19 MAR 06: THE BUSY SEASON

I had a topic in mind for today - but so much is happening this weekend that I've decided to take a quick look at all of that, and get to that big topic on Monday. Saddle your ponies, here we go....

+ A source I tend to trust tells your blog the Mediterranean Café on Sidney Simons Boulevard has lost its liquor license. I'm not sure what happened to cause this. Perhaps the ouzo had too much booze-o....

+ Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue visited local Republicans at the Columbus Trade Center. I wonder if anyone asked the Governor if he had any regrets about releasing the money to expand the building a couple of years ago.

(Sonny Perdue came to Columbus to talk about the new Kia plant, and about improving education. But I didn't hear any reporter ask him the most vital question of the week - is he for or against Jane Fonda?)

+ Democrats held their own rally and barbecue in Russell County - and some people in attendance wondered why more people don't "get off the couch" and vote. Has it ever occurred to them that voters find the singers on "American Idol" much more believable and likeable?

+ WRBL revealed Columbus police found a meth house recently on Fulton Road. It was a vacant house owned by developer John Flournoy. So which realtor tipped off police to this?

+ Columbus State University held a "topping" ceremony for its "Riverpark" arts campus downtown. Let's all be thankful C.S.U. has no budding performance artists, who illustrated the topping with Cool Whip.

(I saw a tent up for this ceremony above the Columbus Riverwalk, didn't know why it was there - and wondered if S.O.A. Watch has decided to be like NASCAR, and hold two events in Georgia each year.)

+ The annual "Thunder in the Valley" Air Show began at Columbus International Airport. Dozens of noisy planes took to the sky - yet somehow, Phil Carter still was able to scream over them in Bill Heard Chevrolet's commercials.

+ The Lanett Airport was closed for improvements, relating to the planned Kia plant in West Point. If Lanett calls its airport "international" before Columbus does....

+ "The Great Columbus Clean-Up" was held at the Civic Center. I didn't quite understand the reason for this - because didn't Lonnie Jackson recruit all sorts of groups to do this the last two months?!

(But seriously: The Great Columbus Clean-Up allowed people to turn in all sorts of recyclable items. Keep Columbus Beautiful even accepted computer items - and who knows how many of those mainframes with Celeron processors had dents in them.)

+ Phenix City staged what may have been this area's first St. Patrick's Day parade. This couldn't happen on Broadway in Columbus, of course - because too many drunks would have tripped over curbs and construction tools in the Streetscape blocks.

+ The Columbus RiverCenter put tickets on sale for "Lord of the Dance" April 17. Someone told me this sort of show shouldn't be in Columbus so soon after "Riverdance." Wait until this man learns the Columbus Symphony actually has
concerts more than once a year.

+ WCGT-TV 16 presented a "Saturday Night Special" version of the gospel music show "Video Inspirations" - including a commercial for Phenix City palm reader Prophetess Mary. Is THAT how the prophets of the Bible were inspired to write those lengthy books?

+ GCW "Hi-Voltage" showed a pro wrestler in Columbus named "The Biohazard." We don't know how many fans with ringside seats passed out, after holding their breath for several minutes....

+ Comer Gymnasium hosted the Georgia state Golden Gloves boxing tournament. Only a couple of miles from there, the phrase "golden gloves" refers to what the dinner servers wear at Green Island Country Club.

+ The Blue team beat the White team in Auburn University's annual "A-Day" football game. But shouldn't we be a bit concerned when the final score of this game is 7-0, while the Cottonmouths won their hockey game 11-5?

(The leading receiver in the A-Day game was someone named Tommy Trott. Only a couple of years ago, Auburn University officials were preparing for something else with this name -- as they chased the head coach out of town.)

+ In an NCAA basketball playoff game WRBL actually broadcast, Alabama was ousted by UCLA 60-59. The Crimson Tide did well, considering they ended the year with only seven healthy scholarship players. Cut down one more, and they'll match Bobby Cremins's old Georgia Tech teams.

(What? What's that your saying? What about Kansas? Uhhhhhh -- all I can say is that the NCAA ban on the Bradley Braves nickname is starting one year too late.)

+ Instant Message to the driver I saw go around TWO cars on Second Avenue, then turn right in front of them at Fourth Street to cross the Oglethorpe Bridge: I don't know where you were going - but I hope you had to stand in line for about 15 minutes once you got there.

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Daily blogging may diminish over the next few weeks, due to our annual serious spring cleaning.)

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for 18 MAR 06: AFTER THE WHAMMYS FALL

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this humorous, serious, or a little of both - but from time to time, we offer things to reflect upon as we keep the seventh-day Sabbath.)

It was sad to learn this past week about the death of Peter Tomarken - the man who hosted the old game show "Press Your Luck." He and his wife died in a Southern California plane crash. But before you get ahead of me - no, I am NOT calling on everyone to wear crash helmets at Thunder in the Valley.

Have you seen "Press Your Luck" in reruns on the Game Show Network? A little bit of knowledge helps - but the lure is how players try to gain as much cash and merchandise as they can, without landing on a "whammy" space. A whammy is like "bankrupt" on Wheel of Fortune - only the cartoon characters who take money are funnier than Pat Sajak.

If you pick up four whammys, you're out of the game on Press Your Luck - but think a minute about this. Are you pressing YOUR luck in life? Are you trying to pile up money, belongings and fame - not thinking that sooner or later, whammys happen? And unless it involves Mohammed, it probably doesn't have cartoons?

It's easy for wiseacres to say Peter Tomarken's death was the fourth whammy for him. But who knows how many whammys each of us have on OUR scoreboards? You lose it all with the last whammy of death. As radio preachers like to say, you've never seen a hearse towing a U-Haul.

Believe it or not, your "game of life" doesn't have to end with the final whammy. There's a way to come back and play another day - and even join in a sort of "tournament of champions." It comes by knowing not a game show host, but the
"Lord of hosts." And He had that title, long before radio and TV were invented.

If you want to keep playing beyond the whammy of death (to borrow from a different game show), you need to get acquainted with this Lord of hosts. The book about Him says He'll eventually destroy death. I have nothing against funeral homes, but I look forward to the day when they're all out of business.

So if you've been putting off all thoughts about the REALLY long-term future, may I suggest taking some time this weekend to consider it. And if you need to make some changes to stay in the ultimate game, do it. Don't press your luck with this - because that last whammy could really sting.

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17 MAR 06: TIDE KICKED

It was brought to my attention Thursday that some people believe this blog picks on WRBL too much. OK, they might have a point -- but some days it's simply irresistible. And with Jerry Laquire no longer on TV and radio, the options are reduced a bit.

So how many calls did the WRBL receptionist have to take Thursday afternoon about college basketball? And which group of callers was tougher -- the Alabama fans wondering about the Crimson Tide? Or the usual women, asking for "The Bold and the Beautiful" instead of the tall and the sweaty?

I'd forgotten Alabama's first game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament was Thursday. Perhaps WRBL did as well, because it showed the Florida game against SOUTH Alabama instead. This should prove once and for all Columbus is NOT the "gateway to Alabama" - it's the gateway to Panama City and Pensacola.

You can't blame the decision to show South Alabama instead of Alabama on that terror scare in San Diego. The Crimson Tide's game was delayed more than an hour, after something suspicious was found inside the arena. It's a shame Aubie had to end his season this way....

You can't blame the lack of an Alabama game on CBS Sports, either. It showed every game of the NCAA tournament - well, maybe. It didn't bother showing the final ten minutes of Washington-Utah State after midnight. Maybe CBS realized Darren Stack needed a little sleep between the late news and 6:00 a.m.

