These Morning Reads are like LeBron James: G.O.A.T.

• Dr. John “Loop Garroo.”
• State Rep. Simone Bell posts a White House statement saying that later today, she will be one of 10 “Harvey Milk Champions of Change” award recipients. 
• 2% more Georgia high school peaches are earning their diplomas.
• Another day, more national recognition for Georgia State.
• Streetcar budget rises to $59 million. Let’s see, it goes nowhere, takes forever and runs highly infrequently. Can you say boondoggle?
• When I hobnob and confab with world leaders, I always mention that what Atlanta truly needs is a 20-story Ferris Wheel. Finally, they heed my recommendation. 
• SCOTGA says foreclosures in GA are too easy.
• What will happen to Pullman Yards? Thomas Wheatley reports.
• Don’t forget to vote! Atlanta Magazine Pet of the Month competition.
• NFL owners approve $200m loan to Falcons for a new stadium.
• Braves Assistant GM John Coppolella goes on “Behind the Dish” discussing the team’s bullpen issues and some of its scouting strategy. Neat stuff.
• GSU’s conference, the Sun Belt, unveiled a new logo and motto. The Panthers have a team-specific conference logo which you can see here, and the conference extended its television contract.
• No anchored putting in golf starting in 2016. Too bad. I felt that was the key to me being as great a golfer as I am a poster.
• Yeah, so this story is nuts, man. I’ll just copy WABE’s intro. “In 2001, Ivory Coast native Gnimbin Albert Ouattara came to the U.S. on a prestigious Fulbright scholarship to study history.  At Georgia State, advisors suggested his first name would be hard to pronounce, and so they made his middle name, Albert, his first name on school records. Then 9-11 happened, and the simple name-change ended up complicating Gnimbin’s life more than anyone had predicted.”

By now we all of us have seen the horrible pictures out of Oklahoma, with the threat of severe weather on tap again today.

For those that want to help out, there are many charities available such as the Red Cross. where you can either follow that link or just text REDCROSS to 90999 and $10 will appear on your next phone bill for their disaster relief efforts.  Just go ahead and do that now while you’re thinking about it.

There are always local needs as well.  Our friends over at Williamson Brothers BBQ posted this on their Facebook Page today and I’ll pass it along for those in the Cobb County area:

Ok Friends,

Please help!! The Northwest Ga. YWCA (Cobb Co. Shelter for women and children who suffer from domestic and sexual abuse) is in desperate need for diapers! Therefore, we are helping with a diaper drive. There are over 225 women and children housed in this secret shelter and there are hundreds of victims everyday in our area. Please, I know you all have diapers that your babies grew out of or never used! Please drop them off at our Marietta location:)

Thanks in advance and please please share:)

Some needs are small and some are great, but there is always something we can do to help out some others.  If neither of the above strikes your need, find some way to help someone else in a way you see fit.

Everyone loves charts. Especially ones that demonstrate great distinction among party factions. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce has released their 2013 Legislative Scorecard. Chamber President and CEO Chris Clark released a statement saying,

“What is clear from this year’s scorecard is that lawmakers – both Democrat and Republican – are taking private-sector growth seriously. They realize how important these issues are to the state and to their constituents and that we must take action to encourage investment and job creation. We are proud that there was such broad-based, bipartisan support for each of the scorecard bills. As a result, we will improve Georgia’s overall competitiveness and reputation as a state that is open for business. We commend the members of the General Assembly for their dedication and commitment to the betterment of our state.”

An interesting statement to be followed by many  mediocre to average grades for several pretty well-respected legislators.

Click here for the colorful chart that changed my opinion in no form or fashion.

