What our Readers Are Saying

Letters to the Editor

Lutheran rezoning: PTC is slipping away

Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church should not be forced to stay in place in Peachtree City. Yes, the community would prefer that they stay, but if it’s best for them to move, then move. Enabling their sale, however, is not the responsibility of our city government.

I oppose the rezoning of this corner to commercial. You may argue that it was never intended to be commercial property. That’s one reason to oppose the issue, I suppose.

It also does not have to be rezoned for the good Lutherans to move. Their deal with Walgreens might not survive without the rezoning, but that’s not my real issue either.

My issue revolves around two snapshots of Peachtree City, one taken today and one taken 10 years from today.

Today’s picture shows a drugstore on every corner for homebound Coweta Countians, moving as rapidly as possible through our infrastructure at the end of their busy workday. Enough of that already.

Ten years down the road, following a pattern allowed by our city leaders and encouraged by our private developers, the picture might show that each of our community churches had sold their valuable property to the highest commercial bidder after insisting on rezoning patterns established in the next few weeks.

As a native of the northern half of Georgia, I’ve been awed and disappointed at the transformation of our rural state into the envy of our fair planet; no exaggeration. Except for pine trees and growing traffic, nobody complains much about life here.

Peachtree City has been the keeper of the flame of quality family life throughout all of these changes.

As a community, we had better awaken to the fact that our standards are slipping and begin to hold ourselves and our leaders accountable if we want to enjoy living out our lives here at the current level of value and satisfaction.

Alan Ware
Peachtree City, Ga.

SPLOST a reward for county incompetence

I’m amazed at how a SPLOST for education failed to pass in several prior elections, yet a SPLOST for roads meets instant approval. Have roads become more important than education?

In my opinion, you rewarded incompetence by voting for a tax that gives more money to the people that created the problem.

In five years they will want to extend the SPLOST to compensate for over-development they allow to take place, again.

The developers-builders should foot the bill for traffic problems, not the taxpayers.

It did not surprise me to see the long list of supporters in the newspapers. I guess it is easier to ask for forgiveness, rather than take responsibility.

I’m glad the bond passed to give the Board of Education the support they need. Too bad it played second fiddle to roads. It is truly a sad day for Fayette County.

Matt Bergen
Peachtree City, Ga.

Lack of agreement cost PTC $5-7 million?

To Mayor Steve Brown:

It would appear that the inability of the city to reach an agreement with the rest of the political entities in the county has cost Peachtree City an enormous amount of money.

Could you please advise me how much more money the city would have received under the SPLOST had we accepted the last offer made by the county which included, I believe, a sixth year on the SPLOST?

My rough calculations yield a loss of $5-7 million. Is this correct?

Please do not waste my time or yours with a lot of bombast about the unfairness of the whole deal. A simple straightforward answer with the correct amount would be deeply appreciated. Thank you.

Bob Lenox
Peachtree City, Ga.

[Lenox was Brown’s predecessor as mayor of Peachtree City.]

F’ville could use some more sidewalks, bike paths

The city of Fayetteville is a wonderful place to live. The close proximity of the airport and downtown Atlanta makes for an easy commute to jobs in those places; yet Fayetteville is far enough away to be a haven from the traffic encountered in those busy areas.

But after living in other cities in the United States and abroad, I’ve come to the conclusion that Fayetteville is missing one important element: Sidewalks and bike lanes.

Sidewalks and bike lanes would provide the opportunity for additional exercise, which is an important aspect of healthy living. For those who work close to home, walking or riding to work would be an option, which would decrease air pollution.

But at this point, on the side of most roads, there’s a narrow shoulder and a ditch. This makes for a dangerous situation for bikers and joggers.

The construction of sidewalks would provide a safe place for exercise and leisure, even for children. Instead of staying inside in the house because there is no safe place to ride his bicycle, a child could ride around the neighborhood without being in danger from traffic.

Another way the people of Fayetteville would benefit from sidewalks and bike lanes would be the opportunity to walk or ride to the store.

