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speaking about myths...

Here in GA, there are plenty of babies - born mainly to Blacks and out of wedlock

Let's take 2014 for example ... in Georgia there were 130776 births with 44348 to black mothers. source: https://oasis.state.ga.us/oasi...

I'll let you do that math on "born mainly to Blacks and out of wedlock" ... thanks for your time.

It doesn't contradict my contradiction of the GP that ONLY IMMIGRANTS PROCREATE

Georgia most certainly allows single vehicle owners to self insure. It requires a $50k bond, as spelled out in their code section on financial requirements.

Shopping around for an insurance agent is beyond your time commitment but not positing on Slashdot? It took me 5 minutes to find mine, and that included four minutes of reading reviews.

What incentive will companies have to create REAL jobs if they know they can get indentured servants assigned to them?

Georgia actually started a program to do pretty much something like that with the unemployed a few years ag. (I know, who would have thought a southern state would support slavery, right?). Basically, companies get free unemployed indentured servants for up to 8 weeks, with the only caveat being that they're supposed to receive "training" at the job. The program was scaled back drastically after it came out that most of the companies weren't providing any real training at all and were just using these people as free labor. Shocking, huh?

Sadly, a lot of states are looking to adopt programs modeled on Georgia's. Even Obama is praising it as a model program.

If you read the text of the bill (here), you will see that it also prohibits things like requiring employees to have a microchip implanted as a condition of their employment, which could be reasonably construed as "nonviolent". Actual forcible surgery against someone's will is already assault in many jurisdictions; if someone were to actually implant a microchip against a patient's will, they would be in trouble for a lot more than violating just this law.

Unlike most slashdotters I actually read the bill as passed.

What does this mean?

'Implant' includes any means intended to introduce a microchip .... or applied to the skin of a person.

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2009_10/versions/sb235_As_passed_Senate_5.htm

Do they mean something really weird like superglueing a passkey/ibutton to your skin? That's a new one I've never even heard of, and I've been interested in this general area of research for a long time (not for paranoid reasons, but more for medical and UI reasons)

'Microchip' means any ... electronically readable marking,

Ah, so no barcodes, no "mark of the beast" in GA etc. Technically a tattoo parlor inking a bar code would be "implanting a microchip" according to this bizarre law.

Such term shall not include pacemakers.

And there's the out. You'll get all the implants they want, just with a pacemaker feature that is not enabled.

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2009_10/versions/sb235_As_passed_Senate_5.htm

it is very self explanatory.

No one, one any condition, meaning employers too, can force you into an implant.

Frankly I am all for restrictions being codified in law

...glad Im gone from there, though I do miss alot of the natural features of the area

West Nile virus bearing mosquitos? http://health.state.ga.us/epi/vbd/mosquito.asp
If they get out of their cars it might be unhealthy too.

Anywhere you go, you're going to find someone who doesn't like someone and where the air sucks. Over here east in Augusta, the second biggest city in the state, the air was 4th worst in the country just last month. There's rampant racism here like you speak of in Atlanta, just like there most likely is in any major/larger city.

Want to stop being fat and make the air a little cleaner? Ride a bicycle. I ride nearly every day from my off-post house onto Fort Gordon (yep, I'm in the Army) and get many annoying honks from people who don't quite understand the bicycle laws of the state of Georgia. I have a right to the road just the same as you, even if I am only pedaling five miles an hour up a steep hill on a fifty-five mile an hour road.

Try it. You'll save money on gasoline and be happier.

From the post to which you're responding:

The two couldn't be in conflict in the good old Paleolithic because if you were doing something where your life was at stake and that required total concentration everybody with you was in the same situation. You wouldn't be avoiding leopards while one guy yakked on about the good time he'd had last night. That's also why talking to a passenger in the car is different. If there's a red light coming up and you're not stopping for it, the passenger will either stop talking or say something about it (according to taste).

Seems like your question,

In which case, why aren't passengers made illegal, or required to stay silent[,]

was answered in some fashion that you totally ignored.

Here's another answer for your question: people and the courts generally recognize the necessity of being able to carry passengers in an automobile - indeed, many state laws like this encourage the practice. The "necessity" of being able to talk on a cell phone is far more questionable.

And, BTW, a driver may be charged with reckless driving if a cop observes them visibly paying more attention to one another than to the road. On the other hand, most cell phone conversations look the same, so the officer in question cannot be relied upon to make the distinction. Hence, it makes more sense to ban the totally unnecessary practice of yakking on phones while driving (rather than, say, pulling the fuck into a parking lot like a mature, reasoning adult to converse) than to allow a proven hazard to exist on public roads.

This is the second time that Cecil Stanton's name has been associated with strange legislation.

He is the sponsor of a bill which would amend the state constitution to allow for photo ID requirements on election day.

While I understand that reasonable people will disagree with this, Georgia has lost twice in court now on this issue, and the amendment will not likely change that. What I don't understand is why they are so desperate that they need to amend the state constitution.

It seems like every state legislature has at least one guy who puts up the most moronic legislation possible. Perhaps the legislation is introduced by someone who has no change of losing an election.

Actually it was probably that and the fact that where I lived, the gas companies were de-regulated and that was a clusterF*K of mess right there.

You had to pay for the use of gas which was cheaper wholesale (which benefited business that pushed for deregulation) but marked up well over the original prices for residential customers and you had to pay for the billing of gas from the gas marketer which was a new charge.
The deregulation was sold as cheaper gas for all but it ended up costing way more than they imagined, Natural gas prices rose insanely on top of that, and people that couldn't pay for the increase of both had to freeze in the winter.

http://www.psc.state.ga.us/consumer_corner/cc_gas/ gasderegfaq.asp

If, as a lawyer, you argue to a jury that they should exercise jury nullification, you may be found in contempt.

You are not even allowed to tell the jury what the penalty will be for a conviction.

That's how a 17 year old in Georgia can be found guilty of "aggravated child molestation" after having consensual oral sex with a 15 year old... and get sentenced to a mandatory minimum 10 year sentence with no allowance for probation and no chance of parole.

You must not get out much on the web, especially in a corporate environment.

There are a list of some here: Sites that Make Mozilla Sad

And even more can be found here: Mozilla Reporter Database

But the worst sites are on corporate Intranets or behind logins.

At work I am expected to use Microsoft Project Server Web Access. This archaic piece of trash requires IE because it uses ActiveX. The webby app we use to manage our Outlook/Exchange profile info only works in IE. Our Exchange web access e-mail only provides a crippled interface to anything other than IE.

Then I get this thing in the e-mail about Oracles new web site with a link to a presentation here - but don't open this in Firefox or it will crash! that only works in IE.

I had to repeatedly e-mail certain folks when links with illegal backslashes showed up in links on the department web site. They finally fixed those but there are several apps on the site that require or claim to require IE. (What the hell: here , here, , here and the system that we now have to use to get our pay checks says here (login required) that "Internet Explorer (version 5.5 or higher) is the only supported web browser for Employee Self Service. Using any other browser may affect your ability to gain access." It mostly works but the the help system requires IE.

Then the other day I am trying look up info on my home warranty and I find this part of their site: Aon Home Warranty

So anyway yes they exist. Yes, real people run in to them all the time. And the Firefox community needs to do something to fight back.

You must not get out much on the web, especially in a corporate environment.

There are a list of some here: Sites that Make Mozilla Sad

And even more can be found here: Mozilla Reporter Database

But the worst sites are on corporate Intranets or behind logins.

