It’s Bigger Than NPR’s Katherine Maher
1 week ago
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Tide rolled
I've been known to root lustily against Alabama. But last night's thumping of Clemson was a really impressive showing. Sadly, I can't call or e-mail my congratulations to Ramona Connor for her beloved team's win. We're going to miss her this season. The Tide lost one of its greatest fans and Saturdays aren't going to be quiet so much fun.
My Sunday column
My 3-year-old daughter is a fervent supporter of Barack Obama.
The other night she told my wife, a Hillary backer now slowly moving her tent into the Obama camp, that she liked Obama because he was “tall and could get things off the shelf.”
Tall and could get things off the shelf ... after a week of listening to the elite of the Democratic Party and their stooges in the national media, I have yet to hear a better reason to vote for the Illinois senator.
That is unless you are one of the camp followers who still gets excited when Obama starts rattling on about “change” and “new politics.”
I listened to his acceptance speech on Thursday — a speech which left much of the national media corps flopping on the ground in ecstasy — and came away thinking this very bright young man either has absolutely nothing of substance to say or he’s saving the real stuff until after the election.
One thing Obama mentioned surprised me. In the middle of his litany of standard (and very expensive) Democratic promises to voters he mentioned that he would help the American automobile industry build better cars. Dang, you would think that after all that has been written about Obama I would have known that he had background in automobile design. The Fords must be thrilled that help is finally on the way.
Obama mentioned that not all problems faced by Americans were of government doing, but nonetheless he is ashamed that the government isn’t doing something to solve all of our woes.
Overpay for your house? Tell Obama where to ship the cash.
High price of gas messing with your trip to Panama City? Obama will build you your own personal windmill?
Got a bunion? Obama will have a doctor stop by your house. No charge.
The eradication of all personal responsibility. That is Obama’s promise to you. Sit back and relax.
As Merle Haggard sang:
We’re all gonna be drinking free bubble up
And eating that rainbow stew.
Americans, ask not what you can do for your country, instead send a list of things to Washington you need done and Obama will make sure the government starts doing for you. No charge.
A 3-year-old is one thing, but that grown-up people fall for this claptrap is embarrassing.
---
It’s the Republicans’ turn this week and my expectations are low. Can anybody in that party even articulate the case for smaller government or has the funk of the past eight years enveloped everyone?
Intellectually, how do Republicans go to the podium and make a case for cutting federal spending, reducing taxes and diminishing the role of the federal government in our lives and not get laughed off the stage. Not because the message isn’t the right one, but because after the past eight years Republicans have forfeited the right to call itself the party of small government.
It is the correct strategy. Anyone who listened closely to Obama heard him making the case for a government that grabs you by your boo boo at birth and slaps a tag on your toe when you die. In between those events, the feds are gonna oversee as much of your dealings as possible ... for your own good of course.
You’re going to be wrapped in the warm, cocoon of cradle-to-grave government.
Isn’t that what we all want?
Republicans should reply “No.”
And they should say it loudly.
Show some backbone.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen
The other night she told my wife, a Hillary backer now slowly moving her tent into the Obama camp, that she liked Obama because he was “tall and could get things off the shelf.”
Tall and could get things off the shelf ... after a week of listening to the elite of the Democratic Party and their stooges in the national media, I have yet to hear a better reason to vote for the Illinois senator.
That is unless you are one of the camp followers who still gets excited when Obama starts rattling on about “change” and “new politics.”
I listened to his acceptance speech on Thursday — a speech which left much of the national media corps flopping on the ground in ecstasy — and came away thinking this very bright young man either has absolutely nothing of substance to say or he’s saving the real stuff until after the election.
One thing Obama mentioned surprised me. In the middle of his litany of standard (and very expensive) Democratic promises to voters he mentioned that he would help the American automobile industry build better cars. Dang, you would think that after all that has been written about Obama I would have known that he had background in automobile design. The Fords must be thrilled that help is finally on the way.
Obama mentioned that not all problems faced by Americans were of government doing, but nonetheless he is ashamed that the government isn’t doing something to solve all of our woes.
Overpay for your house? Tell Obama where to ship the cash.
High price of gas messing with your trip to Panama City? Obama will build you your own personal windmill?
Got a bunion? Obama will have a doctor stop by your house. No charge.
The eradication of all personal responsibility. That is Obama’s promise to you. Sit back and relax.
As Merle Haggard sang:
We’re all gonna be drinking free bubble up
And eating that rainbow stew.
Americans, ask not what you can do for your country, instead send a list of things to Washington you need done and Obama will make sure the government starts doing for you. No charge.
A 3-year-old is one thing, but that grown-up people fall for this claptrap is embarrassing.
---
It’s the Republicans’ turn this week and my expectations are low. Can anybody in that party even articulate the case for smaller government or has the funk of the past eight years enveloped everyone?
Intellectually, how do Republicans go to the podium and make a case for cutting federal spending, reducing taxes and diminishing the role of the federal government in our lives and not get laughed off the stage. Not because the message isn’t the right one, but because after the past eight years Republicans have forfeited the right to call itself the party of small government.
It is the correct strategy. Anyone who listened closely to Obama heard him making the case for a government that grabs you by your boo boo at birth and slaps a tag on your toe when you die. In between those events, the feds are gonna oversee as much of your dealings as possible ... for your own good of course.
You’re going to be wrapped in the warm, cocoon of cradle-to-grave government.
Isn’t that what we all want?
Republicans should reply “No.”
And they should say it loudly.
Show some backbone.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Whatayathink?
If the National Enquirer put a tail on Obama, would they catch him coming out of Keith Olbermann's hotel room at 2 am?
Hmmmmmm ...
Jeff Styles with WGOW 102.3 in Chattanooga recently asked the Obama campaign about Mr. Ayers and got a withering response. Styles sure isn't a right wing crank but the Obama people seem terrified this story might gain traction.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Olbermann
The High Priest of the Church of Obama at MSNBC Keith Olbermann recognizes his own wretchedness. This stuff is so embarrassing.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Wah???
ESPN idiot Stuart Scott asked Obama if he had to name an athlete as his running mate, who would it be?
Obama should have replied, "Stuart, if asked to ask the stupidest political question of all time, would you stick with that one?"
They played some hoops and as far as I can tell Scott didn't lose his good eye.
Obama should have replied, "Stuart, if asked to ask the stupidest political question of all time, would you stick with that one?"
They played some hoops and as far as I can tell Scott didn't lose his good eye.
My Calhoun Magazine column
Hank Williams Jr. has asked the question a thousand times.
“Are you ready for some football?” bellows Bocephus.
And every time I answer “Yes,” Yes!”
It’s that time again.
Across the civilized world young men (and a handful of young women) are strapping on the pads and running into each other at high speed.
They’re running and jumping sweating and stinking.
What could be more fun?
Not much in my life.
I played football as a youth and was pretty darn good at it. I was a rangy pass rushing demon who could almost singlehandedly shut down the run — at least until junior high, when I begin to require the assistance of my teammates.
(Possibly my skills have grown somewhat since I actually played. The mind does play tricks).
When asked as a kid what I wanted to do when I grew up, I did not hesitate, ”Play left defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams.”
Not the Falcons.
Not the Steelers.
Never the Cowboys.
Only the Rams, just like my hero, the great Jack Youngblood. You may remember Youngblood, a Hollywood handsome Hall of Famer who spent his Sunday afternoons chasing Staubach and Tarkenton all over the field.
My budding NFL career was derailed in high school. Heart disease was the culprit.
Despite a faulty ticker, I “finessed” my way back on the team my senior year, only to be found out and booted from the squad a week before the season opener.
My teammates, some of whom remain my closest friends, dedicated that game to me.
Then, they lost it.
I don’t know if that says more about them or me.
The issue of Calhoun Magazine you’re holding (or reading on the Internet) isn’t just about football. There are some non-gridiron stories in here and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them, too.
But as our cover shows, football is the theme of this issue.
Multi-dimensional Marty Kirkland contributed our main cover story, a profile of former Yellow Jacket standout Kris Durham. If the Georgia Bulldogs deliver on their enormous promise this season, Durham should be in the middle of things, hauling in passes from future NFLer Matthew Stafford.
Calhoun High coach Hal Lamb talked with our crafty veteran Larry Fleming about growing up in a “football family”and about the terrific success he has enjoyed at CHS. Lamb, by the way, was a nifty wide receiver at West Georgia at the same time I was dominating the flag football league at the same school.
(Again, the passage of time may have inflated my on-field exploits).
“Deep Threat” Doug Hawley, who many of you know from his days with the Calhoun Times, pitched in two good stories this issue.
Doug talked to former Gordon Central star lineman Barry Hall and former Yellow Jacket standout Riley Gunnels about their days in the NFL.
Hall spent time with three NFL teams and has returned to Gordon Central where he is serving as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for his alma mater.
Gunnels played on an NFL championship team and logged time with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He now lives in New Jersey.
