First draft of ethics plan both encouraging, worrisome
House Speaker David Ralston
If tightened and passed into law, the ethics-reform package announced this week by House Speaker David Ralston could restructure relationships between lobbyists and state legislators and in some ways alter the Gold Dome political culture for the better.
Its core proposal is a provision that bans, rather than caps, most gifts from lobbyists to legislators. In an interview Thursday, Ralston dismissed a competing proposal of a $100 gift cap, calling it a “gimmick” because it puts no limit on the number of such gifts that a lobbyist could offer or a legislator could accept. A ban is more easily understood by all parties — lobbyists, legislators and the general public — and more easily enforced as well.
However, while the bill bans gifts to individual legislators, it puts no limit on what lobbyists can spend on legislators in groups, such as a House committee or subcommittee. Among other problems, that loophole plays into the hands of the most deep-pocketed of special interests. Banking lobbyists, for example, could afford to take the entire House and Senate banking committees out for a night’s dinner and entertainment, while consumer groups could not. At the very least, the legislation should put a per-head limit on such expenditures.
The bill also does too little to address the common practice of showering influential legislators with all-expense-paid, multi-day trips to resorts under the guise of speaking to associations and groups. (To Ralston’s credit, it does ban payment of golf-course fees and similar expenses on such outings.) It’s part of a legislator’s job to speak before annual conventions of professional associations and trade groups, and it’s appropriate to have legitimate expenses covered. However, appearing on a breakfast panel doesn’t justify a three-day suite at a top-end resort, all meals and beverages covered. Limiting it to a one-night stay would solve the problem.
The package offers important reform in other ways as well. It would require legislators to quickly report all campaign donations received after January 1 and just before the annual legislative session opens. Ralston refers to that window as “a frenzy of fundraising activity,” when those seeking help from the incoming Legislature often make donations. Requiring quick reporting of such contributions at least makes that window transparent.
More important, the bill restores a degree of autonomy to the state ethics commission. Several years ago, as punishment for a ruling on the use of corporate jets, legislative leaders stripped the ethics panel of the authority to make its own rules, crippling its operation. That power would be restored under the speaker’s proposal.
Unfortunately, the biggest flaw in the Ralston proposal is a doozy and a potential deal-killer. For some unknown reason, the bill redefines “lobbyist” so broadly that a PTA president speaking to a local school board or a neighborhood association leader who testifies before a planning commission would first have to pay $300 to register as a lobbyist. The same would apply to anybody testifying before or sending information to a legislative committee.
That’s unacceptable and unnecessary, a message that legislators say they have received loud and clear. On Thursday, a House subcommittee promised to extensively revise that language by next week, and Ralston echoed that pledge in our interview. There’s simply too much good in this proposal to allow it to fail on such grounds.
– Jay Bookman
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443 comments Add your comment
TBone
February 1st, 2013
12:21 pm
I worked the Georgia legslative sessions in the 80’s and 90’s had to file disclosure documents and jump through all of the other hoops. This ethics stuff just goes on and on and at the end of the day doesn’t make a pinch of poodle poop in the snow bank. What is it exactly that the media wants to prevent our elected officials from interacting with their constituents?
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
12:22 pm
Keep up(because if I was the kids attorney I would tell him to say that it was nothing more then a dispute between 2 kids).
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
I certainly hope you would not counsel suborning perjury rather than pleading guilty.
keith
February 1st, 2013
12:22 pm
kay,
Self reflect and stop making racist comments.
so its racist to state the fact that blacks are killing blacks in Chicago. This is a liberal way to keep their heads up their arses just like kayaker posted. dont dispute the facts just scream racism. typical ignorant liberal BS!
Joe Hussein Mama
February 1st, 2013
12:22 pm
t. dog — “JHM-why don’t y’all get a room?”
I like talking to people who are polite, even if I don’t agree with what they have to say. So sue me.
stands for decibels
February 1st, 2013
12:24 pm
I would be red-carded if I were to reply appropriately to keith’s message @ 12.19.
