11 JAN 05: FEELING LIKE MARCH

Suddenly it's marching season in Columbus. Supporters of David Glisson plan one today. Civil rights groups plan their own this weekend. And where's that old drum major Dick McMichael, to lead one for retired people?

Let's take the marches in order. "Friends of David Glisson" plan to march outside the Government Center today -- almost exactly one year after William Howell started a civil rights march outside the same building [13 Jan 04]. And we know how well it worked for Rainbow/PUSH....

(This group could be even bolder, you know - but it DID stop short of calling it the "God Bless David Glisson" rally.)

We're not sure exactly how many people will join the Friends of David Glisson march. It may depend on how many ringers can get off work in Sumter and Taylor Counties....

From what I've heard, the march outside the Government Center may last as long as 3:00 p.m. Certainly they'll stop by sundown - so attorney Richard Hagler doesn't lecture the protesters, for not being at home with their children.

The main issue for F.O.G. (Friends of Glisson) right now is getting the fired deputy reinstated to the Muscogee County Sheriff's Department. Let's face it - he'll need to work as many hours as he can, to pay for that $100 million lawsuit against him.

The Friends of David Glisson web site make a claim right now I hadn't heard before - that a "physical fight" broke out when the NAACP elected its new officers the other night. Well, at least no one had a weapon out and stumbled over something....

F.O.G. "Web Administrator" Tim Delbridge says Columbus is being held "hostage" by the attorney for Kenneth Walker's family, as well as several civil rights leaders. Come to think of it, there may be something in common with the hostages taken in Iraq. Former City Manager Carmen Cavezza sort of pleaded for ransom - but voters rejected the one-cent sales tax.

The Friends of David Glisson web site also offers its own spin on the "dashboard camera" videotape, showing the shooting of Kenneth Walker. Which reminds me - is anyone selling that tape on eBay yet?

Anyway, F.O.G. contends David Glisson paused twice and Kenneth Walker was "struggling" before the fatal shot was fired. And what's happened in the 13 months since? Walker's family has paused often - and now Glisson is struggling, at least financially.

Then there's the Saturday march Jesse Jackson has called in downtown Columbus. He announced Monday it will start from the Civic Center at 2:00 p.m. -- allowing all of you to get lunch after watching the Martin Luther King Day parade, before the second half of the doubleheader.

The civil rights march is planned for a route up Veterans Parkway, from the Civic Center to the Government Center. But why not march through the Historic District, up First Avenue? You'd pass my home, the NAACP office -- and the Columbus office of the Urban League, so you can shout insults at the staff.

(No, I don't plan to be home for this march. I attend church on Saturday afternoons, and have to leave before 2:00 p.m. If I drive home and can't find my apartment building, I'll know things got out of hand.)

That's a brewing problem for the Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/PUSH march. Reginald Pugh of the Urban League revealed Monday he's suggesting members NOT join in the weekend protest. There are times when you help your competition, and then....

Reginald Pugh explained to WRBL Jesse Jackson's coming to town for more than the Kenneth Walker case. He supposedly also wants to portray Columbus as a bunch of "country bumpkins." Oh yeah? Then why isn't this march going past some Victory Drive mobile home parks?

(If Jesse Jackson wanted to show up "country bumpkins" around here, he'd find the bums who practically blew up that dog in Russell County with a firecracker....)

Jesse Jackson told a news media teleconference Monday he's coming to Columbus to honor the "nonviolent protest" of Martin Luther King, applying it to the Kenneth Walker case. If you think about it, other people do this sort of thing. Maybe one of these years, Willie Nelson will hold "Farm Aid" in Lumpkin.

An all-star cast may follow Jesse Jackson to Columbus for this weekend's march. TV Judge Greg Mathis says he's coming. WOKS announced the other day Chris Tucker is coming. And we know we're in trouble if Randy Moss shows up....

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION ended Monday morning - and we congratulate WRBL's Jeff Donald. Voters ranked him the best meteorologist in Columbus. Now if he could transplant in Candace Cook's hair....

Our six-day, code-problem-restarted poll found 36 percent of you consider Jeff Donald the best meteorologist. Kurt Schmitz was second with 29 percent, followed by 21 percent for Joshua McKinney and Brian McClure with seven percent. And the seven percent who want Mitzi Oxford - well, I think they go to sports events for the dance teams.

(But what about Bryan Bennett and Darren Stack, who received no votes at all? Should they go take jobs as fortune tellers?)

But we're not finished with Monday musings yet:

+ Residents of the Booker T. Washington apartments held a candlelight vigil for a recent homicide victim - and before it was over, people were dancing to rap music and dropping dollar bills on a memorial display. I get the feeling Presbyterian Churches have not had much impact on this group....

+ Gold's Gym held the kickoff for "Trim Down Columbus" - a project to drop a combined 10,000 pounds. I think 20 percent of that already happened, with the Wardogs football team leaving town.

+ Republicans took control of the Georgia House for the first time since 1870. The new G.O.P. majority includes new Rep. Richard Smith of Columbus - and he should rise rapidly in the ranks, once colleagues see that "Answer Book" he used to show on TV-16.

+ Instant Message to the Muscogee County School District: Did you miss the news last week? The school board has two new members - and they're not on your web site yet. Did Wal-Mart lose your film, the way it once lost mine?

(BLOGGER'S NOTE:> We need to take a blogging break Wednesday for a personal commitment.... but barring something strange, we'll be back.)

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ERROR REMOVED 13 Jan 05....