Saturday Stupids

Out all night with some good ol' boys drinking til the break of dawn" ~Charlie Gearheart

Georgia Blog Carnival

Blog for Democracy is hosting this week. A great list of links to stories and commentary with a southern tinge. Go check it out.

My Morning Wooten

I'm feeling particularly dyspeptic this morning. There will be no sparing of the scourge.

Get a Post-it Note for the refrigerator. Buy booze on Saturday. The disproportionate anger of those who want Sunday sales is an example of the “me-centered” universe. We’re angry about any rule or law that won’t let us park four vehicles in the driveway or that doesn’t let us buy booze when we want. Me, me, me.

How about conservative restraint? How about less government interference in personal lives? How about the conservative principle of the free market? Methinks the only selfish focus on the me here are so-called conservatives who want to mold all of society in their narrow image.

I hate connecting laws that connect fees and fines to a specific program, when it’s not a genuine user fee, such as those golfers pay to maintain public courses. Adding $200 to the fines imposed for driving more than 85 mph anywhere, or 75 mph on two-lane roads, is an example. It’s created to help fund a statewide trauma network. Henceforth, a shooter in Atlanta or a knifer in Savannah should be fined an extra $500. Or do we tax guns, knives, ladders and automobiles?

Can I have a beer with your pretzel logic? So, since in your narrow mind (see above) sees the connection between high speed on the interstates and trauma as tenous, extra revenue generated by this bill should go to what? The general fund where the pork can be spread around? Once again this is fiscal conservative philosophy?

The changing world, Part 1: President Bush quotes two Iraqi bloggers who wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on reasons for optimism

And ignores bloggers who have for months been writing about the hell on earth known as Bagdhad. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I could go on but I just thew up in my coffee. A man has to know his limits.

A Man Without A Party?

My original thought this morning was to rant about Peachcare, payday lending and private cities. Just for the record, I agree with cutting the Peachcare threshold (although Jon, Amy and others are changing my mind), agree with repealing the outlaw of payday lenders and agree with the creation of "private cities".

But instead I am sidetracked by a man named Mike Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs represents the 80th district of the Georgia House of Representatives. A district that stretches from the northern arc of I-285 to near Little Five Points (correction: Decaturguy's link to a map in the comments shows the district only extends as far south as Lavista Rd).

He first entered my radar at the beginning of this year's session by voting the walking foot in mouth Republican known as Glenn Richardson for Speaker of the House. It was a move that raised a few eyebrows in Democratic circles. As a non-partisan I shrugged it off as a not-unusual political maneuver to curry favor with the powers that be.

Then came the odd rumor that Jacobs planned to switch parties in '08. True, Jacobs bucked the party line on the vote for Richardson and he had called out people who praised the heinous John Eaves ad in the Fulton County Commission Chair race, but these two relatively minor blips lead to indications of party switch? We're not talking about a rural Democrat trying to survive in a district changed to predominantly Republican. Jacobs represents an inside the perimeter district that although not a Democratic stronghold certainly is not Cobb or Gwinnett County. A party switch would arguably hurt his re-election chances. Also, given his stance on social issues such as abortion and gay rights under what scenario would the Republicans welcome him into their loving arms. Talk about things that don't add up.

Now, Jacobs had apparently sinned in ways most vile as one of few Democrats who crossed lines to support both the Peachcare cut and the Payday lending bill. It should be somewhat understandable how this would cause pain among local activists as Jacobs has been active in the Young Democrats of Georgia and the group made its views on these issues quite clear.

Since, I agree with Rep. Jacobs on these issues, it's quite easy for me to be his defender. But if as Decaturguy says that the 80th is "generally fiscally conservative with a libertarian bent on social issues", can someone please explain to me how he is not representing his district? Instead, his votes are seen as opprotunistic to satisfy the crossover and moderate voters. And in an insidious corrollary, his votes on choice and LGBT issues are now viewed as craven tactics to gather cash.

Quite simply Jacobs is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. The left's blood lust is so high he is viewed as a treasonous line jumper. The right is quiet but anyone with sense would see his social views would leave him shunned. And now, not unlike Joe Lieberman and the Iraq War, he has planted his flag on issues which will echo all the way into next year's Democractic primary.

Hell, the whole thing causes me to consider moving to the 80th just so I can vote for him. If he does jump to the Republicans? He will find no blame here, but there will be sympathy. For if it does occur, from my point of view he will be a man without a party.

P.S. I will be at my usual spot tonight around 7:00 if any Democrats would like to stop by and thump me in the head.

New News Service Link

After being scolded by Grayson, I'm adding BlogNetNews Georgia to the links.

I blame the internets. My inbox fills daily with crap promising me all kinds of new shiney toys. Now I look at everything askance. So I apologize Dave for not giving you the love earlier. The new site looks great and will become one of my daily reads.

Now back to working on the rant that's going to get me in a lot of trouble with my Democrat friends...

When New Media Goes Too Far

Justin TV.

There are limits. Right?

The PeachCare Debate

As I drifted off to sleep I pondered a lengthy piece about my feelings on PeachCare. Instead I direct you Peach Pulpit where Jon, Amy and I are already engaged in this discussion.

