Tuesday, November 25, 2008
New Jim Powell Ad
"Brand New Day" - Jim Powell for Georgia Public Service Commission from Jim Powell for GA PSC on Vimeo.
Gotta say I like the music. (The music's always important.)
And Now Andisheh
Time to panic.
Steve Fennessey has been all over this and I'm a little red-faced I hadn't linked to him previously. That's now corrected.
Andisheh Nouraee, one of the funniest and smartest writers in Atlanta, confirmed tonight that he will resign from Creative Loafing, effective December 5. Nouraee submitted his resignation to publisher Luann Lebedz just hours after Lebedz fired CL editor Ken Edelstein.When will the bleeding stop? Tis the season for change.
Steve Fennessey has been all over this and I'm a little red-faced I hadn't linked to him previously. That's now corrected.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Creative Loafing's Ken Edelstein Leaves
According to Atlanta Magazine's Steve Fennessey, Creative Loafing's Editor Ken Edelstein separated from the troubled company this morning.
UPDATE: The AJC confirms with Edelstein that his separation was involuntary.
Staffers within the paper said that Edelstein was called into a meeting this morning with Lebedz and a human resources manager. While he was in the meeting, the staffers said, Edelstein's computer was confiscated by IT workers. About twenty minutes later, Edelstein emerged from the meeting, took his coat and walked out. The editorial department, some in tears, followed him. When they returned, Lebedz announced that Edelstein and CL had "parted ways," but did not elaborate.Details are sketchy and it is unclear if Edelstein left on his own volition.
UPDATE: The AJC confirms with Edelstein that his separation was involuntary.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
My Afternoon Jay
The liberal media conspiracy is at it again!
An irrelevant Republican Party does no one any good. It isn’t good for the Republicans, obviously, and over the long term it also isn’t good for the Democrats, who need an effective opposition to keep them in line.Wait a minute. Oh well. Back to picking on the conservative.
Jason Pye Interviews Karen Handel
As we all learned this election cycle, voting law is byzantine, strange and hardly comprehensible. It's also arguably the most important code in the book.
The face of election law in Georgia is Secretary of State Karen Handel. With the whirlwind of early voting and a PSC race causing a near Constitutional crisis, the Secretary's office finds itself receiving attention usually reserved for Governors and such.
If Secretary Handel decides to throw her hat into the Governor's race, 2008 might be simply the entr' acte of a much bigger play.
As we pause before potentially larger storms, all should take the time to get to know the office and the current office holder.
In a half hour interview with Jason Pye, Handel reveals her thoughts on the Powell case, early voting and even budget issues - all issues on the daily plate of an agency head but also indicators of how a person would handle a job a few rungs up the ladder.
Listen here.
(Editor's note: This was written before your scribe heard the shout out from Madame Secretary)
The face of election law in Georgia is Secretary of State Karen Handel. With the whirlwind of early voting and a PSC race causing a near Constitutional crisis, the Secretary's office finds itself receiving attention usually reserved for Governors and such.
If Secretary Handel decides to throw her hat into the Governor's race, 2008 might be simply the entr' acte of a much bigger play.
As we pause before potentially larger storms, all should take the time to get to know the office and the current office holder.
In a half hour interview with Jason Pye, Handel reveals her thoughts on the Powell case, early voting and even budget issues - all issues on the daily plate of an agency head but also indicators of how a person would handle a job a few rungs up the ladder.
Listen here.
(Editor's note: This was written before your scribe heard the shout out from Madame Secretary)
My Morning Wooten
Almost didn't do it this morning. For one thing, Jim (mostly) isn't looney enough to warrant much heat. But mainly because everything seems to be lather, rinse, repeat. I guess that's how things work in the big dog publishing world and even though I'm just a little dog, who am I to buck such time honored traditions?
So, here we go.
Could a Republican get away with doing what? Last minute pardons for political purposes? You mean like 12 people, most of whom were convicted of some type of fraud but most notably two key players in the Iran-Contra affair, George H. W. Bush pardoned two days before his Presidency ended? Or have you forgotten the uber-pardon of Nixon by Ford.
No, no, Jim. Why should a fine, upstanding newpaper man like you be weighed down with things like facts and context when you can continue to make the case Bill Clinton invented every evil in the latter part of the 20th Century?
Do I even need to beat the tired old fired attorneys horse? Maybe point out that at least the long knives waited until Clinton was in office before the cutting began? Nah. Let's move on.
