Monday, October 31, 2016

Hillary: Incompetent or Criminal?

My View by Jim Yacavone
(October 28, 2016)

On July 5, 2016, the FBI interviewed Hillary Clinton about her use of a private email server while Secretary of State. Hillary either played dumb or was dumb during that interview. Among other things, Hillary claimed she could not recall: 

Hillary: Experience Does Not Equal Competence

My View by Jim Yacavone
(October 6, 2016)

Like Chatty Cathy dolls stuck in an endless loop, Hillary Clinton supporters constanttly assert that she has more “experience” than Trump. They must mean she’s been in government longer because she certainly does not have a record of competence or achievement. 
In her eight years as a senator she had only four bills that became law: the Kate Mullany National Historic Site Act, two bills naming post offices, and a bill designating part of U.S. Route 20 as the “Timothy J. Russert Highway.” Wow, what a record of legislative accomplishment. 

Trump’s Taxes are a False Issue

My View by Jim Yacavone
(September 30, 2016)

In the first debate Clinton suggested that Trump has not released his tax returns because they show he is not as charitable or wealthy as he claims or, perhaps, because he did not pay taxes. To the latter allegation Trump replied, “That makes me smart.”
Clinton supporters take this as a tacit admission that Trump’s returns will reveal he did not have any income tax liability for the years in question. They feign shock and dismay and act like this makes Trump a bad citizen and a traitor to the country. Not only is that monumental hogwash, but if the Clinton faithful actually believe the test of good citizenship is whether you pay income tax you don’t owe it demonstrates they truly are idiots. To paraphrase the Donald, that makes them not smart. 

Deplorable Me, Despicable Hillary

My View by Jim Yacavone
(September 16, 2016)

In the last Presidential election over 61 million people voted for the Republican candidate. The numbers in this election should be in that vicinity. Thus, we can reasonably expect that at least 50 to 60 million voters will support Trump in November. Hillary Clinton believes that half of these voters—some 25 to 30 million— are a “basket of deplorables” made up of “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic” people because they support Donald Trump and disagree with her policies. 

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

My View by Jim Yacavone
(September 8, 2016)

By now there should no question among rational people (which probably excludes hardcore Hillary supporters) that Hillary Clinton is an inveterate liar. Heck, she even lied about her name claiming that she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the man who first climbed Mt. Everest. The problem is that she was born in 1947, and Sir Edmund climbed Everest in 1953. 

What is a Taxpayer's Fair Share?

My View by Jim Yacavone
(September 1, 2016)

Hillary Clinton has run a lot of ads promising to make the wealthy pay their “fair share.” President Obama and the Democrats use the phrase often. This got me to thinking—what is a fair share of federal income taxes? 

We Need Some New Olympic Events

My View by Jim Yacavone
(August 21, 2016)

             I watched a lot more of this year’s Olympics I have in a long, long time. You can do that when you’re retired. While I miss the good old Cold War days when Russia and East Germany were our primary rivals, these Olympics have been entertaining.
We don’t appreciate how talented the Olympic athletes are. I saw a suggestion recently that each Olympic event should include a contestant who is just an average schmoe so we have a baseline to measure the performance of the athletes. It’s not a bad idea. It has the added advantage of injecting a little humor into the Olympics. I’d like to see the average American male attempt the pole vault or shot putt. I’d pay good money to see Rosie O’Donnell on the uneven bars or the balance beam. 

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Bringing More Transparency to County Government

My View by Jim Yacavone
(August 12, 2016)

The King is dead. Long live the King. Those are the traditional words uttered when an old king dies and a new king has been named to take his place. Here in Fannin County, the old king—Commission Chairman Bill Simonds—has not died but done the electoral equivalent by losing the election to a new king, Stan Helton. Helton takes office in January. 

The Role of a District Attorney

My View by Jim Yacavone
(July 29, 2016)

The recent arrest of Mark Thomason, the publisher of this paper, and his attorney, Russell Stookey, on charges of identity theft and making a false statement made me curious about the proper role of a prosecutor in the criminal justice system. 

The Little Piggies of Fannin County

My View by Jim Yacavone
(July 17, 2016)

Most of us are familiar with the game that mothers play with the toes of their infants. It starts out, “this little piggy went to the market” and ends “this little piggy went wee, wee, wee all the way home.” Based upon the amount of trash I see alongside our roads it appears that too many of those little piggies grew up and reside in Fannin County. 

Fannin County Residents Deserve a New Library

My View by Jim Yacavone
(July 2, 2016)

There’s a big debate at the county over how to divvy up the SPLOST funds if the SPLOST referendum passes on the November ballot. There are many competing interests within the county making a case to get a share of the money. I was going to work in an analogy to pigs trying to feed at a small trough but I don’t want to offend any of the involved parties. 

What’s In a Name?

My View by Jim Yacavone
(June 19, 2016)

We have a problem in Fannin County—we don’t have a good, catchy nickname to call ourselves. Instead, we’re stuck with referring to ourselves by cumbersome phrases such as “Fannin County residents” or “citizens of Fannin County.” These phrases lack pizzazz. They make us sound like a census statistic rather than the wonderful people that we are. 

Welcome to Fannin County

My View by Jim Yacavone
(June 4, 2016)

If you are a newcomer to Fannin County you may have heard that the county is run by good old boys who are suspicious of new ideas and resistant to change. You also may have been warned that it’s not a good idea to rock the boat by criticizing the establishment.