Georgia reps vote on $700 Billion dollar bailout bill

The $700 billion dollar bailout that the federal government has been trying to pass was voted on today by the House of Representatives. The final vote was 228 Nay to 205 Yea. According to Georgia Politics Unfiltered, 11 of Georgia's 13 representatives voted Nay. Here are all 13 reps. and how they voted:

Voting Yes

Sanford Bishop
Jim Marshall

Voting No

John Barrow
Paul Broun
Nathan Deal
Phil Gingrey
Hank Johnson
Jack Kingston
John Lewis
John Linder
Tom Price
David Scott
Lynn Westmoreland

A few interesting tidbits

Today has been a day of gems for blogging. First, we find that John McCain is suspending his campaign. In answer to that, Bob Barr's campaign wrote two letters: One to Barack Obama and the other to the Commission on Presidential Debates. At the same time, Green Party Candidate Cynthia McKinney has an article on Black Agenda Report.com that is fairly interesting, even if I don't agree with it personally. Give'em a read, y'all.

Bob Barr defeated in Texas ballot battle

I just recieved some information from a good friend of mine. Bob Barr has lost his battle in the Texas Supreme Court to stop the Democratic and Republican parties from being able to put their parties on the ballot due to the fact that their candidates were not nominated in time, according to Texas Law.  The Texas Supreme Court did not offer any explanation for their decision.

It's a shame, really. As I said in my previous blog post earlier today, if Barr had won this battle it could have possibly caused a media sensation that would have put his party in the public eye. Well, here's to hoping he gets on the ballot in those other two States.

Libertarian Candidate Bob Barr takes the Texas ballot by the (long)horns

Note: This is a few days old, but I just found out about it today.


According to the Dallas News, Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for President (who is from Georgia), is working hard to keep both Barrack Obama and John McCain off of the ballot in the Great State of Texas.

Mr. Barr personally filed an emergency request before the court on Thursday, asking that the state be ordered not to mail ballots overseas this weekend until the issue is legally resolved.

– Source

The article goes on to say that in Texas a candidate must be on the ballot by August 26th. Obama was not voted in as the candidate for the Democratic Party until the 27th and McCain did not become the Republican candidate until September 3rd. Furthermore, Sarah Palin was not on the Republican ticket until August 29th, thus - according to Texas law - making her ineligible to be on the ballot as well.

I actually hope that Barr succeeds in getting the Texas Supreme Court to see things his way. It would be a shock to the systems of both of the parties in power and would, I think, cause at least a brief media sensation which would get attention for a third party, in this case the Libertarian Party, out to the people.

Having said all that, I’m not sure if I’m supporting Barr or not. I voted on a friend’s poll earlier that I would, but the only choices were McBama or Barr, so I went with Barr. I have a couple of issues with my fellow Georgian, the most important being that he voted for the Patriot Act (though he has since openly regretted doing so). My other issue is his supporting a Constitutional Amendment for school prayer in May of 1997. So far as I know he has not backed down from that. Now, I have no problem with prayer being allowed in schools, but I don’t think the Feds should get involved. It’s a States’ Rights issue.

As for the issues I find important, here is Barr’s thoughts:

Foreign Intervention & Foreign Bases

America should not be the world’s policeman. The American purpose is to provide a strong national defense, not to engage in nation building or to launch foreign crusades, no matter how seemingly well-intentioned.

It is time to reemphasize the word “defense” in national defense. By maintaining a military presence in more than 130 nations around the world in more than 700 installations, with hundreds of thousands of troops deployed overseas, the U.S. spends more to protect the soil of other nations than our own. Bringing these soldiers home would better protect America while saving lives and money. The U.S. requires a military strong enough to defend this nation, not to support and defend much of the rest of the world.

More...

Iraq War

The invasion and occupation of Iraq were two separate mistakes, which collectively have cost thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars. Every day that the occupation in Iraq continues without a withdrawal plan is a day that more American blood and treasure (some $400 million a day) is needlessly wasted.

Unlike Republicans, who are calling for essentially permanent bases in Iraq, and Democrats, who have done nothing to counter Republican calls for an indefinite occupation, I would put in place plans for withdrawal without undue delay. While I support an exit from Iraq as quickly as possible, I would not publicly announce a timetable to our adversaries. However, as President, I would begin to immediately and significantly begin to reduce both the military and the economic security blanket we are providing the government.

More...

Privacy & Surveillance

Since the September 11th terrorist attacks, the government has asked or forced Americans to sacrifice their privacy rights in exchange for the promise of more security. In the face of relentless scare-mongering by the Bush Administration, the public — and most members of the Congress — has generally complied.

