Fresh Loaf

The pro-gun group GeorgiaCarry.org filed suit in federal court yesterday claiming the city of Atlanta cannot ban state firearms license holders from carrying weapons in the Hartsfield-Jackson terminal.

Last night I spoke to the group’s president, attorney Edward Stone, who revealed one of the group’s possible legal strategies against the city.

As you might (not) have read, yesterday Mayor Shirley Franklin and Hartsfield-Jackson General Manager Ben DeCosta said Atlanta is entitled to ban guns from the airport terminal, despite a new state law allowing firearms license holders to carry weapons while on public transportation.

Franklin and DeCosta say the new law does not apply to the airport because the airport is covered by state code 16-11-127 which restricts possession of weapons in public buildings and at public gatherings. (more…)

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In which Georgia county does strip club magnate Jack Galardi own a large ranch?

Butts County, of course.

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Mayor Shirley Franklin and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport General Manger Ben DeCosta held a press conference at the airport’s atrium this morning to say that Georgia’s new gun law, which as of today allows state firearms license holders to carry weapons on public transit, in restaurants that serve alcohol, and in city and state parks, does not apply to the airport.

“There is no change at this airport,” said DeCosta, who explained that the airport is a city building and thus covered by state law 16-11-127 prohibiting people from carrying weapons in public buildings. “Hartsfield-Jackson is a gun-free zone” said DeCosta.

DeCosta’s statements were reiterated by City of Atlanta attorney Elizabeth Chandler and by Mayor Franklin, who added that no one needs to bring a gun to the airport for protection.

“You can come to the airport and be safe because there is law enforcement here,” said Franklin.

As for the rest of Atlanta, with its soaring crime rate and chronic police shortage, it’s every man for himself!

She didn’t actually say that last sentence. I’m inferring.

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RISING APPALACHIA’S CONCRETE PANDEMONIUM III AT EYEDRUM: “That song’s gonna be stuck in my head all night.”

(Photo by Tara-Lynne Pixley)

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Blogger Shelby Highsmith (who blogs as Shelbinator) reports yesterday’s Critical Mass group bicycle ride around Atlanta was shadowed by more than a dozen Atlanta Police Department vehicles.

If you were robbed, mugged, or otherwise assaulted or injured in the downtown Atlanta area between 6:45 and 8:00pm on Friday, we bicyclists do apologize for your lack of police protection. You see, we were busy occupying about a dozen motorcycle cops and several police cruisers with our monthly bike ride.

Be sure to check out Shelby’s video.

Atlanta is an under-policed city experiencing a double-digit increase in serious crime. Is following and ticketing bike riders a responsible allocation of the police department’s resources?

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“The Council had the authority to do this but it is an unwise business decision and represents one of the worst public policy decisions I have seen in my 20 year professional career,”

-Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, on the City Council’s decision today to not to raise property taxes to offset the city’s budget shortfall.

I wonder where her own staff’s chronic mismanagement of the city’s budget office ranks on Franklin’s policy poop list.

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George Bush was arrested for cocaine possession in Augusta.

Seriously.

(Tip o’ the crack pipe to Rogue109 at Peach Pundit)

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Today we received a postcard from Greenville, South Carolina showing a woman wearing a bikini riding a horse.

On the back it reads “MythicalMaidens.com, DVDs for sale! Horseback Riding, Swords, Viking Helmet, the Greek Goddess, plus custom DVDs. Order Today!”

If you’re into women with swords standing on garden furniture, you’ll love this clip:

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GUILTY: A Fulton County jury convicts 68-year-old Chiman Rai for ordering the racially motivated contract killing of his 22 year-old daughter-in-law, Michelle Reid Rai in 2000.

AMEN-ING THE AMENDMENT: For the first-time, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows individuals to have firearms. State Sen. Chip Roger, R-Woodstock, says Americans should celebrate. By firing into the air, perhaps?

MISSION KIMPOSSIBLE: The U.S. removes North Korea from its list of terrorist sponsoring nations. In a return gesture of goodwill, North Korea blew up the cooling tower at one of its disused nuclear reactors.

MAPLE STIR-UP: Braves manager Bobby Cox speaks out about the danger posed by maple baseball bats that shatter during play. Many players, including several on the Braves’ roster, prefer maple bats to traditional ash bats.

HELP NOT WANTED AS MUCH: Metro Atlanta’s unemployment jumps 0.6 percent in May to 5.5 percent. Georgia’s unemployment jumped to 5.8 percent in May, it’s highest number in 15 years.

WHAT’S THE 511, HUN?: Georgia’s road travel info hotline, GA 511, receives its one-millionth call after just 10 months in operation. DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham calls it a “milestone,” an exceedingly polite way of saying there are a lot of people stuck in traffic around here.

