Letters to the Editor

Area fortunate to have museums

Thanks to the Times Free Press and various florists for the Christmas tree display at the Hunter Museum, and besides, thanks to Volkswagen, there was no charge for entry since it was the first Sunday of the month! Each of the trees was special, and the one decorated with a variety of light bulbs was so unique!

We are fortunate to have many museums in the area. The permanent exhibit and special exhibit now on at the Museum Center at Five Points in Cleveland is excellent with a gift shop better than many in larger museums!

The iPod addition available to those visiting the Lynn H. Wood Archeological Museum at Southern Adventist University is a wonderful extra explanatory device. Thankfully it is open not only to students at the university but free also to individuals, schools, and all faith groups.

I have fond memories taking my children and grandchildren to the Discovery Museum and of course our many wonderful historical museums in the area.

Hopefully all residents in this community will take advantage of visiting and supporting these enjoyable and educational opportunities. (Thankfully retirement in this area offers so many outlets for choices and energy.)

RITA VITAL

Ooltewah

Know truth early, then accept it

Sure, when people are taught what the Bible says, and what it does not say, some get offended.

Sometimes the truth hurts. But isn't it much better to know the truth to begin with and accept it than to discover you were deceived and hurt much worse by a lie in the end.

JENNIFER BRADFORD

Community wealth Messianic solution

"We the people" established the Constitution to "promote the general welfare." Colonials fought the Revolution because "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." "Equal" means "being the same in quantity, size, degree, or value." "General" means "affecting or concerning all or most people."

Now suppose 100 people divide $100 as America's wealth is divided. Fifty each receive a nickel. Forty receive 70 cents each. Nine receive $4 each; and one receives $33.50. The middle 50 receive an average of 37 cents each. Who among us would call this fair? Wealth distribution is precisely how colonial aristocrats achieved Federalism's ultimate goal -- to put lower classes in their place.

I can think of only two ways to achieve justice. Confiscate wealth from the top 10 percent through taxation or revolution and redistribute it (Marxism/socialism). The top 10 percent voluntarily pool their wealth -- or hold it in common -- "to promote the general welfare." Community wealth is the Messianic solution.

America's oppressive distribution is clearly inequitable and unconstitutional. Is lower class lawlessness somehow worse than elitist lawlessness? Do we solve the problem ourselves or face the inevitable?

RICHARD D. VICKREY

Answer to voters, not the party

Well, 2010 is a voting year. There are signs, phone calls, (not only asking for the vote but also a donation), ads in publications and letters to the editors saying how good this Republican or Democrat will be for all. The truth is, neither will be.

I am 85 years young, and down through the years I have seen only representation by the party, Democrat or Republican. The party has the money to finance "their man," and after they win then you do as you're told. The best thing that could happen would be to remove the center aisle from both houses of Congress and have them sit together, by the state they represent, and answer to the voters at home and not to the party. Have you ever heard a newscast on TV where the politician being interviewed said: "We didn't do it, the other "party" was in "power."

CHARLES J. HORTEN

Ooltewah

Differences make security simpler

With all the hoopla about airport security and the ways to prevent an attack, and at the same time identify terror suspects, it appears that the real solution is staring us right in the face! There is a very noticeable difference in the appearance of the Western and Eastern people. You will also notice that most American citizens have a single name, versus a three- or four-syllable name by most of those from other countries. There are also differences in actions, habits, and personalities from most foreign visitors.

Why make all passengers suffer such intense scrutiny when the obvious answer can be found in the things described above?

Who cares about the ACLU and other organizations that are more concerned about defending those who do bad things to our country rather than standing up for what's right and normal.

RONALD CASE

South Pittsburg, Tenn.

Bypass problems by moving to city

Despite all of the problems that have occurred due to the rockslide in the Ocoee Gorge a couple of months ago, there is still not a need for a bypass road to be built there.

All roads need maintenance, and while the gorge road can be buried in rockslides every century or so, a bypass road cutting across the mountains can also have washout areas which close down the road.

So many of the people who have been complaining about the closed road are people who commute to Cleveland or Chattanooga from Ducktown each day. Here's an idea: move to Cleveland or Chattanooga! The rest of us live outside of the mountains and visit them when we can, and this is something you can do too. It is a waste and bad for the environment to be driving so far each day anyway.

Also, the Ducktown-area hospitals can be improved so that better care can be had without traveling through a twisting river gorge or across high mountains to get to the big cities. There are also the hospital helicopters which transport the most needy patients anyway. So there is still only a need to fix the road we already have.

WILL LANCE

Health-care plan wobbly on cost

I have never been this upset with my government. Much of my angst is due to what is in the health-care bill, what is not in the bill and the method by which it was developed and passed.

Many of the lies have to do with cost. The Congressional Budget Office will again estimate the cost of the final bill based on the assumptions it gets from Congress. What is the cost to the other states?

Will the CBO even consider that? It doesn't make any difference to me whether I am taxed by the Feds to pay their liability or taxed by the state to pay its liability.

Likewise, excise taxes on high-end insurance plans, taxes on medical appliance manufacturers and taxes on the pharmaceutical companies will all be passed to the consumer but will not be in the CBO cost figure.

It seems clear to me that this bill does not improve health care and it does not tax just the rich, unless rich is defined as anyone above the poverty level.

JULIAN WILSON

Cloudland, Ga.

Making a mockery of players is wrong

I am disappointed by the recent articles about the UT basketball team.

I'm a huge fan and recent UT graduate; I was very upset by the players' poor decisions. However, I feel like I'm reading People Magazine rather than a newspaper when I see the nickname Mark Wiedmer has dubbed the four players.

I think it's utterly inappropriate for an adult to attempt to make a mockery out of four young men. It would be more productive to channel that creativity toward something thoughtful.

For example, instead of suggesting Pearl clean the team's image up by requiring the boys to wear socks the same length, how about suggesting former UT athletes become mentors to the current players? Does that not have the potential to improve athletes' behavior more than suggesting the team wear ankle socks?

I believe as a writer in Tennessee, the proper way to handle this type of situation should be to write the facts, share productive ideas, and give kudos to the players who positively represent their team and themselves. The team needs support from their fans and community now more than ever. Let's leave the poor attempts to entertain readers to the Kentucky newspapers.

KELLY POWERS