Dewings, Thoughts
Your Southern Thoughts
Scroll to the bottom of our home page, and in between our shared videos and recent comments, is something new on the Dew: Your Southern Thoughts.
We finally have a place for you to post and discuss what you’re thinking. Ideas. Sayings. Mini-blogs. Tweet-like posts. Similar to Facebook wall posts sans the banal activity. Comments on the site. Things you’ve heard. Something you saw. The odd thought. The even thought. What got your goat. What gave you glee. Whatever, post your comment here, but keep pretty clean, please.
You don’t have to be registered to post, just a name (please don’t abuse this, we’d hate to require registration). We do, however, have spam and naughty word filtering that may cause your post to be reviewed prior to being added.
Note: the comments here are in reverse order (most recent will appear at the top).
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Frank Povah says: Plenty of news about Labor and Liberal’s views in the Mercury (Hobart Tasmania) but so far nothing of the Greens except anti-Green remarks made by leaders of both the other parties. One Labor MP has complained about his party using “robocalls” to 20,000 households purporting to be a “concerned mother” worried about the Greens “legalization of heroin”. A false claim, their policy is similar to Labor’s, i.e. harm minimization.
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Monica Smith says: The New York Times op-ed on the supposed educational civil rights prompts yet another opportunity to point out that civil rights refer to a citizen’s participation in governing. Providing for the education of the next generation, regardless of citizenship or national origin, is an OBLIGATION of government as part of providing for the welfare of all persons within the jurisdiction of the U.S. That our agents of government have, in accepting a public office, undertaken to fulfill certain (definite) obligations is not appealing to individuals, who think of public office as an opportunity to rule and tell other people what to do, but the fact is they’re being paid to perform duties. The public has options; the agent of government doesn’t.
Anyway, getting information is a human right because we’re all born stupid. That some people want to condition every aspect of survival on good behavior (“there is no free lunch”) doesn’t make it right. Giving life to another human comes with an obligation to provide support. Doing that on a wholesale level is more efficient. It’s why we organize societies and assign some obligations to our agents.
Btw, I owe the phrase “agents of government” to Justice Anthony Kennedy and his dissection of the rule of law. However, it now seems that Kennedy’s focus is less on the obligation of agents than on the law as an obfuscation of individual responsibility (“it’s not me that’s depriving you of rights; it’s the law”). So, when he says, the “issuance of a permit is not a matter of grace,” he’s not denying that rights, such as speech and assembly, can be restricted. Just that the restriction can’t be arbitrary and isn’t, if it’s according to some law. Which is why he doesn’t see the Citizens United case as particularly onerous. To Kennedy’s way of thinking, all the Congress has to do is pass a law limiting the behavior of private corporations just as it limits private ones. -
Michael J. Solender says: Carolina Blue has a whole new meaning at the NCAA this year..at least I can lay claim to Minnesota.
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Frank Povah says:
More on Tassie election sourced in part from themercury.com.au: The Labor Premier [leader of the State Govt] and the leader of the Opposition [Liberal] held the first-ever televised debate last night, Tassie time. The Greens leader was excluded at the request of the Premier, despite the fact that the Greens are polling as well as any of the contesting parties.
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Frank Povah says:
It’d be nice if the US government could rescind Rupert Murdoch’s citizenship and deport him – but not to Australia, it has troubles of its own. Perhaps to England, he and the English are made for each other.
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While I admit a little undercover journalism by Murdoch to discover what it is like to be confined indefinitely without rights, might make for a “fair and balanced” story on Fox, I am reassured that we have inalienable rights (which now means that they can only be taken away if our president determines it is politically expedient).
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Frank Povah says:
Concerned Americans should considering boycotting titles in all genres published by those companies who have bowed to the perverted reasoning of a few eejits in Texas. Make them see reason. If the Texas Board of Education wants to impose its 15th-century views on its kids, let it do so at it its own expense and publish its own textbooks.
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Lee Leslie says: If you have a moment, go to this link: http://beck.cnnbcvideo.com/ login to facebook when it ask you and you’ll be amazed at what Glenn Beck has to say about you.
