Blowin' In The Wind...

Did anyone ever think that all or any of the improprieties that have occurred at the Gilmer County Bank would have ever seen the light of day? Most of us cynically thought that all the shady deals and unethical practices would have simply melted into our conscious as the way that things are done here in Gilmer County. Well, finally, enough of the right people have seen the smoke and some of the banking perpetrators are being held accountable.
Maybe not all of them, but justice will eventually seek out those who are guilty. Someday.

But - don’t fool yourselves into thinking that just because the bank has been sold that it stops there. Far from it. Maybe now the bank will be able to continue operating under the financial umbrella of another stronger institution, but that does not negate the crimes that were committed. A lot of people lost a lot of money. The bank was sold to the current owners from North Carolina for just pennies on the dollar. If you owned any stock in Gilmer County Bank, you saw your value deflated to absurd levels.

It is tragic to think that these criminals do what they do and still sleep at night. They have no conscience. I suppose it falls to the lot of the common people of integrity to hold those bastards accountable. At least attempt to.
So, who comes out the winner here? Well, certainly a few local developers come to mind. Another few former bank officers made out like the bandits that they are. The investigation still continues.

I am just glad that those who spoke out and spoke up about all the goings-on didn’t become dissuaded by all the naysayers who said that it couldn’t be done. All the folks who were willing to turn a cynical “blind eye” and even discourage those who were trying to make a difference are now the first to march in the victory parade.

This kinda reminds me of a similar situation with citizen groups such as the Gilmer Citizens For Fair and Open Government who are trying to make a difference in our county.

There are many out there who say it can’t be done. Some who say it is a waste of time. Others who say the “good ole’ boy” system is too established, too strong. Those who say you’re “blowin in the wind.”

I refuse to believe that.
I refuse to believe the distractors who say change won't happen.
I believe that even one voice can make a difference, but that many can move mountains.

I refuse to live in a county with this type of political atmosphere, and I am not going anywhere.
Who will stand with us?

-FDS

Change Gonna Come...........

Well, the Citizens for Fair and Open Government has had another enlightening meeting last Wednesday evening over at the Bobcat den. Chairmen Michael Mull and Dale Sparks began with an updated report on their meeting with Tax Assessors board members Jeff Holloway accompanied by the ever-faithful Billy Masters.

Mr. Sparks opened the meeting by welcoming all present and thanking everybody for their continued support. Mr. Sparks said that as a matter of “doing the right thing”, that both he and Mr. Mull met with Mr. Jeff Holloway and Billy Masters in an effort to give them the opportunity “to correct the improprieties” that existed within the department over which they had control. “Before they continued forward with a petition for the removal of the Chairman, it was only prudent to give the board an opportunity to make a change” as Mr. Sparks related.

Mr. Sparks then shared in detail, the discussion that took place during their meeting with Mr. Holloway. Several items were discussed including how to improve the public image of the Tax Assessors’ department. Employee attitude became the focus of the discussion at that point according to Mr. Sparks, and he stated that Mr. Holloway seemed receptive to most suggestions.
Other issues that Mr. Sparks said were discussed with Mr. Holloway were the need to cut employee numbers in his office and the growing public outcry over the exhorbant salaries of the Chief Assessor and the Assessors’ assistant. Mr. Sparks said the he also pointed out to Mr. Holloway the fact that he hired an un-qualified person for the position of Chief Assessor in clear violation of GA code. Mr. Mull even showed Mr. Holloway the code book and section that was violated. According to Mr. Sparks, Mr. Holloway gave an evasive reply but promised to “look into the situation”.
Michael Mull was next to speak and went further into detailing the meeting with Mr. Holloway and Billy Masters. Mr. Mull related that assessment equality or “equalization” is imperative if we are to make all county property assessments fair. He went further to explain how that If one person is “favored” in a group and has their tax burden lowered, then the others must “pick up the slack” and pay for the reduction in the payment of the "favored few." As Mr. Mull related, “there are many favored developers, government officials, and other people of local influence” who have had their taxes un-fairly lowered at the expense of others.

Regarding their meeting with Mr. Holloway and Mr. Masters, both Mr. Sparks and Mr. Mull said that they left the meeting “cautiously optimistic” that their issues were received well by the representatives of the Tax Assessors Board, “but the next coming weeks would tell”.

The floor was then opened for questions and/or public comments. Several citizens spoke out about their experiences with the Tax Assessors’ office, but one in particular stood out. A young lady was outraged by the fact that she pays more property tax on her small five acre tract than a prominent local car dealer pays for his 20 acre estate with a large mansion that adjoins hers.
Yeah….. change gonna come…… oh yes it is……..

