Georgia
updated
2:41 a.m.
AG candidate Ken Hodges has been granted immunity in the ongoing litigation stemming from the aftermath of "the" hospital case we probably all know about by now (Googling is left as an exercise for the reader). The opinion issued by......
Blog for Democracy - Thu 3:21 p.m.
Rumor has it that County Commission Chair, Tom Oliver, will resign today. According to the Times, Oliver has paid $75,900 to a consultant who only provides verbal reports and reported only to Oliver. Oliver is facing a recall petition, probable GBI investigation, and possible FBI investigations. An open records request from The Times for all communications and [...] ...
Left On Lanier - Thu 7:44 a.m.
So Attorney General Thurbert Baker says that the 18 million dollars of unclaimed sales tax belongs to local governments, and before you start screaming this is an election year ploy by Baker to cozy up to the locals leaders, Casey Cagle asked Baker to look into this. Somewhere in the Capitol today, Perdue is screaming at Cagle, “WHY [...] ...
Left On Lanier - Thu 5:02 a.m. - 3 clicks 
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. government ran its largest ever monthly budget deficit in February as the country's fiscal year-to-date deficit ballooned more than 10% to a record of $651.60 billion. ...
Cracker Squire - Thu 4:42 a.m.
The principals in the Sea Island Company would probably contest that assertion, arguing that since its opening in 1928 with the Cloister Hotel as an anchor on the south end of Sea Island, Georgia, the resort on the edge of the Atlantic has always been a well-run enterprise. In a generous mood, the Scion of Sea Island , might well suggest that there's some confusion about the Sea Island app...
DailyKos (Georgia) - Thu 1:45 a.m. - 6 clicks
When right-wing activist Ralph Reed announced Wednesday he would not be a candidate in the 7th Congressional District race, he said he decided against running because he wanted to spend his time "continuing to serve as CEO of Century Strategies,......
Blog for Democracy - Wed 7:00 p.m.
The back to school sales tax holiday is dead duck. Lucid Idiocy reported that Speaker Ralston mentioned not renewing it and now Galloway has Lt. Governor Cagle confirming that the program will not be in this year’s budget. Can’t really get my head around this. Why are we raising taxes on the public, yet continuing the [...] ...
Left On Lanier - Wed 11:44 a.m.
Dear Mr. Senter; You must be a good man to run for public office at a time like this. Or, an idiot. Your idea that County Commissioners need a slush fund is shocking, especially thousands of dollars! GE, a multi-national company gives authorized employees a credit card for ‘petty cash.’ An expenditure of over $200 locks the [...] ...
Left On Lanier - Wed 11:44 a.m.
Borrowing from the Times: Hall County Administrator Charley Nix said Tuesday he will propose new procedures to better keep track of expenditures by the county, just a day after Chairman Tom Oliver admitted authorizing payments to a consultant without board approval. Charley, we need than a ‘proposal.’ Just stop the payments to this ‘consultant’ immediately. Once Oliver̵...
Left On Lanier - Wed 10:24 a.m.
We've posted about this before, but I continue to be amazed at how steeply Florida's Republican governor, Charlie Crist, has fallen off a cliff in the U.S. Senate race. The latest indicator comes from Public Policy Polling with a survey......
Blog for Democracy - Wed 8:42 a.m.
Tuesday was supposed to be a day when Tea Party activists would show up in force at the state capitol to demonstrate their growing political clout for all those legislators foolish enough to think that Georgia might need a tax......
Blog for Democracy - Wed 8:42 a.m. - 5 clicks
This is the breaking news headline at accessnorthga.com this morning. Why would this be news? Or Is it a warning? You white folk better start making whoopie or the minorities are going to take over our country. And you know they will vote the democratic ticket. Oh! Horror! We will have to change the way we think. The way we govern. Who [...] ...
Left On Lanier - Wed 5:08 a.m.
The Times did a good job of getting Tom Oliver exposed on secret deals with consultants. But the paper remains pretty boring. Three of the recent letters to the Editors are just filth. One commented that a few bureaucrats are running the country. Does that word have any of its original meaning left? Not to the [...] ...
Left On Lanier - Tue 3:02 p.m. - 10 clicks
Nancy Badertscher, over at the AJC's Gold Dome Live, is reporting that The Legislature is temporarily moving to a three-day work week and now expected to end the 40-day session in mid- to late April. Lawmakers had planned to meet......
Blog for Democracy - Tue 3:02 p.m. - 2 clicks
David Brooks writes in The New York Times : For the Democrats, expanding health care coverage is an emotional hot spot. Over the past year, Democrats have fought passionately for universal coverage. They have fought for it even while the country is more concerned about the economy, and in the face of serial political defeats. They have fought for it even though it has crowded out other items on ...