I hope this special “football edition” of Calhoun Magazine will score a TD with readers. It’s been a lot of fun to put together.
Jimmy Espy is editor of Calhoun magazine. He writes a daily blog (espysoutpost.blogspot.com) and can be reached at jimmyespy@daltoncitizen.com or by phone at (706) 272-7735.
“Are you ready for some football?” bellows Bocephus.
And every time I answer “Yes,” Yes!”
It’s that time again.
Across the civilized world young men (and a handful of young women) are strapping on the pads and running into each other at high speed.
They’re running and jumping sweating and stinking.
What could be more fun?
Not much in my life.
I played football as a youth and was pretty darn good at it. I was a rangy pass rushing demon who could almost singlehandedly shut down the run — at least until junior high, when I begin to require the assistance of my teammates.
(Possibly my skills have grown somewhat since I actually played. The mind does play tricks).
When asked as a kid what I wanted to do when I grew up, I did not hesitate, ”Play left defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams.”
Not the Falcons.
Not the Steelers.
Never the Cowboys.
Only the Rams, just like my hero, the great Jack Youngblood. You may remember Youngblood, a Hollywood handsome Hall of Famer who spent his Sunday afternoons chasing Staubach and Tarkenton all over the field.
My budding NFL career was derailed in high school. Heart disease was the culprit.
Despite a faulty ticker, I “finessed” my way back on the team my senior year, only to be found out and booted from the squad a week before the season opener.
My teammates, some of whom remain my closest friends, dedicated that game to me.
Then, they lost it.
I don’t know if that says more about them or me.
The issue of Calhoun Magazine you’re holding (or reading on the Internet) isn’t just about football. There are some non-gridiron stories in here and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them, too.
But as our cover shows, football is the theme of this issue.
Multi-dimensional Marty Kirkland contributed our main cover story, a profile of former Yellow Jacket standout Kris Durham. If the Georgia Bulldogs deliver on their enormous promise this season, Durham should be in the middle of things, hauling in passes from future NFLer Matthew Stafford.
Calhoun High coach Hal Lamb talked with our crafty veteran Larry Fleming about growing up in a “football family”and about the terrific success he has enjoyed at CHS. Lamb, by the way, was a nifty wide receiver at West Georgia at the same time I was dominating the flag football league at the same school.
(Again, the passage of time may have inflated my on-field exploits).
“Deep Threat” Doug Hawley, who many of you know from his days with the Calhoun Times, pitched in two good stories this issue.
Doug talked to former Gordon Central star lineman Barry Hall and former Yellow Jacket standout Riley Gunnels about their days in the NFL.
Hall spent time with three NFL teams and has returned to Gordon Central where he is serving as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for his alma mater.
Gunnels played on an NFL championship team and logged time with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He now lives in New Jersey.
I hope this special “football edition” of Calhoun Magazine will score a TD with readers. It’s been a lot of fun to put together.
Jimmy Espy is editor of Calhoun magazine. He writes a daily blog (espysoutpost.blogspot.com) and can be reached at jimmyespy@daltoncitizen.com or by phone at (706) 272-7735.
Flicks
In my quest to see every Bo Hopkins movie ever made, I picked up "Mutant" from Netflix.
"Mutant" is a Romero-ish "zombie" flick made in 1984.
Nothing new in the plot.
Big evil chemical corporation makes goop which turns people into slavering, flesh craving zombies. Hero and hero's big-haired chick and Sheriff Bo -- yes, playing a bumkin lawman for the 89th time -- do battle with the baddies,
B-movie god Wings Hauser is the star and if he looked any more 1980s you would swear he was Denny Terio. He and the lead actress, who quickly faded to obscurity, look right off the "Solid Gold" dance floor.
Much of the acting and all of the special effects are cut rate -- really weak -- but the movie is not without some highpoints. The cinematography is very effective at times and the final zombie assault has a sharp claustrophobic intensity to it that a lot of higher budget zombie pictures fail to create.
"Mutant" is a time waster, but not an embarrassing one and Sheriff Bo, as usual, is too cool for school.
"Mutant" is a Romero-ish "zombie" flick made in 1984.
Nothing new in the plot.
Big evil chemical corporation makes goop which turns people into slavering, flesh craving zombies. Hero and hero's big-haired chick and Sheriff Bo -- yes, playing a bumkin lawman for the 89th time -- do battle with the baddies,
B-movie god Wings Hauser is the star and if he looked any more 1980s you would swear he was Denny Terio. He and the lead actress, who quickly faded to obscurity, look right off the "Solid Gold" dance floor.
Much of the acting and all of the special effects are cut rate -- really weak -- but the movie is not without some highpoints. The cinematography is very effective at times and the final zombie assault has a sharp claustrophobic intensity to it that a lot of higher budget zombie pictures fail to create.
"Mutant" is a time waster, but not an embarrassing one and Sheriff Bo, as usual, is too cool for school.
The Election
More on the cantankerous Clintonistas. One thing I have liked about his Obama is his reluctance to kiss the ring of certain people used to being stroked -- Jesse Jackson, for instance. Apparently he has declined to get on bended knee and beg the hard core Clinton crowd for their forgiveness. His crime? Whupping her keister in the primaries. I think that by the end of this convention he'll waver and everyone will kiss and make up for the final night's audience, but maybe not. It'll be more fun if they stay mad.
I'll tell you this, if Obama loses -- especially if the Clinton cronies sit on their hands -- there will be a post-election bloodletting in the party which will look like the last 15 minutes of Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch."
Here's hoping.
I'll tell you this, if Obama loses -- especially if the Clinton cronies sit on their hands -- there will be a post-election bloodletting in the party which will look like the last 15 minutes of Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch."
Here's hoping.
Monday, August 25, 2008
DRS is in the house
We have a regular Today's Forum caller who a former staffer dubbed "Dirty, Rotten, Stinking" because the sorry old coot can't get through a single call -- no matter what the subject -- without attacking somebody, preferably a minoroity, in vile language. His breathless, brainless assaults would make you sick, if they weren't so pathetic, and as a result, funny.
Today DRS called in and referred to Obama as a n----r.
I can't say I'm surprised, The idea of a black man winning the presidency probably has this sad sack cracker tossing and turning half the night in his bunker bedroom.
Torturing this waste of protein would almost make electing Obama worthwhile.
But what made today's call stand out, aside from the particular frenzy in his vile voice, was the fact that of the hundreds of Forum calls, letters to the editor and random phone calls I've had with readers about the election, this is the first one where Obama's color was clearly THE issue.
Not only have unambigiously racist remarks been absent, but there has been very little of what I consider to be "encoded racism" in criticism of the soon-to-be Democrat nominee.
Other than the persistent idea among some folks that Obama is a Muslim, most of the candidate's critics have been above board in their comments. Most of the people who are adamantly opposed to him seem determined to keep the focus on issues.
I'm not naive. I know there are people out there who will not vote for Obama because he's black, but I think that number is much smaller than many people believe. It may still be enough to cost him a close election, then again the fact that he'll pull 90 percent of the African American vote might give him a win.
It's going to be an interesting race ... get it ... race.
Today DRS called in and referred to Obama as a n----r.
I can't say I'm surprised, The idea of a black man winning the presidency probably has this sad sack cracker tossing and turning half the night in his bunker bedroom.
Torturing this waste of protein would almost make electing Obama worthwhile.
But what made today's call stand out, aside from the particular frenzy in his vile voice, was the fact that of the hundreds of Forum calls, letters to the editor and random phone calls I've had with readers about the election, this is the first one where Obama's color was clearly THE issue.
Not only have unambigiously racist remarks been absent, but there has been very little of what I consider to be "encoded racism" in criticism of the soon-to-be Democrat nominee.
Other than the persistent idea among some folks that Obama is a Muslim, most of the candidate's critics have been above board in their comments. Most of the people who are adamantly opposed to him seem determined to keep the focus on issues.
I'm not naive. I know there are people out there who will not vote for Obama because he's black, but I think that number is much smaller than many people believe. It may still be enough to cost him a close election, then again the fact that he'll pull 90 percent of the African American vote might give him a win.
It's going to be an interesting race ... get it ... race.
The election
Are the Clinton insane or do they want to "help" Obama run the ocuntryif he wins?
Great political stuff if it's not all a work to set up the triumphant coming together of the two candidates in prime time.
Great political stuff if it's not all a work to set up the triumphant coming together of the two candidates in prime time.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
This is change?
Paul Marks of Samizdata.net makes these comments:
As for Senator Biden himself: a totally pro-union (i.e. supportive of government special pro-union laws) politician. And someone who is ardently in favour of expanding the size and scope of American government health, education and welfare programs - a Welfare Statist.
Almost needless to say Senator Biden is also a 'gun control' man and so on.
However: Senator Biden's son will be off to serve in Iraq this October - which will show patriotism. And Senator Biden himself is strongly anti Castro - and is clearly from the non-communist left. Perhaps this is what Senator Obama meant when he promised (on CBS) that he would pick someone with very different opinions from his own, who would "challenge my thinking".
