I talked about this on Saturday, but there's one other key component of Rep. Tom Graves's argument that makes little sense to me ...

Some believe that state revenues must increase to stimulate the economy. Some suggest we stimulate the economy by increasing government spending and regulating businesses to ensure a stable marketplace. Others maintain that raising taxes during tough economic times would bring in revenues needed to maintain a stable government. All these beliefs lead to one overarching philosophy of utopian socialism, an economic system based on equal outcomes, not equal opportunity. These "solutions" all lead to a government takeover of private businesses and government control over the free-market system.

OK, I don't want to get too bogged down in the 'should we or shouldn't we' debate regarding Gov. Sonny Perdue's proposal to have four constitutional officers appointed rather than elected, as they currently are now. Martin and I disagree over logical and valid reasons, and the issue even resulted in me breaking with the exising meme from the Democratic Party of Georgia.

Dustin rebutted my argument, so, obviously, I need to rebut the rebuttal ... but I'm not sure really where to begin.

My analogy between the federal level and state level, to him, doesn't hold water. As far as I can figure, the primary argument is there is an extensive level of expertise necessary to serve as, say, the Secretary of Defense for the United States, thus meaning it's more appropriate for the president to appoint well-qualified individuals to serve in those roles. At the state level, however, we're 'closer' to the offices of, say, State School Superintendent, which means we should be able to cast a ballot for that office ...

Speaking of the Super Bowl, while the halftime show may have been rather lackluster, the opening video definitely was not.

A fascinating story from Financial Times on the political heritage of the South, and the challenges it poses for both parties ...

On the road to Thom and Janice Stoudemire’s house, gravel crunches beneath our car tyres, indicating that we have reached the end of the state-maintained road. Up ahead, the Stoudemires’ brick, ranch-style home is almost invisible behind the pine trees and azaleas. The house is not one of the planned subdivisions of suburban America, but part of a collection of five or six homes surrounded by fields, hills and ponds. Inside, Thom and Janice greet us with warm cookies and ice-water and call for their children, Ryan and Jessica. The house is immaculate, every surface ­covered in ­Americana. In the bathroom are boxes of Victorian soap and “hair powder”; in the living room a metal sign on the wall reads ­“Spitting on Sidewalks Prohibited”.

From Jason Pye comes tidings that a Republican state senator is sponsoring a bill making it easier for third parties to be viable in Georgia. Right now, getting a third party candidate on the ballot (for a non-statewide race) is a bit of an undertaking, requiring a lot of signature gathering. More importantly, if you're a third party organization, you've got to do the same signature gathering each and every year.

I'll quote Jason Pye:

...in order to get on the ballot a candidate must turn in petitions equaling 5 percent of the registered voters from the district he plans to run in. If a candidate plans to run statewide, he must get signatures from 1 percent of registered voters in the state.

So, it's a little bit of a burden. And, you can argue that it shouldn't be. More and more Americans are turning away from the traditional party labels. People want alternatives. They want options. That's what Shafer's bill appears to do:

- I agree with the focus. Long-term economic development is essential to the vitality of Athens-Clarke County, and I hope the recommendations help equip the community to do what's necessary to get things rolling.

- Here's the problem with this argument ... it's inconsistent with the stated vision for downtown Athens-Clarke County, as well as existing law. The Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission has no authority to rewrite local ordinances, so it was bound to reject the Jittery Joe's proposal. Furthermore, downtown doesn't need more surface parking, but more deck parking (as well as connectivity via various means of public transportation, but that's another story).

- Likewise, you can't concede granting the special-use permit could - and arguably would - open the door to increased surface parking, and then, in the next paragraph, encourage the commission to ignore those concerns. The Athens-Clarke County Commission was right to give Jittery Joe's a fair shake in seeking a special-use permit, but it doesn't fit into land use plan. And here's the thing ... Jittery Joe's knows that and, even while applying for this permit, was already seeking alternative options.

- OK, I'm all for bipartisanship, discussion and compromise, but why? A health care bill has already passed both houses of Congress, and all that needs to be done is having the House of Representatives adopt the Senate's language, and we're done. Despite the Beltway media's perception, the heavy lifting of health care reform has already been completed, and what the president should do is tell the House to pass ... the ... damn ... bill.

- Listen, I'm happy for the Saints, but ... all of a sudden I'm meeting all of these 'lifelong New Orleans fans' and I'm calling their bluff. I'd suggest the number of lifelong fans is actually rather low, as this looks an awful lot like how many 'loyal Braves fans' emerged from the woodwork in 1991. Now, I could cite my personal experiences where I was the only seven-year-old at the bus stop pulling for the Patriots against the Bears in 1985 or how I wept as an eight-year-old after Bill Buckner watched the ball roll through his legs in the 1986 World Series, but I think a more appropriate example is my buddy Tim. Year in and year out, this guy suffers through being an Orioles fan, and most recently told me he would be happy with a 70-win season next year and contention for a Wild Card berth in two years. Now that's a fan.

Here's a new thing we're going to try to do, the most popular posts on the blog for this week.

From my Sunday column in the Athens Banner-Herald ...

Imagine the worst.

And now, in the middle of that trying and sensitive situation, imagine that the state of Georgia is labeling her a criminal.

Imagine what you would do.

Imagine your 12-year-old daughter has been kidnapped and, when she's finally found, she's been forced into a child prostitution ring. Imagine that she's kept in a drug-induced haze and raped repeatedly. Imagine the horror, grief and shock that would overwhelm you and your family as you dealt with that situation, and the work you'd be eager to do to heal your daughter.

And now, in the middle of that trying and sensitive situation, imagine that the state of Georgia is labeling her a criminal.

Imagine what you would do.

OK, I'll be 'that guy' ...

"The Republican plan hatched by Perdue, [Rep. Jerry] Keen and [Sen. Bill] Heath sounds more like a plot to limit democracy and ignore the Constitution.”

Listen, this is a dumb argument.

If your position is that having a governor appoint constitutional officers is limiting democracy, then your argument must logically extend to the federal level one as well where similar positions are appointed. If this is your position, why aren't we clamoring to get rid of the 2/3 rule that requires a supermajority to put anything up for a statewide referendum? And, for that matter, ff this is your position, then why aren't you questioning why Georgia has elected representatives when we could just vote on everything in a referendum?

I get there are rationale arguments opposing this move, and I respect that, but couching it behind the argument that it's going to 'limit democracy' reeks of political pandering.

Can we get some grown-ups to talk about economic recovery, please ...

Some believe that state revenues must increase to stimulate the economy. Some suggest we stimulate the economy by increasing government spending and regulating businesses to ensure a stable marketplace. Others maintain that raising taxes during tough economic times would bring in revenues needed to maintain a stable government. All these beliefs lead to one overarching philosophy of utopian socialism, an economic system based on equal outcomes, not equal opportunity. These "solutions" all lead to a government takeover of private businesses and government control over the free-market system.

Um, what?

Listen, I'm in favor of passing Graves's bill, but this is the most bizarre philosophical argument I've ever seen. And, of course, by 'bizarre' I mean fundamentally wrong. Merely raising taxes isn't tantamount to socialism, particularly when it's in respone to funding the services the state already provides.