Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 5A
ForsythOpinion
Message
received?
Don’t look now, but I think
you're beginning to have
some impact on the issue of
unlimited lobbying expendi
tures in the legislature.
Our politicians seem none
too happy about having to
derail their gravy train. They
have tried to ignore you (and
me) or, when necessary,
explain to us in the most con
descending manner the fact
that just because they get to
take expense-paid trips to
fancy resorts (or Germany) or
get free meals whenever they
want or sit in private boxes at
sporting events that you and I
could never hope to see cour
tesy of lizard-loafered lobby
ists, none of this has any
influence on the decisions
they make.
Do they think we are that
dumb? Of course, these perks
influence the legislators’
decisions. Why else would
lizard-loafered lobbyists
spend the money on them?
Despite their high-minded
protestations, we are begin
ning to see some cracks in the
ice. Newly-minted Sen.
President Pro Tem David
Shafer, R-Duluth, introduced
Senate rules right off the bat
to limit gifts to slooto
“appropfiatel)%?fig: con
cerns about lobbyis! E
The new rule—lafligs of
holes in it. For instance, lob
byists can give multiple gifts
that are SIOO or less and still
pay for travel and a number
of other expenses. '
Granted, this is not a giant
leap for mankind, but it is one
small step in the right direction.
The new majority leader, Sen.
Ronnie Chance, R-Tyrone,
said, ‘“We have listened not
only to our colleagues, but also
the citizens of Georgia.”
Without your hell-raising,
I’'m not sure even this much
would have happened,
although his staff reminded
me that Sen. Shafer had co
sponsored legislation in 2004
to limit gifts.
It will be interesting to see
what transpires in the House.
Speaker David Ralston,
R-Blue Ridge, has been sum
marily dismissing your con
cerns on burping-and-slurp
ing at the lobbyists’ trough by
suggesting we go to the
Georgia Government
Transparency and (exhale)
Campaign Finance
Commission to see for our
selves what lizard-loafered
lobbyists spend on him and
his colleagues.
Despite being an extraordi
narily unfriendly Web site to
maneuver, | took the speaker
up on his offer and began
reporting to you the details of
his highlife, coj/;‘sy of liz
ard-loafered)pbl) ists, includ
YOUR E\IeCTED OFFICIALS
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor H. Ford Gravitt, PO. Box
3177, Cumming, GA 30028; (770)
887-4342
Ralph Perry, 1420 Pilgrim Road,
Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-7474
Rupert Sexton, 211 Hickory Oak
Hollow, Cumming, GA 30040; (770)
844-7929
Mayor Pro-Tem Quincy Holton,
103 Hickory Ridge Drive, Cumming,
GA 30040; (770) 887-5279
Lewis Ledbetter, 205 Mountain
Brook Drive, Cumming, GA 30040;
(770) 887-3019
John Pugh, 108 13th St.,
Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-
3342
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Chairman R.J. (Pete) Amos, Post
1, 110 E. Main St., Cumming, GA
30040; (678) 513-5881; riamos @for
sythco.com
Secretary Brian Tam, Post 2, 4410
Dorset Lane, Suwanee, GA 30024;
(404) 392-6983; office, (678) 513-
5882; brtam @forsythco.com
:e--s ! y T L A
e
' v ‘
o J
DICK YARBROUGH
Columnist
ing trips, ball games, dinners,
neckties and baked cakes. For
reasons | can’t explain —the
speaker doesn’t talk to me
much (insert joke here) — his
burping and slurping stopped
suddenly in August. Go fig
ure.
Ralston says he plans to
introduce legislation that
would include a complete ban
on items given by lobbyists
and to broaden the definition
of a lobbyist. He told one
newspaper, “We've got a lot of
people running around this
Capitol that should be regis
tered lobbyists wearing badges
because they’re advocating for
one side of an issue or another,
and they’re not registered.”
Veteran political observer
Don McKee asks a fair ques
tion: “Is the speaker going
after unpaid volunteers from
your neighborhood exercising
their constitutional right to
speak their minds to their
elected legislators? Reading
between the lines, it sounds
suspiciously like Ralston may
take the approach that if voters
want to limit lobbyist gifts to
legislators, then he will define
anybody advocating for any
thing or against anything at the
Capitol as a lobbyist.”