Oh wait. That's not true either. Because...
Selah.
So, here we go.
Advocacy groups are making their annual claim that Georgia should be spendingI agreed with Jim on this issue about a month ago. I'm not sure why it's coming up again. Unless it's to fill space. Whatever.
more on anti-smoking efforts
Hurry. The Bailout Window is closing. Or it is fervently hoped. “Printing billion-dollar sums of cash each time an industry faces turmoil is not an economic solution; it is a moral hazard,” declared U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Roswell). He’s five words short, though. Insert “or state or local government” between “industry” and “faces.”Yeah, yeah. Anarchy in the U.S. Whatever.
The likely new Attorney General in the Obama administration, Eric Holder, is the Clinton administration retread who essentially green-lighted the Marc Rich pardon in the last hour of Bill’s term of office, prompting a national outrage. Two questions here: Could a Republican get away with doing that? And, on a somewhat related matter, will it be a scandal if U.S. attorneys are fired? It was when Democrats found campaign-value scandal in the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys two years ago.Here we go. This one is so full of horse apples it almost deserves its own entry.
Could a Republican get away with doing what? Last minute pardons for political purposes? You mean like 12 people, most of whom were convicted of some type of fraud but most notably two key players in the Iran-Contra affair, George H. W. Bush pardoned two days before his Presidency ended? Or have you forgotten the uber-pardon of Nixon by Ford.
No, no, Jim. Why should a fine, upstanding newpaper man like you be weighed down with things like facts and context when you can continue to make the case Bill Clinton invented every evil in the latter part of the 20th Century?
Do I even need to beat the tired old fired attorneys horse? Maybe point out that at least the long knives waited until Clinton was in office before the cutting began? Nah. Let's move on.
Anybody surprised at the report by state auditors that the halls of fame created across Georgia are unlikely to be self-sufficient by July 1, the deadline set by the General Assembly?No. You really think I'm going to disagree with exposing foolish spending? Moving on.
A pro-life advocacy group runs a radio commercial that describes Senate candidate Jim Martin as the leader of a “one-man effort” to kill legislation to ban partial birth abortions. If the effort had no followers, how do we know he led? On the campaign trail, the photos accompanying news accounts of “rallies” usually show a few staffers, a few reporters and some stragglers trying to get in out of the cold. Is it a rally if nobody rallies?Must have missed the one with Bill Clinton. The one where several thousand stood for hours in the cold. Maybe you were on deadline?
Oh wait. That's not true either. Because...
Quote of the week from Jim Martin to Bill Clinton: “You have left us a great legacy.”Across the board spending cuts. A budget surplus. A humming economy. Bookmark this one my friends, because I guarantee sometime in the near future, Jim will explain Bush's legacy to us and we can all have a good belly laugh.
Selah.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
My Morning Everything
Multiple choice. No cheating.
Which of the following is Wooten.
1. "Over the last few days, though, it became more and more obvious that Detroit didn’t quite grasp the seriousness of the situation, and that the concessions they were willing to offer wouldn’t be sufficient. Clarity came in reading Mitt Romney’s piece in today’s NY Times, in which he argued against a bailout and in favor of a managed bankruptcy."
2. "Yet that alleged concern for integrity didn’t stop the King heirs from turning their father into a cellphone flack, selling the rights to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech for millions of dollars to telecom giants Cingular and Alcatel, which used portions of the speech in commercials. In their pursuit of riches they have delayed memorials to their father, demanding fees for the use of papers and photos that might be displayed. They have sold precious handwritten documents to the highest bidder."
3. "While pondering the question of what “change” President-elect Barack Obama represents — he sound like Al Gore on global warming, while recycling the Clintonistas back into positions of power — we look elsewhere today for an example of what’s wrong with government."
Internet fights are pointless, soul sucking affairs. Frequently, one side stubbornly presses its nose against a particular tree while the other frantically cuts down the other trees in the vain hope their adversary will hear the noise.
But, sometimes the fight is not about the participants but about who is watching - those silent ghosts called readers.
Every now and then, in the midst of the inevitable labelling, some nose-to-tree person utters some version of "he only picks on the conservative columnist".
This, friends and neighbors, is a conclusion based on selective reading and I hate selective reading. It is a tactic familiar to those who frequently hear the lunatic ramblings of creationists - form a conclusion and then find the facts which fit.
