The Fish Is Gone

The Fish is gone, but not forgotten.

For over three years, the Carp Circles psychobilly fish has been the mascot of Drifting Through The Grift, but it is time to put him out to pasture. And milk that sucker for everything he's worth!

A new banner is in town and the fish has moved over to the right side and onto a t-shirt. I've opened a little Cafe Press shop in case anyone wants a personal copy of the fish. We'll see how it goes and maybe add some more options in the future.

Now, how many people do you think will believe I'm that goofball sitting on the left hand side of the picture?

About That Birther Soldier

By now, I'm sure you've heard of the soldier stationed in Columbus who refused deployment on the grounds President Obama hasn't proved he is a U.S. citizen and therefore is not a legitimate Commander In Chief.

For all my "birther" updates, I race to WorldNetDaily. I have a fascination with Joseph Farah's weird little site. It occupies the same part of my brain which is intrigued by phantom time theory and the British Royal Family being 7-foot tall, blood sucking reptiles.

For more background on the fun that is WorldNetDaily, see my piece written in 2007.

Oh the places you will go and the things you will see.

Sanford's Georgia Connection

Gov. Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley reached out to S.C. Governor Mark Sanford's staff during the "Days Of The Missing Governor Crisis". Above is the email. Click to enlarge.

So, that's why they never return my calls. I bet Baxter never has this problem.


h/t: Left On Lanier

Lede Of The Day

Chip Towers lede this morning sounds like something out of Revelations.

Toppled trees, lightning strikes, fires, flooding and power outages are all being reported as a result of powerful storms that ripped through the metro area Sunday night and Monday morning.

Atlanta's obsession with weather continues unabated.

My Morning Wooten

I almost didn't dive in this morning. As I told someone earlier, Jim's more "crazy uncle" than "lunatic" this morning. Lunatic always sells better.

But I suppose I can't pass this one up.

Run, Sarah, run. Actually, all candidates should resign to run for higher office. All four of the presidential and vice presidential candidates last year, including Palin, held onto their jobs until they got something better.

As the story of Sarah Palin's sudden resignation just gets weirder, Jim stubbornly tightens up his bubble. He may be right. Maybe she did resign early to set up (a disastrous) run in 2012.

But as The Mudflats points out, history tells a different story (ed. note - I don't normally cut and paste whole hog but it's the only way this makes sense. Make sure you do the courtesy of visiting the original site)

On a hunch, I reviewed online lists of all the men and women who’ve been elected governor of their state since the year 1900. Pored over them for a few hours. Over 1200 politicians have taken that first-term oath of office. Some soon died in office. Many resigned to accept other positions in government, including Spiro Agnew who was “tapped” by Nixon after being the Governor of Maryland for about five minutes. On a handful of occasions, a first-termer was dragged off to the slammer or impeached. One was incapacitated by a nervous breakdown and one left just as impeachment came knocking on his door. So—how many out of over 1200 just up and quit before the end of their term?

Three: Jim McGreevy, Eliot Spitzer and Sarah Palin.

In case you don't remember, McGreevy quit when it was discovered he was having an affair and Spitzer was making it rain with call girls.

Governor's don't usually resign for weird, esoteric reasons like "needing to pass the ball".

The Morning Line - Republicans

Until the primary is complete, The Morning Line will deal only with the primary races. All odds are based on the candidates ability to win their own party's nomination. And remember children - gambling is illegal and all information is for entertainment purposes only.

The Republicans are tight. Of course, these are the types of races where any good bookie rakes in the dough.

Republicans

John Oxendine (5-1):

Positives - High name recognition, consistently high vote totals in previous elections

Negatives - Prone to odd campaign decisions and gaffes

How do you not make John Oxendine the favorite? Everyone wants to discount his candidacy but he consistently polls at number 1. Despite a donation snafu that resulted in an AJC investigative piece, despite having to give that money back, despite Democrats crowing about how many cars he's crashed, despite weird Snopes quality emails, Oxendine keeps coming out on top in polls. Time will tell if the continuous storm of taint will eventually drag his numbers down.

