Heal Thyself

It seems a county contractor has been accused of improprieties around the use of pandemic economic emergency funds and now a county commissioner wants a code of ethics for businesses contracting with the county. And DeKalb County should know of these things. Remember the P-Card fiasco? Not that long ago. Then we have a [former] commissioner convicted of extortion regarding one of the county's...wait for it...wastewater contractors. 

Is the expectation that contractors will now be held to the same high standards that the commissioners hold themselves?

Will The Law Win?

Law, at least as enshrined in the Constitution, is under serious attack by the current administration. The GAO reports that three Biden administration officials retain office illegally. Everything done in those administrations while headed by an illegal official will be at risk for legal challenge. Looks like the law doesn't apply to our top law enforcement officer. And the law is going to lose. 

Not happy with waiting for the Supreme Court decision on school loan bailouts (he will lose), the administration now plans to up the income level for shifting loan payments from the borrower to, well, everyone else. This is bad for everyone but colleges and universities who can continue bloat with other peoples' money. It will also encourage those who probably shouldn't go in the first place to give it a try. And it definitely encourages fuzzy degrees (think: sociology and gender studies) over more practical studies (think: engineering) as the sociology major may pay ten percent of her debt while the engineer will pay all of hers. This is clearly a case of executive over-reach. It is the legislature's job to make these changes, but who's going to stop him?

To make things worse, for many who will pick up the tab for these bailouts, Biden intends to unleash his bulked-up army of IRS agents to squeeze every last penny out of folks who work for tips. That's right, buy votes from folks who spent six years at a college party and pay for it by squeezing blood from the hardest working amongst us. Here, he may actually be on solid legal footing. It's just plain wrong. 

Can Politicians Fix The Economy?

We all know that members of the US House and Senate dramatically enlarge their net worth upon taking office but do they do anything for (or to) us? After all, don't these multi-millionaire politicians promise to do just that in order to garner votes? A recent article in Better Investing suggests these are idle promises. At best. But...two charts tracking the S&P index against House and Senate majority margins does tell an interesting story.

The author did not differentiate between parties in the majority nor is there any indication when a single party held the majority in both the House and the Senate. It is interesting to note that there were times, long ago, when the "majority party" held less than 50% of the seats in the House. Back in those days the country was blessed with more than two parties which now look and behave strikingly similar. No matter what you believe.

What is striking about these charts is that the best S&P returns coincide with the weakest majorities in the House and Senate. And there is reason to believe that our recent (2022-2023) plunge in S&P returns might correlate with the same party holding a majority in both chambers. 

That, as they say, is a topic for further research. 

Whose We?

Escaping containment, that blivet of paternalistic condescension, President Biden,  squizzed out some priceless arrogance:

"We’ve been patient. But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us."

regarding the reticence of some to get their Fauci Ouchy. Condemnation heaped on the deplorable "you-s" who refuse to be directed by this greater, smarter, self-appointed and now controlling "we." 

We, the little we, have seen this before. Hell, we see it all the time. Like when some corporate SVP or C-level shows up to speak to the little people, littering the talk with "we" even when really just congratulating themselves. In their case it is political, an attempt to portray a large team, and themselves a part, when everyone, even the bobble-head toadies in the first row, know it is really all about them, the speaker, not you and certainly now "we."  And it would be easy to pummel out-of-touch politicians and executives but we, the little we, know this rhetorical device for what it is: manipulation. 

And it isn't just coming from those far above us. In many cases, including our own little burg, it is coming from bureaucrats who see themselves as positioned far above us. 

This is coming from our own little potentates of their Direktorates at city hall, including the Direktorate of community development and the Direktorate of economic development. From the latter we get:

 "We sort of have two Dunwoody's right now. We have single-family, suburban residential neighborhoods, and then we have Perimeter Center (largely made up of office and retail space [AND apartments!]), and they don't always work with one another. Sometimes they work against one another."

Let's unpack that "we." To be very clear when this bureaucrat is using "we" he is NOT including the little we, that very same we that came out in droves to vote Dunwoody Yes! His "we" are the crony developers and profiteering businesses and if there is any consideration for the little we it is only to acknowledge the annoyance they might inflict--like complaining about the gnats during a Tybee Island getaway. Wouldn't it be great if you could just get rid of them?

