The State Senate has twice passed bills to crack down on the already illegal “sport” of dog fighting.  The bills would increase the penalties for staging or promoting dog fights, and importantly, make it a crime to train a dog for fighting.

The author of the bill, Senator Chip Rogers, introduced the bill two years in response to a young girl from his district who was mauled by an escaped dog that had been trained for fighting.  According to Chip, this historically rural pastime has become increasingly popular in urban areas, posing a greater risk to children and others.

I supported both bills, Senate Bill 229 in 2005 and Senate Bill 16 earlier this year, but without a full appreciation of the barbaric nature of dog fighting.  The indictment of Michael Vick paints a far more gruesome portrait of the “sport” than even the website of the coalition formed to toughen Georgia’s laws.

Senate Bill 16 is now pending in the House, where its earlier incarnation died two years ago.  As best I can tell, the lack of progress has little or nothing to do with issue of dog fighting itself.  Instead, the bill gets bogged down over attempts to attach cock fighting amendments.  Cock fighting apparently has a constituency — one strong enough to bottle up a dog fighting bill if there is any risk that cock fighting could get wrapped up in it.

With all the recent publicity, I imagine that Senate Bill 16 or something like it will quickly pass when we go back in session next January.  In the meantime, professional football player Deion Sanders makes the case for dog fighting, explaining that dog fighters “love” their dogs, taking “pride” in owning the “biggest and baddest.”  He says it is wrong to begrudge Michael Vick his “passion.” 

Vick’s lawyers are not using the “passion defense.”  Vick denies knowing anything about the dog fights on his property and has pled not guilty to the charges against him.

No Comments »

Fred Thompson won the straw poll at the Fulton County Republican Barbecue on Saturday, taking 36% of the vote.  Mitt Romney, whose campaign mounted a very energetic effort on his behalf, placed second with 29%.  Rudy Guiliani came in third with 20%. 

Rounding out the poll, Gingrich received 5%.  John McCain, Ron Paul and Undecided tied at 3%, and Mike Huckabee got 1%.

I missed this great event because of a family obligation. Otherwise, Senator Thompson would have won by a slightly larger margin.

No Comments »

The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran its annual expose on lobbyist spending.   I was not mentioned in the article.  I am always at the lower end of the spending rankings, chiefly because I live in the Atlanta area and usually have dinner at home with my family.

The AJC spent almost an entire page of its dwindling print edition detailing every lobbyist expenditure made to House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, complete with a calendar showing every breakfast, luncheon and dinner for the four months of the year that the General Assembly was in session.  Of course, Jerry lives on St. Simon’s Island, and the long commute forces him to stay in rented rooms during the session.  If the State Capitol was closer to his home, I am sure he would happily eat at fewer Atlanta restaurants.

I will say that some of the reported lobbyist expenditures are misleading.  For example, my friends at the Georgia Municipal Association reported feeding me $85.94 worth of pizza for lunch one day during the session earlier this year.  I am a big guy, but I would have serious trouble eating one large pizza by myself, let alone the seven or eight that $85.94 would buy. 

In fact, the GMA bought pizzas for the secretaries and interns who work in the suite of offices I share with four other senators, and my “share” of the pizza feast apparently worked out to $85.94.  I did not have a single slice.  I ate lunch that day with Earl Rogers of the Georgia Hospital Association and my colleague, Senator Judson Hill.  Earl dutifully reported sending $14.23 on me, which I think is a little high for a hamburger and Diet Coke at Six Feet Under.  I am guessing that, for reporting purposes, Earl divided the cost of our three meals two ways — between Judson and me.  Or maybe Earl is a big tipper.

1 Comment »

Stem cell research was the subject of an institutional editorial by the Gwinnett Daily Post today. 

The editorial discusses federal stem cell research co-sponsored by Senator Johnny Isakson that would “not harm embryos but instead derives these cells from amniotic fluid and placentas, and from embryos that have died naturally.”  This legislation has been blocked by Congressional Democrats who apparently do not want any stem cell research taking place unless it involves the killing of human embryos.

Some, but not all, Georgia Democrats took the same view when I introduced the Saving the Cure Act in the General Assembly.  The Post editorial also makes kind mention of my efforts in that regard.

No Comments »

Ron Marshall of the Grady Coalition has written an insightful editorial concerning calls for the state to bail out the virtually bankrupt Grady Health System.  He points out what should be obvious — that Grady’s board of trustees must obey open meetings and records laws and put an end to corruption and cronyism in the hospital’s contracting practices.

But the problems at Grady are more systemic than wasted paper clips, uncollected bills or petty theft.  Marshall points out that the financially troubled Grady Health System has for years been subsidizing one of the wealthiest and most expensive medical schools in world:

Emory University virtually runs Grady. Despite Emory’s massive endowment, with more than $5 billion in the bank, Emory has not stepped up to the plate. Emory officials must be held accountable. How about Emory paying Grady for training its students and the use of its facilities, not vice versa? I wish Clark-Atlanta University paid me for my daughter’s education. Don’t you wish somebody paid you or your children for their education? The Grady Coalition has consistently shown part of Emory’s endowment (perhaps as much as 10 percent) actually belongs to Grady. It is time Emory pays the piper.

