Oh Well...

Well what can I say? Atlanta lost. I'm 0 for 2 (as compared to 3 for 4 last week). And baseball season doesn't start for another 2 1/2 months. It's gonna be a long winter.

Two Reasons Why Southern Education Sucks

Here are two education tidbits from Georgia and our sister state, South Carolina.

Exhibit A, corruption:

[Former Georgia state superintendent Linda] Schrenko and the Atlanta computer executive, A. Stephan Botes, are charged with stealing $614,000 in federal education funds that should have gone to purchase computer services for two state schools for the deaf and the Governor's Honors Program. Instead, prosecutors allege, about half the money went to Schrenko's failed Republican primary campaign for governor in 2002. And $9,300 was allegedly spent on cosmetic surgery for Schrenko.

Exhibit B, nutjobs that influence the cirriculum:

Ron Wilson, a former commander in chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, ran unsuccessfully for state Senate this year but was elected to the 16-member education panel by a 4-3 vote of state legislators from Anderson County's delegation to replace John Hostetler, a former high school principal who is retiring.

Wilson once sold textbooks to parents who home-school their children, including the viciously anti-Semitic Barbarians Inside the Gates, which touts a discredited theory that Jews are working toward world domination.

*Sigh*

What is wrong with these people? From AJC:

For most people, it is, thanks to a 2004 referendum that overwhelmingly approved the banner that now flutters across Georgia.

But the Rev. Bill Swann and a group of fellow thinkers are still out there, fighting for a return of the old flag and its long-controversial Confederate symbol.

Swann's pet project in the effort is an ongoing boycott of Coca-Cola, a company he believes was partial to opponents of the old flag. He's been avoiding Coke drinks since 2002.

"I was 52 years old then, and I'd never tasted a Pepsi drink," Swann said. Now, even the church where he preaches has replaced a Coke machine, and Swann claims he's been joined by tens of thousands of other like-minded people.

Coca-Cola isn't anti-Southern. If it was opposed to the Southern Cross as these people claim, then Coca-Cola is anti-treason if anything. I'm really bothered by this line in the article:

To those who fought for the changes, the ongoing protests are of little worry. State Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) labored two decades to rid Georgia's banner of the Confederate battle flag, which appeared in 1956. He's not expecting another change.

"We won that battle," Brooks said. "The debate over the flag is over."

I don't know who "we" is, but it certainly wasn't the anti-flaggers. In fact, neither side actually won. The only thing that came from that referendum was more problems. Here is an illustration:

Here is the flag of Georgia that was adopted in 1956 in protest of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision:



Here is the politically correct flag which was adopted by Governor Roy Barnes (and which currently hangs in my dorm room):



Here is the flag that was voted upon in the 2004 referendum:



You may ask what is wrong with the last flag. It's simple; it's still the flag of the Confederate States of America. The Southern Cross, which is in the c.1956 flag, was the battle flag of the Confederacy. The flag from which the new Georgia flag was based was the national flag of the Confederacy; the Stars and Bars:



See the resemblance? Just FYI, the flag has 13 stars because it includes Kentucky and Missouri, which although they were admitted into the CSA, they never actually seceded from the Union.

The thing is, the Confederate flag, in its many incarnations, doesn't really offend me when it is brandished by private citizens; at least not as much as it used to. It is not my prerogative to judge the sentiments of modern-day Southerners about the flag. I have my own opinions about it. My problem, however, is when states like Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina endorse the flag, and incorporate it as an official symbol. It irks me because not only is it is tantamount to celebrating treasonous behavior, but it also endorses the fact that in the 20th century, these flags were only symbolically adopted by the Southern states in protest to progressive movements like Civil Rights.

A Southern Endorsement for Howard Dean

Blog for Democracy points to the endorsement of Dean for DNC chairman by Florida's Democratic Party chairman:

"The only knock against Howard Dean is that he's seen as too liberal," Mr. Maddox said. "I'm a gun-owning pickup-truck driver and I have a bulldog named Lockjaw. I am a Southern chairman of a Southern state, and I am perfectly comfortable with Howard Dean as D.N.C. chair."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Although I did not support Dean's bid for the Presidency (I supported Wesley Clark), I totaly endorse his candidancy for chairman of the DNC. I really didn't like Dean until I had the opportunity to meet with him myself, but he is one of the coolest people that I have ever met, and he has certainly inspired me to seek public office. He is far more moderate domestically than people give him credit for, and he has the gall and demeanor necessary for Democrats as an opposition party. I wish Gov. Dean the best of luck.

NFL Playoff Predictions (Week 3)

Boy was I wrong about that Patriots-Colts game. I was 3 out of 4 once again. Unfortunately, I only have two games to pick this week. Here are my Week 3 predictions.

