This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015
Clear focus
As a Department of Defense manager with 41 years of federal service, I’ve been subject to the same cyber-security laws and regulations that applied to Hillary Clinton during her tenure as secretary of state. These tenets are regularly preached to every government employee, and in my department we’re required to complete training courses annually to ensure there’s no uncertainty regarding the rules. I think I can bring everything into clear focus for anyone who still believes Clinton might possibly be the victim of a political witch hunt.
If my agency were to learn that I had been conducting government business entirely via a personal email account using a private server that was not within the control of an authorized information systems administrator, they would immediately suspend my security clearance and initiate termination procedures. I would also be subject to fines and imprisonment for violating federal law. It’s just that simple. Clinton asserts that someone in the State Department told her that using a personal server and email account was allowed. If that conversation actually took place, the official she spoke with was either incompetent or afraid to say no.
As for Clinton’s claim that the classified information she received and sent through her personal account was not labeled “classified,” I can’t imagine a weaker excuse for jeopardizing national security. The suggestion that a cabinet-level secretary shouldn’t be held responsible for recognizing classified material, marked or otherwise, is ludicrous.
— Steve Wooley
Macon
Don’t leave home without it
Well, it has happened again. One well armed fanatic and lots of helpless and defenseless people all in one place. Just like Sandy Hook, Columbine, Luby’s (Texas restaurant), Chattanooga, Tennessee, Reserve Center; Charleston, South Carolina; Fort Hood, Texas; the Lafayette movie theater and now the community college in Oregon. No one with a gun or even a baseball bat. What was the unarmed security guard going to do, hit the shooter with his badge? Give me a break.
I don’t go to the movies anymore, but if I did, I’d go prepared to defend myself and those helpless souls around me. I know a fellow that is always armed when he leaves home, and I feel much safer when I’m around him. We need more like him.
— Charles T. Wolf Jr.
Macon
Proofreading cachet
“When I use a word” Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
— Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
An article in the sports section of The Telegraph on Thursday about the Georgia versus Alabama football game brought this quote to mind. A line in the article reads “... Saban coached team still carries a ton of cache.” The word cache has three different definitions; (1) a secure storage place, (2) something hidden (3) computer memory. Which definition did the writer intend to use?
Maybe he meant to use the word “cachet,” which means the state of being respected. Spell check will never replace proofreading and editing, which died a long time ago.
— Bert Peters
Warner Robins
If a tree falls ...?
Again, last Thursday another mass shooting in Oregon. And again, we hear the call for gun control. But one thing no one seems to mention is the news media’s role in these mass shootings. The media’s constant nonstop sensationalistic coverage of these events is what encourages these people. They’re looking for attention, and they want to inflict the most pain possible. They know the more horrific the act the more media attention they’ll get.
At this point gun restrictions won’t do much. But what will, is not giving the shooters what they want: attention, fame and notoriety. We should call on the news media to limit coverage and stop making the shooters the focus of public/media attention.
— Dominick Ruggero
Warner Robins
Faith
I would like to challenge freelance writer David Mann, to prove 2 + 2 = 4 without stating, “well ever one knows it.” There are no absolutes. People simply believe what they want to believe.
Does God exist? There is no way of knowing.
— Thomas Spence
Bonaire
Not listening to answers
To answer Bill Cummings’ question of why must the Bible be read literally, I would respond with why wouldn’t you read the Bible literally? You read math, science and history books literally. Since God inspired the Bible, then certainly you would want to know what God has to say to us, and because the Bible is made up of words God inspired then you must read it literally. The only reason a person would not read it literally is because God is saying things that person doesn’t like. That person is trying to dismiss what God has said by saying there are blunders in the Bible or saying its just a metaphor or a myth.
A sure sign of a mixed up person is when they say they agree that God inspired the Bible when just the week before they said the Bible has blunders. Cummings says his critics scream that he is a heretic and a flaming liberal, but they never answer his questions. I suspect the problem is not that they are not answering his questions, but rather he’s just not listening to their answers. Rather than admit God is right and they are wrong, people would rather find fault with God.
— Craig Giddens
Warner Robins
Missed it
We have come full circle as a society. We have black mayors, congressmen, lawyers, doctors and in just about every profession there is. Which is fine and dandy. Now, lo and behold, we have a black hamburger bun. Thanks to the race for Japan. Boy, them folks will make anything to make a dollar.
— Tommy Arnold
Warner Robins
Oh, Tommy, it’s a Burger King Halloween promotion. In Japan, where Burger King tested the black bun, the Whopper came with, according to Time magazine, black cheese, black ketchup, “all made from squid ink and bamboo charcoal.” The American version is more traditional with “melted American cheese, ripe tomatoes, fresh lettuce, creamy mayonnaise, A.1.® Thick and Hearty Sauce, crunchy pickles and sliced white onions.”
— Editors
This story was originally published October 6, 2015 at 10:44 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015 ."