AJC.com > Opinion > Opinion Talk > Archives > 2008 > June
June 2008
City of Buckhead?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
John Sherman, president of the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation - the group pushing for a city of Buckhead- argues that residents want lower taxes and better services. He says Atlanta should outsource many of its services as other cities have done. The group has 10,000 signatures on petitions for Buckhead cityhood, writes Sherman.
But lifetime Buckhead resident Molly Read Woo argues against the move.
“Buckhead is successful because Atlanta is a strong and vibrant city,” she writes. “The affluence of the area is like the blossom on a peach tree. It can be very attractive, but if you break off the branch it’s blooming on, the blossom will dry up and you’ll totally miss out on the fruit of the peach - the sweetest part of all.
“Those who propose that Buckhead could break off from Atlanta and still thrive are just as shortsighted. The Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation proposal that Buckhead residents try to sever ties to the city where we live is almost laughable, but also a sad reflection of the corporate raider mentality that pervades our lives today, placing a premium on personal profit at the expense of the community. “
Your thoughts?
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Are no-kill shelters dangerous?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A former volunteer at a no-kill dog shelter in Marietta describes an attack by a dog named Lexie that left her hospitalized and with several thousand dollars in medical bills. “After 10 days of being quarantined at the veterinarian’s office, Lexie is back at Our Pal’s Place, handled daily by volunteers,” writes Celia Gilner. “She is still available for adoption. I am not aware of any agency - the Department of Agriculture, Cobb County Animal Control, or the local Department of Health - that has the authority to remove dangerous dogs from no-kill facilities.” Read column
But Our Pal’s Place executive director Gigi Graves counters that all volunteers are trained in safety procedures and sign liability waivers.
“Volunteers are also repeatedly told not to interact with animals with whom they are not comfortable. Animals sense fear, and a fearful volunteer puts the animals and people in harm’s way,” she writes. Read column
Are no-kill animals shelters dangerous? Should they keep dogs that are unadoptable, and a threat to other dogs and volunteers?
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Make $4 gas permanent?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta economist Arnie Dill advocates more oil exploration. And he opposes hitting oil companies with higher taxes. But he also advocates more taxes on gasoline if prices drop below $4. Keeping prices at at least $4 a gallon will make sure we keep fighting our oil addiction, he writes.
“Since oil prices have a volatile history, they might drop in the future and tempt us to fall off the wagon again,” writes Dill. “Therefore, the government needs to set a $4 inflation-adjusted floor under gas prices by fully taxing any decline in market prices below that level. The gas tax proceeds would fund cuts in payroll and income taxes, especially for those with lower incomes, and beef up EPA policing of expanded energy production. “
What do you think of this idea? Can we trust ourselves with lower prices at the pump or would we just revert to our old fuel-hogging ways?
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Stop prosecuting kids as adults?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sarah Totonchi of the Southern Center for Human Rights argues that it is time to stop charging juveniles as adults in Georgia. “There are reasons why children can’t vote, drink or engage in contracts — they think and act differently, like children,” she writes. ” While the adult system tends to emphasize punishment over rehabilitation, rehabilitation is at the core of the mission of the juvenile justice system. And research shows that children can change. “While the misuse of any form of incarceration for youth is troubling, placing youth in the adult criminal justice system specifically denies them protection from adult prisoners and age-appropriate educational, medical, nutritional and mental health services that would enhance their transition to adulthood and ensure their best chance for rehabilitation. “These laws also ignore their racially disproportionate impact and have allowed unequal justice to persist in the Georgia courts. African-American and Latino youth are 45 percent of Georgia’s youth population but make up 77.2 percent of the youth arrested under laws that allow them to be treated as adults. “
Do you agree?
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Home ownership: Who needs it?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman questions whether home ownership is still worth it.
“In effect, U.S. policy is based on the premise that everyone should be a homeowner. But here’s the thing: There are some real disadvantages to homeownership,” he writes. “First of all, there’s the financial risk. Although it’s rarely put it this way, borrowing to buy a home is like buying stocks on margin: if the market value of the house falls, the buyer can easily lose his or her entire stake. “This isn’t a hypothetical worry. From 2005 through 2007 alone — that is, at the peak of the housing bubble — more than 22 million Americans bought either new or existing houses. Now that the bubble has burst, many of those homebuyers have lost heavily on their investment. At this point there are probably around 10 million households with negative home equity — that is, with mortgages that exceed the value of their houses. “Owning a home also ties workers down. Even in the best of times, the costs and hassle of selling one home and buying another — one estimate put the average cost of a house move at more than $60,000 — tend to make workers reluctant to go where the jobs are.” Is Krugman right: Do you regret owning a home? Would you advise your children to buy a home now?
