'Bennett cartoon in poor taste' and more letters to the editors

Bennett cartoon in poor taste

Again Clay Bennett and the Times Free Press have poked a finger in the eye of good taste. Mr. Bennett on (Feb. 3) depicted Sen. John McCain as a gaunt, dilapidated, old horse with a caption implying the Maverick had become an Old Nag.

Sen. McCain has given his life in service of our country, first as a decorated Navy pilot in Vietnam then as a public servant from Arizona. While in Vietnam he was shot down and spent five years as a POW, tortured so badly that he was left badly disabled.

Ironically, Sunday (Feb. 3) you posted an open letter regarding the loss of the paper's revenue partially due to a cancellation in subscriptions. Perhaps you should review these losses.

Is it any wonder that our country is so politically divided with such media hostility toward anyone they disagree with rather than honest debate about the issues?

KENT FOSHA, LaFayette, Ga.


Duty demands being armed

I do not plan to conduct a military assault. Accordingly, I have no need for a tank, howitzer, mortar, grenade, flame-thrower or automatic weapon. They really are "assault" weapons. An automatic weapon fires several rounds each time the trigger is squeezed, and only the first is well aimed.

I do have a duty to defend my family, self and home from criminals. I live in the edge of the county and outside any municipal police jurisdiction. Even with an excellent sheriff's department, police intervention would involve an unavoidable delay of a few minutes following a 911 call.

Criminal home invasions involving more than one criminal are sadly on the rise. Should four or five thugs invade my home, I will severely need a semiautomatic weapon with an adequate ammunition capacity. This will enable me to fire one round with each trigger squeeze without any time-consuming manual activity to recock or reload my defensive weapon.

Under such nerve-racking emergency circumstances, it would take several rounds, including misses and superficial wounds, to stop each of the invading criminals.

Any proposed law which precludes this poses a real danger to my family, which includes precious pre-school grandchildren.

HANK SUNDERLAND, Soddy-Daisy


Bring back old parking meters

I have waited to comment on the new parking pay stations in downtown Chattanooga. They could be the most annoying things I have ever seen in my life. There is nothing more annoying than having to walk a block to a machine and wait on it to print a ticket out, then walk all the way back to your car and put the ticket in your dash. Oh, and not to mention, it is pouring rain the whole time. What ever happened to people being in a hurry? With these things, you literally have to leave the house 20 minutes earlier. These things are bad for Chattanooga and even worse for our tourists.

I also don't understand why CARTA, a company that constantly reports millions of dollars in losses, would go out and spend $700,000 in money they don't have. People don't ride buses. Their busiest department is the electric shuttle, I am sure, and it is free. CARTA is the perfect local example of our national government. They don't have any money but spend it foolishly and constantly grow further and further in the red.

Please remove these things. I miss the old meters!

MARK STEPHENS


Paper should focus on city

The Chattanooga Times Free Press, if it wants to stay alive, would be better served by chiseling out a better product than going up on the price for readers.

A better product requires a better vision for the times. This is not the time for it to be wasting money and effort by trying to be a regional newspaper. Most all of the towns around here have their own newspapers.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press should tighten up and concentrate its efforts on Chattanooga and Hamilton County and not waste precious space on reporting what's going on in the surrounding cities that have their own newspapers.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press can be a paper of record without being boring. It could report a lot more news than it does, and it could cover it in more depth than it has done traditionally if it were willing to change its focus from a regional paper to a local paper where most of the readers live and the biggest advertisers are.

It would not be a bad idea to cull the better writers from the mediocre by paying them a little more. Great writing and great reporting make a great newspaper.

NAMAN CROWE


Ladd works to see the entire issue

Chattanooga is on the brink of another big step forward, and we need great leadership! For those who haven't already decided who to vote for in the District 3 City Council race, I think Pam Ladd deserves your vote.

I have seen her in action at City Council meetings (masterful leadership), in community forums, on economic development projects like Choose Chattanooga and one-on-one with specific issues. I was very impressed.

Pam seems to have a unique blend of wisdom, strength, energy and vision. She is doing a full-time job as City Council representative with no other distractions. She is willing to meet face-to-face no matter how controversial the topic. She is one tough lady, and she works hard to see the entire issue before casting her vote.

I wish I could vote for her. We are not in District 3. So the best we can do is pass the word.

BARB BOWEN


Newspaper's price increase acceptable

I start every morning with a cup of coffee and the Chattanooga paper. I have seven-day home delivery and have had for several years. Your paper covers all of the news and sports.

While Internet is good, it is not the same as sitting at the table and reading the hard copy.

I read the article (Feb. 2) and understand the need to cover costs and produce a profit. I would certainly agree to a price increase.

Please continue the daily circulation and home delivery of the Free Press.

ROBERT GREG, Calhoun, Ga.


Gun madness part of our unhappiness

Americans are certainly riled up about public shootings and gun control. We must regulate gun ownership. Does that mean lawful citizens cannot have a pistol for protection or a rifle to hunt? No! But the love of guns has reached weird proportions in this nation.

I feel sad for struggling families whose head of household is so caught up in the current gun frenzy that money needed for shoes and food is instead spent on more guns. "Gotta get another gun, before they take them all away!"

This madness is part of a larger human issue: basic unhappiness. We are seldom gratified, at ease, or satisfied. We simply cannot find true joy, and that loss is driving our species to ruin (and putting the rest of creation into dire straights!). To most of us, nothing is deeply satisfying. We chase after bigger cars, lavish food, exotic pets, etc., but after a short period of satisfaction, the pleasure is gone. So, off we go seeking something else to try and fill our souls.

Chasing brief thrills eventually causes disappointment, jealousy and anger. Humans need to examine the root cause of our misery. We can tap into the joy of each moment, like other creatures do, and transform our lives and indeed the entire world.

ANNE GARRARD GRINDLE, Sewanee, Tenn.


It's really starting to stink in nation

The most disheartening statement I hear is: "Write and call your senators and congressmen."

Since I don't have the money for fruitless long distance phone calls and if they really want to hear from us citizens why not make all correspondence to any politician postage-free with "800" numbers?

We have learned our leaders have their own agendas, not the people's. Their only focus is scrounging money from their lobbyist so they can turn around and give it to the corporations in hopes of getting re-elected ... ("bag men").

The light at the end of my tunnel is looming closer each day, and I welcome it. The America I loved as a boy has dissolved into greed and insanity. I hear some say, "America, love it or leave it." Fat chance ... just try. A passport is $150. If they turn you down, they keep your money!

Remember how we feared capitalism more than communism in the hippy days? Now we know why: Off-shore banks have looted our treasury, Bush shredded our Constitution, tripled the size of government and destroyed our image worldwide.

As Sen. Shumer, D-NY, said to Trent Lott, "Something is beginning to stink around here!"

ROBERT LEE BROWN


GOOD DEED

Sale Creek honors officer of the year

Travis Neely was recently named Sale Creek Volunteer Fire Department Officer of the Year. Travis has been a member of the Sale Creek Volunteer Fire Department since 2008 and is now a lieutenant. He is employed with Hamilton County Emergency Services as a paramedic and is currently attending Chattanooga State in the fire science program.

Travis serves his community without fear and all the while knows the risk he takes on a daily basis while staying true to his commitment as a volunteer firefighter and paramedic.

Remember the next time you see a volunteer firefighter to give them the respect that they are due because your property or life may depend on them one day.

AMY MAXWELL

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