Let us pray our floundering does not lead to foundering
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
"Are our leaders grasping at straws as they attempt to keep us all from sinking?"
Impending disaster after impending disaster, grab a bucket of money and start another bail out…that seems to be occurring every few days as our government leaders desperately deal with continuing defaults among the industrial icons of our economy. Each day unfolds a new agenda full of depressing news of massive quarterly losses, certain bankruptcies, growing unemployment, massive layoffs, falling sales, struggling bureaucracies, and a sinking stock market. Citizens go about their daily routines, but there seems to be an air of impending doom created by all of the negatives which are bombarding us. "Is the sky really falling?" Chicken Little says so. (Along with ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, and every newspaper and magazine you pick up.) Even President Obama seems to be saying it is happening.
Our government is preparing to hurl massive amounts of future tax dollars at these problems in what might be considered a desperate, knee-jerk reaction. I pray some of the bailed monies reach the heart of the fires and create some improvement. However, there are several aspects of what is happening (and appears to be happening at a frantic rate) which I have deep concerns about.
First, I do not fully support the concept of giving bail out funding to selected failing companies while others are left to die. Who decides who lives and who dies…and what are the criteria for these choices?
Personally, I seriously doubt the justification for bailing out the U.S. Automotive manufacturing companies who need billions of our dollars in order to continue operations. Their history of over-unionization of their industry, poor management, and allowing capitulations to greedy union demands over the years which eventually created overhead burdens which caused their products to be non-competitively priced, creates an indictment for the entire bunch in my mind. I feel the owners, executives, workers, and retired workers are all guilty of excessive greed, disregard for the consumer, and poor choices. I feel they deserve to fail and should not be allowed to continue at our expense.
Secondly, I feel a similar disregard for the Wall Street Brokerage houses which lost billions by greedily chasing dollars off of the investment cliff. They should have been allowed to plunge to their death as the stock market plunged and looted the life savings of millions of common citizens. It is true our government regulators were not doing their job, and many were on the "take" from the brokerages through their lobbying activities. I say "Death to the greedy horde!"
Thirdly, however, when it comes to the banking industry I do feel some compassion. I can’t believe I am saying this as I write, since I have often stated that the banking "money changers" were all a bunch of greedy scoundrels….but that is no reason to put them to death. In this instance they were forced to make bad loans to bad people by bad government policies. They had no choice in the matter, and thus should be bailed out and spared.
During the 1990’s and until the collapse, our liberal politicians literally forced the banks to make bad loans for housing the poor. I suppose they felt Habitat for Humanity was building houses at too slow of a pace, so they made a welfare housing system out of the entire home mortgage industry. If banks did not demonstrate a mortgage portfolio which included the prescribed number of minority or disadvantaged loans, they were severely penalized by the liberal minded regulators. They had to do it.
These banking "entitlements" eventually amounted to billions and billions of real estate loans, and created a major portion of the "bubble" which eventually burst and started the downslide of our economy. It is true that a goodly amount of speculation and greed also occurred. These were encouraged by the liberalized, unregulated banking policies which were encouraged by our federal government.
So, how do we change this leaking row boat economy back into the raging bass boat it once was?
In order to restore economic growth and real stimulus I feel we must focus our resources and attention on restoring our industrial foundations. The existing approaches are only creating temporary, project created jobs and are creating growth of government jobs which constitutes an increased economic overhead burden.
I feel the Small Business Administration should be reinvigorated to create financing for new, small business initiatives…with all of the minority set-aside bull crap removed. It should offer very low cost financing and loan guarantees to banks which approve local business start-ups or expansions.
I feel cost equalization programs should be initiated to assist U.S. industries in exporting U.S. made products to other parts of the world. These programs would be shipping cost credits, wage differential credits, and duty-tariff credits when our companies are charged these fees by foreign governments.
When other countries wish to send their products to the U.S. markets they should only enjoy free trade if they are simultaneously allowing U.S. products into their country on a similar free trade basis. They should also be in compliance with child labor and forced labor restrictions, and reasonable environmental regulations. If they are not in compliance with these requirements, we should impose import duties and tariffs on their products.
In my opinion, in our politicians haste to embrace the concept of a "global marketplace" and "free trade", we made a lot of "bad deals". We traded away the farm and got little or nothing in return as we watched millions of our jobs be lost as our factories closed and new factories opened across Asia. We are paying for those mistakes today as we struggle with a teetering economy which has little foundation remaining.
We should improve our ports, our cross country rail systems to assist movement of products and people, our educational system needs overhaul and redirection as an investment in our future. And most importantly, we should deny all attempts to move our national economic processes toward socialism and communism…..they do not work! If we begin to focus in these directions instead of foolish, porkish projects……We Will Be "Getting It Right"
Rudiments – Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
● My "In Defense of Dozier" series of stories really upset those guys who are trying to glean a few million dollars in reparations from our easy touch politicians by claiming hideous and heinous treatment by administrators at Dozier fifty years ago. They have been bombarding our web site with blogs calling me a "jackass", and blasting my abilities and reasoning. They become very aggressive when their potential jackpot is threatened. Some of their railing was too vulgar and over the line to allow on the web site.
