Highway 27 has become a raceway
It was gratifying to read of the police department's taking notice of speeding drivers on Signal Mountain Boulevard.
Perhaps the traffic division will consider extending that vigilance to the narrow, crowded stretch of Highway 27 between Signal Mountain Boulevard and the river, where motorists and large trucks routinely exceed the speed limit by 10 to 15 mph and generally violate every other safe driving practice.
There is no noticeable police presence there, and there has been none in recent memory. Attention to this might have helped prevent the bridge from being the raceway that it has become.
JAMES L. NICHOLSON
Autos not problem with emissions
I am glad to see Claude Ramsey leave the position as county mayor.
I voted for him each time he ran except this last time. I basically have two reasons for not supporting Claude Ramsey -- his $10 emissions test through the County Commission and his failure to support the property tax freeze for senior citizens as the state Legislature and voters of Hamilton County have approved.
I think Ramsey and the commission should have at least discussed the issue of the tax freeze and given their reasons for supporting or denying it.
I hope the next county mayor will be more supportive of our senior citizens as well as our citizens who can barely survive as it is much less pay this extra $10 for the test and possibly hundreds of dollars for unnecessary repairs to be able to pass the test.
The autos registered in Hamilton County are not the pollution problem in this area; it is the thousands of black smoke belching diesel tractor trailers, dump trucks and other commercial vehicles that travel on our roads daily.
BILL VINCENT
Soddy-Daisy
Carter will work hard as mayor
Mike Carter for our next mayor is a positive step in the right direction.
I worked as a volunteer victim's advocate at the Hamilton County Courthouse and I talked many times with Mike. He is a very devoted public servant and he strives for excellence in all of his endeavors. He really made a difference in our justice system, and I marvel at the interest and good will he has always generated toward people.
He exudes an aura of authority and respect while also being very personable. The people of Hamilton County will fare well having this brilliant, hard-working public servant as our next mayor.
DIANNE BROCK
Social Security cuts put strain on retirees
Social Security taxes should never have been cut, unless you want to destroy Social Security.
The Republicans led the charge to cut Social Security taxes and demanded that they be cut. When you cut funding going into Social Security it just puts more of a strain on making the payments to retirees.
The Republicans want to destroy Social Security and Medicare. They don't care how it is done as long as it gets done. They want every retiree to have to depend on private insurance companies for their insurance. They want everyone who is on Medicare now to have to pay private insurance companies for their medical needs.
They want cuts in Social Security payments and they don't care who it hurts. The Republicans fought to retain the current tax cuts for millionaires. That should show everyone who they care about. They just don't care about the little man or retiree who depends on Social Security.
CHARLES M. HICKS JR.
Cohutta, Ga.
Stop complaining about long hours
Recently Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have complained about having to work in the lame-duck Congress. Perhaps they need to be reminded of a few things.
The vast majority of people do work up to Christmas day and then return for the week between Christmas and the New Year; some actually work more than one job during that time as well as the rest of the year. Many others, like soldiers, policemen, firemen, EMTs, and nurses, actually work on Christmas day.
The 9/11 First Responders, whose health care these senators are too tired or petty to vote on, often worked on Christmas Day. It is shameful that they would complain about having to do their well-paying jobs with generous health-care benefits while delaying a vote for health care for these heroes.
As for START, perhaps if they had started studying the treaty in April when it was signed, they would not be having such a difficult time now.
So, I ask these senators, "stop complaining, man up, and do your job and please, stop disrespecting our military personnel and our first responders by complaining about your long hours."
PAT PULLIAM
Sewanee, Tenn.
United Way is thankful for space
United Way of Greater Chattanooga wishes to express deep appreciation to the city of Chattanooga and Mayor Ron Littlefield for providing warehouse space at the Farmer's Market lot for two unique programs -- the Chattanooga Furniture Bank and Gifts in Kind, managed by The Salvation Army under contract with United Way.
Since opening in February, the Furniture Bank has helped more than 500 homeless people move into permanent housing by providing free furnishings. The Gifts in Kind warehouse, located next door, provides products to churches and nonprofits who serve many of the homeless and disabled in our community at very little cost.
The forward-thinking of the city and the mayor have converted the old Chattanooga Farmers Market property into a resource to help the homeless. Interfaith Homeless Network's (IHN) Family Day Center sponsors Kids Café, tutoring programs, workforce development training and other activities each day to help families make the transition from homelessness to self sufficiency. These services work together in this central location to provide a helping hand to some of our most vulnerable citizens.
United Way is pleased to work in partnership with the city and other local services to serve our community.
MAI BELL HURLEY,
Chair, United Way's
Building Stable Lives
Committee
Could Obama be a Republican?
