Fresh Loaf

U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Marietta, appeared on Monday night’s episode of Hardball with Chris Matthews, a popular televised experiment in which a flaxen-haired jester yells questions at political guests. When asked why he thought a growing number of healthcare reform protesters were showing up to the politically charged events wearing firearms, Gingrey basically said, “They’re exercising their rights under the Second Amendment.” Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. (Galloway’s posted a rough transcript.)

(H/T to Talking Points Memo)

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From the AJC’s report that Atlanta Police arrested three males this morning for an attempted robbery near Georgia Tech:

Police found a loaded AK-47, body armor and a ski mask inside the suspects’ vehicle, Redmond said.

Well then! How many AK-47s are floating around Atlanta?

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Remember state Rep. Tim Bearden, R-Villa Rica, the lawmaker who pushed for schoolchildren to be able to brandish assault rifles in Moon Jumps? Or maybe it was the right to carry guns in some public places. Yeah, that was it! We gave him a Golden Sleaze award in 2008 when he helped pave the way for gun-toting MARTA riders.

Well, Bearden’s back in the news.

According to documents obtained by news service CarrolltonGeorgia.com, the state lawmaker’s been paid nearly $93,000 since October 2005 by the City of Carrollton for “consulting fees.”

The site tried to inquire about Bearden’s work on behalf of the city’s taxpayers and requested a contract of their relationship. The city, in response, said no such document exists and that its relationship with Bearden is based on a “verbal agreement.” When asked for evidence of what Bearden’s consulting has produced, the city told the news site it didn’t have any documents that matched the request. (The site has PDFs of its communications with the city, as well as a list of the checks and amounts paid to Bearden.)

Throw into the mix Carrollton Mayor Wayne Garner — who’s also a Gold Dome lobbyist — and you’ve got some small-town political intrigue that makes Georgia such a wonderful place to grow old and die.

(more…)

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Something about Waffle House just brings out the best in people.

(If the video doesn’t load, you can also watch it here.)

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Last year, Saxby Chambliss ticked off illegal-immigration fanatics by supporting President Bush’s compromise immigration reform plan. Last month, he angered oil-drilling enthusiasts by backing a compromise plan for offshore drilling.

Now, let’s see if he can upset gun nuts by opposing a push to require that guns be allowed in churches and schools

It’s primarily a state issue — mainly because Congress isn’t as beholden to the gun lobby as the Georgia Legislature is. But for some reason WALB-TV in Albany asked Chambliss about guns in schools and churches.

“Any measure relative to the use of guns in areas where historically guns haven’t been allowed before, it’s got to be approached very, very carefully,” he told the station. “That’s a state issue and one state legislatures are going to have to tread very carefully.”

Oops, Saxby. Don’t piss off another wacky GOP constituency.

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The following offenses appear on a list of crimes for which Georgians can be imprisoned. The list is available on the state Department of Corrections’ website. Go figure.

Advocating the overthrow of government

Bestiality

Cheating & swindling

Child born out of wedlock

Disrupting the General Assembly

Fornication & adultery

Leave scene had injuries

Machine gun activities

Marry a bigamist

Necrophilia

Offenses against public transit

Sale/possession/etc. model glue

Seduction

Violation of bingo rules

Wife beating

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and Andisheh Nouraee chatting about this week’s cover story Gun-Ho!, which discusses the new state gun law that allows the Georgia Firearms Licensed to pack heat on public transportation, in city and state parks, and restaurants that serve alcohol.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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News just broke that Jay Wallace, whose gun shop was sued by New York City for selling guns used in crimes in that city, has given in.

The trial was set to begin this morning. In a strange turn of events, Wallace refused to begin jury selection, and the judge entered a default judgment against him.

The judgment means the court will appoint a monitor to oversee transactions at his shop, Adventure Outdoors. Of the nearly two dozen gun shops sued by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, most have either settled or gone out of business.

CL’s John Sugg wrote a cover story on the issue last July.

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