Archaeologist Dan Elliott displays some of the artifacts his teams have found at Kettle Creek during the recent dig.

A group of archaeologists and historians have spent several days recently looking for missing pieces of the Battle of Kettle Creek puzzle, and they think the public can help them with the puzzle, too.

A team of archaeologists, historians, and students braved heat, thick woods, and impassable stands of thistles to explore the land around War Hill on a four-day fieldwork session June 12-17, hoping to locate artifacts from the Revolutionary War battle and, piece by piece, expand their knowledge of the battle.

On a previous visit to War Hill, archaeologist Dan Elliott of the Lamar Institute, Inc., and his teams had used metal detectors to find bullets and other metal objects that might have been left during the 1779 battle. They found some 32 possible battle relics, including round balls of smaller caliber bullets - buck-and ball load for non-military muskets. They also found, and recycled, modern artifacts including 15 pounds of shotgun shells, .22 shells, and beer cans.

"The way those battle relics were distributed on one particular side of the hill gave us a direction to search," Elliott said Saturday as he examined the day's first finds. "Based on that distribution, we got access from adjacent landowners so we could come back this week and explore areas we would expect to find the Patriot positions as they attacked the Loyalists."

They have indeed found more bullets, and a distinctive shoe buckle from that period, part of a brass bell, and other objects. But the real value of the object is in the information that it gives about how it got there. "Each object tells us a little bit of the puzzle," said Charles B. Baxley, editor and publisher of Southern Campaigns of the Revolution. "Dan Elliott is helping geo-reference with formal archaeology the history that has been passed down."

Geo-referencing locates exactly the fall of bullets, for example, shot and unshot, to map exactly where the militia soldiers actually were during the battle.

That data will be combined with historical research, looking in library collections, deeds and plats, veterans pension applications and muster lists to form the most accurate history of the battle possible. "We'll gather up all that archaeology and history can tell us," Baxley said, "and hope that we have enough to tell the story."

And neighbors in Wilkes County who have explored the area for years can help document the battle's history. "We know folks have been out here with metal detectors for 40 years," Elliott said, "and we're not looking to prosecute anybody and we sure don't need another bullet. But what we do need is information. We'd just like to know what you found, and where you found it, best you can recall. That information is what's important to us, and any information could really be a great deal of help."

To share information on old Kettle Creek finds, contact the City of Washington's Main Street Manager David Jenkins in the City Hall Annex, or call 706-678-4654.

[EDITING NOTE:  Elliott, not Elliot]

WASHINGTON - An archaeological dig in Wilkes County has opened a 229-year-old window to one of the pivotal points in the early years of the American Revolutionary War - and there's evidence that it's not exactly the way the history books tell it.

For centuries following the Feb. 14, 1779, battle at Kettle Creek, stories passed down through the generations pitted 350 Patriots against 700 Loyalists on only 12 acres of land.

But archaeologists have found evidence that the three-hour running battle stretched over at least 500 acres of property surrounding the traditional site where a monument and cemetery now stand.

Nine men and women working with The LAMAR Institute, a Savannah-based nonprofit archaeological research organization, last month unearthed dozens of musket balls, buttons, pieces of weapons and evidence of small farmsteads during a five-day dig on the 500 acres of property.

The study, funded through a $40,000, two-year grant from the National Park Service and the city of Washington, could lead to plans for a battleground park, city officials have said.

Each discovery in last month's dig gave researchers a look into the day when the militiamen routed twice their number in new British recruits and made Southerners think twice about staying loyal to the Crown.

"This, by all accounts, was a guerrilla war," said Dan Elliott, LAMAR Institute president and archaeologist. "This was neighbor against neighbor."

And neighbors were definitely part of the battle - even if they didn't want to be involved.

Evidence of at least three farmsteads - hand-wrought nails, collapsed chimneys and horseshoes - were found during the dig about 500 feet south of the battlefield monument, along with a few musket balls.

MULTIMEDIA SLIDESHOW: Check out an audio slideshow as Dan Elliott with the LAMAR Institute talks about the Kettle Creek dig: View slideshow

"Right now, we're getting a rough idea of what life was like for people when this battle was raging on around them," Elliott said.

The Patriots lost only seven men in the Battle of Kettle Creek, but dozens were injured and taken to a location north of War Hill - the traditional battlefield site - for treatment, researchers found.

Archaeologists found evidence during the dig to back up their theory about the location of this field hospital.

