Free Press Opinion from TimesFreePress.com | http://timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/freepress http://timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/freepress A majority of liberal Democrats in the United States Senate is threatening to impose upon you -- and all other Americans -- a medical care and financial revolution with an added cost of trillions of dollars. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/24/fp1-med-financial-revolution/ With the state of Tennessee requiring a heavy increase in fees to assure good water quality despite difficulties from heavy stormwater runoff, a great many local businesses and property owners are facing some severe cost problems. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/24/fp5-stormwater-fees-but-not-for-vw/ It is appropriate that our U.S. Constitution protects the right of Americans to bear arms. But it is also appropriate for guns to be prohibited in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/24/fp4-no-guns-in-bars/ Hamilton County has about 40,000 fine local children in our schools, and we have a big challenge to give them good buildings, good teachers and good courses to assure their educational success in life. But there are, of course, serious financial problems. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/24/fp2-our-schools-in-financial-troubles/ There was a terrible triple tragedy on the Tennessee River, downstream from Chattanooga at Nickajack Dam on Saturday, as three fishermen from Dalton, Ga., were swept away by turbulent waters. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/24/fp3-triple-tragedy-on-the-river/ Most of us, painfully, realize that we are deeply involved in Afghanistan. But honestly, most Americans don't really know why. And most of us know less what our specific objectives are, how we hope to attain them, and how, if and when we can get out. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/23/11-23-fp1-afghanistan-define-to-solve/ If every cent of the tax credits Congress is handing out to home buyers were spent exactly as intended, there would still be something unjust about subsidizing the minority of Americans who are buying homes at the expense of the majority who are not. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/23/11-23-fp2-bye-bye-to-half-a-billion-dollars/ It scarcely needs to be stated that responsibility for the slaughter of 12 soldiers and one civilian at the Army's Fort Hood in Texas rests with the person who took it upon himself to commit those horrible acts -- matters that will be adjudicated in a court-martial proceedings. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/23/11-23-fp4-security-vs-political-correctness/ It is a bad idea to use tobacco taxes to fund medical care for children in poor families. That's because it makes the funding dependent upon Americans who unwisely choose to smoke. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/23/11-23-fp3-tax-hike-partially-up-in-smoke/ All Americans naturally want all Americans to have whatever medical care is necessary and has prospects of being beneficial in making our lives longer and more comfortable. But not all ills can be cured. And certainly, not all treatments can be provided “free.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/22/if-us-med-care-were-free/ You may have heard of “gerrymandering” — a process by which lawmakers carve up states into ridiculously shaped legislative districts to ensure the election of someone from a certain political party or race. Gerrymandering is concerned not with ensuring that the will of the people is carried out but with protecting certain individuals or constituencies. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/22/stuffing-ballot-box/ You can scarcely turn around these days without someone imploring you to “go green” and “save the planet” — sometimes by methods that may not do the planet much good. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/22/green-driver-education/ Prior to 2008, San Francisco thought of itself as “enlightened” for being a so-called “sanctuary city” — one in which police and city employees were generally not supposed to report suspected illegal aliens to federal immigration authorities. Part of that policy in San Francisco protected illegal alien minors from being reported to immigration officers even if they had been arrested for felonies. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/22/tragedy-sanctuary-cities/ With winter coming, when electricity use is higher for heating as well as lighting and cooking, and with the national economy sluggish, it is certainly good news for many that the Tennessee Valley Authority is able to cut December "wholesale" electric rates by 5.5 percent. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/21/fp1-tva-cutting-electric-rates/ What would be better for Tennesseans in general than to have economic success, making us all able to support a good standard of living and happy lives? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/21/fp2-sen-berke-for-education-success/ From time to time you read in the newspaper about someone being caught in a "Ponzi scheme." You may ask: Who was Ponzi and what did he do that causes his name to be used these days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/21/fp4-what-is-a-ponzi-scheme/ Heavy downtown traffic crosses the broad Tennessee River daily in Chattanooga via the Chief John Ross Bridge at Market Street, the P.R. Olgiati Bridge and the Veterans Bridge. But our Walnut Street Bridge, no longer used for motor traffic, is still import http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/21/fp3-our-historic-walnut-street-bridge/ Maybe it's easier for Chattanoogans to be optimistic about the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Moccasins football team early today -- rather than later. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/21/fp5-utc-mocs-football-in-bama-den/ With a rush on in the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and by President Barack Obama to impose a ruinously bureaucratic and costly system of socialized medicine upon Americans, it is interesting that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the Senate version of proposed legislation would cost "only" $849 billion! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/20/fp1---only-849-billion-or/ Our Chattanooga National Cemetery is one of the finest, most scenic and most historic national cemeteries anywhere in the world. It was established in November of 1863, after the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge in the War Between the States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/20/fp2---enlarge-our-national-cemetery/ Former Tennessee state Rep. David Copeland hasn't been in the political spotlight lately, but he isn't forgotten. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/20/fp3---honoring-former-rep-copeland/ Critics of the U.S. detention of terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, say the facility there is populated by prisoners who were simply in the wrong places at the wrong times in the war on terrorism. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/20/fp4---the-dangerous-gitmo-detainees/ It's understandable if most Americans do not pay close attention to the small Central American nation of Honduras. But it is good nonetheless that the United States is no longer defending the former president of that country, who was rightly removed according to Honduran law after he tried to take dictatorial power. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/20/fp5---for-democracy-rule-of-law/ Most people don’t really “like” any kind of taxes, although we know that many of them are necessary for the orderly operation of our government and our society. But probably, one of the most “unlovely” and least popular of taxes is our local “sewer service fee.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/19/unlovely-sewer-tax/ President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress have peddled for months the claim that ObamaCare socialized medicine would reduce medical spending. But based on common sense and analyses of ObamaCare's costs, the American people just haven't bought that claim. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/19/fp2-public-wise-to-obamacares-costs/ This brief heading came up in a recent scan of the news wires: "ACORN lawsuit." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/19/fp4-acorn-wants-its-money-back/ While many Americans among our generally well-fed people are struggling with problems of bulging waistlines, it is highly disturbing that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported that one in seven American households has struggled to have enough food for reasonable nutrition during the past year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/19/fp3-problems-of-real-hunger-still/ The reports about pirates from the East African country of Somalia attacking and demanding ransoms from ships in the Indian Ocean seemed to have dropped out of the news recently. But attacks have continued, with dangerous and outrageous incidents. Now there has been another noteworthy one. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/19/fp5-somali-pirates----again/ Hamilton County Commission Chairman Curtis Adams has been such a durable and colorful part of local government for so many years -- 22, count 'em -- that it just won't be the same when he steps out of political office at the end of his current term next year, as he has announced he has decided to do. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/18/fp1-chairman-adams-22-years/ Not many people outside Alaska knew Sarah Palin as Alaska's governor before Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain surprised a great many people by selecting her as his vice presidential running mate last year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/18/fp2-sarah-palin-in-the-spotlight-again/ It is quite reasonable to have widely differing opinions about what to do with prisoners captured by the United States in the Afghanistan War. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/18/fp4-dont-bring-gitmo-prisoners-here/ Do you remember Susette Kelo of New London, Conn.? Her century-old home was seized against her will by city government so her property could be used not for, say, a road or military base -- but by other private interests that might bring in higher tax revenue. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/18/fp3-sad-tale-of-eminent-domain-abuse/ Everyone with humane instincts certainly wants all Americans to have whatever medical care they really need. But "wishes don't grow on trees." Good medical care is expensive. It can't be "free." The real issue involves how to provide the best medical care http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/17/fp1---med-care-showdown-near/ While the federal government irresponsibly can, and does, dodge facing hard cost decisions, state and local governments, private businesses and ordinary citizens can't. They have to face and deal with financial realities. Gov. Phil Bredesen says Tennessee http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/17/fp2---gov-bredesen-faces-hard-cuts/ Americans rightly cherish the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of "due process of law" before someone may be "deprived of life, liberty, or property." But until a horrible, 5-4 Supreme Court ruling last year, it had long been understood those protections did n http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/17/fp3---misapplying-due-process/ It should be an embarrassment — and shock — for Americans to realize that we, the United States of America, owe more money to Communist China than we owe any other country in the world! Should Americans, the freest and richest big country, be owing huge http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/17/fp4---we-owe-most-to-red-china/ No one of good will, or practicality, really wants anyone to be deprived of any of the essentials (or even the comforts) of life. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/16/11-16-fp1-government-as-our-nanny/ You may have heard of students stealing copies of tests and selling them in advance to other students who hope to get undeserved better grades. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/16/11-16-fp2-wrong-way-to-raise-school-funds/ Early this decade, President George W. Bush hoped to save the jobs of some U.S. steelworkers. So he slapped heavy tariffs on imported steel, artificially increasing the price of steel here. About 1,700 steelworkers kept their jobs, but tens of thousands of workers in industries that rely on steel lost their jobs because their companies suddenly faced much higher steel prices. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/16/11-16-fp3-prospects-of-destructive-trade-war/ If October seemed chilly to you, you weren't just imagining it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/16/11-16-fp4-a-chill-in-the-air/ Why is there so much debate and consternation in Congress and across our country these days about enacting some version of the ObamaCare medical legislation? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/15/11-15-fp1-just-tax-somebody-else/ Did it occur to Italians when they put their nation under the jurisdiction of a foreign court that one day the court would declare illegal the crucifixes that have long been a fixture in Italian schools? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/15/11-15-fp2-why-sovereignty-is-precious/ The horrible killings of 13 men and women at Fort Hood in Texas were a chilling reminder of the dangers the United States faces not only in distant Iraq and Afghanistan but here on U.S. soil as well. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/15/11-15-fp3-serious-danger-here-and-abroad/ Will Congress soon demand an investigation of The Clorox Co.? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/15/11-15-fp4-clorox----and-obscene-profits/ The members of Congress and our president are elected to office with the presumed duty of being "responsible" in their actions. So why is it that they and their predecessors have run up a staggering $11.9 trillion -- yes, trillion -- national debt, and continue to act in total irresponsibility by adding to it? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/14/fp1-sickening-irresponsibility/ Our annual United Way fundraising campaign seems to have been running quietly, a little "under the radar" this year. Maybe that's why only 44 percent of the goal has been pledged so far by generous Chattanooga-area people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/14/fp2-united-way-needs-united-support/ So many hidden costs, rules and gimmicks are buried in the 1,990-page ObamaCare bill narrowly approved by the House of Representatives that we shouldn’t be surprised to learn of this one: The bill would mostly exempt the state of Hawaii from the medical reform’s requirements. That exemption is tucked into three paragraphs of the legislation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/14/hawaii-no-medical-care-luau/ In the World War II era and shortly after, it seemed that "almost everybody" smoked. But then people began to get the message that smoking is "hazardous to your health." It invites cancer, high blood pressure, heart attacks and various breathing ills. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/14/fp4-smoking----unfortunately-up/ Just think how wonderful it is when young people get the big opportunity to go to college on athletic scholarships. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/14/fp5-tragedy-in-fouled-opportunity/ In our part of East Tennessee, we are surrounded by mountains, live on mountains and value the beauty of our mountains. We may tend to think of our terrain as being "rock solid." But recent events have proved that some of our elevations are not really that. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/13/fp1-rock-solid-not-quite/ Even if the economy were in great shape, it would be hard for Tennessee to sustain the costs that proposed ObamaCare socialized medical reforms would impose on the state. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/13/fp2-gov-bredesen-pans-health-care-bill/ The Maclellan building on Broad Street has been a handsome example of very useful art-deco architecture in downtown Chattanooga for many years. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/13/fp3-maclellan-building-plans/ Opponents of a plan to build windmills barely visible off the coast of Massachusetts have come up with all sorts of reasons why, in their view, the windmills must never be constructed: They claimed the project would destroy lots of wildlife, though an environmental review found otherwise. They claimed it would pose a safety hazard, but no serious hazard has been substantiated. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/13/fp4-now-weve-heard-everything/ Panicked by imported toys from Communist China that had to be recalled because they contained toxic materials, Congress passed a bill in 2008 requiring toy makers to test their products to prove they're safe before they go on the U.S. market. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/13/fp5-panic-vs-practicality/ Unemployment in the United States is running at the painful level of 10.2 percent! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/12/fp1-recession----why/ With President Barack Obama trying to rush an unsound trillion-dollar socialized medicine plan through Congress, we believe you'll be interested in a sound evaluation of it by Chattanooga's Rep. Zach Wamp. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/12/fp2-rep-wamp-views-obamacare/ First, there was talk among Chattanooga officials and others about giving a "leg up" to local companies that bid on local projects. The goal -- to boost jobs and increase tax revenue in our area by keeping the work local -- certainly seemed commendable. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/12/fp3-protectionist-spiral/ Almost as alarming as a British proposal to impose a "global tax" is the failure of the Obama administration to reject any such levy clearly and completely. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/12/fp4-global-tax-deserves-firm-rejection/ At the time, it was called "the war to end all wars." That was a wonderful hope at the end of World War I. It ended officially in 1918, at "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." That date was remembered as "Armistice Day." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/11/fp2-honoring-our-military-veterans/ With the House of Representatives having barely approved a potentially catastrophic version of a trillion-dollar-plus ObamaCare socialized medicine plan by a vote of 220-215, it is now important for the U.S. Senate to step up and kill this unconstitutional, uneconomic government control of medical care. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/11/fp1-avoid-trillion--obamacare/ A politician who wanted to shut down or sharply restrict U.S. oil production might not say so. That would be politically unpopular. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/11/fp3-artificial-energy-squeeze/ Republicans recently boycotted a Senate committee vote on anti-"global-warming" legislation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/11/fp4-penny-wise-billion-dollar-foolish/ With 220 liberal members of the U.S. House of Representatives having prevailed over 215 opponents to pass an atrocious ObamaCare socialized medicine bill that would change our way of living and inflict an additional trillion-dollar-plus burden upon the American people, Senate Republicans are claiming the House bill is "dead on arrival." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/10/dead-on-arrival-we-hope/ With yesterday having been the 20th anniversary of the fall of the infamous Berlin Wall by which Soviet Communists divided post-World War II Germany, we cannot resist commenting on a historic footnote -- involving a Chattanoogan. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/10/tear-down-this-wall/ Is the mess in Afghanistan "salvageable"? It's hard even to guess. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/10/the-mess-in-afghanistan/ The Army's Fort Hood in Texas is huge -- as wide east to west as the distance from Chattanooga to Cleveland, Tenn., and about that wide from north to south. Its population of soldiers and civilian employees is close in number to the population of our Chat http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/10/he-fired-more-than-100-bullets/ It is difficult to understand how anyone in our generally humane society could want to kill babies before birth by abortion -- and especially how anyone, even if insensitive about human life, would want to appropriate tax money from the American people to finance the killing of unwanted babies. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/10/one-good-feature-in-bad-med-bill/ It is impossible to say how much human misery was averted by the peaceful defeat of Soviet Communism in the late 20th century. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/09/11-9-fp1-big-anniversary-for-freedom/ There is something dangerous and insidious about Washington's attempts to expand its power over private businesses. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/09/11-9-fp2-healthy-firms-now-in-dcs-sights/ Suffering a budget disaster from years of lavish spending on questionable programs, California has found an appalling way to squeeze more money from its taxpayers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/09/11-9-fp3-confiscation-in-lieu-of-taxation/ More than a quarter-century ago, President Ronald Reagan was ridiculed when he proposed a system that could destroy missiles targeting the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/09/11-9-fp4-from-star-wars-to-success/ Surely you have heard about some of the big efforts by President Barack Obama and liberal Democrats in Congress to "stimulate" our lagging economy by means of big spending to the tune of $787 billion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/08/11-8-fp1-lots-of-money-lots-of-jobs/ The best reason for Congress not to spend money on the arts is that doing so is unconstitutional, under the 10th Amendment. But it is especially discouraging that Congress not only is still spending money to promote art but is doing it lavishly. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/08/11-8-fp2-odd-time-for-sky-high-spending/ A wonderful thing happened not long ago in Bryan, Texas. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/08/11-8-fp3-seeing-abortion-for-what-it-is/ When you think of big issues facing our Congress and president, which of the following does not come to mind: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, medical care reform, the $11.9 trillion national debt, or the system used to decide which college football teams play for a national championship? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/08/11-8-fp4-football-and-a-distracted-congress/ Although there are almost daily mass murders by terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, who could have anticipated that a U.S. Army major would fire on his fellow soldiers, murdering 13 and wounding 30 others, at Fort Hood in Texas? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/07/fp1-mass-murder-at-fort-hood/ It's a terrible thing for anyone to want a job and not be able to find one. We have been laboring painfully under conditions lately in which unemployment has run at 9.8 percent. But now there's worse news: The latest jobless figure is a shocking 10.2 percent! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/07/fp2-bad-job-news-gets-worse/ Despite President Barack Obama's promise not to add "one single dime" to "any" taxes paid by families making under $250,000, ObamaCare medical reform proposals in Congress would impose tax hikes on the middle class and even the poor. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/07/fp3-taxes-unlimited/ News of the misuses and abuses of the $787 billion "stimulus" keeps rolling in, and here is one that is as outrageous as any we've seen. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/07/fp4-pay-hikes-called-saved-jobs/ Aside from assuring the general safety of our people, there is no greater local interest than to provide opportunity and achievement for our schoolchildren. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/06/fp1-concern-for-schoolchildren/ Estimates vary on just how much each job "created or saved" by the $787 billion "stimulus" has cost. Lawmakers and the Obama administration have repeatedly said the stimulus -- approved almost exclusively by Democrats in Congress early this year -- was the most practical way to grow jobs and "get America back to work." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/06/fp2-92000-per-stimulus-job/ It is proper for Congress to legislate a national "debt limit" to curb excessive and irresponsible spending. The trouble is that Congress never means it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/06/fp3-debt-limit-doesnt-limit-debt/ It is very bad news that unemployment in our country is around 9.8 percent. (Practically, "full employment" would be only about 5 percent.) http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/06/fp4-bad-news-good-news-sort-of/ With the federal government $11.9 trillion in debt, with many Americans maxed out on credit cards and owing lots of other money, and with the economy staggering, it is certainly proper that the Federal Reserve has decided not to raise its "bank lending rate" beyond a very low 0.25 percent. That means many banks may charge interest rates of about 3.25 percent. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/06/fp5-interest-rate-necessarily-stays-low/ As a matter of hospitality, the United States warmly welcomes the heads of state of friendly foreign nations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, properly received respectful treatment on her recent trip to Washington. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/06/fp6-unwelcome-interference/ It is often said that, in the final analysis, “all politics is local.” But there sometimes are peculiar crosscurrents that make a difference. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/05/demo-wins-gop-house-district/ Atlanta has a tradition since 1973 of electing black candidates for mayor of the big capital of Georgia. But this year there was — and still is — a question. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/05/atlanta-mayors-race-runoff/ Most people feel that sexual matters should be “private.” Most people believe that marriage is a voluntary legalized union between “one man and one woman.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/05/maine-rejects-same-sex-marriage/ New Jersey politics is never pointed to as a good example of American democracy. New Jersey is liberal, with frequent corruption, and is strongly Democratic in politics. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/05/nj-christie-over-gov-corzine/ President Barack Obama won in Virginia last year. Liberal political influence has been oozing out of Washington into neighboring Virginia. But having seen a year of the Obama administration, Virginia independents in large numbers joined Republicans Tuesday to give conservative former state Attorney General Bob McDonnell a nearly 2-to-1 victory over liberal Democrat Creigh Deeds in the contest for Virginia’s governor. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/05/virginia-independents-gop/ Big Apple New York City has a reputation for being “ungovernable.” But former Republican, and more recently “nonpartisan,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg had won some applause for his leadership of the city in the years after the administration of Rudy Giuliani, who was mayor at the time of the horrible Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/05/ny-city-mayor-bloomberg-wins/ Although American freedom and Americans' unique prosperity were built on free enterprise and the "profit motive," a lot of our people unfortunately tend to criticize the honest earning of a "profit." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/04/fp1-congrats-ford-a-lesson/ Although American soldiers have been involved in Afghanistan and Iraq for many years, many Americans still don't really understand what we are doing there, what we are trying to accomplish, why we are taking some regrettable casualties almost every day, and how many billions of dollars those wars are costing us. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/04/fp2-what-would-success-look-like/ Most Americans don't want anyone in our country to "go hungry," for any reason. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/04/fp4-food-stamp-surprise/ On the surface, suggestions of giving preference to Chattanooga-area bidders for local jobs might seem reasonable. After all, wouldn't that mean more work for local employees and more tax revenue for Chattanooga and Hamilton County? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/04/fp3-local-protectionism-a-bad-idea/ Some politicians are claiming the recession is "over." We wish we could believe them. But with car sales down, home sales down and unemployment lingering at 9.8 percent, it's impossible to support any claim that recovery is really here. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/03/when-will-we-see-recovery/ Apparently hoping the American people will not notice, Democrats in the House of Representatives have shifted $230 billion of the cost of their proposed medical reforms into a separate bill. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/03/the-230-billion-budget-trick/ Opposition to illegal immigration is often criticized as proof of a "lack of compassion." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/03/dream-or-nightmare/ Millions of Americans have happily bought and driven General Motors cars over the years. Fortunately, the same has been true of Ford and Chrysler products. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/01/11-1-fp1-whats-good-for-gm-etc/ It should not be controversial when a state requires basic proof of voters' citizenship. By law, non-citizens are not permitted to vote, so we cannot imagine any reasonable argument against insisting that voters take some minimal, easy steps to confirm their citizenship. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/01/11-1-fp2-discriminating-against-whom/ The Pew Charitable Trusts took a look at the subsidies that Americans pay through their taxes to prop up the government-run Amtrak passenger rail service. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/01/11-1-fp3-planes-trains-and-subsidies/ The U.N. "Human Rights Council" regularly ignores brutal violations of human rights by some U.N. member nations that ridiculously are given seats year after year on the panel. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/nov/01/11-1-fp4-the-uns-idea-of-human-rights/ Artfully dodging a "trillion-dollar-plus" price tag, Democrat House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi triumphantly posed on the Capitol steps in Washington this week, claiming the House Democrats' version of ObamaCare would cost "only" $894 billion over 10 years. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/31/fp1----only-894-billion-taxes/ Some city water customers may not be aware that they are having to pay a government-required water quality fee in addition to the cost for pure water on their monthly bills. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/31/city-water-quality-fee-going-up/ Does the Obama administration think there should be more or less activity in the housing market? Its actions make that a hard question to answer. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/31/mixed-signals-on-housing/ The American people have serious (and reasonable) doubts about the threat posed by supposedly man-caused climate change. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/31/cool-to-global-warming-alarmism/ With many Chattanooga-area people excited about the beginning and the prospects of the new billion-dollar Volkswagen plant that will create about 2,000 good jobs here, there is assurance of more good news. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/30/10-30-fp1-volkswagen----plus/ As efforts are made in Congress to impose more government control on our energy sources, the U.S. senators from Tennessee and Georgia are giving timely warnings against unsound proposals for "cap-and-trade" and "global-warming" legislation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/30/10-30-fp2-our-good-senators-give-warnings/ Americans who are legitimately upset by the reckless behavior of some financial institutions should nonetheless be alarmed by the Obama administration's eagerness to take over private institutions. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/30/10-30-fp3-sure-way-to-hurt-the-economy/ The rush is on among the Democrats in majority in Congress to pass one of several versions of ObamaCare socialized medicine that surely would revolutionize medical care in America. But it is noteworthy how many -- from the president down through the senators and representatives -- have been dodging details about the huge cost of that questionable medical revolution. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/30/10-30-fp4-obamacare-what-about-cost/ President Barack Obama often tells the American people we can reduce our energy costs by embracing alternative power sources such as wind and solar. He cited those potential savings recently during a visit to a 180-acre solar power plant -- the nation's largest -- in sunny central Florida. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/30/10-30-fp5-affordable-energy/ With Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress, it is beginning to seem "inevitable" that some kind of trillion-dollar-plus, taxpayer-financed, ruinous, socialized medicine plan is marching on toward enactment. But even many "moderate" Democrats are shying away from the idea of having a "government option" -- a federal government-operated, taxpayer-subsidized medical insurance bureaucracy to operate in competition with private health insurance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/29/fp1-obamacare----and-humpty/ War in all of its destructive forms is terrible. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/29/fp2-toll-of-suicide-roadside-bombers/ Many Americans have been troubled by the liberal slant of the news media for a long time. But "major players" in TV news finally stood up to the Obama administration recently when it took its vendetta against the Fox News Channel too far. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/29/fp3-media-rebuke-white-house-policy/ For reasons that are unclear, Amtrak, the government's socialized railroad, is boasting about its passenger loads for the 12 months that ended Sept. 30. The taxpayer-subsidized railroad hauled 27.2 million passengers to and fro during that period. That's 1.5 million fewer than it carried the previous year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/29/fp4-no-reason-for-amtrak-to-boast/ Until Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain surprisingly selected Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate in the last election, not many people outside Alaska knew who Sarah Palin was. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/29/fp5-sarah-palin-winner/ With there being countless things drastically wrong with the revolutionary ObamaCare medical plans currently before Congress, Chattanooga's Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has given a timely warning that should make all Americans take notice. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/28/fp1-corker-warns-of-med-bill-cost/ With the $787 billion stimulus having done little so far besides grow government and the national debt, the Obama administration’s admission that the stimulus has done most of the supposed “good” it’s going to do is alarming. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/28/now-they-tell-us/ To our knowledge, there are no "death panels" in England under which bureaucrats consider whether a certain patient may have life-saving treatment. But England does have a socialized medical system under which the value of innocent life does not always get the priority it deserves. The result can be the same as if there were death panels. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/28/fp3-no-death-panels-but/ We don't believe that any of us really can imagine what it would be like if we -- here in Chattanooga -- suffered almost daily explosions amid crowds of our people, killing 20 or 50 or 150 innocent people in a horrible manner. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/28/fp4-almost-daily-tragic-mass-murders/ With the federal government having run up a national debt of $11.9 trillion -- adding $1.4 trillion of it in just the past fiscal year -- are these good signs that government would run a proposed federal government medical system efficiently and economically if it were allowed to dictate a total change in our medical care? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/27/fp1-are-these-good-signs/ Chattanooga is in a beautiful and impressive geographic setting, with Lookout Mountain, Elder Mountain, Signal Mountain and Missionary Ridge, and the Tennessee River flowing through it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/27/fp3-can-we-improve-our-city-spokes/ Chattanoogans have been celebrating for several months the good fortune of our community because Volkswagen is building a major manufacturing plant here. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/27/fp2-volkswagen-inviting-employees/ Nobody really enjoys paying taxes. But when it comes to the necessity to pay city and county property taxes, wouldn't it be a good idea to make it as simple, efficient and economical as possible? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/27/fp4-for-city-county-tax-efficiency/ You are aware, of course, that President Barack Obama got his Democrat majority in Congress to enact an economic "stimulus" bill with a price tag of $787 billion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/26/10-26-fp1-stimulation-strangulation/ Details are sketchy on exactly what the federal government has in mind with a new program to help low- and middle-income home buyers and renters. But the early indications are troubling. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/26/10-26-fp2-dare-we-repeat-mortgage-mistake/ For months, supporters of putting government in control of medical care have said Congress has to "get something done" fast to prevent costs from "spiraling out of control." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/26/10-26-fp3-cynical-timing-of-reform/ An Oregon man showed support for his son in Iraq by flying an American flag on his motorcycle. So you can imagine his surprise when the manager of his apartment complex in his town of Albany, Ore., ordered him to remove the flag or face eviction. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/26/10-26-fp4-old-glory-offensive-to-whom/ There are few issues before our people and our country today that have more immediate potential for terribly bad economic effects on us than the rush in Congress to enact ObamaCare medical legislation in one form or another. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/25/10-25-fp1-sen-alexander-on-med-care/ The federal government refuses to apply common sense when it comes to unproductive programs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/25/10-25-fp2-how-much-stimulus-can-we-take/ President Barack Obama has previously admitted using illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine years ago and has wisely renounced that drug abuse. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/25/wrong-policy-marijuana/ Fox News has aired a disturbing video of Obama White House communications director Anita Dunn praising Communist Chinese mass murderer Mao Zedong as one of her "favorite political philosophers." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/25/10-25-fp4-praising-a-communist-butcher/ Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, also known internationally as an outstanding heart-lung surgeon, has been devoting much of his interest lately to promoting better education for Tennessee's children. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/24/fp1-sen-frist-for-education/ On this date -- Oct. 24 -- in 1944, a young Chattanoogan, U.S. Army Technical Sgt. Charles H. Coolidge, was in southern France, leading a heavy machine-gun unit, when he encountered a large Nazi German force, estimated to be a German infantry company, in a wooded area. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/24/fp2-charles-coolidge-medal-of-honor/ As Congress debates medical reforms costing more than $1 trillion, advocates of high-speed rail systems have their own high-dollar dreams. At a conference in Washington, they said the $8 billion for high-speed rail in the $787 billion "stimulus" isn't nearly enough. They said they should get on average $30 billion a year from the federal government over the next two decades -- $600 billion in all! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/24/fp3-1-trillion-here-600-billion-there/ It is really amazing how many millions of us fly on American airlines throughout the country and the world every day -- and how very few fatal mishaps occur. It's much safer to fly than to drive your car. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/24/fp4-scary-flight-whew-safe-landing/ You may be familiar with the saying, "He who pays the piper calls the tune." It certainly makes sense, putting direction and responsibility together. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/23/fp1-he-who-pays-the-piper/ The federal government offered tax credits a few years ago to people who bought hybrid gas-electric vehicles. The idea was to boost purchases of fuel-efficient cars, trucks and SUVs. Some Americans bought hybrids because of the incentive. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/23/fp2-the-government-incentive-spiral/ For most young people, college days are wonderfully golden days. Oh yes, there is hard studying to make the most of the opportunities. But there is usually a lot of fun with other students and varied college activities. But college is expensive. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/23/fp3-sen-alexander-on-3-year-college/ It's often difficult to do constructive things, but unfortunately, it is too easy for an irresponsible person to cause serious and costly trouble for many others. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/23/fp4-troublemaking-sadly-is-too-easy/ Most Americans probably agree that it would be desirable for all of us to have medical care insurance. But millions of people currently don't have it, for one reason or another. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/22/fp1-buy-med-care----or-be-taxed/ It is almost laughable to hear claims that the $787 billion "stimulus" passed by Democrats in Congress early this year is not wasteful. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/22/fp2-signs-of-stimulus-waste/ We do not challenge the European Union's right to decide not to impose the death penalty on even its most vicious murderers. The EU is entitled to its own policies. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/22/fp3-who-decides-on-death-penalty/ Americans fighting the difficult war in Afghanistan have captured some very troublesome enemies. About 220 such prisoners are being held at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba, at Guantanamo Bay. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/22/fp4-what-to-do-with-13-uighurs/ It's not often that birthday greetings are sent to an outstanding citizen in the form of newspaper editorial comments. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/21/fp1-happy-99th-birthday-jac/ Because it is such terribly bad news, and because most of us feel we are powerless to do anything about it, there is a tendency for us to dodge the bad news that, even with high taxing, our federal government spent $1.42 trillion -- yes, trillion -- more in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 than it took in taxes from us. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/21/fp2-2009-us-deficit-142-trillion/ If you thought it strange when the Congressional Budget Office said medical reform legislation in the Senate could slightly reduce -- rather than increase -- budget deficits, you had excellent reason for that skepticism. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/21/fp3-250-billion-accounting-trick/ "In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue ... ." Most people thought the world was flat. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/21/fp4-what-else-is-out-there/ There is literally a political "feeding frenzy" in Congress these days over proposed medical care legislation, like a school of hungry sharks on attack. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/20/fp1-wholl-pay-900-billion/ It is not often that Big Labor gets so upset over a major piece of Democrat-backed legislation that it actually runs full-page newspaper ads to fight the legislation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/20/fp2-big-labor-vs-obamacare/ News of "bank failure" makes us nervous as we recall the sad history of the Great Depression of 1929-1939. Many banks then ran out of money and closed their doors, leaving their depositors' money "gone." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/20/fp4-99th-bank-failure/ We hate to be commenting so much on bad economic news today. But there are serious, painful, even ruinous problems that need to be faced before they get even worse. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/20/fp3-drowning-in-red-ink/ You’ve heard about the prospective “trillion-dollar-plus” cost of ObamaCare to all Americans. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/18/735-million-cost-tennessee/ Congress is not known for thinking about the long-term consequences of bills it passes, and once again, the American people are paying a price for that shortsightedness. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/18/predictable-results-bad-idea/ A federal court recently reviewed the asylum application of an illegal alien who lived in California. It determined that she was not entitled to asylum, and she was ordered deported to her native country, the Philippines. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/18/abuse-legislative-process/ In hundreds of schools around the country, caulk around windows and doors may contain so-called PCBs, chemicals that can cause cancer in rodents and whose use was banned in the late 1970s. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/18/no-evidence/ Wouldn’t a great many of 57 million Americans be pleased if each received an unexpected $250 check from the government? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/17/free-250-57-mil-people/ Amid all the important local, national and international news this week, one story stood out. That’s because it involved a 6-year-old boy named Falcon, and many wondered whether it was a horror — or a hoax. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/17/horror-or-hoax/ It doesn’t seem to matter to some people what the Constitution of the United States says — or does not say. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/17/government-medical-insurance/ Unlike the federal government, Tennessee’s state government can’t just “run in the red,” and pass a huge debt on to our children in the future. Tennessee has to try to match its current tax income with its current spending. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/17/11-billion-tennessee-budget-cut/ It appears there is no limit to the “wealth redistribution” schemes put forth by various organizations. Consider these words in an article from The Associated Press: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/16/global-warming-blame-game/ With liberal Democrats in Congress in a mad rush to enact a revolutionary, trillion-dollar-plus, socialized medical plan that no one really fully understands, Tennessee’s fine United States Sen. Bob Corker and Sen. Lamar Alexander are appropriately urging caution. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/16/senators-cautious-med-plans/ Forty Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are to be commended for vowing to oppose any medical reform bill that would allow federal tax dollars to be used for abortions. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/16/standing-unborn/ There is nothing that good parents are more concerned about than providing the best opportunities for our children. We want to provide launching pads that assure them the best chances for happiness and success in life. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/16/seeking-best-children/ There is an obvious need for more traffic safety attention on the part of us all. There is too much speeding and there is too little caution. The results sadly include too many intersection collisions, with deaths, injuries and property damage. Being a little more careful and slowing down in our driving could prevent a lot of serious problems. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/16/safety-not-big-brother/ With five revolutionary socialized medicine bills being proposed in the United States Senate and House of Representatives -- the leading one having about 1,300 complex pages -- it's not surprising that most members of Congress have not even read the bills and do not really understand the potentially catastrophic effects if the bills are merged as planned, then passed to impose ObamaCare upon the American people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/15/fp1-obamacare-cataxtrofee/ Tennessee's Gov. Phil Bredesen was an able professional and leader in the medical care field before he was elected governor. And as governor, he has been a leader in improving and straightening out TennCare. So he has far more experience and knowledge about medical care than most public officials. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/15/fp2-obamacare-to-cost-tenn-3-bil/ We believe in "government with the consent of the governed," don't we? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/15/fp3-but-what-do-the-people-say/ It was two years ago that the official who heads a U.N. agency tasked with tracking nuclear developments around the world suggested he did not want to "give additional argument" to those who worry what Iran might do with nuclear weapons. Aides to that official, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said more recently that he did not want to release a serious, detailed report on Iran's nuclear aims. Apparently he feared that could lead the United States or Israel -- a nation that Iran has threatened to wipe off the map -- to try to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/15/fp4-monitoring-the-monitor/ Most Americans are not familiar with a "VAT" or "value-added tax." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/14/fp1-do-you-want-a-new-tax/ President Barack Obama has called for an end to subsidies for oil, coal and natural gas production. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/14/fp2-end-subsidies-across-the-board/ As we go about our daily lives in an atmosphere that is generally peaceful and stable, it is hard for us to imagine the danger that people in countries like Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and some other unfortunate places are going through. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/14/fp5-just-imagine-daily-deadly-bombs/ Shouldn't anyone who commits a crime against another person be prosecuted, convicted and punished because of what he "did," not because of what he "thought"? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/14/fp3-prosecute-bad-acts-not-thoughts/ Did you notice the news story in the paper this week under the headline that said "State may get radioactive dirt"? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/14/fp4-why-bring-radioactive-dirt-here/ Because our University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a fine institution for higher educational opportunities, and because it is a great asset for our whole community, it is natural for Chattanoogans to support almost anything that might be happening at UTC. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/13/fp1-raze-stadium-to-stimulate/ It is obvious that our goals in Iraq and Afghanistan are to provide stable, local, self-government for Iraqis and Afghans, and to avoid any threat of takeover by any of a variety of irregular guerrilla forces, many of them fanatic and even suicidal. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/13/fp2-our-iraq-and-afghanistan-goals/ It is heartbreaking every time we hear of an American suffering death or wounds in fighting our enemies in Afghanistan or Iraq. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/13/fp3-heartbreaks-in-war-and-in-traffic/ As ObamaCare is being proposed to begin a new trillion-dollar socialized medicine plan, do you sometimes wonder whether the government's "right hand" knows what its "left hand" is doing? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/13/fp4-tax-right-hand-and-tax-left-hand/ Stung by angry public rejection of their medical reform plans, Democrats have tried to retake the offensive by attacking Republicans for lacking a plan of their own and being the "party of no." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/13/fp5-not-just-the-party-of-no/ Once upon a time, if an American politician talked about some obscure issue that seemed to have little personal emotional effect upon the American people, he might have been accused of engaging in "Afghanistanism" -- talking about something that was so remote it was not politically sensitive. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/12/10-12-darius-genghis-khan-us/ Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., says she is troubled that her state hasn't been able to rapidly spend millions of dollars in "stimulus" funds for day care centers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/12/10-12-fp2-misdirected-stimulus-funds/ The Obama administration has continued its pattern of appointing left-wing extremists to important positions in government. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/12/10-12-fp4-wrong-man-for-the-job/ Since just December, the federal government has grown by 25,000 employees, USA Today reported recently. While that explosion in the ranks of government employees is spread across many departments, roughly 3,000 of the workers have been hired on at federal agencies that are doling out money from the $787 billion "stimulus" fund passed by Congress early this year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/12/10-12-fp3-explosive-growth-of-government/ If our court system and all judges were ideal, we would never know what any of them thought personally about any controversial issue. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/11/10-11-fp1-should-courts-be-impartial/ We can add Georgia to the list of states that may send a reminder to Washington of the constitutional limits on federal power, especially in light of proposed medical reform legislation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/11/10-11-fp2-gentle-reminder-to-washington/ Considering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, medical reforms and the nation's appalling 9.8 percent unemployment rate, we would assume that Congress' plate is full. But apparently some lawmakers think they don't have enough to do. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/11/10-11-fp3-congress-tackles-the-nfl/ It was wrong back in 2000 when federal immigration authorities agreed not to conduct raids to capture illegal aliens while the 2000 census was under way. The Census Bureau argued at the time that immigration raids during the census could discourage illegal aliens from responding to requests for information by census takers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/11/10-11-fp4-no-time-to-relax-immigration-law/ Don't blame President Barack Obama because a five-member committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament has had the bad judgment and lack of serious responsibility (and possibly played a little international politics) by making a mockery of the Nobel Peace http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/10/whats-it-mean-nothing/ It's illegal for anyone to slip across our borders into the United States without proper authorization. But there are literally millions who have managed to do so. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/10/hindered-in-enforcing-the-law/ The American involvement in terrible World War II lasted four painful years, from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, to the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that brought the war to an end Aug. 14, 1945. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/10/eight-years-of-afghanistan-war/ Many terrible things tragically occurred in our "Wild West" during the 1800s, as American settlers expanded from early Atlantic Coast settlements to expand our country to the Pacific Coast. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/10/apology-to-indians/ If you are one of about 53 million people receiving Social Security checks each month, don't worry. You will continue receiving your checks. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/09/fp1-wheres-the-money/ We've all heard how proposed medical reforms are supposed to make health insurance more "affordable" to average Americans -- while improving care, reducing federal deficits, making us healthier, not lengthening wait times in the doctor's office and not harming our right to choose our own physicians. The various ObamaCare proposals purport to do practically everything but cure the common cold. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/09/fp2-is-this-affordable/ Do you think it was a "good idea" for terrorist suspects captured by U.S. military forces in foreign lands to be imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. spot surrounded by Communist Cuba? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/09/fp3-bring-terrorist-suspects-here/ Let's optimistically pretend that whatever medical reforms get through Congress will bar illegal aliens from getting taxpayer-funded care and provide for real enforcement of that rule. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/09/fp4-immigrants-amnesty-health-care/ With there being controversy about the proposal by the city of Chattanooga to annex the property of residents and businesses in several bordering areas, to provide city services and impose city property taxes, Chattanooga's Mayor Ron Littlefield came up with a surprise suggestion this week. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/08/fp1-peoples-choice-is-best-way/ The Supreme Court of the United States began a new term this week, with a new member, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/08/fp2-the-ideal-for-all-courts/ Here is a funny headline on a New York Times story that is not so funny: "Proposed tax on Cadillac health plans may also hit Chevys." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/08/fp3-do-you-have-cadillac-insurance/ Chattanoogans and many thousands of other people from across the country and throughout the world who have visited our Tennessee Aquarium are not surprised that it has been honored by receiving the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Services by the Washington, D.C.-based Museum and Library Services. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/08/fp4-our-aquarium-honored/ The American people are justly concerned about the painful U.S. involvement for eight years in the indecisive war in faraway Afghanistan. American casualties mount and no satisfactory solution is in sight. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/07/fp1-2-bad-afghanistan-options/ Congress' habit of stuffing legislation full of porkbarrel projects would be great material for comedians -- except that it's no laughing matter when you realize lawmakers are confiscating and spending your tax dollars to pay for those projects. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/07/fp2-medical-care-pork-parade-begins/ Our national debt is $11.8 trillion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/07/fp4-new-drink-taxes/ While many parts of our country are suffering serious economic negatives, Chattanooga has had a lot of good economic news recently, with important industries and businesses locating here. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/06/fp1-education-for-a-good-future/ The Olympic Games that began in Greece in 776 B.C. were certainly far different from the modern athletic competitions. Before the 2016 Olympic site was determined, there was great competition among communities to spend billions of dollars to attract the games -- in hope of earning billions of dollars in local economic benefits. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/06/fp4-2016-olympics-rio-1-chicago-0/ It has been more than a quarter-century since unemployment was as high as it is now. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/06/fp2-unemployment-at-98-percent/ It is astounding that liberal Democrats in Congress are rushing to pass one of a variety of thousand-plus-page bills -- that most members of Congress probably have never read, much less understood -- that would impose a cost of more than a trillion dollars upon the American people in a drastic socialized change in the provision of medical care. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/06/fp3-beware-of-unread-med-care-bills/ Are you aware of the Universal Service Fund tax? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/05/do-you-know-tax/ The economic ideal in America is that a business competes with other businesses for customers by offering better or cheaper products or services. Government’s role is supposed to be that of neutral umpire — preventing fraud and protecting property rights, but leaving it to consumers to pick winners and losers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/05/phony-wind-solar-energy-surge/ The purpose of school is to educate young people so that they may live fulfilling, productive lives. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/05/purpose-school/ You may recall the slaughter in recent years of tens of thousands of people in the African nation of Sudan by marauders backed by the victims’ own government. There has been an outcry against the savagery, yet it has continued despite many “resolutions” by ineffective organizations such as the U.N. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/05/cookies-and-smiley-faces/ Most Americans are in debt. Many of us are rather uncomfortable about it. Many Americans owe mortgages on our houses, perhaps owe on our businesses, almost surely owe on a variety of credit cards, and to stores that give us credit. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/04/10-4-fp1-we-only-owe-it-to/ Those of us fortunate enough to live in Chattanooga or surrounding areas of Tennessee and North Georgia are rarely surprised when some new national recognition comes our city's way. We see the advantages of life in and around the Scenic City every day. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/04/104-fp2-chattanooga-in-spotlight-again/ The trouble with using federal tax dollars to promote various "good ideas" is that there is no limit to the number of "good ideas" out there. Where do you draw the line? Is federal government bankruptcy the only check on such spending? It would almost seem so. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/04/10-4-fp3-bicycling-toward-bankruptcy/ Many countries have condemned the United States for holding enemy combatants and terrorism suspects captured overseas at a U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Some Americans voted for Barack Obama for president precisely because of his promises to close "Gitmo" promptly should he be elected. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/04/10-4-fp4-time-for-gitmo-critics-to-step-up/ Although most of us tend to take our Tennessee River and our Chickamauga Dam for granted, we would surely be shocked by the economic adversity if the failing concrete in the current Chickamauga lock created a bottleneck in the important waterway. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/03/chickamauga-dams-vital-lock/ With many Americans suffering “sticker shock” over the prospect that an ObamaCare socialized medical care plan would cost $1 trillion-plus, Democrats in Congress are scaling back some of their proposals. Now there is a suggestion their new plan might cost “only” about $900 billion. Oh! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/03/wholl-pay-900-billion/ It is always tragic when anyone, especially a young person, suffers an accident that results in physical difficulties. But it is certainly admirable when someone is inspired to turn his adversity into help for others. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/03/jordan-thomas-helping-others/ During World War II, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist Chinese army were staunch allies of the United States, fighting the Imperial Japanese invaders of the Chinese mainland. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/03/60-years-communist-china/ There is nothing pleasing about having to hold foreign terrorists in a U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba — except that it would be far worse to turn them loose or to transfer them to prisons inside the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/03/dont-shift-gitmo-prisoners-here/ It was a great economic triumph for Tennessee, a couple of decades ago, when General Motors selected the little community of Spring Hill in Middle Tennessee for a huge new factory that would hire thousands of people to produce the new Saturn automobile. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/02/fp2-saturn-sadness/ It is tragic that there were 37,261 deaths in street and highway traffic last year. But even more shocking is the report that in 16 of our states, there have been more deaths from drugs than from traffic. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/02/fp3-more-drug-deaths-than-in-traffic/ There are many economic, medical, political and other wrongs being proposed in some of the socialized medicine plans being pushed in Congress. But can you believe that you might be threatened with "jail" if you don't buy medical insurance? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/02/fp1-jail-for-no-med-insurance/ Suppose a certain nation gave its official endorsement to one of its citizens who had bombed an airliner, killing hundreds of innocent people. Or suppose another nation provided funding and support to brutal terrorists to destabilize a neighboring country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/02/fp4-actions-count-more-than-words/ As officials of the city of Chattanooga are proceeding with their plans to annex some property adjacent to the current city, they regrettably are ignoring what should be the decisive issue: Do the people involved want to be annexed? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/01/fp1-annex-right-and-wrong/ There is, of course, no delegation of power in the Constitution of the United States for the federal government to go into any business. But that, unfortunately, often does not stop unconstitutional governmental action. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/01/fp2-socialized-med-rejected-for-now/ Afghanistan is a large geographic area of hostile terrain and many hostile elements that are seeking to defeat the Afghanistan government. To thwart those enemies, there are more than 68,000 American troops seeking to pacify a very sensitive and troublesome part of the world. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/01/fp3-more-us-troops-in-afghanistan/ The United States military commander in Iraq, Army Gen. Ray Odierno, has decided to reduce the number of American troops in Iraq, sending 4,000 U.S. soldiers home -- leaving about 120,000 U.S. troops serving there. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/01/fp4-fewer-us-troops-in-iraq/ The fate of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya would not be important to most Americans, except that he is allied with anti-American leaders in Latin America. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/01/fp5-odd-position-for-us-to-take/ If you want to get the public's attention, just come up with a "free" offer. It'll make us sit up and take notice immediately. But many of us will quickly ask: What's the catch? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/30/fp1-seeing-through-free/ It is now clear why President George W. Bush was right earlier this decade to "un-sign" the United States from a treaty that would have subjected Americans to trial by the International Criminal Court. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/30/fp2-us-soldiers-us-jurisdiction/ It would be alarming indeed if our nation's capital were suddenly struck by wildfires. That hasn't happened, fortunately, but for some reason, Washington, D.C., is getting millions of dollars of "stimulus" funds that are supposed to be used to put out wildfires. Specifically, that portion of the stimulus is supposed to be spent on "wildland fire management," The Associated Press reported. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/30/fp3-wildfires-in-washington-dc/ In a town in England, bicycle shop owner Mark Howard recycles old material or sells it as scrap. So he does not need to pay the city for costly bags for waste disposal. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/30/fp4-its-not-easy-being-green/ About 43 million Americans and their dependents receive monthly checks from Social Security. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/29/fp1-face-social-security-facts/ Here is something to think about if you wonder whether there will be honest discussion of proposed ObamaCare socialized medicine by its supporters in Congress: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/29/fp2-hiding-obamacares-costs/ We do not think Democrats in Congress, joined by only three Republicans, meant to harm the economy when they passed a $787 billion "stimulus" bill this year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/29/fp3-stimulating-unemployment/ Iran has been test-firing long-range missiles. What if Iran had nuclear warheads for them? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/29/fp4-what-if-iran-gets-nukes/ You quickly recognize, of course, what that list of names represents. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/28/9-28-fp1-we-picked-em/ We spotted an odd contrast in a recent article on the news wires. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/28/9-28-fp2-lawyers-too-follow-incentives/ Mired in government corruption and drug violence that is killing thousands, Mexico's former president thinks he has hit on a solution. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/28/9-28-fp4-mexico-to-us-spread-the-wealth/ Americans have different ideas about the best way to meet our energy needs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/28/9-28-fp3-recipe-for-neighborhood-strife/ Many local good citizens are very much concerned nowadays about the issue of "annexation." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/27/9-27-fp1-why-not-let-people-decide/ One of the most serious unanswered questions on proposed medical reforms is how tens of millions of new patients can be added to the system without forcing the rationing of care provided by doctors, whose numbers are not expected to grow. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/27/9-27-fp2-doctors-doubtful-on-obamacare/ We have to wonder whether eventually the world will grow weary of Communist North Korea's pattern of promising to end its nuclear weapons production in exchange for huge amounts of foreign aid. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/27/9-27-fp3-same-old-nuclear-song-and-dance/ An academic scandal of sorts has led to the resignation of the president of the University of Illinois. The school reportedly admitted some applicants who had political connections and passed over better-qualified applicants for admission. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/27/9-27-fp4-unjust-treatment-is-unjust-treatment/ All of the American people are on the brink of a "medical care revolution" -- if either the Senate version or House of Representatives version of ObamaCare is adopted by Congress. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/26/fp1-what-would-med-plans-cost/ Given how negatively many Americans feel toward the Internal Revenue Service, it is eye-opening that even the IRS worries about sullying its reputation if it is associated with the corrupt liberal organization ACORN. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/26/fp2-irs-drops-acorn-hot-potato/ Can you imagine what our world would be like if Iran had nuclear weapons? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/26/fp3-if-iran-had-nuclear-weapons/ The federal government is proving again the truth of this clever remark by the late President Ronald Reagan: "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/26/fp4-subsidizing-failure----still/ When a 24-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan named Najibullah Zazi began going from one beauty shop supply store to another, buying up large quantities of hydrogen peroxide, some may have assumed he was planning to open a beauty shop. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/26/fp5-he-wasnt-running-a-beauty-shop/ For the third time now, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is refuting cost or benefit claims made by the Obama administration as the president pushes to socialize medical care: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/25/fp1-three-strikes-for-obamacare/ There unfortunately are more than 60,000 American troops still in the eight-year-long, no-front war against Taliban radicals and other hostile guerrilla forces in the Middle Eastern country of Afghanistan, with no indication a solution is in sight. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/25/fp2-brer-rabbit-and-afghanistan/ American workers have a right to join a labor union if they choose to do so. American workers also have a right not to join a labor union if that is their preference. They may express themselves freely and without coercion by the appropriate means of a secret ballot. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/25/fp3-dont-set-a-union-membership-trap/ Most Americans have no experience at all with the socialized government railroad system called Amtrak -- except they have contributed billions of dollars to its losses, probably without knowing it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/25/fp4-amtrak-guns-and-16-billion-tax/ The United Nations long has been a pompous, very unprincipled, sometimes seriously troublesome and undistinguished conglomeration of representatives of nations around the world. And it certainly did not enhance its reputation this week as Libya's Moammar Gadhafi and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were the focus of the U.N. spotlight in New York. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/25/fp5-un-gadhafi-and-ahmadinejad/ The city of Chattanooga is proposing two phases of annexation of property adjacent to its present borders. When is annexation OK? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/24/fp1-when-is-annexation-ok/ Shakespeare noted that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/24/fp2-a-tax-by-any-other-name/ As ObamaCare, for the massive socialization of medical care in America, is being pushed in the United States Senate by Sen. Max Baucus, the bill has attracted 564 proposed amendments -- so far. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/24/fp3-obamacare----and-564-amendments/ A federal judge is furious -- and rightly so -- that prosecutors in Boston refuse to pursue a marijuana charge against a British citizen who has applied to immigrate to the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/24/fp4-the-purpose-of-immigration-laws/ Water is necessary for life, of course. But we don't really need too much of it at one time or for too long. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/23/fp1-water-water-everywhere/ Having been shocked by the supreme tragedies of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans breathed a sigh of some relief on Sept. 11 when there were no "anniversary" attacks this year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/23/fp2-no-attacks-since-91101--so-far/ Several hundred billion dollars has been "thrown at" bailing us out of our national economic problems, but unfortunately, there are serious indications that much of the money is gone with too few positive results. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/23/fp3-many-bailout-spent-but/ Children who load their plates with food and can't eat it all may hear the expression, "Your eyes were bigger than your stomach." But a more serious problem is that many adults' "eyes are bigger than their bank accounts." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/23/fp4-best-to-live-within-our-means/ Prior to his presidency, Barack Obama took a range of positions on the USA Patriot Act. At one point, he voted to extend its provisions to track down terrorists. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/23/fp5-rhetoric-collides-with-reality/ Of course it's a good idea for everyone to have medical care insurance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/22/fp1-wheres-the-money/ Sometimes the U.N. is hampered by incompetence or high levels of bureaucracy, even when it may be trying to do something good, such as feeding refugees in war-torn countries. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/22/fp2-dangerous-stance-on-iranian-nukes/ The Washington Post disturbingly reports that the Justice Department is investigating whether Guantanamo Bay detainees charged with coordinating the 9/11 attacks were shown photos of CIA staff, including undercover officers, by the suspects' defense attorneys. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/22/fp4-to-protect-undercover-cia-officers/ There was a picture in Sunday's Times Free Press of American troops from our area leaving Chattanooga for training at Camp Shelby, Miss., for eventual deployment overseas. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/22/fp3-us-troops-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/ Whether you are a Democrat, Republican or an independent, not many of us are "praising" the operation of the federal government these days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/21/9-21-fp1-should-government-run-it-all/ As always happens when government uses subsidies to create some winners in the economy, the federal "cash-for-clunkers" program created losers, too. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/21/9-21-fp2-casualties-of-cash-for-clunkers/ In a time when unbiased news on everything from taxes to medical reform is essential, Americans have grave doubts that they are getting "just the facts" from many media outlets. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/21/9-21-fp3-what-happened-to-just-the-facts/ The American people have not let themselves be stampeded into hysteria about supposedly catastrophic "global warming," and there is reason to hope Congress will reject climate change legislation that would harm our economy without helping the environment. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/21/9-21-fp4-scare-tactics-and-global-warming/ The word "czar" usually brings to mind the rulers of Russia before the Communist revolution of 1917. But recently, the word "czar" has turned up in some news reports, sometimes critically and sometimes not, referring to a variety of officials in the Obama administration. Some of the jobs have existed under previous presidents but were not called "czars," and some positions are new. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/20/9-20-fp1-what-about-our-czars/ Producing energy from natural gas and oil is a lot cheaper than producing energy from wind. But you would not know that to look at Washington's priorities. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/20/9-20-fp2-backward-ideas-on-energy/ Off a long stretch of Florida's Atlantic Coast, the federal government provides protection to certain endangered whales that come to the area to give birth. Most of the whales swim within 20 miles of the shore, a few go as far out as 30 miles, and almost none go past that, surveys of their habitat show. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/20/9-20-fp3-so-where-should-the-navy-train/ There are excellent reasons not to smoke: It's dangerous to your health, it's expensive, and it's unpleasant to others. But it's impossible for our society to remain free if we try to regulate each unwise personal choice that someone may make, including the choice to smoke. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/20/9-20-fp4-protecting-people-from-themselves/ President Barack Obama's ObamaCare socialized medicine plan is in trouble among congressional Democrats and is arousing unified opposition from Republicans. Why? It's because many Americans are beginning to wake up to the horrendous costs -- which no one can really predict with any degree of accuracy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/19/fp1-awaking-to-obamacare-costs/ What would happen if the city of Chattanooga demanded that the federal government replace all its signs along federal highways that pass through the city, and alter the wording on many of those signs to suit local officials better? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/19/anything-not-federal-business/ The fact that "foreign trade" isn't an exciting topic for most people may be why politicians keep making errors in that dull but important area of policy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/19/fp3-bipartisan-economic-mistakes/ Congress is taking steps toward de-funding the corrupt liberal activist organization ACORN, some of whose workers were filmed in different cities advising a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute on how to hide their earnings. In at least one video, workers told the man and woman how to claim underage prostitutes as dependents. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/19/fp4-time-to-shell-acorn/ Defending against possible nuclear missiles is expensive. But not having effective defense and needing it could be more expensive. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/19/fp5-missile-defense-against/ Some members of Congress and President Barack Obama have been acting as though "free" or "nearly free" medical insurance was about to be handed out to almost everyone, somewhat magically relieving us of the big costs. There is, however, no such thing. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/18/fp1-wholl-pay-774-bil-to-1-tril/ It took $4,500 rebates from the federal government to get consumers to buy new cars in the recently ended "cash-for-clunkers" program. Now, in a great irony, President Barack Obama has proposed new fuel economy rules that the administration admits will tack up to $1,300 onto the price of new cars and light trucks -- and will cost the struggling auto industry $60 billion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/18/a-new-1300-tax-on-cars/ The economic recession in the United States is "very likely over at this point," said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Is he right? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/18/fp3-is-the-recession-over/ Congress votes from time to time to set a "debt limit" on how much the federal government shall be allowed to spend and owe beyond its current tax income. But "debt limits" don't really limit debt because Congress just raises the "limit" for its spendthrift convenience. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/18/fp4-debt-limits-dont-really-limit-debt/ Wasn't it three decades ago when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) drastically jacked up world oil prices -- and thus gasoline prices -- creating economic consternation in our country? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/18/fp5-gas-prices-electric-cars-diesels/ "We, the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/17/fp1-we-the-people/ It is the unfortunate nature of government to "grow," to expand its power, to take on new programs -- and to levy higher taxes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/17/fp2-do-you-want-government-to-grow/ The Associated Press has uncovered some unsavory facts about the $787 billion "stimulus" bill that Democrats rammed through Congress early this year with almost no Republican support. Here are a few of them: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/17/fp3-stimulus-to-nowhere/ Did you know that Communist China sold more than 46 million automobile tires in the United States last year — nearly 17 percent of all the tires sold in this country? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/17/chinese-tires-and-us-chickens/ As President Barack Obama and a liberal majority of Democrats in Congress are trying to push a huge socialized medical care mistake upon the American people, they have shaved their guesstimated 10-year cost down to "just" $880 billion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/16/fp1-880-bil-obamacare-mistake/ As the Hamilton County Planning Commission voted 7-5 this week to advance the city of Chattanooga’s annexation plan, it ignored the big point that the City Council has ignored — “the consent of the governed.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/16/dodging-big-annexation/ It has been only days since authorities began arresting nearly a dozen workers for a radical organization on charges related to suspicious voter registrations. And yet, the group ACORN — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now — is in the spotlight again, and not for flattering reasons. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/16/radical-organization-trouble-again/ If we, personally, are deep in debt and are running into even worse financial trouble, we surely have a sense of alarm, and properly so. But don’t you consider it strange, to say the least, that our country — on which all of us depend for our freedom as well as our financial welfare — keeps running deeper into multi-trillion-dollar debt, and continues irresponsibly unsound economic policies, even while it taxes us too much — and yet many of our people do not seem to be highly alarmed? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/16/why-arent-we-shocked-deficits/ It is disgustingly contrary to the principles of personal liberty, safety and free speech guaranteed by our Constitution that a pro-life activist in Michigan was recently gunned down, apparently for his strong opposition to abortion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/16/horrible-shooting-pro-lifer/ People have right to their own opinion http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/16/letter-editors/ University of Tennessee Interim President Jan Simek and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor Roger Brown visited the Times Free Press yesterday to express their optimism about the quality of education they will be offering in the midst of the necessity for adjustment to funding cuts. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/15/fp2-ut-utc-handling-state-fund-cuts/ The Obama administration is trying to tamp down what it calls a false claim that medical reforms would cover illegal aliens. But that claim is true. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/15/fp3-illegal-aliens-and-obamacare/ "Good manners," it has been accurately said, are the proper "lubricant" for a wide variety of human relations. That's true -- and that is a reason we should not tolerate "bad manners." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/15/fp5-bad-manners-not-ok-anywhere/ Sadly, our world is full of tragedies. There are natural calamities, fires, storms, earthquakes. There is disease. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/15/fp4-our-world-is-full-of-tragedies/ When President Barack Obama presented his 2010 United States budget proposal earlier this year, he titled it "A New Era of Responsibility." Unfortunately, however, it just proposed to continue "the old era of fiscal irresponsibility." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/14/9-14-fp1-a-new-era-of-responsibility/ In his poem "To a Mouse," Scotsman Robert Burns wrote (in standard English translation), "The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go awry." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/14/9-14-fp2-the-best-laid-stimulus/ If a student had excellent academic performance in tough courses, took part in extracurricular activities including basketball and gymnastics, and was content in her school, would it make sense to force her to change schools? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/14/9-14-fp4-parental-rights-under-attack/ A watchdog group set up by Congress has poured cold water onto hopes that taxpayers will get back the full $81 billion they paid to bail out the auto industry. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/14/9-14-fp3-bailout-refund-the-impossible-dream/ We are in a serious recession. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/13/9-13-fp1-we-need-common-sense-on/ President Barack Obama has been all over the board in his support for a so-called "single-payer" system to provide medical care to the American people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/13/9-13-fp2-single-payer-care-on-the-table/ For more than three-quarters of a century, thousands of students in Hamilton County's public schools have had their education and lives enriched by their voluntary participation in the Bible in the Schools study program. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/13/9-13-fp3-voluntary-bible-class-enrichment/ Congress wants more foreign tourists to visit the United States. How does it hope to achieve that goal? Legislation in the Senate would force millions of tourists coming from abroad to pay $10 apiece each time they visit the United States. The money would fund a campaign overseas to encourage foreigners to travel to America. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/13/9-13-fp4-new-tax-an-odd-way-to-boost-tourism/ Reflecting their awareness of the current economic conditions in our community, as well as throughout our nation, County Mayor Claude Ramsey and all members of the Hamilton County Commission have used good judgment in approving a new 2009-2010 budget of $627 million with no tax increase. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/12/fp1-county-votes-no-tax-increase/ Matt Kisber, Tennessee's chief economic development leader in Gov. Phil Bredesen's state administration, expressed great optimism about Chattanooga's Volkswagen plant as he addressed the Chattanooga Rotary Club this week. He said: "VW has clearly demonstrated they've moved forward with building the plant -- not the one they announced but bigger." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/12/fp2-volkswagen----bigger/ Chattanooga and Atlanta are conveniently linked by Interstate Highway 75 and by less-than-an-hour airliner flights. Do we also have a prospect for a future "maglev" train connection? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/12/fp3-maglev-train-through-chattanooga/ Any big organization might hire an occasional lawbreaker despite its best screening efforts. That doesn't prove the organization as a whole is corrupt. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/12/fp4-not-just-an-occasional-bad-apple/ You may have heard of the Obama administration's "pay czar," Kenneth Feinberg. His job is to make sure executives at companies receiving federal bailout funds don't get "too much" pay. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/12/fp5-the-pay-czars-pay/ In the earlier days of rural America, it was quite a crowd-drawing occasion when a stranger pulled into town in a covered wagon pulled by a team of mules, offering to sell medical miracles. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/11/fp1-obamas-snake-oil-med-pitch/ It was a beautiful, clear, late summer day in much of the Eastern United States on Sept. 11, 2001. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/11/fp2-9112001/ See whether you can follow this bizarre scheme by a congressman from Hawaii to boost his state's construction industry: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/11/fp3-a-10-billion-scheme/ Most of us watch our dollars in these days of economic recession. Those green and black crumpled bills are important to us. But how much more precious to us is gold? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/11/fp4-gold/ As President Barack Obama was speaking last night, trying to salvage something from his multi-trillion-dollar socialized medical plan, even worse ideas were being proposed among his allies in Congress. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/10/fp1-medical-tax-plans-get-worse/ The Chattanooga City Council is considering an ill-advised plan to give local businesses an unfair advantage when they bid against out-of-town contractors for work paid for by the city. The proposal would result in a waste of city taxpayers' dollars -- and could have serious and unintended negative effects if other cities approved similar ordinances penalizing Chattanoogans. The idea should be dropped. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/10/fp2-an-idea-ripe-for-dropping/ Hold on to your wallet, because Congress is back in session! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/10/fp3-caution-congress-is-back/ Americans as individuals, and our economy as a whole, operate on a lot of credit -- debt. That's OK in good times. But it can mean big trouble in bad times. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/10/fp4-good-news-about-debt-but/ Dalton, Ga.-based Shaw Industries long has been one of our important area businesses, manufacturing yarn and providing thousands of good jobs. But now the slackening economy is taking its toll. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/10/fp5-bad-news-for-shaw-and-its-people/ What could be more appropriate than for the president of the United States to give a "back to school" pep talk to American school kids? Well, when it was announced that President Barack Obama planned to do that yesterday, controversy erupted. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/09/fp1-controversial-but-innocuous/ Everybody wants whatever medical care we may need. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/09/fp2-tax-your-medical-insurance/ An exciting discovery of a massive pool of oil beneath U.S. waters 250 miles from Houston in the Gulf of Mexico should rev up Congress to encourage domestic energy development and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/09/fp3-time-to-boost-energy-independence/ It is bad enough when state governments team with businesses to promote lotteries, even for the purpose of funding education or other worthy endeavors. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/09/fp4-promoting-vice-bad-economics/ To most of us who hear political talk about proposed "cap-and-trade" legislation, the comments might as well be in a foreign language. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/08/9-8-fp1-what-cap-and-trade-means/ Part of why our nation is in a crisis of home mortgage foreclosures is that lenders, under government pressure, relaxed their standards and lent money to millions of people who were poor credit risks. Many loans were made at adjustable rates, and when the rates "adjusted" upward, many homeowners could not make the payments. The result, sadly, has been many foreclosures. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/08/9-8-fp2-a-hard-lesson-not-learned/ We are sure that President Barack Obama did not seek and does not desire longtime Communist Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's endorsement of his socialized medicine proposals, and so we do not blame him for the fact that he got it anyway. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/08/9-8-fp4-castros-take-on-obamacare/ As proof that common sense isn't so common, the European nation that is doing the best economically these days is the very one that is avoiding the mistakes of the rest of Europe and of the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/08/9-8-fp3-poland-remembers-what-we-forgot/ It may not be much immediate comfort to those in the Chattanooga area who are currently unemployed, but the city has enjoyed a fair amount of hopeful economic news in the past few months and weeks. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/07/9-7-fp1-good-local-economic-news/ To borrow from "Hamlet," President Barack Obama "doth protest too much" when he takes on ObamaCare's critics. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/07/9-7-fp2-obamacare-and-abortion/ If Americans needed any extra reasons not to trust the U.N., consider the fact that later this month, Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi will be warmly received at the U.N. and has been honored with an invitation to address its General Assembly. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/07/9-7-fp3-a-big-un-welcome-for-gadhafi/ Americans know how private companies that accept government funds can wind up with government control. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/07/9-7-fp4-common-courtesy-common-sense/ Did you feel secure and comfortable when President Barack Obama said the following: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/06/9-6-fp1-obama-taxes-spending/ By now you may have heard many times the claim that the $787 billion federal "stimulus" is "saving or creating jobs." What the Obama administration, which rammed the highly partisan stimulus through Congress, is less eager to mention is that the money is mainly boosting government employment -- not private employment -- and welfare spending. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/06/9-6-fp2-confused-priorities-of-the-stimulus/ What is driving Democrats in the home state of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., to put raw political power ahead of any sense of principle in their bid to replace Sen. Kennedy so fast? It's simple: They want to increase the chance that Congress will pass proposed ObamaCare medical reforms. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/06/9-6-fp3-power-above-all-else/ It is for a jury to decide whether Los Angeles gang member Pedro Espinoza murdered high school athlete Jamiel Shaw II and whether Espinoza should be sentenced to die if he did commit the crime. But enormous grief might have been avoided in this and countless other cases if only our nation took a firm stance against illegal immigration. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/06/9-6-fp4-another-needless-death/ The slightly more than 90 percent of us who have jobs certainly should appreciate them. And we should be very sympathetic with those without jobs, as unemployment has hit a painful 9.7 percent, the highest in 26 years! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/05/fp1-unemployment-hits-97/ Proposed ObamaCare medical reforms are so costly and complex that perhaps the best hope its backers have of passing it is to keep the American people confused about its provisions. That may be why, months into the debate on health care, President Barack Obama has continued to make vague or sometimes misleading statements about the reforms. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/05/fp2-public-senses-danger-of-obamacare/ Traffic on our busy streets and highways may create great dangers even if all of our laws are obeyed and driving skills and caution are assured. But there is much greater danger when alcohol is mixed with traffic. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/05/fp3-a-triple-tragedy/ After a three-week trial of one of the most spectacular criminal cases in this area in recent times, former LaFayette, Ga., police officer Sam Parker has been convicted of killing his wife. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/05/parker-gets-life-murder-case/ Mastering algebra and trigonometry classes in high school is challenge enough to make most students sweat under ordinary circumstances. But unfortunately, it turns out that some students at Signal Mountain Middle/High School now face an additional challenge because of very extraordinary circumstances. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/05/fp5-take-care-of-the-math-students/ It is important for all of our people to have whatever good medical care we need. But it is very expensive. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/04/fp1-single-payer-who/ Chattanooga city officials who want to annex a number of areas adjacent to the present Chattanooga city limits have been surprised by the announcement by Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Brown that the Hamilton County Democratic Party opposes annexation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/04/fp2-local-democrats-oppose-annexation/ The sound principle that physicians should "do no harm" has been under attack for a long time in the United States. That is most obvious in the scourge of abortion, which has killed tens of millions of babies since the U.S. Supreme Court imposed it as a so-called "right" in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/04/fp3-crumbling-respect-for-innocent-life/ President Barack Obama plans to urge students to stay in school when he gives a speech Tuesday that will be beamed into classrooms via the White House Web site. We applaud that. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/04/fp4-education-not-indoctrination/ You may never have drunk Captain Morgan brand rum, but your tax dollars will be paying the entire cost to build a fancy $165 million distillery to make the rum on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/04/fp5-your-taxes-subsidize-foreign-booze/ It is always easy to expand spending. It is always difficult to cut. But in the face of challenging financial realities, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield is doing the hard job of drafting a budget that calls for cuts in spending, instead of expansion -- and instead of raising taxes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/03/fp1-city-facing-budget-reality/ President Barack Obama has irresponsibly demanded adoption of a trillion-dollar-plus socialized national medical plan that would not cure our ills but would inflict new economic ones of tremendous proportions. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/03/fp2-sen-alexander-reduced-med-plan/ A group of 10 Democrat U.S. senators is rightly troubled by "anti-global-warming" rules that Congress may impose on U.S. industries. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/03/fp4-right-diagnosis-wrong-cure/ Some of the residents at a subsidized housing complex in Greensboro, N.C., are elderly and in poor health, and they appreciate it when unpaid ministers come to the complex to lead them in voluntary church services. Without that, many could not go to church at all. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/03/fp4-hostility-toward-religious-freedom/ Sometimes a bit of news is so hard to take in that you need to double check to be sure you read it correctly. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/02/fp1-feds-185-percent-pay-raise/ The recent death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy leaves Massachusetts with only one senator -- and has raised a heated argument about how the vacant Senate seat should be filled. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/02/fp2-filling-massachusetts-senate-seat/ Crime is a major problem for all of us. Some criminals are dangerous to good citizens. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/02/fp3-seeking-to-curb-crime-repeaters/ Atlanta has a city-limits population of about 440,000 residents, a majority of them being African-Americans. So for a long time, Atlantans have elected a series of prominent black mayors. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/02/fp4-race-and-atlantas-mayor-race/ The United States Senate is often described as being "the world's greatest deliberative body." In many respects, that description is accurate. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/01/fp1-the-club/ We can see why Californians are upset that the last auto assembly plant in their state -- in fact, the last one on the whole West Coast -- is about to close. Nearly 5,000 workers at the plant will lose their jobs, as will tens of thousands of workers at California companies that supply Toyota with parts. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/01/fp3-and-then-there-were-none/ Remember former President Bill Clinton? Remember former Vice President Al Gore? Both of them are out of national offices these days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/01/fp2-unintended-warning-clinton-gore/ In another case of a court exceeding its authority, a federal judge in Washington has ordered the government to grant security clearances to lawyers for a former narcotics officer who sued over alleged illegal eavesdropping by the CIA and the State Department. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/01/fp4-not-a-judges-role/ The financial disasters that have overtaken the state of Massachusetts since it started providing “universal health care” in 2006 are so numerous that it’s hard to keep track. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/31/financial-disasters-have-overtaken-state-massachus/ There is no single answer to the question of how to meet America's need for energy, but a look at the alternatives points to nuclear energy as an important piece of the puzzle. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/31/8-31-fp1-chattanoogas-nuclear-future/ There is a reason why many Americans do not associate the federal government with common sense: We've seen too many cases in which good judgment seems divorced from the actions of many of our elected leaders and unelected bureaucrats in Washington. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/31/8-31-fp4-the-yard-sale-police/ A bizarre settlement of a lawsuit in Westchester County, N.Y., shows again that the federal government seeks to regulate almost all spheres of our lives. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/31/8-31-fp3-social-engineering-by-government/ Have you noticed in recent times how many people have complained about someone earning a "profit." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/30/8-30-fp1-who-would-prefer-a-loss/ President Barack Obama and his media allies have been working overtime to "debunk" what they call "phony claims" about his plan for fundamentally altering America's medical system. But many of what he calls "phony claims" are really just inconvenient facts standing in the way of his attempt to socialize medicine. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/30/8-30-fp2-a-fact-not-a-phony-claim/ The city of Seattle is proud of its "green" image and its environmental efforts. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/30/8-30-fp3-seattle-bags-bag-tax/ Simple courtesy tells us not to gratuitously insult people on account of their faith. But Yale University Press is not just being polite by removing from a new book 12 cartoons depicting Islam's founder Muhammad. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/30/8-30-fp4-fear-censorship-and-cartoons/ Chattanooga city officials are proposing to annex several geographic areas adjoining Chattanooga, along with their residents and businesses. In return for the imposition of city taxes, the people in the annexed areas would receive Chattanooga fire, police, sewer, garbage pickup and other city services. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/29/fp1-annex-only-if-people-want-it/ Our national government debt is a shocking $11.7 trillion. Washington will spend an additional trillion dollars-plus in borrowed money next year. State and local governments and many private businesses are under major economic pressures. The economy is in recession. Unemployment is just under 10 percent. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/29/fp2-county-fights-for-financial-stability/ The Obama administration's recent admission that its deficit projections were a far cry from reality passed with too little of the public alarm it should have aroused. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/29/fp3-a-trillion-here-a-trillion-there/ It is instructive to watch whether government leaders and environmentalists who insist on heavy-handed "anti-global-warming" measures by ordinary citizens practice what they preach. You may have read about high-profile figures in the environmental movement who travel a lot on private jets or in SUVs, or engage in other practices that burn lots of the fossil fuels they blame for supposedly disastrous global warming. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/29/fp4-energy-waste-at-energy-department/ It is almost impossible to imagine the full impact upon all of the people involved because of horrendous crimes just now being fully revealed in California -- with something less than the worst possible ending. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/29/fp5-horrendous-crimes/ Several hundred of Chattanooga's finest citizens -- working for us all -- met yesterday at the Chattanooga Convention Center to take up a "happy challenge." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/28/fp1-happy-challenge----united-way/ If the Communist Soviet Union or Communist China did something to plunge the United States into an $11.7 trillion national debt, if those foreign countries somehow imposed upon us continuing trillion-dollar annual budget deficits, and if they forced us to pay huge amounts of interest, wouldn't we consider them to be very serious "enemies"? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/28/fp2-are-we-our-own-economic-enemy/ It is bad enough that the $787 billion federal "stimulus" is an ineffective, unconstitutional attempt to pull our country out of the recession. But now, the misguided stimulus spending is actually endangering our border security. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/28/fp3-stimulus-wasteful-dangerous/ "Old-timers" may remember what Ringgold Road was like from Missionary Ridge to the Tennessee-Georgia state line before World War II. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/28/fp4-east-ridge-rejuvenation/ There is now more evidence that the $787 billion so-called "stimulus" is stimulating government bureaucracy, and not the private-sector, "shovel-ready" jobs it was supposed to create. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/28/fp5-happy-days----for-government/ Surely no other family of such national political prominence has suffered so many tragedies as the Kennedy family. The latest saddening event was the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Jr. late Tuesday night, at the age of 77, after his long battle with brain cancer. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/27/fp1-sen-edward-m-kennedy/ It is outrageous and potentially disastrous that too many members of Congress, both former and current presidents and the American people have tolerated such national financial irresponsibility that the United States is running trillion-dollar-plus deficits. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/27/fp2-outrageous-trillion--plus-deficits/ Try a little experiment: Imagine any sector of our economy that could not use a financial boost from more sales of its goods or services. That's not easy because so many different types of businesses are hurting in this recession and would welcome more customers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/27/fp-3-and-now-cash-for-appliances/ Can you imagine yourself as one of our United States senators, traveling to Afghanistan, visiting American tro-ops, meeting our military leaders and Afghan officials, weighing the staggering challenges in that foreign land, and then -- battling jet lag -- returning to Washington to face the threat of the federal government socializing American medicine and inflicting a trillion-dollar-plus cost on the American people? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/26/fp1-sen-corkers-our-challenges/ Many Americans are nervous about our economy. While about 90 percent are "getting along" OK, nearly 10 percent who want to work are unemployed -- and hurting. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/26/8-26-fp2-americans-angry-about-economy/ We live -- and many innocent victims unfortunately have died -- in a dangerous world that is threatened by several kinds of murderous terrorists. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/26/fp-3-fight-villains----without-villainy/ What's the biggest national concern for a great many of our people today? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/25/fp1-its-the-economy/ Chattanooga's U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., recently returned from Afghanistan, where he studied the big problems that our country and the Afghans are facing. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/25/fp2-sen-corker-back-from-afghanistan/ Many Americans remember the horror of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/25/fp4-eleven-days-per-murder/ As the federal "cash-for-clunkers" program wound down, it become clear how poorly thought out it was. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/25/fp3-clunker-program-the-real-clunker/ How times do change! Do you remember the jingle, that originated several generations ago, about "School Days." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/24/8-24-fp1-reading-riting-rithmetic/ The Broadway standard "Send in the Clowns" asks the question, "Don't you love farce?" http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/24/8-24-fp2-send-in-the-subsidized-clowns/ We can only marvel that liberal Washington politicians continue to dismiss public reaction against their government medical proposals as though they were unreasonable. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/24/8-24-fp3-confusion-on-the-grassroots/ There was great fanfare and more than 2-to-1 approval by native Hawaiians when Hawaii became our nation's 50th state in 1959. The state has seen tremendous economic benefit as a result. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/24/8-24-fp4-the-irony-of-hawaiian-statehood/ Why has the Earth had extensive icing and melting of glaciers many times over a billion years? It wasn't because of automobile exhausts or the burning of coal, or the other things that those who currently warn about "global warming" so ardently decry. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/23/8-23-fp1-ice-age-or-global-warming/ It is troubling how the federal government rewards failing enterprises, to the detriment of taxpayers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/23/8-23-fp2-more-cash-down-the-ethanol-drain/ To get Judge Sonia Sotomayor confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, supporters whitewashed her past. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/23/8-23-fp3-predictable-justice-sotomayor/ It may baffle liberals in Washington, but there are reasons why the American people have rejected ObamaCare. One of the biggest reasons is that most people like the medical coverage they have. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/23/8-23-fp4-odds-are-you-like-your-health-care/ If we are sick but get a "wrong diagnosis," a "wrong operation" or take the "wrong medicine," we may not recover. Doing the wrong thing medically can be disastrous. That's why it is so important for us to do the right thing in the right way in our national medical decisions these days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/22/fp1-bad-med-choice-bad-results/ Some Chattanooga city officials believe it would be beneficial to all if Chattanooga extended its jurisdiction, taxes and services to adjacent property in East Brainerd, Ooltewah, Cummings Cove, Ramsgate and Big Ridge by the legal process of annexation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/22/fp2-right-way-to-decide-on-annexation/ Hundreds of car dealers in New York state and more across the country understand something that the federal government does not understand: They have to pay their bills. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/22/revolt-against-cash-clunkers/ Andrew Hall does not exactly have a "household name." But he is very good at what he does for the big financial services company Citigroup, and his experience provides an example of the kind of damage government can do when it tries to dictate to companies what people should be paid. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/22/fp4-why-government-wage-setting-fails/ The American people, who ultimately must pay the bill, should be deeply concerned about the fed eral government's gross financial irresponsibility, which too few people in Washington are concerned about. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/21/fp1-wild-us-spending-goes-up/ With higher education so important for our young people, and all the rest of us, it is encouraging that our fine University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has enrolled more than 10,000 students this is year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/21/fp2-utc-attracts-over-10000-students/ Under heated questioning from constituents, Democrat U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, whose big 4th Congressional District includes nearby Marion, Sequatchie and Bledsoe counties, rejected the suggestion that there is "anything special" about the health care he gets as a member of Congress. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/21/fp3-answering-rep-davis-challenge/ With downtown Chattanooga having been landscaped and tourists thronging the Tennessee Aquarium and both shores of the Tennessee River, there apparently is a growing demand for downtown hotel and motel accommodations. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/21/fp4-hotel-in-chattanooga-bank-building/ Would you vote in an election if vicious people threatened to "cut your fingers off" if you dared to vote? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/21/fp5-a-cut-fingers-off-threat-to-voters/ There is a tentatively hopeful sign that President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress seem to be backing away from their ill-conceived plan for a government-run "public option" for medical care. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/20/fp1-med-care-yes-government-no/ Only the perpetrators of the gruesome slayings of a young Knoxville couple in 2007 know whether the couple's race had anything to do with why they were killed. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/20/fp2-hateful-acts-vs-hate-crimes/ Chattanoogans have been celebrating the good news that the new billion-dollar Volkswagen production facility will be in Chattanooga. Construction is under way. Steel has gone up for the training center that will welcome 2,000 anticipated employees. And many more jobs will be created as varied suppliers respond to VW needs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/20/fp3-local-volkswagen-steel-going-up/ Reeling from the fierce public backlash against his medical overhaul proposals, President Barack Obama has been scrambling to create the impression that the reforms enjoy grassroots public support. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/20/fp4-the-endorsement-that-wasnt/ The death of newsman Robert Novak at the age of 78 from brain cancer has ended the brilliant career of a major conservative commentator in our country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/20/fp5-robert-novak/ Do you think our politicians today are smarter than our Founding Fathers, who wrote the Constitution of the United States? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/19/fp1-get-back-to-the-constitution/ It would be good if the American people could rest easily after hearing Democrats, including President Barack Obama, hint at backing away from a taxpayer-subsidized "public option" for medical care. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/19/fp2-vigilance-needed-on-medical-reform/ We are very much relieved that the military aggressiveness of the Soviet Union and Communist China have declined. So there is no immediate fear of "World War III." The "Cold War" that prevailed for decades has melted. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/19/fp3-the-cold-war-is-over-but/ Remember when the Reader's Digest was everybody's favorite magazine? It had record circulation, with all of those little short articles on every kind of subject, with funny jokes and colorful anecdotes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/19/fp4-readers-indigestion/ President Barack Obama apparently thought he had his ObamaCare socialized medicine plan well oiled and ready to slide through a Democrat-majority Congress. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/18/fp1-will-people-beat-obamacare/ Like most presidential candidates, then-Sen. Barack Obama made lots of promises in his campaign, couching them in criticism of Bush administration policies. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/18/fp2-reality-vs-campaign-promises/ Environmentalists who demand legislation to fight "global warming" often falsely declare the debate "over." They dismiss as dishonest or uninformed any scientist who challenges the view that fossil fuel use is catastrophically heating the planet. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/18/fp3-global-warming-debate-not-over/ Americans are sick and tired of the almost daily reports of casualties among American troops -- and even more deaths among civilian populations -- as suicidal terrorist killers set off bombs in crowded, popular places in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as American troops fight enemies of humanity in those places. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/18/fp4-what-could-be-worse/ Remember the story about the discovery of gold in California in 1849? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/17/8-17-fp1-california-here-i-we-come/ Whatever Americans' diverse views on medical care, we believe most would oppose covering illegal aliens under a government insurance program. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/17/8-17-fp2-government-care-for-illegal-aliens/ It might have seemed incredible when experts testified before Congress that an estimated $55 billion of the $787 billion in "stimulus" spending approved by lawmakers was likely to be lost to waste and outright fraud. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/17/8-17-fp3-stimulating-alaskas-outback/ If you plan to go swimming, you may anticipate an exciting, refreshing good time. But if you're going into unknown water, it's an excellent idea not to "just dive in" without knowing how deep the water is, or what hazards may lurk beneath the surface. A mistake could be hurtful -- or even fatal. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/16/8-16-fp1-careful-dont-just-dive-in/ Medical care is important. But of all our basic needs, even medical care comes in a notch below food. Most of us could survive longer without health care than without food. So, why not create a government-run "public grocery store option" to compete with http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/16/8-16-fp2-how-about-public-option-groceries/ Remember a few months ago when Congress was demonizing auto company CEOs for flying in corporate jets while seeking bailouts? Though the flights were a drop in the bucket compared to the companies' losses, they were a handy way for liberals to stir up public anger against "fat-cat" CEOs, so Washington could start dictating the companies' policies. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/16/8-16-fp3-congress-hypocrisy-on-cushy-jets/ In 1990, Robert Kosilek strangled his wife, Cheryl. Three years later, he had his name officially changed to "Michelle." Today, serving a life sentence, he lives in a Massachusetts prison as if he were a woman. Bizarrely, a federal judge ruled a few years http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/16/8-16-fp4-a-murderer-demands-his-rights/ Most of the legislation proposed in the U.S. Congress is supposed to "solve" problems for our people. Unfortunately, the current sweeping socialized government medical care plans being proposed in Congress threaten to create big, new problems. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/15/fp1-the-trillion-dollar-terror/ Once there was a noble effort to protect eligible voters from violence or underhanded tactics at the ballot box. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/15/fp-3-convenience-at-all-costs/ President Barack Obama may not be interested in conservative criticism of his plan to fight supposedly disastrous "global warming," which he blames on man's use of fossil fuels. But maybe he will listen to liberals in his own party who have some of the sa http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/15/8-17-fp4-democrats-split-on-global-warming/ If you've read "1984," you may recall how the government in George Orwell's futuristic communist society installed cameras in homes to monitor citizens' every move. This was not done in secret but openly, with the privacy of the citizens counting for noth http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/15/fp4-orwells-nightmare-awakes/ The federal government, with a trillion-dollar-plus deficit, is proposing to spend more -- with President Barack Obama and liberals in Congress unfortunately calling for higher taxes on "the rich." Tennessee and many other states are having difficulty wri http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/15/fp2-no-time-for-any-tax-increases/ You surely have been aware that the federal government's financial irresponsibility has been piling up more national debt, year after year. But have you realized just how bad this mortgage on your present and future is, and what a burden is being placed on the future of our children? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/14/fp-1-debt-worse-than-you-thought/ Why would Communist China -- of all sources -- be warning the United States about the danger of our growing U.S. national debt? It's because "we" -- the United States -- owe Communist China $493 billion of our national debt. How do you feel about the Unit http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/14/fp2-to-whom-do-we-owe-national-debt/ With the federal government spending too much, and the national debt increasing at record levels, you may wonder just where the money is going. The biggest spending is for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and national defense. Social Security takes tax http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/14/fp3-where-does-the-money-go/ In addition to offering excellent suggestions about reforming medical care, a health policy researcher with the highly respected Heritage Foundation sounded an alarm, during a recent visit to the Times Free Press, about the serious implications of costly reform proposals before Congress. Here are a few observations made by Dennis G. Smith, former director of the federal Center for Medicaid and State Operations: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/14/fp4-disturbing-facts-on-medical-reform/ You may have heard that one definition of insanity is " doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results." We don't know whether Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had that in mind, but it applies to a recent suggestion he made about the feder http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/14/fp5-the-stimulus-just-say-no/ As members of Congress left Washington for their traditional August recess, President Barack Obama and his liberal congressional Democrat majority apparently had enough votes to pass some version of several 1,000-plus-page revolutionary socialized "government medicine" care bills that very few of the lawmakers -- if anyone -- had really read and fully understood. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/13/fp1-will-people-decide-med-care/ The federal government is regularly running billions of dollars in red ink, resulting in an $11.5 trillion national debt, on which interest must be paid from our taxes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/13/painful-fiscal-reality--and-recovery/ With the Congressional Budget Office saying the president's trillion-dollar medical reforms would raise, not lower, health spending, the administration is trying to zero in on parts of ObamaCare that it says will reduce costs. So far it is striking out. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/13/fp2-a-dead-end-on-health-savings/ The development of the mighty U.S. automobile industry brought us rapidly from the "horse and buggy age" in the early 1900s to the point where there was "a car in every garage" -- and many families now have more. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/13/fp4-from-horse-and-buggy-to/ The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission voted 9-5 this week for the city of Chattanooga to annex some adjacent areas that are now outside the city. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/12/missing-annexation-votes/ Our political system would be well-served if all sides in the debate on medical reform upheld constitutional principles of freedom of speech and peaceable assembly. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/12/for-free-speech-with-courtesy/ Our lives, here at home and throughout the world, are sadly filled daily with too many dangers and too many tragedies. Some of them are frustratingly unavoidable. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/12/countless-regrettable-tragedies/ The Wall Street Journal recently noted that if the federal government "could take 100 percent of the taxable income of everyone in America earning more than $500,000," that would raise only $1.3 trillion even at the income levels in the boom year of 2006. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/12/tax-the-rich-still-red-ink/ The federal "cash for clunkers" program may be an OK deal for the comparatively few Americans who take advantage of it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/12/cash-for-clunkers-unintended-effects/ Many people -- and many businesses and governments -- may find it easy to get "fat" but very hard to reduce for better health or necessity. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/11/fp1-easy-to-get-fat-hard-to-reduce/ In the time of King Henry VIII in England, 1509-1547, there were some secret trials of defendants charged with being disobedient to the king. They were called "Star Chamber" proceedings because they were held in a big room that had a ceiling decorated wit http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/11/fp5-let-the-light-shine-in/ The theory behind campaign finance reform was that it would free politicians from the undue influence of big-money donations, so they could work only in the public interest. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/11/fp4-in-politics-big-money-still-counts/ Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is again highlighting the cost dangers of proposed overhauls of the U.S. medical system. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/11/fp2-medical-overhaul-troubles-governor/ Remember how then-Sen. Barack Obama promised again and again during his presidential campaign that unless your family made more than $250,000, "you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime"? At best, that claim was fishy, considering the ma http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/11/fp3-middle-class-targeted-for-tax-hikes/ Before Americans abandon our existing medical care system for a government-run scheme, we should be fully aware what we are sacrificing for the historically unfounded hope that government can somehow do it all better. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/10/8-10-fp1-if-us-doesnt-do-it-who-will/ Few Americans think it would be easy to round up and deport all the estimated 11 million to 20 million illegal aliens in the United States. But must we roll out the red carpet to them? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/10/8-10-fp3-government-backed-lawbreaking/ The "cause of the day" in Washington recently has centered on the perils of driving while sending text messages via cell phone. We do not dispute the commonsense assertion that driving while being distracted by sending a text message is dangerous business. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/10/8-10-fp4-washington-twists-states-arms/ If you're wondering why the $787 billion "stimulus" approved by Congress early this year hasn't put a dent in unemployment -- which was supposed to be its primary purpose -- the U.S. Government Accountability Office may be able to help clear up the mystery. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/10/8-10-fp2-why-stimulus-isnt-stimulating/ Every time some big, expensive program is proposed in Congress, there is the suggestion that "most people" are going to get a bargain -- because "somebody else" is going to pay for it, usually "the rich." Maybe you don't feel sorry for "the rich," even th http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/09/8-9-fp1-will-millionaires-pay-for-it/ For reasons that will be clear in a moment, we checked the price of flights out of Ely, an isolated town in eastern Nevada. With a 21-day advance purchase, you can fly round-trip from Ely to Moab, Utah, for about $200. Well, that's not entirely true. The http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/09/8-9-fp3-bridge-to-nowhere-flights-for-no-one/ Far off the eastern shore of Australia are the tiny, South Pacific islands that make up a picturesque U.S. territory known as American Samoa. But American Samoa is no economic paradise these days. In fact, the islands' governor, Togiola Tulafono, recently http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/09/8-9-fp4-perils-of-government-wage-control/ Most Americans like "success" stories. Many like to see individuals rise from challenging circumstances and achieve great prominence and personal success. In those respects, there is much sentiment in favor of President Barack Obama's nomination and the U http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/08/fp1-now-she-is-justice-sotomayor/ Since abortion is the horrible intentional killing of unborn babies by choice, Rep. Zach Wamp and 34 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives definitely do not think that is something American taxpayers should approve -- or be forced to finance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/08/fp2-must-taxpayers-finance-abortion/ After horrible loss of human life in great battles in the air, on land and sea in Africa and Europe, the United States and its allies won the end of World War II in those areas with the surrender of Nazi Germany in April 1945. But the challenge of defeating Japan in Asia and the Pacific Ocean area remained. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/08/fp3-our-nuclear-bombs-brought-peace/ U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., was under a cloud of suspicion during his 2006 re-election campaign. The FBI had found $90,000 in his freezer, and it was thought to be bribe money. Still, Rep. Jefferson, whose district included parts of New Orleans, p http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/08/fp4-conviction-in-freezer-cash-case/ California does not have a reputation for low taxes, and the city of Los Angeles in particular is notorious for its high levels of taxation. But while Congress considers dangerous proposals to raise taxes in the midst of the recession, Los Angeles may be http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/08/fp-5-seeing-the-light-on-destructive-taxes/ "Annexation" is often a highly emotional and big economic issue. It shouldn't be. The solution should always be simple: Just be fair. Let the affected people decide. How can annexation issues always be settled with fairness and without animosity? It's eas http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/07/fp1-annexation-at-issue-be-fair/ Many of us have spending appetites that are larger than our financial incomes. So, to stay afloat, we have to tailor our spending within reasonable bounds. If we don't, we'll go broke. But somehow, it seems that politicians -- and sometimes many of us -- http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/07/fp2-its-easy-to-spend-hard-to-cut/ There are more than "a trillion" reasons for Congress not to enact ObamaCare. That's because the socialized medicine plan would cost more than a trillion dollars that the federal government doesn't have -- and that taxpayers don't want to pay for. Beside http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/07/fp3-obamacare-and-killing-babies/ Traffic accidents involving people whose ability has been impaired because they have been drinking alcohol often result in tragic deaths and personal injuries. But are they really "accidents"? Or do they result from a defiance of common sense, inviting tr http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/07/fp4-drunk-driving-accidents/ What would you do if you faced a criminal "coming at you'? With California having taxed and spent so irresponsibly, it is being faced with financial realities that have caused a federal judicial panel to order California to reduce its prison population by http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/07/fp-5-40000-criminals-coming-at-you/ Congress, the Obama administration, some car dealers and a few car buyers are rejoicing over the federal government's handout of a billion dollars (that the federal government had to borrow) on its "cash for clunkers" car sales promotion. Up to $4,500 per http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/06/fp1-after-clunkers-what-next/ An analysis by The Associated Press points out these contradictory and disturbing facts about the U.S. economy: * This year alone, the federal budget deficit -- government spending above what government is taking in -- is a record $1.8 trillion. That is f http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/06/fp2-washington-flunks-basic-math/ The two American women journalists -- Euna Lee and Laura Ling -- made a bad and dangerous bet when they crossed into the territory of the repressive Communist North Korean regime. They were arrested and charged with "hostile acts" and were sentenced to 12 http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/06/fp3-2-freed-all-win-it-seems-but/ While two Americans fortunately have been freed from Communist North Korea, on the other side of the world three American hikers who reportedly illegally entered repressive Iran have not been so fortunate. They were hiking near the Iraq-Iran border when t http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/06/fp4-in-another-case-no-happy-ending/ We've seen what happened when banks, under pressure from Congress, lent money to home buyers who were poor credit risks: Lots of those buyers are in default, and the mortgage crisis spawned by bad lending practices helped cause the recession. But Congress http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/06/fp5-drug-abuse-and-student-loans/ With the federal government running a trillion dollars in the red, President Barack Obama and a liberal majority of Democrats in Congress are rushing to pass a new trillion-dollar-plus medical ObamaCare bill -- and lots of additional spending for other things. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/05/fp1-dont-raise-taxes-on-anyone/ Can you imagine that George Washington, when he was president of the United States, would ever have thought of taxing the American people for Americans to trade in their old, worn out, sway-backed nags on fresh new horses, with the government handing out cash grants of tax money for, say, $100 or so per horse? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/05/fp2-president-washington-for-nags/ Opinion polls can be up one day, down the next, and it's certainly unwise for a president or a member of Congress to base every decision on daily survey results. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/05/fp3-medical-reforms-worry-public/ You probably never heard of "Ouzinkie, Alaska." But $15 million of your tax dollars are going to the remote little village of about 150 people to improve its airport -- a gravel strip that can accommodate small planes, no airlines. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/05/fp5-stimulating-waste-of-your/ A provision undermining the right to a secret-ballot vote on whether to unionize workplaces is such an outrage that it is likely to be dropped from the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act." That's the good news. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/05/fp-4-more-non-choice-in-free-choice-bill/ There obviously is no end to the ways that members of Congress can devise to hand out “free” money that the government doesn’t have. It’s popular, of course, for those who are on the receiving end. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/04/1-billion-gone2-bil-more/ Liberal politicians seem determined to choke off all means of meeting America’s energy needs except for the impractical, expensive forms of alternative energy that they favor. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/04/forcing-costly-energy-country/ The United States quickly won two wars in Iraq — but unfortunately our troops have not won peace. They are still there. But internal strife among Iraqi factions continues. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/04/declare-victory-and-go-home/ Some people are looking longingly at ObamaCare as they seem to believe it is a plan for them to get whatever medical care they want — with “somebody else” paying for it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/04/do-you-want-pelositax/ Do you recall those first exciting hours of the first Persian Gulf War against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991? The massive U.S. aerial attack hit our Iraqi enemies, and quickly won. But there were casualties. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/04/mystery-sadly-solved/ How would you like to have all of the doctor care you want, all of whatever hospitalization you may need, and all of your medication prescriptions filled at the drug store and then have all of the bills sent -- not to you -- but to your neighbor? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/03/look-at-obamacare-realities/ The irony of the trillion-dollar attempt to refashion U.S. medical care by imitating Canada or Europe is that our nation is embracing the worst aspects of those models and ignoring a few that make sense. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/03/8-3-fp2-one-medical-policy-worth-imitating/ It is a sad fact that government cannot eliminate all use of illegal drugs. Some people will risk their relationships, their liberty and their lives or the lives of others to abuse drugs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/03/8-3-fp4-encouraging-drug-abuse/ When somebody calls $100 million a "drop in the bucket," you might sensibly ask, "How big is the bucket?" http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/03/8-3-fp3-100-million-drop-in-the-bucket/ We all eat. That's necessary to stay alive. Some eat too much, and the wrong things. Some are fat, too fat. That's "harmful to their health." Some don't eat enough, or the right things, simply because they can't afford to. We all want everyone to be prop http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/02/8-2-fp1-we-all-eat-dont-we-so/ From a sense of compassion, Americans want everybody to have the medical care all of us may need, whether patients are rich or poor. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/02/8-2-fp2-stimulating-welfare/ Over a period of three years, a Florida hospital attended to every medical need of Luis Jimenez, an illegal alien, after it saved his life following a serious automobile accident. The hospital, Martin Memorial Medical Center in Stuart, Fla., spent an incredible $1.5 million on Mr. Jimenez's care during that time. Then, in 2003, it sent him on a chartered flight to a hospital in his homeland, Guatemala. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/02/8-2-fp3-hospitals-kindness-earns-lawsuit/ Citizens of Rwanda, Sudan and other nations have learned to their horror what happens when they entrust their security to the U.N. Even when it means well -- which it sometimes doesn't -- the U.N. has proved incapable of living up to its vows to restore security to war-torn countries. As a result, countless people have been driven from their homelands or murdered outright when U.N. forces were inadequate, ill-equipped or just too late. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/02/8-2-fp4-un-tells-israel-trust-us/ Hadn't you always thought that judges were supposed to be absolutely impartial? Hadn't you always believed judges should make decisions only according to the law and facts in each case? Presidents, senators and representatives often express their personal http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/01/fp1-corker-right-on-sotomayor/ President Barack Obama and a majority of Democrats in Congress are pressing hard to impose a new trillion-dollar-plus, tax-and-debt, socialized medical plan upon the American people, with tremendously increased government dictation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/01/fp2-compare-these-medical-plans/ Suppose you signed a contract to pay a roofer a certain amount of money within a specific time after he roofed your house. But suppose that instead of paying him, you handed him an IOU promising to pay at some unspecified date in the future. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/aug/01/fp3-californias-iou-follies/ One of the pet propaganda words being used by liberal members of Congress in trying to impose a new trillion-dollar-plus government medicine plan upon the American people is "affordable." They benignly claim they are seeking to provide "affordable" medical care to almost everyone. What they neglect to explain is who can "afford" the huge new costs their plan would impose. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/31/fp1-affordable/ It is troubling to hear elected officials in Washington admit, when pressed, that they have not read a 1,018-page medical care overhaul bill on which they may soon vote. But U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., has taken that disturbing approach in lawmaking to a new low. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/31/fp2-on-health-care-ignorance-is-not-bliss/ We strongly encourage local contractors to submit good, competitive bids when the Chattanooga City Council seeks contract work for projects in the city. We hope local businesses will have the best bids at the lowest cost, so the council can enthusiastically give local employees the work. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/31/fp3-for-fair-not-rigged-bidding/ Did you realize the United States owes Communist China $801.5 billion? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/31/fp4-we-owe-red-china-8015-billion/ The retiring general counsel of the National Education Association acknowledges that the union is a liberal organization whose main goal is not educating America's children but protecting teachers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/31/fp5-education-or-raw-power/ That it unfortunately is neither new nor rare does not lessen the fact that when we yield to personal immorality, it is both saddening and destructive. It affects not only those who are guilty, but it is also horribly hurtful to countless innocent people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/30/fp1-destructive-immorality/ We'd love to be able safely to "forget" our problems in Iraq and Afghanistan. We can't. But let us never forget "our troops" -- the local and other men and women who have served and are serving "over there." We give thanks for them and their patriotic service. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/30/fp3-dont-forget-our-troops/ Imagine if reason had prevailed, say, 10 years ago on the question of providing for our nation's energy needs. Congress would have permitted oil and natural gas exploration on a tiny, frigid, energy-rich section of northern Alaska. Safe, environmentally responsible production of energy also would have been opened up and expanded off our coasts. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/30/fp4-no-reason-to-delay-producing-energy/ The Tennessee Valley Authority has gone from the days when "it could do no wrong," because it provided cheap electricity and lots of area jobs, to the uncomfortable position of being criticized because electricity rates have risen, its nuclear plant costs are high, and it has suffered a costly and disastrous spill of ash over a huge area as a result of a break in a containment pond at the Kingston, Tenn., coal-burning steam plant. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/30/fp5-tva-and-reality/ It is very clear that in their genius in writing our national and state government constitutions, our Founding Fathers provided for a definite "separation of powers." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/29/fp1-lawmaking-judging-different/ A local business owner offered some common sense during a discussion on whether Chattanooga ought to annex additional areas of Hamilton County. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/29/fp2-annexation-and-free-money/ With gasoline prices high, and threatening to go higher, and with there being environmental concerns about gasoline engine emissions, are "electric cars" in our immediate future? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/29/fp3-are-electric-cars-coming-soon/ Everyone surely wants all Americans to have whatever medical care they really need. But who wants to pay the bill? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/28/fp1-who-wants-to-pay-the-bill/ The federal government is using the threat of withholding funding to force states to do its bidding on a matter that really should be under state control. In this case, what Washington wants is not a bad thing, but that's not the point. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/28/fp3-good-idea-bad-way-to-achieve-it/ Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced last week that the United States has sent $200 million of U.S. taxpayers' money to the Palestinian government, to help ease the Palestinians' growing budget deficit. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/28/fp4-us-finances-palestinian-deficit/ We've noted before some of the consequences of Massachusetts legislating "universal health care" in that state. Among those consequences are: * Longer waits to see a family practitioner or specialist. * Rising premiums and co-payments for participants in http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/28/fp2-what-disastrous-spending-got-them/ Did you notice the little news story last weekend about Communist North Korea's public execution of a Christian woman accused of distributing the Bible -- a book banned in Communist North Korea? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/28/fp5-north-korea-kills-christian-woman/ Our Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ..." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/27/7-27-fp1-equality-under-law/ It makes sense to restrict activities that would mar the beauty of our public parks. Most people probably would not want their hike through Great Smoky Mountains National Park interrupted by views of large-scale mining, for instance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/27/7-27-fp4-for-conservation-common-sense/ Here is an unsurprising sentence from an article in The New York Times: "Nationally, the states in which solar installations are spreading fastest are those that provide the most generous subsidies for them, industry experts agree." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/27/7-27-fp2-market-demand-market-distortion/ There is a sad irony to President Barack Obama's forcing taxpayers to fund the destruction of human embryos for research. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/27/7-27-fp3-needless-destruction-of-innocent-life/ President Barack Obama is pressing hard to force a sweeping socialized medical plan on the American people. At the same time he is proposing budgets that promise more than a trillion dollars in red ink. But he says: "I want to be very clear: I will not si http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/26/7-26-fp1-obamacare-then-what/ For all the attempts by Congress to micromanage college and professional sports lately, you'd think there were no serious issues to deal with -- such as the proposed radical overhaul of medical care, the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice and nearly 10 percent unemployment. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/26/7-26-fp2-congressional-meddling-in-sports/ It is a privilege, not a right, for a foreigner to visit this country. The United States grants that privilege to some and denies it to others, according to our national interests. In the case of a Muslim professor from Switzerland, our nation has forbidd http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/26/7-26-fp3-no-right-to-come-to-united-states/ One of the biggest swindles ever perpetrated was the "oil-for-food" scam in Iraq. In the years prior to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, dictator Saddam Hussein and conspirators from around the world skimmed billions of dollars off the U.N.-run program, which was supposed to provide humanitarian aid to impoverished Iraqis. Since the United States provides the most funds of any country for U.N. operations, the chief victims of the scam were American taxpayers -- and Iraqis who did not get needed food and medicine. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/26/7-26-fp4-business-as-usual-at-the-un/ President Barack Obama apparently thought he had greased the skids to have Congress enact a monstrously expensive and revolutionary socialized medicine plan "before Congress recesses in August." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/25/fp1-slow-the-obamacare-rush/ Once again, members of President Barack Obama's own party are highlighting serious reasons why his trillion-dollar proposed medical "reform" ought not to become law. The unsustainable cost has been their chief objection so far. But now they are also pointing out that the plan would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to end the lives of innocent babies through abortion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/25/fp2-no-tax-dollars-for-abortion/ Do you remember the days when all Americans were encouraged under our free enterprise system to work hard, come up with good ideas and earn a profit? But to some people these days, "profit" is considered a dirty word. Is having a "loss" preferable? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/25/fp3-isnt-profit-better-than-loss/ Any basket may have one "bad apple" -- which we try to detect and get rid of before the whole basket is spoiled. But there is shock and dismay about reports that there may have been a big basket of many bad apples in New Jersey. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/25/fp4-whole-basket-of-bad-apples/ Did you ever notice how some prominent environmentalists don't want to live under the anti-"global-warming" restrictions they try to impose on the rest of us? Some travel the globe in private jets, releasing far more pollution than if they flew commercial. Others live in energy-gulping mansions. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/25/fp5-the-rules-for-environmental-elites/ President Barack Obama has addressed the American people with great enthusiasm, great impatience and great imprecision, insisting upon quick enactment of a new socialized medicine ObamaCare plan that would be the most expensive new government program since ... Well, neither he nor anyone else knows for sure. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/24/fp1-obamacares-trillion--bill/ It was politically convenient for Congress to pass a law raising the minimum wage, requiring "somebody else" to give about 12 million people higher pay. But what Congress inconveniently neglected to do was provide the money to finance the larger payrolls http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/24/fp2-where-will-higher-wage-come-from/ Any time there is a proposal to pass a law about "guns," many emotions inevitably rise. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/24/fp3-emotion-and-gun-carry-laws/ You'd need a Ph.D. in mathematics to begin trying to get a handle on the trillions of dollars Washington has spent in recent months, or proposes to spend in the coming years. Fortunately, it does not take an advanced degree to know that the vague promises of "fiscal responsibility" that go along with those huge figures are fishy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/24/fp4-basic-math-vs-rosy-deficit-claims/ There are surely a great many reasons for Americans to desire to have U.S. troops out of Iraq -- if peace and security were certain to prevail. But American troops are there because, in recent years, there have been serious threats in Iraq to U.S. interests. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/24/fp5-who-knows-about-iraq-in-2011/ What does the defense of the United States and our vital interests really require? We will never know for sure unless some great crisis arises. Only then will we know whether we have "enough." But estimating real defense needs -- and meeting them -- shoul http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/23/fp1-whats-our-real-defense-need/ There was great alarm earlier this year when President Barack Obama suggested reducing the tax deductions that upper-income families may take when they give to charity. Philanthropic organizations warned that such a measure would reduce donations -- at th http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/23/fp2-kicking-charities-while-theyre-down/ It is amazing that so much legislative argument has been devoted recently to the issue of "guns in parks" and "guns in places that serve liquor." We fortunately are long past the times pictured in cowboy movies of gun-fighter showdowns in Western saloons http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/23/fp3-the-guns-in-parks-and-bars-fuss/ With the broad Tennessee River flowing through our area, we are fortunate to have plenty of water for many purposes. But many other areas -- other than the arid West -- are not that fortunate. There is a serious issue about water flowing from Georgia into http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/23/fp4-give-thanks-for-our-water/ Americans are not the only ones who think governments have gotten way too big for their britches. A new survey of people in 23 nations found vast support for smaller government -- and fierce opposition to higher taxes. An Ipsos/McClatchy poll of 23,000 pe http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/23/fp5-nations-plead-for-less-spending/ Whatever may be said about the proposed trillion-dollar health care reform circulating in Washington, it is not just a Democrat-vs.-Republican feud. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/22/fp1-bredesen-views-bad-health-bill/ With close to 10 percent of the American people hurting because they are unemployed, there is certainly reason for the remaining 90 percent to join them in being wary of the adverse economic conditions that are afflicting our people and our country these days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/22/fp2-10-hurting-100-should-be-wary/ It is not unusual for a member of Congress to attach some bad piece of legislation to a bill for national defense or to some other important legislation that is likely to have strong, bipartisan support. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/22/fp3-a-rotten-bill-start-to-finish/ Why is Washington enthusiastic about propping up bad performance with subsidies? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/22/fp4-propping-up-failure/ With about 10 percent of our people unemployed, with federal spending far too high and with federal taxes also too high, this is the time to cut federal spending and cut federal taxes to spur the economy, ease tax burdens on our people and get more people back to work. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/21/fp1-cut-taxes-cut-spending/ Here is some simple but devastating arithmetic from a New York Post article about the economic impact of the $1 trillion health care bill making its way through the House of Representatives: Suppose you own a small business that employs 10 people, has an annual payroll of $500,000, but cannot afford to offer health care benefits. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/21/fp2-reform-a-quick-path-to-job-losses/ Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., is aware of the millions of dollars in federal spending that are slated for projects in his home state in the $787 billion "stimulus." He also knows Arizona has not yet received the bulk of that money. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/21/fp4-a-senator-stands-on-principle/ We want everyone who wants a job to have one. And we want everyone to earn good pay. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/21/fp3-raising-some-people-out-of-jobs/ It is not the intention of Americans to send any of our U.S. jobs to India or Communist China. But if we're not careful, we may do that. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/20/7-20-fp1-us-jobs-to-china-and-india/ Defending the right to read unpopular books and to hear a range of opinions on issues is supposed to be a core principle of the American Library Association. It condemns censorship of books by school libraries, for instance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/20/7-20-fp4-silencing-a-critic-of-radical-islam/ "California here I come!" say the lyrics of the 1924 song. Indeed, at one time the United States and much of the world saw California as a symbol of opportunity. It was the "Golden State." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/20/7-20-fp3-californias-worthless-ious/ When Congress approved the $700 billion bailout for banks -- giving them the money in exchange for shares of stock -- the law stipulated that any earnings the government made on that stock would go toward reducing the national debt. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/20/7-20-fp2-dcs-motto-spend-spend-spend/ Everyone wants all Americans to have whatever medical care we need. It is almost miraculous what modern American medicine can do to alleviate our ills, ease our pains and lengthen our lives. But increasingly, it is staggering what the present costs are -- http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/19/7-19-fp1-socialized-medicine-reality/ Last year, some lawmakers in Maryland thought they had come up with the perfect plan to increase state revenue. They slapped a 14 percent increase on the income tax rate paid by Maryland's millionaires. They figured it was "free money" that would help the http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/19/7-19-fp2-punishing-earners-backfires/ Here is an alarming statistic: Back in 1981, Americans spent about a billion hours filling out a variety of federal government forms. Think of the lost productivity by U.S. individuals, businesses, charities and other groups as they completed all those forms on everything from income taxes to compliance with environmental regulations. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/19/7-19-fp3-federal-paperwork-explodes/ The impracticality of some alternative energy sources has caught up with Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens. He has spent $60 million urging America to boost its production of wind power until it supplies 20 percent of our electricity, rather than the cur http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/19/7-19-fp4-slim-pickens-for-wind-energy/ As some Washington politicians are trying to play doctor, nurse and hospital caregivers to the American people, they are ignoring clear symptoms of financial irresponsibility that surely will cause -- rather than solve -- problems for us all. Liberals in http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/18/fp1-causing-not-solving-problem/ In 2005 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a report on roadblocks that were keeping millions of Americans from buying homes. It focused on harsh environmental regulations and impact fees, as well as questionable "anti-sprawl" rule http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/18/fp2-better-way-to-stimulate-economy/ If you have a job, congratulations! But the jobless rate in Tennessee is a staggering 10.8 percent! That's painfully worse than the bad 9.5 percent national unemployment rate. We have sympathy for everyone who is eager and able to work but has no job. T http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/18/fp3-if-you-have-a-job/ Helping the uninsured "poor" is the argument regularly put forth for why the federal government ought to spend anywhere from $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion -- which it will have to borrow -- to reform our health care system. But the devil and the dollars ar http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/18/fp4-odd-definition-of-the-poor/ With Democrats running the House of Representatives and Republicans controlling the Senate in 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. It was an unwise move by a usually wise president. But the understand http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/18/fp5-dont-repeat-failed-strategy/ With some people, there is no political appeal more popular than a proposal to "tax somebody else" for "my" benefit. But in addition to being unjust, the idea can be counterproductive, harming everyone. That, however, isn't stopping Rep. Charles Rangel, c http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/17/fp1-tax-somebody-else-dangers/ Supporters of government-run U.S. health care claim a good model for that is the "universal" care that the state of Massachusetts provides. That's odd, considering how patients in Massachusetts face much longer waits to see a specialist or family practiti http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/17/fp2-the-limits-of-universal-care/ U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been doing a masterful job in parrying the searching questions about her judicial philosophy, as she was being examined by U.S. senators as President Barack Obama's nominee to join the United States Supreme Court. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/17/fp3-judge-sotomayors-adroit-responses/ Sen. Hillary Clinton hoped to make a splash in 2007 as her presidential campaign geared up. She proposed that Uncle Sam give a $5,000 savings bond to each of the 4 million babies born in the United States annually, to use later toward college or a home purchase. Public reaction was cool, to say the least, and Sen. Clinton abandoned the idea. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/17/fp4-where-do-they-get-these-ideas/ Everyone wants good medical care. Many don't want to pay for it. So Democrats in Congress realize it is politically popular to require "care for all" -- and force "somebody else" to pay. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/16/fp1-med-revolution-bankruptcy/ No one claims that Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor's life experiences did not help shape the adult she became, nor that she isn't entitled to personal views on any subject. But distressingly, some of the senators who will vote on Judge Sotomayor's confirmation to the high court seem content that she may let her experiences and views shape her rulings. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/16/fp2-judges-experiences-philosophies/ Although a majority of the members of the Tennessee Legislature did not have the good judgment to know why licensed gun-toters should not be permitted to carry guns in bars or in Tennessee parks, the nine members of the Chattanooga City Council fortunately did have the good judgment to take advantage of the provision of law that allows local governments to ban carrying guns in local parks. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/16/fp3-no-guns-in-local-parks/ Bernie Madoff was a rich stockbroker, living a high life in a $7 million Manhattan apartment. He had another $3 million home, a $7 million yacht, art worth $9.9 million and total wealth, with his wife, of $126 million. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/16/fp4-jailing-con-artist-crooks/ A spendthrift Congress, encouraged by a spendthrift president, has irresponsibly voted for such outrageously excessive spending that the federal budget already is more than a trillion dollars in the red -- with three more months yet to go in the curren http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/15/fp1-trillion--irresponsibility/ In most cases, Americans properly have the right to choose what they want to join and what they prefer not to join, with no adverse legal effect however they choose. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/15/fp4-for-real-union-free-choice/ Everybody wants everybody to have needed medical care. But many people don't want to pay for it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/15/fp3-beware-obama-socialized-medicine/ If we examine the life of 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to become a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, there are many things to admire. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/15/fp2-judge-sotomayor-and-the-law/ The Tennessee Legislature acted unwisely and irresponsibly when it enacted a law to allow people with legal gun-carry licenses to carry their weapons into bars, so long as they don't drink. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/15/fp5-guns-in-bars-wrong-but-judge-right/ With President Barack Obama having nominated U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his first appointee for the United States Supreme Court, Judge Sotomayor has been busily "making the rounds" visiting the senators who will vote on her confirmatio http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/14/fp1-questioning-judge-sotomayor/ It is an unfortunate reality of hard economic times that people often must cut back on entertainment, luxuries and "extras" to focus on things such as paying their bills for housing, food, utilities and so forth. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/14/fp2-taxpayer-music--sour-note/ Dr. Don Cannon, who died last week at the age of 75, was the kind of doctor who knew and used all of the latest and most modern assets of medical science, but who had a relationship with his patients that might have been expected of a horse-and-buggy doct http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/14/fp3-dr-don-cannon/ Americans are often deeply skeptical about the many billions of dollars our nation provides in aid to foreign countries. Some of it does some good, but it often is squandered on ineffective programs or lost to fraud by corrupt foreign bureaucrats. You may http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/14/fp5-foreign-aid-for-abortions/ Howard Sompayrac, who died Saturday, was first widely known in our community as a basketball star at Central High School and the University of Chattanooga. And then he went on to distinguish himself in many ways in civic and community service. An Eagle Sc http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/14/fp4-howard-sompayrac/ If our country were rolling in economic prosperity, if employment were full, if our national debt were low and if large tax collections were rolling in from low tax rates on our people, there are countless dreams and projects that could be envisioned by our people and our leaders. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/13/7-13-fp1-what-could-president-do-best/ Backers of "universal" health care provided by the federal government often resort to the argument that 47 million Americans have no health insurance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/13/7-13-fp2-the-voluntarily-uninsured/ A man and woman from Ontario, Canada, were no doubt distressed recently when their baby girl was born 14 weeks prematurely. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/13/7-13-fp3-the-cost-of-rationing-medical-care/ Have you noticed how our laws that are designed to round up illegal aliens have been greeted by complaints from some so-called "civil rights" groups that those laws are stirring up a "climate of fear"? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/13/7-13-fp4-protecting-criminals-from-fear/ President Barack Obama obviously wants to become a good and popular president. All of us should want him to lead in successful and constructive policies. But there may be danger that President Obama could do one of the worst things possible in this time o http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/12/7-12-fp1-worst-thing-obama-could-do/ There are lots of dead giveaways when a bill before Congress is a bad idea. It's wise to be skeptical, for instance, if a piece of legislation is tacked onto a vital, popular bill as a slick way to get it passed. There is also cause for concern when a bill's official name directly contradicts what it would do. The so-called "Employee Free Choice Act," for example, would generally deny employees a free, secret-ballot choice on whether to unionize their workplaces. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/12/7-12-fp2-the-case-of-the-unwritten-bill/ We've witnessed over the past year the sad, even tragic unwillingness by unions in Detroit to accept wage and benefit cuts even as the Big Three car companies were nearing bankruptcy. It is as if the unions assumed there was a hidden pot of billions of dollars that could sustain their bloated pay and benefits if only the "greedy" companies would hand it over. That assumption was proved wrong, and many autoworkers are now unemployed. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/12/7-12-fp3-are-they-better-off-with-no-jobs/ There is often debate on whether local or state governments should offer financial incentives to lure businesses. Then, if they are provided, there is more debate on how generous incentives should be. Those questions are not always easily answered. Chatta http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/12/7-12-fp4-wise-vs-unwise-incentives/ After President Dwight D. Eisenhower selected General Motors' chief Charles E. Wilson in 1953 to head the U.S. Department of Defense, Mr. Wilson made a statement that was very true, but for which he was frequently criticized. He said that "for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/11/fp1-the-new-general-motors/ Do you remember, in "our generation," when the expression "wonder drugs" came into being? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/11/fp2-drugs----wonders-and-horrors/ While life in our country unavoidably sometimes involves both tragic accidents and normal hazards that end lives prematurely, it is almost impossible for us to imagine the horrible death threats that are daily situations in so many foreign countries. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/11/fp3-avoidable-mass-tragedies/ Money is "just a means of exchange," a symbol of some value, so we can exchange bills and coins instead of handing over, for example, a sheep for several bushels of wheat or corn to make bread. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/11/fp4-money-and-the-lack-thereof/ Some members of Congress evidently think no job is outside the scope of the federal government's authority. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/11/fp5-the-congressional-playground/ There's no debate about the fact that our economy needs stimulating. That's evident as unemployment figures are approaching 10 percent. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/10/fp1-wasting-stimulus-money/ The Government Accountability Office is pouring cold water over the claim that the $787 billion "stimulus" is actually stimulating infrastructure work and similar job-creating projects around the nation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/10/fp2-welfare-bureaucracy-vs-stimulus/ It is refreshing when a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court candidly acknowledges the court's limited, constitutional role. That is exactly what Chief Justice John Roberts did during a recent conference. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/10/fp3-chief-justice-roberts-on-courts-role/ It's too bad that some thoughtless and irresponsible people desecrate buildings and walls, etc., by graffiti. It's not only unsightly, but is costly to deal with. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/10/fp4-fighting-graffiti/ Politicians often are good at proposing to "tax someone else," favoring the more numerous voters, but "socking" a relative few, trying to give the impression that the politicians deserve the votes of the many. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/10/fp5-tax-improvement-in-maine/ As long as we personally have good health for ourselves and our loved ones, and have a steady job of some kind so we can earn a living, most of us feel we can withstand whatever storms we may encounter. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/09/fp1-solution-free-enterprise/ Attorney General Eric Holder has held up the horrifying shooting of a black guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, allegedly by a white supremacist, as a reason why Congress should enact a so-called "hate crimes" bill. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/09/fp2-no-excuse-for-hate-crimes-bill/ It wasn't easy for 17 white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., to fight the battle against racial discrimination, finally gaining victory when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their claims. They endured constant insults for suing after a promotion exam they had taken was thrown out because the results would not, in the city's view, have led to the promotion of enough minority firefighters. The process was slow, too: The case wound through the courts for about six years. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/09/fp3-he-stood-up-for-whats-right/ In these days of great economic concerns, the U.S. Senate has been involved in -- yes, collegeorried about the college football "Bowl Championship Series," how teams are chosen, etc. Is that really high-priority congressional business? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/09/fp-4what-it-was-was-football/ The terrible truth about the power of nuclear weapons burst on the world for the first time in August 1945. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/08/fp1-obama-russia-and-nukes/ Every schoolchild knows that the person who should apologize when someone is wronged is the person who committed the wrong, not some innocent third party. But members of Congress must have missed that lesson. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/08/fp2-counterproductive-apologies/ There was understandable outrage earlier this year when bankrupt California, trying to close its budget gap, said it would issue IOUs instead of the income tax refunds that taxpayers in the state were expecting. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/08/fp3-georgia-clings-to-tax-refunds/ No one can accuse retired Gen. Colin Powell of being a harsh critic of the Obama administration. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/08/fp4-gen-powell-weighs-in-on-spending/ It is quite evident that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his "sponsor," Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, are deeply troubled by internal financial and other problems that have made Russia less powerful than it was in recent years. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/07/president-obama-in-moscow/ Republican 2008 presidential candidate Sen. John McCain had a big surprise for his followers when he chose his vice presidential candidate last year. His selection of Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin brought into the national spotlight a perky, articulate and co http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/07/alaska-gov-palin-stepping-down/ President Barack Obama's plan to fix health care in the United States is so expensive that his statements on how it will affect the American people keep changing as it becomes clear how unworkable his "reforms" are. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/07/broken-promise-on-health-care/ It is an alarming nonsecret that the radical regime ruling Iran reportedly is developing nuclear weapons -- and missiles capable of delivering them on Israel, which the Iran leaders repeatedly castigate. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/07/biden-israel-and-irans-nukes/ The football expertise of quarterback Steve McNair burst upon the consciousness of Chattanooga football fans on Sept. 19, 1994, when he came to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Chamberlain Field as the quarterback for Alcorn State University i http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/07/quarterback-steve-mcnair/ We often hear politicians speak of "47 million" Americans who reportedly do not have medical insurance. Some of them are young and healthy and prefer to spend their money for other things instead of health insurance. And surely, some just can't afford medical insurance. That's why we have expensive Medicaid for the medically indigent. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/06/7-6-fp1-ready-to-buy-socialized-med/ When Congress was rushing the so-called "stimulus" bill to passage earlier this year, a key argument in favor of it was that businesses and individuals were sitting on their money rather than spending it, worsening the economic slowdown. Washington had to approve the $787 billion stimulus package to create jobs and get folks spending again, supporters said. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/06/7-6-fp2-a-stimulus-for-the-stimulus/ In a correct but disturbingly close call, the U.S. Supreme Court has put the brakes on federal courts that dictate the particulars about how states are to educate children in public schools. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/06/7-6-fp3-for-local-state-control-of-education/ It's hard to look at U.S. energy policy for long without getting an overwhelming sense of the backwardness of it all. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/06/7-6-fp4-the-solar-power-money-pit/ The American people are fortunate that our country leads the world in medical and pharmaceutical progress, offering more expertise to a large population than any other nation offers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/05/7-5-fp1-if-we-socialize-us-medicine/ There was an uproar in America's farming communities when the Environmental Protection Agency raised the prospect of imposing a tax on livestock because their gas "emissions" are a huge contributor to supposed "global warming." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/05/7-5-fp2-cutting-off-cow-tax-at-the-pass/ We can add the top anti-terrorism official in the New York City Police Department to the list of those warning of the serious dangers of bringing terrorists captured overseas into civilian courts on U.S. soil. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/05/7-5-fp3-smoothing-the-path-for-new-attacks/ It ought not to surprise anybody that cost estimates for the federal government to promote a high-speed rail system have already started spiraling out of control. Massive cost overruns are business as usual in Washington. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/05/7-5-fp4-a-fresh-boondoggle-in-the-making/ You probably remember the big signature of "John Hancock" on the Declaration of Independence, but you may not remember the others' signatures. Most Americans also do not remember what it cost them to sign. We don't know who wrote it, but this summary should be of great interest on this Fourth of July: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/fp1-they-took-great-chances/ The $787 billion stimulus bill was supposed to be the key ingredient to get our economy back on track. Predictions were dire about what would happen if lawmakers did not agree to spend all that money. The Obama administration breathlessly warned that unemployment could get as high as 9 percent without the stimulus to jolt spending by consumers, businesses and, most of all, government. With the stimulus, the administration said, unemployment would stay below 8 percent and soon drop to more tolerable levels. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/fp2-the-stimulus-has-failed/ Advocates for illegal aliens say it's "compassionate" when cities forbid local authorities to report the lawbreakers to federal immigration agents. But that supposed "compassion" has a high price. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/fp3-terrible-toll-of-sanctuary-cities/ We are fortunate that our Constitution delegates limited powers to the federal government and leaves the rest to the states and the people. One advantage of that system is that states may replicate policies that are successful in other states and avoid those policies that fail. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/fp4-californias-fingerprints/ Chattanooga and Hamilton County government officials wisely "planned ahead" some years ago in acquiring the abandoned World War II TNT plant at Tyner for future economic development. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/fp1-accommodating-future/ Many American soldiers face danger in various forms every day as they confront a variety of enemies in faraway places. Tragically, their lives may be taken suddenly by gunfire or suicide bombers or other hostile action. But there is something particularly chilling when it is reported that an American soldier has been taken prisoner by some not-immediately-identified "militant" gang, probably the Taliban, in Afghanistan. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/fp2-militants-seize-us-soldier/ It may be a surprise to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, but companies that insure property in his state do not consider him and state regulators qualified to say how much the insurers may charge in premiums. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/fp3-who-should-set-insurance-rates/ It is a natural thing for any people to resent the presence of armed "foreign occupiers" among them in large numbers, even when it is "for their own good." So it is not surprising that Iraqis have celebrated, cheered, set off fireworks and generally rejoiced as American troops have withdrawn from Iraq's cities. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/fp4-americans-leave-iraq-cities/ Following in the footsteps of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, President Manuel Zelaya of the Central American nation of Honduras appeared to be trying to make himself president for life when Honduras' military made him leave the country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/fp5-who-is-behind-honduras-coup/ It's a terrible thing for anyone to need a job, want a job and be able to contribute something in a job -- but not be able to find one for self-support. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/02/fp1-our-painful-unemployment/ We spend a large part of our tax and private money for the education of our children. We want them all to learn, achieve, succeed and go into mature life with rewarding intellectual and vocational skills. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/02/fp2-troubling-lack-of-education-success/ Trying to drum up support for his incredibly expensive attempt to socialize American medical care, President Barack Obama offered harsh words for the health insurance industry. Among his many criticisms was a breathtaking remark defending the creation of a government health care plan to compete directly with private insurers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/02/fp3-how-about-disciplining-washington/ No one will ever know for sure which candidate for the United States Senate really won the election in Minnesota last November. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/02/fp4-sen-al-franken/ Bernard "Bernie" Madoff was an obvious multimillionaire. And he seemed to be getting richer. Investors flocked to him, expecting to reap huge gains by investing with him. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/01/fp1-what-was-madoff-thinking/ In many news stories about the monetary machinations of Bernard Madoff -- and too many others in recent months -- there have been references to "Ponzi schemes," usually with little explanation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/01/fp2-who-was-ponzi/ Donald L. Blevins, who died Sunday at the age of 85, was an example of a fine citizen who served our community in many significant ways but always maintained a natural and relatively quiet manner despite his extensive service. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/01/fp3-don-blevins/ It will be a great day of relief when all American troops can be withdrawn from Iraq -- if Iraq's troops and police are able to maintain peace and independence from terrorist ravages and other radical elements. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/01/fp4-us-troops-exit-iraqi-cities/ Even before Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor could get a Senate vote on President Barack Obama's nomination of her for the U.S. Supreme Court, she has been "reversed" on her important decision in which she wrongly supported racial discrimination. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/30/fp1-judge-sotomayor-reversed/ Do you think the American people are for what in effect will be an increase in taxes, will raise costs and prices, and thus will kill jobs in this time of economic recession? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/30/fp2-raise-taxes-costs-and-kill-jobs/ When then Sen. Barack Obama was running for president, he said: "I pledge that under my plan, no one making less than $250,000 a year will see any type of tax increase. Not income tax, not capital gains taxes, not any kind of tax." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/30/fp3-tax-your-health-care-benefits/ It was certainly good fortune for Chattanooga and our citizens when Dr. Paul Nolan came to Chattanooga in 1959 to become medical director for our big DuPont Nylon Plant. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/30/fp4-dr-paul-nolan/ For many years, dedicated members of the Chattanooga Music Club have been working tirelessly, raising necessary funds and doing the hard work, to restore the magnificent 1924 Austin pipe organ at Chattanooga's Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium on McCallie Avenue. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/30/fp5-free-patriotic-concert-thursday/ Once upon a time, doctors drove via horse and buggy to take themselves and their little black bags to the homes of sick patients. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/29/6-29-fp1-horse-buggy-to-bankruptcy/ With serious concern about collapsing real estate markets around the country, it is encouraging that the Chattanooga area has bucked that trend. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/29/6-29-fp2-vigor-in-local-real-estate-market/ Did you happen to read the article in the Times Free Press about the 700 unionized teachers in New York City who are paid to sit eight hours a day, for months or even years on end, and do nothing? It's true. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/29/6-29-fp3-paid-to-do-nothing/ Two Muslim inmates in an Indiana prison have sued in federal court over supposedly discriminatory limits on their religious practice. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/29/6-29-fp4-unreasonable-inmate-demands/ Many people remember when the American car industry, not many years ago, was a major positive factor in general American economic prosperity. It produced millions of excellent and exciting cars and trucks, and assured hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs for American workers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/28/6-28-fp1-sen-corker-vs-car-wrecks/ You may already have heard about plans by congressional Democrats to start taxing your medical benefits as a way to pay for their proposed trillion-dollar government health care "reform." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/28/6-28-fp2-here-a-tax-there-a-tax-everywhere/ In an ideal world, there would be unlimited money for schools, state-of-the-art resources and top-notch teachers to give every child in America the best education possible. But we live in the real world of limited resources, so common sense and fiscal responsibility have to guide education spending. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/28/6-28-fp3-a-crippling-unfunded-mandate/ It's silly when people refer to congressional Democrats' "cap-and-trade" plan as a "market-based solution" to supposed global warming. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/28/6-28-fp4-not-a-market-based-solution/ Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield had every reason to express optimism as he gave his annual "State of the City" address this week. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/27/fp1-mayors-state-of-city-report/ While we are optimistic about many things in our community -- including the prospect of many new jobs -- we shouldn't mislead ourselves by looking at things through "rose-colored glasses." There are serious unemployment problems for our area to overcome. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/27/fp2-still-unemployment-problems/ There is no room for debate that our Earth in prehistoric and historic times has experienced both cooling and warming. But do we face a future "Ice Age" or "global warming"? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/27/fp3-ice-age-or-global-warming-or/ Millions of his fans recognized pop music artist Michael Jackson as a "one-of-a-kind" entertainment phenomenon, possibly the biggest ever. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/27/fp4-michael-jackson/ The story goes that when Farrah Fawcett walked across her campus at the University of Texas at Austin between classes, jaws dropped, eyes widened and everyone stopped, breathlessly. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/27/fp5-farrah-fawcett/ Our police officers and ordinary citizens daily face great dangers, even possible death, as they go about their ordinary lives while vicious, wild and irresponsible gunmen flagrantly violate our laws and public safety. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/26/fp2-dangerous-deadly-gunfire/ It is both disappointing and disgusting that South Carolina's Gov. Mark Sanford has engaged in immoral and irresponsible self-destruction. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/26/fp4-gov-sanfords-self-destruction/ The oppressive rulers of Iran apparently have been able by means of civilian bloodshed and military might to put a lid -- for now, at least -- on the boiling opposition and discontent of a large part of the Iranian population. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/26/fp5-explosive-iran-iraq-afghanistan/ Who doesn't want all Americans to have whatever medical care they really need? But who wants to pay the huge cost of proposed Obamacare? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/25/fp1-medical-money-magic/ The various proposals to pay for congressional Democrats' and President Barack Obama's huge health care "reform" plans are all unattractive. One of the worst is a scheme to tax medical care benefits that employees get from employers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/25/fp2-a-horrible-tax-proposal/ While Chattanoogans are still celebrating the decision of Volkswagen to build its new automobile assembly plant here, creating 2,000 excellent jobs -- plus hundreds more in related businesses -- there is the additional good news that Nissan has the prospect of adding up to 1,300 jobs at its plant at Smyrna, near Nashville. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/25/fp3-1300-more-car-jobs-in-tennessee/ They held a somber ceremony in Raleigh, N.C., recently to remember a dark part of that state's (and many states') history: the forcible sterilization of thousands of the poor as well as mental patients and others because they were deemed genetically unfit to reproduce. That program of "eugenics" lasted from 1933 until 1973 in North Carolina, and it is greatly to be regretted. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/25/fp4-modern-day-eugenics/ If your personal family income totaled, say, $40,000 a year, and you owed $10,000, but were spending $50,000 a year, what kind of financial shape would you be in? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/24/fp-1-some-common-sense/ We will never really know what the death toll of Iran's oppression of its own people is. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/24/fp-2-deadly-oppression-in-iran/ It's a sure sign of how unpopular a piece of legislation is with the public when lawmakers have to attach it to a more vital piece of legislation to pass it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/24/fp-3-bad-bill-weighs-down-good/ There are many shocking cases of Tennesseans engaging in costly fraud, violating the law concerning our TennCare health system. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/24/fp-4-tenncare-fraud/ Having passed similar measures previously, the U.S. House of Representatives recently made it clear to President Barack Obama yet again that it does not want enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, brought to the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/24/fp-5-house-says-no-to-closing-gitmo/ Americans didn't cause it. Britons didn't cause it. Iran is on fire, with thousands of people protesting in the streets, simply because huge segments among the Iranian people have risen in defiance of their oppressive rulers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/23/fp1-iran-on-fire/ Our system of government was never designed to provide legalized "bribery" to produce certain behavior. But in too many things, Congress has voted to use taxpayers' money to "subsidize" various behaviors, paying us to do this, or not do that. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/23/fp2-should-we-subsidize-everything/ President Barack Obama is calling for an "immigration overhaul" -- but he's proposing the wrong change. He wants to make millions of illegal aliens legal. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/23/fp3-wrong-immigration-overhaul/ It was troubling when Democrats in the Tennessee Legislature blocked a bill to expand the number of children in the state who have the option to attend charter schools. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/23/fp4-about-face-on-charter-schools/ We Americans are supposed to be "free" and "individualistic," aren't we? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/22/6-22-fp1-1804-subsidies-you-pay-for/ There is good reason to doubt that the $787 billion so-called "stimulus" passed by Congress is actually stimulating things that get the economy moving and get laid-off people working. Unemployment has risen, not fallen, since the bill became law. National http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/22/6-22-fp2-caught-in-stimulus-crossfire/ Buried deep in an article about Hispanic organizations in Georgia working to make sure illegal aliens participate in the 2010 census was a shockingly candid comment by the Rev. Miguel Rivera. He heads a group that demands "comprehensive immigration reform http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/22/6-22-fp4-illegal-aliens-the-census-and-welfare/ President Barack Obama says every dollar government spends of the $787 billion "stimulus" creates $1.50 in economic activity. Based on stimulus spending so far, the administration says it must have generated enough activity to create 150,000 jobs -- even http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/22/6-22-fp3-fifty-percent-return-on-government/ Maybe you've heard of the "cap-and-trade" legislation being proposed in Congress. It's being promoted as a way to "improve the environment" by making companies that have undesirable emissions pay a price to buy emissions rights from those who pollute less. But in the end, "cap and trade" would mean a big new tax and higher prices on all of us Americans. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/21/6-21-fp1-rep-wamp-defends-us/ If you had to guess, what do you think is Europe's biggest employer? A car maker such as Volkswagen? Perhaps a major oil company such as British Petroleum, better known as BP? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/21/6-21-fp2-do-we-dare-try-this-at-home/ It's not news that America's poor often have a higher standard of living than average citizens of some less advanced nations. But apparently even prison in the United States beats the lives some lead in Communist China. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/21/6-21-fp3-gitmo-vs-communist-china/ It is not often that the United States pauses to take stock of the incredible advances in opportunities that our nation has offered to women over the past several decades. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/21/6-21-fp4-women-in-science/ While Tennesseans have had lots of good economic news recently, with prospects for the new Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga and some other large industrial developments coming elsewhere in our state, it is painful to find that our jobless rate has risen to a 25-year high of 10.7 percent. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/20/fp1-job-losses-in-tennessee/ As the Democrats in Congress and President Barack Obama are rushing to enact a tremendously expensive Obamacare medical plan that could cost taxpayers $1.6 trillion -- an estimate that may be low -- it seems incredible that some want to put a tax on the people who have non-government health care programs and aren't depending upon the taxpayers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/20/fp2-dont-add-tax-for-having-health-care/ As if U.S. courts were not already drowning in lawsuits -- many of them frivolous -- along comes a bizarre new way to encourage irresponsible litigation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/20/fp3-investing-in-lawsuits/ While our country is in serious economic trouble and while we are having to spend many billions of dollars on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that we cannot get out of satisfactorily and soon, Republicans in Congress commendably are opposing an effort to spend $5 billion more by adding to a $108 billion U.S. line of credit for the International Monetary Fund to help finance poor countries that are facing recession. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/20/fp4-dont-add-billions-to-foreign-aid/ It's funny how the rules of being "environmentally conscious" or "a friend of the Earth" keep changing. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/20/fp-5-an-idea-that-deserves-composting/ It's easy to make a budget -- for a family, a business or a governmental unit -- if money is plentiful. But it's hard when dollars are short. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/19/fp1-tennessees-tough-budget/ With President Barack Obama offering a highly objectionable plan for "government medicine" at terrible cost, three former Senate majority leaders, surely with good intent, have proposed an alternate plan. But it's not a good one, either. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/19/fp2-3-ex-senators-plan-not-good-either/ Besides the obvious fact that there is huge upset among the people of Iran, even "Iran experts" may have difficulty guessing what is going on it Iran today. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/19/fp3-whats-going-on-in-iran/ Our Declaration of Independence expresses a treasured part of our freedom in the statement that government should be with the "consent of the governed." Government should not be imposed upon Americans otherwise. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/19/fp4-consent-of-the-governed/ The Tennessee Valley Authority came into being in the 1930s amid controversy. Our country was in the Great Depression. TVA was proposed for navigation of the Tennessee River, conservation and flood control -- with the prospect of tremendous economic development in an area that lacked electricity in poor farmland. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/19/fp5-tvas-fly-ash-problem/ Local officials of Chattanooga and Red Bank have shown much better judgment than the majority of Tennessee legislators who voted to allow licensed gun-toters to carry their weapons in parks. The Chattanooga and Red Bank officials have begun "local option" http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/18/no-need-for-guns-in-parks/ It was unwise when Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., proposed during last year's presidential campaign to tax Americans' health care benefits (even though he promised credits to offset those taxes). We opposed the idea at that time. So did even liberal Sen. Bara http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/18/health-tax-flip-flop/ Unfortunately, there have been all too many instances of marital infidelity and other improprieties among some of our highest officials, presidents, senators, representatives and others. Nor is such misbehavior limited to people in politics. It is reprehe http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/18/marital-infidelity-and-politics/ The problem with lots of "little taxes" scattered here and there is that none of them individually seems like much of a blow to your wallet. It's in their entirety that they are crippling. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/18/defeat-for-a-new-little-tax/ It's almost impossible to believe, but a Democrat U.S. senator openly demanded that the independent, nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office base its estimates of the cost of health care reform on what will make those reforms likely to pass, not on an obj http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/18/creative-or-just-dishonest/ When you read about the "cap-and-trade" bill on "global warming" that President Barack Obama is pushing before Congress, you may not understand how it would affect you. But everyone should be wary -- because it's about imposing what would amount to a new http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/17/obamas-700-billion-new-tax/ A Washington lawyer has been hired to ensure that executives at companies receiving bailout money from taxpayers do not get salaries the Obama administration considers too high. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/17/fp3-the-pay-masters-pay/ U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan deserves credit for pushing the idea of merit pay for teachers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/17/making-good-teaching-pay/ With "June bustin' out all over," and with schools out for the summer, Chattanooga increasingly is a vacation and convention mecca. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/17/fp4-chattanooga-vacationland/ President Barack Obama ventured gingerly yesterday into the medical profession’s equivalent of the “lion’s den.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/16/obama-ama-lions-den/ Iran is an ancient land with rich history, once known as Persia. It was one of the great civilizations of the past, and held sway over a large expanse during several centuries. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/16/irans-self-persecution/ Remember the protests by Democrats after President George W. Bush fired a handful of U.S. attorneys, even though he had the prerogative to fire them, with or without a stated reason? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/16/political-firing/ “Confusing” might be the best word to describe the United States’ policies on meeting our energy needs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/16/good-news-bad-news-energy/ If it’s raining and you don’t want to get wet, what do you do? You’d better raise an umbrella, put on a raincoat, or move indoors out of the rain. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/15/if-its-raining-new-taxes/ There are practical reasons why schools in the Elmbrook, Wis., School District have held commencement exercises at Elmbrook Church over the years: It’s big enough to hold the graduates and their families. It’s cheaper than other venues. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/15/church-state-and-common-sense/ One of the dangers of the explosive growth of government in our economy is that more Americans will come to see government — not free enterprise — as the real engine of our prosperity. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/15/government-unbound/ Two big fears about increasing government’s role in health care are that it would mean higher taxes or rationing of care. But it is looking more and more as if it would mean both higher taxes and rationing of care. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/15/new-health-care-tax/ All of us surely want all the American people to have comfortable economic situations in retirement, and whatever health care may be needed at any age. But the problem is paying for it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/14/adding-government-health/ A family that earns $110,000 per year isn’t necessarily “rich.” A household with a husband who is a teacher and a wife who is a nurse, for instance, could earn that much and be firmly rooted in the middle class. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/14/poor-make-110000-year/ You probably know about bait and switch. A store may advertise a product at a certain price. But when you arrive, the salesman tries to get you to buy something more expensive instead. A store owner can get in legal trouble for bait and switch. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/14/stimulus-bait-and-switch/ It is absurd that bogus legal challenges to a voter-ID law in Georgia have stretched out over four years. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/14/four-year-struggle-over-voter-id/ Does anyone remember that from the end of World War II through the 1960s, the price of crude oil was less than $3 for a 42-gallon barrel? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/13/we-havent-solved-oil-prices/ We can add Morgan County, west of Knoxville, to the list of places in the United States and around the world that definitely do not want to house the enemy combatants now being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/13/another-no-gitmo-detainees/ During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama vowed that if elected, he would join a picket line to help unionize workers at a hotel in Chicago. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/13/bowing-big-labor/ If an airliner crashes and a hundred people die, we are shocked and saddened — and spend lots of money for studies and safety measures to save lives in the future. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/13/400000-smokers-still-die-each-year/ The death of Dr. J.R. Faulkner Jr. at the age of 95 causes many Chattanoogans to recall the many years of outstanding Christian service that Dr. Faulkner provided in our community. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/13/dr-jr-faulkner-jr/ You’ve heard the old saying that “He who pays the piper calls the tune.” But there are surely some current cases in which government (the taxpayers) should neither be paying the piper — nor calling the tune. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/12/dont-pay-piperor-call-tune/ In a questionable ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the “Miranda” case that criminal suspects must be “read their rights” before questioning. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/12/miranda-rights-foreign-terrorist/ A bill just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives — supposedly to move America toward more fuel-efficient vehicles — is deeply dishonest. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/12/clunker-bill/ It unfortunately is impossible to provide adequate safeguards, prevention and defense against all crazed and hating murderers who are on the loose. Three tragic cases in recent days have emphasized that unfortunate fact. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/12/crazed-murderers-loose/ President Barack Obama is proposing lots of new and expensive government programs — and challenging Congress to “pay as you go” to cover the costs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/11/does-obama-mean-pay-you-go/ Chattanooga is very fortunate to have the billion-dollar Volkswagen plant and thousands of new jobs coming to our area. The local Alstom plant on the Tennessee River here is working for more clean energy. And Wacker Chemie AG is investing a billion dollars in adjacent Bradley County to make polycrystalline silicon for photovoltaic cells for solar energy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/11/seeking-more-jobs-tennessee/ Obama administration officials have been careful about how they word predictions that the $787 billion federal stimulus will boost employment. They don’t talk so much anymore about “creating jobs” but about “creating or saving jobs.” That’s politically convenient, because it is hard or impossible to know whether the stimulus deserves credit for an American not being laid off. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/11/job-predictions-optimistic/ President Barack Obama hasn’t spelled out the details of his government health care expansion plan yet — but already there are estimates it would cost more than $1 trillion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/11/trillion--tax-increase/ In the midst of economic recession and after we have had so much bad news among some of our banks, it’s uplifting to have a little good banking news. Ten of the banks that received federal bailout funds are planning to pay back $68 billion! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/11/little-good-banking-news/ Visiting the Times Free Press recently, the top enlisted member of the U.S. Navy pointed out some of the diverse duties performed by today’s high-tech Navy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/10/your-navy-work/ With our country in recession and unemployment rising, it is a painful no-surprise that Tennessee tax collections have declined for the 10th consecutive month, with Tennessee tax money having come up short of budgeted plans for 15 of the last 17 months. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/10/tennessee-tax-collections-decline/ If you have noticed more men up power poles in your neighborhoods in recent months than usual, it’s not just because they were repairing electric lines or working on power transformers. They are the people of EPB (formerly known as the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga). http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/10/epb-fiber-optics-moving-fast/ We don’t like to think that there is significant “gang” activity in Chattanooga. But there unfortunately is. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/10/crackdown-chattanooga-gangs/ With health care costs high, with Medicare and Medicaid very expensive, and with President Barack Obama promising “health care reform” to put government deeper into health care, all Americans who are depending upon health insurance where they work, or elsewhere, had better beware of the fact they are being targeted for a new tax on their health insurance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/10/beware-tax-your-health-care/ Of all the problems with government bailouts, one of the most serious is how hard it is to stop them once they start. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/09/bailout-spiral-continues/ There certainly is no proper and practical need for either Iran or Communist North Korea to be involved in the costly development of missiles that can deliver warheads great distances — perhaps even to Alaska in the case of North Korea. But both insist on being provocative. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/09/iranian-and-north-korean-missiles/ Hamilton County’s fine County Trustee Carl Levi has received a well-deserved honor as his fellow county trustees from across Tennessee have recognized him as “Trustee of the Year.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/09/county-trustee-carl-levi-honored/ Believing that inmates in California were getting poor health care, a federal judge ordered the state to spend $8 billion to build 10,000 prison hospital beds. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/09/revised-judicial-dictation-still-wrong/ With graduates of our colleges and high schools entering the job market, many are facing a rather bleak prospect because unemployment across our nation has been edging up too close to an alarming 10 percent rate, actually 9.4 percent in May. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/09/jobless-rate-nears-10-percent/ All rational people of good will surely want all Americans to have whatever health care they really need that can do something to improve their health and extend more comfortable lives. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/08/subsidizing-bad-health/ In the mid-20th century, Onondaga Lake in upstate New York was a mess. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/08/120000-pamphlet/ For almost five decades, Communist Cuba was sensibly forbidden membership in the Organization of American States, a group that deals with issues affecting North and South America. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/08/tolerate-what-exactly/ Yale University stirred controversy a couple of years ago when it was learned that it had enrolled a student who was a former spokesman for Afghanistan’s vicious Taliban regime, which harbored 9/11 terrorist Osama bin Laden. Now, Yale’s nemesis, Harvard University, is courting controversy, too. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/08/radical-islam-hits-harvard/ For a variety of sometimes complex, sometimes very simple reasons, General Motors, Social Security and Medicare are on, or approaching, economic artificial respiration — or death. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/07/gm-social-security-medicare/ The reason why government subsidies don’t work is that they try to “fool” the free market, so to speak. In the absence of real demand for some good or service, they artificially prop up the market with taxpayer dollars. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/07/subsidy-smoke-and-mirrors/ We doubt that many Americans think a cheeseburger, onion rings and a milkshake are the nutritional equivalent of a celery stalk and a diet drink. Few people would select a large, greasy fast-food meal as a means to stay slim and trim, because it is obvious that such foods, in excess, are a path to obesity. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/07/congressional-calorie-counters/ Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law a measure to require basic proof of citizenship when residents of his state register to vote. Only citizens are legally entitled to vote. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/07/common-sense-takes-beating/ We sadly seem to be heading toward “government cars” as the federal government is trying to salvage General Motors, Chrysler and the jobs of many American workers. Can government run the car companies better? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/06/want-government-medicine/ While Chattanoogans are rejoicing about the beginning of construction work at our local Enterprise South Industrial Park in Tyner for the billion-dollar Volkswagen plant that will bring thousands of VW and related jobs to our community, there is uncertainty about what will take place at General Motors’ former Saturn automobile plant at Spring Hill, in Middle Tennessee. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/06/whats-next-spring-hill/ Suppose a family of four with a moderate income of $60,000 per year decided it was going to cut expenses. But suppose the family then installed an in-ground swimming pool, went on an around-the-world trip, hired a live-in maid and purchased two new cars — all on credit. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/06/we-cant-have-it-both-ways-deficits/ We are very thankful that on this June 6, calm reigns on the beaches at Normandy, France. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/06/d-day-june-6-1944/ There is really no rational explanation for the intense ardor of a majority of the members of the Tennessee General Assembly in insisting upon enactment — over the reasonable veto of Gov. Phil Bredesen — of a bill to allow legal gun permit holders to carry loaded guns into establishments that serve alcoholic drinks. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/05/irrational-guns-alcohol-mix/ President Barack Obama ventured into the emotional lions’ den of Muslim-Israeli and other highly explosive Middle East issues in an address at Cairo University Thursday, delivering a carefully reasoned, very sound and constructive challenge, without pandering or affronting an audience that really was worldwide. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/05/obama-addresses-muslims/ Charles Arant, who heads the highly successful operations of our very important Tennessee Aquarium, was the excellent choice for recognition as the Chattanooga Area Manager of the Year for 2009. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/05/arant-named-manager-year/ It may seem an unlikely place for radical Muslim violence, but in suburban Little Rock, Ark., authorities accuse a convert to Islam of killing one Army private and wounding another — supposedly “because of what they had done to Muslims in the past,” The Associated Press reported. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/05/radical-islam-arkansas/ There’s an old popular song filled with a spirit of optimism that says, “California, here I come ... .” But these days, there is not much optimism in California. The state has high taxes and a budget shortfall of $24.3 billion this year and $42 billion through mid-2010. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/04/california-here-we-come/ Like many states, Tennessee has a big problem with its fund to help the unemployed: It’s going broke because of the recession. Our nearly 10 percent unemployment rate has lots of laid-off workers drawing on the fund to get by while they seek new jobs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/04/245-million-state-tax-increase/ It is really amazing that many hundreds of huge airliners fly among the continents and over the oceans of our world every day with usually safe delivery of their passengers at far-flung destinations. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/04/airliner-down-228-people-lost/ The “Hummer” brand vehicle made by General Motors is a sort of “civilian version” of the Humvee military vehicle that has been very practical in such places as Iraq. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/04/hummer-embarrassment-injury/ Many Tennesseans were ecstatic when General Motors in 1985 chose the little town of Spring Hill in Middle Tennessee for its new Saturn automobile assembly factory. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/03/gms-tennessee-future/ All reasonable Americans want all of our people to have access to whatever good health care is really needed — without going broke. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/03/health-care-without-going-broke/ Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., points out some sad ironies about the federal government’s rapidly expanding control of the auto industry. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/03/sen-shelby-and-common-sense/ Election of a third of the U.S. senators was supposed to have been decided by the voters last November. But one race — in Minnesota — is still in question. That’s because there were many voter irregularities in the contest of Democrat challenger Al Franken against Republican Sen. Norm Coleman. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/03/one-senate-race-still-undecided/ Democrats in the Tennessee General Assembly unwisely blocked a bill that would have let more children attend charter schools. But the federal government ought not to use the Democrats’ ill-advised action to try to micro-manage education in Tennessee. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/03/state-feds-wrong-charter-schools/ With education being of very great importance to the future and enrichment of the lives of our people, the economic opportunities of us all and to the future of our state, Tennessee is very fortunate to have not only a wide variety of governmental educational institutions, but also many fine independent schools offering varied opportunities to our citizens, at elementary through university levels. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/02/tennessees-education-future/ Dr. George Tiller was serving as an usher at the Reformed Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kan., last Sunday, where his wife sang in the choir, when a gunman suddenly appeared and shockingly shot Dr. Tiller to death. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/02/atrocious-murder/ In January 1953, “Engine Charlie” Wilson, former president of General Motors, appeared before the Senate Armed Forces Committee as President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s nominee to become secretary of the Defense Department. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/02/oh-how-mighty-have-fallen/ What do you think the U.S. Senate would do about the nomination of a white male judge to become a justice on the United States Supreme Court if the judge were on record as having said: “I would hope that a wise white man with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina woman who hasn’t lived that life.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/02/if-situation-were-reversed/ This is usually a season for excitement, happiness, congratulations and opportunity for graduates of our high schools and colleges. But this year, unfortunately, our 2009 graduates will be entering “the real world” with some unusual challenges. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/01/challenge-2009-graduates/ Fourteen percent of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who have been set free have returned to terrorism or are suspected of having done so, according to a new Pentagon report. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/01/freed-terrorists-return-terrorism/ U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., has quietly proposed a bill that would legalize gambling on the Internet. That’s a bad idea. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/01/no-internet-gambling/ As the Democrat-controlled Congress and President Barack Obama attempt to expand government control of our nation’s health care system, the American people should consider the effects socialized medicine has had on other countries. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jun/01/socialized-medicines-waiting-game/ Many of us are shocked and many of us are in real pain because of the recession. So let’s resolve to do some things immediately to ease it, and eventually to cure it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/31/lets-cure-recession/ The promise we hear repeatedly from liberals in Congress and their environmentalist allies is that there is no economic downside to their plans to fight “global warming.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/31/propping-bogus-green-market/ Area residents know Chattanooga has plenty to offer, but it’s still encouraging when others recognize the city’s progress. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/31/citys-sterling-reputation-spreads/ When one person violently attacks another without cause, what is it that makes that a crime: the violent act itself or whether the attacker had ugly feelings toward a racial, religious or other group to which the victim belongs? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/31/hate-crimes-mischief-expands/ Tennessee’s Gov. Phil Bredesen showed much better judgment than a majority of the members of the Tennessee General Assembly when he vetoed the Legislature-approved bill that would allow the 220,000 Tennesseans who have legal gun permits to carry firearms into places that serve alcohol. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/30/dont-mix-alcohol-and-guns/ With the hostile Communist regime that controls North Korea having just conducted a nuclear weapons test, followed by a new missile test launch, it is a matter of serious concern that the North Korean Communists are verbally threatening South Korea and the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/30/what-if/ Some Americans believe it was right to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power. Some think it was a mistake. But both camps ought to rejoice over the continued drop in terrorist attacks in that country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/30/attacks-iraq-plummet-again/ The Tennessee General Assembly has unfortunately voted against putting the selection of state Supreme Court justices back in voters’ hands. On Thursday, the Senate and House of Representatives rejected measures to let those seats be filled by popular election. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/30/wrong-decision-judges/ There is lots of interest each year as bright youngsters line up in Washington for the National Spelling Bee. For many people, spelling is a lost art, but not for some studious young competitors. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/30/laodicean/ President Barack Obama says international nuclear disarmament is achievable if it can be “verified” that nations are taking steps such as halting production of plutonium or other components of nuclear weapons. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/29/we-have-tried-already/ President Barack Obama says the Department of Defense wasted nearly $300 billion in 2008. He spoke in stern tones about the need to cut waste. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/29/across--board-waste/ While our federal government seems to engage in perpetual growth and higher costs, and as many state governments are in trouble because of costly expansion, Tennessee taxpayers should appreciate Gov. Phil Bredesen’s responsible but painful job of reducing Tennessee state government employment costs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/29/state-government-contraction/ As most of us go about our normal civilian activities, many young Americans in military service are facing terrible threats and pressures in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are almost daily reports that suicide bombers, booby traps and ambushes are taking a deadly toll among our troops. And many of our volunteer soldiers are necessarily serving multiple tours of stressful duty. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/29/toll-among-our-troops/ Providing a welcome contrast with much of the economic bad news spreading across our country, there is good news in Chattanooga that one of our community’s oldest “home-town” businesses, Chattem Inc., is planning substantial new investment and welcome new job creation here. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/29/good-news-chattem/ During talks last year on saving the Big Three U.S. automakers, perhaps no one in Congress worked harder than Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., to reach reasonable compromises that would keep the companies afloat — without government ownership. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/28/sen-corker-right-uaw-wrong/ We sympathize with residents of California, even though they elected lawmakers who, by June 2010, will have spent the state into a $42 billion deficit and a financial nightmare. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/28/no-backdoor-bailout-california/ Looking back over history since the Korean War of 1950-1953, can you think of any time when Communist North Korea could be trusted to live up to its agreements with other countries? Can you think of any instance when “international pressure” persuaded that vicious regime to give up its aggressive attitude toward neighbors such as South Korea and Japan — or even to treat its own citizens humanely? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/28/ignoring-reality-history/ In our free American society, people may live in just about any assortment of personal arrangements they may choose — so long as they do not deny the rights of others, do not inflict abuse upon others, and do not threaten the welfare of children. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/28/people-spoke/ President Barack Obama, having his first Supreme Court nomination opportunity with the decision of Justice David Souter to retire, has selected Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to join the Supreme Court of the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/27/judge-sotomayor-nominated/ Gen. Colin Powell is certainly an honorable man of great accomplishments and admirable character. He has served our country in numerous major ways. It is unfortunate, therefore, that he has been involved recently in minor political controversy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/27/gen-colin-powells-controversy/ Far-seeing political and community leaders had the commendable vision some years ago of providing an attractive Riverwalk from Chickamauga Dam along the Tennessee River to downtown Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium riverfront area. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/27/extending-our-attractive-riverwalk/ One of the most serious mistakes the United States and its Allies made at the end of World War II was leaving Communist regimes in control of several war-time occupied countries. We are being sadly reminded of that again, as Communist North Korea is raising a nuclear weapons threat. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/27/communist-koreas-nuke-defiance/ President Barack Obama is finding it harder and harder to push ahead with his plan, stated often during last year’s campaign, to close the U.S. holding facility for enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/26/painted-corner-gitmo/ All of us understand that the way to “get ahead” is to produce something that is desirable and salable. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/26/inviting-economic-disaster/ Inhumane treatment even of those who have broken U.S. law by coming here illegally is wrong. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/26/lawsuit-injustice/ Ronald Reagan was only half-joking when he said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’ ” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/25/when-government-helps/ Residents of the small community of Round Mountain, in Northern California, are not opposed in principle to “green power” generated by the sun, wind and so forth. In fact, many are enthusiastic about getting more energy from those sources. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/25/sour-green-power/ If you hoped Congress was sincere in its claims the past year or so about cutting pork-barrel spending, get ready to be disappointed again. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/25/highway-pork/ You may recall cases of government buying private land from one person against his will and handing it over to another to be developed into, perhaps, a store or upscale housing. That’s an abuse of the Fifth Amendment, which grants government power to seize property, with “just compensation,” only for a “public use,” such as a school or road. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/25/so-much-just-compensation/ We have personal and national freedom today! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/25/remembering-and-honoring/ In his version of a theme that you have heard from time to time from various sources, President Barack Obama recently seemed to be criticizing the United States when he commented that Americans make up less than 5 percent of the world’s population — but use more than 25 percent of the world’s oil and other fossil fuels. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/24/us-success-wrong/ A many-pronged assault is under way in Washington against the idea that the United States has the right to control its borders and enforce its immigration laws. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/24/march-amnesty-illegal-aliens/ Do you think campaign finance reforms enacted early this decade reduced the influence of big-money contributions to candidates and gave “the little guy” a bigger say? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/24/big-money-still-flows-campaigns/ Are you for the “biggest tax increase in history”? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/23/beware-biggest-tax-increase/ Though not quite on life support, our economy is struggling mightily, especially in the area of unemployment, which is nearing 10 percent. So do you think Congress should: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/23/who-pays-bill/ Is it possible that terrorists could ship weapons through the Chattanooga area via the Tennessee River, or even attack Chattanooga itself with explosives hauled on a barge or some other boat traveling down the river? Yes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/23/costs-benefits-and-security/ Moments after President Barack Obama appeared on television Thursday to discuss his plan to close the prison holding our enemies at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, former Vice President Dick Cheney was on television with an address warning of continuing dangers from terrorists. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/23/obama-cheney-debate/ Nearly everyone will agree that a good education is essential to get a youngster off to a good start for success in life. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/22/truancy-problem-highlighted/ One of the campaign promises that President Barack Obama has certainly fulfilled is his pledge to reach out to radical nations such as Iran and to use diplomacy and negotiations to persuade those regimes not to pursue violent paths such as the development of nuclear weapons. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/22/iran-charges-ahead/ There were neither pitchforks nor torches, but residents of California have staged a mini-tax revolt. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/22/californias-courteous-tax-revolt/ President Barack Obama, in a speech he delivered with a definitely defensive tone, yesterday sought to explain his decision to close the Guantanamo Bay prison and deal with the terrorist and battlefield enemies being held there. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/22/obama-prisoners-security/ Periodically there are attempts by liberals at different levels of government to hamstring military recruiters’ efforts to talk with high schoolers or even college students. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/22/military-recruiters-not-enemy/ Both fortunately and unfortunately, Americans are addicted to credit cards. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/21/americans-and-credit-cards/ “Justice delayed is justice denied,” the saying goes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/21/medical-care-delayed/ Back in early 2007, the city of Passaic, N.J., “celebrated” the opening of a taxpayer-funded center whose purpose was to make it easy for people in need of day laborers to hire them at a central location. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/21/overdue-closing/ With Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having met in Washington with President Barack Obama this week, one news headline said: “U.S. presses Israel on peace deal.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/21/us-and-israel-peace/ We Americans live on our “wheels.” We love our cars, need them to go to work, for business, errands, travel and pleasure. And much of our American economy is based on our auto industry and its related businesses. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/20/cars-mileage-emissions-cost/ We do not believe in “torture” by American officials. We believe it’s wrong and also does not pay off. Someone tortured might “admit” anything. The issue has arisen in connection with “waterboarding” of terrorists in efforts to prevent them from killing Americans. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/20/pelosi-panetta-and-waterboarding/ Even the mere thought of killing unwanted babies before birth by abortion is something most of us don’t want to deal with. But with abortion rampant, and unfortunately sanctioned by the Roe v. Wade ruling by the United States Supreme Court, Tennessee lawmakers have taken a step that they hope would in some degree alleviate the distasteful problem. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/20/tennessees-anti-abortion-effort/ Are illegal aliens in the United States really very worried about the possibility of being deported? A story from Washington may shed light on that question. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/20/ready-their-white-house-tour/ The Constitution of the United States says in the Second Amendment: “A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/20/tennessee-gun-toting-advances/ You probably noticed the very public furor in recent days about the decision of Notre Dame University to invite President Barack Obama to receive an honorary degree from the university and to be the school’s commencement speaker last weekend. What was it all really about? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/19/obama-notre-dame-babies/ Motherhood, under the best of circumstances, is a big challenge. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/19/concern-unwed-mothers-babies/ It is alarming when any legally eligible voter who makes a good-faith effort to cast a ballot is denied that right. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/19/when-voting-rights-matter-most/ With all of the personal and domestic economic concerns that most Americans have these days, it may be difficult for many of our people to pay much attention to what’s going on along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. But it’s important. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/19/taliban-pakistan-and-nukes/ A growing movement to return the federal government to its constitutionally limited role has reached Tennessee. The http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/18/obeying-10th-amendment/ Although the 10th Amendment is a very important part of the Bill of Rights of our Constitution of the United States, and it certainly has never been repealed, a great many Americans — from presidents down to the most humble of us as citizens — have acted as though it did not exist. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/18/ignoring-10th-amendment/ In a time when federal trespassing on the private sector seems to know no bounds, President Barack Obama has offered at least one small concession to limited government: He does not think taxpayers should have to insure coastal homes against wind damage. He’s right. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/18/not-federal-business/ First, the news media reported there was an Obama administration document saying that new rules on gases blamed for “global-warming” would economically devastate communities and small businesses. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/18/bipartisan-questions-warming/ Often when there are great troubles and challenges, people tend to react in alarm in ways that are not always wisest and best. We are in seriously troubling economic times now. So it is important to resist the mistake that some in government are proposing — to respond to recession by “socializing America.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/17/dont-socialize-america/ America may soon learn whether the ethanol lobby or the automobile lobby has more clout in Washington. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/17/ethanol-versus-car-warranties/ We live in a sometimes tragic world. Many people die in car crashes. A few die from lightning strikes. And on average, one American per year (out of our nation’s population of 300 million) dies after getting caught in the drain suction of a swimming pool. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/17/huge-cost-limited-benefit/ By an overwhelming margin, Hawaiians voted in 1959 to make their islands America’s 50th state. News accounts from that time mention joyful celebrations among Hawaii’s residents, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower warmly welcomed them. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/17/hawaiian-style-separatism/ It’s not that we Americans have lost our love affair with our cars. It’s not that U.S. cars have lost their quality and styling appeal. It’s mainly the bad economy that is causing the decline and fall of the American car business. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/16/more-car-business-bad-news/ The “cash for clunkers” bill before Congress was supposed to give drivers a voucher of up to $4,500 when they trade in old gas guzzlers to buy far more fuel-efficient vehicles. The idea was to reduce “global warming” by shifting to cars that burn less fuel. Or at least that was the lure to build political support for the costly giveaway of taxpayer dollars. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/16/cash-clunkers-or-cash-free/ For better and for worse, Americans have been living, thriving — and now suffering — because of credit. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/16/our-american-credit-crunch/ Did you ever notice how Congress’ definitions of “the rich” and “the poor” seem to change depending on what lawmakers are trying to do? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/16/taxes-health-care-rich-poor/ At a time of serious economic recession, President Barack Obama and the Democrat majority in Congress are proposing a bloated federal budget of more than $3.5 trillion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/15/where-your-and-debt-go/ We saw what happened with Congress’ multibillion-dollar bailouts of Chrysler and General Motors: Chrysler declared bankruptcy anyway, GM may have to do so, and government, with no expertise in automobile manufacturing, is likely to have a big, counterproductive say in how U.S. car companies are run for the foreseeable future. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/15/endless-cycle-bailouts/ There is something deeply ironic about congressional Democrats demanding new regulations to prevent abuses of consumers by credit card companies. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/15/congress-own-credit-problems/ The economic stimulus bill that Congress recently approved calls for additional federal spending of $787 billion. It is supposed to stimulate our generally sagging economy. But will it? Or will it just primarily stimulate our federal debt? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/15/stimulus-bill-stimulates-what/ There was a fierce debate over whether the federal government should bail out struggling banks with $700 billion through the Troubled Assets Relief Program. Some believed the bailout was vital to avert economic collapse. Others argued it would make things worse. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/14/government-run-banks/ With President Barack Obama and the Democrat majority in Congress promoting a 2010 federal budget of about $3.6 trillion — trillion— where is the money coming from? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/14/us-borrows-46-cents-1-spent/ Many New Yorkers were shocked and frightened on April 27 when they looked up and saw a giant airliner flying low over New York City skyscrapers — with an F-16 Air Force jet fighter close behind. It reminded them of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked airliners and crashed them into the city, killing about 3,000 people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/14/did-you-see-300000-flyover/ The recent death of Jack Kemp at the age of 73 brought back many colorful memories of a fine American who served our country in many ways. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/14/jack-kemp-and-history/ All of us want everyone who really needs health care to have whatever it takes to enhance the quality of life and to make us all live longer in comfort. But the costs are staggering — and rising. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/13/good-health-care-we-can-afford/ Our federal government is spending too much! Our federal government is taxing too much! And our federal government is running astoundingly irresponsible deficits of outrageous proportions! Something needs to be done — immediately — to correct these gross errors. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/13/horrible-deficits/ The Obama administration is touting the fact that “only” 539,000 Americans lost their jobs in April. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/13/job-losses-worse-they-seem/ “Old-timers” in Hamilton County may recall that Claude Ramsey, now our four-term Hamilton County mayor, was first widely recognized as a mere teenager, when the Jaycees honored him as “Star Farmer of the Year” for his farming and nationwide shipping of strawberry plants. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/13/mayor-ramseys-national-honor/ In 2005, five justices of the Supreme Court ignored the Constitution of the United States, looking to “international opinion” and “evolving standards of decency” to rule that people who commit murder before age 18 may not be executed. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/12/high-court-looks-meddle-again/ Who among us, safe here inside the United States, can really imagine the equivalent of about half the population of Chattanooga being uprooted from their homes, and having to flee without adequate food and shelter, to escape the viciousness of the Taliban forces that are ranging threateningly from Afghanistan across the border into Pakistan. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/12/terrible-threat-pakistan/ There has been a great deal of debate about what the United States should do with the more than 200 prisoners being held at the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/12/handling-guantanamo-prisoners/ The free market’s rejection of costly energy fads has not stopped President Barack Obama from trying to impose them anyway. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/12/costly-energy-agenda/ It was easy for candidate Barack Obama to make promises on the campaign trail last year and during the first days of his administration about how he would overhaul the United States’ war against radical Muslim terrorists. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/11/nothing-easy-war-terror/ In a day when many “activists” use government power to curtail the freedom of others, anti-smoking activists in Massachusetts did something unusual. Instead of pressuring lawmakers to forbid smoking in private apartments and condominiums, they decided to give the free market a chance to reduce smoking in those buildings. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/11/free-market-or-nanny-state/ It is probably not easy for President Barack Obama to support a Washington, D.C., voucher program that has helped mostly minority children from poor families escape failing public schools and thrive in private schools. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/11/good-start-vouchers/ Here is an idea that should quickly be put out of its misery: An organization at Northeastern University in Boston wants the Obama administration to appoint a “sport and culture czar” or a Cabinet-level “secretary of sport and culture.” The group, Sport in Society, says it’s up to government to get the public more involved in those activities. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/11/sport-and-culture-czar/ The United States has one of the world’s highest corporate tax rates. While European nations including Germany and the United Kingdom have been slashing corporate taxes to help their companies be more competitive globally, the Heritage Foundation think tank finds a very different approach on this side of the Atlantic. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/10/backwards-solution-taxes/ With world temperatures falling over the past decade, it’s not so shocking that environmental activists are “repackaging” their message to make it come across as less silly and alarmist. They and their government allies are pulling back from the phrase “global warming,” The New York Times reported, out of concern that the term makes them seem like “shaggy-haired liberals.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/10/talking-points-rather-facts/ Colorado lawmakers have defeated a bill that would have ended the death penalty for murderers and put any savings from not seeking capital punishment toward investigating homicides. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/10/catch-22-death-penalty/ Former Vice President Al Gore took some ribbing when his global-warming rhetoric didn’t square with the massive energy use at his Nashville mansion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/10/not-so-green-mayor-bloomberg/ When the sun breaks through the rain showers that have been watering us this spring, we see many reminders that Chattanooga is a wonderful city of blessed people in a naturally beautiful setting. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/09/beautiful-chattanooga/ Under the “stimulus” bill, individuals will get $400 tax credits, $800 for families. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/09/handing-out-then-taking-back/ You remember the old-time Saturday Western movies. The bad guys and the good guys often faced each other in the town saloon — and shot it out. Aren’t you glad the “wild West” isn’t wild like that anymore? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/09/what-are-they-thinking-thinking/ Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is troubled that his 28 years of seniority as a Republican lawmaker did not count for much when he recently decided to be a Democrat instead. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/09/democrats-discipline-sen-specter/ It was reckless when the government of Pakistan recently agreed to let the radical Muslim Taliban control a large region of that nation. Taliban forces in neighboring Afghanistan harbored Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. In addition, Taliban rulers imposed violent Muslim rule on the Afghan people before the United States liberated the country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/09/taliban-move/ With U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter having announced plans to retire, President Barack Obama will have his first high court appointment. What kind of person should he choose? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/08/next-supreme-court-justice/ It’s hard to cut a budget — for a family or for a nation. But with the federal government facing trillion-dollar deficits for perhaps years to come, it is certainly time for big spending cuts in the more than $3.4 trillion federal budget. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/08/budget-cuts-only-barely/ For nearly four long, bitter, bloody and challenging years — since Dec. 7, 1941 — the American people had been embroiled in World War II when great joy spread across our nation with the surrender of Nazi Germany. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/08/v-e-day-1945/ In our wonderful country, where most of us are blessed with plenty — even in times of hardship — and where many of us are actually overweight, it is painful to think that many people in our world are chronically going hungry. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/08/nobody-should-be-hungry/ Though presidents stretching back to George Washington have called the American people to prayer, today is the 58th annual official observance of the National Day of Prayer. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/07/prayer-americas-hope/ It’s easy to demand the closing of the U.S. detention facility for terrorists and suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It will be a lot harder to find places to hold them on the U.S. mainland. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/07/no-terrorists-their-back-yard/ The purpose of elections in our republican system of government is to carry out the will of the citizens of this country, so long as that will does not violate the individual liberties and limited government spelled out in our Constitution. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/07/defending-right-clean-elections/ History records that U.S. diplomat Charles Pinckney reacted angrily when French officials sought a bribe as the price of opening negotiations in 1797 to avert war with France, which had been seizing American ships. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/07/not-penny-tribute/ T.A. “Tommy” Lupton, who died Monday at the age of 79, was one of Chattanooga’s most visionary, dynamic and constructive civic leaders and builders for more than half a century. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/06/t-tommy-lupton/ Do you get the sinking feeling that taxpayers will not get much return on the $700 billion that Congress approved to bail out financial institutions? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/06/bailout-or-slush-fund/ It is a relief that 12 Democrats joined the Republican minority in the Senate to defeat a bill that would have let bankruptcy judges break legally binding mortgage contracts. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/06/upholding-contracts/ One of the worst proposals to hit Congress in recent months — in a time of many horrible proposals — is the “cash-for-clunkers” program. The legislation would provide vouchers worth up to $5,000 for the purchase of fuel-efficient new cars when buyers trade in their old gas guzzlers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/06/clunker-idea/ Chattanoogan Cooper T. Holt served honorably in the U.S. Army in the Asiatic and Pacific areas during World War II, then came back to Chattanooga and rose from the position of commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1289 in Chattanooga to become the national commander of the VFW in Washington. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/06/vfw-commander-cooper-holt/ President Barack Obama is getting all kinds of suggestions about the sort of Supreme Court justice he should nominate to succeed retiring Justice David Souter. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/05/empathy-or-constitution/ As of Monday afternoon, swine flu was believed to have killed 26 people in Mexico and one toddler who died in the United States after being brought to Texas from Mexico. Fewer than 1,300 people worldwide were confirmed to have swine flu. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/05/swine-flu-scare-fizzling/ Anyone with outdoor gardening, cookout, sports or other plans this past weekend — and certainly anyone whose property was flooded — might have been repeating the familiar rhyme, “Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/05/rain-rain/ Chattanoogans have been understandably troubled and puzzled by a case that ended late last week with a not-guilty verdict for former local firefighter Marvin Nicholson Jr. on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder and especially aggravated kidnapping. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/05/not-guilty-verdict-troubling-case/ The anguish about preparing income tax reports and paying what was due by April 15 should be fresh enough for us to still be concerned about the subject of income taxes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/04/what-about-income-taxes/ A scheme to create an extra tax on drivers while also letting government monitor where they drive is getting new life in the U.S. House of Representatives. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/04/taking-toll-drivers/ It is hardly news when a politician says one thing to satisfy one constituency and something else to satisfy another. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/04/president-obamas-contradictions/ Like other parents, the parents of children with special needs want the best for those children. And so it’s not hard to see why an Oregon couple sent their learning-disabled son to an extremely costly private facility for help. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/04/reasonable-school-vouchers/ What’s the best form of local government? Various communities across our state and country have tried differing forms. In any case, the best form of local government is whatever the local people prefer. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/03/consent-governed/ Washington doesn’t seem to care how hard it is to dismiss even grossly incompetent federal workers. The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times found that civil service rules and endless appeals processes in the federal government are so burdensome and ridiculous that hardly anyone is fired for poor performance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/03/fast-track-more-bureaucracy/ It’s difficult enough to imagine the terrible judgment that a teenager shows in sending explicit pictures of himself or herself to another teen over a cell phone or by any other means. But the state of Vermont’s response to an apparent rash of such incidents nationwide is even more baffling. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/03/inviting-exploitation/ During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama made tax relief to “95 percent of Americans” one of his central promises. As we later learned, that included “tax relief” to people who didn’t even pay income taxes. And as we’re learning now, even the slight tax cut that Mr. Obama did get Congress to enact appears likely to disappear next year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/03/disappearing-tax-relief/ When Chrysler was struggling to stay afloat back in 1979, the federal government stepped in with a bailout. Taxpayer-funded rescues are not sound policy, but Lee Iacocca came into the picture and amazingly managed to turn things around at Chrysler. The automobile manufacturer eventually repaid the government money. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/02/chrysler-bankrupt-gm-hurting/ If President George H.W. Bush expected another conservative justice when he nominated U.S. Circuit Court Judge David H. Souter, a New Hampshire Republican, to become a U.S. Supreme Court member in 1990, the president surely must have been surprised. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/02/obama-get-supreme-court-choice/ Back in 1986, Congress unfairly stopped permitting U.S. taxpayers to deduct their state sales tax payments in calculating their U.S. income tax bills — although taxpayers in states that relied heavily on state income taxes could still deduct their state income tax payments. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/02/tax-justice-tennesseans/ Thankfully, we will never know what mayhem might have been unleashed if a clerk at a Circuit City store in Mount Laurel, N.J., had not alerted authorities when he was asked to transfer onto DVDs some videotapes of several men calling for “jihad” — holy war — and firing assault weapons. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/02/life-prison-terrorist-plot/ Our University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is a very important part of our community. It adds tremendously to our educational, cultural and economic advancement, and is beneficial to our young people and our citizens as a whole. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/01/utc-honors-reynolds-cleavelands/ Not since the end of World War II, when our nearby Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., Army post was closed, has Chattanooga had a large-scale military base in this area. But Chattanoogans have been second to none in our nation in having annual Armed Forces Week celebrations to express appreciation for the uniformed members of our armed forces. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/01/honoring-our-armed-forces/ Facing a prospective budget shortfall of more than $20 million, a majority of the Hamilton County School Board members this week rushed into a vote for major cuts, approving a $302.5 million budget. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/01/local-schools-rush-big-cuts/ With financial irresponsibility that should shock all Americans, President Barack Obama and Democrat majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this week imposed a $3.4 trillion budget plan upon the American people for fiscal year 2010. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/01/shocking-us-spending-votes/ It is estimated that $55 billion of the $787 billion so-called federal “stimulus” package will be lost to waste and fraud. But even if by a miracle not one penny of stimulus funds is mishandled, it is still a costly, bureaucratic nightmare. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/01/governments-cut-stimulus/ Republican Party officials are probably wringing their hands over Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s switch this week from Republican to Democrat affiliation. But if they think about it long, they may realize it won’t make much practical difference. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/30/sen-specters-switch/ The $787 billion “stimulus” package approved by Congress includes lots of bad, unconstitutional “pork-barrel” spending that is likely to stimulate mainly government bureaucracy, not the economy as a whole. As such, it was proper that U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., and almost every other Republican in Congress joined with a few Democrats in voting against the stimulus. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/30/chickamauga-lock-progresses/ Do you remember back in 2005 when the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate considered a so-called “nuclear option” to halt the Democrat minority’s filibusters of judicial nominees? Filibusters let the minority extend debate unless a 60-vote “super-majority” votes to end debate. The idea of the so-called “nuclear option” was to employ rarely used Senate procedures to bypass the filibuster and force an up-or-down, simple-majority vote on the blocked nominees. Democrats were furious. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/30/dangerously-fast-health-care-reform/ It’s exciting that Volkswagen has reaffirmed plans to double production of vehicles at the plant it is building at Chattanooga’s Enterprise South industrial park. Initial plans called for building 150,000 cars per year. But Volkswagen officials have now confirmed that they will instead produce 300,000 cars each year at Enterprise South, to help them meet their goal of tripling U.S. sales by 2018. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/30/firming-good-news-vw/ That figure above, with lots of zeroes, represents the $3.5 trillion federal budget that President Barack Obama and Congress expect to spend in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/29/3500000000000/ Chattanooga’s Mayor Ron Littlefield is not the kind of fellow who likes to get excited and jump up and down with sudden enthusiasm. But he has entered his new term of office with optimism. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/29/mayor-littlefields-optimism/ First, the secretary of Homeland Security tried to defend a report claiming that U.S. military veterans were susceptible to being recruited by “right-wing terrorists.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/29/yes-its-crime/ The great Ottawa Indian Chief Pontiac lived from about 1720 to 1769. He was a major figure in fighting the British in the French and Indian War in the Great Lakes area, besieging the fort at Detroit. After failing to take it, however, he and the British made peace — only for the chief to be assassinated by another Indian. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/29/pontiac-biting-dust/ Countless Americans remember the shock of Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorist-hijacked airliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. The memory is seared into memory and history. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/29/thankfully-not-another-911/ It’s Spring, certainly not the usual season when there is widespread influenza or other such respiratory diseases. But swine flu is getting our attention as about a hundred people have died from swine flu infections in Mexico and about 20 less serious cases have been reported in such separated areas as California, Texas and New York. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/28/swine-flu-gets-our-attention/ Just weeks after the Department of Homeland Security issued a shaky report on domestic “right-wing terrorists” while admitting it had no knowledge that those “terrorists” are planning attacks, the FBI has for the first time ever put an actual domestic terrorism suspect on its most-wanted list. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/28/right-wing-or-left-wing-terrorism/ Under our Constitution, certain powers and functions are listed as federal responsibilities — with all others left to the states, local governments or the people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/28/local-policing-not-federal-business/ With about a hundred ships having been attacked by Somali pirates so far this year in the waters south of Suez, in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, one recent encounter fortunately resulted in the repelling of pirates who attacked from a small boat. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/28/repelling-somali-pirates-imperative/ It didn’t get much attention in all the hoopla surrounding “Earth Day,” but a new study shows improvement in the United States’ and the world’s environmental condition over the past year. The Index of Leading Environmental Indicators, by the nonprofit Pacific Research Institute and the nonpartisan American Enterprise Institute, highlights many areas of progress. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/28/good-news-environment/ It was strange when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently suggested that nations where abortion is a “right” are more “democratic” than others. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/27/abortion-vs-democracy/ Americans who appreciate the natural beauty of mountains understandably are troubled by the marring of that beauty through the removal of mountaintops for coal mining. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/27/keep-our-mountains-beautiful/ We thought that the Obama administration had pretty much stopped using the word “terrorism” to describe attacks on the United States and its interests around the world. As it turns out, that is only half correct. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/27/double-standard-terrorism/ Do you think your taxes are high enough already? Or do you like the idea of having a $2,000 “anti-warming tax” added for you to pay each year? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/27/2000-anti-warming-tax/ When you filed your federal income tax forms by last April 15, did you have an easy time doing it? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/26/bad-tax-or-fair-tax-flat-tax/ If you plan to visit Bridgeport, Conn., next year, be sure to catch a ride on one of its “water taxis” — because you’re helping pay for them whether you ride or not. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/26/taxis-nowhere/ It’s sad that it requires a political movement to try to restore the United States Constitution’s limits on federal power. But Texas Gov. Rick Perry is backing a resolution in his state’s Legislature to do that. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/26/restoring-constitutional-boundaries/ It is an appalling example of our nation’s lax approach to illegal immigration that $7 billion in child tax credits went to foreign workers — including lots of illegal aliens — from 2004 through 2007. A federal report found the IRS improperly granted the $1,000 tax credit payments to millions of foreign workers, a lot of whom didn’t even pay any federal income taxes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/26/illegal-alien-tax-credit/ It used to be quite true that “What is good for General Motors is good for the country — and vice versa.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/25/how-mighty-have-fallen/ With our economy in recession, Congress has voted to spend $787 billion — yes, billion — that the federal government does not have and must borrow for an economic “stimulus” program. But where are the dollars going? And will they “stimulate”? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/25/where-are-stimulus-going/ A sensible bill requiring valid photo identification when voters cast ballots has been narrowly and unwisely defeated in the Tennessee House of Representatives. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/25/defeat-common-sense/ The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, says a “truth commission” should get to the bottom of questions about possible torture of captured terrorists. But she might want to get to the bottom of her own role in the alleged torture of terrorists before she turns the issue into a partisan witch hunt. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/25/witch-hunt-or-quest-facts/ Many people around the world undoubtedly have fine motives in donating to charities that try to help the impoverished people of the African nation of Zimbabwe. But those donors will surely be troubled to learn that the governor of Zimbabwe’s central bank has admitted to seizing millions of dollars from the accounts of foreign-aid organizations without their permission. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/25/foreign-aid-black-hole/ The United States and the American people have thrived economically and with marvelous personal freedom for more than 200 years as a result of our people’s vigorous free enterprise economic system. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/24/avoid-american-socialization/ What kind of advice should the top attorney in the U.S. State Department give American diplomats? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/24/unwise-pick-important-job/ A decade ago, the small city of Falls Church, Va., got some spending “earmarks” from Congress totaling $2 million to develop a fleet of local electric buses that supposedly would help the environment and reduce traffic congestion. The Associated Press recently reported how that pork-financed bus system is working out: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/24/pricey-bus-rides/ It is highly distressing that there is a huge war raging just south of our U.S.-Mexico border — and sometimes north of it — as evil, criminal, stupid and self-destructive people engage in the massive illegal drug trade. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/24/our-porous-border/ Tennessee is historically known as the “Volunteer State.” But we believe Chattanooga is exemplary among the cities of our nation for the eagerness of our people to volunteer for a wide variety of constructive services. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/23/chattanoogas-volunteers/ A number such as $100 million certainly sounds impressive — unless you’re comparing it with $3.6 trillion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/23/those-spending-cuts-perspective/ Most of us remember that we had big national elections last November. But one important election, that of a United States senator in Minnesota, has not yet been decided. Controversy seems to be destined to go on “forever.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/23/never-ending-election/ To most of us, spending $5.7 billion is a big item. Is it really necessary for the federal government to spend that kind of money for so-called “volunteerism”? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/23/unnecessary-57-billion-spending/ The late, great Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois was one of the most prominent and colorful figures in our federal government a few decades ago. But among his many accomplishments, he perhaps is remembered best for a comment that congressional watchers and historians have never been able to confirm that he ever made. But the idea is important. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/22/billion-here-billion-there/ President Barack Obama is right to keep the United States out of an America- and Israel-bashing U.N. conference this week that supposedly is meant to fight racism. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/22/properly-avoiding-un-charade/ It is important to remind ourselves from time to time of the nature of the terrorist enemy we face around the world. An especially horrifying example of the terrorist mindset comes to us from Iraq. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/22/chilling-recruitment-bombers/ During a recent visit to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., was explaining his opposition to giving illegal aliens lower, in-state tuition rates. He spoke calmly and courteously to listening students, who were going to be provided opportunity to dispute his statements. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/22/campus-speech-police/ Most Americans are very uncomfortable even discussing the subject of “torture,” and most certainly do not approve it. Torture is the kind of evil we usually attribute to Nazis, Communists or terrorists, and such other enemies of humanity. It is not something we want to think that our United States would be engaged in. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/21/what-about-torture/ Most of us oppose “pork” or “earmark” spending by Congress, at least in theory. But some of us have a different view if the items send money “our” way for desirable “local” projects. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/21/pig-book/ Had you noticed that our Congress had been absent from Washington on a two-week “spring break”? Well, Congress is back in session, and will continue to be at work in Washington till Memorial Day at the end of May. So beware! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/21/congress-back-beware/ We barely get through one major story about a Somali pirate attack on shipping in the Indian Ocean area before there is news of more pirate attacks. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/21/pirates-keep-pirating/ There is an organization called “Taxpayers for Common Sense.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/20/oink-more-pork-red-ink/ The claim that roughly 90 percent of the guns seized at drug-related crime scenes in Mexico come from the United States would be disturbing if it were true. But it isn’t. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/20/bogus-statistics-and-gun-control/ Federal subsidies of all sorts are unwise and unconstitutional, but some are more appalling than others. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/20/why-limited-government-vital/ For outsiders, it is frustrating to watch Congress dismantle Washington, D.C.’s, successful school voucher program. But for the thousands of children whom those vouchers helped to escape from unsafe, failing public schools in the nation’s capital, it is heartbreaking. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/20/vouchers-struck-down-despite-results/ Do you think it is a good idea for the United States to raise some taxes — some in hidden but very costly ways — and to spend $3.6 trillion in an expanded budget that will add more than a trillion dollars to the $11.2 trillion national debt? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/19/option-36-trillion-budget/ There is a demand among Americans that companies that get federal bailout funds use that money responsibly. Those are, after all, taxpayer dollars they are spending. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/19/class-envy-claims-more-victims/ A student at the College of Alameda in California prayed with a teacher in a faculty office on campus in 2007. The professor, who was sick at the time, bowed her head for the prayer, which was purely voluntary. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/19/battle-religious-liberty/ Americans are rightly concerned about the number of illegal aliens in the United States. Estimates range from 12 million to 20 million. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/19/another-reason-secure-borders/ President Barack Obama surely found agreement among many American taxpayers this week when he said he aims to get the dread out of income tax filing day by adopting “a simpler tax code that rewards work and the pursuit of the American dream.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/18/get-dread-out-tax-day/ Do you believe there is any real pressing public interest in having state law enacted to legalize Tennesseans to carry guns into honky-tonks, nightclubs, restaurants or other establishments that serve alcohol? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/18/booze-honky-tonks-and-guns/ It can be scary when lawmakers enact a law that hasn’t been tried anywhere. There could always be serious unintended consequences. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/18/voter-law-and-common-sense/ Consider these words from the Constitution of the United States of America, the 10th Amendment of our Bill of Rights: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/18/who-extremist/ As the April 15 federal income tax filing deadline came this week, many Americans perhaps became really aware for the first time this year what they are being required to pay in income taxes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/17/your-income-tax-too-high/ With about 80 ships having been attacked by Somali pirates in the Indian ocean so far this year, and with about 300 crew members being held hostage while millions of dollars of ransom demands are pending, pirate attacks continue. Yet there seems to be still too little concentrated determination by the victimized nations to end the pirate scourge. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/17/pirate-dangers-continuing/ Government ought not to place obstacles to voting in the path of anyone who is properly registered and who has otherwise met the legal requirements to vote. But government should not have a duty to go out of its way to persuade people to register when they have shown no independent interest in voting. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/17/welfare-and-voter-registration/ In light voting Tuesday, but by decisive margins, voters in three Chattanooga City Council district runoff races chose newcomers to serve in city government. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/16/3-new-faces-city-council/ While many in the free world were rejoicing over the safe freeing of hijacked Capt. Richard Phillips, 19 members of his crew and the cargo ship Maersk Alabama in a dramatic shoot-out that led to three Somali pirates being killed, five more merchant ships were attacked in the Indian Ocean. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/16/defeat-somali-pirates-overdue/ Taxpayers have been taken for a ride as Washington continues to distort free market supply and demand by providing a 43-cent subsidy for every gallon of corn-based ethanol made in America. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/16/ethanol-subsidy-hurts-food-programs/ Communist North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il must laugh when he is the subject of yet another “harshly worded letter” or “strong condemnation” by the U.N. He has seen plenty of them. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/16/un-coddles-tyrant-again/ President Barack Obama is grandly promising that the Justice Department will not be as “political” as it allegedly was under President George W. Bush. Mr. Obama said during a ceremony for new Attorney General Eric Holder that Mr. Holder realizes “what happens when we let politics and ideology cloud our judgment ... .” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/16/not-political/ Many Americans are racing the clock to fill out time-consuming, complicated tax forms. That’s because today is April 15: tax day. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/15/tax-day-vs-your-wallet/ Do you want higher taxes? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/15/right-futile-view/ When we consider a candidate for president, he or she should declare his or her philosophy in great detail, express a point of view and declare specific political goals. We should know just about everything possible about his or her personal views and prospective actions.. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/15/impartiality-judges/ It unfortunately is very likely that even our best intelligence agencies do not really know for sure what Iran is up to so far as nuclear weapons are concerned. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/15/what-iran-really/ Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church in California was in the middle of the Fox Network broadcast of his Easter sermon Sunday when the program was suddenly interrupted. There came the excellent good news that American ship Capt. Richard Phillips, who had been seized by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, had been marvelously rescued! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/14/exciting-rescue-pirates/ Chattanooga voters in three City Council districts have the privilege of making final runoff election choices today. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/14/vote-3-city-councilmen-today/ No, noting yesterday as “Tax Freedom Day” does not mean you are now free from paying taxes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/14/tax-freedom-day/ It is easy to see why many Americans have become cynical about the federal government’s handling of the economic crisis. Government keeps creating perverse incentives that protect failing businesses from the consequences of their decisions while in effect punishing successful businesses and individuals. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/14/protecting-failure-punishing-success/ Most people have no idea — or only the foggiest understanding — of what “cap and trade” means? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/13/ready-new-2-trillion-tax/ With all the bailouts of troubled companies, sharply rising welfare spending and other massive growth in federal outlays, we had begun to wonder whether the Democrats who run Congress would find anything they wanted to cut. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/13/odd-spending-priorities/ Chattanoogans will pick District 1, 8 and 9 City Council members in runoffs Tuesday. Fortunately, we believe all the candidates would serve well. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/13/city-council-runoffs-tuesday/ Of all the advice you could give a person who is just stepping into adulthood, you probably would not urge him to start buying lottery tickets. Playing the lottery is never a good idea, but for young people who often have little money anyway, it’s especially unwise. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/13/wrong-way-fund-government/ Nearly 2,000 years ago, the life and mission of Jesus Christ on Earth were drawing to a close. He had come to bring the message: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/12/mission-jesus-christ/ Piracy usually is of interest to most of us only in exciting novels or movies. But that changed in recent days as an American merchant ship was hijacked by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa in the Indian Ocean. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/11/piracy-vs-americans/ In free America, people can live in just about any kind of relationship they choose, so long as they don’t impose upon anyone else. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/11/choice-and-law/ There has certainly been a strange and disturbing turn of events concerning Alaska’s Republican Sen. Ted Stevens. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/11/trial-verdict-void-not-election/ Several months ago, Minnesota voters went to the polls to decide whether Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman would be re-elected or whether he would be replaced by Democratic challenger Al Franken. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/11/will-minnesota-election-ever-end/ In this season when the Jewish Passover feast is observed and Christians give their attention to the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, many look back to the story that is at once ancient and very present — God’s loving provision for His people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/10/why-good-friday/ It had been quite a week — with greater importance than anyone realized at the time. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/09/week-was/ The national defense of the United States and the American people must always be our first priority — but always sensibly. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/08/us-defense-1st-sensibly/ It is understandable that some might wish we could have a world without nuclear weapons and their destructive power. But it is a huge mistake to assume we can actually eliminate nukes. An alarming incident on the very day President Barack Obama proclaimed that the world can be rid of nuclear weapons shows why it is unrealistic and dangerous to pursue that goal. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/08/nuclear-genie-cant-return-bottle/ Even the most ardent alcohol drinkers and the most ardent gun fans should agree that guns and booze should not mix. So what in the world were members of the Tennessee House of Representatives thinking when they voted 70 to 26 for a bill that would allow people with legal gun permits to carry their weapons into establishments that serve alcohol? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/08/guns-and-booze-shouldnt-mix/ President Barack Obama, visiting recently at the Parliament of Turkey in the capital of Ankara, among the mostly Muslim people of that country, obviously was attempting to ingratiate himself with them when he said: “The United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/08/president-obama-us-and-islam/ We noted a few days ago how the Obama administration has dumped the phrase “global war on terror” in favor of the vague term “overseas contingency operation” to describe our nation’s battle against the sort of radical Muslim terrorists who slaughtered nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/08/more-word-games-terrorism/ Federal law lets people in states with state income taxes deduct their state income tax payments when they calculate their federal income taxes. That’s fine. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/07/tax-fairness-tennesseans/ What does a man or woman with personal financial and family responsibilities do when his or her job plays out? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/07/tragedy-unemployment/ There simply is no sufficient defense against individuals who are afflicted by a variety of derangements and engage in violent antisocial acts, often with deadly and tragic victimization of innocent individuals. We have had a rash of them in recent days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/07/derangement-and-deadly-violence/ At many of our busiest street and highway intersections, there are traffic lights — green for go, yellow for caution as the lights change, red for stop. Everyone knows that. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/07/what-purpose-traffic-lights/ President Barack Obama was a leading figure a few days ago at the meeting in London of the G-20 summit. What did it really accomplish? Most of us paid very little attention. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/07/what-did-g-20-actually-accomplish/ Would you trust a house cat to protect the well-being of a pet hamster? No? Then why should our country trust Washington — which is largely to blame for the recession — to get us out of the recession? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/06/dc-rescue-scary-thought/ Since U.S. Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin is the ranking Republican on the House of Representatives Budget Committee, you may assume that he is “prejudiced” and has a “partisan” view in comparing Democrat and Republican budget proposals. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/06/which-budget-do-you-prefer/ In an ideal world, power plants could pull in river water to cool their operations without harming a single fish. We do not live in an ideal world, though, so some fish die in the process of generating electricity. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/06/costs-fish-and-common-sense/ Is your job guaranteed, or could you be fired for poor performance? Unfortunately, if you work for the federal government and are paid by the taxpayers, there is almost no chance you’ll be dismissed for doing your job badly. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/06/wrong-type-job-security/ There are many reasons for Chattanoogans to feel that there are good prospects for the next City Council. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/05/good-city-council/ It’s interesting to see how truly universal the laws of economics are. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/05/inescapable-laws-economics/ President Barack Obama misses no chance to trumpet the stimulus bill’s slight income tax cut, which Americans are beginning to see in their paychecks. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/05/energy-tax-switcheroo/ To be “environmentally correct,” Boston declared that all of the city’s 1,825 taxis would have to be hybrid vehicles by 2015. And the hybrids have to be purchased new, not used. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/05/taxi-tax/ Every hour, $8.2 million goes out from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee’s headquarters in the heart of Chattanooga, to pay health care benefits for more than three million Tennesseans! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/04/bluecross-blueshieldhere/ The Constitution requires a count of everyone in the United States every 10 years. That count includes citizens, legal non-citizens and illegal aliens. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/04/law-enforcement-and-census/ Here is a dose of reality for those who think we can raise taxes on “the rich” without harming the economy: The small businesses that would be hit by President Barack Obama’s proposed tax increases just happen to be the ones most likely to have 20 or more workers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/04/tax-hikes-rich-job-losses-all/ The view that man has to take radical steps to prevent disastrous “global warming” rests on lots of shaky assumptions. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/04/global-warming-house-cards/ With General Motors, Chrysler and Ford in the news these days about their financial troubles — though they all still make good cars — there are many questions about the U.S. automobile industry’s future. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/03/electric-cars-are-coming/ Quick! Who controls 84 percent of the land in Nevada, 69 percent of Alaska, 57 percent of Utah, 53 percent of Oregon and 50 percent of Idaho? Microsoft founder Bill Gates? No. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett? No again. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/03/uncle-sam-consumes-more-land/ With terrorists of various kinds having made countless vicious attacks on innocent people and civilization itself worldwide — most notably the murders of about 3,000 Americans in the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001 — our nation responded by declaring “a global war on terror.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/03/what-happened-war-terror/ There are many advantages to the United States’ federal system of government, in which the states, under the 10th Amendment, retain all powers that the Constitution doesn’t specifically delegate to Congress. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/03/should-we-copy-failure/ “Once upon a time,” over many years in the decades immediately after World War II, Americans, in love with their cars, waited with abated breath every fall to see what wonders in new model styling and horsepower the “Big Three” American car companies — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — would unveil. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/02/us-cars-once-upon-time/ After years of hovering over less resolute Israeli governments, “hawk” Benjamin Netanyahu has taken office as Israel’s prime minister. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/02/full-peace-defiance-all-sides/ Tennessee learned a hard lesson a few years back. The state had a law permitting illegal aliens to get driver’s licenses. Not surprisingly, illegal aliens flooded into the state to get the licenses and the legitimacy that they implied. Tennessee has tightened up its rules, but some other states continue giving licenses to people who broke the law to come to this country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/02/if-you-roll-out-red-carpet/ A bill that Congress passed last year with the goal of protecting children from exposure to lead is now having unintended negative effects. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/02/libraries-struggling-enough-it/ If there is anything more astounding than that the once mighty General Motors is about to fail, it is the fact that the U.S. government is injecting many billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money — and bureaucratic dictation — into what could be the biggest individual business disaster in the history of the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/01/incredible-gm-us-mess/ Chattanooga’s Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Banking Committee, was a leader late last year in trying to get all parties involved in the national automobile problem to work together in time to avoid the current disaster. They obviously didn’t cooperate. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/01/sen-corker-tried-prevent-disaster/