Responses to ''The Michelle Obama drama,'' @issue, July 27

Many culprits were overlooked

I enjoyed reading Andra Gillespie's take on Michelle Obama's plight ("The Michelle Obama drama," @issue, July 20). I suspect this talented, accomplished woman will not only endure, but affect Washington politics for the good, way beyond her predecessors.

But Gillespie's attempt to find historical footing for the burden she faces is laughable. She first lists the dead-on societal issues that cripple poor communities and black women, then sees the root cause in historical "embedded stereotypes" in pancake boxes and mammy figures.

When she does find fault in contemporary America, it's with Fox News and The New Yorker. Not a word about "strip club" lyrics bought and downloaded by her legions of students, the torturous depiction of black matriarchy in big-box-office comedies (attended by majority-black audiences), our perpetual pandering to athletes who disrespect women and families, etc.

Why excuse culprits with misdirected commentary? I thought that was Gillespie's point —- what Michelle Obama will have to fight!

ED TESSARO

Alpharetta

Plenty to criticize

Andra Gillespie is concerned about Michelle Obama being stereotyped. What Gillespie really needs to worry about is the denigration of black women by hip-hop and gangsta music today, rather than dredging up 50-plus-year-old examples like "Amos 'n' Andy."

Being black does not make one immune from criticism. There's plenty to criticize about Michelle Obama. For starters, there's the self-absorbed hypocrisy of this successful, fashion-conscious woman who is proud of this country for the first time only because her equally self-absorbed husband will get the Democratic nomination.

BARRY KRIEGEL

Atlanta

Abortion protests

Responses to "Protest, yes: scare young children, no" @issue, July 18

Procedure's foes exploit, traumatize

A huge thanks to Atlanta mom Caroline Updyke for her powerful opinion column condemning the anti-abortion protesters who plagued Midtown recently. Sadly, her story is not unique. Women in my office have told similar stories of how their children were troubled by the giant photos of bloody fetuses.

I commend Updyke for attempting to reason with the protesters. Their flippant reaction, however, tells me they have no sense of decency and little capacity for reason. Are they really so self-absorbed as to think that Updyke's 5-year-old child is emotionally and mentally capable of understanding their message, especially given the horrific scare tactics they are using?

Abortion protesters frequently claim they hate abortion and love children. Yet they won't hesitate to exploit what they hate and traumatize what they love when it comes to promoting their political agenda.

KEVIN LITTLE

Atlanta

Even 4-year-old understands

It is so sad that the author of the opinion column does not see the irony of her article. The anti-abortion message is graphic and is so overwhelming to the eye and heart that even my 4-year-old can understand its power. A child can understand how these images can lead others to appreciate the life God has given them.

Instead of being concerned that her daughter may be offended as she eats her Happy Meal, she could have used the time to teach her how people value human life differently. My 4-year-old still believes in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy and has never viewed pornography, but she does know that "some mommies don't keep their babies," because we pray for the lives of the born and unborn everyday. The anti-abortion message may one day lead to Happy Meals for all children.

LAURA KEYES

Decatur

Carbon footprint

Responses to "A few too many tons of carbon dioxide," Letters, July 20

Uh, yes, 7 tons just about right

A recent letter scoffed at the suggestion in an opinion piece ("Coal power," @issue, July 11) that an automobile can produce about 7 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Actually, that's a pretty accurate estimate.

Give the following assumptions to a high school chemistry student: The car averages 20 miles per gallon, the gasoline is high octane (the good stuff), and the car burns the gasoline completely to form water vapor and carbon dioxide (this would be a perfect gasoline engine).

After actually doing the math, she'll report that the car averages about 0.91 pounds of carbon dioxide produced per mile traveled. If it's driven 15,000 miles per year, that's 6.8 tons of carbon dioxide.

ART BOWLING

Bowling is in the department of physics and astronomy at Agnes Scott College.

Not exactly 'preposterous'

A recent letter writer had trouble with the "preposterous" claim that a car might produce 7 tons of carbon dioxide in a year. I guess he just didn't do the math. It's not the least bit preposterous, and a car that gets less-than-average gas mileage or is driven more miles than the average would produce even more than 7 tons of carbon dioxide a year.

In addition, in his comments about water usage by power plants, the writer doesn't seem to understand that most water that evaporates doesn't return as rain over the same watershed from which it evaporated. Most of Georgia's surface water evaporated over the ocean.

TOM WELLNITZ

Decatur

Carter was right; let's slow down

Jimmy Carter said in 1977 that America needed to cut back on its oil consumption and enacted a 55 mph national speed limit ("Carter deserves credit for his energy smarts," @issue, July 20). He warned us that the energy situation was a "moral equivalent of war," which his critics immediately labeled as his "meow" factor.

Now, with gas at $4 a gallon, we hear Carter with new appreciation. Offshore drilling may pay off in 10 years, but we could reduce our speed right now. Cutting from 65 to 55 mph would save 20 percent. Cutting from 75 to 55 mph would save 30 percent and a billion barrels of oil per year. This is more than we import from the Persian Gulf.

