An appalling lesson in ethics and the Ga. Legislature
In the last two hours of the very last day of the 2012 Georgia General Assembly, with scores of proposed bills flying back and forth between the House and Senate, a handful of powerful state legislators tried to take advantage of the confusion. The conspiracy they launched demonstrates just how contemptuous they have become of the people whom they were elected to serve.
The goal of their little plot was to further weaken Georgia’s already lax ethics laws. Had it succeeded, it would have prevented voters from learning the identities of elected officials who had failed to meet deadlines established in state law for filing ethics disclosure and campaign finance statements. It also would have allowed fines levied against legislators for violating those laws to simply disappear, without payment and without anyone even learning they had existed.
And believe or not, the means by which legislative leaders attempted to accomplish that deed was more sordid than the deed itself.
We begin with House Bill 875, a harmless little piece of legislation meant to ensure that the Department of Natural Resources did not have to release personal data of applicants for hunting and fishing licenses, such as Social Security numbers and drivers’ license photos.
However, in what now looks to have been a well-orchestrated scheme, this innocuous little bill was passed in slightly different versions in the House and Senate. That forced the appointment of a six-member conference committee — three from each chamber — to work out the differences.
In hindsight, the membership of that conference committee should have signaled trouble, because it was oddly high-powered for such a little bill.
In the Senate, it comprised Don Balfour of Snellville, the powerful chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and a prominent foe of ethics reform. John Bulloch of Ochlocknee and Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga, also members of the Rules Committee and influential legislators in their own right, were also appointed.
In the House, Ethics Committee Chairman Joe Wilkinson of Sandy Springs was named to the conference committee on HB 875, along with David Knight of Griffin and Tom McCall of Elberton.
Meeting in private in the last hours of the session, those six legislators agreed to dramatically revise HB 875 by adding the ethics-related language outlined above. They knew that such provisions would be highly controversial, but they were counting on the fact that in the last hectic hours of a session, members were much too busy to read the piles of legislation flying across their desks.
Under such circumstances, legislators casting votes are forced to rely on assurances from their colleagues that the bills coming before them are worthy of support. It is an act of faith and trust, and in this case, that faith and trust was betrayed.
After the conference committee concluded its work, Bulloch went to the Senate chamber, told his fellow senators that a deal had been worked out on little ol’ HB 875 and urged their support. It passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 46-4, but a look at the four “no” votes suggest that word of the bill’s true intent had already begun to leak out.
One of the four “no” votes was Josh McKoon, a freshman Republican from Columbus who had angered his party leadership by daring to sponsor ethics-reform legislation. Another was Democrat Jason Carter of Decatur, who earlier in the evening had tried and failed to force a floor vote on legislation imposing a $100 limit on gifts from lobbyists. The third was Democrat Gloria Butler, secretary of the Senate Ethics Committee; the fourth was Mike Crane, a freshman Republican from Newnan.
With time ticking down in the session, the bill now moved to the House, where it was introduced to legislators with no mention of its revised content. By then, however, AJC reporters and others had caught wind of the changes made to the bill. As House members began to vote, word was spreading. Alarmed legislators who had initially voted “yes” on the bill quickly began changing those votes to “no”, and in the end the bill was defeated by a vote of 25 to 143.
Wilkinson, the House Ethics Committee chairman, later tried to defend the rejected language, calling opposition to it “disgraceful.” As he saw it, the public has no right to know when legislators miss legal deadlines for filing ethics forms.
“Why should [a politician’s] name be up there if he didn’t do anything wrong?” he said.
That is wrong on so many levels. First, it is wrong as a matter of process. If the only way to enact your “good idea” is by smuggling it into unrelated legislation at the last minute, then maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t really such a good idea.
Second, let’s think about what really happened here. In the past, Wilkinson has defended Georgia’s ethics laws by stressing the importance of disclosure. If legislators and lobbyists disclose everything as required by law, he has argued, we don’t really need laws against gifts and conflicts of interest, etc. The voters will have all the information they need to discipline their elected officials.
In reality, however, some legislators are going years without filing required disclosure forms; they also aren’t paying the required fines, because the state ethics commission lacks the resources and gumption to take action. As a result, the only remaining incentive to encourage legislators to file disclosure by the legal deadline is public exposure if they do not.
Last week, Wilkinson and other tried to reduce public disclosure about legislators’ failure to publicly disclose, and they tried to do it without full disclosure. That is not open government.
That is, to borrow Wilkinson’s word, “disgraceful.”
– Jay Bookman
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682 comments Add your comment
Thulsa Doom with his boot on liberal throats
April 1st, 2012
7:00 pm
Jm,
The lottery is indeed a tax on the stupid. The 6 Georgians who took the payout will get I’m guessing 150k on the 250k they won after the payout and taxes. From there I’m betting that a minimum of 4 of the 6 will have spent the winnings within months.
Jm
April 1st, 2012
7:02 pm
“get over yourself”
I prefer to embrace myself.
Jm
April 1st, 2012
7:05 pm
Doom
What’s also funny about that line is it’s a tax on people of all income classes that “can’t do math”
I know 20 or so people who bought lottery tickets, and they weren’t poor.
josef
April 1st, 2012
7:06 pm
Thulsa
Well, not a bad return on a few dollars investment…
Jm
April 1st, 2012
7:07 pm
There’s a tax on people who can’t read either
It just manifests itself in lower lifetime earnings. Democrats prove this point constantly.
