Fresh Loaf

U.S. Rep. Nathan “One of the 15 Most Corrupt Members of Congress” Deal plans to make ample use of what remaining time he has left in Washington, D.C.

High on the list for the the Hall County Republican who’s also running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination? He and some congressional colleagues will kindly ask President Barack Obama to show a copy of his birth certificate.

Deal told his grand plans to Political Impact’s Tom Crawford during an online chat this morning.

Expecting the “Oxendine demands Obama birth certificate” press release in 5…4…3…

UPDATE: Invasion of the body snatchers! John Oxendine says Deal needs to back off the president. From his campaign:

“While I will lead the conservative charge to oppose President Obama on policy issues, candidates running for Governor need to understand that we have a responsibility to do business with the President of United States,” said John Oxendine. “For the sake of the taxpayers of Georgia, a high degree of respect is required and questioning his citizenship after he has been elected to the highest office in our land is disrespectful.”

(H/T to Jim Galloway)

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President Barack Obama today said federal assistance has been made available for Cobb, Paulding, Douglas Carroll and Cherokee County residents who suffered losses from the unprecedented floods that devastated metro Atlanta earlier this week. (UPDATE: Apparently there was some confusion about which counties were chosen to receive assistance. The AJC’s Gold Dome Live has a pretty hilarious summary of the “huh, what?”)

Left out of Obama’s declaration were 12 other metro countries, including DeKalb and Fulton County. Gov. Sonny Perdue says the state’s request for the remaining counties is still pending.

From Perdue’s office:

The federal declaration covers individual assistance and can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses. Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration will also be available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance.

…

Residents and business owners in the four counties declared by the President as a major disaster area who sustained losses can begin applying for assistance by registering online at http://www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time) Monday through Sunday.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency continues to coordinate state recovery efforts. Contact information for GEMA can be found on its website.

(File photo by Joeff Davis)

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Or the latest Harry Potter novel. We’ll never know for sure, now will we?

A kind man then offers to take the petitions from Isakson and shred them. Nah, just kidding, he was just being a helpful gent.

On Wednesday night, the Democratic Party of Georgia will host a rally and outdoor viewing of President Barack Obama’s address to Congress about health care reform. The event starts at 6:45 p.m. and will be held at The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. For more information, visit the DPG’s Web site.

If Republicans are staging a similar event against the proposed reform, please shoot us a line or leave details in the comments.

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Seven months after President Barack Obama was sworn in, a fringe contingent still suspects he’s ineligible for the post because, they claim, instead of being born in Hawaii — as the evidence makes clear — he actually was born in Kenya.

“I have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen.”

— Hawaii Health Director Chiyome Fukino, in a statement issued July 27

“It’s just a few cranks out there. It’s like when the networks bring on the three remaining Klanners in America.”

— Ann Coulter, during a July 27 appearance on Fox News

“I have no idea where he was born.”

— U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., responding to an interviewer who asked if he thought Obama was born in America and if he considered “birthers” to be crazy

“What I don’t know is why the president can’t produce a birth certificate. I think that’s a legitimate question.”

— Former House Majority Leader and current Senate candidate Roy Blunt, responding on July 29 to a question about Obama’s eligibility

Sources: TPM, AP, MSNBC

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You’ve heard about the birthers, right? Those tragic souls who insist that President Barack Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii, but in Kenya? They will not rest until the president — who’s totally an illegal alien, y’all — is ousted from office and sent to a supermax prison, where he will confess he’s a Muslim and write books about jihad and the audacity of mandatory life sentences.

The Huffington Post dispatched a reporter to ask Republican Congressmen whether they believed Obama was born in the United States. In a hilarious video, most of the lawmakers — probably scared they’ll lose the cherished never-leaves-the-house demographic — run from the reporter, hide in an office-supply store, and lovingly tell the journalist he’s the “scum of the Earth.” Only one lawmaker says Obama is a U.S. citizen.

The back of U.S. Rep. Tom “Flanders” Price, R-Ga., has a brief cameo at around 2:00.

After the jump, a Price spokesman tells us why the Congressman fled the scene — and what he thinks about Obama’s citizenship.

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This week, we’re doing a countdown to last week’s most widely read post. So … let’s start with No. 5, shall we? Fun!

5. Zell Miller: Obama should be restrained with ‘Gorilla Glue’ (Hey Zell, I think there’s a booth with your name on it at a certain bar referenced in post No. 1.)

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Obama anger is alive and well in Harris County, Ga., home of Callaway Gardens and…uhm…let’s get on with the story.

In response to the recent federal bail-out of General Motors and Chrysler, the Harris County Commission tomorrow will vote on a proclamation that calls for a boycott of the automakers’ products and urges other Georgia counties to follow suit.

