News-Record.com

A recent article in the News & Record may in fact be adding to public health challenges by questioning the health benefits of seafood. Seafood, and fish in particular, contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have been proven to reduce the risks of heart disease and stroke, and dissuading people from eating fish could in fact do the public more harm than good.

These tremendous health benefits were emphasized by a Harvard Center for Risk Analysis study late in 2005, which warned the public that reduced seafood consumption to avoid mercury could lead to higher instances of heart attack and stroke.

The fact is that mercury levels for most fish are very low. Government experts recommend women who are pregnant, expecting to become pregnant, or nursing not consume the species containing higher amounts of mercury, such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish.

At the same time, they encourage consumption of additional seafood protein by as much as 12 ounces per week to these same women due to the cardiovascular and neurological health benefits they provide.

Mercury is a naturally occurring element that has always been present in the environment. It is present in such small amounts in fish that the tremendous benefits of omega-3 fatty acids people get from eating fish outweigh the risk of mercury exposure. Seafood should remain a vital part of a healthy lifestyle.

Justin Conrad
Greensboro
The writer is president of Libby Hill Seafood Restaurants Inc.

Each year, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday because "he had a dream." David Wray, too, had a dream and it was to make the Greensboro police force the best in the nation. Unfortunately, David's dream was also shattered before he was given a chance.

I have known David his entire life. He is one of the most dedicated citizens to whatever cause he believed in that I have ever known. Unfortunately, he wasn't given the chance to use his knowledge, integrity and enthusiasm to make Greensboro a better and safer place for all the people.

Thomas N. Causey
Greensboro

Where is our sense of outrage at the way our country is being run? Where is our sense of urgency that our democracy is being threatened? If what is being done by this administration under the fear-mongering title of a "war on terrorism" does bother you, then think about a Supreme Court that would allow such activity to be carved in stone. Everyone who says the person who replaces Sandra Day O'Connor will be at least as important to future decisions as she has been is correct.

Do Americans, regardless of political leanings, really want a man who will unquestioningly support the power of the presidency, disregarding our constitution and nullifying the balance of powers, on our highest court for the next 30 years?

It is time for the members of the Senate who still have consciences to stand up to the administration and renounce the culture of lies and corruption it has espoused.

Is there anyone left in Washington who can stand up for our democracy?

Faith Crosby
Greensboro

Now that Hamas has made a significant showing in the Palestinian elections, the world needs to know who they are.

Hamas has set the destruction of Israel as its goal. Between September 2000 and April 2004, Hamas perpetrated 425 terrorist attacks against Israel and murdered 377, which is almost nine murders every month.

Hamas was founded by Islamic militant extremists in the Gaza Strip in 1988. The word "Hamas" is an acronym for the Arabic words "Islamic Resistance Movement." Its charter states: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

It goes on to state: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

How can America be opposed to terrorism and seek to work with Hamas? Is that not speaking out of both sides of the mouth?

Kenneth Symes
Ramseur

Efficiently, quietly and humbly, Jim Carter honors and assists soldiers arriving at the Piedmont Triad Airport. Officially, Carter is both the airport security coordinator and the communications supervisor.

When contacted about a soldier of any military branch returning from Iraq, Jim Carter devotes time to those serving our country and their families. Carter clears family members through security checks and escorts them to the gate to meet their soldier or to say goodbye.

More than a just part of his job, Carter has a ministry of honoring and paying respect to members of the military serving overseas.

A 28-year veteran of the Marines, Carter served in Vietnam and remembers returning home to a less-than-warm welcome. Instead of harboring bitterness, he has chosen to extend a generous welcome to our country's soldiers. Recently my son-in-law, Army Capt. Ben Shepherd, came home for a two-week leave.

My family experienced firsthand the wonder of someone caring to make both the arrival and departure of our soldier especially meaningful. My deepest gratitude goes to Jim Carter, who continues to serve his country.

Bettie Stocks Rhodes
Reidsville

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By George Coates

The Guilford County Substance Abuse Coalition would like to expand upon the article that appeared in the Jan. 20 edition of the News & Record ("Report supports long-term center for drug treatment").

Addressing the problem of substance abuse in Guilford County will take a multifaceted approach. The report mentioned in this story included a number of recommendations, the possibility of a long-term center being only one of them. The county first must marshal its resources to provide an efficient and effective treatment system. Guilford County has many organizations and individuals involved in, and available for, prevention education, treatment and counseling, and aftercare. We should first do everything possible to be sure that these organizations and individuals work together in a coordinated fashion and have the resources necessary to do the best job possible for their clients.

Substance abuse in Guilford County is a big and growing problem. The most obvious facts are the crime-related statistics: The rate of increase of drug arrests is more than twice that of the state; more than 60 percent of those surveyed in the Guilford County jails said that they have a substance-abuse problem There are costs to the community in terms of chronic illnesses and medical care. Alcohol and tobacco use are closely related to heart disease, stroke and cancer. The rates of increase of all three of these diseases are up in Guilford County. In 2002, they accounted for 53 percent of all deaths. Not to mention the fact that most of those incarcerated have no private insurance or do not qualify for public assistance.

One of the most disturbing facts is that, among our youth, the use of alcohol and tobacco is up, but their perceptions of the risks of this use have gone down.

Finding the right solution for Guilford County is going to take broad-minded discussion, broad-based community participation, and consideration for the multiple fronts on which this war must be fought. Whether we realize it now or not, it is everybody's fight and we all need to become more aware and be involved.

The writer is director of the Guilford County Substance Abuse Coalition.

I read the editorial on prisons ("State's prison growth handcuffs taxpayers," Jan. 24) and how we citizens are being held as prisoners ourselves due to the "cost" of prisons.

I worked 30-plus years in the North Carolina system and have visited systems in other states. For the writer to broad-brush the issue and say that we need to release those who are not a threat anymore, and to place the 16- and 17-year-old offenders in our juvenile system (already badly overcrowded and underfunded also) is not realistic.

I am convinced that the writer has not visited a prison or taken time to look at the nature of those incarcerated. In most cases, fines, probation, treatment programs, etc., have already been tried before the person is finally sent to prison. They very seldom come into the system on the first offense but only after several convictions.

The majority of offenders in this day and age are also more violent, thus the need for the high-dollar, close-custody prisons to protect the inmates from each other and for the safety of the staff. I predict it is only going to get worse, not better.

Dean Walker
Marion

Your anti-American, anti-Christian, pro-abortion bias in presenting news stories is disgustingly obvious. The day after the 33rd anniversary of the forced legalization of infanticide by the liberal court, resulting in 40 million babies murdered to date, you print a small photo of opposing protesters on page 1 and bury a tiny story of the large pro-life march on page 5. The next day on page 2, you print a large article describing how "Fidel Castro directed a vast protest march" against the United States while joining Democrats at home in equating President Bush with Hitler.

You also print a puff piece on page 1 pushing a vile anti-Christian movie that mocks Jesus Christ. On page 9, you castigate "radical right" and "far-right" groups in France for serving pork soup to homeless people.

Why don't you describe the Democratic Party as a "radical left" group? The only part of your far-left newspaper worth reading is the letters page, which on that same day exposes you as guilty of destroying the career of Police Chief David Wray while publishing radical-left rants of Rosemary Roberts. It is no wonder far-left monopolistic newspapers like yours are shrinking in circulation all over the country.

John Angell
Greensboro

I just talked to a man who got his natural gas bill for $353 for one month. He draws $560 a month for Social Security. Please tell him, and me, how he is going to pay the rest of his bills and eat. It is a crying shame when people work all their lives, then retire, but cannot make it on what they draw.

Our country is too great a nation to let companies get by with charging so much for gas and everything else. Imagine what the bill would have been if the weather had really been cold.

God help us all if things like this continue to happen. I will make my voice heard about this matter.

Iris Newby
Eden

After reading the column by Karen Favreau (Books page, Jan. 22), I agree completely with what the writer was saying. When writers are writing an autobiography, it's not what they want to have happened in their lives, it is what really happened.

Even though only 5 percent of James Frey's book, "A Million Little Pieces," is in question for its truthfulness, this is still too much. Maybe I am just a naive 15-year-old, but when people pick up an autobiography to read, they assume they are reading the whole truth. If they are not, are they really reading an autobiography? Perhaps Frey would have been better suited to write an inspirational, fictional account based on his life instead of a deceitful memoir.

Matthew Poole
Greensboro

A senseless, violent death is always hard to understand, but when we know it could be avoided, it becomes heartbreaking.

In our neighborhood of mostly older or elderly people, off Merritt Drive, we only ask to enjoy our few remaining years in peace, quiet and a measure of security. Unfortunately, cars speed from Frazier Drive down Merritt Drive. Now that new parts of Frazier are opened, more traffic makes it a very dangerous area on foot.

Most mornings, my dog and I walk just before daylight and often see other walkers, so we know it is a bad area to be on foot. Many of us in this area are more slow of foot, and some are disabled.

I suppose I should be thankful that the person speeding on Jan. 27 who hit and killed an innocent goose or duck before daylight did not hit one of us humans. This animal came to live in our area a couple of weeks ago. He hurt no one, caused no problems, but he paid the price of getting in someone's way. One of us could easily be next.

We plead for a little consideration and courtesy for us. A hard lesson was learned from this senseless experience.

Marna Marshall
Greensboro

We picked up the Russians as allies and the Japanese as enemies. World War II was on. Victory and unconditional surrender was our goal, with sacrifice for all in the war effort.

To date, President Bush has failed in this end because his mission remains nonspecific. There are more questions regarding our 43rd president than answers. He is clouded by a bogus secrecy never previously seen in our country.

"Stay the course" is insufficient when mismanagement is so clear that it borders on the total absence of competence from border control in the war on terror to Katrina. No, Brownie did not do a "heckuva job" at FEMA, nor have the defense and state departments.

Robert E. Blakeney Jr.
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Blanche Stevens

I read with interest Michael Skube's column (Ideas, Jan. 22). My family, hunters and fishermen all, have always eaten what they kill or catch, and I believe that most hunters of small game (including deer) still do that today.

Several sentences in Skube's column caught my attention and emotions more than the others:

"Richard Ford ... once spoke of his fondness for hunting: 'When I take a walk outside, something dies.' The words have a finality that is hard to call sporting: Something dies."

Which is more sporting, Mr. Skube, the slaughter of cattle, poultry, sheep, fish for us to buy in the grocery store or the killing of one's limit of game with a gun? Let us grocery store shoppers not forget that for the beef and veal we eat, someone else has killed, skinned and gutted a steer or calf; for the lamb we eat, someone else has killed, skinned and gutted a sheep or lamb; for the bacon and ham we eat, someone else has killed, skinned and gutted a pig; for the chicken or turkey we eat, someone else has killed, plucked and gutted the poultry; for every fish we eat, someone else has caught and killed, scaled and gutted that animal. The killing may have been done by machine rather than a human, but "something dies" for us to be able to eat.

We grocery store shoppers are so far removed from the immediacy of that killing of our food that we never think of it or of the brevity of those animals' lives. I believe sporting hunters and fishermen are closer to the natural world of kill to eat than most of us and have a respect for nature that we nonhunters do not understand.

I am sorry to read that hunters are vanishing from the North Carolina landscape, but maybe the die-hard hunters are glad the rest of us are not out there in the remaining hunting space.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I read with anger the letter (Jan. 31) from Jodi Hyler, teacher, who is upset the full eye exam for children entering kindergarten. Please let me explain my reaction.

I have a friend in Ohio whose grandson was required to have this same eye exam. During this "unnecessary procedure," to quote Hyler, the doctor found suspicious white spots in one eye.

Further tests were scheduled which included a second opinion from the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and the grandson was diagnosed with cancer in his eye. The white spots were "leukocoria”; the cancer is Restinoblastoma.

The doctors at Wills performed immediate life saving surgery. His eye was removed along with six months of chemotherapy following the surgery. The doctors were able to fit him for a prosthetic eye which included additional surgeries plus travel from Ohio to Philadelphia.
I would like to ask Hyler if this eye exam now seems "appalling and completely unnecessary"?

From a teacher, I expect a more informed opinion than what Hyler wrote.

My hope is that every parent ensures their young children have comprehensive eye exams whether or not it becomes a law in North Carolina and regardless of the cost.

Elaine Reilly
Greensboro

The Jan. 30 article on student cheating was interesting, even though this subject has been a frequent subject in recent years. The difference in the Plano, Texas, situation was that the teacher gave the student the zero he/she deserved for plagiarizing the paper from the Internet and apparently the student's parents did not demand that the grade be changed nor did they sue the teacher.

In other school districts, parents have been successful in getting failing grades changed, becoming enablers and setting precisely the wrong example for their children. However, I was amazed to read that educators say that students "often don't know that surfing Web sites and lifting passages for their own"is stealing?

Excuse me? Don't the educators tell them about plagiarism at the time the assignment is given? If not, why wouldn't they? And how can any student with average intelligence and any common sense not figure out on his/her own that wholesale copying without attribution is unethical if not illegal.

No, let's face facts here. Many students are lazy and consider cutting corners as perfectly acceptable in life, so long as they get whatever the seek. With this attitude fairly common, we should expect more Enrons for years to come.

Keith Hoile
Greensboro

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Opening today's paper (Feb. 1) to the classified section, I found the News & Record had made a long overdue change in type size. I can finally read the classifieds without using a magnifying glass.

On behalf of everyone with less than 20/20 vision, thank you.

Suzanne Schmutz
Reidsville

I recently attended the Housing Summit where I learned about the terrible problem of homelessness here in Guilford County.

Although 10-year plans and local support are terrific ideas, until the federal government has the same desire to actually stop the source of the problem — and unless employers can pay their employees a decent wage so they won't have to work 101 hours a week to pay for an apartment — the kind of change we want for our city cannot happen.
President Bush's speech did little to alleviate my concerns.

I turned the television off after the "renew the Patriot Act"line, but I was angry well before that remark. I understand that most political candidates will say one thing and do the opposite, so I bit my tongue when I heard about oil and Iraq, like always.

But isn't it interesting that "We show compassion abroad because Americans believe in the God-given dignity and worth of a villager with HIV/AIDS, or an infant with malaria, or a refugee fleeing genocide, or a young girl sold into slavery”... but not compassion in the United States for a Mexican immigrant, or a young mother on welfare?

No wonder so many citizens feel powerless.

Jaimie Foster
Kernersville

Regarding the article, "Stakes high for grants in AIDS relief,"(Jan. 30):

First: "Officials are aggressively pursuing new church partners that often emphasize disease prevention through abstinence and fidelity over condom use."

My question to these officials and others with this viewpoint is what is your goal? Is it to advance your own personal, faith-based agenda, or is it to help stop the spread of this disease?

Second: "Conservative Christian allies of Bush are pressing the U.S. foreign aid agency to give fewer dollars to groups that distribute condoms and work with prostitutes."If this is not a blatant intrusion of religion into issues of public policy, then I don't know what one could call it.

I am sickened beyond belief by the pious cruelty and obscene self-righteousness of some conservative Christians. To offer help based on religious conditions is stunningly cruel.

If we are to have any chance of slowing the spread of this disease, then we must simply do what works. Education, free condoms — this works. I will pray that my religious brethren will open their minds, and along with their preaching, allow some practical aid to be given —without strings attached.

Lou W. Gamble
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By OWEN LEWIS
In response to Doug Clark's column, "ABC system needs adult leadership" (Jan. 25), Clark implies that all the profits from ABC stores go to the state. Actually, there are several local beneficiaries for these funds. Last year's figures for the Greensboro ABC Board profit distributions are:

•city of Greensboro, $2,468,732
•towns in Guilford County without ABC stores (and the county's share), $217,685
•law enforcement, $237,480
•alcohol rehabilitation, $226,973
•state of North Carolina, $5,586,445.

In addition, the city of High Point received about $900,000 from its ABC Board.

Second, Clark advocates abandoning the ABC system in favor of private stores. A little history and explanation are appropriate here.
At the end of prohibition in the 1930s, every state in the Union determined its own chosen method for the sale of alcoholic beverages. Nineteen states and Montgomery County, Md., opted for some form of control by the state and local government. The other states have private sales.

In North Carolina, the control method is left up to the individual governmental units — "local option." Under this system, each town or county decides in an election whether or not to have ABC stores, liquor by the drink and beer and wine sales.
There are 154 ABC boards in North Carolina. The proceeds from the sale of spirits in those jurisdictions directly benefit their counties and towns.

The state and local units provide education programs for schools, bar and restaurant personnel, and the general public. These programs espouse moderation, responsibility and adherence to the laws. State Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) officers and local ABC officers monitor and enforce these laws.

The state ABC commission must approve store locations, thus keeping the number of stores down and their locations appropriate.
The control system has had a successful 50-plus year run. It certainly should be continued.

The writer is chairman, Greensboro ABC Board.

In the Jan. 31 national address, President Bush stated emphatically that the United States needed to work on alternatives to Middle East oil. Holy Deja Vu, Batman.

Wasn't this the same W that promised to fund hydrogen cell technologies years ago, then de-funded the program only to give billions to already over-moneyed oil companies?

Could it be that the audience's attention deficit is only superseded by our soaring budget deficit?

Later in his speech, he proclaimed secret wiretaps are necessary to protect us.

The truth is that under the FISA laws, these wiretaps are legal only with a warrant, and in an emergency a warrant can be waived for 72 hours.

After Sept. 11, the FISA court was streamlined for national security purposes. The National Security Agency, which oversees these wiretaps, has given more than 2,000 leads to the CIA for investigation in recent years, according to CIA officials, and not one citizen investigated had any connection to terrorism. All were private citizens.

