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News from Thornbriar Press Jonathan Grant’s timely, poignant tale of war between a PTA president and a grade school principal has struck a chord with both parents and educators as well as critics. In addition to receiving praise from reviewers, Chain Gang Elementary is “Required Reading” in the current issue of PTO Today. To get an idea of the novel’s bite, check out this excerpt on The Standard Hightower Intellachievement Test. “I tell people that writing the novel was my revenge for having to read Lord of the Flies in high school,” the Atlanta author modestly explains. But there’s more to the book than that. Here’s just some of the praise being given to Chain Gang Elementary: “This book is the show…

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The whole photo looks off to me, somehow. So they take a class picture. A couple of kids don’t have permission slips but sit for the photo shoot anyway. Everyone finds out too late and they do the decapitated chicken dance. One of the contraband kids is cut out of the photo. The other is sitting there, square in the middle. I’m guessing he’s black, because the photographer slaps a dumb-looking smiley face over his head. The picture is now ruined. Is the photographer so stupid he doesn’t realize he’s ruined the picture? Is he protesting black kids’ failure to bring permission slips to school? Or has he just been on the job too long and needs to retire? I’m voting for…

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Update: That news producer has been fired. See story. NBC News is in hot water for its coverage of the Trayvon Martin case following the disclosure that a producer had improperly edited George Zimmerman’s call to the police, making it appear that Zimmerman was highlighting Martin’s race on his own. In fact, Zimmerman told the dispatcher Martin was black in response to a question. Recent news coverage has pointed out that contrary to the claim that Zimmerman constantly called 911 over the past year, the calls were actually made to a non-emergency line. Also, reports have stated that Zimmerman generally reported the race of the suspicious characters he was calling about after he was asked. Does this make a difference? Who knows…

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Thanks to the good folks at Humpus Bumpus in Cumming, Brambleman is now on sale in Forsyth County. The bookstore has signed copies available–by the way, these are the first signed copies available for sale anywhere. So, if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by Humpus Bumpus on your  way home tonight and pick up a copy. For more information about Brambleman, click here. Or you can check out the latest review. Humpus Bumpus Books    703 Atlanta Road Cumming, GA 30040 Tel:       (770) 781-9705 Visit store website       

On September 21, 2011, Troy Anthony Davis died by lethal injection at 11:08 p.m. for the murder of a Savannah policeman despite widespread doubts about his guilt. If there is a silver lining to all this, it’s that the state’s steadfast refusal to budge on a case that ended up being far from certain has raised doubts in more people’s minds about the efficacy and fairness of the death penalty. The Chatham County DA and the state of Georgia did not do the death penalty any favors by pushing this to its bitter end. Another man is dead, and many of us feel diminished because of it. This case, with its racial overtones, lack of hard evidence, and shifting testimony, reminds us…

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