Fresh Loaf

OMG y’all! Sarah Palin’s cybersecurity was like, totally breached, and all her e-mails and photos of aerial wolf hunting were stolen. And just like everything bizarre in this world, it turns out there’s a Georgia connection. It’s in Athens, the land of drunks, an Arch, and a bunch of bulldogs on street corners!

The Associated Press reports that the Internet anonymity service used by the person who hacked Palin’s Yahoo account is based in the college town I know, love and that I miss dearly.

From the AP:

Investigators were waiting to speak with Gabriel Ramuglia of Athens, Ga., who operates an Internet anonymity service used by the hacker. Ramuglia told the AP on Thursday he was reviewing his own logs and promised to turn over any helpful information to authorities because the hacker violated rules against using the anonymity service for illegal activities.

“If you’re doing something illegal and causing me issues by doing this, I’m willing to cooperate,” Ramuglia said. “Obviously this is the most high profile situation I’ve dealt with.”

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Neil Peirce of the Washington Post Writers Group weighs in:

My short analysis: With Obama, we’re likely to get an activist federal government in areas from transit and infrastructure to housing. But it won’t be the Democrats’ historic center-city “urban policy.” Instead, Obama’s looking for ways to shift and coordinate federal programs to help boost the fortunes of entire metro regions.

McCain? One has to be a super-detective to discern any city-metro policy at all. We know what he’s against, starting with pork-barrel spending, particularly earmarks for politicians’ pet local projects. We know he’s for less government regulation and lower taxes for individuals, small businesses, corporations.

But do we have even a hint of a federal partnership with urban/metro America under a McCain administration? So far no. The silence could be intentional. The Sarah Palin vice presidential selection, the Republican National Convention’s celebration of small towns and invective against “cosmopolitanism” and community organizing, smacks of a calculated anti-urban message.

Read the rest here.

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AIG: U.S. taxpayers save the insurance giant from its own bad investments via the Fed’s historic $85 billion bailout, which, despite its unfairness, was needed to prevent the worldwide financial bedlam that would follow an AIG collapse.

STREET CRED: Wall Street’s free fall has given Obama an opening, but while he does poll better than McCain on the economy, he doesn’t poll as well as a generic Democrat against a generic Republican.

PALIN: Not ready to be Hewlett-Packard CEO, according to former HP chief and McCain economic adviser Carly Fiorina, who then dug herself an even deeper hole by adding that McCain couldn’t lead the company either.

ALDERMAN: The convicted murderer was executed Tuesday for the 1974 killing of his wife.

ERR LIKE A SAILOR: Disgraced former Georgia lawmaker Ron Sailor Jr. is sentenced to 63 months for fraud and money laundering.

FUEL AND FAR BETWEEN: Ike has left the city of Atlanta with just 15 days worth of fuel, prompting the closure of two fueling stations and a plea to city employees to conserve.

STANDOFFISH: A fugitive wanted in a 2006 Atlanta murder is arrested in Chicago after a standoff.

THE YOST IS CLEAR: After being unexpectedly fired by the Brewers, there’s some speculation that former Braves third base coach Ned Yost could end up back in Atlanta.

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Al Gore may have invented the Internet, but its John McCain who invented the Blackberry.

“You’re looking at the miracle that John McCain helped create,” said Doug Holtz-Eakin, an economic aide to Republican White House hopeful McCain, as he held up his BlackBerry wireless e-mail device.

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BACKS AGAINST THE WALL STREET: The Dow is suffering its worst loss since 2001 following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the buyout of Merrill Lynch, with AIG possibly next, despite recently borrowing $20 billion from its subsidiaries. The Fed today infused $50 billion into financial markets to stem the freefall.

MCCAIN: Reconfigures his recent statement that “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”

PALIN: Won’t cooperate with the ongoing ethics probe because she says Obama’s campaign has infiltrated it. Actually, she didn’t say that. Despite the probe being into her conduct as governor, the announcement that Palin won’t be cooperating was made by the McCain campagin.

JUST THE TICKET: Atlanta scofflaws will have two months, starting Oct. 1, to pay old parking tickets and have all late fees waived, a measure approved by City Council in hopes of collecting at least some money they otherwise might never have seen.

GASOLINE: Prices in Georgia are the second-highest in the country, although analysts say they should settle somewhere around $4 soon.

NATURAL GAS: Prices in Georgia may rise 25 percent this winter.

BARR VS. BLOOMBERG: The Libertarian presidential candidate will appear in federal appeals court in Atlanta today to defend his defamation suit against the New York City mayor, which alleges Bloomberg libeled Barr’s client, Adventure Outdoors Sporting Goods, by calling the Smyrna store a rogue gun dealer in his famous 2006 lawsuit.

