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swhitney

MEMBER FOR 2 years 43 weeks

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Jury foreman says life or death decision unfair

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It would be a lot cheaper to give her life without parole, and perhaps more of a punishment, too. She would have to live with what she did, and live in the general population of criminals.

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posted @ Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 10:09

Boy with lighter starts fire in Cherokee Co. home

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Both my parents were smokers, but neither my brother nor I ever dared even touch one. We knew what would happen if we did, and fire was not what we were afraid of Wink

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posted @ Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 07:42

Whale of an addition for UGA natural history museum

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Kudos to the folks at the Natural History Museum. Will any of these new acquisitions be available for public view? This is a resource the University and the State should be showcasing for residents, students, and visitors.

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posted @ Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 01:22

Grace Byrne graduates with class despite brain injury

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Kudos to Grace and her family, and to all of her doctors and nurses and therapists, and to her teachers at CCHS! Job well done all around. Keep up the good work. I look forward to hearing about Grace's experiences at UGA.

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posted @ Sunday, May 19, 2013 - 01:26

Classic City's graduates overcome obstacles, move on

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Kudos to Classic City High, and to all it's graduates and teachers! Job well done. This is a hidden jewel in Clarke County.

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posted @ Friday, May 17, 2013 - 00:57

Officer saves Athens woman from committing suicide

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Depression can be a dark fog that hides any good in the world from a person's vision. Depression can make suicide look like the only solution, even though it is not.

Thanks to Officer Cochran for a job well done in lifting enough of the fog of depression from this woman's mind so that she could see another possibility - life. Good job by the dispatcher, and the other officers involved, too.

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posted @ Friday, May 17, 2013 - 00:51

UGA President-elect Morehead announces administrative restructuring

@King Minos: What have you been smoking?

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posted @ Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - 16:05

Court dismisses 1,800 when police fail to show up

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Too many times officers (who have to wake up for court if they work the night shift) show up and the case has been delayed or dismissed and the officer has lost sleep for nothing. That makes showing up for misdemeanor hearings drop in the priority list of the officer. How many citizens would repeatedly lose sleep, or miss other appointments during (normally) non-working hours? How many would return from the middle of well-earned vacations just to find out a trial had been postponed and the vacation ruined for nothing? If the notifications were better (duly delivered legal subpoenas) and updated of changes in a timely manner (not 15 minutes before the scheduled appearance), maybe this would be less of a problem.

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posted @ Monday, May 13, 2013 - 15:46

2 bodies found after NJ standoff; suspect killed

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"Murphy and Stevens had been dating for a few months, and both lived in the house, police said. He was not the father of any of her children."

Women, take note. Find out about a man BEFORE you start dating, ESPECIALLY if you have children ! ! !

Glad the police took out the trash, permanently!

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posted @ Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 15:06

Experts: CO2 record illustrates 'scary' trend

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posted @ Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 10:18

Experts: CO2 record illustrates 'scary' trend

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Here's an article that places CO2 values in deep-time, with an example of what these levels may cause:

"The Arctic experienced an extended period of warm temperatures about 3.6 million years ago — before the onset of the ice ages — at a time when the concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere was not much higher than the levels being recorded today, a new study finds. The research suggests that an ice-free Arctic may be a reality in the near future."

from:

http://www.livescience.com/29471-arctic-climate-change-global-warming.ht...

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posted @ Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 10:10

Experts: CO2 record illustrates 'scary' trend

[quote][b]Mentok[/b] - the past decade of five year mean temps.[/quote]

The past decade has seen a lot more particulates put into the air by coal burning in India and China. That partly offsets the CO2 effect by shading the earth with the dust increase in the atmosphere. However, that dust will settle before the CO2 is absorbed by plants.

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posted @ Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 06:28

Obama hails courage of nation's police officers

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Kudos to all of our Law Enforcement Officers! Jobs well done.

Thanks!

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posted @ Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 06:21

Travelers asked to arrive early at Atlanta airport

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On Friday the domestic screening area was slow, but the international terminal screening was quick (less than 20 minutes at noon).

