Free Speech for 7-27-05


		Wednesday, July 27, 2005

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FREE SPEECH
Our Readers Sound Off

What do you really think? E-mail us your pithy opinions, your short takes on life in Fayette and environs, your gotta-get-it-off-your-chest questions or sound-offs. E-mails only to editor@TheCitizenNews.com.
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07-27-05

I sat here and read [The] Citizen July 20. I was without words as I read about the EMS fire service in Peachtree, because just yesterday I saw a fire truck show up to a house in my neighborhood with only one firefighter. I watched closely as another fire engine appeared and again I saw one firefighter on the engine. I then witnessed paramedics get out of their ambulance and put on their fire gear and go to work. I watched all night long as one by one fire service personnel worked diligently to save a house in my neighborhood that was burning. I could not believe that this city can only offer one firefighter per truck. I wondered if one of our elected officials’ houses caught on fire, how they would feel if only one firefighter showed up to their house. It seems to me that it is just a matter of time before a citizen or a firefighter is seriously hurt because this city could only employ enough EMS fire service personnel to man each fire truck with only one person. Think about it: it could be your house next.

My comment concerns traffic procedures following the fatality on Tyrone Road. When traffic was directed down Flat Creek Trail from Tyrone Road toward Ga. Highway 54, a traffic patrolman was desperately needed at the intersection of Hwy. 54 and Flat Creek Trail. Traffic was backed up through the Tyrone Road intersection. Drivers were making dangerous left turns across Hwy. 54 traffic after waiting for over 40 minutes. A traffic director could have solved a lot of this headache.

Thank you, Brian Doyne, for your service to our country. May God bless you and your family.

Thanks for your piece on local hero Brian Doyne. A lesser man like myself might be ready to throw in the towel after sustaining serious injuries. His desire to return to service is humbling to those of us who enjoy the freedoms won and defended by those of such valor.

A respected Georgia State Patrol officer and spokesperson once said, “When we see people breaking the law on the highway, we stop them and educate them.” Well, sir, since you put it that way, Fayette County needs a major university system.

This is long overdo. The clueless drivers in Fayette County, Peachtree City in particular, need some instruction and they need it now. I will deal with one issue per week so as not to overwhelm the “steering wheel challenged.” Lesson 1: turning right when there is a merge lane. When you are driving north on Peachtree Parkway, for instance, and you are turning right onto Ga. Highway 74, do not stop! There is a merge lane where you can pick up speed, check out the cars in your left side view mirror and merge in where it is open. If they wanted you to stop at the top of the ramp and wait until every car in the right lane passed they never would have put in the merge lane. Fail to handle this very simple procedure and that will be my horn blasting behind your sorry tailpipe.

To the three people driving east on Crosstown Road on Wednesday afternoon at 2:55 p.m. in a maroon four-door Chevrolet Lumina with Fayette County tag APG-6211: Wouldn’t it have been better to wait until you got home to throw your trash out of your car instead of along Crosstown Road?

The person who said they were a “cutter-in” at the I-85-Hwy. 74 exit towards Peachtree City, but would stop it if no one let him in and tailgated everyone to prevent him from cutting in, is either nuts, or this is just a statement or something to intimidate others. By the way, the same thing happens in the morning going to Atlanta where they play daredevil with the Fairburn crowd for the one lane on the left. If one stoplight missed will ruin your day enough to risk people’s lives, then get some Prozac, please.

Is the Peachtree City governing body serious about putting a “roundabout” at the intersection of Peachtree Parkway North and Walt Banks Road? I hope they consider the fact that McIntosh High School is only a block away. When those high school drivers come charging into that circular feature, the “roundabout” could most likely be identified with the name McIntosh Demolition Derby. As for the unfortunate folks who live in that area, there will be times (just before the start of the school day, just after the final school bell rings, and when commuters are going to or coming home from work) when these residents won’t be able to get out of their subdivisions and driveways. With the present four-way stop, at least these residents have a chance to enter the traffic in that area. The proposed “roundabout” is an issue which really needs a lot more discussion.

I wish that the marshals office would do their job and not try to do the sheriff’s job. When I see all the junk cars and motor homes on the side of the road (parked in the grass), I wonder what the marshals office is doing. I counted seven cars for sale on the side of the road going to work. It is starting to look like a used car lot on Ga. highways 54, 92 and 85. It’s a cushy little job they have, but I won’t be calling them if I have a problem. I will call a real deputy at the sheriff’s department. I had a neighbor build a junky outbuilding without a permit and parked several junky vehicles around it (this is a 300K subdivision). I called the marshals office and they said they could do nothing about it. What do they actually do on a day to day basis? I wish one of your reporters would spend one day with a marshal and see.

To the person who wrote “What is a progressive Democrat?”: Are you for real? To no avail I tried to look past your use of every hackneyed cliche, your inane and pejorative attempts at levity and your crass remarks about seeing a hooker and a transvestite waving an American flag on July 4. You state that this proves the “progressive Democrat” and ‘Nam vet were right in saying that Republicans haven’t cornered the market on being patriotic. You are so right. But you, sir or madam, have definitely cornered the market on ignorance and stupidity. But isn’t it great that we live in a country that allows even a prejudiced, ignoramus such as yourself to vent your spleen? If, by any chance, you are suffering from dementia or any other mental disorder, please accept my apology in advance.

Well, I can tell you what a “Progressive Democrat” is not. It’s not someone who makes sexist jokes, judges others, or “kneels to everything and stands for nothing.” It’s funny to me how all of the so-called “patriotic Republicans” do nothing but point fingers and lay blame about how this country is falling apart and yet it’s people like these that further the divide.

