'Embarrassment' is misdirected
A recent letter writer is "embarrassed" by President Obama, but apparently not by the appalling misdeeds of the George W. Bush administration.
He is just fine with the incompetent antics and wanton trashing of the federal treasury by G.W. Bush and his cronies. He's fine with their ignorant and arrogant invasion of Iraq based on phony "intelligence" manufactured by Cheney and Rumsfeld. He's not appalled that thousands of American soldiers were sacrificed to that folly, nor that the unnecessary invasion was ill-planned, nor that it metastasized terrorism and anti-American fevers around the globe. He's not embarrassed over policies that subsidize big industry while strangling the struggling middle class, nor by the squandering of resources on no-bid contracts with crony cowboy CEOs. Nope.
Instead, he is embarrassed to have an articulate, well-educated, thoughtful president who wants to improve the lives of the average American despite rabid Republican resistance and hate-filled sneers from people who ought to know better.
JESSICA K. FRAZIER
Sewanee, Tenn.
Alcohol policy is bad all around
Re: Sunday alcohol sales: My concerns about this debate are the following:
Limiting sales on Sunday alcohol purchases drives business away from Georgia establishments. Especially in those areas close to Tennessee.
The opposition equates alcohol and its consumption with something morally wrong. Did we forget Christ's first miracle. The majority of Christians do not equate the consumption of alcohol as inherently evil. In fact on most Sundays many congregations partake in wine, not grape juice.
There is a breakdown in logic. Are conservatives saying that it is OK to get wasted every day but Sunday? If we make sales of alcohol illegal on Sunday people will sin less? Do they think that people who consume alcohol will have an epiphany such as "Oh man, I can't buy beer today, maybe I should go to church and repent for drinking"?
Would churches and local government officials rather see people drink at establishments in other counties and then drive home instead of purchasing locally and partaking at their residence? Seems a little dangerous.
The current policy seems to encourage prejudice, drunken driving, intolerance and bad business.
CHRIS WHITE
Keep American jobs at home
I understand that Dell Computers in Winston-Salem, N.C., is closing shop and moving the plant to Mexico.
This will entail the loss of some 700 American jobs that this nation cannot afford to lose.
Hershey Foods has gone to Mexico, also General Electric with the loss of American jobs.
General Electric is going to spend billions of dollars building plants in China.
How many more companies and jobs will it take for us to lose before Congress wakes up and finds out why all our jobs are going south, or to China.
I would think it is because of all the taxes (we are the only country with capital gains tax) and EPA's over-reaching regulations that are weighing these companies down.
We can be competitive in America. Look at the new Volkswagen plant and their suppliers, two Amazon plants, a new Wacker plant, that will be employing thousands of people in and around Chattanooga.
Wake up, congressmen and senators. This is why you were elected, to keep our companies and jobs at home.
VINCE PATTERSON
Signal Mountain
Poppies honor veterans' sacrifices
In veterans hospitals across America, disabled veterans are assembling memorial poppies for the upcoming Poppy Day.
The poppy is an emblem of sacrifice. In the spring of 1919, amidst complete devastation, the poppies bloomed in abundance on the battlefields of France, where so many of our brave young soldiers had fallen in battle.
A replica of this poppy became the memorial flower of the American Legion Auxiliary.
In 1920, the American Legion national organization adopted the poppy as its memorial flower.
The citizens of Bledsoe County will have an opportunity to pay tribute to all our military men and women who've given the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country.
The American Legion Auxiliary will continue to keep faith with those who give their all to keep us free by distributing poppies during the Memorial Day weekend.
The donations collected are used for the many medical needs of our hospitalized veterans.
The famous poem, "In Flanders Field," entreats us to take up "The torch" that's been given us by those fallen warriors.
We'll not forget. We will be vigilant in remembering our fallen heroes.
God bless those disabled veterans who have hand-made poppies that should be worn with pride to commemorate the sacrifices made on our behalf.
HANNAH T.
SCHOOLFIELD
Pikeville, Tenn.
Look to Arizona as an example
It was most interesting to read in Saturday's newspaper (March 19) that Arizona, the most aggressive anti-illegal immigration state, has reversed course.
Apparently losing as much as $150 million in tourism and other industries causes a rearranging of priorities.
Tennessee/Georgia beware!
HELEN DEARING
Privatize education to get most benefit
Politicians think that taking away teachers' collective bargaining benefits is a radical idea. At least reducing those benefits is now part of the conversation. What isn't part of the conversation is the real radical idea that no politician will dare go near. But I'm not running for anything so I'll say it: privatization.
We all know there's a reason anyone who can afford to pay twice, once for a government education they aren't using and once for a private alternative, does it.
But you can't even talk about what would really fix the problem. Hundreds of schools competing, trying to find innovative new ways to teach students. We know it works. Anybody who watched the amazing documentary "Waiting for Superman" knows it works. However, politicians never come up with bold ideas. That's why we need to privatize education. Because government doesn't innovate.
CALEB GELINEAU
Decatur, Tenn.
Separate baloney from prime rib
The ability to tell the difference between baloney and prime rib is lacking nowadays.
Many citizens believe the following baloney is prime rib: FDR sacrificed our Navy at Pearl Harbor, President Bush masterminded 9/11, and President Obama is not an American citizen.
When politicians love baloney, all of us are in trouble. In Russia, Stalin opted for a political theory of wheat production over a genetic theory. His citizens got baloney, but no bread.
What baloney will we get when state politicians waste tax money debating baloney? We must wonder about the intelligence of candidates being elected for office. Either Republican politicians cannot tell the difference between baloney and prime rib, or they would shamelessly exploit their voters whom they know cannot.
Think about being vetted. Obama's birth certificate was prime rib for his campaign staff. They would not waste their time working arduously for an illegal candidate. It was prime rib for Hillary Clinton who would have shouted to high heaven that Obama was not born in the U.S.A. if such were the case.
Furthermore, if you think McCain and Palin would have let a fake birth certificate slide, you need to take a class or 10 in logic.
WILLIAM D. HEARD
Ringgold, Ga.