Guest Column: Education Bureaucracy is Failing Our Children

Why Little Johnny Can't Read & What Education Bureaucrats                   Aren't Doing About It

Friday, October 5, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Tom the Green Gobble

When was the last time that someone stopped you and said “The public school which my child attends is absolutely great.”? Just last week? Well, maybe not.  In fact, most of us have probably never heard such a thing. Have you ever wondered why? Is the list of answers to that question just too long to even contemplate? Let’s take a look and see what’s going on. Maybe there are some areas which might be improved upon.

Who’s in charge of little Johnny’s education? Let’s see; there’s his class room teacher Ms Jones, and then the Principal, Ms Smith. She in turn answers to the Superintendent who then answers to the county Board of Education, with an elected representative from each district. They oversee the work of the Superintendent of Schools and set policy for the school district. And let’s not forget about the myriad of clerks, specialists, janitors, cooks, cops, and other assorted bean counters mandated (but not paid for) by the Georgia Dept of Education and finally by the U.S. Dept of Education. Wow! That’s a lot of people helping Ms Jones teach little Johnny. It’s like they don’t trust her to do her job.

It begins to look like we have more “educrats” than teachers!  Why are these people here? Fifty years ago, the average high school with 1200 students had a Principal, a Vice Principal, one secretary, 40 teachers, a kitchen staff and a part time guidance councilor. The district superintendent had a secretary and a staff of two clerks. Now those numbers are dramatically changed. We seem to have more “chiefs” than “Indians”. The reason is more and more and more mandated regulation from Atlanta and Washington, DC. It takes dozens of bodies to create all these reports to tell us what we already knew back then. 

We are spending huge sums of money creating reports that no one reads or cares much about except the next “educrat” up the line. If schools are underfunded it’s because huge portions of the money are going to pay the “educrats” who contribute little, if anything, to little Johnny’s education.  Looks like we might have an opportunity for a partial solution here. Get rid of the excessive number of non-classroom “educrats” and increase the number of classroom teachers.  Oops, I’ve been told that we can’t do that because all these “educrats” are required to fulfill obligations to Washington, so we can get our tax money back to help run the schools that they are destroying. Oh, well, let’s look elsewhere.

Why are so many kids failing and dropping out of school? It can’t be for the lack of “educrats” or for facilities. It must be… the parents! Make that noun singular or possibly even non- existent. There are hundreds of kids in Richmond County being raised by extended family members because one or both parents have abandoned them, died or are in prison. And then there are those parents who literally cannot help their kids even if they wanted to, because they have no education either. Sadly, many just could not care any less about helping their child with their school work. It is no big surprise when these kids act just like their parents. Just ask the sheriff. We are dealing with a huge portion of the population which has a significant cultural deficit.  Or to put it another way, their life culture actually embraces drugs, prostitution, theft and burglary, assault of all types and all manner of antisocial behavior. Again, it is no great surprise when these kids fail to graduate from even our most  dumbed down public school curricula.

What can be done? Given that the current system fails with this group of students, we must look outside the box. Unfortunately, our “educrats” can’t do this. They have been brought up and trained in the current system which still predicates success on outside sources (parents) to help educate their children. Since a huge portion of our kids do not have access to this resource, it is hardly surprising that they regularly fail. We cannot continue to bury our heads in the sand, if we are to find a way to educate these children who have no support at home.  In order to successfully change the educational paradigm in Richmond County, the first thing which we are going to have to do is elect some Board of Education members who see things in a new light. The old ways don’t work and haven’t worked for 40 years. 

It’s time for new ideas, new approaches and a bold approach to educational reform. Get rid of the old school of “educrats”.  Most of them will not even admit that there is an issue. Marion Barnes, a BOE member from District 1, is a perfect example. At a recent forum he publicly stated that charter schools do not out perform public schools. Any independent study of Charter vs Public schools clearly shows that charter schools do a superior job across the county.

