Moccasin Bend matters; protect it
Like the city itself, Moccasin Bend is rich in open space, steeped in history and has an immense potential for outdoor recreation.
But spaces like Moccasin Bend are not guaranteed to us forever. The National Park Service, the federal agency that oversees Moccasin Bend and the rest of the national parks system, needs more than $12 billion in infrastructure repairs. Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park (which includes Moccasin Bend) needs $49.4 million in upkeep.
These things have a negative impact on the visitor experience. They threaten a visitor's access and safety. This also can harm our local economy. In 2015, Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park generated more than $77.5 million in the Chattanooga region. Tourist spending at the park created 979 jobs.
Our elected officials have a responsibility to provide enough resources to keep our national parks open and accessible, to make sure buildings and infrastructure are safe and to preserve historic buildings and sites for future generations.
These places are a part of who we are; they deserve no less.
Bett Adams
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Seeking freedom from religion
Discussions, arguments, lawsuits, legislation - in a free country, in order to have freedom of religion, you must also have freedom from religion.
James M. Hemsley
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Tennessee son needs health care
My son is a singer/songwriter getting a master's degree in Berlin. Like most professional musicians, he will be self-employed, relying on his hard work and talent. However, he cannot rely on his home state for health care.
As he turns 26 and returns home, he is about to lose coverage under our family's health insurance and must find other coverage. Unlike his peers in Germany or in most other states in the U.S., that's a lot harder because Tennessee is his home.
Tennessee did not expand Medicaid under the ACA (Obamacare). That leaves working people with low wages unable to afford health insurance. And insurance companies are leaving many East Tennessee counties.
There are 19 states that, like Tennessee, chose not to expand Medicaid for people like my son. Washington politicians are trying to repeal Obamacare, despite harming millions of Americans.
My son would gladly pay what he can afford for coverage, knowing that he is supporting a system that he will certainly need sooner or later.
Republicans continue to sabotage the health care of Americans by putting partisanship ahead of the interests of their constituents.
Amy Evans, MD, Sewanee, Tenn.
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Earth Day equals Trump resistance
April 22 was Earth Day. What's more relevant than an Earth Day celebration in the era of alternative facts, climate deniers and EPA haters?
Every year we celebrate Earth Day, but this year it was different. A cloud of uncertainty is hanging over the country's environmental policies. Not celebrating Earth Day would have empowered climate deniers.
The Earth is under assault like never before. Unfortunately, environmental activism has not yet gained a strong foothold. If the people really understand the planet is going to be unlivable in 50 years, they would do something about it.
More scientists or people with scientific background should run for public office and promote scientific approaches to public policy, instead of shrewd politicians with conflict of interests. The "March for Science" on Earth Day was the need of the hour to advocate for using evidence in decision-making in all levels of government.
We don't have the luxury of four years of environmental rollbacks. We need to demand - loudly, clearly and in huge numbers - that this administration protects our planet. Earth Day was the perfect day to demonstrate the resistance to Trump agenda!
Ashok Patel, Tullahoma, Tenn.
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Repair Hickory Valley Road now
It seems I am not the only one upset about Hickory Valley Road in the Lee Highway/Shallowford Road area. I drive this road in both directions five days a week. It is a disgrace to the city.
I guess all the resurfacing money has been spent on bike lanes.
James Edwards
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Look closely at Democrats' actions
The Democratic Party showed its true colors when the party chairman Mr. Perez encouraged rioting in Washington, D.C., Portland and other cities.
Liberals continually say that conservatives are hateful and racists. After what I saw last weekend I believe the opposite to be true. I can only imagine the outrage by Democrats if the head of the Republican Party stood in front of rioters and encouraged their actions.
Is this the kind of behavior we want from our leaders? Of course the biased news media would not condemn Mr. Perez for his action. I just hope voters are taking a good look at what the Democratic party is becoming when they go to the polls next election.
Mary Fricke, Spring City, Tenn.
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Still struggling with Trump win
It's been six months since the presidential election, and I am still having difficulty accepting Donald J. Trump as our legitimate president.
Yes, I know it's our archaic Electoral College system that rewards former slave states with 1/3 advantage because they once fostered the abominable institution of slavery. In a way, the election of Donald Trump is a further validation of slavery.
We may live in a republic, but not a democracy. Not when a minority rural population can dictate policy to a majority urban population.
So what is to be said for those more than three million California voters who voted for Hillary only to be told their votes don't count? Can you imagine the same happening to voters in Europe? There would be a revolution.
Mike C. Bodine
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Trump is really a coward after all
Trump boasts about his war brinksmanship and delights in threatening our enemies while simultaneously demonstrating fear and cowardice by refusing to attend the annual press corps dinner. So much for his bull.
Tom O'Neal, Signal Mountain
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Cherish world; eat only plants
As thousands across the U.S. get ready to protest environmental budget cuts, each of us also can help with our driving, our recycling and our diet.
Yes, our diet. A 2010 United Nations report blames animal agriculture for 70 percent of global freshwater use, 38 percent of land use and 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon dioxide is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and by fossil fuel combustion to operate farm machinery, trucks, factory farms and slaughterhouses.
The more damaging methane and nitrous oxide are released from digestive tracts of cattle and from animal waste cesspools, respectively.
Moreover, meat and dairy production dumps more animal waste, crop debris, fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants into our waterways than all other human activities combined.
It is the driving force in wildlife habitat destruction.
In an environmentally sustainable world, meat and dairy products in our diet must be replaced by vegetables, fruits and grains, just as fossil fuels are replaced by wind, solar and other pollution-free energy sources.
So let's cherish our environment with eco-friendly, plant-based eating. Our next trip to the supermarket is a great starting point.
Tristan Bell