This is Viewpoints for Sunday, April 16, 2017

A recipe?

In a recent media release, U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop decried the 2018 federal budget submitted by President Trump. He wrote that the proposal would be a “recipe for disaster” for the people of the Second Congressional District of Georgia.” Bishop said that his metric for analyzing legislation is whether or not it improves the lives of the people of Southwest Georgia. His release reveals a view of the citizens of Southwest Georgia as helpless and totally dependent on the federal government.

Ironically, he said that the proposed budget would, “inhibit our nation’s ability to innovate in an increasingly competitive world.” What has inhibited our nation’s ability to innovate is explosive government intrusion and control. Bishop’s language appears generous and benevolent. There is nothing benevolent or generous in government. Dependence on government assuredly results in the loss of freedom.

Bishop stands firmly with the left wing of the Democratic Party. His support for bloated government spending has nearly doubled our national debt from $10.6 trillion in 2009 to $19.8 trillion today. For nearly two and a half decades, Bishop has promoted a philosophy of dependence. The truth is that his philosophy, not Trump’s budget, is the recipe for disaster.

Building conspiracies

Americans should beware of the Trump, Syrian, and Russian conspiracy. Assad, Trump and Russia found a way for all to have a benefit from a recent event. Assad got permission from Russia to gas his own people in a rebel area, Trump would send cruise missiles to destroy a few jets and Russia would not shoot down the missiles. Assad would terrorize those in his country who oppose him, Trump would look strong and Russia could act as if they were not friends with Trump even though they are. This is all rubbish, but it shows how people build conspiracy theories with a few facts, inferences and assumptions.

My heroes

April is Confederate Memorial and History Month – a time filled with special programs, heritage celebrations and memorial services. I gladly take the occasion to openly declare that I am proud, not at all ashamed, of my Confederate ancestry and heritage. I believe the South was right to valiantly resist a federal government bent on total encroachment into our lives.

My stand may be considered against the grain but “politically correct” is never correct and it has left the land of the free crushed and dismembered. Those who champion “political correctness” call loudly for tolerance, equality and civil rights to be granted, but they seldom, if ever, return the same. A propagandist world may spin that there is a racist root to my convictions, but my God and those who know me best, know the truth.

My heroes are not to be found among those acclaimed for their political, industrial, athletic or acting endeavors. Mine are enshrined in the hallowed halls of the King James Bible, and the treasured memories of my own family. Many wore the uniform of the Confederate soldier.

Tax returns

This reply is to Allyn Snyder’s April 13 letter regarding Trumps’ tax returns: You can find Trump’s tax returns in the same place as Obama’s college transcripts (I’ve heard no one can recall Obama going to Columbia), his passport application (indicates citizenship status), his immigration status as a student (indicates where he was born), his funding sources to pay for college (a poor guy usually can’t afford Ivy League colleges), and his Selective Service registration (indicates where he was born) and the reasoning behind having his Social Security number from a state where he has no ties.

I read Obama, or his supporters, spent millions of dollars keeping most everything about Obama’s background secret. I would say hypocrisy is running rampant. People, who live in glass houses, should not throw stones.

You might want to check http://www.factcheck.org/2010/02/obama-at-columbia-university/ for at least part of the answer to your above questions.

Continue on

Judge Faulkner has provided interesting comparative and statewide information regarding municipal courts and our court. I suggest Mayor Reichert and/or Judge Adams provide their overriding reasoning for the court changes they propose or allow the Macon-Bibb County consolidation of courts arrangement to continue as it currently operates. (Build an empire somewhere else.)

Encroachment celebration

The recent public comments by former 21st Century Partnership CEO Dan Penny in the local media don’t appear to be anything positive about the local American Federation of Government Employees union leadership at Robins Air Force Base. As well as his calling some unnamed RAFB union workers “bad employees” only serves to make all base employees look bad and not ready for a successful BRAC.

I certainly didn’t get the feeling that Penny had all his facts about the AFGE union leadership right or that they were even so-called “facts.” I don’t think that Penny actually did any serious research about the recent AFGE leadership actions. It sounded like base gossip to me.

I am pleased to hear that Penny has recently resigned his leadership job at the 21st Century Partnership. Why is it that most of their CEO’s only last a year or two? And what exactly do they do to protect Robins Air Force Base?

If “encroachment” at RAFB has finally been eliminated, I wonder why there has not been some kind of official recognition/publicity/or ceremony highlighting a long -term, serious issue that would affect a BRAC being finally solved? It seemed like it took forever. And our state and federal governments bought up most of the homes in the runways’ path. Not mostly with our local SPLOST funds or Houston County or city of Warner Robins property taxes.

Total encroachment funding includes $9.5 million from the U.S. Department of Defense, $7.5 million from Georgia, $6.2 million from Bibb County, $6.2 million from Houston County and $400,000 from Peach County.

This story was originally published April 15, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Sunday, April 16, 2017."