The key differences between charter schools and regular public schools lies in three elements that help define them: they are held accountable, not just in general, but to achievement goals embedded in their charters. Their student body is made up of children whose parents chose the school, and the school is tailored to the student body’s needs. They are given freedom from certain bureaucratic procedures with the idea that this will give them a greater ability to focus on creating academic emphasis.  (All of this is the subject of another article.) If Charter schools were not succeeding, one would have to ask why they are being developed in over 40 states across the country. It has gotten to the point that if the “educrats” don’t want it, you can almost be certain that you need it. It’s all a matter of control; the “educrats” have failed miserably. Allowing a new and successful approach threatens their very existence. It’s time to start threatening their existence at the ballot box. ***

TGB

*Do you have a thought or an opinion you'd like to share? Then submit a guest column to CityStink@gmail.com

Guest Column: Why Move to Augusta?

Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Francie Klopotic

"Why move to Augusta?"

One may as well ask, why move to Kalamazoo? But this is the question I get often. “Why on earth did you and your husband leave Atlanta to move to Augusta?”

That is a fair question. After all, Atlanta is my hometown. I was born and raised there. Yes, it has major league sports teams, tons of cultural spots, a thriving arts community, and insane pockets of cool. However, it also comes with a lot of negatives. Negatives that made us want to pull up roots and head east. More negatives, I feel, than the positives that once made Atlanta great.

Yes, I did say “once”.

Those negatives include congestion, congestion, and congestion. Anyone who has spent any time on the interstate system in Atlanta knows what I am referring to. I-285 is probably the closest example of hell on earth I an imagine. Forget trying to get anywhere downtown if you live outside the perimeter. A normal commute between two points in the metro area can last up to one hour each way.

Atlanta used to be a normal sized city. I can remember the downtown area as far back as the early 1970s. The Hyatt Regency with its spinning restaurant could easily be seen cutting the sky at night. The interstate system was still fairly young. Our family could pile in the car and take I-20 to Austell from East Atlanta in a short amount of time. Take that same route today and let me know how it goes for you. The skyline began exploding with new skyscrapers and in the 1980s when many international businesses moved their headquarters into the area. The city’s metropolitan population has steadily increased over time with no end in sight. There are just too many people and not enough infrastructure to support them. Not a good combination.

Now to answer the question: Why Augusta?

To a fresh pair of eyes, Augusta and the entire CSRA is surrounded by natural beauty. With the Savannah River dividing Georgia and South Carolina, the tranquility of Clarks Hill Lake, the historic towpath of the Augusta Canal, and the birdwatcher’s paradise of Phinizy Swamp, there is an abundance of natural resources in our collective backyard. One can never find a lack of places to go explore and experience the great outdoors.

For history buffs, Augusta is teeming with ghosts from the past. This is the second city to be established in the state. General James Oglethorpe founded Augusta way back in 1736 and named it after the wife of the Prince of Wales. George Washington even visited here. Go look at the tombstones in St. Paul’s cemetery on Reynolds Street. Yes, Augusta is very old.

We love the outdoors and we love history, so Augusta appeared to be the perfect fit. Couple that with a smaller metropolitan area, extremely affordable housing, lighter traffic and easy access to waterways. We were sold.

At the time we moved here Augusta’s downtown seemed like a gem in the rough. New shops were popping up and it appeared that people enjoyed going down there to eat, drink, and be merry. First Friday was actually a fun event, loaded with music, art and performers. There was talk about restoring the old Miller Theatre. We could sense the optimism on Artist’s Row.

We even considered opening a small business downtown.

However, in the most recent past we have seen several things happen on Broad Street. They haven’t been good things. Favorite businesses closed their doors forever. The beloved taxpayer-funded clock in front of the JB White building disappeared from Broad Street in the cover of night. Graffiti began to marr the walls and trash began lining the streets on a regular basis. Panhandlers decided the coast was clear and started coming out in droves, both on Broad Street and along the Riverwalk. During the hours immediately following First Friday, Broad Street became a hotbed for violence.

We used to see CADI folks riding Segways up and down Broad and it gave us some sense of security. Then, over time, those CADI folks disappeared. We used to see police officers walking their beat on Broad. Where did they go? The goodness that is our downtown has once again become tarnished and the local news media outlets happily run with the bad headlines, once more helping to keep folks away from the area.

