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Monthly Archive for July, 2008

The Shoulders of Vidalia City Government

Published on July 24, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Are you feed up with politicians? Tired of crooks and arrogant idiots running your town, your city, your state. Well, breathe deep and enjoy the fresh air in this interview with a new participant in the political process: Lisa Chesser, elected last fall to her first term of service on the Vidalia City Council.

Six months into her term, Lisa understands and appreciates the burdens and pressures that local elected officials have to deal with in serving their constituents. The issues which face Lisa, Vidalia and all the other cities and town of this country have at least one thing in common. They cannot be solved with easy fixes where everyone gets what they want. Lisa appreciates the difficulty of making the right decision, recognizing that someone will disagree.

But if you will listen to this interview, you will hear a true public servant, who without malice or arrogance in her heart wants to do the right thing in all things and who is not afraid to stand up and be heard. Government officials, particularly at the local level, generally don’t like to have to deal with the problems of ordinary citizens. They have their preconceived notions of how things are going to be and do not care to spend the time to hear or consider other viewpoints.

Lisa is the exception. She is what we need more of. She is intelligent, honest, full of common sense and compassion, a breath of fresh air. Lisa is the only woman currently on the council and I believe (could be wrong) the first woman ever elected to the Vidalia City Council. She believes in open, friendly government. Her integrity is unimpeachable. She understands the benefits of listening to all sides of complex issues before making a decision. She understands that citizens appreciate it when they feel that their views will be heard and fairly considered. Keep up the good work Lisa!

I am sure Lisa is embarassed by these comments. I don’t care. She is proof that involved citizens who are willing to sacrifice some of their time and contribute to local government can make a difference.

Maybe, someday she will be the first woman mayor of Vidalia.

 
 Lisa Chesser, Member, Vidalia City Council [28:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (587)

Drifting With the Grift After the Primaries!

Published on July 23, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

There are times when there are just not enough hours in a day. This is one of those days or weeks or months or years, but I just had to do whatever it took to get this interview with James Williams (alias GriftDrift) posted. You will just have to listen to it to appreciate two country boys shooting the breeze about the state of politics after the primaries. From the Senate race and the Democratic runoff between Jones and Martin, to Rep. David Ralston’s announcement that he plans to challenge the Dark Knight for his position as Speaker of the House, we drift into the national scene with Obamaitis and end up casting our lot with T. Boone Pickens’ energy plan which is only 30 years late. If you could make as much money speculating about politics as oil, James and I could buy the Middle East and give the oil away.

Thanks James.

 
 James Williams, GriftDrift Blogger [28:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (491)

The 10 Worst Insurance Companies in America!

Published on July 23, 2008 in Blog. 0 Comments

Here’s food for thought! Don’t you like all those cozy TV commercials by insurance companies promising to protect you. I really like the one by Allstate that shows you a chair in a courtroom, tells you how scary it is to be there, but not to worry because they will send someone (an attorney) to take care of you. They will do that even if you are a sorry drunk being sued for killing a child in a residential neighborhood traveling 85 mph. None of them are interested in “doing the right thing.” The right thing for them is always the “bottom line.”

Heaven help you, if you want them to pay a claim. Make damn sure you are never the one injured wanting them to treat you fairly so you don’t have to go to that courtroom and sit in that chair as a plaintiff. If you think being sued is a bummer, try being injured, seriously injured, permanently injured.

Think your insurance company is great? You might need to think again after reading the findings of the American Association of Justice (previously the American Trial Lawyers Association until someone decided that the word “lawyer” might have negative implications).

