Fresh Loaf

Back in May, I used the word “ghetto” in a headline to describe an impoverished,  crime-ridden stretch of road in central Atlanta. As a result, I learned the hard way that the word carries so much baggage that readers are turned off merely by seeing it in print, no matter how technically accurate its usage seems to be.

But, as the AJC’s Jim Galloway points out, when a white Georgia Congressman uses the word “ghetto” in a casually dismissive reference to folks who are poor, elderly and presumably black during a campaign stop before an overwhelmingly white audience — well, you’ve got the makings of a Macaca moment.

Congressman Nathan Deal

Just as in the case of now-ex-Virginia Sen. George Allen, who was videotaped making a casually dismissive taunt aimed at the Southeast Asian man holding the video camera, Rep. Nathan Deal was recorded by his opposition telling a Cherokee County crowd about his approach toward requiring proof of citizenship for federal or state health care benefits:

“We got all the complaints of the ghetto grandmothers who didn’t have birth certificates and all that. We wrote some very liberal language as to how you can verify it. My mother was born in 1906 and she didn’t have a birth certificate. They didn’t give birth certificates back then. But we got her one, because you can do it under the proper procedures of your state.”

A video of Deal’s bone-headed statement has been posted to YouTube by the campaign of Secretary of State Karen Handel, who’s running against Deal for the GOP nomination for governor. On Galloway’s blog, the clip has attracted nearly 300 comments, many from readers who characterize Deal’s choice of words as bigoted.

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Ben at Terminal Station tries out a new banner image that actually makes Atlanta look cool. Good posts on how Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington should examine the leadership skills of Los Angeles’ chief, who recently stepped down to become a consultant, and whether small grocery stores can survive.

Jim Walls at Atlanta Unfiltered reminds 19 state lawmakers that they need to stop playing coy and file their personal financial disclosure reports — which were due on July 1. See if your elected official is on the list.

Decatur Metro’s now bursting with headline-y goodness.

Doug Richards from Live Apartment Fire returns to the airwaves. Mrs. Live Apartment Fire notes the different ways this will change her life.

Watch this space for GriftDrift’s take on ConstableGate.

Jim Galloway has returned from his well-deserved two-week vacation. Politicians immediately wig out.

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The AJC’s Jim Galloway reports from Hall County:

Gainesville — In front of hundreds of supporters on the Hall County courthouse plaza, U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal announced for governor this morning, emphasizing his own experience as a state senator and 17-year member of Congress.

While he didn’t use the phrase, the 66-year-old Deal — the oldest of six Republicans now in the race — appears to be running as the adult in the room.

“If you want a governor who does his own thinking, writes his own speeches, and ties his own shoes, if you want all these things in your next governor, have I got a deal for you,” the congressman said.

Galloway has more here. Frankly, we want a DNA test to be sure we’re not getting tricked.

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Jason at Peach Pundit hammers House Bill 614, legislation that he says would violate your privacy.

Maria Saporta says the state needs to stop plotting takeovers of MARTA and Jackson-Hartsfield International Airport.

Ben at Terminal Station has a rundown of Saporta’s report on an Urban Land Institute mayoral candidate forum.

Doug at Live Apartment Fire spotlights veteran reporter Don McClellan. The still-at-it newsman reported on — and ran in — this weekend’s ING Marathon.

Speaking of the ING Marathon, Dave at inDecatur has video and photos from the race.

Good news for Georgia’s reputation and any hope of having a biotech industry here. Jim Galloway reports that a House committee chairman says the controversial stem-cell bill won’t move out of the lower chamber.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Urvaksh Karkaria reports on a top-secret meeting of tomorrow’s media overlords at Kennesaw State University professor Leonard Witt’s home. There are photos!

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to post this. Christa, the mysterious scribe behind Pecanne Log, found a 1967 issue of GQ that’s all about Atlanta. She has photos and pullquotes.

And just because, a helping of Griftdrift’s My Morning Wooten from Friday.

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Jim Galloway, proving yet again that he knows the true secrets of Georgia politics, reveals the identities of the mysterious “8 to 10 industry and government officials” who handpicked a Gold Dome transportation bill’s laundry list of people-moving projects. Damn road elves.

Decatur Metro reports on community gardens in his hamlet and annexation concerns. Also, is Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd thinking about a run for governor?

If you’re a card-carrying Young Republican, Shep at Peach Pundit recommends you not vote for Rachel Hoff to lead your organization. Also, Erick the Editor is jousting via email with one of his fellow Macon City Councilmembers.

Griftdrift gives us the rundown on the most recent episode of GPB’s “Lawmakers.” He reports that Sen. John Wiles, R-Marietta, wants to crack down on novelty ID suppliers who alter the completely innocent and never-used-for-illicit-purposes cards. (Those guys can alter the ID? I had to use nail polish remover.)

