News-Record.com

Now hear this: Apparently, there are two Betty Hobbses in Greensboro, each entitled to her own opinion.

The letter published May 22 in the News & Record does not express the feelings of me or my wife, Betty.

We have a suggestion, however. The county should cut the commissioners' salary to zero and double what is currently paid to those who serve on the Board of Education. Doing so would keep all of their salaries more in line with the professional service and dignity they render to the county.

Will Hobbs
Greensboro

Please don't drop The New York Times News Service. Thomas Friedman's column alone is easily worth $34,000. Our community needs to read the truth about what's happening in the world, and nobody on the commentary page is more knowledgeable and sincerely devoted to peace, stability and our competitiveness in today's global environment than Friedman.

Jeff Perine
Jamestown

Edward Cone's entrance (column, May 22) into the evolution debate, unfortunately, offers nothing new. He accepts the oft-repeated mantra that evolution is a science while creationism is unscientific "belief."

It is interesting that the only scientific -- as opposed to theoretical -- observations Cone mentions are complexity and "specialization" of biological systems. Recognition of this complexity offers innumerable and diverse considerations in the biological sciences, not "brief and content-free," as he writes.

And it is most certainly against the theory of accidental or chance events as the origin of life.

If there is a scientific fact that supports the evolution hypothesis, would someone have the courtesy to announce it and not just say the evidence exists. "Spontaneous generation" once had scientific acceptance, but Pasteur (a creationist) put that idea in the same trash heap to which evolution is headed.

We are all free to believe God made us or not. But no one can claim scientific backing for his belief unless he can name it. The one who believes God did not create everything -- including the laws on which science rests -- is far more "religious" than those who give credit to a creator.

Marion Griffin, M.D.
Asheboro

It would be interesting, and perhaps instructive, to know how President Bush reconciles his reverence for life as exemplified by his opposition to government-funded scientific research with stem cells derived from human embryos that are slated to be discarded, with his deliberately placing members of our armed forces in a war in which so many have lost their lives.

The war on Iraq seems to most certainly have been planned without valid evidence of threats to this country, but conducted for other reasons.

J. Wilbert Edgerton
Greensboro

According to the agreement at Sharm El-Sheik a few months ago between Mahmoud Abbas and Ariel Sharon, Sharon was to abide by several provisions if Abbas were to rein in Hamas and the resistance movement.

Sharon agreed to release Palestinian prisoners, who count up to 7,000, to pull out his military from five Palestinian cities and to evacuate from settlements in Gaza.

But the facts are that Sharon did not follow through with any of the above. On the contrary, he tightened his rein even more, delaying his leave of Gaza, and building and expanding settlement activity around East Jerusalem despite President Bush's order not to do so.

One has to remember that Sharon is not one who can reason and help an occupied people. Sharon is an extremist who engineered the buildup of settlements on Palestinian land.

His militaristic background molded his nature to be violent against his enemies. He has blood on his hands by killing innocent Palestinian and Lebanese civilians over the years.

There are 92 military checkpoints within the occupied West Bank, and only 12 between the Israeli and Palestinian borders. This is proof of how the Israeli occupation is choking Palestinian life, especially with the buildup of the fascist wall that creates havoc in Palestinian economic and social life.

Victor Ganim
Greensboro

It is inspiring to have the Senior Resources of Guilford in the county as the staff there are incredibly dedicated and responsive and work diligently on behalf of our county's senior population.

On May 19, our home-care company participated in an event at Center City Park that celebrated Older Americans Month. This gala event, sponsored by Senior Resources, and others, was attended by 300-plus seniors who benefited from the gathering of numerous groups and organizations that provide varied and vital services for seniors. Attendees enjoyed musical entertainment and a beautiful day and learned about the launch of a new Web-based Guide to Aging Services in Guilford County. Additionally, this celebration of seniors created an awareness of Older Americans Month and the significance of Guilford County's senior population. What a wonderful, happy, successful day for the area's older Americans.

With Mobile Meals, Senior Wheels, Santa for Seniors, the Community Nutrition Program, the Senior AIDES Employment program, educational programs, etc., it is appropriate to recognize the contributions of Senior Resources of Guilford to our senior population and to be grateful for its presence in our community.

Dick and Susan Gray
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Michael Best

On May 23, 3330 W. Friendly Ave. died in Greensboro. Surviving are more than a million unemployed American textile workers. The cause of death was unbridled greed.

The deceased was a marvel of 20th century architecture. It had an external frame, with the building supported within. It won worldwide architectural awards. It was the world headquarters of the largest public textile company that ever existed in the history of civilization.

At 10:01 a.m. May 23, 3330 lay in ruins.

This was a fitting, poetic end to the great American textile industry. It was the exclamation point to close this great chapter of American industrial history, as we pass the baton to the communist Chinese, all for the enhanced profits of greedy retailers.

The building at 3330 died in explosive glory, not with a cowardly whimper. If 3330 had to fall, then it is fitting that this great American icon died from the mushroom cloud, not the bulldozer. Magnificent in life, 3330 deserved a magnificent death.

