Trim defense spending
Why are the Democrats and Republicans in Congress willing to trim money from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, (instead of) defense. We spend more money on defense than 10 other countries combined, and we are paying for tanks and aircraft that we don't need. The F35 plane cost $125 million to build and it is not operative. We want programs that help Americans. These people say that they have defense plants in their district and they lobby them heavily. I guess the weapons we pay for are given to the people who are trying to overthrow their country. We have all these defense weapons and the only attack we have had has been by radicals on the World Trade Center. We are spending about $250 billion more now than before. We need to contact our Congress members [and tell them] we are not in favor of cutting the programs that benefit Americans. I am tired of hearing that we need a strong military. We already have the greatest. Let us keep America great by helping Americans.
DENNIS WOODMORE
Thanks to the Skillerns
We are proud of the Skillern family. One of the great American success stories is the unforgettable and extraordinary Skillern family of Fred, Betty and Rees in Soddy-Daisy. The great contribution Fred and Betty graciously made to Memorial Hospital in memory of their son, Rees, will be of great benefit for many families to come. Rees was a great businessman, all of which he learned from Betty and Fred. He was a son any family could be proud of; congenial, big smile on his face, and always a quiet and reserved professional. My wife and I know the hurt of losing a son. We lost two. Curtis Owen at the age of 46 in 1997, after a long, hard fight with leukemia, spending 108 days at M.D. Anderson Hospital and Erlanger. Our second son, Michael, died while on the transplant wing at Vanderbilt Hospital with liver cancer in 2000. Together they owned and operated a very successful truck and automobile tire business. The Christmas holidays seem to be the hardest time, but as we understand it, along with the Skillern family, our greatest hope is that we will see our sons again, and Fred and Betty will see Rees again, in heaven.
CURTIS & DOT ADAMS