Tag Archives: Austin Scott

U.S. Rep. Bishop to listen to landowners about Sabal Trail pipeline

Maybe Lowndes County Commissioners can ask Rep. Austin Scott (GA-08) to do what Dougherty County Commissioners have successfully asked Rep. Bishop (GA-02) to do: those two Congressional districts cover the entire Georgia part of the proposed path of that methane pipeline. And maybe they could help Greenlaw get the FERC scoping period extended and get the GIS data from Sabal Trail.

Carlton Fletcher wrote for the Albany Herald yesterday, U.S. Congressman Sanford Bishop to take part in pipeline listening session: Metting called to address safety, other concerns surrounding controversial natural gas pipeline,

Two Dougherty County Commissioners and one of their former colleagues who is running to rejoin them have scheduled a listening session at 10 a.m. Thursday with U.S. House District 2 Congressman Sanford Bishop to discuss the proposed Sabal Trail Transmission Gas Pipeline project and a planned accompanying Continue reading →

Senate Farm Bill adds Rural Gigabit Amendment

The U.S. Senate just adopted an amendment to invest in gigabit (1,000 megabit per second) rural broadband networks. Our local leaders need to lobby for the House to pass this, if they are serious about fast affordable Internet service for everyone here. Senator Leahy’s tiny Vermont, with the population of a single Congressional district, is already well along towards gigabit Internet. Our three House members can help get south Georgia on the road to better jobs, education, and health care through better Internet service.

Jennifer Reading wrote today for WCAX, Leahy’s high-speed internet amendment passes,

What I want to make sure is that a rural area can compete the same way an urban area can. It’s actually the argument, the debate that went on before I was even born about whether you had rural electricity, rural telephone or not and if we hadn’t done that much of this country would be a wasteland,” said Sen. Leahy.

Don’t we want that, too?

Continue reading →

Rep. Austin Scott (R GA-08) @ VLCoC 2013-01-10

Ron Borders introduced Congressman Austin Scott (R GA-08) who made some remarks on the front porch at the Chamber of Commerce Thursday 10 January 2013.

Bookended by some formulaic remarks about debt (without mentioning that it’s already mostly solved), the Congressman noted he is on the Committee on Armed Services. He said there is no current BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure Commission), although one has been asked for. He said a BRAC wouldn’t do anything for near-term debt, anyway (but he didn’t say anything about ending the war in Afghanistan or stopping funding for un-needed weapons systems as ways of saving money).

He said he is the chair of a House Agriculture Subcommitee (Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture). He said he was for research, for the agricultural extension, and for agricultural exports.

Here’s the WCTV news report, with responses by Gretchen Quarterman, Chair of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP).

Here’s a video playlist:

Continue reading →

Gretchen LCDP v. Austin Scott GA-08 on WCTV

Gretchen with LAKE video camera Hearing a representative was in town, Gretchen took the LAKE video camera down to the Chamber of Commerce. Greg Gullberg of WCTV invited her to rebut Rep. Austin Scott (R GA-08) in her role as Chair of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP). After some back and forth, the WCTV story shows transparency winning, and Gretchen with the last word.

Rep. Scott GA-08 Gretchen as LCDP Chair

But their [sic] is one thing they both agree on.

“I quite honestly think both sides ought to put their budgets on C-Span and maybe we ought to have those negotiations on C-Span,” said Scott.

“So I’m all for having everything all out on the table for all citizens to see,” said Quarterman.

Scott speaking Gretchen speaking

Hey, what if the Lowndes County Commission put its board packets and budgets out on the web for all us taxpayers to see?

Here’s the WCTV video. The video Gretchen took will follow.

Continue reading →

NDAA does not protect US citizens from detention without due process –Barbara Stratton

Received today on What about NDAA? Questions for Austin Scott in Tift County. -jsq

I did not stay for the luncheon with Austin Scott because I’ve had conversations with him already. The question in this video on NDAA does need to be addressed. Every legislator who voted for the bill that included sections 1021 & 1022 needs to either encourage legislation to repeal or correct these sections or be replaced.

