Titties, guns and Butts County. The Eldrin fuckin' Bell redux.

I was looking at my logs Monday evening and found myself scratching my head as to why so many people were searching for and landing on my entry about Big Brother’s Little Helper, Eldrin fucking Bell, from last year. Sometimes an old post will get numerous hits out of the blue, sometimes because of events in the news, but usually for no apparent reason. It’s like a flock of people just appear for no reason and then disappear. Then I caught last night’s 11 O’clock news and found out why so many people were looking for blog entries on Bell, starting as early as Saturday night.

Apparently Eldrin was at a private 4th of July party on Saturday, thrown by a titty bar baron who lives down in Butts County. No pun intended. While at this party Bell fucked up his thumb and it appears that rumors started flying that he (or someone else?) had shot off his thumb. Now it appears he just burned the shit out of it while shooting an unspecified large caliber handgun at the titty bar magnate’s indoor shooting range.

Before I go any further, let me get a couple of stories out of the way before addressing Big Brother’s Little Helper. I’ve been to a titty bar on two occasions in my life. Both times I was with my best friend of almost 25 years. This guy used to sell cheap jewelry to strippers in Philly from the back of his car when he was 18 years old so his perspective on the whole titty bar thing is completely different than mine. The guy is a riot and he’s actually an amazing guy, even though he thinks titty bars are a hoot. His name is Mike.

The first time I ever went to one of those joints was back in the early 80’s, long before they became “gentlemen’s clubs”. Back then, they were dangerous dives with dangerous patrons and they employed dangerous women who looked hard from the road they had traveled. So here we are in this titty bar in Pensacola, Florida; five of us in total and we are all young sailors. I was sitting between Mike and one of my favorite all-time wild men, a guy I worked with whom I’ll ID only as Steve.

Steve was a wild fucking mess of a bastard and one of the greatest free spirits I’ve ever known, he ran with total abandon through life. God bless the Steve’s of this world for they make the daily drudgery of existing more colorful, exciting and interesting. One time he lost a brand new rented Iroc Camaro in Ft. Lauderdale during Spring Break. The ship we were all crewmembers of made port visits to Ft. Lauderdale every spring and on one occasion Steve rented an Iroc while we were there. Dude walked down the brow of the ship one afternoon and suddenly realized he didn’t know where he parked the car. In fact he realized that he didn’t remember how he did get to the ship the night before or what he had done after about 5PM the night before. Lost a brand new, 1987 model with the T-top, rented Iroc. Gone baby. Lost. Forever.

So here is Steve, sitting to my right at the end of the dancing area. This dancer came up to me, looked down while she was shaking the moneymakers and I noticed that she had crossed eyes, tattoo’s on her tits and was wearing a gold lame bikini. Unlike Bob Dylan, I didn’t look a little bit uneasy and she didn’t bend down to tie the lace…of my shoes. I just stared at one of her eyes, beer bottle frozen half way between bar top and my lips. She sensed no dollar tips were coming from me so she sauntered over to Steve, who I now noticed was leaning on the bar with both elbows, that Wildman gleam in his eyes and a big grin on his face. “Oh boy..” I thought.

Mike is sitting to my left and talking with one of the guys he worked with and I’m staring straight ahead at the distant wall. The next thing I know the stripper screams and I look to the right to see Steve right at the tail end of something that I’d never seen before. As she was shuffling away I could see this large shiny streak of saliva running up the crack of her ass and Steve was cackling with that killer laugh he had. As the stripper bent over in front of him, Steve related to us later, he licked her from somewhere in the vicinity of the taint all the way up to somewhere close to her tail bone.

The stripper chick was also moonlighting as a biker chick and guess who was playing pool on the other side of the titty bar? Yup, the boyfriend and members of the motorcycle gang he was with. Back then; bikers weren’t stockbrokers or even guys who made a good living doing general contracting construction work. Back then, bikers were rough bastards who used to slit people open with knives and date strippers. We were in deep shit.

Long story short, we escaped with a few minor pushes and shoves and only a punch or two thrown by the bikers. Steve had given us a brush with death all because he thought it would be great fun to lick a cross-eyed stripper’s ass crack. I miss crazy ass Steve and often wonder what became of him through the years.

The second trip to a titty bar came a year or so after Dave Attel had a show on Comedy Central where every week he would traipse around a different city, showing what happens there at 3AM. He had visited Atlanta and showed the world the joys of the Clermont Lounge down on Ponce. Mike was visiting and he simply had to see the bar where the bartender crushed beer cans with her tits and see the mother and daughter strippers. This time we got out without danger of being shiv’d by a biker but middle age had robbed us of much of the rambunctiousness of our Navy days. Still, it was an experience to be had.

With the stories out of the way let me say that while I don’t think those types of clubs return something worthwhile to the community, I certainly will back up anyone’s choice to own, visit or work in one. It’s all about freedom of choice and letting people make their own decisions in life. Hey, if you can find no inner light, no sense of self-realization or sense of human decency from our existence in this temporary and ethereal realm, go for it and enjoy Tammy on the center stage. Besides, it’s only a fucked up rationalization of human sexuality and lack of love for themselves or their fellow man that drives people to such places. It’s not like they are doing something that destroys communities and lives, like selling heroin to 8 year-olds or becoming a politician.

So, Eldrin fuckin’ Bell is at the palatial estate of this titty bar mogul on Saturday and he fucks his thumb up while shooting a gun. Let’s go a few layers deeper here. While I have never been to a party thrown at the palace of a titty bar empire owner, I do expect there would be several things I could count on if I did:
1) There will be lots of expensive booze to drink for free. (Or maybe it’s rotgut placed into Top Shelf bottles?)
2) Got Cohibas? Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.
3) Like easy women with big fake boobs? Plenty of those too.
4) If I’m someone who the titty bar owner wants to curry favor with, or show appreciation for, I can expect to have wild and naughty sex with a (several?) of his employee(s). i.e…the girls who show their titties.

