31 March 2023

Farewell to One of the Truly Good Ones - Jody Nolan

 By: MB McCart, Ed. 

Friends, this publication & its editor - along w/ so many in around the home county, GA Piedmont & beyond - was very saddened to hear the news of the passing of Jody Nolan after his courageous battle w/ ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Our deepest, heartfelt condolences go out to his family & friends. 

As I was telling my wife the other day, I feel as if I've lost one of the most valuable Mutual Admiration Societies that I was a proud member of. I thought a lot of Jody; always greatly enjoyed talking w/ him & apparently that feeling was reciprocal. 




In terms of those who truly loved the home county & wanted nothing but the absolute best for it there aren't hardly out there at all that can lay claim to the level that Jody did. And not just his service - which was huge: volunteer firefighter, regular firefighter, EMA Deputy & then later Newton EMA Director - but also for his passion for our beloved home & an intense desiring for her betterment. 

Jody & I had multiple deep conversations about this issue, some lasting an hour or two, and we almost always were in agreement on most major topics. 

As always, I'm very serious & protective of the anonymity & confidentiality of folks who I talk to about local stuff. But I can tell you this. Jody was a member of the Tonto Network. He was all about only - what is right; what is fair. Nothing else mattered, damn the consequences.

He was truly a good man. 

Though I haven't spoken w/ him in quite some time, I will sorely miss him. The home county will most assuredly be poorer w/ his passing. 

Also, this loss has greatly accelerated my intent to really get back to getting the REAL Story of all events, happenings & politics local. Jody would want it that way & I will do so in his honor. 


REQUIESCAT IN PACE

 

27 March 2023

[Past Piedmont Chronicles] - Ellis Millsaps: Son of a Preacher Man, Parts I-IX

 Existing dedicated page here

Son of a Preacher Man: A Rock And Roll Cowboy Grows Up Southern Baptist

Millsaps' Memoirs

Chapter I: The Belly of the Whale

Chapter II: The Valley of the Shadow

Chapter III: Once in Grace

Chapter IV: Let There Be Light


Chapter IV, Vol.2: Go Down Moses

Chapter V: The Lake of Fire and Brimstone

Chapter V: The Lake of Fire and Brimstone, Part Two

Chapter VI: Preacher's Kid

Chapter VII: Preacher's Kid at School 

Chapter VIII: Rock of Ages - Let Me Hide

Chapter IX: Neil & Clifford

Chapter IX, Pt II: Clifford Fleming  

Ellis "Da" Millsaps is a recovering Attorney but has worn many hats over the years: father, bus boy, stand-up comedian, novelist, wiffle ball player, rock'n'roll band manager, and at one time wrote a popular and funny column for The Covington News. A Fannin Co. mountain boy originally, Mr. Millsaps now stays at the mill village of Porterdale by way of 20 years in Mansfield. Usually funny and at times irreverent and subversive, he leans left in his political philosophy but can always be counted on for a pretty darn good write-up. The Chronicles are proud to have him involved...






http://www.thepiedmontchronicles.com/p/good-cop-bad-cop-novel-by-ellis-millsaps.html

21 March 2023

Kayla's Corner: Hello Again!

 Hello everyone! Oh how I've missed you all! A lot has happened with me since I last wrote, I bet a lot has happened with you too! Hope you've been enjoying life. Speaking of enjoying life, I'll be trying to post some fun happenings at least once a month here on Kayla's corner. So keep a lookout 


After all, that's what life is all about right? Enjoyment, entertainment, and experiences! In life, I think we are meant to enjoy all that the world and good people have to offer, to experience things we've never dreamed of, to watch and admire the entertainment we have built for ourselves... What a wonderful world it is.

My, My, how Covington is growing. I'm excited yet nervous! Excited about the new food and businesses that are soon to pop up, however I'm nervous about the traffic to come and if the county is prepared for the large increase in citizens. Guess we'll see . Haha.

One thing to always remember is that the trees provide oxygen and we need oxygen to live, so plant a tree!

See y'all in April 

- Kayla 



Kayla's Corner - Keeping an Eye on Covington

Perrin Lovett: Banking On Systemic Risk

 Greetings, Piedmonteers! Long time. I have returned. And so forth. Yeah, so, I called MB about writing up the latest Goodles flavor, which I think is “Here Comes Truffle”. And he started screaming about a financial meltdown or something. I had no idea! How could there be a problem? Janet “listen up cause she’s” Yellen just said, “Our banking system remains sound and Americans can feel confident that their deposits will be there when they need them.” For starters, I ran that sentence through Yandex Translate, Clown Worldese to English, and … keep screaming, MB.


