Southern Bookman

Conservative Republican Brian Kemp adds to alternative-energy stature

Ga. Gov. Brian Kemp runs the risk of being mistaken for a liberal.

A rising star of the climate change-denying Republican Party, Kemp landed yet another major alternative energy plant with Q Cells' $2.5 billion solar energy investment in Cartersville and Dalton.

The South Korean company owned by Hanwha Solutions will operate the United States' first complete solar panel supply chain, according to media reports. The corporation will assume a major presence in the state where Georgia Power has long sought to control solar power's growth. 

Generous tax incentives backed by Kemp and the Republican-controlled Georgia Legislature have sparked a boom in electrical vehicle and battery factories. Now, the state will lead the nation's solar panel economy in competition against China.

Kemp heralded Georgia's latest alternative energy plant, but the tax incentives in Democratic President Joe Biden's climate change and infrastructure law led to Q Cells' decision. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff wrote the solar panel inducements included in the act, supported by Sen. Raphael Warnock.

But the state tax incentive were also a significant factor. Under Kemp, Georgia is the national leader in the economic transition from fossil fuels, with Rivian's electric-truck factory east of Atlanta, South Korean SK corporation's electric battery plants and South Korean automaker Hyundai's electric vehicle investment in Savannah.

Kemp also sounded progressive Wednesday in announcing support for affordable housing. In a speech at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's Eggs and Issues Breakfast, Kemp promised affordable housing programs so that workers can find places to live near their workplaces.

In another progressive development, a Republican-led Georgia House committee will study the state's woeful health care system, which could lead to Medicaid expansion, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article.

Kemp soundly defeated Democratic celebrity Stacey Abrams to win re-election in November after surviving former President Donald Trump's effort to defeat him in the Republican primary. Along with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Kemp defied Trump's machinations to overturn Biden's presidential election victory in Georgia.

Many moderate Georgia voters supported both Kemp and Warnock in the general election. While Kemp reluctantly supported Republican Herschel Walker in the runoff won by Warnock, the governor has worked closely with the Democratic senators, bringing economic development to the state.

In contrast to his green-economy accomplishments, Kemp has drawn Democratic ire for his support of restrictive election laws, harsh antiabortion legislation and gun rights measures.

Yet in boosting Georgia's solar panel and electric vehicle industries, Kemp stands as one of the nation's most progressive governors. His affordable housing stance matches that of progressive Democrats.

Atlanta will benefit from the new factories, which will form a radius surrounding the city. But  it's regrettable that Atlanta itself hasn't landed such a massive operation, which would add another dimension to the city's economy. Worker training for high-paying factory jobs would alleviate the city's persistent poverty and social inequality.

 

 

City of Buckhead movement returns to Georgia Legislature

A fresh batch of City of Buckhead yard signs proliferate as the Georgia Legislature begins another slog to springtime.

Last year, the movement calling for Buckhead to leave the city of Atlanta died in the legislative session.

But the new forest-green and gold signs reflect a resurgence, with heightened outrage over crime following the shocking stabbing death of 77-year-old Eleanor Bowles at her home and the slaying of Christopher Eberhart, a worker found shot to death in a Buckhead driveway.

New Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who co-authored the city of Buckhead bill last year as a state senator, will likely accelerate new legislation, unlike former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who bottled up the bill in committee. Jones in an interview with Axios didn't include city of Buckhead among his legislative priorities.

The death of former Speaker of the House David Ralston, who also scuttled city of Buckhead legislation, improves the effort's prospects.

New House Speaker Jon Burns, a longtime Ralston ally, appears likely to support Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens' opposition to the bill. But Burns might not match Ralston's ironclad control over rebellious Republicans eager to punish Georgia's Democratic-run capital city.

Jones' political future is uncertain following a special Fulton County grand jury's investigation into former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory in Georgia.

The lieutenant governor, one of the few candidates supported by Trump who won election last fall, joined Georgia Republican leaders who registered as false electors for Trump.

Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis was forbidden to investigate Jones' role in Trump's Georgia intrigues, because she supported his Democratic opponent, Charlie Bailey.

But with the Trump investigation now headed to a regular grand jury empowered to seek indictments, Jones might face criminal prosecution, along with former GOP leader David Shafer and other prominent Republicans.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is pushing for the public release of the special grand jury's report, based on testimony of state officials and GOP notables such as former New York City Mayor and Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Trump in a phone call pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find 11,000 votes to overturn Biden's Georgia victory. Raffensperger refused. Gov. Brian Kemp also denied Trump. Both Raffensperger and Kemp testified before the special grand jury.

