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By Jeff, on February 18th, 2011%
My friend David Staples sent this email to a bunch of state legislators this morning, and I urge you to do the same:
Dear Georgia Legislators,
I’m writing to you today regarding SB-10 and HB-69 – the Sunday alcohol sales bills. Thus far this session, I’m extremely disappointed that these bills have not been voted on publicly. I find it sadly amusing that Republicans constantly bash Obama for being a socialist, yet they impose their religious views on the state of Georgia when it comes to the sale of alcohol on a day that only a portion of the state observes as “the Lord’s day”. Furthermore, Obama understands that open and transparent government does not mean private and secret caucus meetings excluding those from the other political party while behind closed doors to decide issues. There is nothing open or transparent about that. Furthermore, as a resident of Powder Springs, by holding this private vote amongst Republicans only, you’ve excluded my state Senator, Steve Thompson, from having a say in the matter. Here’s a few of your own quotes that I’d like for you all to consider…
“While I support it, I certainly recognize there are a lot of people who do not support it, and if there is not the support, there is no need to continue to dwell on it. And we are moving onto the much more important issues: education, HOPE scholarships, balancing the budget and creating jobs,” he said. (Chip Rogers, via AJC article.)
There is no one line item that you can strike from the budget to balance it. It’s going to be a lot of little things. I’ve seen several different sources estimate that Georgia would take in a minimum of an extra $4M in taxes were retail sales of alcohol legalized on Sundays. Furthermore, this allows package stores to open an extra day of the week which has the ability to create more jobs. More sales means more deliveries which means more hours for the drivers (or more driver jobs). More deliveries means more fuel sales, which means more tax revenue derived from fuel sales.
“You do remember all that ‘land of the free’ mumbo jumbo, right?” (Barry Loudermilk, via Political Insider post – ‘They came for our toilets. Now, they want our light bulbs’)
So it’s the land of the free when it comes to light bulbs, but land of the TaliBaptists when it comes to alcohol, right? Let me guess, you want to be able to buy those light bulbs on Sunday too?
If Jesus can rise from the dead and bring Lazarus back from the dead, you all can bring Senate Bill 10 back from the dead. Alternatively, you could pass House Bill 69. It’s time for those hiding in back rooms to come out of the closet and vote on this publicly. Allow Georgians to see what their legislators are really up to. It’s not a matter of if a Sunday sales bill will pass… it’s when. That time is now.
David A. Staples
By Jeff, on February 16th, 2011%
The piece below is written by Rich Sullivan, a moderator of the Georgians For Sunday Sales facebook page.
The news of SB-10′s likely defeat is frustrating but we must remain focused on the task at hand. If the law if to be changed, we must all become activists and focus on the key points of why the law needs to change. I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of the specific reasons why I am so adamant about seeing our current laws change.
1) Sunday sales will increase tax revenue and create jobs without raising taxes on anyone or cutting any program. Something like this is a no-brainer in any other legislative body.
2) Alcohol is a legal product, taxed and regulated by the government. Its manufacturers and marketers as well as those who distribute product in stores or restaurants have a vested interest in the message of responsibility – as do all of us.
3) The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States estimates the annual tax revenue to the State of Georgia from the retail sale of spirits alone on Sunday to be around $4m. Think of what that number jumps to if you’d include beer and wine.
4) All of us respect each others rights to practice our religions as we choose. We respect Christians or members of any other faith who wish to abstain from alcohol on Sunday. It simply stands directly in defiance of Lady Liberty to force one’s beliefs and practices upon an other.
5) In the end, we are fighting too, for the family owned gas station or convenience store in Augusta or Lagrange, or any other along the border. Every Sunday, these shops are handcuffed and see untold numbers of vehicles drive right by into neighboring States where they purchase alcohol, fuel and who knows what else. This happens 52 days a year. We need to keep that tax revenue, those dollars and those jobs inside the State of Georgia. SB-10 gives the people the right to decide for themselves. This is fair.
Georgia is one only 3 States with laws like this that hinder growth and encroach our rights. Keep in mind that this mentality is rooted deep here. Georgia is one of only 8 States that never signed the 21st Amendment – the one that repealed Prohibition. We’re gonna need everyone on board to get this done. We may need some to seek political office as well!!
By Jeff, on February 12th, 2011%
My friend David Staples sent this email yesterday to a variety of religious leaders in Georgia, and I urge you to do the same:
Greetings all,
This message is being sent to a variety of leaders within the Christian community in Georgia. There currently exist two bills in the Georgia legislature which would allow local communities to decide the issue of Sunday alcohol sales. As many of you may be aware, local control is a conservative principle. However, the Georgia Christian Coalition has begun a robo-calling campaign asking people to call legislators to ask that these bills be defeated. I understand that most of you probably don’t have any desire to purchase alcohol on a Sunday (or any other day of the week) and I respect that belief. However, like many Georgians, I believe that the Georgia Christian Coalition should respect ALL Georgians’ beliefs and allow those of us who wish to purchase a product in the grocery store that is currently only sold in restaurants and bars on Sundays to do so. I believe it is better to purchase a bottle of wine at Kroger, Publix, Food Lion, Bi-Lo, etc. and soberly drive home to drink it than to drive to a bar, imbibe, and then drive home.