Obviously the big story today is Tornadoes in Oklahoma, which I don’t have the capacity to rhyme (CNN)

the rest of the news after the jump:

National:

• The rich can save Social Security, by giving up their checks (Washington Post)
• Ray Bradbury discusses various subjects (The New Atlantis)
• Mariano Rivera Breaking Bats (Fan Graphs)
• Google Music wants to take Spotify, Rdio and Rhapsody to their respective mats (paidContent)
• Ape and Monkey Divorce is 25 million years old (Science Daily)
• Change has come to the secret and strange way jewels are sold (WSJ)
• Dirty medicine: Selling drugs online for long-term criminal gain (Fortune)
• The Possibilian: The mysteries of time and the brain.  (The New Yorker)
• When everything around you became a data exchange (Wired)
• The Internet caused a middle class rearrange (Salon)

Local:

• On the problem of Small Town Rail (blockheadchronicles)
• Dem Party Chair has, for him, a relatively minor fail  (AtlantaUnfiltered)
• Downtown Atlanta is getting a ferris wheel (AP)
• Georgia GOP reaches out to Hispanics with muted zeal (HispanicBusiness)
• Atheists to provide books for Georgia lodges, (AJC)
• providing a good chance to learn about maharajahs,
• Deal signs waste bill, but says it violates the constitution (GPB)
• (here’s an idea, go ahead and veto the resolution)
• Georgia Water Negotiator has another date,
• stands to profit at the expense of the state (AJC)
• Macon Commissioners dealing with huge deficit that’s outstanding (Macontelegraph)
• While their counterparts in Dougherty do some corporate pandering (AlbanyHerald)

So over the weekend there was the GA GOP convention, and at that convention the GA Young Republicans decided to have a straw poll about the Senate race.

Some folks are bound to be thrilled with the results, while others may feel a twinge of pain about how well their preferred candidate did. Here are the results as linked to in the Morning Reads as well as mentioned by Jim Galloway.

Karen Handel, 42 votes;

Jack Kingston, 21 votes;

Paul Broun, 14 votes;

Phil Gingrey, 9 votes;

And David Perdue, 3 votes.

Straw polls have no real statistical value but boy did Handel wallop the other guys. Feel free to discuss in the comments, but remember to pace yourself. We still have 14 months left in this marathon.

If you’re a software engineer, programmer, entrepreneur, or all around tech geek then you may be interested in the National Day of Civic Hacking. Which sounds like a whole lot of fun to me.

From the press release.

“National Day of Civic Hacking will bring together citizens, software developers, and entrepreneurs to collaboratively create new solutions using publicly-released data, code and technology at events all across the nation.”

In effect the goal is to crowd source solutions to government problems. Kinda like when AIDS researchers turned to the video game community for help.

Full press release here.

The following was sent from new Georgia Republican Party Chairman John Padgett:

This Week’s Courier Herald Column:

What do you get the political party who has everything?  Figuring that out, in a sense, was really the purpose of the Republican state convention this weekend in Athens.

Sure, the official overriding reason was to elect a new Georgia GOP chairman and a slate of other officers.  John Padgett of Athens came out on top of the four way contest to succeed Cobb County’s Sue Everhart, a three term chairman who was term limited.  Michael McNeely, Chairman of Georgia’s Black Republican Council, was elected to the position of First Vice Chairman.

Gone are the days when the forces from the “Pat Robertson” crowd battled those of “the establishment”.  These days, everyone seems to be battling the establishment without any sense of irony that the 2,000+ delegates who traveled to Athens and donned stickers proclaiming to be “RINO hunting” were, by definition, the establishment themselves.

And yet, while coalitions of social conservatives, Tea Partiers, Ron Paul inspired liberty caucus revolutionaries, and members of various affiliated groups attempted to gain enough votes to elect their members to positions of authority, it was not lost on at least one highly influential member of the party where the real battle remains.

Governor Nathan Deal addressed the delegates during a break of self-congratulation as the outgoing officers had spent much of the morning awarding each other gifts for meritorious service.  They had, after all, presided over a time when Georgia’s transformation to a Republican state had become complete.  All statewide elected officials are now under the GOP banner.  Control of the Senate and House hover at super-majority numbers.  It seems the only elusive trophy left for Republicans to gain is that of Georgia’s 12^th district, which John Barrow stubbornly refuses to cede.

