Thursday, October 21, 2010Opinion

The Brownsville States-Graphic

page A4

PeeplesBy 28th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Clayburn Peeples

The Brownsville States-Graphic(USPS ISSN 08909938) is published weekly by Haywood County Newspapers

L.L.C., 42 South Washington, P.O. Box 59, Brownsville TN 38012.

Periodicals postage paid at Brownsville, TN.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to

The Brownsville States-Graphic, P.O. Box 59, Brownsville, TN 38012

“A publication of American Hometown Publishing”DEADLINES:

News, Monday at Noon • Advertising, Monday at NoonClassifi ed Advertising, Monday at Noon

Society news, Monday at Noon Legals, Monday at Noon

SUBSCRIPTIONS (PER YEAR):Haywood County $35; In-state $42; Out-of-state $49

Communications with the newspaper

must include the author’s signature,

address and telephone number. All letters to the editor refl ect the opinions of the

writer and are not necessarily those of the newspaper. The newspaper is

not responsible for unsolicited material. We reserve the right to reject or shorten letter to the editor.

731-772-1172

BrownsvilleSTATES-GRAPHICSTATES-GRAPHIC

Scott Whaley,Editor & Publisher

Calvin Carter,Rebecca GrayStaff Writer

Sara Clark,Josh AndersonGraphic Design

Terry ThompsonSales Manager

Leticia OrozcoReceptionist

Vicky Fawcett,Office Manager

Scott Whaley,Editor & Publisher

Vicky Fawcett,Offi ce Manager

Terry ThompsonSales Manager

Ceree Peace PostonReceptionist

Calvin Carter,Staff Writer

Julie Pickard,Staff Writer

Matt GarrettGraphic Designer

The Brownsville States-Graphic(USPS ISSN 08909938) is published weekly by Haywood County Newspapers

L.L.C., 42 South Washington, P.O. Box 59, Brownsville TN 38012.

Periodicals postage paid at Brownsville, TN.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to

The Brownsville States-Graphic, P.O. Box 59, Brownsville, TN 38012

“A publication of American Hometown Publishing”DEADLINES:

News, Monday at Noon • Advertising, Monday at NoonClassifi ed Advertising, Monday at Noon

Society news, Monday at Noon Legals, Monday at Noon

SUBSCRIPTIONS (PER YEAR):Haywood County $35; In-state $42; Out-of-state $49

Communications with the newspaper

must include the author’s signature,

address and telephone number. All letters to the editor refl ect the opinions of the

writer and are not necessarily those of the newspaper. The newspaper is

not responsible for unsolicited material. We reserve the right to reject or shorten letter to the editor.

731-772-1172

BrownsvilleSTATES-GRAPHICSTATES-GRAPHIC

Scott Whaley,Editor & Publisher

Calvin Carter,Rebecca GrayStaff Writer

Sara Clark,Josh AndersonGraphic Design

Terry ThompsonSales Manager

Leticia OrozcoReceptionist

Vicky Fawcett,Office Manager

Scott Whaley,Editor & Publisher

Vicky Fawcett,Offi ce Manager

Terry ThompsonSales Manager

Ceree Peace PostonReceptionist

Calvin Carter,Staff Writer

Julie Pickard,Staff Writer

Matt GarrettGraphic Designer

Jeff PerrySports Writer

2nd Tuesday of every month - 7pm

All right folks; there’s a governor’s race going on, and while I wouldn’t think of suggesting how you should vote in it, it might be interesting to find out what we know about our next governor’s predecessors. As always, answers are at the bottom:1. Just how many governors has Tennessee had?

A. 53B. 48C. 36

2. Which governor pushed through the first state sales tax?A. Buford Ellington B. Jim Nance McCordC. Frank Clement

3. Which governor called a special session of the legislature so Tennessee could vote to ratify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus ensuring its passage?

A. Malcolm PattersonB. Isham HarrisC. Albert Roberts

4. Who was the first governor to ascend to the governorship due to a vacancy in the office?

A. William HallB. Sam HoustonC. Aaron Brown

5. Which governor died in a cholera epidemic?A. James K. PolkB. Andrew JohnsonC. Isham Harris

6. For much of our history, Tennessee governors served two year terms. Who was the first governor to serve a four year term when the law was changed?