That needs a bit of unpacking as well. When factions "work against one another" what role does he play and what side does he take? Well, again, that would be whatever side is in opposition to "single family suburban residential neighborhoods" as he and his supporters in the development and business community can no longer satisfy their greeds without displacing the little we. And make no mistake he will throw the little we under the bus in a heartbeat because it is no skin off his nose. He doesn't even live here.

And that is the real problem. This city has been taken over by outsiders. It is run by outsiders, for the benefit of outsiders to the detriment of the little we. It is time for the little we to rise up just as they did when breaking bonds with DeKalb County. It is time to shut down these Direktorates, time to ensure every operation within the city benefits those living in the city and that those operations even remotely for the benefit of developers and profiteers be operated by those groups outside of city hall.

And maybe it's time to require that folks running this city have some skin in the game. Just like the little we.

Ethical Or Legal

The recent armored car I-285 "cash drive" brought issues of ethical and/or legal behavior to the fore. After cash from the truck littered the interstate folks stopped to gather what they saw as a windfall of free cash. The Dunwoody Police (it happened in their jurisdiction)  rightly pointed out that this was not their money, it must be returned and keeping it would be illegal. That is also consistent with Ethics 101: it is isn't yours, don't take it.

But can unethical taking be made legal? Turns out that is the case and it is something the Dunwoody Police do on a routine and regular basis. It is called "asset seizure" which is government (police) appropriation of private property on the mere suspicion of wrong doing. In theory, due process applies. In practice due process is so onerous that it is impossible for the accused, even if exonerated, to ever regain their property. So the police, DPD included, seize the property, convert it to their needs without any consideration given to the fact that a) it is not their property; and b) there exists legal due process-a law they are sworn to uphold.

So now the question is do actions speak louder than words? Are laws something that only apply to the "little people" with the police state immune to ethical, moral and legal considerations?

"Don't" Woody

Dunwoody has banned wood construction in buildings above three stories tall. The claim, coming from Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, attempts to hide behind public safety by arguing these construction techniques amount to little more than building a funeral pyre. Stealing some candy from the babies:

This is not to suggest that politicians would be lying to the public. No, it would be screaming it from the mountaintops. They are lying. They want you to believe this is a disaster in the making and they are going to do something about it.

But this isn't about safety and certainly not fire safety. Remember, Dunwoody is the City that refused to inspect and issue Certificates of Occupancy for edu-trailers in the City limits. It is also the City that tried to tear down apartments saying they wanted ball fields when they really wanted the "wrong kind of people" out of their City. Nearby, Rusty Paul says he has "seen these things burn," but has he seen a trailer burn? If this were about fire safety, and you simply must have a Permission Society, then you should address the real problem. Require fire retardant materials, which includes treated wood products. Require fire suppression systems, which would arguably be of immense value when their metal and concrete semi-urban gulags become pizza ovens fueled by Ikea furniture. Or is that next? Should our lords and masters ban furniture made of particle board? After all, they are wood and adhesive, practically the same as a fire log. Have you seen THOSE burn? Will Dunwoody ban fireplaces? How about candles? Must they be LED-only? Why not?

Because it isn't about fire safety. Just like the previous apartment Blitz-Krieg it is about social and demographic engineering. It is about economic segregation. Earlier a slip of a ruler's lip let it out that the real concern was that within five years economically constructed housing would fall into disrepair, rents would drop and the "wrong kind of people" would invade our community and our schools. That is what this is really all about.

Oh. The. Humanity. 

Go With Luck

Another flailing retail operation finds the exit unable to save itself even with open disrespect for City ordinances and supported by the blind eye of their representative on City Council.

Nearby, the most egregious violator of the Dunwoody Overlay proudly claims the title of "Enemy From Within." Shame on them. They should and probably do know better and their disregard for this community is all the more repugnant. Shame. On. Them. And the Councilor in their back pocket.

To each and every business and politician who holds this community in disdain: go with luck--but go!

PR Over Service

You may have noticed there are radar speed signs in Dunwoody. You may have heard that an allegedly drunken driver took a plow thru the DUMC tree retail operation[1]. In fact you may have seen the DUMC kerfuffle on the Police Facebook page. Where you might also have noticed how the PD is chowing down at a trendy local restaurant[2].

That's right, unsolved murders[3] and all, the police have time for constant updates on social media. Some top brass have their own web sites where they publicly polish their own brass[4]. It seems Council's sycophantic symphony of praise leaves a few interludes to interject a self-congratulatory chorus of How Great I Art.

