Charles Shiflett Column February 27, 2005

In Case You Missed It…

Being one who devours news stories from multiple sources every day, for the past few weeks I've felt
like I've been living in a cave. A new business venture has been consuming eighty plus hours a week
for a while, so I decided to catch up on my reading before writing my weekly diatribe. I missed a lot…
so in case you've been busy too, here are some thoughts on what happened this week.

• Regardless of the final outcome, the verdict in the Michael Jackson won't matter. There are no blacks
on the jury and everyone knows that is more important than whether or not Jackson is guilty.

• Sell your AFLAC stock! Medical experts are zeroing in on ducks and the roles they play in
spreading deadly Asian bird flu.

• With all the urgent issues facing the world, you have to wonder about a nation obsessed with the
British monarchy… and I'm not referring to Great Britain. Queen Elizabeth II won't be attending her son
Prince Charles' wedding to keep the occasion "low key." And we should care, why?

• In a recent interview Bob Dylan called today's musicians amateurs. At least that's what they think he
said. Linguists are studying the tapes and hope to provide a translation soon. Maybe they should call
Tom Petty.

• In Germany this week, about 12,000 protesters took advantage of President Bush's visit to Europe by
marching through the city of Mainz on Wednesday carrying banners such as the classic "Bush No. #1
Terrorist." No word if Howard Dean attended, though someone was spotted in the crowd screaming,
"We're going to Munich, and Hamburg, and Frankfurt, and Stuttgart, and then we're going to Berlin!
Yeeeaaawhhhh!!!!"

• There's a huge difference being in a coma in contrast to being in a persistent vegetative state. Terri
Schiavo's parents are being selfish. Let the woman die. And for my friends in the pro-life movement,
this has nothing to do with euthanasia. Ms. Schiavo is brain dead and is being artificially kept alive.
This should be a wake-up call for everyone reading this to consider having a Living Will and/or a
Durable Medical Power of Attorney drafted.

• Since 1996 Georgians have had to be fingerprinted in order to obtain a driver's license. Only seven
other states have this requirement. Now we learn that the prints aren't really being used for any
beneficial law enforcement use. In light of repeated breaches at supposedly secure database brokers,
it's time to repeal the fingerprint provision. A big thanks to our own Barry Loudermilk for having the guts
to introduce this bi-partisan piece of legislation.

• Also hats off to the three Bartow BOE members who actually listened to parents and did their
research before voting on the school calendar issue. And a big warning to politicians or anyone else for
that matter… Once sent, e-mail has a tendency to show up again.

• The possible redistricting of Georgia's congressional map will be fun to watch. The state senate
version has the stamp of approval from Georgia's Republican congressmen and the GOP powers-that-
be in DC. The house version makes more sense and is more voter friendly. Either way, Democrats
lose.

• The statewide public smoking ban has cleared the state senate. Look for a little tinkering in the
house, but this baby may become law… and this is a perfect segway for the story below.

• For everyone who grows tired of seeing cigarette butts piled along the edges of major intersections,
here's a story for you. A San Francisco man almost took a dirt nap last week when he flicked a lit
cigarette out his car window. The cancer stick blew back into the rear seat of his SUV, setting the
vehicle on fire.

Young Jonathan Fish, age 20, told police that black smoke filled the SUV and the fire spread quickly.
Thinking he was about to be cooked alive, Mr. Fish jumped out of the moving auto. He survived the
jump, but no word on whether he's given up smoking. Chalk this up as one more health hazard of
tobacco use.

If this column seems a little fast-paced, blame it on Sam's Club. They sell Ghirardelli semi-sweet
chocolate chips in five-pound bags… in case you missed it.