Your morning jolt: Georgia car tags and ‘In God We Trust’
This post has been updated below.
Original: Georgia car tags may be about to get a dose of religion. The state Department of Revenue on Friday posted images of the eight semi-finalist entries in its competition to design a new look for your back bumper.
Three of those eight incorporate “In God We Trust” – the same motto found on U.S. currency:
Online voting concludes July 8. The three license plates garnering the most votes will be presented to Gov. Nathan Deal. There the selection process gets foggy – the press release merely says the winner will be announced July 15.
But if a car tag bearing the word “God” makes it to the finals, it’s hard to imagine a Republican politician who would want to be seen rejecting it.
Still, if a declaration of faith is inevitable, we would at least suggest adding an asterisk, followed in small print with this:
“*All others must provide proof of legal U.S. residency.”
Updated at 5:05 p.m.: The rules for Georgia’s license tag contest mandated that entries must include “the county name or ‘In God We Trust’ label in black at the bottom.’
But my AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin passes along the following note from Karen Lashley-Lucas, the Department of Revenue’s marketing coordinator:
The “In God We Trust” phrase is there simply to demonstrate what the optional sticker that is already available would look like on that entry.
Confusing, to say the least.
***
My monthly letter from state Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, arrived over the weekend, giving me his take on doings in the state Capitol. It included this line on the cost of HB 87 to Georgia farmers:
”The agricultural community is estimating millions of dollars in losses to various crops such as blueberries, cucumbers and watermelons due to the shortage of workers.”
But the current issue of Time magazine puts the cost far higher:
The labor shortage could result in as much as $9 billion in lost farm production annually. “This is the magnitude of the risk to the sector, if we can’t get the labor we need,” says Paul Schlegel, director of public policy at the American Farm Bureau Federation, in Washington. “It’s an extremely important issue.”
In other words, when it comes to the cost of Georgia’s illegal immigration law, there’s a vast gulf of opinion. And we’ve been told that it’s far too early to really know. You can’t assess damage during the train wreck, one agricultural economist told us. You must wait for the dust to settle.
Then again, just think how quickly we’re offered financial estimates of damage after a tornado or flood.
But here’s the point: So far, we have heard very little talk within the state Capitol about actually assessing the financial losses to Georgia agriculture. And one has to wonder whether lawmakers and other state officials really want that hard, government-backed cipher out there.
***
Today’s AJC Politifact Georgia takes a look at Gov. Nathan Deal’s claim that a “substantial” number of probationers have performed well as substitutes for Hispanic labor in Georgia’s fruit and vegetable fields.
***
It appears that U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss wants an amnesty on the taxation of offshore profits to be part of the formula for a compromise on the U.S. deficit. From a Q&A with the Georgia Republican in today’s Wall Street Journal:
SEN. CHAMBLISS: If any taxes are truly raised in the pure sense, then the answer to your question is no, that’s not going to sell. It won’t sell on the Senate side, nor the House side.
You’ve got to approach it from three standpoints. Sure, we’ve got to cut spending. Second, you’ve got to look at entitlement reform. Third, you’ve got to look at revenues.
As Mark [Warner] said, we’ve got this 10½-point gap that we’ve got to start closing. There’s only one way to do that, and that’s figure out a way to get our revenues up.
We get our revenues up by enticing [CFOs] to get some of that $2.5 trillion off your balance sheet and reinvest it in your company and create jobs, and spread out that tax base by putting people back to work. We do it by energizing the economy, whether it’s through taxes or whether it’s through allowing you to bring some of your money back from offshore.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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268 comments Add your comment
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
June 27th, 2011
11:28 am
I am rubber you are glue. It bounces of me and sticks on you. Grow up. Grow a soul. Read the writings of Mr. Jefferson. Try to become a credal Americans. The Fourth approaches. Our posterity is at stake. I want my children to be neither slaves nor slave masters. Only by G-d’s grace shall Our Nation be saved.
As I see em
June 27th, 2011
11:30 am
Here’s an idea: Maybe they should just do the same as the credit card companies and let everyone design their own tag. Credit cards have numbers on them too, right? It would work like a charm.
Tom
June 27th, 2011
11:30 am
Road, the G.A. amended a bill last year (2010) to include the ability to obtain/display the IGWT sticker in place of the county sticker. (HB 1005, 2010)
Katie
June 27th, 2011
11:31 am
When you go to the website to vote, only 4 of the tag designs are fully shown, the other 4, you can only see about a third of them?????????????
