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
dre
June 27th, 2011
1:59 pm
Waffle House, now that’s good. Or, Strip Shopping Center Capital of the World
td
June 27th, 2011
2:03 pm
kevin
June 27th, 2011
1:50 pm
td
June 27th, 2011
1:39 pm
I am not sure that the helmet example you use works
I was trying to make an intellectual argument in as much a non-controversial manner as possible but here is another couple examples for you:
If a person choices to become a drunk or drug addict then the libertarian in me says fine but if he has children then those children should fend for themselves and we (the state) should not give out welfare or pay for foster care. The problem is the liberals have to have those programs to allow people to make bad choices and we (the state) will pay for those bad decisions. Therefore, I have to support anti drug laws and anti drinking laws to control the behavior of the person.
Second example: If a person wants to live in a city that is in a hurricane or flooding zone and they get flooded out then they should have to start all over on their own but we (the state) help re-locate and rebuild these peoples places at my expense. I now have to support laws that mandate that these people but flooding insurance or pay into a special fund.
Mark
June 27th, 2011
2:04 pm
Why? There is no urging need to put “In God We Trust” on any of the plates, and nobody–Christian or not–was clamoring for that statement to be on there. The state could have avoided all controversy by just not having any references to God on the plates. By the way, where is the name of the county going to go on those IGWT tags?
Also, why is this vote being held online? Hopefully I’m not giving anybody any ideas but a hacker might infiltrate the system and skew the vote count. Or people may hop on different computers/phones and vote more than once. Then you have those who aren’t tech savvy and won’t have the chance to have their say. It wouldn’t have been a bad idea to come up with new tag designs around the time of a general election and put them on the ballot. The new tag design wouldn’t have to be implemented right away so doing it during an election wouldn’t be the worst thing.
Larry
June 27th, 2011
2:04 pm
Queen, you hit the nail on the head. Tell it like it is. Keep the county tags.
hsgrad
June 27th, 2011
2:07 pm
The clock is ticking to enter the contest (see 11:56am post). The winner will travel to Bonaire, Georgia to join Governor
Sonny Perdue, Last Man Standing, and td on a quail hunting excursion.
Donald Rose
June 27th, 2011
2:12 pm
This Country was founded on the FREEDOM OF RELIGION and SEPARATION OF CHRUCH and STATE. People came to AMERICA to be FREE of the BS were doing now!!
MiddleMan
June 27th, 2011
2:28 pm
Who is John Galt?
kevin
June 27th, 2011
2:36 pm
td,
So, rather than support programs designed to assist people with addictions (or, what you call “people who make bad choices”), you prefer to support laws against drug use despite the fact that enforcement of such laws costs far more money? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Over 60% of persons in jail were arrested on drug related charges.
ugadawg2005
June 27th, 2011
2:51 pm
I am a staunch supporter in the separation of church and state, but the AJC has been incredibly misleading in this article. The blueprint of the plates has “In God We Trust” in place of the County name because that is an option (the most popular option) that Georgia residents can pay to use on their tags instead of using the County. The designers probably used that as a generic plate instead of inserting a random County name.
Even if the State wanted to, our legislature knows that it cannot mandate that “In God We Trust” be on all plates.
“New Hampshire’s statute in effect requires that appellees use their private property as a “mobile billboard” for the State’s ideological message—or suffer a penalty, as Maynard already has. As a condition to driving an automobile—a virtual necessity for most Americans—the Maynards must display “Live Free or Die” to hundreds of people each day. The fact that most individuals agree with the thrust of New Hampshire’s motto is not the test; most Americans also find the flag salute acceptable. The First Amendment protects the right of individuals to hold a point of view different from the majority and to refuse to foster, in the way New Hampshire commands, an idea they find morally objectionable.”
Wooley v. Maynard, 430 US 705 (1977) (holding that New Hampshire cannot force residents to display a motto on their license plate).
fsj@oalc.om
June 27th, 2011
2:56 pm
the AJC always trying to make trouble and hype things that shouldnt matter. they are the BOB UECKER of newspapers.
Fleabass
June 27th, 2011
2:58 pm
Unfortunately, a lot of Christians around here were taught in the church that if you do not believe the same exact things they do, you’re going to he- double hockey sticks. They are also taught that if they do not forcibly spew their dogma on every person they encounter, they will end up in the same place. Meanwhile, their preacher is tooling around town in a $50,000 Mercedes and stalking little boys on the congregation’s dime. It’s rampant and unfortunately will never change.
