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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 5A Other Views If I were president, here’s what I would do “If you are so smart,” my young critic asked, “why don’t you run for President.” Now you and I know that ain’t gonna happen. But that afternoon, sitting in my reading chair with my Confederate Battle Flag blanket over my legs and my feline companion on my lap, I had a Walter Mitty moment. I pictured myself being sworn in to be the next President. What would I do as President? How would I change the world? Well, to start, I would take the oath before a joint session of Congress. I would have a special book pre pared on which I would place my hand during the ceremony. It would contain the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution as amended, the Ten Commandments, and the Sermon on the Mount along with passages from a number of other world reli gions. There would be no parties, dances or parades. Immediately after becoming President I would address Congress and set down some rules. The first thing I would tell them is that I had ordered a truck load of veto pens and I expected to use them frequently. To save Congress a lot of work, I would tell them what kind of bills would get vetoed. Every bill coming to my desk would have to contain a pre amble listing the name of the bill, its purpose and the Constitutional authority for the bill. The term “and other purposes” in the preamble would get an automatic veto. Any bill that does not contain clear constitutional authorization would be automatically vetoed. I would not even bother to read them. Any bill to establish new government bureaus, or to fund those not autho rized by the Constitution would be vetoed. Any bill containing funding for special local projects, known as “earmarks,” would result in an automatic veto. Next I would tell them that the practice of the President sending armed forces into combat without a formal declaration of war was over. The Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress, and in my opinion, for the President to engage in warfare without such a declaration is a violation of the Constitution. I would inform Congress of my intention to with- draw most of the U.S. forces stationed in foreign nations to a few, well equipped forward bases, or back to U.S. territory. I would sug gest that the Department of Defense obtain strips of land along our borders to house these returning soldiers as a part of securing our borders. I would notify Congress of my intention to remove all illegal aliens from American soil and establish a reasonable immigration program that would allow employers to legally import needed workers. I would insist that all federal wel fare programs be ended and taxes that support them be eliminated. That would allow each state to determine for itself the level of aid needed and the way to finance that aid. We are supposed to be a nation of law. And the law is supposed to be based on the Constitution as written. I would reject any attempts to reinterpret the Constitution as a “living document.” No “perceived powers” or other twisting of the words of the Constitution are acceptable. The government we have today is almost totally outside that permit ted by the Constitution and, in my mind, is not legitimate. That is a daydream, of course. I will never have that power. So all I can do is listen carefully to all can didates to see which of them most closely supports Constitutional gov ernment, even if he or she be from a third party or an independent, then vote for that person. Even if my choice does not win, I will have at least expressed my opinion. And if enough of us do the same, whoever wins will be forced to consider our positions. Frank Gillispie is a contributing columnist for The Banks County News. His e-mail address is frankgillispie671@msn.com. His website can be accessed at http:// frankgillispie.tripod.com/ frank gillispie Let us know your story ideas Have an interesting story to share? Do you have a unique hobby? If so, we would like to know. Contact Angie Gary, editor of The Banks County News, at 706-367-2490 or e-mail information to her at AngieEditor@aol.com. Keep Banks County beautiful! o, Commerce $ 00 5 OFF Ticket Of $20 00 Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 706-335-7458 La Hacienda Jefferson 605 Athens Street 706-367-5095 The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. The only local GM dealer offering Saturday Service COOLANT EXCHANGE & COOLANT FLUSH WITH OIL CHANGE $ 149 95 For most vehicles HOMEOF $14.95 OIL CHANGE For Senior Citizens Every Wed. Oil Change - $12.95 Hwy. 441 in Commerce 706-335-3196 800-798-7435 www.wayneneal.com SERVICE HOURS: M-F 7:30-6:00 • Sat. 8:00-4:00 Thoughts on presidential candidates Dear Editor: I had but three things to be grateful for out of my last presidential vote. The economy is moving because of tax cuts and America is safe. I began the 2008 season with great anticipation of Fred’s run for the White House. Just three months later, I found myself leaning toward Mike Huckabee. This was due to several factors, the fair tax, like- ability and media bias. Then, upon Huckabee’s third change in his plan on illegal immigration, I came back to Fred, being the only candidate who has not wavered in his message to America. He will not compromise his principles to appease anyone. Every candidate has, at one time or another, had to eat his words, except Senator Thompson. If you have watched any of the debates, you don’t see Senator Thompson being attacked. If anything, he is being avoided because he has the best over-all plan for America. As I am writing this, the rise in border violence is being broadcast on TV. 1,000 potentially deadly attacks on our border guards in the last year, 140 within the last three months. All warranting the use of deadly force if felt by a police officer within these United States. I urge every voter to go to the candidates’ websites and leave popular opinion out of your choice. Make up your own mind, reviewing the facts as I did. Vowing to use the people as his sword to defeat waste, no other candidate has offered to include us. The choice was clear, integ rity, honesty and no compromise. Sincerely, Bruce Benfiel Alto Bush and Cheney cook up another crisis Dear Editor: I just saw on an interview with Gareth Porter (investigative histo rian and reporter for Inter Press Services - specializing on Iran) on ‘Democracy Now’ Friday morn ing. He indicated that the Bush/ Cheney/Pentagon ‘Iranian speed boat attack’ allegedly threatening to assail large US warships was quite probably another big propa ganda hoax (spread with the help of the big media corporations without research of this serious allegation) and misrepresented by the major media. Perhaps the audio was even altered, splicing in the threat. After soliciting this story’s coverage from major media the Pentagon is now backing down on their certainty that the alleged threat even came from Dear Editor: As 2008 made its grand entrance, I am reminded of one segment of our society that is largely at risk of never being able to enjoy life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. Yes, many of our nation’s unborn children will be the innocent victims of a procedure called abortion, legal ized by the United States Supreme Court in January, 1973, in the his toric and infamous Roe v. Wade decision. Since then, some 48 million the small Iranian boats as they had claimed. Of course this info is not being reported by the major US media. In an interview, Vice Admiral Cosgriff, the commander of the 5th Fleet in Bahrain, makes it clear that the ships were never in danger, that they never believed they were in danger and that they were never close to firing on the Iranian boats. What is important is to realize that this was a semi-crisis that was blown up by the Pentagon and reported supinely by the major US media just as they reported the lead-up to war in Iraq. It is quite a “coincidence” that it came just as Bush was off on a Middle East trip with Condi to sell his latest ‘War of Terror,’ this Right to Life unborn babies have had their lives destroyed. During 2005, the number of unborn babies aborted in Georgia alone was 31,739. Why should we as a “civilized society” be alarmed and disturbed by these figures? Because from the Bible, God’s Word, we read again and again that Almighty God is the giver of all life and that human life is sacred and precious. (See Genesis 1:26,27; 2:7, Psalm 139:13-16) Yes, every human being, from the moment of conception, and through- time on Iran — with the support of the Pentagon (the military industrial complex) and of course, Israeli and US Zionists. This is perhaps one of the most egregious examples of sensational ist journalism yet perpetrated by the Bush administration . . . so far. We need another war like we need another seven years of Nutty Neo Fascists undermining our democra cy, exporting our jobs and debauch ing our currency. Also ironic: it comes as documents have been declassified confirming the fact that in the “Gulf of Tonkin incident” the American people were lied to in order to promote war. [The US government (under President Johnson) misrepresented another fake “attack” in order to escalate the rally planned out one’s life, is to be protected and defended by our society. This is our God-given responsibil ity (see Psalm 82:3,4). What can we do to help restore the “personhood” of the unborn? First, we can pray for our nation’s leaders and citizens, that their con sciences will be “awakened” to this national tragedy. Then, we can “speak up” for the unborn by letting those around us know about the realities and trag ic results of abortion. Also, there war in Vietnam by bombing North Vietnam - causing many innocent deaths, great suffering, and costing the American taxpayers billions of dollars]. As an aside: Of all the candidates for president questioned during a recent Fox ‘News’ debate, only Ron Paul questioned the Bush repre sentation of the event. Hopefully Congress will investigate this manip ulation of the truth and not just roll over again as it seems so prone (no pun intended) to do. You can check it all out on http:// democracynow.org. See past shows, Jan. 11, 2008 for the full interview. Sincerely, Larry Hess Baldwin will be a Georgia Right to Life Annual Memorial for the Unborn on Tuesday, January 22, 2008, at the Capitol steps in downtown Atlanta beginning at 11:30 a.m. For more information con tact Georgia Right to Life at 770-339-6880 or visit www.grtl.org. Together, we can change our culture from death to life! Sincerely, Tim Garrett Homer Local meetings citizens can attend The following local government agencies hold regular meetings which are open to the public: •Maysville City Council, 7 p.m., first Monday of each month at the Maysville Public Library. •Banks County High School All-Sports Booster Club, 6:30 p.m., first Monday of each month, BCHS library. •Maysville Beautification Committee, 7 p.m., fourth Thursday of each month at the Maysville Public Library. •Banks County Planning Commission, 7 p.m., first Tuesday of each month at the courthouse. •Gillsville City Council, 7 p.m., first Tuesday of each month at city hall. A work session is held at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month. •Banks County Board of Education, 7 p.m., third Monday of each month at the BOE office. The work session is held on the Thursday prior to the regular meeting also at the BOE office. •Baldwin City Council, 7 p.m., second and fourth Monday of each month at city hall. A work session is held at 6:30 p.m. on the Thursday pre ceding each regular meeting. •Homer City Council, 6 p.m., second Tuesday of each month at city hall. •Banks County Board of Commissioners 6:30 p.m. second Tuesday of each month at the court house. A work session is held at 3:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the courthouse in Homer. •Alto City Council, 7 p.m., second Tuesday of each month at city hall. •Lula City Council, 7 p.m., third Monday of each month at city hall. A work session is held at 11 a.m. on the Thursday preceding the regular meeting. •BJC Medical Center board of directors, 1:30 p.m., third Monday of each month in the confer ence room of the hospital. •Banks County Middle School Booster Club, 6:30 p.m., third Monday of each month at the Banks County Middle School lunchroom. “ROOF DOCTOR" Roofing & Repair - Metal - Shingles - Flat Roofs - Flashing - Maintenance - Inspections HOMER CARVER Designs & Gifts For All Occasions Fresh Flowers & Silks Locally Owned & Operated 8200 Jefferson Rd. •[Commerce, GA 706-335-7676 • 706-340-3695 706-335-6548 Free Local Delivery MARK PATRICK SEMINARS PRESENTS SEMINAR With HYPNOSIS! JUST 2 1/2 HOURS 100% WRITTEN GUARANTEE* ONLY $49.99 You've tried everything and nothing has worked, until Commerce Friday. Jan. 25th now that is! This program is designed to work rnmmprrp rivir rentpr110 State Street everyday.in real life in your life. 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