One of the blogging waters that I haven't done much wading in is that of military bloggers, and, after reviewing a few today, I really need to change that. It's good quality writing that also comes with a great deal of institutional knowledge that most reporters and bloggers simply lack.
Anyway, it's how I was able to get a little more information regarding the curious case of Maj. Stefan Cook, the birther nut, er, Georgia solider who refused deployment orders to Afghanistan because he believes President Obama was born in Kenya.
Earlier today we learned that Cook's orders were revoked, which members of the kook fringe took as confirmation the military was nervous that the 'truth' would be revealed regarding the president's birthplace.
Of course, some good reporting and analysis by the military blog, Mudville Gazette started to connect some dots ... and it's now apparent that Cook was a part of some grand conspiracy to take down Obama ...
In short - Cook never had to go in the first place. Unlike most soldiers who deploy as part of a unit, Cook - a reservist - had volunteered to go as an individual augmentee. The Army generally seeks volunteers to fill such assignments first - if no one does so then a non-volunteer is tapped.
It may be helpful to recap the timeline here.
March: Cook acknowledges he's among the plaintiffs in a class-action suit "on behalf of 120 military officers" challenging President Obama's authority as Commander in Chief.
In May, Cook tells the Army he wants to be sent to Afghanistan.
In June, the Army accepts Cooks offer.
In July, Cook sues to "get out" of that assignment, based on the same grounds (Obama not qualified) and using the same attorney (who actively seeks military members to participate in such suits) for a previous suit he was involved in that pre-dates his volunteering to deploy to Afghanistan.
Even without going to court, the Army says - essentially - hey, no problem. You were the one who wanted to go in the first place.
Actually, there is one "Major" problem. Because Cook waited to the last minute to take this action, either someone is going to get a very short notice non-volunteer assignment, or else the unit in Afghanistan will have to get by without one soldier for a while. Since that soldier would be a field grade officer, it's likely that the position will be of some significance.
Interesting ... particularly the part about Cook being a regular poster at the conservative web site The Free Republic and being a member of a plaintiff suit filed back in March contesting Obama's citizenship.
Joe The Plumber. Stefan The Major. I'm sensing a pattern ...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Obama courts ... Chambliss?
Via Talking Points Memo, Roll Call is reporting that President Obama met with three senators who oppose the proposed health care legislation (or, more accurately, the public option component of it).
One of those is our own Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who has spoken out against a public option. Granted, I find it hard to believe that Obama can sway Chambliss, but it's nice to see him reaching out.
One of those is our own Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who has spoken out against a public option. Granted, I find it hard to believe that Obama can sway Chambliss, but it's nice to see him reaching out.
Paying for health care
A new analysis of three competing proposals on how to finance health care reform is out, and, thanks to a state-by-state breakdown, we can see how this financing will affect Georgians from all tax brackets.
A Citizens For Tax Justice study shows that the responsibility for footing the bill will overwhelmingly comes from the richest one percent of income earners. In Georgia, that means the proposed surtax on top income earners will leave the bottom 96 percent of Georgians without a tax increase of any kind. All the while, it focuses 99.3 percent of the increase on the top one percent.
A broadening of the Medicare Tax spreads marginal increases across the board, though the bottom 80 percent of income earners will see that increase be less than $100 per year with more than 60 percent of the revenue coming from the top one percent.
The third proposal, increased restrictions for certain tax deductions for the richest Americans, shows no increase in taxes for the bottom 80 percent of income earners in Georgia. The top one percent is responsible for a little more than 90 percent of the funding.
In the weeks to come, we're going to hear horror stories from a variety of conservative opponents of the legislation of how high your taxes will be raised. Well, to be clear, unless you make more than $1.1 million per year ... your taxes won't be raised.
A Citizens For Tax Justice study shows that the responsibility for footing the bill will overwhelmingly comes from the richest one percent of income earners. In Georgia, that means the proposed surtax on top income earners will leave the bottom 96 percent of Georgians without a tax increase of any kind. All the while, it focuses 99.3 percent of the increase on the top one percent.
A broadening of the Medicare Tax spreads marginal increases across the board, though the bottom 80 percent of income earners will see that increase be less than $100 per year with more than 60 percent of the revenue coming from the top one percent.
The third proposal, increased restrictions for certain tax deductions for the richest Americans, shows no increase in taxes for the bottom 80 percent of income earners in Georgia. The top one percent is responsible for a little more than 90 percent of the funding.
In the weeks to come, we're going to hear horror stories from a variety of conservative opponents of the legislation of how high your taxes will be raised. Well, to be clear, unless you make more than $1.1 million per year ... your taxes won't be raised.
Health care reform update
I like what I'm hearing from the president ...
Yesterday, the House introduced its health reform proposal. And today, thanks to the unyielding passion and inspiration provided by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and the bold leadership of Senator Chris Dodd, the Senate HELP Committee reached a major milestone by passing a similarly strong proposal for health reform. It's a plan that was debated for more than 50 hours and includes more than 160 Republican amendments - a hopeful sign of bipartisan support for the final product.
Both plans feature strong public options in addition to all of those Republican amendmenets.
