Free Press Opinion from TimesFreePress.com | http://timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/freepress http://timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/freepress 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ Motherhood, under the best of circumstances, is a big challenge. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/19/concern-unwed-mothers-babies/ 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/ 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/ 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/ “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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ 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/ Mrs. Mabel Humphrey Scruggs says that when she was a child, she was so small that she was considered “delicate.” She explained: “I didn’t want to eat anything.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/01/mrs-scruggs-100/ Is the main problem with lobbyists that they present arguments for or against some piece of legislation, or that in some cases they practically bribe government officials to get what they want? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/apr/01/lobbyists-free-speech-and-money/ When our late Mayor Robert Kirk Walker left his prominent law practice for election and distinguished service as Chattanooga’s mayor, he was joined in much constructive volunteer civic services by his beloved wife, Joy Holt Walker, who died Friday. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/31/mrs-robert-kirk-walker/ “Engine Charlie” Wilson successfully headed General Motors for many years before he became a very capable and distinguished Secretary of Defense in the 1950s under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. But ironically, Mr. Wilson is best remembered, controversially, for having remarked 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/mar/31/whats-good-country/ It took a couple of readings to sort this union vs. union story out, but here goes: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/31/union-pickets-union/ There are many things our Constitution prescribes for our federal government to perform at the expense of our taxpayers. But unfortunately, there are many things the federal government does that are unnecessary, costly, inappropriate — and certainly too expensive in this time of rising national debt. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/31/government-spending-too-much/ Do you remember, not many years ago, when you could read the newspaper each week about the automobile production by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler and get a good idea of how the U.S. economy was booming? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/30/wheres-our-know-how-now/ Remember in February when President Barack Obama was touting his $787 billion “stimulus” bill? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/30/stimulus-or-not-layoffs-continue/ “Safety first” is a good general principle but a bad absolute. If avoiding danger at all costs had been the guiding principle of U.S. troops in World War II, the Germans would have won. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/30/tax-public-swimming-pools/ We are reminded in the book of Ecclesiastes that “there is no new thing under the sun. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/30/pre-suv-global-warming/ There seems to be no limit to people who want to tax “somebody else.” But either directly or indirectly, it seems “we all” get taxed more — and that still isn’t enough to cover the exorbitant federal budgets. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/29/want-tax-somebody-else/ Remember Alaska’s “bridge to nowhere”? It became a symbol of wasteful spending by Congress for projects that should have been local or state responsibilities — if they deserved any funding at all. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/29/earmark-nowhere/ There are slightly varying versions of the fable of the scorpion and the frog, but there’s a good lesson in all of them. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/29/scorpion-and-frog/ Only one Senate Republican — Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania — supported a bill in 2007 that would have allowed open “card checks” in lieu of secret-ballot votes by workers deciding whether they wish to unionize. Fortunately, the bad bill failed despite his backing. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/29/narrow-support-secret-ballots/ President Barack Obama, in his first major foreign policy initiative, warned yesterday that al-Qaida is planning new attacks on the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/28/obama-terrorists-aim-us-hit/ A broad range of federal tax cuts that were enacted during the administration of President George W. Bush helped stimulate years of prosperity. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/28/keep-tax-cuts-avoid-tax-increases/ Most of us need good and steady jobs to support ourselves and our families, and to sustain the good life for all of the people in our community. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/28/concern-our-jobless/ In the skies over Vietnam on May 28, 1969, Communist antiaircraft artillery shells hit a U.S. Air Force F-105 fighter jet. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/28/redemption-multiplied/ Tennessee’s Gov. Phil Bredesen happily visited Chattanooga frequently in recent months as he played an important part, along with others, in attracting Volkswagen’s billion-dollar auto plant and its new jobs to our community. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/27/bredesen-optimistic-realistic/ Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has joined 40 other Republican senators in reasonably calling for Congress to examine each of a dozen federal appropriations bills individually — instead of having Congress lump lots of spending in “omnibus” spending bills that inevitably result in less review, less good judgment and more big spending. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/27/sen-corker-caution-spending/ Even if the American economy were booming, which it obviously isn’t, the budget proposals of President Barack Obama and the Democrat congressional majority are much too big. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/27/obama-demo-budget-bills-too-big/ It seems there is a strong urge these days to “punish the wealthy.” That is evident in President Barack Obama’s plan to slash the percentage of charitable giving that upper-income households may deduct on their tax reports. The deduction they could claim on each dollar they donate would drop by a fifth. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/27/taxing-would-discourage-charities/ President Barack Obama has made a big thing out of his idea of cutting taxes for 95 percent of taxpayers and raising taxes for “just” the top 5 percent of higher-income earners. But with his $3.55 trillion federal budget in the offing — with the prospect of a $1.7 trillion deficit — is the president’s tax “cut” already about to become a tax “increase”? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/26/tax-cut-become-tax-rise/ It would be very unfair to blame President Barack Obama for all of our troubles as he has been in office barely more than two months. But is it reasonable to agree with him that “we’re moving in the right direction”? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/26/obama-moving-right-direction/ What part of our federal government really runs “well”? Can you think of any part that is efficient and economical and constitutional and laudatory? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/26/what-does-government-run-well/ Since Mexico is our important southern neighbor with whom we share a long border, since millions of illegals continue to cross that border, along with illegal drugs and all sorts of contraband, it is of deep concern that serious violence is occurring in Mexico. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/26/violence-mexico/ How extreme are the changes that President Barack Obama and the Democrat-run Congress want to impose on our economy? Well, in some ways they are pushing the United States to the left of Europe, whose political party names often include the word “Socialist.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/26/out-swedening-swedish/ It is always easy for governmental bodies to expand their spending, though it may be difficult to raise the taxes to cover it. But in times of serious economic recession, when spending reductions are necessary, cutting back is very difficult. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/25/tennessee-budget-challenges/ Most of us need to work to support ourselves and our families. As long as we have reasonably good health and a job, most of us can stand whatever may come along. But the sad news now is that too many of our people are jobless, and their options to “get along” are very small. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/25/sad-story-joblessness/ Most really “big” news begins on Page 1 of the newspaper. But sometimes, when the news is a cumulation of relatively small events, rather than one big happening, it may be “inside” the paper, and not be noticed very much by many people, even when the news is catastrophic for many individuals. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/25/too-much-really-bad-news/ Fraud and waste can accompany almost any government spending project, and the man who is overseeing the $787 billion stimulus package admits that the stimulus will not be an exception to that rule. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/25/55-billion-fraud-more-come/ We apparently have become rather accustomed to speaking in terms of “millions” and “billions” when it comes to federal government finance. But are we really ready to consider “trillions”? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/24/107-tril-debt-93-tril-more/ Many in the Chattanooga area have been exulting over the benefits that will come to our people as Volkswagen plans to invest close to $1 billion in its new local plant, creating many thousands of new jobs, directly and indirectly. But there are also some other indirect benefits that Volkswagen has announced. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/24/another-5-mil-volkswagen-benefit/ In 2004, The Associated Press looked into irregularities in voter registration rolls in Missouri. What it found was alarming. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/24/going-soft-voter-fraud/ Many of us may tend to forget, and not fully appreciate, the danger that many of our police officers may encounter as they go about their jobs protecting us. They deal with murderers, assailants, robbers, burglars and more. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/24/tragically-not-just-traffic-stop/ In a free society, government exists to serve the citizens it represents, not the other way around. It is important to limit the size of government because government does not produce economic growth, and its expansion comes at the expense of taxes taken from the productive private sector. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/23/unchecked-growth-government/ Communist China is worried because the United States owes Communist China more than $1 trillion — and the Red Chinese wonder if we are going to be capable of paying it back! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/23/we-owe-red-china-1-trillion/ The recent tragic shooting that left 11 people, including the gunman, dead in south Alabama has generated demands for “more gun control.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/23/gun-control-and-consequences/ The Constitution requires that seats in the U.S. House of Representatives be allotted to the states based on “the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/23/illegal-aliens-and-census/ Did it encourage you when Barack Obama, running for president, promised to cut taxes on “95 percent” of taxpayers — and raise taxes on “only 5 percent”? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/22/watch-out-stealth-tax-rise/ The explosive growth of federal government jobs even as many companies in the private sector are having to lay off workers is deeply troubling. Unlike the private sector, government doesn’t create wealth, it just shuffles it around and consumes it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/22/reckless-growth-federal-payroll/ Residents of Georgia have had ample reason to be proud of conservative Gov. Sonny Perdue since he was first elected in 2002 and re-elected overwhelmingly in 2006. He has served ably. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/22/georgia-strikes-blow-unborn/ Some environmental extremists appear not to have gotten the message that national security trumps the welfare of whales. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/22/protecting-people-or-whales/ If you thought the mess involving AIG (the American International Group) — which is costing American taxpayers billions of dollars — was bad, just keep looking. It’s getting messier, involving lots of money and possible violations of the Constitution of the United States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/21/aig-mess-getting-messier/ Do you believe it is really a good idea to let people have loaded rifles or shotguns in their cars or trucks? Can you believe that is one of the pressing issues members of the Tennessee General Assembly are wrestling with in Nashville? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/21/legislature-wrestles-guns/ Lawmakers in Texas wanted to be sure that students did not think a state law compelled them to pray. So they were extremely specific. The 2003 law creating a moment of silence in public schools in Texas declared that children could “reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activities” during that time. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/21/prayer-schools-and-common-sense/ One of the worst and most helpless feelings that many responsible Americans must have is the anguish of needing a job, being capable of work, being eager to have gainful employment, but not being able to find a job. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/20/joblessness-rises-81-percent/ The political campaign promises are behind him. So now what does President Barack Obama really plan? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/20/few-president-obamas-plans/ Congress’ unwillingness to crack down on illegal immigration already has serious consequences, including billions of dollars in costs to educate and provide uncompensated medical care and other services to illegal aliens. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/20/stimulating-illegal-immigration/ It is not surprising that a great many Americans have become outraged and disgusted by the revelation that, while failing American International Group (AIG) was getting $173.3 billion in taxpayers’ and borrowed money as a “bailout,” 418 AIG employees were getting a total of $165 million in “bonuses.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/20/aig-bonuses-bad-not-worst/ The federal budget has prospects of running well over $1 trillion in the red as federal spending is increasing. Yet President Barack Obama is proposing a health care program “overhaul” that experts estimate would cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/19/15-trillion-more-health-care/ Six years ago today, the United States responded to the defiance of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein — and fears that he was engaged in developing nuclear weapons — by invasion of Iraq by American and allied forces, beginning the still continuing Iraq War. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/19/iraq-war-6-years/ First, we heard that a commission appointed by Congress was thinking of proposing a tax on the nation’s drivers for each mile they drive, as a way to raise money for road, bridge and mass-transit construction. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was warm to the idea. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/19/lingering-threat-big-new-taxes/ Many wasteful, unconstitutional programs could be cut from the federal budget to reduce spending. Yet the Obama administration is looking at raising revenue by making veterans pay for medical care for service-related wounds. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/19/dont-charge-veterans-wounds/ If there is anything “good” about the economic mess that American International Group (familiarly known as AIG) has gotten itself into — and now all of us American taxpayers — it’s a “good” example of very bad business. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/18/good-example-bad-deals/ The Second Amendment of the Constitution the United States says: “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/mar/18/guns-and-laws/ Suppose you were a teacher. Now suppose that most of your students were performing two years ahead of grade level, and the rest were performing at least at grade level. You would deserve congratulations for doing a good job. But a judge says the highly successful students in Venessa Mills’ class in Raleigh, N.C., should be removed and sent elsewhere. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/18/teacher-punished-despite-success/ Nearly one-fourth of the U.N.’s bloated $5 billion budget is provided by U.S. taxpayers. That is vastly more than any other country in the 192-nation organization provides. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/18/how-un-shows-gratitude/ We spend a great deal of our local county and state tax money for the public education of our children (and a great deal more on the national level, although unconstitutionally). The reason is that we all want the best for our kids. We want to give them a good educational springboard so they will enjoy opportunities to do well in life. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/17/best-our-school-kids/ Our nation is going to need lots of additional energy from a wide variety of sources for progress in our future. It has been proved over the years that the nuclear generation of electricity must be a major component. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/17/bellefonte-our-nuclear-future/ It was not so many years ago that activists were denouncing banks when, in the activists’ view, the banks did not grant home mortgages to enough minorities. Lenders were condemned for supposed racism and were urged in the name of “fairness” to issue more loans. At the same time, Congress kept ratcheting up the pressure on lenders to provide “creative” loans to low- and moderate-income home buyers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/17/too-few-bad-loans-or-too-many/ When was the last time you rode an Amtrak train? You haven’t ever ridden one? Most people haven’t. But all American taxpayers have been subsidizing Amtrak over many wasteful years. We shouldn’t. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/17/you-pay-are-you-taken-ride/ What might happen if we had to pay our entire federal income tax bill all at once at the end of each year, rather than having taxes withheld from our paychecks bit by bit throughout the year? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/16/sudden-tax-shock-unemployed/ Government can spend money fast or wisely, but usually not both. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/16/invitation-corruption-waste/ Some years ago, it was customary for Chattanooga police officers to seek to facilitate heavy traffic during going-home rush hours by manning the main downtown intersections, using their hand signals instead of traffic lights. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/16/if-government-got-out-way/ Too many politicians are convinced they can defeat the laws of economics when the market is not doing what they think it ought to be doing. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/16/green-freeway-or-road-trouble/ General Motors still makes good cars — even as it is threatened with bankruptcy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/15/pricing-ourselves-out/ Only three Republicans voted for the $787 billion “stimulus” bill: Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/15/economy-still-brink/ Suppose you went to a store, legally bought a case of beer and went home. Then suppose you got drunk, went driving and caused a deadly accident. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/15/court-rejects-unjust-blame-shifting/ Though some argue to the contrary, it is generally recognized that the Constitution provides that anybody born in the United States — including those born to illegal aliens — is a U.S. citizen. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/15/back-door-amnesty-illegal-aliens/ Good students, good parents and good neighborhoods tend to have a natural love affair with “my” school. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/14/my-student-my-school/ Members of the Public Safety Coalition are “barnstorming” across Tennessee to urge enactment of tougher laws against criminals to make us all safer. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/14/safety-tougher-crime-penalties/ What could Bernard Madoff, Charles Ponzi and Social Security have in connection with “you”? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/14/madoff-ponzi-social-security-you/ How many times lately have you ordered something over the telephone, or called a doctor’s office, or phoned to make some sort of appointment and found you were being answered by a recording? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/14/nice-talk-real-person/ Although it is generally understood that Tennessee’s Constitution prohibits a general state income tax, there are efforts from time to time to impose one. Tennesseans should beware. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/13/beware-state-income-tax-plan/ Americans are certainly interested in good health care. All of us also are concerned about high health care costs. We already are spending 16 percent of our total national product on health care. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/13/obama-634-bil-more-health-care/ The words of unions themselves show that they know the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” would deny a free choice to workers in the companies that Big Labor would like to organize. The bill would force recognition of a union when more than 50 percent of workers sign authorization cards in front of union organizers, rather than allow workers or management to insist on secret ballot elections. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/13/assault-real-employee-choice/ It’s easy for politicians to embrace the latest environmental cause. They can gets lots of flattering news coverage that way, whereas not going with the environmental flow can get them on the media’s bad side. But sooner or later, the real-world consequences of strident environmentalism have a way of showing up, as New York Gov. David Paterson has learned. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/13/and-then-bill-came-due/ With millions of Americans tragically losing their jobs, with the 2010 federal budget heading for about $1.8 trillion in red ink, the Democrat majorities in Congress and President Barack Obama unfortunately see no need for financial restraint. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/12/spending-without-restraint/ If you vote for a candidate for president, governor or mayor, you have the right to do so by secret ballot. What’s wrong with that? Nobody questions the right of every voter to have a secret ballot in such choices. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/12/why-deny-secret-ballots/ The original capital of the United States was established in Philadelphia. But Article I of the Constitution provides for a federal district — distinct from the states — to serve as the site of the permanent national capital. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/12/dc-not-state/ Over a period of two decades, the federal government has been working toward preparing a site in a remote part of Nevada to receive radioactive waste from nuclear power plants around the country. Nearly $14 billion has been spent on the underground project at Yucca Mountain. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/12/president-undermines-nuclear-power/ In a world that has more than enough inescapable problems of many kinds, there unfortunately are many really serious provocateurs who seem insanely determined to cause even more trouble. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/11/international-provocateurs/ U.S. taxpayers prop up corn-based ethanol with a 45-cents-per-gallon subsidy, and Congress is requiring that 11 billion gallons of ethanol be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply this year. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/11/ethanol-scam-may-get-bigger/ In a time of widespread economic distress, with millions of people having lost jobs and employment prospects bleak, wouldn’t you think that most people would be inclined to be rather careful about the money they have? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/11/economy-sags-lottery-booms/ When you think you’ve “heard it all” in the theories about “global warming,” surely along will come another peculiar story. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/11/beware-belching-sheep/ Wouldn’t everyone love for science to be able to find new ways to cure more human ills and overcome some human disabilities? But would we morally approve the killing of some human beings even for the “good” purpose of gaining hopeful medical advancements to benefit others? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/10/stem-cell-controversy/ You may have read about President Barack Obama’s plan to impose a huge, back-door tax hike on all Americans through his “cap-and-trade” proposal to fight “global warming.” Mr. Obama wants to raise $645 billion by slapping taxes on emitters of the “greenhouse gases” that environmentalists claim are causing disastrous climate change. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/10/new-hidden-tax-americans/ The IRS says its employees can do a better job of tracking down delinquent taxpayers, so it is ending a program that had private debt collectors do the work. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/10/irs-trained-professionals/ It is audacious for the wasteful, bureaucratic, corrupt U.N. to demand more money from the United States — which already provides nearly a fourth of the funds that keep the organization running. To put the huge U.S. financial contribution in perspective, there are 192 member nations in the U.N., none of which provides nearly as much as U.S. taxpayers do. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/10/odd-time-lecture-un/ News accounts of a Georgia-based group that allegedly provides “how-to” manuals to people who wish to commit suicide are deeply disturbing. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/09/innocent-life-deserves-protection/ Few if any pieces of international news should be more alarming than Iran’s steady work to build nuclear weapons. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/09/irans-quiet-development-nukes/ Even in the recession, Harvard University’s endowment is well over $25 billion — the biggest of any university. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/09/harvard-bashes-free-markets/ Many thousands of Chattanoogans voted last Tuesday to elect their mayor and members of the City Council. Did you hear anyone suggest that voters should have voted other than with “secret” ballots? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/09/who-questions-secret-ballot/ You may remember the old song that says, “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/08/be-it-ever-so-humble/ Americans disagree vigorously on the issue of abortion. But generally, even those who consider killing a baby in the womb a “right” do not claim that limiting that “right” amounts to making the mother a “slave.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/08/radicalism-administration/ The slaying of an innocent person is tragic. But it is worse when the suspect would not have been in this country if we had enforced our immigration laws. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/08/tragedy-compounded-levy-slaying/ We like to think of our famous “name” colleges and universities lovingly as “halls of ivy.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/08/halls-no-ivy/ With the bloated federal budget about to run more than a trillion — yes, trillion — dollars in the red, with taxes too high, with our nation’s economy in recession and with unemployment among our people rising, many Americans are disgusted when Congress votes to spend a lot of money on “earmarks” and “pork” — unless the money is coming “our” way. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/07/what-about-our-earmarks/ It’s a terrible thing for someone to want a job, need a job, be able to do a job — but not have one. Most of our people want to work and earn a good living for themselves and their families. But the current bad news is that unemployment is rising across the nation, including here. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/07/painful-rise-local-joblessness/ By most accounts, Washington, D.C.’s, school voucher program is a success. The vouchers let children in failing public schools attend private schools at a fraction of the $13,000 per student spent to educate them in D.C. public schools. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/07/confining-dc-kids-bad-schools/ We feel sorry for many of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip between the Mediterranean Sea and Israel — but we do not feel sorry for the Palestinian terrorists holed up there and periodically firing deadly missiles at Israelis. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/07/900-million-us-gaza/ When a family buys a home, agrees on the price and terms for paying off the mortgage, and when the seller agrees, everybody should be happy. But tragically, many millions of home buyers and sellers are in serious trouble these days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/06/can-home-buyers-be-saved/ When our economy is in recession, when taxes are too high and there is an effort to raise some taxes even more, when the national debt is $10.7 trillion and rising, and when the federal budget is a trillion dollars in the red, does anyone really believe it makes sense for Congress to spend billions of borrowed dollars for about 8,500 unconstitutional, unnecessary and wasteful “earmarks” for pet “pork” projects? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/06/8500-earmarks-mean-not-sense/ Is it reasonable to penalize the top achievers and job producers and enterprisers in our nation by hitting them with higher taxes than others pay — and then raising their tax rate? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/06/higher-tax-obama/ “They can afford it” is the excuse politicians often trot out when they want to hike taxes on the rich and the supposedly rich. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/06/tax-hike-plan-endangers-charities/ Details are trickling in about what the American people will get for the pork-stuffed $410 billion spending bill making its way through Congress. (And remember, that is in addition to the $787 billion “stimulus” bill that Democrats in Congress recently approved with practically no Republican support.) http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/06/congress-attacks-tattoo-crisis/ The Obama administration is “off and running” with a $3.55 trillion budget. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/05/beware-hidden-higher-taxes/ One of the highest priorities for all of us is to have our youngsters get off to a good start in life. That means a good education. Fortunately, there are many Hamilton County students — and their parents — who are doing their part in preparing for success. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/05/honors-top-students-and-parents/ It takes a lot of good things coming together for companies such as Volkswagen and Wacker Chemical Corp. to settle on locations for their billion-dollar investments — as they have settled on Hamilton and Bradley counties, respectively. A strong work force and available infrastructure, as well as intangibles such as a pleasant environment and welcoming public officials, all play a role. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/05/gov-bredesen-keeping-taxes-low/ Gasoline at the pump these days is about $1.779 a gallon and up. That’s because oil on world markets has fallen from about $145 for a 42-gallon of crude a year ago to less than $42 a barrel today. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/05/oil-down-145-42/ American forces undoubtedly have a difficult task in Afghanistan. The terrain near the Pakistani border, where terrorists including Osama bin Laden are believed to be hiding, is extremely rugged and full of caves and other hiding places. That, along with the radical, suicidal version of Islam followed by the terrorists, makes the job for our troops vastly more difficult. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/05/disturbing-concession-radicals/ Nationally, there is a great of deal of political unrest, even though the November election settled races for president and Congress rather decisively. But in Chattanooga, not many people seemed to be anxious about yesterday’s city election. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/04/mayor-littlefield-re-elected/ It is amazing how few people — and how few news reports — have picked up on the fact that President Barack Obama plans to raise taxes on everyone! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/04/obamas-tax-rise-everyone/ You perhaps are fully aware that President Barack Obama has proposed a $3.55 trillion budget for 2010. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/04/what-about-obamas-pork-cut/ Gov. Phil Bredesen is a good governor of Tennessee. He has labored to be fiscally responsible in tough times. With a background in private health care business before he was elected governor, he has been particularly realistic and practical in trying to manage the high costs of the TennCare medical program. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/04/bredesen-lucky-he-didnt-get-job/ In today’s Chattanooga city election, we recommend these candidates for mayor and nine City Council positions: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/03/todays-city-election/ Everybody likes the idea of getting some “free” money. But the reality, of course, is that money is never free. It comes from someone, either in a voluntary transaction, for work, or taxes, or theft, or some other way. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/03/everybody-likes-free-money/ All six of Tennessee’s, Georgia’s and Alabama’s U.S. senators upheld the Constitution by opposing a bill to give the District of Columbia a voting member of the House of Representatives. But 61 members of the Senate — mostly liberal Democrats — voted for the bill, violating their oaths to “support and defend the Constitution” and “bear true faith and allegiance” to it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/03/clear-violation-constitution/ Judging by Vicky Gregg’s career achievements as a nurse rising to become the president of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, it is certainly appropriate that the American Lung Association has chosen to honor her as this year’s “Tennessee Woman of Distinction.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/03/vicky-gregg-woman-distinction/ With events in Iraq being quite frustrating, a great many Americans are welcoming President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will pull all U.S. “combat” troops out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/03/us-out-iraq-then-what/ With apologies to Mark Twain, reports of the death of U.S. manufacturing are greatly exaggerated. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/02/us-top-manufacturer/ As cities across the United States suffer in the midst of the recession, one city is practically singing “Happy Days Are Here Again”: Washington, D.C. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/02/boom-times-washington-dc/ Why is common sense so often absent from discussions of illegal immigration? Consider two recent examples. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/02/common-sense-illegal-immigrants/ It’s funny how so many people support the latest environmental causes and fads — until they realize that those very causes and fads involve costs that undermine any potential benefits. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/02/environmental-fads-vs-real-costs/ Voters in Chattanooga have a very important responsibility and opportunity Tuesday. They will elect city officials to serve us for the next four years. Those elected will make many important decisions on such things as taxing, spending, programs, policies and principles. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/01/chattanooga-election-tuesday/ In 1934, the Veterans of Foreign Wars built a memorial in the Mojave Desert of California to honor the sacrifices of World War I veterans. The memorial, built on land the VFW later donated to the government, includes a cross. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/01/high-court-should-reject-silly-ruling/ The major news media and their environmental activist allies often couch claims about global warming in alarmist language. There is no shortage of scary headlines, for instance, about polar melting that threatens to raise sea levels to a supposedly catastrophic degree. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/mar/01/case-missing-sea-ice/ Just a little more than one month in office, President Barack Obama has proposed a staggering $3.55 trillion national budget that would run an astounding $1.75 trillion dollars in the red — while raising taxes on the most productive Americans in the midst of a painful economic recession. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/28/tax-and-spend-obama/ It is sickening to realize that General Motors, once a hugely successful American company and major employer, has reported a $9.6 billion loss for just the last three months of 2008! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/28/51-million-jobless-gm-loses-96-bil/ The latest economic figures available show our nation’s economy shrinking at a terrible 6.2 percent. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/28/our-shrinking-economy/ U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was pleasantly surprised on his recent visit to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States holds nearly 250 enemy combatants captured overseas in the war on terror. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/28/different-tune-gitmo/ A strange argument against more energy development off our coasts and on a tiny part of a big stretch of Alaska is that the oil and natural gas we get would not greatly reduce the amount we import from overseas. Critics of drilling here fail to mention that the wind and solar energy they like would do even less to reduce that dependence. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/28/let-em-drill/ Although there is much economic distress throughout our country, Chattanoogans have been able to celebrate the decision by Volkswagen to invest about $1 billion in a new car plant in Chattanooga, promising about 2,000 jobs at VW and generating several thousand other good jobs in other companies that will support and supply VW. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/27/some-good-economic-news/ Congress and the president have reacted to economic recessionary concerns by enacting a $787 billion “stimulus” bill. With interest, it will add more than a trillion dollars to the $10.7 trillion national debt. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/27/wild-government-spending/ Not even the smartest lawmaker can understand consumer needs or predict consumer choices well enough to say what is “fair” for thousands of businesses to charge for their goods and services. There are just too many factors involved. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/27/danger-price-controls/ The growth of the power of the federal government through the huge stimulus bill appears to have been only the beginning. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/27/new-attack-state-authority/ If President Barack Obama’s first speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night had been a pep rally before a big college football game, you’d have to say he did a good job as cheerleader, rallying the fans — but he didn’t put any points on the scoreboard. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/26/president-obamas-promises1/ Newly elected Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is being billed as a rising star in the Republican Party, perhaps even a presidential candidate “next time.” So he was selected to give the televised Republican “answer” Tuesday night to President Barack Obama’s first speech to a joint session of Congress. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/26/gov-jindals-gop-response/ There are thousands of boys in the Chattanooga area who fortunately know that “A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/26/scout/ We wish there had never been any reason for U.S. troops to go to war in Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein and end his threats and troublemaking. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/26/withdraw-iraq-then-what/ Democrats in Congress and President Barack Obama have exuberantly celebrated the passage of a $787 “stimulus bill,” promising to pass out a lot of “free” money that future generations will have to pay. So who would turn down “free” money? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/25/turn-down-free-money/ John H. Murphy was a “walk-on” for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team some years ago. He obviously valued that experience. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/25/2-million-good-news-utc/ Our new transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, has a troubling idea about how the federal government can pay for road and bridge construction. He says Washington ought to tax drivers for each mile they drive. The Obama administration backed down from the idea soon after it surfaced. But a federal transportation commission is still pushing the scheme, and Congress is being asked to fund pilot programs to test it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/25/big-bad-tax-scheme/ With all the wasteful and unconstitutional pork-barrel spending that was loaded into the recently passed “stimulus” bill, the American people might have assumed that it would be awhile before Congress tried to pass still more pork. But that assumption would be wrong. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/25/pork-top-pork/ Let’s give President Barack Obama the grade of “A” for having the goal of cutting the annual federal budget deficit from an atrocious $1.3 trillion to a still-painful $533 billion. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/24/obama-grades-and-f/ One of the few big success stories to come out of Congress in recent years was 1996’s welfare reform. Though hesitant, liberal President Bill Clinton went along by signing the legislation into law. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/24/another-casualty-stimulus/ Some of our country’s most prestigious banks have failed, and others are in serious trouble. The main reasons range from bad management and bad judgment to the general economic recession — plus too much government political pressure on banks to make loans to people who could not afford to pay them back. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/24/do-you-want-nationalize-banks/ Spending taxpayer dollars wildly, embracing costly environmental fads and enacting a host of other bad policies have left the state of California in a financial pickle that is bad even by comparison with other states mired in the recession. California is facing a $42 billion budget deficit that has state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger desperately seeking ways to cut. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/24/not-solution-crowded-prisons/ Chattanooga has a pretty good system for choosing our local city government officials. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/23/our-important-city-council/ Chattanooga’s Mayor Ron Littlefield is not one of our most flamboyant political leaders. Rather, he is a methodical, businesslike, low-key public official who works hard for good results. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/22/re-elect-mayor-ron-littlefield/ Once upon a time a few years ago, the good health of the U.S. economy was shown by each week’s booming automobile production figures from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/22/fix-our-broken-down-cars/ One breakthrough after another has shown that science need not snuff out innocent unborn life in order to perform promising research to find cures for disease and disabilities. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/22/promoting-ethical-medical-research/ Even when scientists are careful, nature finds ways to confound them. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/22/cats-and-unintended-consequences/ Who in America would not love for the United States to be able to get all American troops out of our uncomfortable, dangerous and expensive involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan — and have peace prevail behind us? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/21/avoid-vacuumand-worse/ It’s one thing for a candidate to criticize every policy of the president and promise to fix things once elected. It’s something else entirely when the candidate wins — and learns it’s harder to deliver on his promises now that he is accountable to the American people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/21/no-simple-solutions-after-all/ Here is what life is like for Roger Barnett, whose family has a large ranch in Arizona on the U.S. border with Mexico: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/21/sued-defending-his-ranch/ A Florida jury has done a strange thing. It has freely acknowledged that a man who died after decades as a chain smoker had the primary responsibility for his harmful habit. But in the same ruling, it has ordered tobacco company Philip Morris to pay the man’s widow the shocking sum of $8 million — most of it in punitive damages. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/21/smoking-and-personal-responsibility/ However serious Tennessee’s budget situation may be, it pales by comparison with the fiscal disaster that has overtaken California. The Golden State has taxed and spent its way literally to the brink of bankruptcy — and a $42 billion deficit. Not surprisingly, California’s credit rating has tanked, and it cannot get anybody to lend it money. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/20/lets-not-try-home/ President John Petersen of the University of Tennessee’s five-campus system surprised a great many people this week with his announced desire to leave office June 30 after five years of UT leadership. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/20/president-petersen-leaving-ut/ Many people happily remember the years not many decades ago when the “merry Oldsmobile” led all other car models in General Motors’ tremendous nationwide sales. But, alas, Oldsmobile is no more. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/20/what-about-saturn-tennessee/ Governments all across the country, like many private individuals, families and businesses, are having economic troubles. But the state of Kansas has resorted to an outrageous practice in dealing with its financial difficulties. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/20/after-all-its-peoples-money/ Remember, not long ago, when world oil prices were manipulated to an outrageous $145 for a 42-gallon barrel of crude? That translated into prices of more than $4 a gallon for gasoline at service stations. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/20/oil-down-145-less-35/ Many communities have been happy when Wal-Mart announced it was coming to town with super stores, hiring lots of local people and offering a wide variety of department store bargains. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/20/wal-mart-bucks-economic-slump/ Chattanooga’s wonderful United Way was able happily to report yesterday at its annual meeting that generous givers had contributed over $11 million in the 2008 campaign to do many good things for all of us. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/19/united-way-wins-all-us/ It is always hard to cut any budget. But to make the necessary $20 million in cuts to balance the Hamilton County school budget is terribly painful. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/19/painful-school-cuts/ There may be passages of our Constitution that different people honestly interpret differently. But the Constitution is crystal clear that only states — and not the District of Columbia — are entitled to send members to the U.S. House of Representatives. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/19/subverting-constitution/ A company that rises or falls on its merits in the free market ought to be able to set its own pay scale. Outsiders may be surprised or even appalled if a salary for a certain executive seems excessive, but so long as the company “pays its own way” without government aid, it has a right to determine its wages. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/19/self-defeating-class-warfare/ With a majority of Democrats in Congress and President Barack Obama unfortunately having saddled the American people with a $787 billion “stimulus” bill — that is less than half sound stimulus and more than half unconstitutional, unnecessary, unsound and “pork” spending — it is significant that Chattanooga’s top national officials have a much sounder view. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/18/corker-wamp-stimulus/ Although you would hardly recognize the fact these days, part of the genius of the Founding Fathers of the United States in adopting the Constitution was to limit national government power and leave most of government to the states or the people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/18/dont-copy-californias-mistakes/ In one of the stranger approaches to cutting costs during the recession, there is a move afoot in several states to save money by eliminating the death penalty. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/18/odd-approach-saving-money/ With gasoline prices on many roller-coaster rides in recent years, there has been a growing interest in “electric cars.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/18/more-electric-cars/ The $787 billion “stimulus” bill runs nearly 1,100 pages long. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/17/too-big-too-bad/ During his presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama pledged, “I will slow our development of future combat systems.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/17/what-you-wont-find-stimulus/ There was a very significant and informative story in the paper recently about different types of local crimes — by area. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/17/local-crimes-area/ We may not agree with every foreign policy decision that President Barack Obama makes, but as president, he is constitutionally directed to guide our nation’s diplomacy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/17/freelance-diplomat-meddles-again/ You may already have read that the Obama administration and liberal members of Congress want to turn back plans to allow limited, environmentally safe oil and natural gas drilling off our nation’s coasts and on government-owned lands in Utah. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/16/energy-dependent-forever/ Not every criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, but all too often, criticism of Israel’s defensive actions against terrorist attacks turns into bigotry against Jews. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/16/bigotry-unleashed/ The federal government had a bright idea. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/16/uncle-sam-care-flops-again/ There was understandable concern among U.S. consumers in 2007 when some toys imported from Communist China were found to contain dangerous lead paint. But Congress took a scattershot approach to the problem. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/16/cost-careless-regulation/ Did that line above get your attention? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/15/cut-withholding-tax-half/ One of the silliest arguments in favor of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power is that they are “free.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/15/shedding-light-pricey-solar-power/ If Democrats in Congress have evidence of criminal acts by the Bush administration, it is high time they presented it, rather than push for a series of partisan witch hunts whose real goal is politics, not justice. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/15/not-turning-page/ The so-called U.N. “Human Rights Council” is notorious for including member nations that are themselves serial abusers of the human rights of their own citizens. At the same time, the council regularly condemns the nation of Israel for taking defensive measures after it is repeatedly attacked by Palestinian terrorists. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/15/keeping-un-charade-arms-length/ We don’t know anyone who really fully understands the “stimulus” plan that the Democrat majority in Congress and President Barack Obama have frantically been pushing this week. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/14/do-you-understand-stimulus/ So much in the massive so-called “stimulus” bill is wasteful, unproductive or downright harmful that it’s encouraging to find a useful nugget here and there. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/14/bit-good-stimulus-bill/ While many Americans are still giving thanks about the miraculous survival of 155 passengers and crew of the US Airways jet airliner that was forced to ditch in the Hudson River in New York recently after bird strikes silenced both its engines, there is contrasting tragedy as 50 people have been killed in a Continental Express crash at Buffalo, N.Y. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/14/shocking-air-tragedy/ Americans long have had an ardent “love affair” with cars. And we have a special local interest as Volkswagen has begun to build its billion-dollar Chattanooga plant, that will create 2,000 VW jobs and several thousand more related ones. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/14/our-new-volkswagen/ See whether you can figure out who got “justice” in the following course of events: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/14/big-bucks-lawyers-few-vets/ After loading Washington’s economic stimulus bills with many extraneous and expensive items, the U.S. Senate is proposing to spend about $790 billion in money that Washington doesn’t have. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/13/how-much-will-it-stimulate/ It is of interest in both Washington and Tennessee that Tennessee’s Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen has been “mentioned” as being one of several people possibly under consideration for a Cabinet selection by President Barack Obama. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/13/bredesen-mentioned-cabinet/ While Tennessee’s Gov. Phil Bredesen has been mentioned for a possible Cabinet post under President Barack Obama (see editorial above), he is still our governor. That keeps him focused on Tennessee’s dire economic circumstances and his responsibilities in facing the challenges of governing. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/13/bredesen-facing-state-budget-cuts/ It has become almost a sport for politicians to rile up the American people against “Big Oil” for earning what the politicians consider “too much” profit. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/13/would-we-rather-big-oil-fail/ It may surprise you to learn who made the following remarks during the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/13/wisdom-unlikely-source/ “Everybody” is for stimulating our staggering economy. But responsible members of Congress were not for larding stimulus bills with as much as half a trillion dollars of unconstitutional, unwise, unnecessary, wasteful and “pork” spending, that will mortgage our present and future generations. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/12/locals-congress-vs-waste/ While we have been enjoying almost spring-like warm weather on some days here in Tennessee and Georgia, it is reported that the folks in Maine experienced a record-tying low of 50 degrees below zero Fahrenheit on Jan. 16! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/12/good-judgment-frozen-maine/ Education, quite obviously, is a major key to “getting ahead” in our increasingly complex, technological and demanding society these days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/12/sen-alexander-education-gains/ A great part of the bad news in our faltering economy began when some politicians prodded banks to lend too much and some people to borrow more than they reasonably could pay back in buying homes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/12/work-together-cut-foreclosures/ When international oil prices outrageously shot above $145 for a 42-gallon barrel not long ago, much gasoline in the United States cost more than $4 a gallon. That got our attention. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/12/thinking-about-better-car-mileage/ Somewhat frantically, and unfortunately quite without focus, President Barack Obama insisted in his first presidential press conference Monday that it is vital for Congress to rush into borrowing and spending between $800 billion and $900 billion in a stimulus bill that it is hoped would head off worse financial catastrophe. But President Obama may be only “half” right. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/11/stimulus-needed-waste-not/ As a responsible Democratic governor of Tennessee, unable to borrow without limit to meet economic challenges, Gov. Phil Bredesen is realistically but painfully facing the “overwhelming issue” for Tennessee, the recession. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/11/gov-bredesens-tough-job-us-all/ Chattanoogans have been justly elated by the plans for Volkswagen to spend about $1 billion in establishing its new automobile manufacturing plant here. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/11/55-million-vw-beginning/ If there’s anything that nearly all of us agree about, it’s that we want our young people to “get ahead” and “do well” in life. It doesn’t happen automatically. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/11/tolerating-truancy-no-no/ A horrifying story out of Florida should remind us all of the extreme hypocrisy of the abortion industry. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/11/abortion-or-infanticide/ Yes, it is very important for Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill quickly to create jobs and provide help for many in our staggering economy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/10/stimulus-waste-showdown/ In America, our citizens are supposed to be independent, with everyone receiving fair play by the government. Unfortunately, it’s not always that way. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/10/unfair-unsound-uneconomical/ The elected lawmakers of Illinois enacted a law providing for public schools to observe a daily moment of silence. Children who wished to think about the day ahead could do so. Children who wished to pray silently had that option. No one was required to do anything — except briefly sit still. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/10/another-blow-against-freedom/ Somebody has said that if you don’t like Chattanooga weather, just wait 24 hours. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/10/spring-here-ice-ohio/ Former United States Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., is a demonstrably smart fellow. He knows his way around the intricacies of the federal government, having had extensive experience in it for many years. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/09/smart-tax-troubles/ Everyone should want children to have access to health care, but is it the taxpayers’ job to pay for that care for children whose families could afford traditional private insurance? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/09/troubling-direction-health-care/ It is an article of faith among some environmentalists that once a bit of rain forest is cut down, it is gone forever. Yet we found this passage in a New York Times article about Panama, titled “New Jungles Prompt a Debate on Rain Forests”: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/09/nature-bounces-back/ The state of Florida is learning by bitter experience that price controls don’t work. Here is what happened: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/09/price-controls-exact-high-price/ Most us don’t like taxes, do we? But we have to pay federal, state, county and city taxes, don’t we, because taxes are necessary to finance government services? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/08/what-if-half-paid-no-taxes/ Deep in a recent Associated Press article was a telling fact about the supposed big growth in union membership in 2008: Almost all the growth was among government employees, not among private-sector workers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/08/about-union-growth/ Sledding down a hill is a fairly rare but thrilling ritual of childhood in this area, as children on Signal Mountain and parts of nearby counties learned with the recent snowfall. But as with all physical activities, there is a slight risk in sledding. You could hit a tree or another sledder, for instance. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/08/safety-not-silliness/ Don’t buy the hype in recent news accounts about the “rising popularity” of wind energy in the United States. Growth in the industry has been fueled not by consumers willingly choosing to pay extra for wind power, but by government using taxpayer dollars to prop up various wind energy ventures. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/08/high-cost-wind-power/ Our nation’s economy certainly needs a sound stimulus — fast. But our nation’s economy certainly does not need irresponsible legislation calling for the wasteful spending of nearly a trillion dollars on unfocused grab-bag programs larded with pork. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/07/big-bad-bill/ Surely no one has forgotten the $4-a-gallon gasoline costs that afflicted our country just a few months ago. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/07/inviting-another-gas-price-crisis/ The people of Minnesota thought they were electing a United States senator last November. But here it is February, and the decision has not yet been made. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/07/let-votes-settle-minnesota-election/ It is amazing that countless pirates operating from little motorboats in the waters off the East African country of Somalia have been permitted for many months to extort millions of dollars from shipping, endangering hundreds of lives, with most of them getting away with their crimes on the high seas. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/07/outrageous-somali-piracy/ Americans are justly very much concerned by the sad fact that about 11 million of our people who want jobs are unemployed, and the number is growing. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/06/where-jobs-are-growing/ Americans are disgusted by some CEOs of major corporations who enjoyed multimillion-dollar salaries even as their companies were in danger of collapse. We share that disgust. But we are wary when government takes advantage of public outrage to meddle in free enterprise. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/06/federal-cash-means-federal-control/ We greatly sympathize with Tennesseans who, through no fault of theirs or the companies that hired them, have been laid off in the recession. We understand their need for unemployment benefits as they seek other jobs to support their families. But it is troubling that there is talk of increasing taxes on businesses in the state to add to the state fund that helps the jobless make ends meet. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/06/dangerous-possible-tax-hike/ If we had to guess, we’d say the actors, directors and theater owners on Broadway in New York City are generally not very conservative. In fact, it doesn’t take much searching on the Internet to find any number of liberal causes promoted by any number of major players on Broadway. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/06/outrage-broadway/ If you write a dollar mark ($) and add a 1 to it, you know that represents $1. But what’s a trillion dollars — and what will that do? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/05/what-will-trillion-do/ Not many years ago, you could “take the temperature” of the whole U.S. economy by just looking at the weekly production figures of General Motors. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/05/sad-state-us-car-companies/ It’s unfortunate that Iran is ruled by such a troublesome regime that it constitutes a threat to the United States, the Middle East — and to itself. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/05/irans-nuke-and-missile-threat/ When then-President George W. Bush was the target last Dec. 15 of a shoe-throwing newsman at a press conference in Baghdad, he laughed it off, commenting he thought the shoe size was No. 10. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/05/throwing-shoes-bad-manners/ Nearly everyone in Congress is for “stimulating” the sagging national economy. But many of the planned provisions amount to more government spending, more vote buying, more pork and too little real economic stimulation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/04/cut-taxes-pork-mortgages/ Here is what Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said in the Congressional Record on May 7, 1998: “Make no mistake: Tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/04/tax-cheats-or-victims-tax-code/ There are lots of troubling problems with the growing expenses of the federal government’s Medicare program, http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/04/more-medicare-problems/ How many of the possibly 11 million to 20 million illegal aliens in the United States use Social Security numbers stolen from American citizens? It’s impossible to know for sure, but a recent law enforcement roundup in just one county in Colorado suggests the problem is enormous. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/04/massive-identity-theft/ Everyone wants good schools to assure the best for our students, to assure good results for every individual, to create opportunities and advance our society for the benefit of everyone. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/03/good-schools-pupils-results/ With bailout fever gripping the nation, it is refreshing when a sector of the economy issues a polite “No thanks” to the supposed helping hand of Washington. Some businesses have read the fine print and realized there is no such thing as “free” government money. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/03/what-government-gets-its-help/ The former commander of the USS Cole saw terrorism firsthand with the deadly attack on the Navy destroyer in 2000 in waters of the nation of Yemen. That is why he is extremely troubled by plans to close the U.S. detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to put off trials of the detainees. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/03/plea-uss-cole-commander/ When the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals met in the pro football Super Bowl at Tampa, Fla., Sunday, the excellence of both teams assured a really super Super Bowl, elating half the fans and suddenly deflating the other half. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/03/super-bowl-was-really-super/ In an ideal world, everybody would have all the medical care he needs for basic good health. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/02/careful-opinion-polls/ If you don’t believe the disaster scenarios put out by activists who say man’s use of fossil fuels is catastrophically warming the planet, you have plenty of company. A survey of 1,000 Americans finds great skepticism about the claim that mankind is to blame for slight temperature changes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/02/not-buying-warming-hype/ Almost since the United States began holding enemy combatants in the war on terror at a facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, European nations have condemned “Gitmo.” They have said that as a matter of quiet but official U.S. policy, Gitmo is a torture chamber. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/02/europe-backtracks-gismo/ New York state has dug itself into a $14 billion deficit through years of out-of-control spending and through high taxes that destroyed jobs and forced many companies to move out of state. Now things are about to get worse. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/02/choice-jobs-or-high-taxes/ It’s hard to build up a nation and a people in the face of all the many kinds of challenges we face, ranging from economics to war. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/01/bread-and-circuses/ An article in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times points to a growing, overdue shakeup in public education. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/01/choice-education-key/ Oil prices on the world market have amazingly ranged recently from about $145 for a 42-gallon barrel down to around $42. By any measure, those are big variations. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/01/oil-prices-supply-and-demand/ One of the most intriguing — and inventive — advertisements we have seen appeared in this newspaper recently. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/01/it-guaranteed-just-88/ The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to spend $819 billion dollars (that the federal government doesn’t have) to “stimulate” our staggering economy. But is all of that money really going to “stimulate.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/31/only-12-cents-stimulus/ The charges were many and serious — that Gov. Rod Blagojevich had tried to benefit personally in filling the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama, that the governor had sought to exchange state contracts and permits for campaign funds, that he had violated state and federal laws in hiring and firing government employees, plus a number of other misdeeds. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/31/illinois-ousts-gov-blagojevich/ If any Florida residents happen to be reading this, they might be interested to know they are entitled to $1 off the cost of renewing their vehicle registrations. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/31/did-you-get-your-dollar/ Anybody who knows about the fine Bible distribution work of The Gideons International knows that the organization is as well-motivated and inoffensive as any charitable group in the country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/31/attack-gideons/ An illegal immigrant recently marked her first anniversary of living in a Chicago church that gave her sanctuary despite a court order that she leave the country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/31/odd-anniversary/ There’s no question that our staggering economy needs stimulation to turn around the loss of jobs, loss of production and loss of sales that are causing tough times for many of our people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/30/spending-yes-stimulation/ For some months now, Chattanoogans have been celebrating the decision of Volkswagen to build a new assembly plant at our Enterprise South Industrial Park. Now work has begun on the first phase of construction, a $20 million paint shop. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/30/volkswagen-work-under-way/ Lots of the “stimulus” spending making its way through Congress is not just about ending the recession but about vastly expanding the welfare state. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/30/medicaid-rich/ You may already know how Big Labor is pushing Congress to take away workers’ right to a secret ballot when they vote on whether to unionize their workplaces. But a different type of coercive union power is already firmly in place. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/30/more-big-labor-coercion/ Who isn’t for stimulation of our sagging economy? But as the so-called “stimulus bill” has proceeded in Congress, one member observed that “This bill is so full of pork it squeals.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/29/so-full-pork-it-squeals/ At least some Democrats in Congress seem determined to rehash the years of the Bush administration with a series of partisan investigations. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/29/political-witch-hunt-begins/ It is certainly desirable and beneficial for everyone who wants a job and can do a job to have a good, reliable one with fair pay. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/29/who-should-set-pay-scales/ Over many years, the majestic riverboat Delta Queen has enlivened the Chattanooga waterfront from time to time with local visits for its passengers traveling on the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/29/chattanooga-welcome-delta-queen/ What do a mother with just two hands and a dad with just two hands do when they are presented with — octuplets? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/29/8-count-em/ Home and other property owners are always alert at this time of the year as they receive notices from the county assessor of property on the appraised value of their real estate, and as they wait anxiously to see what property tax rates local governmental bodies will set. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/28/property-valuations-stir-upset/ Candidates for public office love to tell us what they want to “do for us.” But the fact is that governments can do nothing for us beyond the resources they take from us in taxes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/28/tennessee-legislators-tough-job/ Chattanooga’s Downtown Kiwanis Club yesterday continued its long and laudable tradition of recognizing unusual community service as it presented its Distinguished Service Award to Grady P. Williams, who long has been involved in a variety of admirable and constructive civic services. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/28/grady-williams-receives-honor/ Does the notion of Washington spending more than $1 trillion to “stimulate” the economy excite you? If so, where should the money go? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/28/stimulus-bill-and-contraception/ We commendably spend lots of money from both private and tax sources to save the lives of babies. Do you favor spending some of your tax money to kill babies? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/27/us-tax-money-kill-babies/ With Medicare. Medicaid and other government medical programs taxing the American people to increase federal government dictation and financing of our people’s medical care, a big expansion of socialized medicine is being proposed even as our national government goes deeper in the red. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/27/whos-socialized-medicine/ In the name of “stimulus” spending to rejuvenate our staggering economy, $350 billion has already gone through the pipeline. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/27/stimulus-earmarks-tax-cut/ Not many people really “like” the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for terrorists captured abroad by our military. Some object to the long detention of enemy combatants there without trials. Others fear that innocent people may have been swept into “Gitmo” for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/27/freed-gitmo-now-terrorist/ A solid grasp of English is vital to success in the workplace. Employers regularly list clear written and oral communication as a desirable skill for potential employees. So it was not surprising that a recent report on well-educated immigrant workers placed great value on proficiency in English. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/26/necessary-step-path-success/ All of us know what a $1 bill is. We probably have one or more in our pocket. But we’re talking about “trillions” of dollars in government these days — in ways that will affect each of us quite acutely — and we have a hard time understanding what a trillion of anything really means. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/26/what-does-trillion-mean/ The public school system in Cobb County, Ga., commendably lets various groups — such as the Boy Scouts and athletic associations — hold after-hours meetings in its classrooms at no charge. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/26/how-about-evenhanded-policy/ The urge to “soak the rich” can sometimes override common sense. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/26/punishing-business-wont-fix-problem/ There is probably only one thing most of us agree about these days. It is that that our country and our people are in a serious economic recession. It may get worse. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/25/can-government-do-it-better/ You may have read about California’s budget crisis. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/25/way-government/ Though it seems strange how much some folks willingly pay for a fancy cup of coffee these days, we certainly don’t object so long as they’re using their own money to do so. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/25/expensive-cups-coffee/ You may have noticed how lawmakers put misleading names on the bills they introduce to help the legislation get more votes. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/25/congressional-clunker/ A series of brutal, drug-related murders in Mexico near the U.S. border has Mexicans in the region living in fear, and the violence is spilling into this country. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/24/mexicos-lawlessness-hits-us/ All of us love life and want good health. That’s why doctors, scientists and others are working constantly to find cures for illness, seeking ways to lengthen our lives and make them more comfortable. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/24/easy-way-avoid-premature-death/ Congressman Zach Wamp has just entered his 15th year as an energetic, effective, hardworking and soundly conservative member of Congress, representing Chattanooga and the rest of East Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/24/rep-wamp-present-future/ Our new president and many members of Congress are frantically seeking ways to minimize the current economic recession and keep it from becoming worse. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/24/beat-recession-fair-tax-cuts/ Unfortunately, it is easy for terrorists — or others — to cause very serious trouble. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/23/its-so-easy-cause-serious-trouble/ You might have read the tragic story of a New Jersey woman, Kalynn Moore, whose newborn son died and was mistakenly thrown out with the trash at a hospital. The hospital said the baby, who was born a month prematurely, was stillborn. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/23/strange-double-standard/ It hardly seems possible that it was more than four decades ago when millions of us were charmed by the appealing pictures of President John F. Kennedy, Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and their little children, pretty Caroline and energetic John-John. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/23/caroline-kennedy-drops-senate-bid/ It’s easy for President Barack Obama to issue an executive order to close the prison camp at American-controlled territory at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It is much more difficult to find a safe way to handle the many very dangerous and vicious enemies of America who are being held there. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/23/close-guantanamo-then-what/ As a powerful United States senator representing New York and as a former First Lady of the United States, Sen. Hillary Clinton yearned to become president of the United States. And for many months last year, she appeared to have an excellent chance to attain her ambition. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/23/secretary-state-clinton/ It is distressing that General Motors, once a major part of American industrial prowess, is staggering, depending upon governmental handouts. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/22/american-automobile-challenges/ Questions have lingered about what two U.S. Border Patrol agents did in 2005 to merit sentences of more than 10 years in prison. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/22/not-quite-pardon/ There has been some talk — and lots of jokes — about the prospect of the federal government taxing the “greenhouse gas emissions” of cattle and hogs. The Environmental Protection Agency caused the stir when it mentioned the raising of livestock in a report on regulating emissions that some claim are causing disastrous “global warming.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/22/step-toward-livestock-tax/ President Barack Obama accepted the great challenges and great honor of the presidency of the United States with an inauguration speech that pointedly was low key, while calling for “hope over fear,” and emphasizing “responsibility. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/22/president-obama-begins/ President George W. Bush made decisions that some of our citizens find highly objectionable. This is America, and it is their right to speak up when they disagree. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/21/fast-way-poison-political-well/ With our economy in recession, businesses and workers need to be as efficient and nimble as possible to survive. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/21/congress-wants-encourage/ It’s difficult to recall now. But not long ago, there was a very strong expectation that Hillary Clinton would be the one inaugurated as president of the United States yesterday. Instead, Barack Obama came from behind to become the Democratic Party nominee and the presidential victor over Republican John McCain. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/21/and-now-hard-job/ It is unclear how many more times Georgia will have to defend its anti-fraud voter identification law before at last the legal challenges end. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/21/georgias-sensible-voter-id-law/ One of the reasons why President George W. Bush twice vetoed a bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program was that it would have paid for health care for children in families earning up to four times the poverty level — roughly $83,000 for a family of four. While we do not consider such a family “rich,” it is not so poor that it should expect taxpayers to shoulder its medical bills. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/20/invitation-abuse-taxpayers/ On his biggest day yet, Barack Obama will be inaugurated today as the 44th president of the United States of America. It will guarantee him many more big and challenging days to come. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/20/president-obamas-big-day/ President George W. Bush got Congress to cut taxes for everyone who pays income taxes. But as Mr. Bush leaves office today, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi already is demanding higher taxes be imposed upon the American people. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/20/rep-pelosi-wants-higher-taxes/ Most Hamilton County property taxpayers may not be aware of a movement afoot in our community to do a favor to some taxpayers while shifting tax burdens to others. It’s something to be very careful about. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/20/shift-local-tax-some-others/ The most serious financial crisis that any family faces can get much worse if the family wastes what little money it has on lottery tickets. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/19/lottery-not-investment-plan/ Dr. Paul Hsieh, a Denver physician, points out a danger of “universal health care”: If government pays the bills, it believes it is entitled to regulate all aspects of your health. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/19/governments-health-patrol/ esident George W. Bush will not, as some critics claim, go down in history as “the worst president ever. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/19/president-bushs-mixed-record/ A so-called “equal pay” bill that the House of Representatives has passed is bad policy on two counts: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/19/bad-equal-pay-legislation/ As more bad economic news seems to be coming almost every day — more unemployment, more business failures and cutbacks, along with other financial difficulties for individuals and companies — there are anxious looks backward at the “Great Depression.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/18/avoid-new-great-depression/ If you are in the New York City public schools, you may at certain times of the year see menorahs, which are symbols of Judaism, or stars and crescents, which are symbols of Islam. We have no objection to that so long as there is nothing disruptive about the symbols and no student is forced to observe any holiday ritual that is contrary to his beliefs. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/18/liberty-some/ The government itself is now admitting how complex the federal tax code is and how tremendously expensive it is for American individuals, businesses and organizations to comply with it. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/18/mammoth-costs-tax-code/ To keep homeowners in their homes and to keep lenders from having to foreclose on lots of houses they cannot sell, it makes sense for homeowners who are having troubling making payments to sit down freely with lenders and negotiate better terms. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/18/contract-law-peril/ Being president of the United States these days is no walk in the park on a warm spring day, with bands playing, flags flying and crowds cheering. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/17/president-bushs-farewell/ It was a shocking situation when a US Airways Airbus 320, with 155 passengers and four crew members aboard, apparently ran into a flock of birds seconds after takeoff at New York City Thursday. Both engines cut out. A horrible crash was in prospect. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/17/miracle-hudson/ For many terrible days now, innocent children, women and men have been losing their lives in the Gaza Strip and Israel — all because Palestinian terrorists of the Hamas gang have insisted on continuing to fire scores of explosive missiles into Israel. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/17/how-stop-violent-deaths-gaza/ With economic recession ravaging our country and causing serious hardships for millions of our people, everybody wants to solve the problem, stimulate the economy and achieve economic recovery. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/17/cheaper-better-stimulus/ The Constitution of the United States says of the president: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/17/so-help-me-god/ After many years of being left out in the political minority cold in the Tennessee House of Representatives, Tennessee Republicans thought it was time for them to enjoy the warmth of the 50-49 majority that they won in the last election. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/16/tennessee-legislative-consternation/ Under federal law, a legal immigrant to the United States must be in this country at least five years before becoming eligible for government-provided health care. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/16/gravy-train-us/ There is severe pain when any American wants a job, needs a job to support himself or herself and a family, but can’t find one. Shockingly, there are more than 11 million Americans in that harsh reality these days, with the numbers rising. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/16/pain-unemployment/ Each year when temperatures begin to take a deep dive, there is increased danger from fire as heating units are relied upon. Sometimes there are accidents and sometimes there are other problems. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/16/triple-tragedy/ Have you paid your federal taxes? If you haven’t, would you expect to be appointed to a big government job? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/15/have-you-paid-your-taxes/ The life of 38-year old Indiana investment manager Marcus Schrenker seemed to be in terrible turmoil. Investors were asking questions about his financial dealings. A federal court had ordered a judgment against him for $533,000. His wife had filed for divorce. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/15/sounds-movie-plot/ The benefit to a community of a high percentage of residents owning their homes is obvious. People who own a home in their neighborhood tend to maintain their property as well as encourage others to do the same. They are more likely to insist on good schools and to hold local government leaders accountable for their actions. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/15/benefits-homeownership/ With our nation’s economy staggering, jobs being lost and many businesses in trouble, it is generally agreed that some kind of “bailout” is needed to “stimulate” the economy. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/15/cut-taxes-better-bailout/ It has been a long time since terrorism instigator Osama bin Laden has been sighted. But a message purportedly from him surfaced this week, calling for a worldwide Islamic “jihad” — holy war — as a response to Israel’s military action against the Hamas missile attacks from Gaza. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/15/wheres-bin-laden-hiding/ You surely have heard that the federal government is running deeply in the red, and that our nation is suffering from economic recession. But Congress still is voting lots of “pork” and “earmark” spending that is unconstitutional, wasteful and unnecessary. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/14/lobster-biscuits-your-dog/ It is troubling when any American who is legally eligible to vote and who takes reasonable steps to vote is denied that right, whatever the reason may be. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/14/ensure-troops-voting-rights/ Who can say for sure that the University of Florida football team, with its win in the Bowl Championship Series finale, is the best in the nation? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/14/bowl-ing-toward-big-government/ On Jan. 20, President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in as president of the United States and President George W. Bush will relinquish the power and pains of being president. So earlier this week Mr. Bush engaged in a far-ranging, somewhat nostalgic, and rather frank “last press conference” of his eight years in the White House. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/14/bushs-last-press-conference/ While there seem to be no major military threats these days from the former Soviet Union and its many former captive “Iron Curtain” countries, or from the Communist regime that rules Communist China, “freedom” is still having a hard time throughout the world. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/13/only-46-percent-people-free/ It is a terrible thing for anyone to want a job and need a job and not be able to find one. Too many Americans are finding themselves in that kind of predicament these days. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/13/unemployment-and-solution/ One of the underreported problems in our troubled world has been the extensive major crime on the high seas as pirates from the East African country of Somalia have operated off the Horn of Africa in and around the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/13/somalia-piracy-huge-problem/ We’re hearing lots of talk in Washington — from Congress and President-elect Barack Obama alike — about reducing wasteful spending on pork-barrel projects that lawmakers quietly slip into legislation. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/13/ok-congress-get-serious/ Back in 1996, the federal Farm Bill set the parameters of a subsidy that was meant to provide payments to small farmers for certain conservation efforts. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/12/subsidies-and-family-farms/ A key theme of George Orwell’s “1984,” a novel about totalitarianism, was the distorted use of words to destroy clear thinking. “Freedom is slavery” was among the phrases repeated throughout the book, whose characters became unable even to imagine what true liberty was. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/12/controlling-words-and-thoughts/ Here is an example of the silly, counterproductive bureaucracy that mires down our federal income tax system and cries out for reform. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/12/confusion-courtesy-irs/ A free press is a vital part of what keeps our nation free. Though the news media often fail to uphold high standards of journalism, media scrutiny can head off illegal or unethical acts, by government in particular. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/12/bailouts-and-free-press/ The worst thing that ever happened to the American people and the United States was the War Between the States. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/11/us-disintegrates-2010/ Oregon and Washington state acted extremely unwisely by enacting laws permitting physician-assisted suicide for some patients in very poor health. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/11/judge-imposes-right-suicide/ With all the talk about big federal spending on health care, couldn’t Congress do something that could save $60 billion each year in medical expenses? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/11/vital-part-health-care-reform/ The federal government spends so much of your money illegitimately that it’s hard to keep track. Here is one more ridiculous example. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/11/your-money-vs-san-francisco-traffic/ Unemployment among Americans is the worst it has been in a quarter of a century, too close to 7 percent. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/10/what-kind-tax-cuts/ American sports fans love their favorite teams and players of all kinds. As a result, they swarm to competitive events, paying big ticket prices — meaning star players are paid big salaries even in times of economic recession. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/10/no-recession-pitcher-smoltz/ A tribe of Huron Indians is believed to have settled in the early 18th century along a river in what is modern-day Wyandotte, Mich. Like many tribes, these Indians were led by a chief. So it is not surprising that Wyandotte’s Roosevelt High School memorialized that bit of local heritage by choosing the Chiefs as its nickname. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/10/hail/ When government begins to offer “bailout money” — for the automobile industry and others — it is guaranteed that a lot of odd applicants for free cash will begin to line up. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/10/bailout-pornography/ Nearly a thousand people — so far— have been killed horribly, and many more have been wounded, because the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas has viciously fired rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, forcing massive defensive Israeli military reaction. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/10/hamas-causes-horrible-tragedy/ With Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois vacating his U.S. Senate seat to be inaugurated as president on Jan. 20, the law provides for the governor of Illinois to make the appointment of a U.S. senator to serve till the next election. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/09/sen-roland-burris/ There was a very interesting news picture this week showing five former, current or future presidents in the Oval Office at the White House. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/09/5-presidents/ As long as we have good health and a job, most of us may feel we can get along, come what may. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/09/distressing-depressing-job-losses/ You will not find in history books many wars that managed to avoid civilian casualties completely. It is a tragic reality that military strikes, however necessary and however carefully planned, cannot always be conducted with such pinpoint accuracy that they hit only combatants. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/09/deliberate-versus-accidental-killings/ M any people were understandably shocked when it was suggested the federal budget might run a trillion dollars in the red this year. But now the Congressional Budget Office says the deficit may be $1.2 trillion! http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/09/12-trillion-red-ss-medicare/ President-elect Barack Obama won the presidency with a campaign promise that he would bring “Change” to America. With Democrat majorities elected for both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the new Democratic president should have the legislative power to get most of whatever change he wants. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/08/changenot-pocket-change/ We Americans have a love affair with our cars. And as a result, we all want good and improving streets and highways. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/08/gas-tax-increase-highways/ Officials in Newark, N.J., do not like the look of barbed wire atop fences in the city, and they say the wire could injure somebody who tries to climb the fences. So they have begun enforcing a ban on certain types of barbed wire — to make the city more pleasant to look at and to protect the health of fence-climbers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/08/burglars-versus-barbed-wire/ Patriotic Americans of good will can and do debate the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, which ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/08/democracy-iraq-style/ After the long presidential and congressional primary and general election campaigns, are you tired of elections? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/08/tired-elections-another-coming/ Have you ever met a tax cut you didn’t like? http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/07/who-doesnt-tax-cuts/ This is just January of 2009. The election of Tennessee’s next governor and members of Congress is not till 2010. But already, the scramble of candidates is beginning. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/07/governor-congress-scramble/ Many Americans have watched in disgust as liberal cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have imposed “Big Brother” rules on everything from whether restaurants may serve trans fats to whether baseball players may use metal bats. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/07/big-brother-stalks-nashville/ We will never know who really won the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota between incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat challenger Al Franken. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/07/who-really-won-franken-coleman/ A customer who was shopping with the Internet retailer Amazon.com came across an odd promotion. It was called “Twelve Days of Holiday.” You read that correctly: Amazon had deleted the word “Christmas” and substituted the generic “Holiday.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/07/twelve-days-holiday/ Adolf Hitler sent his Nazi German forces to invade Poland, beginning World War II in 1939 — and blamed the Poles. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/06/gaza-tragedy/ Speed and alcohol are major causes of traffic deaths. With less speed, particularly in places other than on the freeways, many accidents could be avoided. And by simply not drinking and driving, 40 percent of traffic deaths could be avoided. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/06/thousands-preventable-deaths/ When we think of undesirable things about coal-burning steam plants used to generate electricity, we first think of the emissions that pollute the air. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/06/tvas-kingston-cleanup-challenge/ Many Tennesseans are surprised — and many are disappointed — that Dr. Bill Frist, former U.S. Senate Republican majority leader, has decided he will not run for gov-ernor of Tennessee in 2010. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/06/frist-out-wamp-governor/ All year long, the Media Research Center bears witness to the liberal bias of the elite national news media. Then at the end of each year, the MRC collects particularly appalling examples of bias and has dozens of judges from around the country pick the worst of the worst for its “Notable Quotables.” http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/05/and-media-winners-are/ Do you think windmills are the answer to global warming emissions from coal or natural gas? Think again. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/05/answer-isnt-blowin-wind/ For sound ethical and constitutional reasons, the Bush administration protects federal taxpayers by not requiring that their tax dollars go to potentially life-destroying research on the stem cells of human embryos. That is a very small restriction that does not prevent states or private organizations from conducting such research. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/05/ban-stem-cell-research/ Did you see the unhappy news about Toyota? The Japanese company, which builds many of its cars in the United States with American workers, expects its firstever operating loss in 70 years. Toyota predicted a nearly $1.7 billion loss for the fiscal year that will end in March. That compares with profit of more than $25 billion just a year before. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/05/key-difference/ A few days ago, the U.N. voted, in the words of The Associated Press, for a “sharply worded resolution” condemning violations of human rights and the jailing and torture of political dissidents in the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar (formerly called Burma). http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/04/un-conflict-resolution/ It hardly seems possible that it has been a whole decade since the evening and Sunday Chattanooga Free Press and the morning and Sunday Chattanooga Times were combined to become the Chattanooga Times Free Press. But it was on Jan. 5, 1999, when that occurred. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/04/our-unique-editorial-variety/ Robert Mugabe, dictator of the African nation of Zimbabwe, lost an election last March but decided to stay in office in a socalled “power-sharing agreement” with the man who defeated him. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/04/you-first-mugabe/ Because nearly all of us want the United States and the American people to avoid a repeat of the Great Depression of the ’30s, or worse, there have been lots of suggestions recently about what to do to save the Big Three American car companies — and other businesses — that could go broke and cost us not just thousands, but millions, of American jobs and another Great Depression. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jan/04/whoooeee-pig/