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PAGE 4A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JUNE 4, 2009
Opinions
Frankly
Speaking
frankgillispie671@msn.com
By Frank Gillispie
Some people
have no respect
for Constitution
There is one single authority in this nation that
controls the right of government to make laws. This
applies whether the law is for a local community or
for the nation. That is the Constitution of the United
States of America. One of its primary functions is to
protect our God given freedoms such as the freedom
of speech and the freedom to peacefully assemble.
Recent news headlines reveal that some people
have no respect for the Constitution or our natural
rights. For example: ‘Texas Woman Told to Remove
‘Offensive’ American Flag From Office" Friday, May
29, 2009, at Kindred Flospital in Mansfield, Texas.
This lady's husband and two sons had served in the
U.S. military and her daughter was currently assigned
duty in Iraq. She had put the flag on her office wall as
an expression of her support for Memorial Day. That
was a form of speech protected by the Constitution.
After a confrontation with her employers, she was
allowed to put the flag back on the wall, but there
should have never been any question of her right to
put it up in the first place.
A similar situation involving a former U.S. Marine
has not yet been resolved.
"Homeowners Association Threatens to Tow
Vietnam Veteran’s Car Over Marines Decals"
Thursday, May 28, 2009, in Dallas, Texas. Frank
Larison was showing his support for the Marines
by displaying seven decals on his vehicle. The local
homeowners deemed the decals to be advertising
which is prohibited by association rules. So they made
the demand that he remove them even though many
other association members had bumper stickers and
decals supporting various causes, and political parties.
Larison has hired a lawyer to defend his constitution
ally guaranteed right to freedom of speech.
And then there is this headline: ‘‘Couple Ordered to
Stop Holding Bible Study at Home Without Permit”
Thursday, May 28, 2009 in San Diego, California.
The couple was having a few friends come to their
home for a meal and a discussion about the bible. The
county mled that they were guilty of making improper
use of their homes and that they must apply for a very
expensive permit before they can continue the prac
tice. This case violates a long list of Constitutionally
protected rights. It includes our freedom of religion,
freedom to peacefully assemble and our right to be
secure in our homes.
The absurdity of these headlines is that they
appeared at the time we are remembering those
hundreds of thousands of men and women who
died defending our rights to these freedoms. The
Declaration of Independence, the first document on
which our government is based, clearly states that we
are ‘‘endowed by our creator" with personal rights,
and the Constitution verifies and protects those rights.
No level of government has the right to interfere with
those rights. Yet the headlines above are just a small
example of the way those rights are being stolen away
by government at all levels.
While President Obama is seeking a replacement
for a Supreme Court Justice, he needs to assure us
that his selection will be someone who will actively
protect those rights based on the Constitution, not her
personal ‘‘empathy.’’
Our rights come from God and are protected by the
Constitution. But we have to actively protect those
rights or some government agency will steal them
away. Never give up that fight!
Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County
Journal. His e-mail address is frankgillispie671@
msn.com. His website can be accessed at http://frank-
gillispie. tripod, coin/
The Madison
County Journal
(Merged with The Danielsville Monitor
and The Comer News, January 2006)
P.O. Box 658
Hwy. 29 South
Danielsville, Georgia 30633
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Email: zach@mainstreetnews.com
ZACH MITCHAM, Editor
MARGIE RICHARDS, Reporter/Office Manager
BEN MUNRO, Reporter/Sports Editor
MIKE BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
SCOTT BUFFINGTON, Co-publisher
FRANK GILLISPIE, Founder of The Journal.
Jere Ayers (deceased) former owner
of The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News
Periodical postage paid at Danielsville, Georgia 30633
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Madison & surrounding counties $19.75/year
State of Georgia $38.85/year
Out-of-state $44.50/year
Military personnel with APO address $42.50/year
Senior rate $2 off all above rates
College student discount rate $2 off all above
rates
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL
P.O. Box 658, Danielsville, GA 30633
A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
Looking at the $65 billion scam artist
There are swindlers. And then, of
course, there’s Bemie Madoff, who
“made off’ with $65 billion in investors’
funds. The biggest Wall Street crook in
history will be sentenced June 29 for
his crimes.
It will be hard for anyone to top
such an epic criminal enterprise. You
might not be able to save GM with that
kind of money. But you could bail out
California.
I’m truly puzzled about how this
happened and how Madoff wasn’t dis
covered sooner, especially considering
that his Ponzi scheme apparently began
in the early 1990s.
I may never really understand, but a
recent Frontline special on PBS offered
some interesting details about the crimi
nal setup.
For instance, Madoff’s insistence on
snail mail over electronic financial state
ments was a clear sign that something
was fishy.
Madoff would send out statements
by mail to investors, but he refused to
offer quicker electronic statements com
mon at other firms, which would have
allowed clients to keep more current
tabs on their investments.
