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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL Get ready to rap at Teclft 'welcoming experience' Nov 1, Georgia Tech, my third favorite team in the whole wide world tUGA is first, anybody playing Tech is sec ond, you can figure out the rest) meets Virginia TVch at Grant Field in Atlanta. To those of us unsophis ticated in such matters, we would assume there was going to be a football game occurring that evening. We would assume wrong. It will not be a game, according to what 1 read recently. Instead, it will be a "welcoming expe rience.” So says Jennifer Pierce, recently implanted (Vom the fruitcake capital of the world, California, to the staff of the athletic depart ment at Georgia Tech, where she serves as director of pro motions and events. It should be quite an eve ning. If all the old architects and bridge builders in their The Democrats’ unhealthy poster child abuse A few weeks ago. Democrat Senate Majority Leader Ham’ Reid lim'd two young children to the public spot- light to help him pass a massive expansion of gov ernment health ins u r - a nee. Gem m a and Gra e m e fit |Mm Michelle Midkin Columnist malkinGoomcast net Frost, 9 and 12 years old respectively, were severely injured in a car accident three years ago. Their parents obtained government health care through the non-means tested Children's Health Insurance Program in Maryland. President Hush’s veto doesn’t change that - and there’s the rub. Because liberal lawmakers cannot honestly defend their expansion plans as bona fide aid to the needy, they have surrounded themselves with the Frosts and other kiddie human shields to deflect any tough scrutiny. As they push for an over ride of the president 's veto, scheduled for Oct. 18, the desperate Dems will shame lessly invoke the Absolute Moral Authority kiddie card to attack their critics for “attacking the children.” Alter 12-year-old Graeme Frost delivered the Democrat radio address, which was penned for him bv Senate staffers, conservatives on the Freeßepublic.com forum and across the Internet asked the questions the mainstream media wouldn’t ask about the family’s finan cial situation. The couple claims a com bined annual income of about $45,000. Neither the Democrats nor t he Baltimore Sun indicates how t hey veri fied that assertion before circulating it. What is verifiable: The Frosts own a home in d> Loss Prevention/Shoplifting Seminar Sponsored by the Houston County District Attorney's Office Wednesday, October 24, 2007 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Houston County Courthouse 201 N. Perry Parkway Perry, Georgia Directions at www.h&ustQnda.Qrg Please RSVP by s:oopm on October 15th Office 478-218-4810 Fax 478-218-4815 Contact: Jeff Lasseter or Debby Palmer palmer@houstonda. org No Cost To Attend Lunch Provided y§L i umi '*' 2,. tweed coats aren’t sound asleep and drooling on their ties by halftime, they have a unique experi- Ihck Yarbrough Columnist yart>24oo©t*llsouth net ence - welcomed or not - awaiting them. Instead of the Pride of the Mighty Wasps Marching Band tromping up and down the field play ing perky fight songs and mqjorettes tossing their slide rules high in the air, they will be treated to an honest-to goodness rap concert by none other than hip-hop legend Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, also known to his adoring fans as “Daddy Fat Sacks," “Sir Lucious L. Leftfoot,” “Hot Tub Tony” and/or Baltimore purchased for $55,000 16 years ago - and now’ worth an estimated $500,000. That’s a lot of equity. In addition, the children’s father, Halsey Frost, owns commercial real estate and his own small business, but chose not to buy health insurance for himself and his wife, whom he hired as an employee. She now apparently works freelance at a medi cal publishing firm, which also reportedly doesn't offer insurance. Gemma and Graeme both attend expensive private schools; the Frosts have two other school-age children. Reid’s staff says Gemma and Graeme receive tuition breaks. But it’s not clear when those scholarships were instituted and/or whether the other two receive tuition aid as well. Moreover, Frost ’s family comes from consider able means. The children’s maternal grandfather was an engi neering executive. Their paternal grandparents hail from affluent Bronxville, New York, where the grand father is a prominent facili ties management consultant and chairman of the munici pal planning board. In other words: The public trough is not Halsey Frost’s last and only resort. The accident was horrible. The children deserve much sym pathy and compassion. But this family made choices. Choices have consequences. Taxpayers of lesser means should not be forced to sub sidize them. The Frosts claim it would cost them more per month than their mortgage, report edly $1,200 a month, to buy private insurance. But insur ance bloggers quickly found available plans for a family of six wit h premiums as low as $452/month. "That’s almost a third of the price quoted in the \Baltinmre Sun| article,” wrote Bob Vineyard at You Are Cordially Invited To The sth5 th Annual “Francis the Savannah Chitlin’ Pimp.” (Trust me on this. I’m not clever enough to make up a name like Sir Lucious L. Leftfoot.) Ms. Pierce, who spouts marketing jargon like a gey ser spews hot water, says it is her hope that “our brand (meaning the Georgia Institute of Technology) and his brand (meaning, I sup pose, ‘Daddy Fat Sacks’) can align.” Gosh, I hope so. I don’t mean to be critical, but most of the old architects and bridge builders when I know still insist on wearing their pants well above their fannies and are loathe to flaunt their bling. It is about time somebody aligned their brands. Whatever that means. Pierce’s boss, associat e ath letic director Wayne Hogan, told the Atlanta Journal- Constitution that Atlanta Insureßlog. “Doesn’t anyone bother to check the facts?” When it comes to Democrat health care poster children, the answer is “No, they don’t.” Graeme and Gemma Frost are not the first politi cal symbols to be exploited by the socialized health care