What you will not notice in the detritus of this public relations campaign is meaningful information. Like what, you ask? Glad you asked. Remember those radar speed signs. They can actually collect data on every vehicle passing by. That data could be made available to the public, to inform the public, to serve the public. But it isn't. And it will not be. Why? Because the PD is too busy tweeting and face-booking. And that is just one example. Of many.

So here is a new year's resolution for our elected officials and their city manager: let's make this the year that we replace Grogan and his brass-heavy tribute band with leadership that is interested in serving this community. And when we get our officers to put down their tweeters and get back to the job we might really consider paying them a living wage.


[1] Do they have a business license for that? What, because it is a church? Could they sell booze w/o a license? Why not?
[2] It seems that the "International Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Code of Ethics" explicitly forbids accepting gratuities defining this as anything you receive by virtue of your profession. That would include free and discounted meals. Unless you're in the Dunwoody PD.
[3] The unsolved Abbotts murder. 
[4] If it were something other than brass you could go blind doing that.

Trump's Taxes

Remember those? Very vocal anti-Trump groups were demanding, as some kind of made-up-as-we-go-along "right," to access then candidate and now President Trump's tax filings. Inquiring minds must be in the know.

Didn't happen. Turns out not many folks in government want very many of the financial truths revealed because it looks less than unsavory as even casual examination indicates government insiders are making out like bandits. And this isn't just the sudden millionaire M. Albright or the laundering operation of past presidents. As long ago as 2004 the Wall Street Journal reported on Senators cleaning up in the stock market getting upwards of 12% better return than Wall Street pros. And it is not just the Senate. In 2011, the New York Times reported similarly over the top returns for Representatives in the House.

And it isn't just politics that pays. It is government as well. Recently the AJC reported that working stiff wages and salaries average $23.15/hr whilst government "workers" rake in $30.12/hr, a 25% markup. Benefits fare worse at $10.11/hr for us and $17.94/hr for them, benefitting them with an additional $0.75 for every dollar we work for. No wonder government employees are such fans of a big and growing government.

But it isn't just inside-the-beltway bandits. Have you ever noticed how it isn't very long before a gold dome Representative or Senator is bringing home the gold, often to a really nice second home on Tybee or up in Blue Ridge? Or how a City Councilor's wife's cousin's husband lands a cushy job with a local Audi dealership? You know, the one owned by the bloke who's wife needs a wee little favor, a business friendly ordinance perhaps to help her business. And others like it, of course. And then magically a nice nearly-new, just off-lease A7 comes available at an extraordinary price. And why wouldn't that politician get first dibs? After all a shirt tail relative works at the dealership. And this is above and beyond (or below and under-something) long standing traditions like calling utilities to task for your neighbors or jumping queue for things like private school slots. That's old school.

So maybe the folks screaming for Trump's Taxes have a point. But it may be they don't go far enough. Maybe all politicians should publish their Tax Filings and their property holdings/interests. Many do. But the next logical step is for any incumbent seeking re-election to submit to a life-style audit. That might actually go a ways towards breaking the rule that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts...

It's All Your Fault

In his tenure as DeKalb School's chief Michael Thurmond started riffing on the notion that public schools were just fine and the real problem was failures in the communities they serve. Green and his administration brought deflective blame-the-society, blame-the-community to a crescendo complete with pep rallies and self-congratulatory billboards. This strategy does not supersede or obsolete the tried and true tactic of trotting out the teacher-proof student as a shining example of public schools' capabilities. In fact, a staunch proponent of public schools, the AJC is doubling down.

In a recent posting it is suggested that the success of public schools is due to work ethic, another external factor and yet somehow crediting schools, and not the external actors with that success. The author dances a jig around racial issues by singling out successful east asian families, Tiger Parents and their Tiger Cubs, for the high priority they place on academic achievement and the work they devote to that achievement. The posting paints a picture of "this is how public schools can work for you"--dedicated, devoted parents with high expectations taking primary responsibility for their children's care and education using the public schools as one of many tools at their disposal.

The author pulls up short in any examination of the primary and subordinate roles of the featured actors lest the argument backfire exposing that these academic success stories have little to do with public schools or their wrap-around services and bloated administrations. This would required poking around in Tiger Mom's toolkit. Music schools--violin, piano not Sousaphone and marching bands. Math programs--Kumon, Mathnasium, the Art of Problem Solving as teaching mathematics was abandoned decades ago by public schools in favor of "math concepts." Summer math, robotics and computer science camps. Perhaps, depending on what part of "East Asia" the Tigers come from there may be some soccer involved. World of Warcraft? Maybe not so much.

