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Posts Tagged ‘Georgia’

Governor’s race – The candidates

March 31, 2010 Comments off

I have been spewing a lot about the congressional races that affect South DeKalb, but have neglected the race for the CEO of the great state of Georgia. So here they are with some campaign sites and my take on each of course. my list is not exhuastive. for the complete list of the governors race as well as others check out this page from the Sec. of States website

Democrats

  • Thurbert Baker, Smart guy, knows his stuff, needs to fix his cut though. Can he win? No. Not because he is not qualified, but because history says he can’t win.
  • Roy Barnes, The former head man is qualified; after all he has held the job before. Can he win? Of course he can win, but he won’t
  • Carl Camon, I didn’t know who this was until I started this list. His bio suggests a hard worker who was not privileged like some of the other candidates. Can he win? No. Small town mayor ain’t enough to overcome the history that says he can’t win.
  • DuBose Porter, This guy seems squeaky clean. Church man, Eagle Scout, family man, all great things. Can he win? Maybe. He might be a dark horse, if he doesn’t have any skeletons.
  • David Poythress, I like this guy. He is a military man, although it is was the Air Force. It is hard to go wrong with a military man. He has been in many leadership positions. Can he win? I think he could go all the way and get beat by any Republican.

Libertarian

Republicans

  • Jeff Chapman, Can he win? I don’t know. Probably not. But who knows. He does have the best website of all the candidates.
  • Nathan Deal, I wonder if this ethics thing has any legs? Can he win? Polling says he is competitive, and would beat Roy Barnes if he were the Republican candidate and Barnes was the  Democrat choice.
Categories: Politics Tags: , , , , ,

Cigarette tax: could be boon for criminal element

March 8, 2010 Comments off

Another reason to fight cigarette tax hike: It might lead your kid to switch to pot | Political Insider.

If your kid is smoking these death rolls, there’s a better than even chance he or she is already smoking weed and drinking too. With that said, what concerns me about this proposed tax on cigarettes is that the more you tax an item, the more you place it out of reach for the addicted. When something like cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs are banned or taxed to darn near being banned, you open up the possibility of the black market taking over. The streets are a cruel irony to our capitalist system. Our system has the rule of law at play, so it helps regulate commerce and keep a sense of civility to transactions. On the street, supply and demand rules, without any regulation or rule of law. Unless you count murdering or intimidation of competition regulation. If a product that is addictive becomes too expensive for the user, he or she will turn to other means of getting that fix. A quick google search of nicotine addiction, and you will get a wealth of info comparing nicotine addiction to alcohol, and other drugs like cocaine. This is what the American Heart Association had to say about nicotine addiction:

Nicotine is an addictive drug. It causes changes in the brain that make people want to use it more and more. In addition, addictive drugs cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The good feelings that result when an addictive drug is present — and the bad feelings when it’s absent — make breaking any addiction very difficult. Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break.

Imagine cigarettes becoming so expensive because of taxation that smokers started knocking off convenience stores to get their fix. Imagine someone robbing you at gun point because they saw you with a smoke, and they could not afford one. Think this sound alarmist or extreme, then check out this study from the Mackinac Center. Incidents involving large thefts of cigarettes is not uncommon. Taxing a product to the point that is is essentially unattainable makes it easier for the underground economy to help supply the demand. And once the underground gets a hold of it, then there’s no way to control it. The control is handed over to whoever is the strongest, or most willing to do anything to make a buck. I am not a smoker, and can’t stand being around cigarette smoke. Thinking you can tax addictive substances into oblivion is a short-sighted way to deal with irresponsible budget planners, and does little to help those suffering from the addiction.

Categories: Budget, Health, Taxes Tags: , , ,

Ballot access in Georgia

February 8, 2010 Comments off

When I saw this post at JasonPye.com,  I was pleased to see that someone had introduced a bill in  the Georgia legislature for better access for political parties other than Democrat or Republican. You see, I am the type of voter who does not vote based on a party, I vote for the candidate. A lot of people make a point of being independent, and claim to vote for the candidate they think will do the best job. I think that most of those independent voters still vote for the party rather than the candidate and the parties know this and like this. I like to look at a candidate and see if they want the district, the state, or the USA to go in a particular direction that satisfies what I want to see. Sometimes I vote for a Republican when I think its time to cut taxes, or work on our military. Other times I vote Democrat, especially at a local level if I want to see some movement on social issues close to my heart. What I hate, is that I only have two choices. At the local and state level and in Congress, I would like to see more candidates that are not affiliated with Democrats or Republicans. A lot of times, these independent/non-affiliated guys/gals have their finger on the button when it comes to issues that affect everyday citizens like myself. Sometimes I disagree with their overall platform, but their may be a nugget in there, that trumps the other stuff. I hope the bill at least gets some attention if for no other reason but to shed light on a system that is built to exclude rather than include. Read the post at JasonPye.com and you will get a good overview of how the system works today, then check out the bill here.

Categories: Politics Tags: , , ,