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Blacks, prison and Obama
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington Post columnist George Will takes issue with Barack Obama’s statements about blacks in prison.
Obama said last July “more young black men languish in prison than attend colleges and universities.””
But Will writes, “Actually, more than twice as many black men 18-24 are in college as there are in jail.”
Obama last September said, “We have a system that locks away too many young, first-time, nonviolent offenders for the better part of their lives.” Will counters, ” Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute, writing in the institute’s City Journal, notes that from 1999 to 2004, violent offenders accounted for all of the increase in the prison population. Furthermore, Mac Donald cites data indicating that:
‘In the overwhelming majority of cases, prison remains a lifetime achievement award for persistence in criminal offending. Absent recidivism or a violent crime, the criminal-justice system will do everything it can to keep you out of the state or federal slammer.’”
Read Mac Donald’s explanation here.
Will concludes, “Liberalism likes victimization narratives and the related assumption that individuals are blank slates on which “society” writes. Hence liberals locate the cause of crime in flawed social conditions that liberalism supposedly can fix.”
With whom do you agree on this?
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Health museum or health insurance?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Joan Yoon writes that if we are willing to shell out $250 million for a health museum in downtown Atlanta, we should also be willing to invest more in the health of Georgia citizens. “I have no doubt that the national health museum can teach Georgia residents and visitors alike about the importance of healthy living,” she writes. “At the same time, though, I think it only right to consider investment in the new national health museum in Georgia in the same vein as investment in the health of Georgians. “I’m worried about the health of our state. Beyond our failure to protect consumers in the health insurance market, I’m concerned about our state’s uninsured and underinsured. More specifically, I’m concerned about the more than 300,000 children in Georgia who lack health insurance coverage, the rising number of babies born at a low birthweight, the alarming growth in the number of obese children and adults, and our collective failure to identify and properly treat adolescents with mental health issues.”
In building the new health museum, do we have our priorities straight?
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Mayors brace for D.C. gun ruling
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon issue a ruling in the Washington, D.C. gun case and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin worries that cities may be hampered in their crime-fighting efforts if the justices strike down the D.C. gun control laws.
“If the justices agree with the lower court’s ruling, cities and states throughout the country may face challenge after challenge to the constitutionality of firearm regulations enacted to protect the public and prosecute criminals. And city attorneys may find themselves spending as much time fighting lawsuits as they do fighting crime,” writes Franklin, in an opinion column signed by several other mayors. “Those resource-draining challenges would come at an inconvenient time. Gun violence is a national crisis, but one that disproportionately affects those of us who live in urban areas. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 340,000 homicides were committed in large American cities between 1976 and 2005. About 64 percent of those homicides involved firearms.”
She adds, ” A decision from on high that limited our authority to craft local solutions would be yet another tragedy.”
What will the impact be of the court’s ruling?
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Why do you live in the suburbs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABC News had a report this week on the “Ghostburbs”- suburban communities losing population because of high fuel prices and the subprime mortgage crisis. See video
But suburbs attracted population for reasons: good schools, low crime, affordable housing - big yards.
Despite the recent economic woes, is the suburban quality of life still superior to intown living?
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Conservatives wrong to fight gay marriage?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Peachtree City writer Terry Garlock says conservatives are wrong to oppose gay marriage, regardless of their personal opinions on gays.
“Personally, I am repulsed by public displays of romantic affection between two men, or two women,” he writes. “Those who would call me names like homophobe, as if I fear homosexuality, diminish themselves in my eyes. It’s just that same-sex pairs are instinctively unnatural to me. The mental image of a wedding ceremony joining two men who seal the bargain with a deep kiss makes me squirm. But here’s where I think my fellow conservatives have it wrong.”
He goes on, “That wedding ceremony wouldn’t be about me or my personal discomfort. It would be about those two people who love each other and decided to publicly announce their permanent mutual commitment. Should my personal attitudes prevent them from doing that? Should my religious beliefs keep them legally unrelated even if they remain committed to each other for life? “While I am free to have my personal disquiet about homosexuality, am I also free to interfere with their desire to be recognized as a family unit? If they are a permanent couple, should my aversion withhold from a lifelong pair the same rights as family for hospital visitation, for consultation with doctors when one is ill and maybe even dying?”
Your thoughts?
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To drill or not to drill?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sen. John McCain now favors lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling as does President Bush “The stakes are high for our citizens and for our economy,” McCain, the presumed Republican nominee said Tuesday in Houston.
But Sen. Barack Obama criticized the McCain position.
