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gpatt0n

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Blog Entries posted by gpatt0n

  1. gpatt0n
    For those who don't know, here is a glimpse of how politics actually works.
     
    A couple of things I've heard regarding this years budget started to make sense today after Judy Horne made her comment about the meeting where the county chose to ask for the roll back. I think the stinger on her video which follows is Tommie Graham saying he agreed with some of what she said.
     
    While for most, Ms. Horne's comments add to the drama, to me it is more how government works ... which frankly can be as disturbing as the making of sausauge.
     
    Her comments focused on the Aug. 3 meeting (she admitted she misspoke on the lectern) and she criticized David Austin for being 'unprofessional' at that meeting citing a rant he made against Sam Clark, a general level of distance and disengagement from the topic - the budget - and even that he up and left the meeting abruptly once there were votes for a motion and a second on the revision with the increased millage.
     
    Of course we see the reaction to that in this topic.
     
    Now for a little news. First, it is not a foregone conclusion that the advertised millage rate increase has the requisite three votes for passage ... It is quite possible that if Mr. Ragsdale and Mr. Pownall vote against it - and they have hinted they may do so - Mr. Austin might join them. He's not expected to do so but my reading is that he really, really, really didn't want to increase the millage and his initial plan called for just that.
     
    Still, the county is up against the wall and it doesn't have any options other than go forward. It has to approve the budget and give the order to send out tax bills by Friday at noon or they may not get sent in time to start bringing money back into the county's coffers by November 15th. With the last advertised budget calling for the millage rate increase (which is a rollback amount under the law and not a tax increase.) they have to do this or risk running out of money in November.
     
    What most folks don't realize is that the county's 'fund balance' is there to cover the county's expenses during the time from July through November when county cash flows dry up to a trickle ... and while the everyday expenses keep mounting day after day.
     
    If they don't get the approvals through and tax bills sent, the county would have to borrow money to operate the remainder of November and December. That used to be common in Paulding in the period before Bill Carruth hired folks to do the job of financing the county and establishing a reserve fund. In the old days it was always necessary when administrations changed as the outgoing guy would have spent all the money leaving the new, replacement chairman with no money to fend for himself.
     
    So, we've improved our systems. Still, I don't think the reaction that Ms. Horne observed was 'unprofessional' so much as a man forced into a corner that he didn't want to be. I know what little polish I possess often disappears when I'm given limited options that given any freedom of action I would decline.
     
    I did see the Chairman last week - he wasn't at today's meeting - and I offered my congratulations. He then surprised me when he made a point - it seemed an odd point - to characterize how the sheriff referenced me personally ... It was a comical scene - he pooched his gut out in a gesture that he said Gary had performed.
     
    What the chairman didn't say was what he and the Sheriff were talking about in regards to me I felt it had to do with the fact that the Sheriff knew I was backing him for the increase in funding his department needs to keep working. I had told Sheriff Gulledge that if he wanted to talk publicly, give me a call. He said he planned to negotiate privately.
     
    Now I've been through more sheriff/county budget disputes than either our current sheriff or the chairman and the behind the scenes conflict is palpable, especially in an election year. Said a little differently, I'm sure the Sheriff was exercising a great deal of leverage going into the July 31st election date ... threatening to sue, threatening to go public ... threatening possibly even to endorse his rival ... and, for those who are naive, the politics of silence bought the deputies a 4 percent pay raise (The state, not the county controls the salaries of elected officials like the Sheriff.) I don't think anyone doubts that Sheriff Gulledge went to bat for his deputies.
     
    I personally think the budget and millage rate as advertised will go through and the money for the pay raise for deputies and other county workers will be there.
     
    But I think it is the last thing that the chairman wanted or wants to do. Rather than unprofessionalism, I read what Ms. Horne saw as extreme frustration with a system that demands compromise. I'm sure they'll all get over it.
     
    What few recognize is that Tony Crowe had one thing right. This election was about the people. With Chairman Austin, it was about his people who were out there busting the guts to improve the community through increased development. With Mr. Crowe, those folks were expendable and he'd have savaged the county's efforts - which are just now beginning to become fruitful. Mr. Austin, not wanting to increase the millage at all just like Mr. Crowe, was hoping to hold the line for one more year of austerity for the county workers.
     
    However, politics conspired. However reluctantly, David Austin is going to eat the millage increase. That means this election will end up being about 'the people' ... the county employees and those organizations the county funds... all of them.
     
