Big promises, high hopes...

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!

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland: Health bills deadly for Georgia small businesses

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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Herman Cain: Health Care Name Switcheroo

Hello Intelligent Thinkers,

Watch out! The Democrats are changing the terminology again. They are now talking about a "public option" in reference to a yet to be defined insurance co-operative. Calling it a "public option" makes it sound more appealing, but the "devil is in the details" as we discovered in H.R. 3200.

The good news is that President Obama and several Administration officials stated over the weekend that they are open to health care reform legislation that does not include the "government health insurance option".

Also, Senator Conrad (D-ND) said that the government option was a non-starter if they were going to get any kind of bi-partisan bill.

The "government health insurance option" and the "end-of-life counseling" provisions have been the most hotly contested areas of the Democrat's proposals in Congress. However, they are starting to show some signs of listening to "We the People". Although this is a good sign, beware, we have not heard from Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi on this yet.

The "Seven Ways to Make Health Care in America Better" have not changed. Let's hope they start listening to those ideas.

Don't forget to attend a town hall meeting of your Members of Congress so they can hear from you directly.

Thanks for speaking out. I know it is making a difference.

Herman Cain - Head Coach
Intelligent Thinkers Movement (over 43,000 members!)

As a reminder, my weekly commentary is now being published online exclusively by WorldNetDaily.com.

HERMAN'S UPCOMING APPEARANCES

Mixed feelings on the SPLOST? Hmmm....

I attended the city / county SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) meeting Monday night, filmed it, posted it on the Fayette Front Page, wrote a short synopsis... and have continued to mull over the issue off and on as I edited and typed.

The County Commission and City Mayors are in agreement that they will be asking voters to approve a six-year extension of a one-cent sales tax on November 3rd. Currently we are adding two cents on each dollar spent in the county for the SPLOST in question and a fairly recently approved school SPLOST. The SPLOST the Commission and Mayors are asking us to extend is scheduled to expire March 31st 2010.

The County is proposing that their portion of the tax dollars collected be used in four areas:
1. Justice Center Acquisition, $50 million
2. Emergency OPS Center, $2 million
3. University Campus, $5 million
4. Transportation, $15 million

I'm not really sure yet how I'll vote, but I'd say I'm probably leaning toward a no vote. I'm sure many will vote yes. I've talked to maybe ten to 15 people since the meeting ended Monday night and, if their current voting choices are any indication, thus far it looks like it's a toss up as to which way the wind will blow on November 3rd. Of course, a chunk of those I talk with are in elected office, so that kind of skewed my random sampling!

Here's some of my thought process on the County's proposed project list and the SPLOST in general:

In part I think it's OK that the Commissioners are willing to hold out a carrot in front of our noses by saying they'd "seriously consider" and "would propose" doubling the homestead exemption if the SPLOST renewal is approved.

It would help offset some of the additional 1 cent tax we'd pay throughout the year when shopping in the county if they ultimately decide to give us that break.

Unfortunately, even if they consider, propose and decide to give us the carrot, it would have to be an annual vote since the current Commissioners can't obligate future Boards. I can pretty much bet that we won't get to chomp on that particular carrot every year during the 6-year SPLOST term. After all, who knows which way the economy will go, what will change and what future Board members will think about the idea?

While I'll definitely be happy to take advantage of the double homestead exemption if the SPLOST passes, and if the Commission chooses to give us back some of our tax dollars, I still think I'd rather pay less when I shop.

The idea of paying down the debt on the Justice Center isn't something that gets me all excited.

I see the point in paying it off. I really do. I'm all for eliminating the roughly $3.7 million annual payment for the Center. But am I willing to shell out an extra penny on every dollar I spend for the next five to six years so they can do it now? Especially when I'm doing double-duty trying to conserve every penny I can to adjust for the current economic problems?

I wonder what the Commission will do with the $3.7 million savings they'd realize... Once we buy the Center for $50 million the county will then have those additional funds to spend. They're going to "seriously consider" giving some of our tax dollars back to us in the form of the double homestead exemption, but what about the rest of the money?

I'm sure those extra dollars are needed by the county, especially in this economy. I don't have a problem with adding money to the County coffers. I'm just curious as to whether there's a specific plan for those additional dollars. And given a choice between having my tax dollars sitting in the county's coffers and in my bank account... no brainer.

Another thought on paying off the bond / lease for the Justice Center: $3.7 million in today's dollars versus a one-time current dollar value payment of $50 million is one thing. But $3.7 million five years, ten years, etc. from now could equate to a payment of $1 million in later-year dollar value. I am horrible, absolutely horrible, when it comes to math and devaluing money and all that mess so that might not even be something to take into consideration when making a decision as to the justification for paying an additional penny on the dollar for the next six years to buy the Center. Commissioner Smith is an accountant so I have to assume that he's taken that all into consideration.

I look at paying off the Justice Center the same way I'd look at paying off my house. There are a lot of variables and it's something I'd have to look at from a lot of angles.

I don't see the need for the Emergency Operations Center but in the scheme of things the $2 million they say that's need to build it is a pittance. It's not a show-stopper for me though given the other items the County has on their project list. If it were the only thing, it'd be a definite no.

I see absolutely no need to put money into buying up land or doing whatever it is the County proposes to do with the $5 million they've allocated in SPLOST dollars to entice a university or technical college to move to Fayette County.

I hope that someday we will have a college campus with a thriving student base in the county. However, I'm not interested in using tax dollars to entice a college to set up a campus within county lines to attract more industry to the county, which is the reason Smith gave for wanting to have a college in the county.

If it's true that companies aren't moving to the county because we don't have a college that's fine with me. I'm one of those put a moat around the county and pull up the drawbridge types. I don't want to be like other counties. I want to be Fayette, the jewel in the midst of crowded, industry heavy Atlanta metro counties.

I could be wrong, I have nothing to base my feelings on other than, well, feelings, but I really can't see a company deciding not to come to Fayette because we don't have a college campus inside the defined boundaries of the county. There are lots of colleges within easy driving distance.

Again, great to have a campus and I know it's something the business community is itching to have happen, but it's just not something that makes me want to open my already-squeaking wallet a bit further.

Transportation and road construction IS something I'd have been willing to spend an extra penny on in times past. However, after watching what the County Commission has done with the so-called "West Bypass", and with what they've done to homes in the Sandy Creek area, and the dollars we've entrusted them with over the past few years, I don't think I want to give them more money to tear up the county. New Commission, maybe I'd reconsider.

Well, this is interesting. I started writing with the idea that I wasn't really settled on whether I'd be voting yeah or nay regarding the SPLOST. But as I put my thoughts into words for this blog, I realized I don't see any good reason to vote yes.

OK, there's one that might make me punch yes if I lived in one of the cities (which I don't)... The cities appear to be willing to spend the vast majority of their dollar allocations on transportation projects such as resurfacing roads, fixing bad intersections, etc. If I lived in Peachtree City, Fayetteville or Tyrone I might, just might, vote yes.

In fact, I think the fact that the cities are going to focus on transportation needs might entice voters in their respective jurisdictions to vote yes. If the majority of voters in each of the cities vote yes that will probably mean an overall yes for the 6-year tax renewal.

Personally, I think Commissioner Smith may be wrong when he says it's harder to renew a transportation SPLOST than one project laden (to paraphrase his comments at the SPLOST meeting). I think improving roads, making it easier to travel from point A to B, and similar projects are what voters are willing to pay for... unless there's some sexy, compelling project that voters see an overwhelming need to complete.

