This is Viewpoints for Friday, December 8, 2017

How do you stand?

Sad that not only do we have a sexual predator in the White House and now a sexual pervert from Alabama who preyed upon teenagers who is about to be elected to the Senate. News reports of politicians from all persuasions are being accused of sexual harassment almost on a daily basis. The Secretary of Transportation reported in an interview that she had experienced sexual harassment. It so happens that she is married to the Majority Leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell. She refused to identify the individual because he was still there in the Capitol.

I believe any individual guilty or accused by cooperating accusers should immediately resign. The very idea that we are being governed by sexual perverts or harassers should be repugnant to all of us. The idea that an individual's potential voting on the president's agenda is more important than his/her morality is astounding! So, where do Georgia's representatives and senators stand on these important issues?

And where do our ministers, bishops and priests stand? In the South, most stayed silent during the Civil Rights era while people were being killed in Alabama churches and abused over all of the South. I remember hearing that ushers in white churches in Macon were told not to allow a black person in. We need our leaders in the South to be heard on how they stand on this moral dilemma.

Walk with your wallet

My wife and I moved back to this area 20 years ago and have been members at the Wellness Center for roughly the entire period. We maintain our membership, not because we are being forced to or because there are no other gyms in town. Rather, we find the Wellness Center to be a well run and well maintained facility with a friendly and helpful staff. It also has an indoor pool and track, which other gyms in the area do not offer.

Members tend to be friendly toward one another, and maintain a sense of decorum that you don’t find at other gyms where people grunt, groan and shout while they work out. Therefore Carolyn Effie’s recent letter of criticism made no more sense to me than did the one she wrote on Oct. 11.

The Wellness Center is not the only gym in town, and membership is not mandatory. If she is so unhappy there, Planet Fitness is only three-tenths of a mile away, and she can join for $10 per month. Kinetix is only a little over three miles away. There are others.

I would never keep returning to a restaurant that served bad food, nor would I continue to watch TV shows that consistently offended me. I believe that everyone is entitled to vote with their wallets, and that right extends to Ms. Effie, as well. I don’t know if she’s trying to kindle some kind of a protest, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere.

Don’t understand

I don’t know anything about this writer other than his/her absolute ignorance of who Walter Williams is, how intelligent he is, and how much common sense he has. He/she has apparently wallowed in the magical land of academia for far too long and has completely lost touch with the real world out here.

Those who would critique Williams have really no understanding of the real world and I would posit that he/she is in love with his/her title and therefore would have no choice but to attempt, unsuccessfully I might add, to rebut or impugn his positions.

And I would like to know what the heck an “Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” actually does all day? Is this a real job? Does anyone really understand what these terms even mean? I would really like the job description for this position someday.

Capitalism 101

As a portion of our electorate slithers toward socialism an interesting contrast is occurring just down the road. Last month, The Telegraph reported that Amazon would build a 1 million square foot warehouse on 97 acres alongside Interstate 75. Within days, large earth movers began the herculean task to prepare the ground for such a substantial building. They are working day and night, Saturday and Sunday, holidays and in the rain. Their speed and progress has been nothing short of amazing as it appears construction time records will be broken.

And there’s more. Whispers on the street speak of good pay and benefits beginning on day one. If you drive past Sardis Church Road on I-75, do yourself a favor and view what big business can do. It’s lighted at night so your kids can enjoy watching the Caterpillar equipment reshape the area. Oh, and the huge pit running the entire east/west potion of the tract is so the trucks can pick up and drop off underground.

Your turn

In response to the disgruntled Tech fan: When Georgia Tech wins the ACC Championship, it will be front-page news.

Term limits

Doug Garbart is right. About 95 percent of incumbents are re-elected. They are re-elected because they tell voters what they want to hear. Voters have firm positions on social issues. Voters are loyal to the party that represents their beliefs.

Voters are concerned about taxes. But they would rather vote for a candidate with a questionable past, than a candidate from a different party. Voters are not overly concerned about defict spending or the mounting debt. They believe it will eventually be resolved. Voters are not concerned about the interest on the debt. They do not realize that it is the third element of mandatory spending. It significantly limits the amount of tax revenue available for discretionary spending.

Most voters approve of their representative. Most voters approve of their senators. Voters do not like congressmen from another party. They especially do not like congressmen from another state and party.

Term limits seems reasonable. But it will take years to amend the Constitution. What will be the limit for senators? What will be the limit for representatives? Will senators and representatives be able to seek re-election after being out of office for one term? Will senators and representatives be limited to serving only two terms?

If voters are happy with their representative and their senators, why should they be prevented from voting for them?

This story was originally published December 7, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, December 8, 2017."