Offended that Bible among state books
First Amendment affirms separation of church and state, which was major reason our country was founded, remember? So why on earth would the Bible be voted in as Tennessee’s official book? I am offended.
Judith E. Jones
Paul Chambers recalled as mentor, inspiration
I recently attended the funeral of my very first mentor. Paul Chambers was my football coach more than 50 years ago at Chattanooga Valley High School. Coach Paul taught, coached and served as superintendent of Chickamauga City Schools. He also pastored churches in the area.
Coach Paul was a person of empathy and encouragement. He found the good in others and promoted it. His empathy prompted him to help others.
He taught fortitude, and lived it. He taught us to push through and keep on keeping on.
Paul Chambers was a man of faith. It was not easy being bi-vocational, but it gave him an outlet to help others develop faith. Part of that was helping people to never give up and have faith in God, themselves and others. Faith gives hope.
Local heroes day after day and year after year make great contributions to our community. May we be inspired by them and emulate more of their characteristics. I hope I can keep a little of Coach Paul’s goodness alive in my interactions with others. Rest in peace, Coach.
LeBron McBride
Rome, Ga.
‘Joy in Mudville’ with UAW contract
“There is joy in Mudville tonight” for those of us who believe labor and management play equal roles in making a company successful. Volkswagen employees have asserted their importance to the company by voting to join the United Auto Workers.
Without workers there is little need for management, although some individuals, including the governor of Tennessee, seem to think management is more valuable and are apparently comfortable with advertising Tennessee as a low-wage state where an income of $13,144 for one person is considered to meet the poverty standard level. For a family of two, the poverty standard level is $19,720, up to $50,560 for a family of eight, according to Glossary I HealthCare.gov.
It is well known that the pay for executives in the United States has kept climbing for the past several decades, with executives being paid hundreds of times more than workers. Company morale cannot be high. It is a lose-lose situation to have such a high disparity between pay levels.
One hopes that Gov. Bill Lee and others can understand the rewards of both workers and management being able to sit at a table as equals to make plans, solve problems and have a sense of being a team. The advantages of having respect for each other as team members can be many.
Virginia M. Jones
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Protesters, migrants running the country
Serve five hours of community service and pay a small fine for blocking traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. Who are they kidding?
Denver, Colorado, chose to take care of migrants rather than fund police adequately.
Never in my lifetime have I seen such hatred spewed out of the mouth of humans toward another human being.
Where did we learn such hate? In my opinion, it is time to call out the National Guard and take the protesters to a holding place where they will stay until a stiff fine is paid.
The protesters, illegal migrants and criminals are running this country, it seems. The elected officials are too busy doling out money all over the world.
Someone needs to be in charge now.
My grandmother knew how. She could peel the bark off a hickory branch and dole out punishment for an infraction.
It was immediate.
Ruth Cote
Liability insurance an answer for guns?
Liability insurance should be required for all gun purchases.
To buy the gun and apply for the insurance, current address, utility bill, Social Security card and government-issued ID should be sufficient.
The minimum payout coverage in the event of accidental shooting, use in a crime and suicide should be $100,000.
You would have to pay the premiums yearly until you sell or gift the weapon to someone else, even if it is lost or stolen.
If you do sell or gift the weapon, the new owner would have to provide proof of insurance to the seller’s insurance company for the seller’s insurance premium to end.
Large-capacity magazines and assault weapons should require enhanced coverage.
Even if a gun is lost or stolen, the purchaser should have to pay premiums until the gun has new liability insurance from a new user.
If you can’t afford the premium or you die and don’t sell or gift your weapon to a new owner with proof of insurance coverage, the weapon must be surrendered to the local sheriff’s office.
If the insurance company doesn’t receive the premium from you, you have forfeited the right to own this weapon responsibly, and the sheriff’s office should confiscate it until premiums and penalties are paid.
If you are a responsible gun owner, then our society would be safer.
Stephany Butler
Ooltewah
More investigation needed into arrest
Well, well, well, that congenial, likable Davis, er, Walter Lundy is in trouble again. The big question I have is how will he dodge this this time. Yes, his October 2022 drunk driving, open container, driving without insurance, marijuana possession charges magically went away.
This was a slap in the face to Collegedale police officers, who did their jobs responsibly. But that didn’t matter.
Why this wasn’t investigated thoroughly is way beyond me and, in my opinion, still should be.
Michael Lawrence
Gorman saluted for UAW-VW support
Thank you, Allison Gorman, for your support for Volkswagen workers and their families here. The “yes” vote for the UAW by such an overwhelming margin should be a wake-up call to your opponent, letting him know that the people of state House District 26 are tired of him toeing the GOP line without even pretending to listen to constituents.
Even in such a heavily gerrymandered district and with a bigger war chest, the failure of the current state representative to act on behalf of citizens has made this seat competitive.
Sue Carol Elvin
When equality is not equality
Equality at the cost of others is not a true equality. When society is satisfied with surface-level changes, then attempts to fight for equality fail.
People often close their eyes, grab big banners, and proudly and loudly say, “Equality, freedom and liberty won,” while millions of others lose their jobs.
If you were to ask the 60 staff members of University Texas at Austin if they feel proud for the equality efforts in their country, it is very unlikely they would say yes.
When I was in high school, I participated in a Model United Nations conference. Later, some students were chosen to go to a bigger conference in the Netherlands. I participated for two years and received awards but was overlooked because of the need for diversity in the group. Students were chosen not because of achievements but because of race.
If the U.S. is fighting for equality, then there is still a lot of work to be done. It sounds great to have diversity, but if the cost of it is people losing their jobs or not having the same opportunities, then that is not what America should be proud of.
Daniela Demyan