HEALTH CARE FRAUD
Response to "Nursing home case sets new tone." News, Sept. 2
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, “photos of the emaciated corpse reminded the judge of images he’d seen from Nazi concentration camps.”
Thankfully, U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy held someone accountable. Otherwise, the banality of evil would spread, just as it did in Nazi Germany.
Judge Murphy is worth his weight in gold. He deserves a Supreme Court nomination.
Funding cuts and economic collapse threaten everyone in state-funded institutions. Race, ethnic and religious differences often worsen the situation.
Please help old folks and children who are in jeopardy. Families and individuals can make a difference.
WADE HOBBS JR., KENNESAW
EXPOSING WASTE
Beltline case was not all that complex
Regarding AJC Managing Editor Bert Roughton’s column (“We report, let readers decide,” Opinion, Sept. 2), Jim Durrett’s comment is that the newspaper missed the complexity, and that Brian Leary [former Beltline executive director] was undone by a policy change.
What complexity? Leary clearly spent taxpayer money on things that he should not have, and he was undone by his self-indulgence. I can’t imagine how Durrett can possibly justify those actions — regardless of how exceptional and essential Leary may or may not be.
If Durrett won’t renew his subscription, you can be sure that I will — largely because you are doing such an exceptional and essential job of exposing waste and corruption.
Keep up the good work.
JEAN HESS, MARIETTA
BUSINESS
Romney took sensible course at Bain Capital
In an age of computers, anyone suggesting that a typewriter company should continue to produce manual typewriters would be laughed out of the room.
Everyone would agree that the typewriter company should retool to produce a marketable product, and if the cost of retooling prohibited profitability, then the business should be closed — it’s just common sense.
Yet, this is exactly what Mitt Romney is accused of doing at Bain Capital — the common-sense course of action. Apparently, some critics of Romney’s actions at Bain Capital think businesses are actually charities, whose purpose is to provide income to their employees (regardless of longterm profitability).
BRIAN WILSON, ATLANTA
ELECTIONS
License should be required to be a voter
Given the deplorable condition of the American electoral system, I believe the right to vote should not be automatic, but should be contingent upon passing an examination in such subjects as American government and political propaganda.
In this way, we could create an electorate that is much more effective in choosing the best candidate for each office.
The way it works now, political machines spend vast amounts of money “donated” by special interest groups to influence the voters with a wide range of disinformation techniques and scare tactics.
They manipulate the voting process to disenfranchise unfavorable voters.
A licensing system would not discriminate against any citizen on the basis of gender, race, religion, etc., but would discriminate on the basis of preparation to vote intelligently and responsibly.
A license is required to drive a car. Why not a license to vote?
Free short courses could be offered in every community to provide the training and education required to be a voter. Unlawful discrimination would not be a problem.
A secondary benefit would be the prestige of qualifying to vote by getting the license, and anyone serious enough to get a license will show up to vote.
HARRIS GREEN, BIG CANOE
