GentleSpirit
Joined: 07/02/2008
Posts: 14

Recent Comments by GentleSpirit
What makes me mad in Walker County is...
10/14/2008 08:27:25 PM
I went to the forum for about 30 mintues tonight. It was so hot that I couldn't stand to be in there. Walker County Chamber did a great job with their forum this year.
What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
10/08/2008 08:29:45 PM
Tom Weldon will be the next State Rep. for the 3rd District. You do not have to be an eloquent speaker to be a great leader.
What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
08/02/2008 10:59:55 PM
Here is something that you all need to realize. Keith Greene is going to win the election on Tuesday. Cherise Miller's letter is like a leaf blowing in the wind. It doesn't mean a thing. What she says is only important to her and the supporters of Bill Clark. She will not change one voters mind by her comments. Her words are worthless, her mean spirit against Keith Greene is misguided. Hopefully, one day she will realize what a wonderful man Keith is. He has kept his campaign positive and focused on the things that matter the most to all the citizens of Catoosa County. Anyone that can lead a troup of men in battle and have no casualties for over a period of a year has to be a wonderful leader. Keith put his life on the line for all of America. He was there to serve everyone just like he will do as Commission Chair. Any comments about the special interest groups only come from Mr. Clark's supporters. Keith Greene will be a Commissioner for the people, all the people.
What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
07/25/2008 01:14:36 PM
This is something that you all need to read. I copied this from the letters to the editor on the Catoosa News website. It is wonderful!

Dear editor:

My message from the very beginning has been to work with other local governing bodies to develop, support and sustain planned economic and “Quality of Life” growth within Catoosa County.

My sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey for all of his efforts in helping Volkswagen choose to build their plant in Chattanooga. The announcement of the Volkswagen Plant coming to Chattanooga, Tennessee will be a boost to the economic growth of Catoosa County.

Now is the time to plan our residential communities and industrial/commercial developments within the county. Bottom line, we need to work with citizens, homebuilders and developers to appropriately plan for the residential and industrial/commercial growth that will soon be booming in Catoosa County.

I will work closely with Ringgold and Fort Oglethorpe city governments in order to prepare for the betterment and future needs of our County.

Catoosa County citizens will benefit from the high-paying jobs that Volkswagen brings to our area. If Catoosa County wants to be a part of the support industry for the Volkswagen plant, we will need the kind of leadership that I can bring to the Catoosa Board of Commissioners.

Once elected, I will immediately start working with Senator Jeff Mullis, director, Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority, the State’s Department of Economic Development, the city officials of Ringgold and Fort Oglethorpe to help provide whatever assistance that is needed to plan and prepare for the opportunities that are forthcoming with the arrival of the Volkswagen plant. This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to pass us by.

Keith Greene, candidate for chairman of the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners


What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
07/16/2008 09:47:53 PM
Your question was what good Republicans have done since they gained control. You did not ask anything about Democrats.
What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
07/16/2008 08:54:52 PM
I keep up with all the political stuff that I can. You can go to

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/leg/legislation.htm and put the HB numbers in to search the legislation.
What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
07/16/2008 08:32:39 PM
American Citizen...You ask for it, you got it. Please find listed below a few good things that the Republicans done just this past year.



HB 237, the "Integrated Plant Theory" bill - championed by the Georgia Traditional Manufacturers Association (GTMA), the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and many others - would exempt the sales tax on all machinery and equipment that is necessary and integral to the manufacturing process as well as all water-pollution eliminating machinery;

HB 272, to cap the tax on energy paid by manufacturers when energy prices soar; and

HB 1211 and HR 1276, "The Georgia Bona Fide Large Forest Conservation Use Act of 2008," which bring fairness to a tax code that is currently a disincentive to our timber and forestry industries and large forest conservation.

In addition other priority Georgia Chamber tax legislation adopted included, HB 1129, "The Georgia Tourism Development Act," the top priority of Georgia Chamber affiliate the Tourism Development Alliance of Georgia (TDAG) to provide tax incentives for companies making significant investments in Georgia by building destination/tourist attractions ...

