1 MAR 05: SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING BLUE

Have you seen the unusual flag flying in South Commons? The college softball players who came from across the country for the Leadoff Classic may not have noticed it. After all, the "flag" they really want is the championship pennant.

The flag which caught my eye last week was still flying Monday. For some reason, the 2001 Georgia flag is next to the U.S. flag above McClung Memorial Stadium -- the one "Southern heritage" supporters didn't like, because they needed glasses to see the Confederate battle emblem on it.

I'm not sure how long the 2001 flag has been up at the football stadium. March marks one year since Georgia voters replaced it at the polls - apparently deciding "Six Flags Over Georgia" should only be an amusement park, not a state banner.

(Do you think some conservative group put up that blue banner to make a movie? You know, "2001: A Flag Oddity.")

It seems to me the flag worked out in secret by former Governor Roy Barnes and Columbus Rep. Calvin Smyre should become a collector's item. After all, it was Georgia's official flag only three years - and Georgia's state quarter has been seen in public longer than that.

(Yet drive to those weekend stands on Victory Drive or Veterans Parkway, and you'll be hard-pressed to find the 2001 flag. If you didn't know better, you'd think the Georgia flag with the Confederate battle emblem was replaced by one for Harley-Davidson.)

There's a circle of flags in the Historic District next to the Space Science Center - but the overseers of that display fly the current Georgia flag, and neither of the recent ones. Maybe there's room for compromise here. Put all three flags on the same pole, and rotate which one's on top every day....

Then there's the flag which waves outside Buck Ice and Coal along 12th Avenue -- the original "stars and bars" flag of the Confederacy. It's quietly flown there so long, it may prove residents at the nearby Peabody Apartments didn't know their Southern history very well.

Some "Southern heritage" supporters promise they'll vote out of office any politician who approved a change away from the Georgia flag with the Confederate battle emblem. But what will they do if Sonny Perdue faces Mark Taylor for Governor next year -- try to get one of Ernest Hollings's descendants to move from South Carolina, and run as a Dixiecrat?

At least we're entering a time of year when there's one flag everyone in Georgia can agree on - the green flag flying at Atlanta's NASCAR races....

BLOG UPDATE: The federal sex discrimination lawsuit we've been watching against the owners of WRBL was scheduled to go to trial Monday. But four criminal cases take priority, so that "civil case" will begin in a couple of weeks. Yeah right - like a three-year feud between a TV station and a former employee really can be called civil....

While at the federal courthouse, we checked the list of possible witnesses in the sex discrimination trial.. Plaintiff Melissa Schultz Miller seems to have listed the entire WRBL news staff. If you've ever wanted an autograph of your favorite News 3 people, the week of March 14 may be the perfect time.

(The plaintiff's list suggests there's at least one WRBL reporter who's not using a real last name on the air. So much for that journalist ever getting a White House press pass....)

Even former WRBL reporters such as Jon Paepcke are listed as potential witnesses for the plaintiff. But the sports and weather departments escaped the list - so Jeff Donald already may have credibility problems, from his forecasts.

The list of defense witnesses submitted by Media General is not as lengthy, and has nowhere near the number of familiar names. So we may have the Michael Jackson trial in reverse....

SONG OF THE DAY: If you watched "Barney and Friends" on GPB Monday, you may have seen children singing about fire equipment. Imagine how their fun little song would be handled by the "Is Our City Safe" crowd:

Here comes the fire truck -- the people shout, "Hooray!"

Let's start an argument on public safety pay!

Why do the personnel leave town, and go away?

N-E-E-D A B-U-C-K!

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We'll share the latest e-mails from "Is Our City Safe" later this week.)

Now other whole and half-notes from Monday:

+ A big crowd attended a public hearing on a proposed Wal-Mart SuperCenter near J.R. Allen Parkway. One opponent of the store claimed it will "negatively impact other businesses" nearby. It's too bad no one told that to Zaxby's in Phenix City - or Home Depot, or Golden Rule Bar-B-Q....

+ A branch of Halliburton held a job recruitment day at the Columbus Career Center. Workers could earn $80,000 in Iraq, all tax-free. And former mill workers might know how to stitch together a strong enough flak jacket to take with them.

(I heard the name "Halliburton" Monday in the wake of the Oscars, and couldn't help thinking about a possible marriage of Halle Berry and Richard Burton....)

+ Alabama Attorney General Troy King traveled to Opelika, and contended schools need the pledge of allegiance to teach young people patriotism. I'm left wondering how the "greatest generation" won World War Two, without having a pledge sanctioned by Congress during the 1930's.

+ The Atlanta newspaper's web site reported pitcher Tim Hudson will sign a four-year baseball contract today, worth about $45 million. With that much money, he could build a mansion near Glenwood School - or even scarier, he could simply buy the school.

+ Instant Message to all elected officials in Smiths Station: Wow, two new Dollar General stores within a mile of each other - are you feeling like a big city yet?

COMING SOON: A discounter that's going bust.... and the Auburn Network tries to go upscale....

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