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PAGE 5A
FORSYTH OPINION
Friday, October 19, 2018
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1398 o e :
Jason Evans, 100 Main St.,
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. Lewis Ledbetter, 100 Main St.,
. Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 781-
2000 .
- Linda Ledbetter, 100 Main St.,
“ Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 781-
f2OIO
Chad Crane, 100 Main St,,
Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 781-
2010 ¢
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
R.J. (Pete) Amos, Post 1, 110 E.
Main St., Cumming, GA 30040;
(678) 513-5881; riamos@forsyth
co.com _
Secretary Dennis Brown, Post
2, 110 E. Main Street , Cumming,
GA 30040; (678) 513-5882;
dtbrown@forsythco.com
Chairman Todd Levent, Post 3,
110 E. Main St., Cumming, GA
30040; (678) 513-5883; tlevent@
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Cindy Mills, Post 4, 110 E. Main
. St., Cumming, GA 30040; (678)
513-5884; cjmills@forsythco.com
Vice Chairwoman Laura
Semanson, Post 5, 110 E. Main
. St., Cumming, GA 30040; (678)
513-5885; losemanson@forsyth-
TO.COM
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Chairwoman Ann Crow, District
1, 320 Dahlonega St., Cumming,
GA 30040; (770) 490-6316;
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Kristin Morrissey, District 2,
3310 Cany Creek Lane, Cumming,
GA 30041; (678) 250-4047; kmor
rissey @forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Tom Cleveland, District 3, 5225
Millsford Court, Cumming, GA
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land @forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Darla Sexton Light, District 4,
50080 Hopewell Road,
Cumming, GA 30028; (770) 887-
0678; dlight@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Vice Chairwoman Nancy
Roche, District 5, 7840 Chestnut
Hill Road, Cumming, GA 30041;
(770) 889-0229; nroche @forsyth.
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NATIONAL LEGISLATORS
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, 120
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-3643 or (770) 661-0999
U.S. Sen. David Perdue, B4OD
Dirksen Senate Office Building;,
Washington, D.C. 20510; (202)
224-3521
U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, 9th
District; 513 Cannon House Office
Building, Washington, D.C.,
20515; (202) 225-9893; fax, (770)
297-3390
U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, 7th
District; 1725 Longworth House
Office Building, Washington, D.C.,
20515; (770) 232-3005; (202) 225-
4272; fax, (202) 225-4696
STATE LEGISLATORS
Sen. Steve Gooch, 51st District,
Suite 421-C, State Capitol, Atlanta,
GA 30334; (404) 656-9221
Sen. Michael Williams, 27th
District, Coverdell Legislative
Office Building, Room 323-B, 18
Capitol Square, Atlanta, GA
30334; (404) 656-7127
Rep. Kevin Tanner, 9th District,
Coverdell Legislative Office
Building, Room 401-E, Atlanta, GA
30334??404) 656-0152
Rep. Wes Cantrell, 22nd District,
Coverdell Legislative Office
Building, Room 507-E, 18 Capitol
Square, Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
656-0202 :
mflw S. Gilligan, 24th
Di Coverdell Legislative
Office Building, Suite 612 F, 18
Capitol Square, SW, Atlanta, GA
Building, Room 607-E, 18 Capitol
Square, Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
_ Bidg., Atlanta, GA 30334; (404)
Senda letter to the editor to PO, Box-210 Cumming, GA 30028; faxit to (770) 889-6017; o email it to editor@forsythnews.com.
Some random thoughts on
some random subjects
There has been a change of
plans. I was going to talk
about Georgia’s olive indus
try this week. It is one of our
state’s best-kept secrets.
According to gourmands in
the know, the quality of
Georgia’s olive oil rivals that
of anywhere in the nation and
is even compared favorably
with overseas producers. But
now is not the time for that
discussion. Farmers all across
south Georgia are busy deal
ing with the aftereffects of
Hurricane Michael.
We’ll get back to that sub
ject later. In the meantime,
pray for all those hard-work
ing souls who provide the
food for our tables as well as
all those impacted by that
monstrous storm.
Once upon a time, a fright
ened and homesick kid from
East Point showed up on the
campus of the University of
Georgia wondering if he
shouldn’t just turn around, go
home and get a paying job.