“... The fact that Madoff sent trading
confinnations in the mail two to five
days after a trade was reportedly made
allowed hint the benefit of hindsight,
like betting on a horse race after it had
begun," the Frontline report stated.
So if you bothered to look at the state
ment, it would look like Madoff had
In the
Meantime
zach@
mainstreet
news.com
By Zach Mitcham
made some great decisions with your
money, because he sat back and created
the statements after the trading for the
day was actually over.
Of course, Madoff wasn’t investing
the money given to him, but deposit
ing investors’ money into his business
account at Chase Manhattan Bank, then
funneling out some of that cash whenev
er investors wanted a withdrawal, while
mailing out bogus information about
fictitious investments. This worked as
long as too many people didn’t request
returns on their investments at once.
Investors, who received kickbacks for
convincing others to give their money to
Madoff, apparently paid little attention
to the details. They were more interest
ed in the bottom line, in the appearance
of easy earnings. The investor who did
ask for more details was quickly put on
the defensive.
“I remember one phone call I made,”
said investor Joan Sinkin. "He said, ‘If
you don’t like what I do, we’ll send
your money back." It was very intimi
dating because, first of all, I didn’t want
the money back. And I didn’t know
what was so terrible about the question
I was asking.”
Madoff also insisted on secrecy. For
instance, an investment advisor who
services more than 15 clients is required
to register with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, but Madoff
serviced over 3,200 clients without reg
istering.
"... Madoff had one condition he had
to impose on everyone,” according to the
Frontline report. "Funds were forbidden
from fisting him as an investment advi
sor in any marketing material."
According to the Frontline report, the
SEC knew that Madoff was unregis
tered and servicing over 3,200 clients,
and yet they still avoided investigating
him.
Meanwhile, accounting for his
massive finn was handled by “a one-
man operation in this strip mall an
hour’s drive north of New York.” He
told people who questioned his secre
tive accounting practices that he didn’t
want to expose his trading techniques
to competitors - which was, of course,
hogwash.
In 2000, a man named Harry
Markopolos contacted the SEC about
Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Markopolos
examined the numbers and Madoff’s
amazing ‘'ability" to get a good return
even in a down market.
"I gave them (the SEC) a road map
and a flashlight to find the fraud, and
they didn't go where I told them to go,"
said Markopolos.
In January 2006, the SEC lawyers did
question Madoff, but, amazingly, two
years later they cleared him.
Without the stock market crash, when
so many investors grabbed for their
money at once, Madoff may never have
been exposed. When the market col-
lased, he admitted the scam to his sons,
who turned him in. The government
surely wasn’t up to the task of uncover
ing his dirt. They were led to the mess
and still didn’t do anything.
For years, many people looked at
Madoff and believed that he worked
some sort of magic.
"How do you split an atom?” one
person close to Madoff asked. “I know
that you can split them, I don’t know
how you do it. How does an airplane
fly? I don’t ask."
That comment offers some insight
on why the scheme worked — and
why scams, in general, are appealing.
If you’re enjoying a boat ride, you don’t
want to think about the structure of the
vessel and whether it will actually stay
afloat. You leave such details to the
skipper.
And if you’re getting money for noth
ing in the turbulent stock market, it’s
easy to send your fortune with the
captain of the steady ship. Sadly, in this
case, there was no boat.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The
Madison County Journal.
Letters to the Editor
Raising literacy leads to stronger community
Dear Editor:
Thank you for all the recent
letters talking of the value of lit
eracy and books. I am so thankful
that my own parents helped me
by reading to us at a young age.
I’ve certainly made my share of
bad choices in life, maybe still do
and will, but I believe it is educa
tion that gives us the chance to
recover from those bad choices.
And, it is that early foundation in
reading that helps us to get that
education. If there is one thing
that can be done to return thanks,
it is to support other youth in get
ting that solid foundation.
We’ve read here recently from
experts that there is a direct link
between a child’s reading level
in third grade and their odds of
finishing school. Georgia has the
third highest drop out rate in the
nation. That must be unaccept
able. That costs us money! It
seems that the further back to the
root of our county’s low literacy
we can work from, the better our
results will be. That’s why the
Rotary Club of Madison County
has taken on this four-part lit
eracy project to help the young
est in our community to do better
in their first years of school.
Whether they are from a family
that has many books already or
from a household with no books
at all, this cost effective program
has shown powerful results.
If you are reading this, you are
probably one of the ones that
can most help this program. Find
some way to get involved in rais
ing literacy in Madison County!
Recently, several merchants in
our communities have agreed to
help Rotarians sign up children
for the Ferst Foundation free
book program. Forms can now be
picked up at the Dollar Generals
in Hull, Colbert, Danielsville
and Ila. They are also available
at the Food Lane and Carmine’s
restaurant in Comer, as well as
the Marketplace in Danielsville.
Several individuals have offered
to take forms to not only their
own churches, but to others as
well.