But hey, this is a blog, there's nothing scientific about it and I haven't gone out and done the research... who knows, maybe everyone will jump to continue paying an additional tax to buy the Justice Center, build an Emergency OPS Center or plunk a college into our midst.

Another thing that may help pass the SPLOST is the passivity of Fayette County voters. There were only 3 - 5 people at the SPLOST meeting who weren't reporters, elected officials or county employees. There just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of involvement from the general population, which may make it easier to sell them on one aspect of the SPLOST or paint a pretty picture that leads 'em to touch yes instead of no.

Unless the project list changes (and it could change as what we saw Monday evening was just a proposal) I'm voting no. I bet that doesn't surprise most of my readers!

Georgia Republican Delegation Calls on Obama to Allow Offshore Drilling, Development of Oil Shale Fields

The nine Republican members of Georgia’s congressional delegation today called on President Obama to scrap plans to halt exploration of our domestic energy resources. News reports say Obama plans to re-impose a ban on offshore drilling and to rescind a plan to develop oil shale fields in the western United States.

The letter to Obama was signed by Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss as well as by U.S. Representatives Jack Kingston, Tom Price, Lynn Westmoreland, Phil Gingrey, Paul Broun, Nathan Deal and John Linder. The text of the letter is below:

January 22, 2009

The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write in regards to recent news reports that your Administration is considering ordering a hold on an executive order issued by President Bush to allow offshore drilling in previously banned areas. These same news reports indicate that the Department of Interior will rescind a plan to develop oil shale fields in the western United States. We respectfully write to ask that you not reinstate an executive moratorium on offshore energy exploration and production and that you not rescind the Department of Interior plan for oil shale exploration and recovery.

Environmentally responsible offshore oil and natural gas exploration and recovery, as well as oil shale exploration and recovery, are essential components of a comprehensive energy policy that will enable the United States to become energy independent. Exploration and recovery of these resources is critical to our national security and economic wellbeing. We believe allowing for exploration in these areas is also consistent with your priorities of economic growth and environmental protection.

John McCain's Speech at the Convention

In case you missed it I've printed transcript below...

I thought it was great. He's not the most powerful speaker, but his conviction and love for American, and his heart for service, certainly came through. That was the most real I think I've ever see any politician speaking at something like that. It didn't seem like "just words".

I'm sure his emphasis on not being a Party wonk probably had a few in office raising an eyebrow. He really sounds like he's in it to shake things up and boy does Washington need shaking up.

I listened to Obama's speech and Biden's talk. I'd have to give Sarah Palin top marks. Heard last night that she had something like 36 million listening to her, just one million (give or take a few) less than Obama. Not bad for a VP pick. She certainly has taken all the attention since last Friday, gotten all the heat, too. But she's tough, she can take it and dish it right back as evidenced on Wed.

Here's the transcript for McCain's speech:

Thank you all very much. Tonight, I have a privilege given few Americans -- the privilege of accepting our party's nomination for President of the United States. And I accept it with gratitude, humility and confidence.

In my life, no success has come without a good fight, and this nomination wasn't any different. That's a tribute to the candidates who opposed me and their supporters. They're leaders of great ability, who love our country, and wished to lead it to better days. Their support is an honor I won't forget.

I'm grateful to the President for leading us in those dark days following the worst attack on American soil in our history, and keeping us safe from another attack many thought was inevitable; and to the First Lady, Laura Bush, a model of grace and kindness in public and in private. And I'm grateful to the 41st President and his bride of 63 years, and for their outstanding example of honorable service to our country.

As always, I'm indebted to my wife, Cindy, and my seven children. The pleasures of family life can seem like a brief holiday from the crowded calendar of our nation's business. But I have treasured them all the more, and can't imagine a life without the happiness you give me. Cindy said a lot of nice things about me tonight. But, in truth, she's more my inspiration than I am hers. Her concern for those less blessed than we are -- victims of land mines, children born in poverty and with birth defects -- shows the measure of her humanity. I know she will make a great First Lady.

When I was growing up, my father was often at sea, and the job of raising my brother, sister and me would fall to my mother alone. Roberta McCain gave us her love of life, her deep interest in the world, her strength, and her belief we are all meant to use our opportunities to make ourselves useful to our country. I wouldn't be here tonight but for the strength of her character.
My heartfelt thanks to all of you, who helped me win this nomination, and stood by me when the odds were long. I won't let you down. To Americans who have yet to decide who to vote for, thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to win your trust. I intend to earn it.

Finally, a word to Senator Obama and his supporters. We'll go at it over the next two months. That's the nature of these contests, and there are big differences between us. But you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We're dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. No country ever had a greater cause than that. And I wouldn't be an American worthy of the name if I didn't honor Senator Obama and his supporters for their achievement.

But let there be no doubt, my friends, we're going to win this election. And after we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot, make this government start working for you again, and get this country back on the road to prosperity and peace.

These are tough times for many of you. You're worried about keeping your job or finding a new one, and are struggling to put food on the table and stay in your home. All you ever asked of government is to stand on your side, not in your way. And that's just what I intend to do: stand on your side and fight for your future.

And I've found just the right partner to help me shake up Washington, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. She has executive experience and a real record of accomplishment. She's tackled tough problems like energy independence and corruption. She's balanced a budget, cut taxes, and taken on the special interests. She's reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats and Independents to serve in her administration. She's the mother of five children. She's helped run a small business, worked with her hands and knows what it's like to worry about mortgage payments and health care and the cost of gasoline and groceries.

She knows where she comes from and she knows who she works for. She stands up for what's right, and she doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down. I'm very proud to have introduced our next Vice President to the country. But I can't wait until I introduce her to Washington. And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming.

I'm not in the habit of breaking promises to my country and neither is Governor Palin. And when we tell you we're going to change Washington, and stop leaving our country's problems for some unluckier generation to fix, you can count on it. We've got a record of doing just that, and the strength, experience, judgment and backbone to keep our word to you.

You know, I've been called a maverick; someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes it's meant as a compliment and sometimes it's not. What it really means is I understand who I work for. I don't work for a party. I don't work for a special interest. I don't work for myself. I work for you.

I've fought corruption, and it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. They violated their public trust, and had to be held accountable. I've fought big spenders in both parties, who waste your money on things you neither need nor want, while you struggle to buy groceries, fill your gas tank and make your mortgage payment. I've fought to get million dollar checks out of our elections. I've fought lobbyists who stole from Indian tribes. I fought crooked deals in the Pentagon. I fought tobacco companies and trial lawyers, drug companies and union bosses.

I fought for the right strategy and more troops in Iraq, when it wasn't a popular thing to do. And when the pundits said my campaign was finished, I said I'd rather lose an election than see my country lose a war.

Thanks to the leadership of a brilliant general, David Petreaus, and the brave men and women he has the honor to command, that strategy succeeded and rescued us from a defeat that would have demoralized our military, risked a wider war and threatened the security of all Americans.
I don't mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I've had quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson along the way. In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test.

I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who lost their real estate investments in the bad housing market. Bill got a temporary job after he was out of work for seven months. Sue works three jobs to help pay the bills.
I fight for Jake and Toni Wimmer of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Jake works on a loading dock; coaches Little League, and raises money for the mentally and physically disabled. Toni is a schoolteacher, working toward her Master's Degree. They have two sons, the youngest, Luke, has been diagnosed with autism. Their lives should matter to the people they elect to office. They matter to me.

