Letters policy
The News Courier encourages letters to the editor. Submissions should be no more than 400 words and should include a name, address and telephone number for verification. Submissions that do not meet requirements are subject to editing. Send letters by noon on Thursdays to P.O. Box 670, Athens, Ala., 35613, or e-mail to kelly@athensnews-courier.com.
Government hasn’t changed
Dear Editor:
Change. It is what was promised to us throughout the presidential campaign.
Change, by definition means: To give a completely different form or appearance to; transform.
I do not know about the rest of you, but I have not seen the change in Washington that was promised. I am seeing some agendas being pushed that I may or may not agree with, but agendas are pushed by every president. I get that.
Not to sound too much like a skit from Saturday Night Live, I’d like to ask you the following:
Has the issue of lobbyists been addressed? Nope.
Puh-lease! What influence do you or I, who donate $25, $50, $100 to a candidate, have against lobbyist groups who have millions of dollars at their disposal? Money talks.
Has anyone proposed/passed term limits for members of Congress/Senate? Nope.
If our representatives knew they were limited to two terms in office, they might focus their attention on what is in the best interest of the states they represent, rather than focusing on what interest group is funding their next election bid.
Have we addressed the issue of over spending? Nope.
First, President Bush increased our national debt during his eight years.
Obama is now not only following in Bush’s footsteps with regard to spending, he is running in his footsteps.
Our national debt is increasing at an alarming rate. According to www.usdebtclock.org our national debt is at $11.9 trillion.
The bottom line, taking in all other factors, each citizen of the United States is responsible for $343,642 of that debt.
Have we eliminated earmarks from bills? Nope.
You and I place earmarks on our paychecks. We have an earmark for our mortgage payment; electric bill; groceries; etc.
Government attaches earmarks to bills in order to get them funded. The good ole boys’ club is cashing in at the taxpayers’ expense.
Where is all that transparency and accountability? Is this administration anymore transparent than any of the others? You get to see what they want you to see. You know how to tell when a politician is lying? His lips are moving.
America needs to do their own research about their representatives and not just listen to the news media. Trust but verify. What did your representative promise you if they were elected? Have they fulfilled those promises? Do their voting records represent what it is they promised? I think you would be very surprised to learn whether their words match their actions.
Sincerely
Karen Stein
Athens
‘No’ to government health care
Dear Editor:
I have recently noted that the “left wing” Democrats are constantly accusing the “right wing” Republicans of domestic terror and being racists and fostering hate. But the e-mail with all the accusations was much more evil and nasty than anything I’ve heard from the “right.” We do not need government controlled health care ... rather more freedom to purchase insurance across state lines. We do not need “cap and trade.” We need less government control and interference.
Vote for above and I and my family will not vote for you!
Sincerely,
Michael Thompson
Trinity
Wake up and smell unemployment
Dear Editor:
It took the United States of America 233 years (1776-2009) to amass a national debt of $11 trillion. President Barack Obama's record large 2009 budget deficit estimated at $1.85 trillion and his own spending plans for the next 10 years (2010-2019) show that our national debt will likely double over the next 10 years.
It's time to pay attention to what is about to happen in America. If President Obama gets his health insurance package passed the unemployment rate is going to 20 percent. Think of that for a moment.
Think of your four best friends and you. One of you is out of work. The commercial real estate bust hasn’t hit yet but it will, just like the home mortgage problem did. Add to that all the small businesses laying people off to get their payroll under President Obama's health insurance limit and all of a sudden you have 20 percent unemployment. I don't know why the president is doing this (I’ve got my educated guess).
It’s certainly not health insurance. It certainly is strange that any leader would push policies that will totally destroy the economy for the next 100 years but that is what’s going on. Is health care reform needed? Has Athens-Limestone Hospital ever turned anyone away? No.
Do people choose to prioritize health care low? Sure they do. They have money for beer, cigarettes and big screens but not for health insurance.
I urge you to contact your congressman and senators and tell them no. Even if you fell for the smoke-and-mirror show last November, you can't ignore the catastrophe that's just around the corner.
Sincerely,
Larry Keenum
Athens
Legislature needs bipartisanship
Dear Editor:
If there was ever a time when the Alabama Legislature should work together in a bipartisan manner, it must be now. Although, Alabama’s acting finance director may feel that the recession may have bottomed out, I'm sure that the many thousands of Alabamians who are out of work feel like we are still in a recession. Many economists estimate that it will be more than six years before employment and consumer spending will recover.
The education budgets have experienced severe cuts of about 18.5 percent over the past two years and will more than likely see more cuts during the recovery process. The future of Alabama's educational system may be in trouble unless we can find ways to create a more stable system of funding our public schools, especially for grades K-12.
The billions of dollars we have received from the so called "Federal stimulus" funding has helped the state stay afloat for the past couple of years; however, these funds will not continue forever and no doubt will make our recovery even more painful.
Our consumer-based economy would likely see a faster recovery if we could develop ways to reduce consumer tax rates, on food items for example. This would also help many of those families who need it the most.
Sincerely,
Jerry W. Hill
Athens
City funds should go to police
Dear Editor:
In the midst of a recession and high unemployment, City Council President Marks got passed Athens contribution of $1million to the Robotic Institute, to be paid over four years. It will not generate one cent of revenue for Athens or jobs as no industries in Athens use robotics. Huntsville, which has numerous large industrial plants, contributed nothing. Decatur, several times Athens size with major industrial plants, contributed only $1 million. This was a serious error in judgment that should be rescinded.
The city has spent $150,000 to move and restore an old gas station that gets no visitors except those seeing KALB. The city did receive a plaque from the state historical commission. Athens seemed to be the only city willing to spend taxpayer funds, so needlessly, to satisfy one woman's ego.
City funding for various groups and organizations, not city operating activities, has increased over 400 percent since 2004. Why? We fund the Spirit of Athens when we already fund the Chamber of Commerce with a competent tourism director. We fund mental health at double Decatur's funding level and yet there is talk of spending $1 million for another mental health center in downtown Athens and spending $250,000 for changes to the city square. We are spending many thousands of dollars for a sidewalk along Lindsay Lane from highway 72 to the roundabout and a 30 percent salary increase for the mayor. Why?
In spite of all this spending to satisfy personal agendas and egos, the city has refused to recognize the need to provide decent wages for our law enforcement officers and their families. Our officers keep us safe when we sleep at night, and during our day, at the risk of their own personal safety and lives! Councilmen Wales and Gill have repeatedly asked Council president Marks to review the city's human resources director's plan, to no avail. This is outrageous conduct when you consider that this is a growing city with increasing responsibilities and demands upon our officers while they are paid less than in other surrounding cities.
Training replacement officers costs over $25,000 per officer. Yet, some of our council members lack concern for their morale and the loss of officers to other cities. Where's their sense of fairness? Let's give our police officers a fair shake and quit penalizing them to satisfy less pressing and less critical projects. Enough of the excuses!
Sincerely,
Quentin D. Anderson Sr.
Athens
Why must coaches behave badly?
Dear Editor:
We were at a county school, quietly waiting for the national anthem to begin before a baseball game. Someone yelled from the softball field, “Are you an idiot, what’s wrong with you?” And some other loud words.
I remembered days earlier. As I was taking some kids home from baseball practice, one kid remarked, “Coach was really mad today, he dropped the “F” bomb.”
Do these people talk to others this way? Why are we paying them to talk to our kids like this? Why do they think you have to act like a jerk to coach sports?
Sincerely,
Dean Phillips
Elkmont
