Readers write

Turner created opportunity as visionary, risk-taker

My condolences to Ted Turner’s family on his passing.

The profile of Turner’s life (“1938-2026: Ted Turner,” May 7) tells the story of a visionary, risk-taker and creator whose lifetime highlights include creating TBS and CNN, owning the Atlanta Braves and Hawks, winning the America’s Cup, founding the Goodwill Games and starting Ted’s Montana Grill, among many others.

Along the way, he gave very generously to support favored causes. Any one of these accomplishments would make for an amazing life. Turner did them all.

Let’s remember one other thing that Turner was: a self-made billionaire. He made a lot of money for himself and for other people by creating valuable goods and services and employing people. That’s how our capitalist system works. People like Turner think big, take chances and create value, making us better off. This is the path to widespread prosperity in our society.

DANA R. HERMANSON, MARIETTA

State redistricting gives GOP advantage

The recent article by Rep. Buddy Carter (“Delay congressional primaries and redraw Georgia’s House districts,” May 5, AJC.com) made me think of an old saying: “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.”

Georgia now has nine Republican representatives and five Democratic representatives in Congress. Carter said Georgia should have more Republican representatives because Georgia is a Republican state.

In reality, current gerrymandering already gives Republicans significantly more members of Congress than warranted by their support with voters. In the 2024 election, Trump got less than 51% of the vote. In 2020, it was only 49%. While Republicans are only about half of the electorate, they already have almost two-thirds of Georgia’s congressional seats.

It is clear that Rep. Carter chose to misrepresent the facts and ignore the expressed will of the voters.

LARRY AUERBACH, ATLANTA

Gerrymandering warps democratic process

The recent spate of redistricting initiatives is the most anti-democratic scheme this country has seen in a long time. While the use of gerrymandering has been around since the beginning of our republic, the recent round of mid-census redistricting and the license being taken resulting from the Supreme Court ruling is taking us to a new low.

I struggle to understand how anyone who is a proponent of gerrymandering could say they believe in a democratic system of government with a straight face. The only purpose of gerrymandering is to give one group an advantage over another, thereby warping the democratic process and allowing a minority to dictate to the rest of us.

Both parties are guilty of using this tool, even if the wanton power grab by the president and his party has taken it to a new level. The Democrats cannot claim the moral high ground if they are willing to blunt the Republican initiatives by doing the same.

California went so far as to vote to suspend a rational approach to establishing voting district lines using an independent commission, in favor of a partisan effort to respond to Republican efforts. This vicious cycle is how the state of politics in this country has reached a new low.