Cycling great but has many limitations

I appreciate Rebecca Serna's pro-cycling perspective ("Freedom on two wheels," @issue, May 14). However, she does not explain why cycling remains a minority pastime.

First, her commute is only four miles. Few Atlantans would embrace an average one-way 20-mile commute by bike. Second, what does Serna do when weather is inclement? Atlanta gets 50 inches of rain annually, and daytime winter temps average 40 degrees. We are Atlantans, not Spartans.

Third, since there are so few cyclists, is GDOT spending best applied to increasing bike lanes? This is not a "build-it-and-they-will-come" scenario. Fourth, Serna may think bikes are traffic, but roads are built for cars, not bikes. Cyclists who cruise down the middle of major roads as if they were cars impede traffic flow and arouse motorist resentment toward cyclists. I love cycling, but it's no more the answer to traffic congestion than hang-gliding.

GERARD WICKLIN, Decatur

Statue depicts very opposite of King

I agree with Marc Fisher's dismay with the proposed statue of MLK; it is an abomination, and the artist's race or residency has nothing to do with my disapproval ("MLK wouldn't dream of this memorial," @issue, May 13). Rather, it is the obvious disconnect his image has with everything the man I revere, whom I've seen countless times on screen and in images, embodied in his words, actions and appearance.

This statue depicts everything King wasn't: closed, stiff, cold, formal, authoritarian, menacing, standoffish, haughty, imposing. As Fisher notes, the only solution is to start over. I'd rather see a delay in the memorial's opening than this be the lasting representation of the man who selflessly gave of himself and continues to inspire millions around the world.

STEVEN CHARLES, Atlanta

A dino-sized thank-you to George W. Bush

I would like to congratulate Mike Luckovich on his cartoon (@issue, May 14). I used to waste time and energy being furious at the people who put President Bush in office, not once, but twice. Now I would like to send them all flowers.

After watching for 7 1/2 years the most incompetent American president who has ever been in office, I thank them. Yes, indeed. George Bush single-handedly has made sure that the Republican Party will most certainly be "extinct" for a long, long time.

SUSAN C. BAKER, College Park

Pensioners not to blame for city's woes

Pensioners are not the villains in the city of Atlanta's financial woes. Benefits were increased to attract qualified applicants and to retain experienced officers. The city was also compelled to contribute its share in a timelier manner.

The salary schedule has been adjusted many times to justify huge salary increases for executive managers. To blame pensioners for the financial woes is simply an argument of convenience. Employees contribute 6 percent to 7 percent of their salary toward the pension, so the notion that the pensioners have been given something is simply wrong.

Fault, if any is to be assigned, should be leveled at the people accountable for management methods that fail to adhere to best practices. Reducing pension benefits will result in the city having to pick from the leftovers from other law enforcement agencies. The city deserves much more than that.

M. LEE BROOKS

Brooks, of McDonough, is a retired deputy chief of police.

Invest $600 windfall in ExxonMobil stock

With gasoline prices at record highs, the usual curses and cries of "obscene" oil profits are being heard again. On top of all this bawdiness we are being stimulated by checks from the government.

I have found the perfect way to get satisfaction from the $600 windfall that came my way. ExxonMobil stock is selling at about $90 a share. Even with the trading fees, that's six pieces of hot capitalist action. You too can have your obscenity without pornography, and it's a far better bet than the lottery. Brokers are standing by.

MIKE TUOHY, Buford

Krauthammer crafty in Clinton column

Charles Krauthammer's column ("Clinton finds winning formula, but too late," @issue, May 9) sums up Hillary Clinton's fuel-holiday tax plan as "an overreach." He punctures the plan's value yet snidely avoids identifying it as a plan in which she and John McCain are on similar wavelengths. How convenient! Need I interject that Krauthammer is as crafty as his Republican candidate?

NATHAN ADLER, Rome, Ga.

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