So, this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkVo6hD1KCM
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
12:25 pm
JoeHusseinMama
All in all, IMO E. Cat’s a valuable member of our little crew of regulars. I wish we had more righties like him.
……………………………………………………………………………..
I will reserve judgment until he ‘comes out of the box’
Class of '98
February 1st, 2013
12:26 pm
To answer your question, Jay, I think if someone graduates with an advanced degree in engineering, math, medicine, etc,. we should staple a green card to their diploma.
I don’t care whether they are from India, Mexico, or Mars.
I don’t believe in the “tired, poor, huddled masses” garbage. That sentiment was written by a Frenchman and not ratified by our legislature. We don’t need more tired and poor people in this country.
But then again, I don’t claim to speak for all conservatives. Brooks, for some bizarre reason, insists he is a conservative and speaks for us when the vast majority of true conservatives disown him entirely.
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
12:27 pm
JoeHusseinMama
also you have already indicated you fondness for cats over dogs..
Armed guard disarmed teen in Atlanta school shooting, says police chief
February 1st, 2013
12:29 pm
The assault weapons ban is going nowhere!!!
getalife
February 1st, 2013
12:29 pm
keefer,
Whaaa.
It is not the first time kay posted racial crap.
Jay
February 1st, 2013
12:30 pm
“so its racist to state the fact that blacks are killing blacks in Chicago….”
Another way to put it is that people are killing people.
stands for decibels
February 1st, 2013
12:30 pm
Brooks, for some bizarre reason, insists he is a conservative and speaks for us
When did he claim to speak for y’all?
DannyX
February 1st, 2013
12:30 pm
Surely td and F. Sinkwich don’t think the results of that Pew Research poll is making the case that Americans don’t want sensible gun control. Are you?
January 23 Gallup
“Do you support background checks for all gun sales?”
YES…92%
NO…8%
“Should the government reinstate and STRENGTHEN the assault weapons ban that was in place from 1994 to 2004?”
YES…60%
NO…35%
Should the government limit the sale of ammunition magazines to those with 10 rounds or less?
YES…54%
NO…43%
In fact Americans agree with all of Obama’s proposals. http://www.gallup.com/poll/160085/americans-back-obama-proposals-address-gun-violence.aspx
stands for decibels
February 1st, 2013
12:31 pm
Another way to put it is that people are killing people.
that’d require one to regard such people as people. Mighty high bar for some.
Joe Hussein Mama
February 1st, 2013
12:31 pm
B. Frog — “JoeHusseinMama also you have already indicated you fondness for cats over dogs..”
I *prefer* cats, but I loves me some pets of most any sort. IMO, cats just cause less ruckus and damage than dogs can. And you don’t have to hold a cat’s leash in the rain while it looks for just the right place to piddle.
Jay
February 1st, 2013
12:31 pm
… but somehow, that just doesn’t get the same message across, now does it.
Doggone/GA
February 1st, 2013
12:32 pm
“Officially changing my “handle” to the dog since I may be mistaken for Erwin’s Cat”
Ummmmm…..
getalife
February 1st, 2013
12:33 pm
Or humans killing humans with guns.
Curious Observer
February 1st, 2013
12:33 pm
I don’t believe in the “tired, poor, huddled masses” garbage. That sentiment was written by a Frenchman and not ratified by our legislature. We don’t need more tired and poor people in this country.
FYI, the phrase was coined by Emma Lazarus, the author of the sonnet that appears at the base of the Statue of Liberty. It is this sonnet that contains the phrase you scorn. She was a New York City native and resident.
JohnnyReb
February 1st, 2013
12:34 pm
Jay
February 1st, 2013
12:30 pm
“so its racist to state the fact that blacks are killing blacks in Chicago….”
Another way to put it is that people are killing people.
______________________________________________
Please, just please. Don’t you think its ridiculous to not recognize the problem is blacks. It’s not whites killing blacks or Asians. It’s black on black.
There is a larger problem with violence in blacks just as there is a larger problem with unwed mothers in blacks.
Trying to make it politically correct is a coverup.