Tom
June 27th, 2011
11:33 am
“Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies.” – Thomas Jefferson
Kevin
June 27th, 2011
11:35 am
When I start to think that Republicans finally get it– and they are focusing on economics versus divisive religious/social issues– they screw themselves with things like this tag issue.
Why on Earth was it necessary to include that language– knowing that a lot of people (including believers, like me)– will oppose it? I’ll answer my own question– they do it to pander to the idiots in their base think they’re bad believers if they don’t support things like this.
Stupid Republican leadership will never learn.
Rand Paul in ‘12
Tom
June 27th, 2011
11:37 am
Again, I am almost positive that the sticker is (and will be) OPTIONAL on whatever plate is chosen, to go in place of the county sticker.
td
June 27th, 2011
11:39 am
Looks like the farmers are going to have to go back to having large families to get the slave labor they want.
Country Hick
June 27th, 2011
11:40 am
In Lord Satan I Trust! So where got god-d*mn licence plate?
Aquagirl
June 27th, 2011
11:40 am
let’s just agree to disagree…for the most part, we don’t agree on “anything”!
But we agree on that, yes? See, that’s a start, lol.
Whacks Eloquent
June 27th, 2011
11:42 am
I kinda like the county stickers…let’s me know which drivers to be more cautious of!
Ashley
June 27th, 2011
11:42 am
Instead of worrying about making new Georgia Tags(which I think is a waste) why don’t you go after all the out of state tags who don’t have Georgia stickers on them. I thought this was against the law. Aren’t you suppose to get new tags after a certain about of time when you reside in a new state? And no the majority are not students. Just wondering how much money is being lost? If my facts aren’t correct I apologize.
As I see em
June 27th, 2011
11:43 am
Great point, Tom. Perhaps Mr. Jones should take his own advice and read about Thomas Jefferson before he babbles a contradicting rant…
Michael
June 27th, 2011
11:46 am
I miss my wildlife tags. ;-(
Tom
June 27th, 2011
11:47 am
And go after all the cheats who use an old or a relative’s address to avoid getting having to get emissions checked.
ALOTOFIGNORANTPEOPLE
June 27th, 2011
11:48 am
First, In God we Trust does not just represent Christians but a lot of religions and some people who do not have a religion but believe in God. Second, if it offends you that much, just hand me all of your money that already says In God We Trust. People these days are way too sensitive. This country was founded on religious beliefs. If you do not like it, move to another country.
Matt
June 27th, 2011
11:49 am
All I know is, everyone from “In god we trust” county is an awful driver.
ricardus
June 27th, 2011
11:50 am
God forbid that this degenerate society should be exposed to a little truth (religion). They won’t wake up…at least not now…’til it is much too late.
IN KIMMER WE TRUST
June 27th, 2011
11:52 am
Will Jones – Don’t make KIMMER come back here.
Cobb Woman – If you are so displeased with how we do things here, take your overinflated self-opinion & derriere back to Clayton.
AJC – Yes, I’d like to cancel my subscription, please. Yes, again.
Darko
June 27th, 2011
11:52 am
At least the peaches don’t look like butts this time around.
Every single day our legislature does something to P%% me off
June 27th, 2011
11:52 am
First the Billboard lunacy, giving the billboard companies the right to clear-cut a forest if it blocks their sign.
Now they want to put their religion on my tag? What the heck does God have to do with my government issued license plate? God does not want his name associated with the sad pathetic excuse for governance and leadership we have in Georgia.
I have faith, and a person’s faith should be a personal thing. The word God has no place on a license plate.
The county of residence belongs on the plate. If I see an unknown car driving around my subdivision, and it’s got a tag from Dekalb, Cobb, or Forsyth county, I know they don’t live here. If I see a new car from Troop county, I know it’s a rental, because the rental companies pick the county with the cheapest tag fees.
George Washington
June 27th, 2011
11:53 am
In God we Trust is what AMERICA the GREAT was founded on. If you want to know why AMERICA the GREAT is lossing ground to the rest of the world, it’s because it’s trying to be more like the rest of the world. Stop trying to change & be more like the original AMERICA the GREAT & it will BE GREAT. For those who wish for AMERICA to be more like the rest of the world, leave & go to another country.
Dick
June 27th, 2011
11:54 am
Jane, I told you this morning that you had better have the bathrooms clean and the living room vacuumed and dusted before I get home tonight! Now get off the computer and get back to work!