So, don't hold your breath waiting for America to start "green" technologies to compete with the rest of the world. But hold your thoughts while talking on the phone. Welcome to Bush's fascist-democracy.

Michael Northuis
Greensboro

Recently, on the CBS Morning News, I heard a story that is beyond shocking. Just when we think we've heard everything, we find out that there is still greater depths of depravity to which greed will drive men.

How about drug traffickers using innocent puppies to smuggle heroin from Colombia into the United States?

Yes, that's right. A litter of Labrador puppies carrying bags of liquid heroin in their bellies. They had been crudely operated on in a lab in Colombia. Three of the puppies later died from infection.

If this horrifies you as much as it does me, then I pray that you will do all in your power to stop drug trafficking.

And, if you are a user, realize that your habit is destroying lives and marriages, and now, the ultimate in cruelty and depravity, using innocent animals to satisfy your habit. Is there nothing too despicable that human greed will not sink to?

Vivian Robinson
Jamestown

Regarding Ron Smith's letter ("'Idol' goes too far," Jan. 31) on the behavior of one of the local "American Idol" contestants:

We all know how ridiculous this girl was viewed. "American Idol" wanted attention and they got it. They would have used another state, another place, so don't think it's just a desire to "pick on Greensboro."

We all know not to let our children watch the beginning of the show. It's been on the radio, the TV and newspapers. It's pure ignorance.

I hope they paid her enough money to cover that body and that filthy, screaming mouth. She needed Paula Abdul's water to wash it out.

Susan Collins
Greensboro

I cannot believe that you think the newly designed classified section of this newspaper is better. It is like going through a maze trying to find an exit.

There is no system to the way the listings are arranged. There is no index for finding the section of your interest. Most of us do not want to go through the entire section to try to find our interest.

Most of all, we do not have that amount of time each day to scan each ad. I certainly will not be wasting my time trying to locate a section. I will pick up a copy of the American Classifieds at a newsstand.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Dorothy Bowling
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Arch Aitcheson

Charles Davenport's column, "Johnny can't read, but he can graduate" (Jan. 29), began on a good note but quickly moved into the popular and misguided partisan notions about the problems with the "monopoly" of public education. The NEA and the Democratic Party, Mr. Davenport, merely share the blame with the Republican Party for the state of affairs in public school classrooms. The reference to John Stossel's ABC network special, "Stupid in America," is weak. It was clear that Stossel had a personal agenda regarding a known pedophile who had taught in his child's school system. That program did not interview those of us working in schools for our students and in systems that seem to care little for the students' basic needs.

Yes, American public education is in trouble. The causes do not belong to one party, one professional organization, or to those of us who are in the trenches every day. The causes are related to well-meaning, misguided, state and national programs designed to "fix" the problem by using testing scores and Big Brother tactics not in the best interest of our children. The tests are often based on standards but present writing prompts and reading tasks that are culturally and socioeconomically prejudiced. Johnny cannot read because teachers are "encouraged" to teach to those costly tests that have little to do with the needs of students. Remedial programs are offered to all students, but parental and community support for such programs is lacking.

Central Office staff is pressured to push the tests, to warrant their position in the system, to demand teachers teach to those tests, and to defend the tests that often contain errors, inappropriate writing prompts and readings designed to assuage the current political call for "accountability." The scores are as invalid as the tests. Less time is spent by the teacher on reading and writing skills, and more time is spent teaching "formula writing" and reading techniques to improve testing scores. No Child Left Behind and ABC accountability are not in the best interest of "Johnny, Hassan, Sally or Lakesia."

Yes, choice is needed, the monopoly needs to be broken, and realistic standards must be established and followed. Schools of education and classroom teachers need to distance themselves from political game-playing and administrative attempts to please politicians. The politicians and administrators do not care about our impoverished minority children. Teachers who persist in this educational quagmire because we do care about our students, are trying to against all odds to prepare them for life. That includes reading, writing and math skills needed to survive in a world that is not egalitarian.

The writer is an English teacher at Grimsley High School.

How refreshing to witness a corporate entity place integrity above profit. North Carolina-based banking concern BB&T has announced it will not extend commercial loans to private developers for projects on property acquired through the power of eminent domain.

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent 5-4 decision giving local governments the power to take private property for commercial development violates the basic tenet of constitutionally protected private property rights. The court ruling was based on the flawed idea that increasing tax revenues satisfies the eminent domain requirement that the taking be for the public good.

Nothing could be further from the truth. This raping of private property rights is not about roads, schools or other legitimate public good projects but about satisfying the insatiable appetite of government and its wasteful spending habits. The idea that five justices voted to allow the taking of private property for commercial development clearly indicates a judicial system out of touch with its citizenry.

Congratulations to BB&T for taking a principled stand for property rights. I encourage other banking institutions to follow suit, sending a clear message to the courts and local governments that assault on private property rights is unwarranted and will not be tolerated.

Bill Wright
Pleasant Garden

Anyone who's seen book prices at college stores will wonder what happened to the competitive marketplace. If 60 percent of college students are not buying all their required texts, it means that publishers, privately owned campus bookstores, professors and especially universities and colleges should take steps to reduce these absurd costs.

College kids are Web smart. They know that much could be delivered either free or at lower prices via the Web, but instead, they're forced to spend obscene amounts each semester.

If UNCG will soon require students to have laptops, students should demand a major decrease in the cost of information. They shouldn't be forced to buy new edition books when they could use serviceable secondhand copies and download updates.

In the meantime, I wonder why colleges and universities do not band together to force down students' costs associated with information and information technology.

Andrew Young
Greensboro

There seems to be a plethora of support for ex-Police Chief David Wray. What hasn't been said was, if this man had all of this great compassion and was a friend to everyone, why did he resign? If he was that great of a man, it seems to me that he would have fought tooth and nail to clear his name and keep the job he allegedly loved so much.

By resigning, he leaves one to suspect that there is more to the story than has been told, and he doesn't want to be around when it is exposed. I hope that the city manager and council continue to investigate this scandal and reveal all of the details. The citizens of Greensboro deserve an explanation and actions to prevent this from happening again.

Calvert Stewart
Greensboro

I wish to extend my condolences to the family of Cpl. Felipe Barbosa. No words can ever adequately compensate for your great loss, but please take comfort in the knowledge that this young man, though gone from this life, will forever live on in your, and our, memory as a hero.

Felipe chose a dangerous mission and carried with him his love of service to God, country and Corps, as well as to his fellow Marines. His spirit is now standing post, in the words of the Marine Corps hymn, guarding the streets of heaven.

It is to this spirit that I say, "Vaya con Dios, mi amigo. Semper Fidelis. Stand your new post until properly relieved."

Bob Wrenn
Greensboro
The writer was a sergeant with the USMC, 1976-1983.

The congressional Democrats' most-admired foreign "dissident," Osama bin Laden, has again spoken to them through CNN's sister station, al-Jazeera, thanking them for their support. Saying that he also hates George Bush, he will continue to help them bring down the Bush presidency and, if necessary, the country. Bin Laden recited the Dems' talking points and even mentioned a Gallup poll showing that he and they share many of the same goals.

How did Howard Dean get those talking points to the correct cave in Pakistan? Dean must have Osama's cell number on speed dial.

Bin Laden particularly praised Sen. Harry Reid for killing the Patriot Act, which is a real thorn in Osama's side. Kudos also went to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Dick Durbin and Sen. Teddy Kennedy, among others, for leading the fight for the al-Qaida "Bill of Rights."

Sleep well, Osama: The Dems are fighting to keep us from intercepting your calls to our country.

Tony Moschetti
High Point

Seniors aren't the only ones who can't tolerate smoke. People with ulcers, asthma, migraines, heart problems and chronic sinusitis can't either. Smoke can actually trigger flair-ups of these painful conditions.

So, next time you light up, please consider whom you might be hurting. Consider that they may not have the benefits of health insurance or sick days, and that exposure to smoke can actually cost them dearly. Even in areas where smoking is clearly prohibited, smokers light up, like at the War Memorial Coliseum. I was at the Aerosmith concert where no smoking is allowed in the seats and yet several people lit up in our section. What started to be a fun night — in one of the few facilities I can enjoy music — became a nightmare. Smoke filled my sinus cavity and the pain started.

People who suffer because of smoke may be your friend, your family member, or it might be me, your neighbor, who relies on places that say they're smoke-free to actually be smoke-free. But that also takes good neighbors. So, please, be a good neighbor — don't smoke in public. Every time you make that choice, you give others a bit more life.

Faun Finley
Greensboro

More rich people; more poor people; more people without health care coverage; more confusion about prescription drug benefits; more debt as a nation; more divisive acrimony among citizens and political parties; more secrecy; more doublespeak; more fear-mongering; more illegal wiretapping of citizens; more money spent on weaponry; more soldiers killed every day; more innocent Iraqi men, women and children dying every day; more distrust of the United States around the world; more wasteful spending of the world's resources; more, more, more — and more excuses every day.

What has happened under King George W.'s administration to this great society's aspiration of being a "city set upon a hill"? What has happened to us to let King George W. drag us down with him to such depths? How long will it take us to repair the damage inflicted by King George W. on us and the other peoples of the world, and when will we begin the repair job? I hope and trust rather soon.

Michael H. Hoppe
Greensboro

This letter is for David Wray supporters.

First of all, this is a system of government that is put in place by checks and balances. The city manger did his job exceedingly well. These are the good people of government who keep this system viable. This should serve as a blueprint for county, state and federal governments to follow and to rid them of corruption and dictatorial rule.

The city manager was bold in keeping the checks and balances in place in the most vital section of our government (law enforcement). This is a system of rules and laws, and no one is above them.

I would suggest that all those who are in doubt read and understand our Constitution of the United States. This is not a system of feelings. It is a system of rules and laws.

Levander Patrick
Greensboro

U.S. News & World Report reported last week that Al Gore will probably be the Democrats' nominee for president in the 2008 election.

On TV, Karl Rove set the stage for the "fear 9/11 campaign" this year to begin in order for the newly "re-elected" 2006 Republican House of Representatives majority to get ready to call for a constitutional amendment allowing the imperial king, G.W., a third term to beat Al again.

Recently, the News & Record reported that King George W. has put his strategy in motion: "President Bush (in CBS interview) said that Sen. Clinton, a potential candidate ... is 'formidable.' But he declined to speculate on which Republicans might run for the White House in 2008." Bush continued, "This is an unusual year because this is the first time there hasn't been a kind of natural successor in the party. Two wide-open primaries with no sitting vice president running in either primary, so this is — I can't remember a time when it's been this open."

Perish the thought. Al Gore for president 2008. That would open wide the gate for George W. and satisfy George Will and friends who are still galled over the FDR New Deal.

John Kincaid
Reidsville

I read with interest your article, "To buy or not to buy" (Jan. 29), regarding college students facing increasing costs with textbooks.

Until recently, I was an adjunct instructor teaching English composition and speech. I advised my students to check alternate sources for books, especially the very expensive medical textbooks. Two of the sources were local: Bookscentral.com and Booksforless.com.

The third led to England. Colleges in the European Union refuse to pay the high costs charged by American book publishers. Books overseas cost about one-third to one-half less. Tell your readers to check Amazon.com/cc/uk. They will have to pay shipping charges, but careful planning and students working together can result in major savings.

I have nothing against publishers, just greedy publishers.

William T. Bode
Liberty

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Lou Howard

In response to Lonnie D. Groendes' Counterpoint, "Wade's fight is for voting integrity" (Jan. 19): All voters want "integrity in voting," but there are some provisional ballots that were legal in 2004 — according to the N.C. Constitution. Article VI, Section 2 (1) of the constitution states:

"Section 2. Qualifications of voter.

"(1) Residence period for State elections. Any person who has resided in the State of North Carolina for one year and in the precinct, ward, or other election district for 30 days next preceding an election, and possesses the other qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election held in this State. Removal from one precinct, ward, or other election district to another in this State shall not operate to deprive any person of the right to vote in the precinct, ward or other election district from which that person has removed until 30 days after the removal."
When the state constitution is used as a guide, it is not "partisanship."

The Guilford County Board of Elections has recounted the provisional ballots more than once — not in a room alone. The State Board of Elections also came to Greensboro and had a hearing.

The example Groendes gave of Ophelia Jones demonstrated how well prepared that poll worker was: The poll worker saw the name and recognized it as a person who had voted in early voting. Poll workers identify those who voted in early voting before Election Day to prevent people from voting twice.

Chief judges avoid issuing provisional ballots if possible because they require additional time and attention, which can be distracting on Election Day. Before a person is given a provisional ballot, the chief judge prefers to call the local board of elections to find out if the person is a registered voter in the county, learn where that person should vote, and direct that person to the right polling place. Provisional ballots are a lot of paperwork that requires the signature of each of the three judges at the polls.

Members of the board of elections must check the residence, registration and make the final decision on the provisional ballots. This takes time. Absentee ballots must be confirmed and counted, also. No, it is not possible to count all ballots of legally registered voters on election night.

The writer lives in High Point.

Rep. Howard Coble has failed his district, voting last week to cut student loans, Medicare and Medicaid in HR 653. These cuts hurt the poor and elderly and made a bad situation worse with the cut in student loans.

In a district that has so many colleges and universities, how can he, in good conscience, say that he is representing the people with such a vote? As a minister and parent, I see these issues firsthand and know the hardship that this represents.

We are a country falling behind in science and technology due to the lack of adequately trained students. Congress has supported bridges to nowhere and rain forests in Iowa. What about the young people who are trying to get a good education? What about the millions of people who cannot afford adequate health care?

It becomes both an economic issue and a moral issue. In a district where so many people have lost jobs in the textile and furniture industry, we need to re-educate those who have been laid off; otherwise, our local economies will suffer more. It was a close vote, 216-214. Coble evidently did not have the courage to stand up for the people of his district.

M. Gray Clark
Greensboro

It is indeed a bittersweet time for the arts and entertainment community as longtime Go Triad editor Jeri Rowe steps down after nearly a decade of covering local bands, art, film and live performance in our area.

For years, Jeri has been a tireless supporter of local musicians of all genres and a good friend to the painter, poet, performance artist and aspiring film director in the Triad. It can't be said enough how important Jeri's weekly columns and music reviews were to the performers on the front lines of the A&E community. Events that could have come and gone in anonymity were brought to the public's attention, thanks to Jeri's keen eye and trained ear.

I want to thank Jeri for all of his help and support on behalf of the blues community of the Triad. Whenever we needed publicity for a live performance or a benefit concert, he was always there. For that, Jeri Rowe has my eternal gratitude and appreciation.

Best wishes and continued success to Carla Kucinski, the new editor of Go Triad.

John Amberg
Greensboro
The writer is president/festival co-chair, Piedmont Blues Preservation Society.

A recent letter to the editor stated, "We know so little of this man Jesus." The article further limits the main source of knowledge to the four Gospels. With all due respect to the writer, restricting the information and familiarization of Christ just to this segment of the Bible would be a critical mistake.

There is an abundance of information about Jesus from start to finish -- enough for you to decide on the most important issue in your life -- whether or not you believe that Jesus Christ is God. In addition, there is sufficient data to allow you to make the most important decision in your life -- is Jesus who he claimed to be and rose from the grave; or was he a lying, deceitful, cunning lunatic. It has to be one way or the other.

So significant is this subject matter to our lives, it seems only logical to actually examine the Bible from beginning to end. Seek the truth carefully and thoughtfully with an open heart and mind and you will find it. Eternal life or eternal death -- the decision is yours.

Norman D. Franklin
Greensboro

Every so often I have to call some company or organization. During the call, I follow the choices offered by an electronic phone tree, eventually getting back to where I started. This maddening "loop the loop" seems to happen to everyone (especially to those desperate people trying to understand Medicare Part D.)

And so it goes with our government. We want to get some answers about Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, scandals in Congress, health care, mining disasters ... the list is endless. The State of the Union is like "A Million Little Pieces": repeating the same cheap messages but never giving us the truth needed for a democratic society.

We hear "your government is there for you" just like "your call is very important to us" and suspect there is as much truth in each. And that seems to be the goal. As Karl Rove once said, "We will shrink the government until it can fit into a bathtub, and then we'll drown it." The process starts with shrinking the truth, one loop at a time.

Oh, and this call may be recorded for training purposes.

Kurt Lauenstein
Greensboro

Regarding Ron Smith's letter (Jan. 31), " 'Idol' goes too far," about the foul-mouthed contestant:

Jesus said, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depths of the sea" (Matthew 18:6).

So be it for all programs that air under the disguise of a family show, for a true family has no resemblance to what they portray on television.

Louise Brady
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Ronnie Dotson

With all due respect to the many who have vested so much of their energy and money into the "rebirth" of downtown Greensboro, the depiction of our downtown in recent articles -- as "Downtown Turnaround" and "Upbeat About Downtown" -- has, unfortunately, become somewhat pathetic.

Granted, the downtown market has certainly evolved over the past five years. But, exactly where does it stand today? Is it really the vibrant, bustling residential/commerce/entertainment hub that it is portrayed to be?

For those who happen to frequent downtown on a regular basis, it's a well-known fact that there is only one real pulse of livelihood on the streets of downtown Greensboro today: the local pulse.

My intent here isn't to ridicule what has been accomplished but, rather, to sound a wake-up call to those who somehow believe that the center city renaissance doesn't need a substantial public monetary commitment to take it to the next level and to ensure the long-term solvency of many of the specialty boutiques and retailers beginning to dot the downtown streetscape.

The optimism of many downtown developers will be easily displaced by skepticism as potential investors continue to witness the revolving storefronts.

My message here is simple. Downtown Greensboro has an unprecedented opportunity -- with an ACC museum and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum -- to finally begin to establish that long-sought critical mass, a mass that will ultimately have to consist of much more than local foot traffic. The potential synergy between both museums, if centrally located, is undeniable.

