I am somewhat surprised to see that 60 percent of the people voting on a recent Chattanoogan poll believe that people brought to the U.S. illegally as children should now be deported.
What if you or I had been brought here by our parents at a young age, grew up here, went to school here, got a job here and started a family here? What if we had more of a connection in this country than in our country of birth? Should we now be uprooted years later and taken from the only home we have ever known and deported? I think not.
It's simply not right to do, even if the law technically says those individuals who that happened to are still here illegally.
Sometimes it's the law that is wrong and needs to be changed.
I hope Congress will fix the law and I hope we as a nation show some compassion to fellow human beings who were brought here and grew up here through no fault or will of their own.
On the subject of the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust being displayed in the Tennessee Capitol, consider this.
Yes, NBF was a great battlefield tactician and had some major accomplishments in life. However, there was apparently a time in his life when he served as a major leader of the KKK. The KKK was then and is now an abhorrent racist organization that believes the white race is superior to all other races. This organization has participated in killing members of other races, terrorized other races and supports discriminating against other races.
Our national Constitution says that all men were created equal by their Creator. The State Capitol is a place where state laws are passed that are supposed to treat all people equally under the law, be blind to race and not promote discrimination against people in any form because of race. So, the Capitol is supposed to be a symbol of the exact opposite of what the KKK stands for. Therefore, it makes no sense to honor a past leader of the KKK in such a place as the State Capitol, no matter what his other accomplishments may have been.
I'm proud of our Governor and Senators Corker and Alexander for supporting the removal of the NBF bust from the Capitol to a more appropriate location to remember his other accomplishments that weren't affiliated with the KKK. Again, it's simply the right thing to do as God has created all men equal and our Capitol is supposed to be a symbol of equality under the law.
Tim Gobble
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Please allow me to congratulate you on a very nice straw man you built there. First of all, according to most of the polling numbers that I've seen, most people don't want DACA children deported. DACA was done by executive order and was on very shaky legal grounds. Several states attorney general had already said they were filing suit over the legality of DACA. The President cannot change immigration law by executive order. It was most likely to be ruled illegal and these DACA kids would again be left with extreme uncertainty. All President Trump did was to say that he would not defend DACA in court (probably because it would be ruled as illegal) and force Congress to take up the issue to hopefully resolve this issue once and for all. That is the way it should be done. Keep in mind, this only applies to DACA recipients (about 800,000) and not to other illegal immigrants. After all is said and done, I'm willing to bet that DACA children will be allowed to stay and they will have President Trump to thank for this. Of course, no liberal worth his salt will ever admit that one.
Secondly, I want to hereby appoint you to the position of leader of the Nazi Party for the Great State of Tennessee. It doesn't matter whether you accept the position or not. The fact that you were named the leader should be all that is necessary. From this point forward, all of your accomplishments should only be judged through the prism of being a named leader of the Tennessee Nazi Party. I mean, after all, that seems to be very similar to what some, including you, are doing to Nathan Bedford Forrest. Never mind the fact, that it seems he was named leader of the KKK in absentia, his role as a leader of the KKK is questionable at best, and that shortly after his supposed involvement with the KKK, he was actively calling for the KKK's disbandment, going so far as to volunteer to help "exterminate" men continuing the violence against blacks. It would seem to me that even NBF recognized the evil of the KKK. Keep in mind that the KKK was a relatively new organization and had little to no history at the time of NBF's supposed involvement with them. Neither you nor I know the absolute facts of what NBF's involvement was with the KKK but one thing that certainly seems clear is that he saw what evil this group was all about and denounced it many times during his lifetime. But let's not let facts get in the way of a good argument, shall we.
May God help us all if we are only remembered and judged for one part of our lives that seems questionable.
John Hodge
Hixson
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Oh Tim, you are indeed a hard man to read.
I have been a supporter of yours for years but something happened to you during the past few years. I read everything you post and never once did I read where you were upset with Hillary (your candidate) for looking at Senator Byrd as both "a friend and a mentor". Never once. Never.
The biggest problem that liberals have is not being able to make up their minds when something stinks, or perhaps it's the idea of "win at any cost" even if it means throwing away all your ethics.
Sue White
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We have an established system of laws to manage immigration and to change laws. It may be a surprise to some but laws against harboring illegals weren't enacted by Reagan or Bush. They have been black letter law passed by Congress and upheld in court rulings over the last century.
But Barrack Obama, allegedly a constitutional law professor, for purely political reasons, issued an executive order placing hundreds of thousands in jeopardy.
As a former law enforcement official, did you overlook lawbreakers because you didn't like a particular law or felt sympathy for them? Or did you do your sworn duty in the protection of law-abiding citizens.
You should direct any anger you might feel at former President Obama for creating this calamity not at President Trump for refusing to continue an illegal and unconstitutional practice.
Is that blindfolded statue holding the balance on target for removal like the old generals?
Ralph Miller