2011 Here We Come!

I must say that I am glad to see 2010 come to an end. I feel it has been a rotten year for our nation, our economy, and for most families here in Jackson County. Let us all join in our hope for a much better 2011.

There are many new groundswell forces coming to the surface on the political scene, as a wave of conservatism prepares to sweep across state and national landscapes which are currently entrenched with dominant liberals. It sets the stage for a year filled with political conflicts as politicians dedicated to high social ideals are faced with harsh economic realities.

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“They’re Still Not Listening”

The November elections should have sent all elected officials and members of the bureaucracy a loud and clear message. “It is time to change our way of doing business in government. We need to reduce the cost of government, restore balanced budgeting, begin to repay our debts, and we need to restore the basic freedoms and rights promised in the Constitution.” It appears that most of those in positions of control have not yet heeded that message……Oh well, we knew they were slow learners.

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The New Normal…Are You Willing To Accept It?

The national media has begun using a term which I find very bothersome. They are beginning to frequently use the term “New Normal” as they present statistics on our economy and national condition. To me this represents a trend toward acceptance of deteriorated, substandard conditions which have been caused by years of bad management, political corruption, and vote buying by self serving lobbyist groups. They now want the American public to accept this as the new “status quo” of expectation for out society. It represents acceptance of a worsened standard of living and a weaker America. I am not yet ready to cede that as necessary and agreeable.

In order to shine a brighter light on what appears to be the “New Normal” for our national situation, I have attempted to prepare a listing of what this means.

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The New Normal…Are You Willing To Accept It?

The national media has begun using a term which I find very bothersome. They are beginning to frequently use the term “New Normal” as they present statistics on our economy and national condition. To me this represents a trend toward acceptance of deteriorated, substandard conditions which have been caused by years of bad management, political corruption, and vote buying by self serving lobbyist groups. They now want the American public to accept this as the new “status quo” of expectation for out society. It represents acceptance of a worsened standard of living and a weaker America. I am not yet ready to cede that as necessary and agreeable.

In order to shine a brighter light on what appears to be the “New Normal” for our national situation, I have attempted to prepare a listing of what this means.

To read the rest of the story visit our virtual paper by clicking on this link!

A Near and Growing Danger

A Near and Growing Danger:

Within the U.S. economic-social framework a new danger to our future is rapidly growing and building strength. In fact, it may already be so powerful that correction is not possible.

I am speaking of the tremendous change in organization, focus, and effect within the national union movement which has been taking place over the past fifteen years. The potential dangers associated with this shift were revealed to me a few days ago when I read a report that the SEIU, the government service employees union, is now the most powerful union in the nation, with over 2.2 million members representing a major percentage of the county employees, state employees, school employees, firemen, policemen, city services workers, and hundreds of other government jobs across the entire nation. Their power is awesome…politically and physically.

The potential for misuse of this power is a real and present danger. This is a new danger for our democracy which did not exist until the last ten years. A quick examination of many of the revolutions, national upheavals, and government coups which have occurred around the world will reveal that in many instances the core instigating power of these revolutions was the prevalent labor union in those nations. When the elected leaders of the nation lost favor with the powerful labor leaders….. those labor leaders had them physically ousted. In reality, the unions were in charge of the government. Do we want that condition in our country?

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Thanksgivings Are Special

Holidays are those special days full of special times and events which create lasting memories for all of us. Of all of the holidays, Christmas would have to take first place for creating the most memories…but Thanksgiving would run a close second place.

What makes Christmas and Thanksgiving both so special is the fact that both holidays involve pulling the family together for a sharing of love, caring, spending quality time together…and of course enjoying a delicious feast style meal together. Most families have at least three generations gathered for the special event.

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“Stop The Presses!!”

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.

Our secretive, powerful, and unrestrained Federal Reserve has decided to devalue the U.S. Dollar by cranking up the printing presses and arbitrarily printing and putting into circulation $600,000,000,000 (Over half at trillion dollars), without that money being backed up by anything of value, such as gold reserves. This action devalues the dollar on the world market, makes that money you have stashed away in the ice box lose some of its purchasing power, makes oil and other imported products cost more, creates inflationary pressures, reduces our ability to borrow money on the world market, makes our creditors such as China very angry and jittery, and may cause other nations to also devalue their money in order to maintain a status quo as they export to the U.S. . In short, this action disturbs a lot of things at a time when the world economy is teetering dangerously over an economic chasm.

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Tales of Government Abuses and Government Waste

Highway 231 Speed Trap Gauntlet
I was disgusted, repulsed, and appalled by the recently released information on the revenues being collected from the new camera system which is now being used to rip off travelers as they navigate through Campbellton. It appears this latest revenue generating program will reap around $200,000 per year from the pockets of tourist trying to make it to the Florida beaches.
They stated they might use this new income being realized by the city of Campbellton to create a city police force. Why not put in another light and double the revenues?

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Getting It Right - Well, It is Over…What Do We Do Now?

Well, the election is over, all of the mud has been slung, all of the lies have been told, all of the promises have been made…..so what do we do now? Well all of the losers will begin calling in all of those favors they are owed for pulling political strings for their backers and friends. From these they will get the plush job as a bureaucrat, lobbyist, or consultant they were promised for the dirty deed they performed. Don’t worry about the losers. The system provides that they will be well cared for in the event they should ever suffer an election loss.

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A Glimpse Into Our Future

A BIT OF TAX FOOD FOR THOUGHT. THESE ARE THE CURRENT RATES IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES…..WILL THE U.S. BE NEXT?

Denmark.. Income Tax: 58%...
VAT (Value Added Tax): 25% TOTAL: 83%

Sweden.. Income Tax: 55%...
VAT: 25% TOTAL: 80%

Norway.. Income Tax: 54.3%...
VAT: 25% TOTAL: 79.3%

Finland.. Income Tax: 53%...
VAT: 22% TOTAL: 75%

Netherlands.. Income Tax: 52%...
VAT: 19% TOTAL: 71%

United Kingdom .. Income Tax: 50%...
VAT: 17.5% TOTAL: 67.5%

Greece.. Income Tax: 40%...
VAT: 25% TOTAL: 65%

Portugal.. Income Tax: 42%...
VAT: 20% TOTAL: 62%

Spain.. Income Tax: 45%...
VAT: 16% TOTAL: 61%

France.. Income Tax: 40%...
VAT: 19.6% TOTAL: 59.6%

(And to these renderings for Cesar you can add the cost of licenses, fees, permits, fines, penalties, and assessments. Why bother to work if you have to pay it all to the bureaucracy?)



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It is Time To Turn the Ship!

“It is time to turn the ship around and chart another course. Rough weather and rocky reefs lie ahead on the current heading.” Hopefully that is the message voters will deliver to our current Captain and Crew on November 2. If not, the USS America is in peril.

At best, the return voyage to smooth, safe waters will be long and slow. After five decades of foundering, misdirection and neglected maintenance, our “ship of state” is far off course and may never again enjoy the smooth sailing and high water line we once took for granted.

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Some New Initiatives For Our Elected Representatives To Sponsor

If you have occasion to speak with any of our elected State representatives in the State House or State Senate, you might want to take advantage of the occasion to recommend that they begin an initiative in support of one or more of the issues which will be discussed in this column. In creating a new initiative the Legislator normally solicits agreement and support from other legislators, and collectively they create and sponsor a bill for consideration by the body.

Issue One – Septic Tank Requirements Removal from Springs Bill:
Issue Two – Modification of Procedures For Selection of Public Service Commission Members:
Issue Three – Campaign Finance Reform

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Abusing the Amendment Process

Abusing Florida’s Ragged Old Constitution:

The U. S. Constitution has only been amended 19 times in the last 235 years, while the Florida Constitution has been amended 15 times in the last three election cycles. I think this demonstrates that there is a flaw in the process within our state. We have six proposed amendments on the ballot which is currently being utilized by early voters across the state, and will be on the ballots completed in the voting booths on November 2.

The reason for this marked difference is simply that it is difficult to comply with the requirements for amending the U. S. Constitution, while it is easy to amend the Florida Constitution. In fact, if Amendment 4 is enacted, it will be almost the same procedure for amending the constitution as it is to modify the zoning on a comprehensive plan. In my opinion, our legislators should take a critical look at this situation and then enact an amendment to amend the amendment process.
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The Era of the “Crats”

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.

Just before the primary vote I had a “crat” friend whom I respect call and ask me to support candidate Cutris Richardson because he had always “looked after the interest of the State Workers”. After the call I had to pause for a moment to be sure I fully realized what that phrase really meant.

