Be on lookout for money scam
I received a letter stating I had won a lot of money and they would deliver it to my bank account or send a certified check. I opted for the certified check.
The letter looked so authentic but it was a scam to get my account number. I believe they are targeting seniors in this area.
Please never give your account number to anyone, ever. Needless to say, since I asked for a certified check, I have not heard from them.
JOANN WHITLOW
Harrison
Local GOP attacks show dishonesty
In a recent article in Politico, Chip Saltsman, chief of staff to Chuck Fleischmann and top political adviser to Mike Huckabee, cautioned that one thing GOP voters "don't like in a Republican primary is attacking other Republicans. That's not the best way to make a name for yourself."
Chip Saltsman and Chuck Fleischmann made quite a "name" for themselves in the congressional primary here locally gaining a couple of new titles as a result of their efforts.
One title you've both earned is "dishonest." Your actions prove that your words are false.
You're right, Mr. Saltsman, we don't like Republicans attacking Republicans. Thanks to you and Chuck Fleischmann, we now know personally what that looks like.
SHIRLEY TUCKER
Hixson
Spat over bonuses is disappointing
Disappointing! Whatever the internal personal conflicts between school board members and administrators may be, the result of the "no bonus" vote shows teachers how little they are valued.
In the most recent SCORE (State Collaborative On Reforming Education) Newsletter, we are reminded that "the caliber of teachers and principals is the most important lever for improving academic achievement. Action starts with recruitment. We know that countries that draw teaching talent from the top third of their college graduates outperform the United States in student achievement."
Would the recent action by the school board encourage our top college graduates to enter the teaching profession?
CATHERINE MURRAY
ObamaCare ignores principles
It was amusing to see three letters to the editor on Feb. 9 in favor of keeping the health care bill. So much for the left not wanting to re-litigate the issue.
The letters discussed the law's benefits and argued that no rational person could be in favor of repeal. But a rational person has to consider costs. A rational person cannot focus on half the equation (benefits) and blank out on the other half (costs).
Everyone knows about the law's so-called benefits. But the uproar over Obama-Care is less about the law's contents and more about its principles. I do not oppose the law because it costs too much or because it is unworkable.
I oppose it because I reject the principle that ensuring that my neighbor has adequate health care is my moral obligation. I oppose it because I reject the principle that government can force me to purchase a product. I oppose it because the only proper function of any government is to secure individual rights, not to be a social safety net.
Arguments about the law's supposed virtues miss the mark. Americans want to discuss principles; they want to discuss the proper functions of government. Let the debate begin.
JAKE JOHNSTON
Ooltewah
Stricter gun laws necessary
This is in reference to the letter that appeared to be advocating that all but the mentally unstable have a gun at the ready in case they are accosted and need to shoot someone.
One in five people have a diagnosable mental Illness. How does the writer suggest that when someone wants to buy a gun that we determine that they are mentally stable? Should anyone who wants to purchase a gun permit have to meet with a psychiatrist beforehand and have a statement that he or she is mentally stable?
Studies show that the United States has the highest crime rate of all the developed countries. Research also shows that the high crime rate is due to the easy access to guns.
The writer is correct that one community, such as Chicago, legislating stricter gun control does not work because people who wish to own guns can go a few miles to another city and buy a gun.
Using that logic it would only make sense that the United States legislate and enforce stricter gun control laws and encourage countries with which we have contiguous borders to limit gun sales as well.
JANE ELMORE,
President
National Allianceon Mental Illness (NAMI) Chattanooga
Obama gets his own Berlin wall
With the 2012 election nearing, Obama demanded that Egyptian President Mubarak step down (well, after protests began, mind you) because a small percentage of their population is tired of the socialist, authoritarian regime.
Ah, the irony there is so thick you could, well, not cut it with anything.
Then he praises violent protesters while the dead still lay in the street. This emboldens them, the violence worsens, and the protest signs magically transformed into English.
Obama and our state-run media have romanticized this and the Muslim Brotherhood so much you would think the administration is just to the left of the Boy Scouts politically.
National Intelligence Director James Clapper even proclaimed the Brotherhood a secular organization that has decried violence when evidence proves otherwise.
Military now controls Egypt and their constitution is irrelevant. Not exactly a recipe for success.
Maybe democracy will flower there. If so, Obama has much less to do with it than he would have you believe. He is image building, not freedom spreading. Much like 2008, he has to conceal his true radical nature. Guess the media ran out of ways to compare him to Reagan verbally, so they have built him his very own Berlin wall.
RAY GRIGGS
Lookout Valley
Quick response appreciated
On Oct. 25, 2010, my son, Mike, was visiting me at my home when he had a serious breathing problem.
I called 911 for help, and the person who answered gave me instructions over the phone how to get Mike down on the floor and administer CPR until the paramedics could get here. I live in the Highway 58 area, and a nearby team was at my house in about eight minutes.
They came in and got Mike into an ambulance and to a local hospital in record time. Unfortunately, Mike died the following day.
I do not know any names or the team that came, but the purpose of this letter is to thank them for their quick response to do what they could for my son.
LUCILLE GAYNOR
Solve two problems at once
Attacks on women soldiers by men in the Army are in the news. Alcohol and close working conditions for men and women do not work. Yet, the military has now decided it's OK to put women in submarines with men.
And I thought it was homosexuals we were supposed to be worried about.
Oh, I have the solution. Put homosexual men on the subs with the women. Problem solved.
SHARON S. GUY
Charleston, Tenn.