    Here's Ms. Horne's discussion:
     

     
    pubby
     
    Source: Board of Commissioners Decide to Raise Tax Millage
  2. gpatt0n
    There is the obvious clarity that we all appreciate about you ... and your humor Stradial
     
    My recollection of the discussions back in 2005-06 regarding the airport was that the feasibility studies were such that a commercial passenger airport was a pipe dream at best and not what was intended for the facility. Still, if it was a possibility, the most major important great thing we could do by building our own general aviation airport is to get prior rights to aviation here because if that thing (passenger airline service) were to become a reality, at least we'd have a say. IF THE CITY OF ATLANTA (AND DELTA) DECIDED TO DO A COMMERCIAL PASSENGER AIRLINE TERMINAL IN PAULDING ON THE ATLANTA AIRPORT PROPERTY, WE'D BE SOL.
     
    Well, we built the airport and Delta, which thought they had through the city of Atlanta, a right of first refusal on a commercial airfield here, basically decided to do all their activities in Clayton County at Hartsfield-Jackson. When Propeller INvestments came in and proposed action in Gwinnett, you can bet that Delta was behind and encouraging the opposition there ... largely because they don't want to lose their monopoly on air traffic in the market.
     
    The point is the airport was not expected to become a commercial passenger facility of any design or description but it was not sold that way. It was sold as a way for local control over any such commercial air transportation facility in the unlikely event that it was going to happen.
     
    In a very real sense, it has been successful in that role. No one can say that Delta and the city of Atlanta has any business tell us what we can do locally and we planned it that way.
     
     
    I'm going to blame Brett Smith for this. I'm pretty sure that the contract that exists between silver comet field and silver comet partners gives him the sole authority to publicize the commercial passenger aspects of the deal. I don't expect the Airport Authority to have any control over the advertising, marketing or publicity of whatever venture lands at Silver Comet field. Even the decision to announce the new name of the field was controlled by him.
     
    As far as the public engagement part, I suspect the drubbing that he got for his efforts in Gwinnett basically cured him from much in the way of seeing publicity as a good thing.
     
    The AJC and most reporters anywhere and everywhere will go for the sensational and frankly two charter commercial flights a week does not a commercial passenger airport terminal make. This aspect has been hyped to sell papers and because, in fealty to Delta and city, home for the Atlanta promoting AJC and other metro media (they know commerce in the city is where their bread is buttered just as I know my bread is buttered by promoting businesses out here.)
     
    So what we have is a press-shy company that has great contacts and a desire to avoid the headaches they got just over a year ago when they saw publicity blow up a deal they spend probably years trying to put together. I would be go so far as to say in aggregate - I'll exclude Pcom - the press is a liability for this effort because they over-emphasize the wrong stuff and really seek to sell papers and cover their corporate masters in the city.
     
     
    Well it is untrue.
     
    That is what I found when I decided to reply in this topic. While David, and for that matter Tommie Graham, can come across to some folks as a bit aloof, that kind of high-handed royal-assed attitude really doesn't fit what I do know about either of them.
     
    Anyway, I actually did call David and confronted him about this incident. I also called the preacher - he doesn't like to be called Reverend I found out - Rick Dunn - the guy whom you got the idea was intimidated ... or at least someone told you was.
     
    I can say with a straight face I didn't intimidate him (I do have that affect on some folks) and he told me that I was more intimidating that either David or Tommie Graham; both of whom did call him.
     
    What if found enlightening is that apparently he misunderstood the 'informational meeting' and was a bit ticked that David and Tommie were 'invited' to the meeting to sit quietly and get beat on. He came to that conclusion apparently Wednesday morning when he finally got the presentation that was planned and saw that it was more of a one-sided pep rally for airport opponents than a meeting that intends to reasonably and honestly explore the issue. He wondered if his church's board would have approved their donation of the room for the meeting had the seen the presentation on Monday as he had asked. Still, it was a bit late in the game Wednesday to do anything more than grin and bear it and let the meeting proceed.
     
    In the visit that David made with Preacher Rick, he said that he understood the muzzle that the invite the chairman had received how David would feel like that he was being tossed into the lions den. The one-sidedness is what struck him and made him notably uncomfortable with the meeting his church was hosting.
     
     
    I find most of what they post as distortions and spin ... and I can tell they've learned their debate style from conservative talk radio quite well. I actually hate it that folks think this kind of bull cheese is valuable ... it is not . it is propaganda and propaganda techniques that unfortunately can be effective because they invoke the knee-jerk reactions that we all experience as we use shorthand cues to keep things simple. Basically they're doing their best to dupe us and in that context you can tell by the materials - some of the slick web sites - that this is being orchestrated from outside because frankly, Tundra ain't that slick.
     
     
    Let me work on this aspect. I would think that the contractual agreement regarding the commercial passenger airport terminal is under the purview of the contracted agent (Silver Comet Partners, LLC) and public utterances regarding it (as opposed to the nuts and bolts of the airport facility - runway expansion, etc.) is limited to them through confidentiality agreements.
     
