Tag: Letters to the editor

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Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said … (May 14, 2015)

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About Toby Sells’ post, “Man Indicted in Theft of Elton John’s Glasses” …

What a stupid thing to go to jail for.

OakTree

“So,” his new friends ask, “whattya in for?”

“I stole Elton John’s glasses.”

crackoamerican

“You’re my tiny dancer now, bitch.”

Dave Clancy

About Jen Clarke’s Viewpoint, “Sit! Stay!” urging Griz fans to stay to the end of games …

As a season ticket holder, I don’t think crowds leaving early is that big of an issue. The bigger issue is the late arrivers. The arena isn’t full until almost the 2nd quarter.

Clyde

I couldn’t disagree more. The Grizzlies, like every other NBA team, are a business. We enter into a business contract when we pay to enter FedExForum; they don’t let me in to be nice. Because I’m paying for their entertainment, I’m free to leave whenever I’m satisfactorily entertained. It has nothing to do with the Griz’s “due” or doing them “the honor.”

Daniel

I concur with the author. Daniel, do us all a favor and let someone else have your ticket — someone like a real Griz fan.

Grizz>Daniel

About Les Smith’s column, “Lives That Matter” …

Freddie Gray’s prior record is irrelevant. Nobody deserves to die for making eye contact with the police and running away. And that is what happened to Freddie Gray.

Our society does not rise and fall based on how we treat the best of us. It rises and falls on how we treat the least of us.

B

About Toby Sells’ post, “MLGW Approves $240 Million Smart Meter Purchase” …

MLGW is trying to sound benevolent and caring but there is an ulterior motive: Once they have the majority of homes converted, you will start seeing MLGW charge different rates depending on the time of day. As it is now, they can only see how much usage you have each month. But the smart meter will show your usage all day every day. Be prepared to pay more for energy usage between the hours of 3 to 10 p.m. (for example). Sure they will try to justify this by having cheaper usage after midnight, but who is going to do all their daily chores after midnight? This is nothing more than a money grab by MLGW.

FireFox

We used the smart meters in Southern California, before I moved to Memphis. After the meters were installed, everyone I know, including me, had lower utility bills. I think this is a great idea.

Memphian

If they try to install one on my home, I will put up a refraction metal sheet plate against the wall, so that the meter will send all my info to a neighbor’s meter, giving me no reading at all.

Chris.Riley

The sooner they do this the better. I don’t like having to put my dogs in the house so someone can intrude in the sovereign nation that is my backyard. Both my dogs are of Moorish ancestry.

Smitty1961

And where is MLGW getting the money for all these? The United Nations, of course! This is an Illuminati plot.

Jeff

About Toby Sells’ post, “Memphis City Council Wants Lunch” …

Adjust the schedule and allow an hour for lunch for everyone. Taxpayers should not be paying for council members/staff lunches. And cut the travel allowance in half. Sign up for webinars instead of hitting the road.

It disgusts me that these issues are coming up again when this city’s budget is so tight. Most council members have a full-time job in addition to the part-time pay they get for sitting on the council — part-time pay that is more than what a lot of their constituents make in a year.

Pamela Cate

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Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said (October 15, 2014) …

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About Bruce VanWyngarden’s Letter from the Editor on Amendment 1 …

When I see the “Yes on 1” signs in yards all over town, I just want to go up to those people and say “Do you really know what that means?”

It means we voluntarily give up our rights to privacy. And we invite our elected state representatives and senators, whoever they may be, now and in the future, to make whatever kind of laws they want to make about a woman and her family’s personal business. I am especially bothered by churches that are promoting this idea that we should defer to politicians about our private medical decisions.

It is gullible to condone government overreach on a promise from elected officials who may not even be in office two years from now. If the “Yes” people want to say their religious dogma compels them to believe this or that about abortion, that’s fine. We all have a right to believe what we want to believe. But, when those same people want laws passed that force me to abide by their beliefs, that’s a violation of my rights under the Constitution.

It really does not matter which political party we align with or whether we are black or white, rich or poor. Women of all stripes and persuasions have problem pregnancies and are vulnerable to incest and rape. What a travesty it would be to pass an amendment to the constitution that affords no protection to us in those cases. Vote “No” on Amendment 1.