At work I am expected to use Microsoft Project Server Web Access. This archaic piece of trash requires IE because it uses ActiveX. The webby app we use to manage our Outlook/Exchange profile info only works in IE. Our Exchange web access e-mail only provides a crippled interface to anything other than IE.

Then I get this thing in the e-mail about Oracles new web site with a link to a presentation here - but don't open this in Firefox or it will crash! that only works in IE.

I had to repeatedly e-mail certain folks when links with illegal backslashes showed up in links on the department web site. They finally fixed those but there are several apps on the site that require or claim to require IE. (What the hell: here , here, , here and the system that we now have to use to get our pay checks says here (login required) that "Internet Explorer (version 5.5 or higher) is the only supported web browser for Employee Self Service. Using any other browser may affect your ability to gain access." It mostly works but the the help system requires IE.

Then the other day I am trying look up info on my home warranty and I find this part of their site: Aon Home Warranty

So anyway yes they exist. Yes, real people run in to them all the time. And the Firefox community needs to do something to fight back.

You must not get out much on the web, especially in a corporate environment.

There are a list of some here: Sites that Make Mozilla Sad

And even more can be found here: Mozilla Reporter Database

But the worst sites are on corporate Intranets or behind logins.

At work I am expected to use Microsoft Project Server Web Access. This archaic piece of trash requires IE because it uses ActiveX. The webby app we use to manage our Outlook/Exchange profile info only works in IE. Our Exchange web access e-mail only provides a crippled interface to anything other than IE.

Then I get this thing in the e-mail about Oracles new web site with a link to a presentation here - but don't open this in Firefox or it will crash! that only works in IE.

I had to repeatedly e-mail certain folks when links with illegal backslashes showed up in links on the department web site. They finally fixed those but there are several apps on the site that require or claim to require IE. (What the hell: here , here, , here and the system that we now have to use to get our pay checks says here (login required) that "Internet Explorer (version 5.5 or higher) is the only supported web browser for Employee Self Service. Using any other browser may affect your ability to gain access." It mostly works but the the help system requires IE.

Then the other day I am trying look up info on my home warranty and I find this part of their site: Aon Home Warranty

So anyway yes they exist. Yes, real people run in to them all the time. And the Firefox community needs to do something to fight back.

The states are checked in defining what sex is. Again see the supreme court ruling on sodomy laws.

Uh, no. You're very very confused if you think only images of illegal acts can be defined as obscene. That would make...well...nothing obscene except bestiality and incest. Which would be nice, but is sadly not how the law works. The state are checked in making certain sexual acts illegal, not from calling them sex, or including them as conduct which counts as 'sex' for the purpose of obscenity.

Since you apparently don't know what I'm talking about, read this. Notice that it defines sex, including things that are not normally defined as sex, like 'Acts involving excretory functions'. Notice the law is, in fact, the Miller test.

Furthermore your analysis of the Miller test is totally off base. The community has control over all three prongs of the test, but subject to appeal. The community gets to apply its standards, pass its laws, and its jurors decide whether the material has redeeming value (both prosecution and defense will present surveys and witnesses describing how the material measures up to the SLAPS test).

It has 'control' only in the technical sense in that the trial is taking place in the community. However, the point is there is two subjective tests, and one objective. The objective one is 'Is this sexual act mentioned in the law?', and the community has control of the law. One subjective one is 'community standard'. Only the community has input on that, too. Can't bring in outside experts unless you want to assert the locals are lying or something, because it frankly doesn't matter what they think about the material.

The other subjective one is 'Does it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value' and that is a 'reasonable person' question. That is not decided by the 'community'. Outside experts can come in and testify they found meaning in it.

Any community that feels like it and can pass laws can game the law and the 'community standards' in such a way that all lacking-in-value images are banned, like, as I said, driver's license photos. They merely have to define whatever is in them as 'sexual conduct', which, as I pointed out, in my state already includes things that aren't sex, and they have to be willing to testify that such things violate community standards. It really is that simple.

I don't know if folks are aware of it, but I'd like to point out that slavery is alive and well today in the New World.

Particularly here in Georgia, the deep south and heart of the confederacy.

While Lincoln may have freed the slaves for private ownership, he didn't go far enough. Slavery is still legal by the state, in just every state, in the form of the use of prisoners.

I went to prison for 2 years in 2002 of a 12 year sentence on a crime I didn't commit. Basically someone made an accusation about me, and then hysteria and greed set in, and then the slander game began. It was a witchhunt and I was the witch. I estimate in the end they made about $120,000 off of me in billing the taxpayer; myself losing another $60,000 in lawyer fees and lost wages other damages. I don't know about you, but thats a whole hell of a lot of money in a recession. If I would of served the full 12 years, they would of probably made almost a half a million dollars off of me, billing you the taxpayer $35,000 a year. Let me tell you, I'm about the most harmless guy in the world, I don't bother anybody, and I don't break any laws. The justice system isn't about justice. Its all a scam and a slander game. Its about greed and profit.

For two years I was kept in the most heinous of conditions, and was forced to work for which I received no compensation.

I won my appeal by fighting back. Which was very hard to do, because I was mentally and physically exhausted, being kept in the most inhumane of conditions, lacking of nutrition, and my situation was grossly exacerbated because I was hypoglycemic and yet receiving no treatment whatsoever. A hypoglycemic, if not eating something every 2 hours, suffers and appauling roster of symptoms, the most painful and difficult being being confused all the time, unable to concentrate, unable to focus.

So for those two years, basically, I was a slave.

Since I tested out with a slashdot level IQ and actually hit a bit of precious luck, I was put to work in the library, just like Andy in the movie Shawshank Redemption. For prison and someone smart, it was a good job because you had access to books in a way the general population didn't at all. Let me say it was luck I got this job, most people had nighmarish jobs. Laundry, caffeteria work, swinging a bush ax, etc.

Even though I worked in the library, I fought back. I wrote slogans throughout the books and anarchy symbols on the inside, slamming the system.

When nobody was looking, I wrote slogans from Animal Farm on the prison walls outside. Nobody understood them but me, since the average grade level in prison is about sixth grade (I tested out 13th, the highest the tests go). Prison is a big sensory deprivation chamber. The constant noise, the inhuman conditions, the constant stupidity, the poor food, it will wear your mind down. Prison doesn't do anything but make people stupid and vilent and insane.

Once some 'robocop' as I called him saw my slogans, and wrote them down on his little notepad. I'm sure he took them straight back to the warden. If I would of been caught, I would of surely been beaten to death out of site for defacing state property. I've been out a year now but still I chuckle, I wonder what they made of "Four legs good, two legs bad!". I'm not joking. For real.

I wrote some notes of what I would post to slashdot if I ever got out. I still have them somewhere, they are in a tired and exhausted script that looks a lot to me like chicken scratch now, I was so fading away then. It doesn't matter. My mind is full of things to say now. Totally.

One seredipitious thing did happen. Four doors down from my cell they put an RFDI engineer in. An old guy, in his 50's. I nicknamed him "Marconi".

You can check him out here (punch in 1141126 in the GDC field on the page and NEXT your way through):

http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/GDC/O

1. Any license issuing office can give you a card.

2. If you cannot afford it you will be given one.

3. They are sending buses to many places just to get people the cards.

Sorry but when I last checked there were quite a few places inside of i-285 (the loop around Atlanta) where I can go get my card if I didn't already have a license.