As for Senator Biden himself: a totally pro-union (i.e. supportive of government special pro-union laws) politician. And someone who is ardently in favour of expanding the size and scope of American government health, education and welfare programs - a Welfare Statist.
Almost needless to say Senator Biden is also a 'gun control' man and so on.
However: Senator Biden's son will be off to serve in Iraq this October - which will show patriotism. And Senator Biden himself is strongly anti Castro - and is clearly from the non-communist left. Perhaps this is what Senator Obama meant when he promised (on CBS) that he would pick someone with very different opinions from his own, who would "challenge my thinking".
Your Sunday Tune
A fine version of a great pop song. Enjoy Stevie and understand why she was the undisputed love of my life, circa 1981-82. (Until Chryssie Hynd came along).
My Sunday column
Another time
My maternal grandparents lived in a two-story, Civil War-era plantation house in western Chattooga County, on the highway just a few miles short of the Alabama line.
I wish I could tell you it was a beautiful home, an echo of “Gone With the Wind’s” splendid Tara. But Granny Ola and Grandpa Jim’s house was a lot more Truman Capote than Margaret Mitchell.
Most of the house was in bad shape, worn out by years of baking sun and punishing cold, as well as a chronic shortage of cash for needed repairs.
In fact, some parts of that house were off limits to us kids, for fear that a wall or floor might give way.
My mama’s folks were respectable and decent people, but there is slim justice in this world and so their good works were seldom rewarded financially.
In true Scots-Irish “make do” fashion, more modern parts of the house had been added over the years and my family mostly lived there. The upstairs was almost completely out of use, lending to a belief among us grandchildren that vampires resided there.
It was that kind of place.
There was also a barn, a chicken coop and a tool shed where my grandfather worked on this and that while listening to Henry Aaron and the Braves on the radio.
The old house was a grand place to visit.
Nearby there were woods, a cotton field, hills and a stream to catch crawdads in. We roamed that land like high-and-mighty buccaneers, held back only by the limitations of our imaginations and the occasional thrashing for playing too close to the highway.
We re-fought all America’s wars on the grounds of that old farm, blasting away with our tree limb machine guns and corncob “potato masher” hand grenades.
We were soldiers and astronauts and pirates and cowboys.
Mostly I remember just bits and pieces of those days. But I vividly recall my favorite cousin Jeff and I stealing eggs from the henhouse and throwing them at Japanese soldiers hiding in the barn. That earned us a whupping Hirohito would have approved of, despite my grandfather’s plea to our mothers for leniency.
Central heat and air, which we take for granted, was unheard of in that time and place. Many a chilly morning family members huddled in the kitchen near a big iron stove where hot coals provided the only heat and my grandmother made culinary magic.
Granny Ola was a master chef. She could make a delicious meal for a houseful of people out of corn silks and a bag of dirt — not that things got quite that bad.
No one ever trod this earth who was her equal at making biscuits, which she did from scratch, punching out the dough with a sawed-off Campbell soup can.
When we stayed over at the big house, we usually slept in my Uncle Rick’s bedroom. There were model cars on a wall shelf and a pretty picture of my Aunt Sandra up there, too.
All us boys were very proud of Uncle Rick because he was in the Army in Vietnam. (I hope kids today look at their warrior kin the same way. If they don’t, something has gone askew.)
Uncle Rick’s room had a tin roof. Anyone who has slept under a tin roof in a steady rain knows that I speak the truth when I say it as about as close to heaven as you can get without your toes being permanently turned up.
Just thinking of lying on that bed with rain coming down and a window fan buzzing makes me want to lie down in the floor for a snooze right now.
As kids we made fun of the older folks for nodding off at what we thought were inappropriate times. “Just resting my eyes” my grandmother always claimed.
Little did we know that our wiser elders had come to understand that whenever the perfect conditions for napping presented themselves, you better jump on that train.
It was a different time and place and I miss it very much. My heart breaks for those who have left us. I never really knew my Granddaddy Jim. He died too soon. Granny lived a lot longer and she was my hero to that black day she departed. I miss my uncles and aunts who have moved on and most of all my mama, who lived for years in a nice brick house in town, but whose soul never really left the countryside.
They tore down that big old house many years ago. But ever so often — on trips to the lake in Alabama — we drive past where it stood — in all its decaying, foreboding majesty.
It calls to me. It haunts me.
I smile and slow down a fraction to look at where it stood ... and where a great family once lived.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen
My maternal grandparents lived in a two-story, Civil War-era plantation house in western Chattooga County, on the highway just a few miles short of the Alabama line.
I wish I could tell you it was a beautiful home, an echo of “Gone With the Wind’s” splendid Tara. But Granny Ola and Grandpa Jim’s house was a lot more Truman Capote than Margaret Mitchell.
Most of the house was in bad shape, worn out by years of baking sun and punishing cold, as well as a chronic shortage of cash for needed repairs.
In fact, some parts of that house were off limits to us kids, for fear that a wall or floor might give way.
My mama’s folks were respectable and decent people, but there is slim justice in this world and so their good works were seldom rewarded financially.
In true Scots-Irish “make do” fashion, more modern parts of the house had been added over the years and my family mostly lived there. The upstairs was almost completely out of use, lending to a belief among us grandchildren that vampires resided there.
It was that kind of place.
There was also a barn, a chicken coop and a tool shed where my grandfather worked on this and that while listening to Henry Aaron and the Braves on the radio.
The old house was a grand place to visit.
Nearby there were woods, a cotton field, hills and a stream to catch crawdads in. We roamed that land like high-and-mighty buccaneers, held back only by the limitations of our imaginations and the occasional thrashing for playing too close to the highway.
We re-fought all America’s wars on the grounds of that old farm, blasting away with our tree limb machine guns and corncob “potato masher” hand grenades.
We were soldiers and astronauts and pirates and cowboys.
Mostly I remember just bits and pieces of those days. But I vividly recall my favorite cousin Jeff and I stealing eggs from the henhouse and throwing them at Japanese soldiers hiding in the barn. That earned us a whupping Hirohito would have approved of, despite my grandfather’s plea to our mothers for leniency.
Central heat and air, which we take for granted, was unheard of in that time and place. Many a chilly morning family members huddled in the kitchen near a big iron stove where hot coals provided the only heat and my grandmother made culinary magic.
Granny Ola was a master chef. She could make a delicious meal for a houseful of people out of corn silks and a bag of dirt — not that things got quite that bad.
No one ever trod this earth who was her equal at making biscuits, which she did from scratch, punching out the dough with a sawed-off Campbell soup can.
When we stayed over at the big house, we usually slept in my Uncle Rick’s bedroom. There were model cars on a wall shelf and a pretty picture of my Aunt Sandra up there, too.
All us boys were very proud of Uncle Rick because he was in the Army in Vietnam. (I hope kids today look at their warrior kin the same way. If they don’t, something has gone askew.)
Uncle Rick’s room had a tin roof. Anyone who has slept under a tin roof in a steady rain knows that I speak the truth when I say it as about as close to heaven as you can get without your toes being permanently turned up.
Just thinking of lying on that bed with rain coming down and a window fan buzzing makes me want to lie down in the floor for a snooze right now.
As kids we made fun of the older folks for nodding off at what we thought were inappropriate times. “Just resting my eyes” my grandmother always claimed.
Little did we know that our wiser elders had come to understand that whenever the perfect conditions for napping presented themselves, you better jump on that train.
It was a different time and place and I miss it very much. My heart breaks for those who have left us. I never really knew my Granddaddy Jim. He died too soon. Granny lived a lot longer and she was my hero to that black day she departed. I miss my uncles and aunts who have moved on and most of all my mama, who lived for years in a nice brick house in town, but whose soul never really left the countryside.
They tore down that big old house many years ago. But ever so often — on trips to the lake in Alabama — we drive past where it stood — in all its decaying, foreboding majesty.
It calls to me. It haunts me.
I smile and slow down a fraction to look at where it stood ... and where a great family once lived.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen
Friday, August 22, 2008
The Booth
The Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville is celebrating its fifth anniversary tomorrow from 10 am-3 pm. There will be all kinds of special events and entertainment for the whole family and the museum itself is a treasure trove for anyone interested in art and/or the American West.
It would be a great day to pay your first visit.
It would be a great day to pay your first visit.
Sports Talk
I had not heard this sad tale but it doesn't surprise me. It also reminds me that we need a good sports talk show here in Dalton. The Sports Talk crew in Chattanooga does a great job, but we could use our own version here. Any big dollar sponsors out there?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Let me try again
It seems my Sunday column angered some of the leadership of the Whitfield County commission. They are unhappy with my opposition to the proposed 20 percent reduction in the inventory tax.
The odd thing is, I didn't say I was opposed to it.
What I said was supporters of the freeport idea need to make it clear to voters -- including me -- that this isn't another shifting of the burden of paying for government from industry on to the back of property owners.
