JMac Georgia Politics

Secretary of State Kemp Reminds Voters about the Start of Absentee Voting and Important Dates for Presidential Preference Primary

2012-01-24T13:15:00.002-05:00

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp reminded voters today that absentee voting by mail for the March 6, 2012 presidential preference primary will begin Saturday, January 21, 2012. Voters can request an absentee ballot through Friday, March 2, 2012.

Georgia residents must return their absentee ballot to their county election office by close of polls on Election Day, March 6, 2012. Absentee ballots cast by overseas and military voters must be postmarked on or before March 6, 2012, but will be accepted until the end of business on March 9, 2012. Voters are not required to provide a reason when requesting an absentee ballot.

Voters can obtain an absentee ballot request form from the Secretary of State’s website: sos.ga.gov. The form must be completed and returned to the voter’s county election office. County election office personnel can also provide absentee ballot request forms.

Citizens who are eligible to vote but have not registered may register through Monday, February 6, 2012. Voter registration forms are available on the Secretary of State’s website.

In-person advance voting for the 2012 presidential preference primary will begin Monday, February 13, 2012.

Secretary Kemp reminded voters to utilize the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page (MVP) voter education website before participating in the presidential preference primary. The MVP website allows voters to view their sample ballot, find the in-person advance voting locations in their county and their Election Day polling location, check their registration status, track the status of their absentee ballot, and more. The MVP website can be accessed at sos.ga.gov/mvp.

Additionally, Georgia’s eligible military and overseas citizens who have requested an absentee ballot can obtain their ballot electronically for the presidential preference primary beginning January 21, 2012.

The Secretary of State’s Office has created two tutorial videos that specifically address absentee ballot voting options for Georgia’s military and overseas citizens. To view these videos please visit the Secretary of State’s website.

To obtain a presidential primary ballot electronically, Georgia’s military and overseas citizens must request an absentee ballot from their county election office, be sure to indicate a political party preference, and check the appropriate box to receive their ballot electronically. They can then log on to a secure website, print and vote their ballot, and then mail it back to their county election office. Further, military and overseas voters may receive access to absentee ballots for an entire year’s election cycle, removing the need to submit multiple ballot requests.

The Secretary of State’s Elections Division website also features a “Military and Overseas Voters” page that includes:

•Who qualifies as a military or overseas voter, and how to request and return an absentee ballot;
•Downloadable absentee ballot request forms;
•Contact information for your county election office; and
•Important links to state and federal voting information.

Brian Kemp has been Secretary of State since January, 2010. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives.

Wisonsin election results

2011-08-09T21:18:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of places you can go to keep up with the Wisconsin election results:

Washington Post is live blogging:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/wisconsin-recall-elections-results-live-blog/2011/08/09/gIQAA0ON5I_blog.html

If you're on Facebook here's were I suggest you go: https://www.facebook.com/DefeatObama
They've been raising money, fighting the good fight to support Republicans in the recall election.

Good article for background:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/09/recall-elections-to-determine-wisconsin-senate-control/

Recall Elections to Determine Wisconsin Senate Control

www.foxnews.com

Wisconsin Democrats, fueled by millions of dollars in spending by national unions and other outside groups, were hoping to wrest control of the state Senate away from Republicans through six recall elections Tuesday that stemmed from anger over Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining proposal.

Latest results I have:
Still ahead in 5 of the 6, getting close to saying definite wins I'd think on two of the elections (Cowles, Harsdorf).
District 2: Cowles (R) - 59% vs. Nusbaum (D) - 41% [76% REPORTING]
District 8: Darling (R) - 55% vs. Pasch (D) - 45% [15% REPORTING]
District 10: Harsdorf (R) - 58% - Moore (D) - 42% [62% REPORTING]
District 14: Olsen (R) - 55% - Clark (D) - 45% [48% REPORTING]
District 18: Hopper (R) - 53% - King (D) - 47% [15% REPORTING]
District 32: Kapanke (R) 49% - Schilling (D) - 51% [26% REPORTING]

Westmoreland Reacts to S&P Downgrade, Volatile Markets

2011-08-08T19:43:00.002-05:00

After a rocky week in the markets and a less than stellar deal to raise the debt ceiling, the credit agency Standard & Poor (S&P) downgraded the United States’ credit rating from AAA to AA+ last Friday afternoon. The firm had been threatening a downgrade recently, so the move was not shocking. However, the markets responded with big drops at the opening bell and remained down approximately 3.5 percent this afternoon. This follows a 5.8 percent drop in the Dow last week and a staggering 8.1 percent drop in the NASDAQ drop last week. The two remaining credit rating agencies – Moody’s and Fitch – have kept the United States at its AAA rating. President Obama addressed the nation on Monday after the downgrade and market fall. Below is Congressman Westmoreland’s reaction to current economic events.

“Friday marked the first time in history the United States of America was no longer considered the cream of the crop when Standard & Poor downgraded our credit rating from AAA to AA+. While we will not know the long-term effect this downgrade will cause, we have seen the short-term effect as markets are dramatically down around the world. In fact, during the day, the Dow was down as much as 550 points from this morning and had dropped below 11,000 several times.

“This was not something that should have surprised the president or any of his economic advisers. The S&P, as well as the other credit rating agencies, have threatened for months that the federal government’s failure to get its fiscal house in order would have serious consequences. They demanded a debt ceiling increase include at least $4 trillion in savings – something the president fought against with his insistent request for a ‘clean’ debt ceiling hike. Yet President Obama and Congressional Democrats just can’t seem to put down their credit cards and understand that the solution is to cut spending. In addition, President Obama has still not offered the specifics of a plan while advocating that Secretary Geithner remain at the Treasury Department, a choice I do not agree with.

“Unfortunately, this is just a taste of what’s to come unless Congressional Democrats and the White House are finally willing to come to the table and make some substantial cuts. We can no longer afford to play the blame game in regards to spending: the blame lies with both parties who spent without restraint over the last 20 years. But now we have the opportunity to fix those mistakes and get Washington back on a sustainable path. House Republicans have put forth multiple long-term plans to address our national debt, get our spending under control, save Medicare and Social Security from insolvency, and revive our economy – including the Path to Prosperity and Cut, Cap and Balance. Congressional Democrats and the White House need to join us in our work to stabilize our economy and get our AAA credit rating back,” stated Westmoreland.

I don't have Dish, but...

2011-04-06T20:52:00.002-05:00

I'll always come down on the side of no more taxes!

Dear Valued Dish Network Customer,

Thank you for your continued efforts in opposing a NEW 7% tax on satellite TV service. Your emails and calls to Georgia lawmakers have made a difference, and has them thinking twice about it!

But it's not quite over – your legislators will decide on this tax this week, and we need you to take action one more time.

Higher taxes are not the answer for Georgia families. Lawmakers need to understand that this is not the time to rush through and vote on a new tax..

Click on the link below to use our simple email tool to send a message to your legislators. Let them know in your own words how you feel about taxing your TV. We also have provided talking points to help you write your message.

If the link does not direct you to the correct page, please copy & paste the link below into your browser:

http://www.capwiz.com/stopsatellitetax/issues/alert/?alertid=39947501

Weekly Republican Address: Chairman Price Says GOP Will Lead As “Democrats Who Run Washington Ignore Their Responsibilities”

2011-02-20T16:52:00.000-05:00

Chairman Price: “We need to end Washington’s spending binge to reduce uncertainty, to boost confidence, and to encourage private investment in our economy”

Delivering the Weekly Republican Address, House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) highlights the new majority’s effort to free our economy from the shackles of big government and skyrocketing debt that are creating the economic uncertainty that economists say makes it harder to create jobs. Chairman Price reaffirms the new majority’s commitment to lead where the President has punted on addressing our most significant fiscal challenges, including entitlement reform. Chairman Price is in his fourth term serving the people of Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District. In addition to being a member of the House GOP leadership team, he is a member of the House Budget and Ways & Means Committees and a former Chairman of the Republican Study Committee. Audio of the address is available here. Video will be available here for viewing and here for downloading once the embargo is lifted tomorrow at 6:00 a.m.

“Hello, I’m Congressman Tom Price and I have the privilege of working for the people of Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District. In addition to serving as the Chairman of the House Policy Committee, I’m a member of the House Budget Committee.

“And by now you’ve probably heard a lot of talk coming out of Washington about a so-called budget battle. We’ve even got some Democrats who run Washington threatening to shut down the government instead of listening to the American people and cutting spending. Right now, our focus should be creating jobs and getting our economy moving again.

“After all, the President promised that this would be the year that he got serious about the deficits and the debt hurting our economy. Instead, he started out by asking Congress to raise the debt limit, without any commitment to cutting spending at the same time. In his State of the Union address, he called for more ineffective ‘stimulus’ spending. And this week he submitted a budget for the next fiscal year that destroys jobs by spending too much, and borrowing too much, and taxing too much.

“Listen to economists, listen to the folks who create jobs in this country, and you’ll hear that we need to end Washington’s spending binge to reduce uncertainty, to boost confidence, and to encourage private investment in our economy. To help create a better environment for job creation in America, the spending binge has got to stop. Now with the support of Republican governors and our reform-minded colleagues in the Senate, the new House majority is working hard toward that goal.

“That’s why the House spent this past week working on a bill to cut discretionary spending by $100 billion over the last seven months of the current fiscal year. We’re not only living up to our Pledge to America, we’re exceeding it. And more cuts and more reforms are on the way.

“Now as part of our focus on job growth, committees in the House are combing through job-crushing government regulations, and conducting rigorous oversight of how the government spends the people’s time and your money. We’ll soon begin work on legislation to cut wasteful mandatory spending.

“In the spring, under the leadership of our Budget Chairman, Paul Ryan, we’ll put forth a budget for the next fiscal year that confronts the fiscal challenges facing our nation instead of ducking them. It’ll offer ideas for real entitlement reform so we can have a conversation with the American people about the challenges we face and the need to chart a new path to prosperity.

“Now as a doctor and as a parent, I find it astounding that the President has submitted a budget that ignores the recommendations of his own fiscal commission and it punts on all of the tough choices – including entitlement reform. Instead, he’s expanded entitlements through ObamaCare – a government takeover that will destroy 800,000 jobs, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, and will accelerate our path to fiscal ruin.

“This issue demands presidential leadership – something that the President so far just seems unwilling to offer.

“Now if we can find an upside, it’s that the President admitted that his budget fails to address our fiscal crisis. You see, some Members of Congress still won’t even acknowledge that there’s a crisis. One in particular, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said not too long ago, and I quote, “Social Security is fine.” But you know it’s not fine. This year, for the first time, it will pay out more money than it takes in.

“And, with the wave of Baby Boomers starting to retire, there’s no way that we can protect programs like Social Security for the future and get our debt under control unless we begin to honestly address entitlements. Now for the President, leadership requires telling friends like Harry Reid the truth, even if it’s politically difficult.

“Now, our reforms will focus both on saving these programs for current and future generations of Americans and on getting our debt under control and our economy growing. By taking critical steps forward now, we can fulfill the mission of health and retirement security for all Americans without making changes for those in or near retirement.

“The new Republican majority will lead even as the Democrats who run Washington ignore their responsibilities.

“And if Senator Reid and President Obama change their minds, we’ll be ready to work with them. In the meantime, Republicans are focused on listening to the people, confronting our nation’s challenges, and helping our economy get back to creating jobs.

“Thanks for listening.”

An article worth sharing: A Horrid Crime, a Dishonest Debate

2011-01-11T07:40:00.000-05:00

The same Left that embraces terrorist Bill Ayers seeks a tactical victory in Tucson.

On June 5, 1968, a deranged 25-year-old Jordanian named Sirhan Sirhan slithered through a crowd toward Sen. Robert Kennedy as the Democratic presidential candidate basked in the glow of his California presidential primary triumph.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/256813/horrid-crime-dishonest-debate-andrew-c-mccarthy

Neal Boortz (@talkmaster) zapped this out via Twitter this morning so I popped over and read it. Excellent article.

Quick impressions from 1st Fayette County Commission meeting of the year

2011-01-06T19:53:00.000-05:00

Steve Brown started the meeting by nominating Robert Horgan for Chairman. Allen McCarty seconded the motion. Then Robert Horgan nominated Herb Frady for Chairman and Lee Hearn seconded the motion. The vote was 3 - 2 in favor of Frady.

Next Horgan was nominated for Vice Chair. Both Brown and McCarty voted for the motion.

Quite truthfully, I was so shocked I couldn't tell you who made the motion to nominate Horgan for Vice. I want to say that either McCarty or Brown made the motion. It's a good thing I filmed the meeting so I can view what I missed while I was mentally shaking my head in wonder.

There were a number of things discussed in the meeting, I won't bore you with all the details. I'll be breaking the meeting down via video into the various votes, you can pop over to YouTube and watch those that interest you.

There's one I'd suggest you watch, even though it's rather long. They discussed the East Fayetteville Bypass. The East Fayetteville Bypass was the top priority of previous Boards and was underway when Maxwell and Smith joined the Board four years ago. They stopped the road and shifted their emphasis to the final phases of the West Fayetteville Bypass, phases that weren't scheduled to be considered for years to come.

Due to the movement of funds from the East Bypass to the West, combined with the Board giving an unscheduled 7 plus million to Fayetteville, there now isn't enough money to do the East Bypass. At least that's the way it seemed. They could stop the West Bypass, I think, maybe, and possibly complete a phase or two of the East Bypass. I'll have to take a look at the tape and look into it a bit more to determine whether that last sentence is correct. If you're opposed to the West Bypass, or you live along the East Bypass route, or you get stuck in traffic that the West Bypass won't fix, you may want to look at the video. Or you can pop over to the Fayette Front Page. I'm going to post the documentation on the site for anyone interested.

Back to the rest of the meeting:

Two motions by the new guys (aside from the ones I've already noted) might be of interest to some or all of you. I think both would have been excellent ideas.

Brown and McCarty tried to get term limits for Commissioners, asking for a limit of two consecutive terms. They exempted Frady, of course. He's been on the Board for 18 years (and finally managed to get elected as Chairman). The proposal died with Horgan, Frady and Hearn voting in opposition.

The trio also voted against the Brown McCarty proposal to require that anything being voted on during a meeting be visible to the public 24 hours in advance. I listened to Horgan, Frady and Hearn's stated reasons for opposing that one and quite frankly it sounded pre-rehearsed and like a lot of baloney. Frady said the meetings were going to be different, new era of Frady-ness. I suppose things will be different whether he likes it or not. There is nothing that we won't hear about given Brown's propensity for sharing mightily!

Technically, aside from the vote for Chairman and Vice Chairman, there weren't any 'real' votes. During the first meeting of the month they use the time to discuss items, gather information and then decide by consensus if things should be voted on in subsequent meetings. The last two items I mentioned died and won't be on any upcoming agendas. Maybe in two years. (From the rumor mill, in case you haven't heard - supposedly Maxwell plans to run again. Ditto on Smith. They both ran at-large last time, they'll have to run in their districts during the next election cycle if the rumors are true.)

It was a strange, strange meeting. It's clear that we're going to see a lot of 3-2 votes during the next two years. It's also clear that we are going to be thrown a few curves. Another thing I have noticed in recent meetings is the high attendance by the public. For years I've been to meetings and in most you could fit all non-staff in the front row with empty chairs. It's been nice to see so many taking an interest in the meetings and I hope it continues.

I talked with Brown and McCarty after the meeting, asking both what in the world they were thinking nominating the only guy on the Board who was slapped with an ethics violation and had a drug arrest and conviction --- during his term as Commissioner no less. I thought about what I'd share from our conversation - both gave me permission to quote them. I just have to tell you though that I ultimately decided it's best that they share their rationale themselves. I just think I'd muddy the water more.

I am still shaking my head about the meeting. I completely disagree with McCarty and Brown's rationale and with their vote to support Horgan as Vice Chairman. Neither of them made the motion because they believed Horgan would be the best guy for the job.

I bet Robert Horgan is also shaking his head wondering how he ended up as Vice Chair. I think most of those who voted for McCarty and Brown are wondering, too.

Excellent article in WSJ by Karl Rove

2011-01-06T13:59:00.001-05:00

WSJ: ObamaCare Rewards Friends, Punishes Enemies

A primary task for the new Republican House majority is to undo as many of the pernicious effects of ObamaCare that it can. One of these effects is the spectacle of employers going hat-in-hand to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for waivers from some of the law's more onerous provisions.

In September, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius began granting waivers to companies that provided workers "mini-med" coverage—low-cost plans with low annual limits on what the insurance will pay out. This followed announcements by some employers that they would have to drop these plans because they did not meet the new health law's requirement that 85% of premium income be spent on medical expenses.

>> Read Full Article

Westmoreland Celebrates the First Ever Reading of the U.S. Constitution in the House of Representatives

2011-01-06T12:55:00.001-05:00

Today, for the first time in its 221 year history, the United States Constitution was read aloud in the House of Representatives by a bipartisan group of Members of Congress. The reading is part of a new focus on the Constitution by Congressional Republicans. Congressman Westmoreland joined his colleagues, reading the 6th Amendment to U.S. Constitution. Westmoreland released the following statement on this historic occasion.

“This is truly an historic moment. For the first time in our history, the U.S. Constitution has been read aloud in the House of Representatives. During the 111th the disdain and disregard for this amazing document by the Democratic leadership reached an all-time high, resulting in massive pieces of legislation that trampled the rights of Americans and dramatically expanded the powers and privileges of the federal government. However, with this one symbolic act of reading the document that actually created and governs Congress, Congressional Republicans have made a promise to the American people they will not allow congressional overreach to happen under their watch. I am proud to have joined many of my colleagues on this momentous occasion as the representative of the people of the Third Congressional District of Georgia,” stated Westmoreland.

To view the video of Congressman Westmoreland’s reading of the U.S. Constitution, please visit his website at www.house.gov/westmoreland.

Republicans to Live Stream Opening Session of Congress on Facebook

2011-01-05T08:42:00.000-05:00

Later today you'll be able to keep up with what's happening in DC via Facebook. House Republicans are going to live stream the opening session on the Pledge to America Facebook page... So far I like most of what I've heard from 'our' guys. I wasn't exactly impressed with their actions during the lame duck session. I think there was a lot of typical game playing going on, I think they used it as cover to make compromises they wanted but knew they wouldn't be able to get away with in the new session.

It's always hard to judge motivation and reason for their actions from way down here in Fayette County, away from the games, away from all the insider trading that goes on. I always wonder who got what in exchange for their vote.When I think of what goes on behind the scenes my lip automatically curls. Bleh, it can't be good.

I was talking with someone yesterday about the Tea Party, other efforts to make some REAL change in Washington. I'm 100% behind efforts to clean things up, clean out the chaff, make big changes. But I also realize that the reality is we're battling a system that's taken a long, long time to perfect. The institutionalization of favor swapping, covering each others backs, knowing how to get things done, compromise, political power protection and all the rest of the behind the scenes stuff is going to be tough to change. It's like trying to clean up mercury (isn't that the stuff that beads up, separates, slides around?). I'm picturing it -- you go to touch that blob of silver to clean it up and it splits up, slithers around, attaches and hides in another little blob over to the side. Hazmat needed.

We can shine the light on one area of corruption or wrongness and they'll move into the shadows for a time or find a way to do it differently. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that it's all bad or that everyone up there is rotten. There are good people in Washington and I know compromise is needed at times given the number of divergent opinions and beliefs.

I guess the only way to really make the change is to be there. I understand it's difficult once you're there though unless you're a strongly principled individual, someone who can't be co-opted. Of course, then the system works to boot you out so they can keep their status quo. Heck, we get mad at some of those principled people when they step on an area we support. Tough situation, going to be tough to make a long-term difference.

However, there's a new awareness, a new caring, a new involvement from the general public. I think the guys in DC are going to find that we'll keep shining the light on them. It's not the 'good old days' of 3 networks feeding the party line to the masses. With the Internet, blogging, Facebook, Twitter and numerous other ways to communicate, we're able to get together and voice our concerns, affect some change. Ha, just thought of the old saying "Power to the People". Different meaning when it was said, but heck, I'm all for the current kind of power to the people!

Wow, did I get off track. I started out simply to share the following bit from John Boehner (rec'd yesterday, tweeted yesterday, @readmylipstick, but didn't have time to blog) about the new way Republicans are sharing. I think it's cool. You can probably watch it on CSPAN also, but this allows you to be at work and keep up, too.

Republicans to Live Stream Opening Session of Congress on Facebook

Tomorrow House Republicans will live stream the opening session of the 112th Congress - including the swearing-in ceremony and remarks by Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-OH) - on the Pledge to America Facebook Page. The House will convene and the stream will go live at 12:00 p.m. ET.

This is the first time an opening session of Congress has been broadcast live on Facebook where visitors can interact and discuss the event with others, and offer feedback directly to elected representatives.

The new Republican majority has pledged to change the way Congress works – to lead by listening to and reflecting the will of the American people. Together with new rules demanding new levels of online disclosure and transparency (including requirements that all bills online at least three days before a vote and committees broadcast their hearings online), this event is another example of the new majority’s commitment to making Congress more open and accountable, and to finding new ways to connect with citizens online and off.

Click to “Like” the Pledge on Facebook. And be sure to tune in tomorrow at noon and join the conversation.

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BTW, if you're tweeting we have a number of Twitter accounts:

@readmylipstick is my political opinion, rabble rousing account
@FayetteFP is the Fayette Front Page
@GAFrontPage is Georgia news and politics
@artsacrossgeorgia is all about Georgia arts

We have more... personal one for my Hummingbird Hollow Pottery, then more Fayette Front Page / Georgia Front Page accounts: one for readers, a business Twitter account with business news, a music focus account, gardening, food and restaurants, history, plus there are some I handle for local charities. If you'd like the rest, let me know. TweetDeck, Seesmic and Hootsuite are great tools if you have multiple Twitter accounts, allows you to post from one account to the other, line them all up side by side, have a reply column so you can see who's answering. Lots of benefits to using one of those free platforms even if you only have one account. It sure makes Twitter easier and a bit more logical looking .

