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7 FEB 03: DOES THIS FEEL BETTER?

Columbus Mayor Bob Poydasheff announced two new "race initiatives" Friday at the Government Center. For some people, the only "race initiative" they want is a NASCAR Nextel Cup event at the airport.

For starters, Mayor Poydasheff announced the creation of a scholarship fund for the daughter of the late Kenneth Walker. Truly this move shows wisdom and understanding -- since any civil suit against the Sheriff's Department probably will end with lawyers getting all the money.

The second race initiative will set up free courses for law officers in "servant leadership." The problem with this idea is that some officers will take it the wrong way -- and think they're leading a bunch of servant peons.

Columbus State University will provide the servant leadership courses for local law officers. It'll be interesting to see how many of them show up on campus for the first class, then take a resume to the security office.

Columbus may be a bit late in teaching "servant leadership" to law officers. The church I attend talked about establishing a "Christ-centered servant leadership" program - but in recent months, the name was changed to remove any reference to "servant" or "Christ." Does this mean the ministers are making too much money?

The two race initiatives will be coordinated by a nonpartisan group called "One Columbus." Please don't be confused by this group - because it does NOT operate the "Drive One" car lot.

NAACP President Edward DuBose was unimpressed by Mayor Poydasheff's announcement. He says he's still waiting for answers about exactly how Kenneth Walker wound up dead almost two months ago. We still can't even get a straight answer about Deputy David Glisson's health problem.

A bill in the Georgia Legislature could stop the sort of racial profiling that civil rights leaders led to Kenneth Walker's death. It would require officers to file reports on every driver they stop, including the racial background and specific violation. There's one obvious winner from this proposal -- companies which print new speeding tickets.

As Mayor Poydasheff announced his race initiatives, I happened to pass a little ad on a wall at a South Lumpkin Road shopping center. It openly asks for "one Mexican man" to join a late-night cleaning crew at a supermarket. This might be a first - a U.S. job where you need a card from Mexico to work.

In 2004, this sort of sign seems ridiculous. Only a "Mexican man" is allowed to have this cleaning work? This is obviously job discrimination - for instance, against immigrants from Peru.

BIG BLOG QUESTION: It's "Cats!" Our first online question found voters prefer the Broadway production, over the "Barney" show which played at the Civic Center. I'd thank all of you who voted - except only one vote was recorded. Clearly I'm getting TOO big a head about this thing....

Let's see if we can find other winners from the weekend:

+ The Friday high temperature topped 65 degrees F., after the rain stopped. Perfect weather for the first day of college baseball season - five days after the Super Bowl. Who do we blame for this scheduling?

+ The Georgia High School Association held the state cheerleading championships at the Civic Center. Or as dozens of high school boys called it - a recruiting trip.

+ Instant Message to Columbus Water Works: That's an impressive picture you sent with my latest water bill - an "aerial view of the South Columbus Water Resource Facility." All the better for terrorists to plan their attacks....

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© 2003-04 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.