Jay
April 1st, 2012
7:08 pm
And Thulsa, an honest request:
Please drop your “boot on liberal throat” nonsense. That is not helpful.
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
7:08 pm
If you only buy a couple of lottery tickets as a form of entertainment/dreaming there’s nothing wrong with that. If you think you’re gonna win……….
Jm
April 1st, 2012
7:09 pm
“abortions are just expensive condoms”
That’ll get a few peeps
josef
April 1st, 2012
7:09 pm
I don’t play the big lotter…stick to the Lucky 7 scratch off (immediate gratification). I’ve kept track of what I’ve spent and what I’ve won (obsessive). I’m about 40 bucks ahead…
Jay
April 1st, 2012
7:11 pm
My wife’s office pool bought 15 MegaMillion tickets. Six numbers each ticket, of course, so on their 15 tickets — 15×6 — they got 90 different numbers.
Out of those 90 numbers, they got one that matched one of the six numbers drawn.
I told her it was the worst lottery ticket in history.
Thulsa Doom with his boot on liberal throats
April 1st, 2012
7:12 pm
Yes, Thulsa. “They did no serious investigation.”
In your distinguished opinion as an investigator do you know what does and does not constitute a “serious investigation?”. As I stated already the lead investigator recommended he be charged to the DA. Sounds like you should take this up more with the DA. It seems to me that if the lead investigator recommended this then he would have at least done some CYA to have investigated thoroughly enough in his mind to come to this conclusion. That only makes sense that if he is going to recommend prosecution that he did a good job of investigation in his mind.
“And Zimmerman has a long and documented record of repeated calls to 911 about “suspicious” characters whose only suspicion-causing trait seemed to be their race.”
I understand that he had made 46 previous calls. Has it been documented that in every one of these cases that the only trait was that the person under suspicion was black? If that is documented than your argument would have some merit. And even then it wouldn’t.
If I recall correctly this neighborhood was racially integrated being around 50% black, a lot of Hispanics, and some whites. It would seem reasonable that the profile of burglars in the neighborhood would be black or at least minority if indeed the neighborhood was majority minority. I doubt there are too many white burglars who go into majority minority neighborhoods to commit burglaries. A white burglar would tend to burglarize majority white neighborhoods where he doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb.
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
7:13 pm
Thulsa Doom with his boot on liberal throats
and his head up his………..
George Zimmerman lost job as party security guard for being too aggressive, ex-co-worker says
“Usually he was just a cool guy. He liked to drink and hang with the women like the rest of us,” he said. “But it was like Jekyll and Hyde. When the dude snapped, he snapped.”
The source said Zimmerman, who made between $50 and $100 a night, was let go in 2005.
“He had a temper and he became a liability,” the man said. “One time this woman was acting a little out of control. She was drunk. George lost his cool and totally overreacted,” he said. “It was weird, because he was such a cool guy, but he got all nuts. He picked her up and threw her. It was pure rage. She twisted her ankle. Everyone was flipping out.”
The year 2005 was a bad one for Zimmerman: he was arrested for fighting with a cop trying to arrest his friend for underage drinking, and he and his ex-fiancée took out protective orders against each other.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/george-zimmerman-lost-job-party-security-guard-aggressive-ex-co-worker-article-1.1053223
getalife
April 1st, 2012
7:13 pm
jm,
What about the deficit?
Does it matter?
Thulsa Doom headstomping liberals left and right
April 1st, 2012
7:15 pm
Please drop your “boot on liberal throat” nonsense. That is not helpful
Okay.
Jm
April 1st, 2012
7:15 pm
Liberals can do math: “I told her it was the worst lottery ticket in history.”
Statistically speaking, every ticket is the worst in history.
Just jerking your chain Jay.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
7:15 pm
Duly noted and I was just kidding with the last post.
Soothsayer
April 1st, 2012
7:16 pm
“Jobs will only come home if we change our tax code.”
Jobs will be coming home soon when the costs of shipping from China and other Asian nations eclipse the labor arbitrage benefits. That is, the cost of shipping is more than corporations save on labor.
Many people don’t realize that labor is a relatively small component in most manufactured goods. This is especially true in automobiles — the labor component in automobiles (even under the “lavish” wages and benefits the Right loves to ridicule) — is only 8 – 10%.
Jm
April 1st, 2012
7:16 pm
Wasn’t that boot on the throat thing an Obama line?
Getalife
What about it? We’re screwed.
Jm
April 1st, 2012
7:18 pm
Sooth
It’s not the labor costs
It’s the FX rates
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
7:19 pm
I used to go to Jai Alai in Florida. Just viewed it as a night of entertainment, never spent more than I would for a night at a club, etc. Win some, lose some but enjoyed it.
JamVet
April 1st, 2012
7:21 pm
I prefer to embrace myself.
Is that what the kids call it these days?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLBfwblps8
Jm
April 1st, 2012
7:21 pm
Wheels up. Out for a few hours
Enter your comments here
getalife
April 1st, 2012
7:22 pm
I just donate to the local tribe at the casino.
I helped build their new hotel.
They offer me free rooms.