Sure I believe in God; but how I choose to have that relationship in my life is my own personal business; not anyone else’s. The other day I stopped to push a lady and her child’s disabled car out of a busy intersection to a safe place. When she thanked me I asked her to pay the good deed forward. You lie, cheat, and steal all week and think showing up to church on Sunday morning wipes the slate all clean for the week- that’s why you’ll never see me in church. And you won’t see me advertising my personal beliefs on the back of my car. But that should be everyone’s choice.
Meanwhile, it’s disappointing that the people in charge of this change can’t be creative enough to come up with something a little different than a stupid peach. I pride how my cars look and I have never seen a car that looks good with a peach colored tag. It’s ugly and they should be ashamed that they can’t be a little more creative.
Have a nice day and do something nice for someone else. Action always speaks louder than words- remember that regardless of your beliefs.
Poke 'Em With A Stick
June 27th, 2011
3:02 pm
Whether it says “COBB” or “In god We Thrust”…Same azshole, different day behind the wheel.
Fleabass
June 27th, 2011
3:08 pm
PS. Jim Galloway, your reporting is irresponsible. The tags shown are just examples and the generic “In God We Trust” (as opposed to using a specific county name) was used just for the examples. The laws regarding this designation have not changed and you should have reported that accurately. If you weren’t sure, you should have contacted the state and inquired before publishing this article. I’m sure your JM101 instructor would be proud of your basic, rookie mistake.
Misinformation is the root of 9 out of 10 conflicts and you, sir, and the media in general should be ashamed of creating something out of absolutely NOTHING- over and over and over.
Mike
June 27th, 2011
3:09 pm
Is there anyone in this state with one ounce of imagination? Every one of these tags has a peach on it – let’s hire someone from Alabama or South Carolina to design us a new tag. I’ve lived in GA for over forty years and every ‘new tag’ has a peach on it! Let’s change things up, people!
kevin
June 27th, 2011
3:12 pm
I am with Mike. Goodbye to the peach.
dre
June 27th, 2011
3:18 pm
Poke ‘Em With A Stick – Dude, THAT was the best response all day!!
MiddleMan
June 27th, 2011
3:20 pm
I’d prefer to use “Leo”, my astrological sign. That’s the only thing I can truly have faith in. Leo has never failed me; my birthday comes every year, just like clockwork. And, if Leo should ever fail to come, I won’t even be around to notice it. You can’t imagine how what a sense of unburdened relief that gives me.
MiddleMan
June 27th, 2011
3:23 pm
kevin and mike – Be afraid, be very afraid. If they do away with the Peach, it will be replaced by Chick-fil-A, mark my words.
#3
June 27th, 2011
3:24 pm
I don’t give a crap about any of those tags. I’m keeping my NASCAR plate.
d
June 27th, 2011
3:29 pm
I have to say the first tag pictured (the one with the county decal) is my favorite. I like seeing where in Georgia people are from when I am traveling and, for those who want it, it can be an “IGWT” decal instead. I personally will stick with my county name though.
Newsp. Seq. '79
June 27th, 2011
3:29 pm
Hey, “Fleabass,” don’t know what JM 101 is, but at UGA (whence Mr Galloway comes), it would be Jrl 101. And, as it’s not a general reporting class, the prof. wouldn’t even get a chance to flunk someone on a “journalistic” mistake. I suggest that you substitute Newswriting and Reporting 260 in your example.
d
June 27th, 2011
3:31 pm
Oh, and I am so glad the website isn’t on the plate I chose!
lxd
June 27th, 2011
3:46 pm
Keep religion off my car tag!!
Randy
June 27th, 2011
3:53 pm
I am a PROUD Athiest and I refuse to have a plate with ‘In God we Trust’ so if it happens expect lots of lawsuits…Just Saying
Fleabass
June 27th, 2011
4:23 pm
Hello Class of ‘79. I suppose I wouldn’t know the class abbreviations at the University of Georgia but that explains a lot. Regardless of what ‘class’ you choose to cite as an example; you get the basic idea of what I was trying to convey from the looks of your post. In Journalism of any form, talking out of the side of your neck is irresponsible and a basic but major no-no if you consider yourself a credible writer. Any intelligent person could use basic reasoning, an understanding of how the law works and what it takes to alter it, and common sense to decipher this. If not, my UGA friend, you could have called your local tag office and if they couldn’t clarify certainly they could have pointed you in the right direction. Especially if you stated that you were reporting from the AJC.
