What our Readers Are Saying

Letters to the Editor

Congressman: No conflict in diesel vote

A recent letter to the editor implied that I performed a “conflict of interest” by managing to get legislation enacted that would delay the date of requiring trucks to comply with clean air standards.

I beg to differ with the writer. I thought passing legislation would be premature at this time.

In 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency decided to regulate by using litigation that required the manufacturers of diesel engines to meet drastically increased emission standards 15 months earlier than expected — October 2002 vs. Jan. 1, 2004 — or face additional heavy fines on top of the $84 million paid in 1998.

In July 2002, after it became evident that new, proven diesel engine technology would not be available by all manufacturers in the marketplace, and there was evidence of an extraordinary “pre-buy” of existing diesel engine equipment, I contacted the then-administrator of EPA, Christine Todd Whitman.

I asked Whitman and her senior staff, including Assistant Administrator Jeff Holmstead, to work with the diesel engine manufacturers who had stated as a whole they would not be able to meet the emissions deadline that was accelerated from 2004 to 2002 by the courts.

I, along with several of my colleagues in the House of Representatives, suggested that the EPA look at moving the requirement date to the original date of 2004, with the mind-set that the added time would allow diesel manufacturers to test their new technology more extensively in the marketplace, build confidence in their consumer and put more product with cleaner air technology on the market, with a benefit to our air.

At that time, the EPA refused to believe there was, in fact, a pre-buy of existing, older engine technology and concluded it would move forward with the 2002 deadline.

In my discussions with Whitman, we agreed that the end user and consumer should not be penalized with higher prices for products, but the engine manufacturers who could not meet standards should pay the fines and penalties.

It is premature to propose any legislation at this time. The new engines need to be road tested for evidence they will meet 2007 requirements and will be cost-efficient and reliable.

I simply do not want to see a repeat of the errors committed in 2002, which led to the pre-buy of noncompliance engines.

Congressman Mac Collins
Jackson, Ga.

Paper should stop telling who to vote for

I don’t think this paper should be telling people whom to vote for or whom they prefer. If readers want to write in with their opinion then so be it, but a journalistic paper should be nonpartisan at all times.

Fayette County citizens should be able to trust that your paper delivers ONLY facts and not biased opinions regarding anything, including the candidates that are running for office.

I personally do not know Sam Chapman, but I think if I were in his shoes, I would be pretty tempted to sue you for libel for your outright statement that his job as a banker may interfere with his position in office.

If that were the criteria for all candidates, then we are certainly in trouble with Dick Cheney, given his position as vice president and his connections with Haliburton and the ongoing war in Iraq.

Besides, are you trying to tell the public that attorneys (which most politicians happen to be), the ones who know the law inside and out, are not in a position to manipulate governmental dealings to go their way, and would never cast aside the betterment of the people for their own greedy ambitions and that only “bankers” might do such a thing?

Sir, I think facts of history may contradict you well!

And as for your “slow growth” charade of a theory, Peachtree City has grown to past its limits and cannot even handle the car traffic that your so-called favored slow growth candidate, Pfeifer, has provided.

Therefore, I find your biased reasoning hypocritical in every way and frankly do not want to know and do not care who you believe is the better candidate. Just like every reader of this paper, I have my own mind and can research the candidates for myself.

Cherrie Craven
Peachtree City, Ga.

Endorsement wrong on Caldwell character

After reading your editorial selection of candidates contained in the July 14, 2004, edition of The Citizen, I felt compelled to bring you to task on one of your endorsements.

I have known Johnnie Caldwell, Jr., both professionally and personally, for nearly 30 years.

Judge Caldwell, as you accurately stated, has for many years served as district attorney and judge in the Griffin Judicial Circuit. Your characterization of him is both unjustified and unsupported by the facts.

The courtroom is generally solemn and quite serious. I have had many cases in front of Judge Caldwell, not always with pleasant results.