Veteran journalist Jim Walls, a 28-year veteran of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — and the editor behind some of the paper’s finest investigative work — rolls out his new investigative journalism website. Today he’s got more details about a sealed court case involving unfortunately named Gwinnett County businessman Richard Tucker. There’s also some questions about campaign contributions to state Rep. Pam Stephenson, D-Decatur.

There’s much more on the Internetz, buckos. If you came across something local that’s worth scoping out, post it below in the comments.

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Jim Galloway reports that MARTA officials recently distributed a memo to state lawmakers outlining the transit agency’s dire situation. Even with cost-cutting measures and fare and parking increases, the memo says, MARTA still runs the risk of drastically cutting service.

That could include shutting down entire rail lines. (The system’s rail spine basically consists of an east-west and north-south line.) Galloway says a decision about those potential cuts could come at MARTA’s next board meeting on March 30.

MARTA is lobbying for the state to ease restrictions over the one-cent sales tax levied in Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb Counties that provides much of the transit agency’s funding. Under current law, MARTA — considered by mobility mavens as the transit “spine” of the metro region — can only use 50 percent of the generated revenue on operating costs. It bears mentioning, once again, that MARTA is the largest transit agency in the United States that does not receive operating assistance from the state.

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Christa at Pecanne Log says I say someone else says Bill Murray is loose in Atlanta. One night he’s at Loca Luna buying drinks for strangers. Another night he’s watching the Hawks play the Cleveland Cavaliers. Supposedly, he’s filming this flick. I’m still waiting for him to get a pedicure with me.

Buzz Brockway at Peach Pundit says the site’s bloggers won’t retaliate against state lawmakers who voted for Senate Bill 31, a controversial piece of legislation they adamantly opposed. The complex bill would allow Georgia Power to recover financing costs in advance for two proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. The Punditeers got into a tiff with the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a free-market think tank, about the issue. No hard feelings, the bloggers say, but they’d still like a clear explanation of the foundation’s stance on the issue. (Just one more: Jason Shepard at the site finds Georgia’s facebook page shows an unexpected “friend.”

Remember #atlgas? Grift links to a Nightline report in which the Twitter hashtag that saved Atlanta’s ass is mentioned.

Decatur’s wi-fi cloud is “complete,” Decatur Metro reports.

Jim Galloway at the AJC’s Political Insider sneaks a peek at preliminary numbers which show Georgia’s rush of newcomers — aka the growth industry, the state’s bread and butter — might be slowing. He writes a powerful post about the subject.

Want solid political commentary recorded here in Atlanta? The new Kudzu Vine podcast is posted and available for download.

Doug at Live Apartment Fire points us to a recent piece by Tom Jones, the WSB-TV reporter who won’t work for nobody but you. Jones covered the search for a man who’s allegedly been flashing children in the Grant Park area. The suspect’s ripped a page from afterschool specials and is offering candy to the tykes.

Travis Fain wants the old Speaker Glenn Richardson back. I second that.

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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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Infowizard Jim Galloway at the AJC’s Political Insider brings word that Judy Woodruff of PBS’ “The News Hour With Jim Lehrer” will moderate Sunday’s U.S. Senate debate between incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democratic nominee Jim Martin.

One problem: Neither candidate has confirmed they’ll participate.

The details:

Right now, plans call for the debate to be taped at GPTV studios on Sunday afternoon, then aired at 7 p.m. A C-SPAN broadcast would come sometime afterwards, Strauss said.

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Jim Galloway of the AJC’s Political Insider — who did a great job as a panelist during last night’s Atlanta Press Club U.S. Senate debate/finger-pointing quibblefest — posts a memo from State Elections Boardmember Randy Evans. Evans says it could be Wednesday morning before all votes are counted.

From the memo:

Based on the most recent data, it appears that there are in fact three real reasons regarding why Georgia may not know the winner of the 2008 general election until Wednesday.

If we have a two- to four-hour line, as expected in many precincts around Georgia, it could be 9 p.m. or later before voters are done. Counties that finish earlier can start to tabulate votes immediately and some returns will come in early. However, the outcome will likely have to wait until all votes are in, and then tabulated. This could be late on Tuesday or possibly on Wednesday morning.

He then reminds us of absentee and provisional ballots. Click here to read what Evans has to say about those pesky devils.

(Awesome Vivarin car photo from RacingRoadTrip)

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The AJC may have more daily poll questions about what socks you like to wear or what disgusting caloric mess you want to eat — really, guys? — but CL is blessed with better commenters. Maybe not all the time, but even when they’re dicks, they’re kind of clever!

But check out Jim Galloway’s Political Insider post this morning about 40 percent of early voters being African American. The AJC kooky komment klan are livid — LIVID I TELL YOU — about the news, and in their usual way, accuse the paper of being a bunch of Communist hacks wanting us to wait in bread lines and also make broad claims against African Americans. Metro Atlanta rocks in that progressive way.

Let us bask in the wisdom of three dudes using different handles, copying and pasting the same trite Free Republic nonsense every single day.

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