Monthly Archive for October, 2007
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I have hope! I have hope that Rush Limbaugh is an old, aging fad. I have hope that Bill O. will soon be only a memory. I have hope that Ann Coulter can overcome brain death. I have hope that more and more Americans are getting fed up with the name calling, the dirty tricks, as well as the hatred, both real and feigned.
And at least some of this hope is because guys like Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel, one a conservative, the other a liberal, have put what I have been thinking and feeling into a book, “Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America.” They also write a column in USA Today called “Common Ground.”
In this interview Beckel admits that 20 years ago he and Thomas were themselves polarizers. Now, he sees the politics of polarization coming to an end. This doesn’t mean that suddenly everyone will be in agreement. It doesn’t mean changing political philosophy. But ultimately, it should mean a renewed appreciation for discussion and the ability to compromise. Compromise used to be important in American politics until issues came to be viewed in the light of right versus wrong and compromise became a sign of weakness, a sign that your position must not be right because you are compromising. This idea is so much crap and it is killing us.
Who are these polarizers? Bob names names: Tom Delay (No Retreat, No Surrender) on the right, and Harry Reid on the left are two politician examples. But most of them may not be politicians, at least not the elected kind. These are the special interests, the lobbyist, the corporate interests that want to make sure we remain divided so we don’t solve one of our problems: them! Why do you think that when anyone tries to solve the health insurance problem, all you hear is “socialized medicine.” You never hear a proposal to solve the problem because they don’t want the problem solved. The make money as long as it is unsolved.
And then there are the bottom feeders: Ann Coulter, the voice of hate and Michael Moore, who Bob says selectively edits his films to achieve maximum polarization. For these guys, polarization sells and we are the ones buying most of the time.
And then there are the organizations like Dobson’s Focus on the Family, on one side and Move On.Org. on the other. There are many, many more.
And then there are the myths created by the polarizers to prove that we are polarized. Bob’s two examples: Red State vs. Blue State and the Culture War. The media and the political advisors have convinced us that we live in either a red state or a blue state. And yet, Ohio, labeled “red” has a Democrat for Governor and one Democratic Senator. New Hampshire, labeled “red” has a Democratic Governor, a Democratic legislature, and two Republican Senators.
If I live in a “blue” state, I can view Ohio and New Hampshire as being part of the opposition, even though they are clearly not more red than blue.
As for the culture war, where is it? We don’t tote guns in the street like in Iraq. The biggest culture war that most American families are actually aware of is the argument about what to watch on TV.
Some of this problem is our fault. We don’t want to listen for more than a minute or two. We don’t want to hear the other side of an argument. We don’t want to moderate our position or give credit to the opposition for a good idea. We want to be right and we want to be on the winning side. And worst of all, we are the ones who nitpick every word the other side utters, and resent the fact they do the same. How else can you explain the greatest deliberative body in the history of the world, the Congress of the United States, wasting the time to debate a resolution condemning what a free Americans say. I don’t care whether you like Rush or MoveOn, if that is all Congress has got to talk about, they need to find another job.
The Democratic base is maybe 20% of American voters, the Republican base 30%. That leaves half of us somewhere in the middle and the middle will prevail, but only when candidates come forward that give us viable alternatives to the ones committed to polarizing influences. When an actual election results prove that polarization no longer works and will get a candidate defeated, not elected, things will change. I hope 2008 is that election year that we, the middle, take control of America back from the polarizers, from the extremists.
Our job is to make them understand. The only way to do that is to vote. The only way to know who to vote for is to find out about all the candidates (at least more than one) and make an informed decision regarding your choice. Republican, Democrat or Independent, when America votes smart, we will get smart politicians, not tricky ones.
If you don’t understand the water issues presently facing Atlanta, this diagram should make it crystal clear:
Still not clear? Let me refer you to the website for the Metropolitan North Georgia Water District (MNGWD) and their Water Supply and Water Conservation Management Plan (WSP). The MNGWD was created by the Georgia Legislature in 2001 to get a handle on the water issues for the 16 metro counties under its jurisdiction. The WSP was issued in September 2003. If you don’t want to read the whole plan, you will find the Executive Summary comforting.
