News-Record.com

We're back in school and as the parent of two, I face this transition with mixed emotions. One thing I feel really good about is the fact that Guilford County has been one of North Carolina's 100 percent tobacco-free school districts since 2001.

During the past several years the district has made great progress toward implementing the policy and getting the word out to our community. While other school districts waited, Guilford made the move because it was an important health issue and sent a consistent message to our kids. Now, more than half of the state's school districts are 100 percent tobacco free, as well as many hospitals, courthouses and health departments.

I am really proud when I attend a football game and see everyone enjoying the game and the clean air. For those not aware of the policy, I want to remind our community that all our school campuses and all school events are 100 percent tobacco free for students, staff, parents and visitors, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. That includes sporting events and car pool lines. It's great to know we have a district that supports the health of our students.

Kathleen McCann Webster
Greensboro

I have had it with the mealy-mouthed letter writers who write that President Bush lied about going to war with Iraq. Every major country during the Clinton White House years believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction -- not only had them, but used them to murder thousands of Kurds by poison gas, and was seeking to obtain nuclear weapons.

Bill Clinton, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and other prominent Democrats made this claim in the past.

Saddam supported terrorists worldwide and paid families of Palestine homicide bombers. He sheltered al-Qaida members and terrorist training sites in his country before and after Sept. 11. This is fact.

If Bush haters clogging the letters section in the editorial pages (they seem favored by Allen Johnson over pro-Bush letters) faced the truth, Bill Clinton dropped the ball when he refused to take Osama bin Laden in custody when offered by Sudan. This is fact.

These anti-war letters encourage the terrorists to hang on and wait. This also includes the Cindy Sheehan fiasco, which you supported in your recent editorial. We sympathize with her loss, but Sheehan went from grieving mom to a pawn of MoveOn.org's Bush-hating movement. She has no credibility.

Dave Derence
Greensboro

Lisa Duke's letter (Aug. 21) was "right on." We cannot recoup business lost to foreign companies who have won not through head-on competition, but by their government's complicity in a system that remunerates them for losses incurred during the "underselling" phase of their attack.

R&D has always been the "life's breath" of American business. Now, however, companies with dwindling profits have chosen to cut operations that do not directly affect short-term profits. R&D is an especially ripe target because it is typically populated by highly qualified (and highly paid) people.

The financial and investment communities put severe pressure on CEOs to perform and scrutinize this quarterly. It's no surprise when they take the "easy" road, slashing R&D instead of nurturing it for their companies' future benefit.

More intestinal fortitude is needed among industry leaders to emphasize R&D, and analysts should stop merely focusing on yesterday's bottom line and begin to recognize that effective R&D can hugely affect future profit. Universities should require a minor in technology for business students, to avoid graduating only "bean counters" with limited appreciation for the effort required to develop and produce products.

Ronald Depoe
McLeansville

Regarding Cynthia Jeffries' Aug. 19 article, "Madison may ban chaining of dogs": I strongly support this ban.

In many cases, these dogs are not receiving proper shelter, food or care, and they certainly are not receiving the love and attention they need as companion animals. Because of this, they often become frustrated and aggressive, becoming a danger to neighborhood children. Dogs should be kept indoors when their owners are away or at least in a fenced yard with adequate shelter.

Let's promote responsible pet ownership and the safety of our kids by banning this cruel practice.

Rhea Worrell
Chapel Hill

If there is one fundamental value in public education, it is that it is free. Page High School seems to think that does not apply to them.

Guilford County schools operate under a concept of "site-based management." What this means is that local school officials can do almost anything they want without approval of Dr. Terry Grier or the school board. Until the Board of Education discards this ill-advised concept, we will have this type of problem again and again. The citizens of Guilford County deserve better.

Joe Stafford
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Robert Healy

Recently, there have been several letters and other responses concerning Cindy Sheehan. The one that struck me most was the Counterpoint (Aug. 19) by Charles R. Gant, a disabled Vietnam veteran.

Gant stated that Sheehan "is tarnishing the memory and sacrifice her son made while serving as a volunteer in Iraq" and that he feels "she is being used as a pawn by the same kinds of people who caused so much damage to the morale of my comrades while we served in Vietnam and are striving to discredit and destroy the morale of our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today."

I humbly disagree with Gant's position. Sheehan is fully honoring her son and his memory by holding the commander in chief of our armed forces to task for the death not only of her own son, but for all sons and daughters who've lost their lives in Iraq.

There must be accountability for our country's involvement in this unjust and immoral war, and regardless of where you stand politically, it begins with President Bush. Every life lost stems from his misguided, inept leadership. Ironically, Gant acknowledged this somewhat himself in the middle of his letter when he stated, "President Bush did send us there based on false information about WMD." I ask you, should we just conveniently ignore this bit of reality? If you are outraged, direct it toward the proper source.

The idea that Sheehan is being "used as a pawn" is ridiculous. She went to Crawford on her own accord. A slow news cycle allowed the press to take notice of her and publicize her activities; thus in a short period of time she became the spark to a movement many had almost given up on.