To the Vietnam vet who is now a Lib and resented the remark that Democrats are not patriotic, first I want to express my gratitude for your service and sacrifice. You weren’t the only one taken in by that Democratic president’s lies about why we became involved or why we weren’t allowed to win. And thank you for your current support of our fighting forces. I would guess you prefer to be called “Progressive” because everyone now knows that the term “Liberal” is a euphemism for “Socialist,” which is just a lightweight Communist. Since they can’t get their “progressive” policies passed at the ballot box, we are now in a pitched battle over the judiciary, their last ray of hope to destroy our constitution, rule of law, living standards and way of life. That’s why that bumper sticker couldn’t have been proudly displayed by a Dem, unless the owner was like a Zell Miller or Joe Lieberman. And remember, sedition is neither “protest” nor patriotic.

After reading Charles Ballard’s wonderful letter, it has occurred to me that I owe Scott, our district attorney, an apology. I now realize that I was wrong to slander him the way I did. I voted for Scott because I thought his predecessor, Billy McBroom, was the worst thing to happen to Fayette County since Sherman’s March. Also, I knew that Scott has an outstanding legal reputation and a good heart. I was, therefore, initially disappointed to see that he had “testified for a child molester.” Upon reading the older Ballard’s letter, I soon realized that Scott went out of his way to do what was legally and ethically sound. Ballard led a prayer group. In this group was a sick man named Jeff Allen who violated is parole. Ballard was subpoenaed by Allen’s attorney, which meant that he was required by law to appear before the court and give a truthful account of progress Allen made in his prayer group. He did exactly what the law required of him, and appeared in court as a private citizen. It appears that he then told the court that Allen was a religious man who was striving to improve as a human being. He did NOT try to “get Allen off.” If Scott really did think that Allen had made some progress, it would have been perjury for him to tell the judge anything else. I suppose when I was criticizing Scott Ballard, I would have preferred for him to commit a criminal act. Now that would have been a real scandal! Maybe the individuals attacking Ballard’s actions would have preferred for him to lie under oath about his observations as a prayer group leader, lose his license to practice law, pay a fine, and serve a jail sentence. I feel really stupid for attacking Ballard without knowing all the facts. I should have known that Scott Ballard, and a loving father to his two children, would never do anything to put our kids in harm’s way. Scott, from reading the papers, it appears that you are doing a great job cleaning up Billy’s mess. After only a few months in office, you already have a lot of victories under your belt. Ignore the Free Slander and keep up the good work!

Shocked and stunned I am! To reply to the trial lawyer that obviously spent some time trying to dig up some trash on District Attorney Joe Mulholland and defend Scott Ballard’s inexcusable defense of a convicted child molester, then maybe you need to hone your Googling skills. So a campaign disclosure form wasn’t filed by Mulholland. Without opposition, perhaps you don’t have to file a disclosure if no money was raised. Duh! As to your accusation that DA Mulholland can’t convict a sex offender, then I reference you to the June 21, 2005, news report by the Albany news station WALB-TV that reports the conviction and 20-years-behind-bars sentence that Leslie Cannon was sentenced to for sodomizing boys. Sounds like he nailed that guy. DA Mulholland also got our local child molester Jeffery Allen put in jail after our DA Ballard has kept him out of jail for years. Looks like Mulholland got Scott’s boy Allen on the case where Ballard went out of his way to get his molester friend off the hook. Ouch! Looks like that’s at least two for District Attorney Mulholland. As for your other point, I will take Mulholland’s youth and courage to do the right thing over Ballard’s age and so-called wisdom. What does age have to do with doing the right thing anyhow? Oh, well, I’ll patiently await the next episode of Ballard vs. the children.

If I have to make a choice on the battle between the DAs on the child molester issue, then the choice is easy. I choose the DA that defends children, not convicted perverts.

To those of you who wrote in defending the PTC mayor’s comments on the drowning death of the Peachtree City youth: the only excuse I could think of is you must be as callous and insensitive as he seems to be. Oh, and I don’t vote in Peachtree City, for your information.

Steve Brown showed a lot of class in his letter about how the AJC retracted the statements in their story on the Clarke [drowning]. The AJC statements differed with the other printed accounts that I read. While the others verbally spit on him and scoffed at him, the mayor thanked the reporters and forgave those that attacked him. We have a “Matthew 5:44” mayor and I only pray that he leads us for another four years.

OK, folks. Enough on Steve Brown already. Either you love him or you hate him. Our minds are made up so just shut up and drop it already. Same thing with Wingo.

It’s amazing we don’t have 400 candidates vying for the position of mayor since so many write in to Free Speech to inform the rest of us of what a miserable job Mayor Brown is doing. I wouldn’t run for mayor of this city if the salary was half a million a year. If you don’t like the job he is doing, get off your computer and run for the position yourself.

The near-illiterate buffoons who ripped Steve Brown in the Free Speech section need to get a life (a good and decent life). The Atlanta newspaper recalled the statement in their article, so go eat a crow sandwich and try to find some other petty things to nitpick about. We finally have a mayor and council that cares about the average citizen.

It is absolutely pathetic that the old Soviet-Bob Lenox-era cronies are employing the lowest political tactics possible by using a dead teenager because they lack any real issues. They started by creating their own political action committee and it totally flopped. They later rallied around a dead banker that made loans to the local development authority under the table and they looked like complete fools. Now they are prostituting a teenager for political gain for comments that were withdrawn by the newspaper. If this is all they can do to defeat an earnest mayor in November, they will surely lose.

I still can’t get over the miserable person that jeered Mayor Brown for saying that he loved his citizens. I ask the writer to consider following his lead instead. My family has lived in the city for 18 years. We have seen elected officials in our county that keep taking and it is nice to have one that truly gives for a change. Think about it. Steve speaks to people in the grocery store line, he has a heart for our teenagers and he helped the woman on my street get a new roof for her house. I’m not asking for the sour grapes people that fell out of power to shut up. However, I will ask you to consider why you fell out of power in the first place.

I see that Steve Brown might have found a job he might be good at: making waffles at Waffle House.

I would like to bring this to attention to the man on the motorcycle that yelled at me on Crosstown. I am quite aware of the fact that golf carts are not allowed on certain streets; I was not on it by choice. We were on the street because there were three dogs that were chasing us. You made matters worse by yelling at me; my 3-year-old was already scared from the dogs. Then you came up behind us and begin to scream at me about being in the street. It obviously never occurred to you that maybe we needed some help.

