Newspaper Page Text
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August 26, 2004
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GOP stoops
to new low
All’s fair in love, war and yes, even politics.
But members of the Georgia Republican Party
have resorted to gutter pofitics — stooping to a
new low — by becoming entangled in a federal
investigation against a ranking Georgia Demo
crat, Charles Walker.
Though Sen. Don Cheeks rails against insin
uations that he was the “driving force” behind
the federal investigation against Walker, his
rival in the upcoming General Election, notes
supplied by the FBI clearly indicates that
Cheeks was all too willing to spread rumor and
innuendo — regurgitating ‘he says, she says’
information, supplying facsimle copies of non
related issues and a list of names for investiga
tors. None of the information that Cheek’s
supplied ended up in the indictment.
As damaging as Cheeks was trying to be
against Walker, he apparently instigated the
death blow for two worthwhile projects in
Augusta. Investigators who met with Cheeks
states he impliec% that Walker received a kick
back from the Georgia Department of Juvenile
Justice (DJ]J) contract witfi the Augusta Mini
Theatre and a S3O million grant for the revi
talization of the city’s underserved downtown
neighborhood. Investigators found no evi
dence of this.
Cheeks even stated he brought the baseless
claim to the attention of the then DJJ Com
missioner, Orlando Martinez. It was just a
short time later that Martinez cancelled the
contract with the Mini Theatre - leaving
Augusta’s first performing arts organization
struggling to keep its doors open. The Enal install
ment of %10 million for downtown revitalization was
also nixed around the same time.
Republicans are apparently willing to take some
“collateral damage” to win at the pofis. How much
more must a community suffer in order for the GOP
to prevail in this twisted political game?
Republicans continualfy attack Walker’s integrity
but it is their integrity that is at issue in this case. They
have proven to be malicious in their pursuit of adver
saries that they fear politically.
But voters shoulci)o take comfort in the fact that
“every dog has its day.” Just as the former U.S. Artor
ney, Rick Thompson, was found to be abusing the
authority of his office to investigate high profile
Democrats, the bombshell feferal investigators
have dropped on Cheeks should be the entrée
for his pogtical demise.
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Bush questions Kerry military record
How can a man who
refused to fight for his
country question a man
who volunteered to go and
fight in the war? [ can't
believe that the Bush peo
ple have the gall to ques
tion John Kerry’s military
record and service. The
debate around Kerry’s
medals is a moot point.
What we know for sure is
that John Kerry voluntarily
left college to go and
defend his country. John
Kerry is a patriot. He vol
unteered for a war that he
didn’t have to fight in. He
was a college boy from old
money but he didn’t use his
position of privilege as a
shield. He came from
behind the veil, went to
Vietnam, and asked to be
sent into combat.
What did George Bush
do?
George Bush didn't even
show up for National
Guard duty. George was
and is a coward. He
dodged the war. He refused
to go and fight. He stayed
home, partied, got drunk,
chased women, and spent
his parents’ money. This is
Increasing black voter turnout
After every presidential
election there is the usual
gnashing of teeth about
what could have been
done to increase black
voter registration and
turnout. There is no
doubt in my mind that
we can be assured a high
er turnout in November
if we follow two examples
set in Dallas, Texas and
Nashville, Tenn.
In 1994, the Dallas
Examiner published the
names of voters in predom
inantly black precincts and
showed whether they had
voted in the previous pri
mary or runoff. Some
prominent African-Amer
icans were identified as
not having voted. Some
were not even registered.
According to Dallas
Examiner Publisher Mol
lie Belt, voting in the
black precincts tripled
the: next election.
In view of that success,
here is my personal pro
AUGUSTA FOCUS
g W Ro]
Mln}w
the same man that now
claims he is more qualified
than Kerry to lead America
in a tme of:war, How can
he make such a claim?
A man who has never
seen war first hand can’t
possibly be more prepared
to lead a nation during war
time than a man who has
been there. John Kerry has
witnessed first hand the
devastation of war. He has
seen young men die in bat
tle. He has had to shoot
the enemy and come back
home and deal with the
atrocities and fall out of
war.
John Kerry’s proven mili
tary service has equipped
him to know what the men
and women of our armed
forces are going through in
Iraq and Afghanistan. He
wouldn’t send people to
war to settle a family
posal: Black newspapers
and radio starions across
the country should com
pile and circulate similar
lists in their local com
munities prior to Novem
ber 2. We still have a lit
tle more than two
months to obtain the
information from local
election boards and dis
tribute it in our commu
nities. We must move
quickly because the
voter registration cut-off
dates in some states.
In all likelihood, the
next president will select
two or three Supreme
Court justices. George W.
Bush has already stated
that he will appoint
Supreme Court justices
that share the radical
Right-wing ideology of
Clarence Thomas and
Antonin Scalia. With
important civil rights
cases barely squeaking by
on 5-4 votes in recent
years, the appointment of
vendetta. The idealistic
young Kerry who left col
lege to go and fight in
Vietnam came back disillu
sioned because he saw first
hand the evil of war. He
saw what war does to those
who fight them. He saw
the criminality in war. If
John Kerry is our president
he would bring our men
and women home as soon
as possible. 4
He would develop an exit
plan because he knows
they need to get out of
there. He wouldn’t sit in
Washington as a naive dis
passionate bystander like
George Bush.
If there is one major dif
ference between John
Kerry and George Bush
this is ane of them. John
Kerry has served our coun
try. He did so faithfully
and that is without debate.
Debate the medals all you
want but the fact that he
served and George Bush
didn’t is without debate.
The fact that John Kerry
knows the devastation of
war first hand and George
Bush doesn’t is without
debate. The fact that John
two conservative justices
to the bench ¢ould
reverse centuries of
progress. That alone
should provide enough
incentive for African-
Americans to go to the
polls in unprecedented
numbers. For those who
aren't moved by that
prospect, we’'ll just have
to go the public embar
rassment route.
In Nashville, the
NAACP and more than a
half-dozen other organi
zations are holding a rally
this Saturday to register
former felons who have
completed their prison
sentences.
“The NAACP is con
cerned with the voting
rights of all United States
citizens, especially those
who historically were dis
enfranchised,” said Rev.
Sonnye Dixon, president
of the local branch. “This
effort also helps us focus
on our work with the
Kerry knows what it feels
like to be on the battle field
and George Bush doesn’t is
without debate. The fact
that John Kerry will lead
out of his experience as a
soldier and George Bush
has no such experience is
without debate. John
Kerry is more prepared to
lead this country, especially
at a time of war, than
Geoarge Bush will eyer beg
Don’t allow Baby Bush
and his spin doctors to dis
tract us on this one. There
is no debate. Bush and his
swift boat boys are up the
creek knee deep in you
know what. If America
falls for this one and
reelects the coward who
has sent our men and
women into harms way
with no plan for victory or
exit, then America
deserves what she elects.
Do you really want a war
president who has never
been to war?
Dr. Watkins is a sociology
professor and author of the
book I Ain’t Afraid to Speak
My Mind. He can be
reached through his website:
www.ralphwatkins.org.
| o | |
I Geordé Curry |
criminal justice system as
it strives to rehabilitate
and re-acclimate those
who have served or are
still serving time in the
penal system.”
The criminal justice
system could use some
additional focus.
“Nationally, more four
million Americans are
denied the right to vote
as a result of laws that
prohibit voting by felons
or ex-felons,” the Sen
tencing Project reports.
“In 48 states (with the
exception of Maine and
ik R S
: See Voter, page 10A