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austin says: Most Planet Earth humans chortled with pride this week for the slam dunk sit down and shut up remark recently made by Larry’s “cousin” Robert.* His speech on the eve of the senate vote for giving war powers to a jingoistic fanatic on Wednesday, February 12 2003 is chillingly prophetic. It should be a mandatory read for all students of American history.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/byrd.aspWith all due respect, the Daily Mail’s hyperbole about “imposing government control,” acts of “disrespect to the American people” and “corruption” of Senate procedures resembles more the barkings from the nether regions of Glennbeckistan than the “sober and second thought” of one of West Virginia’s oldest and most respected daily newspapers. – Senator Robert Byrd
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Thank you for posting the link to the Byrd speech. I remembered he gave it, but got chills reading it again – we have learned so little from the decade long experience he damned so eloquently before it began. I hope everyone will read it.
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Lee Leslie says:
Just what do you think caused this? “According to AARP, from January 2000 through December 2009, the total number of unemployed individuals 55 and older rose from 490,000 to 2,114,000″ – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/05/aarp-unemployment-for-old_n_487250.html
Stock pressures? Health care costs? Pension costs? Lack of enforcement of age discrimination laws? The free markets? GW Bush? Off shoring jobs? Technology? The grey wall has been lowered. Seems cruel.-
One of the things that hasn’t gotten much coverage is that when the Fed lowered interest rates to near zero, conservative oldsters who’d put their life savings into CDs saw their income drop precipitously. Let’s say a person had $200,000 saved up. What returned a modest supplement of $6000 in addition to Social Security was suddenly reduced to $1000. People who were getting by on $1400 a month, were in straits at $1000.
One suspects they started drawing down the principle and local banks started running out of money to lend while the Queens of Wall Street were siphoning up the cash for their gambling spree. And a lot of middle men got fat on fees.-
It is cruel. The current Fed policy almost forces retirees to take on risk in the markets – helps Wall Street, but puts us all on the edge of the cliff.
And there’s that other problem with rates being effectively zero – banks simply borrow from the fed then invest in treasury backed securities, make the spread and pay the bonuses. No incentive whatsoever to lend money. Makes the banks healthy, but starves small business.
Yes, I know raising rates is counter-intuitive to getting our economy working for regular folks, but our system has been manipulated so long, intuition nor fact are working very well.
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Melinda Ennis says: Great news. I just read that Sarah Palin, that gutsy “everymom” from up North is working with network execs to get her own TV show. Apparently it will have Palin as a tour guide showing audiences the wonders of her glorious state. Here’s a note to those execs on some moments you’ve got to include:
-A View To Kill: Palin showing the audience the best views of Russia from her back deck
-Wide World of Alaska Sports-Palin’s personal narrative of that courageous sport of shooting wolves from a helicopter and of course, Palin moosehunting in the wild
-Cooking with Sarah: Chef Palin whips up some of that yummy moose into a delcious stew
-Alaskan Family Feud: The Palins including, Trig, Trad, Trip (& whatever) versus the Levi Johnston family
Oh the ideas are endless for great telly viewing!!! -
Lee Leslie says: Anybody else notice that the incentives in the “jobs” bill designed to put tens of millions of unemployed Americans back to work is a billion dollars less than Goldman Sachs set aside for bonuses last year?
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Will Cantrell says: I gotta start watching myself. I may be “getting old”. I just saw that Buzz Aldrin was going to be in the new cast of ‘Dancing with the Stars’. Jeez. What’s the world coming to? The guy’s a national hero for Chrissakes. You’d never see Neil Armstrong or say Colin Powell on DWTS! I hope he’s doing this because he needs the money… and not because he needs the attention. But then again, maybe the man does a mean moonwalk.
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Mike Malsbary says:
I’ve heard too many talking heads say “America doesn’t want this healthcare plan”. Who? The many millions of desperate uninsured Americans need to make some noise. Send comment cards to representatives, support Move-on, support the effort, support the President. Otherwise big Corp will shut it down again.
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Good point, Mike. I’m even more surprised to hear elected officials claim they have heard from no one who favors healthcare reform.
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Terri Evans says: Let’s talk prescription costs during this healthcare debate: A particular med: $23 in Canada (but unfortunately, takes 12 days to arrive, even expedited); $114 at CVS; $117 at Walmart; $137 at Walgreens; $140 at Publix but they said they’d match CVS. Plan in advance to be sick so you can get from Canada.