I decided it meant that in order to get the votes of the massive numbers of State employees this candidate always pushed for increased benefits, higher wages, and more “perks” for this group….usually at the expense of the general public. Needless to say, I did not respond to the friend’s request. Richardson lost in his campaign for State Senator, and I am sure the chances are good that he will now find some juicy job within the bureaucracy. After evaluating that fact, another realization surfaces.
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Where Have All the Jobs Gone?

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:

Mostly to China.

That is the answer to the question posed in the title of this week’s column. China has consumed a major portion of all of the industries which once flourished in America and made our nation great. They also took our jobs.

We are left with empty or converted factory buildings, a sagging economy punctuated with huge unemployment statistics, foreclosed homes, failing businesses, unfunded government programs, and a growing segment of the population living in poverty. Meanwhile things are booming in China with entire huge cities being built at an unbelievable pace, new factories filling buildings as quickly as they can be built, and a fast growing middle class emerging out of poverty into prosperity.

How did this happen?

It was allowed to occur because of our bad management, stupidity, and greed.

In my opinion, those were the characteristics which were demonstrated by our leaders over the past five decades. It all cumulated during the Clinton era when the “elite leadership” endorsed the concept of a global economy and free trade among nations. It might have sounded good on the surface, but it also sounded the death knell for American industrial production. Passage of this legislation is a perfect example of how the system often works. Congress enacts a body of laws and it then takes a decade of so before the public can realize the full impact of what was passed. By then, the guilty politicians are no longer in office...and everyone has forgotten who really is to blame.

It will be the same story for the Health Care Bill and Cap and Trade if it is passed. At the state level, the Land Use Comprehensive Plans will eventually become a real issue for property owners years from now.

In order to accomplish the ruination of our once booming and dominant role as an industrialized society, our leaders took the following steps to create an industrial environment which could not compete on a global scale:

● Tax industries at the highest tax rate in the world.

● Pass laws which encourage unionization of industries. This leads to unreasonably high labor costs, generous retirement programs, luxurious health benefits, plentiful vacations and holidays, and plant rules which prohibit full utilization of productivity enhancing equipment and procedures. These elements are enabled by politicians purchased with union funds and collective voting power.

● Increase government regulation of all industries and place expensive administrative costs on businesses in order to comply.

● Place ever tightening environmental and social responsibilities on industry.

● Once this ‘High Cost” production environment has been created, suddenly adopt a policy of “free trade”, remove all protective tariffs and quotas, and allow full access to America’s markets for goods made in China, where their industries enjoy low labor costs, high productivity, little government internal regulation, very low taxes, and government subsidies to encourage exportation.

American industries quickly found that goods made in their U.S. plants had such a high total production cost that the Chinese made goods were 40-50% less expensive on the shelves of American retail stores…even after the Chinese goods have been transported half way around the globe.

Then we wait ten to fifteen years as American industries either closed their domestic plants and transitioned into sourcing arrangements from Chinese makers….or went out of business. In the process, millions and millions of jobs were transferred out of the United States to those shiny new Chinese factories.

Just as each payroll dollar is multiplied by five or six in its total impact on the local economy when a plant opens, the reverse is true when those dollars are lost. The negative impact is similarly multiplied as retailers, suppliers, and other infrastructure components to industries also fail.

That is where we are as a nation. The government imposed economic policies of the last fifty years combined with the foolish trade deals made in the 1990’s, have changed our world for the worse….In fact, they destroyed the backbone of our economy.

Those jobs will never come back….no matter how much “stimulus” we try to give industry. As a nation, we are most likely facing a future of continuing decline in our standard of living and a diminished ability to support those in need within our society.

Some restoration might be possible if we instituted new rules of trade which began to somewhat “level the playing field” for American made products. We should not be totally focused on exporting, and should attempt to once again make American made products attractive on a cost basis to the American consumer.

This would involve reinstalling some selective tariffs, using subsidies to help American made products compete, and use of aggressive programs to assist in the rebuilding of factories and industries.

We should remember that wealth is only created when we add labor and functional capability to raw materials which add to its value to an end user. Companies which produce durable and consumable goods create wealth. Wealth creating jobs include mining, farming, construction and manufacturing.

This newly created wealth is then shared with governments at all levels which then consume this wealth to provide infrastructure and services to societies. Service functions such as doctors, lawyers, retailers, media, retailers, banks, and others simply redistribute wealth…they do not create it.

Schools and federal, state, and local governments are the major consumers of wealth.

When the wealth creating elements of this formula are removed or decreased, the cycle of wealth begins to fail. When our leaders foolishly traded away the wealth creating industries which once produced items across almost every town in America, they began a negative cycle which may now be uncorrectable.

We need to elect new leadership which understands the mechanics of what has transpired, and who will dedicate themselves into restoring wealth creation within our economic system. We need leaders who can “Get it Right”. This November is the time to start.

Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-

● The Tea Party Message, plain and simple:

♦ Quit Taxing!

♦ Quit Borrowing!

♦ Quit Printing!

♦ Quit Spending!

♦ Reduce Government and give us our Constitutional personal and property rights back!

Your Tax Dollars At Work!

The following was posted on the internet by NY Conservative on 9/15 from an article in Cybercast News Service in a feature written by Matt Cover:

“The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spent $823,200 of economic stimulus funds in 2009 on a study by a UCLA research team to teach uncircumcised African men how to wash their genitals after having sex. The genitalia-washing program is part of a larger $12-million UCLA study examining how to better encourage Africans to undergo voluntary HIV testing and counseling – however, only the penis-washing study received money from the 2009 economic stimulus law. The washing portion of the study is set to end in 2011. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/75198

● “If America dies…it will be a suicide, death by dry rot from the inside. We dare not let that happen. It is time to be involved.”

~ Dr. Tom Kitchen, Baptist Bible College of Florida

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.

Some Issues For Your Representatives

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.

If you want to become active in the processes in government which often have very significant impact on your life and your finances, I am going to offer some suggestions on issues which you can discuss with your political representatives when the opportunity is present.

Your Utility Bill –

The terrible situation which has developed for many residents in Jackson County, especially those around Marianna who must buy electricity from Florida Public Utilities, cannot be resolved by any local action. Our Commissioners have no authority or voice in the determination of electric rates.

As I see the situation, the high electric rates suffered by too many across the State of Florida are the result of a corrupted process which involves excessive control over the activities of the Public Service Commission being exerted by the large utility companies in the state. Through buying political influence with funding from the utilities being distributed to “buyable” politicians via the powerful lobbying organization, “Associated Industries of Florida”, they have gained control of the nominating committee which selects PSC Board members.

As has recently been demonstrated, any PSC Board member who dares vote against the wishes of the powerful utilities soon finds themselves booted off of the Commission by the nominating committee. Ultimately this process shows up in your mailbox in the form of a “sky high” utility bill.

How can this deplorable situation be corrected? The only way I see to instill a degree of fairness into this system is to move as much control as possible back to the local level where citizens can have more influence. The PSC members were once elected positions, but the system was not properly designed and the combination of politics with money soon became a serious problem….as it is today.

I recommend returning to a nine member PSC Board, each elected from nine local districts which are carefully designated on a geographic and population based formula. The elected positions would be non-partisan, with each candidate only allowed to raise campaign funding up to a reasonable limit (Example: $70,000), with full sunshine disclosure of all contributors. Utilities, their employees, and family members of employees would not be allowed to contribute. Voting would be on a District by District basis.

We can encourage our elected State legislators to organize support for a bill which would create this new system for selection of the members of the Public Service Commission. This is the only way I see to ever restore any real protection to the public from these greedy monopolies.

Increased Oversight of the FDEP –

The unregulated, unabated, continual string of expensive regulations, decisions, and over exuberant legislation emitting from the bureaucracy within the federal EPA and the FDEP are consuming property rights, reducing personal liberties, and costing businesses and individuals billions of dollars….all in the sacred name of the environment. The problem is these are accepted and implemented with little or no attention to proof of justification, realization of consequences, or concern for those who the rules impact. Too often our legislators have taken the approach “If it has a ‘green’ label…I’ll vote for it.”

While scientists argue over the validity of global warming, or the proof that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are destructive for the atmosphere…the radical environmental loonies which seem to fill the bureaucracy of the EPA and FDEP are busy enacting rules, laws, and departmental edicts which are seriously impacting our economy, our lives, and our pocket books… with little or no oversight from our elected officials.

It is from this existing weak system of departmental control that costly regulation after costly regulation is bombarding the economy and the public. These are implemented in a harsh, authoritative manner, causing businesses to close, projects to be abandoned, and pocketbooks to be drained. If you don’t think these things are costing you money, or are impacting your property rights, let me list a few examples.

