Blogging

Trade ya a Sandwich for a Laptop

Alrighty - I need a new laptop and I don’t want to break to bank. Qualifications are:

I am a PC (I am not a Mac)
My screen is at least 15″
I have decent specs but I do not need to be a super computer
I would like to have great video capabilites, but I am not willing to [...]

Coterie

Henry Ford (The saga continues)

The Bryan County News has apparently jumped into the breech in support of Col Kent and his quest to remove “A Henry Ford City” from Richmond Hill signage.
I have written on this subject before; as a matter of fact, it was exactly one year ago.  Instead of reprinting what I said then, readers can find [...]

Notes

Henry Ford (The saga continues)

The Bryan County News has apparently jumped into the breech in support of Col Kent and his quest to remove “A Henry Ford City” from Richmond Hill signage.

I have written on this subject before; as a matter of fact, it was exactly one year ago.  Instead of reprinting what I said then, readers can find the story at “A Henry Ford City” dated February 15, 209.
My focus this time is the editorials and news content of the Bryan County Times covering this story.  It is obvious they are fully in support of Col Kent.  This is reflected in their editorials and the slant of various stories covering Henry Ford, and in particular - his antisemitism as well as various reactions around town.

Ms Potter wrote an editorial, “Here we go again” in which she made it quite clear, through her selection of words and phrases to reflect Henry Ford in the worse possible light, she would like nothing better than to see this “offending” phrase removed.  This is acceptable as she was writing an editorial, not a news item.  What is not acceptable are blatant falsehoods.  She states, “He even traveled to Germany to personally accept an award from Hitler...”.  She goes on in the next paragraph and states, “..there are pictures that prove that meeting took place.“.

I would be delighted to know the source of Ms Potters information.  All of my research indicates the award ceremony took place in his (Henry Fords) own office.  The award was presented by the Consul stationed in Cleveland.  And the award ceremony took place in March of 1938. The date is important as it was a full 18 months before Germany invaded Poland. The award was given due to the work the Ford Motor Company German factories had done in making cars and trucks for Germany.  And the photos of the award ceremony (the real one) can easily be found by Googling it.

A prudent and reasonable person reading the two different sentences would easily draw different and opposing conclusions.   A short survey of friends and neighbors reveal seven of ten queried believe Mr Ford made that trip having heard the story before (three hadn’t heard anything of the sort).  This belief, although lamentable regarding the shortcomings of a knowledge of history are not surprising as far as it goes.  But; a newspaper editor (and part owner) of the towns local newspaper who is reporting on a local issue has a very real responsibility to “get it right”, not print Internet rumors.  A few minutes spent fact checking would have revealed the facts.

It is very easy and convenient to judge past historical figures and events based on our moral and ethical standards of 2010. If we are to strip any favorable recognition from historical figures because of some character or moral flaws found within that person, we will find ourselves shortlisted indeed.  Ideally, we can learn from their character flaws as well as their scientific, military, political, or artistic abilities.

As an additional note, if the “offending” phrase were removed from the towns signage, would that be the end of it?  According to Col Kent?  Sure, although his new supporters may not be so amiable to the solution.  Call me a skeptic , but I find it highly doubtful this would be the end of this matter, as these matters rarely come to an easy close.  We have a statue of Henry Ford in City Hall, a street named for him,  a plaza named for him, and a housing development named for Henry Ford.  They would be targeted very quickly I am sure.

Organizations

Back in Business and Our First Item to Share…

Thanks for being so patient while your over tasked hostess figured out how to continue blogging Richmond Hill. Stay tuned for some really fun stuff. As always, feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions, comments, concerns or ideas.

Now, the Mayor’s Motorcade…

Richmond Hill Participating in Mayors’ Christmas Motorcade

The City of Richmond Hill will be doing its part to make the holiday season special for residents of the state’s mental health and retardation hospitals.

For 50 years, cities across Georgia have brought the joy of the holiday season to patients at Georgia’s seven regional mental health and retardation hospitals through the Mayors’ Christmas Motorcade.

The program, begun by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) in cooperation with Governor Ernest Vandiver, relies on citizen participation in each city to donate gifts for the patients, many of who would not receive gifts or be recognized without the Mayors’ Christmas Motorcade. According to hospital staff, many of the patients at these hospitals have lived there most of their lives and have little, if any, support or contact with friends and family.

Donated items from the City of Richmond Hill will be delivered to Georgia Regional Hospital in Savannah on Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Civic organizations, businesses, churches, schools, scout troops and individual citizens are encouraged to help with the collection of gifts for the Mayors’ Christmas Motorcade.

Drop-off locations include the Richmond Hill City Hall, the Bryan County Courthouse, and the Bryan County Annex/Jack Kingston Building.

Needed items include:
Miscellaneous Gifts:
Board Games
Cards
T-Shirts
Baseball Caps
Watches
Walkman Radios
Top 40 Tapes/CD
Wallets
Stationary
Pens/Pencils
Tote Bags
Cookies/Snacks
Movies (PG or G only)
Hair Accessories
Personal Care Items:
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Combs/Brushes
Cosmetics
Shaving Lotion
Deodorant
After Shave
Cosmetic Cases
Shampoo/Conditioner
Body Lotion New Clothing:
(Extra Large through 4XXXX-Women)
(Small-Men)
Pajamas/Nightgowns/Bathrobes
Socks
Underwear
Bedroom Shoes
Tennis Shoe
Hats
Sweat Shirts/Pants

For more information on how groups and businesses can participate, please call Jan Bass at 912-756-6459 or go online to www.richmondhill-ga.gov.

Based in Atlanta, GMA is a voluntary, non-profit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and technical consulting services to its 510 member cities.