News-Record.com

Congratulations, Rachel Walden and News & Record, for running the June 22 article on "The Angry Canadiens" in your "the 'boro" section. My 15-year-old son, DJ, and I were ecstatic to see this band featured and to hear about young men with purpose and vision influencing their peers in a positive way.

My son is a guitarist in a new hard-core Christian band out of Northwest Guilford High School named One Day Forward. The guys in his band have similar interests to the AC, wanting to be solid musicians and to bring a message of hope to a generation that desperately needs encouragement.

We would appreciate it, if you would include in your "the 'boro" section contact information for the public as to where teens can go to hear live bands play in a smoke-free, alcohol-free environment.

Nancy Fleming
Greensboro

It makes us nervous whenever there's talk of any move that might negatively affect Greensboro's Farmers' Market, as there was during recent city budget discussions. The movers and shakers need to understand that, for hundreds of us, the Farmers' Market is the best thing going.

Vendors and patrons make up a wonderfully diverse community such as exists nowhere else around here. Even the narrow aisles encourage people to interact.

And, of course, there's the food: fresh local produce and eggs, much of it organic, fabulous local cheeses and bread and home-baked goodies. Plus plants and all manner of crafts (let's hear it for Josie and her aprons).

For more than 20 years, we've been doing a respectable share of our food shopping at the Farmers' Market. That and warm interactions with older and newer friends among both vendors and patrons (many hugs all around) make it easy to be up and out early on Saturday mornings — and it's not necessary to be there by 6:30.

People rave about the charm of European markets; we've got the real thing right here. The market really works. Don't "fix" it. Cherish it and keep it vibrant.

Ken Caneva
Jane Sugarman
Greensboro

We should push to have Carol Pulliam (letter, June 19) teamed up with Oliver Stone to assist in filming the next big conspiracy movie. Her opinion that "The Da Vinci Code" is designed to destroy faith in God and needs a disclaimer statement to admit it's fiction shows she thinks the rest of us are idiots and cannot actually think for ourselves.

What about the new movies "Cars" and "Over the Hedge"? By showing animals and inanimate objects talking and acting human, are these directors not elevating them to the level of men? Did God build cars in "His" image? Clearly these are blatant attempts to undermine the faith in our children. Where is Ms. Pulliam when we need her?

Scott Duncan
Greensboro

I am in total agreement with sentiments expressed by Ann Minish (letter, June 24) revealing her revulsion over the brutality of fatally beating a goat in a neighborhood back yard.

Her only comment with which I disagree is: "There's a place for that kind of thing ... ." In my view, there is no place for that kind of thing.

If these cretins were my neighbors, I would try to educate them about a humane alternative if the goat needed to be put down.

I'm disappointed that anyone thinks "there is a place for that kind of thing."

Helen Thornbro
Greensboro

Regarding Patricia Boswell's letter (June 26):

You say you are a follower of Jesus. Then I hope you believe in the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Three in one (all the same).

God spoke to Lot in Genesis 19 and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. You said Jesus never talked about homosexuality, I would ask you to read Luke 17: 28- 29. It is true Jesus did not speak specifically of homosexuality; he did speak about the city that was destroyed because of homosexuality. He called Paul to preach the gospel and Paul spoke of this sin in Romans 1. The following verses say it all:

• Leviticus 18:22: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."

• Leviticus 20:13: "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."

God never changes. Sin is sin.

Harold McGee
Summerfield

By Robert L. Kelly

Your article on the recent "knock-and-announce" Supreme Court decision (June 16) gets it right, but your headline, "Court says it's legal for police to barge in," is dead wrong. A better headline would be "Justice Scalia's judicial activism."

Precedents in all states had required that, prior to executing a search warrant, police had to knock, announce themselves as police, and wait a reasonable time for a response before forcibly entering.

If they did not "knock-and-announce," whatever evidence of criminal activity they might find could not be admitted in a trial. This principle was based on the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, forbidding unlawful search and seizures.

In the case in question, the court ruled it is indeed illegal for the police to enter without these preliminaries, but doing so does not invalidate evidence the police might discover. Some legal remedy against the unlawful entry could be used other than throwing the evidence out of court.

Surprisingly, Justice Scalia, in writing the majority opinion, based his decision not on the principle he famously avows, "strict construction" of the Constitution and precedents based on it, but rather on balancing societal costs of "knock-and-announce" restraints on police against their societal benefits.

Such an approach to legal decisions goes back to a tradition that emerged from 19th century American Pragmatic philosophy. Most notably espoused by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, it was called "social jurisprudence," "legal empiricism" or "legal realism."

Recently, this principle has been demonized by the American right wing as "judicial activism."

Right-wing pundits, including Rush Limbaugh, are quick to condemn as "activist" any judge who rules in a way they don't like — in cases such as prayer in schools, posting the Ten Commandments in public places or gay marriage. Judges so labeled are harassed and threatened with recall.

I'm waiting for the right to denounce Scalia's decision. Or is activism OK when its aim is to expand policing powers regardless of the Bill of Rights?

The writer lives in Greensboro.

When I read that funding for the Commission on the Status of Women would be cut, I was not surprised for this has been an agenda item for some City Council members for years. I was disappointed by the lack of a response from current and former commissioners who know the impact CSW has had on this community, and from the women whose lives were changed because of their interaction with the commission.

Most women still earn less money than men for comparable work, many live in poverty with their children, and some suffer due to health disparities.

CSW requires different resources than other boards because its function is different. Its administrators have always had other departmental duties, so parity is not the question.

One of CSW's roles is to identify unmet needs for women, then find a place for those services. For example: CSW and the YWCA provided the research which the Women's Resource Center ultimately used for documentation to secure its initial foundation funding. This was not the City Council's finest hour and it will be remembered.

Yolanda Leacraft
Greensboro

I have been a resident of the Lake Jeanette area for over 11 years and drive to and from Lake Jeanette on Elm Street a number of times daily. Every day for the past several months, I have been forced to navigate my way through the dozens of construction workers installing the "roundabout" at the corner of Elm Street and Old Lake Jeanette Road. Every day, I ask myself who thought up this extravagant and unnecessary project, especially at a time when the City Council is increasing taxes.

I have never perceived this intersection to create any problems that a stoplight wouldn't cure. However, I fear that the roundabout will cause some fender benders. We are not sufficiently European to know how to use a roundabout, as is already obvious to those of us who have tried it. And the thought of trucks and school buses attempting to navigate their way through it is downright scary.

I saw a school bus try it one day, and it was actually swaying. I'm sure it is too late to reverse this mistake, but I hope the City Council will carefully deliberate the necessity of any future roundabouts before authorizing more money to construct them.

Doris Bray
Greensboro

Regarding the June 18 story by Susan Pyle, "The Business of Art: Commissions, consignments, licensing":

I wanted to thank Pyle and the News & Record for this story and allowing me to be part of it.

It is good for artists and the buying public to be aware that the arts are good business and big business. Often consumers may buy into the fallacy of the "starving artist" syndrome and may shortchange artists, not realizing that we should be paid a competitive living.
Just look at what my colleagues in the arts are doing to provide for themselves, their families and, for the record, to support more than 100 auxiliary services and businesses. We all work for a living, but the arts make living worthwhile.

Again, thank you, and good job, Susan.

Jacquelyn Hughes Mooney
Greensboro

The results of Klan-Nazi trials implied CWP people were at fault. Those videotaped doing the killing went free. Citizens have not held police, prosecutors and officials politically or criminally accountable.

Identified dangerous, armed people murdered five others in the street, in daylight, on camera. Police did not prevent it, despite clear warnings.

Prosecutors and officials did not convict murderers photographed in the act. The killers are free as I understand. Greensboro owns labels of being unjust, vicious, bigoted and incompetent. Citizens seem to say, "Oh, well, let well enough alone; get over it. It might hurt the Furniture Market or GGO."

"Troublemakers, a few commies and ungrateful blacks? Them Klan boys was just a-funnin'; into pranks; had blanks you say? Them commies got what they deserved, stirring up the place." Twenty-five years of no justice defines Greensboro. Who among you in Greensboro-Guilford said: "This despicable injustice shall not stand for a moment, a day, a week, a year … ?" A very few; not enough.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's work was done by brave folks facing shameful heavy opposition and hateful scorn. Elected officials hid. Did you elect these cowards? Bigoted citizens celebrated murders and sneered. It is that simple. All else is commentary.

William A. Franklin
Burlington

The following is a counterpoint:

By Matthew M. Polka

Your article, "Proposal would give state negotiating power" (June 13), repeated a number of claims made by Bell telephone companies and their friends in their effort to get special favors from legislators. While they claim to support lower prices for consumers, what they really want is a leg-up over their competitors.

The 1996 Telecommunications Act, which the Bells spent millions of dollars lobbying to support, expressly allows telephone companies to enter the video market. But rather than invest in upgrading their networks, the Bells have chosen to milk their old phone monopolies, while cable companies — like the small operators I represent, some with only several hundred customers — have invested over $100 billion in private dollars upgrading their networks for high-speed Internet. As a result, 91 percent (and counting) of the homes cable serves nationwide have access to our broadband offering.

Instead of supporting Bell-backed state or national video franchising legislation that would give telephone companies an advantage over their competitors, let's agree to several principles:

First, there should be a level playing field among competitors. Cable and telephone companies should be required to abide by the same rules and obligations in the spirit of fair play.

Second, cable companies have agreed to anti-discrimination obligations for decades. Failing to prevent telephone companies from discriminating based on income or race would undermine core American values.

Thirdly, local governments have a significant role to play in ensuring the well-being of their neighborhoods.

These should be principles with which we can all agree, and which will bring telecommunications competition to all, not just a few.

The writer is president and CEO, American Cable Association; board member, Broadband Everywhere.

On a recent CNN news clip, President Bush made a typical partisan statement that further divides our country contrary to his strongest campaign promise.

As some will recall, he claimed to be a "uniter not a divider" and many are still waiting to see the evidence.

Stumping for his position on the combat in Iraq, the president made a clear separatist remark that he maintains is the difference between Democrats and Republicans, saying, "As long as we (Republicans) are in control, we will not cut and run." Hooray for the "brave."

Which is more preferable — to civilly redeploy with a planned resolution or barbarically stay and fail?

How many more American young people must die for Iraq? How many more American young people will be permanently disfigured or disabled? How many more American children will be left fatherless or motherless? How many American family names will end in Iraq? How many more innocent Iraqi children will be declared dispensable collateral? How many will suffer the trauma of dismembered families and friends? How many will be disabled for life?

To these and many other questions, why?

Al Campbell
High Point

I saw the Dixie Chicks in 2001. At the time my daughter had earned a violin scholarship to college. "Wide Open Spaces" was played during parent orientation at Peace College in Raleigh. This school is definitely not "country."

I recently learned the concert in Greensboro has been "postponed." The reason — poor sales due to a quote of the Chicks. A few quotes came to my mind regarding this situation:

• "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," Voltaire, 1694-1778.

• "If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking," General George Patton, 1885-1945.

• "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear," George Orwell, 1903-1950.

• "Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us," Justice William O. Douglas, 1898-1980.

I only hope the Chicks continue to make music and speak freely. They should be thanked for encouraging the love of music when far too often music is unavailable for children, due to budget cuts in most school systems.

Carol Zealy
Lexington

I find it disheartening that Cal Thomas (June 24) chose to turn the Episcopal Church's election of Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori into rhetorical debate about the church's stance on homosexuality. His implication that the loving ministry of Christianity should be reserved for those "deemed worthy" is appalling.

That the Episcopal Church can debate controversial issues with bravery actually demonstrates the health of the denomination. Yes, we had a heated and painful debate about the "gay bishop" issue, from which we learned to understand those with many different perspectives on the issue.

Most of us emerged from that debate with a deeper level of love and respect for our fellow believers.

Jefferts Schori was elected presiding bishop because of her excellent work leading a very diverse Nevada diocese.
Under her leadership, the Episcopal Church has grown in Las Vegas. She has also made sure the many small-town — and largely conservative — parishes in Nevada have received adequate support from the diocese.

I have traveled through these towns, and have found genuine respect for her work throughout the state.
Please publish a well-balanced article on her accomplishments. Misleading columns like Thomas' have no place in a credible publication.

John Dobson
Greensboro

In regard to the letter (June 24) about the backyard slaughter of the goat, I am so angry to think this kind of slaughter can exist without laws prohibiting the beating of any animal.

Martha Conley
Asheboro

The letter to the editor about the goat slaughter from Ann Minish was very upsetting (I have a pet goat).

I have been told by the Greensboro Police and the Guilford County Sheriff's Department that the act, as she described it, is against the law.

Minish should follow up with the police that she called, as whoever she talked to was wrong and I feel they should be disciplined. Other readers should be informed that acts like this are unlawful.

Donny Sykes
Stokesdale

Thank you for your editorial (June 25) on the sad shape of mental health services. Thank you, too, for the two columns of Lorraine Ahearn recently.

As a career mental "healther" myself, I am especially sad to see the results of the so-called reform of the services of a few years back. In effect, the clinicians in community services were disfranchised, or if some would prefer, privatized.

They would then contract with the local administrative entity to provide clinical services to those in need. The problem has been that there were not enough dollars provided to pay for the services. At the same time there was pressure not to send patients to the state's regional hospitals.

Thankfully, the governor and both Houses of the legislature are currently moving to provide funds in the current legislative budget to take care of some of the need. It has long been due.

The history of caring for the mentally ill is fraught with instances of crisis, then some action, and then a repeat.

We are in better shape than at many times in the past, but we must be ever mindful of providing services as needed, preferably in the community, but with sufficient funding to meet the need.

J. Wilbert Edgerton
Greensboro

The recent rains have caused our neighborhood park to be flooded, yet, again, by Buffalo Creek. I took my daughter to it to show and teach her about the effects of littering near or in our creeks and sewer drains.

While standing there, we saw a soccer ball, numerous plastic and glass bottles and oil containers, a croquet ball, Styrofoam cups, dishes and sheets, an entire tire (including the center part) and many large tree limbs and stumps.

We thought that was horrible until we saw the 5-foot wide wooden spool that cables come on floating along. We watched as it crashed into the bridge at Merritt Drive.

Fortunately, or not, the water was deep enough for the spool to make it under the bridge.

The banks of the creek are littered with hundreds of pieces of debris. Once the water level is low, my daughter and I plan to pickup litter from the creek.

It is inexcusable and embarrassing to think we don't care enough about our environment to be the cause of such a mess. Please stop littering and using the sewage drains as your trash can.

Pamela Smith
Greensboro

It's appalling that you actually pay Cal Thomas for his "thoughts."

I wonder if he's a member of the church whose members demonstrate at funerals of brave young Americans killed in Iraq because that church believes our government isn't tough enough on homosexual folks?

The way Thomas quotes the Bible, you'd think he'd be familiar with Jesus' parable (Luke 14:16-24) which makes it clear that Jesus was not into excluding people from his Table. Jesus includes everyone, bar none. There were some, of course, who refused to join others at the Table.

If you look up this parable you'll see that Jesus didn't say homosexual persons weren't included. He said nothing about homosexuality in any of the four Gospels.

Is Thomas one of the biblical illiterates he condemns as outside "Orthodox Christianity"? I wonder whose brand of orthodoxy Thomas has in mind.

Who does he think he is to judge?

Your headline asks, "Can Episcopalians still recognize sin?" I wonder if you or Thomas can recognize sin. Does he think it's a sin to be an Episcopalian, or a woman bishop, or someone who disagrees with him?

Please discontinue his ignorant, ranting columns.

Jim Prevatt
Greensboro

I was pleased to read Lorraine Ahearn's column (June 25) about Hannah Anthony and the Kids' Chance scholarship program.

I have been a workers' compensation attorney for many years. Unfortunately, I've met many children like Hannah who have struggled to achieve their educational dreams because an at-work accident robbed them of a parent or took that parent out of the workforce.

I see every day how families are affected by workplace injuries, both financially and emotionally, and that's why my firm has chosen to support Kids' Chance. I hope Ahearn's column will make more people aware of the plight of injured workers and their families, especially their children.

Kids' Chance needs donations, but more importantly, help identifying worthy recipients. The program receives very few scholarship applications, and I know that there are worthy students in the Triad who could benefit from tuition assistance.

If your readers know of a high school or college student whose parent was killed or seriously injured on the job, I encourage them to refer that student to Kids' Chance. We have scholarship applications available at the Deuterman Law Group offices downtown, as well as on our Web site at www.deutermanlaw.com.

Daniel Deuterman
Greensboro

The following is a counterpoint:

By Samuel B. Johnson

Absolutely. Let's make sure that every child begins the school day with the Pledge of Allegiance. At the end of it, we should restore the straight arm salute and the shout, "Victory! Hail!"

On Friday nights, we can have regular torchlight parades. What's more, during the pledge all the children can nudge each other and point at the Jehovah's Witness child whose parents have told him not to recite the pledge. Or they can make fun of the atheist child whose parents have told her to omit "under God," the phrase added to the pledge in 1954 as part of that era's McCarthyist red-baiting.

Of course, the children will later take care of those outsiders during recess on the playground.

Actually, no, I have a better idea. At the beginning of the school day, our children should read together one of the 10 amendments that make up our Bill of Rights. Maybe they should even take a few additional minutes to discuss and appreciate our freedoms.

If they read one amendment each school day, then they will read through our Bill of Rights about twice a month. By the end of their school education, they would probably have the Bill of Rights memorized, a valuable bit of knowledge for every U.S. citizen.