So why did WRBL show Florida-South Alabama, instead of Alabama-Marquette? The explanation I'm hearing is that CBS asked stations to submit a list of games they wanted to show -- and the program director reportedly asked for Florida instead. I assume he's losing in the office pool as well....

It turned out Florida routed the University of South Alabama 76-50, while Alabama won a tight game over Marquette 90-85. So if the WRBL bosses had a hunch, it was wrong -- and if they figured "U.S.A." would get more military veterans to watch, I doubt it.

The good news for Alabama fans is that they have alternatives for watching the Tide in the tourney. Sports bars probably show games from several cities at once -- unless half the screens aren't taken by trivia contests, which seems to be the case more and more....

Besides that, the NCAA basketball tournament is being offered live online this year. There's "live streaming video" - and if some workers aren't careful, they could get in trouble by responding with live screaming audio.

But the sad news for Alabama fans is that no Columbus radio station broadcasts Crimson Tide basketball. WEAM-AM "The Zone" hasn't even bothered to broadcast all the Atlanta Hawks games this season - and I've actually seen someone in this city wearing an Al Harrington jersey. That guy is loyal to a fault....

Now let's finish this quickly before I develop a serious case of March madness -- and I'll be nice to WRBL along the way:

+ The President of the Columbus-based "Hopegivers International" was arrested in India. Samuel Thomas's charity is accused of trying to steer residents from Hinduism to Christianity. If Thomas was arrested, imagine what might happen if Pat Robertson showed up.

+ The Census Bureau reported Chattahoochee County had the biggest population drop in Georgia last year, and one of the biggest in the country. County officials say it was because the Third Brigade was in Iraq - and apparently not because gas became so expensive that a 20-minute commute to Columbus wasn't worth it.

+ WRBL went to Hurtsboro, where about 70 people attended a public forum on improving their town. Given what Constable Bob Schweiger has been saying, I'm amazed so many turned out for an evening activity - unless they all belong to that armed gang.

+ The Georgia Senate voted 38-1 to rescind a day-old resolution honoring Jane Fonda. It was offered to pay tribute to her activism to reduce teenage pregnancy - but for veterans, this is one time where "what have you done for me lately" doesn't matter.

(All Columbus area State Senators voted against honoring Jane Fonda, including Democrat Ed Harbison. I guess this IS an election year in Georgia....)

+ Instant Message to Heather Williams of the Lee County American Cancer Society: What do you mean, Alabama voters should NOT be allowed to decide on a smoking ban at the polls? Aren't the nonsmokers in the majority? Don't you remember all that money Don Siegelman spent on a lottery question -- only to see it lose?

SCHEDULED SATURDAY: Meditations on a whammy....

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16 MAR 06: HANGING BY A THREAD

When you're called into a 5:00 p.m. meeting at work, it can mean many things. It could mean it's your last day on the job, and it's time to clean out the desk. Or it could mean the bosses want to have a "gentlemen's night" at a place on Victory Drive where the cars are parked well off the street.

For employees of the Swift Galey mill on Sixth Avenue, a Wednesday afternoon meeting was more the former than the latter. Managers announced they won't produce their own yarns anymore -- which may well leave this task to fiction writers and bloggers.

The transition to using another company's yarn means the Swift Galey mill at the northeast edge of downtown Columbus will "become vacant." But executives didn't come out and say it will close. So will Kia executives please make their cars at the West Point plant with denim seats?

A vacant plant means as many as 200 Swift Galey employees could lose their jobs. But they might want to look at it as a step up in life. They're making textiles at the mill now, and could be selling them at Kohl's come November.

The dreaded word "outsourcing" was part of the announcement from Swift Galey. But in a switch, this spring the company will start using yarn produced at a spinning mill in North Carolina. Perhaps children in Bangladesh make more money these days than I thought....

Swift Galey executives explained they're trying to cut costs, and it's cheaper to buy yarn from North Carolina than make their own in Columbus. If this seems illogical, consider what I ate for breakfast Wednesday. If I bought all the ingredients for "Yogurt Burst Cheerios" myself, it could get expensive.

While some of the Columbus Swift Galey employees are likely to be laid off, others may be offered jobs with Frontier Spinning in North Carolina. So it's like the game show the late Peter Tomarken hosted -- if you "Press Your Luck" for an extra spin, you might get a crushing whammy.

As you might imagine, many Swift Galey employees were distressed by Wednesday evening's news of possible layoffs. One even wondered why the plant hadn't informed Mayor Poydasheff about it. There's good reason why not - the mayor's running for reelection, and doesn't want to hear that.

It's tempting to blame the problem at Swift Galey and similar mills across the South on Bill O'Reilly. After all, he made the "No-Spin Zone" so popular in this country....

But perhaps it's good that the Swift Galey plant becoming vacant is only a few blocks down the street from the Columbus Chamber of Commerce office. It's all the better for converting the old mill into the Mike Gaymon Office Complex.

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION about the Columbus Mayor's race ended Wednesday night, but with no clear consensus. Only 29 percent of our voters say incumbent Bob Poydasheff is unbeatable. But the rest can't agree on the best challenger for him - so maybe we should choose the one with the best NCAA tournament bracket.

Our seven-day, ridiculously non-scientific online poll found 29 percent of voters consider Fraternal Order of Police President Randy Robertson the best challenger for Mayor Poydasheff. He carries a badge, he looks handsome on TV - and he'll find all that fat in city government the mayor simply can't see.

But 14 percent of the vote in our poll went to Columbus Councilor Glenn Davis. I heard his name pop up several weeks ago as a possible candidate for Mayor - but as Davis would tell you from his years in baseball, you can't advance far with a
simple pop-up.

The "other" line for a challenger to Mayor Poydasheff received 29 percent of the score - but we asked voters to leave a comment about who they want to see, and no one did. You don't think former judge Roxann Daniel is planning a sneaky comeback, do you?

Our question was bad news for School Board President Mary Sue Polleys and Columbus Councilor Nathan Suber. NO voters considered them the best challenger for Mayor Poydasheff. This especially stings for Polleys, since I think her husband still has a reserved parking space under the Government Center.

Now let's send some Instant Messages, before our batteries run low....

+ To Columbus gas stations: Aw, c'mon! Ten-cent price hikes two days in a row? You'd think Iran was parading nuclear weapons all over the country or something....

+ To William Howell of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition: Have you mailed that letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Arlen Specter yet? Did you call his Washington office first? The staff members tell me they usually take meeting requests by fax.

+ To Taylor County High School: It's nice to see you finally had a "Black History Month" program Wednesday - 15 days after the month ended. That Lifetime TV production on the prom which caused the delay was only a movie, you know....

+ To Phenix City Central baseball coach Ron Nelson: Congratulations on your 500^th career win! It must be satisfying to know compared with that high school down U.S. 431, you've never faced rumors of recruiting players from Columbus.

+ To the driver of a minivan with the Georgia license plate "SCRATCH": That's a nice Lincoln you have - so do you really want me to do that to it?

BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $2.38 at Citgo, Fifth and Veterans Parkway.... Publix bread for 99 cents, IF there's any left....and my alma mater Kansas to beat Bradley in the basketball playoffs, after watching plenty of tape about big bad Bucknell....

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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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14 MAR 06: KIA KRAZY

Instant Message to all radio stations between LaGrange and Auburn: I did some online checking Monday - and from what I can tell, there's still time to change your call letters to W-KIA.

Monday was the day the news sunk in for the Columbus and West Point areas. We're getting a $1.2 billion Kia assembly plant! Well, as long as Kim Jong Il in North Korea doesn't do anything foolish and desperate....