I found a lot of encouragement from the fact that, according to the Executive Summary:
This WS Plan Outlines a balanced, long-term water management strategy for meeting future needs, while protecting water quality through 2030, and preserving water resources in all five major river basins.
If they have already planned this out through 2030, what’s to worry, this is only 2007!
A few other interesting facts:
(1) Surface water (rivers, reservoirs) account for 99% of the Metro’s water sources. Thus, groundwater (wells) is less than 1%. Page 6.
(2) The Basin Estimated Available Supply in Million Gallons Per Day
Average Annual Daily Basis
Chattahoochee 641
Etowah 133
Flint 61
Ocmulgee 98
Oconee 0
District Total 933 (See Page 7)
(3) There are 5 new reservoirs in various stages of permitting which will provide an additional 114 MGD. Page 7. (As far as I know, none of these will be online in the next 3 months, but not to worry, it’s in the plan.)
(4) All of the counties within the District maintain connections with at least one other county for either routine or emergency water sale. Page 7. (Proof that drought is good for capitalism.)
(5) Indirect potable reuse, or reclaimed water that is returned to water supply sources such as Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona, provides the most flexibility in meeting future potable demands. Page 11. (I think this means that your toilet is going to have a direct line to your sink.)
Don’t let this list deter you from reading either the plan or the executive summary. I assure you there is a lot more there that you should know about that I have not mentioned.
If you are still concerned, then I suggest you attend the “State of the Region” program to be presented by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) on November 8, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency. The ARC provides the staff for the MNGWD and is equally interested in water issues.
The keynote speaker will be futurist, Glen Hiemstra, who will kick off a two-year initiative to develop a vision action plan for Atlanta for the next 50 years. To get a ticket you can go to the ARC website, or call Monique Steele at 404-463-3191 or email her at msteele@atlantaregional.com.
I am confident that if Mr. Hiemstra is going kick off a 50-year vision, all the answers to your water questions will be answered November 8th. This is HUGE! HUGE, I tell you. Be There or Be Thirsty!
By the way, if you are wondering what the heck is a “futurist,” they aren’t crazy enough to suggest that they can predict the future. Rather, they just project it! My mother used to project the future: “Just wait until your father gets home!”
Courtesy of Mike Lester, Rome News-Tribune.
The water problem has apparently gotten the people of Rome, GA active. A lesson to all of us: you better find out what the hell is going on!
Comments like the following will make you think:
Joe Cook, executive director of the Coosa River Basin Initiative, said that, without restrictions, the metro area will be pumping 60 million gallons of water a day from the Etowah River in 2030 and flushing 60 percent of it down the Chattahoochee River.
“That’s a tremendous consumptive loss for the Etowah, and it is simply not acceptable,†he said, sparking cheers from the crowd.
The Water Council is still receiving comments on the State Water Plan through October 31, 2007. To send them a comment, you first have to register, but it is something you need to do.
Dr. John Ervin, a Vidalia OB-GYN, reminds us that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You may have read recently the news that cancer death rates have decreased. While this is great news, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the US. Heart disease is still No. 1.
Some statistics from BreastCancer.Org:
-Every three minutes a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2006, an estimated 212,920 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, along with 61,980 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. And 40,970 women are expected to die in 2006 from this disease.i
-Breast cancer is the leading cancer among white and African American women. African American women are more likely to die from this disease.ii
-Breast cancer incidence in women has increased from one in 20 in 1960 to one in eight today.iii
Early detection is still the key to survival. For breast cancer, that means regular self-examination and annual mammograms for women over the age of 40! The problem is that women of color are not making or keeping appointments with their doctor and are falling behind in having annual examinations.
And then there is breast cancer in women of color. This from the Department of Surgery at Columbia University:
Facts about Women of Color and Breast Cancer:
Though breast cancer is less common in African American women than white women, when they do develop the disease they are more likely to die from it, especially if they are under age 50.
The breast cancer death rate in African Americans is 37% higher than for whites.