If indicted, Jones might be forced to resign, which could derail city of Buckhead legislation in the Senate.

The strong Democratic contingent representing Atlanta in the Legislature likely will rebuff the city of Buckhead push. But Buckhead's boiling anti-crime fervor might galvanize GOP support.

 

 

 

Farewell, Charles Simic and Naomi Replansky, imimitable American poets

Charles Simic and Naomi Replansky wrote poems in which every day objects opened connections to monumental historic tragedies.

Simic, the Serbian-born poet who learned English in a Chicago-area high school as a 15-year-old, translated European surrealism into the American idiom.

The former U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner died Monday at age 84 at an assisted care facility in Dover, N.H., from complications of dementia.

Like Simic, Replansky captured the startling images of foreign poetry in American language. Replansky, who died at age 104 Saturday at her home in Manhattan, echoed the surrealism of Latin American writing, a difficult feat, as admirer Philip Levine noted.

Replansky also went against the grain of American poetry by her use of rhyme and meter. In an excellent obituary examining Replansky's undervalued career, New York Times writer Margalit Fox effectively illustrated Replansky's technique by giving examples of her poetry.

In one poem cited by Fox, Replansky recalls eating with a spoon when she heard about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The poem contrasts her personal anguish with the immense suffering of the Japanese city at the end of World War II.

Unlike the prolific Simic, Replansky published only three collections of her work. She also held a variety of jobs, including a stint as a "stewardess" on a ship making an ocean voyage.

Fox says the Bronx native, who lived for a number of years in California before returning to New York City, was discouraged by a negative review from Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The beat icon objected to her use of  rhyme. Fox's examples of Replansky's work show that he was woefully misguided and that she revitalized traditional techniques.

In his outstanding New York Times obituary of Simic, the newspaper's literary critic Dwight Garner traced the poet and critic's rise from World War II-ravaged Yugoslavia to a place at the center of American literary culture. The U.S. poet laureate from 2007 to 2008, Simic won the Pulitizer Prize in 1990 for his prose-poem collection, "The World Doesn't End."

As Garner noted, Simic remained haunted by his childhood in war-torn Serbia, where he witnessed first-hand Nazi atrocities. In poems beginning with every-day experiences, he shifted to recollections of his harrowing past, mixing horror with black humor. In later life, Simic more frequently wrote about the pleasures of food, love and daily experiences.

Like William Carlos Williams, Simic wrote deceptively simple poems that seemed easy to imitate. Yet he was unique in his droll use of imagery in which common objects gained magical qualities.

Simic's death immediately followed that of another major American writer, poet and novelist Russell Banks. Noted editor and poet Daniel Halpern confirmed both men's deaths.

The passing of writers like Simic, Replansky and Banks brings sorrow mixed with gratitude that their work endures.

 

 

 

Farewell Russell Banks, novelist who explored working class masculinity

Russell Banks was one of the last of the white male novelists who once dominated American literature.

Banks, the 82-year-old author of acclaimed novels "Continental Drift," "Cloudsplitter," "The Rule of the Bone" and "The Sweet Hereafter," died from cancer Saturday at his home in upstate New York.

The author of 14 novels, several nonfiction books and a number of poetry and short story collections, Banks wrote about conflicted working class men seeking to escape their harsh, economically constricted lives.

A native of rural Massachusetts whose physically abusive father was a plumber, Banks before his literary breakthrough drifted around the country, working a series of blue collar jobs.

While he eventually studied writing at the University of North Carolina, Banks was one of the last American writers who underwent an apprenticeship in the working world outside of academia.

In the tradition of Mark Twain and Jack Kerouac, Banks often wrote about young characters heading to the American road to test their moral code and masculine courage. Along with contemporaries Raymond Carver, Robert Stone and Jim Harrison, he updated Ernest Hemingway's macho literary ethos for the Vietnam-era generation.

Thomas McGuane, Thomas Pynchon and Don DeLilllo are the last survivors of that male-dominated world of American fiction. Now, women, American black, Asian, African, gay and Latino writers have risen to prominence.

