It’s Bigger Than NPR’s Katherine Maher
15 hours ago
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Hoops
You might be able to still get a copy of the latest Sporting News.It has an excellent article on the Atlanta Hawks, keying on Joe Johnson. The Hawks are a very entertaining team to watch and the future looks bright. Another atheltic big man and this team could really do something.
Monday, December 29, 2008
NFL
Before the NFL season I was a guest on a South Georgia football call in show hosted by old friend and former Daily Citizen sports editor Chris Beckham.
I made several predictions, included a pretty accurate assessment of Brett Favre’s impact on the Jets. Brett started stronger than I expected but in the end age and his addiction to throwing stupid passes proved me right.
However, I also described the Atlanta Falcons as possibly the worst team in the NFL.
Consider this my mea culpa, though I still have no idea how this band of misfits accomplished what it did.
In predicting season long misery for Atlanta I pointed to their rookie quarterback. That alone would doom most teams. Who knew that Ryan was going to be so solid so fast?
I didn’t expect Ryan to even survive the season behind that mutt of an offensive line. Tyson Clabo? Harvey Dahl? Beat up Todd Weiner and rookie Sam Baker? Forget Mike Smith, the Falcon OL coach should be the NFL coach of the year.
Defensively, the Falcons didn’t seem to have a dependable DT on the roster. Yet the journeymen they plugged in there all year played hard and made things happen. I figured Jonathan Babineax might get cut after the pre-season. Instead, he worked his arse off.
The Falcon secondary, which too me looked horrible, played with tenacity and intelligence all season. Dom Foxworth turned out to be a great low-cost acquisition and won the right corner job. He teamed with Chris Houston to to give the Birds a pair of battling cornerbacks. They could be beaten, but more often than not they held up against even top receivers.
An amazing performance across the board.
This is not a Super Bowl team, at least in terms of talent. But no organization in the league is getting as much out of their players as this one so I’m not counting them out.
Whatever happens this weekend, it’s been a heck of a ride .
I stand corrected
I made several predictions, included a pretty accurate assessment of Brett Favre’s impact on the Jets. Brett started stronger than I expected but in the end age and his addiction to throwing stupid passes proved me right.
However, I also described the Atlanta Falcons as possibly the worst team in the NFL.
Consider this my mea culpa, though I still have no idea how this band of misfits accomplished what it did.
In predicting season long misery for Atlanta I pointed to their rookie quarterback. That alone would doom most teams. Who knew that Ryan was going to be so solid so fast?
I didn’t expect Ryan to even survive the season behind that mutt of an offensive line. Tyson Clabo? Harvey Dahl? Beat up Todd Weiner and rookie Sam Baker? Forget Mike Smith, the Falcon OL coach should be the NFL coach of the year.
Defensively, the Falcons didn’t seem to have a dependable DT on the roster. Yet the journeymen they plugged in there all year played hard and made things happen. I figured Jonathan Babineax might get cut after the pre-season. Instead, he worked his arse off.
The Falcon secondary, which too me looked horrible, played with tenacity and intelligence all season. Dom Foxworth turned out to be a great low-cost acquisition and won the right corner job. He teamed with Chris Houston to to give the Birds a pair of battling cornerbacks. They could be beaten, but more often than not they held up against even top receivers.
An amazing performance across the board.
This is not a Super Bowl team, at least in terms of talent. But no organization in the league is getting as much out of their players as this one so I’m not counting them out.
Whatever happens this weekend, it’s been a heck of a ride .
I stand corrected
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Tunes
Southern fried boogey loses a stalwart with the death of Delaney Bramlett Here's link to them singing 'Coming Home.'
Our local Al Jazeera
Dr. Naijar at DSC lobs a few bombs of his own. Check out his propaganda outlet.
My Sunday column
The upcoming year will hold some major changes at The Daily Citizen, as our company looks for ways to deliver more information to readers — and more readers to our advertisers.
