The Beach at Jekyll Island: A Hopeful Reprieve

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Wilson
on April 14, 2008
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Sometimes, it’s not whether you win or lose, but whether you fight. Such is the saga of the effort to save the beach at Jekyll Island. In this interview, Sen. Jeff Chapman (R-3) and David Egan of The Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island, explain the cautious victory that has materialized out of defeat in the effort to get the Georgia Legislature to care about preserving Jekyll.

To summarize, it was last June, 2007 that the Jekyll Island Authority solicited proposals for the development of a 45 acre tract of land on Jekyll Island. That began a flawed, if not corrupt, bid process that resulted in a display of arrogant hanky-panky by the JIA, the award of a development bid to a big-time Republican contributor (Mercer Reynolds), a lawsuit by a disappointed bidder, and an effort by Sen. Chapman to get the Georgia Legislature to demonstrate leadership in protecting the open beach at Jekyll.

When the Georgia Legislature failed to care, the JIA announced that it had decided to “do the right thing” and relocate the proposed development so as to not interfer with the beach. This change of heart is not, in my opinion, due to any virtue of the JIA. Rather, the JIA is trying to make it appear it has heard the public and is now going to do the right thing. Bah, humbug. All the JIA is doing is trying to spin the recent action by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources which declared the beach area within the proposed development to be subject to the Georgia Shore Protection Act. What does that mean? Simply, the JIA can’t develop the area.

So, what is the lesson to be learned from this effort at Jekyll Island? Several things.

First and foremost: Many of the independent boards in Georgia don’t work, at least, not when it comes to protecting our natural resources from abuse by developers. Remember the ejection of Sally Bethea from the DNR Board last year! Gov. Perdue appoints the members of the JIA, as well.

Second, the only thing that is ever going to keep developers from developing your back yard is the law. This battle was lost, but for the Georgia Shore Protection Act which was passed more than 20 years ago when environmental issues received a little more attention prior to the push to develop every foot of land in Georgia.

Third, the Georgia legislature is virtually useless when it comes to doing the right thing. They refuse to correct their mistakes, such as the immunity they gave emergency room doctors and hospitals in 2005. They refuse to protect much of anything if it doesn’t affect their pocket book or improve their chances for re-election. They just don’t care. These arrogant self-promoters (and let there be no mistake, I am referring to the Republican leadership, particularly in the House under His Royal Sinus, Glenn Richardson) favor business interests in all things. Their mistress is the Chamber of Commerce, not the people of Georgia. They pass tax breaks for business in a year when they could not pass tax reform for individuals, and they did it in a year when, due to the Bush recession, no one should have gotten a tax break. They want to eliminate property taxes because they own so much commercial and investment property they would love to be able to pass that tax burden onto the average Georgian that owns a house by fooling him into paying more, much more, in sales taxes, under the guise of eliminating the property tax. They favor insurance companies and always make education the first victim of budget cuts.

Last but not least, fighting the arrogance of the JIA and other state agencies and boards is, ultimately, worthwhile. You just have to be strong enough to let the battle play out and every once in a while something unexpected will save the day.

Three cheers to Sen. Chapman and David Egan and everyone who supported the effort.

 
 Jekyll Island, Sen. Jeff Chapman, David Egan [28:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (86)

Have You Ever Had to Deal With a Bully at Work?

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Wilson
on April 7, 2008
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Gary Namie’s wife was the target of a workplace bully, and as a result Gary and his wife, Ruth, are on a mission to do something about bullies at work. Just check out Workplace Bullying Institute.

As Gary points out, America has come a long way in dealing with bullies in almost every environ, except the workplace. It has only been a decade or so since spousal abuse became a zero-toleration social problem. Of course, child abuse came out of the closet a long, long time ago. Recently, the destructive effects of bullies at school have been recognized and steps are now under way to deal with intimidation on the playground.

But, the bully at work still lives and even thrives. As Gary points out, there are virtually no laws on the books to prevent workplace bullying. While there are federal and state laws which prohibit discrimination based on factors like race, sex, and religion, bullying is something totally separate from discrimination. The bully picks a target, goes to work and usually drives the target out of the workplace. People who become the target of a bully may have been doing a good job at a position for years, only to find themselves harassed by a bully whose agenda is strictly personal, arbitrary and destructive. Most people do eventually quit their jobs, many after losing their mental and emotional stability.