(Longtime blog readers will recall one of our first posts in 2003 declared a personal war on North Korea. Once Kia arrives in West Point, I will declare absolute victory.)

The Kia commitment is SO HUGE that Monday's Ledger-Enquirer had perhaps its biggest front-page headline since the 2003 attack on Iraq. The Valley Times-News sent a photographer to South Korea. And WRBL may be waiting for the Opelika-Auburn News to tell it what people there have to say.

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue will talk with reporters in Atlanta today about the agreement to bring the new car factory to Troup County. Perhaps we'll learn details about what must be the biggest "Kia package" since the Berlin airlift.

But did you hear Don Siegelman's reaction Monday to the Kia announcement? The former Alabama Governor called it a sad day for his state, and a "missed economic opportunity." Mr. Siegelman truly DOES need that education lottery - because he apparently thinks Lanett and Valley are part of Georgia.

Lanett and Valley seem to be thrilled with the news about Kia. Lanett City Manager Joel Holley called it "the fountain of youth" for towns struggling with mill closings. Be careful drinking that Kia water, though - it might be mixed with antifreeze.

Lanett Police Chief Ron Docimo said the Kia plant will allow thousands of job opportunities, which he hopes will stop crime. Apparently he never heard that old Johnny Cash song "One Piece at a Time" - about an auto worker who stole parts and built his own car.

Some people in West Point expressed concern Monday that their home will lose its "small-town feel" because of the giant Kia plant. That talk might stop once they sell their homes at inflated prices, and move to Hamilton.

It's been years since I drove along Interstate 85 past the site of the Kia plant. But someone who's been there says about the only things at Exit 2 in West Point right now are a gas station and a Travelodge motel. If I worked for Waffle House, I'd be on the phone with developers already....

But how much will Columbus benefit from a Kia plant in West Point? The closest Kia dealership to the factory site is Kia Autosport on Box Road -- and employees said they had a lot of phone calls Monday. So how much is Bill Heard offering to buy them out?

Officials from the Columbus Chamber of Commerce plan a trip to South Korea in the next month. They hope to gain one of the secondary factories supplying parts to the Kia plant. Too bad Char-Broil is outsourcing its jobs - because Columbus can't supply grill work now.

Becca Hardin of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce says Kia executives consider Columbus the "urban area" for the West Point plant. Officials in LaGrange might consider that a slap in the face. After all, they'll have a college football team this fall - and an interstate highway with no dead end.

Groundbreaking for the Kia plant is still six weeks away, but it's not too early to start the one-liners....

+ What's the favorite beer of a plant employee? A Kia-stone!

+ What are salespeople told before customers take test drives? "Be Kia-full out there!"

+ What do you call a Georgia native who works at the new plant? :Peachy Kia-n!

Now for other items which made news Monday:

+ The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer was sold, as Knight-Ridder announced McClatchy newspapers will buy the entire chain for $4.5 billion. If McClatchy has this much money to spend, maybe they can invest a little cash into developing newspaper ink which doesn't stick to your hands.

+ The Muscogee County School Board committed itself to build a new Rigdon Road Elementary School by July 2007. The board is reaching for technology grant money to build this school - so if there isn't a wireless Internet "hot zone," we may demand an investigation.

+ Major Steve Warren of the Third Brigade told WDAK radio the soldiers who returned to Fort Benning from Iraq were replaced by only one-third as many troops. Optimists will say that shows the U.S. presence in Iraq is being reduced. Pessimists will argue the new soldiers are three times smarter than ours.

+ A witness tells me WRBL morning anchor Tim Reid referred to fill-in weathercaster Blaine Stewart as a "meteorologist." Maybe Reid meant to call him a "METER-ologist" - you know, someone who reads meters.

+ "Crossover Day" in the Georgia House found Rep. Debbie Buckner giving an impassioned speech in favor of the "morning-after pill." She says women who are raped should NOT have to face pharmacists who "opt out" of dispensing it. I never realized every pharmacist in Georgia was a fundamentalist Baptist.

(This controversial bill in the Georgia House would give pharmacists the right to refuse to dispense abortion drugs for reasons of conscience. Women's groups claim the pharmacists' beliefs are being forced on them - so they want to force their beliefs on the pharmacists instead.)

+ On another matter, the Georgia House approved a proposed state law requiring e-mailers to warn you in advance if their messages are obscene. Well, we all know how successful the NATIONAL law about that has been....

+ The first case of mad cow disease in Alabama was confirmed on a small farm. So why kill the ten-year-old cow? If it's really mad, retrain it to work in rodeo bull riding.

+ My old alma mater Kansas canceled classes, after windstorms and a possible tornado damaged 60 percent of the campus's buildings. A call to a niece in Lawrence, Kansas checking on her well-being brought no response. But it appeared the most important building was spared -- and basketball practice went on.

COMING WEDNESDAY: E-mail about everything from the Riverwalk to Serbia....

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13 MAR 06: SUPER, TROUPERS

The big news became official Sunday night - Kia will build a big new auto assembly plant in the Troup County town of West Point. So if animals are allowed inside the factory, will they be Kia Pets?

The Ledger-Enquirer reported Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue was in South Korea Monday, signing an agreement which actually was worked out almost a month ago. The state is providing more than $400 million in tax incentives - so who knows how much money might be offered to keep Tim Hudson pitching in Atlanta.

Rumors first surfaced two weeks ago that West Point was in line to get Kia's first U.S. plant. In fact, some people went ahead and sold their property for the factory. I suppose if the rumors proved false, those people would have moved to the REAL location in Mississippi....

Then the evening TV news spotted a work crew last week, collecting soil samples from the proposed plant site. The crew members wouldn't say why - which may raise concerns there's some dirty dealing involved here.

The Ledger-Enquirer reports ground will be broken April 25 for the Kia plant in West Point. Don't the South Koreans realize that timing is a bit off -- three days late for Earth Day?

Kia will come to the economic rescue of West Point, which has lost a lot of mill jobs in recent years. In fact, if the factory isn't built quickly, there might not be any locally-made towels left for the workers to clean their hands.

The new Kia plant reportedly will bring an average annual salary of $50,000. The "over-and-under" of people turning in resignation letters at AFLAC today is 45.

While people in West Point probably are thrilled about a new industry coming to town, some old-timers may be shaking their heads with concern. A company based in South Korea will be the city's biggest employer - and yet lawmakers in Washington are making all that fuss about Dubai?!

The new Kia plant promises to bring at least 3,000 new jobs to West Point. But hold on a second - didn't General Motors and Ford recently announce plans to close factories in metro Atlanta? What's to keep those employees from moving down Interstate 85 and swooping up all the Kia jobs? Oh yeah, I forgot - Kia probably won't have a union.

Let's see who stands to benefit from Kia locating a plant in West Point:

+ Korean War veterans - who now can feel confident their service 50 years ago was worth something in the long run.

+ Knology, which has its main office in West Point. You won't mind a cable channel showing nothing but kung fu films, will you?

+ The Korea House restaurant on Veterans Parkway - as long as it opens a second location in Harris County.

+ GCW Wrestling - since Asian wrestlers who cheat by using karate and throwing salt always bring in a crowd.

While the Kia announcement is good economic news, I hope West Point and Troup County officials learn a lesson from this - and try to diversify the economy, by looking for other businesses to bring in. For instance, does Suzuki need a new motorcycle plant?

Now for other news from Selection Sunday (that's basketball language, if you don't know):

+ The Port Columbus museum marked its fifth anniversary with a weekend celebration called "River Blast." Why Sonic Drive-Ins don't sponsor this, I have no idea....

+ The selections for the NCAA men's basketball tournament found no Georgia teams making the field, while three Alabama colleges did. Will someone please repeat for me why Georgia coach Dennis Felton still has a job, if Ron Jirsa couldn't keep his more than two years?

