Oconee County, GA Politics

Our veterans deserve a whole lot better than what we are doing to them at the "Big Park." Almost everything concerning the new park including and especially the name - the Oconee Community Complex - has been an utter fiasco for our proud county. Why wallow in such mediocity when we have done well in the past and can do it again in the future? I took my son to the John T. Brannen building of the Herman C. Michael park and looked at the photo of recreation direction John Gentry shaking hands with U.S. Secretary of State Condi Rice and wondered what he would think of all the malfeasance and hand-washing over this corrupt series of blunders. Our local leadership fails us now more than ever, when we need someone to accept responsibility over the mistakes and to correct them, not give some namby-pamby excuses about how there is no connection between the committee and the government. Fine, great, get on with the more important details. One, the design sucks and should be scrapped. J...

Do you want a truck stop in Farmington? How about another convenience store? What about a convenience store complex with 28 pumps for passenger cars, 6 pumps for diesel trucks, three other buildings for retail/office space, and 190 total parking spaces? Well that is the proposal soon to be considered by the county government! A request for rezoning from A-1 to B-2 is posted at the corner of Branch Road and US441. The proposed 14.22 acre development consists of a large retail complex (see the picture below). The Planning Commission meets January 17th at 7:00 p.m. in the county courthouse. All of us need to be there to voice our disapproval of this rezoning request and the proposed development. The Future Land Use Plan for Oconee has reserved the southern third of the county for agricultural zoning. The county government must be held to this plan and not allowed to parcel out land for business development in southern Oconee when other regions of the county have the necessary infrastructu...

You would think Chomsky would blast the Republicans, and of course he gets around to it, but the first couple paragraphs are pretty damned indicting criticism of the Demcratic party. AlterNet: Chomsky: 'There Is No War On Terror'

National Priorities Project - Cost of War

There was a horrible race riot in Atlanta in 1906 . It lasted over several days in September a mere century back and the following is from Rich Rusk and the Moore's Ford memorial committee (MFMC) about some racial reconcilliation efforts going on in Georgia: All manner of STAR and Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot events start up this January. Where is all this headed? I just got our scholarship and talent show materials to our seven area high schools...and am running to keep up. Please read this entire email - these events are fascinating. But first.... MFMC meets on Jan. 21: It appears that 10 a.m., Saturday, January 21 is the least worst time for our annual meeting. Kirklyn and Margaret will not be able to attend, however. I will try to get their views on several issues prior to this meeting, and will email our agenda and minutes for Nov. 22 on Monday, with hard copies to follow. This Saturday meeting will allow Michael Hill and Cathi Watkins and MFMC offic...

Now Tom DeLay thinks he can control your television too. Tom DeLay doesn't want his constituents to know about the $1 million Russian tycoons gave to a shadowy front group called U.S. Family Network, which was run by a former staffer. That's because the Washington Post discovered the Russian money was donated allegedly to influence his vote. So, when Public Campaign Action Fund and Campaign for America's Future began running a TV ad - with your support - that educated people about this Russian money, DeLay threatened to sue any TV station that aired it. Click here to demand they put the ads back on the air! The TV stations got scared and pulled the ad - even though FactCheck.org has said that everything in the ad is true! DeLay's bullying has backfired (mostly) and the story of Tom DeLay's strong-arm tactics has been all over the news, including on national television, and has spread far and wide on the internet. Yet the people of Houston are still being denied th...

Published on Friday, January 13, 2006 by the Chicago Sun Times Blogger Buys Presidential Candidate's Call List by Frank Main One of the nation's top political bloggers purchased the cell phone records of former presidential candidate Gen. Wesley Clark on Thursday to demonstrate the growing privacy concerns highlighted in a Chicago Sun-Times story last week. Wouldn't it be interesting to know who [Sun-Times columnist] Bob Novak was calling in the month that [CIA agent] Valerie Plame's name came out? How about [U.S. Attorney] Patrick Fitzgerald's phone calls? John Aravosis, publisher of AMERICAblog.com John Aravosis, publisher of AMERICAblog.com, said he bought Clark's records for $89.95 from celltolls.com. Aravosis said he obtained a list of 100 calls made on Clark's cell phone over three days in November -- no questions asked. Aravosis, whose liberal blog is critical of the Bush administration, said he called Clark's cell phone Thursday to make sur...