In my view, Judge Caldwell makes his decisions without regard for his personal popularity. His experience and integrity are obvious to me, and his service to the Griffin Judicial Circuit as district attorney and judge has been quite distinguished.

The complaints I hear most often come from those to whom justice has been administered by Judge Caldwell.

This is the first letter to the editor I have ever written and may well be the last, but I simply could not let your editorial comments with regard to Judge Caldwell go unchallenged.

Your right to editorialize on the candidates is undisputed, but you should at least have some basis in fact before broadcasting it to the public.

Jeff Slade
Attorney at Law
Fayetteville, Ga.

His kids have different view of Judge Caldwell

This e-mail is in response to your description of Judge Johnnie L. Caldwell as “overbearing ... brusque ... rude” and in need of “manners.”

How about a few facts? This rude judge, a.k.a. Lafayette to his family, was born in a small house on West Main Street in Thomaston in 1947.

Educated locally, he joined First Baptist Church by way of baptism on April 19, 1959.

In the past 44 years he has served as deacon, Sunday School teacher, mentor, and father to six children.

He raised us to be first and foremost followers of Jesus Christ; therefore, we will offer the other cheek. We will not attack his opponent in public or bad-mouth him to the media. That is not our way.

He fostered honesty and integrity in an operating room registered nurse, a Navy pilot (and Iraqi War veteran), a Pike elementary music teacher, a fencing contractor, an early-childhood education major, and a Navy air crewman.

We are very thankful to our daddy for encouraging, supporting and inspiring us. He has never been overbearing, rude, or brusque.

I have known him 33 years; he taught me lots of manners.

Christen Caldwell, R.N.
Thomaston, Ga.

Why doesn’t Fayetteville have more sidewalks?

I read an article in The Citizen about a month ago regarding a pedestrian and bike lane downtown. How do the city officials think pedestrians will get to that “handy” lane safely?

Sunday night, I walked from my home in Deep Forest subdivision to Buckner Petroleum at the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and Grady Avenue. Other than the knee-high weeds, the rotting, dead dog, and the attacking kudzu, the walk was great.

I know I am not the only person to walk or bike this area, because there is a semblance of a path worn in the weeds.

I also like to walk to the library, but I can only walk there alone. When I have my 2-year-old with me, we have to take the car, because I am not taking him or his stroller through that mess.

Why doesn’t Fayetteville put sidewalks in on the major roads? It is my understanding that there are federal grants available for such projects. Having sidewalks inside the city limits on highways 85, 92, 54 and 314 would make shopping and downtown in general more accessible for thousands of Fayetteville citizens.

The more people who walk, the less traffic we have. Also, Fayetteville will be a friendlier and healthier community if more people are walking.

Amanda Chambers
Fayetteville, Ga.

Herndon seems intent on being new Limbaugh

It’s been quite interesting reading the columns of purported religion columnist Dr. Knox Herndon of late.

Apparently having drained the well of Christian fellowship and goodwill dry, Dr. Herndon is now content to slip the surly bonds of Christian piety and wallow instead in the pigsty of Republican smear politics.

His column two weeks ago, an alarmist screed prophesizing the selection of Hillary Clinton as the running mate of Democratic front-runner John Kerry, became thoroughly and instantly obsolete with Kerry’s choice of John Edwards scant days later.

Herndon’s palpable loathing of the former first lady would be laughable if he weren’t so earnest.

More odious was his cut-and-paste column of last week of a press release by an organization known as Swift Boats for Truth. This is not the long-established Swift Boats Association but rather a hastily organized anti-John Kerry organization underwritten by the curious combination of Republican National Committee stalwarts and the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The Rev. Herndon seems more and more intent of late as establishing himself as Fayette’s own version of Rush Limbaugh.

With that in mind, I suspect locating Dr. Herndon’s church in Senoia should be a fairly simple task: Simply drive along the main highway until you see the nicely landscaped church with the sign outside that says, “Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred for liberals and Hillary Clinton.”

Get thee behind me, Herndon!

Robert Jensen
Peachtree City, Ga.