Yes the law is faulty but it is not an attempt to disenfranchise. The cards are FREE to those whose income means the threshold established by the Federal government for the poverty level.

YOU CAN ALSO VOTE WITHOUT ID USING A PROVISIONAL BALLOT. The bill clearly states that and puts the responsibility on the local voting agency to validate the proof.

Here it is
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/fulltex t/hb244.htm

See section 59 for the clauses about ID.

Damn I thought talk like a pirate day was yesterday, then again your just parroting the typical BS that comes out about my state. Hell the Democrats pulled a fast one on Republicans by getting us to vote for Sonny Purdue who only flipped a before he ran for govenor.

This link contains the full text version of the law as passed, the relevant section is SECTION 59.
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/fulltex t/hb244.htm

quoted sections, those not stricken...

Said chapter is further amended by striking Code Section 21-2-417, relating to form of proper identification at polls, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 21-2-417 to read as follows:
21-2-417.
(a) Each Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, each elector shall present proper identification to a poll worker at or prior to completion of a voters certificate at any polling place and prior to such persons admission to the enclosed space at such polling place. Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following:
(1) A valid Georgia driver's license which was properly issued by the appropriate state agency;
(2) A valid identification card issued by a branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Georgia, any other state, or the United States authorized by law to issue personal identification, provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the elector;
(3) A valid United States passport;
(4) A valid employee identification card containing a photograph of the elector and issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, this state, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;

A valid United States military identification card;, provided that such identification card contains a photograph of the elector; or
(10)(6) A valid tribal identification card containing a photograph of the elector.

Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, if an elector is unable to produce any of the items of identification listed in subsection (a) of this Code section, he or she a provisional ballot pursuant to Code Section 21-2-418 upon swearing or affirming that the elector is the person identified in the electors voter certificate. Such provisional ballot shall only be counted if the registrars are able to verify current and valid identification of the elector as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section within the time period for verifying provisional ballots pursuant to Code Section 21-2-419. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath shall be punishable as a felony, and the penalty shall be distinctly set forth on the face of the statement.
(c) An elector who registered to vote by mail, but did not comply with subsection (c) of Code Section 21-2-220, and who votes for the first time in this state shall present to the poll workers either one of the forms of identification listed in subsection (a) of this Code section or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of such elector. If such elector does not have any of the forms of identification listed in this subsection, such elector may vote a provisional ballot pursuant to Code Section 21-2-418 upon swearing or affirming that the elector is the person identified in the electors voter certificate. Such provisional ballot shall only be counted if the registrars are able to verify current and valid identification of the elector as provided in this subsection within the time period for verifying provisional ballots pursuant to Code Section 21-2-419. Falsely swearing or affirming such statement under oath shall be punishable as a felony, and the penalty shall be distinctly set forth on the face of the statement.

---------------------

So why not require a picture ID? I do think that the state should provide picture IDs for FREE to anyone who does not have an otherwise valid ID. That was the only real issue I had with the law.

The fraud in some recent Georgia elections drove the need for some type of voter ID. The biggest complaint were reccounts where votes would just myste

Or at those who hire them? Among the scariest results:

Atlanta - Governor Sonny Perdue made appointments today to the Georgia Board of Industry, Trade and Tourism, State Board of Nursing Home Administrators, and the State Board of Dispensing Opticians.

(...)

State Board of Dispensing Opticians
***** *****, 54, Jonesboro, GA - ***** has been a licensing optician in Georgia since 1978. She is currently an optical industry consultant, lecturer, course developer, and author. *****'s prior positions include owning and operating a Pearle Vision Center franchise and an All About Eyes Vision Center. She was previously named Optician of the Year by the Opticians Association of Georgia. ***** has a bachelors of science degree from Trinity Southern University as well as extensive professional training.

I voted on an electronic machine here in Atlanta, GA. Previously, I have voted using mechanical machines in NY and Pennsylvania. One big difference: less privacy with the electronic machines. It's not a particularly big deal to me, but some might feel weird about that. Especially if they intend to vote for a candidate that is very unpopular in their district.

I felt the process and UI was fine (clear, minimal opportunity for human error, etc.).

Main complaint (other than security concerns): the potential of the electronic machines was not realized. For example, there were several initiatives on the ballot here. One was a widely publicized gay bashing, er, I mean, marriage protection ammendment. Another was a lesser publicized amendment relating to judicial jurisdiction. (Both described here) I knew a great deal about the gay bashing measure, but hadn't heard of the proposed amendment about the courts. All they put on the ballot was a yes or no to the following statement: "Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that the Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction and authority to answer questions of law from any state appellate or federal district or appellate court?" Um, how about maybe?

It would be great if a more clear explanation could be added to the ballot. The electronic medium makes this crazy easy. It's no more expensive to do. The website linked above even has a very clear description that could have been used. (Of course, this opens up questions about potential bias that can be worked in to the description. However, I think something is almost certainly better than nothing.)

I think electronic voting will be a good thing if the security concerns are worked out. Will they be? That's hard to say. In the near future will most Americans think they are? Yes, almost certainly.

You might be able to find something on your county board of elections web site or your secretary of state web site. (Newton doesn't have much on the web, except this: "Election results from the November 2, 2004, general election in Newton County will be projected in the comissioners' board room in the historic courthouse beginning at approximately 9:00 P.M. on November 2, 2004." But the web site does show a pet of the week, a goat.)

From GA Code 16-3-21:
(a) A person is justified in threatening or using force against another when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person against such others imminent use of unlawful force; however, except as provided in Code Section 16-3-23, a person is justified in using force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or herself or a third person or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
---
Obviously, preventing death and great bodily injury doesn't include the protection of property, so we should at what a "forcible felony" is instead, so here we go!
---
Forcible Felony is defined in GA Code 16-11-131 subsection (e):
(e) As used in this Code section, the term 'forcible felony' means any felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any person and further includes, without limitation, murder; felony murder; burglary; robbery; armed robbery; kidnapping; hijacking of an aircraft or motor vehicle; aggravated stalking; rape; aggravated child molestation; aggravated sexual battery; arson in the first degree; the manufacturing, transporting, distribution, or possession of explosives with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate individuals or destroy a public building; terroristic threats; or acts of treason or insurrection.
---
A "forcible felony", as described in the Chapter 11 of Title 16, includes burglary, robbery, armed robbery, arson, threat of use of explosives, and hijacking of vehicles. So if you are present, then deadly force may be applied in those situations.

From GA Code 16-3-21:
(a) A person is justified in threatening or using force against another when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person against such others imminent use of unlawful force; however, except as provided in Code Section 16-3-23, a person is justified in using force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or herself or a third person or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
---
Obviously, preventing death and great bodily injury doesn't include the protection of property, so we should at what a "forcible felony" is instead, so here we go!
---
Forcible Felony is defined in GA Code 16-11-131 subsection (e):
(e) As used in this Code section, the term 'forcible felony' means any felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any person and further includes, without limitation, murder; felony murder; burglary; robbery; armed robbery; kidnapping; hijacking of an aircraft or motor vehicle; aggravated stalking; rape; aggravated child molestation; aggravated sexual battery; arson in the first degree; the manufacturing, transporting, distribution, or possession of explosives with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate individuals or destroy a public building; terroristic threats; or acts of treason or insurrection.
---
A "forcible felony", as described in the Chapter 11 of Title 16, includes burglary, robbery, armed robbery, arson, threat of use of explosives, and hijacking of vehicles. So if you are present, then deadly force may be applied in those situations.

