Readers respond online to The News' letters to the editor, "Independent Thought" originally published Jan. 7: » Read More

Dear Editor: In this climate of political polarization, with our leaders, the media, and the political parties are doing everything they can to divide, inflame, and turn us against each other. Whether we be black-white-hispanic, old-young, Republican-Democrat, gay-straight, Christian-not... we need to begin to think for ourselves. We need to let go of personal prejudices, and recognize we will survive as neighbors, or not at all. I urge everyone not to let a political party ... » Read More

Dear Editor: My wife and I made a decision over two years ago to get more involved in our Rockdale County government. We began to regularly attend BOC and Board of Elections meetings. After two years of attendance, we particularly find the meetings of the BOC often to be the most frustrating to attend. This frustration for regular citizens who attend is, in our opinion, due largely to the unsatisfactory format of the BOC meetings. » Read More

Dear Editor: My wife and I made a decision over two years ago to get more involved in our Rockdale County government. We began to regularly attend BOC and Board of Elections meetings. After two years of attendance, we particularly find the meetings of the BOC to often be the most frustrating to attend. This frustration for regular citizens who attend is, in our opinion, due largely to the unsatisfactory format of the BOC meetings. » Read More

Dear Editor: The VFW traces its roots back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure earned rights and benefits for their service. Many arrived home wounded or sick, and there were no medical care or veterans' pensions available to them and they were simply left to care for themselves. » Read More