● The incoming septic tank regulations which will cost rural property owners thousands of dollars.

● The retention pond requirements which are applied on a universal basis whether the location justifies it or not. These ugly mosquito larvae infested ponds often are in areas where they will never catch any water or perform any useful task. The construction of these unsightly ponds and the cost of land which is put into a useless condition are increasing the cost of every project by thousands and are costing millions across the state and billions across the nation. Much of it is unnecessary.

● The regulations regarding handling of asbestos border on ridiculous. Through their codes and regulations they have made many simple, miniscule situations into expensive major problems for many home and business owners. The regulators make handling an asbestos tile seem more dangerous than catching rattle snakes. I feel that unless you work in an asbestos mine, or in a factory that creates asbestos dust every day, your chances of suffering medically from handling a few shingles or pipe wrappings are miniscule….excluding those who might falsify a medical claim to use our lucrative legal processes for personal gain through fraudulent claims.

● The same goes for the fear they try to generate over ever encountering any old paint that might have a taint of mercury in its composition. From this they recently enacted a costly procedure for any project done on a structure built before 1978 in which all dust from the project must be contained by placing plastic sheeting over the work area, and only using certified construction people wearing elaborate protective gear. And certainly all of the materials must be carefully bagged and taken to a specially designed land fill for disposal. So, property owners, the next time you get ready to paint your old house, or rebuild that old shed….hold on to your pocket book!

● They forced over 1500 businesses out of business on January 1 because of the unreasonable manner in which they implemented new regulations on gasoline storage tanks for thousands of filling stations and mini-markets across the state. They caused the loss of over 15,000 jobs in Florida, and not a single legislator made a public, negative remark about it. These small businesses had to replace their existing tanks immediately….whether they were leaking or not. As a result, the small, independent gasoline station is squeezed out of existence. Do you suppose the big retailers of gasoline might have been pushing for these rules?

● Remember Freon in air conditioners? It was outlawed because it supposedly hurt the ozone layer…then later they decided there was no problem with the ozone hole and it occurred and varied naturally.

● Every drop of dreaded oil or gas which any business allows to touch sacred mother earth is quickly punished, fined, penalized, and quarantined by the envirocrats, no matter how small or insignificant. Remember the millions spent on the “dirt burners” at the airport because of the small crop spraying business that once operated there. Of course some was spilt and ran off the tarmac onto the ground. It had to immediately be scooped up and burned at great costs. Isn’t it funny that those same chemicals were flown to the fields, sprayed, allowed to run down into nearby ditches which were undoubtedly then as contaminated as the ground at the airport?

● The justification used by the electric utilities for raising your electric rates is to recover the cost of the “scrubbers” they were forced to spend many millions for under the regulation of EPA.

● Every time you fill up your vehicle you pay extra because these regulators won’t allow drilling in Alaska, off shore, and won’t allow mining of oil shale, won’t allow building of nuclear plants, and won’t allow construction of new refineries.

● Just around the corner here in Florida are new bodies of regulations from these loonies which will deal with establishing unreasonable water quality requirements for every Florida river, lake and stream. Then they plan to force expensive recycling laws for all trash from every source.

● Just wait until they finally push through “Cap and Trade” that will surely help our suffering economy.

Ideally, these environmental loonies envision a planet devoid of destructive humanity, and filled with lush vegetation and healthy earthworms. Tell your legislators to get involved in creating a system of oversight and increased pre-implementation justification procedures before the FDEP and the EPA can shove this crap down our throats.

Communicate with your legislators….and you will be “Getting it Right”.

Rudiments – Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning

● I see a lot of political signs still on display from the losers in the August 24 primary. They and their supporters need to pick them up.

● (Say something good)…..Boy! All of this road and sidewalk work really has me stimulated!!

● I congratulate Willie Earl Paramore for being appointed to the County Value Adjustment Board which hears property evaluation complaints before the tax roll is finalized. However, the last time that Board ever adjusted an appraisal for the benefit of a taxpayer was when the Yankees burned the Episcopal Church!

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.

Labor Day!.....Bah! Humbug!!

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.

It is always great to see families out on outings enjoying each other and having a good time. This holiday weekend was a good example of that happening. However, I would like to have the holiday renamed to something like, “End of Summer Day”, and remove the idea that those who celebrate the day are recognizing the accomplishments of the U.S. Union movement.

I just can’t bring myself to celebrate the U.S. Organized Labor movement and the
horrible, ruinous contributions it has introduced into our nation’s economy. In my opinion, the actions of our industrial unions are one of the primary reasons the U. S. economy has been brought to its knees as industries flee our high taxation, over regulation, and escalating labor costs.

It is undisputable that during the early phases of the industrial revolution, which covered the first three or four decades after the turn of the century, many abuses of employees by unscrupulous owners of businesses existed in industry. The impact of organized labor did much to correct and reverse these situations. As a result many jobs were made much safer, child labor was eliminated, overtime pay was recognized, and wages and benefits were improved.

However, during the last half of the century most of these needed components were covered by labor laws, and the government had assumed the role of enforcement. The unions were really no longer needed. Yet they remained a powerful political force which used their might to steadily push for more, more, more, satisfying the greed of the membership. Unions also greatly restricted introduction of new technology, and multiplied operational costs through foolish restrictions on in-plant practices. Eventually, this constant escalation of costs resulted in the demise of the industry, the loss of the jobs, and reduced membership for industrial unions. Their greed killed the “golden goose”.

Their unbridled power fostered by millions they collected in union dues bought them political influence which then resulted in liberal, unfair labor legislation. These one sided laws weakened the ability of companies to resist their cost increasing practices. This finally all ended in the early 1990’s when our foolish, inept politicians adopted the emerging concepts of an emerging “global economy” and “free trade”. Without properly evaluating the potential impact these concepts would have on our own economy, in a bipartisan movement they enacted a series of disastrous legislation which during the ensuing fifteen years resulted in the decimation of the once great United States industrial sector.

This disabling legislation included NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), Redesigning GATT (Generalized Accord on Tariffs and Trade) under the WTO (World Trade Organization), and voting to give China “Most Favored Nation” trade status. This legislation was passed during the Clinton years, but was generally supported by foolish members of both parties. These changes opened the doorway for unhindered access to the U.S. markets by foreign made goods, with little or no restrictions or tariffs. Since these countries had not experienced the seventy years of escalation of their manufacturing costs which had occurred in the U.S., their products could be bought, delivered, and sold in America at prices which rendered U.S. made products non competitive. During the next fifteen years U.S. companies were forced to begin closing their domestic plants while they opened new plants in other parts of the world, or reached purchase agreements with industrialists in other nations, mostly China and other parts of Asia.

Consequently, millions of high paying, industrial manufacturing jobs were lost forever. No matter how much “stimulus” money is thrown into the economy, no matter how many tax breaks are given, no matter what meager efforts our desperate politicians attempt to implement….those jobs will never return. As a result, the national tax base has been reduced, governments are experiencing revenue shortfalls, unemployment and underemployment has soared, and the standard of living for the average American is falling. Our future generations face an even bleaker situation.

Meanwhile, as industry after industry failed, declined, and left the country, and the union movement suffered high membership losses. As a means of survival they turned their attention to the public sector. They began aggressive organizing programs in the areas of schools, hospitals, city workers, county workers, state workers, federal workers, police, firemen, nurses and teachers. As a result, union membership and union dues collections soared. As they destroyed our industry and once powerful unions such as the Auto Workers, Steel Workers, Boilermakers, Machinist Union, Plumbers Union, Carpenters Union, and others became shells of their former selves…new, powerful unions emerged.

While the unemployed steel workers in Pennsylvania and Ohio sat in their aging Union Halls wondering what happened to their $30 per hour job….new unions were forming. Among these are the now politically powerful SEIU (Service Employees International Union), NEA (National Education Association), AFT (American Federation of Teachers), AFSCME (American Federation of State County and Municipal Workers), and the mafia controlled Teamsters Union which ironically represents a large portion of the policemen in the country.

These unions are now busy escalating the cost of government to the American tax payer. These unions have a lot to do with the unreasonable salaries and benefits which many bureaucrats and politicians are enjoying while the public sector suffers.

No, I can not celebrate LABOR DAY! I see unions as terrible, negative, disastrous elements for our society.

I hope you and your family enjoyed a great “End of Summer” holiday. If you did, you were “Getting it Right”.

Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-

● (Always include something nice) I congratulate Chuck Hatcher and the Jackson County Parks Department for another great season at Blue Springs Park. The swimming area has become a significant attraction for our area.