In all seriousness, if our legislature is going to require a patriotic exercise at the beginning of class, a reading from the Bill of Rights ought to be an option. Lining up our children for flag-waving and pledges and allegiance oaths is fascist. Such exercises promote fanaticism, jingoism, chauvinism and the deaths of our young people in senseless wars.

Let us rather train up our children with humility in what makes us truly great: our American freedoms, grounded in our constitutional rights.

The writer is an attorney who lives in Greensboro.

Longtime residents of the South Warnersville neighborhood and the former J.C. Price School are treasured links to the past, present and future vitality of the Warnersville community. J.C. Price School doesn't appear to have a role in the site's future for the present owners.

A sports park featuring a football stadium and a softball field doesn't have a role in the quality and quantity of life for the taxpaying Warnersville community citizens.

It is true that J.C. Price does have a historical place in the community. The school is the only remaining building in the neighborhood founded for freed slaves in the 1860s and demolished by urban renewal in the 1960s. However, ownership of the property does not give the owners the right to infringe upon the community of taxpaying citizens of Warnersville.

Brick and mortar will be demolished but the spirit of freed slaves and educators lives on, and so do the third and fourth generations of freed slaves in Warnersville.

We need the owners of the property to understand our desire to utilize the J.C. Price site for producing future educators, leaders and professionals from our community.

Jean B. Williams
Greensboro

In regard to your front-page article on adult care homes (June 25), I bet if the paper did an expose on these homes, 99 percent of them would be the same way.

The two people pictured from the Department of Social Services with the two volumes of complaints should be fired.

The saddest thing of all, when you leave a family member at most adult care homes and do not go check on that person on a regular basis, that is where the abuse happens. If you visit and they complain to you, they are probably being mistreated. You must investigate.

Stan Champion
Greensboro

In reference to your recent editorial, "Public needn't seek guidance on scandal from Krzyzewski" (June 23): Though he is "not the president" and "not the athletics director," and "not on the board of trustees," he is a well-recognized, high-profile part of the Duke University setting. He is also well educated, well informed, and very close to this unfortunate lacrosse team/stripper situation. But, I do agree with the premise that he should not be queried about his opinions on this matter, period.

You suggested that when questioned, his response was "a bit contradictory." Contradictory? Here's contradictory. The media have no problem seeking opinions, commentary and even advice on domestic and world affairs from Barbra Streisand, George Clooney, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and other Hollywood types, some of whom might have a high school education. They've never been briefed on, lack any close experience with, and are certainly not experts in, world affairs. Yet, their liberal opinions on high-level and very complicated matters are printed and broadcast nationally as though they are experts.

Mike Krzyzewski is better educated, informed and qualified to comment on this Duke lacrosse situation than these less-educated, ill-informed, unqualified, and overpaid troubadours are to speak on domestic and world affairs. That's the real contradiction.

Clyde L. Hunt Jr.
Greensboro

The June 20 "Scoop" article is proof of discrimination in a "means" other than skin color. Carolyn Coleman's remark came across to me as saying Billy Yow was below her because he digs wells for a living, and maybe dips a little snuff.

I don't know or care about the snuff, but thank God for well diggers. Without them, I would have no water at my house. And, what he does to relax is his business — snuff dipping does not cost us any taxes.

Personally, looking at art is no better than watching "still" TV. If Coleman feels that art museums improve her quality of life, then let her pay an admission charge and go for it. Don't expect taxpayers to have to cut our quality of life to improve others in this manner.

Art museums are not a necessity. Would she rather see a homeowner pay additional taxes for "art" and become a street person because he can't afford higher property taxes? Individuals should try to improve their own quality of life, not at someone else's expense.

And now, because I'm lucky enough to have a well, I must go do my laundry and improve the quality of my clothing.

Kathleen Odell
Greensboro

By Bill Smith

How does a 75-year-old white man respond to Shirley Wright's article (June 11), "My life”? I don't know, except to make an honest statement of my own, which could be interpreted differently depending on who reads it, and who chooses their own interpretation.

To say that I remember the barriers that black people were subjected to 25 years before the Civil Rights Act might illicit from many a resounding "so what?"And perhaps justifiably so, but it's the perspective of time from which I comment. Those who were there in that time will have a far different perspective than those who are living some of Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream now.

The truth is that there is no comparison. I rode on city buses with the "colored seated in rear" sign above the windshield. I went shopping with my mother before I started school and saw "white" and "colored" over restrooms and water fountains. But my parents knew black people whose children played with me in my backyard. We were simply taught, by example, to respect all people for their individual worth.

My point? Well, just that I was particularly encouraged by Wright's last two paragraphs, in which she cut through the fog of racism that seems to prevent us from seeing each other as worthwhile individuals.

Her piercing pragmatism and common sense should be a clarion call, not for forgetting, but for moving past the hate that has been learned much more than has been experienced.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

It is supposed to be "We the people of the United States of America," not we the government. So, we the people should rise up in protest against our military being put on trial for doing what they are trained to do: Kill the enemy.

So they killed Al-Zarqawi by dropping two 500-pound bombs on his "safe house." The world's worst terrorist, as far as they know. The Associated Press reported his wife and child were killed also. I wonder if our government will put the pilots who flew that plane on trial for killing those "innocent civilians"?

Call your senators and complain about the way our government is allowing our military to be treated. Seven Marines and one Navy corpsman in California have been held in shackles for doing their job in Iraq. How stupid is that?

Gayle S. Harrell
Pelham

I read, with interest, your editorial praising Sandra Anderson Groat for "engineering a compromise" budget for the Greensboro City Council. While I agree it is good to see a freshman councilwoman get involved in the budget process, I only wish she had developed her newfound spine the week before and voted against the Sandy Carmany proposal. It was Groat's vote the week before which allowed the Carmany proposal to pass.

I am really disappointed in the majority of the council for passing this bloated budget. If the council had worked as hard during the entire process as Groat did the last few days, maybe they could have found sufficient savings to pay for the new, necessary budget items without raising our property taxes.

There are a lot of items in the budget which aren't necessary to the operation of the city, which, if cut, would allow the necessary things like fire and police to be provided.

Mike Gregory
Greensboro

"Raising Scholars at Home" was what the bumper sticker read as either a tyke or adult proceeded to toss countless pieces of yellow paper out of the moving vehicle.

More and more I find that an attitude of "I've got mine — who cares about you?" exists in this region. Money for public schools? Can't do it; I'll home school or send my kids to private school so they get theirs. Yours? That's your problem.

Litter a problem? Nope, my yard is OK, so throw that junk out the window and let someone else worry about it. Just drive faster so you don't have to see it. And by all means, mow over the trash rather than picking it up first.

Factories making so much noise that residents nearby cannot get enough rest to go to programs for the disabled; get enough sleep even though the doctor ordered it, or even use their deck? Not my problem; disclosure laws only apply to resales, not new sales. Besides, my land deals are more important than your quality of life.

Welcome to the state whose license plates say "First in Flight" but should say "Me First."

Kenneth Trager
Jamestown

I recently received a political mailing from Vernon Robinson, the Republican candidate running against Congressman Brad Miller in the 13th District. The mailing was unique in that it said nothing about Robinson's plans for North Carolina and America. It attacked Congressman Miller in several astonishing ways, however, including implying that he was gay.

At the end of this five-page bit of attack propaganda, I didn't have a clue about what Robinson would do as a congressman. He is typical of the attack-and-smear politician who has no issues to run on, so he makes up empty allegations to attack his more qualified opponent.

I will be voting for Congressman Miller's re-election since he has done a fine job so far, and he actually has an agenda aside from simply smearing his opponent. Robinson is simply not qualified to be a U.S. congressman, which is why he can't come up with anything but attacks.

Congressman Brad Miller, on the other hand, has proven himself to the voters of North Carolina in the state Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. Miller is the better candidate and the better man. I urge everyone to vote for him.

Okla Elliott
Greensboro

I have just read a letter to the editor in which a person complains of inadequate signage at roadwork projects.

I would like to complain about the waste I see every trip in which there are an abundance of signs detailing which river basin you are driving through. Wouldn't you look that up on a map? What part of traffic safety does that involve and how much does it cost taxpayers?

Another complaint: the thousands of signs that say, "Bridge ices before roadway." Isn't that a given assumption? Soon, if this trend continues, we will see signs that say, "Speed limit posted on the next sign."

These signs are a waste of taxpayers'monies. I have an idea: Let's stop the waste and put up more signs that actually warn of a hazard, like — dare I say it — road construction.

Michael Martin
Eden

The following is a counterpoint
Your recent article concerning what appeared to be an exceptionally small bail requirement for a defendant in a pending Guilford County murder trial (“Lower bond angers some kin of victim,” June 22) raises several related and relevant issues.

Since the judge in the case could not be reached for comment, we can only speculate as to the validity of his reasoning in arriving at the amount required. It may be quite valid, and he certainly is under no legal obligation to explain it. However, I do feel that a much bigger issue here is being overlooked.

Our court system, one that is legally obligated to function in a timely manner, is under an extremely heavy burden, and I have no doubt that without substitute and fill-in judges that burden would be significantly increased. I understand that the pool of retired judges willing to sacrifice the great amount of time required to serve in such positions may not be adequate to offset the caseload, and that others may be needed to augment their numbers.

At the same time, I have great difficulty in accepting the fact that a judge such as the one mentioned in the article, who was voted out of office in the last election, should be allowed to continue to serve and pass judgment in direct contradiction to the will of the voters of this county. I have no personal complaint against Tom Foster, but at the same time, I do admit feeling that the electoral process set up for choosing judges has been blatantly ignored by our legal system. Our State Constitution mandates that these be elected positions, and although there are provisions allowed for fill-in appointments, to appoint someone back into a position he was just voted out of is an insult to the citizens of this state.

Andi Sells
Greensboro

Your June 17 headline demonstrates that your front page is also your opinion page. "Schools fret over Guilford budget cuts" is an unusual way to announce that the county commissioners funded a 10.6 percent budget increase. (For recent graduates of Guilford County schools, that's the $15 million increase funded by the commissioners divided by last year's budget of $141.7 million.)

It seems that everyone quoted in your article considers a 10.6 percent increase an outrage. Imagine if you went to your boss after receiving a 10.6 percent raise and expressed outrage at the fact that your pay had been cut. I believe you know what the result would be.
Of course, few county residents got a 10.6 percent raise this year. But the gluttonous school officials and board members don't care about the average person who must fund such increases without a 10.6 percent raise.

Your headline does serve one purpose: It shows that your paper is simply four or five sections of opinion, not the News & Record.

Bill Stevens
Jamestown

Paragraph three in your Summary Judgment (June 17) brought to my mind some personal history.

For a number of years, the late broadcast stalwart, Charlie Harville, and I shared the distinction of special recognition from the pages of the News & Record. A sportswriter alluded to us "former legends," apparently referring to our radio and TV notoriety.

Charlie and I got a laugh out of it. It became a running gag between us. We greeted one another as a "former legend."

Language experts we fancied ourselves: We thought that once a legend always a legend.

You doubtless know why I'm writing. Michael Jordan was mentioned as "the former North Carolina legend" in Summary Judgment. I knew Mike had retired from the NBA, that he has assumed the role of part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. I didn't know Mike had given up his esteemed status as a legend.

I'll bet he's still a legend in Chapel Hill.

I'm sure Charlie Harville would agree that "once a legend, always a legend."

Add Penfield
Asheboro

In response to Patricia Boswell's letter, "Jesus said nothing about homosexuality" (June 25), may I point out Jesus said nothing about pedophiles, drugs, slavery, kidnapping, rape, abortion or incest, if you read what "Jesus said."

I suppose she only lives by words Jesus said in the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Jesus said, "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" (John 8:34). What is sin? Did Jesus tell us what sin is? When Jesus was tempted by the devil in Matthew 4, one of his answers to Satan was, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
In Luke 24:44, Jesus spoke of the law of Moses, the prophet, and things in Psalms, "which were written ... concerning me."

Should we ignore all other writings in Moses, the prophets and Psalms? What other Scripture should we ignore? John 1:17 tells us, "For the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Let us know sin is still sin, mercy is still grace unto those who repent of sin.

Larry Chandler
Greensboro

I live in Winston-Salem where we have had our share of heated council debates. But nothing in Winston-Salem compares to the childish, immature behavior exhibited last week by the Guilford County commissioners.

Grow up and start representing your constituents. Your behavior is an embarrassment to the entire Triad.

John Schultz
Winston-Salem

The following is a Counterpoint.

By Patrick Tillman

In answer to the column by Sarah Jones, "Is military asking too much" (June 14), I have some thoughts. Her observation that people join the various branches of our military for different reasons is correct. It is true that those who serve enjoy the pleasure of many tangible benefits such as free health care, Montgomery G.I. Bill, travel and so on.

I am writing from a unique position of clarity after having served in the Al Anbar province of Iraq as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Reserves. I submit that those of us who voluntarily serve our nation do so for the vast intangibles associated with serving in the armed forces. Honor, courage, commitment, selflessness and discipline are priceless values inculcated in the making of a Marine, soldier, sailor or airman.

Perhaps the greatest feeling is knowing the men and women to one's right and left have put their lives in your hands and that you have put your life in their hands. This is not measured by money or reward.
American Marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen and Coast Guardsmen have more demands on them today than most civilians can understand. We are in an historical struggle with a dark, radical force that seeks to destroy our way of life. The men and women of the armed forces whom I know and have served with understand this grave threat and seek to prevent the world from drifting aimlessly into darker times.

Undoubtedly, events like Abu Ghraib and the alleged events by Marines in Haditha have severely strained those efforts. Despite some isolated despicable acts, we often overlook the heroic acts of compassion and humanitarianism on display around the world.

From the tsunami in Thailand, to the earthquake in Pakistan and here at home in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, our armed forces answer the call and continue to be a force for good that spans the globe.

College tuition, training and free medical care are wonderful, but there is a more profound reason young men and women risk their lives every day as professional Marines. U.S. Marines are expected by the American people to win battles. That is to defeat enemies, foreign and domestic, and defend our constitution. Mediocre pay, long hours, thankless efforts and, yes, multiple deployments are inherent in the American serviceman's life. We're not time-clock punchers looking for avenues that afford us the least amount of work for the most reward.
Serving in the armed forces is one of the greatest honors an American can have. I hope this helps to answer Jones' uncertainties about the U.S. military.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

Recently, a state House committee refused to even hear a bill calling for a constitutional amendment to prevent government from using eminent domain authority to take our private property for economic development purposes.

Instead of allowing this important bill to be heard, it was sent to the Rules Committee to die without fair consideration. The legislators who voted to kill this important bill would have you believe that legislation passed earlier during this session ensures that our private property is safe from the long arm of eminent domain; nothing could be further from the truth.

That legislation is a mere Band-Aid, and it does not provide North Carolinians with the level of protection we deserve. Legislatures come and go, and laws can easily be changed.

That's why we need a state constitutional amendment to ensure that private property is safe from eminent domain abuse.

Contact your legislator and encourage them to support this amendment if it comes before the House.

Kieran Shanahan
Raleigh

The writer is chairman, N.C. Property Rights Coalition.

How many more articles must we see in the paper regarding a disparity in school suspension rates before our school board and administration implement realistic strategies for improvement instead of playing the blame game?

This disparity has less to do with institutional racism, and more to do with unacceptable student behavior. Our system loves to talk about academic rigor, but, when will we address behavioral rigor?

As an educator for more than 20 years, I can offer some rational expectations for student success: 1) come to school; 2) be reasonably prepared for class; 3) behave appropriately; 4) give a decent effort; and 5) initially comply with the direction of school authority.

If all of our students would practice these behavioral expectations, we would see improvement in academic performance and lower suspension rates for all students. This is not rocket science – it is common sense.

Implement a policy where we: 1) have reasonable expectations of students; 2) clearly articulate and demonstrate expectations to students, parents and teachers; 3) hold students accountable; and 4) are consistent with enforcement.

The results would be greater academic achievement, fewer suspensions and a better teaching environment for all.

Joe Franks
Greensboro

I write to oppose our City Council for eliminating the unlimited SCAT rider pass. One "reason" some members gave for was that the limited pass offered to SCAT riders would have been more expensive per ride than the unlimited pass.

But, it goes without saying that unlimited passes are always cheaper per ride — for fixed route riders (who have this pass available for $35) or for SCAT riders — who now have been deprived of it.

Those making this argument had the gall to divide SCAT riders against each other on grounds that could at best draw derisive laughter from anyone whose moral sense had not been corrupted.

What riders got was 30 round trips per month for $72. Expensive for many, and accommodating only work, one round trip to church, and one round trip for shopping (medical care, exercise, and leisure are out of the question).

Another reason for eliminating the pass is it would "wreck" the city budget. Were this actually true, instead of an index of city priority, the council should have urgently sought grants — as other cities do — to make up the shortfall.

Gregory Meyerson
Greensboro

Representatives from around the nation and world will join concerned citizens of Greensboro today to share stories of injustice and efforts towards redress and reconciliation. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Alumni-Foundation Event Center at N.C. A&T, you can participate and learn from people taking to heart the real meaning of self-government; folks from Peru, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Canada, Northern Ireland, Wilmington, Rosewood, Fla., and New Orleans.

Because of its citizen-initiated Truth and Reconciliation process, our city is deemed important enough to host this global gathering to celebrate the right and duty of people to expect and demand equal protection and equal economic opportunities.

