No vision, focus or direction in state transportation plans
State transportation officials have pulled the plug on the $1 billion “express lane” project on I-75 and I-575, thanks in part to behind-the-scenes pressure from Gov. Nathan Deal.
Reportedly, the “public-private partnership” envisioned to finance the deal was becoming less and less of a true partnership. The taxpayer subsidy demanded by investors in the project had grown from $300 million to $450 million or more, while still leaving control, operation and profits in private hands.
If that’s indeed the case, the cancellation was wise. But what now? The abandonment of the I-75 project ought to be an alarm bell alerting taxpayers to a deeper, more troubling problem. This is the second time that a toll project in that corridor has been proposed to private contractors and then withdrawn. As AJC reporter Ariel Hart points out, Georgia has now invested more than $50 million in that effort with nothing to show for it.
Why? Because transportation planning in this state continues to be plagued by a lack of focus, direction, vision and accountability. The state Department of Transportation is seeking its fourth commissioner in four years and is hamstrung by a divided board. Apparently, nobody can run the place. The department itself has been split in two by legislators, with a commissioner performing some functions and a state planning director performing others. At times, the State Road and Tollway Authority, a separate agency, seems to take the lead; at times it doesn’t. The governor’s office also plays a powerful role from time to time, as it apparently did in this case, but intervening when needed is not the same thing as providing steady guidance and vision.
In addition, the state Legislature has punted funding problems to regional agencies around the state, in effect telling local governments that if they want to build transit projects, they’re on their own. But state officials balk at giving those regional agencies the authority needed to operate transit efficiently. It is a mess, and that mess grows out of three unresolved problems:
– State officials, particularly in the Legislature, cannot bring themselves to acknowledge that mass transit is a necessity. Admitting that things have changed, that metro Atlanta has grown to the point that it has to pursue transit aggressively just like every other major metro region on the planet, represents a profound cultural shift that some Georgians aren’t ready to accept.
– The state needs to commit more money to transportation. It cannot build a world-class logistics and supply system founded on its ports and do it on a starvation transportation budget. It cannot attract corporate headquarters and biotech to a region choking in traffic. Passage of the 1-cent transportation sales tax in metro Atlanta next year represents the minimum of what must be done. “If we don’t pass it, the signal is disastrous,” economist Donald Ratajczak warned the Council on Quality Growth this month. “It makes us very difficult to attract anybody.”
Unfortunately, the sudden cancellation of the I-75 toll project only adds to the perception of indecision and incompetence, making passage of the sales tax less likely. Which lead us to …
– The state needs a rational, professional and accountable system of transportation decision-making. Competing visions, agendas and bureaucracies do not work. Every step taken in the last 20 years has served to cloud rather than clarify lines of responsibility, and we are reaping the consequences.
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450 comments Add your comment
Thulsa Doom
December 19th, 2011
11:14 am
“Maybe by then our electric energy costs will consume all of our pay checks and we will just starve to death”- TBone
Mar 18, 2009 · Barack Obama: “Under my plan of a cap and trade system, … electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”
TBone,
Well people did after all vote for skyrocking electric bills.
Midori
December 19th, 2011
11:15 am
and here I was thinking that in 2010, people were voting for job growth.
Brosephus
December 19th, 2011
11:15 am
(ir)Rational
I can dig that!! At the same time, I’m tired of being bitten due to the actions/inactions of others. The easiest solution to all our problems is to remove politicians as far away from them as possible. Politicians are the reason things are so effed up anyway.
Thulsa Doom
December 19th, 2011
11:16 am
Milton Man @11:10,
That would be what you call fuzzy math by the liberals.
Aquagirl
December 19th, 2011
11:18 am
Just for the sake of arguing and all.
Well (ir) how unfortunate that you have selected a totally unarguable point.
The Thin Guy
December 19th, 2011
11:18 am
Would rather eat Road Kill than drive on the interstates. Have fantasies about dying of natural causes which rules out MARTA. Can’t afford helicopters. Left with surface streets. Question: why is it that the Roman aqueducts and Egyptian pyramids have lasted for thousands of years but the City of Atlanta has to dig holes in the streets every few months and cover the holes with armor plates from the Battleship Bismark? Could it be that no one in our city government knows what they are doing?
williebkind
December 19th, 2011
11:19 am
Yep they gotta improve the transportation system in Atlanta because:
-The liberals wont get to the next Occupy Peachtree rally on time or they must bring a tent to stay overnight.
-The liberals want better jobs with better pay with more time off for rallies.
-The libeals want better transportation so more business will come to Atlanta who have stock in dams and reservoirs. Love that bottled water!