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Happy new year! Hope each and every one of you has a good year, one that makes you and those around you happy. Stay healthy, take care of yourself and keep up the good fight.

Politics and bed sheets

2011-01-03T07:46:00.000-05:00

Couple of interesting stories, all revolving around Senator Robert Brown, (D - Macon), Senate Minority Leader. First there were the inflammatory remarks he made about state Rep. Allen Peake, (R - Macon).

Brown, during the taping of an interview with Peake, said that a legislator who recently switched to the Republican Party might need to keep his white sheets "for the midnight meeting." Peake recently made the switch from Democrat to Republican. Brown has since said he was not referring to the KKK, but to sex.

On the 31st while leaving a press conference one of Brown's associates attacked a photographer. Rather than try to recap stories when I wasn't present, I'll link to two that do a good job of outlining the whole fiasco. The photographer has filed charges.

Here's a video of the attack. It kind of hangs at the beginning so hang in there when it goes blank. Here's a link if the video doesn't play for you: http://videos.macon.com/vmix_hosted_apps/p/media?id=46449141&item_index=1&all=1&sort=NULL

Peake Offended by Brown's 'White Sheet' Comment
State Rep. Allen Peake says he's offended by Sen. Robert Brown's comments that seemed to compare Georgia Republicans to the Ku Klux Klan.
It happened Tuesday morning as the pair went toe-to-toe on several issues during a taping of 13WMAZ's Close-Up program.
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=106782&catid=7

Telegraph photographer attacked after news conference
By JIM GAINES and SHELBY SPIRES - Telegraph writers
A man apparently accompanying state Sen. Robert Brown to a hurriedly called Thursday news conference attacked and injured Telegraph photographer Woody Marshall at Macon City Hall, prompting conflicting stories from those involved.Read more: http://www.macon.com/2010/12/31/1393922/telegraph-photographer-attacked.html#ixzz19yWSsQkt

Big promises, high hopes...

2010-12-30T10:59:00.000-05:00

Newly elected Fayette County Commissioner's Allen McCarty and Steve Brown were sworn in Monday morning. Brown brought a 10-point list of promises to constituents and McCarty spoke of changes that would be made when the pair were sworn into office.

It all sounded good, especially to the crowd attending the early morning ceremony.

However, all one had to do was take a look at the faces of Commissioner Herb Frady and County Manager Jack Krakeel as they watched to see how difficult it is going to be for the two new commissioners to keep some of their promises.

The two new commissioners are going to be in the minority. If the other three commissioners stick together, as is expected, the West Fayetteville Bypass will continue to move ahead. With Frady as the new Commission Chairman, as is expected, much will be hidden and more deals will be cut behind closed doors.

The one wild card I see in the mix over the next two years is that at least two of the Commissioners will be running for re-election in 2012. Speculation is that Frady will have achieved his goal to be Chairman and, given his age, will decide not to run again. Robert Horgan has expressed a desire to run for re-election despite ethics problems resulting from his arrest for marijuana possession and use. Lee Hearn, who is recovering from a fairly serious operation that turned out to be not as serious as it could have been (thank goodness) will also probably run again.

The public is adamant that what is most often called the 'bypass to nowhere' should go nowhere. They want it stopped. The three remaining commissioners from the 'old batch' have consistently voted to move it forward.

Jack Smith, Eric Maxwell, Hearn, Frady and Horgan made the decision during their tenure to stop building the East Fayetteville Bypass (one of the projects included in the SPLOST), wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars, and chose to start work on the three-phase West Fayetteville Bypass. Phase one was a high priority, taking traffic around the hospital. Phase two and three were low priorities. They bypassed much needed road projects in the SPLOST and opted to move forward on the last two phases of the Bypass. Per those who included the bypass in the SPLOST, the last two phases of the road shouldn't have been considered for many years to come, and then ONLY if conditions in the county changed substantially.

Smith, Maxwell and the remaining trio on the Commission have said all along that they were forced to do it because we voted for it in the SPLOST... yet they chose not to do other projects on that same list, and, as said earlier, chose to stop another project already in progress. Make sense to anyone? It sure gives rise to head scratching as to why.

If Horgan and Hearn stick with the project it's a sure thing they'll go down in flames when they run for re-election. The crowd that attended the swearing in was larger than any in past ceremonies. These folks are active and they are working to make some changes on the Board. It's part of the movement that has been sweeping across the country - people are paying attention and they want accountability. Those who worked locally to unseat Maxwell and Smith will not go away and are already working on the next election.

Over the next two years, well four since that's the term of elections, we're going to be hearing about everything that happens during commission meetings. Any secret deals will be made public --- Steve Brown is known for speaking his mind and sharing with the public, so that one is a given. McCarty comes across as a quiet, thoughtful person, but I gather he is not shy when it comes to issues he feels strongly about. No matter what, like the votes or not, we will know what is going on.

McCarty and Brown may not be able to do anything other than shout from the rooftops if the other three vote in lock-step though.

My expectation is that sometimes one or more of the others will break ranks and vote with McCarty and Brown, but not on issues of any importance. I expect the other three to conspire to shut them out. I expect the three remaining commissioners to continue to vote in ways that irk the majority of voters on projects favorable to developers. Frady has a reputation for being fairly crafty when it comes to determining public opinion. I expect he'll throw the public some bones to make us think he's listening, do some things that'll garner some nice headlines and have a chunk of voters saying "awww, that's a good vote". But when it comes to substance and the direction they're taking the county, we'll be reeling for years to come.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope that ALL of the commissioners will be able to put aside their own personal quirks, desires, and friendships to vote for what is best for the county. The problem with voting on what is best for the county is that I'm pretty sure Jack Smith was voting in ways that he felt were best for the county. Most of us have a different vision of the future than he seems to have. I suppose I should amend the sentiment in that first sentence to say I hope they'll vote for what the majority of us feel is best for the county.

It's going to be an interesting next few years!

Harping on retirement funds, pensions again...

2010-12-29T17:27:00.000-05:00

I can't resist a good article about how we've gotten ourselves into a bind on pension plans. Ya'll know that I was not a proponent of the ridiculous plan the Fayette County Commission implemented two years ago. It's going to come back to bite us just like every other similar plan has across the country. At a time when everyone else is tightening their belts the current (including the two soon-to-be-ex) commissioners have done a lot to turn this once fiscally responsible, pay-as-you-go, not-for-sale-to-developers, county into just the opposite. The current batch won't be in office to take responsibility for the havoc they've wreaked in just two short years. Someone else will be in office and will have to face the music these guys wrote.

Here's another article on pension woes, how they've increased taxes that drives home the point I've harped about over and over and over and...

New Jersey faces highest allowance gap in nation

The State of New Jersey disclosed on Thursday that the unfunded pension liability for state government employees grew from $45.8 billion to $53.9 billion in 2009, an increase of 18 percent.

New Jersey public employee pension funds currently cover some 800,000 workers in seven different pension funds impacting a wide range of government employees, including teachers, police officers, firefighters, judges and a mixed bag of bureaucrats.

The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that New Jersey residents have the largest unfunded pension liabilities in the nation.\

New Jersey pension funds now have only 62 percent of the funds necessary to pay future promised obligations, down from 66 percent the year before.

To put this in perspective, pension experts generally recommend that state pensions should be funded to at least 80 percent of their current and future obligations.

New Jersey also has an unfunded obligation of $66.8 billion for health-care costs, in addition to the $53.9 billion unfunded pension liability.

Again, to put this in perspective, the entire state budget for New Jersey this year is $29.4 billion.

Gov. Christie recommended a wide range of changes for New Jersey public employment pensions, including rolling back benefits by as much as 9 percent, increasing the retirement age for teachers from 62 to 65, and requiring all state employees to contribute 8.5 percent of their salaries to the state pension system, instead of the 3 percent some public employees now pay.

Still, even these changes might not be enough to make a meaningful dent on the state's unfunded pension obligations.

State pension crisis pushing property taxes higher

The crisis in state pensions is cascading into a property-tax crisis.

The Wall Street Journal reported that cities across the nation are raising property taxes, largely to cover rising pension and health-care costs for their employee and retirees.

With state revenue continuing to lag behind projections, states are squeezed to meet pension obligations. The problem is that higher property taxes can end up being self-defeating, forcing homeowners with expensive properties to move to states with lower property taxes, with the result that the state ends up collecting even less tax revenue despite the higher tax rates.

State budget crisis faces nation in 2011

In October, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that to balance their 2011 budgets, states had to address fiscal year 2011 gaps totaling an estimated $125 billion, or 19 percent of budgets in 46 states.

State tax revenues were 8.4 percent lower in fiscal year 2009 than in 2008, and an additional 3.1 percent lower in 2010, reflecting the worst recession since the 1930s.

"States will continue to struggle to find the revenue needed to support critical public services for a number of years, threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs," the center reported.

The center sees no diminishment in budget problems in 2012.

Already 39 states have projected budget gaps that are expected to total $112 billion for fiscal year 2012, a budget gap that is expected to grow to approximately $140 billion once all states have submitted their 2010 estimates.

Even worse, the federal aid to the states provided by the February 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and to a smaller extent in the August 2010 jobs bill, estimated at $60 billion in 2011, is expected to decline to $6 billion in 2012.

"Taking all these factors into account, it is reasonable to expect that for 2012, shortfalls are likely to exceed $140 billion with only $6 billion in federal Recovery Act dollars remaining available," the report concluded.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jerome R. Corsi received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in political science in 1972. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling books THE OBAMA NATION: LEFTIST POLITICS AND THE CULT OF PERSONALITY and the co-author of UNFIT FOR COMMAND: SWIFT BOAT VETERANS SPEAK OUT AGAINST JOHN KERRY. He is also the author of AMERICA FOR SALE, THE LATE GREAT U.S.A., and WHY ISRAEL CAN'T WAIT. Currently, Dr. Corsi is a Senior Managing Director in the Financial Services Group at Gilford Securities as well as a senior staff writer for WorldNetDaily.com.
Article used with permission.

Georgia Lawmakers Vote to Forego Scheduled Cost of Living Salary Increase for Third Straight Year

2010-12-29T16:12:00.000-05:00

The Legislative Affairs Committee of the Georgia General Assembly has voted to forego the “cost of living” salary increase scheduled to be given state employees. This marks the third consecutive year the legislature has decided not to take the cost of living salary increase.

“Georgia families are continuing to struggle and our State continues to face daunting budget shortfalls. Foregoing these cost of living increases is a small step in the right direction and the responsible thing to do,” said Administration Floor Leader Ronnie Chance (R-Tyrone).

Georgia General Assembly members are paid an annual salary of $17,341. During the last 18 months, almost all lawmakers have also participated in a voluntary 1-day per month furlough further reducing their salary. The last time Georgia legislators received a pay increase was in January of 2007.

Congressman Westmoreland Named to Financial Services Committee

2010-12-11T17:13:00.001-05:00

This week, Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03) was one of the 12 new members named to the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Financial Services committee has jurisdiction over the housing and financial services sectors, including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities. Below is Congressman Westmoreland’s statement on his selection.

“I am honored my colleagues have named me to the Financial Services Committee. Georgia is a growing financial center and serves as headquarters for numerous Fortune 500 companies, such as Coca-Cola, Aflac, UPS, and Home Depot, and it is important we have a conservative, free-market voice on the committee who is working for Georgia. Georgia has been hit especially hard by the current economic downturn. We have had more bank failures since 2008 than any other state in the country and we are also one of the top ten states for foreclosures. It is important that our state is represented on the committee that has jurisdiction over banks and the housing market. I am looking forward to serving Georgia on this important committee,” stated Westmoreland.

Currently, Georgia has two members on the Financial Services Committee – Congressman David Scott (GA-13), a Democrat, and Congressman Tom Price (GA-06), a Republican. Price will be leaving the committee in the 112th Congress for a seat on the Ways and Means Committee.

Fayette County Commission Closes Year with Controversial Votes

2010-12-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

Wow. I haven't been to a Commission meeting in a while but figured with the controversial West Fayetteville Bypass on the agenda it'd be a good one to hit. Especially as I'm a NIMBY (not in my back yard-er) now...the Bypass will go right in front of my home.

Yes, the Bypass was a hot issue and a number of people were there to speak against it, but other things popped up that made it a jam-packed night of controversial issues.

Former County Commissioner Harold Bost blasted the Commissioners for spreading lies about his time in office. They have said in public meetings and in social settings (that part's hearsay) that Bost was forced to resign. They said he was a disgraced Commissioner, it was discovered that he was actually a resident of Florida when he ran and / or served in office and that he was forced to resign as a result.

Bost brought tax records, voting records, homestead exemption records and proof of residency going back to his birth and showed that he was a legal resident of Georgia the entire time he was in office. He stated that no one would be able to force him not to do anything.

Eric Maxwell stared off into space during Bost's comments and finally asked Jack Smith, Chairman, to cut him off.

The Commission also voted 3 - 1 to give final approval of Democrat and Republican appointments to the Board of Elections to themselves. Up until the vote each of the two top political parties in the county appointed a member of the Board of Elections and the Commission appointed one. With this move five Republicans will now have the final say in who the Democrat and Republican Party appoint.

Maxwell spoke against the move and voted against it. Lee Hearn was absent due to illness.

The Commissioners voted 4-0 to approve a conceptual plan for the final phase of the very controversial West Fayetteville Bypass. The Bypass will continue down Lester Road cutting off the fronts and backs of numerous properties, completely wiping out four or five home properties and make major changes to the configuration of the road. It will snake down Ebenezer Church, move across Redwine, build a new segment through properties that will connect back into Harp Road then end at Hwy 85.

The meeting ended with Maxwell and Smith saying goodbye and thanks with a major part of their farewell speeches spent justifying their votes and actions. More on that later!

Herb Frady all but crowed when Maxwell said he'd be coming to the first meeting of next year to see the selection of Chairman. With a three-two majority I'd be shocked if Frady isn't selected by Lee Hearn and Robert Horgan. Especially since Smith has already carried Frady down to the ARC so he could introduce him to everyone.

Steve Brown and Allen McCarty are going to be outvoted by the trio in most cases over the next two years. However, that doesn't mean it's going to be a quiet two years as anyone who's familiar with Brown knows.

Unfortunately, with the Frady-Horgan-Hearn three-some having the majority for at least two more years we're probably going to get more of the same that we've had these past four years. Then again, Horgan and Hearn will be running for election so maybe they'll listen to the majority of Fayette voters on some issues. Frady will be up for re-election also, but who knows if he'll go for one more term.

I filmed the meeting and am in the process of putting together some YouTube videos of the important parts of the meeting for you.

Westmoreland Opposes Fiscally Irresponsible Bill

2010-12-08T19:31:00.002-05:00

Today, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 3082, the Full-Year FY11 Continuing Resolution and Food Safety bill. Each year, Congress is tasked with drafting and passing 12 appropriations packages to fund the federal government. This year, congressional Democrats were unable to pass and sign into law a single one of the appropriations bills. Instead, they opted to put forth a full-year continuing resolution – an omnibus package of all twelve spending bills as well as the controversial food safety legislation with a more than $3 trillion price tag. Below is Congressman Westmoreland’s statement on his opposition to this legislation.

“Somehow, even with large majorities in both the House and the Senate, congressional Democrats failed to accomplish the most basic task of Congress this year – funding the federal government. Instead, they were much too busy spending trillions of taxpayer dollars on the massive over-regulation of our financial system, on the take over our health care system, and on bail outs for big banks and big labor. And now, even after the shellacking they took on Election Night, congressional Democrats have continued down their path of ignored procedures and massive spending bills that no American could truly comprehend.

“This so-called ‘continuing resolution’ is a farce and a slap in the face of every American. Continuing resolutions are generally used to provide short-term funding for the federal government when additional time is needed to find a compromise between the parties. However, Democrats have chosen to put forth a year-long ‘continuing resolution’ in an effort to evade hearings and markups on each appropriations bill that would have most certainly shed light on their bloated, wasteful pet projects. I will be a resounding NO on this legislation and am disappointed in my colleagues on the other side for their continued failure to properly govern this country,” stated Westmoreland.

Deal names staffers, appoints department head

2010-12-08T08:02:00.000-05:00

Governor-elect asks six executive department leaders to continue in current posts

Yesterday Gov.-elect Nathan Deal named positions on staff, as well as additional announcements on leaders who will continue their service under his administration.

Bart Gobeil, deputy chief operating officer

Gobeil, 37, currently serves as chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. Prior to joining the Cagle's office, he served as director of government relations at AGL Resources, an Atlanta-based natural gas company and as the legislative liaison and public information officer for the Georgia Public Service Commission. He also worked on the staff of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell, first as Southeast Georgia regional representative and later as a legislative assistant in the Washington office.

Gobeil is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Atlanta.

Stephanie Mayfield, press secretary

Mayfield, 27, currently serves as press secretary on the Deal Transition Team. Prior to working on Deal for Governor's general election campaign, the Alpharetta native served in the Georgia delegation in Washington for more than four years, including time with then-Congressman Deal, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Congressman Tom Graves. She began her career in government with the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House. Mayfield is a 2005 graduate of the University of Alabama where she earned her degree in advertising and public relations. Mayfield is the second hire in Deal's communications shop.

David Cook, commissioner, Department of Community Health

Cook has served as the executive director and CEO of the Medical Association of Georgia since 2001. Cook came to MAG in 1995 as MAG's general counsel and director of advocacy. Since then he has been a leading advocate for physicians on the state and national level.

He established the Physician Institute for Excellence in Medicine, dedicated to helping physicians enhance their clinical practice and improve patient safety and serves on its Board of Directors. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Physician Advocacy Institute, the American Medical Association's Advocacy Resource Center and the Georgia Medical Political Action Committee. He has served as president of the American Society of Medical Association Counsel and received the American Medical Association's Meritorious Achievement Award in 2009.

Previously, Cook served as legal counsel to the state Senate Judiciary Committee and chief of staff to the President Pro Tempore, Nathan Deal, of the state Senate. From 1992 to 1995, Cook served as then-Congressman Deal's chief of staff in Washington.

Cook is a 1982 graduate of the University of Georgia School Of Law and a 1976 graduate of Georgia Southern University. He and his wife of 22 years, Beth, are the parents of two sons, Lowell, 22 and Andrew, 18.

Those who will continue service under Deal in their current roles include:

Rob Braswell, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Banking & Finance
Nancy Cobb, Executive Director of OneGeorgia Authority
Greg Griffin, State Accounting Officer
Kelly Henson, Executive Secretary of Professional Standards Commission
Susan Ridley, Director of Financing & Investment of the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission
Teya Ryan, President and Executive Director of Georgia Public Broadcasting
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Secretary of State Kemp Announces Filing of Federal Lawsuit for Approval of Citizenship Verification Process

2010-11-15T12:18:00.000-05:00

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today that the State of Georgia has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The State is seeking preclearance of Act 143 of the 2009 Georgia General Assembly and its attendant regulations, requiring new voter registration applicants to provide evidence of United States citizenship with their voter registration applications. Act 143 is also known as Senate Bill 86.

Act 143 was signed into law by Governor Perdue on May 5, 2009 and requires those registering to vote to submit one of several forms of evidence of United States citizenship with their applications. Among the several forms of acceptable identification, applicants may use a Georgia driver's license number or identification card number, birth certificate, U.S. passport, U.S. naturalization documents or alien registration number, or a copy of a driver's license or identification card from any state whose cards comply with the requirements of the federal REAL ID Act of 2005.

Secretary Kemp stated, “Act 143 streamlines Georgia's voter registration processes by requiring first-time applicants to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship with their applications. With the voter roll protections of Act 143 in place, Georgia will serve as a model for election security and integrity.”

Under federal law, Georgia must obtain federal preclearance of any change affecting voting by filing suit in federal court or by obtaining administrative approval through the DOJ. In June, the State filed a lawsuit against the DOJ to obtain preclearance of its Help America Vote Act voter verification process, which verifies information obtained from a voter registration applicant with information maintained by the Department of Drivers Services and Social Security Administration. The DOJ ultimately granted preclearance of that process.

Brian Kemp was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2010. Among the office's wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.
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Westmoreland Hires New Communications Director, Leslie Shedd, to Serve in His DC Office

2010-11-09T22:17:00.000-05:00

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland is pleased to announce Leslie Shedd as his new communications director. Shedd joined the staff in early October and will be based in the D.C. office. As the communications director, she will manage the congressman’s press shop, including media outreach, new media formats, and overall messaging.

“I am happy to have Leslie as the newest member of my staff,” stated Westmoreland. “Since starting in the office last month, she has already proven to be a wonderful asset to me and my staff and has settled in nicely. Leslie’s experience and her ties to the region made her a perfect fit for this job and I am glad to welcome her to the office.”

Prior to her position in Congressman Westmoreland’s office, Shedd served as the communications director for Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) and the deputy press secretary for Congressman Brian Bilbray (CA-50). As a graduate of Clemson University in 2001, Shedd received her Bachelor of Arts in both political science and French. In 2007, she graduated from the University of the District of Columbia School of Law and licensed in the state of Maryland.

“I am honored to be working for Congressman Westmoreland,” stated Shedd. “Throughout my tenure on Capitol Hill, I have always wanted to get back to my southern roots and am thrilled to be with the Georgia delegation. I’m looking forward to getting to know the district and working to assist the people of the Third District.”

Shedd hails from Simpsonville, South Carolina. Her parents are Pat and Madelyn Shedd of Simpsonville, South Carolina. Her brother-in-law and sister are Brian and Kelly Geppi of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Zucker ad re: Barbara Boxer

2010-10-25T19:58:00.000-05:00

Great ad! You hafta laugh when you see this one...

Sharing email re: West Fayette "Bypass"

2010-10-12T08:09:00.000-05:00

THIS IS YOUR LAST OPPORTUNITY EXPRESS YOUR THOUGHTS ON WEST FAYETTE BY PASS WITH FAYETTE COUNTY COMMISSIONER!