● I do feel isolated events of abuse might have occurred. However, if this type of treatment had been commonplace it soon would have become common knowledge. Because there were constant investigations being initiated by Tallahassee overseers, because parents regularly were on the then open campus and having unsupervised conversations with their children, because the professional, trustworthy medical staff never reported any signs of abuse, and because these derelict clowns waited fifty years before becoming inspired to submit these claims….I doubt their validity.
● Hillary Clinton is currently in China begging them to continue to support our troubled economy by buying the debt we are issuing to "stimulate" ourselves. I wonder what we do if they say "No"? Where does one go when you need a quick loan of a few trillion dollars?
● The cops are getting hungrier and hungrier. Our man who delivers the Jackson County Times throughout the county was stopped three times last Wednesday night. He has not had a ticket in fifteen years, but was stopped twice in Georgia and once on highway 231. The bureaucracy is getting desperate for funding.
● We are proud of our new "Partners With Education" page. Be sure and read it while you have this issue in hand. We will be doing this until the end of the school term.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Hatcher Publications.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Getting It Right - SEUEEEEEEEE!! SEUEEEEEEEE!! SEUEEEEEEEE!!
Everyone Get Ready…Here Comes The Pork!!
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
"The ‘Stimulus Bill’ has now been passed. Everyone line up with your hand out to be sure you get your fair share."
For years the public has endured dissertation after dissertation from our astute politicians bemoaning the dangers and faults of deficit spending and the soaring national debt, which is now over one trillion dollars. Each group took turns blaming the other group, while both engaged in wild, unabated spending with no budgetary constraints. Let me show you what one trillion looks like……..$1,000,000,000,000.00 !
I find it as difficult to comprehend this much money as it is for me to comprehend one light year of speed and travel.
Now, in the past few days, our enlightened group of leaders in Washington has passed legislation which will quickly double our national debt, when you total the bank bail-out money, auto union bail-out money, and the stimulus package. The new debt which our grand children will have to pay back will be $2,000,000,000,000.00!
Perhaps the most astounding part of this action is the fact that the entire ruling party enacted this huge 1087 page spending bill…without bothering to take time to read what the money is to be spent for. Each page represents $724 million dollars in spending! They just followed the instructions of their party leadership, put on their blindfolds, and voted as instructed. While they were voting they locked the few remaining Republicans into a closet located far enough away from the voting area to keep their frantic screams from being heard, and then enacted the bill.
The President does not want the terms "earmarks" or "pork" used when describing this massive funding program, so I will call it the PAPPB Bill. This acronym stands for "Party Appeasement and Political Pay-Back Bill". It includes something for everybody.
The speed and manner in which this PAPPB legislation was forced through the normally excessively slow and ineffective procedures used in our legislative branch of government vividly demonstrates another frightening aspect of our current political format. At the present time, three people are in complete control of our nation! The historical system of "checks and balances" does not exist. These three "rulers" can do whatever they want to do with our nation for the next two years…and there is nothing anyone can do about it!
President Obama is in complete control of the executive branch, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is in complete control of the U.S. Congress, and Senator Harry Reed is in complete control of the U.S. Senate. These "commanders" give an order and all of the other Senators and Congressmen within their party obediently move to follow the command. It is as if they were puppets on a string. Our nation is currently as close to being a Dictatorship as it has ever been. The manner in which this stimulus bill was enacted clearly reveals the total ineffectiveness of all opposition. I find this very frightening.
Some parts of the stimulus bill are well conceived and will move our economy in the correct direction for recovery. However, in my opinion, too much of it is merely the usual political practice of "you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours", which allows both to enjoy funding of wasteful, unjustified local pet projects.
I feel the national stimulus approach should be almost totally directed towards actions which create permanent long term jobs, which would be created by programs which will enable our domestic industries and manufacturing companies to compete in the new global marketplace. The objective should be to create Free-Fair trade, not just free trade. We must level the playing field if we ever hope to be competitive. Some programs which I feel would provide long term job solutions include:
● Removal of free trade status for all products coming to our markets from countries which charge reduced, subsidized pricing for exports, while they charge higher prices for those same products within their country.
● Removal of free trade status for all products coming from countries which will not allow all U.S. made products to be sold on a free market basis within their country. This would include all agricultural products coming from the U.S..
● Providing subsidies in the form of tax credits to U.S. firms which ship their products to foreign countries where labor laws and environmental regulations are not on par with the requirements in the U.S.. The extra cost these government burdens create currently make U.S. products uncompetitive when shipped to these foreign nations. This would help level the costing formulas.
● Providing tax incentives on profits realized from export sales.
● In shipments made to countries where their government subsidizes their exporting industries through government funding and low cost industrial loans, and other cost reduction incentives, the U.S. government should provide transportation rebates for the cost of container shipping to these countries. This would remove transportation costs from the cost of the U.S. products when placed in these countries markets.