    Oh, and Whitey, the contract with the Silver Comet Partners, llc can be referenced in the minutes and a complete copy need not be included in the minutes. Such contracts are public record. Maybe if you get a copy before I do, you can confirm provisions regarding the ability to talk about developments because the presence of such a section simply comes from who has said what in regard to what over the past roughly two months.
     
    Finally, my reading of the 'deal' is that it is a great deal and the controversy surrounding it from Delta and those they control more directly to me is actually being used to effectively hype the event.
     
    The Todd Pownall in the dark aspect - which I do feel is being overplayed by the man - and the obvious suggestions in this case of a corruption so deep as to be unAmerican, evil and self-serving is basically bull at this point. I've not seen one allegation of inside dealing in this regard. There may be some but there are no rocks - no substance - in the mud being slung.
     
    I mean detail a real-estate deal where the property flips five times to hide that it was stolen for taxes and represents a financial gain of a million dollars for a principal. There are no such substantial scandals and all we get is BS mudslinging based on half-truths and no-truths.
     
    The allegation that the commission tried to shut down the so-called town meeting be a prime example. It is not true.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: Community Meeting set for 11-21-13
  3. gpatt0n
    You are absolutely right that a gun is just a tool but what you're missing is that a gun can be more than just a tool.
     
    Think about tools for a minute and then think about Andy Rooney, late of 60 Minutes fame and his ancient typewriter that he used to write his witty editorials. He could have had the newest laptop with the fanciest word processing program but he held to his manual Royal typewriter circa 1945. Dare I say he loved it.
     
    Think about the kid who drives up in a new high-output Mustang, face beaming because of his pride. Think of the topics we've had on here about folks 'first cars.' One of my first memories was of a friends mother who, strangely to me, had named her car something like Matilda.
     
    Another example would be musicians with their instruments whether it is a horn, keyboard or guitar. Most of us have developed a relationship with our computers to one degree or another and it is not at all uncommon for us to praise or cuss the damn things. Even some mechanics and carpenters can be partial to one tool choosing it over newer and shinier items.
     
    And it would be foolish to think our personification of inanimate objects is limited to those things. It is human nature to attribute human characteristics to inanimate objects and in so doing, it changes our relationships with those objects.
     
    This happens with guns too. Who could forget Al Pacino's line in Scarface ... "Say hello to my little friend."
     

     
    Would that scene have been as memorable if the 'little friend' were a 32 cal. Beretta?
     
    The point is that weapons perceived to be 'assault weapons' - yes it is largely in the mind of the possessor - seem to provide 'courage' to some people possessing them and 'respect' to others, as if the weapon were some sort of magical talisman. People don't like to admit it, but while Pacino's scene demonstrates the 'courage' aspect, this scene from the 1991 movie (One of my favorites by the way) Grand Canyon, illustrates the 'respect' aspect.
     

     
    pubby
     
    Source: NRA,assault weapons,gun laws
  4. gpatt0n

    We're in deep s**t

    By gpatt0n,

    This blog post is comes from a discussion on Micky D's workers striving for $15/hr. I suggested that if they got that wage, the end result would be the creation of robotic fast food processes and the elimination of many of the low wage jobs that industry has.
     
    That notion drew some conversation and I did a data dump on the real scope of issue.
     
     
    http://paulding.com/forum/index.php?app=blog&module=post&section=post&do=showform&id1=303871&id2=3835010&btapp=forums# 
    It is okay to agree with me cptlo
     
     
     
    Not at all. I'm saying if they had unions which could negotiate retaining employees, they would (like auto workers) give up some jobs, agree to lower wages for some of the jobs that remain and do that through negotiation. If the fast food workers are unable to unionize, which is almost certain in right to work states like Georgia, the likelihood of those jobs surviving the next five or ten years - especially with a wage increase - very problematic.
     
    NJ, I just don't think you or a lot of the folks on the right get it. The reason that employment has not rebounded is because businesses are investing in automation at an increasingly rapid rate. There aren't good jobs because industries from wall street - they've got computers that do trades faster and better than low-level traders - to factories which are moving back here because the robots work cheaper and more productively than do Chinese workers. With the doubling of computing power every 18 months advances in AI and controls, these 'machines' are taking jobs and will take more and more jobs.
     
    I'm personally looking forward to the conflict with the conservative union called the teamsters are going to react when truck drivers become obsolete in probably about a decade.
     
    The traditional solutions to this dramatic and rapid societal change is on an order of magnitude greater than the industrial revolution, NJ. Change is happening and happening faster than we imagine. It is mind boggling and the bad news is that reactionary approaches to the problems promise disaster.
     
     
     
    I'm convinced of it, seriously.
     
