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Letters to the Editor

Wrong 'Target'

I have been hearing and reading about downtown residential development since I moved back from D.C. four years ago. What gives? Now I read of "four different projects by three different developers" in your issue [of Sept. 5, Urban Renewal]. Can anyone expound on this. When? Where? Who will be the targeted residents?

What kind of apartments? How expensive? If the condo at 302 1/2 S Gay is what the developers have in mind there will be a lot of beautifully refurbished buildings that remain empty. Maybe someone should try to attract a different "target audience," such as teachers, health care workers and police officers. These are the people that stay in our communities.

I believe there are many people waiting for affordable, stylish apartments in the downtown area. These will be the population base for establishing a presence in this area. It gets so tiring to come in and out of downtown for all of the functions that it offers. Living there, you could walk there.

Mark Sipe
Knoxville

Revenge Begins at Home

I was shocked to discover that Florida may have been harboring two of the terrorist cells responsible for the recent bombings. Words cannot express my indignation and outrage. As patriotic Americans it is clearly our duty to bomb those terrorist supporters back into the stone age!

Those cells must have bought food and supplies in Florida! Even airline tickets! Sure, let's bomb all those other countries later (even though the Soviets beat us to it and already have blown up most of Afghanistan) but we have to take care of Florida first.

They are evil, and we are good. I always suspected it, watching them with their evil little Florida smirks, and evil Florida ways. Like they are so much better just cause it doesn't snow there. Stealing our land here in the hills, lying, cheating. It's only fair we get to carpet bomb them for their crimes against freedom, humanity, and the American way. Lets clean house here first.

Florida folks hate democracy and our way of life; look how they screwed up the presidential election! We have tried appeasement with these people—and look what it has caused. Besides, we have already bombed Iraq and caused the deaths of over 100,000 people. Those people are obviously too stupid to react appropriately to bombing.

So let's level Florida with bombs the size of Volkswagens like we did the civilian neighborhoods of Panama and show the world that those who support terrorism will not remain unpunished. 'Cause if we don't, it will be freedom itself we will be losing—and possibly our position as the number one arms pusher in the world, slinging weapons across the planet like a crack dealer on the street corner.

As everybody knows, it's weapons and bombing that makes our democracy safe. So what's the delay! Blood and revenge against the evil Florida empire. And hey, while we're clearing house, what about them uppity Canadians?

Chris Irwin
Knoxville

Choose Wisely

All Americans should emulate the courageous behavior of that large number of Americans who have been subject to attacks by terrorists through recent years. The doctors, nurses and other staff of the many clinics offering services to women who are, and should be, free to choose have shown us how to behave. One group of these daily-threatened people are here in Knoxville.

Terrorists, extremist members of the "Right to Life" movement, have assassinated, bombed and daily picket "abortion clinics." They even have a website to target specific individuals for assassination—and keep count of victims.

And they get away with this, backed by Falwells and Robertsons of this world. (Falwell has "apologized" for his support of these and similar groups by calling his appeal for actions against feminists, homosexuals, and the ACLU "mistimed." He did not say it was wrong.)

Sadly Americans must also recognize that our home-grown terrorists are the most efficient in killing. One terrorist, with one back-up, killed 278 in Oklahoma City. That body count per-capita is considerably greater than that produced by 19 terrorists and at least 31 back-ups at the WTC and the Pentagon. Should we be proud of this?

We need to behave coolly, as the staffs of right-to-choose clinics have shown us, and not be panicked by every bomb threat. We need to protect all Americans, and now especially our threatened Muslims, compatriots against the individual terrorists who have already started their work.

William S. Verplanck
Knoxville