This is Viewpoints for Friday, August 12, 2016

Truth telling

Obama wants to take our guns away! Hillary wants to eliminate the Second Amendment! (Insert the name of any Democrat running for office here) wants to deny us our Constitutional rights! Get real folks.

No president, no political party, no citizens group has that power. It’s time for a civics lesson. The Constitution details how an amendment can be repealed or modified:

Either Congress or the states can propose an amendment to the Constitution. Both houses of Congress must propose any amendment by a two-thirds majority, or two-thirds of state legislatures can compel Congress to take up the matter. Once passed by a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress, the proposal is then sent to the various states where a three-fourths majority is required to ratify any changes (See Article 5 of the Constitution of the United States of America).

Over the course of our history, hundreds of amendments to the Constitution have been attempted, yet, since 1787, only 27 amendments have been successful. The process, by design, is meant to be extremely difficult.

So, when a politician says an opponent wants to take away our rights as citizens, it’s time to get real. We the people need to hold politicians accountable for their statements. I would love to hear Donald Trump asked to explain how Hillary Clinton is going to eliminate the Second Amendment. He can’t. He hasn’t a clue. It’s simply not going to happen.

Comparisons

I get a kick out of reading the anti-Trump columns and letters published in the news. To try to put some items to rest lets first focus on economics. While true that Trump received approximately $200 million from his father, regardless of the news source, he is worth between $4 billion (Forbes estimate) and over $10 billion (his estimate). If you do a quick computation he took his fathers inheritance and multiplied it by at least 20 and possibly by as much as 50 times its original value. Lets compare his economic potential with Hillary who was flat broke when she moved into her home in New York and according to some key indicators gave numerous speeches for millions of dollars. If you want her to manage the economy I have a bridge to sell you.

Now let’s focus on lying. Hillary has a bad habit of not telling the truth, whether about Benghazi or what the director of the FBI said about her recklessness in transmitting classified information on a private server. While Trump has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth, as far as known, he doesn’t lie about anything. Thus, if you want someone as the next president that will not lie to his constituents and can manage the economy instead of her pockets we need Trump.

Misunderstood

When Donald Trump talked in a speech about the danger of Hillary appointing left-wing justices to the Supreme Court and what that would do to the Second Amendment, he correctly illustrated the danger to America by saying “there’s nothing you can do folks.” He then added “Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don’t know?” I knew exactly what Trump was saying, but the liberals and media went ballistic and mischaracterized it completely.

When civil rights workers (like myself) perceive a threat to the Second Amendment, we don’t riot and burn down our neighborhoods, we don’t loot stores and overturn police cars. We don’t do any of those things that are in the playbook of liberals. We write letters to our newspapers to inform the readers of the facts. We write letters and send emails to our representatives, governor, congressmen and senators to insure they are aware of the importance of continuing to guard our civil rights at all costs. We send another check to the NRA that will allow its Institute for Legislative Action to be a more effective voice for all law abiding citizens. We are civilized and conduct ourselves accordingly.

To suggest otherwise just to score political points with weak-minded and uninformed voters is ridiculous and disingenuous. Although the media seems to have forgotten, the Second Amendment is the only thing that protects the First Amendment. Both are equally important and are just two of the shining stars that make the U.S. the envy of the world.

Millage increase

The Telegraph reports that county officials are unable to collect fees from citizens which the officials developed and implemented to pay for garbage collection and recycling to the extent they desire comparable with property tax collection percentage. So now, “their” prior poor planning and implementation appears headed to a change in which property owner taxpayers will be recipients of what some leaders probably wanted all along, a tax millage increase, now that local elections have been completed.

How do officials propose to collect all outstanding taxes and fees in arrears in a timely manner or do we just kick that can down the road?

This could be the nail in the lid closing the SPLOST’s coffin for burial, Macon-Bibb County; board of education and regional transportation. Rest in peace.

Different verses

John Kelley wrote according to John 14:2’s statement that “In my Father’s house are many mansions, we will come to know that eternity is a mighty big place and there is room for all of us there.” He concludes by saying “all religious paths leads to the top of the mountain where lodging for everyone awaits.” Yet if you look four verses down in John 14:6 you will see Jesus making a very exclusive statement when he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” According to Jesus, being right with God and spending eternity in heaven is only for those who come through him. That eliminates every religion, religious leader, denomination, or church that teaches there is a way to God other than Jesus Christ dying on a cross for our sins and being raised for our justification.

As a matter of fact in Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus tells us “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, August 12, 2016."