I write these words, hoping that Barack Obama will prove me wrong. If he does I will joyfully retract what I write.
We Democrats have a real problem; our president, theoretically head of the Democratic Party, has reversed virtually all of his stated positions and has capitulated to the disloyal opposition. Further, he has taken about one half of the U.S. House Democrats and all but 12 Senate Democrats with him on this vacation from sanity. They have compromised, they say, with the Republicans. In this case, it really was capitulation rather than compromise. The rich got meat and potatoes and working people got table scraps.
The Republicans have enjoyed calling the president names for the last two years -- fascist, socialist and a communist -- all meant in the most derogatory way. I suggest a far more derogatory term; I think that President Barack Obama is a Republican.
So what are Democrats, abandoned by our leaders, to do? We stick to our principles, knowing that if Democrats do not represent the hopes and dreams of working people against the monstrous forces aligned against them, no one will. Better a minority that stands for working people than a majority that stands for nothing.
JIM LEWIS
Chairman, Marion County Democratic Party
South Pittsburg, Tenn.
Just call Riverbend country music fest
I read that Miranda Lambert is going to be the highest paid performer in the history of the Riverbend Festival.
My first question was who is Miranda Lambert? I should have known that she is yet another country act. Why not change the name of the festival to the Riverbend Country Music Festival? Those of us who love rhythm and blues are left wanting every year. Are R&B acts too expensive? Are they that busy? Was Sade booked? Is Usher too big?
ERNEST HARRIS
'Don't ask, don't tell' affects our economy
Walter Williams (in his Dec. 19 column) quoted Adolf Hitler when he said, "How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think." That could never be truer than the thinking behind, or the lack thereof, in reversing the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Opponents to reversal said it would weaken the morale of our fighting force during a time of war .
I agree. However, our military men and women already know who is straight and who "ain't." So what will change? Attitude. As in civilian life, I believe homosexuals in the military will have special protection above and beyond the law. But that is the tip of the iceberg. How will this ruling ultimately affect the economy?
Benefits for heterosexual couples will be extended to homosexual couples in the military and greatly increase appropriations. Uncle Sam will pick up the tab while looking over his shoulder for the ACLU.
God's moral law is written into everything He created. As a nation I believe we are sowing to the wind and will certainly reap the whirlwind by mainstreaming homosexuality in both military and civilian life.
HELEN FUSSELL
Wildwood, Ga.
School board missed opportunity
Your article on the recent school board decision to table consideration of bonuses to Hamilton County School system teachers/school employees describes a situation I find terribly distressing.
We say that education is one of our most valued institutions in the United States; yet, we impose restrictive policies on our teachers, we over-regulate what goes on in the classroom, and we grossly underpay our teachers.
Why would our school board not eagerly pursue an opportunity to award bonuses to teachers and school employees when the opportunity exists to do so? Perhaps our school board members see their roles as agents of management and control and not as advocates for good education and good teachers. It would certainly seem so from the school board's recent action or lack thereof.
Is it time to elect some school board members who have a more expansive, positive and supportive view of their respective duties?
PHILIP L. SMITH
Soddy-Daisy
Answer to Atlanta's water woes
Has anyone ever tried to figure out how much water from the Tennessee River finds its way into the Gulf of Mexico?
Instead of all that water going to waste, why not send it to Atlanta? Build a couple more dams. Talk about an incentive. That would really circulate a lot of money and get thousands off the unemployed line.
Some of you might remember the WPA. Those who don't, check it out. It helped to put a lot of groceries on the table. The water going to Atlanta would be replaced by the melting icebergs and that would help keep the oceans from rising, thus solving another problem. Dang, I wish I had some say-so in this. But I will let some politician come up with this idea.
BOBBY MCKEEL
Extend neighborly love to homosexuals
There is no more choice in sexual preference than there is in hand preference. It is not a choice when we first fall in love with a schoolmate. It just happens. We may try to suppress the feeling, but the feeling itself is no illusion. It's exactly the same with our original preference to write with the left or right hand. At one time left-handers were treated as we do homosexuals today (the Latin word for "left" is the root of the English word "sinister").
Religious beliefs play a major role in our consideration of the homosexual. The marvel of the Christian religion is the simplicity and clarity of what's required to be pleasing to God, namely the development of a heart dedicated to universal neighborly love. When homosexuals in our society can be as open as left-handers, we'll discover that they are just as loving (and unloving) as heterosexuals.
I'm still ashamed I didn't promote the civil rights of African-Americans in the 1950s. I'm not going to be ashamed this time. Homosexuals are already in our armed forces, but, unlike left-handers, they have to keep a zero profile. It's time for that to change.
PHILIP RUDISILL
Blairsville, Ga.