I repeat the question: How will city, county and both school systems make up for the funding loss? Unless they can answer that question clearly, voters should not back the idea.
The ball is in their court.
The odd thing is, I didn't say I was opposed to it.
What I said was supporters of the freeport idea need to make it clear to voters -- including me -- that this isn't another shifting of the burden of paying for government from industry on to the back of property owners.
I repeat the question: How will city, county and both school systems make up for the funding loss? Unless they can answer that question clearly, voters should not back the idea.
The ball is in their court.
Blog slog
The blogging has been a little slow lately. The work load right now is very heavy and my daughter just started pre-school at the Presbyterian Church.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to post more often in the next few days.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to post more often in the next few days.
Economics 101
"The price of everything is going up."
Strictly speaking that isn't true of course, but the price of enough commonly purchased products is rising at a rate which is making some folks nervous.
Calm down.
There are two kinds of inflation.
The first is a general rise in prices caused by a legitimate market factor. For instance, the huge increase in the cost of crude oil is having a real impact on our economy. Petroleum is so vital to the economy that a major, sustained increase in its cost is bound to impact prices. Look no further than our carpet industry to see that.
However, this kind of "natural" inflation is rarely if ever sustained in a free market economy because the rational reactions of consumers and producers quickly whittles away at whatever is causing the price surge. If the price of any commodity races ahead of the market, consumption will decline -- followed by prices.
We are seeing that now with petroleum.
---
The other, much more destructive cause of inflation, is that caused by the government's mismanagement of the money supply. Look to modern Zimbabwe, where a billion dollars of the local currency won't buy you a decent meal, for an example. Or, look to the U.S. of the 1970s before the Paul Volcker-engineered reform of money supply policy.
Turning on the printing presses and printing more dollars (indiscriminately loosening credit) does not make us a wealthier nation and can contribute mightily to our impoverishment.
That kind of inflation is a more serious concern and one that may be taking place to some extent now. It deserves a close watch.
To keep the economy "moving forward" the Feds seem determined to bail out every struggling big business in sight.
---
The cause of most inflation is bad government. That is the case today.
There are reasons for concern, but unless government really butchers policy in the coming months, the US economy will again shake off its current doldrums.
Strictly speaking that isn't true of course, but the price of enough commonly purchased products is rising at a rate which is making some folks nervous.
Calm down.
There are two kinds of inflation.
The first is a general rise in prices caused by a legitimate market factor. For instance, the huge increase in the cost of crude oil is having a real impact on our economy. Petroleum is so vital to the economy that a major, sustained increase in its cost is bound to impact prices. Look no further than our carpet industry to see that.
However, this kind of "natural" inflation is rarely if ever sustained in a free market economy because the rational reactions of consumers and producers quickly whittles away at whatever is causing the price surge. If the price of any commodity races ahead of the market, consumption will decline -- followed by prices.
We are seeing that now with petroleum.
---
The other, much more destructive cause of inflation, is that caused by the government's mismanagement of the money supply. Look to modern Zimbabwe, where a billion dollars of the local currency won't buy you a decent meal, for an example. Or, look to the U.S. of the 1970s before the Paul Volcker-engineered reform of money supply policy.
Turning on the printing presses and printing more dollars (indiscriminately loosening credit) does not make us a wealthier nation and can contribute mightily to our impoverishment.
That kind of inflation is a more serious concern and one that may be taking place to some extent now. It deserves a close watch.
To keep the economy "moving forward" the Feds seem determined to bail out every struggling big business in sight.
---
The cause of most inflation is bad government. That is the case today.
There are reasons for concern, but unless government really butchers policy in the coming months, the US economy will again shake off its current doldrums.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
My Sunday column
My two cents ...
Whitfield County Commissioners couldn’t pick a worse time to talk about spending tens of millions of dollars for recreation. With the local economy stuck in neutral and many county residents struggling to pay bills, there’s probably not going to be a whole lot of support for unnecessary spending.
The cost of just about everything is up, including county property tax assessments, so why would residents reasonably be expected to support a tax hike to pay for baseball fields?
There has been a metamorphosis in county government in regards to recreation. Was it only just a few short years ago commissioners told former county administrator Bradley Arnold that recreation was the least of their priorities? Now, building parks and ball fields seems to have vaulted up the to-do list.
Personally, I’d prefer the commissioners concentrate on roads and law enforcement and if those things are taken care of adequately, they should cut taxes.
------------
I like David Pennington. The mayor of Dalton won office promising to do things differently and has followed through with that vow.
Not that there haven’t been missteps, but Pennington has pushed hard on his cost-cutting, tax-cutting agenda.
Recognizing that city government’s first responsibility is to the taxpayers, and not to the bureaucracy itself, Pennington and the city council have pushed hard to deliver a leaner government. Current plans to trim almost 30 jobs from public works department will surely brings howls of rage from some quarters, but I’d bet the majority of Daltonians support the plan.
-----------
I am about as anti-tax as you can be, but the proposed reduction in the freeport tax concerns me.
Philosophically, I would like to see it eliminated completely, not just the 20 percent figure now proposed.
But how will the loss of funding be replaced by our city and county governments and by the city and county school systems?
If the net result of the freeport reduction is higher property taxes, then how does the average taxpayer benefit?
It is a dereliction of duty on the part of our elected officials to ignore this very real issue and treat it as something that can be easily dealt with later. In particular, how can the city and county school boards support this measure unless they can give an adequate explanation on how they will make up for the funding loss?
Our elected officials’ first responsibility is to taxpayers, not to private industry.
Let’s do what we can to help the carpet companies through these difficult times, but not by shifting the tax burden onto individuals.
Supporters of the freeport reduction need to make their case a lot better than they have so far.
-------------
The Olympics aren’t what they used to be in the good old days.
Sure the athletes are superb, better than ever in fact and the overall spectacle is ... well ... spectacular.
What’s missing is the wonderful tension created by the Cold War.
Growing up, the Olympics for me was an Us Against the Commies thing. Beating the Russians at anything — anything — was cause for celebration. And it wasn’t just the Russian commies who earned my enmity. Seeing one of our boys wallop a Cuban boxer was about as good as sports could get.
But all is not lost. Though the Chicoms are pale substitutes for red Bolshevism and the Cuban Threat seems to have waned, Vladimir Putin may well be on the way to restoring Russia to its rightful place as the symbol of sporting evil.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen
Whitfield County Commissioners couldn’t pick a worse time to talk about spending tens of millions of dollars for recreation. With the local economy stuck in neutral and many county residents struggling to pay bills, there’s probably not going to be a whole lot of support for unnecessary spending.
The cost of just about everything is up, including county property tax assessments, so why would residents reasonably be expected to support a tax hike to pay for baseball fields?
There has been a metamorphosis in county government in regards to recreation. Was it only just a few short years ago commissioners told former county administrator Bradley Arnold that recreation was the least of their priorities? Now, building parks and ball fields seems to have vaulted up the to-do list.
Personally, I’d prefer the commissioners concentrate on roads and law enforcement and if those things are taken care of adequately, they should cut taxes.
------------
I like David Pennington. The mayor of Dalton won office promising to do things differently and has followed through with that vow.
Not that there haven’t been missteps, but Pennington has pushed hard on his cost-cutting, tax-cutting agenda.
Recognizing that city government’s first responsibility is to the taxpayers, and not to the bureaucracy itself, Pennington and the city council have pushed hard to deliver a leaner government. Current plans to trim almost 30 jobs from public works department will surely brings howls of rage from some quarters, but I’d bet the majority of Daltonians support the plan.
-----------
I am about as anti-tax as you can be, but the proposed reduction in the freeport tax concerns me.
Philosophically, I would like to see it eliminated completely, not just the 20 percent figure now proposed.
But how will the loss of funding be replaced by our city and county governments and by the city and county school systems?
If the net result of the freeport reduction is higher property taxes, then how does the average taxpayer benefit?
It is a dereliction of duty on the part of our elected officials to ignore this very real issue and treat it as something that can be easily dealt with later. In particular, how can the city and county school boards support this measure unless they can give an adequate explanation on how they will make up for the funding loss?
Our elected officials’ first responsibility is to taxpayers, not to private industry.
Let’s do what we can to help the carpet companies through these difficult times, but not by shifting the tax burden onto individuals.
Supporters of the freeport reduction need to make their case a lot better than they have so far.
-------------
The Olympics aren’t what they used to be in the good old days.
Sure the athletes are superb, better than ever in fact and the overall spectacle is ... well ... spectacular.
What’s missing is the wonderful tension created by the Cold War.
Growing up, the Olympics for me was an Us Against the Commies thing. Beating the Russians at anything — anything — was cause for celebration. And it wasn’t just the Russian commies who earned my enmity. Seeing one of our boys wallop a Cuban boxer was about as good as sports could get.