I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfboro, New Hampshire, who died serving our country in Iraq. I wear his bracelet and think of him every day. I intend to honor their sacrifice by making sure the country their son loved so well and never returned to, remains safe from its enemies.

I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties and Senator Obama passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust, when we valued our power over our principles.

We're going to change that. We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire. The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.

We believe everyone has something to contribute and deserves the opportunity to reach their God-given potential from the boy whose descendents arrived on the Mayflower to the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We're all God's children and we're all Americans.

We believe in low taxes; spending discipline, and open markets. We believe in rewarding hard work and risk takers and letting people keep the fruits of their labor.

We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don't legislate from the bench. We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods and communities.

We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity and initiative of Americans. Government that doesn't make your choices for you, but works to make sure you have more choices to make for yourself.

I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it.

My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.

Keeping taxes low helps small businesses grow and create new jobs. Cutting the second highest business tax rate in the world will help American companies compete and keep jobs from moving overseas. Doubling the child tax exemption from $3500 to $7000 will improve the lives of millions of American families. Reducing government spending and getting rid of failed programs will let you keep more of your own money to save, spend and invest as you see fit. Opening new markets and preparing workers to compete in the world economy is essential to our future prosperity.

I know some of you have been left behind in the changing economy and it often seems your government hasn't even noticed. Government assistance for unemployed workers was designed for the economy of the 1950s. That's going to change on my watch. My opponent promises to bring back old jobs by wishing away the global economy. We're going to help workers who've lost a job that won't come back, find a new one that won't go away.

We will prepare them for the jobs of today. We will use our community colleges to help train people for new opportunities in their communities. For workers in industries that have been hard hit, we'll help make up part of the difference in wages between their old job and a temporary, lower paid one while they receive retraining that will help them find secure new employment at a decent wage.

Education is the civil rights issue of this century. Equal access to public education has been gained. But what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice, remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work.
When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it to them. Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one. Many will choose a charter school. But they will have that choice and their children will have that opportunity.

Senator Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucracies. I want schools to answer to parents and students. And when I'm President, they will.

My fellow Americans, when I'm President, we're going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we'll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.

Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better than that. We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and to restore the health of our planet. It's an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and we have faced greater challenges. It's time for us to show the world again how Americans lead.

This great national cause will create millions of new jobs, many in industries that will be the engine of our future prosperity; jobs that will be there when your children enter the workforce.
Today, the prospect of a better world remains within our reach. But we must see the threats to peace and liberty in our time clearly and face them, as Americans before us did, with confidence, wisdom and resolve.

We have dealt a serious blow to al Qaeda in recent years. But they are not defeated, and they'll strike us again if they can. Iran remains the chief state sponsor of terrorism and on the path to acquiring nuclear weapons. Russia's leaders, rich with oil wealth and corrupt with power, have rejected democratic ideals and the obligations of a responsible power. They invaded a small, democratic neighbor to gain more control over the world's oil supply, intimidate other neighbors, and further their ambitions of reassembling the Russian empire. And the brave people of Georgia need our solidarity and prayers. As President I will work to establish good relations with Russia so we need not fear a return of the Cold War. But we can't turn a blind eye to aggression and international lawlessness that threatens the peace and stability of the world and the security of the American people.

We face many threats in this dangerous world, but I'm not afraid of them. I'm prepared for them. I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better, and what it should not do. I know how the world works. I know the good and the evil in it. I know how to work with leaders who share our dreams of a freer, safer and more prosperous world, and how to stand up to those who don't. I know how to secure the peace.

When I was five years old, a car pulled up in front of our house. A Navy officer rolled down the window, and shouted at my father that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. I rarely saw my father again for four years. My grandfather came home from that same war exhausted from the burdens he had borne, and died the next day. In Vietnam, where I formed the closest friendships of my life, some of those friends never came home with me. I hate war. It is terrible beyond imagination.

I'm running for President to keep the country I love safe, and prevent other families from risking their loved ones in war as my family has. I will draw on all my experience with the world and its leaders, and all the tools at our disposal -- diplomatic, economic, military and the power of our ideals -- to build the foundations for a stable and enduring peace.

In America, we change things that need to be changed. Each generation makes its contribution to our greatness. The work that is ours to do is plainly before us. We don't need to search for it.
We need to change the way government does almost everything: from the way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world economy; from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our transportation network; from the way we train our workers to the way we educate our children. All these functions of government were designed before the rise of the global economy, the information technology revolution and the end of the Cold War. We have to catch up to history, and we have to change the way we do business in Washington.

The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn't a cause, it's a symptom. It's what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you.
Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That's how I will govern as President. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not.
Instead of rejecting good ideas because we didn't think of them first, let's use the best ideas from both sides. Instead of fighting over who gets the credit, let's try sharing it. This amazing country can do anything we put our minds to. I will ask Democrats and Independents to serve with me. And my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability.

We're going to finally start getting things done for the people who are counting on us, and I won't care who gets the credit.

I've been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I have been her servant first, last and always. And I've never lived a day, in good times or bad, that I didn't thank God for the privilege.

Long ago, something unusual happened to me that taught me the most valuable lesson of my life. I was blessed by misfortune. I mean that sincerely. I was blessed because I served in the company of heroes, and I witnessed a thousand acts of courage, compassion and love.

On an October morning, in the Gulf of Tonkin, I prepared for my 23rd mission over North Vietnam. I hadn't any worry I wouldn't come back safe and sound. I thought I was tougher than anyone. I was pretty independent then, too. I liked to bend a few rules, and pick a few fights for the fun of it. But I did it for my own pleasure; my own pride. I didn't think there was a cause more important than me.

Then I found myself falling toward the middle of a small lake in the city of Hanoi, with two broken arms, a broken leg, and an angry crowd waiting to greet me. I was dumped in a dark cell, and left to die. I didn't feel so tough anymore. When they discovered my father was an admiral, they took me to a hospital. They couldn't set my bones properly, so they just slapped a cast on me. When I didn't get better, and was down to about a hundred pounds, they put me in a cell with two other Americans. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even feed myself. They did it for me. I was beginning to learn the limits of my selfish independence. Those men saved my life.

I was in solitary confinement when my captors offered to release me. I knew why. If I went home, they would use it as propaganda to demoralize my fellow prisoners. Our Code said we could only go home in the order of our capture, and there were men who had been shot down before me. I thought about it, though. I wasn't in great shape, and I missed everything about America. But I turned it down.

A lot of prisoners had it worse than I did. I'd been mistreated before, but not as badly as others. I always liked to strut a little after I'd been roughed up to show the other guys I was tough enough to take it. But after I turned down their offer, they worked me over harder than they ever had before. For a long time. And they broke me.

When they brought me back to my cell, I was hurt and ashamed, and I didn't know how I could face my fellow prisoners. The good man in the cell next door, my friend, Bob Craner, saved me. Through taps on a wall he told me I had fought as hard as I could. No man can always stand alone. And then he told me to get back up and fight again for our country and for the men I had the honor to serve with. Because every day they fought for me.

I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's.
I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God.

If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.

I'm going to fight for my cause every day as your President. I'm going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I'm an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me.

Fight for what's right for our country.

Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.

Fight for our children's future.

Fight for justice and opportunity for all.

Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.

Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.

Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

Thank you, and God Bless you.
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Better than the transcript; Sarah Palin's Speech YouTube

OK, this is much better than the transcript. Here's some YouTube video's of the speech:



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4

Sarah Palin's Superb Speech! Wow.