As a result, people can no longer reasonably assume their privacy or other civil liberties are secure from the government. The executive branch has illegally surveilled millions of telephone calls and e-mails. Neither emails nor even the records of library books that are checked out are now safe from the government’s prying eyes. These federal powers have been used all too often in creating a giant database of names and information on law-abiding American citizens — not the terrorists the Bush administration said it intended to track down.

More...

Spending & the Economy

Over the past decade, total government spending (state, local and federal) has increased from $2.9 trillion to an astonishing $5.1 trillion in 2008. The $3.1 trillion federal budget submitted by President Bush for 2009 is greater than the combined 1998 spending of the federal government, all 50 states and over 87,000 local governments.

The government cannot continue spending at this rate if America is to remain competitive in the global marketplace. The new administration’s number one job will be to drastically reduce spending by limiting federal outlays to only the government’s legitimate functions, as provided in the United States Constitution.

More...

Monetary Policy

The Federal Reserve is a secretive and unaccountable organization which dominates monetary policy, regulates financial institutions, and increasingly intervenes in economic markets. Congress must insist on accountability and transparency in the Federal Reserve’s operation, while reconsidering the Fed’s almost total control over the money supply. We should begin a debate over more far-reaching policy changes, including eliminating the federal government's control over the money supply, thereby leaving monetary policy under the control of the market rather than of politics.

Check out the links and read more on Bob Barr’s thoughts on the issues.

Early voting begins today

The chance to vote early in Georgia begins today. For those of you who read this blog and intend to vote, and would like to vote early, now is the chance. Advance voting locations can be found here.

Now that I've said that, let me make an important point. I am not trying to, nor would I ever try to, tell anyone how to vote. However, I think it is important that everyone knows that there are more options on the ballot than those the media lets us know about (i.e., McBama [McCain and Obama]). There are several other individiuals in several different parties - as well as one independent that I know of - who are running. They are:

Bob Barr of Georgia is the candidate for the Libertarian Party. His Vice-Presidential pick is Mr. Wayne Allyn Root.

Cynthia McKinney, also of Georgia, is the candidate for the Green Party. Her VP pick is Rosa Clemente.

Chuck Baldwin is the candidate for the Constitution Party. His VP pick is Darrell Castle.

Charles Jay is running for the Boston Tea Party. His VP Pick is Thomas L. Knapp.

Ralph Nader is running an independent campaign. His VP pick is Matt Gonzalez.

Now, your response to any of those third party candidates might be "But, voting for any of them will take away votes for (insert either McCain or Obama here) and give (McCain or Obama) the election!" Sadly, that's more than likely true. Voting for any of those third party candidates will most likely not get one of them elected - unless more people than I expect to vote for a third party candidate do vote for them.

I know that many people are passionate in their support for McBama. But, many are not - many will vote one way or the other simply to make sure the candidate they don't want in office doesn't get there. These are the people I want to speak to now. Is it enough to vote for someone who may be the "lesser of two evils" just to keep either the Democrat or Republican that you dislike from getting into the White House? Evil is still evil, whether it's lesser or greater evil. Personally, I'd rather vote my conscience and pray for the best.

One last thing. I'm repeating myself, but I want to say that I'm not trying to push any candidate (or candidates) with today's thoughts. I'm just trying to, in my own way, get my readers to think about the possibility of not having to accept the status quo. Nothing and no one can make you vote for the same old parties. Nothing and no one should make you vote for the same old parties.

MTV has its "Rock the Vote" message. I say rock the boat.

Will there be another movie located in Savannah?

While checking my e-mail yesterday I took a moment to peruse the local headlines. Immediately, one headline jumped out at me: "'Fargo' star William H. Macy in Savannah". I clicked on it and was sent to SavannahNow.com. The article reads:

'Fargo' star William H. Macy in Savannah

Latest News | Local

Lesley Conn | September 17, 2008

Actor/director William H. Macy was in Savannah today, scouting locations for an upcoming movie he’s going to direct.

He checked out several spots around town, but that’s about all Jay Self, Savannah’s tourism and film services director, could say about the visit.

“It’s good to know people are interested in Savannah, and we’re happy he was in town, but I can’t say anything more,” Self said.

Scouting a location is an early step in the filmmaking process and by no means guarantees that Savannah would be the final choice, Self said.

Macy’s acting credits include “Wild Hogs,” “The Cooler” and “Fargo.”