Please whatever your position regarding the :"West Fayetteville By Pass" share them with our Fayette County Commission on or before October 20th.

SPEAK NOW OR FOR EVERY HOLD YOUR PEACE!

The Fayette County transportation plan has been posted on its website until 10/20/10. This is the last public comment period before the final plan is presented to the Board of Commissioners.

Public comments must be submitted to the Public Works Dept in writing by 10/25/10.
Comments can be sent by email to publicworks@fayettecountyga.gov or by fax 770-719-0871 or by mail at 115 McDonough Rd, Fayetteville 30215.

Call 770-320-6010 for more information or click on the following link.
http://fayettecountyga.gov/news_archives/10sept/CTP.htm

Mike Pence Wins Values Voter Summit Straw Poll

2010-09-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

This one kind of surprised me. I know it's probably not indicative of how the majority of conservative voters would vote, but if you'd asked me who I thought might top the list Mike Pence wouldn't have come to mind at all. I like him, have no problems with him being up there, but still a surprise.

Who would you vote for if the election for president happened this year? Lots of good choices on the list below.

Mike Pence Wins Values Summit Straw Poll

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) has won Family Research Council Action's third-ever Values Voter Summit Straw Poll. Gov. Mike Huckabee finished in a close second place.

Only FRC Action members who were present at the event were allowed to vote.

Family Research Council Action President Tony Perkins released the following statement in reaction to the 2010 Values Voter Summit Straw Poll: "The results of the presidential straw poll reflect the outcome of recent elections. Those who are truly conservative, fiscally and socially, are enthusiastically supported by voters."

The following are the straw poll results:

Presidential Candidate Name Total Votes Percentage

Mike Pence 170 24%
Mike Huckabee 159 22%
Mitt Romney 93 13%
Newt Gingrich 72 10%
Sarah Palin 51 7%
Rick Santorum 39 5%
Jim DeMint 38 5%
Bobby Jindal 15 2%
Mitch Daniels 13 2%
Chris Christie 11 2%
John Thune 11 2%
Bob McDonnell 10 1%
Marco Rubio 10 1%
Paul Ryan 7 1%
Haley Barbour 6 1%
Ron Paul 5 1%
Jan Brewer 1 0%
Undecided 12 2%

Vice Presidential Candidate Responses:

Mike Pence 119 16%
Sarah Palin 112 15%
Rick Santorum 75 10%
Paul Ryan 51 7%
Jim DeMint 45 6%
Mike Huckabee 43 6%
Marco Rubio 43 6%
Bobby Jindal 36 5%
Bob McDonnell 31 4%
Chris Christie 25 3%
Mitt Romney 25 3%
Newt Gingrich 24 3%
Jan Brewer 20 3%
John Thune 15 2%
Mitch Daniels 10 1%
Haley Barbour 6 1%
Ron Paul 5 1%
Undecided 38 5%

Members of FRC Action are only allowed to vote once. For more information on the Values Voter Summit, log onto www.valuesvotersummit.org.

Dirty (Illegal?) Dealings in Ohio Governor's Race

2010-09-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

Have you been watching the race for Governor in Ohio? John Kasich (R) is up at least ten points over Ted Strickland (D).

Large Democratic leaning counties have mailed ballots to all eligible voters and they're paying for return postage. Many counties aren't sending them out and / or aren't paying return postage.

Lawsuits are in motion.

It could be a tough case if counties in Ohio usually do their own thing when it comes to elections. Some counties won't be able to afford to pick up the tab for two-way mailing.

Four people have filed suit saying its unfair, pretty much "why should I have to pay or request a ballot when my neighbor across the street doesn't because he's in another county". I think one of the people filing is disabled and unable to get out to vote.

I'm just skimming articles, sharing the gist of what I'm reading urge you to do some more reading to get the details.

It seems sneaky, underhanded and to my way of thinking it should be illegal. No problems with disabled or those who are going out of town or whatever, getting an absentee ballot. However, I think if someone doesn't care enough to get an absentee ballot, they shouldn't vote, have that right handed to them on a silver platter.

Here are a few article links if you'd like to get more details and follow the issue:

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/09/05/copy/gop-resurgent.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/ohio-news/lawsuit-challenges-ohio-absentee-ballot-methods-896406.html?cxtype=rss_ohio-news

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20100904/NEWS01/9040310/1002/Lawsuit-decries-Ohio-absentee-ballot-process

Looks like all the rest of the stories I'm finding are (AP) repeats...

A Letter From The Georgia Christian Coalition

2010-08-09T10:13:00.002-05:00

The Georgia Christian Coalition
P.O. Box 4773 Columbus GA 31914-4773 (706) 366-8298

Dear Christian Coalition Friend:

When I opened my AOL Email to write this letter, I saw these headlines: 'Another Bruising Month for Jobs', 'Social Security officially in the red', 'Post Office will be broke next year'.

Serious. Life altering stuff. But what are we hearing in our governor's race? Distortions about Karen Handel's views on abortion (actually she's pro life with many endorsements) and homosexual marriage (she voted against domestic partner benefits when Fulton County Chair.)

Do media, phone calls and attacks disclose her successful record of fighting illegal immigration? Has anyone reported that as Secretary of State, she implemented the SAVE program to prevent those here illegally from getting professional licenses, saving jobs for Georgians? She'll give Georgia a law like Arizona that will pass judicial muster.

More serious stuff: we need jobs and Karen Handel will lead efforts for meaningful tax reform so Georgia will compete with our state neighbors for industry and win! She is on track to bring solutions to the water distribution battles so all of Georgia will have its share.

IMPORTANT: When you vote, you'll need to show photo ID to fight voter fraud. Thanks Karen, for this law.

Furloughs, or job losses, won't be needed in the Handel administration because she knows she will save $400 million dollars a year by cutting waste in state government. She'll eliminate non-essential programs and grants. She cut almost 20% in her own agency's budget.

These are important facts Karen Handel sent in her brochure to every voter. Sensible plans, firm promises, definite action is how Ms Handel has done things since she was 17.

Let's hear it for her job creation plans, budget savings and economic balance in water distribution. Karen Handel has proven she is pro family (ask Steve, husband of many years), pro life and very much pro Georgia!

Karen Handel has answered my questions about life issues and Georgia issues to my complete satisfaction.

She says, "Bring it on!" I say, "Ms. Handel, I will...with my vote for you as Governor on Tuesday and again in November."

Cordially,

Jerry Luquire, President
The Georgia Christian Coalition

Using the Bibb County Republican Party's name to trash Republicans...

2010-08-02T08:57:00.000-05:00

Just a comment or two on a now Nathan Deal supporter using the name of the Bibb County Republican Party to trash Karen Handel... Maurice Atkinson is doing exactly what he accused Karen of doing but with a dirty, contemptible twist.

He is using the name of the Bibb Republican Party to support Deal and attack Handel, with a mean, nasty underhanded streak showing throughout.

For those who aren't a member of a local Republican Party, as a rule or maybe it's a real rule, the Party's stay out of endorsing one Republican over another. They know that once the primary is over, or the run-off in this case, that they'll be jumping on board to support whoever wins. It's bad politics, bad form and burns bridges to trash one candidate.

Mr. Atkinson is making his personal views appear to be the views of the entire Bibb County Republican Party.

If he wants to trash any candidate it should be done under his own name. I noted there was nothing about this issue on his own personal website.

I did a whois search on the Republican website he has utilized and discovered he purchased the site back in 2007. Here's the disclaimer on his site, emphasis mine:

All material on this site except where noted © 2008-2009 Maurice Atkinson. ....is hosted and provided by Maurice Atkinson as a service to the Bibb County Republican Party. This site is not to be construed as an endorsement by the BCRP. The BCRP does not control the content of this site. At ....we do not sell or exchange names or any information about our clients or online customers with third parties. All information we receive is kept strictly confidential. By visiting and utilizing any and all features of our website, you consent to the use of your personal information by....

This is wrong on every front. He may not like what Handel is doing, but to co-opt, steal, use the name of a Republican organization to throw mud at her, or any Republican candidate, is low, low, low. To be so vicious shows HIS true nature.

I read Atkinson's letter, which I'm sure Deal's campaign will be spreading around throughout the week, and what I "got" from it was sour grapes. Handel's campaign didn't listen to Atkinson's advice, he disagrees with some of their strategy, and now he's off on a rant and doing his best to emulate exactly those things he said he didn't like. Not once in the letter does Atkinson address the ethical charges against Deal in the letter. All he does is slap at Handel, which is exactly what he's accusing Handel of doing to Deal...

Maurice Atkinson has stooped to tactics that are lower than anything he accuses Handel's campaign of considering or doing by using the name of a local Republican Party and by sending a nasty letter to the press and the world.

If I were a member of the Bibb County Republican Party I'd be slapping Atkinson with a cease and desist, and that fake website, even with it's disclaimers, would be down within the hour.

And no, I'm not sharing his letter on here or anywhere. I hesitated to even write anything about it as I don't like to give attention to trash, but the letter and his attacks are going to be making the rounds...

Handel / Deal debate from Fox 5 Atlanta tonight in case you missed it...

2010-08-01T20:36:00.001-05:00

Another Reason or Two NOT to Vote for Maxwell and Smith

2010-07-20T07:40:00.000-05:00

Have you seen those HUGE new double sided, changing billboards in Fayetteville? You can thank Eric Maxwell and Jack Smith along with their cohorts Herb Frady and Robert Horgan.

Previous County Commissions had been highly successful in staving off the sign companies wanting to mar the beauty of the county with these monstrous signs. As long as we held firm the billboard companies couldn’t get a foothold.

One of the first things Maxwell did was dump the long-standing county attorney who’d been successful in winning any challenges to our long-standing barring of additional signs. One of the second things he spearheaded was to replace the old attorney with his buddy who represented the billboard sign companies. Yep, the guy who was working hard to make sure we got stuck with these skyline ruining monster signs.

Maxwell initially got involved in the County Commission race partially due to wanting unlimited signs on properties.

Jack Smith didn’t have a problem in the world supporting Maxwell in this pristine-county-ruining effort.

Need a few more reasons?

The West Fayetteville “Bypass”, which isn’t really a bypass and doesn’t do a thing to mitigate traffic woes. Where’s the traffic build up in our county? Peachtree City and Fayetteville, right? So what’s a road in the middle of the two cities that takes minimal traffic on one end to a place no one needs to go supposed to do to help?

It doesn’t help EXCEPT on the tiny part that was marked as a priority as a result of past traffic studies. What, you say, a previous traffic study? But Eric Maxwell claimed that his Board did the first traffic study, that there wasn’t a previous study. Have you noticed how much longer Mr. Maxwell’s nose gets during elections (ya’ll remember Pinocchio and his poor nose)?

But, but, sputter, Jack Smith and Eric Maxwell said they HAD to put in the Bypass because the taxpayers wanted it and voted for it and it was on the SPLOST list and you can’t divert money from one project to another and you can’t stop it now and waste all that money, and, and…

The taxpayers voted for a long, long list of projects.
The so-called West Fayetteville Bypass was way down on the list of priorities.
There are other projects on that same SPLOST list they refer to that they chose NOT to do.
They STOPPED work on the EAST Fayetteville By-pass which WOULD have helped traffic, wasting umpteen hundred thousand dollars, and MOVED their bypass UP on the list of priorities. One has to wonder why.
The current Commission changed the route of the Bypass, taking it through (and destroying) numerous residential areas. They took property and split properties. Then, when one elderly lady complained because her well would be across the Bypass, Maxwell snidely told her at a public meeting to be sure not to get hit when she crossed the street.
You can divert money from one project to another if they’re listed in the voter approved SPLOST list. Also, they CAN divert money from a county project to a city project as long as the City Council AND the County Commission agree. Another fallacy Maxwell spouted at a campaign debate.

The list of reasons to bump the incumbents is long. Special interest favoritism, ethics problems (dope smoking, bringing things up for votes that aren’t on the public agenda, holding at least one illegal meeting and then trying to cover it up by lying about it, etc.), trying to slide in a new county-owned industrial park (that’s Jack Smith’s pet project, despite the fact that we have loads of vacant buildings clamoring for tenants in our many industrial parks), oh, the list is too long and time is too short. Today you vote.

There are only two choices in each County Commission race. Steve Brown is challenging Jack Smith and Allen McCarty is challenging Eric Maxwell. You may not know or even care for any of your choices. If you can’t vote for one or both of the challengers, consider skipping voting in either or both elections. You don’t have to check a box; your entire ballot will still be counted and valid. In fact, you can write someone in if you don’t like your choices. A write in won’t count, but at least you’ll be making your displeasure with the current batch known.

Go vote. Today. Please know that just as soon as the economy starts to improve, the current commissioners have plans for YOUR county. It ain’t gonna be pretty folks.

Why I'm Supporting Karen Handel for Governor

2010-07-19T15:15:00.001-05:00

I usually try to shy away from endorsing candidates publicly. However, this election is critical for the state of Georgia and so I'm throwing caution to the wind.

I've known Karen for some number of years and have always been impressed with her intelligence, her ethics, and her stands on issues. Sure, there are some minor things, very minor, where we somewhat diverge in stances, but in the areas that matter in elected office, and in life, she's someone I have always easily supported.

She's principled, which is something we don't see enough of in political office these days.

She's tough where it matters and can hold her own among the rough and tumble that we call politics.

She knows and understands the issues. More importantly, she knows what to do with that knowledge.

She's fiscally brilliant, something she has proven in her tenure as Chairman of the Fulton County Commission and while serving as Secretary of State. She knows how to slash spending while keeping important services running smoothly.

She knows how to bring opposing sides together and how to compromise in areas that aren't critical to winning a cause.

I've seen the things her opponents have thrown at her and learned more about her strengths as a result of the mud slinging. She appears to be handling some pretty nasty attacks with grace and integrity while responding. I like it that she hasn't backed down, although I'd think some of the things that have happened have to be pretty personally hurtful.

We have some excellent candidates in the Republican race for governor. I won't hesitate for a second to throw my support 100% behind anyone who wins on "our" side. However, when I look at each of the candidates I firmly believe that Karen Handel has the best shot at winning against the Democratic winner.

I hope you'll look closer at Karen as a candidate and vote for her in the current election. Early voting is underway now. Election day is July 20th.

www.KarenHandel.com for more information.
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The Public Pension Time Bomb: Coming Soon to a State Near You, plus the Bypass to Nowhere

2010-07-16T20:53:00.000-05:00

Yep, just me again harping on what our County Commission has done to this county by saddling us with a HUGE problem sometime down the road. I saw the article I posted below and it stirred me up again!

I think it is the height of irresponsibility for the commission to have opened their arms to embrace this ticking financial time bomb.

Tell me, if you saw everyone around you going into bankruptcy because they invested in a certain stock or annuity or whatever, would you raise your hands and say "ooohh, me too, me too, I want that"? That's just what the guys in office did...

You may not think it's a big deal now, but if you stick around long enough in this county you will. Grrrr... it's just one of the things the current Board has enacted that is giving me heartburn.

If you can get past the arrogance of the decision to put in the un-needed pension plan change, how about that bypass to nowhere? The STOPPED the East bypass, tossing all the money invested into that one into the trash so they could build a road that goes nowhere... YET. It's gonna go right by their developer friend's land...

It wasn't on the priority list. It did NOT have to be done. There were other projects that were given a much higher priority in past studies yet they did that project.

Ya know, they also moved it so that it split people's property, took people's property, ruined their beautiful homes. For what? It's not going to help traffic in any shape or form except for the teeny, tiny part that goes right around the hospital.

It's frivolous, UNLESS you start looking at who owns land down their.

Something that has crossed my mind, but it's a thought, not anything that I can say I know --- Jack Smith has been working hard to get a county industrial park stuck somewhere. I know they rezoned to allow one already, but it's not county. I have been wondering if this switch of road priorities doesn't include a future industrial park. Like I said, it's just a thought.

Alright, I'm done ;-)

The Public Pension Time Bomb: Coming Soon to a State Near You

In this age of fiscal sophistry, the language of public finance is riddled with economic alchemy. The federal government moves $877 billion from Washington's coffers to those of its most favored interest groups and calls it "stimulus." The Speaker of the House declares that unemployment benefits serve as "one of the biggest stimuleses [sic] to our economy" - a perverse formulation by which growth is contingent on impoverished Americans spending what little money they have as quickly as possible. Even President Obama's fiscally reckless health care entitlement is sold as an "investment" that will produce "long-term savings."

But what each of these polices lack in economic sensibility they make up for in reversibility. No such luxury presents itself in the case of the nation's public pensions, which are perilously close to creating a fiscal doomsday unlike anything the nation has ever seen.

Read more now.

Palin Endorses Handel for Governor

2010-07-12T14:08:00.000-05:00

My note: I was hoping Sarah would endorse Karen Handel for Governor of Georgia! Karen will be the best governor this state has ever had when she's elected... Way to go Karen!

Palin Endorses Handel for Governor

Former Secretary of State and candidate for Governor Karen Handel’s campaign was endorsed today by former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin.

In her endorsement message on Facebook, Palin wrote:

Sarah Palin: Getting a Handel in Georgia benefits the state and, ultimately, the entire country.
Today at 12:30pm

I’m proud to lend my support to a great commonsense conservative woman running for Governor this year in the Peach State. My recent visit back to this beautiful area allowed me to meet more of the patriotic Americans who call Georgia home and who are ready for a reformer to help strengthen their families, businesses, state and, ultimately, our United States.

Karen Handel is that reformer. Throughout her career in public office – from serving as Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners to Georgia’s Secretary of State – Karen has brought the common sense fiscal discipline and positive change in government that is needed now more than ever.

Though considered an underdog candidate (more power to her!), this pro-life, pro-Constitutionalist with a can-do attitude and a record of fighting for ethics in government is ready to serve in the Governor’s Office. She’ll balance budgets and help spur Georgia’s economy. Her plan will contribute to America’s roadmap which can benefit all of us.

Please join me in supporting this good conservative reformer who will work tirelessly for the Peach State. You can visit Karen Handel’s website at www.karenhandel.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

"I am humbled and truly excited to receive the endorsement of Governor Sarah Palin," Handel said. "She is a true Republican leader and conservative reformer who isn’t afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right. I am proud to have the Governor's support and I know it will have a tremendous impact on our campaign."

Do everything you can to stop the Disclose Act!!!

2010-06-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

DISCLOSE Act: House passes awful bill to restrict political free speech! Make it stop in the Senate.

As I warned in the recent CAIN ALERT entitled "Freedom of Speech is Under Attack", the House voted on and passed their version of a controversial bill (HR5175) that would ban certain government contractors, corporations, and nonprofit organizations from engaging in any political speech. The vote of 219 - 206, opened the door for a full Senate vote which democrats intend to muscle through by July 4th.

The real purpose of the "DISCLOSE" Act (which is an acronym for Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections) is to impose restrictions on speech by corporations, nonprofit groups and others who express themselves through political campaign advertising.

Of course UNIONS would be exempt from most of the provisions of the bill since unions support Democrats almost exclusively. Read more here...

Please call your US Senators and urge them to VOTE NO to their version of DISCLOSE ACT (bill # not yet assigned). We can't let this legislation slip through our fingers again! It is just another way for government to deny Americans their freedom of speech.

Click here to find contact info for your US Senators!

Intelligent Thinkers Movement
PO Box 888
Morrow, GA 30260

Congressman Tom Graves Casts "NO" Vote on Democrat-Led DISCLOSE Act

2010-06-24T19:14:00.002-05:00

The U.S. House of Representatives today considered H.R. 5175, the DISCLOSE Act, and U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) voted against the Democrat-led measure.

"This bill is just another design of the Democrat majority that discourages organizations from participating freely in political debate, while exempting unions," said Congressman Graves. "I voted ‘NO’ to protect the First Amendment and I was glad to join my Republican colleagues in voting against the legislation to ensure that the 2010 elections will be fair, leaving no loopholes for unions or any other organizations."

House Democrats crafted this bill in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, in which the Supreme Court overturned the prohibition on corporations and unions using treasury funds for independent expenditures supporting or opposing political candidates at any time of the year.

Democrats rammed through passage of the DISCLOSE Act in hopes that the legislation will become law prior to the 2010 election in order to limit the political speech that was protected and encouraged by the Citizens United ruling.

Graves was sworn-in as the newest Representative for Georgia’s 9th District last week. He serves on the House Committees on Homeland Security, as well as Transportation and Infrastructure.

Judicial Nominating Commission Recommends Nominees to Fill Vacancies on the Griffin Judicial Circuit, State Court of Habersham County

2010-06-20T18:17:00.002-05:00

Governor Sonny Perdue’s Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) has submitted recommendations to fill two judgeships on the Griffin Judicial Circuit and one judgeship on the State Court of Habersham County. The two vacancies on the Griffin Judicial Circuit were created by the resignations of Judge Johnnie L. Caldwell, Jr. and Judge Paschal A. English, Jr. The vacancy on the State Court of Habersham County was created by the appointment of Judge Linton K. Crawford, Jr. to the Mountain Superior Court.

The JNC submitted the following short list of names for the Griffin Judicial Circuit:

· Robert “Mack” Crawford – Director of Georgia Public Standards Council

· Carla W. McMillian – Partner, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP

· Benjamin J. Miller, Jr. – Juvenile Court Judge, Griffin Judicial Circuit

· Robert A. Ruppenthal – Robert A. Ruppenthal, P.C.

· Fletcher Sams – Judge, State Court of Fayette County

· James R. Westbury, Jr. – James R. Westbury, Jr., P.C.

The JNC submitted the following short list of names for the State Court of Habersham County:

· Steven Campbell – Solicitor General, Habersham County

· Drew W. Powell – Circuit Public Defender, Mountain Judicial Circuit, Public Defender Standards Council

Fayette County Commission Race Down to Brown Versus Smith

2010-05-07T16:40:00.000-05:00

Harold Bost has decided to withdraw from the Fayette County Commission Race. Bost was running against Incumbent Jack Smith. Bost will be supporting former Peachtree City Mayor Steve Brown.

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The judges they be toppling...

