Why not help all U.S. youth?
As a concerned citizen, I must ask why our president chose just two segments of our youth to receive special privileges. Why were Asians and caucasians excluded from the disadvantaged youth program? These youths face the same circumstances as African-Americans and Hispanics.
JANE FINCH, Charleston, Tenn.
Religious liberty at stake
The onslaught of judicial "gay rights" rulings rendered by progressive federal judges supports a well-orchestrated plan to neuter the power of the church. Religious liberty -- the first freedom of Americans -- has always demanded that the state respect private and public expressions of religious faith. However, following Niccolo Machiavelli's direction during the Middle Ages, the state is purposefully extinguishing the church's cultural or moral power of influence, thereby rendering it as a harmless subordinate instrument of the political state. The state recognizes that principled people of faith present the only real threat to their complete dominance of an otherwise naive society, and Barack Obama is driving a relentless plan toward total control. If the state can force photographers to shoot intimate photos at an LGBT wedding against their deep religious beliefs, they will soon stop ministers, rabbis and priests from speaking against any "sin" that is counter to the state's secular PC guidelines. And if corporations can pressure governors to veto bills, or a single judge can reverse a peoples' referendum on matters of the soul, this spells the loss of our religious freedom, and positions the state to be our god.
PAUL SHEARER
Disagreeing with Connie Chung
Having spent my career in the male-dominated concrete industry, I feel qualified to disagree vehemently with some of Connie Chung's advice for succeeding in the business world. (1) Never tell a dirty joke or accept one as appropriate. That is not only a violation of sexual harassment law, it brands a woman as willing to accept a low level of unprofessionalism. (2) "Offend them before they offend you" only leads to downgrading. The whole idea is to improve the workplace, not bring women down to a lower level. When did "a potty mouth" become an asset? (3) "Act more like men?" There is a difference between aggressive and assertive. Aggressiveness in a woman leads to unpleasant name-calling; assertiveness has a chance of leading to better things. The Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute is a fine organization, dedicated to helping women get ahead. I hope the young women in the audience will not be influenced by this ill-advised counsel.
JO COKE, Signal Mountain
Jesus and Obamacare
A recent letter about Congress' low approval rating is spot on. Indeed, for some of Obama's tea party detractors whom I run into, I say: "OK, you hate Obama, fine! I hate lima beans." This is typical about Obama haters who otherwise cannot think past their Fox News talking points. But why -- especially you evangelicals -- do you hate Obamacare? Shame on you people! Don't you know that God's work is providing health insurance for those who heretofore could not get it? I am sure Jesus would agree.
MIKE C. BODINE, East Ridge
Let's stop meth now
Re: "East Tennessee meth sweep nets 20 suspects." Where is the investigative work and reporting that would support changes in our laws to make pseudoephedrine drugs require a prescription? Our Sen. Bo Watson worked against this proven method of curtailing the meth epidemic and is opposing the governor's common-sense changes by citing a dubious "convenience" factor. Tennessee is No. 1 in meth, and three years of monitoring where the ephedrine sales are occurring has allowed us to pack our prisons with meth addicts and dealers. We now spend more money on prisons than on education, we have no burn unit in Chattanooga because of meth, and our brave law enforcement personnel are put at risk daily from the toxic materials and people making these drugs. The merchants of meth send their lobbyists to Nashville to purchase our legislators' complicity in this scam that benefits their corporations and the prison industry but leaves Tennesseans with a bill estimated by one source at $1.6 billion when the damage, the enforcement, prosecution, prison and probation cycle are calculated. Convenient, I suppose, for them. We are sleepwalking through hell. Please do some research and speak out.
CARTER PADEN, Signal Mountain
Please list U.S. content
I am always disappointed when I read your weekly auto reviews by Ken Chester and others that they don't include the percent of U.S. content in the reviews. This should be a very important piece of information to consider when buying a new vehicle. There are Hondas and Toyotas that have 80 percent U.S. content and Fords and Chevys that have 20 percent or less. As an example, the Ford Fusion is made in Mexico and is not providing American jobs. I think people in the U.S. are finally becoming more aware about how much damage imports of all kinds are doing to our economy, and killing jobs in the U.S. Of course there are auto companies like Mazda, Infiniti and Audi that don't produce anything in the U.S., which is a disaster for us. If every American just spent $1 more per day on "made in America" products instead of imports it would add $109 billion a year to the economy and provide 2.7 million jobs here. How much longer can we delay getting everyone on board to save America? Our paper can help by adding the U.S. content percent to all vehicle reviews.
ERIC FLAMING, Fort Oglethorpe