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Dear Editor:

I join Joe Black in commending The Times Sports Writers for their great coverage of all local team sports, including Maryville College. I really enjoyed Ed Feulner's recent article. I would like to read more from him and less from Jules Witcover. If Mr. Witcover didn't have "the previous president and vice president" to lambast he couldn't write his article.

I want to join a recent letter writer and add my appreciation to Chick-Fil-A. They give coupons for free chicken sandwiches to blood donors and close on the Sabbath. Now news from the Wall Street Journal that I don't recall seeing in The Times. In an article titled "Cash for Clubbers" the Journal article states: "We thought cash for clunkers was the ultimate waste of taxpayer money, but as usual we were too optimistic.

Thanks to the federal tax credit to buy high-mileage cars that was part of President Obama's stimulus plan, Uncle Sam is now paying Americans to buy that great necessity of modern life, the golf cart. The credit provides from $4,200 to $5,500 for the purchase of an electric vehicle which can pay for the entire cost of a golf cart. According to an IRS ruling, golf carts qualify for the electric-car credit by adding simple safety features, such as side and rear view mirrors and three-point seat belts."

Ads by "The Golf Cart Man" in the Villages of Lady Lake, Florida, make an offer in which you can buy the cart for $8,000, get a $5,300 tax credit off your 2009 income tax, lease it back for $100 a month for 27 months, at which point Golf Cart Man will buy back the cart for $2,000. "This means you own a free Golf Cart or made $2,000 cash doing absolutely nothing!" Is this insane or what? The IRS has also ruled that there's no limit to how many electric cars an individual can buy, so some enterprising profiteers are stocking up on multiple carts while the federal credit lasts, in order to resell them at a profit later.

Oklahoma has caught on to the giveaway and is debating whether to cancel or limit their state credits. But in Congress they're still on the driving range. This golf-cart fiasco perfectly illustrates tax policy in the age of Obama, when politicians dole out credits and loopholes for everything. Democrats then insist that to pay for these absurdities they have no choice but to raise tax rates on other things - like work and investment - that aren't politically in vogue. If this keeps up, it'll soon make more sense to retire and play golf than work for living.

On a more positive note, the Senate Finance Committee passed an amendment, submitted by Republican Orin Hatch, to fund abstinence education programs. Guess how the vote went? Republicans voted for it and Democrats voted against it. These programs have demonstrated success in reducing teen sexual activity and, consequently, teen pregnancies. Another amendment that would have barred taxpayer funding for abortions was defeated with all Republicans for and Democrats against it. There is no end to Democrat madness.

I hope citizens wake up before future elections and before the Democrats totally destroy the country. I want to wake up from this twilight zone nightmare.

Sincerely,

Ernest Bowers

1443 John Sparks Drive

Friendsville, TN 37737