At least 18 buttons, likely from clothing that was ripped off men in order to treat their wounds, were found in one concentrated area - an unlikely discovery in an area that over the years has been picked over by artifact seekers, Elliott said.

The Kettle Creek battle was a vicious fight between Loyalists recruited by Col. James Boyd in South Carolina to fight on the side of the Crown and Patriots who were not ready for Georgia to be claimed by the British.

Historical accounts of the battle say an army led by Col. Andrew Pickens, Col. John Dooly and Lt. Col. Elijah Clarke tracked Boyd on his way to Augusta as he circled around through Wilkes County to avoid a Patriot army encamped on the Savannah River.

Pickens split his men into three groups and tried to sneak up on Boyd's recruits while they camped at Kettle Creek, but scouts saw them.

Boyd was able to muster about 100 men to meet Pickens' 140 at the top of a steep hill. Boyd was mortally wounded, causing the new troops to panic and retreat back to the camp.

Dooly was stuck in a canebrake on one side of the camp, but Clarke charged in from the other side.

In the end, 20 Loyalists were killed and 22 taken captive. About half the rest went back to South Carolina and the other half went on to Augusta, Elliott said.

Archaeologists believe they found the location of the Loyalists' last stand.

Southwest of the traditional battlefield, metal detectors uncovered musket balls and musket ball fragments from a secluded hill off of Salem Church Road.

The fragments likely are evidence that musket balls hit trees as the loyalists crouched behind for protection, said David Battle, assistant director of the LAMAR Institute.

Researchers hope to label the musket balls as Patriot- or Loyalist-owned by determining the caliber and amount of lead found in each bullet, Battle said.

The rough terrain obviously was no problem for the Patriots, he said.

"These were woodsmen," Battle said. "They were good shots who were used to fighting behind stumps and trees."

Elliott said researchers likely will release an officially report of the team's findings later this year.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 070308

Midtown Atlanta

1) Sarkozy argued against Turkey’s entry into the EU on the grounds that ‘Turkey is in Asia Minor’ and that ‘I won’t be able to explain to French school kids that Europe’s border neighbors are Iraq and Syria.’ He is, meanwhile, no doubt aware that the state of which he is head includes territories in the Caribbean, South America and the Indian Ocean as its integral parts or ‘overseas departments’. It is difficult to believe that the French president genuinely has difficulty with the concept of an EU including Turkey, which was part of the Ancient Greek world and the Roman Empire and whose largest city was for a time the Roman capital, but has no difficulty with the concept of a France that borders on Brazil. Or that he is unaware that EU member Cyprus is, geographically, more wholly Asian than Turkey. Either Sarkozy really is spectacularly ignorant - which I find difficult to believe - or he is cynically playing up to the popular ignorance and chauvinism of his citizens in the most vulgar manner.

2) At the NATO summit in Bucharest in April, Sarkozy vetoed the granting of a Membership Action Plan to Georgia and Ukraine; for all his denial, he appears to have done so because he did not want to offend Russia. This makes no sense in terms of principles; it is as if Norway should have been denied NATO membership so as not to offend Sweden; or Poland, so as not to offend Belarus. A sovereign state's right to join a military alliance cannot be the subject of a veto by one of its neighbours; otherwise it ceases to be sovereign. The deference to Russia harks back to an era of imperial spheres of influence. Sarkozy appears less interested in the principle of European unity than in pursuing old-style imperial diplomacy on the European continent.

3) Sarkozy has long supported Greece in its dispute with Macedonia without pretending that this has anything to do with principles: ‘I always stressed that we support the Greek position in the name issue. Greeks are our friends.’ In his most recent statement, however, Sarkozy not only argues that Macedonia should back down because 'the newcomer is the one that should make efforts', but reportedly also on the grounds that Macedonia is a 'non-democratic country'. This marks a new low in French efforts to destabilise a fragile country that was deemed sufficiently democratic by the international community to warrant international recognition back in 1992, and whose provisions for minority rights are incomparably better than that of Greece, which does not even recognise the existence of its Macedonian and Turkish minorities. The consequences of a Macedonian collapse for peace and stability in Europe should not need emphasising; Sarkozy is playing his cynical, Gaullist game in the most irresponsible manner possible.