“Sen. John McCain’s support of the moratorium on offshore drilling during his first presidential campaign was certainly laudable, but his decision to completely change his position and tell a group of Houston oil executives exactly what they wanted to hear today was the same Washington politics that has prevented us from achieving energy independence for decades,” said Obama.
“It’s another example of short-term political posturing from Washington, not the long-term leadership we need to solve our dependence on oil,” he said.
McCain said of Obama’s energy policy: “So what does Sen. Obama support in energy policy? Well, for starters, he supported the energy bill of 2005 — a grab bag of corporate favors that I opposed. And now he supports new taxes on energy producers. He wants a windfall profits tax on oil, to go along with the new taxes he also plans for coal and natural gas. If the plan sounds familiar, it’s because that was President Jimmy Carter’s big idea too — and a lot of good it did us.”
Who is right?
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Want a stamp? Stand in line
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you want to buy a stamp in a post office, be prepared to stand in line. The Postal Service is taking out stamp vending machines - saying they are old, have maintenance issues and that customers aren’t using them as much. But that leaves no option to buy a stamp other than stand in line. When the post offices are closed, at nights and on weekends, you simply can’t buy a stamp. Read story here.
Does this make economic sense? How much time is wasted- the customer’s and the postal clerks - to sell a 42-cent stamp?
And while we’re at it, should we discontinue Saturday mail delivery to reduce fuel costs? Proponents of the idea say much of the mail delivery is junk mail anyway. Your thoughts?
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Are we fat, lazy, stupid?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lee Raudonis writes that a trip to the grocery store is all it takes to discover what it wrong with our economy: too many of us are fat, lazy and uneducated.
“My discovery began when I started to pull into a parking spot only to discover that it was occupied by a shopping cart that someone had decided to leave there, presumably because it was too difficult to push the cart 15 feet to the return area. Or perhaps the individual who left it actually believed that he/she was the only person of any importance left on the planet. Too many Americans are incredibly lazy (and unbelievably self-centered),” he writes.
“After entering the store, I quickly discovered another reason for our economic woes. As I was attempting to find some meat or fish that was not too heavily laden with fat and calories, I became aware of a large — make that huge — man seated in an electric shopping cart, which he began to load with various high-fat meat products to complement the packaged and prepared high-calorie items that were already in his basket.
“Seeing such people in the grocery store, as well as whole families of obese men, women and children in restaurants, drives home another cause of our present and future economic woes. As a whole, we are not a very healthy nation.” Finally, he recounts a customer wanting to write a check for $50 over the amount of the groceries who could not figure out the correct total. The cashier helped by counting on her fingers.
“I was greatly relieved that the customer did not want to write the check for $110 more than the total, since this might have required the cashier to use her toes as well as fingers, he writes. “Too many Americans are poorly educated.”
Your comments?
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Most expensive fill-up?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What has been your most expensive fill-up so far at the gas station and what are you doing about it: carpooling, hyper-miling, trading in the SUV?
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Pointless to impeach Bush?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Philadelphia Inquirer editorial notes that more than half the U.S. House members recently voted to send articles of impeachment against President Bush to the lower chamber’s judiciary committee. But the editorial questions the point of the exercise: “(U.S. Rep. Dennis) Kucinich’s effort, at this point, is counterproductive,” the newspaper writes. “Were it to proceed, it would bog down government in partisan rancor that would make the current state of battle between congressional Democrats and Republicans look like a church picnic. And with the Bush presidency down to months, many are asking: What’s the point?
“Well, there is a point, and give Kucinich credit for trying to make it. Each day, Americans are gaining more detailed information that suggests it was not so much erroneous intelligence that led the Bush administration to conclude war was necessary; it was hubris. The president and Cheney discounted any counterargument to war because their minds were already made up. They refused to believe they could be wrong.
“In fact, evidence suggests they didn’t care if they were wrong about Saddam Hussein’s having weapons of mass destruction. He was a bad player and they wanted him out of the way. The result, they believed, would be a remaking of the Middle East, with democracy rooted in Iraq blossoming throughout the land.
“No need to dust off the homily about where good intentions lead you. Suffice it to say, the Bush doctrine has been blown off the tracks, though some believe it could make a recovery over time. That might mean decades.
“As history is being written in the interim, Kucinich seeks to have it on record that Congress eventually laid down the law with Bush.
But Kucinich’s resorting to impeachment ignores Congress’ complicity in any crime, since it authorized and funded the war.”
Is the newspaper correct that Congress would be hypocritical to impeach Bush when it approved the war and continues to fund it.