-The liberals want better transportation so all those whacky progressives can travel to and fro from coast to coast.
-The liberals want better transportation but they want the 1% to pay for it.
stands for decibels
December 19th, 2011
11:20 am
Have fantasies about dying of natural causes which rules out MARTA.
Not intended to be a factual statement.
Thulsa Doom
December 19th, 2011
11:21 am
“Could it be that no one in our city government knows what they are doing?”
Surely you jest? And of course Bill Campbell wasn’t a crook either.
Stevie Ray
December 19th, 2011
11:21 am
BUTCH,
Here are some of the reasons the Stimulus was and remains a collossal failure:
http://www.examiner.com/news-you-can-use-in-atlanta/stimulus-of-862-billion-taxpayer-money-was-spent-on-what-say-what
Thulsa Doom
December 19th, 2011
11:22 am
“Have fantasies about dying of natural causes which rules out MARTA”
Well of course. No one ever gets shot, stabbed, or assaulted by flash mobs at MARTA stations. Never happens.
MiltonMan
December 19th, 2011
11:23 am
Did MARTA have a public housing resident as chairperson of the board at one time? Do any of you remember that the city of Atlanta decided against putting a MARTA station next to the old Fulton County Stadium due to loose of revenue from parking fees?
Yes that is the old leadership that I want to pay with the new penny tax.
Paul
December 19th, 2011
11:26 am
Thulsa
“If performance targets were reduced then it was for the rather obvious reason that the economy as a whole is in bad shape.”
You may want to reread Jay’s entire post. Performance targets were reduced in the year the economy was picking up. Also, these were pharmaceutical companies. Haven’t checked, but I’d imagine they’re doing okay compared to the rest of the economy.
Also, I’m not aware of midlevel friends who’ve had their targets reduced during this time. If anything, they pressure’s on to deliver more. But that doesn’t apply to the top tier.
Brosephus
December 19th, 2011
11:27 am
Yep they gotta improve the transportation system in Atlanta because
-The conservatives wont get to the airport fast enough to occupy the bathroom stalls.
-The conservatives want better jobs with better pay to afford more hookers and diapers.
-The conservatives want better transportation so more business will come to Atlanta who want more tax cuts and concessions. Love that tax cut!
-The conservatives want better transportation so all those whacky conservatives can travel to and fro from gun shop to tea party rally.
-The conservatives want better transportation but they want the bottom 1% to pay for it.
Damn that was soooo much fun. Can we play word association again????
stands for decibels
December 19th, 2011
11:29 am
Well of course. No one ever gets shot, stabbed, or assaulted by flash mobs at MARTA stations. Never happens.
For a guy who claims to have something to do with
cheating peoplethe insurance industry you sure have a piss-poor notion about actual risks.Unless you & Thin Guy call getting smashed to bits in a car accident a “natural cause.”
Peter
December 19th, 2011
11:29 am
I think the Transit issue is one of many problems we have, what about water in general/
What about clean water ? Seems the EPA has been billing the state big time for polluted rivers and streams in Georgia.
Is praying for Rain the best we can do ?
godless heathen
December 19th, 2011
11:29 am
Stevie Ray,
And yet Mr. Hitchens supported GW Bush for President. He also supported the invasion of Iraq. A very intelligent man.
Mountain Man
December 19th, 2011
11:31 am
“Do any of you remember that the city of Atlanta decided against putting a MARTA station next to the old Fulton County Stadium due to loose of revenue from parking fees?”
See, that is the type of thinking that makes MARTA a laughingstock. I can certainly believe it! A lot of people would ride MARTA to the Braves games if they had put a station there. But no, that would help RICH people, and people from the north, and would not help the poor Atlantan, so it doesn’t get built.
Stevie Ray
December 19th, 2011
11:32 am
Can anyone tell me the status of BO’s transparency pledge….”sunlight before signing” pledge?
Also, what about quote: “I am in this race to tell corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over”..
Appropos of nothing in today’s column but was reading over the weekend and found humor reflecting on these…
Steve - USA
December 19th, 2011
11:32 am
The city of Atlanta owns 10,000 acres of land up here in Dawson county that they purchased (in 1973?) to build an airport on. The city never did anything with land which held the former Lockheed Nuclear research facility. The land has been turned over to the Georgia Forestry Commission and is now being used as a Wildlife Refuge area.
Thanks Atlanta!
Bryan -- MARTA Supporter
December 19th, 2011
11:33 am
@ Road Scholar December 19th, 2011 9:07 am
At this point I feel there should be a combination of both. When MARTA was first envisioned, it was based on the interstate system. If this was implemented then we would be focusing direct on connecting city to city and suburb to suburb.