Doggone/GA
April 1st, 2012
7:22 pm
“I told her it was the worst lottery ticket in history”
I got one that almost matches that. An office I used to work in bought $50 worth of scratch-offs for someone who was leaving. Not a SINGLE one won anything. Not one.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
7:25 pm
Don’t forget,
Looks like Z had some issues, particularly when drinking. But he wasn’t drinking that night. To me it all comes down to one thing. Who attacked whom. I certainly think Z was overzealous in his pursuit of the young man- no one argues otherwise. I am simply saying that if he indeed turned and walked away and then Trayvon attacked then that changes things immeasurably. It seems to me that nearly everyone has already convicted the man in the court of public opinion without hearing out all the facts and that is what disturbs me more than anything. It could very well be that T attacked him and that Z fearing for his life shot him in self defense. We do have that issue of the single eyewitness stating that T was on top of Z pounding his head into the concrete and Z pleading to the eyewitness “help, help”. No matter what comes of this case its sickening to me how many people flat out refuse to even acknowledge the one eye witness who saw this.
getalife
April 1st, 2012
7:28 pm
“But he wasn’t drinking that night.”
He was not tested so that is a lie.
911 told him not to follow.
That is where he made a huge mistake.
Soothsayer
April 1st, 2012
7:28 pm
Friends, next week is the Masters. The glorious celebration of Spring that to many Northerners is welcome news.
If you say Augusta almost anywhere in the World, you don’t have to say Georgia. The Masters and Augusta National is something that we, as Georgians, can be collectively proud of.
Even if you don’t give a shyte about golf, try to watch some of the tournament next week — beginning on Thursday.
I have every confidence that Augusta National will be presented in all it’s radiant glory as the grande dame it’s famous for.
Give it a watch. All the “biggies” will be there: a healthy Tiger, Phil Mickelson and a host of challengers. This promises to be the best Masters in years. Who will win?
josef
April 1st, 2012
7:28 pm
DOGGONE
But…were they Lucky 7’s…?
GETALIFE
You’re the Red Man’s White Friend!
Jay
April 1st, 2012
7:29 pm
Thank you Sir Doom
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
7:32 pm
But Thulsa you now have recording experts saying the cries for help on the 911 tapes weren’t Zimmerman.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/01/10963191-trayvon-martin-case-911-call-screams-not-george-zimmermans-2-experts-say
Youve also got the funeral director saying he saw no evidence of a fight, scrapes to knuckles, etc.
Zimmerman’s injuries appear to have been minor and there’s no documentation of a broken nose and a cut of the scalp that doesn’t require stitches or at least some steri-strips isn’t much of a cut. Leave it up to a jury but anything short of that isn’t enough IMO.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
7:34 pm
You are the blog sheriff imam. Its Bookman’s world and we’re all just playin in it.
Off the topic I hope anyone who knows anyone with diabetes, etc is watching the 60 minutes special on sugar right now. I’ve been thinking for a long time from all the reading I’ve done that sugar is definitely the enemy.
josef
April 1st, 2012
7:35 pm
SOOTh
Keep your eyes open for Matti and wiccan streaking by…
josef
April 1st, 2012
7:38 pm
Thulsa…
Depends…Type 1 or Type 2…
And you give al Shariff too much credit…it’s not his world, just his sandbox…
Soothsayer
April 1st, 2012
7:38 pm
“I’ve been thinking for a long time from all the reading I’ve done that sugar is definitely the enemy.”
I’m not a doctor, but everything I’ve read suggests, that Type II Diabetes (the most common form) is hereditary and is primarily brought on by a sedentary lifestyle and being overweight. NOT sugar consumption.
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
7:40 pm
Josef, are you very familiar with the Lakota Sioux? My best friend in college was a “cultural director” for the state in SD (rapid city) and got invited to join the tribe. He got a ceremonial (?) pipe from them and shared a little sage with me. Very cool experience for him.
Soothsayer
April 1st, 2012
7:41 pm
Every now and then you just got to have a little . . .
TaxPayer
April 1st, 2012
7:44 pm
How ’bout some sharp dressed men from the hood.
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
7:46 pm
Type 1 is an autoimmune disease that destroys the insulin secretting cells of the pancreas. It results in a LACK of insulin.
Type 2 is due to insulin resistance and is a combination of hereditary, lifestyle and dietary issue. Carbs are the dietary issue and sugar is definitely a carb but so is pasta, potato chips, etc.
Veronica Sharpe
April 1st, 2012
7:52 pm
This is some of the best April Fool’s reading I’ve done all day. I smell a subtext.
josef
April 1st, 2012
7:57 pm
There is a genetic component to both forms though Type 1 tends to be more so. Certain ethnic groups have higher incidences, the Choctaw being one. There are studies underway on that by Choctaw health services. Unmentionable is Type 1 and so are several relatives on his Choctaw side.
*****
Don’t Forget…
I don’t know an awful lot about the Sioux. My contact has been mostly with the Southeastern and Pacific Northwestern nations.
Soothsayer
April 1st, 2012
7:57 pm
“As Americans turn away quite leisurely, keeping tuned to internet shopping and American Idol, the foundations of democracy are being fatally corroded. Something has changed profoundly that weakens us unprecedentedly: our democratic traditions, independent judiciary and free press do their work today in a context in which we are “at war” in a “long war” – a war without end, on a battlefield described as the globe, in a context that gives the president – without US citizens realising it yet – the power over US citizens of freedom or long solitary incarceration, on his say-so alone.”
– Naomi Wolf, Fascist America in 10 Easy Steps
DebbieDoRight - Doing The Right Thing
April 1st, 2012
8:00 pm
Pogo: guess murder is OK with the black community as long the murderer is not of another race, right? Why aren’t Sharpton and Jesse marching in Chicago right now?
