Monday, October 29, 2007
Gov. Sonny Perdue
Governors, Secretary in Drought Talks
ATLANTA -- Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne met with Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue on Friday with the aim of keeping a tri-state fight over waning water supplies amid a severe drought from spilling into court.
Neither the governor nor Kempthorne would say much about the meeting until Kempthorne gets together in the afternoon with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley.
"Out of respect for the way these negotiations are going, we're not going to be very specific," Perdue said. "Things are in the works."
Kempthorne said his meeting with Perdue had "the right atmosphere and the right tone." He stressed that the states need to reach an agreement and keep the federal courts out of it.
Alabama, Georgia and Florida are mired in a decades-long water fight over federal reservoirs, and an exceptional drought -- the worst category, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center -- covering almost a third of the Southeast has intensified the jockeying. Government forecasters reported the drought could soon get worse.
Caught in the middle is the Army Corps of Engineers, which says it is complying with federal guidelines by sending millions of gallons of water from Georgia downstream to Florida and Alabama to supply power plants and protect federally threatened mussel species.
Georgia lawmakers announced plans Thursday for a network of state reservoirs. Perdue also has ordered state agencies and public utilities to reduce usage, and authorities have banned outdoor watering in most of the state.
Georgia also sued the Corps last week, demanding it send less water downstream. That brought objections from the governors of Alabama and Florida.
Riley and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist have warned that Georgia's consumption, especially by the burgeoning Atlanta area, with its population of 5 million, threatens their downstream states.
ATLANTA -- Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne met with Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue on Friday with the aim of keeping a tri-state fight over waning water supplies amid a severe drought from spilling into court.
Neither the governor nor Kempthorne would say much about the meeting until Kempthorne gets together in the afternoon with Alabama Gov. Bob Riley.
"Out of respect for the way these negotiations are going, we're not going to be very specific," Perdue said. "Things are in the works."
Kempthorne said his meeting with Perdue had "the right atmosphere and the right tone." He stressed that the states need to reach an agreement and keep the federal courts out of it.
Alabama, Georgia and Florida are mired in a decades-long water fight over federal reservoirs, and an exceptional drought -- the worst category, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center -- covering almost a third of the Southeast has intensified the jockeying. Government forecasters reported the drought could soon get worse.
Caught in the middle is the Army Corps of Engineers, which says it is complying with federal guidelines by sending millions of gallons of water from Georgia downstream to Florida and Alabama to supply power plants and protect federally threatened mussel species.
Georgia lawmakers announced plans Thursday for a network of state reservoirs. Perdue also has ordered state agencies and public utilities to reduce usage, and authorities have banned outdoor watering in most of the state.
Georgia also sued the Corps last week, demanding it send less water downstream. That brought objections from the governors of Alabama and Florida.
Riley and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist have warned that Georgia's consumption, especially by the burgeoning Atlanta area, with its population of 5 million, threatens their downstream states.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Valdosta State Expels Student for Collage
Valdosta State Expels Student for Collage
Valdosta State University has expelled a student for peacefully protesting the school’s decision to construct two new parking decks on campus.
After the Georgia college’s President Ronald M. Zaccari labeled student T. Hayden Barnes a “clear and present danger” and mandated that he submit certifications of his mental health and on-going therapy as conditions of his readmission, Barnes contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help.
“A kind of madness seems to be gripping our colleges, one in which merely claiming a student poses a ‘threat’ — no matter how absurd or attenuated the allegation may be — is enough to punish even the most clearly protected speech,” FIRE President Greg Lukianoff said.
“This case represents the extreme of this troubling trend. Hayden Barnes did nothing wrong; the claim that his speech was threatening is specious, and the university’s decision to expel him is truly chilling.”
VSU’s student newspaper ran an article on March 22, outlining plans to spend $30 million of mandatory student fee money to build two new parking decks on campus.
Barnes posted flyers and e-mailed Zaccari, student and faculty governing bodies, and the Board of Regents detailing his environmental concerns about the parking structures and proposing environmentally friendly options.