Look, I’m not saying it’s cool, I’m just saying that if I’m supporting and backing a titty bar owner in a county where the sheriff is 100% against this guy’s business and that sheriff is my enemy…Well…I’d be expecting his employees (the strippers) to provide me with some lovin’ I can’t get at home…if you know what I mean.

You can say I’m a bad person for saying that but hey, I’m not in that position and I am not looking for that and I am not condoning it. I’m only telling you how these sort of things sometimes work out in the real world. No one in their right mind backs a titty bar owning scumbag, lowlife bottom-feeder unless they are getting SOMETHING in return, even if said titty bar looser is an enemy of your enemy. It may be illegal to offer or take a money bribe but if your bread and butter is the exploitation of women, you don’t even need to worry about the dreaded “B” word. Just send the more impressionable and easy of the girls over to give away a free blowjob and you are all set.

I’m not saying Eldrin fuckin’ Bell is getting stripper blowjobs for his support of the low life strip club vermin. What I’m saying is if he’s at a 4th of July party, that is invitation only for the mucky-mucks, with all those young and sexually free women around and free booze is flowing like the river Jordan….what in the fucking hell is Eldrin doing wasting his time shooting fucking guns for fun? Seriously, is Bell into some sort of weirdo power trip thing where the only way he can pop usable wood, is after he fires off some rounds at the shooting range? Why isn’t he in some hidden bedroom, getting really funky stripper sex while guzzling straight from the Chivas bottle?

Man, Eldrin. Go back to making seriously fucked up analogies of George Orwell’s novel and fucking with the public’s expectations of privacy and stay away from the titty bar gun range. Use your thumb for more useful purposes like resting inside your rectum.

Item #1 on the Sonny-Do list -- Pray that the Razorbacks whup the Vols.

For years I thought we Georgians would never see a Governor as lazy as Joe Frank Harris. Governor Harris, while intending to do good things, couldn’t have gotten less done during his tenure in office even if he had slept 23 hours a day. Yes, his education reforms were positive at the time and we have the Georgia Dome, but that’s about it for Governor Harris’ legacy. Now we have a real malingerer residing in the Governor’s Mansion. Sonny Purdue’s mastery of laziness is so powerful that when I recently drove down West Paces Ferry Road, I had to pull into the shopping center at the intersection of Northside Drive and take a nap. It's as though simple geographic proximity to the Governor will induce a deep state of lazy bones.

Other than trying to sue the living shit out of the Army Corp of Engineers and giving us an idea of how high the IQ’s of the Governor’s of Alabama and Florida really are when compared to his, Sonny has done little more of late than schlump his way through a prayer vigil for rain. Instead of action and leadership, Sonny will bow his head and pray for rain. I guess it’s easier for him to ask God for rain than it is for him to lead the state through this crisis. Now don’t get me wrong, I may be a member of the Church of No Permanent Abode but I do have faith and I am not mocking prayer or believers. The thought of our Governor wasting his time in a glad-handing public display rather than addressing the problem and making hard choices is just too ripe for me to pass up.

If we get a big gulley washer and the reservoirs all over the southeast fill to the brim, does this mean Sonny has favored son status with the Almighty? If that is the case, why did Sonny wait so long before he prayed for rain? If the prayer thing backfires and the drought worsens, does this mean Sonny is on God’s bad side? Should the Governor pray for something more attainable? For instance, how about a loss by Tennessee this weekend and a UGA win over Auburn? Can he get more mileage by praying that McKay and Blank can shore up the offensive line?

I’ll be praying today. I won’t be praying for rain, I’ll be praying that these stupid elected officials like Sonny Perdue don’t flush the damn toilet that this country is sitting in. I’ll pray to see a PSA on TV, with a brown and sun scorched lawn in front of the Governor’s Mansion and our bald headed, chubby boy named Sonny telling all Georgians that we have to rethink how we use this finite and precious resource known as water. I’ll pray that Bonaire’s favorite son will not embarrass us more than he already has.

Why do mollusks hate our freedoms?

Par for the course, the 100-year drought and looming water catastrophe for the metropolitan Atlanta area, is turning into a political mud fling (no pun intended). They did this and they did that, they said this and they said that. That’s the cream that is rising to the top. Meanwhile, Lake Lanier is dropping 1.7 inches per day. Rains are forecast for tonight, Thursday and Friday so we shall see if a drop of cool water will fall on us.

All day I face the barren waste without the taste of water,
Cool water.
Old Dan and I with throats burned dry and souls that cry for water,
Cool water.

Sons of the Pioneers, Cool Water, verse 1

This problem has been brewing for years, long before I was born and possibly before you were born. The problem can be read about in James Dickey’s novel Deliverance, it can be seen in the distinct shift in Georgia politics since the flawed Governorship of Joe Frank Harris and it can be told when you talk with a person who lives in Georgia regardless of what town or city they live in regardless if they are native or transplant. The problem, to be blunt, is hatred, hurt feelings and selfishness. We are all to blame, native Georgian and Yankee transplant living in Buckhead. All of us are to blame and no one wants to tell the truth about it. I am to blame as well as I have been apathetic to the fights even though I do not waste water.