+ Instant Message to Madman Dan at Bill Heard Chevrolet: Do you yell that loudly ALL the time, like you do in the commercials? Do you have a second job as a Pentecostal preacher?

LAUGHLINE FLASHBACK: This weekend's death of the notorious Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic reminded us of all the times we mentioned him in the LaughLine era, when we wrote for a national audience. Here's some of what we said:

2 Apr 01: Former Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic went to jail Sunday, after a tense weekend standoff at his home. Mr. Milosevic told authorities he'd rather die than give up his freedom. But try as he might, he couldn't find a white Ford Bronco to attempt a getaway....

Slobodan Milosevic pleaded NOT guilty Sunday to charges of government corruption, embezzlement and "abuse of power." That's technically true, of course. He abused Croatians, Kosovars, Bosnians - but NOT power.

Yugoslavian officials describe Slobodan Milosevic's jail cell as less than maximum security. For instance, he can receive donations of clothes and shoes. We assume Imelda Marcos can bring her lawyer as well, to offer advice.

It's not clear yet where Slobodan Milosevic will stand trial. Many countries want him tried at a War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. Right now, they fear Yugoslavia's government will try him in "the vague."

Former Yugoslavian envoy Richard Holbrooke told CBS News Slobodan Milosevic is a gambler: "He started four wars, and he lost them all." It's hard to believe such a big loser is getting so much attention - well, other than the Chicago Cubs.

3 Apr 01: Secretary of State Colin Powell approved 50 million dollars in extra financial aid for Yugoslavia Monday. This may set a record, as the biggest reward for a single arrest in U.S. history.

Many skeptics believe Yugoslavia's government finally arrested former President Slobodan Milosevic because U.S. financial aid was in the balance. So? That government simply did what any good county sheriff's office does - find a way to make its budget.

Yugoslavian officials displayed a number of weapons Monday, which supposedly were in Slobodan Milosevic's house. It included several rifles and hand grenades. Defense attorneys are prepared to explain Mr. Milosevic was preparing for a new career, hosting U.S. gun and knife shows.

Slobodan Milosevic now spends his days in an eight-square-foot jail cell in Yugoslavia. The former President has to get permission even to have a book! How is he going to reread "Mein Kampf," and figure out where he went wrong?

13 Apr 01: Doctors in Yugoslavia announced Thursday Slobodan Milosevic has NO sign of heart disease. Of course, it took them several hours to determine the former leader even had a heart at all....

Slobodan Milosevic was taken to a Yugoslavian military hospital Wednesday, claiming he had chest pains. Serbian doctors determined his only health problem is high blood pressure. We know how that happened - all the high pressure he put on Croatians, Bosnians and Kosovo Albanians.

Yugoslavia's Socialist Party wants Slobodan Milosevic freed from prison for health reasons. The party argues he's "exposed to unbearable conditions" - such as people actually criticizing him to his face.

Today's language lesson: if you ever forget how to pronounce the name of the former Yugoslavian leader, remember -- "Slobodan Milosevic" sounds a lot like "Slow me down for lots of fish."

29 Jun 01: Slobodan Milosevic was flown to a Dutch prison Thursday night, after Yugoslavia finally turned him over to a United Nations war crimes' court. We hear he wouldn't allow this until his new jail cell received a thorough ethnic cleansing.

Yugoslavia's government had talked of putting Slobodan Milosevic on trial in that country first - with a U-N trial later. The trouble is, the former President would have to get in line behind all the soldiers accused of "crimes against humanity." Twenty years is a long time to wait for a trial....

(Today's deep question: Is it only coincidence that the initials in Slobodan Milosevic's name can be turned into "S-and-M?")

The handing over of Slobodan Milosevic made some people angry in Belgrade. A few began shoving and beating television news crews in the streets. Apparently Yugoslavia has its own version of that new show, "Spy TV...."

ABC News noted by moving from Yugoslavia to the Netherlands, Slobodan Milosevic is "trading up." He'll have a bigger jail cell - and the Dutch cell comes complete with satellite television! Mr. Milosevic will have plenty of time to watch The History Channel, and check how he did compared with Adolf Hitler.

(Can you believe that - a prison where inmates can watch satellite TV? It makes us long for a channel that shows nothing but "COPS" 24 hours a day.)

2 Jul 01: The U.S. government has pledged 181 million dollars in aid to Yugoslavia - now that the government has turned over Slobodan Milosevic for trial. Mr. Milosevic has to be humiliated by this. He's accused in the slaughter of thousands of people - but he's still not as valuable as Alex Rodriguez.

Yugoslavia's Prime Minister resigned, to protest the surrender of Slobodan Milosevic for a United Nations war crimes trial. The Prime Minister called the turnover "illegal" - which is a bit like converting to animal rights after leading years of fox hunts.

Slobodan Milosevic reportedly called his family from his new prison cell in the Netherlands - and claimed he'd been kidnapped. At least we know where HE is. With too many Kosovo Albanians, we don't....

4 Jul 01: Former Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic went before United Nations war crime judges Tuesday -- and refused to have any attorneys represent him. Hasn't this man ever heard of Johnnie Cochran?!

Slobodan Milosevic used his preliminary hearing to make political statements. He declared the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal "illegal," since the members were not appointed by the General Assembly. The Milosevic trial probably WOULD be more
interesting if his judges were from Rwanda or Cambodia....

When a U.N. War Crimes Judge offered to read the indictment against Slobodan Milosevic, the former President replied, "That's your problem!" Wow, Mr. Milosevic is young at heart - about the age of a rebellious, wisecracking 15-year-old.

(It turns out the war crimes indictment was posted in Slobodan Milosevic's jail cell in the Netherlands for the last several days -- but that satellite TV had to be a lot more interesting.)

Slobodan Milosevic contended the only crime he committed was "standing up to NATO" in Yugoslavia -- and NATO countries are the real war criminals. He brings up a good point. WAS any U.S. pilot ever punished, for dropping bombs on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade?

19 Sep 01: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan toured "ground zero" in Manhattan - and declared that sort of terrorism "can happen anywhere." People across Europe heard this, and were thankful Slobodan Milosevic never bought an airline.

12 Feb 02: Former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial for genocide today.... [Mr.] Milosevic plans to defend himself against genocide charges -- without using any attorneys. It's probably just as well. He's the sort of fellow who wouldn't laugh at Johnnie Cochran's poems, anyway.

We heard one estimate that this United Nations trial for Slobodan Milosevic could take two YEARS. No wonder he decided against hiring defense lawyers. This is one time when courtroom interpreters will get paid the most money.

Slobodan Milosevic has given lengthy speeches at earlier hearings in The Hague. He claims the United Nations tribunal lacks the authority to put him on trial. That's strange -- Mr. Milosevic never asked who had the authority to kill all those Bosnians.

Have you heard about Slobodan Milosevic's list of possible defense witnesses? He wants former President Clinton to testify at his trial! [True] We doubt this strategy will work, since the jury's not full of middle-aged low-income women.

(Do you think Slobodan Milosevic will call Bill Clinton to the witness stand simply to lecture him? Bob Barr, Trent Lott and Kenneth Starr would hurry across the Atlantic to see that....)

15 Feb 02: Former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic began his opening statement in his genocide trial. Among other things, he claimed NATO's bombing campaign a couple of years ago hit more schools and hospitals than tanks. Then again, Mr. Milosevic probably asked for it - by ordering officers to park the tanks in "fire lanes."

