READERS WRITE

Schools should get federal funding

I agree with Jonathan Zimmerman that “Schools desperately need traditional federal aid” (@issue Feb. 11). I remember so well the dilapidated high school in Pensacola, Fla., which blacks attended with its pot-bellied stoves, no science labs, no library, no cafeteria, and worst of all, the smelly bathrooms outdoors. We benefited from PWA and WPA funding which resulted in a gleaming, new school building.

My diary entry attests to the fact that on Aug. 9, 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited our city. The next day our family went to see the new high school. I am sure the building of that new school provided jobs for the community as well as educational opportunity for the students. So why can’t the Republican opposition restore federal funds for school construction to the bailout money?

DEL JUPITER

Atlanta

Teachers deserve kudos for hard work

Thank you for the article “Club empowers girls to ‘do the science’,” (Page One, Feb. 9). Kelly Schlegel and her colleagues are providing exemplary middle-school curriculum for the students of Inman Middle School. The activities are interdisciplinary, engaging, challenging and relevant. The problems the teachers pose for the students are directly related to the students’ interests, and students seem involved in selection and development of problems to be solved.

It mirrors the real world where problems confront us, and we need to solve them using the tools of a number of different disciplines. These teachers should be commended for going above and beyond the requirements of their contracts by contributing time and talent to this after-school effort. Seems a shame this couldn’t be done as part of the regular curriculum. The only problem I see: What about the boys?

LEN LANCETTE

Decatur

It’s time to rein in Georgia Power’s power

Either Jay Bookman has had an epiphany or extraterrestrial aliens have taken over his mind. Either way, it was remarkably refreshing to read one of his columns that actually made sense (“Who’ll curb Georgia Power’s clout?,” @issue, Feb. 12). Bookman was spot-on in criticizing the state Public Service Commission and the Georgia General Assembly for allowing Georgia Power to run roughshod over consumers.

The PSC has long been a case of the fox guarding the hens, and now the General Assembly is getting into the act by taking over some of the PSC’s authority. Georgia Power is getting the best laws that money can buy, and its well-paid lobbyists should be getting big bonuses for their efforts.

Thanks to Bookman for exposing this smelly sweetheart deal.

JIM CHAMBERS

Tucker

Shouldn’t sell souls to U.S. government

If the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives enable President Barack Obama to impose upon us his belief that “only the government can”, then you will have placed us on the road to doom as a free people. In his campaign, Obama was professing “yes we can” and now he is fear-mongering with his true belief that “only the government can.”

If “we the people” come to believe that only the government can solve our problems, then we will have become socialists. We will no longer have faith in ourselves and our ability to sustain our own freedom. Think about it! What are you willing to sacrifice to chance government will take care of you and our people?

TOM SCOTT

Atlanta

Stimulus proposal packed with pork

The current “stimulus” package coming out of Washington is so stuffed with pork and peddled to the public with speeches so loaded with baloney that President Barack Obama should consider hiring Rachel Ray or Paula Deen to help push it. Borrowing some tasty phrases from recent speeches to describe the stimulating entree, the Chef-in-Chief can remind us that it’s “going to get worse before it gets better” and failing to eat quickly will only lead to “catastrophe.”

Finally, Obama, Ray and Deen can all broadcast from the set of Hell’s Kitchen for extra effect. Tums, Rolaids and Alka-Seltzer will see a significant increase in sales as American diners experience extreme internal discomfort resulting from continued attempts at digestion.

KIP HOWARD

Marietta

Efforts needed for Medicaid, trauma care

Kudos to the AJC for appropriately spotlighting Medicaid funding and trauma care, two of the most pressing health care issues facing our state. Bill Custer, in his thoughtful opinion column (“Georgia would injure itself if it cut Medicaid spending,” @issue, Feb. 6), points out the necessity of funding Medicaid. If providing a medical safety net for our state’s most vulnerable citizens isn’t a compelling enough reason to fully fund Medicaid, the economic ripple effects certainly reinforce its necessity. Funding Medicaid helps ensure the stability of our health care infrastructure, prevents further cost-shifting from the uninsured to the insured, and helps maximize federal matching dollars.

The AJC editorial on Georgia’s statewide trauma care (“It’s time to take action, save lives,” @issue, Feb. 8) focuses appropriately on the central issue. It is past time to address the glaring deficiencies in our trauma network. The $10 tag fee proposed by state Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton) to fund trauma care would be an important first step.

Dr. HARRY J HEIMAN

Atlanta