The Mommy State Is Here; Derek (Smith) and The Dominoes; News on Fulton GOP...
"Conservative" <> "Republicans"...Let's stop confusing the public with terminology in this state. The "Republicans" running the state legislature are not "conservatives" in any way, shape or form. They more resemble elitists with a definite religious tint.
"Conservatives" are a group of people who not only believe in less intrusive government and more personal responsibility, but actually
work to achieve these goals in their every action. Frankly, we've seen NOTHING in the current legislature that reflects one iota of those goals.
First, we have Republicans deciding that since the judiciary part of our government isn't producing the right outcomes to protect their chief donors, it will be the state legislature who determines the outcomes of ALL cases, even before they are filed.
Senator Preston Smith (R) can argue it any way he wants to, but he should be proud to file his "Medical Malpractice Reform Bill," (or, as we like to refer to it as the
"Negligent Physician's Right To Continue Practicing Medicine With No Fear Of Losing His/Her License Act") under the heading of "more intrusive government" for taking the responsibility of deciding how professional malpractice incidents should be settled out of the hands of a jury. We next expect Smith to require that every Georgia resident buy and keep a green tree frog as their pet, exempting, of course, himself from such a law.
Next we have
Representative Ron Stephens (R) informing us through House Bill 218 that it is imperative that the state and other government entities be allowed to negotiate and strike deals with private enterprise behind closed doors and never report what they do until the deal is set. Stephens defends his actions by stating "Georgia is at a disadvantage from other states because the other states don't require open records in these dealings..."
Right, Ron, by all means, let's match the
bad that other states do to their citizenry. Let's repeal the ENTIRE Open Records Act while we're at it. Republicans are in power, so, we don't need these stupid sunshine laws anymore, do we? Those laws were only good when Democrats were in charge...like, you know, to expose things like the use of Georgia 400 toll funds to purchase property in Midtown...we don't need those laws in place anymore.
So, why is this a "Mommy-action?" Because "Mommy" (in this case, government) sees no need to tell her "children" (i.e., the citizens of Georgia) what they are up to when it comes to recruiting private enterprise to park a factory next to a residential neighborhood. After all, "Mommy" is just doing what she thinks is best for the "children," and she doesn't need (or, WANT) to justify her actions.
Of course, when pressed, neither Stephens nor any other supporter of this bill could point to a legitimate example of a case in which this state lost-out to a competing state. (Darn-it! That dastardly truth problem strikes again! Maybe Stephens needs to amend his bill to outlaw facts when they dispute claims...)
Tell you what, if this state is going to work on emulating what other states do, why don't we emulate the
good things? Why don't we emulate the education systems in the states that score the highest marks in educating their children? No, instead we look to solve our problem by using the same people who were educated by our own half-assed public school system to dream-up ways to fix the problems. Talk about a dog chasing its tail.
Next up,
Senator Mitch Seabaugh (R) has decided that people who wish to get a divorce must now have a "waiting period" while they seek required "marriage counseling" rather than being allowed to file for divorce at will, as the law is now.
Talk about an intrusive government, Seabaugh apparently thinks it is the duty of government to regulate what (and when) decisions are made in the lives of adults. We know where Seabaugh is on the subject of homosexual marriages (i.e., vehemently opposed), but now he thinks he has the right/duty to interfere in heterosexual marriages. What's next, video-cameras installed in every house where either spouse files for divorce? We're certain THAT would tickle a mind-everyone-else's-business-religious socialist's fancy like Senator Seabaugh's any day of the week.
Here's an idea for Seabaugh: Leave the Senate and go become a licensed marriage counselor if you want to save the world, okay? Get your nose out of people's lives!
Next up,
State Representative Stephanie Benefield (D) proposes House Bill 498 that requires that each public school child be weighed and a "BMI" (body mass index) be calculated and placed on their report card. The BMI points to how fat or healthy someone is, or is not. A BMI value of "1.0" is the most ideal.
Benefield's reason for proposing the "measure" [ar-ar] is basically this: it is the parents' responsibility that kids are fat, but, maybe they don't know they're fat. So, we're going to edu-ma-cate the parents in BMI measurements so that they can take corrective action to fend-off a lifetime of being overweight.