/It sounds like petulance to.
jme. In fact, Ralston blames a
lot of the problem on the ] /
“‘media elite.” Oh, barf. p
/E\Vé'n Gov. Nathan Deal got
: }Lmto‘the act. In an otherwise
éxemplary State of the State
address, he veered off into the
lobbying issue by intoning
“there will always be those in
the media and elsewhere who
thrive on sowing the seeds of
doubt and distrust and who
will never recant their sinister
innuendos and malicious
accusations even when they
are vanquished by truth.”
Barf again.
Our intrepid public servants
are having a hard time accept
ing the fact that you want the
current situation regarding
unlimited gifts to legislators
by lizard-loafered lobbyists
changed and there is nothing
they can do but accede to
your wishes or get booted out
of office.
As a member of the elite
media sowing seeds of doubt
and distrust, I am happy to be
on your team.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough
at yarb24oo@bellsouth.net or
P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, GA
31139.
Todd Levent, Post 3,
110 E. Main St., Cumming, GA
30040; (678) 513-5883; tlevent@for
sythco.com
Cindy Mills, Post 4, 110 E. Main
St., Cumming, GA 30040; (678) 513
5884; cjmills@forsythco.com
Vice Chairman Jim Boss, Post 5,
110 E. Main St., Cumming, GA
30040; (678) 513-5885; jiboff@for
sythco.com
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Ann Crow, District 1, 320
Dahlonega St., Cumming, GA
30040; (770) 490-6316; acrow @for
syth.kl2.ga.us
Kristin Morrissey, District 2, 3310
Cany Creek Lane, Cumming, GA
30041; (404) 550-3083; kmorrissey @
forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Chairman Tom Cleveland, District
3, 5225 Millsford Court, Cumming,
GA 30040; (770) 844-9901; tcleve
land@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Vice Chairwoman Darla Sexton
Light, District 4, 50080 Hopewell
Road, Cumming, GA 30028; (770)
887-0678; dlight@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
,7 ‘w . ‘
=N~
— ‘2
! & =
L— T s
o S || s¥y
What to love about Obama
As President Barack Obama’s
second term commences, |
thought I'd write about the
things I liked in his first term. .
Here are five:
1) Obama is a great role
model ... and not simply as a
black American who broke
racial barriers. Obama is a
strong role model for the adult
male: a husband who cherishes
his wife, a father who nurtures
his daughters. Obama has shown
the country how a youthful yet
mature man takes care of his
family.
2) Obama authorized the mis
sion that brought Osama bin
- Laden to justice.
* 3) Obama signed the Fair
“Sentencing Act, which reduced
N the infamous 100-1 disparity —
{ th¢/federal mandatory minimum
7 sgtence for 5 grams of crack
/1-QbCtaine was the same as the sen
+Sténce for 500 grams of powder
cocaine — to 18-1.
, To some purists, the law
didn’t go far enough. The 18-1
disparity falls too heavily on
blacks, who represented 82.7
percent of crack convictions in
2007, whereas whites and
Latinos represented 71.4 percent
of powder cocaine offenders.
But the measure also ended a
mandatory minimum sentence
for crack possession, and that
represented the first time
Washington had terminated a
mandatory minimum sentence!
since Richard Nixon was presi
dent.
Letter policy
The Forsyth County News welcomes your
opinions on issues of public concern. Letters
must be signed and include full address and a
daytime and evening phone number for verifi
cation. Names and hometowns of letter writ
ers will be included for publication without
exception. Telephone numbers will not be pub
lished.
