The Citizen Newsletter

The Conservative Voice of Henry County

Issue # 371

October 24, 2012

Dear Patriots, We are just days away from: "a choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future."

In This Issue:
Page Feature 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 Education: New Funding Proposal Why Benghazi Matters Public Charter Schools Defiance in Defense of Failure Roger Hines Breaks Ranks Obama Violates Constitution Elect Brian Strickland Advance Voting Locations Your Voices Nanny State Alert Elect Tommy Smith

Proposal would tie funding for Georgia colleges to success, not enrollment
AJC 10/22/12 Georgia is writing a plan that would drastically change the way it funds public colleges, tying the money to student success and graduation rates, not enrollment. Starting with the 2015 fiscal year the amount of money colleges receive would be determined mainly by how well students progress through college and the number of degrees awarded. Many details still need to be finalized, but a group appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal signed off on a draft framework Monday. ~ NOW, HERE is a funding mechanism that makes sense! We should apply it to every local school district. VOTE YES ON AMENDMENT 1

Over 61,000 reads at Scribd.com

Do you have a story to tell? Become a Citizen contributor. Submit your opinions, commentaries and articles to hc.citizen@hccitizen.org

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Why Benghazi Matters

The attack on our consulate in Benghazi was not a terrorist act. By definition terrorism targets a civilian population and attempts to inflict terror on that population. This was a military operation and planned assassination of a top US official. It was not targeted at a civilian population, but was an attack by our enemies on the United States and its interests. Ambassador Chris Stevens is still dead, and Libya is still fractious. The United States still faces years if not decades of difficult work in the Middle East. Now we Learn not only did the White House know Benghazi was a terrorist attack, not from a video, the White House watched the entire event live from a predator drone. Why was the administration so eager to represent the Benghazi attack as a response to a YouTube video? Pulitzer-worthy reporting by my Daily Beast colleague Eli Lake has established that U.S. intelligence quickly ascertained that the Benghazi attack had been planned in advance; that it was organized by an al-Qaeda affiliate group operating inside Libya; that the attackers had surveilled the targeted consulate before the assault; that they maintained communications security in a way consistent with a trained force; and that they directed their firepower skillfully not only against the consulate, but also against a nearby CIA annex. Yet despite this knowledge, and with very rare exceptions, the administration for almost two weeks intentionally lied about the incident. Libya was fully Obamas war. He made the decision to intervene to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, and he decided on the nature of the intervention. Afterward, he took credit for the result: a dictator deposed, elections organized, without any long-term American presence in the country. Compared to Afghanistan or Iraq, Libya looked at first like a cheap and easy success. Events have shaken the Obama narrative about Libya. Despite the elections, there is no effective government in Libya. The eastern half of the country is controlled by armed militia groups imbued with alQaeda ideology to the point where (The New York Times reported Friday) the presumed ringleader of the attack on the Benghazi consulate could hold a press conference on an open-air patio without fear of apprehension or retaliation.

Drone over Benghazi ready to strike terrorists as attacks occurred, Obama and Hillary Clinton stood and watched Americans die doing nothing (Video)
This story, surprisingly from CBS sounds downright treasonous to me for not only Obama, but Hillary Clinton too! CBS REPORTS that a Predator drone was sent over the U.S. mission in Benghazi, and that the drone and other reconnaissance aircraft apparently sat, watched and observed the final hours of attack as four Americans were being killed. Basically Obama, and Muslim Brotherhood engulfed Hillary Clinton stood by and watched our people died. This is truly disgusting if true.

Watch the CBS News video here:

HTTP ://WWW.CBSNEWS.COM/8301-33816_162-57536611/COULD-U.S-MILITARY-HAVE-HELPED-DURING-LIBYAATTACK/

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Retired CIA officer Gary Berntsen believes help could have come much sooner. He commanded CIA counter-terrorism missions targeting Osama bin Laden and led the team that responded after bombings of the U.S. Embassy in East Africa. You find a way to make this happen, Berntsen says. There isnt a plan for every single engagement. Sometimes you have to be able to make adjustments. They made zero adjustments in this. They stood and they watched and our people died.

