Sacred ground under threat again
On my first visit to Chattanooga in 1987, I was taken to Moccasin Bend to see the work of grave robbers. Open pits lay on sacred ground.
I was horrified. Many people have worked since then to protect and save the Bend. The national park awaits return of promised land. Are we going to allow a state government to reopen the wounds of our ancestors from prehistory, Cherokee homesteaders and Civil War era?
Be their voice. Save the Bend.
Suzanna M. Alexander
Transparency needed on shooting of Lopez
Based on the Times-Free Press article on Sept. 14, I find the response of the Chattanooga Police Department on Sept. 3 to the domestic dispute at the home of David Mendez Lopez to be horrendous. The TFP story states that 25 bullet holes were found inside the home and belongings in the home. Mendez Lopez, a 17-year-old senior at Howard High School, was killed by the gunfire. He was holding a cellphone that police mistook for a weapon, according to his family.
Understanding and greatly appreciating that police are regularly put in threatening, unpredictable situations, 25 bullets seems way over the top and speaks to the vital need to have health professionals respond with police for domestic disputes. Why was he not allowed to surrender? If it became absolutely necessary to shoot, why not aim to disable rather than kill?
I hope that those in charge will address this situation promptly and with complete transparency, including bodycam and dashboard footage, the autopsy report and names of the superior officers responsible.
Ellis O. Mayfield Jr.
'Dumb and Dumber' update with Bidens
In 1994, a movie was made titled "Dumb and Dumber" about two dimwitted young men who created issues and chaos all over the country.
Maybe it is the right time to make an updated version of the movie.
It could star Joe and Hunter Biden and be about two dimwitted men in Washington. One who is destroying our country and the other destroying his life.
The media is ignoring the facts in both cases. However, the American people can see, hear and then decide what is the truth.
Ruth Cote
Health and safety hypocrisy and guns
I am fascinated by how our legislators, state and federal, choose when something is a constitutional right and when it is not.
You have to show an ID to purchase cigarettes due to public health and safety concerns.
You cannot smoke indoors in most public spaces due to public health and safety concerns.
By law we are required to wear seat belts when driving/riding in automobiles due to public health and safety concerns.
And yet, you can carry a concealed weapon just about anywhere. Concealed weapons in public places, parades, malls, restaurants, bars, etc., are a tremendous danger to public health and safety. Why does the constitutional right to carry a concealed weapon override the danger to my/our public health and safety? Constitutional rights? By law, there are some serious restrictions placed on a woman and her body. What about her constitutional rights?
"Fascinated" is not the right word. I'm offended by this hypocrisy from our legislators who seem to pick and choose when to apply constitutional rights for citizens.
Safer gun laws would benefit all citizens.
Tina Currin
Lookout Mountain, Tenn.
Invest in child care, WIC programs
Too often, people think of child care as a "personal issue," as in an individual personal problem to solve. But the crisis working families are facing is not due to personal failings but is a larger, systemic problem that needs larger systemic solutions and investments. Prioritizing child care can improve the well-being of our children, our own peace of mind and productivity at work, the care workforce, our communities and the economy.
Child care is a public good that all of us benefit from, whether or not we have young children.
WIC serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating (including breastfeeding promotion and support), and referrals to health care. It is one of the most powerful tools we have to combat hunger and poverty and give babies a healthy start at life.
It is more critical than ever that we strengthen WIC to provide pregnant people, new moms, infants and toddlers with the nutrition assistance, formula and breastfeeding counseling they so desperately need.
Jessica Claudio
Hixson
Substitute teachers need increased pay
I have been a substitute teacher in Hamilton County Schools for more than six years. It is sad when one sees what a substitute teacher is paid. In my eyes, the pay rate is telling the community that education is not a priority in Hamilton County.
I am a retired English and history teacher. I taught in Florida and Syria. I have 28 years of experience, but I make less than $10 per hour. Gone are the days when a substitute relied on a VCR and a TV. A substitute is expected to teach and lead the class. They are left lesson plans and more.
Please don't get me wrong. I love being with the students, experiencing their problems and solutions, watching the light bulbs go off.
In my eyes, we, Hamilton County, need to increase the pay for substitute teachers, and it needs to be done immediately.
Mark Grantham
Lookout Valley
Superlatives for modern America
Superlatives: Debatable? Yes. Deniable? No.
The greatest lie in history: cataclysmic, man-made climate change.
The greatest act of self-destruction: elimination of fossil fuels.
The greatest act of treason: peddling of American influence.
The greatest coverup: peddling of American influence.
The greatest usurpation and abuse of power: the Obama presidency.
The greatest betrayal: social welfare programs (designed dependency and suppression).
The greatest theft: buying votes with the public Treasury.
The greatest casualty: the family unit/domestic church.
The greatest indoctrination: the pervasive lies of liberal socialism.
The greatest surrender of integrity: the media.
The greatest act of derisive division: wokeism and its spawned poisons.
The greatest detriment to consumers: unbalanced minimum wage mandates.
The greatest threat to democracy: apathetic surrender of free speech and assembly.
The greatest deception: political correctness.
The greatest threat to American culture : unchallengeable liberal socialism edicts.
The greatest personal dilemma: abortion.
The greatest threat to the republic: politicized judiciary.
The greatest loss: our inalienable rights.
The greatest forfeiture: U.S. Congress.
The greatest corruption: election funding.
The greatest opportunity: dismantling the federal bureaucracy.
The greatest challenge: dismantling the federal bureaucracy.
The greatest fabrication: separation of church and state.
The greatest salvation: universal rejuvenation of faith.
R.G. Kirn
Soddy-Daisy