2010-05-03T08:14:00.000-05:00

I know many are looking eagerly for salacious details on the current scandal involving the toppling judges in the Griffin judicial circuit. Gossip abounds and lots of speculation. Two Griffin Judicial Circuit judges, Johnnie Caldwell and Paschal English, abruptly resigned, one after the other.

I'd tell you what I've heard, but it would be gossip and sorry, I may hear things from my friends about things, but I won't share unless it's verifiable fact. Much as I dislike what I'm hearing the two judges did, they have families who are suffering. And, whatever mistakes they may have made in the personal aspects of their lives, they have a long career behind them that shouldn't be completely tainted.

Unfortunately, if the allegations prove true regarding Paschal English we're going to have a mess on our hands. Any case the public defender he purportedly had an affair with brought before his court is going to be reviewed and possibly tossed. I don't know all the potential ramifications, but if I had lost a case defended by the lady in question and English were the judge, I'd probably want another shot. Who knows? We haven't heard the end of this, although they are doing their darnedest to keep it quiet.

One has to wonder what else is perculating and soon to be revealed... It's sad to see decades of work and what should have been the end of distinguished careers end in the mud and mire of scandal and bad judgment.

Latest article in the AJC goes a bit deeper:

DA probes alleged relationship between judge, public defender
Fayette County’s district attorney and chief public defender have been ordered to investigate allegations that Paschal English, who resigned as a judge on April 23 after decades on the bench, was having an inappropriate relationship with a public defender who appeared before him.
http://www.ajc.com/news/fayette/da-probes-alleged-relationship-512143.html

Another state considers Arizona eligibility plan --> Georgia!

2010-04-24T09:30:00.000-05:00

Another state has begun considering a law like an Arizona plan approved by the state House there that would require presidential candidates to document their eligibility before being allowed on the election ballot.

Georgia Rep. Mark Hatfield, part of a coalition in his state supporting new election requirements, says it's really the responsibility of members of Congress to make sure a foreign-born individual or dual citizen isn't installed in the White House.

But he said without the leadership in Washington necessary to do that, it is up to states to tackle the issue. Arizona's plan is closest to adoption, awaiting only approval from the state Senate.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=144909

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Other states are also considering or have similar legislation pending. I say, 'go for it'.

President Obama is using the legislation to encourage that Congress move on immigration reform. He has it wrong and is twisting the issue for his own purposes. Arizona and other states with similar problems are not saying the government is remiss in enacting legislation to grant another amnesty or change the laws. No, they're saying the Federal government is not enforcing the laws already on the books. If the government were doing its job, protecting our borders and making sincere efforts to stop illegal immigration, the states wouldn't have a need to duplicate the Federal law.

Arizona's new law basically says that they will help the Feds do their job.

I'm not going to get in a big debate with anyone on this one. It's a hot issue. I have listened to all sides... those who say it violates rights (yet you and I have to show ID by the cops when asked...), it's profiling, our businesses encourage by hiring, that we don't enforce issue in businesses, etc., etc.

To me it boils down to the fact that we don't have open borders. We want immigrants, we encourage immigration --- legally.

I hope all the states will continue to fight for states rights. I hope that they pursue the efforts to block the healthcare bill. If we lose the battle for states rights, we will ultimately negate the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence and everything this country was founded upon.

Unfortunately for freedom loving Americans, we're battling on so many fronts right now to retain some semblance of our democratic republic that it's hard to figure out where to focus. Also hard to keep up with everything.

I liked the idea floated by Karl Rove, or someone else possibly, can't remember exactly... He suggested that we pick a race somewhere in the country and support that candidate. Rather than trying to support numerous candidates, diluting the impact of donations and support, throw all your money and time at getting one candidate into Congress.

The same idea may work with where to put your efforts in safeguarding our freedoms. If immigration is your issue, stick with it. If fighting healthcare, cap and trade, the global warming scam, etc. then focus on that one issue. But don't get so focused that you overlook others that may need some immediate attention!

I have so many soap boxes I have a hard time trying to figure out which one to climb on from minute to minute! Maybe I should take my own advice ;-)

Back to Arizona, Georgia, immigration laws and Mark Hatfield... I'm sending him a note letting him know I'm 100% behind his efforts. Then I'm going to check and see if he has a Twitter page, blog, or other ways to keep up with what he's doing!

UNDERFUNDED TEACHER PENSION PLANS: It’s Worse Than You Think

2010-04-21T19:57:00.000-05:00

Note: this could go in our financial blog or the education blog, but I'm claiming executive privilege 'cause you know I have a bee in my bonnet about the way our local Fayette County Commissioners put the county on the path to ruin when they switched county employees to a defined benefit retirement system. Sooner or later the taxpayers in this county are going to be reading about short-falls, the need to increase taxes and / or cut services to pay for the program the current Commissioners implemented... OK, calming down , here's the beginning of a great bit of research by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Even if you don't want to wade all the way through the details, you can skim it or just read the Executive Summary.

To all the other fiscal travails facing this country’s states and largest cities, now add their pension obligations, which are far greater than they may realize or are willing to admit. This paper focuses on the crisis in funding teachers’ pensions, because education is often the largest program area in state budgets, making it an obvious target for cuts.

Although it is generally acknowledged that education is the foundation of every modern society’s future prosperity, schools unfortunately will have to compete with retirees for scarce dollars. This competition is uneven, because retirees have a legal claim on promised pension benefits that supersedes schools’ budgetary needs. Consequently, Americans can look forward to higher taxes and cuts in services, resulting in fewer teachers, bigger classes, and facilities that are allowed to deteriorate. In several states, these developments have already arrived.

The crux of the problem is the gap between assets and liabilities affecting the fifty-nine pension funds that cover most public school teachers in America. Some of these are general state-employee pension funds, while others cover only teachers. Among the findings of our study of these funds:

All fifty-nine pension funds studied face shortfalls.
California, the most populous state, has the largest unfunded teacher pension liability: almost $100 billion.
The worst-funded plan in our sample is West Virginia’s, which we estimate to be only 31 percent funded.
Five plans are 75 percent funded or better: teacher-dedicated plans in the District of Columbia, New York State and Washington State and state employee retirement systems in North Carolina and Tennessee that include teachers.

The general picture is not a good one. According to the fifty-nine funds’ own financial statements: Read the rest of the article: http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_61.htm

Facing Up to a Pension Crisis

2010-04-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

A puzzle from Philosophy 101: If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? A puzzle from the prairie: If an earthquake occurs in Illinois and no one notices, is it really a seismic event?

Gov. Pat Quinn called it a "political earthquake" when the state's Legislature recently voted -- by margins of 92-17 in the House and 48-6 in the Senate -- to reform pensions for state employees. There is now a cap on the amount of earnings that can be used as the basis for calculating benefits. In some states, employees game the system by "spiking" their last year's earnings by accumulating vast amounts of overtime pay.
http://townhall.com/columnists/GeorgeWill/2010/04/11/facing_up_to_a_pension_crisis

Just a note to my Fayette County readers: Here in Fayette County, contrary to the move being made across America to ditch these business / county / state budget killers, the current County Commission initiated and approved a move to a defined benefit program. It's not going to hurt the county immediately, but if we're around here in a few years, we'll feel the impact when taxes go up, or they hafta make major cuts in services, increase fees, etc...

GA Budget & Policy Institute Update

2010-04-05T17:49:00.000-05:00

You can sign up for updates like the following. Always chocked full of great info, worth signing up for if you're interested in Georgia political happenings and things that affect you...

House and Senate Calendar

The House and Senate have finished 33 legislative days. The legislature will not be in session the week of April 5th, but will return for the 34th day on April 12th. The last six legislative days have not been scheduled.
Budget Update

The House of Representatives Appropriations sub-committees are meeting April 12th to unveil their sub-committee recommendations for the fiscal year 2011 budget. Due to the legislative calendar not being set beyond the 34th legislative day on April 12, it is unclear when the FY 2011 budget will come before the full House Appropriations Committee or be voted on by the House of Representatives.

Several of the Senate appropriations sub-committees will be meeting the week of April 5th.

Analyses and fact sheets about the governor's original
Amended FY 2010 budget and FY 2011 proposals, as well as revenue options for addressing the state's financial crisis, are available on www.GBPI.org.

To view a March 15th video presentation on budget and tax issues by GBPI's Sarah Beth Gehl and Tim Sweeney for the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, click here.

The following bills have passed out of the Senate and are now up for consideration in the House of Representatives:

SB 480 creates the State Council of Economic Advisors to help determine official revenue estimates.

SB 421 increases the maximum amount of money in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve from 10 percent of a previous years' net revenues to 15 percent.

Fiscal and Tax Policy

Transparency for Tax Breaks Passes Both Chambers

Senate Bill 206, which requires an accounting of tax breaks currently in the tax code, passed the House unanimously on Thursday last week. The bill passed the Senate unanimously last year. Since the House made changes to the bill, the Senate will have to agree to the changes before the bill can go to the governor.

Senate Passes a Temporary Revenue Increase and a Permanent Tax Cut

The Senate passed HB 307 on Thursday to impose a three-year, 1.45 percent fee on hospitals, generating approximately $169 million in new net revenue for Medicaid. The Senate added language to the House bill to eliminate the insurance premium tax on health insurance premiums once the state's Revenue Shortfall Reserve reaches $500 million, among other changes. (Read more on HB 307 in the health care update below.)

On the same day, the Senate passed HB 1023 -- the so-called JOBS Act. The bill includes a cut to the tax on capital gains, a business tax credit against unemployment insurance (UI) taxes, an angel investor tax credit, and the elimination of the corporate net worth tax. The fiscal note for the bill indicates that the legislation would cause a $3.7 million gain in general revenues in FY 2011 if the federal government approves a provision to give tax credits against unemployment insurance taxes. However, the bill causes the state to lose $7.5 million in general revenues in FY 2012, $36.6 million in FY 2013, and $380 million a year when fully implemented.

Since the Senate made no changes to the bill, HB 1023 goes to the governor for signature or veto. Read what two economists and GBPI's Sarah Beth Gehl had to say on the bill in Sunday's edition of the AJC.

To see a list of important tax legislation passed by the House by Crossover Day, download GBPI's Adding Up the Fiscal Notes.

GBPI Resources About Taxes
List of tax breaks passed in 2009
List of tax breaks passed from 2005-2008
Fact sheet on economic effects of tax increases
Fact sheet on revenue options
Policy brief on repealing deduction for state income taxes

Healthcare and Health Insurance Policy

Hospital and Managed Care Fees

On Thursday April 1, the State Senate passed House Bill 307, which enacts a 1.45 percent hospital provider fee to be deposited in the Indigent Care Trust Fund.

As negotiated with the hospitals, the fee will sunset after three years (at the end of FY 2013) and will be used to fund base operations as well as provider reimbursement rate increases in Georgia's Medicaid program. These rate increases are expected to be included in the House of Representatives version of the fiscal year 2011 budget that will likely be released when the General Assembly returns the week of April 12.

The Senate version of the bill includes three amendments to the version the House passed. The first amendment is a technical amendment to allow the Department of Community Health to adjust the rate for a subset of hospitals if it is needed to comply with federal law.

The second amendment would allow hospitals to count their provider fee payments as "indigent care" for the purposes of meeting state Certificate of Need requirements.

The third amendment would eliminate the state portion of the insurance premium tax for all health insurance products if the state's Revenue Shortfall Reserve reaches $500 million.

The House may now choose to agree with the Senate changes to the bill, or can instead disagree and work out the differences in a conference committee.
For more information about the hospital provider fee in general and about the governor's original budget proposal that included this fee, read Senior Healthcare Analyst Timothy Sweeney's analysis and testimony before a House subcommittee examining the proposal. Also, read the Medicaid fact sheet that examines the Medicaid funding gap the provider fee seeks to address.

Health Insurance Regulation

Several bills dealing with insurance regulation, as well as the oversight and regulation of Georgia's Medicaid program passed their original chamber by the 30th day, but are still awaiting action in the House and Senate.

Both chambers passed bills to allow private companies to sell individual health insurance products that are primarily regulated by other states. The Senate version -- Senate Bill 407 -- was amended to ensure that products sold in Georgia under these provisions must still contain almost all of the coverage mandates required of products currently sold in Georgia. This bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Insurance.

The House version of the bill -- HB 1184 -- does not include these provisions. Under the provisions of HB 1184, out-of-state insurers would be exempted from state laws governing required benefits and consumer protections. This bill has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Insurance and Labor.

The Senate has also passed SB 443, which creates a legislative oversight committee to review and evaluate the Care Management Organizations (CMO) that currently operate a portion of Georgia's Medicaid program. This bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Health and Human Services.

The House passed HB 1407, which requires a single Medicaid administrator for dental services and carves out the administrative contract from beneath the CMOs that operate the bulk of the Medicaid program. This bill has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.

Bills Related to National Health Reform

In the final week before Crossover Day, both the House and Senate considered several bills seeking to prevent the implementation of health insurance reforms passed on the national level. Two bills that passed the Senate and that are now in the House include:

SB 399 seeks to prevent any state agency or department from implementing any portion of the federal health insurance reform legislation without explicit state legislation authorizing the implementation activities. This bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Governmental Affairs.

SB 317 would make it a state law that Georgians could not be compelled to "participate in any health care system," and that the purchase or sale of health insurance products and/or direct healthcare services could not be prohibited. This bill has been favorably reported by the House Committee on Health and Human Services.
Although these bills are aimed at provisions in the national health insurance reform legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress that assess penalties for individuals who do not obtain health insurance (with exceptions related to affordability) through the federal income tax system, it is unclear as to whether these bills enable Georgians to escape the federal rules if they are enacted.

www.GBPI.org

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A few of our other Political blogs:
http://barracudababes.blogspot.com/
http://republicancandidates.blogspot.com/
http://readmylipsticknetwork.blogspot.com/
http://republican-news-sweep.blogspot.com/
http://gfpteapartynews.blogspot.com/
http://statenationalpolitics.blogspot.com/
http://goodgovernmentga.blogspot.com/
http://politicalpitstop.blogspot.com/
http://politicalpotluckblog.blogspot.com/
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Why do we keep electing people who EMBARRASS the state of Georgia????

2010-04-01T13:38:00.000-05:00

The video below is Democrat Senator Hank Johnson from Georgia's 4th District. He's 55, an attorney and we are paying him $174,000 a year to represent us in Washington. The video shows Johnson at a House Armed Services Committee questioning Admiral Robert Willard (head of the U.S. Pacific fleet) about stationing 5,000 additional U.S. Marines and their families on the western Pacific island of Guam. Johnson's concern? That putting that many more people on the little island will tip it over...

OK, now I want everyone in the U.S. to run, drive, fly or somehow get to California quickly, converge at noon tomorrow. Then, zip back over to North Carolina... then back to California... let's see if we can get that same tipping motion going for the United States that we used to get when we were kids in the car going around mountains...Remember this next time you're headed to the Keys for vacation!!! Check the weight limit of the Key --- or any island you plan to visit --- first.

No Charge Training in How to Effectively Use Twitter, Facebook, etc. AND the basics...

2010-03-31T18:50:00.000-05:00

Help is on the way for those of us who want to learn more about how best to use TWITTER, FACE BOOK, BLOG, etc. in the upcoming political campaigns. There is going to be some special “No Charge” training to help you get involved in this process.

This training will come in two (2) phases:

“FIRST” – On Thursday, April 1, 7:00PM at 800 Commerce Drive in Peachtree City, the South Atlanta Tea Party group will receive an extensive conceptual briefing as to how to effectively utilize Twitter, Face Book, Blogs etc in political campaigning. You are invited to attend.

“SECOND” – On Thursday, April 8 and 22, 7:00PM at the Whitewater Creek Community Amenities Center Club House, just inside the main Gate (Redwine Road & Birkdale Drive) we will have two (2) training classes on the mechanics of Twitter, Face Book and Blog. This computer training will be most effective if you bring your laptop computer with you. Wireless internet connections are available here.

Space is limited, so please RSVP to Harold Bost at hbostmail@aol.com or 770-719-0638 to reserve your spot in one of these classes.

Our next two (2) “FAYETTE COUNTY ISSUES TEA PARTY” meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, April 13 and May 11. These meetings will be held at the Whitewater Creek Amenities Center Club House also. This is the same location as our original meeting held on March 9 when approximately 130 or more people were in attendance.

I will send a follow up email within a week giving details on the April 13 meeting.

Please be talking to your friends and neighbors about these meetings. Please send me the names and e-mail addresses of those you talk to if they have interest and I will include them on the follow up e-mail. Also, bring them along to the meetings in April and May.

We the people must participate in our government at all levels. Thank you for being involved in your county’s business.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me at the above e-mail address or phone number.

Harold Bost
FAYETTE COUNTY ISSUES TEA PARTY

Murder-suicide possible cause of deaths of former state Sen. Schaefer and husband

2010-03-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

Conservative political activist and former state Sen. Nancy Schaefer and her husband Bruce have died of an apparent murder-suicide.

"There will be a thorough investigation to determine what happened," GBI spokesman John Bankhead told the AJC. He could not say who might have been the shooter. Six GBI agents and two crime scene technicians are at the scene of the Schaefer home in Haberham County.

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/murder-suicide-possible-cause-408021.html

Williams: Passage of the Ban on Coercive Abortions Act

2010-03-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

President Pro Tempore Tommie Williams (R-Lyons) made the following statement after the Georgia Senate passed the Ban on Coercive Abortions Act (SB 529) by a vote of 33-14.

"Once you devalue life at one level, you devalue life at every level. Aborting children based on race or gender is dangerous territory and should never be tolerated in any nation that values life.

Regardless of gender or race, every child deserves a birthday and a chance at life. I want to thank Senator Chip Pearson for bringing Senate Bill 529 before the Senate to protect life. I praise the Senate's actions in passing this needed bill for all of Georgia's children."

Sen. Tommie Williams serves as President Pro Tempore. He represents the 19th Senate District, which includes Appling, Jeff Davis, Long, Montgomery, Toombs, Wayne, and Wheeler counties and a portion of Liberty and Tattnall counties. He can be reached at 404.656.0089 or by email at tommie.williams@Senate.ga.gov.

AFP-GA To Launch Plan for Conservative Win in 2010 with Hundreds of Activists at Summit Tomorrow

2010-03-26T14:32:00.000-05:00

Click for tickets - www.americansforprosperity.org/Georgia

We're only ONE DAY AWAY! The Defending the American Dream Summit kicks off tomorrow at the Cobb Galleria Centre with a day long gathering of conservative grassroots activists from around the southeast for a strategic launch toward reclaiming Congress with a conservative majority and reversing far-reaching initiatives like government mandated health care in 2010. The Summit arrives just weeks away from the qualifying deadline for candidates seeking to run.

The Summit will include speeches by Congressman Tom Price sharing his prescription for America moving forward under government health care, Neal Boortz, Herman Cain, Martha Zoller, Erick Erickson, Jonathan Krohn, Joel Aaron, Brian Donagan and Joe Turner. Training sessions will concentrate on winning campaigns, using new and traditional media, education reform along with a report on Georgia’s budget crisis and how to make Georgia stronger in an era of a growing national government. Breakout sessions will be led by experts from The Leadership Institute, Americans for Prosperity, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Faith & Freedom Coalition and others.

For press inquiries please contact Joel Foster at 678-910-3101 or joel.foster@afphq.org. For more information on the Defending the American Dream Summit visit
http://www.facebook.com/l/ece0e;gadefendthedream.eventbrite.com/ (Note: that's a Facebook link, if you're not on facebook, try this & see if it'll work: http://gadefendthedream.eventbrite.com/ -- might need a www. in there) .

Americans For Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFPF believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFPF educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. AFPF has more than 975,000 members, including members in all 50 states, and 30 state chapters and affiliates. More than 60,000 Americans in all 50 states have made a financial investment in AFPFoundation and Americans for Prosperity. For more information, visit http://www.americansforprosperityfoundation.org.

Action needed TODAY on HB 1164 (GA E-Verify / Contractors)

2010-03-26T09:01:00.000-05:00

Subject: HB 1164 - Punishment for Contractors working on taxpayer funded public works contracts..
The Dustin Inman Society
FRIDAY, March 26, 2010

ACTION NEEDED!
PLEASE HELP ME SAVE HB 1164! This bill is our last chance to get any law in place to provide for punishment of contractors working on taxpayer funded Public Works contracts who refuse to use E-Verify and who hire black-market labor...which is already a violation of the state law.

TODAY, FRIDAY, March 26 is day 30 of the 40 legislative day session - "crossover day" - at the Georgia Capitol. That means that any bill that has not been passed in either the House or the Senate is dead as stand alone legislation. TODAY, FRIDAY MARCH 26, 2010 is what I called "drop dead day."

HB 1164 IS NOT DEAD YET. The Georgia Legislature will be in session all day TODAY, FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 until about midnight getting bills out.

We can easily save HB 1164. Honest. If I remember correctly, last year, we got HB 2 out on the last possible day.

I need you to please help me with phone calls AND e-mails to the Chairman of the House Rules Committee ONLY. That is Reprehensive Bill Hembree. Chairman Hembree is very nice man who is new to the Chair position in the Rules Committee. His assistant Dona ( not Donna) is also very nice. Please call Chairman Hembree's office, then send an email to Dona's address asking that HB 1164 be passed out of Rules committee and sent to the House floor for a vote TODAY, March 26. Then send an EMAIL too!

Please contact Georgia Representative Bill Hembree as soon and as often as possible, no matter where you live.

Rules Chairman Hembree phone number in the Georgia Capitol is 404-656-5141.

Call and email!

His (assistant's) email address is dona.woodham@house.ga.gov.

"Please pass HB1164 out of the Rules Committee and vote YES on the floor for this important legislation that will protect the legal American worker on taxpayer-funded public works contracts."

Please keep calling and emailing until 4PM - TODAY, FRIDAY, MARCH 26.

TODAY, FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010, HB 1164 must clear House Rules Committee, be sent to the House floor for a vote and pass the House.

