Category Archives: Editorial

The Columbia Paper Editorial

EDITORIAL: Delgado for Congress

by PARRY TEASDALE

WHEN REPRESENTATIVE ANTONIO DELGADO describes the 19th District as the “eighth most rural congressional district in the U.S., he’s not kidding. The district may cover all or parts of 11 counties, including all of Columbia, but you don’t have to spend much time here to appreciate the margin by which trees outnumber voters.

He’s seen a lot of them—trees and voters—in his first term, even though almost half of that term, which began in January 2019, has been overshadowed by the pandemic. He’s now running for a second term against three opponents. He has a record that speaks of the type of congressman he’s been and what he’s likely to accomplish if reelected.

Mr. Delgado is a Democrat who will also appear on the Working Families and Serve America Movement ballot lines. He faces Republican Kyle Van De Water, Green Party candidate Steven Greenfield and Libertarian Party candidate Victoria N. Alexander. Recently there was a broadcast debate between Rep. Delgado and Mr. Van De Water; the other two candidates were not present. Read more…

EDITORIAL: Elect Joe Biden

by PARRY TEASDALE

THIS WILL BE SHORT. It takes no special powers of imagination, time or education to know which candidate is a better person. That alone is not enough to make Joe Biden a good president. But it’s a good place to start.

His upbringing gave him the ability to know what it means when so many people in this country tell us they’re hurting—not inconvenienced, worried or annoyed—hungry, cold, scared. Don’t take Joe Biden’s word for it. Come to the County Fairgrounds in Chatham the next time there’s a free food distribution. Pitch in and help. See for yourself.

If we don’t want hunger to be the new normal, who has a better plan for helping the people like those who had jobs until the pandemic hit? That would be Joe Biden. Read more…

EDITORIAL: What’s your plan?

by PARRY TEASDALE

WHAT’S YOUR PLAN for voting? Nope, not “who” you’re voting for. The question is “what,” as in: What vehicle will you take at what time of day to travel directly to what address to hand over what kind of ballot to what type of official in what is the most important election in our lifetime?

Please don’t say you’ll think about it. You won’t. It’s an invitation to procrastinate: Oh, gee, I feel terrible but I just… I mean couldn’t… actually, I didn’t … well, y’know ….

Already have a plan? Good. Tell somebody about it. Maybe you can be voter buddies. Promise yourself something really good once you’ve voted. Read more…

EDITORIAL: Not so happy returns

by PARRY TEASDALE

WHAT SOMEBODY SHOULD have said was: “This is a good idea but we’re not gonna get away with it and we don’t need trouble.” Too bad that’s not the way these stories unfold, because what they did say was: “Yeah, let’s do it!”

So the county Democratic Committee went ahead and sent filled-out application forms for absentee ballots for the November 3 General Election, That was “good idea” part. On the envelope, where it should have had the return address of the Democratic Committee, the committee intentionally put the county Board of Elections. That’s the “what-were-you-thinking” part.

In fairness, the Democrats say they did check the envelope address with the U.S. Postal Service. Good move, except that the Postal Service has no authority over the Board of Elections. And the Dems didn’t bother to check it with either the Democratic or the Republican county election commissioners. Read more…

EDITORIAL: Hit me with your best shot

by PARRY TEASDALE

THERE’S A VACCINE that’s safe, works pretty well and there’s enough of it to go around. It’s the flu vaccine and the CDC recommends almost everyone who’s older than six months should get one.

There’s no evidence it will have any effect on Covid-19, except that it’s possible some unfortunate people could come down with both flu and Covid-19 at the same time. Those two viral illnesses together could make someone very sick. But flu alone is bad enough to convince reasonable people that a flu shot is a good idea. The 1918 flu pandemic killed millions worldwide.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, usually referred to as CDC, has surveillance networks that track how widespread the flu is each year and how effective vaccines are at preventing or moderating the impact of flu around the country. The effectiveness varies from year to year; flu vaccines don’t provide 100% immunity and often are far from it. But vaccines do improve the odds. Get a shot and you might avoid the flu completely. Or you might get a milder case. And when enough people get vaccinated, it means that if the flu makes you so sick you need hospitalization, there will be a bed available. That’s because other people are staying healthy. Read more…