Taxpayers pay for 'official' trips
Re: a letter to the editor in which the writer wondered if the Democratic National Committee was paying for President Obama's "stump" trips on Air Force One:
President Bush used Air Force One for political purposes more heavily than any of his predecessors and traveled at no cost to his campaign simply by declaring the trip "official" rather than "political." According to the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, the cost of presidential and vice presidential political travel, "When the President and Vice President travel for campaign related purposes, a political campaign reimburses the federal government for part of the travel costs. The amount of reimbursement is the cost that certain trip participants would have paid for commercial airfare for a comparable route." Taxpayers foot the bill for the rest of the associated travel costs for campaign travel.
So when President Bush declared his trips "official," the taxpayers footed the entire bill at no cost to his campaign.
REBECCA ROCHAT
Action was needed to tame recession
The antigovernment people are dissatisfied with five items. These items are bailing out the financial systems, the use of the stimulus money, the possibly violating of the Constitution of the USA by wanting 50 different state's rights types of religion, the ObamaCare and the Supreme Court.
Therefore, how could anyone have taken a chance on what might have happened if the bailouts and the stimulus recovery had not been placed in action, especially after what occurred to the people in the 1929 "Great Depression," four years before FDR was president?
If Obama had not tried to prevent the 2007 deep recession from falling into another "great depression" by intervening with our government money, would we be in another great depression today?
There is the same attitude today as in 1929, by "groups of people" who think the U.S. government should not interfere in the "free enterprise systems, even when there is fraud from greed, causing these systems' failure.
In addition, the global economy effect of corporations investing in lower monetary value countries has caused many negative effects on our jobs and the U.S. economy.
CARL BRACKIN
Georgetown, Tenn.
Don't miss out on being involved
In the 21st century, it is very easy to avert your eyes from painful world events. Two hundred-plus TV channels, social networking sites, Internet, sports, video games, etc. give us many avenues of escape.
Are those the cure for all of our ills? Playing video games? Watching football for 12 to 16 hours on a weekend? Spending more time online than we do with our families? Are we that disconnected with real life?
Apathy has set the tone for our behavior because in many instances we are not required or obligated to do anything. Left to our own devices, we have taken on blissful ignorance as a way of life even though all the information one would need to learn how to become more helpful in a world struggling to keep itself together in the wake of decades of war, countless natural and man made disasters, famine and a host of other ills is only a few keystrokes away.
Like children averting their eyes from an injury. We need to look. Volunteer, write letters to public officials, and get to know people in your neighborhood - get involved! You won't regret missing a couple of hours of TV on your deathbed.
JASON
MUNSON-JACKSON
Do careful research for quarry permit
I've been following the issue of the quarry in McMinn County because I grew up there and my parents still live there. I return to the area frequently with my children. We swim, canoe and fish in the Hiwassee, and our favorite fishing spot, one that has been a favorite for many people over the years, is the old mill dam where the Oostanalua Creek flows into the river. Over the years, I've caught several types of fish there and of course have seen many snakes and turtles. I can't imagine the quality of fishing, or the quality of the fishing experience, would survive if the quarry is built.
I would also like to comment on the subject of hellbender (salamanders) since they were mentioned in an article in the Chattanooga paper (we called them mudpuppies).
I'm not sure if there are hellbenders in the creek or river now, but I can state without hesitation there were hellbenders in both the river and the creek when I was growing up in the '70s.
Please (TDEC) consider all the facts and ensure the proper research is done before issuing a permit to forever alter the ecosystem in this area. Once the damage is done, it cannot be changed.
DAVID M. JOHNSON
Watkinsville, Ga.
Healthy choices available at UTC
The article "Pound Foolish" (Sept. 23) is no big surprise. The youth of America (and elders) are constantly making bad decisions in regard to their diet and exercise regime. We have been watching the obesity rates of the United States rise for years.
As a student at UTC, I can attest to the many healthy choices available on a daily basis.
There are many ways to maintain a healthy diet if one so chooses, as well as a state-of-the-art athletic recreation center to maintain the balance of a healthy lifestyle.
This problem boils down to self-restraint and healthy habits learned inside the home. These two things are continually lacking in our society, especially as it pertains to diet and exercise.
ALEXIE MESSER
Offer solutions, not excuses
"Bredesen warns of TCAP scores," Sept. 21.
I respect Gov. Phil Bredesen for getting the word out about the schools' low test scores, but I think that he should be doing more to promote raising these scores instead of issuing a warning.
It feels as though he is offering an excuse in place of a solution to this issue.
In comparison to other countries in Europe and Asia, the U.S. is just not as proficient in the education department as we should be.
Tennessee does not even rank in the top for education in the states.
So while getting the information to the public about the deficiencies of our current education system is the first step toward fixing this problem, there should also be a plan of action (temporary and flawed as it may be) that can direct the Tennessee education system in the path that will lead it to finding a better way out of our current educational predicament.
I am not so naïve as to believe that this is an issue that can be resolved overnight, but it is something that needs to be addressed in full.
KELSEY BOZARTH
Cemetery actions are backward
Grave mistakes made at Shipley Cemetery:
I always thought it was against the law to be in a cemetery after dark, so I'm still trying to understand how a group of teenagers trespassing in a family cemetery could get off scot-free while the caretaker is arrested and jailed.
I'm a fourth-generation descendant of Orson Shipley, who started Shipley Cemetery, and I was born and raised on the surrounding land.
There is a history of vandalism in the cemetery, tombstones turned over and all kinds of messes made. "No Trespassing" signs have been ignored.
TOMMY ILES
Graysville, Tenn.