The Governor acknowledged the accomplishments, but also urged Republicans to look at the 2012 election as they consider their future.  Georgia was, after all, one of the states where Mitt Romney won by one of the thinnest margins of victory he enjoyed.  This, despite virtually no effort from President Obama’s campaign team or national Democrats.

Georgia will not go unchallenged for much longer.  The Governor was keenly aware that the morning after this convention, Air Force One would be arriving at Hartsfield Jackson Airport, bringing a President to not only speak to graduates at Morehouse College, but also to stop by a fundraiser hosted by Arthur Blank for the 100 or so who could afford $10,000 or more per couple to attend.

Deal urged the delegates not to focus their anger and fight on other Republicans, but to remain vigilant.  He admonished the crowd “not to tackle our own player” when he has the ball and is about to score.  Instead, he encouraged those listening to look at the warning signs, noting Georgia’s changing demographics.  Despite the convention’s election having an inward focus, he urged the crowd to remember that it is independent voters that are the most need for attention.

A cynic could note that the Governor could be talking about his own re-election in 2014.  After all, Dalton Mayor David Pennington hasn’t been shy about his flirtation for a run.  But the reality is that the Governor has to know he is likely among the safest of Georgia’s incumbents.  The words were not likely about his own campaign or even the others in 2014, but those coming immediately after it.  2016 will be another Presidential election year, which tends to have a higher Democratic turnout.  In 2018, the Governor’s office will be open and will likely create a lot of open statewide seats as currently office holders look to move up a position or three.

As the Democrats begin a long term process of organizing Georgia using many more channels than their formal party structure, Georgia Republicans are threatening to further turn their focus inward.  One of the key issues debated in the Chairman’s race was to consider ending primaries and nominate candidates from the Convention, as Virginia did this weekend at theirs.  The result would be to empower the insider activists, but leave many Georgians – and those independent voters the Governor warned about – outside the process looking in.

The Georgia Republican Party currently has virtually everything it can hope for in this state.  It remains to be seen if new leadership is content to allow this to be a high water mark, or if it can lead the activist grass roots toward outreach and policy positions that ensure majorities in general elections as the demographics of this state continue to change.

If we had an award for “traveled farthest” among our front page contributors, it would probably belong to Nathan Smith.  He manages to attend most of our metro-centric events despite being able to see Tennessee from his house.  It’s the same kind of work he devotes to the GA GOP, where he currently serves as 1st Vice-Chairman to the 14th District.  Here and there, he is known for fairness as he tries to give all candidates and issues equal time and a fair hearing.  And today, the kid is a year older.  Please join me in wishing the kid from way up there in North Georgia a happy birthday.

Georgia

Super Republican BJ Van Gundy makes some news at the GA GOP convention, but it wasn’t a Chairman’s race victory.

The GA GOP convention is over and there is a whole slate of new Officers.

All four senate candidates oppose immigration reform.

SPLOSTs aren’t all that bad, Cobb is getting three new bridges.

President Obama came to Atlanta yesterday to give the commencement address at Morehouse.

The Georgia Young republicans had a straw poll for the Senate race at the convention this week. Karen Handel had the clear lead.

Georgia Power is going to start selling energy produced from renewable biomass.

National/International

The Associated Press CEO is not amused by the Department of Justice.

Which scandal will really be Obama’s Watergate?

Good luck flying to Alaska anytime soon.

Tom Price was on This Week yesterday to talk about the different scandals of last week.

North Korea is crying for attention again.

Russia is still mucking things up.

Hopefully this is accurate and Boko Haram really is falling apart.

Everything Else

You might want to check that power ball ticket.

Get ready, they’re coming.

Toilet Paper to counter radical ideology?

The GA GOP aren’t the only ones leaving Athens after this weekend.  UGA baseball coach Dave Perno will be gone today as well.

Update 9:03 am : After watching Morning Joe, there’s another failure of the administration to support a free press.

BJ may have lost the GAGOP chairman’s race, but he was the talk of the town after assisting an Athens police officer with a man who was on drugs:

As he helped a Hilton Garden Inn guest with directions near the lobby doors Thursday evening, an Athens-Clarke police officer said a man sprinted past him, ran to the reception desk and then tried to burst through the locked doors of the hotel’s administrative offices.

