Jay Roberts (R-Ocilla), one of the Speaker’s top lieutenants, is to be the new Chairman of House Transportation Committee. This is seen as good news for rural Georgia, as it provides a key balance to Transportation funding throughout the State. Indeed, with the drama surrounding the Transportation Reorganization (SB 200), something was missed out: The House Transportation Committee now has the power to confirm the Governor’s appointment of Transportation planner. (Section 9 of SB 200, which changes Code Section 32-2-43(a) to read “There shall be a director of planning appointed by the Governor subject to approval by a majority vote of the House Transportation Committee.”) Meaning that Roberts, a South GA boy, will play a key role in this. Continue reading House Leadership Shake-up
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A lesson from California has some bearing on the Dougherty County Commission right now, but luckily a few of the Commissioners seem to have gotten it. It’s about time too, because to many governments in this country have yet to grasp one of the most simple concepts that’s out there. That there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Continue reading What Do You Want? Lower Taxes or More Services? By now, you have no doubt heard or read that the Supreme Court has decided that the city of New Haven, Conn. violated the law when it threw out the results of a promotion exam because not enough black firefighters passed it. The city, hoping to preempt a lawsuit by throwing out the results, but got one anyways. And the Supreme Court made the right call. Continue reading Great Call By SCOTUS I was away at summer camp last week with my son. Now that I have returned to civilization I wonder if I missed anything in the political world? Actually, I did get a little news while I was in the woods. A text came through about the Cap and Trade bill along with the number to call. I was busy trying to get through pressing redial after redial. Another father asked if I was trying to call Sanford Bishop again. I told him that I was and explained the importance of this bill. The man simply shook his head, and he sat down beside me. He said that he does not let all of this news bother him. “It is easier to not watch the news and not worry about it,” the man said. “I am just one man and there is nothing I can do about it anyway.” Erick Erickson, a Macon City Councilman, friend of Dick Cheney, nationally known pundit and creator of both RedState.com and PeachPundit.com went hunting yesterday. While his friend Cheney simply shoots his friends, Erick shot himself full in the face with a metaphorical gun. To cover this mistake up, he does the typical GOP thing and tries to blame someone else. First off, I have to admit I think it was the smart fiscal move, and I applaud the General Assembly for getting it passed and Governor Perdue for signing it. Quite simply, the money wasn’t there to fund it, and while there are certainly a number of wasteful programs throughout State government, reducing and/or ending entitlements – which is exactly what this had become – is always a good place to start trimming the fat as well. (And note that I say this even though my wife and I own our home, meaning my own taxes are being raised.) Truly, the only thing that I don’t like about this bill is that it allowed these entitlements to come back when the money is available. I’ve got a better idea: how about we just cut the property tax by the amount of the grant? This entitlement, like all others, is simply political grandstanding at its worst, and I am glad it was at least temporarily ended. That said, here is the link to the voting record for the entire General Assembly. Here in SWGA, Senators John Bulloch and John Crosby voted for the bill, and Senators George Hooks and Freddie Powell-Sims voted against it. On the House side, State Reps Mike Cheokas, Gerald Greene, Bob Hanner, Buddy Harden, Jay Powell, and Ed Rynders voted for the bill, while State Reps Winfred Dukes and Carol Fullerton voted against it. Live Radio Coverage of the Event by WISK radio. Multi-County coalition of grassroots organizers are hosting a Independence Day Tea Party in the City Park of Plains Ga, observing our independence day with a focus on our Constitution. Building on the success of the February, March and April Nationwide Tea Parties held in multiple cities around the nation, grassroots organizations will once again come together on July 4th to protest out-of-control government spending; bailouts; pending tax increases; Government control of Business; Government run Health plans, unneeded Cap and Trade; lost of states and individual rights. DATE: Saturday, July 4, 2009 WHERE: Down Town City Park -Mike Sabot This week the US House of Representatives passed the largest tax hike in America’s history. Our Representative in the 2nd Congressional District, Sanford Bishop voted for this bill. An off the record discussion with a staffer, said the phone lines were backed up and calls were 100-1 against this bill. A bill that Bishop never read, there was a 300 page addition at 3 am the morning of the vote just like the stimulus bill he never read and voted for and which still hasn’t delivered the jobs promised. This bill also promises a lot, but even the president says our electric rates are going way up. Others say farmers will see a 23% decrease in revenue in the first full year and a 93% in 3 years, all due to higher energy prices, and then there is the 2 jobs lost for each green job created. Friday, the House passed Cap and Trade legislation which even President Obama says will “necessarily” raise our energy expenses, despite our current economic worries. Iran, one of the biggest threats to our national security, has people still protesting on the streets and is on the brink of revolution still. And the lead story this weekend? Michael Jackson died. Talk about screwed up priorities. Continue reading Talk About Screwed Up Priorities Unlike when John Oxendine uses such a headline when in fact ‘undecided’ led the poll, there was no ‘undecided’ option in this poll. That said, per the Herald’s article this morning, the results of their online poll for Governor conducted via their website last Weds-Fri is this: |
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