Blog

Jul 10, 2023

Rethink hospital on Moccasin Bend and more letters to the editors

Rethink hospital on Moccasin Bend Mental health is one of the biggest issues facing our society, and thankfully our governor has committed $277 million to create a new mental health facility in

Rethink hospital on Moccasin Bend

Mental health is one of the biggest issues facing our society, and thankfully our governor has committed $277 million to create a new mental health facility in Chattanooga.

The decision has apparently been made to build this critically needed resource [near] the land currently occupied by the existing facility. Several alternatives have been considered, including one on the Erlanger campus. This site is particularly interesting in that it is easily accessible to staff, patients, families and the EMS system, and adjacent to the tertiary services provided by Erlanger. It is also the trend for new psychiatric facilities to be co-located on academic medical center campuses.

Rebuilding this new facility on the 800-acre national park site will dramatically affect the ability to implement the vision of a new national park and expanded Riverwalk. Every city must continue to reinvent itself if it is to remain relevant. This project could be Chattanooga's new "Central Park."

Before this very critical decision is finalized, please listen to the community ("The Chattanooga Way") and create both a world-class mental health facility and an incredible new national park.

Bruce Komiske

Life of hardships and determination

We read the heartwarming story about Martavious Collins written by TFP Sports Editor Stephen Hargis in the Aug. 13 edition.

His life of hardships and his determination to overcome them is a testament to his desire for a good life ahead.

He is on the right path.

Go get 'em, Martavious! You are a winner.

Narney and Tim Raulston

Never call 'Jesus' chicken 'mediocre'

Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches "are mediocre." You can call the "Lookouts" a crazy name for a baseball team (it's not) and the International Towing Museum a money-laundering operation (I have my suspicions), but never refer to our beloved Jesus Chicken as "mediocre."

I was going to give the new left-side editor a little honeymoon, but now I have my reservations.

It was especially hurtful to refer to Jesus Chicken as "mediocre" (LeBron Hill's words, not mine) on the only day of the week I can't get my fix: Sunday!

C. Mark Warren

Ooltewah

Trump in court not Trump on the stump

Donald Trump tried by voters in an election versus Donald Trump tried in a court of law:

1. Trump at a campaign rally: "Democrats say nothing about the Biden crime family, while Joe Biden indicts me for crimes I did not do in response to him stealing the 2020 election from me."

Crowd goes wild, cheering and chanting, "Let's go Brandon."

2. Trump in a court of law: " The Biden crime family walks away, clean, while I am tried illegally for nothing because I complained about the illegal 2020 election that stole the presidency from me."

3. The judge: "Mr. Trump, this court, and 60 others in this judicial system of the United States, was open to any and all evidence of fraudulent voting or manipulation of election systems during the 2020 presidential election. No verifiable evidence was provided to this court or to any of the other 60. Additionally, multiple official investigations and recounts of votes have proven the 2020 election to be free, fair, and absolutely binding as the voice of the majority of our electorate. Therefore Mr. Trump, you are stating a lie in this court. Should you voice this lie anymore in this court of law, I will hold you in contempt and fine you $5 million for each occurrence. Do you understand, Mr. Trump?"

4. Trump: "Yes, your honor."

See the difference, Sens. Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and other Republicans ad nauseam?

Robert Landry

Choosing Trump over our Constitution

Former President Trump was indicted again. Hopefully, this time he will be held accountable to the law and his evil-orange spectre forever removed from our political life.

What is most dismaying is that our normally nondescript Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and our supine Sens. Hagerty and Blackburn are so quick to castigate a grand jury decision to charge Trump. They bend over backwards to defend him. Why? Why would they defend anyone charged with trying to overturn the vote of the people? Why do they defend the man who incited the riot against the Capitol? They could have remained silent and waited for the decision, then stated what they think of the outcome. But no, they condone Trump's actions. What does that say about their character, about their political mindset? What does it say about the people of Tennessee that our representatives choose Trump over the Constitution, the law and the sanctity of our elections?

Our congressional representative and senators have disgraced us. I will not forget that at the next election.

Katheryn A. Thompson

Democrats counting on your obedience

Signs you might be an obedience idiot:

› You immediately take every vaccine shot pushed by the (Pharma-funded) corporate media and authoritarian government.

› You hate Donald J. Trump because you are easily manipulated by the corporate media which has conspired with the deep state for years to try to destroy Trump.

