The show on earmarks is on right now on Fox News. It is pretty good so far (and I hate Fox News), check it out if you can.

Posted by Joshua Patterson at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The blog will be under going some maintenance. I'm messing around with Wordpress in hopes that I can find a theme that I like.

About a year ago I came up with a comment policy that I haven't enforced very well. I made some adjustments to it this weekend. This will be in enforced from this point forward.

Posted by Jason at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The 2008 Libertarian Party ticket, Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root, were interviewed on the Fox Business Channel a couple of days ago:

Posted by Jason at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Chris Farris hints that State Sen. David Shafer may be preparing a run for Lt. Governor:

Word on the street is that Casey Cagle is looking to run for Governor. That means Georgia will need a new Lieutenant Governor.

While it might be premature (he hasn’t announced) I’m endorsing one of the strongest fiscal conservatives in the General Assembly: Senator David Shafer.
[...]
He is the type of candidate who can bring the various factions of the Georgia Republican Party together. He was an early and strong backer of both Casey Cagle for Lieutenant Governor and Karen Handel for Secretary of State, he will be able to work with the next Governor, no matter who that might be.

Posted by Jason at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It looks like Cynthia McKinney will get the Green Party's presidential nomination:

Cynthia McKinney now has the support of over 50% of the delegates to the Green Party national convention who have been chosen so far. Although not all state Green Parties have chosen their delegates, most of them have, so it is very likely that she will obtain the nomination. The national convention is July 10-13 in Chicago.

Posted by Jason at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Bob Barr will be on The Colbert Report on June 4th.

Posted by Jason at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

State Sen. John Douglas sent along this picture earlier today.

He says:

We met at 7:30 at the Hwy 81 Publix and members of the HC PD and Special Olympians ran the torch across town to the Publix on Jonesboro Rd. I was there to show support for both groups and be part of something that my handicapped brother has been interested in for many years. It was an honor for me to light the torch and to participate.

Posted by Jason at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

This picture was sent along to me this evening:

If you are having problems reading it, the sign says:

Rep David Scott
My wife's name is
Deborah Honeycutt
Not "That Bitch"
Please be respectful

Andrew Honeycutt, husband of 13th District Congressional Candidate Deborah Honeycutt, picketed Congressman David Scott's offices in Clayton County and Cobb County demanding an apology for insulting his wife.

According to reports, Congressman David Scott approached a writer for the Atlanta Daily World during qualifying and asked about the 13th District contest, "Are you helping that b----?"

Andrew Honeycutt sent a letter to Rep. Scott, asking for an apology. Scott did not respond.

"I wanted to give him a chance to respond. This picket is a response to his non-response," he said, "I'm just asking him to be respectful."

Andrew Honeycutt picketed at Rep. Scott's two District Offices wearing a sandwich board.

Posted by Jason at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Be wary of this Lieberman-Warner (America's Climate Security Act) global warming bill making its way through the Senate. The Heritage Foundation has put together five myths about the bill and they have a study showing its state-by-state economic impact. The Club for Growth is doing their part by running ads in an attempt to defeat the bill.

Heritage summarizes the bill with this:

Simply put, LW works like a massive energy tax. By restricting carbon dioxide emissions from coal, oil, and natural gas--with a freeze at 2005 levels beginning in 2012, to a 70 percent reduction in 2050--the bill forces down supply and thus boosts the price of energy. In fact, if energy prices did not go up, then the targets in the bill would not be met. As energy is the economy's lifeblood, and 85 percent of it comes from these fossil fuels, the impact will be substantial. Cumulative gross domestic product (GDP) losses could reach $4.8 trillion by 2030, according to an analysis conducted by the Heritage Foundation. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Environmental Protection Agency, Charles River Associates, and the National Association of Manufacturers have all conducted studies predicting significant economic burdens on consumers should the bill be enacted.

Posted by Jason at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Fox News is running a special report tomorrow night at 8pm on earmarks:

Congressional 'earmarks' have become a national scandal – and a national joke: Lawmakers wasting tax dollars on their pet projects, and costing Americans up to $60 billion a year. But this exclusive investigation uncovers more than waste. FOX News exposes lawmakers -- including former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert -- who spent millions of dollars of your money on projects that fattened their personal bank accounts.

[UPDATE - Friday] Funny this mentions Hastert. About five minutes after posting this I read where he was hired by a lobbying group.

[UPDATE - Saturday] You can read more about the show here.

Posted by Jason at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hilarious and true:

Posted by Jason at 04:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am proud to be a member of the Libertarian Party. We have the strongest ticket in our history, and we are on the way to proving that we are a viable political party that appeals to Americans with a philosophy of less government, protecting civil liberties and capitalism.

I am back after a two week absence. You can read my column for this week here. It's about my experience at the Libertarian National Convention in Denver.

You can read previous columns here.

Posted by Jason at 06:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Have some fun with the Clinton and Obama political mudslinging game over at the AJC.

Posted by Jason at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I sent in a few bucks to Antiwar.com tonight. They are apparently having some money issues. If you can afford a couple bucks, send it along.

Posted by Jason at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Rules? We don't need no stinkin' rules.

AP - LANSING, Mich. - A top Clinton supporter in Michigan said Thursday the state Democratic Party's plan to split the convention delegates between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama is "fatally flawed."

Democratic National Committee member Joel Ferguson sent a letter Thursday to the co-chairs of the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee seeking to seat all of Michigan's delegates based on the results of the disputed Jan. 15 election. Failing that, he says the pledged delegates should get a half-vote each and superdelegates should get a full vote, a plan Florida also is proposing.

Whereas Obama was not even on the ballot in Michigan and didnot campaign in Florida, he followed the stated rules. He simply did not participate.

Now, to appease Hildebeast, the partry is going to award a medal and gold pin to everyone -- just so no feelings are hurt.

How can Americans elect any member of this party to office? Power is sought by the continuation of confusion and dissention.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 05:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Why didn't I hear about this on the news?:

A group of protesting scientists hope to break into the global warming debate with a petition against the theory of human-driven global warming.

The Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, a small independent research group, announced the petition before the National Press Club on May 19.

It contains the signatures of more than 31,000 scientists who stand against the idea that global warming is man-made, including those of several University professors.

The initial press release is here. The press contact is Audrey Mullen, the same press contact for Bob Barr's campaign. I may shoot her an e-mail to find out more about this.

You can read more about the Global Warming Petition Project at their website.

Posted by Jason at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Justin Logan fires back at the Hucktard:

First, there’s nothing “new” about libertarianism, although it appears someone’s just alerted Mike Huckabee to the phenomenon. Second, this business of the “un-Americanism” of libertarianism is ahistorical, although not particularly surprising coming from a Know Nothing demagogue like Mike Huckabee. Someday, advertising one’s own ignorance about the world won’t be considered a mark in one’s favor by conservatives. Until then, Mike Huckabee.

Posted by Jason at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The first named storm of the 2008 hurricane season has formed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted by Jason at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[UPDATE 5/29/08] For many people this is a non-issue. Placement of signs is just a nuisance that will soon go away. Getting what we need from elected officials is a much higher priority.

I spoke with Charlie Tomlinson, head of code enforcement, who said this year is especially bad for the number of signs getting placed in the wrong places. It seems almost every candidate is guilty. Some signs that are removed are replaced by the next day. The code enforcement people are staying busy trying to keep up.

Home owners are reporting harrassment by campaign workers to get opponent's signs removed and their own signs put up. Two people reported seeing uniformed sheriff's deputies in county vehicles delivering and placing signs.

This is more than annoying. It is abusive and proves lack of respect for ordinances and residents.

[UPDATE 5/27/2008] Kudos to the county Code Enforcement Department! The complaint lodged against one misplaced sign was met with a thorough sweep of East Lake Road. I spoke with the enforcement officer today and was informed that many sings were removed, and tomorrow the job will be completed.

This is the result of non-partisan, dedicated employees doing their job.

[Original Post 5/25/08]
I have noticed signs in the right-of-way in several locations around the county. Some are obviously in violation of county code, and others are within a margin that I would call "no harm / no foul". A conversation with the head of Code Enforcement once again proved his non-partisan dedication to enforcing the ordinances.

Something else that seems to be a common sign-placing tactic: Find a vacant lot or abandoned house and post the sign on that property. That is legal under the ordinance, and provides advertising without the hassle of actually getting the owner's permission. Although no indication of support can be made.

On East Lake Road I have noticed two signs for my favorite candidate - both placed in front of vacant houses. A photograph of one can be seen here.

When the original plan for the East Lake Extension included road widening from Hwy 155 to Elliott Road one long-time resident knew he would have to move. His old house was so close to the road the right-of-way would take his front porch. He convinced the county he was not getting any younger and could not "wait for someday - he had to build a new house further back into his property." The County purchased the right of way and the new house was built. The old house was abandoned at the corner of East Lake and John Elliott Roads.

Since this right-of-way was acquired by the county for a road expansion that apparently will not happen, maybe consideration could be made that it is not really a county right-of-way. But only a candidate or campaign worker eager for a prominent location would overlook the fact - IT IS COUNTY RIGHT-OF-WAY, and the sign violates county ordinance.

Of course "my favorite candidate" has never allowed silly facts like 'county property' to hinder her agenda or assumption of personal privilege.

Code Enforcement has been notified. If the sign is not removed fairly quickly, I will volunteer for the job.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 07:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (49)

[UPDATE 5/29/08] The Herald picked upon the story:

Riffey said the main problem with the budget is the fact that revenues have decreased dramatically and the city's expenditures are exceeding its revenues.

James Moss, McDonough planning commissioner and resident, said he has talked to some city residents and they are not happy about the situation.Moss also offered a few alternatives to the city's financial woes.

"Before there is a tax increase, the city needs to do two things: one, demonstrate that it can handle money through audits and written financial policies; and two, show how it has tightened its own belt.

"This includes asking the HR [human resources] department and department heads to make a critical evaluation of their budgets, so that everything is put on the table, along with re-evaluating the $37,000 monthly payment the city is paying for the proposed park on Jonesboro Road and any other similar projects."

[Original Post: 5/27/08]
The Henry Times featured a piece on the failure to the City of McDonough to yet adopt a 2008 budget.

The city has been operating on a provisional budget since the first of the year and the Council has until May 31 to adopt a final operating budget. Mr. James Lee, City Administrator, gave his report that included a difficult challenge to the council.

He sees only two choices for them; to do nothing and leave the budget as it now is and raise property taxes by 88% (a 2 mil increase instead of the previous 1.45 mil), or a combination of a reduction of personnel and still raise taxes by the original 1.45 mil, or 64%.

Lee was quick to point out that no decisions have been made about personnel, despite many rumors, and that the city Human Resources Director, Carla Tuck, and the department heads have not even been consulted on this. This recommendation is only one being made.

Lee did continue to say he supported the combination recommendation of a 64% tax increase and reducing city personnel.

Earlier in the evening, the city’s auditor, Jimmy Whitaker, had reported that as of December 31, 2007, the city of McDonough General Fund had overspent $1,385,000 in expenditures over revenues.

The job of a city manager whose salary is greater than the governor's surely includes fiscal responsibility. The city council allocates funds and they are also guilty of extravagant spending. In all, the city is awash in fiscal failure.

Details not told in the Times include the fact McDonoughis involved in a law suit over impact fees. State law requires a study of the service area before the fees can be imposed. The city adopted the County's study, which included all unicorporated areas. No study was performed on the service area inside McDonough's city limits. The lawsuit charges collection of impact fees within McDonough are therefore illegal.

Impact fees were adopted under the Craig administration several years ago. They have been continued under the Copeland administration. At present the Impact Fee budget account is overdrawn in excess of $100,000.

If the city loses this lawsuit, all fees collected since their inception must be returned. It is not clear exactly how much financial liability the city would face.

There is also the matter of Gail Notti Park, which costs the city between $36,000 - $40,000 per month. The debt resulted from a plan to create a mini-Callaway Gardens adjacent to the councilwoman's property.

We must not overlook the stockpile of now-surplus Chevrolet Caprice automobiles. Last year the city replaced police department vehicles with new Dodge vehicles.

Let's recount:

McDonough General Fund had overspent $1,385,000 in expenditures over revenues.
McDonough's Impact Fee budget account is overdrawn in excess of $100,000

Outcome of a lawsuit could cost McDonough $Millions

McDonough's Gail Notti Park costs about $40,000 per month

McDonough's fleet of new cars created a surplus of vehicles

Posted by Larry Stanley at 07:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

I just received this from Charles Mobley's campaign:

Today Charles Mobley received encouraging words from Karen Handel. Karen Handel is currently Georgia's First Republican Secretary of State.

"During my campaign for Secretary of State, I had the opportunity to get to know Charles Mobley. I worked closely with him and have tremendous respect and admiration for the job Charles has done for the Henry County Republican Party, " stated Karen Handel.

"Charles is a tireless worker for our values and beliefs. Under his leadership and guidance, the party has thrived," commented Mrs. Handel. "He is a friend of the Republican Party and a true friend of mine."

"I am indeed humbled by Karen's kind words of support," said Charles. "Karen is doing a tremendous job of making the Secretary of State's office run in an efficient consumer friendly manner. She is a true conservative that works everyday to make Georgia a better place to live and work."

Posted by Jason at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

Bob Barr slammed George W. Bush on privacy issues today:

"Obviously, under this administration, the right to privacy not only isn't important, it doesn't exist," Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, told the Clayton County Rotary Club.
[...]
"I intend, in the course of the upcoming campaign to talk about those issues with people, whether they vote for me or not," the former Republican congressman from Cobb County told the Rotarians.

Barr was asked during the program whether there is a way to balance the rights of private citizens and the need for the government to fight terrorism. This, after Barr accused the president and defense agencies of essentially duping Congress into granting them broad new powers to listen to Americans' private conversations without establishing a link to terrorism.

Barr said the balance already exists.

"The balance is the Bill of Rights," Barr said.

Posted by Jason at 05:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We haven't had a poll in a while. So since the presidential race in November has become clearer, I thought that now would be a good time to see where my readers are at.

Posted by Jason at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

David Boaz writes that Obama and McCain are collectivist candidates that have a record of anti-individualism:

On Sunday Barack Obama urged graduates of Connecticut's Wesleyan University to devote themselves to "collective service." This is not an unusual theme for a commencement address. But it was interesting how long he went on discussing various kinds of nonprofit activism without ever mentioning the virtues of commerce or of individual achievement.
[...]
Sen. Obama told the students that "our individual salvation depends on collective salvation." He disparaged students who want to "take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should buy."
[...]
John McCain also denounces "self-indulgence" and insists that Americans serve "a national purpose that is greater than our individual interests." During a Republican debate at the Reagan Library on May 3, 2007, Sen. McCain derided Mitt Romney's leadership ability, saying, "I led . . . out of patriotism, not for profit." Challenged on his statement, Mr. McCain elaborated that Mr. Romney "managed companies, and he bought, and he sold, and sometimes people lost their jobs. That's the nature of that business." He could have been channeling Barack Obama.

Posted by Jason at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you who are interested, here are the state-by-state totals on each of the six ballots from Sunday's nomination process.

Posted by Jason at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You can listen to my interview on What Is Goin' On? with Wilson Smith here. We discussed the Libertarian National Convention, immigration and Iraq.

This was recorded before I left for Denver. I may be back on soon to discuss the convention.

Posted by Jason at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy birthday to Trevor Southerland.

Posted by Jason at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Drew Carey takes on the border wall with Mexico:

Posted by Jason at 08:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism." - Ronald Reagan

Tax Hike Mike Huckabee lashes out at libertarianism and individualism:

The greatest threat to classic Republicanism is not liberalism; it's this new brand of libertarianism, which is social liberalism and economic conservatism, but it's a heartless, callous, soulless type of economic conservatism because it says "look, we want to cut taxes and eliminate government. If it means that elderly people don't get their Medicare drugs, so be it. If it means little kids go without education and healthcare, so be it." Well, that might be a quote pure economic conservative message, but it's not an American message. That's not historic Republicanism. Historic Republicanism does not hate government; it's just there to be as little of it as there can be. But they also recognize that government has to be paid for.

Mike Huckabee misses the fundamental point of free-market capitalism, which is that free markets promote economic growth for all people, including the poor, in a way that government simply can't match. Historically, it has been free markets and private philanthropy--not government--that has generated prosperity, eliminated poverty, and fostered opportunity. When government interferes by trying to manipulate the economy to produce "desirable" results, it almost always ends up doing worse than the market could have done by itself.

Huckabee is subscribing to the liberal, not to mention condescending, notion that people cannot better their lives without government holding their hand a good part of the way. Huckabee is entitled to his opinion, but he shouldn't pretend to be an economic conservative when he rejects the basic tenet upon which conservatism is based.

H/T: Below the Beltway

Posted by Jason at 07:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

“History appears poised to confirm what most Americans today have decided: that the decision to invade Iraq was a serious strategic blunder. No one, including me, can know with absolute certainty how the war will be viewed decades from now when we can more fully understand its impact. What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary.” - Ex-White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan

Posted by Jason at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford does it again:

I am hereby vetoing H. 3567, R-288, which increases the tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack…I do so because the revenue from this tax increase is dedicated to the start of additional spending on health care – for which there is no additional revenue as these programs grow. In that regard, the bill represents two tax increases – an immediate one with the bill’s passage, and a second over time to pay for these new programs.

Posted by Jason at 07:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Liberal Fascism.

I am loving Jonah Goldberg's new book.

Posted by Jason at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Hat tip to Robbie.... As a follow-up to an earlier post --- McDonough's city council is about to make things even worse!

It is clear that we pay for all we get, but the question remains whether we get all we pay for.

The attached Letter to the Editor may never appear in our local papers, so it can be seen here.

An excerpt:

I am a CPA who lives in McDonough. While preparing income tax returns for various clients in March, I noted an interesting pattern in residential property taxes (required for Schedule A of Form 1040); it seemed my clients in Henry County always paid a bit more than those clients in surrounding counties!

Posted by Larry Stanley at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

Pay attention, because Arthur Blank wants a new stadium for the Falcons and he wants your tax dollars to do it.

