Ringgold honors fallen heroes
Thanks to the volunteers in Ringgold, Georgia, for the heartwarming display of hundreds of American flags throughout the city through Memorial Day week.
Each flag represents a fallen member of our armed services, a reminder of the local men and women who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
Jim Seward
Join the fight against suppression
On Memorial Day, the president of the United States called the Democrats and the radical left “scum” on his Truth Social site. This was not just another of his insane rants. It was clearly an attempt to further divide the country so he can establish authoritarian rule.
Hillary Clinton made a mistake when she called some Americans “deplorables,” and she paid the price. It is never OK to play “less than” politics in a democracy because it undermines the democratic ideals of equality and integrity of the individual. However, if you want to create an authoritarian state, demonizing half of a country’s citizens as “scum” serves a purpose. When fear, oppression of dissent, and concentration of power becomes the norm, an “in group” can justify anti-democratic acts precisely because they are not “scum.”
And so, to those of you who are not “scum,” I hope you take these words I’ve said to heart and join us as we fight against the suppression of our freedoms and civil rights. We will welcome you with open arms.
Judith Pederson-Benn
A bad cure is proposed for NIH
“The remedy is worse than the disease.” That aphorism, coined some 400 years ago by Francis Bacon, cautions against a plan being considered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that would be unhealthy for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He recently threatened to “to stop NIH scientists from publishing in [prominent medical journals] and create our own journals in-house.” He justified such action by claiming the pharmaceutical industry has corrupted periodicals, such as the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A fundamental characteristic of science is its self-correcting nature. If academic studies reach false conclusions, scientific practice itself can prove them to be erroneous.
The best solution for addressing Kennedy’s concerns would be for the NIH to fund objective studies aimed at providing empirical evidence if bias exerted by drug companies on medical publications is as problematic as he alleges. Creation of new, federally owned medical journals to publish federally funded research is not only unnecessary. Ironically, it would convey a greater appearance of inappropriate publication influence by the government than any by Big Pharma.
Patrick Lavin
Hixson
Trump presidency rife with conflicts
The Trump family’s post-presidency business expansion is alarming. Eric Trump is spearheading a $1.5 billion golf resort in Hanoi and a skyscraper in Ho Chi Minh City — projects taking shape as Vietnam faces 46% U.S. tariffs, raising questions of quid pro quo.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. is advising an online gun retailer preparing to go public. The family also has real estate ventures in Dubai and Qatar — countries that benefited from U.S. policies under President Trump. These deals are direct entanglements with foreign powers while Trump shapes national policy.
Congress must investigate these conflicts of interest. Americans deserve to know: Who is influencing our leaders, and who is getting rich in return?
Betty Gray
Trenton, Georgia