And then the author would need to explore how this works. How does the Tiger Parent find the programs? How do they choose between them? What does the student's schedule look like? You can cite directed, funded research to fill the page, but in Atlanta many folks know or are Tiger Parents. You may start with a beginning keyboard program advancing to smaller studio lessons based on Tiger Referrals, studio visits and recitals. Similar approaches are used to select the math programs, summer experiences and online education where Tiger Cubs acquire their educations. The key element here is why proponents of public schools avoid all but a passing examination of Tiger Families: they have choices and they make choices. Choice is a wooden stake thru the heart of vampiric public schools.

So just how does this all turn out? Well, you can get an immediate sense by googling Kumon locations noting where they are and perhaps more importantly where they are not. Now if you believe they are missing in south DeKalb because the schools in that part of the system are doing such a wonderful job that a market doesn't exist then you need to check some facts. To Thurmond and Green's original point, there are no supplementary educational operations in that community because there is insufficient demand. This drives the on-going wave of self-segregation with Tiger Parents putting miles and sometimes school districts between themselves, and their children, and those suffering from an Elektra complex with regards to paternalistic governments, including schools. Since it is politically impossible for even a concentration of Tiger Parents to break the stranglehold public schools have on education tax dollars they will leverage their political power to ensure that "working for the children" is more than a platitude. If the best teachers, measurably better than others, are not teaching their children there will be changes. This self-segregation and political pressure will continue until the system modernizes giving Tiger Families complete control over the full spectrum of education options. 

Personality Politics

Our local elections are now in the books and the immediate, reflexive reactions have settled down. Of these reactions perhaps the most interesting was the notion that the vote for Dunwoody Mayor was largely about personality. The supporting argument is that when Council votes mattered the winner and the incumbent almost always cast their votes the same direction. As is common in political arguments it ignores that fact that the Mayor is a tie breaker whose vote is rarely recorded. Or maybe the soon-to-be-former Mayor's insistence on name and address before addressing Council, which some considered a violation of good manners and others considered arrogant, tipped the personality scale in favour of the challenger.

Or maybe not.

A notable few of our current crop of professional politicians seem less involved in personality politics and more fond of photo-op politics. For these, the Mayor included, it is almost as if there is a law requiring their presence in any picture of a positive event. They seem to expect voters to believe that there is some kind of causal relationship to the hard work of others forged by a snapshot. Politicians have many ways of demonstrating how stupid they believe voters to be and this is one of them. Perhaps voters are not quite so dumb and know that getting your picture taken is an activity, not an accomplishment.

Let's hope they make that point again at the next opportunity.

Secret Societies

You know. The kind with exclusive membership, secret handshakes and mostly likely other, deeper secrets. The kind you'd associate with DeKalb county. The kind that gets an expensive soccer complex sprung on the public and even the Board of Commissioners at the last minute. The kind providing fuel to the fires that warm the cockles of citihood advocates.

Just when you start thinking that having your own little city would solve all the problems you have with the county you find out your city politicos are just as bad and they have been doing the same thing. The latest city secret society to see the light of day is called "Peachtree Gateway" an effort between four of North DeKalb's cities that has been going on behind closed doors and outside public view for the last two years. And get this: it is intended to foster regionalism. Isn't that what the county is for? So what are they doing, creating their own meta-county?

You may be wondering what other secret organizations and operations your city is involved in. Too bad. That IS why they're called secret. Only the proper set of shakers and movers, the biggest fish no matter how small your pond, are allowed in on the secret.

And if you think this is the first and only behind-closed-doors secret machinations your "locally controlled" politicians have been involved in you're not just drunk on the Kool Aid, you've overdosed.

Franchise Fees: With Interest

Probably the most enduring post on TOD is Franchise Fees 101 and it is generally assumed this is due to folks trying to figure out how much the plunge into the deep end of the citihood pool is going to cost. It must be noted that other diatribes on these taxes (What Do Franchise Fees Buy? and Franchise Fees: What Are They Good For?) see little or no traffic.

Perhaps when the reader figures out that it is just another tax from just another taxing authority they give up. They may not even go so far as to learn that even the cable companies are now on a statewide franchise whilst the local yokels keep dragging in the money. So you pay and you pay and you cannot even go down to City Hall to raise a stink over that cable that has been lying across your yard for the last four months. Not their problem, take it up with the State. Oh, and good luck with that.