Penned by Commissioner Charles Wyatt, the proclamation says the bail-out “will result in a heavy burden upon future generations of citizens of the United States” and “is not in the best interest of the United States or the State of Georgia.”

It goes on to say the county will not purchase any GM or Chrysler vehicles and urges the other 158 Georgia counties to “join us in sending a message to Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, DC, of strong voices of unity against this recent action by the Federal Government.” It then “prays” the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (that’s not a typo, the organization only has one “of” in its name) “will stand with us.”

State Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Decatur, and representatives from GM and ACCG, and Harris County workers employed by the automakers will attend tomorrow night’s meeting to urge the commissioners not to pass the proclamation. Cars are near and dear to Jones’ heart — he’s an auto dealer himself.

Judging that there are about five working journalists in Georgia at the moment, the event’s not likely to receive much attention. But it’s worth noting, simply because we love it when our down-South brethren introduce legislation like this.

UPDATE – Commissioner Wyatt says why he introduced the proclamation after the jump.

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Looking for the transcript of Obama’s Cairo speech, I noticed the main image on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov:

There’s nothing objectionable about a nice photo of the president visiting world landmarks. On the contrary, it’s good for Americans to have their leaders depicted showing interest in non-American things. 

But of all the photos taken by the White House photographer at Giza yesterday, the one they chose to make the lead photo on WhiteHouse.gov depicts Obama’s head above and between the Great Sphinx of Giza and the Pyramid of Khafre.

I hated it when Bush dressed up in war-hero drag and I hate it that this White House thinks it’s a good idea to depict Obama as a casual-Friday King of the Nile.

Luckily for you, Mr. President, I’m in a generous mood. I’m willing to forgive this faux-pas if the health care reform you sign includes a public option.

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1. Injured cops video Shirley probably doesn’t want you to watch (What’s going on in the video made one man so mad, he said he wanted to hit Mayor Shirley Franklin with a baseball bat. Bad idea.)

2. Brenda Lee forcibly removed from Obama press area (Macon reporter — and not the ’60s songstress — makes a spectacle of herself while being dragged away from Air Force One.)

3. Perception of Crime watch (According to the mayor and police chief, Atlanta isn’t experiencing a crime wave — it’s experiencing a perception of crime wave. Have you been a victim of a perception of crime? If so, please fill out this form.)

4. Vindictive, thin-skinned mayor acting vindictive, thin-skinned (Franklin wants the feds to investigate the police union president who made the bat statement. See No. 1.)

5. State Sen. John Wiles confuses MARTA with car wash (Lawmaker so frustrated with transit agency, he says he wouldn’t let them wash his wheels.)

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President Barack Obama has named U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nomination to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court.

From the New York Times:

Judge Sotomayor, 54, who has served for more than a decade on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals based in New York City, would become the nation’s 111th justice, replacing David H. Souter, who is retiring after 19 years on the bench. Although Justice Souter was appointed by the first President George Bush, he became a mainstay of the liberal faction on the court and so his replacement by Judge Sotomayor likely would not shift the overall balance of power.

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President Barack Obama stunned the nation today as he showed his affinity for “celebrity culture” — Dr. Sanjay Gupta, anyone? — and named well-known New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman to head the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Reached for comment at a nanotechnology conference in Hong Kong, Friedman said he did not understand the question, denied the appointment, and asked why our publication is named “Creative Loafing.” We called him a liar, said he was wrong about the Earth being flat, and told him his moustache was well developed.

No, really, but Obama did name a new CDC director today. He’s New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden! His department came up with the awesome (really) idea to distribute subway-themed condoms. He sounds like a hellraiser and we welcome him to our city!

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NPR and MSNBC, citing anonymous sources, both report Supreme Court Justice David Souter has notified the White House that he plans to retire at the end of the current court term. (The Supreme Court declined to comment on the reports.)

The reports say Souter would remain on the bench until President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace him is confirmed. It would be the first Supreme Court Justice pick by the president. NPR says most observers expect the president to make his first appointment to the court a woman.

Since Obama was elected, many Peach State political observers have pointed toward Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears as a worthy nominee if a vacancy appears on the bench. Sears announced her retirement from the highest court in the state last October. She steps down on June 30.

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On April 16, President Barack Obama gave rail lovers some long-awaited good news: As part of the president’s stimulus plan, he offered $8 billion to begin linking major U.S. cities with high-speed rail lines — and an additional $5 billion more to improve rail service over the next four years.

“We need high-speed rail,” Obama said. “It’s happening right now. It’s been happening for decades. The problem is, it’s been happening elsewhere, not here.”