As a result, she reignited the passions and ideals that had been simmering within millions of citizens across America. She was merely the spark, but the movement for peace is a force entirely its own, and properly so.

Anti-war protesters and peace vigil participants are citizens who've felt compelled to speak out in solidarity to promote reason, justice and peace. No one is against or is out to discredit or demoralize those who serve in our military. As a veteran myself, I can attest to this.

No one is saying cut and run from Iraq. A reasonably timed withdrawal with international cooperation to pick up the slack would suffice.

The writer lives in High Point.

I have two daughters and a niece who teach in Guilford County. All of them have to spend hundreds of their own dollars for classroom supplies each year.

One daughter has been teaching for 13 years. She was teacher of the year in her school last year and makes less than $40,000. Her husband is disabled, so she has to cover her family for health insurance, which costs her $512 a month. The school provides no assistance in after-school care for her children as many companies do. She teaches in a room with little or no air conditioning because the school can't afford to fix the unit. The teachers pay $1 more than the students for the same lunches.

On top of this, they now want teachers to dress better. I wonder how they are supposed to pay for the new clothes. I agree with a dress code, but the salaries are disgraceful. Why don't we have better representation for our teachers? Why isn't the community outraged?

I certainly hope the new lottery will help our teachers. What would we do without these dedicated individuals who love and nurture our children?

Diane Manzi
Greensboro

Regarding the Aug. 28 article on the increasing use of food stamps:

While I was impressed by Verna Jones' comparison shopping, I began to wonder if it is common for food-stamp recipients to use manufacturer coupons. Just think, if each of the 42,000 Guilford County food-stamp recipients used just $1 worth of coupons per week, that would save the government $42,000.

This doesn't take into account the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) recipients who could be redeeming coupons for the products covered by their vouchers such as cereal, peanut butter and fruit juice.

I realize that most coupons come from the Sunday newspaper, and many of those affected cannot necessarily afford a subscription, but maybe some of your wonderful subscribers can think of a way to get these coupons into the right hands so that the food-stamp program's dollars can go even further to help those in need.

Carolyn Schmid
Jamestown

I had the opportunity to attend a press conference last week at which the Guilford Education Alliance announced the new Donors Choose program. This program allows Guilford County schoolteachers to propose small projects they would like to do in their classrooms if they had the money.

Potential donors can review these projects online and choose which one or ones they would like to support financially. This is a marvelous way of supporting our teachers in their endeavors to educate the children of Guilford County.

Anyone interested can go to the Alliance's Web site at www.Guilfordeducationalliance.org and click on the Donors Choose link.

Patsy Kendall
Greensboro

A writer recently (Aug. 27) quoted Webster's Dictionary as the source for his definition of science. That definition, "possession of knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding," is but one of several entries for "science" offered in Webster's 2nd New Universal Dictionary. Unfortunately, it is the one furthest from the mark and perhaps the worst possible support for the writer's argument.

Science is a method of inquiry, based on the assumption that there are natural explanations for what we see in the physical world. Phenomena beyond our experience and explanations beyond scrutiny are not subject to scientific inquiry. This is why biology, evolution, geology, etc., are taught in science classes and philosophy is taught in philosophy classes.

As for evolution, evidence in fossil form is not beyond our experience and the theory itself not beyond scrutiny. Science, as a method, describes how we learn about the world around us. What we think about what we learn is another realm entirely.

If you want to find out why atoms interact, ask a scientist. If you want to know why life has meaning, do what I and my colleagues in the sciences do: Ask your pastor, minister, parish priest, rabbi or imam.

Mark Davenport
Greensboro

Thank you, board members of Madison, for coming up with a humane solution to the tragic dog attack on a 2-year-old back in June. An anti-chaining ordinance is a way that both humans and dogs benefit.

Dogs that are chained are far more likely to be aggressive than those that are not. These pack animals by nature are driven to boredom from anti-socialization and quite commonly become anxious, territorial and dangerous. By mandating that dogs be maintained within a fence as opposed to being kept on a chain, Madison not only will cut down on aggressive attacks, but it also will decrease one of the most common forms of animal cruelty.

I can only hope that all counties in North Carolina adopt similar ordinances.

Bethany Foster
Winston-Salem

In light of the recent controversy surrounding Pat Robertson informing the world of the communist in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, I was struck by the similarity to world events of 40 years ago.

At that time, our enlightened leaders in Washington decided that it was best to send thousands of our finest young Americans exactly halfway around the world to die in a war against a Third World country that had not even spit on an American. Meanwhile, just 90 miles off our coast sat a dictator who had publicly challenged the United States and had turned a relatively free country against us.

The irony of American policy at that time was sad at best. To have it occur again in my lifetime is a sin.

Joel Long
Ruffin

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Earle Bower

Joseph Coletti's guest column ("ACC project typifies budget flab," Aug. 21) [not posted] was precisely on target. He uses the Atlantic Coast Conference Hall of Champions to make a point about the waste in our state budget.

I would go even further. I would bet that if municipal budgets were run with real responsibility, we could increase services while we cut taxes.

As an example, let's take the ACC project. Did you notice that the cost is exactly $23 million. Not $22,638,396.47.

