Perusing the Gwinnett Daily Post so you don't have to?
It was my mission statement. I honestly hadn't thought much about that, or even this blog, for a long time, for a practical reason--when we switched TeeVee carriers from MegaCorpCom to DeathCultMediaCom, home delivery of the Gwinnett Daily Post was no longer included.
So we no longer had the familiar "hillbilly rag" of yore appearing at the bottom of the driveway.
Some months passed, and it came to be that Mrs. and Mr. Ragger decided that the other printed newspaper really didn't need to appear in the recycling bin either. So no more AJC, either. We took the bold step of doing what virtually everyone I know had done about half-a-decade ago and installed a wireless network, plugged in something to get the news via the Interwebs in our breakfast dining area, and did without a paper.
Sometimes it's missed. Ok, sometimes both papers are missed. As virtuous as I may feel about going paperless and contributing just a tad less to waste on this planet, I feel poorly about playing a part in a somewhat independent media outlet's financial horror.
Then again, I'm not really responsible for present and future business models for monetizing the newspaper industry.
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Stuff gets swiped
hey, these things happen.
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Folks write letters
And, miraculously,
sometimes they get published.
To the editor: Linder doesn't practice what he is preaching
Regarding the column by Rep. John Linder, R-Duluth ("Those who serve exhibit strongest courage, character," Perspective, Nov. 11) - his voting record got a "C" from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He has a lot of nerve.
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Coupla days after, not ready to leave yet
My last Deep Thoughtish post might have been my last here, but I've had a few days to soak in the sun and I'm not quite ready to turn out the lights.
(Even though I did bid an official farewell to Bookman's joint. And I intend to keep my promise not to post there as this character.)Why keep this thing around? Well, for one reason, I might use it to document what the Dead Enders are up to these days. For instance, I just saw some online commenter boldly state
"Obama had a ghost writer for his two books", which means that the ridiculous Ayers-ghosted-those-bestsellers meme is still out there. This could become a depository for such treasures.
Mostly though I haven't formulated a vision for a new, more out-in-the-open online presence. If there is to be a Senate run-off here in GA, Martin's campaign might need a freelance Gwinnettian spreading the word online, and that necessity might drive some invention.
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Deep Thought (actually kind of deep)
For the first time ever today I contemplated how a Democratic rout--defined for my purposes as a decisive Obama win and gains in Senate and House seats--might change how I see the world.
It's probably dangerous to assume anything, and I am fully aware that the polling lead held by Democrats at this writing could slip away in three weeks. But historically that's not the way to bet.
Will it get uglier in Red America? No. I'm not thinking it's worth taking too seriously all the scary, dark things being uttered by some about how angry and violent the white backlash would be. I think, based on all the things I've heard and people I've known down here in GA that there'd be a resignation to a profound change among the voting public.
I think it will be much safer to be a rational person. I think the need to go underground, in online forums and the blog world, will be a little less pronounced.
I further think I'll probably suspend these operations and start a new blog under a totally different profile, likely as not, not anonymous. I'm tired of being underground. I want something public where people I know from all walks of life can participate.
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If the Rag must continue publishing David Broder
I guess I must point out his more laughable assertions. From his
latest:
When I asked Hoyer how then he explained the terrible reputation of this Congress, he insisted that it did not reflect the reputation of individual members - which may be true but is not really a response.
I think that institutional reputation has been damaged by two things: the sense that Democrats and Republicans would rather score partisan points off each other than look for ways to work together, and the frustration at Congress' inaction on the big issues of greatest concern to voters.
Professor Broder knows why, of course, but he'd never say it. The answer is twofold all right, but not the two folds seen above.
1) Virtually every Democratic voter expected his/her Congressman to defund the Iraq occupation, or at the very least to go to the wall, to call Bush's bluff on his Excellent Adventure. Of course this was going to be very difficult, if not historically unprecedented; but when sufficient number of Bush Dog Dems wimped out and left Reid and Pelosi holding the flaming bag of dog poop, those Democratic voters weren't likely to say "Approve" when asked by pollsters their opinion of congress.
2) Real Clear Politics may be a respectable polling outfit, but they are of a right-wing persuasion, and they've taken out big ol' ads on FoxNews.com. Said ads have been running for nearly two years now touting this heretofore unheralded "Congressional Approval Rating" right next to the Presidential approval ratings, as if they were somehow equivalent. A very lazy corporate media noticed (because if it isn't Drudge rockin' their world, it's Fox) and ran with the story.
That's why.
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"by God we stepped in and hit a home run with it"
Always tying it to God, the local scam artists...
Commissioner Bert Nasuti, a tourism board member who originated the baseball idea, said he is convinced the money is needed.
"We've only got one opportunity to really build it right," he said. "If you make bad decisions now, you pay for them later."
Nasuti said it was the special touches such as extra padding in the seats that have given a "wow factor" to the Arena at Gwinnett Center, another project that came with a $25 million boost from the county's reserve fund. He wants to create the same atmosphere at the Gwinnett Braves stadium.
"I think with the test of time, people will say, 'Boy, you had an opportunity, and by God we stepped in and hit a home run with it," Nasuti said, excusing the pun. "It will more than pay for the pain and expense."
Best as I can tell from local reports, the reason for the cost overruns are due in no small part to larger-than-expected rocks encountered during excavation. To paraphrase our Commander-in-Chief, I don't think anyone anticipated hitting rock when digging in Gwinnett.
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Who is calling out lying snake-oil salesman John Linder?
That'd be Doug Heckman.
Attaboy.
In 1995, John Linder voted in support of a proposed constitutional amendment for 12-year term limits on lawmakers in the House and Senate. Sixteen years after Linder was first voted into office, he has retreated from his earlier promise and is running for re-election, hoping for at least two more years in Congress
"The stakes are too high for our Representatives to forget—as many have—that their job is to represent and seek progress for the American people. I think John Linder was right on term limits and he should honor his pledge. As with many of our representatives, the longer they remain in Washington, the further they are pulled from the interests of their constituents." said Heckman.
Labels: Doug Heckman, John Linder
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Deep Thought
I sure do hope August does not come and go with Darell Huckaby neglecting to remind us that he is, in fact, from the South, and that he does, in fact, believe that being from the South ought to be considered somewhat meritorious.
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How about Boondoggle?
We're supposed
to help name the new Gwinnett Braves mascot. Both the Hillbilly Rag and the DUNG (ok, WDUN) are involved.
We'll see if I can slip "Boonie" under the radar.
If I wind up flying out to the AA All-Star game in Portland, it'll be our little secret.
Labels: Gwinnett Braves
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Jay Bookman, meet Doug Heckman...
Or, as I just thought to post
over at Jay's AJC blog:Jay, you know that Fair Tax co-author and noted right wing neocon clown John Linder is facing a challenge to his seat by an Iraq and Afghanistan (Special Forces) war vet, Doug Heckman. Of course Linder has money up the wazoo, and his whole Fair Tax cult (and Boortz’ knuckle-dragging listener base, presumably) surrounding him, but you never know, particularly if all those new uppity minorities and all them Yankee transplants were to get motivated to vote this year.
You think maybe that might be worth a column or two? Everyone likes a David v. Goliath story, right?
Given Jay's on-the-record takedowns of the Fair Tax, and his personal dislike for the book's other co-author (
Boortz has refused to allow Jay to come on his radio show, insisting instead on a rigged town-hall meeting that would be packed with FairTax cultists shouting down naysayers), I think it's just a matter of time before we see Jay visiting this topic.
Hope it's in a dead-tree column, and not just online.
Labels: Fair Tax
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