Domestic Terrorists Attack Freedom of the Press NEW YORK--On December 31, 2005 the editor of the Columbia City Paper in South Carolina returned from a trip to find that someone had attempted to burn down his house. "Someone had taken all the jackets out of the hall and thrown them on the stove," Corey Hutchins told the Associated Press. "They turned the stove on and threw liquor bottles on the fire. Then they went upstairs and set fire to my bed, and came back down and threw library books on the fire on the stove." Fortunately for Hutchins his arsonist was less than fully competent. His home sustained only minor fire and smoke damage. He noticed something disturbing. "Nothing was stolen. No money, no computers, guitar equipment." Columbia police believe that the fire was set to send the scrappy alternative newspaper's editor a message. "You have any enemies?" Hutchins recalls the police officers on the scene asking. "I paused, said I wa...

Sometimes I write our elected officials through a wide and differing sets of portals. One of these is my telephone company . Working Assets is a progressive long distance and cell phone provider offering users a quick way to let your elected officials know of your displeasure on a particular issue. I do not automatically click every alert and action, but usually research and change the form letter before I do send anything. The drones and interns behind the computer buttons sent me six replies in less than four minutes from Senator Saxby Chambliss. Two of them seemed tailored to a specific issue and the other four were the same generic blow off. But I guess that is all we can expect in this day and age. Here is the message clogging my inbox: Thank you for contacting my office and sharing your concerns. As your United States Senator, I look forward to hearing from all of my constituents from the State of Georgia, especially when they have concerns or problems, need guidance or informa...

The following are not my words. But this much is. I think it sucks how Gov. Perdue gives teachers an election year token meager raise on one hand and still has a horribly low budget for public schools in Georgia. AJC: “Schools Bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts” Perdue cuts schools by another $170 million in this year’s budget (Atlanta) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s article “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cuts” reported today that, “Gov. Sonny Perdue is continuing to cut funding to schools, despite highly touted plans for focusing on the classroom in the final year of his first term.” Georgia educators expressed outrage that the Perdue administration is still falling far short of its obligation to provide adequate resources to our schools. This year’s cuts are in addition to previous cuts made during each year of Perdue’s administration. The Perdue cuts to our schools now total over $1.25 billion. [Gutierrez, “Schools bristle as Perdue holds to austerity cut...

OnlineAthens.com | News | House approves changes to Georgia voter ID law 01/13/06

OnlineAthens.com | News | Locals: Never asked us about districts 01/13/06

OnlineAthens.com | News | Council to mayor: Let there be a light 01/13/06

Hey folks, I wanted to alert y'all to SB 386, proposed by Sen. Ralph Hudgens R-Comer, supported by Sen. Kemp R-Athens and the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, which will split Athens between two state Senate districts, the 46 and the 47, effectively diluting Athens-Clarke Democratic votes in two swamps of rural conservatism. We are currently in the 46th which Kemp has barely been able to win and he is leaving to pursue a state wide office. This split is being done to dilute the power of the lone "blue" county in north east georgia. While this is a local issue, it reflects the tactics of the national republican party-which are to disenfranchise those who disagree with them and to roll back the gains of a liberal, progressive democracy. It is cowardly, corrupt conservatism at its worst and it is here at home. Please call Hudgens 706 783 2405, Kemp 706 543 0188 and the Chamber 706 549 -6800 and let them know what you think about their cowardly actions. No republican can stan...

village voice > news > Mondo Washington by James Ridgeway

OK Oconee County residents - I think we have finally found an issue we can all agree on for once. That would be our united opposition to the proposed truck stop in unincorporated area near Farmington. Come to the Planning Commission meeting Tuesday to let your concerns be known. The following is a letter I just received from the Citizens for Oconee's Future, they say it more eloquently than I ever could: Citizens for Oconee's Future PO Box 13011 Watkinsville, GA 30677 Subject: Proposed rezone for truckstop Branch Road and Hwy. 441. Following is the text of an e mail from Dr. Anthony Glenn describing the proposal to rezone 14 acres at Hwy 441 and Branch Road for a truck stop/convenience store. The attachments mentioned in Dr. Glenn's e mail are attached to this e mail. Some of you may have difficulty opening the attachments because of filters. If you need to see them and are unable to open them, please let me know and I will try to get them to you another way. Once again ...

