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PAGE 4A — THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 5. 2009
Opinions
Frankly
Speaking
frankgillispie671@msn.com
By Frank Gillispie
Hopefully, I can be a
NASCAR fan again
If things work out this weekend, I will be able to
become a NASCAR fan once again. I have boycot
ted all things NASCAR for the past several years
because that organization refused to allow The Sons of
Confederate Veterans to sponsor a car in one of their
sanctioned races. That is, hopefully, about to change.
According to a report running in SCV notices, a car
bearing the Sons of Confederate Veterans logo will
tun in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 in Daytona on
Feb. 7, 2009. The race will be televised by the Speed
Channel at 4 p.m. This will be an ARCA race that
is part of Speed Week in Daytona leading up to the
Daytona 500.
NASCAR's refusal to allow the original car to
tun was followed up by a ban on all displays of the
Confederate Battle Flag at any NASCAR events.
No flags, bumper stickers, clothing or other material
containing the Battle Hag were allowed. They went
as far as to threaten firing anyone who displayed any
Confederate icon in any way.
In October 2005 I published an article entitled
"NASCAR's Brian France betrays the South.” In
the article, which appeared in The Madison County
Journal, I objected strongly to this action and called
for a boycott of all things NASCAR until they relented
and allowed Southern pride to return to their events.
That article received the greatest response of anything
I have ever written. It was referenced, quoted or
reprinted in its entirety by sports writers and Internet
pages throughout the South. My e-mail box was full
of support for my position.
NASCAR attempted to ban Southern heritage in
an effort to expand from a regional sport to one of
international importance. It didn’t work, hi recent
years, NASCAR has fallen on hard times. Their TV
audiences have declined. Ticket sales are down. They
are having trouble finding sponsors for their cars. All
of this was happening before the current economic
problems became apparent
Stock car racing is, after all, a Southern sport. It
developed from the county fair races featuring former
moonshine cars and drivers. Its early champions were
all Southerners. And the stands at every race were
filled with fans singing Dixie and waving rebel flags.
When Brian France attempted to ban these Southern
symbols, he insulted the veiy people who had given
NASCAR it success.
Now NASCAR has a chance to return to its roots. I
hope the decision sticks. But it is still possible that after
all the effort to prepare the car and find a team and
driver to race it. NASCAR still can, and may, make
the same decision as before. I will not be surprised.
Hopefully, they realize their mistake and the car will
be allowed to mn in Daytona next Saturday.
I plan to watch my first NASCAR sponsored race
on TV in years. If the SCV car is in the race, I will
rejoin their fan base. If not, my boycott will continue.
That is the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 in Daytona
on Feb. 7, 2009, at 4 p.m. Eastern time on the Speed
Channel. NASCAR has a chance to win back a lot of
Southern Heritage viewers. I hope they don't mess
it up.
Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County
Journal. His e-mail address is frankgillispie671 @
msn.com. His website can be accessed at http://frank-
gillispie.tripod.com/
Letter to the Editor
Upset by vote of
Comer City Council
Dear Editor:
Backroom politics were on display Monday night in
Comer as the city council decided to split in half a quiet
residential neighborhood. After hushed whispers in a
small back room of city hall, the council called the meet
ing to order, quickly voted and announced their decision
to rezone a house on Madison Street to R2.
Against the wishes of the people who have put a lot
of money, labor and love into their homes there, the
house now becomes part of the Comer Baptist Church’s
facilities thereby splitting in half the neighborhood of
well-kept older homes. The council added insult to
injury when they offered no explanation or reasoning
after handing down their decision. It was observed by
some that the council members didn’t even bother to
look at the many people who had packed city hall for
this controversial ruling. Councilmen Kevin Booth and
Howard Threlkeld voted with the mayor in approving this
significant negative impact on the residents.
Sincerely,
Robert Newcomb
Comer
The Madison
County Journal
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Madison & surrounding counties $19.75/year
State of Georgia $38.85/year
Out-of-state $4450/year
Military personnel with APO address $4250/year
Senior rate $2 off all above rates
College student discount rate $2 off all above rates
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL
P.O. Box 658, Danielsville, GA 30633
A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
A most sobering equation: six plus eight
In a time of sobering numbers,
none raised eyebrows last week quite
like six plus eight — the story of the
California octuplets bom to a single
mother of six, who sought in vitro
fertilization.
This is a tabloid-style story that
will likely have some staying power.
It’s a morbidly fascinating tale. We
wonder how a woman with six small
children, who lives with her parents,
could do this. We wonder how fertil
ity doctors could help her do this.
In a time where so many feel such
hurt inside as they worry about their
own family’s financial outlook, the
California mother’s poor decision
opens the door for a flood of public
disbelief and outrage.
This was a reckless, irrational
physical and fiscal act on a level that
we can understand, not like our puz
zling economy. A misguided mother
can be summoned to mind. A credit
default swap cannot.