For example, our family lives less than one mile from the Fayette Pavilion, but because of the dangers involved in walking or cycling that short distance, our only option is to drive.

In summary, I believe that sidewalks and bike lanes would be a great asset to the city of Fayetteville.

Jaclyn Pass
Fayetteville, Ga.

With apologies to Aldous Huxley . . .

I was in D.C. a couple days after the election and decided to go to the Texas Pig barbecue for some brisket. To my surprise, the President was there having lunch with his White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, the Reverend Jerry Falwell and Gary Bauer, and being a good sport I decided to congratulate him on his victory.

“Congratulations on your victory, Mr. President,” I said, “although I must admit, I didn’t vote for you.”

The President stared through me. “That wasn’t just a victory,” said he, “that’s what you call a mann dayte, son, and I suggest you get over it and roll with what’s comin’.”

“But, Mr. President, what of all this talk about bringing the country together? What about traditional American politics where important issues are hashed out, where viewpoints are aired and in the end we reach some kind of national consensus?”

“Look, son, you lefties know where I’m sitting, and when you finally get it right there will be a national consensus. I meant I’m ready to forgive all of you except for Al Franken, of course, who called my mama mean.”

“But Mr. President, there were almost 56 million of us who didn’t vote for you, and while your party solidified its hold on the House and Senate, 48 percent of the voting country still thinks you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.”

At this point Alberto Gonzales stood up, put his finger in my face [and] warned, “You know the Geneva Convention doesn’t apply to you either.”

Bush, the conciliator spoke up quickly, “By the way, I want you to meet the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” he said, indicating Jerry Falwell.

“But, Mr. President, Chief Justice Rehnquist is still on the court, though he’s obviously ill. Isn’t this in bad taste?”

“I’ve been talking to God,” bleated Falwell, “and he tells me that liberal Rehnquist doesn’t have long.”

“Rev. Falwell,” I shot back, “Chief Justice Rehnquist has been instrumental in moving the court to the right since he was confirmed back in ‘72. You can hardly call him a liberal.”

“You wanna bet,” said Falwell. “Right or left often depends on where you’re standing, doesn’t it? I tell you there’s going to be some changes coming down the pike. I believe in a biblical approach to the law, and as soon as our friendly Congress can push it through, we’re bringing back stoning.”

“But, soon-to-be Chief Justice Falwell, wouldn’t that violate the ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ clause of the Constitution if you start stoning murderers?”

“Who said anything about stoning murderers? We’re going to stone homosexuals in accordance with the Bible. And no, it’s not cruel and unusual. We intend to stone them in the spirit of love and forgiveness put forth by our savior. There will be a hue and cry initially from the liberal press, but you mark my words those gays will thank us later. Especially when we get everyone attending church as they ought to.”

“How will you do that,” I asked just a little incredulously.

Bush chimed in at this juncture, “It’s good you asked that because I want you to meet the head of the new faith enforcement section of the F(aith) B(ureau) of I(nvestigation), Mr. Gary Bauer. It was his idea really. He told me how John Calvin used to get people to a proper church way back when there were all those Catholics in Europe, and it sounded good to me.”

“But Mr. President, Calvin had a sort of religious police that certified people’s attendance and observance on Sunday, and arrested those who were not excused. He executed 58 people for heresy during the time of his theocracy.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s right. But after you and the family spend a couple nights in the clink thinking about it, I believe you’ll come right the way around to Jesus. Heck, it worked for me after my second drunk driving charge. And don’t give me that ‘Congress shall make no law’ stuff because they certainly won’t make a law establishing a religion, you just gotta go to church, see? And with Scalia, Thomas, Falwell, Hatch, and Santorum on the court it’ll be a shoo-in!”

What about the deficit, Mr. President? Doesn’t it seem like it’s getting out of control?”

“You’re right there. First of all we need us another tax cut to reduce the deficit. A buddy of mine from Midland had to sell his third limo, putting a poor black fella out of work the other day and I’m not going to stand for that on my watch. Everyone will benefit. My friend will get to keep his limo and the poor black man wasn’t paying any federal tax anyway, so there you go.”