Then it can go to the Senate for a vote sometime before the end of session next month.

I will be in the Capitol all day
D.A. King
The Dustin Inman Society

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Updates on GA Dome actions via South Atl Tea Party

2010-03-25T07:59:00.000-05:00

Usually I share news from Tea Party groups in our GFP Tea Party / 912 Project blog... however, this one concerns Georgians and I wanted to make sure my readers were aware:

The Good, Bad and the Ugly Under The Gold Dome

Some Bad News

HB 1221 was amended yesterday to add a massive new internet sales tax, with a price tag of $30 million. What is it about “No New Taxes” the Ways & Means Committee doesn’t get? As of this writing, the substitute bill wasn’t up online yet, but should be soon. Meanwhile, many hospitals have dropped their opposition to HB 307.

The downright Ugly news

GA Attorney General Thurbert Baker refuses to file suit for Georgians to protect them from the just passed federal takeover of healthcare! Sign this GA AG petition today. Baker plans to run for Governor this year – let’s tell him what GA thinks of government run healthcare. It’s his duty to take action on behalf of Georgians who want to opt out! We will hold a press conference to present these petitions, so please sign, then share this with your lists!

Some good news, finally…

HB 236, the GA Government Accountability Act has passed through the Appropriations Committee and is moving toward a vote on the House Floor Friday. AFPGA members have responded to our Action Alert on HB 236 and asked for support of this bill. If you are available this Friday morning at 9:30, please meet in front of the Secretary of State’s office to help us lobby this bill through the House!

Why is HB 236 an AFPGA priority? We have long advocated for Zero Based Budgeting, where government agencies must justify every dollar spent and even their existence as a taxpayer funded entity on a regular basis. This bill accomplishes that. It may be combined in some way with a SB 1, but as long as we avoid squabbles about who gets credit, we should be able to get this done.

A vote for HB 236 will separate the “men from the boys” in the Legislature and show who truly is a fiscal conservative. Anyone who opposes is voting for less government accountability and a continuation of inefficiency. This bill was needed in good economic times, even more so now. As the economy improves, this bill will help control government spending growth. AFPGA considers this one of the most important bills of the Session. If you can’t come lobby in person and have not emailed your State Rep., please do it now using our easy Action Alert system.

Note: no links were included in this, so I'd encourage you to visit their website to find out more info, find the petition mentioned, etc.: http://www.southatlantateaparty.org/

Elections for North Georgia Vacant Seats Moved Back

2010-03-24T16:13:00.000-05:00

Governor Sonny Perdue announced today the special elections to fill vacant Congressional, State Senate and State House seats in North Georgia will be held May 11 instead of April 27.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp contacted Governor Perdue today and expressed concern that there would not be enough time to get ballots returned from military members stationed overseas. Moving the election back two weeks would allow more time for the ballots to be printed, mailed out and returned. The qualifying period for candidates wishing to run in any of the three special elections will remain March 29 through March 31.

Voters in the 9th Congressional District must select a replacement for Nathan Deal in the U.S. House. Voters in the 49th State Senate District will fill the legislative seat formerly held by Sen. Lee Hawkins and citizens in the 12th State House District will replace Rep. Tom Graves.

All three elections will be held on May 11 and runoff elections, if needed, will be June 8.

Below is the writ of election for the 9th Congressional District:

A vacancy now exists in the United States House of Representatives due to the resignation of the official elected to represent Georgia’s Ninth District.

Therefore, pursuant to Section 21-2-543 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, a Writ of Election is hereby issued to the Secretary of State for a special election to be held on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, to fill the vacancy in Georgia’s Ninth District of the United States House of Representatives.

Any inconsistent previous order is hereby rescinded.

This 24th day of March, 2010.

Below is the writ of election for House District 12:

House District 12 has become vacant due to the resignation of Representative Tom Graves.

Therefore, pursuant to Article V, Section II, Paragraph VIII of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and Section 21-2-544 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, a Writ of Election is hereby issued to the Secretary of State for a special election to be held on May 11, 2010, to fill the temporary vacancy in District 12 of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Any inconsistent previous order is hereby rescinded.

This 24th day of March, 2010.

Below is the writ of election for Senate District 49:

Senate District 49 has become vacant due to the resignation of Senator Lee Hawkins.

Therefore, pursuant to Article V, Section II, Paragraph VIII of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and Section 21-2-544 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, a Writ of Election is hereby issued to the Secretary of State for a special election to be held on May 11, 2010, to fill the temporary vacancy in District 49 of the Georgia State Senate.

Any inconsistent previous order is hereby rescinded.

This 24th day of March, 2010.
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Contact Thurbert Baker & encourage him to join in battle to stop Obamacare

2010-03-23T13:35:00.001-05:00

South Atlanta Tea Party: While other states are aggressively pursuing legal methods to counteract the federal health care bill, Thurbert Baker is waiting "to read the bill". He is also running for governor and this is how he will stand up for the people of Georgia! He is doing nothing!!

Please call, write, and email Baker and tell him to stand up for the people of Georgia against tyranny! He is the highest law of the land and we expect him to protect Georgians!!

Thurgood Baker
404-656-3300

Governor Perdue
404-656-1776

Please tell the Governor thank you for all he is doing to help protect Georgians against tyranny and the federal government!!

Secretary of State Kemp Sets Qualifying Dates for the Special Election in Congressional District 9

2010-03-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today receipt of Governor Sonny Perdue’s Writ of Election setting Tuesday, April 27, 2010 as the date for the Special Election to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal.

Secretary Kemp set candidate qualifying for Monday, March 29, 2010 through Wednesday, March 31, 2010. Qualifying on Monday will run from 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.; on Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.; and on Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Candidates will qualify in the Elections Division of the Office of Secretary of State, 1104 West Tower, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30334-1505. The qualifying fee is $5,220 for this office.

The election for Congressional District 9 will occur in the following counties: Catoosa, Dade, Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Hall, Lumpkin, Murray, Pickens, Union, Walker, White, Whitfield, and portions of Forsyth and Gordon. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27, 2010.

The election is a non-partisan special election with no party primary. However, each candidate’s party affiliation, if any, will be listed on the ballot. A run-off election, if needed, will be held Tuesday, May 25, 2010.

Voters can request an absentee ballot from their county registrar’s office through the close of business on Friday, April 23, 2010. Absentee ballots must be returned to the county registrar’s office by the close of polls on Election Day. Photo identification is not required when voting by mail. To download an absentee ballot request form, please visit: www.sos.ga.gov/elections.

Citizens must be registered to vote by Friday, April 2, 2010 to participate in the April 27, 2010 election. Voter registration forms can be obtained at any county registrar’s office or from the Secretary of State’s website: http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/voter_registration/voter_reg_app.htm.

Brian Kemp was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2010. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.
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Graves Statement on the April 27th Special Election / to Resign House Seat Tuesday

2010-03-22T22:17:00.000-05:00

Graves Statement on the April 27th Special Election

State Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), the leading Republican candidate for Congress in Georgia’s 9th District, released the following statement after today’s announcement from Governor Perdue regarding the date of the special election:

"Gov. Perdue has now set the election for April 27. I’m exhilarated and ready to work relentlessly during the 37 day campaign. It's time to restore an attitude of service to Washington coupled with truth, morality and leadership. We need to bring commonsense, North Georgia values back to the capitol which have recently been overshadowed by a progressive agenda.”

Make no mistake—the Democrats in Washington won’t stop now. They are emboldened and will now turn their attention to passing an amnesty based immigration reform, cap and trade and card check legislation. Now is not the time for conservatives to rest--we must be resolved and push back with all our might in order to preserve freedom for Americans. Julie and I are ready to serve.”

“My campaign is also ready—we’ve already begun our grassroots activities, going door to door with our message. This is a crucial time in the history of our nation and the people of the 9th District deserve a proven, bold, conservative voice.”

“The Graves campaign and the GA-9 Freedom Fighters are prepared –and ready to restore our nation’s conservative values.”

Graves to Resign House Seat Tuesday
State Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), the leading Republican candidate for Congress in Georgia’s 9th District, released the following statement announcing his resignation from the Georgia House of Representatives Tuesday, March 23, 2010, in order to qualify for the upcoming special election in Georgia’s 9th District:

"Earlier today Governor Perdue set the date for the special election to fill the 9th District Congressional seat on April 27. I will resign my House seat effective close of business Tuesday, March 23, 2010, in order to fill the unexpired term in the 9th District. This will enable the Governor to schedule both the election to fill my House seat and the 9th District congressional seat on the same day and save taxpayer money.

“While qualifying for the congressional seat alone would have vacated my house seat, the timing would have been outside the window of opportunity to allow both elections to occur on the same date. Therefore, as a steward of the taxpayer, the prudent decision is to step down early and allow the Governor to set the special elections on the same day.

“Julie and I have been humbled and honored to have been given the opportunity to serve Gordon, Pickens and Bartow counties in the legislature. And, for that, we are forever grateful.

“I am pleased with the Governor’s selection of the earliest possible election date. My family and I look forward to the campaign and the opportunity to serve the people of Georgia’s 9th Congressional District.”

Qualifying for the congressional seat will take place March 29-31. Per state law, Graves would have automatically vacated his House seat upon qualifying. Resigning early allows the special elections for the Graves’ House seat and the 9th District Congressional seat to take place on the same day.

***

Graves, who is in his fourth term representing House District 12, was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2002. He has chaired numerous subcommittees, served in several leadership positions and been recognized statewide as a conservative leader. He received a 2009 “National Legislator of the Year” from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a 2009 “Guardian of Small Business” Award from the National Federation of Independent Business, the 2009 “Legislator of the Year” Award from the Georgia Retail Association, the 2009 “Legislator of the Year” from the 9th Congressional District of Georgia and was nationally recognized as the “Legislative Entrepreneur of the Year Award” by the Freedom Works Foundation for his tireless effort to stem the tide of expansive government and reduce the tax burden on Georgians. Georgia Trend named Graves to its 2009 “40 under 40, Georgia’s Best and the Brightest.” Graves has been endorsed by Club for Growth PAC, the nation’s premier free-market, free enterprise group of conservatives, FreedomWorks PAC, RedState’s Erick Erickson and was the first candidate to be certified 100 percent pro-life by the Georgia Right to Life PAC.

Graves grew up in White, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia, where he earned a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance. Graves is a small businessman, past member of the Gordon County Board of Elections and an active member of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce. He is married to Julie, a native of Marietta, and the couple has three children, JoAnn, John and Janey. They attend the Belmont Baptist Church in Calhoun.

Statement by John Oxendine, Candidate for GA Gov., on Passage of Healthcare Bill

2010-03-22T22:14:00.000-05:00

“I am very disappointed that the House decided to pass a bill that was overwhelmingly rejected by the American people. This bill’s passage will place unfunded mandates on our state budget and significantly increase the cost of insurance on Georgia’s families. This plan is nothing more than a shell game that will also harm patients, doctors, nurses—essentially the entire healthcare workforce, because it puts the federal government in charge of healthcare reform.

I agree with National Right to Life’s assessment that the bill is riddled with provisions that will result in federal subsidies for private insurance plans that cover abortion. The bill also has direct federal funding of abortion through Community Health Centers, and pro-abortion federal administrative mandates.

I urge our legislature to act quickly to pass a bill that requires the state’s attorney general to sue the federal government to challenge the constitutionality of this legislation.”
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Resolution to Amend GA Constitution re: health care...

2010-03-22T13:45:00.002-05:00

10 LC 28 4878ER
House Resolution 1086
By: Representatives Hill of the 21st, May of the 111th, Cooper of the 41st, Byrd of the 20th, Sheldon of the 105th, and others

A RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide that no law or rule or regulation shall compel any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system and to authorize persons and employers to pay directly for lawful health care services without penalties or fines; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.
Article I of the Constitution is amended by adding a new section to read as follows:

"SECTION V.
HEALTH CARE

Paragraph I. Definitions. As used in this section, the term:
(1) 'Compel' includes penalties or fines.
(2) 'Direct payment' or 'pay directly' means payment for lawful health care services without a public or private third party, not including an employer, paying for any portion of the service.
(3) 'Health care system' means any public or private entity whose function or purpose is the management of, processing of, enrollment of individuals for, or payment for, in full or in part, health care services or health care data or health care information for its participants.
(4) 'Lawful health care services' means any health related service or treatment to the extent that the service or treatment is permitted or not prohibited by law or regulation that may be provided by persons or businesses otherwise permitted to offer such services.
(5) 'Penalties or fines' means any civil or criminal penalty or fine, tax, salary or wage withholding or surcharge, or any named fee with a similar effect established by law or rule by a government established, created, or controlled agency that is used to punish or discourage the exercise of rights protected under this section.
Paragraph II. Health care protections. (a) To preserve the freedom of citizens of this state to provide for their health care:
(1) No law or rule or regulation shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system; and
(2) A person or employer may pay directly for lawful health care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for paying directly for lawful health care services. A health care provider may accept direct payment for lawful health care services and shall not be required to pay penalties or fines for accepting direct payment from a person or employer for lawful health care services.
(b) Subject to reasonable and necessary rules and regulations that do not substantially limit a person's options, the purchase or sale of health insurance in private health care systems shall not be prohibited by law or by rule or regulation.
(c) This section shall not:
(1) Affect which health care services a health care provider or hospital is required to perform or provide;
(2) Affect which health care services are permitted by law;
(3) Prohibit care provided pursuant to any statutes enacted by the General Assembly relating to workers' compensation;
(4) Affect laws or rules in effect as of January 1, 2009; or
(5) Affect the terms or conditions of any health care system to the extent that those terms and conditions do not have the effect of punishing a person or employer for paying directly for lawful health care services or a health care provider or hospital for accepting direct payment from a person or employer for lawful health care services."

SECTION 2.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:
"( ) YES

( ) NO

Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide that no law or rule or regulation shall compel any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system and to authorize persons and employers to pay directly for lawful health care services without penalties or fines?"
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes." All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall become a part of the Constitution of this state.

Eric Johnson, GA Gov Candidate, on Georgia Supreme Court’s Decision re: Tort Reform

2010-03-22T11:53:00.000-05:00

Senator Eric Johnson, Republican candidate for Governor, today released the following statement on the decision by the Georgia Supreme Court to strike down a portion of Georgia’s tort reform law:

“In 2005, I was proud to author the Tort Reform Act, a bipartisan bill that brought common sense to our legal system, lowered the costs of doing business in Georgia, and reigned in out of control lawsuits. Tort reform was working, with a 39% reduction in the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed and an 18% reduction in the cost of medical liability insurance, but unfortunately Georgians will now no longer be able to see the benefits of this law.

As we watch in horror with what is happening to our healthcare system in Washington, it is up to states to stand up for healthcare reform that will control costs and not grow government. As Governor, I will continue the fight to bring real reform to our healthcare system by advocating for conservative ideas, like tort reform, that empower patients and doctors, and provide quality, affordable healthcare.”

An architect and a respected conservative leader, Eric Johnson served as President Pro Tempore of the Georgia State Senate. In that role, he passed legislation that cut taxes and spending, empowered small businesses, and protected doctors and businesses from frivolous lawsuits. He and his wife Kathryn have two grown children and live in Savannah. For more information please visit www.JohnsonForGeorgians.com.
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Graves’ Statement Regarding the Passage of the Healthcare Bill

2010-03-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

State Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), the leading conservative candidate for Congress in Georgia’s 9th District, released the following statement after House Democrats passed their government plan to takeover of America’s health delivery system:

“Tonight, President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Democrats in Congress advanced their massive government takeover of our nation’s health care system. It’s clear, the bill is too expensive, raises taxes, kills jobs, saddles the country with new debt, and forces new government mandates on the states and small businesses. While reforms are needed, they should be centered on free markets and capitalism. Georgia’s 9th District has said loud and clear that they are opposed to a government-run health care system. When elected, I will work to repeal this bill and replace it with free-market solutions to make health care more affordable, portable and accessible.

“In just the last 13 months, we have seen government intervention in the financial, automobile and now the healthcare sectors. What will be next?

“This is no time to lose hope. Let us be reminded that we live in the greatest republic on earth. One in which the people will have the final say. It is because of this, that I am optimistic about our future and confident that the American people will change the faces of the U.S. Congress this fall.”

Tonight’s vote in the U.S. House of Representatives was 219-212.

Graves released his Patient-Centered Patient-Driven health reform principles last year in a video to voters and in an opinion editorial.

---------------

Graves, who is in his fourth term representing House District 12, was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2002. He has chaired numerous subcommittees, served in several leadership positions and been recognized statewide as a conservative leader. He received a 2009 “National Legislator of the Year” from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a 2009 “Guardian of Small Business” Award from the National Federation of Independent Business, the 2009 “Legislator of the Year” Award from the Georgia Retail Association, the 2009 “Legislator of the Year” from the 9th Congressional District of Georgia and was nationally recognized as the “Legislative Entrepreneur of the Year Award” by the Freedom Works Foundation for his tireless effort to stem the tide of expansive government and reduce the tax burden on Georgians. Georgia Trend named Graves to its 2009 “40 under 40, Georgia’s Best and the Brightest.” Graves has been endorsed by Club for Growth PAC, the nation’s premier free-market, free enterprise group of conservatives, FreedomWorks PAC, RedState’s Erick Erickson and was the first candidate to be certified 100 percent pro-life by the Georgia Right to Life PAC.

Graves grew up in White, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia, where he earned a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance. Graves is a small businessman, past member of the Gordon County Board of Elections and an active member of the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce. He is married to Julie, a native of Marietta, and the couple has three children, JoAnn, John and Janey. They attend the Belmont Baptist Church in Calhoun.

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Karen Handel, Candidate GA Gov on Healthcare:

2010-03-22T09:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a very dark day for our nation. President Obama and the Democrats in Congress laid the foundation for a massive growth in the size of government and an unprecedented level of intrusion in our lives.

For those asking "what can be done?" in the face of the passage of Obamacare, I suggest this: The State of Georgia must explore every legal option to stop this government take over of health care and we must defeat lawmakers who voted for this and put Republicans back in control in the Congress.

We also must elect a Republican Governor who will stand firm against federal mandates, and government intrusion into the lives of Georgians. We are going to have to fight this in the courts, as well as at the ballot box, and I am the only candidate for Governor who has a proven record of doing just that.

I have a strong record of taking on the tough challenges and getting things done. My "Bring it On" attitude is one of the reasons so many are joining my campaign for Governor. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines. Now is not the time to throw up our hands and accept defeat. The time is now to stand up and say, "We are not going to take it anymore."

As Secretary of State, I fought democrats over Photo ID and won. I battled the Obama Justice Department over proof of citizenship to vote and my successor is continuing in my footsteps in that battle.

As your next Governor, I will take the fight to them. The next governor better be more than a career politician who has cast a lot of votes. We need a strong, tenacious governor who knows what it's like to battle against the odds … and WIN. I am that leader … I will be that Governor.

I know how devastating this legislation will be to our economy, our state, and our nation. I will continue to speak out. I will exhaust every legal option, and I will fight this massive government program every step of the way.

Will you join me? We must stand together today.

The vote last night IS a wake-up call for America. Join me in this fight.

As your next Governor, I will provide the conservative leadership we need to push back against President Obama and the Democrats in Washington. Their agenda will not stop at health care. It will not stop at raising taxes. Cap and trade. Immigration reform. Card check. We need a Governor who is committed to standing up for the conservative principles that you and I share.

Join me today, and together we will draw the line in the sand. Join me in saying "Bring it On" to President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the liberal Democrats.

The time is now for us to stand united for our conservative principles and against the Washington DC take-over of health care and our economy.

Sincerely,
Karen Handel
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Bert Loftman, MD, Candidate for US Congress GA-9 on Obamacare:

2010-03-22T09:55:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, March 21, the US House or Representatives legislated a momentous change to our health care delivery system. They abandoned our American Heritage where individuals chose their doctors, hospitals, and treatments and that brought us the best medical care in the world. This legislation takes us to a European system where the Federal Government will make the choices. It is a convoluted bill that will take place over the next ten years. I have signed The Club for Growth “repeal it” pledge and will honor this pledge. However, I am pessimistic that this will be successful. Just as the entitlements of Social Security and Medicare are untouchable, I believe this will also be untouchable.

This is because America has too many dependent people who vote for a large government. This happens because the income tax and Federal Reserve Bank rob Americans of their savings. People without savings are dependent and need a big government to care for them. Replacing the income tax with the FairTax and controlling the Federal Reserve Bank will return the savings to the American people. Only then will we be able to phase out the entitlement programs. Putting the money back into the pocket of the people will give us a healthy America.

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Westmoreland: Health care vote fundamentally alters nation

2010-03-22T08:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight, Democrats in the House passed sweeping legislation that will fundamentally alter the nature of our nation by implementing a government takeover of health care that Americans don’t want and can’t afford. The Democratic health care plan passed 219-212.

“This vote creates an expensive new entitlement that implements a government takeover of 1/6 of the American economy,” U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland said. “This law will raise taxes on all Americans, it will kill jobs in a lagging economy, it will put mandates on Americans and on businesses, it will put government in between doctors and their patients, it will raise the premiums of people who currently have insurance.

“The Democratic health care bill will add $2.6 trillion in new spending. There’s no free lunch. We’ll either tax ourselves to the point we’re not competitive internationally or we’ll simply add on more and more debt. Regardless, the bottom line is we cannot afford this new entitlement.

“We have bills that as a nation we can’t pay as it is. Now we’re adding on more stress to an overburdened system. Our debt obligations threaten to put our economy in critical care, and we’re crippling the ability of innovative Americans to create new jobs.

“There’s no doubt that there are many Americans facing tragic situations because they lack health insurance. Many more are underinsured and millions live in fear of losing their coverage. By opposing this legislation, we are not belittling or ignoring the real crisis in our nation’s health care system. Republicans have put forth responsible reforms that have fallen on deaf ears with this Democratic Congress and administration. No matter how great our desire to cover each and every American who lacks coverage, we do not serve the greater good if our actions bankrupt our nation.”
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Isakson Denounces House Passage of Health Care Reform Legislation

2010-03-22T08:31:00.000-05:00

Says House Vote ‘Ignores the Will of Most Georgians and Most Americans’

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today denounced the passage of the Democrats’ terribly flawed health care bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, because he believes it will raise taxes, raise premiums, cut benefits for seniors and place a massive unfunded mandate on the states.

