Meet Paul Scott, Republican candidate for Michigan Secretary of State. Paul has an ... um, interesting campaign promise:

I will make it a priority to ensure transgender individuals will not be allowed to change the sex on their driver’s license in any circumstance.

I wasn't aware that this was a pressing problem. But surely there's some reason, some rationality behind this. Surely he can't just be pandering and creating a non-existent crisis for his own political means. No one would ever be that craven.

Let's check in with the Michigan Messenger.

“It’s a social values issue. If you are born a male, you should be known as a male. Same as with a female, she should be known as a female,” [Scott] said.

When asked to explain how such a mandate from the Secretary of State would benefit Michigan, he said it was about “preventing people who are males genetically from dressing as a woman and going into female bathrooms.”

A few weeks ago, I touched on an idea by Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell) to allow horse racing in Georgia. Geisinger's bill, HR 1177, would let the decision be made at the local level via referendum. Now, we've got a clue that this may be more than a pipe dream. Yesterday, Geisinger introduced HB 1168, which basically creates a Georgia Racing Commission and establishes regulation for pari-mutuel betting, should HR 1177 make it through the process.

It is kind of a big deal, and the fact that we've got what amounts to enabling legislation may be an indicator that the horse racing idea is picking up some steam.

But, I'm going to ask the obvious question.

Reading the new guy's post last night gave me perfect segue to beat the drum for fiscal responsibility and take a few shots at the Republicans in Atlanta. And really, who could turn that down?

In reference to the impending recess in Atlanta, Carter sez:

...this is gonna be a session filled with drama on how to maintain state commitments. No matter what, it looks like more cuts and furloughs are on the horizon.

The thing is, it doesn't have to be that way. There's a bill out there right now that would go a long way towards mitigating some of this state's massive revenue problems. Say it with me now - HB 356, the Democratic tax plan introduced last year.

Break out the kickballs and jump ropes, because according to Galloway, the General Assembly is going to recess while they try to figure out how to pay for stuff. They'll shut down after tomorrow, and the House and Senate won't meet until March 8th.

Of course, the legislature never really shuts down during this time. The Appropriations folks will be sweating it out in small rooms with the Governor's budget writers, dealing with issues like the hospital tax and continued declining revenues. And, of course, the normal flow of committee meetings will continue apace.

What does it mean for you and me? Well, it means a longer legislative session. Last year's was fairly abbreviated, but in the past few years, we've gone well into April, and even May, before adjournment. If the General Assembly could stretch out money they way they stretch out that constitutional 40-legislative-day maximum, we'd all be wealthy.

Per Georgia Public Broadcasting, Mayor Deke Copenhaver of Augusta is trying to create his very own First Amendment problem. You see, Augusta Pride, a GLBT-rights organization, wants to have a three-day festival, complete with parade this June. Copenhaver wants a legal opinion before he gives permission.

But see, the thing is, he doesn't need an opinion, he just needs a copy of the Bill of Rights - specifically the First Amendment.  That's the one which grants you the right to assemble peacefully and say (with very, very few exceptions) whatever the hell you want to say, even if you want to say that your sexual orientation doesn't make you any less American than Deke Copenhaver. Perhaps it isn't to Mayor Copenhaver's liking, but the Founding Fathers didn't include an asterisk and footnote that says "unless you're gay."

But Copenhaver knows that. In fact, he flat-out admits it:

South Carolina will no longer recognize U.S. currency as legal tender, if State Rep. Mike Pitts has his way.

Pitts, a fourth-term Republican from Laurens, introduced legislation earlier this month that would ban what he calls “the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin” in South Carolina.

If the bill were to become law, South Carolina would no longer accept or use anything other than silver and gold coins as a form of payment for any debt, meaning paper money would be out in the Palmetto State.

Link.

Got a whole slew (well, three) press releases from the Democratic Party of Georgia in my email box last night. Similar in content, each release targets a different Congressman from Georgia on their doubletalk on the stimulus bill, and cites examples of Republicans trying to have their stimulus cake and eat it too.

For Gwinnett-area Republican John Linder, it's a request back in October for stimulus money for the Elauwit Community Foundation. In his request, Linder said, "“the employment opportunities created by this program would be quickly utilized." However, a few weeks later, Linder was singing a different tune on his website, saying that, “the $787 billion 'stimulus' signed into law eight months ago has done nothing for job growth in this country.”

We're live at Trappeze, so welcome aboard. If you're downtown, feel free to swing by and buy Martin a beer. Me too, though I'm good for now. Anyway, Martin's built our Twitter feeds into this post, so we'll be updating both.

Let's make one thing clear up front. The Trap-Neuter-Release idea being proposed by Mayor Davison is not a perfect solution. It's not going to eliminate the problem, and feral cats are still going to be a problem for wildlife in the short-term.

Even though it's not a silver bullet, you should still support TNR, and here's why:

That's what happens when you fire a good reporter for not being biased enough. APN editor Matthew Cardinale has a bit of a different take on his publication's content, it seems, and objectivity is not exactly top priority. In a statement to Creative Loafing (who, much to Cardinale's chagrin, no doubt, broke the story), Cardinale said:

Typically, mainstream media presents itself as objective but is actually skewed towards promoting the corporate agenda of the ultra-wealthy.

APN, on the other hand, does not pretend to be objective. We believe that our news coverage is fair and that our progressive principles are fair. We aim when possible to give voice to all sides, but aim to provide something different than what is already provided by corporate sources.”