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The Forsyth County News
Opinion
This is a page of opinions ours, yours and others.
Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the
writers and artists and may not reflect our views.
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CITY COUNCIL
Mayor, H. Ford Gravitt
RO. Box 3177, Cumming, GA 30028; (770) 887-4342
Mayor Pro-Tern, Lewis Ledbetter
205 Mountain Brook Dr., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) M 7-3019
Ralph Perry
1420 Pilgrim Rd.. Cumming. GA 30040; (770) 887-7474
Quincy Holton
103 Hickory Ridge Dr.. Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-5279
Rupert Sexton
705 Pine Lake Dr., Cumming. GA 30040; (770) 887-4332
John Pugh
108 13th St.. Cumming. GA 30040; (770) 887-3342
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Charles Laughinghouse, Post 1
3550 Rosewicke Dr., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-7937; office, (770) 886-2010
David “AJ.” Pritchett Post 2
4840 Chesterfield Court, Suwanee, GA 30024
(404) 392-6983; office, (770) 886-2809
John A. “Jack" Conway. Post 3
6130 Polo Club Dr.. Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-9226: (770) 886-2807
Marcie Kreager. Post 4
9810 Kings Rd.. Gainesville. GA 30506
office. (770) 886-2806
Eddie Taylor. Post 5
4195 Morningside Dr.. Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 886-2802
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Ann Crow
96 Barker Rd.. Cumming. GA 30040
(770) 887-9640; acrow@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Paul Kreager
9810 Kings Rd.. Gainesville. GA 30506
(770) 889-9971; pkreager@forsyth.kl2 ga.us
Nancy Roche
7840 Chestnut Hill Rd.. Cumming. GA 30041
(770) 889-0229; nroche@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Rebecca K. Dowell
2030 Commonwealth Place. Cumming. GA 30041
(770) 844-0830: rdowell@forsylh.kl2.ga.us
Chairman Jeffrey Stephens
PO. Box 169. Cumming. GA 30028
(770) 889-1470: jstephens@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
NATIONAL LEGISLATORS
U.S. Sen. Zell Miller
Russell Senate Office Building, Room C-3
Washington. DC. 20510
(202) 224-3643: Fax: (202) 228-2090
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss
1019 Longworth House Office Building
Washington. DC. 20515
(202) 224-3521
U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, 10th District
2437 Rayburn House Office Building.
Washington. D.C. 20515
Gainesville: RO. Box 1015. Gainesville. GA 30503
Gainesville. (770) 535-2592
Washington: (202) 225-5211: Fax: (202) 225-8272
I J
U.S. Rep. John Linder, 7th District
1727 Longworth House Office Building.
Washington. DC. 20515-1011
Washington: (202) 225-4272: Fax: (202) 225-4696
STATE LEGISLATORS
Sen. David Shafer, 48th District
109 State Capitol
Atlanta. GA 30334
(404)651-7738
Sen. Casey Cagle, 49th District
421 State Capitol. Atlanta. GA 30334
(404)656-6578: Fax:(404)651-6768
Sen. Dan Moody, 27th District
(770) 695-3127:
Office (404) 463-8055
Sen. Renee Unterman, 45th District
(770) 466-1507;
Office (404)463-1368
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Rep. Tom Knox, 14th District
Legislative Office Building, Room 504
18 Capitol Square, Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-0188, (770) 887-0400, law office
4
Rep. Jan Jones, 38th District
412 Legislative Office Building, Atlanta GA 30334
(404) 656-0137
Rep. Jack Murphy, 14th District
Legislative Office Building,
Room 612, Atlanta GA 30334
(404) 656-0325
(770) 781-9319, home
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Raimondo failure embarrassing
WASHINGTON The
most charitable explanation of
why President Bush’s choice
to be the government's manu
facturing czar crashed and
burned last week is sheer
incompetence. But the real
causes of this embarrassment
look like something worse:
secrecy, deceptiveness and
vindictiveness in this adminis
tration.
It could be a script from
television's "West Wing."
