R. Neal

March 6, 2007 - A payday lender trade group launches a $10 million PR campaign to rehabilitate their image. In their TV commercials, they say "Please borrow only what you feel comfortable paying back when it's due."

March 1, 2007 - The Commission on No Child Left Behind, established by the Aspen Group and funded by a group of highly regarded education foundations, recently completed a year long study of the NCLB act. The bipartisan Commission is co-chaired by former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson former Georgia Governor Roy E. Barnes.

February 27, 2007 - The Middle Tennessee State University Survey Group semi-annual statewide poll is widely recognized and frequently quoted by the media, public officials, and political campaigns.

February 22, 2007 - The folks at Emerging Democratic Majority's Donkey Rising blog (who noticed our post earlier this week about the South's prominent role in next year's presidential primaries) opine on Thomas Schaller's latest ode t

February 22, 2007 - As Chris noted in this recent post, there is growing world-wide opposition to the death penalty, and the numbers are down in the U.S. but it's still most prevalent in the South.

February 20, 2007 - It's Mardi Gras time in New Orleans and around the South. On the second Fat Tuesday since Katrina, the folks in New Orleans can forget their worries for a day and celebrate life. This New Orleans Times Picayune editorial says it best:

February 20, 2007 - If the 2008 presidential primaries play out as they are currently shaping up, there could be a lot more attention paid to Southern states and it could come a lot earlier in the process.