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Jimmy Carter will be irreplaceable
What could have been my toughest UGA assignment turned out to be the easiest. My task was to get all seven 1970 Democratic gubernatorial candidates to participate in a political forum, and then I would moderate the event. My top targets were former governor Carl Sanders and Jimmy Carter, a peanut-farming former state senator from […]
Georgia Power got the ‘gold mine’ … we got the ‘shaft’
The headline read: “Southern Co. reports huge rise in profits.” The subhead reported: “$1.1 billion jump noted despite big financial hit from Vogtle delays.” I am not against seeing Georgia Power or its parent, the Southern Company, make ample money. Profits are essential for staying in business. And in their case, keeping investors happy. The […]
Okefenokee tug-o-war is long way from over
The opposing sides are not barefoot on Jekyll Island’s beach, but there’s a definite line drawn in the sand. Feet are dug in, and muscles are straining. On one side is an Alabama mining company and its fleet of high-powered lobbyists. Pulling the other way are millions of nature-loving Georgians who want to thwart Twin […]
Environmental ‘ignorance’ isn’t bliss
True or false: “Ignorance is bliss”? If that was true, I was blissfully ignorant—nestled in my Strand Theater seat—watching cowboy-and-Indian movies during my boyhood Saturdays. And how many times, in backyard play, did you choose to be a cowboy rather than an Indian? Hollywood’s filmmakers influenced us to make that decision. Years later, I realized […]
Candidates ignore the environment
If you wish the Nov. 8 election was over, raise your hand. Careful. Don’t throw your shoulder out of joint raising your hand. The only ones not eager to see the bickering and backbiting in the rearview mirror are the TV stations that are profiting from the gold rush of mudslinging advertising. By now we […]
What would Teddy Roosevelt think about the Okefenokee?
None of us was around in 1901, when President Theodore Roosevelt used his iconic monocle to squint 121 years into the future. Just imagine if he hadn’t. How many millions of pristine acres would have been decimated, thus robbing generations of Americans of the awe and wonder that our national parks provide? After moving into […]
Protecting our environment is not a game
In simpler times, kids played simpler games. If you had a sidewalk and a piece of chalk, you drew squares for hopscotch. Minus a sidewalk or paved driveway, you used a stick to scratch squares in the dirt. Observing what’s happening in the environmental-protection world, I see what looks like a game of hopscotch. We […]
‘Ain’t no right way to do wrong thing’
Entitlement: “The condition of having a right to have, do, or get something.” –The Britannica Dictionary. If you are wondering why Georgia Power is so determined to have its way with toxic coal-ash disposal, reread the definition of “entitlement.” In a dozen words, that’s why. The state-regulated-utility monopoly doesn’t like the federal Environmental Protection […]
Georgians must keep ‘buttin’ that dam’
“Once there was a silly old ram Thought he’d punch a hole in a dam No one could make that ram scram He kept buttin’ that dam …” A host of folks have sung “High Hopes.” My favorite rendition is Frank Sinatra’s when he is accompanied by kids. I can hear him now, “Next time […]
Gold Dome’s ‘elephant in the room’ is no pachyderm
You’ve heard the reference to the invisible “elephant” that lurks in a room when decisions are being made. Georgia’s Gold Dome has a mammoth animal that is a permanent fixture when the General Assembly is in session and when it’s not. But it’s not a pachyderm. Imagine hearing “clop, clop, clop, clop.” Is it a […]
Opinion: What would Teddy Roosevelt have to say?
A plush, stuffed bear got its name from him, but Teddy Roosevelt was no softy to be toyed with when he wanted to get something done. T.R. wasn’t a giant in stature, but our youngest-ever American president stood tall, ever ready to stiffen his backbone for a fight. We are blessed that President Roosevelt was […]
Opinion: Georgians should speak up for common sense
Right now, high-paid influence peddlers are working around the clock under the Gold Dome. Some of what they are “peddling” isn’t in Georgia’s best interest. Quite the opposite. Throughout the General Assembly, you can find evidence where special interests, rather than common sense, are the rule. A good place to observe that is in the […]