Posted by Jason at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Even as progressivism and collectivism are being shoved down our throats, Americans still believe in less government, less taxes and less regulation:

While voters seem to want action from political leaders, 54% believe that the best thing the government can do is “get out of the way by reducing regulation and taxes.” Republicans overwhelmingly hold that view while Democrats are evenly divided—42% of Barack Obama’s party agree that the best economic policy is for the government to get out of the way while another 42% disagree. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 50% think the government should get out of the way and 32% disagree.

A majority of both men and women think the best economic policy is to reduce regulation and taxes. So do a majority of voters in all age brackets. There is, however, a huge ideological divide. The notion of reduced regulation and taxes as good economic policy is embraced by 73% of conservative voters, 48% of politically moderate voters, and just 30% of liberal voters. Most liberals (53%) disagree.

H/T: Below the Beltway

Posted by Jason at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I saw a news flash today the U.S. Congressman Paul Broun, D.A., has sponsored an AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION to ban same sex marriage. Because this is the most pointless legislation a Congressperson can introduce, I decided to look at his other legislation. His sponsored or cosponsored bills include: proposing an amendment to the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION to allow the castration of individuals convicted of rape against someone under 16, he proposed an AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION to allow the death penalty for the rape of a child under the age of 16 (that is the rape, not the rape and murder), and of course the proposed AMENDMENT TO THE US CONSTITUTION to "define" marriage.

He is a politician, so I have no problem with him doing some election year pandering to the 10th district (which is all he does for the 10th district), but leave the Constitution of the United States for serous matters, not right-wing pandering.

Posted by Joshua Patterson at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

If you have time, go to this site, scroll down to the "world" category (third one down) and vote for the band Moyuba. Click their button, enter your email to the right (you can leave the other fields blank) and click submit. My sister's boyfriend is a drummer in this band and your vote will help them win a Flag Pole this year. Thanks!

Posted by Joshua Patterson at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is my wrap-up of the Libertarian National Convention. I also included links to other places that were covering the convention at the end of the post.

Libertarian National Convention live-blogging:
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Presidential Debate
- Day 4

Convention Pictures:
- Part 1
- Part 2

Videos:
- Libertarian Party Presidential Debate (Part 1)
- Libertarian Party Presidential Debate (Part 2)
- Post-Debate Press Conference (Gravel only)
- Post-Debate Press Conference
- Bob Barr's nomination speech
- Christine Smith booed down
- Bob Barr's acceptance speech
- Post-Nomination Press Conference

Other blogs following the convention:
- Last Free Voice: Make sure you check out the posts by Steve Perkins, a fellow delegate from Georgia.
- JacquelinePassey.com: Jacqueline linked to me several times over the weekend. She has a great round-up of blog coverage of the convention.
- The Liberty Papers: Stephen Littau was all over the place this weekend, hunting down candidates and live-blogging the debate and votes.
- Robert Stacy McCain: He was blogging both at his personal blog and the American Spectator.
- Reason: Dave Weigel's posts can be found here.

Posted by Jason at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here is video of Bob Barr's nomination speech:

Here is the announcement of the sixth vote and Barr's acceptance speech. I was waiting in the media room for the press conference:

Also, here is video of the LP debate from Saturday night:

H/T: Below the Beltway

Posted by Jason at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are the last of the photos from the convention. I apologize for the darkness in some of them. I didn't realize that there was a flash on the camera, which belongs to my mom, until the late Sunday evening.

I'll have a recap of the convention as my column for the newspaper on Friday. I'm very tired. I've been going non-stop since May 14th with only two days at home in between Macon and Denver.

Right now Reagan and Icarus (our six week old pit bull) are passed out underneath my chair. I think they missed me.

By the way, I have a few Barr bumper stickers. Let me know if you want one.

Bloggers Row during the debate (from left to right: Stephen Littau with The Liberty Papers, myself, Dave Weigel from Reason, ??? and Drew Ferguson from Liberty magazine.

Sharon Harris from the Advocates for Self-Government and me.

Me, Bob Barr and Green Death.

Root and Barr, the LP ticket.

Blogging.

Natalie from the Georgia delegation.

Mike Jingozian

Doug Stanhope and Mike Gravel

Convention floor (you can barely make out the "Boortz 2012" sign).

Stacy McCain and Jennifer Chambrin

Jennifer Chambrin and me

Members of the Georgia delegation.

Angela Keaton from Antiwar.com

Me and Angela Keaton

LP Georgia Vice Chair Jack Aiken (seated on the right)

The Green Death

Doug Craig

PSC candidate John Monds and Mark Augustyn

Derek, Bob and Jeri Barr seated with the Georgia delegation.

Convention floor.

LP Communication Director Andrew Davis

Andrew Davis throws up the "LP" gang sign.

Convention floor.

Stephen Littau and myself.

Bloggers Row

I used Peach Pundit for my credentials.

Waiting for Bob Barr.

Convention floor.

Jennifer Chambrin, Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root.

Jennifer Chambrin, Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root.

"Root for Vice President"

Posted by Jason at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I am home. I had a slight detour to pick up Reagan. I have way too much stuff to get unpacked.

I am glad to see that Fox News has finally picked up the news of Barr's nomination. The gentleman standing behind Jeri Barr is Libertarian Party of Georgia Chairman Daniel Adams. He took off the cowboy hat after his wife saw him on tv and called him to tell him how stupid he looked. Haha.

Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to tell you to remember what this day is for. Please remember those who have fallen in service to their country, whether you agree with the policy that put them there or not.

Have a good Memorial Day.

Posted by Jason at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Here is video from the post-nomination press conference:

Posted by Jason at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've spent most of this morning reading and hearing reaction from last night's debate. The general consensus seems to be that Barr and Kubby won the debate last night. Everyone I've talked to seems to believe that Ruwart really hurt herself by playing the gender card. One delegate told me that using her gender "was one of the most anti-intellectual things she could have done." She did not have much of a stage presence either. Ruwart's plan to get Kubby in the debate may have backfired on her because he could have cut into her base.

Root may have picked up some support, but he may have lost just as much support. I hear the phrase "gameshow host" a lot in reference to him.

Gravel has a hit piece on Barr up around the convention this morning. It reads, "Do you really think we will win the white house? If we run Bob Barr, he will take votes away from McCain, then Obama or Clinton will be president for 8 years with a Democratic Congress. If we run Mike Gravel, he will take votes away from the Democrat and McCain will be president for 4 years with a Democrat Congress. Mke Gravel is our only smart choice!"

Sounds like an endorsement for McCain.

Nominating speeches for Presidential candidates begins at 9:30am. Voting begins at 1pm. That is going to take a while. I'll be liveblogging throughout the day.

[9:38am] There was an objection to the seating of new delegates. We sort expected a fight on

[9:40am] They’re showing a video of an endorsement of Wayne Root from Mancow.

[9:41am] We’re having wi-fi issues. I didn’t mention this last night, but wi-fi went down during the debate last night, frustrating the hell out us on Bloggers Row.

[9:43am] Wayne Allyn Root has been nominated and his daughter, Dakota, is introducing him and seconding the nomination to the body.

[9:46am] Root is somewhat less energetic this morning, but still very passionate.

[9:49am] He also lays claim to the vote of online gamblers.

[9:50am] Another hit piece on Barr is being pushed around this morning about the donations to Republicans through his PAC, the Bob Barr Leadership Fund. They fail to mention the $10,000 in donations to the Libertarian National Committee.

[9:52am] I heard this morning that most of the anti-Barr buttons were made by the Phillies campaign.

[9:53am] Root says he is “here to lead the Libertarian movement for the next 25 years.”

[9:55am] One of my fellow Georgia delegates turned to me and said, “What has he done for the party?”

[9:59am] Barr has been nominated. He is being seconded by Rob from the Marijuana Policy Project.

[10:04am] Several Libertarians are taking the stage in support of Barr and talking about the media presence that Barr has had in the media thus far and what he could do for local candidates around the nation.

[10:06am] Barr has taken the stage. He says that he has had more substantive discussion in the three days he has been in Denver than the 30 years he spent with the Republicans.

[9:38am] There was an objection to the seating of new delegates. We sort expected a fight on

[9:40am] They’re showing a video of an endorsement of Wayne Root from Mancow.

[9:41am] We’re having wi-fi issues. I didn’t mention this last night, but wi-fi went down during the debate last night, frustrating the hell out us on Bloggers Row.

[9:43am] Wayne Allyn Root has been nominated and his daughter, Dakota, is introducing him and seconding the nomination to the body.

[9:46am] Root is somewhat less energetic this morning, but still very passionate.

[9:49am] He also lays claim to the vote of online gamblers.

[9:50am] Another hit piece on Barr is being pushed around this morning about the donations to Republicans through his PAC, the Bob Barr Leadership Fund. They fail to mention the $10,000 in donations to the Libertarian National Committee.

[9:52am] I heard this morning that most of the anti-Barr buttons were made by the Phillies campaign.

[9:53am] Root says he is “here to lead the Libertarian movement for the next 25 years.”

[9:55am] One of my fellow Georgia delegates turned to me and said, “What has he done for the party?”

[9:59am] Barr has been nominated. He is being seconded by Rob from the Marijuana Policy Project.

[10:04am] Several Libertarians are taking the stage in support of Barr and talking about the media presence that Barr has had in the media thus far and what he could do for local candidates around the nation.

[10:06am] Barr has taken the stage. He says that he has had more substantive discussion in the three days he has been in Denver than the 30 years he spent with the Republicans.

[10:11am] Barr gave a very impassioned speech. He says that he may not have come to the Libertarian Party quickly, but he said that the change is real and he is one of us and that he will lead us to a new level.

[10:14am] Christine Smith has been nominated. She did not receive enough tokens to participate in the debate last night, but enough to have a nominating speech.

[10:16am] Smith says she became a Libertarian because of the 2004 platform.

[10:25am] I had to run in the media room to get this update in because the wi-fi is down again. I think Stacey McCain is trying to find Andrew Davis, the LP Media Director, to get it fixed.

[10:27am] There is an interesting rumor flying around this morning. I don't want to get into detail about it yet, but it would be promising.

[10:36am] Make sure you read Aaron Gould Sheinin's coverage of the convention over at the AJC's Political Insider.

[10:41am] As I look around the room, I see that Ruwart’s support is still significant.

[10:43am] Ruwart says that we shouldn’t pay attention to factionalism; however, her supporters have attempted to divide the delegates, especially during the platform and by-laws debates. She is the candidate of the radicals. I am not saying they are wrong in their beliefs, but failing to recognize that the divide has been largely because of her supporters is intellectually dishonest.

[10:51am] Here is a picture of Barry Hess inviting Bob Barr to join the LP in 2004. This was passed along by one of my fellow delegates from Georgia.

[10:55am] An article in support of Barr was distrubuted this morning. You can view it here and here.

[10:56am] George Phillies is being nominated by members of Outright Libertarians.

[10:59am] Phillies welcomes Gravel to the party and says that he is a "sensible Libertarian."

[11:14am] Kubby is on now. Two more candidates to go.

[11:17am] Jingozian is being introduced. Gravel is next. I think I'm about to head up to my room and change into some more business-like attire.

[11:48am] Gravel is finishing up. He is all over the place. He is doing his best to appeal the body. I respect him. He seems to have a grasp of the philosophy, but he still has class warfare undertones and advocacy of democracy. He is slowly working his way.

[11:50am] A large group of Barr supporters are walking the room drawing boos from radicals.

[11:52am] We now have 652 credentialed delegates.

[11:54am] It was just announced 327 delegates is a majority.

[12:00pm] We are taking the first vote. This could go as many as five rounds.

[12:10pm] As you'll see on the AJC here in a bit, I never did change clothes. Green Death and I got a picture with Barr and the AJC snapped one of us at the same time.

[12:14pm] A gentleman just walked by holding two signs, one on top of the other, for a Barr/Ruwart unification ticket. I've heard that Ruwart has absolutely no interest in that, but she would almost certainly be a lock.

[12:16pm] Stacey McCain is interviewing Barr behind me. Barr says that he feels good about the vote.

[12:19pm] The "Boortz 2012" sign is making its way around again.

[12:22pm] By the way, a candidate has to take 5% of the vote to advance to the second round.

[12:23pm] Redpath says that the state-by-state results will begin in five minutes.

[12:30pm] Georgia Delegation - Barr: 33 Ruwart: 2

[12:39pm] I'll update delegate totals after all are announced.

[12:41pm] Green Death, Bob Barr and myself.

[12:43pm] Penn Jillette got a couple votes from Pennsylvania.

[12:54pm] Ron Paul got a write-in vote from California.

[12:55pm] Paul also got three write-in votes from Colorado and one from Connecticut.

[12:55pm] Gravel is actually doing well.

[12:57pm] Daniel Adams just announced Georgia's vote totals.

[1:10pm] Results from the First Round:
- Barr: 153
- Ruwart: 152
- Root: 123
- Gravel: 71
- Phillies: 49
- Kubby: 41
- Jingozian: 23
- Smith: 6
- NOTA: 2

[1:17pm] Jingozian is endorsing Mike Gravel.

[1:19pm] Christine Smith taking shots at Bob Barr and endorsed no one.

[1:25pm] Barr says, "I never met the woman."

[1:40pm] Second Ballot:
- Barr: 188
- Ruwart: 162
- Root: 138
- Gravel: 73
- Phillies: 36
- Kubby: 32
- NOTA: 1

[1:44pm] Kubby drops off. A motion to drop Phillies off the ballot was soundly defeated.

[1:49pm] Kubby has endorsed Mary Ruwart. Everyone saw that coming.

[1:58pm] A lot of talking going on now as we go into the third ballot. The lovely Jennifer Chambrin is seated in front of me right now.

[2:10pm] Third Ballot:
- Barr: 186
- Ruwart: 186
- Root: 146
- Gravel: 78
- Phillies: 31
- NOTA: 2

[2:13pm] Phillies is out.

[2:17pm] Phillies: "The enemy is not here."

[2:18pm] Phillies made no formal endorsement.

[2:35pm] Fourth Ballot:
- Barr: 202
- Ruwart: 202
- Root: 149
- Gravel: 76
- NOTA: 2

[2:36pm] Gravel is out. Word is that he will not make an endorsement.

[2:47pm] Barr and Root are meeting - potentially to discuss a deal.

[2:59pm] Barr and Root just walked out of the room. The big news right now is this Washington Times article: "Mary Ruwart: The longtime Libertarian activist and author is a leading "purist" in the party who prompted a furor over a book condemned as defending child pornography."

[3:01pm] Root just endorsed Barr and announced his candidacy for VP.

[3:09pm] The details...Root wanted a guarantee that Barr would not seek the nomination in 2012. Once talk of the Washington Times article started making its way around the convention, talk of deal started.

[3:12pm] Comedian Doug Stanhope just walked onto the convention floor.

[3:13pm] There is still one more vote to go. It's not in the bag yet.

[3:32pm] Bob Barr is the Libertarian Party nominee for President.

[3:35pm] Sixth Round:
- Barr: 324 (WINNER)
- Ruwart: 276
- NOTA: 4

[4:14pm] I just got back from the Barr press conference. I'll have video of that later. The latest catch is that Steve Kubby will run for VP and he'll be endorsed by Ruwart.

[4:46pm] We are voting on the VP nominee. There are several lower-tier candidates, but this will come down to Root and Kubby. The Georgia delegation seems to be lining up solidly behind Root.

[4:49pm] Radley Balko: "It’s the first time the LP has nominated a serious candidate in a long time. I’ve become rather fond of Barr over his 5-year conversion to libertarianism. Second place went to nutjob Mary Ruwart, who would have continued the party’s long history of kook-ism."

[4:53pm] A Kubby supporter came up and spoke with me a moment ago about my vote for the VP nominee. I am going to vote for Root. I like Kubby, but I have concerns about his health.

[4:59pm] Ruwart is speaking in support of Kubby for VP. One of my fellow delegates just switched from Kubby to Root because Ruwart was offered the VP slot, which she would have easily won. In other words, this wouldn't even be an issue if Ruwart would have accepted a deal to support Barr.

[5:06pm] Barr is now speaking to the body in support of Wayne Root.

[5:07pm] Jennifer Chambrin is on stage with Barr.

[5:10pm] I was given a sign for Root that has the word "vice" written in on it. It now reads, "Root for Vice President."

[5:25pm] Here is the story from CNN.

[5:26pm] Barr will have another reception tonight.

[5:30pm] First VP Ballot:
- Root: 269 (49%)
- Kubby: 209 (37%)
- Williams: 40 (7%)

[5:31pm] These three will go to another ballot. Three lower-tier candidates will drop off because they failed to meet the 5% threshold.

[5:35pm] Georgia Delegation - Root: 30 Kubby: 2 Lightfoot: 1

[5:37pm] The three lower-tier candidates are all endorsing Kubby.

[5:39pm] Daniel Williams won't appear on the next ballot. He is dropping out and endorsing Root.

[5:56pm] Second VP Ballot:
- Root: 289 (51%) **WINNER**
- Kubby: 255 (45%)
- Williams: 14 (3%)
- NOTA: 6 (1%)

[5:57pm] Here are Stephen Littau's parting thoughts from the convention.

[10:00pm] I just got back from the LP banquet and the Barr/Root reception. Let me tell you. This is a good ticket and serious ticket. The LP managed to band together, though it struggled to do so, and nominate two individuals who understand politics, business and policy.

It was good to see David Nolan and Steve Kubby show up for the reception and show their support for the ticket. There was no purging, but there was healthy debate between two sincere factions that have only the best interest of the party at heart. We are growing up.

Posted by Jason at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

The video is divided into two parts. The first is Mike Gravel. He was in the room before the other candidates and kind of took over the podium and took several questions. LP Media Communication Director Andrew Davis politely asked him to let other candidates come up and take questions and Gravel cocked an attitude. I'm not faulting Gravel, but he could have handled it better.

Here is Gravel:

[12:00am] By the way, if you missed the debate you can watch it here.

[12:am] Here is the second part of the press conference video. This has all of the candidates answering questions from the media:

Posted by Jason at 01:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[The debate begins at 7pm (9pm EST) and will be broadcast on C-SPAN with Jim Pinkerton moderating. The participants had to receive 56 tokens in order to participate in the debate.

