& EDITORIALS
Declare among the
nations, and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not; Jeremiah 50:2
2016 and 2017 winner:. Editorial Page excellence
2016 winner:, Sports Photography excellence
2016 winner:, News Photography exceUence
2016 winnen Front Page excellence
2017 wtnn~n, Best Humor Column - On the Porch
ON THE PORCH by Will Davis
Monroe Co. goes to town
M~:lnroe County put its best foot forward at the
te capitol last Thursday (see page 3A).
Well some ofus did. I was walkingto the cap-
entrance with county commissioners George
mami and John Ambrose, feeling pretty spe-
cial in my pinstripe suit, normally reserved only for funerals.
Then I looked down and realized I wasn't as sharp as I
mighfve hoped. On one foot, I spied a brown loafer. On the
other foot, I spied a different brown loafer, this one with tas-
sels. No, they did not match.
So as we met the governor and other state leaders, I did not
put my best foot forward. I did
not put any foot forward. I merely
tried to hide my size 13s behind
the 30-something other Monroe
CounW leaders there.
Other than the editor, Monroe
County showed well in Atlanta.
l'm not sure how important that
is. As was overl~eard at the capi-
tol: Try to live you~, life in such
a way that you never need a
dime from the glad-handers who
run state government. Someone
else asked why state lawmakers
spend $50,000 to run for a job ~~~ ~
that pays $18,000 per year. Thafs
like the question about Bill and
Hillary Clinton: How did they
spend their entire lives in government and yet somehow came
out as multi-millionaires? One member of our team said the
state should either offer waders for visitors for all the bullcrap
they have to plow though in the hallways, or perhap~ install
showers at the exits for those stained while there.
Politics is an oily business, and every state capitol is full of
glad-handers, back-slappers and ladder-climbers. Ifs a great
place to visit if you don't make your bed there.
That said, Monroe County has a strong legislative delega-
tion which put last weel~s event together, and they noted that
the county's leadership is as strong perhaps as it's bee~ The
pmo they said, will likely come in more jobs and growth in
Monroe Coun
One thing Forsyth has gotten from the state is a grant for
streetscape improvements, more than a decade ago. Ifs finally
been used. Crews finished installing light poles and painting
lines on Johnston Street this week. It looks great. Go check
it out by patronizing the businesses on Johnston Street like
Jonah's Brick Oven and City Barber Shop that have been
hurt by the work.
Je.
Another hmnorous moment while on the trip came when
Ambrose's smart phone began ringing.
~relemarketer, sighed Ambrose, ~ atch this.
He answered on speaker phone. The caller wanted to know
if this was '~Ylr. Ambrose" and wanted to sell him something
related to his 2017 Ford truck.
' Well, shoot, you're.not gonna believe this, but I was DUI
last night and totalled that truck," deadpanned Ambrose.
There was a pause on the other end.
'wen, rm sorry to hear "
Before she could finish, Ambrose got going again.
'~Do you think you could send me some bail money? Fm sit-
ting here in the Monroe County JaiL"
'~Ylr. Ambrose rm very sorry about that and I'll take you off
our call list." Click. We were dying.
I think I'll try this next time I get a telemarketing call
Rebekah Storey wins a '~Vlade Mary Persons Great Again"
T-shirt for correctly answering the trivia question that the
working public pay phone with the On the Porch column last
week was at Jackson's Country Store on Hwy. 74.
Burnett Hull also answered that there's a public pay phone
at Twyla Faye's Cafe in Bolingbroke. And Jane Newton
reports that Forsyth's train depot has a working pay phone
and so does the KOA Kampground. So maybe pay phones in
Monroe County are not as pass~ as we thought? So here's my
question this
week= Nolen
Howard
reminds us
that it was
45 years ago
this week
that Forsyth
was hit with
a major
snowstorm,
as seen on
the front
of the 1973
Reporter.
How much
snow did we
publisher@mymcr.net after 12
get? First correct answer at
noon gets a T-shirt.
tbz Mom~ Cowry
www. MyMCR.net
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, President. Robert M. Williams Jr Vice President
Cheryl S. Williams, Secretary-Treasurer
OUR STAFF
Will Davis Trellis Grant
Publisher/Editor Business Manager
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Publication No. USPS 997-840
PEACH STATE POLITICS by Kyle Wingfield
lever like to start an argument and mal substantial changes
assuming bad intentions on to two elements of the adoption bill
meone else's part. So I take itself.
te senators at their word On Thursday, the House respond-
en they say they'worry ed. The chamber tweaked the lan-
allowing more adoptive parents to
cover certain living expenses for birth
mothers will drive up the cost of
adoptions.
I just think they're
wrong.
