Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4A
Reporter
February 18, 2009
Opinion
Declare among the nations,
and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not;
Jeremiah 50:2
OUR VIEW
Sodalizedmedidne, welfcwe on steroids: \bters should remember Congressman JimMarshaE’ssjpport for this tmuesty
J ust call him Trillion
Dollar Jim. Our
Congressman, Jim
Marshall (D-
Macon), cast
Middle Georgia’s vote on
Friday in favor of President
Obama’s massive spending
bill which, after debt serv
ice, will total more than $1
trillion.
With the federal govern
ment already $11 trillion in
debt, it’s the height of irre
sponsibility to splurge for
another $1 trillion in the
name of economic stimulus.
It’s like a family with
$100,000 in credit card debt
going out and buying a new
$500,000 home on a Visa
card to “fix their finances.”
Worse, Marshall admitted
to this newspaper two
weeks ago he doesn’t know
whether the legislation will
work. It stands to reason,
because Marshall, as with
his colleagues, could not
possibly know what was in
the 1,063 page piece of leg
islation before voting.
Democratic Sen. Frank
Lautenberg (D., N.J.) admit
ted Friday that that no one
voting on the bill had read
it. It was a problem made
worse by a select group of
Democrats secretly ham
mering through final
changes at the last minute.
We do know some of the
things they’re spending our
money on:
• $8 billion for high-speed
railway from Los Angeles to
Las Vegas, home city of
Majority Senate Leader
Harry Reid;
• $1 billion for the
“FutureGen” not-ready-for-
primetime near zero emis
sion plant in Illinois;
• $53.6 billion for the
“state stabilization” slush
fund;
• $5.5 billion for "green"
federal buildings;
• $300 million for "green"
cars for federal employees
• $3.7 billion to conduct
"green" renovations on mili
tary bases;
• $2 billion to develop
advanced batteries for
hybrid cars;
• $1.3 billion for Amtrak;
• $24 million for USDA
buildings and rent;
• $176 million for renovat
ing Agricultural Research
Service buildings;
And on it goes. The $787
billion price tag doesn’t
include interest the govern
ment must pay on the debt,
so the final tally will sur
pass $1 trillion.
The package will take an
already bloated and over
bearing federal bureacracy -
- and put it on steroids.
Even more worrisome, it
establishes the framework
for a government takeover
of health care. The bill cre
ates a National Coordinator
of Health Information
Technology, a new bureau
cracy that will monitor
treatments nationwide to
make sure doctors do what
the federal government
deems “appropriate and cost
effective.” So soon enough,
Big Brother, rather than
patients and doctors, will
determine what’s best for
your family’s health.
In explaining his vote for
the measure, Marshall’s
argument has been that he,
too, had problems with the
bill, but that he couldn’t do
nothing. But that’s a false
choice. Where is it written
that Congress must either
do nothing or spend $1 tril
lion? There were other pro
posals he could have sup
ported that were much
more stimulative to the
economy, including vital
reductions in our high cor
porate, payroll and capital
gains taxes.
Tax relief is a key to re
starting the nation’s ailing
economy. It worked in the
recession of 1981 and would
work now.
Unfortunately, Marshall’s
“stimulus” includes only tax
credits, a mere $13 a week
for working folks that will
do little to spark a recovery.
Tax credits help on the low
end of the totem poll, while
tax rate cuts stimluate
activity at the top of the
economy, where the job cre
ation should be.
Marshall ran for re-elec
tion in 2008 as a conserva
tive Democrat. He never
said whether he even sup
ported Obama. He touted
his support for pay-go legis
lation that was supposed to
work toward a balanced
budget. Now, it appears that
was all window dressing.
Seven Democrats and all
House Republicans voted
against this boondoggle. But
Marshall made his bed with
Obama, Nancy Pelosi and
the big government liberals
of his party. Monroe County
voters, take note.
On the Porch
Welcome to the People’s Republic of Obama
I didn't vote for Ross Perot for
president in 1992, my first
election after turning
18. But I did like one
idea he had.
Perot, the billionaire
Texas businessman, used
to say during his inde
pendent run for president
that before Congress pass
es any new program, it
should run a small
test pilot to see if it
works. That way,
said Perot, if it turns
trillion dollars on more welfare
and more bureaucrats to run our
lives, we should run a
test case for his big-gov-
ernment philosophy.
Let's try it here in
Monroe County. We'll call
it the People's Obamic
Republic of Monroe
County.
First, we'll abol
ish private prop
erty, and put all
of our wealth,
land, industry
out to be a disaster, you haven't
lost everything.
Unfortunately, Perot doesn’t
have the ear of Barack Obama,
whose agenda, it turns out, is
more Karl Marx than Karl Hill.
As Newsweek said on its cover
last week, “We’re all socialists
now.” And before Obama has even
changed the sheets in the White
House, his first bill has taken a
huge step toward government
control of the private sector.
Maybe, before he spends another
and schools into one big happy
collectivist pot. After all, this will
make it easier for us to simulate
Obama spreading the wealth,
right?
Now, someone will have to be in
charge, to make sure everybody
gets what they need. As Karl
Marx said, "from each according
to his abilities, to each according
to his needs." It will have to be
someone untainted by self-inter
est (and don’t we ALL know peo
ple with no self interest?)
