Terrific. I spend all my waking hours defending the academic integrity of my beloved alma mater, the University of Georgia — the oldest state-chartered university in the nation, located in Athens, the Classic City of the South — and now this: The NCAA has issued its yearly report on how many athletes earned their degree within six years of enrolling. Our men’s basketball team … [Read more...] about Oct. 16, 2006: Athletic Tail Still Wags The Academic Dawg At UGA
2006 Columns
Oct. 9, 2006: A Georgia Soldier Tries To Get Back To Business
It has been one year since I was in Iraq with Georgia’s 48th Brigade Combat Team in the infamous Triangle of Death. Unlike any experience I have had before or since, this one gets more vivid with each day that passes. I got eyeball-to-eyeball with the war when an IED — Improvised Explosive Device — narrowly missed putting some serious hurt on our Humvee while we were on … [Read more...] about Oct. 9, 2006: A Georgia Soldier Tries To Get Back To Business
Oct. 1, 2006: Urging Gubernatorial Candidates To Accentuate The Positive
There are two questions most frequently posed to me by my loyal readers. The first one is that it is amazing that anyone with half the sense of a nanny goat would take anything I say seriously. (Wait. That’s not a question. Sorry.) Let’s try the one about “Why are political campaigns always so negative.” Readers tell me they are frustrated that candidates can’t talk about … [Read more...] about Oct. 1, 2006: Urging Gubernatorial Candidates To Accentuate The Positive
Sep. 25, 2006: Looking At Georgia Through The Eyes Of Visitors
The Scottish bard Robert Burns once opined, “O would some Power the gift to give us: To see ourselves as others see us.” Bobby Burns may be a little difficult to decipher, but his point is a good one. In the past couple of weeks, I have seen Georgia anew through the eyes of Peter and Lesley Taylor, our friends from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. My wife and I met the Taylors in … [Read more...] about Sep. 25, 2006: Looking At Georgia Through The Eyes Of Visitors
Sep. 18, 2006: Some Final Thoughts On Muslim Interviews Before I Make A Corn-Fried Shrimp Visit
It is time for my annual migration to the Georgia coast, commonly known as God’s Country. Admittedly, this event doesn’t compare in magnitude to the swallows returning yearly to the mission at San Juan Capistrano, but then the birds don’t get to fill their tummies with corn-fried shrimp from the exquisite little Georgia Sea Grill on St. Simons Island when they settle in. I do. … [Read more...] about Sep. 18, 2006: Some Final Thoughts On Muslim Interviews Before I Make A Corn-Fried Shrimp Visit