The debate participants are:
- Bob Barr
- Mike Gravel
- Mike Jingozian
- Steve Kubby
- George Phillies
- Wayne Allyn Root
- Mary Ruwart

I'll be updating throughout the debate.

[6:59pm] The debate will be getting underway shortly. I'm sitting on Bloggers Row in between Dave Weigel from Reason and Stephen Littau from The Liberty Papers.

[7:03pm] Jim Pinkerton is getting a lot boos as his resume is being read off to the delegates. However, he received warm welcome to the stage.

[7:05pm] Barr's reception was mixed. Ruwart received the strongest sign of support.

[7:09pm] Barr gets the first question, which is, "What philosopher best represents your views?" Barr says, "Ayn Rand."

[7:12pm] Barr: "Inside this heart beats the heart of a Libertarian."

[7:13pm] Gravel: "The Libertarian Party has what it takes to fix the problems in this country."

[7:13pm] Gravel says that the Libetarian Party represents: "Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!"

[7:15pm] Phillies is going through how he has helped build the LP over the last few years. Phillies issues are ending the war in Iraq, restoring fiscal responsibility and restoring civil liberties. He called the conservatism a "philosophy of bigotry."

[7:22pm] Root says he is the best candidate for the party and a “citizen politician” and he adds that he would be the first Jewish-American to receive a party nomination.

[7:24pm] Root also promises to help build party by helping to win every local election possible.

[7:26pm] Phillies said one of his influences was Barry Goldwater. He adds that if Goldwater were alive today he would be cheering the LP on with a new title to his book, Conscience of a Libertarian.

[7:27pm] Ruwart says her main influence was Ayn Rand.

[7:28pm] Steve Kubby cites David Nolan as his biggest influence. Nolan is the founder of the LP.

[7:29pm] Root says Yogi Berra as his influence. Root reminds me of a white Obama.

[7:31pm] Gravel calls for withdrawal from Iraq and an end to imperialism.

[7:32pm] Phillies says the war in Iraq ended years ago and that it is time to bring the troops home.

[7:33pm] Phillies: “End the war, end foreign aid…”

[7:33pm] Jingozian takes the first shot at Obama.

[7:34pm] Ruwart says the best way to remain peaceful with other nations is through trade.

[7:35pm] Kubby says, “The United States has no enemies in this world.”

[7:37pm] Barr hits George Bush for nation-building and says we need to bring the troops home, not just from Iraq but from other stations around the world and put the money back in the hands of the taxpayers.

[7:40pm] Ruwart says that bring the troops home would cut the cost of oil.

[7:43pm] Kubby told the crowd about his car that runs on vegetable oil.

[7:44pm] Root says that we need to explore oil reserves in the US by drilling in ANWR and off the coast of Florida and encourage more nuclear energy.

[7:45pm] Barr says to get government out of energy and get business back in.

[7:45pm] Gravel: “We can get off gasoline in five years.”

[7:48pm] Kubby says that he debates with his Green friend over the environment and often is at odds with them because they want the government to monitor pollution. He said it was like the fox guarding the hen house.

[7:50pm] Root says the second largest polluter, next to the US government, is Al Gore.

[7:51pm] Barr took a shot at McCain’s support of the Kyoto Protocol. He calls the idea, “absolutely crazy.”

[7:55pm] Question to the candidate: "How would you deal witht he PATRIOT Act and the REAL ID?"

[7:56pm] Ruwart said that she would work to have them both repealed.

[7:57pm] Kubby took a shot at Barr over the PATRIOT Act. When Barr reluctantly voted for the PATRIOT Act in Congress.

[7:57pm] Root said that the PATRIOT Act and REAL ID Act were two issues that drove him to become a Libertarian.

[7:59pm] Root says that we should privatize the war on terror.

[8:00pm] Barr says that the politics of fear drove the PATRIOT Act. Barr says that he would drive a stake in the heart of the PATRIOT Act, among other things. He added that the REAL ID Act has no place in public policy.

[8:01pm] Gravel just brought up the National Initiative for Democracy. This is a drive turn the US into a direct democracy, or rule of the mob.

[8:02pm] Jingozian sarcastically asks, “How can you not like the PATRIOT Act?”

[8:04pm] Kubby says that the current immigration policy in the US is something he would expect from the KKK.

[8:05pm] Root says that the border should be secured and a pathway should be provided to immigrants.

[8:06pm] Barr says that there is no immigration policy. He says that immigrants should come through a checkpoint to ensure they don’t pose a health or security threat.

[8:07pm] Gravel: “Freedom means no barriers.” He also brief promoted the FairTax.

[8:09pm] Phillies: “As long as you have a welfare system, you can’t have open borders. You’ll go broke.”

[8:09pm] Jingozian: “You can’t have open borders in a welfare state.”

[8:10pm] He adds that if he’d be in jail if he used the same accounting practices in his business that the US government uses.

[8:11pm] Ruwart has her supporters and they are cheering her on, but I don’t believe she is having much of an impact in the debate.

[8:12pm] Root: “The war on drugs is a failure.”

[8:12pm] He adds that we need to end the international war on drugs and legalize marijuana for all Americans.

[8:13pm] Barr: “Clearly the drug war has not worked.”

[8:13pm] Barr advocates federalism on the drug issue.

[8:14pm] Gravel says that the drug issue is a public health issue.

[8:15pm] Phillies: “The war on drugs is a total failure,” adding that “we’re too broke to afford [the war on drugs].

[8:18pm] Kubby, a marijuana activist, said he was buzzed because he was sitting on the stage with a former Congressman and Senator, as well as Libertarian activists, discussing and agreeing that the war on drugs is a failure.

[8:20pm] Barr says that California judge Jim Gray would be his first nominee to the Supreme Court.

[8:22pm] Gravel calls for term limits for all branches of government, including Supreme Court.

[8:26pm] Did Kubby just say, "Madison v. Mayberry"?

[8:26pm] Root takes a line from Giuliani by saying that school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century.

[8:27pm] Gravel gets asked a question about healthcare and the FDA.

[8:29pm] Gravel completely side-stepped the question.

[8:29pm] Phillies is laying out some very good policy proposals on healthcare, including opening up interstate commerce and taking better care of veterans.

[8:30pm] Jingozian says that the drug and medical industry need to be deregulated in order to bring healthcare cost down.

[8:33pm] Kubby cites the FDA as the problem with healthcare.

[8:34pm] Root needs to lay off the Red Bull.

[8:34pm] Root hits on several issues to bring down healthcare costs, including tort reform.

[8:35pm] Barr says that the FDA and government are responsible for fifty percent of healthcare costs.

[8:35pm] We're moving on to gay marriage.

[8:36pm] Phillies says that he is proud to be from Massachusetts. He adds that he'll "ask Congress to repeal the bigoted Defense of Marriage Act." That comment was a shot a Barr.

[8:37pm] Ruwart also sets her sites on DoMA. She said that it "would have to go."

[8:39pm] Root says that it marriage is none of the government's business.

[8:40pm] Barr is renouncing the Defense of Marriage Act. He said that as president he would work to repeal his own legislation.

[8:41pm] Cal, I showed your comment to Dave Weigel from Reason. See his column on Ruwart and 9/11.

[8:43pm] Ruwart wants the Ron Paul vote. She also says that it would be great to have a woman run as the party's nominee for president.

[8:44pm] Kubby says that there have been too many conservative nominees in the past. He says that there needs to be a Ron Paul-type candidate...which is perplexing considering that Paul ran to the far-right on most issues.

[8:45pm] Root says that he would appeal to small-business owners, school choice activists and online poker fans.

[8:46pm] Barr: "We need someone who can reach the American people in a language they can understand."

[8:47pm] Barr: "We are on the cusp of a Libertarian era and I want to help seize it."

[8:48pm] Phillies promises to continue to build the party.

[8:49pm] Pinkerton is moving onto rapid fire questions.

[8:50pm] Kubby says real freedom on guns wouldn't come from Congress, but it would come from Smith & Wesson.

[8:51pm] Barr says that the Second Amendment is the first amendment. He voiced support for the Supreme Court overturning the DC gun ban.

[8:52pm] We are moving on to closing statements. Barr goes first.

[8:54pm] Barr says that fear should not play a part in public policy.

[8:55pm] Phillies is touting his campaign as most organized and that he is the candidate with the most clear Libertarian credentials .

[8:56pm] Ruwart says that Libertarian beliefs are becoming mainstream.

[8:58pm] Root says that the LP needs energy and passion. Root said his hero is Winston Churchill and he'll never stop fighting. I thought we were going to have a Howard Dean moment there.

[8:59pm] We're done. Time to head over and catch candidate reaction. You pick the winners.

Posted by Jason at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (47)

Green Death finally got here around 11:30pm last night. Delta was kind enough to put his luggage on the wrong flight, they did manage to get it to him this morning.

We stopped by Starbucks. I needed a coffee. I picked up this shirt from LPStuff. We bumped into M Carling, who is parliamentarian of the convention and a well respected member of the party. We had a quick discussion. He is one of the individuals I've always heard of but never met. Very nice guy.

We'll be heading down to the vendors booths in a few minutes. Green Death has to register. We may try to catch the Rockies game this afternoon or the new Indiana Jones movie late this evening.

Tonight is the presidential debate. You can watch it at 9pm (Eastern time) on C-SPAN.

More updates later.

[9:10am] I spoke with Steve Kubby on my way down to the floor. He asked me if I had given my token. I don’t know if I mentioned this yesterday, but I gave mine to Barr. I told him I was committed. He asked if I had given my token away for the VP nomination. He said he was considering running for the VP nomination. I told him that if he announced, I would give him my token.

Just to give you some insight into the LP nominating process. The VP nominee is selected separately from the presidential nominee. I’ve seen several comments on other blogs where people say that they hope Barr picks this or that person for his running mate. It simply does not work that way. That isn’t to say that he, or whoever the nominee is, may not have influence in determining their running mate. It is, however, ultimately up to the body.

[9:21am] The 80 token threshold to be included in the debate is being lowered to ten percent of the number credentialed delegates. Right now that would be about 60 tokens.

[9:23am] Presidential candidate who do not win the nomination will be given the opportunity to run for the VP nomination. There are many delegates holding on to their token for VP.

[9:24am] Green Death is wearing a Bob Barr cowboy hat. By the way, there is a lot of anti-Barr propaganda around the convention, but as the convention moves along I see more and more delegate wearing pro-Barr buttons.

[9:27am] LNC Chairman Bill Redpath put the floor on notice that we’d begin in a few moments. We’ll begin with more debate on by-laws. I was told to be on the floor this morning for another battle. We’ll see how this goes.

[9:31am] Stephen from The Liberty Papers just stopped by and introduced himself.

[9:32am] Redpath just called the floor to order.

[9:34am] There now 552 credentialed delegates.

[9:35am] There will be a credentials fight at some point.

[9:38am] I forgot to mention that I bumped into Kane earlier. He and Val Venis are both Libertarian Party members. Unfortunately, I missed the media only WWE Snackdown event with them yesterday afternoon.

[9:43am] I just spoke with Stuart Flood, an LNC representative from the Southeast region. He said that there is a problem. Apparently, Florida is threatening to drop out of the region because of the results of the vote on regional representation. We may have to do another vote sometime this afternoon.

[10:03am] Barr just came by and said good morning to the Georgia delegation. I asked him how he was feeling about everything. He said that he felt like things were starting to gel and that he was feeling confident but that we need to keep working the body in his favor. I asked him how he felt about the VP race. He said he was staying out of it.

[10:07am] David Nolan, the party founder and member of the radical caucus, made a motion to suspend the rules so that the two factions would be given 15 minutes each to compare their versions of the platform. It looks like the reformers are going to lose this one.

[10:11am] Actually, I forgot that this required a 2/3 vote. The radicals got 180, but the reformers manage to get enough votes to kill the motion. Most of the Georgia delegation voted against it.

[10:14am] A motion was made a moment ago that would require a division of the delegates to move from 20 to 40. It requires 2/3 approval. This is an important motion because radicials are using division to slow down business on the floor.

[10:17am] The motion passes. We can move along now.

[10:20am] The AJC has a story up about Glenn Jacobs (aka Kane).

[10:21am] Alicia Mattison is presenting the report of the platform committee. This will be very important as far as determining how the party will present its message over the next two years.

[10:40am] By the way, I'll be liveblogging the debate tonight.

[10:45am] We'll be working through our next break until 12:30pm.

[10:52am] The body voted to approve the majority report of the platform committee. A previous motion to extend debate for another 15 minutes failed.

[10:59am] Word is that two presidential candidates have dropped out and endorsed Barr.

[11:01am] Just overheard from a male member of the Georgia delegation, "I gotta go find Starchild and give him a kiss." He was, of course, joking.

[11:04am] The radicals have to see the writing on the wall, they are losing just about every vote.

[11:17am] The body just passed the plank on "Rights and Discrimination" and we are debating the "Internation Affairs" plank of the platform. The majority report on the issue is non-interventionist, but the minority report is on immigration, and very long.

[11:22am] The body voted that the minority report is not germaine.

[11:33am] AmSpec has video from this morning.

[12:08pm] I just voted with the radicals against a platform plank on "International Security and Individual Rights." It is too broad. However, it opened up debate and amendments for things like the abolition of the CIA and so on. Hopefully, we can get a more narrow view of what power we believe government should have.

[12:19pm] We're going to break here in a few moments. I just got word to head over to Barr's booth to find out how many tokens he received. There is no doubt that he'll have enough, he likely received a large portion of the ten percent needed from the Georgia delegation. By the way, the Georgia delegation is almost entirely in support of Barr.

[12:28pm] The AJC meets Starchild.

[1:01pm] The tokens have been turned in for tonight's debate. There will be seven candidates participating.

They are:
- Root: 94 tokens
- Barr: 93 tokens
- Ruwart: 92 tokens
- Gravel: 67 tokens
- Phillies: 62 tokens
- Jingozian: 62 tokens
- Kubby: 60 tokens

[3:05pm] We're back, working on the platform and moving right along. We're on recommendation 10 of 46.

[3:16pm] Word on the street is that Barr gave a "chunk" of his tokens to other candidates in order for them to get in the debate.

[3:22pm] I love the "Government Finance and Spending" plank: "All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. We call for the repeal of the income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution. We opposed any legal requirements forcing employers to serve as tax collectors. Government should not incur debt, which burdens future generations without their consent. We support passage of a "Balanced Budget Amendment: to the U.S. Constitution, provided that the budget is balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, and not by raising taxes."

[3:31pm] Here updated token numbers:
- Barr: 94 tokens
- Root: 94 tokens
- Ruwart: 92 tokens
- Gravel: 67 tokens
- Jingozian: 63 tokens
- Phillies: 62 tokens
- Kubby: 60 tokens

[4:11pm] I just posted some pictures here.

[4:23pm] We are half way through the platform.

[4:45pm] You watch Barr's team live here.

[4:46pm] Some drama hit the LNC Southeast region...again. Our "friends" from Florida threw a temper-tantrum and left the region. This takes the super-region status away from Southeast. We now have one representative and one alternate. Stuart Flood received the highest number of votes. He is the representative. Barr stepped aside to allow Heather Scott from Tennessee to be the alternate.

[5:45pm] The body voted to delete everything we haven't already dealt with and we are going through each plank to add in new platform information.

[5:52pm] Stephen has an interview with Wayne Allyn Root, one of the candidates for the presidential nomination, over at The Liberty Papers.

[5:57pm] The body just overwhelming passed the "Self-Determination" plank, which contained language from the Declaration of Independence. Only a couple of people voted no.

[6:04pm] We're done with the general business session for the evening. The debate begins in an hour.

Posted by Jason at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Here are some pictures from Denver. I haven't taken any today due to being on the floor all day with the exception of lunch at the Hard Rock. I'll take some at the debate this evening.

Garrett Michael Hayes

Shana Kluck

former US Senator Mike Gravel

I spent too much money here.

Steve Perkins

Convention Floor

Convention Floor

Georgia delegation

Georgia delegation

Georgia delegation

Jennifer Chambrin and David Chastain are seated on the right.

Bob Barr presented with an award by Stuart Flood.

Bob Barr presented with an award by Stuart Flood.

Bob Barr presented with an award by Stuart Flood.

Barr's reception.

Barr's reception.

Barr's reception.

Barr's reception.

Barr's reception.

Barr's reception.

Barr's reception.

Barr's reception.

Boortz 2012?

Posted by Jason at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm down in the main lobby where all the candidates and organizations are. I'm taking some pictures for later. Barr has a very large presence, other candidates have a good presence as well. Mike Gravel has a huge booth, but it seems so odd to see him here.

I got credentials this morning, it didn't take too long. I've bumped into several friends. I'm sitting here with Steve Perkins and Jamie and Natalie Barker. Steve is a commenter here.

By-laws and platform are on the schedule this morning, which should be pretty interesting. This will be the first fight between moderates and purists

I'll be updating throughout the day.

[9:38am] Delegates are starting to file in. The general business session is about to begin. The Georgia delegation has a meeting at 12pm. I'll be going to the lunch with David Harsanyi, which is one of the events I have been looking forward to.

David Nolan, the found of the party, is making a motion to limit debate on platform and by-laws to spend more time on the presidential nomination process.

[9:58am] Nolan's motion failed. A second motion passed to adopt the agenda. This was sort of the first shot across the bow between the two factions of party. The moderates/reformers take the first round.

[10:03am] I just met Steve Kubby, one of the candidates for the presidential nomination. Seemed like a nice guy. You can read his story here.

[10:07am] You can view some pictures from the convention here. I'm taking some pictures as well, I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload them.

[10:13am] We'll be breaking until 10:30am, when the body will begin debating the by-laws.

[10:35am] I'm giving Sharon Harris a hand with the Advocates for Self-Government booth while she does her workshop this morning. I have a lot of respect for what Sharon does. She is such a nice lady and it was a privilege to meet her.

[10:40am] I just got an invite for Bob Barr's reception this evening.

