The cement around Cathy Cox's ankle

Seems like Cathy has a wee political liability. Link

Drowning Uncle Sam........

Katrina illustrates folly of starving Uncle Sam

September 10, 2005

BY RALPH MARTIRE
rmartire@ctbaonline.org

from the Chicago Sun Times

The grim events of the last week have had a profound, devastating impact on millions. Family members, loved ones, friends and acquaintances all were lost as Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. Americans, being the resilient folks we are, will rebound from this disaster. We always do. But if something really positive is to emerge from Katrina's wake, the storm must claim one more victim.

The casualty won't involve the tragic loss of innocent life. Instead, it will be the end of a pernicious philosophy that simultaneously distracts Americans from our nation's real problems while driving wedges between segments of society. Simply put, Katrina should shatter the belief that government, as an institution, is the enemy. Grover Norquist, one of this ideology's most ardent champions, summarized it best in a 1998 interview: ''[When] I got out of college in 1978 there were two threats to American liberty: the Soviet Union and Washington, D.C. One of those is finished. . . . We now have the opportunity to turn our attention from fighting the Soviet Union to reducing the size and scope of the federal government, which is the other threat to our civil liberties.''

The preferred way to destroy the enemy that is our own government is simple: Starve the beast. In 2003, Norquist made this clear when he maintained the objective is ''to reduce the size and scope of government in half over the next 25 years,'' so that ultimately it is small enough ''to drown in a bathtub.'' In this world view, government threatens, rather than protects, civil liberties. Somehow, the size rather than function of government is what matters. ''Big government'' equates with ''bad government.''

I wonder if the millions who desperately need federal aid after Katrina agree. To the contrary, evacuees' main complaint is government isn't quite big enough. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was understaffed and deprioritized, military and National Guard units that could have made a difference were deployed in Iraq, and our nation didn't have the capacity to replace them.

The big government/small government debate misses the point entirely. It's not government's size in an abstract sense that matters, but rather whether government is adequately equipped to deliver needed services and perform essential functions. Certainly, having the capacity to respond to natural disasters is an easy example of a societal function that requires ''big'' government. Large-scale disasters are easily recognized, the media cover them extensively, and eventually, a clear resolution is reached.

Unfortunately, America's most significant problems aren't as easy to recognize, don't have the same media appeal and defy clear resolutions. For instance, America, the wealthiest nation in the world, is simultaneously experiencing an increase in poverty and a decline in wages for 80 percent of its workers, while the economy grows! More than 45 million Americans don't have health insurance. The United States ranks a woeful 43rd in the world in infant mortality rates.

Meanwhile, Congress is considering policy options straight out of the ''starve the beast'' playbook. These include cutting around $35 billion in funding for: Medicaid (despite the growing ranks of uninsured Americans); food stamps, housing and cash assistance for poor families (despite the growth in poverty); and student loan programs (despite census data making it clear that a college education is the only ticket to a growing income).

Big government didn't cause any of these big problems, but it can and should play a role in countering them. In many cases, it does. Government programs like Medicaid, Social Security and food stamps help alleviate many societal ills, while creating a fairer, more just America for all. ''Starving the beast'' ignores this reality, while incapacitating government's ability to play its role in making America great. The real issue isn't ''big'' government vs. ''small.'' It's competent, adequately financed government vs. incompetent, unprepared and incapacitated government. For the wealthiest nation in the world, the choice should be obvious.

Camp death puts DHR policies, practices on trial

Interesting article.....

 

 

 By CRAIG SCHNEIDER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/08/05

The counselors who restrained 13-year-old Travis Parker in a face-down "full basket" hold at a state wilderness camp insist they were doing what they were trained to do with an unruly kid. But all six have been charged with murder i n his death.

And though state child protection officials claim they neither permit nor condone such restraints, the state Department of Human Resources will be judged on the incident as well, both in the court of public opinion and at the trial of its employees.

"DHR will be on trial," said Normer Adams, executive director of the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children. "The counselors say they were acting according to policy and how they were trained ... How can that not reflect on the system?"

Child welfare advocates say the state agency must offer an accounting of what policies, training and oversight occurred at the camp for troubled boys.

On April 20 at the Appalachian Wilderness Camp, counselors held Travis, who had asthma, on the ground for about an hour and a half, much of the time face down, and denied the boy's request for his inhaler, according to documents from the Human Resources Department.

Travis was restrained after he angrily confronted one of his counselors after being denied food as a punishment, according to written accounts from counselors and campers who witnessed the incident.

