Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MAY 6. 2004
Repealing the 17th Amendment
Zell Miller may be crazy like fox
It’s hard to tell these days how much of Zell
Miller is sincere and how much is the continuous
ly running Washington installment of the Zell
Miller Show.
On the show, Miller, our senior senator from
Georgia, portrays a homespun mountain philoso
pher, like Will Rogers or the Hollywood caricature
of a simple man fighting the corrupt system.
But for a man who has authored several books,
was a professor at Emory University, will debate
on what classical music should be
played to infants and most tellingly
spent his adult life in politics, the
real Zell isn’t so simple.
Nor is everything Miller throws
out to be taken as a genuine policy
proposal. His condemnation of the
half-time show at the Superbowl
from the floor of the Senate was an
entertaining, but largely pointless,
exercise in stump speaking.
However, Zell, who parades pub
licly like an Old Testament prophet
decrying the end times, may have
hit on a good idea with his latest
stage production — the elimination of the 17th
amendment.
In case you need a refresher on Constitutional
history, the 17th amendment, adopted in 1913,
allowed direct election of U.S. Senators. Prior to
the amendment, the U.S. House was elected, but
the Senators were appointed by state legislatures.
A number of our nation’s founding fathers wor
ried about giving the “masses” complete control of
the new country so they came up with the appoint
ment of one legislative house. They also created
an appointed body directly from the statehouses as
a concession to the state governments who wor
ried about a central government taking total con
trol.
Senator Miller, who was appointed to fill the
unexpired term after the death of Paul Coverdell,
believes eliminating the popular vote would
instantly eliminate related corruption.
In proposing the change in late April, Miller
said, “The individuals are not so much at fault as
the rotten and decaying foundation of what is no
longer a republic. It is the system that stinks. And
it’s only going to get worse because that perfect
balance our brilliant founding fathers put in place
in 1787 no longer exists.”
The repeal of the 17th Amendment is a new
spin on the old prophet’s familiar theme expound
ed in his book A National Party No More — the
people who supply the money to run the cam
paigns are ruining America.
Miller went so far as to submit legislation to
repeal the Amendment, but said he didn’t expect
to get any votes other than his own. This, like
many recent episodes of the Zell Miller Show, was
orchestrated more to draw attention to problems in
the system and himself, than propose a realistic
change.
' But, for both the reasons Miller cites about the
corrupting influence of money and other reasons,
prophet’s familiar
theme — the people
who supply the
money to run the
campaigns are
ruining America.
the change in election laws has merit.
First, and Miller didn’t say this, it’s hard to
believe that many Americans would really care if
they lost the right to vote for a single office. Peo
ple don’t turn out on election day anyway so if we
took one race away maybe they would care more
about those they have left. The Senate is as good a
place to switch to appointments as any office.
When you have many elections where less than
30 percent of the voters turn out and rarely any
election where more than 50 percent
The repeal of the tura ca " “ g , ue th f‘ Amer j
r j J , cans hold their right to vote sacred.
17th Amendment IS a In the 2000 presidential election
new Spin on the old onl y 43 percent of registered Geor
gia voters cast a ballot.
At the same time, the country
should do away with the hocus-
pocus voodoo system of an electoral
college in the presidential race and
go with a straight top vote-getter
system.
Forget all the districts and delegates,
just add up the votes and call the
winner for our top office. It works in
every other election from class presidents to
deciding where a Sunday School will go for din
ner. Why rely on a system no one understands
when it comes to the president?
Secondly, Miller, who has announced his retire
ment from politics again, is right on target in say
ing that eliminating the campaign would eliminate
the stranglehold that big money from corporations
and special interest groups have on the Senate.
If they don’t have to run ridiculously expensive
television ads which contain little substance and a
lot of flash, the Senators wouldn’t be forced to put
on dog and pony shows half of the year.
The state houses can pick someone and then
that person is only obligated to serve the state who
sent him, which means the appointed Senator can
do and say what he thinks regardless of how it will
play or be played in a 30-second sound bite six
years later at election time.
Freed from pandering for votes and cash, the
appointed Senator can tell any special action
group from the ACFU to the NRA to take a hike.
Yet another benefit of giving state legislature
some control is returning states’ rights to the sys
tem.
When our form of our government was estab
lished, the states wanted direct control of one of
the houses of the legislature to prevent the federal
government from trampling on state issues.
Now, more than ever, with a steady stream of
unfunded mandates that affect everything from
classroom sizes to whether you can plant trees in
the middle of a cul-de-sac on a public road, the
federal government has overstepped its bounds.
Harkening back to the debates of the late 1700s,
it’s time for the states to reassert their positions,
the voters to take more interest in their rights and
duties and for our highest elected body to slam the
door on big money.
In other words, Zell is right on this one.
Tell us what you think via the internet: the progress online message board
www.pickensprogress. com
or e-mail a Letter to the Editor at news@pickensprogress.com. All Letters must have a valid e-mail
address and a full name. The name will be published
PHS seeks community involvement
in accreditation process
By Sylvia Helms
The high school is in the begin
ning stages of work towards re
accreditation by the Southern Asso
ciation of Colleges and Schools.
Approval from this group allows
our graduates to be eligible to
attend colleges throughout the
iPtcfeettg Count? progress
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main St. P.O. Box 67 Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457 FAX (706) 253-9738
JOHN R. POOL DAN POOL
Publisher Editor
WILLIAM E. POOL
Managing Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia. Entered at
the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia 30143 as Meal Matter of Second Class.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE PICKENS COUNTY
PROGRESS, P. O. Box 67, Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year’s Subscription: $16.05 in Pickens County and in Gilmer,
Cherokee, Dawson and Gordon Counties. $23.54 in all other Georgia
counties; $28.89 out of state.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
ASSOCIATION
United States.