There is a great need for heavy rail on I-85 in Gwinnett and I-75 in Cobb to bring people into the city. Also, the heavy rail plan MARTA has to provide service from the current Garnett station to Turner Field to Glenwood Park then down I-20 to Stonecrest Mall is a major need. Last the heavy rail extention to Emory is needed also. From there I would focus on possible light rail extentions around the city and use light rail for the top I-285 line from Doraville to Cumberland. This will give people the option coming into Atlanta to have connections to rail transit ITP, which will probably attract more riders than traditional bus transit.
I would also extent the Blue line from Hamilton Holmes to Six Flags with stops at I-285, Fulton Ind Blvd, and Six Flags. Also a new heavy rail line to Hapeville then to Jonesboro with stops at Hartsfield’s new east side terminal, Tara Blvd and Upper Riverdale Rd, and in Jonesboro.
stands for decibels
December 19th, 2011
11:33 am
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/17/christohper_hitchens_and_the_protocol_for_public_figure_deaths/singleton/
Hitchens was an extremely controversial, polarizing figure. And particularly over the last decade, he expressed views — not ancillary to his writings but central to them — that were nothing short of repellent.
[...]
Hitchens was obviously more urbane and well-written than the average neocon faux-warrior, but he was also often more vindictive and barbaric about his war cheerleading. One of the only writers with the courage to provide the full picture of Hitchens upon his death was Gawker‘s John Cook, who — in an extremely well-written and poignant obituary – detailed Hitchens’ vehement, unapologetic passion for the attack on Iraq and his dismissive indifference to the mass human suffering it caused, accompanied by petty contempt for those who objected (he denounced the Dixie Chicks as being “sluts” and “f—ing fat slags” for the crime of mildly disparaging the Commander-in-Chief). As Cook put it: “it must not be forgotten in mourning him that he got the single most consequential decision in his life horrifically, petulantly wrong”; indeed: “People make mistakes. What’s horrible about Hitchens’ ardor for the invasion of Iraq is that he clung to it long after it became clear that a grotesque error had been made.”
So, you know, f-ck Hitchens and the horse he rode off on.
Steve - USA
December 19th, 2011
11:33 am
When I say “turned over”, I mean to manage. As far as I know the city of Atlanta still owns that 10,000 acres.
Butch Cassidy
December 19th, 2011
11:35 am
MiltonMan – “Funny that Butch only list the top 5 when Georgia is currently sitting at #7.
Yeah, that’s why I updated it to reflect 2011 data:
Top 10 Fastest Growing States in 2011
1.Alaska
2.North Dakota
3.Wyoming
4.South Dakota
5.Maryland
6.Virginia
7.Oklahoma
8.Texas
9.Nebraska
10.Iowa
I wasn’t aware that Georgia was spelled OKLAHOMA. Thanks for the hot tip. Oh, and when someone says “most” it doesn’t inherently translate into half. If you want “half” to apply, I would try saying that Georgia has more residents coming to it and less residents leaving than over 50% of the other states. No charge for the clarification.
Stevie Ray
December 19th, 2011
11:38 am
GODLESS HEATHEN,
I appreciate your comments on Hitchens political positions but are you suggesting his politcal leanings (he criticized Bush with as much fervor as rest of politicians) are relevant to his writings? Have you read any of his published work? Many folks supported Bush and the Iraq war relative to the alternatives…many of us have changed our tune lately to be certain).
What exactly is your point?
Thulsa Doom
December 19th, 2011
11:38 am
“Performance targets were reduced in the year the economy was picking up. Also, these were pharmaceutical companies.”-Paul
A little misleading. If performance targets were reduced in the year the economy was picking up it was obviously because the forecasts were made in advance of the economy picking up. They don’t have crystal balls of course to detail what the economy will do in the coming 12 months. And frankly I don’t know what the hell Jay is talking about if he thinks the economy had picked up in the last year. He must be living on a different planet because in the 3 years under Obama I’ve yet to see the economy “pick up” in any meaningful way. Growth has been anemic at best so I’m not sure of what nonsense Jay is speaking.
“Also, I’m not aware of midlevel friends who’ve had their targets reduced during this time. If anything, they pressure’s on to deliver more. But that doesn’t apply to the top tier.”- Paul
You’ll get no argument with me on that one. Doesn’t seem fair of course. Cie la vie.
AmVet
December 19th, 2011
11:38 am
Taxpayer, even though there were several questions with nothing but lousy options, I took that “test” you linked. Which likely explains the results.
The bad news? My first “choice” was Barry. ???
