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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.