I work for the Georgia (USA) GIS data clearinghouse. We have thousands of free datasets, and very reasonable pricing on downloadable imagery ($5 per USGS quarter-quad). Of course the imagery is kind of old (most recent is 1999 color infrared), but many people still find it useful. You do have to sign up, but believe me, it's not for any sinister purpose. There's only two people with direct access to the data; me and the guy in the office next to me. We don't do anything with it but collect aggregate statistics so the state of Georgia can determine how best to fund data collection by who is using it and how often it is being used.

The clearinghouse main page

Direct link to the data

There's also good imagery on the USGS site for free, but you have to use their viewer to view it (it's not downloadable...).

And as far as open-source GIS, has anyone here tried GeoTools? That's the most complete OSS GIS toolset I've seen.....

I work for the Georgia (USA) GIS data clearinghouse. We have thousands of free datasets, and very reasonable pricing on downloadable imagery ($5 per USGS quarter-quad). Of course the imagery is kind of old (most recent is 1999 color infrared), but many people still find it useful. You do have to sign up, but believe me, it's not for any sinister purpose. There's only two people with direct access to the data; me and the guy in the office next to me. We don't do anything with it but collect aggregate statistics so the state of Georgia can determine how best to fund data collection by who is using it and how often it is being used.

The clearinghouse main page

Direct link to the data

There's also good imagery on the USGS site for free, but you have to use their viewer to view it (it's not downloadable...).

And as far as open-source GIS, has anyone here tried GeoTools? That's the most complete OSS GIS toolset I've seen.....

Reasonable Suspicion can also come up in a political sense. Say I'm at a protest, standing around peacably but I or someone around me is wearing black, or lookingat the cops, or looking at the sky, etc. That would probably be enough to provoke "reasaonable supicion" that I am committing a crime, have just committed a crime or am about to commit a crime since I am, after all engaged in a protest.

At this point the cops would be free to demand my name and thus compile a list of "troublemakers" or arrest me for refusing to identify myself when I have done nothing wrong. This sounds like a handy tool for the suppression of dissent and the shutting down of peaceful protests.

Before anyone argues that this wouldn't happen I would point out that a) in the 1960's the FBI ran a program called COINTELPRO In which they devoted a great deal of time to spying on peaceful civil rights protestors especially Martin Luther King who they sought to "neutralize" as a civil rights leader.

More recently New York City began denying permits to protestors during the period of the Republican National Convention (aa here, Boston Announced plans to shut down roughly 40 miles of roads in and around the city for "security reasons" See also here here also for the choice quote "What is about to happen in Boston is the continuation of the democratic process and the American way, at a time when the country is at war,"

Lastly, during the G8 summit in Georgia, the governor declared a State of Emergency before the summit even began. This executive order made it possible for U.S. Military units to operate in the city and to photograph and harass all residents. See here, here, and here to see how peaceful protestors are treated in San Francisco.

BellSouth (and others I'm sure) flat out LIE about how DSL works. They maintain that it is simply impossible to have DSL without a phone line. "Without a phone number to map to, how would we know where the DSL circuit goes?" The public mis-information campaign is stunning.

I have started asking The Georgia Public Service Commission to promote a similar mandate in my area. My problem was that not only did I have to use BellSouth for Local and DSL, but they were my only choice for cable TV as well! Of course, they didn't offer high-speed-cable-Internet so I was stuck. Thanks to their monopoly, they have been incrementally turning up the price -especially over the last 12 months- on ALL three services. Sure, sat-TV providers seemed to be offering "high-speed-Internet" but at the end of the day it appeared they were just bundling/reselling traditional services like Earthlink which still req'd a local phone line.

FINALLY, another cable co. moved into my area and they started offering high-speed-cable. Now I've fired BellSouth as my cable TV provider, and fired BellSouth as my high-speed-Internet provider. And thanks to cable-Internet, I don't need a local line at all thanks to cell phones! Thanks Adelphia!

oO(Who would've thought I'd be singing the praises of any cable co?)

Every year, Atlanta-area traffic grows by 20 to 40 percent over the previous year. And, according to figures from the Georgia DOT, at least 88 percent of metro commuters are alone in their cars.

Also, here is another useful link to other Georgia residents.

"Unsolicited telemarketing calls placed by computer or delivering a recorded message are illegal under Georgia law."

Being a mathematician won't make the switch go off that allows you to expertly use object oriented programming. Nor will it help you create a good GUI. Nor will it help you validate date formats. You need a firm grasp on the math you learned in middle school, but the need to be a mathematician has diminished in many computer science workplaces to the point that the "need" is now a simple "added bonus".

When coding was entirely procedural and focused almost entirely on crunching numbers, well, yes, math was a big deal, but the paradigm's changed greatly now. Now aptitude in pure logic [rather than a broad math bkgd, much less pure calc] is much more important in my experience. Relational database design and object oriented programming require great understanding of set theory, not calculus. I AP'ed into sophomore calculus and had two semesters (plus an audit of DiffEQ) in college, and haven't used that stuff once since entering the workplace (on my sixth year).

When I look to interview and hire new programmers to my team, for pure intellectual skills I'm looking at good coding style, properly factored (as in refactoring) coding examples, and the ability to explain, say, why an example database schema is or isn't in good third normal form. The math I've seen in my tasks is very basic, whether the product I've helped develop was a simple web-based MIS, county-wide tax system, or financial tracker for the largest non-profits.

In fact the only time it's been useful for me to understand mathematical concepts [beyond set theory] was when I thought our resident Geographic Information Systems (GIS) experts weren't considering all the ends and outs of different map projections. Even then, what I was commenting on was well outside of my job description of a database admin.

It's good to know math, all other things equal, but in today's programming workplace, the emphasis on math in CS programs is unfounded. I'll even daresay that's why so mnay people who weren't schooled as programmers do so well -- I know about as many programmers that have impressed me with their proverbial skillz that had a degree in the humanities or no degree at all as I do those with a CS background.

Wake up & catch up, CS programs, and teach what's useful in "the real world"!

GA Code 16-8-2
A person commits the offense of theft by taking when he unlawfully takes or, being in lawful possession thereof, unlawfully appropriates any property of another with the intention of depriving him of the property, regardless of the manner in which the property is taken or appropriated.

In fact, 16-8-2 through 16-8-9 all deal with the different kinds of theft, yes, theft, and it's called all called 'theft'. Not just referred to as 'theft by whatever', but that's actually the name of the offense, it's what you get charged with. 'theft by taking', 'theft of services', 'theft while naked', etc.

Whereas it doesn't even appear to talk about 'larceny' except in the taking of funds.

And, for fun, here's the relevant section of US Code for patent infringements. Have fun finding 'theft' or 'larceny' or 'steal' in there.

In other words, debugging does go on, as does component testing, prior to final release. And BTW courts get to QA the hell out of lots and lots of laws to ensure full-system consistency.

For those in the State of Georgia interested in putting forth an opposition to this legislature, my office number is 770.719.3852. My email for this will be hsb867@lobosoft.com.

I just called our four representatives for District 48. One of them has called me back so far, and said that honestly, single phone calls are in no way as efffective as collective opposition.

So, if you are a small business owner, a computer consultant, or even just an individual who is looking at a felony record if this passes, email me.

