If the whole flag issue didn't already say a lot about the state of Georgia, the long-running crusade to exempt pick-up trucks from seat belt laws may finally end as long-time speaker of the house Tom Murphy was defeated last November. I suppose you could say he had his constituents in mind since he came from a rural area with plenty of trucks around, but the safety issue at stake here seems a lot more tangible than any smoking or drinking ordinances out there.

And to answer Brian's query, as it states in the article, SUVs are not part of this exemption. Then again, I doubt there were that many SUVs in Murphy's district. Speaking of SUVs, the Wall Street Journal had an entertaining essay the other day breaking down the sociology of SUVs, calling it a "civil war within the educated class" and comparing it to a war between geeks and jocks. I'm not a big fan of SUVs, or more accurately, I'm not interested in getting one. But I'm not sure I'm all for the crusade against them, especially the "moral fervor ... which has risen to the level of a liberal fatwa." I'm just more annoyed by how much space they can take up in the parking lot -- there used to be a guy living in my section of my apartment complex with a gigantic Escalade that seemed to overwhelm any car around it.