[2:27pm] It has been an interesting day so far. We just had our caucus for the LNC Southeast region, which is now super-region (two representatives to the LNC). There were three candidates nominated, Bob Barr, Stuart Flood and Lee Wrights. Both Flood and Barr were elected. Four candidates were nominated for two alternate spots. Most if not all of the Georgia delegation backed Heather Scott, a county commissioner from Tennessee. Lee Wrights won the second alternate.

[3:20pm] The Credentials Committee just announced that there 518 delegates.

[3:22pm] I didn't realize it but I have a reserved seat at a media table on the convention floor between Antiwar.com and Reason: Hit & Run.

[3:25pm] Mike Gravel just walked by Steve Perkins and myself. We talked to him for a moment. He seems like a very nice guy.

[4:01pm] Starchild has spoke a couple times on by-laws issues. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the LP, Starchild dresses in costume for the convention every year. You can view costumes from previous years here and here. This year...he is dressed as a pirate.

[5:37pm] Libertarians do things a little different. Presidential candidates have to get 30 "tokens" in order to get on the ballot for the nomination and 80 tokens in order to participate in the debate. We heard from Mike Gravel's camp not too long ago that he doesn't even have the 30 tokens to be on the ballot.

[5:40pm] We are wrangling over platform language and the statement of principles right now. It's getting interesting. Right now there is a 7/8 requirement to change the statement of principles. Reformers are attempting to lower the threshold to 2/3.

[5:53pm] Steve Perkins tells me that the abortion and immigration planks of the platform have been retained, they were apparently voted on while I was getting my computer charger out of my room.

[8:48pm] After all of the wrangling over by-laws, a group from the Georgia delegation went over to Marlow's, a very good steakhouse just down the street, and had dinner. In about ten minutes I'll be heading a reception for Bob Barr. There was an "unofficial debate" this evening between some of the candidates, Barr and Wayne Allyn Root did not attend. I'm saving my energy for tomorrow night.

[8:54pm] I was wrong about Gravel. He has the tokens to be on the ballot, but not enough for the debate.

[10:08pm] I just got back from the reception. Green Death should be on the way in any minute now. He took a later flight because his son is graduating from school. The reception was encouraging. There was an excellent turnout and I was told that there will be another one tomorrow.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I've picked up some new reading thanks to Laissez Faire Books. I bought Restoring the Lost Constitution by Randy Barnett, The Dirty Dozen by William Mellor and Bob Levy and The Law by Frédéric Bastiat.

I'm off to bed.

Posted by Jason at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

[UPDATE 5/23/2008] This update provides further information not available yesterday. Also, the indication that Fincnance Director Mike Bush was in some way as guilty as Mathis was an error on my part. Apologies to Mike Bush.

As a citizen I am prepared to file formal charges based on the evidence of Mathis' malfeasance in office. The new department she created did not have board approval. She duped both the county manager and finance director by presenting bound folders designed to setup the budget and hiring of employees. Mathis told both the county manager and finance director it all had board approval.

That is how Mike Bush got in the middle - he has not been her puppet. Bush is under the gun to get the county budget approved by May 31 - that was his motivation for pressing board approval. Until Chairman Harper literally explained board politics (Monday May 19 meeting: 3 votes for, 3 votes against) to him he believed the "details" could be worked out later. It is not Mr. Bush's job to decipher whether a commissioner is lying or to become involved in such divisive circumstances.

Mathis was, and remains, prepared to create a $400,000 budget increase in order to meet a personal agenda of pandering and cronyism. Mathis originally positioned the department as costing no more than the annual allocation to the Juvenile Courts, and intended to augment their functions using 'drug awareness' funds. In fact she devised a set of social programs that opened a Pandora's Box in terms of staffing and future funding.

The department will not exist as Mathis planned. The director she promoted will work under the Juvenile Court judges. She will keep her salary, but will not be eligible for a cost of living or other annual raises in pay. The new hires, potential programs - Mathis' entire plan - will be placed before the Juvenile Court judges. If they decide something new is worthwhile, they will approach the BoC for funding.

Mathis is a crooked manipulator. Yet there are two board members who want to allow her maneuvering. Her vote makes three. The remaining three commissioners are not willing to be duped or allow county government to be subverted.

In this election year, we must be aware of the misdeeds. We must be aware of the voting patterns on the BoC - -and NOT return anyone to office who has supported this dishonest and fraudulent sham.

[Original Post]
On April 8th the board of commissioners voted to postpone funding for a new department that Commissioner Mathis slipped into existence without board approval. The department was to use money allocated to drug awareness programs and augment the work already in place by the Juvenile Courts. In fact the new department head’s presentation to the board included all kinds of social programs, but nothing to meet the drug awareness requirement.

Reality hit hard when the commissioners learned that a $400,000 budget was on the table – twice the amount already set aside for the Juvenile Court programs. Mathis AND county finance director Mike Bush argued that BJ’s Department of Patronage and Cronyism would not cause a budget increase.

On Monday, May 19th the issue came up again. When Mr. Bush asked the board to approve the budget, Chairman Harper asked whether BJ’s department was included. Mr. Bush said “Yes” but asked for approval anyway. Mr. Harper asked if the new department required a budget increase. Mr. Bush again said “Yes, but the board can resolve that problem later,” pressing for approval of the budget.

Regardless of the $400,000 requirement, Mr. Bush maintained the budget contained no increase. To which Chairman Harper said, “This is smoke and mirrors.”

BJ’s hand is not only caught in the cookie jar, but the county finance director is standing right beside her with crumbs on his fingers. While one is known for defrauding the county, the other is a county employee following a very dangerous path.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)

I arrived in Denver around 6pm, but I didn't get to the hotel until almost 8pm. The flight was delayed by 40 minutes due to rough weather and we had a lot of turbulence.

I checked in dropped off my luggage and walked over to Maggiano's for dinner. The first person I saw when walking into the hotel was Bob Barr, he was working the crowd.

Unfortunately, I didn't get credentialed, because I arrived late. I'll have to do that in the morning. Thanks to Daniel Adams, I was able to get press credentials as well.

I'm tired. Goodnight.

[UPDATE] The rumor going around that Tucker Carlson may seek the Libertarian presidential nomination.

Posted by Jason at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

At Monday's Board of Commissioner's meeting of May 19th it became apparent that there are some serious questions as to the cost overruns of the new jail extension.

Commissioner Reid Bowman asked some good questions of Roy Clack, Director of Henry’s SPLOST Program. Bowman asked why many of the items that he keeps coming back for approval for that should have been on the original plans. Items include handicapped accessible showers, exposed water pipes, electronic locks, and the security door. These items should have been on the original plans.

Also, Commissioner Johnny Basler made mention of the fact that many people in the community see this project as the same as the Courthouse extension which took a lot of time and money. Mr. Clack explained that the Courthouse was a different scenario from the jail. But Mr. Basler stressed that the public sees things differently. It is hard to explain why the jail has been a work in progress ever since it was built at the new site. Mr. Clack said that the new addition should be finished by September.

The County Manager stated that we needed the addition to keep the county out of trouble with the DOJ. It seems that at nearly every meeting Mr. Clack is coming back before the BOC for more money because of overruns or something that was left off the list. It seems that this project is another bottomless pit where our tax money is disappearing into. What is worse, there seems to be official acceptance of cost overruns as normal procedure.

Mr. Stamey asked also how many more times he was coming for more money and he said they are preparing for more. Mr. Clack said in the previous meeting that when he comes before the BOC that the work has already been done and the money is gotten after the fact. These are not small change orders; they are large amounts of money.

There is something wrong with this picture. At least three of our commissioners are alert and paying attention.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

The county website features information about our parks. On the page for Nash Farm there was a link to the Pollard Version of History that has been proven false and an embarrassment to BJ Mathis and the county.

The embarrassment to the county has been rectified by removing the link to the private domain called henrycountybattlefield.com

However, the county website (http://www.co.henry.ga.us/ParksRecreation/Parks/ParksNashFarm.htm) still maintains "History of Nash Farm" that does not coincide with War of the Rebellion accounts:

On September 3rd, Confederate General Stephen Dill Lee’s Army Corps, followed by Stewarts Corps, reestablished Hardee’s right flank at the Nash Farm.

It appears to run along a high ridge immediately in front of the McDonough Road and behind Walnut Creek (Henry County). I am feeling well to the left with skirmishers to see if I can reach the enemy’s left on the McDonough Road.

All in all, the county park at Nash Farm is no longer positioned as a monument to BJ Mathis’ dedication to fabricated history. And the county’s official website no longer promotes her campaign through a county park. The taxpayers win this one.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 06:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Taxes account for 20% of the price of gas in Chicago:

Tired of seeing the price at the pump jump every time you need to buy gasoline? Well, the record-high price of gasoline in the Chicago area is linked to a record-high rate of taxation: nearly 20 percent of the Chicago price.

As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, tax refugees wait in long lines on Indianapolis Boulevard in Northwest Indiana. They jockey for position at a pump, lured by prices that are 20 cents a gallon or more cheaper than just a few blocks away back in Illinois.

"It was $4.20. I can come over here and get it for $3.93," said Tikvah Wadley, one of the many fleeing Illinois taxes.

Posted by Jason at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was on the radio with Wilson Smith this morning to discuss the Libertarian National Convention, we got sidetracked into a brief conversation about immigration, Iraq and the new Indiana Jones movie.

Wilson and I always have good conversation, whether we agree or disagree, and believe me, there was passionate disagreement on the immigration issue.

I'll post the audio here once or if it is available.

Posted by Jason at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bush vetoed the bloated farm bill yesterday but the House acted quickly to override his action:

President Bush vetoed the long-embattled 2007 farm bill Wednesday, saying it provides subsidies for farmers at a time of record crop prices, increases farm spending by $20 billion and uses "budget gimmicks to hide much of that increase."

Within hours, in a show of bipartisan defiance, the House overwhelmingly overrode his veto of the nearly $300-billion bill, 316 to 108.

But an embarrassing legislative snafu may well nullify the House's veto override and trigger a string of new votes that could reopen the farm bill for consideration.

The mix-up occurred in the House, which along with the Senate overwhelmingly approved a final version of the bill last week. The House, however, sent the White House the final version of the bill minus one 34-page section.

Because the White House did not receive the entire farm bill, House leaders were left wondering whether Bush's veto, and their override vote, was legitimate.

The roll call vote for the override can be viewed here. Once again, Georgia Congressmen Jack Kingston and Phil Gingrey disappoint by voting in favor of corporate welfare and more intervention in the market that only drives up food costs.

Posted by Jason at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

From the Herald:

Henry County School officials are reporting that about 35 percent of the school system's eighth graders did not pass the math portion of this spring's Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT).

One thousand and eighty-six Henry County eighth graders, more than twice the number in 2007, will be offered math remediation this summer.

The program to impose higher standards, raise the bar, and improve Georgia's standardized test scores raises questions. The curriculum in mathematics, for example, now merges the areas of algebra, geometry and statistics. Back in the day (yes, I attended government schools) students learned the concepts and built upon them throughout the years. Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry.... there was a progression in the model.

It seems the test scores reveal several things:

Teaching to the test apparently does not work
Teachers may not be trained to combine 4-years of concepts into a single curriculum
Students may not be able to distinguish and apply the presented material
The curriculum is designed to "improve test scores"
The methodology seems to overlook actually teaching the core concepts

Even if Georgia's standards have been too low, this all-at-once approach was wrong. You cannot force teachers and students into a no-win situation where neither are prepared for the challenge. It would make sense to gradually change curriculum and testing so that some "learning" can actually occur. I cannot accept that 35% of Henry's 8th Graders suddenly got dumber!

One thousand and eighty-six (1,086) Henry County eighth graders must attend a 3-week course in June. They will retake the test - and pray for promotion to the 9th Grade. Something is terribly wrong with this picture.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 07:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Here is some mixed news on jobs in Georgia:

Georgia's economy likely will shed about 7,000 jobs this year and the jobless rate will rise to about 6 percent by next year, one of the state's leading economic forecasters says.

Still, Georgia's economy remains more robust than the nation's, and it should see renewed job growth in 2009, Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University, said in a quarterly report Wednesday.
[...]
"Job losses will be mild by historical standards as the corporations have little fat to cut," he wrote.

The jobless rate, now a moderate 5 percent, will slowly rise, hitting 6 percent next year, he said.

Posted by Jason at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Martha Zollar is doing something that Neal Boortz won't do, and that is discussing the FairTax with Jay Bookman:

On several occasions, FairTax champion Neal Boortz has used his syndicated radio show to attack me for daring to point out the absurdities of his pet proposal. For some reason, though, the blustering Boortz has repeatedly refused to let me debate the issue on air with him. Maybe he fears what might happen should his faithful listeners be allowed to hear a dissenting viewpoint.

But hey, it’s his show, and his choice.

Martha Zollar, another talk-radio champion of the FairTax, is made of sterner stuff. She’s invited me to talk about the proposal on her show Thursday morning. Beginning around 9:30, we’ll bat the FairTax around and then take calls and questions from listeners. Her show is on WDUN News/Talk 550, and can be heard on the station’s website.

Hey ... here's an idea! I'm up for a fight right now. How about a public debate somewhere? Jay Bookman and me! Look, I've debated Yale tax law professors and former deputy assistant Treasury secretaries on the FairTax, I think I might be able to stand up pretty well against a deputy editorial page editor who finds it necessary to lie about an idea before he can criticize it.

Date and time? We'll work it out!

[T]his morning I've instructed Belinda to contact Emory University, Georgia State and Georgia Tech to see if just such a debate forum exists, and if they would like to have little old me and hotshot columnist Jay Bookman come debate the FairTax! After all ... why wait for Bookman to set it up! He's more interested in attacking me than in getting to the truth of the FairTax.
[...]
Come on, Mr. Bookman. Chose your audience ... and let's rumble.

But ... in the meantime ... you FairTax supporters leave Mr. Bookman alone. He clearly doesn't like to be challenged.

Posted by Jason at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This concept is very popular among people who cannot stand on real issues and have nothing to offer. Too often we hear rumors and sometimes well intentioned folks react out of fear they cause.

The latest rumor that floated around the Courthouse yesterday is, "If Jim Cox is elected, he is going to fire all the Bailiff's." This came from a Bailiff this morning. But it is patently false!

It is normal that politicians will turn against "outsider" candidates. Anyone who is not chosen and anointed must suffer the wrath of the Establishment. In the fear of losing votes, these weak and worthless people should never have been elected to serve the citizens. They are all too busy serving themselves.

And the ones standing as having the power and influence to make or break a political career -- these folks are the real cancer in society. It is their own ego and self-importance they serve. As a student of history it is not surprising that the concept of ostracizing such scabs from society was once a common practice.

When the weakness of their own positions become apparent, and there is nothing of substance to offer, they succumb to the same fears they try to inflict. They cannot accept a candidate they cannot intimidate or control. They are so concerned that a good candidate may actually get elected, the smear tactics and lies become the topics du jour.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)

I must first provide a disclaimer wherein I take full responsibility for the following post. There is a gentleman's agreement between the principals in the race for State House District 109. Neither of them have seen or sanctioned my editorial comments.

The Diversionary Tactic so common among the Entitled Class is (1) change the subject, (2) kill the messenger, or (3) refuse to answer. Pipkin's Team is guilty of all three!

Just like BJ Mathis, attack the messenger AND refuse to answer when the truth does not meet campaign strategy objectives.

Just like Keith McBrayer, life-long residence and employment history are de facto proof of competence to hold elected office.

Look a little beneath the rock throwing and see the mentality of Establishment Candidates. Having nothing material to offer, they fall back on "My Daddy" or "My employment" or "My co-workers like me..." or "The Chamber likes me..."

When Clayton County began its push for commuter rail the plan included also taxing Henry for an eventual station in Hampton. The details of the one-way, no stops service were not made public until our state representative told us. The details of funding were not made public until our state representative told us. The blank check for operations would be funded by people who would never drive to Lovejoy for a ride into Atlanta!

The Henry Chamber of Commerce was 100% in support of this anti-taxpayer scheme. Dana Lemon, Henry's appointed representative on the DOT Board was 100% in support of it. And no surprise that a majority of the developers (members of the Chamber) who supported it stood to reap huge profits. One mayoral candidate in Hampton based campaign strategy on lowering standards in order to profit from the rail.

While our state representative spent exhaustive time and political capital to study and reveal the negative impact to taxpayers, the Chamber of Commerce worked diligently to thwart his efforts. At one point a Chamber official told the state representative that he would never be elected in this county again! So the backroom, back alley strategists began the search for a "suitable candidate."

In 2006 our state representative ran without opposition. Apparently, the Chamber offical and a vast network of influential cohorts failed to mount opposition to the sitting state representative.

Now it is 2008 and a young, intelligent, life-long resident of Henry - with a well known Daddy - has been tapped as the Insider Candidate. A cursory look at political history tells it all: the political Old Guard choose an impressionable and controllable person to act as their front man. In Henry County, still a solidly Republican in voting, the self-anointed Establishment includes many mainstream Democrats and Democrat fund raisers. (look at Pipkin's contributor list) So the fallacy of the Pipkin candidacy is two-fold:

First, Pipkin must represent anti-taxpayer policies; and,
Pipkin cannot represent truly conservative legislation.

There are rumors of influence peddling associated with the Pipkin campaign. One local attorney flipped his "support" for both Sheriff and State Representative. The story goes that his endorsements will result in Old Guard support in his run for District Attorney. This man, already in elected office, has demonstrated a serious character flaw that will soon enough become public knowledge. You all know the subject of this rumor -- and you know who is pulling his strings!

These observations are not personal. Mr. Pipkin is a bright and amiable fellow. I can find no character flaw, except his willingness to be used by forces whose grasp he cannot ever escape. All in the name of Henry's political Old Guard.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (75)

What is this entry way called? The one at my house is old and is starting to rot, and I need to replace it, the only problem is, I don't know what these things are called so I can't find anybody who does them. I am specifically talking about the wood frame around the doorway. If you know what these are called, please let me know!

Posted by Joshua Patterson at 01:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I leave for Denver tomorrow afternoon to spend the next few days at the Libertarian Party’s national convention. I am nervous about flying, it isn’t something I’ve done very often. But given the other option of driving to Denver, I’ll take my chances in the air.

I am taking a video camera and a laptop and will be updating daily both here and The Liberty Papers. You may even see a post or two over at Red State.