And the Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America are:
1. Allstate (The good hands people!)
2. Unum (What a stupid name!)
3. AIG (Short for PIG apparently.)
4. State Farm (Chucky makes a better neighbor!)
5. Conseco (Never heard of them but thought they played baseball!)
6. WellPoint (The point is they get well when you get sick!)
7. Farmers (Why would anyone buy insurance from a farmer?)
8. UnitedHealth
9. Torchmark
10. Liberty Mutual

The Compassionate Friends Mt. Vernon Chapter

Published on July 16, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments

One of the greatest joys in life is the birth of your children, and from that moment on, your life forever changes. Your focus changes from yourself to your child. For most parents, you are able to watch your child grow up and experience all the milestones in life from your child’s first word to his first day of school to watching him get married and starting a family of his own. However, this is not always the scenerio. Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned, and parents outlive their children. The grief can be unbearable even with the support of your family. Sometimes, a person needs more.

I came across an organization in town that focuses on the needs of grieving families. Janet Stanley and Deegi Foskey are the co-leaders of The Compassionate Friends Organization in the Montgomery/Toombs County area. The Compassionate Friends Organization is a national non-profit support organization that offers friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings.

In 2006, Deegi Foskey introduced Janet Stanley to Compassionate Friends while Janet was grieving the loss of her son. Deegi was attending the Warner Robbins chapter and wanted Janet to come along. Janet did not want to join the group because she felt she didn’t need the support. Finally, Deegi convinced Janet to attend the first unofficial local meeting in Mt. Vernon. Janet attended, and decided she was not going to go back. It was too hard, but Janet never missed another meeting. In December 2006 the local chapter became offcial.

The local chapter of the Compassionate Friends meet the 3rd Saturday of each month at 11:00am at the College Hill Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon.

For more information, you can contact Deegi at (478) 290-4678 or Janet at (912) 293-3807.

 
 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (537)

The Toombs County Political Forum

Published on July 8, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

On June 26, 2008 What Is Goin’ On? ventured into unchartered waters with its first political forum highlighting candidates for Chairman and District representatives of the Toombs County Board of Commissioners. It was broadcast live over WLYU FM, 100.9 and was video-taped by our local TV Channel 46.

I called it a forum because it was somewhere between a debate and an interview. Just where between, you will have to decide.

There were 3 candidates for district seats and 5 candidates for chairman. The district candidates were interviewed first and then the candidates for chairman. It lasted about an hour and forty-five minutes, including 3 commercial breaks which have been deleted from this podcast.

I thought it went rather well, particularly for our first effort. The candidates were talkative and engaged in a lively discussion of a wide range of topics from waste management to non-partisan county elections.

If you are from Toombs County and have not heard the forum, you should listen and hopefully learn something that will help you decide whom to vote for July 15, 2008.

If you are not from Toombs County, it still might be interesting listening to find out what concerns the candidates of rural Georgia.

PS: It was a bear to get this recording from the radio station to the web. It is huge and required separation and re-constitution. I have not listened to the entire thing in its final format. Should you detect a gap or anything else amiss, please do not hesitate to drop me a note. Maybe I can fix it. Maybe not.

 
 Toombs County Political Forum [95:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (947)

Crimes and Punishment: Banishment and Beatings in Georgia Prisons!

Published on July 6, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Did you hear the one about the guy who was banished from every county in the State of Georgia, except Toombs County? Toombs County! THAT’S WHERE I LIVE! When I read about this in the AJC, I wondered how in the world someone in the 21st century got banished from every county in the state, but one. That just sounds so 17th century, don’t you think?

The guy, Gregory McTerry was convicted of aggravated assault and aggravated stalking (No doubt he is not a nice guy!) and when he was sentenced for his crimes he was forbidden, upon his release, from living in every county in the state other than Toombs. I can’t decide whether to be insulted by the implication that living in Toombs is punishment or to be complimented by an acknowledgment that Toombs County is the only county in the state worth living in.

McTerry’s attorney, McNeill Stokes, an Atlanta attorney, recently argued his case before the Supreme Court of Georgia asking the Court to declare this practice of banishment unconstitutional. It sure sounds to me that it is. You can read his supplemental brief, here. According to McNeill the Georgia constitution forbids banishment from the state as a form of punishment, which is why the judges or district attorneys or whoever, came up with this idea of banishment from all but one county. According to McNeill, judges and district attorneys use this concept of banishment to get rid or people they don’t want to have to fool with again. The problem is that I don’t want these guys sending their problems to where I live.