The good news was that my second choice was Huntsman and the third, Ron Paul.
Actually I guess the best news was that it is obvious that I’m utterly dissimilar from the lunatic fringe of Ricky, Newt, Ricky Bobby from Texas, Mittens and Michelle…
Lord be praised!
godless heathen
December 19th, 2011
11:40 am
“So, you know, f-ck Hitchens and the horse he rode off on.”
The treatment a liberal gets when he strays off the reservation.
Steve - USA
December 19th, 2011
11:42 am
MiltonMan,
Yeah, Butch got busted trying to hide the fact Georgis was # 7. Now he is trying and failing to move the goal posts.
Stevie Ray
December 19th, 2011
11:42 am
STANDS,
What do his political leanings have to do with his body of work…have you read any of his work? Did you refrain from seeing movies starring “neo-con” leaning actors. Your post is ridiculous….I guess anyone, despite other accomplishments, is worthless in your book if they don’t agree with your politics….shallow postion as best STANDS…did you not see his quote relative to BUSH’s weak attributes?
Referee
December 19th, 2011
11:45 am
Goal post moving by Butch Cassidy. The complete year of 2011 isn’t even in yet so to use 2011 stats is quite disingenous.
Secondly if Georgia was 7th fastest than the assertion that growth was faster than “most” absolutely holds true. You’re flat out wrong and ya know it.
Thirdly, where is the link for your newly revised criteria for a year that isn’t even completed yet. You could have put Georgia’s new ranking in there for 2011 or are you scared Georgia might be 11-20 which would rank better than “most” states still.
Goal Posts
December 19th, 2011
11:45 am
Heading east 10 yards.
stands for decibels
December 19th, 2011
11:46 am
The treatment a liberal gets when he strays off the reservation.
No, that’s the treatment one (1) guy gets from *me*, GH.
However, in your defense, I apologize for neglecting to apply italics tags to the first two grafs following the link @ 11.33; Glenn Greenwald would never post something as crass as the last line, which was mine alone.
Jefferson
December 19th, 2011
11:47 am
I guess that’s one way to start paying back the feds for all the money the state keeps borrowing. Employers — pony up.
Steve - USA
December 19th, 2011
11:47 am
Referee,
Under further review your analysis of Butch’s distortion is 100% spot on!
Butch Cassidy
December 19th, 2011
11:48 am
Referee – “Thirdly, where is the link for your newly revised criteria for a year that isn’t even completed yet.”
Here, this was from June 14, 2011:
http://www.businessinsider.com/top-ten-growth-performing-states-2011-6
If you have a more up to date site, I’m happy to review it.
Brosephus
December 19th, 2011
11:49 am
AmVet
My choices came out as Obama, Romney, and then Huntsman. I think I’d support Huntsman before either one of them though. Seems like he’s about the only one who tries to actually think about things before opening his pie hole.
n
December 19th, 2011
11:51 am
There will never be any further progress in this state because their are no progressive people in power.”Progressive” has become a dirty word. Anyone who shows any signs of rational thinking or constructive planning is scorned and blackballed as a “librul” heretic. There is no planning for the future because everybody in charge is too busy trying to divert taxpayer money into their own pockets. The state will never have a rational, professional and accountable system of decision-making.because it is currently being run, for the most part, by folks who entered government only to make money..
Higgs Boson
December 19th, 2011
11:51 am
Thou shalt have mass. Follow me.
Butch Cassidy
December 19th, 2011
11:53 am
My apologies, after reviewing my stats, I realized that the “growth” factor was based on criteria other than population i.e. Industry, pricing, real estate etc… My bad. Georgia remains a beacon of hope and opportunity for anyone that wants to live here.
Higgs Boson
December 19th, 2011
11:56 am
n
You are small. I am large.
Higgs Boson
December 19th, 2011
11:57 am
Gather round lost souls.
AmVet
December 19th, 2011
11:58 am
Bro,
The former ambassador to China said,
“The minute the Republican Party becomes the anti-science party, we have a huge problem,” he said. “When we take a position that isn’t willing to embrace evolution, when we take a position that basically runs counter to what 98 out of 100 climate scientists from what the National Academy of Scientists said on what is causing climate change, and man’s contribution to it, I think we find ourselves on the wrong side of science and in a losing position.”
Science. It’s not just for non-Republicans.
Apparently Hitchens was a HUGE fan of the Boy Emperor’s Crusades and couldn’t stop cheerleading for them.
Sounds like a die hard liberal to me…
Brosephus
December 19th, 2011
12:02 pm
AmVet
Sometimes I wish I were older so that I could have had the opportunity to choose between two distinct parties. Nowadays, the only difference between the two is the letter behind their name and the central office where their campaign donations end up. Other than that, you can’t tell the difference between either party.
