I'm a long-time political activist who also writes. I've worked on campaigns in both Georgia and Texas. In addition, I'm an elected official within the Republican Party and 2011 was my 20th year of GOP activism.
I am a conservative with a strong libertarian bent. I believe that all decisions, including political decisions, must be based on some moral standard or code. Even the choice to be a utilitarian is a moral choice. For that reason, I consider myself a conservative because I believe the best basis for those decisions are Judeo-Christian values in the Western tradition.
I also believe that for society to be moral, it must give citizens opportunities to make personal choices: good or evil. For that reason, I do not want a society that forces morality on people. People who follow the law out of fear are not necessarily moral or immoral; they are forced to be amoral. I want people to be moral, but because they choose to be so, not because they are forced to be so.
I'm a Republican because it is the closest political organization to my beliefs, not because I like the name. I enjoy political strategy, but despise personal politics and people who are dishonest with the people. I don't apologize for being opinionated, but I'd rather build a bridge than burn one.
On the personal side, I'm a father of two good young men and a grandfather of one extremely smart and charming young lady. I'm proud of my Southern heritage and the stubborn independence and distrust of government that is being passed down through generations of good people. I'm a Southern Baptist who should spend more time in church and less time thinking about going.
If you wish to know more about me - though Heaven only knows why that might be - then you'll simply have to make an effort.
Thanks for stopping by. I'll begin adding more to this as I go.
Favorite Music:
4-Way Street - CSN&Y
A1A - Jimmy Buffett
Aja - Steely Dan
Another Mother Further - Mothers' Finest
Are You Experienced? - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
Avalon Sunset - Van Morrison
At the Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers Band
Beginnings - The Allman Brothers Band
Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan
Blow Your Face Out! - The J. Geils Band
Boats to Build - Guy Clark
Born to Laugh at Tornadoes - Was (Not Was)
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Breezin' - George Benson
Bruised Orange - John Prine
Brushfire Fairy Tales - Jack Johnson
Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield
Burning the Ballroom Down - The Amazing Rhythm Aces
Bustin' Out - Pure Prairie League
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams
Cats on the Coast - Sea Level
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude - Jimmy Buffett
Chasing Someday - Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors
Collaboration - George Benson and Earl Klugh
Comes a Time - Neil Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash - CSN
Deja Vu - CSN&Y
Damn Right I Got the Blues - Buddy Guy
Demolition - Ryan Adams
Dianne Reeves - Dianne Reeves
Disraeli Gears - Cream
Eliminator - ZZ Top
Enlightenment - Van Morrison
Essence - Lucinda Williams
Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
Giant Steps - John Coltrane
Gold - Ryan Adams
Harvest - Neil Young
Harvest Moon - Neil Young
Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams
Hotel California - The Eagles
Indian Summer - Poco
It'll Shine When It Shines - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Jazz at the Pawnshop - Various
John Prine - John Prine
Keb Mo - Keb Mo
Kilimanjaro - Rippingtons
Laid Back - Gregg Allman
Layla and other assorted love songs - Derek and the Dominos
Life in the Tropics - Rippingtons
Live at Bonaroo - Warren Haynes
Live at the Regal - B. B. King
Living and Dying in 3/4 Time - Jimmy Buffett
Lone Wolf - Michael Martin Murphy
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band - Lyle Lovett
Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles
Maroon - Barenaked Ladies
Music From Big Pink - The Band
Night Moves - Bob Seger
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher - Van Morrison
No More Mr. Lucky - Randall Bramblett
Northern Lights-Southern Cross - The Band
Old No. 1 - Guy Clark
On and On - Jack Johnson
On the Border - The Eagles
One Fair Summer's Evening - Nanci Griffith
Perfectly Good Guitar - John Hiatt
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
Poetic Champions Compose - Van Morrison
Pontiac - Lyle Lovett
Rainy Day Music - The Jayhawks
Reckoning - R.E.M.
Red-Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson
Revolver - The Beatles
Romeo Unchained - Tonio K.
