2011 Columns

Things are in a mess under the Gold Dome and I may be responsible. As previously noted, House Speaker David Ralston has infuriated a vast portion of We The Unwashed with his $17,000 “working trip” to Germany and the Netherlands last Thanksgiving with his family, staff members and a Washington lobbyist. (Common Cause Georgia has filed a complaint with the powerful and dreaded — … [Read more...] about February 14, 2011: For .0000127 Cents, Speaker Ralston Could Have Gone To Powder Springs

State Rep. Rich Golick (R-Smyrna) is one of the more able members of the Georgia General Assembly and a serious young man not given to hyperbole.  When he gets upset, it is noteworthy.  Golick went ballistic last week when the Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, came to Atlanta specifically to criticize a couple of pieces of proposed legislation regarding … [Read more...] about February 7, 2011: Random Thoughts On Random Subjects

House Majority Whip Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta) and I decided to quit lobbing mortars at each other and do what we should have done earlier — talk about his proposed legislation to evaluate teachers. I had written a column critical of his proposal and he had responded with letters of harrumph to several of the newspapers that run my opinions. As we talked, we came to realize we … [Read more...] about January 30, 2011: House Leader Seek Teacher Input In Upcoming Legislation

I wonder if our intrepid public servants at the Gold Dome understand how arrogant and out-of-touch they look to We the Unwashed — or if they even care. Case in point: The Atlanta newspaper has reported that House Speaker David Ralston took a trip over the Thanksgiving holidays to Germany and the Netherlands with his family and his chief of staff and spouse, courtesy of a … [Read more...] about January 23, 2011: Speaker’s Thanksgiving Trip To Europe Was A Turkey

The past week you would have thought we were living in two different states. North of the Gnat Line, it seemed like Siberia. Even possums and yard dogs were hugging each other trying to stay warm. South of the line, folks assumed that God was punishing North Georgia for having taken most of the political power in the last election. I am no theologian but I don’t believe God … [Read more...] about January 16, 2011: Bad Weather… Doesn’t Alter Georgia’s Political Landscape