Fresh Loaf

Thousands of people, led by WSB Talk show Host Herman Cain, came to Atlanta’s Olympic Park to protest Obama’s health care plans Aug. 15. Waving American flags and holding signs calling Obama a dictator, health care advocates socialists and equating government health care with certain death for Americans, the Tea Party crowd continued its offensive against the Obama administration. Many members of the crowd bragged to this reporter about not having health insurance. One member of the panel even went so far as to argue that life expectancy was a poor judge of a country’s health care (US ranks 50th in the world). One hundred percent of the people interviewed were pro government spending billions of dollars on war but against government spending billions of dollars on health care.

See more images from the health care protest.

(Photo and text by Joeff Davis)

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U.S. Fire Administrator Kelvin Cochran

Still drunk with confirmation power, the U.S. Senate today gave the OK for Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran to be named the new U.S. Fire Administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Cochran’s duties at the federal agency will include overseeing and executing national strategies to prevent fires and improve emergency response.

A 28-year fire service veteran, Cochran said in a statement that the opportunity to work with President Barack Obama’s administration is an “honor.”

Mayor Shirley Franklin commended Cochran’s service to the city. “While we will miss him, we are proud that President Obama selected him for US Fire Administrator and are certain he will continue his public service with distinction,” she said in a statement.

Franklin says she’ll review a committee’s recommendations for an interim fire chief.

(Photo by Jeff Riley)

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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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I’d heard this rumor late Thursday, but hadn’t been able to confirm it — until now. Atlanta’s own Kelvin Cochran, chief of the Department of Fire Rescue — colloquially known as the fire department — will be moving up to a sweet gig in the Obama administration. Here’s his blurb from the White House press release:

Kelvin James Cochran, Nominee for U.S. Fire Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security
Kelvin Cochran has had 28 years of experience from Firefighter to Assistant Chief Training Officer to Fire Chief of Shreveport, Louisiana, to Fire Chief of Atlanta, Georgia with involvement in all phases of the fire service: fire fighting, emergency medical services, hazardous materials, recruiting, public education, research and development, employee counseling, discipline, performance evaluation, and administration, with specialization in training and strategic planning/facilitating. He has also served as the 1st Vice President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, President of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, and Vice Chairman of Volunteers of America.

Cochran has been with Atlanta only since December 2007, when he was hired to replace Dennis Rubin, another chief who’d left to climb the career ladder. But, a month after his arrival, the city budget crisis was revealed and the Franklin administration began cutting expenses, including shuttering Fire Station No. 7 and, eventually, placing firefighters on furloughs.

(more…)

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>> CHANGE: The new administration lifts the ban on photographing military coffins’ arrivals, letting the families of the fallen decide if they want them photographed.

>> SURPRISE!: The recession didn’t go away overnight. The economy just keeps shrinking and rapidly so.

>> Clint Eastwood says down with political correctness. The whole easily-offended schtick is putting comedians out of a job.

>> PENDING EGG SHORTAGE?: Nope, just a continued intelligence shortage affecting mostly the political populace. If comedians weren’t so busy being politically correct, they could’ve thought of a much better joke involving the first black president and watermelons.

>> Lesson learned by Facebook: Don’t piss off social network users. They know how to wield an online mob like nobody’s business.

>> Obama administration puts its Robin Hood plans in action with new tax cuts and increases.

>>STOP THE PRESS: Colorado’s oldest daily newspaper says goodbye in the classiest, and most stirring, of ways.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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>> Obama administration will give $900 million in aid to Gaza but intends to bypass Hamas to do so.

>> EPIC FAIL: Get it together, Google.

>> Glutton for punishment? Check out these photos of the cast of “Gossip Girl” living it up at NYC Fashion Week. Yes, they’re half your age and, yes, they’re having more fun than you ever will.

>> Who knew this woman could possibly be any more ridiculous? Nadya Suleman is at it again.

>> DUH: A recent California bill presented to the press in San Francisco methodically outlines the benefits legalizing marijuana represents to society and government coffers. Even some Republicans are down.

>> Polls indicate Americans want the government to bail out people who are going to buy work boots, not people who are going to buy private jets.

>> SAD: American television viewing is at an all-time high. A recession is not an excuse to get dumber. Read a book!

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COLLAPSE?

>> Palin’s daughter has more sense than her mom, which is really not a difficult feat. Bristol 2016!

>> But who needs abstinence education when you have recessions to do all that anti-sex dirty work for you?

>> On the verge of foreclosure? Prepare for stimulation!

>> SHOCKING: There’s actually something Kanye West doesn’t think he does the best.

>> People probably shouldn’t keep 200-pound chimps as pets. This is why. In related news …

>> ‘PLEASE EXPLAIN TO THE NON-AMERICANS?’: Worst. Cartoon. Ever. Read the comments for the best (saddest) parts.

>> Finally, a Facebook group was created that actually managed to affect change. So, FB doesn’t own you. For now.

>> CHANGE WE CAN’T BELIEVE IN: Obama administration war policies are looking scarily familiar.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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