Refusal to rehire Hoback is wrong
I'm angry due to the Times Free Press story (Sept. 16) concerning former police officer, and Iraq veteran, Mickel Hoback.
It's right that the federal court rules in Mr. Hoback's favor. It's wrong he wasn't rehired by the Chattanooga Police Department who fired him, though apparently served very well. He was police officer of the year in 2007
I'm a retired Air Force officer with 1,000 hours of combat flying time. My son, a retired Air Force master sergeant, flew on "Cold War" intelligence-gathering missions over Soviet air space. My grandson is an Army master sergeant, twice in Iraq, with the Purple Heart. We have emotional scars, traumatic stress and bad memories.
My post-military jobs included the Tennessee Department of Corrections. My son is earning his master's degree and teaches at a military academy. The Army "used its head" and retained my grandson in a job where his combat experience is used.
We were given the opportunity to continue serving in meaningful jobs. Not so, Mr. Hoback. He was good enough to lay his life on the line in the Middle East, yet the CPD doesn't consider him good enough to use in any investigative or administrative position.
It seems the CPD fired Officer Hoback in error; without resolving conflicting opinions.
RICHARD HUGHES
Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.)
'Best' selections aren't very good
Thanks, Chattanooga, for being such a "franchise" city. Your Best of The Best picks for restaurants have made it much simpler for me to find a good place to eat. Now I'll simply go to the chains whose corporate menus are intended to please the least sophisticated palates. Me, I like to keep it safe, too.
I mean, how could a Zarzour's burger be as good as one designed by a national chain that serves thousands of them every minute? How could a Bluegrass Grill breakfast stack up to an empire with breakfasts identical in flavor and presentation from Minnesota to Florida?
I wish our local restaurateurs would quit confusing us with their idiosyncrasies and their locally-sourced menus and innovative cuisines, their introduction of the new and mastery of the old. Don't they know we want to eat what was new in other cities 10 years ago?
Furthermore, who wants to eat a single freshly-prepared Asian entrée when they can gorge themselves at gigantic food troughs with hundreds of entrees staying plenty hot at steam tables? Plus ice cream and Jell-O!
Yep, chains and buffets, that's what I want. Let's get some more here so we won't have to wait in line.
ROBERT BIRES
Obama's words condescending
Concerning an article about President Obama (Sept. 26):
In a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus on Sept. 24, our president spoke about 16.7 percent unemployment in the African-American community.
He said, "It gets folks discouraged. I know. I listen to some of y'all. ... Shake it off. Stop complainin'. Stop grumblin'. Stop cryin'."
He stated he wants their help in his re-election to make things better. Unemployment is a serious problem in our nation, and yet our president, a highly educated Harvard attorney, used condescending speech to the caucus. Why did he say "y'all" and drop the "g's" at the end of complaining, grumbling and crying?
Was it to sound like one of the folks? How disingenuous!
We need to get to at least one root of the problem. Churches in our country need serious discussions backed with action and finances to help young black boys and teens be mentored by strong, godly men.
Instead of tragic murders in our own city, there would be confident, educated men ready to take their roles as husbands and fathers who will break both the cycle of broken families as well as staggering unemployment.
SANDY HARRIS
Lookout Mountain, Ga.
Wealthy senators follow the money
Sen. Bob Corker's wealth is estimated at $21 million to $100 million. Sen. Lamar Alexander's wealth is $10 million to $34 million. They are two of the richest men in Congress, yet Big Business has found them to be surprisingly affordable.
When bankers say "jump," Corker says "how high?" When insurance companies want someone to carry their water, Lamar is their boy. They will defend oil, gas, bank, insurance and pharmacy subsidies to the last breath.
When Obama calls for the rich to pay their fair share, Corker and Alexander will fight to coddle their wealthy cronies and protect their own obscene wealth. They happily cut programs for the poor, elderly and unemployed, but are gutless when it is time for the rich to "pony up." The same is true for Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, who is "only" worth $1 million to $3 million.
Recently, the chairman of the local Grand Oil Party stated that they want a government "for the people." For Pachynerds, "people" means rich white men who own BMWs and AFLAC and who were born on third base and thought they hit a triple.
TERRY STULCE
Editorials follow Republican line
I have come to the conclusion that the Republican Party does not like people who think for themselves. Instead, they play to the undereducated, uninformed and the extremely religious with distorted facts, half truths, scare tactics and sometimes outright lies, because they know these groups are the easiest to influence since they seem unable or unwilling to grasp the big picture, and eagerly follow ideals that sound convincing to them because they either don't want to or won't take the time to consider all of the facts of the matter at hand.
Some of your editorials are perfect examples of just that. I have noticed on several occasions, the details of your editorials subject matter were either distorted, or conveniently omitted and you manipulated the facts until you obtained the desired pro-Republican viewpoint which you then proceeded to pass off to the public as fact. Judging from some of the letters to the editor lately, others see this too.
MICHAEL
CHRISTOPHER
Dalton, Ga.