BURKARD'S BLOG
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30 JUN 03: STARS FALL AROUND ALABAMA?
Memo to the Publix store on Macon Road: It's spelled HERSHEY, as in the chocolate syrup you had on display. It's not spelled "HERSEY," as your sign had it. Hersey Hawkins has been out of pro basketball so long, his endorsements have run out.
Misspellings at a supermarket are something I simply cannot grasp. Don't the staff members read the labels on the items they're stacking and promoting? Are they ALL waiting to sign Arena Football contracts?
But to our topic: I was a bit troubled as I picked up a couple of items at Publix Sunday -- troubled by the news that NAACP leaders might call for a boycott of the state of Alabama. It's troubling because I've preached against state-line discrimination for so long, and now a civil rights group might demand I practice it.
There's talk of an Alabama boycott because Governor Bob Riley vetoed a bill restoring voting rights to many convicted felons who have finished their sentences. We can understand the NAACP's concern about this. If it's good enough for former Governor Guy Hunt, why not everybody else?
As scary as this sounds, somebody's gotta ask the question - do civil rights boycotts work? The Rainbow/PUSH Coalition called one against Columbus-area Piggly Wiggly stores five years ago. Yet the last time I checked, all the stores were still open - and I don't recall any of them even having a "Juneteenth Sale."
You may recall South Carolina already is the target of a civil rights boycott, because of the location of a Confederate flag in Columbia. So why aren't any college sports teams forfeiting road games to Clemson?
Imagine all the things that could happen, if the NAACP declares a boycott of Alabama:
+ More and more people will drive to Columbus to play lottery games - only they'll pitch tents, instead of going back home.
+ Ameris might never get that new Phenix City hospital built - because no one will want to live there.
+ The Georgia-Auburn football series could be suspended every other year - freeing up the Tigers to pummel U.A.B. or Alabama State.
BIG PREDICTION UPDATE:We didn't realize until we read Sunday's Ledger-Enquirer that the new Miss Georgia was a salesperson for Clear Channel Radio in Savannah. If she works for Clear Channel, we're surprised her platform isn't handing over the government to big business monopolies.
Another leftover note from the pageant is what happened to "Miss Gwinnett County." Lauren Jollay won preliminary events two nights in a row, yet she didn't even place in the final five. Either she must have a lousy-looking swimsuit -- or she treated the interview like she was a contestant on "The Bachelor."