Bullies may be a new owner who takes over an established business. Or a relative of a small business owner who begins work with the security of being related to the boss. Businesses fail to deal with these bullies because the bully has job security as the owner or relative of the owner. But what boggles my mind is how supervisors in large corporations can bully workers and not get fired!

In addition to helping people deal with bullying, Gary and his wife are pushing a nationwide effort to get states to pass legislation dealing with the workplace bully. Since 2003, thirteen states have introduced legislation dealing with this issue. You can read the bill introduced in New York here. Although none have passed it yet, Gary is hopeful that there will be success soon.

 
 Gary Namie, Workplace Bullying Institute [30:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (62)

What Is A Blog Good For If You Can’t Ask For Help? HELP!

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Wilson
on April 4, 2008
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What’s the problem? My sister has written a book and is asking me all sorts of advice about how to get it published. She didn’t appreciate my response. I told her to contact Rusty Tanton and get him to set her up a website and she could publish it on the web and didn’t need an agent or a publisher or a whatever. Her response was not exactly nice, but when she pointed out that my suggestion would cheat her out of millions of dollars in royalties, I agreed that Rusty was not the man.

So how do I get my sister’s book published? Certainly, someone out there that reads this blog occasionally can be kind enough to point me in the right direction or to the right person. I just want someone she can put her trust in so that she doesn’t keep bothering me. So, if you have any experience with this, please, please, help me! It will only take a moment.

Thanks to whoever it is that answers this question.

Lazy Thoughts: GriftDrift and Me!

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on April 4, 2008
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In an effort to be timely, here is an interview I did April 3rd with James Williams a/k/a GriftDrift. Back from fishing in a secret place in the Gulf of Mexico, we share thoughts on the leadership of Barack Obama, before heading into a general discussion about the Georgia legislature and the Georgia Senatoral campaign.

BTW, James just had a birthday and after a not so subtle hint, I guessed the year he was born. I was a junior in high school.

 
 James Williams, GriftDrift Blogger [28:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (72)

Greg Leontovich: Acquitted! - Shame on Pat Head, Cobb County District Attorney!

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on April 2, 2008
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The abuse of power is a shameful thing! Outside of physical torture, I cannot think of anything that is more shameful than ruining someone’s life for absolutely no reason. And that is exactly what the Cobb County District Attorney, Pat Head, has done and he should truly be ashamed. In addition, he should be defeated for re-election this year.

I am sure many of you have heard about Greg’s acquittal a few weeks ago at the hands of a Cobb County jury. He was found innocent of aggravated child molestation. I always rejoice in the vindication of an innocent man because far too many of them get convicted. Innocent men get convicted because when we, ordinary citizens, serve as jurors, we judge with human failings and prejudice. Innocent men get convicted because they are accused of crimes, like child molestation, and we believe they must be guilty if they are accused of something that horrible. Pray for the innocent man!

On an ordinary day over two years ago Greg went to work as a teacher in the Cobb County School System, only to be arrested, hauled off to jail, booked like a criminal, and incarcerated without bond for days. All of this happened because someone believed a six-year old child and her parent(s), and decided it was not worth the trouble to investigate the accusations BEFORE ruining a good man’s life.

You will have to listen to the interview to understand my level of disgust. It isn’t like this was really a close case, one best left up to a jury to decide. There certainly are cases like that, but District Attorney’s have an obligation to investigate a case and to form a reasoned opinion as to whether or a crime has been committed. According to Barry Hazen, Greg’s criminal defense lawyer, there simply was no investigation by the District Attorney. Not only was there a question as to whether or not the child had been lead down the road by adults, but at trial, teachers at the school were called to testify that Greg was not even around the child that day!

Greg is a free man for three reasons. First, Tim Santelli, one of his close friends, was an Atlanta personal injury attorney who knew that Greg needed a great lawyer. Tim helped Greg find Barry Hazen, an experienced Atlanta Criminal Defense Attorney, and then Tim stuck with Greg all the way through trial, mainly to support his friend.

Second, Greg did get himself a great lawyer, a great criminal defense lawyer, Barry Hazen. Barry investigated the case (like the DA should have done) and determined that he had a good chance to win. But, there is no guarantee. Barry did what you want you lawyer to do, his job.