What a fitting way to follow up the July Fourth weekend: "do" some democracy; read up on the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission and attend the event. For information, call (336) 230-0001.

Lewis Pitts
Greensboro

The following is a counterpoint:

By Eileen Cirincione and Sheri Miller

As teachers at a high-risk school, we have serious concerns about the Mission Possible plan discussed in the News& Record (June 26). We appreciate the fact that Dr. Terry Grier wants to make changes at high-poverty schools, and we recognize that changes are necessary; however, we question his methods.

It's fair to say that money is not the motive for most people entering the teaching profession. We believe the majority of teachers truly want to make a difference in their students' lives. Thus, it's disheartening to think that Grier feels he can simply dangle a few extra dollars for better teachers. The fact that he wants to lure new teachers to these schools implies that the present staff members are inadequate. Can we be sure that the new applicants are quality educators?

One has to question the motive of someone choosing to work at such demanding schools for a few extra dollars a week. Yes, these schools desperately need quality teachers, but the first requirement should be a strong desire to help children, not make more money.

We also have concerns about Grier's relocation plan for teachers who do not meet standards for test score growth. According to Grier's plan, teachers will be moved if they have negative value-added growth for two or more years. Like Grier, we feel teachers should be held accountable for high standards in the classroom and should expect only the best from their students. Will this plan really create thoughtful learning environments when scare tactics distract teachers? We worry that teachers will feel the need to compete rather than support each other. Where will teachers who fail to make positive growth be relocated? If we care about all our students and feel these educators are not "quality," should they be placed at another location? Moreover, is it really fair to measure a teacher's effectiveness by one annual test score when there are so many more aspects to the job?

Finally, we must question the $1.6 million price tag on Grier's plan. Being in the trenches each day, we see the need for more books, more math and science manipulatives, and tools that create rich learning environments. As a community, we must think about our goals for our children and think seriously about the best ways to reach these goals.

The writers live in Greensboro.

For years, I have observed the behavior of our Guilford County commissioners during their deliberation of county business. It is truly embarrassing and appalling to see such obnoxious and infantile behavior demonstrated by our elected officials.

How is it possible that an area blessed with so many fine institutions of higher learning cannot produce individuals who are willing and able to serve our communities with dignity, competence and professionalism? Do we really need officials who cannot articulate their differences without being utterly obnoxious? Surely, our communities and institutions can produce and support individuals who are willing and able and possess the intelligence, competence and professional fortitude to conduct the county's business. We deserve better and improved representation.

How long will we tolerate such behavior? Let's send a message to the Guilford County commissioners. Enough already.

Morris C. Peterkin
Jamestown

Israel's latest tactics in Gaza are totally unacceptable. Israel destroys a bridge and infrastructure and invades the area, penalizing 1.5 million people because one Israeli soldier is kidnapped. Is not this behavior deserving of the title "rogue state"?

The United States wants to fight terrorism. Tactics such as these only inflame passions around the world, increase antagonism toward the United States and its darling Israel and provide more volunteers for al-Qaida.

All aid to Israel should be immediately stopped. The American Israel Political Action Committee, the main lobby organization in Washington working for Israel, should be treated as a lobbyist for a foreign nation. United Jewish Appeal funds should be taxed.

Farid P. Wissa
High Point

The best and worst examples of citizenship were news items recently. The best was Warren Buffet's all-time-unequaled gift of billions for the Gates Foundation.

The worst involved newspapers, claiming First Amendment rights for doing so, publishing our intelligence procedures for identifying terrorists. This was the equivalent of the British press telling Hitler how they were cracking his Enigma code, and I believe the Founding Fathers who crafted the First Amendment would have found it treasonous. The penalty for treason, the crime of giving aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war, traditionally has been death. And by act of Congress, we are at war. Irresponsible journalism can jeopardize the lives of today's great generation, both men and women who voluntarily put their lives on the line so that we may have the liberty to debate our constitutional rights. Freedom is not free.

Faint hearts who fear loss of liberty in every act of our intelligence services, whose methods necessarily are clandestine, should thank God (or whatever power they rely upon for deliverance from evil) that our sleuths are interested only in identifying our enemies.

Francis L. Perkins
Greensboro

I had the sad occasion to watch Guilford County commissioners on June 29 exhibit the most inappropriate behavior imaginable.

The purpose of the meeting was to fire County Manager Willie Best. The meeting got so out hand it seemed just syllables away from a fistfight. Best could only sit on the sideline and watch as the participants called each other liars and racists, and even cited an occasion when one member's constituents referred to other board members by the N-word. What would generate a conversation to share that kind of information?

The board has three political parties: Republicans, Black Democrats and White Democrats. For aspiring Democrats, this is the general behavior until election year.

I believe there are two kinds of racism. One kind we are all accustomed to. The other is called testicular racism. The latter was most prevalent on that Thursday night.

I also believe there are two ways to solve this social disease that has plagued our county for too long. First, we need a nonpartisan board of commissioners. Second, we need to replace all, and I do mean all, of our commissioners next election.

Dot Henderson
Greensboro

This blockage of the minimum wage is disgraceful. Yet Congress votes itself a pay raise. These congressmen should be ashamed to be in Washington. We are ashamed to have them there. They should be recalled for mishandling the public trust.

Kenneth Bravehawk
Brown Summit

Am I the only one who feels the reminder in theaters to shut down cell phones demonstrates the growing lack of respect we have for each other?

Why do I have to listen to inane chatter about the mall while waiting for a cup of coffee at my neighborhood Starbucks?

What kind of person shares intimate details of yesterday evening's date with all in voice range in the airport waiting area?

How much longer am I expected to risk life and limb while another driver with a cell phone to one ear maneuvers a car through the restricted space of a parking lot?

What act of civility and respect for others is demonstrated by using the cell phone at a dinner table in public while others pretend not to listen?

How civil is it to block the supermarket aisle with a shopping cart in one hand and a cell phone in the other, discussing yesterday's sports event?

What does it demonstrate of civility and rearing to overcome poor reception with a louder voice in a public place?

The cell phone is replacing the boombox of yesterday in how people demonstrate they do not care about civility. It is as though they feel invisible or have immunity from courteous behavior.

David P. Haxton
Greensboro

I see Osama bin Laden wants the body of his pal al-Zarqawi so he can hold a proper funeral. Sure thing, O. Come and get him.

Don Freedman
Greensboro

Our misplaced priorities are apparent when the extraordinary time, resources and media attention given to the Truth and Reconciliation process are compared to the lack of attention paid to the breakdown of the process that should be protecting some of the most vulnerable among us.

Eric Townsend's article, "We dropped the ball" (June 25), makes it clear we have turned a blind eye to the horrendous treatment of those who have no advocate. If they had been taken as prisoners in some faraway military operation, we would label such treatment inhumane and demand an investigation. I suspect we do not want to deal with the here and now.

I propose the following alternative to living in the past. Since the communist movement advocated exploiting problems such as racism and poverty in order to sow distrust in government and the structure of society, rather than apologize, we should congratulate the Communist Workers Party on its success and close that book. Then turn all the effort, assets and leadership of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission toward the problems we face today. Start with a hard look at the agencies that should be overseeing our dealings with the elderly.

Jerry Olson
Greensboro

"Pathetic" was my first reaction to Cal Thomas' column, "Times gave aid and comfort to enemy" (July 1). All he did was to quote verbatim the sound bites of the president, the president's press secretary and the National Review while denouncing (what else) the Times comments to the contrary.

But, then I thought of the dilemma facing Cal as he sat down to write his piece. Like all the other extreme conservative mouthpieces, he was expected to echo the party line right down to the dots and tittles while making it seem like they were his own thoughts. It must be getting tiresome to keep repeating in a new context the sound bites dictated by the administration ("cut and run," "long war," etc., ad nauseam). The man must have his pride. So to avoid rephrasing the slogan du jour, he just chose to quote other practitioners exactly.

Now if Rush Limbaugh, Fox cable news, Bill O'Reilly and every Republican senator and representative would just regurgitate faithfully the faxes the administration sends them each morning, at least we would be spared their tortured efforts to make the context seem like their own ideas.

Michael J. Scotto
Greensboro

In the film, "The Patriot," Mel Gibson's character states, "Aim small, miss small." Our local government's motto could be, "Act small, stay small."

Is it too much to ask our elected officials to cease the childish antics they display in public meetings? I fault the immature officials who apparently enjoy seeing their names published and the silent officials who allow this behavior to continue.

Blame also falls on the News & Record for not using its editorial power to demand in the public's name a more professional attitude from officials. The newspaper may feel that giving so much ink to these unprofessional officials sells papers, but you do no public service in not promoting a change in these officials' conduct. There are real issues to decide.

The job of government is to help provide for the common welfare of the community. With budgetary restrictions, law enforcement needs and a host of other problems, I am sick to death of reading about the juvenile actions of our officials.

Editor, do a better job of reporting the facts on local issues. Less ink to the brats. Officials, quit auditioning for clown college on the public's dime. Grow up and govern.

David R. Benson
Greensboro

Sen. Elizabeth Dole's office sent me a letter from which I can almost recognize my original concern. She says she supports Smarmy the Clown because he's made America more secure.

What Smarmy's own agencies — not The New York Times — tell me is a different story. Terrorist expansion continues. Smarmy's willingly bought coalition has mostly gone home. Our cowed military leaders give the latest Iraqi effort poor marks, but they'll cover for Republicans to let go of the tiger's tail before elections. Smarmy's incompetence has left us no options and no oil.

Islamic extremists control Somalia. The North Koreans have The Bomb, and the Iranians will make The Bomb or get the sweetest deal this side of Halliburton.

Smarmy's agencies still ignore the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission; profits precede security; domestic programs are shambles; Homeland Security remains a fiasco of partisan boondogglery, and we've become a nation of men and their lies, not laws. Social conservatives insist the government define religious sacraments and patriotism while their financial brethren trumpet a debt/deficit-driven economy whose growth depends on foreign loans and laborers.

More secure? If Liddy thinks so, bless her heart, she's as dumb as a stick.

Christopher C. Tew
Greensboro

A recent article, "Huge bill for public retirees hits soon,” stated that "taxpayers will soon get a surprise bill that could exceed $1 trillion for the cost of paying future medical benefits for state and local workers who retire.”

Then in the paper on July 3, I saw that someone can work for North Carolina five years and get subsidized medical benefits.

When will our government leaders realize what private industry has faced? We can no longer employ someone for 20 years and be expected to subsidize them for twice that long. But then our government has never been made to be accountable. They can just raise taxes again. And again. And again.

The old argument that they make less so they get benefits to make up for it no longer holds water either. Municipal salaries are comparable to private salaries while the benefits are much more lavish.

Individuals are seeing retirement ages extended beyond age 67, their Social Security taxed and taxes increased to pay benefits for someone who retires at 45. Something is wrong.

Mark Whitehouse
Browns Summit

My radio was tuned gently to a classical station in order to hide any extemporaneous noises. The fireworks were lit near a sidewalk where neighbors and their guests could not walk for fear of their safety. The fireworks were lit on the state road that we share where anyone can drive by at any time. They emitted smoke and pollution, which permeated our house with no window open. I opened the window about 9 p.m. after the show had been going on for about 45 minutes. Calling into the crowd about four times for my neighbor, then finally, "Knock it off, would you, please? I'm trying to get some sleep. That last one hit the roof of our house!”

The fireworks had started just as I was about to turn in at my usual time. (Yes, some of us do go to bed with the birds and get up with the chickens.) They stopped after my request, but why hadn't our neighbor asked permission of the neighborhood before he started the show with all the noise and pollution? Because fireworks are legal in North Carolina? Fireworks also disturb the peace. An oxymoron, admittedly?

Judy Stierand
Whitsett

Regarding the Fun Fourth parade:

It was moving to see the vets, the children, and a variety of community-based organizations. I gratefully applauded. They were a fine representation of our community. However, I cannot express my total disappointment over one group. Nothing about them represents our community. They were promoting anarchy and many un-American ideas. Their chants, drums and slogans represent nothing that reflects the community that I have called home all of my life. They followed the trash trucks; they should have been in the trash trucks.

Freedom of speech … yes, but in a community parade, on a day to celebrate what's great about our country and its heritage? In no way can I see that their involvement enhanced the parade. It was a detriment to it and served only to reflect an incompetent decision to include a group that is not part of building up our community, but rather of tearing it down.

I assume the parade has standards regarding who's allowed to participate. I would expect those standards to reflect community values that promote good, not evil. I suppose that next year I should expect Nazis, Communists, pedophiles and Islamic fascist groups in the parade.

H. G. Miller
Browns Summit

A few observations:
• The Dixie Chicks are wonderful for criticizing the president, and they are afforded a huge story so they can get more customers.
• Hooray for the Supreme Court for supporting terrorists and terrorism, and it is good they did not look to precedent. Your editorial said as much, and one of your leftists writers has agreed.
• But most of all, I loved Edwin Yoder's treatise (July 2) in support of sins.

We are to believe there are 10 Suggestions and not 10 Commandments.

We are to believe that those who believe in the Bible are idiots, and, because Yoder writes so eloquently, we are to believe him.

Throw the Bible out the window, and forget there is sin in the world.
Go to church to hear wonderful liturgy, not to be told you should live a good life. As a church member once told me, do not preach for redemption, just quote some theologians. Let us not sacrifice. We do not know what Christ died for, but it was surely not to free us from the bondage of sin.

The great theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer often criticized cheap grace. Mr. Yoder supports cheap grace. And that is a shame.

Jack Stratas
Denton

I was a lifelong resident of Greensboro but now live in Georgia. I still take the paper and read it online as well. It's so nice to see that the Guilford County commissioners are still fighting among themselves ("Officials fire Best," June 30).

No one has been smart enough yet to get rid of Skip Alston? He is a disgrace to our city and, yet, is still allowed to voice his opinions. I am still embarrassed to think of the people who visit Greensboro and pick up our paper and read the fool words of that man.

Tammy Bode
Peachtree City, Ga.

It is hard to believe that members of Congress continue to give themselves raises while workers' income is falling.

I have brain cancer and am now out of work, so I would like to see government provide health care because shortly the money we have will run out.

Terry Isler
Greensboro

Let me get this straight. Edwin Yoder and his dear auntie could not agree on whether or not the biblical injunction to keep the Sabbath holy precludes playing golf on Sunday (column, July 2). Therefore, Mr. Yoder concludes, the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures cannot speak clearly on the question of the sinfulness of same-sex sex or, for that matter, any other issue of public importance.

That such arrogant silliness prevailed at the most recent meeting of the Episcopal Church, USA, tells us all we need to know about the state of "mainline” Christianity. Like the alcoholic in the death throes of cirrhosis, recovery is no longer possible; all we can hope for is a quiet, painless demise.

James W. Lung
Greensboro

Enough is enough. The recent meeting of the county commissioners was an embarrassment to our community. They were not conducting business. It was a divisive exhibit of blame, accusations and name-calling.
This has gone on far too long, and no one on the board should be excused for the latest spectacle. All citizens of Guilford County should all be appalled. We deserve so much better.

I shudder when I picture someone here on business, perhaps sitting in his or her hotel room and tuning in this childish display. Is this the image that we want to present? Why on earth would David McNeill or Willie Best — or anyone, for that matter — want to work for or do business with this group?

Here is an exchange I heard between Billy Yow and Bruce Davis: "You're stupid.” "You're stupider.” "Well, you are stupider.”
We elected these people?

Jay Harris
Greensboro

Here are two quotes from a June 30 News & Record news article: "Drivers who talk on cell phones may be just as dangerous as those who drink," and "By one key measure (frequency of accidents), cell phone users were even worse than drunken drivers."

Is anybody listening? Whom shall I sue when someone causes me or my wife harm because he or she wasn't paying attention to the road? Yes, the driver, but aren't elected officials of the city, county and state equally responsible, since they don't stop this irresponsible behavior on our roads?

I have had a number of close calls because the other driver was oblivious to what was going on around him or her.
Are there others who won't take this anymore?

Michael H. Hoppe
Greensboro

In his letter, "Scriptures speak against homosexual behavior" (July 1), Harold McGee uses quotes from Leviticus in an attempt to support his view of homosexuals.

Let's look at some of Leviticus' other offerings:

• Chapters 1-7 detail how to perform animal sacrifices on God's altar.

• Chapter 11 discusses animals that shouldn't be eaten and are an abomination, including pigs. Eaten barbecue? You're a sinner, according to Leviticus.

• Chapter 12 says after a woman has given birth, she must bring a lamb and pigeon to be sacrificed so that she will be clean.

• Leviticus 21:17-23 tells us that people with blemishes (including blind people, the lame, dwarves, scabbed, broken-handed) shall not approach and profane God's altar.

• Leviticus 23:30 says God will destroy the soul of whomever works on the Sabbath. Are the people working on Sundays to provide the ability to shop, eat and repair our homes all sinners? Are people working in elder care homes or hospitals sinners for working on Sundays?

The Bible is used to support many ideas, even ideas that enforce hatred or persecution of others. However, the Bible can be a wonderful guide to teach us to be compassionate, loving people. Let's use it that way.

Chris Garland
Greensboro

I'm an evangelical Episcopalian and a latter-day Republican, but I'll be durned if I don't say a loud "Amen" to Saint Al the Baptist Gore's prophetic message in the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," now playing at the Carousel Theatre in Greensboro.

I believe working to reverse global warming is one of the most important family values of our time, and Al Gore is an impeccable messenger of this truth.

God bless Al Gore, and God help us to save God's good Earth.