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Gay marriage in California: Sky won’t fall?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gay couples are lining up to get married in California following a recent state Supreme Court ruling. Writer Michelle Johnson- who took advantage of the Massachusetts law allowing gay marriage - argues that the sky will not fall: “Heterosexual couples will continue to marry and live happily ever after - or not- unaffected by the fact that their gay and lesbian neighbors can do so as well.”
But Robert Alt of the Heritage Foundation that the California Supreme Court, by ruling against the wishes of the state legislature- will hurt the cause of gay marriage since voters will come back in November and pass a constitutional amendment banning it. This leaves out the possibility of political compromise he argues.
Your view?
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A lonely Democrat in Cherokee County
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Delores “Dee” Nickel describes herself as “an endangered species” - a liberal Democrat in heavily Republican in Cherokee County. And living there has given her new insight into the conservative mindset.
-“Any taxpayer money used to help the poor or disabled is socialism, the result of an individual’s failure to accept personal responsibility. Period. There is no other reason. Tornadoes hit, Katrina devastates, floods destroy. Have insurance, and do not expect governmental intervention. Never mind that insurance companies earn billions and will find every reason not to pay. If one chooses to live in Florida, California, Louisiana, Mississippi or any damaged area, that is the price you have to pay.
-“Illness? Disability? Poverty? The fault lies with the individual. “
She further writes, “Remember, these are all Christians who are devoted to the Bible — but not the admonition to take care of the poor and ill among us. It is one thing to perform an individual act of charity and kindness, which they all do, and quite another to use taxpayer money to assist our own people. “Unbelievably, all support the war in Iraq. All believe weapons of mass destruction were actually found but “hidden” from us. Most believe, to this very day, that Iraq was involved in the horror of 9/11, never mind the evidence to the contrary.”
Nickel concludes, “I can easily see the huge political divide in this country and do not believe there will ever be a unification of ideas or ideals.”
What is your take on her take of suburban Atlanta conservatives?
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Should gas be rationed?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Recent letter writers to the AJC have suggested rationing gas as one way to deal with the gas crisis.
Wrote one reader: “It worked during World War II, and it would work now. It surely would get those “gas-guzzling” giants off the highways!”
Another countered” ” It didn’t work during World War II and it won’t work now. More government is not the answer.”
What do you think of gas rationing as one solution to the gas crisis?
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Government mandate: a 33-inch waistline?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The New York Times reports that in Japan, “under a national law that came into effect two months ago, companies and local governments must now measure the waistlines of Japanese people between the ages of 40 and 74 as part of their annual checkups.
“Those exceeding government limits - 33.5 inches for men and 35.4 inches for women, and having a weight related ailment will be given dieting guidance if after three months they do not lose weight. If necessary, they will be steered toward further re-education after six more months.”
The government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to achieve targets for reducing the overweight population.
Yet the Japanese are nowhere near as overweight as Americans. The average waste size for American men is 39 inches, 36.5 for women. It is 32.8 for Japanese men and 28 inches for women.
Should the U.S. work harder on reducing obesity and improving health or is this an example of government regulation gone amuck?
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Tax internet purchases?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New York state is now trying to force Amazon.com to collect sales tax on New York residents who purchase items from the online retailer.
As states faces increasing pressure from a slowing economy, taxing internet sales is a good option, argues, Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
“As the recession deepens, unemployment rises and consumers cut back on spending, state and local government revenue from income tax, sales tax and other sources will decline more than anticipated,” he writes.”Unlike the federal government, most states cannot borrow to cover an operational budget deficit. This means that they will cut spending, including such items as health insurance for children and low-income families, child care and elementary education.
“So we cannot afford to lose billions of dollars in state and local tax revenues by exempting Internet sales. But even if it were affordable, there is no good economic reason to do so. Why should our governments favor faraway Internet distribution centers over local businesses? This is not good for local or regional economic development. The problem will worsen as Internet sales increase .”
However, Kristina M. Rasmussen is director of government affairs for the National Taxpayers Union, argues the opposite.
“Remember that each state has a home-grown tax system with differing rates, definitions and applications,” he writes. “Five states have no sales tax, 30 don’t tax food and 11 exempt nonprescription drugs. What one state considers food, another may tax as candy. Some states base taxes on where shipments originate, others on destination. Different rates and rules for 7,500-plus local jurisdictions add another dimension of complexity to the mix. “The cost to online retailers to calculate, collect and remit these taxes could very well force higher prices or even business closures.”
Should we tax internet sales?
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Mercy for Manson killer?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Los Angeles Times reports: “State corrections officials are considering a request by former Charles Manson follower and convicted murderer Susan Atkins to be released from prison because of an undisclosed terminal illness.”
Convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate and six others, Atkins has spent 37 years in prison, longer than any other woman in the California system. She reportedly has a brain tumor, has had one leg amputated and has about six months to live. Read story here.
