Newspaper Page Text
^ Declare amoi
Opinions 4A
X: & EDITORIALS
among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not; Jeremiah 50:2
2016 and 2017 winner: Editorial Page excellence X&tAjN
2016 winner: Sports Photography excellence
2016 winner: News Photography excellence
2016 winner: Front Page excellence
2017 winner: Best Humor Column - On the Porch
ON THE PORCH by Will Davis
PEACH STATE POLITICS by Kyle Wingfield
Y et another reason early voting is a bad idea is that it has
almost killed the Election Eve rush of last-minute en
dorsements, dirty tricks and horse swapping that made
politics somewhat tun.
Since half the vote is often already in the books by election day,
there’s less buzz from candidates making last-second pleas for
votes. Hopefully, were on our way to ditching, or at least severely
limiting, the early voting experiment Early voting was added as
an overreaction to the controversial 2000 presidential election.
That was the one when A1 Gore and the Democrats whined that
Republicans in Florida “disenfranchised” voters, costing them
the election. Like almost everything else Democrats say, this was
pure hogwash. Alas, the race-baiting, victimhood playbook dies
hard.
Anyway, because of early voting, if I was going to endorse
candidates for office, I should have done it weeks ago. As usual,
I’m late to tire game.
Nevertheless, five been getting lots of calls and messages from
people wanting my voting preferences. Call them crazy if you
want I guess people know I’m loony and masochistic enough
to follow politics closely so they don’t have to, so they can enjoy
normal lives. So here’s my ballot, recalling that I am voting on
the Republican ballot because not much of value happens on the
Democrat ballot anymore:
• GOVERNOR - Despite an open governor’s seat, this has
been the quietest governor’s race in recent memory. Many of our
local leaders — outgoing sheriff John Cary Bittick, former state
lawmaker Jim Cole etc. — are supporting Casey Cagle. After
seemingly 73 years as lieutenant governor, Cagle is by far tire
best-connected and best-financed candidate. But I concur with
my friend Erick Erickson, the Macon-based WSB radio host,
who said Cagle may be a fine governor, but he’s too establish
ment to get his vote. His loyalty will
likely be to the well-connected blob
that feeds off state government.
Secretary of state Brian Kemp has
made a splash with his pro-gun ads.
Let me tell you a secret: I like Brian.
Despite exposing his failure to do
his job every week in this paper for
years (see page 5A), I like him. He
knows we rip him in this paper and
he’s still cordial every time we meet
A politician who doesn’t seem to
collect grievances is a good thing.
But I still can’t support him because
he won’t do his job despite being
under a Supreme Court order, and
it’s cost Monroe County millions.
Clay Tippins has a home just across
the river in Jones County, but he’s said he will not support the
Religious Freedom Act, so he’s out for me. Hunter Hill is a former
Army Ranger with a proven conservative record. He’s endorsed
by Sen. Ted Cruz, the gold standard of conservative politicos. I’m
voting Hunter Hill.
• LT. GOVERNOR - David Shafer (you know, guy with the
adoption TV ad) has been a leader for conservative reform in the
state senate and will be an excellent lieutenant governor.
• SECRETARY OF STATE - Georgia actually has an embar
rassment of riches in this race: John McKoon, Buzz Brockway
and David Belle Isle are all rock-solid conservatives with no
known character issues. But it is Brockway who told a Monroe
County group this spring that he was used to making tough
decisions and vowed to resolve the county line dispute. Buzz, ap
propriately enough, is a Tech grad, and I’m still voting for him.
• TRANSPORTATION SALES TAX - Six years ago voters
in Monroe County and most of Georgia rejected an attempt to
impose a 1 -percent sales tax for transportation. In turn, lawmak
ers gave voters a big middle finger and imposed a gas tax increase
anyway. Now here they are again wanting us to increase our sales
taxes locally from 7 to 8 percent for road projects. This would
siphon about $4 million per year out of Monroe County families
and businesses and into regional and local road spending. Yes
we’d get a few roads re-paved. But think about this: Even if you
generously assume that half of those sales tax revenues would be
paid by travelers coming through the county, each of Monroe
County’s 9,500 households would still be forced to fork out $210
per year under the new tax Over 10 years, it would be more
than $2,100. That’s less money for your groceries and bills. In the
words of my father in law Mike Head: “Politicians will fight tooth
and nail to get a-hold of your money. So don’t EVER help them
by voting yourself a tax increase’’
• THE OTHER RACES? They’re up to you Monroe County.
If you’re a reader of this newspaper, that means you’re smart,
educated and informed: Vote well!