Among women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, tumors are hormone-receptor negative in 40% of African American women, compared with 23% in white women. Hormone-negative tumors are associated with worse outcomes and an increased risk of recurrence. They are not responsive to Tamoxifen, an effective medication used to reduce recurrence of hormone-positive tumors.
Less research and educational resources have been dedicated to higher mortality rates for African-Americans.
Issues facing younger women are particularly germane to women of color, who represent a disproportionate number of women diagnosed prior to age 40.
The standard breast cancer screening method, mammography, which was developed for women over age 40, is not as effective in younger women, who have much denser breasts,
Younger woman with breast cancer must face the possibility of early menopause.
Chemotherapy and radiation treatments for breast cancer take a greater toll on a younger woman, threatening her fertility, and potentially leaving her with adverse health effects such as osteoporosis for more than half of her lifespan.
Have you heard of the The Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act? It’s a federal law passed in 1998. Among other things, it requires insurance companies that provide coverage for mastectomies to also cover certain services related to breast reconstruction after the procedure.
Have you been to war? Ever get anywhere near a real war? I have not, and frankly, I don’t want to, but if called, I hope I would do my duty. Kevin Sites has been to war, several of them, and together with his new employer, Yahoo News, he brings us a world-wide view of conflict in our time. Conflict, but not all armed, at least not right now. Conflict that leaves its mark on a nation, a society, a culture, a world for generations. Conflicts like Vietnam whose memory is still with us, but whose lessons we apparently did not learn as a nation.
Kevin, a veteran war correspondent with stints at CNN, NBC and others, is now Yahoo News’ first correspondent. You may remember his coverage of the Marine shooting a civilian in a Fallujah Mosque in 2004. He was with NBC at the time and the network self-censored the graphic video and it still created controversy. The issue: Is it treason to show America the atrocities of war when it is American troops committing them?
His first assignment with Yahoo was to cover every armed conflict in the world during the course of a year, focusing not just on the fighting, but on the story that is always next door in war, the collateral damage to people, society, and cultures. On top of that Kevin was essentially a one man crew, camera (Sony HDR-HC1), sound, beast of burden and everything else.
The results: a book “In the Hot Zone: One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars” and a film documentary. You get a copy of the DVD with the book or you can see it chapter by chapter at the website.
It was Robert E. Lee who said: “It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.” I do not think even Lee could have envisioned the atrocities that wars of genocide and culture have imposed on humanity. In Lee’s day, atrocities occurred, but were certainly undesired aberrations. However, in the Congo the rape of women has become an instrument of war.
It is hard to believe that 60 years after WWII there are more than 20 ongoing armed conficts in the world today. They are not world-wide in venue, but the ripple effects have the potential to affect us all.
What is even harder to believe is that after more than 4 years of a mismanaged debacle in Iraq, we have a president that speaks of taking up arms against Iran and of a coming WWIII as if the decision to turn to war was just another thing to decide. War is not a decision you choose from a list of alternatives. War is the choice of last resort!
Even a 24% approval rating is too high.
In 2005 CCHR was nothing more than a glimmer in the eye of Georgia’s civil rights leadership, Ambassador Andrew Young, Representative John Lewis and Mrs. Evelyn Lowery. The idea: a civil rights museum in Atlanta. After a study of other civil rights museums conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a working group appointed by Mayor Shirley Franklin gave structure to the vision. Then, in January 2007 a partnership between the Atlanta Development Authority and Central Atlanta Progress really got the ball rolling.
Doug Shipman was appointed the Executive Director of the Center for Civil and Human Rights Partnership which hopes to open its doors sometime in 2010. Doug, together with Tiffany Powell, Senior Project Manager, and, I am sure, many others are hard at work on the details.
They do not toil alone. Coca Cola has donated land in the Olympic Park/World of Coke/Georgia Aquarium area and a slew of other civic minded corporations support the effort.
Add to that, the fact that in 2006 Atlanta was successful in making sure the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers stayed in Atlanta.
Add to that, the personal support of people like Earl Lewis, Provost at Emory University, Care USA, Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, Bobby Kennedy’s daughter, and John D. Evans, a co-founder of C-Span.