The man, later identified as 21-year-old Julian A. Rios, then ran to the concession area of the hotel on East Washington Street and tried to break through the glass doors of a cooler, according to a police report. The officer grabbed Rios as he again tried to break into the cooler. He noted in his report that Rios had a “blank stare” and was sweating.

Witnesses said they had earlier seen Rios running in circles inside the hotel’s parking garage.

BJ was rewards for his assistance:

After joining in the fray, Van Gundy remembers feeling the man’s breath on his arm and thinking he might get bitten.

Van Gundy’s efforts were rewarded.

While at the convention, he pulled out a junior officer’s sticker badge, peeled it off and slapped it to his jacket lapel.

He was sporting his badge this weekend. Way to go, BJ!

We’re done. Well, we were done well over and a half ago.

So, the convention came to an abrupt halt after quorum was deemed lost. That was because a few hundred people left after the assistant secretary election.

Here are the new officers for the GAGOP:

Chairman John Padgett
1st Vice Chairman Michael McNeely
2nd Vice Chairman Ron Johnson
Secretary Debbie McCord
Asst. Secretary Kirk Shook
Treasurer Bob Mayzes

The rules report included the addition of an assistant treasurer and was adopted if I’m not mistaken, but we currently have a vacant assistant treasurer slot.

Long story short, a quorum call was made, and the count showed that the quorum had indeed been lost. This right before the convention took up resolutions. The convention adjourned immediately.

It is my understanding that the state executive committee will take up the resolutions and probably the vacant assistant treasurer as unfinished convention business. I’m sure folks more close to the matter can give more input.

However, I stopped for supper and am currently about 90 minutes from home. I’ll give more updates later, or my colleagues who were in attendance can chime in.

Back on the road again.

Let the shenanigans begin.

I’m sitting here on the floor of the convention with my fellow delegates from Walker County. Jessica may be covering the convention via a live blog. If you’re playing at home, feel free to post your complaints observations in this OPEN THREAD.

Hey everyone, don’t forget there’s a Road Show in Athens tonight. What better way to kick off the convention than with us?

What: ROAD SHOW!

When: Tonight

Time: 7pm to 9PM

Where: Dirty Birds, 312 East Washington Street, Athens GA

Ga Tech is offering an online Master’s Degree program for a cool $6k. The program immediately garnered national attention. 

Morehouse decided to allow Kevin Johnson to speak during commencement exercises. His privilege was rescinded when criticism from him of Obama surfaced. And speaking of El Presidente, he will deliver the keynote on Saturday. (Side note to any college administrators: I want an honorary degree and I received all As in my public speaking classes in college. Just saying….)

Also, the Georgia Board of Regents adopted a draft policy that outlines the mission statement for each school, the first time that’s been done in decades, apparently. I can’t find a link at the moment.

UGA head honcho Jere Morehead announced a plan to re-structure the administration starting on July 1. The move will see more info flowing out of, and in to, his office.

Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health got a nice $2 million donation to endow a chair for cardiovascular research. The school <3s the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation.

I saw this Facebook note from Calvin Smyre:  ”I’m on a coffee break from an all-day Fort Valley State University (FVSU) Presidential Search & Screen Committee (PSSC) meeting to review candidates for President of “The” FVSU. Because of my love for FVSU I’m committed to selecting the best candidates to forward to the Chancellor & University System Board of Regents for them to appoint the next President. As you can see I’m spending my BD indoors. The PSSC wanted to sing Happy BD & I said oh noooo!” He added his FVSU family made him feel “special.” (Allow me to add: happy birthday to Mr. Smyre).

Late yesterday, here at the PP Bunker, we received a flood of press releases with various flavors of righteous indignation on the ongoing fight to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Said releases appear after the fold, in alphabetical order, just to be fair.

And updates will be added as needed.