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SARAH PALIN: The NY Times examines her governing style, which includes hiring several high school friends to high-paying state jobs for which they had no relevant experience.

BEAR MARKET TO FLEA MARKET: The Lehman Brothers investment bank announces it will file for bankruptcy, and despite the possibly market-soothing buyout of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, the Dow drops 300 points.

FALCONS: Can’t overcome early deficit to the Bucs despite a near-comeback in the fourth quarter.

LAWYER MILLOY: The Falcons’ star safety was arrested on charges of DUI and speeding early this morning. No word yet on whether he will represent himself.

GALVESTON: Rendered a wasteland by Ike, with packs of stray dogs and loose steer wandering the sewage-strewn streets. Hurricane hold-outs now want off the island after lack of power and water has made it almost uninhabitable.

CUTBACKS: State lawmakers, judiciary and the governor’s office say they’ll cut back on their budgets in addition to upcoming state budget cuts made necessary by the colossal statewide shortfall.

QUORUM: The revamped Clayton school board can now move forward with official business after reaching a quorum by recruiting two former candidates for board seats.

DOG CALLS 911: To report owner’s seizure.

LANIER: Not filling back up anytime soon.

LINGERING: Linger Longer Communities says it’s making progress on plans for its Jekyll Island redevelopment, but navigating the environmental laws and public input may be bogging down the process.

UGA: Drops to No. 3 despite staying undefeated, but still has four top-10 teams on its schedule, all SEC foes.

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Nate Silver, who runs the awesomely nerdtastic political blog FiveThirtyEight.com, joined the chorus of campaign-watchers criticizing the Obama campaign for devoting millions of dollars to trying to win Georgia’s Electoral College votes.

According to Silver, Virginia and North Carolina are more Obama-friendly than Georgia. If he can put either of those states in his column, he wouldn’t need Georgia. (more…)

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— The clock is ticking as convicted murderer Troy Davis has a date with the death penalty. At Counterpunch, Laura Tate Kagel and Jen Marlowe make the case for clemency — if there was ever someone on Death Row who’s not guilty, it’s likely that it’s Davis.

— The city gets props from B King at Terminal Station for taking on the epidemic panhandling in downtown. He says downtown can’t become viable until the situation is taken care of. And how did begging for money become known as “panhandling” anyway?

— At Lucid Idiocy, Travis notes a survey that shows Southern white evangelicals are more likely to support torturing people for information than the rest of the general public. Must be some kind of Old Testament inspiration.

— They’re also more prone to vote for McCain and Palin, even if the MO of the GOP’s nominees is to not tell the truth about hardly anything. Like Palin’s past. Or saying Obama supports teaching sex education to kids in kindergarten. Say what? At Politits,  Dcup wants to know why the media is so afraid of using the “L” word. As in, “liar, liar, pants on fire.”

— At Going Through The Motions, Sara reminds us there is a big difference between spin and outright lying. Unfortunately, she got into a discussion last weekend with Republicans who didn’t quite get the distinction.

— And, finally, Mingaling  evokes JFK to remind us of what it is we’re supposed to be safeguarding.

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SHARP AS ATTACK: Obama will kick off today a more aggressive approach in campaigning and defending himself against recent truthy attacks from the McCain campaign.

HURRICANE IKE: The National Weather Service warns of “certain death” for coastal residents around Galveston who try to ride out the storm. Houston, however, is doing just that. In metro Atlanta, the specter of Ike has raised gas prices slightly.

THE BEST OFFENSE: The upcoming announcement of where the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility will be located has led to renewed discussion of bioterrorism dangers and accidental disease outbreaks. Meanwhile, NBAF proponents were joined by Gov. Sonny Perdue, who chimed in in support of locating the facility in Athens.

TROY DAVIS: Clemency hearing is today.

FALCONS: Ranked 29th in the NFL in terms of team value. But the emergence of a dynamic running game may make that a low estimate.

DOWNTOWN CONNECTOR: All work that requires lane closures is now finished.

ACCESSNORTHGA.COM: Reports that the Ga. 316/I-85 interchange is one step away from completion; crews now just need to remove the oversized road construction signs.

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Jay Cost at RealClearPolitics has a chart listing the Obama campaign’s ad spending by state, along side recent poll numbers. The chart is an attempt to gauge if Obama has had any success turning red states blue.