26 Jul 02: A medical expert told the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic the former Serbian President has a severe risk of heart attacks. This shocked the courtroom in The Hague - since prosecutors have spent weeks trying to prove he was heartless.

22 Jul 02: Former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic was ordered to rest, after doctors at his war crimes trial found his blood pressure reading was "240 over 120." Boy, did we misunderstand this! We heard those numbers for Milosevic, and thought they were some sort of death count.

6 Sep 02: U.S. basketball hit another new low Thursday night. The team filled with N.B.A. stars lost for the second night in a row, and was eliminated from the world championships in Indianapolis.... Yugoslavia beat the U.S. basketball team 81-to-78 in the quarterfinal round.... Perhaps Yugoslavia had a special motivation to beat the U.S. team -- and posted pictures of Slobodan Milosevic in their lockers.

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12 MAR 06: CHILL BILL VOLUME ONE

How much stranger could the Kenneth Walker case be? The former deputy who shot Walker remains uncharged with any crime - while one of the Walker family's attorneys now could go to prison for years....

Which Columbus Saturday night newscast declared former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell was "off the hook" - even though he was convicted on three counts of tax evasion? You almost get the feeling some Democrat political activist put that on the screen.

After thinking it over, maybe the Columbus newscast's "off the hook" declaration is right after all. I expect Bill Campbell will receive probation for tax evasion, just as fellow Democratic Mayor Henry Cisneros did for several crimes in the 1990's. Cisneros is now a TV network executive - so Bill Campbell may get his own show on B.E.T.

There was no word Saturday on whether Bill Campbell would remain on the legal team of Kenneth Walker's family, in its huge civil suit against the city. There also was no word on whether David Glisson's attorney would demand Campbell appear at all future court proceedings in an orange jumpsuit.

It actually was a split decision late Friday, in the federal corruption trial of Bill Campbell. The former mayor was acquitted of corruption and racketeering charges, but convicted of tax evasion -- and if adultery still was against the law, he'd be facing a life sentence.

Federal prosecutors used the corruption trial to expose all sorts of sins about Bill Campbell. The steamiest one was that the former Atlanta Mayor cheated on his wife, with former Atlanta news anchor Marion Brooks. She moved on, to be an anchor in Chicago. He may move on to a federal prison in Alabama.

The Bill Campbell affair with Marion Brooks was the hottest rumor in Georgia journalism for years. I heard it from journalists in Atlanta, yet no one ever gave me proof to bring it out in the open. In short, there's no Matt Drudge in Georgia right now....

Marion Brooks admitted to the adulterous affair with Bill Campbell on the witness stand. Yet for some reason, her Chicago TV station never mentioned it in newscasts. Hey, that reminds me -- this week marks one year since the WRBL pregnancy discrimination trial.

(The Chicago TV station's web site even noted at one point its Marion Brooks biography was its most popular page. How many visitors were disappointed to learn she's now married and pregnant?)

Prosecutors used Marion Brooks and other witnesses to claim Bill Campbell accepted bribes while Atlanta Mayor, and used the cash for adulterous trips. What have we come to in this country, when credit cards are considered more respectable than cash money?

Would Columbus news media cover up a scandal involving a news anchor? Actually, there was one in the late 1990's - when former anchor Patricia Hargarten was arrested for drunk driving on Veterans Parkway. Let's just say there are times when the Ledger-Enquirer is allowed to break a story....

Several jurors in the Bill Campbell trial told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Saturday they came very close to finding him guilty of racketeering. But confusion about the date of a cash exchange saved him. It's a wonder Campbell didn't get confused about all HIS dates.

One juror told the Atlanta newspaper of the corruption charges against Bill Campbell: "we kind of figured he was guilty, but they couldn't prove it so we couldn't convict." That's funny -- "kind of figured" is good enough for right-wing radio talk shows.

Bill Campbell declared outside the federal court the acquittal on racketeering charges restored his honor. Apparently three counts of tax evasion are something everybody does -- but the Internal Revenue Service can only audit so many people at a time.

When Bill Campbell first was elected Mayor of Atlanta, the song played at his victory party was the soul classic, "Don't Mess With Bill." If there's a lesson from this seven-week trial, perhaps Mr. Campbell shouldn't do any messing, either....

But what will the family of Kenneth Walker do? It can't help your cause in a civil lawsuit to have an attorney at the table who's been convicted of felonies. But then again, it can't help the defense to have a law officer at the table who hasn't been able to find work for two years.

BLOG UPDATE: If you missed the MACE protest outside Carver High School this past week [8 Mar], pictures are now posted on the teachers union's web site. The pictures and captions are so self-promoting, they never mention the school principal still has his job.

The photo gallery reveals something I didn't realize - MACE actually staged TWO protests in Columbus this past week. A second one was held in an unstated location, demanding the firing of Muscogee County Superintendent John Phillips. If the group had given some advance notice, that might have drawn a big crowd....

There's even a photo of the protesters enjoying an "after the picket dinner" at the home of the father of MACE chair John Trotter. If mom and dad are cooking dinner, you have to ask why this union isn't protesting for pay raises.

Now for some closing thoughts from a weekend which feels more like May than March:

+ Potential developers examined plans to build a marina complex near the Oxbow Meadows science center on South Lumpkin Road. City officials say it will be called the "Oxbow Meadows Marina" - an announcement which must have ruined Al Fleming's dreams.

+ Russell County Constable Bob Schweiger made his second appearance on WRBL in three weeks, and claimed "armed gangs roam the streets at night" in Hurtsboro. In a town that small, an "armed gang" could be defined as two or three people.

(But this time, WRBL actually talked to someone else in Hurtsboro - and a local attorney accused Constable Bob Schweiger of having "racial tendencies." What does that phrase mean? Does he listen to country music all day?)

+ Alabama State Representative Albert Hall warned if anyone else takes his parking spot at the state Capitol, he'll deflate their tires. [True/WTVM] Of course, all you'd have to do is ask other lawmakers for help - as their hot air could reinflate them in no time.

+ Columbus High and Russell County had a long-awaited baseball showdown - at a tournament in LaGrange. Excuse me, but isn't there enough money in the city budget for extra staffing at Golden Park?

(Russell County won the big game 5-3 over Columbus, and a transfer student from Columbus scored one of Russell County's runs. But I want to check the box score for something else - how many times the transfers were caught stealing.)

+ GCW Wrestling featured a special guest appearance by "The Total Package," Lex Lugar. Some of us can remember when the "total package" meant a rental car for your vacation.

+ Instant Message to the driver of a Toyota 4x4 who passed me on Victory Drive with the Alabama license plate "HPY2BHR": NC2CU2.

BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $2.17 a gallon at Dolly Madison on Victory Drive.... milk for $2.50 a gallon at Spectrum.... and the Harlem Globetrotters to beat whomever they're playing today at the Civic Center....

COMING MONDAY: Our tribute (?) to the late Slobodan Milosevic....

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10 MAR 06: THE N.H.T.

If you watched "CSI: New York" the other night, you should understand our title. If you didn't, here's a clue - it has something to do with Opelika High School, a boxing match at the Trade Center, chicken tenders and fish sandwiches. No, high school students were NOT competing for lunch....

All these items are examples of "the Next Hot Thing" - or at least the promoters of these things hope they are. Just in time for spring, new ideas are bursting forth all over. And I'm not even including Blaine Stewart doing weather forecasts.

Let's take the items in order, starting with Opelika. The school board there voted Thursday to demolish the current high school, and build a new one. You can tell which cities do NOT have influential historic foundations....

Opelika City School officials had been talking about renovating the high school for about $10 million. Instead, they surprised the school board by proposing a new school costing about $20 million. Those officials can expect a call from Rigdon Road Elementary today, asking how they did it so quickly.

