This is Viewpoints for Friday, April 6, 2018.

A poem for Trump

Since The Donald has been in office for over a year now, it may be time for this tribute.

“Ozaytrumpdus”

(With apologies to Percy Shelly)

I don't know about this, but I hear people sayin' that a traveler from an antique land

Said, "I saw a fallen and broken wall, only about half finished, made with cheap Chinese steel in the desert. Near it on the sand,

Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command, and carefully sculpted hair

Tell that it's sculptor well those those passions read

Which yet survive stamp'd on these lifeless things,

The hand that mock'd them, and many diverse peoples, and the heart that fed on hate.

And on the pedestal these words appear, "My name is Ozaytrumpdus,

Winner of winners and a legend in my own mind:

Look on my huge, huge works you losers and despair!"

Nothing beside remains, round that decay (except for some desiccated stakes, broken vodka bottles, swatches of fabric that might have been ties, or shirts, or little hats)

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

And, oh yes, there were a pair of carefully crafted, very small hands.

Backing a new choice

Having actually campaigned for Heath Clark when he ran initially against Rep. Willie Talton, R-Warner Robins, I can now proudly say that Clark does not merit re-election. He has been all about guns on college campuses and in churches and military retirees, but has done nothing to provide health care for our uninsured or create more jobs.

Now we will have a Democratic candidate, Fenika Miller, who is a dynamic, progressive woman who cares for all of us. She has big plans that will promote Warner Robins, Robins Air Force Base, local industry, our schools and colleges, and our county development authority and county libraries. Why are they closed on Sundays and national holidays?

Fenika is a proud parent who has plans to help save Robins Air Force Base and attract more industry and jobs and make our city a shining light!

A one-issue wonder

Per Walter Williams’s column, there is ignorance and there is ignorance. One being the lack of facts and the other not caring about facts. Thank goodness there are people who are always working to move our base of knowledge forward. If the rest of us are doing our jobs, we should all be more informed and less ignorant. Unfortunately, there are people among us who are happy with where they are and what they believe to be true.

Something I have finally started to do is to act to be more informed/less ignorant about who is writing what I read. Mr. Williams’s sole purpose in life appears to get his taxes reduced to zero. Period. Sounds nice except without taxes — no school, no police, no military, etc. He never offers solutions to the problems he brings up. Well, his answer is: no taxes. Really? Rather than try something that could move our country forward — maybe universal health care or affordable education — he simply retreats to his well-stocked rabbit hole and complains about how high his taxes are.

I am 61 now and I can see holes as big as a barn door in his worldview. Just because I have a reasonable retirement and health care doesn’t mean that no one else is worried about those things. Rather than worry and offer help to the youngsters out there, he just wants government to leave him alone — and don’t tax him.

Candidate not to the liking

I have one thing to ask the readers of The Telegraph: What the heck is Gary Bechtel doing running for state representative? I have just turned 22 years old and I represent a growing number of young people concerned about not only our own financial future, but the financial future of our state and federal governments. After spending over two years involved in state politics and campaigns, I have a feel for what makes for what makes a viable candidate. Gary Bechtel is not it.

For those who are unaware, Bechtel is not a newcomer to politics. He has quite the track record as both a Bibb County commissioner (serving as head of the Operations and Finance Committee) and a member of the Bibb County Board of Education. Gary Bechtel also has $2,500 in unpaid fees to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (previously known as the State Ethics Commission) dating back to 2012. Riddle me this: Why should we elect somebody who can’t handle his own financial disclosure fees to the chamber that holds the state’s purse strings? Why should the youth of this district vote for a candidate who has already proven he will kick the can down the road for us to deal with?

Gary Bechtel should drop out of this race. At the very least, he owes us an explanation for his ethical mess.

There’s a hypocrisy here

Every time a policeman shoots a black, you make them all questionable, while hundreds of blacks kill other blacks, you say nothing. Millions of black babies have been aborted, yet you refuse to do a thing. The whole situation of humans killing one another is despicable!

America is in deep trouble in more ways than one.

Ask the question

“Census bureau panel opposes citizenship item” column is a joke. D. Sunshine Hillygus, a Duke political scientist, said a citizenship question is going to be used to target individuals who are not here legally, yet it targets U.S. residents by discriminatory bias questions such as race, gender, income, etc. Not asking the citizenship question does not produce a truthful census. A true resident census of those living in the U.S. would identify legal residents, illegals residents and U.S. citizens. Further, those who do lie, should be punished. However, illegal have proven punishment for perjury is a joke.

And the Bible says ...

I keep reading letters in the opinion page where Christians say we should pray for Mr. Trump. I was reading Psalms earlier today and I have to admit that I now totally agree.

Psalms 109:8. “Let his days be few; and let another take his office …”

This story was originally published April 6, 2018 at 9:00 AM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, April 6, 2018.."