The story should really start back in the post-war days of the mid and late 1940’s. The south as a whole was still in the process of coping with being an agrarian society that was converting to an industrialized society. The major cities of the south such as Atlanta, Birmingham, New Orleans, were all growing and basic resources were needed. Birmingham, along with Chattanooga, were the great industrial cities of the south, with steel being king. TVA was creating electricity for every type of manufacturing plant you can think of, and the horrendous flooding of the Tennessee River was a long ago trouble that only your Granny remembered well. Atlanta and New Orleans at one time fought backroom deals and pulled every old boy that could be found into the network to get the Federal Reserve Bank. Atlanta eventually won and got the bank but the bad feelings from the fight are still felt.

The night are cool and I'm a fool each stars a pool of water,
Cool water.
But with the dawn I'll wake and yawn and carry on to water,
Cool water.

Sons of the Pioneers, Cool Water, verse 2

Atlanta’s future growth was tied to two things, water and electricity. Atlanta was out of the TVA grid so Georgia Power was tasked with ramping up projects to make more electricity. Water could be provided through a reservoir system, which could also have the side benefits of creating hydroelectric power and provide a new middle-class with recreational facilities. Land was surveyed, families were chased away and before the 60’s arrived, Atlanta had a reliable water supply and power generating capabilities that would last for decades of growth before new plants needed to come online.

Quite literally, Atlanta had positioned itself as a city with growing room. The city had the utilities in place to support the massive population of today long before it even had a million residents or before the Interstate Highway System had snaked it’s way through the city. City leaders, businessmen and politicians recognized this early on and the big push was on. The catchy slogan came out, Southern Bell ran more and more wire out into what was then known as the suburbs and under the gold dome of the state capitol more and more funds were shipped to the metropolitan Atlanta area for projects tied to economic growth.

Keep a movin' Dan, don't you listen to him Dan,
he's a devil not a manand he spreads the burnin' sand with water.
Dan can't you see that big green tree where the waters runnin' freeand it's waiting there for me and you.
Water, cool water.

Sons of the Pioneers, Cool Water, chorus

The construction of the I-285 perimeter roadway is the embodiment of what Georgians have felt for generations. There are two Georgia’s, one in the city of Atlanta (Inside the Perimeter, or ITP for short) and one that comprises the rest of the state (Outside the Perimeter, or OTP for short). Old festering grudges have built up over the years. It has been “our way vs. their way” on both sides of 285 for a very long time and the resentment for a long line of real or believed slights has deepened.

In the meantime growth in Atlanta has skyrocketed beyond what anyone had envisioned. The city’s infrastructure is unable to handle the load. In some areas such as the storm water and sewerage systems, the advanced age and condition has been known about for decades but has only been addressed in recent years but is still not fixed. The land use issues have escalated between landowners and local/state regulators. The claims of overbearing laws and regulations are shouted whenever a developer is not allowed to completely cover acres of land or a homeowner is fined for cutting down trees. When real estate developers are told they cannot create massive infill housing in older, established neighborhoods they claim interference from government bureaucracy.

Whenever the serious problems have been discussed and brought out into the open the old and tired chants were given once the cost of fixing the problems was told. "We are taxed to death! We can't keep paying OUR hard earned cash to keep that city afloat." "Why should Georgians pay for Atlanta's luxuries. If they need to fix their system, let them pay for it." "Why should I not have control over my own future and give Atlanta the control over my business, my residential area and my zoning laws?" "No wonder Atlanta has so many problems, it's run by nothing but blacks. Whites moved out to the suburbs in the 60's and 70's and those cities are growing nicely." Yes, we have heard it all and they have said it all. It's the same old excuses, the same old stories and the same old lines they have been saying for more than 5 decades.

The shadows sway and seem to say tonight we pray for water,
Cool water.
And way up there He'll hear our prayer and show us where there's water,
Cool Water.

Sons of the Pioneers, Cool Water, verse 3

Our massive over-development has reduced the amount of land able to absorb rainwater and our water table is not being replenished as a result. The over development is not centralized in Atlanta it covers the whole state. Storm run off is increased and is funneled into the Chattahoochee with pollutants such as oil, fertilizer and pesticides. No water restrictions were put into place until the crisis loomed. There has never been a water conservation and awareness program in the state and no tax incentives are given to home and business owners who do conserve this precious resource.

Now, a triple whammy has hit us. We are in the midst of a 100-year drought and predictions of a drier than normal winter lies ahead. Our growth has taxed the capabilities of Lake Lanier to supply us. The last hurdle is two species of mollusks, which inhabit the down river areas of the Chattahoochee before it dumps into the Gulf of Mexico. The Army Corp of Engineers is bound by federal law and federal mandate to supply enough water from Lake Lanier to maintain the species with a specific flow of water every day. Now we have the chants that little old ladies will go without water all because of a couple of stupid muscles down in Florida.

Dan's feet are sore he's yearning for just one thing more than water,
Cool water.
Like me, I guess, he'd like to rest where there's no quest for water,
Cool water.

Sons of the Pioneers, Cool Water, final verse

So here we are. Living through an event we have no control over, the drought; and living under conditions of our own making, a water crisis. The muscles in Florida are endangered in part because of the low water conditions created by Lake Lanier’s construction and other water grabs along the path of the Chattahoochee River. Lake Lanier was constructed to control flooding, create a water reservoir and generate electricity. The people came to the area Lake Lanier supports with no strings attached and they have overloaded the system. Now that a real emergency is just around the corner whom do we blame? The muscles.

Why do mollusks hate our freedoms? I need a drink of cool water.

Sembler Co., DeKalb County and the billion dollar disco ball.