     
    Oh, but I am serious TP. I think the dislocations in employment and by extension in the social stratification could become a time of great social unrest - depending on the leadership - more divisive than that of the early part of the 20th century. That these changes are happening in rapid fashion world-wide will exacerbate social conflict.
     
     
    Tatertot; the notion of entitlement is one of the wild-cards in the coming social conflicts. The good news, if there is good news, is that the nature of work itself - what constitutes work and how it relates to one's individual survival - literally its definition - is one of the major changes we face.
     
     
    I can only say that your attitude in regard to immigrants ignores the fact that the world's society is much more tightly integrated than anytime ever in history and the issues that confront us as a nation also confront the world as a whole.
     
    Immigrants come in two flavors; there are those who are adapted to the future and there are those who are essentially economic refugees from failing nation states that are unwilling or unable to address the issues that confront their populations.
     
    Throw in the big brother aspect of the NSA - and they're big brother for the world if that hasn't dawned on you. (Much of their signals intelligence gathering is obviously foreign, you know.)
     
    The problems we face with immigration are unique to us. The EU also faces issues as the world becomes more 'the society' than any individual nation. The rise of multi-national corporations coupled with not just the gridlock of our national government but the lack of any thing other than a joke as parading as international authority, foreshadows conflicts between commercial entities that have captured and using their wealth to co-opt the governments of nation-states.
     
    Oh, and cmorg, these multi-national corporations represent the power thrust of that group you call RINO's ... and are a key part of the GOP. And don't think these entities don't have their hooks in the Democratic party too.
     
    Indeed, my gut is that these entities are likely behind the ineffectiveness we all see in our national leadership - the national leadership they provide us. Oh, and the gridlock? I feel that is just part of the strategy of these powerful institutions whose design is to convince us all that our vote doesn't count and that government just doesn't work but can't work to solve problems.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: McDonald's Workers Strike For Higher Wages
  5. gpatt0n
    I appreciate what you're saying here sound guy but I would correct you on a couple of the broad-brush notions put forth.
     
    Folks on the right are always fond of saying, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." The same is true with chemical weapons. What is critical is the notion that Assad's regime needs to know that using chemical weapons is not a good idea. That they have them or may have them is secondary. Instilling in their minds an understanding of why they don't want to use them (Maxwell's Silver hammer comes down upon their head, bang, bang, Maxwells Silver Hammer makes sure that they are dead.) doesn't require their removal, hence does not require they be taken by the force of boots on the ground.
     
    Second, while it is true some of the rebels in Syria are Al Quida, I think it is an exaggeration to suggest they are all Al Quida.
     
    From what I heard the actions contemplated, while they are designed to ding Assad's forces, there really is no desire to take down Assad. Indeed, regime change is not a goal of any contemplated action.
     
    Third, I believe I was among the first to suggest that we let Russia take the lead on this and it seems we may be maneuvering them into doing so. That really is great, IMO.
     
    Anyone familiar with Russia and its problems in the region will recognize that they started this conflict with ... and actually created Al Queda as a response to their invasion of Afghanistan back in the 80s. That is when Osama Bin Laden got his start ... working with the CIA.
     
    The real challenge in all this is that if the US comes across as chastened and weak, that perception will have other ramifications. There is already a move on in international markets to drop the dollar as the reserve currency for the world. One of the reasons we would be reluctant to invite Russia into the Syrian crisis is because of the perception of weakness.
     
    In that context, I don't fault Obama for rattling the swords but (and unlike GWB) actually be willing to use the UN to its fullest including inviting Putin into the ground-game in Syria.
     
    The real point is that possibilities for intrigue and mischief with the Muslim fundamentalists operating all over the region including the XYZ-stans and Southern Russia will actually be a greater deterrent to Russian exploitation of the situation than I think Putin realizes. In addition, if we can maneuver Putin into that situation, we can increase our standing as a broker of a wider peace with that part of the world, IMO, including the Israeli situation, etc.
     
    That McCain is amongst the loudest saber-rattlers in this country, BTW, tells me that the Israeli lobby is likely the strongest sponsor of our intervention.
     
    Finally, let me say that using the UN at this time as the institutional tool will strengthen that institution which frankly remains the best shot at avoiding WWIII anyway.
     
    Regardless, the way to get Putin and the Russians to take the bait will require that we stay united. Indeed, the world's eyes are on us and if we, for instance, go through some gyrations regarding the budget, we may lose our greatest strength - the use of the dollar as the reserve currency for the world. Protecting that status takes precedence over killing obamacare, embarrassing for partisan political gain the administration in other ways. We're playing with fire here folks and the fall out from our political squabbling could well cause us all real pain.
     