The restraint, which involved at least three counselors at a time, ended when the boy stopped breathing and went limp, the reports said. He was hospitalized and died the next day. An autopsy said his death resulted from the restraint.

Seeming conflict

The state's own investigation into Travis' death showed the face-down hold from which he died has been used for years at the camp.

But DHR child protection officials say the face-down restraint the men used on the Douglas County boy is not permitted and not in the camp's training manuals.

In May, Gwen Skinner, a DHR director, said "face-down restraints are not allowed, period."

In July, she said, "We do not train staff to do face-down restraints."

Last week, she said she wanted to clarify her remarks.

"I'm willing to acknowledge that our report says it was taking place," she said. "I believe our own report."

Skinner added, "But this is an issue that is being investigated by multiple agencies ... It's going to be a court matter and I want to be very careful."

She explained DHR policy as stating that the camp staff must abide by two official training manuals which recommend different restraints than the one used on Travis.

But the managers of the Appalachian Wilderness Camp say that these manuals were never formally adopted as the restraint protocols at the camp. DHR officials said that rules and regulations for the camp did not specifically prohibit a prone "full basket" restraint.

Since Travis' death, the DHR board has proposed adding specific language banning prone holds to the rules governing camp operation.

"Obviously there was a breakdown in between the policy and the practice," said Adams, the child welfare advocate.

That breakdown is what worries the families of the camp counselors — six young men who their lawyers say were dedicated to helping troubled kids.

Nancy Binford, the mother of counselor Paul Binford, said she believes DHR is using her son and the other counselors as scapegoats.

"These employees are just disposable to them," she said. "Easy to hang out to dry."

The Binfords say the case has turned their lives upside down. Paul's career with children has been thrown into limbo.

"This is horrible," said Michael Binford, an associate professor of political science at Georgia State University. "Just when I think it couldn't get any worse, it does."

Paul's mother added, "We are living in the hell of an innocent accused."

Lawyers for the counselors say the young men were trained in using the face-down restraint. During the restraint they checked Travis' pulse and breathing often during the hour and a half he was held down, the attorneys said.

Training pivotal

The question of training, and what was accepted procedure at this camp, almost certainly will become an issue at the murder trial next spring.

"If they were doing what they were trained to do, then they are not responsible in a criminal sense for what happened to Travis," said lawyer Abbi Guest, who is representing Mathew Desing, another of the counselors charged in the case.

A trial may also help reconcile some conflicting portraits of life at the Appalachian Wilderness Camp.

Phyllis Tate said her 16-year-old son, Raphael, who has been at the camp since January, is better at managing his anger. At his worst, the teen's rage had him destroying the mailbox and a screen door with a machete.

"In spite of this sad accident, I cannot think of a better place for my son to be," said the DeKalb County mom. "The young men who work with our children are caring, dedicated and idealistic. They are there to do something good in this crazy world. They are strict but loving, and people must realize that if a child is totally out of control, they must be restrained to protect not only those around them, but they often must be prevented from injuring themselves."

But former counselor Bill Hewes said he quit working at Appalachian Wilderness Camp in 2000 after six months on the job because he thought the restraints used on the children were too harsh.

Hewes said restraints were used as punishment, and that injuries sometimes occurred, including cuts, scrapes and, on one occasion, a fractured arm.

He quit, he said, after he witnessed a boy in a face-down restraint vomit several times. "I thought the kid was going to die," he said.

For now, the accreditation of the state-run wilderness camp is under review, the counselors are free on bond, and DHR will be holding a public hearing later this month on revising the camp rules on restraints.

Symbols matter......

Let’s not forget that symbols matter

Symbols matter. We need look no further than the fight in Georgia to remove the Confederate flag from a position of sovereignty.
It is profoundly saddening that any time a group of black people requests a change, the majority of white people respond with irrational opposition. Groups such as the NAACP, Rainbow/PUSH, and The People’s Tribunal must resort to litigation, boycotts and civil disobedience before progress is made on issues affecting black people.
I lived in Virginia when Arthur Ashe died. Many black leaders in Richmond wanted to erect a monument to him on the city's main thoroughfare, known as (Confederate) Monument Boulevard. The viciousness expressed by white people opposed to his statue being placed next to that of Robert E. Lee was horrifying.
It is not up to any white person to decide for black people what should be important. Almost every public building in Valdosta was named before black people could vote. I know of only one public building named for a black person, the rest are named for white people.
We white people have plenty of our own symbols all around us, and it must give great comfort to some that we can drive past the Courthouse every day and see a symbol of white superiority called the Confederate Monument. I know, it’s heritage, not hate, it's about how proud we are that our ancestors took up arms against the U.S. government.
I want my daughter to grow up in a city where people come together in a spirit of goodwill for the greater good.
As long as that Confederate Monument is on the Courthouse lawn, I think black people in Valdosta ought to be able to rename any place they want.