There will be a few battles between moderates and anarchists, mainly over the platform and Bob Barr. Over a beer not too long ago, I told Daniel Adams, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Georgia, that I expected a walkout of different factions at some point during the convention.

Barr will have a fight on his hands for the nomination. However, in order for the party to become viable and attract new members, it must have a credible nominee that understands and can give the message of Liberty. Barr fits the mold and I‘ll be casting my vote for him at the convention.

Posted by Jason at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Jason T. Harper Event Center is located at Heritage Park in McDonough. From the Herald:

"It was quite a surprise to me," said Harper. "As I prepare to leave office, it is an honor to have something at Heritage Park bear my name, because the development of the park has been extremely important to me, both as a district and as a chairman."

The event center was dedicated on May 7. It is 39,958 square feet, and serves as a venue for concerts, festivals, rodeos and movie nights.

The center, which contains concession stands, bathrooms and bleachers, has a built-in capacity of 1,764, but can accommodate 4,000 people by adding tables and chairs on the floor of the building. More than $3 million was set aside in the county budget to construct it.

"Hopefully, the event center will bring [more] quality entertainment for the community," said [Commissioner BJ] Mathis.

My only comment would be to closely examine the $3 million claim. Like Nash Farm, budgets of individual departments - no line item accounting - must be tallied. And don't forget the SPLOST accounts.

There is no problem with the county (i.e., taxpayers) creating a first-class entertainment/park facility. But I have always had a problem naming roads, buildings, etc. after living people.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Chicago has lifted its ban of foie gras:

With Mayor Richard Daley running the vote, the Chicago City Council on Wednesday repealed its controversial ban on foie gras.

Over the shouted objections of Ald. Joe Moore (49th), the ban's sponsor, the council used a parliamentary manuever to put the ordinance on the floor for a vote.

The council voted 37-6 to repeal the two-year-old ban, which critics argued had made Chicago--and the City Council--a national laughingstock.

Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th), a restaurant owner,forced the vote on the measure that prohibits restaurants in the city from serving the delicacy made from the engorged livers of ducks or geese.

They also should return any fines imposed on restaurant owners for this ridiculous law.

Posted by Jason at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

GDOT Commissioner Gena Abraham and former GDOT board chairman Mike Evans are engaged.

Posted by Jason at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bob Barr's candidacy may put Georgia in play:

An InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion survey of 652 likely voters shows that a Libertarian candidacy by former Republican Congressman Bob Barr could create a free-for-all in Georgia next November.

The telephone survey of registered voters who said they were likely to vote in the November election was conducted May 19. It was weighted for age, race, gender, and political affiliation. It has a margin of error of 3.6%.

The results to the question, “If the election were held today who would you vote for President of the United States which candidate would you vote for?”

John McCain, Republican: 45%
Barack Obama, Democrat: 35%
Bob Barr, Libertarian: 8%
Undecided: 12%

Posted by Jason at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

How do you lose a congressional race in a solidly Republican district? By attacking John McCain's military record:

In a nearly-half hour speech, Democratic congressional candidate Bill Gillespie praised Obama, his party's leading White House hopeful.

But he devoted most of his remarks to criticisms of McCain, an Arizona senator who has wrapped up the GOP nomination and was in Savannah for a fundraiser.
[...]
Gillespie noted that McCain was the son and grandson of admirals and called him part of the "Navy royalty."

"Admirals' sons," Gillespie said, unopposed for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District held by Republican Rep. Jack Kingston, "were treated like royalty. They were privileged people. They were given a silver spoon. Their careers were prepared for them."

Gillespie, a former Army officer who served in Iraq, said McCain was the kind of admiral's son who became a "maverick."

McCain, Gillespie added, was "somebody who needed to stand out, someone that needed to draw attention to themselves and ... was usually out for themselves."

He said his "heart grieves" for McCain's suffering as a POW.

"After that," Gillespie said, "he was somewhat of a celebrity and it went to his head. ... I think he was a self-promoter for the last four years (in the Navy.)

Asked to cite specific examples, Gillespie responded, "I don't have one right now."

However, Republicans may have opened a can of worms with the attacks on John Kerry in 2004, thanks in part to the Swift Boat Veterans.

Posted by Jason at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sen. Ted Kennedy has a brain tumor:

A cancerous brain tumor caused the seizure Sen. Edward M. Kennedy suffered over the weekend, doctors said Tuesday in a grim diagnosis for one of American politics' most enduring figures. "He remains in good spirits and full of energy," the doctors for the 76-year-old Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement.

They said tests conducted after the seizure showed a tumor in Kennedy's left parietal lobe. Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma, they said.

His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy.
[...]
Malignant gliomas are a type of brain cancer diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year — and the most common type among adults. It's an initial diagnosis: How well patients fare depends on what specific tumor type is determined by further testing.

Average survival can range from less than a year for very advanced and aggressive types — such as glioblastomas — or to about five years for different types that are slower growing.

Posted by Jason at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Jim Wooten blasted the constitutional amendment for tax allocation districts (TAD) in his column today and is encouraging voters to vote against it:

“Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize community redevelopment and authorize counties, municipalities, and local boards of education to use tax funds for redevelopment purposes and programs?”

The more honest question would be: Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to give tax revenues to developers for up to 30 years that is now allocated to support public education?”

The answer to the latter question is most likely no.
[...]
The problem with TADs now is that they’re being used to fund development that would occur any way. Areas are not blighted. They are immediately in the path of development or are attractive for redevelopment because of location and existing infrastructure. They’re not blighted —- and when they’re not, the gift of tax revenues for decades to come is corporate welfare, plain and simple.

Rule of thumb on proposed constitutional amendments such as this Tax Allocation District question: If you don’t know, vote no. And be warned: You can’t rely on ballot phrasing for an clear summary of what it does.

I believe in and am a defender of capitalism and prosperity, but I do not believe in rentseeking and that is exactly what this constitutional amendment is. Being pro-business does not meaning giving businesses taxpayer dollars and robbing children of an education. It means creating an atmosphere were business can succeed, like keeping down regulation and the corporate income tax.

Posted by Jason at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

[UPDATE 5/21/2008] This thread is now closed to further comments. The issue has been stated and both parties have responded. LS

The post at Rep. Steve Davis' blog represents a perceived breach in a pledge by both candidates for State House seat 109 to run clean, honest campaigns. Rep. Davis voiced his views. Below Mr. Trea Pipkin responded:

After speaking with both Representative Davis, and my father, Andy Pipkin, one fact is clear.....neither of them holds any ill will towards the other. I am sure that many of your readers would consider themselves dear friends of my Dad's; I hope so. I have been blessed to grow up with a father like Andy Pipkin; a dedicated public servant, a judicious individual, and the finest teacher I have ever had. I know Andy Pipkin as well as anyone and I can report to your readers, without hesitation, that the man described by Representative Davis is not a fair and accurate accounting of my Dad.

I appreciate Representative Davis' viewpoint but am unwilling to accept it as actual reality. There was no intent to intimidate or provoke anyone at any time this past weekend. I believe the entire situation has been over-dramatized and quite frankly has taken the focus away from the actual issues in this campaign. Steve Davis is a good person and I appreciate his willingness to join me in a clean campaign-pledge

The people of Henry County deserve a discussion about the issues...the real issues affecting us all.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 07:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Georgia House Speaker Glenn Richardson is telling candidates to be careful as to what questionnaires they fill out an what pledges they sign:

Now that you have qualified for office, you will no doubt be receiving many pieces of advice and counsel. In addition, you will be receiving requests from many various and sundry organizations to fill out questionnaires, signed commitments and pledges.

I highly recommend you not respond to any questionnaires and definitely do not sign any pledges or commitments until you have sought counsel from your consultant, other elected representatives and me. Too many times I have seen people who sign pledges and commitments, not fully understanding what they are signing, only to have the action used against them later.

Some of the groups distributing surveys are very good and reputable, but many are not. Many that participate in this process are somehow, some way getting money to advance their cause. Their only goal is to use these documents to advance such a cause, not help you.

Essentially what King Glenn is saying is, don't sign pledges for organizations that may have an agenda, but support causes of rentseeking special interests that the he supports.

Posted by Jason at 06:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Richard Viguerie has purchased Third Party Watch.

Posted by Jason at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We were up at 5:30am, got showers and out the door by 6:15am or so. There is a lot of stress this morning, not because we're worried they may move the surgery to another day...again. Gary, my step-dad, has lost his patience, which is understandable.

I'll update more later.

[11:32am] She is in surgery. Thanks for the e-mails this morning. I had a rough time when they took her down for pre-op. I know she'll be ok, but there is always doubt in the back of your mind when you are uncertain of something.

I lost my dad when I was 12, so even the thought of losing another parent is hard to swallow, not that her life is in danger. It just a reality that I've had to face of the last few days.

I apologize if I'm rambling. It has been a long weekend and I'm just ready for this to be over.

[1:48pm] The surgeon, Dr. Ulm, just came out and told us that mom was out of surgery and that she would be going into recovery in the next 20 minutes. He surprised my sister and I. We didn't expect to hear anything until around 3pm. We got the family together and told us that she did well and should make a full recovery, and likely be out of the hospital as soon as Thursday.

Dr. Ulm attributed the success of the surgery to "diligent prayers." We'll be able to see her within the next couple hours, possibly sooner.

Thank you for the prayers. I probably won't update again until later.

[8:47pm] Mom was wide awake and very alert after the surgery. We saw her around an hour after we spoke with Dr. Ulm. They were supposed to put her in ICU, but she had done so well they put her in a monitored room instead. She was eating solid food within three hours of the surgery. I'll probably go back down on Wednesday to see her, perhaps even pick her up early Thursday.

In the meantime, I need some quality time with Amanda.

Posted by Jason at 08:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

There has always been a ruling class. At least a moneyed class, or people banded together by trade associations or other personally beneficial membership. These feudal lords and ladies actually believe that family name or social position serves as entitlement to govern.

Work is subordinate to class. Actually doing something that benefits society is far less desired than taking credit for the work and dedication of others. Pandering to the ignorance of the lowly common voter is standard practice. Talking about doing great things is all that matters. Creating an enemy of the people, typically an opponent in a political race, and painting Devil's horns on him is the familiar rallying cry. That strategy is preferred over having to prove your own credentials!

Arrogance is a benchmark of the ruling class. Listen and read as they say, "We need....," even if that supposed new requirement has already been provided. Be aware when they promise a bridge, even where there is no river. Question when they have no experience, yet criticize an opponent who has already served in the job.

We may seldom place faith in anything said by a drunk, television preachers and especially slick politicians. But they all use buzz words and lofty speech to ingratiate themselves to an unsuspecting public:

My opponent is oblivious...
I will crack down on gangs and gang violence

Education is an all-time favorite topic. One candidate said, "More and more students in Henry County graduate high school with a technical degree... But the state has already established a new and tougher high school curriculum so that all students will follow the college-bound courses. Nor does it matter that Mercer already established a campus in McDonough. Of course, a campaign promise as empty as this serves only one purpose: proof that the entitled class really cares about the working people.

Historic preservation is very important. We don't even need to talk about rewriting history or fabricating lies about profitability -- the true costs, as well as the cronyism supported by tax dollars has been proven. Yet the entitled class will continue to boast of great deeds so that people will think the charlatan cares.

The elite class assumes superiority. They will call themselves Republicans although a majority of campaign funds came from long time Democrat fund raisers. They willl call themselves "conservative" while they promote a slate of new programs with no regard to the cost. We are to believe they know what is best for us.

The drive for personal ego and ambition, as well as a closed-loop cronyism, is what motivates the entitled class. Family name, association membership, or simply selling influence - for the elite it is about power, not public service.

Shall we compile a list of Henry County's Establishment Candidates?

Posted by Larry Stanley at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)

[UPDATE 5/21/2008] This thread is now closed to further comments. The issue has been stated and both parties have responded. LS

[UPDATE 5/20/2008] See Trea Pipkins Comments.

[Original Post] Note this post at Rep. Steve Davis' blog.

Press Release for immediate release:
May 19, 2008

REPRESENTATIVE STEVE DAVIS DENOUNCES BLATANT INTIMIDATION TACTICS BY PIPKIN CAMPAIGN

McDonough, Ga. – State Representative Steve Davis denounced the blatant intimidation tactics used by the Trea Pipkin campaign over the weekend.

I spoke with Trea Pipkin about this incident, initially asking for comment or response, and was told that it was all a misunderstanding. He said that he and Rep. Davis had spoken about the matter. Although he was not present at the incident, Trea Pipkin said he could not believe his father would have acted in such a manner. Mr. Pipkin asked that I again speak with Rep. Davis for any needed clarification - so I did. It appears there may have been a misunderstanding, and Rep. Davis said he would accept any conciliatory comments offered by the Pipkin campaign to resolve the matter.

Representative Davis concluded the press release saying:

I have spent the last four years in office clearly showing leadership as a strong advocate of public safety and family values and this is exactly why the Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed me and not my opponent. I will continue to run a clean, family oriented, and issue based campaign and I hope that my opponent will condemn this type of intimidation.”

Posted by Larry Stanley at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

Barack Obama says you can't have air conditioning:

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said.

“That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen,” he added.

H/T: Below the Beltway

Posted by Jason at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Consider this an open thread for today.

- Mom is doing well. She's a little stressed out today. She has had a lot of visitors during her stay, but she is holding up. Her procedure is scheduled for 7:30am. Like I said the other day, she is more at peace with this surgery. There is very little to no chance of anything going wrong.

- I had to stay in the hospital last night so my step-dad could get some rest at the hotel. My back is still sore from sleeping in a fold-out chair.

- I've updated the local elections page. I'm still looking for more candidate websites. If you know of one, send it along either in the comments or by e-mail. Thanks to those of you who have sent links in.

Posted by Jason at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Throw another name in the hat for Governor in 2010:

Word Friday that Cobb Commission Chair Sam Olens is thinking of tossing his hat in the race for governor, now that U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) has decided not to run for that job. But Olens is taking a low-key approach, despite the prodding he’s getting from various well-placed quarters to enter the race.

“I do not feel the need to start an exploratory committee until after the November election. We need to focus on (the upcoming) elections and governance for now. But the calls (for him to run) have been very encouraging,” he wrote in an email to AT.

Olens is running unopposed for re-election as chairman in November. Olens would make a first-rate candidate for governor, although you can bet that the fact he chairs the Atlanta Regional Commission might be a stumbling block with many voters in rural Georgia.

Another interesting tidbit from this article:

There’s word as well that politicos close to Gov. Sonny Perdue, who is barred from seeking a third term, are lining up behind possible candidate Karen Handel, former chair of the Fulton County Commission and now Secretary of State.

H/T: Political Insider

Posted by Jason at 05:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Don Gresham, former candidate for Newton County School Board, is threatening to sue The Covington News and again tosses around the idea of running for the Board of Commissioners in 2010:

I must write you and tell you how much laughter I got out of your article "Our Thoughts," on your editorial page [Friday] concerning me. First of all, I may contact an attorney and sue your newspaper. You need to learn something about the law. SODOMY is where two parties that are above 14 years old; now the law says 16 years old. So that is not a "convicted child abuser." The sodomy law was overturned on November 23, 1998.
[...]
The biggest thing your article tells your readers is God fearing people do not run this newspaper, and that you, if you do go to church on Sundays, only go to be seen. God teaches to forgive, and if you really were a child of God, you wouldn't hold this against a person after 20 years.
[...]
This is only a matter about a two-year window and a question of being on probation.

Well, I have the proof that I was not on probation in those two years, but it is more important to me to show the voters in 24 months as to why the probation was stopped.

Until that time, you will just have to wait.

So now, with just three protests out of 10,225 voters, I will spend $600 in two years to run for the commissioner's seat of my district.

It doesn't have anything to do with when his sentence ended, it has everything to do with the fact that no one wants to be represented by a criminal, especially a pedophile.

Anyway, I don't think he can run for office in 2010 either:

Georgia Election law states that at least 10 years must have elapsed from the date of completion of a sentence for conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude and qualification to run for elective office.

According to court documents, Gresham was convicted in May 1988; his sentence included one year in prison and 11 years on probation, meaning he would not be eligible to seek office until 2010.

In the letter, Gresham continually states that his probation was suspended after two years. However, a spokesman with the Georgia Department of Corrections said Gresham served his full sentence, with his probation ending May 15, 2000.

Game. Set. Match.

Posted by Jason at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Bob Barr's campaign addresses donations by the Bob Barr Leadership Fund in this e-mail sent by former Reagan Administration aide Lance Lamberton:

He heads up the second largest Political Action Committee in Georgia (the Bob Barr Leadership Fund) which has raised substantial amounts of money to spread our message and program of freedom. His PAC has contributed generously to Libertarian candidates and parties, more than $20,000 in the past two years, and his other expenditures are used to get the libertarian message out.

Some of Bob's opponents for the nomination may argue that his former affiliation as a conservative Republican makes his conversion to libertarianism suspect, and I would argue that nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, unless we were born into a libertarian household, we all came from "somewhere" before we discovered libertarianism. And as a former staffer in the Reagan White House, I can relate first-hand to the disillusionment and frustration of once working for a party which has truly lost its way.

The AJC also covered donations by the PAC in yesterday's paper.

Posted by Jason at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sen. Ted Kennedy may have had a stroke:

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, one of the longest-serving Democrats in the Senate, has been rushed to the hospital with "stroke like symptoms," according to cable news and wire service reports.

Kennedy, 76, was air lifited to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He has served in the Senate since 1962, and has become one of the leading surrogates for Sen. Barack Obama's run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

[UPDATE] They are now saying it was a seizure, not a stroke. His doctors say they are unsure of the cause of the seizure but that they'll know more in 48 hours.

Posted by Jason at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Word on the street is that John Oxendine announced his candidacy for Governor today at the state GOP convention and said upon entering office he would call a constitutional convention for the FairTax.

[UPDATE] Insider Advantage has the details.

Posted by Jason at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tax Hike Mike Huckabee removed himself from consideration to be McCain's running mate, whether he realizes it or not:

During a speech before the National Rifle Association convention Friday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee — who has endorsed presumptive GOP nominee John McCain — joked that an unexpected offstage noise was Democrat Barack Obama looking to avoid a gunman.

