This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, June 14, 2017

The rest of the story

I can understand how many people are confused about the $1.7 billion dollars paid to Iran. However, Karen Handel should know better than to assert, during the debate, that nearly $2 billion was flown over to Iran. What she left out was that this was money the United States had not paid Iran on an arms deal made prior to the 1979 Iranian revolution. Arms Iran had paid for but we did not deliver. In August of 2016, $400 million in cash was delivered in an unmarked cargo plane. We do not know how the rest of the $1.3 billion was paid.

What’s ailing sports

I rarely read the Middle Georgia edition of the “Red & Black.” However, Daniel Shirley’s Page 1B commentary, “It’s easy to fix what’s ailing sports” induced me to read Shirley’s “fixes,” obviously written from a sports journalist’s standpoint.

“What’s ailing,” from a more important societal standpoint, is that there is too much emphasis on most sports in general at every level of endeavor.

Another flag flap

Bastions of the left in this country like to mistreat our flag, but not Georgia. My wife likes to walk at Everett Square in Fort Valley. The Veterans Memorial there has three flag poles for Old Glory, POW/MIA, and the state flag. The only flag left standing was the U.S. flag and it was very “weather shredded." My wife asked me twice if we could replace it and finally I relented. We took the old flag down and replaced it with a new embroidered flag that we purchased. I was going to have the Boy Scouts retire the old flag by destroying it reverently.

Two weeks later the flag we put up was missing. When we reported the flag gone, the city employee said that the tattered flag was city property and that it had to be returned to them, a flag they obviously had so little respect for that they let it get into that horrible condition. And there was a veiled threat of legal action against us for removing city property even after I returned the torn flag to the city. They had so little knowledge of flag etiquette or the flag code that they had to ask around how to dispose of the flag. “Hey, city, it’s called Google.”

The leadership of Fort Valley has shown its apparent contempt for the city’s veterans and U.S. flag that I and many of its citizens served, and some died for, to let this happen to our flag.

Grisamore fan

I was glad to see Walter Williams column in Thursday’s paper. I miss the expanded edition of the opinion page with writers Cal Thomas, Michelle Malkin and Charles Krauthammer. I look forward to the Sunday paper with Ed Grisamore, who introduces us to interesting people in the community and Mark Ballard, whose column is both inspiring and creative. I miss the best seller book list on Sunday and hope this has not been discontinued.

Go away

When President Donald Trump wins the 2020 election in landslide, will “experts” like Erick Erickson finally just go away?

Raise a glass?

In America, we “raise a glass” to honor someone. We “drink a toast” at birthdays, graduations, weddings and at wakes. Whether “To your health!” or in somber remembrances, social drinking is broadly accepted. America’s disastrous experiment with Prohibition from 1920-1933 is a powerful lesson in the limits of legislating morality. It is understandably difficult to comprehend how the scourge of alcoholism was dwarfed by the increased problems created by Prohibition.

There is a misguided notion among some “holier than thou” Macon-Bibb leaders that a refurbished Rosa Parks Square would be more respectful if it became forever and always alcohol-free. Right now it is already alcohol-free 24/7/365 days a year except for a contractual few hours of rental by groups who might provide social drinks during special events with extra hired security.

Whereas in Christianity, we have “holy wine,” there is no such thing in Islam. The Muslim religion forbids any and all alcohol. Rosa Parks was not Muslim. I’m sure she would recognize the respect of those who might “raise a glass” in her honor, whether or not she might choose to raise a glass of her own.

Food for thought

John S. Pemberton was born in Knoxville, Georgia in 1831. He served as a Lt. Col. for the Confederate States of America. After the war as a pharmacist he invented Coca Cola. Let's ban this racist drink immediately.

Other issues

It is far too simple to recognize why Democrats are so intent on stopping all legislation attempted by our president. They lost the election and only have themselves to blame.

When are the people of America going to start to realize that North Korea is both a psychological and real danger as nuclear armed-nation? The national debt is an eminent danger, as is the ever-growing strength of terrorism in America. Se stand by as our drug policies are a total failure and our border crossing are still unchecked. Our educational systems are at an all time low and we have failed to deal with our pollution problems while we continue to waste time and resources on pointless investigations.

If Russia did undermine a portion of the presidential election, are we to believe it is going to change any single part of the outcome? America has its head buried in the sand and we are disfavored worldwide.

Aim, too, please

As I approached the urinals at a local college prior to the start of the commencement program; there on the floor was overwhelming proof that if 50 men walked into an open field on a calm dry day to urinated — 49 would walk off with wet shoes.

This story was originally published June 13, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, June 14, 2017."