Did I ever mention to you that I hate developers, more to the point Atlanta developers, with a passion? I also hate the infill folks and the “urban pioneers” who completely erase the historical legacies of the neighborhoods that they feel they are gracing with their presence, bad taste and bad manners. Cabbagetown is a shell of what it once was, the Oakhurst district is threatened and the newest threat to the way things are is the Sembler Co. looking to redevelop the North Druid Hills Road area just south of I-85.

Sembler has given us a new wrinkle to this mad money grab in the area of the traffic problems. If you have ever driven through that area at rush hour you know how it goes, for those not familiar with what happens here is the 411. If you are heading south on North Druid Hills Road, heading in the direction of North DeKalb Mall, on the worst day traffic will back up at Buford Highway. It’s a stop and go crawl all the way down to the Target Super Store across the street from the school. Traffic will thin out a little until you reach LaVista, where it’s stop and go all the way down to Clairmont. I have no idea how bad it stays past Clairmont but I am assuming it does follow a similar routine all the way down to the mall and Stone Mountain Parkway.

So, what is Sembler’s plan to relieve the already growing congestion to make room for the thousands of cars that will be added because of their billion-dollar project? They want to send the “regional” traffic (folks not stopping at their shrine to greed) underground. Yes, they want to make the rest of us mole people. There is a problem though. Have these knuckleheads ever seen the folks merge from the 85 exit onto N. Druid Hills? Have they ever seen people trying to scoot across 3 lanes of traffic to get onto Briarcliff? They expect us to believe their redesign of the roads will take that into account? Bullshit, I say.

What do they have planned for the “local traffic”, which would be those wanting to stop off at their greed shrine or at the Chik-Fil-A or the Target or Picadilly? Well let’s just throw a roundabout in the mix. These waterheads are convinced that a roundabout will solve all the traffic woes. Have those folks ever driven through a roundabout in America at a heavy traffic intersection? The fuckers don’t work in any way except to keep the auto body shops in business fixing sideswiping idiots.

A Sembler style project can work and be a benefit to the community if it is in the right place. Atlantic Station, for example, did a service to the community by cleaning up an abandoned industrial site and expanded an already expanding Midtown district. The area that Sembler wants to redevelop doesn’t need redevelopment. We need a better traffic plan but the answer isn’t building a billion dollar mixed-use development.

That area has numerous offices, thriving businesses and residential areas. I don’t see Loehman’s Plaza hurting. I don’t see the Picadilly, my favorite one in the Atlanta area, having trouble filling seats on any day or night. Guitar Center is PACKED on any given day. The Chik-Fil-A always has customers. The Target even expanded a few years back because the business is good. There is always a long line of cars at the QT waiting to fill up on their gas.

So, why does Sembler NEED to “redevelop” this area? It’s not needed, it’s unnecessary and it will make a horrible mess of an already congested area. Why does Sembler NEED to redevelop? Simple answer. They aren’t satisfied with just having a shitload of money, they want a king hell shitload of money. A billion dollar investment is one hell of a risk to take, especially in this economic downturn, and if they are willing to risk it they must have studies and reports sitting in their offices that show they can make a killing by doing a quick fuck job on the citizens of DeKalb County.

If you think this redevelopment plan is a good idea I think you need to talk with the folks who have seen how the Perimeter Center development has adversely affected the folks who live and work around that area. If you aren’t convinced you need to also ask yourself what is going to happen if this plan goes through and all the warnings you have been given come true. How would it even be possible to repair the sort of damage they want to do? How is DeKalb County going to pay for the upkeep of those tunnels they want to build?

If you think it’s a good idea, WHY do you think it’s a good idea? Is it because you want new places to shop? Go to Buckhead and shop, its only 15 minutes further away. Is it because you want the development to increase your property values? If your property values are so strongly tied to local commercial investments you should have moved your happy ass to Buckhead or Midtown and NOT the bedroom communities that surround this area. Is it simply because your easily distracted by shinny things? If that’s the case buy a disco ball and stare at it all you want.

Even Satan hates developers and McMansion dwellers

Greased palms keep the gears of capitalism turning and all of us know that. To think otherwise, that big political donations don’t have a positive effect for the givers of such contributions, is foolish, deceitful and naive. Does big business give money away to politicians as though they were charity, just to be nice? No, they do not. Do they do it simply because they “like” someone’s political stance? No, they do not. They do it to buy favor even if favors are not explicitly promised since such a promise would make the contribution a bribe and illegal.

We rarely get to see this process exposed to the light of day. Even with campaign laws written so that we can search for political contributions, sometimes online, we rarely look to see who is giving money to whom. I fall into that category as well, and when I have searched I mostly do not recognize the names of the contributors. Occasionally our media will expose some of this and we are left to consider the ramifications. Today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a story that lays out how a major developer is greasing the palms of DeKalb county officials to get what they want.

I cannot say these county officials have taken bribes by the developer, but I can say that this smells fishy and the appearance of improper conditions for campaign contributions are the first thing I think of. Can they really maintain integrity and an unbiased view when they vote for this thing? I can’t say that the developer has given them bribes, but I will say that it certainly smells fishy to me that a Florida based developer, who is facing a major downturn in the Florida real estate market, would donate thousands upon thousands of dollars to county officials in DeKalb County, Georgia; who just happen to hold the yes or no vote on a project that will make millions for them and contribute nothing positive to the quality of life in the area they wish to redevelop. It will in fact turn an already busy and thriving area, which suffers from horrible traffic gridlock, into an even larger traffic nightmare and it will destroy and transform yet another former suburban district into the new Mecca for the greedy and tasteless of Atlanta.

The North Druid Hills corridor that they wish to redevelop is an area I am highly familiar with, in fact I will be moving back to Decatur in a few weeks, away from the worst mistake I ever made which was moving to Sandy Springs in 2002. I will in fact be living on North Druid Hills Road, and their project will indeed effect me. I am intimately familiar with the area targeted for redevelopment and I already have a major experience dealing with a similar development to which is planned by the Sembler Co.