Or maybe they just total up the cost of Franchise Fees and shrug "this is chump change." It is. In comparison to the other costs (think of FARA writing Home Alarm Registration city ordinances) foisted on you by your newly minted and inexperienced (incompetent?) City Council that would indeed be the case. The fact of the matter is that Franchise Fees are the least of your worries if you're being driven like cattle into the slaughterhouse of Citihood.

Do not let Franchise Fees distract from more dangerous problems. A quick survey can be found in Shout Out To Frederick County, MD. It is incomplete but it is a good start.

You might also look to the track record of nearby upstart Cities, particularly Dunwoody and Brookhaven if you're forming your new circle of governmental hell in DeKalb County. Dunwoody has recently employed the sneaky back-door tax increase by keeping the same millage rate but refusing to craft a revenue neutral (lower millage) tax. This allows politicians to say "we did not raise the tax rate." Legal but deceptive and exactly what they've complained about for decades when the county does it. Then there's Brookhaven. Riding in on their moralistic white horse to joust with the strip clubs only to come out of the engagement muddy and bloody but with saddlebags overflowing with lucre. We'll not go into how quickly Lysol can stain a reputation.

We'll blast past it. 

The real canary in these mine shafts is the City Attorney. If not directly involved in founding these cities they are at least well connected to the powers behind them. And that both Dunwoody's and Brookhaven's CAs have gone down in flames leaving a dark trail of ethical smoke should give anyone even pondering a vote FOR another city like these (and they're all like these) considerable pause. Who are these people? Consigliere? And who the hell are they beholden to, our local version of a political Mafia?

Now you're catching on.

These cities are based on a particularly nasty foundation of greed and a lust for power because to a large degree this is a zero sum game. In their scratching and clawing to get "their share" they will set aside the truth in favour of convincing prevarications, what little integrity they  have will disappear and any transparency will be thru their distorting prism.

Though the citihood outcome is unavoidable there is a way out. Push for an amendment to allow these cities to form their own schools. Now these schools won't be any better (probably worse) but there are enough lemmings out there who will race to the cliff of "local control" that your home value will see a significant bump. Remember the end of busing (aka M to M)? Same thing, only more so. Once the bump kicks in and before the fools realize City Schools are same song second stanza, you cash out. Just get the hell out of Crazy Towne.

No Harm No Foul

How did District 80 end up electing a Democrat? Is this assumed-to-be arch conservative district lilting to the left? Will Brookhaven become the next Decatur instead of just another Sandy Springs wannabe? Will this progressive cancer spread northward into Dunwoody?

Oh, the Humanity!

Or was it really the Lysol Controversy? If so was it the act itself or the cover up? One might suspect the latter as it cost the City Attorney his job after what some claim were clear ethical and legal violations. However original City Attorneys have not faired well in North DeKalb's upstart Cities with Dunwoody's and Brookhaven's both embracing ill-advised actions leading to ethics charges and eventual resignation. Perhaps it really was the former.

Or maybe it takes only a few minutes for the good voters of District 80 to appreciate the symbolism after which they were really sure they preferred the alternative.

Set Our Urkel Free!

The superficial facts have not changed. We have a successful young and ambitious black politician with an Ivy League education whose peers have declared a felon sending him to jail. Depending on sentencing and appeals his next stop may well be prison where he will very likely encounter the kinds of black men he aspired not to be. And we applauded him for those aspirations. We still do.

Many will say it is a shame that he is going to prison. But it isn't. He clearly deserves punishment, the same and to the same degree as would any other. What is a shame is that he has thrown away a prized education, all his hard work, his career, his esteem in the community and has done such damage to his wife and children. Add to this his violation of public trust and abuse of power. Should he go to prison? Certainly. Should we feel sorry? Not for him.

Professor Heal Thyself

Hardly a week goes by without us hearing about the downtrodden professor at some college or university. The story starts with "we haven't had a cost of living raise in XX years" and degenerates into "look at the pay (increase) disparity between class-teaching professors and college administrators." For those outside the ivory towers of academia a "cost of living raise" is an automatic pay rise totally detached from an employee's increased (or decreased) responsibility or productivity. These are raises "just for hanging around" and are always a positive bump in pay even in times of deflation. In the real world it is just another entitlement that most do not receive.

As for the pay disparity we are being told that there just are not enough qualified or top-tier administrators being produced to meet the demand which drives up the price. No reliable data on the trends in that demand are available but many, mostly outside the administration, clearly feel it is growing at too fast a pace for the inherent need. That's one side of the equation.