● Paying 50% of the cost of additional machinery and equipment when the company can demonstrate this equipment is creating a work station for a new job.
● If a company employs a new hire which is on unemployment or on welfare, credit the first six months of those entitlement costs to the company to offset training and initial payroll costs.
● Remove all of the minority and set aside requirements for obtaining Small Business Loans, and restore the program to assisting ALL small businesses. Also liberalize the restrictions on qualification and degree of guarantees to banks for small business loans from the SBA.
The funding solutions to our economic dilemma should be almost totally focused on jobs creation. If they will do this…they will be "Getting It Right".
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-
● President Obama is having a difficult time finding enough honest, tax paying Officials and Politicians to fill his cabinet. It appears it is as difficult to find an honest politician in Washington as it would be to find a virgin in the Mustangs Ranch whore house in Nevada.
● Last week I mistakenly gave credit to the FDLE for erecting the guilt admitting plaque recently placed on the Dozier campus. It was the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice which should get credit for that inappropriate act.
● The United Auto Workers Union is not agreeing to the needed concessions for enabling GM to participate in the government bail-out funding they need in order to continue operations. Good logic on their part in looking out for their membership??
● I see the police in Bay County are having a union organizing election to decide if the Teamsters will represent them in the future. It seems ironic to me that a mafia dominated union would be representing the police.
● Spring will soon be here! I am looking forward to the blooming azaleas and dogwoods….and bass fishing.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Hatcher Publications.
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
"The ‘Stimulus Bill’ has now been passed. Everyone line up with your hand out to be sure you get your fair share."
For years the public has endured dissertation after dissertation from our astute politicians bemoaning the dangers and faults of deficit spending and the soaring national debt, which is now over one trillion dollars. Each group took turns blaming the other group, while both engaged in wild, unabated spending with no budgetary constraints. Let me show you what one trillion looks like……..$1,000,000,000,000.00 !
I find it as difficult to comprehend this much money as it is for me to comprehend one light year of speed and travel.
Now, in the past few days, our enlightened group of leaders in Washington has passed legislation which will quickly double our national debt, when you total the bank bail-out money, auto union bail-out money, and the stimulus package. The new debt which our grand children will have to pay back will be $2,000,000,000,000.00!
Perhaps the most astounding part of this action is the fact that the entire ruling party enacted this huge 1087 page spending bill…without bothering to take time to read what the money is to be spent for. Each page represents $724 million dollars in spending! They just followed the instructions of their party leadership, put on their blindfolds, and voted as instructed. While they were voting they locked the few remaining Republicans into a closet located far enough away from the voting area to keep their frantic screams from being heard, and then enacted the bill.
The President does not want the terms "earmarks" or "pork" used when describing this massive funding program, so I will call it the PAPPB Bill. This acronym stands for "Party Appeasement and Political Pay-Back Bill". It includes something for everybody.
The speed and manner in which this PAPPB legislation was forced through the normally excessively slow and ineffective procedures used in our legislative branch of government vividly demonstrates another frightening aspect of our current political format. At the present time, three people are in complete control of our nation! The historical system of "checks and balances" does not exist. These three "rulers" can do whatever they want to do with our nation for the next two years…and there is nothing anyone can do about it!
President Obama is in complete control of the executive branch, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is in complete control of the U.S. Congress, and Senator Harry Reed is in complete control of the U.S. Senate. These "commanders" give an order and all of the other Senators and Congressmen within their party obediently move to follow the command. It is as if they were puppets on a string. Our nation is currently as close to being a Dictatorship as it has ever been. The manner in which this stimulus bill was enacted clearly reveals the total ineffectiveness of all opposition. I find this very frightening.
Some parts of the stimulus bill are well conceived and will move our economy in the correct direction for recovery. However, in my opinion, too much of it is merely the usual political practice of "you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours", which allows both to enjoy funding of wasteful, unjustified local pet projects.
I feel the national stimulus approach should be almost totally directed towards actions which create permanent long term jobs, which would be created by programs which will enable our domestic industries and manufacturing companies to compete in the new global marketplace. The objective should be to create Free-Fair trade, not just free trade. We must level the playing field if we ever hope to be competitive. Some programs which I feel would provide long term job solutions include:
● Removal of free trade status for all products coming to our markets from countries which charge reduced, subsidized pricing for exports, while they charge higher prices for those same products within their country.
● Removal of free trade status for all products coming from countries which will not allow all U.S. made products to be sold on a free market basis within their country. This would include all agricultural products coming from the U.S..
● Providing subsidies in the form of tax credits to U.S. firms which ship their products to foreign countries where labor laws and environmental regulations are not on par with the requirements in the U.S.. The extra cost these government burdens create currently make U.S. products uncompetitive when shipped to these foreign nations. This would help level the costing formulas.
● Providing tax incentives on profits realized from export sales.
● In shipments made to countries where their government subsidizes their exporting industries through government funding and low cost industrial loans, and other cost reduction incentives, the U.S. government should provide transportation rebates for the cost of container shipping to these countries. This would remove transportation costs from the cost of the U.S. products when placed in these countries markets.
