AJC.com’s Political Insider blog has a fascinating post today about how Greg Hecht, Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, is going scummy on his opponent, Jim Martin.

Hecht has mailed out a flyer implying that Martin is somehow pro-rape.

Next to a frightening photo of a woman being attacked, the flyer reads:

“She was in a bar, should have known better, wore a short skirt…” – Jim Martin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 27, 1994

WTF?

Did Martin say those words to the AJC?

Sort of. Actually, yes. He did literally say those words, but Hecht’s scummy flyer takes the words completely out of context.

Like a movie ad that quotes a critic saying that a movie is “Stunning!” when the critic actually said “It’s stunning how bad this movie is!”, Hecht’s flyer deceptively cherry-picks Martin’s actual words.

Here’s what Martin actually said to the AJC back in 1994.

“If there are any factors – such as, she was in a bar, should have known better, wore a short dress – some juries are unwilling to prosecute the crime as rape. The hope is we will get more convictions.”

As you can clearly read, Martin was disapprovingly citing reasons that juries sometimes dismiss rape allegations. He wasn’t besmirching rape victims.

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I’m not associated with Jim Martin’s campaign, nor am I even sure that I’m going to vote for him on Tuesday. I may actually vote in the Republican primary just so I can vote against Ralph Reed.

Nevertheless, I’ve taken a few minutes out of my day to make a political ad that Jim Martin is free to use if he so wishes.

Check my facts.

For different perspectives on the war in Lebanon:

Lebanese Political Journal

The Daily Star

One of my favorite musicians has died.

Syd Barrett was a founding member of Pink Floyd. He recorded an album and a half of material with the band and two solo albums before quitting music for good around 1974.

The best obituary or appreciation I’ve read so far (and I’ve read at least 10) was the one in today’s Washington Post.

1. It doesn’t use the word genius.
2. It correctly I.D.s the three songs (See Emily Play, Arnold Layne, Astronomy Domine) that established him as an important artist.
3. It doesn’t romanticize the sad reality of his drug-fueled mental breakdown.
4. It attempts to explain Barrett’s ultimately debilitating predicament via the recollection of a contemporary, rather than simply assert what went wrong. This quotation from Pink Floyd’s manager is particularly telling:

“The pressures which hit him were the pressures from going from just being another guy on the block to being the spokesman of your generation. Especially during the psychedelic thing, there was a lot of heavy messiah-ism going around. People would come up and ask him the meaning of life — that put a young person who’d just written a song and played a bit of guitar under enormous pressure.”

5. It ends with an odd, whimsical remark that could have been a lyric from one of Barrett’s songs.

If you’re curious to hear some of his music, let me know and I’ll share. The old videos on YouTube are interesting, but I don’t think they reveal why Syd Barrett’s music inspired such love.

Below you will find a photograph of my “new” car.

It’s new to me, but’s it’s actually 33 years old. My new car is a 1973 Mercedes-Benz 220D.

Once it’s had a check-up and some minor repairs, I’m going to power the car with biodiesel.

“What is biodiesel?” you (didn’t) ask.

Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, that can be produced from domestic, renewable resources such as vegetable oils and animal fats. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.

In other words, this will run primarily on fuel that does not profit the petrothugs in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela and, er, Norway.

My new motto: My car ruins the planet and supports terrorists slightly less than your car!

I think that’ll make a fine bumper sticker, don’t you?

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A big thank you to my friend Michael Wall for pointing me in the direction biodiesel.

Iraq is the biggest new source of refugees in the world. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration hardly acknowledges the fact.

Read my column about Iraq’s refugee crisis.

The report I refer to in my column can be found at refugees.org.

I saw this little guy/gal on a curb today.

Pardon my ignorance, but can someone out there tell me what kind of bug this is? I is curious. I mean I be curious.

The report excerpted below must be a mistake.

Everyone knows that a plan to sharply reduce the number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq is just cowardly cuttin’ -n- runnin’.

U.S. General in Iraq Outlines Troop Cuts
By MICHAEL R. GORDON

Published: June 25, 2006

WASHINGTON, June 24 — The top American commander in Iraq has drafted a plan that projects sharp reductions in the United States military presence there by the end of 2007, with the first cuts coming this September, American officials say.

Actually, don’t vote 4 Miss Angela. She’s not qualified for the office to which she aspires.

Nevertheless, do yourself a favor by visiting her campaign web site.

She has a glamour shot.

She has an inspiring biography.

“Angela later went on to peruse a career as a medical professional, dedicating her life’s work to Women’s healthcare where she began to realize empathy for her fellow man, which embedded an agape love for all human life.”

Most importantly, she has her very own rap.

Be afraid, Scott Holcomb. Be very afraid.

According to Newsweek, the U.S. has paid for the production of a ‘public service announcement’-style TV commercial aimed at discouraging Iraqis from becoming suicide bombers.

What a terrific idea!

I’m sure Iraqis would enjoy seeing the new commercial. Too bad they don’t have reliable electricity, if any at all.

Last week, I wrote an column about the so-called Soccer War fought by Honduras and El Salvador in 1969.

It was an especially fun column to write, mostly because I’m cuckoo for Latin America, but seldom get a chance to write about it.

I’m also very happy by the response it’s gotten on CL’s web site. The column has prompted two, presumably Atlanta-dwelling Latin Americans to share their family memories of the war in the comment section under the column.

As a writer who works alone and at home, it’s very gratifying to witness that something I’ve written has engaged someone in a personal way. Not a deep, soul-stirring, life-changing way — but a “Hey, I picked up CL to read about what concert to go to this weekend, but instead I got reminded of that story that my grandfather used to talk about.”