Tag Archive for 'Georgia'

Right to Life on the Wrong Road: The Politics of Judicial Elections!

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

When people start messing with the courts and the judicial system, I get upset, very upset. Why? Because courts and judges are supposed to be above the politics and partisanship that we have become accustomed to. In some respects, it is very difficult to avoid political tampering in Supreme Court (US) appointments because those judges are appointed by a politician, the president, and approved by politicians, the Senate. But, I consider state court judges to be sacrosanct. Leave them alone, let them campaign and get elected on the basis of their legal qualifications, not their political viewpoints.

Enter, Georgia Right to Life and its “judicial questionaire”.

I don’t doubt the sincerity of organizations on both sides of this issue, the abortion issue. However, when they make the fight about courts and judges, they are misguided. No court in Georgia will ever, ever decide the abortion issue. It does not matter what any judge or candidate for judge believes about the issue or about any of the other issues on their judicial questionaire.

So, why have such a thing? Why ask a candidate to fill out something that is irrelevant to being a judge? Why?

There is only one reason that I can think of. There are questions you can’t ask candidates. You can’t ask judicial candidates if they favor business over the individual. You can’t ask them if they will give any legislation passed by the representatives of the people the benefit of the doubt, and declare it okay (constitutional), even if it really isn’t. You can’t ask them if their basic philosophy is conservative or liberal. Well, actually, you can ask all the questions, just not in public or at least you can’t expect them to answer them in public.

But, you can certainly ask them if they prefer life over choice, or life over death. You can certainly ask them anything you want about abortion, and if they answer that one, you know their answer to the rest of the questions which aren’t on the questionaire. This one answer will tell you all you really want to know about their political orientation, their leanings, liberal or conservative. For example, if you ask someone if they watch Fox News, you can take their answer and reasonably decide whether they are Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. Sad, but true.

And I should point out that it might not even be Georgia Right to Life asking the questions in their judicial questionaire. My first interview regarding judicial questionaires was with Sadie Fields, the head of the Christian Coalition of Georgia. If you listen to the interview (circa 2006), you will find that Sadie did not have a clue about her organizations questionaire. It was prepared by a lawyer in another state. Sadie and her CC was nothing more than a pawn, a willing pawn, unfortunately. By the way, Sadie hung up on me!

What really got me in this interview with Dan Becker is his response when I asked him which of the candidates for the Georgia Court of Appeals had filled out the judicial questionaire. He wouldn’t tell me! He said it was a secret! A secret? Well, that seals it for me. Dan, you and your organization, ought to ashamed of yourselves. You cloak yourselves with the mantel of religion, of godliness, and at the same time deal in secret. When Dan told me that, I just lost all respect.

I have other problems with Georgia Right to Life when it proclaims the sanctity of life from “conception to the grave,” and yet, apparently has no position on the death penalty. I can’t think of any reason that the life of an innocent man facing the death penalty is not a concern of an organization that has “Right to Life” in its name. You would think they would at least have some concern for innocent lives lost in places other than an abortion clinic. The fact they apparently don’t says a lot, none of it good.

You should take a look at the questionaire and see the questions concerning whether or not someone should be able to sue for the wrongfull birth of a child. These suits have been raised in Georgia and have never been allowed and will never be allowed unless the constitution of Georgia is amended, which is unlikely. So, why is Georgia Right to Life asking a judicial candidate an opinion about an issue that has already been decided in Georgia, years ago, if my memory is correct? I suspect it is because this questionaire was not prepared for Georgia, but other states by outsiders.

And then, what really gets my goat is while Georgia Right to Life doesn’t want any fetus or embryo aborted, it doesn’t mind if the doctor just happens to kill it, negligently. If you don’t know it, you should, but the law in Georgia prohibits parents from suinig doctors for negligently killing a fetus before it is viable, capable of living outside the womb, usually around 23-24 weeks.

In the very least, I expect Georgia Right to Life to put some effort into changing the law so that physicians are held responsible for negligently killing fetuses after conception. Dan, let me know when you have the rally on the steps of the state capital. I will be there and I will bring thousands of parents (and their lawyers) with me.