Across the country newspaper circulation has dipped in recent years. However, our circulation numbers have remained solid. We haven’t experienced the declines in readership some newspapers have suffered, in part because our Web site, daltondailycitizen.com, has helped us attract new readers, as well as retain older readers who prefer to read the newspaper online. The Web site includes many — though not all — of the features that appear in the print edition, but we’ve also taken advantage of the essentially unlimited “news hole” the Internet offers, to run stories, announcements and other information not available in our print product.
A further refinement of this idea will be launched in the next week. A digital edition of the newspaper will be posted nightly, with the full content of the newspaper (and more) available to readers.
The digital edition will be an identical reproduction of the day’s newspaper.
For the first month, the digital Daily Citizen will be available to anyone who wants to see it free of charge. After 30 days, subscribers to our print product will continue to receive it for free. Non-subscribers will be encouraged to buy the digital edition — at a substantially discounted rate. As a bonus, readers of the digital version will have access to “extra” pages, more stories, photos and graphics put together specifically for them.
The cost of newsprint has exploded in recent years and the slow economy has made it tougher for us to print additional pages in the print version of the newspaper. By taking advantage of the boundless freer space offered by the Internet we will deliver more value to our readers.
Keep a close eye on The Daily Citizen in the next few days for an announcement of the debut of the digital edition.
• • •
We plan to add even more content to our Web site in 2009 as well. Regular readers of the site already know that we post a range of material not available in The Daily Citizen. Some of it is too esoteric or too lengthy for the daily paper, but fits in nicely on the Web site. The appearance of the site is likely to change and we hope to make it more convenient and user friendly. One of my pet projects is to recruit some local writers for the Web site, so if you have an interest in writing on a topic regularly, please contact me at 706-272-7735. We’ll compare notes and see what makes sense.
• • •
As of Monday, the look of our front page will change. The basic look of The Daily Citizen has been about the same for almost a decade. It’s time for a change. Hopefully the new look will freshen things up and help us get more information to readers quickly. Let us know what you think.
• • •
I’m an old school newspaperman. I like the sound of a press and the feel of newsprint. But the future of community journalism cannot be limited to the traditional newspaper format. The printed edition of The Daily Citizen remains our core product and it will continue to receive the lion’s share of attention, but these alternative venues for delivering news and advertising to readers are enticing to even the most ink-stained of aging editors.
The newspaper industry has taken its share of lumps in recent years, with the rapidly changing nature of the business now combining with a bad economy to smack the business right in the nose. From The New York Times to the Hahira Gold Leaf, the industry is struggling.
But it’s also fighting back
Among the ways we do that is by trying new things. My boss, Daily Citizen Publisher William Bronson, pushes an agenda of change and though I don’t agree with every idea, I understand that if this newspaper sits still, it will wither.
We’re not going to let that happen
One thing that won’t change is our keen interest in what our customers think. If you like or don’t like something we’re doing, write or give me a call and we’ll talk about it.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen. He can be reached at 706-272-7735 or by e-mail at jimmyespy@daltoncitizen.com
Across the country newspaper circulation has dipped in recent years. However, our circulation numbers have remained solid. We haven’t experienced the declines in readership some newspapers have suffered, in part because our Web site, daltondailycitizen.com, has helped us attract new readers, as well as retain older readers who prefer to read the newspaper online. The Web site includes many — though not all — of the features that appear in the print edition, but we’ve also taken advantage of the essentially unlimited “news hole” the Internet offers, to run stories, announcements and other information not available in our print product.
A further refinement of this idea will be launched in the next week. A digital edition of the newspaper will be posted nightly, with the full content of the newspaper (and more) available to readers.
The digital edition will be an identical reproduction of the day’s newspaper.