I live a little more than a mile from the Perimeter Place development in Dunwoody and that development has totally fucked the area in terms of traffic and quality of life. Before that development was begun, driving through the connector roads that slice across the northern side of Perimeter was the perfect means of getting around the plug of traffic associated with the mall and the many office towers that are clustered in the area. Now the area is hopelessly plugged with traffic, the task of running errands is useless, as the development has created a third bottleneck for the flow of traffic. The other bottlenecks are the location and heavy traffic of Perimeter Mall and the layout of the cross connecting roads themselves as they were designed in an “S” shape for their entire length and not as straight thoroughfares.

The Perimeter Place development will be nothing when compared to the monstrosity that is planned for the area between I-85 and Briarcliff on North Druid Hills Road. The Sembler development will destroy affordable housing in the form of apartments on Briarcliff. Affordably priced apartments within a few mile radius of the development will suddenly become “fashionable” and the average working man and woman will have to move to yet another affordable apartment complex. The neighborhoods of the area, which have been shattered by the trashy infill buyers and developers will finally be ruined as the last of the greedy with no tastes will want to scoop up the remaining ranch house properties to make them McMansion hell.

Sembler will in effect, destroy the final vestiges of a neighborhood and a district all for their profit. The average citizen is being chased away by greedy and tasteless fucks who have a shitload of money and absolutely no common sense, human decency or good taste. Sembler is not interested in the common good for the citizens of DeKalb County, it is not interested in the community itself and it is not interested in the long-term quality of life for the residents of DeKalb County. Sembler is only concerned with one fucking thing, making a bigger pile of cash and fuck anyone who stands in their way.

Sembler has no interest in the fair and honest workings of the local government, they do not give a shit who takes their money all they want is for those who accept their money to vote in their favor. Sembler is the epitome of what is fucking wrong in this country as whole, the greedy want more and the average citizen who is in their way gets trampled over and to ease their way through the system they give fucking cold hard cash to politicians as their means of exercising their first amendment rights.

If DeKalb County officials allow this travesty to happen, we can say without doubt that mere trinkets and baubles distracted them into selling the rest of us out; and the price was just a few grand. I wonder how easy it is for the Sembler execs to blow through the same amount of money that they have already donated to the Dekalb officials. Their monthly greens fees are probably cost more than what they slid into the pockets of these officials.

"Big Brother is helping." - Eldrin fucking Bell is still an idiot par excellence

(NOTE: For folks looking for my comments on the latest news about Big Brother's Little Helper, Eldrin fuckin' Bell; here is the link: http://theconspiratorsnest.blogspot.com/2008/07/titties-guns-and-butts-county-eldrin.html )

If this doesn’t just take the cake. Twice in one week we have seen metropolitan Atlanta officials thumbing their noses at any thought of civil liberties for its citizens. First it was the idea of controlling the masses by restricting the style of clothing a person can wear, now we have former Atlanta Chief of Police Eldrin Bell wanting to do mass background checks on it’s citizens by demanding all landlords in Clayton county turn over the lease agreements with their renters to the county.

Bell argues that an unsavory population has been dumped on Clayton County by the Atlanta Housing Authority and in an attempt to clean up the streets he wants to basically spy on every single house and apartment renter in Clayton County to see who is living there, under what conditions and report back to the landlord whether their renter has been naughty or nice. For those not from Atlanta, if you have ever traveled to the Atlanta airport, Clayton County is the area immediately south of the airport. If you could roll down the window next to your seat and chuck an empty Coke bottle, you’d be tossing it into Clayton County.

Bell’s comments on this are actually terrifying, "This is not to say Big Brother is watching," he insisted. "It says Big Brother is helping." The folks in Clayton county need to seriously address the lunatic ramblings of Bell and get his ass out of office. Don’t say you had no idea he was a nut, you all watched him on the evening news for years when he was the Atlanta Police Chief. Bell’s desire is proof positive that bastards who wield power are never satisfied until they have probed and prodded every single corner of control. There is only one distinction between dictators, are they large or are they small?

Will someone down in Clayton County please take the bottle away from the lips of Eldrin Bell, I think he is drunk enough with the power and doesn’t need more.

Hey kids, rock and roll. Nobody tells you where to go, baby.

I’m a fatality on the side of the fashion highway and I’m too damn old to want to dress like a twenty-something. The baggy pants culture has mystified me since it began, especially when baseball players began wearing their pants as though they were track pants but, to each his/her own. Now the kids have attracted the faceless bureaucrats and power mad creatures that lurk in the halls of government.

Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin has sponsored an amendment to the city’s indecency laws that will target clothing styles in which the wearer’s undergarments are exposed. Under fire would be baggy pants worn by young men and boys as well as styles favored by some young women and girls where their bra strap or the strap of their thong is exposed. Of course this amendment will get shot down for it’s extremist idea but the seed is planted. The tree expected to bear fruit is one of control over you and I and powerlessness to defend ourselves against an oppressive state.

I hate to say this but we have evil fucking rednecks all over the place that detest the baggy pants hip-hop culture styles that have found their way out to suburbia. It’s not because they don’t like the style or because they are too old to “get it” the anger and hatred is much more simple to understand. The stereotypical young, urban, and black thug epitomize this style. Don’t think for one second that we in the south have a monopoly on ignorant rednecks. Some of the biggest rednecks I ever met lived in Connecticut. Ignorance and hate know no geographical boundaries.