In the midst of all the bad that is happening, it is our hope that the city will thrive once again. There is a lot of promise still brewing on Broad. It is that feeling of promise that drew us to move here in the first place. Will we see the decline continue or will we see things happen to help bring businesses, and paying customers, back into downtown?

Only time will tell. Until then, we intend to help the revitalization movement. It is our intention to help in any way we can to liberate Augusta from the stranglehold of city officials whose main purpose seems to be in keeping this city from thriving.. There are many of us average citizens who care, and we encourage others to offer up their voices and support in the fight against corruption. This is our adopted hometown. It deserves to be saved.

Are you willing to stand up for what is right? Augusta needs all of us.

Augusta needs you.***
--Francie Klopotik

Guest Column: Augusta -- the Next Detroit?

Thursday, August 30, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Bob Munger

In 1901 Ransom Olds created the world’s first auto assembly line in Detroit. By 1902, they'd built 425 Olds Curbed Dash vehicles. The 4.5HP internal combustion “horseless carriages” sold for $650, which is equivalent to roughly $18,000 in today’s dollars.

In 1903, Detroit’s Henry Ford launched the Ford Motor Company, soon to be followed by other auto pioneers like William Durant, the Dodge Brothers and Walter Chrysler.  

The Model T, introduced in 1908, was Ford’s homerun, and revolutionized the American transportation system. Mass production brought the price of the 20 HP “Tin Lizzy” down to $575 by 1912, equivalent to $13,500 in today’s dollars. In 1914, 300,000 Model T’s were produced.  By 1920 production had skyrocketed and the cost had dropped to $350, roughly $4000 in today’s dollars.

This is the real story behind the widespread adoption of the automobile in Twentieth Century American society. Yet today, a new, entry-level compact car would likely cost 4 or 5 times as much. At a time of economic crisis, even a used one in good condition would cost twice as much as the Model T did in its heyday.

Today, Detroit is not even a shadow of its former glory. Huge sections of its downtown lie vacant and in ruin. Dozens of former auto plants have long been shuttered, and tens of millions of Americans can no longer afford their products. Both Chrysler and GM have been rescued from bankruptcy by Uncle Sam. To add insult to injury, the American public is becoming increasingly hostile towards the negative impacts of autos, including air pollution, suburban sprawl, global warming and hollowed-out downtowns.

This view is especially true of the younger generation. “A car is a symbol of freedom,” said Alexander Edwards, president of the automotive division of Strategic Vision Inc., a San Diego-based consumer-research firm. “But unlike previous years, there are many different ways that a Gen Y person can capture that freedom.” Ways like computers, smartphones and I-pads. 

At stake is whether the current, modest recovery in vehicle sales is restrained by Gen Y. U.S. sales of cars and light trucks rose 14 percent to 8.43 million in the first seven months of 2012 and are on pace to total more than 14 million for 2012. That would be the best year since 2007. Yet that lags the annual average of 16.8 million from 2000 through 2007. 

A combination of lower wages for the youngest workers and the generation’s tendency to favor gadgets over cars may cap average U.S. auto sales at about 15 million annually, according to Dan Luria, a labor economist at Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center in Plymouth, Michigan. 

This anti-auto trend is reinforced by the Gen Y preference for living in urban environments. The new live/work/play paradigm is not limited to Gen Y, either. Empty nesters are also kicking the tires, and more are buying into this new lifestyle

Turning back to Augusta, what do we have in common with Detroit, other than a dilapidated  waterfront and downtown? 

Maybe quite a bit, if you think about our low speed electric vehicle industry, in terms of the early Twentieth Century auto industry of Detroit. Low speed electric vehicles (LSEV) are now produced and sold at price points which rival that of Henry Ford’s Model T, as it began to hit its mass production stride.  

Of course, nobody should confuse them with luxurious highway-rated vehicles, but millions of Americans who live in these live/work/play environments should be asking themselves: “Are highway-type vehicles like strolling across the street in Alpine hiking boots?  Why bother with the expense, when flip flops work just fine?  Why not rent your highway car only when really needed?”

