This is Viewpoints for Thursday, April 13, 2017

Vicious attack

This letter is a response to the vicious attack by Dan Penny that graced your front page April 11, on the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 987. All of the statements given to Wayne Crenshaw were blatant lies. Penny stated I had removed the interim president and a steward to stop them from being delegates to the Fifth District Caucus in order to influence their election. News flash Mr. Penny, they are still delegates. And I have not questioned the first delegate about who will receive their vote.

I do not have to give Penny a reason for removing or promoting anyone. And surely I could care less about Penny’s “patience.” Penny described our growing number of union members as “bad employees.” I feel confident that Penny knows not who has joined our organization. An Air Force general recently described our employees as “skilled craftsmen/women.” Everyone on Warner Robins Air Force Base should take exception to his description of them. Bad employees indeed!

Also it disturbs Penny that none of the removed officers had significant charges filed against them. Evidently Penny and Crenshaw failed to do their homework. Suffice it to say that neither Penny or Crenshaw did their homework on anything in this article.

But what Penny and Crenshaw accomplished was spreading falsehoods and trash to every elected official, every Readiness Committee staffer, every general officer and the defense contractor (our biggest competitor) from the state of Georgia all the way to Washington, D.C. Where Base Realignment and Closure begins.

All of these have a significant role in keeping the gates of Warner Robins Air Force Base open. Nice work Dan and Wayne. Please don’t do this community any more favors

Prayer fueled division

The editors need to take a closer look at the prayers submitted for the Prayer of the Day feature. Some are outright bigoted. A couple weeks ago (April 3), the Prayer of the Day called, not for world unity, or even unity of all good people everywhere, but exclusively for the unity of Christians “so that we (Christians) can stand and fight against the forces of evil which seek to destroy us.”

It doesnt take much imagination to guess what those “forces of evil” consist of. I doubt the writer had secular humanists in mind. No, this is a sectarian prayer calling for Christians to unite against the Islamic world. As such, it just fuels the flames of religious division and bigotry. Not what I expected from a Prayer for the Day.

Eliminate defense cuts

Congress must end the harmful effects of sequestration by repealing the Budget Control Act and establishing a bipartisan, common sense debt-reduction package that avoids harmful cuts to our nation’s defense and disproportionate penalties on service members and their families.

Sequestration is automatic budget cuts which have placed national defense at risk. Unless the current law is changed, sequestration will return this year and automatically trigger billions of dollars in deep cuts to the Department of Defense’s budget.

It was only a few years ago when the services were forced to slash flying hours, cancel ship deployments, renegotiate critical procurement contracts and do many other things which degraded our defense posture. We cannot afford this, especially at this time in our history.

Every person in Middle Georgia should immediately write Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., and Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., asking them to do their part to end sequestration. A postcard, letter or email would let them know you are concerned about our national defense and want a responsible approach to reducing the national debt without jeopardizing the military.

Victimized democracy

There are lots of opinions about the candidacy and surprise election of Donald Trump. They vary on the spectrum; none that I have heard or read speak to how his candidacy has victimized democracy.

Discerning the ties between the candidacy of Donald Trump and Russia is a complex task that will take some time. Notwithstanding, the central issue most now agree is that Russia meddled in America’s 2016 presidential elections to help Trump’s candidacy.

Trump entered the presidential race with the business mantra: do what is necessary to win. This mantra made him easy prey for the Russians. How did Trump unwittingly victimize democracy?

First, during the campaign he publicly asked Russia for assistance in locating the Clinton emails. Second, either directly or indirectly, he set the tone for his campaign staff to find damaging stuff from any and all possible sources. Third, his twitter, internet trolling, and information consumption habits created golden opportunities for Russia to feed him information.

Trump’s solicitation of Russian help and repeated use of Russian provided information bestowed unprecedented Russian status in American electoral system, a stunning development.

American democracy includes special pillar features including personal and political freedoms, political equality, rule of law, to name a few. Trump is the first president of the United States to invite a foreign power into our electoral system. It is my expectation, indeed hope, that the outcomes of the various inquires currently underway will identify vulnerabilities and inform corrective measures.

What’s he hiding?

April 15, Tax Day, is right around the corner. Every president since Richard Nixon has released tax returns except Donald Trump. He repeatedly promised to release them and then reneged on that promise saying that no one except the press wants to see his tax returns. Well, the current polls say that 74 percent of Americans want those returns published. I am one of those Americans. My representatives in Washington, D.C., have the power to subpoena President Trump’s tax returns. They, as well as their fellow congressmen, have all failed to do their due diligence. When they return to Washington after the April recess, and after refusing to hold live town halls, they must do their jobs and demand that the president release his tax returns.

This story was originally published April 12, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Thursday, April 13, 2017."