Tag Archives: Education

Fighting gangs by legalizing pot

Just like alcohol prohibition produced gansters such as Al Capone, drug prohibition doesn’t prevent crime: it causes it. Legalize, tax, and regulate, end that crime, reduce drug use, and fund government services. While massively reducing the prison population and removing any excuse for private prisons. Sweden is pioneering the way.

Richard Orange wrote for GlobalPost yesterday, A win-win on drugs? Fighting gangs by legalizing pot,

Copenhagen’s city municipality voted in recent weeks, 39 votes to 9, to empower its social affairs committee to draw up a detailed plan to legalize cannabis.
If that plan is approved by Denmark’s new left-of-centre parliament next year, the city could become the first to legalize marijuana, rather than simply tolerate it, as police do in the Netherlands.
“We are thinking of perhaps 30 to 40 public sales houses, where the people aren’t interested in selling you more, they’re interested in you,” Mikkel Warming, the mayor in charge of social affairs at Copenhagen City Council told GlobalPost. “Who is it better for youngsters to buy marijuana from? A drug pusher, who wants them to use more, who wants them to buy hard drugs, or a civil servant?”

Not just drug toleration. Legalization: Continue reading →

CCA charges inmates five days’ pay for one telephone minute

That’s $1 a day in pay and $5 a telephone minute. While CCA is collecting as much as $200 a day per inmate in your tax dollars and CCA’s CEO is compensated $3,266,387 from your tax dollars.

Amanda Peterson Beadle wrote for ThinkProgress 16 November 2011, Private Prison Charges Inmates $5 a Minute for Phone Calls While They Work for $1 a Day

Last year the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest private prison company, received $74 million of taxpayers’ money to run immigration detention centers. Georgia, receives $200 a night for each of the 2,000 detainees it holds, and rakes in yearly profits between $35 million and $50 million.
Prisoners held in this remote facility depend on the prison’s phones to communicate with their lawyers and loved ones. Exploiting inmates’ need, CCA charges detainees here $5 per minute to make phone calls. Yet the prison only pays inmates who work at the facility $1 a day. At that rate, it would take five days to pay for just one minute.

They charge for food, too.

And remember, CCA profits from anti-immigration laws, at taxpayer expense:

Recent anti-immigration laws in Alabama (HB56) and Georgia (HB87) guarantee that neighbor facilities will have an influx of “product.” In the past few years, CCA has spent $14.8 million lobbying for anti-immigration laws to ensure they have continuous access to fresh inmates and keep their money racket going. In 2010 CCA CEO Damon T. Hininger received $3,266,387 in total compensation.

Private CEO profit for public injustice. Does that seem right to you?

We don’t need a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia. Spend those tax dollars on rehabilitation and education instead.

-jsq

57 year overdue house cleaning —Barbara Stratton

Received today on Repealing the 1928 GA School Consolidation Law. -jsq

The 1926 statute that needs to be removed is OCGA 20-2-370. The 1983 constitutional law had priority of law precedence over the older statute & CUEE was advised before they asked for signatures it could be protested on those grounds before or after the vote. Thankfully we did not have to go that route. I remember in high school I did a project on outdated laws still in the GA Constitution including mandatory hanging for horse theft (which I liked). There was also a law if you hit & killed a cow or pig on the road you were required to get out & slit the throat so the owner could salvage the meat & many others that were outdated & no longer enforced. I trust these have now been removed. The general assembly should be thankful that we are addressing this 57 year overdue need for house cleaning & remedy this in January. Rule of Law should never remain questionable when it is the duty of our lawmakers to provide clarity.
-Barbara Stratton

According to Justia.com:

2010 Georgia Code
TITLE 20 – EDUCATION
CHAPTER 2 – ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
ARTICLE 8 – CONSOLIDATION OF INDEPENDENT AND COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEMS
§ 20-2-370 – Referendum on repeal of special school law and consolidation of systems

O.C.G.A. 20-2-370 (2010)
20-2-370. Referendum on repeal of special school law and consolidation of systems
Whenever the citizens of a municipality or independent school district authorized by law to establish and maintain a system of schools by local taxation in whole or in part are operating a system of public schools independent of the county school system and wish to annul their special school law and become a part of the county school system, they shall present and file with the governing authority of the city a petition signed by one-fourth of the qualified voters of their territory; and the governing authority shall then submit the question at an election to be held in accordance with Chapter 2 of Title 21. A majority of those voting shall be necessary to carry the election. Only qualified voters residing within the municipality or district for six months prior to the election shall vote. An election shall not be held for the same purpose more often than every 12 months.
Disclaimer: These codes may not be the most recent version. Georgia may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

Citizens at Lowndes County Commission 7 November 2011

Five citizens spoke up at the 7 November 2011 Lowndes County Commission Regular Session. Some got answers, some got excuses, and some got fingerpointing. And one illustrated how the Commission doesn’t follow its own rules.