Nathan Deal (6-1):

Positives - Access to a congressional level donation network

Negatives - Does anybody outside the mountains really know him?

If the odds had been released prior to the quarterly financial statements, Deal's numbers would have been much longer. But his astonishing total of over $1 million cash on hand moves him past horses played more prominently in the early tip sheets. It shows the power a sitting Congressman can wield in the money game. Now, Deal (who is a better campaigner than most people think) has to hit the road and introduce himself to the rest of Georgia.

Karen Handel (7-1):

Positives - High name recognition, Perdue's infrastructure

Negatives - Very polarizing for a Secretary of State

Early tip sheets had Handel as a favorite but her rather anemic fundraising in the 2nd quarter dampens the enthusiasm. Certainly, she was hampered in ways others weren't (i.e. unable to transfer money from other campaign war chests, didn't make a personal loan to the campaign) but the image problem remains. Handel has to move past any impression that she is not a serious player. But Madame Secretary has proved in the past that she does not mind baring the knuckles and it is doubtful anyone is underestimating her.

Eric Johnson (8-1):

Positives - Gobs of money

Negatives - Temperment may be better suited to the state house

Another horse moving up due to the just arrived fund raising numbers. That Johnson outraised Handel may be the surprise of the early campaign season. Part of this is explained by his transferring money over from his now defunct Lt. Governor race but the public will only see the big number. It will keep Johnson's name in the limelight of the front runners. But publicity is a two edged sword. Johnson can be prickly and it may only be a matter of time before he publicly snaps at someone.

Austin Scott (15-1):

Positives - Playing the populist card

Negatives - Already resorting to stunts

Florida had Walkin' Lawton and we have Amblin' Austin. Scott plans to walk a thousand miles through Georgia. It worked for Lawton in the prehistoric days before the internet but in 2010, it's about a half step above smoke stack sitting. Scott has a future in the state, but not this time.

Ray McBerry (100-1):

Positives - Can't do much harm

Negatives - Bobby Franklin, The Constitution Party and a boat load of crazy

Ray McBerry has more in common with the lunatic/theocratic Constitution Party than the Republican Party. Georgia may be backwards but we ain't that backwards. But we should get some good sideshows out of him.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

If you give the criticism, when it is addressed, you've gotta give the praise.

Like The Dew took our criticism about not reaching out to the local community to heart and pretty much imported my entire Georgia Voices section into their links section.

We've coaxed them out of their house, now it's time to show we can be good neighbors. When you see traffic coming your way, it would be nice to return the favor where possible.

Money In Interesting Places

It has been reported that the sour economy is reducing even political donations, but perhaps people are being more selective with their checks. Travis Fain reports that in the Republican Secretary of State race Sandy Spring councilman Doug MacGinnitie raised donations (plus a loan) in the same neighborhood as clear favorite Brian Kemp.

Kemp put up a good fundraising number, raising $267,170 in six months. And he's got a ton of endorsements. But Sandy Springs City Councilman Doug MacGinnitie raised $207,127. Throw in another $50,000 from a loan and he's got $223,674 in cash on hand to Kemp's $255,660.

That race may be more interesting than we initially thought.

More Hometown News

Sigh. I suppose I have to say something about this.

Moultrie resident Gerald Psalmond is sick and tired of people who believe in the separation of church and state. He’s so tired, in fact, he wrote a letter to The Moultrie Observer saying so:

What follows is a rambling screed about praying, minorities, the evils of the ACLU, majority rule and camel races. Yes, camel races.

So...what can I say? Everyone's home town has its share of kooks.

Lest you forget, Moultrie is also home to a guy who got a DUI.....on a lawn mower.

And the guy who was tasered at the Wal-Mart.

And the guy who wasn't dead, just drunk.

At least it's never dull.