Here are the facts in the griftdrift vs. Wooten kerfluffle which the tree embracers ignore.
1. I don't pick on Jim because he is a conservative - I pick on him because he's a loon. He has become a caricature of conservatism that rabble rouses and brags about unleashing his "band of right wingers" on fat women who don't dress appropriately.
2. When Jim acts like an actual conservative, I not only credit him but to the consternation of my liberal friends sometimes agree with him.
Even though I frequently disagree with Tucker and to a lesser degree Bookman, it is rare they dip the pen so deep in the poison well that I feel the immediate urge to call them out. But now that I've crashed a few trees, I'll make this promise to the tree only people - I'll try to do a better job of expanding the forest to include the other species. However, I make no promise that the Wooten tree won't continue to dominate the forest.
Your answer
Only #3 is Wooten. #1 is Bookman and #2 is Tucker.
Which of the following is Wooten.
1. "Over the last few days, though, it became more and more obvious that Detroit didn’t quite grasp the seriousness of the situation, and that the concessions they were willing to offer wouldn’t be sufficient. Clarity came in reading Mitt Romney’s piece in today’s NY Times, in which he argued against a bailout and in favor of a managed bankruptcy."
2. "Yet that alleged concern for integrity didn’t stop the King heirs from turning their father into a cellphone flack, selling the rights to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech for millions of dollars to telecom giants Cingular and Alcatel, which used portions of the speech in commercials. In their pursuit of riches they have delayed memorials to their father, demanding fees for the use of papers and photos that might be displayed. They have sold precious handwritten documents to the highest bidder."
3. "While pondering the question of what “change” President-elect Barack Obama represents — he sound like Al Gore on global warming, while recycling the Clintonistas back into positions of power — we look elsewhere today for an example of what’s wrong with government."
Internet fights are pointless, soul sucking affairs. Frequently, one side stubbornly presses its nose against a particular tree while the other frantically cuts down the other trees in the vain hope their adversary will hear the noise.
But, sometimes the fight is not about the participants but about who is watching - those silent ghosts called readers.
Every now and then, in the midst of the inevitable labelling, some nose-to-tree person utters some version of "he only picks on the conservative columnist".
This, friends and neighbors, is a conclusion based on selective reading and I hate selective reading. It is a tactic familiar to those who frequently hear the lunatic ramblings of creationists - form a conclusion and then find the facts which fit.
Here are the facts in the griftdrift vs. Wooten kerfluffle which the tree embracers ignore.
1. I don't pick on Jim because he is a conservative - I pick on him because he's a loon. He has become a caricature of conservatism that rabble rouses and brags about unleashing his "band of right wingers" on fat women who don't dress appropriately.
2. When Jim acts like an actual conservative, I not only credit him but to the consternation of my liberal friends sometimes agree with him.
Even though I frequently disagree with Tucker and to a lesser degree Bookman, it is rare they dip the pen so deep in the poison well that I feel the immediate urge to call them out. But now that I've crashed a few trees, I'll make this promise to the tree only people - I'll try to do a better job of expanding the forest to include the other species. However, I make no promise that the Wooten tree won't continue to dominate the forest.
Your answer
Only #3 is Wooten. #1 is Bookman and #2 is Tucker.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Libertarian Endorses Powell
The Libertarian who threw the PSC District 4 race into a runoff is endorsing Democrat Jim Powell.
“After speaking with Mr. Jim Powell I’ve discovered that he too has the vision for a new system that would allow for both a free market in energy and a growth in green technology,” Givens said in a news release. “Mr. Powell also shares my strong opposition to ex parte communications, the behind-closed-doors dealings between PSC members and the industries they are charged with regulating. He will stand up for transparency in government. I strongly encourage all voters, Libertarian and fiscally conservative to vote for Jim Powell.”I'll be revealing who I'll vote for in the runoffs tomorrow but I don't think it will be a big surprise.
Monday, November 17, 2008
My Morning Wooten
Hmmmmmmmmm.
Given some email I received recently, Jim's article today seems tailor made for comment. But like Jim last week, I'm down on the farm, so I'll just say...
I'm no fan of chicken little cries of socialism. As for the rest...
Given some email I received recently, Jim's article today seems tailor made for comment. But like Jim last week, I'm down on the farm, so I'll just say...
I'm no fan of chicken little cries of socialism. As for the rest...
