Category Archives: Activism

GA Sec. State hears complaints from voters @ Brooks 2012-08-09

Kemp listening

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp came to Quitman Thursday to hear about election issues. Here is the first of many videos George Boston Rhynes took of the event. There are more on his YouTube channel, bostongbr,, and I will post some of them here, too.

This local voter pretty much summed it up:

My county commissioners… found nothing wrong with this. How much can one community endure? They found nothing wrong with this! How much can one community endure to have a right to have our votes cast and counted for who we want to represent us.

Here’s the video:

GA Sec. State hears complaints from voters about Elections,
GA Sec. State Brian Kemp, Brooks County (Brooks),
Video by George Boston Rhynes for bostongbr on YouTube (K.V.C.I.), Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia, 9 August 2012.

-jsq

When will Southern Company & Georgia Power finally wake up? —Michael G. Noll

Received today on Plant Vogtle water use. -jsq

Energy projects such as biomass plants, coal firing plants, and nuclear power plants waste enormous amounts of water. The once proposed 40MW biomass plant in Valdosta would have consumed 800,000 gallons of water DAILY. Considering that for years now we are experiencing record drought conditions and heat waves in the US, this should make everyone’s hair stand up on the back of their necks. (For more information see “Electricity’s Thirst on a Precious Resource”.)

Add to this scenario a recent decision by the US Nuclear Regulatory Continue reading →

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp in Quitman noon today

George Boston Rhynes reports Brian Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State, will be in Quitman today about election matters, apparently at the Brooks County Commission building. Here’s a video playlist: by George of elections issues ranging from the recent attempt by the Board of Elections Chair to stop George videoing a public meeting, to the suspension of the Elections Supervisor, to the Quitman 10+2.

Here’s my previous post about the Chair challenging George for doing what any citizen can do. Here’s who are the Board of Elections, and a playlist for the rest of that meeting.

-jsq

Incumbents won Snapping Shoals EMC board election

Insurgents lost an EMC board election, but made their point anyway. Following up on the three locals running for the board of Snapping Shoals EMC, they lost, but remember Snapping Shoals EMC quit coal-pushing Power4Georgians when they announced they were running.

Crystal Tatum wrote for the Henry Daily Herald 26 July 2012, Morris, Snapping Shoals EMC incumbents win by landslide,

CONYERS — Members of the Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) have returned to office three incumbents in a rare contested election to the agency’s 11-member board of directors.

EMC board members set policies and oversee the finances and administration of Snapping Shoals. They serve staggered, three-year terms. The non-profit EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative in Covington, providing service to about 95,000 consumers in an eight-county area, including Henry County.

Gene Morris of Henry County, Walter Johnson of DeKalb County, and Anthony Norton of Rockdale, were being challenged because of their support to build the coal-fire power Plant Washington. Kaye Shipley, also of Henry County, Albert Roesel of Newton County, and Cheryl Mathis of DeKalb County form the group challenging the three. Voting took place at the cooperative’s annual meeting Thursday in Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers.

In the District 2 Rockdale post, 2,400 ballots were cast, with Norton beating Roesel 2,157 to 224. Nineteen ballots were voided. In the District 3 DeKalb County Post, Johnson garnered 2,099 votes to Cheryl Moore-Mathis’ 280. Twenty-one votes were voided. In the District 4 Henry County race, 2,392 ballots were cast, with Morris getting 2,082 votes to Shipley’s 300. Ten were voided. Newton County District 1 representative Pete Knox ran unopposed.

Amusingly, incumbent Gene Morris termed it a David and Goliath struggle with the incumbents as David. I’m not sure most people think of the power company as the little guy….

The story mentioned a post-election press release by the challengers, but didn’t link to it. No problem; Continue reading →

ALEC behind Georgia charter school referendum

ALEC has been pushing charter schools in Georgia, both through “our state legislators” sponsoring bills and through the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA). We already got that private prison customer law HB 87 from ALEC; why would we want to approve an ALEC-sponsored law to let Atlanta siphon public school money to charter schools?

Salvatore Colleluori & Brian Powell wrote for MediaMatters 9 May 2012, How ALEC Is Quietly Influencing Education Reform In Georgia,

Georgia media have been silent as members of ALEC in Georgia’s legislature have successfully pushed through a version of ALEC’s Charter Schools Act, which would create a state-controlled board with the power to establish and fund charter schools over local opposition. A Media Matters analysis found that while Georgia media have frequently written about the bills, they have completely overlooked ALEC’s influence in the debate.