(I know I'm gonna get some comments on this... hope it's something new and not the same talking points that are getting their play in the media ;-) I thought the speech was perfect, hit just the right tones, the right note and that she hit a true home run. I've been hearing from friends of all backgrounds and they are pumped, some are moving from one side of the divide to vote for McCain-Palin! Some are now watching carefully and thinking about it when they were firm before Sarah Palin joined the ticket. Not just women either! I think by going after Sarah Palin the media and main-stream Democrats have awakened a giant groundswell of support for the McCain-Palin ticket. In today's news McCain is even-steven in the polls.

Which reminds me... I caught a bit of a Rasmussen poll today. Showed that somewhere around 59% thought the media was biased against Palin, attacking her (24% of the Democrats agreed). I'll have to pull the polls if I can find them because they were talking about media bias, attacks on Palin, whether they were more likely to vote for McCain-Palin... all of it was very encouraging, whatever the exact numbers were.

Here's the transcript of the speech, I'm through sharing for the night ;-)

Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored to be considered for the nomination for vice president of the United States.

I accept the call to help our nominee for president to serve and defend America.

I accept the challenge of a tough fight in this election against confident opponents at a crucial hour for our country.

And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions ... and met far graver challenges and knows how tough fights are won — the next president of the United States, John S. McCain.

It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves.

With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost — there was no hope for this candidate who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war.

But the pollsters and pundits overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off.

They overlooked the caliber of the man himself — the determination, resolve, and sheer guts of Sen. John McCain. The voters knew better.

And maybe that's because they realize there is a time for politics and a time for leadership ... a time to campaign and a time to put our country first.

Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by.
He's a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight.

And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. I'm just one of many moms who'll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way.

Our son Track is 19.

And one week from tomorrow — Sept. 11 — he'll deploy to Iraq with the Army infantry in the service of his country.

My nephew Kasey also enlisted and serves on a carrier in the Persian Gulf.

My family is proud of both of them and of all the fine men and women serving the country in uniform. Track is the eldest of our five children.

In our family, it's two boys and three girls in between — my strong and kind-hearted daughters, Bristol, Willow and Piper.

And in April, my husband, Todd, and I welcomed our littlest one into the world, a perfectly beautiful baby boy named Trig. From the inside, no family ever seems typical.

That's how it is with us.

Our family has the same ups and downs as any other — the same challenges and the same joys.
Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.

And children with special needs inspire a special love.

To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House. Todd is a story all by himself.

He's a lifelong commercial fisherman ... a production operator in the oil fields of Alaska's North Slope ... a proud member of the United Steel Workers Union ... and world champion snow machine racer.

Throw in his Yup'ik Eskimo ancestry, and it all makes for quite a package.

We met in high school, and two decades and five children later he's still my guy. My mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town.

And among the many things I owe them is one simple lesson: that this is America, and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.

My parents are here tonight, and I am so proud to be the daughter of Chuck and Sally Heath. Long ago, a young farmer and haberdasher from Missouri followed an unlikely path to the vice presidency.

A writer observed: "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind when he praised Harry Truman.
I grew up with those people.

They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America who grow our food, run our factories and fight our wars.

They love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America. I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town.

I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA because I wanted to make my kids' public education better.

When I ran for City Council, I didn't need focus groups and voter profiles because I knew those voters, and knew their families, too.

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.
And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.
We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, John McCain is the same man. I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.

Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests.

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything.

But we are expected to govern with integrity, good will, clear convictions, and ... a servant's heart.

I pledge to all Americans that I will carry myself in this spirit as vice president of the United States. This was the spirit that brought me to the governor's office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau ... when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol' boys network.

Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests and power brokers. That's why true reform is so hard to achieve.

But with the support of the citizens of Alaska, we shook things up.

And in short order we put the government of our state back on the side of the people.

I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law.

While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor's office that I didn't believe our citizens should have to pay for.

That luxury jet was over the top. I put it on eBay.

I also drive myself to work.

And I thought we could muddle through without the governor's personal chef — although I've got to admit that sometimes my kids sure miss her. I came to office promising to control spending — by request if possible and by veto if necessary.

Sen. McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest — and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.

Our state budget is under control.

We have a surplus.

And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending: nearly half a billion dollars in vetoes.

I suspended the state fuel tax and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.

I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere.

If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves. When oil and gas prices went up dramatically, and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged — directly to the people of Alaska.

And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, who kind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly on power and resources.

As governor, I insisted on competition and basic fairness to end their control of our state and return it to the people.

I fought to bring about the largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history.

And when that deal was struck, we began a nearly 40 billion-dollar natural gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence.

That pipeline, when the last section is laid and its valves are opened, will lead America one step farther away from dependence on dangerous foreign powers that do not have our interests at heart.

The stakes for our nation could not be higher.

When a hurricane strikes in the Gulf of Mexico, this country should not be so dependent on imported oil that we are forced to draw from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

And families cannot throw away more and more of their paychecks on gas and heating oil.
With Russia wanting to control a vital pipeline in the Caucasus, and to divide and intimidate our European allies by using energy as a weapon, we cannot leave ourselves at the mercy of foreign suppliers.

To confront the threat that Iran might seek to cut off nearly a fifth of world energy supplies ... or that terrorists might strike again at the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia ... or that Venezuela might shut off its oil deliveries ... we Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas.
And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: We've got lots of both.

Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems — as if we all didn't know that already.

But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines ... build more nuclear plants ... create jobs with clean coal ... and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources.

We need American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity, and produced by American workers. I've noticed a pattern with our opponent.

Maybe you have, too.

We've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers.

And there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state Senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign. But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot — what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger ... take more of your money ... give you more orders from Washington ... and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world. America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it.

Victory in Iraq is finally in sight ... he wants to forfeit.

Terrorist states are seeking nuclear weapons without delay ... he wants to meet them without preconditions.

Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America ... he's worried that someone won't read them their rights? Government is too big ... he wants to grow it.

Congress spends too much ... he promises more.

Taxes are too high ... he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan, and let me be specific.

The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes ... raise payroll taxes ... raise investment income taxes ... raise the death tax ... raise business taxes ... and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister Heather and her husband have just built a service station that's now opened for business — like millions of others who run small businesses.

How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up? Or maybe you're trying to keep your job at a plant in Michigan or Ohio ... or create jobs with clean coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia ... or keep a small farm in the family right here in Minnesota.

How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy? Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election.

In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers.

And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

They're the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners, or on self-designed presidential seals.

Among politicians, there is the idealism of high-flown speechmaking, in which crowds are stirringly summoned to support great things.

And then there is the idealism of those leaders, like John McCain, who actually do great things. They're the ones who are good for more than talk ... the ones we have always been able to count on to serve and defend America. Sen. McCain's record of actual achievement and reform helps explain why so many special interests, lobbyists and comfortable committee chairmen in Congress have fought the prospect of a McCain presidency — from the primary election of 2000 to this very day.

Our nominee doesn't run with the Washington herd.

He's a man who's there to serve his country, and not just his party.

A leader who's not looking for a fight, but is not afraid of one either. Harry Reid, the majority leader of the current do-nothing Senate, not long ago summed up his feelings about our nominee.
He said, quote, "I can't stand John McCain." Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man. Clearly what the majority leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to John McCain. That is only one more reason to take the maverick of the Senate and put him in the White House. My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of "personal discovery." This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organizer.

And though both Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden have been going on lately about how they are always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely.

There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you ... in places where winning means survival and defeat means death ... and that man is John McCain. In our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world in which this man, and others equally brave, served and suffered for their country.

