SWGA Politics

How many shots is Lott going to get?[ September 30, 2009 – 12:00 pm]by Tom Posted in » Albany Dougherty County

I don’t know about you, but in most of the jobs I’ve held, you only get so many screw ups before you’re gone. Al Lott has got to be getting close to that magic number, wouldn’t you think? Lott’s track record has been less than exemplary after all.

Let’s ignore the gross nature of his refusal to respond in a timely manner to “interrogatories”, despite the Georgia Open Records Act that kind of says he has to answer them. Let’s also ignore that he’s told subordinates to not respond to “interrogatories” from media sources, stating that no good can come from being open with the media. That’s sort of irrelevant at this point, if you can believe that.

September 29 was a banner day for Lott’s decision making abilities, something a City Manager should be pretty good at. Instead, we see all kinds of extremely poor decisions coming home to roost. Read More …

Benjamin Franklin Literary Society[ September 30, 2009 – 8:45 am]by Bill Waller Posted in » Albany Dougherty County

The Benjamin Franklin Literary Society, our local political book club, will meet tomorrow, October 1, 2009 at 6pm at the Sunset Grill in the Albany Mall. The book this month is Patriots by James Wesley, Rawles. Unlike the previous books that we read, this is a work of fiction that deals with a small group of friends who have banded together to survive the coming socioeconomic collapse. The group, as they initially call themselves, made major purchases and preparations to create a safe-haven ranch in northern Idaho once they saw the potential for an economic collapse. They also prepared by training and recruiting others with certain skills into the group.
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Jolivette indicted[ September 30, 2009 – 7:00 am]by Tom Posted in » Albany Dougherty County

Former Assistant Fire Chief and current Lieutenant Rod Jolivette isn’t exactly out of work as a result of being indicted in Chattahoochee County for impersonating a police officer, but after being indicted suspended without pay, the effect probably feels the same. Pardon me if I’m not appropriately sympathetic. Jolivette will be arraigned on October 19, when he will enter a plea.

I get the feeling that, no matter how guilty he might be, the plea will be “not guilty.” Read More …

Hey Ox! Whatcha Gonna Cut???[ September 30, 2009 – 6:06 am]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

Monday, John Oxendine made two statements that will cost the State hundreds of millions of dollars – but we are a balanced budget state. This means that we can NOT spend more than we bring in – and tax revenues are falling sharply.

First, he said that he does not support the decision to cut the additional stipend that National Board Certified teachers get, saying that “I acknowledge and understand that in order to avoid raising taxes Georgia must address serious and substantial budget cuts, but teacher pay is off limits.”

OK, Ox. I assume you already know that education is right at 57% of Governor Purdue’s FY 2010 Recommended Budget and that other critical areas have already been cut to the point that some areas that even *I* say government needs to be in are taking some massive hits that are curtailing essential services. (Page 23 of the 436 page pdf file)

So Ox, Whatcha Gonna Cut?
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Buie investigation in the hands of Dougherty DA office[ September 29, 2009 – 4:53 pm]by Tom Posted in » Albany Dougherty County

According to a report on WALB’s website by Karen Cohilas, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has turned over the results of the Don Buie investigation to the Dougherty County District Attorney’s office. The report is quite large. The investigation is described as “three volumes and hundreds of pages long,” which seems to mean they did a lot more than investigate allegations that Buie received a kickback from Nicole Brown.

The WALB report also says, “District Attorney Greg Edwards tells WALB this case is a priority for his office since it involves a public official mishandling taxpayer dollars.”

This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

The inevitable result of the Nanny State[ September 29, 2009 – 7:00 am]by Tom Posted in » Editorial

On this blog, you often find us arguing against the so-called “Nanny State”. You may not be even 100% sure what we mean by the term, but it’s not a difficult one to grasp. I means exactly what you think it means. Part of the reason I argue against it so much is that it get’s the government involved in things that they shouldn’t be.