The bill that has
loomed over this es-
sion so far- and was
destined to do so since
legislators gaveled out
and left town last year
without resolving the
issue -- re-emerged
Thursday. rm
about House Bill 159,
which would update
Georgia's adoption
laws.
Having taken the
weekend to consider
their position, sena-
tors returned to the Gold Dome on
Monday and appreved the bill, send-
ing it to Gov. Nathan Deal, who says
he l sign it. But it's worth recounting
the history here since legislators
are expected to continue studying
the issue of living expenses for birth
mothers.
A brief recap since last March:
The House was reyally ticked HB
159 didn't-make it across the finish
line in the Senate last year. Speaker
David Ralston insisted his chamber
wouldn't be inclined to take up many
other bills until senators rectified the
situation. The Senate's idea of rectifi-
cation was tacking on a separate bill
GOv. Nathan Deal vetoed last spring,
guage of the previously vetoed bill,
which concerned temporary, private
foster-care arrangements made
via power of attorney, with Deal's
blessing. And it basically
" moved to the Senate's
position on one other
item, which concerns
how long a birth mother
has to change her mind
after surrendering her
parental rights to the
child she's given up for
adoption.
That leaves the ques-
tion of o i,W
expenses such as rent,
groceries or maternity
clothes. Thafs already
allowed for adbptions
arranged by agencies, just
not in so-called private
adoptions handled by an attorney.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Bert
Reeves, R-Marietta, said he's just
trying to level the playing field
between the two types of adoptions.
This is important because agency
adoptions are generally more expen-
sive, often by tens of thousands of
dollars. If a birth mother experiences
complications during her pregnancy,
such as needing bed rest that pre-
vents her from working, adoptive
parents working through an attor-
ney have no choice today but to con-
vert to a higher-cost agency adoption
if they want to help.
You would think, then, that allow-
ing more parents to stick with the
less expensive, private reute if pos-
sible would help more people keep
their adoption expenses down. But
some state senators, led by David
Shafer, R-Duluth, say the reverse is
true.
They argue that merely allowing
for living expenses will create an
expectation of such payments among
all birth mothers, not just those who
truly need them. And that, in turn,
will make private adoptions more
expensive.
That would be more likely if there
weren't a chock in place: In agency
adoptions, any living expenses
must be approved by a judge for
both rationale and amount. HB 159
places the same safeguard on private
adoptions.
More to the point, allowing living
expenses for some birth mothers in
agency adoptions hasn't led to an
expectation of payments by all of
them. It's unclear why that would
suddenly be the case for private
adoptions, especially when the cost
of adopting is the main obstacle
for many couples and should keep
downward press, ure on expenses.
But back to intentions. Shafer tells
a moving story about his own expe-
rience, having been adopted when
he was 11 days old. One may give
him the benefit of the doubt that he
genuinely cares about the welfare of
s'm larly situated children.
It's just hard to believe his fears
will come true.
Kyle Wingfield writes for The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the
Monroe County Reporter and other
newspapers. Reach him and read
more at www.bit.ly /KyleW ngfield.
JUST THE WAY IT IS by
Sloan Oliver
America Great
Again (MAGA) was
Donald Trump's 2016
campaign slogan.
his MAGA
agenda took two giant leaps forward.
The first leap was President Trumps
State of the Union (SOTU) speech.
The second leap was the release
of a Republican memo that fully
debunked the Trump-
Russia collusion nat- ,:,:
rative that the media
and the Democrats (I
repeat myseL0 have
been peddling for over
a year.
TRUMP'S SOTU
address was spectacu-
lar. Newt Gingrich,
historian and former
Speaker of the House,
called Trump's speech
%isionary, optimistic,
emotionally powerful,
and inclusive." Gingrich likened the
speech to those delivered by Ronald
Reagan. Mr. Trump clearly articu-
lated the country's achievements
in the first year of his presidency.
The achievements have been wide
ranging from domestic to economic
to international. The great news
of Trump's first year includes an
expanding and growing economy;
increasing levels of employment due
to job growth; increasing wages and
salaries; historically low unemploy-
ment among blacks and Hispanics;
and increasing world-wide optimism
as proven by advancing stock mar-
kets around the globe. Markets
move forward with stability; and
America and the world recognize
President Trumps policies for what
they're accomplishing - establishing
a climate of economic growth based
on America's economic and political
strength.
THE FOREIGN policy aspect of
President Trump's SOTU speech,
and b is first year in office was in
sharp contrast to Obama's. For eight
years, Obama bragged how he was
'leading from behind." Pathetic and
embarrassing because leaders lead
from the front - not from behind.
