Argument

Once upon a time... There was a lad among a crowd of impassioned onlookers, all caught up in a fervor over the beauty of the Emperor's other-worldly garments. The lad blew the lid off that nonsense simply by pointing his finger and telling the truth, “The Emperor has no clothes,” he said. He said what he saw and, suddenly, others saw, too. That kid, no doubt, was a natural-born journalist.There used to be a good deal of debate about the role of the journalist in societies but that seems to be quiet just now. With the explosion in recent years of social and other media and everyman's access to instant publishing, we seem to be leaning toward an “everything, all the time” model of news that has all but declared newspapers dead.

Dear Editor: In his letter of Sept. 30, Professor Martin speaks of Professor Cooney's article about the administration's inept response to Hurricane Katrina as "a bridge too far. " "A bridge too far" refers to one's resources being stretched too thin by trying to do too much. I don't see how this could apply to Professor Martin's views of Professor Cooney. I suspect Professor Martin means "the straw that broke the camel's back" or, more tersely, "the last straw. " As for more substantive matters, it does not seem to me that Professor Cooney hates George Bush and conservatives, wants the war in Iraq to fail, or is claiming to speak for Centre College.

Dear Editor, Well, it seems my criticism of Brian Cooney's recent column criticizing Republicans has itself spawned a whole host of criticisms. Let me comment on just a couple of these. In David Hall's letter, he accuses me of missing Cooney's point. "Either Cothran didn't read Cooney's article closely," he says, "or he lacks the means to refute Cooney's argument. " I can assure Hall that I read the column quite closely and that I would have loved to refute Cooney's argument - if he had actually made one. However, instead of arguing that Republicans have a mistaken view of these terms and explaining what the terms properly mean, Cooney attempts some sort of psychological deconstruction of conservatives and how we use these terms.

An alcohol-fueled domestic argument sent a Clark County man to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his armpit and his wife to jail on assault charges Saturday night. Bonita Bennett, 53, of 2858 Ford Hampton Road, is facing first-degree assault charges for the incident at their home at 2858 Ford Hampton Road. According to the incident report, John Bennett reported the shooting himself at 8:02 p.m. Saturday and told dispatchers that his wife had shot him. When deputies arrived a couple minutes later, John Bennett exited the house holding his arm and what appeared to be a large cut, deputies said.

Dear Editor, Upon reading Bob Martin's article of Nov. 27 in The Advocate-Messenger, I find myself in fundamental agreement with his conclusion that, "Reason does not inevitably lead one to reject faith, and faith does not inevitably lead one to reject reason," and perhaps even his more pointed claim that "any society that rejects either reason or faith is committing cultural suicide. " However, given that I actually understand his line of reasoning, I cannot subscribe to his argument for that conclusion.

LIBERTY - A Liberty man was shot and killed by his own gun Friday afternoon during an argument on Michael Drive, Kentucky State Police said. George Green, 43, of Liberty, was pronounced dead at the scene by Casey County Coroner Tommy Clark shortly after 5:30 p.m. A KSP press release stated that police believe Green and Ronald Evans, also of Liberty, were arguing when Green pulled a handgun. The two men were fighting for control of the gun when it went off, shooting Green in the side, police said.

TAMPA, Fla. - Kentucky forward A.J. Stewart admits he got into an argument with coach Billy Gillispie last month, but he insists he never quit the team. Stewart was upset after he played only 5 minutes in Kentucky's loss at South Carolina on Feb. 25. Rumors surfaced that he quit the team, and Gillispie said two days later that Stewart had quit but was back on the team. After Wednesday's open practice for the Southeastern Conference Tournament, Stewart offered his side of what happened with Gillispie.

(Editor's note: Click here to watch a Journal Webcast of the seven-hour standoff between Eric Skeens and the Nicholasville Police Department.) An argument with a stepdaughter's boyfriend turned into a seven-hour standoff between Nicholasville police and a heavily-armed man at 216 S. Town Branch Road Tuesday morning. Eric Skeens, 41, surrendered to police without incident after hours of negotiating, Officer Scott Harvey said. Skeens was charged with first-degree wanton endangerment.

Jeffrey Clem said he didn't mean to kill Willie Banks in his home more than a year ago, but he still pleaded guilty to murder Thursday afternoon. Clem, 52, of 117 Linden Ave. Apt. 1, entered his pleas to murder and tampering with physical evidence in Clark Circuit Court. Prosecutors offered the minimum sentences of 20 years and one year, respectively, which would be served concurrently. Clem could have received up to a life sentence for murder. “We got into an argument and I shot and killed him,” Clem told Clark Circuit Judge William Clouse.

MORELAND - A Kings Mountain man was airlifted to a hospital Tuesday night after a Stanford man shot him from a distance with a shotgun. Adam Alford, 18, of Stanford, has been charged with first-degree assault after admitting to shooting at Farren Rowland, 48, of Kings Mountain, along Ky. 1194, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. According to a news release, Alford told police he shot at Rowland with a .410-gauge shotgun from a second-story apartment window while Rowland was sitting in a vehicle.