From Rep. John Barrow:
For Immediate Release: May 16, 2013

Barrow Statement on Vote to Repeal the Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman John Barrow (GA-12) today released the following statement on his vote against a bill to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In 2010, Congressman Barrow voted against passage of the ACA, but has since called for legislation to repeal the most burdensome provisions within the bill, while preserving provisions such as a ban on insurance companies denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions and a provision allowing children to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans until the age of twenty-six.

“The Affordable Care Act is a mess, but there are steps we can take to improve the law for folks in the 12th District without harming businesses and limiting coverage,” said Congressman Barrow. “Today’s vote is the same, unproductive ‘all or nothing’ approach that’s not going anywhere, just to score cheap political points. I’ll continue to fight for bipartisan proposals that repeal the burdensome provisions without threatening positive aspects of the law.”

By introducing bipartisan legislation, Congressman Barrow has led the effort in the House to repeal the employer mandate, the individual mandate, and the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).

Congressman Barrow recently sent out an e-newsletter to constituents in the 12th District discussing health care. To view the e-newsletter, please click here.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2013

Broun on Obamacare Repeal: It’s May, and It’s About Time

Rep. Broun, physician Member of Congress, says repeal should still be first priority

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Congressman Paul Broun, M.D. (GA-10), a cosponsor of H.R. 45, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s legislation to repeal Obamacare, today released the following statement after the House passed the bill 229 to 195 votes:

“Today marks the third time that the Republican-led House has voted to fully repeal Obamacare since it was passed in 2010,” said Rep. Broun. “While I applaud action finally being taken for the first time in the 113th Congress, this should have been our number one priority on the first day of the new session. The 113th Congress began in January. It’s May – and it’s about time.

“Every day premiums are going up. Every day a new part of this deplorable healthcare law goes into effect. Every day patients are finding that they can no longer afford their healthcare plans due to this law’s onerous new regulations. So I ask my colleagues, why are we not acting – every day – to protect Americans from this attack on their freedom?

“We’re starting to see the wheels truly fall off of Obamacare. We now know that it will cost double what the President originally promised, that you can’t keep your plan if you like it, and that CMS can’t scrape up the money to implement state-based exchanges. Even some of the original authors of Obamacare, like Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, have admitted that this bill is ‘a huge train wreck.’

“We must continue to keep up the pressure on the Senate, the Administration, and the President to rip this healthcare nightmare out by the roots, and start over with healthcare reform that makes sense. We need to pass my Patient OPTION Act, which I am currently re-drafting, as a way to make healthcare cheaper for everyone, provide coverage for all Americans, and save Medicare from going broke.”

###

From Rep. Doug Collins:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2013

COLLINS: TIME FOR THE PRESIDENT TO PUT HIS PEOPLE FIRST

Georgia rep. casts first vote to repeal Obamacare, highlights POTUS disregard for nation’s future wellbeing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Doug Collins (R-GA) voted today to completely dismantle and abolish President Barack Obama’s damaging health care legislation, also known as Obamacare. Introduced by Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MI), H.R. 45 passed the House earlier today and would fully repeal the Obama Administration’s controversial health care bill. Collins released the below statement following the vote:

“Whether it be violating the freedom of the press, creating a partisan tax system, or forcing the largest tax increase in our nation’s history upon every innocent American, President Obama has continued with his blatant disregard for the wellbeing of our country,” said Collins. “Today, the House of Representatives said no more, and I am proud to be part of that effort. Obamacare was never about eliminating the real problems we’ve found in our health care system. It has always been centered around increasing government control, and that’s something I simply do not believe in as a small government conservative. Furthermore, to have the newest political arm of the White House, the IRS, be the enforcement mechanism behind Obamacare would be an absolute tragedy considering recent events and pending investigations of the agency.

“The uncertainty Obamacare brings is plaguing employers in my district and across the country. They are terrified of what will happen once the clock hits midnight on January 1, 2014. Frightening our citizenry and stifling our free market system is not what the federal government should be in the business of doing, and we must continue the fight to make sure this does not happen. Today’s vote, along with the recent surplus of scandals we’ve seen coming out of the White House, should be a resounding wakeup call to President Obama that the time is now for him to put the American people before his own party’s politics.”