The Morning Line - Democrats

Until the primary is complete, The Morning Line will deal only with the primary races. All odds are based on the candidates ability to win their own party's nomination. And remember children - gambling is illegal and all information is for entertainment purposes only.


Democrats

Roy Barnes (3-2):

Positives - Dump trucks of money and name recognition

Negatives - Many hurt feelings

Notes - Does time heal all wounds? This is the question Roy Barnes must answer in the next 18 months. As Andisheh noted, Barnes first term reads like a greek tragedy. He was a man of vision but God help anyone who got in the way of that vision. His hubris led to a humiliating defeat which still smarts to this day. Beyond the obvious advantages, Barnes has the "I told you so on his side" but he must play this chip carefully if he is going to win back those he smacked around the last time.

Thurbert Baker (5-1):

Positives - Good name recognition, can run to the right of everyone

Negatives - Genarlow Wilson and the lure of other jobs

Notes - If you're an attorney general running for higher office you better be able to talk about crime and you better be able to talk tough. Thurbert Baker can do both. His reputation as a hard ass on getting people convicted could carry a lot of weight with voters not normally inclined to pull a Democratic ballot or lever. But his lack of discretion in the Genarlow Wilson case hangs out there like a festering sore. Baker has to make sure it doesn't pop.

Dubose Porter (15-1):

Positives - Has the legislative network to fall back on

Negatives - Not much money and not much name recognition

Notes - Dubose Porter is a nice guy and we know what happens to nice guys. If Roy hadn't jumped in the race, maybe, just maybe Dubose close ties to the legislature and their network of money would have allowed him to compete with Thurbert. With Roy now gobbling up Democratic Party networks, Dubose is scrambling for crumbs. He'll make a good show but that's all.

David Poythress (20-1):

Positives - Comes out swinging

Negatives - No money, no name recognition, no chance

Notes - David Poythress last won a statewide race in 1994 - back in the days when people still pulled the Democrat lever because their daddy and his daddy and his daddy pulled a Democrat lever. With Roy and Thurbert sucking up all the money, the only shot for someone currently polling south of 5% is to start wildly swinging and hope a haymaker lands. Poythress, to the surprise of some, did just that - sending out a scathing press release demanding loser Barnes drop out. Loser Barnes brushed aside the feeble swat and backed up another dump truck to the bank.

Carl Camon (OTB):

Positives - He's the mayor of Ray City

Negatives - No one in Georgia outside the Greater Tifton-Ocilla Metropolitan Area knows where Ray City is

Notes - For you non-gamblers, OTB means "Off The Board" which means no betting which means this is the last time we'll discuss Carl Camon.

The Betting Window Is Open

The money is flowing and it's time for the gambling to begin!

Governor Roy Barnes surprise defeat in 2002 set in motion a series of dominoes which have now fallen squarely in the laps of the Georgia voters.

Barnes fall was the first defeat of a sitting governor since the inception of the two term system established in 1974. For 28 years, Georgia voters happily settled into a routine of elect a Democrat, four years later elect him again and then, four years later elect another Democrat.

The misstep by Roy means that in 2010 we will have our first governors race without an incumbent since Zell Miller left West Paces Ferry in 1998.

This strange confluence of events may lead to the wildest and closest primary and election season since 1946. In that monumental year, Mr. Gene died unexpectedly causing three different men to grab at the reins of power and the poor Secretary of State sat on the "Great Seal" for weeks to keep the madness from spreading beyond the Gold Dome.

Of course, a true horse race brings out the worst degenerate gamblers. Hunter S. Thompson may have said only a fool would bet on politics but even the good Doctor was not above laying a fin on his favorite pony.

So, the betting window is open.

The Morning Line (Democrat edition) will be posted shortly.

Plugging The Libertarians

Lately, I've been giving them a hard time, so it is time to balance the cosmic equation.

The LP in the ATL has a new website.

First impression is it's pretty spunky. I especially like the use of feeds.

Check 'em out.

My Morning Wooten

When I saw this headline - "Sarah Is The Conservative's Oprah" - I knew we were headed to la-la land.