Should be allowed to spend her last months as a free woman?
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Should Fed hike interest rates?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The drum roll increases for higher interest rates to strengthen the dollar, curb inflation and lower oil prices. “It is certainly clear that rates will have to rise. The question is when,” said Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser. Read story here.
Should the Federal Reserve hike interest rates or is the economy too weak to withstand higher rates?
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Why do you live in Atlanta?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Why would anyone choose to live in Atlanta?
- Atlanta traffic stinks. It has a budget deficit of anywhere between $120 million and $140 million. The water department asked us to conserve and we did. Our reward — the possibility of higher water bills. Add to that unpleasant mix the fact that most Atlanta residents pay more property taxes than residents of most neighboring communities. An increase of at least 4 percent is proposed.
Why do we live here? Do you love it? Hate it? Wouldn’t leave it for the world? Or can’t wait to get the heck out of Dodge?
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Do we need a black news network?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former congressman J.C. Watts plans to start a black news network, but writer Mychal Massie criticizes the plan.
In an interview with the New York Post, Watts explained: “Our community features millions of people with all kinds of backgrounds. There’s a much broader segment of the population than what we see in mainstream news.”
But Massie writes: “If J.C. Watts wants to see more positive reporting about blacks, he should use his considerable cachet to get the heads of Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and the major networks on the phone. Perhaps one or more of them will give him a show.
“Luring black America to a segregated source of news, however, is not the answer.”
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Nunn as VP?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington Post and Newsweek columnist George Will says Barack Obama could win Georgia if he chooses former senator Sam Nunn as his running. But Washington Post editorial page staffer Jonathan Capehart argues that Nunn might be a poor VP pick because of Nunn’s record on gays in the military.
“As Sen. Barack Obama considers potential running mates, he should contemplate Sam Nunn with caution,” writes Capehart. “As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1993, Nunn helped lead the fight against allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military and was the force behind the disastrous “don’t ask, don’t tell” compromise. In the process, Nunn engendered the enduring enmity of a loyal voting and fundraising bloc of the Democratic Party.”
He continues: “Famously, Nunn led lawmakers on a tour of cramped submarine quarters and showers, an exercise that many viewed as a crass attempt to raise an ick factor of homosexuals living among straight troops. As if gay men and lesbians are devoid of discipline and incapable of defending this country.” Read full column here
Is this a problem for Nunn? Should Obama pick him as a running mate?
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Blacks subdued about Obama win?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
St. Simons writer Tina McElroy Ansa says the reaction among African Americans to Barack Obama’s nomination clinch was subdued, considering its historic nature.
“I must still wonder why I, like so many of my brothers and sisters, am still hesitating to light the fireworks, unequivocally celebrate this milestone in our multicultural combined journey for what it says about our country and our citizens,” she writes. “Am I just too afraid to hope? Too jaded to believe? I hate to even consider it, but am I such a whipped dog that when I’m allowed a comfortable spot in the sun and a gentle smile, I’m too cowed to accept it, to believe it, to dare hope?”
Has the reaction been subdued and if so, why?
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New Fashion Statement: A Glock 23
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Los Angeles Times reports about a fledgling movement among gun owners: open carry. Tired of concealing their weapons, they now carry them openly.
“For years, Kevin Jensen carried a pistol everywhere he went, tucked in a shoulder holster beneath his clothes,” the newspaper writes. “In hot weather the holster was almost unbearable. Pressed against Jensen’s skin, the firearm was heavy and uncomfortable. Hiding the weapon made him feel like a criminal.
“Then one evening he stumbled across a site that urged gun owners to do something revolutionary: Carry your gun openly for the world to see as you go about your business. In most states there’s no law against that.”
Thge story continues, “Now Jensen carries his Glock 23 openly into his bank, restaurants and shopping centers. He wore the gun to a Ron Paul rally. He and his wife, Clachelle, drop off their 5-year-old daughter at elementary school with pistols hanging from their hip holsters, and have never received a complaint or a wary look.
“The Jensens are part of a fledgling movement to make a firearm as common an accessory as an iPod.”
Critics say this the open weapons display trend can scare children and lead to increased confrontations with law enforcement officers - several gun owners have reported such cases. - What’s your preference: concealed or open carry? Is it too much Wild Wild West or would you rather know upfront whether a person is armed? Read full LA Times story here.
