Frogsy

How scary for you all down there in Georgia...

At least the conservative idiot running for governor in Michigan was defeated. I couldn't stand that guy. He wasn't half as bad as you've described Chambliss to be. What is your governor like?

I just don't get the "every child has the right to a moment of silence" thing. Kids are silent for a good part of the day, and they can pray any time they wish. But I digress.
<img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

atheist_in_foxhole

I cannot fucking believe that Chambliss won that race. Did you see his supporters waving those Confederate flags at his victory rally?

wildernesse

Our governor is newly elected Sonny Perdue, a Republican.

I feel just a little defeated about the entire situation. Two more years (at least) of conservative Republicans. It's discouraging to no end.


--tibac

RufusAtticus

Check out this bill sponcered by Sonny.

<a href="http://www2.state.ga.us/Legis/1999_00/leg/fulltext/sb341.htm" target="_blank">SB 341 - QBE - courses in History & Literature of Old/New Testament</a>

The tell-tale sign that this isn't about education is the part where they allow students to read whatever bible translation they want. I'm sorry but if you want to study a work of literature as a class, you all need to be on the same page.

<img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" /> <img src="graemlins/banghead.gif" border="0" alt="[Bang Head]" />

GH

Last week, I gave a friend a ride to Kennesaw (in Cobb County, where he recently moved), and saw some Confederate flags stuck in the median of I-75. I couldn't pay a lot of attention at the time, but noticed they weren't actually flags. On the way back, there was less traffic and I noticed they said "Boot Barnes" at the bottom, and had some other writing that was impossible to read (given the apparent size of the sign and my speed of 80 mph). I'm not sure these are exactly the same signs, but the ones I saw looked very much like the ones on <a href="http://southernheritage.jccalhouncenter.com/boot_barnes.html" target="_blank">this</a> page.

It's sad to think so many people look upon the Confederacy with such fondness, but it's actually scary to think the main reason someone voted against Barnes was the removal of a prominent Confederate symbol (the old stars-and-bars flag).

[ November 06, 2002: Message edited by: GH ]</p>

atheist_in_foxhole

I hope I don't offend any atheists/agnostics who live in the south, but I'm starting to think that we should have just let the south go back in 1861. The U.S. would be better off, and 500,000+ people wouldn't have died in the civil war. Maybe I'm nuts, but that's the way I feel.

[ November 06, 2002: Message edited by: atheist_in_foxhole ]</p>

4th Generation Atheist

I've also been thinking that way for some time...even though all my ancestors from that time period fought in blue, and some of them wouldn't have met each other were it not for relocations caused by returning from the war (which means, for those of you reading this at ridiculous night hours, that I'm basically advocating a world in which I would most likely not exist.) Freethinking Southerners, feel free to come up North any time, to help the rest of us find a way to nuke your former homes to glass. (J/K! )

A little more seriously, any room left up there in Canada?

southernhybrid

I'm not going anywhere. I love living in the South. I have a better idea. Why don't some of you guys from the rest of the country move down here and help us out. We could use a few more atheist pioneers.


We shall overcome!

atheist_in_foxhole

From today's New York Times:

Quote:

ATLANTA, Nov. 6 — It was a hidden grudge, so private, apparently, that no polls picked it up. Last year Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat, led a successful effort to change Georgia's state flag, which then prominently featured the Confederate battle cross. This Tuesday, he paid the price. In their first chance to vent their anger, white voters in rural areas turned out in record numbers to vote out Mr. Barnes in one of the most stunning upsets this year. The governor had been considered one of the brightest lights in the Democratic Party, a gifted speaker, moderate, strong on education and a possible contender for vice president or even president.

Screw the south.

[ November 08, 2002: Message edited by: atheist_in_foxhole ]</p>

wildernesse

Well, if pollsters actually drove around outside of Metroville, they would have seen plenty of signs saying "Let us vote" with the old flag. Despite the fact that the state constitution doesn't allow a vote on this issue because it is a power of the legislative body.

People wouldn't be so upset, I think, if we had reverted to a previous flag. But this new, weird compliation of flags is just too much. And it *is* an emotional issue on both sides--and should have been dealt with differently.

However, Barnes lost for more than just the flag. Educators in this state could kill him--why? Because he put through education reforms--immediate, far reaching reforms and *gave no extra funding*.

Two years ago several school districts without a lot of money had to let all of their "extra" teachers (music, art, pe, etc) and para-pros go so that they could meet the small class sizes. That put a lot of people unexpectedly out of a job in places like Columbus, GA. While most of them were able to be re-hired, it wasn't a sure thing.

It caused some bitterness because it was a whole lot of stuff (good ideas, too) that suffered from too much, too soon and not a whole lot of thought about the actual enactment.

Plus, there are people who won't vote Democrat. Lots of factors combined to get Perdue into office.

--tibac