To find out who your representative is Georgia, you can visit Polling Place and Elected Officials finder at the secretary of states website.

Well, I sent mail to Mr Felton after this story posted seeking his source for the claim of a bill on the table here in Georgia. To date, no answer.

I spent a couple of hours last night browsing the general calendar of the House and will take some time this afternoon to scan through the Senate.

Kind of hard to fight a target that isn't found.
Is Felton working off hearsay or what?

Well, I sent mail to Mr Felton after this story posted seeking his source for the claim of a bill on the table here in Georgia. To date, no answer.

I spent a couple of hours last night browsing the general calendar of the House and will take some time this afternoon to scan through the Senate.

Kind of hard to fight a target that isn't found.
Is Felton working off hearsay or what?

I looked around a little more and found a typically misleading page about store refunds. At first it sounds like what I first said. Then at the *very* bottom they bury the warranty of merchantability -- here Gerogia's rule.

I don't know what state you live in AND DON'T TELL ME! If you burn with curiosity pull up your AG's site or check with in-state consumer protectiion agencies. Don't forget to check for local ordinances, too.

(As a practical matter few merchants will know all this stuff; as you discover the key is to be annoying anough that they pay you to go away.)

What I should have done is throw in the traditional YMMV and run like heck.

[runs like heck]

The Supreme Court has held that states MUST provide a religious exemption to persons who do not wish to provide a photograph for religious reasons. This case law finds that the free exercise clause of the constitution prohibits states from uniformly requiring photographs on driver licenses. Quaring v. Peterson, 728 F.2d 1121 (8th Cir. 1984), cert. granted, 469 U.S. 815, 105 S. Ct. 79, 83 L. Ed. 2d 27 (1984) and judgment aff'd, 472 U.S. 478, 105 S. Ct. 3492, 86 L. Ed. 2d 383 (1985) (also holding that allowing an applicant with such beliefs to have a license without a photo does not violate the establishment clause).
(http://www.networkusa.org/fingerprint/page4/dot-r eg-wisconsin.htm)

The department may require applicants for drivers' licenses to submit fingerprints by means of an inkless fingerprint scanning device upon application; provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to any person who objects to being fingerprinted on the ground that such activity conflicts with his or her religious beliefs.
(http://www.legis.state.ga.us/Legis/1997_98/leg/fu lltext/sb439.htm)

Remember, anonymity is guaranteed privacy!

In the US, the unemployment compensation program is administered by the individual states. Because of this, the amount of money you get varies from state to state, as do the terms on which you get it -- within specific federal parameters.

So, for example, in California, there are different requirements for what constitutes "actively looking for work" depending on your situation. Union members have to go through the procedures that their unions have to find them work. Workers laid off from temp jobs have to contact the temp agency and accept placements from them. When you get actual 'award letter' from California, it tells you exactly what you have to do to be "actively seeking".

I've also had experience with Georgia, which has different rules. There, people get told to make a list of employers they contact, and must go in person to fill out applications a certain number of times a week, etc. Recipients have to register with the state job search facility, stuff like that. Full details in this PDF of the Georgia "Rights and Responsibilities" pamphlet.

From the Georgia pamphlet, it looks like there are Federal regulations that require random claim audits to check on the veracity of details. It seems like some states use different methods to comply with that. When I filed in California, I specifically asked, "Do I need to keep a record of my job search, with employer names?" and the claims agent said, "No, not unless we tell you to do so." Sure enough, on the California Claim form, there's a part that says if a box has been checked on the form, you need to provide employer contact information. I document scrupulously anyway, in case I'm ever accused of UI fraud. I can show how many resumes I sent out, to whom, responses, follow-up calls, along with other things I did to find a job.

Amount of money also varies widely and doesn't corrolate to the cost of living. Until this January, California's top UI benefit was 230.00 a week -- one of the 2-3 lowest in the country, despite having one of the highest costs of living. Of course, one cannot simply move to another state to get better benefits; changing address just results in an "interstate claim". You get the amount of money you'd have gotten in the old state, with mega increased delays and hassles because it's processed through two states.

This is the only hit on "mcowen" a seach on the state of GA website brings up.

If Georgia's Internet access is so expensive, it's a good thing they didn't get slashdotted...

William Clinton President The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, District of Columbia 20500 United States of America phone 1-202-456-1414 fax 1-202-456-2886 or 1-202-456-2461 (busy, keep trying) e-mail president@whitehouse.gov webpage http://www.whitehouse.gov/

House Majority Leader House of Representatives Washington, District of Columbia 20515 United States of America webpage http://www.house.gov/

House Minority Leader House of Representatives Washington, District of Columbia 20515 United States of America webpage http://www.house.gov/

Speaker, House of Representatives House of Representatives Washington, District of Columbia 20515 United States of America webpage http://www.house.gov/

Senate Majority Leader U.S. Senate Washington, District of Columbia 20510 United States of America webpage http://www.senate.gov/

Senate Minority Leader U.S. Senate Washington, District of Columbia 20510 United States of America webpage http://www.senate.gov/

Governor Don Seigelman State Capitol, 600 Dexter Ave. Montgomery, Alabama 36130 United States of America phone 1-334-242-7100, fax 1-334-242-4541 webpage http://www.state.al.us/

Governor Tony Knowles P.O. Box A Juneau, Alaska 99811 United States of America phone 1-907-465-3500, fax 1-907-465-3532 e-mail office_of_the_governor@gov.state.ak.u s webpage http://www.gov.state.ak.us/

Governor Jane Dee Hull State House Phoenix, Arizona 85007 United States of America phone 1-602-542-4331, fax 1-602-542-7601 webpage http://www.state.az.us/

Governor Mike Huckabee 250 State Capitol Bldg. Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 United States of America phone 1-501-682-2345, fax 1-501-682-1382 e-mail mike.huckabee@state.ar.us webpage http://www.state.ar.us/governor/gover nor.html

Governor Gray Davis State Capitol Sacramento, California 95814 United States of America phone 1-916-445-2841, fax 1-916-445-4633 e-mail hometeam@ca.gov webpage http://www.ca.gov/s/

Governor Bill Owens 136 State Capitol Denver, Colorado 80203-1792 United States of America phone 1-303-866-2471, fax 1-303-866-2003 webpage http://www.state.co.us/

Governor John Rowland State Capitol, 210 Capitol Ave Hartford, Connecticut 06106 United States of America phone 1-860-566-4840, fax 1-203-524-7396 e-mail governor.rowland@po.state.ct.us webpage http://www.state.ct.us/governor/

Governor Thomas Carper Legislative Hall Dover, Delaware 19901 United States of America phone 1-302-739-4101, fax 1-302-577-3118 e-mail ssnyder@state.de.us webpage http://www.state.de.us/governor/index.htm

Governor Jeb Bush State Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399 United States of America phone 1-850-488-4441, fax 1-850-487-0801 e-mail page http://www.state.fl.us/eog/govmailform. html webpage http://fcn.state.fl.us/gsd/

Governor Roy Barnes State Capitol Building, Room 203 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 United States of America phone 1-404-656-1776, fax 1-404-657-7332 e-mail governor@gov.state.ga.us webpage http://www.state.ga.us/

Governor Benjamin Cayetano State Capitol, Executive Chambers Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 United States of America phone 1-808-586-0034, fax 1-808-586-0006 e-mail gov@gov.state.hi.us webpage http://gov.state.hi.us