According to Cost, Obama’s Georgia’s spending was money wasted:

. . . it is hard to justify the expenditures on a state like Georgia. The state’s closeness in 1996, Bill Clinton’s victory in 1992, and Obama’s expectation of enhanced African American turnout probably justified some investment. However, $1.8 million is a lot to lay down on a state that’s overwhelmingly favored the GOP in the last two cycles. I’d note that this figure doesn’t include the costs of more than 100 paid staffers and 30 field offices.

His name is Cost, so he must know what he’s talking about, right?

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BUSH: Secretly ordered the recent covert military strike in Pakistan, according to the NY Times, a major detachment from the usual U.S. tactic of using unmanned Predator spy planes to fire at suspected al-Qaeda targets in the country.

MCCAIN: Leads Obama by 18 points in Georgia.

HURRICANE IKE: Barreling toward Houston and Galveston, expected to be a Category 3 when it hits Friday night. Thousands of coastal Texans are evacuating.

CAGLE: Will run for governor in 2010.

THE POACH STATE: Georgia is among the fast-growing states poaching teachers from more economically strapped states, such as Michigan.

EXCELLENCE DEFICIENCY: The Commission for School Board Excellence, formed at the request of the Georgia Board of Education, is recommending that Georgia should have more power to intervene in dysfunctional local school boards such as Clayton’s.

BOBBY COX: Will return next season.

TOUCH AND GO: A Fulton Superior Court judge dismisses a lawsuit by VOTER GA challenging the fraud-proofness of the state’s touch-screen voting machines. VOTER GA’s Garland Favorito says the group may appeal.

CUMBERLAND ISLAND: Will begin tours of its north end, which had previously only been accessible to visitors via a 17-mile hike.

UGA: Will face its first real test of the season as it enters SEC play against Spurrier’s Gamecocks in Columbia Saturday.

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Barack Obama’s chances in Georgia aren’t as strong as once thought, according to a new survey from InsiderAdvantage.

When asked who they would vote for if the election were held today, more than 56 percent of 506 registered likely voters said John McCain. Obama trailed with 38 percent. (Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate who’s been considered a possible vote-stealer from McCain, was not included as a choice in the survey.)

Says InsiderAdvantage’s Matt Towery:

“This is a huge slide from what had been, in our prior surveys, a relatively close race. The reason is simple—Obama lost serious ground in virtually every demographic.

“At first glance it would seem that Obama is headed for no better than the low 40 percentile level achieved by John Kerry in 2004. But let me warn observers that in both our national tracking and surveys in other states, the biggest change has been a near parity between the two candidates among the youngest of voters.

“Should that group return to Obama and the African-American vote end up where we expect it to be, the race could be closer in November. But as of now Georgia is no longer a “leans McCain” state. As of this survey, Georgia is in the McCain column.”

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Rep. Lynn Westmoreland isn’t the only Georgia Republican dropping the u-bomb.

During a radio interview in Macon last week, Republican congressional candidate Rick Goddard called a black MSNBC reporter “uppity” for daring to ask Newt Gingrich a non-softball question about Gov. Sarah Palin.

Like Westmoreland, Goddard denies he meant “uppity” in the “who does this black guy think he is?” sense.

Like I wrote about Westmoreland — it’s a flimsy explanation that doesn’t sound plausible because white people only seem to refer to black people as uppity.

Calling an intelligent, accomplished black person “uppity” bugs me, but honestly, I’m just as irritated this morning by the alleged non-racist point Goddard insists he was making.

Goddard says Allen was being “arrogant” and “presumptuous” by suggesting to Gingrich that Palin’s resume is not that of a typical VP-running mate. Allen was trying and (and, incidentally, failing) to get Gingrich off his party’s talking points.

Apparently, it’s arrogant, presumptuous and uppity for a reporter to challenge a politician’s spin.
(H/T: AJC Political Insider)

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HYPERCAMPAIGNING: The late conventions combined with unprecedented early voting in various states has drastically changed the formula for how to campaign on the home stretch.

SMASHING SUCCESS: The Large Hadron Collider — the $9 billion, 17-mile atom smasher that will replicate the moments following the Big Bang and which some skeptics worry will create Earth-swallowing black holes — was successfully started outside Geneva this morning.

IKE: Leaves Cuba reeling as it hits the Gulf, where it may strengthen to a Category 3 before hitting Texas.

FIREFIGHTERS: Atlanta Fire Union president warns of a mass exodus of firefighters to the suburbs.

KNOWSHON MORENO: UGA’s star tailback has become a hit on YouTube for his hurdle over a Central Michigan defender Saturday, but ESPN and FOX are in Mark Richt’s doghouse for not including the highlight in their top-10 reels.

