Readers Write 5/2

ENVIRONMENT

My husband and I moved to Georgia six months ago from Venice, Fla. We were born in Illinois and lived there most of our adult lives before we moved to Florida. Never before, in Illinois or Florida, have we experienced such a beautiful spring. The trees and flowers are like a picture.

Unfortunately, never have we seen trash thrown along the roads to the point that it is disgusting. The people here should have respect enough to hire a trash service. If they cannot afford it, then they should drive to the nearest dump.

Florida counties provided trash service and you had no choice but to use it, since you paid for it in your property taxes.

We would like to thank the county for cleaning up some of the mess in our county. Please keep it up.

Shirley Jenkins, Temple

ENVIRONMENT

For green advice, ask
a red and blue couple

After reading “Tea partiers should opt to go green” (Opinion, April 25), I had to show this to my wife. She is conservative, and I lean toward the liberal side. We agree on environmental issues for the sake of our daughter’s future.

Instead of putting a “Patriot Fee” on oil, why don’t we enact fee and revenue? First, we put a fee on all fossil fuels at the point of entry. Then we gradually raise the fee over time. To put some sugar on top, we return all the revenue equally to American households. Even “green tea partiers” would like some free green (money).

As Thomas Friedman says, we will decrease our foreign energy dependency, strengthen the dollar, and stabilize the climate. Not to mention, it’ll shield American households and give businesses a fair chance with a predictable system.

If Congress needs help crafting balanced legislation, they should ask bipartisan households for advice — not big business.

Ben Herr, Atlanta

FINANCE

Take on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

It is a rare day in May that I can endorse an opinion piece published in the AJC. Thomas Oliver’s “Financial reform misses the point” (Business, April 25) is that rare exception, and it is right on the money.

The current silliness in Washington is the so-called financial reform bill. To say it misses the point is the understatement of the decade. It pointedly does not address the core problem, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Thomas Oliver takes this issue head-on.

The Federal Reserve, under Alan Greenspan and his lap dogs, artificially held interest rates below sensible levels to support increased mortgage activity.

The marketplace got greedy and creative — with the resulting boondoggles.

Enter the buyers, sellers, builders, agents, ad nauseam and a perfect storm was in place — which took down our economy in no small measure.

Oliver points out the birthplace of the fiasco, and it is in our government’s desire to micro-manage our very lives. Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the U.S. Senate and House leadership are the “birthers” of the mess.

Guess what’s not being addressed? Freddie and Fannie.

Good luck, America. And thank you, Thomas Oliver.

Randy Wewers, Gainesville

POLITICS

Recalling the cartoonish actions of Gingrich

The April 25 “Doonesbury” cartoon brought back an old memory of Newt Gingrich. At a dinner in 1983, he directed a staff member to place fliers at every place setting. Half the flier listed policies supported by the Democratic Party platform. He rated them as “anti-God, “anti-family” and “anti-American.” The other half listed the policies of the Republican Party. Of course, he listed those as pro-family, pro-God and pro-American.

I was an active Christian, a mother of four and a worker for the Equal Rights Amendment (which I considered a very American thing to do), so I resented the way he had labeled me.

Dinner guests were invited to state their names, then ask Mr. Gingrich a question. I sped to the nearest microphone, stated my name and asked my question: “Who put this piece of trash on my table?”

Judging from the laughter and applause, most of the other guests, including Republicans, agreed with me. Attacking people, rather than policies, is divisive and not good for our country, and we knew it even then.

Margaret Curtis, Atlanta

IMMIGRATION

Luckovich blinded
by his leftist views

The April 27 editorial cartoon by Mike Luckovich only confirms his ultra-liberal views are so skewed he can’t see straight.

The new immigration law passed in Arizona is not anti-immigrant. It is anti-illegal immigration. Whether you like it or not, Mr. Luckovich, we have laws that apply to all individuals, even those from south of the border. Any individual wanting to live the so-called “American dream” should be required to do it just as millions have done in the past — by following the laws of this great land.

Our God-inspired Constitution is hanging by a thread, as the mindless American masses come to believe the rhetoric spewed by the liberal media. Mike Luckovich is certainly leading the way.

Fred Travis, Woodstock