Monthly Archive for August, 2007

Protect Jekyll Island! Join the Initiative Today!!

Published on August 31, 2007 in Blog. 0 Comments

Having just posted the interview with Eric Garvey of the Jekyll Island Authority, I feel compelled to let people know about the “Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island.” The mission:

The Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island is a grassroots association of more than 500 volunteers from across the state of Georgia and beyond committed to the cause of making the will of the people heard in the public debate over the redevelopment and further development of Jekyll Island.

Our mission is to protect and promote Jekyll Island as a model of restrained development and as place where people of average means can afford to come to enjoy the scenic beauty, natural wonders, historical attractions, and recreational opportunities the island has to offer.

You can also read the organization’s goals and promises.

The concern about the development plans for the Island is in full swing and if you want to join the effort, you can sign an online petition.

You can also view some really good photos of the Island.

Interview with Eric Garvey, Jekyll Island Authority

Published on August 31, 2007 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: development, environment, eric-garvey, georgia-sea-turtle-center, jekyll-island.

Eric is the Senior Director of Marketing and Business Development for the Jekyll Island Authority. Jekyll Island was bought by the State in 1947 from those rich boys who called themselves the Jekyll Island Club. You know, the Morgans, Rockefellers, Goulds, Vanderbuilts, but no Smiths.

In case you didn’t know it, the State owns all the land on Jekyll Island, even the land that homes and hotels are built upon. They all pay rent to the Authority and when the lease is up, usually 99 years, they can take their building with them. Sure they can! Even the Jekyll Island Authority has a 99 year lease which expires in 2049.

Eric explains some of the issues surrounding future development on the Island, particularly the hotels. According to Eric, a new hotel has not been built on the Island since about 1972 and the present hotel buildings are outdated. As a result, the Island is losing tourists and money.

To build new hotels or to renovate the old hotels would require the Authority to grant the hotel operators new and longer leases. Since the Authority’s lease expires in just over 40 years and since the hotels want 90+ year leases, the Authority can’t grant them what they need to invest in new hotels. Or can it? I checked and it appears that after the initial 99 year term, the lease is automatically extended for another 40 years.

Another issue is what kind of hotel to build. Should it be the Ritz Carlton or Comfort Inn. Should it be cheap hotels affordable by all Georgians or should there be some high priced hotels? According to Eric, the goal is to have a mix of hotels with a mix of room rates that might attract a broader spectrum of tourist.

By law, 65% of the Island must remain undeveloped. According to Eric, the Island consists of only about 5000 acres, that means that about 1700 acres can be developed. (The statute creating the authority states the Island consists of 11,000 acres.)

The Authority operates the Island without any financial support from the State. That is why the Authority pays the State $1 for the lease and why you pay to even drive onto the Island. And remember, in addition to hotel tax, etc., they have a golf course and a water park. The Authority also runs a restaurant and other enterprises. There is apparently some criticism of the State operating such mundane enterprises and there is an effort to turn them over to private enterprise. Hmmm! That smells like a lease I would like to have–and everyone else.

There is a Jekyll Island Foundation which helped raise the $3M for the Georigia Sea Turtle Center.

So there you have it, the usual tension between development and conservation. Who gets the leases? Who gets to make tons of money? Do the sea turtles still visit and lay their eggs on the beach or do they have to get a room?

Eric Garvey [29:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (621)

I - DA - HOOOOOOO’!!!!!!!!!!

Published on August 29, 2007 in Blog. 0 Comments Tags: bigots, larry-craig.

Vote Larry Craig–another closet gay in Republican clothing!

Nuff Said! Who is next?

Interview with Allie Wall, Executive Director, Georgia Watch: Out There Protecting Your Interest!

Published on August 28, 2007 in Blog. 0 Comments Tags: Allie-Wall, credit-freeze, Georgia-Watch, insurance-premiums, legislature.

If you don’t know about Georgia Watch, you need to pay attention. It began its efforts in 2002 as a non-profit consumer advocacy group and since that time has made its mark as one of the best such groups in the country. A lot of that is due to Allie Wall, the Executive Director, who has been there from the beginning and has a knack for organization and motivation. (This is not to detract from the other excellant staffers.)

This interview with Allie was recorded before two legislative hearings which took place last week. You can read more about what happened at the hearings at GeorgiaWatch.com.