The other side of the equation is more on point. Academia is producing an enormous excess of qualified candidates for the limited positions available in academia. In some cases the excess is between one and two orders of magnitude. We hear of one veteran professor who whines "they are treating us like interchangeable parts." Well, that's because you are. And every year you push out new, improved versions of equally interchangeable parts that can be had for year-over-year decreasing prices. Many of those complaining luxuriate in the guild socialism of "tenure" something else unheard of in the real world and increasingly rare in academia. The gradual elimination of tenure should surprise no one since tenure reduces Administration's flexibility in replacing old, worn out parts with newer and better ones.

It comes down to Econ 101: supply and demand. Colleges and Universities generate revenue enrolling and graduating students. Creating more graduates than academia's employment market demands naturally drives down compensation and other benefits. No surprise there. But when you are creating an enormous surplus of candidates for your own job you should not be too surprised when these same economic pressures directly impact your personal circumstances. Apparently this leaves no sympathy from tenured professors for their PhD students who face a certain barrage of rejection letters that start with "Unfortunately you were not selected for position XYZ but you were amongst our twenty finalists from a candidate pool of over six hundred..." and this was reported by a Math major who recently earned a PhD from an R1.

The solution is obvious. Stop enrolling and graduating students who upon graduation will find themselves,  along with hundreds of others, vying for a limited pool of jobs that may very well include your own. Obvious, but it will never happen. Decreasing the student population in a given field will incur a loss of revenue demanding a reduction in force which immediately converts the I-Me-Mine "I'm paid too little" whiners into "I've been fired" whiners. For tenured faculty it appears far better to complain about salary compression while pumping out graduates well suited for jobs that do not exist than to right-size their own operation because of the chance they might lose their own job in the process. They should not act so indignant when Administrators treat them as disposable as they do the very same with their students. 

Ebony And Ivory

DeKalb just keeps on keepin' on.

We've recently closed out the first round of James vs Ellis without even a TKO. Urkel was given an OJ pass because some on the jury thought he was just too damn good lookin' and his kids are cute. When someone is found not guilty due to mental defect it is supposed to be mental defect on the part of the defendant, not the jury.

Of course there were pundits punditting that this was racial as the jury was all black (jury of your peers remember) though mostly women without additional peerage. There was also some discomfort in some circles over two extremely successful and ivy league educated black men going for each other's throats. Others, mostly in north DeKalb, dismissed it (privately) as just another example of inherent tribalism that cannot be driven out by western culture or education. These folks binge-watch Zulu, shake their heads and mutter "See, I told you."

Just as those folks were writing this off as another black-on-black crime, albeit white collar, the whole Elaine Boyer fuel-air bomb ignited, leveling the landscape. She copped a plea with the Feds (to keep her pension), tucked tail and went into hiding leaving a p-card-less chief of staff to handle "constituent services" which until that time had consisted mostly of fine dining--on a county p-card. Of course the suspicion of malfeasance went beyond Mizz Elaine and there is also an ethics complaint filed against the currently-on-the-payroll (should Snow White take on Mizz Boyer's role she has promised to send all the current dwarves to work in some other gold mine) chief of staff. Given the expenses disclosed by the AJC that all kinda makes sense, unless you're a salesman accustomed to a company Amex that you can use to take any ole bidness contact to the Pink Pony.

Anyway it is at this point things get really crazy.

Lee May, Urkel wannabe, replaces Issac Blyters, who is black but past his use-by date, with John Ernst, who is white, as Chair of the DeKalb Ethics Board. Who even knew we have one? While it may not have been planned, having a white in charge of this board is most fortuitous especially when almost all elected and perfunctory positions with the government are held by blacks. Think of it this way: should a white man be in the position of investigating an ethics complaint against a black official the race card will be played on first lead. Deliberate or blind luck they have been dealt the Ace of Race and in DeKalb politics that suit is always trump.

But this turns out to be white on rice.

In a media interview regarding the job at hand, Ernst made the rather unfortunate comparison between DeKalb's potential ethics violators and termites. Insects of the destructive white kind: "sometimes when there's termites in the building, the homeowner doesn't care how they get out. If they leave, they leave."