But all is not lost. Though the Chicoms are pale substitutes for red Bolshevism and the Cuban Threat seems to have waned, Vladimir Putin may well be on the way to restoring Russia to its rightful place as the symbol of sporting evil.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
A trip to the movies
Carmike Cinemas in Dalton has a new facility under construction. You can see it in back of the Mall. It's a stand alone building and will be a nice movie palace I suspect.
And it's long overdue.
The current facility is a mess, worn out from years of use and lack of adequate repair.
During "The Dark Night" this week, the actors' dialogue competed with the rumbling of what sounded like a giant turbine on the roof. This was no small problem considering the way Christian Bale mumbled his lines when in cowl. I guess it was the air conditioning unit, but several times I felt like an engineer that fateful day at Chernobyl when everything went kablooey.
Also for much of the flick I kept hearing a high pitched squeaking to my left. I assumed it was coming from one of the speakers. Oh no.
Turns out it was coming from two seats away where one of my cinematic compatriots couldn't put 2 and 2 together and figure out that it was the chair he kept bouncing around in that was making the sound.
Ahhhhhhhh!
These things might not bother me as much if I had not put down $8 for a ticket and $9.35 ($9.35!!!!!) for a medium Coke and a small bag of popcorn.
For $17.35 I should get a better move going experience.
And it's long overdue.
The current facility is a mess, worn out from years of use and lack of adequate repair.
During "The Dark Night" this week, the actors' dialogue competed with the rumbling of what sounded like a giant turbine on the roof. This was no small problem considering the way Christian Bale mumbled his lines when in cowl. I guess it was the air conditioning unit, but several times I felt like an engineer that fateful day at Chernobyl when everything went kablooey.
Also for much of the flick I kept hearing a high pitched squeaking to my left. I assumed it was coming from one of the speakers. Oh no.
Turns out it was coming from two seats away where one of my cinematic compatriots couldn't put 2 and 2 together and figure out that it was the chair he kept bouncing around in that was making the sound.
Ahhhhhhhh!
These things might not bother me as much if I had not put down $8 for a ticket and $9.35 ($9.35!!!!!) for a medium Coke and a small bag of popcorn.
For $17.35 I should get a better move going experience.
Batman
(Spoiler alert!!!)
Finally saw it.
Liked it.
Liked it a lot.
It's not often any action film, much less one from the crowded superhero genre, leaves you with much to talk about afterwards, except maybe the special effects.
But "Dark Knight" does. The philosophical questions the film asks ... and answers ... are worthy of serious consideration.
How far does a "hero" go to save the day?
What price must he -- and those around him -- have to pay in the fight for right?
When does the "hero" cease to be a hero?
Good stuff. Meaningful stuff. And done well enough here to have some folks pretty dang mad.
My buddy Bill Mitchell -- a Batman aficianado for 30-plus years -- swears this is a love song to George Bush. (Bill is definitely not a Bush aficiandado and I suspect some election year paranoia may be kicking in.)
Others have echoed similar complaints, though I think their linking the message to President Bush may be more their idea than that of writer-director Christopher Nolan.
There's a lot to like here, but first a few quibbles.
The snarl-grunt that Christian Bale uses to speak as the Batman makes some of his dialog hard to pick up. Also, it makes it sound like he needs to clear his throat. Distracting.
Gary Oldman is miscast and dull as Gordon. The same for Maggie Gyllehnahll, who isn't a beautiful woman, no matter how many times the male characters say she is.
The movie twists on at least one segment too long. The elongated final act weakens the last quarter of the film unnecessarily. A major flaw.
I hate it when demented killers -- in this case Heath Ledger's wonderfully bizarre Joker -- tell the audience why their crazy. How about just crazy for crazy's sake? Why the need for a tired "Mama didn't love me enough," tale? Irritating.
For many folks, Ledger steals the show and I am on board with considerable praise for the late actor's effort. But the breakout performance in the movie Aaron Eckart's Harvey Dent, the too-good-to-be-true DA. His transformation is beautifully accomplished.
The special effects and stunts are fantastic, if not always exactly logical.
There enough big action for young people and enough real story for people who want more.
"Dark Knight" is a terrific film and wears its flaws like medals. Great? No. But it reaches for the stars.
Finally saw it.
Liked it.
Liked it a lot.
It's not often any action film, much less one from the crowded superhero genre, leaves you with much to talk about afterwards, except maybe the special effects.
But "Dark Knight" does. The philosophical questions the film asks ... and answers ... are worthy of serious consideration.
How far does a "hero" go to save the day?
What price must he -- and those around him -- have to pay in the fight for right?
When does the "hero" cease to be a hero?
Good stuff. Meaningful stuff. And done well enough here to have some folks pretty dang mad.
My buddy Bill Mitchell -- a Batman aficianado for 30-plus years -- swears this is a love song to George Bush. (Bill is definitely not a Bush aficiandado and I suspect some election year paranoia may be kicking in.)
Others have echoed similar complaints, though I think their linking the message to President Bush may be more their idea than that of writer-director Christopher Nolan.
There's a lot to like here, but first a few quibbles.
The snarl-grunt that Christian Bale uses to speak as the Batman makes some of his dialog hard to pick up. Also, it makes it sound like he needs to clear his throat. Distracting.
Gary Oldman is miscast and dull as Gordon. The same for Maggie Gyllehnahll, who isn't a beautiful woman, no matter how many times the male characters say she is.
The movie twists on at least one segment too long. The elongated final act weakens the last quarter of the film unnecessarily. A major flaw.
I hate it when demented killers -- in this case Heath Ledger's wonderfully bizarre Joker -- tell the audience why their crazy. How about just crazy for crazy's sake? Why the need for a tired "Mama didn't love me enough," tale? Irritating.
For many folks, Ledger steals the show and I am on board with considerable praise for the late actor's effort. But the breakout performance in the movie Aaron Eckart's Harvey Dent, the too-good-to-be-true DA. His transformation is beautifully accomplished.
The special effects and stunts are fantastic, if not always exactly logical.
There enough big action for young people and enough real story for people who want more.
"Dark Knight" is a terrific film and wears its flaws like medals. Great? No. But it reaches for the stars.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Bookshelf II
I finished "The Winter War" by Robert Edwards last week and had not intended to post anything on it. But, now with the stunning Russian thrust into Georgia still underway, Edwards' recounting of the 1939-40 winter war between the USSR and tiny Finland suddenly seems a lot more relevant.
"The Winter War" is not a great book. A hundred pages in and no one had even thrown a snowball in anger, much less fired a live round. Edwards spends a third of the book detailing the political machinations that led up to the Soviet invasion. And when he does finally get around to the shooting, he takes a more distant view of the military action. Rarely does he take his readers to the front lines. He is more content to look at the "big picture," the pronouncements of various generals, the overall strategic picture.
What trench-level reporting he does is mostly concerned with the Russians and how their human waves of ill-prepared, badly equipped soldiers were slaughtered by the Finns.
We'll never know how many Russians were killed in this absurdly one-sided war, but whole divisions of the vaunted Red Army were decimated by the Finnish defenders who took advantage of the rugged terrain, their interior lines of communication and the incredibly brutal weather to hold out for many weeks longer than anyone thought possible.
The Russian bear got his nose torn up pretty badly in 1939.
The good old days.
"The Winter War" is not a great book. A hundred pages in and no one had even thrown a snowball in anger, much less fired a live round. Edwards spends a third of the book detailing the political machinations that led up to the Soviet invasion. And when he does finally get around to the shooting, he takes a more distant view of the military action. Rarely does he take his readers to the front lines. He is more content to look at the "big picture," the pronouncements of various generals, the overall strategic picture.
What trench-level reporting he does is mostly concerned with the Russians and how their human waves of ill-prepared, badly equipped soldiers were slaughtered by the Finns.
We'll never know how many Russians were killed in this absurdly one-sided war, but whole divisions of the vaunted Red Army were decimated by the Finnish defenders who took advantage of the rugged terrain, their interior lines of communication and the incredibly brutal weather to hold out for many weeks longer than anyone thought possible.
The Russian bear got his nose torn up pretty badly in 1939.
The good old days.
Bookshelf
James Lee Burke's first post-Katrina novel featuring bayou-born Dave Robicheaux, "Tin Roof Blowdown" was a disappointment. The "blood diamonds" angle looked like a desperate attempt to be "relevant." The story just never took off.
Wisely, Burke takes his key charcters, Dave and wife Molly and the human hurricane Clete Purcel, to Montana for a badly needed vacation from the Big Sleazy. And while the trip may not turn out like the characters had in mind, the change in locales seems to have free up Burke's storytelling.
"Swan Peak," is the name of the new one and it is a terrific read. Newcomers to the Robicheaux series will like it, and fans will rate it even higher.
"Swan Peak" is jam packed with an array of heroes and villains and villians who come to act heroically.
Dave and Clete, as is their way, stumble into a series of grisly killings and soon they are neck deep in murder and mayhem. Included for your grisly pleasure are a rapist-prison guard, a serial killer, a peckerwood psycho, an escaped convict, a phony pastor and a corrupt and ruthless family of religious charlatans. Even a bad guy long thought to be disposed of makes a surprising reappearance (or does he?)