For the first month, the digital Daily Citizen will be available to anyone who wants to see it free of charge. After 30 days, subscribers to our print product will continue to receive it for free. Non-subscribers will be encouraged to buy the digital edition — at a substantially discounted rate. As a bonus, readers of the digital version will have access to “extra” pages, more stories, photos and graphics put together specifically for them.
The cost of newsprint has exploded in recent years and the slow economy has made it tougher for us to print additional pages in the print version of the newspaper. By taking advantage of the boundless freer space offered by the Internet we will deliver more value to our readers.
Keep a close eye on The Daily Citizen in the next few days for an announcement of the debut of the digital edition.
• • •
We plan to add even more content to our Web site in 2009 as well. Regular readers of the site already know that we post a range of material not available in The Daily Citizen. Some of it is too esoteric or too lengthy for the daily paper, but fits in nicely on the Web site. The appearance of the site is likely to change and we hope to make it more convenient and user friendly. One of my pet projects is to recruit some local writers for the Web site, so if you have an interest in writing on a topic regularly, please contact me at 706-272-7735. We’ll compare notes and see what makes sense.
• • •
As of Monday, the look of our front page will change. The basic look of The Daily Citizen has been about the same for almost a decade. It’s time for a change. Hopefully the new look will freshen things up and help us get more information to readers quickly. Let us know what you think.
• • •
I’m an old school newspaperman. I like the sound of a press and the feel of newsprint. But the future of community journalism cannot be limited to the traditional newspaper format. The printed edition of The Daily Citizen remains our core product and it will continue to receive the lion’s share of attention, but these alternative venues for delivering news and advertising to readers are enticing to even the most ink-stained of aging editors.
The newspaper industry has taken its share of lumps in recent years, with the rapidly changing nature of the business now combining with a bad economy to smack the business right in the nose. From The New York Times to the Hahira Gold Leaf, the industry is struggling.
But it’s also fighting back
Among the ways we do that is by trying new things. My boss, Daily Citizen Publisher William Bronson, pushes an agenda of change and though I don’t agree with every idea, I understand that if this newspaper sits still, it will wither.
We’re not going to let that happen
One thing that won’t change is our keen interest in what our customers think. If you like or don’t like something we’re doing, write or give me a call and we’ll talk about it.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen. He can be reached at 706-272-7735 or by e-mail at jimmyespy@daltoncitizen.com
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Your Sunday free tune
Jethro Tull is too cool for school. Can you have more fun than "Locomotive Breath?"
The Bear
Putin's Russia is in trouble despite the mountain of natural resources. Oligarchy is no substitute for a real free market. Read here.
Comics
The new Hellboy is out from Dark Horse. I picked up Issue 1 at The Fantasy Factory and enjoyed it. Here's a link to the Dark Horse site.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Booty for the ballers
The NCAA is tough on players getting gifts, but members of bowl teams get to collect some booty, according to The Sporting News.
Players in the Chic-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta get Fossil watches, Russell athletic gear and a $300 Visa gift card.
The BCA Chamionship game is a nice haul for players: $300 in Sony electronic merchandise, a Torneau watch, Crocs, etc.
TSN has a page in the current issue listing the goodies by bowl.
The same issue features a solid preview of the key bowl games.
Peyton Manning's little brother Eli is on the cover.
Players in the Chic-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta get Fossil watches, Russell athletic gear and a $300 Visa gift card.
The BCA Chamionship game is a nice haul for players: $300 in Sony electronic merchandise, a Torneau watch, Crocs, etc.
TSN has a page in the current issue listing the goodies by bowl.
The same issue features a solid preview of the key bowl games.
Peyton Manning's little brother Eli is on the cover.
To all
Merry Christmas. We are recovering from a couple of very busy days but it's been fun. Hope it's been the same for y'all.
Monday, December 22, 2008
My Sunday column
My daughter — who has already informed me she wants to be a “rock star” when she grows up — debuted on the local stage this week.
She got her career off to a rousing start on Friday morning, joining a host of kids from the First Presbyterian Child Development Center for its annual Christmas program.
