SWGA Politics

And just how do they expect to do that?[ November 19, 2009 – 8:00 am]by Tom Posted in » Local

As one of the ten poorest communities according to Forbes is hardly something to be proud of.  Granted, we made Forbes, but not in any way we would actually want.  Our poverty level is way, way to high and I know of no one who actually thinks this is a good thing.  The Albany Herald’s Editorial Board doesn’t think so either, but they seem to get a few things backwards.

The Editorial Board seems to feel that we have to address poverty first if we want growth in Albany, saying “If we want to improve our area’s work force and standard of living, if we want to attract new businesses and residents, the problem of poverty has to be addressed.”  Really?  Well…how in the hell do you think you can address poverty without growth first? Read More …

The Albany Herald Gets a New Website[ November 7, 2009 – 7:18 am]by Jeff Posted in » General

Just when I was starting to get used to the layout they had after their most recent change several months ago, they go out and redesign. They maintained their traditional color scheme and pop-up nav, but brought much of the site more inline with current web themes.

Overall, I think I’ll grow to like it.

But there is a slight problem for us… with this redesign, they are redoing all of their links… meaning many of our links out to them will probably no longer work. I plan on updating the 2010 Campaigns page today, but after that (which may take a while), I’ll need to get to fixing those links – and I could use your help.

If you don’t mind helping me, I would really appreciate it if you could go back as far as you wish into this site and put in the comments here any article that has a link to the Herald. Even if you don’t know how to put the actual link here, if you can give me the title of the post I can find it. I’ll then try to find the corresponding article on the Herald’s new site and fix it.

Thanks!!

I guess they’re talking about us[ October 29, 2009 – 9:00 am]by Tom Posted in » Albany Dougherty County

In today’s Albany Herald, the editorial contains the following paragraphs:

And those negatives will have to be overcome through a concerted, honest effort. Economic Development Commission Chairman Bobby McKinney noted that those who are promoting Albany are being “out-blogged” on the Internet by detractors.

Some new – and old – media are suspect in the way they cloak opinion as fact and attempt to draw attention and a sense of self-importance to themselves. But the best approach to creating an accurate picture of the community is not to worry about the unfairness, but to acknowledge the blemishes and aggressively point out the many good qualities of Albany and Dougherty County.

Now, the mentions of new media and blogging leaves me with one inescapable conclusion: They’re talking about us. Read More …

The Crux Of The Problem[ August 2, 2009 – 6:20 am]by Jeff Posted in » Local, National

is that too many people think that it is perfectly acceptable for government to do things which it has no Constitutional basis doing.

For example, in yesterday’s Albany Herald, the Editorial Board says “Once you get past the argument of whether the government should even be doing this sort of thing, it makes sense.”

The problem is, government exists for certain extremely limited situations, and nothing more. Those situations are things that the individual CANNOT do for himself. Things like a court system for redress of grievances against a neighbor or other party, national defense from foreign invasion, even things like roads to connect places with other places.

But the Herald’s editorial board isn’t talking about any of those issues, or even similar ones such as water and libraries.

The Herald is talking about ‘Cash for Clunkers’, the Federal program that gives people $4500 to trade in their old ‘clunker’ for a newer, more ‘efficient’ model. They could just as well be talking about government-forced insurance, killing the elderly or infirm because saving them doesn’t meet the threshold of some cost/benefit analysis, killing the unborn or recently born over population control concerns, PATRIOT Act, No Child Left Behind, or any number of other programs that are NOT government’s concern.

After all, “Once you get past the argument of whether the government should even be doing this sort of thing, [any of the above] makes sense.”

Quite simply, we here at SWGAPolitics.com will NEVER get past the argument of whether government should even be doing something it should not be doing, and if the Libertarian Party ever gets past that argument, I will leave that Party just as fast as I left the GOP when I finally realized THEY had gotten past that argument.