RUSTLED MCLENDIN’: The Street publishes a list of Georgia’s ten worst banks, as ranked by asset quality. Many of the banks on the list are there for making bad real estate loans. Alpharetta-based Integrity Bank tops the list. Or is it bottoms?

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From Ben Smith at Politico.com, here’s Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe speaking to reporters yesterday in Washington, D.C.

“Barr will get some votes [in Georgia]. If Barr were to get two percent in most states, our belief is he’ll get four percent here, most of it coming out of McCain’s hide.”

The last time a Democratic candidate for President won Georgia was 1992, when Clinton squeeked by Papa Bush with the help of countrified billionaire populist Ross Perot, who received 13.4 percent of Georgia’s popular vote.

If Obama were to win Georgia this November, he’ll need more than just a strong Barr campaign nibbling into McCain’s total. He’ll also need a record turnout of enthusiastic Democrats.

February’s presidential primary vote in Georgia hints at that possibility. In a competitive field, Obama nabbed 704,247 primary votes — more than doubling Kerry’s 2004 primary vote count.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Blogger ATLMalcontent’s “amazingly amazing” parody series, the blogosphere says what, returned this month from a short hibernation.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, the series began as a parody of another local blogger known for expressing his enthusiasm, indignation, and ennui — often within a single sentence.

Since its inception, however, the blogosphere says what’s parody has widened. It’s now a stand-alone parody of the hyper-political correctness, self-pity, and superficiality its author believes mar public discourse within the gay community.

Yesterday’s installment includes a conspiratorial complaint about Atlanta’s upcoming Pride festivities, anger at the late George Carlin, and a heart-warming announcement:

I have someone new and special in my life, Xander. He used to be Goofy at Disney World but didn’t like the politics of the Disney corporation. He says Time Warner, which owns Six Flags, is more gay-friendly, so he’s hoping to hook on as one of the Looney Tunes characters. He’s also part of the E.Q.U.A.L.I.T.Y. players, a theatrical troupe started by the amazing Harvey Fierstein. By the way, E.Q.U.A.L.I.T.Y stands for: Everyone Qualifies Under Affirmative Lifestyles Independent of Tyranny … Yentl!

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CBS 46 News reporter Fred Powers has died. According to the AJC, he was diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and was on leave as his health declined. He was 49.

Powers was best-known for his willingness to endure pain while on-camera. Reports showing Powers being tased or attacked by dogs weren’t news, but at least they weren’t exploiting other people’s misfortune. And they were entertaining as hell. Powers was great at his job.

CBS 46 has a nice remembrance video on its web site.

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Emory University professor Drew Westen predicts in The New Republic today that the 2008 presidential campaign will be the “nastiest, most racist presidential contest in modern American history.”

Westen says the only way McCain and the Republican Party can derail the Obama train is by insinuating that he’s a foreigner and reminding people that he’s black.

As evidence of how low McCain might be willing to go, Westen cites “The American President,” recent TV spots touting McCain as “The American President Americans have been waiting for.”

Westen explains:

The ad ends, “John McCain: The American President Americans have been waiting for.” Syntactically, that’s an oddly redundant conclusion. Why not, “John McCain: The President Americans have been waiting for?” Because, of course, that second rendering would not imply that his opponent is not American.

A professor of psychology and psychiatry, Westen’s most recent book is The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation.

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Last month, CL’s Scott Henry reported on Fulton County at-large Commissioner Robb Pitts’ ambition to replace downtown’s central library with a new facility near Centennial Park. Today Pitts sent out a mass e-mail titled “Atlanta’s Opportunity To Have A World Class Central Library.”

The e-mail includes photos of architecturally pleasing central libraries in other American cities, but does not mention anything about the cost of replacing the current library with a new one.

According to Scott’s report on this last month, a county bond referendum on the November ballot would provide $150 million for the Atlanta-Fulton library system, $40 million of which would be set-aside to renovate the current library.

But an architecturally significant library, like the ones Pitts shared photos of, would cost a lot more than $40 million.

The central library in Denver, included in Pitts’ slide show, was paid for with a $92 million dollar bond issue approved in 1990. Seattle’s public library, also on the Pitts’ list, was paid for with a $196 million bond issue approved by Seattle voters in 1998 (plus $20 million in spare change from Bill Gates).

Call me Gloomy Gus, but there’s too much intra-county ill-feeling in Fulton for me to imagine suburban Fulton voters saying yes to an eight-or-nine-digit bond issue to pay for a trophy library in the middle of Atlanta.

The full text of Pitts’ e-mail follows . . . (more…)

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Do you find it annoying when the news media uses the name Decatur to refer to places or events that are outside Decatur’s city limits?

The AJC’s coverage of yesterday’s double-murder in DeKalb County was first reported with the headline “2 women killed, children flee in Decatur.” Later in the day, the headline was corrected to “2 women killed, children flee in DeKalb.”

Are there other parts of Atlanta so routinely misidentified?

And, yes, I live in Decatur.

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