Governor Deal Will Win Re-Election

From my column in Creative Loafing,

It is difficult to ignore the dichotomy of a man constantly dogged by claims of old-fashioned, back-room maneuvering completely reorganizing the political structure of the state's second largest county — one which is predominantly Democrat and African-American. And he was praised for his doing what was necessary.

You can read the entire piece here.

Try Walking To McDonalds Naked

Of all the silliness associated with the shutdown of the Federal government, the one that is driving me to drink is people confusing non-essential with unnecessary.

Some folks follow this line of reasoning: if all these federal workers are non-essential, it shows we can do without them and that is good enough reason to conclude the government is too big.

Let me use a simple analogy to explain the difference between essential and non-essential.

Food is essential. Without it you will die.

Clothing is non-essential. If you are naked as the day you were born, everything in your innards will function just fine.

But try walking to McDonald's without your non-essential clothes to get your essential Big Mac and see what happens.