A professor at Princeton University, Banks like Carver was also part of a generation of macho American poets. He began his career writing poetry and launched a literary journal at the University of North Carolina. Banks was also a close friend of the poet William Matthews, notorious for sexually harassing women students.

Yet Banks' books displayed depths of moral consciousness, ethical conflicts and historical awareness beyond the cliches of masculine fiction. "Cloudsplitter," a Pulitzer Prize finalist, examined the motivations of 19th century abolitionist John Brown, leading to his attack on Harpers' Ferry. Banks also displayed a rare sensitivity to the confusions of adolescence.

An appreciative assessment of Banks' career by Washington Post critic Ron Charles presented Banks as a major American novelist at risk of upsetting the moral sensitivities of today's censorious culture. Charles makes a compelling case that Banks' books deserve continued readership.

New Atlanta Journal-Constitution publisher sets course for digital transformation

New Atlanta Journal-Constitution president and publisher Andrew Morse will hasten the demise of the newspaper's print edition.

Morse, former head of CNN Worldwide and an experienced television news executive, said he plans to accelerate what he called the media company's transition to digital news.

If there will be no more paper, why call it a newspaper?

Before Morse's arrival, the AJC already has been pushing readers online, cutting news coverage in the print edition with early deadlines and emphasizing the "e-paper."

Apparently, the digital campaign has not generated sufficient revenues to please Cox Enterprises leader Alex Taylor, the scion of the Cox family's new generation. Morse, who has no print experience outside of the editorship of his student newspaper at Cornell, was chosen to realize Taylor's digital dreams.

Cox hopes Morse has more success with the AJC's digital makeover than he did in starting the doomed CNN+ streaming effort. After a massive publicity campaign and several high-profile hires, new corporate ownership turned the plus into a minus, torpedoing the initiative.

Outside of The New York Times with its multifaceted offerings and The Wall Street Journal with its authoritative financial coverage, old-line media companies and new startups have hit potholes on their way to the digital future. The Washington Post after flourishing during the Trump administration  recently saw subscriptions plummet, leading to imminent layoffs.

Under Taylor's direction, Cox Enterprises recently purchased the online news operation Axios, following the Times' acquisition of the sports site the Athletic. The announcement of Morse's hiring indicated closer cooperation between the AJC and Axios.

I'm one of the dying number of subscribers who still receive the print newspaper every morning. One day soon, the AJC will no longer arrive on my driveway. Guess I'll have to buy a new I-phone and learn the AJC's digital password at last.

 

LSU's "Booger" McFarland, Ryan Clark and Marcus Spears stand tall during Damar Hamlin emergency

LSU, once acclaimed as the Old War Skule and Huey Long's shining university, is best known these days as a football factory.

The school where Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brooks launched the prestigious Southern Review, world-renowned professors produced ground-breaking research and historian T. Harry Williams wrote nationally lauded books has suffered from the GOP 's stringent budget cuts.

While LSU has won several national football championships, the university's academic standing has fallen. Yet LSU programs like journalism have national reputations, and LSU students receive quality educations. The LSU Press and Southern Review remain at the forefront of academic publishing.

College football programs like LSU's are frequently criticized for not giving their players good educations. They are perceived as training grounds for the NFL.

Three former LSU and NFL players - "Booger" McFarland, Ryan Clark and Marcus Spears - have shown the benefits of their college experience this week following Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin's horrifying medical emergency Monday night during the Bills game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

After Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and received CPR following a seemingly routine tackle of Bengals receiver Tee Higgins and was rushed by ambulance to a Cincinnati hospital, where he remains in critical condition, McFarland, Clark and Spears have given passionate commentary on ESPN about why players risk serious injury, even death, to play pro football.

McFarland appeared with ESPN host Suzy Kolber and reporter Adam Schefter immediately after Hamlin's injury, pressed into extraordinary service when the game was halted. Summoned from the 'green room, where they were awaiting their usual half-time appearances, Kolber, Schefter and McFarland were asked to give impromptu responses to Hamlin's injury.

Fighting through his own shock and grief, McFarland spoke about how the event's rare life-threatening nature horrified the players. After a disputed report that play was to resume after five minutes, he gave the first call for the game's postponement. Kolber and Schefter effectively expressed their stunned reactions, but McFarland gave special insight based on his NFL career, during which he received several serious injuries.

