The Civil War was fun, let's have another.

From Jay Bookman:

Larry Peterson of the Savannah Morning News has advanced the story [of Georgia's pro-secession minority] by polling the six GOP candidates for governor. According to Peterson, four of the six support the resolution, one opposes it and the sixth refused to take a position on whether nullification and secession were are good ideas.

These are people running for the highest office in the state, including the three frontrunners for the GOP nomination. The winner of that nomination would in turn be favored to be our next governor.

More accurately, if events take a turn, I guess that person could become the first president of Georgia.

Every time I think the Republican Party can no longer surprise me, they do. They're the Party of War, the Party of Torture, and now, the Party of Secession. No doubt they wondered why they should continue to support war and torture overseas when they could simply re-open Andersonville.

Also via Bookman, I see that John Oxendine is so committed to secession that he has decorated his son's room in "Confederate Gray"; the traditional blue was, I gather, too Union.

Republicans are sad that the rich have been deprived of a $340 million tax cut.

Oh, woe:

Gov. Sonny Perdue said Monday he will veto House Bill 481, which would have cut the tax on profits of certain investments by 50 percent. His decision led one business association to call on lawmakers to override Perdue's veto when they are next in session and prompted one of Perdue's political acolytes to declare herself "disappointed."

Disappointed? Not that I don't admire Karen Handel's restraint, but conceding that what has been "a cornerstone of Republican economic policy for decades" would bankrupt the state will not win a Republican primary.

What will? A flight of economic fancy! For that, John Oxendine:

But state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said late this evening tha he had no such concerns — and urged an override of the governor's veto by the Legislature when it re-convenes in January.

"Cutting capital gains taxes would have encouraged more investment into the state. It is a sad day when this type of legislation gets vetoed by a Republican governor," Oxendine said in a press release issued about an hour ago.

Nothing says "conservative" like an enduring faith in the curative power of tax cuts for the wealthy elite. And I do believe John Oxendine has that faith.

For the first time, a plurality of Americans support same-sex marriage.

Support for legal gay marriage has increased dramatically over the past three years, and for the first time, those in favor outnumber those opposed, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Nearly half (49 percent) of all Americans in the new poll said they favor legal marriage for same-sex couples, an increase of 13 percentage points since June 2006. But opposition to gay marriage remains widespread, 46 percent said it should be illegal in the new poll, and most in that camp feel strongly about it (overall 39 percent are that opposed).

Notably, majorities of Democrats (62%), Independents (52%), liberals (71%), and moderates (54%) thought it should be legal for gay couples to get married.

For example, AIG might be willing to insure Atlanta against financial collapse.

Atlanta mayoral candidate Jesse Spikes' love of privatization has withstood both the worst recession since the Great Depression and its cause, the incompetence and greed of the private sector. From his website:

There are many opportunities for the privatization of services now performed by the City.

In my law practice, I have actively supported and participated in the privatization of major services at both the City and County levels. I have witnessed firsthand the cost-savings of privatization . . . and kept a close eye on the quality of service that private companies provided, to guarantee it stayed first-rate. As mayor, I would continue to consider privatization in appropriate circumstances as a way to cut the costs of running our city.

Although he has "witnessed firsthand" the "many opportunities" for "cost savings," he does not name one.

Now, compare Jesse Spikes' gauzy rhetoric to Shirley Franklin's honest response to a recent call for further privatization of city services. From Blog for Democracy:

I understand that there are privatization advocates out there that throw out "projected savings" numbers. That is all very interesting, but at the end of the day the savings opportunity is always quantifiable. A private firm has three potential sources of savings:

• cheaper capital (due to scale)
• cheaper labor (usually due to non-union labor)
• better business processes

When we look at the opportunities in the City, what we generally find is that the City is operating at the peak of the scale curves due to our size (smaller cities usually aren't). Our capital financing capabilities are almost always better than what can be found in the private sector. Our labor is generally cheaper since we do not have collective bargaining in this state so we don't have the type of public sector unions you find in the Northeast and Midwest. That leaves business processes, and our typical approach is to bring someone in to analyze whether there is enough gap between our practices and what a private firm can do to justify privatization. As the examples above demonstrate, the answer has typically been a resounding "no".

