Monday, Sept. 5, is Labor Day. Labor Day always takes me back to my blue collar roots. I’m a blue collar kind of guy. I came up through the ranks and am proud of it. I still have people who will say, “You mean you don’t have a college degree?” I tell them, “Matter of fact, I have three degrees. I have a Bachelor, Masters, and Doctorate from the University of Hard Knocks.”  However, in a career that spanned 35 years, I did accumulate 2,362 hours of classroom instruction in administrative, personnel (human resources), safety, and technical training. I suppose you might say that I was a middle …

I have heard a story or read an account where Yogi Berra, the former great catcher for the New York Yankees, when giving directions to his house supposedly said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Whether you took the left fork or the right fork you would still wind up at Yogi’s house. With “The Way I See It,” I have come to a fork in the road. I am about to take the fork to the right that reads: blog. In looking back over my articles, I find that I tend to write on countywide local issues as well as state and national issues. The truth of the matter is that my interests strongly…

Ray Newman wrote an excellent article (Dacula Patch Tuesday, June 30, 2011) stating it was his observation that an informed public was a happy public. Patrick Malone commented on Ray’s article that government has a responsibility to inform its citizens but citizens have a responsibility to be informed. AMEN, AMEN, & AMEN! Both are absolutely correct. Government has a responsibility to keep its citizens informed. However, since the power of government is vested in “We the people,” the citizens have a responsibility to keep ourselves informed whether it is on the candidates or on the issues. …

Two weeks ago, I wrote about being a pothole on the super information technology highway. I made note that change was taking place and that change was good. I got to thinking and reconsidered. Not all change is good. Especially in the area of today’s customer service. In today’s environment I find that customer service by and large is in the doldrums. Why? For one thing, when I call customer service I don’t think I should have to press 1 for English. After I have established that I do speak and understand the king’s language, I don’t think I should have to communicate with a customer service …

Independence Day, July 4, 1776, is officially recognized as America’s birthday. Our Founding Fathers got together and decided they had had enough. They advised the King of England that the citizens of the colonies under the British Crown wished to disassociate themselves from England in order to form, by Declaration of Independence, a more perfect union with a government that would be by the people, for the people, with the power of government vested in “We the people.” Of course the king did not take kindly to their declaration. The fight for a more perfect union actually begin with the shot…

We live in a high tech society today. With each passing day the technology is becoming more and more complex. Our high tech society means that change is taking place which is good. Change is hard to come by for us “mature adults.” It is not so much that we do not like change, it is that we do not adapt to change as quickly as younger generations adapt. I am probably an old dinosaur wandering around lost in a time warp. Maybe I am extinct and just don’t know it. Especially, since I have found myself wandering down the high technology highway. Keep in mind that I am pretty good with the …

It seems like almost daily that whether you read Dacula Patch, another Patch site, the printed news media or listen to the radio or watch TV, there are men among us who apparently have a problem measuring up as a man. Especially in our halls of Congress. Truth of the matter is that I have a problem with men in positions of leadership whether it be politicians, corporate, military or simply those men I encounter in my daily dealings if their moral compass does not point true North. Perhaps many of you still have a dad who is living. I trust he has given you a benchmark to measure yourself by. …

When I log onto the Dacula Patch website, three contributors I enjoy reading are DaculaWeather, Patrick T. Malone, and Ray Newman. I was reading Ray's column on Tuesday, June 7, where he wrote about the stress our graduating seniors face in passing the final exit exam as gradation date nears. Ray wrote that on a going forward basis, the final exit exam will be removed as a requirement for high school graduation. Good! Teach to learn and not teach to test. (Dacula Patch Friday, March 4, 2011)   The word stress got me to thinking exactly how it would apply to the graduating seniors Ray wrote …

Monday, June 6, 2011, marks the 67th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944. I will be disappointed if our news media does not recognize this event. The invasion of Fortress Europe by Allied Forces on June 6, 1944, is perhaps the most significant event of the 20th century in changing the course of history. The invasion marked the beginning of the end for the Nazi tyranny which had spread throughout Europe. In less than one year, the war in Europe would end followed shortly thereafter by the end of the war in the Pacific which would mark the end of World War II. I trust you attended the Memorial …

We cherish too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led It seems to signal to the skies That the blood of heroes never dies ("In Flanders Fields" by Monica Michael)   Monday, May 30, is Memorial Day. Everybody loves a parade, right? Dacula has the best Memorial Day parade this side of the Mississippi and perhaps the best parade in the entire United States. Everybody loves a cookout, right? After all, isn't parades, hamburgers, hot dogs, barbeque ribs what Memorial Day is all about? Not so. Memorial Day is a day set aside to observe the memory of our fallen warriors in all wars. …

