
DORINDA MILLAN
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 2002 by Pecos Enterprise
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