Dan Becker, Georgia Right to Life [ 28:50 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (818)

The Cost to Taxpayers of Fragmented Families in Georgia: $1.4 Billion-Annually

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

We know that broken families are not a good thing. We know divorce is on the rise. We know that single parent families are increasing. But, we may not realize the cost to the taxpayer of someone else’s divorce or single parent family.

Leah Ward Sears is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. In this interview Chief Justice Sears and Dr. Ben Scafidi, Professor of Economics, Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville discuss the findings and significance of a recent study by Dr. Scafidi.

The cost for Georgia taxpayers: $1.4 billion annually. The cost to taxpayers nationwide: $112 billion annually.

You can read the report or a summary at American Values.Org or at the Georgia Family Council.

If you wonder why taxpayers pay such a high cost, the answer is simple, while the solution is difficult. We all know that it costs more to support a family living in two separate places, whether that is due to divorce or they just never got married. Families that might be living just above the poverty level when they live together, get thrown into poverty when they live separately. Once that happens, one parent and the kids now become eligible for all sorts of government benefits at taxpayer expense. Whether it is food stamps, medicaid, or whatever, these services cost money.

Now the point of all this is not to pick on divorced people or single parent families. The point is that we, the citizens and taxpayers, have a stake in trying to keep families together. It is a question of a dime of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Would we be better off if we invested funds in programs that provided marriage education and counseling, programs geared to keeping families together?

The Supreme Court of Georgia is the appellate court with primary jurisdiction over cases involving divorce and many family matters. It has a substantial concern in improving the success of families and reducing their need to resort to the courts. In 2006 the Supreme Court of Georgia established the Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Children, Marriage and Family Law. The press release announcing the formation of the Commission states:

The Commission will be chaired by Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears and will be comprised of two committees: the Advisory Committee on Healthy Marriages, chaired by Chief Justice Sears, and the Committee on Justice for Children, chaired by Justice P. Harris Hines. Both committees will study the legal consequences associated with the growing fragmentation of Georgia families and make recommendations for addressing their root causes.

Chief Justice Sears has been working on this initiative for over a year and believes that this Commission will make a positive difference for Georgia families. According to Justice Sears, “We must make some drastic changes to prevent further family fragmentation in this state. Moreover, it is crucial that the judiciary establish a clear vision of court procedures and research-based best practices to ensure justice for children now and in the future.”

The Commission, which will be appointed by the Chief Justice, will be composed of leading experts and scholars in law, family dynamics and child welfare, as well as other 2 selected leaders from the public and private sectors. Members will also include (though will not necessarily be limited to) representatives from the following disciplines: members of the Georgia General Assembly, judges from the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the superior, juvenile, probate and state courts of Georgia. In addition, the Commission will include members of the Family Law Bar, educators, social workers, representatives of the Division of Family and Children Services, sociologists and psychologists, and a member of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence.

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The goals of the Advisory Committee on Healthy Marriages are to protect children and improve child welfare by fostering healthy marriages in Georgia as well as to reduce the statewide domestic relations caseload, including cases involving child support enforcement, child custody, paternity establishment and alimony. The Committee on Justice for Children has three primary goals: to establish outcome measures for children within the court system, to improve the quality of legal representation for all parties to juvenile court cases, and to expedite the appeals process for termination of parental rights matters.

Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears and Dr. Ben Scafidi [ 28:27 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1022)

The Shame of Forsyth County, Georgia

Published on May 24, 2008 in Podcast. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Tom, just like most of us trusted his doctor, Dr. John Robert Stripling, III. In this case, Dr. Stripling performed laser surgery on Tom’s prostate and within a few hours Tom was having significant problems. A few days later Tom was dead. Why did he die? What do you think? He had two holes in his bowel, which allowed feces to leak into his abdomen, which caused an infection to set in, which killed Tom.

With just these facts, who or what would any rational person think is responsible for the holes in Tom’s bowel? The laser surgery! What else! Ah, but a medical malpractice case is not so easily made. Logic does not necessarily govern the rules of law as applied the the negligence of doctors. The law requires proof. And to get that proof, you have to do two things that doctors and insurance companies hate: you have to hire a lawyer and and you have to sue the doctor.

