Concerning the woman whose “precious darlings” continue to be stopped by the police, I believe we’re not getting the whole story. I’m sure the police have more important things to do than harass innocent teens. FBI statistics confirm that young black males commit crimes at rates far exceeding their numbers. If you allow your children to dress like thugs, act like thugs, and listen to loud thug music, don’t be surprised if someone thinks they are thugs.

- - - - - - - - - - -

In response to “driving while black”: why do “people of color” (your words) want to refer to statistics when it benefits their point, but when other people use statistics, they are branded racists? If some “people of color” wouldn’t live up to the stereotypes, they wouldn’t be looked upon as so. By the way, your comment about ”the fragility of my sons’ future at the mindset of a convenience store clerk” made it sound as though you believe store clerks are not that intelligent. Who’s profiling now?

- - - - - - - - - - -

I’ve driven brown while downtown.

- - - - - - - - - - -

“Driving while black”... a few pointers: Chris Rock produced a rather informative video on this very subject. I would suggest visiting youtube.com and doing a search for “Chris Rock Police.” The language is a little rough, but the points are valid.

- - - - - - - - - - -

In response to Ms. Johnson’s diatribe about the mistreatment of her sons by the police, I have the following thoughts. You referred to your son as “Chevy Boy,” commented that he has a sports car and/or “hot rod” and that playing loud music is typical behavior. That should be your first clue as to why he gets stopped. You wrote that he was adjusting his rearview mirror when he noticed blue lights behind him. Why was he adjusting his mirror? Had someone else been driving his car? Or was he watching the police cars following him, giving them the “perp look”? You state that your son immediately reached for his identification upon being stopped. Most of the country has learned by now that police officers really don’t like to see moving and reaching around while approaching a car. It tends to make them nervous and results in service weapons being drawn out of the holsters. You state that your sons heard the description of another car being broadcast over the radio while in the back seat of the patrol car. Tends to make me think that the officers did not have that information prior to stopping your sons on a limited look-out. You go on to make the ridiculous connection between five patrol cars being present and the citation for loud music, which was not the reason for the stop. Cops back each other up so that they get to go home at the end of the day. There are very few cops anymore who care what color you are (look at all the white folk in court when you go to try to beat the ticket your son rightly got for his typical behavior). You should have a long talk with your sons about how to act like men, instead of playing the ”race” and “victim” cards.