Observe the aggressive actions of
Iran and North Korea, over the past
few years, to confirm the failure of
Obama's foreign policy, and how his
foreign policy encouraged aggressors
rather than deterred them. So, upon
inauguration, Trump faced HUGE
foreign policy challenges. Urilike
Obama, Trump refuses to "kick the
can" down the read. And unlike
Europeans, who failed to confront
Hitler in the 1930's, Trump clearly
informed potential adversaries that
he will confront them head on. Syria,
Russia, Iran, ISIS, Cuba, and North
Korea all know that the United
States once again has a president
who puts America first and will not
allow them to intimidate or threaten
their neighbors. Trumps foreign
policy is exactly what our allies
want from our president and from
America.
OLIVER
AS INSPIRING as Trump's
speech was, the Democrats opposed
everything he said.
Trump touted the record
low black unemployment;
he touted the 2.4 million
jobs created in 2017; and
he touted rising wages
among all workers. All
of this is great news for
America. You would think
that Democrats would
celebrate those accom-
plishments. They didn't.
They sat absolutely "stone
faced" and applauded
absolutely nothing.
Dems are furious that
Trump's MAGA agenda is succeed-
ing. Nothing highlighted their anger
more than when President Trump
praised the capitol building, calling
it a "monument to the American
people." Applause broke out as did
shouts of' OSA, USA." That 'love
of country" was more than Luis
Gutierrez (D-IL) could handle. He
bolted from his seat, seeking a "safe
space" where only anti-American
rhetoric from fellow Democrats
would be heard. Sad.
THEN, LAST Friday, the House
InteMgence Committee released
their highly anticipated memo.
(Read the Memo: https'J/inteMgence.
house.gov/uploadedfiles/memo and
white house letter.pd0 The Memo
highlighted fa ,cts gathered durin
the Committees 12-month investi-
gation into possible Trump-Russia
collusion in the last election. The
Memo's biggest ' tke awa3P' was that
the Trump-Russian collusion narra-
tive was completely debunked. The
Memo confirmed that there was no
Trump campaign collusion. It didn't
happen. If someone still thinks any
Trump-Russian collusion occurred,
they are intentionally misinformed.
However, the most troubling finding
of the Memo was that the FBI and
DOJ abused their powers by politi-
cally targeting those with whom
they disagreed. Equally troubling is
the complicity of the media with the
abuses by federal agencies.
PER memo, Carter Page,
a former Trump campaign staffer,
was the subject of four Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)
surveillances beginning in October
2016. In order to obtain any war-
rant, including a FISA warrant,
factual evidence must be presented
to a judge. The Steele dossier was
the factual evidence presented to the
FISA court to obtain the surveillance
warrants against Page.
SO, WHAT was the ' Steele dos-
sieF and where did it originate?
The dossier was funded by Hillary
Clinton and the DNC to dig up
"dirt" on Donald Trump. The dossier
was opposition research containing
fraudulent information about Donald
Trump. The dossier was compiled by
Christopher Steele- a former British
spy with ties to Russia. Proof of the
dossier's fake information is that
over the past 18 months nothing
in it has been corroborated by any
other sources, and that which can be
preven false, has been proven false.
The FBI and the Department of
Justice (DOJ) knew that the dossier
contained fraudulent information,
and they knew that it was funded
by Hillary. However, they presented
it as factual to the FISAjudge to
obtain the FISA surveillance war-
rant against Page. That was illegal.
SIMPLY PUT, several upper level
directors of the FBI and DOJ want-
ed Hillary to be elected president.
Everyone thought she would but,
just in case, they needed an. ' mur-
ance policy" against Trump should
he So, Hillary, the DNC, upper
FBI, and upper Obama DOJ mem-
bers concocted a plan; they came
up with the Steele dossier as their
insurance policy. The fraudulent
dossier allowed the FISA surveil-
lance. Then, the FISA surveillance
became the basis for the Mueller
special investigation into Russian
collusion. The FBI and DOJ commit-
ted a crime to obtain the warrants.
This abuse is very frightening. Such
abuse is a danger to our democracy.
We have senior members of govern-
ment who attempted a coup against
a duly elated president.
THERE WAS a time, not so long
ago, when major media outlets such
as NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, NPI the
NY Times, and the Washington Post
would have been "all ove ' every
aspect of this corruption. Not now.
The media is complicit. They did
everything possible to insure that
the Memo was never released. Now,
the same media is doing everything
possible to discredit the facts within.
For a year, the media has knowingly
overlooked and disregarded abuses
by Democrats and federal agencies.
Scary.
WEEKLY Quote: ' Sunlight is
said to be the best of disinfectants."
Justice Louis Brandeis
Sloan Oliver is a retired Army offi-
cer. He lives irr Bolingbroke with his
wife Sandra. Email at sloanoliver@
earthlink.net.