Before a semi-packed house, Rowan got her first taste of stardom, belting out yule time standards like “Christmas Deo,” “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” all of which she has been practicing non-stop at home for weeks.
We also heard “Away in a Manger,” “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Zip a De Do Dah Christmas.”
The only thing missing was “Freebird.”
The performance went smoothly at first — of course the crew of the Titanic probably thought the same things as they dogpaddled in the icy North Atlantic.
The 4-year-olds came in first and got the show off to a good start. Their version of “Santa’s Coming” absolutely rocked!
The 3-year-olds entered next and my Blessed Little One looked a little uneasy until she found mom and dad’s smiling faces in the the sea of smiling parental faces.
Relaxed, she joined her choir mates and slid smoothly into “Tiny Jesus,” giving it a little Billie Holliday slinkiness mixed with Ella Fitzgerald’s playful phrasing.
“Christ-mas Deo” was next and the magic continued even after they brought in the 2-year-olds — always an adventure.
The concert was moving along smoother than Tony Bennett at the Paladium right up until the very end when My Angelic Child inexplicably got it in her head that her parents didn’t love her anymore and were going to sell her to the cruel owner of a Congolese coal mine.
Cue the crying.
Anyone who tells you “there’s no crying in show business” is profoundly mistaken my friend.
My future “rock star” cut loose. Just like Diana Ross at the end of “Lady Sings the Blues.”
Fortunately the singing portion of the show was over and mom and dad were quickly able to reunite with their Darling Baby Girl and explain to her that Yes we did still love her and NO she wasn’t going to have to ride around in a wagon with gypsies and get eaten by a werewolf.
Sweetiepie calmed down — and so did Mom — but not before extorting a visit to her favorite cousin’s house out of us first.
The kid is an operator.
I don’t know what this means for her budding career as the next Hannah Montana. Being a rock star has its upside — if I had an an extra few million a year coming in I could get my yard raked — but there’s a downside too.
Rowan certainly seemed to enjoy the singing part of her debut.
Mister Jackie did a great job getting her and all the other songbirds prepared.
But maybe the life of a rocker isn’t in her blood. Maybe music will only be a hobby, not a career?
Which means we look at career plan No. 2 — Indian Princess.
Yup, she told me she wants to be an Indian Princess — whatever that entails these days.
And a mermaid.
And a ballerina.
And a chef.
And a doctor.
And a basketball player.
And a firefighter.
All of which are cool with mom and dad.
(Especially the basketball player).
She got her career off to a rousing start on Friday morning, joining a host of kids from the First Presbyterian Child Development Center for its annual Christmas program.
Before a semi-packed house, Rowan got her first taste of stardom, belting out yule time standards like “Christmas Deo,” “Jingle Bells” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” all of which she has been practicing non-stop at home for weeks.
We also heard “Away in a Manger,” “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Zip a De Do Dah Christmas.”
The only thing missing was “Freebird.”
The performance went smoothly at first — of course the crew of the Titanic probably thought the same things as they dogpaddled in the icy North Atlantic.
The 4-year-olds came in first and got the show off to a good start. Their version of “Santa’s Coming” absolutely rocked!
The 3-year-olds entered next and my Blessed Little One looked a little uneasy until she found mom and dad’s smiling faces in the the sea of smiling parental faces.
Relaxed, she joined her choir mates and slid smoothly into “Tiny Jesus,” giving it a little Billie Holliday slinkiness mixed with Ella Fitzgerald’s playful phrasing.
“Christ-mas Deo” was next and the magic continued even after they brought in the 2-year-olds — always an adventure.
The concert was moving along smoother than Tony Bennett at the Paladium right up until the very end when My Angelic Child inexplicably got it in her head that her parents didn’t love her anymore and were going to sell her to the cruel owner of a Congolese coal mine.
Cue the crying.
