Tom’s World – 07JUL2026 – Atlanta Road Rage – Part 2

photog 0 Comment Current Events, Guest Contributors, TomD , , ,

Tom | Flickr

TomD

Below from Google AI in response to a search. You can see elements of prejudice in the framing of the intended traffic mitigation efforts in terms of “sprawl” and civil rights.

Did it ever come to light who was spearheadding the successful opposition by federal lawsuit to Atlanta metro traffic inittiaves circa 2002?

The prominent federal lawsuits that successfully disrupted and reshaped Atlanta metro traffic and highway initiatives circa 1999–2002 were spearheaded by a coalition of environmental and civil rights organizations, most notably led by the Sierra Club, Georgians for Transportation Alternatives (GTA), and the Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social Justice. [1, 2]
The primary public figures and legal minds anchoring this push included:

Context of the Legal Battle
The litigation (most notably Georgians for Transportation Alternatives v. Shackelford and Sierra Club v. Atlanta Regional Commission) alleged that Atlanta’s multi-billion dollar, highway-expanding Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) violated the federal Clean Air Act. Because metro Atlanta chronically failed to meet federal ground-level ozone and smog safety deadlines, the lawsuits successfully froze federal funding and forced a historic out-of-court settlement. [1, 2, 4]

The Outcome
Rather than stopping transit outright, the opposition successfully weaponized federal law to force a massive pivot away from sprawl. The settlement required state and regional planners to scrap dozens of major road-widening projects, reallocate roughly 40% of regional funding directly into mass transit, and heavily analyze the civil rights impact of traffic planning on low-income and minority neighborhoods. [1, 3]

Believe All Men!

photog 2 Comments Current Events ,

Well, it looks like Graham Platner is headed for the last roundup.

The bearded, oyster-farming, nazi-tattooed, philandering communist has now been accused of sexual assault by one of his old girlfriends.  And the Democrat party endorsements are being pulled back so fast the friction is causing them to burst into flames.  Well, I guess he finally exceeded the maximum allowable Democrat slime limit.  And it’s interesting to see how that limit has evolved over time.  At the height of the #MeToo movement, Al Franken was forced to resign a senate seat based on a photo of him joking around with a woman back when he was a comedian.  But as of 2026 the Democrat voters of Maine were cool with Platner dragging a girlfriend out of a cab and locking her in a bedroom against her will.  Now granted, she was a Republican so you could say, “She had it coming.”  But it’s good to see the Democrats are evolving their stance on “Believe all women.”  Now it’s, “Believe all Democrat women.”

I heard that if Platner agrees to drop out of the race, the Democrats have until July 13th to replace him on the November ballot with the candidate of their choice.  Of course, the voters won’t have picked this candidate but that’s no different from Kamala Harris’s selection for the 2024 Democrat presidential spot.  So there is plenty of precedent.

Now, how does this affect the race?  Well, I’m guessing that if Platner refuses to relinquish his spot on the ballot, he will lose to Susan Collins by a good margin.  But assuming that he is going to step aside, which seems very likely, what are the chances for a replacement to beat Collins?  Well, let’s assume that Janet Mills, the 78 year old Maine Governor who was running against Platner before she suspended her campaign is selected.  So she’s another old woman like Collins but she’s a Democrat.  I feel like in this anti-Trump environment in a New England state even a RINO like Collins will be unlikely to survive this election.

I’m assuming this will eliminate the last remaining Republican holdout in the New England Congressional delegation.  And that’s no surprise.  It’s a 60/40 state and in a statewide election like senatorial races there isn’t any reason to imagine a Republican winning.

So I’m guessing Susan Collins will make a last gasp effort to get Platner to stay in the race.  She should spend up to a million dollars on an ad campaign that will be based on, “Believe All Men!”  She can have Bill Clinton get up in front of the camera and tell his story about how all those women lied about him and sullied his good name.  Maybe she can even get Hillary to talk about how bimbo eruptions hounded their whole professional lives and how unfair it is that people tend to believe women when they say they’ve been harassed by such upstanding citizens like Graham Platner and Bill Clinton.  Yeah, that might work.

Keanu Goes to the Devil

photog 0 Comment Movie Reviews, Reviews, Science Fiction / Fantasy, SF&F Movie Reviews , , ,

Keanu Goes to the Devil

I’ve mentioned the movie “Constantine” tangentially while discussing comic book movies and some other topics that occupied me back a few years ago.  This 2005 movie stars Keanu Reeves as a Los Angeles based exorcist and general enemy of demonic forces.  He’s a sort of angsty noir character who is angry at heaven since he is doomed to hell because he attempted suicide as a teenager over the horror he experienced as a psychic.

