Graves makes right choice in his voting
The article, “Graves, Hawkins duel again” (Aug. 2) discusses Hawkins’ attack on Graves because of two of his “nay votes.” One was HR 1469, “Child Protection Improvements Act of 2010,” which was about punishing child molesters. The other was HR 5566, “Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act,” which was about animal cruelty. He was in good company. Congressmen Ron Paul and Paul Broun also voted “nay.” If Graves and Hawkins were dueling for a seat in the Georgia state House, I would agree with Hawkins. However, they are running for the U.S. House of Representatives.
There is no constitutional basis for the federal government legislating against these heinous crimes. It should be done at the state level. If we Georgians want our freedom, then we cannot cherry pick unconstitutional federal laws we like and reject unconstitutional federal laws we do not like. We must reject all unconstitutional laws. If we do not do this, big government will win.
I applaud Congressman Graves for his understanding of the U.S. Constitution and making the right choice.
BERT LOFTMAN
Pickens County, Ga.
Maybe rewards can be cheaper
So, Social Security is going broke. Retired people are a long way from being the only recipients. A handicapped person (mentally or physically) receives a check of more than $700 per month. Maybe it would be cheaper to reward some people to not reproduce.
A well-meaning group has received a large grant to prevent 16- and 17-year-old girls from dropping out of school. Two problems: 1. The intervention is about four years late. 2. If they find out how to get the parents to cooperate, I hope they will let the school system know.
Lastly, the city was in an uproar last spring about the water runoff fees being increased. While I didn’t follow the story very closely, I have to assume this was just a way to raise local taxes – maybe hire a few people to test some of the rainwater. If the congressional mandate is the problem, why have none of the candidates for Congress suggested amending the bill? Are we out of new ideas?
CHARLIE HOLDER
Refusal shows why Littlefield must go
Chattanooga Organized for Action, a grass-roots organization of concerned citizens, has made three open-records requests to the mayor’s office for the simplest information about how our city spends our money.
We believe this information is valuable to making an informed decision as to whether the mayor’s extreme property tax increase was in any way justifiable.
Again and again the mayor’s office exemplified a pattern of refusing to comply with COA’s requests for public records, in violation of Tennessee state law.
Our requests were simple. We asked how many temporary part-time workers the city employs. How much does the city spend on mowing grass? Can we see the full budget?
Regardless of whether the nondisclosure is willful corruption or extreme incompetence on the part of the mayor’s office, it constitutes a pattern of top-down corruption. We believe there is an obvious solution: We must recall the mayor.
That is why we are urging all our fellow citizens to demand greater transparency in government, and to hold our elected leaders accountable, by joining the movement to bring change to Chattanooga. Let’s fire Ron Littlefield! Find out more at Recallron.com.
CHRISTOPHER BROOKS
Organizer for Chattanooga
Organized for Action
‘New world order’ fulfilled
The U.S. became very rich due to her industrialization. I grew up in India using pencil to most other consumer goods “made in U.S.A.” A few came from England.
The “new world order” preached by President George Bush senior became a reality. The WTO/NAFTA “world order” changed the equation of American lifestyle.
Simply visit the local high-end and low-end department stores or hardware store. How many goods can we find with “made in U.S.A.” About 90 percent of the consumer items, other than food items, are from China.
When President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972, China had perfect equality as a land on two wheels (bicycles), but within four decades, they are riding on four wheels, and the U.S. may be pushed back to two wheels, if events are moving in this direction.
Work creates wealth (wages) and now we don’t have jobs. Blue-collar jobs are gone overseas for cheap labor, and we were living on plastic cards during the last decade, and finally everything is crashed upside down. Ten percent unemployment, tight credit, depreciated real estate value, etc., make the worst conclusion and the “new world order” is fulfilled.
A.S. MATHEW
Ringgold, Ga.
Pepper spray hurts pet dogs
On July 22, an AT&T truck parked in front of my daughter’s home in East Brainerd. The driver came up her driveway on private property and went (behind) her fenced-in backyard. Her precious dogs were in their yard and naturally barked at him.
Her neighbor saw him take out pepper spray. She asked him not to do that. My daughter ran out when she heard them cry out in pain. She asked him if her dogs were bothering him. He responded with a loud laugh and said not now.
She isn’t an AT&T customer. He had no reason to be there. She called the police and he stated the spray was stronger than they used on the force. Her pets were hurt badly. The vet stated that internal damage could occur.
She was burned and hurt when she tried to shower after taking care of them. She took pictures of the truck and has the number of it. His supervisor wouldn’t disclose the man’s name, but we now have it.
The authorities were notified along with the news and everyone else who could assist in this situation. Readers beware of AT&T employees. What was he thinking?
GENEVA G. FREEMAN
Dunlap, Tenn.
GOP sending in the clones
All those Republican candidates want voters to know just how much more faithfully they worship at the conservative shrine than their opponents. If you listen, they all sound the same, as if they were produced in a Petri dish from existing lines of George W. Bush stem cells.
Let’s call this election the Bush Clone Wars. Nathan Deal and Karen Handel are nearly identical, but they insult each other differently. Nathan Deal wants to cut taxes, cut spending, raise revenue somehow, keep gay citizens from having equal rights, and use the government to force pregnant women to have babies. Handel wants, well, pretty much the same thing.
The Bush Clone Wars are heating up in Tennessee, too. The candidates want, well, see Deal and Handel. The local Republican Party has a clone who left a deficit. It doesn’t get any Bushier than that.
How about those clones sending in the clones? Handel has received Sarah Palin’s nod. Sarah Palin, it has been said, is an inspiration to quitters everywhere. If elected, will Handel quit, too, after 18 months?
Deal has received Newt’s nod. Newt, it has been said by other clones, sometimes had really terrific ideas.
WILLIAM D. HEARD
Ringgold, Ga.