Send e-mail to letters@gainesvilletimes.com (no attached files, please, which can contain viruses); fax to 770-532-0457; or mail to The Times, P.O. Box 838, Gainesville, GA 30503. Include full name, hometown and phone number for confirmation. They should be limited to one topic on issues of public interest and may be edited for content and length (limit of 500 words). Letters forwarded from other sources or those involving personal, business or legal disputes, poetry, expressions of faith or memorial tributes may be rejected. You may be limited to one letter per month, two on a single topic. Submitted items may be published in print, electronic or other forms. Letters, columns and cartoons express the opinions of the authors and not of The Times editorial board.
It has come to my attention that Gov. Sonny Perdue will be asking for FEMA money for the recent flooding in Atlanta. This seems to be a dichotomy since state sovereignty resolutions were in such vogue in last winter’s legislative sessions.
Resolutions are nonfunctional political fluff put out to appease the constituents, but 10 bills (acts), at least, will be introduced in the House and opt-out legislation will be introduced in the next session of the Senate, all concerning states’ rights and leading to states’ sovereignty. It would seem, then, that the constituents want sovereignty, not more federal government.
The operative word is "constituent" since the legislators work on our behalf and must, therefore, be introducing this legislation at our request and on our behalf, or at least with an anticipation that it might get votes.
So what possessed the governor and the gubernatorial candidate running his insurance commission to beg money from FEMA? Do they feel taking money from the general FEMA fund is justified for such a minor event? Is it their perception that GEMA needs money from los federales to meet this emergency?
If so, why not withhold that portion of Georgians taxes being sent to FEMA and apply it to the GEMA budget? I looked in the index to Article I, Section 8, of the most current version of the U.S. Constitution dated Sept. 17, 1787, for FEMA. I did not find it.
If I am correct, then, according to the 10th Amendment of this same document, we can do emergency management right here in Georgia, by Georgians, and use money diverted from FEMA to fund it.
More importantly, I would like to know when the governor will start the process of uncoupling Georgia from the tentacles of an ever-increasingly oppressive federal government. His responsibility is to Georgians, his constituents, not bureaucracies of a federal government spiraling out of control.
If you agree with these statements, or not, call the governor at 404-656-1776 and tell him what you think. He already has this letter and is waiting for your opinion.
M.J. Blanchard
Blairsville
Health care debate is about federal intrusion, not radio
In his Monday letter in The Times, Bruce Rodgers eloquently demonstrated why average Americans are fed up with Washington. It is obvious from the tone of his letter that Mr. Rodgers views average, everyday, working Americans who are concerned about the overreach of our federal government as ignoramuses.
He dismisses these concerns by laying the blame for the uproar at the feet of talk radio and conservative thinkers. This is a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black. Mr. Rodgers is merely parroting the thoughts and mindset of the liberal elitists who control Congress.
Many analysts have pointed out that government-run health care is not the main problem. It is only a symptom that brought the problem to a head. The real problem is government intrusion where government has no business.
Average Americans are fed up with bailouts and takeovers; we are tired of Washington spending our tax dollars like a drunken sailor in Singapore. It would be wise for Washington to pay attention.
Gary Entrekin
Gainesville