Tag Archive for 'James-Williams'

GriftDrift: 2009 Legislative Sine Die!

Published on April 7, 2009 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Sine Die! If it were only true. Wikipedia has this description of “sine die:”

It is often used with regard to legislative bodies whose terms or mandates are coming to an end, as in “The One Hundred Third General Assembly of the State of Georgia closed its second session today by adjourning sine die.” This would mean that it is anticipated that this particular body will not meet again; the next session of the legislature would have a somewhat different membership, as some members would not be standing for election again, while others might not win their seats back. However, a legislative body may be called back into special session.

A corporate board might adjourn sine die if the corporation were being sold, merged, or liquidated.

Can we sell the Georgia Legislature? Merge them? With what? Liquidate? I like how that sounds, a certain ring of finality!

According to GriftDrift, James Williams, the Republicans managed to accomplish little, nothing on the important issues like transportation, while at the same time, alienating all the county commissions in Georgia and disappointing the business community.

How does a modern, 21st Century legislative body pass legislation that places the control of roads projects in one man appointed by the Governor? How do they decide that each road project in the state has to be approved by a general assembly that meets 40 days ever year? Yep, that is the essentials of the legislature’s attempt to dismantle the DOT and politicize road projects in Georgia.

And, they are still dreaming up some of the dumbest taxing ideas, like a 7% one time ad valorem tax on vehicles. That’s 7% in addition to the sales tax. I am sure the car dealers need that one to boost sales in these economic times.

This is no way to run a state!

The question is whether or not Casey Cagle will own up to this failure or put a “spin” on the poor performance during his gubernatorial campaign.

When will the people of Georgia wake up and realize the current Republican leadership is not worthy of this great state. We are going backward, not forward.

 
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Cross Over Day With James Williams

Published on March 17, 2009 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

I have just been out of it since the inauguration. What better way to get back than with the master or Georgia political analysis! Thanks Grift Drift!

This eclectic interview gives a sense of the subdued weirdness of the Georgia legislature this season. The shouting and brazen conflict of past legislative sessions has given way to conflicting agendas worked out in back rooms and committee meetings.

The Georgia Power bill to make taxpayers pay for the expansion of Plant Vogle brought the ire of conservative Republicans like Erick Erickson of Peach Pundit. Even with grassroots opposition, the bill passed anyway, and the cost, politically speaking, may not be paid until the 2010 elections.

The lame duck Governor had his misguided (actually corrupt) attempt to let drug manufacturers kill us without fear of consequences die in committee. His equally stupid idea of making losing litigants pay attorney fees passed after being gutted and field dressed. Just between you and me, I will be glad when “Perdue” makes me think only of real chicken.

With all the budget problems, the Republican legislators were saved by President Obama and the Democratic stimulus legislation. Were it not for those funds, the legislature might committed political suicide in cutting services, teachers and a whole bunch of other stuff. Even as it turned out, they may have alienated a lot of county governments just because they seriously contemplated leaving them out to dry by failing to reimburse them for the loss of revenue from the homestead exemption, Such a move would have put every county in the state in deep trouble.

The real question is what does all this mean for the 2010 elections? We may not know that until Roy Barnes announces his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Governor.

 
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Grift Drift on the Budget Wars: The Politics of 2010!

Published on January 8, 2009 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

It is Thursday and only 4 days before Santa Claus sends the elves to the South Pole to live with the penguins. Who better to interview than Mr. Happy Feet himself, James Williams a/k/a GriftDrift. (Sorry James, it just came to me out of the blue!)

As Forrest Gump’s mother said, Happy is and happy does. If that is true, then the legislators of the 2009 Georgia General Assembly should not be happy for years, because one thing they will not be dispensing, beginning next week, is happiness. What is hard to predict is exactly what posture the slash and burn budget negotiations will take. Will the Republican insistence on control and obedience make it a quick attack and victory on the unsuspecting numbers of teachers, students, health care professionals, social services (like Rape Crisis), the sickly poor, and the faces of other programs? Will anyone know what hits them, until it is over and too late to do anything about it? Transparency or smoke as to the real meaning and impact on this or that?

Three things are for certain: (1) No Republican is going to allow the thought of raising taxes cross his mind. (Although James did say that one of them wanted to raise revenue by taxing “gentlemen” clubs.) (2) Something important is going to be cut. (3) The ripples of this budget fight will be felt in the political elections of 2010.

Georgia is proud that taxes here are lower than in all the other states of the Union except maybe one or two (Mississippi must be one of them.). Let me tell you what is wrong with that pride. Our tax plan came from the depression era. When these guys say they can’t raise taxes, in essence they are saying that the vision of Georgia has not changed for decades, since the last depression. They can’t raise taxes because they can say that and get away with it, but it is nothing more than an admission that they have no vision for this state that will survive this century. They live in the past. They tax in the past. They educate in the past. They plan in the past (more of the same). They punish in the past.

