Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Franklin Ready For A Fight


It's been a while since we've ventured into the fetid swamp that is the mind of Rep. Bobby Franklin's (R-The Other Side Of Mars).

Jeff at SWGa Politics captured the above facebook posting where bombastic Bobby appears to advocate armed insurrection right here in the grand ol' state of Georgia.

Many years ago, when I signed on as a state employee, I was required to take an oath avowing that I was not a communist and had no desire to overthrow the government. It was a quaint, archaic ritual which meant little to a south Georgia boy desperate for a job.

I'm not sure if state employees are still forced through the same weird process, but wouldn't it be an odd world where an hourly file clerk has to swear to all that's holy he won't storm the Capitol steps but a man who squats in its innards 40 days a year can call for spilt blood?

9 comments:

Richard Campbell said...

"§ 45-3-11. Loyalty oath -- Persons required to take oath generally

All persons who are employed by and are on the payroll of the state and are the recipients of wages, per diem, or salary of the state or its departments and agencies, with the exception of pages employed by the General Assembly, and all counties and cities, school districts, and local educational systems throughout the entire state, are required to take an oath that they will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Georgia, and that they are not members of the Communist Party.


§ 45-3-12. Loyalty oath -- Elected officers

The loyalty oath required by Code Section 45-3-11, this Code section, and Code Sections 45-3-13 through 45-3-15 shall apply to all elected officers of this state, including the Governor, constitutional officers, elected officials of any political subdivision of the government of Georgia, and local school board officials."


Franklin should be held to the same oath you took.

griftdrift said...

The last time I saw that was 18 years ago. It makes me a little misty.

I could have sworn there was a clause about not overthrowing the government. Maybe they took it out.

The communist part still cracks me up.

Richard Campbell said...

Different form.

"§ 16-11-13. Investigation of all state employees prior to appointment or employment; questionnaire; promulgation of orders, rules, and regulations

(a) Every person and every board, commission, council, department, or other agency of the state or any political subdivision thereof which appoints, employs, or supervises in any manner the appointment or employment of public officials or employees shall establish, by rules, regulations, or otherwise, procedures designated to ascertain before any person, including teachers and other employees of any public educational institution in this state, is appointed or employed, that he is not a subversive person and that there are no reasonable grounds to believe such person is a subversive person. In the event such reasonable grounds exist, he shall not be appointed or employed. In securing any facts necessary to ascertain the information required by this Code section, all applicants and employees shall be required to sign a written statement or questionnaire containing answers to such inquiries as may be material and containing the following questions:

(1) Full name including maiden name, names of former marriages, former names changed legally or otherwise, aliases, and nicknames, and the dates used;

(2) Address;
(3)(A) Are you now or have you been within the last ten years a member of any organization which to your knowledge at the time of membership advocates or has as one of its objectives the overthrow of the government of the United States or of the government of the State of Georgia by force or violence? Yes No . If "Yes," state the name of the organization and your past and present membership status including any offices held therein.

(B) If the answer to (A) is "Yes" and the employing authority deems further inquiry necessary, you will be notified of such determination. No action adverse to your application will be taken because of an affirmative answer until after such an inquiry, with notice to you and an opportunity for you to present evidence, and only if the result of such inquiry brings your application within the prohibition within the "Sedition and Subversive Activities Act of 1953."
(4)(A) Have you ever been convicted or are any charges now pending against you by federal, state, or other law enforcement authorities, for any violation of any federal law, state law, county or municipal law, regulation, or ordinance? (Do not include anything that happened before your sixteenth birthday. Do not include minor traffic violations for which a fine of $35.00 or less was imposed. All other convictions must be included even if they were pardoned.) Yes No .

(B) If the answer to (A) is "Yes," state the reason convicted, the date convicted, and the place where convicted.

(b) The written statement or questionnaire shall contain notice that it is subject to the penalties of false swearing.

(c) The Governor is authorized to make appropriate orders, rules, and regulations to effectuate the purposes of Code Section 16-11-12, this Code section, and Code Section 16-11-14."

griftdrift said...

So the overthrow thing is in there. But yes, now I remember, it was part of the questionnaire. Not the actual oath

Chris said...

Yeah, when I signed up as a Lab Assistant at Kennesaw State one semester, I had to sign that oath... one would think our legislators would be held to at least the same standard.

Sara said...

Maybe he wasn't advocating armed uprising against Georgia, but rather our coming takeover of a few miles of Tennessee.

rptrcub said...

When I worked at the UGA bookstore in the late 90s at $5.50 an hour, I had to swear it.

Wes said...

Yeah, I had to sign that thing when I got my gig teaching at Clayton State. I seriously considered not signing it - not because I'm going to overthrow the Perdue regime, but on general principle. I folded like a cheap cardtable, though, and signed it.

WF

Dave Bearse said...

After six years in the cockpit, the anti-bureaucratic party of small government ought to have reduced or eliminated this from O.C.G.A.

Given the GOP has yet to figure out the $1B GDOT is underfunded, there's no chance of that happening without a pandering to the base angle.