Public Charter Schools

The opponents wont admit their arguments focus on money

Kyle Wingfield for the AJC

Opponents of the charter-school amendment on next months ballot offer a simple alternative idea: Spend more money. Thats about all the educational establishment can conjure as a means of improving Georgias below-average results. State schools superintendent John Barge got to the point quickly when he came out against the amendment back in August. State schools superintendent John Barge estimated the state would spend an extra $430 million on new charter schools over a fiveyear period. He said the state shouldnt spend that money until existing schools are fully staffed with fully paid teachers for full school years. So, there you have it, fiscal conservatives wary of the amendment. Barge and his fellow travelers dont want to spend another $430 million over the next five years. They want to spend an additional $6 billion during those years about 14 times as much. Whereas charter schools would at least offer a chance to give students and parents different and better options, that $6 billion would go into the same model weve had for years. As it happens, we already know what we get when we pour more and more money into that system: Student learning doesnt grow nearly as quickly as the funding does. Thats because, complaints about spending notwithstanding, educational spending in Georgia has gone up, up, up over the longer term. But test scores have barely budged by comparison. state-chartered schools the ones that stand to grow if the amendment passes already outperform their local, traditional counterparts by about 12 percent. Perhaps the extra money didnt yield commensurate results because it didnt always go into classrooms, according to the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.

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In a report to be released this week, the foundation found the number of teachers in Georgia grew about twice as fast as the number of students over the past two decades. But so did the number of noninstructional staff (e.g., administrators and secretaries). Had the growth in non-instructional staff merely kept pace with that of students, Georgia would have employed about 23,000 fewer people in 2008, the most recent year the foundation studied. Using a conservative estimate of $40,000 per year for each of them, these extra workers cost Georgia about $925 million that year. And how much do Barge & Co. think Georgia schools need each year? Right: $1.2 billion. That $925 million alone would cover three-quarters of the tab. But if our educational dollars arent well-spent now, why would we give them more?

Defiance in Defense of Failure

Atlanta attorney Glenn Delk said school districts violated the law by posting what he describes as antiamendment material on their websites. The Democratic Party of Georgia countered with a request that Olens give an opinion on whether Gov. Nathan Deal violated state law by promoting the amendment on his official website. Attorney General Sam Olens sent a letter to state School Superintendent John Barge, in which Olens ordered all local school boards to shut down any opposition to the proposed state constitutional amendment on charter schools that involves official time or taxpayer funds. Olens ruling applies to school boards that endorse the measure as well. But by and large, local boards of education, particularly in rural Georgia, have been firmly against the November ballot measure. Many have passed resolutions condemning it. Georgia Schools Superintendent John Barge he will not seek to punish local school districts accused of using public resources to oppose the charter schools constitutional amendment. Great advice from Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones and State Rep. Alisha Morgan Thomas: "Weve tried the one size fits all approach to education for decades, and weve had too many students fall through the cracks. Lets increase the educational options for parents, students and teachers by voting Yes for public charters on Nov. 6." There is no reason Georgia citizens should tolerate defiance by the state superintendent or local boards of education. Georgias public schools fail to produce results. Why must we reward a flawed system? 2008-2009 four-year public high school graduation rate: 67.8 % 2009 Percentage of students at or above proficient in 4th grade reading: 29% Percentage of students at or above proficient in 8th grade math: 27%

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There is no reason Georgians should accept the status quo in public education. The entire bureaucracy has proven their fight is about money, not educational standards.

I must break rank from the educational establishment and support the constitutional amendment because the time has come for a new order. Just who or what is the old order? The old order in all 50 states, actually is each states teachers association (whether union or non-union), the states school administrators organization and each states Department of Education. Add the illicit, intrusive federal Department of Education plus the influence of college education professors, and you get not just an establishment, but a monolith; one that, despite the good intentions of its leaders, is not academics-centered, but institution/regulation-centered.
Roger Hines of Kennesaw is a retired high school teacher and former state legislator.
HTTP://CHEROKEETRIBUNE.COM/BOOKMARK/20564445

The Citizen asked Brian Strickland for his position on Georgia Charter Schools, Amendment 1 (2012).
Brians response is Since this is on the ballot with me, I have not taken an official stance on the issue. I am telling people, however, that after doing my research that I plan to vote for it. As a Legislator, I will work hard to create more options for parents and, in turn, more competition for our current model because I believe that challenging the status quo will improve education for all our of students in the long run.

The Citizen applauds Brian Strickland. As a state legislator we can

depend on Brian to support creation of options and choices for parents.

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OBAMA VIOLATING CONSTITUTION AND OATH OF OFFICE

Nowhere in the Constitution does it set forth that a president of the United States is above the people and cannot and should not be challenged. The president of the United States in the Oath of Office swears to the following: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. President Obamas top 10 constitutional violations: 1. The individual mandate 2. Medicaid coercion 3. The Independent Payment Advisory Board (a.k.a. The Death Panel) 4. The Chrysler bailout 5. Dodd-Frank 6. The deep-water drilling ban 7. Political-speech disclosure for federal contractors 8. Taxing political contributions 9. Graphic tobacco warnings 10. Health care waivers
HTTP ://DAILYCALLER.COM/2011/12/04/PRESIDENT-OBAMAS-TOP-10-CONSTITUTIONAL-VIOLATIONS/

Federalism is more than an exercise in setting the boundary between different institutions of government for their own integrity, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for a unanimous Supreme Court earlier this year. By denying any one government complete jurisdiction over all the concerns of public life, Kennedy continued, federalism protects the liberty of the individual from arbitrary power.

