Atlanta's Gas Crunch

Most of Metro Atlanta’s motorists are feeling the gas crunch. Atlanta is experiencing a gas shortage that some compare to the 1970’s. Only this time people are confident that the gas supply will get back to normal much sooner. But as more and more stations run dry, people are playing musical gas stations trying to get fuel before their gauges hit “EMPTY.”

There are a lot of people pointing the finger, saying that the Governor didn’t have a plan and knew something like this could happen. One good thing is that the Gov, has asked the Environmental Protection Agency, to relax the rules for special fuel for the Atlanta area until the supplies stabilize. That will mean we will get gas from sources that we normally couldn’t use. That way we get gas in Atlanta, faster.

As we wait the situation out, people are obviously frustrated and its showing. I’ve herd on the news of police being called to stations that do have gas because of customer fights. I’ve seen something similar first hand. I was at a Quick Trip gas station in Dekalb County, and there were people screaming out the window. The lot of the station was just chaos. The station I was at wasn’t fortunate enough to have an employee outside directing cars like I saw on the news. We sure could have used one though, people were lined up in all kinds of ways trying to get to a pump. It almost seemed like the people waiting in line had their own rules for getting gas at this station. People that had pumped gas were blocked from getting out of the lot because people had started lines to try to force their way into the lines coming from the street. It was every car for itself. Well I’ll just end by saying it was a very tense situation. I pumped my gas and got out as fast as I could.

I think we should wait until this shortage is over before we start pointing the finger at who may or not be at fault for this. Perhaps Atlantans can punish those they hold responsible at the voting box this November.

We Finally Hear From Gov. Palin Herself

Well it finally happened, the interview with Alaska’s Governor Palin. Charles Gibson’s interview with John McCain’s running mate was the first of several interviews to air. I now know why it took them so long before they let her sit down with reporters. I wasn’t impressed with her answers. Charles Gibson and even the women from “The View” having interview John & Cindy McCain, have gotten criticism for the questions they asked. First off these people are running for the most powerful position in this country, not the PTA. They need to be asked the hard questions. They may not like the questions, but the people want the answers to them.

Governor Sarah Palin certainly has the republicans party fired up, but what concerns me is how she downplays the state of economy. Just days after the interview aired, Wall Street stumbled. The markets went down, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, insurance giant AIG is in trouble and Merrill Lynch has been sold to Bank of America. What is the “appropriate role of government”? I would think it would be to help stabilize the American financial system?

Gov. Palin told Charles Gibson that “our economy is weak right now.” I think weak would be an understatement. She says that Government should play an appropriate role, but what exactly will that role be. John McCain has flip-flopped on the issue of government bailing out Wall Street. McCain said that government shouldn’t get into the mess that irresponsible Wall Street executives made. But after the Fed announced an $85 billion dollar bailout of AIG, McCain’s tune changed to sound a lot like that of the White House.

Even with the bailout of AIG, Wall Street reacted to the news, and the markets took another tumble. The economy is more than just weak, it’s a disaster. Banks are struggling to stay afloat. Rumors are floating that Washington Mutual is up for sale. I call it homemade financial terrorism. The Housing market and sub-prime mortgages burst, now banks, insurance, stocks are falling.

All before now McCain has been saying that the market will correct itself and now action is needed. But I disagree. The numbers speak for itself, unemployment is up and don’t forget the number of people that have exhausted their unemployment benefits and not found jobs. They almost never get included in the figures which would make the unemployment rate significantly higher than those announced by the government. Homeowners across the country are on the brink foreclosure.

AIG’s bailout, whether we agree with it or not was done with taxpayer money. So if AIG is getting bailed out, I think struggling taxpayers deserve a bailout as well. If Sarah Palin’s interview is any indication of what’s ahead if she is VP, then I’m pretty concerned.

Remembering September 11

Today is the seventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the worst act of terrorism on US soil. People all over the country are commemorating the tragedy and remembering those who lost their lives that day. While we remember that day in September, I think we should also remember what lead up to those events and ask ourselves are we any safer? Lapses in intelligence allowed the hijackers to get as far as they did. Lapses in intelligence lead us to war with a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Today we are still relying on intelligence to keep us safe. Is it working, are we safer? I can’t say. We haven’t had another attack since then.

Seven years after The Towers fell, Osama Bin Laden is still at large, but Saddam Hussein is dead. Recently there was news that the Al Qaeda leader in Pakistan was killed. But still no sight of Bin Laden. It seems like the current administration took a detour in the hunt for Bin Laden. A detour, that sent us to Iraq. Are we safe because of the actions of our government? I want to say yes, but I have to question that. We have put so many resources into stabilizing Iraq; I want to know what resources have been allocated to capturing Bin Laden?

It really makes me wonder, being the world’s superpower, having the best and most technologically advanced military in the world, what’s going on? The next President needs to listen to advice of the trained and experienced military leaders. We need to find Bin Laden, secure our boarders and make sure we have dependable human intelligence to help keep us safe. At this point I’m not sure if the government has kept us safe, or just pure luck there hasn’t been another attack.

Going… Going…. Gone! Clayton County Schools Looses Accreditation

Clayton County Schools losing its accreditation was a surprise to many, but not to me. Most residents thought that SACS, the agency that oversees accreditation would give the school district more time or put them on probation. But last Thursday they decided to strip the county of its accreditation. The loose of accreditation for Clayton County Schools means that students my have a difficult time getting into some universities and they may not meet qualifications for some grants and scholarships. Parents and student are not the only victims; Clayton County property owners could also lose value on their homes.

In SACS ruling on Clayton County Schools it was learned that the district only satisfied one of the nine mandates required to maintain its accreditation. They got a passing grade on the mandate that all board members reside in Clayton County. To me, that is just outrageous. The school board had more than six months to prepare for and meet the deadline for change. SACS made note of several things in making its decision. One of which I mentioned and took issue with weeks ago was the unprecedented authority the school board granted the new corrective Superintendent John Thompson. They also had issue with the school board itself, its ability to govern the district.

It’s pure incompetence plain and simple. It’s no wonder that Governor Purdue removed the remaining four board members from office after a recommendation from an ethics administration Judge. The boards disregard for the law and its own policies have left Clayton County residents to pick up the pieces of a failed school system. Students who have worked hard to earn good grades, acceptance to colleges are now faced with an uncertain future. What more can be said about the school board other than their actions being criminal.

We should now work on solutions. I initially had hope that Superintendent John Thompson could save the county from losing its accreditation. Now that it’s gone, my confidence in him isn’t very high. Once voters elect a new school board, they should immediately seek out a new superintendent and remove the added authority the old board has given the position. They need to work closely with the State Department of Education and SACS to meet the requirements to restore accreditation. This may mean bring in outside consultants whatever it takes. This situation can be fixed, but ego and stubbornness are exactly what is not needed. Now that worse case has happened, it can only get better. My advice to the hard working students, keep working hard. Know that no matter what happens your efforst are not in vien. Parents, do what you need to do to protect you children, get involved, vote in new board members and if you feel the need move your child to another school system or private school if you can. I hope you all don’t have to deal with this very long.