Government can’t run your life better
I just finished reading what has to be the perfect example of the mind-set of your typical Progressive. In the April 5 edition of letters, a writer opined that “if government has to step in and take over certain aspects of our lives for the betterment of this country, then so be it.” Read that again. Slowly. Government can run your life better than you can. That’s how Progressives think.
Show me one time in history when that has worked best for the people of a nation. But I guess Progressives are smarter than anyone in the history of mankind. Just ask them, they’ll tell you they are.
And you thought ObamaCare was to help the needy. Suckers. One day our great-grandchildren, burdened with the chains and parasitic nature of government, will despise you for your short-sightedness. But at least it made you feel good about yourself.
THOMAS SCARPELLI
Soddy-Daisy
Noncitizens cause Social Security ills
If anyone is really interested in why Social Security will soon be bankrupt, read the article on the front page of Business section of the Times Free Press (April 1) for one of many reasons.
A noncitizen states their supplemental security income payments were stopped because of the seven-year limit for noncitizens. Since they are now applying for citizenship, they are wondering can they get SSI retroactively back to the time they lost it. In all probability the questioner never paid into Social Security at all but has enjoyed the benefits for seven years and wishes to continue enjoying them.
Almost from the beginning Social Security has been one big congressional giveaway pot that has resulted now in near-bankruptcy.
I am reminded of a marching ditty I heard in Southern California several years ago. “I don’t know but I been told, Uncle Sam’s got a heart of gold — immigrate, immigrate. Bring your mammy and your pappy too, Uncle Sam will take care of ’em for you — immigrate, immigrate.”
They came, they got, we lost!
WILLIAM GODSEY
Fairfield Glade, Tenn.
Listen to partiers rather than critics
In his Sunday column, Leonard Pitts Jr. said, “The tea partiers have been characterized as dangerous and intolerant extremists by people who have read their signs and listened to their rhetoric.”
He should attend a Tea Party himself rather than rely on unnamed people. Surely he knows that members of the Congressional Black Caucus safely waded through a demonstration rather than use the tunnel to the Capitol for their vote to destroy our health system. Later, the press reported that Rep. Andre Carson claimed the N-word was used 15 times. When the Caucus didn’t get the reaction they obviously wanted, they made it up.
Pitts may not be aware that Andrew Breitbart has offered to donate $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund for proof of one instance of the N-word being used by the crowd or if one congressmen will pass a lie detector test. No one has taken him up on it.
The Tea Party activists want representatives who do what 55 percent of the American people want them to do. We don’t need “parents” who do what they think is best for us.
GRANT MADDOX
Resaca, Ga.
Fight for freedom at the ballot box
Columnist Leonard Pitts went overboard deriding Republicans and Tea Partiers for threats to the Democrats over the health care bill. He gave no thought to the Republicans who had been threatened, like Congressman Cantor. Democrats were not the only ones who experienced threats, and it won’t be the last. Our family was threatened when Harold Coker ran for Congress in 1988.
Lee Greenwood came to the farm in October of 1988 to help Harold’s campaign for Congress. Shots were fired at the house on two sides. The police showed little concern. It is a federal offense to threaten or harm a candidate who is running for Congress. The Times did a cartoon showing Harold in battle fatigues saying, “Politics is hell.” That’s what happened to anyone who ran for office then, and it is the same today. People on both sides are apt to threaten, but to blame or deride the other side is wrong too. People will try to harm those they disagree with; that’s the nature of politics. I believe that freedom is worth fighting for, but do it at the ballot box. May God continue to bless America with people willing to run for office even though threatened?
LILL COKER
Don’t lose liberty for a little security
When reading the “Letters to the Editor” section on Monday, I came across a letter that was nothing short of astounding. I quote a small portion; “If the government has to step in and take over certain aspects of our lives for the betterment of this country then so be it.”
I’m afraid America has lost a generation or two of critical-thinking people. I grew up in the ’50s and ’60s and could never envision “giving up certain aspects” of our lives and liberty to the government. This was quite a chilling letter.
What will our country become if we willingly give up our liberty for any amount of “comfort or security”? I fear not for me as I am in the autumn of my life. I fear for my daughter and grandchildren. She would never make such a statement. She was taught to depend on the government for only the basics: defense, road construction, etc. Never for her personal needs such as health care. Benjamin Franklin said, “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” Apparently Monday’s letter writer is not a student of history.
CHARLES BROWNING
Lookout Mountain, Ga.
Wildlife crossings save animals’ lives
Tuesday, I drove to my downtown office by way of Morrison Springs Road and Highway 27. It was a heart- wrenching drive, as my eyes and soul were accosted with the tortured, run-over bodies of animals — raccoons, possums, dogs, deer, and some so mangled as to be indiscernible.
While cars traveling at high speeds are a danger to wildlife, and domestic animals with irresponsible owners, they also cause many car wrecks and injuries to humans. This situation is utterly disgusting, especially given that there is a cost-effective remedy that would also provide employment.
Wildlife crossings are effective and have been employed in a number of states such as Florida, California, Montana and Massachusetts, and are a staple in Europe, Canada and Australia. These crossings allow and encourage wildlife to cross roadways safely. Installing crossings along Highway 27 and major roadways that penetrate rural areas would not only help protect our wildlife, but if handled properly, could provide employment.
Tennessee’s beautiful wildlife is our heritage. Please contact your local and state officials and demand that they protect our wildlife heritage with a program to implement wildlife crossings in Hamilton County and across Tennessee. For more about wildlife crossings go to: www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/wildlife_crossings_wild_animals_and_roads/index.html
AUBERGINE ASHARA
Bill is a step to goal of health care for all
Most Americans are keenly aware that health care legislation is now the law of the land and that 32 million more Americans will have access to health insurance. Most Americans will agree that this is not a perfect piece of legislation, but it is a good start. But at last we are going down a much worn path to reach the goal of health care for all in an equitable manner. To read most of the letters to this paper, it would seem the sky is falling! I would like to point out a few of the positive features of the law. It would provide more funding for primary and preventive care. Health centers served by newly trained physicians, nurse practitioners and doctors assistants. There would be more focus on health maintenance than on treating disease after it had taken hold.
One of the problems we are dealing with now is the alarming number of uninsured who have no choice but to seek treatment in an emergency unit. This is a deplorable situation.
It will take time for all these provisions to become law, but we can begin to see the uninsured receiving treatment that were denied because of pre-existing conditions. Children can remain on their parents’ plan until they are 26. Small businesses can receive tax credit to purchase insurance for employees. It will aid the “doughnut hole gap” for Medicare beneficiaries.
I hope we can stop looking at a hypothetical no and see we must take care of our own.
MARILYN LLOYD
Retired Member
of Congress