Now,
Reporter
uriAMAf mumpr not
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Publication No. USPS 997-840)
just a
warning. In socialist societies, it's
usually the most mediocre but
fiercely charismatic person who
gets a hold of power (think Fidel
Castro, Hugo Chavez). So quickly,
who's the most unimpressive but
power hungry person in Monroe
County you know. Let's call him
Rufus Snuffeyface. He'll be the
dictator of the People's Socialist
Republic of Monroe County. We
want equality, but someone has to
be in charge to enforce equality!
The first thing Rufus will want
to do is check out his new power
facility, Plant Scherer. Rufus can't
even light his grill. But by golly
in the People's Republic, he con
trols the hemisphere's largest
coal-fired plant.
Strangely enough, Rufus has
some family members and
cousins that are as incompetent
as he is. They are soon given the
best-paying jobs running the
power plant. Isn't socialism fun if
you're in charge?!?
Unfortunately, Rufus' relatives
have no interest in running a
good power plant. After all, in a
socialist society, they are compen
sated not according to how they
do their jobs, but according to
their relationship to the state. So,
naturally, the coal fire gets out of
hand and burns down the plant.
But hey, no more carbon footprint
for Scherer! Global warming is no
more! Chalk one up for the
People's Republic.
Next, Rufus will stop by the
board of education. Schools must
be different in a collectivist socie
ty. We'd better change the curricu
lum. If these Monroe County kids
find out what our American
founders believed, that we are
freeborn citizens with rights from
God, they might try to buck our
blissful new People's Republic.
They wouldn't take too kindly to
state ownership of their property
and no individual rights. Best
wipe that part out. So Rufus
adopts a curriculum extolling the
virtues of socialism. What's best
for the state is what matters
most. Don't be selfish, but subju
gate your needs to the greater
good. That's the new ethic in the
Age of Obama.
Now, what kind of health care
system should Rufus create? Well,
we only have so many doctors and
dentists in Monroe County. If
everyone is going to get equal and
"fair" treatment, then we have to
make sure most won't get treat
ment at all. We'll set up waiting
lists of about a year to see a doc
tor. And the doctors? They won't
have any incentive to work too
hard anyway. After all, they’ll all
make the same wage in the
People's Republic. What's the
point of trying hard? So, Rufus
will have to appoint a czar to
mete out the meager health care
to the population in equal
amounts.
So there you have it. A test pilot
in Monroe County for the Obama
philosophy. Doesn’t it sound
fun?!? Of course, this system has
already been tried countless other
times in countless other places,
always with the same results of
human misery. That’s because it
violates human nature. But that
won’t stop the current adminis
tration. “Hope” and “change” are
too important. When did you say
the next election is?
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Seeks information on late grandfather
To the editor:
A number of years ago I
received a letter from
Virginia Lloyd who put
me in touch with you. I
am in search of any living
relatives my grandfather, George
Arthur Daniels has that still reside
in the area. George was born Nov. 8,
1900 to William and Lizzie
(Elizabeth) Daniels. My understand
ing, George left at an early age. I
would like to get in touch with any
living relatives who may still reside
in the area. My hope is someone may
have Bible records that can provide
me with more information.
Any thing you can do or any sug
gestion you may have is appreciated.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Dawn Ramsey
Wisconsin
If you can help Dawn Ramsey with
information about her grandfather,
Forsyth native George Arthur
Daniels, contact her (262) 634-7857
or (262) 498-1606 or email
Dramsey25@wi.rr com.
KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR
Name: Mike Hickman
Age: 42
Education: B.S. in biology
from Mercer University,
Master’s in leader
ship from Georgia
College and State
University, doctor
ate in educational
leadership from
Nova Southeastern
University
Family: Wife—
Dana, Children—
Becky and Lauren
Where you wor
ship: New
Providence Baptist
Church
Your Job:
HICKMAN
Principal at Banks Stephens
Middle School
What was your first job:
Busboy at Shane’s restaurant in
Forsyth
Your passion: Helping stu
dents succeed in school and in
life
Your favorite
possession: My
home and family
Favorite movie:
“Forrest Gump”
Favorite book:
“Become a better
you” by Joel
Osteen
What kind of
car do you drive
and what was
your first car: I
drive a Dodge pickup
truck. My first car
was an Oldsmobile Cutlass.
Your hometown: Forsyth
Something you are consid
ering doing: Traveling to
Australia
Words you live by: “Do unto
others as you would have them
do unto you.”
Something you can’t live
without: Coca-Cola
The thing you are most
proud of: My wife Dana and
my two children Lauren and
Becky
What keeps you awake at
night: Thinking about school
Name something you will
never do again: Paint my
house
What’s your favorite web
site? America On-line
If your life had a theme
song, what would it be?
“Living on a prayer”
If you could start your life
over, what would you
change? I would not change
one thing.
What food could you eat
every day? Boiled peanuts
Something people don’t
know about you: I really enjoy
playing golf and playing inter
net Scrabble.
What’s the worst idea
you’ve ever had: Investing in
the stock market.
What’s the best thing
about living in Monroe
County? Everybody is very
friendly and we have a small
town atmosphere.
If you could change one
thing about Monroe County,
what would it be? I wish that
we had more places for our chil
dren to spend leisure time
(movies, bowling, skating, etc).