Steve - USA
December 19th, 2011
12:03 pm
Hitchens….what a contradiction, wanted to be the poster boy of higher intellect while at the same time killing himself with smoke and drink which was rather cliche and stupid.
Butch Cassidy
December 19th, 2011
12:04 pm
Brosephus – “Other than that, you can’t tell the difference between either party.”
Not True! Ann Coulter clearly stated that the GOP has better blacks than the DEMs.
Steve - USA
December 19th, 2011
12:05 pm
Broseephus,
Amen. Why don’t you start a 3rd party? I would help but I have a bad knee.
Lewis Grizzard
December 19th, 2011
12:06 pm
Butch Cassidy,
Delta is ready when you are.
Butch Cassidy
December 19th, 2011
12:07 pm
Lewis Grizzard – “Delta is ready when you are.”
For you maybe, I live in NYC.
Brosephus
December 19th, 2011
12:08 pm
Steve
We don’t need a third party. What we need is voters to actually educate themselves and quit feasting on the bumper stickers and rhetoric. They simply need to choose between the red pill and the blue pill. One will keep them in ignorance. The other will open their minds to show how truly effed up and corrupt our system really is.
Michael
December 19th, 2011
12:09 pm
I don’t think that’s a great surprise. Let’s just sit back and keep watching the headquarters relocation choose Charlotte over Atlanta. It’s not hard science, no one want to be tied up in traffic everyday on the way to and from work.
Stevie Ray
December 19th, 2011
12:10 pm
STEVEUSA/AMVET,
Contempt without investigation regarding Hitchens…neither of you have the capacity to speak from a position of actually reading his writings instead focusing on the few political views of his you don’t agree with….shallow and weak minded….STEVE, so your beef with Hitchens is that his personal habits suggests a contradiction vis a vis intellect? Do you think smoking and drinking (possible alcoholism) discrimminate by intellect and political affiliation?
I guess you remain big supporters of Leon Panetta?
Jm
December 19th, 2011
12:12 pm
Boy. Cutting spending in DC is like feeding a kid broccoli and asparagus simultaneously
The democrats just won’t do it
sam
December 19th, 2011
12:15 pm
vision? focus? direction?..what state do you live in jay?
RB from Gwinnett
December 19th, 2011
12:16 pm
“But no, that would help RICH people, and people from the north, and would not help the poor Atlantan, so it doesn’t get built.”
And it sure wouldn’t help all the off duty cops who get paid to direct traffic in a completely random pattern for every game; never once figureing out the best way of getting people into and out of the stadium and sticking with it becuase it works. It’s never the same plan 2 games in a row.
I went on the 4th of July one year when they had teken up half the parking lots for fireworks, so the cops just kept directing us around in a circle, I guess hoping we would get frustrated and go home since it was pretty darn clear they had no intention of helping us find a place to park.
Same goes for the Falcon’s games and pretty much everthing else that goes on downtown.
Steve - USA
December 19th, 2011
12:18 pm
Stevie Ray,
Yes. I believe being a chain smoking drunk is stupid. You may not feel the same way and I can respect that.
Off to get some air and a little exercise. I will just assume you don’t agree with me.
Stevie Ray
December 19th, 2011
12:19 pm
BROCEPHUS,
I find your commentary today more entertaining than usual. I read a fun book by a complete wingnut this weekend. Michelle Malkin’s “Culture of Corruption” …the mention of which should provide material from the usual suspects on this forum further demonstrating contempt prior to investigation but that’s half the fun. She has an amazingly sharp wit that is hilarious.
Big fun as a read…..I need to find a book that presents the counter to her posits on BO’s typical cronyisms…any thoughts? Need liberal writings that offer the other side of the argument…
ty webb
December 19th, 2011
12:20 pm
Lady GaGa voted entertainer of the year!
Way to go President Obama.
Thank you Mr. President Obama.
Stevie Ray
December 19th, 2011
12:22 pm
STEVEUSA,
I don’t disagree but see no merit in attacking one’s personal habits or physical shortcomings as logical debate. Alcoholism/addiction is a disease. Making light of someones struggles is akin to making light of one’s diabetes or other malady.
Brosephus
December 19th, 2011
12:29 pm
Stevie Ray
I don’t have any recommendations. If it’s not written by James Patterson or Stephen King, it’s not generally high on my must read list. I really try to stay away from partisaned political writings. Reading that crap isn’t good for your mental well being.
Finn McCool (Run Newt, run! You da man!)