    This crisis is really big and the real key to our emerging from this crisis is for us to rally 'round the flag.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: An answer to the Syrian debacle
  6. gpatt0n

    Reading

    By gpatt0n,

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/business/media/shepard-smith-to-run-a-breaking-news-division-at-fox.html?ref=television
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    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/arts/television/fall-tv-preview-old-hits-return-new-worlds-open.html?ref=television
    http://tv.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/arts/television/derek-stars-ricky-gervais-as-a-nursing-home-volunteer.html?ref=television
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    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/business/media/an-early-start-on-promoting-a-mini-series-spoof-set-for-january.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/business/media/nbc-announces-a-face-lift-and-one-new-face-for-today.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/business/media/breaking-bad-spinoff-better-call-saul-is-picked-up-by-amc.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/theater/jim-lehrers-new-play-bell-is-opening-in-washington.html?ref=television
    http://tv.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/arts/television/brains-on-trial-with-alan-alda-begins-on-pbs.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2013/08/25/arts/television/20130825_SNL.html?ref=television
    http://tv.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/arts/television/white-house-chiefs-of-staff-in-the-presidents-gatekeepers.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/business/media/tina-fey-to-host-return-of-saturday-night-live.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/business/retirementspecial/elderly-acting-just-might-improve-line-please.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/arts/television/yahoo-screen-introduces-shows-with-puppets-and-a-tiny-rambo.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/magazine/glenn-beck-wants-to-know-why-cant-we-all-just-get-along.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/arts/television/the-goldbergs-and-surviving-jack-among-new-sitcoms.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/arts/television/defying-expectations-tv-actors-try-different-roles.html?ref=television
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/arts/saul-landau-maker-of-films-with-leftist-edge-dies-at-77.html?src=mv
    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/graphic-ads-motivate-smokers-to-quit/?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/business/media/judge-rules-against-injunction-in-effort-to-buy-paper.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/business/media/a-newspaper-in-las-vegas-at-risk-of-closing-divides-a-family.html?src=rechp
    http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/e-cigarette-marketers-have-an-eye-on-teens/?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/09/04/us/100000002421645/bill-clinton-defends-affordable-care-act.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/us/politics/clinton-urges-americans-to-sign-up-for-health-care-exchanges.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/opinion/global/chappatte-north-korea-may-have-restarted-nuclear-program.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/world/middleeast/us-eases-sanctions-to-allow-good-will-exchanges-with-iran.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/world/middleeast/iran-signals-an-eagerness-to-overcome-old-impasses.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/business/ray-dolby-who-put-moviegoers-in-the-middle-is-dead-at-80.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/us/godfrey-sperling-made-eggs-for-press-dies-at-97.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/us/politics/at-meeting-with-treasury-secretary-boehner-pressed-for-debt-ceiling-deal.html?hpw
    http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/anatomy-of-a-scene-video-of-mother-of-george/?ref=movies
    http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/mother-of-george-stars-danai-gurira-as-a-hopeful-bride.html?ref=movies
    http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/blue-caprice-examines-the-mystery-of-the-beltway-snipers.html?ref=movies
    http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/in-the-family-de-niro-and-pfeiffer-head-a-mob-family.html?ref=movies
    http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/four-stars-wendell-pierce-in-film-adaptation-of-play.html?ref=movies
    http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/hawking-a-documentary-on-stephen-hawking.html?ref=movies
    http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/in-gmo-omg-jeremy-seifert-takes-on-a-complex-subject.html?ref=movies
    http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/money-for-nothing-a-look-at-the-fed-and-its-power.html?ref=movies
    http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/informant-a-documentary-profiling-brandon-darby.html?ref=movies
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/09/business/media/latest-overhaul-of-the-mgm-studio-appears-to-be-a-moneymaker.html?ref=movies
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/movies/the-coen-brothers-look-wryly-at-their-films.html?ref=movies
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/opinion/who-will-be-left-in-egypt.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/opinion/global/cohen-an-anchorless-world.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/opinion/krugman-rich-mans-recovery.html?ref=opinion
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    http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/09/12/is-the-miss-america-pageant-bad-for-women/?ref=opinion
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    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/what-our-telescopes-couldnt-see/?ref=opinion
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/getting-past-the-outrage-on-race/?ref=opinion
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/the-next-wireless-revolution-in-light/?ref=opinion
    http://keller.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/playing-chess-with-putin/
    http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/11/more-on-warming-slowdown-mislabeled-crude-in-canadian-train-inferno/
    http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/the-story-behind-the-putin-op-ed-article-in-the-times/
    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/insurance-company-with-an-army-blogging/
  7. gpatt0n
    The GOP is saying, we won't force a shutdown if the Dems in the Senate go along with us and delay/defund/kill Obamacare. In their minds, they are making a totally reasonable request.
     
    Why is this a loosing position.
     