And, I might add, based on what happened in the malpractice suit filed by Tom’s widow, the people of Forsyth County hate it, as well.

What Dr. Stripling did to Tom was negligent. What the people of Forsyth County did to his widow is shameful.

All the experts agreed that if Dr. Stripling burned the holes in Tom’s bowel, he was negligent. The only thing is, Dr. Stripling took the position that something other than his laser surgery caused the holes. And to “prove” this, Dr. Stripling’s insurance company hired an expert who testified that Tom must have swallowed Advil or Ibuprofen pills, because that is the only thing that could have done it. Imagine coming up with something that stupid!

Doctors, their lawyers and insurance companies do it all the time because they believe that jurors will believe something stupid before they will rule against a doctor. Fortunately, most jurors are not that stupid, at least not unless they come from Forsyth County, Georgia.

Twelve citizen jurors of Forsyth County, sworn to be fair and impartial, believed (against all logic) that there must have been such a “magic pill.”

Those good people of Forsyth County thought it was much more important to rule in favor of the doctor. than to do their sworn duty to decide the issue based on the “preponderance” of the evidence. The sad truth is that those misguided, pathetic citizens of Forsyth County would probably never award money to an injured person or family against a doctor. That is how deep their hatred of lawyers and lawsuits and courts and justice really is. What is worse, they are basically proud of their bias and prejudice. They admitted it when they were questioned during the jury selection process.

I don’t know any of those misguided jurors (thank goodness), but if any of them claim to be Christian, they really need to read the Bible a little more closely, particularly Deuteronomy 1:17 or Exodus 23:6 or Leviticus 19:15.

In this interview, Steve Lowery, the lawyer who represented Tom’s family, tells the story much better than I can summarize it hear.

Steve’s law firm had to file the lawsuit against Dr. Stripling in Forsyth County because that is where he lives, even though his office is in the metro Atlanta area. They would have preferred to have been in some other county, but the law requires you to sue people where they live.

I do not know what disease infects the people of Forsyth County. I don’t really care. All I know is that they made a mockery of everything the courts and our system of justice stands for. They cheated justice and truth. They cheated Tom’s family as well. They cheated all of us because they put their bias and prejudice above the law and justice. Jurors have the power to ignore their oaths, but they don’t have the right to do so.

The good citizens of Forsyth County have sown injustice. Now, the question is, when and how will they reap it.

Steve Lowery, Attorney [ 30:42 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1209)

Casey Cagle on The 2008 Session!

Published on March 26, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

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 [ 26:44 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1157)

Bobby Saxon, Democratic Congressional Candidate, 10th GA

Published on March 20, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

This is my second interview with Bobby Saxon. It was the day after the 5th anniversary of invasion of Iraq and I still find it hard to believe that this country has been involved in this mistake of arrogance that damn long. I might not be as perturbed if I hadn’t seen the video clips of Bush telling us it is still going great and victory is just down the road. Yeah, and the economy isn’t in a recession and gas will never reach $4 a gallon.

Thank Goodness, there are only 305 days left of him and then he is consigned to the cesspool of the worst American President. I just hope I live long enough for history to actually judge him.

But, back to Bobby. As a veteran, Bobby’s understanding of our situation in Iraq is truly refreshing. He appreciates the need to leave Iraq, to do so as quickly as possible, but in a way that does not endanger the troops. He also thinks the troops probably reflect the same divisions and sentiments as the American public. I don’t believe in blind loyalty out of uniform, but I respect the loyalty of the troops because they (and their families) may be the only Americans that have earned the right and paid the price to have an opinion.

However, the issue on everyone’s mind recently is the economy. Who would have thought that Bear Sterns would be history in March 2008? Believe it or not, it still has a website.

If you are interested in who is elected to Congress from the 10th, listen to the interview and visit Bobby’s website.

