Conservatives put U.S. future at stake
Present conservative politics could lead to a dictatorship in the U.S.A. The conservative masses react with fear to ideas raised by alarmists who manipulate them and reject information that does not fit their definition of reality. Conservatives accept pundits, Fox News and other conservative outlets who spread distorted information and blatant lies. Someone saying the right things could act as Hitler did when he used the fear of Communism to create a dictatorship.
Most conservatives claim to be Christians, yet abandon faith, hope and charity for anger, hate and accusations. Conservatives are prone to excuse and forgive their leaders of inappropriate behavior, especially sexual. Their reaction to Scott Roeder’s murder conviction shows a morale distortion. They accept activist judges overturning decades of precedent by the Supreme Court, because it promotes their political advantage; i.e., that corporations are “individuals” in free speech.
What will happen when corporate millions get behind a candidate willing to pander to the right in the quest of power? (Krupp and other German industrialists backed Hitler in the 1920s.) Conservatives won’t question this person, if the ideologically correct words are used. If you’re not an ideologue, think about it. America’s future is at stake.
ROGER A. MEYER
Use common sense on stormwater fee
The City Council received formal recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Committee it appointed to study Chattanooga’s stormwater fee. After hearing the committee’s report and the council’s questions, it’s clear to me the City Council didn’t understand the stormwater program it passed in October 2009 and still doesn’t understand fundamental problems within the current fee structure.
Rather than blindly following the mayor’s proposal again, the council should apply common sense. Can businesses, whether non-profit or for profit, who employ residents of this region, afford increases of 300 percent to 1,000 percent on stormwater fees in this economic climate?
Should Chattanooga’s stormwater fee exceed the state average by more than 300 percent and be higher than any city in the Southeast?
Hasn’t TDEC cited the city for an inability to demonstrate what they’ve spent stormwater revenue on in the past?
Doesn’t the Blue Ribbon Committee’s proposed budget of a $10 million enterprise fund give back $4 million to the city’s general budget?
Hasn’t the city administration failed to produce a budget that demonstrates why they need $21 million for stormwater?
I challenge the City Council to use common sense and approve the recommendations of your Blue Ribbon Committee.
JOHN BARBER
Senior Associate Pastor
Brainerd Hills
Baptist Church