Bob Emmaus
Greensboro

"Your History?" (AP article, News & Record, July 3), should only be printed with an author's name attached. The Associated Press seems to have a number of writers who are social democrats and one-worlders.

The article's conclusion is absurd (that we all have a common ancestor who lived 2,000 to 5,000 years ago). One of the characteristics of humans as well as other species is their historical tendency to stay in their own culture.

I would like the "scientists" cited to explain when there was an admixture of Japanese and Norwegian genes. Or when those of the Zulus mixed with those of American Indians. One hundred thousand years ago, yes. But two to five thousand years ago, hogwash.

John H. Hall
Greensboro

Please, let's hear no more of this idle chatter about a minimum wage increase. These people don't need it. All they could do with it is to spend it on food, clothing, shelter and transportation.

No, let's aim much higher. Let's call for a maximum wage decrease. Cut all the salaries, perks, etc., of the high rollers to $6 per hour. This includes members of Congress, government employees, corporate executives or anyone with an income of more than $18,000 a year, no exceptions.

A decrease in the maximum wage of this nature would shake this country to the very foundation, causing untold panic among the rich and on Wall Street. This would stop most of the financial whales from feeding off the barely existing plankton.

Fellow Americans, if you agree, contact me at www.com ... oops, I forgot.

I am too poor to own a computer and Web site. Better make that www.congress.com.

Joe Newsom
Star

The following is a counterpoint:

By Annie Oakley

The first thing an alcoholic must admit in AA to get better is that he or she is powerless over alcohol.

The first thing you learn in ALANON is you can't stop or change the alcoholic's behavior, only the alcoholic can. Punishment is not the best option; the alcoholic has already lost everything and that has not led to his recovery.

Repeat DWI offenders have a problem of coping. No one gets behind the wheel thinking he is going to kill someone or himself. He is not thinking at all. Repeaters have already lost their driver's license and car insurance and no longer can get places legally on their own. Even this does not stop them. A jail will stop them while they are there, but drugs in jail will allow the same behavior. Once out, the majority will drink again.

Experience teaches us in both organizations, "If you keep on doing what you are doing, you'll keep on getting what you are getting."

A disease cannot be legislated. It's far more productive and cheaper to the taxpayers to create a facility (even inside the jail or a hospital) where offenders are treated for the underlying problem that led to this inappropriate coping skill, low self-esteem and/or mental illness.

For example, people with bipolar disorder may self-medicate with drugs and alcohol.

The social drinker, not realizing he has had too much to drink, will suffer the punishment of a ticket, higher insurance costs and shame. He will probably learn from this one-time mistake.

Thrill-seeking young offenders would benefit from an evaluation program for emotional illnesses, etc., then treatment for or education about the reasons for their behavior, learning self-control and responsibility. They would benefit from community service and giving back to the community and learning they are not the center of the universe.

Until we treat the problem and not the symptoms, we will continue to fail: fail to prevent property loss, fail to prevent loss of innocent lives and fail to help the community and families understand and work with the alcoholic. It would be much better to be proactive in treatment instead of overwhelming our courts and jails with an impossible task.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I'm sick to death of political lies. The president is questioned about authorizing wiretaps of American citizens without warrants, and he defends this decision by accusing his enemies of being against wiretapping terrorists.

The "evangelical right" is a political movement bent on making laws in our nation that would conform to medieval morality, instead of simply telling people about their "good news." Congress ignores true and weighty political problems in order to debate gay marriage and flag burning.

America is not being served by the public servants the two "big" parties have provided for us to choose between. The whole system would collapse if everyone were to suddenly stop "spinning."

Isn't it high time that we ditched both of these ungainly, unresponsive parties that have found it impossible to stay in office without lying? Isn't it about time the voters of this country started to demand public servants who will simply deal with the true problems we are facing — without automatically resorting to their "spins"?

J. Eric Harrington
Greensboro

I think I can speak for all the people who travel the new U.S. 421 South each day. It is a breath of sunshine to enjoy the beautiful landscaping that the city has incorporated along the sides of this gateway entering Greensboro. The roses, ornamental grasses and many evergreens, plus the trees, have certainly enhanced the area.

Also, thanks for maintaining. Sometimes areas are planted but are not maintained. The city just needs to work on the exit ramp/bridge in that area.

Elm Street is looking great, with the exception of Williams/Carolina Steel and Wrangler. These companies need to improve their landscaping and grounds surrounding their buildings on this gateway.

Also, many thanks to the businesses along the same areas that maintain their landscaping, especially to the owner of McDonald's, the best-looking and maintained McDonald's in Greensboro. We all like to shop, eat and work at places that maintain an attractive interior, but it takes the exterior appeal to get you inside.

Keep up the good work and we will continue to support you.

P.J. King
Greensboro

In reflecting on Independence Day, although I'm thankful to live in the U.S.A., I feel like a woman who loves her husband enough to do everything she can to make him the best person he can be. I feel that way about my country.

Unless our ancestors are Native Americans, they were immigrants (or forced here on slave ships) who sought better lives than they had had. Freedom is precious. Unless everyone works to make this a better country (and world), we will lose it. Some of our freedoms are already being chipped away.

If you have never talked to any refugee, take the opportunity. They can tell you the importance of democracy and freedom. I ate at The Caribbean 1820 Restaurant on Seneca Street recently and talked with the owner, who is from Cuba. His family had restaurants in Cuba before Castro took over all businesses there. Can you imagine what it means to him and his wife to be able to have a restaurant in a free country?

Remember what July 4th truly means. It's fun to have Fun Fourth, fireworks, picnics, but shouldn't we remember why we have an Independence Day?

Ann Ashmore Clegg
Greensboro

I must say that the Universoul Circus (July 4, 1 p.m.) was an absolute disaster. As a consumer, I was very disappointed.

I was told by the young man who sat us down that the generators had been broken since 3 that morning. That would have been enough time get an emergency crew or to cancel a show. It was nearly 100 degrees in Greensboro that day and 190 degrees under the tent.

When I asked for a refund 15 minutes into the show, after my children, ages 3 and 5, complained and were sweating terribly, the ticket agent informed me that she "just worked there" and they were still selling tickets for the 4 p.m. show.

That had to be some type of health code violation in someone's book.

Niki Hill
Greensboro

By Tom Pless

Attentive readers are surely aware of an ongoing verbal skirmish within these pages.

One side sees itself holding the line against a flood tide of moral decay, defending society's strength against those who espouse shortsighted, frivolous personal freedoms. The other fancies itself the high-minded guardians of civil and personal liberties, under continual attack by close-minded, unintelligent religious bigots.

Someone chides, "the Bible says …" Someone invariably responds, "Who are you to judge?"

A recent exchange in the News & Record offers an opportunity to further examine this matter of appealing to Scripture as a basis for making personal and societal decisions.

Recently, columnist Cal Thomas lit into the Episcopal Church for its election of a woman, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, as the denomination's presiding bishop. Looking past Thomas' usual brusque style, he is obviously referring to the apostle Paul's admonition to his protégé, Timothy, not to allow a woman to exercise authority over a man in Christian church practice (1 Timothy 2:12).

Ed Yoder, faithful Episcopal layman and former associate editor of this paper, offers a telling response (July 2). He states, "Scholars have long established, beyond doubt, that the Bible is an artifice of human hands and imagination blended of a variety of forms and sources — historically conditioned, often contradictory, and rarely self-interpreting."

Of course, this statement is wildly inaccurate from a scholarly point of view. But look how it relates to the issue at hand. Yoder is essentially saying that the basis for both the Jewish and Christian contention that a deity has revealed himself to mankind is purely mythical. Because he was offended by Thomas' overbearing style.

I question the veracity of a religious institution, any religious institution, that claims its own basis for truth and revelation is a contradictory artifice of human hands and imagination. Where, then, is its basis for ethics? The important question here is not are you offended, but what can be known about God through this book.

We would be fools to discount the idea (supported by many scholars) that God has indeed spoken to man, and that his primary means of continuing to speak is through emphasizing what he has already said, what he has preserved in a remarkable document we call the Bible. To ignore this astounding possibility, just because the messenger is insensitive, or even ignorant, is certainly throwing the baby out with the bath water.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

We seem to operate with a double standard when covering Iraq. When there are alleged abuses of individuals from another country by our U.S. military, we cry loud and hard about it.

What about when our own military personnel are abused or murdered? What about the responsibility we have for the two soldiers whose bodies were brutally mutilated? Where is the public outcry for our own citizens? I doubt that any of the prisoners currently being held in Guantanamo Bay will require DNA testing for identification when they are returned home.

Surely, our prisoners deserve at the very least the same concern and attention that those of the terrorists receive from the U.S. media.

Where are our politicians and why are they not calling for the immediate punishment of those responsible for brutally killing these two men? And why are the media not covering it with as much gusto and calls for accountability as they do when it is an alleged abuse of a terrorist by U.S. forces? At the very least, try to show the same concern and demand the same action for our own freedom fighters as you demand for the terrorists who got us here in the first place.

Kathy Rockel
Greensboro

Considering same-sex marriages requires fact, tolerance and logic, not religion.

For 3,000 years, marriage, in whatever language, has meant the union of man and woman. Marriage benefits in taxes, inheritance, Social Security and property ownership were established for man and woman; no such laws have ever applied to same-sex unions.

If two men or two women want to live together with mutual love, support and sex, I have no objection. They can contract with each other for a fixed time or for life. Our society will not fall apart, and true marriage will not be undermined.

No judge or minister can turn such union into marriage. Legislators can make new laws applying marriage benefits to same-sex unions. This should satisfy those now claiming discrimination, but if Congress actually approves same-sex marriage, all churches must perform such ceremonies or lose their tax-exempt status.

Federal and state judges are redefining marriage. We may need a constitutional amendment to restrict their authority and to allow each state to have its own marriage law without having to accept under the full faith and credit provision of the Constitution the marriage definitions of another state.

Dick Douglas
Greensboro

What would we do without courageous, disciplined, honorable men like Marine Patrick Tillman (Counterpoint, July 7)? Protecting our freedoms is a great privilege to men like Patrick, as it was to my brother-in-law, two brothers and husband.

In September, my husband's 86th Blackhawk Division Association, which served in both European and Pacific theaters in World War II 60 years ago, will be having its annual reunion in Washington, D.C. These graying members of what has been called "The Greatest Generation" are not alone. The greatest generation is composed of all the men and women who selflessly defend our freedoms and liberties granted by the Constitution.

I salute each and every one of them.

Jacque Behrends
Greensboro

The N.C. Department of Transportation has plans to widen Market Street from Bunker Hill Road to N.C. 68. Located on Market Street is Magnolia Manor, the home of more than 20,000 Girl Scouts in North Carolina.

In 2001, communities all over North Carolina rallied behind the Girl Scouts in a capital campaign to purchase Magnolia Manor.

The DOT wants to widen Market Street by adding two additional lanes, a median and a sidewalk, creating the loss of 100 feet of property. This would cause the loss of the pond as well as 12 100-year-old trees. The planned medians would also reduce the ability of any Girl Scout to make a left turn onto Francis Daily Court and reach the Girl Scout Learning Center.

In addition, Magnolia Manor would lose a significant source of revenue as the wedding garden used for many community weddings would be lost because of its closeness to the street. The revenue from the rental of the wedding garden provides programming for girls as well as maintenance funding for the building.

Surely, DOT could compromise with the Girl Scouts and surrounding businesses to create a more workable plan for everyone involved.

Madeleine Dassow
Greensboro

The writer is president of the board, Girl Scouts Tarheel Triad Council.

Could you or any of your readers please help me with the definition of a racist? I've already been to the dictionary and gotten the standard version, but there must be more to it. I honestly don't know. I do know one thing, however. If I hear another "Declaration of Intolerable Racism," I'm going to become one.

John F. Roberts
Reidsville

Harold McGee (letter, July 1) seems eager for American society to follow the letter of biblical law. That would be difficult. Strictly speaking, Jesus and Paul did not cherry-pick which laws we are required to follow (Matthew 5:17-19, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). Christians are to follow even "the least of these commandments."

I doubt McGee has thought about the practicality of living by the laws found in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, referred to in his letter. The author(s) of Deuteronomy (21:18-21) and Jesus himself (Mark 7:10) mandate death for disobedient children. Biblical scholars disagree on what exactly constituted disobedience, but, under current American law, such behavior is not a capital offense. We assume there were reasons why the Hebrews believed rebellious children should be stoned, but does McGee believe it today?

The Hebrews thought homosexuality was wrong because of its association with the Canaanite practice of temple prostitution and because of their primitive understanding of human reproduction. Regardless, every Christian alive interprets the Bible. Has McGee read the Bible, not someone else's interpretation? We may not all adhere to the same interpretation, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't follow Christ's loving example in our interactions with our neighbors, gay and straight.

Karen Slone
Greensboro

The small article (July 4) regarding Terry Wallis' regaining his speech and movement touched my heart. It also reminded me that great physicians and educated scientists do not understand everything (only God knows all).

Why did the little, "buried" article touch my heart, you may ask?

Less than three years ago, Terri Schiavo was struggling for her life. She, too, was young and vital. Her own parents were denied the privilege of caring for their own daughter.

Ironically, Terri's husband, Michael, had two children by another woman and finally married her a few days after the death of his lawful wife, Terri.

Obviously, healing can take place if the loving caregiver is patient and kind. Time is the great healer, but the family (or husband) must be willing to invest heart.

Welcome back, Terry Wallis.

Allie Covington
Whitsett

I cannot understand why you would print any story from The New York Times since they have become the top layer in road kill with their release of supposed state secrets. They are more dangerous to this country than Osama bin Laden and just as ruthless.

For the sake of the Democratic Party, they would sacrifice our country and the lives of soldiers who are fighting this war we did not start. Personally, I think the stupid news media are being used and don't even know it. I would like to think we have better minds in our government than in the muckraking business called journalism.

You have now joined the same sewer pit that moveon.org and the ACLU occupy.

Ken Sawyer
High Point

The real-estate agent's story (New Triad Homes, July 1) about condo and town home differences was missing one of the most important distinctions between the two.

Condos have only a single "common" wall between adjacent units. Sound transmission through condo walls and condo ceilings can be significant.

On the other hand, the more stringent building codes for town homes require "double-wall" construction between units. The barrier between you and your neighbor consists of four pieces of sheetrock, a double layer of staggered 2x4 studs, and twice the insulation found in condo walls. It's actually two complete walls pressed against each other with the property line running between them. Sound transmission between adjacent town homes is virtually non-existent. The double wall construction in town homes also provides a more effective fire stop that can protect your home when a fire breaks out next door.

Very few people seem to know the details of wall construction in condos and town homes. When purchasing a condo, buyers should be aware of the possibility of disturbances from noisy neighbors.

Mike Baron
Greensboro

"Meow!" On B1, The Inside Scoop (July 11), there was the headline. A story about felines, you say? No. A story about two Guilford County state legislators disagreeing about a bill to raise the minimum wage.

"Meow!"? Oh, I get it. The two legislators, Rep. Alma Adams and Sen. Kay Hagan, are women. And they were disagreeing. So, you know, "Meow!"

It would seem that someone at the News & Record would have realized that a serious publication should not and would not allow such a sexist and silly slight to see the light of day.

Seth Cohen
Greensboro

I could use some insight to the following things I just do not understand.

Why do the Guilford County commissioners try to compete with "The Jerry Springer Show" instead of responsibly representing the voters (taxpayers) like they said they would before they were elected? Me thinks politicians have fallen below the proverbial used car salesperson and even telemarketers.

Why do the same commissioners and the Guilford County school board (featuring Terry Grier) play cat and mouse with funding each time the yearly budget comes up? Grier knows what he wants going in, jacks up the amount by $10 million to $15 million and "settles" for the extra amount the commissioners finally scrape up. He still gets more than he initially wanted and still cuts needed jobs and programs. Politics again?

Finally, if professional baseball is America's pastime, why is it the only professional sport whose players do not shake hands with the opponent after each game? Isn't it "past time" professional baseball shows some good sportsmanship for our young people to emulate? There is already enough bad.

Somebody enlighten me.

Michael Zales
Greensboro

The following is a counterpoint:

By Gregory A. Wynn

Thomas Sowell's perspective on Theodore Roosevelt is reflective of the illiteracy of our American history that is of current, grave concern to many in our country. His commentary of July 6, "T. Roosevelt wasn't friend to consumers," was an empty and largely inaccurate representation of not only history, but TR's worthy place in the pantheon of great American heroes.

A recent poll of historians, academics and scholars placed TR within the ranks of America's great presidents.

Sowell, in questioning whether TR deserves a place on Mount Rushmore, is seemingly ignorant of TR's setting aside millions of acres of federally protected wildlife and natural reserves for generations to enjoy, the Pure Food and Drug laws, building the modern Navy and thus ushering in America's role in international affairs, brokering a peaceful ending to the bloody Russo-Japanese War and earning the Nobel Peace Prize, construction of the Panama Canal, settling the potentially disastrous anthracite coal strike of 1902 — the list can go on.

These are just the presidential accomplishments. Sowell is dismissive of what he calls TR's "flamboyant style and rhetoric" and post-presidential, Progressive Party positions that were considered radical at the time, such as equal protection under the law for all Americans, minimum wage standards and women's rights, to name only a few. These have since become cornerstones of American society.

Finally, TR would probably agree that he wasn't directly allied with "consumers" (a modern and nebulous term).

