Roy Barnes is back in his second YouTubez video. Roy puts it all out there all his faults. Guess he's been listening and heeding his messaging dude and polling dude.

Listening is not something I did too much of when I was Governor before. I tried to do too much. Too fast. I've learned some lessons. I learned I should explain myself more.

So now that Roy has taken away the "Roy never listened to regular Georgia folks" meme from his opponents, I wonder what they will throw at him now.

P.S. to Roy's video dude: If you want Roy to seem like a regular guy, you need to get him out of that suit and tie. Roll up the sleeves and have him knocking on some doors or sitting at a lunch counter. But, please no kissing and holding babies -- it's too early in the season.

Even though he's one of the wing-nuttiest politicians that Georgians ever elected to Congress, there have been times when I found myself in agreement with Bob Barr. He has noted the failure of the never-ending war on drugs, for one thing. He was also consistent in speaking out against the flaws of the Patriot Act and other attacks on civil liberties promulgated by the Bush administration. But Bob never can resist the temptation to jump back into deep nuttiness.

I don't know what Sarah Palin will be doing in the future, but I think Bill Shatner may have found his True Calling.

On Thursday, Mary Squires, candidate for Insurance Commissioner, announced an impressive list of supporters. As the only Democrat running for Commissioner of Insurance, I'm sure there will more endorsements to come. Bravo to Ms Squires for her hard work and commitment!

Representative and candidate for Governor, Republican Austin Scott, was our special guest on Kudzu Vine Sunday evening. Listen to yours truly, Tim Shiftlet, and guest co-host Dale Cardwell as we talk with Representative Scott about his unusual approach to the Governor's Race.

The Atlanta Mayor's race is getting some attention of late too. Look for more on that shortly.

UPDATE: Grift has odds for the Atlanta Mayor's race. Remember: No wagering!

What candidates are getting your attention? Tell us about them.

If you've heard Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin speak during her term, you've probably heard her tell of the nickname she was given not long after her election: The Sewer Mayor. When Ms Franklin took office, she faced horrific problems with the city's aging sewer system. Gathering support and funding for the necessary repairs has been a major focus of her two terms. What will the next mayors big challenge be?

I'm sure it's unrelated, but it certainly seems like the closer we get to the election for Atlanta's new mayor, the more crime we face in Atlanta. Following the murder of boxer Vernon Forrest, all the candidates but one have made statements and/or beefed up the issues portions of their website. City Council President Lisa Borders even got current Mayor Shirley Franklin to join in the statement. Councilwoman Mary Norwood posted her 12-Point plan. State Senator Kasim Reed's statement reminded us that, while Mr Forrest's murder was a tragedy, it is just one of many in recent months.

For the uber-geeks out there (oh you know who you are!), Mel passes this along. Enjoy. Until the inevitable backlash starts.

This is possibly the dumbest thing ever said on Fox News, and that's saying quite a lot.

A lot has been going on in the military as of late, and I guess that means I owe y'all a post about it. But in the meantime, I wanted to highlight something that caught my eye as of late. The AJC had a story this past weekend about Air Force Lt. Colonel Stan Brown's recent tour in Iraq. He also happens to be Oakwood, Ga's city manager.

The Kasim Reed campaign has released a video of the press conference where the Atlanta Labor Council announced the endorsement of Senator Reed for Mayor. I know the video is somewhat old news but it does offer a glimpse of Kasim's vision for Atlanta's working families and how and why Kasim was able to secure the endorsement.

Full disclosure: I supported Kasim even prior to the council endorsing him (in fact i am in the video and I spoke at the press conference, although the footage is not included).

Accomplished in fields ranging from sports and art to science and medicine to politics and public policy and representing a diversity of backgrounds, the White House announcement said the recipients were selected for their work as "agents of change."

"Each saw an imperfect world and set about improving it, often overcoming great obstacles along the way," Obama said. "Their relentless devotion to breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens sets a standard to which we all should strive."

Other names on the list are: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, tennis legend Billie Jean King and retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Race for the Cure founder Nancy Brinker, physicist Stephen Hawking, civil rights activist Rev. Joseph Lowery, and entertainers Sidney Poitier and Chita Rivera.

Former Rep. Jack Kemp, who died in May, and gay rights activist Harvey Milk, who was assassinated in 1978, will receive posthumous awards.

The award ceremony is August 12th.

Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson announced Thursday they will vote against the confirmation of federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. But there's something weird about this.

Too bad it didn't go down like this. Instead it sounds like it was meh.

Beer served: Bud Light for the President, Sam Adams for the Professor, Blue Moon ( owned by Coors) with orange slice for the Cop, and the VP goes non-alcoholic with Buckler.

It turns out that CNN's immigrant-bashing Lou Dobbs isn't the only prominent "birther" from Georgia who promotes the right-wing's loony contention that Barack Obama is not a native-born American citizen. Joining Dobbs on the front lines of this crazy fight is Rep. Nathan Deal, the GOP congressman from Gainesville.