On March 26, Barnes was informed by members of VSU’s Students Against Violating the Environment that Zaccari was upset by his flyers. In response, Barnes apologized to Zaccari and took the flyers down, according to a statement from FIRE, a nonprofit foundation that works in support of individual rights and academic freedom at U.S. colleges and universities.
On April 13, Barnes posted a collage of pictures on his Facebook.com page, including pictures of Zaccari, a parking facility, a bulldozer excavating trees, automobile exhaust, a gas mask, an asthma inhaler, and a public bus underneath the “not allowed” symbol.
Barnes also wrote a letter to the editor of the VSU student paper about the proposed parking plans and wrote to Zaccari to ask for an exemption from the mandatory student fee designated for funding the parking facility construction.
According to VSU, Barnes also “posted a link on his Web site page to an article discussing the massacre at Virginia Tech.”
On May 7, Barnes found a “notice of administrative withdrawal” from Zaccari underneath his dormitory door, informing him that “as a result of recent activities directed towards me by you, included [sic] but not limited to the attached threatening document [the Facebook collage], you are considered to present a clear and present danger to this campus.”
Barnes appealed Zaccari’s decision on May 21, forwarding a letter of support from a faculty member and a clean bill of mental health from a psychiatrist.
According to FIRE, “Zaccari amazingly claims that Barnes’ actions constituted ‘a specific threat to his [Zaccari’s] safety and a general threat to the safety of the campus.’”
After reviewing Barnes’ appeal, the Board of Regents referred the case to an Administrative Law Judge for further hearing. The Office of State Administrative Hearings now has jurisdiction over the appeal, and a hearing date has been set for November 26.
FIRE wrote a letter to the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, Erroll B. Davis, Jr., explaining that Barnes has effectively been expelled for engaging in protected speech and has been denied due process rights.
“VSU has punished a vocal student for peacefully protesting a university parking garage,” Lukianoff said, urging readers to ask whether Barnes’ actions “really equaled a terror risk necessitating a student’s immediate expulsion. In its attempt to eliminate a student activist, VSU has eliminated basic fairness, free speech, and due process.”
Valdosta State University has expelled a student for peacefully protesting the school’s decision to construct two new parking decks on campus.
After the Georgia college’s President Ronald M. Zaccari labeled student T. Hayden Barnes a “clear and present danger” and mandated that he submit certifications of his mental health and on-going therapy as conditions of his readmission, Barnes contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help.
“A kind of madness seems to be gripping our colleges, one in which merely claiming a student poses a ‘threat’ — no matter how absurd or attenuated the allegation may be — is enough to punish even the most clearly protected speech,” FIRE President Greg Lukianoff said.
“This case represents the extreme of this troubling trend. Hayden Barnes did nothing wrong; the claim that his speech was threatening is specious, and the university’s decision to expel him is truly chilling.”
VSU’s student newspaper ran an article on March 22, outlining plans to spend $30 million of mandatory student fee money to build two new parking decks on campus.
Barnes posted flyers and e-mailed Zaccari, student and faculty governing bodies, and the Board of Regents detailing his environmental concerns about the parking structures and proposing environmentally friendly options.
On March 26, Barnes was informed by members of VSU’s Students Against Violating the Environment that Zaccari was upset by his flyers. In response, Barnes apologized to Zaccari and took the flyers down, according to a statement from FIRE, a nonprofit foundation that works in support of individual rights and academic freedom at U.S. colleges and universities.
On April 13, Barnes posted a collage of pictures on his Facebook.com page, including pictures of Zaccari, a parking facility, a bulldozer excavating trees, automobile exhaust, a gas mask, an asthma inhaler, and a public bus underneath the “not allowed” symbol.
Barnes also wrote a letter to the editor of the VSU student paper about the proposed parking plans and wrote to Zaccari to ask for an exemption from the mandatory student fee designated for funding the parking facility construction.
According to VSU, Barnes also “posted a link on his Web site page to an article discussing the massacre at Virginia Tech.”
On May 7, Barnes found a “notice of administrative withdrawal” from Zaccari underneath his dormitory door, informing him that “as a result of recent activities directed towards me by you, included [sic] but not limited to the attached threatening document [the Facebook collage], you are considered to present a clear and present danger to this campus.”
