Why did media respect Moore’s accusers, but not Clinton’s?
I agree 100 percent when Kathleen Willey says (“Sexual misconduct debate revives questions about Clinton,” News, Nov. 17) “It’s about time….”, referring to those Dems who finally are rethinking their defense of Bill Clinton’s sexual harassment accusations. But lets not forget that Clinton had a much more powerful ally back then to protect him: the media. CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc. (as well as leading feminists) did their best to discredit Willey and others, even sending teams to dig up as much dirt as possible on his accusers. Now that we have Roy Moore facing similar accusations, these women all have instant credibility and respect from the same media. What’s the difference this time around, you ask? Very simple: this time the attacks are on a Republican, and not a Democrat.
PETE BONDESEN, BROOKHAVEN
Cagle owes Decatur police an apology
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle owes the men and women of the Decatur Police Department an apology for implying his accusations are rooted in their failure to uphold the law and for accusing Decatur officials of harboring dangerous criminals. Decatur’s police are committed to preventing crime, enforcing the law, and seeking justice within the boundaries of the constitutional standards they are sworn to uphold.
The inflammatory language used by the Lt. Governor to describe the policy of the Decatur Police is insulting to the exceptionally well-qualified and dedicated officers and staff who work daily to assure the well-being, safety and security of our community and to treat all residents, business owners and visitors with honesty, integrity and respect.
The Lt. Governor has adopted a strategy that manufactures fear, anger and scapegoating. These charges are false and misleading and could very well damage Georgia’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters.
PATTI GARRETT, MAYOR OF DECATUR
Male victimization should be more publicized
Gracie Bonds Staples’ article “What is nonviolent domestic abuse?,” Nov. 16, highlighted the issue that abuse can be either physical or psychological. It ended with the statement that “According to the CDC, nearly half of all women and men in the U.S. will experience psychological aggression by in intimate partner in their lifetime.”
In fact, the CDC’s report showed that 49.7 percent of Georgia men and 47.3 percent of U.S. men and 45.5 percent of Georgia women and 47.1 percent of U.S. women have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Nearly half of Georgia men are experiencing psychological aggression by an intimate partner but less than half of Georgia women are.
The rates of psychological aggression experienced in the 12 months prior to the survey were also significantly higher for men compared with women: 18 percent of Georgia men and 18.2 percent of U.S. men compared with 11 percent of Georgia women and 14.1 percent of U.S. women.
Given the onus on men to report being the target of intimate partner violence, these numbers would likely be higher if the fact of male victimization were more widely publicized/acknowledged.
DR. MARK SHUMATE, ROSWELL
Only rich will benefit from new tax plan
It’s clear who will benefit from the new tax plan in Washington: the rich. What we’re hearing less about is who will pay the consequences — and that’s hardworking, low-income Americans.
This year we’ve already seen attempts to gut essential programs like Medicaid and SNAP (formerly food stamps). So after giving away $1.5 trillion in tax breaks to millionaires, those same critical programs would likely wind up back on the chopping block. Meanwhile, the bill would unravel our health care system by repealing the individual mandate.
With one in eight Americans below the poverty line, this is both bad public policy and just plain wrong. I hope we can count on our senators to stand up against this plan.
KARISHMA BROUGH, TUCKER
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