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Martha Zoller
Nancy Pelosi Said it:

Nancy Pelosi and the Height of Hypocrisy


"We have to pass the bill so you can see what's in it." Nancy Pelosi, Speaking Tuesday to the 2010 Legislative Conference for the National Association of Counties

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoE1R-xH5To

Yes, she said it. The Queen of the World, Nancy Pelosi, said, "We have to pass the bill so you can see what's in it." Saying it was bad enough, but saying it to the National Association of Counties was even worse. I don't care what the politics of this group is. For the last year, most counties, cities and states have been taking furlough days to balance their budgets. The Feds have not.

Nancy Pelosi still gets flowers in her office, her staff is growing by leaps and bounds and Federal employees will get a 2% raise this year as well as add employees at a time when we are facing trillion plus dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. In fact, the average federal government worker is making about twice what the average private sector worker is making. The Feds say it's because the jobs in the government are so complex. Sure, they are. When you have to move the shells around as fast as you do in the federal government, it takes real skill to keep up.

Part of the bill the Senator Bunning of Kentucky so valiantly opposed was not just unemployment benefits as the mainstream media said, it was money to keep federal workers from taking furlough days. It is the height of hypocrisy inviting the Speaker of the House to a group of people who by and large are making less money this year by taking days without pay and Nancy is telling them in essence, "Trust us, give us your money and we'll manage it well. "

The Federal Government ought to be taking furlough days. Heck, the Congress and the Senate ought to, too. It's a good day for the American people when the Congress Is not in session. Over the last two weeks the legislature has taken the time to meet with all parties and department to look at our budget shortfall and how to fill it. All parties were included in the negotiations and everyone, including the Governor, in state government has taken at least 6 furlough days.

As we fight this battle for our soul, not just for health care reform, we must not lose sight of the hypocrisy of the "ruling class." She showed her hand in this speech. "We need to pass the bill so you can see what's in it, "Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday. That should be all you need to know to motivate you to keep up the fight.


9th District Run Off


The Governor needs to save a couple of buck so he may pull the 9th district special election to the early position of May and then avoid a run off..he hopes. If he does that, he also minimizes the benefit Deal gets by having the primary and the special at the same time. Is this because he likes Karen Handel or because it's the best for the district. If it ends up saving money, the Governor will be right on this one. We shall wait and see. Cong. Deal has to actually resign first and that battle in Washington is day by day.


From Jim Galloway's Political Insider:


Why Perdue's likely to call a May special election to fill Deal's 9th District seat

Updated at 3:50 p.m.:

One of the questions generated by U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal's decision to delay his departure from Congress is whether it might cause Gov. Sonny Perdue to schedule the non-partisan special election to fill out the rest of the congressman's term at the same time as the July primary to decide who gets the full term come January.

Concurrent votes, it has been theorized, would boost the July turnout in north Georgia - which might benefit Deal in the Republican race for governor.

Concurrent votes might also save counties some money, it has been posited.

But here's why Perdue is still likely to call a special election this spring, probably early to mid-May - aside from the fact that Deal and Perdue have never really gotten along:

Under Georgia law, the runoff period for special elections is four weeks. But the runoff period for general primaries is three weeks.

A special election in May would, in this candidate-heavy contest, probably result in a June runoff. Followed by a July primary for the full term. That's a lot of voting.

But if the special election and the primary vote were held at the same time, you'd have an even more confusing calendar:

- Two July primary votes;

- A likely runoff on Aug. 10 for the term that begins in January 2011.

-Followed by an Aug 17 runoff vote to settle who fills out the rest of Deal's term.

Counties in the 9th District would still be burdened with the extra cost of one vote. And voters would be hard put to keep up with what they're voting for.

The bet here is that the governor will call for a May special election.

Update: Just ran into someone in the state Capitol who expounded on this topic. Assume, he said, the May special election and a June runoff.

The July primary vote could easily become a rematch between the top two vote-getters. In which there would be no primary runoff, and county-by-county expenses are further reduced.


And I think this is a spoof from Erick Erickson at Peach Pundit. I'll be introducing Ralph Reed at the Boy Scout American Values Dinner in Gainesville on March 11. We shall see.


Here's the spoof, I think.



Mixed Signals

by ERICK on MARCH 10, 2010

I'm being told from people in Georgia tonight that Ralph Reed is not running for Congress in the 7th Congressional District. But I'm being told by several conservative activist and pro-life leaders in Washington, D.C. that Ralph is most assuredly in the race.

If the D.C. gang is right, I find it fascinating that Ralph would reach out to them first.

In any event, I have obtained an advanced copy of the press release that will be sent out tomorrow and it seems the Georgia guys are right.

It is below the fold.

I called all of you here today to let you know that my time is incredibly important and yours is not. Much to the dismay of the millions of people who I truly believe worship the very ground I walk on, I will not be a candidate for Congress this cycle. Possibly in the future, after I make enough money to dig myself out of the hole I jumped into in 2006, I will run. A key to that would be Jack Abramoff dying in prison and also the sale of 600,000 more copies of Dark Horse.

I fasted and prayed for many nights on this issue. Now more than ever before we need bold conservatives to run for Congress, not sell outs who are just trying to milk the conservative movement in ways that would shock even Jesse Jackson. I know that I would have won this race without a runoff with the wind at my back of so many people of faith banding together and collectively drinking the Kool-Aid I served them in Faith and Freedom Coalition cups (that I charged them $1.50 for).

But my Faith and Freedom Coalition (send $25 RIGHT NOW) has exploded with support across the country. I simply cannot leave these God fearing, good conservatives without a leader at this critical time (forget paying for your prescriptions this month, send your $25 RIGHT NOW). I can do so much more as their voice through the Faith and Freedom Coalition than I ever could as a freshman Congressman, but only if they send their last remaining $25 right now to the Faith and Freedom Coalition, 16th hole of Sugarloaf Country Club, Duluth, GA 300-send me $25 right now-04. I am the Steve Jobs of faith based politics.

Thank you and God Bless You All, especially if you send your $25 right now, and follow me on Twitter.


Here's a look at the spending issues revealed through and open records request and by Chairman Oliver at the Monday work session. This is indicative of what is going to kill SPLOST. While this is not about SPLOST directly, it will impact trust.

Some commissioners want county audit

County chairman says he's paid consultant $1.5K-1.8K a month

At least two Hall County commissioners are calling for a detailed audit of the county's finances following an admission Monday from Chairman Tom Oliver that he had been authorizing payment of county funds to former Gainesville City Manager Carlyle Cox as a consultant.

Oliver said at a work session Monday that Cox had been paid between $1,500 and $1,800 per month since 2006 without full board approval. His admission came following an Open Records Act request from The Times into the matter.

Commissioners Steve Gailey and Bobby Banks said they want an independent investigation of county finances to uncover any other payments that may not be out in the open.

"How many other procedural things do we not know of?" Banks asked. "I believe we need to have the GBI do a forensic audit of the county."

Oliver denied any other payments exist, and he accepted blame for not bringing the consulting fees to the full board.

"I did this on my own," Oliver said. "I just think it was a procedural thing, and it's my fault."

Assistant County Administrator Phil Sutton said the county administrator can authorize a purchase of up to $10,000 without seeking board approval. Sutton said he believes the chairman has the same right, but he could not immediately confirm that.

Oliver has exceeded that amount by between $8,000 and $11,600 each year since 2006.

Cox and his company, Omega Consulting, first received $1,500 per month to advise primarily on water and sewer issues. That figure later increased to $1,800 about a year and a half ago, Oliver said.

None of the other commissioners had approved Cox's employment with the county.

County Administrator Charley Nix, who took over following Jim Shuler's retirement in 2008, said Oliver has been handling the payments since he became administrator.

"It was my understanding that Tom (Oliver) had the authority to sign off on these invoices," Nix said. "I was operating under that assumption."

Cox has been compensated through the county's sewer enterprise fund, which set aside $100,000 for consultant work in 2010.

Nix said it appears no formal contract exists between Cox and Hall County.

"I haven't been able to find one," he said.

The charge on the consulting invoices is for "waste water services."

"I think that's Carlyle and Omega's specialty," Nix said. "I know that the county did not have anyone representing their interest on things like the South Hall sewer and the Glade Farms and all that kind of stuff at the time."

Cox, who also serves on Hall County's library board, said he was contacted by Oliver to advise county projects.
"I was employed to provide consultant service to him," Cox said. "It was county projects with Mr. Oliver, and I think he made that clear."

Cox said he was unaware that the other commissioners did not know of his work with the county.

"(Oliver) employed me, and that's as far as I know," Cox said.

Oliver said at the commission's Monday work session that he hopes to get approval from the other commissioners to keep Cox as a consultant while Hall County is applying for a federal permit for Glades Reservoir.

"It's somebody who has hands-on experience dealing with government issues," Oliver said. "His ability to interact with the Environmental Protection Division, the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, his ability to understand the challenges. ... The Magnuson ruling has made Carlyle more valuable than ever."

Gailey and Banks suggested they aren't likely to support continuing to pay Cox.

Gailey said he didn't think Cox was necessary because there are many other qualified consultants working on the Glades Reservoir project.

"I've sat in with several meetings with you on the Glades Farm stuff, and I don't know where we would utilize him at all," Gailey said.





http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/30427


And the library flap isn't over, here's the latest:


By Melissa Weinman
mweinman@gainesvilletimes.com
POSTED March 8, 2010 11:31 p.m.
3 Images

The Hall County Board of Commissioners discussed ways to compromise with the city of Clermont on the library issue at its work session Monday.

Commissioner Bobby Banks said following a March 1 meeting with Clermont Mayor James Nix, he would like the commission to consider building a smaller library in Clermont in addition to the North Hall library that was recently approved at Nopone Road.

"The first recommendation is to upgrade the library as it sits now," Banks said. "Then, when and if the state sends $2 million (in library grant funding) up here, we could cut off a piece of that land up there and build a smaller version of the Spout Springs library for $2 million."

Nix, who attended the work session, will discuss the proposal with his city council at its regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

"What the people in Clermont really wanted, the only thing they would be willing to settle for, was a library," Nix said. "The need for library facilities up there will grow in the future."

Assistant County Administrator Phil Sutton said state granting that Hall County may receive for the North Hall library, which will now be built on Nopone Road, could not be used for a different facility in Clermont.

"Those grants are always site specific," Sutton said. "You can't move state money around with that kind of discretion."

The county has applied for a matching grant from the Board of Regents to help fund the North Hall library. But that grant is not certain yet as the state has not completed its budget.

Sutton said it may be possible to apply for additional funding for a Clermont library should the board vote to pursue that.

County Administrator Charley Nix spoke on behalf of absent commissioner Ashley Bell by saying the library board should weigh in on any plan before a decision is made.

Commissioner Billy Powell agreed.

"Whatever we do as far as upgrading or doing whatever, I want to know once again what does the library board recommend we do, what's the scope of what we're going to do, how much it's going to cost and where the money's going to come from before I vote," he said.


