Current law makes abortion too easy
hank you, Dr. Randy Davis, for the great Oct. 17 commentary. I would like to add just a few things: As the law now stands in Tennessee, a 16-year-old junior could find she was pregnant, drive to Tennessee, have an abortion and be back home in time for cheerleading practice. Yes on 1 has nothing to do with government control except to restore the common-sense laws that existed in Tennessee before 2000, and exist in the other states around us. Abortion rights groups would have you believe "yes" means pro-abortion, and full government control. Financially, we cannot compete with Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and The League of Woman Voters when it comes to contributions. We, the voters of Yes on 1, are God-fearing people who believe God knows our name before we are born. Christians must take a stand. The No on 1 people are misleading the public.
ANNGAIL LANE, Spring City
No Tennessee state income tax? Ha!
Surely thousands of elderly, retired folks grow tired and angry when we are constantly bombarded with the biggest lie ever told -- that Tennessee has no state income tax! Of course you do! Where do diligent working people put their savings as they prepare for 40 years to retire? We put it in interest-bearing savings accounts or in dividend-paying mutual funds that re-invest our dividends so we can in retirement enjoy the fruits of our labor. Then every year, we are robbed of 6 percent of everything our investments have earned to pay our Tennessee Hall income tax! Shame! Tennessee also has the highest sales tax of the 50 states. We retired here 26 years ago from a state that has a sales tax of half of Tennessee's tax. We also had a large homeowners' tax exemption. The difference in these three items -- income tax, huge sales tax and no home owners' tax exemption-- cost us thousands of dollars every year. Would the governor and our legislators please stop their criminal discrimination against us!
JACK L. PARNELL, Collegedale, Tenn.
Abortion laws from gun guys?
There is a statewide referendum on an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution which would, if passed, enable the state legislature to make laws which would abridge the rights of every woman of child-bearing age. My questions are: Do you want your predominantly male state legislators to decide in what circumstances you can obtain a legal abortion? Regardless whether a pregnancy results from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother? Same question concerning your daughter or granddaughter? One last question. Do you want the same predominantly male state legislators who think it's a good idea to carry guns in bars to decide your reproductive rights? Please think about it, and then vote!
MARILYN DERDEN PHELPS, Sewanee, Tenn.
District not so red; vote Mary Headrick
Dr. Mary Headrick, candidate for Congress in District 3, is fighting the good fight with civility and concern for people over politics. Her intellect, curiosity, empathy and "let's get something done" energy lie in sharp contrast to her opponent's "just say no" obstructionism and alignment with the disastrous, do-nothing, Republican-run House of Representatives. By any measure, Mary should be a shoo-in, but some Democrats may stay home thinking Mary just can't win in this red district. District 3 is not that red -- 27 percent Republican and 23 percent Democrat -- and many Republicans are, to put it mildly, not happy with Mr. Fleischmann. Just look at the results in the primary against Weston Wamp -- a virtual tie. Among the remaining 50 percent of voters, some are independent and some undecided. If you are independent or undecided, please weigh a limp and vacuous record against the sensitivity and substance of Dr. Mary. And, if some of you intelligent, objective Republicans vote for Mary, we won't tell. Democrats, don't let Dr. Mary's potential for serving the common good slip away!
DICK MOREL, Signal Mountain
Kristoff's Muslim tale not convincing
Nicholas Kristoff in his commentary "The Diversity of Islam" (Oct. 13) attempts to convince readers not to feed Islamophobia by putting forth the argument that all modern day Muslims are not radical jihadists. He argues that although 80 percent of Afghan and 16 percent of Indonesian Muslims favor the death penalty for apostasy, only a mere 2 percent of more "moderate" Muslims in such countries as Albania, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan favor such punishment. Let us assume for argument's sake that Afghans and Indonesians are aberrations, and that among the entire Muslim world of 1.6 billion adherents, only 2 percent favor the death penalty for abandonment of one's religious faith. By his own numbers, in a best case scenario, therefore, there are more than 32 million Muslims worldwide who believe in this barbaric form of punishment. This number exceeds the total number of men, women and children living in Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee combined! Are there any great religions practiced today in the Western Hemisphere, based upon Judeo-Christian principles, in which 2 percent or more of worshipers condone death for apostasy? To paraphrase Mark Twain, "Statistics are more pliable, but facts are stubborn things."
MICHAEL J. ZEMA
Consultants won't fix school woes
Tim Omarzu's Oct. 6 article "Fees prompt questions about school consultants" raised the debate of whether hiring educational consultants makes a difference in students' academic progress. I think a student's success is far more involved than spending a tidy bundle of federal grant money on training a few teachers in the latest "breakthrough" methods. Today we somehow believe that if we hand our problems over to an "expert," the issues will be magically fixed. However, allowing these so-called experts to prescribe how teachers ought to teach and children ought to learn is not the answer. Rather, we must allow our students to work with their educational instructors to identify their individual struggles and craft innovative solutions. Developing human capital requires respect for the individual rights and ideas of all citizens, and more "professional" insight will not fix our broken educational system. We must look at our students not as one homogenous entity but as unique people with complex needs before real educational progress is achieved.
LARA PIETRANTONE