Archive for the ‘U.S. Army’ Category

In metro Atlanta, Robert Highsmith is known as one of the best fixers around.

If you’re a politician just arrested for DUI, perhaps in the company of a woman who is not your wife, this is the barrister who receives your one phone call.

Highsmith runs the Atlanta office of the Holland & Knight law firm. Connections? A steadfast Republican, Highsmith served as Gov. Sonny Perdue’s legal counsel. But he is not exclusive. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, a Democrat, is a former law partner and friend.

We all know that clout usually works on behalf those who already have it. But every now and then, people without such juice are offered a taste. This week, Highsmith announced that he and his law firm would attempt what could be the biggest fix of his career — for free.

Holland & Knight will represent the descendants of a group of black subsistence farmers and fishermen seeking the return of 2,600 coastal acres in McIntosh County taken away 70 years ago by the federal government. An act of …

Continue reading Finding a fix for a 70-year-old wrong on the Georgia coast »

When Congress finishes its August hiatus, look for U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Savannah, to take up an argument that will be achingly familiar to anyone who lived through the Vietnam years.

U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Savannah. Cox News.

He’s got legislation that would allow 18-year-old members of the U.S. military to purchase and consume wine and beer while on base.

The legislation was dropped last month, just as House members walked out the door.

From the Beaufort, S.C., Gazette:

Purchases of beer and wine at base exchanges and convenience stores still would be prohibited, according to the bill.

Kingston, whose congressional district includes Savannah, believes someone mature enough to fight for the country in a time of war is mature enough to have a beer, said his spokesman, Chris Crawford.

“If we’re asking someone to risk their lives in defense of this country and they’re responsible enough for that, we ought to have enough faith in them to have a beer,” Crawford said. “By …

Continue reading Old enough to fight, old enough to drink: Jack Kingston wants on-base imbibing-age lowered »

It’s time to wonder whether the following has become a substitute for the old Section 8 filing.

This from today’s Columbus Ledger-Enquirer:

An Army captain fighting deployment to Afghanistan has challenged the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency in a federal complaint filed this month, and has employed attorney Orly Taitz — a national figure in the “birther” movement — to represent her.

The complaint of Capt. Connie Rhodes, filed Friday in the Columbus division of U.S. District Court, is similar to the July 8 suit filed by Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, who sought conscientious objector status and a temporary injunction. Taitz represents both.

Judge Clay Land, who will hear Rhodes’ case, tossed out Cook’s case in July. Land said the judicial branch shouldn’t inject itself into “political disputes” and shouldn’t get involved in hypothetical debates that haven’t yet become actual legal disputes.

In the newest case:

“Plaintiff … submits and charges that the current de facto …

Continue reading Yet another Army officer disputes legitimacy of Obama presidency »