Anyone who tells you “there’s no crying in show business” is profoundly mistaken my friend.
My future “rock star” cut loose. Just like Diana Ross at the end of “Lady Sings the Blues.”
Fortunately the singing portion of the show was over and mom and dad were quickly able to reunite with their Darling Baby Girl and explain to her that Yes we did still love her and NO she wasn’t going to have to ride around in a wagon with gypsies and get eaten by a werewolf.
Sweetiepie calmed down — and so did Mom — but not before extorting a visit to her favorite cousin’s house out of us first.
The kid is an operator.
I don’t know what this means for her budding career as the next Hannah Montana. Being a rock star has its upside — if I had an an extra few million a year coming in I could get my yard raked — but there’s a downside too.
Rowan certainly seemed to enjoy the singing part of her debut.
Mister Jackie did a great job getting her and all the other songbirds prepared.
But maybe the life of a rocker isn’t in her blood. Maybe music will only be a hobby, not a career?
Which means we look at career plan No. 2 — Indian Princess.
Yup, she told me she wants to be an Indian Princess — whatever that entails these days.
And a mermaid.
And a ballerina.
And a chef.
And a doctor.
And a basketball player.
And a firefighter.
All of which are cool with mom and dad.
(Especially the basketball player).
Tunes
The best albums of 2008 according to Rolling Stone and I own exactly ZERO of them. However, I did ask Santa for the Lucinda Williams record and sooner or later I get all the Dylan records. Mellencamp made quite a critical comeback, so maybe I'll check that one out, too.
Man ... I am getting old.
Man ... I am getting old.
Politics
Newt Gingrich is an interesting thinker and God knows during the election he was on TV continuously, weighing in on the political scene. More than a few Republicans would like to see him run for president. But am I the only one who remembers how quickly he became corrupted by Washington power when he was Speaker of the House? Newt talks a great game. But given a nice office and the rest of the perks and he got real comfortable real quickly and the Revolution petered out.
Politico talks all things Newt in this article.
Politico talks all things Newt in this article.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Church
Interesting piece from USA Today abut the state of modern religion in the US. Couldn't help but think of Dalton's own Rock Bridge Church when reading this article.
You can certainly find religion packaged any way you want it here, from ramshackle roadside churches to multi-million dollar "megas."
You can certainly find religion packaged any way you want it here, from ramshackle roadside churches to multi-million dollar "megas."
Economy
Newsweek's Robert Samuelson is always good and here talks inflation, focusing on the benefits of the Reagan-Volcker era.
The jihad
Churchill would be ashamed. Europe lacks almost any will to fight and the fight is coming to them.
Your free Sunday tune
A great tune from an up and coming musical superstar (though one with a head cold).
Jonny to the rescue
Need a great last minute gift for the kiddies? My daughter is 3 and she absolutely loves the Jonny Quest DVD collection. Jonny Quest was my favorite cartoon as a kid, filled with action and adventure. They hold up very, very well. The animation is superb and the stories much more realistic than most cartoon fodder.
They are also a lot more violent than kids cartoons today and the villains tend to be ethnic stereotypes.
Jonny was designed with young boys in mind, but as I said earlier my daughter is thrilled with them. She has watched every episode repeatedly and can quote some of the dialog ("Kill Tulu, kill!").
Kids love Jonny and so do a lot of parents.
Check this site for more information.
They are also a lot more violent than kids cartoons today and the villains tend to be ethnic stereotypes.
Jonny was designed with young boys in mind, but as I said earlier my daughter is thrilled with them. She has watched every episode repeatedly and can quote some of the dialog ("Kill Tulu, kill!").
Kids love Jonny and so do a lot of parents.
Check this site for more information.
Friday, December 19, 2008
The Flicks
I read Jack Ketchum's 'Offspring" years ago, loved it and toyed with the idea of writing a screenplay. Unlike me, someone else actually got off their butt and did it. Take a look at this story. from Fangoria.