4) While denying Macedonia's democratic credentials, France under Sarkozy is reverting to the traditional French policy of supporting Serbia, the country primarily responsible for the catastrophes in the Balkans in the 1990s, and whose attempts to undermine Kosova's independence are endangering peace and stability in the Balkans more than anything else. France's ambassador in Belgrade, Jean Francois Terral, is reported to have described Serbia as 'the country with the greatest possibilities in the Balkans'. He is quoted as saying that 'as far as France is concerned, Serbia has the priority among Western Balkan states'. After all the efforts in which the West has engaged in this decade, to encourage Serbia to change its ways and behave in a responsible manner, France now appears to be reinforcing the old, destructive belief of Serbia's - that it is a natural regional hegemon with a right to preeminence over its smaller and weaker neighbours. And this without demanding any commensurate change in Serbian policy toward Kosova.

5) While rewarding the two Balkan states - Greece and Serbia - that are pursuing the most destructive, nationalistic policies at the expense of the wider region, Sarkozy has taken efforts to punish Croatia, a state that has turned its back on extreme nationalism. In contrast to Serbia, Croatia since 2000 has abandoned expansionism vis-a-vis Bosnia, abandoned support for anti-Bosnian separatists and come round to full cooperation with the war-crimes tribunal in the Hague. Yet in response to the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, Sarkozy has announced that France will veto further EU enlargement until the treaty is ratified - a step that above all punishes Croatia, which is the next state slated for EU membership. Showing scant regard for the democratic will of his fellow Europeans, he appears to be willing to punish Croatia and other EU aspirants for the fact that votes within the EU have not gone his way.

Nicolas Sarkozy is a sorry excuse for a European. His foreign policy makes no pretence at being guided by any principles or consistency, and he appears to revel in its selfish, nationally egotistical character. Nevertheless, at a certain level, one must admire his readiness to behave so unreasonably: the EU is a body that rewards the unreasonable and the selfish and that punishes the well behaved. If an EU member - or indeed a non-member - wishes to get its way, it pays for it to be stubborn and obstructive, as then the EU's spineless, amoral bureaucrats will pander to it with talk about a 'compromise acceptable to both sides' or other such cliches designed to conceal appeasement. It is difficult to see that Sarkozy's policy toward South East Europe is inspired by anything other than short-term, tactical and narrowly national considerations, but he is at least prepared to go about trying to get what he wants.

It would be encouraging if our own British government were to be similarly stubborn and obstructive in pursuit of goals where, justifiably, our policies have diverged from France's: over EU and NATO expansion; Turkey; Macedonia; etc. Were it to do so, it would achieve more than it does. But I'm not holding my breath.

Gvantsa Daraselia

Yup, we're going to DISNEYWORLD! But because of the long car ride there (13 total hours), we decided to split the travel to Florida into two days and stop by Savannah, GA, on our way down.

There isn't much to say about our road trip down-- it was relatively uneventful. But I must say that Savannah is a very beautiful town. We got in kind of late, so we ended up finding a little restaurant called the Savannah River House to eat dinner in.

The house salad came with our (pretty expensive, although it was seafood, so I guess kind of understandable) dinners. It was pretty good, but a bit heavy on the dressing side. But my littlest brother ate his, which must say something, since he isn't a salad person.

My brother and I shared an entree. This was the Peppered Shrimp Saute, which was an excellent choice on his part. I am also extremely glad we shared the dish, because it was huge. It was flavorful, and the shrimp was tender.

Apparently Savannah River House is known for their desserts. So we couldn't leave before trying something! This is their banana bread pudding. Very banana-y. Very pudding-y. I wish it were warm, but seeing as how it was 10pm and the kitchen was closing, I couldn't complain. It was still tasty.

I want to take this post to mention Jeff.  Jeff Scott is running as a democrat in the Georgia 9th congressional district against incumbent Nathan Deal.  I believe Jeff is a very special candidate and has a real chance to win in a district that Congressman Deal has had since 1994.  The national party has pretty much written off this district but, with Jeff, we have a real chance.  The past two weeks have been very special and more and more people are supporting him.  I plan on working as hard as I can and will not rest until I see CNN reporting on one of the biggest upsets in recent history.

If you want to learn more about Jeff or want to contribute, visit his site: www.electjeffscott.com

If you are a fan of facebook, check him out here : 
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1121880134#/pages/Jeff-Scott/17954347481?ref=mf

New posts:

Again, all pictures taken with the same specifications as mentioned in previous posts.

The power of a song never ceases to amaze me - we can literally travel back and forth in time as if there's so space between what used to be and has become of it, whatever that "it" may be.

Having spent a wonderful morning in the studio with Ayhan (we're working on a follow up to "Wild", so stay tuned!) I grabbed a quick lunch on my way to the station. And as some of you may have noticed by now, as much as I adore being around friends, there's also something beautiful and serene about one's own company, especially on a gorgeous day like today.

Before I closed my eyes last night, I remembered that today is a birthday of my uncle - someone I was incredibly close to on a special emotional level, someone I admired and looked up to as a child. Obviously we all love and appreciate our families, but I hope it won't come off as a pretentious remark if I say that Georgians tend to be overly protective and immensely attached to their families - and I don't just mean the immediate family, but the cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc. Instead of big get-togethers on special occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, we literally invent celebrations and excuses for such big family get-togethers on regular basis. It's definitely a cultural thing.

When I was a little girl, we rarely had dinner at home without a group of guests piling in (some of them unannounced - a very Georgian habit) as the evening progressed. I don't remember ever feeling a lack of company, particularly we still lived in Tbilisi. Incredible as it may sound, the day the civil war broke out in the capital, just a few steps from our neighborhood, my parents dressed me up in my best dress, and through the flying bullets across the town, we caught a taxi on the main road and went over to my grandma's, where my uncle and his family resided as well. I promise you, it was probably one of the most memorable nights I've ever spent, and that was in the middle of a war - literally - right outside the door, while our big, tight family clung on to each other and tried to make the most of the difficult, even scary times that had just knocked on our doors so unexpectedly. Through the lack of electricity, heating, gas, hot water - the basic needs of a modern society - we were happier as ever and together - so very together.

And at times like this, on the day when I remember the ones that are no longer with us, I feel overwhelmed and proud of having had the joy and luck of calling these dear beloved ones my very own family.

If there's a life after this, in whatever capacity that may be.... Well, may they be blessed and proud of what they left behind.... And may all your loved ones be well and healthy, for I believe there's nothing as important to us as the knowledge of the happiness and well-being of those who are most dear to us.

Peace and love to you all,

Tinatin xxx

P.S. Duduko, dzalian menatrebi...

If I haven't shared this already... OfficeLatte is one of my companies - It's a lifestyle magazine and social network (Bella's Brunch) that empowers and enriches the lives of business women, administrative professionals and entrepreneurs!  It's absolutely fabulous!!  I've created these mini-magazines  that are too cute and so petite that you can carry with you practically anywhere you go! That's right ladies (and gentle men)... you can take it with you into those yawning board meetings, on the train, on the plane, to the potty or share it with your girlfriends while enjoying a scotty!

We've gotten some really good rave reviews about it!  Ultimately if you want to read the full magazine, you just need to access the website, click on the current issue and it wah-la, there you have your full magazine in a digital format! We aim to be socially-responsible and "totally green", so enjoy the hard work we've put into creating this convenient format for you!! 

Stay Tuned!!

We had our first wedding in Savannah and it was at the beautiful Forsyth Mansion. Look back later today and I will have put up some photos of the wedding. Also our client Michelle, in case some of you don't remember she had her 30th birthday in Vegas, she is also owns an event planning company in Atlanta called Lemiga Event Management. She gave her husband a photo shoot for head shots he needed for his acting.

We have lots to start blogging it has been too long. We are going to start with the new house and studio. We plan to have a studio opening in September so keep in mind that we haven't even begun on the transformation of the studio space.

Of course Tim and Preston on the top deck hanging out together. So cute! Preston likes to get in the hammock. 

Midtown Atlanta

"Two pervasive and persistent myths about racial voting in the modern South are behind the notion that Mr. Obama might win in places like Georgia, North Carolina and Mississippi.

The first myth is that African-American turnout in the South is low. Black voters are actually well represented in the Southern electorate: In the 11 states of the former Confederacy, African-Americans were 17.9 percent of the age-eligible population and 17.9 percent of actual voters in 2004, analysis of Census Bureau data shows.

And when socioeconomic status is held constant, black voters go to the polls at higher rates than white voters in the South. In other words, a 40-year-old African-American plumber making $60,000 a year is, on average, more likely to vote than a white man of similar background.

The second myth is that Democratic presidential candidates fare better in Southern states that have large numbers of African-Americans. In fact, the reverse is true, because the more blacks there are in a Southern state, the more likely the white voters are to vote Republican.

Mississippi, the state with the nation’s highest percentage of African-Americans in its population, illustrates how difficult Mr. Obama’s task will be in the South. Four years ago, President Bush beat John Kerry there by 20 points. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Mr. Obama could increase black turnout in Mississippi to 39 percent of the statewide electorate, up from 34 percent in 2004, according to exit polls. And let’s assume that Mr. Obama will win 95 percent of those voters, up from the 90 percent who voted for Mr. Kerry four years ago.

If that happened, the black vote would yield Mr. Obama 37 percent of Mississippi’s statewide votes. To get the last 13 percent he needs for a majority, Mr. Obama would need to persuade a mere 21 percent of white voters in Mississippi to support him. Sounds easy, right?

But only 14 percent of white voters in the state supported Mr. Kerry. Mr. Obama would need to increase that number by 7 percentage points — a 50 percent increase. Mr. Obama struggled to attract white Democrats in states like Ohio and South Dakota. It strains credulity to believe that he will attract three white voters in Mississippi for every two that Mr. Kerry did.

Keep in mind that this analysis (and the speculation that Mr. Obama will generate unprecedented black turnout in the South) does not consider the possibility that white voter turnout will rise, too. Passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act led to an upsurge in black voting in the South, but it also caused many white Southerners to register and vote as well — for the Republicans.

Granted, Mr. Obama’s campaign isn’t counting on Mississippi. What about Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, the three states that are routinely cited as new possibilities for the Democratic column this fall?

Mr. Obama can write off Georgia and North Carolina for the same reasons that Mississippi is beyond his reach — although the math in those two states is slightly less daunting. Virginia, however, is the one Southern state that Mr. Obama has a reasonable chance of winning. And it’s precisely because the home of Robert E. Lee, as NBC News’s political director, Chuck Todd, has suggested, is seceding from the Confederacy.

The demographic makeup of the electorate in Virginia is unlike that of any other state in the South. The black population in Virginia is, as a percentage, among the lowest in the region. And during the last two decades, the state has also experienced a huge influx of upscale non-Southerners, who have taken over the Washington suburbs of northern Virginia. (Florida is a perennial target for similar reasons. With a relatively small black population, a big Hispanic voting bloc and a large contingent of relocated retirees from the North, it is the least Southern of the Southern states.)

In the rest of the South, Mr. Obama cannot overcome reality. Even if unprecedented numbers of black voters turn out to vote for him, the white vote will serve as a formidable counterbalance. Mr. Obama should not hope to capture states in the country’s most racially polarized region."

In predominantly white electorate states (where the African-American electorate is less than 5 percent) such as Iowa and Wisconsin, Senator Obama has drawn large percentage of the White electorate votes -- large enough (more than 40 percentage of the votes) to win those primary elections handily.

Similarly, in primaries with very large African-American electorate (20 percent and more) and even larger African-American vote participation (25 percent and more) such as South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana, Senator Obama again has won handily -- but this time with significantly smaller share (less than 30 percent) of the participating white votes and overwhelming support from very large percentage from the African-American votes. The participation of the African-American electorate in these states was over 40 percent.

And then, in states (e.g. Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Ohio) with moderate percentage of African-American electorate and votes Senator Obama has not been able to draw enough white electorate votes to overcome only a modest percentage (15 - 30 percent) from the African-American vote.

The empirics suggest that the relationship between the probability of Senator Obama's victory in a democratic primary election and the percentage of the African-American population and vote is a U-shaped function.

And this postulate is further supported by electoral data from the recent past. Let us look at data from Mississippi, the state with the highest percentage of African-Americans in its population. Four years ago, President Bush beat even John Kerry -- white candidate -- there by 20 points when the black turnout in Mississippi was about 34 percent of the statewide electorate, according to exit polls. Why? Because only 14 percent of the white electorate gave its vote to Kerry, For Obama, this polarization is likely to be even more serious.

The empirical implication is that it will be very difficult for Obama to win Georgia or North Carolina -- they have very substantial African-American electorate (so the polarization comes into play) -- but Virginia and Florida are possibilities precisely because they have relatively small African-American electorate. It sounds counter-intuitive, and it may be so but that's what the empirics tell us.

saganaki, originally uploaded by kajatl.

Midtown Atlanta

  But this one was totally different. He compared a Rotary Club meeting with one at a church. First of all, you “don’t sit in someone else’s seat. That’s followed by a prayer. Then you take up a collection. And you’d better not run overtime.” Rotarians, recognizing the truth in what he was saying, laughed. In fact, he gave us quite a few laughs. We thank him for that. There are no laughs in a military change of command ceremony – well, there had better not be.

Past Rotary Club of Columbus Presidents

  34 former Rotary Club presidents, along with a couple hundred other Rotarians, got to see President Carmen (it’s traditional for Rotarians to call each other by first name, even the president) hand over the presidency of the club to U.S. Federal Court Magistrate Mallon Faircloth. He now gets to preside over the 333 member club, the largest service club in Columbus and one of the largest in the state.

 Rotary President Carmen Cavezza pins president's pin on incoming President Mallon Faircloth.

  Rotary Clubs all over the world do a lot of good work. They raise hundreds of millions of dollars to do things like eradicating polio. The Rotary Club of Columbus raised 77 thousand dollars during President Carmen’s reign for the Rotary Foundation which supplies the funds for such humane projects.  President Mallon promises to keep up the good work, locally and internationally.

  And you just might be surprised to know where some Rotary Clubs are in the world. For instance, there are three in the People’s Republic of China. That’s right, Rotary Clubs, which are made up of business and professional leaders, in communist China. They have been busy raising funds to help victims of the earthquake that ravaged Sichuan Province. Revolutions can be gradual. The Soviet Union is no more and that came about without a violent revolution. Are there Rotary Clubs in Russia? Yes, quite a few,

  Yes, the world is changing, but, then, it always has been.

I know America bashing has been a popular sport since long before I came along. But, my frame of reference starts in my high school days during the height of Vietnam.  I remember many of the same protests we hear today about America being an imperialist power, about how we destroy the environment and how we oppress our own people. And, I wonder, "Has nothing changed? Are we no better than we were then OR were we ever really as bad as that?"

Certainly, ours is not a Utopian society where no one suffers and everyone wins all the time. I don't think such a place exists on Earth... or ever could. But, I do think the United States is as close as mankind has ever come to creating anything close to a self-sustaining society that exemplifies freedom, opportunity and goodness to both the World and to its own citizens.

While many predict the destruction of America and its ideals, I predict just the opposite. Some view America as the land of greed; corruption; racism; hostility toward the environment, human rights and the poor, and war-mongering imperialism. Folks on the other end of the spectrum warn of pending doom because of moral decay, our bloated and ineffective government, pacifism, the ACLU and an over-reaching judiciary. Unfortunately, both sides see the solutions to THEIR perceived problems with America as more Government involvement in people's personal and business lives.

America is a good and noble nation. With few exceptions, we've always been a good world citizen. Whenever tragedy strikes, the World looks to America and America responds. If a crisis (real or perceived) exists, the World looks to America to provide scientists, workers, military or financial support and America responds. Whether it's the United nations, the World Bank or a host of other international agencies, the majority of their funding is provided by the United States. America is a good world neighbor and a good country.  America is good.

America is great. Peoples from all over the world risk life, limb and wealth to get themselves and their families to America. They know that if they can just get to America, they have a chance to build a life free of fear, disease and tyranny.  Our country was formed on the premise that "all men (Mankind) were created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". From our Declaration of Independence that set the American Ideal to our Constitution that limits the power of Government and was (and IS) prejudiced in favor of individual freedom and responsibility, everything about America says "You can!"

In America, can you speak out against your Government and political leaders without fear of retribution. In America, you can worship (or not) as you please. In America, you can start as a poor child raised in Government housing or as an immigrant farm worker to become a millionaire in your own business. In America, you can dream. You can be as great as your imagination will allow you to be or as sorry and lazy as you want to be. In America, opportunity flourishes because innovation rarely waits on the Government. In America, you can get rich from a good idea or by developing your skills, knowledge and talent. In America, you can determine your own future. Despite our flaws,mistakes and blemishes, America is a great country.  Simply put, America is great.

During this Independence Day weekend, please take a moment to reflect on America's greatness. think about it in terms that reflect and affect your own life, those around you and the World as a whole. Strive to be the best you can be and to live up to the greatness our Founding Fathers saw in YOU and in YOUR country.

Georgia,
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Num estudo publicado pela Southern Media & Opinion Research, Mccain tem uma vantagem de 16% no estado Louisiana. Na Georgia, segundo a Strategic Vision Mccain tem mais 8% e na Florida tem os mesmos 8% sobre Obama (dados da Strategic Vision). No Connecticut, Barack Obama tem superioridade em 21%  em relação a Mccain (Quinnipiac) e no Massachusetts lidera com mais 20% (Rasmussen).

Apesar de algumas alterações residuais, os estudos de opinião continuam a demonstrar que poderá haver pouca variação dos Battleground States em relação a 2004.