Political Vine: The Insider's Source on Georgia Politics

“No matter what they say it’s about, it’s always about money.” — Bill O’Neil, American Businessman Two movies come to mind to set the mood here to describe all the nonsense from the House GOP folks, the state GOP chairman, and the various and sundry useful idiots acting out their roles: Mr. Smith Goes To […]

In order to more fully comprehend the political circus that played-out on Friday, February 21 in the Georgia State House and the news media with HB 1033, we need to look back in time a few years…back to the legislative session of 2009-2010. In February of 2009, State Rep. Wendell Willard, along with State Rep […]

Are you familiar with the expression “comparing apples to oranges?” (If not, phone a friend.) Because, the arguments I’ve heard regarding the pro-side for allowing students to carry concealed guns on campus to defend themselves, and the anti-side to this right are, literally, apples and oranges. I am shocked and dismayed to learn that legislators […]

Just an update to the story on Sunday, the Bill# passed that did establish the multi-million dollar, taxpayer funded, unconstitutional “venture capital fund” was HB 318. Here is a link to the Bill: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20132014/135871.pdf Here are the State Representatives who voted for, against, or who were excused or did not vote on this unconstitutional bill:  http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/vote.aspx?VoteID=11103 […]

INTRODUCTION Have you ever stopped to think why it is that in the State of Georgia, there really isn’t any headline-making mass of “organized crime” taking place? By “organized crime,” I mean the stories you hear about coming out of New York City and Chicago, et al. involving all kinds of crimes, drugs, prostitution, payoffs […]

The following is excerpted from an article by The Perspicacious Conservative blog: “It’s that icky topic that makes you cringe when you even hear the term: child molestation. It’s a devastating and disgusting crime, one that society condemns so much, we often convict the accused in our hearts and minds before we even hear the […]

MEMORANDUM To: Shannon Wallace Cherokee County District Attorney From: Bill Simon PoliticalVine.com RE: Your Office’s “Mission Statement” Date: October 7, 2013 On the Cherokee County website, the DA’s page has the following 3-bullet points under “Our Mission”: To seek justice. To act with integrity. To protect the citizens of Georgia. Based on former prosecutors I […]

So, in looking at other states on whether or not a) they have “sunshine laws”, and b) how they handle them, I came upon a case in West Virginia decided in 2009 by their Supreme Court. Kind of a fascinating case, but I didn’t find the details of the case (as in the decisions being […]

Case #2: Fathers Are Parents Too v. Hunstein – Court of Appeals of Georgia, Decided Feb. 7, 1992 Here is a link to this case. The gist of the case is that Fathers Are Parents Too (“Fathers”) filed a request under the Open Meetings Act to have the meetings of the Georgia Commission on Gender […]

Sunshine Laws, et al. Whether it is legally defined as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’ (“FOIA”), or a “Sunshine Act” or the ‘Open Records Act,’ the concept behind all of these laws is to make the people who work in government become more accountable to the taxpayers who pay their salaries and expenses. The primary […]

Two weeks ago, arrest warrants were issued by the Canton Police Department against three individuals that accused them of “making false statements” to the police in relation to an incident back in mid-June 2013.  (For catchup purposes you can read this story here in the Marietta Daily Journal)  Since that time period, there has been no […]

Introduction Have you ever pondered why it is that in this state, it is only the Executive Branch of Georgia’s three-legged stool of governance (i.e., Executive, Legislative, Judiciary) that is required to respond to Open Records Requests? Think about that for a moment. The Legislative Branch operates strictly from taxpayer dollars. The Judicial Branch operates […]