Newspaper Page Text
8A
SEPTEMBER 18, 2003
Upinion
Perdue’s deferral is
unconstitutional
Last week in the Augusta
Focus, guest columnist
Grady Cornish revealed a
situation that demands fur
ther examination. It
involves political cronyism
in its worst form. The
results have proven to be
detrimental to the Univer
sity System of Georgia.
The actions are patently
unconstitutional and
should be recognized as
such by the people of Geor
gia.
Governor Perdue’s plan
to balance the state budget
on the back of the universi
ty system is a fundamental
threat to academic freedom
and democratic principles.
It follows a path traveled by
legislators before and
deemed illegal by lawmak
ers and citizens alike.
In 1941, the university
system lost accreditation
because of political interfer
ence. In 1943, a constitu
tional amendment removed
the threat of such interfer
ence by granting all aca
demic and financial author
ity to the Georgia Board of
Regents. This amendment
was overwhelmingly
approved by Georgia voters.
Today, as in 1941, it is of
paramount importance that
teaching and research in
colleges and universities be
guarded against political
influence — whether that
influence is liberal or con
servative, democrat or
republican.
The governor must bal
ance the state budget.
There is no question about
this. But he cannot do so
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by giving preference to cer
tain programs in our state
colleges and universities.
That’s the responsibility of
the board of regents solely.
For the governor to even
consider eliminating or cut
ting funds for projects and
programs is a slap in the
face of the First Amend
ment.
Georgia has one of the
nation’s best systems of
public higher education.
Even with budget cuts, it
can remain one of the best.
But it cannot be the servant
of politics, no matter who is
governor or who is elected
to the general assembly.
By deferring action on an
item, Perdue is able to pick
and choose projects within
the regents’ budget to leave
in limbo. The legislature’s
hands are tied. Lawmakers
have no authority to over
ride a deferral as they have
the ability to challenge a
veto. This process clearly
circumvents the constitu
tion. The governor can now
reward his friends as he did
when disbursing state high
way funds and punish his
political foes as he did with
the regents’ budget. It
should come as no surprise
that the university pro
grams in jeopardy largely
involve academicians and
administrators who are not
counted among the gover
nor’s allies.
The law is clear. The gov
ernor recommends the gen
eral assembly appropria
tions. The leadership in the
House and Senate should
be outraged.
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AUGUSTA FOCUS
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WITNESS FOR JUSTICE by Bernice Powsell Jackson
Did George Bush really ask for SB7 billion?
I couldn’t believe my ears.
President Bush stood flat
footed and looked straight
into the camera and asked
for an additional 87 billion
dollars to fund his daddy’s
war. The congress had previ
ously approved 79 billion to
fund Mr. Bush’s war but that
didn’t do the job. Cowboy
Bush thought that the caval
ry would run into Iraq, shoot
up the town and then the
towns’ people would wel
come the new sheriff. He has
since found out that the will
of the Iraqi people is set
firmly against the American
occupation.
The Bush administration
grossly underestimated what
they would face in Iraq. The
terrorist attacks against
American troops are a daily
occurrence. More soldiers
have died after the supposed
end to the war than during
the intense period of early
conflict. The death toll
mounts daily and there still
WITNESS FOR JUSTICE By Bernice Powell Jackson
Labor Day 2003: The Immigrant Freedom Ride
Labor Day is always a time
to reflect on the working
men and women who have
built this country and the
enormous contributions they
have made to our life today.
Many of these workers have
been immigrants (those who
came involuntarily as well as
those who sought a new life
here). Many of them have
faced exploitation and
oppression and have fought
for the right to organize and
to work in dignity for a living
wage.
This year there is another
way to be involved in sup
porting these workers. You
can support the Immigrant
Workers Freedom Ride
which will be occurring later
in September from nine dif
ferent cities across the
nation. These modern day
freedom riders, modeling
themselves on the civil
rights freedom riders of the
19605, will board busses
which will converge in
Washington, D.C. on Octo
ber 2, 2003 where they will
meet with Congressional
leaders and staff, and then
travel to Liberty State Park
in New Jersey for a rally on
October 3, and then to
Flushing Meadows Park in
New York City for a mass
rally on October 4. Along
the way, the Immigrant
Worker Freedom Riders will
make some 80 stops to tell
their story.