In McTerry’s case, he qualified for a work release program but couldn’t participate in it because the program was in a county from which he was banished. Thus, the banishment provision of his probation requires that he be treated differently than other prisioners, which Stokes argues is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court will probably render a decision by the end of the year. It should be interesting.

But the most surprising thing McNeill talks about are the beatings administered to prison inmates in certain Georgia prisons. And he is talking about beatings. Intentional beatings. Beatings with your hands tied behind the back. Beatings for no reason other than enjoyment. Beatings that are carried out by the correctional officers, sanctioned by the warden and covered up by the investigators.

McNeill has successfully sued Rogers Correctional Institute located in Tattnall County, just down the road from Georgia State Prison. He is now trying to clean up Valdosta State Prison. Go get ‘em! This is ridiculous, a total failure of leadership at every level of administration in the Department of Corrections.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to prove that an inmate in a state prison has been beaten unnecessarily? How hard is it to prove that guards and their superiors cover up such things? Very hard, and McNeill could not have done it had it not been for the conscience for one guard who spilled the beans. The guy should be given an award.

When law enforcement exhibits contempt for the law, we and our system of government are diminished. Thank goodness, there are lawyers out there keeping a watch out for all of us!

 
 McNeill Stokes [28:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (575)

Our Children: Generation “V” for Violence

Published on July 6, 2008 in Podcast. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

Not many weeks or months go by without news of some exhibition of bizarre violence by a teenager or an even younger child. I could scarce believe it when some third grade kids in Waycross, Georgia (90 miles or so from here) were apparently plotting to kill their teacher. What the hell is going on?

In times past, responsibility for rearing our children was a joint effort between parents, schools and religious institutions. Now, parents are turning more and more of this responsibility over to the schools. This is not necessarily because the parents don’t want to fulfill their responsibilities. Some take it seriously, others do not. But, parents are under attack, as well. Many are working two or more jobs, have less time at home with their kids and are just too tired to give their kids the attention and guidance the need.

However, violence is not the result of working parents. Violence has become an acceptable form of conflict resolution for our kids, rich and poor, with working parents and stay-at-home moms? Why?

Clint Van Zandt is a former FBI profiler and hostage negotiator with some serious thoughts about violence among our children. I am not sure Clint has any insight the rest of us don’t have. Nor does he have the answer to solve all of the problems that harm our kids. But, as someone engaged in conflict resolution and who regularly faces the wrong type of anger management, I think Clint provokes us to think about how we raise our kids.

Our kids have learned anger and violence. They have learned it as a result of what they are exposed to in video games and movies. This isn’t to blame everything on videos and movies because many kids see the same movies and play the same games and don’t resort to violence. The difference may be in those families where the lessons of violence are counterbalanced with healthy examples of conflict resolution and anger management. A family that learns to live together, that respects the rights of other family members, where kids learn to be part of a larger team with larger goals than just the individual, may be a family where a child’s frustration and growing pains is dealt with constructively.

Clint stresses the importance of family, particularly the responsibility of fathers to set a good example for kids, in providing outlets and guidance for the pressures that kids have to deal with.

He also expresses his amazement with parents who try to defend and justify angry and violent responses by their children. Excusing or justifying acts of violence or misguided anger, particularly when performed by pre-teens, is ridiculous, but the truth is that more and more parents think their kid is always right. Their child is angry because he is mistreated. His reaction is just relieving frustration. These kind of rationalizations about our kids do nothing to deal with the anger, only protect and promote it. And then the day comes when the anger results in the commission of a crime.

And that is a totally different road.

In another vein, Clint, who was a victim of a sexual predator as a child, has put together a DVD on how to protect your child from sexual predators. It’s FREE!

