This is Viewpoints for Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015
Enough is enough
What is going on now is unbelievable. ISIS has hijacked another oil well, creating widespread and chaotic upheaval of refugees from their country, yet all these powerful countries adversely impacted appears impotent to do anything to effect a positive outcome. Amazing. What pitiful, pathetic wimps. Hurry up Donald, take back that oil well and charge all those spineless misfits a perpetual fee for protecting them going forward. Don’t worry about the pundits. Most of them are idiots. ISIS doesn’t want that oil well to gas up their vehicles, they want it to finance their operations.
Sometime I feel ashamed witnessing this country being exploited due to our inherent goodwill nature. We abhor water bordering. We give comfort to the enemy who knows full well that if they’re captured by us, they would be treated like royalty, while we face beheading if any of our citizens are captured by them. Now I am convinced, more than ever, that Donald is the man to get this job done. All the others appear not to have a clue of what we’re up against
As a Marine indoctrinated in “winning,” I am sick and tired of this powerful nation succumbing to a spirit of defeatism. We pay snitches here in America, give them witness protection safe havens to turn evidence against our citizens, yet we don’t appear to be using that powerful incentive to gain assistance from potential ISIS snitches. Why? You tell me an offer of a million dollars or much less to such snitches to supply us with banking information, operational plans, current leaders’ residence wouldn’t result in viable assistance. Enough is enough.
— John Haugabrook
Warner Robins
What if ...
What if jailing the county clerk in Kentucky for refusal to issue marriage licenses with her name on them to gay couples in violation of her deeply-held religious beliefs, even though other officials are available and willing to issue marriage licenses, is really about forcing Christians out of government? (Note: she was released from jail and her contempt of court citation on Sept. 9, but the underlying problem of her name being on those documents has not been resolved as of this writing.)
What if fining the Christian bakery owner in Oregon $135,000 for refusal to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding in violation of her deeply-held religious beliefs, even though other bakeries were available and willing to bake such cakes, is really about forcing Christians out of the marketplace?
President Obama refuses to enforce existing federal immigration laws, and he ordered his attorney general not to defend the 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act signed by President Clinton. The mayor of San Francisco began performing same-sex marriages long before the Congressionally-passed (not Supreme Court-created) law against them was struck down, and he unilaterally declared San Francisco a sanctuary city for illegal aliens in open defiance of existing federal immigration laws. At last report, neither has been jailed for their violations of federal laws.
What if the ultimate goal of the radical left, aided and abetted by selectively-exercised government power, is to drive Christians out of government, business and the public square altogether?
— Bill Pitts
Centerville
Build our own?
With several stories the last few years about municipalities building out a fiber network and providing low-cost high-speed Internet to residents, it is about time Macon-Bibb started talking about it. A Vermont city provides its residents with gigabit (1000 Mb) Internet access for $35/month. That is an extreme example, but noteworthy because it has been done. A North Carolina town offers 50 Mb for $45. While here in Macon I’ll pay Cox $67 for that 50 Mb connection (that may or may not ever reach 50 Mb). A measly 15 Mb connection (4G cell service is faster) will run you $53 at Cox.
Aside from letting us web surf faster and cheaper, laying fiber also makes Macon-Bibb attractive to network intensive businesses. What if we could provide gigabit service for a fraction of the cost of current commercial Internet drops? Could we possibly leverage off of PeachNet, the University System of Georgia’s statewide fiber network? Bibb School District’s IT Department just revamped its infrastructure so it is now state-of-the-art. Can we use that know-how for the whole county?
There are several organizations and tools for communities thinking of creating their own municipal broadband. Can the mayor or commissioners have a feasibility study done? One thing is for certain; the current Internet providers will not upgrade the infrastructure or lower prices until threatened with GoogleFiber or the like. The incumbent pseudo-monopolies do not have our best interests at heart whether individually or as a community.
Let’s make our own infrastructure so we can care as little about them as they do about us. More importantly, let’s do it so we control our own utilities that are necessary to flourish in the 21st century.
— Matt Dykes
Macon
Wake up
The Nebuchadnezzars that sit on the U.S. Supreme Court thrones are smiling as they try to overrule God’s laws. Even the Fox news reporters are agreeing with the liberals. The Bible says it is better to obey God than man. God will forgive man of his sins but he will not remove the consequences. There are only God lovers or God haters in this world. Satan is enjoying himself as the world wallows in this sick sin of men and women marrying each other. I will obey the laws of this land as long as it doesn’t violate God’s laws. Wake up folks. Hell is real.
— Louis Kitchens
Gray
Expose everyone
It seems to me The Telegraph should display all of those known to have been members of Ashley Madison. By only showing our state representative is grossly unfair. Other distinguished members of Bibb County sought friendships on that website. The immediate response will vary and might prove to be enlightening.
— Carolyn Effie
Macon
Open question
This is supposedly an excerpt from the U.S. Army Cavalry Officer’s Handbook. No one can prove it is or not. But it has been around a long time.
“The Enlisted man is basically stupid, but extremely cunning and sly, therefore he bears considerable watching.”
I seems the Centerville politicians think the same of their citizens. Maybe some citizens think that of politicians. Stupid? No, never, they could not get where they are in life if they were. But cunning and sly?
Now that question is still open.
— Carl Ayers
Centerville
One solution
Perhaps one solution for defeating ISIS would be to corralling able-bodied migrants into a well-trained and equipped force to fight their own war.
— Strud Nash
Macon
This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 11:49 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015 ."