Charaterization is not Rep. Wamp
The Times editorial (Sept. 10) spent five paragraphs portraying Congressman Wamp in a negative and fictitious light, despite the author's "mild disclaimer." Such inflammatory language accompanied by an offensive cartoon is one that attacked the congressman's character and misrepresented the facts regarding his gubernatorial campaign. His campaign is focused on a vision for Tennessee's economic future with an emphasis on balancing the role of government involvement (state or federal) in the private sector and the life of the individual.
The federal government does have a role, and Congressman Wamp has served in that capacity by fighting to secure funding for projects such as the Chickamauga Lock and the Oak Ridge National Lab, which fuel Tennessee's economic growth and that of our nation. Sometimes, he even helps a constituent's sister with her disability because ovarian cancer is gradually taking her life and even takes the time to call and offer prayer and support to her brother.
I'm not certain who the Times editorial writer is talking about, but their characterization of Congressman Wamp is not the individual I know.
CARL MILLER
Burning cross shows repulsive implication
This so-called "cartoon" of the cross burning appearing (Sept. 16) in the Chattanooga Times Free Press shows more hatred and prejudice than anything that I have seen in the Tea Parties or anywhere else. I never thought that I would see anything like this again. It is repulsive to paint good Americans with this kind of stuff. It is no wonder that we can't, as Rodney King said, "all get along"! With this kind of stuff, we never will. It is time for Clay Bennett to take a needed rest to do some reflection and soul searching.
DON MOON
Hate-filled posting an appalling message
I am appalled that someone who represents the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce put out such a hate-filled posting on Facebook -- which only went to 730 of his "closest friends!"
How could he assume that this is private and personal?
Chattanooga has worked long and hard to become a welcoming city which values diversity.
I do not want a person who makes comments filled with denigrating slurs and a call to violence to represent the city of Chattanooga.
REV. DR. SANDRA L.
WINTER
Budget power resides in Congress
I would like to correct the misinformation that the Chattanooga Times editorial page and many Democrats keep repeating about how the "Bush tax cuts" added to the deficit and harmed the economy.
The deficit increased because of more spending by the federal government.
Federal tax revenues are primarily driven by the economy, not by tax rates. When times are good, revenues increase. When times are bad, revenues decrease.
It is wrong to give credit to or blame the president for deficits and surpluses; that power resides in the Congress. Clinton didn't create surpluses and Bush didn't create deficits; the former Republican and present Democratic Congresses have the constitutional power for federal spending.
It is also wrong to give credit to or blame the president for the health of the economy. The president has no constitutional power to control the economy. The Federal Reserve, through its setting interest rates and controlling money supply, is responsible for the wild swings of expansion and contraction of the economy.
CHUCK MEGAHEE
Signal Mountain
Cartoon, media distort message
Once again I am disgusted by a political cartoon by Mr. Bennett, this time characterizing Tea Parties across the U.S. as akin to a KKK cross-burning event. What a terrible distortion of what decent Americans are trying to say to their government.
After attending a recent Tea Party near Chicago, my brother commented: "They are grossly wrong in their characterizations of the Tea Parties. There were 10,000 people (by police estimates) at the party we went to. The crowd was very well behaved. There were some signs that I didn't agree with or approve of, but the people holding them seemed to be decent folks. The sentiments expressed didn't rise anywhere near the level of the outrageous remarks expressed by many liberals, congressmen, etc."
Fellow citizens, don't just blindly accept what you see and hear from our media outlets. There are many good people in our nation who have a right to be concerned about how much our politicians are taxing us and trying to expand the government's reach into our lives. These gatherings are not racist! What is scary is how often the news media (and Mr. Bennett) seem to get away with misleading the American people.
DAN BROWN
Soddy-Daisy
Single religion course one-sided
Signal Mountain is making a concerted effort to bring to its schools a course in the history and teachings of the Bible. Growing up, I would have benefited greatly from such a course, since the Christian Bible underlies our culture.
However, I would be a wiser and better educated woman had I had similar courses for all the main religions of our globe. I think we cheat our children when we give them a single-sided view of the world's cultures.
CLAIRE HALE
Signal Mountain
Hysteria over Obama based on racism
For months I had noticed the stench of racism in the shenanigans of a distressing number of Republicans.
It was easy to see the "teabaggers" were 99.9 percent white, as were the disrupters at town hall meetings. What did not make sense were the many contradictions in the issues they so loudly expressed.
Senior citizens were saying "No government health care" but also "Leave my Medicare alone." Duh!
They fabricated one thing after another and when confronted with truth, stubbornly continued to lie or switched to a totally different subject with equally exaggerated reaction.
On Sept. 14, Jimmy Carter clearly began to identify the basis for this white hysteria -- good, old-fashioned Southern racism. That is why I appreciated the left side of the Times so much on Sept. 16. The editorial and the cartoon of the burning cross were a perfect introduction to the first three letters from Rep. Zach Wamp's campaign committee. The third letter was particularly pathetic. It defended Wamp by saying "Some of his best friends are African-Americans."