● Paying 50% of the cost of additional machinery and equipment when the company can demonstrate this equipment is creating a work station for a new job.
● If a company employs a new hire which is on unemployment or on welfare, credit the first six months of those entitlement costs to the company to offset training and initial payroll costs.
● Remove all of the minority and set aside requirements for obtaining Small Business Loans, and restore the program to assisting ALL small businesses. Also liberalize the restrictions on qualification and degree of guarantees to banks for small business loans from the SBA.
The funding solutions to our economic dilemma should be almost totally focused on jobs creation. If they will do this…they will be "Getting It Right".
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-
● President Obama is having a difficult time finding enough honest, tax paying Officials and Politicians to fill his cabinet. It appears it is as difficult to find an honest politician in Washington as it would be to find a virgin in the Mustangs Ranch whore house in Nevada.
● Last week I mistakenly gave credit to the FDLE for erecting the guilt admitting plaque recently placed on the Dozier campus. It was the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice which should get credit for that inappropriate act.
● The United Auto Workers Union is not agreeing to the needed concessions for enabling GM to participate in the government bail-out funding they need in order to continue operations. Good logic on their part in looking out for their membership??
● I see the police in Bay County are having a union organizing election to decide if the Teamsters will represent them in the future. It seems ironic to me that a mafia dominated union would be representing the police.
● Spring will soon be here! I am looking forward to the blooming azaleas and dogwoods….and bass fishing.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Hatcher Publications.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Getting it Right 2/12/09
By Sid Riley
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
We have all seen the historical scene where President Reagan stood at the Berlin Wall and said, "Mr. Gorbachev, Take Down This Wall!!" When you read the following phrase, do so with the same tone and emphasis:
"Governor Crist, Take Down This Plaque!!"
It would appear that Governor Crist decided the claims of the four former Dozier residents who have decided to attempt to make millions by entering a claim of abuse against Dozier officials after over fifty years of silence are true and justified. He seems to have made that decision without the benefit of a trial, presentation of evidence and arguments, and without the necessity of a decision by a jury.
His decision to construct and erect a plaque on the campus of Dozier which was done in memory of "all of those children who were ABUSED here", constitutes a unilateral admission of guilt from the head of our state, and certainly encouraged the four alleged victims to proceed with their suit. This action by the Governor was premature, unjustified, inappropriate, and undoubtedly politically motivated. It has engendered outrage from numerous state employees who worked professionally for many, many years at the Dozier facility.
Our liberal herd of politicians who currently dominate Washington recently ruled that "water-boarding" of terrorists who are caught attempting to destroy our nation and kill us and our families constitutes "torture and abuse". Instead they want to send them to a plush federal penitentiary where they can spend their sentences on chaise lounges around a pool wearing sun glasses.
Well, now it appears our illustrious Governor has similarly decided the then common and legal practice of "butt-boarding" in the venue of the 1950’s was also a form of "torture and abuse", and those poor victims who endured such treatment deserve millions of our tax dollars in appeasement. What is most ridiculous about this form of political logic is the hypocrisy of it all.
It should be remembered that during this era the State was sending cruel, physically mature, budding criminals to Dozier, and at the same time was sending little, innocent nine and ten year olds to the same facility to be housed and mixed with the almost hardened criminal group. Many of these youngest residents had committed no crimes, and were in reality orphans with no other place to go. In truth, these poor children were the real victims of the State, and if anyone deserves reparations, it is them.
With this State engineered mix of the cruel, vicious and dangerous young adult thugs mixed with the innocent and defenseless very young boys, they created an underground social structure on the campus based on bullying, fear, and intimidation ruled by the dominant, older residents. The potential for violence in this dominant group is well represented by several documented incidents which occurred.
Among these incidents were the cruel, inhuman beatings of the Jackson family in Marianna at the hands of three escaped Dozier residents who were trying to steal their car. Also Jackson County Deputy Bevis was shot and killed with his own weapon by one of Dozier’s finest. On another occasion, one or more Dozier bullies beat another resident to death and left his body in a drain culvert. And what was probably the last whipping ever given at Dozier was administered by Superintendent Lenox Williams after he saw the horrible results of disfigurement from a beating given to one boy who was attacked while asleep by three bullies. Lenox took the three guilty bullies to the now infamous "white house" and punished them.
From these examples we can see that Bullying was a continuing administrative problem on the campus, which was compounded by the unfortunate, ill-advised mix of residents. In general, those who were "butt-boarded" were the worse of the lot. They were the cruel, dominant older bullies who were abusing the younger, helpless residents.
When they were caught in these acts of cruelty, the administrators punished them in order to institute discipline and control….and most importantly to protect those innocent young boys.
If these four former residents from the 1950’s received harsh punishment from the administration, it was most probably because of cruel, bullying acts they themselves had perpetuated against the younger boys. The former residents who Governor Crist is about to reward with state reparations were probably among the cruelest, most abusive, and most guilty of the resident population of their era. That is the unfortunate hypocrisy of the entire affair.