● Don Moore, popular radio commentator with WJAQ is recovering from a serious heart attack. We wish Don a speedy recovery.

● I applaud Richard Harrison for his continuing work on making the public aware of what the terrible new septic tank legislation will do to our rural resident. He encourages everyone to contact involved legislators on the issue.

● Our Washingtonians are planning to throw another barrel of “stimulus money” at the suffering economy in a desperate attempt to buy time and perhaps create a few jobs. They plan a massive rebuilding program for roads, airports, and railroads. This will make contractors, engineering firms, and architects richer…but when the projects are over these jobs will again fade away. They are only investing in the public, government sector and ignoring the business sector which would create permanent jobs.

● I noticed that on this holiday most of the shops and businesses which have to work every possible day to survive, pay their bills, and pay their taxes, were open and did not get to enjoy the day. Meanwhile, all of the bureaucrats, politicians, and companies which survive by suckling from the public teat were enjoying another of their many paid holidays.

● The unions in France are demonstrating today because the Government is planning to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62 in a desperate attempt to reduce their soaring national debts. These unions would rather see the nation fail than give up any of their benefits.

● All of the losing candidates in the primaries and their supporters need to get busy and remove all of their signs from the streets and yards.

I   have often wondered why it is that the conservatives are   called the “right” and the liberals are called the   “left.”
Then by chance stumbled upon this verse in the Bible:

Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)
“The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
    but the heart of the fool to the left.”
(Sent to me by Coach Phillip Clikas.)

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.

“Heed the Call…or America Will Fall”

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.

“Restore America”-

This weekend a truly unique and spectacular rally was held at the Lincoln Memorial in our nation’s capital city. A crowd estimated at over 200,000 assembled at the call of popular conservative talk show host, Glenn Beck. They came on a mission of expressing their peaceful, patriotic concern over the future of our great nation. They carried no political banners; they had no clever signs protesting the actions of our government. These attendees came in a spirit of reverence and concerned prayer, seeking guidance in their participation in helping to “Restore America”.

Glenn Beck delivered a sincere message of concern for our country and what it stands for. He stressed the idea that we must return our nation to basic Christian precepts in order to overcome the destructive effects on the US society which has resulted from the growing secular progressive influences within our culture. He stressed restoration of religious influence in our families, our schools, our relationships, and our governments. We must re-embrace morality and character as necessary human attributes. These attributes formed the foundation of our Constitution and formation of our Government in 1776, and must be restored as the basic components of our guidance as a population.

We must remove the sinful “ways of operating” which have corrupted government and business. Recent examples of these corrupt, self serving systems are the disclosure of how the powerful Associated Industries of Florida lobby group has purchased enough political influence to gain control of the Public Service Commission which was intended to protect the consumers from abuses at the hands of the Utility Monopolies, and has instead become a pawn which serves those greedy institutions. Another example is how the septic tank lobbyist managed to further their greedy interests by getting irresponsible legislation passed under the guise of an environmental need. In both instances the rights of the citizenry are reduced, and money is taken from the suffering, helpless public.

Beck is right. We must “Restore America” or we will see our once great nation fade into commonality. History is replete with similar examples where social and moral decay of a nation’s population resulted in that nation’s decline from an era of greatness to become a land of struggle, strife, and reduced quality of life. These examples include the “Roman Empire” which once covered most of the civilized world, the “Days of Spanish Glory” and the Spanish Armada which stretched tentacles of exploration throughout the New World, and the tremendous breadth and power of the “British Empire” which spanned the globe. All of these great nations rose to days of glory, power, and affluence, then suffered moral and social decay which led to intense divisiveness, corruption and greed. Finally each nation was reduced by internal failures from its days of glory to become a struggling shadow of what it had been. ….America is on course to repeat these unlearned lessons from history.

Glenn Beck is sounding an alarm. We must begin to put “America First”, or we will suffer a fall to depths of economic and social decline which might seem unfathomable to many. We must put AMERICA before:

● Any Republican agenda

● Any Democratic agenda

● Any Environmental agenda

● Any Union agenda

● Any Minority agenda

● Any Business agenda

● Any World Order agenda

● Any Religious agenda

● Any Personal agenda

The American society must focus on the “Restoration of America”, which includes restoration of the basic values of honor, character, morality, and Godliness which our forefathers placed at the forefront of our nation when it was born. If we allow the social progressive movement to continue to weaken, remove and destroy these vital elements from America’s governments, America’s laws, and from our basic social structure, we are forming an environment which assures future generations of misery and suffering.

We must take Glenn Beck’s call to heart. He spoke only as a patriot and as a very concerned American citizen. He is “Getting It Right”, I hope our nation does the same.
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-

● Always say something nice (Keeping my New Years Resolution)…Isn’t it great to see businesses doing their part to give back to the community they serve. The policy at Zaxby’s to engage in helping identified needy families in the area is heartwarming. We should also mention other examples of restaurants in the community demonstrating their desire to help the citizens of Jackson County. These would include Sonny’s engaging in a special fund raiser within the restaurant at Christmas to buy toys for needy children, and Madison’s having special spaghetti suppers as fund drives for the Cub Scouts. These are wonderful businesses doing wonderful things to help those who need support.

● I hope the beautiful, computerized Chipola entrance sign on Kelson Avenue isn’t against Marianna City Codes. It has flashing lights, changing scrolling text, and may be illegal. Of course it is also beautiful, informative, modern, and classy….but that often doesn’t matter.

● I do not blame Mr. Carmichael, the owner of the historic Stone Hotel, for protesting against the City by putting up a sign stating the city had taken control of his property. The existing codes have rendered the building unusable and thus have caused him to suffer a great financial loss. Their inflexible approach to this beautiful historic structure will eventually result in it being torn down and that part of our history being lost. The city would be better served if they attempted to find remedies which would result in restoration and continued usage.

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.

“Public Servants” or “Lords and Overseers”?

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.

I am convinced that somehow the American public has been a victim of a role reversal with the political bureaucracy which has grown steadily over the past fifty years. When I was a young man I often heard such terms as “Public Servant”, “Servant of the People”, and “Public Service” when describing the role of the bureaucracy within the American system of government. It seems that those terms have migrated in meaning as the power of the bureaucracy has grown, until today they have become oxymorons.

I believe we have evolved into a system which closely parallels the medieval system which existed between the rulers of that day and the poor serfs which lived and managed to scrape out their survival in the boundaries of their kingdoms. Government was closely managed and controlled by an “elitist” group which consisted of the extended royal family, their friends, and the politically connected part of their society. Entry into this select group was difficult to accomplish, and those Counts, Countesses, Dukes, Duchesses, Earls and Earlettes, Knights and Knightesses, and other members of the royal establishment enjoyed lives of lavish riches enabled by the power of their positions.

They lived from the plunder garnered from the poor, hard working serfs who toiled the fields and as the harvest was gathered had to yield a significant portion of their gains to the King, leaving them with less than was needed for the survival of them and their families. They were servants to the government, living lives of torment and misery at the pleasure of the governing elite. For their sacrifices they were afforded the pleasure of living on the land, protection from enemies, and management of the affairs of government. Their liberties, choices, and opportunities for gain were yielded to the needs of the decadent ruling class.

As I hear news stories relating to the abuses of today’s all knowing, all consuming, bureaucracy I can not help but draw comparisons to the medieval system of government. It appears they are no longer the “servants of the public”, and have instead become “Overlords of the Public”. The people of America are now working to serve the needs of the bureaucracy.

For their wonderful services our governments are taking over 50% of our earnings, restricting and regulating our every move, and controlling all of our properties. We see them boarding their government aircraft, riding in their chauffeured limousines, dining at great banquets, riding in their yachts, and living their lives of luxury as they rule our lives. All of this extravagance is bought through their power over our lives. Our bureaucracy has become the elitist ruling class.

Today the average federal worker earns over $120,000 per year, while the average non-government worker earns just over $65,000. These figures do not include the lavish government benefit packages which include generous vacation and sick leave programs, generous health plans, and retirement programs which offer almost full wages and benefits after retirement, often garnished with huge accrued benefit “buy outs” and retirement “drop” double dipping programs. They have steadily increased their spoonfuls from the public till, loosened the eligibility requirements, and increased their annual “take” from the public coffers, as their numbers multiply by exponential leaps.

It sickens us all to hear of the extravagance, corruption, and waste of our tax monies as the inept herd of bureaucrats and protective politicians continue to enact laws and rules which reduce our rights, restrict our freedoms, and generally make our lives unnecessarily more miserable. Add to this the stories of corruption involving bribery, trading government jobs for favoritism, and the passage of huge salary and benefit packages for themselves.

