McCoy: Where am I? Brain is not playing fair

It's not cool to keep silent

I remember the first time I ran away from home. I was in sixth grade and I had been wronged in some way. I was sure my parents loved my sister more or denied me some privilege, and I was having none of that. I stayed home when my parents left for work, skipped school, packed a bag and took my bike to this little secluded spot by the river, thinking that was an awesome place to live. I was home before my parents.

Credit report coding trips up buyers

Are large numbers of homeowners who have negotiated short sales with lenders at risk because of a startling omission in the American credit system? Do their credit reports and scores indicate that they were foreclosed upon, rather than having negotiated a mutually agreeable resolution with their lenders?

Sometimes, perspective changes things

Single and lonely in a new neighborhood, a guy invites his neighbors to a drop-in party. With ample food and drink, he sits alone as party time comes and goes.

Who's teaching students to hate U.S.?

Brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who are accused of setting the bombs that exploded at the Boston Marathon, attended the University of Massachusetts. Maybe they hated our nation before college, but if you want lessons on hating America, college attendance might be a good start. Let's look at it.

Where am I? Brain isn't playing fair

Last week, while out of town and staying in a hotel, I had a most exasperating experience.

Property tax proposal doesn’t add up

The word tax is a three-letter word that might as well be a four-letter word these days.

Cushman: Crisis management

My graduate course in crisis management was the 2012 Republican presidential primaries as a senior advisory and national media surrogate for Newt Gingrich.

Crosswalk confusion is rampant

I try to walk at least five days or more a week for close to an hour.

Dalton mayor mulls run against Deal

David Pennington, the mayor of Dalton, is making noises about challenging incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal in the 2014 Republican primary. Say what?

Carter: Character, integrity are true pillars of society

I was conversing with a couple of friends this week, each of whom expressed frustration and disappointment at having been wronged recently in a business transaction.

McCoy: Men, watch your step at weddings

If you're a man who's been invited to a wedding, you need to heed my advice so you know what to do at these alien affairs.

How home sellers shoot themselves in the foot

With full-fledged sellers' markets underway in dozens of metropolitan areas around the country, new research has found curious statistical patterns emerging: Even in cities where listings get multiple offers within days or hours, significant numbers of homes are sitting on the market for six months, 12 months or more with no takers.

Williams: Hustlers are selling a bill of goods

One definition given for insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Dupree, Graubart cook up another gem

Cook, author and TV personality Nathalie Dupree is long gone from these parts, having been carted away to endlessly charming Charleston by husband Jack Bass, chronicler of Southern history. Still, she retains devoted fans and many friends here since she ran "Nathalie's at Mt. Pleasant Village" and lived in Social Circle.

Comments from the peanut gallery

This isn't going to please those boys and girls with the dark glasses and hearing aids who are always talking to their lapels, but my column commandoes walked right past them the other night to attend the season's first Conversation at the Carter Center, otherwise known as Jimmy Carter's Out-of-Touch-With-Reality Pontifications.

It’s time to Deal with financial woes

During a telephone call with reporters last week, Nathan Deal explained why he and his wife had made bad investment decisions that were threatening them with financial insolvency.

Voters: Be careful what you wish for

We've reached a point in America where the general public feels its elected officials are out of touch with reality and that, especially at the Federal level, the incumbents should be thrown out of office so that we may start over. Various polls by national news services have dutifully reported President Obama's precipitous slip in popularity. The outcry from the common man reached a crescendo when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, voiced ...

Campaign a matter of common sense

There's hope for America. I saw it this past weekend in Fairfield, Calif.

Time for a cheap watch

Nice watches and I don't get along anymore, and that's just fine with me. No matter how much I'm tempted by their beauty, I'll never again buy an expensive watch. I can't stand to see another "precious timepiece" ruined because of a fried gizmo, jammed cog, or leaky seal. From now on, I'm going to adopt a friend's idea. He goes for "cheap and disposable." My plan - "expensive and disposable" - ...

Bank integral to city history

Last week, I spent some time looking ahead to the assets here in Newton County that will be the basis for our ultimate recovery from these, shall we say, "unpleasant" economic times. This week, let's look back at some of our history, drawn from a book by Peggy Lamberson that was written for the Bank of Covington in 1989.

Ethics issues may impact governor’s race

Do Georgia voters pay attention to ethics issues? We are about to find out, as Republican Nathan Deal and Democrat Roy Barnes engage in a war of words over which candidate for governor should reveal what information about themselves. The people we elect should observe the highest standards of ethical conduct. We don't want to see anyone unfairly enriching himself (or herself) at the expense of the tax-paying public. Voters certainly should take note of ...

Teachers, don’t get your hopes up

Pay attention, teachers. The two main gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Roy Barnes and Republican Nathan Deal, are trying to make nice with you. At least until they get themselves elected. Then all bets are off. Roy Barnes says he is going to provide you with salary increases, smaller class sizes and a ban on furloughs. He also wants to bring two teachers into the governor's office to act as advisers. (What? Ask classroom teachers for advice? ...

Sweet dreams and flying machines

Nine years ago Saturday, radical Islamists attacked The United States of America.

President Obama’s flawed foundation

We all know it happens - people often get confused. They can become overwhelmed and forget who they are and where they came from, allowing outside forces to dictate their actions.

Cologne by the six pack

I love to smell fine fragrances. Wear chic French perfume around me and I'll sniff the air and try to guess which movie star you're pretending to be. Give me a scratch-and-sniff cologne sample and I'll wear my fingernail down as I scratch up the sweet aroma. But if you apply too much fragrance, I'll turn red and make gagging noises in your direction. I can't help it. I have a sensitive ...

The great debate

In all the hubbub over the construction of a mosque at Ground Zero in New York City as a reciprocal gesture of friendship to Muslims who have agreed to build the Ali Khamenei Baptist Tabernacle in downtown Tehran, you may have missed the latest debate between Georgia's gubernatorial candidates, sponsored by the Yarbrough Worldwide Media and Pest Control Company, located in a pool hall in Greater Garfield, Ga.

Here’s a way to raise graduation rates

One of the criticisms you'll often hear of Georgia is the low percentage of students who stay the course in high school and graduate with a diploma.

Trespassing

Y'know, it's not like I'm a foreigner. But although I've called Covington home now for 33 years, sometimes I still feel like I'm trespassing. I guess it's because I'm a product of a bygone era, something called the mid-20th century. When you grew up in a little town in Georgia back then, you were part of the town and the town was part of you. So when I get to thinking, or just ...

Building American character

This week in Sunday school, we talked about how character is passed down from parents to children through stories, experiences and practice. Every family has different stories - the life narratives that describe what they have lived through, where they came from, and how they acted and reacted. These stories and experiences provide a foundation, an understanding of what the family values. This creates their underlying belief system. This understanding then underpins how ...