This is Viewpoints for Sunday, August 7, 2016

Well done, well done

As Mayor Robert Reichert said Tuesday evening at the wake for Pastor Leroy Reeves Jr., Macon has lost a great leader, Center Hill Baptist Church has lost a great shepherd and the Unionville neighborhood has lost a great champion. May I add that the Beloved Community Paired Clergy has lost one of its most faithful visionaries.

Brother Leroy was a man who combined strength of character with loving kindness as few others have done. You always could depend on him to tell it like it is, but always in love. He was a pioneer in reconciliation ministry, having partnered with Bishop Tim Kelly, of Gateway Fellowship Church of God, for years before we started the Beloved Community project.

I am grateful for Leroy’s friendship, his wisdom and his pastor’s heart. We are not likely to see another like him soon. Rest in peace, dear Leroy. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

First duty

Father George Rutler, of the Archdiocese of New York, wrote an op-ed piece on the murder of Father Jacques Hamel, which has been circulated among other blogs and outlets. For those who do not know of Father Rutler, he is a regular on EWTN and his words get to the point, and do not require commentary.

“Turning the other cheek is the counsel Christ gave in the instance of an individual when morally insulted: Humility conquers pride. It has nothing to do with self-defense,” Rutler wrote.

“The Catholic Church has always maintained that the defiance of an evil force is not only a right but an obligation. Its Catechism (cf. No. 2265) cites St. Thomas Aquinas: ‘Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or of the State.’ ”

“A father is culpable if he does not protect his family. A bishop has the same duty as a spiritual father of his sons and daughters in the church, just as the civil state has as its first responsibility the maintenance of the “tranquility of order” through self-defense.”

“The priest in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvrary in Normandy, France, was not the first to die at the altar — and he will not be the last.”

In the movie, “The Shoes of the Fisherman,” Kiril is asked the conclave by the other cardinals his thoughts of modern man. His response is the church must protect the most innocent, and “if we must fight — we fight.”

Clear choice?

The question is not whether Donald Trump will win, but by what margin. Right now I would say by 5 percent. However, by Nov. 8 it could be 25 percent. There are not enough people getting government cheese, government “cost-plus” union contracts etc. to elect Hillary Clinton. When the voters think about Supreme Court picks, terrorism, jobs, law and order, the choice is clear.

Twiddling their thumbs

In March, there were zero cases of Zika in the U.S. caused by a mosquito bite. Last week in southern Florida, there were four. This week. While the area is small, one must keep in mind that the virus has already traveled several hundred miles from South America. Tom Frieden, the CDC director, says that unless something is done right away, it is only a matter of time before Zika arrives in Georgia. So, what are our Georgia Sens. David Perdue and Johnny Isakson doing about it? Nothing.

Rather than simply pass legislation for the $1.9 billion in emergency funding needed, they attempted to exploit the nation’s anxiety by burdening the simple Zika bill with language defunding Planned Parenthood and the Affordable Care Act. Of course, that attempted sleight of hand was weeks ago. Now, they are on vacation and won’t return for weeks. The virus, however, is not on vacation. It is headed our way. I get that $1.9 billion is lots of money, but try to fathom the costs to our state if we have hundreds of babies born with microcephaly that require lifelong medical attention, not to mention the family’s devastating personal consequences. Please email Sens. Perdue and Isakson and tell them to make this item a priority even if there are on their taxpayer funded vacation.

Media bias?

Robert Burks question (Telegraph 7/31) on why the horrific terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, did not receive as much press coverage as other terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Germany. The Afghan attack murdered over 80 and wounded more than 200. The Telegraph buried the news in a small article deep in it’s newspaper.

The liberal media is shielding Obama and his failed foreign policy from the public. Obama campaigned on a brash promise to end the Iraq and Afghan wars. This would assure a positive foreign policy legacy. He did not listen to his military and civilian advisers to not pull all U.S. troops out of Iraq and made a political decision to remove the troops when Iraq was secure. Iraq is now in turmoil and Obama’s decision led directly to the start up and growth of ISIS.

Afghanistan is a mess and Obama has reluctantly agreed to leave some U.S. troops there. My advice to all hard news media organizations is to report the news as it happens and leave the political bias and agendas out of it.

Quid pro quo?

The “most transparent administration in American history” secretly sent $400 million in unmarked bills delivered on unmarked aircraft to Iran as four American hostages were released. The chief executive needs to just go away.

Chicanery

One of the meanings of the Islamic word taqiya/taqiyya is to conceal or disguise one’s beliefs, convictions, ideals, feelings, opinions and tactics to deceive infidels (non-believers) of their goal to dominate the world.

A simple definition of chicanery: actions or statements that trick people into believing something that is not true: deception or trickery. Chicanery is used by the Democratic Party to deceive Americans of their goal to politically dominate America. Although they speak different languages their methods are the same—deceive to achieve.

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Sunday, August 7, 2016."