Religious Freedom bill justifies bigotry
Lester Maddox would have loved the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He’d have used it to stop integration of his famously segregated, whites only restaurant, the Pickrick. It was, he claimed, against his religion to have blacks and whites eat together. He defied the law of the land and eventually closed his restaurant rather than obey the law and allow blacks to eat there. So really, this law is just a bigots justification law, allowing special privileges for those who claim religion as an excuse.
M.A. APPLEGATE, WOODSTOCK
VA care excellent, ‘VA Choice’ isn’t
I am a veteran who receives health care through the Veterans Administration. The care I receive, contrary to recent reports, is excellent. Recently, I was referred to the VA Choice program for an appointment with a specialist. It has now been one month since I contacted VA Choice for the appointment, with no response. This program is one of the sickest jokes ever played on veterans. Do not be fooled. Politicians supporting this farce are the worst thing a veteran could ask for.
KEVIN HERRON, CARTERSVILLE
Climate change visible in Alaska
Plenty of pictures of the future were already visible when I visited Alaska a decade ago: groves of spruce trees killed by beetles that reproduce at much higher rates because of warmer temperatures; bare dirt where a glacier used to be; dips and cracks in pavement on rural roads caused by thawing permafrost. President Barack Obama is showing leadership by calling attention to what is going on there, but every person in Congress should make that trip, observe the effects firsthand, talk to folks who are watching their homes and livelihoods being destroyed by rising seas and melting ice, and maybe even do the unthinkable and talk to some of the scientists working in Alaska. Better yet, take the kids along, then have conversations with them about their thoughts on the world we are leaving to their generation.
MICHAEL WALLS, ATLANTA
Why silence after multiple slayings?
From Aug. 27 through Tuesday, I have closely read each day’s AJC looking for a particular story. It is not the fault of the AJC that what I was looking for did not appear. In this time, we have had two young reporters and one sheriff’s deputy murdered. They were not in any sort of altercation. They were ambushed and murdered. These three were white, and the murderers were black; racism is believed to be behind these murders. There were no comments regarding these murders made by any of America’s most vocal civil rights figures — President Barack Obama or the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Why not? Is it because each has a very parochial agenda? If so, the absence of angst is just as sad as any racist act.
DAN SIEGEL, DACULA