By “elsewhere,” the president was referring to Europe and Asia. But he could just as easily have been talking about Southeastern states other than Georgia. Thanks to a lack of vision, little to no funding, and an almost cartoonish addiction to roads, the Peach State’s far behind many of its neighbors when it comes to rail.

Transit and transportation advocates say if the state’s leadership doesn’t work to catch up, Georgia could miss out on a nationwide rail renaissance.

Click here to continue reading this story.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Obamabucks! They don’t just pay for “comfort stations!”

Dave Williams of the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports:

Georgia will be on the receiving end of $665 million in federal stimulus funds to help educate students with disabilities or from low-income families.

The Georgia Board of Education unanimously approved the allocations on Tuesday in a special called meeting.

More than half of the federal aid — $351 million — will go to Georgia school districts through the federal Title I program, which provides funding for economically disadvantaged students. The rest of the money will come from a federal program dedicated to students with disabilities.

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The Atlanta Business Chronicle has put all of its stories about local spending of federal stimulus money on a single page called the ABC Stimulus Tracker.

Among the local projects I learned about on the site: Cochran Shoals in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is getting a new “comfort station” as well as repairs on its old ones.

All Metro Atlantans who think the federal stimulus is a power grab by the fascistsocialistmuslimfundamentalistKenyanpirate Obama Regime are advised to go potty before visiting the park or to bring adult diapers, lest their bodily excretions be interpreted as stinky tacit approval of Obama’s wasteful, tyrannical policies.

And don’t forget, kids, tea is a diuretic.

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I guess Mayor Boyd Austin of Dallas, Ga., is still a victim of other people playing with his Facebook profile?

Privacy settings, sir! Privacy settings!

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From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama called Thursday for the country to move swiftly to a system of high-speed rail travel, saying it will relieve congestion, help clean the air and save on energy.

Appearing with Vice President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Obama said the country cannot afford not to invest in a major upgrade to rail travel. He said he understands it necessarily will be “a long-term project” but said the time to start is now.

The president allocated $8 billion in the enormous $787 billion economic stimulus spending package for a start on establishing high-speed rail corridors nationwide.

Included on this list:

- Southeast corridor (Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Macon, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville)

- Gulf Coast corridor (Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Birmingham, Atlanta)

Now if only Georgia would join that Atlanta-New Orleans study commission…

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Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton

Several Republican state representatives on Thursday opposed a privileged resolution to make President Barack Obama an honorary member of Georgia’s Legislative Black Caucus. Members of the caucus called the move political, offensive and bizarre — the state House has passed “thousands” of honorary resolutions without objection, one lawmaker said.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with the color of his skin. It has to do with his policies being inconsistent with our core beliefs as Republicans.”

— State Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, and 2010 governor candidate, after stating that the legislation read as if the entire Legislature endorsed the president.

“We pass [other] resolutions about people we know nothing about. It’s a matter of respecting the office.”

— State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta

“In my 35 years I’ve seen many resolutions. And I’ve never seen this type of action taken on the floor of the House. Now there’s a dark cloud over Georgia. And somebody has to remove it. This is a political act.”

— State Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Macon, the Black Caucus’ national chairman, who had planned to deliver the resolution to Obama at the White House on March 20.

(Courtesy House Communications)

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The most tangible component of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan — transportation projects — is starting to take shape in metro Atlanta and Georgia.

Yesterday, the State Transportation Board today approved 135 projects — most of which involve bridge maintenance and road resurfacing — valued at more than $512 million.

And today, the Atlanta Regional Commission approved stimulus projects totaling more than $270 million — $95 million of which will help metro region transit agencies replace aging vehicles, complete maintenance projects, and improve park-and-ride facilities. MARTA has been allocated $55 million. Some pedestrian improvements are included in each agency’s project lists.

If Gov. Sonny Perdue approves the projects, bids will be solicited. Work is expected to begin immediately thereafter.

Georgia was allocated $1.1 billion in transportation funding under the plan — $931 million for roads and $144 million for transit projects. GDOT oversees 70 percent of that cash. The remaining funds are distributed among metropolitan planning organizations — i.e. the ARC.

After the jump, screenshots of GDOT’s approved projects in Fulton and DeKalb Counties. To view the entire list and monitor how the agency spends Obamabucks, visit its stimulus projects website. To download a PDF of the ARC’s approved stimulus projects, click here. I’d post screenshots for you, dear reader, but since the projects are all local, it’s best to read the list in full.

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Meet Boyd Austin, mayor of Dallas, Ga. Consider him added to the list of folks who need to realize what many people already know: The Internet was invented to place you in awkward situations.

Yesterday, political blog Wonkette wondered what Austin was talking about when he updated his Facebook status message to say this:

The status message refers to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s recent visit to the United States. Brown gave President Barack Obama a pen holder carved from a magical tree. Obama gave Brown a set of DVDs (come on, we’re in a recession, people!). This pissed off the British media.