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak,” said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. “Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

During my speech at the N.R.A., a loud noise backstage, that sounded like a chair falling, distracted the crowd and interrupted my speech. I made an off hand remark that was in no way intended to offend or disparage Sen. Obama. I apologize that my comments were offensive. That was never my intention.

Posted by Jason at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm at the Joshua Cup in Macon waiting on Erick Erickson for a cup of coffee. Thank God for wi-fi. When I left the hospital the surgeon had just came in the room to tell us that the procedure had been moved back...again, to Monday morning. This is obviously very frustrating for my family. We want this to be done and over with.

I guess the silver lining is they aren't concerned with the aneurysm rupturing.

[UPDATE] There was a technical problem with the server last night. Nothing was working. I couldn't even get e-mail. Everything is back and functioning properly now.

I have another update this morning. I kind of wish I had hung around in the room last night while the surgeon was there. He presented my mom with another option. Let me tell you the four options previously given to us.

The first option was to do nothing and send her home. This obviously isn't even an option. If the aneurysm ruptures, she dies. Some people live through a ruptured aneurysm, but my mom's aneurysm is at the base of her skull next to the brain stem.

The second option was coiling the aneurysm. This carried about a 50% chance of a stroke. A stroke may or may not major. She may recover quickly, she may not.

Option three seemed like the best way to go. The would have coiled off the artery, but this also carried a 5% chance of a stroke. But this is what she decided on after consulting with us. The recovery time on this procedure is a few days.

The last option given until last night was to go in through the skull and clip the artery. The doctor said this option would have the most pain involved because of cutting through the bone in the skull and moving around muscles in the neck. It also present a higher risk of staph infection and longer recovery time, I think six weeks. However, with this procedure there is almost no risk of a stroke.

Apparently, the surgeon came up with way to go in through the neck without cutting into the skull. He would clip the aneurysm and be done with it, and there is almost no risk of a stroke. My mom agreed on this procedure. She said that she felt like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. No joke. I think the muscles in my back have relaxed enough to where I can take a deep breath again.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate them more than you'll ever know.

I'm going home tonight, but coming back down tomorrow evening to stay so I can be here on time for Monday.

Posted by Jason at 06:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Changes are on the way at Chick-fil-a:

Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A's vice president of brand development, walked around a table of salads, wraps, sandwiches and chicken strips last week at the company's south Atlanta headquarters, rattling off a long list of menu changes set to hit 1,380 Chick-fil-A stores Monday.

The entree salads will come in larger, sturdier bowls. A new chicken and fruit salad will be added. The chicken strips will be larger, cooked in a new marinade and offered with a new smoky mustard sauce.

The chicken salad sandwich will be chunkier and served on wheatberry bread. The cool wraps will come in a new multigrain flatbread.

And waffle fries can now be swapped out for a host of side items, including coleslaw and chicken soup.

"It's dramatic in terms of the volume of changes," Faulk said. "There are more changes rolling out on May 19 than in any year in Chick-fil-A's history other than the first year."

Posted by Jason at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Libertarian activists are targeting the income tax in Massachusetts:

A group of antitax activists launched a campaign over the weekend to abolish the state income tax, setting the stage for a contentious public battle if the measure is added to the ballot this fall.

After pushing a similar initiative that almost passed six years ago, a group called the Committee for Small Government is back for another round, asking voters to end the income tax and save the average taxpayer $3,600 a year. The group, led by libertarian Carla Howell, is almost certain to gather the 11,000 signatures needed to put a question on the November ballot.

To say that state officials are worried about the prospect would be an understatement.

Community, political, and business officials are grasping for words such as "chaos," "devastating," and "catastrophe" to describe the scenario that would unfold if the measure passes.

H/T: Club for Growth

Posted by Jason at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The farm bill passed both chambers of Congress this week with enough support to override a veto from President Bush:

On Thursday, the Senate, by a comfortably veto-proof margin of 81 to 15, approved a farm bill that now faces a resistant White House. Bush says he will veto the five-year package, much as Eisenhower nixed a big farm bill in April 1956.
[...]
On Wednesday, 91 GOP House members voted for the bill, boosting the House's approval to a veto-proof margin of 318 to 106.

The bill is worse than the 2002 farm bill, which at the time was considered the most bloated and wasteful in history. President Bush should not only veto it, he should take his time in doing so. We have a feeling that the more time the public has to get to know this bill, the less they will like it.

For starters, the bill extends the direct-payment program at a time when farm incomes have reached record highs. Direct payments are government payments intended to supplement farmers’ incomes. Farmers receive these payments whether they grow anything or not. Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat from Wisconsin, was absolutely right when he said of this provision, “It’s not a safety net — it’s an entitlement program.”
[...]
Even though $300 billion is a big burden on American taxpayers, it’s apparently not big enough to change the political calculus of farm-subsidy supporters in Congress, as this week’s votes indicate. At this rate, Americans will be saddled with costly and inefficient farm legislation for the foreseeable future, even though only a tiny percentage of Americans benefit from these programs. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never has Congress taken so much from so many for the benefit of so few.

I see on Political Insider that five Georgia Republicans — U.S. Reps. Paul Broun, Nathan Deal, John Linder, Tom Price and Lynn Westmoreland — voted against the $289 billion farm bill. As the Aussies would say, “good onya.”

Farm bills are a scandal, and this one’s worst than most. The farm lobby is a millionaire’s cabal, with sugar states, cotton states, corn states and others dominating the ag committees and protecting each other’s sweetheart deals from outside attack.

This bill is an example of why Republicans cannot be taken seriously when it comes to spending. Ninety-one Republicans in the House and 35 in the Senate voted in favor of this pork-laden bill.

How did your represenatives vote? Find out here and here.

Posted by Jason at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The California Supreme Court has overturned the state's gay marriage ban:

The California Supreme Court, striking down two state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman, ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

The 4-to-3 decision, drawing on a ruling 60 years ago that struck down a state ban on interracial marriage, would make California the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow same-sex marriages.

A conservative group said it would ask California's Supreme Court to postpone putting its Thursday decision legalizing gay marriage into effect until after the fall election. That's when voters will likely have a chance to weigh in on a proposed amendment to California's constitution that would bar same-sex couples from getting married.
[...]
California's secretary of state is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors of the anti-gay marriage ballot measure gathered enough signatures to put the amendment on the ballot.

We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.

Justices of the California Supreme Court are appointed by the governor, but unlike U.S. Supreme Court justices, serve specific terms, and must be confirmed by the voters in order to retain their positions. All seven members of the California court have been confirmed by the voters. Kennard -- confirmed 2006 with 74.5% Corrigan -- confirmed 2006 with 74.4% Werdegar -- confirmed 2002 with 74.1% Moreno -- confirmed 2002 with 72.6% Baxter -- confirmed 2002 with 71.5% George -- confirmed 1998 with 75.5% Chin -- confirmed 1998 with 69.3%

To quote Aaron Russo, "marriage is for lovers, not for government." It's time to keep government out of the equation entirely and let individuals determine what is best for them.

Posted by Jason at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was not able to get my column finished this week due to the obvious. I hope to finish it this weekend while I'm down in Macon.

Posted by Jason at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 17th - Political forum hosted by the Association of Christian Ministers of Clayton County. Held at the Charley Griswell Senior Center, starts at 10am

The Clayton County Council of PTAs will host their School Board Candidates' Political Forum on Monday May 19, 2008, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at:

New Macedonia Baptist Church
7725 Highway 85
Riverdale, GA 30274

June 16th - Political forum hosted by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce. Held at Performing Arts Center from 6 - 9pm

These events will provide a great opportunity to hear candidate positions and goals for Clayton County Schools.

Thanks to Diana Nicholson, Clayton County School Board Candidate District 5, www.nicholsonforboe.org, for providing information about the Clayton BoE races.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Golf Tournament on June 2nd at Cotton Fields Golf Course

Tournament to benefit the Campaign to elect JIM COX Sheriff Of Henry County

Posted by Larry Stanley at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Don Gresham has withdrawn his candidacy for Newton County School Board, but be warned...he is coming back in 2010 to run for the Board of Commissioners:

Republican candidate Horace Don Gresham withdrew from the District 2 Board of Education race Wednesday, shortly before a hearing to determine his eligibility was scheduled to take place.

Three residents filed challenges to Gresham's candidacy with the Board of Elections after news broke that he was convicted of sodomy with a child under the age of 14 in DeKalb County in 1988.

In a letter notifying the Board of Elections of his withdrawal, Gresham said he's not finished with politics: He intends to run for the District 2 Board of Commissioners seat in 2010.

"These actions that I have taken was just a test run for me in running for the school board," the letter states. "In other words, I have also used the newspapers to see what the voters thought about someone that had a record."

Gresham said he considers newspaper coverage of his conviction "free front-page advertisement getting my name before the public of Newton County."

Posted by Jason at 06:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

I'm driving down to Macon due to a family emergency. Some of you may know that my mother has a brain aneurysm. She has done very well so far. Doctors said it was treatable, but she has been naesous and dizzy for the last couple of days. She was supposed to have surgery to cut flow to the artery next month, but they may go ahead and operate today if it is causing problems.

Please say a prayer my mom and my family.

[UPDATE - 9:21pm] Many thanks for the e-mails and phone calls. I'll be heading back down to Macon tomorrow. They will be performing the procedure to coil the artery in the morning. This carries some risk of a stoke, about 5%. We're confident that she'll pull through fine, but please remember us in your thoughts and prayers.

[5/15 - 6:48pm] The procedure was rescheduled for Saturday. Mom is doing well and in very good spirits. A lot of family was at the hospital when I got there today. I'm heading back tomorrow afternoon and will probably stay down there until at least Saturday evening.

Again, thank you all for your prayers, e-mails and phone calls. You really do not know how much it has meant to me.

Posted by Jason at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford issued a press release today after signing a bill that relaxes the 1,500 hours of training that a hair shampooer must receive. This was included in what his office sent to the media:

Top 10 Crazy Laws or Proposals - Whatever happened to common sense?

1. State law requires an individual to complete 1,500 hours of instruction to become a cosmetologist. It takes more hours of licensing to become a cosmetologist in SC than it does to become a police officer (396 hours) or carry a concealed weapon (8 hours).

2. Caskets and Stones, a retail funeral store in Greenwood, submitted their license application, paid their fee, were scheduled to go before the Board of Funeral Directors, and were told they could open. But then the Board gave them a “cease and desist” order - essentially telling them to stop selling caskets. The Board fined them $1,500 for “opening before their Board appointment.” They had to pay it before they could get their license.

3. Fortune Tellers are required to obtain a special permit in order to operate in South Carolina.

4. A proposed bill would require high school football and basketball playoff games to have replay for officials to use during these games.

5. Barbering schools are required by law to have at least ten instructional chairs -and those chairs are required by law to be upholstered and finished exactly the same way.

6. In 2003, a bill was introduced that would have required all drinking straws in South Carolina be sold in individual wrappers. The bill almost led to a fist fight on the House floor.

7. The fourth Friday in October in each year is designated by law in public schools as Frances Willard Day, and each public school is required “to prepare and render a suitable program on the day to the end that the children of the state may be taught the evils of intemperance.”

8. Circuses cannot exceed 48 hours at one place in any one year.

9. If a menu or advertisement states “frozen dessert,” it must correctly state the specific frozen dessert that is offered for sale so as not to mislead the consumer.

10. Musical instruments are not allowed to be sold on Sunday.

H/T: Club for Growth

Posted by Jason at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Gov. Perdue signed HB 89 into law this afternoon. My friends over at Georgia Carry are very happy:

At approximately 3 p.m. on May 14, 2008, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed HB 89 into law. The bill, sponsored and advocated by GCO, is the most important pro-gun legislation in the history of Georgia. When the bill takes effect on July 1, 2008, it no longer will be a separate crime, for people with firearms licenses to carry a firearm into a restaurant that serves alcohol, on public transportation, or in state parks. The bill also relaxes car carry restrictions for people eligible for firearms licenses and tightens the time frames for issuance of firearms licenses by probate judges.

The author of the bill, Rep. Tim Bearden worked tirelessly to see it passed, and GCO thanks him for his unwavering support. Sen. John Douglas championed the bill in the senate. Both legislators recently received GCO’s Legislator of the Year and Senator of the Year awards, respectively. GCO congratulates the leadership and members of both the senate and the house for shepherding this important legislation, and the governor for signing it into law.

GCO also wishes to thank its many members who attended public hearings (that Maureen Downey of the AJC claims never occurred) and media events, and who contacted their legislators and the governor in support of the bill. Without the support of GCO members, this “dangerous bill” that makes Georgia “become less safe” (according to Ms. Downey) never would have been possible.

Posted by Jason at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[UPDATE 5/14/2008] Rick Jeffares will remain on the ballot as candidate for District 2 commissioner.

Rick Jeffares presented witnesses including his builder and neighbors verifying his move-in at the house was October 23, 2007. He also presented records and affidavits proving his purchase, building permits, real estate closing and tax records. The certificate of occupancy was delayed only because of a retaining wall, and had no bearing on his actual residency.

Ms. Donna Walls made the challenge using only the evidence of the dated certificate of occupancy. There is no requirement in Georgia election law that mentions a certificate of occupancy, so the challenge was not valid. Ms. Walls made comments about being "sandbagged." Other reports state that Cindy Steele Kilen and her father, a former Henry commissioner, expressed displeasure with the outcome.

However, the determination and decision was based on existing law and advice of the county's elections attorney.

In fact neither Ms. Walls. Ms. Kilen, Mr. Steele, nor BJ Mathis bothered to verify the facts before attempting to disqualify Mr. Jeffares. We have already seen that facts and truth have never kept Ms. Mathis from pursuit of her own agendas. It now appears that shortcoming speaks volumes to the incompetence of Ms. Kilen to hold office in this county.

The only thing obvious about this elections challenge is that the Mathis Camp is willing to employ any method except an honest, issues-based campaign strategy.

[Original Post] Today the Henry Herald front page (print edition only) featured a blurb about an Elections Board hearing on Wednesday, May 13, 2008. However, no information was provided about the nature of the hearing.

We have now learned that two candidates are running for District II and Cindy Steele Kilen is challenging Rick Jeffares for residency qualification; whether he has lived in District II for one year.

It will be a very close call. The State Election Code states a one-year requirement from the General Election which is in November (not qualifying time). Jeffares moved into his house close to the year mark. But his Certificate of Occupancy may have been given after Nov. 4, 2007.

The decision will hinge on how much evidence he has, and how much evidence she has.

Given that Cindy Steele Kilen is BJ Mathis' chosen heir to the District 2 seat, we should not be surprised that a hair-splitting technicality would arise. Mathis was allowed to keep her seat while campaigning for higher office because of a lower court judge's technical opinion. It was only 'fair' to sidestep the county's local legislation. Why then is similar 'fairness' not recognized for her heir's opponent?

Posted by Larry Stanley at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (40)

The Georgia Transmission Corporation, owned by Georgia's electric cooperatives (EMCs) has notified property owners across Henry's 5th and 3rd Districts of a planned route for new power lines that will serve western Henry and Newton counties.

See the route here. The power lines will follow SR 155 south through North Henry, then Southeast along Selfridge Road before crossing Crumbley Road. At Elliott Road (dirt section) the lines will go cross-country Southeast, then South to East Lake Road, then East along East Lake Road to SR 20, then North to the transmission station across from the Timberridge schools.

I met with Georgia Transmission today and learned that several alternate routes were explored before settling on this one. My own suggested alternative would have followed the 100-year floodplain along Cotton Indian Creek. That route would require building a road and several bridges or culverts across exisitng creek/stream beds. And the environmental impact to that natural setting would be large. Another major concern is avoidance of homes and minimizing impact to individual property owners.

Where the route goes cross-country, there will be a 100-foot easement. along existing roadways, the easement will be 25-feet adjacent to existing DOT easements.

Several property owners along the East Lake corridor have expressed concern for property values, impact and loss of aesthetics. However, only three have yet to sign the release agreement for survey crews.

Public Meetings will be held at East Lake Elementary school on June 10 - 12. For futher information, contact Jeannine Rispin, Senior Public Relations Representative at Georgia Transmission, at e-mail jeannine.rispin@gatrans.com.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 05:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Republicans suffered a tough loss last night in Mississippi:

Democrats picked up a northern Mississippi House seat in one of the most conservative-minded districts in the country Tuesday night -- an upset that will reverberate darkly through a House Republican caucus already reeling from losses in special elections in Illinois and Louisiana.

With all precincts reporting, the Democratic nominee, Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers, defeated Republican Greg Davis, 54 to 46 percent. Childers was able to expand his three-point margin of victory from the race's first round of balloting last month -- even as he faced an onslaught of Republican attacks.

The victory marks the Democrats’ third straight special election pickup in three months. It will be a serious blow to the Republican Party’s already-flagging morale and will surely prompt a new round of finger-pointing among the already fractured GOP caucus.

Posted by Jason at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Strategic Vision has a new poll out relating to Georgia. SV polled the Democratic Party primary for US Senate and atched Chambliss up against all four of his Democratic challengers (for some reason, they didn't poll Chambliss against Martin) and they also took a look at the GOP race for Governor in 2010.

US Senate Democratic Party primary:

Vernon Jones 28%
Dale Cardwell 20%
Jim Martin 15%
Rand Knight 11%
Josh Lanier 5%
Undecided 21%

Saxby Chambliss 58%
Vernon Jones 29%
Undecided 13%

Saxby Chambliss 57%
Dale Cardwell 27%
Undecided 16%

Saxby Chambliss 58%
Rand Knight 25%
Undecided 17%

Saxby Chambliss 57%
Josh Lanier 24%
Undecided 19%

Casey Cagle 19%
John Oxendine 12%
Jack Kingston 11%
Glenn Richardson 9%
Karen Handel 7%
Lynn Westmoreland 5%
Undecided 37%

The Senate numbers are not what I would call dead on either. I think Chambliss is at or around 50%, but whoever the Democrat is will have 35% to 38% of the vote at a minimum, if they don't show at least that then it is hard to take it seriously.