Cracker Squire - Tue 5:48 a.m.
Is this the beginning of corporate sponsorship of our government? The Associated Press reports that the owner of Philip Morris, America's largest tobacco company, is sponsoring a rally in opposition to raising cigarette taxes by $1-per-pack here in Georgia [Associated Press (2010-3-9). Anti-Tax group to rally . Athens Banner Herald . Retrieved on 2010-3-9.]. Like many other state...
DailyKos (Georgia) - Tue 2:45 a.m. - 8 clicks
Proving that blind dogs can find a bone. Here’s a link to a good blog post on the Times. Few people post anything on those blogs other than the staffers. But, from time to time, there’s something interesting. Full Text: ‘Teachers wary of pay-for-performance legislation’ http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/30385/ ‘Georgia aiming for an education payout Hall Co...
Left On Lanier - Mon 3:09 p.m. - 4 clicks
“Hall County Commission Chairman Tom Oliver announced at a work session this morning that he has been authorizing county payment to former Gainesville City Manager Carlyle Cox as a consultant since 2006.” Here’s the math on the money. If Oliver has been paying Cox ONLY $1,500 per month since 2006, Oliver has secretly spent $72,000! If Oliver [...] ...
Left On Lanier - Mon 3:09 p.m. - 5 clicks
Peggy Noonan writes in The Wall Street Journal : It is now exactly a year since President Obama unveiled his health-care push and his decision to devote his inaugural year to it—his branding year, his first, vivid year. What a disaster it has been. At best it was a waste of history's time, a struggle that will not in the end yield something big and helpful but will in fact make future progres...
Cracker Squire - Mon 3:08 p.m. - 2 clicks
The New York Times reports that Sunni Arabs largely sat out Iraqi national elections in 2005, but the need to protect their interests brought them out in droves on Sunday. ...
Cracker Squire - Mon 3:08 p.m.
Georgia GOP's candidate for Lt. Governor, Aleq Boyle, fails yet again with social media. Boyle's recent tweets gives us a birdseye view on how he feels about Georgia's Black voters and now his Facebook page lets us in on how......
Blog for Democracy - Mon 3:08 p.m. - 8 clicks
Candidates and elected officials please take note on why you should not be at the helm of your social networking. I can count maybe one or two campaigns that successfully used Twitter or Facebook but I can count a whole......
Blog for Democracy - Sun 2:02 p.m. - 7 clicks
Tune in tonight at 7PM. David McAvoy of the blog, Blue Arkansas will be on for a discussion about politics in Arkansas. Kentucky, Florida and Georgia are on the list tonight too. Georgia State Representative Doug McKillip will call in......
Blog for Democracy - Sun 1:45 p.m. - 4 clicks
Emmy-award winning Susan Hoffman is Co-Anchor of GPB's Lawmakers Today my friend from South Georgia who authors Drifting Through the Grift wrote in a post "Love the necklace Susan. More fashion." For some reason his comment reminded me of my very first post on this blog almost six years ago that was entitled in part "Living-room ambience maybe; or was it the charming and disarming Susa...
Cracker Squire - Sun 11:08 a.m. - 7 clicks
Every now and then I like to check in on what Monsanto, the proud owner of the Terminator seed, who not so long ago acquired the Delta & Pine Land Company , the major purveyor of cotton seed, has been up to. Because, while I'm not a flaming environmentalist or the kind of person that joins outfits like Banterminator.org , Monsanto, like WalMart, another enterprise that's a Stephens I...
DailyKos (Georgia) - Sun 10:01 a.m. - 2 clicks
I heard the noted conversation this past week, and for those of you who may not know, like yours truly, the Oracle of Omaha is now and always have been a big supporter of President Obama. The following is from an editorial in The Washington Post : The dilemma posed by President Obama's health-care proposal was aptly captured by Berkshire Hathaway chief executive Warren Buffett last week durin...
Cracker Squire - Sun 10:00 a.m.
David Axelrod oversees how the president is portrayed. From The New York Times : Recent news reports have cast the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, as the administration’s chief pragmatist, and Mr. Axelrod, by implication, as something of a swooning loyalist. Mr. Axelrod . . . as White House senior adviser oversees every aspect of how Mr. Obama is presented. Mr. Axelrod would...
Cracker Squire - Sun 9:01 a.m. - 6 clicks
Last Saturday my husband made the 10 hour trip from Georgia to Virginia to start a new job. For the last 2 years he has commuted to Atlanta, a four hour daily commute from our house to his job, which really sucked. But he had a job and it paid pretty well and I had a job and things were good. But then in November, Borders decided to close 200 stores, including the Waldenbooks I ...