Not so fast there Johnny. If you're eradicating termites by burning down the building some of us would like to get our loved ones and prized possessions out before you channel your inner Mrs. O'Leary's Cow. There also seems to be an issue with the fact that while there are blacks suffering from ethics complaints there was no mention of black termites, which are rare if not extinct. Apparently the former Commissioner's chief of staff considered this a directed attack of some sort and retaliated with an ethics complaint against the Chair of the Ethics Board. This is what the IT developers working on the CAD-to-CAD interface describe as a recursive call to the shit() function.

For deeper understanding we again refer to the movies, in this case The Quiet Man, wherein a certain Sean Thornton returns to clean up that wee cabin and make it habitable again. Noble goal but it ran afoul of the incumbent man-about-town, the not-so-good Will Danaher, who did not take kindly to the prodigal son's intrusion. The movie is noted for one of the silver screen's longest fights that ends, as most good fights should, in a bar. And that is precisely the inspiration we need.

At the very next Snow Jam we will get these unnecessary combatants down to the Dunwoody Tavern and get them all tankarded up. Then we take them out back and challenge them to write their names in the snow. The one with the biggest letters wins. All they win is the admiration of the community but we win some peace and quiet.

In closing, should anyone of Asian origin find themselves offended by references to yellow snow TOD apologizes in advance with the hope that no offense is taken where none is intended. We should all be so lucky.

Fly, Delta

If you ever get the chance to go to Dallas
Take it from me pass it by
'Cause you'll only sing the blues down in Dallas
Take it from me don't go and cry

"Dallas", Roger Bartlett, 1974

Being a corporate entity we all know that morals do not apply to any actions taken by Delta. This has been no more evident than with their recent pissin' and moanin' regarding events around an airport near Dallas. Not Dallas, Georgia, but Love Field near Dallas Texas. Dallas (TX) is kicking Delta out of Love Field (they will still fly in/out of DFW) and Delta has chastised Dallas, expressing disappointment "that the City of Dallas has made the decision to reduce competition and travel options...".  That warrants a big ole high flyin' WTF. How 'bout this Mister Delta: how about you apply that same logic regarding the airport over here near the other Dallas? You know, support competition and travel options by throwing your support behind commercial service at the Paulding Airport. Say what? Not going to happen? Oh, so your definition of "competition" is "we win and everyone else loses." Another mystery solved.

Later in the week the AJC reported that Delta's lawyer was whining that Dallas had decided that "available gate space should go to hometown favorite Southwest...". Would Delta like to give up some prime gate space at Hartsfield, or would they prefer to maintain their status as "hometown favorite"? Exactly.

Again, Delta is a corporate entity with no soul, no moral fiber and expecting it to behave inconsistent with that nature would be sure to disappoint. While shameless hypocrisy is consistent with that makeup the pissy attitude exposed by the juxtaposition of homonym and diametrically opposed actions breaks more than a few camels' backs.

So fly, Delta. Please. Just spool up them big ole jet engines and fly away...far...far...away.

Big Bother And The Holding Company

Eee-Laine won't you P-Card my Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Audis--I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from your friends,
So Eee-Laine won't you P-Card my Mercedes Benz?

Eee-Laine won't you P-Card a 4K TV?
None of your staffers have gotten back to me.
I wait for delivery each day until three,
So Eee-Laine won't you P-Card my 4K TV?

Eee-Laine won't you P-Card our night on the town?
We're countin' on Eee-Laine to help us party down.
Prove that you love us and buy the next round.
Eee-Laine won't P-Card our night on the town?

EVERYBODY!

Eee-Laine won't you P-Card our Mercedes Benz?
Our friends all drive Audis--we must make amends.
Worked hard all our lifetimes, no help from your friends,
So Eee-Laine won't you P-Card our Mercedes Benz?

Report Report

The much ballyhooed Dunwoody Independent School District Feasibility Study has finally been made available to the public. You are strongly encouraged to read it and form your own opinions. Though there are plenty of nits to pick this is a look at the bigger picture and what can be learned from this report.

Authorship is clear with specific individuals named and proper consideration given to a Graduate Research Assistant. Sadly the same cannot be said for the commission of the report, research directives or editorial guidance as no individuals are named but instead we are given to understand the report was commissioned by the City and a recently formed community group. It isn't clear what the study cost nor who specifically paid for the effort.

However it is a matter of public record that Representative Taylor was privy to drafts of the document and it is not an unreasonable stretch to assume that he also gave specific research direction as well as editorial oversight. Therefore we shall refer to this as "Representative Taylor's Report." The tone of Representative Taylor's Report is convincingly arrogant[1] and there can be no doubt this work is by and for Dunwoody.

