I am writing of a concern about the removal of newsstands with various newspapers and magazines from the post office on Shallowford Road.
I am a reader of community, state and national news. The ability to pick up copies of various news articles at the post office was very convenient.
I know for a fact that other consumers have been concerned about the removal of the newsstands and have asked postal personnel about this inconvenience also.
I hope postal officials will consider returning the newsstands with the various newspapers and magazines to the side parking area where they were conveniently located at the Shallowford Road post office for so many years.
Irene Waynetta Dowdell
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Hey, city, why not buy American?
While pulled up to a stoplight recently, I noted that a large tire on a city Department of Public Works dump truck was branded "Long March Tires." A slight knowledge of history and a quick internet search revealed this to be a Red Chinese-made tire.
Question to the city: Is there a tire made that you could buy that is not made by our international adversary?
How about we support American, or at least Western, tire producers instead of the tire producing arm of the Chinese Communist Party that has million(s) of Muslims in re-education camps.
Steve Petarra, Signal Mountain
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Term limits needed now more than ever
More than 100 years ago Mark Twain believed term limits were necessary when he said: "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason." His opinion of politicians was the same as many today when he said: "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself."
Ask career politicians: "Would you support term-limits legislation?" Most would answer, "We have term limits every election!" So, are they necessary?
Most polling today shows 82% of voters favor term limits. When asked their opinion of elected officials, most believe politicians are corrupt and dishonest. And yet when election time comes around, they vote them back in! Why? Could it be voters think their representative is worthy of another term or, is there another reason? There is. The expense of running against an incumbent is discouraging.
So, why bother?
James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 47: "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
There's a movement today toward term limits, but career politicians resist it with tenacity. Consider termlimits.com.
Ed Huber, Copperhill
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Iran's money not ours to 'give away'
A recent letter to the editor bemoaned the "fact" that Trump's predecessor (that would be Obama) gave "hundreds of millions of dollars in cash to the largest sponsor of terrorism in the world." That would be Iran, and that's fake news. Iran got billions in cash. Close to $50 billion, but not from the U.S.
What's not fake news is that the Iran nuclear agreement, which included China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the U.S. and the European Union, lifted some sanctions which lifted a freeze on Iran's assets. Those assets were largely held in foreign, not U.S. banks. To be clear, the money that was unfrozen belonged to Iran. It had only been made inaccessible by sanctions that had been put in place to cripple Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. and Obama didn't "give away" anything.
The recent letter to editor also bemoaned the "fact" that the TFP and the N.Y. Times have become the "Democratic Party Opinion Journal." If Trump's devotees would get their "news" from sources other than his tweets and Fox News, they might be able to make accurate claims about what is actually happening in the world.
Rebecca Rochat
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Trump has taken our innocence
Americans insulate themselves with a "PG-rated" version of our country, history and politics. We celebrate the Mayflower, Washington's cherry tree honesty and Statue of Liberty ideals. We whitewash the horrors of slavery and Indian wars. Our civics lessons teach equality for all, regardless of race, religion, wealth or politics.
The prospect of impeachment has us looking into "high crimes and misdemeanors" our president may have committed. But more than pressuring a foreign government to influence his political ends, the president has destroyed our happy, naive innocence.
It began with the Senate's refusal to consider a Supreme Court nominee because he was nominated by the outgoing president of a different party. The presidency was won in 2016 by a vain businessman who demeaned and bullied all who stood in his way. Then, "good people" were discovered among white supremacists. "Bad deals" led us to abandon alliances and environmental protections. After government shutdowns, tax breaks, Mueller reservations and not-so-easy-to-win tariff wars, our innocence was gone. Images of caged Hispanic children separated from their parents left us in denial.
Perhaps the highest crime this president has committed is the revelation of who he really is and what we are.
Grady S. Burgner, Ooltewah
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No lesser of evils; we need new party
I am 75 years old and have always considered myself to be independent. Having voted for more than 50 years, I picked the one I thought was the better of those running. For the first 30 years, it was selecting the better choice. The last 20 years or so, it has been the lesser of the evils running.
The current ones running for president - both parties - are not worth holding any public office, in my opinion. There seems to be no lesser of the evils.
We have a president who appears to have never read the Constitution, much less intends to uphold his oath of office. The other party running seems to be no better with their insane plans.
Is it time for a new party to represent the majority of the American people between these extremes?
I pray for our country every day with the poor leadership we have.
Roger Thompson, Tullahoma
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NRA at fault for all our gun problems?
Why are there so frequent assaults on our citizens with so seldom occurrences as this in other countries? What if there had never been an NRA in ours?
This is a legitimate question to ask since the NRA opposes extensive background checks. NRA also supports loopholes such as gun shows with no verification by unlicensed dealers to see that the buyer is not a felon or otherwise an illegal sale. The NRA has supported the sale of assault weapons which have been invariably used in killing school children and others.
The Second Amendment in just one sentence authorizes the right of citizens to form militias for their protection, a fact never mentioned by the NRA. The purpose of the Second Amendment was also to guarantee the uninfringed right to bear arms by the militia. This was upheld in decisions of the Supreme Court until the more recent District of Columbus handgun case. Citizens should read the Second Amendment and decide for themselves.
So the question is why this country almost alone among all other nations has so many innocents frequently gunned down, and what is the role of the NRA since these tragedies began and continue unimpeded?
John Bratton, Sewanee