If Wamp wants to run on a states rights platform, and curry the racist vote, he could at least have the courage to own it.
TERRY STULCE
Ooltewah
Expand Wilderness areas in the state
I greatly enjoyed and appreciated your editorial (Sept. 8). The Wilderness system is a true national treasure and we are lucky to have areas in it right here in Tennessee. Although I am handicapped and cannot venture into the Wilderness itself, I appreciate its being there. I especially love Bald River Falls and greatly desire to see its entire watershed given wilderness protection so that it can remain as it is forever. The Upper Bald River and expansions to the existing Big Frog and Joyce Kilmer Slick Rock Wilderness areas as well as others would make excellent additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System in Tennessee.
Our leaders in Congress have the power to make this happen by sponsoring legislation. I'd urge them to step up and expand the wilderness legacy we leave to future generations.
CHERRY STEWART
Apison, Tenn.
Back true values, not fake Republican ones
The GOP showed their true colors at the presidential address to Congress. I have never witnessed such outright thuggish, disrespectful behavior from any representative of this country. South Carolina has a parade of ne're-do-wells they put in front of the American people as representative of their values.
First, their governor, Mark Sanford, a "family-values" guy off with his mistress in Argentina while his wife and four children spent Father's Day alone; Miss Teen South Carolina, who couldn't find South Carolina on a map of the U.S.A.; South Carolina still flies the Confederate flag on the lawn of their state Capitol; Strom Thurman was their head "racist" for years; Jim DeMint, who is a walking, talking side show; and now Joe Wilson; so it goes.
Apparently the GOP thought they were still at the raucous town halls where they are free to bring their obnoxious bullhorns to shout down anyone trying to talk about facts and not fear-mongering lies. The Republican Party has gone from low class to no class!
This will be a fight for the American people. We must all do our part to support our true values, not the fake ones represented by the GOP.
ANN BENTON
Signal Mountain
Wow, if support of states rights, implied by Mr. Stulce from Ooltewah makes one automatically racist, I guess the states have no rights. Then the federal government calls all the shots. Please show me where that is in the US Constitution! I am sorry for any racism that has ever or will ever exist. But it is cried now in so many instances, some rightly so, some not, that I wonder if a time will soon arrive when very few take it seriously even when it should be strongly considered. Please do not pretend everyone who disagrees with a person of color automatically does so because of the person's color. That is presumptuous whether in the South or any area of this nation.
The "hysteria over Obama" is not based on racism but ideology. The only "raucus" attendees at my town hall were those trying to shout down my Republican congressman. Too many Obama supporters can't distinguish between political disagreements and racism, probably because the only reason they voted for Obama was because of his color and they have no idea what his beliefs are. Since people attended town halls because they feared the massive government expansion, spending, and take-over of our health care, one can only assume that the reason more blacks didn't attend is they support Obama's Marxist agenda. It is not contradictory to ask government not to reduce Medicare and to oppose "government health care" because both will lead to rationing of their health care. I have the bill and the only fabrications documented were made by Democrats. Carter is an embarrassment.
Ms Benton, You only have to go back to Bush's addresses to Congress to find the "thuggish, disrespectful behavior" you condemn. Was Wilson's only fault the fact he used "lie" instead of "boo"? I condemn Gov Sanford's behavior as I condemned President Clinton's behavior. You should be equally consistent in your condemnation. Your cheap shot at a young teen was classless. Don't confuse nervousness with ignorance. The Confederate flag flies over the memorial to the Civil War dead. Does Tennessee no longer honor its war dead? Strom Thurman's "racist" years were when he was a Democrat. The same accusation could not be made of his Republican years, when he served all well and included blacks on his staff. Jim DeMint reflects the freedom-loving beliefs of our founders and is quite effective. Joe Wilson had reason to be upset and he was correct in his charge. Thanks to his outburst, a loophole has been plugged. Had the Democrats listened to the Republicans and had Obama not intimated in his address that Republicans were lying about health care while lying himself, Wilson would not have been moved to such an outburst.
Wow, CarolinaGal. We could use more like you in Chattanooga and on these posts. You clearly and succinctly stated the facts and the truth.
Funny thing though, about truth and facts and truth-speakers. The Left, indoctrinated crowd reacts violently to any of the above and resorts to name-calling, party-trashing and such, in order to cover up the fact they have forgotten to vet and research their own Chosen One(s).
P.S. When I viewed a long version of the 9-12 Tea Party, I saw all ages, colors and genders. People interviewed looked like a healthy cross section of us. Most of the signs were non-insulting. No one was violent (try a Liberal rally in So. Cal if you want to see violence). This, in contrast to Obama's staged Townhalls with automatons shouting "yes, we can" and Obama, Obama" over and over. Nobody tells me what to say!
Excellent comments CarolinaGal! Very succinctly put indeed! It drives me crazy when people try to talk about the great state of South Carolina knowing only what the main stream media has said about it.