Oconee Democrats Call Perdue Education Increase A Lie | ATLANTA.VOIC.US

The Blog | Arianna Huffington: Iraq Moves a Step Closer to Civil War; the MSM Yawn | The Huffington Post

The Blog | Arianna Huffington: Jack is Back: Murtha Takes the Fight to Bush -- and Across America | The Huffington Post

2006: A Revolt In The Republican Ranks� | The Huffington Post

FT.com / World / Middle East & Africa - British officer blisters US Army in Iraq critique

Dear Dan, In the next few hours I will be reporting exciting news to media outlets across the state. Because this good news is a direct result of your hard work in support of my campaign, I wanted to let you know first. A poll of 800 likely general election voters conducted by Cooper & Secrest Associates from January 2 to January 5, 2006 shows that I am the Democrat best positioned to beat Ralph Reed, leading Reed by a margin of 36% to 31%. This is especially significant because the most recent poll of likely Republican primary voters indicates that Reed still has a 14% lead over his Republican opponent. I’m gratified to see that even at this early stage of the race, my record of accomplishment and my vision for Georgia are resonating with voters. Our next Lieutenant Governor needs to be an effective leader who can get results on the issues most important to Georgians: better jobs, affordable health care for all, and quality public schools. That’s precisely what my campaign is abo...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 12, 2006 Contact: Rep. Keith Heard, 404-656-0220 or keith.heard@house.ga.gov Rep. Jane Kidd, 404-656-0325, 706-202-8891 or jbvkidd@aol.com Legislators plan Town Hall meeting in Athens State Reps. Keith Heard (D-Athens) and Jane Kidd (D-Athens) will host a Town Hall meeting Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Athens Regional Library. The lawmakers will discuss issues being addressed during the current legislative session, answer questions and solicit public comments on the Senate Reapportionment Committee’s recent recommendation for election-year gerrymandering of the 46th and 47th Senate Districts. That action, if approved by the Republican majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives and signed by the governor, would create unnecessary confusion in at least four Georgia counties for the upcoming 2006 primaries and general election. Under the proposal, Athens-Clarke County would be divided into two Senate districts. All o...

The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town

Perdue Cuts to Education Total over $2.3 billion Despite claims, Perdue cuts education this year by $444 million (Atlanta) A look behind Gov. Sonny Perdue’s rhetoric about his new education budget shows that the facts do not match his words. He has trumpeted his new budget as a windfall for Georgia’s schools, but a look at the actual budget document shows that this year’s budget is the same as every other he has proposed – deep cuts to Georgia’s support of elementary and secondary schools, and slashes to the budget of our University System. This year’s budget cuts the state’s support of local schools by $170 million, and cuts the University System budget by $274 million – a total education cut of $444 million. Gov. Perdue’s education legacy is now one of over $2.3 billion in Georgia’s public education system. In addition to damage to our schools, the Perdue cuts have driven up property tax rates in nearly 100 schools districts across Georgia. [The Governor’s Budget Report, FY 200...

The Impeachment of George W. Bush | AfterDowningStreet.org

OnlineAthens.com | Letters to the Editor | Mike Lynch: Proposed Senate split insults Athens-Clarke 01/12/06

Watkinsville City Council Jan. 11, 2005 Oconee Living Section Athens Banner-Herald Watkinsville Council approves traffic signal, franchise agreement By Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Correspondent The city of Watkinsville is 69 years older than Oconee County, and the municipality wants to know how you think they should celebrate the big 2-0-0 bicentennial birthday this year. The Watkinsville City Council formally approved the bidding process for the light at the intersection of Simonton Bridge Road, Harden Hill Road and Main Street and also approved a franchise agreement with Georgia Power at their meeting Wednesday. The intersection was graded “F” by the engineering firm of Mattern and Craig. Traffic engineer J. Wayne Craig was on hand to answer questions and ask for a motion to take bids from firms for construction on the black painted mast arm light costing the city some $30,000 with the State DOT supplying the lights and hardware. It will be timed and hardwired to the other traffic signal...

Please pass along to everyone you know who cares about justice and fairness. This is an outrage! It's not about me (Well, they WERE afraid I would win...) but about 3 senators getting together and deciding they didn't want a senator of the opposite party elected in their area. We're talking about a consolidated government...the smallest county in the state and a county that votes majority Democratic. To split it up and design districts where there will likely be 2 Republican senators representing that county is not "representative government" it's dirty, partisan politics designed to disenfranchise the majority voting population. If we raise a stink and fight back...the public and media outcry might keep the bill and others like it coming in the Senate and House, from moving forward. Governor Perdue doesn't want this issue to surface and neither do many Republican candidates. Write the paper, call your friends, cause an uproar. The Dems are working o...