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With all due respect to our brothers to the North, Olympic curling is just wrong headed. It is! Seems to me that curling is a combination of sweeping the floor, bowling and sneaking up on a bomb. It seems like something that The Three Stooges —or maybe physics students —–might do. I will admit that I don’t know the rules of curling (and if you think that I’m scared to find out, you’re right.) I suspect that we’re won’t see amateur curling in the ACC or SEC anytime soon. Thank God.
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CSmith says:
Lee the new edit or delete option in the comment section is a great addition. Especially giving time to proof read after hitting the submit button.
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Glad you like it and impressed you’ve already noticed it (operational less than an hour). You may have inspired it. Spell check is coming soon (about a month). This is paid enhancement of the site (cost: $15) and was underwritten by the generous contributions of LikeTheDewers.
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C Smith says: Lee are you telling me you noriced all my misrakes. And here I thought no one noriced.
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C Smith says:
Have you set up a Paypal account for Like The Dew? I saw another reader had ask some time back.
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Mistakes? Don’t know what you are talking about. I thought some the unusual spelling you use was a style issue – vernacular of sorts. No, I was inspired because you asked it about spell check some months back.
Regarding PayPal, yes. There is a donation link at the bottom of page. Thanks, for asking. – Lee-
C Smith says:
Lee I think it was Farmer Dave that asked about spellcheck. I have asked about editing after submission.
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ReadAndWeepLefties says:
Canadian premier unapologetic about getting heart treatment in the U.S. to flee socialist medicine: “I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics.”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h0QC7bditrEb3wYz_6_b-gsGGDxA-
Sounds like the perfect solution to our health care problems – a public option, plus, the freedom to buy more care if you can afford it.
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Brenden says: Agreed provided that there are strict limits upon how large the “public option” can become (read: make Medicare solvent). In Canada, the wealthy just come to the U.S. to have their problems solved. Their gov’t funds a substandard system at a loss and allows their elite to come here. But where will the Americans go when our substandard system grows too large?
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Keep the faith, Brenden, the markets (read: wealth always buys better care) will always find a way. As you know, the single payer system in Canada is quite different than anything that has been discussed with any political seriousness here. While Canadians are very happy with their system and pay way less, those anywhere who have money often seek access to what they perceive to be the best (generally, defined by reputation, status, immediate access and bleeding edge treatment – Gucci, Rolls, Duke, Mayo, Arthur Anderson, etc.). Were public option to come to America, there will always be private levels of service. For goodness sakes, we’re not communists.
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Lee Leslie says:
Watching snowboarding in winter Olympics made me wonder when NASCAR would come to the summer games
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Meg Gerrish says: Watcing curling makes me wonder…
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Keith Graham says: I like this. Jim DeMint criticizes Barack Obama for reading from a teleprompter … while reading from a teleprompter. DeMint’s on my list of least trustworthy Southern politicians, but the competition is stiff. Any other nominees?
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j. austin says:
2 days since Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom’s
affair became public.17 days since Sanford appointee Marcus Kitchens was accused
of stealing drugs from the evidence room in Spartanburg County.25 days since candidate for Governor and Lt. Governor
Andre Bauer compared the poor to stray animals.113 days since former State Representative and Assistant Attorney General
Roland Corning was caught with a stripper, Viagra, and sex toys…in a cemetery.
163 days since Congressman Joe Wilson’s
childish outburst during a Presidential Address.
242 days since Governor Mark Sanford hiked the Appalachian trail.
250 days since former chair of the State Election Commission Rusty DePass
compared Michelle Obama’s ancestors to the gorillas in the Columbia Zoo.988 days since since State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel
was indicted on federal drug charges.1702 days since since then-Commissioner of Agriculture Charlie Sharpe
reported to prison on cockfighting charges.
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Barry Hollander says:
Here it is Mardi Gras and I’m not only in Georgia, but it’s cold and I’m sober. So very wrong.
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CSmith says:
There are those that believe the “Flawed Giant” caused “An Unfinished Life”.
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Jeff Cochran says: Gita is correct. “Flawed Giant” By Robert Dalleck is a very good book as is “An Unfinished Life,” his book on JFK.
