Day 7
* Not much has happened so far, but today we should start to see some floor action.
* There's the orange juicer. And there's Susan and Nwandi. Let the show begin.
* Kill the hawks! Kill the hawks! Also a change in the way the House rules committee operates. They can't re-write bills anymore. All of this passed out of the aforementioned rules committee. It's all about the rules and the rules committee.
* Minority leader Dubose Porter (D-Home Of The Redneck Games) approves the changes.
* Water wars time! Activate the Chattahoochee Navy!
* There's Valerie at Hogwarts. Shots of Lake Lanier with overlays of "Factoids".
* Hurl cam!
* Bottom line here, if we don't get an agreement by 2012, we won't have to worry about the Mayan calendar because we're all gonna die of thirst.
* We rank 39th in Medicaid funding! Finally, something where we're not in the bottom five with Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina!
* First lobbyist of the season! Some health care dude. Susan can't help herself, she loves to interrupt. Perhaps, she should try out for "tough questions" Channel 46.
* The immediate goal is to "stave off reductions" in Medicaid. Once again. We have no money. Chamber of Commerce dude has the duh answer of the night - it's the recession.
* There are 1.7 million Georgians on Medicaid? That can't be right. That's about 15% of the population! Maybe they are including PeachCare? Either way, that's crazy.
* Lobbyist man wants to tax something called a CMO or something. They don't really explain what that is but apparently we would get matching funds from the Feds, but that would still only cover half the shortfall.
* Suggestion to tax tobacco at $1.00 a pack. Ask Florida how that's going.
* 7 diseases are responsible for 70% of health care. Fascinating. I wish they had said what they are. I bet I could guess.
* WHOOPSIE! The cursed tape machine ate a clip about mental health services. Good recovery by Nwandi.
* Floor action!
* HB 977. If you furlough teachers, administrators can't get raises. Sounds good to me.
* Speaker Ralston appeared in the Senate chamber.
* Annnnnnnd Susan is having to cover because the evil tape machine is apparently still not working. She's filling nicely but the anchors can't do this for the whole show.
* Nwandi is leading into the mental heatlh package again and she's stretchhhhhhhing. You can almost hear the infernal machine rewinding.
* We have to increase funding to certain areas of mental health to keep the Feds from coming down on our head. This may be one of the few areas we aren't cutting due to the severe consequences. The Milledgeville Hospital was almost completely shut down due to ongoing problems. They've already stopped taking new admissions, so eventually the storied, weird place will close.
* Back to the tape of Ralston in the Senate. And he's being hazed of course. The Senate loves hazing. And they say they've removed all the frat house activities. Thank you sir, may I have another!
* Ralston didn't know he was going to be asked to speak at the rostrum. Apparently that hasn't happened in some time. Ralston is the session rock star.
* The dirty 7 are back. And now 2 of them say they oppose the furloughs. The rest are fessing up and admitting their mistake. So now we're down to the dirty duo.
* Sen. Tommie Williams (R-Land Of Sweet Onions) is explaining the meager salary of Georgia Legislators and taking a few pot shots at the fat cat commie legislators in Massachussets.
* Lawmakers Flashback! More from 1971 of course! Fireant eradication! How exciting! And we're going to hear something about the Ancient One i.e. Ag Commissioner Tommy Irvin. Oh my goodness gracious, it's Rep. Dorsey Matthews! I believe I recall my mama once saying he was a "loud mouth sumbitch". The tape tells no lie. He's screaming that the state will be "completely ruint!"
* Guns. Butter must be close behind. Rep. Tim Bearden again talking about his bill to allow concealed firearms in public gatherings. The majority of other states allow this. - including those hippies in Oregon!
* The President of Gwinnett Georgia College is actually arguing that passionate college romances may lead to hormonally charged co-eds throwing down iron!
* The texting bills are in committee. "This bill will save lives". So will wrapping everyone in styrofoam. But only the styrofoam lobby supports that measure.
* The obvious question is asked. How the hell you enforce this nonsense? The authors of the bill have no answer. This thing is headed for a study committee.
* State news with Ricky Bevington. Will it be all gloom and doom? Bibb County superintendent is under scrutiny for not reporting scandalous principals. Macon is such a weird town. A battery maker has opened a research lab in Milton. Milton? The richest suburb in Atlanta? That's damned odd.
* Democratic Caucus chair interview tomorrow. And more Tom Crawford. Can't wait to see what he's wearing. But for now - that's a wrap!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
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4 comments:
"There are 1.7 million Georgians on Medicaid? That can't be right. That's about 15% of the population! Maybe they are including PeachCare? Either way, that's crazy."
Crazy as the poverty, and working class can't get insurance level in Gerogia.
"HB 977. If you furlough teachers, administrators can't get raises. Sounds good to me."
Further micromanagement of local schools by a state that with every passing year cuts state funding of local schools.
I didn't think about the micromanagement angle. That's a really good point.
"The texting bills are in committee. The obvious question is asked. How the hell you enforce this nonsense? The authors of the bill have no answer. This thing is headed for a study committee."
Not seriously, like Georgia ethics law violations this legislation could have no effective government-imposed penalties. Unlike Georgia ethics law, indirect but effective market enforcement could prevail. Allow limited phone record discovery in connection with crashes, and insurance companies will impose rates that will discourage texting while driving.
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