CIVIL FORFEITURE
Response to “DA spent funds on galas, meals” (News, June 9)
I don’t know when I have had such a good laugh as when I read that Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard thinks it’s “innovative” to use seized money to have parties; make repairs to his home, and make a $6,000 donation to a bar association that inducted him into their Hall of Fame.
Where does this end? I thought Arthur Ferdinand’s perks were ridiculous, but this one takes the cake.
R.L. TURNER, ATLANTA
SURVEILLANCE
Surrendering privacy gives terrorists a win
It’s unlikely to find Kyle Wingfield, Jay Bookman and Maureen Dowd all in agreement, but it happened on the June 9 Opinion page (“Uncle Sam unbound, dangerous,” “Snooping, privacy conflict” and “Exchanging privacy for security has familiar ring”). And I agree with them all.
The issue is government snooping into our phone call and e-mail records without probable cause, and this Democrat is just as alarmed now as I was under George W. Bush’s administration. I am not reassured by statements that no one is listening to us order take-out pizza or reading our recipe swapping with Mom. First, there’s no convincing reason to take (officials) at their word; second, the searches we already know about violate the Fourth Amendment.
When we abandon our privacy in a quixotic attempt to achieve absolute security, we’ve handed a win to the forces of terror.
FRED ROBERTS, DECATUR
Snooping undermines constitutional liberties
“NSA leak divulges motives” (News, June 10) shocks the conscience.
What kind of Orwellian nation are we becoming when electronic communications are logged and traced by the government? Without privacy of communication, speech is not free — and without freedom of speech, democracy withers.
Georgians need to stand up for the Fourth Amendment and demand that these programs cease immediately.
WARREN GOODWIN, ATLANTA
Boston attack shows spying isn’t working
Most of Washington, civilian and military, is praising the good works of our self-spying system. They can say whatever they want to say, because they have to protect themselves and their internal spying on Americans.
However, I believe that the program is a failure. If it had worked as advertised, I would have read about the Boston Marathon on the sports pages. That was not the case.
DAN SIEGEL, DACULA
FARM SUBSIDIES
Sugar supports weigh heavily on our nation
Regarding “Sugar farming subsidies are just too sweet to kill” (Opinion, June 9), wake up, America!
I had the opportunity to show and discuss “The Weight of the Nation,” a documentary, at a local library earlier this month. This is an excellent production by leading obesity researchers giving us insight on why we have an epidemic, and ways we can solve it.
The audience was varied in demographics, but what was most astounding was the group from Blackstone Academy. They sat through the one-hour movie mesmerized. At the end, each one stood up and spoke confidently and eloquently as they discussed what they could do to create a healthier environment in their community. Less than 2 percent of the workforce are farmers, and we subsidize the industries contributing to these problems. The students recognized that this is wrong.
Let’s give our youth what they need: local and seasonal fruits and vegetables.
CHERYL ORLANSKY, GREATER ATLANTA DIETETIC ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT-ELECT