DailyKos (Georgia) - Sat 6:25 p.m. - 25 clicks
Pretty big week this week. I focus a great deal on global warming this issue, but also on right wing support for domestic terrorism and some local stuff going on. The surge in support to defeat Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas, School Board elections in Texas, the downfall of Governor David Paterson in NY State and the EPA declaring the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn are among the topics I cover. More belo...
DailyKos (Georgia) - Sat 4:09 p.m. - 24 clicks
From The Washington Post : Congressional Democrats reclaimed control of Congress in 2006 by pledging to "drain the swamp" after Republican ethics scandals rocked Capitol Hill. Now, a series of controversies involving Democratic members has robbed the party of its claim to hold the higher moral ground -- and could threaten its hold on power in this fall's elections. The announcement Friday by R...
Cracker Squire - Sat 7:42 a.m. - 2 clicks
Ayad Allawi, a former Iraqi prime minister and leader of the Iraqiya coalition in Sunday's elections, greeted supporters at a rally in Baghdad From The New York Times : The serpentine career of Ayad Allawi, who served briefly as Iraq’s interim prime minister five years ago, has taken another unlikely turn: a secular Shiite with little taste for campaigning, he stands a strong chance of w...
Cracker Squire - Sat 7:42 a.m. - 2 clicks
You've probably hear the horror stories of Meth abuse: kitchen meth labs, multi-day binges, neglected children, crime and so on. But you probably don't think about Meth in Georgia. That's going to change on Monday. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker (D) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R) will stand together on the steps of the state Capitol at 11 a.m. Monday to help launch the Georgia M...
DailyKos (Georgia) - Fri 9:28 a.m. - 7 clicks
Site of proposed federal nuclear-waste vault beneath Yucca Mountain, Nevada From The Wall Street Journal : On Thursday, big utility operators and some state officials blasted the administration's formal announcement that it would drop plans for a federal nuclear-waste vault beneath Yucca Mountain, Nev., and instead consider what it believes are better options. The Energy Department's mo...
Cracker Squire - Fri 4:24 a.m. - 3 clicks
From The Washington Post : President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal, administration officials said, a step that would reverse Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s plan to try him in civilian court in New York City. If Obama accepts the likely recommenda...
Cracker Squire - Fri 4:10 a.m. - 2 clicks
Open thread because it's been a tough week. Since raising them seems to be all the rage here are some answers to your questions. If you aren't reading this or watching this you probably don't realize how dysfunctional your state......
Blog for Democracy - Fri 3:42 a.m. - 2 clicks
U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia's First Congressional District From Jim Galloway's Political Insider in the AJC: [U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston of Savannah, Georgia] is a Republican. In Florida, members of the GOP have been known to crucify those who fall into Obama’s embrace. In Georgia, a few have tried to pretend that the president simply does not exist. Two weeks ago, after Obama anno...
Cracker Squire - Mar 4 - 5 clicks
From The New York Times : [The campign of Democratic nominee for governor, Bill White, to unseat Texas Governor Rick Perry] promises to be an uphill battle against an entrenched incumbent whose party has enjoyed a 10-point advantage in statewide races for more than a decade. Mr. Perry, a staunch conservative who is seeking an unprecedented [third four-year] term, has also tapped a wave of ange...
Cracker Squire - Mar 4 - 3 clicks
Until Democrats shot themselves in the foot this congressional session, Georgia was one of just two states trending red at the macro level (the other being Louisiana). So it's surprising to see these numbers: PPP (PDF). 2/26-28. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trend lines) John Oxendine (R) 39 Roy Barnes (D) 40 Karen Handel (R) 36 Roy Barnes (D) 41 Nathan Deal (R) 38 Roy B...
DailyKos (Georgia) - Mar 3 - 6 clicks
According to The New York Times , yesterday Texas Governor Rick Perry rode a wave of anti-Washington sentiment and fended off a challenge from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Perry will face former Houston mayor Bill White in November's general election. ...
Cracker Squire - Mar 3 - 4 clicks
Tune in tonight at 9 pm to talk with State Representative Virgil Fludd (D-Tyrone). Rep. Fludd will talk live with BfD viewers for 1 hour. Sign up now on Ustream so you can chat live and ask Rep. Fludd questions.......
Blog for Democracy - Mar 3
From the Democratic Party of Georgia: TO: Georgia politicians that advocate college tuition hikes, We, concerned citizens and students within Georgia, strongly condemn the attempt to balance the Georgia budget on the backs of college students, faculty and staff. The......