They talk about preparing for the future, but that future is limited to developing the state from border to border. They have no vision and if you read your Bible, you know that where there is not vision, the people perish.

I do not want to raise taxes as an answer to anything. But it seems to me that government is best that accurately evaluates the needs of the people (health care, education, trauma centers, assistance to elderly) and then decides what it will take, in taxes or whatever, to provide those necessities. If that evaluation resulted in a 1% tax increase, would that be so bad. The error of the Republican party of today is that it does not want to plan and find out if that 1% raise needs to be passed into law.

Don’t get me wrong. This economy may not be the place to raise 1% in new revenue. I don’t know. But neither was it the time when times were good, when times were better. It has never been the time, even when we could have afforded it. The 1990s. Yes, the Democrats are probably just as responsible because nobody wants to raise taxes, but back when the Democrats were in power the question was not as pressing as it going to be this year and next year and the year after that.

The Republicans are in charge and the current failure to use these times to plan and evaluate and overhaul the tax system (not just eliminate property taxes as they wanted to do last year) is their failure alone. It is there failure because good business sense will tell you that when you cheat education and health care year after year, the people do not progress, they suffer.

I predict that one day Georgia will come into the 21st century and when it does it will raise taxes. It will not be this year and may not be next year, but the towers of a cheap society will not stand long. It will all come crashing down around them and us. Maybe it will be when China buys us out. Maybe it will be when crime convinces us that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

My point is this. I do not fault them for not raising taxes. I fault them for exalting their mantra about not raising taxes to the point it prevails over reason and common sense.

 
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Grift Drift and Me The Morning After The Election After

Published on December 3, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

After is a word I use to describe Democrats in Georgia. I am sure many Democrats in leadership positions are wondering what happened

    after

yesterday. And that, my friends, is the whole problem. To win an election you have to be before the curve, not

    after.

You have to do things that are new and inspiring, not the same things again,

    after

they have not worked time and time before.

    After

can also be positive. You can go

    after

the future. You can only begin to build

    after

demolishing.

More, later, after I have pondered this further. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this interview with GriftDrift.

 
 James Williams, Blogger [31:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (566)

Election Analysis 2008 With GriftDrift

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

Here it is! Hot off the airwaves!!!

James Williams, GriftDrift, does a great election results analysis–early in the morning, at that. State, National, you name it, we got it.

In order to get this to you, I am foregoing any attempt to summarize.

If you want to see the vote tallys, go to the Secretary of State’s website.

UPDATE:

It looks like we will have several run-off elections December 2, 2008.

U.S. Senate: Saxby Chambliss (R) (49.8%) vs. Jim Martin (D) (46.8%) This is still close with 96% of precincts in.

Public Service Commission-District 4: Lauren McDonald (R) (47.3%) vs. Jim Powell (D) (47.8%)

Court of Appeals: Sara Doyle (22.5%) vs. Mike Sheffield (20.9%) (There were 5 other candidates that split 57% of the vote. Just the top 2 will be in the run-off.

The Libertarian candidate in the U.S. Senate race (Allen Buckley 3.4%) and the Public Service Commission (Brandon Givens 4.9%) captured enough votes to bring about the run-off.

 
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Counting It Down! GriftDrift on the Election!

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

Once again James Williams (GriftDrift) and I, engage in vain musings about the ups and downs of politics, national and state. If our predictions turn out to be correct, America will be as surprised as we are! But there is hope, hope this will all be over in 12 days.

Summarizing an interview with James is like walking through a chicken coop, there is just too much stuff out there to see it all. Thus, I suggest you listen to this one, if you really want to get the flavor of James’ keen insight into all things political. Me? I am just there for the ride, mostly.

We do cover the implosion of the McCain/Palin campaign, if it can still be called a campaign. It’s just too bad that somewhere between this year and last year, McCain lost his mind. The interview with Brian Williams ought to be interesting.

And then there is the Georgia political scene with hints of a massive voter turnout. Everyone reports that early voting lines are heavy and seem to favor the Democrats. Obama has a chance to carry Georgia, but McCain still leads in the polls. The question is how accurate are the polls this year? It may all depend on voter turnout and the under 30 voters. At least Georgia is not a “red” state. On most maps we are now pink, which doesn’t exactly please any of us.

James thinks Jim Martin has a slightly better chance to beat Saxby Chambliss than Obama has to carry the state. James commented on Martin’s aggressive campaigning this time around, something that he has not been know for. According to Pollster.com, it is dead even. It is just too close to call.

