Questioning abortion law

Dear editor:

I recently learned that the state of Georgia now requires that women and girls be forced to wait 24 hours before they are legally allowed to obtain an abortion.

However, some serious questions do not seem to have been considered on this.

Among them:

* Why is it legal for the state to force a woman or girl to give her body against her will to an embryo or fetus, especially when it is illegal for the state to force its citizens against their will to give their bodies or anything from their bodies to the already-born?

* Why is it legal for an embryo or fetus to use the body of a woman or girl against her will when it is illegal for the already-born to do the same thing?

* Why are women and girls granted the protection of the state when their bodies are being used against their will by the already-born, but not the embryos or fetuses?

Julie A. Robichaud

San Antonio, Texas

Shell out the money for services

Dear editor:

I am disturbed that in the year 2005 so many people still doesn’t realize that you cannot stop growth, and who really wants to. Growth must be managed through ordinances and codes. Catoosa County citizens pay some of the lowest taxes in the Southeast and you get what you pay for. If you want good roads that accommodate the traffic, adequate emergency services, parks and recreation, garbage service, and sewer and water you have to pay for it; it’s not free. The citizens want and the County Commission wants to provide Cadillac services for the price of a Pinto; it’s crazy. Install Impact fees and raise taxes and pay for the infrastructure and services — period.

Marlin Thompson

Rossville, Catoosa

Playing the race card

Dear editor:

These people (arrested in Operation Meth Merchant) knowingly sold the components to make meth and now they want to wave the race card to get out of it. Give me a break. As for the statements about language barriers, if they can’t speak English well enough to know if they are committing a crime then perhaps they don’t need to be working with the public. Meth is a huge problem in our area and for anyone who thinks it isn’t, you need to get your head out of the sand. This includes the school system, with their claims of drug free schools. What a joke! Wake up people, drugs and alcohol are a problem in Catoosa County. We are not immune to the problems of society.

Trish White

Ringgold

Postmaster thanks

food drive participants

Dear editor:

The Ringgold Post Office would like to say “thank you” to all the letter carriers and customers who helped make this year’s food drive a great success.

This year’s food drive collected over four tons of non-perishable food. The food items were then donated locally to the Christ Chapel Share & Care Mission.

We are proud to be a part of such a wonderful community that continues to assist us in our efforts to Stamp Out Hunger.

Ringgold Postmaster Larry Pardue

Iraq is a scapegoat

Dear editor:

The recent letter to the editor by Mary Pentecost (“Stop bashing soldiers”) explains to some extent why Americans are confused by the Iraqi War and the military action in Afghanistan.

The British created Iraq in l918 and were not completely out of the country until l958 when the Ba’ath Party took control and began a 40-year rule leading to Saddam Hussein’s rise to power.

Almost every American agrees that the 9/11 attacks were a dastardly act. Unfortunately, President Bush with the backing of Congress found a scapegoat — Iraq. At the time, American citizens were told that Iraq possessed WMD and implied that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 attacks. We now know that the President implied these “facts” to Congress and the American public while British Prime Minister Tony Blair did the same for England.

Thousands of young National Guardsmen and Reservists were rushed into combat leaving weeping families, jobs and security. Since that time 1755 (as of June 8, 2005) young soldiers have died and thousands more have been wounded or maimed for life.

We are not there protecting “our freedom.” Our freedom is secure. Everyone should realize that the U.S. attacked a sovereign nation who had not attacked us first. The government used basically the same maneuver (Domino Theory) to invade Vietnam.

The Vietnam fiasco cost thousands of lives and disabled many more thousands of young soldiers.

We all fully support our soldiers but we can’t be certain as to what agenda our government is following. Some officials are already stating that this war could go on for many years. In a recent poll by the Washington Post (6-8-05) more than half of the American public believes that the Iraqi War has not made us safer. As for myself, I can’t see the possibility of Iraq helping to prevent a terrorist attack against our nation. Iraq is only a small nation with nothing to offer except oil. Oil? Could that be the WMD?

History will show that when the U.S. leaves Iraq it will be business as usual.

It is already business as usual in the United States.

Larry C. Stone

Dalton