This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015
Saving a world
Macon-Bibb County voters decided to continue to fund the board of education projects through the optional sales tax to help children prepare for their adult lives. Another tax placed on fossil fuels to promote the reduction of their use would help ensure students have a livable planet to pursue their vocations.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has indicated we should not expect to reduce warming to less than 2 degrees celsius with current technology. Citizens Climate Lobby is a grass-roots, nonprofit community committed to giving leaders of Congress an option that will facilitate a movement to a cleaner environment and foster an action plan to use more renewable forms of energy. A fee or tax would be charged at the source of fossil fuel production but rebated to the citizens.
Dr. Hoesung Leo, vice chair of the IPCC, stated "A carbon price tax is the driver that puts us on the right track to reducing carbon emissions." I urge parents, civic leaders and church groups to actively push for legislation to get this plan moving by contacting your leadership in Congress.
It will not cost you a penny and may even save you many.
— Fred Gunter
Macon
Salute to Georgia vets
Around this time every year, Americans across the country recognize the sacrifices our veterans have made for our freedom. Towns hold parades, churches host covered dish suppers and businesses offer discounts. All of these gestures are commendable, but we must continue to thank our veterans daily and recognize the sacrifices they made along with their families.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, 15 Peach State veterans were inducted into the Georgia Military Hall of Fame — seven World War II veterans and eight Vietnam veterans. These American heroes answered the call of duty, fought in the trenches and stared down the enemy. One inductee, United States Navy Machinist Mate 1st Class S.O. Swygert of Columbus, volunteered to serve in the Navy as a frogman, or combat diver, on the Navy's elite Underwater Demolition Teams. These units were a precursor to present-day Navy Seals.
Decades later in 1996, Swygert participated in a patriotic relay of more than 12,000 participants when he was selected to carry the Olympic torch. He proudly carried the torch through his hometown, handing off the iconic symbol to the mayor of Columbus. All of these Hall of Fame inductees championed the blessings of liberty and freedom around the world and back home in the United States.
Think of all of the amazing things these veterans accomplished. They established democracies, defended liberty and freed an entire continent from tyranny. Like many Americans in my generation, my father, David A. Perdue Sr., served in World War II and the Korean War. He retired as a colonel in the Air Force Reserves in 1952 and taught me at a young age that no one understands the true price of freedom more than our nation's veterans. This still rings true today.
Our country now relies on an all-volunteer force of heroes who answer the call of duty to protect us. American service members are deployed and redeployed at a higher rate now than ever before. Our country must never forget our service members' sacrifices. I take the responsibility of preserving our veterans' legacy very seriously and I will always strive to fulfill our country's promises to the women and men who wore the uniform.
Veterans Service Organizations, the Georgia Military Hall of Fame, and programs like Honor Flight do an outstanding job honoring our heroes and reconnecting them with their comrades. We must build on their successes and strive to always support our veterans and their families. This week, we salute our American heroes and Georgia's entire military community.
— U.S. Sen. David Perdue
Slanderous article?
Your article is Saturday's paper was extremely slanderous to Dr. Ben Carson in regards to the West Point story. I was very disappointed in your take on this story.
Carson has proved to be an excellent candidate for the presidency. I read (a different) article and review prior to reading your publication and was truly disappointed in the tone of your article. Carson has not been out to defame every candidate who has appeared with him in the debates, and he has managed to pass Donald Trump in the run for the president.
Please refrain from picking up a slanderous story as best and passing it on as your own opinion. I for one would vote for Dr. Carson and as a newspaper, you have a responsibility to the public to report the news as it is reported without adding the vicious slant you applied to Saturday's article in your paper.
Let's see how this plays out. Politico should be sued for slander.
— Cathy Gill
Warner Robins
Our brief did not refer to the Politico story at all. It referenced Carson's 1996 autobiography.
— Editors
Where's the problem?
Larry Walker's column about Ray Goff confirmed that I should write this letter although retribution may soon follow. Soon after Goff's selection as UGA coach I was asked by a friend hosting a reception in Macon for Goff to attend as the token Yellow Jacket. On being introduced to Ray, I stated, "Coach, I hope you win every game each year except one." His response, while smiling: Mr. Brook, "I know exactly how you feel."
Congrats to UGA players, coaches and staff on the win over Kentucky. Raspberries to the fickle, overentitled part of the UGA fan base and current Telegraph sportswriters following the Harley Bowers UGA bias of years ago and their off football season writing prognostications of a false sense of "titles" entitlement ignoring future changes during the season.
Games are won or lost on the field by athletes giving their best through injuries under the tutelage of coaches lacking the perfection of the entitled fans and all-knowing sportswriters. If there is a problem in the UGA program it rests with some of the fans and sportswriters, not Coach Richt.
— Arthur D. Brook.
Macon
Still not happy
The Telegraph took a lot of heat recently for changing the puzzle page. Unfortunately, even though you caved to the voices of the masses and brought back the Cryptoquote, you have not seen fit to revive the earlier Sudoku. The new one is not much of a challenge. Today's was supposedly Level 5 difficulty, yet I solved it in about a half hour — with interruptions. The previous Level 3 and 4 puzzles would keep me busy much longer and sometimes leave me stumped. The new format is not an improvement, either. The larger numbers and shaded cells are distracting. Please bring back the old puzzles.
— Steve Capista
Macon
This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 10:27 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015 ."