The Citizen Online staff_blogs

Smart Little Snowman

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:48:25 -0500

It has been heartening to me the number of grandmas whose grandbabies have been diagnosed with autism. Whether at church or Curves or the Kroger, grandparents of autistic children come up to me with huge smiles and saying, “We have an autistic grandchild too and you’d never know it.”

Recession offers Ga. chance for tax reform

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:52:46 -0500

Georgia lawmakers are mulling tax increases and gimmicks to plug a projected budget gap of more than $2 billion, but a new Tax Foundation report cautions against such tactics and urges tax reform that will stabilize revenue.

Radical Islam’s ‘Manchurian Candidate’?

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:51:47 -0500

President Obama’s appointment of Rashad Hussain, his deputy associate counsel, as special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations, charged with safeguarding and protecting “the interests of the Muslim world,” should be of serious concern to Congress and the American public.

Week 5 legislative update: House to tackle budget hearings

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:45:41 -0500

Last week the General Assembly convened for legislative days 18-20 of the 2010 session of the Georgia legislature. We have officially reached the half-way point of the 40-day session and there is still much work to be done.

Republicans are playing shell game with property taxes

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:44:04 -0500

In the second full week of the legislative session, a Republican state senator introduced a brand new property tax overhaul designed to save you money. Under this legislation, he says, appeals will move faster and assessments will be fairer.

The miracle of the supermarket

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:43:10 -0500

By Jacob G. Hornberger

In preparation for two recent back-to-back blizzards, residents in the Washington, D.C., area emptied the shelves of neighborhood grocery stores. Notwithstanding the pre-blizzard panic buying, what’s interesting is that no one was freaking out about whether the stores would be adequately stocked after the blizzards.

Newspapers need us; we need them

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:42:28 -0500

In the home in which I grew up, the daily newspaper was almost as important to our everyday lives as the Bible.

Daddy came home every night, finished his supper – which Mama brought to him on a tray as he relaxed in his favorite recliner – then picked up the paper and read every page.

When belief is not enough

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:03:15 -0500

When I was a 25-year-old pastor I had better answers to the questions of life than I do now. When I took my first church at 23, I knew I didn’t know anything about almost everything. By the time two years had passed, I had all the answers.

The battle of the textbooks

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:00:47 -0500

Few things in life are as clear as the futility of a real debate on the clarity of America’s religious origins.

“Debate,” I said? Lay a finger, unsuspectingly, on The New York Times Magazine’s inspection of the attempt by so-called Christian fundamentalists to overhaul history textbooks, and you require treatment for first-degree burns.

Snowball etiquette

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:50:52 -0500

The snowball was the size of a grapefruit, or at least it felt that big when it slammed into the back of my head. With the force of a sledgehammer, it almost bowled me over. Snow then slipped down the inside of my shirt. The wetness brought with it the frigid hand of Old Man Winter.

Playing freedom cheap

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:42:50 -0500

If eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, incessant distractions are the way that politicians take away our freedoms, in order to enhance their own power and longevity in office.

The Census and the Constitution

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:41:29 -0500

The Census Bureau estimates that the life cycle cost of the 2010 Census will be from $13.7 billion to $14.5 billion, making it the costliest census in the nation’s history.

Is our national anthem sacred?

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:33:39 -0500

At a local high school sporting event recently, a few parents were offended that one school’s supporters sang along with the ending of the national anthem and changed the last word to support their team. The offended parents feel that is disrespectful to our troops and want an apology. The identifying details don’t really matter.

The failures of the school board

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:32:09 -0500

With a sense of literary tragedy, the exit of John DeCotis, Ph.D., coincided with a bitter cold front, snow and the closing of our schools, an image ripe with symbolism.

Week 4 legislative update: Mandate relief, budget and tests

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:29:40 -0500

Last week the Georgia General Assembly convened on Monday through Thursday for legislative days 14-17 of the 2010 Georgia General Assembly session. There were several important bills considered on the floor of the House; also a number of significant bills are working their way through the legislative committee process.