Anyone who wants an education in writing arguments should contrast Nick Decosimo’s thoughtful, fact-based contribution to Hamilton County’s education discussion with commentator Virginia Heffernan’s nonsensical name-calling against Alabama’s new abortion law.
Heffernan calls abortion “one of the safest, least eventful procedures in all of medicine.” It may be safe for the woman, but it is beyond dangerous for the child, whose death she finds uneventful.
She calls the rhetoric of pro-life “extremists” “prurient, aggressive and nasty,” but the only example she gives is a quotation saying “every life is a sacred gift from God.” Meanwhile, her own rhetoric includes Justice Brett Kavanaugh blowing “anti-choice dog whistles,” apparently implying that pro-lifers are trained canines rather than thinking humans.
Decosimo, in contrast, points out (with the numbers) that Hamilton County is inefficient in its students-per-school ratio, so it needs to consolidate more students into fewer schools.
Hefernan may write for The Los Angeles Times, but logical Chattanooga sense needs take no back seat to California nonsense.
Dr. Brian Hale, Red Bank
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‘They executed God’ an outrageous claim
In the last paragraph of David Cook’s column, “Tennessee and the god of human violence,” he closes with an outrageous statement: ” as the State of Tennessee executed Donnie Johnson, they executed God, too!”
Before execution, Johnson prayed, “I commend my life into your hands. Thy will be done. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.” He used Jesus’ words while he was on the cross. Jesus had finished his mission for which God had sent him to love the world. Johnson had killed his wife unmercifully; he deserved justice, not mercy.
David would like to see the death penalty abolished. I don’t agree with his compassion, He supports his point, if God forgives him, then we must forgive him. Several ministers testified on his behalf, Death row is arbitrary and biased. Only poor men and minorities are on death row. The system is financially broken. Abolishing the death penalty could save the state millions of dollars.
David ignores the fact that Johnson unmercifully killed his wife, therefore doesn’t deserve mercy. God is never glorified through human violence; then why could a good God allow violence!
Amos Taj, Ooltewah
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We should work to end death penalty
Just some quick notes on continuing capital punishment:
* The concept of sending a “soul” to hell for eternal suffering is passé. No one really believes that and, if the records are correct, so many of the convicted have been redeemed by Jesus they will never face that end – eternity, if you will.
* It is more expensive for the state to execute an individual than maintaining him/her in prison for life.
* There is no chance for redemption if the state executes the person.
* There is no statistic that death penalty deters others from committing the offense.
* There is too much evidence of errors in court judgments and witness error to warrant homicide on a person.
* The death certificate will say “Cause of death – homicide,” and your name is in the space denoting who is responsible.
Stop the death penalty.
Link Christensen