    Because their solution to the conflict - shut down the government - is so "we're going to take our ball and go home" a response.
     
    Bottom line, the budget and spending authorizations are like the whole game. That they lost the legislative effort that the Democrats have been pushing for since 1948; that they have refused to cooperate in a multitude of ways is, at its core childish and selfish in the same way the poor little rich kid who insists that he be safe at first base when he was out by a mile 'or he's going to take his ball and bat and go home.'
     
    Bottom line, the immaturity of the position is covered in the Urban Dictionary definition:
     
     
    The real problem is that this immaturity seems to extend throughout the entire Republican Party. You know, statements by the Georgia Insurance Commissioner that they're going to sabotage the program.
     
    An opinion piece in Bloomberg news entitled:
     
    Georgia’s Dangerous War Against Obamacare
    ... puts a more sinister quid-pro-quo spin on the effort locally.
     
     
    Apparently our Governor has already taken his ball and gone home.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: The pending government shutdown ... Why the GOP position is a loser
  8. gpatt0n

    reading list

    By gpatt0n,

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/lobbyists-look-for-a-euphemism.html?src=rechp
    http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/with-help-teradata-speeds-up/?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/us/politics/reaping-profit-after-assisting-on-health-law.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/opinion/biometric-technology-takes-off.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/business/detroit-is-now-a-charity-case-for-carmakers.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/us/amid-drought-a-water-fight-spills-into-legal-territory.html?src=rechp
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/world/americas/for-migrants-new-land-of-opportunity-is-mexico.html?src=me&ref=general
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/bruni-the-popes-radical-whisper.html?src=me&ref=general
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/dowd-americas-billionaire.html?src=me&ref=general
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/dinner-is-printed.html?src=me&ref=general
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/fashion/step-away-from-the-phone.html?src=me&ref=general
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/business/the-mental-strain-of-making-do-with-less.html?src=me&ref=general
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/mother-nature-and-the-middle-class.html?src=me&ref=general
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/business/quandary-of-hidden-disabilities-conceal-or-reveal.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/us/after-a-crisis-of-faith-finding-a-new-secular-mission.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/us/a-turnabout-at-traditionally-white-sororities-at-alabama-university.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/world/asia/singapore-universities-set-to-dig-deep-for-expansion.html?hpw
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/automobiles/a-just-in-case-provision-for-incidents-on-the-road.html?hpw
    http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/green-parking-not-just-a-concept-anymore/?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/business/santa-monica-bets-on-electric-cars-but-consumers-are-slow-to-switch.html?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/nyregion/green-cabs-appear-as-bloomberg-prepares-to-depart.html?ref=automobiles
    http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/general-motors-looks-to-cut-battery-prices-and-increase-e-v-range/?ref=automobiles
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/automobiles/autoreviews/a-marriage-of-economy-and-serenity.html
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/magazine/how-robots-can-trick-you-into-loving-them.html?ref=magazine
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/magazine/garage-sale-arbitrage.html?ref=magazine
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/magazine/eat-pray-love-get-rich-write-a-novel-no-one-expects.html?ref=magazine
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/magazine/can-emotional-intelligence-be-taught.html?src=me
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/krugman-free-to-be-hungry.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/09/22/did-the-pope-tip-the-political-scales-in-the-us/?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/short-of-a-deal-containing-iran-is-the-best-option.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/dont-fear-the-squeegee-man.html?ref=opinion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/keller-a-jury-of-whose-peers.html?ref=opinion
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/the-importance-of-the-afterlife-seriously/?partner=rss&emc=rss
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/close-the-nsas-back-doors.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/a-rare-plea-to-the-court.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/silencing-scientists.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/opinion/sunday/was-this-whistle-blower-muzzled.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/american-bile/?partner=rss&emc=rss
  9. gpatt0n
    To set this topic up:
     
     
    Rockysmom then said:
     
    That would be Romney's living room Low.
     
     
    I would assume, lowrider, that if you heard say, Newt, say that he was for a law that created vouchers and required individuals to purchase health insurance - i.e. the individual mandate that is at the core of obamacare - you would realize that obamacare is an idea that was lifted from the 1994 Heritage Foundation plan offered as an alternative to Hillarycare back then.
     

     
    I know you have to see it to believe it, that's why I posted a video.
     
    There are also quotes from the guy that 'designed' Romneycare - the wonk that worked under Mitt when he was governor in Massachusetts and got Romney care complete with its individual mandate passed there. The man, a MIT economist, said:
     
     
    the role and involvement, including Mitt saying no, it isn't the same bill ... is in this NBC report. Of course this article from the 2012 election was at a time when it would have cost Romney the nomination to admit that Obamacare was 'really' romneycare.
     
    finally, the assertion that it is a disaster in Massachusetts is also highly debatable. The fact is Factcheck.org did a comprehensive report on the status of Romneycare, which boosted the number of insured residents from 86 percent to over 98 percent from 2006 through 2011. It is a long report with a lot of good information that refutes the train wreck meme that is being perpetrated about that implementation and by extension, obamacare.
     