We urge Governor Crist to remove the undeserved plaque which he has placed on the Dozier campus in his "rush to judgment". If he will at least take this action until the courts have evaluated and decided on this matter…he will be "Getting It Right".
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-
● The stimulus-spending bill in its current form includes benefits for Philippine WWII Veterans, benefits for American Indians which amount to $1,000 for every Indian in the U. S., and $64 million for more certificates for buying conversion boxes for the digital conversion of the US television system. I am not sure how many jobs these measures will create.
● The Washington legislators do not want the word "earmarks" used for describing any of the costly "special interest" items which have been attached to this stimulus bill….however, a rose if known by another name is still as stinky.
● In our Washingtonian wisdom we are ignoring our continuing dependency on the greedy Arabs for our oil and energy. I do not see any provisions for new nuclear plant construction, natural gas pipelines, additional oil exploration and other measures to reduce this dependency. High gasoline prices WILL come back.
● Also, it seems our legislators believe the illegal alien problem has gone away. The billions of additional costs our governments are realizing from providing social and health services to these lawbreakers who have violated our borders seems to not be an issue. Also, those jobs which Americans did not want…..are beginning to become more attractive as our number of unemployed grows.
● The unions are collecting for all of those millions they donated to political campaigns in 2008. Our controlling legislators have agreed to pall union favoring laws which do away with the secret ballot when union organizing votes are taken in a company. With no secret ballot, the union "thugs" will know whose arms to break and which houses to set fire. I thought the concept of a secret ballot was a cornerstone of our voting processes in order to prevent reprisals and intimidation.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Hatcher Publications.
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
We have all seen the historical scene where President Reagan stood at the Berlin Wall and said, "Mr. Gorbachev, Take Down This Wall!!" When you read the following phrase, do so with the same tone and emphasis:
"Governor Crist, Take Down This Plaque!!"
It would appear that Governor Crist decided the claims of the four former Dozier residents who have decided to attempt to make millions by entering a claim of abuse against Dozier officials after over fifty years of silence are true and justified. He seems to have made that decision without the benefit of a trial, presentation of evidence and arguments, and without the necessity of a decision by a jury.
His decision to construct and erect a plaque on the campus of Dozier which was done in memory of "all of those children who were ABUSED here", constitutes a unilateral admission of guilt from the head of our state, and certainly encouraged the four alleged victims to proceed with their suit. This action by the Governor was premature, unjustified, inappropriate, and undoubtedly politically motivated. It has engendered outrage from numerous state employees who worked professionally for many, many years at the Dozier facility.
Our liberal herd of politicians who currently dominate Washington recently ruled that "water-boarding" of terrorists who are caught attempting to destroy our nation and kill us and our families constitutes "torture and abuse". Instead they want to send them to a plush federal penitentiary where they can spend their sentences on chaise lounges around a pool wearing sun glasses.
Well, now it appears our illustrious Governor has similarly decided the then common and legal practice of "butt-boarding" in the venue of the 1950’s was also a form of "torture and abuse", and those poor victims who endured such treatment deserve millions of our tax dollars in appeasement. What is most ridiculous about this form of political logic is the hypocrisy of it all.
It should be remembered that during this era the State was sending cruel, physically mature, budding criminals to Dozier, and at the same time was sending little, innocent nine and ten year olds to the same facility to be housed and mixed with the almost hardened criminal group. Many of these youngest residents had committed no crimes, and were in reality orphans with no other place to go. In truth, these poor children were the real victims of the State, and if anyone deserves reparations, it is them.
With this State engineered mix of the cruel, vicious and dangerous young adult thugs mixed with the innocent and defenseless very young boys, they created an underground social structure on the campus based on bullying, fear, and intimidation ruled by the dominant, older residents. The potential for violence in this dominant group is well represented by several documented incidents which occurred.
Among these incidents were the cruel, inhuman beatings of the Jackson family in Marianna at the hands of three escaped Dozier residents who were trying to steal their car. Also Jackson County Deputy Bevis was shot and killed with his own weapon by one of Dozier’s finest. On another occasion, one or more Dozier bullies beat another resident to death and left his body in a drain culvert. And what was probably the last whipping ever given at Dozier was administered by Superintendent Lenox Williams after he saw the horrible results of disfigurement from a beating given to one boy who was attacked while asleep by three bullies. Lenox took the three guilty bullies to the now infamous "white house" and punished them.
From these examples we can see that Bullying was a continuing administrative problem on the campus, which was compounded by the unfortunate, ill-advised mix of residents. In general, those who were "butt-boarded" were the worse of the lot. They were the cruel, dominant older bullies who were abusing the younger, helpless residents.
When they were caught in these acts of cruelty, the administrators punished them in order to institute discipline and control….and most importantly to protect those innocent young boys.