The Bear is sick
As I have said before, a Third World economy with Superpower pretensions.Declining oil revenues cripple Putin's playpen.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Braves
It's obvious Rafael Furcalreally wasn't as interested in returning to Atlanta as he was with getting a better offer from the Dodgers. LA played right along of course, sweetening Atlanta's $10 million a year offering enough to close a deal with the leadoff hitter.
Atlanta fans have a right to be disappointed as another big name player move bogs down, leaving the Braves with Javier Vasquez and not a lot else to show so far. However, did the Braves really want to invest $10 million per in an infielder who hasn't been able to stay on the field in recent years?
Hopefully they will move past this Furcal mess, stay active and keep pushing for Peavey. If not, a lesser package could bring a good bat for left field or first base.
Texeiria would be the best possible signing, but Atlanta has never in been in that game. I guess if Tex had wanted to come back he would have made that clear during the season. However, it's hard to believe someone would talk SERIOUSLY with the Nationals and the Orioles but not be willing to do business with the Braves.
Adam Dunn hits a lot of homers and draws walks, but his defense is dreadful and Cox won't stand for that. Dunn's offense is underrated, but his play in left is awful? How about at first? We need another bat.
Atlanta fans have a right to be disappointed as another big name player move bogs down, leaving the Braves with Javier Vasquez and not a lot else to show so far. However, did the Braves really want to invest $10 million per in an infielder who hasn't been able to stay on the field in recent years?
Hopefully they will move past this Furcal mess, stay active and keep pushing for Peavey. If not, a lesser package could bring a good bat for left field or first base.
Texeiria would be the best possible signing, but Atlanta has never in been in that game. I guess if Tex had wanted to come back he would have made that clear during the season. However, it's hard to believe someone would talk SERIOUSLY with the Nationals and the Orioles but not be willing to do business with the Braves.
Adam Dunn hits a lot of homers and draws walks, but his defense is dreadful and Cox won't stand for that. Dunn's offense is underrated, but his play in left is awful? How about at first? We need another bat.
Getting better
I am back and hope to keep blogging regularly now that this kidney infections seesm to be on the retreat. I got it last week and it laid me low, despite the fact that I started treatment pretty quickly. I miised a lot of work and am still very sluggisg, but the worst seems to be past.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Flicks
Forget Karate Kid. But I LOVED Crossroads -- the Ralph Macchio one -- and this the great "head cutting" scene with Steve Vai.
My Sunday column
Saxby's challenge
The night of his relatively easy win over Democrat challenger Jim Martin. Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss sent out a “thank you” press release.
He offered his appreciation to voters for supporting him and to the alphabet soup of organizations — the RNC and the NRSC — who told him how to run his campaign. He also thanked the volunteers who worked for his re-election. Fair enough.
Then he got out the ladle and started dumping manure.
“Our victory tonight sends a strong message to Washington, D.C. that Georgia still cares about conservative values — but this win is only the beginning. We have a lot of work to do over the next six years and I’m proud to have the opportunity to ensure Georgia has a strong voice in the Senate.”
Where to start?
Chambliss is right when he says that Georgians (at least many of them) want a conservative voice in Washington. But the idea that he is an exemplar of a principled conservative — at least on economic matters — is absurd.
There’s not a spending bill in sight you can’t get Chambliss to sign off on if it includes an extra buck or two for peanut farmers. Chambliss is Santa Claus to the South Georgia farm interests, as proven by his “leadership” in teaming with equally rapacious Democrats to put together a $300 billion farm bill.
Archer Daniels Midland loved it I’m sure. They benefited from it enormously.
American consumers — not so much.
Chambliss was also a “leader” in efforts to milk billions from the federal treasury to pay for research and development of highly suspect biodiesel projects, the primary beneficiaries again being big money agricultural interests.
The last straw for me was the bailout bill. Chambliss soiled his armor like the rest of the Washington crowd and joined the panic.
