The Southerner Journal

by Glynn Wilson

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 30 - For the better part of the past month, it's been a blast on the road "cowboying" in the Chevy van enjoying the fall weather and taking a break from television and politics out in nature - twelve days on the Gulf Coast and then four days taking in the peak color in North Carolina.

Photo by Don Markum

That's me, in the Pelican Navigator on Lake James near Marion, N.C.

The elections coming up next Tuesday, Nov. 7, however, are too important to ignore for any serious newsman.

Alas, I almost fell asleep trying to concentrate on the televised political debates tonight on Alabama Public Television.

Governor's Debate Episode 2006

Gubernatorial candidates Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley and Gov. Bob Riley exchanged viewpoints in this live one-hour event presented by Leadership Alabama, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, Alabama Public Television and the Alabama Press Association.

Unfortunately, according to APT's Website, the show is also sponsored by a few of the most corrupt corporate polluters in the state, including Alabama Power, Vulcan Materials and Entergen. It is also sponsored by one of the worst corporate spies in the country, BellSouth, which is about to merge with AT&T, now owned and operated out of George W. Bush's Texas by Southwest Bell.

Oh, you didn't even know about the debates? Why would you, since none of the corporate television news stations or newspapers in this state did much to promote public involvement in the show.

And let's face it, the race may already be a done deal anyway. The latest polls show Riley leading the governor's race by a margin of 57 percent to 32 percent.

According to an article out today in StateLine.Org:

Republican Bob Riley is vying to become the first Alabama governor to be re-elected and to serve two full terms since George Wallace in the 1970s. Incumbents have lost the last three gubernatorial elections in Alabama, and Gov. Guy Hunt (R) won re-election in 1990 only to be removed in 1993 for an ethics violation.

In a state where voters have demonstrated their willingness to split tickets, Riley appears headed for a second term with a strong lead in the polls over Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley, the Democratic nominee. In an Oct. 8 poll by the Press-Register/University of South Alabama, Riley led with 57 percent of voters, compared with 32 percent for Baxley.

Baxley, elected lieutenant governor four years ago after two terms as state treasurer, is trying to become the states first female governor in four decades. Wallaces wife, Lurleen, was elected in 1966 when state law barred her husband from succeeding himself.

Riley, a former three-term congressman, has benefited from little scandal, a strong economy and the states efficient reaction to several hurricanes that hit Alabama and neighboring states in 2004 and 2005. Top issues in the race include property appraisals, minimum wage levels and tax cuts.

With the state now enjoying a budget surplus, Riley is pushing for more than $300 million in personal income and business tax cuts to be phased in over five years. Early in his administration, when state revenues were down, Riley had proposed a $1 billion tax plan that would have been the largest tax increase in state history. But voters defeated the proposed increase 2-1 in a special election.

Baxley said she opposes Rileys proposed income tax cuts and prefers that extra state funds go towards education and other government services.

But both candidates favor abolishing annual property appraisals in favor of appraisals every four years. During his tenure, Riley instructed his revenue commissioner to order annual appraisals, a move he said state law required. Baxley has criticized the Riley administration for this, noting that her first business as governor would be to do away with annual appraisals, which she describes as a de facto tax increase on Alabamians.

Baxley is pushing for the state to set a minimum wage of at least a dollar more than the federally mandated rate, now $5.15 an hour. Riley is opposed to a state-mandated increase.

Historic Election Year For Governor's Races

According to an early AP story out on the main debate:

Baxley, Riley Debate Differances On Tax Cuts, Credibility

And of course the Alabama bureau of AP put out this story a couple of days ago, which just struck me as funny.

Washington Scandals Don't Touch Alabama's GOP Governor?

So why have the Washington scandals not touched Bob Riley? Because the pathetically weak Alabama press corps did nothing to investigate the stories. Riley's connections to Bush and his lobbyist cronies have been on public display for any reporter willing to look and connect the dots. Unfortunately, since Sen. John McCain is now courting the conservative base in his obvious run for president in 2008, his staff would not cooperate with our own attempt to investigate all the connections.

So the best we can hope for is a change in the power balance in the U.S. House and Senate.

Also according to the latest polls:

Democrats Hold Double-Digit Lead in Competitive Districts; GOP Troubles Extend into Home Territory

With less than two weeks to go before the midterm elections, the Democrats not only continue to maintain a double-digit advantage nationally, but also lead by the same margin in the competitive districts that will determine which party controls the House of Representatives, according to the latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Nationally, the Democrats hold a 49 percent-38 percent lead among registered voters, and a nearly identical 50 percent-39 percent lead among those voters most likely to cast ballots on Nov. 7.

An oversample of voters in 40 competitive districts - identified by a consensus of political analysts-shows that voting intentions in the battleground districts are about the same as they are in the "safe" House districts. Among registered voters, the Democrats lead by 11 points in competitive districts (50 percent-39 percent) and by the same margin in safe districts (49 percent-38 percent).

Sources in Washington indicate to us that the Senate could end up in a 50/50 split, putting the tying vote on many issues into the hands of Vice President Dick "Shooter" Cheney. What a wonderful prospect.

We will leave you with this final point. It is a point which we tried to get Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley to embrace in the last three weeks of the governor's race, but she was obviously too afraid of being labeled a liberal to reach out to the most intelligent and progressive voters in this state who see no candidates with any creativity at all in their political platforms.

Photo by Glynn Wilson

A ruby-crowned kinglet (regulus calendula) caught in the net during the annual migration bird count across from Fort Morgan, Alabama.

To demonstrate this point, just turn to the group Birders United.

According to estimates from the National Geographic Society, there are 15 million or more voting age Americans who have a serious interest in the welfare of birds. Huge numbers of adults in our country watch birds, feed birds, keep lists of birds, and give large sums of money to organizations that protect bird habitats.

In the United Kingdom the formidable political force of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is frequently compared to the powers of the Teamsters Union in the United States. But most of the millions of bird people in America do not realize that they have the potential voting power to control the outcome of many elections in our country.

This is not just a utopian dream. In recent presidential contests, a swing of just a few thousand votes would have changed the outcome in a number of key states.

For example, if only 270 Republican bird watchers in Florida had shifted their votes in the 2000 presidential election, President Bush would not have won the election. In many states the number of adult bird enthusiasts is so large that an organized bird watcher vote could control the outcome of almost any election.

