Remind leaders they work for us
Our county leaders have forgotten that they work for us.
They think we work for them. Our leaders have no care about seniors. They don’t care if you have food on the table, water to drink, heat for your home or medicine.
All they want is our homes that we have paid for all these years and our money, all of it!
They talk about their budget. What about ours? It is my firm belief that they are trying their best to take our homes by higher taxes or they are too stupid to know that people on fixed incomes cannot keep paying the bills.
I don’t think they are stupid. It’s time to vote all of them out of office.
Every time you turn around it is more money, more money. Where am I going to get all this money?
Their best guise is the schools need it. Why do they lay off teachers but keep these high-paid coaches, and bus kids all over the place to play football, basketball and baseball?
I did not send my kid to school to play ball. I sent him to get an education.
Wake up, people. You know what I am saying is the truth. They need to cut taxes on seniors back to what they were in 1991 and freeze them there.
DAVID COOKE
East Ridge
Majority rules in health care
American health care means 51 percent of American citizens have health care, the other 49 percent do not have health care; the democratic way, a simple majority.
The 49 percent who do not have health care pay the health care insurance for the politicians who vote against the 49 percent who do not get health care, i.e. democracy, and it’s legal.
FRANK DEPINTO
GOP opposition to Obama laughable
I find the Republicans’ opposition to anything Obama and the Dems try and do, based upon claims of unconstitutional spending, laughable.
Boehner, Cantor and the rest act like they’re protectors of the Treasury. Why did they go along with the largest expansion of government in U.S. history, with an equally large increase of the deficits, when they were in power?
They cut taxes for the super-wealthy, borrowed money from the Communist Chinese to fund their ill-conceived war in Iraq, blocked reforms for veterans’ care (not to mention the poor treatment of wounded troops) and pushed fear and lies to continue their policies until the 2006 elections.
I volunteered in 2003 to go to war while I was in the National Guard. I receive VA benefits from my service-connected injuries. If it weren’t for the VA, I wouldn’t have any health care at all. To block health care, based upon the lie that reform would destroy the “best” system in the world, makes no sense … it may be the best, but if you can’t afford it, what good is it?
These Republicans in Congress get free socialized health care but don’t want you to have any hope of affordable health care. So much for compassionate conservatism.
ROBIN FLORES
Runoff fee hinders churches’ outreach
Regarding the Sunday, March 14, Rant. I would like to tell you why churches should not pay the water runoff fee, whether big or small, for parking lots.
It would affect the effectiveness of the churches’ outreach to all the world.
Matthew 28:19-20 commands us to go, baptize and teach all nations. Bayside Baptist Church follows the Word as we have missionaries who go to China, Malta, Montana, New Mexico and elsewhere. In our community we have various programs for small children, middle and high school students. Because of the overcrowding of middle school students, a building construction is now in progress.
To reach a community and nations, we need money. When you slap fees for such as water runoff, you are hindering God’s Word being spread to all nations.
Think about it!
By the way, we have two water runoff ponds for the parking lot as was required when designing.
CHRISTINE WALKER
Harrison
Some teachers feel pressure to ‘inflate’
Each year at this time, I begin receiving calls from teachers who feel pressured by administrators to do “whatever it takes” to get students eligible for credit recovery. Credit recovery is accomplished by asking high school teachers in each subject to put together assignments for students with grades 63-69. When students complete the assignments, they will be given the passing grade of 70. Now, some teachers are being asked to give additional extra credit to bring students with averages of 55-62 up to a 63 so they will be eligible for credit recovery.
Many teachers consider credit recovery a “professional insult” because they teach all semester and some students do nothing because they know they can pass anyway. Teachers also wonder how students who do the right thing and do their work feel when others do nothing and still pass. Giving students grades they do not earn also put teachers in an “ethical dilemma.”
I would like to confidentially talk to teachers who feel they are being pressured to inflate grades. If any former teachers, retired or otherwise, would be willing to go public with their feelings about credit recovery or any other sort of grade inflation, contact Rhonda at rthrm@aol.com.
RHONDA THURMAN
County School Board
Crisis demands parental action
Once again, two young men caught up in gunfire! At midnight! And one would assume the assailant(s) were juveniles too. Sad commentary. It’s past time for parents to get reinvested in their children’s lives. This is not a white or black problem. It’s a society problem.
I would advocate a plan where parents are held legally liable for their child’s actions. Not criminally liable but legally responsible. What about a couple weeks of home confinement for the parents of wayward youngsters. If this were at stake, do you think those two young boys would have been on the street, targets for violence at that time of the night? The answer is no, because the parents would be vested in their lives.
This is not just lip service. We have a 15-year-old who is safely in his bed by 10 most nights. And in his home every night. A lot of that is credited to our son who is happy being a true teenager. But also because we have drawn the lines with him on his expected behavior and responsibilities to the community. Should we fail over the next three years … come put the ankle bracelets on us.
MICHAEL
BLASSINGAME
Payday lending an economic asset
From reading the letters to the editor about Sen. Bob Corker taking contributions from the payday loan industry, one would think he was taking cash from al-Qaida.
The last time I checked, in Tennessee payday loans are still legal. Not only is it legal but according to the industry Web site in 2007, they contributed $676 million to the state economy, paid $425 million in wages, $159 million in taxes and employed 10,000 Tennesseans. Obviously they provide a service for certain members of society that other financial service firms don’t.
Have any of the critics of the industry driven through the UTC campus lately? You can drive by the Brenda Lawson Student-Athlete Success Center, the McKenzie Arena and if you drive by Finley Stadium you will see a huge Check into Cash sign over the back of the scoreboard. In addition, Brenda Lawson has been a trustee of the UC Foundation and Alan Jones is a member of the UTC Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. Funny, I have never heard anyone criticize UTC for taking money from contributors who made their fortunes in the check-into-cash industry.
And, oh, one other relatively significant item, the check-into-cash industry has never received one penny from the U.S. taxpayers.
DOUGLAS JONES
North Chattanooga