The health care debate lives on. How many deaths does it have? We cannot give up.


Massa: Dems ousted me for 'no' vote
By: Tim Grieve
March 8, 2010 06:04 AM EST

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) says the House ethics committee is investigating him for inappropriate comments he made to a male staffer on New Year's Eve -- and that he's the victim of a power play by Democratic leaders who want him out of Congress because he's a "no" vote on health care reform.

"Mine is now the deciding vote on the health care bill," Massa, who on Friday announced his intention to resign, said during a long monologue on radio station WKPQ. "And this administration and this House leadership have said, quote-unquote, they will stop at nothing to pass this health care bill. And now they've gotten rid of me, and it will pass. You connect the dots."

A spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) rejected Massa's charge out of hand.
"That's completely false," said Katie Grant. "There is zero merit to that accusation."
Massa insisted that he did not know the basis of a House ethics committee investigation into his conduct until after he announced his retirement last Wednesday, and he took Hoyer to task for going public with information related to the probe before it is completed.

In the monologue -- an audio recording of which has been posted by Rochester's WHAM-TV -- Massa said he first heard that the ethics committee was questioning his staff in early February but had no idea why.

He said he now understands the basis of the committee's investigation -- and dismissed it as a matter of "political correctness" gone awry.

"I have to come find out that on New Year's Eve, I went to a staff party -- it was actually a wedding for a staff member of mine," Massa said. "There were 250 people there. I was with my wife, and in fact we had a great time. She got the stomach flu, I went down to sing "Auld Lang Syne." And with cameras on me -- I'm talking three of them -- filming me, I danced with the bride, and I danced with the bridesmaid. Absolutely nothing occurred.

"I said goodnight to the bridesmaid. I sat at down at the table where my whole staff was, all of them, by the way, bachelors. One of them looked at me and -- as they would do after, I don't know, 15 gin and tonics and goodness only knows how many bottles of champagne -- a staff member made an intonation to me that maybe I should be chasing after the bridesmaid. His points were clear, and his words were far more colorful than that.

"And I grabbed the staff member sitting next to me and I said, 'What I really ought to be doing is frakking you,' and then tossled the guy's hair and left, went to my room, because I knew the party was getting to a point where I shouldn't be there."

"Was that inappropriate of me? Absolutely."

A Massa aide has told POLITICO that the New York Democrat has been engaged in inappropriate behavior "for eight months."


Here's the audio:


http://www.breitbart.tv/rep-massa-blast-dems-he-was-set-up-hoyer-lied-may-rescind-resignation

© 2010 Capitol News Company, LLC





Congressman Deal of Georgia is Out, Then in Again
"I'm leaving Congress because I've had a front row seat to the damage that inexperience in the executive branch of the federal government has done to our nation...a growing debt that will bankrupt our children's future, an ever increasing grasp by government that snatches away our freedom, and an effort to bargain away the rights of our state for a few crumbs of federal tax dollars that are packaged as stimulus." Congressman Nathan Deal, March 1, 2010

"Just two days after I announced my intentions to leave Congress, the majority party stepped up the schedule for the proposed health care bill. Having been deeply involved in all health care legislation for the past decade, I knew it was important to stay and vote down this bill." Congressman Nathan Deal, March 4, 2010

It's been a roller coaster week for the Republican caucus of Georgia. Within two days of each other, two seasoned Georgia congressmen in safe Republican districts announced their intent to leave office. Then on Thursday, with the possibility of a quick vote on the Senate version of Obamacare, Deal changed his mind and decided to stay in Congress, possibly through the end of March.

So how did this all unfold?

The resignation of Republican Congressman John Linder was totally unexpected. He was speaking at the opening of a new office and one person in attendance said, "You should have heard the room -- just silence. He stopped for one picture and then left. I think Camie Young of the Gwinnett Daily Post knocked some people over bolting from the room. The way he just dropped it I thought I had missed something"

John Linder, the Father of the FairTax, will complete his term and continue his work on the FairTax. People are already lining up to run for Linder's seat. State Sen. Don Balfour and State Rep. Clay Cox are in. Ralph Reed is considering as well. A stealth candidate could be Col. Michael D. Steele. Steele is from the district and is retiring from the Army this spring. This 27 year veteran of the Army has led men in Iraq, and was a company commander whose heroism in Mogadishu in 1993 is recorded in Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down."

Until last Saturday, Deal's seat in the 9th District was the only open seat in Georgia. One Georgia politician said on Saturday, "The 7th District race is going to make the 9th District race look like a bunch of senior citizens are running." But the shocks kept coming through the week.

On Feb 28, the Deal campaign gave a heads up on a Monday morning announcement. Speculation was rampant. On March 1 at 9 a.m. sharp, Congressman Deal took the steps of the Gainesville Civic Center to tell his constituents he would be resigning from Congress effective March 8, 2010. He then traveled the state to tell his the rest of Georgia he's "in it to win it" in the race for the Governor's mansion. This has become a pattern in the 2010 Georgia Governor's race.

Eric Johnson was the Senate Majority Leader in Georgia and resigned in September to run full time. At year's end, Secretary of State Karen Handel resigned her post to run full time. A statement released from Deal's campaign at the time said, "Nathan Deal has taken an oath to serve the people of Georgia and has a clear record of completing his terms."

Some wondered about the timing, Cox Radio's Washington Bureau Chief Jamie Dupree said there were hints of Deal's resignation. Deal's departure would immediately close a House ethics inquiry into a business Deal owned. Some were outraged Deal's resignation makes it easier to pass health care reform.

Deal does not want the headline to read, "Obamacare passes by one vote, and Nathan Deal helps to pass." He told me on Friday, "You count the yes votes, it take a majority plus one of yes votes, I don't think they [the Democrats] have the yes votes, but they are going to push for the next couple of weeks." Deal believes he needs to be there to see this through
The resignation announcement for March 8 sped up the race to replace him. The announcement he's staying in a little longer puts those candidates in limbo but for those currently serving in the Georgia General Assembly, it helps them by allowing them to complete the budget process.

Upon resignation, Governor Perdue has to request a special election within 10 days and then set a date for it not less than 30 days after that. The special election could "win the incumbency" and then on July 20 the Republican and Democrat primaries will be held.

There is a possibility to hold the special election for Deal, provided he does resign, and the primary on the same date which would be a benefit for Deal's race for Governor as his base support in the 9th district would be highly motivated to get out and vote.

So with all the work still to be done in Congress, why resign at all? The answer is money. Campaign contributions for all the top-tier candidates for governor for both parties in Georgia are running about $10 million behind where they were in the last two election cycles. This is a campaign that is going to rely more heavily on "pressing the flesh" than in years past. Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has been the front runner on money and polling but has showed some signs of cracks in his support. Deal, Handel and Johnson want to be the beneficiary of that downturn.

The final concern on this "flip-flop' on resignation is what is says about Deal's campaign. Are they meeting the needs of the people, or are they too thin-skinned to take some criticism over their decisions? That will be for the voters to decide.


In a surprise announcement late yesterday, Congressman Nathan Deal postponed his retirement to participate in the health care debate. While he was a no vote that was not going to change, the math started to mount up against him. If Nancy Pelosi passed health care with 216 votes and Deal was not in the Congress, then Deal would be blamed. The issue is the now 11 undecided Democrats. Deal cited the president's proposal yesterday and the urging of the Governor and the Republican leaders in the House. There's some question about what the Governor said and the president's speech on health care was announced before Congressman Deal announced on Monday. Whatever the reasons, Deal stays for now.
We'll talk today about what that means for the people that would be 9th district Congressmen.

Deal Real
Nathan Deal changes date of resignation
WASHINGTON - Following President Obama's Wednesday announcement that he would seek a quick vote on health care, Congressman Nathan Deal, R-Ga., today announced that he will postpone his resignation until later in March. Deal discussed the change with Governor Sonny Perdue, who strongly encouraged him to stay.
"Just two days after I announced my intentions to leave Congress, the majority party stepped up the schedule for the proposed health care bill. Having been deeply involved in all health care legislation for the past decade, I knew it was important to stay and vote down this bill.
"I announced my resignation from Congress to focus on winning the Republican primary for governor so as to deny Roy Barnes the opportunity to face the Republican candidate who currently leads solely based on name recognition, but is the one Republican that Roy Barnes is sure to defeat.

"Yesterday, as I listened to President Obama's aggressive push for a quick vote on 'Obama-Care,' it was clear that I must stay in Congress and continue to fight against the most liberal health care agenda ever proposed."

Here's what the leadership had to say:

Boehner Statement on Decision by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) to Remain in House for Health Care Vote


WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement on the decision by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) to remain in the House long enough to participate in the final vote on President Obama's proposed health care legislation:

"In recent days it has become clear to the American people that the House will be the final battleground in their effort to stop President Obama's massive health care takeover from becoming law. The House is the last line of defense against this 2,700-page big government monstrosity, and the American people need every vote they can get in the effort to stop it from being enacted. Nathan Deal's decision to remain in Congress for the upcoming health care vote is indicative of his long dedication to standing up for a common sense approach to changing health care. I'm pleased I can count on him now, just as I have during our years of service together in the House."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) today issued the following statement after meeting with Rep. Nathan Deal, who will remain in the House of Representatives long enough to express the sentiments of his constituents during the final vote on the Obama/Pelosi health care legislation:

"The Democrats' health care overhaul will affect every single American. If President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Leader Reid use partisan reconciliation to jam a trillion dollar health care overhaul through Congress and subvert the will of a majority of Americans, we will do everything in our power to give that majority a voice during the vote.

"When dealing with legislation of the size, scope, and cost of the Democrats' health care overhaul, every Member of Congress should be listening to his constituents and representing their viewpoints. Nathan Deal is doing just that, and I join many Georgians - and Americans - in praising his decision."

From the Political Insider:

Citing health care, Deal delays departure from Congress

U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal will delay his resignation from Congress by three weeks, citing intense pressure from House Republican leaders to remain and vote against President Barack Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's health care system.

From the press release issued by the north Georgia congressman:

"Just two days after I announced my intentions to leave Congress, the majority party stepped up the schedule for the proposed health care bill. Having been deeply involved in all health care legislation for the past decade, I knew it was important to stay and vote down this bill....

"Yesterday, as I listened to President Obama's aggressive push for a quick vote on 'Obama-Care,' it was clear that I must stay in Congress and continue to fight against the most liberal health care agenda ever proposed."

A spokesman for Deal said the congressman was urged by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) -- as well as Gov. Sonny Perdue -- to remain for the health care vote.

The Deal campaign released a statement from Boehner, which reads in part:

"It has become clear to the American people that the House will be the final battleground in their effort to stop President Obama's massive health care takeover from becoming law.... Nathan Deal's decision to remain in Congress for the upcoming health care vote is indicative of his long dedication to standing up for a common sense approach to changing health care."

News of Deal's decision was inadvertently broken by U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, who also congratulated Deal on his decision.