Take, for example, this woman in Michigan. She’s facing fines and possible jail time. What did this hardened criminal do? Did she make Meth? Is she part of an international drug cartel? Not exactly. This insidious mastermind is responsible for watching kids for less than an hour a day!!! Read More …

Exposing GOP ‘pro-Constitution’ Hypocrisy[ September 29, 2009 – 6:37 am]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns, State

Over the last week or so, two events have really hit home in exposing the hypocrisy of the GOP when it comes to being ‘pro-Constitution’.

The first was the Atlanta Flood. A multitude of things could be said about it, but the most glaring thing to me is that many area (and statewide) GOP candidates and leaders were clamoring for MORE government involvement via FEMA and “disaster relief funds” – all the while claiming that government should stay OUT of healthcare and return to its Constitutional basis. Of these, Attorney General Candidate Sam Olens – also the Chair of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners – was probably the most blatant when, per AJC’s Jim Galloway, he “said the entire region growing impatient waiting for President Barack Obama to sign a declaration of emergency that would unleash federal resources for the area.” Why weren’t these ‘leaders’ instead pointing out the unconstitutionality of FEMA and these funds?

Indeed, the ONLY GOP candidate who publicly decried FEMA and “federal disaster relief funds” as the unconstitutional mess it is was Ray McBerry, who said via press release last Thursday:
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How is it heartless?[ September 28, 2009 – 8:00 am]by Tom Posted in » Editorial

Most of the readers of this blog have been called a lot of things. We can easily shrug off the un-American charge. Both sides love throwing that one around, so it’s easier to ignore. But another charge that gets blasted this way is “cold” or “callous”, though usually they’re in tandem. We’re called that alot, and not just on health care.

Libertarians such as Jeff and myself are generally opposed to any and all wealth redistribution schemes. Welfare, social security, “universal” health care, any of them. And that’s how we get hit over and over again. But how is it we’re called heartless? Read More …

A Public Challenge to Roy Barnes[ September 28, 2009 – 5:40 am]by Jeff Posted in » 2010 Campaigns

Earlier this week, Roy Barnes stated “I’m fed up with both the Democrats and the Republicans. I’d be a Bull Moose or a Whig if they still had a party.”

Now, David Poythress took exception to this, saying in an email “So in addition to Roy Barnes dissing the Democratic Party, he says he wishes he could be a member of the political party whose members flocked into the Republican Party.

Roy is out of touch and for the sake of his legacy, he should leave the Primary campaign to those of us who are proud to be Democrats!”

I met General Poythress Friday night at the Albany Mall after he spoke to a group at Albany State’s homecoming festivities, and he really is a nice guy – completely partisan, but also very genuine and up front about things.

But the conflict between Barnes and Poythress sets up my challenge, as I’m actually going to echo Poythress to a degree:
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Ox Numbers Made Up?[ September 27, 2009 – 6:44 pm]by Jeff Posted in » State

So says at least one person, per this article from Jim Galloway in the AJC’s Political Insider.

Mark Twain divided falsehoods into three categories: Lies, damned lies, and statistics. Had he lived to see them, Twain might have added a fourth: Public opinion polls.

Atlanta has two political polling firms that routinely tell us who is ahead this race or that, whether for mayor of Atlanta or governor.

Front-running candidates often use numbers generated by these companies to raise campaign cash. Journalists sometimes use the same statistics to help determine which candidates are worth their time.

One of these survey companies, Republican-oriented Strategic Visions LLC, has just finished a very bad week.

The firm was censured by a national organization of pollsters. And Nate Silver, a prominent political statistician, publicly suggested, in a series of posts on his much-read blog, fivethirtyeight.com, that Strategic Vision might be making up its results.

A clearly exhausted David Johnson, CEO of seven-year-old Strategic Vision, on Friday called the intimations libelous. “We categorically deny it. And yes, we are going to be taking legal action,” he said.

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