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Keith Graham says:
Happy President’s Day to all. Who’s your favorite president? I’m still picking FDR.
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Erica says: I do remember celebrating Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th and Washington’s birthday on the 22nd. Two wonderful days out of school! Better yet was the annual broadcast of “The Wizard of Oz”, my favorite childhood movie, right around the same time each year. Those were the days!!
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Greg Mitchell says: Happy Presidents day (used to be George Washingtons birthday, didn’t it?) . Favorite U.S. President would be Thomas Jefferson. He seemed to believe the governments position should always default to individual freedoms of the citizens.
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Gita says: Nothing brings out my split personality like the “favorite president” question. I want to say LBJ for his domestic policies but I hated his Vietnam and other foreign policies.
I have to go with Johnson for his supreme court picks, his creation of Medicare, his work to make civil rights a reality and much more that was humane. I have read the LBJ biography, “Flawed Giant,” and the title alone sums up pretty much of what I feel.
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Keith Graham says:
And a happy Valentine’s Day to everyone. Isn’t love great?
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Gita says:
Oops — see what happens when I tune out for a few days? Happy belated birthday, Boss. My wish for you is well-heeled advertisers and salaries for everyone. Big fat salaries; Ann Cox Chambers salaries!
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Keith Graham says:
Happy Year of the Tiger to everyone.
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Terri Evans says:
Happy Birthday, Mr. DewHead
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Lee Leslie says:
Today’s Keith Graham’s birthday. Please join me in wishing him a happy one.
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Speaking as someone who has recently returned to the south to live there is a lot right with the south and some…. not so much. One thing is for sure, people in the south really are much nicer. Let’s work to keep it that way.
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Keith Graham says:
Just saw “Crazy Heart” and thought it was pretty good. My wife thought it was great. She really liked “The Blind Side,” too. My favorite movie I’ve seen in the past year is still “Invictus.” What movies have you liked?
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Greg Mitchell says:
Another vote for “The Hurt Locker”. It was a very good movie.
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austin says:
“We’re all woman, darlin’.” – Corey Parks, in reference to her rock band
” She’s built like Ursula Andress, dresses like Sonny Barger and curses like a merchant marine. More important, she plays the bass with more sweat and fury than an entire battalion of Bad Religion wannabes. ” – Brad Jones, refering to Corey Parks @ Westworld.com
Jeff Cochran.. calling Jeff Cochran…dyou know this band?
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C Smith says:
James is there a difference between democracy and republic?
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James says: You obviously know there is, but our elected representatives behave as if they have no responsibility to the republic. They are shameless, and well-funded by the forces that have made a mockery of democracy. we live in a kleptocracy.
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C Smith says:
WELL SAID!!
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Keith Graham says:
I’m happy for the Who Dat Nation. Less happy for The Who. Maybe some lessons here for My Generation about learning how to age gracefully?
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James says:
The Who rocked! They sounded great and the all-ages crowd loved them. What’s your problem? Sorry you didn’t die before you got old?
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Meg Gerrish says:
My aging husband and my aging self agree with you, Keith. We would very much enjoy going to a Who concert, but they were out of place at the Super Bowl.
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I thought The Who were a little flat. And it’s not just an age thing. Oldsters Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Tom Petty all sounded better in their Super Bowl appearances, in my opinion.
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James says:
I saw an interesting quote from a Scottish writer in the year 1770, and it well summed up what’s wrong with both political parties, and really the public as a whole, today. Our elected officials keep voting goodies for their side, instead of standing up to the task of correcting the serious imbalances in our economy and especially federal budget. No one can take a stance in favor of fiscal sanity, for fear of being voted out at the next election. So deficits grow and special interest lobbyists win, at the nation’s overall great expense.