Nebraska industrialist Tony
Raimondo was selected to be
the newly created assistant
secretary of manufacturing in
the Commerce Department at
the recommendation of his
friend and business associate,
the state's Democratic senator.
Ben Nelson. But before
Secretary of Commerce
Donald Evans' scheduled
announcement, the appoint
ment was leaked to Sen. John
Kerry. The prospective Demo
cratic presidential nominee
then revealed that Raimondo
runs a factory in China.
Senate Republican leaders
won White House agreement
not to make the nomination,
and Bush aides blamed
Nebraska's Republican sena
tor. Chuck Hagel.
The incompetence stems
from White House failure to
notify Hagel or any other
Republicans in advance. That
the process of vetting an
important nominee fell apart
in the fourth year of the Bush
Bush terrorism policy c
"I do not fault George
Bush for doing too much in
the war on terror," droned
Democratic presidential candi
date John Kerry at a campaign
event in Washington this
week.
Tj.UU.
"I believe he's done too lit
tle."
What was that? My ears
perked up slightly. Would this
"proven leader" who claims he
will "stand up to the special
interests" talk about the need
for racial, ethnic, nationality
and religious profiling? Would
he attack the Bush White
House for appeasing the eth
nic grievance industry and
keeping silly Norm Mineta in
his Cabinet during these dead
ly serious times?
Or would he propose a
temporary visa moratorium on
terror-friendly countries, such
as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and
Morocco? Or how about the
open-borders lobby? Would
Kerry have anything to say
about the continuing security
threat that unchecked illegal
immigration poses to the
"hardworking families" he
claims to represent?
Naaah.
Kerry, you see, was speak
ing before the International
Association of Fire Fighters,
whose president, Harold
Schaitberger, is national co
chair of the Kerry for
Robert
Novak
administration defies credibil
ity. Somewhere in the White
House, too-clever-by-half
staffers made a decision to
sneak through Raimondo's
nomination without telling
Hagel. That failed process
gives Republicans plenty to
worry about on the eve of a
long, hard election campaign.
Had Hagel been notified,
he would have informed the
White House of two political
facts of life. The first was
Raimondo's factory in China.
Hagel is a sophisticated for
mer businessman who under
stands the global economy
and sees no sin in an
American manufacturer set
ting up a plant in China sell
ing strictly to the Chinese
market and simultaneously
generating sales jobs at home.
But Hagel is also a politician
who understands that "China"
is a buzzword in today's high
ly politicized Washington. It
made no political sense to
name a manufacturing czar
who owns a factory in China.
The second fact of life that
would have been imparted by
Hagel to the White House is
that Tony Raimondo may be a
registered Republican but is
not a loyal Republican. He
Michelle Jk S
Malkin W
President Committee. Their
complaint is not that Bush has
done too little to fight terror
ism. but that he has showered
too little government funding
on certain Democratic con
stituencies. Hence, the First
Responders Fake-out.
Kerry's big proposal to
fight the global war on terror
ism (borrowed from Bill and
Hillary Clinton) is to add
100.000 "first responders" to
the ranks of firefighters and
emergency medical personnel
in cities and towns across the
United States. In other words:
Wait until the terrorists strike
us again and then do a really,
really good job of cleaning up
the mess afterward.
Os course, our brave fire
fighters, cops and emergency
personnel need better training
and equipment to respond in
the event of another attack.
But responders, no matter how
courageous, prevent nothing.
Dialing 911 is not the solution
to stopping another 9/11.
"When it comes to protect
ing America from terrorism,"
Kerry complains, "this admin
istration is big on bluster and
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Friday, March 19, 2004 I
supported then Gov. Nelson's
1996 bid for the Senate
against underdog Hagel. After
providing private jet trans
portation for the heavily
favored Nelson's losing cam
paign. Raimondo took Nelson
on his Behlen Manufacturing
board (where he still serves as
an unpaid adviser).
