20 NOV 06: BLESSING AND CURSING

Sunday was NOT a day for "One Columbus" - not with one main event at Green Island, and another bigger one at the old Southgate Apartments. Well, hold on a minute. Maybe "One Columbus" was all at Green Island - and the bigger crowd was all from out of town.

S.O.A. Watch estimates more than 22,000 people showed up for this year's protest outside the main gate of Fort Benning. As of Sunday night, 16 arrests were reported - which I think made this demonstration a lot more peaceful per person than the crowd at the Iron Bowl.

A couple of "stars" attended this year's S.O.A. Watch protest. One of them was Emily Sailers of the rock duo Indigo Girls. I never realized how forward-thinking this duo was, until I checked my computer thesaurus - and found indigo is a shade of Democratic blue.

Another big name at the S.O.A. Watch demonstration was Charles Steele, the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Apparently the definition of "Southern Christian" is expanding, to include believers in South America.

Charles Steele was honorary chair of a weeklong "Living the Dream" march, which traveled to Fort Benning from Selma, Alabama. The marchers oppose war and injustice - and we hope they send a delegation to Iraq soon, to persuade the insurgents to join them.

(So after Charles Steele come to Fort Benning to protest against abuses in Latin America, did he visit the family of Kenneth Walker? If he didn't, what does that mean for this case -- especially since I don't recall seeing Roy Bourgeois at any of those old protest marches?)

This year for the first time, there was more than one S.O.A. Watch event. Parallel protests were held in seven other countries, and reportedly also in Arizona and California. So those Victory Drive motels had better not jack up the room rates next year....

I didn't realize until I checked the S.O.A. Watch web site how much money is spent to hold the annual protest. Putting it on costs $45,000 - which I suppose could have been raised by the protesters donating the money they would have spent on Sunday dinner.

A blog kept on the S.O.A. Watch web site reported a military helicopter flew very low over the vigil at one point, apparently trying to drown out the loudspeakers. Last November, I was able to hear the Fort Benning protesters at Pacelli High School - so people living on the south side of Columbus may have made a special request for this.

Protesters outside Fort Benning say the U.S. House came within 15 votes last year of cutting money for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Fort Benning and the protesters dispute even about whether WHINSEC replaced the School of the Americas. No one seems to dispute it, when Benning changes from one Commanding General to another.

Again this year, WHINSEC invited protesters onto Fort Benning to tour the institute and ask questions about it. One Fort Benning officer admitted to the demonstrators they reminded her of a "time warp." But then again, some of the protesters are comparing Iraq with Vietnam....

Plenty of law officers were in South Columbus to make sure the S.O.A. Watch protest was peaceful. I found one "command post" Sunday at Benning Park Recreation Center. It had a Marshal's Office car, a Sheriff's Office car, more police cars than usual, a Georgia State Patrol car which rolled through - why, it's probably the safest weekend of the year to live at Baker Village.

So what about that other big event Sunday? Green Island Country Club hosted the first "God Bless Fort Benning Remembrance Breakfast." Perhaps they remembered back to the first "God Bless" events a few years ago -- when organizers set up near the protesters, then wound up fleeing to South Commons.

S.O.A. Watch apparently won the contest for the biggest weekend crowd -- as God Bless Fort Benning organizers estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people attended their Saturday event. That was actually a big decline from the 25,000 to 30,000 of last year, which was posted on the event's web site. And it's surprising, since the Third Brigade hasn't left the area yet....

(But based on the schedule, God Bless Fort Benning clearly led in several areas -- such as the race for the most Boy Scouts and clogging dancers.)

While S.O.A. Watch had marching "Veterans for Peace," God Bless Fort Benning had military supporters on motorcycles. So our group could encircle your group and perform "psych-ops" anytime they wanted....

While S.O.A. Watch had one stage with performers, God Bless Fort Benning had four. One of them was the "84 Lumber Stage" - which may have surprised people in the downtown area, who didn't even know Columbus has an 84 Lumber yard.

While God Bless Fort Benning had an area where visitors could "Hug a Hero," S.O.A. Watch had - well, what? "Pretend to Die with a Nun?"

(By the way, does anyone mind if I borrow the "Hug a Hero" line - the next time I'm invited to a singles party?)

While S.O.A. Watch had a guest speaker from the AFL-CIO, God Bless Fort Benning had several corporate and business sponsors. But after checking the "God Bless" schedule page online, I can see why they need a remembrance breakfast - because there's an ad there for the Columbus Riverdragons, which left town more than a year ago.

In a big surprise, this year's God Bless Fort Benning even had space reserved by CNN. If this cable network was there and not Fox News Channel, you can tell Democrats are taking charge of Congress.

People could register at God Bless Fort Benning to win a "CNN Warrior One" Hummer. I used to work at the CNN networks in Atlanta, and I am stunned -- STUNNED! -- by this. Ted Turner would have demanded a hybrid car, or something with better gas mileage.

We did the math, based on last year's sponsors listed by God Bless Fort Benning and proposed 2006 sponsor rates and budgets posted online. Saturday's event may have had about $116,000 in sponsors, but expenditures of about $238,000. No one said running an Army would make money -- but you'd think a patriotic display might.

Save for some federal court hearings today, the annual battle of ideas is over for another year. S.O.A. Watch will shift its focus to lobbying the new Congress. God Bless Fort Benning will prepare for bigger-name performers and sponsors. And Columbus Police will try to fill all their job openings, so the State Patrol can stay on Interstate 185 next November.

Believe it or not, other items of interest passed our way Sunday....

+ A dedication ceremony was held for the new North Columbus Elementary School - more than three months after it opened. Did it take THAT long to get all the traffic problems settled?

+ The annual "Night Walk" to benefit the March of Dimes was held at Callaway Gardens' "Fantasy of Lights" display. Callaway boasts the show has eight million lights. I wish they'd lend a few to the city of Columbus, so the Riverwalk would be safer.

+ The web site CollegeHumor.com ranked Auburn ahead of Georgia, when it comes to the "most fun" universities. Auburn was aided by the fact that 26 percent of its students live in fraternities and sororities -- so this web site's motto must be "better Greek than geek."

+ The Atlanta Falcons lost their third game in a row, 24-10 at Baltimore. If you watched this game, you know the Ravens should pick up a new corporate sponsor for the rest of the season - because Sunday they were Sams' Club.

+ Atlanta's longtime FM radio station "96 Rock" changed formats after 32 years, turning into the modern rock "Project 9-6-1." Only in radio would people brag about becoming a project, or moving into one....

+ Instant Message to the new Rent-n-Roll store on Buena Vista Road: You're kidding, right? I actually can "rent to own" tires?!?! Can I bring them back if they go flat - since they'll obviously be defective?

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