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FREEDOM TO CHOOSE
In your Pub Notes [Feb. I] you state we are
“people that believe in... abortion on demand...
civil and human rights... seatbelts in pickup
trucks and other stuff like that" Thanks for the
laugh. What you are really saying is that people
should live the way you think they should, isn't
it? A woman should have the right to choose
what to do about an unwanted pregnancy, but
not if she should buckle up? How about the free
dom to choose for themselves? Something like
"You have the right to live your life as you wish,
without the government interfering—as long as
you don't violate the rights of others."
But then if you believed that you would be a
libertarian.
Doug Carver
Athens
POSTCARD FROM AUSTIN
My humble opinion is that March is the
busiest month in Austin, TX. There is palpable
excitement at the coming of spring and of the
bluebonnets that are right around the corner. The
weather is usually pleasurable and the pavement
has not yet started to bubble in midday as it
dees in August. The rodeo is in town during the
entire month in Austin. However, the real bread-
and-butter winner for the economics of down
town and what helps place Austin on the map as
the "Live Music Capital of the World" is South by
Southwest (SXSW). While the SXSW festival con
sists of the interactive and film components, far
and away most out-of-state visitors come for the
music. The Austin Music Awards run concurrent
with the SXSW events and are more than highly
recommended if you are a seeker of "magical
music moments" that will stick with you forever.
Athens is not short on great music by any stretch
of the imagination, but to be exposed to some
900 to 1,000 bands in just a little over a week is
truly amazing.
You will get old, there is not much to do
about that, but you could be tormenting your
grandkids with stories about how you saw Robert
Plant, Robert Randolph, Lyle Lovett, Erykah
Badu, Patty Griffin, Jimmie Vaughan, Dwight
Yoakam and Roky Erickson, to name just a few
of the impressive performances and incredible
talent that I have seen the last few years at
the Austin Music Awards. I am "old school" and
remember well going and seeing R.E.M. [and]
The B-52's at Legion Field, and one Halloween,
staggering over to check out a band at the 40
Watt called Smashing Pumpkins that none of us
had heard of before. My point is that some of the
music you will see in Austin may be familiar to
you, and some you are introduced to for the first
time; the latter is the most exciting for me as it
allows me to go beyond what I would normally
hear, and certainly is not what is normally played
On the radio—at least not yet. This is musician's
music, and a chance for those diamonds in the
rough to be discovered... and it is very exciting
to be a part of when all the elements fall to
gether for those bands.
Having lived in Athens for eight years and
now being in Austin for seven, I can say that I
have had more than my share of poignant mo
ments where music is concerned. It struck me as
necessary to get the word out to Athenians now,
as February begins, to allow for travel planning
and budgeting. The SXSW website is full of good
information about lodging and even some volun
teer opportunities for those interested. Make no
mistake, this festival is big and getting bigger
every year. It is extremely well-run and if you at
tend, then come prepared to take a whole week
off when you get home, because you will need it
Austin and Athens are terrific towns for
music, but it is in the month of March that the
planets align for something magical in Austin.
A much-directed effort is made by me lo
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check out the bands coming from Athens,
Atlanta and the Southeast in general because,
as a Georgia native, I want to know what is go
ing on musically. There are quite a few bands
that I have not seen from Athens and am curi
ous about the Woggles, The Low Lows and Of
Montreal to name a few. The Drive-By Truckers
have been a band that I have been Mowing for
over a decade now, and they are a big hit here
in Austin and a band that Athens deserves to
be very proud to call its own. So, get your cal
endars out and figure out how you are going to
help Athens represent here in Austin in March at
SXSW. On the way over, if someone could bring
me some boiled peanuts, I would appreciate it
Will trade you for some mighty damn fine salsa.
To quote Patterson Hood, "See you at the Rock
Show!"
Ron Roberts
Austin, TX
UNSOLVED
Recently, Assistant Police Chief Alan Brown
was quoted in the Athens Banner-Herald as saying
that there are approximately 32 unsolved murders
on the books in Athens-Clarke County, includ
ing, of course, the high-profile cases of Jennifer
Stone and Tara Baker. This is an outrage, and
I'm surprised that the quote didn't spark more
controversy than it did. Perhaps people are afraid
to speak out, or don't know to whom to speak. A
county of this size should not have nearly that
many unsolved murders, and personally I am
forced to draw the unpleasant conclusion that
the authorities here simply aren't very effective
at doing their jobs. Perhaps Brown misspoke,
or meant something other than what came out
of his mouth, but if in fact this number is ac
curate, the entire citizenry of this county should
demand some accountability. For one thing, the
names of those victims and the relevant details
of their cases should be published, if only to
refresh people's memories. For another, citizens
and elected officials should begin to ask some
very tough, very unpleasant questions of those
charged with the duty of solving these crimes.