Because this is a city school district, a new Opelika High School will require financing approval from the city council. Let's see if the council learns a lesson from Columbus - and brings everyone together to gripe about how it wasn't given 24 hours' notice.

Opelika school officials say they decided to bulldoze the high school because several areas of it aren't up to city code. Take the school gym - where this season the basketball team wasn't even up to beating Auburn High.

Did you know some classrooms at Opelika High School don't have light switches? This district must have been VERY poor when the school opened - with no reason even to dim lights for filmstrips.

Opelika High School is 35 years old, and now school officials want to tear it down and replace it. If this seems strange to you, remember one thing - Atlanta's old baseball stadium was torn down in about 32.

Not everything will be torn down at Opelika High School. Some sections will be kept as is, including the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts - the place which staged "Our Sinatra" one night after the RiverCenter did last weekend, only it didn't have the budget to really tell anybody.

Since the new Opelika High School will be built on the site of the current one, there's going to be a challenge transition. Officials say they'll need about 60 portable classrooms to teach students for a year. These teenagers aren't smart enough to suggest a college faculty-style sabbatical.

(Can you imagine a high school made up of 60 portable classrooms? Former Governor Don Siegelman probably wishes the construction work started today, so he can pose in Opelika for a campaign issue.)

N.H.T. number two may have developed at the Trade Center Thursday - as two members of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce engaged in a mock boxing match. Whatever happened to those regular monthly cards at the Civic Center, anyway?

The boxing match was staged to kick off the Chamber of Commerce's annual membership drive. This year's goal is $102,000 - or 34,000 burgers, fries and frosties, if Wendy's caters the lunches for the next several years.

The winner of the Chamber of Commerce mock boxing match was Stella Shulman. I think she now advances to be the first "Great Championship Wrestling Diva."

The last two N.H.T. items really go together. Without planning it, I stumbled upon "Free Chicken Tender Day" Thursday at the Arby's on Manchester Expressway. I think the word "free" on the sign prevented an animal rights protest....

Arby's indeed was giving away chicken tenders to customers for eight hours. So of course, I HAD to change my plans and stop for a visit. Free food for a single guy is a no-risk version of "Win for Life."

I wasn't sure if the visit would bring an early dinner or not -- and it didn't. Arby's was giving out ONE free chicken tender per customer. That way, the restaurant saved on LEGAL tender....

With a little cup of ranch sauce which was far too much for this dipping project, the chicken tender was very meaty and nice. But something didn't seem right here. A traditional "roast beef sandwich" restaurant serving chicken tenders? Chick-fil-A doesn't dare sell hamburgers.

I'd been puzzling well before Thursday about Arby's adding a fish sandwich to its menu. Church's Chicken has done the same thing in recent weeks -- both places going against their traditional images. You almost want to ask if the fish they're offering were caught while swimming upstream.

So which of these N.H.T. candidates is most likely to be the REAL next hot thing? I'd guess Opelika High School is likely to win -- unless they forget to make part of the new building a wireless Internet "free zone."

BLOG UPDATE: Well, what do you know - some people actually LIKED the James Taylor concert at the RiverCenter. We received a lengthy note of praise about it Thursday. It was in the RiverCenter's e-mail newsletter, but still....

The RiverCenter's weekly "e-ssential news" described James Taylor's appearance as very nice and likeable. But the intimate format and display of photos by Taylor brought a comparison to "someone's goofy Uncle Carl." or was that a reference to his frequent breaks, as if he needed to use the restroom?

The RiverCenter's newsletter confirmed James Taylor used a videotaped chorus for some of his songs - and one member of the chorus was his wife. I do hope he doesn't have to write any cheating songs, when the tour's over.

Now other sharp notes (get it?) which passed our way Thursday:

+ Superior Court Judge Bobby Peters confirmed to your blog he's moved out of his First Avenue home, across the street from the Government Center. He's leased the house to attorney Alex Byars - but sorry, single ladies: I did NOT get the judge's new address.

(My regular drives up First Avenue are going to be MUCH more boring now. I can't check to see if Judge Bobby Peters has sold his classic Thunderbird - and my chances of meeting attractive "constituents" will go way down.)

+ Gas prices in Columbus took a surprising six-cent drop, to a low of $2.19 per gallon. It's nice to see I'm not the only one who isn't afraid of the President of Iran, Mr. -- how do you spell it? - Mr. A-madman-jihad.

+ The WLTZ-TV web site posted an e-mail from NBC, addressing rumors about an upcoming episode of "Will and Grace." No, it will NOT have a joke about eating "cruci-fixins." But then again, the fact that it's mentioned on the web site sort of defeats the purpose of the warning, doesn't it?

+ The Georgia Senate voted 55-0 to establish 500-foot limits on protests outside funerals. Please leave the arguments about the will for the attorney's office afterward....

(This bill is in response to the traveling protests by Fred Phelps's controversial congregation in Kansas. I didn't know until Thursday this group marched outside the funeral for Coretta Scott King, and declared she was in h**l with her late husband. I thought they attended Ebenezer BAPTIST Church.)

+ Auburn, Georgia and Georgia Tech all lost in conference men's basketball tournaments. We'd like to thank the Atlanta Hawks for setting them all such an inspiring example this past season....

. + Instant Message to whomever left an upside-down bicycle on one of the Benning Park racquetball courts: That's a clever hiding place, I'll grant you that. Or are you trying to bring Georgia's Governor down to Columbus, to get him hurt again?

COMING SOON: Is Columbus going to have too many books?....

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9 MAR 06: PUSH TO THE BRINK

When I heard there was a news conference Wednesday on the Kenneth Walker case, several thoughts went through my mind. Might the Walker family be ready to settle its civil suit against the city? Might civil rights groups dare to call another boycott - figuring sooner or later, one of them HAS to work?

It turns out the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition had something else to announce. President William Howell displayed a letter to the chair of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, asking for a meeting on the Kenneth Walker case. As if this civil rights group doesn't have paid Washington lobbyists....

Dr. William Howell hopes to meet with Senate Judiciary Chair Arlen Specter within a couple of weeks - and he says Rainbow/PUSH will take a "delegation" to Washington when that happens. So why weren't any local elected officials at the news conference? Is this "Poor People's March II?"

Dr. William Howell says his group has sent letters to the F.B.I., Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's office, seeking an indictment in the Kenneth Walker case. But he says the letters have "never been addressed." Apparent translation: they said no.

(Someone told me Wednesday if the letters have "never been addressed," that explains everything -- because you need addresses to get the letters delivered.)

In the words of Rainbow/PUSH's William Howell: "We are tired of writing letters, so we thought we would write a letter to the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee." If you're REALLY tired of writing letters, you might make a phone call instead....

William Howell is trying Senate Judiciary Chair Arlen Specter because he's "the person that controls the entire pot." So when in doubt, you try to get the Justice Department's funding cut -- and then it can't investigate plenty of other cases, much less Kenneth Walker.

William Howell admits he hopes a meeting in Washington with Sen. Arlen Specter will bring national attention to the shooting of Kenneth Walker 27 months ago. But S.O.A. Watch lobbies in Washington one day a year -- and it only gets national attention when Martin Sheen shows up outside Fort Benning.

I heard William Howell's comments and thought of one word - desperation. It's obvious he's run into closed doors, trying to get former Deputy David Glisson indicted or a new grand jury called. Now Rainbow/PUSH is in the awkward position of begging for a meeting with a fairly conservative Republican.

But hey, wait a minute! The son of Rainbow/PUSH national leader Jesse Jackson is a U.S. House member from Illinois. Why isn't HE twisting some arms for a review of the Kenneth Walker case? You'd think he'd want to keep up with Barack Obama....

