Report: The Sunday Paper is Ralph Reed campaign literature

I love The Sunday Paper.

Really, I do.

Week-after-week, no other newspaper in town is as good at jamming advertorial, fascism, and Jesse Jackson into such an appealing package.

I've just found one more reason to love it.

According to a report in the conservative Washington Times newspaper, The Sunday Paper is an organ of Ralph Reed's campaign to become Georgia's next lieutenant governor.

The report, in Wednesday's edition, describes Lisa Baron's sometimes smutty (always insipid) weekly column as part of Reed's "strategy" to broaden his appeal beyond his devout Christian base. Lisa Baron is Reed's campaign spokesperson.

A snippet from the Wash Times article:

Some Republican eyebrows were raised when Mr. Reed's campaign for lieutenant governor hired Atlanta publicist Lisa Baron, whose column in an Atlanta weekly has ventured into risque subject matter in language not often publicly employed by Bible Belt social conservatives.

It's apparently part of a strategy by Mr. Reed to downplay his Christian Coalition past and play up his "mainstream" Republican credentials.

Will The Sunday Paper fire Ms. Baron? Will The Sunday Paper, at the very least, investigate the Washington Times allegation and respect its readers enough to share its findings?

A real newspaper would do both of those things.

Of course, a real newpaper wouldn't have hired Lisa Baron in the first place.

(For more on Ralph Reed, I highly recommend The Book Of Ralph by Doug Monroe and Josh Latta.)

New York Times Art Critic Ponders the Georgia Aquarium

The New York Times art critic Edward Rothstein wrote a story about the Georgia Aquarium for today's paper.

A snippet:

And this aquarium's risks are not of tanks fracturing or sea water growing stale, but of isolated spectacles and too little information.

And another snippet:

It is almost completely the creation of a single man, Bernard Marcus, co-founder of the Home Depot, as a "gift" to the people of the city in which his company began

.

Tax advice for My' Lantans

I was working on my taxes in Turbo Tax today and ran across a few tax credits you won't want to miss:
- Passive activity credit
- Credit for alcohol used as fuel
- Orphan drug credit

Plan ahead for next year!

Lunch?

"Do we serve lunch? How much does it cost? I'm sorry, but I just don't know."

(Location: University Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway, in beautiful Southwest Atlanta.)

James Risen In Atlanta

James Risen, one of the two New York Times reporters who kindly informed us that the Bush Administration is illegally wiretapping our phone calls, will be in Atlanta tomorrow.

The following is from the Atlanta Press Club's web site:

JIM RISEN NEWSMAKER LUNCHEON

WHAT - James Risen helped break the story and wrote the book on what has become known as “domestic spying” authorized by President Bush, allowing the National Security Agency to conduct covert surveillance of suspect international communications originating or terminating in the U.S. After holding the story for perhaps a year, The New York Times published an article by James Risen and Erich Lichtblau detailing the NSA program on December 16, 2005. The story has sparked a national security leak investigation by the Department of Justice. The Atlanta Press Club hosts Risen on Fri., March 17 for a Newsmaker Luncheon and book signing.

WHO - Risen is national security correspondent for The New York Times and author of STATE OF WAR: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration. He writes on the intelligence community and how it is used in U.S. foreign policy. He has covered the use of U.S. intelligence capabilities in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Risen was a member of the reporting team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting of Sept. 11 and terrorism. He is co-author of two other books, The Main Enemy and Wrath of Angels.

WHERE - The Commerce Club 34 Broad Street, 16th Floor Dining Room, Atlanta, GA 30303 For directions, please visit http://www.thecommerceclub.org/location.html. Because of limited parking at TCC, please consider using MARTA, whose Five Points station is across the street, or nearby parking decks on Marietta St.