At least the displaced Burlington Industries employees live on, to work part time for Wal-Mart, without benefits and for substandard wages.

A parking lot and strip shopping center are to be erected in the place of the deceased.

The deceased, a six-story marvel of architecture and testament to American industrial excellence, soon will be replaced with a flat temple of greedy profiteering, selling the very Asian-made goods, among others, that caused the destruction of this great American icon.

Memorial donations may be made at any retail store. Look for the label "Made in the USA." But look hard, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I just heard the verdict in the McFayden case and could not believe it. With time served, he will probably be out before July 4.

When are we going to hold these drunks responsible for their actions?

This man made a conscious decision to get drunk (again). This man made a conscious decision to drive that vehicle when drunk. This man made a conscious decision to speed through a construction zone. Now why do the conscious decisions not add up to second-degree murder? If he had jumped out of his truck and shot the sisters, he would been found guilty of second-degree murder and not involuntary manslaughter. He would have been heading to prison for a long time.

I think I know the reasoning behind our ridiculous drunken-driving laws -- our legislators in Raleigh think, "There but for the grace of God go I." Enough said.

J.A. Williamson
Randleman

It's time to do away with the U.S. Senate. Just one good Senate "hearing" with D.H. Griffin, and we would never have to close another military base.

Closing the Senate is easily justified. "Guilt by ego-association" would work. The ego-survival game between Kerry, Kennedy, Clinton, Byrd, Warner, McCain and Graham must stop.

The people have perfect grounds to plead self-defense.

Senatorial incompetence, erroneously referred to as "decorum," is ample evidence for a nuclear implosion. They have a sterling record of incompetence. The non-impeachment of President Clinton comes to mind.

Their value system, which honors and treasures filibustering above all else, garners top marks in malfeasance.

If "dereliction of duty" were announced in the Senate, 100 senators and all their staffers would run for cover.

Case in point: Voters empowered conservative legislative and executive branches of our government for the purpose of selecting conservative judges.

Obstructionists from the Senate left derelicted first, only to be out-derelicted by 14 turncoats, seven each stabbing their respective parties in the back.

Now, "bait and switch" can be tacked on. Instead of living up to campaign promises, they've delivered treason, cowardice and malice.

And we didn't get around to the scandalous Senate pensions.

H.T. Thetford
Greensboro

Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr would be smart to take the advice of the News & Record? Anytime this newspaper is "disappointed" in the performance of our two senators, you can bet they are doing the job they were elected to do.

Sen. Graham of South Carolina did not do that and is no doubt feeling a little bit of job insecurity. May it only increase.

Curtiss L. Crotts
Greensboro

Your editorial (May 22) regarding global warming is another example of the media getting its facts wrong. I would strongly suggest that your editorial staff do some research regarding global warming.

For every report that shows the atmosphere to be warming, there is at least one report that shows it to be cooling; for every glacier melting in retreat, there are glaciers that are growing; for every report that shows oceans are rising, there is another report that shows them either stable or having risen since prehistoric times at an infinitesimally small rate. For the 1,500 scientists who urged our country to sign the Kyoto agreement, there were 15,000 scientists who stated that there either was no global warming and/or that much more data was needed to see if there truly has been a shift.

Before our government spends one more tax dollar on this bogus fear mongering, I would suggest strongly (particularly Pricey Harrison) that they investigate the research that has already been done, so as to not waste any more of our tax dollars.

Dan Holsenbeck
Greensboro

John Robinson's column, "It's the end of the Times..." (May 22, News & Record) is certainly a sad sign of the times. The dumbing down of the populace, so prevalent on TV, now has reached the News & Record.

For some time, we have had to go to pages 2, 3, 4 or more to even tell that we are at war. We really have to search to find out if a day has passed without casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan. Very little news of other parts of the world, or the United States for that matter, is revealed. The absence of syndicated columnists Thomas Friedman, Bob Herbert and Maureen Dowd leaves a void of expert commentary on national and world events.

Thanks to the Internet, we can still learn what goes on outside Guilford County.

Ed Travis
Greensboro

Recently I had emergency surgery that required four pints of blood. How grateful I am that it was available, and it reminded me of the importance of giving blood at every opportunity. Sometimes it requires time and effort in our busy world, but please donate so others may live.

Charlotte Parker
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Ernie Sawyer

The writers on evolution in the Ideas section (May 15) do not expound on a modern interpretation of creation in Genesis. The biblical version is much more in tune with evolutionary evidence than creationists admit.

Today, we know that all life is made from "dust" -- that is, the natural elements, according to its kind (determined by DNA). One senses a plan, a determinate link to the past.

In Genesis, we learn that a plant had seed "within itself," the earth "brought forth" grass, and plants and animals were made after "his kind" or "their kind." Man was made from "dust," in God's "image" (a homologue for mankind). Listen carefully. The first note of evolution is soft but clear.