It's a long way from the fear and pain and squalor of a 6-by-4 cell in Hanoi to the Oval Office.
But if Sen. McCain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made.

It's the journey of an upright and honorable man — the kind of fellow whose name you will find on war memorials in small towns across this country, only he was among those who came home.
To the most powerful office on Earth, he would bring the compassion that comes from having once been powerless ... the wisdom that comes even to the captives, by the grace of God ... the special confidence of those who have seen evil, and seen how evil is overcome. A fellow prisoner of war, a man named Tom Moe of Lancaster, Ohio, recalls looking through a pinhole in his cell door as Lt. Cmdr. John McCain was led down the hallway, by the guards, day after day.

As the story is told, "When McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn toward Moe's door and flash a grin and thumbs up" — as if to say, "We're going to pull through this." My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through these next four years.

For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words.

For a lifetime, John McCain has inspired with his deeds.

If character is the measure in this election ... and hope the theme ... and change the goal we share, then I ask you to join our cause. Join our cause and help America elect a great man as the next president of the United States.

Thank you all, and may God bless America."

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Fowler Says God is on Democrat's side because of Hurricane

I'm going to share two videos with you. The first is Former DNC Chairman Don Fowler on a plane talking with someone about Gustav hitting New Orleans during the Republican Convention. The second is cleaned up audio only (there's a lot of airplane noise in the first one, but the first shows him talking, the second is just straight audio). After you watch these, I've commented at the bottom, but I'm sure you don't need my comments to make your own assessment of this:




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First, if this was a Republican doing the talking you can bet it would be splashed across every newspaper, be on every news station and the blogs would be on fire.

Second, to have someone making light of something that has already taken lives and is currently causing great damage as I type is not funny. It's horrible.

Third, to think God would kill people just to cause problems at a Republican Convention is ludicrous to say the least.

I don't know what Don Fowler is doing these days, but whatever it is, he needs to face some serious consequences.

On a side note, have you noticed how well all those Republican Governor's are doing with Gustav? These guys are handling things perfectly. Yes, I know we all learned a lot during the last hurricane so all the credit can't go to these guys. But geez the Mayor and former Governor sure didn't show much leadership and judgement when Katrina came through. What a different story it would have been if those two had made just a few different decisions.
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Heard enough about Palin?

Ah well, too bad. Quit reading now if you're already tired of it all! I'm not...

I posted a story from the McCain campaign on our Republican Candidate blog (and State & National News, and Republican News Sweep) earlier. Someone commented that McCain had just put an inexperienced woman a heartbeat from the Presidency, and then said some wonderful things about McCain's mental abilities that weren't very nice so I couldn't post it. I'm getting ready to post the following on that blog, thought I'd share with you, too. I know I usually stick to local politics on this blog but we are in the midst of a monumental shift in our country. We're making some serious decisions here, much bigger than electing the first multi-racial president or female vice-president (although those are biggies aren't they?).

One more side note: My sister called and said she was listening when a commentator asked Palin how she was going to handle things given she had five children. Her response was something along the lines of "You wouldn't be asking that question if I were a man." You go girl. I would imagine she's going to do whatever it is she's been doing for the past years as she's worked.

I love it that McCain has picked Superwoman as his running mate.

U.S. Representative Heather Wilson On The Selection Of Gov. Sarah Palin

"You know, Governor Palin has more executive experience than Senator Obama, Senator Biden, and Senator Schumer combined because those guys have never run anything." -- Rep. Heather Wilson

U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM)
MSNBC
August 29, 2008

MSNBC's Peter Alexander: "There were several women spoken about as possible vice presidential candidates, Kay Bailey Hutchinson from Texas, Meg Whitman from eBay, Carly Fiorina, why Governor Palin?"

Rep. Heather Wilson: "She's a chief executive of a state. She's a governor, former mayor of a city in Alaska. She's been a businesswoman. She helped her husband run the family fishing business. She's a mom of five and she's a reformer. She's not a Washington insider. She's been a reformist governor and very strongly supported in Alaska."

"You know, Governor Palin has more executive experience than Senator Obama, Senator Biden, and Senator Schumer combined because those guys have never run anything. So I find that quite amusing."

"I was very disappointed with Senator Obama's choice of a running-mate. He chose somebody else who's a Washington insider from the East Coast who knows nothing about the west and Senator McCain surely does. I'm also very pleased that he's chosen as his vice president, the chief executive of the oil producing state in America, strong energy credentials and the energy issue is very important to Americans."

Watch Rep. Heather Wilson
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More on Sarah Palin

I know I posted something earlier, but now I've been listening to some of the talk and hype... It is an electric pick! My favorite quote from a commentator (not exact) was "she knows how to eat a mooseburger and shoot a gun." Now, as someone who doesn't eat meat or hunt, that's not really something that's going to endear her to me, but it does help paint a picture of an independent, strong woman. Couple that with being a sports announcer, a beauty contestant, a mother of five (with one being Down Syndrome), a Governor, a Mayor, and someone who enacted a tough ethics ordinance as one of her first moves and we have dynamite! Sharp, sharp lady and I love it that McCain tossed out the rule-book picking someone who is NOT Washington as usual. Talk about countering Obama... Obama picked old-school which mirrors what he tosses at McCain. McCain picks a woman who just about any man or woman can identify with... Super move on his part.

Here's the official release:

U.S. Senator John McCain today announced that he has selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate and to serve as his vice president.

Governor Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president. She has brought Republicans and Democrats together within her Administration and has a record of delivering on the change and reform that we need in Washington.

Governor Palin has challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources. She leads a state that matters to every one of us -- Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent.

In Alaska, Governor Palin challenged a corrupt system and passed a landmark ethics reform bill. She has actually used her veto and cut budgetary spending. She put a stop to the "bridge to nowhere" that would have cost taxpayers $400 million dollars.

As the head of Alaska's National Guard and as the mother of a soldier herself, Governor Palin understands what it takes to lead our nation and she understands the importance of supporting our troops.

Governor Palin has the record of reform and bipartisanship that others can only speak of. Her experience in shaking up the status quo is exactly what is needed in Washington today.

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Fayette County Take Note: Secretary of State Handel Unveils Transparency in Government Initiative

Another breath of fresh air in government! This is something you don't see very often --- government opening their books without a FOIA (Freedom of Information) request. Half the time when you do a FOIA request you get a run-around and boy, if you are not extremely specific you may not get what you need.

When I worked for the Office of Thrift Supervision and Federal Home Loan Bank (we were responsible for watching over the Savings and Loan banks for Uncle Sam) I was in charge of handling FOIA requests at one point. Pretty much I picked up the phone and called Washington to get the same run-around most of you would have gotten if you'd called. No one really knew what could or could not be handed over unless it was the routine stuff. We gave out a lot of stuff with big black boxes over lines, too.

I digress...

Here at the County level things are getting more difficult to find. The meeting minutes have gone the 'we don't think you need to know how we're voting or thinking so you will believe whatever we tell you when we're up for election" route. If you go into the County to get an audio copy of the minutes you'll find that you can't play it unless you have the right equipment from what I've been told. I film the meetings so have never had the joy of having to take time to go ask for a copy.

The County has moved their Wednesday meeting into the tiniest room possible and all the staff comes to fill up the spots. Not many people come to the meeting, but when they do there's a scramble for chairs. I imagine if enough people started coming they'd move to the larger meeting room. (So why don't all of you come? ;-)

Until the press started sticking around this Commission would bring things up to vote on that weren't on the agenda. There are some issues they are required to give the public notice on such as rezonings, but technically they don't have to put things on the agenda. That means unless you happen to be at a meeting you might miss some important decisions that affect you.