Friday, November 14, 2008
The Party Of Not Good Enough
Twice, since I wrote a piece advocating a pro-gun, pro-business, pro-property rights stance, I've been called a leftist or near enough to count.
From the natural extension of President Bush's "fer us or agin us" to Rush Limbaugh's "we want moderates to vote with us, but they'll never be accepted", there are elements in the Republican Party who believe that if you don't toe every line you simply are not good enough.
Democrats certainly grouse about their Jim Marshalls, but outside of Joe Lieberman being skewered by the netroots, their party is never so quick to roll out the scarlet letters.
I've been called a liberal before and I'm sure I will be again - sometimes with humor, sometimes with venom. There are certainly differing levels of silliness in all politics, but what is far from silly is the belief of Republicans that all political discussions are all or nothing affairs.
As every gambler knows, if your only strategy is all or nothing, eventually you go bust.
From the natural extension of President Bush's "fer us or agin us" to Rush Limbaugh's "we want moderates to vote with us, but they'll never be accepted", there are elements in the Republican Party who believe that if you don't toe every line you simply are not good enough.
Democrats certainly grouse about their Jim Marshalls, but outside of Joe Lieberman being skewered by the netroots, their party is never so quick to roll out the scarlet letters.
I've been called a liberal before and I'm sure I will be again - sometimes with humor, sometimes with venom. There are certainly differing levels of silliness in all politics, but what is far from silly is the belief of Republicans that all political discussions are all or nothing affairs.
As every gambler knows, if your only strategy is all or nothing, eventually you go bust.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
My Morning Wooten
I'd love to talk about tractors today but instead friends and neighbors, we're going to talk about the internets.
It is true that this fictitiuos "Mr. Eisenstadt" falsely claimed to be the source of the "Africa" story but what is not true is this proves the story false. In fact is does not. All you have to do is remember Sarah Palin's non-denial of the story. If it was false, wouldn't we have heard her call it absurd instead of lamely spinning about misspeaking?
"Mr. Eisenstadt" successfully pantsed many a blogger as well as a few network bobbleheads and they should be rightfully ashamed. And if it turns out he was the original source on the Fox News story which broke the salacious affair, Carl Cameron should be fired on the spot and never let near a keyboard again.
This is how myths are made - take a tangential falsehood and claim the whole must be false. Jim even expresses his disdain for material from questionable sources.
First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye ~Matthew 7:3
In any event, I was shocked to hear it relayed as gospel that Sarah Palin thought Africa was a country. I’d not heard that allegation. Now it’s revealed. It was an elaborate Internet hoax foisted off on the mainstream news media. See New York Times storyI strongly encourage you to click through and read the Times story, for as usual, Jim only told part of the story.
It is true that this fictitiuos "Mr. Eisenstadt" falsely claimed to be the source of the "Africa" story but what is not true is this proves the story false. In fact is does not. All you have to do is remember Sarah Palin's non-denial of the story. If it was false, wouldn't we have heard her call it absurd instead of lamely spinning about misspeaking?
"Mr. Eisenstadt" successfully pantsed many a blogger as well as a few network bobbleheads and they should be rightfully ashamed. And if it turns out he was the original source on the Fox News story which broke the salacious affair, Carl Cameron should be fired on the spot and never let near a keyboard again.
This is how myths are made - take a tangential falsehood and claim the whole must be false. Jim even expresses his disdain for material from questionable sources.
Throughout the recent political campaign my mailbox was flooded with links to intriguing scoops, from Barack Obama’s birth in Kenya to MIchelle’s dining tab. I was never inclined to use them because I don’t trust sources I don’t know.Really?
Obama continues to be bedeviled by questions about his religion, something I picked up repeatedly from people who aren’t political junkies. It’s not surprising that Obama lashed out on that issue Sunday. He can’t shake the believe that he is a Muslim, the religion of his father and religion of at least part of his childhood...Obama badly needs to do something to shake that perception. A major speech, addressing it head-on, is warranted.Jim uses sly wording to dance all around the urban legend line but there is one undeniable fact. President-elect Obama vociferously denied being a Muslim many times. When Jim wrote this piece, the only people who still believed Obama was a Muslim were the internet rumor mongers who used it to continually delude poor souls such as that Ohio woman John McCain had to correct.
First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye ~Matthew 7:3
An Appeal To The Other Side
Erick obviously chose his side some time ago. Today, he obliquely responds to calls for moderation in the Republican Party.