Bobby Saxon, Democratic Congressional Candidate, 10th Dist. [ 28:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2265)

Robert Nowak, Democratic Candidate, Congress GA-8th

Published on March 2, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

It takes guts to take on the incumbent candidate of your own party, but that is exactly what Robert Nowak intends to do: challenge Jim Marshall for his seat in Congress! (By the way, you pronounce his name just like “Novak.” It’s Czech. Robert’s grandfather immigrated to America at the turn of the 20th century.)

Robert grew up in Vermont, but his mother is originally from Peach County, Ft. Valley. He has now lived in Macon for about 6 years. He has previously lived in Atlanta, and traveled around the world. Robert’s background is as an educator and he has taught all the way from second grade to college. It was math and computers in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He has also been involved in international sales in the Middle East. He lived in Saudia Arabia for two years. With all of this experience in the world market, Robert feels more than prepared in the international arena.

This race is, however, his first effort at electoral politics.

Now why would anyone want to challenge the incumbent of their own party? Well, in this case Robert thinks Marshall is insensitive to the needs of the base of the Democratic Party, the working American. According to Robert, Marshall’s votes against the S-Chip Program (Health Insurance for Kids-Peachcare), Head Start and the Clean Air Act, have not benefited the people of the 8th District. He also points to Marshall’s support for the War in Iraq as being more in line with the Republican Party, than with the majority of Democrats.

He understands that Marshall is voting conservatively because it may take that to get re-elected in the 8th, but Robert believes it is time to have someone represent the 8th based on principal, not the practicality of re-election. He intends to give the people of the 8th District a real choice in November.

Of course, to get to November Robert has to get through the Democratic Primary to be held July 15, 2008. It will take work and, of course, money. Robert is trying to raise at least $150,000.00 for the effort to unseat Marshall.

The 8th District is 21 counties big, running from Newton County in the north to Colquitt County (Moultrie) in the south. (BTW, Moultrie is the home of GriftDrift.)

Robert’s believes there is a lot of dissatisfaction among Democrats in the 8th. A lot of them don’t even see the need to vote if the only choice is between Marshall and a Republican opponent. (With about an 18% approval rating for Congress in general, there must be a lot of dissatisfaction everywhere!) A lot of people, including Robert, disagree with Marshall’s support for the Iraq War, which is a totally different issue from supporting the troops who are over there doing the job they were given. My philosophy: Support the Troops, To Hell with the War!

The issues that concern the 8th are the same for all of us: the economy, immigration, health care, education, just to name a few. We did not have time to discuss these in much detail, but you can check out his position at his campaign website.

Since immigration is an important issue to me and since I think both the national Democratic and Republican parties are going to sell the American people down the river when it comes to immigration, I was very interested in Robert’s thoughts about immigration. He agrees that America, just like any country, has to be able to control who comes in. The first step is to stop the influx, and enforce work laws. He does recognize the need for an effective temporary worker program for industries, (like the Vidalia Onion harvest) that need them.

Robert believes it is time for a change, time to rejuvenate the Democratic Party and get back to basic values. Amen to that!

Robert Nowak, Democratic Candidate, U. S. Senate-GA [ 30:26 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1212)

Rand Knight, Democratic Candidate, U. S. Senate – GA

Published on February 25, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

When I asked Rand Knight why he was running for US Senate, his reply was he was fed up. Fed up with Saxby voting against the middle class. Fed up with exporting jobs over seas. Fed up with the government taking care of the top 1% of society while the rest of us that work every day for a living are left without health care and our kids don’t have a decent education.

What can I say? I am fed up as well, but fed up is inadequate to describe my disgust at politics in general and the Republican horde in particular. While I am glad that the 2008 presidential race stands to make history with the election of either the first woman or the first African-American, I would much prefer it if people were voting for candidates that are fed up, candidates that are more than a little mad. I want to vote for candidates that are truly, passionately fed up. When we, the people, are fed up enough to elect candidates that are fed up (and I mean really fed up), maybe we can eventually get enough of them in Washington to actually change something.