It is a big mystery to me, and a number of my closest friends, why some people who support conservation efforts continue, for other reasons, to vote Republican.

Hey, if you really think it is more important for a president to bash gays openly than to support sensible public policies on environmental issues, by all means vote Republican. But now that you know there is a such thing as a gay Republican (thanks to the Foley page scandal), maybe it would be worth reconsidering which party you vote for - or if not, why not just consider staying home on election day?

Better yet, go bird watching. Let the rest of us decide...

I will not be happy voting in a church thanks to the Bush Justice Department's policy tearing down the wall between church and state. But I will be voting there anyway. And I will be voting for Ms. Baxley and any other Democrat worth checking on the electronic ballot.

Let's just hope Diebold doesn't steal the elections for all these so-called Christian Republicans. It's not really all that funny what corruption and hypocrisy is supported by some people in the name of Jesus Christ.

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 11:55 PM | Permalink

On a somewhat soft SEC grid schedule this weekend, there are two top games, while the rest of the lineup falls into the interesting-only-if-you-are-a-fan-of-the-school category. The two big games are No. 9 Florida (6-1 overall, 4-1 in league play) at Georgia (6-2, 3-2) and No. 8 Tennessee (6-1, 2-1) at South Carolina (5-2, 3-2).

Most of the pre-game talk in Jacksonville, Fla., where the Florida-Georgia game has been played every season since 1926, has been about the nickname of the game rather than the game itself. In an attempt to spin the reputations of their schools and fans, the University of Georgia and the University of Florida requested the networks broadcasting Saturday’s battle for the Eastern Division lead not to use the games famous moniker – the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Amazingly, CBS and ESPN caved, promising their announcers would refrain from using the nickname and, apparently, to ignore or not mention the copious drinking going on at the famous and prolific tailgate parties prior, during and after the game.

The question at the Tennessee at South Carolina game is: Can Steve Spurrier make it two in a row? Before Spurrier arrived and the Vols lost to the Gamecocks last year, Tennessee owned South Carolina, having won all 12 of their meetings since S.C. joined the SEC. The matchup between the Vols’ pass-happy offense and the Cocks’ tough defense will be interesting to watch. Tennessee, behind AB Erik Ainge, ranks eighth nationally in passing offense, while S.C.’s secondary ranks eighth nationally in passing defense.

Other league games on tap this week include No. 7 Auburn (7-1, 4-1) at Ole Miss (2-6, 1-4), Florida International (0-7) at Alabama (5-3, 2-3), Vanderbilt (3-5) at Duke (0-7), Kentucky (3-4, 1-3) at Mississippi State (2-6, 0-4) and La.-Monroe (1-6) at Arkansas (6-1).

This week’s college football TV schedule kicks off tonight with Texas El-Paso at Tulsa at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Saturday’s weekend TV lineup, other than pay-for-view is as follows:

Oklahoma at Missouri, 11 a.m. (ABC)
Notre Dame at Navy, 11 a.m. (CBS)
N.C. State at Virginia, 11 a.m. (WB)
Michigan St. at Indiana, 11 a.m. (CSS)
Northwestern at Michigan, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Illinois at Wisconsin, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
Northern Ill. at Iowa , 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Auburn at Ole Miss,11:30 a.m. (JEFFERSON PILOT)
BYU at Air Force, 1 p.m. (VS)
Miami at Georgia Tech, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
Georgia at Florida, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
North Texas at Troy, 2:30 p.m. (CSS)
Southern Cal at Oregon, 2:30 p.m. (FSNS)
Wake Forest at N.C., 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Texas at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. (TBS)
Florida St. at Maryland, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
La.-Monroe at Arkansas, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Tennessee at South Carolina, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Editor's Note: Robert Penn Warren's All The King's Men is routinely listed in the top five novels in American literature, although it appears to have dropped off the radar screen of the masses in today's so-called "conservative" TV-driven American culture. It is still available in book stores and worth the read, especially for the middle class and working poor who are often misled by politicians who really do not have their economic interests in mind. It may be "the culture stupid," but the remake of this movie should be at the top of their list to see before the Nov. 7 election.

Movie Website and Trailer

Key Quote: "If you don't vote, you don't matter."

by Henry B. Rosenbush

Charismatic, controversial and mendacious best describes the life of Huey P. Long, whose political career included tenures as railroad commissioner, state senator and finally governor of Louisiana (1928-35). His assassination in the State Capitol building on the evening of September 8, 1935 has historically been attributed to Dr. Carl Weiss, although evidence culled in the 1990s suggests that Dr. Weiss was framed. Trained in law, Long's journey to the gubernatorial mansion was filled with personal corruption, but on the other side, Long brought numerous benefits to his dirt-poor state.

Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer winning novel, All the King's Men was a scathing examination of Populist Southern Governor Willie Stark's rise and fall. The novel inspired four films, the 1949 Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Actor (Broderick Crawford) and Mercedes McCambridge (Supporting Actress), a 1953 version produced by James Cagney, the 1989 Paul Newman version "Blaze," a comedic retelling from the point of view of stripper Blaze Starr, the recent 2006 film with Sean Penn, two made for television adaptations, a TV special, an opera and an excellent Ken Burns documentary in 1987.

While the 1949 film remains the best of the lot the most recent version at least was released during the upcoming election season. It's a shame that this one has slipped quietly away, dropping off the top 50 list last week. Roundly panned by critics (of 134 national reviews it only received 14 positive nods) for myriad reasons; casting numerous Brits in the roles of Southerners, murky subplots, a shaky narrative, well, you get the idea.

I recently viewed the new version with a skeptical eye being a devout fan of the original. Before I continue, however, a brief plot synopsis of the 1949 version.

Willie Stark (Crawford) is first seen as a nave, albeit, persistent irritant to local politicos when arrested for trying to give out hand bills. As narrated by journalist Jack Burden, efficiently portrayed by John Ireland, we see Stark as a poor schmuck in over his head.

Noble in the beginning, he is energized by the realization his warnings of shoddy construction at a local school by a politicians' relative was prescient; a collapsed stairway kills and maims children. He is later tabbed to run for office but unbeknownst to him is really a pawn to split the "hick votes. Once he is made aware of the deception by Ireland and campaign manager Sadie Burke (McCambridge) he gives an impassioned speech to the gathered hicks telling them only a hick will help a hick. After losing, he runs again and finally is elected.