He stayed, stuck it out and
graduated.
A couple of weeks ago,
that kid — now an old man
— sat at dinner in Athens
with a group of distinguished
men and women who have
served as president of the
UGA Alumni Association.
We are from different cities,
states and backgrounds, but
we all agree it is one of the
highest honors your alma
When Trump says repeat
edly, “There is no global cur
rency,” and when he tells the
Saudis they must pay for
their own defense, he is re
telling the world the petro
dollar system is going away.
Since 1975, the petrodoll
has been the primary factor
conveying value to the U.S.
dollar overseas. It is the rea
son countries around the [/
world use U.S. dollars for,
international trade, even
when the U.S. is not
involved. And to obtain
enough dollars to buy OPEC
oil, those countries are forced
to sell America a lot of cheap
stuff. It’s a form of enslave
ment. And the only reason
the Saudis; oz any other -
OPEC nation (Iran and
Venezuela the exceptions),
price their oil in dollars is
that as part of that agreement,
the U.S. pledges to protect
those nations from foreign
aggressors.
But if, as Trump has pub
licly urged now many times,
the Saudis and other OPEC
nations eventually protect
themselves, they won’t need
U.S. dollars except for what
they buy from America. That
means America would need
stuff to sell them. That is why
Trump wants these countries
to depend on U.S. military
equipment as the foundation
for their defense, rather than
Russia or China. Trump
wants them buying American,
in every respect; military is
just one.
The world is entering a cur
rency transition period.
Trump is getting the horse in
front of the cart for that
time. There will be winners
and losers in this transition.
Those who have been the
winners in the past, Wall
Letter policy 5
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Mail letters to the Forsyth County News, PO. Box 210, Cumming, GA 30028, hand deliver to 302 Veterans
Memorial Bivd., fax to (770) 889-6017 or e-mail to editor@forsythnews.com. :
DICK YARBROUGH
Columnist :
mater can bestow on you.
Prankl;fi still pinch myself
that it happened to me.
Politics is a blood sport and
I understand that. However,
what went on in the Brett
Kavanaugh confirmation
hearings was despicable. One
of the basic tenets of our
Constitution is the presump
tion of innocence until prov
en guilty. That was not the
- in these hearings and it
wasn’t meant to be.
Kavanaugh was a pawn in
an effort by Democrats to
position themselves for the
upcoming midterm elections.
Senators in both parties say
that once-esteemed body has
hit “rock bottom.” I agree.
When, if ever, will our elect
ed officials quit pandering to
the extremes in their respec
tive parties? There are a lot of
us in the middle and we are
disgusted at the sorry specta
cle we witnessed.
The last thing Billy Payne
needs is my seal of approval,
but he gets it anyway. When I
joined the Atlanta Committee
for the Olympic Games, ;
Trump on a Fed warpath
\{MNK SULLIVAN
olumnist
Street banks, will be the los
ers. The American people and
the peoples of the world who
embrace a truly free market
will be the winners.
Wall Street banks will lose
because, as part of the
Petrodollar agreement, OPEC
nations agree to bank on Wall
Street. That relationship sets
up a sort of “circle of loot”
and creates a foundation for
virtually unlimited currency
creation by those same banks.
The banks receive OPEC oil
revenue deposits which
increase their reserves. Since
‘banks are allowed to create
currency according to the
amounts of reserves on depos
it, and since the Republican
Congress and President Bill
Clinton repealed the Glass-
Steagall Act of 1933, Wall
Street banks can also create
dollars out of thin air and
invest them in stocks and
other financial assets. Can you
say, “bubble?”
Trump is telling Wall Street
and the world’s central bank
ers that as the petrodollar sys
tem goes away, so will their
cash cow, therein lies the rub
with those Federal Reserve
banks. They stand to lose a
major source of reserve
deposits and the ability to
issue mere paper to purchase
real assets on the world mar
ket.