Rand sounded like he was a little mad, as well as fed up. As he points out, there is a lot to be fed up about. How about the soldiers that have had to do 2 or 3 tours in Iraq? Or maybe, its the fact that we are building colleges and roads and hospitals in Iraq, while ordinary folk in America can’t afford to take their kids to the doctor, even though they work more than one job. And let’s not forget the drug manufacturers and health insurance companies that are making billions in profit while everyone else in the healthcare morass is overcharged and underpaid. On top of that, our government gives the drug companies billions of dollars in subsidies so they can charge Americans more for their drugs than they charge other countries like Canada.

In particular, Rand is fed up with Saxby Chambliss’ whom he says is too busy doing the bidding of the major oil companies to do anything about the high gas prices at the pump. Rand points out that Saxby always supports tax breaks (corporate welfare) for these rich, multi-national corporations, while opposing the farm bill provisions that would afford some protection to our family farmers.

According to recent polls, Saxby’s approval rating is about 38%, the lowest of any other US Senator.

Rand appears to be a Southern Democrat in the mold of Richard Russell and Sam Nunn, politicians who understood the meaning of bipartisanship, and fiscal responsibility. Rand does not favor raising taxes, but neither does he favor giving tax breaks to the richest 1%. He points out that while the Bush administration is spending billions on the war in Iraq, it is neglecting the basic infrastructure of our armed forces. For example, the navy has fewer than 4oo ships today. Ten years ago it had 1200 ships and 20 years ago it had 2000 ships.

As a fiscal conservative, Rand believes in a balanced budget. One aspect of fiscal responsibility is becoming energy independent. Rand has a Ph.D. in Ecosystems Analysis and is eager to push alternative energy sources. He believes that with planning and foresight Georgia can become the biggest exporter of energy on the east coast.

As for the war in Iraq, Rand says that he talks to a lot of people coming back from the war, and that most all of them say that having troops on the ground in Iraq generates a lot of hostility toward America and increases terrorism.

Rand’s mother was a teacher, a member of the teacher’s union, and he is a supporter of organized labor.

Rand points out that on Super Tuesday more Democrats voted in Georgia than Republicans. If that happens in November, Saxby could be gone. He has been to 60 Georgia counties in the last 4 months trying to get his message out.

Only 99 more to go, Rand!

Rand Knight, Democratic Candidate, Senate-GA [ 26:47 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1118)

Casey Cagle on Water and the 2008 Session

Published on February 12, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

This interview with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle took place last week and my apologies to Casey for not posting it sooner. It took place the day before a significant court ruling in the “water wars” between Georgia, Alabama and Florida. That decision dealt a significant blow to Governor Perdue’s assertions that Georgia, not Alabama, not Florida, not the Corps of Engineers, would control the flow of water out of Lake Lanier. According to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Georgia has no right to take any water out of Lake Lanier for drinking water use without the approval of Congress. The Court’s decision is well worth a read. The main opinion is less than 20 pages, but it gives a good overview of the water wars that have swirled around Lake Lanier.

When you consider that Lake Lanier presently supplies almost a third of the water used by Georgians (all of them in metro Atlanta), this decision could have an immediate and significant impact on the metro area.

I was amazed that the Statewide Water Plan made it through the legislature with such speed and has already been signed by the Governor. With all the controversy surrounding the Plan (at least I thought there was controversy), I assumed the Plan was going to be the subject of hearings and debate. What happened? Casey says the universal support is the result of the good job the Water Council did in developing the Plan. He gives his full stamp of approval to the Plan and assured me that Atlanta was not going to steal my South Georgia water. What more can I ask for?

Only time will tell. Another reason for the lack of opposition may be due to the fact that there really isn’t much to the Plan. It doesn’t constitute a law or a regulation. It is more of an organizational plan that will have to be judged after the dozens of members are appointed and begin their work. I doubt the Plan will have any immediate impact on the water problems.

As for opposition to the Plan, Casey referred to a “very radical environmental viewpoint” that was asserted by some opponents as a scare tactic. I assume this refers to the Riverkeeper organizations. Whether their concerns prove justified, only time will tell!

As for the long-term water solution, there are 11 reservoirs in the planning stage, primarily for municipal water supplies. Casey also said there would be a minimum of $30 million in the budget for water issues.