There were actually Republicans who supported this "Mommy-state" action.
State Rep. Judy Manning (R) stated "The bill will wake-up parents who may not be aware their children are obese or heading that way."
Without naming names, we bet there are a LOT of state legislators whose BMI is far above the ideal 1.0 value. It's too bad that those who voted in favor of this didn't take note of their own unhealthiness and start a program to remedy their own problems. Why should they "lead by example" when it is much easier to just require other people change their behavior, but exempt themselves?
How about if every day's session of the legislature starts with an exercise session? We bet that if the GPTV were to broadcast legislators exercising in the morning (sorta like the Japanese do), then parents will be able to point it out to their kids as "See, Johnny? Our government leaders believe in exercising...why don't you join with them?"...but, nooooooo...that would be too much work for our BMI-laden legislature.
What would happen if next year's political races were based on who had the lowest BMI value? Let's see...if the Governor's race were based on who has the lowest BMI, that would mean that
Cathy Cox would win by a landslide.
In the Lt. Governor's race,
Ralph Reed and
Greg Hecht, both of whom probably have the lowest values of the 4 folks currently running, would have to fight it out in other ways.
Political consultants and political pundits will, of course, be exempt from having to disclose their BMI values...
Yes, the Mommy-State is here, brought to you by the good 'ole Republican-run Legislature. Heck, a few more sessions full of the type of proposed laws that this one is chock full of, and we might as well merge our state with Alabama. Then "UGA" would become the
University of Alaborgia, and be relocated to Opelika, Alaborgia. Dang, maybe we're on to something here...
What Does Choicepoint and The KGB Have In Common?Coincidence or sinister joke? We find it rather curious that the logo for
ChoicePoint, the company whose business model is exactly what author
George Orwell described as "Big Brother" in his fictional novel,
1984, more resembles the old
U.S.S.R.'s hammer and sickle flag than, frankly, ANYTHING remotely symbolizing an American company.
Let's look at ChoicePoint's logo: It is a backwards "C" with a pie slice that could really be a pick used to split wood. A pick? A hammer? A backwards "C"? And, a sickle? C'mon, folks...this isn't even subtle...this isn't even a hidden message. Someone at ChoicePoint, perhaps even the whole board, appears to have taken a vow to align themselves with the Communist Party of the old U.S.S.R.
In the U.S.S.R., it was the KGB who played the role of Big Brother. They collected information about people, and kept files on everyone. And, the KGB was given free reign to investigate anyone and build files on anyone.
And, the KGB took those out of society who didn't "fit" into the mold the KGB thought they should fit in. Kinda...sorta...EXACTLY like the unregulated entity of ChoicePoint. Except, of course, ChoicePoint doesn't exactly forcefully take people "out" of society. They merely compile huge amounts of data, some of which may not be anywhere near accurate, and sell it to just about anyone who has a valid credit card.
And, their information, which, again, is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate (or, even 50% accurate...there are no guarantees offered by ChoicePoint on the validity of their data) is then used to "screen" people who may be applying for a job...or, a business merger...or, any number of other transactions which involve people. So, we guess, when you get right down to it, ChoicePoint DOES act exactly like the KGB in their collection and distribution of personal data. As far as we know, though, no one at ChoicePoint has been responsible for the torture or death of any enemies of these United States.
However, it is rather curious that recent events demonstrate that they damn well could be responsible for permanently screwing-up the lives of over 140,000 Americans who were, up until last fall, leading perfectly happy lives.
Frankly, while
Derek Smith, President of ChoicePoint, is busy playing the backroom "strategist" for ChoicePoint (and hiding from the media, the little chickensh**), we hope that the members of Congress, even the ones who are best buddies with the ChoicePoint lobbyists, have the BALLS to pass laws that severely restrict this kind of bullshit from happening again.
In the meantime, along with listening to Rocket-Scientist Smith's advice on dealing with what happens when someone steals your identity, those 140,000 some-odd Americans who may be about to have their lives turned upside down should really consider hiring a lawyer to file an action against ChoicePoint. And, as luck would have it, we don't think the recent "tort law" changes in Georgia will protect ChoicePoint from a mere $350,000 limit per incident of someone's credit history, and life, getting FUBARed.
