Janet's gone; Duncan, too
Everybody else on the planet has had something to say about Janet, so I lament that I must break down and comment.
First, for all the folks missing the point and saying that what Janet Jackson showed during the Super Bowl halftime show was no worse than other stuff on TV: Its not what showed, but the fact that the other stuff is on cable or later in the day. No one tuned to the halftime show expecting nudity. The objection is the surprise, not just the content.
Whatever happened to marching bands at football halftime, by the way? Id much rather watch Evans High march than see these frolicking idiots.
Equally offensive was the rest of the ludicrous halftime show especially the thoroughly detestable Kid Rock. U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, a former Marine, nailed him last week:
The thing that yanked my chain the hardest was seeing this ignoramus with his pointed head stuck up through the hole he had cut in the flag of the United States of America, yelling about having a bottle of scotch and watching lots of crotch. That did it for me.
This is the same flag we pledge allegiance to, the same flag that is draped over the coffins of dead young uniformed warriors killed while protecting Kid Crocks bony butt. He should be tarred and feathered and ridden out of this country on a rail.
Hoo-ah, senator. Now can we please take this detestable crud off the national conversation list?
On to other things:
Political vacuum
We've heard of politicians being tanned, rested and ready. But one of Columbia Countys biggest behind-the-scenes political workers has gone to work for a company that makes tanning beds, and his departure from the area will leave the election season a little pale.
Doug Duncan, who last worked on the successful County Commission campaign of Steve Brown, has taken a job with Sun Ergoline and recently relocated to Columbus, Ohio.
Consider this an extended vacation, e-mails Duncan, the former owner of Golf Augusta Pro Shops, who says he hopes to be back in a couple of years. Meanwhile, hell be providing long-distance help in Sheriff Clay Whittles re-election campaign.
The rest of Duncans family probably wont leave until the end of the school year, but their departure could have political repercussions, too; angered over the perception that School Board trustee Wayne Bridges failed to support Stevens Creek Elementarys fight to keep foreign language education, Duncans wife, Jean, had talked about challenging Bridges.
Whatever happens, its our communitys loss and Ohios gain. And isnt it weird that theyre going to another place named after Christopher Columbus?
Heritage is no scam
Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox recently released her list of charities that keep for themselves too much of the money they collect. Topping her list is the Heritage Foundation.
The Heritage folks are hopping mad; lumping the respected foundation with phony medical, law-enforcement and firefighter charities is almost laughable.
The Heritage Foundation is not a "charity in the usual sense of the word, Jim Wiedman, director of editorial services for Heritage, told me. We are a think-tank, a non-profit organization dedicated to public policy research and education. Contributors donate to The Heritage Foundation to fund our research and education programs, not so that we might channel their money to other causes.
More specifically, Heritage is a conservative think-tank, which Cox certainly knows. Wonder if she just wanted to score a few political points with her Democrat base as she prepares to run for governor in two years?
(Barry L. Paschal is publisher of The Columbia County News-Times. E-mail comments to bpaschal@newstimesonline.com.)