On Monday, before 100 supporters at the Gainesville Civic Center, Deal said he would leave Congress, effective March 8, in order to devote all his time to his campaign for governor.

The north Georgia congressman immediately began taking heat from Republicans here and elsewhere, as it became clear that the vote on health care in the House will be tight.

This appeared in a John Fund column in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal:

His departure next week will take sitting House members down to 431, meaning the magic number to pass health care drops to 216. Why did Mr. Deal make it easier for Democrats to reshape one-sixth of the nation's economy

The announcement of Deal's delayed departure said that the congressman "discussed the change with Governor Sonny Perdue, who strongly encouraged him to stay."

Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said that Deal indeed called the governor to let him know he had decided to postpone his resignation.

The governor, Brantley told my AJC colleague Aaron Gould Sheinin, "encouraged him to represent us well in D.C." But asked whether the governor encouraged Deal to remain in the U.S. House, Brantley said that Deal had already made that decision.

The distinction could be significant, because -- by delaying his departure from Congress until the end of this month -- Deal puts more pressure on Perdue to delay a special election to fill the 9th District seat until the July primary.

The earliest such an election could be held now is mid-May. The primary is July 20. But it's Perdue's call.

Theoretically, a special election concurrent with the July primary would benefit Deal's gubernatorial chances by creating a strong 9th District turnout to fill his shoes.

But it would also be confusing, requiring two rounds of balloting: One would be a special, non-partisan election to fill Deal's term through the end of 2010. The same candidates, most of them Republican, would appear on the ballots selected by Democratic and Republican voters.

A second round of voting, for the full two-year term that begins next January, would be segregated by party. Republican voters would only be able to vote for Republican candidates, and Democratic voters could only vote for Democratic candidates.

One additional side effect for Deal: By resigning from Congress, the Republican candidate for governor ended an ethics inquiry into whether Deal misused his office in an attempt to protect his private business in north Georgia.

Whether the inquiry could be revived and a report issued over the next three weeks is a question worth asking.

In the press release announcing his decision, Deal couldn't resist taking a shot at state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, the Republican currently leading the field for governor:

"I announced my resignation from Congress to focus on winning the Republican primary for governor so as to deny Roy Barnes the opportunity to face the Republican candidate who currently leads solely based on name recognition, but is the one Republican that Roy Barnes is sure to defeat."

Teachers, some of you will be asked to define a run-on sentence this week. The one above might qualify.


On College Cuts in Georgia. Governor Perdue Speaks and gets a grant. I don't believe the cuts presented by the Regents will happen either. The committee asked the University System to show them what these cuts would look like and they did. That rallied the "folks."


Perdue: College cuts won't happen 'on my watch'

- tfain@macon.com
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ATLANTA -- After a week of back-and-forth about the prospect of massive new funding cuts for the state's colleges and universities, it remains unclear the direction Georgia leaders will go -- not just with university funding, but with the state budget in general.

But Thursday, Gov. Sonny Perdue lit into legislators pushing for those cuts, chastising them for "fear-mongering" and "scare tactics." He promised that the state "will not dismantle" its "world-class" university system.

"It's not going to happen on my watch," Perdue said.

Later in the afternoon, the two legislators who've been front-and-center on these cuts stood before a microphone and responded, saying they're simply trying to deal with budget realities. They said repeatedly that the $300 million in cuts outlined this week are a worst-case scenario. They called for a moderated solution that likely would include a tuition increase and, if state Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, has his way, big salary cuts for top university brass.

Everyone seemed to agree that a tuition increase would be part of the answer, but it remains to be seen how much. The state Board of Regents, which oversees the university system, meets next week and could weigh in on the issue then.

Meanwhile, things are about to gear back up at the Capitol in a big way. Rank-and-file legislators return Monday to Atlanta to resume a legislative session put on hold the past two weeks while budget subcommittees looked closer at the state budget, mostly searching for cuts.

The university system quickly became a target in that process, and the prospect of losing another $300 million in state funding has ramped up the fight.

Harp and state Rep. Earl Ehrhart chair the House and Senate subcommittees working on the state's university system budget. They said Thursday that initial proposals for the elimination of 4,000 university system jobs and other massive cuts probably won't come to pass, but they couldn't be sure. They continued to call Thursday for "structural changes" that could mean mergers for some campuses or programs. And Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, said legislators will work with the Board of Regents to "come up with something significantly better" than the proposed cuts that stirred debate this week.

These conversations will continue within the larger context of the full state budget and could easily linger well into spring. The General Assembly hasn't set a deadline to finish the budget and end its 2010 legislative session, but Speaker of the House David Ralston has told members to expect to be at the Capitol in mid-April.

The bottom line, though, hasn't changed much since January. That's when Perdue rolled out a budget proposal that includes a new 1.6 percent tax on hospital revenues and a plan to raise cash by selling some of the infrastructure loans the state has made to local governments on the private debt market.

Those measures would contribute hundreds of millions to the budget, making them crucial to the governor's plan. But neither idea was popular when Perdue proposed them, and legislators have been looking for cuts to offset them.

Hospitals, doctors and insurance companies have worked hard against the hospital tax, wielding their considerable influence at the Capitol. Local government leaders and environmental groups have pushed back against the debt sale, since it would reduce the state loans available for local water and sewer projects. The university system became a target, at least in part, because some legislators don't think the system has given enough as across-the-board cuts have sliced into budgets at every state department.

At $1.9 billion, the system also gets a large slice of the $18 billion or so the state is slated to spend in total next year.

But that spending total is built on the Perdue administration's prediction that the state's economy will rebound far enough in the next 16 months to increase state revenues by about 4 percent. So far the trend line has been in the opposite direction, and many expect the governor to roll back his revenue estimate early next week, after February collections numbers are released.

Perdue himself said Thursday that's "very likely."

That would unbalance the budget, likely by hundreds of millions. That's another big reason legislators have been looking for new large cuts. The Republican leadership at the Capitol has been wary of any tax increases to balance the budget, but that position seems to have softened. In particular, a proposal to tack another $1 state tax onto a pack of cigarettes seems to have gained steam.

But it's unclear where the top House and Senate leadership are on the details of all these issues. As budget subcommittees from both bodies have worked together the past two weeks to root out new areas for budget cuts, the top leaders on both sides -- including Ralston and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle -- have largely stayed quiet, letting committee members sift and prod their ways through budget proposals.

In the end, an agreement must be struck. The state Constitution requires the General Assembly to pass a balanced budget.


The Governor announced yesterday a long term grant for Education:


Georgia Continues Racing to the Top

State selected as finalist for unprecedented federal grant competition

ATLANTA - Governor Sonny Perdue today announced that Georgia has been selected as a finalist by the U.S. Department of Education for the first round of federal "Race to the Top" grants. Georgia stands to receive up to $462 million over four years to implement its plan if selected.

"Georgia's designation as a finalist in the Race to the Top competition is further proof that we are moving in the right direction to advance student achievement in our state," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "Our work to transform education in Georgia is being recognized nationally, but it is only a beginning. We must continue to align our funding and policies with our desired outcome of improved student achievement."

The Race to the Top fund is a $4 billion grant opportunity provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to support new approaches to improve schools. The fund is available in the form of competitive grants to encourage and reward states that are creating conditions for education innovation and reform, specifically implementing ambitious plans in four education reform areas:

· Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;

· Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;

· Recruiting, preparing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and

· Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.

Forty states and the District of Columbia submitted applications for Phase I of the Race to the Top grant competition. From those applications, the U.S. Department of Education invited 16 to send a five-member team to interview in Washington D.C. in mid-March. The U.S. Department of Education estimates final winners will be announced in April 2010.

"I look forward to sharing more information with Secretary Duncan about our state's education playbook and why Georgia is the best investment for these funds," said Governor Sonny Perdue.

Georgia's application was prepared through strong partnership between the Governor's Office, the Georgia Department of Education, the Governor's Office of Student Achievement, and education stakeholders. Four working groups and a fifth critical feedback team consisting of teachers, principals, superintendents, higher education faculty, non-profit and informal education organizations, state policy makers, and members of the business and philanthropic communities developed the ideas for inclusion in the state's application.

"I am very pleased, but not surprised, that Georgia has been named a finalist for Race to the Top funds," said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. "For seven years, Georgia has been focused on the very issues called for in the Race to the Top application. We are implementing a world-class curriculum, raising expectations and using quality data to make decisions so our students will be globally competitive. Race to the Top funds will give us more resources needed to continue this vital and important work."

Recommendations focus on strengthening traditional and alternative preparation programs for teachers and leaders, supporting teachers more effectively in the classroom, evaluating teachers and leaders with consistent and objective criteria that inform instruction, and rewarding great teachers and leaders with performance-based monetary bonuses.

The application also calls for Georgia to adopt and implement common curricular standards and internationally-benchmarked assessments that indicate Georgia's ability to compete within a globally-connected economy. Governor Perdue is co-chairing a state-led initiative for common-core state standards through the National Governors Association.

Twenty-three local school districts have signed on to partner with the state in implementing Georgia's Race to the Top plan. These districts, which make up 41 percent of public school students in Georgia, include: Atlanta, Ben Hill, Bibb, Burke, Carrollton, Chatham, Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Dougherty, Gainesville, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Jones, Meriwether, Muscogee, Rabun, Richmond, Rockdale, Spalding, Valdosta and White.

The state will work closely with these systems to implement the ideas contained in the application. Fifty percent of the funds awarded to Georgia will be distributed to the local partners to meaningfully enact the Race to the Top reforms. The state will study the effectiveness of these practices to identify and scale up those that prove to be effective.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation selected 15 states, including Georgia, to benefit from technical assistance for RT3 application development. The states were selected based on how well poised they are to win Race to the Top based on progress in education policy and reform. Georgia partnered with The Parthenon Group, a consulting firm based in Boston, which specializes in part in education reform.

Georgia's entire application can be viewed at http://gov.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,78006749_154885747_155733684,00.html.


Update on Horse Racing legislation. I've been told this won't pass, but here's the argument from the Horse Racing Lobby:


To: Friends of Horseracing

From: Ed Gadrix

Subject: Status of Legislation

Before we get to the status of the horseracing legislation, you should know GEEP employed one of the more respected political consulting firms in Georgia to conduct a statewide poll to determine the interest of folks in passing horseracing legislation. When asked questions in different ways, it's clear that if a constitutional amendment is worded whereby it states that the monies realized by the State of Georgia will be used for the HOPE scholarship account or "any other educational purposes", the amendment WILL pass. The key is to educate the public between now and November that horseracing does equal JOBS,JOBS, JOBS, and addressing the State's budget problems in education.

I'll ask you to do certain tasks below, but if you can or will do nothing else, please forward this e mail to every teacher or educator you know, as well as your own e mail list.

HR 1177 is the house resolution that amends the Georgia Constitution to allow for horseracing and pari-mutuel gaming. The Speaker of the House placed the legislation in the Judiciary Non-Civil Committee when it was originally introduced. I said before this was not good news. The legislation should be either in the Regulated Industries or Agriculture Committees. These are the functions of horseracing, not having to do with courts or judges, etc.