The point is this amendment will get support from the super radicalized extremists of both the left and the right. This leaves the other 60% to 80% of us asking ourselves what in God’s name does the city government have to do with policing the clothing we chose to wear or express ourselves with? The ultimate resting place for this amendment is in our minds. It is a reinforcement we have to subconsciously process. The government, ultimately, controls everything about you and your life and if it chooses to, it controls what you can and cannot wear.

A few years ago the City Council passed amendments to chase homeless people off the streets. They criminalized panhandling and began rounding up and shipping violators all over the metro area. Why did they do this? Complaints from the forces of downtown gentrification who were offended by the homeless asking for help. Some went as far as to say the homeless would “get pushy” sometimes. The idiocies of statements like that don’t even need to be addressed, they are self-evident.

Homeless rights advocates fought back but the groundswell was too much for them to overcome. Now, you are a criminal in Atlanta if you have no home and try to ask for money or help from folks on the street. The Atlanta Police Department will take you to jail for it. Now, a City Councilman doesn’t like the way young people dress, so he wants to amend the laws to absorb his fashion sense. What is next? If I wear a t-shirt down near the capitol that mocks our Governor’s “Sonny Do” list, will I spend nights in lockup at the Fulton County jail? If I put a bumper sticker on my car stating that Police Chief Pennington needs to go back to New Orleans, will my car be impounded and will I suddenly find myself in the backseat of a patrol car, at the mercy of the cop who is offended by my exercise of free speech?

Time and time again we have seen the rights of decent, regular Americans stomped on because they had something negative to say about their leaders. The current masters of government have turned it into an art form. To be honest, I wonder if I will ever get a visit at my front door for what I write here in this blog. We all know that all of our email, web traffic and phone calls are being monitored by the agents of our government. We are at their mercy because we allowed them to take control of our lives.

First they will tell us what we cannot do. They will tell us we cannot question authority, we cannot dress a certain way, we cannot say certain things. Once we are beaten down far enough, and live in constant fear and dread for the government targeting us for seemingly innocent “violations” of their codes, we are then ready for them to begin the real "control" phase. The final phase of control is not to tell us what we cannot do; it is the phase where our behavior is guided based on the mandates of government. Government sanctioned clothing, government-sanctioned entertainment and government sanctioned lives for its citizens.

Our Governor, the charity case

Talk about creative interpretation. The AJC is reporting today that the Ethics in Government Group has filed a complaint with the state ethics committee regarding our Governor’s donation of campaign funds to his personal PAC. The PAC, Perdue PAC, was apparently setup last month as a nonprofit entity and state laws allow a political campaign to donate leftover election funds to nonprofits, other candidates or political parties.

To the tune of over $750,000.00 our Governor is sliding funds around in a nonprofit that was setup to “push his agenda”, according to the AJC. Hmm, the Governor needs ¾ of a million dollars to push his agenda? The weight of the office itself doesn’t give the Governor a leg-up on the competition? He needs a fleet of wheelbarrows full of cold hard cash to get the job done? This is just a flagrant flaunting of power and money in the faces of Georgia citizens.

I believe I can add something to our Governor’s “Sonny do” list, how about knocking off the shit for a change, Sonny?

Which bottle do politicans suck from?

One thing you can never underestimate about politicians is their inflated sense of self and the thin skin which covers that ego. The Speaker of the House here in Georgia has come up with a doozy. In a press conference earlier this week, Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson had this to say about bloggers,

“Those dadgum blog sites. You know what I predict is going
to happen? I predict somebody’s going to sue one of those site domains for
slander, and somebody’s going to get hit with a big suit because there’s no
accountability, and they say and do things about people that are blatantly
false.

“If y’all did, you’d get sued in a New York minute ... Somebody’s going
to sue ‘em and hit ‘em with enough money ... and somebody is going to say, ‘We’d
better be careful with this.’

“We’re brazen now because people will say things ‘cause they know
there’s no accountability. There’s no reason for it. It bugs me a little. I see
‘em do it about people who’re private citizens. I accept my role as a public
official. They can say I’m bad, dumb and ugly, and truth is a
defense."

“I know everybody thinks that’s going to last a while. I don’t believe
it’ll last too much longer.”

Isn’t it funny how our employees, public servants such as politicians, get their panties in a wad over little things like the exercise of free speech by their employers, we the citizens for whom they work for? Bitching and moaning by the unwashed masses at the neighborhood Waffle Hatchi doesn’t bother them in the least but when their constituents put their beliefs online it’s a different story.

Dissent becomes slander, criticism becomes brazen behavior and accountability is only applied to non-politicians in the minds of these egotistical idiots. Grow a thicker skin, Mr. Speaker. If the Speaker want’s some cheese to go with his whine he only needs to follow the rats who fatten themselves under the gold dome downtown.

Political discourse has gone downhill, that is a fact. But it’s the behavior of politicians and their ability to work the lowest common denominator that has brought things to the point they are now. Who are our great leaders in the state of Georgia? Who is the bright boy who clears the fog and bullshit of politics to help lead this state into a brighter future? There isn’t one and we are left with the dimmest bulbs the state can offer. Dear God, if we even had a new George Busbee among us I would be thrilled. If another Sam Nunn came to power I’d be ecstatic. We are stuck with a bunch of mouth breathing parrots who make JB Stoner look like a brilliant and progressive thinker.

All we have are a bunch of spoiled brats running this state, some of whom can’t even come to town without getting a Goddamn DUI arrest on the books. Grow up, Mr. Speaker and do what’s best for the entire state of Georgia, not just what the special interests groups , who donate huge amounts of money to political parties and campaigns, want the elected officials to do for them. Maybe folks will be a bit more civil when critiquing the House when our representatives act like leaders, instead of the glad handing money grubbers we now have. Until then, you politicians are the ones who made this bed so you need to learn to lie in it. Change the sheets or go sleep on the couch if the mattress doesn’t suit your delicate sensitivities.