Barnes appealed Zaccari’s decision on May 21, forwarding a letter of support from a faculty member and a clean bill of mental health from a psychiatrist.
According to FIRE, “Zaccari amazingly claims that Barnes’ actions constituted ‘a specific threat to his [Zaccari’s] safety and a general threat to the safety of the campus.’”
After reviewing Barnes’ appeal, the Board of Regents referred the case to an Administrative Law Judge for further hearing. The Office of State Administrative Hearings now has jurisdiction over the appeal, and a hearing date has been set for November 26.
FIRE wrote a letter to the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, Erroll B. Davis, Jr., explaining that Barnes has effectively been expelled for engaging in protected speech and has been denied due process rights.
“VSU has punished a vocal student for peacefully protesting a university parking garage,” Lukianoff said, urging readers to ask whether Barnes’ actions “really equaled a terror risk necessitating a student’s immediate expulsion. In its attempt to eliminate a student activist, VSU has eliminated basic fairness, free speech, and due process.”
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Limbaugh Needs Defending
Limbaugh Needs Defending
Written by Nathan Burchfiel and Monisha Bansal, CNSNews.com Staff Writers
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said Tuesday that he introduced a House resolution to support Rush Limbaugh because the conservative talk radio host "needs defending" from Democrats who have introduced resolutions and made statements condemning him for using the words "phony soldiers" on his radio show.
On his Sept. 26 show, Limbaugh used the term "phony soldiers" in setting up a story about Jesse Macbeth, a former soldier who was recently sentenced to five months in prison for obtaining veterans' benefits by falsifying his military records.
Macbeth claimed to have been an Army Ranger with a rank of corporal. He further claimed to have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and became a figure of the anti-war movement when he stated in Internet videos that he witnessed U.S. military atrocities in Iraq. In reality, Macbeth was in the Army only 44 days and never served overseas.
The liberal media group Media Matters for America (which has led a long campaign to have Limbaugh removed from taxpayer-supported Armed Services Radio) accused Limbaugh of referring to all anti-war soldiers as "phony soldiers."
Limbaugh clarified on his radio show that he was referring specifically to Macbeth and others like him.
But Democrats in the House and Senate have criticized Limbaugh and launched efforts to demand apologies and make official condemnations of his comment. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced he was sending a letter to Clear Channel Communications asking that the broadcasting giant force Limbaugh to apologize.
Also on Monday, Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) introduced a House resolution to support the military and condemn Limbaugh's comments. Udall's resolution prompted Kingston to introduce his own resolution supporting Limbaugh. Cybercast News Service sat down with Kingston Tuesday to discuss the issue.
Written by Nathan Burchfiel and Monisha Bansal, CNSNews.com Staff Writers
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said Tuesday that he introduced a House resolution to support Rush Limbaugh because the conservative talk radio host "needs defending" from Democrats who have introduced resolutions and made statements condemning him for using the words "phony soldiers" on his radio show.
On his Sept. 26 show, Limbaugh used the term "phony soldiers" in setting up a story about Jesse Macbeth, a former soldier who was recently sentenced to five months in prison for obtaining veterans' benefits by falsifying his military records.
Macbeth claimed to have been an Army Ranger with a rank of corporal. He further claimed to have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and became a figure of the anti-war movement when he stated in Internet videos that he witnessed U.S. military atrocities in Iraq. In reality, Macbeth was in the Army only 44 days and never served overseas.
The liberal media group Media Matters for America (which has led a long campaign to have Limbaugh removed from taxpayer-supported Armed Services Radio) accused Limbaugh of referring to all anti-war soldiers as "phony soldiers."
Limbaugh clarified on his radio show that he was referring specifically to Macbeth and others like him.
But Democrats in the House and Senate have criticized Limbaugh and launched efforts to demand apologies and make official condemnations of his comment. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced he was sending a letter to Clear Channel Communications asking that the broadcasting giant force Limbaugh to apologize.
Also on Monday, Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) introduced a House resolution to support the military and condemn Limbaugh's comments. Udall's resolution prompted Kingston to introduce his own resolution supporting Limbaugh. Cybercast News Service sat down with Kingston Tuesday to discuss the issue.