Now, as the article states, scouting out Savannah doesn't mean that the Hostess City will be the final location for the movie. Mr. Macy may find another location that he feels suits his movie better.  I fervently hope not. I would love to see yet another movie come to the area, a movie which may well increase the economic and cultural benefits that would come along with it. According to Georgia Trend magazine's article, "Lights, Camera, Kudzu":

Scott Tigchelaar, president of RiverWood Studios in Senoia, refers to the 1980s and 1990s as “the good old days,” when a string of blockbuster hits were made in Georgia, including two Academy Award winners for best picture: Driving Miss Daisy (1989, filmed in Atlanta and Coweta County) and Forrest Gump (1993, Savannah).(emphasis mine)

The article, which focuses on Georgia in general and not just Savannah, then goes on to talk about how the industry in Georgia seemed to dry up due to several issues - such as the fact that "...The Canadian dollar got cheap, Canada added tax incentives. And also, the film industry went offshore.” Other States, like Louisiana, have also added tax incentives, which has caused Georgia to do the same. Hopefully Macy's appearance in Savannah is evidence that these incentives are working.

Movies which were partially or totally located in Savannah include:

• Cape Fear (1962
  
• The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980)
  
• Glory (1989)
• Forrest Gump (1994)
• Something to Talk About (1995)
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and evil (1997)
• Wild America (1997)
  
• Kiss of Fire [a.k.a. Claudine's Return) (1998)
• The Gingerbread Man (1998)
• The General's Daughter (1999)
• Forces of Nature (1999)
• The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
• The Gift (2000)
• Undertow (2004)

-- Source

Constitution Day

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

--Preamble to the United States Constitution

September 17th, 2008 is the 221st anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. In honor of the day I thought I would talk about Georgia's involvement in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and about Georgia's ratification of the document. Georgia was the fourth State to ratify our Constitution, an action which occured on January 2nd, 1788. The ratification reads:

In Convention, Wednesday, January 2d, 1788.
To all to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting.
Whereas the form of a Constitution for the government of the United States of America, was, on the 17th day of September, 1787, agreed upon and reported to Congress by the deputies of the said United States convened in Philadelphia, which said Constitution is written in the words following, to wit: —
And whereas the United States in Congress assembled did, on the 28th day of September, 1787, resolve, unanimously, "That the said report, with the resolutions and letter accompanying the same, be transmitted to the several legislatures, in order to be submitted to a Convention of delegates chosen in each state by the people thereof, in conformity to the resolves of the Convention made and provided in that case;" —
And whereas the legislature of the state of Georgia did, on the 26th day of October, 1787, in pursuance of the above-recited resolution of Congress, resolve, That a Convention be elected on the day of the next general election, and in the same manner that representatives are elected; and that the said Convention consist of not more than three members from each county; and that the said Convention should meet at Augusta, on the 4th Tuesday in December then next, and, as soon thereafter as convenient, proceed to consider the said report and resolutions, and to adopt or reject any part or the whole thereof; —
Now know ye, that we, the delegates of the people of the state of Georgia, in Convention met, pursuant to the resolutions of the legislature aforesaid, having taken into our serious consideration the said Constitution, have assented to, ratified, and adopted, and by these presents do, in virtue of the powers and authority to us given by the people of the said state for that purpose, for and in behalf of ourselves and our constituents, fully and entirely assent to, ratify, and adopt, the said Constitution.
Done in Convention, at Augusta, in the said state, on the 2d day of January, in the year of our Lord 1788, and of the independence of the United States the 12th.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names.
JOHN WEREAT, President,
and delegate for the county of Richmond.
County of Chatham,
W. Stephens,
Joseph Habersham.
Effingham,
Jenhim Davis,
N. Brownson.
Burke,
Edward Telfair,
H. Todd.
Richmond,
William Few,
James M'Niel.
Wilkes,
Geo. Matthews,
Flor. Sullivan,
John King.
Liberty,
James Powell,
John Elliot,
James Maxwell.
Glynn,
George Handley,
Christopher Hillary,
J. Milton.
Camden,
Henry Osborn,
James Seagrove,
Jacob Weed.
Washington,
Jared Irwin,
John Rutherford,
Greene,
Robert Christmas,
Thomas Daniel,
R. Middleton.

-- Source

There were four men who acted as delegates for Georgia to the Constitutional Convention. They were Adam Baldwin; William Few; William Churchill Houston; and William Pierce. The latter, Mr. Pierce, wrote several sketches of his colleagues from each State during his time at the Convention. As to his fellow Georgians, Mr. Pierce had this to say:

Abraham Baldwin Mr. Baldwin is a Gentleman of superior abilities, and joins in a public debate with great art and eloquence. Having laid the foundation of a compleat classical education at Harvard College, he pursues every other study with ease. Mr. Baldwin is about 38 years of age.