“But, Mr. President, if we keep cutting taxes without cutting spending the deficit will only increase. Meanwhile the burgeoning trade deficit with China is helping them turn around and purchase our securities on a scale heretofore unknown. In the not too distant future if something isn’t done, China can pressure us just by refusing to purchase any more of our debt.”

“China, schmina,” yelled Bush, now getting defensive. “We’re cutting taxes for the people who need it the most: My friends. And China can go straight to hell — uh, sorry, Chief Justice.”

“But this foolish war you started in Iraq continues to drain our treasury and kill our young men, the rest of the world thinks we’ve lost our minds, and you have America believing the terrorists can’t wait to fight battle hardened troops in Iraq rather than blow the crap out of something here. Mr. President, I just don’t get it and I have no intention of ceasing my criticism of your policies while I think they hurt this country.”

At this point I could see Gary Bauer taking down my incidentals. Not wishing to be next in Bush’s “war on terror” I excused myself and headed for the door.

Bush yelled, “Don’t worry, son, you’re forgiven,” as I headed into a newly darkened day.

Out on the sidewalk I passed Karl Rove pasting up copies of the 26 new “values” amendments to the Constitution he has proposed, including the “Preservation of interior voting rights” amendment, which will reduce the electoral power of the overly populated east and west coasts (except Florida), and the “Zell Miller is a righteous dude” amendment which declares Miller a sane person, as well as numerous others which close obvious liberal “loopholes” in the Constitution. I kicked over his can of glue in passing.

‘Tis a brave new world, and I suppose we can only face it bravely.

Tim Parker
Peachtree City, Ga.

Liberal ‘truth’ can be slippery subject

“What is truth?” The question reverberates throughout history as the pitiable expression of Pontius Pilate’s complete lack of integrity.

This man held the life and death of the incarnation of Truth in his blood-stained hands, but because he could not recognize Christ, he acquiesced to the mob’s demand for his death.

He didn’t even believe Jesus should be executed, but because he lacked any knowledge of truth, he refused to stand on principle and gave in to the prevailing desires of the people.

Pilate’s question to Christ is perhaps more relevant now than ever. As several commentators in the last issue so eloquently observed, liberals employ this same basic question to undermine their “conservative” or traditional counterparts.

We say, “Marriage is between a man and a woman.” They say, “Based on what?”

We say, “Life is sacred from conception to natural death.” They say, “That depends on when you think life begins or ends.”

We say, “National defense is a matter to be decided by our nation alone.” They say, “Who gives us that power?”

No moral, spiritual, political, or ethical truth is above derision, skepticism, or deconstruction. Theirs is a position which seeks to nullify the very concept of truth and to establish institutions, practices, and laws based solely on the criterion of individual desire.

Again, to repeat the point of many, this notion that there is no truth is itself a truth, and therefore inherently contradictory. Since truth really does exist, then, there is no choice but to define it.

That is all I ask liberals to do. Instead, they constantly retreat into relativism and make sophistic arguments to “justify” their positions. Abortion is the most clear example.

Science itself confirms that life begins at conception. And by life I mean most unequivocally human life. An embryo is a human life in a way that no sperm or egg ever is. All the information needed for a fully fledged adult is contained completely in an embryo, whereas spermatozoa and ova are nothing more than partial components of a future human life.

So, I affirm as a most clear truth that life begins at conception.

What does the liberal side say? I would hope they would at least say something like, “Life begins at birth,” or “Life begins when the heart beats,” or “Life begins with brain activity.”

But, alas, they fail to affirm such things because doing so would involve affirming something as true, an activity which the liberal abhors.

Instead, they say something like this: Well, we can’t know when life begins, so we can’t set any clear boundaries on the destruction of life. So, it’s okay to kill embryos, fetuses, and unborn children in general since we don’t know if they are life forms or not.

By destroying the concept of truth, liberals give themselves the freedom to destroy life. The Nazis did the exact same thing when they denied the inviolability of the lives of Jews, Gypsies, the disabled, the unborn, and their enemies, thereby justifying their indiscriminate termination.