Chambliss is Chambliss, clawing at the federal teat as desperately as any liberal Democrat in Washington. His mainstream opponent, Martin, campaigned primarily on an “I’m not Saxby Chambliss” strategy. Fair enough, but who the heck are you? Mostly he looked like the kind of hack politician that in a just world wouldn’t rise above serving on a local tree board.
Forget ‘em both.
I voted Libertarian in November. No apologies.
On Tuesday — with no one even close to my liking on the ballot — I slept late, went to work and then waited on the results to roll in.
Chambliss won easily.
Can’t say it was a surprise.
Barack Obama was too lily-livered to come to Georgia — a nasty slap in the face to the state’s Democrats, who worked hard for him this year.
The Martin campaign desperately needed a jolt of Obama’s energy, as it seemed to run out of steam in the final days before the vote. But Obama, smelling a defeat, steered clear. (I suspect it won’t be the last time the new president avoids a fight.)
Back to Chambliss, who in his brief victory remarks vowed to give Georgians “a strong voice in the Senate.”
Strong voices are a fine thing, but only if they deliver the right message. And now more than ever Georgians — all Americans in fact — need a strong voice for real free market-oriented fiscal conservatism, not the phony conservatism Chambliss has hawked the last six years.
Get off the teat and go to work.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen. He is what is popularly known as The Angry White Male.
The night of his relatively easy win over Democrat challenger Jim Martin. Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss sent out a “thank you” press release.
He offered his appreciation to voters for supporting him and to the alphabet soup of organizations — the RNC and the NRSC — who told him how to run his campaign. He also thanked the volunteers who worked for his re-election. Fair enough.
Then he got out the ladle and started dumping manure.
“Our victory tonight sends a strong message to Washington, D.C. that Georgia still cares about conservative values — but this win is only the beginning. We have a lot of work to do over the next six years and I’m proud to have the opportunity to ensure Georgia has a strong voice in the Senate.”
Where to start?
Chambliss is right when he says that Georgians (at least many of them) want a conservative voice in Washington. But the idea that he is an exemplar of a principled conservative — at least on economic matters — is absurd.
There’s not a spending bill in sight you can’t get Chambliss to sign off on if it includes an extra buck or two for peanut farmers. Chambliss is Santa Claus to the South Georgia farm interests, as proven by his “leadership” in teaming with equally rapacious Democrats to put together a $300 billion farm bill.
Archer Daniels Midland loved it I’m sure. They benefited from it enormously.
American consumers — not so much.
Chambliss was also a “leader” in efforts to milk billions from the federal treasury to pay for research and development of highly suspect biodiesel projects, the primary beneficiaries again being big money agricultural interests.
The last straw for me was the bailout bill. Chambliss soiled his armor like the rest of the Washington crowd and joined the panic.
Chambliss is Chambliss, clawing at the federal teat as desperately as any liberal Democrat in Washington. His mainstream opponent, Martin, campaigned primarily on an “I’m not Saxby Chambliss” strategy. Fair enough, but who the heck are you? Mostly he looked like the kind of hack politician that in a just world wouldn’t rise above serving on a local tree board.
Forget ‘em both.
I voted Libertarian in November. No apologies.
On Tuesday — with no one even close to my liking on the ballot — I slept late, went to work and then waited on the results to roll in.
Chambliss won easily.
Can’t say it was a surprise.
Barack Obama was too lily-livered to come to Georgia — a nasty slap in the face to the state’s Democrats, who worked hard for him this year.
The Martin campaign desperately needed a jolt of Obama’s energy, as it seemed to run out of steam in the final days before the vote. But Obama, smelling a defeat, steered clear. (I suspect it won’t be the last time the new president avoids a fight.)
Back to Chambliss, who in his brief victory remarks vowed to give Georgians “a strong voice in the Senate.”