Instead of a $23 million facility, why can't Greensboro approach this project with the intent to generate the most building for the least cost, then wring every bit of waste, fat and pork out of the project?

Case in point: The $2 million approved is going to be used for planning. Sounds like a lot of planning to me.

Let's assume we go to a top-notch architectural firm and they assign architects who earn more than $200,000 per year, or $100 per hour. The firm marks up its time by 150 percent to cover overhead, benefits, profit, etc. We are billed for $250 per hour.

At that rate, the $2 million will pay for 8,000 hours of design time. That's 3.8 man-years of design. If four designers worked full time on this project starting Jan. 1, they wouldn't finish until mid-October.

Does this project really require that much design? Could some of the $2 million be used for something else?

Come on, Greensboro, the ACC Hall is a good idea; let's bring it in for $6,487,279.23 and use the otherwise wasted monies for something even more productive.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

After participating in a wildly successful Get Down! Town event Aug. 27, I was disappointed to wake on Sunday to an article entitled "Greensboro Gets Down." The reality that critical facts were incorrectly reported is bad enough, but the News & Record seems to have completely missed the overall purpose of Get Down! Town.

First, the facts: There were far more participants at Get Down! Town than the "hundreds of college students" reported. Official estimates put the number at roughly 5,000. Also, synerG, the group that organized the event, is a wing of Action Greensboro dedicated to recruiting and retaining young professionals in Greensboro, not a "group of downtown backers."

The article belittles remarks by Mayor Holliday regarding importance of students to Greensboro, describing them as the "worst use of a line from the film Jerry Maguire."

What is most disappointing is the reporter failed to understand that Holliday's remarks embody the true spirit of the event and the mission of synerG. If students feel part of the community, there is a good chance they will remain after graduation rather than taking their talents elsewhere.

Jeffrey T. Nimmer
Greensboro

The writer is a synerG board member.

I would like to respond to the letter from Charles Ott, who, when referring to our president said, "but to the rest of us moderates, he needs to go before he and his cronies ruin this country." Well, Mr. Ott, I consider myself a moderate and you do not speak for me.

First, I doubt seriously that you are a moderate. I have found most people who refer to the president's cabinet and staff as "cronies" are diehard flaming liberals who despise Bush and would do and say anything to make him look bad. As a moderate, I don't agree with our president on every issue. It all depends on what is important to you.

What is important to me is that the United States maintain a strong military and be willing to make other countries pay the price if they attack us. If Germany and France don't like it, so be it. Terrorists thrive on weakness and I don't think anyone can say our president is weak. Thank goodness, he is willing to stay the course. I shudder to think where this country would be with either Al Gore or John Kerry as president.

Jeff Matthews
Lexington

Your Aug. 31 editorial on the lottery was right on target. How deceptive this government is. Will the voters remember this at the polls, that these thugs in Raleigh can do anything they want to without the will of the people?

I have stood in line at gas stations many times in Georgia waiting to pay for gas, when the line was to buy lottery tickets. Some couldn't afford $5 worth of gas. Right, it will not reduce taxes and they are lying if they think the schools will benefit that much. It hasn't in many states. It's disgusting.

Charles O'Brien
Greensboro

According to the Federal Threat Statute, Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 875 (C), it is a federal crime to use interstate commerce to threaten a foreign leader. Television shows that are transmitted to other countries fall under that statute.

Pat Robertson should be in jail right now for his televised call to assassinate Hugo Chavez. Think if a Muslim, Jew, black or liberal had said that about Tony Blair, they would be incarcerated before you could say, "Patriot Act."

Tyler Younts' letter (Aug. 30) not only breaks this statute but could be construed as conspiracy in his support of Robertson's vile spew. Robertson is, according to American law, a criminal and as for Christian law he should be excommunicated.

Killing for Jesus and The American Way, it's ironic but the more "Christians" try to "take over" the more the world seems like hell. Welcome to the new crusades.

Michael Northuis
Greensboro

We have been seeing the effects of Hurricane Katrina hitting the United States in the Gulf Coast states, leaving thousands homeless without food to eat and millions without power. Hurricane Katrina has caused billions of dollars in damage to the United States that everyone will help pay for this bill.

I ask Cindy Sheehan, and the people who demand the war in Iraq must end now, what would have been the cost to the United States if we were fighting these terrorists on American soil when Hurricane Katrina hit? As long as our soldiers fight terrorists on their own ground, we needn't worry about suicide bombing daily in the United States. But if we do not fight them, they will bring this action to children in the United States with another Sept. 11.

President Clinton did nothing during his presidency the times this country was struck by terrorists, and he had Osama bin Laden in his hands before Sept. 11. Why complain about a president who will stand against such people but say nothing about a president who did nothing?

Boyd W. Thomas
Welcome

There are many reasons why we the people should take our heads out of the sand, but this one of global warming should be more than apparent after watching Katrina crank herself up over the tepid waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Please, please, let's begin these plans of actions that have been denied before it becomes too late for future generations.