- - - - - - - - - - -

It take a village to raise a child. Fayette County is a family oriented community. The population is growing, attracting not only people who want to reside in a quiet family oriented community, but also attracting people who resent your way of living. Yes, it takes a village to raise a child, but when you move your 16-year-old here and their behavior is already foul, maintaining their friendship with the troublemakers that you are attempting to get away from. Tell me, why did you pick Fayette County? The village your child came from either did not do a good job or they’re glad you moved the troublemaker out. Yes, I even see that the candidate who is running for sheriff is an ex-cop from Detroit and worked with the gangs unit. You came here for a better life and that is great; welcome. But did you solve the gang problems in Detroit? However, there are still gangs there. Some people think that people in the South are naive just like the criminals who are coming here to take advantage of this family oriented community. I am sure that Fayette County officials are aware of the gang problems but have to be very careful on addressing them due to the NAACP saying they are profiling. Thugs do stand out, and some of you parents are allowing your kids to present themselves as such. When you do not brush your hair, and wear pants hanging below your underwear, and walk lazy, then guess what? People kill me saying that is a fashion. Yes, it is and was discovered by thugs. Thugs could not afford belts and were too lazy to brush their hair, therefore they created a style. Prisoners created it as well. People, wake up. Thugs are different from you, and were not raised, so stop allowing your child to portray themselves as such wannabes. If we do not come together and address the issues, more kids are going to dress like thugs for their own protection of blending in with them. Town Hall meeting are great but some people can’t take constructive criticism, so they start arguing and look stupid. Some grown folks have this attitude that you can’t tell me blank. I was not surprised to see someone write about their child being pulled over by the police. Apparently her teen may make good grades in school but appears to present themselves as a thug by wearing their clothes hanging off their butt and playing loud music, etc. Remember there are more important issues at stake. This country has to be maintained just like a new subdivision, car, etc. What are you doing to help as a parent? What can you do? Raise your child with morals and values. Inspire them about their education so that they can help maintain this country. Instead of sucking up oxygen everyday, taking life for granted. Get involved in your child’s interest, tell your child that the freedom we have has to be maintained by them. Soldiers are dying so that your child can have the freedom of being the so-called thug. When you see groups of thugs acting up in your neighborhood, take a stand and say something to them. At the football game, tell those boys to pull their pants up. This is not tolerated in Fayette County. Stop thinking about yourself and put your family first. Fayette County is my village. P.S. Stay married and stop divorcing.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Please follow the guidelines for Free Speech, which state “your short take.” Submissions should be 200 words or less. If you can’t state your thoughts concisely enough to fit that requirement, then write an editorial or letter to the editor. That would require you to have the courage to identify yourself. No one reads past the first four sentences (if that many) of these columns-long rants. Just write it in a notebook to get it off your chest and don’t waste newsprint by sending it to the paper.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Tyrone’s new Town Council is 0-3. The new council promised ethical government; the citizens got an investigation of the mayor by the state of Georgia’s Ethics Commission. The new council promised open government; the citizens got secret council meetings at the mayor’s house. The new council promised to be fiscally responsible; the citizens got a new town manager with less duties than the previous manager, paid $22,000 above the maximum for a small town and a 58 percent increase in the hourly rate paid by the taxpayers for a town attorney.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Since Tyrone Mayor Pro Tem Grace Caldwell is now pulling all the strings, what would have been the harm of at least going through the motions of selecting a new manager and a new lawyer in a professional way? Like at least running ads, posting a salary range and doing public interviews. Have they even posted what they are paying these people at all?

- - - - - - - - - - -

Now if anyone does not know it, please be advised that Tyrone has become the dumping ground for county rejects. First they have Grace Caldwell, who after a less-than-stellar term as a county commissioner had to move out of state to excape the criticism. Now they have Bill McNally, who was terminated by the county to save the county taxpayers money, and Chris Venice, who also had left the county with a tidy sum of taxpayers’ money. How long before Dunn and Wells will be moving to Tyrone?

- - - - - - - - - - -

Timberlake subdivision: Our lake is private property. To the people who are destroying our lake, gazebo and boat dock, we have an idea who you are. The residents of Timberlake have installed deer cameras in the trees. We now have pictures of the kids breaking our steps on the gazebo for the second time. We have also found drugs around the dock in a backpack. These were turned into the police and they have your fingerprints. We are tired of this vandalism. If you are caught, we will have you arrested and prosecuted. The gates will be locked and the residents will have keys. The people who live in the other subdivisions will have to find another way to Peachtree City. We would rather spend our money on new tennis courts, not you. If you are caught, you will be paying for the damage. Parents, please talk to your kids. Have a nice drive down Peachtree Parkway, now that you have ruined it for yourselves. By the way, it is illegal to drive a golf cart down the parkway. Maybe we will have a new path built for us so we don’t have to pick up your trash, and the city can.

