Saturday, February 28, 2004

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



28 FEB 04: PUNCH AND COUNTER-PUNCH



The Sunday sermon topic posted outside Columbus First Baptist Church is "What Do You Have in Your Hand?" No, we don't know if a Muscogee County Sheriff's Deputy is the speaker....



But seriously: We received e-mail Wednesday night from a "Patricia Glisson." We have NOT been able to confirm whether she's related to former deputy David Glisson (apparently NOT his wife), but here's what she wrote:


If Kenneth Walker is such a saint and David Glisson is such a monster then how can a saint be at a house where there has been drug activity , what were they doing going,over their bible lesson. I don't think so!!!! The Walker family is going to make any excuse to cover up the true Kenneth Walker.
Everyone has a side that we don't want everyone to know about. But I guess there is an exception for Walker,saints now use cocaine in helping them follow Jesus Christ in their lives. They are just getting desperate in finding an excuse, so the easy way out is to blame everyone else, they planted the cocaine in his body, that is as far fetched as them thinking that they are going to get $100 million out of the Columbus sheriff's department.



That's what she wrote. Here's what I think of it:



+ I was once in a house where there was rumored drug activity. The pot-smokers reportedly were in the attic of the college scholarship hall. Christian students such as me never joined them. So am I a monster?



+ So the "true Kenneth Walker" is being covered up?! Perhaps -- but let's not forget whose name was covered up in this case for several weeks.



+ "Saints now use cocaine in helping them follow Jesus Christ," she skeptically writes. Perhaps she's never been top Jamaica, where some people claim the "every herb" phrase in Genesis justifies smoking hemp.



+ As for the $100 million lawsuit -- what's wrong with thinking big financially? It worked for baseball star Alex Rodriguez.



I bring out this e-mail now because it preceded Friday's news conference by David Glisson's lawyer, and actually previewed some of his statements. Richard Hagler told reporters Kenneth Walker had a problem with a "demon called cocaine." As opposed to Mr. Glisson, who probably calls attorney Willie Gary the devil.



Richard Hagler says he's seen the "cop-cam" videotape from the night Kenneth Walker was shot. David Glisson's attorney says it has no audio, and an officer obstructs the view of what happened - which means you might mistake it for a local religious broadcast on TV-16.



(So if the videotape is that lousy, why not release it to the public? Either that, or Richard Hagler could recruit some actors from the Springer Opera House to reenact it for us.)



Richard Hagler called the news conference to clear up some misinformation about David Glisson. He says the fired deputy had a heart attack last year, but has NOT attempted suicide. Glisson can't afford to take his life - especially since no one
else in the Sheriff's Department has spoken up in his defense.



Richard Hagler says David Glisson eventually will speak publicly. Apparently some details have to be worked out - such as whether local cable companies can put on a pay-per-view event.



You have to say one thing for Richard Hagler: he held his tongue about the Kenneth Walker case for a long time. He waited for Willie Gary to make his main accusation for him....



(But didn't Richard Hagler pick the worst possible time for this news conference? A big college softball tournament is in Columbus - and he comes out playing hardball.)



NAACP President Edward DuBose accused Richard Hagler of "losing focus of the real victims" in this case. But isn't that a main issue here? Civil rights groups say Kenneth Walker is the victim. Many white people say David Glisson is also a victim. And I'm starting to feel like a victim, from hearing these attorneys bicker back and forth.



E-MAIL UPDATE: Another message came our way, about whether Victory Drive needs to be renamed. Robert says no:


What the Hell's wrong with an hysterical name? Maybe we need to rotate names every decade or so. Victory Drive -that was for the 1940's, Stripper's and Whore's Drive for the 1960's? Drug Drive for the 1980's?



If you look at Columbus' history, you will find that many of original names of downtown streets were historical figures, I believe most were from Revolutionary War/Colonial years. (yes, Dorothy, the American Revolutionary War). Apparently Columbusites were not deemed smart enough to
remember these individual names so they were changed to numbers.



(could these have been plots by Printers and Stationers to force everyone to reprint their envelopes and letterheads? LOL. Or a CONSPIRACY by the CITY and the US POST OFFICE to make all Victory Drive addresses DISAPPEAR, thus cleaning up two birds, the name change and the Columbus South issue, with one stone. LMAO!!!!)



By the way, curses on you and the Red Baron from me and Snoopy, because this BLOG is just another distraction. But, heh heh heh, why not?



A "hysterical name?" That alone makes me think this is a hysterical message.



Robert may have a good idea, though, about rotating street names. I think this is done on Talbotton - Warm Springs - Gentian - Milgen Road now.



(So what name has he left out, which reflects what's on Victory Drive these days? Hey, I've got it - Mobile Home Highway.)



So Columbus residents long ago weren't smart enough to remember street names? I wondered what educators did, before the Iowa Test of Basic Skills came along.



Now other notes from a much-improved weekend weather-wise:


+ The "Old Mill Towne" restaurant near Peachtree Mall reopened under yet another new name, the "4th Quarter." As often as this place has changed names and owners, the "Bottom of the Ninth" seems more appropriate.



(So does this mean the "Mill Towne" restaurant in the Victory Drive Days Inn can add an "Olde" to its name now? It's the only one left, after all....)



+ "A Taste of Heaven" restaurant at 47th and Veterans Parkway has closed, and it's becoming the "Three Brothers" Mexican restaurant. The old owners made a big deal out of their Christian background. Maybe they should have displayed long bloody executions with dinner.



+ I finally heard a Columbus Cottonmouths hockey game on radio - thanks to my somehow picking up an AM station in Fort Myers, Florida. Is this a GOOD thing?



+ Instant Message to Max Cleland: Why should I care which candidate you're endorsing in next Tuesday's Georgia Presidential Primary -- especially since you moved out of the state after losing your Senate seat?



(And while we're at it, an Instant Message to John Kerry: Would you approve a TV commercial where people say bad things about you? If not, why should I think you support free speech any more than John Ashcroft?)



COMING SOON: Meetings with the P.B.A. and A.U.... plus our Super Tuesday watch....



To offer a story tip, make a donation or comment on this blog, write me - but be
warned, I may post a reply.



If you quote from this in public somewhere, please be polite enough to let me know.



© 2003-04 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.