Another major area of legislative attention this year is health care. According to Casey the uninsured population increases the cost of health care for the rest of us. An average family of 3 pays about $1000 a year in additional premiums just to cover the cost of medical care provided to the uninsured. The legislature is considering two initiatives: safety net clinics and a website which would allow consumers to shop for health care plans on a more competitive basis.

As part of the safety net clinics, incentives would be provided to communities that provide preventative health care to individuals who can’t afford it. I am not sure what this means, but be on the lookout for prohibitions and restrictions on suing safety net clinics and their doctors in the event they kill you!

As for the web based marketplace, I am not sure how that will work either. The concern here is that the insurance industry is allowed to offer all sorts of coverage plans, including the one that covers 100% of you medical expenses if you are bitten by a cobra while standing on your head! Read the fine print!

Casey also discussed an effort to provide coverage for catastrophic illness to the 25 and under age group who don’t like to pay for health insurance because as we all know, the young are invincible. They are also the biggest group of people that are uninsured. The catastrophic policy might cost as little as $45 a month.

On the transportation front, Casey indicates that the DOT is undergoing restructuring and modernization. But what about traffic? What about metro traffic? How about movable lanes? Most of us have seen the heavy traffic going one way in the morning and the other way in the evening. According to Casey the state of Virginia has movable lanes. So do other places! Sounds weird, but it may provide some relief. The biggest problem I see is that if Georgia continues to grow in population and cars, all the lanes in one direction may not be enough in 20 years. And that is the problem. No one is working on a solution that will deal with the long-term. Only time will tell!

Speaker Richardson’s Great Property Tax Plan is dead, but Casey says property owners, both residential and commercial, need relief from an ever increasing property tax burden. He suggests the legislature is considering a cap of 2% or 3% on annual tax increases. Also, local property tax assessments might be frozen until local jurisdictions establish a uniform assessment process. Frankly, I thought we had one.

Casey points out that the Governor has cut the state portion of property taxes by 1/4 mil.

Some consideration is also being giving to eliminating the income tax on senior citizens. Since I am close to being a senior citizen, I am all for this.

As for education, there will be austerity cuts. We did not have time to discuss what they might be.

And what about Georgia’s economic future? Casey says we will see a slowdown in Georgia’s economy. Inflation is up, credit is tight, foreclosure rates are up. But Georgia has always weathered economic downturns better than a lot of states. I hope this continues to be the case.

Casey Cagle, Lt. Governor of Georgia [ 28:32 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1035)

There’s A Bully in the House!

Published on February 5, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Way too much of this interview dwelt on that insignificantly small person that parades as Speaker of the Georgia House, Glenn What’s His Name. Jason Pye describes the recent vengance wreaked by the Speaker on those members of the House who dared to vote against his choice for DOT Commissioner from the 9th District. Banished and stripped of power, the Speaker certainly knows how influence people. I am not sure about winning friends. Arrogance and pettiness are his trademarks. Bullying is his tactic. I applaud his perverse sense of leadership solely because I am sure it will ultimately seal his fate. It is only a matter of time.

If Richardson were a child he would have been disciplined (somewhere between spanking and beating) months, if not years, ago. He might even have done a tour in “juvy” for attitude correction. But, apparently the other Republican members of the House enjoy being abused, harrassed, threatened and deprived of any claim to manhood–if you know what I mean. Too bad there isn’t one leader among them with the balls to stand up to a brat.

What really gets me is the possibility that all this strutting and strong-arming is somehow a prelude to a gubernatorial campaign in 2010. (Good Lord, will it be that long before Sonny leaves!) Pick up a mirror Glenn, and kiss your political future goodbye. Tick, tick, tick……

We mention briefly the quick approval of the Water Plan. Jason doesn’t appear to be overly concerned about the ultimate implementation of this plan. His reasoning: it can always be changed, if need be. (They said the same thing about the Constitution!) I still have a lot of friends who think the Water Plan is nothing more than a plan for Atlanta to get more water and the rest of the state, less water. The total lack of debate over it still makes me think that politics is at work behind the scenes on this one. We will just have to wait a decade or so and see how it goes.