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Do we need to learn more languages?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Writes a high school senior, in today’s New Attitudes column:
“The state of Georgia recently cut down on foreign language funding in schools, and many other states are debating whether to require foreign language credits for high school graduation at all. This is a great mistake. Multilingualism should be greatly encouraged, and government funding for foreign language programs needs to be a priority. If future generations are going to grow up in a global economy, foreign language education needs to begin at an early age. Elementary schools should receive the funding they need to introduce young students to foreign cultures and languages.
“In 30 years, when those same students are interacting with business partners halfway across the world, who do you think will be more successful —- a student who knows about the Spanish language and culture, or a student who was never even given the encouragement to pick up a second language? International education is more than learning about verbs, vocabulary and grammar. It is about understanding cultures and diverse peoples.”
Do you agree we need to be learning more languages?
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Bush lied? Not so fast
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fred Hiatt, editorial page editor of The Washington Post, writes that the question of whether President Bush lied about Iraq before the war is not as cut and dried as many would believe, based on a new report by Sen. Jay Rockefeller. Writes Hiatt, “There’s no question that the administration, and particularly Vice President Dick Cheney, spoke with too much certainty at times and failed to anticipate or prepare the American people for the enormous undertaking in Iraq.
“But dive into Rockefeller’s report, in search of where exactly President Bush lied about what his intelligence agencies were telling him about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, and you may be surprised by what you find.
On Iraq’s nuclear weapons program? The president’s statements “were generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates.”
On biological weapons, production capability and those infamous mobile laboratories? The president’s statements “were substantiated by intelligence information.”
On chemical weapons, then? “Substantiated by intelligence information.”
On weapons of mass destruction overall (a separate section of the intelligence committee report)? “Generally substantiated by intelligence information.” Delivery vehicles such as ballistic missiles? “Generally substantiated by available intelligence.” Unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to deliver WMDs? “Generally substantiated by intelligence information.”
Hiatt concludes:
‘…the phony “Bush lied” story line distracts from the biggest prewar failure: the fact that so much of the intelligence upon which Bush and Rockefeller and everyone else relied turned out to be tragically, catastrophically wrong.
“And it trivializes a double dilemma that President Bill Clinton faced before Bush and that President Obama or McCain may well face after: when to act on a threat in the inevitable absence of perfect intelligence and how to mobilize popular support for such action, if deemed essential for national security, in a democracy that will always, and rightly, be reluctant.”
Did Bush lie after all?
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Braves fans lousy?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kristin Byrd says to watch Braves fans in two scenarios:
It is late in the game
The Braves are losing.
“Fans seem to dissipate,” she writes. “Where are you when Atlanta isn’t doing well? Where are you during a Braves slump? Where are you during pre-season and plain old early season? Where are you during the 8th and 9th innings? Are you even paying attention to the game, or is it just a classy, southern thing to have in the background while having a few beers and a hot dog?”
She contrasts Braves fans to those of the Boston Red Socks who watch “every pitch, every play, every second of the game while still juggling baseball’s great staples: beer, peanuts, hotdogs (and only at Fenway, clam “chowdah”, which is really good). “
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Atlanta to New York on British Air?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Penn State University professor Terrence Guay argues that the the U.s. should allow foreign ownership of airlines, so that, for example, British Air could offer flights between Atlanta and New York.
“Right now,,, foreign airlines like British Airways are permitted to fly to a U.S. destination to pick up or drop off passengers but cannot provide direct service between U.S. cities,” he writes. “Relaxing the restrictions on foreign ownership would allow British Airways and other foreign carriers to serve U.S. locations that are underserved now. It also would avoid the reduction in routes and elimination of cities served when two U.S. carriers merge. And for anyone dreaming of decent meals and better service — even in economy class — foreign airlines have a lot to offer, as almost anyone who has flown abroad can attest.”
How about it?
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Appoint, don’t elect state school chief?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former state senator John C. Foster argues that the last two state school superintendents are proof that Georgia needs to change its system of electing school chiefs.
The recent CRCT controversy is an example of how the system is not working, he says. Instead, we should have a commissioner of education appointed by the governor, writes Foster.
Appointed or elected?
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Death of Southern Baptist Convention?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Author Christine Wicker writes that the Southern Baptist denomination - evangelicals in general- are slowly fading away. “What Baptist leaders have known for years is finally public: The Southern Baptist Convention is a denomination in decline. Half of the SBC’s 43,000 churches will have shut their doors by 2030 if current trends continue,” she writes. “And unless God provides a miracle, the trends will continue. They are longstanding and deeply rooted. The denomination’s growth rate has been declining since the 1950s. The conservative/fundamentalist takeover 30 years ago was supposed to turn the trend around; it didn’t make a bit of difference.” She cites a long list of reasons why this is true, including the fact that many evangelicals are reluctant to proclaim that they are the only ones saved- and parishioners in today’s society are less likely to believe that.
