Charles Shiflett Column July 31, 2005

I've Got A Bad Feeling About…

When you were a kid did you ever want to do something badly, but your parents had reservations
about letting you do it? Yet you kept pleading and begging and finally this is the response you
received: "Chuck, I've just got a bad feeling about this, but if you're dead set on doing it… go ahead,
but be careful."

Of course you know what comes next. Yep, you do it and something doesn't go as planned. Someone
either gets hurt or something gets broken. Then comes, "I told you I had a bad feeling about this."

I've been contemplating a few things this week that just give me a bad feeling about the potential
outcomes. Of course I hope otherwise, but time will tell. Maybe you'll disagree, but here are some of
the issues that leave that worrisome nagging doubt.

• Local property taxes: State law only requires counties to update their tax digests once every five
years. Seems that recently, Bartow County has been updating almost every parcel of property every
year. It's a great way to raise taxes without raising the milage rate.

I've got a bad feeling the increase in the tax digest this year just won't do it and Bartow County
Commissioner Clarence Brown will be facing the choice of either raising taxes or cutting services.
Taxes win.

• Privacy: While attention is currently focused on whether or not Cartersville should install traffic
cameras to catch red-light runners, most citizens aren't aware that the city has already installed a
number of "snoop" cameras around town. So start smiling and be careful about picking your nose in
public, the police chief may be watching.

• Storm Water Utilities: Don't you love it when government officials invent new words for taxes? When I
think of utilities I think of my water, power, and phone bills. Now the bureaucrats want to charge us for
the rain that falls on our own properties under the guise of utilities.

• Supreme Court nominee John Roberts: It's expected a president will nominate judges who are
ideologically in tune with himself. So Mr. Roberts should prove himself to be a constitutional
conservative… right?

Don't be so sure. When Washington insiders refer to a nominee as pragmatic, competent,
mainstream, likeable, knowledgeable, studious, and highly regarded, it let's me know that this
nominee is no Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas. I just pray he is no Stephen Breyer.

• Georgia's Football Bulldogs: Coach Mark Richt has lost a chunk of his highly regarded incoming
freshman class. Couple this with a pile of injuries and discipline problems, and the underpinning of a
potentially great season seems shaky at best. Woof.

• China: Last week China joined the free running financial markets of the industrialized world by
uncoupling the value of the yen from the U.S. dollar. It may take many months before the effects are
known, but look for mortgage rates to rise as well as prices of Chinese imports. Inflation could begin to
creep up.

• The Weather Channel: First it was MTV… which was launched as a 24-hour music video channel.
Over the years other programming replaced most of the videos, so the good folks at Viacom launched
MTV2 to show videos on. Seems the music is disappearing there also.

Now the folks at the Weather Channel are following that same pig trail. The time from 8:00 to 9:00 PM
is prime for severe weather outbreaks, so what does the Weather Channel do? Instead of tracking the
weather, they run an hour-long feature every evening entitled Storm Stories. It's a good show, but
would be a better fit on Discovery or The Learning Channel.

Detailed weather information during the other 23 daily broadcast hours is also taking a backseat as
they now serve up bland generalized forecasts and short features about gardening, home improvement,
and health. To charge more for advertising I realize their need to increase average viewing times, but a
lot of folks are tuning out. Can you say Weather Channel 2?

• Real American Wood Furniture: IKEA opens an Atlanta superstore and Georgian's flock in to buy
glue and wood chips masquerading as furniture. Couple this with all the Chinese imports and you have
to wonder about the future of American furniture manufacturing.

• Call Centers: It seems that about sixty percent of the time, when I call a customer service number I
get someone in a foreign country. Say what you will about the economic impact of outsourcing jobs
overseas, my beef is you can't understand the people manning the phones.

I have a new rule… whenever one of these calls is answered I immediately say "I want to speak to an
American". They usually balk, but if you're persistent they will transfer you back to the United States.

• Iraq: Yes, we were right in deposing Saddam, but I'm worried. The new draft of the proposed Iraqi
Constitution declares that no law shall be passed that is in opposition to the teachings of the Koran.
Iraq will not become a democratic republic; it will become an Islamic state.

I'm finished worrying about all this stuff… it's your turn now.