Simultaneously the plight of the serfdom general public has steadily worsened as costs have risen, industries have waned and died, regulations increased as freedoms have been lost, and our standard of living has declined. We are merely “slaves” to the political elite of today’s “American System”.

Personally, I hold our leaders totally responsible for the plight of our nation, and the possible plight of the world. Their system of organized corruption, self serving decision making, and placing retention of position and power ahead of national needs has created a system which is so huge, so mismanaged, so corrupt, and so entrenched that correction may be impossible. I see the elections of the next decade as the last opportunities for reversal of our negative downslide as a nation. Unless we can find, support, and elect true patriots instead of mere politicians…we are destined for failure.

As patriotic, caring Americans we must muster all of our available resources, strengths, and time to regaining control of our nation. We must return to basic beliefs, concepts, and ways of running our nation. Only then can we begin to “Get It Right”. We are certainly “Getting It Wrong” right now.


Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning –

● (Always include something nice) I applaud Richard Harrison for his personal effort to inform and arouse the public over the future impact of the ill conceived Septic Tank Laws which were passed during the last legislative session. He is a good example of an individual citizen taking action on his own for a good cause. We all need to support his efforts. (See story on front page.)

● In regards to this terrible new law which will take away more of your property rights, add to the bureaucracy, and cost all rural property owners thousands of dollars…. It appears to me that once again the general public is sitting back and being stupidly quiet while this new law takes effect. Just as no one attended the Public Service Meetings on electric rate increases the year before the rates were approved, (only about ten local citizens took time to attend the meeting) and then hundreds became outraged months later when they got their outlandish power bills…they are again not coming to the meetings on this septic tank law. “Speak now or forever pay through the nose.”

● Shame on all of you who did not take the time to vote on Tuesday or during the early voting period, or by getting an absentee ballot and simply mailing it in. If you are one of the lazy 18,919 Jackson County citizens who did not vote, then you are in effect saying you are happy with the way our nation, state, and local governments are operating. You have no right to complain over your taxes, utility bills, school system, bureaucratic rules and regulations which control your life, fees required, permits required, inspections required, fines, or anything else the “system” does to you. Just keep your mouth shut until you finally get up off your duff and take part in our nation’s processes.

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.

Our Economic Engine Has Been Choked Too Much

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.

The funding and financial support provided to hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the nation has historically been provided by the thousands of banks spread across the land. Many of these banks are not the “too large to fail” New York variety, but are instead the small “hometown” banks which are an integral part of the financial health of their local communities.

The Washington elites tout the need for jobs creation, and with each unemployment report they seem to be desperately seeking good news on jobs creation in the private sector of the economy. Jobs creation will never occur under the existing banking climate.

This “economic engine” for our economy has been choked into an inoperative condition by federal overregulation since the housing crisis nearly bankrupted the nation two years ago. It seems that government can never find the range of “common sense” in its regulatory processes. They always seem to have the pendulum of control swung too far to the left….or too far to the right. This has certainly been the case in their approach to banking regulation.

During the “Boom” period of highly speculative investing and easy credit which prevailed during the ten years or so prior to the bursting of the “housing bubble”, the liberal “federalcrats” decided to convert the entire banking system into one huge “Habitat” program by forcing banks across the nation to make high risk home loans to people who had little chance of paying off a mortgage. Owning a home was made into another expensive and ultimately disastrous, “social entitlement” for America’s poor. Banks were harshly criticized and even penalized if they did not introduce into their loan portfolio’s the required number of minority and low income loans. Credit was easy to get, and loans were often knowingly made for more than the property was worth.

Then the financial system fell apart…bailouts…fear of depression and complete failure of the banking system… Wall Street plunges…banks and brokerages fail…our world changes.

Today those same Federal Bank Regulators who “forced fed” bad loans into every bank have introduced a set of operating rules and standards for these hometown banks which has effectively shut down the system. As a result, small businesses are unable to expand, and in many instances are unable to maintain the needed cash flow for continuation of operations. The lack of available financing is causing many small businesses to close, thus costing our nation jobs instead of creating those jobs the administration is seeking.

One aspect of the lending process in which new, strict regulations appear to be regulating in an especially “bureaucratically stupid” manner is the property appraisal process. They have forced appraisers to use ultra, ultra conservative measurements, have forced borrowers to have multiple appraisals performed, and have prohibited appraisers from living near the area where the property is located….thus increasing the inaccuracy of the appraisal due to lack of knowledge of local conditions.

Regulators are also requiring banks to have many properties with existing mortgages reappraised even if the loan is current and the borrower has never had a late payment. When these reappraisals demonstrate that the property value is deemed to be inadequate to cover the outstanding balance of the mortgage in effect, the bank is then forced to demand an immediate payment for reduction of the loan principal to a satisfactory balance….or the loan is “called”. This action often results in failure and forfeiture, even though the borrower was properly paying the debt. Bureaucratic idiocy.

The ability of local bankers to make business decisions based on their knowledge of the individuals, the nature and potential of the business, or any other personalized aspect of the evaluation is gone. It is purely a “numbers game”, with the rules dictated by federal banking authorities. Bank owners can no longer run their own business… big brother is in charge.

This is the environment in which Jeff Kindelspire has been desperately trying to get needed financing to complete his project at Kindel Lanes for the past two years. His creditor, Bank of Jackson County, resisted the pressures exerted by federal bank authorities for as long as possible, but the bank was finally forced to take foreclosure action against that popular local business. They had little choice in the matter. Thus, another small business was caused to fail.

Banks need to make loans for survival. That is their primary source of income. Because these restrictive regulatory practices have almost shut down the lending processes, many banks are in trouble. Bailout funding has only been available to banks deemed too large to fail by the Administration, or those “special” banks who have relatives of politicians on their bank boards, or have strong union or politically powerful investors.

What should be done to resolve this desperate situation?

In my opinion, more control should be returned to local owners and managers of banks. The overdone restrictions on appraisals should be relaxed somewhat, recognizing the decline in marketability of many properties in today’s market. Loan security and initial payments on equity should be set at the levels which were required in the 1970’s, around 20%. All loan considerations should be made on an ability to repay basis with no regard given to minority status or low income condition.

Special “stimulus” programs should be made available to banks in conjunction with the Small Business Administration loan guarantee programs to increase funding availability to small businesses. This will increase employment, stop business failures, and enhance local economies. Even if some of these loans fail….it is better than spending money on sidewalks no one will ever use.

Those risky low income loans which the government previously forced banks to make as part of their national “housing entitlement plan” in which they turned the entire banking system into a welfare program, should not be counted against the bank’s financial condition today. Those government imposed loans should be pulled off the bank’s portfolio of loans and transferred to a government account. This will help struggling banks improve their ratings, and properly place responsibility on the shoulders of the government where the blame should rest.

If they will focus on revitalization of the local banking systems across the nation they will be “Getting It Right”.

Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-

● (Always Say Something Nice)...I am very pleased to discover funding is available for the repair and remodeling of our County Court House. In its present condition it is a scar on the face of Marianna.

● The Administration just passed a $27 Billion bailout of state funding for the School Systems. Many are saying it is primarily a “Gift” to the teachers union and SEIU. Proof that campaign donations do pay returns.

● The foreclosure action against Kindel Lanes is a sad event. If you want evidence of the recession and hard times in our community, this is an example. Other recent examples would be the closing of Cornerstone Restaurant, Jema’s, Century Lighting, Angie’s Kitchen, Habana, and the changes at Peoples First Community Bank, and the Bank of Bonifay are all examples.

● Our nation is still sinking…..When I listen to the news each day I think I have the same sensations that passengers on the Titanic must have experienced. I can hear the band playing on the upper deck from Washington. They are trying to calm my nerves and telling me all is well, while I continue to hear deep rumbling sounds around me, and feel the deck tilting as our economy tries to remain upright. I know it can not continue to remain afloat under the overwhelming weight of government, over regulation, horrendous wasteful spending, and continuing corruption. All they seem to be doing to try to save the day is…. rearrange the deck chairs.

● Another local horse has that mosquito borne equine virus. Health officials are telling us to stay indoors during the evenings, and to clean out our gutters. ….Why don’t they tell business owners to fill in those EPA mosquito ponds they had to build behind their buildings? They have created a public health danger and are ignoring it.

America’s School System is a Miserable Failure

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.