Posted by Jason at 08:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A conference committee has agreed on a compromise to the pork-laden farm bill despite a veto threat from President Bush. Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss is showing his true colors by promising the White House on an attempt to override the veto.

Brian Riedl with the Heritage Foundation writes that there are a number of issues with the bill ranging from the fact that it raises subsidy payments and it continues corporate welfare to large businesses:

Record farm incomes provide a welcome opportunity to reform the antiquated, Depression-era system of expensive farm subsidies. Regrettably, the Senate farm bill (H.R. 2419) fails to modernize these programs. If the bill is enacted, Americans will continue paying $25 billion in taxes and another $12 billion in higher food prices annually for a program that distributes most of its benefits to millionaires. Additionally, these subsidies would continue to damage the environment (by promoting overproduction), undermine trade (thereby raising consumer prices and restricting U.S. exports), and promote poor diets (by subsidizing the sources of sugars and fats rather than healthier fruits and vegetables).

Organizations representing taxpayers, consumers, environmentalists, international trade, global antipoverty advocates, and even farmers agree that the current farm subsidy system is failing and in dire need of reform. Nonetheless, the current Senate bill retains this expensive and broken system. Lawmakers should scrap this bill and start over.

"We need to stand up to the special interests, bring Republicans and Democrats together, and pass the farm bill immediately," Barack Obama declared last November. It was a weird thing to say, since the farm bill, which subsidizes an arbitrarily chosen section of the economy at the expense of taxpayers and consumers in general, is special-interest legislation by definition.

The latest version, which President Bush has promised to veto, includes tax breaks for racehorse owners, "marketing aid" for fruit and vegetable growers, research funding for organic farmers, enhanced price supports for domestic sugar producers, increased subsidies for dairy farmers, a $170 million earmark for the salmon industry, and billions of dollars in automatic payments and "permanent disaster assistance" for corn, wheat, cotton, rice, and soybean growers. Take that, special interests!

Posted by Jason at 07:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here is video of Bob Barr's announcement:

Barr was also interviewed by the National Review:

NRO: But you don’t believe that Americans would experience significantly less liberty if a President Obama was to, say, raise taxes, spend more, and enact a series of regulations that curtail Americans’ liberties?

BARR: I think anybody that does that would be by definition curtailing Americans’ liberties, but why wouldn’t the American people legitimately blame Sen. McCain for that? Because Sen. McCain, for example, if he loses to Sen. Obama, did not put forward an agenda that appealed to a sufficient number of Americans, did not convince them of his bona fides in terms of being a so-called conservative candidate. Why blame Bob Barr? Why not blame Sen. McCain for not putting together and moving forward with an adequate platform?

NRO: What convinced you that it would be impossible to reform the Republican party from within?[

BARR: The fact that the Republican party has evidenced absolutely no interest whatsoever in moving back toward concepts such as the rule of law and away from concepts such as the so-called unitary executive, which flies in the face of both common sense and constitutional history in terms of separation of powers — a Republican party that for several years while the party controlled both houses of Congress and the White House did not move in the direction of shrinking the size, the scope, or the cost of government and has moved significantly and consistently to increase federal spending.

Posted by Jason at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is a big election today for the GOP in Mississippi's 1st-CD:

The increasingly frantic hopes of the GOP rest on Greg Davis, the mayor of the Memphis suburb of Southaven, who is running against Childers to succeed former congressman and now-Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

The lineup of Republican heavy hitters dispatched in the campaign’s final week illustrates the stakes.

President Bush recorded an automated message sent to thousands of districtwide voters. Cheney appeared with Davis on Monday night. Popular Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Wicker campaigned alongside Davis.

Desperate for a win, aides at the NRCC have fired off automated calls from first lady Laura Bush, Arizona Sen. John McCain and Barbour to Mississippi voters to encourage them to turn out.

“In these closing hours, we need to go that extra mile to turn out the vote … and to remind everybody in the 1st District of what’s at stake when they go into the voting booth tomorrow,” Cheney said in his election-eve appearance. “What we need in Washington is a strong conservative congressman from Mississippi — not another Democrat going to bat for Nancy Pelosi.”

But despite the national support — and the fact that this district is one of the safest Republican areas in the nation — Davis is finding himself facing a tougher than expected battle. Childers, a gregarious courthouse official in Prentiss County, has demonstrated widespread appeal among the district’s largely rural population, and has effectively made the race a geographic referendum rather than an ideological one.

In the first round of balloting last month, Childers came within 410 votes of winning the seat outright, leading Davis 49 percent to 46 percent.

Posted by Jason at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Twelve percent of teachers in Clayton County won't be back:

Clayton County Education Association President Sid Chapman was expecting to see some 600 teachers leave the school system amid its accreditation crisis. But he was pleasantly surprised on Monday to hear the departures are not much higher than the system's average losses.

There were 430 Clayton County teachers who did not sign new contracts by the district's deadline of May 1. The district employed 3,700 teachers this year, which means 12 percent of the teachers are leaving this summer. Overall, only 76 school system employees are retiring, and not all are teachers.

Posted by Jason at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Obama goes Christianist in Kentucky:

Fast-forwarding to the present, we find Barack Obama having essentially clinched the nomination locked in a struggle to prove his electability. How does he choose to go after the Appalachian Kentucky voters whose ethnic brethren have so rejected his candidacy?

Religion.

Posted by Jason at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Five years ago Clayton County Schools expeirenced a near-loss of accreditation. Then as now, the voters had elected a school board incapable of operating a school system. Then as now, the board could not function because of many factors, mainly the personal and professional inadequacies of the board members.

Even as the state legislature approved a voucher system and Clayton has an interim superintendent, future viability of the school system rests solely with the quality of people elected to the board.

Among those who are dedicated to serving the students and the community is Diana Nicholson. Whether you live or pay taxes in Clayton County, their future impacts the entire region. Here are Diana's words:

I want to sit on the Board of Education for two reasons, my two young sons. They will be starting public school soon. I want to guarantee that my children are receiving a quality education. I want to bring the Clayton County Education System back to its former glory and beyond to greater heights of excellence.

In order to accomplish this goal the Board of Education must first function as a team. A team building workshop or course should be a requirement of employment. Another accomplishment is frugal spending by the board. Since we receive a paycheck once a month, we must budget our expenses so that we can live within our means. I shop around on every major purchase to make sure we receive the best deal possible. I would treat the school system's budget as if it was my own. I would make sure that every expenditure was necessary and at the lowest cost possible. The most important aspect of a child's development is parental involvement. Programs such as All Pro Dad, D.A.D.S., and iMom, need to be encouraged on every school level. Parents need to feel that they can enter a school at anytime and observe a class or better yet volunteer in a class. The school board also needs to be more accessible to the public. E-mail is a great way for parents to express their concerns. But meaning can get lost or misinterpreted in e-mails. I want to hold public forums once a month for parents to express their concerns. I may not be able to "fix" everything but we all feel better once we have expressed our concerns to some one who truly cares.

Diana Nicholson
Clayton County School Board Candidate
District 5
www.nicholsonforboe.org

Clayton County is a dark spot in Georgia...Let's light it up!

Posted by Larry Stanley at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Join Steve Davis and other dignitaries at

Eagles Landing Country Club
County Club Drive
McDonough, Georgia
Thursday, May 22, 2008
7:00 P.M.—9:00 P.M.

Posted by Larry Stanley at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Tom Baxter lays out the Libertarian field and potential issues facing Bob Barr:

Barr’s main rival on the Libertarian left is Mary Ruwart, a former pharmaceutical researcher who’s been the subject of a controversy within the party over a passage in her book, “Short Answers to the Tough Questions,” in which she extended her Libertarian principles to the point of arguing against the banning of child pornography, saying children have the right to “willingly participate in sexual acts...even if it’s distasteful to us personally.” That’s very controversial within the party, but then so is Barr’s past opposition to the legalization of drugs.

Another candidate likely to make it on the debate stage, and closer to Barr on the political spectrum, is Wayne Allyn Root, a motivational speaker and television sports analyst who has achieved some renown as an odds-maker. That alone should cause some concern in the Barr camp – if the guy shows up, he must like his chances.

The party-hopping Mike Gravel, who has also announced his candidacy for the Green Party presidential nomination, is considered unlikely to make the debate cut, and we’re not as certain about two other announced candidates, Steve Kubby and George Phillies.

As noted by Baxter in the article, the LP candidates debate will be on C-SPAN on May 24th from 7pm to 9pm. I'll be setting my PVR before I leave to record it and I hope to have the video posted here when I get back.

Posted by Jason at 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Gene Healy has a new book out called The Cult of the Presidency, which is about the dangerous rise of executive power over the course of American history, particularly since the progressive era. He gives a preview of the book in this month's issue of Reason magazine. You can read it online here.

The question that Healy leaves readers asking is what the next president will do to expand the powers already provided to him, especially with the unprecedented role of the presidency created by the Bush Administration.

Posted by Jason at 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bob Barr has announced his plans to run for the Libertarian nomination:

Former Republican Rep. Bob Barr formally jumped into the White House race Monday as a candidate for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination.
[...]
"They believe that America has more and better to offer than what the current political situation is serving up to us," he said Monday at the National Press Club in Washington. "The reason for that is very simple, they believe in America as I believe in America. We believe in an America that is not and should not be and should never be driven by fear as current policies on behalf of both parties are in this country."

Barr, 59, represented Georgia's 7th congressional district from 1995-2003, and became an increasingly vocal critic of President Bush, especially over the president's support of the Patriot Act. He formally left the Republican Party in 2006.

[UPDATE] There is audio of the press conference from Reason. You can listen to it here. There is also more here and here. There is some video of the press conference here.

Posted by Jason at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Why does Michael Bloomberg hate our rights?:

Lawyers for Mayor Bloomberg are asking a judge to ban any reference to the Second Amendment during the upcoming trial of a gun shop owner who was sued by the city. While trials are often tightly choreographed, with lawyers routinely instructed to not tell certain facts to a jury, a gag order on a section of the Constitution would be an oddity.
[...]
The trial, set to begin May 27, involves a Georgia gun shop, Adventure Outdoors, which the city alleges is responsible for a disproportionate number of the firearms recovered from criminals in New York City. The gun store’s owner, Jay Wallace, says his store abides by Georgia and federal regulations and takes steps to avoid selling firearms to gun traffickers. Mr. Wallace’s store is one of 27 out-of-state gun shops sued by New York City, and the first to go to trial.

City lawyers, in a motion filed Tuesday, asked the judge, Jack Weinstein of U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, to preclude the store’s lawyers from arguing that the suit infringed on any Second Amendment rights belonging to the gun store or its customers. In the motion, the lawyer for the city, Eric Proshansky, is also seeking a ban on “any references” to the amendment.

“Any references by counsel to the Second Amendment or analogous state constitutional provisions are likewise irrelevant,” the brief states.

Posted by Jason at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

George Will has some questions for Barack Obama:

• You say, "The insurance companies, the drug companies, they're not going to give up their profits easily when it comes to health care." Why should they? Who will profit from making those industries unprofitable? When pharmaceutical companies have given up their profits, who will fund pharmaceutical innovations, without which there will be much preventable suffering and death? What other industries should "give up their profits"?

• ExxonMobil's 2007 profit of $40.6 billion annoys you. Do you know that its profit, relative to its revenue, was smaller than Microsoft's and many other corporations'? And that reducing ExxonMobil's profits will injure people who participate in mutual funds, index funds and pension funds that own 52 percent of the company?
[...]
• You favor raising the capital gains tax rate to "20 percent or 25 percent." You say this will not "distort" economic decision making. Your tax returns on your 2007 income of $4.2 million show that you and Michelle own few stocks. Are you sure you understand how investors make decisions?

Posted by Jason at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The REAL ID Act was supposed to go in to effect today, but many states have resisted the law, including Georgia:

The law set national standards for all state driver's licenses and other forms of photo identification. It directs states to store people's drivers license information in a database, along with additional identity information, like a digital copy of each person's birth certificate. The law mandates that all state databases are to be linked. By now, every state should have built this database and issued Real ID-compliant licenses to all residents.

But you don't need to worry about these new ID's. The law has yet to go into effect.

Little about Real ID has gone as planned. All 50 states, and the District of Columbia, were given extensions by the Dept. of Homeland Security to comply with Real ID. This extension was given despite the fact that 17 states passed resolutions saying they have no intention of ever implementing the program.
[...]
To develop secure databases and issue new licenses, homeland security now estimates that Real ID implementation will cost $3.9 billion. Sensenbrunner's original estimate was $100 million, and so far homeland security has issued just $79.8 million in grants. Congress and the administration are reluctant, however, to make up the difference.

Part of the reason is that many state legislatures have made clear to Washington that they reject Real ID on principle. On the basis of state's right and privacy concerns, 17 states have officially announced they won't comply with Real ID, even if the money were available.

The immigration reform bill that was so hotly debated last year contained provisions dealing with the REAL ID , such as state-to-state passenger travel. If your state did not comply to REAL ID standards, you would not be able to travel to another state.

H/T: Cato @ Liberty

Posted by Jason at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Make sure you take a listen to today's Cato Daily Podcast is with William Mellor, who talks about The Dirty Dozen, a book he co-authored with Bob Levy.

You can download it here.

Posted by Jason at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Insider Advantage has a couple new polls this morning. The first is for the Democratic nomination for US Senate, and the results surprised me:

If the race were held today, the results would be:

Vernon Jones: 21%
Dale Cardwell: 14%
Josh Lanier: 5%
Jim Martin: 3%
Rand Knight: 1%
Undecided : 56%

The other race polled was the GOP nomination for Governor in 2010:

If the election were held today the results would be:

John Oxendine: 17%
Casey Cagle: 17%
Jack Kingston: 10%
Karen Handel: 7%
Lynn Westmoreland: 6%
Jerry Keen: 2%
Undecided: 41%

Posted by Jason at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm keeping an archive of my columns here. They are all from The Covington News and are in PDF format.

Columns
2/22/08 - Will the majority last?
2/29/08- Change we can believe in?
3/7/08 - Gone is the GREAT Plan
3/14/08 - Amendment gets day in court
3/21/08 - Sunday sales should get vote
3/28/08 - Not what the founders intended
4/4/08 - Libertarians' viable candidate
4/11/08 - The circus has left town
4/18/08 - no column this week
4/25/08 - Transportation woes
5/2/08 - Quest to unseat Chambliss has begun
5/9/08 - Gas tax pandering has no merit

Posted by Jason at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by Jason at 08:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I woke up about 5:45am to what sounded like a train going past by bedroom window. I'm not sure if it was a tornado, but it sounded like one. I drove around to see the damage after the storm passed. Things looked rough on Cowan Road near Salem Road. A tree feel on a house, the family was gathered out on their lawn, some guy (could have been a member of the family was taking pictures. Trees were down along the road. Everyone looked ok though, which is the most important thing.

I had fallen back asleep around 7:30am. The power was back on at my place around 9:45am and cable and internet were back on between noon and 3pm.

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I hope you all are having a wonderful day.

I am off to see if I can salvage the swing on my back porch. Luckily, it was the only thing damaged.

Posted by Jason at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bob Barr was recently interviewed by the Village Voice:

VV: Let’s say you win. What’s your plan to deal with the situation in Iraq?

BB: My plan for Iraq is to signal immediately to the Iraqi government that they are going to have to start taking responsibility for their own security, their own economy, their own political development. That I, unlike President Bush but like candidate Bush, do not believe the responsibility of the United States government and military is to nation build and it is not to occupy foreign nations. And we will begin immediately a withdrawal. I would not set a timetable, I don’t believe in telling your adversaries when you’re going to do certain things, I think that’s foolhardy and irresponsible. But I do believe that the only way to very clearly let the Iraqi government know that no longer are the American taxpayers going to foot the bill for the management of their country is to start withdrawing. There’s no need, I believe, if our posture is truly defensive, to keep 160,000 troops on the ground in Iraq. I think that can be reduced beginning immediately if I were to be president. That would also signal to the American people that a Barr presidency takes seriously the responsibility of the American taxpayer. Their dollars should be valued much more wisely than they are now. That their tax dollars, to the greatest extent possible, should remain in their pockets so that they can improve the quality of their lives and not worry about the quality of lives of people in some far away land.

Posted by Jason at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

WSB reports that there is a warrant out for the crazy chick from the MARTA train.

[UPDATE] I'm happy to report that she has been arrested.

Posted by Jason at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Word on the street is that Gerry Adams was fired today by Henry County. If you remember, ex-commissioner Adams was hired by Henry County earlier this year as Special Events Coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department.

Posted by Jason at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)

A teen was shot and killed while breaking into a home in Atlanta, however:

it was too early to say whether the man acted in self-defense.

Posted by Joshua Patterson at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Drew Carey tells the story of Cory Maye:

Posted by Jason at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Minnesota legislature has passed measures that would relax alcohol sales during the GOP convention:

The Minnesota legislature has passed HF 3986 and SF 3642, identical bills that say, “During the 2008 Republican National Convention, holders of an on-sale liquor license may remain open and may serve alcohol until 4 a.m. each day.” The Republican National Convention is in Minneapolis and St. Paul this year. The bill only applies to that part of the state, and is repealed effective September 8. The normal bar-closing hour in Minnesota is 2 a.m.

Posted by Jason at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Sometimes I wonder this myself, but Is the GOP Still the Party of Economic Growth?:

Upon reaching the Oval Office, the new president’s first economic program meant to reverse an economic slowdown was not marginal tax rate cuts, but $80 billion in tax rebates. Though the latter merely shifted money from one set of hands to another, the president promoted the rebates in a Keynesian light meant to “put more money in peoples’ pockets.”

