Judging by few not so effective
We are advised to not judge all Muslims by a few, but we are encouraged to judge all gun owners by a few lunatics.
How about that?
JOHN SPITTLER, Signal Mountain
Why sewer charge on septic system?
As proud citizens of Chattanooga, my family and I pay all taxes, fees and usage charges which apply.
The exception came with the city's takeover of sewer charges. We chose not to pay that fee.
This eventually led to a water shut-off, forcing us to consider otherwise. Upon doing so, another 24 hours went by before we could get restored.
We have paid thousands in sewer charges over the years in what we believe tantamount to legal extortion.
Our reason for viewing it this way? We are on a septic system.
MICHAEL BLASSINGAME
Warren sounds a bit like Marx
This is a quote from Elizabeth Warren, Democratic senator from Massachusetts: "There is nobody in this country who got rich on their own. Nobody. You built a factory out there - good for you. ... You moved your goods to market on roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory ... Keep a hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along."
This is a quote from Karl Marx, father of modern-day Communism: "The productive forces are the result of man's practical energy, but that energy is in turn circumscribed by the conditions in which man is placed by the productive forces already acquired, by the form of society which exists before him, which he does not create, which is the product of the preceding generation."
The similarities are striking. She may be a presidential candidate in 2016.
ROGER BARTMESS, Ooltewah
Islam, democracy are incompatible
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia once said, "The democratic system is not a suitable system for the people of our region." He had the honesty to admit the incompatibility of Islam and American democracy.
Democratic society is tolerant of other cultures and religions. This understanding is based on some fundamental misconceptions.
There is the erroneous and sentimental belief that all cultures and religions deep down have the same values. The truth is not all cultures and religions have the same values.
How can we possibly succeed in integrating people with their cultural and religious differences that contradict the most basic requirement of integration?
Pluralistic society attempts to make a community of communities, a notion with more room to grow, but multiculturalism attempts to keep these communities at odds with one another.
In a democratic society, a shared national identity is an essential part of citizenship. We can take pride in our country, and it still doesn't matter what culture and religion people brought with them.
Despite all the shortcomings, American society is far more preferable to the authoritarian, mind-numbing certitudes of Islamic theocracy. It is Islam that degrades itself.
AMOS TAJ, Ooltewah
Grandma deserves jail time
I feel sure everyone remembers the story of the grandmother who made the little girl run ... for hours as punishment for eating a candy bar. The child collapsed and died.
Granny is in jail and wants out because "she has health problems." Well, cry me a river.
I hope that lady never lives to see another day of freedom. And the child's mother who stood by and did nothing deserves the same.
CAROLYN R. McCRARY, Hixson