One hearing concerned legislation to allow consumers to freeze their credit. There were 3 bills introduced in the 2007 session which did not pass but which are still alive for the 2008 session: HB 35, 38, 130. These bills are a bipartisan effort headed up by Tommy Benton (R-31), Rob Teilhet (D-40) and Calvin Hill (R-21). All 3 are pending in the House Banks and Banking Committee which is chaired by James Mills (R-25).

About 39 states allow consumers to freeze their credit, but not Georgia. The credit bureaus don’t want consumers to be able to freeze their credit. Maybe the lobbyists for the credit bureaus will have their identities stolen in 2008 and at least one of the bills will get passed.

The other hearing concerned legislation to repeal an almost 20-year old law that requires auto insurance companies to obtain prior approval from the Insurance Commissioner before raising your premiums. Rep. Bill Hembree (R-67) introduced HB 867 at the 2007 session and it will still be alive in 2008. I don’t know why, after 20 years, Hembree thinks there is a reason to change the law. You can go to Project Vote Smart for information on Hembree’s campaign finances and voting record on the issues. The bill is pending in the House Insurance Committee which is chaired by Tom Knox (R-24). Another hearing is scheduled for later in the fall.

Now is the time to call your legislator and let them know what you think!

Allie Wall, Georgia Watch, Executive Director [25:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (561)

Interview with Doug Baird, Internet and Techno Geek

Published on August 27, 2007 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: doug-baird, internet, medicine, nanotechnology, technology.

This interview turned funny about the same time the subject changed to nano-sex! You do know what nano-sex is, don’t you?

Doug is a friend of mine and was our local internet entrepreneur. He also started a phone company using the access provided by the 1996 Telecommunications Act. A few weeks ago we got to talking about nanotechnology. He was telling me about all these developments going on in medicine, so I thought it might be a good interview.

We covered everything from Spiderman suits to bladders. I was doing alright until Doug told me there were nano particles in the pants I was wearing. I immediately denied that it was me!

I don’t know much about nano anything. The idea of building something atom by atom is a little mind-boggling. A nanometer is as small as some people’s brains.

Want to see a nano-gear? How about the top 10 nano products of 2003?

Maybe just a little history of nano stuff.

I am now converting to nanotype for the rest of this post. Happy reading below! It is only about 2 nanopages.

Doug Baird [27:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (526)

Interview with Amy Menefee, Deputy Editor, Business and Media Institute

Published on August 26, 2007 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: amy-menefee, business, business-and-media-institute, Health Care, health-insurance, media, watchdog.

When I came across the Business and Media Institute website and saw that it, together with its parent organization, Media Research Center, claimed to be a “media watchdog,” I immediately became defensive. You know: If media needs a watchdog, then what does business need?

So I scheduled an interview with Amy Menefee, a Deputy Editor at BMI who, it turns out, is from Macon, Georgia, where my wife grew up, as well. Now Amy impressed me with a certain degree of forthrightness, but I must admit that I still have reservations about BMI and MRC. If you look at their websites, you will note that they focus on the “bias” of CNN, NBC, CBS and ABC, but FOX is not called to task, at least not nearly as much. They also seem to be an immediate response team for business on everything from high gas prices to the environment to trade. They even think that China is doing us a favor sending us dangerous products!

Amy assured me that BMI and MRC focus on business and economic issues in the media. Of course, they support the free market, but Amy assured me that they don’t bend the facts, and don’t make up the facts. For the time being, I will give Amy the benefit of the doubt, primarily because she told me that BMI supports competition in health care. But, that is another interview. I wanted to interview Amy about the number of uninsured Americans.

If you Google “Americans uninsured health care,” you will find multiple sites that quote the figure of 40+ million as the number of Americans without health insurance. You will also find an article by BMI that says this figure is a lie.

According to Amy, the U. S. Census indicates that 9.5 million of the unisured in American are not even American citizens. They may be illegal aliens (those that respond to the Census) or foreign students or something else.

According to Amy, the Census also indicates that about 8 million uninsured Americans make between $50,000 to $75,000 and almost 9 million more make more than $75,000. Now why would someone making that kind of money not have health insurance? Well, according to Amy, one survey indicates that 60% of these people reported they were in excellent health.

And then there are those who are only temporarily uninsured. They may be between jobs. According to Amy, the Congressional Budget Office reports that 45% of the uninsured are without insurance for only 4 months.