More than most Ameri
cans, immigrants are vul
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are no signs of the weapons
of mass destruction, Saddam
Hussein or Osama Bin Lad
den. What did we gain from
fighting this war?
The results of this war
obviously were not an end to
terrorism. Terror is on the
loose in the Middle East,
Africa, Iraq and in America.
After all who knows who
turned the lights out up
North? Bush’s reactionary
politics and vendetta foreign
politics is putting America
further in the hole. America
isn’t seen as the police of the
nerable to exploitation in the
work place and, especially
since September 11, they
face an increased erosion of
their civil rights. The Immi
grant Workers Freedom Ride
hopes to focus attention on
legalization and citizenship
issues of immigrant workers,
as well as protection of their
civil and workers’ rights.
Government raids on work
places and homes, punitive
detention for long periods of
time, constant threats of
deportation and the abrupt
loss of jobs characterize
immigrant life in the U.S.
today. This is especially true
for “undocumented” work
ers.
Yet, immigrant workers
contribute much to this
nation. You know who they
are — they work in the most
back-breaking, unpleasant,
undesirable and much need
ed jobs. They work as
migrant farmers, they clean
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international community
but rather she is seen as the
bully. The United Nations
holds America in suspect sta
tus. America is suspected of
lying about the Iraq situa
tion so that they could go in
and fight a war to secure oil
fields.
While Bush was off using
American money to destroy
a nation’s infrastructure at
the tune of $79 billion,
North Korea was doing their
thing and telling America to
go to . The hypocrisy of
President Bush’s foreign pol
icy was never more evident
when he decimated Iraq but
didn’t even wink at North
Korea. The unevenness and
underhanded foreign policies
of the Bush administration
are so gross that Stevie Won
der can see through them.
Now President Bush is
once again playing cowboy as
he lobbies for 87 billion dol
lars to build up what he
destroyed while at the same
our hotel rooms, offices and
homes, they work in restau
rants as dish washers and
bussers. They even serve in
the armed forces and some
have been killed in Iraq, only
to be given citizenship
posthumously. They pay
taxes (an estimated $133 bil
lion in 1997, for example)
and start businesses. Indeed,
many American cities,
including parts of New York
City, have experienced revi
talization because of the
arrival of new immigrant
communities.
Many immigrant workers
live in poverty, despite some
times working several jobs.
Yet, they are ineligible for
welfare and in some states
their children are not eligi
ble to receive financial assis
tance for college. In some
states, immigrants are fight
ing for the right to have a
driver’s license, a fight made
more difficult since Septem
Need a job?
Try
Georgia Personnel
~ Services
Call 722-4222
time the American economy
is going to the dogs. Employ
ment in the African-Ameri
can community is rising
faster than other sub-groups
in the nation. Presently
African-American unem
ployment is twice that of
whites and President Bush
claims all is well. The econo
my has been destroyed on
his watch. President Bush
has brought evil on this
nation. From his stealing the
election, 9-11, the continu
ing war in Iraq and the
death of an economy it is
clear that the axis of evil is in
the White House. America
needs to take a critical look
at the Bush administration
and ask the question: can we
take four more years of this?
Dr. Ralph C. Watkins is a
sociology professor at Augus
ta State University and the
president of Unity Council
Inc.. He can be reached
through his web site:
www.ralphwatkins.org
ber 11. Families of migrant
farmers face many chal
lenges, including the difficul
ties of traveling from place
to place, making it hard for
their children to be educat
ed.
The Immigrant Workers
Freedom Rides have won the
support of religious groups,
labor wunions, immigrant
advocates and organizations
such as the NAACP and the
American Civil Liberties
Union. There will be rallies
in support of these new
Freedom Riders in the next
few weeks. The busses will
leave from Seattle/Portland,
San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Las Vegas, Houston, Min
neapolis, Chicago, Miami
and Boston. For more infor
mation or a map of the
routes, you can go to
www.iwfr.org.
Bernice Powell Jackson is
executive minister for Justice
and Witness Ministries.