“The idea that only one little part of one kind of religion has the only way to God has begun to seem more and more unlikely,” she writes. “It has begun to seem rude. Un-Christian, even. And evangelicals, who don’t like being boorish any more than anyone else, have become less and less willing to relegate their neighbors to hell.” Read column here.
Your comments?
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Big ideas from the Left
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chris Satullo of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the left has created think tanks such as the Center for American Progress and journals such as the American Prospect that are coming up with a long list of Big Ideas - some of which could end up in an Obama administration. Some of the ideas:
-Medicare for long term care- including nursing home care- or Medicare as the reinsurance backup for long-term care insurance.
A progressive consumption tax. Citizens would report two numbers to the IRS; how much you earned and how much you saved. The more you save, the less your taxable consumption.
Tuition assistance to retrain retirees for work with social meaning such as in schools. hospitals and nonprofits.
Do these ideas have any merit and will Obama endorse them?
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Endowed chair for conservative studies?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
That is what the University of Colorado is launching amid widespread allegations that the nation’s universities are dominated by liberal faculty. One Colorado professor found, for example that of 800 faculty members, only 32 were registered Republicans.
Crispin Sartwell, who teaches philosophy at Dickinson College, thinks an endowed chair for conservatives is a good idea, that universities really are loaded with liberals- particularly supporters of Sen. Barack Obama.
“Professors are as herdlike in their opinions as other groups that demographers like to identify- ‘working class white men“‘for example. Indeed, more so.”
Is he right?
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Grady the puppy deserved better
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He was sick when we got him, suffering from a respiratory infection that a cheap vaccine would have prevented. We thought we could nurse him through it.
At the time, I was writing extensively about Grady Memorial Hospital, which was in danger of closing because of financial bad health. Like the hospital, this puppy must be saved, we thought, so we named him Grady. (See photo below)
He had been just hours away from being euthanized at the Carroll County animal shelter outside of Carrollton, a hellhole of a place that was staffed —- at least the day we rescued Grady —- by jail trusties.
“You’ll need to get him today because today is kill day,” they told my wife when she called to inquire about him. Despite obvious signs of kennel cough —- “We don’t treat them, we just put them down if they’re sick,” we were told —- we paid the shelter $20 and took the puppy directly to our vet. The news wasn’t good. He had severe pneumonia. It could be distemper.
Thus began six weeks of intensive care last fall for a scrawny, 16-pound mixed-breed mutt —- a little guy, about 4 months old, who charmed my wife Anne and me by resting his weary head on our feet and cuddling in our laps as we felt every crackling breath inside his compromised lungs.
Using a crate borrowed from our vet, Paul Averill, Anne set up a vaporizer for Grady each night, then woke him early for daily nebulizer treatments. Because of the threat of distemper and other potentially infectious diseases, Grady was always treated by Dr. Averill in isolation, often in the front seat of our Grand Cherokee. He went through several rounds of antibiotics, each stronger and more risky than the last.
He had good days and bad. Anne fed him by hand, using an oral syringe filled with special dog food. The vet staff was great. Friends and neighbors joined our “Save Grady” campaign, donating time, love and —- in the case of one special person —- a significant contribution to offset bills that mounted for his care.
When Thanksgiving arrived, we decided to take Grady with us to a condo on Pensacola Beach, with our family and friends. He walked around the balcony and slept quietly in the sun. He began eating and drinking on his own for the first time. We thought he had finally turned the corner.
But on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, he crashed. The emergency vet in Pensacola said he wouldn’t make it back home, and was astounded he had survived as long as he did. We knew it was time. We asked them to put him to sleep.
I relate Grady’s story to you now because Carroll County’s animal shelter was placed under quarantine by the state on May 8. A few weeks later it had to euthanize every animal in its care.
As bad as it is, Carroll County’s shelter isn’t all that unusual in Georgia. Many counties spend the bare minimum on animal shelters, with the bulk of what little money they do appropriate going to animal control, not the safe keeping of the animals they pick up.
Infections at many shelters run rampant. Last week the Hall County animal shelter euthanized 77 animals after an outbreak of kennel cough.
Because of the distemper outbreak —- and persistent nagging of the county humane society —- Carroll County commissioners are considering more money for the shelter. Originally, the county planned to spend just $5,500 for medical services for the animals it takes in, most of which would go for euthanization. The new budget calls for double that amount. Additionally, the county has set aside more funds for cleaning and sanitation supplies for the aging shelter, which is due to be replaced in the next year.