We also know the committee originally assigned was an attempt to "kill" the legislation. Having said that, there has been some movement on the part of the Speaker, but we're far from getting it out of committee as we speak.

We're approaching a deadline: We have just under two weeks to get the legislation out of committee in the House of Representatives and carried over to the Senate. Both houses have to pass the legislation. Now your part:

The Speaker has said he will consider taking the legislation out of the Judiciary committee and putting it in the Regulated Industries or Agriculture Committee on Monday, March 8th. But that will only happen if he feels there are people out there who want it so moved and passed---that's you!

If you're tired of unemployment and want to start the process of creating the 10,000 to 20,000 jobs in Georgia experts say will be created through horseracing;

If you're upset that teachers are having to take furloughs;

If you're concerned with the AJC article this morning that says fewer college students will be admitted in our public colleges and universities;

It you care about the educational programs that are being cut from the same colleges and universities;

If you want to address the budget concerns that our legislators claim they are having to deal with because of lack of revenue;

If your unemployment is running out

If you want something positive for a change in government;

If you want to see a $100,000,000 to $200,000,000 race track built that will create some 5,000 construction, financial, legal and other good paying jobs over some two years of construction;

It you want to see all of this done WITH NO GOVERNMENT MONIES AND ALL PRIVIATE FUNDS

THEN IT'S YOUR TIME AND YOUR INDIVIDUAL EFFORT IS IMPORTANT

WRITE AND CALL THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, DAVID RALSTON. HERE'S HIS ADDRESS: Speaker, David Ralston:

dianne.hardin@house.ga.gov <dianne.hardin@house.ga.gov>

leishea.johnson@house.ga.gov <leishea.johnson@house.ga.gov>

ginny.mckinney@house.ga.gov <ginny.mckinney@house.ga.gov>

Tell him your story as to why he should see that this horseracing legislation is important to Georgians. He keeps saying he doesn't hear from anyone.

Then contact your own State Representative and State Senator and get a commitment from them that they will personally ask Speaker Ralston to move the horseracing legislation form the current committee to either the Regulated Industries or Agriculture Committees where they should be. Here's how you find your State Representative and Senator: To Find your State Legislators:

Go to the site below; type in your address and click on "GO"; your STATE Representative and STATE Senator will be on the right. Federal office holders appear on the left. WE WANT STATE OFFICE HOLDERS ON THE RIGHT. Click on their name and how to contact them will come-up.

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/state/main/?state=GA&view=myofficials#0

All contacts should referenced HR 1177 (Horseracing)

Folks it's not only time; it's past time. If you don't take the time to put forth the effort now and before next Monday, it may be too late. Simply look around you and you'll see some sad stories of folks who need those jobs and income. Your legislators have a job so they are really not affected by the economy one way or the other. If you want to do something important at this point in your life and the life of this State, take the time, do the tasks today !

Ed Gadrix

Georgia Equine Education Project GEEP

Obama wants to pass health care by the Easter recess and the town hall meetings that will happen. this is a huge mistake. They need to start over. This bill won't pass the House. Take that to the bank. And if it does, because it might be a closed bank, it will die in the Senate.

Democratic leaders working to win over abortion opponents for health-care reform

By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 5, 2010; A01

As President Obama makes his final plea for a health-care overhaul, Democratic leaders in Congress are embarking on a delicate strategy to win over abortion opponents, a gambit that could determine whether the legislation becomes law.

The effort depends on convincing as many as a dozen antiabortion Democrats in the House that abortion language in the Senate bill is more stringent than initially portrayed. But Democratic leaders must be careful that they don't drive away abortion rights supporters who are increasingly concerned that the measure would prove severely restrictive.

"It's going to be a heavy lift, because people on both sides don't like" the language, said Kristen Day, director of Democrats for Life of America, an antiabortion group that otherwise supports health-care reform. "It's a difficult situation right now."

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), the head of the antiabortion contingent, has repeatedly reaffirmed his opposition to the Senate terms, saying that House leaders have all but given up on his vote. "Some people are saying we have to vote for the Senate bill. That ain't going to happen," he said in an interview this week.

But congressional leaders are still working behind the scenes to try to persuade some in the Stupak group. If the leadership loses antiabortion members, most of them Midwestern Roman Catholics who otherwise support the legislation, the only way to compensate would be to add votes from conservative Democrats who previously opposed the measure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed confidence Thursday that resistance from antiabortion members could be overcome. "When people think there isn't going to be a bill, they can take whatever position they want," she said. "But now they know there is going to be a bill, and these members are saying, 'Let's talk.' "

The leadership has two choices: It can try to revise the Senate language, which would be all but impossible under the process Democrats are using to pass a final bill, or it can try to convince some abortion opponents that the provisions are acceptable.

Underlying the controversy is the question of whether the Senate language -- agreed to in a last-minute deal with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) -- maintains the 33-year-old ban on federal funding for abortion. The bill would allow the procedure to be covered in plans offered on new "exchanges" in which people without employer-based coverage would buy insurance with the help of federal subsidies.

But it would require buyers to make two premium payments -- one for most of their coverage and a second, far smaller one for abortion coverage. Everyone with such a plan -- even men or older women -- would need to make both payments.

Opponents have said that would not go far enough to keep federal money from subsidizing abortion. Democratic leaders disagree, saying it maintains the status quo.

Meanwhile, abortion rights advocates have grown increasingly convinced that the language would restrict the reach of abortion coverage nearly as much as the Stupak language in the House bill passed in December. That measure would have forced those who want abortion coverage to buy it in a rider.

Abortion rights groups and health-care analysts now are predicting that, under the Senate language, few plans would cover abortion because the requirement of two payments would be cumbersome for insurers and objectionable to customers.

"There will not be abortion coverage in the exchanges. There just won't be," said Linda J. Blumberg, a health policy analyst at the Urban Institute.

At the time of the deal with Nelson, Senate Democrats reassured abortion rights supporters by noting that many people would pay for their coverage via automatic bank debits, minimizing the impact of the separate payments. But abortion rights groups argue that the requirement of a separate check is almost tailor-made to spark public opposition to abortion, complete with protests of companies that offer plans covering it.

"It's clearly intended to be stigmatizing," said Laura MacCleery of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The rules would not affect women with employer-based insurance, which often covers abortion. But the legislation envisions that more people over time would get their insurance through the exchange, giving its rules a potentially broad impact.

In making their case to the Stupak group, Democratic leaders point out that Nelson -- who initially fought for the Stupak provision but was rebuffed -- thinks his language is highly restrictive. That is not so much because it would discourage insurers from offering abortion coverage, his aide said, but because he thinks it preserves the ban on federal financing of abortion by segregating that money.

"He tried to figure out language that would be as close to Stupak as you could be without repeating the language," said Jake Thompson, his spokesman.

Some abortion opponents concede that it is possible that the two-checks rule will dissuade insurers from offering plans covering the procedure. But they say they still oppose the language on principle, because it would allow federal subsidies to help people buy plans with abortion coverage.

"The fact that the pro-abortion groups don't like it either doesn't make me support it," said Richard Doerflinger, a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Abortion opponents also decry what they say are other loopholes in the Senate bill, warning, for instance, that a technicality could allow community health clinics to provide abortions, circumventing the federal ban.

Stupak said he rejected a proposal from congressional leaders to revisit the abortion language in the future. He has urged adding stricter language to the revisions of the Senate bill that both chambers are planning to pass. Leaders say rules allow only budget-related issues to be in this package, but Stupak notes that abortion changes could be added if 60 senators agreed.

Short of that, the only way forward will be to convince the Stupak contingent that the Senate language is as restrictive as abortion rights supporters fear it is -- and at the same time try to put those very fears to rest.

"The good news is that the Senate bill does allow" abortion coverage, said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), co-chairman of the House's Pro-Choice Caucus. "But the question is: Would [the coverage] really be there?"

Staff writer Lori Montgomery contributed to this report.



Here's the Column I've quoted from frequently this week by Dr. Craig Columbus from Grove City College:

What America Needs:
A Bumper Crop of Young Entrepreneurs

By Dr. Craig Columbus
Compared to prior recessions, something is definitely different this time. If you've lost your job, it is harder than ever to replace it.

The New York Times reports that 6.3 million Americans have been unemployed for six months or longer, more than double the next-worst period, in the early 1980s.

Tighter credit, outsourcing, globalization, and productivity-enhancing technologies have played a role--and each is here to stay. As a result, many older employees are delaying retirement, making it increasingly difficult for recent graduates to enter the workforce.

Voices across the political spectrum agree that America desperately needs private sector job growth, and many are calling for change. In a recent USA Today editorial, Robert Kiyosaki, the best-selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, calls for two different public-school programs: one for employees and one for entrepreneurs.

Mr. Kiyosaki writes, "If I were running America's school system, I would create the U.S. Business Academy for Entrepreneurs, modeled after our federal military academies. Admissions would be via congressional appointment along with nominations from community business leaders."

He envisions a U.S. Academy for Entrepreneurs that would produce leaders focused on sustainable jobs and responsible growth. Finally, Mr. Kiyosaki says that his academy could boost results by having "only real entrepreneurs as teachers."

In my opinion, Mr. Kiyosaki identifies the root problem of America's job malaise--the need to produce more entrepreneurs. However, I depart from his solution to create more government-run education programs, regardless of how selective or expertly staffed.

As one tasked with educating future entrepreneurs, I would argue that the state of entrepreneurial education has never been more vibrant. Three decades ago, only a handful of colleges offered courses in entrepreneurship. Through the pioneering work of scholars such as Babson's Dr. Jeffry Timmons and the advocacy of the Kauffman Foundation and others, the field has subsequently flourished.

Today, over 2,000 academic institutions offer at least one course in entrepreneurship compared with just 16 in 1970. Five hundred colleges and universities currently grant an entrepreneurship degree, up from 175 in 1990. And 200 university-based entrepreneurship centers collaborate as members of The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC).

As for the notion that the discipline lacks the perspective of "real" entrepreneurs, there has been a concerted effort by top entrepreneurship programs to recruit current or recent entrepreneurs as classroom instructors. Perhaps more than in any department on campuses across America, academic administrations are increasingly receptive to the integration of practitioners.

I am not suggesting that entrepreneurship education cannot be improved. For example, we need a greatly expanded dialogue about ethics, a stronger commitment to service learning, and much more emphasis on how to actually build things.

But America's aspiring entrepreneurs have more educational choices and more intellectual capital resources than at any point in the nation's history. So where is the bottleneck in entrepreneurial dynamism? In a word: incentives.

Much like the Great Depression, the current recession has left an imprint on many young people. They have seen their parents struggle with mortgage debt, and classmates flounder in their job searches. It's no wonder that students are increasingly drawn to "safe" endeavors.

In the current environment, that most often corresponds to government or government-backed jobs. According to The Wall Street Journal, federal agencies have been hiring at a pace not seen since the end of the Cold War.