Advance Voting Location & Times

ELECTION DAY - November 6
October 22nd 26th
26th 7:00 am - 7:00 pm Main Office - 345 Phillips Dr. McDonough, GA 30253 Ted Strickland Community Center 130 W Berry St. Stockbridge, GA 30281

October 27th -Saturday

9:00 am - 4:00 pm Main office - 345 Phillips Dr. McDonough, GA 30253 Ted Strickland Community Center 130 W Berry St. Stockbridge, GA 30281 Fairview Library 28 Austin Rd. Stockbridge, GA 30281

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October 29th - November 2nd

7:00 am - 7:00 pm Main Office - 345 Phillips Dr. McDonough, GA 30253 Ted Strickland Community Center 130 W Berry St. Stockbridge, GA 30281 Fairview Library 28 Austin Rd. Stockbridge, GA 30281 The Depot 17 E Main St. Hampton, GA 30228 Locust Grove Recreation Center 10 Cleveland St. Locust Grove, GA 30248

Dont let the 47% vote outnumber the 53%

YOUR VOICES
"Yes, I have been to war. Yes, I have seen blood. Ah! Yes, I am an American Marine! But what defines me is that I still get pretty shaken up when I hear a child cry!"
Mike Lustri - 1978 - Alsace, France

"You ask who are my people? Let the blind, the deaf, the disenfranchised, the hungry, the orphan, the old, the suffering and the rest in that category answer that for me. I come in their name; and I dignify their plight."
Mike Lustri -Democrat Candidate -1999 - Henry County, GA Speech given at McDonough-Henry County Performing Arts Center
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JIM COX wrote: Lets don't forget that Obama personally fired the CEO of General Motors and bailed them out with billions, giving control to the unions. JIM HARDEMAN wrote: And let's not forget that he took the CEO of GE, which a) didn't pay taxes and b) built factories in China, and made him the head of his "jobs council". Puh-leese. DAVID HILL wrote: "Ok, let me get this straight. If you called the attacks on our U.S. embassy in Benghazi, that killed four of our servicemen an act of terror, why did you then authorize the state department to spend $70,000 to air an ad on Pakistani television that features you (Obama) and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton denouncing a video that we now know had nothing to do with the attack?"

NANNY STATE ALERT

Georgia State bans smoking on campus
It will be prohibited on all university owned or leased locations, indoors and outdoors, in garages and parking lots and in all college owned or leased vehicles, under action the University Senate took last week.

Elect TOMMY SMITH

Henry County BoC Chairman
Tommy has lived in Henry County all of his life. After graduation from Henry County High, he served in the United States Air Force. He has served as a councilman and Mayor for the City of Hampton. He is retired from the FAA as an air traffic controller. Tommy and his wife, Gayle, have been married 46 years and have raised their four children Kelley, Lori, Amy and Jared in their home in Hampton, Georgia. The Smiths are members of Mount Carmel United Methodist Church where Tommy served as a Trustee.

Straight Talk For A Change

County Government must be brought back into the sunlight. As our new County Chairman, Tommy will restore honest conservative principles back to

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county government.

No tax increases. Stop deficit spending. Stop the liberal tax-and-spend politicians who are driving up debt. Stop the preferential treatment that big donors get in Henry County. No more secret meetings and no more use of our taxpayer dollars to subsidize boondoggles. Stop hiring county employees based on politics or family connections. ALL hiring should be conducted professionally and in accordance with our laws. ~~~~~~~~~~

Former Hampton Mayor, Republican Tommy Smith for Chairman of the Henry County board of commissioners, spoke at the forum held at Fairview Elementary. His opponent did not show up. There

was another empty chair.

Tommys opponents background tells us she is another Community Organizing, tax-andspend liberal. Henry County, like our nation, cannot afford another liberal community organizer!
Tommys opponent has coordinated grassroots and field team operations for numerous political campaigns on all levels of government. Her responsibility included organizing and structuring effective strategies for candidates running for public office, assisted with government relation strategies. Tommys opponent works for a community development non-profit and is Board Chair of Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth Foundation. Tommys opponent also spent several years consulting with other government entities and nonprofit organizations creating and organizing economic development opportunities, public private partnerships utilizing a variety of public and private funds. ~~~~~~~~~~

As our new County Chairman, Tommy will restore honest conservative principles back to county government.
VOTE FOR TOMMY SMITH, Henry County Chairman HTTP://WWW.VOTETOMMYSMITH.COM/MEET-TOMMY/

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