Cardwell for Senate

I know little about WSB investigative reporter Dale Cardwell, who just announced he’s running for Saxby Chambliss’ Senate seat. But already I’m inclined to vote for him:

Cardwell said he will run against what he calls the daily, debilitating corruption of Washington, and promises to eschew money from special interest groups and political action committees.

“I have a passion as a believer and an observer, and I just can’t stand it any more,” Cardwell said.

That’s refreshing. No mention of having a conversation with the voters of Georgia — or a pledge to restore family values. Cardwell seems pissed off, and we need all the Howard Beale types in Congress we can get

Murders up 22 percent in Atlanta

Shouldn’t this be a bigger story?

The number of murders in Atlanta soared 22 percent last year compared to the year before, while in several other areas of the state the number stayed the same or fell slightly, preliminary FBI statistics released Monday show.

There were 110 murders in Atlanta in 2006, compared to 90 the year before, the FBI said. The rise last year followed a nearly 20 percent drop in murders in Atlanta in 2005 compared to 2004.

News with feeling

It’s not Katie Couric’s fault that her ratings are abysmal. Viewers are to blame — apparently Americans can’t handle a perky woman reading a teleprompter.

According to a former CBS producer, “I’m afraid that Katie’s paying a price for being the first woman. But I think it’s a great trail she’s blazing, and I think if the broadcast continues to be as good as it has been … people will start to watch. It takes time, I think. But I was surprised that there was an obvious connection between a woman giving the news, and the audience wanting to watch it.”

Never mind that Couric is a journalistic lightweight. Of course, manufactured indignation and facts rarely mix.

It’s Paulie

Is that much of a revelation? Norma just read my mind with her declaration that Paulie Walnuts is the real traitor within the Soprano family. I’m guessing that’s a common view, and thus the only reason it’s likely not to be, as David Chase is never predictable. 

Paulie_2 Slate’s Television Club has similar suspicions:

Brian, I’m sure you noticed that Patsy Parisi managed to escape the ambush outside the Bing. What are we to make of that? My friend Glenn Garvin, television critic of the Miami Herald, posits that the botched hit on Phil Leotardo was the work of a mole, and he reminds us that Paulie was previously seen passing information to Phil’s predecessor, Johnny Sack. Is it mere coincidence that when Phil was identifying the targets, he explicitly steered cleared of Paulie? But if Paulie sabotaged the Leotardo hit, then Patsy would have to have been in on it, too, because Patsy was the intermediary. But that fits. You may recall that waaaay back when Patsy belonged to Uncle Junior’s crew, Patsy’s brother, Phillip "Philly Spoons" Parisi, got whacked by Tony, and Patsy gave serious thought to capping Tony in return. He finally rejected the idea and instead exacted revenge by pissing in Tony’s pool. This all makes the courtship by Patsy’s son, Patrick, of one Meadow Soprano seem kind of sinister.

Cardwell for Senate

I know little about WSB investigative reporter Dale Cardwell, who just announced he’s running for Saxby Chambliss’ Senate seat. But already I’m inclined to vote for him:

Cardwell said he will run against what he calls the daily, debilitating corruption of Washington, and promises to eschew money from special interest groups and political action committees.

“I have a passion as a believer and an observer, and I just can’t stand it any more,” Cardwell said.

That’s refreshing. No mention of having a conversation with the voters of Georgia — or a pledge to restore family values. Cardwell seems pissed off, and we need all the Howard Beale types in Congress we can get

Murders up 22 percent in Atlanta

Shouldn’t this be a bigger story?

The number of murders in Atlanta soared 22 percent last year compared to the year before, while in several other areas of the state the number stayed the same or fell slightly, preliminary FBI statistics released Monday show.

There were 110 murders in Atlanta in 2006, compared to 90 the year before, the FBI said. The rise last year followed a nearly 20 percent drop in murders in Atlanta in 2005 compared to 2004.

News with feeling

It’s not Katie Couric’s fault that her ratings are abysmal. Viewers are to blame — apparently Americans can’t handle a perky woman reading a teleprompter.

According to a former CBS producer, “I’m afraid that Katie’s paying a price for being the first woman. But I think it’s a great trail she’s blazing, and I think if the broadcast continues to be as good as it has been … people will start to watch. It takes time, I think. But I was surprised that there was an obvious connection between a woman giving the news, and the audience wanting to watch it.”

Never mind that Couric is a journalistic lightweight. Of course, manufactured indignation and facts rarely mix.