Through a series of machinations of the true Draconian variety, Stark surrounds himself with former enemies and hires Burden, partly because he likes him and appreciated the fair reportage given him by the journo, but mostly due to his abundant background on people that will later lead to betrayal, infidelity suicide, murder and finally assassination.

Stark eventually seduces Burden's erstwhile fiance Anne Stanton (Joanna Dru), her brother, Adam (Sheppard Strudwick) and even her uncle, a powerful judge. Although both the 1949 and 2006 versions include some subplots that detract slightly, the impetus is the same; Stark keeps his promises to build new roads, schools, hospitals and the financing of numerous building projects. All this is done at a high price. Although enigmatic at times, Stark's demise is predictable, and his assassination at the film's conclusion leaves the survivors with enough intense distress that even Dr. Phil wouldn't be able to solve their dilemmas.

The 2006 version updates the action from the 1940s to the 1950s, jettisons subplots from the earlier film concerning his cuckolding, an alcoholic son, a murder and the comeuppance of some former enemies. It does have its own subplots, one concerning the judge's own corrupt background, which was an important link in the novel.

Credit is due to director Steven Zaillian for an earnest attempt at a political statement that unfortunately wasn't seen by the mass audience he intended to view his film.

Tech credits were fine down the line, but I was amused at the choice of actors Jude Law, Kate Winslet, both Brits, and Anthony Hopkins (Welsh) portraying southerners; their accents often slipping through.

A major subplot added is that of Sugar Boy, the stuttering driver of Stark who is seen target practicing, perhaps as dj vu for the ending when he kills the assassin. The poorest perf comes from Mark Ruffalo as Adam, the idealistic doctor and brother of Anne, who kills Stark as revenge for orchestrating the judge's suicide. In top form, however, is Sean Penn, a talented left-coast actor, whose political views are certainly a nuance to his presentation of Stark. His impassioned speeches before enthralled voters strike a chord with today's voters who have to make serious changes in our government this November.

A key scenario in ATKM that should not be lost today is "If you don't vote, you don't matter. As with the fictionalized Stark, who knew to remain in power meant controlling the hearts, minds and anger of his constituency, we, too, must vote, but in today's world, with intelligence and apprehension.

Do we want a government that continues to ignore the ills facing us in this country or remain ignorant to the impact on the world stage? Apathy will not solve the issues we face. Not voting is madness, not unlike that of the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland. We have the power to influence next month's elections before we're so far down the rabbit hole that we are buried for another four years.

Editor's Note: While we went into this movie skeptical of the casting of Sean Penn as Willie Stark (Huey Long), he is one of the finest actors working today and pulled off the role in a convincing way. It is too bad that this movie seems to be almost totally off the radar screen of the direct descendants of the populists who would find this movie appealing - if the mainstream corporate media were in a position to point it out to them.

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 10:31 AM | Permalink

Photo by Glynn Wilson

Peak autumn color photos from the Catawba River in Marion, North Carolina.

by Glynn Wilson

MARION, N.C., Oct. 22 - It was about 3 p.m. Eastern Time when I finally got the boat in the water after a buffet lunch downtown in what used to be an old hotel back in prohibition days. With the gear all loaded up for what was supposed to be a two or three hour meandering float, I got about 10 yards down the Catawba River and hit the first shallow shoals and the strongest current from Highway 70 to Lake James.

Before I could get my dumbass fully oriented to the strange stream that should have been a cake walk in a canoe, I got tangled in the current next to several downed trees in the water. In other words, I busted my ass and got wet.

But did I pull out and give up? Not a chance.

I grabbed the dry bag with the digital camera and other crucial supplies inside, including a dry lighter and the inspiration, along with one of the two paddles. And with only one boat shoe left, I turned the canoe over on a log and got all the water out then shoved off into mid-stream and took off.

For the first mile and a half it was nip and tuck and stay on your toes and paddle and steer over the shoals in the fast current and around the snake-like bends in the river.

Twice I had to lift my weight off the seat and scoot over the rocks, keeping the canoe straight all along to avoid getting turned sidways in the current. Once I had to put my right foot out of the boat (the one with the rubber water shoe) and push off to get going again.

The first wildlife I encountered was what I call an ugly duck. It was black with a white face and this gnarly red thing on its head, sort of like a chicken. If it wasn't so late, I would Google the species and provide a link. Ugly sucker. He floated along with us for awhile.

When the river finally slowed down enough to relax and break out the camera, two pairs of mallards took off in front of us on every turn, along with a couple of great blue herons. It was as if we were chasing the fish down stream into their path.

At one point we (the boat and me) scared off a cooper's hawk and a great blue fishing the same hole.

Two river otters showed up on the trip. The second one came running down a beach and dove into the water in front of the boat, then aimed his head in the water right at me and started complaining like a damn squirrel. Not knowing if he might try to jump in the boat and get personal, I stopped taking pictures and started paddling. He went down and swam under the boat, then came out behind me with a splash. But when I tried to make a stream u-eee, he disappeared.

At the downstream end of one of the campgrounds along the river, a German shepherd dove in and chased me down stream for a ways. He couldn't keep up.

As the river got wider and deeper and slowed down and got closer to the lake, the bends became covered in autumn color, yellow, gold and red, with some left-over green mixed in. It was hard to keep paddling, even knowing the sun was going down by 7 p.m. and even soaking wet from the cold Blue Ridge mountain water.

These are only a couple of the more than 200 photos. Now if only I could get this slide show function in Adobe Photoshop to work, I could show you them all

The trains are still running through the pass, but the wind has picked up and it's growing almost too cold for the smoking porch. Guess I'll knock back one more Yuengling (yes, they even sell it in Marion, but not in the grocery store since it's a semi-dry county) and kick back with Cody the dog for the night.

On Monday, the plan is to mine for gold and shoot aerial photos of the peak color from a small airplane. If it looks from the air anything like what it looked like in a van on the Blue Ridge Parkway or a canoe on the Catawba River, it's about the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in nature.

And that includes the beach in October...

Photo by Glynn Wilson

The Catawba River is the place to be this time of year, if you chase art on water...

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 08:29 AM | Permalink

Sample Ballot

NORTH LITTLE ROCK (Oct. 23) - Election season, not exactly my favorite time of the year, arrived today with the polls opening for early voting.