If these four former residents from the 1950’s received harsh punishment from the administration, it was most probably because of cruel, bullying acts they themselves had perpetuated against the younger boys. The former residents who Governor Crist is about to reward with state reparations were probably among the cruelest, most abusive, and most guilty of the resident population of their era. That is the unfortunate hypocrisy of the entire affair.
We urge Governor Crist to remove the undeserved plaque which he has placed on the Dozier campus in his "rush to judgment". If he will at least take this action until the courts have evaluated and decided on this matter…he will be "Getting It Right".
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-
● The stimulus-spending bill in its current form includes benefits for Philippine WWII Veterans, benefits for American Indians which amount to $1,000 for every Indian in the U. S., and $64 million for more certificates for buying conversion boxes for the digital conversion of the US television system. I am not sure how many jobs these measures will create.
● The Washington legislators do not want the word "earmarks" used for describing any of the costly "special interest" items which have been attached to this stimulus bill….however, a rose if known by another name is still as stinky.
● In our Washingtonian wisdom we are ignoring our continuing dependency on the greedy Arabs for our oil and energy. I do not see any provisions for new nuclear plant construction, natural gas pipelines, additional oil exploration and other measures to reduce this dependency. High gasoline prices WILL come back.
● Also, it seems our legislators believe the illegal alien problem has gone away. The billions of additional costs our governments are realizing from providing social and health services to these lawbreakers who have violated our borders seems to not be an issue. Also, those jobs which Americans did not want…..are beginning to become more attractive as our number of unemployed grows.
● The unions are collecting for all of those millions they donated to political campaigns in 2008. Our controlling legislators have agreed to pall union favoring laws which do away with the secret ballot when union organizing votes are taken in a company. With no secret ballot, the union "thugs" will know whose arms to break and which houses to set fire. I thought the concept of a secret ballot was a cornerstone of our voting processes in order to prevent reprisals and intimidation.
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Hatcher Publications.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Getting It Right- 2/5/09
"I’ll Sue You, You Sue Me, What a Wonderful World It Will Be…."
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
Four former residents from Dozier School for Boys have filed law suits against several state agencies and one local resident for alleged abuse they endured while interned at the reform school in the 1950’s. Why have they waited approximately sixty years to come forward?
The disproportionate number of lawyers as a percentage of the population in the U.S. and their need for funds for survival has turned our social structure into a litigation minded, suit seeking, greedy society. In this vein, every public official, every administrator of a public agency, every school board and school administrator, every doctor and every hospital administration, every company, and every citizen, and unfortunately, every politician is constantly walking on their tiptoes in constant fear of making a decision or doing something which will result in court action. We live in a "I’ll sue you if I can" society.
Herds of lawyers lurk in dark paneled offices in every city, patiently waiting for an opportunity to engage in a "class action suit" that will yield them millions of dollars in fees. When our sixteen year old son was unfortunately killed in an automobile accident several years ago, we received several letters written on fancy embossed letterhead from large law firms letting us know they were "there for us" if we had any cause to sue someone because of the accident. It made me sick and very angry at the same time, in the midst of our horrible grief.
Sly, greedy, unethical people and organizations have learned how to use this fear of litigation as a weapon to blackmail our politicians into paying the supposed victims millions of dollars of our tax monies as settlements for claims….in order to avoid the bother and negative publicity of a lawsuit. This practice is expensive, encourages future actions from other greedy people, and carries with it an implication of acceptance of guilt…regardless whether or not any real guilt is present.
I feel this exploitation and misuse of the right to sue may well be the case in the claims which four former Dozier School for Boys residents recently filed abuse claims for incidents which took place sixty years ago, against several state agencies and one local resident. I find it unfortunate that Governor Crist has already reacted to these claims by having a plaque placed at the infamous "Little White House" on the Dozier campus, where corporal punishment was administered during those years when it was a legal and effective manner of punishing those who deserved punishment. The inscription on this marker reads "In recognition of the ABUSE many suffered here". This statement implies guilt when there has been no trial, no conviction, and no proof of any ABUSE ever occurring. This action by the Governor did nothing but encourage the former residents to continue with their court action.
From this I am assuming that every whipping I ever received was a form of abuse….and I can thus proceed with legal action against anyone who ever gave me a whipping. I am in the process of locating a sufficiently hungry, greedy, unethical, qualified lawyer who will represent me in these matters. Together we stand to make millions!
First there was Mrs. McGuary, my fifth grade teacher. She gave me and about eight other unfortunate fifth graders a vicious, cruel beating with a big leather belt for running down a back stairway which we all knew was closed and not to be used as stated in posted signs and in school rules. I think I got five hard, bone crushing lashes that I remember to this day. She severely embittered my attitude and left emotional scars I have struggled with for all of my life. I feel I should be able to sue her estate for several million. I may have to find the other seven boys that were involved to really make the case sound good. I hope they will come forward.
