The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 7

7k CONTACT CRAIG DURRETT 459-3281 or shreveportopiniongannett.com WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2005 rtvi. I if Transportation is barrier to employment The Times of Shreveport recently reported on the Shreve-port-Bossier City area's desperate need to reform THE TIMES Founded from weekly newspapers published since 1839; published as The Shreveport Times and The Times, daily and Sunday, since 1871. Editorials reflect the views of The Times Editorial Board. Staff members: Craig Durrett, Larry K. Whitaker, Alan English, Martha H.

Fitzgerald and Mary Sharon Thomas. Community members: Kenny Beauvals, Willie Chevalier, Emily Green, Tena Hines, Darnel Johnson and Janice Sneed. Larry K. Whitaker President and Publisher lwhitakerganhett.com Alan English Executive Editor aenglishgannett.com Rod Richardson Managing Editor rodrichardsongannett.com Craig Durrett Editorial Page Editor cdurrettgannett.com 222 Lake St. Shreveport, Louisiana shreveporttimes.com Editorials Social Security bill merits debate GOING (WHERE Letters Hawaii trip a waste of taxpayers' money Larry Robertson Shreveport Re: recent news stories in The Times about Caddo Parish commissioners attending a convention in Hawaii.

The July 15 article titled "Commission catches heat over Hawaii trip" came out the day after most of the Caddo commissioners had already left, or I would have called all of them, especially the one who "represents" our district, telling them what a waste of taxpayers' money. What do the commissioners do, or what have they done, to think they deserve such a boondoggle at our expense? Why did Caddo need eight commissioners to attend the "beach tours, cultural sites, tropical gardens?" The estimated cost of $25,000 could have purchased a lot of box fans for the poor people Partisan politics threatens to overwhelm any and all efforts this year to reform Social Security. But legislation introduced last week Shreveport Congressman Jim McCrery is lead sponsor in the House deserves a close and thoughtful look even as GOP leaders postpone further debate until after the August recess. Why the postponement? The explanation is that Congress needs to focus on the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the highway bill and energy bill with what's left of this month. But clearly the votes are not there to move forward with Social Security reform, President George W.

Bush's chief domestic issue for his second term. Whatever political capita the president thought he had in the wake of his re-election last November has largely dissipated, with polls indicating both his popular support and credibility have fallen. McCrery, as chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on Social Security, has an influential role to play in Social Security reform. That's why Shreveport this year has been the site not only of a presidential rally but attack ads and protests centered largely on the controversial proposal of private retirement accounts. If McCrery's legislation dubbed the GROW Account bill does nothing else than change the terms of the debate, break the impasse, or give both sides a new bone to gnaw ou, it will have achieved some measure of success.

The bill has dozens of Republican co-sponsors, and a Senate version has been introduced by North Carolina's Jim DeMint. It would end the so-called raid on the Social Security surplus by dedicating all excess revenues to accounts owned by people Steve BensonTribune Media Services one and only true God through his son, Jesus Christ Faith in Christ also involves repentance. Faith is turning to God and repentance is turning from self and sin. The sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross makes all this possible. Jesus himself said that he had the power to lay down his life and he had the power to pick it up again.

He proved this when he conquered death and the grave. One day all will stand before God and answer the eternal question: What did you do about Jesus? This is indeed the faith that needs to be scrutinized by everyone. Christianity is not blind; it is based on truth. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the father but by me." Correction Dr. Karen Gordon's name was incorrect in an Opinion page column on Page 51 in Sunday's Times.

viduals, to families and to society at large. Your race, creed and sex are what you are, while homosexuality and cross-dressing are things you do. This is a free country, but we don't give special protections for every person's bizarre choices. Where would it end? This is one Pandora's box we shouldn't open. We must always remember that it is not bigotry to make moral distinctions.

City officials can be opposed to elevating homosexualitytransgendered identity to a protected legal status without being labeled "anti-homosexual" or "intolerant" We've got enough legitimate, urgent problems to address in this community without wasting city officials' time in wrangling with politically correct superfluous legislation. No successful civilization prior to the 21st century has ever provided legal preferences for same-sex relationships. Shreveport should take no part in such risky social experimentation. Mike Johnson is an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund. He lives in Shreveport.

Sexual orientation move should be opposed public transit For the last year a task force has studied the situation and it has prepared recommendations for addressing the community's massive unmet public transit needs. The report the team published in March made Emily Metzgar Opinion two things clear. First "The Shreveport-Bossier City regional economy is based on a 24-7 workweek." Second, The pubbc transportation system's services have not changed to service the economy." Conclusion: "Transportation is frequently a barrier for many of the region's citizens in accessing employment opportunities." The problem with SporTran is straightforward: It doesn't go where people need it to go and it doesn't operate when people need it to operate. That runs counter to everything mass transit is supposed to be. The Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments recently brought together local and state officials to review the task force's work.