... the traditional annual "back-to-school" sales tax holiday and the energy-efficient-products sales tax holiday (HB 948), which sets the state sales tax holiday on school supplies for July 31-August 3, 2008, and for energy-efficient products for October 2-5, 2008 ...

... House Bill 1100, an economic development tool that boosts the income tax credit for film, video, or digital productions in Georgia, so as to make our state more competitive as a location for these productions. Production companies and their affiliates that have not had over $30 million in expenditures in Georgia in 2002, 2003, and 2004 are eligible for this credit if their base investment in qualified production activities in Georgia is at least $500,000. This bill increases the credit from 9 percent of the base investment in Georgia up to 20 percent of the base investment. This bill also provides for an additional credit of 10 percent of the base investment if there is a qualified Georgia promotion.

HB 1244 to extend the time period in which companies can use tax credits for allowing employees to telework got bogged down in the disagreements between the House and Senate over elimination of the "car tag tax" and reduction of the personal income tax.


• HB 89. What began as legislation to remove a business owner's right to set policies pertaining to the introduction of firearms to the workplace was amended on the final day of the session to allow employers, whether they own the land on which they operate or lease it, to ban guns from their parking accommodations if they so choose.

As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated, HB 89, formerly the "bring your guns to work" legislation, now "allows employees to leave weapons in parking lots as long as it's okay with the company."

The final adopted bill also de-criminalizes the carry of guns by individuals with Georgia Firearms Licenses (GFLs) into certain restaurants that serve alcohol (the carrier may not drink), state parks, wildlife management areas and "historic sites," and on local mass transit systems. The bill also speeds up the process for the renewal of gun permits.

• A statewide, comprehensive water plan, Senate Resolution 701 and House Resolution 1022, was adopted overwhelmingly early in the session, a plan that was developed in close cooperation with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and with the input of our members.

Legislation was passed to create one statewide standard for water restrictions during a time of drought, HB 1281, which avoids a patchwork maze of hundreds of different local government restrictions. A city, county or local water authority could petition the director of the state Environmental Protection Division for an exemption. The bill also would prohibit any restrictions on filling swimming pools unless there is not enough water for humans, farms or industries.


And a bill was passed to place the Georgia Environment Protection Division (EPD) under the same legislative oversight process to which every other state agency and department is subject, SB 352; that is, the General Assembly may override any departmental regulation that isn't promulgated in compliance with federal rules or regulations or law.

SB 426, SB 427, SB 428 and HB 548 and HB 1289 - Revitalization of Jekyll Island.
A number of Georgia Chamber members have expressed interest in several bills that would weaken the planned $341 million revitalization of Jekyll Island. The above-listed bills failed to pass. Combined, these measures would have prevented additional fulltime residences from being built on the state-owned island, restricted construction near the waterfront, and limited what new hotels could charge overnight guests, many provisions that are already addressed in the revitalization plan approved by the Jekyll Island State Park Authority. Seventy-five percent of the island CANNOT, by law, be developed and the plan for improvements to Jekyll calls for development of less than that state-mandated ratio. The plan, supported by the Glynn County Commission, the Brunswick City Council and the Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce, calls for rebuilding the crumbling hotels on the island with the new properties charging daily rates as low as $105 and rebuilding the aging convention center. Sadly, since 1990, traffic to beautiful, historic Jekyll Island is down by half, tours of the historic district are down 29 percent, golf rounds are down 32 percent and hotel stays on the island are down 24 percent.

• "The Corporate Good Samaritan Act," to give businesses and non-profits some liability protection when performing "Good Samaritan" acts, in a time of an emergency or crisis, was passed, included in HB 89, mentioned above. A top priority for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the measure gives some protection for businesses that render aid in times of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, pandemic diseases or other emergencies and encourages non-profits and businesses to assist the state when called upon to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies with private as well as public resources.

•HR 47 establishes a Legislative Study Committee on Judicial Election Reform.

• SB 359 was passed establishing a "Made in Georgia" marketing and labeling program to promote goods and products manufactured in Georgia; also, study committees were created in both the House and Senate to examine the future of manufacturing in Georgia, SR 1097 and a version of HR 1364 amended on the final day.