I have made a commitment to not drive over 60 mph. Drivers behind me tailgate and stare, but I just think of how much money I am saving them. It could make a difference.

THOMAS ARE

Big Canoe

State's indeed in play come Nov. 4

Jim Wooten has written two columns recently declaring that Georgia is not in play in the general presidential election and that Barack Obama cannot win Georgia ("Despite hype, Obama won't carry Georgia," @issue, July 20; and "Obama tries to make Georgia seem in play; it isn't," @issue, July 8).

Wooten protests too much. What is he afraid of?

Wooten knows Georgia is indeed in play and is using his pen to play the age-old GOP game of trying to dissuade voters from voting. Furthermore, Wooten is trying to dissuade voters from voting for Bob Barr because he knows that Barr's presence on the ballot hurts McCain.

Let the voters vote. For Obama, McCain, Barr or Mickey Mouse, if they so choose.

BRETT W. EPPLEY

Roswell

GOP unworthy of 'pro-life' label

I'm tired of the pro-life wing of the Republican Party stealing my thunder and calling it their own. I am probably more pro-life than most and certainly more pro-life that the average claimant to that title.

To be truly pro-life is to work to end war (an obscene waste of life), feed the hungry, provide adequate and accessible health care to everyone, extend dignity to the elderly, control guns (which are decidedly not pro-life) and direct policy toward helping everyone achieve a meaningful and secure life.

And, oh yes, it includes protecting the unborn. But just as important, it means cherishing and preserving the quality of life all through the lifespan. I have found a better home for my idealism and pro-life views in the Democratic Party.

WILLIAM JORDAN

Lawrenceville

Generalization condescending, racist

I take sharp exception to a letter writer's broad-brush characterization of African-American men ("Responsibility sorely lacking," @issue, July 21). What is particularly insidious is that he glibly uses authority as a "veteran university educator" to validate his case.

To be clear, it is undeniable some African-American men leave a lot to be desired as it relates to family responsibilities. The writer's pronouncement would have been better served with use of the word "some," which would equally apply to the plight of some single mothers who made bad choices.

The letter writer's "learned" comments strike me as condescending and subtly racist. His opinion is a dismissive insult to my late father (and legions of black men like him), who was married to my mother 61 years, and to a current generation of black men, including myself, who follow in their footsteps.

THOMAS BLAIR JR.

Stone Mountain

Hybrid credit echoes the FairTax

James Glass' critique on how tax credits for buying hybrid cars could do more harm than good is a great illustration of why I support the FairTax to replace income tax and other needlessly complex parts of our tax structure ("Energy tax credits: Hybrid handout counterproductive," @issue, July 20).

The FairTax is a consumption tax. In Glass' own words, his proposed gas consumption tax encourages saving, has "no hidden rules or tax traps," has "no handouts to makers of favored technologies" (i.e., special interests) and notes that its "impact is universal and immediate."

Those statements could be taken right from the fairtax.org Web site. Further, Glass says his tax could be "rebated through lowered income taxes, employment taxes or some other way." Sounds uncannily like the prebate, a major element of the FairTax plan. These ideas are well-grounded in reason and focused on genuine problem solving, not political gamesmanship. It would be great if they dawned on more of our elected officials.

WILLIAM FOGARTY

Alpharetta

Naked truth? Levin knew how to live

The article on the front page of @issue ("Nothing private when you're naked as a jaybird" by Bob Levin, @issue, July 20) was so sweet and honest, written by a man who was able to take care of himself most of his life.

For those of us with elderly mothers, fathers, other family and friends we may be providing care to, thank you for publishing this. When one is the caregiver (and I speak for myself), I can see the pain, fear or embarrassment in their eyes when they can no longer do something so simple for themselves. Bob Levin relinquished [his life] with acceptance and humor. Thank you, Bob.

CHERYL PERKINS

Alpharetta

Addressing the primary-care crisis

The excellent article about the shortage of primary care family physicians in Georgia ("State low on family physicians," Page One, July 20) aptly described the need for institutions of higher learning in this state to redouble efforts to put more health care professionals into service as soon as possible, particularly in the 53 counties that face a crisis in primary health care for families.

In the meantime, Georgia's educational and health care institutions should look for other ways to train skilled professionals, such as physician assistants and family nurse practitioners, who often can work in areas where there are no doctors or who can extend capabilities of already overburdened family practices.

Brenau University has embarked on a long-term study to explore the feasibility of establishing a medical school focused on community health issues, but in the fall term we will admit our first class in an accelerated physician assistant program. We believe, as the article reported, that a majority of health care professionals practice in areas where they receive their clinical training, and the Brenau students will receive their clinical training in North Georgia.

The program is a good first step, but there is much more that must be done, and leadership of Georgia's education establishments, state and local governments and those who support public and private institutions financially must rise quickly to that challenge.

ED L. SCHRADER

Schrader is president of Brenau University in Gainesville.

 ELIZABETH LANDT / Staff
Illustration of Michelle Obama