Monday, October 31, 2011
The recent arrest of Taylorsville Mayor Cary Rhodes raises several issues.
The arrest last week of Taylorsville mayor and Bartow County businessman Cary Rhodes on attempted child molestation and related charges shocked many people and created quite a buzz around town. Rhodes is alleged to have traveled up to Chatsworth for a sexual hookup with an underage child he met online. Of course Rhodes is innocent until proven guilty and my comments below have nothing to do with his specific case. Unfortunately these types of incidents happen all too often, and many times the man arrested had been considered to be an upstanding member of the community prior to the incident. The question many have in the wake of these types of arrests is why would a well-respected man risk losing his family, friends, and freedom in such a …
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
No I haven't joined a union, but I am not pleased with changes to the social networking site.
OK, before my libertarian and conservative friends start bouncing off the wall, I haven't joined a labor union. Frankly, I would panhandle before I would take a job with a unionized company, however I am on strike, and this strike may spread to include other entities. Heck I may just decide to throw in a couple of boycotts (General Motors and Chrysler) while I'm at it. Since I spend a lot of time working from my home office, I miss out on the daily banter I would normally participate in with coworkers. For me Facebook has filled that void. Over the last couple of years, I have found myself logging in two or three times a day to spend a few minutes checking in on the latest happenings and maybe swapping a few comments with friends. Last …
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Do you suffer from selective hearing caused by inherent biases?
Many of you, at some point in your high school or college days, probably participated in a little classroom exercise where your teacher whispered a statement into the ear of the student in the front desk of the first row. That student then whispered the same statement he just heard into the ear of the student sitting behind him. This continues up and down each row until the final student stands and repeats to the class what the statement was. At that point there will usually be some head shaking, snickering or even outright laughter as students wonder why the words this student just uttered were so different from what was whispered to them. As the statement whispered by the teacher was relayed from person to person it changed slightly each…
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Even donations to prominent charities may not be spent on the things you think they are.
Americans are generous people, and each year donate billions of dollars to churches and charities. Have you ever thought about where the dollars you give go and what they are spent on? We all know there are a lot of scam charities out there. I'm sure at some point most of you have received a phone call from the scammers trying to squeeze a few bucks that are supposed to help some bogus firefighter or law enforcement organization. Almost all of the money raised goes into the pockets of the scammers and a few pennies might actually be spent on some charitable purpose, just so they can keep their nonprofit status. However, there are also problems with some of the major charities. Bloated salaries, fancy offices and only a small percentage of …
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Who needs to keep up with the news when you have me to tell you what it all means. (Kidding)
We're all exposed to a myriad of news stories each day from radio, TV, print and online. However, if you take time to digest and really analyze the impact the news has on your life, then you are in the minority. Hey, I know most people are far too busy to spend their free time on this stuff, so Uncle Chucky is here to rescue you and tell you everything you need to know about what you may have missed or ignored, so you can get back to watching football or reruns of The Walton's. Hat Sales Are Slow: Last week was qualifying time as candidates threw their hats into the ring for numerous city council and mayor positions up for reelection in Bartow County's cities, along with some seats on the Cartersville Board of Education. The big news is …
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Some simple changes to Georgia's tax code might just be the ticket to drastically improving our state's economy.
Before you click to go to another page here on Cartersville Patch, give me a chance to explain. I promise this column is not about the debt ceiling negotiations going on in Washington D.C. I like a good movie or show as much as the next guy, but this kabuki theater we call politics in our nation's capital not only doesn't get a thumbs up, unless the person is trying to hail a taxi to escape D.C., anyone even trying to raise his thumb in response to this mess deserves to have it smashed with the nearest available hammer. No, my diatribe today is all about state and local taxes. This past session of the Georgia legislature saw a major push to implement a tax reform package that would lower income tax rates for individuals and businesses, and…
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
A judge probably won't inform you of this power you have as a juror.
If I were to ask you who the most powerful people in the United States are, how would you answer? The president? Congress? The Supreme Court? The real answer is jurors. I am not an attorney and I don't know if I have ever stayed at a Holiday Inn, but there are some things about the American system of justice that many in the legal profession would just prefer you not know. Article 1, Section 1, of Georgia’s Constitution says: The right to trial by jury shall remain inviolate, except that the court shall render judgment without the verdict of a jury in all civil cases where no issuable defense is filed and where a jury is not demanded in writing by either party. In criminal cases, the defendant shall have a public and speedy trial by an …
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
More ideas for columns than I have time to write, so here's the leftovers.
From the Casey Anthony trial to the fight over raising America's debt ceiling, there is no way anyone can say this has been a boring summer when it comes to news. It's time to clear out the backlog of column ideas floating around in my head before my brain explodes, so I'll just dump all this stuff on you. • Casey Anthony — Almost everyone believes this woman either killed her daughter or at the very least allowed her to die through negligence and then lied about it. The jury spoke, based upon the evidence presented, and thus Anthony will be released from prison in a few days. I understand the legal and civil liberties reasoning behind the constitutional right of defendants to not have to testify if they so choose. However, the goal of …
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
There's usually more to news stories than what gets reported if you know how to connect the dots.
Thanks to technology, many people now complain of information overload, and as busy as we all are, there's little time to devour every piece of news that crosses America's radios, televisions, newspapers and websites. That's too bad. It's understandable some people feel that way, as a lot of what passes for news is fluff and filler. Yet behind the quick sound bites and headlines that dominate modern news consumption, there is so much news that we seldom see or hear. Journalists are pretty good at giving us the bullet points, but few reporters have enough depth of knowledge of the subjects they cover to give us the why or the backstory. Here's a quick local example. Last week, local media reported that State Rep. Paul Battles, R-…
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Is there too much advertising on television, radio, and other media outlets today?
Throughout the past couple of weeks I had two older people each ask me if I had seen the "Hey Marcel, Watch This" television commercial. The reason for the question is neither person knew what product was being advertised. If you're AT&T that's not good. The spots are actually for AT&T's U-verse product, and this may be a case of the commercial being so catchy that people get caught up in the content and never pay attention to the message. Personally, I DVR everything I watch, even live news and sporting events, so that I never have to watch a commercial. Advertisers know an increasing number of TV viewers are doing as I am, so they are working hard to develop commercials people will find so entertaining they'll quit fast forwarding …
Chuck Shiflett
2:03 pm on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
As I stated in the opening paragraph, my comments weren't about Cary Rhodes specific case. As John said, we don't know the "age" of the victim or whether it was a male or female. I also want to make clear that in no way was I trying to make excuses for any man attempting to engage in some type of sexual hookup with an underage female. It's always morally wrong and it's always illegal. I know of … more ›