Imagine Hagel's astonish
ment when an aide gave him
an Associated Press dispatch
last Wednesday disclosing
Raimondo's selection. Kerry
made the actual first
announcement, and it was not
difficult to figure how he
found out. A former Nelson
press aide now works for the
Kerry campaign. Naturally.
Kerry knew all about the fac
tory in China, and Democrats
in their current mood of
economic jingoism took
the Senate floor to ridicule
Bush's choice and effectively
kill the nomination before it
was made.
Appalled. Secretary of
Commerce Evans called
Hagel to say he had thought
surely the senator had been
notified about Raimondo.
White House Chief of Staff
Andrew Card phoned Hagel
with the same message. But
Hagel was not alone in being
kept out of the loop. Nobody
called Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist. Majority
Whip Mitch McConnell or
Comm-erce Committee
Chairman John McCain ( who
ritic has no plan of own
short on action." And what
does Kerry have to offer?
More bluster about the old
Clintonian "law enforcement"
approach to prosecuting al
Qaeda. More jury trials for
terrorists.
The federal prosecution of
the 1993 World Trade Center
bombers in our civilian court
system demonstrated the pit
falls of prosecuting the War on
Terror like an episode of the
TV show "Ally Mcßeal" —a
pathetic courtroom comedy.
The trials gave the bin Laden
network a multi-million-dol
lar, tax-subsidized defense
team, free translation services,
personal dry-cleaning servic
es, and access to information
that was allegedly used by
Islamists "to become more
adept at eluding surveillance."
All of the convicted World
Trade Center bombers
received life sentences behind
bars, where they rejoiced
when they heard the news that
the Twin Towers had fallen.
Two had faced the death
penalty but were spared by a
minority-dominated jury that
swallowed the race-baiting of
traitorous defense witness
Ramsey Clark (the former
U.S. attorney general under
Lyndon Johnson). Clark testi
fied that no member of a racial
minority group African-
American, Arab or otherwise
could expect a fair trial in
would preside over Senate
confirmation). Nor was
Nebraska's Republican Gov.
Mike Johanns informed.
Somebody at the White
House other than Andy Card
apparently made a decision
to go with Nelson, a rare
Senate Democrat who occa
sionally votes with the presi
dent, over Hagel, a
Republican who always
backs Bush (voting for
administration bills at rates
of 96 percent. 98 percent and
98 percent in Bush's first
three years). It made no
apparent difference at the
White House that Hagel and
Johanns are co-chairmen of
the president’s re-election
campaign in Nebraska.
Chuck Hagel may vote the
right way but speaks his mind
all too often to please the
White House. Presidential
aides, talking not for quota
tion. unfairly blamed Hagel
for killing the nomination.
One Republican source close
to the White House said
Hagel was not informed in
advance because he simply
cannot be trusted. Those
remarks suggest what’s wrong
w ith George W. Bush's opera
tion heading into a presiden
tial campaign. The Raimondo
fiasco points to failings that
w ill not be corrected if they
are not admitted.
Robert Novak is a nation
ally syndicated columnist and
a television commentator.
the United States. He also
blamed the Gulf War and U.S.
sanctions on Iraq for creating
the psychological "suffering"
that led to the embassy
attacks.
On another front, convicted
mastermind Sheik Omar
Abdul Rahman may have
exploited his right to counsel
in order to establish a terrorist
message pipeline from behind
bars. His radical lawyer,
Lynne Stewart, faces trial this
spring on charges of providing
material support to terrorists;
she is accused of aiding a plot
to kidnap and kill people to
help win the release of
Rahman and making false
statements regarding her
efforts to pass messages
between Rahman and his fol
lowers around the world.
The Bush administration
has moved beyond reactively
serving terrorists with their
legal papers to proactively
busting sleeper cells, detaining
enemy combatants before they
set off their bombs, setting up
military tribunals, and deport
ing Arab and Muslim illegal
alien suspects. What is John
Kerry's plan?
Buying more walkie-talkies
and playing "People’s Court"
with Islamic mass murderers.
Michelle Malkin is a
nationally syndicated colum
nist. Her e-mail address is
ma I kin @ Comcast. net.
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