William Few Mr. Few possesses a strong natural Genius, and from application has acquired some knowledge of legal matters; -he practices at the bar of Georgia, and speaks tolerably well in the Legislature. He has been twice a Member of Congress, and served in that capacity with fidelity to his State, and honor to himself. Mr. Few is about 35 years of age.

William Churchill Houston Mr. Houston is an Attorney at Law, and has been a Member of Congress for the State of Georgia. He is a Gentleman of Family, and was educated in England. As to his legal or political knowledge he has very little to boast of. Nature seems to have done more for his corporeal than mental powers. His Person is striking, but his mind very little improved with useful or elegant knowledge. He has none of the talents requisite for the Orator, but in public debate is confused and irregular. Mr. Houston is about 30 years of age of an amiable and sweet temper, and of good and honorable principles.

William Pierce My own character I shall not attempt to draw, but leave those who may chose to speculate on it, to consider it in any light that their fancy or imagination may depict. I am conscious of having discharged my duty as a Soldier through the course of the late revolution with honor and propriety; and my services in Congress and the Convention were bestowed with the best intention towards the interest of Georgia, and towards the general welfare of the Confederacy. I possess ambition, and it was that, and the flattering opinion which some of my Friends had of me, that gave me a seat in the wisest Council in the World, and furnished me with an opportunity of giving these short Sketches of the Characters who composed it.

-- Source

Abraham Baldwin and William Few were the only two of the four delegates to sign the Constitution. Each man was instrumental in some way to the creation of the Constituion. For instance, Baldwin's change in vote concerning representation that led to the Congressional representation we know today.1 William Few was firmly nationalistic in his views of the government, was instrumental in getting Congress to approve the Constitution, and served in the State convention that ratified the Constitution.2 William Churchill Houston served only a short time at the Convention and did not sign the Constitution; however, he did make his mark - small as that mark may have been. He voted against the Committee which created the Connecticut Compromise and voted in opposition to Abraham Baldwin on the representation issue.3 Finally, we come to William Pierce. Mr. Pierce's major contributions to the Convention came with his desire to see the bicameral Congress split between one house elected by the people and the other by the States, a term limit of 3 years for those elected to the second house, and a stronger federal government.4

Because of the work of these four men, and the delegates from the other States, our Constitution was conceived and ratified, leaving us with a document of law that, while not perfect, has served us in good stead for as long as we have paid attention to the words within it. When we ignore the Constitution the Republic suffers. This is why each of us must be informed about the Constitution and we must hold our elected officials - servants of the people - accountable whenever they do ignore that great document in favor of their own ambition.

For more information on Constitution Day, please visit the Constituition Center's page on the holiday. Also, check out each of the links above in the body of this post.

Midstate school separating boys and girls in class this year

Well, I'm back after a few days looking for something to blog about. Think I found something.

I just got finished reading an article at Macon.com, the site for the Macon Telegraph. The article, entitled "Midstate school separating boys and girls in class this year", discusses a new change at Wilkinson County Middle School. The school system there has decided to start separating their classes by sex in order to see if there will be any improvements in grades. As the article states, there have been 13 schools in the State to do this. Moreover, 442 schools in the Republic have moved to classes separated by sex; originally there were only 11.

Now, on to my feelings on the matter. I think that if it's done right it's a great idea. I've always felt that students would do better if they were separated by sex. Heck, I could've been an A student in most of my classes if I hadn't been so busy trying to catch some girl's attention. The main problem I have is something the article brought up, which is what happened in Greene County when the school system tried to implement the program unilaterally without talking to the parents of their students. For more information on that, read "All Greene County grades to be same-sex" atOnlineAthens.com.In any situation where the school is making changes the parents have to have the right to be involved and need to be asked to be involved. To do otherwise is to invite disaster.

I'll be keeping an eye on this school and other schools in Georgia that have gone the single-sex education route. Hopefully there will be more successes than failures. And who knows? If it looks like there is a majority of successes I might just have a talk with some parents I know and, after feeling them out, the local board to see about getting my schools to go in this direction.

The New Libertarian Century

While over at the Campaign for Liberty website I happened upon an entry entitled "A Century of Freedom and the Movement that will Achieve it" which printed the first paragraph of an article called "The New Libertarian Century", the same title as this blog post. Here is a portion of the article by Kelse Moen, a writer for the Emory Wheel, the student newspaper for Emory University here in Georgia:

At the Republican National Convention, while Sen. Joe Lieberman yukked it up about the absurdity of a pro-war, Keynesian Democrat like him hanging out with a bunch of pro-war, Keynesian Republicans, an authentically conservative convention was being held simultaneously only a few miles away.

