Newspaper Page Text
T»M 15MoRR»W©20iG
rm% capitol i
At Least We’re Not North Carolina
(BUT THE GEORGIA LEGISLATURE MAY GET US THERE YET)
By Tom Crawford tcrawford@gareport.com
If you want to see how badly politicians
can mess up a state, look no farther than
our neighbor North Carolina. In March, the
North Carolina legislature passed and Gov.
Pat McCrory signed the now-infamous HB
2, a bill that restricted transgender people
to using only government and school bath
rooms that corresponded to the sex listed
on their birth certificate.
A week earlier, Georgia legislators had
passed a similar law that could have legal
ized discrimination against gays in the
cause of “religious freedom.” To everyone’s
surprise, Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed HB 757.
“As I have examined the protections
this bill seeks to provide to religious orga
nizations and people of faith, I can find
no examples that any of the things this
bill seeks to protect us against have ever
occurred in Georgia,” Deal noted.
Deal was crucified by religious conserva
tives for not signing the bill, with one of his
critics decrying that the governor “chose
Mammon over God.”
Several months later, however, it appears
that Georgia took much the wiser course on
this issue. Since Deal’s veto, no major movie
productions have been cancelled in Georgia,
and such corporations as Honeywell,
Voestalpine, Global Payments, Adidas,
Voxpro and Keysight Technologies have
announced they will either move here or
expand existing operations in the state.
Things haven’t gone quite so well in
the Tarheel State, which has been paying
a steep price for passing its anti-gay law.
Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam cancelled
concerts, Deutsche Bank said it was halting
an expansion of its North Carolina offices
that would have employed 250 people, and
PayPal abandoned plans for a 400-employee
operation center in Charlotte.
The NBA cancelled plans to hold its
2017 all-star game in Charlotte, but the
NCAA struck the biggest blow by saying
it will withdraw seven athletic champion
ship events, including men’s basketball
tournament games. That’s the ultimate
heresy for a state where college basketball
is worshipped. “This decision is consistent
with the NCAA’s longstanding core values
of inclusion, student-athlete well-being and
creating a culture of fairness,” said Georgia
Tech President G. P. “Bud” Peterson, the
chairman of the NCAA’s board of governors.
One day after the NCAA bombshell, the
Atlantic Coast Conference said it was also
moving its championship competitions out
of North Carolina for the 2016-17 season.
Needless to say, the same North Carolina
politicians who were so eager to pass HB 2
last March are now reeling from the finan
cial and political impact of their actions.
McCrory, who is running for another term
as governor, is trailing his Democratic
opponent, Roy Cooper, in the polls.
“I did not realize the consequences of
this bill, that it would have worldwide con
sequences, and they just keep piling up,”
said state Sen. Tamara Barringer, who voted
for HB 2. She’s now calling for the “substan
tial and immediate” repeal of the law.
While North Carolina legislators try to
cope with the results of the actions they
took so hastily, Georgia lawmakers say they
will try to pass another version of the “reli
gious freedom” bill next year.
Our neighbors to the north have shown
that ideological purity comes with a high
price tag. Are Georgia’s politicians really
willing to wreck the state’s economy to
please some religious conservatives? It
could all come down to Deal again and his
willingness to use his veto pen. ©
THIS MtBIIH WBILB
by TOM TOMORROW
OUR TOP STORY THIS HOUR!
DID HILLARY CLINTON
REALLY have pneumonia—
Some internet users
WONDER IF SHE'S ACTUALLY
A REPLICANT DRONE,
OPERATED remotely by
ALIENS ON A HIDDEN
SPACESHIP!
HER RECENT STUMBLES
COULD HAVE BEEN
THE RESULT OF A
MALFUNCTIONING
CONTROL SIGNAL!
DONALD TRUMP'S PERSONAL
PHYSICIAN, MEANWHILE,
HAS ANNOUNCED THAT HIS
PATIENT IS A GENUINE
IMMORTAL!
YEAH, HE'S BEEN WORKING
with PETER THIEL on
THIS THING WITH THE BLOOD
OF MILLENNIALS. I'M
NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK
ABOUT IT, THOUGH.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER
CONFIRMS THE CLAIM.
YES, HE'S IMPERVIOUS TO
INJURY AND CAN NEVER
DIE.' AND NO, WE'RE NOT
PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION.
WHY CAN'T THE MEDIA
Focus on IMPORTANT
STORIES—LIKE WHETHER
HILLARY IS A REPLICANT'!
IN OTHER NEWS—THE
ESTEEMED SCIENTIST
WILBUR VON PHILBERT
HAS AN INTERESTING
THEORY ABOUT 1016.
WE'VE SPENT SO MUCH
ENERGY NORMALIZING THE
UNTHINKABLE—WE MAY
HAVE LITERALLY RIPPED
A HOLE IN THE FABRIC
oF REALITY ITSELF!
PERHAPS! BUT IT'S LIKELY
THAT OUR MINDS WOULD
try to COMPENSATE—
AND CONVINCE US THAT
BIZARRE EVENTS UNFOLDING
AROUND US WERE PER
FECTLY NORMAL!
—Donald trump has
grown FIFTY FEET
TALL AND IS CURRENTLY
ATTACKING A LOCAL FREE
WAY OVERPASS!
SO—JUST ANOTHER TYPICAL
DAY ON THE 2016 CAM
PAIGN TRAIL!
COMING UP NEXT—IS
PUTIN USING SECRET
MUTANT POWERS to
SAP our PRECIOUS
BODILY FLUIDS'!
SECURITY ANALYSTS |
THINK IT'S A DEF
INITE POSSIBILITY! I
BIG CITY BREAD CAFE
K
WEDNESDAY
WINE NIGHT
Half Priced
Bottles of Wine
& Dinner Specials
Breakfast - Lunch
Dinner - Sunday Brunch
393 N. Finley St. off Prince Ave.
706-353-0029 • Catering available
www.bigcitybreadcafe.com
MUSIC • ARTIST MARKET • CRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS • KID’S ACTIVITIES
NORTH GEORGIA
FOLK FESTIVAL
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2016
SANDY CREEK PARK • 11:00 AM. - 9:00 P.M.
400 BOB HOLMAN ROAD, ATHENS, GEORGIA
Rebecca Sunshine Band • Moira and Mickey Nelligan
The Ale Raisers • Athens Cowboy Choir • Squalls • Hobohemians
Jason Cade with Hawkproof Rooster • Chuck Nation Band
Wil Maring and Robert Bowlin • Tony Bryant Blues Band
Cortez Garza’s Songwriters Showcase
ADULTS: $15 • STUDENTS: $8 • UNDER 12: FREE
PARK ADMISSION (AGES 4-64): $2
Produced by the Athens Folk Music and Dance Society with Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services
Co-Sponsors: Duplicating Systems, Flagpole, The Foundry & Graduate Athens, RubySue Graphics
WWW.ATHENSFOLK.ORG
SEPTEMBER 21, 2016-FLAGPOLE.COM 5