Quote from July 20 Free Speech: “I think you need a mental institute to go sit in for awhile to see if you have any brains to be left out with the public.” That’s the problem. Too many people have left their brains out with the public.

Intoxicated KKK members just out of prison don’t go to the Fourth of July parade in Peachtree City. They lurk along the secluded golf cart paths. I saw one of these ex-cons attired in bright neon colors (neo-con) waving an American flag. Was it a Republican or Democrat?

To the writer who went on a tirade against the person who wrote about the July 4 festivities: I went back and reread both his item and yours. You suggested he is an alcoholic or a member of the Ku Klux Klan and told him he needs to be locked up in a mental institution for life. I am not acquainted with either you nor the original letter-writer but, of the two, you are in much more need of mental health care and I sincerely hope you get it. Take a look in the mirror, friend.

Unfair judging of the golf carts at the 4th of July celebration? What message does this send our youth? A lot of those were decorated by them and a lot of time, planning, and effort went into those, only to be cheated by the “Good Ol’ Boy” policy. Keep it up and pretty soon the only ones bothering to decorate will be those “Good Ol’ Boys” and what a pitiful parade that will make.

What is with all the teenagers and kids hanging out at [a coffee house] at night? There must be at least 50 to 60 cars at any given time past dark. We went up there to get coffee and didn’t even go in because there was such a crowd. I could understand if they were in the coffee shop, but they are in the parking lot smoking cigarettes, flipping birds, and screaming profanity at other cars racing through. Some of the kids hanging out there don’t even look old enough to drive. We sat and watched as an elderly couple walked up to the door to go in and there were three young guys walking behind them throwing ice at them. Nothing will happen and no one will say anything until a crime is being committed; then it will all go away. How about preventing that? I bet all these kids paint their parents a picture of just having a latte with friends. It is just sad.

Two things: First, the first year of integration of Fayette County schools was not in 1970. It was 1967. Nor were most of the parents farmers; nor were most of the roads dirt. We were, contrary to popular belief, at least a little civilized here and got along just fine before the great exodus to our county from Atlanta, East Point, etc. We did manage to get by and had a wonderful life here, despite all of the great advice from you “move-heres.” Second, you folks who are bellyaching about the nepotism in the school system: zip it. You are just trying to get these folks out of the jobs so you and your cronies can get in.

The [writer] that keeps venting about our fine tax commissioner, George Wingo, is wasting his time. Mr. Wingo has the confidence of the citizens of Fayette County and his loyal employees. Get over it.

I am not related to Greg Dunn nor do I know him personally, but I respect this man for standing up for what is right and knows what really is going on with the Sheriff’s Department. The person who wrote to Free Speech a couple of weeks ago about Greg Dunn and standing tall Randall Johnson and good ol’ boy Bruce Jordan (not Jerdon) is confused. You claim Mr. Dunn has “planted” statements in Free Speech about the department, but, boy, are you wrong. I have written a few true statements about your “great” department and so have others. Truth hurts. You stated your superiors have instructed you to ignore the facts people write in Free Speech about your “great” department and maintain the high road. Which path have you chosen? One problem this department seems to have among many is the fact that employees are dictated to and brainwashed. The trouble with this place is a lot of people are afraid to speak the truth about [things] that have been going on for years around here and it is about time things change. Like I have said in the past, if you put your name out there, certain higher-ups threaten to sue you, so for the time being I will remain anonymous. By the way, I am not Greg Dunn.

People who resort to name-calling in a Free Speech society are extremely lacking in creativity and suffer significantly from a diminished sense of humor. In addition, they fail to realize that the abundance of cheesy and irresistible bait they cast provides good entertainment and drives bottom feeders into a feeding frenzy.

I notice that plenty of people write in to criticize the Peachtree City Police Department’s short-comings in areas such as cart path patrol and traffic enforcement in the Hwy. 54 West area. What I find interesting is that nobody speaks up about the City Council denying them the three new positions they asked for so they can fix these problems. I worked in municipal administration for 12 years in another county, and what I find worst about this situation is the councilman’s absurd reasoning for denying the request. According to this paper’s article, he cited a 17 percent decline in DUI arrests, and some high percentage decline in traffic citations as a demonstration that the department does NOT need more officers. It’s common knowledge, especially in city management, that a decline in proactive statistics (i.e., citations and DUI arrests) results from an increase in calls for service (i.e., calls from citizens). So I checked with the city’s statistics. Sure enough, calls for service are up. Sounds to me like our fine councilman is making our streets less safe by denying the department’s attempts to retake that extra 17 percent of drunk drivers that are now getting away. And another thing, he also said that the department just got three new officers. Well, I checked on that too: wrong again. They hired three replacement officers in the last few months, but got no new positions. So before you complain, realize that we live in a democracy and your place to change things is at city council meetings, not newspaper articles. Go and make these officials take responsibility for their statements and keep the community’s best interest in mind. I’ll see you there.

Some doctors and ministers in Fayette County wisely advise elderly ladies not to go to the Pavilion alone. I’m a scarred and crusty old foreign-war vet and I would advise doctors and ministers not to go alone.

I always appreciate the Rev. John Hatcher’s views. With regard to singing: I remember reading that St. Augustine, when he was a bishop, used to tell the congregation that when they sing they pray twice. In my lifetime I have often heard priests tell the people that singing in church is like praying twice.