Kenneth C. Anderson
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Art Murphy

I am sitting here drinking my morning coffee reading the Aug. 20 edition of the News & Record, wondering why I ever sent the check to renew my subscription. Among all the major issues facing the state, nation and world today, the editor has taken valuable front-page space for a story about a "Creation Discovery Center" in Florida. This center and others like it, tries to foster what my Methodist minister father used to call "crackpot ideas" on an unsuspecting public.

We should be clear; there is no debate on the age of the earth. Science through scientific processes has demonstrated the age of the Earth to be in the range of 4.5 billion years, not 10,000. No amount of wishful thinking or mis-reading of the Bible will change that.

Second, when Darwin published, "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection," the question in science at the time was not whether speciation occurred, but how. Darwin and Wallace (how many of your readers know this man?), through brilliant insight, later fortified by carefully collected evidence demonstrated the mechanism, "natural selection." Natural selection as a process is not questioned by biologists or any serious scientist in the world today, and no amount of polling by Gallup, or statements from a president, who was a marginal student at best, will change that fact.

If our country does not stop this silliness, we are going to wake up one day and read that not a single Nobel Prize in science or medicine will have been awarded to an American. Those prizes will be awarded to scientists in nations that support serious, professional science that is used for the betterment of mankind, not to American pseudo-scientists who confuse proven science with their personal religious beliefs. Even today, many of the Americans who are awarded world recognition are individuals who migrated to the United States because of the scientific freedom and rich, serious, intellectual climate. However, these scientists may soon depart for Europe, Korea or China because these countries are more hospitable climates for science, leaving the United States in the scientific dust. "Ye shall reap what you sow."

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Gambling: It's for our children.

God love those liberals, the defenders of the poor and the voice for the socioeconomically disadvantaged. The poor no longer have to go out of state to be fleeced; our liberals can shake them down right here in North Carolina. But, hey, it's for the kids, after all.

Why, just look at the magnificent school systems in Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina. Not to mention the grown-up message we're sending our kids: Hey, gambling isn't good for you, so don't do it. This message made possible by funds from your state-sponsored numbers games.

And the grown-up messages keep coming with the way the Senate liberals called a special session when the adult senators were out getting married and battling infections. So, please, for the sake of our kids, just keep voting in those liberals.

Just think of the revenue streams this "do as we say, not as we do" message can get us: State-run prostitution, state-controlled marijuana sales, maybe even a state-sanctioned protection racket.

As long as it's for the children.

Ken Poortvliet
Greensboro

Opponents of the death-penalty moratorium bill (H529) convince themselves that capital punishment is administered justly and fairly in our state. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Sixty-three percent of North Carolina's death row is composed of racial minorities, one of the highest percentages in the country. A comprehensive study found that the odds of getting a death sentence increased 3.5 times if the victim was white. Nationwide, 82 percent of prisoners executed to date had been convicted of murdering a white person, even though minorities are the victims in more than half of all homicides.

About 90 percent of people facing capital charges cannot afford their own attorney, and that figure is higher here. No state yet has met standards developed by the American Bar Association for performance and compensation of counsel for indigent prisoners. The ABA itself calls for a moratorium in part because it has concluded that the death-penalty system is "a haphazard maze of unfair practices with no internal consistency."

Bottom line: Whether you get the death penalty in North Carolina depends less on what you do than what color you are and how much money is in your pocket. This is wrong.

Tom Edgerton
Greensboro

Regarding the front-page AP article (Aug. 28), "America's in debt; who'll pay the bill?": I have a question with regard to one paragraph on page A5. It says: "As a society, Americans are on track this year to spend $680 billion more on foreign goods such as Chinese-made clothes, Japanese-made cars and Scandinavian cell phones than overseas buyers do on American goods."

It's no surprise to me. Could someone please send me a list of typical household items, clothing, furniture, shoes, automobiles, etc., that are 100 percent made in America (from start to finish, not made somewhere else and assembled here)? I would also like them to provide an average retail price for each of those items. I think the list will be short, and very pricey.

If I could find anything in my stores that is 100 percent made in America, and if I could afford to buy it, I would. Most of the items that I can afford are not made here. They've been outsourced.

Sandra Cullen
Jamestown

I was holding my breath when I filled my car's gas tank. I stopped at $28 and it wasn't full. No, I don't drive a gas-guzzler.

But worse than that are the feelings I had when I filled my lawn mower gas container -- $7.75. Needless to say, the grass will not get mowed as often. Better yet, perhaps the city will lift the farm animals restriction and let us have goats, sheep, cows and horses. This will save not only gas, but also decrease air and noise pollution.

Pamela Smith
Greensboro

I give kudos to the News & Record for the accurate editorial (Aug. 31) describing how Gov. Easley and his followers passed the state lottery bill. A voter's position on this bill is irrelevant.

The governor's strategy is not about the lottery; it is about the arrogance of many politicians. This arrogance begins with our pork-barrel system and continues with the passage of the lottery. North Carolinians who believe all politicians have the state's best interests at heart live in a dream world. It is all about power and which party controls this power. The Democrats have virtually controlled this potentially wonderful state for more than 100 years, and this stagnation is beginning to take its toll.