The article details how at least two of the statehouse sponsors of the relevant bills are ALEC members: Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones R 46 and Majority Whip Edward Lindsey R 54. Remember them, from the list of Georgia Legislators with ALEC Ties? You thought maybe that list was hypothetical and of little effect? Nope, these bills echo ALEC model charter school legislation, and these ALEC legislators actively pushed them into law. Plus look at the titles these two legislators have on their own legislative websites: Speaker Pro Tempore and Majority Whip. How close is that to our legislature being owned lock, stock, and barrel by ALEC?

But wait! There’s more…. Lee Fang wrote for Republic Report 14 May 2012, Charter School Lobby Group Quits ALEC Two Days After Being Identified By Republic Report,

Continue reading →

Georgia would send much more money per student to charter schools than to public schools

An AJC columnist asked the state Department of Education to check figures from Herb Garrett, Executive Director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, that the proposed charter school law would have the state send much more money per student to charter schools than to public schools. The DoE confirmed it. We can’t afford to have public schools sucked dry for Atlanta-picked charter schools. And yes, this is another ALEC boondoggle.

Maureen Downey wrote for the AJC today, Under new law, state will send more funds per child to state charter schools than local systems

Given this funding disparity, though, it would make far more sense now for aspiring charter schools to seek state approval rather than local.

We need the state to fund public schools determined by local school boards; we don’t need the state rigging the system to divert public school funds to Atlanta-chosen charter schools.

The Democratic primary ballot had an opinion item about charter schools:

Democratic Party Question 1: Should the Georgia Constitution be amended to allow the state to override locally elected school boards’ decisions when it comes to the creation of charter schools in your county or city?

Democratic voters said by 56% they don’t want the charter school law.

However, that primary question was non-binding. The real charter school referendum will be on the November general election ballot. Here’s yet another reason to vote it down.

-jsq

ALEC responds to Sierra Club report

Received yesterday on Sierra Club reports on big fossil fuel’s coordinated attack on clean energy. My comments below. -jsq

Although the Sierra Club was notified of the errors in their report, they have yet to address them. In addition, neither fact checking nor communication was attempted by the Sierra Club on claims made in this report.

In response to this error-filled report , here is a short statement and brief fact check.

http://www.alec.org/fact-setting-response-to-sierra-club-report/

-Todd Wynn

And if you follow that link you find these things:

The American Legislative Exchange Council is not against renewable energy in any form….

ALEC believes that free markets in energy produce more options, more energy, lower prices and less economic disruptions. Also, ALEC believes that mandates to transform the energy sector and use renewable energy sources place the government in the unfair position of choosing winners and losers, keeping alive industries that are dependent on special interest lobbying. ALEC opposes mandates and therefore opposes infighting among fuel sources. ALEC also believes that government programs designed to encourage and advance energy technologies should not reduce energy choices or supply. They should not limit the production of electricity, for example, to only politically preferable technologies.

Translation: ALEC opposes renewable energy portfolio (REP) standards, which is one of the main points of the Sierra Club report. So ALEC’s rebuttal actually supports that point.

The rest of ALEC’s response is fiddling around the edges about Continue reading →

Ed Asner against horse-and-buggy Turkey Point nuclear boondoggle

Nuclear subsidy CWIP rate hikes for power nobody’s getting yet: it’s not just for nukes for Georgia Power and Coal for Mississippi Power, it’s for Florida Power and Light’s Turkey Point nuke boondoggle! Let Ed Asner explain.

Here’s the video:

FPL CWIP Ed Asner asks why not put that $35 billion to better use:

Why would anyone not want to work on renewable safe and much less expensive solar energy, in the sunshine state?!

Or in the Empire State of the South, for that matter. You know, Georgia, the state where FPL Continue reading →

CWIP for SO’s Kemper Coal Plant in Mississippi

Southern Company (SO) is playing the CWIP game of charging customers for electricity they won’t for years with coal in Kemper, Mississippi, not just with nuclear at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. Maybe we should elect some new Georgia Public Service Commissioners so we won’t see the kind of behavior Mississippi’s PSC has turned to.

Cassandra Sweet wrote for Dow Jones and WSJ 25 July 2012, 2nd UPDATE: Southern Co. Second-Quarter Profit Up as Economy Improves,

The company is proceeding with construction of a $2.88 billion advanced-coal plant in Mississippi, despite a decision last month by state regulators to deny a $55 million rate increase the company requested while a related court case is pending. The company’s Mississippi Power unit has filed an appeal of that decision with the state Supreme Court, and argues that without the rate increase it won’t be able to cover certain project expenses that could boost its customers’ future costs.

Mississippi’s Public Service Commission actually denied that rate increase, partly due to opposition from AARP, Sierr Club, and other concerned organizations and citizens. Imagine Georgia’s captive PSC doing that! Mississippi Power took it all the way to the MS Supreme Court, challenged by MS Sierra Club, and that Supreme Court also denied the rate increase. According to MS Sierra Club:

Continue reading →