ACLU founder wanted socialism

A recent letter to the editor states that the group that protects the Constitution, pursues justice and defends freedom is the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU.

The ACLU was founded by Roger Baldwin, who was a card-carrying Communist. He said he was a Communist and belonged to the Communist Party. According to the Alliance Defense Fund, Baldwin 15 years later wrote, "I am for socialism, disarmament, and ultimately for the abolishment of the state itself. I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal."

The ACLU has fought to keep Bible and God out of our schools, so now we have law enforcement officers walking the halls of our schools to keep students and teachers from being killed. They do not want God in anything.

Socialism is followed by Communism and Communism by dictatorship. Look around the world today and you will see how it came about in many countries.

THOMAS A. CREWS

Sportsmanship at times overlooked

In the heat of any sport competition, a gesture of true sportsmanship may occur, but may be missed by the spectators.

Recently such an incident did occur during a softball game at Frost Field, by the UTC Lady Mocs vs. UT- Martin Sea Hawks.

UTC leading 4 to 0, UT-Martin at bat with bases loaded and two outs. The batter hits a sharp grounder down the first base line, but the UTC first baseman makes a brilliant off-balance grab of the ball and with a cut-off throw home would end the inning.

However, forced to throw off balance, the ball sailed high over the catcher's head, allowing UT Martin to score their only two runs.

During the ensuing excitement by the UT-Martin players, there was the UTC freshman catcher, Natalie Powers, patting her teammate and consoling her with a big hug.

This was the first error of this excellent first baseman, a top hitter on the team.

UTC went on and handily won the game.

I will never remember the score of this game, but I shall remember the spontaneous act of compassion exhibited by this young lady for her teammates. This is really what makes lady softball so very special!

BARNEY ROTH JR.

Letter to president: Where's all the gas?

Dear Mr. President:

Since gas is getting so expensive I decided to take your advice and get one of those electric cars. The dealer said if I was lucky, I might get one in February of 2012. So, I went to the Race-Trac to fill up before gas hits the $4 mark.

I noticed a sign on the pump that the gas contained 10 percent ethanol. That reminded me you said that adding ethanol would provide more gasoline. Whatever happened to that plan, Mr. President?

Well, anyway, ADM and the other ethanol producers are making one heck of a profit so I guess someone is happy with this situation. I know my wife sure isn't. She said every time she goes to the grocery store prices have increased another 10 percent or 15 percent.

I read in the paper where not many people are going to Florida this summer because of the fuel costs, but I hope you and Michelle enjoy your next trip to France on Air Force One, Mr. President.

Oh! I got an idea, sir. Why don't you allow drilling for oil until the electric cars become available? Or would that hurt the feelings of the conservationists?

DARDEN NEWMAN

Signal Mountain

Dalton mayor going too far

I am pleased that your paper has not backed away from the unification issue concerning Dalton and Whitfield County (article, March 8).

Like many others, I voted for Mayor David Pennington, and now I feel that he has overstepped his boundaries.

Many of us live in Dalton and enjoy paying the extra taxes for services the county does not provide. Most of all, I am pleased that the school systems have thrown a wrench into the mayor's plans.

I think it only fair that elected politicians hear from those of us in the hinterlands (30721 ZIP code), too.

BRUCE MITCHELL

Dalton, Ga.

GOP at odds with reality

The modern Republican Party has been taken over by a reckless and reprehensible ideology that lacks compassion for the unfortunate and believes that it is immoral for government to provide for the general welfare of the people as stipulated in the U.S. Constitution.

America's infrastructure is crumbling, education is floundering, the rich get richer while the poor get poorer and the middle class is disappearing.

This is contrary to the patriotic purpose of government that the founders of our nation proposed. The purpose of the government is to help the working people, not the most wealthy individuals or corporate special interests.

Republicans and the tea party are at odds with reality.

They conveniently forget that even the conservative demigod President Reagan realized the need to raise taxes to balance the budget.

Between 1982 and 1984, Reagan oversaw the largest tax increase in U.S. history.

Republicans pledge to end health care reform, organized labor and the collective bargaining process. Social programs are under siege, yet Wall Street and Big Oil are amassing huge profits.

The Republican panacea for America's ills: more tax cuts for the rich, lax regulations and the nullification of constitutional government.

JOHN HIGHT

Guns on campus serve as deterrent

As an avid gun user and enthusiast, I try to keep up to date with current gun laws.

Lately, there has been the question of whether or not to allow qualified students and faculty in Tennessee to be able to carry their concealed weapons on campus.

Utah already has passed a law allowing colleges in its state to permit campus carry at their own discretion.

Other states such as Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, Nebraska, Mississippi and Michigan all have a pending campus carry legislation.

Some might think that if the schools were to allow guns on campus, there would be a greater possibility of death. However, I believe that if this law was passed, violent acts on campus such as the ones at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois could have been stopped earlier or even completely prevented.

MICHAEL SHEPARD

National debt out of control

At one time, our federal government's budget and spending amounts were in the millions. About 70 years ago, this became billions until about the year 2000. Now it is trillions.

How do we grasp these numbers? A million is about the number of seconds in 12 days. A billion is about the number of seconds in 32 years. It has been just about 63 trillion seconds since Christ was born!

To spend a trillion dollars at $100 per second would require 320 years.

Our deficit of $1.6 trillion for just this year means an additional debt of $16,000 for every employed person in the United States. If we paid off the deficit for 2011 at $1 a second, it would require 32,000 years!

What do you do when you want to spend more than you earn? You can temporarily borrow (go into debt), but soon there comes a time when your bank says "no more." What may soon follow that is your personal bankruptcy. That state of affairs is just where the U.S. government stands today. You cannot spend your way into prosperity!

JACK L. PARNELL

Collegedale