Statesboro elections, a comics book drive, a controversial figure and politics filled a busy “Mornings unPhiltered” show on Wednesday.
Host Phil Boyum first spoke about the Statesboro City Council election. City Councilman Tommy Blitch was elected to his second full term, defeating Benji Lewis and William Thomas. Blitch managed to get four percent more votes than a simple majority, thereby avoiding a run-off election. In the other race, newcomer John Riggs defeated his other two opponents, Lottie Johnson and Fred Parrish, getting three-quarters of the votes cast.
A caller called in to announce the “Comics For Victory” drive being organized by Galactic Comics in downtown Statesboro. The drive will send members of the Third Infantry out of Fort Stewart in Hinesville comics for their enjoyment. They are accepting both donations of comics to send, as well as money to help buy more and then pay for the shipment, of the comics collected to send to troops in the Afghan/Iraq Theater. Call Galactic Comics at 489-3123 for more information.
Boyum then spoke about how William Ayers came to lecture Tuesday to a Georgia Southern class in the College of Education. A controversial figure, Ayers was a co-founder of the radical 1960s organization Weather Underground and is currently a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Ayers came to Georgia Southern because he was selected by a graduate student as an “External Scholar” to participate on his Dissertation Defense.
A caller asked if students could actually select experts on their own to come and participate in their final defense of their paper for graduate work. Ayers is regarded as an expert in education curriculum, and is well known in the field of education. Boyum pointed out that he was told by the Georgia Southern Marketing Department that no General Student funds were spent towards Ayers expenses and his visit was not a university sanctioned event.
The next guest was Joshua Lanier, whom Boyum described as his “Washington Outsider.” Lanier is a former staff member for Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge, non-profit CEO and a Vietnam veteran who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2008.
Lanier said good, responsible, common sense government is what all Americans want. Most people, Lanier said, believe we need to take care of our problems now, and not focus on what everybody else's problems are. The voter, he said, wants competency and efficiency in government now, and is tired of listening to promises of what will come from the government in the future.
Lanier is leading a group pushing for changes in statewide election reforms. Getting dirty money out of the political system, Lanier said, is essential to cleaning politics on every level. It takes years, he said, to get any changes passed by governmental entities, so don't expect any changes right away.
Politicians right now are forced to listen to those who donate the largest amount of money — building the funds that are required to run any successful campaign. His organization, the “Georgia Clean Money Campaign” would release a lot more information about their efforts to reform the way campaigns are funded in the near future, Lanier said.
“Mornings unPHILtered” airs live Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on statesboroherald.com and also simulcast on WWNS-AM 1240 on the radio. You also can listen anytime at BoroLive.com on statesboroherald.com
Host Phil Boyum first spoke about the Statesboro City Council election. City Councilman Tommy Blitch was elected to his second full term, defeating Benji Lewis and William Thomas. Blitch managed to get four percent more votes than a simple majority, thereby avoiding a run-off election. In the other race, newcomer John Riggs defeated his other two opponents, Lottie Johnson and Fred Parrish, getting three-quarters of the votes cast.
A caller called in to announce the “Comics For Victory” drive being organized by Galactic Comics in downtown Statesboro. The drive will send members of the Third Infantry out of Fort Stewart in Hinesville comics for their enjoyment. They are accepting both donations of comics to send, as well as money to help buy more and then pay for the shipment, of the comics collected to send to troops in the Afghan/Iraq Theater. Call Galactic Comics at 489-3123 for more information.
Boyum then spoke about how William Ayers came to lecture Tuesday to a Georgia Southern class in the College of Education. A controversial figure, Ayers was a co-founder of the radical 1960s organization Weather Underground and is currently a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Ayers came to Georgia Southern because he was selected by a graduate student as an “External Scholar” to participate on his Dissertation Defense.
A caller asked if students could actually select experts on their own to come and participate in their final defense of their paper for graduate work. Ayers is regarded as an expert in education curriculum, and is well known in the field of education. Boyum pointed out that he was told by the Georgia Southern Marketing Department that no General Student funds were spent towards Ayers expenses and his visit was not a university sanctioned event.
The next guest was Joshua Lanier, whom Boyum described as his “Washington Outsider.” Lanier is a former staff member for Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge, non-profit CEO and a Vietnam veteran who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2008.
Lanier said good, responsible, common sense government is what all Americans want. Most people, Lanier said, believe we need to take care of our problems now, and not focus on what everybody else's problems are. The voter, he said, wants competency and efficiency in government now, and is tired of listening to promises of what will come from the government in the future.
Lanier is leading a group pushing for changes in statewide election reforms. Getting dirty money out of the political system, Lanier said, is essential to cleaning politics on every level. It takes years, he said, to get any changes passed by governmental entities, so don't expect any changes right away.
Politicians right now are forced to listen to those who donate the largest amount of money — building the funds that are required to run any successful campaign. His organization, the “Georgia Clean Money Campaign” would release a lot more information about their efforts to reform the way campaigns are funded in the near future, Lanier said.
“Mornings unPHILtered” airs live Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on statesboroherald.com and also simulcast on WWNS-AM 1240 on the radio. You also can listen anytime at BoroLive.com on statesboroherald.com