Yesterday, the House introduced its health reform proposal. And today, thanks to the unyielding passion and inspiration provided by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and the bold leadership of Senator Chris Dodd, the Senate HELP Committee reached a major milestone by passing a similarly strong proposal for health reform. It's a plan that was debated for more than 50 hours and includes more than 160 Republican amendments - a hopeful sign of bipartisan support for the final product.
Both plans feature strong public options in addition to all of those Republican amendmenets.
Digging deeper
Understandably, I've already received more than a couple of emails regarding this post. And it's important to note than none of them (so far) are in disagreement with my presentation of the facts, but rather that the reason for the two properties is simple ...
Rep. Keith Heard lives in Fairburn, while the residence in Athens-Clarke County is for his mother. This is something that one email referred to as 'the worst-kept secret in Athens' (and something I used as a reponse to a few emails). The difficulty, of course, is this moniker - though widely shared throughout the community - is not verifiable by any type of existing information outside of subjective conversation.
So, while it's widely perceived to be known that Heard lives outside of District 114, there are a lack of facts that can connect him to this accusation. The state of Georgia requires someone to live in the district for more than a year, and the secretary of state has traditionally relied on the declaration of a homestead exemption as the determining factor (it was the primary reason Heard's 2004 residency challenge was dismissed).
However, the lessons from the Jim Powell-Karen Handel saga might suggest new determining factors are in play ...
But the administrative law judge disagreed, concluding that the preponderance of evidence showed Powell met the residency requirements. Not only does Powell spend more than half his time in the district, the judge found, but he also attends church, pays taxes, receives mail, and has registered to vote in District 4. The judge also found that in 2007, Powell attempted to transfer his homestead exemption from Cobb to Towns County, but it was denied because he missed the filing deadline. Despite the judge’s findings, Handel decided Powell was unqualified to run. He appealed to the Fulton Superior Court, which reversed Handel’s decision. She now appeals to the state Supreme Court.
The 2004 ruling showed that Heard's voter registration matched the Athens-Clarke County address, but Powell's favorable decision introduced a wide range of other materials for consideration. If there was evidence that Heard stayed in the Fairburn residence for six months or more - actually, three months or more given that he's conceded his stays there during the legislative session - then there would be verifiable grounds for a challenge.
Rep. Keith Heard lives in Fairburn, while the residence in Athens-Clarke County is for his mother. This is something that one email referred to as 'the worst-kept secret in Athens' (and something I used as a reponse to a few emails). The difficulty, of course, is this moniker - though widely shared throughout the community - is not verifiable by any type of existing information outside of subjective conversation.
So, while it's widely perceived to be known that Heard lives outside of District 114, there are a lack of facts that can connect him to this accusation. The state of Georgia requires someone to live in the district for more than a year, and the secretary of state has traditionally relied on the declaration of a homestead exemption as the determining factor (it was the primary reason Heard's 2004 residency challenge was dismissed).
However, the lessons from the Jim Powell-Karen Handel saga might suggest new determining factors are in play ...
But the administrative law judge disagreed, concluding that the preponderance of evidence showed Powell met the residency requirements. Not only does Powell spend more than half his time in the district, the judge found, but he also attends church, pays taxes, receives mail, and has registered to vote in District 4. The judge also found that in 2007, Powell attempted to transfer his homestead exemption from Cobb to Towns County, but it was denied because he missed the filing deadline. Despite the judge’s findings, Handel decided Powell was unqualified to run. He appealed to the Fulton Superior Court, which reversed Handel’s decision. She now appeals to the state Supreme Court.
The 2004 ruling showed that Heard's voter registration matched the Athens-Clarke County address, but Powell's favorable decision introduced a wide range of other materials for consideration. If there was evidence that Heard stayed in the Fairburn residence for six months or more - actually, three months or more given that he's conceded his stays there during the legislative session - then there would be verifiable grounds for a challenge.
A rational question
Rep. Keith Heard claims as his primary residence, 370 Woodridge Circle in Athens-Clarke County. His wife, Dr. Charmaine Heard, is listed as the owner of 155 Shady Brook Way in Fairburn.
Keith Heard, who had a residency challenge against him dismissed in 2004, has argued that he spends the majority of his time at his 'primary' address.
Um, why would he?
The home in Fairbun is valued at $477,420 with more than 3,484 square feet of living space. The home in Athens-Clarke County, however, is valued at $81,515 with 1,246 square feet.
Keith Heard, who had a residency challenge against him dismissed in 2004, has argued that he spends the majority of his time at his 'primary' address.
Um, why would he?
The home in Fairbun is valued at $477,420 with more than 3,484 square feet of living space. The home in Athens-Clarke County, however, is valued at $81,515 with 1,246 square feet.
Levels of crazy
Apparently the birther nut, er, Georgia soldier refusing service in Afghanistan on the basis that President Obama is not an American citizen had his orders revoked.
As an aside, take a gander at the whole story, the quality of reporting and the types of ads and sponsorships hosted by World News Daily and prepare to descend into levels crazy never before seen ....
As an aside, take a gander at the whole story, the quality of reporting and the types of ads and sponsorships hosted by World News Daily and prepare to descend into levels crazy never before seen ....
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