It’s not the end of the world. In fact, it could be the beginning of something that ushers in an age of renewal. The trick is getting there. Here follows what I hope passes for a primer on what has happened, what it means, and where we’re going.


First of all, the minutia is meaningless. It’s now too big not to fail, and failure of something evil isn’t the end nor a bad thing. Unless or until you have to personally file an FDIC claim, there’s no valid reason to pay much attention to what CBNC, FOX, or CNN are lying about. Banks and rumors of banks… Heck with it; no fear!


In 2020, I wrote this brief history of the Fed’s machinations and how they have enabled and affected US imperial foreign policy. Given what’s in progress now, that article might as well be history. It’s still worth reading, methinks.


In January, I wrote this essay on the origins, meaning, and ramifications of usury and the hideous effects of mass financialization. It’s really worth reading. Pay attention to how I arrive at a fair current minimum wage of $37.50/hr, an average single-earner income of $300K, the fact that charging usury is akin to murder, and the disdain and contempt held by Jesus Christ and His Father for usurious money lending. Pay very close attention to the cited 2014 white paper from the Bank of England, as endorsed by the Fed, Money Creation In The Modern Economy.


A few days ago, I wrote this column on the current fiasco and a loose three-step process for correcting the damage. I’m expecting a call any minute now from Joe Biden or Kevin McCarthy. Please join me in a collective holding of breath.


Two books that might also be of interest:


…And Forgive Them Their Debts, Michael Hudson (2019) (this is me, the ultra-right winger recommending the economic work of a self-proclaimed socialist - because he’s right);


Debt: The First 5,000 Years, the late David Graeber (2014) (this is me recommending the not-necessarily economic work of an anthropologist - because he was right).


As for tactical advice, I don’t have much. There are no genuine institutional safe havens of investment anymore in the US or the West at large. That is because the entire system is coming apart the way these systems always do. An account at a large commercial bank may be “safer” because the larger banks will be first in line for assistance. Small banks and credit unions may be “safer” because they have fewer incentives to do the truly horrible things that the larger banks do. A balanced portfolio maybe. Some cash. Gold or silver if you can afford it. Uh, just be yourself. 


Whatever you do, pay as little attention to the financial press, the regular press, the banksters, and the political trash as you can. Everything related to the US empire is dissolving in real time. Nothing our foreign elites and their domestic lackeys say is honest, reliable, or grounded in any semblance of reality. You may have noticed that they contradict their own wild lies and idiocy day to day - sometimes in consecutive sentences. It is not your imagination: they are, in fact, just making the BS up as they go. Following it closely is as futile as following practical American politics. 


From 1913 to 1944 to 1971-3 a shift was implemented, away from real money and industrial, tangibles-oriented capitalism, to financial capitalism and non-existent money. Please read my above-linked summaries about how that worked out. Debt became money. The nature of debt is destructive; as Hudson explains in …Forgive…, page 14, it is “to accrue and intrude increasingly into the economy, absorbing the surplus and transferring land and even the personal liberty of debtors to creditors”. Given enough time, the lenders will eventually own and control everything. Literally everything. Hudson’s is a chronicle of multiple civilizations, within and without the Bible, and their necessary clean wiping of debts to preserve order and life itself. The failure of a society to rid itself of parasitic debt results in something best described as “not for the best”.


Alarmingly, most of the credit issues Hudson (and Jesus, and God the Father) condemned were based on real money and actual value. It’s worse today because none of what passes for our money is real. Usury was traditionally prohibited because it was a bargain on something that did not exist. All of our money is usurious. None of it exists. It is a massive fraud that only serves those who create it while enslaving everyone else. As the BOE explained it: “Of the two types of broad money, bank deposits make up the vast majority — 97% of the amount currently in circulation. And in the modern economy, those bank deposits are mostly created by commercial banks themselves”. It’s all debt. For every dollar or pound loaned an equal dollar or pound is said to be deposited on account. Where does any of it come from? From nowhere. The money for the loans is created by the loans themselves. None of it is real. The banks get to instantly, effortlessly create money to lend, and the borrower must devote a portion of his life and labor to repay that which never existed. 


