As anyone who knows me can attest, I am and have always been a very idealistic person. I can remember in high school and college people telling me that I am too idealistic and assuming that it would wear off with age. Well, it hasn't. I'm in my mid-30s, married with two children and as idealistic as ever. 

So you can imagine my dismay at many of the cynical reactions that I have received in response to my article about Ann Coulter. I guess I expected better from people in the conservative movement. I'm not sure why. read more »

The AJC did a very nice front page article on Georgia political blogs today and Good Will Hinton was mentioned.

Will Hinton, 34, a commercial real estate consultant who lives in Brookhaven, despairs about the current state of political blogs. (Hinton, who considers himself a nonpartisan conservative, earned some fame among Georgia bloggers when he blogged that he would run against U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney if no one else stepped up in the Democratic primary. Hank Johnson did, and won.)

"I think both sides are equally guilty of trying to demonize their opponents instead of trying to find common ground," Hinton said. So in September he launched the site Good Will Hinton. His goal: "To foster dialogue and discussion between people on both sides."

I have had many people ask me what I meant when I said that I am sick and tired of the current political game of vitriol, harsh rhetoric, and seeking to "fire up the base" at the expense of the vast majority of citizens. I have had people ask me what I think about groups like Unity '08 or the Republican Main Street Partnership. From what I have seen from these groups and other similar ones is a desire to seek centrist positions and compromise in order to move away from the more ideological positions being taken and advocated.

The one problem that I see with these groups is a lack of dialogue with those who are less centrist in their positions. While many believe that centrist positions are the best, I'm not sure that this is always the case. Back in the '60s, I don't believe that the civil rights movement would have been described as centrist, yet opening up opportunities and providing legal protection for blacks was extremely important and the right thing to do. read more »

A friend of mine from church recently sent me an article by Bill McKibben entitled "The Christian Paradox" that was published in Harpers last summer. After reading the article, I realized that I have read many similar articles over the past couple of years.

The gist of the article is that while most Americans claim to be Christians, they don't appear to be following Christ's commands, particularly as it relates to caring for the poor. This premise is central to the Religious Left's critique of our culture, as often expressed by people such as Jim Wallis or Ron Sider.

Of course many on the Religious Right counter that laissez-faire capitalism is the only way to provide for the poor.

Both groups are wrong and I am going to take this opportunity to show why. read more »

I came upon this story yesterday at Yahoo News from the AP. Here is the first paragraph:

"American students often get the impression from history classes that the British got here first, settling Jamestown, Va., in 1607. They hear about how white Northerners freed the black slaves, how Asians came in the mid-1800s to build Western railroads. The lessons have left out a lot."

Talk about a red herring. I was in high school over 15 years ago and this wasn't what I was taught. I have a hard time believing that history lessons have become more Euro-centric since then. So what gives here? read more »

I had a tremendous response to yesterday's post about opting out of the political "base wars". In addition to the post here, I also cross-posted the piece at RedState, DailyKos, Peach Pundit, and MyDD. I received a ton of comments and emails on this piece, but one comment at Red State really stood out.

I've got one foot on and one foot off of your wagon. Although it would be swell if the discourse could shift and yes, perhaps the idealistic goal seems achievable, if only we could lead by example. But then, I look back over these past five or so years and I see a problem.

The Bush Administration was forever turning the other cheek, not answering the wild charges and misrepresentations, flying from the floor of the Senate to the Stage of Dixie Chick concerts. The silence from the President's people was deafening, and I recall joining with so many others, crying for the President to just defend himself. read more »

I am drinking my new favorite beer tonight so I thought that I should update my list...

10. Duvel

This is a classic Belgian strong ale and particularly great in the summer. I used to not drink this much as it seemed too much of a cliche. But it is such a great beer that I keep coming back to it. It has a wonderfully crisp taste with a hint of apple. But don't be fooled by the lightness; it packs a punch at 9% alcohol.