So far. I've heard nary a peep. Do we the people
truly find this a reasonable and satisfactory state
of affairs? I for one say absolutely not.
As for the Stone and Baker cases, they've
been well-documented, and there's no need in
rehashing the details here. Suffice it to say that
it is evident that the ACC Police Department
and other state and local authorities have failed
those young women and their families, and by
implication, the rest of us as well. Two killers
walk free, perhaps among us, and the powers
that be continue to resist common-sense ef
forts to bring these situations to a satisfactory
resolution. For example, so far the ACC Police
have refused the help of world-renowned foren
sics expert Henry Lee, claiming a lack of funds.
However, when the Baker family has offered
to pay for Lee's service through private dona
tions, the police have still balked. Then there's
the matter of the autopsy report in this case,
which was supposed to be released within 45
but as of this writing some five years later
stil 1 wasn't been—not to the family, the media,
c nee. *>ed and qualified investigators, nobody.
A-rsiste.it rumors continue to dog Athens regard
ing the Baker case, and its investigation, and I
for one have come to believe that those rumors
have some substance. They offer the only plau
sible explanation for why the police would stone
wall and obfuscate in the ways they have. I'm
not suggesting for a moment that the authorities
don't want to solve these crimes—that would
be sinister, indeed—but rather, at this date five
years removed from the events in question, they
have come to put their own reputations and
pride ahead of their duty to protect and serve
the community.
Jennifer Stone's case was expertly analyzed
by Elton Manzione in a series of articles pub
lished in the Athens Observer some years ago,
and I would refer interested readers to that *
source, but suffice it to say that that case, too,
was riddled with errors, obfuscations and worse.
The details of the two cases differ, but the essen
tial truth of them—that they remain unsolved,
and that they are unlikely ever to be solved—re
mains. For a community of this size, there's
simply no excuse for the heinous murders of
these two young women, or any of the cases of
the other 30 victims, to remain open. I'm quite
sure that in none of these are we dealing with
criminal masterminds. What we are dealing with
are law enforcement agencies that have failed
us, time and time again. I urge Mayor Davison,
the members of the Athens-Clarke County
Commission, and each and every citizen of this
county to demand some answers. Maybe for once
well get them.
• David Ingle
Athens
CHURCH & COMMUNITY
m
I gained knowledge from reading of Blair
Healers life with manic depression ("A Frustrating
Mess," Feb. 1]. In her conclusion as to what
helps her function at the best level, she men
tions hope, relationships and community.
She, like all of us, was created to be a part
of community and share in the gift of relation
ships. This is how we all best function given that
genuine relationships are based upon love and
acceptance.
To the reader who has a problem with chuich-
es having equal access to meet at local schools
[Letters, Feb. 1], I suggest she attend one before
generalizing that the forefathers of this country
would disapprove. Churches have always been at
the heart of community, and offer those like Blair
who thrive on relationships of acceptance a safe
place to come and hear about transformation
from dysfunctional behavior through faith, hope
and love. Some of us call Him God. If the reader
has such a problem being violated, I suggest she
try and calm down for a minute to realize why
she feels that way. No one is pressuring her to
become a Christian. In fact I get the impression
that she would like for all religions to go away.
Jill McElheney
WinterviUe
A BI6 FUSS
Bush made a big fuss in his State of the
Union address about America's need to end its
terrible oil addiction. Well, it was just reported
on NPR's "Marketplace* that the budget for the
National Renewable Energy Lab, in Denver, has
been cut by 15 percent and 40 scientists re
searching the very technologies Bush claimed we
needed will be laid off!
Similarly, while he expostulated on the need
for more education in science and math "to keep
us competitive," the Education Department is
suffering massive cutbacks.
This has been called the "Bush Kiss of Death:"
praise a program, while simultaneously gutting
its support His administration has done it nu
merous times, and to see more examples simply
search "Bush kiss of death" on the Internet
Just thought you'd like to know.
Gordon Stelter
Athens
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