In my opinion the national approach to educating the youth of our country is a terrible failure. The remarks I will make in this column are not pointed at our local school system, because I feel we in our community are blessed with a system which is functioning at a level far above the miserable performance levels which predominate across the land. Admittedly, there are hundreds of thousands of dedicated, hard working, qualified educators working to educate our nation’s children. Unfortunately, there are also hundreds of thousands of unqualified, uninspired, lazy, and uninspiring people with the title of “teacher” working in a unionized system which provides them tenure and protection.

Across the nation, the graduating product of the existing education process is a young adult which can barely read and do basic math. They have little knowledge of history, geography, government, physics, biology, social skills, health, proper English, writing skills, science, and other needed areas of personal development. Their main skills are the ability to text on a cell phone, operate a play station….and be “cool”. We are suffering from a general “Dumbing of America”.

The problem is NOT lack of expenditures. The United States spends more money per student than any other nation, yet our comparative student scoring reveals that we rank near the bottom of all industrialized nations. Throwing more money at this problem is not the solution. In fact, in areas which invest the most per student, such as Washington D.C., the scoring is lowest. The problems lie with our basic approaches and philosophies.

This tragic situation exists from our Primary Education Schools through our High Schools. How has this situation been allowed to develop in a nation steeped in a rich history of technological and social development? What negative factors have entered the involved processes? What should we do to correct this national disgrace?

It is interesting to note that this same deplorable condition does not exist in our national schools of “higher learning”. The colleges of America are institutions which are revered throughout the world, and hundreds of thousands of foreign students travel to our country for the privilege of going to college here. What are the differences in our approach to college level teaching and primary and high school teaching?

It appears to me that the situation in our public schools has evolved over the past forty years because of the influence of several negative factors working in concert to diminish the effectiveness of our educational systems. In my opinion, the principal negative components are:

● The unionization of the school system teachers and employees. The presence of unions within the educational process introduces an influence which is focused on serving its membership instead of serving the students. This is a diversion of focus. Unionization has led to a system of tenure in most schools which protects teachers who are unqualified, non performing, and are a costly “drag” on the system. For example in the New York school system there are over 1000 teachers who are paid full salary and benefits, but are so bad in performance, work habits, and behavior that no principal within the system wants them on their staff. They are thus paid to not teach….just because of their union protection. This represents millions of dollars which are needed in the classrooms but must be paid to these incompetent, worthless teachers.

● The introduction of bureaucratic and political influences via the funding processes. School systems are no longer controlled by local opinions, philosophies, and desires. Instead, they are now regulated by politically motivated oversight which emanates from the federal Department of Education, and the state departments of education. In order to qualify for the myriad of grants, funds, and programs from the federal and state agencies, the local school board and Superintendents must fully comply with every bureaucratic edict, regulation, rule, and wish the herd of overseers at those upper levels spew out. They can only ask “How high?” when ordered to “jump”. This situation has led to the removal of God from education, removal of corporal punishment, adherence to rules of “political correctness”, excessive administration and overhead, and involvement with a long list of social welfare programs which have been imbedded within the educational system. These place emphasis on teaching those students who have refused to participate and learn throughout their student history, while often neglecting the needs of those exceptional students who wish to progress and learn.

● The development of a “sue, sue, sue,” society led by a horde of hungry lawyers. Just as our doctors are forced to practice defensive medicine out of a fear of being sued in today’s lawyer dominated society, our school boards live in an environment of fear of being sued because of some school program, philosophy, or action. Because of this they constantly practice “defensive education”. This fear has led to removal of corporal punishment, the idiotic rule of a teacher never, never touching a student, removal of all prayer or semblance of a prayer from all school functions, the involvement of the courts and police to handle many discipline problems which should be handled by school authorities as routine incidents. This fear has also multiplied the cost of record keeping and detailed documentation of every action taken in enforcement of school rules. This fear has led to every school needing a costly full time police staff on site.

● The continuing disintegration of the family structure within our society which leads to lowering of moral standards, drug use among youth, an absence of religious influence, and a general decline in personal character and values. This is exhibited by a society in which over 50% of the children are born out of wedlock, thus leaving the child with no father influence. The evolution of values and beliefs based on a social philosophy in which we should rely on government to provide us with all needs instead if stressing the need for self reliance, hard work, and providing for oneself an your family. As our reliance on government is increased from generation to generation of entitlement minded citizens, the emphasis and need for a good educational foundation for survival is rendered unnecessary. Consequently educational requirements and standards have been lowered, in some instances enabling a student who can not read to graduate.

What can we do to begin the process of correction and change which must occur if we ever hope to create an educational system which will “do the job” for our children? What should we do?

#1. I feel we must return control of the educational processes for primary and high school student development to local control. We must enact legislation which prohibits supervision, regulation, and attaching of “funding strings’ by state and federal agencies.

#2. All tenure protections should be eliminated.

#3. School funding, teacher pay and staff pay should be based on a fairly conceived and designed system of performance measurement. If a staff of administrators and/or educators are not capable of teaching our children, the system should identify their shortfall and enable their replacement. Competition should prevail between schools. Good schools should be rewarded and incompetent schools should be penalized and replaced.

#4. Schools should be no larger than 200 students. This will keep schools more closely tied to community involvement and bonding, enhance parental involvement, enable more students to participate in school activities (which I feel are an essential element of the process), and will strengthen the level of individualized attention the teachers and administrators are able to give each student. I realize this will increase costs of facilities and services, but why create huge, impersonal schools which produce an uninvolved, uninspired student.

If we can regain control of our local schools….we will be “Getting It Right”. Choose your elected officials carefully.
Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-

● (Say Something Nice) I am very pleased with the decisions made by the County Commissioners and many City Commissions in regards to taxes this year. They voted to keep the millage rate we had last year, which when applied in many instances to a reduced property valuation will give the overburdened property owners a small iota of tax relief. Only the School Board raised their millage, and that was due to those “strings” attached to funding measures as described in this week’s column.

● Kindel Lanes will be sold on the court house steps on Thursday…a sad state of affairs. We can all walk down our new million dollar stimulus sidewalk and think about how it came to pass as we stroll along. This is an example of the recession impacting our community.

● Football season will be beginning very shortly. That should divert our attention from our national misery.

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.

Opinions and Comments On Current Issues

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.

Arizona:

This entire situation is so filled with anti-American, political, selfish, undemocratic, and downright foolish behavior that I have trouble believing it is actually happening in our country.

The conflict has evolved into a multitude of face to face confrontations and inappropriate government policies which seem unimaginable.

First there is the responsibility of the Executive Branch to uphold the laws enacted by the Legislative Branch. Congress enacted the national immigration policies, procedures, and laws. Now our Executive Branch (Bushes branch included), have refused to have the Federal law enforcement agencies and Federal prosecution personnel enforce those laws. This is a blatant violation of the “checks and balances” prescribed in the Constitution. It is also a disgusting example of selective law enforcement because of political considerations.

This inaction by the Administration then led to Arizona taking steps which were obviously necessary on the part of the state Governor who had the responsibility of protecting the safety and welfare of the citizens of her state. Thus, Arizona enacted its own border protection laws and enforcement procedures, which were in reality merely a restatement of the Federal laws which were enacted by Congress. This action created a loud uproar from a mob comprised of some of the 15,000,000 illegal aliens we are hosting, a portion of the legal aliens on the scene, and bus loads of California union members paid for by various unions in support of the Administration.

This created a historical States Rights Vs. Federal Authority court case which is now working steadily towards a Supreme Court Ruling. Most of the lower federal courts are filled with liberal, Democratic appointee Federal Judges, and Arizona has little chance to win at any level other than the highest court in the land. Anyone who has ever read the Constitution would know what the Founding Fathers would have ruled in this case…their greatest fear was the creation of a powerful central government which would erode the then existing powers of state governments.

What is the real reason for all of this conflict? In my opinion, if Obama is able to maintain control of the House and the Senate after the elections this November, his next step on the immigration front will be to force through legislation which grants citizenship to the herd of illegal’s on a time frame which would give them voting rights before the 2012 elections. They are one of his hopes and strategies for a second term.

Political Corruption:

Charlie Rangal has been renowned as a public shyster, self serving, crooked political icon who was always assured reelection from his Harlem, New York base which exemplified those same characteristics. He was reelected twenty times and has served forty corrupt years. He became so cocky, so outlandishly full of himself and his image of being above the law that it finally caught up with him. Can anything be more representative of the unbelievable idiocy of the Washington scene than for this man to be “Chairman of the Ethics Committee”?? It is an example of how bad our fragile democracy has become. It is another example of why we need to “vote all of the rascals out of office” as soon as we have the opportunity. If it is too late, and we are unable to muster the needed majority….I fear our nation is doomed. I plead for everyone to vote (at least one time even though many of them will be voting several times). We have to “Get it Right” immediately, or we will never get it right again.