Wake up, City Council. Private money has funded the Center City Park as well as First Horizon baseball stadium. A city's dreams can't be built entirely by the private sector. With potential federal funding for a new courthouse, let's transform the old federal courthouse into a home for our truly unique ACC museum, replete with compelling interactive journeys, not just another glorified exhibit hall with commemorative plaques.

Let's put it on the '06 referendum and seek out matching grants from the conference it pays homage to -- the ACC -- and the corporation that supposedly still believes in Greensboro — Lincoln Financial, also known as Jefferson-Pilot.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Greensboro needs, for historic and economic reasons, to open the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. Much credit is due to Skip Alston and Earl Jones for saving the Woolworth building. From all reports, much more money is needed before the museum can open its doors to the world.

Rightly or wrongly, Alston and Jones have received negative publicity in the past several years. As reported in the news, some potential contributors have been hesitant to provide funding for this project.

My proposal is twofold. One, hire a national firm to obtain funding from Bill Gates, the Ford Foundation or any major philanthropic organization. Two, obtain the resignations from the board of Alston and Jones. To honor their achievements, a sculptured bust of each and a plaque describing their work should be prominently displayed at the museum's main entrance.

In return for these actions, the local power groups need to issue a statement fully supporting the museum and provide local funding.

Before I am branded as a racist, check the historic record of the Greensboro Four. I was one of three male students from Greensboro College to sit down with the Greensboro Four on the afternoon of Feb. 1, 1960.

Richard B. O'Neal
Greensboro

About your front-page article on Belews Creek power station (Jan. 30):

1. Great photograph; a hellish photo, suitable for the sound track of "Koyaanisqatsi." Perfect fit, Black Mesa.

2. A well-focused afternoon photograph, nice shadow definition; so good, that as a former photo interpreter with the U.S. Air Force Combat Command, I could derive some excellent strategic combat intelligence about the layout of facilities, lines of communication and logistics. Who else thinks so? Men with car bombs?

3. Your photog hired an airplane to take her to make those photos at low altitude, possibly prohibited, over the site. Who else might do that? Was the flight plan challenged, questioned, or even filed?

4. A vast, turbid editorial-on-the front-page, breast-beating yadata-yadata about pollution, substantially and constantly reduced, at a sturdy expense, over the lifetime of the plant, not mentioned. What was the start-up date of this plant? Nada. And no mention of the tonnages, nor usages, of the fly ash removed and stored in a settling pond on site. Nor that coal is American, not import.

My only connection with Duke Energy is the bill I pay. Thanks for a great strategic bombing target photo-recon job. No thanks for the half-baked incomplete text.

Michael A. Foster
Greensboro

Regarding the police's secret photos of license plates and arrest of protesters on Jan. 31, the Bush administration's highly questionable surveillance of U.S. citizens comes home to roost. Local police follow the leader: If the president doesn't have to preserve the rights of free citizens, then the police don't, either. The fear-encouraging argument is the same old line: "We are preserving your right to free speech or safety from terror by infringing on your right to free speech."

The shift to surveillance went into high gear in Nixon's assault during the Vietnam War and has moved toward increasingly totalitarian tactics that strip us of our rights. Recently, Bush declared he is above the law, and our local police have followed the leader.

Wake up, citizens! Resuscitate democracy. It's time for a regime change. Is it too late for honest elections? Too late for citizen rights over corporate rights? Too late for elected politicians over corporate-sponsored lackeys? Too late for safe air, water and food? Too late for effective government response to disasters? Too late for protest without threat of surveillance and arrest? There is a better way.

Suzanne Hidore
McLeansville

The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated our 2005 accomplishments and our goals for 2006 at our 128th annual dinner. The sold-out, black-tie preferred event sparked our imaginations from beginning to end -- everything from a talented artist painting to the spectacular dining experience -- all to the sounds of wonderful music.

The highlight of the evening was the four individuals who were recognized and honored for their contributions to our community. Herman and Barbara Cone received the O. Henry Award for their contributions to the arts; Priscilla Taylor was recognized for her commitment to the advancement of women with the Athena Award, and Leonard Kaplan received the Chamber's highest award, the Thomas A. Osborne Award, for both his professional and personal contributions.

This event wouldn't be possible if not for all the community and corporate support provided to the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce. We want to thank everyone involved in providing this wonderful evening as well as thank the community for continued support of the Chamber of Commerce.

Allen Purser
Lee McAllister
Greensboro
Purser is interim president, Chamber of Commerce; McAllister is 2006 chairman, Chamber Operating Group.

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Debbie Hixson

Your editorial concerning the mandate for eye screenings (Jan. 26) was irresponsible and ill-researched. While I agree the provision appears to benefit Jim Black and other optometrists, the idea of comprehensive eye exams for all preschool children is not without merit.

The N.C. Pediatric Society says there is no need for comprehensive eye exams because pediatricians screen for vision problems and refer patients to specialists when necessary. Do you know how many children with amblyopia and strabismus go undetected by these screenings each year? Did you do research with Eye Care America, Duke Eye Center, or the American Academy of Ophthalmology? One could go to LazyEye@yahoogroups.com and read the numerous posts of parents whose children passed these screenings yet were found later to have serious eye conditions. I am not referring to children who need glasses to see clearly but to children who have conditions that will hinder the development of depth perception and binocular vision, interfere with learning, and even cause the loss of vision if not treated.

For you to state that going to an oncologist first instead of the primary care physician is ridiculous and dismisses the need for these exams at the earliest age. If you knew your primary care physician routinely missed cases of cancer until it was so late that treatment was longer, more expensive and less successful, you would be smart to seek help from someone who specialized in that field. If diagnosed early, amblyopia and strabismus are more easily treated, and those treatments have a higher success rate. Often parents are told the condition is not treatable beyond age 7. The data are changing, and many doctors now say the cutoff is age 10. Wouldn't you rather receive a diagnosis at age 4 or 5 than age 8?

Maybe what needs to happen is for pediatricians, optometrists and ophthalmologists to come together and recommend that all children receive these exams by age 3. They need to educate the public about the necessity and promote programs that make these exams affordable to all.

Had I known then what I know now, maybe I could have saved seven years (and counting) of treatment, thousands of dollars, numerous doctor visits, and worst, the hardship that lazy eye has caused my child. Having every child receive a comprehensive eye exam during preschool would go a long way toward preventing another parent and child from experiencing the same thing.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I find it remarkable that the police are able to videotape public gatherings but rarely videotape interviews with people suspected of committing crimes. Videotaping "confessions" should certainly be a higher priority than videotaping large public gatherings.

Sabrina Bailey
Summerfield

Your anti-Bush protest editorial (Feb. 6) was highly misleading. I was there the entire time, and the atmosphere, until the encounter with the undercover policeman, was anything but ugly. People were having a great time expressing their opposition to the policies of their government. It was much less rowdy than many of Chapel Hill's post-"Big Game" street parties, where several years ago a car was overturned and destroyed.

Your first article on the protest didn't even mention the arrests, leading me to believe that your reporter left before they occurred. Had he stuck around, he could have seen the situation for himself instead of relying on government press releases. We have governments, both local and national, that spy on American citizens, often for merely expressing points of view that rankle those in power. As representatives of an ostensibly free press, you should take these actions far more seriously than you do.

Many of those who marched were members of the "creative class" this city is hoping will be its economic salvation. Apparently, the message is to bring your talent and money, but leave "creative" politics at the city line.

Daniel Bayer
Greensboro

With three recent mine disasters leading to 16 deaths, including the 12 miners who died in the Sago mine tragedy, the West Virginia governor was compelled to temporarily shut down all mines due to safety concerns. What is happening to mine safety?

There were more than 200 safety violations at the Sago mine last year. Sixteen were for blatant violations posing imminent threats to workers' lives. Since the International Coal Group took over last November, there have been three major cave-ins, exposing company claims of fixing safety problems. Sago's injury rate is more than two times the national average.

Sago was fined a measly $24,000 by the Mine Safety Administration, last in 2005, and the mine remained open for corporate profits.

President Bush offered the families his "condolences." In reality, since the Bush administration took office, mine safety standards have been diminished, and fines are fewer and smaller. Case in point: a $440 fine against Sago's current owners for a safety violation that caused the death of a miner in Kentucky. More than half of all safety fines against coal companies remain unpaid. Bush has appointed corporate mining representatives to positions overseeing mine safety. The foxes are guarding the henhouse.

Mark Dimondstein
Greensboro

This may become a series of submittals. I, like many in the area, see more and more of this every day. The driving habits of folks here in the Triad are just about the most atrocious thing I have witnessed in a very long time. I do not mean the old, the very young, or even the middle aged. Just about everyone of any ilk.

To cite one example, have you noticed how many drivers just do not use the turn signals on their vehicles? "Why bother" is obviously what they are thinking. Whether thinking is involved may not be an accurate description. It seems that all too many of us are driving on autopilot, because there is little or no concentration on the act itself.

Cell phone distractions, talking to other riders, etc. -- surely these things must account for this total lack of understanding of the law regarding how you must signal your intent when making a turn. Any wonder there are so many accidents in this area?

Kenneth Ludington
Greensboro

A very wise man once said: A moral society does not allow its people to be without health care, to suffer because of the profits of big business, to live where air and water are more and more polluted because of the lack of control.

And we add to this, a moral society takes care of its own: its people -- all of its people, its animals, its forests, its wilderness, its air, its oceans, its earth, therefore its Spirit. And it does this before it takes care of everyone else in the world, which really means controlling everyone else in the world, along with their resources, which means that they then become our resources. A moral society does not allow its government to do this.

Are we one on this? And what will we do about it?

Gay Cheney
Browns Summit

I hope people of the world understand that every sports hero, doctor, lawyer, nurse, singer, preacher, farmer, carpenter, truck driver, professor, administrator, businessperson, real estate agent, manager, and even world leaders would not be where they are today if not for one common denominator -- a teacher.

Do yourself and someone else a favor -- thank a teacher today. While you're at it, thank a veteran, too.

Michael Zales
Greensboro

Years ago, Willie Nelson had a hit song entitled, "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys."

I haven't seen the movie "Brokeback Mountain," nor do I intend to. But from what I have heard about it, maybe old Willie had a premonition that wasn't apparent in the song.

Hank Powell
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Jon Mark Jackson

With the "homecoming" of Corretta Scott King, I must revisit my thoughts on our desires to remember Martin Luther King Jr. and the equal rights of black Americans.

Most major cities have a road renamed "Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard." King changed our world in many ways, yet we still blatantly display our racism and segregation even in this celebration. Most MLK Jr. Boulevards are in predominantly black American neighborhoods.

In Greensboro, MLK Jr. Drive begins on "the other side of the tracks," runs south, under I-40, and ends at the first major intersection. I believe that those large MLK Jr. Drive interstate signs are actually segregationist code for, "This is the 'black section' -- don't exit here." This does nothing for the neighborhood and its economy.

What I propose is that we change the name of Market Street (slave markets?) to MLK Jr. Drive. First, it hits both east and west county lines. From the east, it would pass the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, the only official North Carolina historic site named for a black American woman and educator. It would pass N.C. A&T, the alma mater of astronaut Ronald McNair; an African Heritage Center; and after crossing Dudley Street, a prominent black American business district. It would pass through downtown featuring February One Place, where the first sit-ins were held.

It would pass many black-owned businesses, Bennett College (one block south), Greensboro College, UNCG, several historical neighborhoods, shopping centers and the Guilford College area, passing our international airport and heading west, straight to the county line (and beyond).

We could change the "down low" of MLK Jr. Drive and raise it up to be celebrated. If this were done, Greensboro would have a tremendous effect by, I'm sure, having the longest, most diverse and celebratory MLK Jr. Drive in America.

The writer lives in Colfax.

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Laura Williams

Is your child getting enough physical activity? This is a question that many parents are faced with today. Obesity is common enough among children that we consider it an epidemic. Studies have shown a dramatic rise in the number of obese children in the last few decades in this country. The number of overweight children 6 to 17 years of age has doubled in the last 30 years.

There are serious problems relating to overweight children, including poor self-esteem, depression, hip and other joint problems, liver problems, childhood diabetes and sleep apnea, and adult health problems like high blood pressure and heart disease.

Many wonder how children become overweight. This serious problem does not occur overnight, and in today's world of watching television and playing video games, being inactive is the leading cause. Underlying medical conditions could be the case but are very rare.

So how can we get control over this epidemic? Get your child moving and interested in sports. Research shows that participation in sports has positive impacts, such as higher levels of confidence and self-esteem, more positive body image, better grades and higher graduation rates than those who do not play sports.

On Feb. 18, the YWCA Greensboro, with the help of Moses Cone-Wesley Long Community Health Foundation and UNCG, will celebrate the 11th anniversary of its Girls and Women in Sports Day Festival. Our festival acknowledges and celebrates opportunities for girls and young women in sports. As part of a nationwide celebration, the local festival encourages girls and young women to explore new and often nontraditional sports and to recognize the benefits of a healthy lifestyle for maintaining both physical and mental health. Call the YWCA Greensboro at 273-3461 for more information.

The writer is health and wellness director, YWCA Greensboro.

The News & Record reported on Guilford College's consideration of "gender-blind" housing Feb. 2. Based on questions the college has received, some clarification of its plans are in order.

A gender-blind policy allows male and female students to apply to be roommates in residence halls, usually upper-class students. A targeted sampling of colleges and universities nationally indicates that approximately 12 institutions allow gender-blind housing in traditional residence halls and/or apartments.

The story noted that a gender-blind housing proposal from two Guilford students had been endorsed by our student government. This proposal was also discussed at several open forums that were attended by a handful of students.

Guilford will not be gender-blind in its residence halls in the foreseeable future. This is based on campus discussions and a thorough review of options offered by our competitors and other North Carolina colleges and universities as well as the fact that our two largest residence halls will be reserved exclusively for first-year students.

Guilford has a wide range of living arrangements, including same-sex and co-ed residence halls and floors as well as special-interest floors and houses. The college will continue to consider students' housing needs and interests as it reinforces the residential nature of the institution.

Kent Chabotar
Greensboro

The writer is president and professor of political science, Guilford College.

"City officials say ex-chief's account differs greatly from what they have learned." Wouldn't it be more accurate if your Feb. 5 headline had read, "City officials say ex-chief's account differs greatly from what they've been told"?

It does sound like one man's actions have set the city up for some serious financial hits from lawsuits and lawyers. Are we sure we're focusing on the right man? If the city's attorneys are getting attorneys, maybe the biggest question is, did any of this embarrassing mess need to happen? Surely, big city government knows how to remove an "at-will" employee without jeopardizing the financial health of the community, and more importantly, without dividing a city. Didn't anyone on the city's side see where this would go?

Alice Cusack
Greensboro

We are very appalled at the treatment given David Wray. The innuendos and unconfirmed rumors have made this affair seem more like a witch hunt than an investigation.

We haven't known David as long as some people who have written in his favor, but we know he is a caring, dedicated man of great integrity just trying to make Greensboro a better place. Above all, he is not a racist.

This terrible situation is a blight on Greensboro, not to mention what it is doing to Wray. We love Greensboro and know our citizens deserve much better than this.

Joan and Harry Samet
Greensboro

I do believe that communication needs to be improved between "sides" at an event like the demonstration on Jan. 31. I also believe that communication needs to be improved with the public afterwards concerning what truly happened and concerning who the parties involved actually are, all without bias. The latter seems to be hardly the usual case.

People tend to believe what the police tell them automatically because the police are supposed to be on our side, but as the general Greensboro population is finding out lately, the police cannot always be confided in. If people who were reading this were treated by police the same way Kenneth Harris was treated, they would realize that we are not only having a communication breakdown, but we are being served and protected by human beings who are authorized to do just about anything without question. I can only imagine what the police don't tell the public; remember, we can't know everything.
I understand that the Police Department is allowed to make mistakes, but they must be treated seriously concerning the power they have been granted over us.

Will Ridenour
Greensboro

Your new classified ad format stinks. It is very hard to find anything in an orderly way. The old system worked beautifully and efficiently. Why, oh why, did you have to go and change it?

Please tell me where to find the old 519 section which listed estate and tag sales. Is it still in the paper? Does the public have any input on these types of decisions?

Joyce Spoon
Asheboro

I would like to thank several splendid people from the UNCG community who helped my family in time of need. They are true heroes. My mom is an alert, athletic 81-year-old who enjoys walking through the UNCG campus for exercise and recreation. Unfortunately, on Jan. 27 she tripped over the curb near Moore and sustained nasty gashes to her eyebrow and cheek, and she broke her arm. Amidst the busy comings and goings of the daily crowd, Good Samaritans took time to stop and help a dear soul in need.

Brett Bost, a UNCG employee, aided immensely by calling for aid via walkie-talkie. He was calm, friendly and reassuring. Two wonderful nursing students, Brittany Cure and Savannah Bucanan, provided professional attention that was heartwarming and inspiring. Kind, caring and knowledgeable, they assisted my mom with skill and great humanity.

Also, thanks to Officer J.C. Burfeind and UNCG med nurses Tracy Schlosser and Sharon Whitfield for their top-notch expertise, friendliness and super handling of my mom's delicate condition.

Timm Perry
Greensboro

"Ugly protest" is your editorial's characterization of the anti-Bush march Jan. 31. I was there for the entire event, and that description is largely incorrect. The first hour was a rousing political event for 150 high schoolers, college kids and a scattering of their parents. Mazie Ferguson gave the Bush administration a dressing down the likes of which many youngsters present had never heard. It was heartening to see many Grimsley students take to the street and feel real political energy for the first time. During the march, the police were respectful. We passed maybe 10 cars during the march. A few had to wait an extra cycle of the traffic light while we crossed, hardly "blocking traffic and causing detours." If the police had asked us to return to the sidewalk, we would have, but they knew it was unnecessary.