Rather, as the United States became an industrial power, TR sought a "square deal" for all Americans — businesses and consumers alike — and struggled to find an effective balance between what he considered to be the inherent value and worth of large industries and the inevitable clash involved with such growing capabilities on the receiving end.

TR no friend to consumers? If Sowell questions TR's worth on Mount Rushmore, one can certainly more effectively question Sowell's worth as a commentator.

The writer is a member of the executive committee, Theodore Roosevelt Association, and lives in Greensboro.

Dropped the ball? This is not a ballgame but real people's lives.

What is wrong with the people involved with the concerns at Friendship Care Assisted Living (article, June 25)? It doesn't sound like anyone "dropped the ball." Beating a person with a phone or stabbing a person in the eye is far more than dropping a ball; it sounds like criminal assault. Why is this allowed to go on and be overlooked?

People in such facilities are human beings. They are our elders, whom we were taught to respect. They are our parents — the ones who sacrificed for us, loved, taught and prayed for us.

Was the information about the ombudsman, Department of Social Services and residents' rights posted where it was visible for residents and visitors to see? It is the duty of the police and DSS to see that these rights are enforced. These elders must not forfeit their rights when they enter the facility.

We know the basic problem — overworked and understaffed. We've heard it for years, but what has been done about it? I ask you: What will it be like when it's our turn?

Jan Cripe
Greensboro

The New York Times column regarding secrecy, authored by the executive editors of The New York Times and Los Angeles Times (July 7), is blatantly arrogant and intellectually stupid.

The editors insult our senses by the drivel written concerning giving away secrets in wartime. The excuses listed for sharing secret information during the war on terror leave the reader in shock.

Remember we are at war and those editors decided to break secrecy in the name of freedom. What a joke. Their only goal was to embarrass the president and the administration whom they acknowledge they dislike with a passion.

I hope all readers of this column see through its dishonesty and recognize The New York Times for what it is — unpatriotic and dangerous.

Don Mulligan
High Point

America, freedom, "Old Glory," "Star-Spangled Banner," "In God We Trust." I often wonder if these words still evoke appreciation, reflection, humility, respect, resolve.

• Appreciation: For servicemen and women who served and continue serving to protect our country; for those who paid the ultimate price in both world wars, Korea, Vietnam and today.

• Reflection: When our Vietnam veterans returned home, they were "welcomed" by being spat on and cursed. Do those crude, un-American individuals ever reflect — in shame — on their treatment of those soldiers?

• Respect: For the meaning of our National Anthem; for what our flag stands for; for those who fought and survived; for those dying today.

• Humility: We were watching fireworks; our troops are being fired upon. We are not the greater power.

• Resolve: We are "one nation under God." In God we must trust. Realize that, in trying to destroy God, we are destroying ourselves. Resolve to support our troops. Pray for our troops. Cherish our freedom, one day at a time. Return your hearts and minds to God.

God bless America and all those who have fought for freedom.

Rose Ford
Greensboro

A "culture of racism" in Greensboro and Guilford County?

The answer is yes. It is in the minds and hearts of those who are quick to cry "racism" any time a person is terminated from a job, passed over for promotion, arrested or suspended from school. Those people only see race instead of the facts and are the true problem.

So, again, yes, there is racism in Greensboro and Guilford County, and it will only end when people recognize the true issues instead of just seeing race.

Fred Alley
Greensboro

Someone noticed that eastern bluebirds were having a hard time finding nesting places. The word went out, and birdhouses replaced fence posts and hollow limbs that had disappeared.

Have you seen the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth"? Surely, if we can save the bluebirds, we can save our wonderful world.

After seeing this movie, I am inspired to speak out, to call attention to our duty to protect the world we live in.

If we can do it for the bluebirds, we can do it for mankind.

Florence L. Snider
Greensboro

I am extremely disappointed by the conduct and allegations of racism by the leaders of the black community with ties to the Guilford County commissioners and the Greensboro City Council.

It seems whenever leaders of the black community do not receive everything they want, they cry racism. While I am sure there have been instances in the past where this was true, I honestly cannot recall this being the case locally in recent memory.

It is the black leaders who give the attitude of "us versus them." Let the mistakes of the past die with the past. Their constant cries of racism keep rehashing the same mistakes of slavery in the past. The cries of racism will never let these wounds heal. Generation after generation of black citizens follow their leaders and adopt the "us versus them" mentality, and so the cycle of "entitlement" continues.

If our esteemed leaders, such as Yvonne Johnson, Carolyn Coleman and Melvin "Skip" Alston, would handle their positions with integrity instead of race, they would do much more good instead of harm in our communities.

If they want to see racism, they should look in the mirror.

Spencer Lewis
Greensboro

Jim Prevatt (letter, July 4) and others critical of Cal Thomas' thoughts on the Episcopal Church's position on homosexuality are overlooking one important aspect of Jesus' teaching. Of course, Jesus opened his table to everyone, and loved them, but he did it to minister to them, to teach and lead them to repentance.

For example, Jesus didn't condemn the woman caught in adultery who was about to be stoned to death, but he told her to go and sin no more (John 8:11). And the tax collector, Zacchaeus, whom Jesus stayed with, repented and vowed to give half his possessions to the poor, and to anyone he might have defrauded he would give back four times as much (Luke 19:8).

So please, keep Cal Thomas' thoughts coming. He is a bold and articulate advocate for truth, which we hear so little of today.

David Moore
Madison

Ed Yoder took issue with what he called the literal biblical beliefs of Cal Thomas regarding the definitely nonbiblical direction some Episcopal leaders have taken (Ideas, July 2). Yoder has a truly brilliant mind, and all of us can learn from his scholarship, which few can match. And, we must agree with Yoder that in matters of biblical interpretation we should tread very carefully.

However, literalists have a huge advantage toward biblical correctness over those who play mental games with biblical understanding. Yoder spoke favorably of the Old Testament prophets and the blessed Holy Spirit who is — as Yoder pointed out — still in charge. My question to Yoder is, if these same prophets spoke under the anointing of the same Holy Spirit, why should we not believe literally in what the prophets said?

Thomas was stating correctly that many Episcopal leaders have turned their backs on the words of the prophets and thus on God himself. Many other denominational leaders have done likewise. This has caused many who do listen carefully to the Bible to leave churches where personal interpretations of the Bible are made and to join churches that are loyal to the clear mandates of the Bible.

Marion Griffin
Asheboro

Your editorial July 3 left out the most important change needed in the law for dealing with drunken drivers. Persons arrested for driving with a license suspended for drunken driving should have the vehicle that they are driving impounded.

You were quite correct about the problem of young drinkers/drivers. Seventy-five percent of the persons killed by drunken drivers are killed by drunken drivers who've never been arrested.

John R. Dykers Jr.
Siler City

The writer is former chairman of the Drivers' License Medical Review Board.

Harold McGee (letter, July 1) uses the Bible selectively to support his position on homosexuality. I wonder if he would clarify the following questions for me.

Exodus 35:2 clearly states that my neighbor, who insists on working on Sunday, should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

Leviticus 11:10. Based on this verse, a friend says that eating shellfish is less an abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this for me?

Leviticus 11:6-7 says that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean. Can I play football if I wear gloves?

The questions posed above are taken from a letter to radio personality Laura Schlessinger, who shares McGee's view on homosexuality.

Using the Bible to justify my belief that we, as Christians, should not judge God's children but should "love thy neighbor as thyself," I offer the following verses: Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:33, Luke 6:27, Romans 13:9, Ephesians 5:19, Galatians 5:14 and James 2:8. Not one of these verses specifies whom to include and whom to exclude as my neighbor.

William T. Linton Jr.
Greensboro

According to the article, "In the 13th, rivals differ on Iraq" (July 3), Vernon Robinson compared U.S. Rep. Brad Miller to "Tokyo Rose" and took Miller to task for refusing to vote for a "stay-the-course in Iraq resolution."

Before Robinson engages in any more character assassination or makes pronouncements about "winning in Iraq," I hope he will read "American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century" by Kevin Phillips, a speechwriter for Richard Nixon.

Phillips makes a logical and detailed argument contending that the Bush administration went after Iraq's vast oil reserves — the biggest remaining in the world — not WMD. This war was launched for the benefit of Exxon and Mobil, not freedom and democracy.

It seems that Brad Miller understands the complexity of the situation, as well as the necessity of carefully extricating ourselves from a mess. If Robinson cannot explain these complexities, then he's not prepared to tell the truth. If he must resort to logical fallacies — such as President Bush's tactic of questioning the patriotism of his critics — then I hope Robinson will join me in voting for Brad Miller in November.

John York
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint:

By J. Sam Johnson Jr.

Ever since I was beneficiary of a liberal arts education at Wake Forest, I have thought that liberal was a good thing to be. The definition includes someone who is not limited by authoritarian attitudes or dogmas, free from bigotry, favoring reform, open to new ideas for progress, tolerant of ideas and behavior of others, broad-minded. I have never found anything wrong with these.

But I keep reading in your paper the columns of such as Cal Thomas, Charles Davenport Jr. and Mona Charen, and it is hard to find any of these definitions of the word in their diatribes, as they continue to use it as a synonym for wrong, stupid, without morals, or totally misguided. When they let me out of school and said I had passed, nobody accused me of being any of these, but they must have missed something vital.

Charen writes (July 8) that a teacher in New York is a "liberal gone wild" because a handout was given to the students concerning dysfunctional families. What caused her to conclude this teacher was liberal is not clear, but in any event, she is unwilling to grant that the teacher had any good idea. Apparently, she thinks that it is always good to teach young boys that they should not cry or to teach young girls that they must never assert themselves, whether in the right or not.

She takes umbrage at any child ever disobeying a parent or ever exhibiting disloyalty toward the family, despite the obvious existence of dysfunctional families that include cruel, crazy and crack-brained adults. Children, if conservative (read this "moral, cultured or correct"), should shut up, take their lumps and never complain. This would be of interest to physicians who are legally bound to report child abuse when they see it.

It is probably the liberal in me, but I fail to see the logic of Charen's conclusion that this teacher's attempt to alert students to some of the signs of dysfunction in families is jeopardizing our culture. Why is it necessary to have a "rallying cry" to squelch ideas that differ from her own? Would it not be better to examine the ideas of others, objectively, and then either accept or reject them?

Nobody with any sense opposes obeying parents who are unselfishly doing their best to guide their children, or being loyal to families who are doing their best to be contributing citizens. But it was not this kind of family that the teacher was talking about. It was the dysfunctional family that was the concern. One does not have to be either a liberal or conservative to exercise common sense.

The writer is an attorney in Greensboro.

I think our state government should create a truth commission to investigate and publicize such things as our state's involvement in slavery, segregation, eugenics, denying women equal rights, etc. This may help today's incumbent politicians to learn from the past.

Also, all nonclassified government information should be put on the Internet.

Chuck Mann
Greensboro

It seems that every year the school system needs more money to build more schools, and each time we get soaked with another tax increase.

We need more charter schools. This would increase competition and help produce better-educated children. These schools would help ease overcrowding, use private money to build the school and create a competitive atmosphere.

Charter schools are regulated by the state just like the public schools to ensure they meet state standards. There have been some charters that fell short and lost their charter, but there are many that are doing well.

There are also many public schools that are falling short but are still operating. Why not give charter schools an opportunity? If one does not make the grade, then do what we do for the public schools.

Contact your politicians in Raleigh and persuade them to allow more charter schools. It is up to you and me because many school officials do not want charter schools. They believe that more money is the solution.

It is time to think outside the box and start allowing more charter schools. It is our money and our children.

Don Wendelken
Summerfield

I was disappointed by the lack of range of ethical issues in the July 2 front-page article, "Political agendas focus on 'values.' " The article dealt with values that Republicans deem important and didn't cover the moral values that the Democratic Party states are important.

Values that I and other Democrats care about:

The environment. One recent chart showed recent warming to shoot off the charts compared to the rest of history.

Poverty. The Democratic Party cares about the fate of poor people while the Bush administration has tried to focus on looking for tax incentives for the wealthiest people in this nation.

Civil rights. Democrats care more and do more to enable people of color to succeed in America.

Women's rights. The Democratic Party is more likely to allow international policy to be driven by the rights of people rather than what is right for business.

Civil liberties. The government does not have the right to detain people without access to legal representation or subject prisoners of war to torture or to monitor private phone conversations.

It is frustrating to watch the Republican Party stake its claim to values when it ignores so many values that the Democratic Party champions.

Brad Burch
Greensboro

That you invite someone like Mona Charen to share opinion page space with the likes of Leonard Pitts Jr. truly takes my breath away. If this woman ever had the ability in her long career to make or comprehend a complex argument, surely that ability has since left her.

In fact, if she herself had been held by her own advice in her moronic column, "An example of how liberals infect culture" (July 8), we might all have been spared the last 20 years of her thoughtless, knee-jerk drivel. In her ideal world, where girls are always nice (and boys don't have emotions and abused children just keep their mouths shut), who would have given little Mona the opportunity to share her spite and pettiness with the world? Is this her idea of "talking nice talk and never saying anything negative?" Oh, yes, Mona, by all means, let's bring back those days.

You insult Leonard Pitts Jr. and any journalist with any kind of grace and integrity any time they are compelled to share space with that woman. It's offensive to anyone who cares about a good argument, about the written word.

Carrie Levesque
Graham

It's time for a "Declaration Against Intolerable Black Paranoid Whiners." These self-anointed "leaders" (an oxymoron) do their community a disservice by blaming all of their problems on white racists.

I did not see an outpouring of community support, crossing racial, ethnic and religious lines, for Willie Best like we saw for David Wray. Yet, there was no outrage from Concerned White Leaders at his ouster.

The decision was accepted and everyone moved on.

Apparently, the BPWs feel that if you are black, you can't be fired whether or not you are competent.

Apparently, the BPWs think that school authorities are going into classrooms and randomly picking out black students, who are simply quietly doing their lessons, and suspending them. It's not a secret that blacks create most of the discipline problems in our schools.

That's why they are suspended, not because they are black.

Not many of these black "leaders" could get elected dogcatcher in a district where the qualifications are more than simply being black. This is true not because they are black, but because they are out of the mainstream of society.

Make all candidates run county­wide to test my theory.

Tony Moschetti
High Point

Congratulations to former Guilford County commissioner and Greensboro city councilman Chuck Forrester for his truthful and forthright evaluation (June 28) on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its follow-up report.

He is to be commended for his honest, unbiased and, most importantly, correct summation and conclusion of the facts involved in that shameful event as well as the report thereafter.

Only unscrupulous individuals would misconstrue the facts of any situation such as this, to further their own biased cause. They are the ones who should be looked into, not the police department.

William H. Payne
Madison

In Chris Garland's letter, "Would anyone enforce everything in Leviticus?" (July 12), he misses completely the lessons to be learned from the Old Testament book of Leviticus. We do not offer animal sacrifices today as Israel did then because Jesus Christ offered the one perfect sacrifice that covered sin (Hebrews 10:14-18).

A look at Romans 6:14 and the truth in that verse that "ye are not under the law, but under grace" gives insight regarding what the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross accomplished.

The fact of the matter is that the Lord condemned homosexuality even before the giving of the Mosaic law. Homosexuality is also called sodomy, because of the events recorded in Genesis 19, the destruction of the city of Sodom. A look at Romans 1:24-27 confirms that homosexuality also is condemned in the New Testament. Before the Mosaic law, during the Mosaic law and after the law the Bible clearly condemns homosexuality.

In closing, let me say that the Bible is not simply a book of ideas, but the eternal word of truth (Psalm 119:89). Real compassion is found by speaking the truth in love, not by avoiding the clear teaching of Scripture.

Tony Thomas
Randleman

I really cannot believe the General Assembly is being so generous in giving us such a nice tax break. Just imagine, a 25-cent savings on every $100 we spend; it is unbelievable.

I also congratulate our legislators for giving the stock-car racing teams a refund for half the sales tax on supplies they need and also for the tax credits for oyster-shell recycling.

These people are in such bad shape financially that I can understand why they are getting the tax breaks and we, the financially well-to-do, are getting the small tax break.

In all seriousness, let's vote these bums out in the upcoming election, then as private citizens, they, too, can enjoy generous tax breaks like the rest of us.

Bernard L. Zales
Greensboro

After six years of this administration, we're bogged down in Iraq, Iran is going nuclear, and North Korea is blatantly testing missiles. The world is a mess, to put it bluntly.

Yet, this nation has faced crisis before and overcome it. As a young boy, I remember President Reagan succinctly calling for Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall and it actually happened. When my dad was young, he saw President Kennedy handle the Cuban Missile Crisis without a shot being fired. We are a problem-solving nation.

A good leader is always confident, open and optimistic. This president, for too long, has been shrouded in a cloud of doom. If he, like Reagan and Kennedy, would put a smile on his face and some grit in his gut, he can get the job done.

As a leader, President Bush has the unique opportunity bring out the best in us.

Winning this global struggle against extremism won't be due to any secret prison program or massive wiretapping; it will be due to the power of ethics that has guided this nation through many difficult times.

Jason Brown
Thomasville

We continually catch the Republicans using the old cheerleading trick, repeating phrases to make us believe words are truth: "We will be greeted as liberators"; "the insurgency is in its final throes"; "we'll be at war until our mission is accomplished."

Just what is our "mission" in Iraq, George?

Earlier you said it was our job to get water, electricity and oil wells going again; now, you say it's their job to get water, electricity and oil wells going again.

What is the truth here, George?