Today I realized why I don’t attend church. My sister this past Sunday was shopping up at [a supermarket] in PTC. While in line for the express check out a minister and his wife walked past her. His comment to his wife was, “Doesn’t look like 10 items to me.” No, sir, it wasn’t. It was 15. My sister has her receipt to prove it. And I believe she told you why she was standing in the express line. It was to get back to my parent’s home where we are trying to get my mother back on her feet. Who, by the way, takes care of my father who has severe dementia. My sister was trying to help my mother with what she needed done since my mom’s too sick currently to take care of herself. We are what church is supposed to be about. We are there to support one another. To show compassion. To take care of family. We don’t go and ask people to feel sorry for us. We try not to ask for help. We do it ourselves because that is what you do when you believe in the Lord and you love your family. NOT walk around with a collar on and PRETEND you are a minister and that you are good because you wear that collar. Mr. Minister, you need to revisit the Bible and learn that if you are going to talk the talk, you should learn to walk the walk. You as a minister judged her by having five more items than she needed in the express checkout lane? You are sad. You make a sad statement for the church. I’m glad my church is in my heart. People like you can’t distort it.

We expect “religion” or faith, or prayer, or church, or attitude, to save our soul even though we know under certain circumstances we do not intend to live piously. We use the excuse of being human and weak to have the best of both worlds. Today, the Iranians admitted that even though the “church” runs their country, that prison officials routinely torture prisoners for information from them. It is, of course against the law, as it is here, but that law is just to let our supreme know we have a law. Can you imagine Jesus, Gandhi, Mohammad, Confucius, or Buddha looting and killing and bombing both innocent and non-innocent people to straighten them out? It must be that we think that if we win, our supreme is on our side and all is OK. If we lose, then another time will be more important for us to win. I suppose that was what the Crusades were all about a thousand years ago? And, what the Muslim conquerors thought when they killed millions? I just hate to see the Creator’s creations making excuses for selfishness.

I have to agree with the writer who feels the Free Speech section of this paper is poorly handled. I think I’ll be sticking with the Vent and the AJC from now on.

Peeples Elementary, watch out. You are getting one of Clayton County’s “finest” teachers, and, yes, I am being sarcastic.

Can we fight a full war in Iraq and at the same time here in Fayette County go about our business as if there wasn’t one, except to tell war protesters to shut up. The military is the only one sacrificing for this war. Tell me one person here other than military families who is sacrificing anything to win this war. No rationing, no war taxes; just more debt, no solutions to what our army will be like soon from being wore down with three years of war and certainly at least three more if we are to win anything. So many stupid mistakes were made prior to the war and even worse ones since (shock and awe: bull) that it doesn’t look good.

Our Harvard MBA, self-described war-time president, and leader on all tough decisions is sure showing his true character now. He is silent, and absent from following through on his promise to take swift and decisive action on those in his administration who participated in the outing of a CIA agent. His apparent flip-flops, poor leadership, and abuse of public trust are an embarrassment to the office that he holds. He should clean up his administration from all appearances of corrupt power, and quit passing himself off as our commander in chief. It is readily apparent that the first thing Mr. Bush does, after getting up each morning, is to deftly attach the strings to his body and brain that Dick Cheney and Karl Rove yank on throughout the day.

It appears that there is only one person in the White House who does not know anything about secret details of an undercover CIA agent and who leaked what to whom. The fact that Mr. Bush has no knowledge is consistent with his grasp of all other relevant issues at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The three boys who suffocated in a car trunk in New Jersey recently, just feet away from where they were playing at home, now are believed to have lived maybe 17 hours. The little girl in Florida who was held in a trailer next door to where she lived for several days, and then buried behind the neighbor’s trailer also is thought to have lived the whole time and maybe was buried alive. This brings up all kinds of stupidity questions, none of which has anything to do with these few cruel people who populate our churches, our youth organizations, and released convicts. How can one not check out that car trunk? How can one not check out the inside and back of that trailer? No excuse is acceptable. Incompetence has shagged our whole heritage.

07-20-05

I have never been a fan of Mayor Steve Brown. He seems to perpetually have his foot in his mouth and he seems to have a way of expressing himself that infuriates people. Replies to his statement regarding the unfortunate drowning of the young Clarke boy bears this out. As a parent and grandparent my heart goes out to the family. Danen sounds like a wonderful young man from a great family. To me this makes what happened even more tragic. I truly believe children are given parents to make decisions for them that they may not have the maturity to make. Whether or not your child loves the water, loves to swim, etc., there is no reason for anyone to be out in the sort of weather we were having. We were experiencing thunderstorms and flashes of lightning. Being on water during lightning strikes is only asking for disaster. When flooding occurs there is no way to really know what is under that water-downed electrical wires, etc. Unless there are circumstances to prevent it, or unless you are with the fire department, police department,or utilities companies, the place to be is in your home or other secure area. This is truly a very, very sad situation but if we are being honest, we will have to admit that it is a tragedy that could have been avoided. Let’s hope and pray that it will make other children and their parents aware of the dangers out there.

OK, enough of blaming the mayor for everything wrong in this town. It’s your turn to put the blame on yourselves for something that goes wrong in this town. Most of the citizens in this town are self-centered people. I have been a neighbor of Mayor Steve Brown for the last seven years and I do know that Mayor Brown isn’t one to be self-centered. Mr. Brown is a caring person, and is a great father to his young daughters. Why would he not be the least bit concerned about our community? The tragedy that happened was heart-breaking for everyone but he, being 18 years old and just graduating high school, should have had the knowledge not to play in the bad storm. Also the media has a lot to do with your option on our city leader. Mr. Brown has been victimized by his town being called an “insensitive oaf.” I think that this town needs a reality check and learn a few lessons in life. I’m just 20 but I have noticed that my open mind has been a key in growing up. The mayor of this town isn’t always to blame for everything wrong with your life, it just might be you that is in the wrong. If this town is so bad and if you really feel like the mayor is to blame for every problem you have in life, it’s simple: move out of town. My lesson for this town is, “Point a finger at someone [and] four come pointing back at you.”

The “Brown” eradication is now imminent. Clearly Brown’s recent insensitive comments in the AJC regarding the unfortunate accidental death of Danen Clarke exposes his true colors to all concerned. It is sad and unfortunate that it has taken such a tragic event such as this for people to finally see him for what he really is. The citizens of this city are completely exhausted from the past three-plus years of Mr. Brown’s reign as mayor. I would strongly encourage all PTC citizens to vote in the next election and rid the city of this pathetic politician.

