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January 2007
What’s behind the Milton County push?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A proposal to re-create the old Milton County by breaking off north Fulton has ignited cries of racism and class warfare.
State Rep. Jan Jones, an Alpharetta Republican, is the chief sponsor of the Milton proposal. It would require two steps — approval of a constitutional amendment making it legally possible to revive the old county, which merged in to Fulton in 1932; and a second step with the Legislature setting up a referendum asking voters to approve the change.
No action on the first bill is expected until next year, although Jones said this week she may ask for public hearings this year.
In a story by The Associated Press, a lawmaker from Atlanta is quoted arguing that the motivation behind Milton County is racial.
The story, by reporter Doug Gross, says in part: “Supporters say it is a quest for more responsive government in a county with a population greater than that of six states. Opponents say the measure is racially motivated and will pit white against black, rich against poor.
” ‘If it gets to the floor, there will be blood on the walls,’ warned state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat and member of the Legislative Black Caucus who bitterly opposes the plan. Fort added: ” ‘As much as you would like to think it’s not racial, it’s difficult to draw any other conclusion.’ “
Jones sees Fulton County as too large to effectively govern, and she and other supporters also make some the same arguments that led to creation of the city of Sandy Springs and two other cities — that Fulton County has not been responsive to residents in north Fulton.
There’s no escaping the racial differences between north and south Fulton. As the AP story noted, north Fulton is largely white and Republican. Atlanta and south Fulton are largely black and Democratic.
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What do you think: Is the Milton County plan is based on race?
Troop buildup in Iraq
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
President Bush announced Wednesday that he would increase U.S. troops by 21,500 in Iraq to quell the country’s near-anarchy. “Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me,” Bush said.
How would you rate the president’s speech? Do you think his new strategy will succeed?
Why I refuse to defend Islam
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sameh Abdelaziz, a Muslim in Marietta, says he will not defend his religion from charges that it inspires terrorism, because it doesn’t need any such defense.
“The most horrific act in modern history is the Holocaust,” he writes in an opinion piece. “The scandal of pedophilia rocked the Catholic church. Did we ever debate whether Christianity is an evil religion? We did not, and we should not. Leaders and ordinary people used religion throughout history to promote political ideologies.”
The key, says Abdelaziz, is not religion but ideology, because the extremism we confront today is really not religious, but political. Read the full article here.
Do you agree or disagree with Abdelaziz and the points he makes?
A job even a president could do
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In his five years as owner of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank has already fired two head coaches and is once again looking to find a new one.
But really, how tough can the game be to coach? Millions of Americans do it from their couches and bar stools every Sunday. President Richard Nixon, who rode the bench at Whittier College in California, could- and would - pick up the phone and offer game plan advice to the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins. President Ronald Reagan (lineman, Eureka College in Illinois; star back, Notre Dame, in the movies) inspired a whole football team to “win one for the Gipper.”
So if you could pick a president to coach the Falcons, who would it be? A few things to consider before you make your choice:
President Gerald Ford, of course, could play more than a little football. President Dwight David Eisenhower understood the game; he’s been quoted as describing an atheist as someone “who watches a Notre Dame-Southern Methodist University game and doesn’t care who wins.”
President John F. Kennedy liked football, too, but the touch variety he favored doesn’t cut it in the NFL. And Bill Clinton? Well, he played in the band.
Then there’s Theodore Roosevelt. You might think that ol’ Rough and Ready would have made a great football coach, except for the fact that he wanted to ban the game because of its violent nature.
On too many Sundays for too many years, too many Falcons fans have been wishing that he had succeeded.
David McNaughton is an editorial writer.
