Drats! I feel like Charlie Brown... again... this morning, and the weatherperson is Lucy, and Lucy yanked the ball away as soon as I got close. I wanted to see snow this morning.....

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Online story: "WASHINGTON/CHICAGO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Former Chicago congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the famed civil rights leader, plans to plead guilty to charges filed on Friday accusing him of misusing $750,000 in campaign funds, his attorney said." -- Once again I'll get on my soapbox about campaign fund accounts: Limit donations only to people and PACs that the majority of members/donors that can actually vote in such an election involving the campaign donation recipient. Limit the donation period to within 12 (18 in presidential races) months prior to the certain election date. Following the general election (or primary if a candidate gets eliminated) make campaign funds undergo an audit to balance the books, and if any is left over in that fund, the remainder to turned over to the level of government for which the election was sought.

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Online quote service: "If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them." - Dalai Lama" -- Hmmm, this should be carved into the desks of every elected official at all levels.

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Online story: "President Obama's call to increase the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour was one of the more significant proposals he laid out in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. But $9 an hour is still a far cry from what workers really deserve, a 2012 study finds. * The minimum wage should have reached $21.72 an hour in 2012 if it kept up with increases in worker productivity, according to a March study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research." -- Well, if pot-US 00-bama is going to insist on "minimum wage", why not make it a 'maximum wage" for all hourly employees, and lets start with union members.... particularly those at Government Motors... then everyone could afford a car built by labor at 1/4th union labor costs.

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Online headline: "Rahm Emanuel Presidential Run? Rumors Over A 2016 Run Fly As Chicago Mayor Plays Down Interest" -- "plays down interest"? Of course he's interested.. who wants to live in a town with the murder rate Chicago has?

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So Warren Buffet and Brazilian interests are going to buy Heinz... that's sweet news for Sec of State John Kerry. Also sweet news for Brazil as Brazilian tomatoes will get a preference to Florida, 'Down Home Alabama', and California tomatoes. Wonder how tough the Brazilian borders are for migrant workers?

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Saw where CVCC was scheduled to play West Georgia at Golden Park this week. Asked Council what it cost to rent Golden Park for a game, and found out the cost is $500.00. Hmmm, there is no way we tax payers should be letting that place to be leased out for $500.00 for a single game date. The lights and labor costs on game date won't be covered, and the pre-game date preparation have to be built into the rent charges.

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Pet food manufacturers advertise try make healthy foods your dog/cat will actually eat. How come makers of people food can't/won't do for children's snack foods? How about a healthy "Twinkie" or vitamin packed "M&Ms"?

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L-E headline/story: "Homeless man found with IEDs pleads not guilty * A police search of Mullen’s vehicle in a church parking lot at 12th Avenue and 49th Street led to officers locating five improvised explosive devices and five weapons, in- cluding a .410 gauge sawed-off shotgun, two .22-caliber pistols, a Mac 10 automatic pistol, and a 5.56 assault-type rifle along with silencers and ammunition." -- "a MAC 10 automatic pistol"? Hey, that sounds like a banned type of weapon... of course, most MAC 10s are semi-automatic so I read the byline, and sure enough Hasn't Ben Wright wrote the story.

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L-E headline: "WAR IN AFGHANISTAN * As Afghan army gets cash, some worry about corruption" -- Hmmm, as Alfred E Newman might muse, "What, me worry?". Good grief, there is nothing to worry about; we KNOW there's already corruption!

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Those meteors.... do you wonder if God is firing a few warning shots across our bow?

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Just re-reading about the past tragedies of alcohol/drug related driving deaths involving teenagers saddens me, but what saddens me more is that lawyers are allowed to get up and plead "not guilty" for them. I do wish the guys would have to stand in front of the judge(s) and state that for themselves. As it is, no outcome is going to make up for people's losses, but lets at least give the guys an opportunity to learn about making bad choices.

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While looking up something else, found this tidbit: The Muscogee County School District tax mil (23.70) is the third highest in the state, topped only by DeKald (23.98) and Rockdale (24.5). On the other hand Rabun County operates on a 8.889 mil rate, and there are more counties with mil rates of 12 or under than over 20. Rabun (8.889) and Putnam (11.75) should be of interest to our School Board as far as the Superintendent search goes.

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Monday is "Presidents Day" honoring Presidents Washington and Lincoln. Banks, Federal Government offices/services, and the Stock Market will be closed. That's appropriate. After all, Presidents Day honors the honesty of George "I cannot tell a lie" Washington, and Honest Abe Lincoln.

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I understand, even support the Real Estate transaction feature for homes sold in the county/area, but why are addresses provided for building permits. Whether it's a complete home under construction or an addition/remodeling job. such insertion alerts theives to areas they can conveniently find unused construction materials lying around.