Rubber Soul - The Beatles
Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young
Sea Level - Sea Level
See Through Me - Randall Bramblett
Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs
Sketches of Spain - Miles Davis
Slow Turning - John Hiatt
Son of a Son of a Sailor - Jimmy Buffett
South Coast of Texas - Guy Clark
Speak of the Devil - Chris Isaak
Stacked Deck - The Amazing Rhythm Aces
Storm Windows - John Prine
Strong Enough - BlackHawk
Swans Against the Sun - Michael Martin Murphy
Sweet Revenge - John Prine
Texas Cookin' - Guy Clark
The Joshua Tree - U2
Thin Places - Randall Bramblett
Tomorrow the Green Grass - The Jayhawks
Toucan Do It Too - The Amazing Rhythm Aces
Tres Hombres - ZZ Top
The Ultimate Collection - Jerry Jeff Walker
Verve Jazz Masters 13 - Antonio Carlos Jobim
Waiting for Columbus - Little Feat
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
White Ladder - David Gray
Will O' The Wisp - Leon Russell
Favorite Fiction:
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
A Time to Kill by John Grisham
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Black Ice - Michael Connelly
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Dead Irish by John LesCroart
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Forrest Gump by Winston Groom
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Last Car to Elysian Fields by James Lee Burke
Lightwood by Brainard Cheney
Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke
Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Sunset Limited by James Lee Burke
The Complete Saki by H. H. Munro
The Complete Works of O. Henry
The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Harry Dresden Series by Jim Butcher
The Legend of Baggar Vance by Steven Pressfield
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkein
The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais
The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Second Chair by John LesCroart
The Shining by Stephen King
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The Vig by John LesCroart
The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Favorite Non-Fiction:
1776 by David McCullouch
A History of the American People by Paul Johnson
A History of the English Speaking People by Winston Churchill
An American Renaissance by Jack Kemp
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
Free to Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman
From Dawn to Decadence by Jaques Barzun
Guerilla Marketing by Jay Levinson
History of Christianity by Paul Johnson
John Adams by David McCullouch
Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin
Memoirs of a Mangy Lover by Groucho Marx
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
Parliament of Whores by P. J. O'Rourke
Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader by Dinesh D'Souza
Socialism by Ludwig von Mises
The Bible (NAS)
The Fatal Conceit by F. A. Hayek
The Law by Frederic Bastiat
The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer
What's So Great About America? by Dinesh D'Souza
What's So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D'Souza
What I Saw at the Revolution by Peggy Noonan
Winning by Jack Welch (No, NOT Charlie Sheen)
Witness by Whitaker Chambers
Favorite Movies:
12 Angry Men
A Day at the Races
A Fish Called Wanda
A Murder of Crows
A Night at the Opera
A Touch of Evil
Anatomy of a Murder
Arsenic and Old Lace
Be Cool
Blazing Saddles
Bliss (Australian, 1985)
Body Heat
Braveheart
Bringing Up Baby
Bull Durham
Caddyshack
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
Cool Hand Luke
Diner
Duck Soup
Eight Men Out
Field of Dreams
Get Shorty
Groundhog Day
Hoosiers
Horsefeathers
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
It's a Wonderful Life
L.A. Confidential
My Favorite Year
Mystic River
North by Northwest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Patton
Pulp Fiction
Raising Arizona
Ran
Rashomon
Rear Window
Room Service
Stagecoach (1939)
Star Wars Epiosdes 4 through 6
Stripes
Tender Mercies
The Godfather
The Godfather II
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Maltese Falcon
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The Natural
The Patriot
The Shawshank Redemption
The Silence of the Lambs
The Sting
The Usual Suspects
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tombstone
I am a conservative with a strong libertarian bent. I believe that all decisions, including political decisions, must be based on some moral standard or code. Even the choice to be a utilitarian is a moral choice. For that reason, I consider myself a conservative because I believe the best basis for those decisions are Judeo-Christian values in the Western tradition.
I also believe that for society to be moral, it must give citizens opportunities to make personal choices: good or evil. For that reason, I do not want a society that forces morality on people. People who follow the law out of fear are not necessarily moral or immoral; they are forced to be amoral. I want people to be moral, but because they choose to be so, not because they are forced to be so.
I'm a Republican because it is the closest political organization to my beliefs, not because I like the name. I enjoy political strategy, but despise personal politics and people who are dishonest with the people. I don't apologize for being opinionated, but I'd rather build a bridge than burn one.
On the personal side, I'm a father of two good young men and a grandfather of one extremely smart and charming young lady. I'm proud of my Southern heritage and the stubborn independence and distrust of government that is being passed down through generations of good people. I'm a Southern Baptist who should spend more time in church and less time thinking about going.
If you wish to know more about me - though Heaven only knows why that might be - then you'll simply have to make an effort.
Thanks for stopping by. I'll begin adding more to this as I go.
Favorite Music:
4-Way Street - CSN&Y
A1A - Jimmy Buffett
Aja - Steely Dan
Another Mother Further - Mothers' Finest
Are You Experienced? - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
Avalon Sunset - Van Morrison
At the Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers Band
Beginnings - The Allman Brothers Band
Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan
Blow Your Face Out! - The J. Geils Band
Boats to Build - Guy Clark
Born to Laugh at Tornadoes - Was (Not Was)
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Breezin' - George Benson
Bruised Orange - John Prine
Brushfire Fairy Tales - Jack Johnson
Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield
Burning the Ballroom Down - The Amazing Rhythm Aces
Bustin' Out - Pure Prairie League
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams
Cats on the Coast - Sea Level
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude - Jimmy Buffett
Chasing Someday - Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors
Collaboration - George Benson and Earl Klugh
Comes a Time - Neil Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash - CSN
Deja Vu - CSN&Y
Damn Right I Got the Blues - Buddy Guy
Demolition - Ryan Adams
Dianne Reeves - Dianne Reeves
Disraeli Gears - Cream
Eliminator - ZZ Top
Enlightenment - Van Morrison
Essence - Lucinda Williams
Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
Giant Steps - John Coltrane
Gold - Ryan Adams
Harvest - Neil Young
Harvest Moon - Neil Young
Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams
Hotel California - The Eagles
Indian Summer - Poco
It'll Shine When It Shines - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Jazz at the Pawnshop - Various
John Prine - John Prine
Keb Mo - Keb Mo
Kilimanjaro - Rippingtons
Laid Back - Gregg Allman
Layla and other assorted love songs - Derek and the Dominos
Life in the Tropics - Rippingtons
Live at Bonaroo - Warren Haynes
Live at the Regal - B. B. King
Living and Dying in 3/4 Time - Jimmy Buffett
Lone Wolf - Michael Martin Murphy
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band - Lyle Lovett
Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles
Maroon - Barenaked Ladies
Music From Big Pink - The Band
Night Moves - Bob Seger
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher - Van Morrison
No More Mr. Lucky - Randall Bramblett
Northern Lights-Southern Cross - The Band
Old No. 1 - Guy Clark
On and On - Jack Johnson
On the Border - The Eagles
One Fair Summer's Evening - Nanci Griffith
Perfectly Good Guitar - John Hiatt
Pink Moon - Nick Drake
Poetic Champions Compose - Van Morrison
Pontiac - Lyle Lovett
Rainy Day Music - The Jayhawks
Reckoning - R.E.M.