 
 Clint Van Zandt, Author [29:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (588)

Our National Debt: “Where Does the Money Go?”

Published on July 6, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

We all have too much consumer debt, but what about our government? How would you like to be $9 trillion in debt. America is. The government certainly isn’t setting a very good example.

In this interview with Scott Bittle, I try to find out. Scott is the executive editor of PublicAgendaOnline and has written a book, “Where Does the Money Go?”

A few sobering facts. If you think the costs of the Iraq War are responsible for our debt problems, then consider that while the war has cost upwards of $600 billion, the national debt has increased $2.3 billion. Earmarks (which are the epitome of everything I hate about Washington and money) account for about $16 to $18 billion of the current budget. However, the current budget is expected to create a deficit of $400 billion.

Okay, so what the hell is the problem? If government waste isn’t killing us, what is? The answer is simple: Medicare and Social Security. The programs that you (me, us) don’t want the government to fool with are the ones that are going to break us, if we don’t do something, that is.

Health care costs increase 6 to 7 percent per year. More people (the baby boomers) are entering Medicare and Social Security. More people, more costs. All the money that we pay into Social Security now is spent to pay current benefits, not future benefits. The government spends the money in the Social Security Trust Fund and in return the government gives the Trust Fund an IOU, treasury bonds. Scott says the fund is not going to be bankrupt in 30 years, it just won’t be able to pay full benefits. If we do nothing, Social security will be able to pay 75% of promised benefits in 2041.

Scott says that everyone inside the Beltway understands the problem, but the rest of us don’t. Because we don’t understand the significance of the problem, we fear the government tampering with Social Security and Medicare. Neither party wants to deal with this issue because it is such a lose-lose proposition. What do we do? We threaten them with defeat at the polls if they touch the untouchables, Medicare and Social Security.

The point of all this, the point of Scott’s book: Until the public is educated, until the public is ready to deal with these issues, the politicians are not going to tell us the truth and are not going to deal with these problems. If you have a hard time getting your mind around these issues, buy the book! Before it is too late!

 
 Scott Bittle [27:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (582)

Autism and the Failure of Special Education

Published on July 6, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

This is my second interview with Anna Bullard. In her first interview we discussed her efforts to organize an Autism Awareness group here in Toombs County. In this interview Anna provides insight into the difficulties that parents of autistic children encounter in dealing with Special Education programs of our public schools.

Anna estimates that almost 100 children in Toombs County and Vidalia public schools fall within the autistic spectrum. That’s a lot.

Anna emphasizes that behavior modification is the only effective program that deals with the core problems faced by autistic children. And yet, when her child was first evaluated by the school system, she was seen by individuals who had very little understanding of the needs of autistic children. The school system did not employ a behavior analyst.

Many county school systems don’t employ a behavior analyst. The one that serves her child comes from South Carolina. Instead, school systems send someone in special education to a program that lasts a few days and they consider them to be trained. Anna considers this inadequate. What is needed is a trained behavior analyst who knows what to do for autistic children. Chatham County has 5 behavior analyst who write programs for autistic children.

One of the biggest problems is getting the school systems to understand that early intervention is the key to success in providing an autistic child with the tools and training needed to participate in mainstream education. As we all understand, public organizations tend to ignore problems until they become bad enough that they have to be dealt with. Such is plight of autistic children.

Anna says that Georgia is about 10 years behind other states, like South Carolina. In South Carolina Medicaid pays for the early intervention needs of autistic children.

Anna’s advice to parents of autistic children: Learn your rights and make the public school provide what your child needs. It is hard work, but in the end it is worth it. The problem is that many parents don’t have the time, the money or the ability to fight this battle. As a result, many autistic children that could benefit from early intervention, don’t get it. They become misfits in society and in many instances dependent upon public support all their lives. The opportunity to make the difference early in their lives was lost.

Sad, but true. At least our taxes are low here in Georgia. Don’t it make you proud?

 
 Anna Bullard, Autism Awareness [28:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (730)