Here’s how the system looks, as pictured from the National Debt Clock, Friday, March 17, 2023:



US Treasury Dollars, on the left, account for the actual, “legal” money in the system. There are less than a billion real dollars, and all of them are off-limits to the public. That’s about $2.50 per person. Ya feel rich? The ratio of real money to fake money, or to the Currency and Credit Derivatives, on the right, is roughly 1:773,000. That is statistically zero. The M2 in between is the Fed’s fake money. It consists of some $2 trillion in paper bills and coinage and a rough floating of a slight majority of Uncle Samuel’s on-books public debt. The grand expression of the value and ownership driven from the pockets of the many to the vaults of the few is in the gigantic derivatives figure.


Be mindful that $648 trillion(!) is a very conservative estimate. The number - and no one knows because it’s so big and so fluid - is plausibly more like $2 quadrillion. $2,000,000,000,000,000 in fake debt. What kinds of loans produce such an incomprehensible sum? All of them. The government debt, mortgages, student loans, car loans, business loans, and more add up to something like $100 trillion. The rest, the true “derivatives”, essentially consist of loans by and between the banks and large financial companies for sociopathic purposes. Ellen Brown beautifully and accurately summarizes the process:


The original purpose of derivatives was to help farmers and other producers manage the risks of dramatic changes in the markets for raw materials. But in recent times they have exploded into powerful vehicles for leveraged speculation (borrowing to gamble). In their basic form, derivatives are just bets – a giant casino in which players hedge against a variety of changes in market conditions (interest rates, exchange rates, defaults, etc.). They are sold as insurance against risk, which is passed off to the counterparty to the bet. But the risk is still there, and if the counterparty can’t pay, both parties lose. In “systemically important” situations, the government winds up footing the bill.



16 March 2023

The Music Minute, 3/16/23: Big St. Patrick's Day - Lots of Great Live Music!

 Greetings, Music Lovers, and welcome back to The Music Minute! 

We skipped last week but there was, as usual, a ton of great live music last weekend at Amici, Five O'Clock, Social Goat, Tin Plate, Willy's & several other venues. 

Yessir, we're fortunate to have such a thriving music scene once again here in our neck of the woods. 


Who's Playing Where & When
- St. Patrick's Edition -


A playing at B at C


After Hours


|||||||

Electric Wine - Live @ Amici - Friday 3/17. 8pm 


This is a newer group comprised of a bit of a younger crew but by all accounts they've been impressing from the get-go. Heard nothing but good things about their New Year's Eve bash over @ Lucky Day. Play a lot of great Classic Rock tunes as well as some more recent stuff. This'll be a fun one. As an aside, I'm a big fan of their bassist - the one & only Riley Ralston. Righteous Dude, he comes by it honestly.

Check it out, Fo Sho! 





The Andrew Brothers' Dueling Pianos - Live @ The Five (5 O'Clock Bar & Grill) - Friday 3/17. 9pm 


These guys always kill it. Have been blowing away crowds all over Covington, the entire state of Georgia & beyond for several years. 


The Five has a ton of food & drink specials for this one as well as a DJ lined up for the later hours. Always a good time at Five O'Clock - Covington's Live Music Destination Location! 


Whiskey Bent - Live @ The Social Goat - Friday 3/17. 8pm 


My main man, Mr. Fluff Whatley, w/ his powerful, soulful vocals while accompanied by the very nice guitar stylings of Marc Airington, always makes for a helluva show! These guys do real good, they really do. 

Bonus: I got to see one of Fluff's first public performances about 10 yrs ago. My band at the time, The Cool Swap, played a private party & after we were done, we, as well as the entire crowd, basically demanded Fluff do a number or else we were gonna throw 'em into Hard Labor Creek! He obliged & did Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay & killed it while we all were saying - that boy need to play out! Well, just a couple of years later & he was and the rest, as they say, is history. 

You'll definitely enjoy this one. 


###

So, wow, a lot of competition out there. All three are just outstanding. I'd suggest hitting all three. 

And remember - live music every Saturday at Five O'Clock & Social Goat in town, and additional venues in Monroe, Social Circle & the surrounding areas. Pro Tip: go the book of faces & click on events & then search your local area. 


Until next time, 

MB


_SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL_
_MUSICIANS_


13 March 2023

[Past Piedmont Chronicles] - Bess Tuggle: Memoirs of Surviving Children - The Cigarettes Incident

*ed. note: this piece was originally published in 2018. And, exciting news! It appears we're getting the band back together. Look for some new pieces from Bess moving ahead. As always thanks for reading.


