“I’m proud to pay taxes in America; the only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money."

— Arthur Godfrey, 1950s TV show host, 1903-83.

This is part one on identifying how the Fayette County Board of Education (FCBOE) bonds went wrong, key decisions went awry and those who are benefiting from it all.

When I heard there was going to be an auction of “Gone With The Wind” memorabilia, there was no doubt that I was going. Too, I knew just the person to join me in the caper.

I love Jesus. I hate the devil. I am guided by the Bible. I want to stay away from evil. I want what’s best for our children. I will protect them whenever, wherever, and however possible and necessary.

So, what do “the rich” pay in federal income taxes? Nothing, right? That, at least, is what most people think. And Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wants to raise the top marginal rate for “the rich” — known in some quarters as “job creators.”

Next Monday, I fly to Illinois for the 24th time in two years. I will arrive at Hartsfield Jackson Airport in Atlanta around 7 a.m., deposit my car in the Park & Ride, catch a shuttle to the terminal, and do all the things one must do to get on an aircraft in a post 9/11 world.

Systemic corruption of our election process continues. Barack Obama and his old friends at ACORN and Project Vote are leading the way. This radical revolution is taking place in your backyard. And as I’ve reported before, this voter-fraud racket is on your dime.

“Grow up or die,” Bill Maher admonishes viewers at the end of “Religulous,” which is kind of an odd statement for a guy to make on wrapping up a cinematic assault on religion: mocking, jesting, wise-guying to beat the band.

The Wife and I diverted from our normal Tuesday night television routine to watch the Presidential debate. Boy, was that a big mistake!

Critics of Senator Barack Obama make a strategic mistake when they talk about his “past associations.” That just gives his many defenders in the media an opportunity to counter-attack against “guilt by association.”

It was one of those tiny instants in life, one that should be forgotten at once – except that I’ve stuffed it into one corner of my brain, convenient for mulling over during otherwise down time.

The work of science is to substitute facts for appearances, and demonstrations for impressions.

— John Ruskin, English author and social critic, 1819-1900

As I write this column, I cannot help but think of Irene Dunne’s famous quote, “If we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything.”

To New York City, once I went to do a photo shoot for the cover of a book.

It was less than a week after the 9/11 attacks, the original shoot date having been scheduled for Sept. 12, then postponed for reasons now too well known to all mankind.

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Pastors get some of the most interesting questions from people they meet and people in their congregations. Here are a few questions that I’ve gotten during my years of ministry and via email for this column.

Sometimes, in the course of serving as a pastor and priest, one receives something precious that should be shared with others. A member of our church family, Carolyn Fjeran, expressed her thoughts about moments shared with a special family. I share them now with you:

So here we are — wherever “here” is, economically, financially speaking. The House balks at the bailout. The markets tumble. What next? No expert who tells you he knows what’s ahead is to be believed, and you can tell him a colleague said so.

Nothing could more painfully demonstrate what is wrong with Congress than the current financial crisis.

Among the Congressional “leaders” invited to the White House to devise a bailout “solution” are the very people who have for years created the risks that have now come home to roost.

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to the floor of the House on Monday to blame Republicans for the financial turmoil and charge them with a laissez-fare attitude toward regulation, it seemed like a calculated effort to shift attention and accountability from what Democrats have done to create the current conditions. Fortunately, we have YouTube so Democrats can run from their records, but they can’t hide.

Oh, the irony of the body betrayed….

The meals I prepare for the two of us at home are basically vegetarian. Even when we go out to eat or to a reception or banquet, we usually stick with the salmon and lots of salad (hold the dressing).

What will we be reading about SPLOST on the electronic tablet that serves as our ballot, on Nov. 4?

No, it won’t be “Who was the longest reigning British monarch?” That was the $1 million dollar question for state school superintendent Kathy Cox on the TV show Who’s Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? We get only three choices: Yes, no, or pass.

A select group of inhabitants are putting the school SPLOST in the spin cycle. Like when you dare to find fault with the shady TDK Extension road project, they say you do not care about relieving traffic, so too goes the SPLOST.

Being a child of the seventies, television has a powerful influence on me. It can even test the core of my Southern woman being as it did recently.

Did you read about the two pilots for Hawaii’s Go airlines that slept through their flight’s landing procedure and basically overshot their exit from the friendly skies? The FAA suspended them for the careless and reckless operation of an aircraft. The airline fired them.

I’ve been called many things over the years, but until last weekend I’ve never been called a DINK. A doofus – yes. A DINK – no. And who placed this new label I now wear with pride on me?? It was none other than The Wife.

While all political campaigns tend to trend toward the negative, several of the supporters of one of the presidential candidates has struck a new and offensive low. The Massachusetts Liberal, an on-line communication, ran a recent article titled, “Jesus was a Community Organizer; Pontius Pilate was a Governor.”

The Mother of All Bailouts has many fathers. As panicked politicians prepare to fork over $1 trillion in taxpayer funding to rescue the financial industry, they’ve fingered regulation, deregulation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Community Reinvestment Act, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, both Bushes, greedy banks, greedy borrowers, greedy short-sellers and minority home ownership mau-mauers (can’t call ‘em greedy, that would be racist) for blame.

Not a one of us non-economists — and probably not a lot of economists either — know for sure how the Paulson-Bush rescue plan will play out now or down the line.

[Editor’s note: Columnist Robert Novak has retired but is writing occasional columns. The following is his latest.]

Who was it who said, “crack-brained meddling by the authorities” can “aggravate an existing crisis”? Ronald Reagan? Milton Friedman? Adam Smith? Not even close. It was Karl Marx. Unlike most leftists today, Marx studied economics.