SoCoBro: Instead of acting like you really give a damn about the Black, with a capital B, community, why don’t you go educate yourself. Contrary to your limited operating brains, neither Jesse Jackson nor Al Sharpton speak for all Black Americans. Quit ranting about sh*t you don’t really care about, and concern yourself with whatever in the hell you really do care about.
If any of you supposedly concerned people were honestly concerned, you’d realize that there are numerous organizations in the Black community, targeting the Black community, and staffed by the Black community to address issues in that part of our society. Once you realize your corporate owned, sensationalism driven media don’t give a damn about the Black community too, you’ll realize that there are people trying to make a difference without the need for media attention and/or pats on the back from White America.
Thank you SoCoBro for handling that small bit of nonsense. Saved me from saying it.
Doom: <i. Did it ever occur to you that he had never seen this kid in the neighborhood before and that is why he was suspicious given the recent spat of burglaries in the neighborhood?
If that’s the only criteria for shooting someone and killing them Doom, then you’d better stay outta my neighborhood. You’ve been looking mighty suspicious lately AND there have been some break ins at a store 5 miles from me.
barking frog
April 1st, 2012
8:01 pm
strange about sugar and
diabetes, yet when the
duodenum is removed
diabetes is cured.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
8:02 pm
Don’t forget,
The cries for help on the 9/11 were from T probably after or right before he was shot by Z. What I suspect may have happened is that Z pulled the gun and T was crying for help right before or right after Z shot him- we don’t know. But in regards to the eyewitness he stated that Z looked at him and was pleading “help, help”. Those pleas for help were probably different from T’s pleas a half a minute or minute later when Z shot or was about to shoot him.
“Youve also got the funeral director saying he saw no evidence of a fight, scrapes to knuckles, etc.”
Irrelevant. I’ve never in my life seen my knuckles bruised and that’s after fights and 48 minute high school football games throwing my hands into the opposing lineman 40 plays a game. That means nothing. How many times have you actually seen a bruise on your knuckles? Mine have been sore after a fight or a football game but I don’t ever in my life remember them being bruised black and blue.
“Zimmerman’s injuries appear to have been minor and there’s no documentation of a broken nose and a cut of the scalp that doesn’t require stitches or at least some steri-strips isn’t much of a cut.”
Not true. On the police video a police detective clearly is seen looking at the cut on the back of his head. Secondly he was looked at by paramedics at the scene who would have cleaned up the blood. Thirdly if I remember correctly the police report describes Z being bloody and having a bloody face so obviously the paramedics would have cleaned that off.
“Leave it up to a jury but anything short of that isn’t enough IMO.”
I agree. My only point is my pure disgust with people who seem to have already convicted Z without even a slightest willingness to look at his side of the story. The righteous indigation of the lynch mob mentality that has already decided this case in their minds sickens me.
Soothsayer
April 1st, 2012
8:06 pm
Fascism is dangerous because its insidious, it is a natural degenerative process of a capitalistic society caused by the revolving door between government and the most powerful global corporations. Large multi-national corporations, through campaign finance and intense lobbying, come to dominant the legislative and political process.
“Fascism in America won’t come with jackboots, book burnings, mass rallies, and fevered harangues, nor will it come with black helicopters or tanks on the street. It won’t come like a storm but as a break in the weather, that sudden change of season you might feel when the wind shifts on an October evening: Everything is the same, but everything has changed. Something has gone, departed from the world, and a new reality will have taken its place.
All the old forms will still be there: legislatures, elections, campaigns plenty of bread and circuses. But consent of the governed will no longer apply; actual control of the state will have passed to a small and privileged group who rule for the benefit of their wealthy peers and corporate patrons.
To be sure, there will be factional conflicts among the elite, and a degree of debate will be permitted; but no one outside the privileged circle will be allowed to influence state policy. Dissidents will be marginalized usually by the people themselves. Deprived of historical knowledge by a thoroughly impoverished educational system designed to produce complacent consumers, left ignorant of current events by a corporate media devoted solely to profit, many will internalize the force-fed values of the ruling elite, and act accordingly. There will be little need for overt methods of control.
The rulers will act in secret, for reasons of national security, and the people will not be permitted to know what goes on in their name. Actions once unthinkable will be accepted as routine: government by executive fiat, state murder of enemies selected by the leader, undeclared wars, torture, mass detentions without charge, the looting of the national treasury, the creation of huge new security structures targeted at the populace. In time, this will be seen as normal, as the chill of autumn feels normal when summer is gone. It will all seem normal.”
– Chris Floyd, November 10, 2001 Moscow Times
When I read this I was wondering why he was speaking in the future tense. After looking at the date, now I understand why.
Everything he says has come to pass.
TaxPayer
April 1st, 2012
8:08 pm
Tell us what you think about all those OWS folks.
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:10 pm
It sickens me that cons ignore the 911 operator ordering him not to follow.
Of course, the knuckles swell after a fight.
As usual, doomy has no idea what he is talking about.
DebbieDoRight - Doing The Right Thing
April 1st, 2012
8:12 pm
Doom: It would seem reasonable that the profile of burglars in the neighborhood would be black or at least minority if indeed the neighborhood was majority minority. I doubt there are too many white burglars who go into majority minority neighborhoods to commit burglaries. A white burglar would tend to burglarize majority white neighborhoods where he doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb
Be careful doom, your slip is showing.