The Oil Spill:

Thank God that it appears we are about to permanently get this monster well under control I think several positive lessons may ultimately result from this experience.

First, we must determine what additional safeguards are necessary and force that technology into use.

Second, we must continue to drill but step up access to alternate sources of energy including conversion to natural gas, more nuclear, and drilling in easier to reach oil reserves such as the West, Alaska, and oil shale technology, along with more research on hydrogen cells, solar and wind technologies.

Third, we should create a poised, ready to use response system which can serve the entire Gulf shoreline with skimmers, booms, barriers, and other technology for keeping any released oil from reaching land. This could have been accomplished in this incident if political bureaucracy had not hampered international reaction and mobilization.

Clean Up:

Another thing which is interesting to observe is the ongoing clean-up efforts. It appears that the one thing that all of the experts on the environment failed to plug into the situation was the self healing skills of Mother Nature. It appears that the oil that went into the ocean has been quickly and efficiently broken down by natural microbes, and is effectively disappearing from the problem of clean-up. It appears that the discussion of oil covering the entire shoreline of the Florida peninsula and the Eastern seaboard was in error.

This leaves the problem of cleaning those areas of grassland and shore where the oil did create ecological problems. This oil could have been stopped before it reached those shores if government had not deterred and hindered reaction, but now there is a clean up problem in several areas, primarily in the Louisiana Mississippi Delta.

This is a good example of something our liberal environmentalist should heed, “Mother Nature is still in charge”.



Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-

● (Always say something Nice)… The crew putting the utilities underground around the court house are a very productive, skilled, organized, and hard working crew. They exemplify what good management and motivation can accomplish in the private sector…wish we could accomplish the same in the public sector.

● I commend the County Commission and the Marianna City Commission for not raising taxes to offset the property devaluations which were recognized in the tax roll this year. (Oops- That is two nice things.
“There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.”
Robert Heinlein (1907-1988) (Provided by Dick Kranker)

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.

Taxpayer Alert…Hold On To Your Billfolds!

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.

Well, it is “Smoke and Mirrors” time again. All governments including schools, municipalities, county, and state are busy putting together their annual budgets. This is the time when every department and agency head prepares his/her part of the budget and adds the usual 5%-10% requested “wish list” of increases, then appears before their governing Commissions and appeals for the desired monies. For decades, the governing bodies would then pretend to carefully review each request and then finally award a 3% to 4% increase to the department. They would then herald to the public how they had cut the requested amounts back to only 3% and done their job for the taxpayers. Of course the net impact of compounding 3% increases every year for some 30 to 40 years has gotten us into this mess we are currently facing.

Things began to change for this annual “dog and pony” show last year, as the usual money flow from big brother State and Federal grants began to be reduced due to the economic disasters this nation is facing. Funding availability appears to be lessened this year.

The usual waterfall of funding from higher governments appears to be even less during the coming budget year. Last year some departments managed to get by because they had “pigeon holed’ reserves away in bureaucratic crevices and were able to use these for continuing business as usual. In many instances these reserves are not there any longer.

Now if a business in the private sector faced this dilemma, their immediate course of action would be to reduce staffing through terminations, permanent layoff, temporary layoff, and work schedule reductions. I predict these remedies will not be the action taken by governing authorities in facing the problem this year. Instead, I feel they will attempt to “go back to the well” and dip the pail a little deeper, by raising millage rates and thus dig into the struggling, taxpaying public’s pocketbook. They will adhere to the time honored tradition that bureaucratic jobs are as sacred and protected as sea turtles, and can never be eliminated.

It appears that our property values will be reduced slightly because of pressures created by the obvious market value declines for real estate. However, the taxpayers can expect little or no property tax relief as a result of these re-evaluations, since the governing political bodies will possibly consume those potential savings thru their ability to increase city, school, and county millage rates. Thus, taxpayers had better hold on to their billfolds as tightly as they can…because the long fingers of the bureaucracy are going to be scratching their way into their wallets.

The only good note in all of this sadness is the fact that for many of those elected officials on those Commissions, this is an election year. They may be able to take from us even though we can not afford to pay more….but we can kick the rascals out in November! Remember their actions on funding when you step into that voting booth and you will be “Getting it Right”!



Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning –

● (Always say something nice, My New Years Resolution) Lenox Williams passed away this week. I have known Lenox for many years, since our sons played football at MHS and we worked together in the Boosters Club as proud fathers. He devoted many, many hours to our community, the children of our area, and was always there if a friend needed him. I will miss joking with him.

● Well, they extended the unemployment payments again, paying out past three years of idleness. When do we call it just another welfare entitlement….five years? ten years?

● All of the sidewalks will soon be finished and the construction crews will quit being stimulated, and the census workers will soon be laid off, …..so we can expect unemployment to begin to climb even higher. I personally feel things are worsening as more and more small businesses are failing. Also, the costly foolishness imposed by our uncontrolled EPA is still closing mini-markets across the nation and adding tremendous costs to every new project. Unless something significantly positive helps our economy soon I fear we will soon be eating a second dip of something we do not want.

● At the local level, it appears the County Commission is going to give a 2.5% pay increase to all county employees. This is in addition to adding some $1200 per year in cost to continue to provide fully paid health insurance at new, higher premium levels. This benefit now amounts to about $8000 per year per county employee. Did you get your raise this year????

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of Hatcher Publications.

A Tale of Greed and Corruption In State Politics

Political Influence Buying, the Florida PSC, and Your Electric Bill

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.

If you are one of those citizens who has been amazed, dismayed, and angered by the doubling or tripling of your home or business electric bills over the past three years, then you should read this article. It describes how and why this has been allowed to happen to you. It is, “The rest of the story”.

There was a story released a few days ago relating to the Nominating Council for the Florida Public Service Commission. The release was generally buried on some back section of many publications, even though it is of great future importance to the public.

The story described some of the strategies currently taken by the nominating processes for seats on the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates utility rates and supposedly provides protection from monopolistic abuses for the public. During the past year, all five of the then existing commissioners resisted a move by Florida Light and Power and Progress Energy to gain a large rate increase. Instead of merely “rubber stamping” the approval for the increase (as has historically been the case), this group of commissioners denied the increase. Now we see that four of the five are being removed from the Commission as a flagrant political reprisal for daring to defend the needs of the public instead of feeding the profits of the giant utilities.

My direct involvement with the PSC began about three years ago when the Commission came to Marianna to conduct a public hearing on a proposed huge rate increase for our local utility, Florida Public Utilities. During that hearing I addressed the panel, speaking of the assertions that the commission was “too cozy” with the utilities, and the fact that nine of the past fourteen Commissioners who left the PSC had subsequently gone to work for a utility as a lawyer, accountant, or consultant, thus reinforcing the assertions.

I specifically addressed Commissioner Nancy Argenziano who was newly appointed to the PSC after a distinguished career as a State Senator. While in the Senate she had been openly critical of the PSC and the way it functioned. I reminded her of her previous statements about the unfairness of the PSC, and asked if she intended to work to correct these improprieties. She stated that she did intend to work to create a more fair, citizen responsive PSC while she served.

Well, the huge rate increase went through anyway, but apparently Senator Argenziano was true to her word. Her honesty and opposition to the “old way” of doing business on the PSC eventually resulted in her removal by the nominating council, even after she had served as the distinguished Chairperson of the group. Because of these events, I began a quest to determine how the utilities are able to control the composition and actions of the PSC which is intended to regulate them.

A member of the PSC is nominated by the Governor and approved by the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee. The Governor must select the nominee from an eight candidate listing provided to him by the PSC Nominating Council. Thus, it is the Florida Senate which actually controls this part of the process.

The PSC Nominating Council is a 12 member panel comprised of three Senators, three Representatives, and six other members. They are selected equally by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. The current composition of this panel is: Senator Michel Bennett (Chairman) of Bradenton, Representative Dave Murzin (Vice Chair) of Pensacola, Bevin Beaudet of W. Palm Beach, Tracy Chapman of Orlando, Mike Hightower of Jacksonville, Senator Arethenia Joyner of Tampa, Representative Mark Pafford of W. Palm Beach, Gerri McPherson of Vero Beach, Senator Steve Oelrich of Gainesville, Representative Stephen Precourt of Orlando, Scott Thomas of Jacksonville, and John Vogt of Tallahassee. I researched their backgrounds and major campaign supporters, but could find little linkage to the powerful utilities which mysteriously seems to control their decisions.