Now you know why I would never subscribe to that rag. I’ve seen kids with high school papers use more sound reporting and writing technique. Good luck in the future.
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
June 27th, 2011
4:24 pm
Those claiming Mr. Jefferson quotes “in the front of his Bible” and in an alleged letter to “Henry Fry” must supply corroboration or remain anonymous in your attempted fraud…like the Mother of Lies claiming a priest stopped Roman Catholic Sherman’s troops from burning Atlanta’s downtown churches: made up, whole cloth…but not as “grand” as the Donation of Constantine. Mr. Jefferson was correct: “They” are “the real Anti-Christ,” and “they” know who “they” are.
Fleabass
June 27th, 2011
4:33 pm
I certainly hope that didn’t rub you the wrong way, my friend. You do, in my opinion, deserve to be criticized for this article and any semi-intelligent person would agree. Your segment on the tags as well the headline you used looks exactly like that of a gossip columnist. No “insider” information here today. No “facts” that are backed up by the truth as far as I can tell. It pays to back up your assessment with a little research, doesn’t it? Just sayin’…
Brock
June 27th, 2011
4:34 pm
I question whether people who would want In God We Trust really do trust their supreme being. I mean, why do people with the fish emblem on their car drive so slow? It’s like that slow-moving vehicle symbol they put on tractors. As far as I’m concerned, you can have your sticker if you’ll just move it!
Fleabass
June 27th, 2011
4:50 pm
@ Will… People like you are the same types that walk in and shoot up malls and post offices. Please get yourself evaluated as soon as possible. There are people that can help.
Fleabass
June 27th, 2011
5:06 pm
You can stop by your county tag office Monday through Friday, show them your driver’s license, and purchase an “In God We Trust” sticker for your license plate for one dollar. When you are renewing your tag (in my county at least) they do not solicit you to purchase one nor do they make any mention of it at all. You must ask and pay the dollar should you desire.
I would be interested in a follow up with anything different; i.e. if, in fact, the State intends to make the “In God We Trust” standard on the new design, how they intend to progress with making that happen, and when the State will tackle the current law to completely change it. Certainly anyone with common sense would not expect them to just print it on the new tag and pass it out to residents. If you have any factual information regarding this please share it with the readers. There are some ignorant people holding seats in our government but I don’t think anyone would be so crass as to attempt such a feat without doing their homework first. Of course, Governor Barnes pulled a similar stunt with the flag so it wouldn’t totally shock me but it is doubtful in this economic climate. Please do share if you know something to the contrary.
Knock knock
June 27th, 2011
5:10 pm
How about one that says “God and Guns”
hsgrad
June 27th, 2011
5:15 pm
TIMES UP!
“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 spiritual impulses; faithless in the value
of their own labor, and almost imbecile for personal elevation.”
Frederick Law Olmsted
from “A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States” 1856
Note that Mr. Olmsted was speaking of poor whites, but this description of Georgian’s is still applicable today.
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
June 27th, 2011
5:17 pm
Fleabass
June 27th, 2011
4:50 pm
Actually all presidential assassinations and vitually all maas murders in America, and Europe (Hitler & Staln) have been committed by your fellow Roman Catholics, interestingly enough.
MiddleMan
June 27th, 2011
5:20 pm
How about one that simply says “Goddess”. That would be a huge revenue producer, even at a dollar apiece.
Billy
June 27th, 2011
5:44 pm
Hey, let’s put some much crap on the tag that you can’t read the numbers. Oops, they already do that…
Martha Gates
June 27th, 2011
6:33 pm
June 27, 2011
I am glad that I trusted in GOD to get our Trillions and Trillions of Dollars until Doomsday from the government, the GAY community and PETA. You can start with your apologies to Michael Vick and GOD’s Righteous people. GOD told us that our wealth was in the hands of the wicked. Jeremiah Wright 17:5.
Happy birthday Calhoun, Uncle Bob, Bill Cosby, O. J. Simpson, Michael Vick, and Michael Jackson.
mgates–We are going to laugh at the rich, the powerful, and the traitors.