Jay
February 1st, 2013
12:35 pm
When did Brooks insist that he speaks for you, Class?
Hope and Change! Forward! NOT!!
February 1st, 2013
12:36 pm
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released jobs numbers for January Friday showing that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent.
Lost in these headline numbers was another rise in the number of people not in the labor force.
This number now stands at a staggering 89 million, up from 80.5 million when President Obama took office.
This means that there are currently 8.5 million more Americans not in the labor force than just four years ago.
Forget all the other numbers.
This continued explosion of people not in the labor force should be tremendously concerning as it represents an obstacle for the government to ever balance the budget without drastically raising taxes on those still working.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2013/02/01/85-million-americans-left-labor-force-obamas-first-term#ixzz2JfbAwRUy
Class of '98
February 1st, 2013
12:36 pm
“When did he claim to speak for y’all?”
It’s an implicit claim when he allows himself to be the “conservative” voice in debates and on shows like Meet the Press, etc. Liberals like Jay make the claim for him whenever they echo his liberal viewpoint as some sort of enlightened, new-age conservatism. Jay clearly thinks Brooks is a conservative voice, that’s why he references him so much. I don’t recall Bookman quoting Maureen Dowd or Charles Blow at all. Ever.
I have nothing against David Brooks, and he is entitled to his moderate opinion. I think he is a smart man, quite frankly.
But he is not a conservative.
Common Sense isn't very Common
February 1st, 2013
12:37 pm
Jay
12:31
Very true
I see it took you all night to find any legislator ethics though, or were you drinking to drown out the noise LOL
Christian Conservative
February 1st, 2013
12:39 pm
Unemployment going up. GDP upside down… And bookman’s worried about ethics… Talk to Bob Menendez about that….
Class of '98
February 1st, 2013
12:39 pm
” It is this sonnet that contains the phrase you scorn. She was a New York City native and resident.”
Fantastic. I don’t care if Abe Lincoln wrote it, it has nothing to do with our laws.
Erwin's cat
February 1st, 2013
12:40 pm
Man a cat breaks for lunch and everyone starts talking about him
Thanks to my defenders: thank you…and my detractors:…it’s nice to noticed, I appreciate the name calling (cat) and Keep up the passive aggressive fight
DannyX
February 1st, 2013
12:40 pm
“But he is not a conservative.”
Ronald Reagan would no longer be considered conservative.
This conservative trend is not healthy for the Republican party.
(Reagan lived in Chicago at one time!)
people are killing people (warm and fuzzy)
February 1st, 2013
12:41 pm
Guns are causing the deaths of thousands and thousands of children each year. In 2008 and 2009, gun homicide was the leading cause of death among black teens.
Young black males die from gun violence at a rate 2.5 times higher than Latino males, and eight times higher than white males. Gun injuries are suffered by black teens at a rate ten times higher than white teens.
http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2012/03/report-gun-homicide-is-the-leading-cause-of-death-among-black-teens/
stands for decibels
February 1st, 2013
12:41 pm
When did Brooks insist that he speaks for you, Class?
’round the same time a Frenchie scribbled that doggerel about “homeless, tempest-tossed” moochers.<
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
12:42 pm
JoeHusseinMama
I *prefer* cats, but I loves me some pets of most any sort.
………………………………………………………………………..
I have almost always lived on a farm and we had yard dogs
and barn cats but one tiny white ball of fur clawed his way
into the house and stayed for about ten years. he was not
too smart as the only trick he learned was to run to the
microwave and sit up when he heard the ding as that was
where he got his warm milk. he would climb on top of the
porch and not remember how to climb down so I had to
climb up and get him. he would yowl to go out to piddle
but would take his own time doing it. still miss him.
Common Sense isn't very Common
February 1st, 2013
12:42 pm
EC
I was waiting for you to get back before I poked that dead cat with a stick again j/k
DannyX
February 1st, 2013
12:42 pm
“Unemployment going up. GDP upside down…”
What is your expert analysis on both, Christian Conservative?