My Appeal To Moderates may seem to re-inforce this statement, however as "so called conservatives" are wont to do, Erick takes a very narrow and mostly unflattering view of the issue.
Yes, moderates do tend to look at issues individually but what Erick fails to acknowledge is they tend to look at all issues. While he and other hardliners look to build coalitions of all or nothing single issue fanatics who for the purpose of winning tolerate a thin slice of those who mildly disagree, moderates wish to build coalitions based on the elements where everyone has a part of the conversation.
One of the battlelines in the war is the differing philosophies of principles. One believes principle is governed by single minded passion. One believes it is governed by reason.
One side also wishes to create a fog of war so that you believe the other side no longer exists. Fogs only blind those who remain still. Those who walk forward soon find the new and wondrous as well as the old and familiar.
Remember: moderates and independents do not have a governing set of principles to guide them. They look at each issue on its own. There are plenty of issues out there that would bring the conservative coalition and add to it those it needs from the pool of unaffiliated voters.
My Appeal To Moderates may seem to re-inforce this statement, however as "so called conservatives" are wont to do, Erick takes a very narrow and mostly unflattering view of the issue.
Yes, moderates do tend to look at issues individually but what Erick fails to acknowledge is they tend to look at all issues. While he and other hardliners look to build coalitions of all or nothing single issue fanatics who for the purpose of winning tolerate a thin slice of those who mildly disagree, moderates wish to build coalitions based on the elements where everyone has a part of the conversation.
One of the battlelines in the war is the differing philosophies of principles. One believes principle is governed by single minded passion. One believes it is governed by reason.
One side also wishes to create a fog of war so that you believe the other side no longer exists. Fogs only blind those who remain still. Those who walk forward soon find the new and wondrous as well as the old and familiar.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Caesar
Jesus entered the Temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 'It is written,' he said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer but you are making it a den of robbers'
You can purchase Erick's wares here.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Georgia Politics Podcast Episode 19
It got a little wild and wooly.
Newcomers Jason Pye and 81st Democratic candidate Chris Huttman joined regulars JosepG, Grayson and myself for the Georgia Politics Podcast.
Things get a little heated when everyone's favorite lightning rod Karen Handel came up.
I think Jason's presence got me a little more excited than usual.
Listen here.
Newcomers Jason Pye and 81st Democratic candidate Chris Huttman joined regulars JosepG, Grayson and myself for the Georgia Politics Podcast.
Things get a little heated when everyone's favorite lightning rod Karen Handel came up.
I think Jason's presence got me a little more excited than usual.
Listen here.
Paul Broun Loses His Mind
What a strange one Rep. Broun (R-10) is.
A Republican congressman from Georgia is calling President-elect Obama a Marxist and warning that he might be planning to form a Gestapo-like security force so he can rule as a dictator.Marxist? Gestapo? This election seems to have caused a rash of mixed metaphors in some circles. The ridiculousness is far from sublime.
An Appeal To Moderates
Moderates by their very nature avoid conflict.
For this reason, they spent the last 20 years operating in the shadows, sacrificing principle for the comfort of power as the radicals stomped across the landscape. They said all the right words and when necessary attended the appropriate services at the chapels of venom.
In 2000, when their standard bearer, John McCain was publicly flogged by the so called righteous, they said little.
For 8 years, they stood aside as their bloody brethren ripped at the Constitution - wetting their talons with torture and imprisonment.
In 2008, finally some ventured to speak against yet another disastrous choice and were met by a mob carrying stakes and kindling.
The witch fires have illuminated the shadows. There can be no more standing to the side as the looming beast now feeds on its own.
***
The beast is a chimera of many parts and it is on these parts which you must strike.
Sarah Palin - Fortune made her the face of the radicalism. She is not as some say unintelligent. Her weight on the campaign was not a lack of intellect but a lack of intellectual curiousity. It is not that she doesn't know the participants in the North American Free Trade Agreement - it is that she doesn't seem to care. She embraces the spirit of know nothingness which now grips your party. This standard bearer must be banished or you will wander in the wilderness for generations.
For this reason, they spent the last 20 years operating in the shadows, sacrificing principle for the comfort of power as the radicals stomped across the landscape. They said all the right words and when necessary attended the appropriate services at the chapels of venom.