A number of other questions were left in my head, after watching William Howell on the evening news:

+ Why weren't other civil rights leaders with him at the news conference? Are they waiting for the civil suit to go to trial - or are they all worried defense attorney Bill Campbell will be found guilty of corruption in Atlanta?

+ Has Rainbow/PUSH tried to contact area Senators, in their quest for an indictment? Alabama's Jeff Sessions is a Judiciary Committee member - but maybe Phenix City has too many Democrats for him to care.

+ Whatever happened to the appeal to Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker? Is he too busy looking for gas stations with $4.99 a gallon on their pumps?

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION was updated Wednesday night, and now thinks about city politics. As you may have heard, Mayor Bob Poydasheff is running for re-election. If you haven't heard that, he hopes to appear on radio talk shows about once a week from now through July.

I haven't heard anyone else announce a campaign for Mayor - so I came up with some potential candidates, and ask you which one might be most successful against Bob Poydasheff. You also can offer another name, or reject them all and give the Mayor a second term right now. Talk about advance voting, and early returns....

As for the old Big Blog Question about beer.... hey, what do you know! That's a B.B.Q. with beer! People tend to like that combination in Columbus....

But anyway: the beer question was unanimous - seven votes for cold beer, none for warm. One woman told me warm beer is like warm diet cola. I suppose both of them WOULD wake you to your senses.

One voter in the beer question smelled something fishy here, and left this comment:

Is this question part of a plot by Barry Merrill to avoid paying the electrical bill for keeping his beers cold? If he could convince everyone that warm beer was better, he could save enough to buy three more Dunkin Donuts franchises!

An interesting guess, but a wrong one. I've never met "B. Merrill," unless he came to my table during dinner without my knowing it. Besides, warm beer with spicy chicken wings probably wouldn't work too well.

I didn't realize B. Merrill owned the Dunkin Donuts shop next door to his restaurant on Manchester Expressway. They share a parking lot - and come to think of it, some people could spend hours there on weekend mornings. Wait in line for donuts, then walk over and get in line for lunch....

BLOG UPDATE: Blaine Stewart was back on weather duty at WRBL Wednesday - and now we know why. Your blog has learned News 3 is down to one healthy meteorologist. If Darren Stack gets his forecast wrong and gets caught in a rainstorm, this could be real trouble.

Sources in the know tell me WRBL Chief Meteorologist Jeff Donald is off the air due to surgery, and weekend weathercaster Bryan Bennett has left the station. We wish Bennett well on tour, at Lyle Lovett look-alike contests.

By the way, WRBL apparently has lost its nightly 7:00 p.m. news rebroadcast on WCGT. Now that the Christian Television Network owns TV-16, it's showing a talk show with Jim Bakker instead. I'm not sure this is a step up in credibility or not....

Now for other selected passages from the Wednesday news scroll:

+ The evening news spotted a work crew taking soil samples in West Point, on the site of a proposed Kia auto plant. But the workers refused to say why they were there. Maybe we're going to have a debate over Georgia's official state dirt after all.

+ Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue needed stitches on his eyebrow, after tripping and hitting a wall while playing racquetball. Maybe I've finally found a racquetball opponent - for the right-sized campaign donation, of course.

+ The Georgia Legislature marked "Peanut Butter and Jelly Day" at the state Capitol. A peanut mascot was there, along with pageant queens - but where was the "fair and balanced" coverage here? GPB's "Lawmakers" never interviewed anyone representing Smuckers jelly.

+ Instant Message to the Atlanta Hawks: Nice try with that spin, talking about having a 20-win season. Trouble is, you don't play college basketball -- you're in the N.B.A.

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8 MAR 06: MACE OUT OF PLACE?

The timing certainly threw some people - as a protest line formed Tuesday afternoon outside Carver High School. A few thought students had walked out of class. A few wondered if it had anything to do with the deadly shooting of a student. And a few probably figured the Carver-Spencer football game promotions were starting already.

But what happened outside Carver High School actually was none of the above. Six adults from a group called MACE came to Columbus from suburban Atlanta, to call for the firing of the school principal. But they were so orderly, police didn't need to use mace against them.

Most people in Columbus probably aren't familiar with MACE, but people in Atlanta might be. It's the "Metro Association of Classroom Educators" - and it is to schools a bit like what People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is to restaurants. Well, except MACE members don't wear bikinis....

MACE Chair John Trotter claims several Carver High School teachers have complained to his group about Principal Chris Lindsey. Who knows how long the picket line might have been, if the student complaints had been counted....

It's not clear to me exactly why Carver High School teachers are complaining about their principal. One protest sign shown on TV said, "Stop the Violence" - but c'mon now. Do they really expect Chris Lindsey to follow students to tire stores after school?

It's also not clear whether the MACE protest was in response to the shooting death of Carver High School student Taquan Pace last week. The demonstration didn't go on to Kendrick and Spencer High Schools -- so it couldn't have anything to do with the basketball playoffs.

I heard two different opinions Tuesday night about the MACE protest. One woman agreed that it's time for Principal Chris Lindsey to go, claiming he suspends students without any input from parents. The boy who brings brass knuckles to school might simply need them for metalworking class.

But a man told me Carver High School's Principal used to be an assistant principal at Shaw, and had no problems there. "Shouldn't we trust the school board to know the people it's promoting?" he asked. After the reassignment of Russell County High School's principal the other day, maybe not....

This man also was annoyed that an organization based in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville came down to Columbus to protest a principal. He likened it to Jesse Jackson's appearance last year at the big civil rights rally downtown. And come to think of it, does Fort Benning REALLY need all those extra soldiers?

A check of the MACE web site revealed it has concerns about other principals in Muscogee County schools. Two of them are listed as "administrators who need improvement," including Wynnton Elementary's Nancy Johnson. I thought she was keeping those historic artifacts very well....

(WARNING: the MACE site admittedly also uses some rough language, in describing one metro Atlanta school superintendent. Apparently the phrase which starts with "candy" is the opposite of "bootylicious")

MACE accepts the label "radical teachers' union," and seems ready to accuse any administrator who does something improper. In fact, principals are BARRED from joining the group. How can this union have long-term office space, without any principal - and negative interest on top of that?

E-MAIL UPDATE: We don't often get advance notice that a joke is coming, but this is an exception:

I know you enjoy a good laugh now and then, especially at my expense. So this should give you a good chuckle. Check out our noon newscast tomorrow. Particularly the weather segments.

Hope all is well!

Blaine

Yes, that was Blaine Stewart you might have seen Tuesday presenting the weather on WRBL. Instead of a "First Alert," this was a fourth option....

From what I saw, Blaine Stewart didn't do that badly with the weather maps and forecast. Who knows, he might be WRBL's next Mitzi Oxford - someone who's a meteorologist in name only.

Instant Message to another e-mailer who claims we "piggyback" a lot of our blog items from WRBL: Well, we find our material anywhere we can. Some days it comes from phone calls, some days from TV newscasts - and who knows, we may have a big expose coming on "Southern Views" magazine.

Now for other little piggies that ate roast beef on Tuesday - or at least I think that's how it goes:

+ Columbus Mayor Bob Poydasheff appeared on WDAK radio's "Viewpoint" talk show, and declared drivers who run red lights are "stupid." How many male voters can this man afford to lose, in an election year?

(Mayor Poydasheff was in a tough-talking mood, because he also declared S.O.A. Watch protesters "silly, and academically dishonest." Maybe he's trying to get his own talk show, in case he doesn't get reelected.)