Do you see the consequences of this philosophical choice?

What scares is me is that for all of their supposed education and superior intelligence, liberals do not see the connection between the death of truth and the death of man.

Even when history spells it out it clearly in the deaths of tens of millions of innocents at the hands of ideologies which also denied the truths of our forefathers.

Yet, the common man, the supposed fool who voted for Bush, instinctively understands this choice and sided with truth.

Mike Boylan illustrated this lack of grasping truth when he complained about the press not holding President Bush accountable.

This is a press that constantly questioned and criticized the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dismissed Bush’s education bill as meaningless, characterized the tax cuts as a gift to the rich, and went so far as to fake evidence of Bush’s military service in an attempt to discredit the man.

This press gave Bush a free pass in his first term? Please.

But this is the essence of liberalism: Claiming something to be true which has no basis in truth, in order to undermine actual truth. Liberal press, politicians, and academics (the elite) did the same thing with Communism, Vietnam, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and Kerry.

The liberal elite are wondering why they lost the last election. They blame their messengers (the inept Kerry and Edwards), the stupidity of the American people, the corrupt voting system, corporations, etc.

But what they fail to do is to examine their message, the one which says the truths of God, our forefathers, and our civilization no longer hold.

When you attack such a basic, fundamental concept, even those dumb, naive, ignorant conservatives can see that something just ain’t right with them Democrats.

They will continue to lose elections and people as long as they hold on to their nihilistic campaign of truth destruction.

The only thing that will keep them in office is their propensity to promise people free money. Bribery of the poor: Such is the last reserve of scoundrels and mobsters throughout history.

Trey Hoffman
Peachtree City, Ga.

Opposing viewpoints should try some logic

Certainly, the opinions of all are to be held with equal respect and honor, however, there needs to be more civility in our discourse and I, for one, would like to suggest that all parties re-introduce themselves with the general notions of logic, fallacies of logic, and civil discourse in general

There were several responses to the Oxford student’s letter that (as have been stated in many other letters I’ve read over the years) do not advance the discourse logically, but merely inflame and infuriate others to position themselves in a more and more inflammatory and emotionally irrelevant path.

Particular is the letter from one E. Jackson of PTC, who after stating that all liberals, “choos(e) to attack motives and quotes rather than debate the argument” and he says this is “the liberal theme” obviously, this is a clear example of the fallacy of Hasty Generalization.

In other words, one letter from a student from our county studying abroad speaks on behalf of all liberals worldwide.

Further, (in an Ad Hominem fallacy) Mr. Jackson jibes the student as being “a bright boy.”

Come on, this is unwarranted. Is it possible that this “bright boy” living abroad may have a slightly more clearer insight as to thoughts about America’s shadow in the “global community” than someone who is living in Peachtree City, Ga.?

More hasty generalizations follow in his reference to Kerry, Edwards and the French. Wow. Can we get a grip and stop bashing the French? I seem to recall they had a little something to do with our formation as a sovereign nation.

I was even more impressed that Mr. Jackson reads Locke. Zounds! I guess he wants us to know that he, too, is an intellectual. Well, that’s interesting, but what does that have to do with his reference to Tocqueville?

Don’t we also tire of the blather about “the protective walls of academia”? This is a convenient way of bashing someone younger than yourself, and I’m sure you would not have appreciated the same tag as you were attending college. You were just younger, that’s all.

We should applaud this young man for having the voracity of opinion that compelled him to write to his home newspaper in the first place.

Everyone, let us please cool our jets, and let’s have a more civil, logical discourse. I don’t care how you vote or what your politics are, just be able to support your arguments with civility and without resorting to fallacy.

Could this mean more of us need education in the Liberal Arts?

God forbid.

D. Biemiller
Fayette County, Ga.

VFW Buddy Poppies: Let’s restore this memorial to our veterans

As Post 9949 Quartermaster I arrange and schedule two VFW Buddy Poppy distributions each year (one on a Saturday near Memorial Day and the second on a Saturday near Veterans Day).

