RANDOM THOUGHTS ON RANDOM SUBJECTS

The traffic-choked, sewer-impaired, panhandling paradise affectionately known as the City of Atlanta has embarked on an effort to come up with a new image. Brand Atlanta, composed of local tourism and convention officials, has hired advertising ace Joel Babbit, chief creative officer of Grey Worldwide Advertising, to help develop this image, which is estimated to cost $15 million. If his name is not familiar to you, it was Babbit who, as the city’s marketing guru in the mid-90s, proposed that advertisers bounce their logos off of balloons in outer space, and that ad slogans be stenciled on stray dogs and cats roaming the streets of Atlanta. Cost of those loony ideas? $15 million. Maybe this time around, Babbit will propose sending the dogs and cats to outer space and stenciling the panhandlers. Just a thought. …

I knew it was too good to be true. I recently received a scathing letter comparing me to nationally syndicated columnist Bill Press, and saying neither of us should ever be allowed to write in any newspaper anywhere because of our liberal views. The writer was particularly irate with one of my columns, which he said was very unfair to President Bush. I was a tad confused because the particular column he cited didn’t mention the president. It turns out that he was referring to an adjacent columnist, not me. Even worse, I called the individual who wrote the letter and he didn’t remember writing it. Rats. Just when I thought I might receive a little well-deserved recognition as a card-carrying liberal weenie, I get my bubble burst. I just can’t win. …

On the other hand, a Romance Languages professor at the University of Georgia knew precisely the column and the columnist who had pushed his hot button. He wrote that the world would be a better place if my column was replaced with news about “quilting bees, hog killings and pet obituaries.” That came darn close to hurting my hyper-sensitive feelings until I realized that I value the opinions of professors of Romance Languages as much as a boar hog values fine dining. …

I think I know why Georgia Republicans are faring better than their Democratic counterparts these days. Republicans understand the role of gospel music in making the world a better place. Bob Shaw, chairman of the state Republican Party back in the days when the GOP could hold their conventions in a phone booth, was an original member of the Revelaires and is in the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Shaw says he and former state chairmen Rusty Paul and Matthew Patton, as well as Truett Moss, a former vice chairman, and Eddie Wallace, chairman of the Henry County Republicans, have sung gospel music at a number of Republican gatherings over the years and still do on occasion. Try as I might, I can’t see current state Democratic chairman Bobby Kahn and former chair David Worley taking the stage at the state Democratic convention and singing “Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad,” even though that is what life must seem like to Democrats these days. …

Newsweek magazine’s sloppily prepared report  —  later retracted  —  that soldiers had flushed a copy of the Qur’an makes me wonder if we will ever be rid of the Vietnam-era anti-government bias in the national media and those who encourage it. The American public is running out of patience with this arrogant and out-of-touch bunch. Somebody in the profession had better start paying attention. …

And finally, we’ve heard all the stories about UGA football players who can’t stay out of bars and out of fights. Now, let’s talk about Bulldog starting offensive linemen Russ Tanner and Dennis Roland, who recently helped rescue three people, including a young child, in a horrific automobile accident in Jackson County. Roland doesn’t think he and Tanner are heroes. I disagree. Not only are they heroes, they should serve as role models for the kind of people who ought to be representing the University of Georgia on the athletic field  —  or anywhere else for that matter.

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