+ Viewpoint host/Chamber of Commerce President Mike Gaymon declared last weekend's James Taylor concert "great." But Gaymon asked Mayor Poydasheff what he might do about people who bought large blocks of dozens of tickets. I'd suggest making them do the same thing for Columbus Catfish baseball games.

+ Port Columbus officials admitted they're going to add something they didn't want to have -- electronic "touch screens." Executive Director Bruce Smith explained today's museum visitors want to be entertained as they learn. That could explain why Big Bird never stands at a chalkboard on "Sesame Street."

(The Historic Chattahoochee Commission reports attendance at Port Columbus dropped 14 percent last year. But West Point Lake had more visitors - which must mean boaters no longer fear attacks by Union warships.)

+ WXTX "News at Ten" revealed the Landings Shopping Center on Airport Thruway soon will have a Fuddruckers restaurant. I've eaten at this chain in metro Atlanta and Myrtle Beach, and it's a fun place to eat gourmet hamburgers. But this is one time I hope the sign company spells the name right....

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7 MAR 06: SOUR BABY JAMES

Monday may well be the favorite day of the week for people to gripe and grumble. I've often wondered why more radio stations don't mark the end of the weekend by playing the Pretenders' song "Back on the Chain Gang."

I heard several people complain Monday about something unexpected -- the James Taylor concert at the RiverCenter. They said Saturday night's performance left them disappointed. They've seen fire and they've seen rain - and to them, this was more like a cold shower.

Since I didn't attend the James Taylor concert (I only jogged by the RiverCenter, during my five-mile run), I'm going on what the people who were there stated. One said he had $85 seats down front, and expected more than Taylor and one other musician. Apparently the only "light show" occurred when the house was dimmed.

(Come to think of it, I should have asked this man if the $85 seats are more comfortable than the ones in the balcony. Does the chair have extra padding? Is there a hidden footrest that folds out?)

This man admitted he wasn't familiar with most of the songs in James Taylor's first set. Someone should have told Taylor to stop learning new songs and quit making CD's about 15 years ago....

Another complaint was that James Taylor's sets were too short, taking a break after only a few songs. The man speculated the RiverCenter may require this, so it can sell drinks in the lobby. I think he was kidding, but....

Then there was the way the James Taylor concert ended -- with at least two "encores." One customer contended Taylor should have played another set of music, instead of milking the crowd in this way. But if he can get to the late-night party at The Firehouse early, why not?

"If you're going to quit at 10:30, fine," one concertgoer said -- but apparently James Taylor stretching out the encores did not impress that person. Of course, younger listeners might note Taylor stretches out ALL his songs. The doo-wop version of "Candy Man" was much easier for dancing.

Maybe the complaints go all the way back to how the RiverCenter handled the James Taylor concert. The Ledger-Enquirer discovered members of Taylor's fan club were offered tickets before the general public. If you didn't know better, you'd think President Bush was visiting Columbus.

But the box office record shows James Taylor's concert at the RiverCenter was a sellout. In fact, I heard one report of scalpers offering $150 for tickets on Broadway before the show. Trouble is, all the beggars there claim they want is a dollar for a cheeseburger.

Based on what I heard Monday, your blog hereby posts some suggestions for James Taylor. The next time he comes to Columbus, he needs to....

+ Have some good-looking dancers on stage. But don't borrow any from Motley Crue, or he'll get in trouble with police.

+ Learn a lesson from the "Sunny 100 FM" van which was parked outside the RiverCenter that night. Only play songs people know - and if they're Christmas songs, even better.

+ Lower the ticket prices, if he's going to have an acoustic show. Surely the top-floor rooms at the downtown Marriott can't be THAT expensive.

(BLOG BLAH BLAH: Did you attend the James Taylor concert? Write us with your impressions, good or bad.)

Now that we've showered a singer we love with - well, constructive criticism - let's move to items from Monday:

+ Gas prices across Columbus jumped about ten cents a gallon for the second week in a row. You can always tell it's spring when the cost of driving starts budding higher and higher.

+ Opelika police announced the arrest of four teens and young adults, who allegedly fired pellet guns at people along Pepperell Parkway. We'll see if any of them try the Dick Cheney defense - you know, that it was all an accident.

+ Alabama first lady Patsy Riley visited Lakewood Elementary School in Phenix City, and read kindergarten students the book "The Little Engine That Could." Then she went to Smiths Station and read for Republicans the horror story, "Help! There's a Roy Moore on My Ballot!"

+ Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue said he'll travel to Texas, and try to persuade AT&T executives to move their headquarters to Atlanta. While he's out, how about a side trip to Charlotte - to get on his knees, and beg NASCAR to change its mind about the Hall of Fame?

+ TV talk show host Montel Williams visited the Georgia state capitol, to discuss prescription drug assistance. Do you think he calls psychic Sylvia Browne before all his road trips, to check for flight delays?

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6 MAR 06: FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

Sunday marked the beginning of the end of an era, for telephone users across this area. AT&T confirmed it plans to buy BellSouth for $67 billion. For some die-hard Southerners, it must feel like the North is buying out the end of the Civil War.

If AT&T does what it did with Southwestern Bell/SBC and Pacific Telecom, the BellSouth name will disappear after a merger. It will only prove what many of us have feared for years - the era of the "Southern Bell" has passed.

The buyout of BellSouth raises some questions about future services. For instance, the company guarantees "DSL Fast Access" for $24.95 every month. Now that commercial guy in the plastic bubble may have run into a solid-gold razor wire fence.

One report indicated the buyout of BellSouth will mean the end of Cingular Wireless, as AT&T Wireless replaces it in a phaseout. That X symbol looked so flexible for so long - and now it may be headed for X-tinction.

The takeover of BellSouth will give AT&T a company with 360,000 total employees. Somewhere inside the AFLAC tower today someone will say, "We're working on that -- and we're taking applications from future downsized BellSouth workers now."

Executives with AT&T and BellSouth say a corporate merger will mean two billion dollars in savings per year. I didn't realize wireless roaming fees were that expensive these days....

The combination of AT&T and BellSouth will mean a combined 70 million long-distance phone customers, and about ten million broadband customers. If they can put the two together, Vonage might have grounds for an antitrust suit.

But some consumer groups fear AT&T is becoming too big, with the takeover of BellSouth. They note only three of the "Baby Bells" created in the 1980's will remain -- and the other two are Verizon and Qwest, which look like Chick-fil-A cows misspelled their names.

The takeover of BellSouth requires federal government approval, which could take as long as a year. In the meantime, when you hear the slogan: "listening, answering" - ask if you're saying a large enough dollar amount to get their attention.

Now let's clear the line, for other items from Sunday:

+ The 78^th annual Academy Awards were presented in Hollywood - and once again, Carmike Cinemas of Columbus didn't win a thing. What IS it going to take? The AFLAC duck doing a full-length feature film?

(Why do I have the feeling my friends and Pastor at church will whine for weeks about all the Oscars "Brokeback Mountain" won - and completely forget the Best Documentary award for "March of the Penguins?")

+ The Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Harris County revealed suspected arsonist Ryan Wright called him, to apologize for throwing a firebomb inside. Countless local churches may have held special counseling sessions this weekend for acolytes.

+ Minor league hockey's Gwinnett Gladiators in suburban Atlanta had a "runaway bride" bobblehead doll night. Only one thing was wrong with the doll I saw - she needs an afghan covering her head.

+ ABC Sports reported former Auburn University basketball player Marquis Daniels has all of Psalm 91 tattooed on his chest and stomach. If it was there while he attended college, the separation of church and state was only a T-shirt.

(Psalm 91 has 16 verses in it, so how long did this tattoo take? Did Marquis Daniels need to be kept in sedation overnight?)

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