Student surveys would offer valuable feedback
As a student, there are scores of complaints I could lodge with the Hamilton County Board of Education. Frankly, I would if I thought they would ever be read or considered with any regard.
Many of the problems are not within direct control of the local school board and instead require the attention of the state.
It isn't often that the school district surveys its students about things that are in any way relevant to the obvious problems. Generally, the district evaluates issues at school board meetings or with administrators directly. This permits little input from students. When students have only a small window to lodge complaints when there are significantly many of them, problems tend to go unfixed, unnoticed, ignored or given attention and assumed as satisfactorily fixed shortly thereafter.
Students should be given more opportunities to speak on problems they're facing (i.e., curriculum, school lunches, under-performing administrators, etc.). If school districts cannot be aware of student complaints, their problems cannot be handled.
Gabrel Armstrong
Efforts to stop blight praised
The placement of a hearing officer to assess and evaluate code violations is a positive step to address blight in our community. Combined with the code enforcement strategy at the police department, the city is positioning itself to seriously address health, safety, quality of life and property values.
I hope the city will take the blighted commercial properties seriously and hold owners accountable. Even the most modest infractions of the property maintenance code can be the start of the erosion of confidence in a neighborhood and quickly spiral into decreased property values and associated problems. The community is only as strong as its weakest neighborhood.
Stuart Wasilowski
Pence good, but can't vote Trump
I went to see Mike Pence in Dalton, Ga., where about 1,000 gathered, plus media, volunteers and security. If there was anyone there of color, they weren't obvious. Whether this is an indication of demographics or a sign of potential voter interest remains to be seen.
Pence is an articulate and comfortable speaker; his style is dramatically different from Donald Trump's. He did not engage in crowd-baiting, although several in the crowd chanted, "Lock her up." He was quite impassioned about supporting the presidential candidate as if to assuage fears about Trump's seeming volatility. The meeting was courteous and fairly run without any need for security intervention.
My point is that if the Republican Party had paid attention to the fractious nature of conservative talk-show hosts and the all-or-nothing mentality of some of its leaders, this rally could have presented a presidential candidate of real value. When I vote this fall, it will not be for Trump, but that doesn't mean that Hillary Clinton gets my vote either. I've voted Libertarian before, and I'm not afraid to do so again.
Peter L. Steyn
A Trump vote is unthinkable
It seems incomprehensible that Donald Trump could credibly raise the issue of Hillary Clinton's misuse of e-mails while secretary of state.
Trump has suggested that our country's adversary, Russian dictator Putin, have his cyberespionage experts gain access and publish all 30,000 of Clinton's e-mails.
To date there has been no evidence that any of Clinton's e-mails have been accessed by anyone but those entitled to them, but Trump wants them stolen and made public by our enemy.
If there has been a single statement by Trump that has not been a lie, a baseless smear of an opponent, something inimical to our country's interests, a demeaning statement about women, minorities and those with disabilities, I have yet to hear it.
The president of Mexico told Trump outright that Mexico would not pay for the border wall. Then to hear Trump say that as president he would make them do it, how could anyone even think of voting for Trump?
John Bratton
Sewanee, Tenn.
Reporters failing to press for truth
Much has been written about Hillary Clinton's "complicated relationship with the truth" (a comment by one friendly to her campaign). These critiques reach back at least 20 years to New York Times columnist William Safire's charge that she was a "pathological liar."
What is so frustrating for folks who care about the truth is the absence of common-sense questions from intelligent reporters. Clinton's spokesman continues to refer to her use of a single server as a "mistake" (Sept. 3 TFP), when in the real world a "mistake" cannot apply to a conscious decision in violation of law over a period of four years.
The same mouthpiece says "she has taken responsibility for it," when in the real world an admission of irresponsibility has real consequences.
What does it mean to accept responsibility if there are no consequences? Honest reporters should press the point, stripping away the veil of obfuscation and falsehood.
Gary Lindley
Lookout Mountain, Ga.
Baby 'roo lives, but not all babies
Last Tuesday, the TFP ran an article about a woman serving as a foster mother to a baby kangaroo whose mother had died. The little joey is now thriving, thanks to Melissa Burns.
The lead article in the Region section was about NARAL targeting defeat of Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn. She is pro-life and serves as chairwoman of a special House panel investigating abortion practices. NARAL is spending a considerable amount of time, energy and money to defeat Black in November.
They call those of us who are pro-life "anti-choice." Our family is blessed to have adopted two of our three children. Adults are the only ones who can make this choice for those who have no voice. The baby has no choice. If one kangaroo has been given a chance to live, why not give babies that same chance? There are many people willing to adopt.
Sandy Harris
Cloudland, Ga.
Body cameras are eye-opening
The city of Chattanooga is considering body cameras. Some council members are worried about accountability since officers are able to turn the cameras off.
Some think body cameras will help with citizen accountability. In Tennessee, just about everything is subject to the Open Records Act; daily reports of citizen actions in our schools and homes. The SROs should be able to release the reports for all to see the work of some delinquents in our schools. Drunken disorders at many homes, where people of all economic levels demonstrate "reality TV-style actions" would be an eye-opener for many.
The cost of the camera systems could be offset by pay-per-view subscriptions, adding to the transparency everyone seeks and saving taxpayers money.
Forum writers and citizens have expressed the need for additional transparency in law enforcement. If the community really wants transparency, then let's have transparency for all.
Doug Wilson
Bush's 'what if' legacy lives on
What if George W. Bush had listened to Clinton when he warned him about al-Qaeda at the change of power in 2000?
What if he had not run the U.S. economy into the ground and put $800 billion on a credit card before leaving office? What if Congress had given President Obama just a little help with the problems he inherited from previous administrations, instead of working overtime to try to make him a one-term president?
Without an Iraq invasion, there would be no ISIL. Our soldiers would not have had to pull multiply tours in a war that did not have to happen.
My only hope is that the war dead go screaming through his dreams. What if we elect Trump, a duplicate of George W. Bush? May God have mercy on our souls.
Benjamin E. Long
Apison, Tenn.