On Saturday, Nov. 6, we held our most recent distribution and gave out over 3,500 Buddy Poppies and we collected donations for our Veterans Relief Fund (a new record total of $3,224.35).

What bothers me is where do all these Buddy Poppies go? I never see one worn except when they are handed out. I have one in the lapel of my sport coat and I’ve worn it continuously since last Veterans Day, which includes at church service every Sunday.

The Buddy Poppy is the flower of remembrance. It is supposed to be worn in honor of our fallen warriors.

Last November on the Wednesday before Veterans Day I called a comrade to schedule him to work on Poppy Day. He said, “Bob, I’ve been in Toronto for several days this week and I was impressed that everyone that I saw was wearing a red poppy, school children, politicians, government employees and news people on local TV stations.”

He said, “I would like to see U.S. residents do this, wouldn’t you?”

I agreed I would too. Saturday came and I passed out poppies to three of my fellow parishioners who regularly attend early Mass at Holy Trinity. I was an usher and welcomed them on their entry into church. I noted not one VFW Buddy Poppy being worn by them or any other parishioner at that service.

Tuesday was Veterans Day and after attending a Veterans Day program at Huddleston School at 8:30 a.m. (I passed out VFW Buddy Poppies to all the students attending the program at Huddleston).

After the Huddleston program, I crossed the street and attended my Kiwanis meeting, [where] I put out a box of poppies and a collection jar for our Veterans Relief Fund.

A member, Walt Mashburn, came up to me and said, “Bob, I was in Vancouver last week and I was impressed that everyone I saw was wearing a red poppy.”

I’ve thought about how can I make a difference and get my fellow citizens to show their gratitude to our fallen warriors that they richly deserve.

I want everyone in Peachtree City and Fayette County to wear a Buddy Poppy at least on Veterans Day and on Memorial Day and I would include wearing them to church service on the Sunday after you receive them on Saturday.

I lived in Ontario from September 1966 through September 1973. I do not recall seeing a single red poppy being worn. So it was off to the Internet for a search on Poppy and Remembrance Day.

I found that Canada has only one day dedicated to veterans, Nov. 11, and it is now called Remembrance Day. [As in] the U.S. it was first named Armistice Day as a tribute to the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when the armistice of World War I was signed.

The Royal Legion page says that red poppies were first distributed in Canada in November 1921. It claims that the sale of red poppies is the life-blood of the Legion’s funding. They claim nearly half of Canada’s population wear red poppies during November.

Where do we begin to change the habits in America and particularly in Peachtree City and Fayette County? I believe it starts with publicity and having our schools educate our children about Veterans Day and Memorial Day, [about] veterans and the history and symbolism of the red poppy.

[The] Nov. 11, 2003, edition of The Globe And Mail [a Canadian newspaper] contains stories on Remembrance Day on seven of the 20 pages in Section A. The total space used on these stories totals three full pages out of 20. [In the] Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Nov. 11, 2004, compare the Veterans Day space to this Globe And Mail tabulation.

I call for any of my fellow citizens who believe we need to have our citizens wear poppies on Veterans Day and Memorial Day to call me with your suggestions and offer to help. [Phone] 770-631-1439.

I note that many of us and the particular groups highlighted as wearing poppies in Canada picked up wearing U.S. Flag pins on their lapels immediately after 9/11 and many still wear them on their lapels to commemorate those 3,000 innocent victims. Then why not wear poppies on Veterans Day and Memorial Day?

Bob Konrad, WWII veteran, U.S. Navy
Peachtree City, Ga.

Little common ground on stem-cells

Before I respond to Rick Walker, I would like to thank him very much for his reply. It was subtle, intelligent, and humble in the most Christian sense of the word. Also, his response was much more well-written than my own letter. It rather put my entry to shame. I really wish I personally knew more people like Rick.

On the issue of stem-cell research, I have nothing to say. Essentially, I said in my last letter that I cannot have a conversation about the merits of stem-cell research with someone who believes that a human life begins at the very moment of conception.

Rick believes this, so we will have to agree to disagree. I am quite happy to disagree with such a thoughtful person as he.