I had the privilege of working on the First Flight Celebration and witnessed this arrogance firsthand. My definition of insanity is "doing the same thing and expecting different results." Meanwhile, we are wasting the resources of a state that has unlimited potential.

Michael W. Haley
Greensboro

Mayor Keith Holliday's chastisement that the "citizens need to recognize … and give some thank yous" for the "major park given to the city of Greensboro" is another example of the pusillanimous position often taken by the City Council when organizations request taxpayer money.

Anne J. Vaughan
Greensboro

Throughout human history, enormous misery has resulted from the fact that many of us cannot admit that we were wrong. Such admissions, for some reason, are thought to indicate weakness.

So we slog on, compounding the mistake, advancing down misguided paths, vigorously defending our opinions, positions and actions as if lives depended on them -- and often they do. Some errors lead to major consequences, such as war, and people die.

When we lose a loved one, we can't bear to think his life was wasted. We can't consider the possibility that his death or amputation resulted from a mistake. So we carry on, convincing ourselves that the sacrifice had meaning, that the cause was just, that the reasons were valid, that our beloved sons and daughters did not die in vain.

Therefore, I have the highest regard for Cindy Sheehan, a grieving mother whose son died in Iraq, for having the clear-sighted courage to think the unthinkable: that her son died for nothing.

Maureen Parker
Greensboro

It is a wonderful, revealing photograph that beautifully captures the experience of one child on his first day of kindergarten (A1, Aug. 26). He sits, chin in hand, dismay plainly written on his face, as he realizes it is going to be a long day and -- as is suggested by the headline ("1 down, 179 to go") -- a very long school year.

However, when I consider the broader implications, I have to question whether this is responsible journalism. The picture and headline clearly imply that attending school is a burdensome experience. Is this really the message you want to convey to children?

Hopefully, Samuel Labra will have experiences in school that will engage his mind, pique his curiosity and build his self-confidence. Hopefully, he will be surrounded by adults who believe wholeheartedly in his ability to learn and succeed. I wish him well.

Melinda Rice
Reidsville

We can't afford to split hairs over whether the science proves global warming or not. We need to address so many issues, and I feel that reducing car emissions is a positive step to alleviating many problems facing the world.

Drew McNaughton
Greensboro

Regarding the article, "SAT scores plummet 17 points in Guilford" (Aug. 31), we need more accountability in the system. The article quotes Barbara Zwadyk, high school instructional improvement officer for the district. I do not know how long she has been in her position, but if it has been more than a year, she needs to be relieved of her duties, because she obviously has failed and failed miserably.

I graduated from high school in 1973 with a high enough SAT score to be awarded an academic scholarship. We never took a course on how to take the SAT or had a computer program coach us. Our teachers did not teach to the test. They taught the material, with the expectation that we would retain it well enough to do well on their tests, on midterms, on finals, and on the SAT.

It is time to get back to that philosophy. It is blatantly obvious that the current methods are not working. Too much central office staff, too few good teachers.

Allen Daniel
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By David B. Merriman

A new principal, three new assistants and half a teaching staff new to the school is "not exactly a recipe for success." So says The Rhinoceros Times (Aug. 11) about Andrews High School.

The school's past failures are well known. The school system's chief academic officer's comment that this "self-perpetuating cycle -- new principal, lots of new staff" -- requires "a different level of accountability" is intriguing. What new accountability is being suggested?

One school board member is pinning his hopes on "fresh new energy" and "a really good team" to bridge the gap to success. Each principal at each school at the beginning of each new year will offer equally meaningless phrases: "We'll create a nurturing school climate" (presumably the first ever) or "We'll have a positive outlook and high expectations" (a new approach, to be sure).

Andrews can't be helped by combining cliches with cheerleading. Here are some suggestions that could be helpful:

1. Quadruple the police presence at the school.

2. Enforce strict rules relating to acceptable behavior, in class and otherwise on the campus.

3. Suspend (get rid of) all persons who are not at Andrews to be students, to learn.

If this is done, the many motivated children will come forward to create a new spirit in their school and build a new reputation for success. They will do this from within and from the bottom up. At the moment, these children are being sacrificed to palsied educational strategies, political correctness and misguided social engineering. Their environment is dominated by persons who have no interest in learning. We must change that.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Shame on the leadership of the North Carolina Senate. Not only did they pass a lottery, they did it through subterfuge and sneakiness, when two lottery opponents were necessarily absent. Even then they could manage no more than a tie.

Shame on our lieutenant governor for casting the winning vote. And shame on our governor for pushing the lottery from the beginning.

Now our leaders will be looking for professional gambling organizations to help them sell the maximum number of lottery tickets to our citizens. Though most North Carolinians say they favor this million-to-one scam, I am saddened that my state government is doing the scamming. I only hope the fallacies of this method of supporting our schools will become evident sooner rather than later.

Blessings on those courageous men and women of both parties who stood firm to the end for the right course for North Carolina. You did your best, but you did not think your colleagues would pull such an underhanded trick. Voters who care will remember your names.