Granny Godzilla
February 1st, 2013
12:44 pm
I think Brooks is a conservative.
It’s the Tea Party folks that are “RINO”s.
Until the GOP get that particular boil off it’s bottom they will not win the big ones.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
February 1st, 2013
12:45 pm
td, the link again but rally, you’re silly claim that because you think that there was some confusion over what type of gun may have been used initially, we’ll never know the truth. In fact, we do have complete factual information but I sure in your Benghazi mentality, we don’t know. Of course, you create a myth of a claim about the actions of a resource officer successfully stopping a “mass murder” and then claim we’ll never know the real intent of the assailant (well other than the intent that you claim was stopped). But I am sure you are receiving the reports of the investigators directly so you must have great factual information that you just are not sharing.
http://news.msn.com/us/14-year-old-boy-shot-at-atlanta-middle-school
Jay
February 1st, 2013
12:45 pm
OK, JohnnyReb, explain why you think that is pertinent. Does the fact that many of those involved are black change what policies ought to be pursued? Is there some specific solution that ought to be undertaken there that depends on the race of those involved?
It would also be interesting to hear your dissertation on gang problems in Gwinnett or Cobb, which tend to be more Hispanic or Asian. Or the largely white meth-driven violence in rural areas of the country. What race-specific policies should be followed in those areas?
You know, since race is so important in considering such matters…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
February 1st, 2013
12:48 pm
Well I see RB has joined in on the “Its a particular race problem”. Now tell me again what info you have on the killers at Newtown and Columbine to indicate that its a “black” problem? Ancestry.com?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
February 1st, 2013
12:49 pm
My apologies. I typed RB and should have identified the poster as JohnnyReb
Thomas Heyward Jr
February 1st, 2013
12:51 pm
Buck up Working Folks…………..
.
No matter how bad things are gonna get in the future,
at least you’re not Obama apologists.
.
For basic decency’s sake…………..That’s gotta hurt.
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
12:53 pm
Gun violence, like crime is a “local issue.”
Blacks kill blacks, whites kill whites.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/whos-killing-whom-and-with-what/
TBS
February 1st, 2013
12:54 pm
Thomas
How is Alex Jones holding up? You know with those Bloomberg hit men that are probably looking for him.
stands for decibels
February 1st, 2013
12:54 pm
There is a larger problem with violence in blacks just as there is a larger problem with unwed mothers in blacks.
“Clearly Those People need more gun choice, less reproductive choice.”
–GOP Congressional Sensitivity Trainee
Cosby
February 1st, 2013
12:54 pm
Hmm…for all its faults, it does start a process for Ethics reform which has been totally ignored in the past. At lease David had guts enough to try to do something…but wonder if the DC crowd, including The White House – would have the same courage…naa…they are to busy living the good life as they take control of the citizens lives…watch out for the food police!!!
getalife
February 1st, 2013
12:54 pm
You will see a large decline of murders after they ended prohibition.
They were using machine guns back then in Chicago.
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
12:56 pm
Mass killings seem to be a white problem and gang killings seem
to be a brown problem and should not be lumped together to
find solutions. gang killings seem to be money/drug problems
and mass killings seem to be mental problems. none seem to
be racist problems other than the common identifiers by color.
St Simons - he-ne-ha
February 1st, 2013
12:57 pm
as to the article,
dang, that means bidness is gonna suffer down heah at the Cloister
Erwin's cat
February 1st, 2013
12:57 pm
JHM – I don’t even know what religious persuasion he is (although I suspect I know).
FWIW I have found over the years that religious affiliation is as useless as party affiliation or versa visa. I have my leanings like anyone, but like you…prefer to at least try and think for myself.
kayaker 71
February 1st, 2013
12:58 pm
So, it’s people killing people. And that’s as far as it goes. So, those that chose to speak the truth about certain ethnic groups are scorned, vilified, demonized just for stating the truth. Political correctness refuses us the opportunity to face reality and call things what they are. It’s easier to kill the messenger with stupid comments that reflect the intelligence of those that make them than to face up to how things really are. No wonder I don’t have any more liberal friends.