Bettman the Moron
June 27th, 2011
11:55 am
Atheists, get over it. Liek you tell us all the time concerning the debauchery on TV, if you don’t like it, look the other way.
Also, this is a country that was founded by and for a Christian people. In God We Trust is on our money for a reason and there should be NO problem having it on our tags as well. In fact, it would probably be good for some of the heathens out there to see this message more often, as it is indeed God We Trust and God that sustains us.
MiddleMan
June 27th, 2011
11:55 am
I’d like to see an optional sticker for the county area of the tag that says “MYOB”
hsgrad
June 27th, 2011
11:56 am
WHO SAID IT? THE CORRECT ANSWER WILL COME AT 5PM TODAY
“It is evident that a large part of the people of Georgia have vagrant and hopeless habits. They are still coarse and irrestrainable in appetite and temper; with perverted, eccentric and intemperate impulses; faithless in the value of their
own labor, and almost imbecile for personal elevation.”
Yes
June 27th, 2011
11:57 am
I love the new tags. I will choose the winner when it’s time to renew my tags.
joe in tucker
June 27th, 2011
11:57 am
my ‘Trout Unlimited’ tag goes back to the state this year, I’ll use the cheapest tag they have and donate my dollars directly to Trout Unlimited and cut out the middle man!!
http://www.georgiatu.org/
It's arrogant
June 27th, 2011
11:57 am
Conservative Christians seem to have this need to sell others on their vision of God. Other Christians, seem to understand that your faith is something personal and private, not something you put on license plates, billboards, or paint on the side of a barn.
God has no place on a license plate. It’s offensive to people of faith, it’s offensive to God, and it’s just plain wrong.
Ted
June 27th, 2011
11:59 am
I heard that the “In God We Trust” is an optional sticker you place?
JM
June 27th, 2011
11:59 am
I’d rather keep the tags I have. I don’t want to pay for a new tag design.
Politi Cal
June 27th, 2011
12:00 pm
Why do we have to agree on anything? Isn’t that whaty politics is all about? Take a rest.
As I see em
June 27th, 2011
12:00 pm
@ It’s Arrogant- AMEN!
Ben
June 27th, 2011
12:01 pm
This seems unconstitutional. If they’re going to do this, seems like they should HAVE to offer a tag with no religious connotations.
I’m a non-practicing Methodist but if I were an athiest, and had to PAY to put that on my car (my property) I’d have a major issue with it.
Bob from Accounttemps
June 27th, 2011
12:01 pm
Friggin’ religous nut jobs. Nobody says you can’t worship when and where you want — even during rush hour. But why do you feel it necessary to impose religion on everyone else? Religion has no place on a car tag. While the same could be said about our currency, that’s a question of removal of something that’s been for along time with arguable historical significance. If it’s not on the plates and never has been, why the need to add it now?
You missed the point
June 27th, 2011
12:02 pm
Dude… the “In God We Trust” stickers have been available since January as an option instead of the county stickers. I don’t think these tag designers were actively trying to “boast Religion” or give anyone a dose of anything other than car tag designs. This is a salacious headline designed to stir the pot.
JT
June 27th, 2011
12:04 pm
I wish you could pick elements of each one. I like the skyline but not the rest of the tag. I always thought we should do something like New Yorks, outline of Atlanta skyline on one side, then mountains or silos on the other.
Dick
June 27th, 2011
12:05 pm
Sweetheart, please stop telling everyone our personal business… what we do in our own bedroom is no one’s business but our own. Now, like I said, you need to get back to your chores, Jane. Five o’clock is coming fast and dinner had better be on the table when I get home!
Ashley
June 27th, 2011
12:06 pm
I trust in GOD so I am hoping he gives the Georgia congress wisdom to see that there are more pressing issue that need to be resolve in this state. In these economic times I don’t have a whole lot of “In God We Trust” money.