The incident at the end of the march was unfortunate. License plates are not private information, and it was ill-advised to get into it with a plainclothes policeman over that. But after all that has happened with Chief Wray, will the department continue videotaping license plates? Does the potential utility of this crude data outweigh the suspicion it creates by sending a plainclothes officer to gather it?

Michael Frierson
Greensboro

In your Feb. 2 editorial, you stated, "The government must provide for the medical and retirement well-being of its citizens." Two questions come to mind.

Why? Is it because Americans have become incompetent in doing for themselves? Must we have an all-powerful Big Brother government providing "cradle-to-grave" security with wasted tax money and layers of bureaucracy?

And where do you find the justification for making such a statement? It is not in the U.S. Constitution, nor in the N.C. Constitution. It is not in the philosophy of republican ideology our Founding Fathers chose in governing this great nation.

Marxist socialism fails wherever it is utilized. It destroys the work ethic. In the end, government intervention in medical insurance serves only to drive the costs up. Our government hardly resembles the original intentions of the founders. Although the problems began with FDR and exploded with LBJ, both parties have spent far more than the Constitution allows creating a national debt that mortgages future generations.

The question is will our country go down the drain in socialist oligarchy, or rise again with principles based on our heritage of constitutional republicanism?

Derrick G. Hinson
Walkertown

Last week, thousands, led by President Bush and former President Clinton, paid their respects to the "first lady of the civil rights movement," Coretta Scott King.

Coretta Scott King was much more than a devoted wife and partner of the celebrated civil rights leader. She spoke throughout the globe for peace and nonviolence, racial and economic justice, minority rights, religious freedom, housing and educational opportunities, nuclear disarmament and ecological sanity.

Coretta Scott King was also a vegan, who eschewed all products of animal suffering, including meat, dairy, eggs, and leather. Her strong belief in peace and nonviolence extended to the violence perpetrated against billions of innocent, sentient animals in America's factory farms and slaughterhouses. Her passion for justice extended to the animals abused and killed for food, fur, research, and entertainment.

Coretta Scott King truly practiced what she preached. And for that, I salute her.

Allen Freburg
Greensboro

I was reading a book about George S. Patton, "A Genius for War," by Carlo D'Este, when I came across a sentence that might explain terror tactics being used against the civilian population in the Arab world and other worlds.

Patton studied every book that he could written by generals and leaders before him that had fought wars. One sentence that stood out to him was a quote from an Arab proverb that said, "The number of people you kill in a war does not win the war, it is the people you frighten that wins the war."

This is not a perfect quote from the book, but you get the meaning of it.

Ken Sawyer
High Point

I am a member with Boy Scout Troop 924 in Siler City. I have had lots of opportunities to go places and do things. I have made new friends and learned lots. The people of Siler City and the area have been very supportive.

A few months ago, the troop was involved in an accident when we were going on a camp-out to Stone Mountain. In my group, we had nine boys and three leaders. No one was hurt but our trailer was ruined. We were sure that the trailer would be fixed since the accident was not our fault. We were wrong.

The person who hit us will not pay what is needed to fix our trailer. Our annual fund-raiser is next month and it looks like we will have to buy our own new trailer. I do not like that at all. I thought when someone did something wrong, it was their responsibility to fix it. As Scouts, that's what we are taught. If adults can't follow the rules, how do they expect children to do so?

Lane Martindale
Siler City

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Delbert Cranford

I am a pharmacist and pharmacy owner in southern Davidson County. After reading Medicare Region IV Director Chris Downing's Counterpoint, "Medicare working on drug glitches" (Jan. 31), I decided the real truth about how Medicare and the insurance companies are handling Medicare Part D needs to be told. So far, Medicare Part D has been a disaster. Medicare and the insurance companies who administer it have had two years to get this plan in place, but pharmacists still can't get information to process Medicare claims.

Both Medicare and Medicaid offices were closed the first two days the program was in effect. They closed Jan. 1 and 2 for the New Year's holiday.

Downing wrote that back-up information systems are available online or on a toll-free telephone line. That is a joke. After waiting on hold for two hours, you learn that all representatives are busy and to call back. If you ever do get a person on the phone, Medicare tells you it's an insurance company problem. The insurance company says it is waiting on the Medicare clearinghouse to update the system. Having experienced how the system really operates, I can't believe Medicare is really concerned about individuals as Downing stated.

Downing said pharmacists can fill prescriptions through a default system if problems cannot be resolved. The only default plan that works for me is to give the patient the medication and hope that in the future I might get reimbursed by Medicare or insurance. We do this because we're concerned about the patient's health. My experience with insurance companies and Medicare leads me to believe we probably won't get paid.

Medicare Part D is too complicated. Neither recipients nor providers understand it. I don't think legislators understand what a monster they created. It could have been simple if Congress had adopted a debit card instead of allowing insurance companies to formulate the plan. Retail pharmacists tried to tell Congress, but they listened to the insurance companies which came up with this plan.

With a debit card, the patient could go wherever he wants and buy what he needs. There would be more money for patients because $22 billion wouldn't be going to insurance companies to administer the program. A limit could be placed on the card to prevent overspending. Retail competition would keep prices in line.

I hope that Medicare Part D will succeed, but it needs to be revamped entirely. The plan is an unnecessary drain on the patient and the taxpayers.

The writer lives in Denton.

Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Inc., came to North Carolina asking for land, incentives and perks for Dell's executives, and North Carolina responded. In turn, Dell brought a very large, profit-producing manufacturing facility and with it jobs to the Piedmont area. This project is of mutual benefit to Dell and to North Carolina.

I wish to make a proposal that will produce similar mutual benefits.

The Greensboro PGA golf tournament, one of the oldest in the country, will be part of the FedEx Cup championship series beginning in August 2007. This tournament will be in a key position in a new, exciting point system similar to the NASCAR point race, ending in the Golf Championship in September.

DaimlerChrysler Corp. decided in late January it could no longer sponsor the Greensboro tournament after 2006.

With a new format, a strategic date and a chance to become a significant partner in the Piedmont where Dell already has a large vested interest, this is a golden sponsorship opportunity. Not only would this partnership put forth the Dell name and products in a televised national or international format but it would demonstrate Dell's true corporate involvement in the Triad.

Daniel L. McMillin
Greensboro

For all you guys out there, it's getting close to Valentine's Day. You are probably wondering what to get that special someone.

For girls, flowers just won't cut it. Something from your heart and not in a book would be nice.

Experiencing difficulties with your wife or girlfriend? Tell her how you really feel. If you know she is the one for you, then what's all the fighting and fussing about? As long as you love her and want to spend the rest of your life with her, everything's all right. Just being around her, hand in hand, is the only thing she wants.

If you guys are smart, listen to me. By the way, for all you single men out there, meet someone new. I'm not saying she will appear overnight, but get out and don't be shy. You don't have to have love to be happy.

Amanda Kelly
McLeansville

I agree with President George W. Bush's decision to cease all relations with the Palestinians after the recent election of Hamas.

The U.S. military is already involved in conflicts with two countries overseas, Iraq and Afghanistan. Hamas has proven its brutal tactics by authorizing suicide attacks on Israel in recent years. More controversy will arise with Hamas currently in office. With the United States' war-driven government, involvement could provoke another dispute on foreign soil.

I believe that President Bush has made numerous mistakes throughout his terms, but prohibiting further connections with Palestinians was an intelligent decision. Our country's morale is minimal, and another feud overseas with a country that does not put the United States in danger would be a waste of time and resources.

Taking all the information and details surrounding the Palestinian government into consideration, I feel that it would be best for the United States and our government to stay out of other countries' affairs.

William Bret Elkins
Liberty

In defense of David Wray, I think Mitch Johnson jumped the gun in acting the way he did. Having known David's father for many years, I know David was from a good family. His expertise in law enforcement was well defined. He was, in fact, well qualified to be chief of police.

I believe David acted as he should have based on the facts he was dealing with. Police work begins with reports from different areas. Lt. James Hinson was suspected of breaking the rules in some way. The others in the so-called black book likewise might have had problems. The job David had dictated him was to investigate all allegations.

Mitch Johnson humiliated David, and, to me, this shows what he does not know. I hope all the facts will vindicate David. The City Council should not prejudge and convict until all is known.

B.E. Cheek
Greensboro

I am writing you a letter because I am concerned that female athletes aren't treated the same as male athletes.

When most people think of football, they would never dream that a female would play football. Just imagine a female playing high school football. Most male coaches would not allow females to play football. They would think, "Oh, well, you're a female and you would probably get hurt trying to play with our boys. Why don't you go shopping and do something you can do?"

I attend Guilford Day School and play varsity soccer with an all-boys team. I am underestimated. Most guys on other teams think when they see me on an all-boys team, "She can't play and I'm going to hit on her." No, that's not OK.

The point is that any female could be just as good as any male in any sport with the right training and experience.

Jenny Gossage
Summerfield

On Jan. 31, I was a part of a peaceful protest in downtown Greensboro organized by World Can't Wait. This gathering of a couple of hundred people consisted of students, baby boomers, parents, children, anarchists, senior citizens, etc., and we all shared a common goal.

Under our First Amendment rights, we chose to actively protest against a regime that is stripping away our constitutional rights and violating our civil liberties. The irony of this night was that the very thing we were demonstrating against took place: cops using surveillance techniques that included photographing the license tags of those persons participating in a peaceful protest.

Sadly, the presence of these "spying" cops escalated a most memorable night into chaos and many untruths.

We must remember the quote of Dr. Martin Luther King: "Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."

We as a nation cannot afford to accept the actions this administration is implementing and has implemented as "legal."

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter," King said.

Too much is at risk. Can you afford to be silent?

Tina Mercado
Reidsville

The op-ed from the John Locke Foundation (Feb. 5) raised points regarding global warming that should not go unchallenged.

The first was the perpetuation of the myth that the reality of global warming is in doubt. There is global consensus among scientists about its reality; the debate is about the extent.

Second, the foundation turns to Thomas Wigley's 1998 article to say there would be little difference whether the Kyoto Treaty was implemented or not. But in 2005, Wigley wrote that if greenhouse gas emissions were held at 2000 levels, sea-level rise could range from four to 11 inches in the next century. This, he says, is the least change people can expect. This puts a good part of the world underwater. Forget the Outer Banks.

Third, the foundation suggests that North Carolina should not do anything since it would not have much effect.

Following that reasoning, you and I should not recycle, either, since landfills will continue to be exhausted regardless.

Since the United States contributes one-fourth of the world's greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, yet the Bush administration is unprepared to address global warming seriously, it is to North Carolina's credit that we are seeking to be more responsible stewards of God's creation.

Leon Spencer
Greensboro

The recent federal budget reconciliation bill that passed Congress will negatively impact many children and seniors in Guilford County. Cutting Medicaid health benefits to children, raising costs for Medicare recipients by increased cost-sharing and reducing payments for physicians and hospitals will do great harm.

The Bush administration's callous attitude is that "it's not enough to matter." This administration and Republican Congress are putting the squeeze on lower- and middle-income children and adults at a time when congressional pork spending is scandalous.

I've known Rep. Howard Coble a long time and generally think of him as an honorable man. His vote for the federal budget reconciliation legislation was not honorable. As a former educator, I expected him to care more about poor children in his district. Unfortunately, he has agreed to further disenfranchise them from needed medical care. It appears his political affiliation was more important than his integrity.

Katherine P. Hux
Greensboro

I am stunned as I watch members of the Bush administration sit before Congress and justify a domestic spying policy that is clearly illegal by saying, "It's OK -- look how many lives we saved by doing it."

Have we become so hysterical about terrorism that we actually buy this? Is it not true that any police force in America could begin random searches of citizens' homes (without warrants, of course) and discover any number of illegal activities and controlled substances? Who knows, maybe they'd even catch some wanted criminals.

But would those searches hold up in a court of law just because the police chief said, "Hey, look how many crimes we prevented by doing it"? Of course not, and rightfully so.

We have an administration standing before us, claiming that, because of something that happened four years ago, it now has the right to operate completely outside of the laws of the United States. Now that's something to be scared about.

Jeff McEntire
Kernersville

Jimmy Carter has become a national embarrassment and gets worse every time he opens his mouth. He needs to stop campaigning for his failed presidency and stop acting as if he could handle the present pressures faced by the president.

To take a swipe at President Bush at Coretta Scott King's funeral simply crosses the line: "It was difficult for them (the Kings) with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps," Carter said.

Carter apparently doesn't realize that such wiretaps, ordered by J. Edgar Hoover, occurred under the Kennedy and Johnson Democratic administrations.

Bush is fighting terrorists who wish to destroy New York, Atlanta and everything in between. His efforts are to defend America. Hoover's efforts were to subdue individuals and add to his power base.
Someone needs to put a muzzle on Carter, seriously.

Jeff Davidson
Chapel Hill

The following is a Counterpoint:

By Eddie Bridges

Three cheers, and more, to Dr. T.S. Redding III for his response to Michael Skube's column, "Hunters fade from landscape" (Jan. 22).

Hunters may not be fading from the landscape as quickly as Skube thinks or hopes. His column has a very loud tone of anti-hunting sentiment, and there was no mention of all the positive things hunters and fishermen provide for North Carolina.

When lifetime licenses and the N.C. Wildlife Endowment Fund were created 25 years ago, only 58,000 people were buying the N.C. Sportsman license. Today, more than 125,000 lifetime licenses have been sold, and sales continue at the rate of about 400 per month. The endowment, which holds the money generated from these sales, has now received almost $100 million, and the interest from this fund provides supplemental income for N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission programs.

All of this support comes from hunters and fishermen. The annual interest from the endowment fund is about $3 million, and even though hundreds of those who purchased the lifetime licenses are now deceased, their investment continues to generate funds for future generations and will do so perpetually.

When lifetime licenses were created, the NCWRC budget was just over $10 million. Now the budget is more than $50 million. Because of the endowment, the agency has surplus money.

North Carolina sportsmen are now spending almost $1 billion annually, a big plus for our state's economy. Our dollars generate $103 million in state and federal tax revenues and have a $1.8 billion multiplier effect on the U.S. economy.

No, Mr. Skube, we are not about to fade away, and I doubt that your criticism of our sport will win any awards.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Amazing disgrace. That is exactly what the Bush-haters, disguised as eulogizers, displayed at Coretta Scott King's funeral. How disgusting that these opportunists and even former presidents would take the opportunity to take this public swipe at the administration.

Apparently, the Democrats failed to learn their lesson from the obnoxiously similar display at the Paul Wellstone memorial service. Their audacity is only topped by the gathered assembly jeering and booing dignitaries who were there to pay tribute, like Trent Lott. It was no accident that race-baiters like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Harry Belafonte and "Calypso Louis" Farrakhan were kept from the pulpit. The bulk of black leadership and the NAALCP (National Association for the Advancement of liberal Colored People) could not be further from the ideals that Martin Luther King advocated.

Why not have champions of their race held up as examples of those aforementioned ideals? Justice Clarence Thomas? Condoleezza Rice? Colin Powell? Professor Walter Williams?

The answer can be drawn from Martin Luther King's own words. They are judged not "…by the color of their skin" but by the depth of their conservatism.

Tim Walden
Greensboro

In a recent edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, someone had written a blog regarding who had the best speech at Coretta Scott King's funeral. How insensitive a society we have become when the only thing that we can be concerned about is who gave the best speech.

Coretta Scott King was a woman of dignity and class, and the majority of the comments made totally disrespected her and the cause that she help lead. I watched her funeral turn into a political platform for selfish politicians to voice their opinions. There is a time and place to voice concerns, and her funeral was not the location.

For those who chose to partake in a moment of history, please don't walk away as selfishly as those individuals did with their own agendas. Let's remember the dream and continue to strive to attain it.

Kenisha Curtis
Greensboro

On behalf of the extended family of Cpl. Felipe Barbosa, I would like to publicly thank and commend the U.S. Marines under the command of Maj. Desmond Reid for the outstanding service and wonderful compassion exhibited by them before, during and after funeral services for Cpl. Barbosa. These men are true professionals who deserve all of our thanks for their outstanding military bearing and their devotion to their duty.

As a former Marine, I was especially proud to see the honor guard that received Cpl. Barbosa's remains at the airport as they stood ramrod stiff and performed their duties in a driving rain. You made me proud again to be a Marine.

Also, our thanks to PTI Airport Communications Director James Carter, himself a retired Marine, and his excellent staff for the courtesy shown to the family.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Cpl. Barbosa's widow, Christina, who despite her grief and the fact that I had only known her a short time, attended the funeral of my own mother only two days after burying her husband. This selfless act shows the type of character she possesses, and I'm sure her husband would have been very proud of her.

Randy Dunbar
Greensboro

As I was reading the newspapers these past two weeks, I couldn't help but notice the various articles on the recent police scandal that has been going on. I think it is so unfair to the taxpayers to not release all of the information regarding this entire situation. We need to be fully informed on all details, which will allow us to form our own opinions on this matter.

I urge the City Council, the mayor and the city manager to reconsider their decision not to put all of the facts out there. I hope the citizens of Greensboro will stand with me in requesting that all information be released for the sake of our community.

Ray Miller
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Larry Ray, M.D.

In an article ("Drug makers will see windfall," Feb. 3), Knight Ridder reporter Tony Pugh cited a Prudential Equity Group report projecting that pharmaceutical manufacturers of frequently prescribed psychiatric medications will profit from new Medicare prescription drug plans at the expense of a vulnerable population of America's elderly and poor consumers and taxpayers.