CROC HUNTER: The parents of a boy whose Croc-clad foot was mangled by a Hartsfield-Jackson escalator are suing the Colorado-based shoe company for not including warning labels.

BALD IS BEAUTIFUL: Conservationists in North Carolina are experimenting with using desert goats to reclaim the natural mountain balds, which have become overgrown due to human overhunting of the natural grazers like elk and bison.

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The Houston Chronicle reports Republican Congressman and former 2008 Presidential hopeful Ron Paul will offer a hearty 25 percent endorsement to the presidential candidacies of former Georgia congresspersons Cynthia McKinney and Bob Barr at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. tomorrow.

They don’t quite put it in those terms.

The report says Paul will urge his supporters to reject Obama and McCain and instead cast a vote for any one of the four other candidates on the ballot this fall: former Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr, former Democrat-turned-Green Cynthia McKinney, Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin, or independent Ralph Nader.

According to the National Press Club’s events calendar, Paul and Barr each have press conferences scheduled tomorrow.

Perhaps Barr will be there to give Paul 25 percent of a thank you.

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Calling all bespectacled, no-nonsense women who steal the spotlight from their potential bosses when they’re not killing moose! Your services are requested for an “adult-themed video production” here in Atlanta.

The wonderful ladies at Pecanne Log unearthed this gem:

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I’ve always wanted to live in a presidential campaign swing state.

Alas, further confirmation 2008 is not my year.

From Politico:

“Obama recently stopped running ads in Georgia, a state the campaign originally identified as a potential battleground. Some Georgia field staff was moved into North Carolina . . .”

The ads we knew about. Moving staff out of Georgia is news.

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Some of the state’s top Republicans are getting together at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, September 13 at the Renaissance Waverly in Cobb County for a McCain-Palin “Countdown To Victory Rally.”

Neither Sen. John McCain nor Gov. Sarah Palin will be there, but state GOP stalwarts Gov. Sonny Perdue, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Secretary of State Karen Handel, School Superintendent Kathy “Smarter than a 5th Grader” Cox, Rep. Tom Price, Rep. Phil Gingrey and state GOP chairwoman Sue Everhart are scheduled to appear.

Conspicuously absent from the bill is Rep. Lynn Westmoreland. Perhaps the Renaissance Waverly is too uppity for him.

Contact georgia@johnmccain.com for details.

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The New York Times reported yesterday that Obama pulled his TV ads from Georgia. Scaling back TV ad purchases in a state where you’re behind in the polls typically means the campaign has given up hope of winning the state.

In today’s AJC, Obamaniacal State Sen. David Adelman, D-Atlanta, insisted Obama is still competing in the Peach State.

“We have a strategy to win Georgia,” Adelman said. “It might not be the same plan to win Ohio, but we have a plan to win Georgia.”

No word yet on whether that strategy includes more TV advertising.

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In a sign that the presidential race has tightened and the contest is narrowing to just a few battleground states, the New York Times reports today that the Obama campaign has pulled ads in Georgia.

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Even after the unveiling of Wonder Woman, reminding us for days that he was imprisoned FIVE-AND-A-HALF YEARS in a POW camp, and saying he’d work with Democrats after he lashed them in front of his pachyderm brethren, John McCain still lags behind Barack Obama.

From Electoral Votes:

(Hat tip to Nick Douglas)

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— The Republican party is over, the elephants have left Minneapolis and Sarah Palin is the modern day Joan of Arc. What’s left? The same old same old, says Amy Morton at Georgia Women Vote. She also slips in the line of the day, discussing Gov. Perdue’s interest in having the power to take over a school system.

— The graphic of the day comes from Travis at Lucid Idiocy, who has posted a wordle that compares the acceptance speeches of Obama and McCain. What’s a wordle? It shows which words they used the most, and the result is fascinating and in stark contrast.

— And the uppity idiot of the day award, of course, goes to Georgia Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, who is obviously still trying to learn every one of those 10 Commandments. Mel at Blog For Democracy goes off on Westmoreland for perpetuating all sorts of stereotypes.

— DriftGrift’s reaction is sadness because he thinks McCain is a good man, and that his acceptance speech will be his last hoorah.

— There’s more to life than politics. And A.man.I at My Urban Report has posted a video report on his road trip to Myrtle Beach to chase Hurricane Hannah, and how his wife is none too happy with the idea.

— And finally, leave it to the fine ladies at Pecanne Log to keep it real. Take a ride with them on the Bulldog Bounce. Go Dawgs!

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“FIGHT WITH ME”: Says John McCain during his speech accepting the Republican nomination for president. I haven’t listened to the audio of his speech, but I assume he emphasized “with,” and not “fight.”