The fact is that low speed electric vehicles look even better than conventional, internal combustion cars when you consider the following:

1. Costs to buy LSEV’s are a faction of typical cars.
2. Costs to refuel are a fraction of typical cars.
3. Costs to insure and finance are a fraction of typical cars.
4. Costs to maintain are less than typical cars.
5. At least 80% of every dollar you spend on gasoline not only leaves your pocket, but also leaves your               community.

Add them all together and you’re looking at thousands of dollars saved each year. Multiply that by a few hundred vehicles and the community economic benefit is in the millions of dollars --- millions of dollars in an era when money is hard to find, and debt loads are crushing. 

Finally, there are the environmental and health costs, which don’t usually factor into the equation, but should. Internal combustion automobiles pollute our air, causing respiratory-related healthcare costs (including missed work and school). They also release greenhouse gasses which contribute to global warming, at the rate of 19 pounds of carbon dioxide per each gallon of gas burned.

We at the Augusta Greenway Alliance, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, seek to foster a vision of a smarter way to live and travel, by working with government and industry to make Augusta a model city for sustainable transportation, featuring our own low speed electric vehicles.

The final benefit for Augusta is a big one that we should all appreciate: More jobs for our local industry.**
Bob Munger*
                     *Munger is President, Augusta Greenway Alliance, Inc.

Guest Column: Lee Anderson Hardly a Leader

Friday, August 24, 2012
Augusta, GA
By Jeffery Sexton

My attention was drawn to this comment from Lawton Sack, Chairman of GA-GOP’s 12th District:

• Rep. Lee Anderson was elected as our Republican nominee for GA-12 on Tuesday night. There already seems to be an air of defeat permeating this race against Barrow. Some people are publicly and privately saying that Lee cannot beat Barrow. I have had some tell me that they will be voting for Barrow instead of Lee. I believe strongly and sincerely that Lee can win this election, and I cannot and will not give up without a fight. I have lived under Barrow for almost 8 years, and I am tired of his duplicity and his non-leadership. Barrow is not the right answer for GA-12. I kindly ask that each of you, our Republican leaders and activists in GA-12, to please not add any fuel to the pessimism. If you choose not to support our nominee, that is your right and prerogative. I simply ask that you please not make the battle more difficult for those that choose to fight on.–Lawton Sack, GA-12 GAGOP Chair

Now, as y’all probably know, I’ve spent a good amount of time over the past four years – since Anderson was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 2008 – watching the Georgia General Assembly quite closely. And honestly, Anderson’s name was never a factor in my conversations with fairly high ranking sources in the Assembly, no matter the issue. But I decided to use the power of LEGIS to do some research into Rep Anderson’s “leadership”, and here’s what I found:

Per his biography page, as of the 2011-2012 session of the Assembly, Rep Anderson’s highest ranking position is as the third ranking official (Secretary) of the Intragovernmental Affairs committee. He has no other leadership positions in the Assembly – meaning Speaker Ralston and the other genuine leaders in the Ga House of Representatives don’t consider the man a leader at all, else he would be given more prominent positions, particularly given the turnover of the last couple of years.

But let’s also look at his legislative record, shall we?

Rep Anderson has had his name attached to 40 bills in the 2009-2010 session, his Freshman term. Of those bills:

• 15 were statewide House legislation
• 2 were local legislation dealing with the City of Harlem and Columbia County
• 2 were Senate bills that he was the House sponsor of (SB 6 and SB 456)
• 16 were various commendation resolutions
• 2 were resolutions supporting development of Ga’s energy resourcese
• 1 was a resolution honorting China Day at the Capitol
• 1 was a resolution recognizing Burn Week
• 1 was a resolution creating the House Study Committee on Property Law Modernization and Standardization

Of those 40 pieces of legislation, Rep Anderson himself introduced just 1/4 of them – 7 bills (HB 196, HB 440, HB 453, HB 630, HB 723, HB 975, and HB 1253) and 3 commending resolutions (HR 1656, HR 1766, HR 1940).