pushers of the Left: In 1996, Hillary Clinton propped up young Jennifer Bush, a 7-year-old with mys tery ailments whose mother coached her to lobby for uni versal health care. Jennifer was trotted out to present the Clintons a lucky silver dollar “to bring you good luck so everyone can have good insurance.” Jennifer’s mother was later convicted of aggra vated child abuse and wel fare fraud for misrepresent ing $60,000 in assets on Medicaid forms. In 2000, A 1 Gore propped up elderly widow Winifred Skinner to lambaste high drug prices. Gore repeated her claim that she had to pick up tans on the side of the road to pay for medi cine. Dan Rather bemoaned: “She’s no child, but she belongs on a poster about high drug costs.” One prob lem: Winifred’s own well to-do son, businessman Earl King, debunked those claims. In 2004, John Kerry propped up Mary Ann Knowles, a breast cancer patient whom he claimed “had to keep working day after day right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because she was terrified of losing her family’s health insur ance.” The conservative Manchester Union Leader editorial page reported: “Knowles chose to work through most, but not all, of her chemotherapy because her husband was out of a job. ... She and husband John did not want to take the pay cut that would have come with disability leave, so Mary Ann kept working.” The Democrats sorely This year's speakers: • Steve Cross, Security Manager, Sun Trust Bank • Cathy Mendelsohn, Consumer Education Specialist, Georgia • Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs OPINION 54400 is a “vibrant, thriving com munity of young, progres sive adults” and that a key to attracting them to Grant Field is to make Tech less of a “closed shop.” That’s marketing talk for “the old alumni in tweed coats can take a hike because they aren’t hip.” Here is the best news of all. The Georgia Tech ath letic department marketing gurus want to assure those assembled on Nov. 1 that the Big Boi Welcoming Event and Brand Alignment con cert won’t contain any dirty lyrics. No need to give the old folks a heart attack. Reliable sources inform me that Francis the Savannah Chitlin’ Pimp (not to be confused with Francis the Talking Mule) is busy as we speak modifying the legend ary Georgia Tech fight song into what is sure to be a resent that they can no lon ger peddle their Big Nanny propaganda unchallenged. Harry Reid is already throw ing tantrums and attacking the messengers who expose their health care poster child abuse. Here’s a free prescription for our stunted politicians: Grow up. Michelle Malkin is author of Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild. Her e-mail address is malkinblog@gmail.com. Ornamental Cabbage and Kale Reds. Whites, and Rinks Lewis Farms Nursery 830 Hwy. 26 Elko, GA Call Tim Lewis at 3 (478) 954-1507 Henderson Baptist Church Ist Annua I 7 a.m. - Registration for 5K Race & 1 Mile Run/Walk 8 a.m. - 5K Race starts & Registration for Volleyball Tournament 8:15 a.m.-1 Mile Run/Walk 1 starts 9 a.m. • Volleyball Tournament starts All Day • Bake Sale, Speakers, & Outside activities for children 6 p.m.- LIVE BAND! “Blake Goss Band” Location: Henderson Baptist Church 2813 HWY 41S. ELKO, GA 31025 Located j ust south of Per ry at the intersection of HWY 26 S HWY 41 REGISTRATION FORM Name Age Sex - Address City State Zip , 1 Mile Run/Walk SKRun Volleyball Tournament Email address__ Phone # _ T-shirt size: Youth: SML Adult: SML XL 2XL Enclosed is $ for my entry fee. In consideration of TjgjLZJSJv acceptance of this entry, I waive any and all claims for myself and .1 | „ my heirs against officials and sponsors of the Event for injury or ' ip 1 illness which may directly or indirectly result from my participation. Jr I further state that lam in proper physical condition to participate in this event, a Signature Date j Parent/Guardian signature__ Date rap standard for the ages. Admittedly, I’m no expert, but what I have heard thus far sounds like Grammy winning material: “You a Ramblin’ Wreck, you ol’ fool. Walkin’ around with your T-square tool. Even tho you an engineer who claims he can drink his whiskey clear How can you be a jolly good fellow when you jus’ sit there all white and yellow?” I doubt there will be a dry eye in the stadium. Meanwhile, at my alma mater, the University of Georgia (the nation’s old est state-chartered univer sity, located iq Athens, the Classic City of the South), a very unhip UGA athletic department just keeps sell ing out 92,746-seat Sanford Stadium almost twice the FOR SALE STUCKEy’S fINESTkAW We deliver and spread Call Now! Cell: 478-258-4705 Cell: 404-217-4654 I -J; jjjl l pi E ts wSeII&K-:•'! ' v ;> FALL FOR CHRIST Saturday, OCTOBER 27,2007 Schedule Proceed? benefit the Youth at Henderson Baptist Church SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2007 ♦ 5K RACE & VOLLEYBALL Early Registration basins now! - Tor info call (478)987-8928 or 987-3906 Early SK registration - sls & free t-shirt Race-Oav 5K registration - S2O i ■ 1 MHe Run/Walk registration - FREE! Early Volleyball registration - * S6O per team & free t-shirt Eyent-Day Volleyball registration- S7O 6 players per team 2 categories: Middle/High school or Adults ‘Awards to winners in the 5K Run, ” 1 Mile Run/Walk, & Volleyball Tournament. t Si Bring your own lawn chair! Chick‘Fil-A food will be available to purchase Event T-shirts for SALE!, Food! Fellowship! Fun! size of Grant Field year after year after year with nary a marketing cliche to be found. As embarrassed as I am to admit this, I really don’t think they give a rat’s whisker in Athens about aligning brands. Assuming that you were not planning to reorganize your sock drawer that eve ning, I hope you will mark your calendar to be at the “welcoming experience” between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech on Nov. 1. There will be lots of hip hop. Lots of vibrant, young, progressive adults. Lots of brand aligning. Who knows? They might even find time to squeeze in a football game. You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or website: www.dickyarbrough.com. 7A 548SV