Remember in Fayetteville when they got all bent out of shape when a reporter pulled out a tape recorder? Why should it matter if anyone records a meeting? It is clearly stated in the law that anyone can film or record meetings. I'd like to start filming all the meetings in the County but just don't have the staff or the time. I've settled in on filming School Board and County with an occasional meeting in the other jurisdictions.

By the way, along those lines, we've offered all elected officials a free blog and / or un-censored space on the Fayette Front Page (and we'll do the same on the Georgia Front Page). So far the only ones who've taken us up on the offer are Don Haddix, Peachtree City and Peter Pfeifer, Fayette County Commission. All through my years of working with politicians and being involved in government I've heard them all complain about the papers. They say they never print their side of the story, they don't print the good stuff, they don't print their letters, etc., etc., etc. Truth be told, I think most of them don't want the real story out there. Even if they don't want to utilize the Fayette Front Page, all the local governments have a website and the ability to write things, put out press releases and get their information out. Instead the trend is in the other direction.

I could ramble on about all the ways things have changed in regards to openness, some that have nothing to do with the actions of the Commission. The newspapers used to take time to go digging when an issue came up. These days budgets are tight, reporters have a different mind-set and there's not as much digging.

Contrast the direction the County seems to be going on at the state level, at least in Karen Handel's domain:

Secretary of State Handel Unveils Transparency in Government
Initiative

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel today announced the launch of the
Transparency in Government Initiative, a new website designed to enhance
government transparency, ethics and responsible stewardship of taxpayer
dollars.

The Transparency in Government website contains the Secretary of State’s Fiscal Year 2009 Budget; monthly spending reports; the Secretary of State’s Ethics Policy; and Secretary Handel’s personal and campaign financial disclosures. The Transparency in Government Initiative can be viewed at: http://www.sos.georgia.gov/TIG/.

“Responsible fiscal management begins with a commitment to transparency and accountability,” Secretary Handel said. “Georgia taxpayers deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent, and I am pleased to provide them with that information.”

The Transparency in Government Initiative website will be updated monthly with detailed information on how the agency spends taxpayer dollars.

Karen Handel was sworn in as Georgia Secretary of State in January 2007. The Secretary of State’s office offers important services to our citizens and our business community. 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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Democratic Convention / McCain Ads

Watched the Democratic Convention last night off and on, listened to it when I wasn't watching. We switched around from Fox to CNN and even tried PBS as someone who commented on my last post suggested.

We mostly watched C-Span.

The reason we liked C-Span? I want to watch my politics unfiltered and make my own mind up about what I see. I don't like having someone talking over the speakers or giving me a running commentary. Unlike all the others, C-Span just films without commentary.

Another reason? None of the commentators, news anchors, talking heads, are objective. In many cases, it's not facts that get doled out, it's opinions with a few facts tossed in to make a dish we'll swallow. We're also being selectively spoon fed what they choose to feed us. Even if you think you're not being influenced by those talking on PBS or Fox or CNN, it does filter in and can subtly or overtly change your opinion.

Even though I am jaundice in my opinions about the anchors and commentators, I do like to listen to them after I've watched. Sometimes they point out things I didn't notice or give background information that can influence my ultimate impression. I know I'm still getting spoon fed info and what they choose to share may is still slanted. They're also entertaining, which is why they're there!

CNN had a blurb on the bottom of their screen saying they would bring the speeches without interruption, complete. They talked all during Pelosi's speech and a few others. When they chose a speech to share with us (rather than sit and gab) maybe they did it uninterrupted and complete. By then I was over on C-Span listening to complete uninterrupted speeches!

Fox News did basically the same thing, they just didn't promise we'd get to listen to the speeches like CNN. I'd never watched PBS before, gave it a shot, flipped it off when they started doing the same thing as the other major stations.

My opinion on last night? A lot of fluff, no substance, carefully scripted to entice the masses. These guys are good.

One really cute moment was when the Obama's daughters kept interrupting to ask Daddy questions. It showed a caring family, kids who are comfortable with their parents and I'm sure it's going to be played repeatedly over the next few days. It also helped Barack as he said he was in the wrong place when first asked... when his daughter asked he was able to correct the error. In this day of parsing every little nuance, that would have ended up as a commercial...

Speaking of commercials, love this new one by McCain! I don't care which side of the fence you're sitting on these guys are both doing some catchy commercials. I think McCain's have a touch of humor and get the points across.

Here's "3 a.m." :


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Keep up with the conventions on YouTube

It's a different way of looking at things... (unless you're a YouTube junkie, then this is old news ;-)

You can watch the Dem & Rep conventions on YouTube. I'm listening to a video as I type this, focuses on setting up the convention... This will be my first time with YouTube convention watching, so not sure what to tell you about it at this point.

Being a political junkie, I'll be watching it on the tube, too. I rather like the idea of YouTube better though as I can work while I listen. On the flip side, I don't work while I watch on TV and I have the added bonus of sharing the experience with my fantastic husband.

I'm gonna go the overload route and do both... will let you know what I think (don't I always) about the YouTube coverage.

http://www.youtube.com/2008conventions

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Whoaaa Nellie! Talk about a contrast...

I would imagine that my mouth dropped open Monday night at the School Board meeting when Bob Todd, School Board, brought up expanding the meeting minutes to include MORE information! Talk about a contrast!

Sometime in the past year the Fayette County Board of Commissioners decided behind the cloak of silence to stop including most info in their meeting minutes. All of a sudden we went from being able to pull minutes up on the web and see why someone voted for an issue and the debate between Commissioners to a cut and dried "here's the vote" with some occasional tidbits.

No public discussion at all, they just made the change. Commissioner Peter Pfeifer started bringing attention to the matter publicly and it became a campaign issue. Unfortunately, most people have a tendency to discount things when they're brought up during an election as "campaign rhetoric" and thus I don't feel this one got the attention it deserved.

Commissioner Jack Smith talked about the fact the County had audio for anyone who wanted to listen, but who's going to listen to two or three hours of discussion to try and find the issue that interests them? How many are going to make the trek to the Commission office to get a copy of the audio?

It used to be that the transcript, almost verbatim, was available on-line. In his justification for keeping the public in the dark, Smith said people weren't coming into the office to get the minutes. Well, duh. Why go into the office to get them when you can click a button and get them on-line? How does he know how many people copy them and distribute them to friends? Is the County keeping up with how many people click on a certain page of minutes?

Back to the School Board...

It's an interesting discussion and well worth watching the video (posted below). The School Board doesn't go quite as far as I'd like or reach the conclusion I'd really like (full transcript), but they made huge strides in the right direction. I learned some things also when Janet Smola talked about the direction the Board had received from the state. Interesting.

Two problems immediately come to mind with audio or video records only:

1. If you're deaf, you're out of luck. Sooner or later someone is going to sue.
2. You have to sift through sometimes hours of info to find a particular issue.

The Fayette County Commission fell back on the "gee we're complying with the law" rationale for keeping information from the public. It was refreshing to hear the School Board discussing the possibility of giving more access and information. Kudos for heading in the right direction!

Just a side tidbit of info: I've had a number of discussions with the School Board regarding their meetings over the past few months. It's clear to me that they want more involvement, more to attend their meetings. I've been to a handful of meetings this year, and aside from those involving redistricting, attendance mirrors that of the County Commission --- sparse to say the least. At some meetings the only ones there other than staff were the reporters. Sad.