A. Ray BlantonB. Gordon BrowningC. Frank Clement

7. Who was our first governor to die in office?A. Austin PeayB. Henry HortonC. Prentiss Cooper

8. Who was the first Tennessee governor to be born in the state?A. Andrew JohnsonB. John SevierC. James C. Jones

9. In what state was our present governor born?A. New JerseyB. New YorkC. Massachusetts

10. Who was governor when West Tennessee was “purchased” from the Chickasaw Nation?

A. Joseph McMinnB. William BlountC. Sam Houston

answers: 1. (a) 48 is the generally accepted number, but some people count William Blount, our territorial governor. Still others count Robert Looney Caruthers, elected Confederate governor during the Civil War. Since Northern troops controlled most of the state, however, he never took office. 2. (b) Jim Nance McCord pushed the first state sales tax (3 percent) into law in 1947. The voters pushed him out of office the following year. 3. (c) Albert Roberts called the legislature into session in the summer of 1920 where they ratified the 19th Amendment, thus securing its passage. Three months later, newly enfranchised women helped vote him out of office. 4. (a) William Hall became governor when Sam Houston resigned the office in 1829. 5. (a) Our 11th, or 9th, depending on how you count, governor, James K. Polk, died in 1849, shortly after leaving the White House, in the Nashville cholera epidemic. 6. (c) Frank Clement was elected to the state’s first four year governor’s term in 1954. 7. (a) Austin Peay died in 1927 of a massive heart attack, in the middle of his third, two-year term.8. (c) James C (Lean Jimmy) Jones, elected in 1841, was our first governor to be born in the state. 9. (a) Governor Phil Bredesen was born in New Jersey and moved to New York as a child. 10. (a) Joseph McMinn was governor when the Jackson Purchase was negotiated.

There’s this old adage about a journalists’ vices.

Depending on whom one asks, these particular vices could be as normal as always having a pen and pad handy, or purposely desiring putting yourself in the middle of a dangerous story to satiate one’s thirst for thrill.

The top two vices I always hear and witness of veteran information-slingers are coffee and cigarettes.

This makes sense, as you’ll need something to combat the long, relentless hours and heavy-ton weight of stress that comes with the job.

Personally, I don’t smoke, and I’m not a huge coffee drinker.

I did use to have a thing for energy drinks, especially throughout college.

It was not uncommon for me to drink three or four every five or six hours or pop a few trucker No-Doze pills, just to stay up 48 hours straight.

Whether it a final or ten-page paper examining the relationship between religion and witchcraft during the 15th century, I would carelessly ingest these substances to get through the days.

Today, I’d just settle for an orange and some green tea just to get me through the day. I haven’t touched an energy drink in a year. It’s been, what, three years now since I’ve ever taken any No-Doz.

It’s my way of trying to reverse my recklessness, as I’m sure that my youthful mistakes have taken a number of years off of my life.

Boy when I say it, it makes me sound like I’ve overcome a damaging addiction. Heck, when you think about it, maybe I have.

A can of liquid energy doesn’t really cure you of your body’s fatigue. The only cure for that is actual rest.

What it does do however, is fool it into thinking you’re not tired. Fatigue is the body’s way of saying “Hey, really, that’s enough now, you need rest.”

Although these

masks work, and help get you through whatever daunting task is exhausting you that feeling gradually abates, until you’re left with a huge crash.

Those 48-hour marathons would result in me sleeping half of the next day. And even after finally waking from deep unconscious slumber, the body would still feel numb and groggy for the other half of the day.

The reason I bring all of this up now is because of a news story I read online about a product that is basically an alcoholic beverage mixed with an energy drink.

Nearly two-dozen students at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey have been hospitalized for excessive drinking, thanks to an alcoholic energy drink called Four Loko.

This sounds no different to men than having a vodka mixed with a red bull.

Drinking these little cocktails will give the impression that you’re not as drunk as you would think you are.

The alert-granting stimulants provided to you by Red Bull offset the inhibiting effects—loss of motor

skills, drowsiness—given by alcohol.

You can’t feel yourself getting intoxicated then of course you drink more. And this is a dangerous path to alcohol poisoning.

This could also potentially lead to someone driving while impaired.

Personally, I think Red Bull like cocktails, and alcoholic energy drinks should be banned altogether. The consequences from these types of concoctions are too dire.

And given the news article, this also makes a dangerous target of college students, who already produce staggering figures when it comes to binge drinking.

As for energy drinks in general, I can’t really judge anyone who uses them. As I said, they do work. However, just as anything, drinking in excess could also lead to some damaging health problems.

After all, you’re not really getting rid of fatigue; you’re just covering it up. And denying your body of its natural needs, like rest, can always be dangerous to your heart.

Tennessee Governors - A Quiz

Liquid energy or liquid death?