Gonzo Lawmakers - Day 23

A daily recap of the Georgia Public Broadcasting show "Lawmakers". The show airs weekdays at 7:00pm with a replay at 5:30am the following weekday.

Day 23

* My heart is so filled with hate, hope, fear, loathing and weirdness, I debated putting this off until tomorrow, but despite being just a "blogger", I do believe in a commitment to the story. So, here we go.

* Top story - the school board thingie. This allows tighter state controls on school boards gone wild i.e. Clayton County. The only real question is does this give too much power to the Governor. Sen. Steve Thompson, " we're fixin', I think, to let him choose what roads we want to pave. I'm afraid before it's over, we're gonna let him choose the lottery numbers and who wins". It's going to be tough to top that line. It passed 35-14.

* Valerie won the studio lottery tonight! She's at the anchor desk to talk about the stimulus.

* Governor Perdue talked to department heads about what they need to do with the stimulating. He wants some due diligence. Good lord, now Perdue is appearing on camera without a tie. Bert Brantley is a good (or bad, depending on your taste) influence.

* I bet this is the most face time the folks from the Governor's accounting offices have ever received.

* Sen. Cecil Staton wants to make SPAM illegal. The first thing he does is explain that by SPAM he doesn't mean the wonderful canned meat. Next week - the Senate will discuss regulation of those new fangled horseless carriages. Sen. Stanton, I've got a gentleman from Nigeria who wants to talk to you.

* Oh lord. Here comes the pickup truck seat belt bill. This is going to be sausage making at its finest. The quick recap. First it was tacked onto a bill. Then it was removed from that bill. Then it was tacked back on. Now it's on the floor and the staid Senate gets a bit dyspeptic when things don't slide right through their legislative tummy. Final result - Sen. Seth Harp played Pepto Bismol and got the thing through. Now it goes to the House where the plumbing is more complicated and it will likely lodge like a polyp.

* There is a bill about PE (Physical Education) and how we measure the young 'uns. I hope somebody timed this. If this thing gets more floor time than SB31 then we should immediately remove all fluoridation from the water and require every citizen to wear a tin foil hat.

* And now Emily Banks is in the studio! God bless 'em, I think they finally got kicked out of the Capitol.

* Vouchers were in Senate committe today. It recieved a do pass. Shocking.

* The big old transportation bill also passed out of committee today. This thing is flying through the legislature which given its scope is a bit disturbing. Can we take some of the time dedicated to ethanol blending and PE and give it to things like SB31 and dismantling the DOT?

* Minoo! And she's at the Capitol! Not in studio! Is it some sort of rotation system or is one spot or the other considered Siberia? If Alan Freedman with his weird-ass ties shows up in studio, I'm going to fall out of my chair.

* Oh. And the super speeder legislation passed out of committee. Don't drive over 85 and you should be okay. And yes, I know that's going to be difficult for some of you.

* The live shots at the Capitol are back in the Senate chamber. Or is that the House chamber? At this point, I'm convinced the janitors are deciding where they set up.

* Brittany Evans doesn't get a live shot. Maybe that's Siberia. Or maybe their dixie cup and twine line finally broke.

* Card check stuff again. This time the House version. We'll talk more about this later. I promise.

* Leadership interview series time. Today is House Democratic Leader Calvin Smyre. He was in DC just yesterday to listen to President Obama's speech. I wonder who paid for that.

* It takes a bold man to wear a white tie with a white shirt. Rep. Smyre pulls it off.

* Rep. Smyre is so practiced at this stuff that I just glaze over. I don't really know what he said. Jobs, incentives, something, something.

* Disability day at the Capitol and they brought out a big gun - Frank Ski. There's a Supreme Court ruling talked about here but I didn't catch the name (hint to the disability lobbyist - slow down) but I remember it and it was an important one. I also remember CL did a most excellent feature on people being involuntarily housed in mental institutions. Maybe a link fairy will stop by to provide enlightenment.

* There's a bear in the Capitol! Oh. It's just the Gwinnett College mascot. Gwinnett College has a mascot? Dave had a little moment here talking about the bear. And then Nwandi mentioned it in the close. The whole segment took about 30 seconds and I think it was, shall we say, not scheduled? Maybe a little curveball for our stalwart anchors? Then again, it is 2:00 am and I am feeling a bit weird. By day 30, we'll all be seeing bears.

* Tomorrow - SB 31! That should be a hoot. Until then, that's a wrap.