In defense of Mayor Brown, no one should have been out, especially “playing” in water, during a lightning storm. Common sense should have been shown by someone. Teenagers think they are invincible and it is up to the parents or responsible adults to do the thinking for their children at times, especially in dangerous conditions. Mayor Brown was merely stating the obvious. It is sad that someone lost their life, but it happens everyday due to people making poor choices.

Well, Mayor Stevie, you’ve gone and done it again. Blunder after blunder and you wonder why in the fall you will only be a dental assistant, again. A young man dies and you express yourself once again as the self-serving, underachieving politician that you have been for many years. Now, maybe the good citizens of PTC have heard enough. They may now say you shouldn’t have been mayor in the first place and we should have know better. Reelect no one.

The mayor’s remark about the foolishness of anyone swimming in flood waters seemed to upset several people. For the mayor to say only nice things about the unfortunate young man now, and then, of course, later say that the town couldn’t condone such behavior, is all right for ordinary citizens who want to be nice. The mayor is the chief law officer of our city and must make these tough decisions sometimes for us. I don’t know it for a fact, but I’ll bet you he has said how much he regrets the drowning to the family more than any of us. Facts are facts and handling them nicely and appearing to condone bad situations as a leader isn’t the direction we need to go. The exact facts in this case would also help. How many were actually swimming in the water? Was the young man, who heroically tried to save the other one, swimming also, or standing by and only jumped in to try to find him? How many adults were there, and why? Folks, it ain’t easy losing a child, but it ain’t easy being a mayor either. Too bad someone didn’t run them all home earlier.

I can only imagine how frustrating it is to be a young newspaper reporter having to cover the pronouncements of Peachtree City’s pseudo mayor. The mayor makes one of his frequent inappropriate comments and when it gets reported in the paper, he claims that’s not what he said. Then he bullies the newspaper into printing a retraction. At least the television news, which had basically the same coverage of the mayor’s comment, had their report on video tape. And, hopefully, the newspaper reporters will start taking along tape recorders when they interview the mayor.

How sad: an avoidable tragic death of a young man and an overzealous TV and print media who hunt down the mayor for comment. The mayor speaks the truth as he seems to be one of the few honest politicians around. Then the handful of Mayor Brown detractors, all four of them (and Sallie Satterthwaite, too) use this opportunity to bash the mayor. They should be ashamed.

Thank you, Mayor Brown, for saying the truth. I am sorry a young man has died, but really, when you do something stupid, you pay for it. This young man was not having a picnic with his father when he jumped into a lake to help a drowning victim. No, the boy and his father were playing with others in a sewer or drainage ditch during a major storm, while most of us were huddled in our houses hoping tornados don’t destroy everything we own. Yes, I am sorry his family has to deal with his death, but it was he and his father’s choice to participate in such an irresponsible activity. I will save my pity for the innocent victims of accidents.

This is in response to our lovely mayor’s comment regarding the death of Danen Clarke. I feel his comments were very rude. How about telling the family of this 18-year-old boy how sorry you are for the death of their child. They did not need to hear the comment, ”This is one of those situations where there are certain things you shouldn’t be doing in severe weather.” No DUH! But weren’t we all kids once? I don’t think he was sitting there saying, “I better not do this because I might hit my head on the pipe and something terrible could happen to me. He was out in the rain having a good time in the water. Yes, terrible things could happen, but this tragic event might not have happened if we had a better drainage system and possibly a grate over these huge culverts. Next time something tragic happens here in Peachtree City, Mayor, be a little more sensitive to the family members, and don’t open your mouth with stupid comments about not being outside in severe weather. By the way the police, firefighters and dive team and the rest of you who aided in the help of finding him did a terrific job. Thank you for your support and comfort to this family.

Steve Brown’s interview with the Kicks Country Radio Show was a real hoot. It amazes me how he maintains such a great sense of humor with those spoiled brats always biting at his ankles. They’re afraid of honest people in politics. It hurts their bottom line.

Steve Brown’s political epitaph: “I should have known better.”

What a low point to come home from vacation and read how a drowned boy was used as a political hate tool. They did not like a comment that was made, then say so. However, the true motive comes out when they say that they are not going to vote for the mayor. The sickening political action committees and thugs of days gone by will say literally anything to run the mayor out. Corruption does, in fact, breed hatred and the good old boys have proven that beyond the shadow of a doubt.

PTC residents, liven up those Friday nights with this new game! Once you’re safely at home, gather the week’s issues of The Citizen and AJC. Count how many times Steve Brown gets quoted, and take a shot of your favorite beverage. Take a double shot for every time he tells us he loves us, and if that’s not enough to make your head hurt the next morning, add in the number of times Murray Weed reminds us lesser folks at City Council meetings that he’s a lawyer. Remember, don’t play and drive.

When will elected officials ever learn? Our Constitution clearly states that every citizen has the inalienable right to engage in acts of stupidity and carelessness as often as they desire. Some have this compelling urge far more than others, and they’re much better at it, too. And furthermore, it’s the responsibility of governments at all levels to protect citizens from hurting or eliminating themselves while exercising their Constitutional right to be careless and stupid. Here’s the part that gets so many elected officials in trouble. Even though Free Speech is a major Constitutional right, it becomes null and void, and detrimental, in our present society when used to illuminate acts of carelessness and stupidity in times of tragic disaster. This is where a superseding document far more powerful than our Constitution comes into play. It’s the National Political-Correctness Manual recognized and accepted nationwide by the We’re-Offended-at-Everything Society. Even if the elected official speaks the truth, if his timing violates this no-exception rule it will more than likely result in his being tarred and feathered in the hallowed columns of Free Speech. Remember the slogan: “Thin skin is in. Touch our thin skin and we’ll do you in.”

