Flag dispute distracts from important issues
Before the cries of racism, before the hate-filled shouts, before the flag came down, we should have found out that Roof was able to commit his heinous, senseless crime because of a serious FBI lapse. It’s not the flag. It’s not the Stone Mountain carving, nor the army base names. Rather, this latest outcry serves as a distraction, with the hope that the citizenry will forget about the big, important issues: ISIS; an inept, self-serving federal government; cyberattack; an impotent U.N.; the Iran folly. And the list could go on. Let us clean up what is truly ugly in our country, without trying to alter history in order to form an imitation of a brave, new world.
BARBARA KRASNOFF, ROSWELL
Bring democracy to Cuba
Sen. Earl “Buddy” Carter wrote a guest column about his recent visit to Cuba. (“Cuba: Not enough has changed,” Atlanta Forward, July 8). He says he went “with an open mind,”but returned with a “reaffirmed belief” that President Obama is “misguided” in efforts to normalize relations between our countries “at this time”. Fifty years of isolation and embargoes haven’t worked to bring freedom to Cubans, but Carter is apparently in favor of continuing with those same failed policies of Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and now, Obama. No conservative politicians ever offer new insights or proposals to bring democracy to Cuba. Whatever progress Obama is for, they’re reliably against it.
BIRNEY A. MONTCALM, WINSTON
Children can’t sleep for fireworks
Isn’t it grand that people can shoot off fireworks until midnight every night? The fact that children can’t sleep as a result is a minor inconvenience compared to yahoos’ precious freedom to blast away all evening, every evening. The Georgia Legislature is indeed a wise body to enact a law that gives the upper hand to half-wits.
DEAN POIRIER, DULUTH
Bad air ruins health
Recently a couple of op-eds calling for cleaner air appeared in the AJC. (“Curbing ozone pollution,” Atlanta Forward, July 8). With a Code Orange smog alert that same week, it seems a good time to write a letter in support of those op-eds. We can have clean air if we pay attention and ensure our elected officials know it’s really important. Some people say requiring companies to meet stricter pollution standards will ruin the economy. This kind of scare tactic has been around for a long time. During the long fight to eliminate child labor in the U.S., the National Association of Manufacturers said eliminating child labor would ruin the economy. One thing’s for sure. Bad air can ruin one’s health. It’s time to support those who are working to improve our air quality.
ART MUST JR., ATLANTA
