Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, May 17,2023
FAYETTE VIEWS
A4 Fayette County News
Inflation Slowing,
But Still at
Troublesome Levels
W e got some good news last week. Or, at least, the
news on inflation was less bad. When dealing with
the dismal science of economics, “less bad” is good.
The annualized inflation rate for the month of April
dropped below five percent for the first time in two years.
The accelerating rate surpassed the Federal Reserve’s target
rate of two percent the Spring of 2021, and peaked at 9.1
percent last June.
A drop from 9.1 percent to April’s
reading of 4.9 percent shows pro
gress, but we’re still more than dou
ble the Fed’s target rate.
It’s become clear from observing
news reports, political claims, and
random social media comments that
too many of us don’t really under
stand what these numbers mean. The
biggest tell is when you see someone
asking when prices are going to come
What we’re currently experiencing is disinflation. That
means prices are still going up, but they’re going up at a
slower rate than they were. If this rate were to hold steady,
your cash money would be worth five percent less a year
from now than it is today.
This is the reasoning for cost-of-living adjustments
(COLAs) given to recipients of programs like Social Secu
rity, some defined pension programs, and many public and
private employers. COLAs ensure that for the same work
(or pension), you can generally buy the same basket of
goods used to measure inflation.
The most noticeable place we see inflation is at the
grocery store and at the gas pump. This is why when you
listen to explanations of the inflation rate, you’ll hear one
rate for “core” inflation that excludes food and energy.
We’re quite familiar with the prices of fuel and food having
wild spikes upward, and then usually having slower and
more gradual price declines.
The core index that deals with items which have less-
volatile prices, don’t tend to come back down. Inflation in
our modern economy is more-or-less permanent. Other
wise, we would experience deflation instead of disinflation.
Deflation would be an entirely different set of problems.
As much as we would enjoy the lower prices, the expecta
tion that the things we buy or invest in would be worth less
later than now creates sellers today while pushing buyers
into a pattern of delay. Why would you buy anything today
See Harper, A6
CHARLIE HARPER
The Summer of‘69
Oh, when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Yeah, I'd alivays wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life
- Bryan Adams
Dear grandson,
It’s hard to believe that you’re almost finished with
eighth grade. Next year you’ll be in high school, and if
things stay on track, you’ll be heading to college in another
four years.
That said, I have a surprise for
you. It’s something I put together in
the summer of ’69, the year I finished
eighth grade - 54 years ago.
Those were some of the best days
of my life. Since I wanted to re
member them, I put a few mementos
in a time capsule. Well, technically I
put them in cold storage in the
freezer at Tanaka’s Butcher Shop
when our family was still living in
Hawaii.
Anyway, Mr. Tanaka just sold his building - it’s going to
be an Apple store - and had to clear everything out. He
asked me to take what was mine.
So, here’s what will be arriving any day now from the
50th state:
•In-A-Gadd-Da-Vida, an album by Iron Butterfly. I
played it so many times that I wore the grooves out on one
side. Unfortunately, it’s the side with the 17-minute version
of the title song. The other side should be just fine, however;
I never played it.
•A ticket stub to a night of professional wrestling at the
Honolulu Civic Center. I was a huge wrestling fan, because
back then wrestling was real. And, unlike most people
today, I wasn’t afraid to admit it.
•My Moanalua Mustangs T-shirt. It’s special to me be
cause Moanalua Intermediate School opened the year I
started seventh grade there, and I was one of the students
that voted for “Mustangs” as our school mascot (The other
options were “Mice” and “Mango,”so the competition was
pretty weak.).
•The three-wood from my first set of golf clubs. It’s
called a “wood,” because the clubhead is actually made of
wood, not metal like the clubs your dad uses. I played golf
the entire summer, and even won the first tournament I
ever played in. But it wasn’t because I was particularly
good; it was because everyone else was pretty bad.
•My seventh-grade class photo. I was sporting a crew-
cut, because dad promised me a slot car if I cut my hair
short. What’s a slot car? Hours of mindless entertainment.
Sort of like an Xbox.
