Eating one's own cooking not tasty
Isn't it funny how a mere 50 migrants dropped off in elitist Martha's Vineyard can trigger a complete panic? Residents claim they don't have the "infrastructure" to care for even 50 people from the wide open border -- which they clearly favor -- so long as you don't bring the migrants anywhere near them!
Southwestern communities see that many illegals crossing every 10-15 minutes, but put 50 into Martha's Vineyard and, well, it's a national emergency. Even though Martha's Vineyard is designated as a "sanctuary" area, they didn't really mean you could actually send people there ... not there!
Did they truly need 125 National Guardsmen to "escort" the 50 illegals to a nearby army base? Really?
Hypocritical (and hysterical) liberals in many other "blue" cities and towns are finding that having to "eat one's own cooking," so to speak, suddenly doesn't taste so good. Posturing about their so-called "compassion" is much easier.
I guess Martha's Vineyard really is a sanctuary -- but only for left-wing millionaire and billionaire hypocrites. How does that taste?
Tony Scott
Signal Mountain
Get involved; know your candidates
I consider myself fairly literate and capable of reading at more than a third grade level. The current time we are experiencing almost defies my ability to say who we are or predict the next hour due to the political environment.
We are watching with baited breath the appearance of candidates openly promoting voter suppression and in some cases repression. My vote and yours are at risk. We are experiencing name-calling rising to a new level.
Let me be very clear. Our democracy is at grave risk. We have a brief window of opportunity to protect all we stand for. Listen carefully to the political campaigns and believe what the candidates are saying. If they concentrate on the legitimacy of previous elections, remember that the courts [certified] the outcomes. In no uncertain terms.
Do you know your candidates? More importantly -- do they know you and what you need? We have candidates who refuse to debate. We need a clear expression of how well they would represent us based on us knowing them and them knowing us.
Get involved. Our democracy depends on it.
Irv Ginsburg
Residents deserve same service as tourists
I live and work in Chattanooga. As such, I travel Amnicola Highway and Highway 153 every day.
Days before the latest tourist event, traffic was re-routed near the aquarium. Barricades, a police presence, tidying up the roadway as you approach downtown, etc., done to prepare for tourists and their tourist dollars.
Why can't a daily version of this be in place for residents? Traveling Amnicola, and especially Highway 153, is frustrating and many times, treacherous. The city's well-known axle-breaking potholes slow people down to some degree, but a well-placed police presence might truly encourage people to slow down, discourage large trucks from traveling side by side, allow a tiny bit of distance between vehicles, and, who knows, maybe even entice people to turn on their lights in the rain or dawn/dusk hours?
We are still working, raising families, paying taxes, buying property and supporting local merchants long after the vacationers/event attendees have gone home. If you have the resources to look good and make nice for visitors, those same provisions should be in place for those who call Chattanooga home.
Lisa Phillips
Thankful for the love of family, pets
Three generations of my family gathered together recently to say goodbye to the third and last of our three beloved, adopted shelter dogs, 13-year-old Bella-bear. She lived well and was happy until the very end.
Reflecting on the last 24 hours, I am enlightened and thankful to Bella. It is clear to me that the purest kind of love occurs when a family can find happiness even in the saddest moments.
Animals are extraordinary life teachers.
If you have the ability, and if you have not done so already, please rescue and adopt a shelter animal because they offer kindness and happiness beyond what you could ever wish for.
Michael Mallen
Is freedom of speech just freedom to lie?
Since [the country's] independence, 43 million Americans have died fighting for freedom and democracy. Wouldn't it just be a damn shame to lose it all.
Too many listen to and believe lies from Donald Trump, his Republican supporters and right-wing propagandists such as Fox News (Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingram) and Info Wars (Alex Jones). Those guys have made millions entertaining their flock. Many are ignoring the truth presented, mostly by Trump insiders, to the Jan. 6 committee and Department of Justice. They listen to Trump condemning our longstanding newspapers and other media. Has anyone ever seen any evidence presented by Trump for his outlandish lies of "The Steal"?
Freedom of speech has become freedom to lie. What good are elections if candidates, government leaders and news broadcasters can lie with impunity, and election laws can be manipulated to benefit a party? We don't need any "entertainment" newscasters or big-lie leaders. And what good is any of it, if people won't pay attention, and accept truth?
John Winesett
Soddy-Daisy
The real threat to democracy
As is typical in our 24/7 news cycle, President Biden's unprecedented cancellation of college student debt has nearly disappeared after just a few days of attention-grabbing headlines. The fallout from this edict based on a spurious claim of emergency powers has, however, only just begun. Will it apply to those freshmen who just obtained loans for this school year? Will there be refunds for those who continued to pay during the pandemic?
But these questions hardly touch what may be the most significant and deleterious impact, and that is how this action shreds the social contract, that unwritten compact which binds us together.
This president speaks endlessly about "threats to our democracy" but seems to little comprehend them. Many have already noted the social division created by taxing those who never went to college to pay off student loan debts for those who did attend and whose incomes often exceed those who didn't. There's nothing like resentment to fray the social contract. And what binds us together more tightly than the promise to fulfill obligations, those obligations stipulated in contracts specifying personal responsibilities? And when the debtor is allowed to simply walk away from his legal debts, leaving some "creditor" holding the bag, should we think that there's no effect on the social contract?
This presidential edict is the true threat to democracy.
Gary Lindley
Lookout Mountain, Ga.
Necessary abortions need new protocol
Thank you, TFP, for your timely and very important front-page article (Sept. 17, "Confusion over Tennessee abortion law sows fear among Chattanooga doctors") about the mess our Tennessee legislature has created in its eagerness to prove that the Volunteer State is the buckle of the "Bible Belt."
Because those geniuses in Nashville were more interested in making a political/religious statement than actually passing thoughtful legislation, women in Tennessee now can no longer get medically necessary terminations of life-threatening pregnancies -- pregnancies in which the fetus cannot possibly survive and which may literally cause the death of the mother.
If our governor is truly "pro life," he should immediately call a special session of the legislature to amend the newly activated abortion statutes to include a very clear-cut protocol which, if followed by medical providers, will constitute absolute immunity from prosecution for performing "medically necessary" abortions.
Perhaps, this time, our representatives will actually get some input from the medical community. In other professions, what the legislature has created might best be characterized as "malpractice."
What would Jesus do, indeed.
Dave Siklosi
Athens, Tenn.