Albany Herald Calls for More Drug Banning[ July 17, 2009 – 6:33 am]by Jeff Posted in » General

Waking up and reading the morning paper is a true American tradition, and on I take part in every morning – online. Reading through this morning’s articles on AlbanyHerald.com, I came across this editorial piece with the disingenuous headline ‘Let Jackson Rest In Peace’.

I say disingenuous because while the article did talk about the hype surrounding Michael Jackson’s death, its main point was about the ‘positive lasting benefit’ his death may have:

The US Government may ban/regulate yet another drug.
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We Must Be Hitting A Nerve[ May 29, 2009 – 3:00 pm]by Tom Posted in » Editorial

The Albany Herald’s Squawkbox is truly one of my favorite places in the whole paper. It is there that you can see what the people of Albany really think when protected by anonymity.  There, they can be rude and viscious, and they can be polite and sensitive.  Without the light of identity, we can see their true natures.

Apparently, we here at SWGA Politics have hit a nerve. Read More …

Carlton Fletcher[ May 17, 2009 – 9:10 am]by Jeff Posted in » General

Tom and I have been pretty hard on Carlton Fletcher earlier this week for comments he made in his column last Sunday – and then we actually met him.

Honestly, regardless of what he writes, he is a genuinely nice guy so far as I’ve personally been around him, and a great asset to the news community in the Albany area due to his dedication to his craft – something we were partially bashing in our posts due to our own preference for this format of reporting.

I said all that to basically say this: Carlton has two pieces in the Herald today, one as a reporter and one as a columnist. Both are really good, and nothing really needs to be said in addition to his column – I agree with him completely on it. (Though I do hold to my stance that government should be removed from education completely and that if this were done, the things he takes issue with in his column would no longer be a concern.)

I’ve already reached out to the Scott campaign for our own post with them, but expect a post based on Carlton’s report at some point later today.

This week, Carlton, great job!

Carlton Fletcher Publicly Responds to SWGA Politics[ May 10, 2009 – 4:33 pm]by Jeff Posted in » Local

Two weeks ago today, Carlton Fletcher wrote an article in the Albany Herald with a quote from State Senator Freddie Sims that was critical of blogs/bloggers, and I responded.

Today, Fletcher responded to my response via his latest column, in which he states

Sound bites can certainly get your attention, but an edited three-second remark is not going to add a lot of depth to a news story. Neither is a dashed-off ‘blog’ based on what someone sitting at a computer terminal all day thinks or has heard. This is not professional jealousy; it’s statement of fact.

There are people who are going to rely on the sound bites, who are going to want to log on and share their opinions with fellow bloggers. But I’ll put my trust in a reporter who goes out and digs around in the muck a bit, who talks to more than the usual suspects to try and find the nuts and bolts of a story … and there are still a few such individuals left in this business.

I have nothing against computer folks and TV news people – Jeff Sexton does a good job with his SWGA Politics blog and Len Kiese and Ashley Knight are actually quite good TV reporters – but if part of your job description is ‘getting your makeup right,’ I’m not going to bank on the depth of your ‘reporting’.

Since he never responded to me privately, I’m not going to respond to him privately, and my response to these statements is below the fold.
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My Response to Fletcher and Sims[ April 26, 2009 – 5:14 am]by Jeff Posted in » Local

An article in today’s Albany Herald written by Carlton Fletcher regarding State Senator Freddie Sims states that

The senator also lamented the economy-based cutbacks that have lessened the number of media outlets outside Atlanta that can afford to send reporters to cover the legislative session.

“One of the most important things I feel I must do is educate the public on what’s happening at the Capitol,” she said. “I’m concerned about the lack of coverage by the local print media outside Atlanta. The electronic media is not going to give you adequate depth, so a key element is missing.

This is my response, sent via email and now posted here. If I get a response from either of them, I will also post it.
[Read My Email to Carlton Fletcher and State Senator Freddie Sims