Groups of faculty and adminis
trators have been at work for some
time looking at the strengths and
weaknesses of our present pro
grams and planning our school
improvement plan for the next
five years.
The next phase is to get parents
and the community involved as
well. From time to time there will
be information for you or infor
mation we need from you posted
on the website. For instance, soon
there will be an interactive form
concerning the high school’s mis
sion and beliefs from which we
would like your response.
There will also be printed
copies of the forms available in
the school office for those you
wish to respond in person.
Please check the school web
site regularly if you are interested
in expressing your opinion about
how our school system can
improve its educational process.
Go to http://pickenscoun-
tyschools.org. Go to Schools,
then Pickens High School, then
Click here to visit the Website.
We will keep the pertinent
information accessible from the
first page of the web site. You can
come by the school office between
the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. to
pick up a paper copy. Thank you
for your participation.
NX
Lot freedom ring May 6th
National Day of Prayer
Reflections
By Elaine Jordan
Rainy Day Letters
Rainy days are wonderful times
to tackle indoor chores that one
puts off when spring sunshine and
mellow temperatures pull you out
side. So with the steady patter of
raindrops zig-zagging a silvery path
down my windowpanes, now is a
good time to answer readers’ lively
questions — with tongue-in-cheek,
of course:
David G. of Blaine asks, “Just
what in the heck is this G-8 Sum
mit all about and who is in it?”
Good question David, since
everything is kept so hush-hush
lately about anything political.
About once a year, world leaders
get together somewhere and see
how much damage, uh, I mean
input, they can contribute toward
running the world. By doing this,
they make everyone think they are
earning their place in history. This
year’s leaders include our “War
President” Bush, President Putin of
Russia (who is really actor
McCauley Caulkin all grown up),
the president of France who once
moonlighted at a US Howard John
son restaurant (that’s where you
learn to run a country?), chancellor
of Germany (who was a scruffy
child other kids refused to play
with, and still don’t) and prime
ministers of Italy, Canada, United
Kingdom and Japan. Among these
men we have a cowboy, the filthy
rich, sumo-wrestling fans, wannabe
rock star, a judo-master, one with
big hair and a perfectionist. And
what’s really scary David — these
guys will be deciding OUR future!
Ellen K. of Waleska writes, “I’m
planning a family reunion and need
a recipe for something I can throw
together easily to feed a crowd.
Can you help?”
You’ve come to the right place
Ellen. I have an old family favorite
that was given me by my Aunt
Bertha who cooked for a camp full
of big Wisconsin lumberjacks in
the early 1900s. It’s called “Belgian
Booyah.” Get a 25-gallon kettle
and fill it with 15 gallons of good
dark beer. Toss in about 20 pounds
of big onions, seven dozen carrots,
14 stalks of celery, 10 cans of corn
(open cans first) and five cut-up
chickens. Bring to a boil, cover and
simmer on low for two days. Add
salt and pepper to taste and serve
NORTH STAR
EQUESTRIAN
CENTER
Boarding, Training, Lessons
Indoor Arena, Access to Mountain Trails
Mobile: (404) 861-4425 Home: (770) 893-3869
Stable: (770) 893-4575
www.northstarequestrian.com
673 Long Swamp Church Rd. • Jasper, GA
piping hot along with crusty French
bread. It will be the talk of your
family for generations to come, I
guarantee it. Oh, and Ellen, be sure
one family member there is a doc
tor.
Peter R. of Jasper is interested in
his future. He wants to know, “I’ll
be graduating from high school this
month and I’m wondering what I
should major in at college that
would be a slam-dunk toward get
ting rich?”
Heck, that’s an easy one Pete.
Forget about college and sign up at
tech school for their Deluxe Plumb
ing course. In no time at all you’ll
be a licensed plumber earning
$220,000 a year fixing the plugged
pipes of all those college-educated
folks in town who haven’t a clue
about how to fix their own toilets
because their high-priced MBA
educations didn’t cover THAT.
Besides, doesn’t “Call Pete the
Plumber” have a nice ring to it?
That’s all for now folks. Keep
those questions coming -- it will
give me something fun to do the
next time it rains.
N
A
N
A
N
A
A
N
A
A
N
A
A
Mountain View Hair Design
69 West Church Street.
706-253-2877
Pamper Your Mother
Give Her A Gift of
Beauty & Relaxation
Gift Certificates Available
Massage - Hair - Nails
Bath & Body Gifts
Jewelry
r
k
r
k
r
k
r
k
r
k
r
k
r
k
r
k
FOOTHILLS COMMUNITY
CHURCH
Located .3 of a mile east of the Chevron station/IGA
Shopping Center on Hwy. 53 in Marble Hill.
Saturday, May 8th
MEN’S BREAKFAST
Guest Speaker - LEO WELLS
Founder, President and sole Director of Wells Real Estate
Funds - recognized as an industry expert on real estate
investment trusts and retirement investing, Mr. Wells is a
frequent guest on ABC-TV, CNBC, CBS Market Watch and
Bloomberg Television. He will speak on The Separation of
Church and Business.
All men are welcome! Breakfast is free!
Breakfast is at 8:45 a.m.; Mr. Wells will speak at 9:00 a.m.;
the event will come to a close at 10:00 a.m.
Big Canoe Tour of Homes
Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday May 29,
8:30 a.m. -3:00 p.m, (last ticket sold)
Tickets Sold By Time - No Waiting
$15 pp - 5 Beautiful Mountain Lake Homes!
Arts & Antiques! Shopping! Lunch! Fun!
Tour Transportation & Childcare Provided
Charity fundraiser sponsored by the
Big Canoe Chapel Women's Guild.
ww.bigcanoechapel.org for Info & Directions