How can we harm something not alive?
Despite efforts to mangle the language to accommodate various people's versions of reality, the clarifying aspect of language still occasionally shines through, and perhaps nowhere is this more evident than the ongoing debate over abortion rights. Examples abound. Here are a couple.
L.A. Times writer Nicholas Goldberg (Jan. 21 TFP), while lamenting the loss of an alleged constitutional right to abortion, asserts "the rights of a fetus -- whether you consider it 'alive' or not in its early development -- don't outweigh those of the mother." Of course, this is the locus of the great divide on this issue. But what is almost humorous in his use of scare quotes is that Goldberg is unwilling to recognize that of course the fetus is alive, and even more to the point, he and I and everyone else currently breathing was once a fetus at that stage of development -- and is very much alive. And Goldberg writes from California. See below.
Yesterday, I purchased a paint roller, made mostly of metal with a plastic handle. Attached to the roller was a warning from the State of California: "Cancer and Reproductive Harm." Seriously. So California wants women (not men) to be aware that their use of this paint roller may bring harm to their unborn children or may impede their ability to get pregnant. In the height of ridiculousness, the state which has declared itself the sanctuary for an unfettered right to abortion right up to the moment of birth wants us to think twice about using a paint roller which, somehow, some way, may jeopardize an unborn child.
Gary Lindley
Lookout Mountain, Ga.
Thanks for record Signal police, fire fund
On behalf of the 44 police and fire officers and their families of the Town of Signal Mountain, we want to take this opportunity to thank citizens for their contributions to the 2022 S.M. Robertson Police & Fire Christmas Fund. Although the fund was started more than 50 years ago, it never gets old to see the generosity of the citizens of our community. This year we received the most donations in the fund's history, which were distributed to those serving on the police and fire forces on Christmas Eve.
It's an honor and privilege to see, firsthand, the faithful love and support of our community. May God grant your family peace, safety and joy during 2023.
T.W. Francescon Jr.
Signal Mountain
Oppose bill that increases class size
Educators and parents speak up! [State] Sen. Lundberg, who wants to allow class sizes to swell, clearly has never been in a room with 30 fourth-, fifth- or sixth-graders, much less tried to teach them anything. Our lawmakers must say no to his bill to eliminate class size requirements.
According to U.S. News and World Report, Aug. 29, 2022,"studies found that smaller classes correlate with better test scores." A Brookings website article titled: "Class Size: What Research Says and What it Means for State Policy" is well researched and deemed influential and credible. It discusses a study of Student Teacher Achievement Ratio, which was actually conducted in Tennessee. The study concluded class size reduction was "found to increase student achievement by an amount equivalent to about 3 additional months of schooling." The study also indicated that because more teachers were needed educational funding had to increase.
So, Sen. Lundberg wants to save the state money at the expense of our children's educations and prospects for a better future. Tennessee legislators, don't do it!
Pat Ralston
Soddy-Daisy
Examine all long-time government employees
I am not a fan of any Wamp. However, 29 years in an unelected position is likened to a local "Deep State," where no one knows the blackmail opportunities of such a position.
The problem is, how much do people in office think they owe this perpetual appointee, whether from favors, or from who knows what about whom? Someone should look at all unelected, so-called power figures.
All your governments have them, and there are literally thousands working in the federal government.
Evidently, this is the first time [Hamilton County Attorney Rheubin] Taylor has been confronted. He evidently has nothing on Wamp.
Margo Daugherty
Englewood, Tenn.
Suggest Tennessee accept CDC grants
An act by the state of Tennessee in refusing to accept monetary grants by the CDC is both scary and infuriating. The South leads the nation in new HIV diagnoses, and the last time I looked, Tennessee was in the South.
There are 20,000+ people in Tennessee living with HIV. I am one of those individuals. I have been HIV+ for more than 38 years. It seems to me that what we are witnessing is the beginning of actions by Gov. Lee and his cronies.
Currently, the end of the HIV epidemic is going strong, but we certainly can't end it by actions of the Lee administration.
I receive great medical care and support services assistance from Cempa Community Care, but what is its future? What is the future of other agencies like Choice Health Network? Many people who are HIV+ live in rural areas where a Department of Health does not exist. What type of medical care are we expecting them to receive?
The struggle of being HIV+ is tough; in the South, there is a stigma associated with being HIV+. Many people seek medical care secretly. Sadly, the action by the Lee administration is going to encourage people who are HIV+ to fall out of care, not get tested, making it impossible to end the epidemic.
If you are so led, contact the governor's office, ASAP.
Mark Grantham
Lookout Valley
Officers must be free to say what they see
District Attorney Wamp, the Silverdale Detention Center could be fully staffed, and the problems with the medical treatment of inmates would still happen. I worked at Walker State Prison for 18 years. It's a culture of: If it is not reported, it didn't happen.
I was working isolation/segregation when an inmate threw coffee in my face as I bent down to talk with him. I informed my supervisors. I wrote the inmate a Disciplinary Report for cussing and assault on a officer, with no injury. The inmate received 21 days in isolation (a stripped down cell). At the end of the month, the prison reported there had been no assaults on officers. My wet uniform shirt was no evidence that it happened, and no inmate ever got 21 days in isolation just for cussing. Officially, the assault didn't happen.
The problems at the Silverdale Detention Center and any prison or jail will continue to happen unless what the correctional officers report is backed up and handled. They need to be free to report what they see!
Joel Blake