Re: Ballard testifies for child molester. Apparently Mr. Ballard is confused about his new role as an elected district attorney. He is supposed to protect his community and to seek justice for crime victims. He bears that responsibility 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Trying to justify his conduct by drawing a distinction between his public and private activities is ridiculous. Mr. Ballard, that tactic didn’t work for Bill Clinton, and it’s not going to work for you. Mr. Ballard, in your attempt to do the right thing, did you speak with the officer Allen fought, or with the woman Allen harassed, or with any of Allen’s other victims before deciding to testify for Allen? Apparently not. So much for seeking the truth. I look forward to your next campaign, in which I’m sure you’ll tell your voters that it’s perfectly OK for a district attorney to testify on behalf of a criminal defendant as long as he thinks the defendant is a nice guy. Good luck.

Shocked and stunned I am! DA Mulholland who was so quick to question our respected DA, Scott Ballard, is 28 years old. This guy Mulholland has a lot of learning to do. He received his law degree four years ago (2001) and I suppose the only reason he was elected was because he ran unopposed. According to the Secretary of State Web site, he didn’t file a campaign disclosure form. I say, let’s research this guy. If you Google Joe Mulholland, one will find that he can’t convict a sex offender.

Let me remind the readers, Mr. Ballard was elected to his position. Which means the next time he runs for any position he will be remembered as the elected official that stood up for his friend in a time of need. But hopefully we will all remember that friend as a “convicted sex offender,” not alleged or suspected, but convicted. Also that he was fighting with a police officer while on his 40-year probation sentence. I am assuming that a 40-year probation means there wasn’t a lack of evidence in his trial. If these are the people that District Attorney Ballard wishes to represent maybe he should be on the other side of the courtroom. He has let down the entire judicial system, law enforcement officers of Fayette County and anyone who voted to put him office.

I thank Scott Ballard for doing what he thought was right as a person, Christian and friend. If more people were like Mr. Ballard, the world would be a much better place. To all of those who are wishing he did not stand up for his friend in trouble, I hope and pray your perfect children never do anything wrong because you certainly don’t want Mr. Ballard to speak of their character.

To the person who requested more credit checks and background checks for renters, please think before you type. Someone could have perfect credit, be an upstanding member of a community, and still be a rotten parent behind closed doors. In my day we called this “closet abusers.” It’s not always what you can get from background and credit checks, but what you discover when you take a larger responsibility in the properties you own. Yes, the “parents” in this case were to blame for the conditions of their house, but the property owner should be kicking himself in the rear right now for not being more attentive to his own investment.

I have recently learned of a sex offender living in Tyrone. He is being deployed to Iraq soon. I am requesting that your newspaper publish a new sex offender each week that you locate from the local police authorities or GBI. I strongly feel this is needed to alert the public to this terrible injustice being done to our children. I am saddened that our future generation will never have the opportunity to enjoy the freedoms that we enjoyed as children.

To the person who was displeased with the Tyrone police: Chief Hay is a good guy. He is given a budget by Barry Amos and his assistant Valerie and he has to make do with that. I agree with you we need more police and detectives and we also need very badly an additional narc. In Fayetteville, a town of about 10,000, the police chief wears two hats: chief and the assistant town manager. That saves them money and lets them hire more police. Here, in a town of less the 4,000 people, Barry Amos, the town manager, has his own assistant manager. The two of them then have another assistant hired in the summer to help them, and as you have probably read, they are in the process of hiring the two of them some more help, that being the mayor of Union City. So we have three other people on the payroll to help Barry Amos. Because the town manager and his assistant are so overworked, they just got a 6 percent raise. The police who protect you only got 3 percent. This last budget was the largest the town has ever had. Nothing was set aside for the police to hire any more people. It seems the town of Tyrone doesn’t see that as a money maker. I would also like to point out that the last couple of police cars was funded by the police department by drug busts, not the town of Tyrone. To keep our kids from being stalked by drug dealers and sex offenders, we need more money put into the police department. Come to the next meeting of the mayor and Town Council and tell them loudly that you would prefer to be protected. They have a meeting every other Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall. If you come, you will see that your welfare is not the topic of conversation. The hot topic is new ingenious ways to develop the wetlands and flood plains. Come see where your tax dollars are going.

Let’s bulldoze the Pavilion and 90 percent of Fayette’s crime problems will go away.

Peachtree City Police Chief Jim Murray claims that it is impossible to patrol all 80 or so miles of cart paths within the city. All the while, crimes are increasing on our path system. Could this possibly be because he would rather patrol the entire World Wide Web? What is it about local law enforcement that he doesn’t seem to understand?

With all the Peachtree City police-bashing going on, I would just like to say thank you to the ones that came in on their own time, even after working an 8- or 10-hour shift, to help with the tragic drowning of Danen Clarke. It makes us proud to live in this city and know that these young men and women are risking their lives each and every day for all the citizens of Peachtree City, even the ones that bash them in the paper.

A repetitive complaint I hear in the Free Speech is about the Peachtree City police. One commenter in the July 13 edition who passes though PTC said, “With all the money in the area where are the PTC police?” I don’t know what the money in the area has to do with it, but I think that the police presence here in PTC is excellent. I moved to PTC 18 months ago and have never seen a police presence like we have here. I see police on almost every road at some time or other and the police patrol our neighborhood on a regular basis. It appears this commenter is just bitter about the traffic surrounding the construction on Ga. Highway 54, which I don’t believe is the PTC Police Department’s problem. I would rather see the police doing other things that better protect and help the citizens of PTC than easing traffic to Newnan. You state that you will go a different way to Newnan until the road is done. If there is a different way, then just take it and stop complaining about the police in a city you don’t live in.

I seem to recall a Peachtree City ordinance that requires property owners to maintain their lawns so that the grass is no taller than 12 inches. I have also seen Code Enforcement hand out tickets to those who violate that ordinance. I, myself, have been given warnings in the past because I was out of town on vacation and didn’t have someone cut my lawn while I was away. As I drive around town, I notice several places that belong to Peachtree City where the grass is well above the 12-inch maximum. A few examples are the median along North Peachtree Parkway, the fire stations, the entrance to Clover Green subdivision, the Ga. Highway 74 median. The list is quite long and obvious. Bottom line: the city looks awful. I can remember when Public Works would be out on a regular basis cutting the grass and making our city look beautiful. These days the city is a mess, and looks like any other town that doesn’t care about its appearance. I’m not slamming the public works people either; they do work very hard but I hardly see them out anymore. Where are they? There haven’t been any layoffs that I’m aware of. Is there a project somewhere that is more important than maintaining the city’s once very attractive appearance? Finally, is the city fining itself for its own grass being too tall? I doubt it, but they’ll readily fine anyone else.