Tonya Wall

My husband is an Episcopal minister. We are both Christians and adamantly opposed to Amendment 1. Although some people view this amendment as a religious litmus test, we must really look at the bigger picture. Amendment 1, if passed, would threaten our cherished system of government. The proponents of the amendment in the legislative branch are basically saying to the judicial branch of our government, “Since you struck down the laws we passed in 2000, we found a way to get around it. We will just change the very document we’ve sworn to uphold.” The sad thing is that they have hooked people of faith onto the idea that they can legislate morality and undermine our system of checks and balances.

The passage of Amendment 1 would set a dangerous precedent and could become a slippery slope for many issues, not just abortion. The Constitution ought to be about protecting people’s rights, not taking them away. If you read the proposed amendment, you can see how vaguely it was written: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion … not even in circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother.”

While none of us likes abortion, if we or someone we loved was in one of these extenuating circumstances, we would want these personal and very private medical decisions to be made in the doctor’s office and not in Nashville. Please respect the dignity and worth of each woman in our society by voting “No” on Amendment 1. And remember to cast a vote for the governor of your choice.

Janice Richie

Greg Cravens

About Jackson Baker’s post, “Bailey Hits ‘Deal … Political Machinations'” …

I hear there’s a special costume for Halloween this year, with a fuzzy grey-haired cowboy in a black mask and big 10-gallon hat, sitting astride a white stallion. They call him The Lone Dissenter.

OakTree

About Wendi C. Thomas’ column, “Husband Wanted. Unemployed Need Not Apply” …

I have an idea: How about the men not make the choices that will put them in prison and give them a record?

Breckrider

There are a lot of issues Wendi is pointing out here, and I can see why her critics like to give simple rebuttals like “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” They like these simple talking points, because it hurts to actually wrap their heads around the complexity of the issues.

Charlie Eppes

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Letters To The Editor Opinion

Letters to the Editor

Election 2008

John McCain has resurrected the old Republican playbook: Become a disqualifying factor in painting your opponent as unacceptable, and use smear on top of smear when you have nothing left to say about your own policies.

It works on gullible, uninformed voters who will support the “hot chick” or the “hero guy.” But for most of us, it doesn’t work any more. We’ve had eight years of these kinds of tactics. Karl Rove was one of the best at it. He could turn black into white and lies into “truth.”

Sarah Palin is an actor, and she played a credible politician in the vice-presidential debate. But I have seen a lot of actors in my day, and her performance was just that: a performance. If McCain and Palin are elected, the next four years will be like the last eight years. Only the names will have changed.

Palin is back on the stump, trying to tie Obama to former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. But being on a charity board with the guy is not the same as endorsing his conduct of 40 years ago, when Obama was 8 years old. The American people can surely figure that one out — except maybe some residents in East Tennessee, where any candidate who has a fish decal on the trunk of his car, wears a “WWJD” bracelet, and isn’t black is their kind of guy.

Joe M. Spitzer

Memphis

Imagine you’ve just received documents in the mail about your financial situation — scary information that your retirement funds are in danger, your savings and investments are not as robust as you’d been led to believe, and that soon your paycheck will be affected.

Two teams appear offering to help you figure this stuff out. One team talks a bit about the numbers. Some of what they say makes sense, some of it sounds half-baked, but at least you get the notion that these guys have experience with this kind of situation and have some sort of plan to fix it.

The other team gets all chummy and offers you a can of your favorite beer. They ask about your family and point out that they are “just folks” from down the street, same as you, no pretenses, no glib intellectualism. They give you a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. “We’re just regular guys, here to help,” they say. When pressed for specifics, they mutter some vague comment about how the other team has connections with terrorists.

You’d probably toss the second team out of your house because you’d recognize that their fake attempt at friendliness shows they have something to hide and nothing to offer.

Rodney Stells

Memphis

A Canadian friend recently asked me, “How could Americans possibly elect yet another president who wants to give more tax breaks to the richest 1 percent of your people?” 