The article presented conflicting arguments from Medicare administrator Mark McClellan, in testimony before the Senate, that the Medicare plans are costing less than anticipated, requiring lower premiums, and competitively discounting prices and offering rebates to beneficiaries and taxpayers.

McClellan acknowledged the complexity of the program and indicated that there may be an extension of the May 15 enrollment deadline.

Consumers could find themselves caught in the middle of this controversy. What should they believe about Medicare D? What can they do to help themselves?

The Guilford Center has taken several steps to assure that its consumers of public mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services are informed and able to make wise choices about their drug plans:

• Specialized brochures and other educational publications are available in the lobbies of the Bellemeade Center facility in Greensboro and the High Point Center.

• Staff members have been trained in Medicare Part D so they can understand the program and can recognize when certain consumers need help in evaluating their options.

• Two full-time employees have been assigned as consumer educators — one at the Bellemeade facility and one at High Point — to guide our consumers through the entire process, including assisting them with completion of their applications.

As it currently stands, the deadline is May 15 to enroll in a prescription drug program. It is imperative that all consumers make informed choices, particularly those who utilize our public mental health system.

The writer is medical director, The Guilford Center.

With all the distrust due to secret meetings that spawned the High Point Choice Plan, I was not surprised by the article on Feb. 10 in regard to the High Point City Council and Guilford County Schools Superintendent Terry Grier holding two meetings without public notification.

As a citizen of north High Point, I have learned over the last two years that I can have little faith in High Point officials and school board members listening to the concerns of their constituents. It is clear that their view of High Point is the only one that matters, and they will continue to have our schools treated differently from those in the rest of the county.

As for Dr. Grier, who said in the article that if these were Guilford County Schools meetings he would have informed the public, I have one question: If you felt the public should have been invited to discussions on a topic this important, why did you attend them anyway? Answer: That is how things get done in High Point.

To the board members in Greensboro who ended the Choice Plan, I make one final plea to stop this insanity.

You have enough votes to end the redistricting and focus on fixing the problems in the schools via hard work, not shuffling students.

Jeff Peeler
High Point

Two evenings spent at the Junior Miss Pageant recently proved to be disappointing because it was not only poorly run, but full of mistakes by people running the show.

The critical mistakes were reasons several girls did not finish well in certain categories of the competition.

One would think that, after a week of practice, the stage and sound crew would have gotten the hang of things by the end of the week. Don't think so. The music was so loud during the talent that you could not hear the girls performing, and during the segment of self-expression one of the contestants could not even think or be heard because the person in charge of the sound forgot to lower the volume, therefore taking the hopes and dreams away from someone who worked so hard. The judges were unqualified and very unimpressive.

Get it together, Jaycees. These girls work too hard to get to the state level only to be disappointed by a pageant run so poorly.

Barbee Edge
High Point

I attended the drown-out-Bush protest, and it was not "ugly." In fact, during the march, there was a certain rapport between the marchers and the police. We were grateful to them that they allowed us to spill into the streets, and it seemed like they appreciated us exercising our rights, and in such a peaceful manner. There was very little traffic that needed redirecting, and the few cars that passed gave us thumbs up, smiles and peace signs.

The altercation that occurred afterward might have been prevented if the unidentified person videotaping our cars had identified himself and had not pulled out a gun. I spoke to one policeman and said "there is no need for this. We should not be on opposite sides." He agreed with me.

If your reporter had not left before the march began, you might have written a much better and more accurate editorial.

Arden N. Kirkman
Greensboro

Regarding Hank Powell's letter, "Mammas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys": absolutely hysterical.

A few weeks ago, I went to the movies with my parents to see "The Family Stone," a nice, safe dysfunctional family movie. We were the only people in the theater. Meanwhile, the ticket line was out the door and around the building. I was so surprised to see all of the middle-aged straight people buying tickets to "Brokeback Mountain"; it was practically sold out.

Considering the homophobic/ Bible-beating culture that Greensboro prides itself on, I found this phenomenon particularly fascinating. Perhaps the closet isn't just for gay people anymore.

Debra Getty
Greensboro

In North Carolina, children can languish in foster care for years. They are suspended in midair and often cannot land safely back into a permanent home. According to the North Carolina Adoption and Foster Care Network, 10,112 children live in foster homes. Several hundred of these children are free to be adopted but continue to live in foster homes.

Foster homes are temporary homes for children who cannot live with their legal caretakers because of substantiated abuse or neglect. These children live in foster homes until they can be returned to their legal caretakers or adoptive homes are found.

An increasing problem for children placed in North Carolina's foster homes is their length of stay.

In 2003, 53 percent of children in foster homes remained after one year of placement. In 2004, the percentage increased to 55 percent and in 2005 to 60 percent.

All children have a right to a safe and permanent home. More than half of the children living in North Carolina's foster homes are having their rights denied.

Ivy Dey-Johnson
Greensboro

Isn't it time the cable companies pay attention to what the general public really wants -- pay-by-channel TV? Why should we pay for 40 or 50 channels we never look at because they are so gross, violent or stupid in order to be able to receive the important weather, news or educational channels?

Let those who choose violence, insanity and erotica pay for it. Most of us resent having to subsidize such.

Pay-by-channel is the ideal way to monitor what comes into your home. Please pursue this public-service concern and promote better information choices for the public.

Mary Speidel
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Shirley McCreedy

As a teacher, I applaud Arch Aitcheson's remarks (Counterpoint, Feb. 4). The testing programs in public schools have indeed not "fixed the problem," but instead have negatively impacted the educational process for students. Teaching to the test is not educationally sound. The public wants improvement, and politicians and administrators respond by instituting programs that mask problems rather than solve them.

For example, bringing students from high-performing schools into lower-performing schools merely shows improvement in the average test scores. Teachers are largely held responsible for poor scores, but the reality is far more complex. Faculties at schools whose majority of students are academically and/or socioeconomically needy confront overwhelming challenges every day. Too often, classroom management takes more time than actual teaching. Some ideas for improvement:

North Carolina has taken a progressive step toward strengthening democracy and reducing the influence of big money on politics by enacting the nation's first "Clean Elections" public financing program for judicial candidates. This is a good beginning. Public financing of elections strengthens democracy because it helps counteract the corrupt "pay-to-play" politics that have become the norm in America. But in order to work, it requires public participation.

Taxpayers need to find the check-off question about the Public Campaign Fund on their N.C. income tax form and select "yes." The check-off doesn't cost anything. It won't change our tax bills or refunds; it will just ensure that $3 of the taxes we have to pay anyway will go to the Public Campaign Fund. Taxpayers should find the check-off on their tax return and say "Yes" to the Public Campaign Fund and "Yes" to clean elections in North Carolina. For more information, call 1-888-OUR-VOTE.

Laurie Gengenbach
Julian

It is absolutely incredible that three of our nation's most innovative companies are complicit in the silencing of dissident voices in China. Yahoo, Microsoft and Google have shown themselves to be completely willing to put their greed for the almighty dollar over all the principles upon which they claim to base their mission, not to speak of the very core values upon which their home nation is built.

And they are not alone. Some of this country's most important defense contractors who design and manufacture the critical intelligence and hardware to defend this country are falling all over themselves to give the communist Chinese the technology they seek to eventually dominate Asia and perhaps the world. China is rapidly gaining the leverage it needs to cripple our economy: stealing our industries (textiles, steel, furniture, cars, etc.); buying control of our companies; investing heavily in our Treasury obligations; and diligently lining up control of oil in all parts of the world.

Those who remember Khruschev telling Nixon that the Soviet Union would "bury" the United States can perhaps feel déjà vu, but this time our own greed may indeed bury us. I hope I'm not around to see it.

Tom McClure
Greensboro

I enjoyed reading Justin Conrad's letter (Feb. 1) concerning the health benefits of eating seafood. If you love seafood the way I do and have eaten it as long as I have, and a big portion of that at Libby Hill Seafood, then it's gratifying to know we don't have to worry much about the mercury level doing us that much harm.

I can see why Conrad wrote the letter because, after all, his business is seafood, which I have thoroughly enjoyed over the years. I would love to continue that relationship, but I don't care to mix the pleasing aroma and taste of seafood with stale, secondhand cigarette smoke.

As he stated in his letter, eating less seafood could lead to higher instances of heart attack and stroke, and that may be true. He also stated that seafood should remain a vital part of a healthy lifestyle, but just think how much better we could enjoy that lifestyle in a smoke-free restaurant.

L.G. Rumley
Greensboro

The studies published this week indicating that a low-fat diet has negligible effect on the risk of chronic diseases validate what leading health authorities have been saying for the past decade: It's not just fat -- it's the saturated fat in meat, eggs and dairy products. The studies found that those women who cut down on saturated fat had a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and colon cancer. A wealth of other studies over the past three decades confirms that consumption of saturated fats raises substantially the risk of contracting these diseases.

The "all-fat-is-bad" crusade probably dates back to the U.S. Senate's 1977 "Dietary Goals for the United States," which originally recommended that Americans reduce their meat consumption. The outraged meat industry forced the Senate to recommend reduced fat consumption instead.

Consumers who find the message of health authorities confusing have been listening to the wrong messenger. The national nutritional consensus, supported by the 2005 "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" and leading health advocacy organizations, has been simple, direct and unwavering: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, unsaturated fats -- good; saturated fats and cholesterol (present only in animal products), trans fats, sugar, salt -- bad.

Glenn Gustafson
Greensboro

I fell in love with the Ringling Brothers Rambling Money Machine the first time I took my wife and 4-year-old daughter. Ever since, we have gone every chance we could get.

The prices you pay at the coliseum are always ridiculously high, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back. (Oh, that's right. The circus didn't have camels this time.)

Here is my personal review of the show that I took my 11-year-old daughter to:

Two tickets purchased online: $64.00.

Parking: $7.

One clown head with flavored ice, one scorched popcorn and a water: $16.

A circus with one ring and no tigers: worthless.

Ronald Wright
Reidsville

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Jimmy Holtzman

I was appalled by Roy Cordato's piece, "North Carolina can't expect to change world climate" (Ideas, Feb. 5), in which he took the position that global climate change is inevitable and that we must halt these futile efforts to reverse the impact human behavior has had on our planet. He cites a study done in 1998 by Thomas Wigley, which calculated the impact of the Kyoto Protocol to be one-eighth of a degree in 50 years and one-fourth of a degree over 100 years.

He fails to mention that study was based on the assumption that no further steps would be taken beyond the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions, an important distinction as the KP was designed to be the first in a series of steps to control global emissions. Cordato then uses another ruse by claiming this fractional temperature change would be insignificant, even "undetectable." This glosses over the fact that this temperature measurement is an average global temperature, something which scientists have found to have shifted upwards by approximately 3 degrees over the past century, constituting global climate change.

His argument that the cost of even attempting to curtail our emissions is economically destructive seems a lot of folly, considering the dramatic increase in the number and strength of hurricanes that ravage our coast. Or to those located in upstate New York, for whom increased water temperatures in the Great Lakes mean extra weeks and feet of lake-effect snow. Ask the fishermen off the coast of California how well global climate change is affecting them economically.

It is true that the state of North Carolina cannot solve the problem by reducing emissions. Even eliminating state emissions could not alone reduce the human impact on our planet significantly, but it would seem far more noble to try to be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem.

To decide that we have in fact scarred our planet irreversibly, but that the best thing to do is "learn to live with it" rather than to take steps to correct it, is poor policy indeed. It is high time our lawmakers were able to get the best available scientific research from independent, peer-reviewed representatives of science rather than from liberally or conservatively funded "policy think tanks" in order to make their decisions.

The writer lives in Jamestown.

Your recent editorial recommending a shorter delay in rehiring retired educators was right on the mark.

Retired educators have wonderful skills and are passionate about helping our children. These are qualities in great demand due to the national and state shortage of strong applicants in a competitive market where the demand far exceeds the supply. There is also a financial advantage for hiring retirees. The district does not have to pay for their health insurance, local benefits like dental insurance and retirement benefits.

Caught in today's dilemma of coping with higher accountability standards with fewer highly qualified and experienced educators, it seems to me that hiring retired educators is a "no-brainer" option. Therefore, one has to wonder why Guilford County Schools has a policy allowing for the hiring of retired educators only in "extenuating circumstances."

This short-sighted policy is being used to end the part-time employment of several excellent retired school psychologists at the end of this school year. They are being pushed out even though the district is struggling to find experienced and outstanding applicants to fill vacant school psychologist positions. It is time for Guilford County Schools to change its policy and recruit retired educators.

Mike Booher
Greensboro

I feel that your editorial, "Deep divisions sour Bush's hopeful tone" (Feb. 2), was right on the mark. I have not seen a political leader from either party who seems capable of repairing the deep divisions that hamper our efforts both as a nation and a people to work cooperatively.

Issues that are best resolved in a religious context have been dragged into the political arena without possibility for sensible resolution, while problems that strong governments should address go begging for solutions.

I think that it would be wonderful if, for every rant from a politician, there would be a requirement to put forth a reasoned solution to an issue. Most of the American people would develop a healthier view toward politics and become more hopeful about America's future. Until then, we will continue to elect leaders who work only toward imposing their personal agendas or those of the special interests that seem to control them.

The best thing we can do as citizens is not to fall into the same trap. Maybe we can set the example by working together, and send them the message that it's time for a change.

Tim Browder
Winston-Salem

The difference between Will South ("I have never done such an extensive research paper with so little research material" (It's Been Said, Feb. 13), who even so wrote an elegant, thoughtful, informative and entertaining essay on Gregory D. Ivey, the founder of UNCG's Art Department, and James Frey, who foisted a made-up memoir on his unsuspecting reading public, is that Mr. South is a good writer.

Mark D. Gottsegen
Climax

I don't think it is fair that colleges base their acceptances so much on SAT scores.

It isn't fair, because standardized testing is hard for some people, but that doesn't mean they aren't capable of being a successful college student. I think colleges should look at past report cards and see if a student is serious about school. A person's report card would show if he were a hard worker and applied himself day-in and day-out.

Surely my hard-earned four years in high school count for more than how well I can take one test on one given day.

Alexander Parker
Greensboro

The current revelations involving the possibly illegal campaign activities of House Speaker Jim Black — and also his apparent quid pro quo with the optometrists' political action committee after running through a bill void of any debate on the House and Senate floors regarding sufficient evidence that expensive state-mandated eye exams (paid for by parents of children entering kindergarten) — argue for appropriate corrective measures by ethical legislators.

They should force Speaker Black to repeal this unnecessary boondoggle of a bill. May the lessons of impropriety be learned and the House cleaned up.

James Murray
Winston-Salem

"Children have a right to meals and health care." "All children have a right to receive a 12th-grade education."

The above two quotes from previous editorials are not true. Those privileges are earned.

All children, however, do have the right to be provided the opportunity for a 12th-grade education. The "receiving" part is up to them and their behavior.

"They should" is another quote that is troubling. "We should" is more encouraging, and "I will" is what helped make this country and defines leadership.

Alert youngsters obey the rules, do their best and then follow the best leader who said, "I will." Then maybe "they will" be their best —for life.

Frank Freeman
Greensboro

The Rhinoceros Times' decision this week to reprint Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed was wrongheaded and offensive not only to our Muslim neighbors in Greensboro, but to all people who value interreligious harmony.

Anyone who wanted to see what the cartoons actually looked like could easily have found them on the Web. Knowing how offensive Muslims around the world have found these cartoons to be over the past few months, their publication here in Greensboro is insensitive and needlessly insulting.

By publishing these cartoons, the Rhino Times is neither neighborly nor newsworthy. As Americans, we uphold our rights of expression and free speech, but also our obligations for sensitivity and human dignity for others.

As religious people, we strive for increased understanding and respect among all people.

Such respect is not advanced by gratuitous anti-Christian, anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim cartoons, writing or speech.

Rabbi Eliezer Havivi
Rabbi Fred Guttman
Greensboro

Rabbi Havivi is with Beth David Synagogue; Rabbi Guttman, Temple Emanuel.

I refer you to Jon Mark Jackson's letter, "Rename Market Street for King" (Feb. 9). Why not save a lot of time, bickering and writing and go ahead and rename Washington, D.C., as it properly should be - King, D.C.?

Wayne West
Greensboro

I could not help but offer my comments after reading opinions by Leonard Pitts and Molly Ivins on the same page (Feb. 11, News & Record).

Pitts, much to my consternation, actually said something I agree with. He was questioning whether the Muslims responsible for the recent spate of rioting, in response to a cartoon depicting Muhammad in a comical light, actually were aware of how they were strengthening the stereotypes of how much of the world views Islam and its fanatical followers. He says, "And you wonder: Are they so far removed from the realities of the world the rest of us occupy that they don't see the damage they're doing their faith, their people, themselves?"

Molly Ivins was on one of her typical rants wherein she once again shows her ultra-liberal colors by castigating anything associated with the Republican Party or President Bush.

If you substituted the word "party" for "faith" in Pitts' statement, you might draw a very strong correlation between how the liberals view themselves as opposed to the world the rest of us live in.

Steve Gorden
Kernersville

Let's see if I have this correct. The vice president goes on a hunting trip. Someone on that trip is shot, flown to a hospital and placed in intensive care, and the "media" wants to know why they weren't told about it for 18 hours?

Just exactly where was "the media"? We saw pictures of Britney Spears with her baby on her lap a couple hours after that incident. We saw images of Cindy Sheehan and friends shouting at a limo outside of President Bush's ranch in mere minutes after that one.

But, someone gets shot at a ranch where the vice president is and there's no coverage? Seems to me "the media" got caught with its pants down and now tries to place the blame anywhere except where it belongs, with itself.