And then comes an inspired chord. In the Garden of Eden, God planted several trees. Some were unlike ordinary trees from which one might pluck a pear, peach or plum to please one's palate. One tree in particular bore a "forbidden fruit." Adam was instructed by God that he must not eat the fruit thereof lest he "die." By eating, he would also become "like a god" with "the knowledge of good and evil." Obviously, we must ponder the meanings in the symbolism.

So a "serpent" tempted Adam's wife, Eve, to eat the forbidden fruit. Reading the verses carefully, it's clear, before eating, she did not know right from wrong, was not wise, and was not present when God forbade Adam to eat the fruit. Neither did she, nor Adam, feel shame for their nakedness.

Then she ate, gave to Adam, and he ate.

This tree symbolizes man's transition. An evolutionist might offer this interpretation: Before eating the fruit, man lacked moral sensitivity and felt no embarrassment for his nakedness. He was like animals or the early hominids. After eating the fruit, man, the innocent, "died." He evolved to a higher state, with wisdom, responsibility for his moral behavior, and a desire to clothe his body (initially with "fig leaves"). These were uniquely human attributes.

And finally the crescendo. To destroy the evil among men, God caused a Great Flood, which ended most life on earth. It was a mass extinction of life except for the pairs of species Noah boarded on the ark. After the flood, both man and animals began to multiply once more on earth.

Genesis is not the song of Darwin, but it does have several notes that resonate with today's fossil record.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Over the last 25 days in Iraq, the lives of at least 615 people, including 49 U.S. troops, have, to borrow your large front-page headline from the Burlington Industries headquarters implosion, "gone in a flash." While the demolition of a local landmark is indeed front-page worthy, why does the tragic, and unfortunately continuing, loss of life in Iraq merit a less prominent space in your paper?

On a related note, the News & Record has had no news coverage of the Downing Street memo. A recent search of your archives turned up two unrelated stories about road improvements. This memo documents minutes from a July 23, 2002, meeting between British and American officials. It details how the decision to launch the Iraq war had essentially been made (two-and-a-half months before Congress voted to authorize it) and how intelligence was being fixed around this decision. The Times of London printed the full text on May 1, but American papers, including Greensboro's, have been largely silent. Why?

Kim Madden
Greensboro

Editor's note: The News & Record published Second Opinion page columns about the Downing Street memo on May 14 and May 26.

I have been thinking about the recent decision to cancel the columns from The New York Times. I know I can go online and get them that way, as I do occasionally for some in the Washington Post, but it won't be the same as folding the paper for a good read at breakfast. If I could vote on what you publish, I would not miss Charles Davenport and Cal Thomas and about half of your comics section, but that probably wouldn't save enough money, since I am sure that what I don't like personally is cheap second-rate stuff anyway.

I am also sure there are just as many readers who think it's a good thing to do without Thomas Friedman, David Brooks and the others, and remain ignorant, but that's life, I suppose.

I hope that the "enhanced local coverage" we're theoretically trading off for is worth it; any writer who could make the often juvenile and self-serving actions of our elected city and county officials interesting is bound to cost more, but can we hold on to them for any length of time considering the wealth of material in our nation's capital?

Ken Sisk
Greensboro

Editor's note: The News & Record is not trading The New York Times News Service for local coverage. It will continue to feature national and international news from other sources.

At the last second in the budgeting process, we watched as the mayor of Pleasant Garden pulled out of the thin air recommendations for excess tax revenue "to give the citizens the sense of being a town." Since none of the mayor's ideas are line-item entries in the budget, we taxpayers are at the mercy of elected officials who gaze into crystal balls.

Pleasant Garden remains a town on paper with a bloated budget, but now it has a five-cent tax, its own "pork barrel" and a motto "To Seem Rather Than To Be."

Help. Help. Help.

Nancy Jo Smith
Anne Kearns Hice
Pleasant Garden

Since Newsweek felt obligated to apologize for printing an unsubstantiated report on the abuse of the Quran that caused protests and hundreds of deaths, will it now, in light of the Downing Street memo (www.downingstreetmemo.com), apologize for printing the lies the Bush administration told to justify launching a pre-emptive war against Iraq? This ongoing war has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and worldwide protests.

The News & Record may feel a need to also apologize.

Charles Lownes
Greensboro

Oh, no, say it isn't so. I am always pressing transplanted Yankee colleagues to "subscribe to the News & Record; you live and work here. You should get the local paper; and besides, you'll be able to read Tom Friedman and the other New York Times columnists in our hometown paper."

I am deeply disappointed. I'm sure the diminishing readership is part of the reason, but this decision certainly isn't going to help my case to add readers from my circle.

Judith R. Hyman
Greensboro

I, too, want to protest your decision to cancel The New York Times News Service. International news coverage and thoughtful analysis are needed more than ever in today's often-bewildering world. The columns by Thomas Friedman and David Brooks alone are worth $34,000. I cannot imagine how this money could be better spent.

Please rethink your decision.

Robert Galbreath
Greensboro

I have been reading David McCullough's biography of John Adams and was much struck by the quotation from our second president that serves as an epigraph to Chapter Ten: "Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war."