As the Southern Baptist Convention states on it’s website at http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/pschurch.asp – “We stand for a free church in a free state. Neither one should control the affairs of the other.”
I am asking that the leaders of churches and Christian organizations throughout Georgia contact the Georgia Christian Coalition at 706-366-8298 and ask that they please back off of this issue and instead spend their time spreading the message of Christianity in more positive ways. Furthermore, please contact your state senator and representative to ask that they vote in favor of making Sunday alcohol sales a local issue – not a state issue. Fighting Sunday alcohol sales does not look favorably upon the various Christian denominations within Georgia nor will it win anyone over to Christianity. I ask that you call Jerry Luquire at the number above, or e-mail him at jerryluquire@aol.com (or both) and please ask that the Georgia Christian Coalition cease and desist in it’s campaign against allowing local voters to decide the issue of Sunday alcohol sales. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
David A. Staples
It is a sad day indeed when an atheist has a better understanding of Baptist doctrine than many Baptist preachers do.
By Jeff, on February 5th, 2011%
Earlier this week, SB 10, allowing local communities to decide whether or not alcohol can be bought at a store on Sunday, made it through an initial hurdle it had never before been able to get through: It received a vote in Committee, and the Committee voted to favorably recommend the bill. This means it goes to the Rules Committee, where it is expected to be placed on the calendar this week.
The case so far has been somewhat curious all around. The same proposal for at least 2 terms before had been placed in David Shafer’s Regulated Industries Committee, where it was promptly stalled. This Session, Lt Gov Cagle assigned it to the State and Local Government Operations (SLOGO) Committee instead. Another curious aspect is that this particular committee is the only one whose entire leadership – and a majority of its voting members – are Freshmen. Its Chairman, Butch Miller, was sworn in last May – after the 2009-2010 Session was over – after winning a Special Election for the seat when its previous holder left to pursue the vacant 9th Congressional District Seat, which was opened when Nathan Deal resigned from Congress rather than face an ethics investigation in the middle of his run for Governor. Of the 8 Committee members, 5 are Republicans – 4 Freshmen and a Floor Leader for Governor Deal. The other three are (obviously, due to Ga’s draconian ballot access laws) Democrats, including one Freshman.
But the vote for SB 10 in Committee didn’t happen by Party line or even by Experience line. No, the Committee vote for SB 10 was 6-1. I do not know who the holdout was, but I do know who the lone vote AGAINST the bill was: Jim Butterworth (R-Cornelia), Administration Floor Leader for Governor Nathan Deal, who you just saw in the link in the last sentence has said would sign the bill when it reaches his desk.
So this does make a curious case. Why would the Floor Leader for the Governor – as some in the General Assembly have not so nicely put it, the man who agrees to be the “Governor’s bitch” – vote against a bill the Governor has said he would sign?
But the case only gets stranger. On January 28, Mr. Butterworth put the question on his wall asking for feedback: “Tell me what you think: Would you support SB 10, the bill which will allow local governments to decide if they will allow Sunday Alcohol Sales? Please start your response with a Y or N…” (No link, since he put it on his personal page rather than his official page.)
By my calculation, the response was 2-4, 9-3, 7-3, 5-2, 7-2, 7-0 on each of the screen captures below, for a total of 37-14 FOR the measure. (Note that the top response on the last image and the bottom response on the next to last image are the same response, and I counted it on the next to last count.)
So this bill received public feedback nearly 3-1 in favor of SB 10, and he voted against it anyway. A very curious case indeed. Maybe he received much more private response (that I can’t see, obviously) against the bill?
Just as an aside, finishing up this post, I try to friend all of the legislators on FB, as well as follow their official pages. From the response I’ve seen to any who put this question on their pages, it seems that Georgians overwhelmingly support this idea – even in very rural areas such as Mr. Butterworth’s district.
[See the Screen Grabs]
By Jeff, on May 14th, 2009%
I have been a harsh critic of Senator David Shafer for several of the votes he cast during the last session of the General Assembly. He recently reached out to me, and after talking with him and doing some independent research of my own, I believe that some of my criticism of him was unfair, and in the interest of fairness, I would like to set the record straight. Continue reading Setting the Record Straight on State Senator David Shafer
By Jeff, on April 17th, 2009%
Note on the following: All views expressed are my own unless explicitly stated otherwise.
I follow Ox on both Twitter and Facebook, and recently the guy has been talking about Liberty quite a bit. Honestly, I literally feel sick every time I see it, and I hope by the end of this post you understand why.
You see, quite honestly John Oxendine is a theocratic Statist of the worst sort. While this comes into play somewhat in his current position as Insurance Commissioner, it will be one of the greatest tragedies this state has ever experienced if he somehow lays claim to the Governor’s Mansion.
The remainder of this post will be dedicated to commentary on each of the Ox’s position’s, as found on his campaign website.
[Continue reading]
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