So is the number of unisured 15 million or 45 million? Does it really matter? If it is really as low as 15 million, then it certainly ought to be something we can solve and be fair to working American families.

And even more importantly, what does any of this have to do with the high cost of health care and the millions of dollars in insurance company profits while the average American struggles to pay for the recent hospitalization when our child went into the hospital with a fever, stayed 2 days and the bill was $10,000.

Amy Menefee [27:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (598)

Interview with Peter Navarro, Author, “The Coming China Wars”

Published on August 26, 2007 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: capitalism, china, corporate-interests, economics, international-trade, peter-navarro, politics, war.

If you aren’t concerned about China, you must be a redneck! My words, not Navarro’s. But some people do think China Sucks.

Peter Navarro is an Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine and the author of numerous books, the most recent of which is “The Coming China Wars.” I caught a C-Span Book Review featuring Peter and with all the bad publicity China has been getting recently over its sorry products, I thought it would be a good idea to find out more. I also had a personal motivitaion. My youngest son spent 6 weeks in Kunming, China this summer studying Chinese. I expect he will go on to master this most difficult language and according to Peter that will probably be a good career choice.

Take a look at Peter’s YouTube commentary about China and you will see why we ought to be more concerned about China than we are. Not only is China killing Americans (food, toys, products), but it’s killing Chinese, as well. Not only is capitalism alive and well in this great bastion of communism, but it is pure capitalism. Cut-throat, money-is-everything, don’t-care-who-you-hurt, capitalism.

Peter tells the story of how this began so many decades ago, where it is going and what it is going to take to stop the natural progression of these events. Unfortunately, the ultimate remedy may lie in the hands of Washington power feeders who take money from the manufacturers of America who make money on products from China. Don’t expect them to bite the hand that feeds them.

Now, I am as proud of American capitalism as the next entrepreneur, but one of the main differences between Chinese and American capitalism is government regulation. If you are a Republican, if you hate government, if you think there is too much regulation, then take a trip to China and see what America could be without government regulation. Now, this is not an endorsement of government regulation. There may be too much and too many bureaucrats, but I can at least drink the water just about anywhere in America, except maybe after a flood or a hurricane. You can’t in China and you can’t in Mexico.

While I realize the issues of trade are complicated, there is one thing that is pretty simple: China doesn’t care if it sends bad products over here! The real question is why don’t we? We as consumers may care because their sorry products run the risk of killing us, but why, after all that has happened in the last few months, isn’t Congress up in arms? (After all, China killed the same kind of dogs that Vick is alleged to have killed!) Why aren’t they, our leaders, passing laws right and left to make sure that China doesn’t sell or ship substandard products to America?

Why? Because many of those Senators and Congressman are taking money from American businesses and manufacturers who make tons of money trading with China. Free trade to them is money, while to you and me it may be death. Walmart, that store you think you love, is going to kill us and our economy because it prefers cheap, shoddy products from China to well made American goods that would support an American family. It isn’t just cheap labor that China offers, it’s cheap manufacturing. Manufacturing without quality assurance. Manufacturing without the expense of safety precautions. It is exactly the type of manufacturing big business would have down the street in America if it were not for government regulation. (The next time you tell your kid to put on a seatbelt, first, thank the lawyers who sued the car manufacturers hundreds of times, and then liberal Democrats!)

Yes, the Chinese government shares a lot of blame, but everything in China is made possible by an American business. In the name of staying competitive, business convinces us that a few of us, our children and our pets have to die every now and then from lead paint and bad dog food. It is a small price after all! Wait until the cheap Chinese steel we put in our bridges and buildings starts to break and maybe we will decide that free trade and competition just isn’t worth the cost.

Peter Navarro, Teacher and Author [29:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (549)

Interview with Jeff Johnson, BET Host and Producer, A Care Giver

Published on August 25, 2007 in Podcast. 1 Comment Tags: African-American, Jeff-Johnson, leadership, youth.

This is what Jeff Johnson is about.

When I interview someone like Jeff Johnson, I always wonder why they aren’t known by everyone, every where. I am almost ashamed to admit that I had no idea who he was before the interview. So much for knowing “What Is Goin On?” And many thanks to Grayson Daughters for helping steer him my way.

If you want to know more about who Jeff is, you can read his bio. Or you can go to Jeff’s Nation or Truth Is Power.

Regardless of whether or not you are impressed by bios, and websites, the impressive thing about Jeff is the simple fact that he cares, not about himself, but about others. He cares about My Nation and your nation. He cares about youth in particular.