Refute any of the following statements:
Violence, crime rates, homicides and murders are much higher in a black dominated community.
The most common cause of death in a black male between 18 and 35 is violent homicide.
49% of our prison population in male prisons is black although they only make up 6% of the population at large.
Black on black violence, even in cities no larger than Macon, cost the taxpayers billions of dollars/year and take away some of the best and brightest of young men who otherwise might have become productive citizens.
The murder rate in Chicago was 512 last year, mostly on the South and West sides. The murder rate in 2013 has already surpassed what it was at the same time last year and is pegged to hit 700 in 2013.
Yet, we ignore all of this in lieu of political correctness. We cannot criticize anyone in a minority population for fear of statements like, “You might want to have the holes cut a little bigger”. Yeah, Bookman, that ought to solve a lot of problems.
Aquagirl
February 1st, 2013
1:01 pm
No wonder I don’t have any more liberal friends.
Darn libs, they’re so critical and judgmental about racist rants.
Cool
February 1st, 2013
1:03 pm
Kayaker
You wanting or just whining?
What exactly are you doing to improve the situations that you whine about?
bman.
February 1st, 2013
1:03 pm
ahhh…race relations are alive & well, I see.
getalife
February 1st, 2013
1:04 pm
“that ought to solve a lot of problems.”
Solve problems?
Your very existence on this planet is saying no to solving problems.
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
1:06 pm
bman
ahhh…race relations are alive & well, I see.
……………………………………………………………..
race relations are something I have participated in and found
to be…well..excellent.
Joe Hussein Mama
February 1st, 2013
1:07 pm
C ‘98 — “I have nothing against David Brooks, and he is entitled to his moderate opinion. I think he is a smart man, quite frankly. But he is not a conservative.”
I think that people who say ‘that person’s not a conservative’ generally aren’t in any position to make claims like that.
Same goes for people who say things like ‘that person’s not a christian.’
FWIW, I generally take people at their word on things like that. And if you think that they’re not what they claim to be, then tell me — who, exactly, are *you* to make that claim?
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:07 pm
A correlation that many refuse to acknowledge is the rate of poverty in this country and the growing financial inequality.
http://books.google.com/books?id=sQ80G_nQxqAC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=the+percentage+of+black+kids+in+youth+detention+in+ga&source=bl&ots=Iqk0WUKhqP&sig=yH13mgmQBih_rdqtcRlQ9z6pza4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QAMMUYXvCoq89gSj64HADQ&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=the%20percentage%20of%20black%20kids%20in%20youth%20detention%20in%20ga&f=false
JohnnyReb
February 1st, 2013
1:07 pm
OK, Jay, but it will be a short version.
First, while there is violence in Gwinnett, Cobb and white race driven meth violence in rural areas, it is well below the level of what is happening in Chicago. The violence in Chicago is black race on black race. It runs parallel to black violence in other urban areas.
While the number of predominantly white people years ago in Atlanta was low compared to the numbert of blacks in Atlanta now, there was hardly any violence then that compares to what is on the news everynight where it is a black person.
There is no race-specifc policy needed. There have been too many race specific policies now. What is needed is for black leaders to stop blamming everyone else for the problems in their race and do something about it.
I could go on and on with such references as the number of black men who go to jail, the number of black women giving birth outside of wedlock, etc. etc. But there is no need, everyone knows it even if they won’t admit it.
It’s been over 40 years since LBJ’s great society started. Billions have been poured into programs aimed at improving life for blacks. Their current challenges are not disrimination. It’s not lack of most everyone wanting the best for blacks. No, there is a morality and character problem among blacks and the government, money, me or you can’t fix it. They have to fix it themselves.
Let me close by saying the above is a broad brush. Some of the best people I have known in my life are black.
bman.
February 1st, 2013
1:09 pm
“race relations are something I have participated in and found
to be…well..excellent.”