Red-Headed Stranger - Willie Nelson
Revolver - The Beatles
Romeo Unchained - Tonio K.
Rubber Soul - The Beatles
Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young
Sea Level - Sea Level
See Through Me - Randall Bramblett
Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs
Sketches of Spain - Miles Davis
Slow Turning - John Hiatt
Son of a Son of a Sailor - Jimmy Buffett
South Coast of Texas - Guy Clark
Speak of the Devil - Chris Isaak
Stacked Deck - The Amazing Rhythm Aces
Storm Windows - John Prine
Strong Enough - BlackHawk
Swans Against the Sun - Michael Martin Murphy
Sweet Revenge - John Prine
Texas Cookin' - Guy Clark
The Joshua Tree - U2
Thin Places - Randall Bramblett
Tomorrow the Green Grass - The Jayhawks
Toucan Do It Too - The Amazing Rhythm Aces
Tres Hombres - ZZ Top
The Ultimate Collection - Jerry Jeff Walker
Verve Jazz Masters 13 - Antonio Carlos Jobim
Waiting for Columbus - Little Feat
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
White Ladder - David Gray
Will O' The Wisp - Leon Russell
Favorite Fiction:
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
A Time to Kill by John Grisham
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Black Ice - Michael Connelly
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Dead Irish by John LesCroart
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
Forrest Gump by Winston Groom
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Last Car to Elysian Fields by James Lee Burke
Lightwood by Brainard Cheney
Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke
Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Sunset Limited by James Lee Burke
The Complete Saki by H. H. Munro
The Complete Works of O. Henry
The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Harry Dresden Series by Jim Butcher
The Legend of Baggar Vance by Steven Pressfield
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkein
The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais
The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Second Chair by John LesCroart
The Shining by Stephen King
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The Vig by John LesCroart
The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Favorite Non-Fiction:
1776 by David McCullouch
A History of the American People by Paul Johnson
A History of the English Speaking People by Winston Churchill
An American Renaissance by Jack Kemp
Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
Free to Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman
From Dawn to Decadence by Jaques Barzun
Guerilla Marketing by Jay Levinson
History of Christianity by Paul Johnson
John Adams by David McCullouch
Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin
Memoirs of a Mangy Lover by Groucho Marx
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
Parliament of Whores by P. J. O'Rourke
Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader by Dinesh D'Souza
Socialism by Ludwig von Mises
The Bible (NAS)
The Fatal Conceit by F. A. Hayek
The Law by Frederic Bastiat
The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek
The True Believer by Eric Hoffer
What's So Great About America? by Dinesh D'Souza
What's So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D'Souza
What I Saw at the Revolution by Peggy Noonan
Winning by Jack Welch (No, NOT Charlie Sheen)
Witness by Whitaker Chambers
Favorite Movies:
12 Angry Men
A Day at the Races
A Fish Called Wanda
A Murder of Crows
A Night at the Opera
A Touch of Evil
Anatomy of a Murder
Arsenic and Old Lace
Be Cool
Blazing Saddles
Bliss (Australian, 1985)
Body Heat
Braveheart
Bringing Up Baby
Bull Durham
Caddyshack
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
Cool Hand Luke
Diner
Duck Soup
Eight Men Out
Field of Dreams
Get Shorty
Groundhog Day
Hoosiers
Horsefeathers
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
It's a Wonderful Life
L.A. Confidential
My Favorite Year
Mystic River
North by Northwest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Patton
Pulp Fiction
Raising Arizona
Ran
Rashomon
Rear Window
Room Service
Stagecoach (1939)
Star Wars Epiosdes 4 through 6
Stripes
Tender Mercies
The Godfather
The Godfather II
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Maltese Falcon
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The Natural
The Patriot
The Shawshank Redemption
The Silence of the Lambs
The Sting
The Usual Suspects
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tombstone