• Trauma care funding - $60-plus million was added to the 2008 budget for trauma care for the rest of this year. But the House and Senate failed to reach an agreement to provide a dedicated source of funding for a trauma care network to provide immediate, top-tier treatment for victims of serious car accidents, gun shots and other severe, life-threatening trauma cases.

• Budget victory: Medicaid reimbursements for health care providers will go up beginning in 2009, as the Governor, House and Senate found common ground to raise the average reimbursement rate from 80 cents per dollar of cost.

• Sadly, about the same time trauma care funding was lost, 130 employees at Telfair Regional Hospital in McRae, Georgia, were hit with the news that the county's sixth-largest employer, was closing. Hospital officials say paying for indigent care was a large part of the financial burden that led to the hospital's closing. In 2005, the hospital provided almost a million dollars in indigent care to the community. With the closing of Telfair Regional, the next nearest hospitals are 30 minutes away in Dodge, Wheeler and Jeff Davis counties. About 15,000 patients annually used the rural McRae hospital.

• CON compromise. The Georgia Hospital Association, the Alliance of Community Hospitals, the Medical Association of Georgia and other interested parties agreed late in the session to a compromise on Certificate of Need (CON) reform legislation.

• HB 977 to increase availability of health insurance for Georgians passed. The bill provides tax breaks for the use of high-deductible insurance policies coupled with health savings accounts. Under 977, small employers would get a $250 tax credit per enrolled worker and individuals would earn a tax deduction. The legislation's goal is to help insure 500,000 of the state's uninsured.

• Objective met: Slow the growing expansion of government regulation of health and property-casualty insurance. Two bills to vastly expand government regulation of free-market insurance products were defeated, and one to provide more market competition in automobile insurance was passed. HB 798 would have expanded the authority of the Department of Insurance to regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers, potentially costing employers billions of dollars, and HB 923 would have given state regulators more power to regulate private market health insurance plans. SB 276 to give consumers more choice in auto insurance policies and to provide more competition among auto insurers passed.

• While on the topic of insurance, and health insurance in particular, our friends at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation (GPPF) have an interesting article in their spring "Georgia Policy Review" newsletter, "What Health Care Crisis?" by Dr. Harold Brown, UGA professor emeritus, which makes a few points worth considering to keep the ever-repeated phrase "heath care crisis" in perspective:

"The percentage of Americans with health care insurance has hovered around 85 percent since 1987, when the Census Bureau first started asking the question."

"Of those American families who paid any medical expenses in 2004, only 20 percent paid $1,000 or more out-of-pocket. For the average family, out-of-pocket health care expenses increased only $1,184 from 1990 to 2005. That's a lot of money, but not out of line with other family expenses. During those years, families spent 91 cents on entertainment for every dollar spent on health care. In the meantime, housing expenditures went up five times as much as those for health care and [almost three times as much for] transportation."

• SR 996. A proposed Constitutional amendment allowing voters to correct problems found by the Georgia Supreme Court with the tax allocation district (TAD) system of financing redevelopment projects passed this session. If the Constitutional amendment passes in November, SR 996 requires the General Assembly to create new laws during the 2009 session dictating how TADs may be used.

• SB 399. Reauthorizes the Scrap Tire Management Fee as the funding source for the Solid Waste Trust Fund, in order to aid state and local efforts to reduce solid waste, recycle, and clean up scrap tires. This issue was included in the 2008 Georgia Chamber Legislative Agenda.


What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
07/16/2008 07:56:59 PM
Ralph Noble may be a nice man. He cannot beat Tom Weldon. The District 3 State Rep. seat is a Republican seat. Facts are facts. In 2004 Ron Forester got over 70% of the vote. This is not a Democrat seat. Even the winds of Obama will not change the District 3 seat.
What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
07/11/2008 05:10:42 PM
WolfDawg... I would like to comment on your statement "working harder and smarter". You are in a Republican primary. You just sent out 26,000 flyers to residents that the majority of them do not vote. Targeted mail is what the professionals would have told you to do. You did not target any voter base. You would have saved money in the long run by targeting your mail. I do not think what you have done is smarter by any means. You actually wasted your money. I am glad it wasn't our tax dollars that you just wasted.
What makes me mad in Catoosa County is...
07/09/2008 02:17:46 PM
I believe that Keith Greene will win by 53%.