Raging Rove's latest chant, "cut and run," labels Democrats as cowards for wanting to bring the troops home; but, now some Republicans want to "cut and run." Even Rove doesn't know what words mean anymore.

What about the phrase "gradual withdrawal"?

We have lost 2,500 lives and the good will of the Iraqi people who want us out — not to mention that of the rest of the world and of many Americans after claims of weapons of mass destruction bit the dust.

"Gradual withdrawal" means acting with intelligence based on fact, saving young lives and what's left of our image.

It's time to restore meaning to words, words we can believe in.

Gay Cheney
Browns Summit

Badi Ali's statement (News & Record, July 14), "The Israeli attack is naked aggression against the Palestinian State," is way off base. In spite of Israel's unilateral giving over more than 50 years, the Arab/Palestinian response has consistently been to continue to attack Israel.

In this most recent episode, who attacked whom? Has it not been Hamas, Hezbollah and the al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade (all internationally marked as terrorist groups), with the tacit support of the PLO, that have continued attacking Israel? Israel's recent incursion into Lebanon as a result of the blatant attack of Hezbollah is simply a response to those who have aggressively first attacked Israel.

It has also been shown that weapons used by Hezbollah have been coming from Iran via Syria.

If anyone is biased here, it is Masoud Awartani and Badi Ali. Come, gentlemen, let's make honest opinions based upon the real facts.

Kenneth G. Symes
Asheboro

At a time when we are facing escalating gasoline prices, rising inflation, job losses and other financial challenges that result in many families struggling to pay for the necessities of life, Americans found a way to increase our benevolent giving by more than 6 percent — to an impressive $260 billion.

About half of the increased giving ($15 billion) has gone directly to help disaster victims of hurricanes in this country, the tsunami in Asia and the earthquake in Pakistan. This outpouring of generosity is typical of the response Americans have toward those who are hurting, lonely and suffering loss.

People of faith, civic organizations, businesses, foundations, the very young, the elderly, the poor, those of moderate means and the wealthy all come together with a singular sense of purpose — to help those who are not in a position to easily help themselves. We Americans are a loving, kind and generous people who overlook our differences to join hands in united efforts to do what is right and good.

May we continue on this path now and in the future with the full realization and knowledge that to those whom much has been given, much is expected.

Bob Kollar
Greensboro

Democracy in the U.S.A. should be a nonpartisan issue, yet many Republicans have been aggressively working against restoring our democracy. We have a right and need for verifiable elections, and it is not an unreasonable or overly expensive goal.

Our soldiers are dying and killing overseas supposedly to promote democracy and democratic values throughout our world. Now the Bush administration has even been subverting democracy in Mexico, aided by data-mining company Choicepoint.

Also there were many blank ballots and negative drop-off ballots where supposedly people voted for local candidates yet forgot to vote for president. Of course, this happened primarily in poor communities, just as it did in our country. We will have to wait and see how much of the truth comes out in Mexico, and if it will make a difference.

We also are still waiting in this country for our intimidated and corporate-controlled media to confront this issue more thoroughly and honestly here at home.

Jacalyn Engler
Stokesdale

As a regular customer at PTI, I would like to reiterate the need for better directional signage at the airport exit.

Early this past Saturday morning, I encountered a gentleman driving in reverse on the exit road, attempting to read signage partially obscured by trees. Unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence. I see similar incidents on an almost daily basis, with varying degrees of hazard and confusion involved.

I would expect the current construction projects in the area would increase the need for additional and more complete signage. This has not been the case. While I don't mind taking the time to regularly steer folks in the proper direction, the obvious safety issues prompt me to put my concerns to paper.
Additionally, what does it tell visitors if we can't even easily point them in the right direction upon arrival to the area?

T.L. Kornegay
Greensboro

The media say Egypt and Jordan are blaming Hezbollah and Hamas for the present turmoil. No wonder. Leaders of the above countries, their families and associates are all on our U.S. payroll. Not so their people, who will never bring peace to the area until Israel is forced out of the region. This would take an act of God, but there is no alternative. Not now, not in a thousand years.

Our naive and amateur foreign policy makers in Washington continue to add failures to failures, telling us that things will eventually get better. What a bunch of naive amateurs they are. Only stopping our support for Israel will get us out of the mess.

Helio Salvador
Greensboro

I am not interested in the truth part of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. It is divisive and counterproductive, and all it achieves is finger-pointing. I am only interested in reconciliation, and I have two suggestions.

1. Make the Morningside site, where the shootings took place, into a park and place an historical marker stating: "In memory of Cesar Vincente Cauce, Michael Ronald Nathan, William Evan Sampson, Sandra Neely Smith, James Michael Waller, who were killed in a bloody shootout between Communist Workers Party members and Ku Klux Klan at this site on Nov. 3, 1979."

2. Since the CWP, KKK, Greensboro police, Greensboro jury and justice and the then-mayor of Greensboro, Jim Melvin, through acts of omission or commission, were responsible for the shame and pain inflicted upon Greensboro, the name of the Melvin Municipal Office Building should be changed to the Nov. 3, 1979, Municipal Office Building.

N.M. Chopra
Greensboro

Hats off to the News & Record for the excellent front-page story about mental health reform (July 16). What mental health needed was increased funding and less bureaucratic burden from the state, not the destruction of a service system that took years to build.
Private providers are a great idea when it makes economic and clinical sense to privatize a service. A public service safety net is absolutely needed. The state should halt the dismantling of public mental health services immediately and should rewrite its terribly flawed plan.

Louise Galloway
Asheboro

I just had to comment on the story (which has gained national attention and coverage) about the bank employee in Charlotte who went to Pamploma with friends to attend the "Running with the Bulls" festivities. While, as a parent, I truly sympathize with the parents of this man, I find it hard to really feel too sorry for this "victim" of this truly idiotic and heinous "sport."

As I understand it, the guy bought an airline ticket, went to this sick "festivity" (against the better judgment of his family) and ran around pulling the animals' ears and tails, and was butted and injured, and thus, paralyzed.

Yes, I am sorry for the guy. He had his whole life before him, but why did he risk his life to torture animals thousands of miles away from his home? I sadly guess he will have the rest of his life to figure out the answer to this question. He could've saved a lot of money and paralysis by just going to visit a slaughterhouse if that's what he is into. Go figure.

Laurie Browning
High Point

Some observations as the world unravels and deterioration of the planet is said to be escalating:

• It is high time for Congress to dump rabid partisanship and join hands in the interests of the nation. If you disagree and have a worthwhile case, state it without outrageous embellishment. It might add some light. Otherwise, live with the majority consensus.

• The same goes for hometown politicians. Get real, county commissioners. City Council, do the right thing. Maybe the sudden climate change will drift over to Raleigh and chill out the legislature.

• Let us hope the Truth and Reconciliation work will end in our lifetime.

• And the media — where to begin? Some really good local writers, along with the Jumble and Sudoku, make the News & Record readable and help to offset Leonard Pitts, Maureen Dowd and the perpetual obsession with race.

As for TV, there are so many commercials they can barely keep repeating the bad news of the day.

Bill Beerman
Greensboro

How many dead Lebanese does it take to equal the death of one Israeli? Only John Bolton has the answer.

The U.S. representative to the U.N. told the world that there was "no moral equivalence" between Israel's bombing of Lebanese bridges, airports and power stations, and Hezbollah's firing of rockets into the Israeli city of Haifa. Israel's bombings of Lebanese civilian infrastructure (what else but collective punishment, war crimes?) are "acts of self-defense"; Hezbollah's attacks, with far more meager means, are the acts of "terrorists."

The message is clear: In the eyes of U.S. elites, Israeli civilians are "worthy victims," but Lebanese civilians are "unworthy victims"; unworthy because they were killed by a state that acts as the U.S.'s watchdog in an oil-rich Middle East.

As I write this, more than 200 Lebanese have been killed by Israel since last week; all but 26 were civilians. In proportion, 30 Israelis have been killed by Hezbollah. Have we reached that special ratio, Mr Bolton?

Ben Lassiter
Greensboro

I have been very interested in the recent community dialogue on racism. Racism is not a secret, a bad word or a cover-up unless you personally practice it. Racism can be outright and obvious or institutional and undercover, but it does exist. If individuals, especially those in leadership positions, bury their heads in the sand and, as stated in the Lewis letter (July 16), fear "opening old wounds," it will always exist.

If you look at the fable of the tortoise and the hare, where the hare is given a head start in the race, the tortoise does not have a chance. In areas of employment, education, housing and life in general, the hare continues to sit back and wonder why the tortoise just can't seem to catch up. Sit back and observe where you live, work, shop, vacation, etc., and you'll know where you place in the race.

A. Jean Jackson
Greensboro

Let's review. Hamas takes an Israeli soldier. The Israeli army responds by entering Gaza in force to get him back. Not to be outdone, Hezbollah takes two Israeli soldiers. The Israeli army responds in force. Israel is accused of "disproportionate reaction."

Now, consider this: Two first-graders are called to the principal's office for fighting on the playground. One points to the other and whines, "He started it when he hit me back."

Mary Lou Egbert
Greensboro

Again the Middle East is a battleground with the innocents suffering the most. Again, the world seems powerless to halt still another horror.

The Arab people have been hijacked by sick radicals who are destroyers of peace, hope, life and human values. They promulgate distorted views of the teachings of the Prophet Allah. Only Arab people can bring about change and rid themselves of these evil people.

We may not be about to create change, but we can focus on the big picture — the overwhelming truth. This adage says it all:

If the Arabs laid down their arms, there would be no more war.

If Israelis laid down their arms, there would be no more Israel.

David M. Kaplan
Greensboro

Has Lee Bush borrowed Jack Sparrow's magic compass (which points to the direction of the treasure that one seeks) or does she simply paint with extremely broad strokes? In her article, "Fear causing America to lose its ideals, identity" (July 19), she apparently chooses to equate a few examples of inappropriate treatment of detainees as the new standard operating procedure for America's treatment of captured terrorists (whether at GITMO or abroad).

Her conclusion is that America has somehow lost its moral compass with respect to its treatment of the detainees. Neither our military nor the administration justifies "humiliating or tortuous interrogation as a means to an end." America suffers from no mid-life crisis.

Criminal proceedings are now pending against those who are accused of excessive action. The American justice system, and not the liberal press, will determine guilt, if any, on a case-by-case basis. This determination will be made after a careful review of the actual evidence and not following a cursory scan of the "Jim Lehrer News Hour" or The Washington Post.

Todd Robinson
Greensboro

The following is a counterpoint:

By Maureen Parker

Cal Thomas is nothing if not predictable. "Why do you read him?" my husband asks incredulously. "You know what he's going to say before he says it." And he’s right. But sometimes I read Thomas anyway, and I always end up screaming.

Thomas' recent diatribe (June 24) regarding the attitude of the American Episcopal Church's new female bishop toward homosexuals is a monument to stultified thinking. I suspect that Thomas has not had an original thought since the age of 3.

Though I am not an Episcopalian, I have followed with interest media coverage of the ordination of the Episcopal "gay bishop," Gene Robinson, and more recently of the new woman bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori. Both of these appointments have created such unbelievable furor that I am almost ashamed to call myself a member of the human race. Thank God for people like Bishop Schori who can see through the letter of the law to the heart of Jesus' message, which is, as she said, (and as Thomas rejects) "to include the unincluded."

"If homosexuality is not a sin," Thomas roars derisively, "what is?" Allow me, Mr. Thomas, very briefly, to answer that question.

Sin is not caring for the poor. Sin is not raising the minimum wage. Sin is not providing adequate education for all children. Sin is failing to provide basic health care for our citizens. Sin is lying, cheating and manipulating facts. Sin is promoting hatred and division. Sin is despoiling the earth. Sin is invading Iraq without cause. Sin is greed. Sin is cruelty. Sin is indifference.

Thomas inquires snidely if the church should apply "the religious equivalent of open borders, and let everyone into the church, including unrepentant prostitutes, murderers, liars, thieves and atheists." My answer? You guessed it: absolutely. That is exactly what Jesus did. He habitually consorted with the marginalized ("the least of our brothers") — and he was criticized for it — but he did it anyway. As Bishop Schori said, Jesus' message was "to include the unincluded."

"Liberal denominations," Thomas fumes, "face condemnation from the One they are supposed to represent, whose attitude about such things is anything but inclusive." How depressing to realize that Thomas actually thinks this way — if you can call it thinking.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I had earlier been given to believe that my financial, personal and scholastic successes were pretty much the result of being a privileged white male, but imagine my surprise upon reading Charles Davenport's column (July 16).

Davenport tells me that whatever successes I have achieved in my 62 years may be the result of being reared in a two-parent home headed by a father who taught — nay, demanded — accountability, goal-setting, punctuality, respect, responsibility and tenacity.

Astonishing, wouldn't you agree?

Guy Sinclair
Graham

Once again, another truly capable and devoted Guilford County director/manager has felt the wrath of commissioners who don't have a clue as to how to truly manage the county's half-billion-dollar budget but expect miracles to be performed by those directors when they're not otherwise embattled.

Consider the county budget. The budget comes from taxes. Right. Hmm. Well, let's see, Guilford County's commissioners, in their questionable wisdom, have consistently resisted a real property tax revaluation schedule of less than eight years. Which means? Well, pretty simple, really: Tax revenues for the next six years will be collected based on the value they were assessed in 2004. And, then, in 2012, when the county must comply with state law for an eight-year revaluation to bring all those properties — commercial, residential, agricultural and vacant — up to current market value, several hundred thousand private and corporate citizens will be screaming, "Why did my taxes increase so unfairly?"

Thus the Guilford County Board of Commissioners continues its incompetent administration of a budget that it can change in one evening by a vote for a five-year revaluation instead of an eight-year revaluation.

Lonnie Groendes
Greensboro

Last summer, Live 8 concerts and Bono were all the rage. The music, celebrities and, of course, the ideals encouraged millions of people to join the fight to end global poverty.

That summer, in Gleneagles, Scotland, G-8 leaders made the same commitment by promising debt relief to more than three dozen of the poorest nations in the world — 19 of which have benefited this year.
Recently, the same leaders met in St. Petersburg, Russia, to discuss energy security. Debt cancellation was not a priority on the agenda. Instead, they adopted a plan of action based on a definition of energy security that primarily promotes the expansion of oil production worldwide.

This measure threatens to undermine last year's achievements on debt relief by increasing worldwide oil dependence and exacerbating climate change, and driving these forgotten impoverished countries deeper into debt.

We cannot treat global poverty apathetically like last year's summer fling. In the months and years following this year's G-8 summit, we must demand a comprehensive, sustainable solution that focuses on renewable energy and puts an end to oil dependence and crushing debts for the sake of the world's poorest people.

Samantha Levy
Greensboro

In regard to the controversy surrounding Marcus Kindley's recent comment about homosexuality: I have known Kindley for several years and have worked with him, not only in the GOP, but at his home as well. I believe I know him well enough to say he is not a prejudiced bigot.

Kindley is a man whom I admire for his steadfastness behind the principles he believes in. He is a man of faith and is not ashamed to let that fact be known. His character reflects Jesus in the way he thinks and treats other people.

I have never heard him make a derogatory statement toward a homosexual while either working within the GOP or at home. From my experience with him, Kindley "hates the sin, not the sinner."

Christopher Jessup
Greensboro

The writer is a student at Greensboro College.

Being that FEMA did such a magnificent job in evacuating the victims of Katrina last year, it seems that the State Department has taken lessons from FEMA as to how to evacuate the Americans in Lebanon.
How dare the government charge U.S. citizens (taxpayers) travel fees to return to the U.S.A.? How low is the Bush government sinking in its actions concerning U.S. citizens? It just keeps getting worse and worse.

Lenore Reinhard
Greensboro

The leadership that Dr. Johnnetta Cole has displayed at Bennett College has been truly outstanding. I have had the opportunity to watch the Sister President in action and have enjoyed every moment.

In her mannerisms, her intellectual curiosity, her compassion and her willingness to step out front, she has been the perfect model for the women at Bennett and for the rest of us as well. She is a Shero, and we are lucky to have her. I look forward to watching the impact that the institute that bears her name will have on the greater community.

Mathew Arbuckle
Greensboro

I second the comments Joe Franks made (letter, July 8). No elaboration is necessary, but I do have two suggestions to possibly help curb poor behavior, aiding in the student maximizing success:

1) Require the parent/guardian to attend school and all classes with the "behaviorally challenged" student in lieu of suspension or as a prerequisite for the student returning from suspension. That may force the caregiver to lose some money at work, but it could prompt the caregiver to administer the punishment or consequences at home, rather than making the school do it.

2) Redirect some money spent on pet projects like Mission Possible, et al., into placing cameras and microphones (connected to recording devices) in all hallways and classrooms. The interplay between student and teacher can be openly scrutinized and evaluated by going to the tape. The public can then see for themselves the challenges we face from the unruly, disrespectful and apathetic student.

A student ready for life beyond high school results when the triumvirate of caregiver, student and teacher works collectively, and the system gets higher scores and lower suspension/dropout rates. Teachers simply ask the other two components to bring everything they have to the table, as we try to do.

Kemp Dalton
Greensboro

The writer is a teacher at Grimsley High School.

Name a country that does not control its airspace. Give up? It's Palestine.

Of course, one can argue that, as Palestine does not exist as a unified nation, it doesn't qualify anyway.

