Gwinnet County corrects payroll error, 16 years later.

There is a limit to what should be done in some cases, and this is definately one of them. Aaron Bovos, Gwinnett County's chief financial officer, has angered a lot of county employees earlier this week when he initiated a project to "clean up receivables and to eliminate outstanding obligations," by asking 180 employees to return bonuses that were overpaid back in September of 1994. Is it just me, or shouldn't there be a statute of limitations for asking for a gift back?
In his defense, Bovos and his office claim they are attempting to "better manage assets and resources, including collecting outstanding advances made to employees." Why did the county wait 16 years to correct an oversight on their part, and how did it happen?

In September of 1994 a new employee pay cycle was instituted in Gwinnett County where there was a shortening of one pay period from 14 to 12 days. The purpose of the shortened pay cycle was to ensure that those employees working reduced hours would receive less pay, but to counteract what might have been a bad financial shortfall for employees back in 1994, paychecks were increased, leading to the overpayment of 509 county employees to the tune of $114,876.55. Why did this generous act of bonus benevolence on the part of the county become a hot button issue all of sudden? Bovos said that the county has been carrying this past due account for 16 years and that it needed to be settled. Since he initiated work on collecting these over payments, 329 employees have already seen the overpayment debts taken out of their paychecks at retirement.
Current employees who still need to return the money have various options for paying back this debt. They can apply it towards vacation leave or a floating holiday or they can make a cash payment on their own. I think Mr. Bovos needs to find a better way to spend his time and resources. $114 thousand in overpayments made 16 years ago will not fix the millions that the county is now short of, and, after all, it was the county's fault, and not the employees.

North Korea threatens war.... again.

First of all, why is this little showdown between North and South Korea over a sunken South Korean warship not gaining a little more attention in the media. It seems that a few tar balls washing up in Key West is more important than the implications involved in this strutting contest in the Pacific. First may I remind readers that North and South Korea have never signed a formal treaty, and are still, technically, at war. Second is the fact that we have a large military presence in South Korea, and are tied by treaty to defend them in war. Thirdly we have a senile dictator in charge of the North who may wish to go out in a blaze of glory. And forthly, we have a weak government in Washington that may not have the stomach or balls to stand up to the North as we should. And now for a little background.

Tensions deepened today on the Korean peninsula as South Korea accused North Korea of firing a torpedo that sank a naval warship, killing 46 sailors in the country's worst military disaster since the Korean War. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed "stern action" for the provocation following the release of long-awaited results from a multinational investigation into the March 26 sinking near the Koreas' tense maritime border. North Korea, reacting swiftly, called the results a fabrication, and warned that any retaliation would trigger war. It continued to deny involvement in the sinking of the warship Cheonan.
"If the (South Korean) enemies try to deal any retaliation or punishment, or if they try sanctions or a strike on us .... we will answer to this with all-out war," Col. Pak In Ho of North Korea's navy told broadcaster APTN in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang.An international civilian-military investigation team said evidence overwhelmingly proves a North Korean submarine fired a homing torpedo that caused a massive underwater blast that tore the Cheonan apart. Fifty-eight sailors were rescued from the frigid Yellow Sea waters, but 46 perished. Since the 1950-53 war on the Korean peninsula ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, the two Koreas remain locked in a state of war and divided by the world's most heavily armed border. The United States currently has 28,500 troops in South Korea, and thousands more in Japan which is in range of North Korean missiles. The exchange of war rhetoric raised tensions, but the isolated communist regime - already under international pressure to cease its nuclear weapons program - often warns of dire consequences against South Korea or Washington for any punitive steps against it. Its large but decrepit military would be no match for U.S. and Korean forces. The impoverished country is already chafing from international sanctions tightened last year in the wake of widely condemned nuclear and missile tests. U.N. sanctions currently block funding to certain officials and companies, while North Korea is barred from exporting weapons and countries are authorized to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying illicit cargo. The Obama White House called the sinking an unacceptable "act of aggression" that violates international law and the 1953 truce. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama declared his support for South Korea, calling North Korea's actions "inexcusable." China, North Korea's traditional ally, called the sinking of the naval ship "unfortunate" but stopped short of backing Seoul.

And why is Kathy Cox resigning?

Georgia’s fourth-graders rank 35th in the nation for reading proficiency levels, according to a recent study.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation discovered 71 percent of the Peach State’s fourth graders attending public schools scored below proficient in reading levels in 2009. Some of the key challenges affecting reading proficiency across the state are chronic absenteeism, summer learning loss, poor health and nutrition, parental involvement and low-performing schools, according to a news release.
Low-income and minority children disproportionately read below grade level, according to the study. That is “a clear indication of systemic failures that have plagued our education system both statewide and nationally,” the study said.
The study finds that nationally two out of every three fourth graders overall are not proficient in reading, according to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Pakistan says "YouTube bad."