R.S.V.P. - This luncheon is open to the public. APC members may purchase individual tickets for $28 each or tables of 10 with signage for $280. Nonmembers may purchase individual tickets for $35 each or tables of 10 with signage for $350. Parking is not included in the ticket price. Tickets and tables may be purchased below or by calling 404-57-PRESS. Payment must accompany reservations, and there is a 24-hour cancellation policy.

When:
Friday, March 17, 2006
Event Starts - 11:30
Event Ends - 1:00

Where:
34 Broad Street
16th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30303

RSVP:
Members - $28
Non-Members - $35
404-577-7377

Marc "Soolaiman" Fournier Tribute This Weekend

From Michael Fournier:

MEDIA ADVISORY

For Immediate Release until March 19, 2006

www.hotaugustknights.com

WHAT: Soolaiman Memorial Show

WHERE:The EARL, East Atlanta

WHEN: Saturday, March 18, 2006

COST:$10.00

On March 18th, The EARL in East Atlanta will host a memorial show for Marc Fournier, better known to many Atlantans as Soolaiman, lead singer for the Hot August Knights, a popular Neil Diamond cover band. Proceeds from the show will benefit YouthPride, an organization serving gay and lesbian teenagers in the greater Atlanta area.

Cadillac Jones will open the show. A house band assembled and led by Hot August Knights bassist Stiff Penalty will headline, playing Neil Diamond songs behind a variety of guest vocalists, including Mike Geier of Kingsized. Other events are planned for the evening.

Fournier, who sang with the Hot August Knights from 2001 to 2004, passed away unexpectedly in November after a brief illness. As Soolaiman, he interpreted Neil Diamond’s songs for audiences in the Boston and Atlanta areas, very often donating his time for a variety of charitable causes.

Additional information will be posted at www.hotaugustknights.com

Recent photo of new, more vigilant My'Lanta StoryCorpse at work in Atlanta (and their van)

Atlanta is Gentrificationizing!

I know this because I read it in today's New York Times!

Gentrification Changing Face of New Atlanta

By SHAILA DEWAN
Published: March 11, 2006

ATLANTA, March 8 — In-town living. Live-work-play. Mixed income. The buzzwords of soft-core urbanism are everywhere these days in this eternally optimistic city, used in real estate advertisements and mayoral boasts to lure money from the suburbs and to keep young people from leaving.

Loft apartments roll onto the market every week, the public housing authority is a nationally recognized pioneer in redevelopment and the newest shopping plaza has one Target and three Starbucks outlets.

But although gentrification has expanded the city's tax base and weeded out blight, it has had an unintended effect on Atlanta, long a lure to African-Americans and a symbol of black success. For the first time since the 1920's, the black share of the city's population is declining and the white percentage is on the rise.

Read the rest of the story.

My 'Lanta My 'Story

The other day, My 'Lantan Reid asked an interesting question. StoryCorps is in Atlanta capturing life stories for posterity, but who is capturing the StoryCorps story? Who, Reid wonders, is gonna StoryCorps StoryCorps?

Inspired by his question, I took my voice recorder down to the StoryCorps van to record a StoryCorps story.

On this recording, the first in probably not ongoing feature we call My' Lanta My 'Story, we hear from Shawn and Paula Patch about their experience in the StoryCorps recording booth.

Download My 'Lanta My 'Story - The Patch Saga

My 'Gusta

Here's the first part of a cool BBC Radio documentary about James Brown. It's streaming Real Audio.



I'll leave for another time the rant about why I have to turn to the BBC to hear a radio documentary about one of Georgia and the U.S.'s greatest musical artists.

Golden Blizzard at Young Blood Gallery - Saturday, March 4

Love Hurts, a new show by Atlanta's Golden Blizzard art collective, opens at Young Blood Gallery & Boutique on Saturday, March 4.



If you've never been to Young Blood, shame on you. The exhibitions that Young Blood hosts are always interesting and fun.

You can check out some of Golden Blizzard's work on their Flickr page.

Not that it matters, but I'll be there.