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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Honor killings in Iraq: Democracy or theocracy?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Basim Al-Shara reports that key Iraqi elected officials, including members of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s United Iraqi Alliance and the Sunni-led Iraqi Accord Front are opposing an effort to toughen penalties for so-called honor killings. Under current law, a man can be sentenced to a maximum of only three years in prison if he kills or disables his wife or girlfriend immediately after witnessing her engaging in a sex act with another man.
Is this the kind of country the U.S. envisioned?
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Traffic wreck for commuters?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Are you tired of sitting in traffic every morning and evening? Are you fed up with wasting an hour on a trip that should take 10 minutes? Are you getting angry waiting for elected officials to address the problem?
Well, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and members of the state Senate have a message for you: too bad. They believe you won’t mind much if they make you wait another year or more for help. Or maybe a lot longer than that, like never.
Last week, the state House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to give metro Atlanta a tool to addresss its transportation mess. With approval by the Senate, and then by voters in November, metro Atlanta and other regions would be given the right to raise the sales tax by a penny, with all revenue earmarked to pay for regional transportation projects.
That approach has a lot of merit. Regions where traffic is not a concern would not see their taxes raised. In regions where transportation investment is badly needed, local voters would still have to approve the tax. And tax proceeds could be used for a variety of transportation needs, including options such as commuter rail, light rail and bus rapid transit. (Currently, gas tax revenue —- the major source of state transportation funds —- can be used only for roads and bridges.)
The House approach is so good that, initially, the state Senate passed legislation very much like it. But now, late in the session, Cagle and other Senate leaders have changed their tune dramatically.
They still propose a constitutional amendment on transportation funding, but their new version is barely a sketch of a solution. If voters approve it come November, next year’s Legislature would have to come back to pass still more legislation to put the idea into effect.
State Sen. Jeff Mullis, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, claims the new proposal would be more popular with voters because it is simpler to understand. But it is simpler because it does nothing, and voters would have no idea what they were voting to approve.
If voters approve the Senate version, the Legislature could decide next year to take a regional approach. But it might not. The tax in question might be a one-penny sales tax. Or two pennies, or a tenth of a penny, or no tax at all. It might allow funding for transit, or it might not.
Transportation funding will be the the most important piece of legislation enacted this session. Voters shouldn’t sit idly by while the Senate sabotages the effort
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Nutrition info in restaurants?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Even though not a single Georgia jurisdiction has indicated an interest in requiring restaurants to post nutrition information on menus, the 2008 General Assembly has decided it is important to ban cities, counties and health departments from doing so. (Read the AJC editorial.)
What do you think? Should restaurants be required to provide nutrition information?
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