I fully agree with the writer of last Sunday’s letter, “Pressure lawmakers to end robocalls,” but I feel that our “government” will not do anything to fix the problem.
In the meantime, I am fighting back, having entered “*77” (anonymous call rejection) many times. My caller ID now identifies calls as “Suspected Spam,” “Telemarketer” as well as “Unknown,” “Unavailable” and “toll free call” as well as identifying other callers by name.
Importantly, after any of those calls, I immediately enter “*61” (“block last call”) to those I care to block. AT&T allows up to 100 such entries which can be erased/modified as need be.
This may be of some interest and help to others.
Don Reid
Methodist vote saddens reader
Thank you, David Cook, for your March 17 piece, “The Bible, the moon and why being gay is not a sin.” I am Christian and a United Methodist. I have been heartbroken since the [General Conference] vote a few weeks ago in St. Louis which does not allow our gay parishioners/friends to get married in the church or become ordained pastors. I have family and friends who are gay.
My faith has taught me that we are all children of God, and we all have the right to love and to be included. All are welcome in the United Methodist Church, as mentioned every time we receive Communion at the altar. I believe anyone who wants to be married or who is called into ministry should have that right. As David mentioned in his piece, “you, too, are my beloved” (said God).
Jennifer Fry
Carbon Act can help change our planet
It is good to be challenged by different opinions. I first read with surprise the commentary piece from Walter Williams, “Our planet is not so fragile,” but after reading it again I realized it does have merit.
To put things into perspective, our Earth will overcome whatever mankind does to it. The question should be, how will mankind survive a changing planet? There are certain natural powers that can be suddenly devastating to all species on Earth. There is not much we can do about those, but we can control our impact on climate in many ways. Probably the most impactful means to mitigate it would be to implement a carbon fee and dividend. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763) was presented in Congress this year. It is a bipartisan plan that returns revenue to households while creating jobs and moving the country toward a reduced emissions economy.
We can’t do much about volcanoes and asteroids, but American ingenuity can reduce emissions to keep millions from suffering the worst impacts of climate change. As a concerned mother, I urge Congressman Fleischmann to join his fellow Republicans and support H.R. 763.
Patricia Diaz
Erase monuments? No, add to them
Why take Confederate monuments down? Why not put more up? The National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama, will provide monuments commemorating the lynching victims in any given U.S. county. Why not put one next to a Confederate statue? Doesn’t the local black pastor, who led a voting registration campaign, or who went to jail for leading a lunch counter sit-in deserve a statue there too? Along with those monuments, should we add a relief of children of all races eating at Martin Luther King’s “Table of Brotherhood”? Don’t erase the story. Add to it.
Leslie Conway Coomer
Athens, Tennessee
Mueller’s not first costly probe
Did the writer opposing the Mueller investigation and its cost thus far ($40 million, not $60 million as stated) also oppose the Whitewater investigation of four years and $80 million? Did he oppose the 10 Benghazi investigations costing more than $22 million? How about Iran Contra, which went on 2,978 days and cost taxpayers more that $40 million?
Tommy Hewitt
Deadbeat parents need court’s boot
Today my daughter went again to court to get her ex-husband to pay child support. He is more than $22,000 behind in child support and the state is not doing anything.
He changes jobs so the state tells him he has till August to get started. But we have heard this so many times it is crazy. He just does not want to take care of his children. They love their father, but he just does not care. We need to have our judges take a stand and do something about this and not keep putting it off time and time again.
My daughter had to work three jobs during Christmas to make sure her children had a Christmas. This is taking a toll on her body and mind, not to say what it is doing to the children.
Please, we need people to tell our government to get it together and make sure these fathers pay child support and take care of their children.
Kaye Turner
Kandy Kastle says thanks, goodbye
It’s been our pleasure and joy to have served this community’s child care needs for the past 44 years through our business, Kandy Kastle Daycare, which closes at the end of the day on Friday. We have enjoyed the trust of more than 1,500 parents and 5,000 children who have attended or graduated from the daycare’s halls.
My wife and I would like to personally thank all of our staff who have given their all in nurturing, developing and loving our children over these many years. We also want to thank the Hamilton County Schools for assisting us with our school-age before- and after-school programs. It takes a village to raise a child, and we are glad to have been a part of that village for so many years.
We salute all of the children with a warm feeling of appreciation and love for allowing us to be part of their development. They have made us so proud.
May the many blessings from our Lord and Savior continue to flow to all of the children of this community.
Gerald and Diane Mason
Student seeks help on class project
Hello! I am a fourth-grade student in North Carolina. In fourth grade, we research a state for our State Fair, and I have chosen Tennessee. I am very excited to learn more about the Volunteer State.
Most of the information I get will be from books and websites. But the best information comes from the people who live in and love their state. I hope you would be willing to send me some small items to help me learn more about the best things in Tennessee, such as postcards, maps, pictures, general information, this letter to the editor or any other items you think would help.
You can mail them to the address below by April 30 (our State Fair is May 17).
I will do my best to send a thank-you note to each person who takes time to help with my project.
Max Pullose, Mrs. Eastridge’s Class
Charlotte Latin School
9502 Providence Road
Charlotte, North Carolina 28277