Governor Dirk Kempthorne State Capitol PO Box 83720, 700 West Jefferson, Fl. 2 Boise, Idaho 83720-0034 United States of America phone 1-208-334-2100, fax 1-208-334-2175 e-mail governor@gov.state.id.us webpage http://www.state.id.us/gov/govhmpg.htm

Governor George Ryan 207 Statehouse Springfield, Illinois 62706 United States of America phone 1-217-782-0244, fax 1-217-524-4049 e-mail governor@state.il.us webpage http://www.state.il.us/gov/

Governor Frank O'Bannon Statehouse, Rm. 206 Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 United States of America phone 1-317-232-4567, fax 1-317-232-3443 e-mail page http://www.ai.org/gov/gov_mail.html webpage http://www.ai.org/gov/index.html

Governor Thomas Vilsack State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa 50319 United States of America phone 1-515-281-5211, fax 1-515-281-6611 e-mail general.office@igov.state.ia.us webpage http://www.iowaccess.org/

Governor Bill Graves State House Topeka, Kansas 66612 United States of America phone 1-913-296-6240, fax 1-913-296-7973 e-mail page http://www.state.ks.us/public/g overnor/comment.html webpage http://www.state.ks.us/public/governor/

Governor Paul Patton State Capitol, 700 Capitol Ave. Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 United States of America phone 1-502-564-2611, fax 1-502-564-2517 e-mail governor@mail.state.ky.us webpage http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/go v/govmenu6.htm

Governor Murphy Foster, Jr. State Capitol, P.O. Box 94004 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804 United States of America phone 1-504-342-7015, fax 1-504-342-7099 e-mail page http://www.gov.state.la.us/governo r/contact2.htm webpage http://www.gov.state.la.us/

Governor Angus King, Jr. State House Station 1 Augusta, Maine 04333 United States of America phone 1-207-287-3531, fax 1-207-287-1034 e-mail page http://janus.state.me.us/govoffice/ gov_form.htm webpage http://janus.state.me.us/govoffice/ homepage.htm

Governor Parris Glendening State House Annapolis, Maryland 21401 United States of America phone 1-410-974-3901, fax 1-410-974-3275 e-mail governor@gov.state.md.us webpage http://www.gov.state.md.us/

Governor Paul Cellucci State House, Room 360 Boston, Massachusetts 02133 United States of America phone 1-617-727-6250, fax 1-617-727-9725 e-mail goffice@state.ma.us webpage http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/gov/gov.htm

Governor John Engler State Capitol, PO Box 30013 Lansing, Michigan 48909 United States of America phone 1-517-335-7858, fax 1-517-335-6863 email page http://www.state.mi.us/MIGOV/ gov/ContactGovernor.shtm webpage http://www.state.mi.us/migov/

Governor Jesse Ventura 130 State Capitol, 75 Constitution Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 United States of America phone 1-651-296-3391, fax 1-651-296-2089 e-mail Governor.JesseVentura@state.mn.us webpage http://www.mainserver.state.mn.us/gover nor/

Governor Kirk Fordice P.O. Box 139 Jackson, Mississippi 39205 United States of America phone 1-601-737-9540, fax 1-601-737-9507 e-mail governor@govoff.state.ms.us webpage http://www.state.ms.us/

Governor Mel Carnahan Missouri Capitol Building, P.O. Box 720 Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-0720 United States of America phone 1-573-751-3222, fax 1-573-751-1495 e-mail page http://www.gov.state.mo.us/guest.htm webpage http://www.gov.state.mo.us/

Governor Marc Racicot State Capitol Helena, Montana 59620 United States of America webpage http://www.mt.gov/governor/governor.htm

Governor Mike Johanns State Capitol, Executive Suite, PO Box 94848 Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4848 United States of America phone 1-402-471-2244, fax 1-402-471-6031 e-mail jodee@mail.state.ne.us webpage http://www.state.ne.us/

Governor Kenny Guinn State Capitol Carson City, Nevada 89710 United States of America phone 1-702-687-5670, fax 1-702-687-4486 webpage http://www.state.nv.us/

Governor Jeanne Shaheen State House Concord, New Hampshire 03301-4990 United States of America phone 1-603-271-2121, fax 1-603-271-2130 e-mail nhgov@nh.com webpage http://www.state.nh.us/

Governor Christine Todd Whitman Office of the Governor State House, 125 West State St., CN-001 Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0001 United States of America phone 1-609-292-6000, fax 1-609-292-5212 e-mail page http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail .htm webpage http://www.state.nj.us/governor/officeo .htm

Governor Gary Johnson State Capitol Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503 United States of America phone 1-505-827-3000, fax 1-505-827-3026 e-mail gov@gov.state.nm.us webpage http://www.state.nm.us/

Governor George Pataki State Capitol Albany, New York 12224 United States of America phone 1-518-474-8390, fax 1-518-474-1513 e-mail gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us webpage http://www.state.ny.us/governor

Governor James Hunt, Jr. State Capitol Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 United States of America phone 1-919-733-4240, fax 1-919-733-2120 webpage http://www.sips.state.nc.us/

Governor Edward Schafer 600 E. Blvd, State Capitol, Fl. 1 Bismark, North Dakota 58505 United States of America phone 1-701-328-2200, fax 1-701-328-2205 webpage http://www.ehs.health.stat e.nd.us/gov/governor/index.htm

Governor Bob Taft State House Columbus, Ohio 43215 United States of America phone 1-614-466-3555, 1-614-466-9354 webpage http://www.state.oh.us/gov/

Governor Frank Keating State Capitol Bldg., Rm. 212 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105 United States of America phone 1-405-521-2342, fax 1-405-521-3353 e-mail governor@oklaosf.state.ok.us webpage http://www.state.ok.us/

Governor John Kitzhaber State Capitol Salem, Oregon 97310 United States of America phone 1-503-378-4582, fax 1-503-378-4863 webpage http://www.governor.state.or.us/

Governor Tom Ridge 225 Main Capitol Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 United States of America phone 1-717-787-2500, fax 1-717-772-8284 e-mail governor@state.pa.us webpage http://www.state.pa.us/PA_Exe c/Governor/overview.html

Governor of the Commonwealth Commonwealth of Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936 United States of America webpage http://fortaleza.govpr.org

Governor Lincoln Almond State House Providence, Rhode Island 02903 United States of America phone 1-401-277-2080, fax 1-401-273-5729 webpage http://www.doa.state.ri.us/info/exec.htm

Governor James Hodges State House, PO Box 11369 Columbia, South Carolina 29211 United States of America phone 1-803-737-9540, fax 1-803-737-9507 webpage http://www.state.sc.us/

Governor William Janklow State Capitol, 500 East Capitol Ave Pierre, South Dakota 57501-5070 United States of America phone 1-605-773-3212, fax 1-605-773-5844 e-mail sdgov@gov.state.sd.us webpage http://www.state.sd.us /state/executive/governor/governor.htm

Governor Don Sundquist State Capitol Nashville, Tennessee 37243 United States of America phone 1-615-741-2001, fax 1-615-532-9711 e-mail dsundquist@mail.state.tn.us webpage http://www.state.tn.us/governor/

Governor George W. Bush State Capitol, P.O. Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711 United States of America phone 1-512-463-2000, fax 1-512-463-1849 webpage http://www.governor.state.tx.us/

Governor Michael Leavitt 210 State Capitol Salt Lake City, Utah 84114 United States of America phone 1-801-538-1000, fax 1-801-538-1528 e-mail governor@state.ut.us webpage http://www.governor.state.ut.us/