Honestly, I'm ready for it to be over. My friend Zac Wright works as campaign spokesman for the Mike Beebe campaign for governor. We've promised to catch up after the election so he can meet my wife since he's now living in Arkansas. It's been too busy for us to catch up so far; that's OK. I'd rather talk about something other than politics anyway.

Not that I'm immune to the political season. I already know who I'm voting for in the Congressional midterm elections, and I've gone out of my way to be prepared for the gubernatorial election. I wrote an article on the first Independent candidate to make the Arkansas ballot since 1940. I personally watched the first debate between Rod Bryan and Green Party candidate Jim Lendall. I skipped my favorite TV shows to watch the third debate between Democrat Mike Beebe and Republican Asa Hutchinson, and the last debate between Bryan and Lendall on AETN. I've researched my ballot about as much as I can, and I've listened to the crazy attacks on television ads as we inch closer to the Nov. 7 election.

I realize most people think we live in a democracy, when it's actually a republic. You only get a democratic vote in state and local elections such as these. If you choose to waste the privileges of citizenship, you shouldn't bitch when things don't turn out as planned.

I know I'm going to be out of town teaching in Monticello on Election Day, so I decided to vote early. Compared to my first time, everything can be found online before you even vote.

I'd seen information about it the night before on KARK Channel 4 news, so I went to its Web site to see what I could find. Sure enough, there's the story on "Early Voting Starts Monday," which contained a link to the Pulaski County Election Commission.

At the PCEC site, I first decided to see what the ballot would look like. The link to "See Your Election Day Ballot" took me to the Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk's Web site, which asked for my name and date of birth. After I typed it in, the following screen shows my voter ID number, when I last voted, my name, date of birth, address, polling place, school district, school zone, city limit, city ward, Congressional district, judicial district, district court, state representative, state senator, jp district, precinct split and political party. You can also find similar information at the Secretary of State's "Voter View" Web site.

I clicked on the red ballot box and a pdf file appeared with the "Official Ballot General Election" information and a big red SAMPLE stamp diagonally crossing the page. Though I knew of most issues on the ballot, I didn't realize everything I'm able to vote for or against this election. I'm happy I can take a few minutes more to look at everything before going to the polls.

In this election, I get to vote for a U.S. Congressman, state positions comprising governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, attorney general, state land commissioner and state representative; county positions comprising the county judge, county sheriff and circuit county clerk; a "constable hill township?", city alderman and ordinance to require one-fourth of the 1 percent sales and use tax to be used for financing capital improvements; a butt-load of unopposed candidates; Referred Question No. 1 (aka Act 1), which would use bonds to help higher education; and a proposed Constitutional Amendment to allow charity bingo and raffles. I printed a copy just so I could take a closer look without the text breaking up as I scrolled down the screen.

So I went back to the PCEC site and clicked on "Early Voting Information," which brought up another pdf file. I found out I could go to the Pulaski County Courthouse in downtown Little Rock, or just hop down to Laman Library in North Little Rock. I need some books, so I think the library will be just fine. BTW, for the first time I've seen the PCEC site, I'm impressed with the wealth of information that I didn't even know existed. It's a good thing I have a local television station, KARK, that's intent on serving local news.

Laman Library

It takes maybe 10 minutes to drive from my house to the library. About 2:30 p.m., I got out and walked in to vote. I sat down to, once again, give my name and address on a piece of paper that verified I wanted to vote early. I took this paper to a lady who entered my information into a computer. While she entered data, I asked how many people had voted early and was told about 185 -- not bad for the first day of voting.

I walked over to the electronic voting machines and listened intently as the poll worker gave instructions on how to operate them. I asked if I could take pictures and she said no. So I asked if I could talk with someone after I voted. Since I'd already reviewed the issues, it took maybe two minutes to go through the four-page ballot, which was backed up on a paper ballot on the left-hand side of the machine.

Voting Machines at Laman Library

"That's good," I replied with a grin.

I left the library, jumped back in the truck and made it back to the house within 15 minutes of leaving. On the way back, I started thinking about some of the craziness within politics, e.g. one of the gubernatorial attack ads called Beebe "dangerously liberal" because he voted to raise taxes. As a witness to Ronald Reagan's contaminating the word "liberal" in the 1980s, I know what the attackers mean, but thought it'd be interesting to see how degradation transforms a word. In my 1980s Webster's Dictionary (Second College Edition), the published definitions perplexed me:

1. originally suitable for a free man; not restricted
   
2. giving freely; generous
   
3. large or plentiful; ample, abundant; e.g. a liberal reward
   
4. not restricted to the literal meaning, e.g. a liberal interpretation of the Bible
   
5. tolerant of views differing from one's own; broad-minded
   
6. of democratic and republican forms of government, as distinguished from monarchies and aristorcracies
   
7. favoring reform or progress, as in religion, education; specifically, favoring reforms tending toward democracy and personal freedom for the individual; progressive

Hmm ... I don't see anything about yellow-bellied carpet-baggin' tax-lovin' scum in that definition; there's not even one word about being a menace to society. Many of those attributes can be found in people educated either academically or through the school of hard knocks. So what's with a "dangerously liberal" charge?

Realizing my dictionary contains 26-year-old definitions, I continued my quest by visiting m-w.com, home of Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. Here I found the following definition:

1. a : of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts (liberal education) b archaic : of or befitting a man of free birth
   
2. a : marked by generosity : OPENHANDED (a liberal giver) b : given or provided in a generous and openhanded way (a liberal meal) c : AMPLE, FULL
   
3. obsolete : lacking moral restraint : LICENTIOUS
   
4. : not literal or strict : LOOSE (a liberal translation)
   
5. : BROAD-MINDED; especially : not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or traditional forms
   
6. a : of, favoring, or based upon the principles of liberalism b capitalized : of or constituting a political party advocating or associated with the principles of political liberalism; especially : of or constituting a political party in the United Kingdom associated with ideals of individual especially economic freedom, greater individual participation in government, and constitutional, political, and administrative reforms designed to secure these objectives

Even though some of the definitions changed ever-so-slightly, and an effort has been made to point out the political party affiliation in England, nothing seems vile here. Perhaps I had been mistaken. In the vein of Ronald Reagan, I always thought liberal meant someone who wanted to kill babies and throw money out the window. It's funny how things can be interpreted and framed.