WARRIN’ POLICY: The New York Times examines how the hawkish and moderate wings of the GOP are vying beneath the surface to influence McCain’s foreign-policy compass, and what to make of his bellicose statements about Iran and Russia.

FIRING RANGE: After her aides improperly peeked at her sister’s ex-husband’s personnel files in an effort to get the Alaska state trooper fired, and then unsuccessfully pressured the public safety commissioner to fire him, Gov. Sarah Palin just fired the public safety commissioner, according to the Alaska state police union.

GATOR CHOMPED: The alligator that’s been sporadically spotted around Lake Lanier during the past month has been caught.

MASS TRANSIT: Can save the average Atlanta household $9,129 a year, according to the American Public Transportation Association. But APTA assumes the household would also get rid of a car, so those estimated savings include no longer paying to register and insure it.

NO BLACKOUT: Three Falcons sponsors bought the remaining 1,500 tickets to Sunday’s season opener to prevent a TV blackout. The game marks the beginning of the Mike Smith era, which players are thrilled about, especially when compared with the Bobby Petrino error “era.”

HOT PANTS: In addition to the ongoing rash of high-priced blue-jean thefts in Atlanta, four Gustav evacuees from New Orleans were arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with yet more blue-jean banditry. Hours earlier, Atlanta police arrested three other smash-and-grab suspects after a car chase.

HANNAH: Will bypass the Georgia coast today, bringing just wind and rain, but Savannah officials hope the false-ish alarm won’t discourage future hurricane wariness.

IKE THE DICKENS: The hurricane, which had been a Category 4 storm, is “extremely dangerous,” according to forecasters, even though it’s weakened to a Category 3.

TURF WARS: California’s attorney general and the nonprofit Center for Environmental Health are suing artificial-turf makers in Georgia and Florida for their turfs’ lead-based coloring, which the lawsuits claim violate California’s environmental laws.

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PALIN: Excites the crowd at the RNC with an aggressive speech aimed at Obama’s experience and celebrity. McCain makes a surprise appearance to support Palin, and reminds those in attendance of her national security experience.

OBAMA: Will give a prebuttal to McCain’s acceptance speech tonight on “The O’Reilly Factor.” Maybe this will come up.

KWAME KILPATRICK: The embattled mayor of Detroit has accepted a plea deal and will resign.

HANNAH: Takes a northward turn, and is now expected to bypass the Georgia coast and hit land on the Carolina coast. Savannah’s unlikely to be evacuated, but the Hostess City is still preparing for the uninvited guest.

HAITI: “The situation is as bad as it can be,” according to a U.N. official in Gonaives. The country has been hit by three tropical storms in two weeks, and more than 100 people have died amid flooding and mudslides.

PAKISTAN: Mad at the U.S. for an alleged cross-border raid that it says killed 15 villagers in the northwestern part of the country.

CLAYTON BOE: Gets one step closer to a quorum by appointing Jessie Goree to fill the vacant District 3 seat, but takes two steps back by holding another controversial closed meeting, which two members refuse to attend in protest. Meanwhile, Gov. Perdue is looking into how he could gain more power to intervene in troubled school systems, even if by constitutional amendment, but the earliest that could happen is November 2010, likely too late for Clayton.

WAREHOUSE FIRE: Shuts down North Avenue this morning near City Hall East.

SHOCKLEY AND AWE: Terence Moore fantasizes for UGA/Falcons fans how the beloved former Bulldogs QB could ascend now that he’s the No. 3 behind an unproven No. 1 and a mediocre No. 2.

BAD SPORTS? Spencer Hall at the Sporting Blog defends “the Atlanta sporting landscape” in response to mockery of the Falcons reducing ticket prices in hopes of avoiding a TV blackout for the season opener.

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Republicans are cheering their veep candidate Sarah Palin for delivering a folksy speech last night that denounced Washington “elites” and the “old boy” network, while extolling rural values and hockey-motherhood.

The speech was written by 49-year-old boy Matthew Scully, a man who so deeply detests Washington elites that he wrote or co-wrote every major speech for President George W. Bush during his first term, as well as speeches for noted D.C. outsiders Vice President Dick Cheney, Vice President Dan Quayle and former Senate majority leader and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole.

Scully is the author of Dominion, a book that passionately defends animal rights and while righteously denouncing the cruel actions of hunters and farmers. Scully is a vegetarian.

According to his online bio, Scully lives with his wife Emmanuelle in a small town out west called Los Angeles.

The Republicans “just plain faux-lks” routine is getting surreal.

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