Governor Howard Dean 109 State St. Montpelier, Vermont 05609 United States of America phone 1-802-828-3333, fax 1-802-828-3339 e-mail governor@state.vt.us webpage http://www.state.vt.us/

Governor Jim Gilmore State Capitol Richmond, Virginia 23219 United States of America phone 1-804-786-2211, fax 1-804-371-6351 e-mail page http://www.state.va.us/governor/govmail .htm webpage http://www.state.va.us/governor/

Governor Gary Locke State Capitol, P.O. Box 40002 Olympia, Washington 98504-0002 United States of America phone 1-360-902-4111, fax 1-360-753-4110 e-mail governor.locke@governor.wa.gov webpage http://www.wa.gov/governor

Governor Cecil Underwood State Capitol Charleston, West Virginia 25305 United States of America phone 1-304-558-2000, fax 1-304-342-7025 e-mail governor@state.wv.us webpage http://www.state.wi.us/governor/default .htm

Governor Tommy Thompson State Capitol, Room 115 East Madison, Wisconsin 53707 United States of America phone 1-608-266-1212, fax 1-608-267-8983 e-mail wisgov@mail.state.wi.us webpage http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/

Governor Jim Geringer State Capitol Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002 United States of America phone 1-307-777-7434, fax 1-307-632-3909 e-mail governor@missc.state.wy.us webpage http://www.state.wy.us/gove rnor/text_governor_home.html

William Clinton President The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, District of Columbia 20500 United States of America phone 1-202-456-1414 fax 1-202-456-2886 or 1-202-456-2461 (busy, keep trying) e-mail president@whitehouse.gov webpage http://www.whitehouse.gov/

House Majority Leader House of Representatives Washington, District of Columbia 20515 United States of America webpage http://www.house.gov/

House Minority Leader House of Representatives Washington, District of Columbia 20515 United States of America webpage http://www.house.gov/

Speaker, House of Representatives House of Representatives Washington, District of Columbia 20515 United States of America webpage http://www.house.gov/

Senate Majority Leader U.S. Senate Washington, District of Columbia 20510 United States of America webpage http://www.senate.gov/

Senate Minority Leader U.S. Senate Washington, District of Columbia 20510 United States of America webpage http://www.senate.gov/

Governor Don Seigelman State Capitol, 600 Dexter Ave. Montgomery, Alabama 36130 United States of America phone 1-334-242-7100, fax 1-334-242-4541 webpage http://www.state.al.us/

Governor Tony Knowles P.O. Box A Juneau, Alaska 99811 United States of America phone 1-907-465-3500, fax 1-907-465-3532 e-mail office_of_the_governor@gov.state.ak.u s webpage http://www.gov.state.ak.us/

Governor Jane Dee Hull State House Phoenix, Arizona 85007 United States of America phone 1-602-542-4331, fax 1-602-542-7601 webpage http://www.state.az.us/

Governor Mike Huckabee 250 State Capitol Bldg. Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 United States of America phone 1-501-682-2345, fax 1-501-682-1382 e-mail mike.huckabee@state.ar.us webpage http://www.state.ar.us/governor/gover nor.html

Governor Gray Davis State Capitol Sacramento, California 95814 United States of America phone 1-916-445-2841, fax 1-916-445-4633 e-mail hometeam@ca.gov webpage http://www.ca.gov/s/

Governor Bill Owens 136 State Capitol Denver, Colorado 80203-1792 United States of America phone 1-303-866-2471, fax 1-303-866-2003 webpage http://www.state.co.us/

Governor John Rowland State Capitol, 210 Capitol Ave Hartford, Connecticut 06106 United States of America phone 1-860-566-4840, fax 1-203-524-7396 e-mail governor.rowland@po.state.ct.us webpage http://www.state.ct.us/governor/

Governor Thomas Carper Legislative Hall Dover, Delaware 19901 United States of America phone 1-302-739-4101, fax 1-302-577-3118 e-mail ssnyder@state.de.us webpage http://www.state.de.us/governor/index.htm

Governor Jeb Bush State Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399 United States of America phone 1-850-488-4441, fax 1-850-487-0801 e-mail page http://www.state.fl.us/eog/govmailform. html webpage http://fcn.state.fl.us/gsd/

Governor Roy Barnes State Capitol Building, Room 203 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 United States of America phone 1-404-656-1776, fax 1-404-657-7332 e-mail governor@gov.state.ga.us webpage http://www.state.ga.us/

Governor Benjamin Cayetano State Capitol, Executive Chambers Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 United States of America phone 1-808-586-0034, fax 1-808-586-0006 e-mail gov@gov.state.hi.us webpage http://gov.state.hi.us

Governor Dirk Kempthorne State Capitol PO Box 83720, 700 West Jefferson, Fl. 2 Boise, Idaho 83720-0034 United States of America phone 1-208-334-2100, fax 1-208-334-2175 e-mail governor@gov.state.id.us webpage http://www.state.id.us/gov/govhmpg.htm

Governor George Ryan 207 Statehouse Springfield, Illinois 62706 United States of America phone 1-217-782-0244, fax 1-217-524-4049 e-mail governor@state.il.us webpage http://www.state.il.us/gov/

Governor Frank O'Bannon Statehouse, Rm. 206 Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 United States of America phone 1-317-232-4567, fax 1-317-232-3443 e-mail page http://www.ai.org/gov/gov_mail.html webpage http://www.ai.org/gov/index.html

Governor Thomas Vilsack State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa 50319 United States of America phone 1-515-281-5211, fax 1-515-281-6611 e-mail general.office@igov.state.ia.us webpage http://www.iowaccess.org/

Governor Bill Graves State House Topeka, Kansas 66612 United States of America phone 1-913-296-6240, fax 1-913-296-7973 e-mail page http://www.state.ks.us/public/g overnor/comment.html webpage http://www.state.ks.us/public/governor/

Governor Paul Patton State Capitol, 700 Capitol Ave. Frankfort, Kentucky 40601 United States of America phone 1-502-564-2611, fax 1-502-564-2517 e-mail governor@mail.state.ky.us webpage http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/go v/govmenu6.htm

Governor Murphy Foster, Jr. State Capitol, P.O. Box 94004 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804 United States of America phone 1-504-342-7015, fax 1-504-342-7099 e-mail page http://www.gov.state.la.us/governo r/contact2.htm webpage http://www.gov.state.la.us/

Governor Angus King, Jr. State House Station 1 Augusta, Maine 04333 United States of America phone 1-207-287-3531, fax 1-207-287-1034 e-mail page http://janus.state.me.us/govoffice/ gov_form.htm webpage http://janus.state.me.us/govoffice/ homepage.htm

Governor Parris Glendening State House Annapolis, Maryland 21401 United States of America phone 1-410-974-3901, fax 1-410-974-3275 e-mail governor@gov.state.md.us webpage http://www.gov.state.md.us/

Governor Paul Cellucci State House, Room 360 Boston, Massachusetts 02133 United States of America phone 1-617-727-6250, fax 1-617-727-9725 e-mail goffice@state.ma.us webpage http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/gov/gov.htm

Governor John Engler State Capitol, PO Box 30013 Lansing, Michigan 48909 United States of America phone 1-517-335-7858, fax 1-517-335-6863 email page http://www.state.mi.us/MIGOV/ gov/ContactGovernor.shtm webpage http://www.state.mi.us/migov/