I had to explain that a great number of factors come into play in American politics: Roughly 50 percent of Americans can’t read above a fifth-grade level, thereby making it hard for them to keep up with candidates’ records and points of view; evangelical Christians will vote for any candidate who says he opposes abortion, even if that candidate has murdered a bus load of nuns in front of 100 witnesses and openly advocates nuking Russia. I further pointed out that even Sarah Palin is far more knowledgeable about economics and foreign policy than 95 percent of Americans. 

Sadly, we have lost our lead as the nation with the highest living standard (that position is now held by Great Britain). We have lost our lead in science education and in respect around the world. Now our economy is failing due to eight years of rampant deregulation and lack of oversight from federal agencies. Most of this can be directly attributed to an uninformed electorate that bases decisions on emotions rather than reasoning. 

I recently read a letter to the editor decrying the awful “mess” of the Clinton years. I’d love a mess like that again: the highest budget surplus in history, the greatest prosperity in decades, and respect around the world that we will likely never experience again. 

Jim Brasfield

Collierville

With the election not far off, the political yard signs are starting to appear. As I drive around neighborhoods, I see signs reading “McCain/Palin” and “Obama/Cohen.” What happened to Joe Biden? Guess he’s not very well liked in the Mid-South.

Joe Mercer

Memphis

Categories
Letters To The Editor Opinion

Letters to the Editor

CREDIT: by Roy Cajero

Living Day-to-Day

I was outraged at the sympathy given to illegal aliens by Bianca Phillips (“Living Day-to-Day,” August 7th issue). Illegal aliens and their employers should face the repercussions of the laws they are breaking. What part of “illegal” do people not understand? Yes, life is a constant struggle for those breaking the law and who are on the run from authorities. Hopefully, the difficulties that these illegal aliens are experiencing will discourage them from breaking the law by entering the United States or overstaying their visas.

My good friend and ex-boyfriend is Hispanic. His parents immigrated to the U.S. legally, worked hard, raised three children, and now have grandchildren going to college. The immigrants who come here illegally are a slap in his family’s face, taking their jobs, getting free health care, and not paying taxes on income earned.

I have to laugh at Pablo Davis’ (director of Latino Memphis) statement that “many of these people are leading lawful lives and their only crime is the way they entered the country. Some even entered legally and simply overstayed.” Would that be similar to entering Davis’ residence without his consent and deciding to stay? Would entering a bank during normal operating hours and simply refusing to leave after banking hours be legal? The person would quickly be deported to 201 Poplar.

One of the “victims” Phillips interviews is 20-year-old Gabby Castillo, who moved here with her parents (illegally) when she was 6 years old. She complains that she has to register at college as an international student and pay three times as much and that she does not get any federal money. How many people born here or here legally would like to go to school, get federal money, and further their education? She has the audacity to complain about crushed dreams when people like her parents are taking jobs away from legal immigrants and people born in the U.S.

Yes, the United States is a nation of immigrants — legal immigrants. The United States is also a nation of laws. If we do not abide by those laws, there is anarchy. If you are here illegally, you should be deported.

Harris Coleman

Memphis

Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes’ death is a great loss to the Memphis community, as well as to the music world. I live in North Memphis, and I can remember as a child when Hayes lived on Birch Street and would walk to Mrs. Aikers’ store on Jackson Avenue. He was not as famous then as he ended up being, but he was a good neighbor who looked out for the kids on the street.

What a great talent — and a voice that will never be duplicated. Bless the Hayes family and rest in peace, Isaac. You will be missed, and your music will never fade away.

Cathy R. Porter

Memphis

Big Oil

In the year 2000, oil was $22.10 a barrel. President Bush’s conservative friends and Vice President Cheney had a secret meeting with Big Oil executives. Five years later, oil was $55 a barrel and the president was forced to pump from our strategic reserves to try and save his GOP friends in the “do nothing” Congress from election-year defeat.

Now it’s 2008, the last year of the Bush/Cheney rip-off for Big Oil. Exxon just made an $11.6 billion profit — in a single quarter. The GOP and their presidential candidate, John McCain, are repeating the mantra that we need more offshore drilling leases for the oil companies. They fail to mention that by the end of this month, there will be oil company bids on more than 40 million acres of offshore sites in the Gulf of Mexico going unused.

The companies can’t explore what they have now, much less if all our coastlines were leased suddenly for drilling.