Grady is an important regional hospital, with the only level one trauma center in this part of the state.   We cannot allow it to close.  But I am worried that any state bailout would go the way of the subsidies my constitutents in North Fulton have been paying for years in the form of higher property taxes – straight down the drain.

Grady cannot be saved by rearranging the deck chairs or stopping the theft of cheese from the ship’s kitchen.  There are structural problems that must be addressed.

No Comments »

It appears that Dr. Paul Broun will succeed Charlie Norwood in Congress.  He is leading the runoff by 400 votes, and I think that lead will hold.  

Dr. Broun is a testament to perseverance.  He was our Republican nominee for Congress in the Third Congressional District in 1990, losing the general election to Richard Ray in that heavily Democratic district.  The district lines were redrawn in 1992, and Dr. Broun ran again.  He narrowly lost the Republican primary to Mac Collins, who went on to win and hold the seat for the next decade.  In 1996, Dr. Broun ran for the United States Senate in a crowded Republican field that included Guy Millner, Johnny Isakson and Clint Day.

I saw a good deal of Dr. Broun during the 1996 primary season.  I was campaigning for the Republican nomination as Secretary of State, and our paths crossed many times.  He carried around a copy of the Constitution and, in every speech, promised to be guided by it in his decision making.  After he lost the primary, he helped me in my campaign for Secretary of State, endorsing me in the Republican primary run-off and supporting me in the general election.  He helped me again when I ran for State Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party in 2001.

I did not reciprocate Dr. Broun’s friendship in this election.  I stood with my Senate Republican colleagues in support of our fellow Caucus member Jim Whitehead.  But I am confident that Paul Broun will make an outstanding addition to the United States Congress.  I congratulate him on his great victory and wish him the very best.

I also wish the best to my friend Jim Whitehead.  He was a great Senator and we will miss him.

1 Comment »

Matt Towery of Insider Advantage reports that Fred Thompson has surged to the lead in a statewide survey of 400 registered voters who say they will vote in the Republican Presidential Primary.  With a margin of error of 5%, Towery has Thompson with 36% of the vote, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 22%, John McCain with 10%, Mitt Romney with 9% and Mike Huckabee with 7%.

A similar survey of 400 Democrats has Hillary Clinton in the lead with 35%, followed by Barack Obama with 27% and John Edwards with 16%.  These results mirror the Insider Advantage poll taken earlier this year. 

Four years ago, in the Democratic primary in Georgia, John Kerry defeated Edwards, 47% to 41%, with Al Sharpton in third place with 6%.  Howard Dean got 2%.  George W. Bush was unopposed in the Republican primary.

No Comments »

Earlier this year, Governor Perdue signed into law Senate Bill 10, the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act, authored by Senator Eric Johnson.  As I have written before, Senate Bill 10 creates a system of school choice, including vouchers or scholarships to attend private school, for children with disabilities.  I supported the bill.

Over one hundred private schools have been approved by the Georgia Department of Education to participate in the scholarship program.  It is the strongest start of any of the five states that have approved similar plans.  I agree with Senator Johnson, who wrote in a commentary published at Talk Gwinnett:

Now the burden shifts to parents to exercise appropriate due diligence and wisdom in exercising this historic option given to them. As conservatives, we have advocated “choice” and the benefits of competition in education. It is now up to “consumers” to shop and decide what is the best environment for their special needs children. We gave them the options, but they must make the final decision. I am confident that they will rise to the unique responsibility that we have given them.

The Georgia Department of Education website has additional information about the program, including procedures for applying.

The version of the bill that passed the General Assembly limited the scholarships to children who are enrolled in public schools with an active Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  This requirement effectively precludes those children who were already enrolled in private schools from receiving benefits under the scholarship program, and it has been the source of some controversy.

Frankly, I would have like to have seen the program include all children with special needs, even those who had already been removed by their parents to private schools.  But this bill was vigorously opposed by the public education lobby, and even the limited version passed the House by only one vote.  A more ambitious program would have almost certainly failed altogether. 

There will be opportunities to address this inequity in the future, especially if the program is as successful as the initial reports suggest. 

No Comments »

A number of you have emailed me about Fred Thompson’s campaign.  I will be sure to keep you posted through the blog, and if you send me your name and address, I will share that information with the Georgia campaign office once it is open.

If you would like to make an online contribution to Thompson’s campaign for President, click here for a special link to his official campaign website.

No Comments »

There will be a meet-and-greet for Fred Thompson tomorrow, Tuesday evening, at 6:00 p.m. at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce building in Duluth.  It is sponsored by the Government Affairs Committee of the Chamber.  The event is open to the public (and the media).  The Chamber building is located across the parking lot from the Arena, and the reception will be held on the first floor, in the John D. Stephens room.

No Comments »