16 January 2009

Angie Tedder Should Check Her Facts

Mayor not behind

churches rally

To the Editor:

There have been at least two letters written to the paper regarding alcohol sales on Sunday. Both letters accused the mayor of "orchestrating" churches to attend the Georgetown City Council meeting in opposition of Sunday alcohol sales. Iwould like to set the record straight.

It was I who telephoned churches in Georgetown. It was I who contacted pastors and asked them or a representative to attend the council meeting in opposition to Sunday alcohol sales. It was I who "dared the council members to be different" from other counties. I do not believe that counties which allow Sunday alcohol sales have a better economy than Georgetown. I do believe that Sunday is set apart as a special day from any other day of the week. Lexington is not doing any better with its economy since allowing such sales on Sunday. Should the new council bring this topic up once again, then I will again contact churches and ask them to exercise their right to free speech against the sale of alcohol on Sunday. Almost every case I have involving domestic violence involves the use of alcohol. Therefore, it is also a health issue.

Again, this letter is to set the record straight, it was not the mayor who orchestrated anything ... it came from this citizen ...me.

Angie Tedder,

Georgetown

From Georgetown News-Graphic, 16 January 2009

 

What Angie Tedder Believes

I read with much amusement Angie Tedder’s letter to the editor regarding Sunday alcohol sales and what she believes. The problem is that she speaks only to what she believes and not to what she thinks or knows. She believes that counties that have Sunday alcohol sales are economically better off than Georgetown and that she does not believe that Lexington is doing better than Georgetown since Lexington has Sunday alcohol sales. Sorry, but once again, a 30 minute Google search would have given Angie a comparison of facts- you know, those troubling things? Georgetown’s deficit to population ratio is $200/person. Lexington’s is below $100/person. Georgetown’s unemployment rate is 5.7%. Lexington’s is 5.1%. Seems that, on these two major economic indicators alone, Angie Tedder is wrong.

As are the rest of her beliefs on this issue. Angie Tedder may believe that Sunday is special, and, to her, it may well be; this is a perceptual fact. The same idea of perceptual facts can apply to Judaic and Seventh Day Adventist calls for Saturday Sabbaths. A fact of perception is not empirical, and it is therefore unprovable; in short, such a fact is little more than an unfounded and un-or-misinformed opinion based, usually, upon traditional observances. If any person feels that any particular day is more special than any of the others we have been given, then allow that person to observe their special day in the way that they feel appropriate without the interference of those pushing a fascist, counter-productive agenda.

She claims that in almost every case of domestic abuse that she has seen, alcohol was involved. I can likewise say that in almost every case of marriage and pregnancy I have seen, as well as a lot of just plain sex, alcohol was involved. Of the seven cases of domestic abuse that I have personally known, five were among tee-totallers; perhaps Angie could bother to compile some convincing statistics instead of citing anecdotes? Then again, the studies to which her Sunday alcohol sales opposing friends referred in the Council meeting on December 1st have already been shown to indicate that the domestic abuse/alcohol relationship is not impacted by liquor by the drink sales on Sunday, or any other day.

As for Angie Tedder’s rather prideful claim to sponsorship of the Sunday alcohol sales opposition: this writer has doubts, as do many others, as to Ms. Tedder’s possession of sufficient intellectual acumen to have orchestrated the event presented on December 1st in front of City Council.

 

The preceding was a letter to the editor of Georgetown’s local paper followed by the reply which I also sent to the editor. I haven’t heard back on my response; perhaps because it might be construed as insulting. Regardless, I thought that I still needed to publish this, so that others might know the mentality of those standing in opposition to Sunday by the drink alcohol sales in Georgetown, KY.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It ran in the 21 Jan 2009 edition of the GNG.