The Republicans had the presidency and controlled both branches of Congress for six years without demanding more refineries and drilling from oil companies. Now they say drilling is the only answer. Why didn’t the president start buying oil for the reserve before it hit $110 a barrel? Why did the Republicans want to allow solar tax credits to lapse? Why are they opposed to giving renewable-energy companies tax breaks like the ones they insist on for the oil companies?

Think again about how we got from $22-a-barrel oil to $120-a-barrel oil in eight years. It wasn’t an accident.

Jack Bishop

Cordova

Categories
Letters To The Editor Opinion

Letters to the Editor

Ford Versus Corker

I have seen Ford and Corker ads for the Tennessee Senate race. Ford values religion, as do most Tennesseeans, but Corker’s labeling of Ford as a liberal misrepresents him. Ford is not endorsing religious issues.

I oppose religion in politics because of the tendency of some to use religious issues to win elections or to use the system to control people. Divisiveness and incivility are due to efforts to impose personal beliefs by majority vote, ignoring the rights of minorities.

Harold Ford Jr. is truly of the new generation who will fight for our common good. Our nation and our world need the new priorities that Ford envisions.

Anne W. Shafer

Memphis  

You can tell some politicians from honest folks because they are always licking their fingers and holding them in the air to see which way the wind is blowing before they commit to any decision. They neither lead nor follow until the poll numbers come out. Harold Ford Jr. is one of them.

I had every intention of casting a vote for Ford until his reprehensible vote in Congress that produced one of the most sinister pieces of legislation ever drafted by this government — the detainee trial and detention bill. It legalizes torture, does away with habeas corpus, allows for indefinite detention without charges being filed, the assignment of military lawyers with no appeals for a citizen advocate, and provides cover for agents (and administration officials) accused of inhuman interrogation methods.

I can understand Republicans voting for this. All they want to do is protect their majority seats and paint Democrats as weak-kneed, terrorist-supporting traitors. But Democrats who voted for this have sold American values down the river in order to get a seat at the table.

Joe M. Spitzer

Memphis

One Bob Corker ad features citizens from Chattanooga singing his praises. Ironically, the Chattanooga Police Department International Brotherhood of Police Officers (IBPO) Local 673 doesn’t share that view. They voted to support Ford. Maybe Corker needs to focus more on himself rather than trying to paint the conservative-leaning Ford as a radical liberal. 

If you want more of the same in Congress — no oversight, tax breaks for the rich, continued support for a failed war in Iraq, privatization of anything possible, corporate handouts, under-funding for education, and the continued push of cultural wedge issues — maybe Corker is your man. For the rest of us, whether liberal or conservative, Ford is the obvious choice.

Zack Lawrence

Memphis

A Corker loss will have grave implications for America, especially if Republicans lose the majority in the House or Senate. Do you want to see Nancy Pelosi as House speaker? Do you want to see the likes of Charles Rangel, John Dingell, Barney Frank, and John Murtha as committee chairs? A Democrat majority would have power to launch investigation after investigation, with more bickering than problem solving.  

Which party has better plans for the challenges facing our nation? Corker supports low taxes, securing our borders, immigration reform, and making defense and intelligence funding a priority. He should have your support.

Cathy Wright

Chattanooga

American Apparel

I would like to direct Meghann McAllister-O’Day’s attention (Letters, October 5th issue) to an in-depth article about American Apparel at KnowMore.org. In no way is Dov Charney exonerated, but there is a clearer understanding of the sexual-harrassment issues (three of the four cases have been dismissed) and union issues (American Apparel has taken a neutral policy toward employee unionization).

In addition, McAllister-O’Day criticizes American Apparel’s ads, saying that they are “just a repeat of the same tired images of women we see constantly.” I ask, Where? American Apparel’s models are mostly employees. They don’t wear makeup; they’re not airbrushed; they do not come from an agency; they are not on television or in magazines like Elle or Vogue, and they certainly are not the malnourished socialites in US Weekly.

Whatever its faults, American Apparel still makes high-quality garments in the U.S.A., holds itself to higher-than-union standards, and does not subscribe to the industry norms in its advertising. Additionally, the Memphis retail location at 530 S. Main is giving a much-needed boost to a vital and historic neighborhood.

Cort Percer, American Apparel

Memphis