Good Samaritan saves the day
Early last month I locked my car with keys, cell phone and groceries inside.
I’m 93 and live a half mile off the main road. The temperature outside was in the low 90s.
I managed to walk with the help of a walking stick to the highway and tried to flag someone to stop, hoping to use their cell phone to call a locksmith.
Several cars passed but none to the rescue until a gentleman named Todd Williams passed by, saw me and turned around to see if I needed help.
He gave me water and drove me back to my house. He was able to unlock my car and stayed with me until he was sure I was OK.
I consider Todd Williams an angel and will forever be grateful to him.
Julia Lilie Harmon
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Who verifies the parties’ Kool-Aid?
Political parties are like water and Kool-Aid (people and doctrine) – neither ingredient is inherently dangerous, and as such your political opponent should have your respect and certainly not your condemnation.
However, that has not been the case in recent days.
Could it be there is a third ingredient in the Kool-Aid, a dangerous component? Who verifies the safety of the Kool-Aid? I propose that the party’s leadership carries that responsibility with a formal validation.
When the issue is in the free press, it’s too late. The Kool-Aid has already been consumed.
Michael Mainz
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Let’s raise private money for lighting
Yes, fix the roads first. Those of us who would like a new lighting system for the Walnut Street Bridge don’t need a penny of tax money.
Remember having to save for something expensive? Like a car, a house or a big vacation? If I remember right, private donations for the bridge would amount to a substantial percentage, according to the announced plan.
Would it be too much to ask for someone to serve as treasurer of the donated money, until enough is raised to make the purchase? We could pitch in a little here and there for as long as it took to accumulate the $4 million. Nothing borrowed, no extra taxpayer burden, only voluntarily donated money.
Four million bucks for a lighting system seems way expensive to me. Still, I want our downtown to sparkle like a precious stone so our out-of-town visitors will take back stories of a visually dazzling wonderland.
A new Walnut Street Bridge lighting scheme will add to the night-time beauty of the entire area. With this in place, I think local businesses will profit all the more from tourist dollars. Organizers, where do I send my check?
Robert Elmore, Hixson
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‘Medicare-fo-all’ sure isn’t free
A recent column by Harold Myerson (July 26, page B6, “Americans Like Socialism Now”) is only one of a growing chorus of voices calling for some version of “Medicare-for-all.” While there is obvious political appeal in such a tagline, inasmuch as it suggests “free,” there are some simple realities which become clear only when actually embarking on the Medicare journey.
Fact #1: Those who “receive” Medicare (not Medicaid) are generally those who have already paid into the system for 40-plus years. Question: How will those under the age of 65 pay their share?
Fact #2: Part B of Medicare (doctors’ costs) requires a monthly premium of $134 per participant. Question: In a “free” system, who will pay this charge?
Fact #3: Many Americans purchase supplemental and drug coverage for an additional charge of about $125 per month. Question: Same as previous question.
Fact #4: Thus, many American couples pay on average $500 per month for the Medicare coverage for which they’ve already paid for the previous 40 years. Question: Where’s the “free” in this arrangement?
Gary Lindley, Lookout Mountain, Ga.
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Trump is unfit to be president
Since World War II, America’s president has been the leader of the free world. Until now.
In a shameful performance at the Helsinki summit, Trump meekly surrendered that mantle to Putin without regard for the consequences. His impulse is to side with Putin and advance his agenda instead of speaking up to protect Americans’ interests. Trump’s reluctance to criticize and eagerness to appease Putin are disturbing.
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili knows him well: “Putin is pure evil. He’s a murderer. He absolutely hates the United States. He thinks America is his No. 1 enemy. Everything he does worldwide is motivated by this hatred.” Everyone comprehends this but Trump, who ignores his own intelligence community in favor of Putin.
Former Fox analyst Ralph Peters assessed Trump’s performance at the Helsinki summit: “Today we watched an American president grovel before the leader of the most hostile foreign power in the world, licking his boots.”
Considering his dishonesty and poor judgment, his lack of preparation and understanding of the stakes, his undermining of the entire Western alliance and the subversion of his own intelligence community, I can only conclude: Donald Trump is totally unfit to be president.
Sam Bledsoe, Lenoir City, Tenn.
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Let’s widen court’s diversity
Likely, the U.S. Supreme Court soon will have six Roman Catholics and three Jews, all Harvard and Yale alumni. Three are female; only one is black – no Asians or other ethnic members. Does this reflect our nation’s citizenry and could it cast doubt over future decisions?
Everyone hopes courts and justices judge without bias, but no one is entirely free of one’s upbringing; anyone can feel peer pressure. Might a Catholic justice, favoring a different opinion, be pressed to concur with the other five? Will the six Catholics recuse themselves in cases on reproductive issues? Can a Muslim of Palestinian heritage feel secure being judged by a court comprised of only Christians and Jews?
To avoid such questions, our SCOTUS appointments need to take seriously the issue of diversity. Perhaps appoint a Protestant, Muslim or Hindu, maybe a Buddhist or atheist, perhaps even a Baptist. Justices of Asian, Middle-Eastern or other backgrounds could add valuable viewpoints. Also, the Constitution doesn’t require justices be native born.
A justice who is a naturalized immigrant could be a valuable addition. If the citizenry loses trust in the integrity of our courts and judges, we lose the nation.
W.T. Rodgers, Dayton
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Stop using test scores to condemn
In reference to the July 21 Chattanooga Times editorial, “When will we get real about school scores,” the writer should have done some homework.
First, there is no bright-line score for fourth-grade reading level. The number is a statistical average for the convenience of scoring the tests. Every parent has observed children have development differences.
Children learn to walk between 9 and 14 months, the statistical average is 11.5 months. The kids who walk at 9 months aren’t above average; the kids who walk at 14 months are not slow. A normal fourth-grade reading level should be a range in scores, not a single number.
Schools are horribly underfunded in Tennessee; frankly, you get what you pay for.
If you viewed a teacher as a home-school mother in charge of 25-30 9-year-old neighbor kids, every day for six hours, with 80 percent of them having trouble learning because of their disabilities or home situation, and you refuse to give her the help she needs, learning outcomes will not turn out so well.
Until schools are fully funded, you and politicians need to stop using test scores to condemn.
Jenny Rytel