However, the nation's entrepreneurial framework requires more creative and lasting solutions--and soon. That's because America's demographics demand a bumper crop of young entrepreneurs.

Nearly one in three American workers will be over the age of 50 by 2012. The "baby boomers," those born between 1946 and 1965, started small businesses in record numbers during the 1970s and '80s.

Just as with the massively overbuilt stock of residential housing, supply-demand imbalances often create severe economic shocks. During the next 20 years, the outcome of the so-called "silver tsunami" will be, in part, determined by boomers finding willing buyers for their small business ventures to fund their retirement needs.

However, current and aspiring entrepreneurs repeat a consistent refrain. They want government to control its spending for the sake of long-term interest rate stability. They don't want to feel like they are on the outside looking in on a state capitalism "green zone." And the entrepreneurial class seeks relief from the burdens of state licensing and regulatory departments.

Entrepreneurs also crave a better business climate with reduced payroll taxes, tax credits for research and development, and more manageable workers' compensation and healthcare costs. Many are attracted to states with low or no income and capital-gains taxes.

Finally, we need to help entrepreneurs attract seed capital and make it easier to get new business loans without personal guarantees, allowing them to retain larger equity stakes.

There will be no meaningful job growth beyond the administrative state without a national embrace of those entrepreneurs that create them. A generation of skilled young entrepreneurs stands ready. Is their government ready for them?

-- Dr. Craig Columbus is a Fellow for Entrepreneurship and Innovation with The Center for Vision & Values. He is also the executive director of theentrepreneurship program and chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship atGrove City College.


The President unveils his "plan" of sorts with white coated doctors and nurses behind him. Now the dealing begins.


Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes?

Obama names brother of undecided House Dem to Appeals Court.

BY JOHN MCCORMACK

March 3, 2010 6:15 PM

Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes. One of the ten is Jim Matheson of Utah. The White House just sent out a press release announcing that today President Obama nominated Matheson's brother Scott M. Matheson, Jr. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

"Scott Matheson is a distinguished candidate for the Tenth Circuit court," President Obama said. "Both his legal and academic credentials are impressive and his commitment to judicial integrity is unwavering. I am honored to nominate this lifelong Utahn to the federal bench."

Scott M. Matheson, Jr.: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Scott M. Matheson currently holds the Hugh B. Brown Presidential Endowed Chair at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1985. He served as Dean of the Law School from 1998 to 2006. He also taught First Amendment Law at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government from 1989 to 1990.

While on public service leave from the University of Utah from 1993 to 1997, Matheson served as United States Attorney for the District of Utah. In 2007, he was appointed by Governor Jon Huntsman to chair the Utah Mine Safety Commission. He also worked as a Deputy County Attorney for Salt Lake County from 1988 to 1989. Prior to joining the University faculty, Matheson was an associate attorney from 1981 to 1985 at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C.

Matheson was born and raised in Utah and is a sixth generation Utahn. He received an A.B. from Stanford University in 1975, an M.A. from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1980.

So, Scott Matheson appears to have the credentials to be a judge, but was his nomination used to buy off his brother's vote?

Consider Congressman Matheson's record on the health care bill. He voted against the bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee back in July and again when it passed the House in November. But now he's "undecided" on ramming the bill through Congress. "The Congressman is looking for development of bipartisan consensus," Matheson's press secretary Alyson Heyrend wrote to THE WEEKLY STANDARD on February 22. "It's too early to know if that will occur." Asked if one could infer that if no Republican votes in favor of the bill (i.e. if a bipartisan consensus is not reached) then Rep. Matheson would vote no, Heyrend replied: "I would not infer anything. I'd wait to see what develops, starting with the health care summit on Thursday."

The timing of this nomination looks suspicious, especially in light Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak's claim that he was offered a federal job not to run against Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania primary. Many speculated that Sestak, a former admiral, was offered the Secretary of the Navy job.

In Georgia Politics, it's all about the money. Under the Gold Dome, the republican majority and democrat minority are trying to balance the budget together. Nobody likes what they are having to do, but they are doing it together.

Also, it's worth a look at Larry O'Neal and DuBose Porter's discussions on sales tax collection. If it's true there are 25% of Georgia businesses that are collecting sales tax from you and not sending them on, then that is a big number.


Pro & Con: Should the General Assembly overhaul sales tax collection?

8:02 p.m. Monday, February 15, 2010

YES: Governments lose millions and system can't catch tax cheats.

By DuBose Porter and Virgil Fludd

For two years, while the Republican-led Legislature slashed through education funding and enacted the largest tax increase in Georgia history ($428 million) by eliminating the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant, Democrats have been shouting in the wilderness. In cities and counties across the state, shoppers are paying sales taxes to stores large and small.

But the four to eight pennies of sales tax are not being sent to the Department of Revenue as required by law. Last year, we introduced legislation to allow private collection of those who are cheating state and local governments. Last year, Republicans balked at fixing point of sales tax collection.

So, over the summer, we have been hammering the Department of Revenue on its inaction. Suddenly, last week, Republicans found religion and decided to act. The trouble is, they only go halfway to catching the tax cheats. Our bill, House Bill 1137, goes the whole way to stop the cheating.

The problem is clear and the solution is simple. When starting a retail business in Georgia, a new owner has two obligations. First, you must apply for a business license where the business will operate. Next, you must file for a sales tax certificate with the Department of Revenue. To their credit, Ways and Means Chairman Larry O'Neal (R-Bonaire) and Vice Chairman David Knight (R-Griffin) have proposed that when businesses get a license, local governments must send that information to the department to see if they also have a sales tax certificate. Nice first step, but that does not solve the problem.

Due to Georgia's convoluted, outdated and inefficient tax processes, there are some companies that file for a sales tax certificate that never bother to file for a business license. This causes a companion issue: The shop will set up service and comply with state law, but they refuse to register with the city or county, so no one knows if they have a sales tax certificate. Our bill solves both problems -- sending information to the department and getting information to local governments.

Why does this matter? Because Georgia has two levels of sales tax: four cents that go to the state and two to four cents that go to pay for schools, police and infrastructure on the local level. How many pennies you pay depends on where you say you're located. For example, if you fail to register in Atlanta, the city and school system loses out on nearly 4 percent of the taxes paid by shoppers visiting our city. Businesses cheat the system by relying on the Department of Revenue to keep their information from getting to the local government -- and the already-paid taxes never make it to state or local coffers.

HB 1137 would not violate privacy laws. All the cities and counties want is the information they've paid $40 million for the Department of Revenue to collect: whether a business has a sales tax certificate within their jurisdiction. That's it. No tax records. No confidential business information. Nothing the sunshine laws would keep secret.

However, the hue and cry about providing such simple records begs the question: What's wrong with sharing? HB 1137 is fair to Georgia citizens and to those businesses that follow the law. Alabama collected $1 billion with a similar point of sales system. It could be even larger in Georgia by simply partnering between state and local governments -- letting local governments do the work of matching records to receipts.

Taking the extra step of sharing records is a simple proposition that cities and counties are asking for. In a time of severe cuts, it's difficult to understand why Republicans would leave tax cheats with such an obvious escape.

State Reps. DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) (left) and Virgil Fludd (D-Fayetteville). Reps. Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus) and Stacey Abrams (D-Atlanta) contributed.

NO: Privatizing collection will burden businesses, violate privacy rights.

By Bart L. Graham

The privatization and collection of local sales taxes continues to be a subject of proposed tax policy in Georgia. I believe it is important to provide information about the misconception that privatization of local sales tax collection could prove to be a quick budget fix for local governments. It won't. But it will definitely be unnecessarily burdensome and costly for all those Georgia businesses who consistently comply with the law.

The assertion is made that "a whopping $1 billion in sales taxes annually" is going uncollected. The premise behind the assertion is that it is due to "inefficiencies in collection at the point of sales." There is no documented support for this number or where it came from. I suspect it came from the company lobbying to do for-profit collections and audits.

In general, states across the country have decided that it doesn't make sense to require businesses to file a separate return for each county in which they do business. Less than five states allow collection and audit of sales tax at the local level.

Were this to be true in Georgia, consider that each county would have the authority to perform its own tax audits, make its own legal interpretations and entrust confidential information to private collectors and numerous local government officials, all of whom would otherwise have no legitimate tax compliance reason to know.

Consider also that other legal complications would ensue due to ignored legal precedent and conflicting legal interpretation.

The seemingly obvious result would be more tax litigation in Georgia's court system as local Georgia companies would be left to litigate the same issues in every jurisdiction in which they operate.

Having two conflicting opinions on the same sales tax issue will leave Georgia taxpayers lost in a legal wasteland asking the state to intervene. This is not merely speculation.

There have been dozens of lawsuits in Alabama over the past decade in which local jurisdictions and their collectors have tried to apply different interpretations of both the sales tax law and the Alabama Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Most problematic is that those interested in this proposal want to outsource collection and audits to private, for-profit companies. If the department was funded this way rather than through legislative appropriation we would never waive another penalty upon reasonable basis and we would have collectors on every corner interfering with legitimate business operations every day while trying to find the illegitimate ones -- all because the department sought to make more money doing it.

In Georgia, only appropriated funds can be used for tax administration and collection under the state Constitution. It seems to be a substantive conflict with that requirement if for-profit companies are allowed to collect and audit.

Every year, the department is contacted by dozens or even hundreds of people who advocate for leniency and consideration of their local companies who have tax delinquency issues. We have documented standards so that all taxpayers are treated equitably.

We, in turn, are part of the executive branch managed by the governor. We are subject to oversight by the Legislature and are routinely audited by the state auditor, who reports directly to the Legislature.

The point is, within the current system there is strong oversight of the department to ensure taxpayers are treated fairly and that the department operates within its statutory framework.

Under the proposed system, the only sense of equity would be left to those with the closest ties to the owners and management of the private for-profit collection companies. It is hardly the way I would want to be treated.

Bart L. Graham is commissioner of the Department of Revenue.


Nathan Deal continues to deal with fall out from his resignation. I will be writing about this and the 7th district race for Human Events this week. Here's what John Fund had to say:

  • The Wall Street Journal

Raw Deal

What GOP Rep. Nathan Deal's resignation means for ObamaCare.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs one fewer vote to pass a health care bill thanks to the resignation yesterday of GOP Rep. Nathan Deal of Georgia. His departure next week will take sitting House members down to 431, meaning the magic number to pass health care drops to 216.

Why did Mr. Deal make it easier for Democrats to reshape one-sixth of the nation's economy? He claims he wants to devote full time to the Georgia governor's race, where he is currently running even with former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel and Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine. But that explanation strikes many as bizarre. Only three months ago Mr. Deal was highly critical of Ms. Handel for resigning her own state post, saying: "Nathan Deal has taken an oath to serve the people of Georgia and has a clear record of completing his terms."