Crossover Day

It's crossover day! This is the last day for a bill to be passed by one of the houses of the Georgia General Assembly. If a bill does not pass today it is dead, dead, dead. And despite the fact that some think debate should be limited to save time, there is currently a guy singing a song from the speakers chair.

I'm not going to live blog the whole day but if something weird or funny happens, I'll update.

UPDATE: Peachcare being debated in the house at the moment. This is one of the big 'uns. It's also one of the things that gets me in trouble with Democrats. I have to give it to DuBose Porter though. He made a very passionate speech.

UPDATE II: I honestly missed who rose to speak against the Peachcare threshold but he stated that removing dental and vision could result in the death of children. Okay, I know about the case in Maryland where a child died of infection, a fairly aberrant case, but vision? Will we now get examples of children with blurry vision running aimlessly onto I-75? Just when you think the passions of this argument cannot be ratcheted up any further.

UPDATE III: "I don't have any cutesy jokes or stories to tell". God, Glenn Richardson is an ass. Now he is tying it to the Nancy Pelosi. Does this man have any political tact? And people seriously think he has a chance at the Governor's office? What a joke.

UPDATE IV: House Bill 340 passed. This lowers the threshold for Peachcare qualification to 200% of the federal poverty bill. It now goes to the Senate. I need lunch!

UPDATE V: The Ambassador from Germany is on the floor of the Senate. Weird.

UPDATE VI: Casey Cagle, "It's gonna be a late night so call your wives". Why do Republicans have such a hard time remembering there are also women senators?

UPDATE VII: Freshman Senator Bill Cowsert is being filleted over his SB 234. Suddenly, the Senate has a hazing feel. Will they bring out the paddles and will Senator Cowsert inquire, "Thank you sir may I have another?" Actually Cowsert is being a pretty good sport but the whole thing is a pretty bizarre.

UPDATE VIII: Some parlimentary weirdness is happening in the Senate and a Democrat is speaking harsh words given the Senate's usual decorum. I admit I honestly don't know what the hell is going on. And now another Democrat seems to be calling out the previous Democrat. This is getting fun! And I still don't know what the hell is going on...Oh, I see. It's an arcane move to bring Senate Bill 200 back off the table for a vote. Things are getting rather heated as some Democrats are seeing this as an underhanded move undercutting a deal to further study the bill...A Senator that I didn't catch his district, 'There's a red button and there's a green button but some are voting yellow".

UPDATE IX: Now David Adelman (D-42) is trying to revive his township bill from off the table. Methinks they should all get to the dinner table as it appears their brains have hit idle from hypoglycemia.

UPDATE X: Poker calls. Which is unfortunate because I really wanted to be around for the debates on SB43 and SB66. Then again, given the pace of the day, I might be back before they get to them. In the meantime, follow the action at Georgia Legislative Watch.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Follow link

3-27-06

Watering The Grassroots

Compensation for bloggers and other new media producers. Simply reading that statement will give some a severe case of the shudders. It's dangerous territory as evidenced by the Amanda Marcotte/Melissa McEwan/John Edwards affair and Wal-Mart committing the most egregious example of astroturfing to date.

Where is the line? It's out there but do we really know when we cross it? Sometimes it's fuzzy as in the case of Amanda Marcotte. Sometimes it's quite clear as in the case of Wal-Mart. And sometimes, we haven't even seen it yet as in the case of dealing with the traditional media.

Murray Grevious, MIS Manager for Creative Loafing, recently stopped by to discuss some of the issues facing the cautious courtship between new and old media. This exchange led to further discussion via email resulting in Murray asking me if I would pose a few questions to the new media community of Atlanta.

Ironically, in the simple act of asking, Murray forced me to search for the line myself. By doing free research for a traditional media outlet, would I become their tool? Am I really exploring issues in the new media world or acting as a front for an admittedly quirky but still corporate entity?

In the end, it is a judgment call and I believe the request is honest and forthwright. Part of the evidence being Murray allowing me to attribute the idea for this experiment directly to him. Also, I believe the issues are vital to continuing the conversation begun at Podcamp Atlanta and continued elsewhere. This is a Rubicon we must eventually cross, so let's all start wading together.

Let's not waste time and start with the big ones.

Should a blogger be paid for providing content to a traditional media outlet?

What about managing a traditional media outlet's blog or blogs?

What about commentors? Would it be acceptable for traditional media to provide occasional token of appreciation (movie tickets, gift certificates) to those that regularly keep the conversation going?

At what point is the line crossed and the new media persona is inexorably tangled by the corporate web?

Most importanly, what other dangers lurk? What other concerns should we as the new media have and what dangers do the old media not even see?

Get the conversation going, people! This is one time I guarantee they are listening.

Squat Toilet

I know Americans are at times viewed as provinicial and puritanical. But that thing there is a squat toilet. Ummmmmmmmm, no.

h/t: Coturnix

The Bullring

A Nextel Cup driver commenting on races at Bristol Motor Speedway: It's like flying a fighter jet inside a washing machine.

