Fresh Loaf

— Jason Pye wonders why a member of Congress wants to spend $50 million over the next four years to study bed bugs. For that matter, so do we.

— Someone in the Atlanta TV news business is cynical, cynical, cynical. On the Live Apartment Fire blog (one of our faves, btw), a guest poster using the pseudonym of Race Bannon discourages young people from going into television news:

It will only take around five years before they become jaded and calcified experts on exploiting the survivors of ordinary fatalities, zooming in slowly to tear stricken faces and trembling hands. At the town murder de jour they learn to recognize family members who still don’t know their son or daughter was the one killed in the ever so recent lawlessness. They’ll roll their cameras early to get every frame of the coming implosion and emotional collapse. Yay!

— Former CNN anchor (and former Rush Limbaugh main squeeze) Daryn Kagan has a new favorite television series and we’re waiting with baited breath to find out what it is.

— The first television ad from the Clayton County sheriff’s race is ripe for the pickin’ on Peach Pundit.

— Can Obama take Georgia? A new Insider Advantage poll taken last week suggests he and McCain are almost in a dead heat. An interesting tidbit: 51 percent said they’d be more inclined to vote for Obama if he chooses Sam Nunn as his running mate.

— Georgia governor wannabe John Oxendine has so much money in campaign contributions, that he’s going to spread the wealth to every Republican House and Senate candidate who has Democratic opposition. Read Oxendine’s email on Tondee’s Tavern, and the speculation that maybe he’s trying to buy the goodwill of his fellow Republicans.

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WALK IN THE FARC: The Colombian military infiltrates FARC rebel leadership, tricking the guerillas into handing over hostages who had been held in the jungle for more than five years.

MCCAIN: Accused by fellow Republican of getting hot under the collar during a 1987 negotiation with Nicaraguan guerillas, then grabbing one by his collar, “like he was throwing him up out of the chair to tell him what he thought about him or whatever.”

OXENDINE: Bars a California insurance company from doing business in Georgia after concluding that it violated rules against selling misleading or unsuitable life insurance policies to military personnel.

BATTLE OF KETTLE CREEK: Archaeologists uncover evidence that changes the story of the 1779 Revolutionary War battle in Wilkes County between 350 Patriots and 700 Loyalists.

CUMBERLAND BLUES: The Cumberland Island wildfire is still going despite rains, but visitors continue to visit the island.

TERRAPIN STATIONARY: Dylan the sea turtle, who was recently released into the wild, hasn’t traveled far, now exploring the waters off Cumberland Island, according to an online tracking map.

DENIM CRISIS: Women’s Wear Daily reports on the toll the Blue Jean Bandits are taking on metro Atlanta’s premium denim dealers.

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Just as political junkies were busy swapping predictions about the 2010 governor’s race – Is Johnny really getting in? Will Richardson stay out? – our unpredictable state Insurance Commissioner jumps in with both feet. Republican John Oxendine tells Insider Advantage that he’ll make a formal announcement in a few weeks.

Isn’t it a bit early to actually declare one’s candidacy for a race that’s two years off? It would be, unless one’s main goal is to spook Sen. Johnny Isakson into backing off from a run, says one GOP strategist we spoke to. While Isakson would be considered the man to beat in the GOP primary, he’s also a fairly cautious pol. You would be, too, if you had a cushy Senate seat in your back pocket.

Oxendine may be something of a political maverick who hasn’t made a lot of friends within his party, but he’s got a formidable donor base in the insurance industry that can help him bridge the name-recognition gap. And although he began his time in office as something of a buffoon known for wrecking state vehicles, Oxendine has lately earned points by criticizing some of the less consumer-friendly measures coming out of the Statehouse.

What this means for the rumored candidacies of fellow Republicans, U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland or Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, remains to be seen.

If Isakson does decide to run for the Governor’s Mansion, then stand back as the political dominoes begin to fall. We’ve heard that GOP Congressmen Jack Kingston of Savannah and Phil Gingrey of Marietta might be interested in moving up to the Senate. Gov. Purdue, too, would be available to run.

And among the Democrats? Too soon to guess, but whoever it is better have the full backing of the party. Says one Dem insider: “The only way for us to get back in the game is to have a unified ticket that everyone can get behind.”

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