“Today’s action by the House ignores the will of most Georgians and most Americans, who have expressed strong, vocal opposition to this deeply flawed, unpopular health care bill. This is the height of political arrogance,” Isakson said. “Americans need a Congress and a President that are focused on fixing our struggling economy, not engineering a government takeover of our health care system.”

The House voted 219-212 to approve the Senate-passed health care bill. Then, the House voted 220-211 to pass a health care reconciliation package, which makes changes to the Senate bill. The Senate bill now goes to the President for his signature, but the reconciliation bill still must be voted on by the Senate.

The budget reconciliation process may only be used for changes that are budget-related -- meaning they affect revenue or spending. Changes involving strict policy matters that do not have a budgetary impact cannot be addressed through reconciliation. The reconciliation bill now moves to the Senate, and Isakson vowed to use every available tool to block it.

“The reconciliation process was never intended for comprehensive policy changes, and I will work with my Republican colleagues in the Senate to fight this effort every step of the way,” Isakson said. “This has not been a thoughtful process, and it is an unfortunate way to do business.”

The legislation includes $644 billion in tax increases and over $525 billion in Medicare cuts for seniors. Isakson opposes creating new programs with these Medicare “savings” rather than making a commitment to preserve and improve Medicare and prevent its impending 2017 bankruptcy. Additionally, most Americans will likely see a 10 percent to 13 percent increase in individual premiums as a result of the bill.

“Democrats cannot hide the fact that when you're raising the type of revenues in this bill, that money is ultimately going to be paid by the consumer. Any time government raises taxes it raises the cost of living for the American people,” Isakson said. “It's a ruse and a masking of the actual fiscal effect on the United States of America.

At a time when most states are already under tremendous budgetary stress due to the economy, Isakson also criticized the billions of dollars in massive unfunded mandates that Georgia and other states would have to pay to cover the cost of the proposed expansion of Medicaid contained in the bill. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has said the only way to absorb the nearly $1 billion expected cost to Georgia is by raising state taxes or making cuts to education, public safety and other critical services.

“In a time of declining revenues and greater pressure for Georgia and every state, this bill is a recipe for disaster,” Isakson said. “It's not fair to say we're covering more people if we are bankrupting our states.”

The reconciliation package also includes language that would replace private student loan programs with direct lending by the federal government, turning the federal government into the equivalent of the sixth largest bank in the United States. Isakson vehemently opposes this language, which he believes will result in an estimated 19 million students will be overcharged on their student loans in order to help pay for the Democrats’ health care bill.

Georgia’s Democratic Congressmen Fail to Represent the People of Georgia

2010-03-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

Georgia Republican Party Chairman Sue Everhart released the following statement in response to the United States House of Representative’s vote to pass health care reform legislation:

“Today, the United States House of Representatives ignored the concerns of millions of Americans by voting to pass health care reform legislation, which increases health care premiums, creates new taxes, and passes unfunded mandates on to states and small businesses.

“Georgia Congressmen Sanford Bishop, Hank Johnson, John Lewis and David Scott voted in support of the legislation despite an outpouring of concern from their constituents. While Democrats refused to listen now, we will make them listen in November.”

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Excellent report on Public vs Private sector compensation...

2010-03-09T22:27:00.002-05:00

The move by the Fayette County Commission to ditch their award winning employee retirement system to move to a defined benefit system has caused a lot of those in the know quite a bit of heart burn. Across the state we hear about governments being unable to fund their retirement plans or facing huge problems as a result of attempting to fund their defined benefit systems. Everyone has heard the horror tales from Delta Air Lines, General Motors and many other companies regarding their unsupportable retirement plans.

The Cato Institute put out an outstanding bulletin which focuses on "Employee Compensation in State and Local Governments". The topics include: Public Sector vs Private Sector Compensation, Excessive Retirement Benefits and others.

Here's the opening sentences under "Excessive Retirement Benefits": Table 1 indicated that state and local workers have very generous defined-benefit (DB) pension plans compared to private sector workers. These plans have been overpromised and underfunded, which has created huge long-term gaps in government budgets...

I was at a local Fayette County meeting tonight that covered, in part, Fayette's move to a DB plan for its employees. One thing that stuck in my mind was a chart showing the under-funding of the plans by 5 or 6 Georgia counties and/or cities. Scary.

Taxpayers are on the hook for unsustainable pension plans and I find it scary to think about the future in my county, and in many communities across the country. When I think about the large numbers on the verge of retirement in the near future it highlights how short-sighted so many of our politicians are these days (and always I suppose). No one is willing to make hard decisions today simply because it could result in the loss of their political seat (aka power).

Huge problems are on the horizon. Fayette County and those who implemented defined benefit pension plans are going to be in a world of hurt when the bill comes due. In Fayette, since it's a fairly new db plan, the bill won't come due until the current batch of Commissioners have moved on to other to other things. If they don't leave the county they'll still be kicking when the higher taxes hit and the quality of the county plummets.

The report is a real short read and a big eye-openers. Hope you'll take the time to at least scan through this one: http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbb/tbb-59.pdf

Deal to Resign House Seat Today

2010-03-01T09:33:00.002-05:00

All across the web waves, Deal will be resigning from House today. From news reports it seems he was next to be investigated by House Ethics Committee...

Two ways of looking at it. You may have another, but this is it for me at the moment :

1) He didn't do anything wrong but the continuing hoopla over an ethics investigation would keep his name in lights in a negative way or
2) He had something to worry about and by leaving he potentially keeps anyone from knowing for sure one way or the other.

Either way, his resignation is NOT good for the future of Obama's health care fiasco that's moving forward regardless of the voices of multitudes, the majority, of Americans.

My thoughts? Deal probably did something good for his campaign, but he sure didn't do anything good for the much-needed conservative fight across the country.

From Peach Pundit & Political Wire:

The back story: "The House Ethics Committee came down hard on Charlie Rangel last week. The next case up was to look at Deal's use of his Congressional staff to protect a no-bid State contract here in Georgia. The House ethics committee was due to release their findings in this case any day. Deal's resignation probably makes this go away."

Read more: http://politicalwire.com/archives/2010/03/01/deal_will_resign_house_seat
.html#ixzz0gw4ZUKrH

Rockdale Republican Party: A Taste of Conservatism

2010-02-28T19:09:00.002-05:00

Saturday, April 10 at 12:00pm.
Rally
Georgia Veterans Memorial Park- Rockdale

Please join the Rockdale Republican Party for 'A Taste of Conservatism' at Rockdale County's new Veteran's Memorial Park. We will be hosting this event for conservatives who would like to rally and meet conservative candidates for 2010. We will be hosting statewide and local candidates.

This is also a great opportunity to enjoy our new park.
We will have great food, fun and music. Tickets are available for $15 adults and $12 children 10 and under.

Please visit http://www.rockdalegop.com/ to purchase tickets online.

Did You Know? Georgia’s Organ Donor Law changed in 2008

2010-02-28T18:38:00.001-05:00

Georgia Insight- Sue Ella Deadwyler
http://www.facebook.com/l/438dd;www.GeorgiaInsight.org

Have you renewed your Georgia driver’s license since July 1, 2008?

Do you know why you weren’t asked whether you wanted to be an organ donor?

Pre 7-1-08: Donors must opt-in. After 7-1-08: If you don’t opt-out, your organs may be taken.

Background. Before S.B. 405 passed in April 2008, Georgia law authorized driver’s licenses to be issued at half price for all applicants who agreed to donate their organs at death.

That was an opt-in process. Meaning, organs would not be harvested, unless the individual left word that organs could be harvested. But the 20-page 2008 bill revised the original law, making it an opt-out process. That put everyone in the precarious position of being presumptive donors at death, whether or not they had known they must opt-out to keep their bodies intact.

In August 2008, I reported the change in the organ donor law. Since then, when I address a group anywhere, I ask them to raise their hands if they know the organ donor law had changed.

No hands are raised, because no one knows – including legislators. Why don’t they know? It passed hurriedly at the end of the 2008 session and was never publicized. Officials issuing drivers’ licenses, simply, quit asking applicants whether they wanted to become organ donors.

When that change in the law took effect July 1, 2008, it became an opt-out plan, authorizing the harvesting of body parts, unless the decedent leaves definite documentation refusing to be a donor. Also, the decedent may indicate the refusal orally, but two adults must witness it. That’s true of drivers and non-drivers. Absent a refusal document, written or verbal, other entities – family member, friend, funeral director, crematorium – may allow organs to be harvested.

The Remedy

H.B. 1235, introduced February 18, 2010 by Representative Bobby Reese, would return the organ donor Act to the original process – opt-in instead of opt-out. Although current law passed as a 20-page bill, it can be fixed with the following not-so-simple sentence:

“An absence of any indication by an individual of an intention to make an anatomical gift shall constitute a refusal to make an anatomical gift of such individual’s body or part.”

The above sentence protects against presumption by default. It’s legalese for “you can’t have my organs unless I say you can,” even if I don’t leave a refusal document or fail to tell someone to keep my body intact or am oblivious to the possibility that my organs could be harvested.

ACTION – Support.

The list is long, so call your representative, if listed, and several others.

Health & Human Services Representatives
Cooper, Ch., 404 656-5069;
Rynders, 656-7855;
Holt, 656-0152;
Butler, 656- 0188;
Byrd, 656-0298;
Cheokas, 656-0325;
Collins, 656-0188;
Dempsey, 656-0213;
Dobbs, 656-7859;
Dodson, 656- 0325;
Drenner, 656-0202;
Fullerton, 656-0127;
Gordon, 656-0287;
Graves, 656-0109;
Harden, 656-0177;
Hembree, 656- 5154;
Henson, 656-7859;
Howard, 656-6372;
Hudson, 656-7859;
Jones, 656-0323;
Kaiser, 656-0265;
Keown, 656-0177;
Kidd, 656-0325;
Loudermilk, 656-0152;
Lunsford, 656-0213;
Maddox, 656-0152;
Millar, 656-5064;
Mitchell, 656-0116;
Morgan. 656-0109;
Mosby, 656-0287;
Parsons, 656-9198;
Purcell, 656-0188;
Randall, 656-0109;
Rogers, 463-2247;
Sellier, 656-0254;
Sims, 656-0213;
Stephens, 656-0117;
Stephenson, 656-0126;
and Wilkinson, 463-8143.

February 26, 2010

Reading "Going Rogue"

2009-12-10T14:13:00.003-05:00

I'm partway through reading Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue. My husband bought it for me for Christmas, but got tired of hearing me talk about reading it (I knew he'd bought it for me) and finally broke down, gave it to me early .

Even though I have pages to go, I had to share a few thoughts on it.

With all the negative, with all the horrific things going on in the economy, with terrorism, with the choices being made in D.C., with the health care debacle, cap and tax... it is SO refreshing to read her book. It's like a breath of common sense fresh air. I find that I long for someone like her to take over the helm in Washington and across the country.

She just seems to have the ability to cut through the muck and get to the core of issues. I love her approach, her way of reasoning and how grounded she is in so many areas.

I hear the David Letterman's and others who trash her as they look down their noses and know that there was a time in my life when I would have been "on their side". I wouldn't have liked their nastiness, their belittling ways, their snobbery, but if I'd continued down the path I was on earlier in my life, I'd be over on that general side. Thank goodness I put my feet onto a different path!

I find it fascinating that all these people with millions of dollars, all these people who are so insulated from the real world, can judge someone based on their arbitrary criteria.

Ah well, not much I can do about their mean spirited-ness. It seems to me that those at the top end of the economic scale, those at the very bottom, and those with deep insecurities always have to find someone to look down upon. For those at the top I think it may be a combination of guilt, lack of purpose, a need to justify their existence in their own mind and a need to fit in with their friends.

I think if anyone reads Going Rogue with an open mind, without negative preconceived notions etched in stone, they will find a true American spirit inside the pages. Oh that our elected officials had a tenth of her convictions, patriotism, values, honesty and common sense.

How U.N. redefined 'pandemic' to heighten alarm over H1N1

2009-11-13T08:02:00.002-05:00

In light of a perceived swine flu outbreak, the World Health Organization raised its influenza pandemic alert to its second highest level in May – but evidence reveals the agency may have made it easier to classify the flu outbreak as a pandemic by changing its definition to omit "enormous numbers of deaths and illness" just prior to making its declaration...
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=115719

My comments:

I'm on the fence when it comes to the swine flu / H1N1.

It floated through my mind when they first hyped the flu to epic proportions that it was possibly, possibly just a manufactured distraction, or that there was money to be made, or something nefarious going on behind the scenes.

However, it's been a PR nightmare for the Obama administration. They can't get us the vaccines, which means that IF they blew this one into a huge deal for reasons unknown, it backfired.

How can the government expect us to believe they can handle health care if they can't handle one measly ol' flu?

I heard and read a while back that the real reason we don't have the vaccines in sufficient numbers is a result of Kathleen Sebelius, Health & Human Services (HHS), changing the parameters on the type vaccine ordered making it impossible for the companies to produce the numbers committed to initially. You may want to go look that one up for yourself, it's been a while since I heard that and it could have been proved incorrect. If it's true, government meddling is what caused the lack of needed vaccines. Even if it's not true, they're still not able to handle the problem.

Regardless of whether it was blown out of proportion and /or the WHO changing their definition on pandemic plays into this as the article I posted above suggests, lots of people are dying from H1N1 according to news reports.

Despite the fact that the number of deaths seem to be fairly high, and early in the usual flu outbreak time frame, I have yet to find a doctor who is willing to give the vaccine to their children. And I'm asking. My friends and family have been asking their medical friends... no dice. The medical professionals we've encountered are not willing to take the vaccines themselves nor do they want their children to be vaccinated.

If the medical profession doesn't want the vaccine, should I?

Another thing I can't help but wonder, and have wondered from the beginning, is why the older population, the one with the weaker immune systems and higher inability to fight illness, ended up in the lower risk category? That one tweaked my skeptic bone (OK, OK, I admit I have more than one skeptic bone) and has me wondering about the future of health care rationing. Now, give me a choice between saving my kids, grandkids, nieces, pregnant daughter or whoever and me? I'd save them in a half a heartbeat. But that doesn't mean that I want the government via some bureaucrat telling me I can't have something that's available simply because I've reached a certain age, or they don't like me, or they're having a bad day...

The stats I last heard say that the older population may not be in the highest risk category to get the flu, but they're dying at a higher rate than the "at risk" group. Said another way, if you're older and get the swine flu your chances of ending up in an early grave are much higher than your grandchild.

However, you can't get the vaccine even if it's available.

If you're in the older group, according to some stories I've read, you have to get special permission from the health department (government) to get the vaccine even if your doctor has the vaccine, even if your doctor says you're in a high risk category. I'm not sure if that's just in certain areas or universal. This is a blog, I am just passing along anecdotal info and hope you will go check it out yourself. Please.

So, to take the vaccine or not? I still haven't decided. Doesn't really matter since I couldn't get it if I wanted it... the government has a pandemic, epidemic, or whatever you want to call it, and they can't roll out sufficient numbers of vaccines to take care of all or even most of those who want to roll up their sleeve.

I will tell you that for the first time this year I rolled up MY sleeve and let them give me the flu vaccine (not the H1N1, the regular flu vaccine). All those doctors, nurses, physicians assistants who said they wouldn't take the H1N1 vaccine said they never missed their regular annual flu vaccine. They say it works, that by getting it annually you seem to build up an immunity to more than just the flu they're inoculating against.

I guess I have at least a month to decide whether to get the H1N1 vaccine. Chance are high it'll have made the rounds and be over by the time the vaccine is available to my age group.

Westmoreland Lauds GOP Health Plan’s Cost Savings

2009-11-06T08:31:00.001-05:00

11/5/09 As thousands gathered today in Washington to express their opposition to the Democrats’ government takeover of health care, the Republicans produced further evidence that they have found a better, more affordable way to bring down the cost of health care for American families.

Last night, the Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the Republican health care alternative would reduce health insurance premiums by up to 10 percent and cut the federal deficit by $68 billion over 10 years, without raising taxes on families and small businesses.

“We all want to protect access to health insurance and bring down the soaring costs, but we must do it in a way that’s affordable, sustainable and let’s people keep their current coverage if they want it,” Westmoreland said. “The Republican plan makes targeted reforms – such as assuring access to coverage for people with pre-existing conditions – without implementing an entire government takeover of the health care system.

“The Democratic bill that the Congress is scheduled to vote on Saturday, in contrast, will cost more than $1.3 trillion over the life of the bill. It’ll expand entitlement spending, it’ll raise taxes on small business payrolls and on medical devices, it’ll cost jobs by mandating coverage that some businesses can’t afford, it’ll put government in between the doctor and the patient, and it’ll cut Medicare funding. By expanding Medicaid eligibility, the legislation also puts new burdens on states that already are struggling to pay their bills. The states share the cost of the Medicaid program, and this could cost Georgia $2 billion to $4 billion over the next 10 years. That’s a huge share of our state budget, and it’s a cost we simply can’t bear.

“But, luckily, there is a better way. Republicans are providing that alternative, although the Democrats continue to insist we’re not offering ideas. We are. They just don’t want Americans to know it.”
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Please do on Thursday! Last chance to stop the health care fiasco...

2009-11-05T00:10:00.001-05:00

This is it.

This is our last best chance to stop socialized medicine from taking over our healthcare system.

The last of the buses and cars have left for DC, and the remainder flies out in the morning.

We desperately need for those who are staying behind to do THREE things:

1. Visit your Congressperson's local office TOMORROW - THURSDAY, November 5th. There are rallies at the offices of Blue Dog Democrats and Pro-Life Democrats all over the nation tomorrow at noon. Those two small groups of Democrats are pivotal to stopping the Obama/Pelosi healthcare bill HR 3962. (Contact info is below.)

2. Call the Blue Dog and Pro-Life Democrats. If you can't get through on their Washington DC lines, call their district offices. Be kind! I'm told the White House and Pelosi's office are being so nasty to these people. Show them YOU are different and YOU will support their efforts to do what is right for freedom. (If you press *67 before calling, it will block your Caller ID. This is free and you must dial it every time before you call.)

3. Pray for our safety and effectiveness.

4. Share this email with your closest friends and family.

Here is a list with the PAGE NUMBERS of the most reprehensible details of the Obama/Pelosi HR 3962 healthcare bill (including tax-payer funded abortion; coverage for illegal immigrants; and drastic cuts to Medicare): http://www.southfloridateaparty.org/

Here is a list of the 111 NEW boards, commissions, and bureaucracies in Obama/Pelosi HR 3962: http://blackburn.house.gov/news/email/show.aspx?ID=PEDPBME744SL5GWBV3SPJ2YRDA

Earlier today I spoke with Congressman and doctor Paul Broun from Georgia. He told me "this is the end of this battle" and we must reach these Democrats. "They hold the future of our health and the health of our children and grandchildren in their hands." Please, please take the time to help us today. We need you.

For Freedom,

Tricia Pridemore
Leader of the Cobb County 912 Project

You were bought at a price, do not become slaves of men. I Corinthians 7: 23

BLUE DOG DEMOCRATS: DC (202) PHONE: DISTRICT PHONE:

Jason Altmire (PA) 202-225-2565 Aliquipa 724-378-0928
Mike Arcuri (NY-24) 202-225-3665 Utica 315-793-8146
Joe Baca (CA-43) 202-225-6161 San Bernardino 909-885-2222
John Barrow (GA-12) 202-225-2823 Augusta 706-722-4494
Melissa Bean (IL-8) 202-225-3711 Schaumburg 847-517-2927
Marion Berry (AR-1) 202-225-4076 Jonesboro 800-866-2701
Sanford Bishop (GA-2) 202-225-3631 Albany 229-439-8067
Dan Boren (OK-2) 202-225-2701 Muskogee (918) 687-2533
Leonard Boswell (IA-3) 202-225-3806 Des Moines 515-282-1909
Allen Boyd (FL-2) 202-225-5235 Tallahassee (850) 561-3979
Bobby Bright (AL-2) 202-225-2901 Dothan (334) 794-9680
Dennis Cardoza (CA-18) 202-225-6131 Merced 800-356-6424
Christopher Carney (PA-10) 202-225-3731 Shamokin (570) 644-1682
Ben Chandler (KY-6) 202-225-4706 Lexington (859) 219-1366
Travis Childers (MS-01) 202-225-4306 Tupelo (662) 841-8808
Jim Cooper (TN-5) 202-225-4311 Nashville 615-736-5295
Jim Costa (CA-20) 202-225-3341 Bakersfield 661-869-1620
Henry Cuellar (TX-28) 202-225-1640 Laredo (956) 725-0639
Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-03) 202-225-5406 Erie (814) 456-2038
Lincoln Davis (TN-4) 202-225-6831 Columbia 931.490.8699
Joe Donnelly (IN-2) 202-225-3915 South Bend 574.288.2780
Brad Ellsworth (IN-8) 202-225-4636 Evansville (812) 465-6484
Bill Foster (IL-14) 202-225-2976 Batavia (630) 406-1114
Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8) 202-225-2542 Tucson (520) 881-3588
Bart Gordon (TN-6) 202-225-4231 Murfreesboro (615) 896-1986
Parker Griffith (AL-5) 202-225-4801 Huntsville (256) 551-0190
Jane Harman (CA-36) 202-225-8220 El Segundo (310) 643 3636
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD) 202-225-2801 Sioux Falls 866-371-8747
Baron Hill (IN-9) 202-225-5315 Jeffersonville 866-440-1321
Tim Holden (PA-17) 202-225-5546 Temple (610) 921-3502
Frank Kratovil (MD-1) 202-225-5311 Centreville (443) 262 -9136
Jim Marshall (GA-8) 202-225-6531 Macon (877) 464-0255
Jim Matheson (UT-2) 202-225-3011 South Salt Lake (801) 486-1236
Mike McIntyre (NC-7) 202-225-2731 Lumberton (910) 735-0610
Charlie Melancon (LA-3) 202-225-4031 Houma (985) 876-3033
Mike Michaud (ME-2) 202-225-6306 Bangor 207-942-6935
Walt Minnick (ID-1) 202-225-6611 Meridian (208) 888-3188
Harry Mitchell (AZ-05) 202-225-2190 Scottsdale (480) 946-2411
Dennis Moore (KS-3) 202-225-2865 Overland Park (913) 383-2013
Patrick Murphy (PA-8) 202-225-4276 Bristol (215) 826-1963
Glenn Nye (VA-02) 202-225-4215 Virginia Beach (757) 326-6201
Collin Peterson (MN-7) 202-225-2165 Detroit Lakes (218) 847-5056
Earl Pomeroy (ND-AtLarge) 202-225-2611 Bismarck (701) 224-0355
Mike Ross (AR-4) 202-225-3772 El Dorado (870) 881-0681
John Salazar (CO-3) 202-225-4761 Grand Junction 970-245-7107
Adam Schiff (CA-29) 202-225-4176 Pasadena (626) 304-2727
David Scott (GA-13) 202-225-2939 Jonesboro (770) 210-5073
Heath Shuler (NC-11) 202-225-6401 Asheville (828) 252-1651
Zack Space (OH-18) 202-225-6265 Dover 866-910-7577
John Tanner (TN-8) 202-225-4714 Union City (731) 885-7070
Gene Taylor (MS-4) 202-225-5772 Bay St. Louis 228.469.9235
Mike Thompson (CA-1) 202-225-3311 Napa (707) 226-9898
Charlie Wilson (OH-6) 202-225-5705 Canfield (330) 533-7250

PRO-LIFE DEMOCRATS: DC (202) PHONE: DISTRICT PHONE:
Bart Stupak (MI-01) 202-225-4735 Alpena (989) 356 0690
Steve Driehaus (OH-01) 202-225-2216 Cincinnati (513) 684-2723
James Langevin (RI--02) 202-225-2735 Warwick (401) 732-9400
Alan Mollohan (WV-01) 202-225-4172 Clarksburg (304) 623-4422
Jim Oberstar (MN-08) 202-225-6211 Duluth (218) 727-7474

* those that are both Pro-life and Blue Dog Democrats are listed under Blue Dogs.