Ronald C. Hill
Greensboro

There seems to be an endless stream of editorials, columns, articles and letters that bemoan the lack of academic progress on the part of public school students. Numerous cures are offered: newer buildings, better-paid teachers (badly needed), smaller classes, longer school days, more special tutors, same-sex classes, and on and on it goes. One of the favorite attempts for improvement is to adjust the "diversity ratio." This does not work, however.

To paraphrase the song, "You're looking for solutions in all the wrong places." The one thing you have not questioned is the attitude of the students toward their studies.

A wise coach at Kiser Junior High School long ago was asked if he would have a winning football team that fall. He replied, "When football players come from the scrimmage field talking about their golf scores, you will not have a winning team."

When secondary school-age young people come to their classes talking about their cell phones, iPods, tattoos, navel rings, neighborhood turf squabbles, boyfriends, etc., you will not have an academically winning school. In many situations, these would apply to middle school students as well.

John W. Taylor
Greensboro

With many schools currently failing to reach Adequate Yearly Progress standards, we should look at what administrators and teachers believe academic excellence actually is.

My eighth-grade son set goals and worked very hard last year to achieve top honors academically in every class. Fortunately, he did achieve the highest grades in his classes. However, at the year-end award ceremony, he was only recognized in one class as the top student. Students with lower grades were given the top award for excellence and recognized in front of the entire school. When we consulted each of his teachers, their response was the same: "We were just trying to be fair to the other students."

The principal was no help either. Yet her school was one of those that failed to meet the expected progress standards.

Giving top academic awards to students who know they didn't actually achieve them is sending the wrong message! Where federal guidelines and standards are concerned, it always comes down to student's grades and academic performance. Unfortunately, Mendenhall Middle School, like many others, didn't meet yearly progress standards. "Trying to be fair to everybody" just wasn't quite good enough.

Wally Pegram
Greensboro

Two million dollars was recently granted by the North Carolina legislature to create an "ACC Hall of Champions" in Greensboro. The $2 million grant allocation was "slipped" into the final budget. Who is responsible for this slippage?

I would like your readers to know the name of our representative who is so generous with the public's money. Would you please print his or her name so that we can remember it in the next election?

William Watson Purkey
Greensboro

Editor's note: Sen. Kay Hagan of Greensboro was instrumental in securing the money.

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Kris Kaiser

British Victorian author George Eliot writes about an incomplete artistic canvas. "It is a bit of existence, not of action, and is painted with immense elaboration, yet with shortcomings that prevent it from being a triumph. That is always a rather sad thing to say when there has been so much study, so much hard work, so much heroism as must always go to the doing of anything difficult. But inspiration is an incalculable thing." Eliot laments a creative shortfall, and he brings to mind the International Civil Rights Museum.

In 1960, four students sat at the Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro and demanded to be served. The dramatic move worked to end the city's segregation policies. The result has meaning to all oppressed people, present and past.

Now the vision has been blurred with the building's engineering deficiencies. Water seeps into the basement. The museum's opening date is indefinitely postponed. What might have been a success now seems questionable.

George Eliot asserts that "inspiration is an incalculable thing." Yet, we can surmise that the effort has been too parochial in its scope. Its Greensboro connection is strong and must be loosened to include the interests of other cities, states and nations.

Its "international" designation must not be seen as a pie-in-the-sky dream. Leaders must go beyond their provincial base and find supporters from around the world. Equality is a universal value.

Greensboro leadership must let go and sincerely invite others to an authentically broad project. When money comes from around the globe, the founders' vision will be complete. But for now, most local leadership should subside to outside thinkers and building experts. Then, the international leadership must set a date for the museum's opening. Would-be supporters want a timetable, not a vague proposal. Supporters want to know where and when their dollars are spent.

George Eliot is right: It is sad to see an almost successful project. Today, it is time to recognize the heroic and significant effort of Jibreel Khazan, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond. Civil rights are not easily gained. Their achievements must be celebrated so that they aren't lost.

Let us pass the baton, greatly broaden the leadership scope and keep going. History is not ours for the taking or for the keeping.

The writer lives in Kernersville.

The article, "Connecticut challenges education laws" (Aug. 23), notes how Connecticut, and possibly other states, want the No Child Left Behind Act declared illegal because it constitutes an unfunded mandate by the federal government.

I hope North Carolina joins this lawsuit. I hope the lawsuit is successful and No Child Left Behind is judged illegal. With that legal precedent in the books, we can then get other unfunded federal mandates declared illegal. This includes about 60 percent of EPA regulations, 75 percent of OSHA regulations and most of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

If Connecticut is successful, we can then abolish the federal Department of Education altogether and give all money saved directly to the states. If the education department were abolished, the amount of money saved by not paying salaries, employee expenses and employee retirement accounts would be huge.

Donald M. Wojek
Greensboro

As a retired teacher and a grandmother of two elementary school children, I was appalled to read that Guilford County Schools would be hiring retired teachers and principals at $50,000 and $80,000 to put in low-scoring schools.

What was so surprising was that the school system has removed all but one teacher assistant from my grandkids' school. I've also heard that teachers have been told they will not be reimbursed for any money of their own they spend for their rooms or students.

