Well, that’s over and done with. Donald John Trump, the 45th president of the United States has been officially sworn in as our 47th president, joining Grover Cleveland who was president #22 and #24 as in, then out, then back in office. Happily, nobody ransacked the United States Capitol this time, including the guy wearing the buffalo horns on his head. Those that did trash the place 4 years ago found out that no bad deed goes punished. Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 of them and commuted the sentences of 14 others. I must remember to call Mr. Trump the next time I get a parking ticket. . . .
Georgia Cong. Andy Clyde said the Jan. 6th riots looked like “a normal tourist visit” to him. This Andy Clyde is not to be confused with the actor Andy Clyde, who was Hopalong Cassidy’s comic sidekick in a bunch of Westerns back in the 1940’s and said a lot of funny things. But I don’t recall him saying anything as dumb as calling that mob a bunch of “tourists.” The current Andy Clyde probably thinks Isaac Newton invented the fig. . . .
Early 20th Century journalist and culture critic H. L. Mencken is quoted as having said that nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public. But even Mencken would be shaking his head at the bad taste of those trying to make some kind of hero out of Luigi Mangione, the accused assassin of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson, shot in the back as he was heading to a conference in New York. These misbegotten morons justify the killing because they don’t like the insurance industry. Disgusting. . . .
I have been around the political block a few times in my long life but the proposal for Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals to drag-mine our Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for titanium dioxide required for such a critical national resource as toothpaste whitener is a head-scratcher. The public outcry against the state Environmental Protection Division (insert oxymoron here) approving the permits has drawn almost total condemnation (and the most reader mail I have received in a long time.) Yet the response from your elected officials has ranged from condescending to mute. While I’m not inside the tent, I do suspect the answer boils down – as most things do in politics – to money. Money buys access and influence. Those that have it, get it. . . .
Speaking of our intrepid public servants under the Gold Dome, Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Bill Torpy had an interesting take on diversity as it applies to the Georgia Legislature. Short answer: There is none. He reminds us that currently there are 236 legislators in the House of Representatives and the State Senate: 103 Democrats and 133 Republicans. . . .
Of the 103 Democrats, 83% are minorities. About 75% are Black. There are only three white males. On the GOP side, 96% of their 133 members are white. Republicans hold a 100-80 majority in the House and 33-23 in the Senate, making Democrats a minority party in more ways than one. Before you wring your hands at the poor ol’ Democrats getting politically-hosed, many of us remember the days when Georgia was a one-party (white male Democrat) state, doing to what few Republicans there were back then what the Republicans are now doing to current Democrats. It’s called politics. It is what it is. . . .
Donald Trump says he is going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. While he is at it, he needs to take a look at Spanish rice, French fries, Brussels sprouts and Chinese checkers. Frankly, I’ve had my suspicions about all of them. . . .
Finally, I recently read a nationwide survey by a website called Gambling ‘N Go of 3,021 sports fans so dedicated to their favorite team that they claim they would want their team’s flag draped over their coffin or some other memorabilia showing their loyalty in their last farewell. Number 12 overall were Georgia Bulldogs, followed by the Atlanta Hawks (#21), the Braves (#54) and the Falcons (#90.) There was no mention in the survey of Georgia Tech, Georgia State or Georgia Southern. Only one other school on the state made the list: The Mercer Bears, at #94. The Mercer Bears? That’s dead on.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough.com or at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139
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