15 MAR 06: CAMPBELL'S IMPOSSIBILITIES

The Kenneth Walker family may have to pursue its civil suit without attorney Bill Campbell, whether it wants him or not. Tuesday's news indicated Campbell's conviction may cost him his license to practice law in Georgia. Next time, stick to evading the truth with reporters.

. Have you noticed how quiet Columbus civil rights leaders have been about the conviction of Bill Campbell? Only a few days after William Howell of Rainbow/PUSH talked about a meeting with a U.S. Senator about Kenneth Walker, suddenly the 11-month "cooling-off period" seems to be back.

Tuesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted most attorneys voluntarily stop practicing law, after they're convicted of a crime. The fact that there's a precedent for this explains so many lawyer jokes....

The State Bar of Georgia follows strict rules in disbarment cases. Federal prosecutors have to inform the Bar officially of Bill Campbell's conviction for tax evasion -- since those TV stations and newspapers get the facts wrong SO often.

Bill Campbell doesn't have to go quietly from the attorney's office. He could choose to challenge disbarment, before a "special master" of the Georgia State Bar. It's amazing Edward DuBose hasn't called for a change of that title already.

Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell actually calls Florida home these days. Once he's sentenced for tax evasion, his law license in that state will be suspended automatically. But why wait that long? There's apparently no version of Mothers Against Drunk Driving for ethical attorneys.

The attorney for Bill Campbell told an Atlanta radio station the other day the mayor/attorney/convict "has a lot of life left." I wouldn't be surprised if Campbell used that very line on Marion Brooks years ago....

Assuming Bill Campbell escapes prison time for tax evasion, what might he do if he loses his attorney's license? Several job possibilities remain out there:

+ Campbell was considered for the presidency of a North Carolina college several years ago -- so maybe one of those murky online colleges will let him take charge.

+ Join the "posse" of Snoop Dogg, and help him deal with federal "Form Dime Four-shizzle."

+ Appear in commercials for e-Harmony.com - showing the PROPER way to find the woman of your dreams.

E-MAIL UPDATE: We need to catch up on several messages from the last couple of days. Our first one responds to the MACE union protest in Columbus last week:

Hey,don't blame [Superintendent John] Phillips for his mega salary..put the blame where it belongs..the school board gave it to him....remember election time is a coming..

Let's look even farther on the bright side here. A $250,000 salary for the superintendent makes for more complicated problems in local math classes.

MACE probably would agree with this e-mailer. But if the union has a slate of Muscogee County School Board candidates for this year's election, it didn't name names during last week's picket. None are on the union web site, either - so if Randy Robertson isn't quite ready to declare he's running for Mayor....

Remember two years ago, when the Muscogee County Democrats posted a sign urging you to elect "a responsible school board?" They denied that was a suggestion to vote out Superintendent John Phillips, and that has NOT happened. What will they suggest this year - a board with vacuum cleaners, to clean house?

Our next e-mail takes us back to the concerned crowd trying to prevent city cuts at the Gallops Senior Center [28 Feb]:

I wonder how we can afford to build more and more Riverwalk but cannot afford to keep the current Parks and Rec employees we have who are serving PEOPLE each day. My dad met and married his third wife at the Gallops Center and I can tell you those folks take that place seriously.

Ken O'Shields

Thanks for your comment, Ken - and I hope your father didn't meet his first two wives at places the city has shut down.

As I understand it, the city is getting federal grant money for the improvements to the Riverwalk. But after some recent long runs there, rest assured of one thing - it does NOT need to be widened to four lanes.

There's no doubt in my mind that the Gallops crowd takes its senior center seriously. When I heard about the meeting with city officials, I thought of the scene from the 1980's where older people went after a member of Congress who proposed cuts in Social Security. They're armed and dangerous - as in canes and walkers.

We have one more e-mail today, responding to Monday's memorial for Serbian leader/despot Slobodan Milosevic:

True story...My nephew was in Bosnia with the Guard..His duty this day was not to let anyone through a check point without proper papers..I big black car rolls up..He goes up to the driver who can't produce the documents..Some one yells from the back seat and is shaking his fist..My nephew says,"I'm under orders,no one is to advance through this point without the proper papers,turn around."..About this time a heavy set man jumps out of the back seat and starts screaming and yelling..My nephew lifts his rifle..The man gets back in the car ,it turns around and takes off back in the direction it came from...Later that day he sees a photo of Milosevic..yep..that was the loud mouthed old man trying to escape Bosnia...

Wow! Imagine if your nephew had let the car go through -- Slobodan Milosevic might have died a suntanned death in Venezuela or Cuba.

Thanks to all of you who write us -- and now a quick check of other Tuesday developments:

+ Columbus Police were called to the Torch Hill Road area, because someone was drinking behind Our Lady of Lourdes School. This is what happens when they switch from wine to grape juice for mass....

+ Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue briefed reporters about the big Kia plant coming to West Point. He said during more than two years of trips to South Korea, he was impressed by how happy the Kia workers were. Wow - who keeps THEIR vending machines working perfectly?

(Meanwhile, Alabama Governor Bob Riley claims he persuaded Kia to put its plant as close to the state line as possible. It's enough to almost make you wish downtown Columbus hadn't been revitalized.)

+ Columbus Rep. Carolyn "Mrs. City Manager" Hugley told GPB's "Lawmakers" it was good that the Georgia House rejected a faith-based initiative proposal. She said the vote "protected our public schools." From what? Not one priest in our area has been accused of misconduct....

+ Henri's Formal Wear on Warm Springs Road hosted a "Meet the Cottonmouths" night. If you wanted to pick the perfect tuxedo to impress your gal on prom night, wouldn't YOU consult a bunch of hockey players with scraggy beards?

+ Russell County rolled over Eufaula 10-1 in high school baseball. Russell County's transfer player Adam Coe hit three home runs - and if he keeps that up, fans will declare him Coe-lossal.

+ Instant Message to Golden Corral: OK, let's try this again. Wednesday is "Mexican Favorites Night?!" My first choice is Paulina Rubio - and secondly Salma Hayek....

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