Copyright 2001 The Atlanta Constitution  
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
December 13, 2001 Thursday, Home Edition
SECTION: Editorial; Pg. 21A

LENGTH: 1344 words

HEADLINE: READER OPINIONS

BYLINE: ASHTIN FOUNTAIN, JIM WALLACE, GEORGE CLARDY, TOM DOOLITTLE, ROBERT SHUSTER, PAIGE PERKINS, ALICE ALEXANDER, ROBERT BOOZER, BETH WILKIN

SOURCE: For the Journal-Constitution

BODY:
Parents must take time to talk about sex

Regarding recent discussions about sex education: As a teen, it has been very awkward for me and my parents to talk about sex. Going to health classes in school made it very easy for me to learn about sex, and it took away the awkwardness. I have learned so much about sexually transmitted diseases and birth control, and that the safest prevention from STDs and pregnancy is abstinence.

Health class has not told me, however, what is morally right and wrong about having sex. Do parents really think that going to one health class is going to prevent their teen from having sex? Parents should not depend on health classes to teach their sons and daughters what they believe is morally wrong or right. This is probably the main reason for America hasving one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancies in the world.

Parents need to teach their child to practice safe sex or to practice abstinence, even when the discussion is very awkward for the both of them. By spending a small amount of time and talking about sex, parents can help prevent the increasing rate of teenage pregnancy. ASHTIN FOUNTAIN Fountain, of Alpharetta, is a student at Milton High School.
 
Bradley's column takes unfair swipe at O'Leary

Whether the opinions in Mark Bradley's parting shot at departing Georgia Tech football George O'Leary are correct, the column was in poor taste and totally uncalled for ("Who benefits from O'Leary's leaving? Tech," News, Dec. 10). The gratuitous attack on an undeserving victim had a strong smell of sour grapes.

Bradley would have been much wiser to have left his unkind words unsaid. Sportswriters talk a lot about class. Bradley's piece on O'Leary lacked it. JIM WALLACE, Atlanta
 
Ashcroft is simply following the law

The recent editorial attacking Attorney General John Ashcroft's decision not to release firearms purchase background check records is typical of situational ethics ("Ashcroft's pro-gun ideology is put ahead of U.S. security," Dec. 7).

Ashcroft is clearly prohibited from releasing this information by law. He is simply following the law and not using politics, feelings or situational ethics to guide him. He is not protecting the suspected terrorists' rights, unless the Journal-Constitution defines everyone who owns a firearm as a suspected terrorist. GEORGE CLARDY, Hampton
 
DeKalb should forgo economic doubletalk

When I see an editorial that implies that DeKalb County will lose its 100 percent homestead exemption because of a national recession, my eyes see red and my blood boils ("Time to dig deeper in DeKalb," @issue, Dec. 10). DeKalb has missed its sales tax projection each year since its Homestead Option Sales Tax was enacted. Without Perimeter Center as a crutch, DeKalb's retail economy not only didn't grow since 1990, but it also may have declined.

I'm a fan of CEO Vernon Jones, but if this "recession" tripe is his idea, he should forget it. DeKalb has real economic development challenges that must be dealt with candidly. Jones should admit that the County Commission's arcane district boundaries enslave it to nonsense residential zoning battles that do nothing to promote revitalization. TOM DOOLITTLE, Atlanta
 
Palestinians must consider peace

Anthony Lewis' assessment of the situation in the Middle East is, as usual, critically disproportionate ("Israeli use of force won't bring security," @issue, Dec. 11).

He glosses over the fact that the Palestinian leadership instigated the intifada in the midst of negotiations during which Israel made unprecedented concessions. Apparently when the Palestinians were given an opportunity to reach a favorable agreement, they responded with violence rather than entertain any notion of compromise.

So long as the goal of annihilation remains entrenched in the Arab mind, an enduring peace cannot be achieved. It must await an Arab leader of sufficient courage and statesmanship to convince his constituency to recognize the potential benefit of coexisting in peace. Had there been such a one in 1947, think of all the anguish that these two peoples could have been spared. ROBERT SHUSTER, Atlanta
 
Naming businesses a personal matter

Regarding the city of Norcross saying that all signs need to be in English for public safety reasons: I'm not sure what emergency system Norcross is using, but in Chamblee our 911 system is keyed to street addresses. Emergency personnel are dispatched based on the address, not on the name of the business.

The ability to name and market your business in whatever way you see fit is an integral part of the American system of free enterprise. If we limit signs to English only, then we might need to clarify some of the signs we have now. Exactly what does "Piggly Wiggly" mean?

Metro Atlanta needs to accept that there will be new names coming that I hope will have the same staying power that the companies listed have now. I'm glad that Penang, Discolandia and La Favorita operate in my city and I hope they quickly become household names in metro Atlanta. PAIGE PERKINS Perkins is director of community development for the city of Chamblee.
 
Fuel standards: Safety debate is misleading

Those who oppose making Detroit raise fuel efficiency in cars usually frame their response in terms of safety issues, just as Diane Steed does ("Forced fuel economy works against consumers," @issue, Dec. 10). They claim that if we force car makers to build more fuel-efficient cars, they'll simply make them smaller --- and because smaller cars are more dangerous, more people will die in accidents.

There are two problems with this argument. First, although SUVs and minivans are safer than small cars in head-on collisions, they tend to roll over more often, due to their higher center of gravity. So death rates turn out to be about the same for SUVs and vans, compared with normal-sized sedans.

The bigger problem with the argument against raising fuel efficiency is that it fails to count those who become sick or die from adverse effects other than highway deaths --- asthma sufferers, for example, who suffer more attacks when air pollution levels are high.

ALICE ALEXANDER, Atlanta
 
Eliminate loophole for SUVs

As a lawyer, I understand the need for an advocate to present the facts in a light that best supports the client's position. At the same time, the advocate must not distort them, as Diane Steed does so deceptively in advocating the automobile industry's position on corporate average fuel efficiency.

The CAFE legislation made a totally unrealistic and unfair distinction between the station wagon category (which caused great downsizing) and the category for SUVs and minivans (which did not have to be downsized), thanks to ferocious lobbying at the time from the automotive industry that created this unwarranted difference and then took tremendous advantage of the resulting loophole. Small wonder the public shifted to SUVs that could and did remain large, powerful, road-hogging and gas-guzzling.

Regardless of whether the CAFE standard for cars should be tightened, it is abundantly clear that the unwarranted loophole for SUVs makes no sense and should be overruled. ROBERT BOOZER, Atlanta
 
Critics missing the point

Bringing up the CAFE standards to 40 miles per gallon would save Georgia citizens $350 million a year by 2012, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Furthermore, the argument that higher CAFE standards would compromise consumer safety is disputed by the Union of Concerned Scientists with two main arguments.

One, the lightest vehicles on the market tend to be the smallest and least expensive (thus more apt to leave behind safety features). Two, because the lighter vehicles are less expensive, they are driven by younger, more aggressive drivers. The truth is, there are absolutely no drawbacks to bringing up CAFE standards, unless, of course, one is considering the effect this would have on the oil industries. BETH WILKIN, Atlanta

LOAD-DATE: December 13, 2001