    One of the key differences between Romneycare and obamacare is that obamacare includes a variety - several cost saving approaches - that were not part of the romneycare law.
     
    Lowrider; if you are open-minded at all - and I think you are - you'll see my point that the real reason that the GOP is so adamant against obamacare is because they think of programs like this as how the democrats 'buy votes' and they're just real pissed because the Democrats - not them - enacted the law.
     
    Heck, one of the strongest arguments the GOP dominated Congress in 2004 used to get their congressmen on board for the medicare drug benefit was that "if we don't pass it, the Democrats will" ...
     
    They honestly see the passage of obamacare and its implementation as direct threat to their election in the coming decades. To them, it is on the order of how social security's passage in the 1930s ushered in the Democratic dominance that put them in what seemed to be a perpetual minority in the Congress from 1932 through literally 1994. (the GOP didn't have a majority in the house but two years in that 62-year period - in 1946) They fear the same this time and they're really pissed because "it was our idea" if you get past the rhetoric.
     
    Of course the last part is my opinion but I can't imagine this level of vitriol coming from anything any less than from "they stole our idea! and they'll get elected forever because of it. To the folks in the GOP, it really has nothing to do with health care or what works or doesn't; it is about power and if they lose this battle, given the changing demographics and their staunch opposition, they will be totally SOL.
     
    Given that they do feel that it is worth it 'burn the house down' because they believe they will be 'out of the loop' for decades in congress if they lose this battle.
     
    It is not about truth, it is not even about health care and budgets, it is about power.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: what do you think about the goverment shutdown?
  10. gpatt0n

    From: HEY PUBBY

    By gpatt0n,

    Yes, I bet you're patting yourself on the back on that one too, Whitey. It inspired me to make a joke.
     
    Here's why doing anything new in Paulding is tough. A new person in the county comes in to buy cola at a fair. Yep, they're willing to give us $5.00 for a .50 cent can of Coca-cola. Its a hot day and they figure that it is worth it. They pull out a $10 bill and pass it to the guy and then hold their hand out for change ... The old guy, we'll call him Whitey for grins, stares at the hand like he hasn't ever seen a palm before. He then hems and haws, grabs his customers' hand and shakes it saying, here's your tip ... in a slow, gravely southern drawl.
     
    Taken aback by the familiarity, the newbie says, "I'm giving you $5 for a cold can of coke, I want change!"
     
    "Boy you're quick, ... that's it ... there ain't no change in Paulding County as long as I'm here around ... now next," Whitey says.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: HEY PUBBY
  11. gpatt0n

    From: HEY PUBBY

    By gpatt0n,

    What? Twenty bucks? That might buy you and me a couple of latte's at Starbucks but it is hardly enough of an investment to justify divulging potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on proprietary market research into the public domain.
     
    Its use and utility was the driving force and information that put a signature on a contract for a forty-year lease that pays the taxpayer for the use of the facility.
     
    You do remember that they are paying the county/AA funds in this transaction. They are removing the burden of a fair portion if not all of the expense of the terminal and airport from local taxpayers.
     
    The quicker we complete our portion of the contract, the sooner that happens.
     
    The plain fact is that the anti-forces are delaying the airport paying for itself. There is a contract that is in place that most of have confidence will remove significant expense off the county's taxpayers in the short term and over the long term work to diligently increase the ratio of commerical/industrial property on the county's property tax digest in relation to homes, effectively lowering the portion of local taxes for schools and county operations borne directly by homeowners.
     
    The reason this is being fought so passionately falls into three areas and they are totally and utterly separate from the merits of the project.
     
    First, there is the financial interests of Delta airlines which over the past decades has solidified its position as the dominate airline in Atlanta to the point of being considered a monopoly (with 80 percent market share.) It seeks to eliminate any outfit it doesn't control and it doesn't control the outfit that has the contract to operate Paulding's Silver Comet Field.
     
    Second, there is the politics. Paulding has always had two factions that vie for dominance and the Austin's and a Dallas Centric view is central to their efforts. When they are in power, developments like the industrial park at Chatt Tech occur. The airport is another development that is cozily located in the western half of the county.
     
    When the other group is power - Jerry Shearin's administration is a key example - investment occurs more concentrated on the eastern side of the county with projects like Bill Carruth Parkway, etc.
     