Then there was my old football coach and eighth grade teacher, "Bull" Dawson. While he was out of the room one day a wild eraser fight broke out. One of the teacher’s pets, Betty Robertson took names of all who engaged in this duel, and when "Bull" returned to his classroom she gave him the list and told him of the fight. As a result, we were all given three licks from a special paddle he had for such an event. These three licks still ring in my ears. The sting of having my coach hit me was as bad as the physical pain. I think this whipping kept me from making all "A’s" that six weeks, and perhaps kept me from going to Harvard. I feel the lack of development that stemmed from this attack and abuse by this teacher should enable me and my hungry lawyer to sue his estate for another seven or eight million.
Then there was Tom Brantley. Tom was our principal in high school. He was notorious among the student body for abusing poor, young boys in his office as he doled out corporal punishment for relatively innocent deeds. He had a special wooden paddle which was riddled with holes to reduce wind resistance and increase impact speed during his terrible rampages of retribution. There was the time when Billy Terrell came to school after a summer in California (1957) with an Elvis Presley hair cut, complete with DA in back and a hook in front. Several of the girls in our class thought it looked cute, so we had to do something about it immediately. We told him to cut his hair (of course all of us had neat, well groomed flat tops) or he would suffer. He refused to do as we asked, so one day Bobby Rudd brought a pair of sheep shears to school and as soon as the bell rang at the end of the day, the entire football team scooped Terrell up and carried him to the dressing room under the gym. We did the shearing job…for months I proudly carried the loosened "hook" in a text book as a place marker.
Well, Billy’s mom was less than happy. She stormed to school and demanded action from Tom Brantley. He herded all of us guilty culprits into a van, took us out to the Terrell residence where Billy’s mom lectured us for about thirty minutes (while Billy stood aside, embarrassed and bald). Then Tom Brantley took us to his den of torture, his school office. Out came the dreaded paddle, as one by one we assumed the unfortunate position and had our butts whipped. I am sure that if I look closely enough today I might still see some of the resulting scars from this terrible, terrible example of administrative abuse of a poor innocent student. I am sure the other team members who had to endure this embarrassment and unimaginable pain are similarly scarred. I figure our unscrupulous lawyer should be able to get us at least ten million from the county school system and ole Tom Brantley’s estate.
Then there were the whippings all of the upper classmen in my college fraternity gave me and the other pledges during "Hell Week" prior to initiation. That case should also be worth millions.
And our liberal court system has already ruled that children can sue their parents…so I might figure out a way to sue their estates. Heck, I have already inherited that money.
Oh My god! That reasoning means my children could sue me!
Rudiments-
Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
· Thought you might be interested that even though our economy is struggling desperately, and many citizens are suffering…our esteemed legislators just voted themselves an increase in their petty cash allowances of $93,000 per year. This is the "pocket money" they use locally to buy votes back home.
· It seems to me that our state officials are busy cutting funding for schools and parks and items which the public will feel, while they ignore the layers and layers of bureaucracy, unneeded and ineffective programs, and unnecessary grant funding programs. They want to create as much public outcry and impact as possible.
· Isn’t it amazing that of the ten or twelve top ranked federal officials that Obama has picked for his cabinet, two have already had to admit they had been cheating on their taxes. Of course they repaid the shortages and apologized. The IRS graciously accepted their apologies and did not subject them to interest or huge penalties. I am sure we can all expect the same treatment from this benevolent federal agency.
· The pork farmers in Washington D.C. are getting ready to "bring home the bacon". I hope we all get a taste of it.
· Our nation is in a condition of evolution. Changing from what it has been, to what it will become. Standing here at the mid-point I am very concerned over our choices of routes.- Sid Riley
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Hatcher Publications.
This column presents a conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
Four former residents from Dozier School for Boys have filed law suits against several state agencies and one local resident for alleged abuse they endured while interned at the reform school in the 1950’s. Why have they waited approximately sixty years to come forward?
The disproportionate number of lawyers as a percentage of the population in the U.S. and their need for funds for survival has turned our social structure into a litigation minded, suit seeking, greedy society. In this vein, every public official, every administrator of a public agency, every school board and school administrator, every doctor and every hospital administration, every company, and every citizen, and unfortunately, every politician is constantly walking on their tiptoes in constant fear of making a decision or doing something which will result in court action. We live in a "I’ll sue you if I can" society.
Herds of lawyers lurk in dark paneled offices in every city, patiently waiting for an opportunity to engage in a "class action suit" that will yield them millions of dollars in fees. When our sixteen year old son was unfortunately killed in an automobile accident several years ago, we received several letters written on fancy embossed letterhead from large law firms letting us know they were "there for us" if we had any cause to sue someone because of the accident. It made me sick and very angry at the same time, in the midst of our horrible grief.
Sly, greedy, unethical people and organizations have learned how to use this fear of litigation as a weapon to blackmail our politicians into paying the supposed victims millions of dollars of our tax monies as settlements for claims….in order to avoid the bother and negative publicity of a lawsuit. This practice is expensive, encourages future actions from other greedy people, and carries with it an implication of acceptance of guilt…regardless whether or not any real guilt is present.