What is going on with this school system? What is important, egos or our students?

Glenda Bartlett
Greensboro

Regarding your interesting editorial about "Page's 'pay to play' request" (Aug. 26):

One point of view believes that sports is an entitlement and everything should be paid by tax dollars -- that parents do not have the responsibility to pay for their children's extracurricular activities in schools. That they don't have that obligation even in times when budget restraints are causing us to lay off teacher assistants.

Student athletes use the facilities for 10 or more months a year. A fee suggested by Page was $30 a year. That comes to $3 or less per month. I have not met any family in the United States that cannot afford this. (Of course, it would be a huge sacrifice to give up an equivalent of one-half burger meal per month for their children's sake.)

Total savings with the program, if instituted, all over the county for high schools and middle schools could be hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. This could partly replenish the per capita spending cuts which our board and superintendent have announced.

But this would be common sense, which our leaders have never used.

Sashi Sethi
Greensboro

Regarding complaints about the photos in the Aug. 10 News & Record: I, as a black woman, found nothing wrong with the photo of what I only saw as a child eating and enjoying a piece of fruit. I was quite pleased to see a front-page cover of our black children doing something other than committing crimes against each other.

How could anyone be offended by such an endearing picture of childhood innocence? It brought back joyful memories of my own childhood.

Please keep taking positive pictures of all children, black, white or any other race enjoying what I'm sure all children like.

Even my father, who grew up with racial stereotyping and racist behavior, found the photo to be sweet and cute. There are more things in this world to be offended by, like the crime our youth are committing because no one is taking the time to give them a piece of fruit.

Keep up the great work, News & Record.

Paula R. Hairston
Greensboro

I am so sick of reading about Cindy Sheehan in the newspaper every single day. I am very sympathetic for her and everyone who has lost a loved one in Iraq; however, I am so tired of the news media using this to try to stir people up against this war and President Bush.

It is beginning to look as if Sheehan is trying to get national attention for herself. From what I have heard from people serving in Iraq, she would be an embarrassment to her son.

From listening to the news, you would think that most Americans do not support our president and we will wear him down and he will pull out the troops. This tells the terrorists to hang in there and keep killing as many as possible and soon they will win. I believe they would keep killing as many as possible anyway, not just there, but wherever they can.

I think Americans should support our president and stand together. If that message was sent to the terrorists, they would be apt to give up sooner and more lives would be saved.

Juanita Barber
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Kim McDonald

There have been numerous letters to the editor in the News & Record lately regarding Greensboro's unfriendliness to bicycling. The Ideas section (Aug. 21) addressed the problem in more depth, specifically detailing the case of local resident Jody Dietrich, who was hit by a car while riding her bike at Friendly Shopping Center.

Motorists and cyclists -- the latter of whom can legally ride two or more deep in a lane -- should not have to fight each other for road space in Greensboro.

Bike lanes are not a novel idea. But apparently it is an idea that has eluded city and county leaders in the Triad. Why? Exactly how many tax dollars would it have cost to devote a few key roads to bike lanes?

Jim Westmoreland, Greensboro's transportation director, writes that he is "an avid cyclist," but, apparently, even he now prefers to do his bike riding under the radar.

"I have had insults shouted at me by motorists and pedestrians, had things thrown on me, been run off the road and have been chased by loose, aggressive dogs."

Wow. Just the kind of city you want to raise your family in.

Or perhaps you'd like to send your star student to one of the Triad's six outstanding colleges? Great, but be sure they leave their bike at home. We don't have bike lanes here. Local agencies have decided it is not a priority.

Therefore, like every other cycling resident in Greensboro, your child simply will not be as safe in the Triad as he or she would be in a more progressive community.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Our government's response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina is absolutely appalling. I am sure by now we have all seen the horrific scenes on TV of the death and destruction all over the Gulf Coast.

FEMA Director Michael Brown said repeatedly on Sunday, while this storm bore down on the coast, that "FEMA's help would be swift and uninterrupted." Yet three days later there was no sign of FEMA.

Tsunami victims received a faster response from our government. It is horrendous that the Army Corps Of Engineers did not have a plan in place to repair a broken levee even though they have known for decades this could (would) happen.

The fact is that FEMA has asked repeatedly for money to shore up these levees in New Orleans, but the Bush administration diverted that money to the so-called "war on terror" in Iraq, while we now have taxpaying American citizens ravaged by this storm, begging our government for a simple bottle of water and food for their families as well as themselves. What a disgrace.

Arnold Rogers
Greensboro

Pat Robertson has taken a lot of heat for the words he spoke, and justifiably so.

For a guy who supposedly believes in the universality of the Bible, it is interesting that he has forgotten the "Thou shall not kill" commandment. A man who supposedly preaches peace should never condone the murder of another human being.

As for Hugo Chavez, he is the legitimately elected leader of democratic Venezuela. Just because he is a socialist who wants to nationalize the country's oil industry to ensure that the Venezuelan people get the benefits from their oil, that does not mean he is a dictator or a terrorist sympathizer. It just means he is doing what any good leader would do, refusing to allow the Venezuelan people to continue to be exploited by foreign corporations (yes, our corporations).