WSBTV.com - News - Governor Perdue Stockpiles Millions

Reporter abducted in Iraq | csmonitor.com

Toughest commute in Iraq? The six miles to the airport. | csmonitor.com

Blogging Baghdad: The Untold Story - MSNBC.com

The Fix - Chris Cillizza's Politics Blog - (washingtonpost.com)

REP. STEPHANIE STUCKEY BENFIELD'S 2006 LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW The second regular session of the 148th Georgia General Assembly begins on January 9, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. Some of the major bills we expect to see debated this session include: BUDGET: The FY2007 spending plan is expected to top $17 billion. State officials have reported that tax revenues are up 8% or $468.9 million so there should be plenty of breathing room to meet the needs of Georgia's citizens. Democrats are proposing to restore the nearly $1.1 billion in K-12 education cuts by the Perdue Administration. Adequately funding health care for the poor, especially Medicaid and PeachCare for children, will also be a priority for Democrats. Some funds will likely be put in a financial reserve or "rainy day" fund for the next economic downturn. There has also been talk about refunding some of the surplus funds back to the taxpayers. EDUCATION: Parent groups and tourism officials will be pushing for a later s...

OnlineAthens.com | News | PETA: Petting zoo owners should be investigated 01/10/06

Once again Ralph Hudgins and company are playing politics with our boundaries and districts. I hope they get bit in the ass. Jane Kidd deserves better and I hope she wins regardless of the district. OnlineAthens.com | News | Bid to redo districts may undo Kidd's plan to run 01/10/06

Bogart City Council January 9, 2006 Oconee Living Section Athens Banner-Herald Bogart Council reads new ordinances, rejects sign By Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Correspondent The Bogart City Council spent an hour and half going through the first reading of proposed new zoning ordinances, and then breezed though a brief agenda before adjourning Monday evening. Mayor Jan Thurmond’ s son Bret, who is employed by the engineering firm of Armentrout, Roebuck & Matheny, scrutinized every detail highlighting the changes in red ink against the black ink of original on-the-books zoning regulations. A dozen Bogart residents reacted to nearly every facet, asking pertinent questions for each change. Two more readings will occur in February and March. Among the more discussed changes included rights-of-way, design standards, definitions, buffers and setbacks. Copies of the proposed changes will remain at city hall for public inspection during normal business hours. Mayor Thurmond seems determined ...

Perdue = Plummeting Income; Soaring Job Losses (Atlanta) Georgians will continue to bring home less money in 2006 under Gov. Sonny Perdue. According to Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University, only 6 percent of the jobs created in Georgia in 2006 will be high-income (over $50,000) – less than half the national average. That would mean that only 3,600 jobs created in Georgia in 2006 would pay $50,000 or more. Combine the state’s dismal wage prospects in 2006 with the U.S. Census’s recent report that Georgia had the nation’s sharpest decline in income, and the affect on the Georgia wallet is frightening. Unfortunately, opportunities for Georgians under Gov. Sonny Perdue are increasingly scarce and show no sign of improvement. [Kanell, “December job tally disappoints,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/7/2006; “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2005, p. 23 of the report; p. 30...

This legislative session will be interesting if for no other reason than how boring it may be. I wish the state would address the unfunded mandates imposed on local counties and municipalities. Maybe something interesting will arise in the next 40 days, but I kind of doubt it right now. I was unaware that Carol Jackson had dropped out of the Secretary of State's race, and now Angela Moore will be coming to speak to the Oconee Democrats on Ground Hog's Day. She was the lone candidate not to make an appearance at our debate back a few months ago. Oh, for the Legislature that might have been! | ajc.com

OnlineAthens.com | Letters to the Editor | Daniel Kirk: Dissent is vital part of life in United States 01/09/06

CBPP: Do the Facts Support the President's Claims about the Economy? - Yahoo! News

Dems Charge GOP Has Corrupted Congress - Yahoo! News

Blunt, Boehner Campaign to Succeed DeLay - Yahoo! News

'Impeachment' Talk, Pro and Con, Appears in Media at Last - Yahoo! News

Jonathan Veit and his wife recently had a new child, and I found out my Art Masters owner buddy Geoff Seila and his wife Sherry Turner had a son Drew about a month earlier than expected yesterday morning at Athens Regional. Funny thing, it is the father's birthday as well. How often does that happen? Happy tidings and welcome to the newest members of this planet.

OnlineAthens.com | News | Tax issues lead local concerns 01/08/06

Democrats go right, Republicans left literally | ajc.com

OnlineAthens.com | Opinion | Shipp: Reports of Reed's 'death' may be premature 01/08/06

OnlineAthens.com | News | Animal laws: Question of how much bite 01/08/06