The third reason Greg was acquitted was because he was innocent and the evidence was on his side. Even if it is a clear case, like I think this one was, juries can make mistakes. Innocent men get convicted. Lives get ruined. But it still takes guts to insist on your innocence.

As for the DA, Head, it is hard to decide whether this tragedy occured because: (1) he is incompetent, (2) he is too busy to pay attention to what his assistants are doing, (3) he is just one of those individuals whose power went to his Head (pun intended), or (4) all of the above. I hope the DA sees this post. I hope it makes him mad. I hope he calls me up and wants to defend his sorry prosecution of a blatantly innocent man. I will be more than happy to accommodate Pat Head in the arena of public opinion.

You people in Cobb County, now is the opportunity to prove you are as respectable as you think you are. Recall Pat Head before his election! If you are not up to that, then maybe you can just call his office and let him know what you think. His phone number is 770-528-3080.

 
 Greg Leontovich, Criminal Justice [29:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (188)

Terroristic Threats Against Schools!

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on April 1, 2008
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I had not thought much about bomb threats against schools until a few weeks ago we had one in Toombs County (Vidalia actually). Apparently, it is a bigger problem than many of us might realize. So big, in fact, that Senator Ed Tarver (D-22, Richmond) has sponsored a bill introduced a couple of weeks ago dealing specifically with kids who make bomb threats against schools. And if you think that’s something, this bill, SB-521, also seeks to hold the parents accountable and responsible for the costs associated with dealing with such threats.

According to Senator Tarver, it can cost local schools anywhere from $2,500 to several times as much in having to deal with bomb threats. These costs come out of limited educational funds. I was concerned about the idea that parents were responsible for this cost, but Senator Tarver says the intent is to recover the costs from parents who have repeatedly refused to deal with a problem (their child). Sounds like it has some constitutional due process problems to me.

As for the kids, all of this is still handled in juvenile court, but the twist is that if the juvenile is found to be deprived, they can lose their driver’s license until age 21.

I certainly don’t want to appear soft on people who make bomb threats, but I must admit that I was somewhat surprised that this legislation is sponsored by a Democrat. Why? I don’t know, but I guess it is because it seems to focus on punishment and collecting money from people who probably can’t afford to pay it, rather than doing anything to help a kid before he gets to the point of making a bomb threat. I must admit that Senator Tarver shocked me when he said that a lot of these threats come kids in middle school, 7th to 9th grades.

He indicated that this legislation probably would not pass this year, but it will get the issue ready to pursue next year.

At the end of the interview, I asked Senator Tarver if there was any particular accomplishment in the legislature this year that he was proud of. His response, an additional $70 million in funding for trauma centers in the State. That sounds like a good thing to me to!

 
 Sen. Ed Tarver, (D-22) Richmond [29:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (57)

Common Cause-Georgia: Legislative Priorities!

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on April 1, 2008
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Common Cause of Georgia has several legislative intiatives which are (or should be) important to us all. In this interview, Bill Bozarth, Executive Director, and Jim Kulstad, their lobbyist, discuss their hopes for the 2008 Georgia Legislature.

While the budget and tax reform aren’t generally the focus of Common Cause, they did point out that they are concerned that the House eliminated funds from the Secretary of State’s budget to provide for voter education regarding the new Voter ID requirements. They hope to get these funds restored during the budget process.

At center stage of Common Cause’s priorities is SB 372 which seeks to give counties and cities a shove in the direction of ethics reform. Got a problem with a county commissioner or city councilman giving a buddy a contract to provide some service to the local government? What do you do? At this time there is not much you can do other than at the polls, unless the local paper publicizes the matter. If this legislation passes, citizens would have the right to file an ethics complaint. Only time will tell if such efforts will actually accomplish anything, but anything that helps shed the light of day on politicians and government has my support.

If you have been paying attention to the controversy over the planned development of the beach at Jekyll Island, you will want to know that Senator Jeff Chapman’s efforts to get the legislature to do something (anything really) to limit development of the beach have been rebuffed by the gurus of development-at-all-cost, the Georgia Republican Party. There is just too damn much money going to be made by Linger Longer, Mercer Reynolds and good ole Republican contributors to Gov. Perdue to let this gold mine get stopped by something as silly as the will of the people of Georgia. I have a lot of respect for Sen. Chapman who seems to be focused on trying to do what is right. I just wonder if his struggles to get the attention of the Republican leaders in the Georgia legislature might get him to change parties.