First Citizens Group Meeting Considered A Success

Tuesday December 1st saw the first meeting of the Citizens For Fair and Open Government Group.


While this group wants to tackle all phases of Gilmer County Government and the Gilmer County School Board, Tuesdays discussion revolved around the Gilmer Tax Assessors Office and the way they are conducting business.


Several citizens got up and either made comments or ask questions.


Most of the comments were from citizens just wanting to thank the organizers for trying to form a group to help all citizens learn how to fight not only their assessments but what can be done to try and bring Gilmer’s county government into proper spending practices and not the wasteful spending that is prevalent today.


They are planning a couple of more meetings and several citizens have offered to help. Information is being compiled as we speak and the next meeting should clarify the direction this group wants to go.


If you want to help please call them or email to:


F. Dale Sparks @ 706-972-0004 or fdalesparks@aol.com


Michael Mull @ 706-669-8881 or mull_michael@hotmail.com


Another group trying to get the word out is the Gilmer Tea Party. Jack Smith chairs them and he can be reached at 706-635-3831.


Everywhere I go people ask me “Where can I go? What can I do? Who can help me?”


Those questions are now answered. All you have to do now is get involved.

Property Owner Whips Tax Assessor In Court

Lois Spence, with her attorney John Capo, took her property assessment all the way to Superior Court and won.

Ms. Spence owns a house on the river and her contention was that due to flooding her house is not livable and cannot ever be put back into livable condition. Structural Engineers testified that her house needed to be destroyed and another home built in its place.

The Board of Assessors fought Ms. Spence and stated she should be paying the full amount of taxes on her improvements even though she cannot live in the house.

Open records reveal that from 6/5/2009 to 9/23/2009, the Gilmer County Board of Assessors has spent almost $11000 to fight Ms. Spence. They also revealed on 9/21/2009 that the Board spent $1500 on a conference between the Board of Assessors lawyer and Tax Assessor personnel Dawn Pruitt, Stan King and Connie Smith regarding their testimony at the trial.

The Honorable Oliver Harris Doss, Jr., Judge heard the case #2007-SUCV-67 on September 21 to September 23, 2009 at the Gilmer County Courthouse.

Judge Doss ruled in Ms. Spence’s favor and it is not known if the Board of Assessors plans to appeal. Appeals will incur even more spending of taxpayers’ money.


All documents pertaining to Ms. Spence’s case have been placed here in a PDF format for citizen review.


It should also be known that since Ms. Spence won, her attorney’s fees are to be paid by the Gilmer County citizens. It was also discovered that 2 Gilmer Commissioners called Ms. Spence’s attorney, John Capo, and asked for a reduction in his fees.

Seems a little late for Commissioners to start showing an interest.

Commission Chairman Mark Chastain has made it clear to citizens that he cannot do anything with the Assessors department. He has stated several times that they are beyond his control. The Georgia Department of Revenue Code section 48-5-295 & 48-5-295.1 clearly states what the Commissioners can do. Does Chairman Chastain really not know or is he just trying to pass the buck?

Code Section 48-5-296 clearly shows what the citizens can do in the event that the Tax Assessors Board does not properly and impartially discharge their duties. It’s time to get these people out of office.

When the State Department of Revenue came in over 3 years ago they stated that Gilmer County needed to be evaluated equally amongst all its citizens. Right now today there is more inequality than at any other time in Gilmer County history.

As a side note it should be known that there are 8 more citizens that have filed to fight the Assessors in Superior Court and there are 12 other cases sitting in Chief Assessor Dawn Pruitt’s office that have yet to be filed. Come on Ms. Pruitt. These 12 people have paid their money. Why have you not filed on their behalf like you are supposed to do? Do your job.

Also there is a citizen that has written a letter to the Board of Assessors Chairman Jeff Holloway stating that he went to the Tax Assessors office and when he left Ms. Pruitt thought he was gone and to her office staff called this citizen stupid. Real class Ms. Pruitt. (This letter will be used in another story about the behavior of our Chief Appraiser).

At present there are 2 groups that want interested citizens to show up and learn how to fight the bureaucracy that is Gilmer County government.

One is the Gilmer Tea Party and their contact is Jack Smith at 706-635-3831.

Another is the Gilmer Citizens For Fair & Open Government and they are holding their first meeting December 1. Their contacts are Dale Sparks at 706-972-0004 and Michael Mull at 706-669-8881.

Call these people and let your voice be heard.

Cowboys and Indians Today

We played it as a kid. Our forefathers lived it. Cowboys and Indians exist still today. Our government is the cowboys and the citizens are the Indians.