Tom Kirby-Smith
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Mark Jewell

On behalf of all schoolchildren in Guilford County, the Guilford County Council of PTAs Executive Board and the Guilford County Association of Educators (GCAE) ask the Guilford County commissioners and state legislators to properly fund Guilford County Schools. We must go beyond the "bare bones" approach to financing schools. We must fund a budget that provides for smaller class size, competitive wages, adequate planning time and a safe environment conducive to high academic achievement.

As the third-largest school district in North Carolina, Guilford County Schools has experienced tremendous changes. Since 1997, we have enrolled more than 8,000 additional students -- an 11 percent increase in student population. In addition, the needs of our students are increasing. Forty-six percent of our students now receive free or reduced-price lunch, and a sobering 25,000 students live in poverty. Eighty-two different languages are spoken; 4,635, or approximately 7 percent, of our students receive English Speakers of Other Languages services.

Further, over the past 30 years, our state's contribution to public school funding has declined from 52 percent to a dismal 38 percent. In addition, Guilford County Schools must bear the cost of unfunded mandates at both the state and federal levels, such as No Child Left Behind and state funding caps for students with disabilities. As our county grows and state funding declines, our schools will face further staff cuts and larger numbers of students in each class unless we have additional local funding. Currently, we rank only 10th in North Carolina in the amount of local funding per pupil.

Our schools must have the resources to provide Guilford County students with the education and tools necessary to compete in today's rapidly changing job market. If we want Guilford County to grow and continue to be an economically viable area for companies to locate, we must be able to offer those companies a highly educated work force. Let us do what is right for our children and our community. We urge you to contact county commissioners and state legislators and encourage them to properly fund our schools. It is in everyone's best interest to invest in our schools and in our future by making education a top priority in Guilford County.

The writer is GCAE president.

The News & Record is in business to make money. That's understood. Your editor also claims to accept the role of serving the community and has reminded us it is his community as well. Too many media companies are "dumbing down" content because it sells, and/or they can produce it cheaply.

I'm here to ask our local newspaper to keep the bar raised, invest a few extra dollars to inform and educate readers as best as possible. There is no issue more important on our nation's horizon than the war on terrorism and the consequences of this war for our future. The most informed and insightful journalist on the subject of the Middle East and Arab-Israeli-U.S. relations is Thomas Friedman of The New York Times. I applaud your paper for running this column. Don't stop it.

Which school textbooks do you select for your kids -- good, better or best? Well, how are you going to best serve your friends and neighbors in our community? Good, better or best?

Funnel cake is great, but a healthy diet requires the addition of healthy foods. It is said that you are what you eat. Well, you own the restaurant. What are you going to serve us?

Steve Patton
Greensboro

Public school financing faces a crisis each year as regional budgets are diminished and state and federal funding becomes more and more elusive. Teaching positions are cut, and the funds for basic supplies needed for the education process are eliminated from the budget spreadsheets perused by boards and politicians. Fortunately, some community-conscious corporations have chosen to make public schools and teachers the focus of grants for education.

In our region, Kay Chemical Co., an ECOLAB company, provides funds to educators through the Kay Community Relations Council and the endowments provided through the ECOLAB Visions for Learning Program for School Educators. In 2004, this corporation gave $45,000 to area teachers and schools for the benefit of our students. As one of the many teachers in the region who has received a grant this year to provide supplementary novels for my English classes, I want to thank Kay Chemical Co., its Community Relations Council and the ECOLAB foundation for demonstrating such corporate responsibility and generous support for our students. Such support does make a difference for those who teach and for those who learn.

Arch Aitcheson
Greensboro

The writer is a Grimsley High School teacher.

President Bush called the recent report from Amnesty International "absurd." Apparently, the documented incidences of human rights violations in American detention centers, as reported by this group, are only sacred when it is not the United States being accused.

The constant drone from the Bush administration of negating anything that doesn't agree with them and their policies is getting old. This spin on news is insulting to the intelligence of the American people and, more importantly, damaging to what shred of dignity we hold in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Bush and Cheney can go on any TV show, talk to any right-leaning media outlet and be as outraged and as damning as they wish of Amnesty International.

But they need to know this: Their insistence of always being right, never apologizing and never promising to look into such serious allegations doesn't mean people haven't been hurt at the hands of Americans. We should be ashamed of our president's sophomoric stunts. It is time for us to demand that he show some true grit and character. Bush's denials, bravado and lack of maturity do nothing to further his fellow Americans' reputation as compassionate, caring people of whom the world can be proud.

Mary Coyne Wessling
Greensboro

I appreciate the irony of your May 31 opinion pages, with Kenneth L. Caneva and Jane E. Sugarman's letter dissenting from your decision to terminate The New York Times News Service (echoing several previous letters) on the Opinion page, and opposite, on the Second Opinion page, columns by Times writers Tom Friedman, David Brooks and Nicholas Kristof -- all of them worthy of your pages.

I will miss these and others from The New York Times, and I may look for an alternate source -- perhaps the Raleigh News and Observer?

I appreciate your paper, and I hope you will reconsider your decision. It would be unfortunate to see our major area newspaper shrinking toward local coverage at the expense of wider news.

