The new CCDC breakfast location is great. It is Los Bravos, 4480 South COBB DR, Smyrna, GA 30080, 678-556-1934. The cost is $8.

It’s close to the intersection of South Cobb and the East West Connector. It’s close to a liquor store so no Republicans will ever bother us, Sonny anyway.

There are about 90 seats with no half-walls (Jose’s & Howard’s) or tall boths (Picadilly’s) to get in the line of sight. There is an overflow capacity and extra room in the bar too. It is more intimate than The Hyatt.

It’s January and attendance was supposed to be so-so but we had standing room only. It seems that the Democratic citizens of Georgia would like to have a state party that represents them and quite a few folks (4) running for chairman of the state party showed up and spoke about the need for a grass-roots oriented party. Former state senator Donzella James is running for the position too but did not make the breakfast.

Benson Manica may put me out of a job. He was recording the breakfast and will put it on u-tube (sp?) When I figure out how to spell the web site and how to get there, I’ll let you know. (I’m probably the only one who does not know where it is)

Chairman David Wilkerson mentioned that the CCDC would not march in the King Holiday parade, so I didn’t go to the wonderful celebration that they have at the Cobb Civic Center. This week the celebration has been on the normally awful to watch channel 23 and I noticed a handsome articulate man present a reading at the celebration. It was Darryl Wilson, former state rep candidate in North cobb, and his reading would have been one of the highlights of the celebration but he was alternating the reading with Alisha Morgan and no one has ever taken the spotlight away from the amazing state representative from South Cobb.

While all good Democrats are well read, I managed not to read a book for about six months. Over the holidays, I tried to catch up with some of the books that I’ve heard about on C-span, and Al Franken. I get Al on my car radio and my Sony Walkman (1390AM) strapped to my arm. I think that with some effort I can get it on my computer. If you’ve read them, ship to the end.

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas Ricks.

The author has won a pulitzer prize before and this may be his second. Fiasco tells you, with the descriptions of soldiers from private to general, what is and has happened. We’re pouring gas on this fire and Fiasco shows you how, as well as the stories of the few good officers who could have made a difference a few years ago but that time has past and there were only the few.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

Iraq needed security, electricity, and water. The CPA (Coalition Provisional Government) gave Iraq a pure free market capitalistic system with a flat tax, stock market, and no tariffs. This book could have been titled "neo-con’s in the mideast", so many bizarre incidents and so well written.

The Assassins’ Gate by George Packer. The author is a writer for the New Yorker and I’ve read some of his work before. This book compliments the first two by adding some new new insights to our knowledge of the Iraqi people and the war.

Khrushchev’s Cold War by Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali. For those old enough to remember Nikita this is a must read too. It seems that the leadership of the Soviet Union had a secretary make verbatum notes of their meetings, which is why a Russian (historian/ tanslator) is a co-author. The US intelligence about the Soviet Union was as bad as the weapons of mass destruction. Early neo-cons had an ideology about Communism and facts were fixed to the policy. Like Sadam, the Soviets weren’t nice but they weren’t the menace that they were made out to be. I’ve only read 172 pages but this is great stuff.

The CCDC Thursday night meeting at the Marietta City Council chamber had, among other things, an election for district captains.

Most state house districts now have a captain. I barely won in state house district 41 (Zachary Smith ran against Sharon Cooper).

Names and contact info for these district captains will be surfacing shortly.

They will want to contact you (if you’re in their district) as badly as you will wish to contact them. The precinct captain system is coming back to life (the only way to live).

We’ll all be talking about this more in the near future.

A friend asked me recently about where Democrats get together socially.

During the Dean campaign there was the Dean Happy hour which was a lot of fun.

It’s nice to talk to Democrats while you aren’t knocking on doors, making buttons, phone calls, or eating breakfast while someone makes a speech.

At the Thursday meeting, this subject was brought up and I’ll be letting you know as soon as there is something to report.