BUSINESS
Chastise lawyers who empower patent trolls
Last year, our small IT company was a victim of a patent troll (“’Patent trolls’ drain money, innovation,” Opinion, July 24).
Though we refused to submit to the legalized bribery of a patently ridiculous demand letter, we had to pay thousands in attorney’s fees to protect our company. Congress needs to act to stop the economic drain caused by these trolls — but it would also help if our state bar would better police the attorneys who file these utterly meritless cases on behalf of trolls, and wreak havoc on innocent companies.
Giving legal access to patent trolls violates lawyers’ oaths. They know better.
JULIE ISON HALEY, CEO, EDGE SOLUTIONS
EDUCATION
Classroom dissections may densensitize kids
Many thanks for publishing the column, “Do dissections teach animal cruelty?” (Opinion, July 22). This column was thought-provoking and informative.
I would like to highlight and add to what Professor Rosenberger said: “For example, parents may be concerned that classroom dissection inadvertently teaches the wrong lessons about how we should treat animals.” When animals are considered “tools,” it is easy to become desensitized. Much of the animal cruelty in our society is a result of this desensitization.
Rosenberger also mentioned that teachers can receive alternatives to dissection at little to no cost. Here are two sites that provide an abundance of resources free of charge: www.humanesociety.org/parents_educators/dissection_campaign_packet.html, and www.animalearn.org.
DEBRA BERGER, ATLANTA
COMMENTARY
Cartoonist’s attacks on GOP getting old
My guess is that the readers of the AJC are glad Mike Luckovich is not an expert in anything. If, for instance, he was an expert in the financial world, he would know that Obamacare has been touted by most experts as a financial disaster.
But Luckovich is nothing more than a liberal with a hatred of the Republican Party, and he would not care what an expert has to say as long as he believes he is disgracing the Republican Party. It really is getting old.
GIL LEINES, ALPHARETTA
RACE RELATIONS
How would you react to a crowd of teens?
Are you a racial profiler?
Pretend for a moment that you are a middle-aged, white male sitting in your car parked in a seedy part of town. You are waiting for your friend, who is shopping. You notice five black youths walking down the sidewalk toward your car. They are covered in tattoos, their pants are hanging low, they are wearing “do-rags” and they are laughing loudly. You look around and notice that the car doors are unlocked. You quickly lock all four doors. Does that act make you a racial bigot, or are you just being reasonably cautious?
What if the five youths had been Hispanic or white, and were dressed and behaving in the same manner — would you have acted differently?
JOHN A. WELLS, MABLETON