MORELAND - A Kings Mountain man was airlifted to a hospital Tuesday night after a Stanford man shot him from a distance with a shotgun. Adam Alford, 18, of Stanford, has been charged with first-degree assault after admitting to shooting at Farren Rowland, 48, of Kings Mountain, along Ky. 1194, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. According to a news release, Alford told police he shot at Rowland with a .410-gauge shotgun from a second-story apartment window while Rowland was sitting in a vehicle.

An alcohol-fueled domestic argument sent a Clark County man to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his armpit and his wife to jail on assault charges Saturday night. Bonita Bennett, 53, of 2858 Ford Hampton Road, is facing first-degree assault charges for the incident at their home at 2858 Ford Hampton Road. According to the incident report, John Bennett reported the shooting himself at 8:02 p.m. Saturday and told dispatchers that his wife had shot him. When deputies arrived a couple minutes later, John Bennett exited the house holding his arm and what appeared to be a large cut, deputies said.

The city manager form of government has not been on the ballot since 2008, but it has been the large, ill-tempered elephant in the Danville City Commission chambers for every meeting the last several years.  Here's hoping that's going to change. During Monday's meeting, Mayor Bernie Hunstad appeared aggravated by the decision to rotate the order in which commissioners vote during meetings, instead of following the existing practice of the mayor voting last. It was a small conflict, but also a telling one. The disagreement was a microcosm of the push-and-pull between commissioners and a mayor who has demonstrated a belief that his job includes meaningful executive power beyond a kind of ceremonial, first-among-equals status on the Commission.

A late night argument outside a Winchester apartment building led to one death and the arrest of another man on murder charges. Andrew Williamson, 46, of 149 Winn Ave. Apt. 1, was arrested early this morning and charged with beating Joseph Jones to death with a baseball bat following a verbal argument, according to court documents. Williamson was at the scene when police arrived around 11:30 p.m. Monday, Winchester Police Sgt. Tom Beall wrote in the arrest citation. During questioning, Williamson said he went to his room after the argument, got the bat, and returned  to the front porch of the building where Jones was sitting.

Police arrested a Winchester man for assault after he admitted to wounding a friend by mistake during an argument Saturday morning. Keithyon Nelson, 20, of 36 Fitch Ave., pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence charges Monday in Clark District Court. Police said Nelson, the 17-year-old victim and others got into an argument Saturday near 8 Wainscott Ave. Neighbors reported hearing shots being fired in the neighborhood. Officers were notified by employees at Clark Regional Medical Center of a juvenile patient with a gunshot wound to his leg, Winchester Police Sgt. Tom Beall said.

Jeffrey Clem said he didn't mean to kill Willie Banks in his home more than a year ago, but he still pleaded guilty to murder Thursday afternoon. Clem, 52, of 117 Linden Ave. Apt. 1, entered his pleas to murder and tampering with physical evidence in Clark Circuit Court. Prosecutors offered the minimum sentences of 20 years and one year, respectively, which would be served concurrently. Clem could have received up to a life sentence for murder. “We got into an argument and I shot and killed him,” Clem told Clark Circuit Judge William Clouse.

Once upon a time... There was a lad among a crowd of impassioned onlookers, all caught up in a fervor over the beauty of the Emperor's other-worldly garments. The lad blew the lid off that nonsense simply by pointing his finger and telling the truth, “The Emperor has no clothes,” he said. He said what he saw and, suddenly, others saw, too. That kid, no doubt, was a natural-born journalist.There used to be a good deal of debate about the role of the journalist in societies but that seems to be quiet just now. With the explosion in recent years of social and other media and everyman's access to instant publishing, we seem to be leaning toward an “everything, all the time” model of news that has all but declared newspapers dead.

Money does not care about those in need Dear Editor, I write this in anger. For me there is no other reason, except to fling words of praise, to write a letter to the editor. As an 89-year-old veteran, I sometimes don't know why I wasted my time fighting for this country, where most people don't want to help anyone but themselves, where thrills, money and drugs are the best they can do. It's a tragedy. Yes, we have done some good things, but not enough. There should be no argument about it. Maybe I should have gone to Canada and forsaken the Distinguished Flying Cross and six Air Medals.

They tell me that we’re all going to get a tax cut for Christmas — which is fine, I suppose. If it goes the way of other tax cuts, we’ll get an extra $6 per pay period — and then no one will be able to figure out why this didn’t spur an economic recovery. It’s a fact that for all the talk about tax cuts, we never seem to notice when we get them. In his first two years, Obama cut taxes, but polls show that a full third of the nation believes that he actually raised them.

DALLAS — Some Christians say you shouldn’t mix politics and religion. They are wrong. One pastor/activist, Bryan Fischer, makes the case beautifully. Fischer is a graduate of Stanford University and has a theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He spent years as a teacher of biblical studies and as a pastor. But he also stayed active in his home state of Idaho, serving on the Boise Parks and Recreation Commission and even spending a year as chaplain of the Idaho State Senate.