One Year to Judgment Day... Atlanta, GA

2009-11-03T11:40:00.002-05:00

I just love sucking up the energy when I'm around tea party enthusiasts! It's like a shot of patriotic adrenaline...

Last night a group of us traveled from Fayette County to Atlanta to hear Herman Cain, Martha Zoller, Jonathan Krohn, Brian Donegan and other conservatives. It was chilly. The crowd wasn't that great compared to some of the other tea party events and rallies I've been to, but the fire was still there! I didn't expect a huge crowd given the minimal advertising, the fact that it was on a work night, etc., etc.

I saw quite a few t-shirts from the local group, Southern Crescent Tea Party Patriots (http://www.ptcteapartypatriots.org/), and then today as I've talked with different people via phone, Facebook and Twitter, I discovered other Fayette Countians who were there, too. We had quite a good representation overall it seems.

The purpose of last night's rally was to celebrate? kick-off? remind us all? that one year from the day of the rally there will be a big election, possibly one our most important elections. Those who aren't involved, who aren't paying attention, need to start now. We have too much at risk for Americans to be political couch potatoes.

The national Tea Party Express is coming through next Monday, 5:30 p.m. at the State Capitol. Now that one is going to be HUGE! It needs to be... More info at www.teapartyexpress.org. I have another event that night so will have to miss it unfortunately. Hope some from here will take photos and send to me. Hope someone takes some video so I can watch.

I'm posting some videos from the event at youtube/gafrontpage if you'd like to hear any of the speakers or music. John Berry sang a few songs, he was fantastic! I'm a convert and will be buying some of his CDs. The videos I made don't do justice to his talent (especially when some of those around me start singing along... ;-)

Hope you're all out voting today! Here in Fayette County I'm hoping the SPLOST dies by a bit margin. I think there are a number of factors at play that could hurt my wished-for outcome. One, the turnout is going to be fairly low. Two, those in the cities have to vote in two separate elections. I'm sure there are more. I haven't run into anyone who's for keeping that additional tax just so the County has extra money, our money, to play around with, but there are a lot of people I don't know!

Shelby Barker in Peacthree City, running for City Council, is opposed to the SPLOST, too. I wish I lived in PTC just so I could vote for him! Good guy all around, I think he'd do a great job.

Here's hoping we're successful in New Jersey, Virginia, etc.! Wouldn't that be a kicker to kick Corzine out? It'll be something to celebrate if Hoffman takes the race, too.

I'll be watching the results closely tonight as will many across the nation.

Two bad news headlines on the healthcare vote...

2009-11-03T07:17:00.001-05:00

Reid reassures the left Lieberman is on board
By Alexander Bolton
Sen. Joe Lieberman has reached a private understanding with Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will not block a final vote on healthcare reform, according to two sources briefed on the matter.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/66005-reid-reassures-the-left-lieberman-is-on-board

Pelosi picks up centrist 'yes' votes in House
By Mike Soraghan
Centrist Democrats in the House are moving toward the "yes" column on healthcare reform, triggering optimism among leadership officials that they will soon have the votes to pass their $894-billion measure.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/65995-pelosi-picks-up-centrist-yes-votes-in-house

HR 615

2009-10-30T21:58:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday, the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment, courtesy of Republican Tom Coburn which would require all Members of Congress and their staff members to enroll in any new government-run health plan.

Congressman John Fleming has proposed an amendment that would require Congressmen and Senators to take the same health care plan that they would force on us. (Under proposed legislation they are exempt.)Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go to his Website and sign his petition.

The process is very simple:

http://fleming.house.gov/index.html. Fill out name address, etc...click "YES" and submit!!

Senator Coburn and Congressman Fleming are both physicians.

Regardless of your political beliefs, it sure seems reasonable that Congress should have exactly the same medical coverage that they impose on the rest of us.

Please urge as many people as you can to do the same!

(I can't take credit for the above, it was sent to me by Southern Crescent Tea Party as a forward... I'm just passing it on!)

Best Commercial Ever?

2009-10-25T07:13:00.002-05:00

If you're not tearing up when this one ends, there's something wrong with your tear ducts.

Powerful messages.

Makes me want to go out and buy another Ford.

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland: Health bills deadly for Georgia small businesses

2009-10-21T21:25:00.001-05:00

As federal reports out today show Georgia and the rest of the nation continuing to add to the unemployment rolls, congressional Democrats are forging ahead with health care proposals that will put small businesses on life support and hemorrhage more jobs.

“I hear each week from small business owners in Georgia’s 3rd District who are cutting back, trying to make ends meet, struggling to make payroll,” Westmoreland said. “They tell me in no uncertain terms: Adding on new health care taxes and mandates will leave us with no choice but to slash the number of employees we have. That scenario should scare congressmen even if our economy is at full employment, but it should serve as a huge flashing red light at a time when unemployment is at a 26-year high.”

The bills under consideration would impose a $208 billion tax on small businesses that cannot afford to provide health plans for their workers. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office asserts this mandate “could reduce the hiring of low-wage workers.”

Westmoreland calls the mandate “a tax on jobs.”

In addition, the primary House bill, HR 3200, would impose more than $500 billion in other taxes, including a surtax that will fall disproportionately on small business owners.

“There are many Georgians who are rightly leery of a government takeover of our health care system – 17 percent of the biggest economy in the world – and I’m one of those Georgians who has a problem with the idea,” Westmoreland said. “Regardless, I acknowledge that Americans can have legitimate differences of opinion on whether the so-called ‘public option’ is the right way for us to go. But we should all agree that our national focus right now should be on reviving our economy and creating jobs. As we’ve experienced in this painful recession, good-paying jobs are no longer a given. We have to create the right climate for small businesses to expand – or at this place and time just get back on their feet. Taxing small businesses for providing jobs takes us in the wrong direction.”

Westmoreland points out that Georgia has lost 131,900 jobs since the stimulus bill passed in February and its unemployment rate now tops 10 percent.
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Community News You Can Use
Follow us on Twitter: @gafrontpage
www.FayetteFrontPage.com
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www.PoliticalPotluck.com
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
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Great video, doctors in office speak...

2009-10-21T19:28:00.001-05:00

A number of the speakers are from our great state of Georgia!

Democrats lock Republicans out of committee room

2009-10-21T06:54:00.001-05:00

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) locked Republicans out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee room to keep them from meeting when Democrats aren't present.

http://www.thehill.com/homenews/house/63941-democrats-lock-republicans-out-of-committee-room

By Susan Crabtree

Read the 1,502 Health Care Bill from Finance Committee

2009-10-20T11:58:00.000-05:00

Finance Committee bill has been filed

Senate Finance Committee members have been notified that the committee's health reform bill was filed today. S. 1796 weighs in at 1,502 pages, according to a Senate Republican leadership source. It's still not up yet on the Finance Committee website or Thomas.gov. We'll post a link as soon as we get one.

UPDATED:

Read the entire 1,502 page Finance bill.

Read a document outlining the concerns of Sens. Kerry, Schumer, Menendez, Stabenow and Rockefeller that the tax on high-end plans will hit plans that are not overly generous.

Read Sen. Rockefeller's expanded views on reform.

http://www.politico.com/livepulse/1009/Finance_Committee_bill_has_been_filed_.html

To my Twitter and Facebook friends...

2009-10-18T18:19:00.002-05:00

I just added a bunch of blogs to my feed. You're probably going to see a bunch of older stuff post to Twitter and Facebook as the feed will grab the first one or two blog posts pretty soon, if it hasn't already done so. Some of the blogs haven't been updated in a few months so hope it doesn't cause a problem for anyone. Sorry! I've been assured by the bloggers that they're going to start posting again, so future tweets and posts will be current, AND there won't be so many all at one time.

Like the idea of government run health care? Go pick up your mail.

2009-10-17T07:25:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I stopped by our local Post Office to check our company mail box. One of the items we received was a letter from someone in Florida addressed to the Social Security Administration.

Given that the P.O. Box on the address was the same as ours, at first I didn't think much about it. But, being the curious person I am, I really took a good look at the address as I walked to the miss-boxed mail slot nicely provided by the post office for errors such as this.

The letter was supposed to have gone to Wilkes Barre... Pennsylvania. I'm in Georgia. I decided this was probably a pretty important, possibly deadline oriented piece of mail so I stood in line to personally hand it to someone at the counter rather than stick it in the bin for incorrectly boxed mail.

I looked it over closely while I waited. Based on the handwriting I "assumed" it was written by an older woman. I figured she probably wrote the wrong zip code... but nope, it was correct (18702... ours here starts with a 302...). The postal worker and I both looked closely and everything was correct, except the encoding at the bottom. Some worker along the line encoded the zip incorrectly, or maybe a machine read it incorrectly. No one had looked at anything other than the P.O. Box number when it ended up at my post office.

The postal worker I was talking with crossed through the incorrect encoding and said she'd send it on correctly.

While standing in line I wrote down all the ladies info from the letter, thinking I'd drop her a note to let her know it was miss-boxed, miss-directed, miss-labeled and delayed. Then, of course, completely forgot about it by the time I got home. Until yesterday when I stopped by to check my post office box again, only to find the same letter once again waiting for me.

Yup, your government workers at work. Can you imagine what government run health care is going to look like?

I remember working at the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) in Atlanta as supervisor over an area that received quite a bit of mail. Banks would send us all their bank information for processing, including their customer's checks and bank statements for matching.

One November a whole batch of bank statements from an Alabama institution went missing. We ended up recreating everything and moving on. We were used to having the post office delay or lose mail.

What makes this one interesting is that one year later, in November, the statements arrived from the post office. They had the original date stamp from the bank mailing machine of the first year, plus the post office date stamp from the first year when mailed. A full year later, on the day it would have, should have, arrived a year earlier, it appeared at the FHLB!

That may have been one of the strangest I remember, but as said, it was fairly commonplace given the volume of mail we dealt with to have delays and problems.

When they cram this health care bill down our throats and it goes into effect in a few years, we better hope that we stay in good health.

Note: I'm working on two more blogs referencing "government run" incompetence, one to do with government run flood insurance (that'll curl your toes) and the other with what happens when you're mandated to move from private insurance to Medicare. No, I'm not there yet, but I sure know some people who've gone through it over the past few years... after hearing what they've gone through, I do not look forward to the day when I go through that nightmare transition.

Operation: Can You Hear Us Now? CNN Center Atlanta

2009-10-13T06:57:00.002-05:00

Get involved!

North Georgia 9-12's Operation: Can You Hear Us Now? CNN Center is going to be a fantastic event. We have more than 12 patriotic partner organizations joining us to protest the COMPLICIT and BIASED media!

Great News - - - our event has grown so much that we secured a rally point for all the protesters, bikers and now speakers. We will be assembling in a large parking lot right outside CNN! They won't be able to miss us! With great things come big expenses. We have a lot of additional expenses we hadn't planned for including the one acre parking lot, off-duty police officers, insurance, speaker systems, and platforms to name a few.

North Georgia 9-12 needs YOU! Please help us offset these expenses by making a contribution - whatever you can spare - to help us fund our event upfront. Go to http://www.northgeorgia912.com/ocyhun.htm to make your donation online. Our goal is to raise $5,000 before October 15th.

We also need about 60 more volunteers. Volunteer positions include managing a piece of sidewalk during the demonstration to keep people moving or pinning 'runner tags' on protesters & collecting 'runner tags' back after the event for our mail-in protest to CNN. What a great way to get to know your fellow patriots!

To volunteer, email Claire at thebartletts5@mac.com

Finally, we are starting a postage drive. As most of you already know, we've come up with the concept to wear 'runner tags' so that we can help CNN and AJC learn to count. We'll collect these after the event and mail them all in to CNN for optimal impact. Any extra first class stamp you can spare to send in will help offset the postage expense. Please send them to:

North Georgia 9-12
3427 Wild Plum Way
Buford, GA 3051

To sum up, there are three areas we could use your help:

Donations - go to http://www.northgeorgia912.com/ocyhun.htm
Volunteers - 60 more patriots to help us on event day.
Postage - send your spare stamps to North Georgia office to let CNN know we mean business

As a reminder, Operation: Can You Hear Us Now? CNN Center will be:
When: Saturday, October 17th, 2009 @ 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Where: CNN & Atlanta Journal Constitution. Rally starting at 10:30 a.m. - Corner of Marietta St. and Centennial Olympic Park Dr.

Others patriotic organizations joining us so far...

13th Colony Patriots (http://teapartypatriots.org/Group/13th_Colony_Patriots)
ACTIVE (http://accdf.com/)
Alarm and Muster (http://alarmandmuster.com/index.html)
First Coast Tea Party (www.firstcoastteaparty.org)
Flip This House 2010 (www.flipthishouse2010.com)
Freedom Works (www.freedomworks.org)
Grassfire (www.grassfire.org)
Rainy Day Patriots (http://shelbycoteaparty.wordpress.com)
Resistnet (www.resistnet.com)
Sons of Liberty (http://americanlibertyriders.ning.com/)
Southern Crescent Tea Party Patriots (http://www.ptcteapartypatriots.org)
Tea Party Nation (http://www.teapartynation.com/)

Obama puts union strings on federal jobs

2009-10-07T09:06:00.002-05:00

Delivering on President Obama's promise to boost the labor movement, the administration has announced a $35 million federal construction project in New Hampshire that requires union representation for the workers and forces nonunion employees to pay dues and contribute to a union pension fund.

Mr. Obama issued an executive order in the first weeks of his presidency that would make the requirement, known as a "project labor agreement" or PLA, the norm for all government contracts on large-scale construction jobs. The order is under review and a final rule is not expected for months, but that did not stop the Labor Department from rushing to use a PLA to build its new Job Corps Center in Manchester, N.H.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/07/obama-puts-union-strings-on-job-center/?feat=home_headlines

I hope the vast majority of Americans are watching, connecting all the dots as things like this are being forced upon us... we are in the midst of a sea-change like we've never seen and it's being done dot by dot by dot. We can't afford to go about our daily lives without looking outward and upward. One day all those who are working hard to ignore the outside world of politics, the changes being enacted by Congress and those in Washington, are going to wake up and find out their little cocoon has been breached and it may be too late to protect the contents, their lifestyle, their family values... Doesn't matter where you stand politically, it's time to get involved.

Rockdale Tea Party Oct 3rd

2009-10-02T20:33:00.001-05:00

Saturday, October 3 at 2:00pm.

Event: Rockdale Tea Party
What: Protest
Start Time: Saturday, October 3 at 2:00pm
End Time: Saturday, October 3 at 6:00pm
Where: Whistle Post Restaurant

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=131275277566&mid=12f19e9G5d770abcG512fb7G7

Tea Party Groups and FreedomWorks Booth, Oct. 10 - 11

2009-10-02T20:21:00.002-05:00

Georgia Tea Party Patriots, Atlanta Tea Party, and FreedomWorks will have a booth at Passion Driven Life Expo at Cobb Galleria October 10 & 11! Come visit our booth and help us spread the message of less taxes, less government and more freedom!"

Take a fun break at the White House...

2009-09-28T20:05:00.003-05:00

Need a fun break? Go visit this site and laugh: http://whitehouse.gov1.info/

Someone did a great job on it... go see it now while you can, I'm sure someone in D.C. is right now trying to figure out how to shut it down.

Feel helpless? Start at the local level

2009-09-28T09:18:00.003-05:00

I hear from many who say they feel helpless to impact the "doings" in Washington. They feel they're just a tiny, tiny ant in the middle of a local an hill sitting in a huge field... and those big 'ol D.C. types own the field and live in that distant mansion.

My response is to say that even ants sting. Put enough of them together and you can really make a difference. Ever tried to eradicate ants in your yard? You can do your darndest but they keep coming back. They go underground for a while, then one day you look out in your yard and find they've taken over. They go everywhere, sneak into the mansion despite the best pest control...

Maybe it's not the best analogy, but it kinda works!

However, even in an ant hill there are those that agitate and those that protect their home turf, or the queen, that have specific purposes. Just like in the ant hill, there are those in life who will never venture out to protect (but most will defend when the trouble comes to them!).

To those who aren't interested in going to Tea Party rallies or 9/12 events, to those who for whatever reason don't feel inclined to protest the happenings way up in Washington, I say: get involved at the local level.

I go to Fayette County Commission meetings fairly regularly (although in the past couple of months I've had to back off for a variety of reasons). I am always dismayed at the lack of involvement from citizens. Big issues are being decided that affect the future of all who live in this county and it's as though they're operating in a vacuum.

The only time people seem to show up is when they perceive that whatever is happening is going to directly impact their livelihood or home. Usually it's too late by the time most wake up, show up, and voice their opinions. The Commissioners, or City Council or Mayor, etc. have already made up their minds and a handful of people sharing their angst isn't going to sway them.

If you were there, if you read the agendas (posted on-line), if you wrote letters to the Editor, took the time to do a bit of homework, you could make some major changes in the way things are happening.

Right now the County Commission and City Councils in the county are trying to extend one of the current 1-cent taxes we're paying. I'm voting no. I was there for the meeting when they presented the list and there is nothing on the list that I feel deserves an extra penny on every dollar I spend in the county.

How much do you know about the SPLOST that's going to be on the ballot in November? Have you looked at the list of projects the County wants included? What do you know about your County Commission? Are you aware that what they do affects you even if you live IN the various Fayette County cities?

You don't have to feel helpless. If you can't stir things up in Washington, try stirring up your own little ant hill. It's not top down government, it should be from the ground up government. You elect 'em, you should pay attention to what they're ALL doing, from city council level all the way up the food chain.

Norh GA 9/12 Group Event and Southeast Tea Party Meeting

2009-09-28T06:58:00.002-05:00

Rally Oct 17th at CNN Atlanta
September 12th was only the beginning….
Here’s what’s next - - We are PEACEFULLY protesting the COMPLICIT and BIASED media on the sidewalks outside CNN’s headquarters in downtown Atlanta.
Date: October 17, 2009
Time: We’ll start assembling at CNN Center at 10:30am, Protest from noon - 2pm.
Please find more details at www.NorthGeorgia912.com

Southern Crescent Tea Party Patriots Town Hall Meeting Oct. 15th
Southern Crescent Tea Party Patriots will hold their 3rd Town Hall meeting October 15th 7:00 PM at Christ Church at Whitewater (Hwy 85 South Fayetteville). Town Hall Meeting will cover Health Care Reform, States Rights, Cap & Trade Tax. Speakers to be announced. Info: www.sctpp.com

My comments: Time to get up off the couches, put down the remotes and get involved in your country's future one way or another! Think you can't do anything? You can make a phone call, write a letter, send an email, go to a meeting... Read the news for starters. I suggest reading news on-line, not cause I have a number of on-line news sites... I mean full-blown national on-line news... sign up for headlines from a number of sources and have them pop into your in-box... amazing what you learn just from skimming headlines.

Whether you like the changes that are happening or not, things ARE changing. It's your children's future... With the advent of the Internet it's easy to get involved and to really find out what's going on without leaving the comfort of your home.

If you're on the south side of Atlanta, stop by the Tea Party meeting on the 15th. The room will be packed, you won't be asked to do anything, it's a great way to dip your toe into the water.

If you're already past fed-up with media bias, with the way many news stations are blatantly avoiding much of the news, then consider joining the peaceful demonstration of the North Georgia group. I believe they meet in Alpharetta, check their website (above) for more info.

Update on NEA story

2009-09-25T07:54:00.003-05:00

Remember the White House co-opting the National Endowment for the Arts? Noticed the link the NEA has on their site promoting the White House health care plan on their website? Here's more:

Watchdogs Wary of Early Push by White House to 'Politicize' NEA

The White House convened a meeting of 60 artists to help push the president's domestic agenda in May, months before a controversial conference call with artists in August led to the reassignment and, on Thursday, the resignation of the communications director of the National Endowment for the Arts.