Strong voices are a fine thing, but only if they deliver the right message. And now more than ever Georgians — all Americans in fact — need a strong voice for real free market-oriented fiscal conservatism, not the phony conservatism Chambliss has hawked the last six years.
Get off the teat and go to work.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen. He is what is popularly known as The Angry White Male.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Big Mess
So the government which helped cause this fiasco isn't so good at fixing it? Didn't see that coming. From the New York Times.
The boob tube
The wife and I were watching CNN the other night and they flashed one of those breaking news logos. Our journalistic natures, if not recent experience, told us to stand ready for important information.
So what was the news flash?
"Barack Obama supports President Bush's condemenation of the Mumbai attacks."
Huh?
That's breaking news?
"Barack Obama does NOT support President Bush's condemnation of the Mumbai attacks" would have been news.
"Barack Obama supports the Mumbai attacks" would REALLY have been breaking news.
"Barack Obama farts in public." That would have been (wind) breaking news.
But does someone at CNN really think that everything Obama says or does is breaking news or do they just not know what a news story is?
So what was the news flash?
"Barack Obama supports President Bush's condemenation of the Mumbai attacks."
Huh?
That's breaking news?
"Barack Obama does NOT support President Bush's condemnation of the Mumbai attacks" would have been news.
"Barack Obama supports the Mumbai attacks" would REALLY have been breaking news.
"Barack Obama farts in public." That would have been (wind) breaking news.
But does someone at CNN really think that everything Obama says or does is breaking news or do they just not know what a news story is?
Politics
Toughness is one of the most overused of election cliches. Political types who wouldn't last two hours in the County Line Bar on a Friday night love to judge each other's toughness.
President-elect Obama has been dubbed "tough" by his followers, including an adoring mainstream media.
Yet in his very first chance to show how tough -- politically speaking -- he is, Obama has been a big, old sissy.
Democratic senatorial candidate Jim Martin won't admit it, but he has to be disappointed that Obama -- with much to gain himself -- chose not to endanger his "political capital" by coming South in support of Martin's surprisingly effective campaign against incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss.
Obama's Posse has a grab bag of excuses for why His Eminence is remaining above the fray. But the fact is, he's a chicken. Obama is scared that if he campaigns in Georgia for Martin and the Democrat loses, it will take some of the luster off his crown. Exactly the way a big sissy would think.
Ludacris and Young Jeezy spoke up for Martin, but apparently it was to much to expect the new leader of the Democratic party to come to Atlanta and put in an appearance in a senate race we are told could be crucial to Democrats.
Ideally, Chambliss will win, man up for once in his political career, and be a royal pain in the keister to the new president for four years.
I'm not counting on it.
But that would be sweet, in a Frank Capra-kind of way.
President-elect Obama has been dubbed "tough" by his followers, including an adoring mainstream media.
Yet in his very first chance to show how tough -- politically speaking -- he is, Obama has been a big, old sissy.
Democratic senatorial candidate Jim Martin won't admit it, but he has to be disappointed that Obama -- with much to gain himself -- chose not to endanger his "political capital" by coming South in support of Martin's surprisingly effective campaign against incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss.
Obama's Posse has a grab bag of excuses for why His Eminence is remaining above the fray. But the fact is, he's a chicken. Obama is scared that if he campaigns in Georgia for Martin and the Democrat loses, it will take some of the luster off his crown. Exactly the way a big sissy would think.
Ludacris and Young Jeezy spoke up for Martin, but apparently it was to much to expect the new leader of the Democratic party to come to Atlanta and put in an appearance in a senate race we are told could be crucial to Democrats.
Ideally, Chambliss will win, man up for once in his political career, and be a royal pain in the keister to the new president for four years.
I'm not counting on it.
But that would be sweet, in a Frank Capra-kind of way.
Monday, December 1, 2008
The Max Cleland Myth
National Review sets the record straight. But why haven't I ever heard Saxby Chambliss says this?
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