Murder case suspect has another, untold story

I am writing in reference to the William Kevin Dilbeck story. Kevin is a great guy and has lots of friends and family standing behind him 100 percent. Kevin resided in Fayette County since he was 5 years old. He has been very active in our community, coaching football and baseball for over six years.

He is excellent with kids, encouraging them and motivating them to do better. He has coached my son for four years on the Brooks Bears and I would let him coach my son again. All the parents respected and enjoyed him as well.

Kevin has lost everyone in his immediate family to illness or fate. Why would he and HOW could he murder his own brother as it is being implied? He is all he has left. Kevin and my husband have been friends for 27 years and we know him very well. He would never hurt anyone.

I would really like it if you would print some nice things about Kevin in your next paper.

Sherri Jackson
Brooks, Ga.

Kids to adults: Quit hogging our swim time

Adult swim - NO FAIR!

The point of adult swim is so the adults can get a chance to swim without kids. Well, there are barely any adults in adult swim.

So, they should wait five minutes until they cancel adult swim if no more than two adults are swimming.

We think that all pools should have a ringed-in shallow end when adult swim is going on so the little kids can still play (at least). The ringed-in part should be from 2 and 1/2 feet to 3 feet.

We also think that kids 12 and up should be able to swim in adult swim.

The last thing we would like to tell you is about the arrangements for the life guards.

We should pick three life guards that work with kids really well. These life guards will watch the kids if adult swim is not cancelled.

Also, if there is more than one pool, like at Kedron, there should be different times for adult swim in each pool.

The last thing we want to tell you is that we kids feel left out in adult swim.

P.S. We are 7 years old and we hope you will make this the law of the Fayette County pools. (We attached a picture of us as if we were sitting out at Adult Swim.)

Morgan Stephens and Virginia Lambert
Rising Second Graders at Spring Hill

Some responses to Bianchi’s July 7 column

Goodness! I haven’t seen a good old-fashioned screed in a long time, so it was fun to read Mr. Lindsay Bianchi’s July 7 column.

I have to first give kudos to The Citizen for printing Mr. Bianchi’s column, even though one of Mr. Bianchi’s complaints (among many!) was that people aren’t able to speak their minds in this country. Giving space to such interesting views in Fayette County should be proof to all the liberal nay-sayers that intellectual diversity is alive and well here.

Although the points of Mr. Bianchi’s column were myriad, I would like to focus on a few main points. The first is that conservatives/Republicans reject Michael Moore’s grand opus “Fahrenheit 9/11” because they are “in deep denial” and are “refuse to see what’s in front of them.”

The reason I am staying away from the film is because I know that many of the “facts” of the movie are at least misrepresented, if not entirely false.

For example, Moore maintains that the Bush administration, if not Bush himself, let the Bin Laden family leave the U.S. without being questioned at a time when all flights were banned after 9/11.

However, in fact, Richard Clarke, the whistle blower who accused the Bush administration of failing in its prosecution of the war on terrorism, admitted that it was he and he alone who allowed the Bin Laden family to leave and who made sure they were sufficiently questioned before departing.

That is just one example. But the point is not so much that Moore used his “documentary” to make an argument; it is that he is bypassing the normal forum for serious political discourse, where facts can be checked and issues debated, and going right to the “people” with his propagandistic message packaged in a slick combination of gotcha interviews, cool music, and Moore’s sardonic wit.

When Moore suggests that Bush is so stupid that he didn’t know what to do during the “infamous” seven minutes after being informed of the second tower being hit, he is engaging in pure, malicious speculation. This is why I and many others, I suspect, won’t give his movie the time of day.

Mr. Bianchi’s column also launches a variety of oblique accusations at conservatives, saying they want to meddle with the constitution, judge others as evil if they are not patriotic or religious, get rid of the Second Amendment, and seek unlimited riches at the expense of the poor.

When it comes to changing the constitution, it is not conservatives who have brought this issue to the fore. Rather, it is a relatively tiny group of legal activists who are going around the democratic process and straight to the courts to change the definition of marriage.