I do, however, feel a need to respond to a couple of things Rick said. First, I have done a bit of my own Catholic theology research. I own a copy of the Catechism, have read several parts of it, and have visited the Holy See’s Web site several times to get the latest on Catholic teachings. It is a wonderful website, by the way, and can be found at http://www.vatican.va.

In fact, Rick, I think the Catholics are the most reasonable, consistent Christians. However, I do not feel that Catholic teachings are above questioning. Were I still a practicing Catholic, I may feel differently. But I am not still a Catholic, and I will never see any teaching as being beyond questioning.

I question why the Catholic Church teaches that the Host turns into literal flesh, the body of Christ, and yet people with celiac sprue disease must eat wheat-free wafers.

In the same vein, I question why the Church teaches that life begins at conception, and yet so many people die before they are even recognizable as human. It confuses me, and I cannot see any reasonable answer.

That said, my biggest problem with Trey Hoffman’s article was not that he was espousing Catholic values. Were he merely doing that, I probably would have not replied at all. There is little point in having a religious argument in the pages of a newspaper.

My biggest problem was that he painted a villainous picture of everyone who feels stem-cell research can help humanity.

He essentially called us a bunch of death-obsessed charlatans. I wanted to point out that there are secular people who are anti-abortion and/or anti-cloning who are pro-embryonic stem-cell research, and that we are not angry, deluded people who lust for the death of children.

My other problem was that Trey was condemning people who stereotype others while doing the exact same thing. I found that supremely disturbing.

I will not say that my stand on the matter will never change. I may, one day, be convinced that a human is a human from the moment the sperm penetrates the egg.

At the moment, however, I am not convinced that an embryo is a human being. And it’s going to take more than “The Pope said so” to convince me. I want to see the absolute reason why. I want the evidence that does not have to be taken on faith.

Mr. Walker, or anyone else for that matter, if you have anymore resources to share, or would like to converse with me on the subject, feel free to e-mail me at medra42@gmail.com. I shall be trying to find copies of the texts Mr. Walker mentioned in his response.

Jason Crain, Fayetteville, Ga.

Should smoke exception be granted?

This Thursday night’s Peachtree City Council meeting could be interesting. Lawson-Mardon (also known as Alcan Packaging and the world’s second largest producer of tobacco packaging) is proposing to go to the next step in our indoor smoking ban.

They are requesting the first exception for their $100,000 indoor smoking room. It is questionable if we are technologically ready for this step but PTC will hear their suggested level of smoke protection Thursday night.

Our current legislation does not stop smoking. It only stops harming innocent bystanders with trapped enclosed smoke.

Our six years of required smoking signs showed that while separately ventilated smoking areas were permitted, they simply did not work.

It will be interesting to see what additional steps Lawson-Mardon is proposing to our past common sense, reasonable boundaries that simply did not work as we intended.

This is the real power of our current legislation at work. Exceptions can be granted but only after proof that nonsmokers will be protected is offered by those wanting to change our current reasonable boundaries that do work.

Kathie Cheney, Peachtree City, Ga.

Renters: Kudos, or irony?

Kudos to Mayor Steve Brown, Police Chief James Murray, Geoffrey Parker of the DCA, and the Fayette County Department of Family and Children Services for their cooperative effort in the bogus-renter scam.

As long as state and federal monies are available for the citizens, who truly need the assistance, there will always be scamsters trying to make a buck or two off government aid.

Shame on you, Ms. Redding! You wonderful citizens of Peachtree City have come together as a community and are fighting back against the crimes that many of us face in our cities on a daily basis. What a wonderful example you are setting for your children!

Please, keep up the community camaraderie and help make a positive difference in your city and your future. You’ve taken responsibility for your own welfare. Thank you.

I, also, applaud The Citizen for publishing this newsworthy article, even though it didn’t make the 6 p.m. news. A feel-good article about thoughtful, considerate human beings is not modern-day journalism. You folks are fortunate to have city/county officials and the “eyes” of journalism watching out for the welfare of everyone.

Kathy Slusher, R.N.
El Paso, Texas