The overarching purpose of Representative Taylor's Report is to support his drive towards an independent Dunwoody school system and to that end his report is largely defensive. Representative Taylor and his entourage have come under fire for re-segregation and questions have been raised about the financial operations of an independent system. A stretch goal is to support Representative Taylor's recent flip flop from "Dunwoody Schools can do a better job with less" to "we're going to tax you at the same rate as DeKalb[2] and spend the money however we want." In effect the politicians behind this effort were safe in saying they can do better with less because they never had any intention of letting that happen. However this preemptive lobbying may draw increased attention to shaky financial aspects that Representative Taylor may wish were overlooked.[3]

It should come as no surprise that Perimeter Center (and other Dunwoody businesses) can finance Dunwoody's Schools. Businesses are already a significant revenue source for the City and the Schools will not share any of the tax revenue with the County. It is notable that a secessionist City School System will mean a dramatic shift from State and Federal revenue sources to local tax revenues and the recent real estate bubble is a warning against operating in this manner without a rate cushion. More troubling is that businesses are the majority funders yet are disenfranchised with regards to governance.

Representative Taylor's Report belabours the point that DeKalb Schools are now and will remain majority black and the same is true of the Dunwoody cluster. The focus is exclusively on race and ignores other demographic issues (e.g., special needs students) that are often a more significant issue in a schoolhouse setting.

The issue that no one on either side seems willing to openly discuss is that this secessionist movement is not about segregation--it is about subjugation. The student body will remain majority black but what about the teacher corps? What about principals and staff? Central office administrators? The local Board of Education? It is a sure thing that the further you move from the students' chairs the larger the proportion of whites in positions of authority. It is all but certain that the Board, the Superintendent and top administrators will be exclusively white. The only people of color Dunwoody Independent School District students are likely to encounter in a school setting are janitors and cafeteria workers. Naysayers need a coherent explanation as to why Dunwoody which is not exclusively white has a Mayor and Council that is and a City Hall staffed disproportionately with whites and provide some plausible reason why Dunwoody Schools would not follow suit.

An independent school system has potential to be a good thing for Dunwoody but advocates must provide some assurances beyond "just believe" to ensure enforceable commitment to responsible system creation and operation is in place.

• The per FTE expenditures must be capped at the same level as DCSD after Dunwoody withdraws--commit to doing better with less and set the tax rate accordingly. 
• Representative Taylor's Report touts operational efficiencies [4] that Dunwoody would employ that would result in additional saving--the five year startup plan should clearly show these efficiencies accruing to the taxpayer in the form of rate reductions. 
• The operational plan should include proportional representation from the business community with Board nominees presented by the business community for approval by majority vote of City Council thereby providing a transparent process for a public-private governance partnership.
• Transparency in operations must far exceed that of the DeKalb system or the City of Dunwoody with pro-active dissemination of financial data, contract information and employee CV and training. The public must have no doubt that the best and most capable employees are in place and that all facets of District operations are professional and auditable by the public.

Representative Taylor and his supportive colleagues run a serious risk of being outed as just another bunch of tax and spend empire building politicians distanced from their conservative roots and detached from their constituents. If they persist they will paint for the world a picture of Dunwoody where the darkies play in the back yard while the rich plantation owners sit on the porch sipping sweet tea.

[1] We will assume that Representative Taylor is well aware that the DeKalb County School District owns, staffs and maintains all the schools in the Dunwoody Cluster and this far exceeds what his report deprecatingly refers to as "supervision."

[2] In Representative Taylor's Report and his public speeches it is increasingly clear that he advocates a "same tax rate" rather than a "same expediture" models as the former represents more money. Page 12 of his report is a relatively shameless pandering to teachers by suggesting a raise and further implying that given more money teachers will do a job they currently are not doing.

[3] On page 13 the authors mention smaller class sizes in the context of increased spending but cite research showing that smaller class sizes are ineffective suggesting that capital expenditures needed to support smaller classes is politically untenable or seriously undermines the case for financial viability. On page 11 the authors briefly hint at a significant CapEx issue when pointing out they assume that Dunwoody will acquire school properties under the same attractive terms as City Parks.  No substantive information is given in support of this assumption suggesting that it is necessary to support financial viability.

[4] On page 13 of Representative Taylor's Report the authors point to significant savings thru outsourcing and on page 9 they offer an unsupported assertion that resource allocation by principals will provide efficiencies.