This manipulation and meddling with the laws of our land is what is necessitating the defense of marriage amendment.

I too would rather leave the constitution alone, but since an amendment is the only way to protect marriage in our country, I have no choice but advocate that course of action.

As far as the notion that conservatives are basically greed heads with no heart for the poor, I offer this alternative view.

As a conservative, I do not oppose large-scale welfare state-type programs because I don’t want to help the poor. Rather, I believe that given the chance, ordinary people will (and do) come together in charities to help feed, cloth, educate, and support their neighbors.

Turning this responsibility over to the state may seem like a panacea, but ultimately the state is less efficient, less caring, and less able to truly care for people.

Furthermore, yielding more and more of this responsibility to the state disconnects us as individuals from the process of helping our less fortunate citizens and results in less genuine compassion.

The state’s efforts to eradicate poverty, homelessness, substandard education, and other ills can only be considered as partially effective, and in many cases, wholesale failures.

To continue to contribute blindly to that system and the mindset behind it (which is that only government can solve social problems) is not only unsupported by the facts, but does continued harm to the people in our society who need the help.

As for conservatives being a bunch of self-righteous, judgmental religious zealots, I will concede we are not perfect, but I have hardly heard such rhetoric from the mouths of our mainstream representatives.

President Bush, in fact, makes a concerted effort to reach out to various religious, ethnic, and economic classes in his speeches and policies, but is given almost no credit for such efforts by the liberal press.

In any case, the desire to have religious and Christian principles inform the political debate of our nation is a right guaranteed by the constitution and expected by the Founding Fathers.

Well, I have gone on too long. I know your column, Mr. Bianchi, was tongue-in-cheek and perhaps did not merit this kind of serious response. But you bring up some points which I feel should be addressed and countered.

Perhaps the most troubling comment was your wish to make sure that at the end of your life, you do not say: “I really meant to make more time for me.”

May I suggest that by making yourself the primary focus of your life’s efforts, you run the real risk of wishing you would have done the exact opposite with your time. We only find true happiness and fulfillment when we live to serve others in love.

Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.

Nation’s ‘Christian beginnings’ contradicted

With regards to the July 4 column written by Justin Kollmeyer, this Fayette citizen would like to share a few thoughts on the subject of this great nation’s so-called Christian heritage.

Mr. Kollmeyer begins the column with the assertion that the founding of the United States and the tenants of Christianity are inextricably connected.

He adds to this statement that in 1776, 99.8 percent of this nation’s population would have described themselves as Christian.

Yet we see no source for this data or foundation of this assertion. We are simply expected to believe that in a time of revolution and political turmoil, when horse and carriage were the common mode of transportation, that someone or some organization was able to conduct a religious survey to such a degree of accuracy that it could report to one-tenth of one percent. This is, in my opinion, a tad far fetched.

In fact, the only source that Mr. Kollmeyer does cite, www.allianceforlifeministries.org, hardly presents itself as an objective source of religious information or statistics.

One need look no further than its section dedicated to anti-abortion television ads to reach this conclusion.

Mr. Kollmeyer then goes on to present a series of loosely-strung together facts and quotes that we are supposed to swallow as incontrovertible proof that this country was founded as a Christian nation.

He states, “Revolutionary leaders were devout men who could not have been more empathic in their determination that our national policy rested on Scriptural foundation. Of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention, 52 were Orthodox Christians.”

While I will concede that a number of our founding fathers may have been followers of Christianity, this does not suffice as proof that they founded our nation on the basis of biblical doctrine. In fact, none of the country’s first six presidents were Orthodox Christians. (Encyclopedia Britannica 1968 p.40).

To the contrary, the document that the Convention produced was a framework of secular, worldly terms. The Constitution forbids the establishment of any religion by our government in its first amendment.

It begins, “We the people,” and contains no mention of “God” or “Christianity.” Its only references to religion are exclusionary, such as, “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust” (Art. VI), and “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (First Amendment).