We do have that issue of the single eyewitness stating that T was on top of Z pounding his head into the concrete and Z pleading to the eyewitness “help, help”. No matter what comes of this case its sickening to me how many people flat out refuse to even acknowledge the one eye witness who saw this.
Now you’re being plain ridiculous. You have ONE witness for Zimmerman to TWO to Trayvon. Now imagine the sesame street song, “One of these things are not like the other” is playing in the background. Guess which is more Doom is it ONE or TWO? Duh!
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
8:13 pm
“You’ve been looking mighty suspicious lately AND there have been some break ins at a store 5 miles from me.”
Debbiedoright,
Yes. I’ve been told at differing times that I’m either scary looking, suspicious looking, or sometimes both at the same time.
BTW you mention that if looking suspicious is the only criterion but he didn’t shoot T based on just looking suspcious. He shot T because he was allegedly getting his ass whupped. The question me then becomes did Z turn and walk away from a possible altercation after initially trying to stop T and then get attacked by T as he alleges, or did Z out and out attack T, get his ass whupped, and then shoot T in the midst of his asswhupping. That to me is the central question. That and according to the tapes I would like to see what kind of a delay there is between T yelling or pleading and the actual gunshot if it can be heard.
In my mind its possible that if you took Z at his word that T attacked him after he had already backed off and went back to the truck then it becomes a question of was it really necessary to shoot T? Was T backing off or standing up when he was shot in a retreat mode or was he literally on top Z whupping on him when Z shot him in self defense. That is what it comes down to for me.
Doggone/GA
April 1st, 2012
8:18 pm
“Of course, the knuckles swell after a fight”
They do indeed. Back in the days of bare-knuckle boxing bouts the fights quite often went on for many rounds, because the fighters were being careful to protect their OWN hands.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
8:19 pm
Debbiedoright,
My slip is showing. Seriously? Why and how often do you hear about white burglars going into black neighborhoods to burglarize? What kinda sense does that make? If I’m a white burglar I’m going to burglarize white neighborhoods where I’m not going to stick out as much and where there are commonly more wealthier neighborhoods that are white anyway based on demographics.
2 eyewitnesses for T? I’ve heard of one that came forward just in the last few days that I find questionable coming forward so late in all of this. Who is the other eyewitness?
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:20 pm
It comes down to the 911 call doomy continues to ignore.
Following somebody at night is aggressive behavior especially after they told him not to follow him..
Don’t want none, don’t start none.
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
8:22 pm
Josef,
Here’s the numbers in case your interested.
Genetic susceptibility — The risk of type 1 diabetes is significantly increased in close relatives of a patient with type 1 diabetes [26]:
* No family history — 0.4 percent
* Offspring of an affected mother — 2 to 4 percent
* Offspring of an affected father — 5 to 8 percent
* Offspring with both parents affected — reported as high as 30 percent [27,28]
* Non-twin sibling of affected patient — 5 percent
* Dizygotic twin — 8 percent
* Monozygotic twin — 50 percent lifetime risk, 30 percent within 10 years of diagnosis of the first twin [29]
In the United States, there also are ethnic differences in incidence of type 1 diabetes. In a study that sampled several large multiethnic populations between 2002 and 2005, the highest incidence was seen in non-Hispanic white youth, followed by African American, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific Islanders and American Indians (22.6, 15.7, 13.8, 7.4, and 2.97 cases per 100,000 children 10-19 years old, respectively)
These observations of familial and ethnic risk factors are most likely the consequences of gene polymorphisms in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or other genetic susceptibility regions.
Type 2 on the other hand:
Evidence for a strong genetic component for type 2 disease is based upon observations that the risk of diabetes is significantly increased in close relatives of an affected patient.
* In several studies reviewed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), 40 to 80 percent of children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes had at least one affected parent [19]. In the previously mentioned review of 54 adolescents with type 2 diabetes, 65 percent had one first-degree relative with the condition, and 85 percent had at least one first- or second-degree relative [5]. In the baseline data from the TODAY Study (Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth), 60 percent of study participants had a positive family history of diabetes in a first degree relative while 89 percent had a positive family history of diabetes with the addition of grandparents [20].
* The offspring of a parent with type 2 diabetes has an estimated risk of 40 percent of developing diabetes. This risk increases to 60 percent if both parents are affected [21].
* In monozygotic twins with one affected twin, the other twin has a 90 percent chance of developing diabetes [22].
Sorry, but I don’t disagree with you very often and this is my turf.
DebbieDoRight - Doing The Right Thing
April 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
OK so now doom is not only a lawyer, who knows florida law better than most florida LAWYERS, he is also a medical examiner, a crime scene investigator AND a funeral director.
Doom your feet must be tired from all the running around from theory to theory you’ve been doing on the Trayvon case.
Tell you what Doom, if you’re completely wrong about Trayvon’s “fight” with Zimmerman (which caused Zimmerman’s punk azz to shoot an unarmed kid because he was getting his azz kicked); then you should donate your time to Atlanta BBBS — since you’re so concerned about the black crime and the black youth and all.
If you’re right, I will appoloize to you for my thinking that you are nothing more than a racial profiling wimp azz soft brained pea head. You have my word on that. Deal?
Soothsayer
April 1st, 2012
8:24 pm
The US federal government is looking for contractors to provide staff and supplies for “emergency camps” located around the country.
The recently passed National Authorization Defense Act has a provision which empowers the government to arrest Americans and hold them in these emergency camps – you should read that as detention camps – with no legal recourse.