What party fought AGAINST freeing the slaves? What party fought AGAINST civil rights? What party has an ex-grand kleagle of the KKK in the senate? That's right! The Democrats. I don't think the Democrats care one iota about the minorites, they are just aware that without the miniorty vote they would never win another office. My generation(Y) would never think twice about race if the media didn't hype on it so much. The last thing I think about when objecting to this agenda is what color Obama's skin is.
I'll never understand what is so objectional about individual liberty and personal responsibility. This is what Conservatives stand for.
Luckily for you canaryinthecoalmine you have CarolinaGal's flesh and blood here in Chattanooga :)
CarolinaGal, Michah3,
I, for one, am very pleased to see more conservative voices joining the growing chorus on this site, and in society in general. Thank you.
Livn4life, canaryinthecoalmine,
Keep pouring it on. Logic, historical awareness, and truth will triumph over statism, so long as we all continue to speak out against those who wish to enslave us and those who are ignorant of the dangers posed by the statists.
Those on the left ignore the content of his character and see only on the color of his skin. Those on the right ignore the color of his skin and examine the content of his character. Thus, when the right reveals that there is no content to the character, the left can only respond with race because that's the only thing they have to cling to.
Cherry Stewart, thank you for your letter. With all the partisan bickering these days, it's nice to hear about an issue (wilderness) that has broad bipartisan support. The great Republican Teddy Roosevelt set the standard in the early 1900s, and Republicans and Democrats alike have taken action to protect our nation's natural heritage since the Wilderness Act was enacted 45 years ago.
I encourage folks to visit http://tnwild.org to learn more about expanding wilderness in Tennessee. Future generations will thank us for taking action when they realize that they have clean water and wild places to hunt, fish, hike, camp, and horseback ride as a result of our foresight.
Thank you. I stand with you as a fellow conservative and southerner. We live in the greatest country on the face of the earth. I hate seeing people criticize it so much. I am all for speaking out against the government when we disagree and for exercising our 1st Amendment rights, but far too often this criticism comes from those who are ignorant or unappreciative of what we are fortunate to have. They are also ignorant of what made us great and now seek to rid us of the freedom, free-market capitalism, and initiative that made us great. No country became great or prosperous taxing its successful people to reward its losers. There is a difference between losers and the unfortunate. The latter need our help, the former need tough love, not government freebies. Those are my values...and I praise or criticize a President based on them,not the color of his skin.
If you do not see why a lot of the tea party protestors are being called racist then you need to open your eyes or do some research online of some of the signs being held up. When people are holding up signs with Obama with a noose hanging down next to his neck or have signs depicting Obama to be a monkey and holding bananas. This is blatent racism. It is one thing to disagree with his policies and another thing to publically hold signs in a public widely covered protest with obvious racial overtone. We live in a world where pictures will be taken everywhere and posted on the internet, there is no hiding anymore. Not everybody who disagrees with Obama is a racist, I would assume most people are not. But when there are people holding signs like these at the events and you are at the event, then you are going to be grouped with these people. Guilty by Association. The real problem I see is that because people do not agree with Obama's policies they have no problem of the racist posters being held up. Any republician or democrat should be appalled by anybody holding up these signs. The fact that 10,000 + tea party protestors saw these signs and did not have a problem with it is the troubling thing and if you do not have a problem with these signs then chances are that you are a racist and do not want to admit it.
btn, Perhaps the 1 million tea party protesters did not have a problem with the signs because they did not see them. I watched the coverage on TV and did not see one racist sign. People there said they didn't see them. There may have been an isolated racist or two there but they did not reflect the sentiments of the crowd. It is also quite possible the racist signs were carried by Democrats trying to make the Republicans look bad. The Obama Joker poster was created by a Democrat. The protester carrying a racist sign at Dingle's rally was exposed as a Dingle supporter. The speeches at the rally were not racist. I heard not 1 racist comment or saw one racist sign at my local town hall. The media sniffs them out and gives them overexposure.
carolinagal, where DO you get your numbers? One million, Really? The official estimate, which I'm sure is way beyond your means to find out the facts about that racist march you're referring to, was set at 75,000 TOPS. Look it up. No wonder the republican party is in the tank and going further down the rabbit hole.
You drastically underestimate how informed Carolinagal is I assure you. I would wager much more informed than most people on this site.
anniebelle, Where do you get your numbers? I've seen as high as 1.8M. There is no official count so you can't argue that I am wrong any more than I can argue that I am right. 433,000 is the min I would go with, based on Metro transportation receipts. There are aerial photos (and I am not talking about the discredited ones) and reports for police who observed the inauguration crowds. However, keep on low-balling the numbers. That only infuriates all those patriots who went there on their own dime to make a statement only to be dismissed by arrogant politicians and the press. It only energizes them even more. And as far as your accusation of racism, it is unfounded and in poor taste, if not down right immoral on its own.
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