› You use Google as your search engine, and you believe all the globalist-funded "fact checkers" on Facebook and YouTube.

› You've been brainwashed into thinking carbon dioxide — the molecule responsible for photosynthesis and literally all plant life on planet Earth — is a danger to the planet.

› You celebrate the surveillance state because "I don't have anything to hide," and you gladly install Amazon spy devices in your home that listen to every conversation.

› You refuse to see the evil in anyone other than Donald Trump supporters or Christians, and you think that "good intentions" from those in power will always produce positive results, even if it means denying people freedom and liberty.

Yes, if you have any of these traits, you are exactly what the Democrats want.

Gary Hayes

Ooltewah

Mom's apple pie and our democracy

Similarities abound! Mom's apple pie has a "relatively" precise recipe. A recipe for the crust, followed with one for the filling.

Putting together a pie recipe to be savored over the generations is celebrated in most families. Whatever the recipe, it requires a respect for the process and understanding the "history." If I change the recipe, it will change the outcome.

A successful democracy results from a "relatively" precise recipe and adherence to the practice. It starts with ideas and participation and an understanding of history. First come ideas from extensive conversations and involvement of a community. The idea has to have "relatively" wide appeal for it to stand a chance to succeed and become "practice." History gives a context for potential application. If we are to learn from history, we must teach history as it was and not as we wish it were, followed by participation.

Many of us think that as individuals, we cannot make a difference. Change has to start somewhere, so why not with you? Conversation with your personal circle is a starting place. As a community, we struggle with conversation, especially with people we "think" do not agree with us. Try it, because our democracy depends on it.

We know the recipe; now we must practice. We must start talking to each other. Discussion can bring more understanding — and a more inclusive democracy. That's a positive outcome worth reaching for!

Irv Ginsberg

Some things should not be taught in school

I am writing to you about my concerns about how children at a very young age should not be exposed to certain topics like gender identity, and how I think Georgia elementary school teacher Katie Rinderle was wrong in what she did. While I believe in good education, I believe that topics like gender identity should be taught at a more mature age.

As a student, though in college, I can't believe that Mrs. Rinderle read that book to elementary kids. Not once in 13 years of school have I ever been told or read to about something related to gender identity.

Although I am not a parent, I 100% agree with the four parents who said they felt like their children are not ready to talk about gender identity, and how they think it's not appropriate.

It is important to remember that parents have the right to guide their children according to their family values. Having schools or a teacher like Mrs. Rinderle discussing gender identity without proper consideration of parental input can cause trust issues with parents and the educational systems around the country.

Matthew Raney

Apison

Don't misinterpret language in the Bible

Is the Bible inerrant, completely true, inspired by God? If so, what does the Bible say about abortion? Nothing, that's right, nothing. If abortion isn't in the Bible, God never called it murder or sin. The Bible warns against mildewed clothing, Leviticus 13:47-52, but not abortion. Evangelicals quote misleading scripture as "evidence" for their beliefs. Do you think God is stupid? If God meant abortion to be called murder or sin, God had 788,280 words in the King James Bible to plainly say so, but didn't and warned against mildew.

Abortion, infanticide and child abandonment were permitted under Roman law at the time of Jesus, but Jesus said nothing about them. "The Lord called me from the womb." Isaiah 49:1-5, Genesis 18:10 or 1 Samuel 1:12-20 all call individuals. The pronouns used in each verse are singular "I or me" not "us or we." Each biblical verse above is a self-verifying individual and is absolute proof God never intended this to mean everybody. Jesus, alone, is the exception.

Deuteronomy 4:2, "Do not add to what I command ..." With abortion, evangelicals have invented their own religion and through God's wrath are losing membership.

David Bean

Chatsworth, Ga.

Legal questions to consider

Our esteemed ex-prez, Donald Trump, is currently facing a number of criminal trials for various untruths and bad decisions he's made. Most are federal, but one is a state trial in Georgia.

What if he is acquitted in the federal trials but is found guilty in the Georgia trial and sentenced to prison? Does this mean his lifetime Secret Service detail is imprisoned with him, and do their weapons stay with them?

If so, what if one of the guards "accidently" rubs out the disgraced ex-executive? Is he (possibly she) charged and tried, or is the whole gang tried as a single entity? Is he (or she or they) guilty of a state or national crime? This whole strange business has opened up an odd, new can of worms.

Thomas Rodgers

Dayton