December 19th, 2011
12:33 pm
Calista’s hair
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2011/12/callista_gingrich_s_hair_one_woman_replicates_newt_s_wife_s_helmet_head.html
hehehe
Corey
December 19th, 2011
12:35 pm
Milton Man, do you really think running a rail spur and building a station at Turner Field only to be used during baseball season makes financial sense by a transit agency that is barely scraping by on a 1 cent sales tax from two counties and no aid from the state? You call MARTA the laughing stock because they decided against doing so. Think about what you are saying, Dude.
Paul
December 19th, 2011
12:42 pm
Off Topic
Any Perry cheerleaders out there? Or anyone who thinks he’d be better than Pres Obama?
From over the weekend: he’s been drawing a $92,000 a year state retirement pension while drawing his $150,000 a year governor’s salary. His response? “well, golly, it ain’t illegal…. ”
Even his federal military time counted towards his state pension. This from a guy who’s railed against taxpayers getting soaked for lavish retirements and who cut teacher pay ’cause “we just don’t have the money.”
Bye, Bye, Rick, as you sink away.
Anybody else want him so he doesn’t go back to Texas?
Anybody?
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/12/18/3602602/critics-blast-perrys-retirement.html
AmVet
December 19th, 2011
12:42 pm
That MARTA did not originally build the line to the stadium is pretty crazy.
Now all those mass-transit hating Republicans who come in from Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, John’s Dump and elsewhere and who pour onto the trains at Doraville, North Springs, etc have to either walk from the GSU station or take the shuttle from 5 points to see the Braves.
Oh the humanity!
Jimmy62
December 19th, 2011
12:46 pm
Does anyone else think it says anything really pathetic about human society that Vaclav Havel didn’t get a Nobel Peace Prize, but men like Arafat and Obama did?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 19th, 2011
12:46 pm
Well I am certain that if the Braves wanted a MARTA spur and it made economic sense, they could build a shuttle train from an existing station……. Oh wait, private enterprise does not build these types of improvements without government subsidies. Damn that free market!
Brosephus
December 19th, 2011
12:48 pm
Paul
You forgot to mention that he changed the rules so that nobody else could double dip like he’s doing.
You can keep him there!!!! Hate to do that to you buddy, but it’s better for the country if he only screws up one state instead of all 50.
USMC
December 19th, 2011
12:52 pm
“Big fun as a read…..I need to find a book that presents the counter to her posits on BO’s typical cronyisms…any thoughts? Need liberal writings that offer the other side of the argument…”–Stevie Ray Vaughn
You might try THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO by Karl Marx
Actually, most of the full time bloggers here in Bookman World can recite the more popular excerpts from heart…
Consequently, it is hilarious as well!
TaxPayer
December 19th, 2011
12:52 pm
It looks like the Georgia GOP needs some more Democrats in office to point their fingers at. They’re running out of others to blame. When you have to resort to pulling out the name of Bill Campbell, you just show that you never had an argument to make in the first place.
AmVet
December 19th, 2011
12:53 pm
Hi Paul.
As a big fan of college football, I was always struck by what a POS Craig James was. For his days at SMU, the public debacle involving his kid at Texas Tech and most of all because he is such a pompous blowhard as a commentator.
Turns out there is a great explanation why he is such a creep.
As James weighs whether to run for Senate as a Republican, his football resume could hurt him as much as help in a state enthralled by the game.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-texassenate
TaxPayer
December 19th, 2011
12:55 pm
Where are all those free-market, non-government solutions that Republicans supposedly espouse.
Paul
December 19th, 2011
12:55 pm
Brosephus
I appreciate the thought. It’s a sacrifice us Texans’ll have to do for the good of the country.
Paul
December 19th, 2011
1:01 pm
AmVet
Well, this is a state where we get commercials of guys tossing a ball and saying “I catch balls for a living.. Lemme tell you ’bout this guy who does stomach stapling….”
Saw the high school football finals Saturday. Was going to head over to Cowboys Stadium but some last-minute work and other stuff took priority. Great athletes playing. As I looked at those kids executing their assignments and the consistency of their playing, I gotta say they looked much, much better than many college teams. Or lots of pro guys for that matter.
So for all you nonTexas college football fans out there, rest easy. Texas is supplying another crop of great athletes for your college programs.
‘cept Jonathan Gray. He’s going to Texas. Good luck to the secondaries.