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posted @ Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 06:17

Treatment plants one part of water conservation efforts

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"Athens is currently in a level 1 drought, says Hall. This means soil moisture has not recovered from previous drought conditions."

After months of "average" or "above average" rainfall plus repeated "flood warnings" ? ? ? What does it take to get out of a drought, a tropical storm? Oh, yeah, those occasional heavy rains from tropical storms are included in the "average", even though they are exceptionally heavy rainfalls that come at random intervals and are not the "norm" at all.

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posted @ Friday, May 10, 2013 - 09:03

With UGA help, Afghanistan-bound soldiers use livestock and seeds to win over locals

[quote][b]E.J.[/b] - Europeans and, especially, Japanese are reasonable and intelligent peoples. It may be the religions of Central Asia and the Middle East or, more likely, their cultures of tribalism that get in the way. [/quote]

That is one of the most ethnocentric and racist comments I've seen in years! I will use it as an example in my class.

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posted @ Friday, May 10, 2013 - 07:24

Patrolling officer spots wanted felon

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Maybe Glynn county will lock him up this time.

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posted @ Thursday, May 9, 2013 - 20:35

With UGA help, Afghanistan-bound soldiers use livestock and seeds to win over locals

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Will we ever learn the lesson of the Marshall Plan (after WW II)? War is ended when you turn enemies into allies. Look at the history of western Europe (before the plan, and in the 65 years since), look at Japan. Downtrodden and impoverished people have nothing to lose and will follow even evil leaders to try to change their lives.

Charlie Wilson was right (see the quote at the end of the movie - the ABH won't let me use his language), if we had helped rebuild Afghanistan after the Soviets left we would probably not have this war now. Education and empowerment can bring peace, and cost a lot less in money and lives.

Isolationism did not protect us before WW I or WW II.

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posted @ Thursday, May 9, 2013 - 07:35

Mark Sanford redeems career, heading to Congress

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"I am one imperfect man saved by God's grace,"

"I've talked a lot about grace during the course of this campaign," he said. "Until you experience human grace as a reflection of God's grace, I don't think you really get it. And I didn't get it before."

How many "get out of jail free cards" does he expect to get if he is now living with his mistress without the benefit of marriage? The hypocrisy is in his current actions vs. his "Christian" rhetoric. I don't understand how Fundamentalists could vote for an adulterer, and a liar (based not just on his past actions, but on his current behavior). I don't give Clinton or any of the Kennedy's or Newt free passes, either. Breaking marriage vows indicates a lack of character and honesty, period. If we expect our leaders to be persons of honesty and character, Sanford fails that test (and so do all the voters who voted for him).

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posted @ Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 15:54

Georgia tax collections up 13% in April

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Don't see anything about relief for furloughed teachers. Not asking for a pay raise, but just restoring the cuts these hard working tax payers are suffering.

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posted @ Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 12:59

Man gets life without parole for Athens murder, double slaying in Bowman

@SIGNOFF: Unfortunately, it's more expensive to go for the death penalty than to settle for life without parole. All the required appeals, and 20 years in prison waiting after the conviction. Sad

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posted @ Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 12:56

DeKalb schools to address alleged harassment of Sikh middle school student

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This article leaves out several important details. Was the harassment done by students or faculty/staff? When?

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posted @ Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 09:06

Downtown Athens step closer to getting grocery store

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Ahhhh, gone are the days of no alcohol sales near the university (except for the Holiday Inn, of course). I remember when the A & P was downtown, so were Belks and Davisons, and there were NO BARS! Times have changed.

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posted @ Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 08:28

Reidy: Headed to the beach? Learn about rip currents

@Jerry NeSmith: Wish I could get more than 8 seconds to load Sad

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posted @ Tuesday, May 7, 2013 - 15:04

Minor flooding expected on Oconee, forecasters say

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"The water will spread into nearby woods and fields, "

In other words, the FLOOD PLAIN will FLOOD ! ! ! As it should.

In other news . . . the sun will come up in the morning, and go down in the evening. If it is not too cloudy we will be able to see it!

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posted @ Tuesday, May 7, 2013 - 14:53

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