In 2000, when their standard bearer, John McCain was publicly flogged by the so called righteous, they said little.
For 8 years, they stood aside as their bloody brethren ripped at the Constitution - wetting their talons with torture and imprisonment.
In 2008, finally some ventured to speak against yet another disastrous choice and were met by a mob carrying stakes and kindling.
The witch fires have illuminated the shadows. There can be no more standing to the side as the looming beast now feeds on its own.
***
The beast is a chimera of many parts and it is on these parts which you must strike.
Sarah Palin - Fortune made her the face of the radicalism. She is not as some say unintelligent. Her weight on the campaign was not a lack of intellect but a lack of intellectual curiousity. It is not that she doesn't know the participants in the North American Free Trade Agreement - it is that she doesn't seem to care. She embraces the spirit of know nothingness which now grips your party. This standard bearer must be banished or you will wander in the wilderness for generations.
Abortion - You have lost your voice because those under 30 no longer hear you. They consider this most divisive issue settled and wish to move forward. If due to personal belief you must remain with this issue, you must concede reasonable exceptions. To do otherwise will guarantee those you need most will simply pass you by.
Talk Radio - Recently the voice of the beast was asked if there is room in the Republican party for moderates - Rush Limbaugh responded "We want their votes but they'll never be one of us". A brighter line was never set. If Democrats are the enemy to be fed upon, moderate Republicans are merely the ground the beast walks across. Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter, Malkin and all those who cry for blood must be rejected. You must stop appearing on their shows. You must stop parroting their insanity. The last two elections have shown the market is rejecting their brand of rabble rousing. Assist the market in hastening their demise.
The Despair of KnowNothingness - Reason must prevail over the heart of the beast. If someone asks you if you believe in evolution, you must say yes, but you leave these issues to science and it does not bear on faith. If someone asks you if you believe in global warming, you must say yes, but add the task will be difficult and we must seek solutions that better us all. You must discount the brand of dishonesty which claims to hold the one true knowledge at the expense of those whose life work is the quest for knowledge.
***
Now, it is on this ground where you must fight - for it is good ground.
Gun Rights - Heller rightly established the Second Amendment as an individual right and not a collective one. You will find allies across the ideological landscape who are gun owners and believe that owning guns is not a sin. But do not seek them in the halls of the N.R.A. Seek them in the hunting camps of Georgia, the small businesses in D.C. and the indoor target ranges of L.A.
Property Rights - If Heller was absolutely right, Kelo was absolutely wrong. The mere idea that the government can swoop in and take a person's property without a fare-thee-well is more abhorrent than any of the issues the radicals put forth as critical. Forget promising platitudes of nominating judges who rule on "strict construction". Promise judges who understand that as with guns, property is a right of the individual and not the collective.
Business - If you must be the party of business then do so. There are plenty of people who understand the economy doesn't work without big business. But also be the party of small business. It may be the Wal-Marts which make our nation a partner in the global economy, but it is the mom and pop restaurants which make every small town in this country a partner in the whole's greater success. Support small business loans. Support microloans. Offer support to all rungs of the ladder and those who you need most will help raise that ladder to new heights.
Spending - Yes, we must talk about taxes but for the love of all that is good, let us talk about spending first. When John McCain talked as a spending hawk, CNN's fancy dial-a-vote devices went through the roof. When he wandered back into the land of the beast, they fell through the floor. The people want smaller government. They want more local control. They will understand the hard choices to be made. Instead of promising a tax chicken in ever pot, promise we won't have to sell Oregon to pay off the Chinese. It is for their children and their children's children. Every parent understands sacrifice to make the next generation's world better. Talk to your constituents like the adults they are and they will listen.
***
Not that long ago, I had a conversation with Republican State Senator David Shafer. We met in a not unusual way. He disagreed with something I wrote on embryonic stem cells. Sen. Shafer and I agree on nothing about right to life issues. However, once we set aside that deadly conflict, a conversation emerged on the future of Grady Hospital. I learned more about the issues of local health care in this half hour conversation than any number of position papers, activist marches and stormings of the Grady board meetings ever taught me.
All it took was momentarily setting aside the differences in order to discuss areas where we agreed. It was in that country, not yet touched by the beast, where we not only found common ground but solutions.
It is in these refuges of reason where the battle can be won. But first you must be willing to make your stand. The time for the stalwart has come. The engagement is at hand and the decision must be made - do you fight for this good ground?
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