At a cafe in Biloxi, Miss., friends and I were chatting over coffee when we were joined by a man who is a business associate of one of my friends who was sitting at the table.

He pulled up a chair, plopped down and launched fast-paced into conversation. He was straight-forward, minced no words and softened no opinion.

He is a Yankee.

“Damn Yankee,” he corrected me. “That’s what I am.” His blue eyes locked mine with a steely look that bored deeply. “Do you know the difference between a plain Yankee and a damn Yankee?”

I nodded and smiled. “You’ve come South to stay.” Read More»

If any nation wants to attack the United States with chemical, biological or electromagnetic pulse weapons, it need not fear nuclear retaliation as long as it has no nuclear weapons and abides by the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Obama has announced.

So, as New Yorkers are coughing their lungs out from mustard gas or dying in the streets of biological weapons, they will know that their government will not use nuclear weapons to retaliate against their murderers. Read More»

Budget overruns, furloughs, lay-offs, the terrible strain of the past few years’ financial crisis – those of us who are not directly affected still find ourselves paying higher gas prices and trying to spend less at the supermarket. Prescription drugs are so expensive we sometimes cheat and skip a day or so, taking the ones that are not life and death.

Anyhow, I found a couple of suggestions that I’ll betcha can save some money for the Fayette County Board of Education, not to mention teaching social development and responsibility. Read More»

I apologize for missing last week, but here are some of the issues and activities in PTC this week: Read More»

This was the year I became a Butler University basketball fan. For me to become a fan of a non-Southern college sports team is quite out of character.
I was born and raised some 90 miles northeast of the University of Tennessee, and it is said that on a clear day during football season, you can hear the 109,000 Volunteer fans gathered at Neyland Stadium singing “Rocky Top.” I never heard them myself but somebody did say that once. Read More»

Once again, the all too familiar scourge has descended upon this town, covering everything in a gritty yellow powder.

Yep, pollen season is upon us once again, and, pardon the pun, it’s nothing to sneeze at. Unlike other springs, though, somehow this year we went from winter straight into summer. Lucky for me, I was inside all last weekend cleaning out the basement. Yes, dear reader, it’s spring cleaning time.

The Wife and I have been in our house for almost five years now. I figured it was about to time to unpack the boxes in the basement. Read More»

I started using one of those networking websites a little over a year ago. It’s fun playing games by myself or with friends and it’s fun connecting with colleagues I don’t know too well and getting to know them. One of most pleasant surprises is how easy it is to find and reconnect with old friends! Read More»

We are a nation of problem-solvers. Left or right, black or white, when presented with problems — at home, work or play — we figure out a solution. Well, we have a problem, and it actually might be numerous problems. Read More»

Last month in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal caused quite a stir among the troops when he ordered junk food outlets shut down.

Our news media digs about an inch deep to tell us these bits and pieces in sound bites, but as my friend Bill Neal of Hague, Va., reminded me, even those of us who go beyond TV news to read newspapers know very little about what really happens in a war zone; our lives are too far removed. Read More»

Last week the General Assembly convened for legislative days 31-33. Since we are now past cross-over day, House committees began the process of considering Senate bills that have passed out of the Senate and are now under consideration in the House.

One of the most noteworthy pieces of legislation taken up by one of my committees last week was SB 308, legislation aimed at clarifying Georgia’s ambiguous and confusing concealed carry laws.

The measure is being carried in the House of Representatives by Billy Horne (R-Sharpsburg), who is a Fayette County native. Read More»