Tom
June 27th, 2011
12:06 pm
Treaty of Tripoli (1797), Article 11:
As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,- as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,- and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
According to Frank Lambert, Professor of History at Purdue University, the assurances in Article 11 were “intended to allay the fears of the Muslim state by insisting that religion would not govern how the treaty was interpreted and enforced. John Adams and the Senate made clear that the pact was between two sovereign states, not between two religious powers.” Lambert writes,
“By their actions, the Founding Fathers made clear that their primary concern was religious freedom, not the advancement of a state religion. Individuals, not the government, would define religious faith and practice in the United States. Thus the Founders ensured that in no official sense would America be a Christian Republic. Ten years after the Constitutional Convention ended its work, the country assured the world that the United States was a secular state, and that its negotiations would adhere to the rule of law, not the dictates of the Christian faith. The assurances were contained in the Treaty of Tripoli of 1797 and were intended to allay the fears of the Muslim state by insisting that religion would not govern how the treaty was interpreted and enforced. John Adams and the Senate made clear that the pact was between two sovereign states, not between two religious powers.”
John K
June 27th, 2011
12:06 pm
The religious far right is the GOP’s dream. Just tell the blind sheep that Christianity is under attack and they’ll gleefully give up their votes without a thought!
Only in America can a 85% majority claim to be victimized!
The Heart Of Liberalism « Chamblee54
June 27th, 2011
12:07 pm
[...] This is not the proper use of a sacred name. Update There is a proposal in Georgia to add In G-d We Trust, without the hyphen, to automobile license tags. This is not an appropriate use of a sacred [...]
Designer from Decatur
June 27th, 2011
12:09 pm
Why are four of the six finalists basically the same design, peaches on a light blue background? Is this the only thing people could think of or is it the only thing the DOR will allow on car tags? Why even have a contest?
Also, maybe they can provide stickers (like the ones for your birth month) with your choice of deity, if the “In _____ we trust” is the winner. Or just leave a blank if you no longer trust anyone.
Chamblee54
June 27th, 2011
12:11 pm
The Third Commandment is about the proper use of sacred names. It is much more than G-d’s last name.
Is a trite slogan on an automobile license tag a good use for the word G-d?
chamblee54
freidenker
June 27th, 2011
12:11 pm
Tom, i hope you are correct about the ‘option’ for tag sticker. do you think i’ll be able to get an “i don’t trust god” sticker? could we also not have a darwin option? fair is fair.
Tom
June 27th, 2011
12:12 pm
Good idea, Designer. I believe I read somewhere recently that, in the time since the first writings were created by the Sumerians, there have been over 3,000 uniquely-identifiable supernatural beings named…..2,780 of which fit into the definition of “deity”.
Can we get a “In _____ We Trust” version for each one?
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
June 27th, 2011
12:13 pm
Tom
June 27th, 2011
11:33 am
“Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies.” – Thomas Jefferson
That is why we all came together, from all denominations, both Jew and Gentile, to found in covenant the NEW SECULAR ORDER, under G-d, direct, by each sovereign individual…displacing, wishfully, the Old Sectarian Order of king and pope, with their mystery, pedophile and false aristoi hierarchies for eternity. Let’s get back to work and go from the blueprint instead of letting caesaropapism’s agents enslave us. All America’s problems can be laid at the feet of Earthy Evil, identified by the prophet anointed by G-d to author Our Declaration.
Let us celebrate Our Independence next week free once again of toryism’s king and pope: giving thanks as “E Pluribus Unum” to “that Infinite Power which controls the destinies of the universe,” and no other.
hsgrad: Georgia and Atlanta have come a long way. Meriwether Lewis, martyred by Rome on the Natchez Trace, became the man Mr. Jefferson trusted to safeguard his expedition growing up in Georgia. Mr. Jefferson appreciated the stronger, more animal demands made here on his development, and the cultural advantages he gained as a Georgian on America’s frontier…where Rome was repelled at Bloody Marsh.
Michael Adams
June 27th, 2011
12:13 pm
I hope my new UGA plate will say “In DAWGS We Trust”
Real Athens
June 27th, 2011
12:13 pm
G. Washington:
The motto In God We Trust “was first used as a motto on coinage on the 1864 two-cent coin, followed in 1866 by the 5 cent nickel (1866–1883), quarter dollar, half dollar, silver dollar and gold dollars. Since 1938, all coins have borne the motto. On July 11, 1954, just one month after the phrase “under God” was incorporated into the Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Congress enacted Public Law 84-140, which required the motto on all coins and currency. The law was approved by President Eisenhower on July 30, 1956, and the motto was progressively added to paper money over a period from 1957 to 1966.
You need to read the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
The motto, truthfully has as much to do with the founding of this country as this does with your life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7iVsdRbhnc&feature=related
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
June 27th, 2011
12:14 pm
“rules the destinies”