The credit freeze bill and the gun at work bill passed the House.

Jason finally convinces me that talking about mass public transportation in Atlanta is nothing more than misplaced nostalgia for what could have been. Let’s face it, Atlanta is going to be concrete gridlock forever. There is no hope to improve, much less eliminate the problem. The leadership that was needed came and went 40 yers ago. Until we have personal transport vehicles that fly, Atlantans will continue to fight traffic and hate it. Move south!

In a parting comment about voting on Super Tuesday, Jason gives a plea: Don’t vote for Huckabee! Jason characterizes Huckabee as a tax and spend liberal from Arkansas. Huckabee scares me because he confuses religion and government, something Jesus never did. Alas, our comments were to no avail. Georgians, at least the Republican part of the state, continue to prove that we have no idea what the Constitution of the United States says or what it means.

Jason keeps up the legislature in Georgia Legislative Watch. You should, too.

Jason Pye, Blogger, Political Commentator [ 27:55 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1036)

Jekyll Island Showdown: Chapman, Egan, Langford, Garvey

Published on January 25, 2008 in Podcast. 11 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

The Jekyll Island development controversy gains new clarity in this interview with four of the primary participants. (1) Sen. Jeff Chapman (R-3) plans to introduce a resolution which would effectively prevent new development on the beach. (2) David Egan, Founder of the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island, wants the Jekyll Island Authority to listen to what the people want. (3) Jim Langford is the Project Manager of Linger Longer, the Revitalization Partner selected by the JIA in a bid process that is currently in litigation. (4) Eric Garvy is the Senior Director of Marketing and Business Development for the Jekyll Island Authority and firmly defends its actions and decisions.

Because all 5 of us were on the phone at the same time, I scheduled this interview for an hour. While this may be long, it is well worth the effort. My previous interviews with Chapman, Egan, Langford, and Garvey provide a lot of background, but it took this interview for me to truly appreciate the real bottom line in this controversy: Will Jekyll Island be preserved or developed?

A little history. Jekyll was purchased by the State in the late 40s. The State still owns all the land and simply leases it to homeowners, motel and business owners to generate the income necessary to maintain the roads and other infrastructure, as well as other projects such as restoration of the historic district and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

In 2007 the legislature declared Jekyll to be Georgia’s Jewel, but it is on the verge of being a multimillion dollar jewel in the hat of developers if the current 63-acre development project proposed by Linger Longer and selected by the JIA goes forward.

The law that created the JIA contained a specific directive for the income generated on Jekyll Island:

All income and revenues arising out of the operation of Jekyll Island State Park, and all gifts, grants, appropriations, or bond or loan proceeds made specifically for Jekyll Island State Park, shall be used by the authority for the sole purpose of beautifying, improving, developing, enlarging, maintaining, administering, managing, and promoting Jekyll Island State Park at the lowest rates reasonable and possible for the benefit of the people of the State of Georgia.

While it is the responsibility of the JIA to manage Jekyll in a manner that generates sufficient income, it seems obvious, at least to me, that in 1950 the legislature envisioned something other than a fully developed resort type recreation area. This interview explores in depth several issues which arise from the manner in which the JIA seeks to fulfill its responsibility to Jekyll and to the people of Georgia.

This is clearly not a dispute about revitalization of the existing motels and convention facility. Everyone agrees this is necessary, and in fact, several facilities either have been or are in the process of major renovation or complete rebuilding. When all are back online the increased capacity and higher room rates will result in more annual income for the JIA.

The controversy focuses on two basic issues: (1) Is the propsed 63 acres of new development necessary to meet the reasonable income needs of the JIA? (2) Should any development be allowed on the prime stretch of beach (approximately 9000 ft.) that is, without question, unique, both in the quality of the beach and length.

IS THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT NECESSARY? The answer depends on your choice of goals. Langford of Linger Longer contends it will generate $100 million in income for the JIA over 10 or more years. It is hard to argue against such a project if your goal is to make as much money as possible. Not only that, but this project is just the first that the JIA is contemplating. Presumably, the JIA wants even more in income. The question is why? The answer to that question is not written in some brochure or noted on the JIA website. The motives of the JIA can only be judged in the context of the its actions and conduct regarding the development and promotion of the project.