Leigh Touchton
Valdosta

Civil Rights Leader in Valdosta Arrested

Dear Editors and All Patriotic Americans

On 21 April 2005 at 6:43 PM Floyd Rose was arrested by Valdosta Police
Department. Rev Rose is President of the Peoples Tribunal, former
pastor of the Church at Pine Hill, Author, founder of Save the Children in
Toledo Ohio and activist that galvanized over 2,000 Lowndes County
Citizens and marched on the Lowndes County jail in 1998 following the death
of a Black jailed inmate Willie James Williams who died while in
custody of the Lowndes County Sheriffs Department after a routine traffic
stop.

Also arrested was Willie Head Vice President of the Peoples Tribunal
who lives in Brooks County and was carried to the Lowndes County Jail.
While many others stood by desiring to be arrested along with these two
heroes---for the cause of justice and self respect. (Not just ten like
our local paper The Valdosta Daily Times reported on 22 April 2005

The arrests took place in City Hall because the Valdosta City Council
voted against renaming a recent renovated park in memory of a black
person. The present name “Barber Park” was a man who had a history of
refusing to allow Blacks into the park to swim and participate in other
activities during the ugly period of segregation.

Barber Park is now in a community that is approximately 97 percent
Black and will be frequented mainly by Blacks. However, in Lowndes County
it appears that elected officials refuse to take Blacks seriously. One
can only speculate why Black Councilman Willie Head and White
Councilman Sumner were absent from such an important meeting.

Valdosta seem to consistently disrespect Blacks. For example: When
Rev. Floyd Rose ran for Chairman of the Lowndes County Board of
Commissioners and received racial slurs and threats on his life that caused the
polling place on Jaycee shack Road to be shut down and a Sheriffs
Deputy remain at the sight. However, no elected official within the City or
County spoke out against such ill treatment of a Georgia Citizens
running for public office.

Our local newspaper only reported the story after citizens demanded
something be reported to the public. In addition: For over 16 years
citizens have complained about the inhumane, abusive, unsanitary conditions
in our jail and the denial of inmates constitutional rights. This has
been documented and identified by Civil Action 89-54-Val of the U.S.
District Court of the Middle District of Georgia, Valdosta Division, by
United States Judge Hugh Lawson. The case was filled back in 1989 by
inmates who continues to send signed letters and notarized statements
trying to get their elected officials to respond to their cries for an
outside investigation of the jail—but to no avail and Blacks are tired of
this repeated practice.

All this added to Rev Rose refusal to remove himself from the podium
because he felt the Black community was once again not being treated
fairly in Lowndes County.. This is especially true when it comes to
monuments, naming of schools and other symbols that will instill pride in
Black children. Even though Valdosta is a newly established Metropolitan
City it has one of the shortest streets recognizing the Nobel Peace
Prize Winner Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that has only five blocks. When
much smaller cities in South Georgia have thorough fares named in Kings
honor. This is proof of how Blacks are respected in the circles of
Lowndes County.

It is no secret that Brooks and Lowndes County Georgia have had a long
history of mistreating Blacks that dates back before July 1918 when 12
Blacks were killed in what was known as a “Week of Terror.” The
Georgia Governor and the President of the United States had to get involved
to stop the violence, and it is recorded that 500 Blacks left the area
immediately after the matter was resolved.

One Black man killed during that week of terror was named SIDNEY
JOHNSON-#1 for what ever reason was castrated and dragged up and down
Patterson Street in Valdosta Georgia behind an automobile while the crows
looked on in glee. So reported in NAACP crisis in 1918. This week of
terror is recorded in America and World History.

Also, killed were WILL THOMPSON-#2, WILL HEAD-#3, HAYES TURNER-#4,
CHINE RILEY-#5, EUGENE RICE-#6, SIMON SCHUMAN,-#7 victim #8,#9,#10, name
omitted but included in the week of lynchings and lawlessness against
Black citizens in this South Georgia Area. Others were Hayes Turner’s
wife MARY TURNER-#11, who was lynched and her 8th MONTH OLD FETUS-#12,
was violently ripped from her womb with a knife by a white MOB member
while she hanged from a tree, and the head of the child crushed beneath a
mob member boot. But our city council seems to want us to forget
unlike the Jews who said, “We will never forget.”