From my perspective, one of the Common Cause initiatives of utmost importance is judicial election reform. I don’t care whether you are conservative or liberal, you should want our courts to be fair, but above all, independent. Judicial elections were never a big deal and then the Supreme Court (US, and BTW not elected) gave us Roe v Wade, the abortion decision. While the efforts to change the Supreme Court dealt with judicial appointments, it has been broadened into attacks on state courts and state judicial elections. This undermining of the American judicial system is organized and funded by the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. Their goal: elect conservative judges who would favor business interest. As a result, these bastards of business target judges in various states. The Chamber has basked in successfully attacking good judges in several states such as Mississippi and West Virginia. They tried in 2006 to elect their guy, Mike Wiggins, to the Supreme Court of Georgia. They failed but that doesn’t mean they won’t keep coming.

But the bad side of the Chamber’s efforts to politicize the judiciary is that a race for the Supreme Court can now cost a million dollars or more. I don’t know how you can expect a judge who is supposed to be non-political, fair and independent to go out and raise a million dollars. Common Cause wants to change all that and have judicial elections publically funded. You can read more about the proposal here, and you can sign a petition supporting this endeavor here.

Common Cause doesn’t really expect the legislation to pass this session and is forcusing on a public awareness campaign. A resolution in the House would establish a study committee to study judicial elections and make recommendations at the 2009 session.

 
 Bill Bozarth, Common Cause of Georgia [29:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (64)

The Georgia Budget!

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on March 30, 2008
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Alan Essig gives us his thoughts on the Georgia budget. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute seeks to improve the fiscal responsibility of our state government. That’s quite a job these days!

I must admit I was surprised to find out that the 2008 Supplemental Budget, which the legislature passed and the Governor signed, doesn’t balance. According to Alan, it exceeds the Governor’s revenue estimates by some $65 million. When the legislature passed the supplemental budget they used parliarmentary procedure to force the Governor to either sign or veto the budget within 6 days. That meant the Governor would have to make a decision before the legislature adjourned. Apparently, the Governor did not want a nasty fight like they had last year and signed the supplemental budget even though it did not balance.

Alan was highly complimentary of Gov. Perdue and the fact that he had managed to accummulate more than $1 billion in reserve funds for the State. For those of you that don’t know, these reserve funds are like a savings account that the State can utilize when there is a budget shortfall. Each year the governor is required to make an estimate of anticipated revenue. The legislature is required to limit State spending to the revenue estimated by the Governor which results in the balanced budget required by the State Constitution. However, by being conservative in estimating revenue, the budget is kept low and if revenues exceed the governor’s estimate, the excess revenue is placed in the reserve fund, money the State collected, but did not spend.

Both the House and the Senate are considering tax cuts. In the House it is the remnant of the Speaker’s Great Tax Plan, which now targets eliminating the propety tax on automobiles. This would result in a budget shortfall of about $700 million in revenues. Alan suggests that it be made up with an increas in the cigarette tax of $1 per pack. Currently, Georgia collects a cigarette tax of about $.35 per pack, one of the lowest in the country.

In the Senate it is Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s proposal to cut the income tax by 10%. According to Alan, the Senate’s tax cut would result in a $220 - $230 million budget shortfall. I might add that in a recent interview with Casey Cagle, he indicated that a 10% cut in income taxes would stimulate the economy enough to generate the additional revenues. Alan says state income tax cuts do not stimulate the economy. That only happens, if it happens, with federal tax cuts because the federal government doesn’t have to live with a balanced budget.

Alan also agrees with Governor Perdue that both the Senate and House tax cuts are irresponsible, particularly when we may be heading toward a recession. Alan points out that Georgia ranks 49th and 50th among the states in low taxation and expenditure. That sounds great, but it also means we are lowest among the states in spending for education and health care.

Alan points out that 75% of the state budget is spent on education, Peachcare and Medicaid and prisions. With our high moral standards, Georgia loves to put people in jail for non-violent crimes and keep them there a long time. In fact, Georgia is second only to that Republican bastion of Texas when it comes to the percentage of the population behind bars.