I’m currently researching women-only Asian gangs in the Duluth area. It’s better than excellent
alex
February 1st, 2013
1:10 pm
@ kay, Take Jay’s last answer removing all specifics and you have more “noise”, could use impoverished (if true) or some other descriptor to try to explain the issue,.. those that refuse to ,cannot examine the problem and therefore cannot achieve an answer to the killing. There may be no cause and effect between race and killing, it may be an indirect association, but it has to beaddressed to determine what the relationship is, if any…
Mr Right, the FOXBOT
February 1st, 2013
1:10 pm
8.5 Million Americans Left Labor Force In Obama’s First Term— And it’s not Obama’s fault, really?
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
1:10 pm
Jackie
A correlation that many refuse to acknowledge is the rate of poverty in this country and the growing financial inequality.
……………………………………………………………………..
wish I had said that…
kayaker 71
February 1st, 2013
1:11 pm
But none of you liberals can refute the above statements. Just call the person with the message a lot of cutsie, liberal names. We have a problem in this country that most liberals chose to ignore, especially those on this blog and the blog’s esteemed leader. This problem is bigger than the budget, unemployment, most foreign relations yet, it is not talked about, discussed or debated without someone being demonized. Americans are dying at an alarming rate every year….. 512 in Chicago alone and it takes the murder of 20 white kids to start a dialogue. What happened to the concern about all of the rest?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
February 1st, 2013
1:11 pm
49% of our prison population in male prisons is black although they only make up 6% of the population at large.
Certainly that maybe indicative of a race issue. There are any number of studies that will show that blacks are more likely to be targeted for enforcement than other groups. That the punishment for certain crimes may be jail terms that are applied more likely to blacks, than say white collar crimes which may just result in a fine. And recent studies have even suggested lead may be a part of the problem In other words, in your simple world, the knee jerk from the hood is to claim it is evidence of a problem with a race because its easy and makes your “political correctness” claim correct in your eyes. That of course educated and intelligent people look for the real roots of the problems and the causing effects is something that you don’t want to do in your world. Poverty, education, opportunity, impact of years and years of racial hatred are just not something you want to deal with in your simple world, K71. That’s the reality.
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:12 pm
@JohnnyReb
You state in your previous post that “morality” is the reason for blacks not doing as well “as they should.”
My question to you; when is the last time you took morality to the grocery store?
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
1:13 pm
bman
I’m currently researching women-only Asian gangs in the Duluth area. It’s better than excellent
……………………………………………………………………………………………
be careful their bodies are weapons of mass distraction…
getalife
February 1st, 2013
1:16 pm
“What happened to the concern about all of the rest?”
What if the only solution is something that is unconstitutional like banning guns?
That Black Guy
February 1st, 2013
1:16 pm
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am…
February 1st, 2013
10:18 am
Jay
February 1st, 2013
9:59 am
Why on earth do gun lovers want to get into the semantics of the definition of an assault gun….anything that can kill a slew of humans in seconds, regardless of what it is called, needs banning…
__________________________________________
SR, 3 questions…
How many is a “slew”?
How many “seconds”?
Would your ban include:
cars
trucks
planes
buses
trains
boats
gasoline
deisel fuel
gravity
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:16 pm
@Keep
One only has to look at the current drug law structure.
Why is it that 64% of the blacks in jail for drugs are there for marijuana USE?
Blacks are jailed for having 3 grams of crack when someone has to have 3.3 kilos of cocaine to be deemed a drug dealer.
JohnnyReb
February 1st, 2013
1:18 pm
Jackie – I don’t see “as well as they should” anywhere in my paragraph. That’s your words, not mine. Plus, the morality reference has to do with out of marriage births, violence in rap music, etc. It has nothing to do with the grocery store.
getalife
February 1st, 2013
1:19 pm
Or ending the drug war and legalizing drugs.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
February 1st, 2013
1:21 pm
Jackie, I agree. The war on drugs has a distorted and disparate impact. Its a very complicated issue that is easy that makes it easy for some to point to false correlations and claim that “its their fault”. A lot of it lies with the entire GOp 47% mentality of blame.