Evening routes proposed at that meeting addressed the needs of some of the area's largest employers and offered a way to expand service at critical hours when there is currently no service. But if the reaction of officials at that meeting was any indication, much more work is needed to convey to poucymakers how important the issue of accessible transportation really is. The now-infamous Belden Daniels report repeatedly noted this community's excessive waste of human capital. And yet, at the NLCOG meeting, officials questioned whether the expense of providing evening service would actually be worth it Let's be clear about the problems with this community's mass transit system: It's not that there's no way for employees to get home after the buses stop running. It's that there's no affordable way home.

Existing special-call service provided by SporTran, which some officials suggested the community rely on further, isn't cheap and taxis are even more expensive. Those questioning the need for regular, expanded, affordable nighttime bus service could be forgiven for not understanding the issue. Someone who has his own car and works normal business hours or runs family errands at leisure couldn't have any idea how difficult it is to function without the reliable, personal transportation many of us depend on daily and then park in our garages at night. But if it costs nearly $20 to take a taxi or other transportation every night after work because the buses aren't running, there comes a point when it makes little economic sense to keep working that job. This is what the task force report meant when it observed transportation is a barrier to employment in the community What about grocery shopping, medical appointments, school conferences, overtime, church services, volunteer work or heaven forbid, entertainment? Imagine trying to do all that without access to reliable, personal, affordable transportation.

It may be hard to imagine, but it's a fact of life for many people in this community. The future of this community's economy depends on getting public transit right It's as simple as that Emily Metzgar is a Shreveport-based freelance writer. Write her in care of The Times. P.O. Box 30222, Shreveport, LA 71130-0222.

sure Fox, but since McKeithens were winning elections in this state before Republicans were, they got over it He won his last two elections easily. In a final act of nonpartisanship, hours before he died, he resigned and turned over his office to his first assistant and longtime friend. Democrat AlAter. Fox McKeithen came from a time when friendship and kinship counted for more than party, and one wonders if those days haven't passed with him. John Maginnis is a syndicated columnist who reports on Louisiana politics and is based In Baton Rouge.

Write him in care of Political Review, P.O. Box 6, Baton Rouge, LA 70821. Maginnis' Web site is LaPolitics.com. Base closings need not be death knell who pay into them. Account balances would be inheritable.

These assets would be invested in guaranteed, marketable Treasury bonds for now; after 2009, workers would have other conservative investment options. At retirement, they would receive benefits from both the trust funds and their private account These terms are appealing to younger workers with time to build up their nest eggs and to those alarmed that spending surplus dollarsthe current practice raids the Social Security Trust Fund and masks the true size of the budget deficit Those dollars are now spent out of the general fund on other priorities or government programs, including the war in Iraq, instead of shoring up the benefits program. But the bill is, at best only a first step toward reform, postponing the hard decisions necessary to achieve solvency. It would not cut benefits by lowering the income cap on Social Security taxes nor slow the growth of future benefits, two 6f the major "pain" remedies proposed as long-term solutions. What's worse, according to the chief actuary of the Social Security system, this bill would actually aggravate the deficit.

Stephen Goss said last week that it would increase the national debt by $851 biUion by 2017. That's the year the surplus would end, that is, when more dollars are paid out in benefits than in payroll taxes, and funding would run out on the private accounts. With Democrats hungry for control of Congress eying next year's elections, neither party is willing to hand the other a victory on Social Security reform. This legislation is flawed, but it's too soon to give up on the effort entirely. closed regain about 90 percent of lost jobs within six years.

Initial drops in per capita income are also recouped with strong gains afterward. The key is local leadership that transforms abandoned facilities into economic growth engines. A year after England's 1992 closing, it became home to a facility maintenance firm, an aviation repair company and a local hospital expansion, according to an Air Force Real Property fact sheet from May. Pride International, a start-up company in 1995 with 15 employees, expanded to 200 workers with an annual payroll of $7 million. Overall, almost 1,800 new jobs have been created.

BRAC is a reminder that a community must not become too dependent on any one segment of its economy, particularly when that segment is the public sector. BRAC, as proponents of the realignment process contend, is not about jobs but about national security. And from a taxpayer standpoint it is about efficient and wise use of military defense dollars. picture most residents have of Fox McKeithen is of him in jeans and a baseball cap, driving a delivery truck around the streets of New Orleans to get voting machines to polling places last September. In what he called "the craziest rodeo I've been in," McKeithen commandeered the truck at a warehouse when he discovered that the local clerk's office and the contractor had failed to deliver all the machines before the polls opened.

He left nothing to chance for the next election, personally overseeing preparations and declaring, "If the Iraqis want to do an election, they should be in New Orleans on Nov. 2, because we're gonna put one on." In a state that has a lot of elections, McKeithen took pride in, and gets credit for, a smoothly centralized operation from qualifying can Kudos to The Times for bringing to light recently a current push by local homosexual activists to broaden the city of Shreveport's employment nondiscrimination policies to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" seeks to broaden hiring, firing practices," July 11). This unnecessary move should be Mike Johnson Opinion strongly opposed by city officials and all conscientious citizens. Existing laws currently provide adequate safeguards for the protection of all persons seeking employment Our city charter already provides a strict policy against nondiscrimination in the context of civil rights, and mirrors similar protections in state and federal law. Section 14.12 of our charter specifically prohibits employment discrimination based on the immutable characteristics of race, sex and national origin, as Make contact in Shreveport.

