Support law to protest Ocoee water releases and more letters to the editors

Support law to protest Ocoee water releases

I first thought Jay Greeson's recent defense of the whining corporate leviathan, TVA, was a parody.

Poor little TVA, with its phalanxes of lawyers, tefloned public relations officials and banks of millionaire executives. It just can't seem to hold out against those itty-bitty, busted-knuckle raft companies struggling to add jobs in our poorest regions.

TVA wants to hike the rates it now charges Ocoee raft companies, claiming offset costs for the water it is "wasting" by releasing it to bring a dead river back to life -- which it ought to be doing anyway -- generated in its minuscule, ancient power stations along the Ocoee. It is the only power company in America charging for release water.

TVA's status as "victim" is hilarious. It's like Goliath sniveling about the weight of his armor as he goes out to kill that pesky shepherd boy. The plucky little rafters and outfitters are truly taking on a giant.

I support the little guys -- the hardscrabble rafters and small businesses up the Ocoee Gorge.

TVA does not own the water. We do. These releases must be protected by legislation, as apparently that's the only way to stop TVA.

Lisa Lemza

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New York Times wrong on NRA gun limits

In reading the Saturday New York Times editorial, the opening sentence reads, "Seventy thousand people are expected to attend the National Rifle Association's convention in Nashville, and not one of them will be allowed to come armed with guns that actually shoot."

Do your editors only read the New York Times and take its word for it?

My wife and I attended on Friday, and at no time did we walk through metal detectors or get screened for weapons. Members were walking around with firearms on full display, or open carry, as it is called and no one thought anything of it.

The only firearms that must have the firing pins removed were those on display by the vendors. It would be nice if you would get your facts straight. But I suppose that would be counterproductive to your agenda.

Steve Ericson

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Social media creating damaging disconnect

I am asking your readers to consider the time they spend on social media, such as Facebook, Linked -In, Twitter and SnapChat. We should ask ourselves, is social media making us less social? Let's think about what is actually happening to us.

Are we spending more time looking up what others are writing or posting online than we are actually spending with friends and family? Are we losing our connections to friends and family because we have gotten caught up in the almost constant stream of comments and postings from people we don't really know? Are these people really our "friends," or just acquaintances, or sometimes not even that, just friends of friends of friends?

In a world where technology changes constantly, we should ask if we are becoming less social and less human. All I ask is that we step back and consider whose opinion really matters, whose advice is meant for our best interest, who cares for us more.

Social media may be a way to stay connected in a superficial way, but face-to-face conversations keep us connected in a real way.

Matthew Powers, Mt. Juliet, Tenn.

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