Of the 7 bills Rep Anderson introduced himself, 4 (HB 440, HB 453, HB 630, HB 723) became law – though half of those were the 2 pieces of local legislation he had introduced. Of the rest of the House bills that Rep Anderson co-sponsored, only 4 became law: HB 93, HB 156, HB 529, HB 1206. Of these four, Anderson was the primary co-sponsor on half of them.

For comparison purposes on the numbers above, there were nearly 6100 pieces of legislation introduced in that session, with 1527 of them being House Bills, 552 Senate Bills, 2340 House Resolutions, and the remainder of them Senate Resolutions.

In Rep Anderson’s sophomore term, the 2011-2012 session, here is the breakdown of his 55 total bills:

• 38 were commendation resolutions
• 7 were statewide House legislation
• 5 were local redistricting bills
• 1 was a local bill to provide term limits for the Columbia County Board of Commissioners
• 1 was a resolution supporting the modernization of the Federal Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (HR 381)
• 1 was a resolution urging the US Dept of Labor to repeal certain proposed policies (HR 1561)
• 1 was a resolution urging the US Dept of Community Affairs to adopt amendments to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (HR 1948)
• 1 was a dedication resolution

Of these 55 pieces of legislation, Rep Anderson introduced just 2 of the bills (HB 1179 and HB 1180, both redistricting bills regarding Lincoln County) himself, though he introduced 34 of the commendation resolutions himself.

All of Rep Anderson’s redistricting bills became law, as did his bill term limiting Columbia County Commissioners and 5 (HB 198, HB 274, HB 280, HB 485, HB 928) of his 7 Statewide bills.

For comparison with the above numbers, there were 5423 total pieces of legislation introduced in the 2011-2012 session, with 1311 of them being House Bills, 2201 of them being House Resolutions, 540 were Senate Bills, and the remainder were Senate Resolutions.

Thus, as Rep Anderson’s record clearly shows, he is hardly a leader – he has not held any position of any real importance on any major committee, and while he has had a few bills passed, 2/3 (4 of 6) of the bills he had passed that he had introduced himself were local legislation of no statewide importance.

I’ll leave it to the reader to interpret the benefit/detriment of the bills that did get passed with his name on them for themselves.

For anyone who would like to look at exactly what I have looked at on their own, please feel free to go to LEGIS. To find Rep Anderson’s information, simply use the Session drop down box to search for either the 2009-2010 Regular Session or the 2011-2012 Regular Session, then for the Member drop down select “Anderson, Lee”. All of what I have now shown will come up for you to look at the legislation at your leisure.***

Jeffery Sexton*

Visit Jeffery Sexton's blog here--> JefferySexton.com

Guest Column: T-SPLOST and the Parable of the Broken Ipod

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Augusta, GA

By Taylor Bryant

The economy is strictly driven on the prosper or downfall of individuals. People may talk about large corporations, government, or non profit organizations driving the economy through hire, spending, failure, or stimulus, but it all boils down to each of us being able to pay our bills, satisfy our material desires, and provide for our families or even ourselves. When we are facing a reduction of income, we cut back. We watch our cell phone minutes, take less trips across town, order the cheaper combo meal, or we skip that vacation. The economy always comes down to a personal impact, which is the way it should be. 

Months ago I was at work and while helping a co-worker, my iPod slipped out of my pocket. It crashed to the ground, breaking the screen, rendering it useless. I had just purchased this about a month prior, costing a little over $200. It was one frivolity I had, saving up a few weeks of expendable income to purchase. It made my stomach turn that I had spent that money on this device, and in one swoop, I had ruined it. It was destroyed, and the only thing to fix my situation was to plunk down another $200 to buy another one. At this point in my life, I feel that $200 is more important to me than an iPod, so I decided not to buy another one until my finances were intact enough to do so. 

Fast forward to August. My birthday is August 31st, so I am due for a birthday present from Mrs. Bryant. I have thought for a while what I could possibly want, and it comes down to a few things. I would like to replace the radio in my car, which doesn’t work, or possibly a new iPod to replace the destroyed one. Decisions, decisions....