Advocates of privatization often make claims that are, as Franklin said, "simply not credible," and Atlanta's next mayor should be no less skeptical of them than Atlanta's current mayor. Certainly, Atlanta's next mayor should not be the one of them.

Because you can never be too tough on crime.

Last week, Attorney General Thurbert Baker announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Governor. The most important part of that story is that Baker is black. Slightly less important, but only slightly, is his involvement in Wilson v. State of Georgia.

Far less important than either of those is his promise "to run a tough-on-crime campaign." It's nevertheless interesting in the context of news of America's record high incarceration rate. From the Pew Center on the States:

For the first time in history more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison—a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety. According to a new report released today by the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project, at the start of 2008, 2,319,258 adults were held in American prisons or jails, or one in every 99.1 men and women, according to the study.

Per the report, in the past two years, Georgia's prison population increased by 4.6% to 55,205. It is now the fifth-largest in America, following Texas (171,790), California (171,444), Florida (97,416), and New York (62,620).

But more shocking than the number incarcerated is the incarceration rate: 1,024 of every 100,000 Georgians is in prison. It is the second-highest in America, following Louisiana (1,138 of every 100,000).

So America is more "tough on crime" than it has ever been. Georgia is its second most "tough on crime" state. So how much more "tough on crime" does Baker think Georgia should be?

Specifically, how many Georgians should be in jail? How high should our incarceration rate be? What percentage of our budget should be dedicated to the maintenance of those numbers? Who will Baker tax - or, more likely, what service will he cut - to pay for them?

I doubt Baker will even be asked those questions, and I doubt that he would answer them to my satisfaction if he were. But I do wonder. At what point does being "tough on crime" cease to be merely tough on criminals and become tough on everyone?

How Republicans Govern Georgia

Georgia Republicans can't find the money to protect a progressive tax cut for every Georgia homeowner:

Legislative leaders are finalizing a plan that would essentially force cities, counties and school boards to make a choice in the upcoming fiscal year: cut spending or raise property taxes.

Legislation filed earlier this week would make it unlikely the state will fund the $428 million property tax grant this fall. The grant would only be funded in the future in good economic times.

But they can find the money to subsidize prep schools:

The bill from Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) would allot parents about $5,000 in taxpayer money to use toward private school tuition. . .

"Basically, it’s a bait and switch," state Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown (D-Macon) said. "It really doesn’t address the problems in public schools. What you have to do is fund them more adequately."

Under Johnson’s proposal, students who want to switch schools would have to qualify for admission at the new campus first and their parents would have to provide transportation, Johnson said. He estimated about 5 percent of parents would use the vouchers.

Some public school advocates said the new voucher bill is unreasonable considering that school systems face about $275 million in cuts next year.

"It is ludicrous to be trying to divert resources from our public schools," said Tim Callahan, spokesman for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, an advocacy group with about 75,000 members. "How much more battered down and beaten can they get?"

Best. Benediction. Ever!

Of course, I was disposed to prefer Lowery's benediction over Warren's invocation, but really, start to finish, the superiority of Lowery's prayer could not have been more self-evident:

God of our weary years, god of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our god, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day.

We pray now, oh Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration.

He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national, and indeed the global, fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hands, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations.

Our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you are able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor, of the least of these, and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that yes we can work together to achieve a more perfect union.

And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountain top, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together as children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around . . .

(LAUGHTER)

. . . when yellow will be mellow . . .

(LAUGHTER)

LOWERY: . . . when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen.

LOWERY: Say Amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen.

LOWERY: And Amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen.

It should come as no surprise that the oh-so-sensitive righties found even the gentle criticism of the last line offensive. Normally, that reactionary rhetoric would demand a response - but part of the reason this day has come to pass is because that rhetoric no longer has the power it once did. And Amen to that.