He, he! The King is actually pleased to see Pete and Flagpole once more girded for Jihad against economic development in Athens!

http://flagpole.com/news/2012/may/16/pub-notes/

And, in truth, Flagpole HAS actually set up a new system where you can "talk back" to them. But in fact, they did have a situation for several months where you couldn't go on there and rip them a new one! (Musta been nice, huh, Pete?!)

(The King, of course, plans to continue with the malevolent anonymous comments until they pry my cold, dead hands from the keyboard; or else, send over a barrel of ink for me to hide behind same as Pete, Ed Tant, and the other neo-critics of criticism; can't stand a little competition?)

The King is not about to do a point-by-point rebuttal to Pete's latest claims of conspiracy. Many of his points obviously contradict themselves, so why should the King bother?

(Ok, ok. Here goes: Flagpole, like a lot of liberals, has always treated the local "public schools" as if they could never do wrong and that they were always right; then, when a reporter for the ABH is fired bcs. apparently she was working on a "negative" story, Flagpole and Pete get all crazy! I mean, which one is IT? Shouldn't we fire reporters and censor threads that are critical of public educational institutions or should we not? Aiiihhhhhhhhhh ....!)

What I do like, again, is the fact that the Flagpole liberals seem to be fighting mad about something. Perhaps it was the fact that a reporter was fired? Perhaps it was the fact that the tax assessor raised Pete's property taxes? (Allegedly, bcs, last I checked there wasn't a property tax payer listed as "Pete McCommons" in their records;)

Flagpole is right, generally, about how good reporting can improve the local policy-making process. But what about the fact that for all their good liberal reporting, Pete and Flagpole have NEVER been able to build a real newspaper? And that means they don't have the financial resources and pull to spawn a sustainable journalistic organ! They are caring, liberal volunteers; and Athens is much better off WITH them.

BUT, they do have a fine magazine with lots of good contributors few of whom ever see their names after, "Pay to the order of."

Now, the King, of course hates to praise anyone in the news business; they are all timid, weak, and fatally flawed, of course, and really responsible for a lot of bad things in society that no one knows about, and that they somehow escape blame for. I've done all I could!

BUT, via its software upgrade, RE "Athens Talks," a commitment to allowing citizens to "talk back" with comments, and an either deliberate or default position of opening-up the ed page in something like the way the old Observer did, the ABH has improved the conversation and news coverage in Athens, GA.

The King would like to go on about how things might be improved even more and how journalism could be put on a more sustainable course;

Athens needs Flagpole, and a seemingly revitalized ABH; even more it needs critics and a space for folks to spout-off about things they really know nothing about.

The King wishes the liberals at Flagpole, the best. We hope y'all don't get mad and quit. But in the final analysis, winning market share by attempting to divide the community and hyping a fake jihad based on a faked concern for "journalism in Athens," can only take you so far.