OK ... TIME'S UP.

Earlier this month I issued a challenge to you, my loyal listeners.  The challenge was made in response to charges some of you made that I, like Armstrong Williams, was on the payroll of the Bush Administration; being paid to express support for certain Bush initiatives.  My challenge was for you to provide some proof that "I have ever taken one penny from any source, government or otherwise, in return for promoting a certain idea, philosophy, concept, product, program or  piece of legislation on my radio program outside of a paid commercial endorsement."  If you could prove that I had, indeed, received such a payment I would make a $10,000 payment to a charity of your choice.

There was only one offer of proof submitted.  One listener suggested that by writing a book on the Fair Tax I would be receiving payment for promotion of a legislative initiative.  I responded that the payment would be received for selling a book.  Under that standard any columnist who received payment from any newspaper for writing a column would be in the same boat as Armstrong Williams.

Well .. it's now the end of the month, and effective today I am withdrawing the offer.  Sorry, time is up.  My point has been made.  I remain very upset with Armstrong Williams over his acceptance of payment from the government for the promotion of the No Child Left Behind Act.  Now we have columnist Maggie Gallagher in the mix.  I'm doubly upset with the Bush Administration for offering payments to journalists, pundits and opinion makers to promote certain administration initiatives.  Even Bill Clinton (so far as we know) never stooped to this; but then, he didn't have to.  The media was always waiting with their tongues hanging out like pump handles ... ready to promote Clinton initiatives at the drop of a hat.  I may infuriate people with my opinions and stances on various subjects, but my listeners should know that I'm always expressing my opinions and that those opinions are and remain unbought.

PROPERTY SEIZURE FEVER IN GEORGIA

I do think that I have at least one issue that I talk about on the air that most ... not all ... but most of my listeners agree with.  Private property rights.  I believe, and nobody has presented me with any evidence to the contrary, that no political system based on liberty and economic freedom has ever survived once private property rights came to be ignored.

Now .. let me tell you a quick story about something called Fanplex.  Fanplex was a the bright idea of some politicians representing a district adjoining Atlanta's Turner Field, the home of the Atlanta Braves.  These politicians thought that if they built a miniature golf course and a game room adjacent to Turner Field suburban families would come pouring into downtown Atlanta, even when the Braves weren't playing, just to get in a game of Pac Man and some Putt Putt.  As soon as the idea was proposed I began to slam it on the air.  It wouldn't work.  It would be a failure.  The taxpayers would end up footing the bill.  Well ... it didn't work.  It was a failure and the taxpayers ended up footing the bill. 

I bring this up because I want to create a scenario for you with just a few changes.  In this case we're going to make it a private developer, not some hack politicians, who decides that some sort of a recreational facility would be a money-maker in some specific location.  The private developer wants to build a skate board park, or a golf course, or baseball fields.  There's a problem though.  The private individuals who own the property the developer wants don't want to sell; or, if they do want to sell, they want more money than the developer is willing to pay.  Wouldn't it be great if the developer could just go to his local government and tell them to seize the property?  Yeah ... take that property, turn it over to me, and I'll build this nifty little skate park, or parking garage, or office building, or whatever .. and then I'll operate it for my own profit for about ten years and then I'll turn it over to you.  Wouldn't that be cool?

Well, let me introduce you to SB5 .. a wonderful little piece of legislation now resting in the Georgia State Senate.  SB5 is the brainchild of one Eric Johnson, a Republican from Savannah.  Senator Johnson is the President Pro Tem of the Senate.  He is also a Republican.  Oh ... and I understand that he is a real estate developer.  Eric Johnson wants any government entity in Georgia to be able to seize private property, your home, your office, your raw land, and turn it over to a private developer.  Your property would then become an office building, a parking garage, a transportation facility, a baseball stadium, a telecommunications facility or any number of other wonderful things.  It would then be operated by the developer for profit, and at some time in the future would be turned over to the government that condemned it. 

Now ... let me tell you how clever Senator Johnson and his fellow property snatchers were in drafting this bill.  They didn't want to use words like "government" and "developer," so they created some code words to use in the legislation.  Here are some of those definitions straight from SB5.

"Operator."  ... any person, other than a public entity, responsible for the development of any and all of the stages of a gualifying project or any portion thereof.

"Qualifying project."  Any facility for which development approval is sought.

"Responsible public entity"  a public entity that has the power to plan, design, develop, finance, acquire, install, construct, equip, maintain, improve, expand, repair or operate the applicable qualifying project.

Now, what is an "operator?"  That is simply another word for "developer."  "Qualifying project?"  Just say "project."  The "responsible public entity?"  Just another way of saying "government." 

I read this entire legislation last night, and I believe it to be a full scale assault launched by Georgia developers on the private property rights of Georgians.  Under this law a developer can go to a government and ask for a plot of land to be seized so that the developer can build "any property which any public entity is authorized to construct, erect, acquire, own, repair, remodel, maintain, add to, extend, improve, equip, operate or manage" under the laws of Georgia.   That's pretty broad, isn't it?  Governments in Georgia can own apartments and office buildings.  Connect the dots.

This law has the backing of some of the most powerful people in state government.  It will only die if the people of this state make it clear to their elected representatives that this blatant assault on private property rights will not go unnoticed.

Let's see if the people really care.