These acts of violence all comes to mind to Blacks concerning the name
Barber Park. Councilman Sessions would never have gotten away with
making a statement concerning the Jewish Holocaust that he made concerning
Blacks and the naming of Barber Park at the meeting. Moreover, no one
has been brought before the Bar of Justice for any of these crimes
against humanity. Yet, local elected officials seem to believe that Blacks
and White Right people will let this matter fade into the sunset of is
gravely mistaken. This is an extremely, serious matter that combines
many historical pains and heartaches of the past.

The dream of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and those who suffered, bleed,
and died for this Republic will not rest until justice comes to the
streets of Lowndes county Georgia. My ref for the lynchings is The Crisis
September 1918, Vol. 16, page 5. Lead into this story, and in the book
Before the Mayflower by Leone Bennett.

Our elected officials in South Georgia continues to disrespect Blacks
and refuse to provide even a courteous reply to jailed inmates who are
suffering----many of whom are American Veterans. Moreover a U.S. Court
Judge rendered a Court order and consent decree but no one knows who
was responsible for insuring the order was carried out. Moreover,
approximately eight inmates have died in or surrounding our jail but our
elected officials have never sought to really resolve these long standing
problems within our community. But in the end all this will be a matter
for discussion during the renaming of Barber Park.

Rev Floyd Rose has called for a news conference at 2:00 PM on 22 April
2005 on the steps of City Hall. The seriousness of this just cause
will not stop with two arrests.. Blacks are tired of being treated as
second class citizens in this county.

It must be known that Blacks see Rev Rose as their only and final hope
for change--- in a city that jailed inmates have called a Hell Hole for
Blacks.

Rev Rose has always been available to the press and very much capable
of speaking and addressing the real issues of his community. He is a
patriot that cannot be bought or sold by the status quo. He can be
reached at 229-444-1938-or 229-241-1288. Rev Rose is truly a community
organizer and highly respected by all Black and White Right folks of this
ill community.

I write because our local editor Kay Harris article on 22 April 2005
maintains the status quo as usual in her article. Moreover, all local
media seems to follow the status quo so no real change can come to this
South Georgia Town. However, in the end the voice of the people will
eventually win as it always does.

I’m sure that Rev. Rose passionate action is only a beginning and as
Rev. Joseph Lowery, one of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. lieutenants said,
“Valdosta will set the tone for Civil Rights in the 21st Century,” and
without knowing it local governmental agencies seems to be full filling
this long time civil rights prophecy. Peace!

GEORGE RHYNES
A concerned citizens and brother of humanity
5004 Oak Drive
Valdosta, Georgia 31605

Sad. Hacks bringing down hacks. 

Ethics my ass..........part two

Why is it that no one except the AJC and creative loafing are raising hell about this. If you want to hurt Sonny in 06 why does not someone beat him over the head with this? This guy OVERSEES an organization that includes the Public Health for the state. And Public Health does lots of prevention around teen clinics, pregnant women, HIV, STD and other health issues.

HE IS THE DAMN CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD!!!!!

oh, and they set policy for the state around health care and how it is done.



OUR OPINIONS: It's best for state that Cook choose one job

Staff Friday, February 4, 2005

When Department of Human Resources chairman Bruce Cook spoke in October at a state-funded conference on teen abstinence, he boasted of the effectiveness of his own company's line of books and videos. Conveniently, representatives from his abstinence-only publishing empire, Choosing the Best, were at the event to sign up new customers from the local schools and agencies in attendance.
The conflicts in that situation are so blatant that a blindfolded man sealed in a vault and buried 100 feet under the ground would notice them. How could Gov. Sonny Perdue not see them?
After all, Perdue himself had clearly defined the problem in an executive order issued early in his term: "An appearance of conflict exists when a reasonable person would conclude from the circumstances that the employee's ability to protect the public interest, or perform public duties, is compromised by personal interests."
As chairman of the DHR board, Cook directs social service policies and has shown a willingness to slant that policy toward his ideology and his business. In September, Cook and the DHR board even imposed a policy mandating that the counseling offered at teen centers focus in part on abstinence, which just happens to be a perfect match for what Cook markets. Those teen centers, which rely on DHR for funding, cannot help but feel pressured to use Cook's products in their work.
Cook says he won't realize any direct economic gain if a teen center chose his product, because his company will provide the material free of charge to any DHR-funded program. (The company does provide material to Georgia schools that is paid for through federal programs.) However, Cook enhances his company's prestige and reputation by adding teen centers to its client list, and effectively shuts out potential competitors in the state.
Perdue should tell Cook that he can either run his company or the DHR board, but not both.