The book is jam full of action and plot, but as always Burke takes the time to paint some beautfiul pictures of the scenery. His love for Montana, where the author has a second home, is clear.
Burke's Robicheaux remains as grim and humorless as Clete is wild and irrepressable. Alone for too many pages, they can begin to annoy, but teamed up and on the hunt the "Bobbsey Twins from homocide" are an irrestible pair.
It's a dirty boogy novel and I mean that in the best way possible.
Wisely, Burke takes his key charcters, Dave and wife Molly and the human hurricane Clete Purcel, to Montana for a badly needed vacation from the Big Sleazy. And while the trip may not turn out like the characters had in mind, the change in locales seems to have free up Burke's storytelling.
"Swan Peak," is the name of the new one and it is a terrific read. Newcomers to the Robicheaux series will like it, and fans will rate it even higher.
"Swan Peak" is jam packed with an array of heroes and villains and villians who come to act heroically.
Dave and Clete, as is their way, stumble into a series of grisly killings and soon they are neck deep in murder and mayhem. Included for your grisly pleasure are a rapist-prison guard, a serial killer, a peckerwood psycho, an escaped convict, a phony pastor and a corrupt and ruthless family of religious charlatans. Even a bad guy long thought to be disposed of makes a surprising reappearance (or does he?)
The book is jam full of action and plot, but as always Burke takes the time to paint some beautfiul pictures of the scenery. His love for Montana, where the author has a second home, is clear.
Burke's Robicheaux remains as grim and humorless as Clete is wild and irrepressable. Alone for too many pages, they can begin to annoy, but teamed up and on the hunt the "Bobbsey Twins from homocide" are an irrestible pair.
It's a dirty boogy novel and I mean that in the best way possible.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The surge for the surge
From that well known right wing source, The Washington Post, comes news that Obama just can't quiet fit down his throat. It worked.
We're sorry, John
I saw the John Edwards interview on ABC on Friay night and it really changed the way I was thinking about this story.
Initially, I looked at the relevations of Edwards' affair with a campaign skeezer as a disgusting act and one which should disqualify the handsome North Carolinian from future "public service."
But boy was I wrong!
After hearing Edwards tell his side of the story, I'm thinking the nation owes this poor fellow an apology.
OK, Ok.
He did have an affair with a campaign worker.
OK, OK.
He was paying her out of campaign funds to work for him.
OK, OK.
One of his pals is now paying for the woman to live in a fancy house and keep quiet.
OK, OK.
I now all that looks bad -- really bad.
But you have to understand. It's not John's fault. You see he was running for president at the time and feeling pretty good about himself ("narcissistic" he calls it) and one thing inevitably led to another. The poor guy stumbled over his own inflated self-image, fell and landed on top of the nearest woman at the scene, Ms. Skank, or whatever her name is.
I'm just glad he tumbled near a woman, because if he had landed on a man, THAT would have really been a scandal ... not that there is anything wrong with THAT.
Edwards should also be applauded for his courage and optimism. Knowing that he had been involved in a recent affair and knowing that it wasn't exactly a well-kept secret, the brave senator chose to go ahead and run for the presidency anyway. I mean, if he had won the nomination instead of being a dandified version of Dennis Kucinich, then he might have had to face this storm as the Democratic Party's nominee.
Obviously it would have destroyed his candidacy and ruined the Dems chances of regaining the White Houe, but brave John Edwards didn't let that get in the way of his lofty personal goals.
Huzzah!
I say again, huzzah!
During the dramatic interview I loved the way Edwards repeatedly referred to the "tabloid journalists" who busted his wagon.
What Johnny doesn't say is the "tabloid journalists" got the big story right. They might have missed a detail or two, but they did the legwork that put his butt in the chair across from non-tabloid talking head who rushed in to try and swipe some of the heat from the story made possible by the Nationl Enquirer.
The Democratic sychophants will take the "all politicians do it" line or opt for the "his wife forgave him line." But anyone with an independent, functioning brain will recognize the colossal perfidy of Mr. Edwards and give thanks that his little red wagon is lying in a smouldering heap on the side of the tracks.
Initially, I looked at the relevations of Edwards' affair with a campaign skeezer as a disgusting act and one which should disqualify the handsome North Carolinian from future "public service."
But boy was I wrong!
After hearing Edwards tell his side of the story, I'm thinking the nation owes this poor fellow an apology.
OK, Ok.
He did have an affair with a campaign worker.
OK, OK.
He was paying her out of campaign funds to work for him.
OK, OK.
One of his pals is now paying for the woman to live in a fancy house and keep quiet.
OK, OK.
I now all that looks bad -- really bad.
But you have to understand. It's not John's fault. You see he was running for president at the time and feeling pretty good about himself ("narcissistic" he calls it) and one thing inevitably led to another. The poor guy stumbled over his own inflated self-image, fell and landed on top of the nearest woman at the scene, Ms. Skank, or whatever her name is.
I'm just glad he tumbled near a woman, because if he had landed on a man, THAT would have really been a scandal ... not that there is anything wrong with THAT.
Edwards should also be applauded for his courage and optimism. Knowing that he had been involved in a recent affair and knowing that it wasn't exactly a well-kept secret, the brave senator chose to go ahead and run for the presidency anyway. I mean, if he had won the nomination instead of being a dandified version of Dennis Kucinich, then he might have had to face this storm as the Democratic Party's nominee.
Obviously it would have destroyed his candidacy and ruined the Dems chances of regaining the White Houe, but brave John Edwards didn't let that get in the way of his lofty personal goals.
Huzzah!
I say again, huzzah!
During the dramatic interview I loved the way Edwards repeatedly referred to the "tabloid journalists" who busted his wagon.
What Johnny doesn't say is the "tabloid journalists" got the big story right. They might have missed a detail or two, but they did the legwork that put his butt in the chair across from non-tabloid talking head who rushed in to try and swipe some of the heat from the story made possible by the Nationl Enquirer.
The Democratic sychophants will take the "all politicians do it" line or opt for the "his wife forgave him line." But anyone with an independent, functioning brain will recognize the colossal perfidy of Mr. Edwards and give thanks that his little red wagon is lying in a smouldering heap on the side of the tracks.
My Sunday column
Forum unleashed
The call seemed fairly innocuous — part wisenheimer, part spoofery. I knew it might get an angry reaction, but it didn’t seem too bad so I printed it.
Wham!
Don’t mess with the old folks eating breakfast at Hardees.
If you don’t know what I’m talking abut then you must not be a regular reader of Today’s Forum, which runs daily in the newspaper, usually on page 2.
For years Today’s Forum consisted of a question posed by the editors of the newspapers, sometimes the question was a serious one, often tied to the day’s news events. Other times the question was more of a lark.
No matter what the query, we always received responses.
Recently we experimented with not asking a specific question, instead letting callers decide for themselves what they wanted to discuss.
The result has been a flood of calls. A handful of people have said they preferred the old method and some other callers want Today’s Forum done away with entirely, but the vast majority of our callers clearly prefer having the freedom to say what they like.
And in the case of one recent caller, it was about his dissatisfaction with the number of older customers monopolizing the tables at a popular local breakfast spot.
The response was amazing, with dozens of people calling in to defend the right of our older folk to enjoy their gravy biscuits in peace.
They’ve earned the right, was the consensus opinion.
“The “Hardees episode,” as it will now be known, illustrates a point that every newspaper editor and reporter needs to remember. What the public is interested in — what readers will respond to in a passionate way — often has little to do with what The Associated Press or CNN thinks is the most interesting item of the day.
Not everyone is thrilled with Today’s Forum.
Some folks who call in get angry when their comments don’t make it into print, so let me take this opportunity to offer a few tips on getting your wisdom in print.
First, don’t assume that your comments won’t get in just because they aren’t in the next day. We have only so much room for the forum responses and right now the response is overwhelming. Give us an extra day or two.
Second, keep it brief. Most forum comments that make it into the paper are two to four sentences long. This isn’t a lecture hall at the Sorbonne. The people who type in your comments are pressed for time. Get to the point quickly.
Third, don’t get carried away with the hyperbole. We don’t have to agree with your comments to print them, but it’s not our job to provide you space to make a fool out of yourself. Use some common sense.
Fourth, don’t libel people. You can say smart alecky things about politicians and other public figures, including yours truly, but Today’s Forum isn’t a launching pad for unproven accusations.
Fifth, watch your language.
Sixth, no commercials for businesses. No attacks on businesses. It’s not fair to people trying to make a living.
Seventh, turn off the TV and the radio when you are calling in. Put the squalling baby in another room and tell the toddlers to hush. We’re not likely to spend much time culling your words of wisdom from a general cacophony.
Eighth, don’t call five straight times.
Ninth, there’s more to life than illegal immigration. Feel free to comment on the subject, but this isn’t the Minutemen hotline.
10th, Saying “You won’t print this” doesn’t encourage us to print it. Just make your point.