As I read numerous articles about the shenanigans of the Nominating Council and the PSC, I ran across a remark made by Senator Nancy Argenziano after she was ousted from her PSC seat for voting against the powerful utilities. She stated in an interview, “It is really the Associated Industries of Florida which pulls the strings on the Nominating Council.” This triggered research on this organization.

It seems the AIF is perhaps the most powerful and influential lobbying organization in Florida. Its mission is to foster the interest of the business community in government. The board of directors for the AIF is comprised of Jeb Bush, and a panel of educators, businessmen, artists, and other seemingly non political people. Again I searched for a strong link to the utilities, but found nothing.

Then I noticed that there was an allied organization, the Associated Industries of Florida Foundation. “Aha!” I thought…. “The foundation is probably the controlling element of their funding. Let’s see who is on the Board of Directors of the AIF Foundation”.

The computer screen switched to the listing of the members of the Board of Directors for the Associated Industries of Florida Foundation ……and the first name to appear was the Board Chairman, Mr. Ed Tancer. It listed Mr. Tancer’s credentials as being Senior V.P. and Vice Chairman for Government Affairs for Florida Power and Light!! The connection I had been seeking was now before me.

The system appears to work this way… (1) The Florida Power and Light Board of Directors of which Mr. Tancer is a member decides which politicians are supportive of their desires. (2) Mr. Tancer directs the Board of the AIF Foundation as to which politicians to fund with AIF monies. (3) The funds are used to buy seats on the PSC 12 member Nominating Council. (4) The Nominating Council only nominates candidates which are aligned with supporting the wishes of the utilities. (5) The Senate committee only approves nominees which have the “correct” outlook. (6) The PSC is thus ready to approve all requested utility rate increases….and (7) Your electric bill skyrockets!

We are describing a dirty, politically corrupt system involving billions of dollars in utility revenues and millions of dollars in political influence buying - all at the expense of Florida residents.

As part of this journey I was privileged to have a telephone conversation with former Senator and PSC Chairperson, Nancy Argenziano. She quickly confirmed that the “chain of political influence” which I had defined, with Mr. Tancer as a key link, is the way the system works. “It was my public disclosure of that fact which led to me being ousted from the PSC,” she explained. “It is a terrible, politically corrupt system filled with hidden funding, payoffs, money laundering, reprisals, and influence buying. It is sad to say, but in most instances, unless you are willing to sell your soul and become part of the corrupt system, you will never rise to a position of authority within the Florida political system. Those elected officials who remain honest and pure are relegated to positions of low importance, rendering them ineffective within the political environment. In my opinion…the Florida Legislative process has been bought,” she stated openly.

“We are talking about billions of dollars,” she continued. “I am encouraged by many of my friends and supporters to again run for office, but I am not sure I still have the energy for it. I may try to form an organization to expose and fight corruption and waste within our government. I feel I could do some good in that effort.”

She went on to describe the intricate system of shuffling funding between 527’s, EOC’s, CCE’s, and Leadership Funds. She described how these organizations operate under names designed to hide their real purpose, such as “The Committee for the Greening Of Florida”, or “Social Interaction Committee”, or some other harmless sounding title. Funding is shuffled between these numerous organizations until they finally are properly distributed between intended political entities. It is a system of money laundering and secretive political financing. It is the way political influence is bought. It explains how our politicians are dirt poor when first elected, earn a paltry salary as a politician, yet are worth millions when they leave their post.

Thus the system has chewed up and spit out another honest politician. The PSC is again being loaded with new members who are hand picked by the corrupt system which I have described. We can all expect higher utility rates in Florida’s future.

Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning –

● I applaud the Marianna City Commission for listening to their business community and responding to their requests. (That satisfies the requirement that I always say one nice thing in this part of my comumn.)

● Historians have stated that a Democracy begins to fail when all citizens can vote, and the non-productive elements of the society become the majority. When they discover they can thus gain access to the public treasury and thus loot for their own betterment, the democracy will soon fall. I wonder if accruing a $13,000,000,000,000 (trillions) deficit could be a clue that this is occurring?

● Our health officials are warning of an outbreak of mosquito borne diseases in our area. They are asking folks to be sure no standing water is around their home. They seem to ignore the mosquitoes which are busy breeding behind every commercial building in town in the EPA required retention pond. Because of their foolish requirements we have brought the swamp to the city, and created a public health danger.

● Let me be sure I have things correct. We have 15 million workers unemployed and are continually extending their welfare unemployment benefits…..while we have 15 million illegal immigrants in our country who came here to work and enjoy our welfare benefits. There must be a better solution, can you see what it is?

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.

State “Springs Protection Bill” Needs Flushing

Unfair, Unreasonable, and Unrealistic for rural areas.

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.

I love the outdoors, our rivers and lakes, our ocean, the blue sky, our abundant wildlife, and our lifestyle here in good ole Jackson County. I also am pledged to defend my personal and property rights, to resist efforts of others in government to legislate their way into my life, my values, and my pocket book. I feel that common ground does exist between these two goals which will reasonably meet the needs of both.

As has been made abundantly clear in previous columns, I feel that the EPA, their state counterpart, the FDEP, and many extreme environmental groups are out of control. They are being allowed to enact rules, policies, and new legislation at the expense of the property rights, personal liberties, and pocket books of private citizens and businesses by an inept, liberal, misguided group of politicians. There is little or no oversight of these agencies, and they wield tremendous, unfettered power.

The latest example of their continuing intrusion on property owners is the “Springs Protection Bill” which was passed during the last legislative session and became law July 1. This was initially a “stand alone” bill which never made it out of committee, and was then cleverly attached to a springs protection bill which then enabled it to get through the law making system.

If this bill is fully implemented as written and intended, it will have a disastrous impact on hundreds of thousands of rural property owners across the state. Additionally, it will require the addition of hundreds of “Craptacrats” across the state, thus growing the size and cost of government as new regulations are enforced.

This bill requires that every septic tank in the state be pumped out and inspected every five years…..whether it needs it or not. If these inspections reveal any divergence from the stringent requirements for septic systems, which already have been enacted, the owner will be forced to upgrade, replace or retrofit, whether it needs it or not. Almost 100% of the systems installed before 1983 would not meet today’s requirements. The cost of permitting and inspecting will amount to hundreds of dollars for each property owner, and the cost of replacement quickly expands into thousands of dollars.

I contacted Representatives Marti Coley and Brad Drake about this new law. I was pleased to find out that Representative Coley voted against the bill. “It is a bad bill, and I did not support it,” Coley stated. “ It might be appropriate for some densely populated areas in other parts of Florida, but it places an unreasonable, unnecessary burden on sparsely populated rural areas such as much of North Florida.” Coley went on to state that she is the Chairperson of a joint Administrative Procedures committee which oversees how agencies are enacting legislation. She hopes that through that oversight she can help influence the application of these new regulations in a manner which creates more reasonable requirements for rural households.

When I spoke with Brad Drake, he was quick to inform me that he also voted against the bill. “It is a bill which is bad for the citizens of North Florida, and I opposed it from the beginning. However, the environmental crowds in the center and southern part of the state pushed it through, and it was signed into law by Governor Crist.” Drake stated that he hoped that during the next session he can form a coalition of North Florida legislators who can push for exemptions for sparsely populated counties.

This issue could cost Jackson County residents hundreds of thousands of dollars if they are forced to fully comply with the legislation as written. The Department of Health will administer the implementation of the new law during the coming months. Property owners with septic systems should remain active and alert on this matter.



Rudiments: Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning-

● Only 112 days until the mid term elections. It should be interesting.

● If you happen to have a copy of our paper from last week lying around the house, please take time to note the look of pure love and adoration the little girl’s face demonstrated as she nestled in the arms of her Dad who had just returned with the 144th. It was a rare picture.

● (Say Something Nice) If you are in a retail store somewhere in the county and see a canister asking for donations to the “Pennies for Pencils” fund, please drop some change into the jar. The money will go to buy necessary school supplies for grade school students whose families can not buy the items, in all county schools…public and private. Often the teachers fill this need by taking money out of their own pockets, and this fund will ease that burden.

● They are getting ready to tear up the streets around the Court House as they put all utilities underground, and landscape a new center median in the street. More misery for local automobiles and drivers…All this Stimulus is hell!



“We were guaranteed by our founders, ‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness’….many today have interpreted that as a Promise of happiness, a car in every garage and a flat screen in every living room!



Personally, I can see the need for tighter regulations in specifically identified sensitive springs areas, such as the “Blue Springs Basin”, but I feel it is over environmental radicalism which is pushing for a state wide application.

Note: The opinions stated in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Hatcher Publications.