Also under the new law the US military has the power to carry out domestic anti-terrorism operations on US soil. The NDAA authorizes the military to detain even US citizens without trial and no legal recourse.
NDAA section 102: “which purports to authorize the president of the United States to use the armed forces of the United States to detain American citizens who the president suspects are or have been substantial supports of al-Qaida, the Taliban, or associated forces, and to hold such citizens indefinitely.”
“The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist.”
– Winston Churchill
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
Thulsa, but they did find scrapes on Zimmerman’s nuckles but it’s possible that may have been due to dragging. Sorry, April fools joke.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
8:25 pm
Of course, the knuckles swell after a fight”
“They do indeed. Back in the days of bare-knuckle boxing bouts the fights quite often went on for many rounds, because the fighters were being careful to protect their OWN hands”
Yes. Of course. Z and T went round and round for 15 rounds. And here I thought it only lasted for half a minute or a minute or so.
barking frog
April 1st, 2012
8:26 pm
18 USC ss 1111 gives the
FBI authority to deal with George.
Doggone/GA
April 1st, 2012
8:28 pm
“Yes. Of course. Z and T went round and round for 15 rounds. And here I thought it only lasted for half a minute or a minute or so.”
Nothing like missing the point COMPLETELY. Congratulations.
Old Timer
April 1st, 2012
8:29 pm
Was T backing off or standing up when he was shot in a retreat mode or was he literally on top Z whupping on him when Z shot him in self defense. That is what it comes down to for me.
Powder burns on T would tell the story, but of course since the police never bothered to conduct an investigation, no one will ever know.
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:30 pm
doomy,
Why do you ignore the 911 tape?
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:34 pm
I hit a guy on the nose once, one punch, knocked him down and he got up with a bad nose bleed. Not a scratch or a bruise on my kuckles or hand. If you hit him with the flat of your fist like you should you won’t have any knuckle damage. If your knuckles hit hiim, you missed the sweet spot and didn’t get the full impact.
Recon 0311 2533
April 1st, 2012
8:35 pm
I see the blog is still stuck on stupid over the tragic death of young Travon Martin. The only thing we know is that Zimmerman was playing the role of neighborhood cop without a badge, and Martin wasn’t the innocent angel that the press originally made him out to be. The question under investigation is who was the aggressor and until that determination is made the blog speculation means nothing.
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:37 pm
Another con ignoring the 911 tape.
zimm is no angel too del.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
8:37 pm
Debbiedoright,
Sorry but in my entire life I’ve just never seen anyone with bruises on their knuckles. I’ve seen swelling in the knuckles from arthritis and that’s about it. I’ve seen bruises on forearms, upper arms, legs, and other places but never on the actual knuckles. And as an avid gambler who has looked at myriad numbers of football, basketball, and baseball injury reports I’ve never seen anyone miss a sporting contest due to bruised or broken knuckles or sore knuckles. Never seen it in my entire life.
Debbie what is Atlanta BBBS? While you’re at it why don’t you tell me that for every 100 black men that you know how many of them have spent their time volunteering on weekends to tutor black children from disadvantaged backgrounds like Z did? And be honest. How many black men that you know that do or have done this? I know 2 white guys that volunteered for big brothers. And who do white men get paired with? Mostly black kids. Why? Because there is a shortage of black men to do it. Don’t believe me? Call em up and see for yourself.
Say what you will about Z. And maybe he is truly guilty of murder though none of us really know. The fact is that in his volunteer work that man has done a crapload more good for black children then probably 90% of the black men out there. And I suspect that deep down in your heart you know this to be true. And that that is what really ticks you off.
josef
April 1st, 2012
8:38 pm
Don’t Forget
Thanks for the read. It was interesting to see the rate among American Indians. One of the preliminary “thesis” for the high incidence among the Choctaw is that they are heavily intermarried with Europeans and that the higher incidence comes in there. I’ll have to go digging around (if you don’t have it at hand) but I seem to recall that among the Southeastern Indians (more heavily intermarried) the incidence is higher
You say this is your turf, if I may ask, what do you do or are you diabetic yourself…?
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:38 pm
Oscar,
You did not break his nose.
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:40 pm
Under Florida law, if the defendant pleads self defense, the state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the deceased did not attack first. With no witnesses in this case to the start of the fight, looks to me like a pretty high bar for them to reach. Don’t see how they can.
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:41 pm
getalife
How do you know?
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:41 pm
Try knocking somebody’s teeth out and look at your hand.
It is broken silly.
barking frog
April 1st, 2012
8:41 pm
‘the blog speculation
means nothing’
true of everything
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:43 pm
“How do you know?”
I am a fighter.
You hit cartilage not bone.
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:43 pm
getalife
______
Never tried that. Always went for the nose or the eyes. Easier target for some reason. Good solid hits.
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:46 pm
Oscar,
I had my nose broken three times.
The worst part is snapping it back in place.
paulo 977
April 1st, 2012
8:47 pm
barking frog
March 31st, 2012
3:19 pm
josef,
The FBI is watching the FCC.
________________________________
Who is watching the FBI???
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
8:48 pm
“The question under investigation is who was the aggressor and until that determination is made the blog speculation means nothing”
Recon,
That is the single and only real point I’m trying to get liberals to just remotely consider. Who initiated the actual physical fight? The lynch mob crowd has made up their minds that there is no way in hell that Z could have turned his back and walked away and that Trayvon may have then become the aggressor and attacked him. They don’t want to hear facts or other ideas. In their minds they have already convicted Z.