Some people believe
Trump will push a gold stan
dard. Not so. Trump knows
that there is not enough gold
This is a page of opinion — ours, yours and
others. Signed columns and cartoons are the
opinions of the writers and artists, and they
Payne was coming to grips
with running one of the most
complex organizations on
Earth, after having been a
one-man-band real estate
he was the subject of a lot of
smirks and eyerolls from the
local media and government
bureaucrats for his unbridled
_One of the roles I assigned
myself was to wipe the
smirks off their pompous
faces. It was a job I did with
relish. Not only did the man
put on a great Olympic
Games, he later became an
innovative chairman of the
venerable Augusta National
Golf Club and has just been
named to the World Golf Hall
of Fame. The smirkers? They
all crawled back into the
- from whence they
came, never to be heard from
again. Good riddance. Billy
Payne was and i$ and always
will be a winner.
A longtime political
observer possessed of much
wisdom reminds me — and I
remind you — that when we
elect our next governor, we
are electing more than a per
son. We are electing a philos
ophy — someone who will
appoint like-minded depart
ment heads, commissioners,
members of a host of boards
and commissions and, per
haps most importantly, make
judicial appointments.
in anyone’s coffers to cover
not only the amount of cur
rency already issued into the
world economy, from every
country, but also the currency
that might conceivably be
issued over time.
Think about it. Were the
U.S. to back each dollar with
gold, and were a major war to
happen, rightly or wrongly,
or a national calamity of
major proportion to happen,
the government would not
have enough gold to back the
creation of currency neces
sary to pay the cost. And a
growing economy requires
currency growth to precede
it. If there is only so much
gold, there can only be so -
msl(;hclmsency. And W%( L &=
describe was the reason for
the Great Depression.
It took devaluing the cur
rency with respect to gold to _
generate enough to pay for
Roosevelt’s New Deal pro
grams. To satisfy the banks,
Roosevelt confiscated all the
gold and used it as collateral
to borrow more currency. The
gold standard bankrupted the
U.S. government in 1933.
None of that was necessary,
but Roosevelt did not have
the stomach to war against
the bankers. Trump does.
After World War 11, the
nations of the world signed
an agreement at Bretton
Woods, New Hampshire.
That agreement pegged the
price of gold at $35 an ounce.
Nixon threw that agreement
overboard in 1971 when he
closed the gold window to
other countries. Bretton
Woods is gone for good.
Trump is heading toward
eliminating the Federal
Reserve and restoring a
national sovereign currency
system. The value of curren
Call it what you will, but it
is political patronage and it
will have a major impact on
your life and mine for years
to come. It goes without say
ing that Republican candidate
Brian Kemp and Democrat
philosophically. Remember
that when you vote.
* . *
Finally, from the
Department of the Bizarre,
multi-millionaire and unem
ployed knee jerk Colin
Kaepernick has filed a trade
mark for a black-and-white
image of his face and hair.
The filing with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office
says the intent is to use the
image on everything “from
shampoo and hairspray to
jewelry and lampshades.”
(Just what I have always
wanted — a Colin
Kaepernick lampshade.
When it hears the national
anthem, it falls off the lamp.)
I wasn’t aware that you could
trademark something as ugly
and as irrelevant as a tree
frog, but I was wrong. Is this
a great country, or what?
You can reach Dick Yarbrough
at dick@dickyarbrough.com; at
P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta,
Georgia, 31139 or on Facebook
atwwwi.facebook.com/dickyarb.
cies around the world would
be determined by a free mar
ket. Imagine that. The U.S.
dollar would be backed by
the goods and services in the
American economy that the
dollar could buy. And that is
one reason Trump is working
feverishly to return manufac
turing industries back to
America. Without goods to
sell, the dollar would be
worthless. The manufacturing
base of the American econo
my will ultimately convey
value to the U.S. dollar.
People want to see a free
market, that is what this is.
And that is where Trump is
taking us.
Trump never tells you what
does it. He sends signs and
signals. But sometimes those
are to throw off enemies. He
may givegip service concern
ing returning to a world gold
standard. But that won’t hap
pen. When Trump says,
“There is no global currency,”
he means it. And he knows
that if he does not replace the
present global currency sys
tem with a nationally-based
system, that system will
eventually implode. Trump’s
goal is to circumvent a world
economic disaster and place
all the world’s nations com
peting in its first truly free
market.
A free market depends
upon a medium of exchange
that also varies according to
the market. That is where the
world is heading. Get ready
for a bumpy ride.
Hank Sullivan is a Forsyth
County resident, businessman,
author and speaker on
American history, economics
and geopolitics. :