Chavez is justified in his fear of being overthrown in a U.S.-backed coup. We tried in a very public attempt in 2002.

Chavez is a great voice for freedom and democracy, a person who is working against U.S. business interests to ensure that the Venezuelan people -- not the president of the United States or any CEO in the United States -- are in control of their own destiny.

Robert Eldredge
Greensboro

Editorial writer Doug Clark's Aug. 31 Second Opinion column about his former employer Randall Terry's posthumous philanthropy leaves no doubt that Clark was not fond of the man he chose to accept a salary from for 20 years.

After reading the very negative article about Mr. Terry, who passed away in May 2004, I must conclude that the column reveals more about Mr. Clark than Mr. Terry.

James Bowman
Jamestown

If the president really cared about America instead of squabbling with the Democrats, he would take action on major issues that really affect the country, like the following:

1. Use his "bully pulpit" office to pressure the major oil companies to reduce their record profits, which have nearly doubled in the last quarter. The public is being robbed while the president says nothing, thus giving approval to his "oil buddies" to rob us.

2. Enforce the U.S. laws already on the books to control the Mexican border illegal immigration problem. He has turned his head and forgotten his obligation to uphold the American law that he ignores.

3. Use his office and influence to oust U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anann, who is behind every anti-American effort and who has channeled money to the terrorists to fight and kill American soldiers. Rather than oppose Anann, Bush has been an ardent supporter.

Bush is a lame-duck president. But now he is being just plain lame. As a lifetime Republican, I am sick of Bush's inaction.

Al Myrick
Greensboro

The article titled "Focus on terrorism starved preparedness" (Sept. 1) shows how badly the federal government handled a disaster. Isn't a disaster, whether caused by a terrorist group or natural causes, the same? People are dying, stranded, frightened and desperate for shelter.

It seems all the training, equipment and manpower allocated to respond to a terrorist attack could have been sent immediately to the victims of the storm. Would the situation have been better if a dirty bomb had been dropped on the Gulf Coast?

I think we need to examine our federal agencies and streamline our response mechanisms. If this is how these agencies help, we are all in deep trouble.

It is ridiculous for bloated departments to take three days to respond to the desperation of American citizens. Now that the government has responded, how long will it actually take for help to actually reach the people in need?

Deb Printup
Jamestown

Steve Arnold railed against the salary increase for commissioners, yet he blatantly said he would accept his increase. Those wise Native Americans had the right label for Arnold: "Man speaks with forked tongue." Outrageous.

They should have known, or did know, it was coming -- AirTran flying away. There are "terrible" Ted Johnson and "horrible" Henry Isaacson, sleeping at the switch or runway. Where were all those incentives when needed? At Independence Air (the new airline at PTI).

Henry Shavitz
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Gail Chambliss Hersh

Harry Truman, a Democrat and ex-senator who became president, sent troops into Korea in the early 1950s. There were many troops and many fatalities.

Three years later, after futile attempts to go further into North Korea, a line was drawn, a peace worked out and troops sent home (but not all of them, to this day). Fifty years later, North Korea is a worse threat than in Truman's time.

John F. Kennedy, a Democrat and ex-senator who became president (and after whom John Kerry said he would pattern his presidency), in 1961 supported an invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs. It was a disaster. Forty years later, Cuba is still a pain in the neck.

John F. Kennedy, ditto-ditto-ditto, sent U.S. troops into Vietnam and was followed by...

Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat and ex-senator who became president, who sent thousands of troops into Vietnam that eventually had to be pulled out by President Nixon. Civilians were even pulled out by helicopter at the end, and South Vietnam became an annex to North Vietnam.

George H.W. Bush, a congressman (but not a senator) who became president and was a Republican, sent a great many troops to Kuwait (and Iraq) during Desert Storm in 1991 -- but pulled back from Iraq to bring troops home, leaving Iraq to be George W.'s problem about 12 years later.

1. None of these targets attacked the United States first (this was given as a reason for not attacking Iraq).

2. Each operation didn't eliminate a "power" that is still active or stayed active for quite a while.

3. Each one (except Desert Storm) killed more troops than the current Iraq war. George W. is determined to "finish the job" and leave behind a peaceful and stable Iraq -- a formidable task but one that would improve on our many abandoned efforts in the past by ex-senators who became president.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

The last six years of the Bush presidency and Republican Congress have been nothing but one disastrous decision after another.

If they had listened to the experts, they would have focused on terrorism and perhaps avoided Sept. 11. If they had listened, we would not have started a war in Iraq. If they had listened, we would have signed the Kyoto Treaty and been working to reduce the greenhouse gases that make for more and bigger hurricanes. If they had listened, we would have been reducing our dependence on oil by now. If they had listened, money would not have been diverted from studying what to do on the Gulf Coast to prevent disaster and to strengthen the levees. If they had listened, there wouldn't be a gigantic budget deficit forcing cuts to the vital services our nation needs, including to those veterans from the war we started.

And now reality has caught up with them, and with all the rest of us who listened but couldn't convince our neighbors to do so.

Wayne Abraham
Greensboro