“Aledo’s Gray breaks career TDs (national) ecord as Manvel falls in state final”
http://www.chron.com/sports/highschool/article/Aledo-s-Gray-breaks-career-TDs-record-as-Manvel-2409510.php
Obama is over
December 19th, 2011
1:02 pm
Just like Dallas and L.A., Atlanta is paying for the faulty design plans of the past where the infrastructure was designed around the automobile. I remember a few years ago when I picked up a friend coming in from Philadelphia and his comment was that Atlanta was not really serious about rapid rail because Marta only had two tracks- not the three tracks required to put in an express line when volume picked up. It seems like with the resources of Ga. Tech, we should be able to create some viable long term plans. What concerns me is that the recent plans (like the HOT lanes) seem to be geared towards generating cashflows rather than easing congestion. There are no easy answers particularly with the declining tax base of property values highlighted in the AJC today. The positive news is that I think the beltline project is one of the coolest urban development programs in the country. Unfortunately, most of your bloggers are more interested in assigning partisan blame than offering constructive ideas.
Daedalus
December 19th, 2011
1:04 pm
Speaking of traffic, what is the quickest way to Alabama from Little Five Points? Answer: 20 miles in any direction. Once you cross 285 its all Alabama.
Paul
December 19th, 2011
1:06 pm
TaxPayer
“Where are all those free-market, non-government solutions that Republicans supposedly espouse. ”
Christiane Amanpour’s Sunday Show: debate between Paul Ryan, Barney Frank, George Will, Robert Reich.
Frank’s opening remarks took Republicans to task for saying they want less government while at the same time showing how they expand government intrusion into many areas.
The debate’s here
http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/
USMC
December 19th, 2011
1:11 pm
“As a big fan of college football, I was always struck by what a POS Craig James was. For his days at SMU, the public debacle involving his kid at Texas Tech and most of all because he is such a pompous blowhard as a commentator”–AMVET
On Monday Dec 19th, I am in COMPLETE agreementr with Amvet!
Regardless of whether Craig James is DemocRat or Repuglican, He is a total Douche.
I wouldn’t vote for him against Bawney Frank… that should say a lot.
BUT Mike Leach will have the last laugh and WooHoo to the Washington State “insert mascot”! They got one of the great offensive minds in College Futbol for a Head Coach.
Darwin
December 19th, 2011
1:12 pm
Because you can’t fix transportation problems by plastering “In God We Trust” on the pavement. Oh Gawd. Some Repub has just got an idea for a new bill next session.
Paul
December 19th, 2011
1:14 pm
USMC
We had a forecast of storms moving in. I heard this loud “CRASH” and a flash of light and my office shook.
Then I realized it happened when you posted “On Monday Dec 19th, I am in COMPLETE agreementr with Amvet!”
Mountain Man
December 19th, 2011
1:15 pm
MARTA makes the counties pay the 1 cent sales tax in order to fund their low fares. Then they refuse to develop into counties that won’t pony up. MARTA could run a train line up the 75 corridor and pay for it through increased fares rather than a 1 cent sales tax. But that would not be in keeping with their philosophy. After all, can’t have those poor people from Atlanta having to pay a real fare to go up the 75 line. Make everyone drive.
Mountain Man
December 19th, 2011
1:16 pm
“What concerns me is that the recent plans (like the HOT lanes) seem to be geared towards generating cashflows rather than easing congestion.”
No sh*t, Sherlock!
stands for decibels
December 19th, 2011
1:17 pm
MARTA could run a train line up the 75 corridor and pay for it through increased fares rather than a 1 cent sales tax. But that would not be in keeping with their philosophy.
This nonsense again?
Pray tell me, which mass transit systems do you know of in this country, or in any other, that finance themselves solely through fares?
USMC
December 19th, 2011
1:18 pm
LOL Paul!
It sounded like a Redwood, didn’t it?
Hope you are enjoying your day and doing well in Dallas.
Mountain Man
December 19th, 2011
1:18 pm
“That MARTA did not originally build the line to the stadium is pretty crazy.
Now all those mass-transit hating Republicans who come in from Cobb, Cherokee, Gwinnett, John’s Dump and elsewhere and who pour onto the trains at Doraville, North Springs, etc have to either walk from the GSU station or take the shuttle from 5 points to see the Braves. ”
And to get to the shuttle you have to walk through Underground! Thanks, I will drive.
Jm
December 19th, 2011
1:19 pm
Amvet 12:42
Marta doesn’t go to turner because parking makes a lot of the money for the bravos
Mountain Man
December 19th, 2011
1:20 pm
And you have to drive to find the Marta rail line in Doraville and North Springs.
TaxPayer
December 19th, 2011
1:21 pm
The easiest solution is to deny the Atlanta metro area access to Lake Lanier water.
AmVet
December 19th, 2011
1:22 pm
USMC, all the deities be praised!