Collins, alongside his freshman colleagues, spoke on the Floor of the House of Representatives earlier this week speaking in strong support of today’s vote for full repeal. For video of Collins’ remarks, please click here.

###

From Rep. Phil Gingrey:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2013

Gingrey: Obamacare repeal vote “critical”

Rep. Phil Gingrey, M.D., voted again today to repeal Obamacare. The measure passed the House of Representatives 229-195.

“We are still fighting. We are still in the trenches,” Gingrey said. “As both a physician and a taxpayer, repealing Obamacare remains my top priority. President Obama promised that his law would not raise taxes, would decrease health care costs, and that if we liked our plans, we could keep them. These promises have been broken, and Obamacare accomplishes the exact opposite of what the President pledged.

Gingrey cited the recent revelation that the IRS has been targeting Tea Party groups as another critical reason for repeal.

“This past week, we learned the IRS—the enforcer of Obamacare—has been targeting conservative groups who oppose the Obama administration,” Gingrey said. This is a thuggish attempt to shut people up. They’ve proven we can’t trust them, and now we’re giving them all of our health care information?”

Gingrey is committed to enacting step-by-step, patient-centered reforms that increase access, ensure quality of care, and protect the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. America needs market-based reforms that leave power in the hands of the consumer, rather than federal bureaucrats.

###

From Rep. Tom Graves:

For Immediate Release:
May 16, 2013

Graves: Obamacare Vote Will Show Where House Members Stand On IRS Scandal
“This is your chance to weigh in on the IRS scandal…voting to keep Obamacare is a vote to empower the IRS as the health care police of the United States.”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA-14) addressed the House today ahead of a vote to repeal Obamacare, saying the vote will expose which House Members approve or disapprove of the IRS suppressing Americans for disagreeing with the Obama Administration. Rep. Graves is the author of the Defund Obamacare Act (H.R. 1005) and will vote again today to repeal Obamacare.

Transcript:

Madam Speaker, I rise today to say it is time to pull Obamacare out root by root.

We all know that it increases premiums and squeezes the family budget. We know that it does not let you keep the plan that you have today. We know that Obamacare is crushing jobs, and it‘s forcing many parents who have full-time jobs today into tomorrow’s part-time jobs.

And now, we have some new information as we prepare to vote.

The chief enforcers of this law – the IRS – have been outed as partisan political operatives. They’ve harassed and bullied and suppressed the political opponents of the Obama Administration.

Now they want to be in charge of our health care? Give me a break. I don’t think so.

Members, this is your chance. This is your chance to weigh in on the IRS scandal.

A vote to repeal is a vote to stop the IRS.

But, voting to keep Obamacare is a vote to empower the IRS as the health care police of the United States.

The choice is easy. Vote to take power away from the IRS, not to give them more.

###

From Rep. Jack Kingston:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2013

Kingston Statement on Vote to Repeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) today released the following statement on his vote to repeal Obamacare:

“Three years ago, Nancy Pelosi said we had to pass Obamacare for you to find out what is in it. Now we know: higher premiums, less choice, and $1 trillion in new taxes. Fixing America’s health care system begins with repealing this law and keeping government bureaucrats out of the doctor-patient relationship. Recent revelations about the politicization at the IRS make clear that they cannot be trusted in one of the most personal parts of our lives.

“I support replacing this law with real reforms that increase access to and bring down the cost of care without growing government. That means reforming our medical liability system, removing government barriers to competition and innovation, and leveling the playing field for individuals, families, and small businesses when purchasing health insurance.

“I don’t care if it takes 37 votes or 3,700, I will not rest until we repeal and replace this misguided law.”

###

From Rep. Tom Price:

Price Praises Passage of Health Care Law Repeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tom Price, M.D. (GA-06), praised the passage of the repeal of President Obama’s health care law in the U.S. House of Representatives today, saying:

“Our friends on the other side of the aisle complain that we are voting again to repeal President Obama’s health care law. This critique is especially peculiar given the fact that the Democrat-controlled Senate and many Democrats in the House all voted to repeal a critical component of this law – the medical device tax. In fact, even President Obama agrees that his health care overhaul is tremendously flawed, as he has already signed into law the repeal of seven key parts of it.