This is not just a museum and the focus is not just the American Civil Rights Movement. It will be a world class center whose focus is the world-wide struggle for human rights. Its goal is to serve as
…a space for ongoing dialogue, study, and contributions to the resolution of current and future freedom struggles of all people at local, national, and international levels. This facility will give visitors a place to learn about the past and engage conversations about the future. The Center will be a portal for exploration and discussion through performances, lectures, symposiums and partnerships across the Atlanta and Georgia community; the Center intends to be the global hub for contemporary discussion on the link between Civil Rights lessons and Human Rights issues.
The thing I like about what Doug told me is that the Center will engage in storytelling. We all love stories and Doug told me a few. While I grew up in Georgia during those tumultuous 60s, I did not grow up in Atlanta or any where near the action. The Civil Rights Movement was something I experienced through the evening news and school integration. I am sure there are a lot of people like me that don’t know that while Martin Luther King, Jr. had to fear for his life in many states, he walked the streets of Atlanta without fear. And how about this: the Mayor of Atlanta would often give him a ride home at the end of day! Incredible! And when he went to Savannah, the sheriff of Chatham County would meet him at the county line and escort him to his destination. Listen to the interview for the details and more.
I can hardly wait for 2009! See you there.
Sharon Hill is the Executive Director of Georgia Appelseed.
The Mission of Georgia Appleseed: To listen to the unheard voices of the poor, the children, the marginalized; to uncover and end the injustices that we would not endure ourselves; to win the battles for our constituency in the courts of public opinion or in the halls of justice that no one else is willing or able to fight.
To further this mission, Georgia Appleseed has partnered with The Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic of the Emory University School of Law, Voices for Georgia’s Children and others to form JUST Georgia. JUST Georgia has two primary objectives: 1) To work for the passage of a new Juvenile Code that reflects the scientific findings and best practices in the child development field; and 2) To identify and change policies in Georgia’s underlying social services system that can prevent detention and sustain healthy behaviors outside the juvenile justice system.
To educate and inform Georgians about these efforts, JUST Georgia has planned a series of town hall meetings in October and November in various locations including Savannah, Conyers, Rome, Albany, Columbus, Atlanta, Gainesville, Augusta, Griffen and Milledgeville.
If you have never had to appear in Juvenile Court, you are indeed fortunate. I haven’t been there much myself, even as a lawyer, but when I have been, it was one of the scariest places on earth, full of the unknown. It is even more so for the parent or a child who finds themselves there for the first time. This is by no means a criticism of our juvenile court system, but more a recognition that in Juvenile Court the stakes are always high: the well-being of a child. Juvenile Court Judges generally have the responsibility of cleaning up someone’s mess and no matter what remedies are available, there will be a big impact on the child. Sometime the choices are not good and more than any other category of judges, juvenile judges have to have the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon to fashion a just remedy from a very unjust situation.
It seems undeniable that our juvenile laws need to be updated so they work as well as possible and hopefully provide judges and case workers with the tools and flexibility they need to truly do justice to the child and the family.
If you know a Juvenile Judge, take a moment and say “Thanks,” even if you aren’t sure why!
If this interview with Wade Shealy of The Jekyll Island Company doesn’t piss you off, nothing will.
On September 24, 2007, the Jekyll Island Authority, in a display of arrogant stupidity (where you do something arrogant in front of the world for everyone to see), if not downright corruption, awarded a redevelopment project, worth billions, to Mercer Reynolds’ company, Linger Longer. You know Reynolds as in Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee, as in Bush’s former Ambassador to Switzerland, as in Advsior to the Scooter Libby Defense Fund, and as in one of the biggest fundraisers and contributors to Bush and the Republicans. An ambassadorship is an appropriate reward, bilking the State of Georgia isn’t.
In June 2007 the Jekyll Island Authority solicited proposals (RFP) to develop 45 acres (the acreage specified in the RFP) on Jekyll Island. Bids were turned in by the middle of August. Four companies submitted proposals: The Jekyll Island Revitalization Group, Linger Longer Communities, Cousins Coastal Ventrues, and Trammell Crowe Company.