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, President • Robert M. Williams Jr., Vice President
Cheryl S. Williams, Secretary-Treasurer
OUR STAFF
Will Davis
Publisher/Editor
publisher@mymcr.net
Richard Dumas
News Editor
forsyth@mymcr.net
Carolyn Martel
Advertising Manager
ads@mymcr.net
Trellis Grant
Business Manager
business@mymcr.net
Diane Glidewell
Community Editor
news@mymcr.net
Brandon Park
Creative Director
graphics@mymcr.net
Official Organ of Monroe County and the City of Forsyth
50 N. Jackson St. • Forsyth, GA 31029
Periodicals Postage Paid at Forsyth, GA 31029
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
THE MONROE COUNTY REPORTER • P.O. Box 795, Forsyth, GA 31029
SUBSCRIPTION RATE: In County: $35 • Out of County: $48 • Single Copy: $1
Deadlines noon on Friday prior to issue. Comments featured on opinion pages are the creation of
the writers, the do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Reporter management.
Publication No. USPS 997-840
Health task force was too unwieldy
T ackling Georgia’s problems
with health care must be
a top priority of our next
governor. So why did the
current governor this past week
veto a bill intended to bring experts
together to craft solutions to those
problems?
In short, the bill added complexity
and bureaucracy to a system already
plagued by those ills.
Senate Bill 357 was the chief prod
uct of the Health Care Reform Task
Force the Senate convened in 2017.
The idea, as stated in the bill, was
to create a “state-wide coordinating
platform” that would “unite the ma
jor stakeholders and components at
all levels of the state’s health system.”
Here’s what that meant in practice:
first, the creation of an 18-member
Health Coordination and Innovation
Council comprising eight existing
state agency heads, the attorney gen
eral, six gubernatorial appointees and
two legislative appointees. The 18th
member would be a new “Director
of Health Care Policy and Strategic
Planning,” tapped by the governor
and authorized to hire “such other
professional, technical and clerical
personnel as deemed necessary’
There would also be an advisory
board to the council with between
13 and 19 members, all appointed
by the governor. Finally, more than
a dozen current boards, agencies
and commissions would report their
work not to the General Assembly,
but to the newly created council.
For those keeping score at home,
that’s as many as 26 new gubernato
rial appointments, not including the
five agency heads who already are
selected by the governor; plus at least
one new state employee and likely
several others; as well as a significant
shift in oversight from the Legisla
ture to the executive branch.
The polite term for all this is
“streamlining.” A less generous
description would be “centralizing
power” and “growing
government.”
So many problems
with our health-care
system stem from put
ting too much authority
in the hands of too few.
Anyone who recognizes
that must view SB 357
with deep skepticism.
As should anyone who
knows the value of such
appointments often
accrues more to the
persons making and
receiving them, rather
than to the citizens and
taxpayers.
Indeed, Gov. Nathan Deal ex
plained his veto by saying the bill,
“while well-intentioned, creates
several unnecessary additional levels
of government.”
There’s also reason to doubt the
bill’s premise that government must
not only coordinate health care itself
within the state but innovation as
well.
That is exactly backward.
In fact, there’s already a great deal
of health-care innovation in Georgia.
Companies large and small, rural
and urban, are improving their em
ployees’ health and their bottom line
by experimenting with the ways they
pay for and, in the case of on-site
clinics and pharmacies, even provide
care.
The state needs to learn from them.
But that doesn’t require a new coun
cil, board and sure-to-grow agency
There is a place for a more limited
group to review how state govern
ment can be more effi
cient in providing access
to employees as well as
those on safety-net pro
grams such as Medicaid.
There’s even a blueprint
for such a group: the
Criminal Justice Reform
Council.
That council, also cre
ated by statute, includes
15 members chosen
by the governor, more
than half of whom
are already elected or
appointed officials.
But it doesn’t require
a separate board to advise it, nor a
new director and additional support
personnel. And while it can request
data and records from state agencies,
it doesn’t shift their reporting duties
- and thus much of their oversight
- away horn the Legislature. Its only
real power is to recommend legisla
tion to the General Assembly
That’s the model for the next
governor to follow when it comes to
improving health care.
CEO of the Georgia Public Policy
Foundation, Kyle Wingfields column
runs in newspapers across the state.
JUST THE WAY IT IS by Sloan Oliver
Obama's Iran deal deserved to die
L ast week, President Trump kept
another one of his campaign
promises by cancelling Obama’s
Iran nuclear agreement. Just
like when Trump pulled the United
States out of the Paris Climate Accord,
again, liberal heads exploded because
Obama is being erased from history.
Actually, Trump didn’t pull us out of
anything because there never was an
agreement to begin with. We never had
an agreement; we never had a treaty; we
never had anything other than Obama’s
own pledge to give cash to Iran so they
could continue sponsoring world-wide
terrorism without worrying about crip
pling economic sanctions. The agree
ment boiled down to Obama’s personal
pledge to help Iran at the expense of the
United States and at the expense of our
allies. There was nothing that binded
the U.S. or Iran to anything.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER Trump
cancelled the Iran nuclear agreement,
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) summarized
it quite succinctly: “The Iran deal has al
ways been terrible. Today is a reminder
that if you live by the presidency, you die
by the presidency. We ought to be clear
about this: Donald Trump isn’t ripping
up a treaty; he’s walking away horn
Barack Obamas personal pledge. Two-
and-a-half years ago, President Obama
made a bad deal with Iran without sup
port from Congress, and today Presi
dent Trump is pulling out of President
Obama’s personal commitment, and he
doesn’t need Congress’s support to do it.