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 21, is Armed Forces Day. It is a day set aside to honor all members of our armed forces. We are truly blessed by them standing guard and protecting the freedom we enjoy 24/7. In "The Way I See It" dated Friday, May 6, I wrote that about two years ago, I had the privilege of meeting one of America's absolute best. He has served his country as a special ops warrior. Since his retirement from our U.S. Army, he has traveled throughout the United States  conducting leadership seminars for corporate security, law enforcement, and active duty, National Guard, and Reserve …

I like the month of May. Two things happen during the month which bring a smile to my face. Number one is spring football practice. If I can make it through the long hot summer, it won't be long until I am sitting under the "Friday Night Lights" again. There is no better place to be on a Friday night than at a high school football game.  I usually catch a home game at Dacula, Mill Creek, or Mountain View. I tell young men that when they walk across the street so to speak from an eighth grade program and commit to four years of high school football, it doesn't matter if you never play one …

I make no apologies when it comes to being a country music fan. I love country music. When I say country music, I am not talking about some of that junk that attempts to pass as country music today. One of my favorite country music artists is Toby Keith and his song entitled "Courtesy of The Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American). I like the way the song starts off with the words: American girls, American guys We'll always stand up and salute We'll always recognize There's a lot of men dead So we can sleep in peace at night When we lay down our head. How about you? Did you sleep well last …

I often hear the word "bureaucracy" used. This got me to thinking, just what are we talking about when we talk about bureaucracy? According to Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, I find that bureaucracy means: 1. government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials. 2. the body of officials and administrators, esp. of government or government department. 3. excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in administrative bureaus or administrators. 4. administration characterized by excessive red tape and routine. Sound familiar? You might …

Do you ever get bad vibes that something just isn't coming across right? I have been reading the newspapers and watching television about the list of projects which have been submitted on a "wish list" by the cities, counties, MARTA (especially MARTA), plus one CID from within our ten-county regional transportation district. To reiterate, our ten-county regional transportation district is comprised of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties. One of the more sensible projects on the Gwinnett County list is the widening of Dacula Road/…

If you watch Bill O'Reilly on Fox each evening, you know that he always closes by saying, "Remember the spin stops here because we are definitely looking out for you." I suppose that Bill is looking out for me, as he does an excellent job of keeping me abreast of what's going on in the national political arena. This enables me to do some research of my own and lobby my members of Congress for their support either for or against an issue. You didn't know I was a lobbyist did you? I'll get to that in a moment. Do you ever wonder who's looking out for you in local, state and national governments…

In a daily devotional guide entitled "God's Little Devotional Book for Leaders" (Honor Books, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma), the story is told that Napoleon was a genius in sparking patriotism in the common man. I would be what Napoleon would call a common man or what I would call the rank and file a.k.a. citizens a.k.a. taxpayers. According to the book, Napoleon often told the story of visiting a province and coming upon an old soldier in full uniform with one sleeve hanging empty. The soldier proudly wore the coveted Legion of Honor. Napoleon asked, "Where did you lose your arm?" The soldier …

During the 2010 football season you may have heard your team using a theme called "all in." What it meant was the coaching staff, players, alumni, fans, booster clubs, cheerleaders, band, etc. were all in the program. While "all in" is certainly applicable to a football team, would same apply to TSPLOST 2012? Should Gwinnett County be "all in" or should we have the option to opt out? Any of the 159 counties which makeup one of Georgia's 12 transportation districts, which were created by HB 277, should have the option to be all in or to opt out.   Take our 10-county Metro Atlanta Regional …

State Senator Jeff Mullis (R - 53) has introduced two bills, SB 159 and SB 249, in the current session of the Georgia General Assembly. SB 159 is a bill to amend Code Section 10-1-767 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to applicability of article relative to trade secrets, so as to clarify that certain information generated as a result of an economic development project conducted by a private person or entity shall not constitute public information; to provide for exemptions; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for …

In easy to understand terms, eminent domain is the power possessed by the state over all property within the state. Eminent domain is not the law per se. Eminent domain is based upon English common law which traces its roots back to the Magna Carter in 1215. The practice of condemnation begin in the colonies when unimproved land could be taken without compensation. When our U.S. Constitution was drafted, James Madison wrote the  Fifth Amendment, which is essentially a Bill of Rights to protect against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. In the case of eminent domain, it states…