Interesting point: Orleans Parish sent one delegate! I will sure remember this the next time the parish or my "representative" asks me to support an increase in parish taxes. For more aloha shirts, pig roasts, leis and mai tais? I don't think so! Christianity not blind, but based on truth William F. Wood Shreveport What was the purpose of Gary Sloan's July 12 letter? Was he attempting to tell us that the faith of Southern Baptists is grounded in ignorance and that the only true faith is the one he possesses? I will agree with his observation that faith depends on the object of that faith. It does seem that the object of Sloan's faith is his own intellect. The object of faith to a Christian is faith in the well as political or religious affiliations.

Is there some crisis of discrimination against "transgendered" people at City Hall? Of course not. This is pure political correctness run amok. There is good reason why neither Congress nor any federal court has authorized civil rights "status" claims based on "sexual orientation." As my colleague Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, put it, "Creating a special civil rights status for city employees based on bedroom behavior is an insult to true minorities. Who will be next adulterers?" The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

's niece, Aheda King, said it equally well: "I've met ex-wives and ex-husbands, I know former homosexuals, but IVe never met a former African-American." All of us should acknowledge the real emotion and strife of the homosexual lifestyle, and should certainly treat all people with dignity, love and respect But our government can never provide its stamp of approval or special legal sanction for behavior patterns that are proven to be destructive to indi Fax correspondence to 459-3301. Utters to the editor and articles submitted to The Times living link election tickets and country hams given to voters. He grew up in that world of his father, former Gov. John McKeithen, and of former Gov. Earl Long, who indeed was young Fox's "Uncle Earl." McKeithen was the last living link to that colorful era, and perhaps Uncle Earl wouldn't mind us calling Fox another of the "last of the red hot poppas." He was one of the last of a few other things, such as north Louisiana politicians at the state level, going back to when governors hailed from Winnfield and Beech Springs and his hometown of Columbia.

McKeithen was the most consistently successful Republican elected official the only one holding statewide office in state government His daddy called it "crazy" when numbers, and are for publication. Letters Correspondence can As the military base realignment commission considers making additional closing recommendations, it is hard not to feel empathy with communities wondering about life after a military withdrawal. Northwest Louisiana owes much to advocates here and in Congress who continue to make sure the Pentagon and the Base Realignment and Closure Commission understand the value of Barksdale Air Force Base in the military fabric. What seems to locals a no-brainer must in fact be an ongoing effort to make sure Barks-dale continues to be upgraded, its mission adapted and its story told. But it should be reassuring to those in Texarkana, which stands to lose the Red River Army Depot and Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant, that there can be life after a closing.

Central Louisiana converted the former England Air Force Base into an economic resource that continues to pay dividends. The example is only one cited by a Heritage Foundation report showing that communities where a base has verified by The Times can be considered should be 250 words or less. be sent to us three different ways: We welcome your comments on editorials, columns, other topics in The Times or subjects important to you. Only letters that include name, address and day and evening phone Letters to the Editor, The Times, P.O. Box 30222, Shreveport, LA 71130-0222.

E-mail to shreveportopiniong8nnett.com may be published or distributed in pnnt, electronic The Times Fox McKeithen was the last to a colorful era Letters are edited for length, accuracy and clarity. or other fomis. didates to certifying results. The five-term secretary of state made his appreciation of Louisiana politics, culture and history a central part of his office's mission. He transformed the Old State Capitol from a forlorn relic into a showcase, including the educational and entertaining Center of Political and Governmental History.

He opened and improved a string of regional museums and expanded the State Archives. His own contribution to the state's musical heritage was a country rap single. "Am I Too Square for Your Circle of Friends?" with which he once serenaded a legislative committee. Though born in the first year of the baby boom, McKeithen more belonged to the bygone era of Louisiana pontics, of stump speeches, Fox became a Republican midway during his first term as secretary of state, and Big John wasn't far off His next election, against Democrat Doug Schmidt in 1991, was his closest The top Republican on the ballot was David Duke, and McKeithen was nearly buried in Edwin Edwards' Democratic landslide. He survived by 9,000 votes, partly due to the support of the Mortal political organization in New Orleans, a returned favor going back to John McKeithen's appointing Dutch Mortal a state judge in the 1960s, the future mayor's first political office.

It was his own family ties that caused Fox McKeithen to campaign for his daughter Marjorie, a Democrat in her near-miss challenge to Congressman Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, in 1998. Some GOP officials wanted to cen Before he was rehospitalized last month, leading to his death on Saturday, Secretary of State Fox McKeithen had been going into the John office occasionally. Heartened staffers encouraged him Maginnis to meet with the media to demonstrate what they saw his mental sharpness, sense of humor and fighting snirit desDite his paralysis suffered from a fall in his Opinion home in February. But McKeithen resisted, not ready to expose his infirmity to public view, which would replace the image of him as the active, hands-on state official. So, the last.