Destruction and maintenance is a drain on our individual economy, the only one that matters. When a natural disaster strikes, the roofers, disaster clean up crews, and the contractors tend to do well in fixing the problems that accompany the fallout. Just like potholes, the crews filling them make money filling them, which “stimulates” the economy through a trickle down process. Does destruction and ongoing maintenance really create jobs and keep our economy on an even keel? The supporters of TSPLOST seem to think so, enough that the idea was included on the ballot language for Georgia voters to ponder.

Back to the personal side of things. If I decide to ask for an iPod, I am no more richer personally than seconds before I dropped the one I had. We are back to square one, except my family is now poorer by $200. If I had not dropped the iPod, creating a $200 stimulus to the Apple Corporation, I would have had a perfectly funtioning iPod and a nice radio for my car. So destruction has robbed me of my chance of both, which is a negative economic impact to my family. Same for maintenance. If I had decided that my car had needed $200 of brake pads and rotors, I have, at the end, a functioning vehicle, as I had before. What I don’t have is $200. $200 at this home is a big deal. 

Fast forward several years from now when many of these projects the TSPLOST folks have managed to get done actually happen. These projects will need ongoing maintenance that is not covered by the initial package funds. Taxes will have to be raised to keep up with new infrastructure. Now, we have to fix roads that didn’t exist with money we don’t have. This will trickle down to the individual, now strapped with 1% less buying power at the gate and increased property and income taxes for maintenance and destruction costs. This will directly affect your family’s buying power at the car lot, the grocery store, and everywhere products are sold. People, this is not what we needed at exactly the time we didn’t need it. The same goes with ESPLOST, because those new schools we build will need new low bid air conditioning units and all those new buses will need maintenance. Regular SPLOSTS? If a pipe busts in the Miller theater, we pay for that now. Just like a broken iPod. 

So, back to the personal effect... I have about $20,000 of income a year that is not subject to the TSPLOST tax. This includes money I spend on groceries, entertainment, merchandise, textbooks for Mrs. Bryant, school supplies for the kiddies, tools for work,  etcetera. I spend pretty much all of it over the year, not able to save much due to being a one income family. So TSPLOST takes one percent of that. That makes my share of this farce of a stimulus about $200 a year. 

Hmmmm...what could I purchase for $200?

(Note: This is not a new thought. Frederic Bastiat first published the “Broken Window Parable” in 1850. Google it, he explains it better than I can)

Taylor Bryant*

*Bryant has previously ran for the Georgia State Senate (Dist 22) and the Richmond County School Board (Dist 6) as a Libertarian.

Guest Column: In Defense of Dr. Wayne Frazier

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Augusta, GA

By Roslyn Stephens

I feel compelled to write this in an effort to assist my friend, Dr. Wayne Frazier. Regardless of whether people personally like him or not, simply put.... he gets the job done! He is the lowest paid of all principals in the Richmond County School System, yet when a school needs to be turned around in the right direction, Frazier is the one called upon. He LOVES working with troubled kids to help them see the benefits and importance of an education just as previous generations impressed and instilled those same values decades ago. 

I am a former teacher within Richmond County School System, having taught under the former principal Mr. Chambers, as well as Dr. Frazier. The transition was unbelievable... kids appeared to be hanging out like in the mall socializing when  the Chambers administrat

ion was in charge. But, when the Frazier team came on board, the students had to get re-focused and academically centered. It was a night and day difference. 

Many students who did not want to conform or do the work chose to leave; however, there were others who had to be dealt with differently as there were discipline issues. (Therefore, the protocol for discipline problems had to be enforced to remove them.) More importantly, those who longed for their diploma and what an education would provide them, stayed. Thus, the entire environment changed and seemed to be energized by Frazier's direct, up-close and personal, in your face methods of interacting with faculty, staff, and students. 

As an instructor, you were either there for the students and the goal of helping them achieve their educational goal, or you were miserable and dying to get the heck out of dodge as soon as the next contract was available. Sure, there were many in the last category. But, those who were dedicated remained forward focused. (Which is evident from the high school graduation results of the 2011-2012 school year that garnered Glenn Hills with the highest rate of passing students in the entire state of Georgia.)

