Letters to the editor

Political correctness is willful blindness

Your Sunday editorial contends that that there is no connection between Islam and radical Islam, and anyone who could harbor such a view has to be an Islamaophobe. A phobia refers to an unreasonable or unfounded fear or dislike. That ain’t gonna convince the American public who does not have its head in the sand that we’ve just got to learn to hug the thugs who have nothing but contempt and hatred for our way of life.

Your political correctness is willful blindness to the reality. Stop being an apologist for the “moderate” Muslims. Instead, publish one of their leaders’ letters that openly and directly condemns the “radical” Muslims’ terrorist acts. Bet’cha can’t find one. Any guesses as to why?

PAUL HARMON

Hixson

Pension allotment projects bad image

The recent vote by the Board of Education to provide themselves retirement benefits has provided our elected officials another opportunity to erode the confidence of the public they are supposed to serve.

(1) There is no rationale for making any new benefit program retroactive. Candidates were aware of the compensation system when they ran for office. Changing rules retroactively creates the impression of a pay-off, no matter how innocent the intent may be.

(2) Few, if any, board members are serving for the compensation. There are far easier ways to earn money. Any indication they receive more than their legitimate expenses detracts from the purpose they are serving. Their example must be above reproach.

(3) The cost for this program may be small, but the image it projects is horrible. Any increase in compensation for the leadership of our school system while cuts are being made in the classrooms simply cannot be justified to a skeptical public.

(4) The only way to recover any respect for the way this situation has been handled is to reverse the previous vote and publicly chastise its originator.

JIM McAFEE

Board needs to ask citizens for benefit

I have read about the School Board voting for themselves a pension with sadness.

How can board members say this is deserved? This was done with intent of getting it past all of us. I see this as stealing from everyone else because they did not ask for a benefit from those who actually pay for it.

I can’t believe we have become the type of people who take from others like those in D.C.

The school budgets have been very tight and with the economy it will become worse, yet our board votes for themselves more of that smaller budget. This is beyond wrong, especially when they will come to us for more money. Now they are trying to hide by not showing up at a meeting. This is so wrong and should [not] be the way we conduct business.

BRUCE CALDWELL

Signal Mountain

Chamber council doing good things

The North Hamilton County Council of the Chattanooga Area Chamber was recently honored with the Council of the Year Award at the Chamber’s annual meeting for the work done in 2009-2010. We could not have earned that award without our member businesses and community. We thank them for their support.

This work included our efforts at the 2009 Fourth of July Celebration at Soddy Lake, where we raised money for our Community and Education Fund. From this fund we contributed to many community and educational efforts. Highlights include a land study for Rails to Trails in the hopes our community will benefit from the economic growth such a trail will spur, in addition to health benefits.

We also spearheaded the second annual Harvest Food Drive to support the Soddy-Daisy food bank and provided scholarship monies to three Sequoyah High graduates among other activities and grants.

We invite area businesses to come see what all the buzz is about. The North Hamilton County Council holds informative meetings on the third Thursday of each month from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. at Budweiser of Chattanooga, 200 Shearer St., off Dayton Pike. Meeting cost is $10 with lunch provided.

MARTY CABE

Propaganda targets older generations

Those of us alive during WWII recall Hitler’s propaganda machine convincing upstanding German people that Jews were bad. Six million Jews were exterminated.

There is a theme of many wannabe congressmen and congresswomen using a modern-day propaganda machine to do away with Social Security and welfare. The targets for disposal in this case are our parents and grandparents. Their dilemma is that, with global warming, there are fewer ice floes upon which to abandon them. So where are we going to send them?

Has anyone else wondered what is behind this lock-step movement, the one creating automatons answering to the command of some powerful force? If you’re really wanting to consider a possible answer, I would suggest that you read the article by Jane Mayer in a recent New Yorker found at this link: “newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=1”.

Today there are true Christians and rhetorical Christians. Jesus told the rich young ruler “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor”: True Christians followed His advice and have been blessed. Rhetorical Christians say they followed the rules but didn’t act and go away sad.

Are you a thinker or robot? Choose wisely because your eternal future depends on it.

JIM ORRISON

Editorial reveals more than intended

The Chattanooga Times editorial of Aug. 28 attempting to justify pensions for part-time county school boards is more revealing than intended. I appreciate your arithmetic. It exposes how politicians can pick-pocket the poor taxpayer.

The editorial also shows the editorial writer is out of touch with real life. Many a former full-time worker would trade his meager company pension for such an unsubtle benefit for a part-time person.

The editorial rightly exposes the underhanded notice of the original agenda vote on the retirement benefits. Chief Financial Officer Tommy Kranz and certain school board members obviously conspired to rush the vote to get the pension benefits into effect before outgoing school board members left office. I question Mr. Kranz’s weak explanation of not having time for a more ethical addition to School Board agenda. Where’s he been for the last year?

A pension for part-time service is not an appropriate use of taxpayers’ money. Even the county school system has more pressing needs for funds.

ED ELLETT

Hixson

Simple recovery plan is needed

[Economist John Maynard] Keynes had one thing right regarding the economy: Perception often creates reality when it comes to the individual and corporate decision to act in the marketplace. Thus, illiquidity in the market is frequently the result of an uncertain future economic environment.

However, an economic recovery plan needn’t be overly complex. A somewhat simplified threefold strategy will improve both the short-term market and the long-term U.S. economic foundation.

First, eliminate far-reaching government regulatory programs (i.e. health care reform) that do little more than cause future economic uncertainty and do nothing to better the sector they were intended to improve. This will also limit the out-of-control government expenditures that add to the deficit and put the country’s economic future in a certain degree of peril.

Second, curb temporary economic stimulus programs that do nothing to increase consumer activity in either the short- or long-term.

Instead, third, create additional permanent tax cuts that return the purchasing and economic stimulus power to the country’s most efficient group, the consumers.

While the previous plan is simplistic and not comprehensive, it nonetheless provides the foundation for sustained economic recovery and market-driven growth. We could conjure, and seem to be pursuing, a much more treacherous economic recovery strategy.

JOSH PAUL

Signal Mountain