MORE HELP FOR THE LEE COUNTY BLACK ADVISORY BOARD

Lee County, Florida.  That's Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral ... etc.  I've already told you that Lee County has something called a Black Advisory Board  and this august board is recommending that Lee County change its name because it is named after a Confederate General.  Do you think that the Lee County Black Advisory Board would be interested in knowing that Robert E. Lee wasn't a slave owner?  Would they care that Lee was staunchly anti-slavery?  Do they know that Lee said that if he believed that the "Civil War" was about slavery that he would be fighting on the other side?  Naw ... I don't think the Lee County Black Advisory Board either knows or cares.  This is about playing the race card, not about knowing history.

JUST WONDERING ...

Can any of you esteemed listeners and readers remember any leading Democrat ... Kennedy, Pelosi or the like ... urging Iraqis to go out there and vote in the national election on Sunday?  I'm not saying it hasn't happened.  I am saying that I certainly don't remember it happening. Simply put, most partisan Democrats don't want Iraqis to vote on Sunday.  They want Sunday's vote to be a failure.  They put any concern they have for freedom and for a democratically elected government in Iraq below their desires for Bush to fail.  Aren't you proud to be a Democrat?

THE FRENCH AGENDA

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Axis of Weasels member and resident Euro-Weenie himself French President Jacques Chirac made a stunning proposal.  He is suggesting that the entire world be taxed to finance the fight against AIDS.  That's right, he wants taxing authority on the rest of the world.  Isn't that just fine?  Our taxes aren't high enough already. Now we should have our wealth seized to pay for health care for people who engage in irresponsible sexual activities.

This should come as no surprise.  France is a socialist country, and Chirac himself is a socialist.  He wants the power  to decide when, where and how much is going to be spent to fight AIDS, and the power to decide how much of the wealth that each and every individual produces he or she is allowed to keep.   So where does he propose getting the money?  The list sounds like something a Democrat would dream up:

• A tax on international financial transactions, which total some $3 trillion a day
• Taxing fuel for air and sea transport
• A $1 tax on all airline tickets

But you see, it wouldn't stop with AIDS.  That's just the entry point....designed to tug at people's heart strings.  The next thing you know, he'll be going for giving the United Nations a worldwide taxing authority.  After all, stingy rich nations should do something about poverty in Africa, right?  The list would go on and on.  The anti sovereignty crowd has been lobbying for United Nations taxing authority  for decades.  They see it as just a matter of time.

Be thankful that the American people re-elected George W. Bush and not John Kerry.  This is exactly the kind of nonsense that The Poodle would support.

HELP HIM FINISH THE JOB

Tragic story yesterday out of Glendale, California.  In case you haven't heard, 25-year-old Juan Manuel Alvarez decided to commit suicide.  He was going to do park his Jeep Cherokee on some railroad tracks and let the train hit him.

He wimped out.  He got out of the SUV just before the train hit it, and watched the ensuing collision.  That disaster has now claimed the lives of 11 people.  He will be charged with 11 counts of murder.  So what should be done with him?

Since this is California, he might get the death penalty.  But even if he does, he'll wind up on death row for at least 20 years.  Here's a better idea: let's help him finish the job.

Tie him to the train tracks a few hours before the train comes.  You know, a person can feel the rails vibrating as the train approaches from miles away.  That will give him time to think about what he did, prior to taking his proverbial eternal celestial train nap.  By the way ... slow the train down to a crawl.  Reallllllll slow.  Let him feel the bones crunching. 

By the way, none of the news reports say whether or not he was an illegal alien.  Inquiring minds and all that. 

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Here is a transcript of President Bush's press conference at the White House yesterday.  You'll note the media harassment and their constant quest for an apology for mistakes.

Ann Coulter's column this week is about abortion, so the inclusion of her column in the reading assignments does not constitute permission to call the show and talk about abortion.  Rather,  just check out the column.  By the way, did you know The Hildabeast is slowly becoming pro-life?

Pro-democracy Iranians are feeling emboldened by President Bush's inauguration speech.  They plan to increase their activities protesting the oppressive Islamic regime.  But according to the left, these people don't want freedom!

The rest of the Arab world sure doesn't like all this democracy talk.  Jordanian dictator (or 'King') Abullah of Jordan says democracy will never work in Iraq.  Feeling power slipping, are we?

The Senate confirmed Condoleezza Rice to be secretary of state by a vote of 85 to 13.  That's 85 reasonable people and 13 bitter liberals, if you're scoring at home.

The media's portrayal of an out-of-control Iraq where Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds can't get along is misleading at best.  Christopher Hitchens says elections are quite possible.

You know Hugo Chavez?  That's Jimmy Carter's buddy down there in Venezuela.  Seems he is supporting terrorists these days.

The mainstream media has now taken Saint Hillary's view that Iraq was better off under Saddam Hussein.  The Media Research Center reports.

Thomas Sowell wants to know what exactly all of the anti-Bush protesters are protesting.  After all, did Republicans take to the streets when Bill Clinton was elected?  As always, a good read.

The  hysteria surrounding Larry Summers' comments at Harvard about women in certain professions amounts to just that, hysteria.  George Will explains the situation.

How dare the president of the United States address the war on terror and the spread of democracy, freedom and human liberty in his inaugural address?  Larry Elder says the left is predictably whining about Bush's speech.

9 and 10-year-old boys arrested for drawing violent stick figures.

There are a couple of stories out there right now that might help convince your kids that drugs are a bad idea. Pictures of what crystal meth and heroin can do to your physical appearance. Yikes!

WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE POINTY HAND THINGS?
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