Columns

It seems like a lifetime ago and in some ways it was. It has been 17 years this week since I was in Iraq with the men and women of Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team. Even today, it is an experience seared in my brain. How I ended up there was due to my friend, Bill Stewart, of Brunswick. A former chief of staff to Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Mack Mattingly, Stewart suggested to a … [Read more...] about October 16, 2022: Remembering A Group Of Heroes In Iraq

I just learned that I have been passed over for the Nobel Prize for Literature once again. Bummer. And that crowd over in Stockholm didn’t even have the courtesy to pick up the phone and call me with the bad news. I had to read about it in the paper. A person of my literary stature deserves better. It seems they have given the award to French writer Annie Ernaux. Mats Malm, … [Read more...] about October 9, 2022: No Nobel Prize For Literature Again This Year A Bummer

I have met a number of folks recently who migrated from across the Mason-You-Know-What-Line and have settled in the Great State of Georgia. We enjoy each other’s company but there is a bit of a language barrier. We all speak the same one –  English – but we speak it differently. They talk fast and make their point quickly. In the South, we tend to meander a bit and say … [Read more...] about October 2, 2022: Fixin’ To Try And Explain Southern Talk, Y’all

SOME REFLECTIONS ON NATIONAL NEWSPAPER WEEK I recall a BellSouth officers conference years ago where we spent several days wrestling with the problems we were facing in the marketplace. At one point, one of my colleagues said with exasperation, “This is a tough business!” to which our CEO John Clendenin shot back, “Name me one that isn’t!” I thought about that when I realized … [Read more...] about September 25, 2022: Some Reflections on National Newspaper Week

¡Hola elitistas amantes de los liberales! Nosotros estamos aquí ¿Qué hay para el almuerzo? For those of you around for whom English is still your primary language, the above roughly translates to: “Hello, liberal-loving elitists. Here we are. What’s for lunch?” It seems cities like New York, Chicago, Washington, D. C., and other Democratic bastions have declared themselves … [Read more...] about September 18, 2022: Republican Governors Want Sanctuary Cities to Walk Their Talk