Smoking cigarettes is a really bad habit. I can say that because I smoke. Not only is it a bad habit, it’s an expensive one, too, and I wish I’d never started. It was also an indicator to my boys of Mama’s mood. If I walked out the back door, cigarette in hand (I never smoked in the house) they knew they’d better settle down or the paddle was coming out.

I always had a rule with my boys (yes, you could say this was a double-standard, I do and you can’t, but I meant it). If you want to smoke, I’ll teach you. I kept a couple 5 gallon buckets behind the house and a pack of unfiltered Camels in the freezer. If you want to smoke, fine. We’ll go down to the creek, buckets in hand for seats, and the pack of Camels.

My other promise was that we’d walk back up the path to the house together. I’d have a sore throat, and they’d be green faced and puking.

Didn’t –I- get busted!

My oldest started sneaking my cigarettes (ultra lights) and smoking them at the bus stop at the end of the driveway. The driveway was half a mile long, so he really thought he was safe. Ummm… Our Tax Commissioner lives right around the corner (I’ll save my praises and accolades for her in another column). She called a mutual friend, busted my kid out, and I got to scare him. Scared him silly.

My child came home and I had the pack of Camels in my hand. I simply looked at him and said “We’re going to the creek.”

I got tears. Not alligator tears, but –real- ones. “No, Mama. NO!” Yes, he was scared silly. The Camels were left in the freezer. I can’t say he never smoked again, but he did think twice about it.

I’ll save that story for another day.


- Bess Tuggle 


A jack of all trades, Bess Tuggle has been a Covington resident since the late 70’s. She's been a K-Mart cashier, cabinet builder, vet tech, office manager for a beef cattle ranch and water well company (where she was able to hold benefits for D.A.R.E. and Scouts), a court reporter, business manager, assistant at a private investigation firm, legal assistant, convenience store clerk, landscaper and elementary school substitute teacher.  Her greatest pleasure is being a wife, mother and grandmother.  Her stories are all real, and all names will be withheld to protect the innocent, and also maybe the guilty, depending on the crime & the Statute of Limitations. 


Your Source for the REAL Story

09 March 2023

Ellis Millsaps: The Russians are Coming & Kansas City Shitweed

 In the mid 1970s I lived with four other 20 somethings in a five bedroom, four bath mansion at 69 26th Street in Atlanta which we rented for $500 per month. The house is now appraised at over $2 million. Look it up if you're curious.


 I don't remember the exact details but I do recall that it was through my roommate Dan Simpson that an entourage of young Soviets, essentially a goodwill team sent to show that  young Russians of the Brezhnev era were happy, educated and prosperous, came to our house. Dan, then a sometimes Dante employee who made his money as a broker of imported marijuana, met them at Dante's and struck up a conversation that resulted in their visit.


 They also were 20 somethings, 8 or 10 of them as I recall, and they were attractive, well groomed, charming, and spoke excellent English. Their chaperone was an amiable middle-aged college professor. It soon became apparent, because I offered them liquor which I readily swilled, that they were permitted to drink only beer and wine.


 Looking back I imagine these young communists were surprised that my band of ne'er-do-wells were all able to own cars and live in relative splendor, particularly after I pressed them on the following:  I explained that it was common for one of us to not work a job for weeks at a time and during that time we lived off the largess of our housemates. I wanted to know what would happen to me if I did that in Russia. (Okay, devil's advocate that I was being, I knew the answer) but they seemed confused and acted as if they didn't know what I was talking about until they sought  a diplomatic answer from the professor who like me could drink vodka. You would go to jail he assured me, by which we both knew he meant they would give me a job with room and board (800 calories a day) in a frigid part of the planet where I might survive two years.


It occurred to me later that it was I who was a free man living in a Fabian socialist circle while my guests were slaves of their state.


To be continued. 


Ellis "Da" Millsaps is a recovering Attorney but has worn many hats over the years: father, bus boy, stand-up comedian, novelist, wiffle ball player, rock'n'roll band manager, and at one time wrote a popular and funny column for The Covington News. A Fannin Co. mountain boy originally, Mr. Millsaps now stays at the mill village of Porterdale by way of 20 years in Mansfield. Usually funny and at times irreverent and subversive, he leans left in his political philosophy but can always be counted on for a pretty darn good write-up. The Chronicles are proud to have him involved...






http://www.thepiedmontchronicles.com/p/good-cop-bad-cop-novel-by-ellis-millsaps.html

02 March 2023

The Music Minute, 3/2/23: Featured Artist - Shane Clark; Who's playing Where & When

 Greetings, Music Lovers, and welcome back to the first Music Minute in...well, a minute (or over a year). 