Of course, those smarter-than-
us financiers are getting the gov
ernment’s dime, much more than
any welfare mom, and even giving
themselves billions in bonuses with
taxpayer money for leveraging our
In the
Meantime
zach@
mainstreet
news.com
By Zach Mitcham
money in truly risky ways. But my
outrage is tempered by my confu
sion, the constant reminder that I
am saddled with a certain economic
ignorance no matter how much time
I spend these days on businessweek.
com — which I’ve found is a pretty
good site for clarification on complex
economic matters.
Anyway, I’m so tired of my con
stant obsession with the economy
that I’m willing to be pulled to any
thing else noteworthy in the news. I
think others are too.
And I found myself spending a
lot of time this past week thinking
about the California mother, Nadya
Suleman, and pondering the aston
ishing fact that it took 46 hospital
personnel to deliver her children.
Actually, I have spent more time
thinking about Suleman’s mother,
the one who didn’t make the choice
but who will be saddled with untold
responsibility.
“The grandmother is taking care of
her daughter’s first six children, ages
2 through 7, while her 33-year-old
daughter recovers from giving birth
on Monday in nearby Bellflower,”
stated an Associated Press story on
the octuplets.
I imagine the grandma of 14, sitting
in her living room with her six grand-
kids, the bright blocks and assorted
toy plastics already Uttering the floor.
I picture the crying, the tantrums,
the looming breakfasts, lunches and
dinners, the constant dipping of the
spoon for six — soon to be 14 —
helpings of applesauce. I think of the
grocery Ust, the diapers, the changing
table that will soon be an assembly
line. I think of bedtime, how night
time stories in that house will resem
ble a pubhc speaking exercise.
The day-to-day logistics of a single
mom with 14 kids include count
less hardships. The grandmother will
want to mn, but she’U probably feel
bound by her daughter’s decision.
Of course, many will note that the
grandma, in fact, holds some blame
by enabling her daughter to make
such a choice.
And what a time to do this.
Bringing a child into the world now
should give anyone at least a moment
of pause. We hear so many horrify
ing economic forecasts, that having
children and moving forward with a
new generation is an act that requires
optimism — a great leap of faith —
in the face of overwhelming negativ
ity. Of course, that’s always been true,
but the volume on the negative knob
is cranked to 10 right now.
When I think of that CaUfomia
family, I recognize that their bailout
may come from the government, as
so many people have suggested.
But ironically, there could be a free-
market fix for the ultimate in welfare
nightmares — mama’s book deal or
mama’s TV movie.
Sadly, in our society, when you go
so far out of the norm that you drop
everyone’s jaw, there’s money to be
made.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The
Madison County Journal
House takes up property tax relief legislation
Relief for Georgia’s property
tax payers moved to the top
of the legislative agenda in the
House of Representatives last
week.
House members adopted HB
143, which addresses the gover
nor’s proposal to eliminate fund
ing for the homeowner tax relief
grants to local governments. The
end of these grants would result
in a property tax increase of
approximately $300 per year for
the average homeowner.
The legislation passed on Jan.
30 would require the tax relief
grants to be awarded this year.
This is very important because
the funding was included in the
budget passed last year, and
county governments and school
boards across the state have
established their millage rates
and budgets accordingly. The
grants would remain in place
in future years if state revenues
grow by certain percentages.
Was HB 143 absolutely nec
essary for the state to keep its
promise of tax relief this year?
No, because the legislature could
restore the $429 million for the
homeowners’ grants through the
budgeting process. Also, the fed
eral stimulus package or a turn
around in the state’s economy
could alleviate the need for the
revenue trigger requirements in
future years.
The legislation is important,
By Alan Powell
though, because it sends a mes
sage to the governor that state
government can balance the bud
get without breaking its word to
the taxpayers and retroactively
imposing a tax increase. HB 143
now goes to the Senate for its
consideration.
Meanwhile, the House Ways
and Means Committee favorably
reported a proposed constitu
tional amendment, HR 1, which
would limit the annual increases
on the reassessment valuation of
both residential and nonresiden-
tial property to three percent, or
the rate of inflation, whichever
is lower.
Under the proposed change,
property values could be reas
sessed upon the sale or transfer
of the property at fair market
value, which would not exceed
the sales price. The amendment
would also ratify property tax
freezes and limitations already
in place in some counties.
HR 1 is similar in principle
to legislation I have introduced
and argued for in previous years
because it addresses the “back
door” tax increases by local
governments that use valuation
assessment hikes to bring in
more revenue without raising
the millage rate. This particu
lar proposal might need some
perfecting before it reaches the
House floor, but the idea of end
ing back-door tax increases is
very important for all Georgia
homeowners.
As a proposed constitutional
amendment, HR 1 still must be
approved by two thirds of both
the House and the Senate, and
then by a majority of the voters
in the next general election.