While I am sure Linger Longer and the JIA will disagree, that judgment is not flattering to an entity like the JIA which is charged with a public trust. Rather, the JIA has made a mockery of the idea that it acts as a Trustee for the people of this State. It undertook this project without any apparent attempt to determine its actual income needs. The JIA cannot answer this question: Will the existing faciliities, once they are renovated, generate enough income to meet the operational needs of Jekyll? Even with the old motels, Jekyll operated in the black every year but one, and that was when the renovations may well have affected the number of rooms available.

Another breach of the public trust by the JIA is its apparent total lack of concern, bordering on scorn, for public opinion and input. It dreamed up this project, it issued a request for developers to submit proposals, and it gave its approval to Linger Longer without ever undertaking to find out first what the residents of Jekyll or what the people of the State of Georgia wanted. Like most bureaucratic entities, the JIA assumes it knows best in all things and the people that actually live on or visit Jekyll know nothing.

In this interview, Langford and Garvey suggest that the JIA and Linger Longer are willing to scrap this project if the people don’t want it or if someone has a better idea. The actions of the JIA in this entire process raise serious doubts as to whether or not this is anything other than mere lip service. It is rare to see a state agency or authority decide on a course of action and voluntarily yield to public pressure to change direction. While it can happen, it is not easy for the public to force the change without the assistance of a big stick. That big stick just might be the pending litigation or, in this election year, it might be public outcry.

One other point. The JIA clearly seems determined to develop Jekyll Island to the fullest extent possible. Why? That goal is not in the legislative directive which created the JIA. Since 1950 the JIA has never promoted development, first and foremost, above all other considerations. Why the change? Why now? It could be that the recent appointments by Governor Perdue to the JIA have a new idea for what should be done to Jekyll. But the real answer is money, plain and simple. If you ever have a question about why government does something, follow the money. If Linger Longer’s proposed project goes through, it will make tens of millions of dollars. The JIA’s plans for further development will put hundreds of millions of dollars of pure profit into the hands of Linger Longer or some other developer.

Why development? Because we can is the JIA’s position. Why not! Earn millions, spend milliions, put millions into the hands of people like Mercer Reynolds, the owner of Linger Longer, who gives big, big money to governors and presidents.

IS IT NECESSARY TO BUILD ON A BEACH THAT HAS BEEN UNOBSTRUCTED FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS? The JIA’s position on this simple issue reveals the simple truth: The JIA isn’t interested in earning enough income to provide accommodations at the lowest rates reasonable and possible for the benefit of the people of the State of Georgia. It’s interest is to suck just as much money out of Jekyll as it can, the beach be damned. That’s it, spread the love, baby!

Without a doubt, whatever project JIA and Linger Longer propose to build could be built somewhere else on Jekyll. So why not satisfy the people and just move the project to another location and leave the unobstructed beach unobstructed? The answer, money! As Langford said at the beginning of the interview, the present goal of the project is to create an “economic engine.” As Sen. Chapman points out, there is nothing to suggest that the legislature or the people of Georgia bought Jekyll Island for the purpose of creating an economic engine. That was not and is not Georgia’s intent for Jekyll. The problem is the JIA has forgotten or ignored that it holds Jekyll in trust for the rest of us. The JIA thinks it owns the place.

There are only two ways to deal with a state agency which has become arrogant, that won’t listen to anyone, that is intoxicated with its own power. One option involves violence, is clearly illegal, and therefore not one that I can recommend. The other option is legislative action which is exactly what Sen. Chapman proposes to do. His proposal would prohibit development on the beach so that the view we all grew up with would be there for our grandchildren. It would also insure that whatever leadership failures future members of the JIA exhibit, it won’t threaten the beach and the view.

Now, the question is whether or not that Republican majority in the legislature will exhibit some leadership on this issue. And that is a big question!

Jekyll Island and Development [ 59:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1362)