If the video below doesn't work, click here to see on Google: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3869251096701361655&hl=en



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Three new local groups of interest

I've recently been made aware of three groups of citizens that are organizing or have organized in the county. All seem to be what I would term as "watch dog" groups.

You may want to bookmark their sites and keep an eye on them to see what happens with the groups. You might be interested in getting involved in one or more, although one is by invitation only so you'll just have to get involved and hope they tap you on the shoulder .

One is the new political action committee, Fayette Citizens for Open Government. The website is www.faycog-pac.org.

The second is Fayette Firewall. It is a group of bloggers and writers who have started three blogs and a website thus far. It's a closed group, by invitation only. The main website is www.fayettefirewall.com and there are links to the blogs on the website.

The third is one I heard a short presentation on and will have to get back to you with the exact title. The group is an offshoot from Governor Huckabee's local Presidential campaign committee. They are tasking themselves with endorsing and supporting true conservative candidates. I'm not sure if they will have involvement in reporting on what current elected officials are doing so much as trying to get good candidates to run, endorsing conservatives and supporting their campaigns. It's a group that is not necessarily just focused on Fayette County, although they are forming in this county. They are trying to get similar groups formed across the state (and possibly beyond) in counties to focus on a local politics. I understand they are well networked and I think this group will be one to watch as they already have the groundwork in place.
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Tough Times

The Fayette County Commission has frozen somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 jobs this year. I just received a notice from Gwinnett that they've initiated a hiring freeze and expect to save roughly $45 million in a 12 month period. We know Atlanta is having problems, seemingly much of it due to their defined benefit program compounded by the current economic difficulties. The state is in trouble for the first time in quite some time. Not too long ago they had a surplus they were arguing about. Now they're in the hole.

Listening to the Georgia Gang on Sunday morning I heard that Georgia is considering revoking some sort of housing tax or valuation. I was half listening while I made breakfast so didn't get specifics, but the end result will be higher taxes if enacted. Some counties have already sent out their property tax notices so they'd have to send out a second bill. Big IF involved in this one I would imagine as there would be some politicians in trouble with their constituents if they voted yes. Hopefully it is something that needs a vote rather than the stroke of a pen change from a Governor who's a short-timer! (Although generally incumbents do try to make sure their Party is able to win when they leave office).

One thing I heard mentioned was a cut back in school funds to the counties. Again. If I didn't get my numbers mixed up (they were talking about cuts in a number of areas), two-percent was the figure tossed out.

If the state holds back 2 percent, guess who has to make up the difference? You and I. Go watch the videos I took of the School Board discussing the need for a SPLOST and the cuts they've already received in state funding.

I have a number of thoughts on all of the above (of course ;-)

First, how can you cut positions without cutting services? For instance, Fayette has 700 or so employees. Quite a few of those are in law enforcement, fire and emergency. I don't know which positions were frozen but certainly we either have a decrease in services or we really didn't need the positions in the first place.

Sure, there are other possibilities. Lots of people are putting in extra hours, so there's an increase in overtime pay. Not exactly a good trade-off. Can't think of any others off the top of my head that don't equate to "we didn't need the jobs in the first place" or decreases in service.

Another thought I had is that the government doesn't usually give back what it takes away. I'm not talking about the jobs here, I'm sure those will all come back once times are better (whether they should or shouldn't). I'm talking about increases in taxes, decreases in monies distributed to counties.

Here's the deal on the money the state gives to counties ---- it's our money to begin with. They take our tax money then they dole it out to the various counties. One of the reasons all these cities are breaking away from the counties (Dunwoody, etc.) is they feel their taxes are subsidising the rest of their county.

Can you imagine what would happen if Fayette County decided to break away from the state? That was just a wild thought that popped into my head, not something I'm advocating. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about the current trend of cities breaking away from counties. I can see both sides of that issue.

Back to the local situation, which is usually my focus. The county cut all those jobs, not sure what the total dollar savings will be or has been. But at the same time they handed out raises to all the employees. Now the raises that were handed out this year are just part one of a three year group of raises. Next year there will be more employees getting raises and more the following year. They said this year the lower paid employees got a raise. Who gets it next year? They said it was the majority who were lower paid this year, what about the other percent? What about next year?

I don't want to get started on the defined benefits and what that's going to cost us...

How can they justify cutting jobs while increasing pay? If we weren't handing out the raises would some of those jobs be safe? Seems to me that giving someone a job sure helps the economy (unless it's a job that isn't needed in the first place, not advocating jobs as charity).

If you listen to forums, debates, political commercials and read their releases, you know politicians can justify anything if they're good at double-speak. They can twist things to make it sound like they are giving raises to take care of you . I know that somewhere in the neighborhood of 60% of the county employees don't live in Fayette County. Don't know that it has any bearing on the discussion, it's just another one of those things that popped into my head as I was typing.

Hard to keep up with my nimble mind sometimes, isn't it?

Logical jumps inside my mind don't necessarily translate to logical jumps in writings or discussions... I've caused more than one person to say "huh?" in my lifetime .

So back to tough times. I know everyone is scrambling, trying to make up for short falls in revenues. What I'm not seeing is a cut back in spending. It seems that laying off people like they did and will do again in Atlanta stresses those who have to take up the slack, causes a higher unemployment rate and contributes to the overall problems in the long run.

I'm not great on REAL solutions. Every time I look at something as a potential way to tackle what's going on in the country right now I see the the negative ramifications of the 'solution'. It's easy to say "cut back on spending" until you start to realize the consequences of doing so. Cut funding to a project and those people are out of a job, too. The people who supply the goods for the project lose an account. They lay off people.

We could cut back on spending in recreation, but what do the kids do? We have an increasing rate of juvenile delinquency already. Cut back on the arts? Here in Fayette County we don't spend much if anything on the arts other than in the school systems. We need the arts (I'll save the rationale for another blog, this one is waaaaayyyy toooo long already).

The federal government takes care of one part of the housing problem causing another. We get a check from the government, which came from OUR taxes, but the money has to be put back one way or another.

Easy for me to sit here and say the government should do this or that. Much harder in reality. I don't envy anyone trying to tackle the issues on the federal, state or local levels. I'm glad my job is just to sit out here and blog, although I sure would love a tax cut, more money in my pocket, more advertisers on the Fayette Front Page and Georgia Front Page, to sell more of my pottery, to win the lottery...

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Voter Apathy 3

Well, I was ready to move on after tussling with voter apathy and all the implications. However, we received a letter to the Editor at the Fayette Front Page, and since I'm the Editor, I decided to post it on my blog, too. Excellent letter, very thought provoking. My reason for harping for long and so often over the past years regarding voter apathy is a wild hope that more people will get involved. It seems I've found a kindred spirit in that regard! -- Janet

Dear Editor,

Regarding Voter Apathy

Peachtree City and the rest of Fayette County are facing death by a thousand cuts. Little by little the city and county are lurching toward an urban wasteland. Due to a lack of broad citizen involvement in government and community the city and county will be controlled by narrow special interests.

Let's look into a hypothetical community future shall we?

