Ask Buddy Wayne
In another feature of my website, I will answer visitors' questions in the character of Buddy Wayne Barefoot If you have a question about NASCAR, music, or any other relevant part of rural life, just e-mail me at desmond.hobson@netzero.net and I will respond to the best of my ability.--D.H.
I love how you defend the Southern way of life. But how would you respond to people who think that our people are moronic bigots who live in another era?--Jo Ann Hlavac, Laidback Racing, Charleston, SC
As for living in another era, I plead guilty! Then again, the old ways are the best. Many years ago, as will become apparent in the cover story, all of us were expected to work hard and contribute. People are too spoiled nowadays, in my honest opinion. We are so used to the stimulation of television, video games, the Internet, and so many other things, and still we want more. All of us can learn something from when those things weren't available to us and we had to grow our own food, make our own clothes, and entertain ourselves when the sun went down. The rural life I have championed publicly is often difficult but rewarding in the end.
"Moronic bigots?" Please. That's a putdown created by the people in New York, L.A., and other "heathen" places who know everything about the South from TV and movies. Yes, the 1960s brought strife from the civil rights movement, but I think that more whites, especially poor whites, supported the black cause than has ever been acknowledged. I also firmly believe that racist leaders like George Wallace and Ross Barnett held whites enthralled in those days, to the point of intimidation of the "crackers." Since then, it has been reported that the worst racism has actually happened in New York, Boston, L.A. and other urban coastal cities than in the South, while us "rebels" have been the best in human relations. There has been a lot of reverse racism as well, especially on college campuses against white conservatives. (Oh, and they're Ivy League campuses, where the people are supposed to know better. Thanks to conservative commentators Thomas Sowell and David Horowitz for much of this information.)
What do you think of the new television contracts to show NASCAR races? Do you expect better coverage of NASCAR racing than we have had in the last few years?--Cheryl Lauer, Speedcouch, Columbia, MD Cheryl, I've seen your website and I know that you have been very critical of a lot of the NASCAR coverage. When I go home and see the tape of each race, I can understand why. It's not what it used to be (but then again what is?) Like you, I think that NBC and TNT has had the more professional coverage over the last six years. But now NBC has walked away from NASCAR on TV and TNT is down to only six races.
Taking NBC's place are ABC and ESPN, whose last NEXTEL Cup telecast was seven years ago in 2000. We don't know how different those networks' coverage will be now compared to then. They have spent a lot more money than they did before and will be under more pressure to turn a profit on the races on TV. It is highly unlikely, based on current media reports, that ABC and ESPN will use the "side by side" that is seen on the IndyCar races they show. In this format, part of the race remains on a split screen while commercials air; the idea is that viewers never miss any part of the race. ABC/ESPN has blamed lack of advertiser support for not having it available for NASCAR telecasts. As for the other networks, TNT has talked of not having commercials at all, with the ads rotating every few minutes as in soccer games. That would be a cool idea, but something tells me that's not happening either. Fox will return, and although the telecasts looked fresh and "hip" when they began, they have become stale and an insult to the intelligence of the long-time NASCAR fans like me. I still can't believe the personal grudges Chris Myers and Darrell Waltrip have started against me. Myers hates me because I love hunting and he's an animal-rights activist, while Waltrip doesn't like being exposed as a plagiarist and my concerns about the entry of Toyota into the Cup series. (Waltrip stole "boogity boogity boogity," his line when the green flag drops, from a pair of songs, one performed by Chubby Checker and the other sung by Ray Stevens.
To summarize, Cheryl, the coverage will again be uneven. TNT will probably have the best telecasts, Fox the worst, and ABC/ESPN will be somewhere in the middle.
How would you rally the Republican Party after the devastating losses in Congress last November and amid the problems with the Iraq war?--John Moore, Paramount, CA
I would remind people that there are no easy answers to the Iraq problem, and if the Democrats think they have them, they are only kidding themselves. On the other hand, some of the Democrats have some good points on other issues. For example, they have expressed their concerns about American manufacturing jobs. Although my world centers on farming and ranching, I also recognize other people who work in other blue-collar jobs. They are the backbone of the economy and deserve better. It would be better for both parties to reach consensus on the problem of illegal immigration. Those who come into the country illegally simply to "steal" jobs should outrage those on both sides. Liberals point to the unchecked power of big corporations; conservatives are concerned about the immigrants' high crime rate and apparent unwillingness to adapt to American culture. Add in the fact that the money they earn doesn't stay in their hands but rather go back to family members in Mexico and Central America. If the GOP gets a backbone on immigration, and shows real commitment to cut government spending--which they have promised to do, but have never done--this should propel them back to control of Congress and perhaps to the Presidency in 2008, although admittedly the Democrats appear to have better candidates at this point. Then again, as Dennis Prager always says, "People make predictions all the time, but they just neeeever come true." (I had to throw that one right back at you.)