AFC Championship
Pittsburgh Steelers over New England Patriots

NFC Championship
Atlanta Falcons over Philadelphia Eagles

This may be an egregious act of fanboyism, but I'm picking Atlanta over Philly. The remarkable playing this past Saturday really has made the Falcons a serious contender. My original pick was Philly (anticipating an all-Keystone Super Bowl), but I have to go with my Falcons.

Happy MLK Day!

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

Sorry for the Hiatus

Took a bit to get packed up and moved, but I'm back at Denison in cold, cold, cold Ohio.

Catch Us If You Can!!!

Tonight, the Falcons stomped a hole the size of Texas into the St. Louis Rams. One more game to go... Jacksonville or bust!

I Guess This Means He's Not Gay

From AJC:

CLEVELAND — A Playboy Playmate accused of grabbing a dance pole and karate-kicking the ex-girlfriend of NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia went on trial Tuesday on a misdemeanor assault charge.

Carmella DeCesare, who is dating the Cleveland Browns player, faces a misdemeanor assault charge in the Aug. 21 barroom fight with Kristen Hine.

Now if you remember, Terrell Owens accused Garcia of homosexuality. I'm just saying, not only is he not gay, but he's doing pretty good for himself (Playboy Playmate of the Year/Wonder Woman fighting over him an all).

Michael Vick, NFL Poster Boy?

That just might be, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But, according to them, he has to win a Super Bowl first.

"Let's say he wins the Super Bowl," said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a sports industry consulting firm in Chicago. "He would end up being, other than [Indianapolis Colts quarterback] Peyton Manning, the poster child for NFL sponsors. The sky would be the limit; he'd have a rocket pack attached to his back."

"If he were to win the Super Bowl this year," said veteran Atlanta marketing and public relations executive Bob Hope, "he probably would equal, in a lot of ways, the endorsement stature of Michael Jordan," the NBA legend and marketing icon.

No offense to the AJC or the experts they cite in this article, but Vick doesn't need to win a Super Bowl to be as uber-marketable as they say here. He isn't even as great of a player as he is being made out to be, but that never has hurt his marketability. If a broken fibula can't stop Vick from bringing in money, then I don't think he needs a Super Bowl victory that badly. AJC even gave him his own fan page!

Although, a Super Bowl win for the Falcons would *really* make me happy. Considering that a good portion of my relatives cheer for NFC South teams other than the Falcons (consider that my mother's siblings reside in Florida, Georgia, and Carolinas and you see where I am coming from), next Christmas will be nothing less than fun for me.

Red State, Blue State

*Cue witty Dr. Suess reference*

I think it's funny that the Linguistic Society of America has named its catchphrase of 2004, "red state, blue state, purple state." Especially considering, as Kevin Drum points out, the terminology is only temporary (he even has a nifty little table).

For those of you that don't know, LSA is also the group that also resolved that Ebonics is a language.

NFL Playoff Predictions (Week 2)

Well, it seems that I'm 3 for 4 as the New York Jets beat the San Diego Chargers (I predicted the other way around). Oh well, here are my predictions for Week 2.

AFC Divisional Game
Pittsburgh Steelers over New York Jets
Indianapolis Colts over New England Patriots

NFC Divisional Game
Atlanta Falcons over St. Louis Rams
Philadelphia Eagles over Minnesota Vikings

My Indy pick might seem like a bit of a stretch for some of you, but then again, so was my Minnesota pick last week (Green Bay had beaten Minnesota twice during the regular season).

Newt 4 President

It seems Georgia's favorite right-wing son is mulling a run for the presidency in 2008. Of course, this isn't the same Newt Gingrich that, as Speaker of the House, led the 1994 Republican ass-whooping of the Democrats which we are still reeling from 10 years later. Nope. This Newt Gingrich has been publically shamed and humiliated after he was exposed as a hypocrite and an adulterer. And just in case you've forgotten how much of a douchebag Newt Gingrich was:

"He famously visited Jackie in the hospital where she was recovering from surgery for uterine cancer to discuss details of the divorce. He later resisted paying alimony and child support for his two daughters, causing a church to take up a collection. For all of his talk of religious faith and the importance of God, Gingrich left his congregation over the pastor's criticism of his divorce."
...
"Gingrich's most recent ex-wife says he ditched her eight months after finding out she had multiple sclerosis. Marianne Gingrich, 48, shopping a book proposal "both personal and political" about how women are treated in D.C., says the ex-speaker of the House told her on Mother's Day 1999 that he wanted a divorce, after learning she had a neurological condition that could lead to MS..."

I really don't see a Rudy Giuliani-ish return to the national spotlight for Newt, but I really hope he win the Republican nomination in 2008. *crosses fingers*

Seriously though, I believe that nobody, Democrat or Republican, should be talking about the presidential election in 2008 (do you hear that Senators Biden and Feingold). I don't know why everybody seems to have forgot about the 2006 mid-term elections. Let's not forget the Republicans deeboed their way into Congressional leadership during a mid-term election.