- - - - - - - - - - -

When I first read the comments about middle class stresses from a writer, I became severely upset at the distortion of the American dream she presented. Then I thought, if she is not originally from this area she is likely from the Northeast (so am I incidentally). I say this because she (1) believes that $95,000 a year is middle class and (2) the government should do something to fix her problems. I think positive influence is always the best way to start changes so I am really going to try to help. First, $95,000 per year is a fabulous income. Many people in this country and many Fayette County natives could only dream of this income. Statistically, you are in the top 20 percent of income earners in the country. That is, you and your family make more money then 4 out of every 5 people you see. This is a blessing. Your options are virtually unlimited. First and foremost, this is a buyers market for homes. With your husband’s salary there are abundant older homes in Fayette County in the $200,000 range in good school districts and safe neighborhoods. This should be easily affordable. The income tax savings from owning a home outweigh any issues of property tax, and you eventually earn equity. You could also choose to move to Pike, Meriwether, or Lamar counties and home-school and get a nicer home for the same dollars. Also trade in your car payment for an old base model rice burner. As far as health insurance, if it is only costs you $400 a month, this is an incredible bargain and is likely mostly paid for by your husband’s company. If you still choose to work, you can try a stay at home job or work nights after your children go to bed. Hopefully, by living here you will embrace all the wonderful possibilities that America offers and realize you can break free from any preconceived notions. Best of luck!

- - - - - - - - - - -

To the Free Speech(er) from last week addressing “anyone running for public office”: Something is wrong in your equation. Although I agree that the middle class is being torn apart and ignored and all families should be able to afford a stay at home parent, if what you stated is true about your family size, income and expenditures, you may want to look into getting one of those “financial advisor(s)” you mentioned in your comment. For, $95,000-plus, a family of three, extremely tight purse strings, and coupons do not equal the grievous poverty you were alluding to. Get real.

- - - - - - - - - - -

What! I cannot believe the WASA is even thinking about a rate increase. We already pay more for sewage than we do for water. Let’s see. We have to cut our water usage but if the WASA decides to try to implement this harebrained idea, we’ll have to pay higher sewage fees for water we can’t use. Have they lost their minds? Perhaps this is yet another agency that should have its participants voted in.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Can someone please tell me why the Peachtree City Council is dragging their feet and still hasn’t gotten around to mandating a landscape maintenance company, car mechanic and Internet service provider for me to use? After all, I’m too inept and simple minded to even decide on who should pick up my garbage.

- - - - - - - - - - -

To the daughter whose father was serving in the military: Thank him for his service and thank you and your family for supporting him. The honor and commitment that all those in the armed forces display transcends any cultural or regional differences. God bless America and all our troops and their families

- - - - - - - - - - -

“The Fred” is dead, or is it? Grumblings around Peachtree City: Nobody is going to buy season tickets for “The Fred” unless the talent level is greatly increased. I agree. I have been a loyal season ticket holder for almost seven years, and while I enjoy getting on my golf cart and spending a night out with friends, enough is enough. The talent level has continually gone down for several years now. I have decided, unless there are at least three acts I would enjoy seeing, I’m just going to buy concert tickets on a single show basis. I am among many in PTC who would pay more to have better talent. Let’s face it, we live in one of the wealthiest counties in Georgia. The people of PTC don’t mind paying extra as long as there is something in it for them. Instead of bringing back the same acts we’ve all seen numerous times, how about some new talent everyone would enjoy seeing? If you hadn’t noticed, last year the amphitheater was about one-third empty. Wake up! Oh, by the way, did you see there is another amphitheater out there competing for your business? I hope I’m not too late and all the talent has been booked. The definition of crazy is doing the same thing all the time and expecting different results. Another weak line-up will result in more empty seats. I hope you guys figure this out soon. Raise ticket prices, increase sponsorship fees, do whatever you have to do, just bring PTC a quality lineup.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Fayette Board of Education, you had me wondering when you didn’t vote for map A and you didn’t vote for map B, but you passed map AB. For weeks I searched for what that actually meant. I went through the holidays wondering what was accomplished. I’m impressed: Thank you! The 2008-2009 map you now have posted on your website FCBOE.org is actually color coded so we can tell the difference between neighboring schools. The schools are highlighted by a red star and the name of the school is clearly written. The schools are being fed by close neighborhoods and with major roads being boundaries. If you live within a mile of a school, that is where you will be attending. Thank you for getting rid of the idea of passing by one school to attend another with cut-out boundaries right and left. It is a good start; now please don’t make ANY exceptions. Parents and employees need to support their new school. If you work in the system, your kids need to attend your school you are employed at or their feeders: No exceptions! Each school in the county has wonderful kids, parents and staff. Now let’s better our education even more by supporting the system, following the boundaries and not cheating it. All kids love to learn and parents can help make that even more possible by 110 percent support.