It is great to have news about Peachtree City, but I never hear anything about my subdivision’s Wynnmeade Parkway which is always underwater every time it rains and the city of Peachtree City doesn’t do a thing about it.

Hmmm. Chastain patrons and performers are fed up with boorish, talkative drunks? I have season tickets to The Fred and, boy, does all of that sound familiar.

The “look how frugal I am” comments by the Fayette County Commissioners concerning not going to Hawaii for a convention is political in nature. Tickets to Hawaii, bought in advance and tourist class, are no more expensive than going to many of our U.S. cities and they know it. However they don’t go tourist and probably don’t shop for bargains, do they? Also some hotels in Hawaii are LESS expensive than New York, Chicago, etc. I’m not pushing Hawaii, just showing up hypocrisy.

I wanted to say thank you to Commissioner Dunn and the Fayette County Fire and Emergency Services chief. I have seen them in our neighborhood a number of times inspecting the damage caused by the tornado to make sure we were getting the help we needed to get things cleaned up. The county work crews are doing a great job of getting rid of the trees and debris under the circumstances. I moved here years ago from a county where this type response would never have happened. I am glad to be in a community where neighbors care and elected officials still take the time to personally get involved. What a great county.

For those of you in small businesses or others who pay by check and get paid by check, if they cash your check from that bank at that bank and they don’t have an account there three things will happen: they cannot cash it outside at the drive-through; they will be charged a $5 fee to cash your check from your bank; you or your customers will be very unhappy. Think about the bank you choose and check out their policies.

Anybody in PTC wondering if Linda McCarthy had a new job or is she back in Louisiana tending to her alleged racketeering issues. The board did a splendid job in hiring that one. Less than a year and now gone. Why don’t the rest of the wannabes leave and give control back to competent business individuals?

Congratulations, Peachtree City, for being rated the eighth best place in the nation in which to live. Based on comments in Free Speech about selfish Yankees, one might think Peachtree City should be rated somewhere between Cleveland and New York City.

Maybe it’s just me, but the bamboo growing next to a utility pole at Beauregard and Glynn streets in Fayetteville is a sight obstruction hazard and could cause an accident one day.

I wonder what State Court Judge Fletcher Sams thinks is worse: A police officer who embellishes and falsifies his testimony or the judge who will always believe every word the officer says?

I am a teacher in the Jenkins Road complex and I, for one, am very appreciative of the time, talents, and money many of the families in John Wieland’s subdivisions, especially South Hampton, have given to our schools. I realize that some people are concerned about the impact a new subdivision makes on a community and their concerns are valid. I would like for people to realize, though, how much most of the teachers in the community appreciate all the “Wieland” parents who have shown that they want to help their children’s school in whatever way they are able. We only wish that some of the “natives” would show they care about us as much.

It was obvious to me why George Wingo placed that gun in a visible place in his office. Any person reading all about it can figure that out. It was to intimidate his female employees. Why didn’t he put it in his car? Or leave it at home? This man has to go. Please, someone run against him next election. The pay is good, and you can take all the naps you want during business hours. You make great political connections and can get out of sticky situations easily by name dropping. It’s great knowing people in high places.

In the July 6 edition of The Citizen, an e-mailer wrote about seeing two bumper stickers, a “Proud to be an American” and a “God Bless America.” The writer then made a crack about the owners not being Democrats. From the contents of the e-mail, one can surmise that the writer is ignorant, pompous, arrogant, shallow and definitely NOT living Christian values. Sounds like a typical “neo-con” to me.

Some recent news stories are perfect examples of how the American system operates. For instance, when Zell Miller took the $100,000 out of the taxpayer’s pockets, he was a Democrat. When he was forced to reach into his own pockets and pay it back, he was a Republican.

In the July 13 Free Speech, someone made a comment about Atlanta commuters cutting in the long traffic line at the last minute at the exit on I-85. I am one of the “cutters,” but I do know how you feel and I sympathize with you. You are correct when you say, “Silly us, we let them in.” I used to get irritated with people cutting in at the last minute, but time after time people ahead of me would let others cut in. If 10 cars cut in somewhere up ahead of you, there is a good chance that you will have to wait for another traffic light cycle. After getting road rage at the over-politeness of people putting me further behind in my commute, I decided that if some people are silly enough to let others cut in I might as well be one of the cutters. Even though I do this almost every day, I agree that you should not let us in. Waiting at the I-85 exit to get on Hwy. 74 is like waiting in any other line. How many of you that let us cut in at the exit would let us cut in line at the Kroger or Publix? I don’t propose eliminating road courtesy, but most people who do the cut-in did not forget their exit was approaching and are not from out of town. If you don’t like the cut-in, close up the gaps.

As a parent of children in local schools and a substitute teacher I want to know how it is that people are allowed to come into local schools to sell jewelry, leather goods, books, candles, holiday decorations, perform services and sell any other marketable item when they have not been screened or fingerprinted? I thought teachers weren’t allowed to even sell the cookies, gift wrap, cookie dough and candy bars that their own children sell as fund-raisers to each other in a building. As a parent and a sub, I have to sign in and wear a visitor-sub badge. These people are selling merchandise and are allowed into the school to make sales to teachers. There are no restrictions on their access to the building. In this age of safety and strangers in buildings, it seems that it would be a big liability for the school system to have strangers in a school building with no background checks especially for money-making purposes. Today’s paper had an article about the child that a man beat with a hammer several years ago. The family has been given the right to sue the school system. Why would we allow strangers who are not parents and who have no business with the school to be not only allowed in but welcomed and encouraged to come? Is Dr. DeCotis aware that sellers are using the schools as free store fronts? If not, why isn’t he? How much time is spent by the office staff wasting time organizing these visits? Is that part of their job? Who gives approval for these people to come in? Why should teachers have time to be shopping during the school day? As another school year gets started this needs to be looked into and some rules made about it before a child gets hurt by an invited stranger.