Some individuals, such as Mona Charen ("Arabs show no interest in making peace," July 15) seem to believe that the Palestinians are liars and tricksters because they did not lay down their arms the moment there was an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza — not from all of the proposed Palestinian state, but just from Gaza, with no prospect of withdrawals from the West Bank or anywhere else. Just from Gaza. To confuse Gaza with Palestine is very much like confusing High Point with the Triad region.

And there we come to Lebanon, a country where Hezbollah is a recognized political and social force. A country that has its own separate branch of Hezbollah. A country that had successful elections not too long ago. And, yet, individuals like Charen seem to believe that Lebanon is a puppet of Iran and Syria. Remind me: Didn't the United States make sure Syrian influence in Lebanon came to an end with the Syrian pullout?

Anthony Docimo
High Point

Americans would like to think of racism as a tiny thread in the fabric of our early society. Like most people with a criminal past, they like it downplayed.

Racism was the foundation of the American economy and society. It unified European Americans into a ruling class and subjugated black Americans to chattel slavery. Besides racism being the motive for slavery, it ensured that the profits from agriculture reached only the pockets of whites. This lawful oppression endured for more than 300 years. Its expansive roots lie in "scientific" myths of inferiority and biblical ideology.

Blacks, as a race, were seen by whites as subhuman, to be used like animals and sold as property. Family members were divided, children sold away as mothers cried, and numerous other cruelties were perpetrated by racism. Racism was a potent force in the creation of American society.

The descendants of America's slaves continue to suffer from racist assumptions. How can we say racism is not everywhere when the guilt of American society was sewn together by the "thread" of racism?

Marcus Garvey once said, "The truth must be told so that we know from whence our troubles cometh."

Rob Mack
Winston-Salem

I have a stupid statistical question. What causes more auto accidents, drinking or smoking? I would guess the answer to be drinking, but my observations of smoking drivers give me food for thought.

George Stanley
High Point

The following is a counterpoint:

By Phillip T. Wrenn

There may be some things that deserve the label of racism, but the firing of Willie Best is not one of them.

If seems that the elected officials of Guilford County forgot the first rule of business, which simply states, "If you hire them, you can fire them." It would have been racism if Best had been the best candidate for the job and they had not given him a chance. Best did not live up to the expectations of the majority of commissioners, so they had a right to fire him.

When will people learn that every time they play the race card they are slamming the door of opportunity shut for other people? Most employers will not admit it, but a lot of blacks are not hired because, if something goes wrong on their job, or they don't meet the employer’s expectations, the employer does not want to deal with the implications of racism.

Why is it the only time we (blacks) come together to discuss matters is when it doesn't cost us any money? We need to come together and do what needs to be done. Why can't we discuss completing the Civil Rights Museum without asking the "man" for a handout? Why can't we discuss empowering our own people and encouraging them to buy vacant commercial properties, opening up businesses and putting our young people to work? We are the only people who will not combine our financial resources to create economic development in our own neighborhoods.

Why are there so many young men in jail? They do not listen. They will not listen to their parents or teachers, and they surely will not listen to their preachers. Young people are looking for a leader who will not holler "racism" at every turn but is willing to put it on the line and make things happen to better their lives and their future. Racism was here before Jesus came, it was here when he left, and it will be here when he returns.

So, let's get past this petty thing we call racism and work together for the good of all the people.

The writer lives in Greensboro.

I understand from the article in the July 16 paper ("State-sponsored party cruise costs more than $27,000") that state Rep. Laura Wiley and others didn't know the state of North Carolina was footing the bill for her, her husband and her parents. Well, if she didn't have to pay for it, who did she think was footing the bill? Obviously, they didn't think. Everyone knows there is no free lunch.

Now they're all "caught" and willing to pay for their mistakes, which leads me to believe that this was not a worthwhile venture from the start. What exactly did they hope to accomplish on this trip?

My husband and I are Republicans and would like our elected officials to be more fiscally responsible. We're going on a cruise soon. Guess who's paying for it? We are.

Patricia Beck
High Point

Plutocratic president proudly proclaims present prudent policies presage prolonged prosperity planetary peace.

Don't believe it will work out quite that way. Foolish tax cuts and monstrous military pending have jeopardized our national financial structure. Our war with Iraq, now in its fourth year, has long since lost what national purpose, if any, it ever had.

Tens of thousands Iraqis killed and more than 2,500 American military personnel. Iraqi infrastructure destroyed and civil war initiated. Billions of borrowed American dollars squandered. Natural resources wasted. American prestige denigrated.

If we fight a war, we should all share the burden now. Mostly we go blithely our way, living in a fool's paradise. Our descendants will pay the bill.

Will we dither along in Iraq, as we did for two decades in Vietnam? We will never democratize a country whose history is rife with turmoil and tyranny. There are many other non-democratic countries. With 5 percent of the world's population, will we arrogate to ourselves the absurd task of re-making them all in our image? Their way may be best for some of them.

We should simply continue defense, diplomacy and foreign aid, and tend our own gardens, some of which are in dire need of attention.

Dan W. Maddox
Greensboro

I recently read about the legislature passing a bill to make it illegal for people younger than 18 to talk on a cell phone and drive at the same time. I agree that using a cell phone while driving is dangerous. However, I think it is not fair to single out teenagers.

In looking at statistics from the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force, I was surprised to learn the likelihood of a serious accident is higher for people who use cell phones while driving than even for drunken drivers. Driving drunk is illegal for everyone, and I think talking on hand-held cell phones while driving should be illegal for everyone, too. Drivers should always have both hands on the wheel whether they are 16 or 65.

Connor Spillane
Greensboro

Think what you want to about The New York Times News Service, but I think all of us would do well to read again Thomas Friedman's column ("Democracy kidnapped in Mideast," July 17).

"Yes, basically free and fair elections were held in Lebanon, the Palestinian's territory, and in Iraq," as Friedman writes. "But the roots of democracy are so shallow in these places and the moderate majorities so weak and intimidated that we are getting the worst of all worlds."

Europe will continue to dither on the fence, as Friedman says, and I fear that the United States will continue to dither on defense (fortification).

Democracy in our republic is in danger of going up in smoke. In whom do we trust?

Jim Ellis
Stoney Creek

After reading an article about Hugh Morton, I would like to say something about his grandfather, whom I knew well.

Hugh MacRae owned a dairy farm about a mile from where I grew up in Rocky Point (Pender County), so I saw a lot of Mr. MacRae. His farm was called Invershiel and was a beautiful place. He spent a lot of his time in a beautiful two-story house while Mrs. MacRae was with her daughter, who had an inn in the mountains.

Mr. MacRae had owned Grandfather Mountain at that time. He also had brought people from Russia, Belgium, Poland and settled them in Castle Hayne in New Hanover County, also Saint Helena and Van Eeden (Pender County).

He loved his farm in Pender County and when he was old, he spent a lot of time there. He was a wonderful person and a nice man to remember.

Alette Smith
High Point

The abysmal state of U.S. foreign policy is directly attributable to our lack of will and failure to follow our Constitution after the Sept. 11 attacks. Our Constitution states that Congress has the power (and responsibility) to declare war.

Instead, we allowed the president to declare a rhetorical "war" on terror, and we are now reaping the rewards of all such undeclared "wars" — a sliding scale for "victory," uninvolved population, overworked military and emboldened enemies who further their own agendas as we chase our own tail in Iraq.

If Congress had declared war on Sept. 12 and we had gone after Osama bin Laden with everything at our disposal, we could have captured or killed him within a few months, and regimes like Iran, North Korea and Hezbollah would have taken note of our resolve. Now, such regimes feel safe to launch missiles, develop nuclear capabilities and attack our allies.

Our leadership has failed us, and we will soon face enemies that have become stronger because we didn't have the stomach to do what needed to be done when we suffered attacks on civilians on our own soil.

Kent Boyles
Greensboro

To paraphrase the infinitely wise writer Maya Angelou: When you complain, you alert the bullies there is a victim in the neighborhood. I offer this in view of the controversy concerning the recent firing of the county manager, Willie Best.

It would seem to be the soul of wisdom for Skip Alston to stop the litany of complaints and laments. It can net nothing apart from solidifying his position as a victim. If victimhood becomes his source of power and identity, he and his followers will manifest that reality.

Mahatma Gandhi, a brilliant activist, said, "We must become the change we want to see." Would that this becomes Mr. Alston's chief aim.

Cynthia Adams
Greensboro

Regarding "Mental health overhaul worries many" (July 16):

We must encourage consumers and their families, elected officials, United Ways and private foundations to recognize the shortsighted nature with which this reform has been implemented, and find ways to help those organizations — particularly nonprofits — secure the resources they need to implement and maintain quality services previously provided by the Guilford Center.

Private nonprofit community organizations may be best suited to provide the services needed for children and families since they are intimately knowledgeable of, and connected to, the communities they serve. They also maximize every dollar that is given to provide those services.

While change is frequently difficult, and while the state's mental health reform has left many feeling uneasy and abandoned, it is imperative that we look for solutions to these challenges rather than lament how things used to be. We need to embrace this change and ensure that services are delivered in a competent, qualified manner, and that the state and local community provide access to financial resources so these needed services can continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of children and families in Guilford County.

Thomas R. Bonney
Jamestown
The writer is president and CEO, Family Service of the Piedmont.

So the Right Rev. Ed Yoder came down from Sinai?

What astounded me is, first, the fact that Yoder (column, Ideas, July 2) would stoop to come down from Sinai to emit to such mortals as we. And, second, as a writer, he expects his readers to believe what he is writing about.

Yet, he is quick to judge what the biblical writers "really meant" and is actually saying the reader (Yoder) interprets what the writer really means because they (the writers) no doubt don't know what they mean ... get it?

I find Yoder's writing as such ... liberal hogwash.

I am glad Yoder's visits are very seldom. Could you get Rosemary Roberts to be more seldom, too? And Leonard Pitts Jr.?

Try, please.

Joe Chandler Jr.
Eden

I have followed the N.C. House bill that Rep. Alma Adams introduced some 10 years ago, and it is unbelievable that it took so long for our North Carolina representatives and senators to do the right thing in reference to raising the minimum age by only $1.

I am truly convinced that Dr. Adams has a genuine concern for those who are among the least. Dr. Adams was not playing Robin Hood (taking from the rich and giving to the poor). She was only demanding a fair share for the working poor.

She must know that the race is not given to the swift, nor to the strong, but to the one who endures to the end.

Thank God, and thank you, Dr. Adams, for staying the course and seeing it through.

Dianne Walton-Munden
Greensboro

What a theory Tony Thomas (letter, July 19) seems to espouse:

The "sacrifice of Jesus" absolved everyone from obeying all the laws of the Old Testament, set out in Leviticus, except the prohibition of men sleeping with men.

Give me a break.

And what kind of G-d does Thomas envision who would destroy Sodom, a whole city full of innocent people, in order to kill the homosexuals living there?

Is that the same G-d who chose to create — in her own image — hundreds of millions of people who fall in love with members of their own sex instead of the opposite sex?

I could say that Thomas should mind his own business, stop eating pork and shellfish, and stay home on the Sabbath.

But I'd rather say that it's time for Thomas and the rest of us to accept the fact that most people, straight, gay and lesbian alike, live moral lives and don't need self-appointed biblical devotees to point fingers according to their own interpretations of what G-d wants.

Ellen W. Gerber
High Point

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By BILL RHODES

We were troubled by the recent article, "High Point to regulate portable storage containers" (July 19). Even officials in High Point were surprised with the article because they only intended for the new ordinance to be utilized on a very limited basis when a citizen files a complaint. Nor did your reporter contact us for a response.

Our family owns and operates the local PODS (Portable on Demand Storage) franchise that serves the Piedmont Triad. We have lived in this area for a long time, and we believe that local businesses play a vital role in creating jobs and improving the quality of lives for our residents.

We are proud to be part of the Triad business community and take our responsibility to our employees and community seriously. We have donated our containers for local causes such as Habitat for Humanity, Habitat Restore, Shoe Boxes for Soldiers, Victory Junction Camp, Katrina relief for lost pets, and many others.

Since we launched PODS in the Triad in 2003, our customers have recognized the tremendous benefits of our service.

PODS provides an innovative solution that makes moving and storage more convenient, easier and less expensive. While most of our customers use PODS to move, other customers use PODS to store their belongings during a home renovation project. We have even helped customers salvage their belongings after suffering fire or storm damage.

A typical customer has us 1) deliver a PODS container to his or her home, 2) return it when packed to our 60,000-square-foot warehouse storage facility on Radar Road, 3) re-deliver it when he closes on his new home or completes his renovation project, and 4) then pick it up when empty.

As a result, a PODS container typically does not remain on site at a particular location for very long.

The writer is owner of PODS Piedmont Triad in Greensboro.

The following is a counterpoint.

We elect our sheriff and charge him with the responsibility to uphold our laws and protect us from harm.

As he heads out the door to do this job, we also tell him that he has to achieve this goal without the ability to generate the money required. We tell him that another elected group (the county commissioners) will determine how much money he gets to use to protect us.

The sheriff accepts this process as part of how a representative democracy operates. He follows the rules and enforces the laws passed by others. The judicial process generates a stream of lawbreakers who have to be housed in the jail. The stream goes beyond a simple overload to the point where it is a critical and dangerous situation of jail overcrowding. The sheriff alerts the folks controlling the purse strings (the commissioners) of the problems and the dangers of jail overcrowding. He asks for more officers. He is ignored.

We as citizens have a serious problem that is not being solved. The sheriff cannot solve it without the financial support of the commissioners. As citizens, we are facing a serious litigation risk.
How many millions will it cost to settle liability claims for deputies or prisoners killed or injured in a riot due to overcrowding?
Our law enforcement folks are doing a dangerous job on our behalf, and we certainly are not overpaying them. I have more respect for them than to ask that they work in an overly dangerous environment that we all know could be dramatically improved with the proper funding.

This is not only a matter of money; it is a matter of conscience.
Our sheriff has done his part. Now it is time to support him in his efforts to solve this potentially devastating problem. I find it ironic that we can afford a new lighting system to broadcast commissioners' meetings on TV, but we cannot get organized to fund a safe jail.

Safety trumps partisan politics any day.

Joe Glover
The writer lives in Greensboro

One of the benefits we have living in America is that everyone has a right to express their opinion.

I read in the News & Record (July 14) that "Gov. Mike Easley signed a $1 increase to the state's minimum wage into law Thursday as a crowd of advocates and legislators looked on."

To me this doesn't represent leadership. It's nothing but dictatorship dictating to employers the amount of money they must pay an employee.

According to the norm in America, "We first learn, then earn." Our wages are based on our knowledge and qualifications. Most of the time, we are dealing with dependent people with no ambition or enthusiasm and the answer to the problem is very simple. It's called education.

There are community colleges all over North Carolina with arms open to welcome those willing to better themselves. Having a minimum-wage law reminds me of the old Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

J.B. Brown
Asheboro

While the appeasers in this country wave their white flags and demand that our military personnel be put on trial for murder, Israel is leading the way in the war on terror.

There is no appeasing the people who will strap a bomb on their children and send them into a crowded marketplace to see how many innocent lives they can take (while they hide out of harm's way in caves, of course).

Golda Meir had it right: As long as there are people in this world who hate us more than they love their children, we will have terrorism. These people cannot be appeased. They must be destroyed. Israel has learned this lesson well.

The recent demonstrations in this country against Israel are evidence that there is a segment of our society that hasn't the fortitude to prevail in a war that cannot be won by "sanctions" or United Nations "negotiations." Gen. George Patton must be turning somersaults in his grave to see how we are conducting the "war" on terror.

John Parson
Stokesdale

I recently have become very disturbed by the personal attacks that Vernon Robinson has launched against Congressman Brad Miller. Robinson apparently feels that the only way to win public support for his campaign is to grossly distort the facts of Miller's record in Congress.

Robinson's radio ad claims Miller is in favor of illegal immigration. The truth is that Miller voted against a 2005 House bill on border protection because he felt the bill was too weak in its proposals. In the past, Miller has voted for measures to increase funding for the Border Patrol. Robinson's position on immigration, according to his Web site, is simply to "secure our borders," with no explanation of how he'll do it.

Robinson also alleges that Congressman Miller is an advocate of gay marriage. The truth is that Miller is in favor of leaving the issue up to state governments, and he supports the North Carolina law that currently bans gay marriage. During his time in office, Congressman Miller has worked tirelessly to represent our state in Washington.
I truly hope that the citizens of the 13th District will see through Vernon Robinson's deceptive and misleading tactics against Brad Miller.

Matt Mabe
Greensboro

Bizarre and ironic ... that's what it is.

On the page opposite a letter and Counterpoint blasting Mona Charen was an op-ed by Maureen Dowd (July 15) absolutely swooning over the evolving acceptability of the word "slut" as well as the concept of who is and is not a "slut."

She seems to rhapsodize over the newfound liberty of being able to utter the word and not have it be taken as one of the worst insults a woman can receive.

Also, I wonder if there will be a deluge of criticism of her column and if you will print it.

Mike Crouch
Greensboro

Wow. What a breakthrough. I'm sure all the thousands of couples who are cohabiting and producing children in North Carolina without being married will breathe a sigh of relief now that what they are doing is legal. I'm also sure all of them stood watch by their doors in fear that they were going to be arrested and prosecuted for their crime before this decision came down.

What a waste of time. Let's move on to putting an Official Seal of Approval on adultery within the marriage so that another portion of the population can feel guiltless about messing up lives. I wonder what Jesus would say? Would he say, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more?"

Nah — probably not anymore.

Chris Myott
Eden

At last. Three, count 'em, three strong, solid, thoughtful, informative and irrefutable observations on viable solutions to local and national problems in the July 24 issue of the News & Record.

