Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A
The Braselton News
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Opinion
“Difference of opinion leads
to enquiry, and enquiry to
truth ” -Thomas Jefferson
"Sorry, we had to skip breakfast. Mom
was running a little late."
letters
our views
County deal for
Braves should
have been in the open
PERHAPS the move of the AAA Rich
mond Braves minor league baseball team
to Gwinnett County is a good thing. It will
certainly be good
for baseball fans
who like to have
access to a minor
league team.
But for the Gwin
nett County gov
ernment to have
done the Braves
deal in secret was
wrong. No mat
ter how worthy a
project appears to be, governments should
not commit such massive amounts of pub
lic tax dollars in secret.
The issue is larger than just the Braves
deal. For many years, the Gwinnett County
government made a habit of buying land in
secret. Doing such business in secret has
long been part of the Gwinnett political cul
ture. Rumors have always been whispered
about sweetheart deals between the coun
ty government and favored developers.
These kind of secret deals just reinforce
the image of the county government as be
ing a handmaiden for the powerful devel
opment community.
In the Braves deal, tax dollars are being
used to support a private sports franchise.
Whether the financial part of the deal is
good or bad for the county depends on
whom you ask. Some believe the county
won’t benefit as much as boosters claim.
Others think the tangible and intangible
benefits will far outweigh the costs.
But this is a debate that should have hap
pened before the county government com
mitted tax dollars to the project. To commit
the money before such public input by
passed the right of Gwinnett County citi
zens to have a say in the actions of their
government.
Gwinnett’s government culture of secre
cy should change. The Braves deal is evi
dence that those in power still value secret
smoke-filled rooms over transparency and
openness.
Why is old barn
debris allowed?
Dear Editor:
I am writing to ask for clarification of a mystery
that has perplexed me since moving to this area
three years ago. The Town of Braselton has grown
tremendously in the short time I’ve lived here.
I understand that the housing boom has made
everyone scramble to keep up with the growth.
The beautiful new library is a vast improvement
over the previous building, which had been out
grown long ago.
What I don’t understand is why the remains of
that barn continue to lie in a heap right next to the
new library. It was a dangerous, rickety structure
prior to its collapse and remains one to this day.
I’ve asked various people in town to explain why
this mess isn’t cleaned up. One man told me
that the Braselton family refuses to remove the
debris because of some dispute with the town
government. If this is true, I wonder why no steps
have been taken by said government to force the
removal of this eyesore.
Sadly, all attempts at beautification of the town
will fail until this has been accomplished, which
may be what the owners want. In other places,
such a structure would have been removed and
the owner fined. Is there nothing in the statues
here in Georgia to condemn a structure and make
the owners take it away?
I never understood why it is acceptable to allow
buildings to be consumed by the kudzu, par
ticularly those on a main street near the center of
town.
Please help explain this mystery. Many of us
would like to know the answer.
Sincerely,
Christine Robbins
Hoschton
Says GOP was wrong
to exclude Paul
Dear Editor:
I have been a Republican since 1964 when I
campaigned and voted for Goldwater and I have
been a loyal supporter of the party since then.
Well, that has changed. From now on, I am an
independent and I will definitely not vote for any of
the candidates who participated in Sunday’s New
Hampshire forum, which was shown on Fox TV.
Before two weeks ago, I would have been
happy to support the GOP candidate next Nov.
I have always believed that the GOP believed in
democracy and fair and open elections. I guess I
was wrong.
Ron Paul might not have a snow ball’s chance in
hell of getting the nomination, but to not give him a
chance to have his say is reprehensible. The GOP
was the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan.
It seems now it is the party of a few rich guys with
big political machines.
So, no more money, no more votes and no more
support. If you want me back, you have best
change the way you run the party.
I am not alone in this, so if you intend to remain
a major party, you should heed what I am writ
ing. Nature hates a vacuum and a third party will
spring up. That’s how the GOP got started.
As for the current candidates running for the
nomination, they showed their true colors. They
are not men of conscience, nor do they believe in
free and open debate of the issues. All they want
to do is call each other names and not discuss
the issues openly with anyone who might not be
beholding to the large corporations, the military
industrial complex as defined by Eisenhower and
the oil lobby.
Sincerely,
Fred Bundin, Hoschton
These kind of secret
deals just reinforce the
image of the county
government as being
a handmaiden for the
powerful development
community.
State Republican leadership having an internal power brawl
YOU CALL this unity?
When Gov. Sonny Perdue flew around the state with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and
House Speaker Glenn Richardson during the week before the legislative session
began, the state’s top three officials called their junket a “unity tour” for Republi
cans.
You won’t find their definition of the word “unity” in any stan
dard dictionary. Judging from the first week’s activities at the
capitol, there’s about as much “unity” between the Republican
leadership as there is between Shiites and Sunnis in Bagh
dad.
When House members sat down at their desks Monday
morning, they found manila folders containing copies of 26
bills. The measures had all been vetoed by Perdue after last
year’s session ended in acrimonious bickering between the
governor and the House over a tax rebate bill.
Richardson, a hot-tempered lawyer from West Georgia,
had been stewing over the governor’s vetoes for nearly nine
months. He told reporters on several occasions those vetoes
would be put up for override votes as soon as legislators were
back in Atlanta. He wasn’t kidding.
One by one, House members rose from their seats and requested their col
leagues to override the veto of a particular bill contained in the manila folder.