George Boston Rhynes asked about Open record requests and jail deaths and got the same excuses he’s heard elsewhere: nobody seems to be responsible for supplying information to the public about what’s going on in the Lowndes County Jail.
John Robinson asked about Contracts on the south side related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and to Title III Section 3 of the HUD program and got a clarification from the Chairman that the county has no Title III projects.
John S. Quarterman asked the Commission to video meetings like the Lowndes Board of Education does, and got a slightly different excuse this time than the many previous times he’s made similar requests.
Matt Portwood asked the Commission or the individual Commissioners to state a position on school consolidation and was told they weren’t going to. The VDT printed that much the next morning, the morning of the election with the referendum on school consolidation. They did not print Chairman Paulk’s allusion to his already-known support for FVCS in opposing consolidation, but LAKE published a video with that on Election Day, and you can see it here.
Tony Daniels wanted to know How can we pursue happiness when we don’t even have a job? and had several recommendations for how the various local elected and appointed bodies could go about getting us more jobs. He also illustrated that the Commissions ordinance on Citizens Wishing to Be Heard is, as we’ve discovered on many previous occasions, merely guidelines at the whim of the Chairman.

Citizen participation!

-jsq

Only a vote where both city and county residents could take part would reveal the will of the people —Karen Noll

Received yesterday on Repealing the 1928 GA School Consolidation Law. -jsq

While I live in the city as was able to vote on the consolidation issue, I feel that only a vote where both city and county residents would be democratic. Only a vote where both interested parties could take part would reveal the will of the people and be admissible. Although I opposed the effort to consolidate that was recently defeated, I feel strongly that a true vote of both city and county residence is necessary if consolidation should reach the ballot anytime in the future. For this reason it is paramount that the old law that allowed the city only vote be stricken to allow the georgia constitution to prevail. The GA constitution allows for both city and county to vote and a majority in both in order to pass.
Please contact your legislator to support repealing the 1928 law from the GA law books.
Thank you ALL for your commitment to community,
-Karen Noll

Repealing the 1928 GA School Consolidation Law

Received today. -jsq

From: JC Cunningham
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:01:26 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Fw: The Repeal of Ga. Law on School Consolidation
To: [many people]
Friends,
Even though we the Citizens of Valdosta have spoken and defeated that hostile takeover, this is not the time to let up. We all must stay a vigilant as possible and never let anything like this happen again.
One way in which everyone in Valdosta and Lowndes can make a impact is to write a letter to Amy Carter, Admin. Floor Leader to the Governor, and ask for her to introduce a bill to repeal the old 1928 law that Cuee was able to use.
Remind Amy that she has an obligation to bring this bill to the floor. Remind her that the people

Continue reading →

Video meetings like Lowndes Board of Education? —John S. Quarterman @ LCC 7 November 2011

After apologizing for setting off a flash earlier, I recommended the county video their own meetings, so they wouldn’t have to depend on amateurs.

Lowndes County Board of Education had an open forum about school consolidation. and they had their own person videoing the whole thing, and it ended up on the web in a day or two, which means that everyone in the county could see what was going on….

Chairman Paulk:

We get enough of that for free.

jsq:

I’ll send you a bill!

The Chairman nodded, so I’ll take that for approval of billing by LAKE.

Here’s the video: Continue reading →

FVCS community event 5:30 PM 15 November 2011 @ MLK Monument

Received today (this is the event Sam Allen mentioned in his speech on Valdosta City Hall steps last Wednesday). -jsq

Friends,

We must bring healing and closure to the consolidation saga. As a means to reuniting our community the FVCS has planned one last event designed to bring EVERYONE together for some good fun and relaxation. Please come out and join us, bring the kids and your friends as we close this chapter and begin anew. I pray that we can move forward and enjoy the true meaning of the upcoming holidays with love and forgiveness in our hearts. Remember: Don’t worry about me because I’m be alright.

Thanks for everything,
Sam Allen

Details: Continue reading →

A community united! —Gretchen Quarterman

LTE in the VDT today. -jsq

In the last few weeks, our community has seen an unprecedented effort from left, right, and center, city and county, town and gown, all working
Let us not focus on the things that have divided us in the past, but rather use this opportunity to build a stronger community, a stronger education system.
together as a community to achieve a goal that the overwhelming majority see as in our best interest. We have an opportunity that we should not squander. It doesn’t take a lot of money. It takes dedicated people, calling their friends and neighbors, canvasing every neighborhood, holding open and honest forums, and answering questions to the very best of their ability.
Let us not focus on the things that have divided us in the past, but rather use this opportunity to build a stronger community, a stronger education system. Let us find opportunities to work together to benefit our students, teachers, police, firefighters, farmers, small local businesses and all the rest of us who call this community home.
We have an opportunity that we should not squander. Let us work as one community for the benefit of all our citizens; students, seniors, family, friends, urban, rural, conservatives, progressives, Wildcats and Vikings.
One community out of many,
with liberty and justice for all.

Gretchen Quarterman
Chairman
Lowndes County Democratic Party

I’m glad GBR spoke up for Sam Allen. —Barbara Stratton

Received today on Truth really needs no defense! -jsq

I’m glad GBR spoke up for Sam Allen. The VDT article falsely stated that he had changed his mind about VDT support between Tuesday night & Wednesday when he spoke at the news release. I was standing beside Sam when he complemented one reporter after she interviewed him following the election returns at the Bd of Elections Tuesday night. The compliments were for her individual professionalism only as he stated to her that he appreciated that she always put exactly what he said in the paper. I agreed with his statements & complimented her also, because I have observed her professionalism in other venues & it is a refreshing change for some of the VDT reporting heritage.
Sam’s Wednesday comments about the VDT not providing balanced