Blog for Democracy - Mar 2 - 11 clicks
From The Washington Post : The eyes of Texas are on Tuesday's Republican gubernatorial primary between Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. And that's just how former Houston mayor Bill White likes it. White is heavily favored to emerge as the Democratic nominee -- he faces free-spending hair-care magnate Farouk Shami -- and is seen by both state and national observers as the party's...
Cracker Squire - Mar 2 - 4 clicks
According to The New York Times , my man Harold E. Ford Jr., a longtime Tennessee congressman, said he did not want to endanger the Democrats’ Senate majority with a divisive primary fight in New York. Ford served five terms in the House, in the Memphis-area seat that his father had held before him. In 2006, Ford gave up the House to run for the Senate but lost to Republican Bob Corker (who is, ...
Cracker Squire - Mar 2 - 3 clicks
Can we say "YEEAAAAHHH"?? Teh freaking awesome Georgia Republican Party - your leader is returning to save ya'll - woot!woot!! According to The Hill: Ralph Reed (R) is "seriously" contemplating a run for the House seat being vacated by Rep.......
Blog for Democracy - Mar 1 - 7 clicks
Nathan Deal did Democrats a big favor by deciding to resign early from his seat in the U.S. House to concentrate on running for governor (Deal did himself an even bigger favor, because his early resignation will squelch an embarrassing......
Blog for Democracy - Mar 1 - 3 clicks
All this talk of "reconciliation", up and down votes, majority rules- boys drool.. ok I added last one to see if you were paying attention. This is important to stuff to understand, and will likely be the way the vote......
Blog for Democracy - Mar 1 - 3 clicks
Dan Balz writes in The Washington Post : Democrats think more government is the answer; Republicans say the opposite, that market competition is the best antidote to the ailing system. Republicans are focused on cost, both rising premiums and government expenditures. They haven't made universal coverage anything close to a priority. Democrats are more determined to expand coverage to many millio...
Cracker Squire - Feb 28 - 2 clicks
Catherine Davis, the minority outreach coordinator for Georgia Right to Life From The New York Times : For years the largely white staff of Georgia Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion group, tried to tackle the disproportionately high number of black women who undergo abortions. But, staff members said, they found it difficult to make inroads with black audiences. So in 20...
Cracker Squire - Feb 27 - 5 clicks
From The Wall Street Journal : The Department of Homeland Security's controversial and much-touted E-Verify program might be failing to detect one out of two illegal workers whose employment authorizations are screened, outside consultants have told the agency. Tens of thousands of companies participate in E-Verify, either voluntarily or as a condition of doing business with the government. T...
Cracker Squire - Feb 27 - 2 clicks
It's been awhile, and maybe some of you need to vent. I've have a busy day. First was shopping for Spring shoes, and aren't these fabulous, made out of recycled TV's. From OlsenHaus vegan Spring 2010 collection, more here.......
Blog for Democracy - Feb 26 - 2 clicks
From an editorial in today's Washington Post : The two sides have fundamentally different goals for health reform and therefore fundamentally different visions of what legislation should contain. Democrats want a far-reaching measure that extends coverage to tens of millions of Americans currently without insurance and that imposes stringent new requirements on insurers. Republicans put little...
Cracker Squire - Feb 26 - 2 clicks
David Brooks writes in The New York Times : Going in, I was as cynical as everybody else about the Blair House health care forum. I was planning to watch for a half-hour and then write about something else. But the event was more meaningful than that. Most of the credit goes to President Obama. The man really knows how to lead a discussion. He stuck to specifics and tried to rein in people who...
Cracker Squire - Feb 26 - 3 clicks
From Jim Galloway's Political Insider in the AJC in a post entitled "There’s the government you need, and the government you’re willing to pay for": The sober language of reality is slowly spreading through the state Capitol. They’re looking for $1.2 billion or more that can be sliced away, or paid for with new funds — be they called tax hikes, fee increases, revenue enhancements or tuition ma...
Cracker Squire - Feb 25
From The New York Times : One way Mr. Obama could throw Republicans off stride would be to make a bold opening offer to embrace one of their health care priorities, like limiting medical malpractice lawsuits — an idea one Democrat close to the White House said had been under consideration. But, this Democrat said, such an offer appeared unlikely, in part because Republicans seem dug in against...
Cracker Squire - Feb 25 - 2 clicks
From The Wall Street Journal : Some high-profile Republicans are adopting a softer vocabulary on immigration and trying to recruit more Hispanic candidates, a response to the party's soul-searching about tactics that many strategists believe have alienated the country's fastest-growing voter bloc. Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee and an opponent ...
Cracker Squire - Feb 24 - 6 clicks