Ralph E. Macy
Burlington

Regarding the editorial, "Don't mix stem cells with religion, politics" (May 31):

I cannot begin to comprehend the logic applied to conclude that people of faith have no right to apply their core beliefs in the political arena. If one's faith, regardless of denomination/tradition, has no bearing on the moral issues that face us as a society, it has no meaning whatsoever.

The left-leaning News & Record should do some soul-searching of its own. The notion that the need for "tolerance" applies only to those you choose to label as "right-wingers, conservatives, traditionalists," etc., in itself lacks the tolerance of which you speak. If folks don't agree with the left, they need to be tolerant.

If we disagree with you, we need to keep our faith under a bushel basket. Your position lacks logic.

Stephen Cush
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Turner C. Church

I was mildly amused by Lorraine Ahearn's whimsical column (May 27) exploring ways to save the Greensboro City Club. While Alexander Bleu Cheese has never been associated with the club in any fashion, Roger Soles, our founding member and great benefactor, in whose name one of our premier menu items, Roger's Fresh Fish, does appear, is fondly remembered from the ground floor to the clock tower atop the 20th.

Although the reasons for the untimely demise of Greensboro's most prestigious fine dining address are far more complicated than could be addressed by a loose confederation of random fund raisers and donations, I commend the effort to keep our club in the community's consciousness. The hand-wringing and lamentation engendered by the announcement of the club's closing are but one in a number of compelling reasons why I'm convinced that a Greensboro City Club can and should be an ongoing and profitable facility available to those individuals and corporations whose best interests are served by such a uniquely well-appointed and well-run upscale food and beverage operation.

A profitable food and beverage operation cannot be run from the board room. As with anything, one can always be a "Monday morning quarterback" of anyone in any situation. Although the membership roles have declined appreciably since a shade before Sept. 11, our year-over-year revenue and volume have steadily increased, serving as testimony to the excellent job that all of the management and staff have continued to do.

Everyone has heard the old adage that there are three determining factors regarding a food and beverage operation's success: location, location, location. Need I be more specific on this issue? There are certainly ways of addressing all of the issues that confront a club such as ours which, if fully tenable, would result in the continued prosperous and successful operation of a club occupying the 19th and 20th floors at 100 N. Greene St. You know where to find me. I'll be here today.

Thank you to all of our loyal members and their guests from all of the staff at The Greensboro City Club.

The writer is banquet manager, Greensboro City Club.

In 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the governor of Virginia, Edmund Randolph, spoke these prophetic words about the need for a firm Senate:

"The object of the second branch is to control the democratic branch of the national legislature. If it be not a firm body, the other branch being more numerous and coming immediately from the people, will overwhelm it. ... A firmness and independence may be more necessary also in this branch, as it ought to guard the Constitution against encroachments of the executive, who will be apt to form combinations with the demagogues of the popular branch."

Today, the danger lies in a Senate that has forgotten its responsibility to guard the nation against the executive's partnership with the popular passions of the House. The Senate's role is to be a keel in the boat of state.

Svea Sauer
Greensboro

What a pleasure it was to read "Americans: new and old" (News & Record, May 21). My congratulations to these new citizens of our country. I hope that all of their dreams will be realized in this, the very best country on earth.

The article was all the more uplifting as it shows that people from other lands may still come to the United States via the proper and legal pathways followed by so many of our ancestors. Indeed, they are most welcome.

All 69 of those taking an oath of citizenship represent a glaring and sharp contrast to the thousands of criminal infiltrators roaming our cities and towns, each a potential terrorist, each a potential disease carrier and all breaking the laws of our country. The warm fuzzy leftists call them undocumented immigrants. Undocumented, yes; immigrants, no. They are common criminals, of which we already have more than enough.

Ian A. Millar
Kernersville

I was truly disappointed to read that you will be dropping The New York Times columnists from your paper.

Prize-winners such as Thomas Friedman, David Brooks and others bring a professional and international view that is unmatched and provide a major element of value to the publication. These views also are much more balanced in the heated environment of today's right versus left and polarized political environment.

I shall wait to see what is to replace these thoughtful voices and determine if a subscription remains of value.

James L. Sheldon
Greensboro

I am writing regarding B.D. Smith's letter (May 23). I did not attend the game at First Horizon Park that celebrated Cinco de Mayo. If I had, I would have left.

I can't imagine what idiot allowed the Mexican national anthem to take precedence over "The Star-Spangled Banner" or had the game announced in Spanish. Mexico does not celebrate the Fourth of July.

As far as learning to adapt, newcomers need to learn English and use it. That is what other nationalities have been doing for several hundred years.

Mary S. Ward
Madison

I am only a recent subscriber to your newspaper, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the columnists from The New York Times, especially Thomas Friedman. I subscribed to the News & Record because the local paper, The Burlington Times-News is sorely lacking in substance when it comes to national and world affairs coverage and opinion. If you wonder why many people will go to the Internet for coverage of such topics, here is a good reason.