School board members, school administrators, other elected officials, parents and the public should heed the basic suggestions of Kemp Dalton, a teacher at Grimsley High School (letter to the editor). The discipline problems in school would be under control within one month if they were implemented.

Vocal locals should heed the words of Greensboro's own Phillip T. Wrenn (Counterpoint). His is the most articulate voice I have encountered on the subject of advancement of social mores in Guilford County, and I listen to a great many people. This man thinks. So few of any race or creed do, and if any serve on our local governing boards they are very, very low profile.

Solid thinking and action on saving energy and economic gains are cited in Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's column (Second Opinion). I wonder where the local citizens found the city team that runs Salt Lake City. Perhaps they are home-grown.

Harris Johnson
Greensboro

I have been to many peace rallies in the past few years, but I couldn't make it to the Tuesday protest (July 18) in downtown Greensboro. Seeing the photo in the July 19 paper made me glad I didn't go.

In the photo, one protester carried a sign that equated Judaism with Nazism. As a Jew, I find this concept appalling. While I do not always support the Israeli government's decisions, I would never equate it, or myself, with Nazis. Neither Jews nor the Israeli government use people's skin to make soap or lampshades, and we don't have doctors performing experiments on human beings, as just two horrifying examples.

Peace protesters who link my religion with fascists alienate Jews who spend much time and energy struggling for peace. I feel as if I can no longer fight for peace with this local group but must work toward peace alone. I cannot work with those who believe that my faith makes me a Nazi.

Just because Bush is a Christian and I disagree with this war does not inspire me to carry a sign that equates his faith with Nazism. I wonder what kind of peace people expect to create when their signs carry messages of hate.

Deborah Greene
Greensboro

Editor's note: The photograph the writer refers to did not appear in all editions of the paper.

I see that the liberals are at it again. They are determined to blame Bush for everything. The July 23 letter regarding FEMA's "failure" in New Orleans is a prime example.

First, FEMA was not responsible for the evacuation of the citizens of New Orleans before Katrina. That was the responsibility of Louisiana's governor and the New Orleans mayor. I might also point out that when New Orleans Mayor Nagin was yelling that "there were no federal troops there," I wonder who did he think was flying all those helicopters that were getting the people he failed to evacuate off of rooftops, etc.

As for the evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon, there is nothing new about that. Once the State Department gets our citizens to a place of safety, they are, and have always been, expected to pay their own way home. I might point out that the State Department advised these people last year not to go to Lebanon, and if they were already there to get out. So, this is not Bush's fault.

Walter Milosky
Greensboro

I enjoyed the article Robert M. Caple wrote about the banana pudding (July 22). When he mentioned the Bessemer Curb Market, that really made me happy.

My husband, Hank, was produce manager there from the time he was 20 until he retired at 62 after open-heart surgery five years ago. He would go to Winston-Salem every Tuesday and Thursday very early to buy the best produce for his customers. The owner, Harold Powell, does it now.

When we are out sometimes, we meet some of his former customers. They are always happy to see him. This makes me happy.

Carolyn Corbett
Climax

I don't own a computer and can't communicate with young Malcolm Kenton ("Animal welfare a part of our humanity," July 9), but he needs to be commended for his wonderful article.

Would that there were many, many more young people with his insight. Seems to me he has his head on straight.

Corinne H. Rumley
Mayodan

The following is a Counterpoint column:

By Tommy Guyer

"Cal Thomas is nothing if not predicable," according to Maureen Parker in her Counterpoint article of July 22. May I say that Parker is nothing if not predictable, following the predictable path of attacking the messenger rather than refuting the message?

She attacks Thomas for one of his recent columns: "If homosexuality is not a sin," Thomas roars derisively, "what is?" Parker then offers to answer that question "very briefly." With her next 67 words, she nowhere defines "sin" the way God, in the Bible, defines it. God only uses seven words to give us His definition: "… sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4).

God not only does it truly "very briefly," but He also does it very conclusively. If one studies His law (the Bible), one discovers that we all are sinners. We may not all commit the same sins, but we all are sinners. As "Preacher Brown," a preacher from Baltimore who used to be on radio station WWMO, used to say, "God's list of sins is a lot longer than most people's."

So, whether the sin is drunkenness, gambling, illegal drugs, adultery, fornication, lying, cheating, stealing, murder, just having a foolish thought (Proverbs 24:9) or homosexuality, it is still sin, simply because God says so.

That is why Jesus came to earth and offered himself as the one perfect sacrifice for mankind's sins: to seek and to save that which is lost. And, he never "consorted" (look up the meaning of the word) with sinners. He did go where they were, but only to show his love, to offer them salvation, and to tell them, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

If we admit to God that we are sinners, and ask Him to save us, He not only will save us, but, according to 2 Corinthians 5:17, He will change us and give us a hatred, not for the sinner, but for sin.
Is Jesus inclusive? Yes, he is. The Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should all should come to repentance. He says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Yes, Christianity is all-inclusive, but only for those who repent and ask for it. For those won't accept that, I suggest you read Proverbs 1:22-33 and John 12:47, 48.

The writer lives in Thomasville.

Thank you, Edwin Yoder, (Ideas, July 2) for surfacing as the kind of true Christian that I was once familiar with and not the far right-winger hate groups that have taken over that title in recent years.
It is refreshing to know there are people still out there who are intellectually open-minded when reading the Bible and actually comprehend its pitfalls as well as its good points.

They are not just a bunch of brainwashed gospel spouters who only believe what they want to believe and twist their interpretations accordingly.

I hope there are millions of Edwin Yoders out there. Your voices are needed if you wish to save Christianity and its true purpose. Will the real Christians please rise up?

Joan A. Hunt
Greensboro

The following is a Counterpoint column.
By Maria Purcell
Oh, I laughed and laughed this morning, courtesy of Doug Clark (column, July 26). Thanks, Mr. Clark, for your always upbeat, charming and open-minded view of the public school situation in Guilford County.
As a proud alumna of Ragsdale High and UNC-Chapel Hill, I really like the way you think. Your yukfest promoting neighborhood colleges for the UNC system was ingenious, but there is a flaw in your logic. You see, entrance is awarded by merit to the UNC system schools. Guilford County schools is forced to let everyone in, regardless of ability, intent or work ethic. Most kids are motivated to achieve at least a certain degree of success in college, not so in our public schools. This is evidenced by the increasing suspensions and mediocre test scores.
Let's amend your proposal. Instead of UNC mirroring the GCS system, let's set up Guilford County Schools like the UNC system. We could set up a point system, similar to the SAT and GPA requirements set forth by the UNC schools.
When you score 90th percentile and up, you attend a Greensboro high school, because those folks are just more deserving of a good education. Those who score from the 75th to the 89th percentile go to a former county school not located in High Point.
Alas, those who do not take standardized tests well, you are stuck. You get to go to school in High Point.
Better get that "For Sale" sign up in the yard, or send mom back to work full time so you can write those fat checks to the Private Academy Day School every month.
Or, here is a more reasonable idea: In order to earn entrance into a Guilford County School, a student and his or her parent/guardian must exhibit a willingness to learn, obey district rules and contribute to the overall success of the community.
Now, this could work. Then maybe people would not run for the hills, aka private schools and Davidson County.

The writer lives in High Point.

I am outraged at the activities going on in the Middle East and the lack of a role our government is playing in this.

How can we stand by watching innocent people die when we know we have the full ability to stop it all immediately?

I have travelled to Lebanon and found it to be a beautiful county. The Lebanese are kind and passive people. They have never supported war and killing. They want peace. They want to live and let live.
When I went to Lebanon, I found that the people welcomed an American with open arms. They could not do enough for me. I am afraid that now this attitude has changed. I do not blame them. America can save them, but yet, once again, we turn our back on them.

The Bush administration needs to stop allowing innocent people to die and to stop directly killing those who are innocent.

Nicole Sherrill
Greensboro

George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The Rwandan genocide ended 12 years ago, leaving Americans disgusted by what we had turned away from, disgusted with the numbers of dead. “Never again," we said. “We'll do it right next time."

President Bush recognized the wrongdoing during his first year as president. In the margin of a report on Rwanda, he wrote, "Not on my watch." But now, more than 1,000 people are dying each day from genocide in Darfur.

More than 400,000 people have been killed by militia attacks, supported by the Sudan government. Are we not looking?

For perspective, that would be like Guilford County being wiped out. None of us would stand for that, we would be enraged. We would raise money, fight, anything to stop the bloodshed. But who are we saving? No one.

What are we doing? Nothing.

Distance should mean nothing when human dignity is at stake. People in Darfur are just like you and me. They fear, they love, they cry, they bleed. When we stretch our arms, we can reach for miles. They need us to reach.

Chelsea Rollinger
Belews Creek

These days many pseudo-theologians are turning up proclaiming what Jesus meant. The latest is Maureen Parker (Counterpoint, July 22).

She proclaims, quoting Bishop Schori, that "Jesus' goal was to include the unincluded." This statement may be politically correct, but that is not why Jesus came.

He came to save humanity from sin. He wants to include everyone. He calls everyone. But people have free will, and many choose not to listen to His message. Those who reject His Word will not be included in the Kingdom of Heaven. For Jesus says: "Many are called, but few are chosen" ( Matt. 22:14). (Here the Greek word for "many" implies "all.")

Following Him implies turning away from sin. For nothing sinful will enter Heaven. The man without a wedding garment (in a parable) was cast out into the outer darkness. This is symbolic of one who persists in and dies in sin. He was not included.

Jesus exhorted people to renounce and repent sin if they wanted to be included. A lifestyle that contradicts His Word will not get us included.

So let no one mislead us by statements like: "Jesus's goal was to include the unincluded."

Matthew Thekkekandam
Greensboro

May I please add my voice to the increasing number of those who are truly fed up with the unacceptable lack of monitoring of adult-care homes and ultimately enforcing corrective action when obvious violations are evident?

I congratulate you on your diligent pursuit of insisting on accountability from those agencies that are responsible for the well-being of our vulnerable elderly. As a former employee (nine years) in assisted living here in Greensboro, and in a position to hear about incidents from families, I was aware of the gross negligence demonstrated on a daily basis by several adult-care homes in our area. The "victims" usually have no advocates and are, therefore, paying the price of extremely inadequate and sometimes risky health care.

Thank you for continuing the pressure and demanding changes that are long overdue.

Keith Olson
Greensboro

Patricia Beck (letter, July 25) asked who the attendees thought was paying for the party boat ride at the Tall Ships Festival. I believe I know the answer to her question. They thought the taxpayers were picking up the check ... or some lobbyist ... or some benefactor trying to curry favor ... or they didn't think because they didn't care.

If you review the guest list, you will find most were people of privilege who have only a rudimentary appreciation for budgeting. Accustomed to cruising through financial concerns, they have developed an attitude of entitlement that precludes such things as standing in lines or mingling with the masses, except, of course, for the occasional photo op or campaign event.

Unfortunately, these same people decide how our tax dollars are spent.

Richard Thompson
Asheboro

It was interesting to read that two of the representatives from Guilford County who went on the ferry ride did not know the trip was paid for with public funds. I wonder who they thought paid.

Warren Search
Greensboro

In response to Melody Miller's Counterpoint, "Whites still try to deny effects of racism" (July 21): It seems very hypocritical of Miller to refer to Charles Davenport as narrow-minded when she seems to view life through a racial prism.

She asserts that black illegitimacy began with white slaveholders taking liberties with black women. What exactly does that have to do with present-day society? Slavery ended almost a century-and-a-half ago.

My understanding of history led me to believe that illegitimacy in both blacks and whites was very low prior to the 1960s. The sexual openness of the 1960s, combined with Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society," which rewarded the mothers of illegitimate children, caused a huge boom in illegitimate births.

Miller also asserts that white children receive counseling while black children receive suspension for the same offenses. I would like to see the hard data to back that up. Forgive me, Ms. Miller, if I do not take your word for it. You seem to be racially biased.

Timothy N. Tribbett
Greensboro

In reading the article, "County commissioners' war of the words continues" (July 25), I was appalled at the words coming from "Skip" Alston's mouth promising "to make life difficult for McNeill."

I cannot believe that the other commissioners and the taxpayers of Greensboro put up with Alston's threats and behavior. I believe that his "racism" tantrum is ridiculous and he needs to take a look at himself and stop passing blame on everyone else.

Alston is an elected official of Guilford County, who I believe took an oath to make the best decisions on behalf of the county and the taxpayers. I also thought he was raised to act like an adult, not a child. If he cannot handle his behavior, get him out. Why do we need him? What has he done for Guilford County?

Anna Price
Greensboro

I am very disappointed in the tactics used to kill the stem-cell bill. It was an important piece of legislation that would have helped generations of people now and to come. Those of us who believe in it will not give up.

Paula Stober
Greensboro

The Southern logic being manifested by the Guilford County commissioners and the self-proclaimed black leaders is just as sadly humorous as the similar logic we saw up North.

If you voted to fire County Manager Willie Best because he is black, then you are a racist. The dictionary defines a racist as someone who practices "discrimination or prejudice based on race." In that case, if you voted to keep County Manager Willie Best because he is black, then you are a racist.

Racism is a two-way street. Just when does the silliness end? Lewis Grizzard, noted Southern humorist, said that racism will cease when racism is no longer used as an excuse.

Between the Truth and Reconciliation report and the Guilford County commissioners, I don't see racism ceasing in Guilford County any time soon. What a pity. We really like living here and all the wonderful people we have met. Our election choices are getting easier.

Len Docimo
High Point

As a friend and supporter of Rep. Pricey Harrison, I believe that the July 22 "Summary Judgment" piece on her participation in the tall ships luncheon in Beaufort was as dubious as it was untimely.

Rep. Harrison was the first member of the state House of Representatives to come forward and announce that she intended to reimburse the state for her portion of the event's expenses. She forwarded her check on July 14, the same day the function's cost estimate was released and eight days prior to the printing of the News & Record viewpoint.

Pricey has been honest and forthright regarding her presence at the event from the start. Once it became apparent to her where the funds had originated, she repaid the state out of pocket. Case closed. Her strong voting record on ethics and campaign reform speaks for itself.

Brad Johnson
Greensboro

The writer is campaign manager for Rep. Harrison.

As a new resident to the Triad area and a Turkish-American, I liked the fact that the News & Record published an article by Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol (July 23). Though I am a Unitarian Universalist as opposed to a Muslim, I took great interest in the subject, which is Islamic reform.

I think Akyol's assessment that the efforts of Turkish religious scholars to remove controversial texts from the Holy Quran such as, "The best of women are those who are like sheep," will help with regard to controlling the most fervent, ultraconservative of Muslims in Turkey. But I am not sure how these measures will play out in some of the most conservative cities, like Konya and Yozgat.

I would like to add that I fear that one day extremist elements of the Christian and Jewish faiths may also force both religions to undergo a similar self-examination. I respect members of all three faiths, but having grown up in Roanoke, Va., I have seen militant forms of the Christian, and I thus see the problem on a more universal scale.

Tilly Gokbudak
Reidsville

Your printing of the Bill of Rights and the article by Samuel Johnson were most appropriate for July 4.

However, it was not mentioned that these rights are not God-given as is oxygen in the atmosphere; they are only permissions or privileges that are given to the citizen by the government. One or more of these are under attack most of the time, if not in this country then abroad. International organizations such as the United Nations would like to destroy many of our rights.

Perhaps none is assaulted as often as the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, something that no other government in the world gives to its people.

The rights we enjoy, we have because either Congress or the courts gave them, and these rights can just as easily be taken away. We must be always on guard to protect them.

Anytime rights are mentioned, so should be the warning to be "eternally vigilant."

John W. Taylor
Greensboro

With this new spate of carnage in the Middle East dominating every newscast and newspaper, I find myself becoming news-weary. For the past four decades, there have been few respites from the barrage of reports covering the Israeli-Palestinian/Zionist-Arab/Jewish-Muslim conflict.

The shift from being a disinterested observer to having a resigned dismay has been prompted in part by memories of a favorite childhood poem and a lesson learned at my mother's knee. The poem is "The Duel" by Eugene Field.

A gingham dog and calico cat have a terrible spat. "... The air was littered, an hour or so, with bits of gingham and calico ... the gingham dog and calico cat Wallowed this way and tumbled that, Employing every tooth and claw In the awfulest way you ever saw ... Next morning, where the two had sat They found no trace of dog or cat; And some folks think unto this day That burglars stole that pair away! But the truth about the cat and pup Is this: they ate each other up! Now what do you think of that!"

"But Mother," I would protest, "that's impossible! How can two animals eat each other up?"

"Oh, they can," she assured me.

Sherry A. Kelly
Greensboro

As of July 23, the official death toll in Lebanon was 375, mostly civilians, and in Israel, 36, mostly soldiers. The U.N. envoy to Lebanon said that one-third of the dead there are children.

If terrorism is defined as the slaughter of innocent civilians, then it is clear who the more culpable terrorist is in this tragic situation.

The other culpable parties are those who support terrorism, especially the Bush administration.

Denise Baker
Greensboro

I recently read that a new lighting system will be installed to make the county commissioners look better. It will take more than new lights to help this board.

May I suggest a class on etiquette, professionalism and decorum? Also, how about providing our commissioners with a thesaurus so they can expand their vocabulary beyond racist, bigot and idiot. Then maybe the citizens of Guilford County will have some respect and provide support to these elected officials.

Michael Nanney
High Point