Wondering about Georgia. s/m

Are they like Arkansas?  We may be hillbillies but we have enough sense to step on politicians when they don't deliver.  The Democrat who replaced Mike Huckabee got the mess straightened out in this basically Republican state.  I don't know of any individual cities who have their hand out here either.  Seems like states, cities AND people all want a piece of the free money.  Like all the posts here and elsewhere waiting for Obama to fill their hands with all that free cash.  EVERYBODY needs to wake up:

This is a little story about four people named everybody,somebody,anybody and nobody.

There was an important job to be done and everybody was sure that somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it but nobody did it.

Somebody got angry about that because it was everybody's job.

Everybody thought that anybody could do it but nobody realized that everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that everybody blamed somebody when nobody did what anybody could have done. 

• Unbelievable - Individual cities are now asking for money from the bailout - - Amanda
  • Wondering about Georgia. s/m - gourdpainter

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Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel issued the following statement following the U.S. Department of Justice’s denial of preclearance of Georgia’s voter verification process

Atlanta - “The decision by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny preclearance of Georgia’s already implemented citizenship verification process shows a shocking disregard for the integrity of our elections. With this decision, DOJ has now barred Georgia from continuing the citizenship verification program that DOJ lawyers helped to craft. DOJ’s decision also nullifies the orders of two federal courts directing Georgia to implement the procedure for the 2008 general election. The decision comes seven months after Georgia requested an expedited review of the preclearance submission.

“DOJ has thrown open the door for activist organizations such as ACORN to register non-citizens to vote in Georgia’s elections, and the state has no ability to verify an applicant’s citizenship status or whether the individual even exists. DOJ completely disregarded Georgia’s obvious and direct interest in preventing non-citizens from voting, instead siding with the ACLU and MALDEF. Clearly, politics took priority over common sense and good public policy.
 
“This process is critical to protecting the integrity of our elections. We have evidence that non-citizens have voted in past Georgia elections and that more than 2,100 individuals have attempted to register, yet still have questions regarding their citizenship. Further, the Inspector General’s office is investigating more than 30 cases of non-citizens casting ballots in Georgia elections, including the case of a Henry County non-citizen who registered to vote and cast ballots in 2004 and 2006.

“It is important to underscore that not a single person has come forward to say he or she could not vote because of the verification process. Further, while DOJ argues that the process is somehow discriminatory, the historic voter turnout among Hispanic and African-American voters in the 2008 general elections clearly says otherwise.

“This decision provides a specific example of the inherently illogical and unfair nature of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. It is a sad day for the rights of our state and for the integrity of our elections. I remain committed to continuing the fight for citizenship verification. In the coming days, I will consider every option available to the state, including the possibility of legal action.”

Background:

As required by law and ordered by federal courts in October 2008, the eligibility of new applicants to register and vote is checked against the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) and Social Security Administration databases to ensure that individuals registering to vote report similar information. If information in these databases does not match information reported on the voter registration form, the applicant is asked to clarify the information. Additionally, if the applicant previously reported to DDS that he or she is not a U.S. citizen, that person is asked by a registrar to provide proof of citizenship.

Prior to the November 2008 General Election, Secretary Handel sent letters to 4,771 voter registration applicants whose records at DDS indicated they were not U.S. citizens, asking them to provide documentation of their citizenship. As of March 2009, 2,148 of these applicants still have chosen not to resolve the question about their U.S. citizenship.

In the November 2008 General Election, county election officials reported that 599 individuals cast a challenged ballot because the voter had previously indicated to DDS that he or she was not a United States citizen and had not resolved their status with county officials at the time of the election. Of those, 369 ballots were accepted because the voter provided documentation of their citizenship after the election; and 230 were rejected because the individual chose not to confirm his or her citizenship status.

On October 10, 2008, activist organizations including the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit to attempt to prevent Georgia from verifying the eligibility of applicants to register and vote in the November General Election, including whether those individuals were citizens of the United States.

On October 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Jack Camp denied the motion by MALDEF and ACLU; directed the State to continue the verification process; and acknowledged the State’s requirements to verify information under the Help America Vote Act. In his order, Judge Camp stated:

HAVA requires that Defendant Handel match information in the statewide voter registration database with information from the Georgia DDS and the SSA databases “to the extent necessary to enable each such official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on the applications for voter registration.”

Judge Camp also stated: ...

this Sam person is going to totally monopolize and bully this forum, before the moderator finally steps in and boots her off? 

I think this may just be the best idea I've seen for bailout money yet.  While I realize that a lot of people who have been responsible with their money and do not have a large amount of debt disagree with bailing out those who do have a lot of debt, I try to keep in mind that not everybody's circumstances are the same and sometimes it is not irresponsibility with money management but a lack of money to manage, for which I try to bear in mind, again, that there are many reasons for. 

Anyway, just looking for thoughts and opinions, as this seems to me to be a win-win type of solution where bailouts are given, consumers and corporations reap benefits, and it is not a complete give away as at least part of the money would be paid back.  Just seems like something that might actually give the economy the boost it needs right now.  And if bailouts are going to be given anyway, I like the idea proposed here.  Not to mention that the consumer can opt in or out depending on what they want to do.  What do you guys think?

Doesn't anyone believe in adoption anymore?  I know this is a discussion about abortion and the govt. etc., but it makes me wonder.  I read these posts about all the babies that are aborted and maybe they are better off because of the homes they might be coming from if they weren't aborted.  It just seems like that it is an either or, abortion or keep the baby.  There is another option and it is an option that most extreme groups won't even mention.  I have heard from pro-lifers and not once have they said anything about adoption and when I asked, they looked at me like I had 2 heads. 

It just seems that more people would consider adoption as a choice.  I know that if I got pregnant when I was younger and didn't think I could raise the child, adoption would definitely be on the top of my list.  I'm not against abortion and do realize that there are reasons for why people choose them that I cannot comprehend and I don't feel like the women who have them suffer no consequences, but I just wish that adoption would be chosen before abortion.

and then saw this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulp_96DYiqg