The movie follows a “logic” about the rules in place for angels and demons that makes absolutely no sense but allows for the plot devices that move the story along its arc.  And much of the action is plodding and mechanical.  And yet I find myself watching this turkey (or parts of it) over and over again.  Why?

Well, the two aspects of the movie that stand out in my head are two very different things.  The first item is the visualization of Hell.  You could say this is just a special effects technique but it really is a rich imagining of the underworld.  The idea of Hell as our own world but turned into a burned-out husk makes for a vivid background.  And then the demons as these mutilated corpses with the tops of their heads sheared off is bizarrely fitting.

But the second item is, I think, the more compelling.  It is the representation of Lucifer during his arrival to harvest the soul of Constantine.  As promised in the country song, the devil wears a white suit.  As played by Peter Stormare, Lucifer is a witty, amiable fellow who enjoys chatting with his old acquaintance Constantine prior to bringing him back to Hell where he claims he has “a whole theme park full of red delights” for Constantine to “enjoy.”  He even helps Constantine light his cigarette when the exorcist can’t manage his lighter because of the cut finger tendons incurred when he slit his own wrists in order to summon up Lucifer.  Of course, the devil can’t help pulling the flame away two or three times just for fun.  It’s this pettiness and banality that adds interest to the part.  It’s contrasted with the menace that shows through whenever Lucifer’s plans are challenged either by demon, angel or divine law itself.  But it’s the human face of evil that makes Lucifer compelling.  His vindictiveness, cruelty and pride show up as the proof that angels, devils and man are all creations of the same maker.  We all have the same stamp.  We’ve been given free will and we can use it to reach a higher ground or fall off the mountain.

So that’s why I guess I enjoy watching this silly movie (or at least parts of it).  Not for the absurd plot or the goofy take on Christian theology as it relates to Hell.  I guess I just like to think about Satan being this provincial, bureaucratic apparatchik fighting with humans and God to protect his turf and cause as much mischief as he can.  It just seems to fit what I’ve seen of human nature.  At least some of it.

Papaya, Jerry, Papaya!

photog 3 Comments Americana, Current Events, Life in Dunwich, photog's Corner ,

Here it is the Fourth of July and Camera Girl and I are home alone with the dogs and various other captive living organisms.  The kids and the grandkids have headed for the ocean and we must fend for ourselves.  And we had a nice dinner and finished up our chores (except this one) so I said let’s watch a movie to celebrate the Fourth.  And I left the choice of movie up to her.  What would she pick?  Independence Day?  Yankee Doodle Dandy?  Ah, Wilderness?  No, her pick was inspired.

“The Hot Dog Program.”  It’s a documentary from a guy from Pittsburgh who did documentaries for PBS (boo!!!).  The show travels across the country from Coney Island in Brooklyn to Anchorage, Alaska describing the local variations in the toppings, condiments and preparations of hot dogs in various places in the United States.  And to tie it into the Fourth, the show features the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Coney Island.

But the real reason why this movie was a brilliant selection for the holiday is because back in 1999 when this special was made there were people in all parts of the country who were excited to describe hot dogs as the most American of American foods.  And even the foreigners who were interviewed were visibly excited about associating with the American culture that the hot dog was emblematic of.

In place as different as Chicago IL and a small town in Alabama everyone thought of their local hot dog stand or store as a touchstone to their childhood memories and local life.  It linked up with summer barbecues, baseball games and summer fun.  And everyone from lawyers in Manhattan to Hollywood actors in Los Angeles to small town policemen in Georgia were sure that they knew the best place to get a hot and a drink.  Of course, they wouldn’t agree whether that drink was papaya juice in Times Square or a Coke in a glass bottle in small-town South Carolina.  But the disagreement is the point.  It’s local flavor.

And the movie was also highly educational.  We saw the awful cut of beef that is used in their manufacture and watched as the disgusting puree that eventually becomes hot dog is shaped, cooked and shot at high speed into a storage bin.  What could be more appetizing?

But what makes this movie most enjoyable is seeing Americans from 1999 talk about an America that was still the one we all remember as kids.  A place full of happy people who can enjoy a simple thing like having a hot dog for lunch without there being any political, cultural or ethnic baggage associated with an iconic American food.  Back then no one was making the point that we should consider the taco or the egg roll (or even worse some vegan grass burger) should be the new American cuisine and we all should renounce the hot dog as anathema and bad for the planet.  And that’s probably why we both enjoyed watching this so much.  Happy Independence Day.