Here's another explanation. By stepping down now, the nine-term incumbent effectively ends a House Ethics Committee probe of his business dealings involving a state contract in Georgia to salvage autos. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last year that Rep. Deal and a business partner secured the contract without competing against other bidders. Later, Mr. Deal intervened with state officials to block proposed changes in the contract. By leaving office, Mr. Deal shuts down the Ethics Committee probe because it no longer has jurisdiction over him.

Mr. Deal says any insinuation that his resignation is related to the ethics probe is "absolutely not true." Rep. Phil Gingrey, a fellow Republican who represents a neighboring district, says Mr. Deal is "putting the people of Georgia first" by devoting full time to his gubernatorial campaign. How it benefits the people of Georgia now to pay for a special election to fill Mr. Deal's seat is unclear. Ditto the heightened possibility that Ms. Pelosi will be able to jam a liberal health care plan through the House.

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From the Political Insider, Jim Galloway:

A 7th District update: Shafer, Cox and numbers Reed is no doubt pondering

We're late on this, but state Sen. David Shafer said this afternoon that he won't be among the GOP candidates running for John Linder's 7th District seat in Congress. Said Shafer:

"I will be doing everything in my power to help elect a strong, principled conservative to succeed John Linder in Congress. But I have determined that my public service is best performed here in Georgia, on the state level, near the ones I love."

State Sen. Don Balfour of Snellville has already jumped in. State Rep. Clay Cox, who has some congressional campaign experience, is a likely entry.

Cox and Ralph Reed may be the most significant shoes left to drop. Many national news outlets are reporting that Reed, the former state GOP chairman, is giving serious consideration to the race - and we've been told the same. But it's worth noting some stats.

In the 2008 Republican primary (Linder was unopposed), Gwinnett County made up two-thirds of the 48,668 votes cast. In his unsuccessful 2006 race for lieutenant governor, Reed - who lives in Gwinnett - won only 45 percent of the county.

Granted, Casey Cagle lived in the neighboring county of Hall. But most of the candidates in the 7th contest are likely have their own bases of support in Gwinnett.

Looking back at the contest, in fact, Reed did better the more removed he was from metro Atlanta. No doubt such numbers are only a small part of Reed's deliberations.


Budget Woes for the University System:


The big controversy this week is about higher education.


Students, officials respond to proposed university system budget cuts

Cutbacks at state schools would mean fewer majors, seats for students

Following Monday's release of a proposal to shave hundreds of millions of dollars from the University System of Georgia's budget, North Georgia College & State University and Gainesville State College communities are scrambling to rally against the unprecedented cuts.

Erroll B. Davis Jr., chancellor for the University System of Georgia, provided a detailed list of $300 million in systemwide cuts to lawmakers Monday. The proposed $300 million in spending reductions is in addition to $265 million in cuts recommended by Gov. Sonny Perdue in his fiscal year 2011 budget.

"It is clear that this budget year is nearly unprecedented in nature, and we must prioritize spending across all functions of state government," said Jaillene Hunter, a spokeswoman with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle's office.

Hunter added that higher education remains an important focus and nothing in the budget is set in stone at this point.

"We are confident that the fastest way for Georgia's economy to start humming again is to first pass a balanced budget that creates the right environment for businesses to grow. ... We are hopeful that cuts to education will not be extremely severe," she added.

The news hit hard at NGCSU, which proposed eliminating 20 percent of its course offerings and some graduate level programs to meet $4.2 million in cuts. In effect, the college would lose 39 faculty positions in the move that would affect about 900 student, said Kate Maine, director of university relations for North Georgia.

"That will limit our capacity to serve students," Maine said in a phone interview Tuesday. "Right now, because we have already accepted most of our incoming freshman class, it would primarily affect transfer students."

With a significant drop in available courses, the cuts would also make it difficult for enrolled students to meet their major requirements on time.

In the plan, master's degree programs to be cut include two nursing programs, the history program, the music program, and Master of Education and Master of Arts in Teaching programs for special education. Some undergraduate teacher education offerings also would be cut, according to a college news release.

Several master's degree nursing students work for the on-campus Appalachian Nurse Practitioner clinic, which last year served more than 4,000 low-income residents in Northeast Georgia, Maine said.

"It doesn't just have an effect now but a long-term effect on the communities served by the people we're educating, the future workforce," she said.

And with fewer course offerings, there is a some fear among students that they will not complete required classes on time for graduation.

"There's a realistic possibility that students won't have classes to graduate, majors could be eliminated and graduate level courses could be wiped away," said Martin Erbele, Student Government Association president. Along with SGA representatives from across the state, Erbele is working to convince legislators to find another way to cut spending. Students are working to flood legislators with e-mails and plan to rally at the Capitol steps Wednesday, March 10 and March 15.

"I don't want students to get disheartened with the fact that this is something that already is going to be a reality," he said. "That's not the mind frame we need to be in. This is far from finalized. There has to be a call to awareness and call to action."

Both Erbele and Maine stressed to students and personnel that the proposal was just that -- a proposal. Lawmakers will meet Wednesday for a budget hearing to further address the cuts.

"We are hopeful that legislators will understand the impact cuts will have if higher education has to absorb them," Maine said.

Gainesville State College faced its own challenges in meeting a possible $3.3 million drop in funds, including leaving 28 full-time faculty slots unfilled. As many as 6,000 students will be affected by the move, which would eliminate 252 course offerings. Also, the college would eliminate 50 percent of its student workers, leaving only federal work-study slots open to qualifying students.

The cuts would deal a devastating blow to the college, said Ainta Turlington, associate professor in English.

"We are already faced with some of the lowest faculty salaries among our peer institutions and the lowest number of staff relative to student enrollment," wrote Turlington in an e-mail Tuesday. "Eliminating faculty and staff positions will cause serious reductions in the number of course selections we can offer, will hurt students' ability to graduate on time and impact student enrollment, which will limit our tuition income, putting us even further behind."

The school also may eliminate its summer Steps-To-College program, which provides early intervention to high school students who speak English as a second language.

However, no layoffs are proposed for the school, which has campuses in Oakwood, Oconee County and Winder.

Stirring up much controversy both on campus and off is the proposal to shut down operations of the college's swimming facility on the Oakwood campus.

The Olympic-sized swimming pool is used by students, school personnel and community members who donate to the school's foundation.

For Claire Dunn and her husband, news of the pool's potential closing came as a shock when she arrived Saturday to swim her daily laps.

"I just couldn't believe it," she said. "We are just so shocked that they would even consider closing a facility that offers the best form of exercise."

Dunn, a teacher at Spouts Springs Elementary, has been swimming at the pool for 14 years and said in these economic times, taking away a source of exercise and stress-relief is a bad move by lawmakers.

"I'm a teacher and our salaries are declining with furloughs and percentage cuts to our pay," she said. "But you can't take away every bit of quality of life that adds to people's mental and physical well-being. You can't just strip all of that away."

Lauren Blais, a journalism student and editor of the Oakwood campus' weekly newspaper The Compass, said many have contacted her to sound off about the proposal.

"It's not just students who work at the pool and use it," she said. "It's community members. Some people are saying that swimming pool is my livelihood, not just students but alumni, too."

Because there are few alternatives for public pools in the Gainesville area, Dunn said she would have to travel 30 minutes to North Hall's YMCA facility or queue up to swim at the Frances Meadows Aquatic and Community Center pool, which is often crowded.

"They're gonna regret this if they get rid of this," she said. "It's a known fact that physical fitness helps people mentally and physically, and in times when everybody is going through terrible mental stress, this is something they're taking away that helps to alleviate that in a lot of people."



Finally, a Republican Elected Official's suggestions in tough times..


Rep. Smith, Rep. McKillip, Rep. Heard, Sen. Hudgens, and Sen. Cowsert:

Wow. What a year. I know you are having to weigh any number of challenging budget situations.

The latest revenue projections and the impact on higher education across the state have gotten my attention. Even for Republicans, there comes a point when an aversion to increasing revenue becomes self defeating, and I believe we have reached that point. My suggestions in addition to the steps the legislature has already taken to help "fill the gap" would be the following:

· A true market-driven tuition raise at our public institutions (in my opinion our dependence on HOPE to cover the full freight of public education in Georgia has artificially suppressed tuition at many Georgia schools) and consideration of reinstating an inflation-adjusted income cap on HOPE to get it back to its true purpose;

· A $1 tax on cigarettes that is dedicated to the Medicare match (rather than going to the general fund) to bridge the gap for hospitals;

· Consideration for a ½ cent or full 1 cent sales tax on groceries, which will not impact those who use public assistance to buy groceries, and allows people to have some control over their buying choices to lower the taxes paid. In my opinion, most Georgians will gladly pay an extra percent on their groceries so their children will have access to higher education. Basic access to higher education is being severely curtailed by the potential cuts being considered.

I am all for cuts at each level, and applaud the discipline and approach you have applied to the process so far. But there is a difference between cutting "expenses" - state parks, state jobs and certain other areas of governments - and cutting "investments." Higher education, more than any other area of the state budget, is an investment in our future on countless fronts - personal health and well being, economic development, quality of life, business success, perception, and countless other areas.

I too am an elected official. I am also a small business owner and a parent of three children who will grow up in Georgia. I understand the pressure you are under. But I do not believe there is a "litmus test" for Republicans on increasing revenues that Chip Rogers and others seem to imply in their public comments. If you have the courage to increase revenues and designate them for specific areas that will benefit a majority of Georgians (higher education in particular), I believe the fall out will be minimal and the benefits will be immeasurable.

Best of luck and thanks for your service.

Brian

Brian Brodrick


The first established candidate for John Linder's seat is Sen. Don Balfour. I like Don a lot. His son is serving in Charlie Company of the 48th Brigade. He works for Waffle House so I am hoping he's not a lawyer. LOL There's a "Draft David Schaefer" page on Facebook and Col. Michael Steele is thinking about it. Should be fun to watch.

From Egypt, Don Balfour becomes first candidate in race to replace John Linder

Just talked to Don Balfour in Cairo, Egypt. He's become the first announced candidate in the race to replace U.S. Rep. John Linder in Congress.

State Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville)

State Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville)

The chairman of the state Senate Rules Committee just shipped out the release, which you can read in its entirety here. The version I saw had a cell phone number, which Balfour promptly picked up.

Balfour, who has long had his eye on a congressional run, was in the Lawrenceville audience when Linder made his surprise announcement. "I was shocked like every one else," Balfour said.

But he had to hop a plane on Sunday night for Egypt, where he's to speak at an education conference. Balfour is president of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

"I am running to be the voice of principled conservative leadership for the 7th District," Balfour said in his press release when he touched down in Cairo. Balfour promised to pick up Linder's Fair Tax torch.

"The Fair Tax is about the freedom to control your own taxes instead of Obama and Democrats in Congress raising your income taxes for welfare state spending," Balfour said. "I will continue John's work on this issue."

The state senator said he expects three or four other GOP candidates to join him in the campaign, which he estimates will cost between $1 million and $1.5 million.

Balfour also announced that Joe Rogers, the chairman and CEO of Waffle House, will serve as his campaign's chief fund-raiser. Balfour is a Waffle House executive.

