To my friends at Georgia Tech: Don’t despair. Your basketball team had a great run and your coach is a class individual. Anyway, The state of Georgia already has a national basketball champion. Kennesaw State University won the NCAA Division II title a couple of weeks ago. Let Connecticut have one. No sense in our being hoggish. . . .
My column on the flaggers generated some interesting mail. I was surprised at the number of responses in total agreement that the flag issue is dead and it is time to move on. I wasn’t surprised at the huffing and puffing threats from a bunch of inarticulate blowhards. The shocker was to hear from a reasonable sort by the name of Kenneth Waters, who, after a little huffing-and-puffing of his own, asked for an opportunity for the flaggers to state their side of the issue. That request is fair and reasonable, and I am going to meet with him and with two other prominent flagger leaders, Dan Coleman and William Lathem. You can read about that conversation in the next week or so. How the flaggers handle their public relations is none of my business, but reaching out might have helped their case better than threats and intimidation. . . .
Sometimes I can be my own worst enemy. As stated in this space a couple of weeks ago, I had a marvelous time at the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Savannah. One reason was the warm welcome I received from Joseph B. Bergen, one of that town’s leading attorneys and a marvelous raconteur. I referred to him in my column as Joe Berten (with a “t”). That was a dumb thing to do. When you make a new friend, the least you can do is spell his name correctly. . . .
The award for The Most Arrogant Government Entity on God’s Green Earth goes to the Joint Cartersville-Bartow County Industrial Development Authority. State and local officials have been tiptoeing around the Cartersville area for at least six months, looking for a site for a tire plant. A group of Bartow County residents found out and protested, wondering why one particular site was being offered when other already-developed industrial properties are available. A reasonable question. Residents also wondered about the cost to taxpayers of developing the new site. Another reasonable question. Residents threatened to sue to get some answers. The six-member authority threatened to counter sue the residents/taxpayers for abusive litigation if they did, citing the need for secrecy. David Archer, the authority’s attorney, denied it was an intimidation tactic. Yeah, right. I hope the tire plant decides to move into Archer’s front yard. . . .
Everywhere I go in the state, someone tells me a horror story about Delta Air Lines. That is why I was surprised when my son called me from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta to relay a tale of service above and beyond, courtesy of a Delta skycap named Seth Halley. Maybe there is hope for Delta after all. I hope some bean counter at the airline gives Mr. Halley a pat on the back for me. . . .
Let’s face facts. The only thing goat-brained Muslim extremists know is force. Whether George Bush or John Kerry is president makes no difference. Muslim extremists will still try to blow us up every chance they get. Remember the bombing of the World Trade Center during the Clinton administration? We can’t appease them. We have to severely kick their butts and quit worrying about what the rest of the world thinks. Our priority needs to be self-preservation. . . .
Finally, just when I was getting bored with politics, I hear our Ambassador to Outer Space Cynthia McKinney is planning to run for her old 4th District congressional seat. McKinney’s former post is becoming available because the incumbent, Denise Majette, who beat McKinney two years ago, has decided she wants to run for the U.S. Senate. I am having a hard time deciding which is the bigger joke – Majette running for the U.S. Senate or McKinney running her mouth. . .
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