American foreign policy makes lasting
progress when it is led by the President,
approved by Congress, and presented
honestly to the American people.”
OBAMA NEVER took his Iran deal
to Congress, and it was never presented
honestly to the American people. Even
a sycophant Democrat like Chuck
Schumer was against the agreement be
cause he is smart enough and patriotic
enough to know a terrible deal when he
sees one. Obama’s “agreement” gave ev
erything to Iran and demanded nothing
in return. A president cannot commit
the United States to an international
treaty simply because he wants it - he
must get approval of Congress. Obama
didn’t care. He couldn’t get Congress’s
support so he imposed his agreement
by executive action and executive order.
If Obama had submitted the Iran agree
ment to Congress, and Congress had
approved it, Trump could not pull us
out without Congress’s approval.
SO, HOW did the Obama regime
convince the media and the gullible half
of America that the Iran agreement was
a good deal? Simple, they lied about the
details. Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy
National Security Advisor and spokes
man said, “Your average journalist is 27.
They don’t know anything; they believe
everything we tell em. It was a snap.”
So, in August 2015, Obamas people
ran around feeding false information to
journalists knowing they wouldn’t do
any fact checking and would print any
thing they were told. (Perfect example
of why I say the Democrat Party and
the media are one in the same because
they are.)
HOW BAD was the Iran deal for
America and the world? It was so bad
that both Israel and Saudi
Arabia actually agreed
that it was terrible. John
Kerry, secretary of state,
admitted that some of the
$150 billion that we gave
Iran would probably be
used to fund terrorism.
We now know that some
of the $150 billion went
to Syria, to the Taliban, to
Hamas, to Russia (Russia
was building nuclear
infrastructure for Iran),
to Yemen to fight Saudi
Arabia, and to Hezbollah
for their war on Israel. The
only thing Obama got in return for the
$150 billion was Iran’s promise to not
build a nuclear weapon for 10 years; but
Obama agreed that we would give Iran
three weeks’ notice if we ever decided to
inspect their facilities to see if they were
complying. Obama didn’t even require
the mullahs to sign the agreement. All
of this is why Trump said that the Iran
“agreement” was one of the worst deals
in history - because it was. Makes you
wonder why Obama and Kerry would
agree to such a bad deal. Were there any
kickbacks? Just asking.
LET’S RECAP - Iran couldn’t violate
the agreement because they never
signed anything. The agreement was
an Obama/Kerry political document,
never presented to, ratified by, or agreed
to by Congress. It was dishonestly
presented to America by feeding false
information to the media. The “agree
ment” gave $150 billion to Iran, ltfted
economic sanctions on them, required
them to do nothing except promise not
to build nuclear weapons for 10 years,
and we would give them three weeks’
notice if we wanted to inspect any
facilities that we thought they might use
to do so. Thank God President Trump
cancelled that terrible deal.
MEANWHILE, SECRETARY
of State Mike Pompeo successfully
negotiated the release of three Ameri
can prisoners held by North Korea
Upon their return to the U.S., President
Trump greeted them and welcomed
them home. Trump was criticized for
using their release as a “photo op.” Guess
the media doesn’t remember Obamas
“photo op” when he announced the
release of Army traitor Beau Bergdahl
LAST WEEK, I discussed the two
Board of Education (BOE) elections
(District 3 and 5) and the
Georgia House District
141 election. Those
are three of perhaps 20
elections that voters are
voting on next week.
To find your individual
ballot go to “My Voter
Page” at www.mvp.sos.
ga.gov At that website
you’ll be asked to enter
your basic voter registra
tion information (Name,
County, and Birth Date);
hit SUBMIT and you’ll be
taken to a webpage that
provides you with all your
voter information - poUing place, early
voting information, district maps, and
a sample ballot for either party. Simply
click on either Republican or Democrat
to see who is running for what offices.
Over the past week, I’ve been doing just
that so I can do some research on the
candidates for the various offices. Ad
ditionally, the Democrat ballot is asking
voters about several issues important
to Democrat voters - banning bump
stocks, expanding Medicaid, increasing
spending on mass transportation, and
ending political gerrymandering. Again,
I support Greg Head for BOE District
3, Matt Morris for BOE District 5, and
Todd Tolbert for District 141.
WEEKLY QUOTE: “Politicians and
diapers must be changed often, and for
the same reason.” - Mark Twain
Sloan Oliver is a retired Army officer.
He lives in Bolingbroke with his wife San
dra. Email him at sloanoliver@earthlink.
net.
I
■
S/oQjo 0/iVe.p