Every override motion passed by a huge majority - the only people not voting to
override were either the governor’s floor leaders or attorneys who are hoping for a
judgeship appointment from Perdue.
Twelve vetoes in all were overridden before Richardson finally put an end to
it. This was a stunning revolt by House members - until the past 12 months, no
gubernatorial vetoes had been overridden by the Legislature since 1974. It was
also a loud, strong slap in the face of a governor who absolutely hates it when
anyone dares to even contradict him in a conversation.
“I don’t know that it’s really a signal [to Perdue],” Speaker Pro Tern Mark Burkhal-
ter said after the override votes, taking the early lead in the competition to see
which legislator can tell the biggest whopper.
Rep. Roger Williams, an old-timer from Dalton, was more truthful when he told
his hometown reporter: “This is trying to send a message to the governor that we
are trying to declare our independence.”
That was about as far as the veto overrides went, however, because there’s
even less unity between the House and Senate than there is between Richardson
and Perdue. House messengers quickly shuttled the veto overrides across the
rotunda to the Senate, where Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle promptly sent them to the
Rules Committee. Maybe in a few weeks, Cagle hinted, the Senate might vote on
one or two of those overrides - but don’t hold your breath.
That dalliance was no surprise to Richardson. “I predict with a high degree of
certainty that the other body, which took an oath of office to uphold the constitu
tion, may well shirk their constitutional duties,” Richardson said sarcastically as he
dispatched the veto overrides to the other chamber.
Perdue wasn’t about to sit back and let the speaker’s insults go unchallenged.
He got some payback on Wednesday when he proposed a small property tax
reduction for Georgians in his yearly budget address. Perdue’s proposal won’t
amount to much - it would save the average family about $30 a year - but it has
a better chance of passing than Richardson’s more grandiose “GREAT” plan for
eliminating property taxes. Advantage, governor.
What better way to end a week filled with arguments and score-settling than for
someone in the House to call for the impeachment of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle? Rep.
Ron Forster, a Ringgold Republican, got up before the House on Friday and said
he was preparing a resolution to do just that.
As Forster sees it, Cagle took an oath to uphold the Georgia Constitution. The
constitution states that a veto override from one chamber must be “immediately
considered” by the other chamber. Cagle violated his oath of office when he
dumped the bills in a committee instead of calling a vote on the overrides, accord
ing to Forster’s interpretation of the constitution.
“To me, it’s pretty clear,” Forster told reporters. “Once we voted on it, the Sen
ate did not have an option . . . Immediately consider means immediately vote.”
And so it went. Rep. Calvin Smyre, a Democrat who’s not part of the squabbling
among the leadership, observed: “Our motto has been that, if you see a good
fight, get out of the way.”
That might have been the most sensible remark made all week. If you’re look
ing for a fight the next three months, just come to the capitol. You won’t have any
troubles finding one.
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia Report, an Internet news
site at www.gareport.com that covers government and politics in Georgia.
Who do you pick
for president?
THE PRESIDENTIAL primary in
Georgia is less than two weeks
away — and I have no stinkin’ idea
who I’m going to vote for.
This election year proves to
be one of many choices — both
Republican and Democrat. And
maybe that’s part of my problem:
Do I pick the Republican or Demo
cratic ballot for
the primary?
Looking at the
factual informa
tion about my
self, you could
say I could sway
either direction.
As a high
school senior,
I voted for Bill
Clinton for my
first general
election in 1996.
As a college stu
dent, I voted for Al Gore in 2000.
Four years later, I voted for John
Kerry.
My wallet contains proof that I
am a card-carrying member of the
state’s press association. I’m a
liberal, right?
Then, why am I actually looking
at voting Republican this election
year? Gasp!
The truth is, a few things have
changed in my life. I’m now mar
ried. I have a daughter. I live in a
very Republican-friendly area. And
let’s not forget the mid-sized SUV
in my driveway. The Pew Research
Center says when most of those
things happen, I’m more likely to
sway Republican.
But I’m cautious to affiliate myself
with one party over the other.
Voting should be about the can
didates and not party preference,
right? Well, if you wanna vote on
Feb. 5 in this state, you gotta pick
one.
And as of right now, I don’t know
which candidate to pick, either.
There are so many choices. I still
haven’t figured out the candidates’
positions on issues of importance
to me, rather than just their pretty
faces for the national media cam
eras.
At least some people know who
they don’t want in the White House
— and that’s why they’re voting for
their top opponent for the primary.
Someone who I never would
have guessed would vote for Hill
ary Clinton plans to cast a vote for
her in two weeks — just to deter
Barack Obama’s presidential
quest. At least that person knows
who they don’t want becoming the
nation’s leader. I can’t even say
that at this point.
My husband has blamed inde
cisiveness for his reason for not
heading to the polls.
Last week, he said he may actu
ally cast a vote this election year.
I briefly hear trumpets sounding
until he says, “But it has to be for
someone I really believe in.”
Oh, well. My excitement is
quickly deflated.
Kerri Testement is news editor
of The Braselton News. Her e-mail
address is kerri@mainstreetnews.
com.
Kerri
Testement
kerri@mainstreet-
news.com
The Braselton News
A Publication of The Jackson Herald &
Mainstreet Newspapers, Inc.
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Scott Buffington
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Kerri Testement
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