•My ticket stub from a Jimi Hendrix concert at the Wai
kiki Shell. Yes, that Jimi Hendrix. Don’t worry; I wasn’t as
cool as that makes me sound. I went to a Peter, Paul, and
Mary concert there once, as well.
•The skateboard that I bought ($12!) with my very own
See Ludwig, A6
SCOTT LUDWIG
Representatives Clyde and Greene
Making Georgia Look Foolish
“The GOP should lead the censure of
@RepMTG for her behavior,” -former
GOP House Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
Kinzinger asked that the House cen
sure Georgia’s Rep. Marjorie Taylor
Greene (MTG) for her obnoxious, ad
olescent behavior at the State of the
Union address. Greene brought a white
balloon to the Capital and (with other
out-of-control radicals) yelled “Liar” at
President Joe Biden.
Kinzinger went on to ask his fellow
Republicans if
they wanted
MTG as “a role
model for your
kids?”
With
McCarthy de
pendent on the
inappropriately
named “Free
dom Caucus,” a
radical right-
wing House splinter group, there is no
chance he will ever endorse any action
against her. Although he clearly should
for the good of Congress, Georgia, and
our nation.
"We need a national divorce," stated
Greene in a recent political tweet. She
wants red states to separate from blue
states, as they tried to do in the War Be
tween the States (the right wing’s term
for the Civil War).
What we need is to divorce Greene
from Georgia. MTG makes north Geor
gia, once my home, look foolish. After
all, my fellow Georgians elected her.
But that is not enough ridiculous
ness for my home state; now we have
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R) of North Geor
gia’s Ninth District reinforcing her stu
pidity. Clyde, an arms dealer, decided to
distribute AR-15 lapel pins to his fellow
GOP legislators... so they could wear
them during National Gun Violence
Survivors Week (https ://www.thedaily-
beast.com/andrew-clyde-reveals-him-
self-as-source-of-ar-15-assault-rifle-pin
s).
Clyde also stated, “I give it out to re
mind people of the Second Amendment
of the Constitution.” (https://www.van-
ityfair.com/news/2023/02/repub-
licans-ar-15-pins-andrew-clyde) Of
course, Clyde does not know that the
Second Amendment gives state militias,
not individuals, the right to bear fire
arms.
It reads: “A well-regulated Militia,
being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and
bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
And until 2008, that was the way
that the Supreme Court correctly inter
preted it. But, in a very controversial
decision, Justice Scalia convinced four
other judges to vote with him to give in
dividuals constitutional gun rights.
But even Scalia stated, “The right se
cured by the Second Amendment right
is not unlimited... [It is] not a right to
keep and carry any weapon whatsoever
See Bernard, A6
The Turtle, PETA,
and The Big Guy
I n Alabama (exclusively), there lives
a turtle known as an “Alabama Red
Belly.” I was told that they could ac
tually communicate; well, not talk, ex
actly, but could convey some emotions.
Being an avid herpetologist, I de
cided to check it out.
I drove over to Gulf Shores, Ala.,
and sludged through murk and mud,
and finally
found one. Re
calling what I
was told about
how the turtle
talked, i.e., they
had a vocal ap
paratus just
under the shell,
which activated
when attacked
or when a
human affixed
an attentive ear to its shell.
Reluctantly, I stuck my ear tightly to
the shell and Eureka!! - I could dis
tinctly hear sounds, a click, a buzz, a
whirr of sorts. Gibberish.
But then, I concluded the obvious;
a turtle that talked probably talked in
its native tongue, turtle speak. So, I
rushed back to my house, fired up
Google translate, hooked up my
recorder, stuck my ear again to the tur
tle, and repeated the turtle sounds to
Google.
The sounds I heard this time were
distinctively different from the sounds
I heard over in the turtle’s habitat in Al
abama; it was sort of like, zzzip, arrrgg,
grrrerr.
Here is the terrifying message, as
translated verbatim by Google:
“I am an Alabama Red Belly Turtle,
and like all Alabama Red Belly Turtles,
I am herbivorous. Therefore, I have no
interest in you from a dietary perspec
tive, but in about two hours I will be
hungry. There is not one plant in sight
- no kale, no dandelion, no Bok choy, no
endive, and not even some lousy esca-
role.
