This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Way to go

I want to commend The Telegraph and other Georgia media outlets for pushing back against the absurd gag order issued in the Tara Grinstead murder case. A free press in action. I wish you swift success in your effort.

Muslim Fatah

This letter is aimed toward those who want us, the U.S., to welcome to our land Muslims from hostile nations. If these people are adamant and serious about their compassion, they should welcome the immigrants into their homes and be responsible for their guests for their motives and actions, as well as their acceptance of this nation’s laws and culture.

President Trump is our commander-in-chief. He wants to keep our country and the people safe. We all live in houses with doors that are closed and secured if there is danger for our families. That is the purpose of immigration control.

We hear the news reports of the danger from Islamic terrorists and how inhuman their aggressiveness escalates toward Christians.

I understand there are good and also some very bad people in every country of this world. We cannot make a positive judgment toward anyone, even in our own neighborhood, so certainly not of those elsewhere, especially knowing the intent of radical Muslims.

Allow me to give warning to all who would accept an open door policy to any immigrants. These are the words from the Rev. David Jeremiah’s book, “The Prophecy Answer Book.”

“We can easily see and resist the effects of Jihad in military terrorism, but we have trouble seeing and resisting the more subtle strategy that the Muslims call Fatah. Fatah is infiltration, moving into a country in numbers large enough to affect the culture.

It means taking advantage of tolerant laws and accommodating policies to insert the influence of Islam. In places where military invasion will not succeed, the slow, systematic and unrelenting methods of Fatah are conquering whole nations. An illustration is:

A demographic revolution is taking place today in France. Some experts are projecting that by the year 2040, 80 percent of the population of France will be Muslim. At that point the Muslim majority will control commerce, industry, education and religion. They will control the government, as well and occupy all the key positions in the French Parliament. And a Muslim will be president.

Recreation center endowment tax

Our respected editor wrote two articles for Sunday’s paper (“Law enforcement pay…” and “Beware, the ‘elites’…”) that advocate for issues or infrastructure that require better funding. So, he is publicizing for new (more) tax increases.

Our police and first responders need an improved salary. Now, his Op/Ed pushes for Houston County to approve a SPLOST which appears to plug what Bibb is doing now: recreation centers are at the forefront of the author’s reasoning for its approval. But should Houston do what we in Bibb need to do?

A renaming of the SPLOST to “recreation center endowment tax” since we seem to be spending so much on continuation of new centers with the tax.

But, the real reason I write is to ask two questions:

1. Has this paper talked to any economist concerning these never-ending/new taxes and how it stifles economic growth and prosperity when money is continually taken from poor private citizens? I doubt it, since our county does not, and I don’t think anybody in this state, even knows how to spell “economist.”

2. Where does this fact come from? “Georgia has been named the best state to do business…”? You see I found this beauty to refute that fact: “A national tax group says Georgia’s tax code is among the least attractive (my emphasis) to business in a recent report. Per the 13th Annual State Business Tax Climate Index, released in Sept 2016 by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, an independent tax research organization, Georgia has the 36th most competitive tax code in the nation.

The report measures how well-structured each state’s tax code is by analyzing over 100 tax variables in five different tax categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance.” (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Yep, 36th is one you don’t write home about.

A continuation and addition of new taxes just nails our foot to the floor, folks.

Keep home bases open

The “best interest” of the country supersede the best interest of any state, county or city under the Constitution, conversely, the best interest of states and local governments should prevail over the interest of foreign governments with military bases.

One must keep in mind that the war fighting capability of U.S. forces since World War I has drastically been enhanced, resulting in former war doctrines and strategies being grossly obsolete. The days of charging the beach or “hand to hand” combat are relics of the past and no longer suitable for the challenges we we face today.

Future wars on the scale of WWI and World War II will be fought from the air and other components of the nuclear triad therefore, the current massive troop manning levels everywhere are exceedingly “overkill” and should be reduced along with the infrastructures supporting such excess. There are approximately 235 military installations in the U.S. and approximately 128 bases overseas.

In view of this fact, we need to take a strong look at overseas bases and facilities that benefit foreign governments at the expense of bases located in this country. All things being equal, we have a duty to ensure bases in the U.S. are the last ones standing.

The reality remains, any conflict we may encounter with China, N. Korea, Russia, etc., will not be met with the predominant use of military forces. Applying sanctions and other similar economic punitive measures should be our preferred weapon of retaliation.

This story was originally published March 14, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, March 15, 2017."