Batting A Thousand

Brit Hume on Fox News Sunday regarding the consensus on global warming.

Scientific consensus is what you talk about when you don't have scientific fact. The object of science is to establish fact. That is what the scientific method is all about.

NO. NO. A MILLION TIMES NO. Once again an old tactic rears its head. As with the evolution battles, those who oppose overwhelming scientific opinion attempt to obfuscate how science works in an effort to paint a picture of controversy and disagreement. Sort of like the need to be"fair and balanced" when it's obvious only one side contains the truth.

Brit, stick to journalism. Science is not about establishing facts. Science is about trying to understand the facts that exist. And no, hardly ever is there absolute agreement on what those facts mean. However, when a consensus of the scientific community agrees, it should carry a heavy weight.

It continues to amaze me that we as a society blithely watch as millions of dollars are paid to a ball player who fails 70% of the time yet if only 5% of the scientific community disagrees with a position, the veracity of the 95% is put to question.

Saturday Stupids

Note the wearing of jackets and long sleeves. This week? Shorts. Welcome to Atlanta in the springtime!

Forget Becks, Here's Bents!

Blackburn Rovers young midfielder David Bentley played a key role in all three goals, including scoring the first ever goal by an Englishman in the new Wembley, for England in an U-21 friendly with Italy. It's just a matter of time before the rising star is called up to the senior squad.

The Response

It's one of those of driving off a cliff moments. It's a statement you never expect so you never plan. Birth, marriage and even death carry stock responses stored in the brain for years in expectation they will one day be used. But even the most careful planner spends no time pondering what to say when a loved one tells you they have cancer.

It can come in the morning. It can come in the middle of the day. It can come at night. With no doubt, it will come when you are performing some mundane task which will suddenly have no significance. It can even come as you search for a particular restaurant that will satisfy a sudden craving for a particular type of pizza. Suddenly, the phone rings and you are hit with the most unexpected of utterances. Do you say good luck? Do you ask what you can do? Do you tamp down the sudden dread in order to say everything will be okay? If you are driving, do you pull to the side of the road? Do you stay strong because the person needs the support or do you simply begin to sob? As the surface areas of the brain struggle for the appropriate reaction, deep within, the internal voice whispers that no matter what you say, life has changed irrevocably.

Thoughts of a certain need for a specific type of pizza are immediately deleted from the queue and the most basic portions of the lizard brain sieze control of the body forcing it to attend to the need for sustenanace and nothing more. You find yourself robotically pulling into a drive through to order a pre-packaged meal of questionable value but infinite ease. The body knows food is a necessity but at this particular moment no longer a luxury to enjoy. It may have the taste of the cardboard of its packaging but it moves the body forward while the brain catches up.

Eventually, most people come around to one universal response. I'll be there as soon as I can.

Despite the cameras, the press gaggle, the harsh lights, the sputteringly inconsistent microphones, despite the differences in station of life, I was there with John and Elizabeth Edwards yesterday as they announced her cancer has returned. It is not hard for me to imagine the previous 24 hours. People often morbidly joke about the stages of grief but few understand cancer is the grief that arrives too early. There is despair. There is hope. There is the clinical analysis. There is the need to know exactly what is happening. There is the need to know exactly what is going to happen. Each on their own find the small corner of mind containing the mechanism of self-defense that allows the life to go on even when life seems impossible.

In the end all find hope. Even if it is the smallest whisper, we all put on the "brave face" and move forward. We face our family. We face our friends. In the case of public figures, we face the unwavering stare of the press.

I do not pray, but I do believe all souls are connected in ways we may never understand. Time and space hold no bounds to the power of human need.

I was not in Chapel Hill yesterday, but I was with John and Elizabeth Edwards.

My Morning Wooten

Jim is a little upset that congressional democrats have grown some fangs.

Bush has not [sic] choice now but to fight. He faces two years of politics by subpoena. Feed the sharks now and they’ll be back tomorrow and the day after. Bush’s poll numbers are low — but when it comes to fighting Democrats in Congress, he’s on equal footing. This is a Congress and a party without an agenda — except to trash Bush and the war in Iraq. Ultimately, the country will reject that strategy and the party that pursues it.

I guess that whole Rovian theory of when you win, no matter the margin, you rule absolutely only goes one way, eh Jim?

Bum Rush The Castle!

Perhaps it was PodCamp. Perhaps it's the imminent doom of my radio station. Whatever the source of my animus, I feel the need to give a big eff you to the powers that be. To make one small primal scream in the cacophony of idiocy.

Want to join me? Using iTunes download "Mine Again" by Black Lab. Bloggers across the 'verse are using the song to demonstrate the collective power of the people still matters.

It's 99 cents and a few seconds for some decent music and the satisfied feeling of giving the finger to the man.

h/t: Everybody

The Future Of New Media?

Caution, discussion of vomit and a little profanity in the video. A new beginning? Perhaps.

Hey! I'm A Liberal!

Good round up on recent Georgia events by Dana Blankenhorn.


The jury may still be out on the liberal thing.