This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Proud of the kids

National Walkout Day! How proud should we be of our children? Our children have learned and listened to the lessons taught to them by parents and many leaders in our history. The have spoken and they did it peacefully and respectfully. They announced their intentions in advance. Seventeen minutes of mostly silence but their voices were loud and clear. It is sad if any of them were punished. It would have been incredible if the schools themselves had added their voice and openly supported these students. Our children are the new dreamers and they are dreaming big. They dream of a better world. Do we not all have this same dream? Support them ad be proud!

Our helicopter rights

Recently, a tragic accident occurred when a helicopter carrying tourists over New York City crashed into the East River, killing all five passengers with only the pilot escaping. This type of flight involved a “doors off” helicopter where the passengers are all tethered with secure harnesses so that they can lean out of the door-less helicopter to take in the sights.

Less than a week after the tragedy, the FAA halted all “doors off” helicopter sightseeing flights nationwide while the NTSB investigates this crash and determines its causes and best way to proceed to ensure the safety of Americans.

I was stunned by the lack of protest from our government; not one senator declared that this was the “time for compassion and grieving,” not action. Not one representative decried the abhorrent “politicization of the tragedy” by the brash judgment of the FAA.

This knee-jerk reaction the FAA is an assault on my rights to fly whatever type of helicopter I want, and an insult to the families of those lost in this latest mishap.

Costly immigrants and tax cuts

Apparently a great number of you believe a wall between Mexico and America is not worthy of the costs. Here are just some of the facts. The criminal element alone is filling our jails. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent feeding, housing, educating and providing medical care for millions free! I cannot understand why we feel obligated to allow them to remain here illegally.

California recently defied an attempt to remove thousands of illegals. States rights do not supersede those of the United States. California is in a financially tenuous situation. And America is now facing another one trillion, five hundred billion dollar deficit to cut taxes for wealthy corporations. The assumption was the tax savings would go toward new expansions and more jobs, but in fact they are planning on buying back stock. There should have been explicit rules as to how tax saving must have been used.

Truth applies even to birds

As I was enjoying my morning front-porch ritual of coffee and a good book, I saw an amazing sight at the bird feeder. A pair of starlings, nondescript and dull, were just trying to have breakfast. But a cardinal — one of the beautiful birds — was set on chasing them away from the feeder, rather than enjoying and sharing the plentiful seeds. The starlings ended up on the ground picking through those which had fallen from the feeder, and the smug cardinal then set about to eating alone. Even in birds, well did the prophet Jeremiah speak when he wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Hire and promote by qualifications

About the story “Does Navicent treat black workers unfairly? Group hospital at odds:” I am sick of hearing the local NAACP claim that the racial percentage of a county should determine who should or should not be hired, rather than basing it on qualifications and/or promoted based on job performances. Gwenette Westbrooks, president of the local NAACP, states that the county is about 55 percent black and the hospital’s leadership should more closely reflect that. The same has been said about the percentage of the race of teachers vs. the race of students, and we all know how well that has and is working. What in the heck does any of that have to do with hiring and promoting the best qualified?

The NAACP and special organizations are also complaining that more blacks should be hired in our sports administrations positions. I would like for the NAACP and all racial organizations to open their eyes and look at all white students vs. blacks in all colleges; then look at the racial make-up of teams vs. the make-up at white and black spectators paying to see the game. Then look at professional sports at whites vs. blacks playing the games and whites and blacks paying to see the game that pay their salaries.

In my opinion, instead of Navicent being committed to having a diverse workforce, they should be committed to hiring the best qualified in all areas of health care. They should always put the welfare of their patients above any racial percentage.

Children’s Crusade

The Children’s Crusade of the Middle Ages was a disaster. It was a con job and ended badly for the children.

I have noticed that there are some politicians and “commentators” who have pronounced the current “Children’s Crusade” a con job (not that they wish the children ill) that will soon fade away. After all these are “just kids”

And they “aren’t really qualified to comment on politics.” And, besides, “they will soon lose interest and move on to something else.”

These “experts” can continue to believe this if they wish and find comfort in it, but I say to them: they are the future and they are coming for you.

This story was originally published March 21, 2018 at 9:00 AM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, March 21, 2018."