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I am among the most unlikely people anywhere to have become a beer afficianado, what with growing up in a Southern Baptist home that viewed alcohol as being "of the devil". Maybe the old adage of learning to appreciate certain things as one ages is especially true for me.

Whatever the reason, I have become a big fan of good beer. I should clarify that my love of beer does not involve massive quantities of mediocre beer but moderate quantities of world class beer.

I am also fortunate to live in perhaps the most underrated beers towns in America, Atlanta, GA. Two years ago, the selection was pathetic here. My, how far we have come. read more »

Some jokes are too close to home.

For many years now, Rep. Cynthia McKinney has been viewed as a political joke, not just by Republicans but I believe by the average person in America. Michael Moore probably comes closest to Cynthia in sheer outlandish demogoguery. And he isn't an elected official.

Well, I'm not laughing. Cynthia is my representative.

Imagine having a representative in Congress who cares nothing about their constituents. Imagine your representative constantly being a target of mockery because of lunatic statements that would make great headlines at The Onion. Imagine having a virulent racist as your representative. Imagine having a representative who cared only about themselves.

I don't have to imagine these things. I have to live with this every day. read more »

I have hesitated to comment on the Lt. Governor's race since so few people seem to be able to discuss it without having a conniption fit. But I'd like to add a different perspective to some of the questions and concerns that many people have about Ralph Reed.

For obvious reasons, Ralph has been vilified by many in the mainstream media and by most on the left as a budding theocrat. (Of course any Christian who doesn't vote Democrat is labeled a theocrat these days.) Even quite a few on the right have become quite critical of Ralph in recent years. Ralph has also found himself embroiled in the Jack Abramoff scandal, particularly as it relates to his lobbying on behalf of gambling interests. Unfortunately, Ralph has not learned the great lesson that my friend, former Congressman Pat Swindall, learned. read more »

I have been very interested in following the aftermath of the New York Times story that broke the news about anti-terrorists efforts to track financial transactions. It would have been very easy to jump on the conservative bandwagon and proclaim the New York Times and Bill Keller as treasonous. But I have decided to spend a little more time thinking about and researching this topic. Not really the blog way of doing things.

I think the most disturbing thing about this episode is the implication by Bill Keller and others in the press that "we the people" just need to trust them. I'm a little reluctant to trust my elected officials much less a private citizen who has done much less to get into such a position of power and influence.

Jeff Jarvis makes a great point about the lack of journalistic standards and transparency in the media:

"I want to see the editor of a major U.S. newspaper who is covering and uncovering classified government antiterrorism programs write a piece under the headline: “When and why I will reveal secrets.” For I have not yet seen a satisfactory answer to that obvious and essential question in any of the many letters and editorials those editors have been writing lately. If journalism is about upholding standards, then let’s know what those standards are."

It is rather ironic that the media usually shouts from the mountaintops about the need for more transparency in business or government but is loathe to allow such a thing in their own house.

Of course the bigger concern is whether or not the media is serving the public interest by publishing classified information, especially during a war. During this week's Journal Editorial Report, Paul Gigot of the Wall Street Journal asks Marvin Kalb of the Jones Shorenstein Center on the Press and Politics and Public Policy whether stories like this latest one from the New York Times will put people in danger. Kalb responds:

"But I can tell you, flat out, that most journalists are very respectful of the rights, of the needs, of the soldiers. They are not going to run anything that they think is going to harm the American people or the American troops. I think we all know that."

I'd like to believe that, but I'm not sure that I would agree with Kalb that "we all know that". I am reminded of an old article in The Atlantic Monthly that James Fallows wrote entitled "Why Americans Hate the Media". Fallows begins his article with a description of a public television series in the late '80s called "Ethics in America".

The episode was taped in the fall of 1987. Its title was "Under Orders, Under Fire," and most of the panelists were former soldiers talking about the ethical dilemmas of their work. The moderator was Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard Law School, who moved from panelist to panelist asking increasingly difficult questions in the law school's famous Socratic style. read more »