This is going to be a brief diary, but I wanted to let Atlantans (and Georgians, generally) know that there will be a bar crawl in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood of Atlanta on July 12 to raise money for Senator Obama's campaign.

Good people:

I have been offered and have accepted a job teaching at Clayton State University in Morrow, GA. My wife and I are very excited about this, but it does dawn on me that I don't really know anything about the Atlanta area. My sister lived in Lithonia for several years, but she is deeply conservative (religious and political), and thus what we're looking for in a place to live differs wildly.

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal claims that 25 million people are underinsured up from 16 million in 2003.

Today the Atlanta Journal Constitution stated 700 people die per year in Georgia, people that would have lived had they been injured in other states because of an underfunded trauma care system in Georgia.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle explains that Grady Hospital in Atlanta "bleeds 40 million dollars in unpaid emergency bills" emminating from the uninsured and underinsured.

And a few hours ago MSNBC ran a disturbing story about how Hospitals use credit reports to guage patients ability and willingness to pay hospital bills.

This isn't funny.

Homemade "BumBot" Wages War on Riff-Raff

Using the control and a walkie-talkie, he approaches the vagrants around his bar and a local day care center to inform them via the robot's loudspeaker that they are trespassing on private property. If that doesn't do the trick, he gets rough with the water cannon. Apparently the robot has been so successful that the owner of the day care facility wishes she had three more just like it.

Rufus O'Terrill, local idiot, uses robot to assault, batter, and recklessly endanger homeless people, gets some attention for it. Then he runs for mayor of Atlanta:

Former state representative and Lt. Governor candidate Jim Martin announced yesterday that his fledgling  primary campaign exceeded its fundraising goal of $250,000 by raising $346,000 in less that 12 days.

Martin is a solid progressive who faces five other opponents in the June 15 Democratic primary, none of which have the statewide name recognition or fundraising capabilities Martin so well demonstrated in his Lt. Governor campaign versus right wing Republican Casey Cagle. Martin earned 75,000 more votes in the Lt.Gov. race than Dem gubernatorial candidate Mark Taylor in his race against Sonny "Pray for Rain" Perdue.

Martin joins the race with top contender Vernon Jones, DeKalb County CEO,and four other potential candidates: Ecologist Rand Knight, Statesboro's Josh Lanier, former WSB talking head Dale Cardwell, and Rockdale County School Board member Maggie Martinez.

Last year I travelled to Atlanta for the second time - to see the whale sharks again, and the baby panda for the first time, to meet OPOL and to see my friend BobR.

All these missions were accomplished - and I had a fantastic time playing tourist with OPOL over the weekend.

On Monday, while OPOL was at work, I went to the Martin Luther King, Jr National Historic Site.

Join me over the jump for a sheddhead photo tour.

I have always been reluctant to use the word "breaking", but this is big news for Georgia. Finally! An extraordinarily capable and viable challenger to Saxby Chambliss has emerged.

Atlanta Attorney Jim Martin, a well-known and beloved state legislator and solid progressive announced this afternoon that he will challenge Bushbot wingnut GA Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

In his announcement today Martin said:

"Today, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, it’s clear that the current administration is on the wrong track. We need a Senator in Washington who answers to Georgians and not to George Bush and Dick Cheney 92 percent of the time,"

"Senator Chambliss’s uncritical advocacy of the Iraq war has been matched only by his disregard for the soldiers fighting it and their families. I believe we should respect our troops by using them more effectively and taking better care of them when they come home."

More on the flip:

UPDATE - Thanks for the recs folks!

I haven't had that many "standing around with strangers watching events unfold" moments in my life.  In roughly chronological order, the Challenger explosion, the OJ verdict, 9/11, the Red Sox winning the World Series.  Maybe one or two others scattered through my 33 years.  But not many.  Most events are, I suppose, not big enough, not loud enough, not important enough to make people stop and just watch.  Today was another one of those days.

Many of you may or may not be aware of this.  A massive tornado ripped through downtown Atlanta around 10 pm last night.  It caused major damage to several sections of downtown, inflicting massive structural damage as well to the CNN Center where my childhood best friend works.  It destroyed homes, potentially the one where I lived for most of a year.  I'm not sure the status of the home where my friend lives, either, but I am literally praying it was not destroyed.  

The only network covering this live is CNN.  Fox is beating up on Barack, instead.  I have to say, shame on Fox News for not reporting on an utter catastrophe where human lives and safety are and will continue to be at stake.

Atlanta Kossacks, check in here.

Update [2008-3-15 0:20:39 by Moody Loner]:: Atlanta Red Cross Contact and Donation Information Here.