From the AJC

_______
As soon as the sound was turned off on Congressman Nathan Deal's announcement to resign from Congress, the knives were out. Was it the ethics complaints, Galloway ( The Political Insider) points out that Deal missed 50% votes this year, the bloggers say, "this is one more vote for Nancy." It's none of that. Ethics issues, if there prove to be any, will follow the Congressman whether he's in or out of Congress. As far as health care goes, Deal was a no vote, Pelosi says she's got the votes, so a no vote that wouldn't change won't matter. We'll deal with Pelosi, later in this post.

Already gone: Nathan Deal missed 50% of votes in 2010

U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal has attracted some immediate national attention for his decision to resign from Congress - from those calculating what his absence might mean for a health care bill:

This was posted by National Review's Jim Geraghty:

Apparently Rep. Nathan Deal, Republican of Georgia, thinks he can help his gubernatorial campaign by being known as, "The House Republican who helped pass Obamacare." If he resigns, as rumored, the Democrats will only need 216* for a majority.

Erick Erickson at Redstate, another conservative blogger (and a Karen Handel supporter), makes the same point:

At a time that every vote counts on health care, Deal resigning means the Democrats have one less vote they have to pick up to take over 1/6th of our economy.

As does ABC's The Note:

That means the total number of House members will be 431 -- and the magic number to pass a bill drops to 216 as of Tuesday, March 9. That's still no easy task -- but every vote counts in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's bid to pass health care reform.

Deal's announcement comes a day after the resignation of an all-but-sure "yes" vote for Democrats: Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii. Abercrombie, like Deal, is running for governor, and wants to concentrate on his campaign full-time.

The other two vacancies were also previously held by Democrats who were likely to support the health care bill: Robert Wexler, D-Fla., stepped down from his House seat in January to become executive director of the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation; and Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., passed away last month.

Many have also tossed in the fact that Deal's resignation brings an immediate end to a congressional ethics investigation.

But a conversation with one Georgia Republican insider turned up this: Deal resigned from Congress despite the blowback on health care and ethics - not because of it.

The Republican race for governor has been in a state of stasis for months, and with each passing day state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine's position solidifies. To Republicans who see Roy Barnes in their rear-view mirror, the prospect isn't a good one.

GOP behind-the-sceners know that their support, now scattered among several candidates, will have to be consolidated if Oxendine is to be stopped.

Deal was simply reacting to pressure from prominent Republican leaders to, as one contact put it, "drastically re-commit" himself.

My AJC colleague Bob Keefe says Deal was already spending more and more time in Georgia. Deal by far has the worse voting record of any member of the Georgia congressional delegation. He's missed more than half of all votes in 2010.

Here are the stats that Keefe sends us:

- 2009-Q1: Deal missed 9.2% of votes, 16 of 174

- 2009-Q2: Deal missed 24.1% of votes, 73 of 303;

- 2009-Q3: Deal missed 5.2% of votes, 14 of 268;

- 2009-Q4: Deal missed 32.1% of votes, 79 of 246;

- 2010-Q1: Deal missed 50.8% of votes, 33 of 65;

From the AJC

______

Nancy says she's got the votes and that it will be a smaller bill. Then let's see if she does. With deaths and retirements, she's down two yes votes, but there are 2 no votes that are down also, so she's even. But there are 20 Stupak Democrats who voted yes last time and may vote no. Insiders say it's more like 10 that are unsure. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin says not to underestimate the power of Pelosi to twist arms. I say, if she's got the votes then go for it. I don't think she's got the votes, yet. Don't stop fighting.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will offer changes to his healthcare overhaul this week, the White House said on Monday, and a leading Democrat said the president was preparing a smaller version of his broad bid to revamp the $2.5 trillion industry.

BARACK OBAMA | SMALL BUSINESS | HEALTHCARE REFORM

After a healthcare "summit" last week failed to win Republican converts, Obama and his fellow Democrats have been expected to launch a final push for an overhaul using a process known as reconciliation to get the measure through the Senate without opposition support.

"The president will speak on this later in the week, likely on Wednesday," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. "He'll discuss process and policy."

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, said Obama would soon propose a healthcare bill "much smaller" than either the bill passed by the House or the one passed by the Senate.

With virtually no Republican votes, Democrats in the Senate and House approved the bills last year to reshape healthcare by cutting costs, regulating insurers and expanding coverage to tens of millions of Americans who now lack it.

But efforts to merge the two measures and send a final version for Obama to sign into law collapsed in January after Democrats lost their crucial 60th Senate vote in a special election in Massachusetts.

"In a matter of days, we will have a proposal," Pelosi said during an event in Denver, according to Fox News. "It will be a much smaller proposal than we had in the House bill, because that's where we can gain consensus. But it will be big enough to put us on a path of affordable, quality healthcare for all Americans that holds insurance companies accountable."

CAN WASHINGTON ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING?

The push for a healthcare overhaul is seen as politically risky for both Republicans and Democrats, before congressional elections in November in which more than one third of the Senate and every seat in the House will be up for grabs.

With the public focused on an unemployment rate hovering just below 10 percent, some Americans consider the healthcare push an unwelcome distraction from the economy.

But failure to do anything to control skyrocketing costs or ease the plight of the tens of millions of Americans without insurance coverage could add to the perception that Washington is too wrapped up in partisanship and pleasing special interests to do anything meaningful to help voters.

A healthcare revamp received some support on Monday from investor Warren Buffett, the world's second richest man, who said the country badly needed a change. But he said he would prefer a program focused on out-of-control costs.

"It's like a tapeworm eating at our economic body," Buffett said on CNBC television.

"If it was a choice today between Plan A, which is what we've got, or Plan B, which is the Senate bill, I would vote for the Senate bill," he said. "But I would much rather see a Plan C that really attacks costs, and I think that's what the American public wants to see."

Rising costs, Buffett said, are holding back an economy that faced an "economic Pearl Harbor" in late 2008 when capital markets seized up.

Republicans insist that Obama should scrap the existing healthcare plans and start over. They condemn any talk of reconciliation, which would allow the Democrats to pass a healthcare plan in the Senate -- where they control 59 seats -- with a simple majority of 51 votes.

The White House says Obama's healthcare plans include many Republican ideas, and that Republicans have used reconciliation to pass many sweeping pieces of legislation -- including major tax cuts -- when they held Senate majorities.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Chris Wilson)

From Reuters

_________





Avatars and the Online Tax Revolt
"Unfortunately we've got to get past Congress's love of the corruption of the tax code to get the FairTax enacted." -- Ken Hoagland, Spokesman for the FairTax Nation and Leader in The OnlineTaxRevolt.com

Over the last year we've seen marches on county court houses, state capitols and then on Washington on September 12. The next big gathering will be on Tax Day, April 15, but launching today, using the perfect mix of technology and activism, The FairTax Nation is kicking off an online tax revolt.

"You go to the website (onlinetaxrevolt.com), you pick an avatar and whether you are a Fair Taxer, flat taxer or a Tea Party member or you just know in the bottom of your heart that the income tax system is corrupt and bad for the country, you can come to Washington, with your avatar," Ken Hoagland, National Communications Director for FairTax.org said.

One of the strengths of the Tea Party movement is average folks have spent their own money, taken time off from work and retirement to participate. The online tax revolt takes this activism to the next level. If you are working or can't afford a trip to Washington, here's how you can march on Washington.

Tens of Thousands have already signed up. The beauty of the march is you can "see" everyone else as they march towards Washington. You also can choose a group to join or make your own group. Talk master, Neal Boortz will be leading a virtual group and I will be, too. You can be a part of the Boortz Brigade or Zoller Zealots or find another person to follow among the leaders of this movement. Over the next days and weeks, you will be seeing your friends and neighbors join the march as well as some politicians and other names you know picking an avatar and joining the march.

Other teams online will be led by President Ronald Reagan's eldest son Michael Reagan, Joe the Plumber, Ken Hoagland the National Chairman of the FairTax Victory Campaign. There are Tea Party Teams, Flat Tax Teams, and more being added daily.

There are many solutions to the problem of runaway fiscal irresponsibility. However, at the core of it are people who understand the income tax system fuels the unchecked growth of this government. In the same spirit of the Boston Tea Party, the online tax revolt is how we wake up Washington; this is how we save the nation.

We can debate the merits of the FairTax, flat tax or progressive taxation, but one thing we do know is the taxpayer in America today is the "Rodney Dangerfield" of this government, we get no respect. We are the ones footing the bill, but this government thinks they can take more and more people off of the tax rolls and tax more and more away from producers (taxpayers) in this great nation. And now we see a health care "proposal" from the President that seeks to give "new direction" to Medicare and Social Security taxes. Enough is enough.

What we have learned in the last year is our voice counts but we have to speak together. The Founding Fathers gave us all the tools we need to control our government but we forgot how to use them "Shame on us if we don't use them and this is one way to petition our government for a redress of grievances. That is exactly what the online tax revolt march on Washington is all about, what our rallies are about and what our FairTax is about," Hoagland said.

While there isn't much bipartisan support in Congress for the FairTax, Hoagland believes it's just a matter of time. A Democrat U. S. Senator has called and asked for a briefing. "We have our fingers crossed. Union members and people who are Democrats on the grassroots level are responding. One Democrat, Congressman Dan Boren, out of Oklahoma came to us because Democrats in his state came to him and said, ' look this is how we save jobs in America this is how we bring trillions of dollars of investment and that means jobs' and that's union jobs in this case," Hoagland said. He insists, it's not partisan and Democrats will come around lead by grassroots union members.

Hoagland goes onto say, "I am waiting for the day when advocates for the impoverished in this country will step forward and say the best thing we can do for the poor in this country is pass the FairTax. The best way to help the poor in the US is to enact the FairTax." He makes the point that the FairTax is good for unions, wage earners, and the manufacturing of American goods.

"Unfortunately we've got to get past Congress's love of the corruption of the tax code to get the FairTax enacted," Hoagland says. He names heroes like John Linder and Neal Boortz, both from Georgia. Hoagland believes this online march will help make the rest of the country look like Georgia regarding the FairTax.

The generation of television based communications, which created a largely passive voter population, is ending and the newest era of the American people taking direct action for change. We do not mourn the passing of TV passivism. The new activism will put politicians much more at risk of offending the voters, and paying the consequences. This, in turn, will force them to focus on the actual voter, rather than focusing solely on the big donors who fund carpet bombing TV buys.

So come join me at the onlinetaxrevolt.com and "March" on Washington this Tax Day.


John Linder announced his retirement. He dropped the bomb at the opening of the new Gwinnett County GOP HQ. One person in the room said, " You should have heard the room - just silence. He stopped for one picture and then left. Casey Cagle had to talk after Linder but I don't think he had lots of people's attention. I got in the car and heard you on the radio and was halfway through dialing your number to get a note to you off the air when I realized it wad a "best of" show.

