All have degree of power, choice
Voting and praying fixes everything!
I believe individuals have their own degree of power and choice.
I don’t believe a person who is elected, appointed or hired as a government official makes them suddenly wiser.
I’m an atheist who believes humans are as intelligent and powerful as it gets. And no dreamy “heaven” can replace the beautiful earth.
Don’t be afraid to assume your individual power and influence others to create a global society of ethical, intelligent humans.
TAMI HEISELMAN
Receive, Tenn.
Repeal trade agreements
Now that we have a change of power in the House of Representatives there is all this talk of repealing many of Mr. Obama’s programs, including health care.
While in a repealing mood, they (House) really need to help the people in our country, the U.S. of A., by repealing NAFTA and CAFTA. This would really help put people back to work.
House members should show some courage and do the right thing for once, and do not worry about how this is going to affect the checkbooks of House members.
Ben Franklin was correct in wanting the “turkey” as our national bird. Because over the last 30 years, our leaders in Washington, D.C., have become a group of real turkeys.
RON JAMES
LaFayette, Ga.
Guest shooters support team
The Soddy-Daisy High School Scholastic Clay Target Team would like to express our sincere appreciation to Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond, Don Welch from WTVC Channel 9, Tony Sanders from the Tony Sanders Outdoors Radio Show, Lane Hillis (owner of Old Farmhouse Game Preserve), Ronnie Dodd (former Red Bank chief of police), Gary Youngberg (from Alhambra Shrine Pipe and Drums) and all others who gave their time to come shoot in our Celebrity and Sponsor Sporting Clays Competition at Montlake Classic Clays on Nov. 13.
These important people could have been anywhere else on a Saturday, and they chose to give their time and attention to high school students in the outdoors.
In today’s busy world, it’s refreshing to see leaders in our community take time out of their busy schedules to mentor student athletes.
All involved left an important impression on our young people, one that won’t be soon forgotten. On behalf of our team, thank you very much.
TREVOR FULLER
BUTCH ALLEN
Soddy-Daisy
Cuts unacceptable for average person
Congratulations to the voters, who in large part put incumbents back in office and voted out the ones who were voted in on 2008 because we were in such a mess at that time.
Now the pledge to the American people is to reduce the deficit by cutting Social Security and Medicare for seniors, eliminating tax deductions for mortgage interest and keeping the tax cuts for folks making over $250,000 per year.
I can see this scenario acceptable for a few, but to the average taxpayer and senior citizen it is hard to believe they keep putting these politicians back in office.
Can we not put people in who propose to cut foreign aid, cut welfare handouts to able-bodied Americans, cut aid out to all illegals, stop wars that do not threaten us, and concentrate on working toward a better America?
This is, at least, something for the voters to think about in the future.
JACK PINE
Dunlap, Tenn.
Suggestions to lower debt
It seems that the Debt Commission wants to punish the American taxpayer and make us pay more for government overspending and for government waste and abuse.
Instead, we could immediately lower our debt by doing away with subsidies to non-U.S. citizens and by doing away with duplications of services by the state and federal governments.
1. The United States should immediately drop out of the United Nations.
2. Cut all foreign aid, except disaster and emergency aide when requested by a country.
3. Adopt the Fair Tax and abolish the IRS.
4. Abolish the Department of Education, as this is a duplicate service. Every state has its own Department of Education. Also look closely at every duplication provided by state and federal government.
5. Secure our borders first. Then figure out a program in which the immigrants here could earn their citizenship.
Congress should consider all or any of these suggestions.
BOB & TERRY CARPENTER
Hixson
Try this method to hold elections
Here’s a new way to hold elections:
Have all registered voters register their e-mail.
Then all candidates can send the voters an e-mail with what they plan to do when elected.
The voters then Google them when they get the e-mail, to check them out.
If they see anything they like, they can then save them in “my documents.”
Just before election day they can review all the saves and decide on the one best qualified.
Then click on that one, open it and install it.
If, after a fair trial, they are not happy with how they perform, they just click on it and then click on undo and delete it.
Then check out the saves again and try another one until they get one they like.
It’s all free and saves everyone a lot of time.
HAROLD SHARP
Hixson
Speed-limit signs a waste of money
I noticed, as I was driving on the freeway, the posted 55 miles per hour speed limit. Car after car was blowing by me like there would be no tomorrow.
Is it possible that these people were on their way to a MADD meeting and running late? Maybe they were on their way to express an opinion on prayer at football games and worried that God would not hear their silent prayer that He would shield them from every driver who obeyed the posted speed limit.
The state should stop paying for the manufacture and the deployment of speed limit signs on our highways and freeways.
Maybe if our government had made stealth aircraft out of speed signs we would have saved millions, if not billions, of dollars of taxpayers’ money. After all, they must be invisible.
STEVEN R. MORRISON
East Ridge
Blame economy on person in mirror
I read the letter “Some voters need sobriety testing” and had to comment about serious inaccuracies.
The author gave a litany of Nevada’s economy implying it was Harry Reid’s fault.
George Bush inherited the greatest economy in history and created the second worst economy in American history.
Clinton left the largest budget surplus ever, and Bush created the largest deficits ever. Under Clinton, more jobs were created than any time in history, and it was followed by the worst period of job creation since Herbert Hoover.
Bush’s last budget was $1.4 trillion in the red, and Obama’s first budget reduced it by $122 billion.
Obama inherited an economy losing over 700,000 jobs a month. Private sector jobs have increased for each of the last nine months.
The people complaining the loudest now are the same people who were cheering Bush on as he more than doubled the national debt and implemented policies that wrecked our economy. More money was added to the national debt under Bush than all presidents combined going back to George Washington.
The people complaining the loudest now should look in a mirror and blame the person looking back. It was their silence that allowed these problems to occur.
JOHN GLENNING