I feel this exploitation and misuse of the right to sue may well be the case in the claims which four former Dozier School for Boys residents recently filed abuse claims for incidents which took place sixty years ago, against several state agencies and one local resident. I find it unfortunate that Governor Crist has already reacted to these claims by having a plaque placed at the infamous "Little White House" on the Dozier campus, where corporal punishment was administered during those years when it was a legal and effective manner of punishing those who deserved punishment. The inscription on this marker reads "In recognition of the ABUSE many suffered here". This statement implies guilt when there has been no trial, no conviction, and no proof of any ABUSE ever occurring. This action by the Governor did nothing but encourage the former residents to continue with their court action.
From this I am assuming that every whipping I ever received was a form of abuse….and I can thus proceed with legal action against anyone who ever gave me a whipping. I am in the process of locating a sufficiently hungry, greedy, unethical, qualified lawyer who will represent me in these matters. Together we stand to make millions!
First there was Mrs. McGuary, my fifth grade teacher. She gave me and about eight other unfortunate fifth graders a vicious, cruel beating with a big leather belt for running down a back stairway which we all knew was closed and not to be used as stated in posted signs and in school rules. I think I got five hard, bone crushing lashes that I remember to this day. She severely embittered my attitude and left emotional scars I have struggled with for all of my life. I feel I should be able to sue her estate for several million. I may have to find the other seven boys that were involved to really make the case sound good. I hope they will come forward.
Then there was my old football coach and eighth grade teacher, "Bull" Dawson. While he was out of the room one day a wild eraser fight broke out. One of the teacher’s pets, Betty Robertson took names of all who engaged in this duel, and when "Bull" returned to his classroom she gave him the list and told him of the fight. As a result, we were all given three licks from a special paddle he had for such an event. These three licks still ring in my ears. The sting of having my coach hit me was as bad as the physical pain. I think this whipping kept me from making all "A’s" that six weeks, and perhaps kept me from going to Harvard. I feel the lack of development that stemmed from this attack and abuse by this teacher should enable me and my hungry lawyer to sue his estate for another seven or eight million.
Then there was Tom Brantley. Tom was our principal in high school. He was notorious among the student body for abusing poor, young boys in his office as he doled out corporal punishment for relatively innocent deeds. He had a special wooden paddle which was riddled with holes to reduce wind resistance and increase impact speed during his terrible rampages of retribution. There was the time when Billy Terrell came to school after a summer in California (1957) with an Elvis Presley hair cut, complete with DA in back and a hook in front. Several of the girls in our class thought it looked cute, so we had to do something about it immediately. We told him to cut his hair (of course all of us had neat, well groomed flat tops) or he would suffer. He refused to do as we asked, so one day Bobby Rudd brought a pair of sheep shears to school and as soon as the bell rang at the end of the day, the entire football team scooped Terrell up and carried him to the dressing room under the gym. We did the shearing job…for months I proudly carried the loosened "hook" in a text book as a place marker.
Well, Billy’s mom was less than happy. She stormed to school and demanded action from Tom Brantley. He herded all of us guilty culprits into a van, took us out to the Terrell residence where Billy’s mom lectured us for about thirty minutes (while Billy stood aside, embarrassed and bald). Then Tom Brantley took us to his den of torture, his school office. Out came the dreaded paddle, as one by one we assumed the unfortunate position and had our butts whipped. I am sure that if I look closely enough today I might still see some of the resulting scars from this terrible, terrible example of administrative abuse of a poor innocent student. I am sure the other team members who had to endure this embarrassment and unimaginable pain are similarly scarred. I figure our unscrupulous lawyer should be able to get us at least ten million from the county school system and ole Tom Brantley’s estate.
Then there were the whippings all of the upper classmen in my college fraternity gave me and the other pledges during "Hell Week" prior to initiation. That case should also be worth millions.
And our liberal court system has already ruled that children can sue their parents…so I might figure out a way to sue their estates. Heck, I have already inherited that money.
Oh My god! That reasoning means my children could sue me!
Rudiments-
Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
· Thought you might be interested that even though our economy is struggling desperately, and many citizens are suffering…our esteemed legislators just voted themselves an increase in their petty cash allowances of $93,000 per year. This is the "pocket money" they use locally to buy votes back home.
· It seems to me that our state officials are busy cutting funding for schools and parks and items which the public will feel, while they ignore the layers and layers of bureaucracy, unneeded and ineffective programs, and unnecessary grant funding programs. They want to create as much public outcry and impact as possible.
· Isn’t it amazing that of the ten or twelve top ranked federal officials that Obama has picked for his cabinet, two have already had to admit they had been cheating on their taxes. Of course they repaid the shortages and apologized. The IRS graciously accepted their apologies and did not subject them to interest or huge penalties. I am sure we can all expect the same treatment from this benevolent federal agency.
· The pork farmers in Washington D.C. are getting ready to "bring home the bacon". I hope we all get a taste of it.
· Our nation is in a condition of evolution. Changing from what it has been, to what it will become. Standing here at the mid-point I am very concerned over our choices of routes.- Sid Riley
Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Hatcher Publications.
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