The event was Rep. Ron Paul’s Rally for the Republic. Paul ran a contrarian campaign for the Republican nomination this year on a platform of individual liberty, a foreign policy of non-interventionism, a gold-backed monetary system, and a return to constitutional government. That message brought 12,000 libertarians, constitutionalists, hippies, Burkeans, pot-smokers, gun-owners, homeschoolers, anarchists and me to fill up the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis for a celebration of that one thing we could all agree on: that we each have the inalienable right to live however we want.

-Source

The article is extremely well-written and gets to the heart of the issue concerning the differences between what we see out of the Republicrats and the Demoplicans and those who believe in the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, and civil liberties that Dr. Paul and those like him espouse.With determination, luck and God's help hopefully those principles will return to this Republic.

I'll close this post with the final two paragraphs of the article:

Their message is simple: come home, America. They are begging the country in general and the Republicans in particular to reject the philosophy of death and taxes that defined the 20th century and to allow for the traditional American philosophy of freedom and community to define the 21st.

After the hundred years of statism that began with William McKinley and culminated with George W. Bush, it is easy to be pessimistic. But coming out of the Target Center, I plainly saw that the flame of liberty has been dimmed but not extinguished. Perhaps Ron Paul and his supporters still have a fighting chance.

Deo Vindice

Kathy Cox: Smarter Than I Thought

Last night Kathy Cox, Superintendent of Schools here in Georgia, went on Fox's "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" which, incidentally, is hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, another native Georgian, and became the first person in the show's history to win the $1,000,000 prize. I watched that episode and was surprised and pleased that she won. Not only did she win that money for three Georgia schools, but her intelligence went a long way, I think, in disproving the common - and completely incorrect - stereotype of Southerners as gap-toothed idiots that's so prevalent in today's world (fostered by the media and others, like Foxworthy and the Nebraskan Daniel Lawrence Whitney [a.k.a. Larry the Cable Guy] trying to make money off of us).

You may recall that Mrs. Cox stirred up a minor contraversy back in 2004 when she floated the idea of banning the word "evolution" from science textbooks in favor of the phrase "biological changes over time." Hence, my statement that I was "surprised" that she won last night. I truly mean no disrespect to Mrs. Cox; I don't know the woman. But, that was probably one of the top ten stupidest things I've ever heard of or read about in my 31 years on this Earth - and I've heard and read some seriously stupid things. So yeah, I'm glad she redeemed herself in some small way last night. Here's to hoping that she continues to do so and, by doing so, that she helps to enhance the honor and dignity of the Great State of Georgia.

Introducing myself (Be afraid. Be very afraid!)

Hey y'all and welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere. I hope you enjoy yourself here and visit often. It is my intention to use this blog as a place to talk about those issues, personal and otherwise, that I find of interest at any given time on my spiritual, physical and intellectual quest in life; for what is life, but a quest which begins at birth and never ends so long as the soul lives? Hm. That's either extremely profound or just plain pompous. I'll let you be the judge of that. Now, on to the inevitable introduction.

Okay, so where to begin? Let's start with the personal stuff. First off I am from the Great State of Georgia, in the Southern United States, and not from the other Georgia that has been in the news so much lately. I live just outside of the Fruitcake Capital of the World, but in the same county, where I am a substitute teacher and sometimes freelance writer for the local paper. I'm a graduate of Georgia Southern University. When not teaching or writing for the paper I try to spend my time enjoying a good book or two, writing for fun, listening to good music (Free Bird!), attending meetings of my local Sons of Confederate Veterans camp and, when I can, manning a cannon during reenactments. That last bit is a blast, literally and figuratively. Just don't forget your earplugs or you'll be yelling "What?!" for two days after. Oh, and if you ever want to try your hand on the cannon and you're in a wheelchair, as I am, lock your brakes. Don't ask, just trust me on this. You might want to get safety glasses as well. Again, just trust me on this.

Politics. As well as being a proud Georgian I am also a very proud Southerner and citizen of these United States of America. Politically, I guess you could call me a conservative. Now, by conservative I don't mean those people who call themselves conservative today who talk as if they know God's every plan and delight in taking away personal liberties and expanding the federal government beyond its Constitutional bounds. I mean conservative - limited government where elected officials actually serve the people, fiscal and personal responsibility, and staying the heck out of people's lives.

Religion. Simply put, I'm a Christian but not a church-goer. I've never felt comfortable having someone else interpret the Bible for me. I'd rather read it and find the truth within for myself. And that's that.

Okay, I think that's enough of an intro for now. Y'all have a good one.