- - - - - - - - - - -

City Manager Bernie McMullen [said], ”Good news, bad news” relating to the repairs that are being made on the Police Department building. The good news is work started on the project; the bad news is more problems are being discovered, all of which seem to stem from shoddy construction practices where the contractor didn’t follow the specified plans and whatever city inspectors that were to inspect the construction didn’t do their jobs. So get ready, everyone, when the other shoe falls in regards to an addendum to the cost of the repair. Presently the cost for the project is $600,000 for what is probably less than one-half the cost needed to correct the problems. I would like to see the City Council ,address the following: 1. Who were the city inspectors involved in passing on the substandard work performed? 2. What does the city manager manage? 3. What does the city engineer do for his paycheck? Seems like anytime anything has to be done in this city, a consultant has to be hired to get the job done. No one is accountable for anything. This is why the City Council must change all contract employees and rehire all at-will employees to fill those spaces.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Can Fayette’s helicopter outgun Victor’s tank in Clayton County?

- - - - - - - - - - -

One smiling face you can count on around Fayette these days is undertaker C.J. Mowell as he routinely drives his hearse out of Piedmont Fayette Hospital. Business is very good. Might be time for a new set of tires.

- - - - - - - - - - -

There are documented cases of Fayette County School System firing or refusing to hire or promote applicants based on factors such as cancer, hereditary diseases, unforeseen illness, religious preferences, personal dislikes and even race and ethnic backgrounds. In an evolving country, these practices can not be tolerated. As a resident of Fayette County and an employee of the Fayette County Board of Education, it is time we realize we are living in a changing world and we must conform to the laws laid out to us by our federal government. It is time that the educators of this county realize that the Board of Education is not a social club where we can do whatever we want as long as it is okay with the rest of its members. It is time that we become more concerned about the education and the welfare of our students, more so than whom we like or dislike. It is time that we get past the good old boy and buddy system and put people in position that will provide the best education possible for our children. We live in one of the greatest counties in the state of Georgia and if we intend to maintain the heritage and the quality of Fayette County, we need to review the Fayette County School Board, Fayette County Board of Education Human Resources Department, and each and every school official to be sure we are a county that believes in equality.

- - - - - - - - - - -

I just moved to PTC this summer from the Midwest and I was so happy to read the letter in last week’s paper from the reader concerned about the Braelinn Shopping Center. I have been thinking the same thing since I moved here. The shopping area is a disgrace to the city of PTC. Every week it seems all the elected officials do is argue about the vacant property on Hwy. 54, and big box stores instead of worrying about the aesthetics of what is already here. If you visit the Kedron Shopping Center, The Avenue, or even the Wal-Mart/Home Depot shopping area, you will see that people want new and clean. Maybe a grassroots group of residents should be formed to do something about the Braelinn Shopping Center. Remember what a group of disgruntled residents were able to do about closing the Kroger Store on Hwy. 54.

- - - - - - - - - - -

To the young healthy appearing lady driving the white Lexus with Georgia wildlife tag HU171P, who parked in a handicapped space at PTC Wal-Mart on Monday, Jan. 7 at noon. The PTC Police have your tag number and will be watching for you the next time you use a handicapped space without authorization. The fine is substantial.

- - - - - - - - - - -

I believe strongly in freedom of speech and will support it, even when someone writes to The Citizen’s Free Speech column (which all of us do who write) but uses that cheap anonymous cover to engage in lies and character assassination. To me, that usage of free speech shows a total disrespect for the freedom that they use. I speak, of course, of last week’s item in which someone recited a litany of lies about Barack Obama. Go to Newsweek and check “Sliming Obama” and find out how many legitimate sources have proof that the assertions about “jihadist anti-American” Obama are nothing but out and out malicious lies. Some people can’t handle the truth and would rather foment and perpetuate lies.