Give her three years for the people south of Alaska to see and hear her and she’ll be the Oprah of the conservative movement. People like her. People listen. She connects. She’s real. Oprah picks the books people read. Sarah will pick the issues people discuss...The Left knows that. That’s why she frightens them

I'm not sure how we'd quantify it, but I'll take that bet.

I have to assume Jim somehow missed conservatives such as George Will who were left scratching their head over the odd resignation. The only "conservatives" who mindlessly cling to a person who thinks there is a "Department of Law" that protects the President is the Kristol-Barnes-Erickson nutjob axis of the Republican party.

And lest you think the Oprah analogy is an original idea, Reihan Salam pondered the possibility days ago.

Freakshow

It's gonna be a long campaign season.

Wingfield At It Again

The best suggestion for naming my new series is "My Morning Wingnut". But I can't do it. I can't possibly justify it. Kyle Wingfield is making my life hard and I don't know what to do about it.

Like this.

That’s why the opportunity for us to take the future of our civil-rights framework into our own hands is so valuable. While the Supreme Court might be able to temper public angst by issuing warnings before it acts, as it did last month, the better solution is for citizens and our elected representatives to take the initiative.

Criticize this? Hell! I could have written it!

Maybe wing nuttiness is acquired with age. Maybe I can find some way to slip Kyle a loony pill. Until that time, I doubt you'll see much ranting against the AJC's latest "wingnut".

One other thing. It's time to let a cat out of the bag. Although I'm pro-choice, he sums up my feelings on Roe v. Wade pretty well. Let the slings and arrows fly.

My Morning Wooten

The things you almost miss due to a holiday weekend.

This past Friday, Jim nearly slipped through a real lulu.

President Obama may not have been too quick to react to the Russian invasion of the Republic of Georgia or the bogus election in Iran, but he’s on top of the situation in Honduras, where the elected president was deposed for trying to thwart the Constitution. He’s either a slow study or fast to firmness on international affairs that don’t much affect our national security.

The Russians invaded Georgia? Did I somehow miss a major international event due to the tsunami of celebrity deaths? Nope. It happened in 2008. August 2008. Three months before the election and fully 5 months before President Obama was inaugurated. But it was a campaign issue at the time. The apparent lacking of alacrity referred to by Jim comes from then candidate Obama issuing a statement that mirrored the position of every world leader (including President Bush). John McCain, on the other hand, pretty much wanted to start shooting Russian tanks toot sweet.

Which leads us to Iran.

Although certain Conservative leaders desired a more firm response, they agreed that the Iran situation required delicate handling and the U.S. could not allow the theocrats to paint the crisis as U.S. provoked. Meanwhile the loons of the Kristol-Barnes axis, which Jim is apparently a member, believe if you ain't bombing, you ain't trying.

But at least those two arguments have some nuance. The final thrust, however, twists reality so far, it may be possible for Jim to view his own backside.

So, civil disorder in our own hemisphere doesn't affect our national security? The toppling of a government less than a thousand miles from our southern border doesn't affect our national security?

There once was a man who believed Central America was so vital to American security that he propped up a brutal dictatorship in one country (El Salvador) and some would say broke the law in an attempt to overthrow the government of another country (Nicaragua).

I guess Jim just doesn't think much of the Reagan Doctrine.

My Wingfield Something Something

Have you heard? There's a new kid in town. His name is Kyle Wingfield. He's Wooten's replacement and he's put me into a terrible dilemma. He's reasonable and doesn't provide me much ammunition. Also, I can't think of a clever name for a series about him.

Until today.

I have one firm rule in life. If you tell me you believe the Earth is 6,000 years old, I will stop listening to you as I will assume anything which comes next will be just as insane.

I have a more flexible rule regarding logical fallacies - if you use them frequently, I'll probably stop listening to you. I need flexibility on this one because if it were applied rigidly, I'd have to stop paying attention to politics.

