20 JUL 05: BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE?

A furor arose Tuesday over a comment the local NAACP President made about Port Columbus. Did Bill Madison call for blowing it up? Did he speak hypothetically about blowing it up? And since the museum has cannons outside, weren't staff members asking for this already?

Bill Madison says he called WRCG's "TalkLine" to comment on the recent destruction of a mill along the Chattahoochee River. Reaves Wrecking tore down the Horace King Corn Mill without city permission. Well, at least Klan members didn't torch it....

Bill Madison wanted to make the point that Reaves Wrecking received too light a punishment for demolishing a historic "black structure." Perhaps he should take that up with the Environmental Court Judge who imposed the sentence - and last time I checked, Alonza Whitaker was a "black man."

(As it happens, Reaves Wrecking is involved with the current demolition of Mockingbird Mobile Home Park. That has plenty of history, too - just ask the firefighters who have spent a lot of time there.)

But then the confusion begins about Bill Madison's words. The NAACP President says he told TalkLine, "IF I wanted to blow up Port Columbus, they would put me in jail...." My pastor likes to call "IF" the biggest two-letter word in the English language - and IF you miss it, it certainly can be.

But TalkLine's co-hosts heard Bill Madison differently. They claim the NAACP President actually threatened to blow up the Civil War Naval Museum -- and they really hoped instead he'd call Port Columbus "da bomb."

Bill Madison's words were especially striking to Matt Young -- because when he's not co-hosting TalkLine, he works at Port Columbus. But then again, he's used to working with damaged material....

Matt Young told reporters Tuesday he waited for Bill Madison to "clarify and quantify" his comment about Port Columbus, but Madison never did. My dictionary says "quantify" relates to a quantity of something -- so perhaps Young wanted to know how many bombs Madison would bring.

Matt Young says a few TalkLine callers actually dialed 911 after hearing Bill Madison's words, and reported him making terroristic threats. We hope those people never watch interviews with GCW wrestlers - or two-thirds of the athletes might be in prison.

So what did Bill Madison say, and how did he say it? It ought to be easy to settle this - but no. Amazingly, WRCG does NOT record TalkLine. President Bush could call this show and declare Mimi Woodson his secret love child, and you'd never have proof unless you're listening.

It's hard for me to believe WRCG didn't have a tape rolling on TalkLine, to record this comment. The show always was taped when Doug Kellett was host -- even though he didn't put some comments from guests in his newscasts until two days later.

(This may explain why WRCG doesn't have a "Best of TalkLine" show on weekends or holidays. Of course, Democrats would argue there's no "Best of" to put on the air....)

Sadly, I'm unable to play referee here. I didn't hear Bill Madison's call to TalkLine - but WRCG might want to borrow from the ESPN Radio morning show on WEAM-AM, and give him a "Just Shut Up" award.

One thing the evening news overlooked Tuesday is that Bill Madison has his own Saturday morning talk show on WRCG. Will Archway Broadcasting penalize him for what he said Tuesday? Or were the managers too busy listening to "107-Q" to notice?

NAACP President Bill Madison said later he has no regrets about his words on radio. Instead, he claimed "so-called racists" were twisting his comment out of context. The fact that Madison used the word "so-called" already might be considered a retreat.

Bill Madison says he plans to keep "speaking the truth" about issues in Columbus. That sounds good - but from now on, he'd better speak the word IF a little louder....

BLOG UPDATE: Columbus Council gave its answer Tuesday to the Muscogee County Library Board, on that proposed $250,000 sculpture. The vote was 9-1 against funding it - making Wayne Anthony the only person willing to have his name put on the sculpture, after it comes off his Council seat.

Wayne Anthony says Columbus Council should bite the bullet and spend $250,000 on Albert Paley's "Transformation." He explains that beats spending $100,000 for attorneys to break off a contract, and leave the city with nothing. Well, maybe not nothing - they could dig a money pit on the spot of the sculpture....

On the other hand, Councilor Evelyn Turner Pugh said the city should not "bail out" the Library Board. She claimed its signing of a contract for the sculpture goes "against what this Council stands for." What does that mean - laying off library workers instead?

Mayor Bob Poydasheff may have explained Councilor Pugh's point a bit better after the meeting. He said the Library Board did not act properly, by holding a public debate about the sculpture. As if that would have made a difference?! People in Columbus hardly ever show up for public hearings about law enforcement.

Library Board attorney Neal Callahan argued the contract for Transformation is valid, because a deal with the city gives the board freedom to make decisions on "library construction and furnishings." If this 25-foot-tall sculpture really was a furnishing, it would be in the Children's Room as a climbing wall.

In this political game of "Time Bomb," (that WAS a real game, so please don't call 911) the sculpture issue now is back in the Library Board's hands. It could try to negotiate out of the contract with Albert Paley. Or board member Billy Winn could start a "Remember Starving Artists" fund-raising drive in the Ledger-Enquirer.

Speaking of the library, did I hear it right - the Chattahoochee Valley system ordered 130 copies of the new Harry Potter book? Where is the outrage from local pastors? Or at least a matching donation of 130 Bibles?

BIG PREDICTION UPDATE: Your blog was right again Tuesday night, as President Bush did NOT nominate Roy Moore to the U.S. Supreme Court. Instead, he nominated federal appeals judge John Roberts - perhaps hoping this will get CBS News reporter John Roberts off the air, to avoid confusion.

(If you were disappointed by the prime-time Presidential announcement, I can understand. I hoped President Bush would bring out three finalists, then open a sealed envelope and declare, "You're hired.")

After those three big events, let's find some smaller things to balance out the diet:

+ Chattahoochee County's School Board decided to postpone the opening of a new high school by ten days. The school will be ready, but part of Georgia Highway 26 near the school may not be -- and we certainly don't want teenagers ruining their detailed cars by driving over the speed limit on a bumpy road.

+ The Columbus Boys and Girls Clubs opened a new "tech center," complete with laptop computers and printers. WXTX "News at Ten" reported youngsters can play games there - so how many copies of "Grand Theft Auto" does it have?

(Remember, young people -- it's better to play FreeCell, than wind up downtown IN one....)

+ The touring "Blues Brothers" performed live at the Columbus Catfish game. They sang "Soul Man." They sang "Sweet Soul Music." And those two white guys never sang a Pat Boone cover version of anything.

+ Instant Message to the Ledger-Enquirer: How about a "Reader's Choice Award" next year for best blog? Every little endorsement helps, you know....

COMING THIS WEEK: The "blogosphere" reaches Harris County.... and the County Commission might not like it....

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