- - - - - - - - - - -

So I guess one of our candidates (gee, wonder who that is) was “indoctrinated as a child by a radical Islamic terrorist father.” And you know this how? I know this newspaper puts the “neo” in “neocon,” but to publish such hateful, racist bigotry is purely destructive to our community. Especially in an anonymous fashion. Your comments were disgusting. To simply assume that if someone has an Islamic father, they must be a “terrorist” shows how truly sick your mind is. We do not need your type of hateful comments. You are a disgrace to our community.

- - - - - - - - - - -

It’s obvious that our economy is in danger of total collapse in this country as the gap between the rich and poor grows rapidly wider. My family spent Christmas and New Years at my wife’s home in Japan. While there I did all the shopping for the family. Compare these prices to what you are paying for the necessities of life. Rate of exchange calculated at 118 yen per one dollar. At the grocery store: Grade A extra large eggs, 60 cents. Hot house cucumbers, 6 for 85 cents. Tomatoes 50 cents per pound. Milk 75 cents per liter (just over a quart), about $2.90 per gallon. Bread always baked fresh that day 75 cents for a one pound loaf. Restaurant food: In a western style eatery an eight-ounce sirloin steak with potatoes, salad and a drink, about $18 and there is absolutely no tipping. For the sushi lovers, 85 cents per plate containing two large portions that you will pay $4 or $5 for in a Korean-run Japanese restaurant here. Go to a KFC in Japan and have a chicken breast lunch for $1.75. Health care: Free to citizens and legal residents and it is the best and most efficient system I have ever witnessed. There are no illegals sponging off the system there. Public transportation: Readily available no matter where you are and very cheap. Privately owned cars are a luxury and not necessary, but many people do own them. However, the average American motorist spends more than three times as much for gasoline as his counterpart in Japan. In Japan you purchase 20 liters at about $1; that suffices where 20 gallons at over $3 is required in America. Most domestic cars in Japan get around 30 kilometers per liter and a very long commute would be less than ten miles. Do the math. Is it any wonder that our economy is on the verge of collapse and the gap between rich and poor is growing so rapidly in this country? The CEOs in our corporate industry are responsible for this gross over pricing of commodities.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Wow, so Christmas is all about you getting greeted with “Merry Christmas,” because “Happy Holidays” simply offends you! Now that’s a demonstration of Christianity. So it’s all about you. Well, if you simply don’t feel fulfilled if you hear “Happy Holidays,” then by all means boycott all the stores. You are exactly what is WRONG with too many people, hiding their hatred and bigotry behind the cloak of Christianity. This country isn’t a “Christian Nation” as you may think. It is a nation free to all but with a majority identifying as Christian. The Pilgrims fled here to avoid religious persecution. Now in 2008 it’s bigots like you who want to religiously persecute. You want to stop, ignore, degrade any other belief other than yours. That, my small-minded friend, is simply “religious persecution.” And at the Christmas season! I suggest you go to your church and do some serious praying for forgiveness for your soul. I think Jesus would be more than distraught at people who harbor so much hate for others as you do. In the meantime do boycott all those businesses. The less we have to be around you and your hatred, the better all our lives will be.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Who is kidding whom? Are Americans supposed to be gullible enough to swallow the tripe put out in Washington about the war in Iraq? “The troop surge is working. Violence is down.” What about the headlines every day without fail that reads, “Suicide bomber kills 30,” 40 or sometimes hundreds. The string of suicide bombers is unending simply because all Muslims believe they must kill anyone who refuses to become Muslim and if they die in the process they will be rewarded in heaven. The truth is, hell must be getting overcrowded with these misled people.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Oops! Huckabee doesn’t support ending birthright citizenship for illegal aliens’ babies. He’s toast.