LETTERS

Former councilwoman doesn't get it

"I am not a crook," those famous words of our 37th U.S.president, could well have been the caption for your onlinephotograph of former Memphis City Council member Barbara SwearengenWare leaving the courtroom Thursday after she was granted diversionon charges of misconduct.

Ware was not acquitted. She accepted diversion and gave a writtenstatement of wrongdoing. Her continued rejection that she indeed didbreak the law and failed to uphold moral and ethical principles ismost troubling.

The twisted interpretation of the court's judgment as God's wayof saying "well done" is nothing less than pathological.

Ware's behavior personifies the failed leadership for whichMemphis has become so well known.

Ron Gray

Memphis

Jobs over sales taxes, any day

It finally dawned on me why The Commercial Appeal is so obsessedabout campaigning for Amazon.com to collect sales tax in Tennessee.Amazon represents the digital age that is largely responsible forthe demise of the newspaper industry. Amazon, Apple, Netflix,Google, etc., have virtually changed how we communicate today. Thedigital age has arrived!

Today, readers have choices. They can search for timelyinformation with virtually any political or religious slant thatmatches their personal preferences. They are no longer bound to the"superior viewpoint" of the only paper in town.

There was a time when the newspaper industry was supported bysufficient advertising that journalists could virtually dictate anypolitical or social position they wished because they held amonopoly on reaching their subscribers in a given community. Todaythat is no longer the case. The model has changed.

As it relates to Amazon , I would rather see Tennessee get theadditional jobs the warehouse brings than the sales tax dollars thatevery consumer in Tennessee would have to pay. I don't see TheCommercial Appeal condemning all of the PILOT (payment in lieu oftax) programs that we finance with lost taxes to keep or bringindustry to our community.

Memphis is the nation's distribution center, but for a number ofyears, Tennessee had an inventory tax that caused many companies tolocate their warehouses in Mississippi rather than Tennessee.Fortunately for Memphis and Shelby County, this tax wasdiscontinued.

Taxes have always been used as a tool to recruit and retainbusiness, and likely always will be. Our PILOT programs and othertax incentives are responsible for Mitsubishi, Electrolux and CityBrewing Company in Memphis, plus the new VW plant in Chattanooga.Personally, I will take the additional jobs in this economy any day.Businesses have cut jobs and expenses, but for the most part, ourcity and county governments have done little of either; theirsolution is simply to collect more taxes.

According to a report by McKinsey Global Institute, the Internethas a sweeping impact on growth and prosperity and has "created 2.4jobs for every job that it has destroyed." We can be thankful thatthe U.S. created the Internet and that it saw fit to protect it, sothat it could grow and prosper.

Now I am sure that someday, our government (in its infinitewisdom) will get around to enacting a national tax on Internetpurchases, but until then I don't need The Commercial Appeal tellingme that I should be paying more taxes. I just sent you $216 foranother year's subscription.

Woody Savage

Cordova

Would we want foreign bases here?

I watched President Barack Obama's announcement on Wednesdaynight of the troop drawdown in Afghanistan. Afterward, one of the TVtalkers said that the United States has a military presence in 130countries, many of them with substantial personnel.

That got me to thinking. What would be the reaction of UnitedStates citizens to a foreign nation wanting a military establishmenthere? Say that India wanted a naval base along the Carolina coast orBrazil wanted an air base in Nebraska. What do you think ourreaction would be?

James Boland

Memphis

Enabler of the underprivileged

I found Graham Sale's June 18 editorial cartoon very offensive.It would have been OK if you had left out the tag line "GOP:Guardians Of the Privileged." What is the message you are trying tosend? It appears you are promoting class warfare.

I have been a member of the Republican Party since I registeredto vote over 35 years ago. At no time since have I believed the GOPwas the "Guardians Of the Privileged." Rather, it is the "Enabler ofthe Underprivileged."

You see, my father was a construction worker and my mother workedher way from custodian of the bathrooms to quality-control managerfor a defense electronics company. Both did not graduate from highschool. However, I was taught that I was the only one who couldprevent me from my success in graduating from college, working withmy head rather than with my hands, and earning a higher income. Iconsider myself financially successful but I don't consider myself"privileged."

Since my graduation I served as executive vice president for asmall family-owned business that employed 35-40 people within theMemphis city limits. I am proud of the fact that I never had to layoff a single employee even when the company was having difficultfinancial times. Our company enabled employees to obtain highereducation degrees and their children to attend either private orpublic schools.

This is what has made America the exceptional country that it is,and the GOP has always promoted "enabling the under-privileged."

Mike Kelly

Collierville

Name calling minus the facts

I am confused by E.J. Dionne's June 21 Viewpoint column"Suppression ultimate goal of voter statutes." He makes thestatement that by passing these laws it will reduce the turnout ofAfrican-Americans, Latinos and young adults, but nowhere in hiscomments does he say why.

He cites the law in Texas where a concealed handgun permit can beused as a voter ID, but not a school-issued ID. From myunderstanding you have to be an American citizen to get the permit,but I know for a fact you do not need to be a citizen to go toschool. Is it that hard to show a proper ID card in order to vote?

Later in his comments, he makes the comparison to "the bad olddays" of poll taxes, but again nowhere does he explain how these twothings compare to each other. It must be nice to be a liberal andjust make up things without having to back them up with facts.

Kevin Sweeney

Lakeland

Motorists: Watch the blinking hand

Traffic cameras at intersections are becoming more common in someareas. Some people get a bit nervous whenever they drive up to atraffic light. I've noticed that a lot of people brake hard as soonas the yellow light comes up, and that can get pretty dangerous (andnot very good for your car).

If you want to have some idea of how much time you have beforethat green light turns yellow, then red, take a glance at the "Walk/Don't Walk" light. A lot of them have timers now, and they'll letyou know how much longer it'll take before the light turns yellow.Even if it's just the blinking hand, at least you'll know that youhave a bit of time before the light changes.

Roger Freman

Memphis

Get info right on S'haven parks tax

Please correct your erroneous statement in the June 22 edition("Southaven to vote on 1-cent parks tax") that "69 percent ofSouthaven residents voted in favor of the 1-cent tax ... onrestaurant tabs."

Very few people voted in the previous election. The total numberof votes did not approach being 69 percent of Southaven residents.More than 69 percent did not vote. This is not a popular taxincrease.

It is not a "1-cent tax." It is a 1 percent tax. So if yourrestaurant tab is $100, the "penny" will cost you an extra dollar.

Winn Brown Jr.

Southaven