Proof that people are caring, kind
We were blessed by many folks outside of a recent Christmas Market who cared enough to help us after a nasty injury.
My wife and I had finished shopping at the wonderful Christmas Market at the downtown convention center. We returned to our car with all kinds of neat gifts when my wife tripped on a sidewalk crack. She went down quickly, hit her head and was bleeding.
Five or six couples came to our rescue: One called 911; another got a great police officer on duty at the market to check out the situation; another went to a local hotel and got an ice pack; another had a towel to allow my wife to lift her head off of the pavement; most amazing was the Erlanger behavioral health professional who kept talking to my wife, I assume, to both comfort her and to ensure she was conscious and aware.
Hamilton County EMTs arrived They stabilized the cut above her eye. We drove ourselves to Erlanger's ER, where we received excellent care.
These good Samaritans acted in the true spirit of Christmas, giving without expectation of a return for which we are ever grateful.
Bob and Fran Dreyer
Legislator's action angers physician
Tennessee Rep. John Ragan, chairman of the Government Operations Committee, has begun attacking the state Board of Medical Examiners and threatening dismissal of current board appointees.
His attack is based on the recent COVID-19-specific legislation signed by Gov. Lee. Specifically, Mr. Ragan cites TCA 4-4-104 in asserting that the board has acted illegally by advising physicians of potential disciplinary action for spreading misinformation/disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. Ragan's assertion of illegality is totally incorrect in that the statement by the board is simply a reminder of possible disciplinary process for abuse of the authority conferred by medical licensure in this state.
Though the board's statement is specific to COVID-19 vaccination, the potential discipline for spreading lies about consensus medical modalities has long been in the rules of the board. The reminder statement is purely advisory in the current milieu of COVID-19 quackery.
I encourage TMA to send a members-signed letter to our legislature and governor to show emphatic support for our board and admonition to rescind intrusive COVID-19 legislation.
As a physician I am appalled by the legislator's arrogant intrusion into the board's policing of medical standards.
Robert Landry
Wants Fleischmann voted out of office
Seldom do I find two letters from opposing camps with which I can agree, but Sunday's Times Free Press showed me that is it possible.
One writer suggests that Rep. Fleischmann should resign because of his anti-democratic actions earlier this year. The other writer suggests that we are in a very different America than the one in which he (and we) grew up.
I have to agree that the times are very different. Not since Sen. Joe McCarthy has there been such an attack on democracy, and as the other writer states, Rep. Fleischmann is a party to that attack on our system and our country.
In German, "Fleischmann" translates to "meat man," which essentially means "butcher." Rep. Fleischmann is an excellent example of a "butcher" since he is among Trump supporters who are determined to eliminate fair elections to ensure that his party, and the loser of the last election, can be in control of the United States.
It must not be allowed to happen. Good people who love our republic must vote to remove people like him from office to ensure our country remains the United States and not become BelarUS.
James M. Hemsley
We aim for personal redemption, not hate
What haters liberals are.
Pam Sohn (Times, Dec. 4) headlines "The polarization must stop," then calls Sen. Cruz and Rep. Greene "wingnuts."
Jackie Calmes (Dec. 8) calls Rep. McCarthy "the mistitled leader," writes of "gun-toting bigots," "the polarization Trump turbocharged," "Islamophobic slurs," "bigotry," "deserve expulsion" and more.
Is Rep. Boebert's backpack joke any worse than how TV "comics" treat Republicans?
Remember candidate Obama's "They get bitter ... cling to guns or religion" and candidate Clinton's "deplorables irredeemable."
Against proud contempt and personal destruction, Christians aim for personal redemption. A doctor loves a patient by diagnosing a horrible disease, naming it, and prescribing drastic treatment and lifestyle changes; not by writing off patients ("irredeemable"), nor by pretending all is well. So we hate sins, and love sinners too much to pretend they're OK. Prison Fellowship and Alcoholics Anonymous are two obvious examples: Hate crime, love convicts.
"Christ died for our sins"; do Islam or secularism or Hinduism even claim to offer such love? He "rose again the third day" (in historical, biographical fact); do they even claim to show miraculous power in human lives on earth?
Andrew Lohr