In an appearance Wednesday on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, the nine-year NFL star gave a passionate explanation of why players risk injury or even death to play in the NFL. Like many black NFL players, McFarland grew up in poverty. He told Kornheiser and Wilbon that football offered him the opportunity to leave destitute Winnsboro, a small town in north Louisiana, and provide a better life for his mother.

Clark, appearing on Scott Van Pelt's Sports Center Monday night after Hamlin was rushed to the hospital and the game postponed, spoke of how  the athletes' thrill at competition is balanced by the risk of injury. While the players fiercely battle each other, with terrifying hits that are a big part of the NFL's appeal, they share a brotherhood of overcoming pain and fear to achieve amazing athletic feats, he said.

Former Dallas Cowboys star and LSU All-American Marcus Spears in his regular role on ESPN's "NFL Game Day" Wednesday noted the millions of dollars that Americans have donated to Hamlin's toy fund following his injury. Spears passionately asserted that the outpouring of love and concern for Hamlin reflected the basic goodness of Americans, no matter their political philosophy.

McFarland, Clark and Spears have shown football's best qualities with their thoughtful,  poignant reflections. As an LSU alum, I've never been prouder of Tigers.

 

 

Noah Baumbach's "White Noise" and Steven Spielberg's "The Fabelmans" share affinities

I ended 2022 viewing at home "White Noise" and "The Fabelmans," two oddly similar films about middle-class American families coping with the modern world.

Noah Baumbach's "White Noise" captured the satirical spirit of Don DeLillo's novel, while Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical "The Fabelmans" presented an engaging portrait of postwar America, with its technological and economic advances and middle-class aspirations.

Both films depicted an "airborne toxic event," a chemical cloud in "White Noise" and a tornado in "The Fabelmans." Both films looked at the special stresses of gifted children, the ravages of adultery, and the changing expectations of fatherhood. 

"White Noise's" satiric skewering of academia and its pretentious intellectual posturing matched "The Fabelmans" send up of early Silicon Valley's technological jargon and futuristic dreams.

With strong casts, sharp writing and astute, fully realized directors' visions, both pictures used the past - Baumbach's 1980s and Spielberg's 1950s and 1960s - to mirror the present.

 

ESPN answers the bell in covering Damar Hamlin crisis

ESPN performed admirably in covering Buffalo Bills cornerback Damar Hamlin's frightening medical emergency Monday night.

The 24-year-old safety collapsed in the first period of the Monday Night Football game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals after making an apparently routine tackle.

Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest, and ,edical personnel had to perform CPR  for nine minutes and use a defibrillator to restore Hamlin's heartbeat. The sixth round draft choice was rushed by ambulance from the field to a Cincinnati hospital, where he reamined in critical condition Tuesday afternoon.

As ESPN's Joe Buck told the network's Scott Van Pelt, the ESPN Monday night football crew was thrust from covering a football game to reporting  news about a life and death situation.

Overcoming their own sadness and distress, the ESPN team balanced deep emotions and strong communication skills. Along with powerful personal  reflections, they delivered timely reporting of essential facts.

Showing her extensive experience in gathering information during games and interviewing coaches and players, veteran sideline reporter Lisa Salters stood out with her observations of the tragedy, including disclosing that CPR was administered to Hamlin, that he received oxygen when placed in the ambulance on the field, and that Hamlin's mother rode with him to the hospital.

After an early report that the teams were told to warm up for five minutes before resuming play, the ESPN team forcefully called for the game to be postponed.

Former NFL player Booger McFarland was particularly effective in asserting that Hamlin's critical injury and the shock and grief of his fellow players were paramount.

Hall of Fame quarterback and color analyst Troy Aikman also spoke out strongly against the competition resuming.  At last, after an agonizingly drawn out hour, the NFL "postponed" the game.

Speaking on Van Pelt's Sports Center, former NFL player Ryan Clark gave moving testimony to the NFL players' balancing of gridiron glory with the fear of injury. Clark spoke of the players as a brotherhood bound by pain and athletic achievement.

NFL host Suzy Kolber, ace reporter Adam Schefter, rules analyst Joe Parry and Buck also displayed grace under extraordinary pressure.

Hamlin's collapse was one of those mesmerizing TV moments when the unexpected turns real. The ESPN journalists met the test, going beyond the familiar parameters of sports. They gave a national TV audience necessary facts, and expressed our shared disbelief and sorrow.