Tennesseeans reacted with humor, anger and defiance Thursday to Georgia's legislative attempt to move the border north so the drought-plagued state can tap into the Tennessee River.
"Us good Tennesseeans will take our long rifles up to Lookout Mountain and fire when ready," said Justin Wilson, a Nashville attorney and former deputy governor. (((Make that humor, anger, defiance, and guns.)))
Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) and Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell) introduced resolutions this week to, in essence, move the state line a mile north which would run the border right through a bend in the river. Then, the legislators say, Georgia could send billions of gallons of water to parched Atlanta without Tennessee's permission.
Shafer, Geisinger and others say an "erroneous" survey completed in 1818 placed the border 1.1 miles below what Congress had earlier established as the boundary. (((Why don't they restore the *climate* to 1818? Back in those days, industrial emissions had barely begun to bite.)))
Virtually every Georgia legislator signed on (((!))) to the resolutions (SR 822 and HR 1206), which direct Gov. Sonny Perdue to remedy the border dispute with his Tennessee counterpart.
"While we know that this proposal is not a short-term remedy to our current drought situation, Gov. Perdue is open to looking at all options as we plan for Georgia's long-term future needs," said Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley, adding that the governor hasn't scheduled talks with Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen.
Bredesen, busy dealing with the aftermath of this week's deadly tornadoes in his state, couldn't be reached for comment....