Hope to hear from you all soon.
The number is 706-272-7748.
The call seemed fairly innocuous — part wisenheimer, part spoofery. I knew it might get an angry reaction, but it didn’t seem too bad so I printed it.
Wham!
Don’t mess with the old folks eating breakfast at Hardees.
If you don’t know what I’m talking abut then you must not be a regular reader of Today’s Forum, which runs daily in the newspaper, usually on page 2.
For years Today’s Forum consisted of a question posed by the editors of the newspapers, sometimes the question was a serious one, often tied to the day’s news events. Other times the question was more of a lark.
No matter what the query, we always received responses.
Recently we experimented with not asking a specific question, instead letting callers decide for themselves what they wanted to discuss.
The result has been a flood of calls. A handful of people have said they preferred the old method and some other callers want Today’s Forum done away with entirely, but the vast majority of our callers clearly prefer having the freedom to say what they like.
And in the case of one recent caller, it was about his dissatisfaction with the number of older customers monopolizing the tables at a popular local breakfast spot.
The response was amazing, with dozens of people calling in to defend the right of our older folk to enjoy their gravy biscuits in peace.
They’ve earned the right, was the consensus opinion.
“The “Hardees episode,” as it will now be known, illustrates a point that every newspaper editor and reporter needs to remember. What the public is interested in — what readers will respond to in a passionate way — often has little to do with what The Associated Press or CNN thinks is the most interesting item of the day.
Not everyone is thrilled with Today’s Forum.
Some folks who call in get angry when their comments don’t make it into print, so let me take this opportunity to offer a few tips on getting your wisdom in print.
First, don’t assume that your comments won’t get in just because they aren’t in the next day. We have only so much room for the forum responses and right now the response is overwhelming. Give us an extra day or two.
Second, keep it brief. Most forum comments that make it into the paper are two to four sentences long. This isn’t a lecture hall at the Sorbonne. The people who type in your comments are pressed for time. Get to the point quickly.
Third, don’t get carried away with the hyperbole. We don’t have to agree with your comments to print them, but it’s not our job to provide you space to make a fool out of yourself. Use some common sense.
Fourth, don’t libel people. You can say smart alecky things about politicians and other public figures, including yours truly, but Today’s Forum isn’t a launching pad for unproven accusations.
Fifth, watch your language.
Sixth, no commercials for businesses. No attacks on businesses. It’s not fair to people trying to make a living.
Seventh, turn off the TV and the radio when you are calling in. Put the squalling baby in another room and tell the toddlers to hush. We’re not likely to spend much time culling your words of wisdom from a general cacophony.
Eighth, don’t call five straight times.
Ninth, there’s more to life than illegal immigration. Feel free to comment on the subject, but this isn’t the Minutemen hotline.
10th, Saying “You won’t print this” doesn’t encourage us to print it. Just make your point.
Hope to hear from you all soon.
The number is 706-272-7748.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Johnny comes clean ... sure!
Maybe now the Big Media will take a break from the Get Obama Elected campaign and do a few lines on this disgusting man.
One more on Favre
I saw the new Jets QB at his NY press conference last night. Clearly he is worried about how he is being viewed around the country, particularly in Green Bay. I love his comment about this situation sorting out the "true Brett Favre fans." You know, the Kool Aid drinkers.
Favre mentioned that "some things happened this summer."
Let me repeat.
"Some things happened ..."
Brett, you quit!
You said you didn't want to play any more.
The team believed you. America, even the Kool Aid slurpers, believed you. It was over. Back to Kiln.
The Packers moved on to Rodgers, then drafted TWO quarterbacks with picks that could have ben used at other positions. They went through free agency, making decisions based on you not playing.
And by the way, Randy Moss doesn't play for the Jets either!
The Packers could and should have handled this better, but the primary responsibility for this mess belongs with the Kid from Kiln.
Favre mentioned that "some things happened this summer."
Let me repeat.
"Some things happened ..."
Brett, you quit!
You said you didn't want to play any more.
The team believed you. America, even the Kool Aid slurpers, believed you. It was over. Back to Kiln.
The Packers moved on to Rodgers, then drafted TWO quarterbacks with picks that could have ben used at other positions. They went through free agency, making decisions based on you not playing.
And by the way, Randy Moss doesn't play for the Jets either!
The Packers could and should have handled this better, but the primary responsibility for this mess belongs with the Kid from Kiln.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
More on Skip
Here's another piece on Skip Caray. It's by Mark Williams, who learned a lot at my knee many years ago. His blog is definitely worth checking out regularly.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Skip
I am a wiseguy and I appreciate another wise guy.
For that reason and others I was a Skip Caray fan.
But it would be a mistake to remember Caray only for his orneriness and sarcastic wit. Make no mistake, he was a very good baseball announcer, always remembering that fans tuned in first for the game, not for his repartee. Skip called a bad ballgame well and a good ballgame superbly. And when we saw greatness, Skip admirably matched his words with the pictures.
Last night I saw a replay of Otis Nixon's heartstopping theft of Pirates outfielder Andy Van Slyke's deep drive to right center. It was a watershed moment for the emerging Atlanta powerhouse and Skip's call was electric.
The amazing athleticism of Nixon's play and the unrestrained joy of Caray's call makes that one of my favorite sports moments.
And of course, those who suffered the The Dark Years of the 1970s will always revel in Frank Cabrera and Sid Bream and Skip giving us "Braves win. Braves win!"
A lot of us will take that memory to our graves.
As has Skip.
RIP
For that reason and others I was a Skip Caray fan.
But it would be a mistake to remember Caray only for his orneriness and sarcastic wit. Make no mistake, he was a very good baseball announcer, always remembering that fans tuned in first for the game, not for his repartee. Skip called a bad ballgame well and a good ballgame superbly. And when we saw greatness, Skip admirably matched his words with the pictures.
Last night I saw a replay of Otis Nixon's heartstopping theft of Pirates outfielder Andy Van Slyke's deep drive to right center. It was a watershed moment for the emerging Atlanta powerhouse and Skip's call was electric.
The amazing athleticism of Nixon's play and the unrestrained joy of Caray's call makes that one of my favorite sports moments.
And of course, those who suffered the The Dark Years of the 1970s will always revel in Frank Cabrera and Sid Bream and Skip giving us "Braves win. Braves win!"
A lot of us will take that memory to our graves.
As has Skip.
RIP
Monday, August 4, 2008
Solzhenitsyn
I read "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" as a teen. It is is one of the reasons I never went through the "soft on communism" stage that some people never fully emerge from. Later, I read "The Gulag Archipelago," which was exhausting and almost demoralizing in its portrayal of the brutish Soviet government.
In part because of Solzhenitsyn I hated the monolithic Soviet state, as I now despise the monolithic Chinese state.
Solzhenitsyn spat in the face of this enormous evil.
Whatever his flaws, he was an intellectual giant.
On a lighter note, I took a European literature class in college. A week or so in the professor was discussing Turgenev or some other author and I made a reference to Solzhenitysn. He asked the class how many had read "Ivan Denisovich." I raised my hand. He asked if anyone had read any other of the author's novels. I raised my hand and cited "Archipelago"
After class, he caught me on my way out the door and said "I think you're going to do OK in here."
He never called on me again in class unless I raised my hand. I was the Golden Boy.
Easy A.
It pays to read, people.
In part because of Solzhenitsyn I hated the monolithic Soviet state, as I now despise the monolithic Chinese state.
Solzhenitsyn spat in the face of this enormous evil.
Whatever his flaws, he was an intellectual giant.
On a lighter note, I took a European literature class in college. A week or so in the professor was discussing Turgenev or some other author and I made a reference to Solzhenitysn. He asked the class how many had read "Ivan Denisovich." I raised my hand. He asked if anyone had read any other of the author's novels. I raised my hand and cited "Archipelago"
After class, he caught me on my way out the door and said "I think you're going to do OK in here."
He never called on me again in class unless I raised my hand. I was the Golden Boy.
Easy A.
It pays to read, people.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
A not so special special
I ordered the Sunday night special from Dominos. It was a large pizza with one topping for $8.99. The driver arrived and said the bill was for more than $12. There was a $2.50 delivery charge.
My office is a block from the pizza parlor. A whole block!
Sholdn't they tell customers there is an extra charge?
Shouldn't they waive that charge for deliveries with 200 yards?
Am I mistaken here?
My office is a block from the pizza parlor. A whole block!
Sholdn't they tell customers there is an extra charge?
Shouldn't they waive that charge for deliveries with 200 yards?
Am I mistaken here?
The wings? The wings?
I have it on good authority that Lizzi's Deli has closed. We will be looking into this tragedy, but if it is true, let me be the first to let out a public scream of rage.
Where will I get wings that good?
I have a hundred memories of Lizzi's -- a handful of which are printable in a family newspaper environment -- and I am sure other folks do too.
Back in my first Dalton tour -- in the mid-late 1980s -- Lizzi's was my favorite watering hole by a mile. Cheap beer and great conversation. as well as some really good food.