Joe Hussein Mama
February 1st, 2013
1:22 pm
J. Reb — “Plus, the morality reference has to do with out of marriage births, violence in rap music, etc.”
I’m sure you know that listening to rap music is not a racially-based activity. One can be of *any* race and listen to *any* music.
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:24 pm
@JohnnyReb
“As well as they should” is the inference your statements are making.
As for the out of wedlock births, have you ever thought that the problem with the incarceration of young black men; the labeling of the young black boys in school and sending them off to juvenile detention centers in GA has a profound impact on the number of men that are available for marriage.
Who wants to marry someone who has no education and has a criminal record. There is a minimal future for everyone in that scenario.
JohnnyReb
February 1st, 2013
1:25 pm
Joe Mama – of course I know every race listens to rap. And, not all rap has embedded violence, but you can’t deny the ties between rap, black artists, and the connected violence. Not to mention how offensive it is to the female race.
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:26 pm
@JohnnyReb
The largest single buyers of rap music is young white kids in the suburbs.
Remember, black kids have an unemployment rate of roughly 50%.
http://www.hiphoparea.com/rap/is-hip-hops-audience-really-80-white.html
alex
February 1st, 2013
1:26 pm
Jackie, I read some of the book, some empiric reasoning, but i suspect most serious observers of the problem would agree that poverty is a contributing variable to this issue. Financial inequaliy may be a tougher sell,but there is little doubt , for me, if I grew up in the Carver projects in Atlanta, I would not be where I am today and would very posssibly be dead.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
February 1st, 2013
1:28 pm
Rap music? I agree. Its the fault of eminen and vanilla Ice.
Maybe the Beastie Boys too.
Oh wait…wasn’t that Elvis guy the fault that civilization was falling apart? Or was it those long haired boys from Liverpool?
Joe Hussein Mama
February 1st, 2013
1:28 pm
J. Reb — “Joe Mama – of course I know every race listens to rap.”
But you’re only asserting a corrosive effect from it on *black* Americans. Why? If it is as negative a force as you appear to suggest, why then does it not affect other races of Americans who also listen to it?
“And, not all rap has embedded violence, but you can’t deny the ties between rap, black artists, and the connected violence.”
To what *specific* ties do you refer? I’m not going to give you some kind of blanket assent, only to find out later that you’re dreaming up all sorts of unsubstantiated nuttery.
“Not to mention how offensive it is to the female race.”
Female “race?”
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:28 pm
@JohnnyRev
Statement should have read “…buyers of rap music are …”
JohnnyReb
February 1st, 2013
1:28 pm
Jackie – character has to do with how you play the hand your dealt. Plus, having an out of wedloock birth sure is not going to make things easier.
Simple Truths
February 1st, 2013
1:31 pm
Jay, please write a post about drugs, or guns, or the economy, or heck, abortion. The comments have drifted far from the ethics reform blog post. A new post might help some posters stay on track.
getalife
February 1st, 2013
1:32 pm
reb does not get his Mtv and 16 and pregnant.
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
1:35 pm
Simple truths
Jay, please write a post about drugs, or guns, or the economy, or heck, abortion. The comments have drifted far from the ethics reform blog post. A new post might help some posters stay on track.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
probably all these comments could be related to the ethics of the
legislature if they reflect the society that elects them…
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:35 pm
@alex
We are all products of our environments.
Growing up in the projects or in the suburbs is a matter of luck.
A very simple survey for anyone to think that folks that grew up in dire poverty can not be productive members of society only has to look at, for example, the black astronauts that flew on the Shuttle.
If I am correct, all the blacks that flew are from South Carolina with Ron McNair being from Williamsburg County, the poorest county in the USA. If you have never been there, you may want to go just to see how people in this country are doing just as poorly as some of the commercials you see about the children living in poverty in the rest of the world.
southpaw
February 1st, 2013
1:37 pm
Simple Truths @1:31
Not for long.
That Black Guy
February 1st, 2013
1:38 pm
Jay
February 1st, 2013
10:49 am
Morality, you left out “stranger accidentally pulling into my driveway”.