I no longer teach, and that was a personal choice. I loved teaching and working with my students; however, my own children are my priority and they need my attention and support as they endeavor to advance in school. Those things aside, right is right, and wrong is wrong. Dr. Wayne Frazier needs community support in order to be restored as principal at Glenn Hills High School. The students and community need him to remain there to continue the great works he started there. If the school board can send him in  to do their dirty work, why can he not remain once the work has begun? ***

Roslyn Stephens

*Stephens is a former educator with Richmond County School System and taught at Glenn Hills

Guest Column: Banned From The Chronicle

Guest Column

Commentary

By Tom Casey

A short history of myself, I never really got politically active until I married my wife. Prior to that my activity was limited to voting, complaining about the lousy selection of candidates to choose from every election cycle, and watching the ‘talking heads’ on CNBC, CNN, FNN and MSNBC.

However, after decades of being a sideline observer of Augusta/Richmond County politics, I started to wonder a lot about all the behind door deals I had heard my uncles and older male cousins talk about that seemingly always drove Augusta politics and the Augusta ‘good old boy’ network.

Through Facebook I was invited to join a group of local Augustan’s called A.C.A.V.E. and later Augusta Today.  Through these various groups I started to learn more about how Augusta’s elected and appointed officials were really not serving the public good but instead supporting their own special interests.  From this initiation I started to read the bulleted news items in the Augusta Chronicle especially the comments section.  I was introduced to a list of nom de pens: Broad Street Narrow Mind, Conservative Man, Corgimom, Corporal Gripweed, Countyman, Dekebot Brett, GeezeLouise, Insider Information, Riverman, Slapshot2 and Willow Bailey.  I didn’t forget to include my own; my user name while posting in the Augusta Chronicle was TomCasey.  Yes it is actually my real name.

I started posting on issues that offended my sense and sensibilities as an uppity uptight liberal and my education and moral beliefs (yes surprisingly for a liberal I have a strict code of moral beliefs founded on what my family taught me as well as the Roman Catholic Church).  Immediately, I was warned by my friends within A.C.A.V.E and Augusta Today there are always consequences to one's actions.   Besides the Seven Dirty Words You Can’t Say On TV (Seven Dirty Words (Discretion Advised)), there were other rules to crafting a post for the Augusta Chronicle:

(1)    You can’t upset an Augusta Chronicle poster that is an unofficial spokesperson for Mayor Copenhaver ((c)ountyman), or they will lodge a complaint about your comment
(2)  You can’t upset an Augusta Chronicle poster that is an unofficial spokesperson for the Core Four Commissioners (Matt Aitken, Joe Bowles, Jerry Brigham and Joe Jackson) or they will lodge a complaint about your comment

(3)    You can’t upset an Augusta Chronicle poster that is an unofficial spokesperson for a local project or white elephant or they will lodge a complaint about your comment. 

(4)  You can never even allude to Augusta Today, A.C.A.V.E, or City Stink in even the most subtle way that does not even mention them directly by name. That seems to be their #1 pet peeve at The Chronicle.

You get the message.

Well I began my posting career in the Augusta Chronicle and sure enough a reader complained about a post of mine.  A reader’s complaint got my ‘objectionable’ comment pulled as well as the whole series of my comments for the day on that subject.  I was amazed that a ‘reader’ could find my comments so objectionable that the entire stream of my commentary was wiped out.  Sounds pretty Hitlerian to me and scary to boot.  Here is the message I received from the Augusta Chronicle for their reason for deleting my comments for the day:

*“Please don't promote this site in any way on our web site. Those involved have had an organized effort to promote it here despite warnings. Please don't post about it again.

My comment - So what is ACAVE? What video?

*Your recent post has been flagged by another user as a possible violation of the Terms of Service, triggering this automatic notice.”

Well, this was considered to be my first warning no seven dirty words, no Richard Pryor routine or no recitation from the movie ‘Goodfellas’.  I was amazed.  I mentioned A.C.A.V.E because it was mentioned in local media both paper and multimedia due to protests at the Municipal Building in Augusta.