And those prsioners get free health care. The older the prison population becomes, the sicker they get and the more our budget is going to be devoted to prisons, all to the detriment of education and health care for our children and elderly and poor.

What does the future hold? Alan says the housing crisis has not affected Georgia as much as other states, even though we are still one of the highest states in foreclosure rates. Tax cuts at this time jeopardize our economic future. According to Alan, the problem for Georgia’s future is to figure out how we are going to pay for the level of education, the infrastructure and transportation we need to support a population growth to 14 million people. Thus far, our annual budget does not take into consideration what we need to provide for and plan for the future, but is limited to looking at what government cost last year and what can we do to not increast the budget this year.

Sounds like a recipe cooked up by politicians seeking re-election, rather than leaders seeking to safeguard our future and that of our children. So, what else is new?

 
 Alan Essig, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute [31:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (76)

SUV’s, Crash Tests and Safety

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on March 27, 2008
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We have all seen those crash tests. Front impact, side impact, rear impact! Somewhere in the back of your mind is the nagging thought that a new vehicle, one you might love to own, is being totalled, wrecked, demolished. All those tests are courtesy of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS is funded entirely by auto insurance companies and its goal is to reduce the damage (deaths, injuries and property) caused by vehicle crashes.

This interview with Russ Rader, a spokesperson for IIHS, discusses the results of the recent roof test to determine if there is a relationship between roof strength and injuries. I should point out that personal injury lawyers (like me) have been arguing and contending and suing for years alleging that vehicle roofs were not strong enough. The recent roof tests by the IIHS suggests the lawyers have been right.

These tests focued on SUVs. More tests are coming on other models.

And how strong is the roof on your SUV? The government standard was established years ago and it requires the roof to be able to support 1 and 1/2 times the weight of the vehicle. That isn’t a lot when you think about it. The only time you have to be concerned with roof strength in a rollover.

The IIHS tested the roofs of 11 SUVs and then compared roof strength with statistical information concerning injuries that occurred in rollover accidents. The outcome is not surprising: those SUVs with stronger roofs had less injuries in rollover accidents. What is hard to understand is the car manufacturer position that the roofs in our vehicles are strong enough. Strong enough for what? Obviously not strong enough to prevent all injuries.

What always gets me is why one vehicle is a lot safer than another. Why is that? There can’t be that much difference in what it takes to make this car or that car, so why can’t all the car manufacturers make all the cars equally safe? Go figure!

You can read the report and find out about your SUV! But I will go ahead and tell you that the SUV with the stongest roof was the 2000-04 Nissan Xterra. One of the weakest roofs was on the 1999-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which happens to be what I drive.

The 2008 Top Safety picks:

Large cars: Audi A6, Cadillac CTS, Ford Taurus with optional electronic stability control, Mercury Sable with optional electronic stability control, Volvo S80

Midsize cars: Audi A3, Audi A4, Honda Accord 4-door models, Saab 9-3, Subaru Legacy with optional electronic stability control

Midsize convertibles: Saab 9-3, Volvo C70,

Small car: Subaru Impreza with optional electronic stability control

Minivans: Honda Odyssey, Hyundai Entourage, Kia Sedona

Midsize SUVs: Acura MDX, Acura RDX, BMW X3, BMW X5, Ford Edge, Ford Taurus X, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe, Hyundai Veracruz built after August 2007, Infiniti EX35, Lincoln MKX,
Mercedes M class, Nissan Murano, Saturn VUE built after December 2007, Subaru Tribeca, Toyota Highlander, Volvo XC90

Small SUVs: Honda CR-V, Honda Element, Subaru Forester with optional electronic stability control

Large pickup: Toyota Tundra

Buy or trade and get a safe vehicle! It’s got to be good for the economy.

 
 Russ Rader, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety [29:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (60)

Casey Cagle on The 2008 Session!

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on March 26, 2008
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It is almost the end of the 2008 legislative session. This interview with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle touches upon the variety of content the legislature sampled in this election year. For example:

The demise of the Speaker’s Great Tax Plan.
The proposal to spur the economy with a 10% income tax cut.
The austerity cuts in the 2009 budget.
The Water Wars, Lake Lanier and The Corps of Engineers.
Efforts to develop alternative energy sources.

and of course,

The efforts to retake Georgia from Tennessee.

 
 Casey Cagle, Lt. Governor [26:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (64)