Uh-Oh

The Bush Administration seems to have gotten some egg on its face today. It apparantly has paid columnist Armstrong Williams to write positive articles about the Administration's education policy. While it definitely is unethical, the issue here is that the Administration used tax payers dollars to do this, which is, well, illegal. Atrios has posted a letter written by Senators Lautenberg, Kennedy, and Reid. Our taxpayers dollars at work, indeed.

Just Kidding

A couple of days ago, I posted about the need for more African-American students at the University of Georgia. Apparantly I jumped the gun a bit.

Race won't be an issue in UGA's '05 admissions

The University of Georgia will not add race as a factor in admissions until at least fall 2006, a task force decided Thursday.

The group decided it needed more time to work through legal issues surrounding changes in the admissions policy.

Wow

The AIDS epidemic has apparantly hit the family of former South African President, Nelson Mandela, as his oldest son has apparantly died of the disease.

Crossfire Cancelled

I knew Carlson was out, but I didn't know they cancelled the show entirely. The show had gotten ugly (as Mr. Jon Stewart points out), but it still was entertaining and much better than the garbage that Fox News calls a debate show. Oh well.

Sweet

This new Ridley Scott film about the Third Crusade, Kingdom of Heaven, looks pretty tight. The fact that I'm taking Early Modern Europe next semester will probably make me want to see it even more. I don't know why, but I've always been a sucker for films like this (Dark Ages - Renaissance era Europe). Elizabeth and Braveheart are some of my favorite films, Luther is still in my queue, and I'm probably the only person on Earth that actually liked The Messenger and The 13th Warrior, but I digress.

Check out the trailer here.

As an aside, I think actor Brendan Gleeson is starting to get typecast in these period films. Most of us first saw him as Hamish in Braveheart, and since then, he's appeared in Gangs of New York, Michael Collins, Troy, and Cold Mountain.

Then Let Me In

UGA steps up recruitment

ATHENS — The University of Georgia is launching a set of initiatives to heighten the recruitment and enrollment of African-American students.

Plans include waiving fees and guaranteeing admission to qualified black students from some Georgia high schools, creating an alumni program to help recruit and mentor African-American students, and placing advertisements in major newspapers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, highlighting the achievements of black students and alumni.

This isn't the first time UGA has tried to concentrate its recruitment efforts for African-Americans. Notice that somebody's high school is the focus of a CNN article. *wink* *wink* Opponents of Affirmative Action are probably blowing a gasket over this, but the article presents an important fact.

Only 200 of the 4,500 freshmen enrolled at UGA in the fall were black. Black students make up 5.3 percent of the total student population. African-Americans make up more than a quarter of the state's population.

Now here's the part that I care most about:

In addition to freshmen, UGA also wants to increase the number of African-American students enrolled in graduate programs. Administrators are working with Spelman College in Atlanta, a historically black college for women, to encourage their graduates to consider UGA for post-baccalaureate studies.

For those of you who don't know, the University of Georgia is my first choice for graduate school. I will most likely be doing Teach for America first, but I'm determined to get a Master of Arts in History (concentration in Southern History). Now if I could get a straight answer in regards to the application deadline (is it in July or did I already miss it?)

Maybe We Deserve It

As a college student in Ohio from Georgia, I get a lot of criticism about my state. Sometimes a lot of that criticism is directed at Zell Miller. Sometimes a lot of it has to do with the bizarre things that have happened in my state recently. Case in point:

Crematory grounds could yield 200-plus bodies

NOBLE, Georgia (CNN) -- The grounds of a northwest Georgia crematory here may hold as many as 200 bodies left unburied and not cremated by the facility's operator, authorities said Sunday.

Court weighs teenager's sentence

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Attorneys for a high school football player convicted of having consensual sex with a fellow student told the Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday that the teen's automatic 10-year sentence amounted to cruel and
unusual punishment.

Prosecutors insisted the mandatory prison term was exactly what state law intended for Marcus Dixon, who was convicted of aggravated child molestation and statutory rape. Dixon was 18 at the time; the girl was 15.

123 arrested in Georgia dog fight

COVINGTON, Georgia (AP) -- Police raided a rural house and found a blood-soaked dog fight arena where fans had gathered for a night of gambling with a winner-take-all pot of $50,000.

Wannabe millionaire caught at Wal-Mart (had a CNN.com link but I can't seem to find it)

"This is the first time in my law enforcement career I've seen someone trying to use a $1 million bill," said Convington's assistant police Chief Almond Turner, who's been a cop for 31 years. "It was green, but you could tell it was not a real bill."