Jim Sartwell
Liberty

Would an apologist for the oil companies please help me with a disturbing observation? The observation: If oil futures rise, the prices at the pump go up the same day. If oil futures fall, prices at the pump may come down in a week or so.

My contention is this: Gasoline in the ground has a fixed cost associated with it. Why should I pay more for it because gasoline production costs may be higher in the future? Shouldn't the price of gasoline be determined by the cost of putting that gasoline in the ground and not by what the cost of future gasoline might be?

OK, oil industry apologist, it's your turn. I await your response with bated breath.

Cecil Carpenter
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Cecil Livengood

The Feb. 7 paper carried an article about local taxes and another one about state taxes. These two articles confirmed what I have known for many years - that the local and state governing bodies are displaying their ignorance when it comes to running an organization.

They think they have a bottomless money pit and all they have to do in order to fund their pet projects is raise taxes. Don't they realize that the area economy is not supportive of additional taxes each year?

Can you not learn to live within your means? If not, dispose of that white elephant on West Lee Street and save the taxpayers $3 million a year while you run rampant through the sale proceeds, which is exactly what you would do instead of using the proceeds to offset some of the taxes. Many citizens live within our means, so you should also.

I am among many citizens of this city, county and state who are senior citizens on fixed income. I retired in December 1989 with a good, but not excellent, pension.

In today's dollars, it's at the poverty level. The company keeps reducing health insurance benefits which eats up more of my pension.

Couple this with cancellation of my dental insurance, cancellation of my Medicare premiums reimbursement, and cancellation of a death benefit, all of which would cost me in excess of $500 per month to replace, and you can see how we seniors are losing out.

When one factors in the high cost of living, especially food and gasoline, the noose gets tighter. The piddling raise from Social Security was taken back to pay for Medicare, so that was of no use.

And now the spendthrifts in the local and state governments want another five pounds of flesh to satisfy their trillion-dollar appetites, when they don't know (or don't care) whether or not there are enough resources available to fund their wants.

So, taxpayers, revolt.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Concerning the issue of the two cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad that were recently published in The Rhinoceros Times, the Human Relations Commission would like to make the following statement:

In light of the anger and outrage we have seen in the Middle East and other countries resulting from the cartoons as well as keeping with our commission's mission of promoting mutual trust and respect, we find the publishing of these cartoons extremely distasteful and irresponsible.

We certainly believe in the principle of free speech, but exercising rights without responsibility is unacceptable.
We call upon all people of the city of Greensboro to join us in denouncing this insensitive act and reach out to the Muslim community to show our concern and support. The city has implemented many programs to bring about unity and trust throughout the community, which includes all the various religious congregations.

We encourage everyone to use this time to reaffirm their own values and beliefs in a caring respectful way to further improve the quality of life for the Greensboro residents.
Marsha Glazman
Greensboro

The writer is chairwoman of the Human Relations Commission.

The Triad must compete in the national and international marketplaces. Why is Guilford Technical Community College forcing its students to do so with one hand tied behind their backs? GTCC boasts otherwise excellent hospitality curricula, featuring a first-rate facility and outstanding instructors, but these programs are marred by a nonsensical no-alcohol policy.

Students in these programs face a serious gap in their educational aspirations due to GTCC's alcohol ban. Other North Carolina community colleges have whole curricula devoted to wine. GTCC, however, despite having the only culinary program in the state certified by the American Culinary Federation, offers absolutely nothing. Students may neither cook with wine nor taste it. The pairing of wine and food is a cornerstone of culinary education and one that all serious hospitality students must know.

If the Triad wishes to compete, it needs a world-class work force, not public institutions of higher learning that paint the area as a bush-league Bible-belt backwater.

With any luck, many of these graduates will remain in the area and continue to contribute to our quality of life and economic development. Unfortunately, if they wish a well-rounded education in hospitality, they will have to go elsewhere to complete it.

Bryan Chitwood
Greensboro

"Responsibility for public education belongs to the whole city," as stated in your editorial, "High Point leaders want role in schools" (Feb. 11), is eternally true. However, for one duly elected body to publicly meddle in the business of another duly elected body denies sovereignty and appears disrespectful.

If the City Council is to dictate to the Board of Education, should not the county commissioners dictate to the City Council?

Al Campbell
High Point

The way the city handled the canning of Chief David Wray smells like Buffalo Creek on a hot summer day. It stinks. It appears the Greensboro Police Department is up to old tricks.

First, a tactical squad photographed minorities and placed the photos in a black book. Now it appears pictures of citizens marching and license tags were taken and placed in a black computer.

Has our city manager ever heard the saying, "The buck stops here"? He should have known what was going on in his organization and nipped it in the bud. In my opinion, the department is out of control, and only Andy Taylor, Mr. Tibbs and Barney Fife can bring some sanity back to the GPD.

I look forward to a future News & Record for the next episode of the "Keystone Cops." What happened to the female who was groped?

D. Lell Smith
Greensboro

I was reading Robert Orr's motion as to why he filed to stop work on the lottery. He said it would cause "immediate and irreparable injury" to his clients and other citizens and taxpayers.

If you read between the lines, it sounds like his clients are the states that border North Carolina that would be hurt if the lottery does come to North Carolina.

Paul Moscato
Siler City

"Colleges stifle free speech" (Ideas, Feb. 12) by Allison Jaynes and Robert Sinnott is an unfortunate collection of distortions and untruths. Both students neglected to mention that, based on advice from me, Chancellor Sullivan had already directed a study of our Outdoor Assembly policy at least a week before the "protest" that the students claim sparked UNCG's actions.

The study was initiated because of a recent court ruling in Maryland that actually sustained the constitutionality of limited assembly areas for nonstudents but raised the question of whether our 1970s-era policy should also apply to students.

Jaynes and Sinnott also failed to mention that their "protest" occurred less than 200 feet from the designated area that exists in one of the most heavily trafficked areas of campus. Their failure to use that space was clearly a planned stunt, as Sinnott has been quoted as saying he wanted to provoke police into arresting him.

Similarly, Dr. Rosthal's assertion that our policy has been used to regulate the content of speech is absolutely baseless.

As a Naval Reserve officer and an officer of the court, I have always defended the right to free speech. But that right comes with a responsibility to be truthful.

Lucien "Skip" Capone III
Greensboro
The writer is university counsel.

After reading the article in the Feb. 12 paper regarding the dispute over Kay Bryan Edwards' estate, my only feelings are disgust with disgruntled spoiled brats angry over how their mother/grandmother saw fit to spend her money.

Perhaps they should all try living on what the average middle-class American lives on. Let's see if they're complaining then. My only solace is that they will spend most of their inheritance on legal fees. Guess money can't buy you good sense.

Lisa Hazlett
Greensboro

The Jan. 26 News & Record carried another article on David Wray. In the article, Mayor Holliday said, "I regret the public is not getting the whole picture. They have to be dependent on their representatives … to make sure everything is done properly. There's a trust factor involved."

How is the public supposed to trust our representatives when we have yet to receive the results of the SBI investigation on Project Homestead? How is the public supposed to trust elected officials who make no effort to deal with the almost million dollars that disappeared at St. James II? How can one trust our leaders after our City Council passes up the opportunity to hire an experienced city manager who would have brought another perspective to our city government and would not have ties to the existing city staff? How can the citizens trust our leaders when they make a decision to close a perfectly good landfill that will wind up costing an already overburdened taxpayer additional expense?

The people of Greensboro are entitled to accountability from their elected officials. Their track record leaves room for improvement.

Gary Wegner
Greensboro

It is perhaps the tone of the letters written in support of David Wray that gives the clearest view of current race relations in Greensboro. Most of the letters seem to imply that Wray is the victim of some liberal plot that protects blacks who are involved in wrongdoing.

All of them imply that Lt. James Hinson must have been guilty of something (probably drugs, because you know how "they" are). This implication seems to hold true even though Wray's secret force could find no evidence of wrongdoing after months of intense investigation.

Hinson and all 114 citizens pictured in the black book are the only victims. What is being done to them is the equivalent of saying that a rape victim "asked for it by wearing shorts." Until black men are given the same presumption of innocence that the Constitution gives all citizens, we will continue to have distrust between the races.

Keeping a "black book" of police and other black men implied that because of the color of their skin they must be guilty of a crime. If this is the case, we need a bigger book, because there are more than 114 citizens who are guilty of being black in Greensboro.

Jo Ann Lynn
Greensboro

Hank Powell's misguided assertion that Willie Nelson ("In Willie's own words," Feb. 9), was foreshadowing the subject matter of "Brokeback Mountain" in his popular song "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys," is quite amusing.

If Powell had actually seen the most honored film of the year, which he states he has no intention of doing, he would know that it's good ol' Willie's sweet voice that we hear singing "He was a Friend of Mine" as the credits roll.

Addison Ore
Greensboro

There could not have been two more disparate articles than those you featured, side by side, in the Feb. 12 News & Record.

One, a story of complete selflessness and love; the other of venality and selfishness. I refer first to Ebony Miles, a young woman who, led by faith, offered one of her kidneys to Cassandra Elliott, a total stranger. Their story shook my composure, uplifted my flagging spirit, and gave me hope.

This tale of courage and generosity stands in sharp contrast to the second article regarding the children of Kay Bryan Edwards and the fighting among them over her estate. Moments after being transformed, I was reduced to such sadness for the Bryan family, who, I suspect, will fail to amass enough temporal wealth to ever satisfy their needs. They remain paupers in comparison to Miss Miles, who despite her young age, has already earned her fortune, and it is everlasting.

Rayne Brown
Lexington

I think we should find an alternative for gasoline. Gas is running out and we know it. We need a more plentiful and cheaper resource. Then we wouldn't be dependent on other countries for most of it.

Most of all, we need a cleaner-burning fuel source. It would take a lot of money to make different engines for cars and trucks, but it would be worth it. Car companies should stop the continuation of gasoline engines and replace them with the new resource engines.

I hope by the time I am driving, there will be a car available to me that won't rely on terrorist countries to operate and will be cleaner for the environment.

Jim Barnhill
Greensboro

Historical question: Was the funeral service for Coretta Scott King the longest in the history of the United States?

George D. Stanley
High Point

Perhaps it's just as well that Dick Cheney didn't serve in Vietnam.

Bill Burnett
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Jim Frabutt
and Kristen Di Luca

Your Jan. 8 editorial observed that rising crime rates in Greensboro indict the entire community. While the tragic loss of life inherent in 31 homicides is cause for grave concern, the editorial failed to acknowledge an important local group that has taken up the challenge of building community safety.

The Greensboro Community Violent Crime Task Group is the community-based counterpart to the law enforcement-oriented Violent Crime Task Force that has been working since 2000. Our goals are to reduce gun violence, increase neighborhood safety and develop high levels of community engagement around these issues.

This group meets monthly with law enforcement to assess priorities and crime- and violence-reduction strategies. Meetings are open to anyone who supports the goals.

The task group plays an instrumental role in the local notification program, which provides a joint message to ex-offenders that continued violence will not be tolerated in this community. However, for those open to changing their lifestyle, the group offers supportive services that are just a phone call or an appointment away.

We are active in responses to violent crime throughout our community. When a homicide occurs, usually within 24 hours the task group accompanies law-enforcement partners to canvass the neighborhood where the incident occurred to gather information about the homicide and to provide residents with a face-to-face assurance that everything possible will be done to solve the crime.

The task group is also a major partner in the national violence-reduction effort, Project Safe Neighborhoods, drawing on locally targeted research and outreach efforts. We work with other cities such as Winston-Salem, High Point, Durham and Salisbury to share best practices for violence reduction and building community partnerships.

The task group has devoted time, energy and talent to making Greensboro a safer place. If readers are alarmed by the recent upward trend in violent crime, they are asked to take an active role in developing a strong community response. Dedicated citizens have been responding to the call for a safer city for years. Even more are needed now.

If you are interested in attending or would like more information, please contact Kristen Di Luca at 324-2446.

The article is submitted on behalf of the Greensboro Community Violent Crime Task Force.

Congratulations to Delbert Cranford, author of "Medicare Part D far from glitch-free," (Counterpoint, Feb. 11).

It is high time someone informed the public of this latest snafu in a snafu-ridden administration.

I share Cranford's concerns because I have been working on behalf of a nursing home resident to try and solve these problems. Prior to Medicare D, she had dual coverage for prescription costs; private insurance paid the bulk and Medicaid picked up her co-pay. Now she has none.

I have worked with her pharmacist, the Social Security field officer for Medicare D, the NCIC Seniors Health Insurance (SHIIP), and her Medicaid caseworker. None has provided help. She has fallen through the crack that engulfed millions of elderly Americans in the unsolvable problems of this congressional act.

My suggestion for others who have these problems is to sit in your congressman's office while they come up with a workable solution.

I see no way to salvage Medicare D short of scrapping it. Cranford's suggestion of a debit card is excellent for individuals who have no other coverage. Those who already had single or dual coverage should not be required to enroll.

Joan Paul
Graham

Adam Searing's assertion (Ideas, Feb. 5) that "people don't get health care they need" through health savings accounts and criticisms of association health plans are claims that don't hold water.

According to a recent report from America's Health Insurance Plans, insurance coverage through health savings accounts (HSAs) has tripled to 3 million people since last March. AHIP noted that "a very significant success story" is under way.

HSAs are being touted as a market-driven solution that introduce choice and personal responsibility into the health care market. So far, the news is very good: AHIP said the cost of HSAs and other consumer-driven health plans last year rose only 2.8 percent, compared with a 7.3 percent increase in the average health insurance plan.

Jeff Koch with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said it best: "Right now, employees are not thinking about their health care like they buy their groceries, (but) when you give your employees money to treat their health care, they make … more informed decisions."

HSAs and association health plans, which would allow small businesses to pool together when purchasing health insurance, aren't panaceas but are powerful solutions. Both deserve a chance to work.

Gregg Thompson
Raleigh

The writer is N.C. director, NFIB.

Moses Cone Health System is an excellent medical facility and a great asset to the city of Greensboro. However, in the Kernersville matter, it is taking a wrong stance. Forsyth Medical Center went to the state authorities and got permission to build a much-needed outpatient surgical facility in Kernersville.

Cone has filed a petition, trying to block the whole effort. Cone is not proposing to build anything, but they say they own property in the area and it might hurt their profit margins.

First, the fact that they own property has no bearing on the matter, and I doubt the profit margin excuse. It seems they are just playing Big Brother and have no proposal. The state Office of Administrative Hearings is scheduled to hold a hearing on Cone's petition in May, and no telling how long that can be drawn out.

I think the city of Kernersville should sue Cone for withholding medical services. I can only hope that Cone's petition will immediately be called frivolous and thrown out, with Cone paying all the fees.

Worth Cottingham
Greensboro

I am writing to tell of my remembrances of history professor Richard Bardolph, who died Jan. 25. I had the privilege of being in his class during the 1975-76 UNCG school year, as I had returned to college.

In the first class or two, he was mentioning Noah's ark. Once, when someone raised a hand, Dr. Bardolph got into a Rev. Billy Graham invitation mode and started saying, "Won't you come? Won't you come?" holding out his hands. In another class, a professor said something alluding to Dr. Bardolph's classes being full.

Dr. Bardolph made his impact as a knowledgeable, Christian teacher, and the students responded.

He was also in sympathy with the unborn (I found that out after class).

I am sure whoever was in his class will long remember him with fond, grateful memories.

Eleanor Atkins
Greensboro

It is disappointing but predictable that George Bush would propose selling national forest acreage for the supposed funding of rural schools (News & Record, Feb. 11). Having squandered the world's good will, the nation's credibility, the lives of our soldiers, and billions of dollars, Bush is unable to leave intact public lands that are in trust for posterity.

Rural schools no doubt need funding, but let's curb tax cuts that benefit the wealthy before we have a blue-light special for our forests.

Cynthia L. Anthony
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Anya Benson
and David Norton

As students at Guilford College and as the two co-authors of the proposal for gender-blind rooming, we were horrified by Doug Clark's column, "Female roomie might ruin George" (Feb. 8), about the ways in which gender-blind rooming was attempting to quell men's need for independence. Clark's only concern seems to be for heterosexual men who decide to live with a girlfriend and later realize that this was a mistake.

Setting aside the intensely sexist ideology that underlies his article, we would like to make it clear that such situations as he describes were not the reason that we submitted our proposal for gender-blind rooming, nor are they very likely to occur. It is already permissible for homosexual couples to live together in dorm rooms, but the reality is they almost always choose not to.

In speaking with the campus life administrators at more than a dozen colleges across the country, we have learned that other colleges that have already implemented gender-blind rooming policies do not have many difficulties with heterosexual couples rooming together. There is no reason to suppose that Guilford would be any different.

Our real concern, however, is not for those couples but for homosexual students who are more comfortable rooming with their friends of the opposite sex, for transgender students who need the opportunity to room with someone of the same gender as themselves, or for any opposite-sex friends who happen to feel more comfortable with each other than with someone of the same sex.

Gender-blind rooming is fundamentally about independence — independence to make one's own decisions and live freely at Guilford as someone of any gender or sexual orientation.

I imagine that most of you reading this have, at some point in your life, had a very close friend of the opposite sex with whom you were not involved sexually. Consider that friendship and realize that this is what is being promoted by our proposal.

Clark describes a situation where a man is unable to watch ball games or play video games because he lives with his girlfriend. This would not necessarily be the case. Neither of us watches ball games, and we both occasionally play video games; despite the difference in our biological sex, living with each other would not ruin our personal freedom. It would be the same for many people at Guilford College, and we urge all of you to understand this.

