From the Bench

GEORGIA HOUSE VOTES ON "STATE AMPHIBIAN", OTHER VITAL MATTERS

Anyone who cannot find humor, alas cruel humor, to write about when the Georgia Legislature is in session had best hang it up.

One major item on the agenda this year is a proposal for a statue of Zell Miller on the capitol grounds. (As if we didn’t already have enough pigeon targets on the premises.) The only problem I foresee is finding a sculptor experienced in carving two-faced statues.

The HOPE scholarship continues as a legislative pot-boiler. The latest log on the fire was tossed in by a Marietta Republican who wants all HOPE scholars to pass a sobriety test. Not only would they be required to get a police report each year clearing them of felonies, misdemeanors, and drug use, they would also have to prove they are teetotalers.

How long since this guy went to college? Or high school for that matter.

As if our public schools didn’t already have enough problems with paperwork and rules imposed by federal and state edicts, the head-butting between evolutionists and creationists has again reared its ugly head. Happens every election year.

This time around, School Superintendent Kathy Cox proposes replacing the word "evolution" with the phrase "intelligent design." Fine. I’ll go along with that so long as the same law proposes including the phrase in every bill submitted in either the House or Senate.

And last, but not least, a bill has passed the House overwhelmingly, naming the green tree frog the state amphibian. Looking at a picture of the weird little critter, I’d vote for "creation" over "intelligent design" in how he got here.

Cheer up, it will only get worse. It’s a long time til spring, whether the ground hog sees his shadow or not.

Every year when the legislature is in session, I ask myself the same question. "How did we get these people?" Then, sadly, I have to admit, "We did it."