Just a week or so ago, my mom asked me if I considered myself liberal or conservative. I should have known better than to fall into the black-and-white trap laid before me, but I answered "liberal" in answer to her question. The look on her face was priceless, as she avowed I had been raised in a conservative family. But I realized today that I'd lied to my mother by calling myself "liberal" in a moment of speaking before thinking.

As noted before, I vote on the person. Had you looked over my shoulder today, you would have found I refused to vote on party lines. I take seriously the charge of being an informed voter rather than being a "private person," as citizens once scoffed when talking of people who fail to take their duties seriously.

I should have named myself "progressive" as I vote for people with long-term solutions to problems facing us. I'm "progressive" in that I realize education is the only thing that will bring Arkansas (flailing and kicking perhaps) into the 21st century. I'm "progressive" in thinking we need to stop arguing about "if" climate change is happening, and instead start discussing what we can do to minimize the effects. I'm "progressive" in believing people should know what they're voting for before they get to the polls. I'm "progressive" in getting out to vote in a mid-term election rather than sitting on my hands and hoping things will turn out OK.

And if you want to take that as I think people who don't do these things might be "regressive," well ... a Southerner shall not stoop so low as to call others names. If their actions speak louder than words, I cannot help them.

Apologies to Zendik -- I couldn't go for the communal groove of the organization, but I dig its bumper sticker. I cut it up so I can keep track of the recent elections I've attended.

Posted by Ron Sitton at 03:51 PM | Permalink

The SEC spotlight will shine on Rocky Top this weekend as 5-2 (2-2 in league games) Alabama invades No. 7 (or 8 depending on which poll you like) Tennessee (5-1, 1-1).

Overall, it’s a ho-hum lineup for SEC teams, with no other league team facing a ranked opponent. But there’s enough intensity, rivalry and drama in the game in Knoxville for an entertaining Saturday.

The Tide and Vols first locked horns on Nov. 18, 1901, and after four quarters of play, nothing had been decided with that first meeting ending in a 0-0 tie and 2,000 fans on the field at Tuscaloosa fighting. The two teams have met on the third Saturday in October every year since 1928 except 1943 during World War II.

The game has always served as a measuring stick for the two teams. Legendary Tennessee coach Gen. Bob Neyland, for whom the stadium in which the game will be played Saturday is named, always said the stiffest test for his team was when it played Alabama. Bama’s Coach Bear Bryant said, “We never know what kind of team we have until we play Tennessee.”

That is the case this year with both teams coming into the game with winning records but many question marks. The rap on Alabama is that it wins against creampuff opponents but can’t beat quality foes. Tennessee has been erratic, looking good for parts of games and bad in others.

Tennessee comes into the game ranked eighth nationally in passing offense and Vol QB Erik Ainge’s passer efficiency rating leads the SEC and ranks seventh in the nation.

One interesting statistical anomaly that will be interesting to see how it plays out will come when Alabama gets a first down inside the Vol 20. Alabama has been miserable in red zone situations this year, having to settle for a field goal most of the time and often not making them. But Tennessee is just as futile in defending the red zone. Vol opponents have scored all 13 times they’ve reached the red zone – nine TDs, four field goals.

While everyone expects Tennessee to mount an aerial attack, the question is will Alabama go to its running game to try and melt the clock, shorten the game and keep the potent Tennessee offense off the field? Or will the Tide lean on its passing game to move the ball. Bama QB John Parker Wilson has racked up seven-straight 200-yard-plus passing games.

Other league games on tap this week include Tulane (2-4) at No. 8 Auburn, Ole Miss (2-5) at No. 15 Arkansas (5-1), Mississippi State (2-5) at Georgia (5-2), South Carolina (4-2) at Vanderbilt (3-4) and Fresno State (1-5) at No. 14 LSU (5-2).

This week’s college football TV schedule kicks off tonight, Friday, with
West Virginia at Connecticut at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Saturday’s weekend TV lineup, other than pay-for-view is as follows:

Texas at Nebraska, 11 a.m. (ABC)
North Carolina St. at Maryland, 11 a.m. (WB)
Michigan State at Northwestern, 11 a.m. (CSS)
Wisconsin at Purdue, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Illinois at Penn State, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
Indiana at Ohio State, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
UCLA at Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m. (NBC)
Boston College at FSU, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
Alabama at Tennessee, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
Tennessee State at Jacksonville State, 2:30 p.m. (CSS)
Washington at California, 2:30 p.m. (FSN)
TCU at Army, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
North Texas at Arkansas St., 6 p.m. (CSS)
Colorado at Oklahoma, 6 p.m. (FSN)
Rutgers at Pitt, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
Southern Miss at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Georgia Tech at Clemson, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)
Fresno State at LSU, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 02:32 PM | Permalink

by Ronald Sitton

I watched a lot of college football Saturday while listening to Arkansas getting extra practice in its 63-7 thrashing of Southeast Missouri State. I'll get to that later. I present the Top 10 things that interested me during my procrastination Saturday:

1) Where's the brotherly love in the Southeastern Conference? Week after week, the unbeatens fall in a league full of bullies. With the Bowl Championship Series rankings released Sunday, No. 4 Auburn (AP-8, Harris-7, USA Today-7, CPUs-5) seems to be in the conference driver seat with No. 6 Florida (AP-9, Harris-9, USA Today-10, CPUs-4) nipping at their heels. Auburn gets a non-conference match-up against Tulane and Florida gets to take the week off to think about its championship aspirations. To get to the National Championship, the SEC needs some other conferences to start practicing the same brotherly love or we'll never know if the SEC reigns as the supreme conference until we get a playoff ... maybe in my grandkid's lifetime.

2) No. 11 Tennessee (AP-7, Harris-8, USA Today-9, CPUs-12) looks forward to playing at home on CBS against an Alabama team seemingly not as tough as they used to be. My alma mater roughed up Georgia last week in the second half before taking this week to heal some wounds. Alabama won its first overtime game in the Mike Shula era and celebrated as such. I don't think they'll be celebrating as much next weekend. Since David Cutcliffe returned to Tennessee, the Volunteers think their offense will win any given Saturday. I look for the Vols passing game to fly by the Bama ground game.