And then there are 3 Congressional races: Jim Marshall (D), the incumbent, went out on a limb when he voted for the baleout. His opponent, Rick Goddard (R), made it a big issue in their debate. James attributes Marshall’s vote on the baleout as a vote of consceince, something he thought was best for the country even though he might suffer for it in the election. I regret that I was not able to get interviews with either Marshall or Goddard.

In the 10th we have Republican incumbent Paul Broun, whom James believes will win against his Democratic challenger, Bobby Saxon. I interviewed both Broun and Saxon. Broun is a sound bite Republican, who does not, in my opinion, understand the function of government.

James did not have much to say about the 12th Congressional District. He believes that John Barrow, the Democratic incumbent (who voted against the baleout), will prevail over challenger John Stone in a “not as close as last time” race.

There is plenty more in the interview, but in an effort to get this posted timely, I will just have to let you listen for yourself.

 
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The Political Analysis You Have Been Waiting For: GriftDrift on Palin!

Published on September 5, 2008 in Podcast. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

As you can see, I have just been too, too busy lately and have not posted a lot of recent interviews. Don’t worry, they are coming, but a guy has to make a living. Nonetheless, when James Williams (GriftDrift) is the guest, I just have to make that extra effort.

After almost two weeks of political conventions, there is enough to talk about, but after Palin’s unveiling, there is only one thing to chew on: the pitbull with lipstick. James does a much better job of putting all of this into the proper perspective than those pin-heads on the networks.

You will have to listen to this one if you want to appreciate real political analysis, but here are a few highlights:

First, is there a time warp at the RNC? They seem to be blaming everything from energy/oil, the economy, deficit spending and bigger government on the people in power–as if it ain’t been them for 7 years! Reality check, please!

And everytime these people said they respected Hillary and thought Obama was a great guy, I wanted to gag. I never cease to be amazed at the depth of their insincerity.

Does Obama have the experience to be President? Yep! Does Palin? The jury is still out.

Is McCain brillant is choosing Palin? Only time will tell, but it is a risky move by the Maverick. I don’t think women are fooled by the choice into thinking that any woman in any position in the White House, even a right-wing Republican, is better than none.

What is off limits? Pregnant daughter? Working woman? Neglecting family responsibilities? A child with disabilities? (But, can you hear the right-wing outrage if a Democratic mother chose work over family? I thought that was the breakdown of the family all those people thought had ruined America. FLIP-FLOP!)

And fair game: experience to step into the shoes of the oldest guy to be elected president.

Yes, Palin hit it out of the park. I would vote for her in a minute for “National Reader.” She could read everyone’s speech, including McCain’s when he has to go to bed early. She could read bills in the Senate. Maybe even have a regular podcast and read the newspaper to the nation. Yes, she can certainly read a prepared speech which she did not write.

But, as James points out, Palin has yet to be vetted. There are only 2 months for Americans to get to know her. Two months for her to explain that she did support the Bridge to Nowhere, even though she denied it in her speech. It is going to be two intense months for Sarah Palin.

I don’t oppose Sarah Palin because of who or what she is as an individual. I oppose her because of the misguided policies of a party that talks about smaller government and has spent us into more debt and larger government that any prior administration. I oppose her because she has no intention of building bi-partisanship–she’s a pit bull and pit bulls don’t do that! I oppose her because she is part of a party that lies and decieves us without shame or apology when the lie is exposed.

There was a time when i thought John McCain was a different kind of politician. His conduct during this campaign has proven to me that he will do anything, pander to any group, say anything and choose an inexperienced person for VP if it pleases “the base,” whatever it takes to be elected. If elected, the only thing McCain is going to change is absolutely nothing!

 
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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.

 
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Lazy Thoughts: GriftDrift and Me!

Published on April 4, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

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

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

 
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Politics: Drifting With the Grift!

Published on January 16, 2008 in Podcast. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Talk about gambling, predicting the outcome of presidential politics is pure fantasy, but also fun. James Williams always gives me hope that someday I will understand something–anything about politics, that is. Which is a lot more than I can say about those TV pundits who take the insignificant, blow it up, out of proportion and not only predict winners and losers, but cast eternal judgment (condemnation) upon the poor candidate who happens to be in their sights at the moment. And 4 hours later, they completely reverse their predictions and damnations. James, you are a breath of fresh air.

I wish I could do this interview justice, but I am afraid I am still pressed for time, so if you want to hear two guys chew the fat, this is a good listen. The first half focuses on the presidential race, who we like, whose up and whose down and whether that means anything. The last half jumps into Georgia politics and the hot items at this legislative session like property tax reform.

Gotta go!

 
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