I think Camie Young of the Gwinnett Daily Post knocked some people over bolting from the room. The way he just dropped it I thought I had missed something. I was standing next to Don Balfour and asked if anyone knew it and nobody did. I thought I just hadn't been paying attention"

There are many names being thrown around. Sen. David Schaefer, Sen. Don Balfour, John Smoltz has said no. I'd like to see Col. Michael Steele consider the race. Mike is a Black Hawk Down survivor, has served 27 years in the military and played on the 1980 UGA National Championship team. He's not a politician, he's a patriot and a conservative. Looking at the social networking sites, people are talking about an unknown. This is going to make the 9th district look like a "senior citizen's rally" as one pundit told me on Saturday.

John Linder announces retirement from Congress

linder2

U.S. Rep. John Linder was first elected to Congress in 1992/AJC file.

U.S. Rep. John Linder, the Republican from Gwinnett County, this morning announced that he would retire from Congress after 18 years.

Linder made the announcement at the dedication of a new Gwinnett County GOP headquarters. Linder aide Derick Corbett confirmed the congressman's decision. "He will not seek re-election," Corbett said.

The announcement, made at the tail end of a brief speech by Linder, caught attendees off-guard. "Nobody knew it was coming," said David Hancock, District 2 manager for the Gwinnett GOP.

Linder was one of Newt Gingrich's top lieutenants when he was U.S. House speaker, and most recently has been an advocate (paired with radio commentator Neal Boortz) for a sales tax to replace the federal income tax.

His retirement will set off a rush for his seat, which is solidly Republican. Among the likely contenders is Don Balfour, the state Senate rules chairman.



Nathan Deal will make things more interesting on Monday at 9 am. He'll do his first interview on The Martha Zoller show after that. We shall see.



http://gadefendthedream.eventbrite.com/ Join me, Neal Boortz, Herman Cain and More to Defend the American Dream.

Date: Saturday, March 27th, 2010
Location: Cobb Galleria Centre - 2 Galleria Parkway, Atlanta GA
Order Tickets Above or CALL 678-910-3101

Including We The People + Herman Cain, Neal Boortz & Take Back America Grassroots Training! MCs Include:
Martha Zoller (The Martha Zoller Show)
Joel Aaron (MC of the Original Atlanta Tax Day Tea Party)

The Defending the American Dream Summit will be the coming together event for We The People from all around the southeast! The principles of Fiscal Conservatism, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets will be front and center at the event that is sure to be a focal point just weeks before the midterm election cycle kicks into high gear. Join us for a day of inspirational speakers and meaningful training from several of the nation's premiere grassroots training organizations including The Leadership Institute and Americans for Prosperity. Also, take part in the unveiling of a targeted district map for the strategic plan to take back America in 2010!

Parents encouraged not to bring children below middle school grade level

Organizing A Group For Defending the American Dream Summit From Outside the Metro Atlanta Area?
CLICK HERE for Event Hotel Discount Rates at Atlanta Marriott Northwest

BE A Summit SUPPORTER!
Help GET THE WORD OUT to your network about the Defending the American Dream Summit to give your activists the empowerment through education that they will need to take back America in 2010! Join & Share the social Networks and Download promotional tools like fliers, web buttons, and logos to help you promote.


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These protests and gatherings are so important.


At some point in time the Republican Congress in the early 2000's passed a 21% cut in Medicare payments. Every year since then, at the 11th hour, Congress has stopped the cuts from taking place. This is a great way to make the numbers work. Republicans did it when they were in power and now Democrats are doing it in their budget this year with projected cuts from Medicare and savings from Cap and Trade. Heck, even Sonny Perdue, Governor of Georgia is doing in his budget, making the numbers work and hoping for the best. That is why the legislature is in recess for two weeks to work on the Georgia Budget. This has got to stop. Use real numbers and real savings, don't just make it work.

Bloomberg

House Votes to Extend Jobless Aid, Halt Medicare Cuts (Update1)

February 25, 2010, 7:10 PM EST

(Adds legislation's cost in first paragraph.)

By Brian Faler

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House approved a $10 billion plan to provide a one-month extension of unemployment benefits, including federal subsidies to help the jobless buy health insurance.

The measure also would prevent looming cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors.

The bill, approved on a voice vote, now heads to the Senate where lawmakers aim to approve it before the programs expire this weekend. Democrats will try to approve the plan later tonight, said Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.

The measure would buy lawmakers time to debate longer-term extensions of the programs.

The jobless can buy health insurance through their former employers for 18 months under a law known as Cobra. The government currently pays 65 percent of the tab.

The bill approved by the House would prevent a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors that would otherwise be imposed by a budget mechanism created by Congress more than a decade ago. Congress routinely blocks the payment reduction.

Another provision would extend the copyright used by satellite television providers through March 28, 2010.

--Editors: Don Frederick, Laurie Asseo.


DuBose Porter, Georgia Rep from Dublin will be on the program next week. He's also running for Governor. What's interesting is his wife, Carol, is not running as a Democrat for Lt. Gov. How interesting. There will be "ink" on this. There will be the profile stories and free media that goes along with this. I like women in politics. Let's watch her run.



The dynamics of the first husband-wife ticket in Georgia politics

theporters

If you want a look at one reason behind Carol Porter's entry into the race for lieutenant governor, take a look at this quick snapshot of dueling reporter scrums.

DuBose Porter, who has had trouble making his mark on the Democratic race for governor until the last few weeks, is on the right.

"I say, if this thing is a gimmick and it's going to get corruption out of Georgia's government, than you can give me a dozen," Carol Porter said.

Said her husband: "If you truly want family values in Georgia, elect a Georgia family." Policy-wise, most of Carol Porter's ideas reflected those already expressed by her husband -- an emphasis on "corruption" in the House under Speaker Glenn Richardson, and a push for better collection of the state sales tax. She accused Republicans of protecting sales tax scofflaws at the expense of teacher furloughs.

The four Porter sons -- Stephen, 24; Guyton, 21; twins Inman and Asa, 20 -- said a final family decision to have their mom join the lieutenant governor's contest came three days ago -- although there really was never much doubt after their first musings went public.

Papers giving formal shape to Carol Porter's campaign were to be filed this morning. Joan Martin, wife of 2008 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Jim Martin, will serve as her campaign treasurer. Shannon Fickling, a middle Georgia architect, will act as chairman of the campaign.

Here's what Carol Porter said about:

- Casey Cagle, the Republican incumbent: "Casey Cagle has an agenda that I don't think is in sync with the people of Georgia." She mentioned Cagle's budget-cutting talking points, in which he said that his Republican Senate had cut taxes in 2009. "We all know they repealed the homeowner's tax relief grant.... Taxes were raised on our people," she said.

Cagle's office issued this welcome to the Democratic candidate:

"We welcome Carol Porter to the race and look forward to seeing her on the campaign trail. We anticipate a spirited contest and a thoughtful discussion of the issues.

"As Georgia faces unprecedented challenges, Lt. Governor Cagle has been a steady hand and principled leader. He is the candidate Georgians know and trust to confront the state's most pressing issues at this crucial time.....

- Michael Thurmond, the state labor commissioner often mention as a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor: "I have tried to encourage Michael Thurmond to get into this race several times. I have talked to him at length about it - not recently. You know, there are only so many days left at this point.

"And I felt if Michael were going to get in, he would have made that decision by now. There is nobody in this race on the Democratic side. I think we have around 146 days left. It's time for somebody to get in. I had the opportunity, and I'm willing to step up."

Thurmond's response:

"This doesn't change anything. I will continue to weigh my options, and at the appropriate time will make my decision."

- On the mood of voters and her qualifications (possibly her best line of the press conference): "I don't think voters are apathetic. I think they're exhausted. They're trying to make ends meet. They're both working parents, they come home, they have to get the children's homework done, do the laundry, cook, clean. I love to research. And I love to get the bills and find out who snuck in at the last minute of the last night of the session. I enjoy that. And I don't mind spending eight hours researching a bill. Most families don't have that luxury."

After dealing with reporters, the Porters went to Manuel's Tavern for lunch, where their car was broken into. The fellow was caught, said (gubernatorial) campaign spokesman Matt Caseman

Karen Handel goes to the Lion's Den...The Press Room at the Capitol.

A few months ago, I spoke at a Republican party meeting and mentioned that Karen Handel's campaign was burning through their money. A Handel staffer jumped up to correct me and I stood corrected. But the rumors persist. Handel is getting ready to announce a big initiative and she's beginning it by showing up at the "bull pen" of the press at the Capitol. Will it work?


Karen Handel learns that reporters can run, but can't hide

Karen Handel (far right) inside slightly less than immaculate offices of the AJC.

Karen Handel (far right) inside the decor-challenged offices of the AJC.

If you're hunting news reporters, it's only natural to stalk their lairs - to sneak up on them while they're still slightly lethargic from digesting a large meal of Carol Porter.

So Karen Handel and her two guides this afternoon made a rare and stealthy entrance into press row at the state Capitol, a line of offices where grown adults go to shake off every childhood lecture about neatness.

The Republican candidate for governor grabbed a reporter's chair in the AJC enclave and started talking. Shannon McCaffery with the Associated Press took the next seat. In came Walter Jones with Morris News Service, pad in hand. Lori Geary of WSB-TV brought a camera man to fill the front door. Tom Baxter of InsiderAdvantage and Travis Fain of the Macon Telegraph rounded out the crowd.

Bingo. Instant news conference.

Handel announced that her solution to the state's budget crisis is to recognize "the new normal" and slice Georgia's state workforce by 10 percent - exempting teachers, State Patrol officers and others who keep the bad guys in line.

It would save $400 million - not enough to close the $1.2 billion budget gap for 2011. And it would take more than a few months to reach that 10 percent mark, she conceded. Here are some of her details:

- Permanent elimination of 10% of state government positions for FY2011 budget year - excluding teachers and public safety officers (State Patrol, GBI, etc.). This would save approximately $404 million and reduce the workforce by approximately 7,800 employees.

- Keep permanent the Governor's budget savings to date achieved through attrition, resignations, and retirements. According to the State Personnel Administration, this represents nearly 5% of the workforce and equals an additional $190 million in savings.

-Reorganize agencies to reduce management layers and achieve supervisor/ employee ratio of 8 or 9 employees to 1 supervisor. Too often employees are promoted to supervisor or manager positions because of length of service rather than a reflection of management responsibilities.

-Reform state salary and benefits by moving state employees to "paid time off" (or PTO) and limited leave carry-over rather than the current accrual system, which allows employees to "bank" significant amounts of sick, compensatory, and vacation time that is then used to "bridge" to retirement or is cashed-in upon departure/retirement.

Handel's get-'em-where-they-live tactic was immediately mimicked by a Republican rival for governor, state Rep. Austin Scott of Tifton, who held a mini-press conference in AP headquarters. In rebuttal, Scott said Handel was overestimating the savings from a 10 percent workforce reduction.

But Scott, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers were indeed looking at the elimination of whole sections of agencies within state departments.




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