Still, the Carroll shelter destroys an estimated 6,000 animals a year, the humane society estimates. No on-site vet services are available. It doesn’t provide vaccines or treatment for obvious health problems when it takes an animal in. It doesn’t scan for microchips that might help find the owners of strays. At a minimum, those services ought to be required of every shelter in the state.
Pet owners do have a responsibility to get dogs and cats spayed and neutered. It starts there. But Georgia residents should demand that county commissioners run shelters that treat animals humanely and give them a fair chance to live and be adopted, not just caught and killed. The cost of spaying and neutering can be built into adoption fees, as could reasonable costs for immunization. Counties will claim they can’t afford it, but they can.
It always bugged the hell out of us that for want of about $1.85 worth of vaccines, Grady could have been saved. Maybe now, months later, something good will come of it.
The humane society in Carroll County has a petition you can sign online at www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-carroll-county-animals.
Mike King is a member of the editorial board. His column appears Thursdays.
Check out ajcpets.com for pet news, blogs and photos.
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Is the SAT toast?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wake Forest University graduate Stuart Whatley laments his alma mater’s decision to make the SAT optional - the nation’s first top 30 university to do so. He argues that the SAT is still useful. “One may argue that a low score simply reflects an off-day or poor standardized test-taking abilities, but it is indisputable that only the brightest of the bright are able to score near perfect,” he writes.
Should universities back off on the SAT and use grades, extracurricular activities and other factors to determine admission?
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Save the planet: Lose weight
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA economics professor Dwight Lee argues that by simply keeping our weight under control, we can help the environment and greatly reduce fuel consumption. He cites a study in the Engineering Economist that links obesity to higher costs in auto and air travelRead story here.
Lee argues that through diet and exercise, he has kept his weight close to what it was at age 19- and that he is therefore helping the environment, despite the fact that he shuns other environmentally friendly practices like recycling and he favors drilling in ANWR. Does Lee have a point?
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Did sexism doom Hillary Clinton?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Is sexism still a potent force in American cultural and political life? Well, of course it is. But it didn’t defeat Hillary Clinton.
Her embittered supporters ought to stop whining about her loss. Complaining about misogyny will never get a woman elected to the highest office in the land. There is nothing more self-defeating for women who are trying to promote the idea of a female commander-in-chief than whiny recriminations and victimhood.
Clinton proved what some of us have always known — a woman running a high-profile race for president can be tough, tireless, savvy and resilient. She didn’t win, but she still broke barriers. Making her a victim diminishes her accomplishments.
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Will media cover McCain fairly?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Alleged media bias in favor of Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton made its way into a Saturday Night Live skit, a skit Clinton actually mentioned in a debate with Obama. Yet ABC news was later accused of hammering Obama during a later debate with overly harsh questions such as whether Obama wears a flag lapel pin. Now that Obama appears to have the Democratic nomination, will the media favor Obama or McCain?
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Homeschooling, CRCTs: Let parents take over?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dunwoody parent Darby Christopher wonders whether she was effective homeschooling her seventh grade son, until he saw the recent dismal test scores by Georgia public school students on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests.
Now Christopher feels much better about homeschooling. Which begs the question: could homeschool parents do much worse than the public schools are doing in imparting basic knowledge to students?
Atlanta: Saving gas impossible here?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Brenda Constan writes the bike lanes are rare here in Atlanta- they don’t go to shopping centers and other locations like schools and churches where you need to go. “In Atlanta, commuting by mass transit is a Herculean undertaking,” she writes, particularly if you want to go from intown Atlanta to the suburbs- forget about it.
In other words, if you want to save fuel in Atlanta - this is not the best place to live. Is she right? Does this city encourage us - in many different ways to burn more and more expensive fossil fuel?
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View from Britain: Don’t underestimate Bob Barr
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Economist magazine says former congressman Bob Barr, the Libertarian nominee for U.S. President may tap into deep GOP discontent, just as did the candidacy of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul.
“Barr and the Libertarian Party, as well as Paul, are both imperfect vehicles for all this pent-up anger. But they are vehicles nonetheless,” the magazine writes. “Libertarians claim that they will put their candidate on the ballot in 48 states, as they did in 2004. They have already managed 28. “Barr claims that (admittedly sparse) polls give him 6-8 percent of the electorate. He could do particularly well in his native Georgia and the libertarian-leaning West. That could hurt McCain badly in states like Colorado and Nevada, which he needs to hold on to.”
Should Barr be taken seriously as a potential spoiler for John McCain’s candidacy?
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Can Dem split be healed?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The end to a contentious campaign appears clear and near with Sen. Barack Obama likely clinching the Democratic nomination for president.
The question now is can the Democratic split be healed? What will it take? Is a Obama-Clinton ticket possible or highly unlikely?
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