I just learned of a book called, “Say Goodbye to your Southern Accent.” Gosh dang. What is wrong with a Southern accent? The book’s authors, Jennifer Adams and Johanna Chapman, run a firm called Atlanta Accent Management. Ms. Adams was quoted in the Atlanta newspapers recently as saying, “We have clients who do business around the country or around the world. They want to be … [Read more...] about August 11, 2014: Gosh Dang. What Is Wrong With A Southern Accent?
2014 Columns
August 4, 2014: A Fresh Reminder Of Why Teaching Is A Noble Profession
Dear Georgia Public School Teachers: It is new school year but, alas, the same old impediments: An out-of-touch federal bureaucracy; ideological state legislators who choose not to send their kids to public schools but intend to tell you how and what to teach, and a society that values reality television more than quality education. Sometimes I wonder how you manage. There … [Read more...] about August 4, 2014: A Fresh Reminder Of Why Teaching Is A Noble Profession
July 28, 2014: Trying To Determine Who Is The Real Outsider In U.S. Senate Race
The U.S. Senate race this November between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue will be one of the more unusual campaigns we have witnessed in Georgia. Neither has held public office and both are anxious to portray themselves as the ultimate “outsider.” But just how outside is outside? That was a task I assigned my esteemed associate, Figby. I asked him to pose … [Read more...] about July 28, 2014: Trying To Determine Who Is The Real Outsider In U.S. Senate Race
July 21, 2014: Taxpayers On The Hook For Mishandled Ethics Probe Of Gov. Deal
In 1997, Gov. Zell Miller appointed me to fill a vacant seat on the five-member State Ethics Commission and then reappointed me to a full term where I served until 2002. It was a rewarding experience and I am proud of the good things we accomplished at the commission. Now, fast forward to its successor, the Georgia Government Transparency and (inhale) Campaign Finance … [Read more...] about July 21, 2014: Taxpayers On The Hook For Mishandled Ethics Probe Of Gov. Deal
July 14, 2014: The Job Of Waxing Poetic Can Be Quite Frenetic
“I have gotten bad news and am much the worse for it. “I’ve just found out I’m not the nation’s poet laureate. “I made a great effort. I put up a good fight. “But instead the job went to a guy named Charles Wright. “Burma Shave.” The preceding stanza should tell you I got hosed. I would have made a great poet laureate. But, alas, the good folks at the Library … [Read more...] about July 14, 2014: The Job Of Waxing Poetic Can Be Quite Frenetic