In what some critics are calling a "troubling" early effort by the Obama administration to politicize the NEA, rappers, dancers, writers and other activists from around the country were invited to a May 12 session next door to the White House, where they were "challenged to come up with promising and attractive ideas about how artists can work for the administration's agenda," according to a report written by organizers of the meeting...
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/23/watchdogs-wary-early-push-white-house-politicize-nea/

Looking at the Tides Foundation and the Tides Center

2009-09-25T06:08:00.002-05:00

In my last post I shared the school-age geared video that portrays Americans as nasty consumers and capitalists who are killing the world, killing other people, killing our kids for profit, etc. I still can't believe anyone would show that thing in school. I wanted to find out a bit more about the group that sponsored the video, the Tide Foundation, so I went on an Internet search... easy to do these days .

One thing that amazed me is how much information is out there and how long people have been looking at this group and others like it. It took the current crisis for some of us to wake up and pay attention to what's been going on for years and years and years and... How many kids have grown up being spoon-fed this crap? Is it too late to put some balance back into our world?

People like me, who aren't college-age or in that 'cool age' range any longer, aren't going to have a whole lot of influence on the generations coming up now. It's frustrating, as I'm sure it was frustrating to my parents and that "older generation" who didn't know what they were talking about, at least to my way of thinking, when I was in my teens, college-age, 20's... In fact, it wasn't until I went into business for myself that I started waking up to the realities of the world. We're fighting Hollywood, generations of progressive activists, college professors, teachers who'd show the "Stuff" video from my last post...

We can, however, influence those in Washington who are making decisions that will change the world our kids live in.

We're in the midst of a battle for the soul of our country. We're behind. We've been going about our lives, trying to raise our families and taking care of day-to-day business. Now, if we're going to protect all that our country really stands for, we have to get off our butts and get involved. We have to write, call, blog, and maybe show up at local tea parties, take pictures and show we're out there.

Here in my little conservative county (Fayette County, Georgia), it's kind of easy to sit back. After all, we have so-called conservative representatives at all levels. What's the point in telling them we want them to do what they're already going to do? Not much other than to let them know we support their efforts. However, that doesn't mean we can't contact others, that we can't contact our relatives and friends and try to get them energized. We can blog, we can network, we can work a bit harder with our children. There's always something we can do. You just have to put down the TV remote and move to the computer or pick up the phone for an hour every once in a while... Easy stuff.

Here's what I found on the Tide Foundation and Tides Center in the event that any of you are interested:

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Wade Rathke of ACORN fame is listed as being on the 2008 Board of Directors...

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Tides Foundation & Tides Center
P.O. Box 29907
Building 1014, San Francisco, CA 94129
Phone 415 561-6300 Fax 415-561-6301 Email info@tides.org

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From Activistscash.com:
http://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/oid/225

...Now comes the Tides Foundation and its recent offshoot, the Tides Center, creating a new model for grantmaking -- one that strains the boundaries of U.S. tax law in the pursuit of its leftist, activist goals...

...The list of grantees who eventually received these funds includes many of the most notorious anti-consumer groups in U.S. history: Greenpeace, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Environmental Media Services, Environmental Working Group, and even fringe groups like the now-defunct Mothers & Others for a Livable Planet (which used actress Meryl Streep to “front” the 1989 Alar-on-apples health scare fraud for NRDC)...

...Among the most unbelievable “projects” of the Tides Center is something called the Institute for Global Communications (www.igc.org). IGC is a clearinghouse for Leftist propagandists of all stripes, including living-wage advocates, anti-war protesters, slave-reparations hucksters, and a wide variety of extreme environmentalists. In February 2002 Orange County Register columnist Steven Greenhut called it “a network of the loony left” that “has to be seen to be believed… One alert posted in an IGC member conference calls for financial support for the Earth Liberation Front… Another message warns readers against cooperating with the FBI.” ...

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Sourcewatch:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tides_Foundation

Founded in 1976, the Tides Foundation has provided more than $300 million in funding for what it calls "positive social change ... We define 'progressive' as creating a positive impact on people's lives in ways that honor and promote human rights, justice, and a healthy, sustainable environment." It awards grants in the following issue areas...

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Note: "Progressive" = Democrat in most circles... or liberal... and you'll note the "social change" phrase in here:

Tides Brings Visionaries Together to Contemplate the Progressive Future
http://www.alternet.org/story/91750/
Tides, the unique hybrid philanthropic institution headquartered at the Presidio in San Francisco, will host its third "Momentum" gathering next Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, July 20-22, at the swanky W Hotel in the South of Market area of San Francisco."Momentum" is an invitational gathering of progressive donors and advocates focused on cutting-edge ideas and innovative practitioners in the social change field. "Momentum" aims to create a "forum where some of the most creative minds in the progressive community come together to challenge, inspire and energize each other."...

...DH: What are your criteria for new and innovative? Are there people who have brilliant ideas but nobody knows who they are? Anybody come to mind that you've got coming that you want to talk about?
DP: Well, you know Rob Johnson; you know his background with (George) Soros and the Senate Finance Committee. He'll explain the mortgage crisis. Most of us don't really understand what happened. Rob developed a slide show, which explained how the banks got themselves into this mess. That's one example.Then, there's a young man, Eboo Patel, who is a Rhodes Scholar, grew up in suburban New Jersey. He wrote a book called Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation about fundamentalists. He grew up as a Muslim in America. As we know, Arabs and Muslims are the new bad guys in our movies, the new pariahs in many social categories. Patel believes that reconciliation or dialogue across religious lines is a really essential part of what needs to happen to change some of our attitudes. He's a really interesting guy, and he founded the Interfaith Youth Core. ... He's very thoughtful about what the American experience uniquely has to offer....

Note: I popped over to Momentum to see who spoke, find out a bit more about it. Wow, what an eye opener. It highlighted for me just how big the divide between the right and left really is... and took me back to my younger days when I thought this kinda stuff was cool... I still believe in taking care of our planet, responsible consumerism, etc., but there's balance and then there's balance. Just scanning down the list of topics and descriptions gives a real good snapshot of how the Tides groups and friends view America: http://www.momentumconference.org/speakers/index.html

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Capital Research Center (2003 pdf):
http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/x3797262231.pdf

Found out that ABC canceled a story by John Stossel on environmental extremism after being pressured by The Tides Foundation (per this article).

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This is an excellent 2003 article in FrontPageMagazine:

How Ford Funds the Left
http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=18201
By: William Bacon
FrontPageMagazine.com Thursday, May 15, 2003

One of the most disturbing realities in American society today is that the Ford Foundation, which is supposed to represent the love of America and of American values, finances the far Left. Ford is especially financially generous, for instance, to radical entities such as the anti-War, neo-Com movement. It also provides substantial grants to the Tides Foundation and its sister non-profits: The Tides Center, Thoreau Center for Sustainability, Groundspring.org, the Tsunami Fund, Tides Canada Foundation, and Highwater, Inc., a for-profit real estate firm that manages Tides’ properties including its home office in San Francisco’s Presidio.
The story of what Tides actually does with its wealth is one that is rarely told or heard of.
It is time to tell it...

More indoctrination... hide your stuff...

2009-09-24T20:06:00.004-05:00

If you've been watching Glenn Beck this week, you've probably seen this one. I figure there are a whole buncha folks who are at work when he's on, who aren't hooked into all the conservative blogs, Twitter, etc., etc., and thus may have missed this one. So... here goes...

This video is being shown across the country in schools... from what I understand it's been being shown for about two years and no one seems to have raised a stink about it until someone brought it to Glenn Beck's attention and he shared it with the world a few days ago.

Here's a link to Beck's page where they debunk the garbage that's in the video above: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/30932/

I watched Beck's program the day after he first showed it (I watched that one, too ;-) and he mentioned that parents called him on his radio show saying they'd asked their kids about it... and discovered their children had watched it, some for two years running.

How many of us would think to ask our kids what they watched in school? If we do think to ask, we're lucky to get any kind of an answer! If you ask your child about what they learned you might pull enough info out of them to know that maybe they learned about the discovery of America or watched a science film or that they started learning about whatever... but it's doubtful they'd even think to share that they watched a movie that showed how nasty Americans are poisoning children... killing innocent people... killing our world...

One day they might pipe up and tell you that using 2-ply toilet paper is destroying our planet... or you may wonder why they toss their pillow on the floor every night (watch the video above)... or tell you how bad George W. Bush was after 9/11 (watch the video above)... or start crying when they wear a hole in their tennis shoes, telling you they can't buy another pair (watch the video above)... You may never know where some of the stuff they share comes from.

I watched the video above all the way through. There's some stuff I kind of agree with in the video. But... there are so many "buts"... I can't believe a teacher would show children this video without doing their own homework, but then again, if they're showing it they probably swallow the concepts it's built upon it completely. The only saving grace is that it seems geared toward younger kids yet the moderator uses words that I bet half the kids wouldn't understand... but I suppose the kind of teachers who'd share this with their class would probably look at it as a good discussion and teaching vehicle. Let's learn some new words kids...

If you saw the videos I shared in some of my earlier posts today, and you manage to get all the way through this one, it should spur you to spend a bit more time picking the brains of your kiddos... and make you wonder where we're heading in this country.

Tell me you're not creeped out about these kids for Obama videos...

2009-09-24T08:53:00.005-05:00

Nah, if you're NOT creeped out, I really don't want to know. No wonder he comes across to many as being arrogant...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGgfIvzJrwI - This one doesn't allow embedding so you'll need to click the link.

Here's more:

This one flew across the news during the campaign, but it's just as scary today as it was then...

Kids, Obama, more indoctrination...

2009-09-24T08:45:00.004-05:00

Can you just imagine what would have happened if anyone had done something like the previous video in last post about George Bush??? Here's some more fun stuff being taught to our kids...

Lyrics:
Yo Mir Kenen.
Yo mir kenen, yo mir kenen
President Obama
Mazel tov fun kinder, bubehs ,zeydehs, tatehs, mamehs

Yes we can, yes we can
President Obama
Good luck from children, grandparents, papas and mamas.

Yo mir kenen, yo mir kenen,
Zogt undzer president ,
Yung un alt ,di gantze velt, patchen mit di hent.

Yes we can, yes we can
Our president does say.
Young and old, the whole wide world, greets you on this day.

This one is kinda catchy:

I have more... going to put them in a separate post so it doesn't load too slow...

New Jersey School Kids Taught Praise Obama Song...

2009-09-24T08:40:00.003-05:00

Lyrics
========
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand [?]
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be clear today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said Red, Yellow, Black or White
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
Yes
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama

segue to

Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all [do? doth??] say "hooray!"
Hooray Mr. President! You're number one!
The first Black American to lead this great na-TION!
Hooray, Mr. President something-something-some
A-something-something-something-some economy is number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And the same for all Americans [in?] the great Red White and Blue!
So something Mr. President we all just something-some,
So here's a hearty hip-hooray a-something-something-some!
Hip, hip hooray! (3x)

Obama and Saving Newspapers

2009-09-24T07:35:00.003-05:00

Next on the bailout agenda is the bailout of newspapers. I was framing a blog in my mind about the issue when I came across the article below by Michael Reagan. He pretty much touches on most of the points I was going to include, but you know I still have to expound, pontificate, blather a little bit...

The world of the news is changing. We're going through a shift that is rather like the industrial revolution and every other change that has occurred due to new innovations. People are in the process, especially the "next generation", of moving from the printed page to the Internet. (To my green friends: isn't that better than killing trees and wasting energy for printing, etc., etc.). I think we'll always love the printed word on paper, but maybe that's just 'cause I love to curl up on the couch with a good book. I'll have to admit that I get all, very bit, of my news from the Internet though.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of revenue making abilities on the Internet... yet... (although we're doing pretty well most days at the Fayette Front Page, Georgia Front Page and Arts Across Georgia ;-). It'll come. At least it'll happen as long as government keeps their mitts out and allows the free market to do its thing. (side note: check out the "net neutrality" issue)

One surprising fact, or not so surprising if you lean conservative, that Mr. Obama always seems to overlook is that the more conservative leaning news print vehicles are actually thriving. Ditto on television. The failing big-guy newspapers aren't paying much attention. They'd rather go down with their bias than survive I suppose... well, guess they're not going down as long as the President is willing to bail them out, huh?

One big issue for me, aside from throwing our tax dollars at yet another business that can't hold its own, is the so-called "freedom of press" issue. We've seen the President and pals meddle overmuch in the auto industry, the banking industry and they're worming their way into other businesses and industries as I type. What happens to the writing at a newspaper when their very existence depends on government hand-outs? Ya think they're going to print the "party line" or the facts if they hurt their chances of hanging onto those federal dollars?

I don't like where we're heading in this country. I don't like big government, it's become "The Blob" from that old Steve McQueen movie. It's growing and it's going to take a lot to freeze it, then shrink it. Probably not the best analogy as I don't really think it needs to be killed, just reformed. Hmmm, maybe I'll write a script for a Blob movie remake where the hero converts it, saves it, fixes it and it does good works... Yep, I went from the ridiculous to the even more ridiculous, a bad analogy is just a bad analogy and their ain't no fixin' it. Hey, if you saw the remake of "The Blob" my idea for a new story-line has to be a heck of a lot better .

Newspaper Profitability -- Is it Critical to our Democracy?
by Michael Reagan
Today, as you read this column in your favorite newspaper, I hope that you can appreciate the irony of where I am choosing to voice my opposition to President Obama's expressed "happiness" to look at proposals to provide federal funding to help "rescue" the struggling print segment of the Fourth Estate. Just what we need.more of our tax dollars going to pick and choose segments of the public sector that the administration deems worthy of assistance.
http://townhall.com/columnists/MichaelReagan/2009/09/23/newspaper_profitability_--_is_it_critical_to_our_democracy

NEA story update...

2009-09-22T13:21:00.002-05:00

I was just wandering around the National Endowment for the Arts website and they now have a link that goes to "The Arts Health Insurance Resource Center" (http://www.ahirc.org/). Here's the front page paragraph:

Health care reform is a critical issue for the arts community. At this moment we have a unique opportunity to improve our quality of life by demanding affordable guaranteed-issue insurance. AHIRC recently launched a new website helping artists get involved in the health care reform debate. Visit Artists United to learn more about the reform bills and advocacy organizations, and to contact your Congress representatives directly.
Get Health Care. Get Insured. Get Creative.

I thought the Yosi / NEA conference call I wrote about in my previous blog was BAD NEWS. This is blatant, in your face, we don't care, lock-step... arrrgggghhhh....

NEA Transcript and Audio: White House Influences Artists...

2009-09-22T12:01:00.002-05:00

Most of you probably heard about the conference call by Yosi Sergant of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to "hand-picked" pro-Obama artists where their help was solicited to push the Obama agenda. There's been a lot of controversy (surprise, surprise, right?) and some have attacked the messenger (again, surprise, surprise). The "messenger" was artist Patrick Courrielche, who participated in the conference call. He didn't like the idea of an Arts organization, tasked with supporting the Arts and Artists, pushing a political agenda. He taped the call, then shared it in his blog.

As a result of the controversy Yosi was moved to a new position... somewhere... out of the public eye. Aside from that, I seriously doubt that anything changed in the "mission" aside from getting a little sneakier about how help is solicited from the arts community.

I've been to a few NEA presentations regarding grants, etc. and it is a HUGE organization with tentacles into all aspects of the Arts. I also get all the info on their grants and awards... there's big money available... and a whole lotta people attempting to get their piece of the money pie. Between the presentations, the releases and talking with reps and those who've tried for the dollars, I have a pretty clear understanding that it's a whole bunch-a work to get the money and chances are slim for the small guys.

I'm blessed as an artist to have a good financial foundation that allows me to support my art habit without worrying too much about paying the home electric bill. I also don't have aspirations to start an arts organization that would require major funding. Therefore my interest in the NEA is and was strictly a matter of personal curiosity along with an interest in keeping up with the latest and greatest for all our Arts blogs and our Arts news site (www.artsacrossgeorgia.com). // An aside: I seriously doubt after writing this blog, and others, that I'd ever be on the "gee let's give artist Janet some NEA money" anyway ;-) //

I did NOT like the idea that the White House, at any level, was using this organization to promote or support a political agenda.

Here's the "about" info from their website:

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.

To get a taste of how much money we're talking about, here's their 2010 appropriations summary:

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) submits its budget request of $161.315 million for FY 2010 (see Tables 1 and 2 at the end of this section), which includes:
• $132.540 million for grant-making activities:
- $79.524 million for Direct Endowment Grants
- $53.016 million for State/Regional Partnerships
• $ 1.850 million for program support efforts, and
• $ 26.925 million for salaries and expenses.
Link to full request: http://www.nea.gov/about/Budget/NEA-FY10-Appropriations-Request.pdf

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the government taking tax dollars to support the Arts. It's an issue that hasn't allocated much of my brain matter, I have bigger things to worry about these days! I believe strongly that the Arts are important, critical, to a thriving society. However, I get a bit wobbly when it comes to taking tax dollars and giving them to artists... In the scheme of government spending and expenses 161 million is a drop in the bucket.

Back to the main issue though: I don't like the idea of anyone co-opting the Arts for political purposes. If artists want to start up a Support Obama Group (or need a support group because of Obama) that's fine and dandy. Let 'em get together and see who wants to participate. But when the White House uses the NEA to push their agenda, it smells. It stinks. If you were on that call and had a grant in the pipeline for some NEA money, would you feel the need to slide some Obama Love posters into the packet? Would you wonder if you didn't fall in line politically that your grant might not make the cut?

I've written about this one elsewhere so I won't grind on the issue any more. Someone had a link on Facebook to this blog on the issue: http://biggovernment.com/2009/09/21/explosive-new-audio-reveals-white-house-using-nea-to-push-partisan-agenda/ which I had to click, which led me to feel the need to blog about it myself... the blogs that bind .

Bits and pieces of the conference call that started the ball rolling have been played in the media over the past 3 plus weeks (the actual call occurred on 8/10 I believe). Now Patrick Courrielche has provided the entire transcript and audio from the call:

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pcourrielche/2009/09/21/full-nea-conference-call-transcript-and-audio/

Interesting Health Care Poll

2009-09-20T10:50:00.002-05:00

Among the Uninsured, 58% Favor President's Health Care Plan

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters without health insurance favor passage of the health care plan proposed by President Obama and Congressional Democrats. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of 504 uninsured voters found that 35% are opposed. Those figures include 30% who Strongly Favor the plan and 26% who are Strongly Opposed.

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I would guess, and this is only a guess, that the 35% who are opposed probably include a fair number of kids who don't like the idea that they'll be mandated to get insurance or have a fine imposed.

Rudy Giuliani to run for NY Governor?

2009-09-20T07:12:00.002-05:00

Wouldn't that be something if he did? I lived in New York for a short spell ( 3 - 4 years) and loved the state. It is so much bigger and more than the city that most picture when they hear "New York". Great camping, beautiful scenery, etc. I could write a blog just about the great people I met... All my reminiscences aside, it's an important state and it'd be great to have someone like Rudy at the helm. Not to mention it would mean another Republican governor in the mix, and one who's popular with most and not afraid to stand strong and speak out.

This'll be interesting to watch. I hope he runs.

Aside from Rudy's potential run is the story that it was dropped into (see below). Obama has sent a message to New York Governor Patterson telling him not to run... The President is telling people he doesn't want them to run for office??? It's one of those things that you know happens in conversations... someone quietly discourages another from running, gives 'em hints, etc. This is rather blatant involvement.

I'd write more about it, but The Georgia Gang is going to be on in a minute and that's a must see every Sunday morning.

Obama Said to Request That Paterson Drop Campaign

President Obama has sent a request to Gov. David A. Paterson that he withdraw from the New York governor’s race, fearing that Mr. Paterson cannot recover from his dismal political standing, according to two senior administration officials and a New York Democratic operative with direct knowledge of the situation....

...The general election is more than a year away, but Mr. Obama and his political team are moving now in part because of signals from Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, that he may run for governor, according to Democrats who have spoken with White House officials. Many Democratic leaders believe that Mr. Giuliani’s presence at the top of the Republican ticket could spark enthusiasm among his party’s voters, who might otherwise have little desire to go to the polls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/nyregion/20paterson.html?_r=1&ref=politics

Rasmussen: Opposition to Health Care Plan Hits New High of 56%

2009-09-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide now oppose the health care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That's the highest level of opposition yet measured and includes 44% who are Strongly Opposed. Just 43% now favor the proposal, including 24% who Strongly Favor it. Opposition to Health Care Plan Hits New High of 56%

How Obama Plans to Cover Illegal Alien's in Health Care Bill...

2009-09-18T19:13:00.003-05:00

He'll just make 'em all legal. Here ya go, in his own words Wednesday night at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (and then another video at previous talk follows):

Michael Barone - New York Times columnist Tom Friedman hails China's one-party autocracy

2009-09-13T18:12:00.000-05:00

Michael Barone - New York Times columnist Tom Friedman hails China's one-party autocracy

The dwindling number of readers of the New York Times were treated Wednesday to a column by Thomas Friedman extolling China's "one-party autocracy," which, he told us, "is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people." China's leaders, he reported, are "boosting gasoline prices" and "overtaking us in electric cars, solar power, energy efficiency, batteries, nuclear power and wind power." All, of course, in the cause of reducing carbon emissions, which so many luminaries assure us are bound to produce global warming and environmental catastrophe.

As Jonah Goldberg, author of the scholarly best-seller "Liberal Fascism" notes, "This is exactly the argument that was made by American fans of Mussolini in the 1920s." Mussolini, we were told then, made the trains run on time. He drained the Pontine marshes. He got things done while Americans, with their chaotic democratic politics, dithered.

Click to continue reading: Michael Barone - New York Times columnist Tom Friedman hails China's one-party autocracy