That person commenting on the Fourth of July parade and fire works: Just out of prison? Part of the Ku Klux Klan? A drunk? Well, if you are none of these things now I think you might be heading down that path. Are you actually a human being? Really. Disturbing to say the least. I think you need a mental institute to go sit in for awhile to see if you have any brains to be left out with the public. In fact I hope your family members are kind enough to take you there and have you locked up. Hopefully for good. What an angry son of a gun you are. Man, get some help, would you?

There has been lots of press recently about nepotism. I want to know why the local reporters aren’t checking on local nepotism? They could start with Fayette County schools. There are sisters, sisters-in-law, mother and daughters and all kinds of connections in local schools in the same building and in some cases on the same grade level. They may not be in a position of authority over each other, but that old saying, “Blood is thicker than water,” DOES hold true. In the past teaching at the same school as a relative was not allowed. Some local schools have several sets of relatives employed there. It does impact the morale of a school, family issues intrude into the school day and it leads to issues with coworkers when family members become defensive of each other. Not to mention these employees bringing their children into the school which creates problems when you are teaching a coworker’s niece or nephew or have to discipline that child on the playground or in the lunch room. This sometimes changes how these children are treated to avoid sticky issues with coworkers. This is an issue that is not discussed but needs to be addressed at the county level.

What is a “progressive Democrat”? I can’t figure it. Is that someone who kneels to everything and stands for nothing? I reckon it’s kind of like the advertising agency that a women’s clothing manufacturer hired to design a Hillary Clinton line of bras. The three top slogans were: 1. Can’t Figure. 2. Go Figure. 3. Figure This. Regardless, the “progressive Democrat” that sends needed items to our troops is to be commended for his patriotism. During the July 4 holiday I saw a hooker and a transvestite waving an American flag. This goes to prove that the “progressive Democrat and ‘Nam vet is right. Republicans certainly haven’t cornered the market on being patriotic.

I found it hard to believe that Mr. Thompson, a Citizen writer, criticized Karl Rove and Robert Novak. I saw Mr. Bush say he would fire anyone outing a CIA agent; now he says, whoa! I can’t fire my architect, for goodness sake. Dirty tricks by Karl Rove may be alright against other politicians, but when he can’t see the difference in politicians and CIA agents, then it is time to really call a halt to such actions and come down hard. I consider such actions as bad as illegal abortion and unnecessarily taking the 10 Commandments out of courthouses.

This Free Speech is horrible. It brings out the worst of the bottom-feeders. The newspaper should be ashamed to have a section like this. What does it say about the people who run the paper?

Hey, folks, this is about the right length for a “Free Speech” item (per the instructions.) Anything longer than six sentences is just a letter to the editor written by a coward. If you can’t be short and pithy, then stand up and be counted, or sit down and be quiet.

Might we agree on a few editorial rules for the Free Speech ? How about (1) all submissions must be brief and pithy; (2) they should concern local issues; and (3) Mrs. Dunn should be limited to no more than seven Free Speeches a week.

Which laws to obey, which to flout, and who gets to choose? If so many can get away with breaking immigration laws, why should U.S. citizens be held to respecting various laws on the books?

A Google/News search on keyword “deport” had 191 hits from foreign nations before the first story from the U.S. which was complaining about deporting Mexican illegal alien college students; “Why deport such high potential”? Leaders from Italy, UK, Philippines, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada and India know the answer. Congress won’t figure it out till they hear from us.

A four-star general said to Congress that he didn’t consider the questioning of a Moslem in Cuba for over 20 hours a day; turning up the heat to high and then back to chilling alternately; never turning the bright lights off; threatening his relatives; and on and on, as torture. He didn’t say anything about half drowning, electrification, freezing in ice, and on and on. It is not hard to see where people in high places think it is alright to out a CIA agent due to the fact that the agent’s husband said Iraq got no “yellow cake” bomb material from Africa and the administration had already said that Iraq had it. They did not have it.

A question soon must be asked and answered as to whether or not we owe the Iraqi people a reasonably safe place to live. One to three hundred Iraqis a week are now being blown up by those who used to be in power and their allies from other Muslim nations. If a car bomb went off everyday in the U.S., even as large as we are, wouldn’t the question be asked here? Their government has been gone now for three years due to us taking the responsibility. We have got to take the responsibility or get out and let it go right back where it was. Time is not making it better as was said by our planners. We don’t have control. Elections mean nothing in a violent society. I do think the radical Muslims are out to get us and we need to stop them, especially since we are in this deeply. I can provide several scenarios to do so, but only our government has that power. I just don’t see it happening.

The President has promised to punish those responsible for the Wilson leak. He now has the facts; will he fire Karl Rove? The President needs to show the American people some of those Christian values he claims to have, by being a man of his word, and getting rid of Karl Rove immediately.

NASA called the shuttle flight off again because one of the gas gages works as if there was a loose wire. Same thing happened the last time it was tested, but it was assumed to be an anomaly and wasn’t fixed. This rocket is operating better than our Humvees, in general, and the astronauts would OK a go if they could if one of the wings was not yet assembled. What we have here, in addition to old stuff (equipment), is an opposite heritage to the one that sent Columbia up with Elmer’s glue on the tiles with stuff falling off the thing (as it did this time, but it was still on the ground, thankfully). The opposite: if we don’t go, it can’t kill anyone. We need to give another NASA administrator a job paying three times as much and fire this one, as we did the last time. Maybe it’ll go up next week? We need a lot of new ideas and leadership soon in Washington, don’t care which party, who is there for the good old USA instead of for corporations, minorities and friends.