My guess is that the right-wing conservative majority has won again. I doubt that I will renew my current subscription when it comes due.

William A. Vollmer
Mebane

I am 12 years old. During the evening I flip through the TV channels and I stop on Channel 13 just to see what the county commissioners are talking about.

From a 12-year-old point of view, I think some of the things they talk about to people or about people are evil and mean. Some people they talk about shouldn't be exposed like that because it might hurt them.

What I'm saying doesn't go for all the commissioners. I like two of the commissioners a lot. Trudy Wade and Linda Shaw are good commissioners. They don't back-stab people. They say what's on their minds, but in doing that, they do it the right way.

But for Bruce Davis and Melvin "Skip" Alston, I think they represent the African American culture terribly. I think both of them act way younger than they are. Why have a meeting to get the commissioners back together? That shouldn't be. They should be close like friends anyway. Remember there is no "I" in team.

For the rest of the commissioners, I don't know how they are, but I hope they are good commissioners like Trudy Wade and Linda Shaw.

Sharon Mebane
Greensboro

I read Anthony Morton's letter (May 28) about the loss of the historic McMillan family house on the site of the imploded Burlington Industries headquarters building. I had lived in Greensboro only a couple of years when the BI building was built. It held little interest to me as an uninformed young woman. I loved the water fountain, and as the trees grew I enjoyed seeing all the beautiful trees in the landscape.

What I want to say here is that several weeks before the demise of that building, I was traveling down Northline Street behind that property. A large bulldozer was pushing over one of the mammoth trees. My stomach lurched, tears actually came trickling down my face. I was physically sick.

Time and again, I have watched the demolition of the large oak trees in Greensboro. Am I just an old, hysterical female who doesn't understand progress, or are there others who feel the "powers that be" don't know wealth when they have it right before their eyes?

We don't need another hot, congested nightmare like Wendover at I-40.

Donna Combs
Gibsonville

The letter (May 28) about the "True gem on Friendly" stirs me to add to the content. I also lived in the house, probably longer than anyone else.

The history of it could fill a book: from relocating a doctor to Greensboro from New Orleans to live in it, to a murder years later, prior to its destruction for Burlington Industries' office building construction.

My family loved living there during spring, summer and early fall, but cold weather was unpleasant. I've seen snow blow through the walls. Cold, brrr. The oil furnace was installed in a downstairs closet. When it was called upon to start, it would shake the house, and the windows, which were floor to ceiling, would rattle. Sort of unnerving.

Many things occurred, such as lightning strikes that split the chimney, fires, etc., but the little house remained until it fell to construction crews.

Ed McMillan and his family moved into the home they built on Kemp Road East before I went to work with Starmount Co.

Anthony Morton's letter reminded me of a beautiful phase of my life.

Elvin R. Parks
Greensboro

I wonder if Donald Rumsfeld, when he declared of the Newsweek story, "People lost their lives. People are dead. People need to be very careful about what they say, just as they need to be careful about what the do," was thinking about George W. Bush's inviting of hostilities against his own troops or misstating -- thereby, potentially dragging the United States unwillingly and unwittingly into war -- on national television the long-standing U.S. policy regarding the defense of Taiwan.

I wonder how many of your letter writers -- there seem to be many -- who approve of political powers resting in the hands of the religious, really despise, rather than adore, the New Testament Jesus, who is reported to have declined absolute political power and who, rather conspicuously, in view of modern "Christian" patriots, is not reported to have joined the Zealots in their quest to free Israel from the Romans.

I wonder how the New Testament Jesus' so-called "Golden Rule" came to mean, for America's "Christian" war president and many of his adherents, evidently the very opposite of what, on the surface, it seems to mean.

David W. Hardin
Greensboro

Next time someone tells you that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are worth it, ask them this: Have we found Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan?

In Iraq, we removed a two-bit dictator at the cost of more than 1,600 deaths of military personnel, not to mention thousands of Iraqi civilians, also the billions of dollars of taxpayers' money spent there.

These two wars are George Bush's wars. He wanted these wars and deceived the American people on why we went to war, according to a British intelligence memo. Now both countries are on the verge of civil war.

Next time someone tells you that these two wars are worth it, ask them this: What have we won?

Frederick Nimer
Greensboro

I propose that we pass a law limiting all senators and representatives to two four-year terms as we do the president. In this way, they would have one term to get established and only one more term to get rich at the expense of us taxpayers.

I would also like to exclude all lawyers, but this would be unconstitutional.

Have you noticed that if you ask a politician the time of day, they talk for 30 minutes and you still do not know the time? No need to go on and on -- enough said.

George Stanley
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Gerald Goulder

Is discrimination based on immigration status equivalent to discrimination based on race? Is immigration status a civil right in itself? The burgeoning public policy debate over illegal immigration includes crucial underpinnings the public has yet to appreciate -- issues of civil rights for undocumented aliens.

Current estimates are that at least one-half of undocumented aliens in the United States are from Mexico. Most consider themselves "people of color" who share civil rights concerns similar those of black citizens in the 1950s and 1960s. Undocumented Latinos see a similarity in circumstances. Other unlawful immigrants raise the issue that "color" is not the issue, but that immigration status alone is an improper restriction on their civil rights.

