On his outstanding Prodigal Son CD, North Carolina folk and blugrass legend Mike Cross presents us with a high-stepping little ditty called “Bill is in His Grave.” Bill, it turns out, was a scoundrel of the first order, and he’d been recently deceased. The narrator is asked to say a few words at the funeral, a task that proves daunting
Read morePerhaps I’m jaded. Maybe I’ve read “A Rose for Emily” once too often, researched a tad too much about dismemberments in Memphis, taught one class too many on “A Good Man is Hard to Find,†and indulged myself too uncritically in the fictive Carolina childhood of T.R. Pearson. Maybe there’s something deep and dark and twisted in me. I don’t
Read moreLet’s say this guy was running for president on a third-party ticket: proven track record for getting country out of wars strong foreign policy diplomat who forged stronger relationships with powerful developing (and enemy) nations implemented the first significant federal affirmative action program dramatically increased spending on federal employee salaries organized a daily press event and daily message for the
Read moreI was born and raised in the South, a region that’s often misunderstood and mischaracterized by those who’ve never been there. When I moved to the Midwest for grad school I encountered people whose knowledge of the South was pretty much confined to The Andy Griffith Show, The Dukes of Hazzard and Hee-Haw. And they called us stupid. I’ve tried
Read moreIdiots. Jonathan Walton puts it this way: I confess that I find this somewhat tragic, as I too have Southern pride.
Read moreJohn Edwards kicked off Poverty Tour 2007 today. His opponents and a lot of media people who’d know better if they’d studied a little harder in school will be countering with the even higher profile Idiots and Liars Tour, so brace yourself for all kinds of stupid. You’re going to keep hearing about $400 haircuts. You’re going to hear about
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lullaby pit 