I got off to a rough start on Saturday, only picking one winner out of three. And both losses were by a combined three points. But other than the Owls crapping all over the Cowboys (who I’ve always liked) it was great day of football action.
Here’s to three more weeks of the same!
And Go Big Red!
http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/62922/photos/PHOTO_12897800_62922_30480585_ap.jpg
Mountain Man
December 19th, 2011
1:22 pm
“Pray tell me, which mass transit systems do you know of in this country, or in any other, that finance themselves solely through fares?”
I don’t know how much of their funding comes from fares, but I recently rode the Metro in Washington, DC and it was nice. Never needed a rental car. But a short distance ride was $2.50, longer would have been a lot more. It was money well spent.
Paul
December 19th, 2011
1:24 pm
Thanks, USMC.
First Saturday didn’t do office stuff in a long, long time. Just getting stuff done so leave Thursday to head to the folks for a family Christmas get-together. I do like this time of year. Hope it’s all going super for you, too.
Mountain Man
December 19th, 2011
1:24 pm
“The easiest solution is to deny the Atlanta metro area access to Lake Lanier water.”
The best thing would be for Atlanta to move their intakes to the river below the dam. Then the dam people would have no say so.
Jm
December 19th, 2011
1:25 pm
Mountain man
Dc metro gets lots and lots of fed $
COULDIT BE
December 19th, 2011
1:26 pm
It’s all Obama’s fault, and if not, George Bush”s!!!!!!!!!
TaxPayer
December 19th, 2011
1:26 pm
Metrorail Fares
Note: Effective Aug. 1, 2010, customers paying Metrorail fare using SmarTrip® receive a 25¢ discount.
Regular fare (In effect on weekdays from opening to 9:30 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. and weekends midnight to closing)
$1.95 minimum
$5.00 maximum
Note: A 20¢ fee is added to regular fares during the peak-of-the-peak period (weekdays 7:30-9 a.m. and 4:30-6 p.m), based on the starting time of the trip.
Reduced fare (All other times)
$1.60 minimum
$2.15 mid-range
$2.75 maximum
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 19th, 2011
1:27 pm
And to get to the shuttle you have to walk through Underground!
Oy vey….. I walk through Underground several times a month, without problem. But it sure must be tough to be Republican and to be scared of your own shadow and fear the entire world.
USMC
December 19th, 2011
1:27 pm
After growing in Atlanta and witnessing the Inepotitude of MARTA first hand, I am not sure WHAT the affirmative action leadership at MARTA is capable of.
I am not necessarily against the Liberal Utopian-idea of Massive transit reaching all corners of Georgia, but can we please import some Yankees
from New York City/Portland to at least run the system more competently ??? Seriously. 
stands for decibels
December 19th, 2011
1:27 pm
Mountain Man, FYI, from the Metro website:
Fares and advertising revenue do not pay for all of the costs of operating Metrorail, Metrobus, and MetroAccess service. The shortfall is covered by contributions from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Fairfax County, and Falls Church.
(And yeah, I love riding the DC Metro, on those occasions when I’ve managed it.)
St Simons - we're on Island time
December 19th, 2011
1:40 pm
Ok, this is out, so I can tell you – breaking in the “Commercial Appeal”
How has this week’s garden-variety self-loathing closeted hypocrite fundie fake-christian Republican politician managed to out himself? Ha ha, let’s meet “Mr. Conservative family-values” Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, Mississippi who went on a taxpayer-funded shopping spree to the tune of $170,000 in booze, fancy meals and a TRIP TO A GAY SEX TOY STORE, in Canada. The sexytime freebies lasted until a band of fun-hating auditors (not true, they like fun & were asked to audit him) noticed there were, uh, five HUNDRED pages of receipts for the mayor’s extracurricular activities and decided to have a peek at his credit card expenditures.
The auditor I may or may not know opened the meeting with,
“Greg, there’s this thing called ‘cash”……
Jm
December 19th, 2011
1:43 pm
Usmc 1:27
There is some truth in that. Despite some awards they’ve gotten, it’s clear they are generally run incompetently
USMC
December 19th, 2011
1:48 pm
just a macro thought…
If your intentions are to GROW the massive transit sector throughout the metro area, why not IMPROVE on what you already have first. Clean up MARTA’s racial gridlock and diversify the leadership. Also, streamline the finances and make it efficient. Most importantly beef up security. That is what attracts growth. MARTA has been a disaster and people throughout the metro area know it; hence their reluctance to allow growth in their prospective counties.
We should have a street car system, similar to that of Portland, running down PEACHTREE street from Brookhaven to Downtown, to start with.