3) This week's Lincoln Financial Game of the Week between No. 13 Arkansas and Ole Miss looks a lot feistier than it did prior to this weekend. After Auburn took out its misery on Florida, Arkansas (AP-15, Harris-17, USA Today-18, CPUs-8) remained as the only team unbeaten in league play (having given up the non-conference opener with five turnovers to Southern California, which also looked beatable yesterday). The Rebels gave Alabama fits until falling in overtime. Most likely Brent Schaeffer will try to exploit Arkansas' secondary. Even so, I don't see the Rebels slowing down the Hogs' running backs, a position that's become so crowded maybe Houston Nutt will see the logic of moving Peyton Hillis to linebacker to build depth. Maybe ... not likely.

4) My Cajun friends should party next weekend almost as much as they did after making Kentucky feel like a division II team. While Kentucky licks its wounds this weekend, No. 18 LSU (AP-14, Harris-14, USA Today-14, CPUs-21) goes out of conference when hosting Fresno State on ESPN2. The Tigers need to enjoy the game as the conference schedule could be a killer down the stretch. Luckily for the Tigers, the New Orleans Saints are taking some pressure off by moving to 5-1 with Sunday’s win against Philadelphia. I love college football, but it's great to see good things happening to a NFL team that went through hell and back last year.

5) Vanderbilt seems ready to make the step from league laugher to perennial dark-horse spoiler. Bobby Johnson finally convinced the team to believe they could play every weekend with the big boys of the Southeastern Conference. Vandy won its first game against a ranked team since 1992, its first game against a ranked team on the road since 1950 (vs. Alabama in Mobile) and its only game at a ranked opponent's home field. Only good teams go into Athens to shock the Bulldogs. Vandy's Johnson manages a good game; it's just a matter of time before he leads them to a bowl, maybe even this year. Arkansas' win over the Commodores seems more impressive every week, even if it was luck. Vandy gets a home game against South Carolina this week. Betcha Coach Steve Spurrier won't have to warn the Gamecocks about Vandy this week.

6) I feel for Georgia, which fell out of the AP poll for the first time since September 2001 in Mark Richt's first season. But they need to quit feeling sorry for themselves or Mississippi State may continue the shock in the battle of the Bulldogs this week. MSU's Mike Henig returned to lead the Bulldogs for the first time since suffering a broken collarbone against South Carolina. Granted, the win came against a division II team (as did Arkansas'), but maybe the team is finally buying into Sylvester Groom's plan. I'll take five touchdowns any Saturday against any team.

7) In non-SEC football, I watched Texas A&M handle previously undefeated Missouri in a Big 12 match-up. The Aggies finally played up to the standard set by those teams Jackie Sherrill coached when Arkansas filled the northeast corner of the Southwest Conference instead of the northwest corner of the SEC. Even though he's 5-1 this year, I still cannot understand why Dennis Franchione left Alabama for Texas A&M. Why go 16-19 in his first two years when he had the Crimson Tide competing for championships even with bowl sanctions? It wasn't like Alabama took sanctions as hard as Arkansas did the last two years. Maybe he lost enough during his first two years as an Aggie that he’ll stick around College Station for awhile.

OK, I'm cheating here, but this week's homecoming feel-good celebration by Arkansas got me thinking about three things:

8) Why didn't Lou Holtz get Keith Jackson to come to Arkansas in the 1980s? I think it cost Holtz his job at Arkansas. Oklahoma hardly threw the ball in the option, yet Jackson still ran rough-shod over everybody when he did catch the ball. The Razorback Nation said Holtz could not recruit Arkansans, and Jackson became the poster-child of that sentiment. Fast-forward 20 years and Jackson got to feel the love he seldom got as a Pine Bluff superstar in his home state when his son, Keith Jackson Jr., intercepted a pass and
rambled 69 yards for a touchdown. The defensive tackle won the annual Crip Hall Award for the outstanding senior in the homecoming game, and dad gets to bask in the glow.

9) Wally Hall made the sports fan in me want to vote for Mike Beebe after he claimed Beebe would try to get the legislature to force the Razorbacks to schedule in-state schools like Beebe's alma mater, Arkansas State. I don't believe I care for the politickin' of a sports columnist -- he could have asked the other candidates what they'd do -- and I vote based on real issues. But I begrudgingly agree with Mr. Hall that an in-state good would have been more entertaining than Arkansas vs. SEMO. The Indians threw a Hail Mary pass to beat the University of Memphis, making more than one sportscaster call it one of the most important wins in school history. It just makes sense that UA v. ASU would keep Arkansas money within the state rather than having it trickle out. But in all honesty, we'll see a college football playoff before we see the Razorbacks play the Indians.

10) With Adrian Peterson suffering a season-ending injury in Oklahoma's win, the Heisman seems headed to Ohio State's Troy Smith, barring injury or the collapse of OSU. So why would Houston Nutt put a bigger bulls-eye on Darren McFadden by saying D-Mac should be considered for the Heisman this year? I know Nutt coached on the Oklahoma State teams when Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders played, but why set your player up to fail? I'm not doubting McFadden's ability, just the common sense exhibited by the Head Hog when he's been lucky to get to 5-1 and he just came off a win against a Division II team whose coach had given up the game before he ever got on the bus.

Nutt best hope that D-Mac doesn't get hurt, and that the Razorbacks get through October unscathed, or the nay-sayers will be back in chorus.

Posted by Ron Sitton at 09:56 AM | Permalink

Photo by Glynn Wilson

A couple of migrating monarch butterflies (danaus plexippus) feeding on the wide variety of plants in the Ft. Walton Beach Ramada Inn gardens. Read our previous story about the migration in The Southerner magazine.

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 07:23 PM | Permalink

by Paul Rockne

For the second weekend in a row, the SEC spotlight will be shining on the undefeated Florida Gators (6-0, 4-0 in SEC), ranked No. 2 in the land after their win over LSU last Saturday. The “gator bait” this Saturday (6:45 p.m. on ESPN) will be provided courtesy of the Auburn Tigers (5-1, 3-1).

It should be interesting with both team ranked in the Top 25 – Florida taking over the No. 2 spot vacated by Auburn when it was upset by Arkansas last week. The Tigers fell to No. 11. The Gators will be wanting to prove they deserve their new lofty ranking and to stay in the hunt for the national championship. Auburn will be desperate to keep from dropping even lower on the college football ladder and knowing an upset win would increase its stock several fold.

