No, Sen. Johnson, I Don't Want to Be in Your Facebook Group

Sen. Eric Johnson doesn't read my blog. How do I know? Because if he had read this, this, this or this, he would never have sent me this:


Eric invited you to join the Facebook group "Eric Johnson for Lt. Governor of Georgia".To see more details and confirm this group invitation, follow the link below: (link here)

Eric Johnson for Lt. Governor of Georgia

Democrat or Republican, Eric Johnson is the last person in Georgia I would consider supporting for Lt. Governor. From his lies on the senate floor regarding Genarlow Wilson and his use of that situation to build his own name id without regard for the impact on all those involved, to his pathetic use of special needs children to further his agenda to divert funds from public education and his failure to stand up for working families who are struggling to find affordable health insurance for their children, Johnson has repeatedly demonstrated that he cares most about taking care of (1) His own political ambition and (2) A narrow group of constituents who agree with his radical agenda.

So, no, Sen. Johnson, I do not want to be in your "Facebook group."

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Dry Drunk

I grew up in the South, in a dry county, in North Carolina. When I was a child, church was an every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night affair. On Wednesday, we could stop on the way back through town and get cups of cherry vanilla ice cream at Ron and Eddy's restaurant in town, but we couldn't do that-or go out to eat for lunch-on Sunday-because it was the Lord's Day, and my parents thought businesses should be closed. They didn't want to support a business being open on Sunday, so they didn't patronize businesses on Sunday. They also believed that it was wrong to drink alcohol, so they never had any in the house. (Well, with the exception of the homemade muscadine wine the neighbor made, but that was different, just ask my mother.) Now, they never advocated for a ballot measure or for legislation prohibiting business from opening on Sunday or opposing liquor by the drink. It was simple their belief, and they practiced what they preached. (Most of the time... I can remember an occasional Sunday when we might've sinned by going out to lunch-but not many.) My point is this: I don't think that it's a good idea-or even necessary-to codify religious observance, and that's precisely what "blue laws" do. People of faith can practice their beliefs and impact the market place through their personal choices.

In comments about the current debate on whether to allow Sunday liquor sales, Sen. Eric Johnson said, "There doesn't seem to be a compelling reason to chip away at the Sabbath." Sunday is the Sabbath in his religious tradition, and in mine, but it is not the Sabbath for all Georgians. Even if it were, it is the responsibility of communities of faith, not the legislature, to encourage their members to observe the Sabbath. That he, as a legislator, couches it in these terms makes it evident that he is not merely trying to legislate morality. He and others, including Lt. Gov. Cagle, are trying to legislate the practices and beliefs of their specific faith and doing so for political gain, believing that their evangelical base will be more likely to vote for them if they oppose Sunday sales. The use of political power to further a specific religious practice in order to maintain political power just doesn't sound all that righteous to me.

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No Surprise

Part of the Speaker's tax plan will first be introduced in the senate. By targeting schools, Richardson has created and ally in Eric Johnson. We have our work cut out for us, but since this is a constitutional amendment, if senate democrats will hang together Richardson will not be able to get the numbers he needs to pass the bill. It's up to us.

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"We All Answer to Women Somewhere"

How appropriate that six men and no women serve on the Georgia Senate Committee on Rights Relating to Reproductive and Genetic Technology. Go, now, and find women to run for office in Georiga. Here's a portion of the article from the AJC's Political Insider.

Last week, six men —- five Republican and one Democrat —- gathered in a fourth-floor room in the Capitol to convene the Senate Study Committee on Rights Relating to Reproductive and Genetic Technology.
(A male witness noted that committee members were of a single gender. "We all answer to women somewhere," quipped chairman Eric Johnson of Savannah.)

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McDade Violated Federal Law

Per the AJC, Atlanta U.S. Attorney David Nahmias says McDade violated federal law when he distributed the Wilson videotape. Nahmias says that the tape is child pornography and that it is illegal for anyone to possess or distribute. Federal law on child porn trumps state law on open records. I guess that means McDade avoided the possible fine and misdemeanor for violation of the open records act but has exposed himself to a serious felony, as have those who have received, possessed or viewed the tape.

Does this mean that they're going to arrest Bill O'Reilly?

And Senator Eric Johnson?

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Fred the Fake: The Ultimate Washington Insider

How ironic that, according to The Marietta Daily Journal, Sen. Eric Johnson has dubbed Fred Thompson a "down to earth candidate" for whom there is "no political correctness." While Johnson was spinning the truth on the floor of the Georgia Senate to make sure Genarlow Wilson stayed in jail, Fred Thompson was working just as hard to make sure Scooter Libby never saw the inside of a cell.

In 2006, Thompson served on the advisory board for Libby's legal defense fund and hosted a fundraiser for Libby at his home. So, while Johnson was working to make sure that one jury's verdict stood, without regard to truth or justice, Thompson was working to make sure another jury's verdict was up-ended, again without regard for truth or justice. Is their mutual lack of regard for what is just what Johnson refers to as "down to earth"? It's hard to know, but I can see what they have in common.

I agree that this actor can act down to earth, like when he rented a red pick up truck and used it as a campaign prop during the Tennessee senate campaign so he could pretend to be every man's man. The truth is that Fred Thompson is an actor, a lawyer, a lobbyist and the ultimate Washington insider. Don't buy the act.

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Eric Johnson Should Say What He Means

Sen. Eric Johnson has prefiled legislation that would offer scholarships (read: vouchers) to disabled children who wish to attend private schools, and he has already embarked on a public relations campaign advocating for his idea. Well, it's really not actually his idea. They have tried a similar program in Florida. (Yes, that's right, Florida, the state whose school voucher law was declared unconstitutional.) What Johnson really wants is a broad school voucher program, so why doesn't he just say that? Well, because Georgia is "politically"not ready for school vouchers, or so he has said. So, he's hoping that folks will not look too closely at this seriously flawed bill, and he is hoping to pit parents against teachers and administrators- an all too familiar battle that parents of disabled children face.

Consider this: as this bill is written, for a private school to qualify as a place taxpayers would pay for a disabled child to be educated, the school does not have to demonstrate that they have an appropriate program for a given child. They only have to demonstrate one thing: that the school is financially solvent. That tells me all I need to know about this legislation. Sen. Johnson is using disabled children as a smokescreen in his attempt to make vouchers a reality in Georgia, and that's just wrong.

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