TFP provides valuable forum
Thank you, TFP, for a year of letters to the editor.
I read them every day. I am thankful that we still have the freedom to express our opinion, and the paper has the freedom to provide the news. We all have opinions, some like-minded and some different.
Different opinions are how we grow together.
Our way may not be the best way, so we open our minds and try to do what is best for all. If we listen and truly love our country, I believe there is hope for all Americans.
Thank you, TFP, for making a way for us to read the paper in a digital format. I was not in favor at the first mention. My friends love it, and as I listened to why they love it I changed my mind.
Peace and kindness to all.
Ruth Cote
Hixson
Christmas, USA spirit reflected on tree
Thanks once more to the secret Santa who always surprises us with the Christmas tree by the railroad tracks on Hickory Valley.
This year's offering is especially beautiful - and meaningful - adorned in patriotic colors and giving us a renewed sense of community.
Your gift is always appreciated and a treasure of heart is found in this kindness. Merry Christmas to all!
Libby Simons
Harrison
Manchin's position hurts constituents
I can understand why Sen. Joe Manchin opposed the Build Back Better plan.
It would help alleviate poverty and reduce costs for struggling families. Looking at the statistics, West Virginia doesn't need it. According to the Census Bureau, the state ranks among the highest for poverty, especially among working age men, highest among unemployment, highest among youth age 18-24 without a high school degree, highest among children living apart from parents, one of the highest teen birth rates, highest in food insecurity, most on government health insurance and among the highest percentage of welfare recipients.
Just a footnote about the 70% voted for Donald Trump. If any state in the union can thrive without government aid, it is West Virginia. Thank you, Sen. Manchin, for working in the interests of your constituents.
William Hubers
East Ridge
Rep. Fleischmann, do your job or resign
When you put politics above the law, more importantly above the Constitution, then your credibility is gone.
Rep. Fleischmann, when you took the oath of office you swore to uphold and defend the Constitution. Well, you broke that oath on Jan. 6 when you voted against the certification of the Electoral College. It was not your place to vote against the count. It was your constitutional obligation to vote to certify the count. You had no proof of a fraudulent vote count in the general election. All you had were lies from a sore loser and his sycophants who repeated his lies as much as they could. And now look at their consequences. Trump has dropped them like a hot potato. Twice you have voted to not uphold the law in issuing a warrant for Steve Bannon or Mark Meadows. They have broken the law by ignoring legal subpoenas issued by the House Committee. How many laws are you willing to turn your back on? Is the money from re-election donors talking louder than your morals? This is not what's expected of you. You swore to uphold the Constitution against all opponents both foreign and domestic.
David R. Fleury
Apison
Where is the America we grew up in?
Read in my newspaper recently that a judge over some proceedings of Jan. 6 is using defendant's social media to help decide sentencing.
Remember some of these people have been in jail for months without having access to a lawyer or having a chance at bail. All this while suspects in liberal districts are out with nearly no bail.
Think back a few months when rioters burned, looted and destroyed millions of dollars worth of property. None are in jail; none are being punished. Yep, double standards are alive and well.
Conservative folks, this is not the America we grew up in.
Herbert Braswell
Ban single-use plastics as solution
After the temporary suspension of curbside recycling in August, and the subsequent influx of trash going into the landfill, Chattanooga should take a hard look at the amount it is using and consuming. The issues with municipal recycling programs have become all too clear with the high chance of contamination in bins and the amount of nonrecyclables being put into recycling bins.
People often skip over the "reduce and reuse" part of the catchphrase and go straight to recycling; however recycling is not a cure-all. Chattanooga needs to take a prominent step toward reducing waste by putting a ban on single-use plastics like cutlery, plates, cups, bags and to-go containers. With single-use plastics taken out of the equation, the amount of waste needing to be recycled could be greatly reduced, taking a major strain off the city's recycling program.
Lily Cooper
Vote challenges not unheard of
It seems every political article in TFP that comes from The Associated Press contains some reference to the Jan 6 riot at the capital. The implication continues to be that Jan 6, 2021, was the only time in American history when someone questioned an Electoral College vote count.
If either the AP or TFP were an honest arbiter of the truth, there would at least occasionally be an admission that every presidential election has multiple members of Congress contest the count. The Jan. 6, 2021, count is the only one that really got out of hand. Some occasional honesty would be appreciated.
Rusty Lacy
Rossville, Ga.