FELICITOUS SOLICITOR
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the recent Ralph Powell interview. He appears to be very level-headed and fair-minded. His calm, common-sense responses to the questions posed by the interviewer made me feel comfortable knowing that he holds this very important position.
I get the distinct impression that Mr. Powell would never feel the need to cover a statue's bare breast.
It's a shame that our sexaphobic, civil-liberties stomping, Patriot Act toting, Attorney General, John Ashcroft, doesn't take a similar approach in his job.
Rick Caffery
Watkinsville

MAIL TAMPERING
In the Red and Black on Monday, March 1, Commissioner McCarter is quoted as follows: "Code enforcement folk will look at regularly parked cars routinely. They will see who gets the mail at a location and who pays the water bill." Last I heard, mail tampering is a federal crime. Mr. McCarter, are you serious?
Christian
Email

BEATS MEAT
Eating meat is a nasty habit. In the past three months, over 10,000 pounds of American beef tainted with mad cow disease have been recalled. The European Union, China, Japan and other nations are banning the import of American poultry products, for fear of spreading the aviary flu. Eating meat contributes to heart disease, stroke, cancer and other chronic diseases that cripple and kill nearly 1.4 million Americans annually.
On Saturday, March 20, you are invited to kick the meat habit (at least for a day). Saturday is the 20th annual observance of the Great American Meatout (www.meatout.org). Meatout is an international observance helping individuals learn about the benefits of a wholesome, nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Kicking the meat habit holds lasting benefits for consumer health, world hunger, resource conservation, environmental quality and animal welfare.
Meatout is sponsored nationally by the Farm Animal Reform Movement, and is sponsored locally by Athens's newest animal protection group, Speak Out for Species (www.uga.edu/sos). To prepare everyone for this year's Meatout, SOS will have a table at UGA's Tate Center Plaza on Wednesday, March 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Not only will we have information on how to kick the meat habit and explore vegetarian alternatives, we will have coupons and samples from local and national businesses.
In case you are wondering what you would eat during the Meatout, the members of SOS have compiled a list of their favorite vegetarian meals in Athens. The complete list, which contains dozens of Athens establishments, will be available at the table on Wednesday. Just to get you started, here are some meals that were at the top of many members' lists:
The Green Scene's Tofu Salad Sandwich. With homemade everything, and mostly vegan, this place can do no wrong.
Bombay Café's Lunch Buffet. These guys get props for variety and for labeling what is vegan or vegetarian.
The Grit's tofu anything (Golden Bowl, Tofu Cubes, Tofu Stirfry, etc.). Many SOS members said, "Even my tofu-hating friends love it!"
Thai of Athens' suegai (imitation chicken) Tasty and so chicken-like it's scary!
Mean Bean/ Taco Stand/ Barberitos Tofu Burritos. Okay, so it's not one place, but each has their own take on tofu burritos, all of which were appreciated by SOS members.
Some of the places where you might normally eat meat can also be very vegetarian friendly: for example, at Clocked, you can order any burger with a vegetarian Boca burger instead of meat. You could even try veggie burgers or hot dogs at home, in place of meat. Once you see how easy it is to turn a meat-centered dish into a vegetarian one, we hope you would try to eat vegetarian more often, and kick that nasty meat habit.
Liz Cherry
Athens

MOVE ON
This is in response to the letter by Athens resident Jess McDill published 2/18/04. McDill has a problem with CBS because the 30-second spot produced by moveon.org was denied airtime during the Superbowl, yet an ad paid for by the White House was given airtime.
Fair enough. I understand the frustration one would feel in this situation especially considering that moveon.org was not asking for free airtime. Indeed, the organization was prepared to pay 1.6 million dollars to place the spot. McDill fails in his argument though when he invokes the concept of CBS having a "constitutional obligation to air opposing points of view."
Sorry, Mr. McDill. There is no "constitutional obligation" on the part of CBS to air anything it doesn't want to air. Perhaps you are making reference to the 1949 Fairness Doctrine imposed on TV stations by the FCC. This was repealed in 1987. Hence, no law defending your claim. However, CBS does have its own "fairness doctrine" of sorts in that it will accept advertising of a controversial nature when there is an opposing ad also. If Moveon.org had attempted to place an anti-drug war ad, then the case made by CBS for rejecting the anti-Bush ad would have been weakened severely.
Could there be possible collusion between the White House and CBS? Sure, although I doubt it. While this would be illegal and reprehensible it still doesn't change the facts germane to this argument. As a side note, it's always interesting when groups like Moveon.org seem to think paying $1.6 million to oppose a presidential candidate, in this case the incumbent Bush, qualifies as "free speech" but donating $1.6 million, in the form of campaign contributions, to endorse a candidate somehow throws the entire electoral process off its axis.
Mr. McDill, you write, "The first amendment doesn't mean a whole lot if we're denied access to the airwaves." Just as I have no "right" to free speech by attempting to require moveon.org to publish my views on their website or to require them to post pro-Bush videos in order to balance the anti-Bush spots (including the ludicrous ones in which Bush is compared to Adolph Hitler) so moveon.org has no "right" to lay claim to the property of CBS. The constitutional protection of free speech prohibits government from regulating speech. It lays no claim on broadcasters to accept advertising that they find inappropriate.
For the record, I found the "Child's Pay" spot to be very well done and a good piece of political advertising. One doesn't have to agree with its content to appreciate its quality. At the end of your letter you implored readers to "do something" and not just "sigh and turn the page." I have similar advice: read the Constitution, educate yourself on the concept of private property rights and then, well, move on.
J. Gordon Lamb, III
Athens