People like Jeff always bother me because they make me face the fact that there is too much talk and not enough action in this world. I become aware that I talk to much and do very little. It is one thing to talk about poverty and racism and education and politics, but it is another thing to get out there and actually do something about it.

Issues are about people and people are more important than issues. While we can talk around and about issues, it is very hard to stare a real person in the face and ignore the issues that control their existence. Until you experience their existence, I don’t think you can understand their issue. Having said that, I should shut up because I have a lot of thougts and opinions about issues I have not ever experienced: poverty, prison, gangs, drug addiction, rape, abortion, racism and many more.

Jeff is a doer and a motivator. He wants you and me to become doers and motivators. Not all of us can do it on the scale that Jeff does and there is no condemnation in that. We can’t experience it all. We can’t fight it all. We can’t change it all. But we can do something. No matter how small our world is, there is at least one other person it in. And, no matter our circumstances, we can care! We can care about someone more than ourselves. We can care about something that costs us more than words. We can care enough to do that one small thing that makes a difference is someone’s life.

It is in caring that we find worth, not only someone else’s, but our own worth, as well.

Jeff Johnson, BET Host and Producer [28:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (633)

Interview with Steve Elliott, Founder, GrassFire.org, on the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America

Published on August 25, 2007 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: fence, grass-roots, grassfire, Immigration, politics, securiity-and-prosperity-partnership.

If you are motivated to get activated about certain political issues, then you need to check out GrassFire.org. Steve Elliott, its Founder, is sold out to the idea that citizens can impact political issues and decisions. GrassFire’s focus is on conservative, faith and family oriented issues and while I may not support every position GrassFire maintains, I think it is right on when it comes to the SPP and immigration issues.

President Bush, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada met in Montebello, Canada last week as part of the third meeting of the Security and Properity Partnership of North America.

If you have never heard of the SPP, you really need to listen to the interview. “The SPP is a White House-led initiative among the United States and the two nations it borders â€“ Canada and Mexico â€“ to increase security and to enhance prosperity among the three countries through greater cooperation.” I am more than a little suspicious of any initiative by the Bush White House. Do you remember the last time we entered into a “prosperity” agreement with Mexico. Apparently, it wasn’t our prosperity that was to be benefited. Yes, I mean NAFTA, the bipartisan effort in the Clinton administration that sent hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs to Mexico. I don’t want any more prosperity like that!

According to Steve, the SPP operates in secret. Freedom of Information requests by citizens don’t get much response. Members of Congress can’t find out what the SPP is doing. The concern is that the SPP is some sort of vehicle by which agreements will be reached between the executive branches of the governments of America, Canada and Mexico which are never submitted for ratification by the U.S. Senate which would be required by the Constitution if they were treaties, not agreements. If that is the purpose of the SPP, then it is truly a reprehensible association.

You can read more about the SPP at its website. It even has a section that denies anything underhanded is going on. However, if you read the SPP, I am sure you will note the overwhelming smell of B.S. coming through just about every line of text. Jibber-jabber.

One of GrassFire’s primary issues is border security and the fence. All I can say is, watch the video and then go ask your Congressman or Senator “Where’s The Fence?”

Steve Elliott, Founder, GrassFire.org [28:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (531)

Interview with Doug Monroe, a Stranger in a New Land

Published on August 24, 2007 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: Doug-Monroe, guliani, new-york, politics, poor.

Most of you know Doug Monroe when, just a few months ago, he was a blogger at Peachtree Screed. Doug had to take a job as a teacher in New York City in order to insure the availabiltiy of health insurance coverage, which is a comment on the economic benefits available to professional bloggers as much as on the availability of health care. Doug moved earlier this summer, leaving us with one less great source of informed opinion and information. Fortunately for Doug, his son is in school in New York which I am sure makes his relocation a lot more palatable.

My apologies to Doug for the late posting of this interview. The recording had a technical problem and I had to get it straightened out before I could post it. No matter, it is still good to hear from a friend.

Doug provides his views on politics in the home of Rudy. His comments on the disparity between the rich and poor are thought provoking, as are, his observations about being a teacher in the Big Apple.

Doug said he was going to return to blogging in the near future, something we can all look forward to. Until then, we consider him our “Correspondent in the North!”

Doug Monroe, former Atlantan [28:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (605)

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