    The difference really has been where the money is spent and what it is spent for (promoting home building or education, promoting sewerage to promote home building or industrial development)
     
    The issues aren't the issues raised in elections; issues raised in elections are considered tools to get your guy in. Allegations of criminal corruption, true or not, are commonplace and are often raised by people whose intentions and world view consider the plunder possible from public service to be their justification for running in the first place. That has moderated in recent years - certainly the players are more sophisticated - but in some long past administrations the record is undeniable. I need simply mention a sheriff convicted of child exploitation and a road-barn manager convicted of theft by conversion or even a commission chairman who was accused of bid rigging.
     
    In all honesty, I've seen worse elsewhere.
     
    And finally, one of the attractions of Paulding has been its relatively isolation and conservatism. Inertia, in the realm of physics, is the tendency of things at rest to stay at rest. Paulding has been among the more restful communities and it has attracted residents who prefer things to stay the same. This has happened in part because of the housing boom and rapid growth across the Atlanta metro area. Those most disturbed by change in Cobb, Fulton, Douglas and yes, Whitey, Clayton counties chose to move here to avoid the inevitable changes that swept across the region.
     
    Over the past 20 years this group has been constantly disappointed by the political leadership in the county which is charged with preparing the county for a population that some estimate to be over 450,000 residents by 2050. See, change is happening. It has momentum and it is not going to stop.
     
    However the politicians, recognizing they can pander this anti-growth attitude, seek out and use issues that literally turn this group into a swing voting block. The 'out of power' faction lies to them to gain their support and then, when elected, inevitably disappoints restarting the cycle.
     
    Since we all know; and it is almost a mantra here - at least my mantra - perfection eludes us all - it is impossible to satisfy everyone all the time. People can and should be held responsible for what they do and regrettably, sometimes they aren't. But in terms of overall investment in the county, it would appear that this particular administration has been amongst the fairest in the way it invests county money throughout the county.
     
    Further the anti-growth faction, in its fervor, continues to raise concerns regarding growth and that is their right under the constitution. That not everyone shares the depth of their concerns is the right of those who recognize that change is difficult.
     
    We all know from religion that idle hands are the devils workshop and we also know that since home building went bust in 2007, there has been an inordinate number of idle hands. That is spelled limited opportunity.
     
    Jobs, more jobs, better jobs, more-better jobs are the only answer to that and we have a moral obligation to do whatever we can to promote more jobs and better jobs. Is it not silly to expect perfection in that quest when we are not perfect in any else we do?
     
    The best we can do is try. And when we listen to those who say, don't try, somehow I feel we're being immoral. We're shirking a responsibility.
     
    So, my advice to those out there in pcom land is that they select leaders who are going to try and pass by those who say we shouldn't or it is not our job.
     
    pubby
     
    Source: HEY PUBBY
  12. gpatt0n
    I'm listening to a podcast involving some of the judges for the 48 hour guerrilla film contest ...
     
    Here are some pearls:
     
    Everybody has a weekend, you may as well be making a movie.
     
    99 percent of the people just talk about it, just get it done is a huge accomplishment
     
    we shouldn't make a movie about a movie. make a movie about a character.
     
    Not action for the sake of action . no drug deal gone bad movies.
     
    do something we can do well.
     
    Sound is important. do some foley work. Sound is the biggest thing
    preparation ...
     
    get some ideas ready. get some lights ready ... maximize the preparation time as much as possible.
     
    Setting a time table on scripting, shooting ...
     
    talent actors are often crew. time sensitive nature ... watch out for tempers.
     
    keep your actors happy.
     
    TOp films will be shown in the Alamo film house in Austin Texas.
     
     
    -----------------------------
     
    I'm actually thinking of scenarios and production capabilities.
     
    for instance, we have the resource of the Pcom studio which could give us some controlled locations good for shooting dialog.
     
    I also have the cameras.
     
    what I need at this point are some people to do some specific jobs.
     
    A sound engineer/(foley) who can maybe mix some music or even compose a score would be nice. (very simple and you can probably get by using public domain music/loops ... I've got a source)
     
    At least two additional folks to run some cameras.
     
    A continuity person ... needs to be very detail oriented ...
     
    I already have possibly a couple of male actors but will likely need a female, two or three.
     
    The main thing on the actors is that we will likely have to adapt the script and knowledge of what we can do to them and their talents.
     
    We could also probably use some teens and maybe some kids - 8-12 - although at this point whether any or all of them will have a part or not I can't promise.
     
    I'll also probably post this as a post as well as this blog entry.
     
    pubby
  13. gpatt0n
    Below is the opening page of the Center for Sustainable Journalism's Conference page announcing the conference set for September 25th. If you check the lineup of people on panels and speaking, you'll see that I'm on a panel.
     
    Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.
     
    If you want a discount ($10 off) the conference fee, use the promotional code "Hughes" and you'll get a break.
     
    pubby
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