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	A new dawn, new day in Iraq The war in Iraq has officially ended. But the fight for that nation continues, along with a U.S. presence for at least 12 months. President Obama addressed the nation Tuesday night, but it was no “Mission Accomplished” or even a “victory lap.” With Americans convinced despot Saddam Hussein was a threat to harbor al-Qaida killers and that he possessed weapons of mass destruction, U.S. forces and allies invaded Iraq in March 2003, quickly dismantling the regime of Saddam, ... Read Article »
	Who’s on the playing field? In talking about current events, Hubs and I embarked on the topic of the mosque that the Imam wants to build near the site of Ground Zero. Mayor Bloomberg doesn’t want to investigate where the funds are coming from to build it, and really, why would he care? It’s going to mean jobs and money for New York City, which is more than our government is doing for anyone. The public is upset that the Muslims are ... Read Article »
	Americans working longer When our country’s financial deficit reaches into the trillions, it’s hard to put such excessive government spending into perspective. Here’s one way to look at it: in order to cover your share of the government’s spending, you would have to work an average of 231 days out of the year. That day fell on Aug. 19 this year, which the Americans for Tax Reform Foundation calls Cost of Government Day (COGD). This represents how long ... Read Article »
	What are next steps for Afghanistan? When President Barack Obama finished a review of his strategy in Afghanistan last fall he set what was widely construed to be a deadline for the U.S. to begin withdrawing. At the time, setting a July 2011 timetable was widely considered a mistake, allowing the Taliban to see light at the end of the tunnel. Since then, Obama’s commanders have been edging away from that deadline, including overall Afghan commander Gen. David Petraeus, who described it ... Read Article »
	Lottery and the pre-k The final lottery funded program is the voluntary Georgia pre-k program that accounts for $355 million or 31.5 percent of Lottery for Education expenditures in the fiscal year 2011 budget. The FY11 budget will fund 84,000 pre-k slots throughout the state. The Georgia pre-k program operates as a public/private partnership. Pre-k classes are offered in traditional public schools as well as private schools and daycare providers. Because there is no capital outlay component ... Read Article »
	Breaking funding gridlock A three year journey came to an end this year as the Georgia state legislature finally came up with a plan that will address our state’s growing transportation needs. Stuck in the confines of deciding between a statewide or regional approach to our transportation needs, the legislature has been deadlocked the past few years and unable to compromise on a plan to offer our citizens. With the passage of HB 277, the Transportation Investment Act ... Read Article »
	Speech may be free, but responsibilities are part of the right Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Read Article »
	The school daze blues Read Article »
	The school daze blues Am I just imagining things, or does The Kid always get sick for one day during the first week of school? I know he does ... I should have been keeping count. I don’t know if it’s because he spends all summer away from other kids for the most part and is then thrown into a classroom with 29 strangers one morning or if it’s just the sheer anxiety of it all. This year is a little different. I’ll ... Read Article »
	Will Tea Party have staying power? Former Bush White House political advisor Karl Rove is someone many either love or hate, but regardless of one’s feelings about him, he was on the money in his remarks in Savannah about the influence of the Tea Party movement on the coming off-year elections. That movement has done a good job of tapping into widespread anger at President Barack Obama’s leftist policies, he said, and at a Democratic Congress that has spent wildly on ineffective ... Read Article »
	Ethics policy would be a return of trust, faith from public Effingham County commissioners at least are continuing to talk about what needs to be in an ethics policy. That’s a start, and it needs to be finished. That there isn’t a policy already in place to address ethics issues for the commissioners and their appointees is unsettling. But they can set that right, hopefully, in the next few weeks. The policy under review would outline who handles ethics complaints and how they would be addressed. It will ... Read Article »
	Taking the fight to polio A mere 1 percent of the world is still suffering the wrath of polio. Four primary areas continue to be targeted by the global partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the Center for Disease Control, and Rotary International. The target areas are Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Nigeria, though after being certified polio free by the WHO in 2002, there is a resurgence of wild poliovirus in Tajikistan this year. The facts are clear on ... Read Article »
	How HOPE is spent This week we pick up looking at the Georgia Lottery and the programs it sustains. The largest of the Lottery funded programs are the HOPE Scholarship and Grant programs, which account for 66.5 percent of Lottery for Education expenditures. The other recipient of Lottery proceeds, the Pre-K program will be reviewed next week. Read Article »
	Recovery leaving the jobless behind The economic outlook is often a game of expectations, and in that regard the employment picture took a beating last month. Overall, the nation lost 131,000 jobs in July; the forecast had been for 65,000. Private-sector jobs were expected to increase by 90,000; instead, only 71,000 were added. We knew that 143,000 temporary Census jobs would end in June, but the public sector lost another 59,000 jobs beyond that. The job-loss figure for June had been ... Read Article »
	Where lottery dollars go Recently, the House and Senate higher education committees met to discuss the future of Georgia’s lottery funded programs. Fiscal Year 2010 was the first year that lottery-related expenditures outpaced deposits into the Lottery for Education account. With nearly $1 billion in lottery reserves, these programs are not in danger for the short term, but Tim Connell, president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, estimates that those reserves will shrink to $371 million by the end ... Read Article »
	A government takeover disguised as financial reform Washington has released its latest assault on American liberty with the president’s recent signature of the massive financial overhaul bill. Publicized by the White House and political left as a way to prevent another financial crisis, the bill is merely a vehicle for a government takeover of our financial sector. The rules and regulations contained in the bill’s more than 2,300 pages impose new bureaucratic red tape throughout the financial and banking industries. The U.S. Chamber ... Read Article »
	With runoff rancor over, let’s stick to the issues The race to select Georgia’s next governor closed one chapter Wednesday morning and entered another. Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, who garnered 49.8 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s GOP runoff, to 50.2 percent for former Congressman Nathan Deal, chose to forego a recount and conceded the race. “We certainly have the option of requesting the automatic statewide recount,” Handel said in her concession statement. “But we are not going to do that. The ... Read Article »
	Not of a sound mind I didn’t think I was showing my age much. Mind you, I said, “much.” That all changed the other day when The Kid asked me whatever happened to that guy that was living in the foxhole. I cocked my head for a minute and had to think “dude”... “foxhole”....hmmm. Who was he talking about? He saw the blank look on my face and with an exasperated sigh said, “Mom. Come on. You know who I mean. That guy in ... Read Article »
	A cut that would be a boost The looming possibility of a federal tax increase if Congress allows the Bush administration’s tax cuts to expire offers the states an opportunity to protect investment. By lowering the capital gains tax rate, Georgia could earn a much-needed economic boost, inspiring confidence that it is fertile ground for capital investment and is dedicated to economic growth. At 6 percent, Georgia’s long-term capital gains tax rate equals the state’s top income tax rate and is second highest ... Read Article »