It was a fun place to eat and the owner Jamil Ibrahim and big family were a joy to do business with. Hard to believe those kids are all adults now and moved away.
When I came back here to live in 2000, Jamil treated me like I had never left. A dozen wings and a cold one made a lot of afternoons better.
Hopefully this will all turn out to be some kind of cruel prank and I will be writing a correction of this piece by tomorrow. But I fear not.
Where will I get wings that good?
I have a hundred memories of Lizzi's -- a handful of which are printable in a family newspaper environment -- and I am sure other folks do too.
Back in my first Dalton tour -- in the mid-late 1980s -- Lizzi's was my favorite watering hole by a mile. Cheap beer and great conversation. as well as some really good food.
It was a fun place to eat and the owner Jamil Ibrahim and big family were a joy to do business with. Hard to believe those kids are all adults now and moved away.
When I came back here to live in 2000, Jamil treated me like I had never left. A dozen wings and a cold one made a lot of afternoons better.
Hopefully this will all turn out to be some kind of cruel prank and I will be writing a correction of this piece by tomorrow. But I fear not.
My Sunday column
“No one claimed book collecting is rational.”
Those are the words of a man who knows a few things about books.
Larry McMurtry has certainly written a few. In fact he’s authored more than 40, including a few of my favorites.
Unlike the charmingly modest McMurtry, who refers to his best known work as “popular” but not “great,” I firmly believe “Lonesome Dove” transcends mere popularity. It is a truly great book. Certainly one could pile a tall stack of overrated “classics” that lack the fire and soul of McMurtry’s western epic. In fact ...
Ha.
A few paragraphs in and I already digress — thinking about books has that effect on me. One idea catapults me to another and my carefully aimed thoughts fly askew.
Let me start again.
Focus!
This column is about books. It’s also about “Books.”
Books are those quaint objects that some of us over 35 insist on buying and stacking on our bedside tables.
“Books” is the newest book by Larry McMurtry. It is about books.
You see, McMurtry is not only a superb and prolific author, he is a bookman. He buys and sells books and I don’t mean in any rich man’s hobby sort of way. He’s not Sir Geoffrey Snooppoodle raising freakish roses and naming them after the Royal Family.
He’s a serious bookman, wheeling and dealing from a mammoth store stocked with well over 200,000 titles in Archer City, Texas.
Best of all, McMurtry loves to read. He devours books like Jethro Bodine goes through a stack of Granny’s flapjacks.
As do I.
I am not sure what the first book I read was, but I do remember the thrill I felt as a first grader making my initial trip into the school library. It was heaven. Then, it wasn’t.
At Summerville Elementary the library was divided into separate sections for each grade — one through four. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the really good books were in the other sections. I didn’t give a tinker’s dang about Dick and Jane. And Spot could take a flying bark at the moon as far I was concerned.
I wanted to read about Davy Crockett, Jim Bridger and Daniel Boone and those stories and more like them were in the second-grade section. Or the third. Or the fourth.
One day, when I could take it no more, I slipped away from the first-grade aisles to sample the forbidden fruit. Busted! An ill-tempered librarian caught me, chewed on me a little and ordered me back to the hell that was Dick and Jane’s domain.
Fortunately an angel appeared. It materialized in the shape of a lady teacher who must have had the good sense to realize that my wanting to read a more difficult book wasn’t a bad thing at all.
She spoke to the librarian and after that, for the next three years, I was allowed to roam the library at will and check out whatever I wanted.
That’s why at the delicate age of 8, while most of my contemporaries were being bored to tears by those morons Dick and Jane, I was trapping beaver in the Wild West with Kit Carson, shivering with Gen. Washington at Valley Forge and getting into cozy adventures with Henry Aldrich.
A few short years later came books by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard and the wonderful Ray Bradbury. I was hooked.
Since then there have been hundreds of other books and writers.
A billion words.
Today I live in a house jammed with thousands of books. Bradbury and Howard are still well represented. They are joined by Papa Hemingway and Rick Bragg. Pat Conroy and Tom Wolfe. William Faulkner is neighbors with Steinbeck and they both look down (from their higher shelf) on Stephen King and a blue million science fiction authors. Jim Thompson and Raymond Chandler explore the shadows where Poe and H.P. Lovecraft go bump in the night.
In fact, they are all bumping around and making a racket tonight.
McMurtry’s “Books” has stirred them.
And me.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen. You may see him on his lunch break this week. He’s the one reading a history of the “Winter War” between Russia and Finland. Leave him alone.
Those are the words of a man who knows a few things about books.
Larry McMurtry has certainly written a few. In fact he’s authored more than 40, including a few of my favorites.
Unlike the charmingly modest McMurtry, who refers to his best known work as “popular” but not “great,” I firmly believe “Lonesome Dove” transcends mere popularity. It is a truly great book. Certainly one could pile a tall stack of overrated “classics” that lack the fire and soul of McMurtry’s western epic. In fact ...
Ha.
A few paragraphs in and I already digress — thinking about books has that effect on me. One idea catapults me to another and my carefully aimed thoughts fly askew.
Let me start again.
Focus!
This column is about books. It’s also about “Books.”
Books are those quaint objects that some of us over 35 insist on buying and stacking on our bedside tables.
“Books” is the newest book by Larry McMurtry. It is about books.
You see, McMurtry is not only a superb and prolific author, he is a bookman. He buys and sells books and I don’t mean in any rich man’s hobby sort of way. He’s not Sir Geoffrey Snooppoodle raising freakish roses and naming them after the Royal Family.
He’s a serious bookman, wheeling and dealing from a mammoth store stocked with well over 200,000 titles in Archer City, Texas.
Best of all, McMurtry loves to read. He devours books like Jethro Bodine goes through a stack of Granny’s flapjacks.
As do I.
I am not sure what the first book I read was, but I do remember the thrill I felt as a first grader making my initial trip into the school library. It was heaven. Then, it wasn’t.
At Summerville Elementary the library was divided into separate sections for each grade — one through four. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the really good books were in the other sections. I didn’t give a tinker’s dang about Dick and Jane. And Spot could take a flying bark at the moon as far I was concerned.
I wanted to read about Davy Crockett, Jim Bridger and Daniel Boone and those stories and more like them were in the second-grade section. Or the third. Or the fourth.
One day, when I could take it no more, I slipped away from the first-grade aisles to sample the forbidden fruit. Busted! An ill-tempered librarian caught me, chewed on me a little and ordered me back to the hell that was Dick and Jane’s domain.
Fortunately an angel appeared. It materialized in the shape of a lady teacher who must have had the good sense to realize that my wanting to read a more difficult book wasn’t a bad thing at all.
She spoke to the librarian and after that, for the next three years, I was allowed to roam the library at will and check out whatever I wanted.
That’s why at the delicate age of 8, while most of my contemporaries were being bored to tears by those morons Dick and Jane, I was trapping beaver in the Wild West with Kit Carson, shivering with Gen. Washington at Valley Forge and getting into cozy adventures with Henry Aldrich.
A few short years later came books by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard and the wonderful Ray Bradbury. I was hooked.
Since then there have been hundreds of other books and writers.
A billion words.
Today I live in a house jammed with thousands of books. Bradbury and Howard are still well represented. They are joined by Papa Hemingway and Rick Bragg. Pat Conroy and Tom Wolfe. William Faulkner is neighbors with Steinbeck and they both look down (from their higher shelf) on Stephen King and a blue million science fiction authors. Jim Thompson and Raymond Chandler explore the shadows where Poe and H.P. Lovecraft go bump in the night.
In fact, they are all bumping around and making a racket tonight.
McMurtry’s “Books” has stirred them.
And me.
Jimmy Espy is executive editor of The Daily Citizen. You may see him on his lunch break this week. He’s the one reading a history of the “Winter War” between Russia and Finland. Leave him alone.
Friday, August 1, 2008
James Lee Burke
Brooding New Orleans detective Dave Robicheaux and his partner, the one-man-cyclone Clete Purcel, head north to Montana in the newest novel in the popular series. I was disappointed in Burke's first post-Katrina Robinceaux novel, "The Tin Roof Blowdown," but have high hopes for "Swan Peak."
On his game, Burke is the most flavorful of the modern crime writers. Check him out at this site.
On his game, Burke is the most flavorful of the modern crime writers. Check him out at this site.
Family
FamilySlow blogging the last few days. Company in town and we're trying to show off the area to my brother-in-law who has never been to a small Deep South burg. They get to see the Vann House and Fort Mountain today and we're going to work in the Tunnel Hill tunnel and Chickamauga tomorrow.
Any suggestions?
Sugars in Chattanooga for supper tomorrow night. Probably the Iron Gate pizza parlor tonight.
As I said, suggestions welcome.
Any suggestions?
Sugars in Chattanooga for supper tomorrow night. Probably the Iron Gate pizza parlor tonight.
As I said, suggestions welcome.
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