Somebody Misses His Wooten

Valentine's must be in the air, for Republican Randy Evans has penned quite the love letter to former AJC scribe Jim Wooten.

But he did not stop there. When writing columns, he researched and verified every word to make sure that every column was thorough, accurate, and complete. He understood that just one mistake, one error, and thousands of readers would call him on it.

Really.

I've read Jim Wooten for over twenty years and deigned to be his informal, snarky ombudsman for the last four years of his tenure. What Mr. Evans writes was once true, as documented in my own conflicted thoughts about Jim's gradual transformation from thoughtful conservative in the Durwood McAllister vein to just another link in the WSB media conveyor belt churning out endless half truth panderisms, but it was laid waste in the final years as he gradually viewed his quest as not one for the truth but one that  matched his narrowing world view.

My own biased viewpoint? Absolutely. But feel free to graze on the years where I played Deacon Lunchbox to Wooten's Lewis Grizzard. It's all there for anyone to see.

Quote Of The Day

From Conor Friedersdorf on Newt Gingrich's 1996 bill proposing to execute non-violent pot smugglers.

This insufficient regard for the sanctity of human life and willingness to pander with the death penalty is problematic enough when exhibited by a powerful legislator. Electing a president with that mindset is terrifying

Exactly right.

Silliness Of The Day

This is threatening to be a regular feature.

For the record, the only constitutional requirement of the legislature is to pass a budget. If only they'd realize this fact. Instead, every year, they seem intent on proving 40 days is 39 too many.

Sen. John Bulloch (R-Down My Way) wants to allow hunters to use silencers.

A Georgia Senate proposal would end the ban on silencers for hunting firearms. Senate Bill 301 is sponsored by Sen. John Bulloch, who says allowing hunters to use silencers would keep them from disturbing their neighbors

Now in my 30 years of tromping through the south Georgia woods (and I'm sure it's a longer span for Sen. Bulloch), I've yet to encounter a neighbor who complains about the dulcet tones of a .270 Winchester Short Magnum ringing in the crisp autumn air.

I find it hard to believe that the good folks of Sen. Bulloch's home town, Ochlocknee, are a uniquely skittish bunch.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Did you know there is a Presidential candidate with eligibility issues? Due to questions about his citizenship? And his name is not Barack Obama?

From United Liberty (an always entertaining web site that stretches from just inside the sanity line to bull fruit looney):

Mitt Romney’s father was not a citizen, when Mitt was born. It remains questionable, if this citizen issue will be a defining factor in Mitt Romney’s plunge at the hands of South Carolina Republicans.

Birtherism is a weird sub-culture and now I discover the even weirder sub-sub-culture of Romney birtherism. If you google "Romney Citizenship Eligibility" be prepared for a journey into one of the strangest corners of the web.

Two things I love: the endless absurdity of the internet and the wonderland reality skewing adventure which is primary season in the south.

Those Nasty Anonymous Comments

Don't usually toot my own horn, but this statement from analysis by the commenting platform Disqus sounds awfully familiar.

Pseudonyms are kind of a cross between the two: You can say what you want without fear of retribution (a la anonymity) but you also want to cultivate a persona, and, typically, you don't want it to be hated. The result? Better comments.

From August 2007:

Unlike the real namers however, their credibility is based primarily on context. The semi-anonymous develops a reputation based not on name but on the content of their work. If the work is credible and consistent, the handle can become almost as legitimate as a real name.

The internet changes many things, but some truths remain consistent.

Quote Of The Day

Charlie Harper on how politicians frequently skew budgetary priorities:

Georgia could spend $20 Million on fishing, but it couldn’t spend money on teachers.  On veterans.  On trauma care. Go fish represents the last Governor’s monument to misplaced priorities

Charlie's article expands on this most recent example of appropriations infamy to explore the upcoming transportation vote and the proposed new Falcons stadium.Well worth the read.

There's Never An Egg Timer When You Need One

Remember earlier when I noted I would be saying "monumental waste of time" more often?

Democrat Pam Dickerson of Conyers wants to make photoshopping heads onto bodies of the nude variety illegal.

Did Britney Spears move to Rep. Dickerson's district and nobody noticed?

Urine Better Than Mine

Before the session began today, Georgians were already exposed to the latest pissing contest.

Republicans Jason Spencer and John Albers think it is only fair that if you receive the roughly 400 bucks a month in welfare that we should make sure what is leftover after buying Chef Boy-ar-dee and Kraft Mac And Cheese isn't spent on the Mary Jane or worse. These fine stewards of public money think our best efforts should be spent on drug testing TANF (Transitional Assistance for Needy Families) recipients.

Spectacular idea! I bet Georgia is on the cutting edge of this type of innovative thought! Oh wait. We aren't? Florida is already lining up the clear plastic cups at the johnnies? Well, certainly before these two wise men of Georgia germinated this idea they must have looked south to see how things fare. Right?

Given that in October, a federal judge issued an injunction stopping the testing and prior to the obviously activist judge stepping in, only 32 people out of 7,000 tested positive, which  isn't that surprising given Florida's own study commission on the subject concluded the amount of positives would not justify the cost, I'm going to go with "no, they didn't".

Not to be outdone in the contest of political puffery, in steps Democrat Scott Holcomb, who wants to test the entire legislature.

Now, Rep. Holcomb is new to the job so perhaps he doesn't know that in 1997 the Supreme Court struck down a Georgia law (we didn't even have to go to Florida to look for this one!) requiring office seekers to step up to the urinalysis trough.

Or perhaps he did and he believes the best way to counter Republican ridiculousness is with Democrat ridiculousness.

Meanwhile, we all sit in traffic on the Perimeter, the Connector and everywhere in between, companies are beginning to question moving to Georgia because the quality of life ain't what it used to be and we continue to snatch school kids all over the place as no one knows what to do with the education system.

What a monumental waste of time. Get used to me saying that this session.

Welcome To The Wallow

They'se back. Let the rolling in the mud begin.