Letters to the Editors
Bill on unions means loss of secret vote I have never been in a union, so this is not about whether unions are good or bad. But the bill being introduced in Congress this week — wrongly named the “Employee Free Choice Act” — will take away your choice about whether you are in one. Today, employees at a company get to vote in a secret ballot to decide whether the majority wants a union. With this bill, union organizers will pressure workers personally to sign a card, and a card from the majority of workers will bring in the union. It should be called the “End of Secret Ballot Act.” It is offensively un-American. Why would a union be afraid of a secret ballot? They must be afraid of how the workers would vote in a secret ballot. Why would you want to lose the right to vote the way you want? Why would you want any congressman to vote for this bill? You can be sure that Rep. Zach Wamp, Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander will vote against this bill, but what about the representatives of your friends across the country? Call them, and encourage them to tell their representatives early and often how they feel about the “Employee Free Choice Act.” ROBERT DIVINE Signal Mountain Photo is lesson in how to share It has been said “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and the picture of Thomas Sykes and Harbor Bent on page B3 of Tuesday’s edition of the Chattanooga Times Free Press is a great example. Too many adults have allowed this world to cause their attitudes to be of greed, prejudiced and racist. Let us learn from little Thomas and share everything that God has blessed us with. And let us remember the words of Christ, in Matthew 18:3, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” BEN BURKE Don’t blame children for parents’ mistakes “Tragedy compounded in Levy slaying” (editorial, March 8) asks “...might Chandra Levy be alive today if our nation had enforced its immigration laws?” Assuming the undocumented suspect committed the murder, the answer would be “yes!” However, the question does not address the immigration problem. There are about 12 million undocumented people in our country. They come from all over the world, and most are hard-working. Many of them hand-pick the fruits and vegetables we consume. They perform the back-breaking work for abysmal wages for the sake of their children’s future. Maybe the suspect’s parents instilled in him a dream to attend college. Maybe he was one of the 65,000 undocumented students who graduate from high school each year. However, an undocumented and high-achieving student must pay exorbitant, out-of-state tuition in Tennessee. How does a poor, 18-yearold kid cope when he can’t go? Without the hope of attending college or getting hired, he is susceptible to running with the wrong crowd and committing crimes. The DREAM Act prevents us from penalizing children for their parents’ mistakes. Its passage would provide tuition assistance and a path to conditional permanent residency for the most deserving children. WALTER RAMIREZ Knoxville Chief should stay open to criticism Police Chief Freeman Cooper should be ashamed of his dastardly approach in blacking out communication with one of Chattanooga’s most valuable talk show hosts, Robert T. Nash. I understand the inflammatory nature of Nash’s remarks regarding recent controversies within the Chattanooga Police Department have opened a volatile can of worms, as I’m sure Mr. Nash himself understands, but it would also behoove Chief Cooper to grasp his responsibility as a public official to remain open to all criticisms — even the harsh ones — from the Chattanooga citizens to whom he owes total service, and maintain transparency throughout his entire department when the performance or behavior of our police officers is called to question. Robert T. Nash as a talk radio host delivers spit-fire editorialization on his program that, obviously, truly opens dialogue in this city with an efficiency untouched by his local contemporaries. His role as an editorialist on air should not send the CPD running for cover, unless, of course, they’re running from their own mistakes. KELLEY FITZPATRICK-HOLLAND Harrison Public must demand TVA responsibility I would like to express my “disgust” with TVA after reading your March 2 article on their credit card use. TVA is as irresponsible as the banking industry. The only difference being, all they have to do to cover their waste is to raise their rates on the helpless public. Also, TVA announced last year they were going to discontinue weed control on private waters. Well, I have news for TVA. There are no private waters on Lake Guntersville. The people in those areas have to pay TVA a permit fee to erect a pier, boathouse and even to build a seawall. TVA has lost, or should I say rejected, their ability and responsibility to enforce their policies on keeping boathouses and piers updated and safe for the users of the lake. It appears they have also lost their ability to control their employees’ credit card use. I guess that is why they don’t have to sell off any of the land they own which would help others as well as themselves. Our government lets TVA do as they darn well please. It is time we, the people, demand some control and responsibility. CHARLES SMITH Dutton, Ala. Remember the words from Ronald Reagan A quote from President Ronald Reagan: “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” MOLLY CORN Cleveland, Tenn. New technologies enhance wind energy Recently a letter stated “a large commitment to wind power is actually a large commitment to fossil fuels.” The letter’s details for this claim were based on oldfashioned electric power operations. It ignored new energy technologies that can help meet demand even when the velocity of wind blowing over land is low, including technologies that can store wind-generated energy. For example, the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research reports new advanced design litihium-ion and sodium sulfur batteries, manufactured at economic scale, can provide affordable electricity storage. The letter also ignored the possibilities of compressed air and hydrogen storage. Further, it ignored the higher reliability of off-shore wind generation where winds blow more consistently than on land. The complete picture, revealed by highest level data analysis, shows wind power can be an essential part of a national system that would fully meet our future energy needs, without any coal or nuclear power, when the system includes increased electricity end-use efficiencies and other truly renewable sources such as solar and geothermal. Moreover, costs of new electric power technologies will save us all money in the long run because they will eventually become less expensive than both nuclear power and burning coal. WILLIAM REYNOLDS Many drivers guilty of ‘reckless operation’ If the law enforcement community does not have a category of “reckless operation of a motor vehicle,” it needs one. This covers a multitude of driving sins, especially the cell-phone users who are extremely reckless. They put all pedestrians and all transportation at risk. I was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Reckless operation of a motor vehicle included not using turn signals, following too close to the car in front of you, stepping out of your car on the driver’s side, crashing red lights and ignoring stop signs, etc. Multi-tasking should never be done by a driver behind the wheel of a car. PEGGY R. LONGWITH TO SUBMIT LETTERS Keep them topical, short (200 words or less), legible and not more often than one every 30 days. Letters may be edited for clarity and length. Must be signed with name, address and telephone number. Send to: Editorial page editor (either Times or Free Press), P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37401; fax: 423-757-6383; or email: letters@timesfreepress.com