Don't Forget
April 1st, 2012
8:48 pm
Josef, I don’t have a breakdown for different tribes, the info I got was from “Up to Date” which is probably the best source for current medical information especially treatment guidelines. I was surprised the incidence wasn’t higher for indians. My turf? I’m a physician, specialty is internal medicine so I’m OCD if I hear something that doesn’t sound right to me.
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:50 pm
I was playing one on one basketball with a friend once. He had the ball and came forward at the same time I want forward. His nose and the top of my right shoulder hit as I leaned forward. Popped his nose. He looked at me in shock and said you broke my nose. I drove him to the hospital and they fixed it up.
josef
April 1st, 2012
8:50 pm
PAULO
According to Frog…President Obama…
Don’t Forget
I had to do a second read to see where it was you were disagreeing…thanks for the correction/additional information…
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:51 pm
Don’t see why a guy with a gun would start a fight. Do see why an uinarmed guy would start a fight with someone if he did not know the other person was armed.
No witnesses. No way to tell. Ever.
barking frog
April 1st, 2012
8:51 pm
paulo977,
read farther. the
president.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
8:52 pm
Oscar @ 8:40,
That pretty much sums it up. Z may very well be guilty in fact of murdering T unnecessarily. But with no eyewitness to confirm it and saying what you did about Florida law the bar is very high to convict Z. That I suspect is why the AD looked at it and decided there simply wasn’t enough evidence to charge much less convict Z.
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:52 pm
Lower your head and bury your chin so they hit the top of your head.
When they grab their hand in pain, it is your turn to swing.
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:53 pm
I am part Cherokee. Why are you guys talking about Indian tribes.
TaxPayer
April 1st, 2012
8:54 pm
Last I heard, the fact still remains that there is a young boy dead from a bullet. Ain’t heard about no lynch mobs. I think those went out of style back when it became unpopular to take the law into one’s own hands and follow folks around against specific instructions not to do so. That sort of thing.
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:55 pm
getalife
_______
Thanks for the advice, but my fighting days are long since passed. I figured out ealy one could get hurt doing that and quit while I was ahead, or still in one piece, can’t say that I was ahead.
TaxPayer
April 1st, 2012
8:55 pm
Why are you guys talking about Indian tribes.
In the beginning…
getalife
April 1st, 2012
8:56 pm
“to take the law into one’s own hands and follow folks around against specific instructions not to do so.”
They ignore that fact and call it debate.
Oscar
April 1st, 2012
8:56 pm
TaxPayer
_____
There are so many ways this thing could have been avoided by smarter moves by both parties. Tragic.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
April 1st, 2012
8:56 pm
If the FBI cannot establish a federal nexis they in all probability would (and should) back out:
“Murder is not a federal crime, and therefore, a death suspected to be a murder would not ordinarily be investigated by any federal agent, absent some special jurisdiction to do so, however, there are many circumstances under which such jurisdiction would arise. The most obvious would be if the death/murder occurred on US government property. Deaths on military bases would generally be investigated by the respective military branch’s similar investigative branch (ie: NCIS in the Navy, etc.). The FBI could also take jurisdiction if the death involved a US Government official, theoretically right down to your USPS letter carrier. The FBI can also claim jurisdiction in an investigation if there is suspicion that there has been a violation of another federal law at the base of the crime, most usually the violation of the victim’s civil rights. Such is usually the case when the murder is suspected to be racially motivated, part of an organized crime syndicate’s activities (”RICO”), etc. Kidnapping across state lines is a federal crime, as is narcotic trafficking, trafficking in prostitution. Also, the FBI makes itself available to assist local and state authorities in murder investigations upon request when it’s superior investigative resources (laboratory analysis, DNA, etc) can be of vital assistance. Lastly, in a way that sometimes blurs jurisdictional distinctions, the FBI also have a tendency to get involved when the victim is from a prominent, politically connected family.”
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
8:57 pm
“Nothing like missing the point COMPLETELY. Congratulations”
Nothing like making a ridiculous and irrelevant point to begin with.
Recon 0311 2533
April 1st, 2012
8:59 pm
Zimmerman could walk just like O.J. Simpson walked but in one case you’re talking premeditated murder and in the other a case of potential stupid ignorance that led to the unfortunate death of a young man. I don’t recall an outcry for justice in the former nor at any other time involving cases of black on white murder. That bothers me a lot as it does others a lot. I’m frankly nauseated by the civil rights crowd stirring up racial resentment before the investigation is even completed.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
April 1st, 2012
8:59 pm
Headine: “Neighbor defends George Zimmerman”
“I saw George. He was banged up. His head had two big bandages, that weren’t flat, had a bump on them,” the neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said.
He described where the injuries were.
“I seen him have a big bandage on his nose and his nose swollen. On the side, where his eyes were at, it was swollen,” he said.”
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/neighbor-defends-george-zimmerman-03302012
P.S. There will also be an EMT report for submission to any prosecutor/grand jury, etc.
barking frog
April 1st, 2012
9:00 pm
Scout,
Google 18 USC ss 1111.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
April 1st, 2012
9:01 pm
“If it had been a white teenager who was shot, and a 28-year-old black guy who shot him, the black guy would have been arrested.
So assert those demanding the arrest of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
And they may be right.