When it came to trade, this administration quickly slapped a 30 percent tariff on certain kinds of foreign steel, and followed up with tariffs on soft-wood lumber and shrimp. So bad was the administration’s reputation when it came to trade that Brink Lindsey of the libertarian Cato Institute felt compelled to point out that “U.S. credibility on trade, internationally, is hovering near zero.”
[...]
Not content there, the president signed Sarbanes-Oxley into law, describing it as “the toughest piece of anti-fraud legislation since FDR.” Among other things, Sarbanes-Oxley foisted strict, time-consuming accounting rules on public firms irrespective of size, and it required public-company CEOs to sign off on the veracity of accounting statements with heavy personal liability if they were later proven incorrect. Talking about the impact of the new rules, Xerox’s Anny Mulcahy noted at the time that there is a “drive for averageness” in corporate suites today. And with the markets sensing the likelihood that CEOs would be forced to act more like accountants than entrepreneurs, the S&P 500 fell 175 points in the three weeks surrounding Sarbanes-Oxley’s passage.
[...]
With the wind at his back after signing farm and prescription-drug bills, the president oversaw what Cato Institute scholar David Boaz describes as “the biggest expansion of entitlements since the LBJ years.” Though the president parroted his predecessor (Bill Clinton) in promising to “cut wasteful spending and be wise with the people’s money,” his desire to show “compassion” meant he never vetoed a spending bill of any kind during his first seven years in office.
[...]
Still, if any of us had been secluded for the past seven years, a description of the Bush years without attribution would likely have had most any Republican assuming a Democrat had been in control. Is there an explanation for this? The first one would be that all politicians disappoint. By definition. Beyond that, given the statist direction taken by the Republican party in this decade, it’s fair to ask if it any longer represents laissez-faire growth. Many would point to the even harsher anti-growth views held by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but it seems a lot of their stances at present are pure politics.

Posted by Jason at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Club for Growth President Pat Toomey defends RINO-hunting:

The Club for Growth Political Action Committee has long been attacked for intervening in Republican primaries and targeting the party's most economically liberal incumbents.
[...]
And Newt Gingrich, the man who ushered in a conservative Republican majority in 1994, once denounced the Club. "Their strategy is explicitly wrong," he said. "The key is to elect more Republicans and have a bigger majority and be more inclusive."

Now comes Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, the man charged with rebuilding the GOP majority in the House. In a New York Times Magazine article, he denounced the Club for Growth's involvement in a special election in Ohio's fifth congressional district.

"The problem I have with the Club is I think they're stupid," Mr. Cole said. "They spend more money beating Republicans than Democrats."
[...]
Winning for the sake of winning is an excellent short-term tactic, but a lousy long-term strategy. Just look at the consequences of the 2006 congressional elections, when the GOP lost control of both houses of Congress.

A Republican majority is only as useful as the policies that majority produces. When those policies look a lot like Democratic ones, the base rightly questions why it should keep Republicans in power. As the party gears up for elections in the fall, it ought to look closely at the losses suffered under a political strategy devoid of principle. Otherwise, it can look forward to a bad case of déjà vu.

Posted by Jason at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eric Johnson may run for Lt. Governor in 2010:

We’re getting that from reliable sources, who point out that Johnson already has “done” the lieutenant governor’s job before. Remember that as Senate President Pro Tem from 2003 through 2007, he was de facto lieutenant governor. (Republicans had gained a majority in the chamber but Democrat Mark Taylor had been re-elected lieutenant governor. Republicans stripped Taylor of most of his power and vested it in Johnson.)

Johnson’s interest in the lieutenant governor’s job only applies if Cagle decides to seek the top post. He would not challenge Cagle for the lieutenant governor’s job.

Johnson was neither confirming nor denying our report. He told us:

"2010 is over the horizon. We have a critical election in just 5 months. I am focused on electing John McCain, re-electing Saxby Chambliss, and making sure that an effective conservative majority maintains control of the state Senate and House. Then – and only then – will I consider my future options.”

I don't see four State Senators running all at once for Lt. Governor. Shafer's name has been mentioned out for Insurance Commissioner (Oxendine is running for Governor). Seabaugh could run for Westmoreland's seat in Congress if he runs for Governor.

Of course, it's far too early to tell what will happen.

Posted by Jason at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sonny Perdue's approval rating has dropped, according to Rasmussen:

Governor Sonny Perdue earns good or excellent ratings from 49% of Georgia voters. That’s down from 55% a month ago. Just 17% give him a poor rating. Up four since March. Nearly a third, 32%, give him a more neutral assessment and say the Governor is doing a fair job.

Here are the potential matchups:
Chambliss - 54%
Martin - 33%

Chambliss - 58%
Jones - 30%

Chambliss - 51%
Cardwell - 37%

There was no mention of Josh Lanier or Rand Knight in the poll, who are also seeking the Democratic nomination for US Senate.

Posted by Jason at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A windfall profits tax would increase oil imports and discourage domestic production. The National Center for Policy Analysis found that the 1980 Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax, signed into law by then President Jimmy Carter, caused domestic oil production to fall by as much as 6 percent and imports to increase up to 16 percent - so much for independence from foreign oil. It also resulted in higher prices at the pump because of decreased production.

Here is my column for this week. I am expecting hate mail off this one. I wrote about the pandering of Clinton and McCain on a potential gas tax holiday as well as Clinton's plan for a windfall profits tax on gas companies.

You can find links to previous columns here.

Posted by Jason at 06:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Club for Growth has released its scorecard from the 2007 session on Congress:

Today, the Club for Growth released its 2007 annual scorecard, awarding the Defender of Economic Freedom award to six senators and forty-nine representatives who scored a 90 or above on the Club's scorecard.

"These top-scoring members of Congress are staunch defenders of American taxpayers," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. "Their votes are critical to lowering taxes, cutting wasteful spending, and promoting economic growth for all Americans. The Club for Growth scorecard allows taxpayers to see how their senators and representatives are performing in Congress and find out who is truly fighting for pro-growth, limited-government policies. We hope that support for pro-growth principles will continue to grow, allowing more members to earn this award and more Americans to benefit."

Six House members from Georgia won the Defender of Economic Freedom award from the Club. They are Paul Broun (99%), John Linder (98%), Tom Price (98%), Nathan Deal (92%), Lynn Westmoreland (92%) and Jack Kingston (90%). Phil Gingrey didn't quite make the cut on the award, he was at 89%.

Neither of our Senators won awards, however, they were in the top twenty. Chambliss scored an 81%. Isakson scored 79%.

Posted by Jason at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This woman defines crazy (language warning):

I prefer the Travis Barker version of "Soulja Boy," but the song still sucks anyway.

H/T: Peach Pundit

Posted by Jason at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Woah, this really caught me by surprise. It seems that Sen. Johnny Isakson will not run for Governor in 2010. The nomination had been almost conceded to Isakson, but this changes everything:

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson held a meeting with this staff this morning and told them he’s decided to seek another term in the U.S. Senate rather than run for governor in 2010.

The meeting was confirmed by Joan Kirchner, Isakson’s deputy chief of staff.

“Johnny loves serving in the U.S. Senate, and he thinks this presidential election — know matter who wins — will be one of the most important in the country’s history,” Kirchner said. “And in the next administration, the U.S. Senate will be where all the action is.”

Who else?

[UPDATE] There is more on this here and here.

Posted by Jason at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

This is from Bob Barr's campaign:

Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr will hold a press conference on Monday May 12 to discuss his future plans and the 2008 election. Rep. Barr launched an exploratory committee last month to determine whether he should file as a candidate for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination.

Who: Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr
What: press conference
When: 11:00am ET on Monday May 12, 2008
Where: Zenger Room at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC

[UPDATE] Politico reports that Barr is running.

Posted by Jason at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Despite her plans to continue her campaign, some say perhaps it's time that Hillary Clinton concede the Democratic Party nomination to Barack Obama:

Radley Balko talks about Cory Maye, paramilitary police raids and no-knock warrants in this video at reason.tv:

Posted by Jason at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Republicans are bracing for a rough election (emphasis mine):

The dark clouds hovering over House Republicans hold one silver lining for Minority Leader John A. Boehner, GOP Whip Roy Blunt and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole: Expectations for November are now set so low that a loss of fewer than 10 seats could be seen as a sort of victory.

Posted by Jason at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Here is a list of legislation already signed by Gov. Perdue. It should be noted that Wednesday, May 14th is the last day for legislation to be approved by the Governor.

A couple that I am concerned about are HB 89, the gun bill that I've previously written about, and HB 881, which establishes the Georgia Charter Schools Commission. I'm crossing my fingers that he signs them both.

Posted by Jason at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Speaking of legislative awards, State Rep. Tom Graves, one of the more conservative members of the legislature, will be honored by FreedomWorks:

State Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ranger) will be honored for his tireless efforts to stem the tide of expansive government and to reduce the tax burden on Georgians. Graves will receive an award presented by FreedomWorks, a nationwide grassroots organization, led by former Congressional Majority Leader Dick Armey.

Graves, who founded a conservative policy caucus in the Georgia House, will be given FreedomWorks first Legislative Entrepreneur award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. tonight. The Republican from Ranger, Georgia, will join four members of Congress and the Florida Speaker of the House who will also be honored by FreedomWorks.
[...]
“Lawmakers such as Graves are a rare breed,” said Armey. “There are so many, who just go along to get along, are the best friend of special interests or the media’s best friend. Tom is thoughtful and measured, yet deliberate and isn’t afraid to draw a line in the sand when it comes to standing for liberty.

“We need more of these courageous lawmakers at all levels of government who are willing to stand up for the principles set forth in our Constitution,” Armey added. “It takes bold leaders to act as fiscal watchdogs, that aren’t afraid to ask the tough questions to those who seek to expand government on the backs of hard-working Georgia families”.

Posted by Jason at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Georgia Carry has named State Rep. Tim Bearden and State Sen. John Douglas as its legislators of the year for their work in ensuring the passage of HB 89, which now awaits the Governor's signature.

You can view the press release here.

Posted by Jason at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This is press release from State Sen. John Douglas on Newton County school board candidate Don Gresham. Douglas is also a former member of the Newton County School Board.

State Senator John Douglas (R-Social Circle) who is Chairman of the Newton County legislative delegation today strongly objected to the candidacy of Horace Don Gresham to the Newton County Board of Education, District 2. In 1988, Gresham was convicted of sodomy in DeKalb County involving a boy under the age of 14. In 1999, he was charged with public indecency in Newton County. In the most recent case, Gresham admitted his guilt and voluntarily completed a pretrial diversion program in lieu of prosecution.

"The situation involving Horace Don Gresham qualifying to be a candidate for the Newton County Board of Education is unacceptable and must be reversed. Gersham should immediately withdraw his name from consideration," said Senator John Douglas, (R-Social Circle). The thought of having a person who is a convicted pedophile and who engaged in an act of indecent exposure represent any part of Georgia on a local school board boggles the mind and defies logic.

After pleading guilty to one count of sodomy, Gresham received a 12 year sentence, the first to be served in prison and the other 11 years to be served on probation.

“Gresham has shown himself to be a repeat criminal offender, putting one of things we treasure most at risk," added Sen. Douglas. "He is unfit to hold a position of trust associated with our children."

Looking to the future, Douglas said, "The first bill I introduce in the 2009 session of the Georgia legislature will be to prevent this from happening again. We must move quickly to prevent a recurrence of this episode and to protect the school children of our state." The idea that a member of the local school board who is entitled to visit schools at will being a pedophile is not something we can tolerate. The Newton County legislative delegation will take the lead in January to ensure this never happens again."

Posted by Jason at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)

State Rep. Judy Manning, resident nanny-stater of the Georgia General Assembly, provides with another fun quote from an elected official:

State Representative Judy Manning said she was shocked to receive death threats over the bill to ban the candy. "Some people think their rights are their rights," she said.

How dare we question them.

H/T: Peach Pundit

Posted by Jason at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This evening brings us another round of Democratic Party primaries as voters North Carolina and Indiana head to the polls

Obama should take North Carolina with ease. Polls have him with anywhere between a 4% to 16% lead in the last week. I think it'll be somewhere around 8% when it's all said and done.

However, Clinton maintains a lead in Indiana, though recent Zogby polls show Obama with a slight advantage (they are the only polling firm showing that).

You can view results from North Carolina here and Indiana here.

Posted by Jason at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CCTV has failed in Britain:

Massive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime in the UK has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of pounds spent on the new technology, a senior police officer piloting a new database has warned. Only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more security cameras than any other country in Europe.

What is the definition of insanity again?

Posted by Jason at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I find this troubling (emphasis mine):

As a Georgian with strong religious beliefs, I oppose Sunday sales of alcohol for individual religious reasons. However, I recognize we live in a democracy where the wishes of the majority must be respected. For this reason, I have not opposed a referendum that will allow voters to choose whether or not to allow Sunday sales.

Posted by Jason at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The AJC has an update on the status of HB 89:

Sonny Perdue apparently intends to sign H.B. 89, the bill that would let permit holders carry concealed weapons on public transportation, in restaurants that serve alcohol and in state parks.
[...]
“Actually, we were going line by line over lunch, on that legislation. There are certainly some ambiguities regarding employer and employee rights in the bill, that I’m a little concerned about,” the governor said.

But likewise, he declared himself “moved by the fact” that this law would only apply to license holders who have submitted themselves to fingerprinting and criminal background checks.

Then he said this:

“I do think it will be litigated and tested very soon after signing, because of the craftsmanship of some of the semantics in the language that creates some latitude and interpretation.”

[UPDATE] Insider Advantage has the transcript, it's more ambiguous:

“I do think it will be litigated and tested very soon after signing because of the craftsmanship of some of the semantics of the language that creates certainly some latitude in interpretation.”

So, he was asked, does that reference to it being 'litigated' mean he will sign it?

“The courts will sort it out regardless if I sign it. If I sign it, they will sort it out. That’s the way our system works.”

Posted by Jason at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Wall Street Journal examines Barack Obama's record on healthcare and finds some troubling results in his obsession with mandates:

Laughing gas can be useful during complicated dental procedures, but should every health plan be required to cover it and should health insurance cost more because of it?

Barack Obama thinks so. As a state senator in Illinois, he voted to require that dental anesthesia be covered by every health plan for difficult medical cases.
[...]
By my count, during Mr. Obama's tenure in the state Senate, 18 different laws came up for a vote and passed that imposed new mandates on private health insurance. Mr. Obama voted for all of them.

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama says people lack health insurance because "they can't afford it." He's right. But he is also partly responsible for why health insurance is too expensive. A long list of studies show that mandates like the ones Mr. Obama has championed drive up the cost of insurance for the very people priced out of coverage.
[...]
A 2008 study by an insurance-industry supported research organization, the Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI), estimates that mandates increase the cost of basic health coverage by 20% to 50%, depending on the state. Average policies in high-mandate New Jersey cost about $4,000 according to a 2004 insurance survey, much more than the $1,200 charged in low-mandate Wyoming.

Posted by Jason at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Economists are skeptical of Hillary Clinton and John McCain's plans for a federal gas tax holiday:

More than 200 economists, including four Nobel prize winners, signed a letter rejecting proposals by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John McCain to offer a summertime gas-tax holiday.

Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz, former Congressional Budget Office Director Alice Rivlin and 2007 Nobel winner Roger Myerson are among those who signed the letter calling proposals to temporarily lift the tax a bad idea. Another is Richard Schmalensee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was member of President George H.W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.

The moratorium would mostly benefit oil companies while increasing the federal budget deficit and reducing funding for the government highway maintenance trust fund, the economists said.

"I find people who are the wealthiest who are most dismissive of a plan to give low-income Americans a little holiday'' so they have ``a little more to give to their children and enjoy the summer a little more,'' McCain said today. "Thirty dollars means nothing to a lot of economists -- I understand that. It means a lot to some low-income Americans.''

Also, if a federal gas tax holiday wouldn't apply in five states:

Even if the federal gas tax holiday was implemented, it would not apply (fully) to gasoline sold in four states. That's because California, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Tennessee each has a provision in the state's tax law which states that if the federal gas tax is lowered, that state's own gas tax will increase by some amount. This is theoretically designed to maintain transportation spending in the state.

Posted by Jason at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Chris Farris has slammed the FairTax:

The problem is that the FairTax promoters and supporters jumped onto the Mike “I’m happy to raise taxes in anyway you want” Huckabee bandwagon. How is it that people who want to lower taxes and improve government would vote for someone who increased the tax burden of his state by 50%?

I began to realize that the FairTax promoters would use any means available to promote their idea and the FairTax supporters would buy it. The FairTax movement stopped being for better public policy and became a cult.

Posted by Jason at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Rick Williams has qualified to run in the Republican primary against State Rep. John Yates in State House District 73. He believes that Yates, who is 86 years young, is too old to keep his seat in the Georgia General Assembly. Fine. If that is his belief, then he is entitled to it.

However, there is one problem facing Williams in his quest for this seat. He is a Democrat, not like the fun we poke at Sonny Perdue, but a Democrat that endorses fellow Democrats in the Fayette Citizen and gives money to other Democrats. A Democrat that recruits other Democrats into the Fayette County Democratic Party. A Democrat that married another Democrat that also gives money to Democrats.

So...why isn't he running as a Democrat?

I have no beef with the guy's personal political beliefs, other than the fact that he seeks to infringe on my personal and economic liberty by using the police power of government to achieve altruist ends, but he at least needs to be honest about it.

Posted by Jason at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel responds to Cynthia Tucker's recent criticism of the Supreme Court ruling upholding voter IDs:

Tucker accuses Republican-controlled state legislatures of actively attempting to suppress voter turnout among racial minorities. Again, Tucker is not dissuaded by the facts. Over 97,300 more votes were cast in Georgia's February presidential primary for Democratic candidates than Republican candidates, and a higher percentage of black voters turned out to vote than did white voters.

Fifty-two percent of black women and 43 percent of black men cast ballots in the primary, compared to 45 percent of white women and 45 percent of white men.
[...]
Tucker continued, "GOP-dominated state Legislatures, including Georgia's, have done precious little to change the rules for voting in absentia. That's because those who request absentee ballots are more likely to vote for Republican candidates, which makes that sort of fraud just fine."

In the 2008 presidential primaries, Georgia voters requested 24,136 Democratic absentee ballots by mail, compared to 20,944 Republican absentee ballots.

So much for the Republican advantage.

The traditionally liberal Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in his majority opinion that Indiana's photo identification law —- which is in fact stricter than Georgia's law —- is "justified by the valid interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process."

Posted by Jason at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congrats to State Rep. John Lunsford, who became a grandfather over the weekend.

H/T: State Rep. Steve Davis

Posted by Jason at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)