Readers write
Abhorrent Fulton Co. jail conditions unacceptable
The in-depth Dec. 7 AJC article about conditions at the Fulton County Jail raises serious concerns (“‘A lot of blame, but not enough action,’”).
The dysfunction and buck-passing about the causes of the abhorrent conditions are totally unacceptable and must be addressed. But many politicians are loath to address dangerous jail conditions for fear of being labeled “soft on crime.” They should instead recognize that the treatment of unindicted people housed in those facilities (750 as of this fall) is a grave injustice.
Any notion that Fulton County Jail’s reputation as “one of the toughest, roughest jails in the country” is no deterrent to crime and certainly nothing to brag about. It is beyond time for the governor to take action.
FRANK MANFRE, SMYRNA
Show us arrest warrants, not boat strikes
I am an 85-year-old Navy veteran who was involved with the Coast Guard in the late 1980s. We stopped many vessels for the Coast Guard to board and search and arrested people if drugs were found.
What I would like to see is the arrest warrants of the people killed in all the strikes. Also, I would like to see trial transcripts of all the people killed and a court transcript showing a judge sentencing them to death. I don’t want to see videos of second strikes on boats.
The whole thing is bogus from Trump, the secretary of defense, and the admiral in charge. They all should be tried for murder.
JOSEPH GARTRELL, DECATUR
Americans will feel sting of smaller government
Come this January, millions of Americans will lose their health insurance. Others have already lost their steady jobs, homes and food support. Government spending on social programs has declined, leaving Republicans and Democrats to quibble over how our federal and state budgets should slice a shrunken pie.
Looking back over the “One Big Not-So-Beautiful Budget” bill, we should be ashamed of the revenue losses written into that legislation. We were sold huge tax cuts designed to benefit primarily our wealthiest households and large corporations. The great majority in our country, however, will see tiny tax reductions or even tax increases.
There are about 900 billionaires in our country, but members of this privileged, small group are now deciding how our government should work. What about the rest of us - the 99%?
Fortunately, we’ll soon have more socialists serving in government. They will remind us that nobody needs to have a billion dollars. We should be taxing extreme wealth. Outrageous concentrations of private money and unequal power are toxic to our society.
HENRY KAHN, ATLANTA
