THUMBS UP TO:
Judges with common sense
Rare is it the judge who can read an editorial in the morning and in the afternoon try to implement some of the editorial’s recommendations.
Or maybe it’s just a coincidence. Either way, we applaud Sullivan County, Tenn., Circuit Court Judge R. Jerry Beck.
We don’t know why Beck followed this newspaper’s editorial Wednesday and recommended pro bono dental work as the community service for negligent-homicide defendant Wray West Chaffin II.
We’re just glad the judge found merit in the argument that society would be served best if Chaffin used his chosen profession and dentistry skills to help the less fortunate in this region.
The ball is back in Chaffin’s court. His attorney has indicated he might appeal the judge’s decision not to expunge Chaffin’s record. Regardless of that appeal, we hope Chaffin does the right thing and uses this tragedy to create good will in the community by serving indigent patients free of charge.
Chaffin would be well advised to put himself in the place of the family that lost its patriarch because of Chaffin’s boating accident two Father’s Days ago. What if the victim had not been 63-year-old fisherman Wayne Cross but Chaffin’s own son? Would Chaffin want a defendant of means to work off his debt to society by fulfilling a huge community need?
We think so.
Safe kids in safer seats
The lifesaving effects of booster and child-safety seats increase when they are used properly. But according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, three out of four child safety seats are improperly installed in vehicles.
The East Tennessee Child Passenger Safety Center urges parents to check for proper installation or to attend a safety check in their community. National Child Passenger Safety Week is next week. Information on local seat checks is available by calling Becky Haas at (423) 863-6522 or online at www.nhtsa.gov.
Presidents who learn difficult lessons
It should go without saying, but presidents of the United States should not be AWOL when a city is drowning beneath a hurricane.
George Bush committed that blunder three years ago in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina and didn’t show up until his absence became a public relations disaster.
But Bush deserves credit for not repeating that mistake in the wake of hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which battered the Gulf Coast, the latter claiming at least 55 lives.
Bush made three trips to the Gulf Coast in a two-week period to thank emergency responders, appeal to the public to stay away until the danger had passed and to issue a national appeal for donations.
THUMBS DOWN TO:
Politics as usual in the wake of Democratic corruption
New York Congressman Charles Rangel, who chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has admitted he failed to report to the Internal Revenue Service $75,000 in income from a rental property in the Dominican Republic. He also is under scrutiny for allegations of other ethics violations.
But Rangel has pledged not to step down. And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this week, “I see no reason why Mr. Rangel should step down.”
Pelosi, who became speaker of the House in 2006 amid great hope, presides over a do-nothing Congress that has little to show for the last two years of Democratic control. The Rangel situation has become great fodder for Republicans, who say the Democrats have “officially abandoned their promise to run the most-ethical Congress in history and instead embraced the politics of corruption with open arms.”
No argument here.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement