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STIRRING UP THE WATERS News of 10th District Congressman Charlie Norwood's health setbacks has stirred political speculation all over the district. Norwood, who in 2004 underwent a lung transplant, has lung can cer and a tumor near his liver. He has been out during most of this new term and received President Bush's good wishes for a speedy recovery during the recent State of the Union address. Norwood is undergoing chemotherapy and is impatient to get back to work. There is always the chance that his health problems will pre vent a return to work, and so, prudent political observers must at least acknowledge the possibilities. At the same time, no one would wish (or want to be perceived as wishing) anything but a speedy recovery for the popular Norwood, formerly a dentist who used his skills on the front lines in Vietnam as an Army captain before setting up his practice in Augusta. If Norwood should be forced to resign from Congress, Gov. Perdue would call a special, non-partisan election to fill the empty seat until the next general election. Since Norwood, a conservative Republican, was just re-elected to his seventh term in November, the next general election would be in 2008. For political junkies, discussing an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is the equivalent of throwing corn meal cakes into a catfish pond. At this point, though, the frenzy is purely speculative and of course tempered by the realization that it is far too early for anyone to appear (publicly) interested. That being said, a potential candidate, should the seat become open, would have to be our own Republican State Senator Ralph Hudgens, who ran against Norwood when Charlie was first elected. The good news is that Ralph would have to resign from the state Senate in order to run for Congress. Another potential candidate is surely former State Senator Brian Kemp, who ran a (losing) race for the Republican nomination for Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture. And of course, former For political junkies, discussing an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is the equivalent of throwing corn meal cakes into a catfish pond. Athens-Clarke County Mayor Doc Eldridge might run, should the seat come available. Doc has wide contacts around the district and even while he was mayor, pushed for a more com pact, Athens-centric district than the previous one which had Athens at one extreme of a district that reached all the way to Savannah. Now, Athens is safely within the fold of a heavily Republican district that stretches from the Augusta suburbs all the way to the North Carolina line, comprising primarily rural and small-town counties. The prospect of a non-partisan election means that Democrats are not automatically out of the running. Columbia County jeweler Terry Holley ran against Norwood in the last election, garner ing 32 percent of the vote. State Representative Alan Powell, from Hartwell, is a conservative Democrat who beat back a strong Republican challenge in the last election. Former Athens Mayor Gwen O'Looney has name recognition. Newly elected State Democratic Party Chair Jane Kidd grew up in Lavonia, in the heart of the district, and now lives in Athens. Rep. Jeanette Jamieson, of Toccoa, is a popular Democrat. Athens' Robert Finch ran for Congress in 2002. For that matter. Commissioner of Labor Mike Thurmond has deep roots in Athens and the district. A candidate who could draw well in Athens would start with a strong base, but so would an Augusta-area candidate such as Republican State Rep. Barry Fleming, from Columbia County, who is said to have the support of the powerful Rep. Ben Harbin, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. An open Congressional seat to be filled by a non-partisan, special election simply opens a Pandora's Box of possibilities. For instance, if Brian Kemp doesn't run for Congress but Ralph Hudgens does, Kemp could run for Hudgens' State Senate post (they're in the same district now) to return to the Senate and take his seat along side his brother-in-law, Bill Cowsert, elected to fill Kemp's seat. But it's a big district, with some well-known political play ers, like Jackson County's Gary Black, who beat Brian Kemp in the Republican Primary for Agriculture Commissioner but lost to long time Democratic incumbent Tommy Irvin. Should the occasion arise, whoever runs will have to be com mitted to a fast, hard campaign in a crowded field that will surely spill over into a runoff. And whoever is elected will have to start running immediately for re-election, shuttling back and forth from Washington every week to travel the gigantic district, constantly • politicking and begging for money, foregoing family life. Charlie Norwood is still the Congressman from the 10th District. That's a fact. The rest, at this point, is just a tempest in a catfish pond. Pete McCommons Editor & Publisher editor@flagpole.com THIS WEEK’S ISSUE: N3EWS <§2 FEATURES Back To Life 10 Freed from Death Row, Shareef Cousin Has Reason to Be an Optimist Flagpole talks with a young man who spent 11 years wrongfully imprisoned in Louisiana. He’s visiting Athens this week to discuss his experiences with the capital punishment system ARTS <§2 EVENTS Art Notes 18 Footprint in the Sand ATHICAs "Transience: The Paradox of Being." printmaking and Nina Bovasso at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. Also, check out the annual Mental Health Benefit art auction Theatre Notes 19 Pick You Up at Eight Town and Gown does Lady Windermere's Fan The Forest Theater of Pure Form pushes the envelope. Canopy, Rose of Athens. The Vagina Monologues and so much more! Telling Tall Tales 31 Jimmy Hughes Is The Heart Of Folklore, But The Band’s Debut Album Features Many Voices The Ghost of H W Beavetman is a trip through invented and actual folklore from upstate New York. No Backlash Necessary 32 The Woggles Bring Back An Incendiary Love Of Garage Rock & Roll Rock And Roll Backlash is the ninth album from the SOs-inspired revivalists with the powerhouse shows. LETTERS 4 A MILLION MONKEYS 23 CITY PAGES 6 ABC 24 COMMENT 8 FOLKLORE 31 BOOK REVIEW 9 THE WOGGLES 32 SHAREEF COUSIN 10 PHILVASSAR 34 HIP MAMMA 13 RECORD REVIEWS 35 OUT THERE! 14 SPOTLIGHT 36 ART NOTES 18 THREATS & PROMISES 37 THEATRE NOTES 19 COMICS 38 MOVIE DOPE .’..20 REALITY CHECK 39 MOVIE PICK 22 CLASSIFIEDS 40 COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto featuring artwork by Peter Loose at the Georgia Museum of Art gift shop EDITOR l PUBLISHER Pete McCommons ADVERTISING DIRECTOR l PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner MANAGING EDITOR Margaret Moore ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey, Melinda Edwards. Jessica Pritchard MUSIC EDITOR Chris Hassiotis CITY EDITOR Ben Emanuel CLASSIFIEDS, DISTRIBUTION l OFFICE MANAGER Emily Waldron AD DESIGNERS Ian Rickert, Kelly Ruberto ILLUSTRATOR Jason Crosby CARTOONISTS Cameron Bogue, Jacob Hunt, Missy Kulik, Jeremy Long, Clint McElroy, Josh Nickerson, Joe Rice ADOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jerrell ABC Chris Hassiotis, Ben Emanuel WRITERS Jace Bartet, Phillip Buchan, Tom Crawford, Elizabeth Deroshia, John Huie, Jyl Inov, Gordon Lamb. Charley Lee, Ryan Martin, John G. Nettles, Beth Sale, Alan Sculley, Jeff Tobias, Brandon Waddell. Michael Wehunt, Drew Wheeler, Donald E. Wilkes, Jr., Gretchen Wood CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf, Roy Coughlin, Clayton Aucoin, Zack Haas. Lee Sarrell WEB DESIGNER Ian Rickert ADVERTISING INTERNS Nicole Hayster, Claire Nalle MUSIC INTERN Lia Brunelle CONTACT US: STREET ADDRESS: 112 S. Foundry St.. Athens, GA 30601 MAILING ADDRESS: P.0. Box 1027. Athens. GA 30603 EDITORIAL i/06) 549-9523 ADVERTISING: (706) *49-0301 FAX: (706) 548-8381 ADVERTISING- ads@flagpole.com ARTS & EVENTS: outthere@flagpole.com COMICS: comics@flagpole.com EDITORIAL editor@flagpole.com LETTERS: letters@flagpole.com MUSIC: music@flagpole.com MUSIC LISTINGS: abc@flagpole.com WEB SITE: www.flagpole.com VOLUME 21 ISSUE NUMBER 5 Flagpole, Inc. publishes Flagpole Magazine weekly and distributes 17,000 copies free at over 275 locations around Athens. Georgia. Subscriptions cost $55 a year, $35 tor six months. O 2007 Flagpole, Inc. AJI rights reserved. @0© *MofiK*aw of ttwiMtm IrimiHir NEWS & FEATURES I ARTS & EVENTS I MOVIES i MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS FEBRUARY 7,2007 • FLAGPOLE.COM 3