Auburn’s run defense was decimated by Arkansas last week and the Gators had to have been paying attention. This could mean those watching will see more of freshman quarterback Tim Tebow. Senior QB Chris Leak is the starter and acknowledged leader on the Florida squad, but Tebow has proven to be a potent weapon running the ball. When it is a third – or fourth – and short situation, the Gators bring in Tebow to run for the first down. And he always comes through. For the season, Tebow is just 10-for-14 passing for a meger 152 yards – Leak is 101-for-156 for 1,395 yards and 14 touchdowns. On the ground however, Tebow has run 41 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns.

Auburn’s home record against the Gators is 24-8-1 and the Tigers have won eight of the past nine meetings. But Florida will be out for revenge for the last defeat on the Plains. In 2001, homestanding Auburn upset then ranked No. 1 Florida 23-20.

Another trend seemingly in Auburn’s favor – the last time Florida was No. 2, also in 2001, in the AP poll, it lost its next game to Tennessee.

The Alabama-Ole Miss matchup in Tuscaloosa is another game that will be watched closely. The Tide will be wanting to up its overall mark to 5-2 and improve its league record to 2-2.

With Ken Darby having his first 100-yard game of the season last week in the win over Duke, Bama is hoping the running game will get back on track. If not, things are not lost however. The Tide receiving duo of DJ Hall and Keith Brown are ringing up big number and the passing attack has been what has moved the ball for the Tide so far this year. Bama averages 231 yards per game through the air and just 136 on the ground so far this year.

Ole Miss (4-2, 1-2) Coach Ed Orgeron, whose background is on the defensive side, believes his defense has the measure of the Tide offense and expects to stop the Bama running game cold. He has predicted a game like last year’s 13-10 defensive battle. If so, look for Bama QB John Parker Wilson to make the difference.

Other league games on tap this week include Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-3) at No. 16 Georgia, Arkansas (4-1) hosting SE Missouri State, Mississippi State (1-5) hosting Jacksonville (Alabama) State, and Kentucky (3-3, 1-2) at LSU (4-2, 1-2).

This week’s college football TV schedule kicks off tonight, Friday, with Pittsburga at Central Florida at 7 p.m. on ESPN2). Saturday’s weekend TV lineup, other than pay-for-view is as follows:

Purdue at Northwestern, 11 a.m. (CSS)
Minnesota at Wisconsen, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Iowa at Indiana, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
South Florida at North Carolina, 11:00 a.m. (ESPNU)
Vanderbilt at Georgia, 11:30 a.m. (UPN)
Iowa State at Oklahoma, 11:30 p.m. (FSS)
Missouri at Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
Ole Miss at Alabama, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
Cincinnati at Louisville, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Baylor at Auburn, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Ohio State at Penn State, 7p.m. (ABC)

Posted by Ron Sitton at 07:12 PM | Permalink

Contact your legislators and keep the media from becoming more consolidated than it already is.

http://preservelocaltv.com

Posted by Ron Sitton at 03:22 PM | Permalink

by Ronald Sitton

Getting away from a bad habit, the Arkansas Razorbacks made sure they didn't draw a blank this October. Because of inspired play, they wrapped up the Alabama championship for only the third time since joining the Southeastern Conference. I'd like to thank Houston Nutt and his men for making me look psychic.

The Arkansas Razorbacks made a statement to the SEC West, and the schedule looks favorable for a possible division championship, especially since LSU also lost to drop two games back in the race. Arkansas improves to 6-9-1 against Auburn, while Nutt now holds a 5-4 advantage against Auburn and Tommy Tuberville.

Today, Frank Broyles looks like a genius for keeping Nutt from running to Nebraska or LSU. Nutt looks like a genius for hiring Gus Malzahn, the "high school" offensive genius who brought the verticle passing game back to the hills. Malzahn looks like a genius for protecting his freshman quarterback and running two backs for more than 100 yards apiece, i.e. the same plan some critics crucified Nutt for following.

It's amazing what 3-0 in the SEC will do to those critics.

In fact, the only criticism worthy of leveling at Nutt would be why didn't he put in the second-team after Jeremy Davis' field goal put the Hogs up three scores? I'm sure Casey Dick and Michael Smith could use some more game experience in front of a hostile crowd. I'm also curious if maybe we can move Peyton Hillis to linebacker since he's only touching the ball twice a game anyway.

Nutt's biggest problem will be keeping the team focused. I watched an 8-0 Razorback team fumble the game away to Tennessee in Knoxville in 1998, then fumble the outright championship the following week to Mississippi State. While Nutt couldn't keep Clint Stoerner from stumbling (NOTE: Instant replay today would have shown the ground caused the fumble), he should have kept the team focused enough to beat one of Jackie Sherrill's last great football teams.

Razorback fans will expect big nonconference wins against the likes of Southeast Missouri State and Louisiana Monroe. I say forget scoring big for the polls. Let's get the reserves experience for the long haul. Let's find some depth at linebacker, even looking at Hillis on the Reggie Herring's side of the ball.

Ole Miss provides the third home game of the month, sandwiched between SMSU and ULM. The Hogs hold a 28-23-1 advantage over the Rebels, with Nutt owning a 5-3 record during his tenure. Ole Miss always plays the Razorbacks tough; who can ever forget the seven-overtime classic with Matt Jones at the helm? Though I expect a win, the game should keep the team sharp.

BTW, I read about Mitch Mustain and his high school exploits for three years. I knew he'd be something special in time. But honestly, who thought a freshman quarterback could go undefeated in his first four starts, especially since two of the wins came as SEC road games? If this keeps up, people will start asking "Matt Who?"

Posted by Ron Sitton at 01:54 PM | Permalink

by Paul Rockne

When two of the top 10 teams in the nation, both undefeated, go head to head, it’s always a big game and that’s the case this Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla. In what is the showcase game of the SEC this week and one of the top games nationally as well, No. 9 LSU invades The Swamp to take on Coach Urban Meyers’ No. 5 Florida Gators.

LSU will be trying to beat Florida three straight seasons for the first time since 1980 and it will be counting on a stingy defense to get the job done. The Bayou Tigers are ranked No 1 in total defense and No. 2 in scoring defense – in the nation as well as the SEC.

Those ranking should be challenged by the Gators. Florida ranks first in the SEC in total offense, led by quarterback Chris Leak, who is now executing Meyer’s spread option offense with high efficiency.