I was also baffled by Austin’s status update. Confused as to what I should do, I dusted off my Creative Loafing Employee Ethics Manual, turned to the appendix, and saw that I was supposed to “call the story’s subject.” I was pretty sure that was Austin. The mayor, who identifies himself as such on his Facebook profile, sounded surprised that anyone noticed the status message.

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Maybe Gov. Sonny Perdue, in Washington, D.C. this weekend for the National Governors Association’s winter conference, has the flu. If so, get better and come home soon, sir! We wanna talk to you about this whole might-not-take-some-of-that-stimulus-money thingy.

From the Huffington Post’s frontpage (photo by Charles Dharapak of the Associated Press):

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Remember those Georgia Republican Congressmen who bellyached about President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan? Their constituents might see most of its benefits.

From Jim Galloway at the AJC:

Not surprisingly, according to the White House, the stimulus will be the greatest boon in north metro Atlanta congressional districts whose Republican representatives opposed it.

The package will create or save about 9,900 jobs in Georgia’s 7th congressional district, represented by John Linder of Duluth.

Another 9,200 jobs will be created or saved in Georgia’s 6th District, which is represented by Republican Tom Price of Roswell.

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Current amount, in dollars, of President Obama’s stimulus plan aimed to create jobs and spur the economy: 827 billion

Amount, in dollars, Mayor Shirley Franklin recently requested for Atlanta projects: 1.88 billion

Estimated number of city jobs Franklin says the federal stimulus plan could create: 40,000

Number of police officers Franklin wants to add with stimulus money: 200

Dollar value of sewer projects the city wants to build using stimulus funds: 801 million

Amount, in dollars, the city requested to build the International Terminal at Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport: 500 million

Number of federal dollars Franklin says would go to offset the city’s budget deficit: 0

Amount, in dollars, the Georgia Department of Transportation has requested for state projects: 3.4 billion

Estimated number of jobs Georgia could gain because of the stimulus package: 143,000

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, U.S. Conference of Mayors

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Gay-hater Peter LaBarbera

The right-fringe moonbat sector of the Internet got its collective panties in a wad recently over alleged plans by an Atlanta gay sex club to hold an orgy in a Washington D.C. hotel over the recent inauguration weekend.

The details are arguably hilarious but unarguably unsuited for delicate sensibilities, so proceed accordingly.

The group that broke the story calls itself (presumably with a straight face) Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, headed by one Peter LaBarbera, who claims to have stumbled across an e-mail invitation to the shindig:

A source has provided Americans For Truth with a copy of a private e-mail intended only for “sex pigs” – sent out by a group called “Fort Troff” (as in pig troff). The e-mail touts the ultra-promiscuous “pig sex” event at Doubletree … for the purpose of pulling together “hard-core pig players” who want to “[sodomize] our brains out.”
The “pig” orgy is being held in concert with the annual “Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend” in D.C. – a three-day sadomasochistic celebration attended mostly by homosexual “leathermen.”

LaBarbera had discovered one of Atlanta’s better-kept secrets: Fort Troff is, indeed, a private Westside club where men partake in pretty extreme bondage- and military-themed gay sex — or, as LaBarbera terms it, “sodomitic activities.” (FYI, Pete: an animal trough is not spelled with two “f”s.)

LaBarbera then posts the entire contents of the invitation and helpfully provides a glossary of gay sex acts, which he variously describes as a “ghastly perversion,” a “revolting act” and a “horrifyingly vile fetish.”

Is it just me, or do these crusading holy-rollers seem way too interested in documenting and sharing details about behavior they claim to abhor?

Long story short, LaBarbera hounded the hotel management until it apparently got cold feet and canceled the event booking entirely. According to this self-appointed morality enforcer, a lesson was learned: “These repulsive behaviors should not occur in private, much less in conference rooms at a hotel used by the public.” The Taliban would be proud.

Anyway, the story has been picked up and drooled over by such conservative “news” sites as Culture Campaign, Free Republic and World Net Daily. Frankly, though, I’m not sure how a story about a canceled gay hotel orgy can compete with some of their other wingnut headlines: “Abortion to remedy global warming threat,” “Obama ‘friend’: End of Israel ‘within reach’” and “Nancy Pelosi’s ‘Condom Stimulus’ Repels Obama.”

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Acclaimed artist Maira Kalman, whose work is currently on view at Jackson Fine Art, has a new illustrated blog for the New York Times about the inauguration. Stream of consciousness musings tie together simple yet poignant illustrations of Kalman’s visit to Washington for the event.

From the blog:

(Photo by Maira Kalman/Courtesy nytimes.com)

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