W/ the relaunch of TPC (has this happened before...?), I'd decided that music was going to be definitely at the forefront of the ole site once again & we're all real thrilled for it! 

W/out any further ado. 



FEATURED ARTIST - SHANE CLARK 


Shane Clark


I first met Shane about 7 years ago. I immediately liked him. He's one of those guys that's wired just a little bit different. Marches to his own beat, if you will. Unique. A character. I can really appreciate that because I am - in a very different way - the exact same way. 

I believe I first interviewed Shane in late 2016, if memory serves, and did a feature piece on him at my old column at that other paper & later wrote about him here in the space a few times. Shane was very active for several years & then took a bit of a break. But now he's all-in full-steam ahead & is basically doing music full time now (more on that in just a bit). 

For starters, he's an incredible singer. Really, just a great, great voice. He's also a pretty darn good guitar picker & really puts on a helluva show w/ a great mix: Alt-Rock, Classic Rock, Country, Grunge & Southern Rock. He's even got a couple of R&B & Rap covers he does. He's added a few numbers from Whiskey Myers, too! 

His repertoire has greatly expanded. He's now got approx 10 hours worth of material. Also, he's a sound engineer & just put the finishing touches on a top-notch home studio. That's going to come in handy as he's about to commence work on a new album of original material. 

Shane got married not too long back & his lovely wife is now his full-time manager. Right now it's looking as if they are averaging around 2-3 shows per week that's about to go to more like 4-5. They've really grown their footprint. In addition to the local area, Shane's playing Monroe, Social Circle, Lilburn, Loganville, Jackson, McDonough, Winder & multiple other markets. They're even working on setting up a couple of mini-tours for the summer including possibly one all the way up in the midwest states. 

It's a very exciting time & I'm so happy for & proud of him. As we discussed, being on stage playing & singing music is Shane Clark's natural state. Good on 'em! 

So, one might be asking, where can we see this talented guy? 

He's got a weekly residency at Tacos N Beer in Monroe every Thursday from 5:30 - 9pm. So  that means you can go get you some tacos & see him tonight

On Sunday the 5th he'll be at Boondocks in Loganville from 3-6pm. 

He also does an every-other-Friday show at Willy's in Social Circle. He'll be there next Friday the 10th & then he'll be at Southern Roots in McDonough on the 16th of this month & will be a Vintage Tavern after that. 

You can keep up w/ his schedule at his FB page

###


 - WHO'S PLAYING WHERE & WHEN (A is playing at B at / After Hours) -


Tonight! Thursday March 2nd & Five O'Clock - Karaoke w/ Melissa 




Hosted by the one & only Melissa Nash. This is always a great time! 


Friday March 3rd @ Amici - HIGH CHARITY 



These guys have been at it since back in the day. Actually shared a couple of bills in Athens w/ them w/ a band I was in at the time years ago. Great mix. Great skill. Stumble on by & get some of the famous Ranch dressing & check out the righteous dudes. 


Friday March 3rd @ Tin Plate - KARAOKE NIGHT 




Every Friday night you can show off your own vocal chops over at Tin Plate in Circle of Social. This place has some great burgers & an impressive beer selection. 


Friday March 3rd @ Five O'Clock Bar & Grill - Monkey Wrench 



Always a great time at The Five. The home city's premier live music destination. Monkey Wrench by all accounts always tears it up. Great food, of course, and a great selection of spirits.  



Saturday March 4th @ Social Goat - Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Band 



*$10 Cover Charge 


### 


Remember - live music at Five O'Clock BOTH weekend nights every week & most Sunday afternoons. 

W/in C-Town, Conyers, Mansfield, Monroe, Newborn & Social Circle were are now back up to well over a dozen venues w/in about a 25 mile radius of the home city doing live music again! After a bit of a lull for a couple of years we are pretty much back to our high water mark that we saw back in 2017/18. Very exciting times for music lovers. 


Look for this as a recurring piece most Thursdays. 

Stay Thirsty, My Friends! 

-
MB McCart 


Your Source for the REAL Story