Now I’m not talking about federal government, I talking about our own local government. The Commissioners Office, the Tax Assessors Office, the Board of Assessors, and finally the School Board.

These cowboys are ganging up on the Indians just like Governor Gilmer ganged up on the Indians in North Georgia. The Governor slaughtered them actually and the present day Indians are being led to the slaughter just like 170 years ago. The only difference this time is that the Indians are going on their own free will.

Our Commissioners office has been hiring “Consultants” at an alarming pace, friends are being put in positions of power making very good money, contracts are being awarded to whomever with no thoughts on the bid process.

Anytime the county spends over $20,000 on a project this must go out on a bid process. Our Commissioner Chairman actually wanted to raise this up to $50,000. Think about what that means. The Commission Chairman wants to spend more of your money how he sees fit and not how it should be in the best interest of the Indian.

The Chairman talked a good game about how records should be open to the public and has yet to live up to what that means. I have seen more open records go that were not fulfilled than you can shake your tomahawk at.

A “Consultant” was hired to oversee the finishing of the basement in the courthouse for the new 911 center. The mechanical and electrical were put out for bid (because they were over $20,000) and the rest was left up to the “Consultant” to sub out. This “Consultant” put some things out for bid and some he didn’t. Some records have been obtained and they reveal that he didn’t necessarily go with the low bid on those items that were bid out. Even more interesting is to find out that the “Consultant” is not even qualified to do the job. This “Consultant” is a state licensed Residential Contractor. The finishing of the courthouse basement would need a commercial contractor not a residential contractor. Unless of course our Commissioner is going to turn the courthouse into a hotel. With the terrible job our Tax Assessors office and our Board of Assessors has done on the re-evaluation over the past 2 years we all may be living in the courthouse. Would that not be ironic? Our old courthouse was a hotel turned into a courthouse and our new courthouse will be a courthouse turned into a hotel.

Our Board of Assessors just battled a Gilmer property owner in the courts and lost. The judge ruled that the Tax Assessors office was unqualified is some aspect of appraising. This happened over 3 weeks ago and the ruling has still not been recorded so the Indians can see what happened. The Board of Assessors has 6 more cases for the judges to hear. The Chief Appraiser was quoted as saying the one case they lost will cost over $40,000 when it is heard again on appeal. The Indians are footing the bill so the cowboys can fight the Indians in a court of law.

Again, an Indian won a case in court against the cowboy board of assessors and the cowboys are appealing and spending the Indians money to appeal with. The Chairman of the Board of Assessors should be fired for not living up to his purpose in office. His purpose is to see that the right thing is done for all Indians. He is doing exactly opposite. In fact, the entire Board needs to be fired. They not only failed in the mandates that the state laid down but they failed in upholding the trust of the Indians.

The failings of our school board will be discussed later.

It is time for the Indians to stand up.

I propose that all Indians do not pay their property taxes when they come due at the end of the year. Come January 1st, 2010 go to the Tax Commissioners Office and tell them you can’t afford your property taxes and that you wish to set up payments. Better yet just wait until the first of April and make a payment. Tell them you’ll see them in another 3 months with another payment. What are they going to do? Let the cowboys try to run their government without the Indians money.

Come on Indians. It’s time to rally around the campfire. We have to fight. If we don’t, the next teepee lost may be your own.

Learn From History Or Repeat It

Through studying, I have come to think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is simply a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. These do exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it. A perfect storm is brewing and there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten to fifteen years. The pace has dramatically increased in the past two years.

We demand then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back. Why?

We learned just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has “loaned” two trillion dollars - $2,000,000,000,000.00 - over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700 billion we all argued about just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who ask for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of “we the people,” who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it simply wants marriage to remain defined as between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?) We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a Banana Republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, and social security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire local, state and federal governments. Our education system is worse than a joke; the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x ten…and we are at war with an enemy we cannot even name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who, in turn, cannot wait to slit the throats of our children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And finally, we have elected a man that no one really knows anything about. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary. Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Of course not. The media would never play that for us over and over and then demand he answer it.

Mr. Obama’s winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now.

This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning.

I thought I would never come to experience what the ordinary German must have felt in the mid-1930’s. In those times, the “savior” was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they should have known was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed: he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory. Conservative “loser” read it right now.

And then there were the promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and frowned and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his “brown shirts” would bully and beat them into submission. Which they did regularly. And then, he was duly elected to office, while a full-throttled economic crisis bloomed at hand, the Great Depression. Slowly but surely he seized controls of government power, person-by-person, department-by-department, bureaucracy-by-bureaucracy. The children of German citizens were at first, encouraged to join a youth movement in his name where they were taught exactly what to think. Later, they were required to do so.