The presidential oath of office, the only oath detailed in the Constitution, does not contain the phrase “so help me God” or any requirement to swear on a bible (Art. II, Sec. 1, Clause 8).

If we are a Christian nation, why doesn’t our Constitution say so? Does this sound like the product of a nation founded on a “Scriptural Foundation?”

As early as 1797, the newly founded United States of America signed a treaty with Tripoli declaring, “the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.” This reassurance to Islam was written under Washington’s presidency, and approved by the Senate under John Adams.

Not only were many of our founding fathers not “devout men who could not have been more empathic in their determination that our national policy rested on Scriptural foundation,” but a great many were quite vocal in their disdain for the cocktail of Christianity and government.

Thomas Jefferson is credited with a number of quotes concerning the role of religion, and specifically Christianity in government. I bring some of the more relevant ones to bear on Mr. Kollmeyer’s assertions.

“I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth.”

“Christianity ... (has become) the most perverted system that ever shone on man ... Rogueries, absurdities and untruths were perpetrated upon the teachings of Jesus by a large band of dupes and importers led by Paul, the first great corrupter of the teaching of Jesus.”

“The clergy converted the simple teachings of Jesus into an engine for enslaving mankind and adulterated by artificial constructions into a contrivance to filch wealth and power to themselves ... these clergy, in fact, constitute the real Anti-Christ.”

John Adams, another prominent figure in America’s birth and signer of the Treaty of Tripoli had this to say about Christianity:

“Where do we find a precept in the Bible for Creeds, Confessions, Doctrines and Oaths, and whole carloads of other trumpery that we find religion encumbered with in these days?”

“The doctrine of the divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity.”

Our fourth president, James Madison, is often referred to as the Father of the Constitution. He too was keenly aware of the caustic mix of religion and government, as articulated in this quote.

“What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy.”

Madison also objected to state-supported chaplains in Congress and to the exemption of churches from taxation. He wrote:

“Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.”

These founding fathers were a reflection of the American population. Having escaped from the state-established religions of Europe, only 7 percent of the people in the 13 colonies belonged to a church when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

I cannot to speak to the personal beliefs of these men, but only their legacies. They knew that religion was the greatest enemy that might face this great nation in the coming years. They knew that religious institutions are inevitably corruptible by the police power of government.

And perhaps, they knew it was Christ himself who first proposed the separation of church and state: “Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto the Lord that which is the Lord’s.”

Brian Tant
Fayetteville, Ga.

Prayers needed for cancer victim, 7

I hope that in the middle of all the letters to the editor you get about the elections and all the news of Peachtree City you will find it in your heart to print my letter first.

On Saturday, July 17, my grandson, 7 years old, was rushed to Thompson’s children’s hospital with blurred vision, and weakness in his right arm. Hours later we got the diagnosis: Brain stem glioma (cancer).

To say that my heart is broken is an understatement. The doctor said without treatment he will live two months, with treatment two years!

I beg, plead, for everyone who reads this letter to call on God with prayer for this beautiful little boy, Jacob Jordan Faulkner.

Let me tell you about Jake. He can say a prayer to bless his food that will send chills to your heart, one of the most appreciative children I have ever met.

A friend bought me a baby duck that had been abandoned, the duck obviously loved children so I thought of Jake to be his caregiver. I drove two hours, spent $30 for gas to take the duck to him. The duck loved him immediately, followed him to do his chores feeding the chickens and gathering eggs.

Jake enjoyed this so much, he went inside to his mother and said, “I am so glad God made grandmothers.” When I talked to him the next day he said to me, “Best farm animal I ever had,” talking about the duck I bought him.

In the hospital he told me, “With this double vision I will not be able to fly a fighter plane; I won’t be able to distinguish which plane is the enemy.”

I will just be thankful to God to spare him his life for him to just grow up and be a normal little boy.

I am looking for answers in my heart to figure out why a little boy who loves God with all his heart gets a cancer like this that cannot be operated on, and probably will kill him in two years.