The Rhinoceros Times is defending a bedrock principle of American government: freedom of the press. In contrast, with few exceptions, the U.S. press readily submitted to Muslim demands to suppress publication of the Danish cartoons that have created a stir in the Middle East and Europe.

Genuine Muslim sensitivities acknowledged, this is nonetheless a classic bully-on-the-world-playground scenario, however certain that bully may be of the righteousness of his cause.

Capitulation, however rationalized, will bring a slippery slope of new demands to accommodate what is, after all, an aggressive totalitarian ideology. It would be better for Europe and the U.S. to stand up and face the bully today than to endure his plans for tomorrow.

Western civilization and Islam are incompatible, a truth we grasp now or later, at great cost.

Tom Shuford
Lenoir

Four articles in a recent edition of this newspaper point to a Bush administration that continues to consider itself above the law, ignores citizens' rights, is closed-minded to many environmental concerns and is leadership-deficient.

I would like to point out that I am a fiscally conservative Republican, and I have typically agreed with most of County Commissioner Billy Yow's opinions as far as government spending (i.e., I also was against the trip by two commissioners to Hawaii, the retreats outside of Guilford County, etc.).

This time though, I want to make Billy Yow and all of the other Guilford County commissioners aware that, in my opinion, Skip Alston is right on the money on RF Micro Devices Inc.

RF Micro is a fabulous company, and it is the type of industry that the Piedmont Triad needs to continue to pursue, keep here and make happy.

Corporate welfare? No. Smart for this area? Absolutely.

I encourage any friend, relative or acquaintance to pursue opportunities at RF Micro (and to buy stock in the company), because I believe that we are looking at history in the making with them.

Eric Perdew
Greensboro

On behalf of the Guilford County Tobacco Reality Unfiltered (TRU) Youth Advisory Board, I applaud the Greensboro Coliseum and the city of Greensboro for making the entire coliseum 100 percent smoke-free.

The known health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke include: lung cancer, nasal sinus cancer, respiratory tract infections and heart disease. For years, nonsmokers have been forced to breathe in more than 4,000 chemical compounds when they enter the building to enjoy one of its many family friendly attractions.

We are thrilled that we can now go to the coliseum and breathe easy. Thank you for that.

Michelle Gill-Moffat
Whitsett

I read Charles Davenport's column about etiquette (Feb. 12) and could only clap my hands. He has hit the nail square on the head, but he didn't go far enough, probably because of space.

I have been dealing with lack of etiquette for a year since my neighbors moved in to the unit beside me. Every weekend they have taken it upon themselves to play their bass-thumping music as loud as their stereo will go.

No one, not my landlady, not the police, not anyone, will do a thing about it.

Now I am moving out of this hellhole because my rights are being violated.

Mr. Davenport, do you have a door I can borrow? That, or a metaphorical sledgehammer to knock some sense into people.

Brent White
Statesville

I read Shirley McCreedy's Counterpoint, "Don't mask school problems, fix them" ( Feb. 15) and couldn't agree more.

The idea of pushing the information on the kids to obtain positive test scores does not guarantee they have truly learned. I have three children attending secondary schools in Caswell County and it is not unknown that higher test grades and teacher pay raises are very close cousins.

North Carolina's public schools should listen to veteran teachers and hear their approach that works when teaching kids. Parents (or a parent) can play a very important role in their children's education. It is a daily responsibility that is often inconvenient but so necessary.

Our children of today hopefully will be the scientists, engineers and teachers for the future if all of us become and stay involved. We cannot afford to place all of the responsibility for our children learning on the teacher.

Our society has too many diversions that require everyone to do their part.

Martha S. Long
Ruffin

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Lana Burske

The article, "Preschool: Building the foundation for education" (Feb. 5), was very good.

I wish, however, parents supporting "developmentally appropriate practice" had been interviewed. There is a resounding amount of research that tells us that this approach is best for young children and, as educators, helping parents to understand this can be challenging.

Parents who are uneducated in child development always ask for more "academics" in preschool classrooms. It is our job as preschool directors and teachers to help parents understand why developmentally appropriate practices are essential to a happy, well-rounded child, ready for reading in kindergarten and first grade.

Our society tells parents to "push" their children into learning. The real truth is that children are naturally curious and want to learn without adults pushing them.

If they are nurtured and given positive appropriate play experiences when they are young, they will naturally be ready to learn to read and do many other "academic" things.

I think it is hilarious for any director of an early childhood program to say, "If you don't have a child reading well in first and second grade, they're going to bonk out on the third- and fourth-grade levels." Children will learn to read well in first and second grade. This is when they are naturally ready -- not in preschool.

Thank you for bringing awareness to early childhood issues.

The writer is director of First Presbyterian Weekday Preschool.

I'm writing in response to Trudy Rubin's recent column discussing the outrage of the Muslim world. I'm concerned that Rubin, and many other Western media outlets, are framing this issue in far too narrow a context. While I commend her reporting, in general, on the complexity of the issues in the Middle East, I find her emphasis on "free speech" -- without talking about the media's responsibility to consider the potential ramifications of inflammatory speech, rhetoric and graphics -- as simplistic and irresponsible.

Framing this issue in the narrow terms of censorship and freedom of speech fails to understand the egregious assault on the Muslim people that these cartoons portray. Depicting the prophet Muhammad as a terrorist is equating Islam with terrorism. Islamaphobia has become an acceptable form of racism. These cartoons have ignited a fuse of anger and resentment among Muslim people, world-over, whose religion and culture are consistently demonized by the media as a way to justify Western power and control of their land.

Does freedom of speech trump the notion that with freedom also comes responsibility? Isn't it just as important to realize that the freedom we celebrate may also come at the expense of others?

Kathe Latham
Greensboro

With all due respect to the state treasurer and the Council of State, the best central economic planning body in the history of mankind is just recovering from a 12-year recession. That would be Japan.

In the state's chase to capture the growing distribution and logistics industry, it proposes to deepen the Cape Fear River to 52 feet. The council envisions Southport becoming New Charleston. At these depths, New Orleans would be a better comparison because Oak Island, Wrightsville Beach, Baldhead, Carolina Beach, and Kure Beach will become part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Take a look at the world globe. Look at China. Look at India. Look at the Panama Canal, the busiest sea transport zone in the world. The canal can only accommodate ships drawing 36 feet of water. North Carolina is simply on the wrong side of the world.

Baby boomers from Tennessee to Utah want to retire to waterfront communities. Take an aerial view of North Carolina's coastal plains. What do you see?

Between the Council of State's obsession with cement and mortar and the Coastal Resources Commission's retreat from the shoreline agenda, eastern North Carolinians may never achieve sustainable economic growth.

Joe Exum
Snow Hill
The writer is executive director, Bogue Banks Environmental Stewardship Corp.

Over the past few months, 2212 Freeman Mill Road in Glenwood has been the subject of a rezoning request. According to Mitzi Griffin, Glenwood has 112 vacant houses, 613 rental units and only 395 owner-occupied homes. The neighbors have stated they need help from the city to revitalize their neighborhood.

According to City Council, this is key property in the redevelopment of Glenwood. No one from the private sector can develop this property as RS-7 single family homes, but the city can.

In 2000, the city paid for the infrastructure of the Turning Point project and the city has helped fund the Southside project. Dianne Bellamy-Small has been working with Andy Scott for two years to find funds to revitalize Glenwood. Goldie Wells stated Glenwood is deteriorating and needs help from the city to revitalize. Yvonne Johnson is interested in a planned community like Southside. Ben Brown said there is lots of attention around the redevelopment process for Glenwood.

The Glenwood citizens have spoken loud and clear that they want the city to help revitalize their neighborhood and that this land is key. It is time for the City Council to act.

John Owens
Greensboro
The writer is a Realtor with Ray Realty.

This letter is in response to Doug Clark's column (Feb. 15) about Greensboro's "little band of radicals."

First of all, the seven students who were arrested were unaware that the man who was videotaping license plates was a police officer, and he refused to identify himself as such until after they were in the paddy wagon. Just as a private citizen has the right to videotape license plates, other citizens, even radicals, even communists, still have the right to stand where they choose.

Secondly, Clark says that because the Greensboro Police Department failed to watch the group of communists on Nov. 3, 1979, "its monitoring of the Jan. 31 demonstrations were understandable," given that the organizers had connections with the Communist Party.

Despite Clark's childish red-baiting, it wasn't the commies that the GPD should have kept its eyes on 27 years ago; it was the KKK and the neo-Nazis. Clark's twisting words make it sound like the communists were and are the threat, when that is simply not true. In both situations, the "radicals" did nothing wrong, unless protecting freedom and standing up for one's beliefs are too radical. I thought our soldiers are dying in Iraq to "protect our freedom." Behaving as free people can only honor their sacrifice.

Deborah Greene
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Anita Leonard

The only thing "ugly" about the anti-Bush protest on Jan. 31 is the way the truth about it has been distorted. A good example was, "Lesson to be learned from an ugly protest." Given the editorial's numerous inaccuracies, it's obvious your writer wasn't there. I know what really happened because I was.

Here's an accurate description of the crowd: mostly high school and college students and 20-somethings, plus some parents (like me) with children, seniors and even someone on crutches. Some marchers banged pots, drums or tambourines, blew whistles, clapped, and chanted slogans like "Drive out Bush" and "Bush Step Down." Some skipped and danced as they marched.

Everyone smiled. Everyone enjoyed the camaraderie. Everyone was proud to exercise their right to freedom of speech. No one shouted "obscenities." No one was "unruly." No one was "ugly."
The evening didn't "deteriorate" until after the march when an undercover officer refused to identify himself and pulled a gun on one of the protesters. Only then did the smiling stop and ugliness reign.

Shocked and in disbelief, the crowd watched as an officer sped recklessly through the crowd; two young women were hurled to the concrete by officers attempting to grab protesters; officers handcuffed and arrested seven young people; a young woman was maced in the face for attempting to write down an officer's badge number, and another officer brandished his gun at protesters. Yet despite it all, the crowd showed enormous restraint. Only a very few obscenities were yelled and, then, only during the actual handcuffing process.

Had the undercover officer identified himself, it's unlikely that any of this would have occurred. The people arrested weren't looking for trouble — all had bright futures -- one even had plans for law school. Now they all face criminal charges, arrest records and trials.
The News & Record has an obligation to maintain superior standards of accuracy. Statements perverting the truth could potentially damage the futures of these young people. Fortunately, there were many witnesses and cameras that evening. We are confident that, eventually, the people of Greensboro will learn the sad and frightening truth about what really happened Jan. 31 on the streets of their city.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Have you ever noticed how often new, upscale subdivisions name their streets after the trails, woods and other natural resources they deface?

Driving past multi-gabled mansions on streets that extol the virtues of clear springs and wildlife, I wonder what will become of these neighborhoods as fossil fuels spike and water tables plummet, and the children of these must-have-my-own-trophy-home adults reject the excessive materialism and me-first values of their parents.

Maybe we need some truth telling in our street names. How about Bankruptcy Court? Credit Extension? Vicious Circle? Misguided Way? Asphalt Park? Skid Row?

Holly Stevens
Oak Ridge

I commend you for your coverage of Cpl. Felipe Barbosa's funeral. A proper amount of appropriate words and pictures that were not intrusive. The pictures were excellent in showing the family and the military each supporting the other. Nicely done.

Martin Whitehurst
Burlington

I suggest that the American Bar Association initiate a mandatory final leg of the bar exam where prospective attorneys will be obligated to go on a hunting trip with Vice President Dick Cheney. If he is unavailable, viable substitutes such as Pauly Shore, Tom Arnold and Carrot Top should be made available.

Hunting diminutive birds blessed with the gift of flight will be replaced with hunting armed Nazis riding dinosaurs, or murderous chain saw-wielding great white sharks strung out on Red Bull. Puny shotguns will be replaced with the perennially crowd-pleasing General Electric mini-gun.

I myself, being bipartisan, can appreciate the freedom-loving, gun-bearing Republican's right to blow away cuddly forest animals as much as anyone (actually, I just like to fish). But, the sad fact is this event will generate a ridiculous amount of media coverage in an effort to demean the Bush administration.

As hunting accidents go, this one was relatively benign. Harry Whittington will be fine as will the vice president.
My question is how many among the left-wing press and Democrats secretly wished for a more tragic outcome.

Parris Lee Patton
High Point

I don't understand all the uproar about the Dick Cheney hunting accident. Accidents happen. It was a personal tragedy that deserved at least a modicum of privacy. Yet, the press turned it into an absolute feeding frenzy. Shameful.

Besides, bagging a Republican and a lawyer with one shot makes a good day of hunting in my book.

John Griffith
Greensboro

Cost of insuring teenage and young drivers is prohibitively high. My solution is simply to not allow my children to get a driver's license until they can pay for the insurance themselves. The result is they can't afford it, due to the proverbial Catch-22: They can't get a job to pay for it because they don't have transportation (e.g., no insurance); and they can't get insurance because they don't have a job to pay for it.

I expect that I'm not the only parent with this dilemma. Therefore, another result will be a generation of young drivers with less driving experience. I believe that these results are due to an unintended consequence of more and more segregation of high-risk drivers from low-risk drivers. I feel that this violates the basic principle of insurance: spreading the risk over a large pool of customers.

Yes, the good drivers will subsidize bad drivers; but isn't that the way a good society should work?

Don Williams
Greensboro

Iran is thumbing the world about uranium enrichment, former Vice President Al Gore is speaking on Saudi soil about American mistreatment of Muslims in the United States, and Muslim groups are launching daily violent protests in reaction to political cartoons from a little-known Danish publication.

Despite these significant worldwide events, the American mainstream media were fixated on a hunting accident in Texas. Some reporters ridiculously asked White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan if Cheney should resign. Others complained that they were not notified immediately when the accident occurred.

It is no accident that Iran wants nuclear capabilities, no accident that Al Gore made his speech, no accident that violent protests are taking place. Yet a hunting accident ruled the headlines. Can I guess biased media priorities?

Tom Imbus
Browns Summit

One picture is worth a thousand words. Hats off and high praise to The Rhinoceros Times for fulfilling the responsibilities of a news publication.

The Rhino's reprinting of controversial cartoons not only exemplifies admirable courage and independence but also fulfills the obligation of a newspaper to provide its readers with all relative information.

Guy Sinclair
Graham

I applaud Guilford County commissioners for reinstating on their Feb. 16 meeting agenda the annual report from the Airport Authority (as mandated in Section 8 of the 1941 N.C. General Assembly Enabling Act).

Because many county residents in many neighborhoods are going to be impacted by an intense level of nighttime noise from the FedEx hub and the new runway, it is important that commissioners and the public be kept informed of how the Airport Authority is bringing this expansion to fruition and also how it is going to interact with county residents regarding the increased noise.

Section 9 of the enabling act states that "the County of Guilford may delegate its powers under the said acts to the Authority and the Authority shall have concurrent right with the County of Guilford to control, regulate and provide for the development of aviation in the County of Guilford."

Because the Airport Authority and the county have that concurrent right, the annual report is of utmost importance and should be put on the commissioners' meeting agenda.

Jean Black
Greensboro

William Easterly's "Africa, not West, will save Africa" (Feb. 14) leaves the mistaken impression that Africans can handle their problems without assistance.

Easterly claims: "Development everywhere is homegrown. Just look at India and China." Where would China be without investments from Triad furniture companies? Where would India be without jobs outsourced from North Carolina? Homegrown?

Easterly gives two examples of African successes: men who developed a private university and a telecom company. Not to minimize those contributions, but what most Africans need are wells for clean drinking water, fertilizer for crops and credit to start small businesses. This requires outside resources.

We're learning from past mistakes. Through programs such as the Millennium Challenge Account, aid recipients must be accountable so money goes to health care and education.

There are enough world resources to feed every human being, all children of God. Unfortunately, our political will does not match our resources. We need to let our representatives know that allowing people to starve in Africa is no longer acceptable or moral. One simple way to make a difference is joining One Campaign (www.bread.org) which seeks to fight global AIDS, poverty, and hunger.

Robert Herron
Greensboro

Oh, please Rosemary ... if Teddy Kennedy deigned to come to speak at the local Scout convention you would be euphoric, salivating and fawning all over him.

And Ollie is a good choice; he is high-profile and will bring in some cash, and at least he did not leave a woman to drown while trying to concoct a story to save himself personally and politically.

Michael Crouch
Greensboro

The reaction by Muslims in Guilford County and abroad to cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed is simply another example of religious ethnocentricity.

Speaking as an agnostic, I find all "friction" worldwide due to religious differences ridiculously self-centered, with this latest debate over some cartoons a perfect example. Muslims who interpret the reprinting by The Rhinoceros Times of these cartoons as an attack on their beliefs need to remember that non-Muslims do not share the same beliefs, so why should they be bound by them? The cartoons are nothing more than that: cartoons.

Further, the original intent was not necessarily derogatory, yet thousands of loyal Muslims worldwide find them ample excuse to wildly vent their ever-present anger at the rest of the world.

Organized religion truly is the opiate of the masses. How delusional it is to believe that one's religion is "right" while everyone else's is wrong, and we all know this includes Christians as well.

Peter Allen
Greensboro

There is no end to lame schemes the Bush administration comes up with to exploit public property. The latest involves a proposal to sell parcels of the U.S. national forests including the Pisgah, Nantahala, Uwharrie and Croatan in North Carolina. The stated reason is to raise money for poor schools affected by cutbacks in timber harvests in national forests.

I suspect the real reason is to make parcels available to wealthy developers as urban encroachment has made some of them quite valuable. All the more reason to hold on to them for public recreation.

I have a suggestion to get money for schools: Find and make available the $8 billion unaccounted for in Iraq.