How did he get people on his side? He did it by promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and rewards for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe, and across the world. He did it with a compliant media. Did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and……….CHANGE. And the people surely got what they voted for.

Many people of conscience objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and ridiculed. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930’s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though. And the world came to regret that he was not listened to.

Do not forget that Germany was the most educated, the most cultured country in Europe. It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And yet, in less than 6 years, it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors

I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across 70 years; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me.

I choose to believe the evidence. No doubt some people will scoff at me. Others laugh, or think I am foolish, naïve, or both. To some degree, perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe and why I believe it.

This Rocky Road is not an Ice Cream

Let’s face it: most Americans live in a world of false security. This is understandable, given the fact that the majority of the U.S. population was born after 1945. Few remember the dangers and hardships of World War II; fewer still remember the Great Depression. Few Americans know what it’s like to not have some sort of “super center” nearby with shelves stocked with every kind of food imaginable, twenty-four hours a day. Few know what life was like before there were restaurants of all sizes and types on every street corner in America. Only a handful remembers when most roads were unpaved, or when sports were truly a pastime and not a megabuck obsession.

Modern living in America has created a giant unsuspecting, soft, lackadaisical, and lethargic society. We expect the government to keep our streets safe, our roads paved, our stores stocked, our jobs secure, and our enemies at bay. However, in the desire to make government the panacea for all our problems, we have sold not only our independence, but also our virtue.

Where the federal government was contracted (by the U.S. Constitution) to accept limited power for the overall good of both states and people, it has become a monster of gargantuan proportions, claiming authority over virtually every liberty and right known to man. And in the process, it decided it didn’t need GOD, either.

It is no hyperbole to say that the U.S. federal government has been on a “Ban GOD” bandwagon for the past 50 years. Whether it kicks prayer and bible reading out of school, bars military chaplains from praying in Jesus’ name, burns bibles in Iraq, removes state supreme court chief justices from their positions for posting the Ten Commandments, or threatens high school principals with jail for asking the blessing, the federal government has invoked the judgment of Heaven upon our country as surely as did the Old Testament Israel.

Although the comfortable, sports-crazed, TV addicts probably aren’t paying attention, this country is on the verge of an implosion like you cannot believe. For anyone who cares to notice, the signs are everywhere.

First of all, Israel and Iran are on the verge of war. Right now, I’m not concerned with the “why” or “who’s right or wrong” of the equation. I’m simply telling you, war between Israel and Iran could break out at any time. When it does, the chances that it will not become nuclear and not become global are small.

Secondly, America is on the verge of total financial collapse. By the end of this year, America’s budget deficit will stand at around $2 trillion. The debt gap is many trillions more than that. The nail in the coffin for America’s fiscal health will be the decision by China to dump the U.S. dollar. This will be the death knell for our financial stability and a painful lesson in sowing and reaping.

It is estimated that China owns around one-third of all U.S. debt. If and when China dumps the U.S. dollar, there would be nothing left to stabilize it and even higher inflation will ensue. America will be thrown into financial chaos. If one doubts that China is planning to dump the dollar, consider that China is currently purchasing and stockpiling gold at an unprecedented level. This is why gold has suddenly surged to over $1000 per ounce and why it will continue to rise.

Third, the paranoia regarding the Swine Flu being demonstrated by both government and media spokesmen begs a giant push for some type of “government solution.” If they keep hyping the “pandemic,” mass hysteria and fear (created by the government and its lackeys in the media) will result. This would necessitate some form of forced vaccination, quarantine and martial law. Maybe this is what all those internment camps will be used for.

Exactly how and when all of the above will actually materialize is yet to be seen. There is no doubt, however, that within the next few months, the world that we know today is going to vanish. Most Americans are totally unprepared for what’s coming.

If you are able to get out of debt, do it. If you need to scale down your lifestyle in order to be better prepared for difficult days, do it. If you don’t have guns and ammo, buy them. If you have not prepared some sort of preserved food pantry, do it. If you don’t have some sort of survival plan in place for you and your family, get one. If you are not physically fit, get in shape. If you are able to move to a more secure, out-of-harm’s-way location, do it. In other words, get your nose out of the boob tube, get your bottom off the easy chair, and get busy.

Am I worried or discouraged? Absolutely not, but I am preparing. The potential good that may result from all of the above is that perhaps GOD will protect and raise up a remnant of people who would be willing to rebuild a place where Natural Law is respected, constitutional government is revered, and where a ubiquitous, loathsome, overbearing government is far, far away. Like maybe 233 years ago.