Letters should be limited to 350 words and
may be edited or condensed. The same writer
or group may only submit one letter per month
Nancy Roche, District 5, 7840
Chestnut Hill Road, Cumming, GA
30041; (770) 889-0229; nroche @for:-
syth.kl2.ga.us
NATIONAL LEGISLATORS
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, 120
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510; (202) 224-
3643 or (770) 661-0999
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, 416
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510; (202) 224-
3521 or (770) 763-9090
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, 9th
District; 513 Cannon House Office
Building, Washington, D.C., 20515;
(202) 225-9893; fax, (770) 297-3390
U.S. Rep. Rob Woodalli, 7th
District; 1725 Longworth House
Office Building, Washington, D.C.,
20515; (770) 232-3005; (202) 225-
4272; fax, (202) 225-4696
STATE LEGISLATORS
Sen. Steve Gooch, 51st District,
Suite 421-C, State Capitol, Atlanta,
This is a page of opinion — ours, yours and
others. Signed columns and cartoons are the
opinions of the writers and artists, and they
may not reflect our views.
W
]
DEBRA SAUNDERS
Columnist
4) Obama stepped up the
Secure Communities program,
which allows U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement to
cross-check fingerprints from
local law enforcement. Thus,
though the administration
deported close to 400,000 illegal
immigrants annually, ICE was
able to focus on individuals con
victed of crimes.
5) As a candidate, Obama
pledged to close the detention
facility at Guantanamo Bay. In
2009, the president signed an
executive order to close
Guantanamo; after bipartisan
congressional opposition in
2011, Obama signed an execu
tive order to keep it running.
PolitiFact rates Obama’s
Guantanamo pledge as a “prom
ise broken.”
But that’s OK. He’s a
Democrat. So there’s only
muted outrage from the civil
rights community.
When Obama hired Jennifer
Daskal, a former Human Rights
Watch attorney who had advo
cated closing Guantanamo, to
serve as an attorney at the
National Security Division, the
right went nuts. Keep America
for consideration.
Letters must be submitted by noon
Wednesday for Sunday publication. We do not
publish poetry or blanket letters and generally
do not publish letters concerning consumer
complaints. Unsigned or incorrectly identified
letters will be withheld.
Mail letters to the Forsyth County News, PO.
Box 210, Cumming, GA 30028, hand deliver to
302 Veterans Memorial Blvd., fax to (770) 889-
6017 or e-mail to editor@forsythnews.com.
GA 30334; (404) 656-9221
Sen. Jack Murphy, 27th District,
Coverdell Legislative Office
Building, Room 325-A, 18 Capitol
Square, Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
656-7127
Rep. Kevin Tanner, 9th District,
Coverdell Legislative Office
Building, Room 401-E, Atlanta, GA
30334; (404) 656-0152
Rep. Calvin Hill, 22nd District,
Coverdeli Legisiative Office
Building, Room 401-B, 18 Capitol
Square, Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
656-7855
Rep. Mark Hamilton, 24th District,
Suite 218, State Capitol, Atlanta, GA
30334; (404) 656-5132; local, (770)
844-6768
Rep. Mike Dudgeon, 25th District,
Coverdell Legislative Office
Building, Room 608-C, 18 Capitol
Square, Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
656-0298
Rep. Geoff Duncan, 26th District,
Coverdell Legislative Office
Building, Room 512-B, 18 Capitol
Square, Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
656-7859
Safe (the former vice president’s
daughter Liz Cheney is on its
board) warned that Daskal and
other like-minded attorneys
would turn the Department of
Justice into the “Department of
Jihad.”
Daskal moved on from the
Justice Department to
Georgetown Law. On Jan.' 11,
she wrote a piece in The New
York Times, headlined “Don’t
Close Guantanamo.” Daskal
described the prison as a “com
munal” facility where detainees
can “eat, pray and exercise
together.” Shuttering Gitmo and
transferring the remaining
detainees to federal penitentia
ries, she warned, could isolate
them.
You can say goodbye to what
Obama once called “the false
choice between our security and
our ideals.” When a Democrat is
in the White House, national
security comes first; human
rights advocates can be co-opt
ed, and drones are king. That’s a
good thing.
As John Yoo —the
University of California,
Berkeley law professor who, as
a George W. Bush administra
tion attorney, authorized the
ClA’s use of enhanced interro
gation techniques — once told
me, “I'm glad they’re hypo
crites.”
Debra Saunders is a nationally syn
dicated columnist. E-mail her at
dsaunders@sfchronicle.com.