What happens next is that the Publics shopping center east of the city is annexed. The city government faced with wilting property values and tax revenues gladly welcome this newfound source of revenue into the city coffers. All they have to do is give certain exceptions to the sign ordinance, not knowing that this will open a whole set of new problems surrounding the city's established ordinances. Learning from this "happy" experience, Counsel continues annexing properties to the north, east, south, and west. Including the 35-acre tract on 74 north that is currently under consideration by the council. More land east of the city will need to be annexed as growth continues down the 54 corridor and other properties are considered satisfactory. The old sign ordinances will be deemed "out of date and passé" or worse challenged by the courts. Cart paths are required to connect new subdivisions and retailing centers further east of the city. Fire, police, and city services are needed to support these newly annexed areas. Of course, more revenue is needed for the infrastructure that was never considered or somehow overlooked by council research, creating yet another fiscal crisis that needs to be addressed through new city tax increases. Traffic increases as properties proliferate just outside the city limits; only to be later annexed into the city and the cycle begins again. To the west across Line Creek, developers are at work ready to siphon business and tax revenues out of the city center. Planned tax revenues fall, but of course government needs to increase its size because the city is getting bigger and a new city hall is built using bonds paid for by, you guessed it, you. No one is watching anyway, so of course no one objects. More people leave the city and county.

Then the new county employee defined benefits plan and pay increases passed and implemented just before the election kick in. The city's defined benefits plan as well as the county plan runs a significant deficit. Coupled with a dismal economic outlook these programs engender new creative tax remedies all of them will be unfriendly financial solutions to our governments' fiscal dilemmas. Due to a lack of fiscal accountability by citizens, they allow government spending to balloon and greater tax revenues are required to fund it. Tax revenues decrease as people leave the county for greener pastures that are less expensive.

Commissioners continue to be reelected by relative small special interest groups, people that have been incentivized to vote for them, using our tax money. Government workers are happy and content until they find out that their retirement plans are bankrupt. Taxpayers are asked to fund the unfunded liability, they refuse the massive tax increases required to do this. Then and only then county employees realize there are no guaranteed retirement plans, just as Delta employees found out years earlier. County and city employees leave as they realize that they can't afford to live here with the small amount given to them by the now defunct retirement plans.

Due to the recent results of the countywide primary election, knowing that they were "safe" from the electorate the Board of Commissioners decided a week after these elections to suddenly cave in on the billboard lawsuit. No doubt advised by the new county attorney the commission was easily persuaded. Knowing full well they have at least two years for everyone to forget their latest bad decision and comforting themselves by knowing that no one ever shows up at the commission meetings anyway. Let's just imagine for a moment our new future. Look at the billboards in Fulton County that stop at the Fayette county line on Hwy 74, now imagine them continuing down the road toward your homes erected in what is now scenic green pasture land. Go look over the county line at Clayton County, notice anything along State 85 north and south? Well get use to it. You will see them between Fayetteville and Peachtree City; between 138 and Fayetteville, along S54 west to Clayton County, and S85 south to the Spalding County line, it's just a matter of time. This won't happen slowly, it will cascade throughout the county as landowners see they can make some easy money doing nothing but renting land space at our visual expense. Creating the same cluttered environment currently seen beyond our county lines. The county Commissioners won't be able or willing to stop this process. They have already given up the good fight started by past Commissioners that wanted to preserve what we had. Nothing like determined public servants working on the behalf of our citizens, right? We wouldn't want to take it all the way to the courthouse wall would we? Too messy and expensive, besides look at the tax revenue potential generated by these billboards! More people leave the county and city.

The proposed industrial park is built next to the bypass road currently being built around Fayetteville, increasing commercial and employee traffic next to some serene unsuspecting neighborhoods and schools. Land use plans are ignored or changed to "enhance" the tax base. Citizens in these neighborhoods protest but decisions have already been made and passed by the Commission before they are aware of what has happened to them. Property values in these neighborhoods plummet and surrounding schools deteriorate. Citizens wonder what happened and why they didn't know. Much of it due to the fact that complete published Board of Commission meeting minutes were not timely or accurately reported on the county website. And of course citizens never bothered to attend Board meetings to see what they were doing and why. Citizens were all too busy. The families in the affected neighborhoods move elsewhere.

Then enrollment in the schools decline as people move out and test scores continue to degenerate. In school learning conditions worsen and the good teachers and administrators leave the system as student violence increases. The School Board desperate for more money because of a misguided belief that assets and employees are the answer to the declining performance, ask for and get a SPLOSTS passed. Then quality education declines anyway because those things the Board wanted won't help improve anything. More good teachers leave, but more non-teaching staff employees safety officers and metal detectors are required to stem gang activity in the schools. Already overburdened property owners are hit again by ever-increasing tax bills as their property values fall due to failing schools. More citizens leave the county and city.

Economic activity declines. Empty storefronts appear everywhere as petty theft and shoplifting drive current owners out of business. No one will rent these properties as entrepreneurs choose better and safer locations to open their businesses. Large businesses question if this is the right place to locate their employees and choose some other community to set up their new facilities. The new industrial park fails to gain the needed tenants to pay for the bonds, but the bonds will still have to be paid. Government responds by increasing taxes needing more money to make up shortfalls in planned tax revenues caused by a diminishing commercial tax base and a failed attempt at attracting it. Never considering for a moment that they could actually reduce the size and scope of government as a possible solution. More citizens leave the county and city.

There will be nothing unique or special in Fayette County it will look like all other surrounding counties, billboards, empty stores, declining schools, and crime. Then significantly more citizens catch on to what is happening and move out of the county and city for a promised better life and family environment that is promoted elsewhere.

Drug use becomes rampant and cart paths become "crime paths", litter is everywhere, including needles and syringes left by the drug users. Drug houses sprout up throughout the county. Women and children are no longer able to walk their paths or streets and play in their parks without fear. Good citizens fight back by erecting fences around their property, destroying the openness of the city and surrounding county. Murders and robberies become commonplace and a siege mentality develop among the citizenry. Security services signs blossom in every yard. The valiant city police and county sheriff departments rightly demand more resources in order to fight the ever-increasing crime rates, thus increasing taxes again. Property values continue to fall and the community continues its downward spiral. The floodgates open and there is a mass exodus of citizens, and rental properties are all the rage.

Federal and State grants and subsidies are requested to solve our problems all with strings attached, losing more local control of property, politics, and schools, the final remnants of the original citizenry will die off or finally move way. Leaving behind a wasteland resembling current surrounding environs, with broken schools, and crime-ridden streets.

Think it can't happen here? Think again.

It can happen, it has happened to many communities. It's not just voter apathy; it's an unwillingness to become involved in the community and our political system by the good citizens empowered by representative government to change it. Refusing to improve knowledge of what is going on and acting on it. Refusing to demand fiscal restraint and political accountability. Refusing to register to vote. If registered then not voting in an informed way. Leaving it to someone else to fight for your homes and schools. Shutting your eyes to what is happening around you and hoping that it will all go away. But of course you may be one of those brave and noble citizens that simply move, right? It is easier to give up than fight or spend energy on local politics or community, right? Well friends, it will happen again no matter where you move, because you are the cause of all of these potential problems. You shape our future and our future will be your shame.

Rome was not built in a day and the city and county will not be destroyed in a day either, both will die from the thousand cuts of your neglect. Paraphrasing Shakespeare "The fault citizens, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

Get involved; get your neighbors and friends involved don't just sit there, engage yourself in local issues, improve your knowledge of your government, register to vote and cast an informed vote!! Let's all begin to demand open accountable government, it is essential to our very freedom and clearly in our self-interest. It's your community; let's all fight for it. Wake up before our future catches up to us, and remember we can shape it.

If you agree with me and want to help with improving your local government email me at savefayette@gmail.com. Let's get organized let's shape our future and not just let it happen.

James Wingo
Peachtree City