“Consequently, I will probably die of
veggie starvation. This rather upsets
me.
“I digress. As a cautionary measure
as a hedge against any cruelties, like ne
glecting my reptilian needs or other
wise doing me harm, I secreted a bit of
liquid through a micro-tube in my shell
that you have rubbed all over your at
tentive ear. It is extremely toxic but not
lethal; you will not die. However, in
about two days your ear will begin to
itch, then burn, followed by a discolor
ation, then a complete disintegration. It
will be a bit visually distracting, but hey,
you can begin a new career of, say, pos
ing for art students interested in cap
turing the essence of Van Gogh.”
I was frantic. The fear of losing an
ear, the constant trips to the mirror,
checking, imagining an itch, a telltale
splotch. Two days went by, then three,
with no visible difference in my ear. I
felt somewhat relieved, but still con
cerned.
I work in a government agency that
specializes in ferreting out leaks and
lies that threaten national security; an
assignment that demands good eye
sight and hearing. I was scheduled to
appear before Congress in one week
with my dossier containing dates,
times, and places, along with corrobo
rating witnesses, naming names of
those engaged in lying, briberies, kick-
backs, quid quo pro, and military com
promises. The parties to the probe were
in the highest echelon of government. I
was nervously reluctant to appear but
resolved to expose this traitorous cess-
See Studdard, A6
Does
the Truth
Matter
Anymore?
A t the end of every trial, both the
state and the defendant ask the
jury to enter a verdict.
“Verdict” is derived from an old
Latin term, “verdictum,” which means
“to say the truth.” Sometimes in clos
ing arguments,
prosecutors will
ask that the jury
“speak the
truth” with their
verdict, telling
the defendant
that they are
guilty of the
crimes for
which they have
been charged,
and telling a vic
tim that the truth of what happened to
them has been heard.
But trials are often filled with any
thing other than the “truth.”
Two cases our offices successfully
prosecuted showed the perils of not
being truthful in life and in the court
room. In Fayette County, a jury con
victed Dawn Harmon of making a false
statement and tampering with ev
idence.
These charges arose from the mur
der of Harmon’s ex-husband, Joshua
Kellum. Mr. Kellum had visited his
daughter and accidentally left some
important papers in a bookbag with
her. He tried to retrieve these doc
uments from Dawn Harmon and Jer
maine Harmon, Dawn’s husband, who
had physical custody of his daughter,
and an altercation ensued.
Jermaine Harmon shot Mr. Kellum
dead. A Fayette County jury convicted
Jermaine Harmon of murder in 2022
and he is serving a life sentence for his
crime.
While Dawn Harmon did not pull
the trigger, she impeded the investiga
tion into the killer, Jermaine Harmon,
by lying to police and hiding evidence.
The Honorable Judge W. Fletcher
Sams sentenced her to 15 years, with
five years to be served in prison.
Lest there be any doubt, it is a fel
ony in the State of Georgia to make a
false, fictitious, or fraudulent state
ment or representation to law enforce
ment. The consequence can be one to
five years in prison.
Of course, if the statement was an
accident or not actually made to police,
then it would not be a crime. But, here,
in the case of Mrs. Harmon, she lied to
try to protect a killer. In this circuit,
such behavior will not be tolerated.
A Spalding County jury spoke the
truth in a recent case as well. Cedrav-
ious Wilkerson was convicted for the
murder of Parrish Pierce. Wilkerson
executed Parrish in a wooded area
near Griffin Municipal Golf Course.
Gang charges were filed against Wilk
erson as well.
In this case, Wilkerson had given
prior conflicting statements to police
and others - including that he shot
Parrish in self-defense, that he shot
Parrish because Parrish was going to
snitch on him, and that Parrish was
killed by someone else.
He also took the stand at trial and
made further conflicting statements
about what happened. A jury saw
through these various fabrications and
See Broder, A6
MARIE BRODER