LSU’s game plan will be to do what it did last year – put a hurtin’ on Leak, thus crippling the Gator offense. The Tigers came close to completely shutting Leak down in last year’s 21-17 LSU victory, sacking him four times and harassing him into an 11-for-30 passing day for a career-low 106 yards.

LSU has also vowed to be a little more air-minded on offense. With its offense somewhat limited in early games by Coach Les Miles’ stubbornness about running the ball regardless of the situation, the 7-3 loss to Auburn changed some minds – including Miles.

Miles said earlier this week that while it was a painful and costly way to learn, LSU had learned its lesson and it was a learning experience that will pay dividends down the road – in other words, if you’ve got a quarterback like JaMarcus Russell (who hails from Mobile), use him.

Another big game this week in the SEC pits No. 13 Tennessee against No. 10 Georgia in Athens. This game will keep Tennessee in the East Division picture with a win or eliminate the Vols early with a loss. Some good news for Tennessee: the Vols lead the series 7-5 when both teams are ranked in the top 25.

Alabama should easily improve to 4-2 Saturday as the Tide hosts inept Duke. The Tide is such a big favorite that the game is not on TV except for pay-for-view. Bama is a 28 point favorite.
This week’s college football TV schedule kicks off tonight, Friday, with Louisville vs. Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. on ESPN2). Saturday’s weekend TV lineup, other than pay-for-view is as follows:

Arkansas at Auburn, 11 a.m. (CBS)
Clemson at Wake Forest, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Purdue at Iowa, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Texas A&M at Kansas, 11:30 a.m. (FOXSS)
VMI at Army, 11:30 a.m. (ESPNCLASSIC)
Stanford at Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m. (NBC)
Washington at Southern Cal, 2:30 pp.m. (FOXSS)
Texas at Oklahoma, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
LSU at Florida, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
Bowling Green at Ohio State, 2:20 p.m. (CSS)
Maryland at Georgia Tech, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Michigan State at Michigan, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Furman at Coastal Carolina, 6 p.m. (CSS)
South Carolina at Kentucky, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
Central Michigan at Toledo, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Missouri at Texas Tech, 6 p.m. (TBS)
Tennessee at Georgia, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)
Oregon at California, 7 p.m. (ABC)

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 11:15 AM | Permalink

You can't fake it. If you're gonna make it you've gotta live it.
- Hank Williams Jr.

by Glynn Wilson

There is no way to escape it. It is too late. America is a car country, especially in the American South.

This fact hit me in a traffic jam at the Alabama-Georgia line the other day while I was driving the Chevy van from Birmingham to Atlanta to buy a used Macintosh laptop computer from a woman in Buckhead.

I wrote a cover story for The Southerner magazine about this during the summer of 1999 after researching the issue for a chapter in a Sociology textbook: The War on Sprawl.

I have made a point of living in places where you can walk to a neighborhood store and ride a bike along the water, including Gulf Shores, Alabama, where I used to ride every day along the Gulf of Mexico. In Knoxville, Tennessee, I used to ride along the Tennessee River. In New Orleans, for almost four years I rode along the great Mississippi every day and even shopped at a Whole Foods store on Magazine Street, using a backpack for a grocery bag.

But for most people in this country, walking or biking is just not an option. Our living spaces are organized into sprawling suburbs with no significant mass transit. So the only way to get around is in a car.

Not surprisingly, people come to love their machines like they do their pets. They name them, and who can blame them?

I love my Chevy van, especially when I can get the canoe on top and the Cannondale in the back and head off for some adventure without having to fly commercial.

The Eisenhower administration first started building the Interstate highway system for defense purposes in the 1950s. Now it has become the primary travel route for moving people around the country for work and play.

So it was inevitable that "the road" made its way into the American arts, literature and folklore.

Willie Nelson is perhaps most famous for the song "On The Road Again." He was recently arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for smoking pot on the road in his tour bus. The fact that a musician can get away with that in Bush's America of 2006 is cool for us Baby Boomers who came of age in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the coolness of classic rock and pot were at their zenith.

It is also inevitable that Americans love older cars. The antique car movement in America is almost as big as religion itself.

America is also a country of technology, where Apple computers and the Internet were invented. Americans tend to love their computers. I'm no different. I love my Mac. And I am not enamored of new computers any more than I am drawn to new SUVs.

The best era for the American automobile came in the late 1950s and lasted until the early '70s, when rising gas prices and technology began to favor the smaller cars made by the Japanese.

The best era for personal computing occurred from about 1996 to 2006. It is going to be downhill from here, because the corporate bastards are taking over the business and making it harder for the little guy to break through.

So it should come as no surprise that I tend to use a car metaphor to describe why I just bought a seven year old Mac G3 Powerbook instead of something newer. I love the way it drives, like car aficionados may swoon for the 1973 Mustang.

When I talk to computer geeks about this, I have to preface my remarks with the statement: "I know I'm driving a '73 Mustang. But hey, I like driving a G3 and building Web pages with the fat version of Simpletext that holds a bold command and allows me to see what I'm doing amongst all the gibberish computer code."

They understand exactly what I'm saying, if the average non-computer geek doesn't.

It may not be possible to continue driving a computer of this era much longer, although seeing all the '73 Mustangs still on the road gives me some hope. Where do they find parts for their old machines? Someone's making them.

The thing about this machine business is that we use the best machines to do something, either for work or entertainment or both. You have to have tools in this world to do what you are meant to do. A crappy car or a shitty computer just doesn't get it.

Back in The Bunker Saturday night, I ran across a special on the Country Music channel with Kid Rock playing alongside Hank Williams Jr. They sang a song about the road called Hamburger Steak Holiday Inn. It is a song about the road, and has a message for would be musicians who buy cheap guitars and play all by themselves on the side of the road and never learn to finish a song.

I take this message to be just as true in journalism or politics. Some people think they can fake it and make it. George Bush comes to mind, along with most of the corporate PR press.

If you are reading this far you must understand it. You are looking for alternatives to the fake journalism and fake politics that passes for understanding in Bush's America.

We are doing our best to put together the tools we need to provide that alternative and gear it up even more in the coming months.

Like Hank sings, "You can't fake it. If you're gonna make it you've gotta live it."

We ain't faking it folks. It may not be making us rich, but the way we live and work is rich in experience. We are determined to live it - and make it. So come on along for the ride...

Posted by Glynn Wilson at 01:05 PM | Permalink