Larry G. Mabry
Troy

I just saw the Channel 2 news about the school board wanting to charge a one-half percent sales tax, or the county commissioners raising property taxes by 5 percent to pay for schools. I don't have children, but I realize all taxpayers pay for schools. I can support that, but, come on, do they have any common sense at all? We need to get rid of them and put in those positions people who have fiscal and ethical common sense. Not everyone makes six-figure salaries.

When someone gets a 3 percent raise, they have it taken away by elected officials. No one can get ahead this way. They keep making bad decision after bad decision. When companies overstretch budgets they make cuts; they do not increase spending.

Also, reduce the number of commissioners and do away with districts. They are county commissioners and they should be subject to all county residents. Then, maybe they'll do what residents want.

Steve Toney
Summerfield

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Chris Newsom

Regarding Doug Clark's column, "Local radicals see police-Bush link" (Feb. 15), admittedly by law, vehicles located in public places do not have a constitutional right to privacy. However, citizens do possess the right to stand in front of their vehicles, if they wish, while unidentified individuals are videotaping their property.

I have to ask Greensboro citizens how they would react if they were to observe a private citizen videotaping them, their children or their private property in a public place? How would they react if they were charged with carrying a concealed weapon for having a pocketknife clipped to their jeans? How would they react it they were assaulted by an unidentified plainclothes police officer for exercising rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution?

These are actions un-American, unjust and unprofessional and raise very serious questions about the ability of the police to perform its sworn duty to serve and protect the entire community.

If Clark knew my city's history he would be aware that the GPD did monitor the events of Nov. 3, 1979, and that there was "video evidence of the proceedings." Still, there was no justice for those murdered.

I think that the young people in question should be considered American patriots for their willingness to do what is right for Greensboro in the face of a repressive and unprofessional police force and Clark's misguided paranoia against our fellow Muslim Americans.

I would put forth that our real concern should not be Clark's fear of "the fury of radical Islam" but should be on ensuring that citizens are not terrorized here at home by their own police force in the name of a widely criticized war on terror.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Allen Johnson's column (Feb. 19) about cartoons and other questionable printings was enlightening to me as well as to others, I hope. I thank him for his explanation of certain material.

Although indoctrinated during childhood as a Christian, I've come to believe as an agnostic, hence few things in print would be terribly offensive personally. But I can understand how these cartoons in question might be offensive to others, even though I've not seen them.

I thank him for his discretion. The last thing we need in Greensboro is a riot as depicted elsewhere in the world over what are silly cartoons to some and very serious cartoons to others.

Is anyone offended that I am agnostic? I certainly hope not. As an agnostic, I believe that no one can prove there is a God and no one can prove there is not a God.

In my opinion, if more people would make decisions without regard to religion, yet considering correct ethics and morals alone, we could have a better world without one religion fighting another religion as in history.

Judy Stierand
Whitsett

I had to laugh when I read your editorial on affordable education. The real cost of a UNC education -- tuition, books, room and board with no frills -- is more than $11,000 per year. Financial aid is a myth to those of moderate income whose sons and daughters are not in the extreme top of their class.

We will get my child through college on nothing but loans and paying what I can. At the end of four years at N.C. State, the loans will be more than $30,000. The second child starts next year. There is nothing affordable about the situation. It will take a decade to repay the loans.

The state's constitutional mandate was broken long ago.

Jim Franz
Greensboro

Are we crazy, utterly stupid, or anxious to commit national suicide? Where is our esteemed president who knows all and says so?

Giving six of our ports away is surely a giant step toward total destruction -- a giant step and an open invitation to saboteurs and killers from our worst enemies.

George Bush, are we also giving keys and telephone numbers to all the unknown foreigners who will surely come over and disembark with destructive weapons? What is wrong with the people we call our government?

Bill Fleischman
Greensboro

Rosemary Roberts ranting about Lt. Col. Oliver North (column, Feb. 17) sounds a bit like Molly Ivins going after President Bush, doesn't it?

When one becomes as predictable as Ivins, we don't waste our time reading her column.

Roberts has a right to her opinions, as do I.

One opinion is that Ollie North is a hero. Another is that more Boy Scouts grow up to be Marines than newspaper columnists, and some of us even become conservative ex-paratroopers.

We'll save the Kennedy part for another time.

Larry Stafford
Kernersville

On Feb. 11 and 18, I had the pleasure of attending a screening of the film, "The Tuskegee Airmen," at the Greensboro Historical Museum. The film was followed by a discussion with some of North Carolina's own Tuskegee Airmen. It was an incredible honor and privilege to be able to hear these men share their memories and experiences from World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen were America's first African American flying unit.

During World War II, 992 fighter and bomber pilots were trained at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen established a remarkable resume by war's end, having destroyed more than 250 German aircraft. While flying bomber escort, they never lost a bomber to enemy fire.

Each of the Tuskegee Airmen endured his own personal hardships and difficulties to become an Air Corps pilot. To this day, they continue to be inspiring role models in their communities and important pioneers in American history.

I want to thank the Greensboro Historical Museum and the other organizations involved for sponsoring this wonderful event. I especially want to thank Tuskegee Airmen Harvey Alexander, Dr. Stewart Fulbright, William McDonald and Walter Chavis for participating. Each of these men is a true American hero.

Matt Mabe
Greensboro

Regarding Bill Peaslee's comment (It's Been Said," Feb. 20: I was surprised to find something from a Republican that didn't include the term "liberal." Apparently, now all Democrats are homosexuals.

Typical Republican mudslinging and fear-mongering but with a new twist. I wonder why they can't make an intelligent point without resorting to this type of narrative? I would hope free-thinking members of either party see right through it and demand a stop to it coming from either side.

Tom McWhirter
High Point

Deputy Barney Fife may have kept his bullet in his pocket, but he wore his heart on his sleeve.

Despite all his macho posturings and mild delusions of greatness, not so deep inside Barney knew who he really was: a little nerdy, a little scared, a little unsure of himself, but a good friend and neighbor who always was there when you needed him.

Barney was the heart and soul and funny bone of "The Andy Griffith Show."

And now he's gone. Don Knotts died Friday at the age of 81.

Recognizing Knotts' Barney as a breakout character before anyone used that term, Andy Griffith, an accomplished funny man in his own right, graciously stepped back and let Barney flourish.

Small wonder the best-loved "Andy" reruns are the black-and-white shows with Barney.

It'd be nice if Channel 2 would do a "Best of Barney" tribute in this week's "Andy Griffith Show" lineup.

I think we're losing the war on terror. Why? I proudly consider myself a bleeding-heart liberal, but lately I find myself agreeing with conservative pundits like Ann Coulter and her ilk. The Muhammad cartoon controversy has become the turning point.

I'm not sold on the notion that many newspapers haven't published these 'toons out of respect for Muslims. I think they're afraid they'll spark a riot, or at the least an advertiser/subscriber boycott. They're afraid because whenever Muslims around the world take offense, they spew violent threats, burn things, chop off heads, blow themselves up and fly planes into skyscrapers.

Sorry if that offends, but facts are facts. And "moderate" Muslims seem more concerned about the honor of their precious prophet than they do about the lives lost and the bitter hatred these events generate.

If today we censor a cartoon out of respect for a religious leader, is it such a leap to censor cartoons of political leaders? Aren't they as deserving of our respect? It's only a small step further to censor mere printed words that might "insult" or criticize these leaders. I want to respect Islam. Somebody give me a reason. Peace be upon us all.

Wes Isley
Greensboro

Last year, Pricey Harrison and other Democratic legislators were strong supporters of House Speaker Jim Black, the embattled Democrat from Mecklenburg County. Just a couple of months ago, Harrison claimed Black was a good speaker who had done a lot for North Carolina.

Since the State Board of Elections hearings revealed Black's fund-raising shenanigans, some Black supporters have begun to change their tune. "The state board talked about illegalities. That's the first time we've heard that," Harrison was quoted as saying in The Charlotte Observer on Feb. 15.

If that's the first time Harrison has heard talk about illegalities, she has either been out of the state for the past year or living in a cave.

The News & Record's editorial, "Black abuses power, should give up office" (Dec. 3) ,was right. Black should resign as speaker. Why he has not is obvious: It's a desperate attempt to hold on to the power that has kept his abuses from public scrutiny.

What is less obvious is why Democrats in the N.C. House like Harrison have not joined Republicans like Rep. John Blust in calling for Black to step down.

Ferrell Blount
Raleigh

The writer is chairman, North Carolina Republican Party.

I am a liberal, leftist Democrat, with no vision of the future, no plan for America, and a Bush-hater. Now that I've admitted my sins, the people who write complaining about this letter won't have to reiterate the labels. This should eliminate 90 percent of my detractors since labels seem to be the basis of all their rebuttals.

Consider those letters that dismiss Molly Ivins' columns just by invoking labels. No need to refute her arguments. That would require a logical response rather than a visceral regurgitation.

Consider Molly's predictions:

1. She endured Bush as governor of Texas and warned us not to listen to what George says but what he does.

2. When we went to war against Iraq, she predicted we would win the military phase handily but would suffer "a peace from hell."

3. She warned against the "big oil" consortium that developed the administration's fuel policy that has since so deliberately bulldozed us into becoming addicted to their product.

In Molly Ivins, we have a voice crying in the wilderness. She is a prophet ignored in her homeland by people who not only don't want to listen but also are afraid to.

Michael J. Scotto
Greensboro

Two bad things happened on the night of Feb. 18 at the corner of Walker Avenue and Elm Street in Greensboro. The people who run The Blind Tiger allowed way too many people in to see the '80s cover band The Breakfast Club. The customers didn't even get an apology much less any sort of refund. But what's worse, the Greensboro Police Department made 25 to 30 people wait outside in the cold, some for a half an hour, before they could go back in and close out bar tabs.

I understand the need to shut down a club that's too packed with people. I'd guess there were about 300 people in there, and I later saw the sign that read "Max occupancy 149." That's simply protecting us from danger.

I just hate that the cops didn't live up to the other part of the fraternal motto. Would it have been so hard to also serve and allow us to wait inside instead of on the street in the 20-degree temperatures?

Kevin Floyd
Greensboro

This is in response to the Homeless Point in Time survey.

I do not live in Greensboro, but I do want to thank you for your participation in informing the public when this survey was to occur and for following up with the results. I don't think the average citizen considers the homeless population a true problem.

Generally, many people (myself included) only think about the homeless when we see them standing on the street corner begging for money. And then our immediate thought is "get a job." Few of us consider how we can truly help the homeless long-term. Even fewer take action.

I think the media's coverage has opened the public's eyes a little more regarding the homeless and how we can make a difference in helping them help themselves. So, thank you again for your involvement in making the Homeless Point in Time survey so successful.

Sharon O'Dell
Graham

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Paul J. Simel

It is with concern that I have read of the sudden interest in optometrist Jim Black, who has shown the influence of the optometric lobby by the passage of a law requiring each child entering school to have a comprehensive eye examination.

It is meritorious to test each child for common and not-so-common eye problems, but it surely is not cost-effective to do so in the manner required.

I spent my career as a physical ophthalmologist (M.D.) and eye surgeon and have watched the gradual inroads into traditional physician practice made by the optometric lobby. It has reached the point where eye surgery is now on the radar for optometric lobbying. This should be of greater concern for patients and physicians. There seems to be a lack of understanding when politicians determine credentials for medical and surgical procedures by relatively untrained optometrists.

Here is John Jones, M.D., four years of medical school and four years of residency in ocular medicine and surgery, and here is Ralph Smith, O.D., with none of the above. Who would you want doing the surgery and prescribing medication for your eye problem? (Prescribing medicine is a relatively recent optometric privilege and was first accomplished by optometric lobbying in Oklahoma and North Carolina.)

Although this new law for schoolchildren includes eye examinations by ophthalmologists as well as by optometrists, there is no suspicion that this was desired by ophthalmology.

There surely are better, more cost-effective ways to ensure eye health for youngsters than a hasty, ill-conceived law that infuriates many and leaves the medical community with an undeserved reputation. Of course, lobbying is legal, but passing this law by our representatives leaves me questioning their collective wisdom.
Optometrists lobbied for this law. Physicians did not.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I am going to try to put this in words that won't upset someone. My intentions are meant to be respectful and yet objective.

There have been a few stories that have been given much attention over the years regarding horrific deaths and missing people. All these people deserve justice and closure.

What I don't seem to understand is why these few stories make the news as opposed to the murders and missing children in our country every day. Doesn't it seem that if you are young and beautiful, then you are newsworthy?

To me it is so obvious. And very disturbing. Anyone tragically murdered or who goes missing deserves the same attention as these others. When the victim is young and beautiful, the story instantly becomes news. Why do we look for drama in others' tragedy, especially if they appeal to the eye? What about the beautiful children out there lost? Give them the time and coverage they deserve.

Sheila Clark
Browns Summit

Over the past few weeks, many have remarked that Islam has been misunderstood as a result of extreme responses to the Danish cartoons. Having studied Islam in the past, my sympathies go to those left horrified by the utter irreverence of the cartoons.

My respect goes to the 5,000 British Muslims who met in Trafalgar square several days ago to protest the cartoons peacefully. Such a blatant offense toward a religion deserves significant protesting to convey the emotions it stirred.

In this case, protesting is clearly justified because the cartoons have violated the principles of Islam in tasteless jest. But can anyone truly justify the actions of the armed masked men who stormed the European Union office of Gaza City, threatening Denmark and demanding immediate apology?

There is a clear distinction between peaceful protesting and unnecessary violence, destruction and murder. Looking beyond the various controversies the cartoons' aftermath has conjured, violence only strengthens the great divide between the Middle East and the West.

Personally, I hope a peaceful resolution can be established. If not, I fear that the Western world's lack of comprehension will only augment as more lives are claimed and more destruction and violence ensues.

Thomas A. Nading
Greensboro

A letter (Feb. 18) by Rabbis Havivi and Guttman and another one from Marsha Glazman deserve a response. They were protesting the lack of sensitivity of The Rhinoceros Times for printing Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammed.

So what? No one has the right not to be insulted. Where was this outrage from these "sensitive" people when a crucifix was displayed in a jar of urine or a painting of the Virgin Mary was smeared with dung? Does anyone think Christians were not offended? Did Christians riot and burn?

A perfunctory case is made for free speech and they go on to claim it shouldn't be exercised. Good cartoons have a ring of truth. That's why they are sometimes so powerful. After all, it is not Methodists who are going all over the world murdering people.

Both letters extol the need for all faiths to coexist. No one can argue with that, but all sides must be willing. I have heard no condemnation from Muslims for the atrocities committed in the name of Allah. Where is the anger at the cartoons depicting Jews and Christians as dogs, pigs, etc.? One can only conclude that silence means sanction.

Larry Emory
Greensboro

Regarding the letter from Marsha Glazman, chairwoman of the local Human Relations Commission (Feb. 18):

She wrote, "We certainly believe in the principle of free speech, but exercising rights without responsibility is unacceptable." She was referring to publication of the Muhammad cartoons, which have received such a reaction by fanatics in the Muslim world.

I have this to ask her: What is your definition of free speech, and at what point do we just roll over dead and give all that we have worked for these past 300 years to bullies?

Chris Corry
Greensboro

There are many things in life of which we cannot be sure. There is one thing that we know for sure. If the Rhino Times had printed cartoons degrading Jesus Christ, the Bush administration, American values, etc., there would be no public outcry from the Muslim or far left communities. Because the Danish press print a few cartoons, it's "Death to Everyone."

Where, oh where, is the outcry from the Muslim community for civilian beheadings, roadside bombings, embassy burnings, and insurgent attacks on Americans and Israelis worldwide?

The left-wing media prints whatever they want, whenever they want, with little respect for the values and feelings of the American people. The Rhino Times and all other American media outlets have every obligation to print the Danish cartoons because of the international attention to the story. Those who say otherwise are nothing more than hypocrites.

Steve and Terry Craddock
McLeansville

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Rick Shreve

I would like to address the article on free speech at UNCG and the News & Record's portrayal of the school's policy (Ideas, Feb. 12). For readers who are not familiar with the subject, a different perspective is required to understand the policy.

The campus of UNCG has 16,000 faculty and students who commute every day for the expressed purposes of teaching and being taught. As a student, I can say I have never, in many heated classroom discussions, had a faculty member suppress anything I had to say. I have witnessed no faculty member censor an opinion expressed by a student. I have yet to witness any "free-speech Gestapo" drag a student out of a classroom because he was expressing less than mainstream ideas. The campus newspaper is full of ideas written by students that scream, "We can write anything we want in this medium, and it will be published."

The goal behind the school guidelines is simple: to maintain order. The term "free speech area" is misleading, as it conjures up ideas of restricted speech in all but the two designated areas. The purpose of the areas is to maintain control of students who congregate to express ideas. This policy prevents students from massing in places that are inconvenient to the normal student traffic. The policy in no way limits what can be said on campus. It just limits from where, in the name of order, these students can spread their message.

Secondly, the policy of a 48-hour notice is for protection. Is it unreasonable for the university to want to know ahead of time that 3,000 students are planning to gather? No. By having the notice, it can implement the crowd control necessary to assure that the organizations are peaceful. The authors of the article are confusing the issue of free speech with that of restrictions on gatherings. We can say what we want, when we want and where we want on campus. We just cannot organize a HUGE gathering to say this anywhere on campus we choose.

I applaud the ideas of the young people with whom I attend classes. I love listening to their ideas and giving them some degree of insight that I, as a 41-year-old father of three and husband, have gleaned from life's experiences. But to say that they are not being afforded rights guaranteed under the Constitution is silly. I just smile while they rant and think to myself, "Wait until they have their first real job and try to express these 'guaranteed rights' on their employer's time."

The writer lives in Reidsville.