However the Ron Paul supporters do not have a corner on dissatisfation with NDAA. Ron Paul has stated that he will fix everything wrong with the country. I would be more trusting of his statements if they allowed that he will have to work with Congress to fix problems instead of inferring he can totally accomplish change on his own. Gary Johnson is running on the Libertarian platform also. Neither of them can win the GOP nomination without upstaging the delegate voting process and both are running on almost identical platforms. Are they both going to vie for the GOP spot over Romney or will one or both pull off to run as a third party candidate?

Back to the NDAA question—KrisAnne Hall is a constitutional lawyer who has detailed sections 1021 and 1022 and verified the same conclusion I did when I asked Saxby Chambliss why he voted for the bill back in December. It does not protect US citizens from detention without due process and she details why. She will be speaking at the Valdosta Tea Party meeting Thursday night, April 26, 7:00 at the Holiday Inn on Hwy 84. Hopefully she will also have updates on what is being done to correct this injustice. We do need to let our senators and representatives know we are expecting an amendment to correct this travesty against us or we will fight to see they are defeated for their crimes against the Constitution.

-Barbara Stratton

Hey, I’m a Democrat, and I’ve been opposed to NDAA, FISAA, for many years now. -jsq

What about NDAA? Questions for Austin Scott in Tift County

Somebody else asks elected representatives questions and posts videos. Here some Ron Paul supporters ask Austin Scott (R GA-08), our upcoming Congressional representative unless somebody defeats him, questions about NDAA ( H.R. 1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012) and drones at a Tift County meeting. Scott asked to see a copy of the passages they were asking about, but then the meeting conveniently ended before they could get it to him. In the video they include a quote of the relevant text, which doesn’t say what Scott said it says.

Here’s the video:

I especially like the guy afterwards complaining:

It’s the way you say things; you can’t do that!

They sounded pretty polite to me. I guess what they can’t do is ask questions about laws elected representatives voted on.

-jsq

Georgia and Florida Railway (GFRR) – Valdosta to Willacoochee Rehabilitation $6.25 million T-SPLOST

Now here’s a T-SPLOST project I like: upgrading the railroad that runs from Valdosta to Moody AFB and on to Ray City and Nashville in Berrien County, and Willacoochee in Atkinson County. This proposal is to aid freight, but with this upgrade to the track, the same track would be even more readily usable for passenger rail. That same track was used for passenger travel up into the 1950s. My mother used to catch the train at Barretts (just north of Moody) to go visit her relatives in Pearson (a bit east of Willacoochee).

It’s true the project sheet talks about “potential customers in the region”:

This project will provide for more efficient train operations along the rail corridor to accommodate the increase rail traffic serving the existing and potential customers in the region.
However, rail promotes development in existing population centers and at stations, unlike all along automobile roadways.

This project is also another example of how the economic area of Moody AFB includes Continue reading →

Gerrymandering Georgia for Jack Kingston to get Moody AFB

Jack Kingston told Gretchen last week in Tifton that he was heading to Atlanta the next day to try to retain Moody Air Force Base in his district. Looks like he may get that, by chopping just the Moody area out of Lowndes County, and splitting the Pine Grove precinct.

Walter C. Jones wrote for the Rome News-Tribune yesterday, Revised congressional map passes House committee

The House redistricting committee voted along party lines Wednesday to approve a revised congressional map with multiple changes from the one made public Monday.

The changes restore Valdosta’s Moody Air Force Base to Republican Jack Kingston’s district and about 16,000 people in Effingham County to Democrat John Barrow’s to keep the two equal in population.

Yeah, they restore it all right. Here’s before and after:

Before
After

Hard to see? Look at the detail map on the right here. This latest proposed gerrymander gives Kingston Clinch and Echols Counties just so Jack can send a green tongue out from Echols to lap up Moody with as little of the rest of Lowndes as possible.

It gets better. Look at the Lowndes County precinct maps: Continue reading →