Kyle Wingfield tackles Cap and Trade today and shockingly, I agree with most of his points.

Cap and Trade is a Rube Goldberg affair which likely won't accomplish its goal - can't disagree there.

It will likely be used for nefarious gain by greedy politicians - if it can be leveraged, a politician will grab the nearest lever.

A straight carbon tax would be fairer - A conservative calling for a tax? Both shocking and correct.

Unfortunately, to get to these meaty and worthy topics, you have to traverse the following:

One does not have to doubt, as I do, claims that the complex science of the Earth’s climate is “settled” to see that this bill is a sham.

Well, hello Mr. Strawman wrapped in a cloak of incredulity.

Climate science is certainly not settled and no one claims it is. What has been described in layman's terms as "settled" is the overwhelming evidence that man is impacting the climate in an adverse manner.

And that leads us to the argument of incredulity. It's a personal favorite since it is so frequently used by creationists. The simple version is someone states something is so complex it can never be understood therefore any conclusions must be wrong.

Life is so diverse, therefore we can never understand it, so evolution cannot possibly explain it. The weather, atmosphere or whatever trope of the month is used to describe climatology is so complicated, climate scientists could never explain its actions.

Any scientist, if he or she didn't immediately apply my 6,000 year old rule, would reply, of course it is complex but that does not mean we cannot understand it nor should we stop trying.

Kyle, your writing reminds me of the old Jim I so frequently miss. It is well reasoned, worthy of conversation and certainly on the track of "common sense conservatism".

It would be a shame if so early in your run you decide fast fallacy is necessary to amplify steady reason.

Now about that name...maybe something with Winging in the title?

My Morning Wooten

The cat gets cattier as the cat approaches the end.

It’s fair enough for Presidents to hold Town Hall meetings and to pretend that he’s taking questions from something other than an infomercial audience. But it is phony, the stuff of campaign commercials. The White House press corps is right to challenge the pretense that a legitimate give-and-take represented as a news event is being held when it’s a sham.

I don't know which is more shocking.

The revelation that Presidents actually stage events in order to promote their agenda (why am I having a flashback to a fighter jet, a flight suit and a big ass banner?)

Or

That Jim just complimented the liberal media White House press corps.

The Cognitive Dissonance Of Erick Erickson

Two Peach Pundit headlines posted within minutes of each other.

ATL Growing (subhead: Good for Georgia)

then

Taxing People Out Of Atlanta

It appears Erick is having a hard time tracking his own cheap shots.

2009 Reflected In 1938

A common theme in politics is it has never been this bad before. This whine is always followed by someone countering with tales of Grover Cleveland's "bastard" child or Andrew Jackson's wife being called a "bigamist whore".

The current turmoil in journalism seems to have a similar tale to tell. Listening to the extremists, one might think a sudden vacuum in professional news is bringing the Republic to its knees.

Jack Shafer of Slate counters that we have indeed heard this all before. But he turns the argument on its head by arguing that we are actually entering a golden age of journalism.

What Sullivan got absolutely right in 1938 is that technology, culture, business, and audience tastes are always in flux, making it the job of writers young and old to grab the best available tools and get to the business of chronicling the world. If Sullivan were alive today, I'll bet he'd be encouraging journalists to study PHP and Javascript, to hone their video-cutting skills, and to learn how to manipulate databases. The cheap tools and affordable devices the average Joe has at his disposal to produce precision journalism and distribute it around the world are enough to make the reporters of yesterday sob in envy. It's the difference between digging ditches with a spade and excavating a canal with dynamite.

A loyal reader pointed me to this article and particularly the penultimate paragraph (which is not the one I quote above) but instead of reprinting that one as well, I encourage you to read the entire piece.

From fire to the printing press to the automobile to the iPhone, technology is always the great cultural motivator. We have arrived at one of those great divergences where technology is fundamentally changing institutions considered most sacred. It is time to make the hard choice - embrace the inevitable change or allow the inertia of lamentations to paralyze.