Should we consider civil rights impact when we debate immigration laws, or is it better when jumping off a cliff not to even look where we might end up?

The argument is that issues such as immigration, language regulation, bilingual education, public benefits, paying resident fees to attend public universities, loss of jobs due to heightened immigration enforcement and driver's license issues affect undocumented Latinos on a racial basis.

Although our courts presently do not equate discrimination based on immigration status with discrimination based on race, the "civil rights" issues will soon become very real.

Those arguing for expanded civil rights for undocumented aliens have framed the driver's license debate in the context of the status and security of undocumented Latinos.

Consider, from their perspective, if any laws relating to unlawful immigration status subject undocumented Latinos to discrimination based on race. Do, or will, they result in any racial profiling? Will policies encourage undocumented Latinos to avoid police interaction? Will laws increase undocumented Latinos' worries about deportation for traffic offenses? Will unlicensed driving result in impoundment of vehicles that are necessary to keep a job? Will policies increase undocumented Latinos' fears of deportation? Do any of these issues have "context" relating to one's civil rights?

Are there civil rights for undocumented aliens? Do civil rights have any context within the "illegal immigration" debate? Should we even consider if laws fairly or unfairly affect or exclude undocumented Latinos from many amenities available to U.S. citizens?

Driver's licenses are the tip of the iceberg. The real issue will be discrimination based on race or discrimination based on immigration status.

We should look at the map as we start choosing which roads we will take.

The writer is an immigration lawyer in Greensboro.

Last week's Deep Throat revelation has put the whistle-blower back in the news. The daring insider, secretly passing on evidence to bring down a corrupt authority, is the champion of the moment.

So where are the Deep Throats of today? Who's the next sleuth with a bombshell to drop that will keep us all talking for the next 30 years?

Look no further than the Downing Street minutes. A modern-day Deep Throat recently leaked this official transcript of a top secret pre-war intelligence briefing. Right there in black and white it reveals that the Bush and Blair administrations wanted to go to war in Iraq as early as July 2002. That "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around that policy." And they deliberately misled the American people the entire time.

The fickle eyes of the public are, for the moment, enthralled by the Deep Throat story. Seize the moment, editors and reporters. Now is the time. Cover the Downing Street bombshell.

Readers are thirsty for it.

The minutes are online at the Sunday London Times:
www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html

For more information, see:
www.downingstreetmemo.com

Kim Winz
Durham

According to CNN and the Faux News Network (my primary source of comedy), the Army is offering 15-month active duty enlistments and up to $20,000 in signing bonuses. Why are the ground combat services in trouble?

Nearly 60 million people said in November that they enthusiastically supported the Iraq war. So, why aren't they all in uniform? Why aren't they pushing their sons and daughters on planes to Parris Island? Why isn't every Bush voter, 18 to 30, in uniform? Are they following Bush's and Cheney's Vietnam examples? Or is serving your country in time of war one of those jobs Bush says Americans won't do?

Maybe we can outsource Iraq to Italy, whose Army had a fearsome reputation in World War II until they lost their bullet. Or maybe we liberals will bring back a no-deferral draft. Who could be against that?

Bush-heads who aren't in the military or don't have immediate family in uniform are hypocrites, cowards or both. They're not "red" voters; they're "yellow" voters, yellow like the color of their spines and the ribbons on their cars.

Sorry, America, but decals and bumper stickers just ain't enough anymore. Time to put your life where your mouth is.

Chuck Davis
High Point

Several months have passed since the election, and it is time to start looking toward the future. It is now time to have your voice heard and set this country back on the right track. The Constitution Party (www.ConstitutionParty.com) is ready to better represent this nation.

Two years ago House Bill 867 was introduced, which would have lowered the petition requirements for ballot access from 2 percent of voters in the last gubernatorial election to .05 percent, and would have lowered the threshold for maintaining ballot access from 10 percent to 2 percent.

Though it passed committee, the co-speakers in the legislature denied it a vote. The bill has been reintroduced as House Bill 88. The state representative who introduced the bill says if we want this bill heard this year, we need to pressure the Finance Committee to move on it. Paul Luebke is the sponsor and one of the finance chairs. He suggests writing the other co-chairs of the Finance Committee and asking that they hear House Bill 88:

Martha Alexander, Marthaa@ncleg.net, (919) 733-5807
Pryor Gibson, Pryorg@ncleg.net, (919) 715-3007
Julia Howard, Juliah@ncleg.net, (919) 733-5904
Paul Luebke, Paull@ncleg.net, (919) 733-7663
Danny McComas, Dannym@ncleg.net, (919) 733-5786
William Wainwright, Williamw@ncleg.net, (919) 733-5995

Michael Frisbee
Thomasville

We read your article, "1 day left" (May 22), about the construction and impending demolition of Burlington Industries' headquarters with a mixture of interest and sadness.

Unfortunately, no mention was made of those within the company who played a major role in its construction.