God needs to give me the wisdom to understand, and please cure a cancer, and heal a broken heart. Please pray for Jake.

LeGay Saul
sfoxylegay@bellsouth.net

Bikers, drivers both need to be more cautious

In a letter to the editor, Amy Stitt rightfully requests that those operating motor vehicles respect the rights of others traveling by bicycles along the road.

As I travel I do my best to give way to the bike riders and I think most people are equally considerate. But as a runner, I am aware of the rudeness and carelessness of some of those operating motor vehicles. It can be dangerous out there.

As Ms. Stitt noted, the Georgia code indicates bikers have certain rights but the code also clearly states they have certain responsibilities.

Specifically, the code says, “Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast.” Bikers should give consideration to this rule.

Occasionally, after going over the crest of a hill I have encountered at least 20 bike riders four or five abreast traveling on the road. Fortunately, I’ve always have had enough time to apply the brakes and avoid plowing into the group of rides. In a brief moment of time I could have been distracted and a close call could have had very tragic consequences.

Just imaging the carnage if a vehicle operated by a distracted person goes over the crest of a hill and encounters a relatively slow-moving group of bike riders. The carnage could be horrific. Scores of riders could be killed or injured.

I always stress to novice drivers to expect the unexpected; that the only certainty in life is uncertainty; to assume others are going to make a stupid move and be prepared to avoid the potentially adverse consequences of the unexpected or the stupidity of others.

They are running late for the game. In a fleeting moment of stupidity, a 110-pound soccer mom with a bunch of World Cup wannabes clamber into a 3,000-pound SUV and haul off to a soccer game. With radio blasting Tom Petty’s “Runnin Down a Dream” and pre-game adrenalin coursing fluidly, the soccer mom presses the pedal closer to the metal as she glides effortlessly to the top of the hill.

Over the sound of the radio and the crack of thunder she looks to her right and reproves the soccer players for being unsafe by failing to fasten their seat belts. She turns on the wipers to help her see through a freak downpour of rain.

A biker shifts uncomfortably after starting down from the summit of a hill and takes note of the rumbling thunder, the sudden foreboding coolness of the air and the flash of lightning that disrupts the serenity of the outing she and her comrades have expected.

She glances forlornly to her left and catches the uncertainty in the eyes of her riding partners as an unexpected torrential rain shatters the dream of a pleasant Sunday bike ride. She hunkers down, wipes the rain from her eyes and wonders if it was worth the effort.

Over the sound of thunder she admonishes her friend to be safe and makes haste to the Starbucks up around the bend.

We should all be safe and think about what we are doing. We should all understand the consequences of our actions so that we may always enjoy the ride. And please, don’t let stupidity be your calling card.

r. j. desprez
Tyrone, Ga.

Political callers will get a vote for opponents

If you’re a political candidate and you’re calling me on the telephone, please make sure I get your name correct because I want to make sure that I DON’T vote for you.

In the last three days I’ve received 29 political phone calls.

Mind you, I am on the Georgia and National Do Not Call Lists, protect my phone number to the point of lying about it occasionally, and am just plain surly when called by solicitors.

I consider it an egregious invasion of my privacy for anyone to call me except family, friends and the handful of businesses I’ve reluctantly given my phone number.

So keep calling; I’m taking names. Who needs issues? I’ll decide my ballot by who has NOT called because they, like me, believe in privacy, peace and the rights of individuals.

Beth Nicholson
Fayetteville, Ga.

House still abandoned

Re: Abandoned house on Shoreline Drive. I attended the Fayette County Commissioners meeting over five weeks ago. The commissioners said we are aware of your problem and we are going to get it resolved.

They did get the grass cut but nothing else has happened. This is the same old song with the same old singers. Why we continue to elect people who do nothing is beyond me.

I again challenge the commissioners to step up and do their job, serve the people you represent. I will attend the next meeting again.

Ray Lloyd
Fayetteville, Ga.