It appears state Rep. Steve Davis has encountered Internet gridlock.
This morning, the Republican lawmaker from McDonough’s Twitter account mysteriously regurgitated nearly an entire legislative session’s updates.
This is one screenshot. I will save you the horror of viewing the rest.
Seems like every few months, another Georgia legislator lets it be known that he (so far, only men, I believe) is launching a blog. But, almost always, after the initial flurry of posts, they seem to get busy with other things and months go by without new updates. So far, the only lawmaker who seems to have stuck with it is dyspeptic Rep. Steve Davis, R-McDonough, whose blog is a good argument for why some thoughts should remain private.
Teilhet verite
Now comes Rep. Rob Teilhet, D-Smyrna, who takes things one step further by offering a video blog — or “vlog,” for you old-timers — titled “Inside Georgia.” He’s got one installment up so far and it’s … OK. It’s very casual, apparently unscripted and filmed in a couple of takes in the Teilhet household with kids crying and banging stuff in the background. In about four-and-a-half minutes, he tells us he wants to concentrate on a consumer-protection bill to crack down on high-interest “instant tax rebates” offered by tax-preparation companies and other lenders. Also, he thinks the Legislature should be looking out for very small businesses. And that’s about it. You do, however, get to see his kitchen and home office.
What I want to know is, Who’s holding the camera? His wife, the former Heather Hedrick, is communications director for Gov. Sonny Perdue, so she should know her way around a camera, but is she allowed to assist her husband in his political endeavors? There’s a rumor that they had twins on purpose so one could be raised as a Democrat and the other as a Republican. (OK, so I made up that last bit.)
We’ll be checking in on Teilhet’s website for the frequent posts we expect to follow, right?
Oh no! I stopped by the Republican state rep from McDonough’s online portal to see if I could contact the gentleman and was greeted by this message:
Does railing on mass transit get you suspended by the Internet sentinels? End censorship now, people!
The Long Train Coming Slowly Down the Track Award
[One in a series of the 2008 Golden Sleaze Awards. View the rest of this legislative session's winners in this week's CL or online here.]
Rep. Steve Davis, R-McDonough, needs to spend less time on his Doogie Howser-esque blog and more time researching the merits of commuter rail. The representative, who is so dead-set on building roads that he plugs his ears anytime he hears the word “rail,” just plain hates trains. When a House bill that could infuse much-needed cash into the state’s transportation projects was discussed in committee, Davis dragged the meeting into a four-hour affair and made a case for waiting out funding until the DOT’s new commissioner could whip the agency into shape.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
The state House Transportation Committee today approved a resolution 20-5 that would raise sales taxes by a penny statewide for transportation projects — and would amount to what legislators say is the largest tax increase in Georgia history. Legislators are now expected to negotiate with the Senate — whose local-option sales tax strategy passed earlier today — and hash up a resolution both chambers find suitable. If it makes it out of the Gold Dome, voters will have the final say in November.
But if last night’s committee was any indication, lawmakers will most likely chisel away at the plan before a full vote in the House.
The meeting — which ran three hours past schedule — was filled with questions and concerns from legislators, many who were nervous in an election year to tag a tax increase on to the same ballot where their own name would appear. (more…)
