This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Which cart?

I have been pleased with the decision made months ago by our county leaders to provide citizens a way of conveniently recycling household materials using the blue recycling carts. As we know, most types of household trash can now be placed in these blue carts without having to sort them, with the exception of glass containers which can be dropped off at area fire stations. The carts are a big step in the right direction since the potential for saving valuable landfill space can be quite substantial.

But, not nearly enough of us are actually requesting and using the recycling carts. I noticed on the last pickup in our neighborhood on a nearby street (Red Oak), I counted only one blue cart placed near the street for pickup.

I am convinced that Macon-Bibb County could substantially improve participation in recycling with just a bit of media advertising and attention. I do not know which county official is in charge of the recycling program, but I have seen no recent indications of just how well the program is going. I do urge county commissioners and our mayor to examine an accounting of the amount of participation by citizens and determine how more people can be encouraged to participate. After all, we are all paying for a service not used by very many people in some areas of Bibb.

As I found, county workers are quick to respond and deliver when someone calls in a recycling cart request. How feasible would it be to have those incarcerated in the Bibb County Jail deliver a cart to every address that does not currently have one?

The blue carts might also be used to collect political lies by the current Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. Think about it. According to a recent analysis by the Washington Post’s political FactChecker ratings, 85 percent of Trump’s claims that were vetted were false or mostly false. And, Clinton had a more typical political accuracy of her claims with the number of false and the number of true claims being about equal and her other claims falling somewhere in the middle. According to the Post, there has never before been a major-party politician with Trump’s record of false claims. It does seem clear that neither candidate has much to brag about in the area of truth telling. So, perhaps we should abandon the idea of placing all these lies in the recycling carts and just relegate them all to the garbage carts instead.

Plentiful drugs

There are a lot individuals who have an ever-increasing need to be more closely questioned about why drugs are so plentiful. I recently asked several pharmacists if any agency — sheriff, doctors, etc. — are attempting to stop those who are ultimately causing the soaring supply to be accountable! The response was, “absolutely not.”

Our Sheriffs Office is the most expensive and yet failing to disrupt the dozens of drug dealers or bring closure to known areas of massive drug use. Someone other than the dealers and mules are getting rich. Doctors are prescribing hundreds of thousands of dollars of drugs a week. The legal drugs are as easy to get as the illegal ones. Considering we have the GBI and FBI in Bibb County, trafficking should be corralled. Drug tests of all recipients of welfare will cause finger pointing and arrests. All members of our public servants should be randomly tested monthly. Teachers need testing, too.

Until the taxpayers finally see an end to public enemy No. 1, the tragedies caused by drugs will continue to explode. There are probably a thousand major violators. Are there prominent people being held unaccountable? Exposure of known users is a must.

No more bucks for the U.N.

Earlier this month, Shin Bet, Israel’s Security Agency, revealed that Waheed Borsh, working for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Gaza as an engineer since 2003, was arrested on July 16. Borsh, 38, confessed to several cases of his involvement in aiding Hamas. During questioning, he disclosed information regarding cases in which Hamas “blatantly and aggressively” exploited UNDP humanitarian activities for its own purposes, the Shin Bet said.

Danny Danon, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N., has pointed out that, this was not “an isolated case.” Only a few weeks ago, Shin Bet had arrested Mohammed El-Halabi, a Hamas operative. El-Habibi had infiltrated the World Vision humanitarian aid NGO in order to divert funds and other resources for use by Hamas. The Shin Bet estimates that since 2010, about 60 percent of World Vision’s annual budget in Gaza was diverted to Hamas and its military wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

This case is different. We now have the U.N. Office of Legal Affairs seeking to invoke diplomatic immunity for a Palestinian aid worker, who has admitted to aiding the Hamas terror organization, I am opposed to American dollars getting into the coffers of Hamas. I am not surprised there is a U.N. middleman.

Government takeover

All of “God’s children” experience problems with meanings and spelling of words. The Telegraph’s article about the unreasonable /unjustifiable price increase of life saving Epipen’s by 600 percent helps define the correct meaning of the word “greed.” Heather Breach, CEO of Mylan Corp., and daughter of U.S. Sen. Joe Mancin, D-W.Va. Remember those names. May they choke on their millions of dollars.

This story could not be more personal because a “ready” EpiPen administered by my wife and son after being stung by just two bald-headed hornets saved my life. (An EpiPen is always near me when outside. Many citizens could find it difficult to purchase an EpiPen even prior to the increase.) With this type pricing of needed drugs, governmental “takeover” of pricing should be considered similar to that of critical materials during the Korean War.

Questions

I read every column by Catherine Meeks carefully. She has had very different life experiences from me and has a different perspective and sometimes different interpretations of events. It is good for me to learn about other views. I have a question. She recently wrote that every 28 hours a black person is killed by a police officer. My question is, “How many people of any color are killed by police officers in a 24 hour period?” Another question — “Where do I find these statistics for myself?” Please restrict the answers to the USA.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Wednesday, August 31, 2016."