Yet if Trayvon had been shot dead by a black neighborhood watch volunteer, Jesse Jackson would not have been in a pulpit in Sanford, Fla., howling that he had been “murdered and martyred.”
Maxine Waters would not be screaming “hate crime.”
Rep. Hank Johnson would not be raging that Trayvon had been “executed.” And ex-Black Panther Bobby Rush would not have been wearing a hoodie in the well of the House.
Which tells you what this whipped-up hysteria is all about.
It is not about finding the truth about what happened that night in Sanford when Zimmerman followed Trayvon in his SUV, and the two wound up in a fight, with Trayvon dead.
It is about the exacerbation of and the exploitation of racial conflict.
And it is about an irreconcilable conflict of visions about what the real America is in the year 2012.
Zimmerman “profiled” Trayvon, we are told. And perhaps he did.
But why? What did George Zimmerman, self-styled protector of his gated community, see that night from the wheel of his SUV?
He saw a male. And males are 90 percent of prison inmates. He saw a stranger over 6 feet tall. And he saw a black man or youth with a hood over his head.
Why would this raise Zimmerman’s antennae?
Perhaps because black males between 16 and 36, though only 2 to 3 percent of the population, are responsible for a third of all our crimes.
In some cities, 40 percent of all black males are in jail or prison, on probation or parole, or have criminal records. This is not a product of white racism but of prosecutions and convictions of criminal acts.
Had Zimmerman seen a black woman or older man in his neighborhood, he likely would never have tensed up or called in.
For all the abuse he has received, Geraldo Rivera had a point.
Whenever cable TV runs hidden-camera footage of a liquor or convenience store being held up and someone behind the counter being shot, the perp is often a black male wearing a hoodie.
Listening to the heated rhetoric coming from demonstrations around the country, from the Black Caucus and TV talkers — about how America is a terrifying place for young black males to grow up in because of the constant danger from white vigilantes — one wonders what country of the mind these people are living in.
The real America is a country where the black crime rate is seven times as high as the white rate. It is a country where white criminals choose black victims in 3 percent of their crimes, but black criminals choose white victims in 45 percent of their crimes.
Black journalists point to the racism manifest even in progressive cities, where cabs deliberately pass them by to pick up white folks down the block.
That this happens is undeniable. But, again, what is behind it?
As Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute has written, from January to June 2008 in New York City, 83 percent of all identified gun assailants were black and 15 percent were Hispanics.
Together, blacks and Hispanics accounted for 98 percent of gun assaults.
Translated: If a cabdriver is going to be mugged or murdered in New York City by a fare, 49 times out of 50 his assailant or killer will be black or Hispanic.
Fernando Mateo of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers has told his drivers, “Profile your passengers” for your own protection. “The God’s honest truth is that 99 percent of the people that are robbing, stealing, killing these guys are blacks and Hispanics.”
Fernando Mateo is himself black and Hispanic.
To much of America’s black leadership and its media auxiliaries, what happened in Sanford was, as Jesse put it, that an innocent kid was “shot down in cold blood by a vigilante.”
Yet, from police reports, witness statements, and the father and friends of Zimmerman, another picture emerges.
Zimmerman followed Trayvon, confronted him, and was punched in the nose, knocked flat on his back and jumped on, getting his head pounded, when he pulled his gun and fired. That Trayvon’s body was found face down, not face up, would tend to support this.
But, to Florida Congresswoman Federica Wilson, “this sweet young boy … was hunted down like a dog, shot on the street, and his killer is still at large.”
Some Sanford police believed Zimmerman; others did not.
But now that it is being investigated by a special prosecutor, the FBI, the Justice Department and a coming grand jury, what is the purpose of this venomous portrayal of George Zimmerman?
As yet convicted of no crime, he is being crucified in the arena of public opinion as a hate-crime monster and murderer.
Is this our idea of justice?
No. But if the purpose here is to turn this into a national black-white face-off, instead of a mutual search for truth and justice, it is succeeding marvelously well.”
Pat Buchanan
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
9:02 pm
“Ain’t heard about no lynch mobs. I think those went out of style back when it became unpopular to take the law into one’s own hands and follow folks around against specific instructions not to do so. That sort of thing.”
Yes. Of course. And apparently you didn’t hear about the 1 million dollar bounty placed on Z’s head. And apparently you didn’t know that after Spike Lee erroneously tweeted the address of Z’s parents that the people that lived there received an incredible amount of threats, intimidation, etc. And apparently you missed the fact that Zimmerman’s 70 year old parents have been hit with death threats, hate mail, etc. As if the freaking parents had anything to do with this.
Apparently you don’t know a lot of things. Why am I not surprised?
josef
April 1st, 2012
9:02 pm
Don’t Forget…
Unmentionable is not here for me to bounce off of on this. According to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Health Department study
“The age-adjusted prevalence of 163.2/1000 population was 6.5 times (95% CI 4.3-9.8) the U.S. rate. The prevalence of diabetes in the Choctaw Indians was significantly higher than the U.S. rates for all age-groups except for those < 15 yr of age."
getalife
April 1st, 2012
9:04 pm
Nice race cards del and scout.
It is your racism making you feel ill.
Pat Buchanan is your sign.
Recon 0311 2533
April 1st, 2012
9:07 pm
getalife, you’re the racist and an ignorant one at that.
Thulsa Doom
April 1st, 2012
9:07 pm
Scout,
Damn. That statement by Buchanan pretty much sums it up.