One company’s proposal, Cousins, was culled because only the top three could be considered for the award. The winner was announced on September 24th by Ken Bleakley, the consultant hired by the JIA to oversee the process. (NOTE: When the consultant was being selected, Ken was the only one interviewed. At least two JIA Board Members wouldn’t even vote because only one candidate was being considered for such an important position. Ken, of the Bleakley Advisory Group, was the focus of some controversy in Macon in 2006. And, I couldn’t find a website for BAG which seems odd.)
The selection committee was composed of two employees of the JIA, together with the Chairman, Benjamin (Ben) G. Porter of Macon and JIA Board Member, Robert W. (Bob) Krueger of Hawkinsville, GA, both of whom were appointed to the JIA by Perdue in August 2006. While the full JIA Board apparently voted, they apparently had no opportunity to do any evaluation of the various proposals and just had to accept the selection committee’s choice.
When Ken announced Linger Longer as the winner, he said the reason was their proposal provided more green space. He seems to have forgotten to mention that the reason their plan had more green space was that it included a 19 acre park that was not located on the 45 acres specified in the RFP.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY: (1) Why is it that the other 3 companies were never told they could include an additional 19 acres if they wanted to? (2) If this were an innocent mistake (as opposed to intentional rigging of the process), why weren’t the other companies allowed to resubmit their proposals based on an amended RFP? (3) Why wasn’t Linger Longer’s bid thrown out (rather than Cousins’) for failiing to comply with the specifications of the RFP? Why didn’t Ken Bleakley get in trouble for screwing up the process.
Wade Shealy, the Managing Partner of Jekyll Island Company, thinks his company submitted a much better and more favorable proposal for the State of Georgia than did Linger Longer. Here’s why:
(1) His company was going to fund the project without borrowing any money from the State. Linger Longer’s proposal includes two loans from the state totalling $84.5 million. (Good grief, not only do they get to make millions, we have to finance it for them!)
(2) His proposal would have returned to the State almost $100 million more in income over the specified 15 years than Linger Longer. (Apparently, Linger Longer’s money doesn’t linger longer.
(3) His proposal included 277 condos that would sell for less than $400,000. LL’s proposal provided for 17 condos below $400,000. (For the concern about keeping Jekyll affordable for average Georgians, see my interview with David Egan.)
(4) His proposal gave the residents of Georgia a 30% discount. LL’s, none.
(5) His proposal also gave $500,000 a year to the Jekyll Island Foundation, which would certainly go a long way in helping to preserve Jekyll.
(6) His proposal included establishing a permanent conservation easement on teh 65% of Jekyll that is to remain undeveloped so that politicians can’t change their mind in the future and open more of it for development.
Being awarded the Master Developer contract means profits in the millions of dollars, maybe even hundreds of millions. While that may be a hell of a lot of money, the risk of failure, poor sales, etc. is always there. But if this project is to be so lucrative, if Jekyll is to be the “Jewel of Georgia,” it is a disgrace to have the award of the contract sullied by these types of shenaningans. And that is putting it lightly!
Now why, you may ask, would the State accept Linger Longer’s proposal over Jekyll’s? Why would the JIA allow deception in the proposal procedure. As it always is in politics, follow the money!
According to Wade, he was told before the proposals were submitted that the choice of who would get the project had already been determined.
After the winner was announced, Wade even called one of the Board Members, Sam Kellett, another big Republican contributor, to see if he was concerned about the integrity of the process. Kellett’s response: Don’t make trouble, don’t go to the press, and there will be something for you later on!
You should also know that Senator Eric Johnson and Representative Jerry Keen are “advisory” members of the JIA Board. I haven’t heard about any outrage from them. Wonder what their advice was?
And there you have it. Contribute money. Get appointed to influential boards. Boards that spend millions. Contribute money. Submit bids for million and billion dollar projects. Someone will find a way to get you a good return for your money.
I guess Linger Longer lingers longer at the trough because it has a lot of political contributions to make.
If you think this is a disgrace, call the Governor’s Office and let them know. The number is 404-656-1776. You call the Governor, I’m gonna call the Attorney General or the District Attorney!
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