Governor Jesse Ventura 130 State Capitol, 75 Constitution Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 United States of America phone 1-651-296-3391, fax 1-651-296-2089 e-mail Governor.JesseVentura@state.mn.us webpage http://www.mainserver.state.mn.us/gover nor/

Governor Kirk Fordice P.O. Box 139 Jackson, Mississippi 39205 United States of America phone 1-601-737-9540, fax 1-601-737-9507 e-mail governor@govoff.state.ms.us webpage http://www.state.ms.us/

Governor Mel Carnahan Missouri Capitol Building, P.O. Box 720 Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-0720 United States of America phone 1-573-751-3222, fax 1-573-751-1495 e-mail page http://www.gov.state.mo.us/guest.htm webpage http://www.gov.state.mo.us/

Governor Marc Racicot State Capitol Helena, Montana 59620 United States of America webpage http://www.mt.gov/governor/governor.htm

Governor Mike Johanns State Capitol, Executive Suite, PO Box 94848 Lincoln, Nebraska 68509-4848 United States of America phone 1-402-471-2244, fax 1-402-471-6031 e-mail jodee@mail.state.ne.us webpage http://www.state.ne.us/

Governor Kenny Guinn State Capitol Carson City, Nevada 89710 United States of America phone 1-702-687-5670, fax 1-702-687-4486 webpage http://www.state.nv.us/

Governor Jeanne Shaheen State House Concord, New Hampshire 03301-4990 United States of America phone 1-603-271-2121, fax 1-603-271-2130 e-mail nhgov@nh.com webpage http://www.state.nh.us/

Governor Christine Todd Whitman Office of the Governor State House, 125 West State St., CN-001 Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0001 United States of America phone 1-609-292-6000, fax 1-609-292-5212 e-mail page http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail .htm webpage http://www.state.nj.us/governor/officeo .htm

Governor Gary Johnson State Capitol Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503 United States of America phone 1-505-827-3000, fax 1-505-827-3026 e-mail gov@gov.state.nm.us webpage http://www.state.nm.us/

Governor George Pataki State Capitol Albany, New York 12224 United States of America phone 1-518-474-8390, fax 1-518-474-1513 e-mail gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us webpage http://www.state.ny.us/governor

Governor James Hunt, Jr. State Capitol Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 United States of America phone 1-919-733-4240, fax 1-919-733-2120 webpage http://www.sips.state.nc.us/

Governor Edward Schafer 600 E. Blvd, State Capitol, Fl. 1 Bismark, North Dakota 58505 United States of America phone 1-701-328-2200, fax 1-701-328-2205 webpage http://www.ehs.health.stat e.nd.us/gov/governor/index.htm

Governor Bob Taft State House Columbus, Ohio 43215 United States of America phone 1-614-466-3555, 1-614-466-9354 webpage http://www.state.oh.us/gov/

Governor Frank Keating State Capitol Bldg., Rm. 212 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105 United States of America phone 1-405-521-2342, fax 1-405-521-3353 e-mail governor@oklaosf.state.ok.us webpage http://www.state.ok.us/

Governor John Kitzhaber State Capitol Salem, Oregon 97310 United States of America phone 1-503-378-4582, fax 1-503-378-4863 webpage http://www.governor.state.or.us/

Governor Tom Ridge 225 Main Capitol Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 United States of America phone 1-717-787-2500, fax 1-717-772-8284 e-mail governor@state.pa.us webpage http://www.state.pa.us/PA_Exe c/Governor/overview.html

Governor of the Commonwealth Commonwealth of Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936 United States of America webpage http://fortaleza.govpr.org

Governor Lincoln Almond State House Providence, Rhode Island 02903 United States of America phone 1-401-277-2080, fax 1-401-273-5729 webpage http://www.doa.state.ri.us/info/exec.htm

Governor James Hodges State House, PO Box 11369 Columbia, South Carolina 29211 United States of America phone 1-803-737-9540, fax 1-803-737-9507 webpage http://www.state.sc.us/

Governor William Janklow State Capitol, 500 East Capitol Ave Pierre, South Dakota 57501-5070 United States of America phone 1-605-773-3212, fax 1-605-773-5844 e-mail sdgov@gov.state.sd.us webpage http://www.state.sd.us /state/executive/governor/governor.htm

Governor Don Sundquist State Capitol Nashville, Tennessee 37243 United States of America phone 1-615-741-2001, fax 1-615-532-9711 e-mail dsundquist@mail.state.tn.us webpage http://www.state.tn.us/governor/

Governor George W. Bush State Capitol, P.O. Box 12428 Austin, Texas 78711 United States of America phone 1-512-463-2000, fax 1-512-463-1849 webpage http://www.governor.state.tx.us/

Governor Michael Leavitt 210 State Capitol Salt Lake City, Utah 84114 United States of America phone 1-801-538-1000, fax 1-801-538-1528 e-mail governor@state.ut.us webpage http://www.governor.state.ut.us/

Governor Howard Dean 109 State St. Montpelier, Vermont 05609 United States of America phone 1-802-828-3333, fax 1-802-828-3339 e-mail governor@state.vt.us webpage http://www.state.vt.us/

Governor Jim Gilmore State Capitol Richmond, Virginia 23219 United States of America phone 1-804-786-2211, fax 1-804-371-6351 e-mail page http://www.state.va.us/governor/govmail .htm webpage http://www.state.va.us/governor/

Governor Gary Locke State Capitol, P.O. Box 40002 Olympia, Washington 98504-0002 United States of America phone 1-360-902-4111, fax 1-360-753-4110 e-mail governor.locke@governor.wa.gov webpage http://www.wa.gov/governor

Governor Cecil Underwood State Capitol Charleston, West Virginia 25305 United States of America phone 1-304-558-2000, fax 1-304-342-7025 e-mail governor@state.wv.us webpage http://www.state.wi.us/governor/default .htm

Governor Tommy Thompson State Capitol, Room 115 East Madison, Wisconsin 53707 United States of America phone 1-608-266-1212, fax 1-608-267-8983 e-mail wisgov@mail.state.wi.us webpage http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/

Governor Jim Geringer State Capitol Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002 United States of America phone 1-307-777-7434, fax 1-307-632-3909 e-mail governor@missc.state.wy.us webpage http://www.state.wy.us/gove rnor/text_governor_home.html

Pro:
--No distractions from noisy coworkers.
--Reduced Commute!
--With a wireless LAN, you can work from the porch if the weather allows. :)
--Future tax breaks for telecommuting??? There's a bill in the Georgia legislature which would grant a carry-forward income tax credit of $1000 for the employee and $2500 for the employer. Fat chance of actually passing, but it's a start.

Con:
--Some lack of contact with valuable coworkers.
--Marginalization.
--Distractions from pets, children, spouses, pet projects, environmental noise (traffic, construction, etc.).
--Time-based projects don't transition as well as goal-based projects.

Miscellaneous things I've discovered while telecommuting:
--After work, instead of wanting to return home, I want to leave home for a while.
--I've spent enough time on speakerphone to be distracted by background conversation when I do go to the office.
--For non-sensitive work that does not require direct network connectivity, "Have laptop, will travel." :)
--I've been able to use a PC built out to my specs (PII/350), not the company specs(p-166!).
--Running bandwidth-hog distributed apps remotely from an office machine (of whatever type) tends to save runtime.

Georgia isn't the only state with asinine sodomy laws either; see this page for other states.