The next case was the story that CityStink.net broke about the TEE Center Parking Deck and the land not being owned by Augusta Richmond County but instead by a private LLC:

*“Don't promote city stink on our site.

My comment - A follow up article was released on internet blog...very interesting in the details it contains.

*Your recent post has been flagged by another user as a possible violation of the Terms of Service, triggering this automatic notice.”

I received another warning (my 3^rd ) and after that I pretty much quit posting.  It was over the incident with my friend having her nom de pen (who has a column on City Stink called Jilly Bean) grabbed by a poster on the Augusta Chronicle that I got into more trouble over.  I stood up for her and spoke out against an imposter trying to use her nickname in an effort to discredit her by making comments that she would never say.  This led to being banned by the Augusta Chronicle and led to my last letter to the Augusta Chronicle:

“I always thought commentary should be free and open; however, I have found the Augusta Chronicle has an inconsistent way how posters are handled from comments being deleted to commenters/posters actually being banned.

I find this to be truly offensive not only as a subscriber of the electronic paper but also as my right to free speech. If alternative views to local issues and politicians are heavily edited why even bother commenting and posting...

The times are a changing and the Augusta Chronicle is obviously supporting the status quo in Augusta while only superficially attempting to present the other side of a news story.

In my case, I will be cancelling my subscription to the Augusta Chronicle.”

My activity of posting comments in the Augusta Chronicle took place from August 2011 until early January 2012.  What happened to me may not happen to you but beware this is one of the basic rights of a free country and if it is continually abused, the effect is to eliminate opposition.  So the question is do you feel secure to have Big Brother watching and controlling your media access? ***

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Nancy Albert: Levee Must Go for Riverfront Development to Come

Guest Column

Commentary

Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

By Nancy Albert

After Katrina, FEMA required studies of the levees across the country to determine if they would hold during a 100 year flood. Augusta forked over more than $600K to get the verdict on our levee. The results of that study were barely reported, but yes, it would hold, but not a catastrophic dam collapse upstream, of course. Cranston Engineering (the city's favorite) did the study. This study means nobody downtown has to buy flood insurance.

I went down to the engineering department to look at the massive number of pages in the study. The fact is that the 30 ft. levee doesn't need to be more than 10' high in downtown Augusta.

I've been an advocate of taking the downtown part of the levee down and allowing private investors to develop a vibrant waterfront for many years. Think of a fishing pier, jet ski rentals, docks, cafés, restaurants, bars, B&B's, and all sorts of shops. I'm not saying take down whats already built on, like the Amphitheater.

Waterfront is where it's at. Cities across the nation are developing waterfronts and enjoying tourism, jobs, revenues and fun. Augusta would not even have an imminent domain problem: they own the land on the river from the airport to the head gates; 25 miles.

Many people have advocated getting rid of the levee after the completion of Clarks Hill Dam in the 1950's including former Augusta Mayor Lewis "Pop" Newman (1973 - 1981). There are three very major hydroelectric dams above Augusta, and the closest is only 22 miles upstream.

I'm disgusted by the fascists/socialist/communists/idiotic leaders here who think nothing should be built alongside the river but baseball stadiums, Arts Centers, Golf & Gardens or whatever government revenue-negative boondoggle they can conjure up. I'm originally from Atlanta, which is booming. I've not seen a single crane in downtown Augusta that was not taxpayer-funded since the early 90's.

The freaking Canal Authority is the reason Bass Pro didn't locate here. The Canal Authority would not let them cut a trail down to the canal and a walkway for people to try out fishing equipment. Some fossils on that authority have served more than 22 years, since the inception. They wanted to leave the area "pristine" when it is overwhelmed with invasive foreign vegetation, primarily privet. The canal is another subject, though. Tragic mismanagement of an awesome asset.

Augusta is sitting on a gold mine: a gorgeous river. I put the question once to Deke and he said it would take an act of Congress. So what? Congress passes dozens of acts a day.

Attached is a photo of the chart from the FEMA study.***

Nancy Albert

FEMA Study Chart (Click to enlarge)

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