Ugly Americans unlikely to win friends in France
American travelers, a reader writes, are “barely tolerated” by the French. I must strongly disagree. My wife and I have found Parisians to be like busy people in any other big city; and in Normandy, the gratitude for D-Day liberators still seems to inform inhabitants’ attitudes. If the reader encountered hostility, might it have been his own speech and behavior that provoked it?
Or maybe people just thought he was English.
FRED ROBERTS, DECATUR
No blanket birthright citizenship
It’s amusing to hear the concrete assurance from mass immigration advocates howling that “everyone born on American soil is an American citizen, and that settles it!” — and then, in the next breath, admit that we don’t grant that jackpot status to children of diplomats or any invading enemy. Such was the entertainment in immigration lawyer Arturo Corso’s column (“Leave kids’ citizenship alone,” Opinion, Aug. 27). Michigan’s Sen. Jacob Howard, author of the citizenship clause in the 14th Amendment, made the intent brilliantly clear: “This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the government of the United States, but will include all other classes of persons.”
The 14th amendment was created to protect American blacks, before the U.S. had many laws regulating immigration. There were no illegal aliens for mid-19th-century lawmakers to consider. The intent was not to create an ever-growing pool of anchor babies to encourage more illegal immigration and more Democrat voters.
Reminder: When in congress, current Georgia governor Nathan Deal took the same position as is Donald Trump on birthright citizenship.
D.A. KING, PRESIDENT, DUSTIN INMAN SOCIETY
Utility should pursue renewable power
Southern Co. should pursue renewable technologies as aggressively as it is betting on natural gas (“Will utilities merger mean lower rates?” News, Aug. 25). State PSC Commissioner Chuck Eaton is correct that the EPA’s Clean Power Plan signals a move away from coal for electricity generation and that natural gas plays an important role in doing so. However, it is not the only or the cheapest way to transition. A recent Georgia Tech study found that investing in more energy efficiency and solar energy, coupled with converting coal units to gas could actually lower rates, contrary to warnings from utilities and regulators that moving away from fossil fuels is too costly.
While cheaper and cleaner technologies can meet our energy needs, Southern is further cementing its strategy of building out a pipeline infrastructure — a move that is risky, harmful to property owners, and a bet that future generations can’t afford.
IAN KARRA, SIERRA CLUB BEYOND COAL CAMPAIGN, DECATUR
AJC again shows liberal bias
Once again, the AJC has shown its liberal bias and jaundiced view of religion by publishing the Mike Luckovich cartoon (“What Would Jimmy Do,” Opinion, Aug. 21). Your readers have become accustomed to assaults upon Christian viewpoints as others in the drive-by media have made this a salient topic. This cartoon goes far beyond the bounds of good taste, and is even surprising to us who are used to seeing shallow and insipid sniping by Mr. Luckovich. Personally, I feel that Jimmy Carter was the second-worst president this country has ever endured, and I disagree with his stance on most issues, but I believe that he is a good Christian man, and perhaps he himself is as offended as many of us must surely be by the reference to his Lord as subservient to a mere mortal.
BILL SWEATT, MABLETON