The quote follows in a few lines, but first, think about how each side advocates policies that are bad for the nation as a whole: (1) most Democrats never think any spending program can be cut in order to address the growing deficit, but want to keep accelerating spending to aid core constituencies and causes and (2) Republicans persist — even now –with the shameless cry of “Tax cuts!” at a time in which the budget is way out of balance and they wealthy have already rewarded themselves with 10 years of Bush tax cuts, which was what swung the nation’s finances from surplus to deficit long before 9-11, the two wars or the bail out (check your facts, right wing liars: Bush entered office with a surplus and immediately gave out tax cuts that swung us to deficits. It’s a fact). Sadly, there’s no place in either political party for a fiscal conservative and the few Republicans who act like they are fiscal conservatives tend to keep calling for unrealistic tax cuts… and make themselves utterly unacceptable as candidates (to me at least) by also advocating highly intrusive policies favored by the meddle-in-everyone’s-private-affairs Limbaugh-logic social conservatives. Yuck. I had rather have Democrats in my wallet than Republicans in my bedroom, bookcase and everywhere else these know-nothing know it alls want to be… But what a choice!
I don’t know what to do. Both sides are hellbent on continuing to reward their “core constituents,” regardless of how bad that is for the economy as a whole. I guess we need a third party candidate to explain all this to voters, so voters will tell the Congress to knock it off or leave town… Nutty. OR AS IT TURNS OUT, NOT SO NUTTY Ross Perot did that years ago, and a broad consensus emerged that led to the balanced budgets under Clinton (and a Republican Congress) that Bush-Cheney squandered. Do we need a new, less nutty Ross? If so, where is she/he?
Now the Scotsman:
“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy…”
Alexander Fraser Tytler, Scottish lawyer and writer, 1770
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Greg Mitchell says:
Here’s a thought for you. I applaud the concept of ‘Your Southern Thoughts’ but am afraid that most of what we’ll get are not anything remotely Southern (except maybe the goats). Remember the South we all grew up in ….. not the ugly part shown on the History channel each February during “Black History Month”, but the gentle and somewhat genteel South where neighbors got together and formed ‘quilting bees’, and had ‘corn shuckin’s’, where folks were considered neighborly if they inquired after your health and general welfare instead of just being considered nosey. Unfortunately, the South I remember and loved so well in childhood seems to be forever gone. But there are memories we who are indigenous to the region probably have that are unique and should perhaps be shared. These are my Southern thoughts on this bright and promising Sunday morning.
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Meg Gerrish says:
How did a Georgia-born (1890s) and raised woman manage to stay on good terms with family and neighbors, and enjoy lifelong friendships with southern ladies without an utterance of God? I’ve wracked my brain. Grandmother never “praised the lord,” never went to church, didn’t even own a bible, although to be fair, literate though she was, she didn’t own any books. Grandmother absolutely had no use for religion and whether she believed in God at all is an open question. Don’t think she would have labeled herself an atheist, exactly, but she had clear leanings. Were non-believers more common in the 1900s south than we thought or was she just good at keeping her head down? I ponder.
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Rev Lewis Bowman says:
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
It breaks my heart to say the ULC Homeless Ministry Inc will be closing to the public and will no longer be active in this community due to a lack of intrest from the community, In january we placed over 30 people some of them teens, into warm places to stay gave away 70 coats and about 80 blankets and paid the rent or utilities for 5 people and 2 famlies, We also took several people into our home untill they could get a job and a place to live, But all things must come to an end and we can not afford to go on out of pocket, So as of april we will no longer have services for this area. Our services will still be available for rockdale and dekalb untill further notice.
Rev Lewis Bowman
Phone 404-433-8039
E-mail rev.lewisbowman@ymail.com
10921 hwy 36, # 33
Covington Georgia, 30014 -
Lee Leslie says:
Thanks, Piney – It is still February. Thanks for pointing out the problem. It should work from now on.
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Pete Woods says:
I hate it when I go to sleep and I wake up and it’s a month later. According to the first five posts on “Your Southern Thoughts,” I’ve missed most of February.
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Lee Leslie says:
I recently received this in an email: “Bad poetry & mealy mouthed prose get ready! I come to take both your hills like I would tits that size if I could find them willing.”
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Lee Leslie says:
I’d vote Chambliss off my island first, but Shelby and or Jim Demint should go in next week’s show.
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Keith Graham says:
Should we start a competition to pick the South’s worst elected official? Shelby, McConnell and Chambliss would all get votes today, based on the news. And your nominees are …
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Terri Evans says:
Here’s an even thought: thank you for this “Southern Thoughts” forum. It has given me glee. There will be times when it will be about goats.
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- Reason for optimism - March 10th, 2010
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