In just the first year, the
Madison County Rotary Club,
with the support and the help of
the community, now has over
500 children under five signed
up for the “books to the home”
program. We still have over
1,200 kids to find. But, the good
news is that when kindergarten
starts next August, more than
one out of four of those children
going to their first day of school
will have already been receiving
books delivered each month free
to their home.
If we want to bring business to
Madison County, raise literacy.
If we want to lower crime, raise
literacy. If we want to lower
poverty or increase quality of
living, raise literacy. Join the
PTO, work with the Partners in
Education, help the Rotarians,
read to a classroom, read to your
children, thank a teacher and
ask how you can help. Every
thing we do in that direction will
return tenfold and honor those
who taught us.
Thank you,
Chris Young
Service Chair
Madison County Rotary Club
What is wrong with a church reaching younger generations?
Dear Editor:
In response to the letter stat
ing our churches are no longer
churches on the basis of what kind
of music they play and that people
dance is completely wrong. Where
in the Bible does it say the music
must be as follows to be a perfect
church? Each church shall consist
of one piano and one organ. Each
church shall have a choir direc
tor that stands up keeping time
with his right hand/arm. No church
member shall clap his/her hands
and/or sway to the beat of the
music. Only music inside provided
hymnal will be performed. I’ll tell
you, it doesn’t.
What is wrong with a church
that plays music that reaches to the
younger generation of this world?
The generation that simply needs
God the most! The generation that
lacks from open prayer in school.
The generation where the home
is riddled with divorce and abuse.
God can work through this gen
eration to reach other teens and
even their parents! The parents that
might be on the edge of divorce but
a child brings God into the house
and helps save the marriage.
What’s wrong with a church that
is just on fire for God? What is
wrong with a church that gets up
on its feet and let’s God know the
reason why they rejoice? What’s
wrong with swaying to the music
and dancing to the beat of the
music? Why is it so wrong for a
church to make a great joyful noise
for the Lord?
Now is the time for the church
to reach out to each and every
person it can! I can tell you now,
my church has not failed me! I
was tired of “church” after years
of being involved heavily with my
one piano and one organ church.
A church that if the music didn’t
come from the provided hymnal,
you didn't sing it! I grew very dis
heartened with this and I left God's
path for a long time. Ever since I've
found a church that is truly doing
God’s work and reaching out to all
generations! A church that praises
God every Sunday with a loud
rocking band that gets us jacked for
the sermon!
If it hadn’t been for a rockin’
church like the one my family
attends, I would still be on a path to
nowhere. My rockin’ church didn’t
fail me ... It saved me!
Sincerely,
Kevin Cheek
Hull
Why were special ed classes left out of yearbook?
Dear Editor:
I am the parent of a sixth grade
special education student at
Madison County Middle School.
I purchased a yearbook in
October for $39.50. I thought this
was little expensive, but chose to
buy the yearbook as something I
would keep forever.
On Monday, I found out that
students had received their year
books the previous Friday. I was
concerned that my son’s yearbook
was lost or had been misplaced.
I found my son’s yearbook on a
table in one of the yearbook advi
sor’s classroom. They assumed he
was absent when no one picked up
his yearbook on Friday. I was dis
appointed that he didn’t have the
opportunity to have his yearbook
signed on Friday like all the other
students did, but at least he had it
now. That disappointment quickly
turned to anger when I realized
that my son and his class had
been left out of the yearbook. Two
special education classes had been
omitted. When I talked with one of
the yearbook advisors, she blamed
Lifetouch, the company that makes
the yearbook. When I talked with
Lifetouch, they blamed the school.
When my husband and I met with
the principal, we were told that the
yearbook advisors are basically
volunteers that make about $200
to work on the yearbook. I believe
whether you are paid or not, when
you take on a job such as this, you
should do a good job at it, or at
least take total responsibility when
something this major goes wrong.
That has not bee the case here.
No one is willing to say that it is
their fault that my son’s picture,
or any of his classmates’ pictures,
are not in his first middle school
yearbook. If no one can tell me
who is at fault, or willing to take
the blame for this mess up, then
how can they be sure that this will
never happen again?
I have never asked or expected
special treatment for my son. I
want him to be treated like every
other student at the middle school.
My son does not belong to
clubs, or play sports for his school.
However, he does participate in
Special Olympics four times a
year. There is not one single pic
ture of any Special Olympic activ
ity that any of these students have
done this year. Both MCHS and
any elementary schools that have
special education classes include
these pictures in their yearbooks. I
believe schools should be proud of
all students and include all of them
in their yearbooks, not just those in
regular education classrooms.
Just because you have your
child’s picture made at school, buy
those pictures and buy a yearbook,
don’t assume your child’s picture
will be in that yearbook. Maybe
the school or someone at Lifetouch
can explain to my son and all his
classmates why they can’t find
their pictures in their yearbooks.
Sincerely,
Tina Smith
Comer