Chattanooga on right path; more manners, please
I am a 70-year-old woman and a visitor to Chattanooga. I haven’t been here in 30 years, and I was really surprised about the development and growth. Chattanooga is turning into quite a wonderful town. I came for the mountains and waterfalls, and I really enjoyed them.
I noticed that people on the Southside are very kind and friendly. They stop to let me walk across the street.
However, people on the North Shore blow their horns when I’m looking for parking or trying to figure out if I can turn at a street. Do they actually think that blowing their horn is going to help a confused old lady?
They have all these cool shops, they ride their bicycles, they run, they act like they are very socially conscious and with it, but they actually are rude and not helpful.
Yes, they are in a hurry to their yoga classes to meditate, but they need to learn some manners.
I think all Chattanooga needs now is a lot more good music, and it will be right up there with Nashville and Memphis!
Mary Ann Ohsol
Lebanon, Ky.
Reversing ‘arrow’ Trump’s mistake
In 1927, British astronomer/physicist Sir Arthur Eddington coined the phrase “arrow of time.” Conceptually, time appears to be inherently directional. The past lies behind us, is fixed and irreversible, and accessible only through memory or documents. Alternatively, the future lies ahead of us and is not necessarily fixed.
This asymmetry of time is referred to as the arrow of time – the uniform and unique direction associated with the apparent inevitable “flow of time” into the future.
The socio-economic arrow of time, if not immutable, also appears to be inherently directional and driven by imperatives no less compelling than the laws of physics.
Policies that ignore the realities of the post-industrial economy in which the relative importance of manufacturing has diminished and that of services, information and research have increased are categorically anachronistic.
Unilateral, isolationist policies that disregard the symbiotic interdependency of the word are infeasible and perilous insofar as they rely on autonomous action as opposed to collaborative problem solving.
Notwithstanding the political expediency of such policies, they are decidedly intellectually bankrupt. In essence, Donald Trump’s policies that attempt to reverse the socio-economic arrow of time are as bankrupt as some of his companies.
T. William Alexander
Will Griffin debate creationism?
June Griffin objects to a statue of Clarence Darrow being erected near the existing statue of William Jennings Bryan in Dayton, Tenn. And she’s willing to debate Darrow supporters face-to-face. I accept her offer to debate evolution vs creationism – anytime, anyplace.
If the people of Dayton do not want an educated view on the origins of life, that’s their prerogative. That tunnel vision leaves unanswered questions about the origins of life which evolution readily explains:
For instance, why are 99 percent of all species that have ever inhabited the Earth now extinct? Why does the human optic nerve travel through the back of the human eye, creating a huge blind spot in our vision? Why did the Black Plague wipe out a third of the population of Europe? You can say “the devil did it,” but that rings hollow in the 21st century.
If Ms. Griffin is serious about debating, let’s exchange contact info through this newspaper. Who knows, it might be as entertaining as the original version.
Roger Davis
Signal Mountain
Protect Arctic; restrict ships
I agree with UTC professor Shawn Trivette that it is incumbent on us all to protect our natural resources. One way to help protect the Arctic National Wildlife is for Canada and the United States to forbid ships from approaching closer than 12 miles from land unless underwater hull-cleaning has been completed within the previous two weeks.
Cleaning removes invasive marine species attached to the hull. This restriction would slow commercial development of our national treasure and delay the inevitable toxic contamination of ocean sediments near land. Protecting our oceans protects our food chain. The underwater hull paints used on the majority of the world’s ships are either copper- or silicone-based. The latter contains tin.
Copper and tin are toxic to marine life. They kill or poison barnacles, mussels, etc., that attach to the hull. When they fall off, they pollute the ocean floor. In addition, both types of paint erode over time, which further contaminates sediments and our food chain.
A 1,000-foot underwater hull painted with silicone contains nearly 300 pounds of tin compounds. Global ocean pollution from underwater hull paints is estimated at 1 million tons per year.
Jack Zollinger
Syria aside, how about the guns?
First of all, let me say that I was appalled and horrified at the TV images of children being gassed in Syria. And I understand the outrage felt by President Trump as his reason for ordering the missile strikes.
But I was dismayed at the bellicose outpouring of support by the members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Nearly all cheered him on!
Where were those politicians when the parents of children slaughtered at Sandy Hook were asking for mandatory background checks of potential gun buyers? A simple gesture that also had the overwhelming support of our citizens!
They weren’t asking for much. Just a little something to honor the memory of their children and the hope that it might prevent someone else’s children from the same fate that had befallen theirs.
But it was just too tough of a task for Congress to manage. I guess it was just easier to take the NRA’s money. No fuss, no muss. Enough said.
Fred Kuhn
Signal Mountain
Settle down, give Trump a chance
Instead of reading the comics, I now get my laughs from the editorial pages.
Here are a few examples: First Paul Krugman thinks Trump was naïve about Syria. Really? Krugman knows more than Trump and his military advisers? Pomposity at its best.
Another columnist says Trump is good at changing the subject if he is asked a question he doesn’t want to answer. What politician doesn’t?
A letter writer hoped Trump voters were happy since Trump has done nothing he said he would do in four months! Guess this writer was expecting Twitter speed. Gee, do you think it might take six months? We forget so quickly. Obama’s first promise when he got into office was to close Guantanamo. Eight years later? Is it closed?
On a cruise recently, I asked Canadians, Australians and Argentineans what they thought of Trump. Australians and Argentineans said they understood the immigrant problem, as they were having it too. Canadians said: Give him a chance.
I complained about his gross comments. They said, yes, but he’s not a politician. If you want politically correct, we have the wrong man. Let’s go with Canada! Give him a chance.
Sharon Guy
Cleveland, Tenn.
‘Pour’ vs ‘pore’ error rankles
I have resisted being an obnoxious Grammar Nazi up until now (except for those close to me), but finally it has happened. I have let it pass when the word is misused by young reporters, but now it is on the editorial pages (April 12, “Cold Case Unit Paying Off”).
One does not “pour” anything over documents, papers, evidence, etc., unless they are on fire.
The correct word is “pore” – “to study carefully.”
Spell check will not save you here.
The grammar police will only issue a warning this time – no arrest.
Roy C. McKinney