_____________________________________________
Jay, be careful. Using “the cat”’s logic and reasoning, you are “applauding” the shooting.
Mama Says
February 1st, 2013
1:39 pm
Bottom line, the legislature is a part time job, what part timer do you know that gets expense accounts and company paid resort trips.
They should get nothing and for that matter they should do nothing but legislate. At the very least the lobbyist should have to make the effort to come to dome when they want a handout and not sit in the lap of luxury while they bribe our reps.
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
1:39 pm
Ethics in the legislature is mostly a white male problem that
can at least be partially solved by electing brown females.
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:40 pm
@JohnnyReb
So, you believe that a young person who has the human need to make themselves a part of their own family structure; who does not have the means to purchase birth control products and/or may be denied those products because the government has has not funded the programs to make those tools available is not thinking? On that point, yes, they are reacting.
Other than that, a disagree with your premise, mightily.
Jm
February 1st, 2013
1:40 pm
I’m anti killing
Unless its a terrorist of course
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:44 pm
@barking
Ethics in government will not be solved until we elect our representatives who work to represent what is best for the public, not their reelection campaign.
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
1:44 pm
Mama says
They should get nothing and for that matter they should do nothing but legislate.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Hopefully we will be delivered from that scenario. I would prefer they
be given extended vacations until better men are installed.
keith
February 1st, 2013
1:45 pm
Jay, ignoring the FACT that the majority of those dying and those killing them are black is a great example of liberals cramming their heads deeply up into your rectal area. If you cannot bring yourself to face the reality of the situation then how can anyone trust your judgement on anything?
alex
February 1st, 2013
1:45 pm
Yes, yes Jackie, there is no absolute contraindications of being destitute and being successful, white or black….You and most of the bloggers here are speaking of majority numbers, yes, yes.
@barking frog, Go see the doc that “bark” may well be whooping cough) and you’re becoming encephlopathic…….Many female and male lobbyists are “brown”, natural and tanned on the golf courses…….FORE……..
Simple Truths
February 1st, 2013
1:46 pm
barking @1:35
I doubt Chicago elected the state legislature of Georgia. I’ll have to check my old atlas…
Sigh… I just wish everything didn’t degenerate into talking points shouting match.
alex
February 1st, 2013
1:50 pm
Keith there is no ? of what you say the ? is of cause and effect, you seem to imply that being black makes you more likely to murder, a cause and effect..Many on this blog explain that because you are black you are more likely to be discriminated against and thus more poverty, more incarceration..that seems rational , does it not?
Jackie
February 1st, 2013
1:51 pm
@keith
Maybe you did not have a chance to read other information concerning violence in the USA. Hopes this helps.
http://newamericamedia.org/2012/04/dont-white-people-kill-each-other-too.php
keith
February 1st, 2013
1:51 pm
Ethis reform is necessary. Especially when you have a sitting Democratic Senator from NJ flying around the world on a friends jets, who owes the IRS 11 million dollars, to have sex with underaged prostitutes. I recall another Democrat, the Governor of NJ, running around with mail prostitutes. A Democratic Congressman showing his Weiner to anyone wanting to see it over the internet. It goes on and on. Have we seen zeros college transcripts yet? But you wanted Romneys records on everything. Selective ethics there Jay?????
keith
February 1st, 2013
1:52 pm
BTW I do know the correct word is M-A-L-E.
barking frog
February 1st, 2013
1:53 pm
alex
@barking frog, Go see the doc that “bark” may well be whooping cough) and you’re becoming encephlopathic…….Many female and male lobbyists are “brown”, natural and tanned on the golf courses…….FORE……..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
encephalopathy must be contagious as I did not address lobbyists
but the legislature that is elected, try harder to keep up…..
RB from Gwinnett
February 1st, 2013
1:54 pm
indigo
February 1st, 2013
12:19 pm
I notice you didn’t bother to tell us how this background check was going to prevent any of the tragedies that have created all this drama. Would you care to connect those dots or would you prefer to continue to spout senseless drivel?