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.

Dream on

In modern times, the most famous words ever written about dreams came from the pen of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech on August 28, 1963. "I have a dream…" he said, and you know the rest. His dream led to a sea-change in America's society, culture and government. We are a better nation because that man dreamed and dreamed big.

Lead by example

One of the basic tenets of leadership that is taught in our military is "lead by example." The higher your rank, the more important it is that you set a good example and act responsibly. For example, the Army has a tradition of commissioned officers dressed in their finest uniforms serving Thanksgiving dinner to the troops. We were also taught that the officers always wait to eat last in the field in ...

Ain’t the Way It Used To Be

Female anchors and reporters on the cable news channels and local TV news certainly look different today. The rule used to be that nothing about an anchor should be distracting, nothing flashy, nothing sexy; they should look credible. Credible meant shortish hair (shoulder length max), street eye make-up (no formal evening or look-like-a-hooker eye make-up), no flashy jewelry, no red lipstick, no red nail polish, no tight blouses and no plunging necklines. When ...

There’s no place like Georgia

You can take the boy out of Georgia, but you can't keep him from swelling with pride while he's gone.

Snake oil salesmen in internet clothing

For some time now I've preached about the evil side of the internet and how people can be taken in by ruses or outright hoaxes. Human nature leads us to more or less believe what we see in print. If the internet says it's true, anyone can be fooled, especially those who lack the common sense which comes with life experience to recognize balderdash when they see it. And all too often ...

How to win the argument — Thatcher style

We know we're not happy with our current government. A Rasmussen poll released last week noted that 40 percent of voters are very angry, and 25 percent are somewhat angry "at the current policies of the federal government." Combined, this means two out of every three likely voters are not happy with their government.

Stem cell research — a bipartisan approach?

As I was listening to the back and forth on the recent stem cell research, it occurred to me that an important opportunity for bipartisanship was being overlooked.

Writer’s block

OK, folks, it's Wednesday evening, and I'm looking toward a Thursday deadline with no good column topic in mind. Nothing. Nada. Zip. I'm wandering in the desert seeing nothing on the horizon. Panic may set in soon. At the same time, I'm cooking supper that includes beautiful wild chanterelle mushrooms, handpicked by our friends Janet and Mark on their lovely acreage in the country. They ate them last week and didn't die. ...

Let’s focus on the important issues

As they moved through the first week of their general election campaign for governor, Nathan Deal and Roy Barnes focused their attention on this burning issue: the proposed construction of a mosque two blocks from the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City.

Don’t feel sorry for the squirrels in my backyard

If you find any dead squirrels in my backyard, it is because they have laughed themselves to death.

Emily attacks Sarah

There are few things sadder than girls being mean to girls. Boys seem to be able to slough off slights and events, pick up the ball and play again. Girls tend to hold grudges longer, become more self-conscious and end up creating divisions between each other.

The end of the world as we know it

As the 20th century closed I was still toiling as a middle school social studies teacher. I recall archaeologists, in 1999, unearthing pottery shards in a remote area of Pakistan. Primitive writings evident thereupon were carbon-dated to approximately 5500 B.C., and linguists subsequently determined the etchings originated within the extinct Indus civilization.

Robert Redford

I've never told anyone this before. I turned down Robert Redford - not once but several times. Oh, his pleadings were sincere. And passionate. He dangled beautiful possibilities before me, were I to return his ardor, but waxed equally eloquent about the sadness and wasted opportunities, were I not to respond. I savored each distinctive flourish of his signature. I imagined him at his desk in the mountains of Utah, picking each ...

The days grow short on political campaigns

Congratulations, dear reader. Silly Season, aka, the 2010 political campaign, is nearing the end. Most of the wannabes have been shunted aside and we are in the short days of the campaign. On Nov. 2, it will all be over. Can December come soon enough?

Thanks for your support

Our campaign for the Georgia Public Service Commission came to an end on August 10 when Tim Echols garnered 52 percent of the vote. Between May 1 and Aug. 10, we drove nearly 20,000 miles across Georgia, met wonderful people and shared our ideas on making this state better for all of us. Working hard to have been the first Newton County resident elected statewide was both gratifying, rewarding and eye opening, ...