We have consistently viewed Pakistan as being pro-Western, and part of our ongoing alliance against terrorism, but apparently that pattern is shifting. Pakistan has blocked access to some of the Internet's most popular websites -- including YouTube and Wikipedia -- over what it calls "sacrilegious" content. This move comes a day after the government blocked facebook because a page on the social networking site encouraged users to post drawings of Islam's Prophet Muhammad -- which Muslims consider blasphemous. A statement from the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, quoted by several news agencies, says the government blocked YouTube and Facebook after the two websites failed to remove "derogatory material." It cited "growing sacrilegious contents" on YouTube but didn't elaborate. It also didn't explain why Wikipedia and the photo sharing site Flickr are also part of the ban.

Kathy Cox to resign...

The Governor’s office has released a statement on Kathy Cox, who will be resigning her office:
Governor Sonny Perdue issued the following statement today regarding State School Superintendent Kathy Cox’s announcement that she will become the founding CEO of the U.S. Education Delivery Institute (EDI) on July 1. Governor Perdue will appoint a new state school superintendent upon Supt. Cox’s departure, per Article 5, Section 2, Paragraph 8 of the Georgia Constitution.
Below is the Governor’s statement:
“Superintendent Cox has been a passionate advocate for Georgia’s students, committed to improving achievement for every child. She pushed strongly for a more rigorous curriculum, which is preparing our students to compete on the global stage. While we will miss her here in Georgia, I share her excitement in this new opportunity.”

Gov. Perdue involved in road construction?

I don't know why there is such shock at this report. Road politics have always been a mainstay in Georgia history since the paving began a century ago. But it seems a three-month FOX 5 I-Team investigation learned that Georgia taxpayers will spend $100,000,000.00 to widen a state highway through Governor Sonny Perdue’s hometown of Bonaire. The new highway will also run right along property owned by the Governor. Project records show that Governor Perdue was actively involved in deciding where the road would go. This seems brazen enough, but the crown for raod politics would have to go to Jim L. Gillis, who was Georgia's highway commissioner for many years.

Distillery to open outside Atlanta

The Georgia Distilling Company would like to formally announce that we will be holding a simple groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new facility on May12, 2010 at 10am that morning. We hope this will be the beginning of an important piece in the future of Jackson/Butts County, and wish to share this moment with you, and other members of our community. A rendition of the finished building will be on hand to view, and Shawn Hall, Dan Rivers, and Bill Mauldin will be on hand to talk with members of the community and answer any questions. Should you have any questions you may contact us at

Shawn.Hall@Georgiadistilling.com
Bill.Mauldin@Georgiadistilling.com

404-281-5484

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you there.

The location is 540 W Third St in Jackson, right across from the Butts County Administration Building.

Another Carter that just doesn't get it

It seems that there are handbills being passed out in the State Senate district where Jason Carter is running, and a picture can be worth a thousand words. The handbill supposedly shows a younger Jason Carter with the late Yasser Arafat, that maniacal terrorist who led the PLO for decades, and states that a lot of his contributions are coming from outside this state and country. It seems the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter hasn't learned a thing about what NOT to do to win an election in a conservative state. The younger carter is running for State Senate in district 42.

Don't let your kids wear USA T-shirts, it's offensive to minorities

American students take note: Wearing the Stars and Stripes on Cinco de Mayo could get you kicked out of school for the day. At least that's what happened Wednesday to five sophomore boys at Live Oak High School in Santa Clara, Calif. School administrators deemed their conspicuous American flag apparel "incendiary" and likely to provoke fights on a day when many other students were permitted to don the red, white and green designs of the Mexican flag in celebration of that country's heritage. "They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended," said Dominic Maciel, one of the students sent home.
According to the local newspaper, the incident occurred at 10:10 a.m., when Maciel and his friends Matt Dariano, Daniel Galli, Austin Carvalho and Clayton Howard -- all of them decked in various articles of clothing with U.S. flag designs -- were seated at a table outside the school on their lunch break. Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez approached the group and asked them to follow him to the principal's office, where they were told to turn their T-shirts inside-out "or be sent home," to avoid any confrontation with the numerous students displaying Mexican colors.Wearing Mexican flag colors is a popular custom on Cinco de Mayo, a holiday originally commemorating a May 5, 1862, Mexican military victory over occupying French forces that has expanded over the years into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. About a quarter of the population of Santa Clara County, where Live Oak is located, is Hispanic or Latino, and Maciel himself is part Hispanic.The boys have not publicly admitted to wearing American flag colors for any specific reason, but they said others were doing the same and did not receive the same scrutiny. Still, they decided they would rather be sent home, as they thought turning the American flag around would be "disrespectful." Many of them called their parents, some of whom were outraged by the school's position.

Has it gotten this bad folks? Are we now so damn politically correct that we have to watch what we do 24-7? Will this same school system ban Mexican flags on the 4th of July, Veterans Day, or Memorial Day? Highly doubtful.

The award goes to......

Well it seems that Creative loafing has released a list of the best and worst in Georgia politics, and wouldn't you know it, my opponent in the state house race has made the list. Congratulations?

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/the_kill_the_poor_award/Content?oid=1548853

How do you spell your name again?

Of all the embarrasing things after so many years of service, this one is embarrasing. How do you misspell someones name on a retirement cake?