This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Sharpen that pencil

With the recurring hurricane season along with the recurring Biblical questioner columns of Dr. Bill Cummings, I have just a small note for consideration while indulging in both. When God solves our problems, we have faith in his abilities. When God doesn’t solve our problems he has faith in our abilities. For the lives of each of us may be ordered by the Lord in a beautiful way for his glory, if we will only entrust him with our lives. If we try to regulate our own life, it will only be a mess and a failure. Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil — it has no point.

Outstanding job

Columnist Dr. Bill Cumming did an outstanding job last week when he opined on Resurrecting Resurrection, a Biblical passage that I have always found problematic. A spiritual resurrection of the crucified Jesus is understandable but a physical ascension of his flesh-and-bone body into the sky is just beyond the pale.

Cummings has brought his own spiritual awaking for many in his weekly Telegraph columns, and I hope he continues to do so for a long time.

Pot and kettle

I would like to comment on a recent article by W.F. (Bud) Cranford: “From unity to division,” in Sept 11, 2017 Viewpoints. Bud has captured what has happened to our great nation concerning diversity in recent years. I would like to add one comment. Obama, who was our most divisive president, used this division to get elected, twice. But the American people wised up and refused to elect another of his kind.

Doing well, thank you

Since a certain church within our fair city has recently decided to conduct same-sex marriages, a group of pearl-clutching bible thumpers have begun screaming about Americans “turning away from God” and a sign of “moral decay” which will force God’s “protective gaze” away from America.

But I really must ask these people: Have you ever heard of a country called Canada? You know, that large country just north of our borders? The one with all of the maple syrup and beavers and snow? Yeah, they’ve actually had legalized same-sex marriage for much longer than us. In fact they beat our county to the punch by almost a decade. And guess what? They’re doing quite great for themselves. No major natural disasters. No demon hoards of Hell to devour Toronto, and no plagues of locusts.

America is not special in the eyes of God, and apparently he doesn’t seem to mind very much what our secular laws are.

Chuck’s vision

I would like to commend Chuck Shaheen’s leadership and vision for the city of Warner Robins. Warner Robins should be a city for the 21st century, the people of the city expect and deserve an efficient city government, one that promotes and practices thrift and productivity.

Councilman Shaheen along with the city council have done Warner Robins a great service by creating a city administrator position that will allow the city to have effective leadership for its day-to-day operations. The mayor, in turn, can focus on being the public face of city by meeting with and developing relationships with people and businesses that will attract and retain business and industry for the city. This leads to more jobs and more opportunities for our citizens. I support Chuck’s visionary leadership for the city of Warner Robins.

Republican revolution?

Misogyny and racism are the driving forces of the Republican electoral victories that have swamped the Democrats in local, state and national elections for the last six years. Just ask Hillary, who credits Trump’s link to the KKK and the misogyny of voters, even women, as part and parcel of the long list of reasons for “What Happened.”

So here is a simple question for Democrats, election pundits and disgraced pollsters. If misogyny and racism are indeed the base forces of the Republican revolution, how could South Carolina, that most southern of states and the first to secede from the Union in 1860, elect a first generation American woman of Indian descent as two-term governor? And how could South Carolina, home of Dylan Roof, elect a black U.S. senator with over 60 percent of the popular vote in the 2016 general election? The reality is that the Democratic Party has left the American electorate. Donald Trump is the messenger, not the message. Democrats still refuse to listen.

Climate response

Debbie Coquerel must have had fun putting her letter together in the Sunday rant page. Rising sea levels? Where Debbie? Climate denial? How Al Gorish of you. If you put an ice cube in a glass of water, it melts, but the glass doesn’t overflow. Why is that? Icebergs come to mind. The ice at the pole is now thicker than it was when Gore and his acolytes started preaching.

I would be prepared to listen to someone spew about renewable energy if they could answer this question: If they are such believers, how did their lights go out, where are their windmills, where is their solar cell that collects and holds a charge? Storms, chaos, lions, tigers and bears, oh my.

SPLOST money to clear trees

Macon, a great place to live and raise a family? Irma taught us a hard lesson; we are not prepared for storms. Beatles have invaded our old-growth pines and killed them in many neighborhoods, and we have what I call “leaners” where the earth is soaked and cannot support the weight of these very tall old pines. Many of these trees are over power lines and this week proved how vulnerable we are.

More storms are coming and this winter a good ice storm would put us back in the same shape. I strongly feel that SPLOST money should be used to clear all these trees. The live “leaners” are worth good money and could offset some of the cost. Let’s protect our city and people first.

SPLOST money, by law, cannot be used for general operations only infrastructure projects approved by voters.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, September 20, 2017."