TRANSPORTATION
As a yearlong resident of Atlanta, I can see why this city is stagnant in growth and prosperity. Driving on poorly monitored I-285 any time is more hazardous than the Indy 500. Riding MARTA is risky, negotiating hundreds of narrow streets is a hazard, and going downtown at night is dangerous to one’s safety. Students at Georgia State and Georgia Tech are routinely robbed (or worse). Drivers regularly run red lights as if it were accepted practice (it is), and Atlanta has lost control of speeding vehicles — and accepts this as normal traffic. If I were a tourist, I would hesitate to visit Atlanta (especially downtown) for fear of something happening to me and my family.
Dennis W. Wilson, Atlanta
BUDGET
How to make a good cartoon even better
Mike Luckovich almost got it right (“Debt ceiling,” Opinion, April 24). But, it is not the nebulous debt ceiling that is crushing all of us. It is the debt itself.
If he wants to go the whole 10 yards with this dead weight thing, he should also label it “Made in China.” Catherine Boone Shealy, Atlanta
EDUCATION
Glad truth was revealed about DeKalb candidate
I don’t blame Lillie Cox for dropping out of the running for DeKalb County School superintendent (“Top candidate won’t seek job,” Metro, April 24). I’d be embarrassed too, if it were made public that I was a hog at the taxpayers’ trough.
Why would she think that those of us who would be paying for these exorbitant demands should not know what we’re paying for? These are negotiations that should not be held behind closed doors. We have every right to know every detail of a public official’s hiring.
We need someone whose priority is education — not ensuring a luxurious personal future. Allyana Ziolko, Atlanta
PUBLIC WORKS
Utility crews deserve our thanks, admiration
There was a water main break in front of our building on Northside Parkway recently. Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management responded promptly, and excavated to locate the broken main.
Midway through the process, a severe thunderstorm stopped work, and filled the large site with mud and water. After taking shelter from the storm in their trucks, the crew promptly reappeared and continued the difficult work until they had replaced the ruptured part and returned water service to a large area (some time after midnight). The crews are to be commended for their long and diligent work. Paul A. Lavietes, Atlanta
AQUARIUM
Children needn’t see an animal to care about it
Thank you for running “Does the Georgia Aquarium’s dolphin show serve learning?” (Opinion, April 26). The argument that children only care about what they see is nonsense. Kids are fascinated by dinosaurs, but they have never laid eyes on one. Boys don’t need to see a “real life” soldier to fight sword “battles,” and nearly every girl loves wearing a tutu — even if she’s never been to the ballet.
Children learn through play and imagination. Their values are instilled by their parents and grandparents. Learning about how dolphins, orcas and fish really live in their ocean homes is a more meaningful lesson then watching them through tempered glass. The whole “educational” refrain has grown indefensible, given all that we know about how miserable marine animals are in captivity. The Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld and similar facilities are about entertainment and profit. Parents take children to these parks because they are an “easy” outing — not to groom their children to become marine biologists.
It’s unimaginably arrogant for industry shills to suggest that aquariums can come close to replicating the fascinating, complex ocean world where these animals belong. Anna J. Ware, Atlanta
GOVERNMENT
‘Job creation’ claim is too often a false one
Politicians have discovered that almost any bill has a better chance of being accepted if accompanied by a claim of job creation. That claim is often a hope, a guess (or even false), and rarely is a trustworthy report produced to verify that new jobs were created as a result of government money.
Government spending and tax credits usually create work for people who already have jobs. Jobs are not created when one contractor hires employees from another to fulfill a government contract. Within five years, many small businesses disappear — along with the jobs they created.
Not long ago, the magic words were “affordable housing.” Most of our legislators do try to keep jobs in Georgia (even for illegal aliens). Imagine what they would be willing to do for citizens who vote, pay all types of taxes and spend all or most of their money in Georgia? Tony Gardner, Cumming
POLITICS
Nothing unique about the ‘birther’ types
People in the Republican Party who spent an inordinate amount of time pushing the “birther” issue prior to President Barack Obama’s offering of his birth certificate are no different than those in the Democratic Party who used to claim George Herbert Walker Bush had an affair (or that his son George covered up an arrest and didn’t fulfill his National Guard commitment).
These arguments are typically from people who despise the person so much that they will fall for, or peddle, any conspiracy available. These people also predictably avoid, at all costs, the effort needed to educate themselves enough to have an actual debate on the issues of the day. Eric Sandberg, Atlanta