Well, here are two more stories to add to te list:

Great-grandmother now says she's not pregnant

SYLVESTER, Georgia (AP) -- A 59-year-old great-grandmother who claimed in an Associated Press story last year that she was pregnant with twins admitted Tuesday that she is not.

Sheriff posts snipers after firings

JONESBORO, Georgia (AP) -- On his first day on the job, the new sheriff called 27 employees into his office, stripped them of their badges, fired them, and had rooftop snipers stand guard as they were escorted out the door.

The Peach State is a wacky place.

NFL Playoff Predictions (Week 1)

AFC Wild Card
San Diego Chargers over New York Jets
Indianapolis Colts over Denver Broncos

NFC Wild Card
St. Louis Rams over Seattle Seahawks
Minnesota Vikings over Green Bay Packers

RIP Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm passed at the age of 80. Growing up in a predominantly black neighborhood and attending a predominantly black public school system, Congresswoman Chisholm was one of the black leaders I was taught to respect and admire as a hero.

I was the first American citizen to be elected to Congress in spite of the double drawbacks of being female and having skin darkened by melanin. When you put it that way, it sounds like a foolish reason for fame. In a just and free society it would be foolish. That I am a national figure because I was the first person in 192 years to be at once a congressman, black and a woman proves, I think, that our society is not yet either just or free.

The Hellraiser

I'm one of the few individuals of my generation that remember watching the 1992 Democratic National Convention live, where former Governor and current Senator Zell Miller riled up Madison Square Garden, inducing the crowd into chants of "Give 'Em Hell, Zell." It is that moment which causes me, to this day, to have somewhat of an affinity towards Zell Miller. The poster boy for an education governor, he has done an outstanding job at championing and expanding public education in the state of Georgia. Zell Miller did a great job at bringing a lot of infrastructrual development to Georgia, which helped pave the way for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He is even responsible for introducing to Governor Bill Clinton, two men who would become two of his most influential advisors, Paul Begala and James Carville. Despite his near-lunatic rantings and ravings as a Senator, his time here as Governor was nothing short of commendable.

It is hard for non-Georgians to grasp this about Zell Miller, but I've been there for the whole shebang. Because of Miller, I've seen the state become one of the top-five fastest growing states in the country (we are currently the 9th largest in population). Because of Zell Miller, my younger cousins started school at the age of four in Pre-K instead of Kindergarten, giving them a head start for educational success. Because of Zell Miller, I could go to any school in the state of Georgia and have my tuition completely payed for. Because of Zell Miller, I enjoyed a computer in all of my classrooms in grade school. And so, instead of saying "good riddance" like many of my peers on the left, I bid former-Governor Miller a farewell that comes from the bottom of my heart, and maybe one day, the prodigal son will return. AJC writes:

[A]s Zell Miller's more than 40-year political career closes this week with his official exit from the Senate, friends and colleagues say he will be remembered more for the legacy he built in Georgia than for his actions in Washington.

Indeed.

Let Them Go

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article about the heavily-Republican "exurbs," the outer suburban area of major metropolitan areas. I say let em' go. These individuals moved to the hinterland for a reason; namely to avoid the high tax rates and crime rates associated with the city. Thus, the Democratic Party has no historic ties with this group of people. They are just a concentration of people who wouldn't have voted for us in the first place. It's not exactly a direct quote, but the AJC says:

Al From, founder of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, believes Democrats must fight for votes in the outer suburbs.

I disagree with From, as I believe our efforts will be better spent aiming at increasing our appeal to rural Georgians, the ones whose livelihoods best fit with the historical principles and ideals of the Democratic Party. Not to mention, Georgia is 30 percent black. Strengthening our base among ethnic and racial minorities, as well as among young people, should not be as difficult as it has been in the past.

Exit, Stage Right

Colin Powell says he is done with politics for good. It's unfortunate, considering he's the one contemporary Republican that I would guiltlessly vote for in a presidential election. Now if only he could something about that son of his...

Take That, Big-10!

Georgia beats Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl, 24-21. If only it were Ohio State...

Kudos to the Bush Administration

The American goverment is pledging $350 million of aid to South Asia. A legitimate argument can be made that this was due to the initial criticisms of the aid package on the part of the United States, but this still a good thing.

Good Idea

A new weapon against urban decay: Blight court

Starting next week, Detroit has a new, more powerful weapon to force owners of decayed properties to clean them up and repair them: blight court.

Actually, it is not a court at all. Under the new legal process, building code violations will be heard not by judges, but by administrative hearing officers. And such violations will no longer be criminal offenses but civil infractions.

The new setup is designed to handle cases more speedily than the overburdened courts, using methods not available in criminal cases. Hearing officers will have authority to attach people's wages and bank accounts, place liens on any property they own, even block them from renewing their driver's licenses.

Happy New Year!