Profile of the sociopath

I got an email in the overnight hours last night, from someone who thinks I'm going to an extreme by describing certain politicians, namely our President and the Governor of Georgia, as sociopaths. The email's author said they believe I do more harm than good to my arguments by taking such an extremist and insulting position, and anyhow, if I'm not a psychologist I'm making nothing more than armchair calls.

This was an easy email to answer but I think the author of the email has hit upon something I probably should address here on the blog because it helps to further my description of those people as sociopaths. I found a web page not too long ago that put up by someone at CalTech that lists the most common descriptions and behavior of sociopaths. Here is the link to the list, I'll paste the points made by the author below but take a good close look at these behavioral traits and honestly answer this question to yourself. How many of these traits do our leaders not display? Very, very few. In fact it's easier to list how many of these traits that they do not have.

Here goes:

Glibness and Superficial Charm

Manipulative and Conning - They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims.

Grandiose Sense of Self - Feels entitled to certain things as "their right."


Pathological Lying - Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.

Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt - A deep seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.

Shallow Emotions - When they show what seems to be warmth, joy, love and compassion it is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. Since they are not genuine, neither are their promises.


Incapacity for Love

Need for Stimulation - Living on the edge. Verbal outbursts and physical punishments are normal. Promiscuity and gambling are common.


Callousness/Lack of Empathy - Unable to empathize with the pain of their victims, having only contempt for others' feelings of distress and readily taking advantage of them.

Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature - Rage and abuse, alternating with small expressions of love and approval produce an addictive cycle for abuser and abused, as well as creating hopelessness in the victim. Believe they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for their impact on others.


Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency - Usually has a history of behavioral and academic difficulties, yet "gets by" by conning others. Problems in making and keeping friends; aberrant behaviors such as cruelty to people or animals, stealing, etc.

Irresponsibility/Unreliability - Not concerned about wrecking others' lives and dreams. Oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they cause. Does not accept blame themselves, but blames others, even for acts they obviously committed.


Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity - Promiscuity, child sexual abuse, rape and sexual acting out of all sorts.

Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle - Tends to move around a lot or makes all encompassing promises for the future, poor work ethic but exploits others effectively.


Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility - Changes their image as needed to avoid prosecution.
Changes life story readily.

Other Related Qualities:


Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
Authoritarian
Secretive
Paranoid
Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
Conventional appearance
Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)
Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life
Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)
Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim
Incapable of real human attachment to another
Unable to feel remorse or guilt
Extreme narcissism and grandiose
May state readily that their goal is to rule the world


It's enough to scare the hell out of you, isn't it?

Harbin speaks out - Expresses regret to the family of the utility pole he destroyed.

(photo of Rep. Harbin courtesy of the House website, I have no idea if he has a tall boy Budweiser in his hands out of frame. Anyone know what Harbin's favorite drink happens to be?)


Rep. Ben Harbin, the chairman of one of the most powerful committees in the Georgia State House, has finally issued a statement about his DUI arrest following a 1 AM car crash on Memorial Drive last Sunday morning. Excerpts from his statement with my comments accompanying them:

"Obviously, I would like to express regret over my accident on Sunday,"

Translation – Damn, I hated wrecking that car.

"I would also like to express my gratitude for the overwhelming support and
concern I've received from my family and friends."

Translation – My family and friends are now worried about my political viability and have talked with me about what in the hell I’m going to do now.

"I am thankful to God that I was not injured,"

Translation – Whew! That was a close call. What? Shouldn’t I be glad that I didn’t kill an innocent person when I wrecked? Hell no. Anyone who’s out on Memorial Drive at 1 AM on a Sunday can’t be up to something good. If I had hit ‘em, well, let’s just say my legal bills would be a bit more pricey.

"I pledge to continue my public service to my District and the people of
Georgia."

Translation – Resign from office? Are you nuts! This is one cushy job and I ‘aint givin' it up until ya’ll run me off.

Ben Harbin is an excellent driver

(For more commentary on the Harbin DUI story, click here to read my other posts about Georgia Politics - The Conspiracy Theory Blogger)

If the folks in Augusta aren’t already wondering what in the world their state representative was doing on Memorial Drive at 1 AM on a Sunday morning, with a buzz on and a wrecked car, I’ll wonder about it for them. For a state representative spending what appears to have been a weekend in Atlanta, Memorial Drive isn’t the first place I would think of him hanging out, in fact it's probably on the list of the last 5 places on earth that I would expect him to be. But, apparently that’s where he really wanted to be and that’s where he wrecked his car, leading to a DUI arrest. I’ll at least give the man some credit, a witness who was quoted in the AJC about the accident said this of Rep. Harbin,

“Shortly after the crash, Robby Russ, a waiter at the Standard Food & Spirits, heard what he said sounded like a boom and looked out through the large window of the bar to see a utility pole "crooked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa."

Russ, 41, said he ran out to help. He said Harbin was coherent and without any visible signs of injuries. He wasn't in "bad shape on the intoxication level," said Russ, who has been tending bars for 18 years.

"I know he's been charged with DUI, and I know he's an important guy. But he wasn't wasted," he said. "He wasn't slurring his speech or falling over his face. He composed himself very well."


There you have it. A professional expert on drunken behavior gave the man two thumbs up for not acting wasted and that should account for something. Right? So, for all you folks down in Augusta who are worried and maybe upset at this little incident, be proud that Rep. Ben Harbin at least looks like he can hold his liquor. He may not be able to drive while he's loaded but he at least looks good with a snoot full. That should be worth some credit. It carries a lot of weight in my book.