Speaking Of FUBAR, Let's Turn To The Cobb County School BoardWe're not sure what the disclosure rules are for school board members, but, we think it would be in the county's best interest to find out exactly how much stock in
Apple Computer each of the board's members owns, either in their 401(k) or their own personal trading accounts.
Because, it just doesn't make ANY sense that if you're going to commit to buying $70,000,000 (that's right, that's 70 MILLION DOLLARS) worth of computers for every student and teacher, at least buy a computer which the MAJORITY of American businesses use. That is, an IBM PC-based computer.
Having all these school kids learn on an Apple makes absolutely NO practical sense. Unless, as we intimated in the first paragraph, there's a personal financial benefit driving
Joe Redden and the rest of the board members. Something is very fishy here...
The 6th District and Fulton County GOP News...We previously reported that there was going to be a race for a new chairman in the 6th District Republican Party. That race is no more.
Mike Dvorscak was previously seeking the seat of 6th District Chairman against
Rusty Paul. However, Fulton County GOP Chairman
Jack Winter announced that he would not be running for chairman again. Dvorscak left the district race to run for the Fulton GOP Chair's position, which leaves Rusty Paul unopposed (at the moment).
But, Dvorscak doesn't have an easy walk-on.
Chuck Eaton announced his intention to run for the seat as well with this letter e-mailed to Fulton GOP delegates:
Dear ________As you may already be aware, I'm running for Chairman of the Fulton County GOP. If elected I would work very hard to achieve the following three goals:
Get Karen Handel reelected and elect a Republican in the other county wide post -- giving us a Republican majority on the Fulton County Commission. A strong turnout for the Commission races will benefit all other elections in our County, from Sonny Perdue on down.
Grow this party both in membership and financially.
Keep the Fulton GOP moving as an organized, cohesive unit.I have the time, commitment, and energy to "roll up my sleeves" and work with our volunteers in executing the last two goals to make the first goal a reality!
My plan to grow the Fulton County GOP, keep it moving as a cohesive unit, and ultimately gain a majority on the Fulton County Commission can be summed up in three points:
1. Identify - As a party we must identify our Republican base.
2. Recruit - Reach out to our base and recruit them into the cause.
3. Execute - Focus the volunteer effort on our "72 Hour Program"
IDENTIFYEvery two years people all over Fulton County announce they are Republicans in the form of a Primary vote. It's easy to identify them, because the voting lists are public information. As a former candidate, I know what it's like to work the voter rolls and gauge a household's Republican strength.
RECRUITAs a Party we need to recruit new Republicans from the voter rolls and bring them into the fold. These folks can be invited to the numerous social activities our Party already provides. From our annual barbeque to the monthly breakfasts, we should never miss an opportunity to give a brief membership speech with annual dues forms on hand.
Let's not forget that being involved in the Fulton GOP should be fun. We should continue providing many social activities, as they keep people connected to our Party. I've had some wonderful suggestions, such as organizing a golf tournament.
EXECUTEIf elected your Chairman I would like to work with the State GOP to implement a countywide 72 Hour Program. The essence of the program is using the last days before an election to concentrate on our Republican base grassroots efforts.
We must begin to organize now, as it will take the next 18 months to prepare for the final 72 hours. As Chairman I would like to organize from the House District Chairs, to the Precinct Chairs, and in some cases to Neighborhood Chairs. For the next year and a half, I would follow up and work with the House District Chairs to make sure the organization is in place.
The vision for the final Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before the campaign is an army of organized volunteers, who have been assigned a very manageable list of likely Republican voters in their neighborhoods, dropping literature off and making phone calls. Our base must understand how crucial each and every vote is to gaining a majority on the Fulton County Commission. A strong showing from our base will lead to victory for Sonny, Karen, and many other Republicans in our county.
Remember: Identify, Recruit and Execute!
We have some true opportunities in the upcoming elections and I'm eager to speak with you about them. The Fulton County Convention is on March 5th and I hope that you will honor me with your vote.
Warmest Regards,
Chuck EatonCandidate for Fulton County GOP Chair
404-513-4566