Update [2008-3-15 0:20:39 by Moody Loner]:: Fulton County SPCA  Donations and information here.

Thanks, noweasels.

News links:

Atlanta Constitution Journal
National Weather Service Loop
CNN report Friday Night

Thanks, SallyCat.

Careful with personal info - just enough to let people know you're safe.

People that know - see if we can get some helpful information here forpeople in Atlanta that need it.

And keep the candidate crap outside, please.

Super Mega Primary Watch Party!

YOU ARE INVITED:

Join the Fulton County Democratic Party, the Young Democrats of Georgia, Atlanta Stonewall Democrats, the Young Democrats of Atlanta, Mid-Fulton Democrats, DeKalb Young Democrats, AtlantaKos and the Red Clay Democrats as we gather to watch the presidential primary returns on Tuesday evening at Amsterdam Bar and Cafe.

This venue has over 25 flat panel TV's throughout the facility for easy viewing of Super Tuesday returns. Food can be ordered up until ten PM and the bar will remain open until 2AM.

This is THE place to be on the night of the biggest primary in history!

What: Georgia Presidential Primary Watch Party
When: Tuesday, February 5th, 7pm-?
Where: Amsterdam Bar & Cafe
502 Amsterdam Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306

Who: Open to all Democrats & supporters

RSVP on the flip:

The Wife has a lady's apparel store and we go a few times each year to Atlanta to order clothes and accessories.  She always gets posh digs across the street downtown cheap on Priceline.  We find good restaurants within walking distance and try to make of it a vacation.  Unfortunately, she spends her time buying and I take pics.  The rest of the time I try with some difficulty to stay out of trouble.

My company has a table at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner at the World Congress Center. They held them until the last moment and nobody can go. Who would like a ticket or two? I have a number of pairs. Clinton and Edwards will be speaking. Max Cleland and John Lewis will be honored. Can you dress nice and behave respectably? Email me at gttim where the mail is hot!

Thank you Mayor Franklin for standing up for what is right for our party.

The AJC is reporting that Mayor Franklin "Speaking at the 40th annual MLK commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Franklin said the country is on the "cusp of turning the impossible into reality. Yes this is reality, not fantasy or fairy tales.""

She said this with Clinton in the room!!!

Tomorrow we all honor an American saint.  Each Democratic candidate is issuing moving words commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and calling to mind our profound debt to him, and this diary is not meant to privilege the words of one candidate over those of others.  In fact, as a way of remembering Dr. King, I encourage readers to post comments with their own remarks -- or remarks from other candidates, public figures, or fellow citizens -- that reflect on what his legacy means to us.  But today in Atlanta, Obama gave what I believe to be a truly sublime speech in Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King spent many years as a pastor.  An excerpt follows below, one that distills Obama's critical insight into the difficult -- yet exciting -- moment in which this country finds itself.  No matter your preference this year, let us all be grateful that we have a leader speaking these words today.

I'm not a good writer nor am I even a good speaker. What I do know is what's in my heart and a little bit more about computers and a little something about politics. I was at the rally for John Edwards today at the IBEW union hall (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers). The steelworkers were there, Mark Taylor was there and former Georgia governor Roy Barnes.

Less than four hours and counting until John Edwards is due to speak in Atlanta, where (believe it or not) it's snowing.  It hardly ever snows in Atlanta!!!  Despite a sore throat and the fluffy white stuff falling from the sky, I'm planning to see Edwards today.

A few days ago, I contacted the political reporter at the local newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  I told him I was supporting Edwards and that I hoped the AJC would cover his appearance here.  He assured me they would.

It was the beginning of an idea -- instead of complaining after the fact about the lack of coverage, we Edwardians should be pro-active in dealing with the media.

Here's my plan:

I paid $100 to hear Michelle Obama speak at the Commerce Club in Atlanta today, even though I've been a staunch John Edwards supporter.

I have an Edwards '08 bumper sticker on my car, I've told all my friends I'm supporting him, I've donated money to his campaign.  Heck, I even drove over to South Carolina this weekend and canvassed for him.  But a friend invited me to hear Michelle Obama, so I thought I should go.  I must say, she was impressive.

Michelle Obama talked about her husband's upbringing, her upbringing, their values and their hopes for the future.  As an African American, I could really identify with them, and for a moment, I thought maybe I should be more open to Obama's candidacy.  After all, he was editor of the Harvard law review; he was a community organizer in Chicago; he helped get an ethics bill passed in Illinois, and he (and she) are inspiring speakers.

Then I read what Edwards was saying in South Carolina, and it became clear which path I would choose.