“As an orthopaedic surgeon practicing medicine for more than two decades, I can say with certainty that this law is terrible for patients, families and doctors. After all, it violates every principle of health care we hold dear – accessibility, affordability, choices, innovation, responsiveness and quality.

“President Obama’s health care law is also doing real harm to our economy, and consequently, millions of our fellow Americans. Many workers are being forced to accept part-time jobs instead of full-time employment. Premiums have skyrocketed, making health care unaffordable for so many American families.

“House Republicans know that the end of this fight is not simply repealing the President’s health care law. We know we must replace it with solutions that empower patients, families and physicians to make health care decisions, not Washington. We look forward to continuing to offer these solutions in the weeks to come.”

Rep. Tom Price, M.D., serves as vice chairman of the House Committee on the Budget. He is also a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, as well as the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

###

From Rep. Lynn Westmoreland:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2013

Westmoreland Votes to Repeal ObamaCare

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives has passed H.R. 45, a bill to repeal ObamaCare. Congressman Westmoreland is a cosponsor of the legislation and joined a bipartisan majority of his colleagues in the House to vote for the bill. This week’s vote marks the 37th time House Republicans have voted to repeal, defund, or dismantle ObamaCare. Below is Congressman Westmoreland’s statement.

“ObamaCare is and has always been a bad law. And every day it seems we find out new information that only backs that up.

“We were promised insurance premiums would be lowered. Instead, premiums have increased $3,000 annually for American families. In Georgia, the House Energy and Commerce Committee anticipates premiums will increase from 48-63 percent in the individual market and 25 percent in the small group market. We were assured that people could keep their health insurance and now even President Obama’s own HHS Secretary Sebelius has admitted an estimated 24 million Americans who like their health insurance are likely to lose it. The cost has more than doubled since the law was passed just three short years ago, from the $900 billion price tag the president promised the American people in 2010 to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s $1.88 trillion estimate announced recently.

“And now we are learning the agency responsible for enforcing the individual mandates within ObamaCare has been secretly targeting conservative groups who don’t agree with the president’s policies. Can we really trust that same agency to properly and ethically manage that? I think not.

“That’s why I’m a cosponsor of this bill to repeal ObamaCare and that’s why I’m going to continue to support a full repeal of ObamaCare until the Senate and the president finally admit this is what is best for the country and what the American people want,” stated Westmoreland.

####

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Here:
- Pay it forward. Just in time for all you folks heading to Athens where the parking meters will drive you insane.
- Doug Richards and the Atlanta Illuminati.
- Cobb County Manager staying put. Can you blame him?
- College Football is around the corner.

There:
- Sen. Johnny Isakson is asking nicely for more information about the HHS shakedown … oops… fundraising.
- Dr. Milton Wolf, Obama’s cousin no less, claims The White House tried to have him fired from WaPo.
- Agreeing with Stacy, it’s difficult to keep up.
- The legitimacy of elections.
- We are in the best of hands.
- Missing crime data?
- There will be resignations and rumors of resignations.
- Lock up your silverware (and your daughters)… John Edwards to hit the speaking circuit.

Random Everywhere:
- Watch out for GA 400 ticket scammer (Warning-video starts immediately)
- Cooter’s Garage Band.
- Ewwww.
- Texas high school senior bags 800 pound alligator. No word if said gator was sporting jorts and a mullet.

The speculation is over.  Karen Handel is now officially a candidate for the U.S. Senate.  Her press release:

Karen Handel Announces Campaign For U.S. Senate

–“Georgians want a conservative Senator with the courage to take on the status quo, to fight for them and our constitutional ideals, to be accountable to them — and not Washington” –

ROSWELL, GA – Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel announced today that she is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Senator Saxby Chambliss.