Ethics my ass.........

From the AJC on Friday.....

OUR OPINIONS: Sex miseducation

DeKalb parents were smart to say it's a mistake to teach teens that abstinence is their only course

Staff Friday, February 4, 2005

Bruce Cook, tapped 15 months ago by Gov. Sonny Perdue to lead the Department of Human Resources board, is a very smart guy. He went from co-chair of a sex education study panel at his son's school to founder of one of the nation's largest abstinence-only publishing companies, Choosing the Best.
So when Cook faced a roomful of parents with Ph.D.s at DeKalb County's Shamrock Middle School last week, baring both their research and their teeth, he wisely stepped back and let county officials deal with the heat for adding the Choosing the Best program to all eighth-grade health classes.
And that's who deserves the flogging.
Choosing the Best's sex education course relies largely on fear to persuade teens to abstain from sex until marriage. There's nothing wrong with putting a little fear in 14-year-olds, but the program twists statistics to make its case, in essence misleading children in order to help them. That's what upset DeKalb parents, especially those who work in AIDS research and health and know the importance of honesty in such discussions.
Why did DeKalb schools embrace Choosing the Best without reviewing its scientific accuracy, those parents asked. (While the curriculum was approved by a review committee, it turned out later that it had never been sanctioned by the DeKalb school board, as required.) Apparently, school officials were sold by the ease with which Choosing the Best can be taught, since it includes videos and workbooks. Central office staff could not explain to skeptical Shamrock parents why the sex ed course already in place in DeKalb wasn't sufficient, beyond the fact that Cook's program came free of charge.
The Bush White House is investing heavily in abstinence-only programs, allotting $170 million this year alone for such programs. Choosing the Best received a three-year federal grant for nearly $1.5 million in 2001 and last year won another three-year grant, for $2.4 million, to serve eight Georgia districts, including DeKalb, Fulton and Rockdale.
Cook contends that children are ill-served by what his books deride as Planned Parenthood's abstinence-plus approach. Telling young people that they should not have sex, but urging them to use precautions if they do, sends a mixed message, he says.
The Choosing the Best program doesn't deal with contraceptives at all, which the Shamrock parents argued ultimately puts kids at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy if they do have sex.
"Yes, we would all like our children to be abstinent, if not to marriage, at least darn close to it," says Shamrock parent and biologist Sarah L. Pallas. "But you can't take this head-in-the-sand approach. You still provide them with the information to protect them."
The parents prevailed, at least for the moment. Chastised DeKalb officials agreed to suspend the teaching of Choosing the Best in Shamrock until more "dialogue" can occur between the school and parents.
But the whole controversy about abstinence-only education has to move to a larger stage than a middle school cafeteria in central DeKalb. The $170 million question is whether federal tax dollars should underwrite sex education programs for teens that essentially ignore sex.
Cook says "yes," and cites statistics showing that just about everyone abstaining from sex --- perhaps with the exception of the Virgin Mary --- graduated his program. Neither Cook nor his literature mentions that 88 percent of teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage eventually break that pledge, according to a study based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
In other words, no matter how much Americans want their children to delay sex until marriage, most don't. Pretending otherwise --- in the name of protecting kids --- does just the opposite.

speechless......

This is the ONLY option these idiots have left in their teeny tiny brains ?!

Salvador option
The Pentagon may put Special-Forces-led assassination or kidnapping teams in Iraq.
Jan. 8 - What to do about the deepening quagmire of Iraq? The Pentagon’s latest approach is being called "the Salvador option"—and the fact that it is being discussed at all is a measure of just how worried Donald Rumsfeld really is. "What everyone agrees is that we can’t just go on as we are," one senior military officer told NEWSWEEK. "We have to find a way to take the offensive against the insurgents. Right now, we are playing defense. And we are losing."

Now go read this.

On the night of November 16, 1989, a Salvadoran Army patrol entered the University of Central America in San Salvador and massacred six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. Nineteen of the military officers cited for this atrocity have received training at the US Army School of the Americas.

Jesus...we are doomed.

Tell Sonny not to worry about education.....

This from the Dougherty County Republican party website. Link

The Republican Party has worked to eliminate the confiscatory death tax, the double taxation of dividends, the unfair marriage penalty, as well as other taxes, which serve only to dampen economic growth. The Republican Party stands for strong defense, law and order, and high ethical standards. In contrast, the Democrat party has gerrymandered, philibustered, and used parliamentary tactics to bury legislation in committee.