Our father, Ike English, was chief engineer from 1949-1977, which was the period of BI's most dynamic growth. He and his department of 35 highly skilled engineers and draftsmen were involved every step of the way from conception to finish. Dad was understandably and justifiably proud of the result.

Sadly, this demolition could serve as a metaphor for the near- demise of the textile industry in the United States, which had brought a measure of prosperity to the South after being devastated in the Civil War.

Roger English
Charlotte

Bret English
Camdenton, Mo.

Sally English Lutman
Virginia Beach, Va.

Perhaps this will get the News & Record to reconsider its unwise and short-sighted decision: An organized group of 100 or 200 subscribers who vow to cancel their subscriptions to the News & Record if the News & Record cancels its subscription to The New York Times News Service.

We want Thomas Friedman. We can do without Charles Davenport Jr. Please.

H. Rod Rodman
Greensboro

I am dismayed at the decision to drop The New York Times News Service that will result in losing several columns that add perspective to our understanding of national and international affairs and balance in editorial positions. Greensboro is a community of many interests and parts.

Our history as a manufacturing center as well as our concentration in higher education give us a diversity perhaps not found elsewhere. Columnists such as Thomas Friedman, Maureen Dowd and others provide opinions that, while focused most often on national and international issues, reflect and stimulate local conversation and thought.

Dropping these opinions to concentrate more on "local issues" sells our community short. National and international matters today are local issues and confronting them from various points of view feeds the intellect and thoughtfulness of our citizens.

These columns, as well as more conservative writers, stretch us as we read them. They enrich the discourse. Providing this kind of stimulus is part of the News & Record's responsibility.

I hope you will reverse your decision.

Richard "Skip" Moore
Greensboro

I am distressed and disappointed at your decision to drop The NewYork Times op-ed writers. I think we especially need to hear the voice of Thomas Friedman. He has the rare combination of knowledge, reason, compassion and bipartisanship that cannot be replaced. Please reconsider.

Nancy May
Greensboro

Opponents of the death penalty moratorium bill -- some of them our elected representatives -- are all over the news claiming that it costs North Carolina taxpayers more to carry out a sentence of life without parole than to impose the death penalty. This is a bogus argument.

Dr. Philip Cook and Donna Swenson of Duke University released a report in 1993 called "The Costs of Processing Murder Cases in North Carolina." Our state spends approximately $2.16 million per actual execution. The overall costs to the state for enacting the death penalty are $4 million a year higher than if we only sought life sentences in capital cases.

According to the study, the cost to taxpayers for first-degree murder prosecution and execution is $165,000 higher per defendant than if the same person were sentenced to life in prison. With more than 170 people on North Carolina's death row, this is quite an inordinate additional expense for a penalty that has not been shown to be a deterrent.

Beyond the financial inaccuracies cited by the moratorium opponents, do you really want to be represented by someone who can say, publicly, "These people are costing us too much money, so let's kill 'em"? I don't.

Tom Edgerton
Greensboro

For this week's meeting of the G8 nations, the host, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has placed on the agenda a discussion on increasing aid to Africa's poorest nations. According to The New York Times, President Bush is resisting the idea of this move. The proposed increase would be $25 billion from the entire group, but according to the Leader of the Free World, that sort of thing "doesn't fit our budgetary process."

So let's be clear on this. Our budgetary process is OK with spending well over $400 billion a year to keep up America's ability to engage in gunboat diplomacy for the next century, not to mention a special allocation of $80 billion to keep up the effort in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the idea of spending even a relatively tiny bit of that in an effort to keep millions of Africans from starving to death "doesn't fit our budgetary process"?

If this is a "culture of life," I'd purely hate to see a "culture of death."

Eric Harrington
Greensboro

Having just attended our grandson's graduation from Page High School, I would like to congratulate the graduates on their achievements and decorum. Not so for the audience.

The names of those who received diplomas were lost among the shouts and shrill screams of many attendees. Graduation is a joyous occasion and should not be ruined by those who left their manners and consideration of others at home.

Sally Brannon
Greensboro

Governments at all levels struggle with decisions about sources and uses of funds.

As cost-push inflation and additional uses for funds are found, many cities and counties, for example, turn to tax increases as a funding source. But first, alternatives should be explored. Among these are 1) reducing currently unnecessary costs and 2) outsourcing services not needed on a regular basis.

Greensboro appears to do much premature repaving of key streets. Lawndale Drive south of Pisgah Church Road is an example. I travel Lawndale Drive regularly, and I never encountered a pothole that required patching, much less a street in need of total repaving. Just because the asphalt has turned a lighter charcoal color does not mean a multimillion-dollar restoration is urgently needed.

And did the Parks and Recreation Department really need to replace its pickup truck-towed "trolley" with a new fiberglass version and dedicated tow vehicle that cannot be used for other purposes? Could tree-trimming trucks be rented or subcontracted at lower cost than ownership?

The small taxpayer is a nameless, faceless entity. It may be more rewarding to raise taxes than to disrupt mutually beneficial alliances with service providers.

Alan J. Greco
Greensboro