Karen issued the following statement:

I have been incredibly fortunate and blessed in my life.  Only in America could I have the life I have.  I’m running for U.S. Senate because I want to make sure that the next young person who ends up on his or her  own at 17 will have the opportunity to prosper and achieve.  But that won’t happen unless we make some big changes in Washington.

States, especially those with Republican governors, are doing a good job — they are balancing budgets with targeted spending cuts, creating jobs, and tackling tax reform.  The biggest problems we face today are in Washington, and that’s where we so desperately need fresh thinking, bold solutions, and real leadership.

Out of control spending has left us with a crushing debt. It’s time to deal with it and stop kicking the can down the road — this cannot be the legacy we leave to future generations.  So many Georgians are still unemployed or underemployed. To really unleash our economic potential, we need prosperity driven by free market solutions — not prosperity propped up with government spending and bailouts. Businesses, especially our small businesses, need government to get off their backs and out of the way, so that they can do what they do best: innovate and create jobs.

Georgians want a conservative Senator with the courage to take on the status quo, to fight for them and our constitutional ideals, to be accountable to them — and not Washington.

Biography of Karen Handel

Karen is a life-long conservative and Republican who built her career on sound fiscal and organizational management in both the public and private sector. She left an abusive home when she was 17, finishing high school and entering the workforce. With tremendous perseverance and determination, she has had a successful political and business career.

Most recently, Karen wrote the book Planned Bullyhood — the Truth Behind the Planned Parenthood Funding Battle with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, based on her experiences as Komen’s Senior Vice President of Public Policy when Komen decided, and then later reversed, its decision to end grants to Planned Parenthood. Karen, because of her pro-life beliefs, was quickly made the focal point of the left’s anger over Komen’s decision. With her book, Karen took the courageous step to stand up to the bully tactics of Planned Parenthood. She exposed the country’s leading abortion provider as a liberal political machine willing to destroy anyone or any organization to advance its agenda and secure the continued flow of nearly $1.5 million a day in government funding to its coffers.

Karen was first elected in 2003 as Chairman of the Fulton County (Georgia) Board of Commissioners, and she quickly earned a reputation for tenacity in balancing the county’s budget and dealing with corruption. Facing a $100 million budget deficit when she took office, Karen balanced the budget – and each budget under her tenure – with sound targeted spending cuts and without tax increases. Karen also secured passage of comprehensive ethics reform and gained statewide and national attention by leading the effort to remove the corrupt Sheriff from office after an audit revealed millions in missing and misappropriated funds. Karen’s efforts led to the recovery of nearly all of the missing funds.

As Georgia’s first elected Republican Secretary of State, Karen successfully defended and implemented photo ID for voting during the 2008 presidential election cycle, which saw record minority and overall voter participation. Karen reduced the department’s budget by nearly 20% by prioritizing programs, streamlining processes and eliminating waste and duplication. At the same time, the agency improved its customer service, reducing the processing time for corporate filings and professional licenses.  Under Karen’s leadership, the Secretary of State’s office became the first “completely transparent” agency in state government by giving citizens access to all agency revenues and expenses on-line.

Karen launched her outsider campaign for Governor in 2009 campaigning on a platform of ethics reform, “real” cuts in government spending, and comprehensive education reform that focused on student and parent choice. She widely outperformed 3 much better-funded opponents in the Republican primary, but eventually lost in the primary run-off by less than 2500 votes.

Prior to elected office, Karen served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Sonny Perdue. 

Karen’s private sector experience includes executive management positions with CIBA Vision and the accounting firm of KPMG. She also served as president and CEO of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, where she led the chamber from the brink of bankruptcy to solvency, while driving an aggressive economic development program that helped create tens of thousands of jobs in North Metro Atlanta.

Karen is married to Steve Handel, whom she says is “a prince among men.” Karen and Steve live in Roswell, Georgia, with their Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Mia and Abbie.

Handel enters the field with Congressmen Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, and Jack Kingston.  Businessman David Perdue said earlier this week that he has formed an exploratory committee in preparation for a campaign.

Congressman Doug Collins questioned Attorney General Eric Holder when he appeared before the House Judiciary Committee.