Teen births
Columnist right about boon of lower birth rate
Jay Bookman’s pointing out the reduction in teen births, “We’re not doomed; no, really,” (Opinion, Aug. 31) is exactly what needs to be the focus of continuous coverage by the media: His statement is absolutely correct; that a cut in teen birth rates gives young people during their formative years a chance to realize their ambitions without the responsibility of raising children in circumstances that are unfair to the parents and to the children. Children born in poverty or near-poverty never have the chance to compete fairly in our society.
JACK FRANKLIN, CONYERS
DeKalb should find better way
It doesn’t takes a charter change or the state legislature for the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners to act in a responsible manner. It takes the CEO, the CFO, the commissioners and the Ethics Board to come together to adopt policies and rules on how to monitor discretionary spending. It simply takes willpower and strong leadership by county officials.
County Interim CEO Lee May should check whether he has the authority to appoint an independent citizens panel to come up with “best practices” on regulating discretionary spending for all departments — not just the board of commissioners. The ethical momentum is on the CEO’s side to force such changes.
CEO May inherited a mess much like Shirley Franklin did. The difference is Ms. Franklin brought in outside expertise to assist her. Mr. May should consider following the Franklin model to clean up the mess at the BOC. It is time for Mr. May to call in outside expertise in law, ethics and government financial accountability so he can restore taxpayer trust. He just needs to lead in a new direction to gain citizen buy-in.
GARY S. COX, ATLANTA
Public ‘militarization’ is a danger
Regarding (“Stop militarization of local police,” Aug. 28). It might be better for us to reflect on the “militarization” of the public and our utterly deranged national policy about weapons. The two are closely connected. For years we have looked the other way as public spaces have been flooded with guns, putting police forces often at a great disadvantage. The escalation of high-powered weaponry should come as no surprise; the average police officer is often called into situations where thugs are armed with AR-15s, some of which can be modified into fully automatic assault rifles. This reflects a monumental failure of public policy. We create these social problems, expect the police to clean up the mess and then complain when they do what is necessary to survive.
GORDON P. RONDEAU, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE RENEE OLUBUNMI RONDEAU PEACE FOUNDATION
Fun in making liberals howl
Once again an offended liberal wants Michael Ramirez removed as a conservative cartoonist at the AJC. Notice the difference in the letters about Mike Luckovich and Ramirez. The last thing we conservatives want is Luckovich removed because we respect his right to publish his warped view of the political world and it lets the rest of the world see into the liberal mind no matter how scary it is. We just like to comment on his ability to make us want to throw up. Now liberals on the other hand want Ramirez and also columnist Thomas Sowell removed from the opinion pages because they disagree with their views and label them liars without providing any proof. It’s typical liberal behavior and it’s fun to watch them howl when faced with the truth.
EDGAR CLIFTON, LAWRENCEVILLE