God is my copilot
June 27th, 2011
6:50 pm
If I trust in god to hell with road rules. God will take care of me if I drive drunk, run stop signs, etc. Who would have thunk I little sticker on a license plate is better than a seat belt
BeenThereDoneThat
June 27th, 2011
6:59 pm
I’m glad someone at DOR set you straight on the tags. As par for the course the AJC does a lot of pot stirring and very little fact finding. Georgia law mandates the tag to have the county name at the bottom of the tag unless an “In God We Trust” decal is purchase or with some specialty tag is purchased with something else is at the bottom. Did you really think that all the tags in one designed was proposed to say “Fulton” or another have “Reg” on every tag. This is a vote for the basic overall design and most people could tell this. At least most people that realize that the AJC should be taking with a grain of salt and understand it as the bottom of the bird cage it should be.
BeenThereDoneThat
June 27th, 2011
7:08 pm
Sorry Fleabass, I should have read your comments first. You said it very well and I’m afraid I just repeated the same. This was just on my mind since I saw the article at work but had to wait until I got home to comment.
Deepdiver
June 27th, 2011
7:18 pm
Some American christians are unbelievable. Jesus was not about putting signs up to brag about someone’s Christianity. He was about helping the needy. Many Christians in the U.S. are foolish and selfish. Spend that money on helping others, not showboating or making yourself like a better Christian.
alan
June 27th, 2011
7:47 pm
I live in Florida and there is over 100 speciality plates ranging from college and professional sport teams to causes such as adoption.
damn peach
June 27th, 2011
8:03 pm
God!!! Im sick of the damn peach thing. Can’t we get a few designs without it? Pick the top 4 plates and then let the consumer choose when they go to pick it up.
Nate
June 27th, 2011
8:21 pm
If the State of Georgia issues a tag with “In God We Trust” on it, then they can “trust” that I will be doing a little creative adjustment, such as putting a big black mark through it…
jd
June 27th, 2011
8:34 pm
We shouldn’t be in the business of picking winners and losers
Vote for Pedro
June 27th, 2011
9:31 pm
I want a county sticker that says “I can’t read”
brian
June 27th, 2011
10:18 pm
Which god though? There are so many that have been invented over the eons. The Judeo-Christian god is just a complete a$$hole. I have much more trust in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. All hail the FSM!
Bill Orvis White
June 27th, 2011
10:43 pm
Amen to all of those who support a much-needed “In God We Trust” plate that is integral to our way of life in this once-free nation. If seculars and illegals don’t like this plate, then get out of here and don’t return. This nation was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles whereby we follow a strict code where WE THE PEOPLE act in a pro-life humane manner. Again, teenagers are on the drug, drink and the pill. Taxes for Godless social experiment projects are at all time high. The Socialist-Democrat Party has torn down the institution of man-woman marriage which is essential fo rthe survival of this once-free nation.
Amen,
Bill
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
June 27th, 2011
11:03 pm
All Atlantans, itp and otp, let’s vote for choice #2 so the skyline of our best city in the world will be displayed wherever Georgia plates are seen!
brian
June 27th, 2011
11:38 pm
Bill Orvis White, you’re parroting the same tired ignorant lies you’ve heard from other Christians. The Constitution doesn’t mention any god(s) at all. Furthermore, where it does mention religion, it does so in the context of total separation – freedom of religion and freedom FROM religion. You may wish to familiarize yourself with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. You should also familiarize yourself with the secular, godless writings of Madison and Jefferson… something Christians mysteriously won’t do, preferring instead to live in a fantasy world where their god created the USA as a bastion of Jesus-worship.
And if you think the Ten Commandments were relevant to our nation’s founding, I’d like to understand the relevance of such idiotic commandments as not working on the “sabbath”, which is regularly flouted, as well as the garbled nonsense about idols, graven images, etc. Guess what, all countries have laws about stealing and murder.
As for your comment that ” If seculars and illegals don’t like this plate, then get out of here and don’t return”, that only reflects an all too typical hateful and intolerant Christian attitude. Keep your stupid stone age religion to yourself.
David Meadows
June 27th, 2011
11:52 pm
Unless an alternative name on the tag is: “The Billboard State,” I refuse to pay for anything other than a regular tag.