Two politicians walk into a bar...

I often joke with my family that they should never be too disappointed with the black sheep status that I hold by telling them, “Things could be much worse. Imagine if I were a politician. Why, you’d never again be able to walk into the Piggly Wiggly with your head held high.” My favorite politician joke that I tell to close friends is, “What’s the difference between a politician and a prostitute? The Politician is the only one who enjoys the fucking that they are giving.”

What brings these things to mind this morning is a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution regarding the amount of money given to our illustrious Governor, Sonny Purdue, for his second inaugural ball. AT&T gave him $200,000 and two of our state utility companies gave him a combined $75,000. All of this so a bunch of politicians and businessmen could dress up, get a little drunk, eat fancy food, dance like the white folks they are, and, of course, cut deals.

While it’s legal to do it, it still frustrates me because we all know why they give and spend so much money for fat, balding sociopaths. It makes me wish that my job worked in a similar manner. Imagine if your job held all of the benefits and nuances that are found in the life of a Governor or a Senator.

If that were the case I would work three days a week and I wouldn’t be at the office 52 weeks a year. The customers of the company I work for would give me millions of dollars every year, just to ensure that I keep my job. I’d book first class seats to exotic and beautiful places all over the world to my employer’s bill and call them “fact-finding missions”. If I didn’t want to mingle with the unwashed masses in first class, I’d borrow a company jet from one of my contributors. I’d play the links at Augusta, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews every year.

I’d return the favor, of course. The company clients would get sweet deals on the services we offer and I may even let them write some of the companies policies for employees. I’d let them have full access to our internal network and see all of our files, data and maybe even the data we have for other clients we have. They would get what they want and I’d get my beak wet, as Don Fanucci would say.

Yes, I can definitely see the allure of being a politician. Hmmm..I wonder how important it really is for my Mother to shop at the Piggly Wiggly with her head held high?

News - Stacking the deck

Here is an interesting little news tidbit from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Faced with a funding shortfall, the state's public defender agency has
eliminated 41 full-time jobs — about a 12 percent reduction in its workforce.
Among those losing their jobs are 14 lawyers across Georgia. The layoffs are
expected to increase the caseloads of the remaining defenders. The statewide
system was created in 2003 to replace underfunded county-run programs that
provided legal representation for indigent defendants in criminal cases.
Lawsuits alleging constitutional violations were filed against a number of
county systems before the statewide system was established. Registration
(free) is required to read the rest
of the article.

I'm sure you have read various articles or heard news reports on the ever-skyrocketing rates of incarceration in this country. Here in Georgia we are faced with an ever growing prison population and an attitude that every citizen is simply a criminal waiting to be caught. Based on 2004 numbers provided by the Department of Justice, Georgia has a higher crime rate, prison population, incarceration rate, number of people on probation and parolees than the national average. We are also paying less per capita for prison expenses than the national average. And yet there are still constant demands to cut the cost of maintaining the prison system while there are still more new laws being passed and the ever present "get tougher on crime!" screams are heard daily. What the hell is wrong with us?

What we need in Georgia, and a lot of other states, is to get more people like Loretta Nall from Alabama involved in the political process in their states. Nall, who parlayed an overzealous pot bust into a serious run for the state gubernatorial seat last year, has stayed active in educating her fellow state residents in the fallacies and faults in their state's criminal justice system. Nall is bringing the common sense of the common man and woman to a higher level of recognition in her state, much to the chagrin of the front line elite of Alabama politics.

With this new round of budget cuts to Georgia Public Defenders office, what we see is the state attempting to stack the deck even more against the poor and defenseless among it's citizens to ensure that the prisons are stocked with fresh new faces. Georgians will only realize the false safety and failure to properly govern in this manner once one of our own can come to the forefront and stick the truths of this matter back into our faces.

Commentary - Think it's hard following national politics?

Even Eugene Talmadge would shake his head at this mess.

If you think it's hard following National politics try following local politics, especially in Georgia. Earlier this year the state Democratic Party brought forward a complaint to the State Ethics Committee against the Speaker of the State House regarding what has been described as an "improper" and "personal" relationship between the Speaker of the House and a lobbyist for the Atlanta Gas Light Company (AGL). At the time of the relationship, the Speaker co-sponsored a bill that was to have financed a $300 million dollar pipeline for the company. I may be a paranoid "Joe Six Pack" but even I know this is wrong and there is no amount of rationalization in the world to make it right.

What became of the investigation? Dismissed by the Ethics Committee, half of whom were appointed by the Speaker. Nice catch, Richardson, and a tip of the hat to the 12 members of the "Ethics Committee" who let this get swept aside. You folks are really representing your constituents well and you sure are making an effort to "earn" your keep. All sarcasm aside, we need to send a truckload of hand baskets from Atlanta to Helen, because that's where this state is going.

insideradvantagegeorgia.com, a political clearinghouse for Georgia political stories ran a poll regarding the Speaker's ethics problem and the results are pretty sad. 71% of the poll respondents didn't know or were not aware that there was even an ethics complaint against their own Speaker. Our mainstream news sources here in Georgia are no different than the Big 5 of the nation who blabber away about nothing, real stories that have an impact are pushed aside for fluff and distractions while the real news, the events that effect all of us get a fraction of the time spent discussing whether or not Mr. Mexico gets high at the dog fights or not.

In light of this I have to say that it's a shame that Ralph Reed didn't win the Lt. Governor seat. A Bible waving crook with no moral compass always knows his way around the gold dome. He would have been a better fit for the Georgia legislature.