While these measures repre
sent some movement to address
property taxes, unfortunately
even more tax-shift-and-spend
proposals that have been com
monplace the past six years have
been introduced this year by the
governor and members of the
legislative leadership, including:
• An additional $400 million
in education funding shifts from
the state to local schools, which
will mean higher taxes for prop
erty owners.
•A 1.6 percent provider tax
on the revenues of hospitals
and insurance plans, driving up
health care costs for the con
sumers.
•A $5 admission tax on patrons
of adult entertainment clubs.
•A state tobacco tax increase
of $1 per pack of cigarettes.
•A statewide sales tax increase
for transportation.
•A regional sales tax increase
for transportation.
•A $10 tax increase on annual
car tags.
Once a pattern of tax increases,
budget shell games and spending
sprees has been established, as
it has in Georgia the past sev
eral years, it apparently becomes
easier to repeat year after year.
Those legislators who have been
voting to enable this pattern can
figure out how we got here by
looking in the mirror.
Most of Georgia’s budget prob
lems are systemic in nature rather
than recession-driven. Instead of
addressing these issues through
common sense, moderation and
fiscal responsibility, this admin
istration and ruling majority
appear intent on balancing the
budget by keeping their hands in
the taxpayers’ pockets.
Rep. Alan Powell (D-Hartwell)
represents the 29 th District
(Franklin, Hart and Madison
counties) in the Georgia House
of Representatives. Contact him
at 507 Coverdell Office Building,
Atlanta, GA 30334; by phone
at 404-656-0202 or by e-mail
at alanpowell23 @ hotmail. com.
For more information, visitwww.
alanpowell.net.
Legislative session one of most challenging I’ve faced
The Georgia General Assembly
convened for the 2009 legislative
session and it promises to be one
of the most challenging since
I was first elected. Our state’s
economy is in crisis and as leg
islators we must balance fiscal
discipline with the needs of every
Georgian.
Over the next few months,
we will grapple with a $2 bil
lion on budget short fall in this
year’s budget and the possibil
ity that next year may be worse,
continued transportation needs
throughout the state, a $208 mil
lion Medicaid shortfall, a hous
ing crisis and a trauma care net
work that desperately needs to be
expanded.
I believe that now more than
ever, we must be constantly
searching for ways to expand and
grow our economy and the indus
tries that are already thriving in
Georgia. One such industry is
the equine industry - raising, sta
bling and training horses. Since
equine is in the top six com
modities as far as value, (even
above traditional commodities
such as peanuts) I believe that an
expansion of the equine industry
House
News
By Tom McCall
would create new jobs, attract
new financial investment in our
state, and new revenue and prof
its could be gained from training
and racing horses in Georgia.
That is why I have co-sponsored
House Resolution 78 that would
create a committee to study the
benefits to Georgia of an expand
ed equine industry.
Over the next few months, you
will hear a lot about tax cuts
and tax hikes. Make no mistake,
there will be a lot of conflicting
reports but I will do my best
to present you with the plain
facts. This week I joined my col
leagues in the House to ensure
that Georgia homeowners will
continue to receive a property
tax credit provided by the state.
House Bill 143, guaranteeing the
Homeowner Tax Relief Grants
for the current fiscal year, was
approved by the House on Jan.
30 with bi-partisan support. The
bill also included a provision to
continue to provide the grants to
homeowners in the future provid
ed the state’s tax revenue collec
tions are strong - a measure that I
believe is the fiscally responsible
path for our state to take.
A very unfortunate and trag
ic incident in our state is play
ing out now and as Agriculture
Committee Chairman, I felt com
pelled last week to speak about
it on the floor of the House.
The salmonella outbreak that has
been traced back to a Georgia
peanut plant is deeply troubling
and should serve as a warning
to all of us, especially those in
the agriculture and food indus
tries. This tragedy could have
and should have been prevented.
We now know that numerous red
flags went up but were ignored
at many levels. The families of
those affected include not only
those who became ill after they
consumed the products but also
the plant workers who knew
nothing about what was going
on and have now lost their jobs.
These victims all have my sym
pathy and I hope that this inci
dent opens our eyes to the work
that must be done to protect our
food supply from contamination.
Please know that this is a
manufacturing problem and
that the commodities produced
by Georgia farmers are safe for
consumption. In order to verify
which food items are affected by
this outbreak, check the list of
products on the foodsafety.gov
website to make sure you do not
have any of these items in your
pantry or freezer.
I will continue to keep you
up to date on our actions as the
legislative session progresses. As
always, if you have any questions
or concerns, please do not hesi
tate to contact me at your Capitol
office at (404) 656-5115.
Rep. Tom McCall (R),
Elberton, is the District 30 mem
ber of the Georgia House of
Representatives, which includes
the southern half of Madison
County, all of Elbert County and
the eastern portion of Jackson
County.